#ELOsoFumarTakes

This week, #ELOsoFumarTakes is pleased to welcome Jesse Mariut & Steve Gherebean - the two men behind the acclaimed and renowned documentary Hand Rolled: A Film About Cigars! If we were doing a review, we'd certainly be late to the table, but it always was my intention to have this interview a little later into the journey. Luckily, my guests have obliged and we'll sit down and not only talk about the creative process, but also the journey! We discuss impact, criticisms, and more.  Enjoy!

http://www.handrolledmovie.com/

Available on Amazon Prime: https://www.amazon.com/Hand-Rolled-Film-About-Cigars/dp/B07VTSD1C6

Available on ITunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/hand-rolled-a-film-about-cigars/id1472530618

Available on Goggle Play: https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/Hand_Rolled_A_Film_About_Cigars?id=rTg60uyJITk&hl=en_US

Happy Easter Everyone! This week, #ELOsoFumarTakes brings some very special guests for our #115thTake. We sit down with Benjamin Holt of Dissident Cigars, Dan Thompson of Micallef Cigars, and Bradley Rubin of Alec & Bradley Cigars.

With three unique curveball segments, we discuss everything from scientific labs, true love, past lives, and dead Japanese soldier remains.  It's all right here.  Enjoy!

Alec & Bradley: https://www.alecandbradley.com/

Dissident Cigars: https://ovejanegracigars.com/pages/dissident

Micallef Cigars: https://www.micallefcigars.com/

Dissident Releases HOME 2020 in an effort to help retailers: https://cigar-coop.com/2020/03/cigar-news-dissident-cigars-announces-limited-release-of-home-2020.html

Micallef Unlimited Inventory Program: https://cigar-coop.com/2020/03/cigar-news-micallef-launches-ultimate-inventory-program.html

British Tobacco developing COVID-19 vaccine:

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britishamericantobacco-vaccine/british-american-tobacco-working-on-covid-19-vaccine-using-tobacco-leaves-idUSKBN21J4XF

NY Physicians urging Gov't interference of Tobacco Use during COVID-19 era: https://www.nydailynews.com/coronavirus/ny-coronavirus-doctors-call-on-cuomo-to-ban-cigarettes-and-vaping-20200323-fl3ntgajujeljhczvax3kdexzi-story.html?fbclid=IwAR1i2gYGnwPsyLBfPPkvFBDLXkrQXkAWMtFUUvL6Sv_xhgADwcfRI9VnerY

This week, #ELOsoFumarTakes welcomes Glen Case of Kristoff Cigars to sit down for our #114thTake. As you all know, The Kristoff Vengeance Perfecto was named the #ELOsoFumarTakes #1 Cigar of the Year for 2019, so it'll be a huge pleasure to sit down with the man behind that cigar. Case started off in the Financial Industry, before jumping into his wife's (Teri) family cigar brokerage business. Six months in and building large successful sales for companies led to him being fired, yes, fired.  You see, when companies get larger and more successful, they move from brokerages to In-House Sales.  It's part of the gig, something that didn't sit well with Case.  So, Kristoff was born.  Named for Glen and Teri's son the company has become one of the industry's success stories and has done it in a way that just isn't typical. The rest is history!  So, we talked building from the ground up, learning along the way, and quietly becoming one of the industry's best. Enjoy!

https://kristoff.com/

#Take of the #Take: "Brother, if you're not failing, then you're not trying hard enough." - Glen Case

This week, #ELOsoFumarTakes is pleased to welcome the dapper and transcendent leader in the premium cigar industry, Michael Herklots of Nat Sherman. Our #113thTake promises to be one to remember as we dive into the journey and story that has molded one of the industry's beloved people and how he found himself at the top of one of the most powerful tobacco companies in the world.  We dive into his style, his compass for leadership, as well as some of the fascinating conversations he's been having on his CO-Video chats! Enjoy!

https://www.natshermanintl.com/

https://www.berklee.edu/

A Great Follow & access to CO-Video Chats: https://www.instagram.com/michaelherklots/

Robert Spangle: http://www.thousandyardstyle.com/

Christian McBride: https://www.christianmcbride.com/

This week, #ELOsoFumarTakes welcomes Abe Dababneh to sit down for #112thTake. These are trying times for the industry. And, a Pandemic is going on. It's no laughing matter, small business owners make up a large part of our treasured industry and as communities are coming together in big ways, the cigar business is still suffering. Dababneh sits atop a retail operation whose many locations are nestled and woven parts of their communities. KMA Talk Radio's voice and reach capture the pulse of the cigar industry in a very real way. We sit down with Abe to talk serious business with a serious businessman. Don't worry, there will be some levity as well. Enjoy!

KMA Talk Radio:

http://www.kmatalkradio.com/

Smoke Inn: https://www.smokeinn.com/ 

#Take of the #Take: "If they told me that if you caught COVID-19 and 60 days later things would look like the Walking Dead, then this would all make sense."

This week, #ELOsoFumarTakes welcomes back two-time and consecutive Top 3 recipients for our Top Ten Cigars of the Year - Reinier Lorenzo of HVC Cigars. For the #111thTake we look back at the road it took him to get here, with a turbulent few months in the cigar industry as a whole and what's going on today, how does this affect HVC's plans for the future. We also have a little fun with his name and the process and approach to blending he takes.  And speaking of time we dive into the past with Lorenzo's latest project - HVC 500 Years Anniversary. Enjoy!

http://hvccigars.com/#/

Havana celebrates 500 Years since foundation: https://whynotcuba.com/havana-celebrates-its-500th-birthday-in-2019-here-is-what-to-expect/

HVC 500th Anniversary: https://cigar-coop.com/2019/09/cigar-news-hvc-500th-anniversary-cigar-announced.html

#Take of the #Take: "Wash your hands and stay smokey" - Reinier Lorenzo

This week, #ELOsoFumarTakes welcomes Claudio Sgroi of Mombacho Cigars to sit down for #Take110. Sgroi and Mombacho have taken on some incredible projects in the last couple of years. They first gave us the revolutionary Casa Favilli - featuring a Nicaraguan-grown Connecticut Broadleaf. At the 2019 PCA (nee IPCPR) Trade Show, Sgroi announced the unprecedented collaboration with Diplomatico Rum, the infamous Venezuelan Spirit Company. We also look back at some of the decisions that put Sgroi and Mombacho on this course of creativity, innovation, while still holding true to tradition. Enjoy!

https://www.mombachocigars.com/

Casa Favilli: https://tobaccobusiness.com/casa-favilli-cigar-factor-named-top-attraction-in-granada/

2019 IPCPR Coverage of Mombacho: https://cigar-coop.com/2019/07/ipcpr-2019-spotlight-mombacho-cigars-s-a.html

Carita Feliz Kinder Association: http://www.caritafelizkinder.org/

I Love Venezuela Foundation: https://www.ilovevenezuela.org/ 

Diplomatico Rum:http://rondiplomatico.com/age-filter/?r=http%3A%2F%2Frondiplomatico.com%2F

This week, #ELOsoFumarTakes welcomes back Skip Martin for our #109thTake. It may seem like yesterday since we sat down with Skip, but the changes that have come through the industry have been seismic. Martin always brings his 'A' Game and 2020 is a big year for RoMa Craft Tobac, celebrating 10 years. Additionally, we chatted BAKA, and Industry History and legislative updates. Martin teaches me some Spanish and we chat cooking in our Curveball segment.  And we have a surprise visit from the birthday boy himself, Mike Rosales! Enjoy!

https://romacrafttobac.com/

Learn more about House Bill HR 2339: https://cigar-coop.com/2020/02/cigar-news-comprehensive-anti-tobacco-bill-hr-2339-bill-passes-house.html

This week, #ELOsoFumarTakes welcomes current #1 Cigar of the Year maker, Rafael Nodal to sit down for #Take108. Our guest's journey is more than just cigar creation, it started with humble beginnings, multiple harrowing moves, and a daring business endeavor. We seek to discover what keeps this man going and what inspires the creativity that created one of the world's most sought after cigars.  

https://www.cigaraficionado.com/top25cigar/aging-room-quattro-nicaragua-maestro-2019

https://www.altadisusa.com/

https://www.carnegiehall.org/

This week, #ELOsoFumarTakes is pleased to welcome Drew Newman of J.C. Newman Cigar Company to sit down for our #107thTake. Four generations in and 125 years of excellence have been given to us by the incredible Newman family. We'll pick the brain of the latest generation of this storied family to join the cigar industry and what it means to take the company to new heights. All of this while culminating over a century of history in its finest hour yet.

https://www.jcnewman.com/

https://www.jcnewman.com/the-american-cigar/