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The Cigar Industry Centric Podcast
Episodes
Tuesday Dec 19, 2023
Tuesday Dec 19, 2023
The #19 2023 Cigar of the Year is Weller by Cohiba 2022. The cigar comes from General Cigar Company. Over the past few years, Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG), General's parent company, has collaborated with the Buffalo Trace Distillery. The brands from Buffalo Trace that STG has worked on include Buffalo Trace, Eagle Rare, Fireball Cinnamon, and Weller. The first collaboration between STG and Weller was the release of the Weller by Cohiba in 2021. The Weller by Cohiba aimed to provide a cigar that could complement Weller Bourbon. For those who don’t follow the spirits world, Weller refers to a line of premium bourbons sold under the W.L. Weller brand. W.L. Weller stands for William Larue Weller (1825–1899). The following year, there was another release featuring an all-new blend, appropriately called the Weller by Cohiba 2022. Since then, there has also been a 2023 release. All three differ, but we'll focus on the Weller by Cohiba 2022 release.
Full Details: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-r8L
Monday Dec 18, 2023
Monday Dec 18, 2023
The Grammy Awards are scheduled for Sunday February 4, 2024 and the nominations are out. On Episode 116, we take a look at the key categories and who the nominees are, then decide who we want to win and who we thin think the Grammys will pick.
For this show, Dave smokes the Paul Stulac Red Screaming Sun and Coop smokes the E.P. Carrillo Pledge Prequel
As always you can follow along with our Spotify Playlists:
References
- Complete 2024 Grammy Nominations
- 2024 Grammy Nominations Announced
- Shane MacGowan, Pogues Frontman, Dies at 65 | Pitchfork
- Taylor Swift Caps Banner 2023 with Person of the Year
- Top 50 of 2023 / #25 – 21: Hip Hop, A Collective and Interesting Collabs
- Top 50 of 2023 / #30 – 26: Our First Reggae Track, A Lot of Gecs and Some More Bunnies
- Top 50 of 2023 / #35 – 31: Songs About Time, Reclaiming Your Music and Some Spice
- Top 50 of 2023 / #40 – 36: More Foundational Comebacks, Made – Up Languages and Aussie Music
- Top 50 of 2023 / #45 – 41: An Emotional Tribute, A Bunny and a Brit Pop Third Act
- Top 50 of 2023 / #50 – 46: Spiderman, The Blues and Metal
- AVO Cigars to Collaborate with DJ D-Nice for AVO Expressions 2024
Monday Dec 18, 2023
Monday Dec 18, 2023
The Grammy Awards are scheduled for Sunday February 4, 2024 and the nominations are out. On Episode 116, we take a look at the key categories and who the nominees are, then decide who we want to win and who we thin think the Grammys will pick.
For this show, Dave smokes the Paul Stulac Red Screaming Sun and Coop smokes the E.P. Carrillo Pledge Prequel
As always you can follow along with our Spotify Playlists:
References
- Complete 2024 Grammy Nominations
- 2024 Grammy Nominations Announced
- Shane MacGowan, Pogues Frontman, Dies at 65 | Pitchfork
- Taylor Swift Caps Banner 2023 with Person of the Year
- Top 50 of 2023 / #25 – 21: Hip Hop, A Collective and Interesting Collabs
- Top 50 of 2023 / #30 – 26: Our First Reggae Track, A Lot of Gecs and Some More Bunnies
- Top 50 of 2023 / #35 – 31: Songs About Time, Reclaiming Your Music and Some Spice
- Top 50 of 2023 / #40 – 36: More Foundational Comebacks, Made – Up Languages and Aussie Music
- Top 50 of 2023 / #45 – 41: An Emotional Tribute, A Bunny and a Brit Pop Third Act
- Top 50 of 2023 / #50 – 46: Spiderman, The Blues and Metal
- AVO Cigars to Collaborate with DJ D-Nice for AVO Expressions 2024
Monday Dec 18, 2023
Monday Dec 18, 2023
The #20 2023 Cigar of the Year is the Manolo Quesada 75th Anniversary by Quesada Cigars. On April 10th 2022, Quesada Cigars Founder and President Manuel “Manolo” Quesada turned 75 years old. Commemorating the occasion, Quesada Cigars released a special limited edition cigar dubbed the Manolo Quesada 75th Anniversary. More recently, Manolo’s daughter Raquel has been playing an increasing role in the operations of Quesada Cigars, but according to Quesada Cigars the Manolo Quesada 75th Anniversary was a project specifically blended by Manolo himself.
Full Details: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-r8o
Monday Dec 18, 2023
Monday Dec 18, 2023
The #20 2023 Cigar of the Year is the Manolo Quesada 75th Anniversary by Quesada Cigars. On April 10th 2022, Quesada Cigars Founder and President Manuel “Manolo” Quesada turned 75 years old. Commemorating the occasion, Quesada Cigars released a special limited edition cigar dubbed the Manolo Quesada 75th Anniversary. More recently, Manolo’s daughter Raquel has been playing an increasing role in the operations of Quesada Cigars, but according to Quesada Cigars the Manolo Quesada 75th Anniversary was a project specifically blended by Manolo himself.
Full Details: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-r8o
Sunday Dec 17, 2023
Sunday Dec 17, 2023
The #21 2023 Cigar of the Year is the Blackened M81 Toro by Drew Estate. Blackened M81 is a three-way collaboration project between Metallica’s James Hetfield, Distiller Rob Dietrich of Sweet Amber Distilling, and Drew Estate's own Jonathan Drew. Blackened is the name of a whiskey collaboration of Metallica and Dietrich. Dietrich and Drew have been friends for a while. It was Dietrich who introduced Metallica lead singer James Hetfield to Drew. Soon enough, the idea of creating a cigar brand was floated. From there, the wheels were put in motion to create a cigar that shared the vision of the Blackened Brand. After iterating through many test blends during the COVID-19 pandemic, they settled on the flavor profile, the Blackened M81. As for the name M81, it stands for Metallica 1981 – the year Metallica was formed.
Full Details: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-r7F
Sunday Dec 17, 2023
Sunday Dec 17, 2023
The #21 2023 Cigar of the Year is the Blackened M81 Toro by Drew Estate. Blackened M81 is a three-way collaboration project between Metallica’s James Hetfield, Distiller Rob Dietrich of Sweet Amber Distilling, and Drew Estate's own Jonathan Drew. Blackened is the name of a whiskey collaboration of Metallica and Dietrich. Dietrich and Drew have been friends for a while. It was Dietrich who introduced Metallica lead singer James Hetfield to Drew. Soon enough, the idea of creating a cigar brand was floated. From there, the wheels were put in motion to create a cigar that shared the vision of the Blackened Brand. After iterating through many test blends during the COVID-19 pandemic, they settled on the flavor profile, the Blackened M81. As for the name M81, it stands for Metallica 1981 – the year Metallica was formed.
Full Details: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-r7F
Saturday Dec 16, 2023
Saturday Dec 16, 2023
The #22 2023 Cigar of the Year is the E.P. Carrillo Allegiance Sidekick. The Allegiance is the fourth installment of the Perez-Carrillo line. The Allegiance is a cigar that Ernesto Perez-Carrillo blended, but it is being produced from Oliva’s TABOLISA factory in Estelí, Nicaragua. It was the second project by E.P. Carrillo to be produced outside its Tabacalera La Alianza factory. Other projects we have seen are the E.P. Carrillo INCH Nicaragua out of Plasencia and the Short Run 2023 out of Oscar Valladares’ factory. The name Allegiance pays homage to the many partnerships and alliances the Perez-Carrillo family has forged over the years. In the case of the Allegiance, the partnership is strong, as Oliva had one of its Cuba Aliados projects produced at Tabacelrera La Alianza.
Full Details: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-r7t
Note: On this audio/video recording, we incorrectly said E.P. Carrillo had eight appearances on the Countdown. In reality it was nine.
Saturday Dec 16, 2023
Saturday Dec 16, 2023
The #22 2023 Cigar of the Year is the E.P. Carrillo Allegiance Sidekick. The Allegiance is the fourth installment of the Perez-Carrillo line. The Allegiance is a cigar that Ernesto Perez-Carrillo blended, but it is being produced from Oliva’s TABOLISA factory in Estelí, Nicaragua. It was the second project by E.P. Carrillo to be produced outside its Tabacalera La Alianza factory. Other projects we have seen are the E.P. Carrillo INCH Nicaragua out of Plasencia and the Short Run 2023 out of Oscar Valladares’ factory. The name Allegiance pays homage to the many partnerships and alliances the Perez-Carrillo family has forged over the years. In the case of the Allegiance, the partnership is strong, as Oliva had one of its Cuba Aliados projects produced at Tabacelrera La Alianza.
Full Details: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-r7t
Note: On this audio/video recording, we incorrectly said E.P. Carrillo had eight appearances on the Countdown. In reality it was nine.
Friday Dec 15, 2023
Friday Dec 15, 2023
Today we are reviewing the Mi Querida Black PapaSaka from Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust. Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust released the Mi Querida Black SakaKhan last year at the 2022 PCA Trade Show which was met with a lot of excitement. The cigar ended up many Top Cigars of the Year list and was a huge seller in cigar shops. With the success of the SakaKhan, Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust decided to release a new Mi Querida Black in a corona gorda size which they named PapaSaka. The PapaSaka features a very similar blend with the notable difference being the Honduran tobacco in the SakaKhan being replaced with tobacco from the Dominican Republic in the PapaSaka. Let’s look at the blend.
Mi Querida Black PapaSaka
- Vitola: Corona Gorda
- Size: 5 5/8 x 48
- Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf No.1 Dark
- Binder: San Andres Negro
- Filler: Nicaraguan, Honduran, Dominican
- Country of Origin: Nicaragua
- Factory: Nicaraguan American Cigars S.A. (NACSA)
- MSRP: $15.95
PapaSaka provided by Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust
From Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust:
Mi Querida Black (pronounced “me kay-ree-dah”) is the ultimate execution of our family of broadleaf ligas.
“Black” is the third iteration of this style of blend within our Mi Querida family of puros. It retains the soul of our two other ligas within the line, however with the addition of a very select grade of Honduran grown Habano Seed tripa incorporated into the blend. Only the finest materials are utilized from the exhaustively “creamed” tripas, to the very best grade of dark Connecticut-grown Broadleaf capas with acute attention paid to their craftsmanship. Robust, rich, and decadently satisfying, the Limited Production Mi Querida Black is the apex of broadleaf cigars.
Mi Querida Black is handcrafted at NACSA cigar factory under the stewardship of their Master Cigar maker Raul Disla at my direction. Packed in an elegant box that expresses from the outside the richness of the blend inside. As always, the pace of its production is being dictated by the tobaccos themselves and therefore it will be limited in its availability via Select Purveyors for the foreseeable future.
You can watch our interview with Steve Saka of Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust with us at the 2023 PCA Trade Show here where he discusses the PapaSaka.