Born To Ride News

Sometimes chance encounters are most auspicious occurrences. Born To Ride and Tobacco Depot have teamed up to create a cigar club that is more than a bunch of “old dudes” standing around smoking stogies. With the tutelage of CEO and Owner, Fred Hoyland, the BTR Cigar Club is launching a cigar club that some of the most notable cigar smokers would want to be active participants.

I recently spoke with Mr. Fred Hoyland about the teaming of Tobacco Depot and Born To Ride.

BTR: Fred, how do you feel about working with Born To Ride?

FH: I believe this is a great opportunity for both companies. Tobacco Depot has customers that are not aware of Born To Ride magazine and TV; and I’m sure many of your readers don’t know we have 17 Tobacco Depot stores in Florida. Placing Born To Ride in our 17 store locations will benefit our consumers by offering them direct information about events and special activities occurring—I see great potential with our pairing.

BTR: Do you see developing the BTR Cigar Club as a good venture?

FH: Any club if put together right can have value, especially for the customer. The customer wants to be treated special. Our pairing will enable BTR Cigar Club members the opportunity to be treated special. With club membership the customer gains firsthand information about the tobacco industry and special deals that are available. Why read about a product when you can see it and try it in person?

BTR: I see you have a major event coming up on Saturday, June 6 at your corporate office in Tampa; tell me more about NUB Live 2009.

FH: The Oliva Cigar Company, whose corporate office is in Miami, teamed with Sam Leccia of NUB Cigars to create a revolutionary cigar. The idea behind the NUB cigar is simple but genius. Why wait to get to the cigar’s sweet spot when you can have it on the first puff? With that in mind they took large ring gage cigars and cropped it to a nub. The Oliva family contacted me and asked if I would like to host the event. There will be two NUB Live events in Florida during June, and we at Tobacco Depot are fortunate to host one in Tampa. The event is a way to reintroduce Oliva cigars to the next generation cigar smokers, with NUB cigars taking center stage. There are several NUB variations for the customer to try, and Oliva will have a torcedor present to demonstrate how to roll the cigars. If cigars are a passion of yours don’t miss this event.

I gage the quality of a cigar shop by three factors: I call them the “three p’s”—product, price, and personality. Tobacco Depot is an excellent place to purchase your little sticks of pleasure. They have a wide assortment of cigars that will please the newbie or the aficionado. Pricing is reasonable; don’t get me wrong I will spend some extra cheddar for that “special moment” cigar; even then I don’t feel robbed after leaving the store. When it comes to personality I cannot say anything negative about the customer service I’ve received from any of the employees behind the counter, all have been helpful and pleasant. If I desire to smoke my cigar on the spot they have a lounge for me to enjoy my stogie … how cool is that!

JW

To find a Tobacco Depot near you go to www.tobacco-depot.com.

When you get there tell them Born To Ride sent you. And don’t forget get to mark your calendar Saturday, June 6. The fist BTR Cigar Club event will be at Tobacco Depot 417 Hobbs Street in Tampa during NUB Live 2009.

“I have made it a rule never to smoke more than one cigar at a time.”

Mark Twain