Principle Cigars Archive Collection

Principle Cigars is the life’s work of American entrepreneur and antiques enthusiast Darren Cioffi. Before producing cigars, he made a name for himself in the world of historical securities and print graphics—especially through trading and restoring rare stock certificates, bonds, and banknote prints from past centuries. His passion for history, typography, and design continues to define the distinctive style of his cigar lines to this day. Every cigar by Principle Cigars reflects the spirit of eras when craftsmanship, precision, and aesthetics were inseparably intertwined. As the logo clearly suggests, the 1920s—with their Art Deco style—are among his favorites, characterized by clean geometric shapes, symmetrical arrangements, and streamlined designs exemplified by the Rockefeller Center in New York City, often inspired by the industrial revolution of the time.

Principle Cigars Archive Collection: A Tribute to the Past

With the Archive Collection Cigars, Darren Cioffi explores the idea of reinterpreting historical moments of cigar craftsmanship. Inspired by antique cigar documents, forgotten blends, and long-discontinued formats, this series combines tobaccos from the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Mexico, Peru, and other origins into remarkably harmonious compositions. Blend details are listed for each cigar, and every blend is truly distinctly different. Production takes place at the renowned Kelner Boutique Factory (KBF) in the Dominican Republic, where Darren personally co-develops each blend. His standards are uncompromising: only when the tobaccos merge perfectly in flavor, structure, and aging does a batch make it into the Archive Collection—quality over quantity, in line with his motto: “No pretense, no shortcuts, no nonsense.”

Refined Cigars with History: The Formats of the Archive Collection

The Archive Collection includes exquisite vitolas, each retelling a piece of cigar history in its own way. I’ve just lit up a Principle Archive Straphanger and am very impressed so far. The draw is still a bit tight at the moment, but the smoke is very harmonious, “fat,” and yet still quite mild. Darren has become very dear to my sister and me—he may seem a little gruff at first, but that’s deceiving. Much like me. Darren is a man of unpretentious enjoyment and travels across Europe’s culinary scene in its pursuit. We’ve had the pleasure of joining him at various tastings and, in the past, during CSWC events. Each of his cigars represents a piece of living collector’s passion—from a man who knows how to preserve history and cultivate enjoyment.