indyrob
BoM Feb '06 & Sept. '08
In a crappy article written by some low-life jerk with no sense of what journalistic integrity is wrote a very disturbing piece that was published at Cigar-Review.com
The whole piece is linked here:
http://www.cigar-review.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=786&Itemid=2
What I was amazed about the most was how this guy Gary Artz, was able to take a whole Joesph MacCarthy approach and paint Dion Giolito as a neo-nazi. It just goes to prove that anybody with too much time on the internet without looking at porn can do a lot of damage.
But here's the good side, Dion has typed out the meaning of it all when it comes to Illusione cigars. Most of it is already known, but here is the complete list of his line and broken down into what inspired him to name each vitola. I think it's a shame that he had to go ahead and do it, but it's a cool insight to one mans spin on not keeping with tradition and thinking outside the box.
The following is posted with Dion Giolito's permission:
Concept
The basic concept behind illusione cigars was my Faith in God and our constant struggle between good and evil.
Backround
My life was forever changed when I decided after of two years of college in Oklahoma to come back to Reno in 1988 to be closer to home (Las Vegas) to finish school. I was a theory and composition major back in OK I wanted to be a film score composer. UNR didnt have that degree, instead they gave me the same scholarship provided I enroll in the College of Education. Sure, fine I thought. It was shortly after working various part-time jobs that my friend Ansar hooked me up with a gig at the Tinder Box. It allowed me flexible hours for school and allowed me to tour with the band I was in the summertime - I always had a position to come back to no matter what.
I started student-teaching and, hated it. I dropped out of school with around 17 credits left to go. Soon after that, The Tinder Box became a full-time gig. I floundered there for years, tried moving back to Vegas just didnt work out so, back to Reno, I came to my old job. In 2004 after almost 12 years of working at the Box, I decided to go out on my own. I got a SBA loan, did it on a shoe-string budget and opened my own store. It was the following year that I decided to bring in a cigar that Pete Johnson had bought from Tabacalera Tropical to liquidate and make a couple of bucks on. I bought practically everything he had. When supplies dwindled, I asked him if he could get me more. 50 boxes were the minimum purchase. F* me! I thought. Oh well, Ill do it. I had the cliché on the box changed to 88 the year I decided to come to Reno. I was a BIG fan at the time of the AVO ~22~ packaging. I designed my private label 88 to resemble that type of cliché, even though my packaging was different.
After about 6 months or so of positive comments about this cigar from local customers, I decided to drive to LA and meet Pete to extend the line and possibly convert it into a national brand. Pete and I had a lot in common. We both got into the cigar business about the same time, we both played in Rock bands (mine was more Punk-Rock) we even found out that we used the same entertainment lawyer! Pete decided to just introduce me to Paul Palmer while we were on a trip to Miami the creator of these great cigars. I loved those trips hanging with Pete, Pepin, Janny and Jaime, Smoking Miami Tatuajes and drinking Zacapa in Pepins back yard good times.
The Clichés
My band the Atomiks was heavily into reading and writing songs about Conspiracy you know, Mothman, Aliens, Mind Kontrol and just general bourbon-soaked, Punk-Rock debauchery. Before a gig, we used to go to Kinkos and print a huge poster of a Cult of Personality, some famous, some infamous. Marshal Applewhite, David Koresh and yes, Jim Jones (BTW, Hitler was NEVER used!). We were intrigued at how one individual through the power of the word could Kontrol so many and ultimately, lead them to their doom. Wed also print 9 smaller UFO posters to cover the image that hung behind me, the drummer. We had this song called THE ULTRA a really Beatles-esque pop tune that was about 2 minutes long it was the last song of the set. When wed finish the song, Id reach back and snatch a UFO poster from it and wed start the song all over nine times through in all till finally revealing the man under the UFOs.
At first when coming up with names for my cigars, I wanted to steer as far away as possible from the normal clichés. Robusto Corona, etc. Since opening my own shop, I didnt have much time to play anymore and really just faded out of it when more responsibility came from running a business. I focused all of that energy and attention to my line of cigars illusione. Growing up in a Gaming state my entire life, Ive always been surrounded by numbers the Craps table, Roulette, Keno. I began to see particular numbers that would show up every time I played a Keno 6-spot like 9 and 23. For Craps it was the number 4. One night at the Silver Legacy Casino in downtown Reno, I rolled Hard-4 four times in a row! Yes, I had the bet down on hard four, didnt press it though! Freakin Crazy. The Croupier told me you got the Call!.. meaning, the call from the man upstairs. It stuck with me. Below are the clichés that shroud the illusione brand.
~68~ - Bombone.
This was the year I was born hence, the smallest cigar in my line. It was also an homage to Paul Garmirian BIG influence in my career as a Tobacconist along with Zino Davidoff. 68 is also a happy number.
~88~ - Robust.
No secret here. It harkens back to 1988 when I made that fateful decision to leave Oklahoma to come to Reno for College. Robust was just something different than Robusto. It speaks more for the body of the cigar than the nature of its size.
~F9~ - Finesse
F stands for finesse which I wanted this cigars taste profile to be. I told Romai and Arsenio at the Factory that if we can perfect the blend for this vitola, it will rule the world. They laughed. 9 also stands for the 9th planet Pluto, well not really a planet since it was demoted to orbiting rock a few years ago by some brainiac in the Astronomy field. What does he know!?
~4/2g~ - Church
This was the cigar that got me thinking about brand identity and packaging. 4 stood for 2004, the year I opened my own store, 2g referred to the style of cigar I wanted it to be. I always liked how RAGs had 2 gears in the smoking journey, mild/medium in the first 2/3s of the cigar then BAM rich, full and spicy in the last 1/3. Even though it isnt a Churchill per-se, more a double corona, I decided to put Church on the side of the box. It mostly reminded that I am a bad Catholic and that I need to get my ass to Church more often.
~888~ - Necessary and Sufficient
Heres where I delve into my faith a bit more. The name Jesus (IhsouV) adds up to 888 in Greek numerology called Isopsephia. Each letter is assigned the corresponding number. Necessary and Sufficent both describes the balance and profile of this cigar. It also represents to not go wanting, He is all I need, He is necessary and sufficient.
~M7~ - Magdala.
Woman from Magdal. This may appeal to you Holy Blood, Holy Grail/Davinci Code Types out there. The M7 is a Salomone shapely and perfect woman. She is also Pregnant.
Cg:4 The White Horse
I wanted to associate it with the wine country French wine country. I called Pete when he just happened to be in Miami celebrating Pepins birthday. He handed me off to Pepin and I wished him happy birthday. When Pete got back on the phone, I asked him what the cliché should be on the side of my box. I told him it was Cg:4 Corona Gorda .. He said Cheval Blanc The white Horse PERFECT I thought Corona Gorda, the 4 horsemen of the Apocalypse, The White horse which is the Conquer, the false prophet Revelation 6:2.
~2~ - And Crowned of Thorns.
No explanation here is really needed. 2 is the son of God doing battle against evil, the enlightened one, the soul-saver, all forgiving.
~1~ - The Dark Prince
Again, no explanation needed. Administered Original sin. Also took lead from The Cuban Black Prince Punch as well.
~2/3~ - Tre in Uno
My Culebra. Heres the goof. Originally the cliché was to be 3/1. After a long night in front of the computer hacking out the box design, I put 2/3 instead. It kinda worked out okay with me because 23 is always a number I bet on along with 9. 23 is the The "23 Enigma," the Discordian belief that all events are connected to the number 23.
The whole piece is linked here:
http://www.cigar-review.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=786&Itemid=2
What I was amazed about the most was how this guy Gary Artz, was able to take a whole Joesph MacCarthy approach and paint Dion Giolito as a neo-nazi. It just goes to prove that anybody with too much time on the internet without looking at porn can do a lot of damage.
But here's the good side, Dion has typed out the meaning of it all when it comes to Illusione cigars. Most of it is already known, but here is the complete list of his line and broken down into what inspired him to name each vitola. I think it's a shame that he had to go ahead and do it, but it's a cool insight to one mans spin on not keeping with tradition and thinking outside the box.
The following is posted with Dion Giolito's permission:
Concept
The basic concept behind illusione cigars was my Faith in God and our constant struggle between good and evil.
Backround
My life was forever changed when I decided after of two years of college in Oklahoma to come back to Reno in 1988 to be closer to home (Las Vegas) to finish school. I was a theory and composition major back in OK I wanted to be a film score composer. UNR didnt have that degree, instead they gave me the same scholarship provided I enroll in the College of Education. Sure, fine I thought. It was shortly after working various part-time jobs that my friend Ansar hooked me up with a gig at the Tinder Box. It allowed me flexible hours for school and allowed me to tour with the band I was in the summertime - I always had a position to come back to no matter what.
I started student-teaching and, hated it. I dropped out of school with around 17 credits left to go. Soon after that, The Tinder Box became a full-time gig. I floundered there for years, tried moving back to Vegas just didnt work out so, back to Reno, I came to my old job. In 2004 after almost 12 years of working at the Box, I decided to go out on my own. I got a SBA loan, did it on a shoe-string budget and opened my own store. It was the following year that I decided to bring in a cigar that Pete Johnson had bought from Tabacalera Tropical to liquidate and make a couple of bucks on. I bought practically everything he had. When supplies dwindled, I asked him if he could get me more. 50 boxes were the minimum purchase. F* me! I thought. Oh well, Ill do it. I had the cliché on the box changed to 88 the year I decided to come to Reno. I was a BIG fan at the time of the AVO ~22~ packaging. I designed my private label 88 to resemble that type of cliché, even though my packaging was different.
After about 6 months or so of positive comments about this cigar from local customers, I decided to drive to LA and meet Pete to extend the line and possibly convert it into a national brand. Pete and I had a lot in common. We both got into the cigar business about the same time, we both played in Rock bands (mine was more Punk-Rock) we even found out that we used the same entertainment lawyer! Pete decided to just introduce me to Paul Palmer while we were on a trip to Miami the creator of these great cigars. I loved those trips hanging with Pete, Pepin, Janny and Jaime, Smoking Miami Tatuajes and drinking Zacapa in Pepins back yard good times.
The Clichés
My band the Atomiks was heavily into reading and writing songs about Conspiracy you know, Mothman, Aliens, Mind Kontrol and just general bourbon-soaked, Punk-Rock debauchery. Before a gig, we used to go to Kinkos and print a huge poster of a Cult of Personality, some famous, some infamous. Marshal Applewhite, David Koresh and yes, Jim Jones (BTW, Hitler was NEVER used!). We were intrigued at how one individual through the power of the word could Kontrol so many and ultimately, lead them to their doom. Wed also print 9 smaller UFO posters to cover the image that hung behind me, the drummer. We had this song called THE ULTRA a really Beatles-esque pop tune that was about 2 minutes long it was the last song of the set. When wed finish the song, Id reach back and snatch a UFO poster from it and wed start the song all over nine times through in all till finally revealing the man under the UFOs.
At first when coming up with names for my cigars, I wanted to steer as far away as possible from the normal clichés. Robusto Corona, etc. Since opening my own shop, I didnt have much time to play anymore and really just faded out of it when more responsibility came from running a business. I focused all of that energy and attention to my line of cigars illusione. Growing up in a Gaming state my entire life, Ive always been surrounded by numbers the Craps table, Roulette, Keno. I began to see particular numbers that would show up every time I played a Keno 6-spot like 9 and 23. For Craps it was the number 4. One night at the Silver Legacy Casino in downtown Reno, I rolled Hard-4 four times in a row! Yes, I had the bet down on hard four, didnt press it though! Freakin Crazy. The Croupier told me you got the Call!.. meaning, the call from the man upstairs. It stuck with me. Below are the clichés that shroud the illusione brand.
~68~ - Bombone.
This was the year I was born hence, the smallest cigar in my line. It was also an homage to Paul Garmirian BIG influence in my career as a Tobacconist along with Zino Davidoff. 68 is also a happy number.
~88~ - Robust.
No secret here. It harkens back to 1988 when I made that fateful decision to leave Oklahoma to come to Reno for College. Robust was just something different than Robusto. It speaks more for the body of the cigar than the nature of its size.
~F9~ - Finesse
F stands for finesse which I wanted this cigars taste profile to be. I told Romai and Arsenio at the Factory that if we can perfect the blend for this vitola, it will rule the world. They laughed. 9 also stands for the 9th planet Pluto, well not really a planet since it was demoted to orbiting rock a few years ago by some brainiac in the Astronomy field. What does he know!?
~4/2g~ - Church
This was the cigar that got me thinking about brand identity and packaging. 4 stood for 2004, the year I opened my own store, 2g referred to the style of cigar I wanted it to be. I always liked how RAGs had 2 gears in the smoking journey, mild/medium in the first 2/3s of the cigar then BAM rich, full and spicy in the last 1/3. Even though it isnt a Churchill per-se, more a double corona, I decided to put Church on the side of the box. It mostly reminded that I am a bad Catholic and that I need to get my ass to Church more often.
~888~ - Necessary and Sufficient
Heres where I delve into my faith a bit more. The name Jesus (IhsouV) adds up to 888 in Greek numerology called Isopsephia. Each letter is assigned the corresponding number. Necessary and Sufficent both describes the balance and profile of this cigar. It also represents to not go wanting, He is all I need, He is necessary and sufficient.
~M7~ - Magdala.
Woman from Magdal. This may appeal to you Holy Blood, Holy Grail/Davinci Code Types out there. The M7 is a Salomone shapely and perfect woman. She is also Pregnant.
Cg:4 The White Horse
I wanted to associate it with the wine country French wine country. I called Pete when he just happened to be in Miami celebrating Pepins birthday. He handed me off to Pepin and I wished him happy birthday. When Pete got back on the phone, I asked him what the cliché should be on the side of my box. I told him it was Cg:4 Corona Gorda .. He said Cheval Blanc The white Horse PERFECT I thought Corona Gorda, the 4 horsemen of the Apocalypse, The White horse which is the Conquer, the false prophet Revelation 6:2.
~2~ - And Crowned of Thorns.
No explanation here is really needed. 2 is the son of God doing battle against evil, the enlightened one, the soul-saver, all forgiving.
~1~ - The Dark Prince
Again, no explanation needed. Administered Original sin. Also took lead from The Cuban Black Prince Punch as well.
~2/3~ - Tre in Uno
My Culebra. Heres the goof. Originally the cliché was to be 3/1. After a long night in front of the computer hacking out the box design, I put 2/3 instead. It kinda worked out okay with me because 23 is always a number I bet on along with 9. 23 is the The "23 Enigma," the Discordian belief that all events are connected to the number 23.
