Interview with James at S&W cigars: Cigars, Guitar and Bad ass cars.

It feels a bit comical to say, I usually sing in the shower to reduce the risk of my neighbors getting earaches. James sings on stage to make other people’s ears feel good. I heard him sing in a post on Instagram and I have to admit that it was like watching TV and the desire to go to a concert came right after.

There is an old expression that was used for a long time in the Rock world that most of you have probably heard.

-Sex, drugs and rock n roll,

S&W has created its own expression

– Cigars, guitars and bad ass cars .

I want to start by bursting a bubble that many people ask James about. A question I was curious about myself. S&W does not stand for the gun manufacturer Smith and Wesson, it is the first letter of their surnames Schwarz and Welch.

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The music laid the foundation for the cigars.

You could say that music laid the foundation for S&W cigars. James’ father Jack has worked as a musician since he was 9 years old. Jack also worked at the iconic guitar company Fener where he started in the woodshop. Jack had an incredible career with Fender where he worked his way up to become a Vice President. You could almost say that what he doesn’t know about guitars hasn’t been invented yet. In addition to his work at Fender, jack is also an accomplish, professional guitarist. You could say that the world wasn’t his world but music was. James himself followed in his dads footsteps and entered the world of music where he still works professionally as a singer. I can say this, I heard James’ music via a post he made on Instagram and was shocked. I was looking to check out some new cigars and instead I was instantly tempted to go to a concert. I want to give you a tip, search for Roxster or James Welch. I don’t think you will be disappointed when you hear their music.

“I have been in the online cigar community for well over 10 years while my father was not. Since starting S&W Cigars, my dad quickly realized how special this community is, that has welcomed him with open arms. I met a guy on a virtual herf one night, Fred Espinal, and would later find out he was an owner of a factory in the Dominican Republic. During one of our conversations the idea of starting my own cigar brand came up. I didn’t really thing much of it and dismissed the idea pretty quickly. I thought it would be expensive and cost around 50,000 dollars. Time passed and 2 years later it came up again. He put me in my place a little and asked if I should act on my dreams. While we were sitting there we went through all the possibilities and costs. I was shocked when I found out the startup costs were a lot more reasonable than I had thought. I wasted no time and immediately spoke to my father, who is also my business partner in our consulting firm, and presented the business plan to him. There was no delay in his response. He was all in right at that moment. Our thoughts went, we are consultants and help others grow their companies, now it was our time to do something for ourselves. We immediately discussed flavor profile for the first two cigars that would become the El Maestro Connecticut and the El Cantante Habano. I took that information and got to work with Fred at the factory to get the cigars we knew we wanted for our brand. Fred sent several samples of each, dad and I smoked the samples and knew right away which ones would bare our names. We started the company in January 2024 and we received our first shipment of cigars in May 2024, and here are now about to be represented in two locations here in the USA. TR Cigars in Helen, Georgia and Toro Cigars (www.torocigars.com) based in Virgina. We are also going to be introducing our third cigar, the El Bajo Maduro later this April. Dad I couldn’t be more excited for the opportunities that have come our way in such a relatively short period of time. We both had a passion for music, cigars and old American muscle cars. Our motto comes from our passion: Cigars, Guitars and bad ass cars. We are a lifestyle brand. One of our goals is to provide a relaxed feeling where everyone is welcome. We are all people and different individuals”

You can say a lot but our conversation went from guitars to cars and prices. I think I laughed most of the time and you noticed how down to earth James was.

I want to lift again now when you are sitting at your phone, tablet or computer. Take the opportunity to look up Roxter or James Welch to listen to their albums or James’ singles.

James, thank you very much for taking the time and sharing your story. The brand is brand new and I really hope you make it through. You just have to follow your dreams and never give up.