A NASA Employee, Omar de Frias’ has launched his own line of Cigars. Omar who dreamt of becoming a basketball player, who unfortunately could not pursue this dream due to persistent knee injuries. However, his other dream of launching a Cigar line has seen the light of the day and initially he is giving out discount cigar to Cigar Aficionado.
De Frias, who lives in Springfield, will officially launch his Fratello cigar line Friday at W. Curtis Draper cigars shop in Washington D.C.
"I thought I was very good but my knee didn't necessarily support my basketball habit," De Frias joked during a recent phone call.
The 34-year-old subsequently finished college in the U.S. and got his MBA in Puerto Rico. In 2004, he was recruited by NASA and moved to the D.C. area.Then, a couple of years ago, he found himself doing some soul-searching.
"I was looking for something I could rally behind, something that I would feel very passionate about … something that wouldn't feel like work," de Frias said.
Having grown up around cigars all his childhood in the Dominican Republic, de Frias had always been an avid smoker. But that's where his knowledge stopped, so he got to work learning the business.
"Cigars are something that I've always enjoyed, but I had no idea how to make it a business," he said. "It was a bit foreign to me outside of being a consumer. So I basically started taking trips to the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua to figure out what part of the business spectrum I would fit in."
He spent two years developing his brand, from the flavor profile to the angled band — an unusual diagonal, red and white striped branding. He ended with what he calls a "complex" cigar that's made in Nicaragua with three successive flavors: first peppery, then creamier with notes of dulce de leche and cinnamon, and lastly earthy with cedar hints.
The name, Fratello, comes from the Italian word for "brother," a nickname he got in college.
"It has by far exceeded all my expectations," he said. After doing a soft launch of the product at the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association (IPCPR) Annual Convention & International Trade show in July, he lined up 35 stores that wanted to sell his product and who are offering other products like the CAO Cigars and Cohiba Cigars.
He's particularly proud to be selling his cigars at Nat Sherman in New York and at W. Curtis Draper, which has been in the District since 1887.
"It's amazing to be working with those guys," de Frias said. "They just don't carry anybody."
Although he still works at NASA, de Frias hopes the cigar business could eventually become a full-time gig.
"I love my job, and I think NASA's a phenomenal organization," he said. "But this is what I'm looking to do for the rest of my life."
