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Series of 2026 · Tax PaidNo. 88-4471-JD
BB
Billy Batson
Tobacconist & Humidor Maker
Ybor City · Tampa, Fla.
Hecho a Mano · Superiores
billy.batson@example.com• (813) 555-0147• batson-humidors.example.com• Tampa, Florida

I have blended and sold premium cigars for 16 years and built humidors for 11 of them, about 40 cabinets a year from my Ybor City workshop. I hold a retail floor of 300 open boxes at 65 percent humidity and can tell a dry wrapper by ear. My Spanish cedar supplier still answers my calls, which I count among my finest achievements.

Trade & Manufactory

Proprietor & Master Blender

Batson & Sons Tobacco Co. · Ybor City, Tampa
2015–Present
  • Run a 1,900 sq ft shop with a walk-in humidor holding 300 open boxes; annual revenue grew from $210K to $685K over 9 years.
  • Developed 3 house blends with a Nicaraguan factory; the Batson Reserva line sells roughly 2,400 boxes a year across 14 retail partners.
  • Build 35 to 45 bespoke Spanish cedar humidors a year, priced $850 to $6,200, with a 14-week waiting list.

Head Tobacconist

La Perla del Golfo Cigar Shop · Tampa
2010–2015
  • Managed inventory of 480 SKUs and cut dead stock by 31 percent through quarterly aging-room audits.
  • Trained 6 junior tobacconists on wrapper grading, cut styles, and pairing; 4 went on to run their own counters.
  • Hosted 20 tasting evenings a year averaging 45 guests, lifting weekend sales by 22 percent.

Apprentice Roller & Sorter

Fábrica Hermanos Osuna · Tampa
2008–2010
  • Sorted 5,000 wrapper leaves a week by shade into 8 color grades under a 60-year veteran sorter.
  • Reached a rolling pace of 180 petit coronas a day at a 92 percent pass rate on the draw machine.
Medals of the Expositions
GOLD
1st
Best Cabinet Humidor
Gulf Coast Craft Exposition, 2024
GOLD
1st
House Blend, Robusto Class
Ybor Heritage Fair, 2022
SILVER
2nd
Marquetry & Inlay
Florida Woodworkers Guild, 2019

Arts of the Trade

  • Wrapper grading, 8-shade sort
  • Blend composition & aging schedules
  • Spanish cedar joinery, hand-cut dovetails
  • Humidification systems, ±2 percent RH hold
  • French polish & brass hardware fitting
  • Retail licensing & tobacco tax filings

Letters & Instruction

  • Certified Retail Tobacconist, Tobacconist Guild of the Americas, 2012
  • Fine Furniture Certificate, Hillsborough Trade Institute, 2011–2013
  • Diploma, Ybor City Vocational School, 2008
  • Languages: English & Spanish, both at the counter and in the contract
Garantizado · Warranted Genuine References, ring gauges, and workshop visits furnished upon request · This document certifies the bearer sound of hand and honest of scale.