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The Cigar Industry Centric Podcast
Episodes
Wednesday Sep 17, 2025
Wednesday Sep 17, 2025
The Diesel line of cigars has been a very successful brand for Forged Cigars and their long standing partnership with Rabbit Hole Distillery. The Diesel brand started out as a catalog only brand for Cigar International, but was moved under General Cigars in 2017. The cigars have been produced by AJ Fernandez since the beginning and still produces them to this day. Their have been several limited editions that have been produced annually under that name Founder’s Collection and for 2025, the new release is called the Raceking. These limited editions have the binder tobacco aged in whiskey barrels that were used by Rabbit Hole for their whiskey of the same name. The Raceking was introduced at the 2025 PCA Trade show in New Orleans, LA. In the press release sent to Cigar Coop, Joe Krzyston said:
Joe Krzyston, Assistant Brand Manager for Diesel, said. “This barrel-aged blend honors the history and legacy of Kentucky bourbon. Whether you’re watching the race or simply enjoying the quality of the craft, this cigar is truly exceptional.”
Each limited edition Diesel is release in only one size each year.
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Nicaraguan (Aged in Raceking bourbon barrels)
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: Tabacalera AJ Fernandez Cigars de Nicaragua S.A.
Vitola: Toro
Size: 6 x 52
MSRP: $15.99
Final Score: 91
Wednesday Sep 17, 2025
Wednesday Sep 17, 2025
The Diesel line of cigars has been a very successful brand for Forged Cigars and their long standing partnership with Rabbit Hole Distillery. The Diesel brand started out as a catalog only brand for Cigar International, but was moved under General Cigars in 2017. The cigars have been produced by AJ Fernandez since the beginning and still produces them to this day. Their have been several limited editions that have been produced annually under that name Founder’s Collection and for 2025, the new release is called the Raceking. These limited editions have the binder tobacco aged in whiskey barrels that were used by Rabbit Hole for their whiskey of the same name. The Raceking was introduced at the 2025 PCA Trade show in New Orleans, LA. In the press release sent to Cigar Coop, Joe Krzyston said:
Joe Krzyston, Assistant Brand Manager for Diesel, said. “This barrel-aged blend honors the history and legacy of Kentucky bourbon. Whether you’re watching the race or simply enjoying the quality of the craft, this cigar is truly exceptional.”
Each limited edition Diesel is release in only one size each year.
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Nicaraguan (Aged in Raceking bourbon barrels)
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: Tabacalera AJ Fernandez Cigars de Nicaragua S.A.
Vitola: Toro
Size: 6 x 52
MSRP: $15.99
Final Score: 91
Tuesday Sep 16, 2025
Tuesday Sep 16, 2025
Earlier this year at the 2025 PCA Trade Show, Altadis unveiled a new ultra-premium cigar in their Montecristo line called M. What makes this special is a 20 year aged Ecuadorian Connecticut that is used for its wrapper. This special wrapper was acquired from David Perez of ASP in Nicaragua. The blend for the Montecristo M was developed by AJ Fernandez and Rafael Nodal using this wrapper at AJ’s factory in Esteli, Nicaragua. Here is what Altadis had to say about the cigar:
“Crafted by the legendary cigarmaker AJ Fernandez, the story of this smoke lies in a wrapper that has been carefully and beautifully aged for two decades. Aging a cigar’s wrapper leaf, like a fine bourbon or wine, adds a tremendous amount of character and maturity to a smoke, heightening the tasting notes and taking the smoker on a journey far beyond what they have experienced from normal mass market offerings in the past. The Connecticut seed Ecuadorian leaf utilized for this project was cultivated and brought to life through the fifth-generation grower David Perez, resulting in a medium-bodied smoke that is uniquely proportioned to accentuate the subtle beauty of the wrapper.”
Vitola: Toro
Size: 6 x 52
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: Tabacalera AJ Fernandez Cigars de Nicaragua S.A.
MSRP: $15.99
Final Score: 93
Tuesday Sep 16, 2025
Tuesday Sep 16, 2025
Earlier this year at the 2025 PCA Trade Show, Altadis unveiled a new ultra-premium cigar in their Montecristo line called M. What makes this special is a 20 year aged Ecuadorian Connecticut that is used for its wrapper. This special wrapper was acquired from David Perez of ASP in Nicaragua. The blend for the Montecristo M was developed by AJ Fernandez and Rafael Nodal using this wrapper at AJ’s factory in Esteli, Nicaragua. Here is what Altadis had to say about the cigar:
“Crafted by the legendary cigarmaker AJ Fernandez, the story of this smoke lies in a wrapper that has been carefully and beautifully aged for two decades. Aging a cigar’s wrapper leaf, like a fine bourbon or wine, adds a tremendous amount of character and maturity to a smoke, heightening the tasting notes and taking the smoker on a journey far beyond what they have experienced from normal mass market offerings in the past. The Connecticut seed Ecuadorian leaf utilized for this project was cultivated and brought to life through the fifth-generation grower David Perez, resulting in a medium-bodied smoke that is uniquely proportioned to accentuate the subtle beauty of the wrapper.”
Vitola: Toro
Size: 6 x 52
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: Tabacalera AJ Fernandez Cigars de Nicaragua S.A.
MSRP: $15.99
Final Score: 93
Monday Sep 15, 2025
Monday Sep 15, 2025
For Prime Time Jukebox Episode 170, Dave and Coop tackle underrated artists. Both will go through some of the musical talents that they feel have gone under the radar and will select favorite tunes from them.
On this show Coop smokes the Underrated by Luciano Cigars while Dave tackles the CAO Flathead Steel Horse Handbrake.
We also introduce a new NFL Corner segment. Plus we also have music news and Dave’s New Music 45.
As always you can follow along with our Spotify Playlists:
References
Monday Sep 15, 2025
Monday Sep 15, 2025
For Prime Time Jukebox Episode 170, Dave and Coop tackle underrated artists. Both will go through some of the musical talents that they feel have gone under the radar and will select favorite tunes from them.
On this show Coop smokes the Underrated by Luciano Cigars while Dave tackles the CAO Flathead Steel Horse Handbrake.
We also introduce a new NFL Corner segment. Plus we also have music news and Dave’s New Music 45.
As always you can follow along with our Spotify Playlists:
References
Friday Sep 12, 2025
Friday Sep 12, 2025
For Prime Time Episode 351, we are joined by Litto Gomez Jr and Eddy Guerra of La Flor Dominicana (LFD).
In the past year, Litto Jr has been named Vice President of Sales while Eddy came on earlier this year as Vice President of Marketing and Brand Development. We will catch up on both of these gentlemen in their new roles and talk about all of the great things happening at La Flor Dominicana.
Plus we have our Florida Sun Grown Beef, Altadis USA The Ties That Bind, Alec Bradley Live True, Espinosa This Day in Sports History, and our Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Industry Deliberation segment.
Friday Sep 12, 2025
Friday Sep 12, 2025
For Prime Time Episode 351, we are joined by Litto Gomez Jr and Eddy Guerra of La Flor Dominicana (LFD).
In the past year, Litto Jr has been named Vice President of Sales while Eddy came on earlier this year as Vice President of Marketing and Brand Development. We will catch up on both of these gentlemen in their new roles and talk about all of the great things happening at La Flor Dominicana.
Plus we have our Florida Sun Grown Beef, Altadis USA The Ties That Bind, Alec Bradley Live True, Espinosa This Day in Sports History, and our Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Industry Deliberation segment.
Friday Sep 05, 2025
Friday Sep 05, 2025
In this special report, Coop interviews the President of Altadis U.S.A., Davide Moro.
This interview was conducted at the world famous Tabacalera de Garcia in La Romana, Dominican Republic. Tabacalera de Garcia is one of the largest handmade operations in the world. Some of the world's most iconic brands are produced out of that factory. We will take a look at Altadis U.S.A. through Davide's eyes and look at his vision for the company going forward.
Friday Sep 05, 2025
Friday Sep 05, 2025
In this special report, Coop interviews the President of Altadis U.S.A., Davide Moro.
This interview was conducted at the world famous Tabacalera de Garcia in La Romana, Dominican Republic. Tabacalera de Garcia is one of the largest handmade operations in the world. Some of the world's most iconic brands are produced out of that factory. We will take a look at Altadis U.S.A. through Davide's eyes and look at his vision for the company going forward.