Crafting Freemason identity through cigars began as a way to raise money for a scholarship. Ten years later, Fouad Kashouty and his wife Romy aim to make Hiram & Solomon Cigars a household name. Although he’d been smoking cigars for a long time, Kashouty had no connection to the cigar industry other than knowing what he liked to smoke. He talked to Cigar Life Guy about his start in the cigar business, Freemasonry’s best-kept secret, and how cigar life and Freemasonry go perfectly together.
First Premium Cigar Experience
Cigar Life Guy: Tell me about your first premium cigar experience.
Fouad Kashouty: My first cigar was over forty-two years ago when I graduated high school. My uncle handed me a Romeo and Juliet Churchill, I believe- a Cuban cigar. That was my first encounter with a cigar and first love.
Cigar Life Guy: Tell us how you got started in the cigar industry. What did you do before, and how does it help inform what you do with your current business?
Fouad Kashouty: I used to be in the retail business- convenience stores and gas stations—which I still own. I had no connection to the cigar industry besides smoking cigars and knowing what I liked and didn’t like. The idea came out in the Masonic lodge I belong to, and that’s why the emblem has a Masonic theme. We needed money for a scholarship, and I came up with the idea to roll a thousand cigars, put our logo on it, and sell it to the brethren. So we grew from there to be where we are right now. This year, we celebrated our tenth anniversary, and we’re in over 800 lounges in the United States and 30 countries worldwide.
Freemason Secrets
Cigar Life Guy: Your company’s origin comes from the Brotherhood of Freemasons. Why a Freemason cigar?
Fouad Kashouty: The idea came to fund a scholarship at our Masonic lodge—to give back to the community. As Masons, we always love stuff that carries our symbols, whether pin, sword, or hat. The market had no cigars that carried our symbols, so we thought it was a good idea. A premium cigar that matches the caliber of the brethren within the fraternity and carries our symbol- something that we could smoke with pride when we exchanged ideas.
If we go into Freemason history in the Middle Ages, the 1700s, and the 1800s, only the rich and powerful joined the Freemasons. That’s not the case at the moment. Back then, the powerful and the rich smoked cigars and drank cognac, so that tradition entwined with the masonic tradition and carried on. We always say we didn’t invent Masonry; we didn’t invent the cigar, but as a company, Hiram & Solomon Cigars has mastered combining them.
Cigar Life Guy: The Freemasons are known for being secretive. What are some common misconceptions about the Freemasons, and what do you want the world to know about the Freemasons?
Fouad Kashouty: Our biggest secret is we have no secrets (laughs). Our secret only comes with how we recognize each other by what degree (of Mason) we are. From the beginning, Freemasons elected not to respond to conspiracy theories, which in one way made it more secretive, but I assure you there are no secrets. It’s a fraternal organization that always has community service in mind. Let’s remember the Shriners Hospitals. There are over 22 hospitals that are free for anybody who cannot pay. Shriners are Masons. You have to belong to what we call a Blue Lodge, where you earn your first degrees and then become a Shriner if you elect to do so. So it’s a lot of charitable work. It’s about personal growth. We build our temples day by day. There are no secrets.
Freemason Camaraderie in Cigars
Cigar Life Guy: The Freemasons are exclusive to men, but you work closely with your wife. What has that collaboration been like, and how does that help your company include female smokers?
Fouad Kashouty: When we started this company, many people were afraid of smoking our cigars because they assumed a secretiveness about the Freemasons, including women and even men who were not Freemasons. I used to get calls where people asked, “Am I allowed to smoke this cigar if I am not a Freemason”? Some people were either anti-masons or didn’t want to touch the cigar out of respect or lack of understanding of what the Masons were. They felt like they needed permission to smoke it. So we came up with the slogan, “Everyone’s Cigar.” We use two slogans in our company: “Everyone’s Cigar” and “Discover Our Secret.”
My wife and I met through the cigar world. She helped to grow the cigars’ popularity among female smokers. In addition, it would bring the non-masons to the cigar. It’s a cigar with a Masonic theme, but it’s “every level for everyone.“ Whether it’s Shriner Hospital, community events, or the Coast Guard, part of the proceeds from our cigars go to charity. The last charitable project that we did was Cigars for Warriors. We were the first company to have the logo on our cigar, and we donated 100% of the proceeds from that cigar to Cigars for Warriors.
Cigar Life Guy: The Masons are about community and brotherhood, much like the cigar world. What is your favorite aspect of the cigar community, and how does it connect to the Freemasons?
Fouad Kashouty: Both of them have brotherhood and sisterhood in mind. People who belong to the Freemasons and the cigar community are highly educated, and I don’t mean formal education like college. I mean more enlightened. They are more receptive to learning new things. Most of them are self-made. I enjoy the self-discipline of both worlds. They go perfectly together.
Hiram & Solomon Cigars
Cigar Life Guy: You moved your production from Nicaragua to the Dominican. What was the reason for the change, and how are Hiram & Solomon Cigars different?
Fouad Kashouty: It was mostly logistical. We used to roll our cigars at the Plasencia factory, but due to logistical issues, they couldn’t keep up with the production of our cigars.
We moved our production to the Dominican Republic to make it easier for us, especially with the production of the boxes and bands. The cigars we copied 100% from the cigars we made in Nicaragua. Plasencia released all the blends and tried to improve them. We believe we did. We changed the look of the boxes and the bands to show the new way we were going.
Cigar Life Guy: What’s next for Hiram & Solomon Cigars?
Fouad Kashouty: We plan to offer cigar blends that satisfy most smokers. You can’t satisfy everybody. Instead, be creative. Be accessories. We want to become a household brand for cigars.
Cigar Life Guy: Have we missed anything? Please tell us anything else you’d like the cigar world to know.
Fouad Kashouty: Enjoy cigars! Not only from our brand. There are so many beautiful cigars in the world. Enjoy all of them. But avoid getting stuck with one brand or one size. Instead, try all of them.
Follow Fouad on Facebook and Twitter and check out the latest from Hiram & Solomon Cigars here.
Photo credit: Hiram & Solomon Cigars