Cigar Snob Podcast

We reach into the Cigar Snob Vault for a Room 101 Master Collection One (in Mutante), talk sports, and ponder a crappy day at Tim Horton's.

Music in this episode:

"BossaBossa" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

In this episode, the team talks about recent trips to Puerto Rico and Key West. We also enjoy Don Rey cigars, recap recent NBA Playoffs progress, and breakdown the caca risk of various fast foods.

Music in this episode:

"BossaBossa" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

The cigar industry is dominated by families whose tobacco stories begin in Cuba. But one company in particular stands out as not only having a deeply Nicaraguan identity, but also having a history that is tightly woven into that of its home country. In this episode, you’ll hear Erik Calviño’s interview with Alejandro Martínez Cuenca, the man behind Joya de Nicaragua. Alejandro dives deep into the history of Joya, the tumultuous political climate that surrounded it, how it came to be the official cigar of the White House, and what lies ahead for the brand. You won’t want to miss this one.

Music in this episode:

"BossaBossa" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Cuba has a new president. What does that mean? Also, we smoke FSG by Drew Estate and talk about brand owner Jeff's revealing tobacco farm video.

Fake Obama:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQ54GDm1eL0

John Suárez on Communism in Cuba:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jf7M5SP3Q

Al Jazeera English panel on Cuba's new president:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IX6ObcacAU

Video from the Florida Sun Grown farm:

https://www.facebook.com/FloridaSunGrown/videos/2030465380608376/

Dave Rubin interviews Thomas Sowell:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ivf9jrXGAY

Boxers of briefs?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6tbrbALSUU&t=

Music in this episode:

"BossaBossa" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

The team celebrates our 25th episode with Hamlet 25th Year cigars. We also dive into the world of sports, touching on the NBA Playoffs, the Masters, and Tristan Thompson's motorboating.

In addition, we recap Erik's trip to Pittsburgh, Nick's time in New Orleans, and Ivan's adventures in male garter belts.

Music in this episode:

"BossaBossa" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Spend enough time around professional chefs, and you’ll find that they are — disproportionately — lovers of premium cigars. Maybe it’s the need to relax after all the long hours in the kitchen or the fact that they have the refied palates to appreciate complex flavors. Whatever it is, it’s been my experience that you’re more likely to find fellow cigar smokers among the chef ranks than most other professions.

Recently, our own Erik Calviño got a chance to chat with Michael Beltran, the chef and partner at Ariete, a great new Miami restaurant. They talked about his perspective on food, how it was informed by his leaving Miami for a time, and how dominoes played a role in his developing a passion for cigars.

Music in this episode:

"BossaBossa" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

The team reaches into the Cigar Snob Vault to smoke Camacho Blackout Limited Edition 2013. We also talk about lighters, Reddit cigar trades, and beer that makes your butt bleed.

Mentioned in this episode:

GT's Kombucha:

http://gtslivingfoods.com/

Clapton: The Autobiography:

https://www.amazon.com/Clapton-Autobiography-Eric/dp/076792536X

Marc Maron "Too Real" (Netflix standup special)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6M_y99jqTgk

GTS Kombucha

Music in this episode:

"BossaBossa" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

The most recent issue of Cigar Snob includes a story about Aganorsa, the Nicaragua-based agriculture company that has become one of that country’s most prolific growers or premium cigar tobacco and well respected manufacturers of premium cigars.

While in Nicaragua for that story, Nick Jiménez interviewed Nicholas Melillo, the founder of Foundation Cigar Co.; you can find some of his quotes in that story in the magazine.

In this episode of the podcast, you’ll hear the full interview with Nick. We get into the company’s beginnings, what’s on the horizon on the product front, and what it been like for him to transition to life on the road in the U.S. after many years living in Estelí, Nicaragua.

Music in this episode:

"BossaBossa" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

The team (Erik Calviño, Ivan Ocampo, Nicolás Jiménez) smokes La Gloria Cubana Artesanos de Obelisco cigars while talking March Madness basketball, FDA regulation, Rocky Patel's new lounge in Pittsburgh, and fake meat!

Mentioned in this episode:

Captain Andrew Luck:

https://twitter.com/captandrewluck?lang=en

Jimmy P's Butcher Shop:

https://www.jimmypsbutchershop.com/

Meet the guy cleaning up a nature preserve on his own:

http://www.dademag.com/features/cleaning-bear-cut-preserve-mangrove-swamp-miami

Take Your Pills trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6Xebo1pngM

Rand Paul reads the omnibus bill (Twitter thread):

https://twitter.com/RandPaul/status/976909053870911488

Music in this episode:

"BossaBossa" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

If you shop at brick-and-mortar tobacconists, you’re almost certain in contact with loads of Eduardo Fernández’s tobacco whether you like it or not. One of the most prolific growers of premium cigar tobacco in Nicaragua, Eduardo came into the cigar business by an unconventional path.

His agricultural conglomerate, AGANORSA, includes his tobacco growing operation and his cigar manufacturing business. The AGANORSA factory, which has been known until now as Tabacos Valle de Jalapa, or TABSA, makes cigars for Eduardo’s own Casa Fernandez brand, as well as JFR, Foundation, Illusione, Warped, Viaje, and HVC.

Eduardo sat down with me for an interview not too long ago at his factory. We talked about his past ventures, how he built his tobacco empire, and what he sees in the factory’s future.

Music in this episode:

"BossaBossa" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/