Simply Stogies

Do you have questions about how your cigars are rolled? We've all heard "200 hands" touch your cigar, but what does that look like? Nick Syris of LH Cigars and Filipe Leon of Tabacos de Costa Rica walk us through their factory and show us how the tobacco is sorted, what a pilón is, and much more.

Tim brings James and Nick back to the microphone to talk about the latest episode of Simplystogies Podcast with Charlie Minato of Halfwheel. In this hour the tree try to cover as many talking points as possible as Tim gets made fun of, James rants, and Nick points out many great points. It's another hour of mayhem on Clear the Air.

James and Nick welcome Charlie Minato, co-founder of Halfwheel.com. The trio discuss how Halfwheel came to be, when Charlie started smoking cigars, as well as find out how they review cigars. Charlie details their review process and if there is such a thing as a 100pt cigar. Charlie gives us his expert opinions on the FDA, PCA, cigar pricing, and the cigar industry at large. We also discuss cigar...

Tim, James, and Nick are back again in another after show to talk about the latest episode of Simply Stogies Podcast with Nimmer Ahmed of Valacari Cigars. The trio talk about a new brand "Lure Cigars", a collaboration between a new brand owner, Lou Cross and Nimmer. Discussions pursue into the hardships of creating a brand and bringing it to market. Dealing with store owners and so much more.

On this episode, James and Nick welcome Nimmer Ahmed of Valacari Cigars. The trio find out about Nimmer's background: how and where he started his cigar journey, how Valacari came to be, and how he chose the name "Valacari." Nimmer has great insights into the manufacturing side of the cigar industry, as well as on the retail side. He and Nick discuss finding the right cigar factory and finding the...

Tim brings James and Nick back to the mic to discuss the latest episode of Simply Stogies Podcast with guests John Peter Laurendi and Adrian Maharaj of Peter James Co. The trio discuss the hustle and bustle of running a company, high end, but affordable products and how important it is to surround yourself with people who believe in your dreams.

James sits down with John Peter Laurendi and Adrian Maharaj of Peter James Co. The trio discuss John's journey with Peter James and how he overcame adversity by putting everything on the line to follow his dream and passion. John explains how Adrian came on board Peter James and the value he adds. Adrian explains his role and his vision for the future of Peter James and what it is like working wit...

Tim brings James and Nick back to the mic to discuss the latest episode of Simply Stogies Podcast with guest Nick Mellilo of Foundation Cigars. The trio discuss boutique cigars, the rising costs, the inevitable Simply Stogies cigar of the year list and much more.

James and Nick Syris welcome back Nick Melillo to the show. Nick talks about what's new at Foundation Cigars (Metapa, Tabernacle Knight Commander, and the Charter Oak Pasquale and Pegnataro). The trio briefly talk about Nick Melillo running the DE Factory, before they deep dive on the Highclere Castle Senetjer. We discuss how things have changed since the Olmec Maduro was named the 2022 Cigar of t...

Tim calls the hosts of Simply Stogies Podcast, Nick and James, back to the microphones to discuss Episode 113: Jose Blanco. The trio expand on some of the topics touched on in Episode 113. Should you retrohale? Where do the thirds of cigars come from? Are cigar reviews helpful? The topic then turns to cigar media, as Jose Blanco vetted James, and what Simply Stogies Podcast is really all about.

James and Nick welcome cigar industry legend, Jose Blanco to the show. The trio discuss what cigar smokers should know and why they should know it, we take a look at how Jose got started in the industry, and how he started with Arturo Fuente. Jose Blanco is a wealth of knowledge and we are humbled that he shared some of that knowledge with us. We hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did.

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...