James Giehm

Crowned Heads and Drew Estate Announce Paniolo Especiale 2020

CROWNED HEADS PARTNERS WITH DREW ESTATE! For the second year in a row, Crowned Heads is partnering with Drew Estate to produce the annual “Paniolo Especiale” Limited Edition cigar. This cigar will be exclusive to Hawaii and limited to a production run of 4,000 cigars. The Paniolo Especiale 2020 features a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, Mexican…

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Episode 19: An Interview with The Cigar Madame

Congratulations to Chris Hansen, Gary Mehrl, and Caleb McReynolds on winning the Pupperdor.com contest. A big “thank you” to Pupperdor.com for supporting Simply Stogies Podcast and sponsoring such a great giveaway! I had the opportunity to sit down and chat with @thecigarmadame (Coco Maria) an avid aficionada, cigar enthusiast, great Sister of the Leaf, and…

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ISABELA Time-Traveler 2019

ISABELA Releases Time-Traveler in Time for the Holidays! Isabela Cigar Company released their limited Isabela Time-Traveler on December 13! Just in time for Christmas! This popular offering boasts “…eight distinct seamless transitions of changing flavor profiles…” and a limited production run due to the availability of the tobacco and because the tobacco is aged for…

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Episode 18: An Afternoon Chat with Pete Johnson of Tatuaje Cigars

During an AMA/Virtual Cut&Light for SimplyStogies.club with Pete Johnson of Tatuaje Cigars, I get an opportunity to have a three hour conversation with Pete. We talk about everything from his cigar journey starting in a strip club, to how he looks at the FDA’s overregulation, and everything in between. Pete was generous with his time…

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Episode 17: AMA/Virtual Cut&Light with Jon Huber of Crowned Heads Cigars

Jon Huber from Crowned Heads cigars joins James and some of the members from simplystogies.club for an AMA. Jon discusses his cigar journey, how he got started in the business, and where he sees the future of the business. Jon also talks about what inspires him and finding the reason for cigars to exist. We…

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Episode 16: A Conversation with Jeremy Casdagli of Casdagli Cigars

I sit down with Jeremy Casdagli of Casdagli Cigars, formerly Bespoke Cigars, live from the Clayton in Chicago, Illinois. Jeremy and I discuss his cigar journey, how and why he started Casdagli Cigars, the name change from Bespoke to Casdagli, his family history and how that has influenced him, how he reacts to bad reviews…

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Episode 15: The Hobby Within the Hobby

James begins this episode with several big announcements! James announces interviews with Jeremy Casdagli of Casdagli Cigars and Pete Johnson of Tatuaje Cigars. He also announces a contest with pupperdor.com. Details and rules of the contest are found in this episode! Thank you to Pupperdor.com for sponsoring this contest. Have you ever wondered why there…

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TATUAJE MONSTER LINE HISTORY AND OVERVIEW

HISTORY OF THE LINE It would be impressive if any avid cigar smoker had not heard of Tatuaje’s annually released Monster series of cigars.  Sometime around 2008, Tatuaje’s bossman, Pete Johnson got the novel idea to start a line of stogies based on classic monsters from the film and literature’s horror genre.  They debuted the…

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Tobacco 21

THE WAR ON TOBACCO Everyone needs something to do; a purpose.  We find our self-worth and identity, to one degree or another, from our occupations and contributions to our employers, families, and communities.  Plumbers need clogs to clear and lines to lay, computer folks need systems to build and software to code, and lawmakers need…

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Episode 14: AMA w/Nick Melillo of Foundation Cigars

I get the opportunity to sit down and chat with Nick Melillo, master blender, and founder of Foundation Cigars for a SimplyStogies.club AMA/Virtual Cut & Light via Zoom Meeting. We had a fantastic conversation about Nick’s cigar journey, how he got started, what he’s learned, and where he’s going. We discussed a slew of topics…

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