The Blend
Cigar News, Culture and Lifestyle
At this year’s PCA show in New Orleans, a chance encounter with cowboy hat-wearing Danny Jackson—CEO of Benchmark Humidors—led to an inspiring conversation. A Texan with 25 years of cabinet-making experience, Danny now channels his craftsmanship into premium cigar accessories made with Spanish Cedar and full-grain leather from Saddleback Leather Co.®
As a cigar enthusiast, I love any platform where I can discuss the current topics, blends, launches, etc. about our beloved stogies. Cigar World wanted to highlight a new social media channel, the Perfect Pairing Club, with Adam Guard from Dreamer Cigars and Chris Chapanar of Whiskey Noobs, where each week, they pair a different cigar with 3 different whiskeys, tequilas, or other beverages. This is a perfect pairing of products and hosts.
As we know, a great whiskey pairs well with a great cigar, and many of you, cigar enthusiasts, are also whiskey lovers. We thought you might like to know about this new device, created by Chris Chapanar the founder of Whisky Noobs, a social channel where Chris reviews different whiskeys (if you are not following him yet, you must! @whiskey_noobs), and co-host of the Perfect Pairing Club social media channel with Adam Guard of Dream Cigars. Let’s find out from Chris exactly what got him into whiskey and brought about this must-have blind tasting device!
Cigar World WCW: Shanika Smith
Posted in WCW
For this WCW, we wanted to highlight a woman who you have all seen on your Instagram if you are a cigar enthusiast. Her name is Shanika Smith, but you probably know her as @lavellas_1 or simply as Diva. We ran into her at PCA, and she was kind enough to answer some questions for us. Read on!!
Welcome back to Cigar World for our next iteration of Women Crush Wednesday. In this exclusive interview, we sit down with Desiree Sylver, the trailblazing CEO and Founder of Drunk Chicken Cigars. Desiree shares her journey from hand-rolling cigars at home to building a nationally recognized company, all while breaking barriers in a traditionally male-dominated industry. With authenticity at the core of her mission, Desiree opens up about the inspiration behind the brand, her leadership philosophy, and the exciting future of Drunk Chicken Cigars.
March is International Women’s Month, and as you all know, PCA is just around the corner. It will be held in The Big Easy this year, the weekend of April 11 th -14th, and we wanted to talk to the Women of PCA about how the organization has been going, what they have been working on, and what we can look forward to seeing from them moving forward. I was able to sit down with Monique Jones from the Women of PCA to get you all the answers. These are definitely some women to pay attention to because they have plans.
Indeed, EPC Cigars have become synonymous with exceptional quality over the years. Today, we’ll explore Perez-Carrillo’s backstory and highlight some of the best cigars he’s ever made.
Meet this bi-coastal, actually bi-continental, badass, Nicole Knobel from ADVentura Cigars. There is so much going on with this brand, and Nicole has a huge part in making it happen. Check out our latest interview with her below!
Cigar World was given the privilege to share and cover the Procigar Festival in the Dominican Republic through the eyes and experience of Cigar Coop (William Cooper). From opening night, various factories and fields, white parties, and closer ceremonies. Join us in experiencing an unforgettable experience in the cigar industry through the eyes of Cigar Coop.
Hopefully, you have read Part One of our Interview with Pedro Gomez from Drew Estate, but if you have not, please click here and start in order. For those of you who have already read part one, we pick up with Pedro to discuss his favorite cigars and cigar festivals as well as his experience with Blackened.
