Not Just Blowing Smoke with Pastor Padron

In a world where you can get just about anything, including cigars and pipes online, is there a place for the traditional B&M tobacconist? How can the B&M store not just survive but thrive in this e-commerce driven culture? In this episode we talk about that as we review the Padron 1926 Serie No. 6 Maduro. In our pipe segment we look at a tobacco that is new to Twins, Sutliff's Crumble Kake Red Vi...

Buy 4 get 1. Buy this box and get this swag. Come in today and get this special deal... Those are some of the typical tags we see over and over in the industry for events at B&M stores. But whether you are a retail tobacconist, an industry rep, or a customer, you have probably noticed that the traditional retail sales forward event does not have the draw or the flash it once did. As Albert Einstei...

An editorial released on Halfwheel on March 1, 2022, ignited a firestorm of debate about what in the premium cigar and pipe industries constitutes as marketing tobacco products to minors. The FDA has made it clear that marketing to children is one of the most important issues in their regulation of the industry. We look at this topic from a number of vantage points, including parallels with the be...

Boston Beer Company's Catherine Shanely joins us as we light up the JFR Lunatic Torch Habano. She's bringing a selection of different beers to pair up with it! Which beer pairs best? How do each of the beers impact how we experience the cigar, and how does the Torch impact the flavor of the beer? Join us and find out! Not Just Blowing Smoke is the cigar and pipe podcast that brings the knowledge,...

Tonight, we are joined by three new members of the Twins family, Nick , Shel , and Shyanne. As we help you get to know the newbies, we test their tobacco prowess as we review the Fiat Lux Intuitions cigar and 4th Generation Tobacconist's 1897 pipe tobacco, both paired with The Glenlivet Caribbean Reserve. Will there be hazing? We can't answer that, that would be telling. But we will be asking our...

Is Valentine's Day still a big day for couples? Should we care if it is or isn't? In this Valentine's Day episode, while we share our thoughts on that subject, Tequila Talia stops by with some Camp Viejo Roija Gran Reserva wine to pair with the La Flor Dominicana Colorado Oscuro No. 5 and Cornell & Diehl's Blockade Runner pipe tobacco.  Not Just Blowing Smoke is the cigar and pipe podcast that bri...

Coming at you live from Pastor Padron's smoking room! Join us as we do a blind tasting of three different coin cut tobaccos--Davidoff Flake Medallions, Peterson's De Luxe Navy Flakes, and Escudo--each paired with Woodford Reserve. Will anyone be able to pick out which is which? Which will turn out to be the top one? Join us for this special off-site fireside episode of NJBS! Not Just Blowing Smoke...

Popular guest and rising boutique "cigarleberty," Erik Wentworth, Executive VP of Cigars for Hammer + Sickle joins us as we look at the second release of the EPH, a cigar Erik blended to honor the founder of Hammer + Sickle, the late Erik P. Hansen. Originally released as a torpedo in 2019, the 2021 release is a Toro which uses the same blend. We loved the original release and even did a follow up...

Cigars, tobacco, drinks, sports, and a rare inside look at one of the leaders behind the scenes at Twins Smoke Shop--this episode has it all! Baseball great, Orlando Cabrera and Twins Smoke Shop GM Shawn Rienert perform an all-star takeover of NJBS. Orlando, a longtime cigar aficionado brings some cigars that he has been aging specifically to share with us. Shawn is excited to get to interview his...

In this episode we mix things up by doing our pipe tobacco segment first and revisit a tobacco we reviewed 2 years ago when it was initially released--G.L. Pease Penny Farthing. Does this tobacco still hold up to expectations now? In the second half, we look at the new and much anticipated release from Steve Saka and Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust--The Sin Compromiso Paladin de Saka. Is this super prem...

In this episode we reveal our picks for best new cigar and pipe tobacco of 2021. There was a lot of competition this year. What made the final cut? You will have to tune in tonight to find out! Not Just Blowing Smoke is the cigar and pipe podcast that brings the knowledge, expertise, and fun of Twins Smoke Shop right to you. Wherever you are, and whenever you want it. New episodes every Monday. Su...

Kurt Kendall tasked us with choosing the next single barrel selection of Woodford Reserve for the 7-20-4 Lounge. And that is a responsibility we take with the seriousness it deserves! Woodford's local rep Tyler Tomlin joins us as we taste from 3 different possible selections. While we discuss which we think should be the next barrel selection for the bar, we will be pairing it with the newly relea...

When life hand you lemons, you make lemonade. A number of things that were out of control made it impossible to do the episode we had planned. So we adapted and decided to talk about our favorite new cigars and tobaccos of 2021. We each picked one of our top 5 cigars and tobaccos to smoke on the show, and each of us brought a whiskey: Paul smoked the Montecristo 1935 Toro and brought Old Tub, Past...

Christmas. That holiday that invokes enjoying time in front of a roaring fire, or beside a decorated evergreen tree, with family, friends, good food, and joyful music. Holidays like Christmas invite us to pull out the stops and enjoy something extra special. In our 2021 Christmas episode we will be talking about our picks for holiday smoking. Special guest Tequila Talia joins us as we discuss Chri...

The Cigar Family Charitable Foundation, founded by the Fuente and Newman families, benefits the families living in the cigar regions of the Dominican Republic. Every fall since 2003, the foundation has released a special Toast Across America pack, a special coffin box containing a Fuente Opus X and a Diamond Crown or Julius Caeser cigar. 100% of the $50.00 purchase price goes to the families and c...

This is the time of year when short cigars become popular as colder weather has people looking for cigars that won't leave you out in the cold for hours. For our 3rd annual short cigar episode, we review two of the new short cigars that have hit smoke shops: the Don Pepin Garcia Sparky by My Father Cigars and the Oliva Serie V Melanio Edicion Limitatda 4x60. Do these cigars deliver full size satis...

Steve Poirier, the Northeast Territory Manager for Micallef Cigars, joins us for another round of talk about aging cigars with original release Micallef Connecticut Robustos that we will smoke alongside of current release ones. Is this boutique blend something worth enjoying now and aging to enjoy later? In the second half of the show Steve hangs in there as we review Cornell & Diehl's holiday ble...

New Hampshire is a hot spot for microbreweries. One of the local favorites here is the 603 Brewery in Londonderry, NH. On this episode Dan (a co-owner/founder) and PJ (director of sales) join us on the show as we try several different brews with a Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Sun Grown Churchill and Cornell & Dielh's 2021 Small Batch release of Carolina Red Flake w/Perique. Usually we have the...

Regius Cigar's Ahkil Kapacee joins us in this episode as we smoke his Regius Black Label Grandido. How does an English investment banker end up with an international cigar brand? It is a great story and you are going to want to hear it. While we talk we will be enjoying his cigar with a Mojito. In the second half of the show we will be lighting up Odyssey by G.L. Pease and discuss what seems to Pa...

In this episode we will have an unique discussion with Kelly Shemeth, who was the NE rep for Ashton a few years ago about life after being a cigar rep. While we catch up and have that discussion we will be smoking the Foundation Tabernacle Havana Seed CT No. 142 David Perfecto, and C&D’s Briar Fox. It’s the Afterlife episode and you won’t want to miss it. Not Just Blowing Smoke is the cigar and pi...

Pat leads this episode in a discussion of the court's ruling concerning warning labels and cigars. The FDA may have lost that battle, but what does it mean for the cigar and pipe industry? Our producer, Dave, was still in the hospital for this one, so again it is a no frills recording. While we have that discussion we review the Undercrown 10 Lonsdale from Drew Estate and Cornell & Diehl's Bijou....

We have done many pairings with bourbon, whiskey, scotch, tequila, rum, beer, wine, various cocktails, and even coffee. But we have never tried to pair anything on the show with cognac. In truth, it is a spirit that is often overlooked when it comes to making a cigar or tobacco pairing. Tequila Talia joins us with some Martell Blue Swift Cognac that we are going to pair with the Aladino Rare Coroj...

The Round Table is a special lo key (and lo tech) episode tonight as our producer Dave is in the hospital. We will be talking about dealing with stress and how cigars and pipes can help with that as well as how the current cigar boom is going. Those discussions will be happening over the review of the Casa Cuevas Reserva Maduro Toro and Cornell & Diehl's Bayou Morning.

Pat leads us in a discussion on the FDA definition of pipe tobacco and how it impacts the fight for premium tobacco in litigation. Is it a good definition, or does it leave something to be desired? While we have that discussion we will be giving our thoughts on Cornell & Diehl's new Small Batch release, From Beyond and CLE's Signature Series THT-EKE 03/17 11/18 TAA cigar. Not Just Blowing Smoke is...

What kind of experience should a cigar lounge provide, and how can you get the most out of it? We share our thoughts from the viewpoints of both retail and consumer. While we talk about those questions we will review the 2021 T110 Reserva from Tatuaje and give our thoughts on Cornell & Diehl's Speakeasy pipe tobacco. Not Just Blowing Smoke is the cigar and pipe podcast that brings the knowledge, e...