This cigar podcast could save your or a loved one's life. Following his own mental health crisis, Adam Levine founded the League of Fat Bastards Cigars. The boutique Nicaraguan cigar brand gives away 40% of its profits to men's mental health initiatives; hosts events where men can get real about their lives; and encourages intentional discussions about mental health over cigars. Interview by Drew Emmer at PCA 2024, the preeminent event for premium cigar and pipe industry. What is Boveda? League ...
Jul 26, 2024•13 min•Ep. 142
Use Boveda to protect all the Lovely Cigars in your humidor, click here to get emails: https://hubs.la/Q01BLsBF0 This vintage 1800s Wisconsin cigar brand has a new life thanks to owners Mike Gehm, Keith Archiquette, and Dylan Masse. The trio blends cigar that they love, and it turns out a lot cigar smokers love Lovely Cigars, too. Hear more about this boutique cigar brand that produces Elegante X2 Ain't They Lovely Cigar, The Bay City Cigar, and the No. 162. Interview by Drew Emmer at PCA 2024, ...
Jul 19, 2024•24 min•Ep. 141
NEW CIGAR BRAND: Domain Cigars, whose flavor and construction are protected by Boveda. Use Boveda to protect the cigars in your humidor, click here to get emails: https://hubs.la/Q01BLsBF0 Domain Cigars is the crest of the third wave of cigar making. Fully vertically integrated. Craft. Innovative. If they can't produce a cigar, they won't make it anymore. This new guy in town was developed by Daniel Lance and his business partner, Esteban Disla, a master blender who has created cigars for 30 cig...
Jul 12, 2024•21 min•Ep. 140
Protect your cigars from bad guys like mold and low humidity by using Boveda in your humidor, click here to get emails: https://hubs.la/Q01BLsBF0 Unlike a bad guy, his Maduro cigar won't kick you in the head. Discover Porto Real, actor Alex Estrella's boutique cigar brand. Porto Real cigars are tasty Dominican and Nicaragua blends that are affordable. Cigars are from $8 to $12. When playing a ne'er-do-well in a film or series, Alex would often smoke a cigar. (Hey, cigar smokers are not so bad!) ...
Jul 05, 2024•16 min•Ep. 139
Protect the flavor and character of boutique cigars like PDR with Boveda. Click here to get emails: https://hubs.la/Q01BLsBF0 Does the size of a cigar matter? Sure does for PDR founder Abe Flores. Find out if he prefers fatter stogies versus shorter, slimmer cigars. Then get cigar recommendations from this award-winning master blender. Looking for an accessible Cubanesque cigar? PDR (Puro Dominican Republic) blends Cuban traditions with boutique modern manufacturing . The cigar makers employ a c...
Jun 28, 2024•12 min•Ep. 138
Protect the flavor and character of artisan cigars with Boveda. Find out how to use Boveda in your humidor, click here to get emails: https://hubs.la/Q01BLsBF0 Cigar smokers in the Pacific Northwest, you made this Tampa cigar famous. Try the latest iteration of the Juan de Fuca cigar blended by Serafin de Cuba. Fourth generation cigar maker Arnoldo Serafin talks with Boveda's Drew Emmer about reviving forgotten cigar brands at PCA 2024, the preeminent event for premium cigar and pipe industry. 0...
Jun 21, 2024•8 min•Ep. 137
So they're ready for cigars right away, Brizard & Co. ships humidors with Boveda's specialty seasoning packets. Brizard airflow humidors have compartments that position Boveda above and below the cigars to surround them in the idea humidity. Find out how to use Boveda in your humidor, click here to get emails: https://hubs.la/Q01BLsBF0 Brizard & Co. makes premium cigar accessories from exotic woods and genuine leather. Manufacturing in Southern California allows Brizard & Co. to cont...
Jun 14, 2024•17 min•Ep. 136
Whether you're holding on to a $100 Sans Pareil Gold or a value smoke, preserve that cigar's flavor with Boveda, click here to get emails: https://hubs.la/Q01BLsBF0 Sans Pareil is pronounced sahn-pah-rehy. (BTW, Boveda is pronounced boh-veh-dah.) Sans Pareil is French and translates to "without equal or unparalleled." Fitting for four lines of ultra-premium cigars that command $38 to $100 a stick. Should you save a Sans Pareil for a special occasion? Or work celebratory sticks into your cigar ro...
Jun 07, 2024•11 min•Ep. 135
What's in your humidor? Protect it with Boveda—sign up for cigar care tips here: https://hubs.la/Q01BLsBF0 A whole lotta smart cigar storage in this one. Along with its popular 80-count model, CigarBros personal humidors are now available in 4 new sizes to keep 5, 10, 20, and 30 cigars. CigarBros founder Remon Mansour announced that retailers, like the online wine merchant, Wooden Cork are now carrying a prefilled CigarBros personal humidor. This heavy-duty black foam cigar vault is reusable but...
May 24, 2024•17 min•Ep. 133
If $60 cigars are stored with Boveda, shouldn't yours be? Click here to receive cigar care tips: https://hubs.la/Q01BLsBF0 UberLuxury cigars are a new segment of premium cigars created by Jeremiah Meerapfel. His family's legendary Meerapfel Cameroon tobacco is touted as the most exclusive wrapper in the world. This fifth generation cigar man talks how his family evolved cigar smokers beyond Cubans toward New World Cigars (AKA cigars originating from any country that isn't Cuba!). Meerapfel and B...
May 17, 2024•38 min•Ep. 132
Keep the cigars you buy from drying out, use Boveda. Click here to get cigar care tips: https://hubs.la/Q01BLsBF0 Mo reveals a new release for Patina Cigars! Founder of Patina Cigars, Mo Maali believes a cigar is a two-hour vacation, a cost-effective psychiatrist session, and a barrier-breaker. Cigars ARE the best way to bring people together, including Mo and Boveda's Drew Emmer at PCA 2024, the preeminent event for premium cigar and pipe industry. 00:00 This is Box Press 00:14 A COVID podcast ...
May 15, 2024•18 min•Ep. 131
Cigar loving wise men (and women) preserve the flavor, aroma, and character of sticks with Boveda, click here to get emails: https://hubs.la/Q01BLsBF0 Foundation is no longer making the El Güegüense cigar nor the original Wise Man Maduro blend. In their place, find out what Nicholas Melillo, Foundation founder has in store for lovers of this popular boutique brand of thoughtfully blended, hand-rolled cigars. See what's new for Foundation cigars with Boveda's Drew Emmer at PCA 2024, the preeminen...
May 10, 2024•16 min•Ep. 130
Long Live the King! Learn how to preserve cigars with Boveda, click here to get emails: https://hubs.la/Q01BLsBF0 After running Caldwell Cigar Co., for a decade, Robert Caldwell and co-founder, Juan Jaramillo sold the company to Laudisi Enterprises. How will your favorite Caldwell cigars, like Blind Man's Bluff and Anastasia be affected? Find out directly from Robert himself. By acquiring the boutique cigar brand, Laudisi is branching out from the premium pipes and pipe tobacco arenas. Catch the...
May 08, 2024•11 min•Ep. 129
Missing something from your cigars? Learn what humidity has to do with cigar flavors, click here to get Boveda emails: https://hubs.la/Q01BLsBF0 Connoisseurs of fine wines who love cigars, this cigar talk is for you. Get in the know on Somm's limited-release boutique cigars. Somm is short for sommelier. Somm's lines are named after wines and blended to tap into your palate for wine and cigars. BDX is Red Bordeaux. BDX Blanc is White Bordeaux. Rioja Blend is inspired by the eponymous Spanish wine...
May 03, 2024•43 min•Ep. 128
Never miss cigar care reveals. Click here for Boveda's email insider news: https://hubs.la/Q01BLsBF0 Who are you gonna call to save a massive cigar collection you have to take possession of in a few weeks? Find what Michael Herklots did as he takes you through launching his storied cigar brand, Ferio Tego. Ferio Tego is behind Elegancia and Generoso cigars and the cigar maker that brought back best-selling legendary cigar lines, including Metropolitan. Michael is the co-founder of Ferio Tego. He...
May 01, 2024•24 min•Ep. 127
Never miss cigar greatness. Click here for Boveda's email insider news: https://hubs.la/Q01BLsBF0 It's like having a smoke in a cigar lounge WITH 5 CIGAR NOTABLES. Light up you best celebratory cigar (perhaps La Flor Dominicana Andalusian Bull, rated #1 cigar of 2016 by Cigar Aficionado, BTW?) for this virtual smoke sesh featuring: - Cigar Aficionado Hall of Famer Litto Gomez, Co-owner of La Flor Dominicana (LFD) - Tony Gomez, LFD Vice President - Sean Knutsen, Boveda CEO - Tim Swail, Boveda Exe...
Apr 27, 2024•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 126
Good cigar talk? Learn more about cigar storage with Boveda. Click here to get emails: https://hubs.la/Q01BLsBF0 Casa 1910—THE Cinco De Mayo cigar of choice! Add this cigar trip to your bucket list: Miami, Florida, Cinco De Mayo (Cinco De Dade!) for tequila and Casa 1910's new Mexigars—affordable bundled cigars that “encapsulate the essence of Mexico, using diverse seeds, tobaccos, and fermentations to create unique flavor profiles.” Manolo Santiago, co-founder of Casa 1910 cigars joins Boveda's...
Apr 24, 2024•14 min•Ep. 125
Learn about the sweat equity that goes into fire-curing tobacco for cigars. See baby tobacco plants grow and mature. And hear how a tobacco plant becomes cigar ready in this field trip to a tobacco farm on the central northern border of Tennessee with cigar connoisseur Rob Gagner and Tennessee realtor/historian Jennifer Davis. What is Boveda? Craft cigars brands and big name cigar companies protect their blends with Boveda 2-way humidity control—that brown pack that you find in the box with your...
Mar 25, 2024•7 min•Ep. 123
OpusX, Chateau Fuente, Julius Caeser, Cuesta-Rey, shall we go on? You wouldn't have Dominican cigars without the Dominican people.The mountainous agricultural Bonao region of the Dominican Republic, however, suffers from extreme poverty, an inadequate educational system, and poor water quality, which greatly affects people's health. Two giants in premium cigars—Carlos “Carlito” P. Fuente, Jr., chairman of Arturo Fuente Cigars and Eric Newman, president of J.C. Newman Cigar Company—set out to cha...
Mar 04, 2024•20 min•Ep. 122
Ready to get metaphysical over cigars? "Everything is an experience," says sensory expert and cigar passionado Reinhard Pohorec. And what a vision quest this entrepreneur is on since he joined UberLuxury cigar brand Meerapfel as its vice president. You might recognize Reinhard as host of the live cigar podcast, Light 'em Up Lounge, where he talks to cigar insiders. Tables turn as Boveda's Drew Emmer interviews Reinhard to talk first cigars, work-life balance, and finding your purpose. What is Bo...
Feb 19, 2024•34 min•Ep. 121
Are Apostate Cigars God's gift to cigar smokers? Prepare to be converted by this boutique cigar maker whose blends are based on the symbolism of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Founded by former LSD members, Brandon Oveson and Kendrick Woolstenhulme, Apostate Cigars are blended at Jochy Blanco's Tabacalera Palma cigar factory in the Dominican Republic. Boveda's Drew Emmer interviewed Brandon to delve into these D.R. cigars created for flavor, not strength. What is Boveda? La...
Feb 05, 2024•26 min•Ep. 120
Green Bay isn't just about football. Now this is some wild card—an upstart cigar company outta Green Bay, Wisconsin! Learn about Green Bay's rich history of cigar making that's been revived by the Lovely Cigars, a midwestern artisan cigar brand. Boveda's Drew Emmer talks cigars and Green Bay with two of Lovely's owners, Keith Archiquette and Dylan Masse, who along with Mike Gehm developed the Elegante X2 Ain't They Lovely stick and the No. 162, which is an homage cigar to union workers. Lovely C...
Jan 22, 2024•20 min•Ep. 119
Know why tobacco grows well in Connecticut? Or what revitalized Nicaraguan cigars? Or why a layer of sand on top of clay makes a great foundation for a tobacco plant? Learn cigar facts, how to pronounce Foundation's award-winning El Güegüense Cigar and more. Go deeper into the history of the cigar Motherland of Nicaragua with Foundation Cigars Founder/Owner, Nick Melillo and Boveda's Drew Emmer. What is Boveda? Premium cigars brands protect their blends with Boveda 2-way humidity control—that br...
Jan 08, 2024•39 min•Ep. 117
FIRST IN A NYC CIGAR SERIES—2 BLENDS, 1 BOX. Pick your side. Baseball bat cigars or knife cigars? Get ready to rumble over cigars named after the weapons of choice by rival gangs in West Side Story, 1957 play/1961 movie/2021 reboot. The 20-count boxes of West Side Story cigars feature both blends, which you can tell apart by their secondary bands. You get 10 blue bats (Mexican San Andres) and 10 red knives (Brazilian Arapiraca). Blended and hand rolled in New York City, West Side Story cigars ar...
Dec 22, 2023•7 min•Ep. 118
But dad, why? Every daughter has said it. When Raquel Quesada entered the family business, she questioned why good wasn't good enough when it came to making premium cigars. She soon learned that construction, consistency, and quality have to be perfect, especially if your father is Cigar Aficionado Hall of Famer, Manuel (Manolo) Quesada. Raquel is among the fifth generation producing the Dominican premium brand, which includes Quesada, Casa Magna, Vega Magna, and Oktoberfest cigars. Find out why...
Dec 11, 2023•18 min•Ep. 116
Picture choosing your own premium cigar from a fully stocked humidor while you fill your tank. And it's a smoke you want to smoke, not some rocket dog. Think Montecristo, Oliva, Cohiba, Rocky Patel, or other aficionado-approved cigar. CigarBros founder Remon Mansour is making it easier for you to buy cigars where you already go—non-traditional cigar sellers, like gas stations, convenience stores, liquor stores, lounges, casinos, golf courses, etc. The company provides a patented stand-alone clim...
Dec 04, 2023•30 min•Ep. 115
Walking into a cigar shop's humidor can be intimidating. As a member of the Cigar Club, you get curated premium cigars auto-shipped right to you every month. The way to go for new smokers, busy smokers, or cigar smokers who don't live near a decent tobacco shop. You can specify the types of cigars you favor—mild-medium, medium, full, or a variety of all three (3). There's also a bi-monthly subscription of limited-edition blends developed by the club called Cigar Club Customs. Or sign up for a qu...
Nov 16, 2023•10 min•Ep. 113
Standard & Twain is the 1st blind tasting cigar subscription. Like a surprise? The cigars' brand bands are removed to do away with hype, bias, and your own pre-conceived notions. You smoke the cigar for the cigar. Afterward, scan the QR code on the S&T band to reveal what cigar you just smoked. The cigar club for you if you want to discover hidden gems, develop your own palate, and cut through the noise of shopping for cigars. Just fill out a quick cigar quiz, then choose how often you w...
Nov 15, 2023•31 min•Ep. 112
If you crave cigars, knowledge, and community, Privada Cigar Club is for you. Every month as a member, you'll get three (3) of limited-edition cigars, many are exclusive sizes and blends. All of which have been aged at the ideal humidity using Boveda to protect the cigars as their flavors meld and mature. With those curated cigars, you'll receive tasting notes, pairing notes, and stories of how those cigars came to be, plus personal insights from the cigar blenders who created the month's select...
Nov 14, 2023•21 min•Ep. 111
BOVEDA SPECIAL! Sign up for Luxury Cigar Club with coupon code BOVEDA and get FREE shipping on your first cigar shipment! A cigar club membership subscription makes the perfect gift for a cigar lover in your life. BOVEDA CIGAR CLUB WEEK kicks off with Luxury Cigar Club. Choose among 4 tiers to have 3 to 5 cigars delivered to you every month—all shipped with Boveda cigar protection. Expect up-and-coming cigar brands; boutique artisanal cigars, such as Crowned Heads, Tatuaje, Foundation; and club ...
Nov 13, 2023•22 min•Ep. 110
