Bongani Cigars
The first African cigar brand!
Bongani is the first African cigar brand. It was born in 2016 thanks to the impulse of Kamal Moukheiber, a former investment banker. Lebanese by birth and a graduate of HEC Paris, Kamal worked in finance field in London for over 15 years before starting a real estate project in Mozambique.
It was while reading a biography of Robert Mondavi, an American wine producer whose innovations and marketing strategies brought international recognition to California's Napa Valley wines, that Kamal was inspired to launch Africa's first cigar brand: Bongani, which means "to be grateful" in Zulu.
Africa is well located to produce excellent cigars because of its rich soils, plenty of water and sunshine, and a long history of tobacco growing.
To launch the production of Bongani cigars, Kamal first travelled to the Dominican Republic to recruit the talents he needed to start the first African cigar production. There, he met Anthony Padilla and offered him the position as a production director.
From then on, Anthony Padilla, who actually never left his native home country, brought in a team of highly skilled cigar rollers to train the Mozambican team to the same level of expertise as in the Dominican Republic.
This is how the first team of accomplished cigar rollers graduated in 2017.
Apart from the two managers, the Bongani team is exclusively female. Eugenia and Sonia were the first to be hired. Then joined Salome, Rosa, Tina and Adriana. Together they form the Bongani Family.
The company's factory, located in the Baixa district of Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, now produces 10,000 cigars per month, divided into three vitolas: Bongani Robusto (50 x 130 mm), Bongani 458 Short (58 x 100 mm) and Bongani 458 Long (58 x 145 mm).
However, Anthony Padilla’s priority is not mass production and states, "we are not exclusively looking for volume, but rather for quality".
The tobacco used to produce Bongani cigars is mainly grown in the Manica province in Mozambique and Nigeria. A little Dominican tobacco is added to the filler to improve combustion.
The whole is covered with an African wrapper, grown in Cameroon, whose know-how in this field is well known.
The result is a cigar with a strength ranging from medium to strong, offering an excellent draw and a regular combustion!
Particularly fat and shiny, this Cameroonian wrapper is of the most beautiful effect. The raw draw starts with woody and earthy notes. Very quickly, more spicy flavours come into play. The Bongani delivers a magnificent volume of smoke, fat and silky feel.
The power remains contained despite a steady growth. Halfway through, the African cigar retains its earthy notes and moves towards woodier ones and more so towards a more animal, instinctive register.
The last part is marked by an intensification of the aromas leading us to a cocoa and spicy finale. A magnificent, generous and aromatic blend. Thank you African terroir!
BONGANI Robusto - Box of 20
Vitola: Robusto (50 x 130 mm)
BONGANI 458 - Box of 20
Vitola: Short (58 x 100 mm)
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