Another Tuesday night in Gilbertsville, another garage full of smoke and good conversation. Episode 037 of the Smoke and Steel Cigar Podcast is one of those episodes that starts with a simple offhand comment and somehow turns into one of our better discussions of the year. It happens a lot around here.
Eric mentioned that a cigar was “good for the price” and that little qualifier opened up a whole conversation we didn’t know we needed to have. Do we actually judge a cigar differently based on what it costs? Turns out, yeah, a lot of us do. And maybe we shouldn’t. We also got into the growth of our Discord community, recapped a fantastic Fuente event at our local shop, and of course talked through what everyone had burning between their fingers. Pull up a chair. Here’s what went down.
Table of Contents
What We Were Smoking in Episode 037
No better place to start than the rotation for the night. We had a solid spread across the table.
Mark kicked things off with the La Rosa 520 HVC 10th Anniversary from Small Batch Cigar, his first pick from the cigar of the month club he recently joined. First impressions mattered here since this was his inaugural shipment and he wanted it to count.
Eric lit up the CAO Flathead Speed Shop Habano, which landed in his hands through a blind Discord trade with community member Sam Hopkins. He had mentioned loving the Flathead line and Sam made sure one showed up in the box. That kind of community is exactly what we talk about building.
Rob was smoking the Cohiba Rubicon, calling it a solid smoke for the price.
Jim had the Patina Connecticut, and yes, the Patina jokes are just part of who he is at this point. Walt had the J London Mr. London from the collective pack.
The Big Debate: Does Price Determine Quality?
This is the one that got people talking. When Eric called the Cohiba Rubicon “good for the price,” Walt pushed back on the framing. Not in an aggressive way, just a genuine question worth asking: why do we qualify how much we enjoy a cigar by what it costs?
It turns out most of us are guilty of it. We say things like “it’s a great $5 smoke” instead of just saying it’s a great smoke. There’s an unspoken hierarchy attached to price, and once you name it, you can’t un-hear it.
The consensus we landed on is pretty simple. If you enjoy it, it’s good. Full stop. A tunneling, plugged, inconsistent cigar at $20 is not a good value. A well-constructed, flavorful smoke at $5 that burns perfect all the way down is just a good cigar. Period. We shouldn’t need to add a disclaimer.
That said, we also acknowledged the flip side. Expectations do shift when you spend more. If you hand over $35 for a cigar, you want it to show up for you. That’s fair. But the idea that a budget-friendly cigar carries some kind of shame? We called that out for what it is. One of our Discord members actually hesitated to post photos of his smokes because he thought we’d judge him for smoking Perdomo. He got nothing but love when he finally posted. That’s the kind of community we want to be.
The everyday driver conversation came up too, specifically around New Worlds and the tunneling issues we’ve been seeing more frequently. When a cigar that’s supposed to be a reliable daily smoke starts failing one out of every two or three, that’s a real problem. No amount of brand loyalty should keep you fighting a bad draw. There are too many good cigars out there.
The Fuente Event: A Night Worth Talking About
We had a Fuente and JC Newman event at our local shop recently and it delivered. The shop brought in two reps, including Michael, who covers both brands in our area. If you ever get a chance to talk cigars with this guy, take it. He knows his stuff, carries himself well, and tells stories that make you appreciate the history behind these brands.
One story in particular stood out. Carlito Fuente was in the factory watching a run of the Rare Pink boxes being staged for production. 250 boxes, all stacked and ready to go. He stared at them for a few minutes and just said no. The pink was slightly off. A muted shade instead of the hot pink it should have been. Nobody else in the room could tell without holding two boxes side by side. That’s the level of attention to detail behind that brand.
The Casa Fuente cigars from this year’s model were available at the event and we stocked up. They were really good. The red Opus, the Forbidden X, was moving fast across the room.
We also got to spend some time with Michael’s partner, a consultant who works with brands like Fuente and JC Newman to audit how their products are performing across shops. His job is essentially to walk into a lounge, look at 15 facings of a brand, and figure out which four are actually selling. Then he helps the brand cut the dead weight and double down on what works. It’s a smart model and honestly a job we’d all enjoy.
The Community Is Growing and It Shows
The Discord has been jumping lately and it’s been genuinely exciting to watch. We remember when we could keep up with every comment and every post without even trying. Now we sign in and have to scroll through multiple pages just to catch up on overnight activity. That’s a good problem to have.
Our top community members on Facebook lately include Wayne E, Steve B, Joe V, Shane L, Charles R, Preston M, and a bunch more names we love seeing regularly. On YouTube, Sam Hopkins leads the way with 17 comments in the last cycle, withCaveman Chuck, DEA Exotics, and Joe CR29 right there with him.
On Discord, the names coming up most lately are Big Wig, Dr. TLO, Jian, Sam Hopkins again, Sean – Helldorado, a new guy going by Mob 718 who’s been posting his daily smokes, and JJ Creed. All of them have been active and bring something genuine to the conversation.
The feedback we’ve been getting from new listeners has been humbling. A few direct messages on Instagram from people who found us organically saying something like “it’s like hanging out at the lounge.” That was always the goal and hearing it come back from strangers means more than we expected.
We’ve also started seeing people comment on YouTube episodes in real time as they watch. Someone will drop a question about what a host is smoking 20 minutes into an episode and we have no idea what they’re referring to until we go back and check. That kind of live engagement from an older recorded episode is something we never anticipated and we love it.
A few things on the box pass front too. The community box has been making its rounds, having come from Louisiana to Eddie Zero in PA before heading out to Sam Hopkins in Ohio and then back through the group. Big Rob apparently stuffed it so full when it came through him that the foam insert had to go. Eddie is going to open a box of scattered sticks when that lands. Big Rob gave far more than he took, which surprised nobody who knows him.
For New Cigar Smokers: You Belong Here
We got into this a little toward the end of the episode and it’s worth putting in writing. If you’re newer to cigars, the best advice we can give is to burn to learn. Try everything. Don’t lock yourself into one brand or one price point because someone told you that’s what serious smokers smoke.
Take a picture of the band when you find something you like so you don’t forget it later. Don’t feel like you have to finish a cigar you don’t enjoy. Life is too short and there are too many good options sitting in the humidor.
And if you’re hesitant to post your smokes in our Discord because you’re not sure they’re “good enough,” just post them. Nobody here is going to clown on you for what you’re smoking. We have guys who love Factory Smokes, guys who reach for Ashtons, guys who swear by budget smokes for yard work and guys who won’t light anything under $30. All of it is welcome.
Quick Hits From the Episode
A few other things worth flagging from this episode:
We talked about the Harrisburg Beer and Cigars lounge and how our guy Eddie Zero has been frequenting it. Worth checking out if you’re ever making a trip up that way.
We also had a long conversation about AI in the cigar world, specifically how community member Helldorado, uses AI for his cigar photography and reviews over on The Burnable. His technique involves layering original photography over AI-enhanced images to create seamless, polished visuals. He actually posted a full article about it in our Discord. Worth reading if you’re curious.
Sad news we shared this episode: Gary, the owner of Suburban Tavern in Mount Penn, passed away recently. He was well known in the local cigar scene and ran his place as a true one-man show. Our thoughts go out to everyone who knew him.
Support the Show
If you enjoyed this episode, the best thing you can do is share it with another cigar smoker. Send it to the guy at the office who enjoys the occasional cigar, drop it in your golf group chat, or share it with your neighbor who’s been curious about getting into cigars. Word of mouth is everything for a show like ours.
When you’re stocking up on cigars, consider using our affiliate links below. It costs you nothing extra and helps keep the garage lights on.
