Simply Stogies

Cigars and Coffee Episode 25: CAO America Potomac and Cafe Bustelo

Tim kicks off our new weekly Cigars & Coffee format where we focus on the reviewing the cigar and the coffee we’re drinking. The inaugural episode in this format sees Tim reviewing the CAO America Potomac and Cafe Bustelo. Tim walks you through his CAO America cigar experience and drinks some Cafe Bustelo. If you…

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Cigar Review: The CHC Serie E 5150 from Crowned Heads Really Got Me

The Serie E was, according to Jon Huber, “sonically inspired by the guitar solo ‘Eruption’ from Eddie Van Halen in 1978 [on] the original Van Halen album.” Jon goes on to describe how the cutting, toasting and toasting of the cigar are a metaphor for the bass guitar and drums at the beginning; the majority…

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Episode 62: Chatting with Dan from the Cigar Saver

While at the PCA 2021 Trade Show, I sit down with Dan from the Cigar Saver. The Cigar Saver is a product that, well, saves your cigar. When you find it necessary to step away from your lit cigar, the Cigar Saver allows you to quickly put it out, saving your cigar to be easily…

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Lounge Review: En Fuego Cigars (Henderson, NV) Outshines the Bright Lights of Vegas

While in Las Vegas for the PCA 2021 Trade Show, I decided that I wanted to visit a cigar lounge before the show started. I arrived a day early and decided to see what Vegas had to offer. Instead of hitting up the usual suspects on the Vegas Strip, I decided to drive a few…

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Pipe Tobacco Review: Rattray’s Exotic Orange Delivers Both Flavor and Aroma

Despite their image as what pipe tobacco is in popular culture, aromatic blends are among the most troublesome and divisive categories of blends. The primary issue is the inconsistency between smell and taste. These tobaccos smell rich and sweet, infused with the aromas of confectionery. But for most smokers, in most pipes, most aromatics taste…

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Cigars and Coffee Episode 24: Don Fausto and Cigars for Warriors – Loyalty Blend

James and Tim return to Habanos Cigar Lounge in Davenport, Iowa to smoke a Don Fausto by Anya Ramirez and drink some Cigars for Warriors Loyalty Blend Coffee from Janus Coffee Roasters. Are your local B&Ms carrying enough boutique cigar brands? Are they carrying any boutique cigar brands? What’s enough? is the staff trained? Plus,…

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Cigar Review: Villa Casdagli Toro Lives Up to its Namesake

The Villa Casdagli line may have been first shown off at the 2021 Tobacco Plus Expo, but the seed (if you’ll pardon the pun) was planted eight years ago in Costa Rica when Jeremy Casdagli first met Don Olman of the, then, Vegas Santiago Factory. Since then, Jeremy has worked with Olman on special projects…

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Cigar Review: My Father Flor de las Antillas is a Great Introductory Smoke

May of 2012 saw the release of the My Father “Flor de las Antillas.” The cigar was named in honor of Jaime Garcia’s family home, which is located on the largest of the Greater Antillas Islands, Cuba. This cigar is a blooming flower in the My Father Cigar line. This rich, bold, and flavorful cigar…

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Episode 61: An Epic Conversation with Dean Parsons of Epic Cigars

I sit down with Dean Parsons of Epic Cigars at the 2021 PCA Trade Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. Dean and I discuss how his journey from Canadian hockey player, to police officer, to real estate development, to finally finding his passion and starting Epic Cigars. Dean opens up about the industry and the amount…

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Lounge Review: Jeanie’s Smoke Shop is a 73 Year Old Utah Institution

Situated in the heart of downtown Salt Lake City stands Jeanie’s Smoke Shop. First owned by a non-smoking, God fearing, Mormon woman named Jeanie, this cigar shop has weathered the last 73yrs remarkably well. Of course, the shop has seen a lot of changes in that time. Not the least of which (excluding the current…

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