Hi there – my name is Walt White and I started Stogie Review way back in 2006 with good friend Jerry Cruz. Unless you’ve been around quite a while, you probably don’t recognize me.
Up until about five years ago, I used to be heavily involved in the day to day operations of Stogie Review (that’s just a fancy way of saying that I used to do a ton of cigar reviews). When my second daughter was born, my involvement dropped dramatically. When my third daughter was born, my involvement became practically non-existent.
With each passing year I triumphantly tell myself “This is the year I get back into Stogie Review!” Coincidentally, this proclamation usually happens around the same time of year that the hosting bill comes due.
This year things are a little different – I find myself with a bit more free time than I’m accustomed to. On one hand this is great because I’m seeing first hand just how busy I’ve been making myself with work. On the flip side, less work means less money coming in – but that’s a story for another time.
Back to the point of this post…
Despite being “Retired” (for the most part) from the world of cigars – I find that I’ve been missing it a lot over the past several months. Partly because I was doing some blogging for my business, partly because I found this amazing thing called Motovlogging, and partly because I’ve actually had a few people ask me about Stogie Review out in the real world.
Now with that said, I’m under no illusion that tomorrow I’ll pick up where I left off and go back to doing three Video Cigar Reviews each week (that would be bat-shit crazy – Insert “Aint Nobody got time for that meme“).
To be completely honest, I have absolutely no interest in getting back into doing those long-form vidoes that I used to. Twenty-minutes of dissecting a cigar on video is something better left in the past.
I do, however, miss old school blogging and just writing about cigar moments. Hell, I even miss firing up the camera and blurting out in-the-moment thoughts on the cigar I just happen to be smoking.
Not to sound all cheesy but I’ve spent the last few nights lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, wondering “How can I get involved in Stogie Review in a way that would be fun and not require more than a couple of hours per week?”
Now would be a great time to unveil a brilliant master plan to make that happen… but I don’t have one. I don’t know the answer but I do know that it won’t happen if all I do is sit back and think about it.
Step one is writing this post – and it actually felt good to do. I can’t promise big things in the future but we’re going to take it one step at a time and see what we can manage.
hey walt you have always been a wealth of honest information regarding cigars. because of you i built my first coolidor with the directions you provided ,and also fan sytem and hygrometer. its great to see you back into cigars and im looking forward to your insite nowadays
Hey Jevat!
I’m glad that information was able to help you. I’m amazed that people still ask me about my coolidors from time to time. I retired them a couple of years ago but they served me well for a long time.
While I haven’t been blogging or keeping up with the latest cigar news, I have been a regular in my local shop. Hopefully you find my cigar-shop stories amusing / helpful.
Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment – I appreciate it!
I enjoy going back through the old reviews and the new ones. Shoot, got a box of the Diesel Esteli Puro last month based on the site reviews.
Hey Matt,
I’m glad to hear you still find the older content enjoyable.
Diesel is a brand I haven’t had in quite a while – I used to pick up a couple at a time when I was passing by the CI Superstore in Hamburg, PA.
Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment
Walt – Great to have you back for whatever time you devote to the site. What’s Jerry up to these days?
Hey George,
It’s great to see you again!
Sadly, Jerry and I don’t talk much these days. Life got busy and our daily texts turned to weekly texts, which have become random message every few months to check in with one another. For what I see on social media (which I’ve dialed way back over the years) he seems to be happy and healthy.
Walt,
Was wondering where you’ve been. I’ve missed you, Jerry and Brian’s reviews. Glad to hear life’s been good. Are you still in to the shooting competitions? Hope to see you back in some form.
Cheers,
Bugs
Hey Mark,
No – I haven’t shot USPSA or IDPA in years. A while back my wife had a career change that came with weekend hours so I had to start skipping matches. I miss the comradery with the guys but with todays ammo situation I’m not sure that very many people are going to be shooting locally this season.
Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment
Just write stuff, it’s worked for me these past 11 years!
Hey Craig,
Is that right – 11 years? It seems like you’ve been around longer than that.
Its good to see you again, thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment.
Man would love to see some Walt or Jerry or mike old school stogie review reviews!!!
Hey Marty,
I haven’t talked to Mike since he planned on moving a few years back – hopefully he is doing well and still enjoying cigars.
Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment.
I haven’t been on Stogie Review in a few years myself, didn’t even k ow I was still subbed to the emails but it’s great to see you back Walt. Maybe I’ll get back into this thing to.
Hey Jose,
It’s good to see you again!
On a not so Stogie Review note, I was using that Logo you made me for my Personal Blog for a very long time. I retired it just a few months ago.
I hope to see you around in the comments.
Yoyo Jose! I remember you from way back. Great graphic design work. Glad you’re still out there.
Welcome back! Any chance Jerry comes back? What ever happened to Mike in PA? I miss the old days!
Hey Ty,
I wouldn’t expect Jerry to come back anytime soon – he seems to be enjoying retirement too much.
I’m not sure what is going on with Mike. I fell out of touch with him a while back. Hopefully he is doing well.
Walt, good to have you back. we met a few times. I remember an Oliva event in PA, a few days before the cigarfest.
Hey Jimmie,
I remember – I think we met the same time I met Mario. Thinking about him driving “In the Darkness” of the Poconos still makes me laugh thinking about it.
Thanks for stopping by!
It’s weird how the cigar blog thing stays in the back of the mind for years. I never quit cigars. I just quit documenting it via a blog (not on the level of SR).
Anyway, I still visit SR daily. It’s my homepage since like 2007. It’d be a blast to have you back. Jerry would be great too. Even at a limited capacity. We’ll take whatever we can get! Brian and crew have been holding it down. Good times.
WELCOME BACK!
You are a legend sir! Congrats on the munchkins! Long ashes my friend! I posted a few comments tonight on some sticks you reviewed back in the day! Thanks for all you do!