I recently returned from the most glorious 2 weeks of my life–more commonly known as our ‘honeymoon.’ (Side note: On behalf of my beautiful bride Laura and I, thank you to everyone who extended their warm wishes and congratulations; that meant a lot to us).
Jon Huber
“More Cash”
“Dear Cigar Industry: More Johnny Cash, less Chris Gaines. Please & Thank you” – That was a tweet that I posted today on Twitter. I think some ‘got it’ while it may’ve gone past others; blame it on my esoteric and oftentimes abstract method of communication.
Marrying Well
My Fiance and I just had a really great 4-day visit here at home with my future in-laws. As I’ve said before, it’s one thing to fall in love with your spouse, and it’s quite another to fall in love with her family, as well.
Standouts
I’ve been asked many times in the past, “What are some of the most memorable cigars you’ve smoked?” It’s a fair but difficult question to answer because there have been many outstanding cigars that I’ve been fortunate enough to enjoy over the last 15 years in this business. Some that come to mind are a 1998 Bahia Gold Robusto (smoked it blind next to an aged Cuban Cohiba Robusto and it blew the doors off the Cohiba), a ’98 CAO Aniversario Maduro Corona from the old Tabacalera Tambor factory (I believe that hands-down this was the best cigar CAO ever made), a Juan Lopez Seleccion No. 2 (Cuba), a Hoyo de Monterrey Epi no. 2 (Cuba), a ’99 Bolivar Belicoso Fino (Cuba) and on and on. I’d have to add to that list a Tatuaje L’Esprit de Verite pre-release sample, an Epernay Le Matin, a Oneoff (anyone remember those?!) when they were sampled at the RTDA (remember when it was called that?). I’m sure that if I sit here long enough, many, many more great cigars will jog my memory.
“Mondopuro”
If you follow us on Twitter, you may know I’m fond of drawing comparisons between cigars and people. For example, “Cigars are like people–the good ones have balance and age well.” Or, “Cigars are like people–the good ones have structure and character, and evolve.”
Day One
I remember when our entire office staff was huddled-up in our conference room at CAO just about a year ago. We were waiting for a video presentation from one of the higher-ups at ST Group to begin. Moments later, the recognizable face greeted us on the video screen by saying, “Welcome to Day One….”
A Do-Over
Last week, I went into a certain retail establishment (that is best known for their little blue boxes) in order to purchase a Valentines Day gift for Laura. When the kind sales lady pulled up my customer profile, she noticed my former email address–you know, the one with the “C-A-O” in it. She then asked if I worked for CAO and I told her I had. She relayed a story of how she had recently called to arrange for a tour of CAO for her and her boyfriend (apparently a big CAO fan), and she was told that the company had left Nashville and relocated to Virginia. She expressed that they were sad to learn that CAO was no longer Nashville’s very own.
THE One
Things continue to move along at a good pace….the buildout of the new headquarters is progressing nicely, the first round of ‘CH’ merch is in the queue, “The Decision” video is in the can (whether it will ever see the light of day is another thing altogether), and we continue to debate pros v cons of various manufacturing scenarios.
Social Media
Flying back to home-sweet-home Nashville this morning from Tampa. I’m still in my hotel room…been up for 2 hours already–coffee, calisthenics, shower, blog–then meeting MC for breakfast before we head to the airport. I gotta think that yesterday really brought us closer to where we’re supposed to be. Very positive meetings with Johnito (Oliva) and Gus (many thanks to our long-time friend, Cigar Dave, for brokering that meeting).
Fun Stuff
The past 48 hours have been productive ones. We’ve created and finalized a company logo, a secondary logo, secured and purchased our domain, created a PR timeline/strategy for the next 7 weeks, and have booked our tickets to head down to Tampa next week for meetings with Cigar Dave, John Oliva, Jr., and others.
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