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BOUTIQUE SPOTLIGHT >Dean Parsons, founder of Epic Cigars, continues as the creative force and public face of the brand under new ownership of Zander-Greg, Inc.
An Epic Return Epic Cigars, founded by Dean Parsons in 2010, made surprisingly swift strides under Parson’s dream to build an international cigar brand. Following its recent purchase by Zander-Greg, Epic is stronger than ever and ready for a bright future. > BY E. EDWARD HOYT III
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pic Cigars returned to the 2019 IPCPR Trade Show under new ownership, having taken a break from last year’s industry gathering in the midst of a company restructuring. Earlier this year, Pasadena-based Zander-Greg Distributors, owner of Nat Cicco Cigars, purchased
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Epic and formed a new partnership with Epic Cigars founder Dean Parsons, who now represents Zander-Greg’s entire premium cigar division. Parsons, who continues as both the creative force behind Epic as well as its public face, is also educating consumers about Nat Cicco and Zan-
der-Greg’s other premium cigar brands at a variety of cigar events in throughout North America and Europe. Zander-Greg owner and founder Arthur Berberian, along with his son Alex, showcased the Epic brand at Zander-Greg’s IPCPR booth, where Parsons greeted a steady stream of familiar faces happy to once again see Epic brands on display. Having enjoyed cigars since his early days in law enforcement, Parsons unwittingly began paving his entry into the cigar industry when he began traveling to the Dominican Republic in 2005 from Turks and Caicos Islands, an idyllic travel destination south east of the Bahamas where he worked in real estate. Fine cigars were non-existent in the islands, though, and as he deepened his appreciation and knowledge of the cigar making process visiting factories and farms, an opportunity came to light. Working with master blender Rolando Villamil in Santiago, Parsons first marketed a Turks and Caicos-branded cigar— Turks Select—to the territory’s resorts and hotels, but by 2009 the booming real estate market there had soured, and he had taken a new job in the Dominican Republic. Living in “cigar country” only deepened his fascination with the art of blending, and in 2010 he trademarked the Epic cigar brand for international sales, and founded his own company, Epic Cigars LLC. Parsons patiently spent several years developing his initial blends with Villamil, culminating with the release in early 2014 of his debut line, the spicy Epic Corojo, followed nearly simultaneously by the rich Epic Maduro Reserva. Both releases are medium-full in strength and body and feature a blend of Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers. The Corojo sports a Dominican binder and Ecuadorian Corojo wrapper, while the Maduro has a Cameroon binder and an Ariparaca wrapper from Brazil. Only months later, Epic Cigars exhibited at its first IPCPR Trade Show, in July 2014, rolling out its third line, the me-
