Kristoff

Kristoff was born of a visit its founder had not asked for. In 2004 Rolando Villamil, of the Charles Fairmorn factory in the Dominican Republic, went to Chicago to ask Glen Case and his wife to represent in the United States the cigars he intended to make.

Case worked in finance. He accepted the invitation to come and see the factory, went — and came back with a different idea: to blend his own cigars there, with Villamil overseeing production. He left finance and founded Kristoff the same year.

The factory has since changed its name: Charles Fairmorn became Tabacalera von Eicken, in Santiago. The brand stayed.

The tobacco, for its part, comes from everywhere — Honduras, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, Brazil, Ecuador, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Africa. It is the opposite of a terroir logic, and it is deliberate: what defines a Kristoff is not an origin but a composition.

Tabacalera von Eicken, in Santiago, rolls more than Kristoff alone. It was called Charles Fairmorn, and that name remains that of the manufacturer on other brands. In October 2026, the German retailer Cigarworld offers three that do not belong to Kristoff: Dominican Santiago Selection, a series whose page dates it to 2003, in longfiller; Quisqueya and R.A. Villamil, in medium-filler, the R.A. Villamil Clasico being dated 2007. Kleinlagel, in Bruchsal, is given as the distributor of the first two.

Range Depth

• Kristoff Sumatra

  Wrapper Sumatra · Strength Medium

  One of the house's first ranges. Sumatra wrapper over a blend drawn from several countries — the brand's principle from the start.

  Robusto · Torpedo · Churchill

• Kristoff San Andrés

  Wrapper Mexican San Andrés · Strength Full

  The fuller side, under a Mexican wrapper. It is the range that has most widened the brand's audience.

  Robusto · Toro

• Kristoff Nicaragua

  Wrapper Nicaragua · Strength Medium-Full

  A Nicaraguan range made in a Dominican factory: the brand blends from wherever it likes, and does not hide it.

  Robusto · Toro

• 685 Woodlawn

  Wrapper Multi-origin blend · Strength Medium

  The name is an address — that of Glen Case's childhood home. One of the brand's few ranges to carry a personal reference.

  Robusto · Toro