Simply Stogies

James takes over as host of Clear The Air for the first and last time (hopefully) as this particular occasion went to his head. Just kidding. Tim sat in as the guest host for the Pete Johnson interview on the last episode of Simply Stogies so James is now sitting in for Tim on Clear the Air. James gives Nick and Tim a hard time and asks whey they didn’t ask the hard questions.

With James out and about, Nick shows off his interviewing chops by having a great conversation with his longtime friend Pete Johnson of Tatuaje Cigars. The trio discuss Pete's start in the industry, the CRA, Pete's involvement with the movie Hand Rolled: A Film About Cigars, and what Tatuaje has coming up. We find out that Nick and Tim have no pop culture in their lives. Oh yeah, Tim co-hosts too!

Tim, James, and Nick are back again to talk about the latest Simply Stogies Podcast with special guest Vlada Stojanov of Bespoke Cigar Co. Unfortunately no one came to the table with any jokes, but there is plenty of good conversation about the skill of the retrohale. James explains how Simply Stogies rates their cigar reviews and much more mediocre banter.

Nick and James welcome the illustrious Vlada Stojanov to the show. Vlada is the owner and founder of Bespoke Distributing and the man behind the Somm cigar lines. He is also a certified sommelier. The trio get into the weeds with cigar tasting and reviewing. Ever wonder what flavor notes are subjective and which are objective? How much of what you taste is experiential? Are reviewers just plain wrong? Vlada brings a wealth of knowledge to the show and shares his unique and informed perspective. He also talks about the Somm cigar lines and his journey on starting the brand.

Tim brings James and Nick back to the mic in another episode of Clear The Air. This Episode is a behind the scenes thoughts and opinions session about the latest episode of Simply Stogies Podcast where James sat down with Brian Desind of LCA and Privada Cigar Club.

James sits down via Zoom with Brian Desind of Privada Cigar Club. James and Brian discuss the cigar industry and Brian's place in it. Topics include marketing, the FDA, Privada Cigar Club, the PCA, the CRA, and much more. This was a frank and honest conversation with who many consider to be a "polarizing" figure in the industry. Love him or hate him, you have to respect his passion and his willingness to sit down and have a conversation.

This episode of Clear The Air is a little different than usual. We have tons of content that we need to get out and now that the PCA Trade Show is over, now is the time. This episode is a two part series. First we start off with and interview that James and Nick have with Peter Graziano of Metropolitan Cigar Society. If you're not familiar with their club now, you will be by the end of this episode. Following that, Tim interviews Brian Bolen, part owner with his wife Seana (Shawna) of Smoldering Cigar Lounge in Livermore, IA. If you're in the area you need to check it out.

We finish up our coverage of the 2023 PCA Trade Show in Las Vegas, Nevada with interviews from James and Nick. In this episode you'll hear from newcomer Kaneda Cigars, the always entertaining Matt Booth of Room 101, Sebastien Decoppet of Cavalier Cigars, Steve Saka of Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust, and Nick Melillo of Foundation Cigars.

Tim, James and Nick sit back and give a behind the scenes view of their experience at 2023 PCA Trade Show. We did experience some internet issues so you'll have to excuse the audio drift. We are still working on delivering PCA content covering the PCA Trade Show. Thanks for following. Thanks for listening. Thanks for watching our content. We look forward to bringing you content throughout the year.

This episode is made up from some of our favorite interviews from this year's PCA 2023 Trade Show. For part 1 we start off with Scott Pearce, the Executive Director of the Premium Cigar Association as he talks about the trade show and some of what's in store for next year. We then talk with Dr. Gaby Kafie of Kafie 1901 Cigars and founder of the Boutique Cigar Association, and then Armen Caprielian of DAV Cigars and President of the BCA. James then visits Micallef Cigars and speaks with Dan Thompson. Nick and James interview Rick Rodriguez from West Tampa Tobacco before we head over to the Casdagli booth.