Cigar Federation

Rob and Logan chat with Jason Holly about the Viva Republica brand. They learn some really cool stuff the brand has planned for next year.

Rob and Surgeon talk with CLE about their blends and what makes them different as a company.

Surgeon pairs a Jericho Hill with with McAuslan Brewing  
St-Ambroise Oatmeal Stout, Howe Sound Brewing Diamond Head Oatmeal Stout and a Ninkasi Brewing Vanilla Oatis Oatmeal Stout.

RobbyRas pairs a Crowned Heads Tennessee Waltz with a Samuel Smith Brewery Oatmeal Stout, Ninkasi Brewing Vanilla Oatis Oatmeal Stout and a Firestone Walker Brewing Co Velvet Merlin Oatmeal Stout.

Surgeon pairs an Undercrown corona viva with various winter ales. Rob pairs a my father le bijou with four winter ales.

Catfish and Big Tuna are back and talking Vegueros! We are back after the Thanksgiving holiday and talking about the resurrected Habanos line. We might even get everyone excited about some "Top 10" cigars.

We talk with Scott all about Recluse. Logan's ADD medication wears off during the after dark segment.

We chat with Jack about his recent move to Roberto Duran Cigars. We break down all of their current lines and Logan plays "20 Questions".

We have a great time chatting with Joey aka Johnny Bravo of J Fuego. We talk do Joey about J Fuego's history, blends, and upcoming release. Plus, Logan is very full of himself this episode.

We chat with Gabriel from Maya Selva for the first time. We learn about their European presence and their recent move into the US market.

On What Embargo?, Episode Dieciocho, Catfish and Big Tuna spend some quality time with the boys from Blind Man's Puff and talk about some blind Habanos they reviewed. Join Catfish and Big Tuna as they fail miserably in identifying these smokes, one a complete surprise and the other a very well aged smoke that would fool everyone. As always listen to the crew talk all things Habanos with the Blind Man's Puff and hear some favorites of them all.

Rob and Logan talk with Veritas for the first time about their two newest blends, the 412 and Veritas.

In "What Embargo?: Episode Diecisiete" Catfish is MIA in the bayou, so Tuna calls upon Cigar Coop to do a unique show. The two talk the term "Cubanesque." What does it mean to be Cubanesque? The two to over several brands in America and talk about what they believe to be close to the great Habano.

This is the fist time we talked with Santana from D'Crossier Cigars. We talk about his background and break down all of his cigars.

Surgeon sits down with guest co-host Aaron Loomis of Blind Man's Puff to pair a variety of hard apple ciders. Surgeon goes with the crowd sourced cigar of a Brick House Mighty Mighty Maduro and Aaron pairs a Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Champagne.

Can you believe we have had 100 episodes? I am as shocked as you are. We had to go big for our 100th episode, so we had the one and only, Jonathan Drew. JD dropped knowledge on us the entire time.

On What Embargo? Episode Sixteen Catfish and Big Tuna conclude their conversations on the "cheapo Habanos" and discuss their winner. After smoking through many of them, and have discussions, they determined that Jose Piedra is the winner. Expect a show filled with intense conversations on Jose Piedra and a discussion of some other brands that are not main stream. Along with that, expect some classic ramblings from Big Tuna and Catfish.

One of the more entertaining shows we have had in a while. Red Ryan and Gweedo, owners of Dissident Cigars, break down all of their blends and how they entered the market. There is a lot of talk about movies and video games.

We chat with Crux for the first time. We talk about their launch into the market this year and breakdown all of their current lines.

Andrew Ferguson from Kensington Wine Market joins Surgeon to do some High Falutin' pairings. Surgeon breaks out a Montecristo A, along with 7 whiskies ranging from 21 years up to 30. Andrew shows off some very limited bottlings as well as his private mini-cask where he's aging his own whisky.

We talk to Cordoba & Morales for the first time. We discuss their blends and their expansion plans.

One of the most educational shows we have ever done. Thing you know how to store your cigars? I promise you will learn something new after listening to this episode.

Surgeon and Rob sit down to pair an El Cedro cigar with various cheeses and chocolates. Rob questions Surgeon's sanity in pairing cigars with cheese. Discussion about food pairings versus beverage pairings.

Catfish and Big Tuna talk about Edicion Limitadas. They discuss their favorite releases over the years, how they have aged and focus on the Montecristo Grand Edmundo and Sublimes as well. Along with that, they analyze the program with regular production releases and see how they are similar, different  and make a pros and cons list with that. 

We chat with Warped Cigars for the first time. We dig into the their blends and their big push to big stage during IPCPR 2014.

Logan and Rob chat with Andre, founder of Viaje, for the first time. We talk about Viaje and discuss some new upcoming projects.

John and Rob will pair a La Gloria Cubana Serie R Black with various sodas, or pop depending on where you hail from.

On What Embargo?, Episode Catorce, Catfish and Big Tuna talked about regional editions and their role in the Habanos portfolio. They discussed the pros and cons of the program and also talked about the limited nature of the program. They delved into limited editions in general as well and laid down their thoughts on the concept of making a cigar limited in production. 

We chat with Fabian about the new look and director for Villiger USA.

Surgeon gets into the weeds on pairing with wines. Since Surgeon really knows nothing about wine, he had a special guest, Tony Bellatto, from La Barba Cigars who happens to be a Master Sommelier. Tony gives a ton of insight into pairing cigars with wine.

We chat with Tony, owner of La Barba Cigar, for the first time. We talk to him about his two cigars; red (aka Red Drink) and the purple (aka Purple Drink).

We have Dean, owner of Epic Cigars, on CigarChat for the first time. We talk about all three of this lines which include the Epic Corojo, Epic Maduro, and the newest release the Epic Habano.

Surgeon and Catfish discuss coffee pairing and brew methods.  Omar from Fratello cigars stops by to talk briefly about Fratello coffee and coffee pairings.

Last night on What Embargo? Catfish and Big Tuna discussed the upcoming releases from Habanos. They talked about the increase in ring gauges on Habanos and the connection the United States market. They were also joined by Cigar Coop, an expert on the US cigar market, and the three began to compare the two markets, how they are different and related, and talked favorite smokes as well. 

We had the only and only, Cigar Coop from Stogie Geeks and Cigar Coop, come on and talk to us about IPCPR, new cigar releases, and the overall cigar industry as a whole.

Special guest Kevin Freer from Wellington Brewery was on to talk about beer making and we all discussed the finer points of contrasting vs. complimentary pairing.  Kevin talked about what goes into crafting a one off beer, and we all picked our favorite pairings for that show.

Rob and John talked about the history of rum, and how production differs in regions in the world.  Rob paired a Liga Privada T52 with a Flor de Cana 12 and a Zacapa rum.  John paired a Tatuaje J21 with Captain Morgans, Flor de Cana 12 and 18, Club Havana 7 and a Lamb's Navy Rum.

This is the first time we have Arielle, owner of La Sirena Cigars, on CigarChat. We talk about her upcoming releases at IPCPR and her recent acquisition of Old School Cigars.

Catfish and Big Tuna talk about the newest crazy with Cuban Cigars, Custom Rolls. Also, they get into a small discussion about plume.

Logan and Surgeon break down everything about Bourbon. Logan pairs the Ortega Serie D Maduro with Four Roses and Surgeon pairs an Drew Estate Undercrown with Laphroaig 18. 

We have the guys from Ezra Zion to talk about the recent sale of Cigar Federation and their newest release, the Tantrum Passive Aggressive.

We chat with Juan from Joya de Nicaragua all about their company history. We also spend a time going over their newest release, Joya Red.

Catfish and Big Tuna dive into the Partagas brand and focus on the PSD5. Also, they discuss the difference between bloom and plume.

Logan talks with Terry about all the happenings around TL Johnson Cigars and LT Cubana.

Cigar Surgeon and the Village Idiot talk about Whiskey and Scotch. Also, they talk about the two pairings for the night.

We have Eddie on and he busts Logan's balls about everything. Eddie goes into his two newest releases, the Heavy Duty and the Serie D Black.