Back in March of 2024, West Tampa Tobacco Co. announced that they would be debuting the Circle of Life at the 2024 PCA Convention and Trade Show. Unfortunately, beyond seeing it and being able to smoke a pre-release at the trade show, the world had to wait a long 10 months to be able to…
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Master blender Rick Rodriguez seems to be putting in the time and effort it takes to grow West Tampa Tobacco. With the “Red,” they will bring their third regular production cigar to market. They have also produced their first Limited Edition, the Attic, making four blends in just over a year of operation. The Red…
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We, at least all the cool kids, were excited when Rick Rodriguez stepped out on his own with West Tampa Tobacco. Rick worked at General/CAO/STG for over 20 years, helping to blend some well-known and very popular cigars, such as the Flathead and the Amazon Bason, which made quite a splash with its re-release. West…
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My most recent podcast episode features Rick and Sara Rodriguez of West Tampa Tobacco Co. During our conversation, Rick discussed what it was like going from a “corporate kitchen” (CAO) full of “ingredients” (almost any tobacco he wanted to work with), to a “home kitchen” (WTTC) with few ingredients (limited access to tobacco) to work…
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Rick Rodriguez is a name that most enthusiasts and aficionados have heard of. Rick has had a lot of accomplishments over his 22yrs with General Cigar Co. Learning from such Titans in the industry as E.P. Carillo, Daniel Núñez, and Benji Menendez, Rick took over as “Brand Ambassador” for CAO. There he had a string…
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