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BOUTIQUE PROFILE
Cattle Barron Cigars
Capturing the Spirit of
Big Sky Country Montana cattle Rancher Bryan Mussard’s line of ultra-premium Cattle Baron Cigars, developed with Debonaire Cigars’s Phil Zanghi and produced at Augusto Reyes Cigars in the Dominican Republic, were crafted to high standards and Mussard’s own personal tastes. If they didn’t sell, he reasoned, at least he’d have some of the finest cigars to enjoy himself (he didn’t need to worry). > E. EDWARD HOYT
C
attle rancher Bryan Mussard got his start in the beef industry at age 10, borrowing $400 to buy his first cow. Ever since, he’s understood that being “average” just isn’t enough when it comes to generating enough revenue to repay loans and grow a business, much less thrive.
24 SMOKESHOP February 2019
“We had to borrow money for everything,” Mussard recalls, “and ‘average’ won’t pay that back. You’ve got to be good to pay the interest.” Today, Mussard, along with his wife and extended family, own and operate Reminisce Angus Ranch in Dillon, Montana, and have also tapped their 40 years of ranching
expertise to manage ranches for others. “I started out on my own in the ranching industry,” says Mussard. “My parents didn’t have money to give me. We got out of high school, they said, ‘Go get a job or go to college, and by the way, you’re paying for your home and you’re done living here.’ When they said ‘sink or swim’ when we were growing up, we took that seriously because they were serious.” Mussard contends that if he had been born on a big ranch and had lots of money to fund his businesses, he would have missed out on a key component that’s driven his achievements. “If I didn’t have to figure it out, if it was just there for me, I wouldn’t have learned how to be the best in the beef industry,” says Mussard. “I wouldn’t have learned what’s the best. And so I’m so grateful for that. We’ve had to figure out how to compete with every other business.” These life lessons Mussard has accumulated in ranching, combined with his penchant for perfectionism, led to the creation of two other business ventures:
