Meet Desiree Sylver
Desiree Sylver is a storyteller, creator, and visionary whose work bridges the gap between gripping fiction and powerful personal transformation.
Her writing is rooted in truth, emotion, and lived experience. Whether crafting cinematic worlds filled with ambition, loyalty, and betrayal, or guiding readers through self awareness, healing, and growth, her voice is bold, intentional, and unforgettable.
She believes every experience carries a lesson. Every challenge carries an opportunity. And every person has the power to rewrite their story.
Through her work, Desiree invites readers to not only escape into a story, but to see themselves more clearly within it.
Who is Desiree Sylver?
- Wife
- Mother
- Retired Federal Employee
- Founder & CEO of Drunk Chicken Cigars
- Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership
- 20+Years in Cigars
- Author
Credentials & Highlights
Ph.D.: Organizational Leadership Academic foundation driving strategic brand building
Division Chief: U.S. Coast Guard Acquisition Directorate Surface & Aviation Contracts; licensed Federal Contracting Officer (as Desiree Sylver-Foust)
Founder & CEO: Drunk Chicken Cigars Launched October 2019; Washington, D.C.
20+ Years Cigar Experience From enthusiast to licensed brand owner and blend developer
PCA Trade Show Exhibitor Surpassed 100 accounts at first national show appearance
Minority, Woman & Veteran-Owned Business Triple-certified trailblazer in a historically male-dominated industry
Member: Distinguished Ruffians Cigar Club National cigar community connecting enthusiasts across the country
U.S. Made Cigars: Committed to domestic, hand-rolled production and craftsmanship
As Featured In
Tobacco Business Magazine : “Minding Her Business” (Nov/Dec 2021)
Black Smoke Magazine (Vol. 5 Cover Feature)
Cigar World: Women Crush Wednesday (2025)
Cigar Life Guy
Stogie Press: Mother Clucker Rated 92
Neptune Cigar
Halfwheel: PCA Reports
Cigar Coop: PCA 2021
Cigars, Liquor and More Podcast
Cigar Table Talk Podcast
Distinguished Ruffians
Drunk Chicken Cigars
Desiree Sylver is also the founder of Drunk Chicken Cigars, a boutique premium cigar company built on bold vision, quality craftsmanship, and unforgettable experiences.
What started as a moment, a name, and a feeling evolved into a growing brand recognized for its unique identity, rich blends, and loyal community.
Every cigar tells a story.
Every blend reflects intention.
Every experience is designed to leave a lasting impression.
From the lounge to the page, Desiree creates worlds people want to step into.
– Latest Endeavor
CIGAR WARS
In rooms filled with smoke, silence speaks louder than words.
Cigar Wars is a cinematic journey into a world where power is negotiated in whispers, loyalty is currency, and betrayal is always waiting its turn.
Julian Khan and Marcus Delacroix are not just competitors.
They are architects of empires built on control, influence, and calculated risk.
But in a game where every move is strategic and every weakness is exposed, the question is not who will win.
It is who will survive what it takes to get there
WHAT READERS CAN EXPECT
- Immersive storytelling with vivid, cinematic detail
- Characters that feel real, complex, and unforgettable
- Themes of power, healing, resilience, and transformation
- Stories that challenge perspective and spark self reflection
- A blend of entertainment and deeper meaning
BOOKS SECTION
Cigar Wars is a cinematic crime saga set in a world where luxury meets danger and every move carries consequence.
Inside velvet lounges filled with smoke, ambition, and influence, rival empires rise and fall. Trust is fragile. Loyalty is tested. And power is never given, only taken.
This is more than a story. It is a world where legacy is built, alliances are broken, and every decision has a price.
— Before the Smoke
A Career Built on Federal Authority
Long before she was lighting up trade shows with hand-rolled cigars, Desiree Sylver-Foust was navigating the corridors of federal power. She served as Division Chief for Surface and Aviation Contracts within the U.S. Coast Guard Acquisition Directorate in Washington, D.C. — a senior leadership role in one of the nation’s most complex government procurement environments.
As a licensed Contracting Officer (KO), she held the legal authority to bind the federal government, enter and modify contracts, authorize project activities, and obligate and de-obligate federal funds. The Coast Guard’s appointment of a Contracting Officer represents the highest institutional confidence in that individual’s experience, knowledge, judgment, and integrity — standards Desiree met and exceeded.
It’s a career chapter that rarely surfaces in cigar industry profiles — but it is foundational to understanding who she is. The same rigor, discipline, and eye for organizational structure she brought to federal procurement is exactly what she has applied to building Drunk Chicken Cigars as a “brick house” that will last for generations.
01
The Origin Story
Born from a trip to Florida that Desiree and her fiancé took as cigar enthusiasts, where they stumbled upon skilled rollers and commissioned five custom blends just for personal use. Back home in D.C., their backyard gatherings — surrounded by over a dozen free-range chickens — became the stuff of legend. One Saturday night, a friend spotted the chickens stumbling to roost and declared they looked “drunk.” The name Drunk Chicken was born on the spot.
02
The Philosophy
“Anytime of the Day Cigars” — Drunk Chicken’s motto reflects a core belief that a great smoke shouldn’t be reserved for special occasions. All cigars are hand-rolled in the U.S.A., using Grade A long-leaf tobacco. The blend development process is sensory and intentional: Desiree works from the leaf up, testing every blend against spirits and foods before it earns the Drunk Chicken name.
03
The Full Lineup
The portfolio of “Chicks” spans every palate: the original full-bodied DCO (coffee, spice, earth), medium-full Fat Hen (spice, wood, earth), woodsy Mother Clucker (rated 92 by Stogie Press), Habano-wrapped Egg-Treme, robust Homicidal Hen, earthy and transitional Living the Dream, smooth Sweet Dream, and exclusive White Label releases like Red Phone Booth Sweet — plus limited Henchman offerings. Each band features a real chicken from Desiree’s own farm.
In the Press