In July of this year, AGANORSA began shipping the AGANORSA Leaf Arsenio. The Arsenio is a cigar named after Arsenio Ramos. Ramos was a longtime blender for Casa Fernandez, now AGANORSA Leaf. Before that, Arsenio worked 40yrs in Cubatabaco. Terence Reilly, Vice President of Aganorsa Leaf, credits Arsenio for much of Aganorsa’s signature flavor and…
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The Daughters of the Wind Robusto was originally released in 2018. It was the first sub $10.00 ($9.25 MSRP) in the Casdagli Cigars lineup. Since it’s release the Pony, as the DotW Robusto is affectionately known, has undergone some changes. First, it is no longer a sub $10.00 cigar. The MSRP is now $11.00. The…
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Espinosa Cigars is the cigar manufacturer that I credit with giving me that “oh, I get it now” moment with cigars. I just have not had the opportunity to smoke a lot of Espinosa in the last few years. The exception to that is the 601 La Bomba Warhead series. This seems to be one…
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James and Nick welcome Mo Maali, owner and founder of Patina Cigars back to the show. We discuss the current economy, its impact on the cigar industry, and how it affects cigar releases and how Patina approaches releases. Mo talks about the Oro de Nicaragua, which factory it came from, and why it was released…
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Just a little over three years ago FUMA Cigar Social was under different management. When the original owners wanted to sell, they approached two of their regular customers and asked if they would be interested in taking over the business. Chuck and Marquis said, “Yes.” Three years later and FUMA Cigar Social has made some…
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Nimmer Ahmad of Valacari Cigars returns to Simply Stogies Podcast to chat with James and Nick about what he has been up to. Nimmer talks about his process of validating blends and the time it takes to make sure they’re ready for release. He also discusses his latest release, the Astronomia. The Astronomia is the…
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At the end of July, 2023, Lou Cross decided to start his own brand of cigars; he called it Lure Cigars. A play on his (and his late father’s) name. What began as an homage to his father who had passed just the month before, soon turned in to something much more. Lure Cigars is…
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James and Nick welcome Eddy Guerra, Head of Brand Marketing for Davidoff Cigars, to the show. Eddy tells the story of how he got in the industry and the type of people that he interacted with. Eddy’s goal was to eventually work for Davidoff, but his journey had a few stops along the way. Eddy…
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James and Nick sit down with Chef Rick Rodriguez and his daughter Sara, of West Tampa Tobacco Co. We discuss what they’ve learned since starting West Tampa Tobacco. From what they thought being prepared looked like, to wearing different hats for the company, to learning to delegate. Sara discusses the stories that she’s making, the…
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James and Nick sit down for an in-depth discussion about business and entrepreneurship with Al Micallef, founder of Micallef Cigars, and his daughter and head of marketing, Amanda Micallef. The conversation begins with Al discussing how he had an interest in business from a young age and how he parlayed that into where he is…
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Stay smoky, friends.