Cigar Sense Podcast

In this episode, industrial engineer Radhames Rodriguez discusses the benefits of Tabacalera El Artista vertical integration from farms to factory to distribution. He is a young innovator, always thinking outside of the box, while respecting the family tradition. We also discussed: the use of the sensory language in marketing; the challenge of determining the characterizing flavors of cigars produ...

In this episode, Randy Griggs and Franca discuss about cigar reviews, their usefulness and whether some standards might help increase it. Randy Griggs has worked in the craft beer industry for 19 years, establishing himself as a flavor sensory specialist. After becoming a beer judge at age 21, Randy followed up with a BBQ judge certification and is studying to become a beverage and spirits special...

In this episode Franca discusses the sensory world of Room 101 Cigars with Matt Booth. Learn about the key principles that drive Matt's personal and business activities. He has a special way to describe his cigars using emotions. However, Matt also pays attention to the sensory language and to the way it affects branding, as well as, inversely, to how branding affects sensory. We also talk about h...

In episode "Correlation or causality?" David Wells, VP and co-founder of Cigar Sense, explains the key principles that drive the accuracy of our cigar recommendations. He also talks about the differences between online recommendations based on data correlation, aka big data analytics,  as opposed to recommendations based on data causality, aka deep data analytics. In statistics, "correlation does...

You might have heard us often saying that for cigar consumers it is of utmost importance to be heard by manufacturers, so we can hope to see our preferences taken into consideration. This determines how easy or hard it is for us to get to smoke what we actually like. But how do we communicate our preferences to cigar manufacturers and, above all, how authentic is our feedback to them? Franca share...

What is the difference between sensory analysis and tastings? What is important when selecting assessors? What are the benefits for producers, marketers and consumers when use is made of sensory analysis? The are the most recurring errors when identifying aromas? Who is a sensorialist? And a lot more was discussed with our guest, Luigi Odello : Oenologist, journalist, adjunct professor at Italian...

Jasim Ahmed conveys the sense that cigars assume in the Arab Emirates. Overall cigars are drivers of curiosity, creativity, innovation, culture and lifestyle. Education plays an important role, especially in today's digital era where anybody can divulge disinformation extremely fast. What makes sense when lighting a cigar? And what makes sense in the humidification debate? Are barrel aged cigars a...

There are so many different pairing possibilities with cigars, and many shades within the same products. We talked about some of them with Oscar Marulanda: wine and spirits sommelier, cigar sommelier, tea sommelier, water sommelier and chocolate taster. Oscar's vocation and passion for oenology, services, beverages, and pairings allowed him to work in active ways to contribute and improve the gast...

Episode "Il top dell'associazionismo" (The top of the cigar association life) is recorded in Italian. Francesco Minetti is: President of the Cigar Club Matelica since 2005 Organizer of the Encuentro Amigos de Partagas President of the Cigar Club Association (CCA) since 2010 Hombre Habano Award 2017 - for the communication category CCA Man award in 2019 Lecturer for Entrenamiento Basico and Catador...

What are the different rum styles? How is rum produced and distilled? What are the keys to rum aging and angel share? What are the best rum tasting glasses? We discussed all this and a lot more with Valerie Bradshaw, our guest in the Cigar Sense Parlor. Valerie is a professional wine, spirits and cigars assessor. She is also a member of the Cigar Sense expert panel. — This podcast is brought to yo...

We talked about learning how to pair gourmet products and about the value of education. Cigar smoking can remain a hobby and still offer you much more pleasure if you decide to learn alongside professionals, the sommeliers who learn to advance in their career. The discussion also showcases a great example of a woman in the cigar world who is not discriminated but rather respectful and respected. D...

Reinhold C. Widmayer is Senior Editor in Chief at Cigar Journal , the world's leading cigar magazine. We asked him: what are the fastest growing countries in terms of cigar consumption and events how consumption changed due to Covid-19 what he would like to see changing in the premium cigar industry what consumers look for in education how the top cigars lists and trophies processes work how the t...

When enjoying a cigar, everything is fair. But when focusing on a cigar, either for a technical tasting or to get to know the most enjoyable impressions of your cigar, there are considerations you may want to make. These are intended to enable a tasting that is as objective as humanly possible and to avoid interactions with your mind and sensory receptors. Constantin Heitkamp was our guest in the...

We discussed the Mayan tradition, which inspired Oscar Valladares' creativity in his cigars' packaging, but not only. We also talked about misconceptions in cigar reviews, what's good and less good in the cigar industry, and more... Oscar Valladares started working with Rocky Patel in 2011. His passion for cigars grew and, in 2012, he started his own production in Danli (south of Honduras, near Ni...

We discuss yachts, women and cigars with Nikki Glenn. Yachts and cigars paired by Nikki. How did she go about such unusual pairings? And how do we evolve from the flavored cigars that tobacconists often recommend to women? Nikki Glenn is a classically trained violinist and vocalist who performs for private, corporate and special events. She performs jazzy electric violin instrumentals and smooth c...

Valerie Bradshaw is a super credentialed wine, spirits and cigars assessor. She is also a member of the Cigar Sense expert panel. With her, we talked about: the sommelier educational path and what you can learn in a wine educational program the tools Valerie uses to keep the nose trained and develop the olfactory vocabulary a key difference between tasting wine vs. cigars the effects of malolactic...

What is a vintage cigar vs. a rare cigar? What are the stages for aging cigars from procurement to sale? At what conditions is it best to store cigars for aging? Is ventilation good in the first couple of years? What's the correct interpretation of Min Ron Nee's advice? What changes do cigars undergo when they age? What are cigar auctions? Mitchell Orchant is the managing director of C.Gars Ltd ,...

We recorded this interview the day before the Beirut explosion heavily affecting the town and the already weak Lebanese economy. We hope the sense of cigars but, above all, the sense of safety for all Lebanese people will soon be re-established. We wish all Lebanese a strong recovery from the terrible event. Please help support the Beirut people Najat Abdo, started smoking cigars 13 years ago. Her...

Appearance and construction are considered extremely important for the final experience that Altadis want to provide to their end consumers. We went through an Altadis quality control evaluation sheet that Travis W. Pappenheim repurposed for marketing presentations. This is an extract of the full Cigar Sense Parlor meeting, which took place on 31 July 2020 with a number of Cigar Sense members. ___...

The full meeting, held via Zoom with Claudio Sgroi and a number of Cigar Sense members, lasted 3 hours and 20 minutes. We kept what was most relevant for our audio audience. We talked about: - how you get from the tobacco compounds to the aromas, the 5 basic tastes and the tactile perceptions - how memory and other factors influence our cigar experience - cigar education and the need for a common...

Why do few insurance companies offer affordable life policies to cigar smokers? Dave Arlinghaus, also known as Cigar Life Guy™, explains this to us. He also reveals what is important when choosing a life insurance. It's not a shame to smoke cigars and the worst mistake you can make is to hide your smoking behavior. Dave walks us through the process that US passionados can follow to save money on l...

With his peculiar and entertaining allure, Pedro Gomez talks about the premium cigar industry and gives his advice to cigar lovers. Born and raised in Esteli, Nicaragua, Pedro Gomez started very humble. From saddle maker to full scholarship paid by the US government. He started at Drew Estate factory from the bottom, he ended up running operations, Cigar Safari and international sales. He was tran...

Alex Iapichino talks to us about vintage cigars, how to buy them, how to store them. He has a technical view of cigar tastings, especially vertical tastings, and was also serious about fora and association life. In addition, Alex shares his views on the future of the Cuban cigar market. Alex Iapichino is General Counsel and Group Company Secretary of Naked Wines plc. He lives in London and is an a...

Nicholas Melillo talks to us about how his journey in the industry started with lots of passion for cigars, history and art. Nick also tells us about his trip around the world, his debut in Nicaragua at Drew Estate in 2003, the entrepreneurship with Foundation Cigar Company  starting in 2015, with the launch of a Nicaraguan puro. — This podcast is brought to you by Cigar Sense founders and paid me...

He is very well known thanks to the Light'em Up Lounge Events. But there is much more that Reinhard Pohorec is doing... ... as an entrepreneur, creative mind and host, Pohorec has established a unique reputation within the last decade in the world of sensory technology, luxury brands and hospitality. He delivers exceptional experience design, educational programs, coaching and hospitality project...