What’s your story? How did Amendola come to be?

Amendola Family Cigar Co. is a first generation, family owned, boutique brand that is owned and operated by Jeffrey Amendola and Christopher Monaco. The company’s influence is deeply rooted and inspired by the owners’ Italian roots and culture both hailing from New York. 

Originally established in 2017, then re-branded in 2019 when Jeff and Chris partnered up by combining their passion for cigars with their Italian family heritage to create Amendola Family Cigar Co. The Amendola lineup boasts of diversity and offers a series of rich flavors and complexities to indulge and satisfy any pallet all while proudly representing their Italian American heritage and culture. Honor, respect, and loyalty are printed on the bands for a reason. 

Jeffrey Amendola launched Amendola Family Cigar Co. in 2017, but his tobacco journey began in 2010. In his previous profession as a police officer, Jeffrey became immersed in what started as a cigar hobby. His passion for cigars grew he and traveled to Ybor Cigar in 2012. There he learned to blend and roll premium cigars under the direction of Odelma Matos. In 2011, his blending and rolling education led to opening a small factory and tobacconist shop in Durham, N.C. In his mind the next logical step was to create his own brand, named in honor of what he cherishes most, family.  

Between the two of you, how do you divvy up the workload?

Chris Monaco focuses primarily on the back end of the business… Logistics, finances, production coordination, inventory, material shipment, and design. He also took on the role and responsibility of rebranding the company giving Amendola Family Cigar Co. it’s fresh new look and names. He also plays a pivotal role on the sales and marketing side of things with the responsibility of managing the majority of retail sales, sales brokers, and current major accounts. Chris has had a major impact on the growth and success of our brand especially on the retail aspect ever since we partnered up in 2019. His recipe for success comes from building solid new relationships, closing the deals, and maintaining established relationships with current customers. 

Jeffrey Amendola's focus is more on tobacco, blending, production, and the event side of the business. Having said that, a lot of what we do is a joint project. We both have our hands in everything that makes this brand tick. At the end of the day, we both decide on what blends we want to produce and how we want the image of the brand to be perceived, sold, and distributed. We like to say that I’m the face of the brand and Chris is the voice.  

How would you describe your cigar portfolio to someone that’s never smoked an Amendola Family Cigar before? And which pairings would you recommend?

What makes our portfolio unique and different is that we blend each cigar to the size of the cigar that we are producing. Our core line consists of three 6x52 Toros which are produced at the TABSA Factory in Nicaragua. The “Cremoso” which has an Ecuador Connecticut Shade grown Wrapper, the “Naturale” which has a Nicaraguan Habano Wrapper, and the “Maturo” which has a Corojo 99 Maduro Wrapper. One size per blend is made to compliment the wrapper leaf and the size 6x52. 

Same concept with the Cannoli line, all 5.5x42 Corona sizes blended to each specific vitola at the La Zona factory. Cannoli White is an Ecuador Shade Grown Connecticut, Cannoli Green is a Sumatra, and the original Cannoli Red is a boxed-pressed Mexican San Andres. The rest of our Signature Series consists of the “Padrino” which is an 5.75x50 Belicoso with a Ct. Broadleaf Wrapper, and the Speciale which is a 6X54 box-pressed toro with an Oscuro Habano wrapper. [Both produced at Tabacalera A.J. Fernandez.] We don't want to follow the pattern of other brands who have 5-10 sizes per each blend of cigar. We make one size per blend to make sure we offer you the best. 

As far as pairings, we ultimately leave that to the consumer! We all have different palates out there but to give you an example, I highly recommend the Cremoso and Conn White Cannoli with Coffee in the am. One of other favorite pairings out of our lineup is a peaty Scotch with the Maturo or Red Cannoli which are both great after dinner cigars! Save the “Padrino” & “Speciale” for those special occasions. Smoke the Sumatra Green Cannoli and Naturale any time of the Day. If you have a sweet tooth and like Vanilla, Hazelnut, and Nutella, you may want to give our Infused Dessert Cigar a try. 

I see your hat game is on point. For any scrubs like myself that need help finding a lid, what kind of advice can you give us?

We both love Hats! I rock Fedoras, Chris rock's Yankee Fitteds. My advice is not to let the hat make you, instead, you make the hat. Find something you like and wear it with Confidence, and who cares what other people think about it.   

What are three things that most people don’t know about you?

Jeffrey Amendola:

• I was a police officer for 7 years in Durham NC and resigned as a SVU Detective in 2016 to go into making cigars full time.
• I play Bass guitar, a little piano, and guitar.
• I am known to make some of the best seafood pasta dishes like Shrimp Scampi and Linguine Alla Vongole.

Chris Monaco:

• I was a drummer in a metal band. I love all genres of music. 
• I’m a sucker for a badass horror movie. 
• I make fresh handmade cavatelli (Italian pasta) as well as killer homemade sauce, meatballs, and broccoli rabe. How you doinnnnn 💪🏼🇮🇹

What is your favorite cigar memory?

My favorite cigar memory was when I first learned how to make and blend a cigar from start to finish on my own, then sitting back lighting it up in awe that I could produce something that I can enjoy forever. -Jeffrey Amendola

Can’t say I have just one, every memory made while smoking a cigar is a good one in my book. If I had to pick one though, I would have to say it was my going away party that my fellow members threw for me at my old lounge in NY before leaving to move down south. -Chris Monaco

What’s one thing that you want our audience to know about you or your brand?

As a brand, Chris and I both have the mentality that there is no plan B for us. We started this company with a vision and motive to be in it for the long haul. We are a legacy brand that we see being passed down to our children and their children after that. 

As a young brand we are so very thankful for all the support we have received so far and are very excited about what the future holds for Amendola Family Cigar Co. We have put everything that we have into this company and to see it grow and get the attention we are receiving is very rewarding. Stay on the lookout for us, we are not going anywhere. No Plan B. 

What can fans of Amendola look forward to in the next 12-18 months?

We will be attending the PCA for the very first time in July and are working on a few new projects that we are very excited for but cannot go into too much detail yet. Recently, we’ve acquired a distribution deal with Illusione Cigars out of Reno, N.V. which will now allow more access and a more streamlined order fulfillment process for retail stores to carry our product across the United States and select markets Overseas. 

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