L'Atelier (French for "the workshop") is Pete Johnson's second marca, launched in 2012 as L'Atelier Imports, a sister company to Tatuaje rather than a Tatuaje line extension. Johnson started it with his brother K.C. and friends including Dan Welsh (Surrogates). The flagship LAT sizes were a wink at Cohiba Behike vitolas, pigtail caps and all, but the blend is Nicaraguan, not Cuban. Cigar Aficionado put an L'Atelier in its Top 25 of 2013 (No. 12). Later pillars include La Mission, Selection Speciale, Côte d'Or, Maduro, and the Surrogates series.
Almost everything is rolled at My Father in Estelí with the García family, the same factory that made Tatuaje famous. The L'Atelier signature (except Surrogates) is Sancti Spíritus, a finicky Criollo × Pelo de Oro hybrid grown in Ecuador and used as wrapper or in the blend. That leaf, plus wine-world naming, is how the workshop is supposed to feel different from tattoo-shop Tatuaje while sharing construction DNA.
On Cigar Nexus, L'Atelier is Pete Johnson + My Father, not an Altadis or STG name. Map it next to Tatuaje. Cuban Behike comparisons are visual homage only.
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