Category: Interveiws
Read interesting cigar related interviews. We interview cigar shops, cigar brands and people who have an interest in cigars.
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The Children Nobody Reaches
One night a year, in a room in Philadelphia, cigars are lit for children who will never see the room A VDG Cigars special report, with the Roberto Martinez Foundation There is a particular way a child sits when there is nothing in their bag. They keep it closed, on their lap, with both arms…
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A Life Without Limits: Angela Brown of Black Label Trading Company
By Peter Stefanic, VDG Cigars Some brands you discover through a cigar. Black Label Trading Company is one of those brands you discover through a story — and then you can’t stop reading. Founded in 2013 by Angela and James Brown, BLTC is not a brand that was built in a boardroom. It was built…
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Interview: Alexandra Younan & El Septimo
Women Who Shape the Cigar Industry Some people are born into legacy. Alexandra Younan chose to earn it. The only daughter among four brothers. A business degree built from three disciplines. A brand acquired by her family just as she stepped into the industry. None of it was handed to her — and she would…
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Stauffenberg Cigars: The Complete Guide, Reviews, Interview and the Story Behind the Brand
Stauffenberg Cigars is a Honduran-rooted premium brand founded by Maik Neubauer as a tribute to the resistance fighters of the Second World War. Every edition is rolled in Honduras, and the band across the range carries a single phrase: the heritage of courage. VDG Cigars has reviewed all three editions released so far and sat…
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Valentino Siesto Cigars: Cigars, Bananas, and a Way of Making Cigars You Have Never Heard of Before
It started with a cigar. Then an interview. Then a review. And the more I got to know Valentino Siesto Cigars, the more I realized there was more to tell than what fits into a review. That feeling is what eventually led to this article. If you have not read our previous interview with Valentino…
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Francis Francis of Histoires de Cigares: Building a Cigar Community on the Shores of Lake Geneva
Eight generations sharing the same name is unusual. Running one of Switzerland’s most respected cigar boutiques is another matter entirely. Francis Francis does both. As owner of Histoires de Cigares in Morges — a lakeside town between Geneva and Lausanne — Francis brings a background in the spirits industry, four languages, and a clear conviction…
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La Flor de Zaida: A Dream Over 100 Years in the Making
Like the Phoenix rised from its own ashes, flora de Zaida got new life from a long time in the shades of the forgotten. My interview with Antonino Piredda was nothing short of interesting. Instead of putting his name on cigars or buying an existing brand, Antonino chose a path all his own. A path…
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Interview with Stefano of Compania de Tabacos and Escobar Cigars: The invisible world behind every premium cigar
The cigar in your humidor passed through more hands than you will ever see. Before it reached the shelf, someone imported it. Someone cleared customs on it. Someone negotiated with the producer, paid the duties, stored it correctly, navigated the regulations, set the pricing, and built a market for it in a country it had…
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Tony Barrios on What a Master Blender Actually Does: An Exclusive Interview with Stallone Cigars
By Peter | VDG Cigars | Certified Cigar Sommelier There are blenders, and then there are Master Blenders. The difference, as I discovered during my conversation with Tony Barrios, is not a matter of degree. It is a matter of a lifetime. Tony is the man behind Stallone Cigars, a brand he has carried in…
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The Man Behind the Charity foundation: Robert Martinez and RM Cigars
I have spoken with many people throughout my years, but few have left as lasting an impression on me as Robert from RM Cigars. I am not talking about RM cigars themselves, nor about the fact that he is a veteran. I am talking about what Robert does that makes a real difference in the…
