ICC Abroad · Madrid, Spain · October 2026
It was our honor to be personally invited by Nelson Alfonso to be part of the Selected Tobacco grand opening celebration in Madrid, Spain. Andrew and Diana traveled from Industrial Cigar Co. in Frisco, Texas, to see the place where Nelson’s passion for tobacco, design, and family has taken physical form.
We wouldn’t have missed it for the world. Our only regret was that we couldn’t bring everyone along.
Surrounded by people who had traveled from across the globe, including some of the most influential figures in the cigar industry, we felt the significance of the invitation. We know Nelson’s work through Atabey, through the cigars we share with our guests, and through our own relationship with Selected Tobacco. Madrid gave us the opportunity to see how much stands behind those experiences.
What stayed with us was the care. It was present in the rooms where tobacco rests, in the designs displayed behind glass, and in the way Nelson spoke about his family. By the end of the weekend, that care felt deeply personal.
At 8 a.m., the story began with tobacco
Saturday’s tour began early, taking us through the factory and the processes that lead toward a finished cigar. For anyone who enjoys Atabey or Byron, walking through these rooms adds a new layer of appreciation. The cigar in your hand is the result of decisions made long before you ever see its band.
Selected Tobacco, founded by Nelson Alfonso and known for Atabey, Byron, Alfonso, and Bandolero, has brought tobacco work, aging, design, and hospitality together in its Madrid facility. In its earlier announcement, the company described the project as Spain’s first premium cigar factory in more than 50 years. The grand-opening weekend gave us a chance to experience that ambition firsthand.
The leaf-aging and fermentation rooms
The rooms dedicated to tobacco preparation made the process tangible. Leaves have their own stages of development before they become part of a cigar, and the facility gives that work dedicated space. Published details of the Madrid operation also describe French oak barrels used to rest wrapper and filler tobaccos.
Standing in these rooms, we were reminded how much of cigar making happens quietly. There is no finished box to admire yet. There are leaves, time, and the responsibility of knowing when to move forward. The attention given to those stages says a great deal about the standard Nelson expects from the finished cigar.
The growing rooms: researching what comes next
Another part of the tour brought us into the controlled growing environment, where tobacco plants support experimentation and development. This is a different stage of the work from leaf aging: living plants are being studied for the tobacco of the future.
As explained during our visit, the indoor conditions allow growing and research cycles to move much faster than the outdoor calendar permits—compressing work described to us as taking roughly three years under regular outdoor conditions into about one year indoors. That comparison concerns the research and growing cycles; it does not mean a tobacco plant ordinarily takes three years to mature.
For us, this was one of the clearest expressions of Nelson’s forward-looking approach. While cigars are resting elsewhere in the building, plants are growing here. He is giving attention to what people will enjoy today and investing in what may become possible years from now.
Inside the two-story cedar humidor
The two-story humidor was unforgettable. Spanish cedar surrounded us, with walkways opening onto the space below. Our photographs capture its scale, but being there gave us a fuller sense of how deliberately it had been designed.
At the ends of the humidor stood bronze replicas of the main door to Nelson’s family tomb. That detail gave the room an emotional weight we hadn’t expected. In a building dedicated to the future of his work, he had made room for the people whose memory continues to guide it.
The larger facility also includes dedicated rooms for cigar aging. That distinction matters: preparing and aging tobacco leaves is one stage; allowing a rolled cigar to mature is another. Seeing the spaces devoted to both helped us understand how central patience is to Selected Tobacco’s approach.
A family promise, carried into every creation
During the visit, Nelson spoke about meeting his grandfather 36 years ago and the promise he made to continue his legacy through Byron. Hearing that story inside the place he has built gave it a particular weight. The family references around us became easier to understand.
Nelson’s background as a photographer and surrealist painter is visible in the way he approaches his creations. He considers how a cigar is presented, how a space feels, and how a small detail can carry a memory. His artistic instincts and his commitment to tobacco meet throughout the building.
We were also welcomed into his office. After seeing the rooms dedicated to tobacco and the collection of designs, stepping into his working space brought us closer to the person behind them. It was a privilege to see where those ideas take shape.
The family legacy Nelson described was visible throughout the place he had built.
Finding a piece of ICC in the showroom
The showroom brought together Nelson’s creations, giving us a chance to appreciate his work across different projects. Among them was the special Selected Tobacco project he designed for Industrial Cigar Co.
Seeing our own connection represented in that collection was emotional. Back home, our guests experience these cigars through conversation, education, and time spent together in the lounge. Here in Madrid, we could see the creative care behind the work we have the privilege of sharing.
Industrial Cigar Co. is home to the world’s first Atabey Private Lounge. We hold that relationship close. Being invited into Nelson’s facility, hearing his family story, and seeing the ICC project among his creations deepened our appreciation for that honor.
A Spanish table, then an evening to remember
After the tour, lunch at Asador 7 de Julio gave us time to take it all in. Cider, tapas, tortilla, and wine filled the table, followed by café cortado and chupitos. It was a generous Spanish meal and a welcome chance to enjoy the company of the people sharing the weekend with us.
For the gala, the warehouse had been transformed into an event space. The celebration began at 8 p.m., with around 200 guests gathered to recognize Nelson, his family, and the project they had brought to life.
Tapas, jamón, chipirones, and wine set the evening in motion. Byron Venecianos and Atabey Ritos accompanied the celebration. Flamenco dancers, singers, and Spanish guitar brought the room to life, while Nelson’s attention to presentation continued at the tables: even the plates carried his design, with logos and gold accents.
Dinner followed with tomato and burrata salad with jamón, solomillo, and a beautifully presented cheesecake served in a box. After a morning spent seeing his care for tobacco and design, we could recognize that same care in the evening’s hospitality.
What we brought home from Madrid
The most moving part of the evening came with the recognition of Nelson’s family legacy and his gratitude to his wife for her support throughout the journey. After everything we had seen, that acknowledgment felt especially meaningful. A project of this scope carries the work and support of a family as well as the vision of its creator.
We came home with a deeper understanding of the cigars we share and the people behind them. For us, the Madrid opening was a defining moment: an opportunity to see Nelson’s commitment to tradition alongside the research, spaces, and ideas he is building for the future.
At Industrial Cigar Co., our purpose is to create community by providing the finest cigar experience to people of all levels. Knowing these stories helps us fulfill that purpose with greater care. Whether someone is discovering Atabey for the first time or returning to a favorite Byron, we now have more of that journey to share.
Nelson, thank you for personally inviting us, for welcoming us into your work, and for allowing ICC to have a place in it. Congratulations to you, your wife, and your family on this extraordinary achievement. It was an honor to be there.
Read our earlier perspective on Nelson Alfonso’s commitment at PCA 2025.
About this story: An Industrial Cigar Co. recap of Andrew and Diana’s visit to the Selected Tobacco grand-opening celebration in Madrid, Spain, in October 2026. Photographs and tour videos supplied by ICC. Facility background is supported by Selected Tobacco’s announcement published by the Premium Cigar Association; personal recollections and tour explanations come from ICC’s account of the visit.
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Industrial Cigar Co. Featured in the 2026 PCA Annual