+600
STUDENTS
+30
COUNTRIES
5
CONTINENTS
50000
TRAINING HOURS
WHY US?
The IACS’ Cigar Sommelier Certificate is the most internationally recognized cigar education degree. IACS faculty members have participated as main speakers in the three major cigar festivals worldwide (Nicaragua, Dominican Republic and Cuba).
Upon successful completion of the Cigar Sommelier programs, you will become a member of the IACS, which will provide access to exclusive material for continuous education in our learning platform, discounts, referral programs for career opportunities and exclusive benefits. You will not only graduate with a certificate that designates you as an expert in the cigar service, you will become a part of a community of BOTLs and SOTLs around the globe that strive to help each other grow.
WHO SHOULD STUDY THIS CERTIFICATION?
LEAD INSTRUCTOR
YAMIR PELEGRINO, PHD
MASTER WINE AND CIGAR SOMMELIER
Yamir was born in Cuba, he holds a degree in Social Sciences, a JD, a Master in Wine and Spirits Education and a PhD in Tourism. He is President of the American Gourmet Academy (AGA), Director of Education of the International Association of Cigar Sommeliers (IACS), Honorary Maître of the Republic of Cuba and former President of the Cuban Club of Sommeliers.
He was awarded “Best Sommelier of 2017” by Excellencias Group and obtained the Gourmand World Cookbooks Award twice (Considered as the Nobel of Gastronomic Literature). Best known as the “Sommelier of the Stars”, Yamir has hosted dinners with more than 110 Michellin Stars being responsible of the wine and cigar pairing.
Yamir is a pioneer of the cigar education, 30 years ago he co-created the Habano Sommelier concept. He has been jury of the International Habano Sommelier Contest and facilitator of cigar training seminars in the Habano Fest in Cuba, Procigar Festival in the Dominican Republic, Hainan Tobacco Festival in China and Puro Sabor Festival in Nicaragua.
COURSES AVAILABLE
CIGAR SOMMELIER
CERTIFICATE
This training covers all the core material to become knowledgeable on cigar service, tasting and pairing. Even though this program is originally designed to hospitality professionals, aficionados are welcome to join, the skills developed in this program can be used either to provide an exceptional service for hospitality or to achieve a new level of enjoyment for cigar enthusiasts. This training is divided in an e-learning prework, a two days classroom session and after class learning materials for a total of approximately 60 hours of study. After training students will be required to send five tasting sheets and successfully complete an online assessment and an oral exam to get the Cigar Sommelier Certificate
History
of tobacco
Conservation
and aging
Cigar
production
- The Taino civilization and the Discovery of tobacco.
- The tobacco in the world.
- Temperature and humidity
- Storage devices
- Aging and maturations
- The tobacco plant
- Varieties of tobacco
- Agricultural process
- Production and manufacturing
Pairing
Concepts
Etiquette and Service
- Principles of pairing
- Spirits tasting
- Rules for spirits pairing
- Coffee pairing- Mixology and cigars
- Beer pairing
- Three course cigar pairing
- Cigar anatomy
- Blends & origins
- Strength
- Terroir
- Cut and lighting
- Etiquette
- Cigar service
MASTER CIGAR SOMMELIER
DIPLOMA
This training covers all the core material to become knowledgeable on cigar service, tasting and pairing. Even though this program is originally designed to hospitality professionals, aficionados are welcome to join, the skills developed in this program can be used either to provide an exceptional service for hospitality or to achieve a new level of enjoyment for cigar enthusiasts. This training is divided in an e-learning prework, a two days classroom session and after class learning materials for a total of approximately 60 hours of study. After training students will be required to send five tasting sheets and successfully complete an online assessment and an oral exam to get the Cigar Sommelier Certificate
History
of tobacco
Conservation
and aging
Cigar
production
History of iconic brands and families:
- Cohiba
- Davidoff
- Fuente
- Plasencia
- Cigar entrepreneurship
- Advanced terroir
- Tobacco biology and genetics
- Advanced agricultural process (Field visit)
- Advanced cigar manufacturing (Factory visit)
- Rolling techniques
Pairing
Concepts
Etiquette and Service
- Whisky & Whiskey
- Brandy, Cognac and Armagnac
- Tequila on the cigar pairing
- Rums of the Caribbean
- Wine pairing
- Port
- Champagne
- Red wines
- Beer pairing
- Coffee & chocolate tasting
- Tobacco and health
- Advanced organoleptic analysis
- Blind tasting