This is the question I heard over and over (and over) throughout CIGARfest 2012. Indeed, aside from us hosting our 9th annual CIGARfest, which turned out to be a huge success for 6,000+ cigar lunatics, Ramon Bueso was the buzz word of the day, every day, between May 2nd and May 6th. So who is Ramon Bueso? Lemme fill you in with some back story.

The first tobacco farm in Honduras was located on Ramon's family's land. It was here where Ramon was first introduced to tobacco and the premium cigar industry. His passion grew, and he became a roller at the young age of 15, only to evolve into an instrumental voice and mind inside the mighty Villazon factory – the original, Honduran-based home of legendary brands such as Punch, Hoyo de Monterrey, and Excalibur....to name a few. He worked alongside Estelo Padron, Benji Menendez, and Frank Llaneza – some of the most powerful and influential men in the business. To put it simply, Ramon Bueso has been crafting, creating, and perfecting some of the industry’s biggest and best-known cigars for nearly 40 years, including many of the cigars you've likely had and enjoyed.

Back to CIGARfest 2012. The official launch of Ramon’s first full release, Genesis The Project. 6,000 faithful enthusiasts from the CI Nation were introduced to both Ramon and his creative genius, thanks to an aggressive approach and successful execution. What began as an unknown became one of the most talked about – and often raved about – cigars of the weekend, catching countless attendees by surprise, pleasantly. Many had a chance to sample the cigar before the main events, and the commentary was exciting, to say the least. In a nutshell and without warning, Ramon Bueso and Genesis The Project took CIGARfest by storm.

I’ll be honest with you. I am not writing a review here. I was lucky enough to receive a few dozen Genesis cigars throughout the event, and not one went to waste. No matter how many cigars I burned throughout the 5 days of madness – and trust me, I burned a ton – I found myself craving more of this cigar. My reason for this ‘Staff Review’ is not to give you my tasting notes on the cigar, but to urge you to get acquainted with it. Stars are born in this industry daily, and stars fade even faster. But Ramon is no star, nor does he want to be. He’s simply a simple cigar-maker with a tremendous level of tobacco knowledge and experience, and an innate ability to utilize this knowledge and experience through crafting a delicious, top-notch cigar.

Although simple, we cigar enthusiasts are a frugal, finicky bunch. We love cigars, but we have developed our preferred tastes, and always seek the best, new cigar to fit our needs at a price that fits our budget. We are rarely content with the norm. We are always looking to expand. It’s a never-ending circle of cigar-frenzied, smoke-filled madness, but the rewards are oh-so-sweet.

That’s me to a ‘T’ - does this sound like you? If so, consider Ramon Bueso a new avenue to expand. If you like bold, eventful cigars with complexity and richness, this cigar comes highly recommended by me as well as hundreds if not thousands of attendees at CIGARfest 2012. My suggestion: get acquainted with Ramon Bueso, because you’ll be seeing a lot of him in the near future.