L'Atelier

L’Atelier Cigars is a boutique brand founded in 2012 by Pete Johnson, best known for Tatuaje, along with his brother K.C. Johnson and a small team of friends and industry veterans. The name “L’Atelier” (French for “the workshop”) reflects the brand’s experimental, hands‑on approach to blending, done in partnership with the Garcia family at My Father Cigars in Nicaragua.

Brand identity and roots

• L’Atelier sits under L’Atelier Imports Inc., the company Johnson created to release both premium and value‑oriented cigars, with L’Atelier as the flagship line.

• The brand positions itself as a “premium‑but‑accessible” workshop where Johnson and friends tinker with Nicaraguan tobaccos to create Cuban‑leaning profiles that feel more refined and aromatic than over‑the‑top power smokes.

Style, blend, and factory

• All L’Atelier cigars are rolled at the My Father factory in Nicaragua, sharing the same epicenter of production as Tatuaje, making construction and consistency a major selling point.

• The house style tends to be medium to medium‑full, with an emphasis on Cuban‑style richness, spice, cream, and sweetness, often built around Nicaraguan long‑filler plus one or more special leaves such as Mexican San Andrés or Sancti‑Spiritus‑type hybrids.