How Pachuche emerged:

In 2008, Camillo Bazzell studied languages in the Dominican Republic. There he met his wife Heidy. Owing to this relationship, Camillo often traveled from Switzerland to the Dominican Republic until he decided in 2010 to remain on the island. His father, Christian Bazzell, a great cigar lover for years, visited him in 2011. Before his arrival, he asked Camillo to look for cigar producers willing to produce boutique cigars. Thanks to Heidy’s cousin, they came into contact with Guzman for the first time. This small producer from Navarrete at Santiago de los Caballeros prepared some cigars for tasting, including Maduro cigars. However, these Maduros did not suit Camillo and Christian, particularly because Guzman was working with molasses that, in their opinion, was not at all suitable for the actually planned premium cigar. After some changes to the blend, the first series was created that eventually got the name ‘Liga Verde’. A medium bodied cigar with a Habana wrapper from Ecuador and Dominican filler tobacco was born.

In the course of Liga Verde development, Camillo got acquainted through Heidy’s uncle with William Ventura who lived in Santiago. He was one of the first cigar rollers and longtime quality assurance manager of Davidoff. In that capacity and owing to his vast knowledge of tobacco and cigars, he has become one of most prestigious master blenders on the island.

William perfectly knew how to incorporate Camillo and Christian’s taste into the right blends. Christian, who prefers strong cigars, was responsible for the development of Liga Roja, a strong and creamy cigar with beautiful roasted aromas. Camillo developed Liga Oro, a medium bodied cigar with rare filler tobacco and a distinctive character. Liga Azul was the third series, a mild but very aromatic cigar with a Connecticut wrapper.

The Pachuche brand name:

Both men now had four series, but still no name for the brand. So, another family member was responsible for it. Tito Castillo drew the attention of the two to the ‘Pachuché’ name, a word originating from the farmers of the country, the so-called “campesinos”, and standing for a self-made cigarette or cigar. Over the years, word Pachuché has also become common for Torcedores in the Dominican Republic.

The word is only used in the Dominican Republic. Christian and Camillo had liked it so much that they chose “Pachuche” as the brand name.

Logo development:

The work on the logo started at the same time with the brand name. Camillo came up with the idea to ask one of his best friends Patrick Küng for help. They are like brothers and have known each other from childhood. So, both Camillo and Christian were aware of his artistic talent.

Among other designs, Patrick, half Mexican, used a skull in the “Dia de los Muertos” style. By this time, nothing could compare to it on the market, and the fresh, young design immediately won both of the men over.

While the first cigar bands were produced using cheap printing process, the new productions imply huge work efforts.

The printing industry brought the two men together with Albert Montserrat. The boss of Cigar Rings already bought two machines from Bazzell AG and this alliance helped to produce the new bands using a complex and high-quality process. Spot varnish, blind embossing and bronze powder are used for the main band. The corresponding “Liga” is characterized by the foot band with colored foil embossing.

At the end of November, the annually limited “Liga Platino” was born. It is only available in Toro format, with a ring gauge of 52 mm and a length of 155 mm. For this blend, William used very old and specially fermented tobacco. A wonderful blend rounded off by Arapiraca wrapper of high quality.