Hey everyone, Walt here. I wanted to give you a quick update on what’s been happening with the Smoke and Steel podcast and share something I’m pretty excited about.

So Tuesday night, the gang and I got together to record episode 4 – all six of us crammed around the mics, talking cigars and having a blast like we always do. But when we wrapped up, Eric asked the question I’d been dreading: “When are we actually going to see these episodes come out?”

Here’s the thing – I got a little trigger-happy early on and recorded a bunch of solo episodes. Now I’ve got this whole schedule mess where the episode we just recorded with everyone won’t see the light of day for almost a month. Talk about killing the momentum, right?

I spent that whole night lying in bed, brain spinning, trying to figure out how to fix this without completely screwing up the YouTube and Stogie Review posting schedule. Because trust me, once you get those sync issues, it’s a nightmare to sort out.

Then Wednesday morning, I’m taking a coffee break and notice that episode 4 had finished uploading to YouTube. That’s when it hit me – what if I just upload a second copy?

The Discord Solution

I’ve been wanting to build more of a community around Stogie Review for a while now. We used to have such great discussions back in the day, and I miss that. Discord seemed like the perfect way to bring that back – it’s like the old chat rooms but actually good.

So here’s what I did: I uploaded an unlisted version of episode 3 to YouTube, turned off all the notifications and comments, and dropped it in our new Discord server. Now anyone who joins gets early access to see the episode with the five guys, plus they’ll get early previews of future episodes too.

But honestly, the early episodes are just the cherry on top. What I’m really excited about is getting back to having real conversations about cigars. I want to hear what you’re smoking, what you’re curious about, what questions you have. Because here’s the thing – those discussions are going to find their way into future podcast episodes. This isn’t just a place to hang out; it’s a way for you to actually have a voice in the show.

What to Expect

Right now, it’s pretty bare bones – just me and one other host getting things started. But that’s actually perfect timing if you want to be part of building something from the ground up. Think of it like being one of the first members at a new cigar lounge – you get to help shape what it becomes.

We’ll be talking about everything cigar-related: what we’re smoking, reviews, pairing suggestions, storage tips, whatever comes up. And when we’re putting together future podcast episodes, those conversations are going to be gold mines for topics and questions.

The whole thing is free, obviously. If you’ve never used Discord before, don’t worry – it’s basically just chat rooms with some extra bells and whistles. You can type, voice chat, or just lurk and read along. Whatever works for you.

Ready to Join?

If you want to watch episode 3 of the Smoke and Steel podcast early and help build this community from the ground up, come join us on Discord. Fair warning though – you might end up hearing your questions or topics discussed on a future episode of the podcast.

Thanks for sticking with the podcast and Stogie Review. I’m looking forward to getting back to the kind of community discussions that made this whole thing fun in the first place.