L’Atelier Selection Speciale

In 2012 Pete, along with Dan Welsh (owner of NHC), K.C. Johnson (Pete’s brother), and Sean “Casper” Johnson (unrelated to Pete) created L’Atelier which means, “the workshop.” The cigars were designed to give premium cigars at a price that is conscious of the consumer’s wallet. The initial three cigars mimicked the famed Cohiba Behike sizes. The cigars feature Nicaraguan binders and fillers and are produced in Nicaragua. What makes them special is the wrapper which is made of Sancti Spiritus. Sancti Spiritus is a hybrid between criollo and Pelo de Oro. Pelo de Oro is considered by many to be a holy grail tobacco. However, it is a difficult tobacco to grow and very susceptible to disease; so much so that growing the variety is banned in Cuba. L’Atelier has made Sancti Spiritus their flagship tobacco. The L’Atelier line is sold in black hinged lid boxes of 15; while the Selection Speciale were originally sold in boxes of 20, they now come in 15ct boxes. The bands are a glossy black and white with gold embossing and bordering and they feature a gold tobacco leaf symbol on the front. The Selection Speciale cigars also feature a Sancti Spiritus wrapper, but it is darker and a higher priming leaf. They also have a secondary band that is black with gold lettering.