Stogie Geeks #302

Show Overview:

We welcome two new co-hosts, Andrew “The Band Man” Galvan and Jeff “Glagnaar” Leblanc to assist with the Stogies of the Week. Then we will interview Richard Carleton Hacker an international writer and photographer specializing in spirits, wines, cigars, and related luxury lifestyles. We will be chatting with Richard about his book.
 
 

Cigar Reviews:

 

Joe’s Cigars:

 

 

Andrew Galvan:

 

  • Arturo Funte Grand Reserva Flor Fina
  • Aging Room Quattro Small Batch F55 – Robusto
  • Hoyo/AJ Fernandez La Amistad – Toro
  • Kafie 1901 Connecticut – Robusto
  • LA Roma De Cuba Edición Especial – Corona

 
 

Richard Carleton Hacker


Richard Carleton Hacker is an international writer and photographer specializing in spirits, wines, cigars, and related luxury lifestyles. He is a longtime contributing editor for numerous national magazines, including Robb Report, The Somm Journal, and The Tasting Panel. A lifetime member of the Scotch whisky industry’s exclusive Keeper of the Quaich honorary society and one of less than 300 Masters of the Quaich in the world, he has also been inducted into the Ordre des Coteaux de Champagne, is a Cavaleiro in the Confraria do Vinho do Porto, and was knighted in Germany. He lives in Sherman Oaks, California.
 

Books:

The Connoisseur’s Guide to Worldwide Spirits
The Ultimate Cigar Book: 4th Edition

Hosts:

Joe Hozempa | Host of Stogie Geeks

Everyone knows Joe Hozempa. The “Italian Stallion” of the Rhode Island cigar culture. Joe isn’t afraid to give a cigar an average review. He knows what he likes and isn’t afraid to say it.

Andrew “The Band Man” Galvan | Co-Host


Andrew Galvan works in the Insurance Industry (Property Loss Adjuster). Andrew’s love for the cigar has been cultivated over the years and he made a goal to learn about the cigar business from seed to consumer. Thus, he has endeavored into the cigar business with Prestige Cigar and Tobacco in Bedford Texas aside his dual career.
 
“The Band Man”- Every time I smoke a cigar, I have a ritual. Going in I look at the cigar, the construction, color, smell the foot, taste the cap, I gently caress it in my fingers. Then I cut it, most time it will be a Deep ‘V’. I then look at the band, I read it, I study the artwork and fonts of any symbols or numbers, I imagine the person rolling this cigar and then putting the finishing touch of the band… I collect the bands and keep them as gifts of appreciation from the Tobacco growers, and procurers of said cigar. I become one with this cigar, I toast it, I wait patiently for the filler, binder, wrapper to ignite, the first hint of aromas fly through the air like an Aaron Judge Home Run…. Beautiful.
“Impeccable customer relations yields the greatest customer experience”-AG
 
Jeff “Glagnaar” Leblanc | Co-Host


Metal head. Texan. Gun nut. Beer destroyer. Jack of all trades and yet master of none. Glagnaar has applied his ham-fisted and sometimes downright reckless approach to the fields of cuisine, delivery, fine spirits, coffee bars, and even a very short stint at uber. Constant striving for perfection and a creative edge has caused him to leave his mark, for better or worse, on the many facets of industry stricken with his presence.
Now the Mighty Glagnaar has taken solace in tobbacconism(spl), once a fleeting hobby, now a full-time obsession. Will the industry survive him? Only time will tell.
“If you want me to paint the Sistine Chapel, you had better go and fetch my hammer.”

 

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