Christian Eiroa

Christian Luis Eiroa is a Honduran-American cigar maker, the founder and president of the CLE Cigar Company and former president of Camacho Cigars. Born into one of Honduras's most prominent tobacco-growing families, he is widely credited with driving the popularity of Corojo tobacco and the full-bodied cigar movement of the 2000s.

He built Camacho into a worldwide brand before its 2008 sale to Oettinger Davidoff, and in 2012 launched CLE (named for his initials) along with the Asylum Cigars brand.

Family and education

The Eiroa family left Cuba after Castro's revolution and emigrated to Honduras in 1963, settling in the fertile Jamastrán Valley. Christian grew up on the family's farms and began learning the trade as a child, but initially pursued business studies, earning a master's in international business administration before joining the family company.

Camacho Cigars

In 1995 the family acquired the Camacho brand, and Christian took over management of Caribe Imported Cigars, experimenting with new blends. The 2000 launch of Camacho Corojo, built around Cuban-seed Corojo tobacco cultivated by his father, became a major success and helped define the full-bodied category. Eiroa has said the brand enjoyed an 82-month streak of consecutive sales growth from 2001 until its 2008 sale to Oettinger Davidoff.

CLE and later ventures

After remaining with Camacho through its transition, Eiroa founded the CLE Cigar Company in 2012 with partner Tom Lazuka, with operations in Danlí, Estelí and Miami. He also runs the Asylum Cigars brand and the Eiroa line, and continues to manage the family's Honduran factory and farms, emphasizing Corojo tobacco and a "Why not?" approach to blending.