Víctor de la Cruz is a master blender of premium cigar

Cigar

A cigar is a tightly-rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco that is ignited so that its smoke may be drawn into the mouth. Cigar tobacco is grown in significant quantities in Brazil, Cameroon, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Philippines, and the Eastern...

s. De la Cruz worked for Davidoff

Davidoff

Davidoff is a Swiss luxury tobacco goods brand name, which is carried by a range of products including cigars, cigarettes and pipe tobaccos. Its cigarette brand is currently owned by Imperial Tobacco but the company is otherwise independently owned....

 for over 20 years as supervisor.

Childhood

De la Cruz was born to tobacco

Tobacco

Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...

 farmers in Tamboril, Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...

. De la Cruz started helping his father and mother grow, roll and blend cigars at the age of 9 years old.

Master blender

While at the world famous Davidoff cigar manufacturer, Master Blender Víctor de la Cruz travelled the work representing the famous cigar house at events in the USA, Europe, China, the Middle East, Argentina and Canada. Master Blender de la Cruz has personally blended and created cigars for U.S. President Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton

William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...

, Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...

, Princess Diana, Sean Connery

Sean Connery

Sir Thomas Sean Connery , better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 25 August 1930), better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy...

 and many others.

In 2004, De la Cruz teamed up with his childhood friend, Leandro Compres, and began Tabacalera L&V (the "L" stands for Leandro and the "V" satands for Víctor).

Master Blender Víctor de la Cruz is best known for his award-winning La Princesa de Cuba and Cocinero Liga Especial cigars. Both cigar brands feature Víctor’s extraordinary and secret technique of triple-blending Cuban seed tobaccos.

External links

• http://www.tinderbox.com/La-Princesa-De-Cuba-Cigars
• http://www.tinderbox.com/Cocinero-Liga-Especial-Cigars