Seed to Cigars
It must have been 4-5 months ago, I was in the local Tobacco Shop walking through the humidor when I struck up a conversation with another occupant. He mentioned a place down Sacramento way where they roll their own cigars.
Later that day as I was talking with my wife, Jill, I mentioned the place I had heard about and we proceeded to find it’s location on the internet, Casillas Cigars.
Within the week, while working in the area Jill drove over to the location in Citrus Heights and shopped for some cigars. While looking over the stock on hand she talked with Pedro about my passion for growing tobacco. Having made her selections, Pedro recommended a few others and handed her a folded napkin containing seeds that he had received from a friend in “Miami”. He explained that he could not get them to grow and was not sure if they where viable. Jill accepted them on my behalf and let him know that I would give them a chance.
Fast Forward to about the third week of March 2007. 
It was time to plant some seeds for the summer gardens; sunflowers, ashwagandha, sweet basil, cilantro and of course tobacco. So I carefully planted Pedro’s tobacco seeds along with the others.
As the weeks passed I watched for signs of generation. It was not until April 12th that I noticed one lone tobacco plant emerging from the many that I had planted. 
Two days after taking the first photo an unexpected hail storm hit. Although the sweet basil took a bit of a hit everything was OK.
As the weeks passed I eagerly watched for more sprouts. Although the other varietals sprouted this lone seedling proved to be the only one from the seeds that Pedro have given us. I marked each passing week with a photo, using a penny to give a sense of scale.
So on the 24th of May I decided it was time to get the plant ready for it’s journey back to Pedro. With this in mind I transplanted it into a larger container and gave Pedro a call. After a few words of introduction Pedro soon recognized who I was even though we had never met. We made arrangements to meet over the upcoming 3 day weekend.
On Sunday morning the 27th of May Jill drove myself, Mitchell and Jon to 7435 Madison Avenue, Citrus Heights, CA.
When we arrived it was like we where family dropping in for a Sunday visit after church. Pedro and his son Pierre Perales where excited and pleased with the small plants as was the head torcedor, Marvin Ruiz. One of their partners, Ricardo was there helping Pierre and Marvin prepare for a trip to Calistoga where they would be rolling cigars as part of a wedding celebration.
It wasn’t long before I was being asked what size cigar did I want Marvin to roll for me. I stood there amazed as he bunched the filler, applied the binder and finished the wrapper with a bit of vegetable glue to secure the cap.
Marvin started rolling at the Padron Nicaraguan factory as a boy of 7. His father was working there at the time. Marvin’s nimble fingers completed the requested toro vitola in short time. It wasn’t long before I was being instructed on how to roll a cigar. It was a transcending moment, devoid of time. They ended up rolling several more for as we talked about tobacco. Marvin even rolled one to match the size of my wedding ring, apparently a skill that many enjoy at wedding celebrations
Soon Pierre, Marvin and Ricardo had their car loaded and where ready for there trip to Calistoga. Jill and I with the two boys took this opportunity to get some lunch nearby. Returning shortly, Jill left me to the company of Pedro while her and the boys went shopping. Pedro and I proceeded to smoke one from his personal stash while we talked. He told me stories of the little valley on the "island" where he once lived, as we smoked our cigars the occasional customer strolled in for a purchase. Pedro was soon making coffee, drawing diagrams for making box pressed cigars and eventually ended back at the rolling table tutoring me further.
When Jill and the boys returned we finished our cigars, took a few more photos and said our goodbyes. Pedro gave me some additional seeds and I promised I would give them my best effort. Indeed a special day thanks to my family.
If you have patiently followed the story so far then please join us in viewing the following photos taken by Jill and myself.
Perhaps a cigar is like a family, a blend of various personalities from different times, sometimes from different places, held together with skill,
subtle grace and beauty and a kiss from the Divine.
