I was able to catch up with Rick Rodriguez and his daughter, Sara, while visiting the West Tampa Tobacco booth at the 2025 PCA Convention & Trade Show in New Orleans, LA. During our conversation he showed off the Dark Time as the company’s first $30.00 cigar. This was obviously something that they were both…
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If you live outside of Tampa, Florida you may not be familiar with what “Devil Crab Tampa Style” is. I know I certainly had no idea what it was. Thanks to Google’s AI, I now know what it is: “A Devil Crab Tampa Style is a hand-held, football-shaped fritter filled with a spicy crab and…
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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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Tim brings your favorite cigar podcasters back to the microphone once again to dive deeper into the last episode of Simply Stogies Podcast with Rick and Sara Rodriguez of West Tampa Cigar Company. The trio talk about the fun that can be had in the industry when going to events and meeting you favorite cigar…
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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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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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This episode, I am joined by the father and daughter team of Rick and Sara Rodgriguez of West Tampa Tobacco Co. The three of us discuss how Rick started his cigar journey, and who taught him to blend and run a cigar company. We talk about their vision for the West Tampa Tobacco Co. and…
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