Pleasure, friendship and sharing...
A True Cigar Lover: Kemal Saatçioğlu
June 2020
We agreed with Kemal Bey, even without meeting him on a subject. If you ask what it is, I am talking about how easy the cigar is, bringing people together, causing unexpected or unexpected acquaintances. Our acquaintance with Mr. Kemal was exactly like this. Meetings on social media and conversations over cigar accessories, which he later created under the KS Design brand, inevitably created a meeting. Fortunately, we already had the opportunity to have a very enjoyable conversation about cigars on a few occasions. Thanks to this interview, he did not hurt us, he shared information about both his own cigar adventure and his new brand, which you will enjoy again.
Kemal Bey, who started his business life after graduating from the university and after graduating from Marine Business and Management, and after working in companies such as Setur, Camper & Nicholson and D-Marin, ended his corporate life by establishing a marina consultancy company with two of his partners, and his acquaintance with tobacco begins in his childhood.
The fact that Kemal Bey's father smokes cigars but heavily pipes means that he was born in a house where, in his own words, good tobacco smells. Clan smokes his first post-childhood pipe, which is in harmony with the smell of Amphora tobaccos and Sunday cigars, in the early years of college. "When we went on vacation to Bodrum one summer with friends, I told a gentleman smoking a pipe at the next table, about my father smoking a pipe. After chatting a little bit about pipe and tobacco, he asked me if you would like to try another pipe next to him. I said that I wanted to start smoking. One day, when I came home from school, I saw that my mother had left my late father's pipe set and a packet of Amphora tobacco on my table.
Even though he smoked pipes for many years, Kemal Bey always kept his relationship with cigars warm with mainly machine-wrapped cigars and the Toscanos he smoked during his years in Italy. The first cigar he smoked and made him a true cigar lover was by accident a rather dry Quintero, kept in the fridge. He said, "I kept it for a good day for a while. I got this cigar from work one summer evening when I was a harbor master in Kuşadası Marina, put a Bueno Vista Social Club on the terrace of my house and drank it with a glass of Gin & Tonic. I remember." He explains in the form. In the same year, before leaving the marina upon the news that the boat was sold to its new owner, his friend, who he had known for many years and who was also the captain of the Belgian Rock Star Jhonny Hallyday; Saying, “The boss won't drink anymore… I know you will value more from the new owner of the boat,” he presents an unopened box of Vega Fina from the humidor of the boat. Since then, Kemal Bey sees himself as a true cigar smoker.
Over the years, his interest in cigars has been increasing. He reads, tries and learns about cigars, which he believes requires a conversation while smoking. He adds the cigar to his other hobbies, such as sailing, sea, antique furniture restoration, and carpentry, which he has accumulated since his childhood. When I asked what he found attractive in the world of cigars and cigars, "I was attracted to the fact that cigar is a hobby that does not have an addiction, where you can reach the real pleasure of tobacco in a ritual. There is also a sacred side to this. I saw that it is still sacred, it is called "medicina", that people are believed to wash spirits and it has a very different place in those societies. Also, the nobility and character of the cigar affect me very much, "he replies.
Kemal Bey, who prefers mostly 6x52 and 6x54 sized cigars, enjoys smoking on the terrace of his house in Bodrum. But it also keeps the pleasure of smoking on the boat in a separate place. Stating that he prefers the New World cigars, he does not disparage the Cuban cigars, but underlines that Cuba sometimes disappoints when considering the price / quality ratio. Nicaragua's place in the New World cigars is also different for itself, as the hard structure of Nicaragua tobacco fits the palate quite well.
When I ask what kind of contribution do you think it contributes to your life while you love and enjoy cigars so much, the answer is "I see smoking cigars as one of the most distinguished, tastiest and most traditional ways of enjoying life. I think it has settled into my life as one of the defining elements. Besides the pleasure, it is also me. The idea of being in the cigar world that I love very much, with my small brand has become a valuable goal for me. This makes me very happy. " is happening.
The cigar accessories brand that Kemal Bey referred to above as "a business with a commercial meaning" was created by himself. After being so familiar with cigars, he combines his own cigar pleasure, his tendency to handicrafts and his carpentry hobby, which he started with his father and grandfather, with his desire to do something related to cigars, and he starts to produce different products in his small workshop. If we don't count the pipes he made for himself, his travel humidor again becomes more than just a hobby, as his lectures and cigar needles he makes for his friends gain more and more attention. Most recently, he sets up a stand for sales in a Christmas market in Çeşme, where he used to live, and the KS Design brand appears there. Today, it creates all kinds of cigar needles, wooden ashtrays and other accessories by using solid wood, which is predominantly olive wood, for cigar lovers both at home and abroad. In order to be more institutionalized, it continues to work on the website that will soon be active.
Finally, I ask him if he has traveled on cigars. "You touched a big wound," he says, "I have not yet found the opportunity, due to the intensity of corporate life and the new dynamics brought about by my own business. During this period, I read more, researched and accumulated more knowledge about cigars. I think it is too much to go with my current level. it will be more enjoyable and meaningful, ”he adds. Meanwhile, Mr. Kemal is about to complete the first level of the International Association of Cigar Sommelier course. He concludes, "I hope I can do a higher level course on site in the Dominican Republic."
I would like to thank Mr. Kemal for both his precious time, for his pleasant conversation, and also for bringing handcrafted and eye-catching accessories to the cigar world.
Enjoyable smoking ...