Talk to us about Fred. What’s your story?
I am not sure where to start…I love to travel and experience new places and cultures. I have been accused of being a ‘serial entrepreneur’ when in reality, I just have a short attention span. I am obsessive compulsive and deal with it daily.
I actually like the McRib sandwich and yet I am a total foodie. I prefer Single Malt over beer. Shawshank Redemption is my favorite movie and my musical tastes are probably stuck in time at this point. And yes…I like bacon.
Nomad sounds like a personal philosophy. How’d the name come about for your brand?
I was really trying to find a name that seemed to encompass my attitude. I wanted to go wherever I needed to make the type of cigar I was going for. I was not going to limit myself to a particular country, factory, or tobacco - especially in the beginning.
If you look closely at the logo, it contains three things that I love. A compass for travel, a cross for riding motorcycles, and wings for flying stunt planes. I also think it is cool how you can, for the most part, wander into an uncharted Cigar Shop and find all the same characters. We are all Nomad’s looking for a place to hang and smoke.
Talk to us about your lineup. How would you characterize your cigars?
At this point Nomad’s portfolio is pretty complete in that there is something for whatever someone’s ‘wheelhouse’ is at any given time. The Connecticut Fuerte is an amazing smoke that numerous people told me never to make. I was not the first to go for a Connecticut “plus” - but the first in a long time. I am glad I stuck with it. The audience I went for was the smoker that was not really ready for a Medium or Medium Plus. Give them more flavor but not strength. The audience that I really got was the person that ‘gave up on Connecticut cigars.
The Esteli Lot 8613 is in everyone’s wheelhouse.
Martial Law is an awesome cigar with some spice…but a rustic blend like its counterpart (8613).
The C-276 may be the most complex cigar I have ever made, while Fin de los Mundos is probably the strongest (and yet still has flavor). I can tell you they all go great with Single Malt or Bourbon - there may have been extensive testing.
Everyone goes nuts for your blending workshops. When you blend a cigar, what are you looking for and how do you know when it’s earned the Nomad name?
I love doing the blending seminars! I blend everything for flavor and let the strength fall where it may. Don’t get me wrong, I may start out wanting to blend a stronger, fuller-bodied cigar, but need to ‘back off’ the blend if it ever sacrifices flavor. Anyone can blend a strong cigar if they ignore flavor. Can you blend a stronger cigar with flavor? That is an art and takes time. The same is true for any profile. I feel my job is to take the tobaccos I am playing with and, at the end of the day, have them interact with each other in harmony…mutually supportive and showcasing each others best attributes. See…you got me started :)
If you could go back in time and visit the pre-Nomad Fred, what would you tell yourself about the process or the industry?
It is crazy difficult…even with great cigars. LOL. At the end of the day, a lot of us have great cigars - it is everything else that also makes this industry so complex. I guess I would have tried to build a bigger portfolio before I rolled out nationally to the degree we did. I really was not sure how to handle the growth. Now I am circling back to shops that opened Nomad early on and showing them how it has grown. It is much bigger now.
You’ve worked with several different factories over the years. Is it easier or harder working with established factories that have their own way of doing things?
I think all the factories have different advantages when doing their own stuff but sometimes change for a client. When someone like me comes in, it is like a dance. What are they adamant about, what are their areas of flexibility? What do they bring to the table and what boundaries can I push?
I will say after about two years into it, people saw that I was sincere in learning the industry, learning about tobacco…a lot of doors opened at that point. A lot of ‘information’ that I would have assumed to be proprietary. They were open to share if you earned it. Choosing a factory, to me, is critical.
What do you consider your greatest success to date?
Wow…that is really a tough question. I guess that I am still around. Nomad has grown to 16 blends and 43 sku’s. It wasn’t started with million dollars and a staff of industry legends. It was old fashion work. Check the ego at the door and learn all you can.
"I feel my job is to take the tobaccos I am playing with and, at the end of the day, have them interact with each other in harmony…mutually supportive and showcasing each others best attributes."
To be recognized by industry publications and reviewers is awesome. To be recognized by consumers world-wide? Still blows my mind.
What’s next for Nomad?
Start a bacon company? Ok, seriously…. Keep growing and find new ways to connect directly with consumers. Although there is stuff (new product) on the horizon, Nomad has a complete portfolio of cigars for any mood or palette…really plenty at this point. I love sharing stories in cigar shops and chatting via social media…. that will never change.
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