Cigar Hacks

We have a small panel for a low keyed Memorial Day episode. Cellophane; on or off? The Hidden Herf was sent in from a regular listener and is a very surprising cigar. We hear about Cigar World East in Warren, RI while we prepare to tour RI shops on the other side of the state. … Continue reading "Episode 289: Memorial Day 2023 – Local Spotlight: Plaistow Cigar Co; Plaistow, NH"

The Gringo is in town and joins the panel this week. The Hidden Herf brand is guessed but the particular cigar is elusive. Kostas the Olive Man’s brother, Rembrandt the Painter, joins us for the first time while The Gringo breaks up the place. This is a fun one! Local Spotlight – Twins Smoke Shop; … Continue reading "Episode 288: Gringo Twins – Local Spotlight: Twins Smoke Shop; Londonderry, NH"

It’s taco & margarita day and the panel doesn’t miss the opportunity the sample the various margaritas at Elie’s. Elie give us an update on what’s in the works for the lounge. We drag Phil from the peanut gallery and put him in the hot seat. The Hidden Herf is discovered early on, but there’s … Continue reading "Episode 287: Cinco de Mayo – Local Spotlight: Elie’s Smoking lounge; Nashua, NH"

The Rabbi Cutabove swings into town and we roll out the Oscuro III. The day starts at The Cigar Authority live podcast where the guest for the week is Jose Dominguez Jr. of Jose Dominguez Cigars. We load the crew into the Oscuro III stretch limo and head over to El Toro in Hudson to … Continue reading "Episode 286: Rabbi Palooza – Local Spotlight: El Toro Cigar & Lounge; Hudson, NH"

We get the Ash Lounge Grand Opening report. Instead of the usual local spotlight we have a trivia game for prizes. The Hidden Herf becomes somewhat obvious after a few clues. Dog talk. The Brooklyn Chick drops in for a quick appearance. Local Spotlight – Lounge Trivia at Plaistow Cigar Co; Plaistow, NH Controversy Corner … Continue reading "Episode 285: Plaistow Trivia Game – Local Spotlight: Plaistow Cigar Co; Plaistow, NH"

It’s the first outdoor episode of 2023. We gather around the fire pit in Nurse Ricks back yard where the Hidden Herf is pegged right out of the gate. We review the olive oil drops and have lot of fun with some one-liners. Local Spotlight – La Farona Cigars, Ebor City, FL Controversy Corner – … Continue reading "Episode 284: April Fire Pit – Local Spotlight: La Farona Cigars; Ebor City, FL"

It’s the soft opening of the new Ash Cigar Lounge in Kingston, NH. We sit down with the owner and get the skinny on the whole story. Nurse Rick is in Orlando on vacation and calls in from Corona Cigar’s downtown location for the Florida Report. The Hidden Herf is recognized by one of the … Continue reading "Episode 283: The Long Ash Interview – Local Spotlight: Ash Cigar Lounge; Kingston, NH"

It’s that time again for The Tobacco Shack’s “Party For The Hell Of It”. The band is on, we’re having a blast, and it’s standing room only. This episode was recorded directly after the party. We do a recap on the Route One Business Network Group event. The Hidden Herf stumps the panel but it … Continue reading "Episode 282: Any Excuse for a Party – Local Spotlight: The Tobacco Shack; Rowley, MA"

We’re back at the Twins 7-20-4 lounge and Michael Granito of Micallef Cigars is downstairs for a Micallef Cigar event so we rope him into joining us again. Keeping with that theme we also grab “Schweddy Balls” from the lounge. The Hidden Herf is a fantastic five dollar stick. Mustang Mike is back and launches … Continue reading "Episode 281: Mo Money w/Micallef Cigars – Local Spotlight: Twins Smoke Shop; Londonderry, NH"

Another first, we haven’t done an episode from the Nashua location of Castro’s before this week. Direct from the second floor lounge we have a full compliment of Hacks for the St. Patrick’s Day episode. The Hidden Herf was picked right out by one of our astute panelists. The Podcast Juice is flowing and the … Continue reading "Episode 280: St Paddy’s Day! – Local Spotlight: Castro’s Back Room; Nashua, NH"

Our first episode from the Boston Cigar Club is good time for the panel. We land an interview with the owner. There’s an interesting story behind this lounge. The Hidden Herf is guessed by way of a coincidence. A possible future Hack joins the festivities. Oh yeah – it’s Pat McGroin’s birthday Local Spotlight – … Continue reading "Episode 279: Be Patient, the Belly Dancer is Coming! – Local Spotlight: Boston cigar Club, Charlestown, MA"

It was five years ago this month when we did a Local Spotlight on Cigar and Lounge in Watertown, MA. It about time we got back there to record an episode. We interview the owners and they tell us about the decade’s long, and no so easy, journey to running a successful cigar lounge in … Continue reading "Episode 278: It’s Not Easy – Local Spotlight: Cigar and Lounge; Watertown, MA"

“Tony Montana” becomes a Hack. The Hidden Herf proves that size matters! How many times can we get pulled over? And other stories from the road. Local Spotlight – Touring in the Oscuro III Controversy Corner – Dinosaur Reality

It’s a Friday night in the 7-20-4 Lounge at Twins. We have a birthday with a special cigar and a hidden herf that stumps the panel. Pat The Law Student files a brief on a California proposal. Local Spotlight – Twins Smoke Shop; Londonderry, NH Controversy Corner – Trains w/Pat McGroin

Hackapalooza 5.0 is in the books, we do a brief recap of the 36 hours that followed last week’s recording. Nurse Rick is on the remote because he’s under the weather again. The Hidden Herf gives a couple of the panelists some issues. We dissect one of the Hidden Herfs to see what it’s issue … Continue reading "Episode 275: Rooster Booster – Local Spotlight: Plaistow Cigar Co; Plaistow, NH"

Hackapalooza 5.0 is in full swing, we report on the first 30 hours. With twelve panelists the Hidden Herf is “smokers choice” to save on time. The Current Events segment should be called “Fun with the Reverend”. The episode goes in multiple directions and we get into a bit of a laughing fit towards the … Continue reading "Episode 274: Hackapalooza 5.0 – Local Spotlight: New Tobacco Village; Whitehall, PA"

We take the Oscuro III limo south to Chuck’s for another episode with a full compliment of Hacks. There’s an initiation of our third new member in as many weeks. The Hidden Herf is hit or miss with the panel but still does not get any outstanding ratings. The banter is all over the map … Continue reading "Episode 273: South on the North Shore – Local Spotlight: Chuck’s Commune"

Hanging out at Plaistow Cigar on a Saturday Afternoon with a full compliment of Hacks we initiate a new Hack. The Mailbag is full and the Hidden Herf is hit or miss with the panel. The Reverend gets himself into hot water a couple times. Controversy Corner goes in a different direction, four or five … Continue reading "Episode 272: Saturday Afternoon at Plaistow Cigar – Local Spotlight: The Cigar Den; New Brunswick, NJ"

We sit down with Eric “Killer” Kilbane of Castro’s Back Room Cigar Shops. Eric pulls out a few cigar selections from the vault for us to sample, most have been aging for approximately 20 years. It’s a cast of eleven with non-stop laughs. We have been anticipating this episode for over a month and the … Continue reading "Episode 271: Vintage Cigar Night – Local Spotlight: Castro’s Back Room; Manchester, NH"

Another year passes and we find ourselves handing out another set of awards for some of the best things of the past year. We pull in a couple of lounge regulars (Mike & Steve) to add color commentary. If this wasn’t the awards show we could have call it the medical episode or the boobies … Continue reading "Episode 270: The 2022 Hackie Awards Special – Local Spotlight: El Toro; Hudson, NH"