I first met Marvin at a local cigar shop back in 2009, it’s when I smoked Liga Privada No. 9 for the first time. I enjoyed seeing Marvin at events over the years, but it’s been quite a few years since we talked. When I heard he was making a movie, I was excited. When I heard iMordecai was available on Amazon, I watched it immediately. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, it was relatable and quite touching. Here is my discussion with Marvin.
I highly recommend seeing iMordecai, it’s available on Amazon and Apple TV. Thank you to Marvin for taking the time, and to Matty Rock for connecting us.
Last December I picked up the Foundation Cigar Co. Olmec in Maduro and Claro. I had smoked the Maduro, and gifted the Claro. I happened to be shopping at The Wooden Indian a few weeks back and picked up
another Claro, because I wanted to smoke it! I really enjoyed the Maduro, and I’ve enjoyed so many cigars made by Nick Melillo over the years. Of course, this is a cigar that is an homage to the original cigar smokers, the Olmec, and has a San Andres Claro wrapper, a double binder of Nicaraguan Esteli and Jalapa, and undisclosed fillers. Odd the undisclosed part, must be something interesting in there, although, upon reading the website description, there seems to be some some confusion, the filler may be Esteli and Jalapa, it says two different things! Anyway, this was a really good smoking cigar. I liked the Maduro more, but that’s not unusual for me, but this had some nice creamy coffee flavor and was very rich in flavor. I may not drop $15 on these regularly, but it’s a nice treat.
On the same trip to the Wooden Indian I picked up an Espinosa 601 La Bomba Warhead VII, just because it looked s
o tasty. The La Bomba line has been a favorite since the EO Brands days, when it was made at the My Father factory. This one is made at AJ Fernandez’ San Lotano factory in Nicaragua, has a Nicaraguan Broadleaf wrapper, and Nicaraguan binder and fillers. It’s a 7″ x 50 Churchill, and it lacks the La Bomba “fuse” cap treatment. I actually haven’t smoked enough of the Warhead series to know if that’s a thing or not. I really liked this cigar. The box press makes it feel like a smaller ring than it is, and it’s really reasonably priced at around $10. It was loaded with dark coffee/espresso flavors. This was a really good smoke, burn and draw were perfect. I’m a fan.
Yesterday we attended the AC Cigar Social in Atlantic City, and I did a quick video interview with Jon Henderson (I had Jon Anderson on the brain for some reason…). I’ll write a more indepth post this week about the event, but in the meantime, here is the video:
It was a really nice event, hopefully it’s one that can continue!
I’m trying something a little new here. Ricky kind of encouraged this, I’ve been thinking about it for some time. When I talked to him a few weeks ago he asked to do it, and I had to figure out how. I did, and I think it worked out very well. Rick and I talked for 50 minutes about the company, the cigars, the factory and several other topics. Please give it a watch and let me know what you think. I hope to present some more interviews in this format. Many thanks to Ricky of West Tampa Tobacco Co. for his time and his encouragement. I smoked the Attic Series Attic along with Rick and it was as excellent as ever. I’m looking forward to getting the West Tampa Red when it comes out next month, it’s really good too.
hank you to Kevin at CigarProp for his technical guidance, and to my friends on the Round Panel for helping me test it and work out the bugs. I have a lot of video content on my YouTube channe
Cigars is another one of those guys in the cigar industry who’s a triple threat. Mike has a podcast, a store and a brand (the later two co-owned with his brother, Greg). I’ve known Mike for a few years and I find him to be a likable fellow. It’s nice when you find someon
e who has the same muscular physique (of course, I kid. I haven’t set foot in a gym since high school). After an interesting interaction with Mike, which I may or may not go into some day, we had a brief chat about all of his various projects.
Again, thanks to Ed O’Neal for manning the camera for me. I think the videos he shot look much better than the ones I do solo (the
front facing camera has a lower resolution, and the angles are a problem, I need to get a better tripod). Also thanks to Mike and his crew for taking a few minutes and having my back.
Believe it or not, I’m nearing the end of the PCA show videos I took. As I’ve said before, I’m not competing with other media sites, I do things my way. I’ve maintained that I’m a blogger first, not a media site, I just love cigars and write stuff about them. I do enjoy doing the video interviews though, it’s fu
n talking to my friends in the cigar industry. My approach to the PCA show this year was casual, yet I had some goals and targeted a select few personalities to interview. I hope you’ve enjoyed the videos. This one was with Leo of Platinum Nova cigars, who I first met at the 2020 TPE show. These folks make some really tasty cigars, and their model is one blend/one size, as opposed to having a line with numerous vitolas. It’s an interesting and probably costly way of doing things. The cigars are pricey, but they are really
quite good. I like the way this video turned out, I hope you do too.
While I was writing this I decided to smoke the Nova 484 (which I incorrectly described as 4×44 on the video) that Leo gave me after the 2022 TPE show. As the name indicates, it’s 4″ x 48, and comes in a Dominican and Nicaraguan version.The Dominican has an Ecuador H2000 wrapper, Dominican Piloto Cubano binder and Olor Dominicano, while the Nicaraguan Has Ecuador Habano wrapper, Habano Esteli binder and Habano Jalapa filler. My one complaint is that the cigar I am smoking doesn’t indicate which one it is, although I’m fairly confident that it’s the Nicaraguan. It has a nice sweetness and some coffee flavors, and I like it a lot. I am not a huge fan of Olor, which is why I’m confident in my assumption. Some indication, if even on the barcode sticker, would be nice. The cigar burns perfectly, and was about the perfect size for composing this article. As I said in the interview, I’m fortunate to have time to smoke larger cigars, but once in a while I need something short, and this was a great option. At $25 for a 4-pack, I may keep some on hand (and I might try the Dominican!). BTW, Leo, if I’m wrong please spare me the embarrassment and correct me privately! 🙂
I first met Marvin at a local cigar shop back in 2009, it’s when I smoked Liga Privada No. 9 for the first time. I enjoyed seeing Marvin at events over the years, but it’s been quite a few years since we talked. When I heard he was making a movie, I was excited. When I heard iMordecai was available on Amazon, I watched it immediately. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, it was relatable and quite touching. Here is my discussion with Marvin.
