You have probably noticed the latest from Cigar Aficionado which released their Top 25 Cigars Of The Year, 2020.  You will also notice the debates have begun all over social media from those who agree and those who don’t.  What is the deal with cigar ratings?  Most online cigar retailers like to point to the 90+ ratings of their cigars. This is supposed to tell us the quality of the cigar.  How do they come by that rating?  Cigar Aficionado, as a lifestyle magazine, was launched in 1992 by Mr. Shenken who already had a Wine Spectator magazine which had a similar ratin ..read more

One year ago while scrolling through a cigar group on Facebook I saw a particular post that had 5 cigars sitting on top of a letter called, “Cigar of the Month Club”. The poster mentioned they just got their box from Smoke Inn’s COTM club and was pretty excited about it. I decided to jump on it as I used to be a part of Cigar International’s COTM club but found they would send me what I already smoked or what seemed like it was stuff they were trying to get off their shelves. Signing up was pretty easy online. They have one price of $29.99 a month for 5 premium cigars. Along with the tasting ..read more

“…….forsaking all others, till death do us part” Recently I was watching a cigar discussion and one of the speakers said that in the cigar world, there is no monogamy.  That stuck with me for some reason.  Is that possible? Could there be a person out there who smokes only one type and brand of cigar?  I began to do some research by asking this question in multiple cigar groups I am in, Reddit and even old school cigar forums.  I got many different responses which include: “Variety is the spice of life” “I have my favorite but I like taking little adventures” “I have heard ..read more

Welcome to Intercigarviews! Alex is the general maneger of Ruby’s Elixir and Central Cigars in St. Petersburg, Florida. He spent 4 years in active duty with the Air Force stationed at Vandenberg AFB, CA at the Joint Space Operation’s Center (JSpOC) as a Space Operations Intelligence Analyst. It is fascinating the various backgrounds we find in the cigar family which we have seen time and time again how we all support the industry on the street level. Here is his cigar story. How did you cope and navigate through the pandemic at Central Cigars and Ruby’s? So we have two sides of the business ..read more

Welcome to another weekly Intercigarview. Jolene describes herself as a cigar nerd who finds real pleasure in her cigar passion. Here is her cigar story. What was it about cigars that drew you to them? I love the ritual of it.  Removing the cellophane, cutting, lighting, smoking.  Describe the first cigar you smoked and the experience surrounding it.  I was at a national a/c conference.  The industry leaders would gather around and smoke a cigar.  I was invited to join them and handed a cigar. Do you think there are any parallels between the AC industry and the cigar ..read more

This is a special Labor Day edition of Intercigarviews. The main purpose of these interviews is to highlight your everyday average admirer of the leaf, yet I thought it would be cool to bring you a former VP of marketing for one of the world’s most recognized brands. Davidoff. The key word is former so he is back to being a average cigar guy. And to top it off, he is my next door neighbor. Here is Rich’s cigar story. What was it about cigars that drew you to them I dabbled with cigars in high school and college, but I didn’t get serious about them until it became my profession.  I grew u ..read more

This week’s interview highlights a cigar veteran of over 50 years. Kris enjoys the retired life after working for NBC in Maine. It is safe to say, he has seen it all. Here is his cigar story. What was it about cigars that drew you to them?  I enjoy the relaxing feeling I get from a good cigar also the flavor of good tobacco is like sipping a good glass of wine.. What was your first cigar? Wow, the first..that would be almost 55 years ago…It was in the basement of our Horse barn with my Uncle. He smoked cigars and asked me if I’d like one. I said yes so we lit up a WHITE OWL…Not the best ..read more

This week’s edition of Intercigarview is with a psychiatrist and a story teller. I have know Robin from a distance on social media and in the course of discussion I saw him share his fondness for cigars and Mark Twain. I knew I had to interview him for this column. This is Robin’s cigar story. What was it about cigars that drew you to them? I grew up near Hartford CT and we went to Mark Twain’s  home often. Amazing home, and some say he built it to resemble a steamboat. My stepfather was born in 1880 and was a chauffeur all of his life. He spoke of seeing Mark Twain walking around Hartfo ..read more

Welcome to another edition of Intercigarviews! This week we interviewed Patrick who lives in Florida and has worked as a county employee for 22 years. With any interview my aim is to keep the speakers voice with proper grammar. This week was a little different because it would of taken away from Patrick’s style. This is Patrick’s cigar story. What was it about cigars that drew you to them? When I was younger, I grew up watching all the great comedians smoking cigars, George Burns comes to my mind the most.  I grew up in a nice neighborhood in New Jersey, and my next door neighbor, Uncle ..read more

Welcome to our weekly Intercigarview where we interview your everyday average admirer of the leaf. This week we interviewed Bill Prieto. Bill is a retired 30 year veteran of the police department. Here is his cigar story What was it about cigars that drew you to them? The flavor and relaxing nature of smoking a cigar. Describe the first cigar you smoked and the experience surrounding it. I was a 25 year old rookie police officer when my senior officer asked me if I smoked cigars. I answered no. He asked me to follow him and  took me to a local cigar shop and bought me a cigar called Bauz ..read more