Do you have questions about how your cigars are rolled? We’ve all heard “200 hands” touch your cigar, but what does that look like? Nick Syris of LH Cigars and Filipe Leon of Tabacos de Costa Rica walk us through their factory and show us how the tobacco is sorted, what a pilón is, and…
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Coming in at number 10 of our top 10 list is the Club Mareva Jure from Casdagli Cigars and is dedicated to the memory of Marko Bilic’s father. The Jure was rolled at IGM Cigars in Costa Rica. It features an Ecuadorian Claro Colorado wrapper over undiscolsed binder and fillers. Released in July of 2023,…
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A few months before the 2023 PCA Trade Show I was fortunate enough to sit in on an online cut & light with guest Jeremy Casdagli. It was three amazing hours of sampling Casdagli cigars and hearing numerous capturing tales from the man himself. I can listen to those stories over and over again. They…
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Tim brings James and Nick back to the microphone to talk about the latest episode of Simplystogies Podcast with Charlie Minato of Halfwheel. In this hour the tree try to cover as many talking points as possible as Tim gets made fun of, James rants, and Nick points out many great points. It’s another hour…
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If you are familiar with All Saints Cigars, good; if not, you should be. The self-stylized Holy Trinity, consisting of friends Micky Pegg, Marty Corbon, and Frank Layo, started in 2019. Their first cigar, the Solamente, was rolled in 2017 but not released until 2019. The Solamente was a pre-release and was not put into…
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James and Nick welcome Charlie Minato, co-founder of Halfwheel.com. The trio discuss how Halfwheel came to be, when Charlie started smoking cigars, as well as find out how they review cigars. Charlie details their review process and if there is such a thing as a 100pt cigar. Charlie gives us his expert opinions on the…
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Each year Crowned Heads releases the Las Calaveras line of cigars. They began releasing Las Calaveras in 2014 as a way to honor and remember those in the cigar industry who passed away the previous year. It has become a release that I look forward to every year. Some are better than others, but I…
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Tim, James, and Nick are back again in another after show to talk about the latest episode of Simply Stogies Podcast with Nimmer Ahmed of Valacari Cigars. The trio talk about a new brand “Lure Cigars”, a collaboration between a new brand owner, Lou Cross and Nimmer. Discussions pursue into the hardships of creating a…
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On this episode, James and Nick welcome Nimmer Ahmed of Valacari Cigars. The trio find out about Nimmer’s background: how and where he started his cigar journey, how Valacari came to be, and how he chose the name “Valacari.” Nimmer has great insights into the manufacturing side of the cigar industry, as well as on…
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I once again find myself reviewing a cigar that has its beginnings pre-2018. (For those not in the know, 2018 was the year I started smoking cigars.) This time, it’s the Tatuaje Lomo de Cerdo, or “pork loin” in Spanish. The original Tatuaje Pork Tenderloin was released in 2010. Of the original release, I have…
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Stay smoky, friends.