Rising Stars: Meet Devin Ashley

Today we’d like to introduce you to Devin Ashley.

Hi Devin, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, you could tell our readers some of your backstories.
My first cigar was purchased on the beach in the Dominican Republic. As I smoked it upon returning, I loved that it forced you to push the “pause” button on life. Cigars became a regular thing for me shortly after. As with all hobbies I picked up (I owned a brewery, I keep bees, make my cheese, roast my coffee), I dove in head first. I learned to roll, coming up with various blends and identifying the character and flavor profiles each tobacco brought to the cigar and the techniques used to promote proper burn. After 5 years of rolling for personal use, I got my license to manufacture cigars under Bad Ash Cigar Company. My company grew quickly, and it became relevant that I could only supply one shop if I continued to do all of the rollings myself. So, I contracted with a business partner to roll my flagships in the Dominican Republic. My wife and I have been fortunate enough to have traveled the world and have seen firsthand how people in other countries live, and kids that don’t have a family structure will sometimes live in the city dumps, where they find food or other necessities. So we embrace the idea of what we call “global citizenship,” we have structured the company in a way where we take what we consider to be a significant percentage of each box sale and support children’s literacy or an orphanage in the country where the majority of the tobacco came from for each blend. A dream, possibly far out there, is to own a tobacco plantation in Nicaragua someday and provide a home and a fair trade skillset to young people that would otherwise be living on the streets.

Alright, let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what challenges have you had to overcome?
The licensure was involved. It took months of filling out forms and communicating with government entities by email to obtain permission and the licenses I needed to manufacture cigars. It can be difficult being a “boutique” cigar manufacturer. There are so many large brands out there that it can be seen as taking a chance to spend your well-earned money on a brand that you may need to become more familiar with. I approach the idea by getting to know shop owners and their clients, and I put a lot of energy into education on what we represent. Each year I have been able to take on more clients, and I now have just over 2 dozen lounges or shops in 6 states that carry my cigars. However, for every lounge that takes me on, there are 2-3 that have yet to return a phone call or respond to an email after leaving cigars to sample. So there can be a disappointing or frustrating moment, but when you’re passionate about something, it’s easy to overcome and move along.

Let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Manufacturing cigars is a rare skill set. It takes years of practice and countless experiments to roll correctly and blend flavors correctly to come out with a product that, first of all, burns correctly but then looks good and obtains a flavor profile that is intriguing enough to get a customer to return for more. Even beyond the experience of smoking a cigar, brand recognition comes first. Cigar blending is a point where art and skill meet. I equate learning to blend tobacco with learning how to cook. When you are young and first experimenting with cooking, you’re unsure what certain spices will add to a dish. Beyond salt, pepper, In the same way, when one is learning to blend tobacco, they experiment with different leaves to see what flavor profiles come from the combinations they are trying. They may also need to familiarize themselves with the soil or sun exposure that a plant grows in and how that can add to or take away certain properties. The blender also needs to know where the leaves they use came from on a plant because how they bunch the leaves will affect the cigar and how it burns.

How would we have described you growing up if we knew you were growing up?
Growing up had a lot of hobbies and collected things. I still have a lot of hobbies, but now I collect experiences more than material things. I also denied all stereotypes as a kid, and in my teenage years, I had a lot of interests and friends from different groups, and I refused to settle into the typical cliques. I’ve always enjoyed social situations and am interested in ensuring everyone has a good time. A friend recently brought up the concept of a Sigma Male, stating that it described me well, different from the Alpha Male who fights to be on top. The sigma male doesn’t care what other people think about him; he does his own thing and inadvertently becomes a leader. A leader, not by seeking out formal positions but by doing my own thing, and people get wind of and follow. My dad was a biologist, a parasitologist by dissertation, and a university professor. He took groups of students from all over the world and, from a young age, inspired me to travel to other countries and experience their cultures and way of life. I’ve been very fortunate to have traveled to 37 countries outside of the US—my favorite places to visit were the cigar factories if they were an option.

Pricing:

• Cigars between $9-$15 at lounges that carry the brand

Contact Info:

• Website: www.badashtobacco.com
• Instagram: @badashtobacco
• Facebook: Bad Ash Cigar Company
• Linkedin: Devin Ashley
• Twitter: @badashtobacco

Image Credits
Steven Carrillo @Superme_branding