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Probably not going to quit my day job....

zeemanb

zeemanb

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 12, 2015
Messages
1,341
BUT this is pretty cool...

Last year I started doing reviews for the website Cigar Jedi. All reviews are blind, which is pretty humbling, but that's a whole different story. The webmaster is a really nice guy to work with, and at the beginning of the year he got the editor in chief position for Cigar & Spirits Magazine.

A few weeks ago he asked if I wanted to up my writing game and submit stuff for the magazine, assuming that since I'd usually add an alcoholic and non-alcoholic pairing suggestion to my reviews I'd like to do some booze/smoke writeups. I haven't had a drink in 7 years this July, but I was very very good at it, so I let him know I'd help however I could...I'm still a handy guy to have along for dinner when it comes to picking a wine and all that, I just don't drink.

Didn't think too much of it, but a couple of weeks ago he asked if we had a cigar lounge here in Kansas City that he could include in the upcoming issue. Just so happens we have a great, private club with a long history going back to before prohibition and includes ties to the old Pendergast political machine. Long story short, I ended up submitting what will be a featured lounge writeup in the Bourbon issue (fitting for me....that was my #1 poison) about KC's Pendergast Club.

Anyway, the money going forward won't be enough to retire on, but I'll be able to score the occasional five pack of cigars. I promise to refrain from shilling the mag on here, feel free to call me out if my daily smoke posts start sounding like "and just so happened to be reading CIGAR AND SPIRITS MAGAZINE while I smoked this cigar for a CIGAR JEDI review".
 
Sounds like a pretty sweet gig. Do you get the smokes for free?

ETA:I wish I could get paid to smoke and drink.
 
oke&coke said:
Sounds like a pretty sweet gig. Do you get the smokes for free?

ETA:I wish I could get paid to smoke and drink.
Click to expand...

Nothing for the magazine, but for the cigar reviews I generally get around 5 unbanded smokes per month. It's a mixed bag, the ultimate score was when he sent me a Warped La Colmena R. Field exclusive...I'd normally never shell out the $$$. The biggest benefit is getting to try stuff I normally wouldn't fit into my rotation...Viva Republica and Crux had a couple cigars I scored high. Then you get a cigar that "should" get high marks and you totally tank an El Gueguense, lol.
 
Nice gig congrats and have fun with it.
 
That sounds awesome. Congratulations on the "side job".
 
Forgot that I'd mentioned this to anyone outside my wife and our cocker spaniel, but I've managed to get some repeat assignments for the magazine. The latest Cigar and Spirits just came out, and I've got an interview with the owners of Hiram & Solomon Cigars in there. As a Mason, it was cool to hang out with them at IPCPR and then follow up for an interview. Next issue I've got a small write-up to talk about the upcoming "Puro Sabor" Nicaraguan Cigar Festival, and after that I think I'll get to do a piece on an old school whiskey distillery in a small town not far from here in KC. Kind of cool how an offer to do cigar reviews for a random guy on Twitter morphed into a semi-regular gig in a cigar magazine. I'm just putting my meager earnings in a savings account as my "hope I get another invite to IPCPR" fund!
 
That sounds like an awesome setup. I used to make my living in the booze business and haven't had a drop in almost 26 years. Personally I am very thankful I don't have to live that way anymore. I will look for your write ups. Congrats!
 
Jerry, that's awesome!

My parents still live in KC so I'll have to drop you a line next time I'm in town. Been too long!
 
mu mike said:
Jerry, that's awesome!

My parents still live in KC so I'll have to drop you a line next time I'm in town. Been too long!
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Definitely man, just lmk when you're in town! Can probably get us into the Pendergast if it's cold outside, and definitely know where all the food to be had is these days.
 
I live in Joplin and used to go to KC fairly often when my son and family lived in Gladstone. Since they moved to Omaha we don't go as often. Small world.
 
Sounds like a sweet gig all around.

You're in KC, a traveling man, into cigars...we should have been hanging out months ago ;-)
 
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