Like many who make the crossover from cigar consumer to cigar maker, Riste Risteski found himself disappointed by the majority of cigars on the market, many of which happened to be Cuban. So he did something about it: started a brand called Jas Sum Kral. Translated from Macedonian, the name means “I am king,” something which he describes as an easy choice given his Macedonian heritage and being “large in stature and personality.” But more than just create a brand and let someone else do the blending, he wanted to be as hands-on as possible, and after doing his due diligence on which factory would be right for him, partnered with Noel Rojas and his New Order of the Ages (NOA) factory in Estelí, Nicaragua. Risteski sought out to make a cigar that kept the better aspects of Cuban profiles, while also adding his own spin on the flavor and presentation. The first cigar to be released is the Red Knight, which had been sold on the Jas Sum Kral website before hitting stores. With a retail release set for the end of April, Risteski made a handful of changes: first, the name got updated to formally include “Red Knight,” ...
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