Long before Rick Rodriguez became a titan of the modern cigar industry, his grandparents were in 1950s Cuba rolling cigars alongside the island’s legendary masters. You could say tobacco is literally baked into his DNA. After decades of crushing it at CAO and General Cigar Co., Rick finally cashed in his retirement chips to launch his own lifelong dream—a cutting-edge boutique portfolio bridging old-school Cuban heritage with today’s modern, flavor-obsessed palates. To kick off this new era with a truly pristine, white-label level of luxury, he created the ethereal West Tampa Tobacco Co. White.
Continue reading