With 25 years of experience in the tobacco industry, Eric Piras has one of the highest profiles of this field.
His network is huge and diverse and he’s built strong relationships with the main actors of the cigar world.
Eric has started his cigar career as Regional Director for The Pacific Cigar Company, Habanos’ exclusive distributor in Asia-Pacific and Canada, largely contributing to the building of their brands and the development of the Casa Del Habanos franchise in these regions.
In 1999, he joined Altadis (later acquired by Imperial Tobacco Group) and travelled the globe setting up and strengthening distribution channels for the world’s number one cigar maker.
Eric is the founder of Cigraal Ltd, a company specialised in the distribution, marketing and promotion of cigar brands. www.cigraal.com
Capitalising on his past as a restaurant owner and his wide cigar connections, Eric and his team operate Bertie Cigar Lounge in the heart of Hong Kong, featuring Habanos brands and offering a variety of brands from other terroirs such as Dominican Republic, Honduras and Nicaragua.
www.bertiecigars.com
As part of his vision of promoting cigar, Eric has created the Cigraal Academy, offering training and discovery cigar sessions to professionals and private clients.
Eric has launched his own line of cigar accessories: TOTEM, a tribute to Native American culture, the first who were using tobacco smoke to communicate with the gods and establish peace between tribes.
TOTEM received the Cigar Trophy for 'Best Accessory' in 2023.
www.totem-accessories.com
Eric has created his brand of luxury bundles: CONFIDENCIAAL.
Initially a private blend, these cigars were reserved to friends and family, their secret of excellent quality and reasonable price whispered by those in the know. In response to the enthusiasm of these aficionados, the cigars are now available under the aptly-named brand: Confidenciaal.
Confidenciaal has been nominated for a Cigar Trophy as 'Best Value Honduras' and 'Best Boutique Brand Honduras' in 2023.
www.confidenciaal.com
His wide knowledge extends from tobacco growing to manufacturing, marketing, distributing and ultimately the pleasure of smoking a cigar!
Eric is also proud to be a cigar expert in the Tasting Panel of Cigar Sense (www.cigarsense.com) and a regular writer for Tobacco Asia (www.tobaccoasia.com).
Click on the cover of Cigar Journal below to know all about Eric Piras
