World's Rarest Cigar Collector

[helix]

 

[ha_banos]

Quite fascinating! I'll be demanding a tour of Mitch's dungeons after that!  

[JohnS]

I actually saw this interview a few weeks ago. It's 40 minutes long but it's very, very interesting. What he says about rare cigars like the Dunhill Havana Club (colloquially, named the Dunhill A because it was a Grand Corona like the Montecristo A), collecting cigars in regards to their condition, aging in general, living in Cambodia and his nearby neighbour who has happened to go into business a few years ago with Habanos S.A....it's all quite edifying.

In general, he's quite laidback but he 'knows his stuff'.

[westg]

There is my 40 mins on the treadmill 🏃🤸🤙 thanks helix 

[Glass Half Full]

I hate how all of the money has changed this "hobby"/love of flavors into (for some) a display instead of a passion.  

I also find that the interviewer and many of the production components feed into that, ...but Frank Baroudi's comments are interesting.  

Thanks very much for posting!

[Carrie Nation]

Remember those Gurkha cigars that had some pre-embargo Cuban tobacco in the blend? It wasn't BS. This was the guy who supplied it. Gave Gurkha a bunch of old cigars and he disassembled them all and mixedit with NC leaf. I've seen this guy in Havana before.

[JohnnyO]

I know this dude more than 25 years from afar. Strange that he would anoint himself "The World's Rarest Cigar Collector", or that he is an "expert". A lot of what he says is true or just common knowledge, some other parts is just fantasy. It's even further strange that at this point in his life he wants to promote himself as the #1 procurer of hard to find Cuban cigars. The video reminded me a lot of the TL video put up years ago, although I feel that Frank is not that kind of guy. I don't buy into anything he's saying, to me it was just a 40 minute infomercial. John

[bates40]

That interview could have been 5 minutes long. 

[westg]

14 hours ago, JohnnyO said:

I know this dude more than 25 years from afar. Strange that he would anoint himself "The World's Rarest Cigar Collector", or that he is an "expert". A lot of what he says is true or just common knowledge, some other parts is just fantasy. It's even further strange that at this point in his life he wants to promote himself as the #1 procurer of hard to find Cuban cigars. The video reminded me a lot of the TL video put up years ago, although I feel that Frank is not that kind of guy. I don't buy into anything he's saying, to me it was just a 40 minute infomercial. John

I agree. The way he sits and presents himself and with his self employed status it just doesn't add up to me . I thought he appeared very dodgy .  Thanks for the vid Helix I did struggle to watch it all. 

[Bri Fi]

I read the comments before I watched the video and thought, “you guys are just jealous.” Started the video and wanted to punch the man within the first minute. Couldn’t watch it.

[jakebarnes]

This was cringe.  The opposite of what I enjoy about the cigar community. 

[1daniel]

40 min long interview, pretty interesting. at 14:30 this guy is talking about "bringing" back Cuban cigars that are pre embargo and have been stored at non optimal conditions by taking them up from 30% to lets say 65% by increasing the rh 5% a week. What "flavor" is he restoring when the cigars lose oils (flavor) when stored under 58%? Also at min 24 he talks about the Chinese market preferring young fresh cigars to aged cigars. Any truth to this?  I would think that the Chinese treat Tabaco similarly to how they treat tea. I know that they also age tea leaves and whatnot and its a huge market there. Also at 25:30 he talks about the guy that put together the deal for habanos and altadis. He has a few not so nice things to say about the guy. Can anyone expand?

[NSXCIGAR]

On 8/16/2023 at 9:43 AM, westg said:

The way he sits and presents himself and with his self employed status it just doesn't add up to me . I thought he appeared very dodgy...

I can totally see where he gives that vibe but personally he reminds me of many independently wealthy high-roller type guys I've come across in my life. It's a quirky vibe you know when you see it and he's got it. 

 

On 8/16/2023 at 3:11 AM, JohnnyO said:

Strange that he would anoint himself "The World's Rarest Cigar Collector", or that he is an "expert".

I don't know that he himself claimed that. I think the interviewer might have referred to him as that and whoever titled the video calls him that. 

3 hours ago, 1daniel said:

Also at 25:30 he talks about the guy that put together the deal for habanos and altadis. He has a few not so nice things to say about the guy. Can anyone expand?

This is presumably the person behind the Gemstone deal who has never been identified as far as I know. Whoever it is has very high powered connections in both Cambodia and China, so that is accurate. He mentions this person is a Chinese national who has been exiled from China. He also seems to believe this person is responsible for the recent HSA pricing decisions which he criticizes quite strongly. He seems to be aware of some behavior that concerns him although it's not clear whether he's referring to the pricing issue. He does mention it in the same breath as him being exiled from China so perhaps there is more but I doubt it's anything he would be foolish enough to elaborate on. 

[ATGroom]

16 hours ago, NSXCIGAR said:

This is presumably the person behind the Gemstone deal who has never been identified as far as I know. Whoever it is has very high powered connections in both Cambodia and China, so that is accurate. He mentions this person is a Chinese national who has been exiled from China. He also seems to believe this person is responsible for the recent HSA pricing decisions which he criticizes quite strongly. He seems to be aware of some behavior that concerns him although it's not clear whether he's referring to the pricing issue. He does mention it in the same breath as him being exiled from China so perhaps there is more but I doubt it's anything he would be foolish enough to elaborate on. 

This is an interesting read on this subject: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/cigars-10072022161145.html

[Ford2112]

That dude's shirt is rare, I hope.

[GoodStix]

Bastards! Are they allowed to show my man cave without paying a royalty?  😉

[NSXCIGAR]

3 hours ago, ATGroom said:

This is an interesting read on this subject: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/cigars-10072022161145.html

I remember this article but I didn't recall they actually mentioned the name. So I guess he's referring to Chen Zhi? 

Article on him. I guess he got quite a bit of money out of China or has access to money in China and used that to get in tight with Cambodian elites and "invest" in lucrative "projects". 

https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/cypress-passport-09162020073308.html/ampRFA&ved=2ahUKEwjc6vbkt8KCAxWkKkQIHaUABU8QFnoECCAQAQ&usg=AOvVaw3UPvBDZ73oT7hLy29mEn_I