ABOUT

Who is andredias95?

My name is André Bornecrantz Dias, I’m an cigar aficionado based in Gothenburg, Sweden. I started enjoying cigars in 2013 when I turned 18 and got gifted a cigar by a friend.

The first cigars I had was not at all to my liking and one would think that would scare anyone away from cigars. But not me, I was intrigued to figure out why has cigars been around for so many years and why was it seen as this luxury product? So I decided to try myself through different ones. I started with one each month, but soon it escalated to one a week, just because I wanted to try new ones each time to find the one I would really like.

To keep track of what I tried I took photos of each cigar and published them on Instagram (@andredias95), there a lot of fellow cigar interested people gave me suggestions on other cigars to try. One of them even invited me to join on a trip to Copenhagen, Denmark. Because they where hosting a cigar event called Big Smoke Copenhagen 2014. During this event I got to meet a lot of interesting people from the cigar industry and fellow cigar entusiasts. This definitively was the beginning, a seed was set and soon the interest would explode into something bigger.

My friend who had invited me to the event later on even offered me a job in the cigar shop he worked at in our hometown of Gothenburg, the shop was called Mellgrens Fine Tobacco (AB Eric Mellgren Snus och Tobaksfabrikanter) and was the oldest still going cigar shop in Sweden from 1823. I started to work there in September of 2014.

The time flies by and we are in autumn 2015 and I got elected to become the Cigarmaster of Gothenburg Cigar Society, a titel grand titel just to keeping people informed on what happened in the cigar world and teaching people about cigars in the region. I even started writing reviews in June 2016 and people grew to appreciating them. Later that year I got elected to be the President/Chairman of the cigar society, and I got the chance to join Cigar Journal Magazines Tasting Panel as the third member from Sweden. This was a big achievement as a 20 year old, but I knew this would lead to more interesting and experiential knowledge.

The next spring (2017) I got the honor to represent Sweden as the Swedish Ambassador for Cigar Rights of Europe and for Cigar Smoking World Championship. Later that very same year I step down as the President of the local cigar club and hand over my position to someone who wanted to save it all though it didn’t last long before it got shut down completely. Then in June of 2017 I decided to finally start my cigar blog after getting the push from the legend José Blanco to start writing about cigars.

In March of 2021 sadly Mellgrens Fine Tobacco closed down indefinitely, due to the pandemic and I haven’t worked in the cigar industry since, other than still being part of the Cigar Journal Magazine’s Tasting Panel.

On September 30th 2022 the website hit 100k views, a great milestone. (39.435 visitors from 159 different nations world wide in total at that point).

PUBLICATIONS & PRESS

SVT OPINION – ”Exponeringsförbud för cigarrförsäljning leder till butikernas konkurs.” I wrote a article about the devastation it would be if they would ban shops to be able to display cigars. Sadly only in Swedish.

Cigar Journal Magazine – You find the introduction of myself joining the Tasting Panel in Cigar Journal 1/2017 page 40 & I’m mentioned in an article in 3/2019 page 142-145 (also getting a fullpage portrait featured). In issue 4/2022 page 10 I’m one of twenty people that get mentioned and get this cigar blog published as a trusted and knowable source. Check out my fellow contributors and tasting panel members also getting mentioned here.
(All rights are limited to Cigar Journal Magazine).

Cigar-Journal-3-2019-page142-145 Download

Principle Cigars – Mentioned in the Box/Tin/Poster Art of the upcoming (Unreleased) “The Player” Gibson Companion – Cocktail Collection from Principle Cigars.

Other websites mentions

Cigarren – Episode 87 André Bornecrantz Dias. I was the guest on the oldest Swedish cigar podcast that was published April 25th 2017, on a trip Cigar Journal had put together for their Tasting Panellists to Florence, Italy. (Podcast is in Swedish)

Halfwheel‘s “THE CONSENSUS 2021 LISTS” I got mentioned as one of the reviewers/publications they had used to compile their list.

Cigar Journal & Light Em Up featured me as a joint guest on their show on January 5th 2022:

“Welcome to the first live show of the year, with our panel of well-seasoned cigar industry professionals, media and trusted palates: Barry Beliveau from The Cigar Authority, John McTavish from Developing Palates and André Bornecrantz Dias from the Cigar Journal tasting panel and independent author.

We will talk all things cigar reviews, ratings, the top lists and best cigar of the year”

Cigar Journal & Light Em Up featured me as a joint guest on their show on September 21th 2022

“One of the most important and biggest tobacco trade shows of the year is in the books.

We’re back after the 2022 InterTabac in Dortmund.

Together with an industry panel, we want to discuss the state of the cigar industry and look in the crystal ball for the remainder of 2022, live at the Light ’em Up Lounge, hosted by Reinhard Pohorec.

Delighted to welcome Ferdinand Piet, André Bornecrantz Dias, Nick Hammond, Jose Blanco and Jorge Tapies with us today!

Welcome one and all, thank you for joining us.”

Fuente & Meerapfel Present: Meet The Professor – André Dias. I was the honoured guest and interviewed on October 2nd 2022.

Halfwheel‘s “THE CONSENSUS 2022 LISTS” I got mentioned as one of the reviewers/publications they had used to compile their list. [2023-01-23]

Smokers Planet published an article “Kleinlagel remains on the road to success and feels confirmed” ranking the German cigar distributors Kleinlagel’s portfolio of cigars that had been mentioned in reviewers and publications top 25 lists of 2022. I got mentioned a few times as I seemed to have ranked a few of their cigars last year. (Site is in german, but can easily be translated with google translate). [2023-01-23]