Box Press

Coming to you from the U.S. hot bed of cigars, Miami, Florida! Catch the new Box Press series as Boveda's Rob Gagner goes deep with Miami cigar legends, including:

• Nick Perdomo, Jr. and son Nick III, Perdomo Cigars

• Henderson Ventura, Ventura Cigar Company

• Robert Caldwell, Caldwell Cigar Co.

• Reinier Lorenzo, HVC

• Jack Toraño, Espinosa Cigars

• Ernesto Padilla, Padilla Cigars

• Luis Cuevas Jr. and his son Alec, Casa Cuevas Cigars

Miami's a lit locale for cigar lovers. Plan a trip for sticks with your smoking buddies to visit Miami's cigar lounges and take a tobacco factory tour. Remember to pack Boveda Humidor Bags to safely transport souvenir cigars home from vacations. Boveda preserves the oils and sugars in the tobacco until you're ready to smoke Miami's best cigars. Stock up on Boveda Humidor Bags here: https://store.bovedainc.com/collectio...

Shop Boveda for cigars here: https://store.bovedainc.com/collectio....

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Unicorn chasers, this one’s for you! Think you’re missing out not smoking Cuban cigars? Get your hands on these new small-batch sticks from Lampert, which were mistaken for premium Cubans by cigar lovers around the world. Blended by current GM of Mombacho Cigars, SOTL Indiana Ortez, these fine cigars sold out at 2021 PCA in Las Vegas. With the last cigar box in the house, Founder Dr. Stefan Lampert joined Boveda’s Rob Gagner for a short Robusto.

Highlights from this European cigar podcast include:

00:00 Cold open

01:42 How to retrohale a cigar

03:24 Who blends Lampert’s boutique cigars?

05:03 Do smaller cigars get the better tobacco leaves?

09:32 How many lawyers does it take to make a cigar?

10:37 Where can you buy Lampert Cigars in the United States?

12:45 Blending cigars with construction and environmental law

16:51 Does Lampert Cigars have a Connecticut wrapper?

17:08 Cigar smokers around the world taste test Lampert Cigars

21:00 Do Europeans prefer Cuban cigars?

28:35 What cigar is reminiscent of the saltiness of an ocean breeze?

29:37 Customizing your own cigar with Lampert

31:28 Pairing premium rum with premium cigars

European cigar smokers having a tough time locating Cuban cigars because of supply chain delays should substitute a Cuban for a Lampert Cigar, which is available at these tobacco shops: https://lampertcigars.com/retailers/.

In the United States, learn more about Lampert Cigars here: https://www.smallbatchcigar.com/lampert . Looking to customize a premium cigar? Check out Lampert’s My Cigar Lab at https://lampertcigars.com/my-cigar-lab/.

Premium cigar makers protect the flavor and consistency of tobacco by packaging cigars with Boveda. Cigar smokers use Boveda in humidors to continue to preserve and age their cigars. Before you add cigars to a new wood humidor, always season it first with the Boveda Humidor Starter Kit.

Shop Boveda for cigars here: https://store.bovedainc.com/collections/boveda-for-tobacco

Check Out More of Boveda Cigar Exclusives:

How To Spot A FAKE Cuban Cigar!

https://youtu.be/qiD5qFgSpqc?t=87

Indiana Ortez & Sisters In Smoke TAKEOVER

https://youtu.be/upeWliTGpDk?t=87

Busting 4 Myths About Cuban Cigars

https://youtu.be/A2zRZEjeZfU

Are you overwhelmed when you visit a tobacco shop’s humidor? Approach the tobacconist to help you find the perfect cigar for you. Next, learn how to use all of your senses to enhance your smoking experience. Boveda’s Rob Gagner was shocked by what can influence your opinion of a cigar. Amaze your cigar buddies with tips from sensory expert Reinhard Phorec, host of cigar podcast, Light ‘Em Up Lounge. Recorded at 2021 PCA in Las Vegas.

Learn how to enjoy cigars better in this cigar podcast:

00:00 Cold open

05:21 Why retailers should break from the script when you’re at the register

09:48 What cigar shops can learn from the hospitality industry

23:39 A professional cigar taste tester shares how to fully taste cigars

29:59 Try this cigar parlor game with your smoking buddies

31:33 How a local tobacconist can get you out of a cigar rut

35:09 How to present sticks in a cigar shop to help buyers

37:49 Top 3 ways to enhance your next cigar

40:18 Changes you should make today to your smoking lounge that make cigar lovers want to stay

Light ‘Em Up Lounge was chosen by Cigar Journal as the Best Virtual Cigar Lounge in 2021.

Fellow cigar lounge visitors will tell you—to protect the flavor and consistency of cigars store them with Boveda. Boveda, makes 2-way humidity control for cigars, easy wood humidor seasoning, humidor bags and Humidor Starter Kits to condition new wood humidors before adding cigars. Shop Boveda for cigars here: https://store.bovedainc.com/collectio...

Check Out More of Boveda Cigar Exclusives:

How a Color Inspired an Amazing Cigar (Feat. Erik Espinosa)

https://youtu.be/cwKgMjGWDE0

Better Understand Your Cigar Tasting Palate (Feat. Klaas Kelner)

https://youtu.be/W-L976OtGlE

How The HECK Do You Smoke This Thing?! (Feat. Kafie Culebra Cigar)

https://youtu.be/8m22Mj_6zmE?t=98

Steelers fans, light up an Ike Taylor cigar! Before retiring in 2015, Ike won two Super Bowl® rings during his 12-year career with Pittsburgh. Now the former NFL® player has launched a premium cigar called 1OFAHKINE (pronounced one of a kind). Working with black-owned cigar brand, Howard G Cigars, Ike sampled 40 different tobaccos to develop the blend, which is in the All Pro Series. Ike and boutique cigar company founder Howard Gumbs joined Boveda’s Rob Gagner at 2021 PCA in Las Vegas. 

Cigar podcast highlights include:  

• (2:28) Shout out to Corona Cigars on Sand Lake!
• (3:22) The cigar man who knows his bacon
• (4:40) What new cigar smokers need to know before they visit a cigar shop
• (5:49) Life after the NFL® 
• (8:48) What young Ike Taylor learned from hanging out in cigar lounges
• (9:18) Why Ike Taylor partnered with Howard G Cigars
• (10:40) Working with tobacco is like raising a kid
• (11:05) Origin story of the BIPOC cigar company Howard G
• (11:25) The late cigar legend and pianist Avo Uvezian mentored Howard Gumbs 
• (14:03) Ever think about going into the cigar business? Joining forces with American Caribbean Cigars’ Alex Menendez 
• (15:48) Creating Howard G lines—premium cigars at a good price point
• (25:18) How did the Howard G Black Moses cigar get its name?
• (31:05) During the pandemic, Ike Taylor became Uncle Ike to neighborhood kids 
• (34:06) What was Ike Taylor’s first job?
• (36:25) Running your own business—lessons learned from building a Champ burger at Checkers 
• (39:24) Where to find the 1OFAHKINE Ike Taylor cigar 
• (40:09) Check out the Howard G Leon Searcy cigar in the All Pro Series, too 

Visit https://www.howardgcigars.com/ to learn about all the Howard G cigar lines, including the 1OFAHKINE, Leon Searcy, Black Moses and Magic Stick. Try them all with a Howard G cigar sampler pack.

Make humidor care and humidifying cigars easy with Boveda. Boveda, makes 2-way humidity control to protect cigars, season wood humidors and condition new humidors with the new Humidor Starter Kits. Shop Boveda for cigars here: https://store.bovedainc.com/collections/boveda-for-tobacco

Check Out More of Boveda Cigar Exclusives:

Ready for the Mexican Cigar Revolution? (feat. Casa 1910)

https://youtu.be/sZxZfBX_xUY?t=9

In the Tobacco Fields with Willy Herrera (Drew Estate's Master Blender)

https://youtu.be/2-el7mY06cs

How the Mistress of Golf Lured Him to Cigars, Chris Moore, Carolina Blue

https://youtu.be/PZzOjzKbc9s

NBA Legend Karl Malone Talks Long-time Cigar Passion

https://youtu.be/60WJ-ybYJpE

Got a NFW cigar story to share? This proves that in-store herfing leads to unexpected mash-ups and good couch for a cigar podcast! Hear the whole cigar lounge tale and more as Warfighter Tobacco Company’s Jon Simons and Scott Jansen join Boveda’s Rob Gagner at 2021 PCA in Las Vegas. 

Highlights from this armed forces cigar podcast include:  

• (2:28) What Warfighter cigars are they smoking?
• (5:07) Why do cigar smokers taste wild flavors in cigars?
• (6:06) What’s a trifecta cigar smoking experience?
• (7:12) THE BEST COMEBACK TO WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE CIGAR?!
• (8:34) How did Warfighter Tobacco Company get started?
• (12:55) How service members crowdsourced Warfighter into tobacco shops
• (16:44) Why is the Warfighter cigar called Garrison?
• (17:48) What’s the difference between Warfighter’s Garrison and Field cigars?
• (18:58) What do Warfighter Tobacco’s calibers mean?
• (19:59) What’s Warfighter’s Minutemen cigar like?
• (20:45) Good name for a pandemic cigar—The Dumpster Fire!
• (28:30) THE BEST CIGAR SHOP STORY EVER!
• (40:08) How to smoke a cigar fast without it overheating
• (43:04) Jon’s sniper story
• (47:11) Little known fact about grenades 

Hear how crowdsourcing helped launch this veteran-owned cigar brand, while supporting local brick-and-mortar tobacco shops. Service members and first responders gave cigar retailers an order: CARRY THESE MILITARY-THEMED CIGARS! 

Online, Warfighter sells camouflage travel humidors, cigar ruck cases and airtight Pelican cases, which are all preloaded with Boveda to protect the boutique cigars inside. 

Warfighter also protects its premium cigars by packaging with Boveda. You too can protect the flavor and consistency of cigars like Warfighter’s Field and Garrison blends with Boveda. Boveda, makes 2-way humidity control for cigars, easy wood humidor seasoning, humidor bags and Humidor Starter Kits to condition new wood humidors before adding cigars. Shop Boveda for cigars here: https://store.bovedainc.com/collections/boveda-for-tobacco

Read more about Warfighter Tobacco Company here: https://www.warfightertobacco.com/

Check Out More of Boveda Cigar Exclusives:

How to Slow Smoke a Cigar from the U.S. Cigar Smoking Champion

This Cigar Saved My Life—Cigars for Warriors

https://youtu.be/e_IhwUlPk08

How Herf Groups Are Putting the Boom Back in Cigars

https://youtu.be/oLzm2kgy6tk

When the world throws you a curve, lean into mentors, then pivot. For this elite boutique cigar maker, that meant revitalizing the c brand. Abe Flores has embraced the roots of the D.R.’s cigar lineage; simplified his tobacco blends; halved the number of cigars his Tamboril factory produces; and picked up business advice from cigar legends. 

Talking to Boveda’s Rob Gagner at 2021 PCA in Las Vegas, the cigar entrepreneur shares what’s next as PDR nears its 20th anniversary.

This cigar podcast’s highlights include:  

• (6:31) Best place to buy Cuban cigars in Europe
• (8:13) What cigars you should try if you go to Cuba
• (10:50) How COVID affected the cigar industry
• (12:33) How smoking cigars influences what you do now for fun 
• (15:05) What to watch out for before investing in a vacation property if you’re a cigar smoker
• (17:20) You can rent Abe Flores’s apartment in the D.R. on Airbnb!
• (17:29) Dating advice for cigar aficionados—find a mate who likes cigars (or at least, doesn’t mind them)
• (20:31) What Abe Flores learned from master blender Henke Kelner
• (23:02) What changes to make to stay in business post-pandemic
• (25:26) Remember the Tinder Box? (Did you know Abe Flores coded for the cigar retailer?!)
• (30:44) Why Abe Flores almost shut down PDR
• (31:37) What Abe Flores learned from Tabacalera Palma CEO Jochy Blanco
• (32:25) Selling cigars beyond the United States—you can buy PDR cigars in China
• (34:09) Finding mentors and listening to their business advice

PDR protects its premium cigars by packaging with Boveda. You too can preserve the flavor and consistency of cigars like PDR’s 10th Anniversary with Boveda. Boveda, makes 2-way humidity control for cigars, easy wood humidor seasoning, humidor bags and Humidor Starter Kits to condition new wood humidors before adding cigars. Shop Boveda for cigars here: https://store.bovedainc.com/collections/boveda-for-tobacco

For More Information About PDR Cigars, Visit:

https://www.pdrcigars.com/

Check Out More of Boveda Cigar Exclusives:

For My Humidor | Jochy Blanco

https://youtu.be/Kw7VZ-0JA2k

How to Better Understand Your Cigar Tasting Palate 

https://youtu.be/W-L976OtGlE

How to Spot A FAKE Cuban Cigar

https://youtu.be/qiD5qFgSpqc?t=87 

So what if a kid gets kicked out of kindergarten and fourth grade and tenth grade? He can still succeed—and even earn a master’s degree and make the big bucks in financial services! It’s about what you learn from setbacks that counts. Micky Pegg’s gone from Capitol Hill to tobacco sales to mutual funds, then back to cigars again. In 2018, this professional chameleon and certified tobacco sommelier launched the boutique cigar brand, All Saints Cigars. Listen to this cigar talk with Boveda’s Rob Gagner as he and All Saints founder share the boxworthy Habano Dedicación at 2021 PCA in Las Vegas.

This cigar podcast’s highlights include:  

• (1:50) Discovering that your great-great-grandfather ran a legendary tobacco shop 
• (3:07) Delivering cigars to senators while they conferenced with POTUS
• (4:30) Selling cigars, then managing Georgetown Tobacco
• (7:55 ) Blending All Saints Cigars
• (8:31) Accidental cigar run that became All Saints’s Solamente
• (11.09) Trademarking St. Francis for a cigar release
• (12:49) Bringing to light steps in cigar making that nobody else talks about
• (15:19) Studying international leadership with Volvo and Ikea
• (21:13) Blending tobacco for the entire life of the cigar
• (21:37) Transitioning flavors within a cigar
• (33:01) Growing vegetables on tobacco farms to  gauge the terroir of the soil
• (39:53) Honoring mentors, naming All Saints cigars
• (42:59) Training fine dining servers how to present cigars to increase a table’s check
• (48:50) Leaving CAO
• (52:59) So what? Now what?

Protect the flavor and condition of your big-name brands and boutique cigars, like All Saints with Boveda. Boveda, makes 2-way humidity control for cigars, easy seasoning for wood humidors, humidor bags and Humidor Starter Kits to condition new wood humidors before adding cigars. Shop Boveda for cigars here: https://store.bovedainc.com/collections/boveda-for-tobacco

For more information about All Saints Cigars, visit:

https://www.allsaintscigars.com/cigars/

Check Out More of Boveda Cigar Exclusives:

What Makes a Cigar Full Bodied (Feat. Pete Johnson and Jon Huber)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbId1YUsGms

In the Tobacco Fields with Willy Herrera (Drew Estate's Master Blender)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-el7mY06cs&t=211s

Are Cuban Cigars Really Stronger?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u264JVfwYKA

National treasure? More like an international treasure! Hiram & Solomon is sold worldwide as the official cigar representing Freemasons. Hear Masonic theories debunked, Freemasonary history revealed and fake cigar ops foiled. What’s the “Da Vinci Code” on the cigar brand founded by Masonic Brother, Fouad Kashouty? Find out with Boveda’s Rob Gagner from Fouad and his wife, Romy for a smoke at 2021 PCA in Las Vegas. 

You don’t have to be a Mason to buy Hiram & Solomon Cigars, which include Enter Apprentice, Fellow Craft, Shriner, Traveling Man, Veiled Prophet, Grand Architect and Master Mason. Curamus is the latest cigar release in the Hiram & Solomon Grand Master cigar line. 

Hiram & Solomon protects its premium cigars by packaging with Boveda. You can protect your cigars just like cigars makers. Preserve your passion with Boveda, makers of 2-way humidity control for cigars, easy seasoning for wood humidors, humidor bags and the NEW Humidor Starter Kits. Shop Boveda for cigars here: https://store.bovedainc.com/collections/boveda-for-tobacco

He’s been a coach, a teacher, a vice principal, a financial advisor and a Jersey Shore cigar shop owner. So with a doctoral diploma on the wall, why is Steve Zengel running a cigar company for a living? Um, because it’s awesome. Hear the whole twisty-turny origin of Los Caidos from its founder who sat down with Boveda’s Rob Gagner at 2021 PCA in Las Vegas. And learn how neither sleet, nor rain, nor gloom of night stopped Steve’s motorcycle ride across the U.S. for the Life of a Ride Time, a non-profit organization for fallen first responders. (And why Steve will stick to regional rides from now on!)

For Steve, a cigar is more than just a smoke, it’s a connection to a fallen friend who was a financial advisor and victim of the terrorist attack at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Los Caidos translates to the fallen. 

Currently, $1 from every Los Caidos cigar sold goes to support family members of first responders. Cigar smokers can choose either Los Caidos Blue for a fallen police officer or Los Caidos Red for a fallen firefighter. The Nicaraguan cigars are crafted at Tabacos Valle de Jalapa S.A. (TABSA), which was chosen factory of the year twice by cigar blog, halfwheel.

Los Caidos protects its premium cigars by packaging with Boveda. You can protect your cigars just like cigars makers. Preserve your passion with Boveda, makers of 2-way humidity control for cigars, easy seasoning for wood humidors, humidor bags and one-step hygrometer calibration kits. Shop Boveda for cigars here: https://store.bovedainc.com/collections/boveda-for-tobacco

For more information about upcoming rides, visit:

https://lifeofaridetime.org/

Check Out More of Boveda Cigar Exclusives:

Why Are Cigars So Popular Among Active Military?

https://youtu.be/esSPKWYZIJI

The Best Cigar Brands Don’t Follow Trends (feat. Drew Estate) 

https://youtu.be/Tplzkx6DZ2o

Does The Cigar Binder Affect Taste? (Feat. Luxury Cigar Club) 

https://youtu.be/xvDzAoqjynU?t=87

When you share a cigar, you open up to each other. It’s no different for Raquel Quesada who  grew up in a cigar dynasty. She revealed some never-told stories to Boveda’s Rob Gagner over Quesada 1974 cigars at 2021 PCA in Las Vegas. 

Raquel talked openly about childhood hijinks; the least favorite training rotation of cigar operations; secret grows on the Quesada tobacco farm; and blending swaps she pulled on her dad, Manuel "Manolo" Quesada. As president and owner of the family-owned cigar factory, Manolo raised two strong daughters to succeed in the C-suite boy’s club of premium cigars. 

Highlights of the cigar conversation with Quesada include: 

• Shaking her booty to Dance VXN (1:07)
• Tweaking tobacco blends in dad’s cigar recipe (13:52)
• Coloring a box of cigars for consistency (16:07)
• Making your mark to get what you paid for (18:47)
• Studying and working at a tobacco shop in Boston—a tropical girl in the snow (21:20)
• Playing well with competitors strengthens the Dominican cigar industry (27:41)
• Jamming in a band with Nirka Reyes, Abe Flores, Litto Gomez and “Henke” Kelner (30:21)
• Being kids on a tobacco farm—Quesada exclusive (31:44)
• Putting the Quesada name on a cigar for the first time with the Quesada 35th anniversary blend (38:16)
• Hatching crazy ideas to expand the cigar brand—origin story of the of Quesada Oktoberfest (41:51)
• How Raquel Quesada is similar to Manolo Quesada (46:44)
• How Raquel Quesada is different than her dad (47:47)
• Growing wrapper for an upcoming cigar release—Quesada exclusive (1:00:15) 

Quesada Cigars protects its premium cigars by packaging with Boveda. You can protect your cigars just like cigars makers. Preserve your passion with Boveda, makers of 2-way humidity control for cigars, easy seasoning for wood humidors, humidor bags and one-step hygrometer calibration kits. Shop Boveda for cigars here: https://store.bovedainc.com/collections/boveda-for-tobacco

Quesada Cigars is a family-owned Dominican cigar operation. Its best known brands are Quesada, Casa Magna, Heisenberg and Fonseca cigars. Learn more about Quesada Cigars http://quesadacigars.com/

Check Out More of Boveda Cigar Exclusives:

For My Humidor | Manuel Quesada (patriarch of Quesada Cigars)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JR8Gkx47YQQ&t=10s

How Ferio Tego Cigars are Like Your Favorite Song (Feat. Michael Herklots) | Box Press Ep. 49

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYX2VJeHTjI

How to set up a new wood humidor with the Boveda Humidor Starter Kit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sub3mPJo1Tg&t=1s