The Cigarmy

[NOTE: In the ongoing but soon to end saga of migrating The Cigarmy to a new webhosting service, as well as launching Half Ashed's standalone website, there will be some cross-posting going on between the two.  This is also posted at that site so that the feed will continue uninterrupted until the media handler has updated.] Welcome to another episode of Half Ashed.  I’m glad you’ve joined us again this week as we host guests Jeff & Nada Jumper of Nadi Cigars.  We’re spotlighting their line of cigars, Nadi, but you may be interested in knowing that the two of them have extensive involvement in the cigar community as a whole – making the rounds to a considerable number of cigar events, blogging, publishing YouTube cigar reviews, as well as managing the day to day aspects of owning a boutique cigar line (you can find Nadi Cigars on Twitter as well).  We’ve smoked both their original Habano Classic line, as well as the Connecticut this week.  Tune in to find our thoughts about them. Also during the show, we take advantage of having our guests’ knowledge of the industry available to discuss current news and happenings around the world of premium cigars, an incredible raffle going on over at Cigar Federation to benefit Project Manana, and a couple of upcoming releases we’re anxious to get our hands on when they hit the shelves. We all shared what we’ve been smoking this week – both impressive sticks, and those not-so-impressive.  We once again had to postpone answering some listener emails, but will definitely cover those next week when we return to a normal schedule. Next week, we’ll be featuring the illusione ECCJ as out Cigar of the Week, so be sure to check back in then to see what it has to offer.  If you would like to contact us in the meantime, you can reach us through the contact page or at the following email addresses: kip@thecigarmy.com or craig@thecigarmy.com.  Please feel free to drop us a line if you have any questions you’d like answered, comments to make…or even compliments and complaints.  We love to get your emails!  Also, remember you can always go back and listen to previous episodes, which can be found in the Half Ashed Archive.  You can download this week’s audio directly below (right-click “Download” and save), or find us on iTunes to subscribe.  Video, as always, will be available at the CigFed Half Ashed Video Archive. P.S. – If you have unbanded suggestions or contributions, you can get those to us by sending an email to info@thecigarmy.com.  This email address goes directly to my wife, so you can simply suggest an unbanded cigar for her to source, or send me an email to kip@thecigarmy.com if you have something you’d like to send in.  I will provide an address to send them.  Thanks!

Welcome to Half Ashed Episode 028, everyone.  This week, we had an surprise visit with Skip Martin, of RoMaCraft Tobac - makers of such fine cigar lines as the Cro Magnon, Intemperance, and Aquitaine.  Both Craig and I are huge fans of the RoMaCraft lineup, as well as Skip and his business partner Michael Rosales.  I personally smoke enough of the Intemperance and Aquitaine that I could probably support the investment of shelf space from a local Tampa area retailer (that's a big hint for all you Tampa area brick & mortar shops).  This week's show is a wealth of good information from Skip about the heart and soul behind RoMaCraft: the tobacco, the cigars, and the people.  Moreso than with just about any other company today, I am impressed with the dedication and forethought invested by the RoMaCraft team into the assurance that they are releasing a quality product into the marketplace that carries a great deal of value to the consumer.  I hope you all will give the show a listen; you are sure to pick up a heavy dose of what RoMaCraft is all about...and no small amount of fun to boot.  Skip is a wealth of information, wisdom, and wit.  This is one of the most entertaining 2+ hours Craig and I have had in a show to date. We cover a few bits of industry information as well - some important legislative moves that are going on around the country and with our Canadian neighbors to the North.  Our cigar of the week is the Oliva Masterblends I from 2003, which we discuss a few times throughout the show.  It turns out, this cigar has not lost its potency over the past decade (just ask Craig). Next week, we’ll be joined by Jeff & Nada Jumper of Nadi Cigars, so be sure to check back in then to learn what they have to offer.  If you aren't familiar with Nadi, you should be.  If that's the case, be sure you listen to get the scoop on them.   If you would like to contact us in the meantime, you can reach us through the contact page or at the following email addresses: kip@thecigarmy.com or craig@thecigarmy.com.  Please feel free to drop us a line if you have any questions you’d like answered, comments to make…or even compliments and complaints.  We love to get your emails!  Also, remember you can always go back and listen to previous episodes, which can be found in the Half Ashed Archive.  You can download this week’s audio directly below (right-click “Download” and save), or find us on iTunes to subscribe.  Video, as always, will be available at the CigFed Half Ashed Video Archive. P.S. – If you have unbanded suggestions or contributions, you can get those to us by sending an email to info@thecigarmy.com.  This email address goes directly to my wife, so you can simply suggest an unbanded cigar for her to source, or send me an email to kip@thecigarmy.com if you have something you’d like to send in.  I will provide an address to send them.  Thanks!

Welcome back to Episode 027 of Half Ashed.  This week, we're smoking our cigars shaken; not stirred.  We take a look at Unbanded 007, submitted by Dan Crouch (Thanks, DC!).  In another of DC's experiments with this segment, he submitted two vitolas from the same line - a corona and a robusto.  We found marked differences between the two.  Tune in to the show to get the grand reveal, and our thoughts on both cigars. A big thanks is due and given to those folks who submitted recommendations and submissions for the Unbanded segment this week (see final note below if you'd like to do the same).  In news, we talk a bit about this year's release of the Alec Bradley Fine & Rare, Erez Cigars' "Unsmokeable" cigar, Avo Uvezian's car accident, the newest vitola released in the Cuenca 5 Anniversary series (hoowahh!), an upcoming release from Steve Ysidron's Epicurean Cigars, and the announcement of CFC2014.  We also covered what we've been smoking, a couple of random thoughts from Kip - which will likely get him into some trouble, and went over the deep end of tobacco chemistry in our listener emails. Next week, we'll be smoking the Oliva Masterblends I, from 2003.  I have great expectations for that cigar, and have lamented its going off the market ten years ago.  If you would like to contact us in the meantime, you can reach us through the contact page or at the following email addresses: kip@thecigarmy.com or craig@thecigarmy.com.  Please feel free to drop us a line if you have any questions you’d like answered, comments to make…or even compliments and complaints.  We love to get your emails!  Also, remember you can always go back and listen to previous episodes, which can be found in the Half Ashed Archive.  You can download this week’s audio directly below (right-click “Download” and save), or find us on iTunes to subscribe.  Video, as always, will be available at the CigFed Half Ashed Video Archive. P.S. – If you have unbanded suggestions or contributions, you can get those to us by sending an email to info@thecigarmy.com.  This email address goes directly to my wife, so you can simply suggest an unbanded cigar for her to source, or send me an email to kip@thecigarmy.com if you have something you’d like to send in.  I will provide an address to send them.  Thanks!

This week on Half Ashed, we take a look at the INfamous (that means more than famous, you know....) ChiGringo, blended by my illustrious cohost Craig Schneider himself.  Here's what Craig has to say about the ChiGringo: In February of 2008 I traveled to Danli Honduras for what was meant to be only a leisurely getaway. After one week, a lot of rum and dozens of cigars I left with a customized blend from the GR Tobacos Unidas factory on order. These cigars are the final product shipped to me in May of that year. The wrapper is a Nicaraguan Rosado Habano leaf grown in Jalapa and filler is Nicaraguan grown Jalapa corojo tobacco with other tobaccos from Columbia & Panama. The exact blend is gone but these seem to stand out in my mind. After smoking the ChiGringo, I have to say that Craig has been far too critical of his efforts in the past.  I actually enjoyed it, in fact....even with the sudden jolt of the most sneaky, insidious, profuse nicotine dose I've experienced in a while.  I never saw it coming...one moment I was smoking along just minding my own business; the next, I was waking up from a nico-nap.  It just...."happened."  No cold sweats, no dizziness; just the sudden realization that I'd been had.  Nonetheless, I had a pleasant experience with both examples this week.  Tune in to the show to get our collective remarks about the blend specifically. We also cover a few news items, what we've been smoking, and almost got to the listener emails.  We were cut about 10 minutes short by a pretty intense lightning storm at my house.  We'll cover those emails on this week's episode - which, by the way, will be an official "LIVE" show this Friday night at 9pm EST.  Tune in to that as normal via Cigar Federation, or the means below.  If you make it to the live show, you can participate in the live chat with us and rest of the regular folks Friday night. If you would like to contact us, you can reach us through the contact page or at the following email addresses: kip@thecigarmy.com or craig@thecigarmy.com.  Please feel free to drop us a line if you have any questions you’d like answered, comments to make…or even compliments and complaints.  We love to get your emails!  Also, remember you can always go back and listen to previous episodes, which can be found in the Half Ashed Archive.  You can download this week’s audio directly below (right-click “Download” and save), or find us on iTunes to subscribe.  Video, as always, will be available at the CigFed Half Ashed Video Archive. P.S. – If you have unbanded suggestions or contributions, you can get those to us by sending an email to info@thecigarmy.com.  This email address goes directly to my wife, so you can simply suggest an unbanded cigar for her to source, or send me an email to kip@thecigarmy.com if you have something you’d like to send in.  I will provide an address to send them.  Thanks!

After a week or so hiatus courtesy of my web hosting provider, I believe the site is returning to normal.  I have also posted the first in a series of articles covering some new (and not so new) folks at IPCPR2013 in Las Vegas.  You can find that via the menu across the top of the page, or here. Since I am currently on the road and having to post this with my phone (more on that below), I'll limit the written description of the most recent episode of Half Ashed.  Our Cigar of the Week was the Casa Magna Domus Magnus Optimus.  We covered a few more items from IPCPR 2013, as well as a number of recent industry news stories, what we've been smoking, and several listener emails.  So, tune in to the show to get all that....and be sure to come back next week! At the moment, I am in Chattanooga, for CHATWEETUP2013.  Three days of cigars, cigar people, and just hanging out.  If any of you happen to be here, come find me....I'll spot you a good cigar!  We will be attempting to record some sort of show during the Tweetup - if that doesn't work out, it might be a little later. If you would like to contact us, you can reach us through the contact page or at the following email addresses: kip@thecigarmy.com or craig@thecigarmy.com.  Please feel free to drop us a line if you have any questions you’d like answered, comments to make…or even compliments and complaints.  We love to get your emails!  Also, remember you can always go back and listen to previous episodes, which can be found in the Half Ashed Archive.  You can download this week’s audio directly below (right-click “Download” and save), or find us on iTunes to subscribe.  Video, as always, will be available at the CigFed Half Ashed Video Archive. P.S. – If you have unbanded suggestions or contributions, you can get those to us by sending an email to info@thecigarmy.com.  This email address goes directly to my wife, so you can simply suggest an unbanded cigar for her to source, or send me an email to kip@thecigarmy.com if you have something you’d like to send in.  I will provide an address to send them.  Thanks!

After some traveling delays and such, we're back this week with Episode 024 of Half Ashed.  Thank you for tuning in  to our ramblings once again.  This week, we're focused on a quick summary of my trip to last week's IPCPR 2013 tradeshow, as well as an Unbanded - Number 006, provided by Jeff Curtis (thanks, Jeff!).  We also cover just a bit of news and a couple of listener emails, so tune in and enjoy! I changed horses mid-stream at the show, and took a bit of a different approach than I had anticipated, which we describe during the show - I opted to cover a number of booths that were not even on my radar beforehand.  Some of these are first time exhibitors, some have previously attended but have not yet seen vast growth, and others might simply not have national distribution - all are companies to watch for sure, as I believe many will make a mark in the coming days.  For this show, we discussed those listed below, but there will be a great deal of written content here on The Cigarmy over the next couple of weeks detailing quite a few more.  I managed to visit 50+ exhibitors, and have some really cool stuff to share that's on the horizon, as well as some favorite picks for upcoming cigars.... Companies we (very quickly) covered on this Episode: Viva Republica Casa Fernandez  Aging Room  Drew Estate  Oliva/Padilla  RomaCraft  J. Fuego  Exactus House of Emilio La Jugada Arandoza  Cordoba y Morales  Flor de Gonzalez  Table 36 Jameson  Capadura Hoja de Flores We covered a good bit more during the show – various topics of interest this week, what we’ve been smoking, etc.  Tune in to get the entire story on those items as well. Be sure you all come back later this week for Episode 025, when we will be taking a look at the Casa Magna Domus Magnus as our Cigar of the Week.  I will tweet/post the exact time and date once we finalize it.  In the meantime, if you would like to contact us, you can reach us through the contact page or at the following email addresses: kip@thecigarmy.com or craig@thecigarmy.com.  Please feel free to drop us a line if you have any questions you’d like answered, comments to make…or even compliments and complaints!  We love to get your emails!  Also, remember you can always go back and listen to previous episodes, which can be found in the Half Ashed Archive.  You can download this week’s audio directly below (right-click “Download” and save), or find us on iTunes to subscribe.  Video, as always, will be available at the CigFed Half Ashed Video Archive. P.S. – If you have unbanded suggestions or contributions, you can get those to us by sending an email to info@thecigarmy.com.  This email address goes directly to my wife, so you can simply suggest an unbanded cigar for her to source, or send me an email to kip@thecigarmy.com if you have something you’d like to send in.  I will provide an address to send them.  Thanks!  

Good evening, folks.  Welcome to another episode of Half Ashed.  I apologize in advance for such a late publication.  We actually recorded this show during IPCPR last Sunday, but I have since been traveling without an internet connection; thus, I had an inability to post up the audio.  The video from this show is available on our YouTube channel in its unedited form - about 10-15 minutes of which has no video/only audio.  We experienced some early issues with connectivity and killed the video to save bandwidth on the convention hall's wifi.   We subsequently turned it back on, so I have left it posted for those who might want to look at our ugly mugs.  We covered a number of news items, as well as some early IPCPR stories - although this was actually recorded in the first 3 hours of the tradeshow (so news was very limited at that time).  Our cigar of the week was the upcoming Ezra Zion Eminence, which we greatly enjoyed and covered our tasting notes near the end of this abbreviated show.  We will be recording Episode 024 this upcoming Tuesday (July 23) once I have returned from a family trip....and I will make every effort to have that posted almost immediately.  As a sidenote, this will be an episode you definitely want to catch.  We'll be covering a great deal of news from IPCPR 2013, with coverage on quite a few new releases and great cigars I had the chance to try while there. Episode 024 should be posted in a much more timely fashion than Episode 023.  You can join us live while we record if you'd like as well - Tuesday night July 23rd.  Follow my Twitter feed @The_Cigarmy and I'll post the exact timing.  In the meantime, if you would like to contact us, you can reach us through the contact page or at the following email addresses: kip@thecigarmy.com or craig@thecigarmy.com.  Please feel free to drop us a line if you have any questions you’d like answered, comments to make…or even compliments and complaints!  Also, remember you can always go back and listen to previous episodes, which can be found in the Half Ashed Archive.  You can download this week’s audio directly below (right-click “Download” and save), or find us on iTunes to subscribe.  Video, as always, will be available at the CigFed Half Ashed Video Archive. P.S. – If you have unbanded suggestions or contributions, you can get those to us by sending an email to info@thecigarmy.com.  This email address goes directly to my wife, so you can simply suggest an unbanded cigar for her to source, or send me an email to kip@thecigarmy.com if you have something you’d like to send in.  I will provide an address to send them.  Thanks!

Half Ashed Episode 022: Ramon Allones Petit Corona Welcome back for another fun-filled, exciting episode of Half Ashed.  This week, we take a look at the 2002 Ramon Allones Petit Corona - one of Craig's very favorite cigars.  He says,   "Since its discontinuation in 2002 the PC has remained a “special” cigar in my humidor. Its big brother the corona is viewed as one of the most saught after regular production cigars since the mid 90s. Both being made in small numbers, thus always maintaining the quality, both of these cigars are great. The PC is legendary."  Tune in to the show to get both our full thoughts on this episode's examples. Industry News: Oliva is making a machine-made cigar, to be released in various markets during the coming months. As first mentioned last week on Half Ashed when we hosted Terry Johnson of TL Johnson Cigars, the news is out that he is moving some of his operations to Miami - and is partnering with Luis Sanchez of La Tradicion Cubana for a joint venture cigar brand. Dona Flor has announced a special Limited Edition IPCPR release, as well as the fact that the Alonso Menendez line is now available in the US. Yet another 7”X70, this time from Drew Estate.  They’re adding this to the MUWAT line, per Halfwheel. Xikar has divested itself of its HC & Defiance Cigar brands....selling them to CI effective July 1. CI has agreed to current price protections to existing retailers through September 30th. IPCPR starts a week from Saturday.  We’ll be doing....something....during the show, depending on internet connections, travel times, etc. Well wishes and quick healing to Charlie Rutherford of Boveda, who had a terrible motorcycle accident last week.  I know the guys behind Boveda personally, and all are good people. Finally, we held our giveaway for June's prize packs of Michael Stewart's home-blended, home-rolled cigars.  Michael Thomas and Steve Dorau were selected by random.org, and will be receiving those prizes.  Congrats, gentlemen! Wrap: We covered a good bit more during the show - various topics of interest this week, what we've been smoking, etc.  Tune in to get the entire story on those items as well. Be sure you all come back next week for Episode 023, when we will be attempting to put a show together while Kip is in Vegas for IPCPR.  We will be featuring the upcoming Ezra Zion Eminence as our Cigar of the Week.  That show will likely be recorded outside our normal Friday night timeframe due to travel/show scheduling.  I will tweet/post the exact time and date once we finalize it.  In the meantime, if you would like to contact us, you can reach us through the contact page or at the following email addresses: kip@thecigarmy.com or craig@thecigarmy.com.  Please feel free to drop us a line if you have any questions you'd like answered, comments to make...or even compliments and complaints!  Also, remember you can always go back and listen to previous episodes, which can be found in the Half Ashed Archive.  You can download this week’s audio directly below (right-click “Download” and save), or find us on iTunes to subscribe.  Video, as always, will be available at the CigFed Half Ashed Video Archive. P.S. – If you have unbanded suggestions or contributions, you can get those to us by sending an email to info@thecigarmy.com.  This email address goes directly to my wife, so you can simply suggest an unbanded cigar for her to source, or send me an email to kip@thecigarmy.com if you have something you’d like to send in.  I will provide an address to send them.  Thanks!

Half Ashed Ep. 021: TL Johnson Good day and welcome back for another fun-filled episode of Half Ashed.  This week, we host Terry Johnson of TL Johnson Cigars.  Terry sits in for the first hour of the show, while we smoke his fantastic Tempio and talk cigars, flyfishing (TL Johnson also produces fly rods), and other gentlemanly topics.  We then covered a few news items for this week, and some of the usual suspects in show segments.  Thanks for tuning in, and enjoy! Featured Cigar This week, we take a look at the TL Johnson Tempio, a cigar that I reviewed last year and smoke on a regular basis myself.  I had a suspicion that Craig would enjoy it just as much as I.  I was right.  Produced for Terry by Luis Sanchez at La Tradicion Cubana, the Tempio is chocked full of sweet cedar, mild citrus, and toasty oaken flavors.  As is the case with Luis' other production, the Tempio never disappoints in terms of construction and consistency.  Definitely worth seeking out a retailer that carries the line - or requesting them from your local shop.  It features a Pennsylvanian wrapper, draped around a Dominican and Nicaraguan binder/filler blend - and is fantastically flavorful. Industry News Legislatively, the only news we cover this week is the recent development for the FDA in beginning to exercise more power in controlling product introduction into the marketplace with regard to tobacco products - denying 4 of 6 requests for new cigarette products. In cigar news, we go through a small portion of the IPCPR news this week concerning new cigars to be launched in the near future - notably, the Casa Fernandez 35th Anniversary and Reserva Maduro, a special release from Espinosa for CHATWEETUP2013, and other offerings from Royal Gold (produced by Drew Estate), Pinar Del Rio, George Rico (GAR), and House of Emilio. We also cover the departure of a familiar face at My Father Cigars, and recent acquisition of Heavenly Cigars by Drew Estate. What Else Have We Been Smoking? Craig: Back to some Cuban roots this week Kip: Sam Leccia's Black & White Miscellany Family time with Craig, and a 3-day jaunt to South Florida for Kip - as well as a couple of listener emails for the week. Wrap Be sure you all come back next week for Episode 022, as we get into highgear leading into IPCPR.  That show will likely be recorded outside our normal Friday night timeframe due to the Independence Day holiday.  I will tweet/post the schedule once we finalize the timing.  In the meantime, if you would like to contact us, you can reach us through the contact page or at the following email addresses: kip@thecigarmy.com or craig@thecigarmy.com.  Don’t forget to get those emails in this month to be entered in our current giveaway.  Also, remember you can always go back and listen to previous episodes, which can be found in the Half Ashed Archive.  You can download this week’s audio directly below (right-click “Download” and save), or find us on iTunes.  Video, as always, will be available at the CigFed Half Ashed Video Archive. P.S. – If you have unbanded suggestions or contributions, you can get those to us by sending an email to info@thecigarmy.com.  This email address goes directly to my wife, so you can simply suggest an unbanded cigar for her to source, or send me an email to kip@thecigarmy.com if you have something you’d like to send in.  I will provide an address to send them.  Thanks!

Half Ashed Episode 020 Good Sunday afternoon, everyone!  Welcome back for another week of the most Half-Ashed Cigar podcast floating around the interwebs.  This week, we featured an unbanded cigar from our buddy DC and special guest Nate McIntyre, of Emilio Cigars - who had the rare privilege of sharing a headset with Craig. Featured Cigar As already mentioned, we had the opportunity to smoke Unbanded 005 this week, furnished by Dan Crouch - thanks, Dan!  Tune in to the show for our thoughts about this cigar, and a visit from Dan for the reveal. Industry News Legislatively, we were happy to find out that H.R. 792 has now garnered over 100 co-sponsors in the US House of Representatives, with the addition of Representatives Jeff Duncan (R-SC-3) and Mike Kelly (R-PA-3). We also reviewed some upcoming cigars from the House of Emilio, Lou Rodriguez, EP Carrillo, and Aging Room/Boutique Cigars/Swag. Just minutes before recording, it was also announced that Susana Aragon, Brand Ambassador for Padilla Cigars, was leaving the company - and the industry - to pursue a career in another field. What Else Have We Been Smoking? Craig: not a thing; Craig was slacking this week, and failed to have even one cigar.... Kip: 2008 Anejo 49, K.A. Kendall's Hustler, RomaCraft Intemperance "Faith," and Emilio AF2 Miscellany Kip gets a good report from the doctor, and draws an interesting conclusion about cigar smoking.... Wrap Be sure you all come back next week for Episode 021, in which we will have guest Terry Johnson of TLJohnson Cigar.  We will be smoking one of Terry's cigars - the Tempio.  In the meantime, if you would like to contact us, you can reach us through the contact page or at the following email addresses: kip@thecigarmy.com or craig@thecigarmy.com.  Don’t forget to get those emails in this month to be entered in our current giveaway.  Also, remember you can always go back and listen to previous episodes, which can be found in the Half Ashed Archive.  You can download this week’s audio directly below (right-click “Download” and save), or find us on iTunes.  Video, as always, will be available on Cigar Federation homepage or at the CigFed Half Ashed Video Archive. P.S. – If you have unbanded suggestions or contributions, you can get those to us by sending an email to info@thecigarmy.com.  This email address goes directly to my wife, so you can simply suggest an unbanded cigar for her to source, or send me an email to kip@thecigarmy.com if you have something you’d like to send in.  I will provide an address to send them.  Thanks!

Half Ashed Episode 019 Welcome back to Half Ashed, and happy Fathers' Day to all the Dads out there.  We're glad you've joined us for another round of fun.  This week, we take a look at an old favorite - Monte Pascoal.  Craig with a corona, and I the belicoso.  So, find your favorite cigar and join us for another couple hours of smokin' silliness... News Items Legislation:  In legislative news, those of you in Pennsylvania NEED to take heed: CRA has issued an action alert detailing some potentially devastating proposals from a couple of your state congressmen. The IPCPR season is beginning to kick into high gear, with product announcements from Ortega Cigars, TL Johnson Cigars, Barry Stein (Miami Cigar), Guayacan, Crowned Heads, Ashton and newcomer Cordoba y Morales.  Look for an increasing amount of news in the next few weeks leading up to and during the tradeshow. What Have We Been Smoking? Craig: La Aurora Fernando Leon, Monte Pascoal Kip: Ezra Zion TANTRUM, Nestor Miranda DANNO, 2012 Toast Across America Fuente Opus X Miscellany We also cover some behavioral patterns Craig has noticed when "talking business" with some brick and mortar shop owners, and the politics of the B&M.  Additionally, we finally get caught up on listener emails - discussing questions from Chad Miller, Swede214, and Bruce Stark.  Keep those emails coming!  We love 'em, and always enjoy hearing from you all.  Just drop us a line via any of the means below. Wrap Be sure you all come back next week for Episode 020, which will hopefully feature a special guest, depending on whether or not we can work out the scheduling.  We will be smoking an unbanded - #005, from Dan Crouch.  We also will be bringing Dan on at the unveiling to discuss the cigar. In the meantime, if you would like to contact us, you can reach us through the contact page or at the following email addresses: kip@thecigarmy.com or craig@thecigarmy.com.  Don’t forget to get those emails in this month to be entered in our current giveaway.  Also, remember you can always go back and listen to previous episodes, which can be found in the Half Ashed Archive.  You can download this week’s audio directly below (right-click “Download” and save), or find us on iTunes.  Video, as always, will be available on Cigar Federation homepage or at the CigFed Half Ashed Video Archive. P.S. – If you have unbanded suggestions or contributions, you can get those to us by sending an email to info@thecigarmy.com.  This email address goes directly to my wife, so you can simply suggest an unbanded cigar for her to source, or send me an email to kip@thecigarmy.com if you have something you’d like to send in.  I will provide an address to send them.  Thanks!

Half Ashed Episode 018 Welcome, folks!  We're back, and only slightly agitated with the unexpected loss of Episode 017 last week.  Thanks for joining us.  I'll be brief with the summary this week and try to hit all the details quickly.  Our Cigar of the Week is one of Craig's offerings, the 2006 Partagas Serie du Connoisseur.  We had several news items pop up this week, as we begin to enter the season of rapidfire updates in the days leading up to IPCPR.  Here are a few we covered: News Items Eddie Ortega has been showing off the artwork for his October release in the Wild Bunch series, featuring DaByrdman (Ashley Byrd, cofounder of the B&B Cigar Club) Quesada will be adding a 5"X43 corona to the Oktoberfest lineup this year, which excites both of us greatly.  I already love the blend, especially in the Bavarian size...I can't wait to give it a try in a corona.  Production numbers appear to be only about 500 boxes of 20, and MSRP is about $7.25. EP Carrillo is going to release a 7"X70 monster into the INCH line. Erik Espinosa published a press release earlier this week detailing the upcoming La Bomba Warhead. L'Atelier published a picture of the packaging for the upcoming Extension de la Racine, which will feature a similar blend to their core line but be wrapped in Sungrown Criollo. Miami Cigar gave a few details about this year's Casa Miranda - Chapter Two. On a pipe tobacco note, two legendary blends will soon be in the US market after decades of being unavailable here. What have we been smoking? Craig: Wynwood, La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor Reserva Kip: Oliva Serie V Maduro, Padilla Miami 8&11, EPC Short Run 2013, Cuenca 5 Anniversary, Opus - Tauros the Bull Miscellany There were a number of discussions in this episode to point out my ever-increasing age and my perception of time since certain cigars were released.... Additionally, we took the opportunity to cover a great number of emails this week.  We needed to catch up after losing last week's episode to the Great Wide YouTube Universe.  We actually got through 9 of them in the episode, some followups to previous correspondence.  Keep those coming!  We love to hear from you all - just drop us a line through any of the means below. Wrap Be sure you all come back next week for Episode 019, which will be a live show at 9pm EST Friday night (June 14).  We will be smoking a Monte Pascoal, a tasty blend coming out of Brazil. In the meantime, if you would like to contact us, you can reach us through the contact page or at the following email addresses: kip@thecigarmy.com or craig@thecigarmy.com.  Don’t forget to get those emails in this month to be entered in our current giveaway.  Also, remember you can always go back and listen to previous episodes, which can be found in the Half Ashed Archive.  You can download this week’s audio directly below (right-click “Download” and save), or find us on iTunes.  Video, as always, will be available on Cigar Federation homepage or at the CigFed Half Ashed Video Archive. P.S. – If you have unbanded suggestions or contributions, you can get those to us by sending an email to info@thecigarmy.com.  This email address goes directly to my wife, so you can simply suggest an unbanded cigar for her to source, or send me an email to kip@thecigarmy.com if you have something you’d like to send in.  I will provide an address to send them.  Thanks!

Hello again, everyone.  As I mentioned in yesterday's post, we have lost a show to the internet cosmos.  Yes, Half Ashed Episode 017, despite showing successful recording and registering analytics for viewership Friday night, has seemingly disappeared into the vast wilds of the YouTube datasphere.  That show actually contained 2 hours of good content, despite the technical difficulties we experienced.  We will be bringing Friday's guest Michael Stewart back to talk again as soon as we are able to, and explore his hobby of buying whole leaf tobacco and rolling his own cigars.  In the meantime, Craig and I put together a shorter episode that just touched on a few of the important issues - our giveaway winner, a new giveaway, the unbanded we smoked Friday from Jacob Pinkas, and a couple of highlights from Michael.  We DID NOT cover the majority of the information from Friday - this will be brought back in the future show.  Rest assured we will also cover some of the pertinent news items, as well as quite a few listener emails on this upcoming week's show (Episode 018....look for it Sunday night).  You can find a link to the audio below, or as always, find the video in the Half Ashed Archive over on Cigar Federation. You might also want to check out a couple of posts that Michael has made over on Cigar Federation about rolling your own long filler cigars.  The first is a list of sources and necessary equipment for getting started.  This is a basic list of things that you can assemble as a starting point - and get you started as inexpensively as possible.  He also gives a few recommendations about which tobaccos you might want to try first. Secondly, he also posted links to a few YouTube videos detailing the process of rolling.

Episode 016: 2011 EP Carrillo Short Run Hello again, folks, and welcome back to Episode 016 of Half Ashed.  We appreciate you stopping by.  In this episode, we take a look at the 2011 EP Carrillo Short Run.  We're smoking the Bombone (4 7/8 X 50), with its Ecuadoran Habano wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, and Nicaraguan/Dominican filler blend.  This is Kip's favorite of the Short Run series so far, but tune in to get full details about how they're smoking right now. Show Summary Rather than the detailed notes I might normally post, I'll be brief and only include a short summary this week.  A busy holiday weekend coupled with my little Dude's birthday have left me with little time to publish before our self-imposed deadline.  So, here goes:  We cover a couple of legislative items, a Camacho rebranding, an AMERICAN puro(!), as well as a few more interesting tidbits of news.  Also, we discussed what else we've been smoking, and Kip's "Mad Scientist" idea for comparing some of the intriguing new cigars that are hitting the market.  Finally, we cover a couple of listener emails and updates.  Catch the full show via any of the means below to get "the rest of the story." Wrap Up Firstly, a huge thank you this Memorial Day weekend to all those who have made such sacrifice to allow me the opportunity to enjoy the life and freedom I have grown so accustomed to.  As we did at show closing, I wanted to recognize the countless acts that have made that possible over the history of this nation.  Next week, we’ll have the Michael Stewart as our guest, and be taking a look at his process for sourcing whole leaf tobacco and rolling his own cigars at home.  So again, thanks for tuning in, and be sure to check back in next week for an exciting Episode 017.  In the meantime, if you would like to contact us you can reach us through the contact page or at the following email addresses: kip@thecigarmy.com or craig@thecigarmy.com.  Don’t forget to get those emails in this month to be entered in our current giveaway.  Also, remember you can always go back and listen to previous episodes, which can be found in the Half Ashed Archive.  You can download this week’s audio directly below (right-click “Download” and save), or find us on iTunes.  Video, as always, will be available via Cigar Federation.

Welcome, everyone, to Half Ashed Episode 015 featuring very special guest William Cooper - who many of you know as Cigar Coop from his information-rich website, one of the premier sources of all the news that's fit to print in the cigar industry.!  This week, we're also taking a look at the 2011 Quesada Oktoberfest Bavarian.  You'll have to forgive the stock image from their website; I absentmindedly forgot to snap a pic before greedily smoking up my last example of this fantastic cigar. Industry News Two legislative items were up for discussion this week, with the new FDA Tobacco head speaking before the Tobacco Merchants Assocation annual meeting, and some common sense moves in North Carolina.  We also covered a few new cigars - from Viaje (thanks to Cigar Coop), La Gloria Cubana's upcoming Nicaraguan cigars, the impending Kelner release, and something new on the shelf from Fuente. Miscellany We covered quite a few cigars from the "What Else Have We Been Smoking" segment, with Craig's special celebratory cigar for his son's second birthday - and discussed the benefit of time on cigars that may not strike your fancy right off the truck. Also, after many years of faithful service, the last bastion of non-beaded humidification in my humidors has died.  I laid to rest my trusty old Oasis XL Plus this week. Finally, we covered several listener emails, including those we omitted last week. Wrap A huge thanks to Cigar Coop for sitting in with us on tonight's show.  Be sure you all come back next week for Episode 016, when we once again take the opportunity to humble ourselves publicly with an unbanded cigar.  This will be Unbanded 004, courtesty of Jacob Pinkas. In the meantime, if you would like to contact us, you can reach us through the contact page or at the following email addresses: kip@thecigarmy.com or craig@thecigarmy.com.  Don’t forget to get those emails in this month to be entered in our current giveaway.  Also, remember you can always go back and listen to previous episodes, which can be found in the Half Ashed Archive.  You can download this week’s audio directly below (right-click “Download” and save), or find us on iTunes.  Video, as always, will be available on Cigar Federation homepage or at the CigFed Half Ashed Video Archive. P.S. – As always, if you have unbanded suggestions or contributions, you can get those to us by sending an email to info@thecigarmy.com.  This email address goes directly to my wife, so you can simply suggest an unbanded cigar for her to source, or send me an email to kip@thecigarmy.com if you have something you’d like to send in.  I will provide an address to send them.  Thanks!