Simply Stogies

James takes over as host of Clear The Air for the first and last time (hopefully) as this particular occasion went to his head. Just kidding. Tim sat in as the guest host for the Pete Johnson interview on the last episode of Simply Stogies so James is now sitting in for Tim on Clear the Air. James gives Nick and Tim a hard time and asks whey they didn’t ask the hard questions.

With James out and about, Nick shows off his interviewing chops by having a great conversation with his longtime friend Pete Johnson of Tatuaje Cigars. The trio discuss Pete's start in the industry, the CRA, Pete's involvement with the movie Hand Rolled: A Film About Cigars, and what Tatuaje has coming up. We find out that Nick and Tim have no pop culture in their lives. Oh yeah, Tim co-hosts too!

Tim, James, and Nick are back again to talk about the latest Simply Stogies Podcast with special guest Vlada Stojanov of Bespoke Cigar Co. Unfortunately no one came to the table with any jokes, but there is plenty of good conversation about the skill of the retrohale. James explains how Simply Stogies rates their cigar reviews and much more mediocre banter.

Nick and James welcome the illustrious Vlada Stojanov to the show. Vlada is the owner and founder of Bespoke Distributing and the man behind the Somm cigar lines. He is also a certified sommelier. The trio get into the weeds with cigar tasting and reviewing. Ever wonder what flavor notes are subjective and which are objective? How much of what you taste is experiential? Are reviewers just plain wr...

Tim brings James and Nick back to the mic in another episode of Clear The Air. This Episode is a behind the scenes thoughts and opinions session about the latest episode of Simply Stogies Podcast where James sat down with Brian Desind of LCA and Privada Cigar Club.

James sits down via Zoom with Brian Desind of Privada Cigar Club. James and Brian discuss the cigar industry and Brian's place in it. Topics include marketing, the FDA, Privada Cigar Club, the PCA, the CRA, and much more. This was a frank and honest conversation with who many consider to be a "polarizing" figure in the industry. Love him or hate him, you have to respect his passion and his willing...

This episode of Clear The Air is a little different than usual. We have tons of content that we need to get out and now that the PCA Trade Show is over, now is the time. This episode is a two part series. First we start off with and interview that James and Nick have with Peter Graziano of Metropolitan Cigar Society. If you're not familiar with their club now, you will be by the end of this episod...

We finish up our coverage of the 2023 PCA Trade Show in Las Vegas, Nevada with interviews from James and Nick. In this episode you'll hear from newcomer Kaneda Cigars, the always entertaining Matt Booth of Room 101, Sebastien Decoppet of Cavalier Cigars, Steve Saka of Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust, and Nick Melillo of Foundation Cigars.

Tim, James and Nick sit back and give a behind the scenes view of their experience at 2023 PCA Trade Show. We did experience some internet issues so you'll have to excuse the audio drift. We are still working on delivering PCA content covering the PCA Trade Show. Thanks for following. Thanks for listening. Thanks for watching our content. We look forward to bringing you content throughout the year...

This episode is made up from some of our favorite interviews from this year's PCA 2023 Trade Show. For part 1 we start off with Scott Pearce, the Executive Director of the Premium Cigar Association as he talks about the trade show and some of what's in store for next year. We then talk with Dr. Gaby Kafie of Kafie 1901 Cigars and founder of the Boutique Cigar Association, and then Armen Caprielian...

Tim does some time traveling with Nick and James to discuss the latest Simply Stogies Podcast Episode with Luciano Meirelles of Luciano Cigars. This episode also brings to you the newest place to enjoy your cigar, the CTA Temple, as Nick, James, and Tim discuss what they believe cigar smoking is all about. We realize life is short and it's important to enjoy the finer things in and about life.

Nick and James sit down with Master Blender and owner of Luciano Cigars, Luciano Meirelles. Luciano tells us why the Maria Lucia is so special to him and how it fulfills his promise from the 2022 PCA Trade Show. We talk about what's real in the cigar industry and how Luciano Cigars is helping mentor new brands and blenders. Luciano discusses hi "a ha!" moment when it comes to cigars, some of what...

Tim welcomes Nick and James back to dissect their conversation with Greg Free of Fuerte Y Libre. The conversation leans heavily into trademarks, protecting them, and how the cigar industry seems to have jumped the shark when it comes to them. The conversation turns to how the sausage is made in the cigar industry.

James and Nick sit down and chat with the owner of Fuerte Y Libre Cigars, Greg Free. We find out how Greg got started in the cigar industry and he has more than a few surprises in store for us. We talk about his karaoke prowess (copyrights prevent me from sharing the footage with all of you) and how he got his work ethic from his father and growing up on a farm. We also discuss trademarks within t...

Tim is joined by Nick and James and the trio dissect the latest Simply Stogies Podcast episode that features William "Cigar Coop" Cooper. There's a lot of talk around what is "cigar media" and what isn't. Who should be allowed to cover the trade show? What's an influencer? What is the "job" of cigar media? They try to cover all of it, and do so poorly. Tim also gets a big head as they talk about W...

James and Nick welcome William "Cigar Coop" Cooper back to the show. This time we pick Coop's brain about what exactly constitutes "cigar media" and their role in the industry. We also discuss the upcoming PCA 2023 Trade Show in Las Vegas, Coop tells us what his theme is this year, and he gives Simply Stogies some tips to make the most of the trade show. Coop also gives Tim and our after show, Cle...

Tim welcomes the Simply Stogies Podcast hosts, James and Nick, back for another Clear the Air. This time the trio discuss Episode 104: Catching Up with Jeremy Casdagli . The discussion starts with some of what Jeremy Casdagli had to say before winding up discussing the logistics of on location recording. Once we get done bemoaning the pitfalls of podcasting, we turn our attention to price, the Cub...

Our first time on location (for video), and James is at the Humidor of Lisle, in Lisle, Illinois, to sit down with Jeremy Casdagli of Casdagli Cigars. The pair discuss everything from upcoming releases and cigar reviews, to the Casdagli themed room at the Humidor of Lisle and the FDA. There might be a few surprises talked about as well.

Tim welcomes James and Nick back to Clear the Air and the trio talk a little bit about everything. The trio discusses Simply Stogies Podcast Episodes 102 & 103, the interview with Zev Kaminetsky of Toscano and the My Old Kentucky Herf interviews.. Starting with Zev, the conversation starts to get political before pulling back and bringing it home to My Old Kentucky Herf. 

James visits the crew of FatAsh Cigar Lounge in Ashland, Kentucky for the third annual My Old Kentucky Herf! James talks with Dwight Adkins, owner of FatAsh Cigar Lounge and founder of MOKH, to discuss what's new this year. During the event, James speaks with Riste of JSK, Greg Free of Fuerte Y Libre, Oscar Valladares of OV Cigars, Rick Rodriguez from West Tampa Tobacco Co., Luciano Meirelles of L...

Nick and James are joined by Zev Kaminetsky of Toscano Cigars. We get Zev's take on a litany of cigar issues: brokers, manufacturers, the PCA, the CRA, and cigar media. Zev doesn't hold back and has hilarious takes on the cigar industry as a whole. We enjoyed his perspective and the conversation; we hope you do too!

Tim is joined by James and Nick as they discuss Episode 101 with Dr. Oscar Rodriguez of GTO Cigars . The trio discuss the interview and hit the highlights while adding their opinions and expanding on topics talked about by Dr. Rodriguez. This includes "coming out of the hole and smelling for vagina," flavored cigars, short filler, and the FDA. While we try to stay away from discussing politics, th...

James and Nick are joined by the CEO of GTO Dominican Cigars, Dr. Oscar Rodriguez. Dr. Rodriguez gives us the history of growing tobacco on the family farm in the Dominican Republic and some family history. He also lets us in on how and why he got into practicing medicine. Dr. Rodriguez talks about why he, a medical doctor, supports premium hand rolled cigars, and the benefit of smoking them. The...

Tim, Nick, and James discuss the 100th episode of Simply Stogies. The trio discuss Micallef Cigars and Andy Yaffee's  appearance, and what it takes to be a sales person in the cigar industry. They also discuss the industry as a whole, media, Simply Stogies role, the work that goes into making a podcast, and much more!

James and Nick welcome our friend Andy Yaffee, the National Sales Director for Micallef Cigars, to the show. For our 100th episode, we ask Andy about the new sizes of the Micallef Leyenda that are releasing soon and what Andy has learned in his role as National Sales Director for Micallef. We talk about how Micallef pulled their product from large online retailers to not only support their brick a...