Our Story - Elite Tobacco Company

Tradition sets the standard. Production keeps it repeatable.

Elite Tobacco Company develops and distributes Dominican-origin tobacco products, working with wholesale buyers and international distributors across three product categories and six collections.

The company's expertise spans premium cigar brands and mechanized production, and its commercial focus is on retailers, distributors and international partners who need Dominican origin with consistent, repeatable product.

Consistency is the commitment: a product should taste the same in March as it did in November, and arrive as it was confirmed.

Curing barn and tobacco field at dusk in El Seibo — El Seibo — fields and curing

Open curing barn beside the tobacco field at dusk in El Seibo — El Seibo, Dominican Republic

Cured leaf prepared and handled before classification — Leaf handling

Cured leaf measured during classification — Classification

Leadership

“As a manufacturer, I don’t seek compliments. I seek honesty.”

More than four decades in the tobacco industry

Juan Manuel Nolasco Avelino

CEO, Élite Tobacco Company

Juan Manuel Nolasco Avelino is a Dominican tobacco executive and manufacturer with more than four decades of experience in the premium and machine-made cigar industry. Throughout his career, he has held senior leadership positions with Imperial Tobacco and Altadis, including serving as General Manager of Premium Cigars. He also led the development of La Romana Machine Operations, one of the world’s largest machine-made cigar operations.

Today, Juan Manuel leads Élite Tobacco Company in the Dominican Republic, producing premium and machine-made cigars for international markets. Drawing on decades of manufacturing and commercial experience, he guides the company’s commitment to quality, consistency, scalability, and the continued refinement of every product it creates.

His philosophy is rooted in honesty and continuous improvement. Rather than seeking compliments, he values sincere customer feedback—what people enjoy, what they do not, and what could be improved. He believes no blend or smoking experience is beyond refinement and that every thoughtful opinion can inspire innovation and bring a cigar one step closer to excellence.

Chronology

How the work is ordered.

El Seibo

ETC operates from El Seibo in the eastern Dominican Republic, where climate and soil shape what the fields produce.

The fields

Tobacco is grown seasonally. Decisions taken in the field determine what each leaf can become later.

Production

Cigars, wraps and natural leaf are produced for wholesale partners, with mechanized production where consistency matters most.

Export

Finished orders are prepared for international partners according to what each destination requires.

Core principles

What the company holds to.

Quality

Material that does not meet the standard for a product is not used in it.

Authenticity

Dominican origin, stated plainly, without borrowed heritage.

Choice

Eight collections across handmade and specialty production.

Community

The company’s work is bound to El Seibo and the people who grow there.

Responsibility

Adult audiences only. No health, wellness or reduced-risk claims.

Innovation

Modern production applied where it makes a product more consistent.

Tobacco artistry

Judgement in the barn and on the grading table.

Rooted in El Seibo.