Casdagli Club Mareva

This cigar brand holds special significance for us, as we first smoked it in 2015 in Split during the CSWCS World Championship in Split (Croatia), where we also met the positively “crazy” Marko Bilic from the Cigar Club Mareva. That was bound to leave lasting memories! The private cigar club “Club Mareva” in Split’s old town had its house cigar produced by Bespoke Cigars. Marko and the brand’s owner, Jeremy Nicholas Casdagli, have known each other for many years and finalized this blend together. Marko Bilic also serves as Brand Ambassador for Bespoke Cigars!

Casdagli Club Mareva Line: A Cigar with History and Character

Originally, Bespoke cigars were also marketed under that name; in 2019, due to trademark disputes between Alan Rubin of Alec Bradley and Jeremy Casdagli, they were renamed Casdagli Cigars. Apart from the name, the blends, the logo featuring the Colossus of Rhodes, the formats, and the prices have remained completely identical!

Jeremy, as he describes himself, comes from a “Levantine-Greek” family, which is also the origin of the Colossus of Rhodes in the brand’s logo. The family rose to prominence in Egypt’s cotton trade in the 19th century. A testament to that era is the still-existing Villa Casdagli, which today—albeit somewhat run-down—houses a girls’ school. Despite holding a British passport, he now lives in Estonia and also works from there.

Initially, all Casdagli Cigars were produced at Tabacalera KBF (Kelner Boutique Factory) in Santiago de los Caballeros in the Dominican Republic. Hendrik Kelner Junior, the son of the legendary senior who blended and produced Davidoff cigars for decades, has since established himself as a renowned manufacturer of smaller, independent cigar lines—so-called boutique brands. With the Casdagli Daughters of the Wind cigars introduced in 2019, he expanded his portfolio to include another country of production. In addition, the Villa Casdagli cigars, introduced in 2021, are now also produced in Costa Rica. This is likely also due to the somewhat—let’s say—unreliable supply capabilities of the small but excellent Tabacalera KBF. Recently, Hendrik Kelner has turned down one project or another, yet overall he still struggles to meet the demand for the cigar brands produced at his factory.

The Connection Between Club Mareva and Casdagli Cigars: Unique Blends

The filler of the Club Mareva Line consists of an aromatic blend of Nicaraguan, Dominican, and US tobaccos. This composition develops a creamy, sweet profile with notes of honey. In essence, it is simply a different format of the Casdagli Traditional Line cigars, but it is listed separately, as additional cigars specially blended for Club Mareva may follow.