Heritage

The heritage of ACC began in 1952 with Jose Aray Marin, on a small tobacco field in Ecuador. Starting with simple planting, harvesting, and local trading, Mr. Aray, seeing the opportunity, began to purchase several agricultural properties in the Province of Guayas in Ecuador. In 1954 Mr Aray then met Guillermo de la Portilla, who had migrated from Cuba, bringing with him generations of Cuban expertise as well as precious varieties of Cubano seed and leaf. Mr. Portilla and the Aray family began planting on their hacienda Paulina, which had the perfect weather, soil and luminosity needed for the growth of first class tobacco. After setting up the necessary infrastructure they began with the highly complex process of planting the new and rare leaf and began to expand the farm rapidly. At this time, inspired by an old lost Cuban cigar brand Miguel de Cervantes, Mr. Aray and Mr. Portilla conceived the Don Cervantes brand that exists today.

The operation then saw the development of Ecuadoran Sumatra, the most sought after premium wrapper leaf in the world. In 1967 Mr. Marin developed Ecuadoran Sumatra as a cross breed of his Cubano and Indonesian Sumatra breeds, resulting in a richer, more flavorful and resilient tobacco, which is now considered the “gold standard” for premium wrapper leaf. Today, an increasing number of leading cigar brands are purchasing Ecuadoran Sumatra for their premium lines or limited edition releases.

After 3 decades of successful leaf trading, the farm had started to amass a small but steadily growing collection of old tobacco. Aware of the importance of this vintage product, ACC began to develop a new line of cigars, released into the market in limited quantities. The huge demand but restriction on volume, forced ACC to start acquiring more aged tobacco from other regions, most notably bales of old Cuban leaf from the Pinar del Rio region in Cuba. This ultimately led to ACC owning one of the finest collections of vintage tobaccos in the world and La Viña was born.

In recent years, with evolving tastes in the cigar market, ACC has experimented with a number of proprietary blends and innovative taste profiles. Vintage tobacco aged in drained sherry barrels, wild tobacco grown by indigenous tribes in Ecuador and variations of wrapper leaf, have lead to the creation of our most modern and innovative brand – PROPIO. Furthermore, in line with today’s growing environmental concerns, the production, design and packaging of PROPIO is eco-friendly. Starting from our own environmentally responsible and sustainable farming methods, factory social responsibility and the use of recycled and locally produced packaging; PROPIO is a brand for the 21st Century.

With three distinct cigar brands complete, ACC has recently turned attention to cigar accessories and related products. After searching for the finest and most skilled craftsmen, ACC has made recent acquisitions to ensure the ongoing production of the finest pockets cases, carry cases and humidors in the world. ACC uses proprietary wood working methodologies that are truly unique in the market place, garnering the envy of all the other wood workers. With seamless, smooth grain wooden cigar tubes, and carry cases, to large dramatic humidors for the serious collector, ACC is fast becoming the undisputed leader in Cigar accessory innovation for true collectors.