A Visit to The Cigar Authority VODcast
On August 4th, 2018, Cigar Intel visited the Studio 21 Podcast Cafe to watch the broadcast of The Cigar Authority VODcast (Video On Demand). The Cigar Authority is my favorite cigar VODcast/Podcast in the cigar genre and on my annual trip to Lake Winnipesaukee, NH with my family, I took advantage of the chance to watch the show broadcast live. OK, truth be told, my family was not happy about my diversion as we had to leave Cigar Intel headquarters at 4 am to make it to the Studio 21 Podcast Cafe atop Two Guys Smoke Shop in Salem, NH in time to catch the show.
The Cigar Authority has been “on the air” since 2012 and is approaching 300 episodes. According to The Cigar Authority, the show is the number one downloaded cigar podcast in the world. The show is broadcast live every Saturday from 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm Eastern time and is available to watch or listen to on Podbean, YouTube, iTunes Podcasts, and iHeartRADIO.
The Cigar Authority is recorded live in front of a studio audience and after listening to hundreds of episodes, I had to check out the place. The Studio 21 Podcast Cafe is a really impressive studio. The studio has seating for around 15 people and for this show, there were around 10 people during various parts of the show. Watching the making of a VODcast was quite interesting, especially during commercial breaks. The three hosts, David Garofalo, Mr. Jonathan, and Barry Stein, generally take a breather or read their script in preparation for going back on the air, while Ed Sullivan, the show’s engineer is working diligently to run the commercials.
The special guest for the VODcast was Michael Cappellini, the U.S. Ambassador for Toscano Cigars.
Watch the video below to see the beginning of the show from the perspective of a member of the live studio audience. Also, the video shows a 360 degree view of the Studio 21 Podcast Cafe.
You can watch the entire episode via The Cigar Authority feed on YouTube below. Here’s a summary of the episode from The Cigar Authority:
“This week we take a trip to Italy, in spirit as we welcome Michael Cappellini the Brand Ambassador from Toscano Cigars. He’ll tell us about the oldest cigar company in Italy and how his own family history has ties to the Italian company. We’ll light up the Toscano Classico in the first hour and pair it with a nice Espresso as we share our thoughts as the members of the care package smoke it along with us. In the second hour, we will look the bombshell statement from Altria and the reactions from the statement. It hit the internet with a Vengeance, and we will light up an old cigar that is new again, The Kristoff Vengeance as we share our thoughts. We also have the usual suspects such as Versus, Offer Of The Day, Asylum, Classic 3-Way and Cigar News on the number one downloaded cigar podcast in the world. The Cigar Authority is a member of the United Podcast Network and is recorded live in front of a studio audience at Studio 21 Podcast Cafe upstairs at Two Guys Smoke Shop in Salem, NH”
Special thanks to David Garofalo, owner of Two Guys Cigar Smoke Shop, for his hospitality. He took the time to talk to me before the show and gave me Toscano Classico to smoke. Since we are always incognito when we attend an event, I know Garofalo’s kindness was legit. If you are in the area, I highly recommend stopping in the check out the show.
