Micallef Cigars

A partnership between two inspiring families, Micallef cigars combine Al Micallef's entrepreneurial acumen with Joel Gómez-Sanchez's cigar-making dynasty. Al has excelled in every industry he's involved himself, from hospitality to manufacturing, and in 2017, the Texas businessman established Micallef Cigars after developing a relationship with the Gómez-Sanchez family. Joel and his brother Edel were stranded in Texas with car troubles on a trip to Florida. Thanks to Al's assistance and hospitality, the families became friends, and Joel later crafted some cigars according to Al's personal preferences, beginning a collaboration that would become Micallef Cigars.

The Gómez-Sanchez family's cigar roots date to 1934 when Pedro Gómez, Joel's grandfather, established a tobacco business in Cuba. His daughter-in-law Migdalia Sanchez, Joel's mother, would later become among the most celebrated cigar rollers at the acclaimed Pártagas factory and in the country at large, representing Cuba in exhibitions around the world. She eventually received the Distinción Carlos Baliño in recognition of 25 years in Cuba's tobacco industry before leaving Cuba in 1998 to join her sons in Nicaragua. The Gómez-Sanchez legacy is upheld today through Micallef cigars, the family supervising Micallef's factory in Estelí, Nicaragua, as well as blending and hand-rolling every Micallef cigar.