Kafie 1901 Don Fernando Maduro

The Kafie family has its (second) roots in Honduras; the year 1901 marks the arrival of their ancestors in the Central American country. In the 1970s, the parents of the founder and owner of Kafie Cigars, Dr. Gaby Kafie, emigrated to the USA with their three children. There, Dr. Kafie worked for several years as a physician before diving into the cigar industry adventure in 2013.

Kafie 1901 Cigars: From Honduran Roots to Dominican Craftsmanship

At first, he had his cigars rolled by the Reyes family. From early 2017, he operated his own tabacalera in Danlí, Honduras. With around 20 employees, about 150,000 Honduran cigars were rolled there each year. Since November 2021, production has been fully relocated to Tabacalera La Aurora in Santiago, Dominican Republic. This decision was driven by severe hurricanes, COVID-19-related challenges, and general safety concerns in Honduras. The extensive tobacco reserves, excellent infrastructure, and high level of expertise among the master blenders and torcedores at La Aurora enabled him to further enhance the craftsmanship of his cigars. The first Kafie 1901 Cigars produced in the Dominican Republic were released in spring 2022. Since then, Kafie has focused on what he does best: creating interesting and enjoyable blends, and managing the distribution and representation of his cigars around the world. Perhaps not a bad idea to leave the “mundane” production to the oldest tabacalera in the Dominican Republic!

Dr. Gaby Kafie: From Physician to Cigar Visionary with Global Reach

Since May 2025, the exclusive importer in Germany has been Don Stefano Zigarrenmanufaktur GmbH from Heuchelheim, Hesse. The Don Fernando Maduro is essentially Dr. Gaby Kafie’s “signature” line. Despite the dark H2000 wrapper from Nicaragua, these cigars are best classified as just slightly more than medium-bodied. The binder is Cameroon, and the filler blend consists of Dominican, Nicaraguan, and U.S. (Pennsylvania) tobaccos. These are robust and complex sticks, whose main characteristics are an intense coffee note combined with increasingly woody nuances. The Robusto Maduro I tasted was certainly a pleasure — though it might be better enjoyed after a meal!

Don Fernando Maduro: Nicaraguan Wrapper Meets Dominican Diversity

In addition to the line presented here, there are three other variants of Kafie Cigars, as well as another cigar brand called San Jeronimo, which was also formerly produced at Tabacalera G. Kafie y Cia. The San Jeronimo brand was acquired by the Kafie family in the late 1930s and is actually the oldest registered cigar brand from Honduras. However, these lines are now only available in remaining stock. Currently, La Aurora supplies three series to Germany: the one described here, the Kafie 1901 San Andres Cigars, and the Kafie 1901 Connecticut Cigars.