Episodes

Friday May 26, 2023
Episode 103: My Old Kentucky Herf 2023
Friday May 26, 2023
Friday May 26, 2023
James visits the crew of FatAsh Cigar Lounge in Ashland, Kentucky for the third annual My Old Kentucky Herf! James talks with Dwight Adkins, owner of FatAsh Cigar Lounge and founder of MOKH, to discuss what's new this year. During the event, James speaks with Riste of JSK, Greg Free of Fuerte Y Libre, Oscar Valladares of OV Cigars, Rick Rodriguez from West Tampa Tobacco Co., Luciano Meirelles of Luciano Cigars, David Blanco, from Blanco Cigars, Andy Yaffee of Micallef Cigars, and we find out about the Ohio Cigar Mafia and their charitable work.

Monday May 15, 2023
Episode 102: Zoom with Zev Kaminetsky
Monday May 15, 2023
Monday May 15, 2023
Nick and James are joined by Zev Kaminetsky of Toscano Cigars. We get Zev's take on a litany of cigar issues: brokers, manufacturers, the PCA, the CRA, and cigar media. Zev doesn't hold back and has hilarious takes on the cigar industry as a whole. We enjoyed his perspective and the conversation; we hope you do too!

Monday May 08, 2023
07 Clear the Air: A Simply Stogies After Show
Monday May 08, 2023
Monday May 08, 2023
Tim is joined by James and Nick as they discuss Episode 101 with Dr. Oscar Rodriguez of GTO Cigars. The trio discuss the interview and hit the highlights while adding their opinions and expanding on topics talked about by Dr. Rodriguez. This includes "coming out of the hole and smelling for vagina," flavored cigars, short filler, and the FDA. While we try to stay away from discussing politics, this discussion definitely touched on it.

Monday May 01, 2023
Episode 101: Dr. Oscar Rodriguez of GTO Cigars
Monday May 01, 2023
Monday May 01, 2023
James and Nick are joined by the CEO of GTO Dominican Cigars, Dr. Oscar Rodriguez. Dr. Rodriguez gives us the history of growing tobacco on the family farm in the Dominican Republic and some family history. He also lets us in on how and why he got into practicing medicine. Dr. Rodriguez talks about why he, a medical doctor, supports premium hand rolled cigars, and the benefit of smoking them. The FDA comes into the discussion, as does the lack of respect for the industry from some newcomers to the business. It was an interesting and fun conversation that we hope you all enjoy as much as we did.
Visit GTO Cigars here!

Saturday Apr 22, 2023
06 Clear the Air: The Simply Stogies After Show
Saturday Apr 22, 2023
Saturday Apr 22, 2023
Tim, Nick, and James discuss the 100th episode of Simply Stogies. The trio discuss Micallef Cigars and Andy Yaffee's appearance, and what it takes to be a sales person in the cigar industry. They also discuss the industry as a whole, media, Simply Stogies role, the work that goes into making a podcast, and much more!

Saturday Apr 15, 2023
Episode 100: Micallef Cigars’ Andy Yaffee
Saturday Apr 15, 2023
Saturday Apr 15, 2023
James and Nick welcome our friend Andy Yaffee, the National Sales Director for Micallef Cigars, to the show. For our 100th episode, we ask Andy about the new sizes of the Micallef Leyenda that are releasing soon and what Andy has learned in his role as National Sales Director for Micallef. We talk about how Micallef pulled their product from large online retailers to not only support their brick and mortar retailers, but also how that helps combat devaluation. We ask Andy about why Micallef runs the business differently than other premium cigar companies and how that helps them build their brand. We discuss the change in dates for the PCA Trade Show next year, Micallef Ambassadors, and much more.
To join the Micallef Ambassador program, click here!

Saturday Apr 08, 2023
05 Clear the Air: The Simply Stogies After Show
Saturday Apr 08, 2023
Saturday Apr 08, 2023
Tim welcomes both hosts from Simply Stogies, James and Nick, to Clear the Air this week. The trio discuss the Festival del Habano and Cuban cigars in general. Nick gets the full Clear the Air treatment as he finds out that he'll be paired with Tim during the upcoming PCA Trade Show...his disappointment is palpable. James also tells you what you should be smoking instead of Cubans! Spoiler: LH Cigars is not a sponsor!

Saturday Apr 01, 2023
Episode 99: Festival del Habano 2023
Saturday Apr 01, 2023
Saturday Apr 01, 2023
James and Nick discuss the 2023 Festival del Habano that was held in Cuba from Feb. 27 - March 3. Nick battles through the lingering cough from the "Commie Corona" to walk us through the good, bad, and the ugly of the festival. From swag to cigars and from long lines to overall costs, Nick takes us through what the 2023 Festival del Habano looked like.

Wednesday Mar 22, 2023
04 Clear the Air: The Simply Stogies After Show
Wednesday Mar 22, 2023
Wednesday Mar 22, 2023
Tim and James have no show to discuss. Is it really an after show? Regardless, the pair discuss proposed rules for cigar factories by the FDA and how that will impact both mainstream and boutique cigars. That leads into a discussion of chewing tobacco vs vape vs cigarettes vs cigars and who chews/smokes what. Then the dysfunctional duo briefly touch on cigar festivals and where you might find them.

Wednesday Mar 08, 2023
03 Clear the Air: The Simply Stogies After Show
Wednesday Mar 08, 2023
Wednesday Mar 08, 2023
Tim and James cover Episode 98 of Simply Stogies Podcast. James smokes the Don Olivan Intercontinental and talks about have Ish Olivan on the podcast. We talk about BAMF Cigars' use of different tobaccos and why others should follow in their footsteps. James gives his thoughts on Ish and BAMF Cigars while Tim struggles to use their website. The duo then move on to Alec Bradley's sale to STG, its impact on the industry, and predatory practices by larger companies.