Sacramento entrepreneur: 'It’s all about palate' when it comes to making hand-rolled cigars

Lynn Greer of Sacramento loves to travel, and he loves cigars.

Those two passions led him to create a business, Bespoke Expressions Cigars.

“I was a cigar smoker and enjoyed it,” Greer told Suburban Marquee. “I traveled a lot through Central America, South America, the Caribbean. I always ended up on a tobacco plantation. At one point, I decided I would like to try my hand at having my own cigar.”

In 2019, he left his corporate job to became a cigar entrepreneur. But he took a different approach than many companies. As an avid cigar smoker himself, he tried to develop the cigar-lover’s cigar rather than simply copying what is already widely sold on the market.

He tried different blends before deciding on one, obtaining an import license and buying an equity position in a small factory in the Dominican Republic where the cigars are hand-rolled.

Greer’s company is one of a few Black-owned cigar businesses in the U.S.

His plan was to open a cigar lounge with his house brand, but COVID-19 delayed that.

“The pandemic started in March 2020,” Greer said. “I was in the process of getting the permits, and all of a sudden COVID-19 hit and those kinds of places couldn’t open. I had to do a pivot.”

He started selling his cigars on the website, Bespoke Expressions.

“Here’s an offering for you to try,” is the message he wants to send to customers. “Let’s have a conversation about tobacco that’s outside of the name brands. It’s all about palate. Do you enjoy the flavor profile of the cigar? Does it match what you like? Does it have the smoke and consistency that you can enjoy?”

His cigars are different from those produced by the big companies in both flavor and appearance. Since they are hand-rolled, each one looks slightly different.

“When you buy from the large-scale manufacturers, their stuff all looks the same,” he said.

He describes his cigars as “full-bodied” but not overwhelming.

“Some people like that super strong Maduro cigar that knocks you down like a Mike Tyson punch,” he said. “That’s not mine. If that is full-bodied, I would say mine are three-quarters of that. But mine are strong. They give you that good cigar buzz. People really enjoy them.”

Prospective customers won’t find a vast selection of cigars, but the ones they will find are distinct.

“When you go to my website, you have to want to buy my cigars,” Greer said. “You can’t buy any other cigar. We’re not a retailer of all types of cigars. You are coming there specifically for my brand.”

Many cigar companies have taken the easier route of contacting a cigar manufacturer in the United States and then just slapping their company label on them.

“Their cigar could be somebody else’s too,” he said. “Then there are a few of us who have actually gone to these other countries, found factories, either bought into the factory or bought from the factory and have our own blend. We are kind of giving you our version of what a cigar should taste like.”

The cigars Greer makes are the ones he likes.

“And I think the customers will like them too,” he said.