Cigar Hacks Podcast

We sit down with Netal of El Toro in Hudson NH for a small group session. Nurse Rick is in Haines City Florida and calls in with Anthony of The Cigar Quarters and John Deans of Madre Tierra Cigars. We will see you at The New England Cigar Expo on September 29th & 30th. Local … Continue reading "Episode 301: Live From Florida – Local Spotlight: El Toro Cigar & Lounge; Hudson, N...

For our 300th episode milestone we descend on the Tobacco Shack unannounced and set up outside in the patio area on a fine summer evening. It’s a small group recording as many Hacks are on vacation or in disrepair. Nurse Rick calls in from Florida to give us the hotel check-in report. The Hidden Herf … Continue reading "Episode 300: The 300 – Local Spotlight: The Tobacco Shack Si...

Back with our regular rotation of panelists it’s a full house for the Big Sky Cigars event at Plaistow Cigar. We are joined by their new rep, and long time Hack regular, Brian Sonia. Some of us have had a few of the new line from Big Sky, but the Hidden Herf turns out to … Continue reading "Episode 299: Big Sky Cigars w/Brian Sonia – Local Spotlight: Plaistow Cigar Co; Plaistow,...

For the second week in a row we are on the road for a family event. There’s a party for the ladies going on in the house and the men are exiled to the garage for cigars, podcast juice, and to record this week’s episode. The Hidden Herf turns out to be decent after we … Continue reading "Episode 298: Ladyfest – Local Spotlight: The Domicile 2.0"

It’s our second summer vacation special from the north country of New Hampshire. See episode 91 for the first in this series. More family members join in this year as we smoke an unusual Hidden Herf. Local Spotlight – On the lake; New Hampshire Controversy Corner – Skinwalker Ranch

We head over to El Toro in Hudson, NH this week for a chat with Netal to discuss the various unique cigars he carries. Podcast Juice is what’s on tap and the Hidden Herf is another good one. Local Spotlight – El Toro Cigar & Lounge; Hudson, NH Controversy Corner – Missing Aviators

The crew heads over to McGroin Manor this week where Mama and Papa McGroin join us for this episode. Mama is an aspiring stand-up comedian and keeps us in stitches for most of the episode. The Hidden Herf is a cousin to a recent one, and it gets a wide range of ratings. Local Spotlight … Continue reading "Episode 295: Stand-Up with Mama McGroin – Local Spotlight: McGroin Manor and Fox...

Mike the Cop from Rocky Patel Cigars is back and redeems himself after Episode 292 from two weeks ago. We present a special award. The Hidden Herf is a complete surprise and gets a top rating. This one is a lot of fun as the podcast juice is flowing. Local Spotlight – Plaistow Cigar Co; … Continue reading "Episode 294: Redemption with Mike The Cop – Local Spotlight: Plaistow Ciga...

We slow things down a bit after a double header the previous Friday that produced the last two episodes. It’s over to The Tobacco Shack for one of the first nights of the summer with the extended hours. With a relatively small group of eight we have a few laughs and try a real nice … Continue reading "Episode 293: Shack Late Night – Local Spotlight: The Tobacco Shack; Rowley, MA"

Nimish Desai, of Rocky Patel Cigars, Kurt Kendall of 7-20-4 Cigars and Twins Smoke Shops, plus our host for the evening, Eric “Killer” Kilbane of Castro’s Back Room join the Hacks for a wild ride out on the Elm Street sidewalk in front of Castro’s in Manchester, NH. The rest of the Rocky crew has … Continue reading "Episode 292: Please Turn Mike’s Mic Off with N...

Direct from Plaistow Cigar, where it all began, we sit down with the Micallef team for a special interview episode. We are joined by Amanda Micallef, Michael Granito, Andy Yaffee, and Jeff, The Micallef Ambassador of the Year. This was a unique opportunity to get four perspectives on the Micallef brand in a single interview. … Continue reading "Episode 291: Micallef Cigars Interview Special...

With a cast of thousands at the fire pit we review the meet up with Miserable Nick out of Providence. He jumps into the Oscuro III and we head around the mid-state RI area on a cigar bar adventure. Nashville Dave finds a new lounge in downtown Nashville. The Hidden Herf is something we should … Continue reading "Episode 290: Cigar Boxes in the Fire Pit – Local Spotlight: Rhode Island C...

We have a small panel for a low keyed Memorial Day episode. Cellophane; on or off? The Hidden Herf was sent in from a regular listener and is a very surprising cigar. We hear about Cigar World East in Warren, RI while we prepare to tour RI shops on the other side of the state. … Continue reading "Episode 289: Memorial Day 2023 – Local Spotlight: Plaistow Cigar Co; Plaistow, NH"

The Gringo is in town and joins the panel this week. The Hidden Herf brand is guessed but the particular cigar is elusive. Kostas the Olive Man’s brother, Rembrandt the Painter, joins us for the first time while The Gringo breaks up the place. This is a fun one! Local Spotlight – Twins Smoke Shop; … Continue reading "Episode 288: Gringo Twins – Local Spotlight: Twins Smoke...

It’s taco & margarita day and the panel doesn’t miss the opportunity the sample the various margaritas at Elie’s. Elie give us an update on what’s in the works for the lounge. We drag Phil from the peanut gallery and put him in the hot seat. The Hidden Herf is discovered early on, but there’s … Continue reading "Episode 287: Cinco de Mayo – Local Spotl...

The Rabbi Cutabove swings into town and we roll out the Oscuro III. The day starts at The Cigar Authority live podcast where the guest for the week is Jose Dominguez Jr. of Jose Dominguez Cigars. We load the crew into the Oscuro III stretch limo and head over to El Toro in Hudson to … Continue reading "Episode 286: Rabbi Palooza – Local Spotlight: El Toro Cigar & Lounge; Hudson, N...

We get the Ash Lounge Grand Opening report. Instead of the usual local spotlight we have a trivia game for prizes. The Hidden Herf becomes somewhat obvious after a few clues. Dog talk. The Brooklyn Chick drops in for a quick appearance. Local Spotlight – Lounge Trivia at Plaistow Cigar Co; Plaistow, NH Controversy Corner … Continue reading "Episode 285: Plaistow Trivia Game – Loc...

It’s the first outdoor episode of 2023. We gather around the fire pit in Nurse Ricks back yard where the Hidden Herf is pegged right out of the gate. We review the olive oil drops and have lot of fun with some one-liners. Local Spotlight – La Farona Cigars, Ebor City, FL Controversy Corner – … Continue reading "Episode 284: April Fire Pit – Local Spotlight: La Farona...

It’s the soft opening of the new Ash Cigar Lounge in Kingston, NH. We sit down with the owner and get the skinny on the whole story. Nurse Rick is in Orlando on vacation and calls in from Corona Cigar’s downtown location for the Florida Report. The Hidden Herf is recognized by one of the … Continue reading "Episode 283: The Long Ash Interview – Local Spotlight: Ash Cigar Lo...

It’s that time again for The Tobacco Shack’s “Party For The Hell Of It”. The band is on, we’re having a blast, and it’s standing room only. This episode was recorded directly after the party. We do a recap on the Route One Business Network Group event. The Hidden Herf stumps the panel but it … Continue reading "Episode 282: Any Excuse for a Party – L...

We’re back at the Twins 7-20-4 lounge and Michael Granito of Micallef Cigars is downstairs for a Micallef Cigar event so we rope him into joining us again. Keeping with that theme we also grab “Schweddy Balls” from the lounge. The Hidden Herf is a fantastic five dollar stick. Mustang Mike is back and launches … Continue reading "Episode 281: Mo Money w/Micallef Cigars &#821...

Another first, we haven’t done an episode from the Nashua location of Castro’s before this week. Direct from the second floor lounge we have a full compliment of Hacks for the St. Patrick’s Day episode. The Hidden Herf was picked right out by one of our astute panelists. The Podcast Juice is flowing and the … Continue reading "Episode 280: St Paddy’s Day! – Loca...

Our first episode from the Boston Cigar Club is good time for the panel. We land an interview with the owner. There’s an interesting story behind this lounge. The Hidden Herf is guessed by way of a coincidence. A possible future Hack joins the festivities. Oh yeah – it’s Pat McGroin’s birthday Local Spotlight – … Continue reading "Episode 279: Be Patient, the Be...

It was five years ago this month when we did a Local Spotlight on Cigar and Lounge in Watertown, MA. It about time we got back there to record an episode. We interview the owners and they tell us about the decade’s long, and no so easy, journey to running a successful cigar lounge in … Continue reading "Episode 278: It’s Not Easy – Local Spotlight: Cigar and Lounge; Waterto...

“Tony Montana” becomes a Hack. The Hidden Herf proves that size matters! How many times can we get pulled over? And other stories from the road. Local Spotlight – Touring in the Oscuro III Controversy Corner – Dinosaur Reality