Interview: Allen Mobley, Kentucky Gentlemen Cigars

[Dr. Stogie Fresh]

If you listen to the Stogie Fresh 5 podcast, you will know that I recently featured the Kentucky Twist, a cigar made in the U.S. of A. In Kentucky, as a matter of fact, by Kentucky Gentlemen Cigars. Well, I really like that cigar and it turns out that the KGC Company puts out some very fine smokes.

So I decided to ask company founder, Allen Mobley for an interview to see what the heck was going on down there in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. That collaboration led to a pretty interesting interview.



In the spirit of American Enterprise, I wish the KGC Company the best of luck in finding a niche in the world of cigars. They have some unique processes and even use some fire-cured tobacco grown in Kentucky. They are also experimenting with growing Habano and Connecticut Broadleaf in Anderson County, Kentucky. Enjoy the read.

Doc

[Dr. Stogie Fresh]

By the way, any of you boys from Kentucky should think seriously about doing a run to KGC and also a quick pit stop at Buffalo Trace distillery.

I would love to do a run of the American Whiskey Trail in Tennessee and Kentucky and then pop in on Kentucky Gentlemen Cigars with a fifth of something... Would that be fun, or what?!

Doc

[jcruse64]

Great interview, Doc. Thanks for the heads up.

One thing; there "may" be others with KY-raised tobacco in their cigars. Black Patch Cigars says on their website that they have KY broadleaf in their blend:

http://www.blackpatchcigarco.com/

I'd like to try the ones with Dark-Fired in the tips.

[Dr. Stogie Fresh]

Originally Posted by jcruse64

Great interview, Doc. Thanks for the heads up.

One thing; there "may" be others with KY-raised tobacco in their cigars. Black Patch Cigars says on their website that they have KY broadleaf in their blend:

http://www.blackpatchcigarco.com/

I'd like to try the ones with Dark-Fired in the tips.

That's an interesting find. I hadn't heard of Black Patch Cigars before. I'll check it more closely when I have time and see what they are up to.

As of just recently, ALL the Kentucky Gentlemen Cigars, with the exception of the Blanton, are fire-tipped. They are making that their "signature".

Doc

[jcruse64]

Doc,

There's another one or two around that I found when "googling" last year, when I first got into cigars in a big way. I've not been able to follow up on them though, and don't know if they went bust or not. One was from the Lexington area, and he was raising his own tobacco (Cuban seed, I think) in that area and rolling in KY. I can't remember his name though, and have not seen anything else on it.

I am interested in these cigars and how they'd taste with the fire-cured tips. They usually cure the tobacco by firing with oak slabs buried in rows of sawdust on the ground of the barn. Lots of guys used molasses in the sawdust as well, along with other "secret" ingredients. I don't know how they'll taste in a cigar, but I will tell you that chewing it straight off the stalk after curing will either put hair on your chest, or burn it all off . I'll NEVER try that again. I have seen some old-timers make their own rolled cigarettes with small bits of this tobacco, and it burned fine for them. Different from a cigar, of course.

Thanks again.