Tonight we turn our attention to Sophomore Releases. These are the second releases from either a company, a brand, or a line. We look at some of the better known Sophomore releases and determine if they were a success or a failure.

Finally, we have our United Cigars Presidents, Tabacalera USA Great Things are Happening, and Espinosa Today in Sports History segments!

On Episode 95, Dave and Coop take on a project known as “The Beginning of the End”.

There is a point an artist releases an album, but for several reasons the signs are beginning to point that things are heading downhill. It could be because the artist isn’t keeping up with the times, the band is falling apart, unforseen circumstances, a dividing line among fans, just the fact the music isn’t good anymore, or many other reasons. Tonight we will look at several artists where you can just see the signs, and discuss why things would spiral downward.

In this episode, Dave smokes the Fosforo while Coop smokes the La Aurora Hors D’Age

As always you can follow along with our Spotify Playlists:

Episode 95 Playlist

References

Battle of the Bands 80s Madness Results

Mötley Crüe respond to Mick Mars Lawsuit

Nikki Sixx “played his butt off” on Dolly Parton’s upcoming rock album

José Blanco Moving to Worldwide Brand Ambassador Role for Arturo Fuente

Alec and Bradley Rubin, Jonathan Lipson Join STG Team

Developing Palates: Team Cigar Review: West Tampa Attic Series Attic 

El Oso Fumar Take 248: Developing Palates

Pet Shop Boys’ Lost Room: Glittery Electro Pop at its Best

Pet Shop Boys: Lost

On Episode 95, Dave and Coop take on a project known as “The Beginning of the End”.

There is a point an artist releases an album, but for several reasons the signs are beginning to point that things are heading downhill. It could be because the artist isn’t keeping up with the times, the band is falling apart, unforseen circumstances, a dividing line among fans, just the fact the music isn’t good anymore, or many other reasons. Tonight we will look at several artists where you can just see the signs, and discuss why things would spiral downward.

In this episode, Dave smokes the Fosforo while Coop smokes the La Aurora Hors D’Age

As always you can follow along with our Spotify Playlists:

Episode 95 Playlist

References

Battle of the Bands 80s Madness Results

Mötley Crüe respond to Mick Mars Lawsuit

Nikki Sixx “played his butt off” on Dolly Parton’s upcoming rock album

José Blanco Moving to Worldwide Brand Ambassador Role for Arturo Fuente

Alec and Bradley Rubin, Jonathan Lipson Join STG Team

Developing Palates: Team Cigar Review: West Tampa Attic Series Attic 

El Oso Fumar Take 248: Developing Palates

Pet Shop Boys’ Lost Room: Glittery Electro Pop at its Best

Pet Shop Boys: Lost

“We tease him a lot because we got him on the spot”. Tonight, its Welcome Back Justin – Justin Andrews of Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG).

This is the second of two shows around our 6 year anniversary!  There is plenty to talk about with Justin on the happenings of brands of both General Cigar and Forged Cigar Company. We’ll get the skinny on the collaborations, the acquisitions, and product innovations under the STG umbrella.

Plus we will have our Cattle Baron Steak Question of the Night, Tabacalera USA Ties That Bind, Alec Bradley Live True, and the Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Deliberation segments. We will also debut a new segment tonight the Espinosa “This Day in Sports History”.

“We tease him a lot because we got him on the spot”. Tonight, its Welcome Back Justin – Justin Andrews of Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG).

This is the second of two shows around our 6 year anniversary!  There is plenty to talk about with Justin on the happenings of brands of both General Cigar and Forged Cigar Company. We’ll get the skinny on the collaborations, the acquisitions, and product innovations under the STG umbrella.

Plus we will have our Cattle Baron Steak Question of the Night, Tabacalera USA Ties That Bind, Alec Bradley Live True, and the Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Deliberation segments. We will also debut a new segment tonight the Espinosa “This Day in Sports History”.

Crowned Heads released a new limited edition cigar late in 2022 to commemorate their move to NASCA for some of their cigar lines.  Someone instrumental in this move was Gustavo Cura, who was in charge of Oliva’s tobacco farms and interests in Nicaragua, at the time.  Gustavo helped Crown Heads in Nicaragua while they were looking at tobaccos and cigar factories for their lines.  As a token of appreciation, they gave Gustavo a bottle of Johnny Walker Blue which he cherishes and still has to this day.  To commemorate that event, Crowned Heads created the Azul y Oro at NASCA, which Gustavo now leads, using the blue and gold color scheme of the Johnny Walker Blue bottle.

Vitola:  Toro

Size:  6 x 50

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano

Binder: Nicaraguan (Jalapa)

Filler: Nicaraguan (3 Regions), Dominican

Country of Origin: Nicaragua

Factory: Nicaraguan American Cigars S.A. (NACSA)

MSRP:  $11.95

Final Score:  89

Crowned Heads released a new limited edition cigar late in 2022 to commemorate their move to NASCA for some of their cigar lines.  Someone instrumental in this move was Gustavo Cura, who was in charge of Oliva’s tobacco farms and interests in Nicaragua, at the time.  Gustavo helped Crown Heads in Nicaragua while they were looking at tobaccos and cigar factories for their lines.  As a token of appreciation, they gave Gustavo a bottle of Johnny Walker Blue which he cherishes and still has to this day.  To commemorate that event, Crowned Heads created the Azul y Oro at NASCA, which Gustavo now leads, using the blue and gold color scheme of the Johnny Walker Blue bottle.

Vitola:  Toro

Size:  6 x 50

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano

Binder: Nicaraguan (Jalapa)

Filler: Nicaraguan (3 Regions), Dominican

Country of Origin: Nicaragua

Factory: Nicaraguan American Cigars S.A. (NACSA)

MSRP:  $11.95

Final Score:  89

This is the first of two shows around our 6 year anniversary!  Tonight the first of two great guests as we welcome back the one and only José Blanco!

José will talk Arturo Fuente and weigh in on a ton of industry topics.  Plus we will have our Cattle Baron Steak Question of the Night, Tabacalera USA Ties That Bind, Alec Bradley Live True, and the Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Deliberation segments.

This is the first of two shows around our 6 year anniversary!  Tonight the first of two great guests as we welcome back the one and only José Blanco!

José will talk Arturo Fuente and weigh in on a ton of industry topics.  Plus we will have our Cattle Baron Steak Question of the Night, Tabacalera USA Ties That Bind, Alec Bradley Live True, and the Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Deliberation segments.

On Episode 94, Dave and Coop tackle artists who have three impact albums in a row.

We look at impact as a combination of commercial sales and critical acclaim. Surprisingly this was a much tougher exercise than one might think. Some of the artists who made it will surprise you, and some of the ones who missed will also surprise you.

In this episode, Dave smokes the Undercrown Dogma while Coop smokes the HVC Selección No. 1 Natural.

As always you can follow along with our Spotify Playlists:

Episode 94 Playlist

References

Battle of the Bands: 80s Madness

Paul Cattermole Obituary

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Official Fan Vote Leaderboard

2023 Cigar Big Board Launched

Espinosa Cigars to Release 601 Orange and 601 Yellow

Scandinavian Tobacco Group to Officially Return to PCA Trade Show with Forged Cigar Company

Developing Palates: Team Cigar Review: Blackened by Drew Estate M81 Robusto

Run D.M.C.: Raising Hell