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Meet “Mr. Csonka:” An interview with Michael Chunko
Plus cigar tips, cigar reviews and more!
(Posted March 2, 2005)
NEXT ISSUE: Wednesday, April 6
*** IN THIS ISSUE ***
1. Feature Story: Meet "Mr. Csonka:" An interview with Michael Chunko
2. Survey Says: When you receive your Famous Smoke Shop catalog, how do you order?
3. Smoker's Ed (Cigar Terms & Tips): Oscuro vs. Double Maduro. Which is which?
4. Rating Lunatic: Plasencia Reserva Organica Corona; Bayamo Superiores Robusto Maduro; Nicarao Julieta; Gurkha Regent Churchill
5. Cigars in the News: Cuba's Ten Blankets, Box Of Cigars Finally Reach Tsunami Victims
6. Eyes on the Prize: Celebrity and Customer Cigar Sightings
*** FEATURE STORY ***
Meet "Mr. Csonka:" An interview with Michael Chunko
by Gary Korb
I recently had the pleasure of talking to Michael Chunko, President & CEO of Csonka Worldwide, known for their "Smoker Cloaker" air purifiers, custom cigar cases and many other fine cigar accessories. Here's Michael's take on how he got into this crazy cigar business, the truth behind air purifiers, proper temperature and humidity levels, and of course, cigars.
So how did you wind up in the cigar accessory business?
Throughout my childhood I loved gadgets. I was a devotee of all the fun kid toys. One of my favorites was the Multi-Pistol 09. It was one of the neatest little toy guns you could have. It came inside this cool-looking attaché case. The gun had mounted bullets in it, little mini-grenade launchers, guns that popped out of the handle and every kind of message sending signal you could have. Back then I guess it was an indicator of my love for having everything in the right place and also having fun in life. Actually, I recently began collecting more of these "cold war" toys like the Johnny-Seven, Secret Sam and many of the original James Bond 007 toy gadgets.
My love of gadgetry eventually dove-tailed later on as I got into cigars, which allowed me to see that there were some products that were definitely needed. Plus, my engineering background allowed me to think more in terms of what it would take to actually produce and manufacture and market these products.
What are the most popular accessories you sell?
Half the world seems to know me for my Smoker Cloaker Air Care purifiers and the other half knows me - at least initially - for my fully-accessorized travel humidor cases. Both of those products have essentially built the profile for what Csonka Worldwide is best known for. Incidentally, the travel humidor cases are really just an extension of the Multi-Pistol 09. The concept being, all the accessories are built into the case and neatly organized functionally and effectively for you to get to them at a moment's notice. I would also add that 60% of our customer base own both, a Smoker Cloaker and one of our travel humidor cases.
 (Csonka "Original Smoaker Cloaker")
For someone who's considering buying an air purifier, how do they really work?
There are essentially three different ways and means of purifying air. One is with a simple fan and basic filter system. The second is something called an ionizer, and the third is with ozone. The first type is what most people have in their home; a heating or air conditioning ventilation system that relies on air flow and a filter to capture the larger particles.
Then there are the smaller HEPA filters, which are designed to trap particles down to a certain size. That's fine for most larger air particles, but the problem with smoke odors is that the particles are molecularly small in size. That's why there are really no filter-based systems that are very effective for getting rid of odors because odors really truly cannot be trapped by filters.
Your basic ionizer puts out hundred of thousands, even up to millions of negative ions in an attempt to polarize the air and magnetically attract impurities towards the ionizer. What happens there is, depending on where you have it placed, you might find some dark substance on or near the wall or floor because what you're doing is taking the impurities in the air and attracting them toward the ionizer. So you find yourself cleaning-up around the ionizer, although some better units [e.g. Ionic Breeze] have a means of trapping these in a built-in filter or on the blades themselves, but then you still have a maintenance issue. Although the ionizers are very effective at cleaning the air of dust, pollen, pet dander, etc., the real question is, how effective they are against odors, particularly smoke odors, and the answer is, not very effective at all.
The third and certainly the most effective way is ozone, which Mother Nature creates naturally through sunlight, lightning storms, anytime there's an electrical charge in the air that can actually temporarily convert oxygen [O2] into ozone [O3].
Technically speaking, but I'll try to keep it simple: the oxygen, O2, bond breaks up to form a simple atom of oxygen which temporarily bonds with it to create ozone, or O3. O3 lasts anywhere from 10-15 seconds up to 15 minutes depending upon the strength of the bond. So, during that time the ozone exists before the bond is broken. I like to think of it as a kind of pollutant gunslinger. Its main job is to literally float around in the air and attach itself to impurities in the air that are very small, for example, smoke odors and any other odors and impurities on the molecular level. So, what ozone does is oxidizes that particle so it changes the impurity in the air back to fresh oxygen and literally gets rid of the odor.
So, if you really want to eliminate tough odors, ozone's the way to go?
You wouldn't believe how many unsolicited comments and calls I get about the effectiveness of the Smoker Cloaker. My favorite is, ’it passed the wife test.“ I hear that several times a month from so many guys who are afraid to smoke in the house, or not allowed to smoke in the house, and for reasonable reasons, so when I get that comment it always makes my day. Even cigar smokers don't like the smell of stale cigar smoke, so the beauty of it is, you're able to enjoy the wonderful aroma of a good cigar and come back into the room later on or the next day without someone complaining about it.
What's the main difference between your Csonka models and similar ozone-producing air cleaners?
First and foremost, they are completely maintenance-free. There are no filters to clean, there are no liquids to add, no plates to clean off, so it's perfect for today's busy age when it's hard to remember even when to change the oil in your car every 4000 miles. The other nice thing is that it's virtually silent. It's also very small and compact. Many people don't want something that stands out or distracts from the décor of the room, so we designed the Smoker Cloaker to be attractive and inconspicuous to go with just about any décor. Moreover, when you compare prices, our units are, in many cases, hundred of dollars less and do the same job.
What about using an ozone air purifier in a car?
True story. I was at an RTDA [Retail Tobacco Dealers Association] show and a gentleman came up to me and said he had bought my Auto Smoker Cloaker about 3 years ago, which was about the same time he took a three-year lease on his new car. He told me that every day he would smoke a cigar in the car on the way to work and one coming home. He had recently returned the car and after careful inspection of the entire vehicle, the dealer told him he would be getting a $250 credit for being a "non-smoker."
That's classic.
Believe it or not, I actually heard that story from more than one person. A dealer can get up to $500 more for a pre-owned car that has not been smoked in, so using a good air purifier in your car really pays off.
 (Csonka Auto Smoker Cloaker)
What other cigar accessories have been successful for you?
In addition to the cigar travel cases and air purifiers, we also manufacture a line of very affordable and accurate digital gauges for monitoring the temperature and humidity in cigar humidors. Right now, we also have the most unique model on the market; the Csonka Environmental Data Sensor. The great thing about it is, it has built-in alarms for high and low humidity and temperature. If you're a real cigar devotee, you not only want to regularly check your humidor, but it would be nice to know, via an alarm, that your temperature or humidity need adjusting, too.
 (Csonka Enviro-Data Sensor hygrometer/thermometer)
I get more questions from customers, almost bordering on paranoia, about how to regulate the humidity and temperature in their humidor. Can you offer some insight on that?
Humidity and temperature are inversely related. The higher the temperature, the easier it is to maintain your humidity level, whereas the lower the temperature, the harder it is to maintain your humidity. It's really the balance that's most important and there is an acceptable range.
In terms of temperature, you don't really have to worry too much if it gets a little too cold or a little too hot. It's the combination of too hot and too moist, like over 80% humidity and 80 degrees temperature. Then you're asking for trouble, like the emergence of tobacco beetles, for example. The key is to maintain a humidity range within 65% up to 75%, but everyone is so focused on that "ideal" 70%.
The problem comes in when you factor in average humidity, which in the world is about 25-30%. When average humidity is exposed to your cigars for a period of time for say, 2-3 days, that's when 25-30% will dry your cigars out quickly. The reason is humidity travels and eventually becomes equalized. For instance, if you take a cigar out of the humidor at 70% the humidity in the cigar will travel toward the low humidity and draw it out of the cigar. In a sense, the cigar itself is acting as a humidifier for the rest of the world.
I get lots of email from golfers in particular about cigars drying out on the links.
Even if you keep your cigars in a two or three finger leather cigar case, and let's say the relative humidity is about 25%, literally, by the end of the round your cigars are also down in the 25% humidity range. Because there's no completely sealed environment, the humidity in the cigars begins to adjust to the lower humidity of the bigger environment, whether they're in the case or not, so your cigars degrade at a very rapid rate. The one exception would be if you were in a more tropical climate where the humidity level might be more like 80%. In that case the cigar will remain much more stable, but again, the median humidity across the country is about 25 to 30%.
 (Csonka Cigar Traveler)
So, for those who often write to me saying their cigars are too moist when they take them out of the humidor?
Leaving the cigar out for about an hour is usually enough to equalize the humidity to an acceptable level where the cigar will burn better.
What was the worst cigar accessory you've ever seen?
When you attend these trade shows, everyone's so proud of their latest and greatest. I always ask myself, is this item really needed? One of the more annoying things I see are things like when someone makes a pen in the shape of a cigar. Here they've spent a year or more developing the item and making up displays, what-have-you. True, some cigar smokers might enjoy buying a pen that looks like a cigar, but in reality it's not something that has even been proven a success story. To me, anything that really doesn't do anything for the cigar smoker doesn't make sense.
What cigars do you like to smoke?
Ten to 15 years ago, I guess you could say I was a bit of a cigar snob. If it wasn't Cuban it wasn't strong and brazen enough for me. Back then a Montecristo No. 2 and Hoyo Double Corona or Cohiba Esplendido were wonderful, full-flavored cigars. I just love multidimensional cigars. But to be honest with you, today I find that quality has increased just about everywhere. You're seeing wonderful cigars from Bahia, Padron, Arturo Fuente; cigars that are not from Cuba but are as flavorful and multidimensional as some of the best Cubans. I even enjoy a flavored cigar or cigarillo every once in a while. To me cigar smoking is all about trying new things, because you're more often surprised about the quality you're going to find in a new brand of cigar, particularly the boutique cigars.
What's your take on the future of the cigar industry, particularly where you have so much anti-smoking legislation and "clean air" laws being passed across the country?
Cigar smoking is definitely here to stay. I don't think it's a trend or something that's en vogue anymore. There were times when cigar smoking went in and out of popularity. I look at two indicators. One, the amount of support out there such as magazines like Cigar Aficionado and SMOKE, plus you have the "Big Smoke" events and others, herfs, etc., where people can go and really enjoy cigar smoking. Even more women are smoking cigars. I see that as a wonderful indication of independence. I see them enjoying cigars more and even going out and smoking with their husbands. Bottom line is, since the boom, cigar smoking has increased. I saw a statistic that showed an increase in consumption of 60% over last year. Compared to 10 years ago, that's a 300% increase. Now there's a stat for you.
As far as the future goes, as long as the manufacturers continue to make good cigars at affordable prices, I see cigar smoking no longer as a trend but, more of a great indicator of how the world has moved away from other vices that may not be as acceptable.
What would you consider the perfect cigar accessory?
I guess I look for three things when it comes to a cigar accessory: First, it should be classy and unique. Second, it should have a mass appeal so that it is needed by all cigar smokers. Third, it should be affordable by everyone who wants to own it.
I think there's one unique product that may not exist now, but perhaps in the future. It's something that brings dead cigars back to life.
You sound serious about this.
Yes, I believe that there is a way to bring a cigar back to life, but it has to be done in a very special way. We have all opened our cases or found that odd, dried-out cigar in a shirt pocket and sighed as we give it one last final inspection before sending it off to its next life: un-smoked.
Are you suggesting that this is something you're now developing?
All I can say at this point is that Csonka and I have an idea, and maybe by the Holidays this year you may see something out there. ¶
*** SURVEY SAYS DEPT. ***
When you receive your Famous Smoke Shop catalog, how do you order?
From the three choices below, select the one you use MOST often.
1. Mail-in order form
2. 800 number
3. Famous-Smoke.com website
Please answer ONLY if you receive our monthly catalog. As always, your comments are welcome.
Send an email to: and type or copy & paste "order form", "800 number" or "website" in the SUBJECT line and Please also let us know if you use the key code on the back of your catalog.
Survey Results for February 2, 2005: Do you own an air cleaner or purifier?
YES - 73%
NO - 27%
The general consensus among the "yes" respondents was that most of their air purifiers worked very well. Only a few complained that they had wasted their money. Among the most popular models (in no particular order) were Living Air, EcoQuest, Ionic Breeze, Oreck and Csonka. It should also be noted that there were pros and cons on several of the same brands. Here are some comments that came in:
Yes, I have an air cleaner. It's an Ionic Breeze from Sharper Image. I let it run all the time and it clears out that stale cigar smell usually by the next morning. - Dan Tait
I OWN A "LIVING AIR CLASSIC" AND IT DOES WORK! MY OLD "IONIC BREEZE" FROM SHARPER IMAGE WAS USELESS. - DOUG RAHN
I have an EcoQuest fresh air machine in my home and I smoke at least one cigar a night, next morning you don't know it.....works great. I also have a Fresh Air to go in my truck, and you never know I smoke in it. - Charles H. Loveday
I have the Csonka Smoker Cloaker and I am very pleased with it's performance. It doesn't do much to clear the air at the time you're smoking. For that, we augment air cleaning with a tabletop Holmes air cleaner and leave a window cracked. But, smoking odors are completely eliminated from the room by the Csonka within hours of your last puff. I highly recommend it to anyone who wishes to smoke in the house. - Perry Sprachmann
Are you kidding me? My wife would never let me smoke in the house even with the world's greatest air purifier! ;-) John Koval
Cigar Terms & Tips (Collect and trade em'!)
Tubos - Cigars packed in individual wood, metal or glass tubes to keep them fresh. The tube alone will not keep them fresh for more than a week, unless they are humidified. Tubos may be kept in your humidor as-is, with the seal cap removed, or by removing the cigar entirely from the tube.
Oscuro vs. Double Maduro. Which is which?
This recent email came in from a customer who raises the question of the difference between an Oscuro wrapper and a Double Maduro. Thanks to Keith Sparacio, Director of Sales for National Accounts for General Cigar, who summed up the answer very well:
Q: Over the last couple of years, I've noticed that [the Hoyo de Monterrey Rothschild Oscuro] wrapper is anything but a true Oscuro. It used to have an oily, dark chocolaty-colored wrapper with nice musty nuance, much like the [Hoyo] Dark Sumatra. Lately, the wrappers have a nearly identical shade of wrapper like a [regular] maduro. I was in a local shop recently and there was a box of Punch Rothschilds Double Maduro with that trademark dark wrapper, the first in a while. However, his stock of Hoyo De Monterrey and Punch Rothschilds Double Maduros have had the lighter shade of wrappers for months. In fact, I've often had to pick up the box to see which one was marked Maduro and Double Maduro since the two appeared to have identical shades of wrappers. This is my everyday smoke. I was wondering if there is anyway that you can determine or know if the wrapper is truly double-maduro?
A: Allow me to explain the difference between a Maduro and Double Maduro cigar to you with regard to General Cigar. The shade of the wrapper does NOT make a Double Maduro cigar (all though we do try to shade and keep the dark wrappers for Double Maduro vs. a reg. Maduro). A Double Maduro has both a Maduro wrapper and also a Maduro BINDER, hence the name "Double Maduro." Villazon/General Cigar was the first manufacturer to create this type of cigar, and takes great pride in the quality and consistency in our cigars. - K.S.
(Regarding Oscuro wrappers, some manufacturers do refer to this as Double Maduro and vice-versa because the wrapper is so dark. But that's all it is; a VERY DARK maduro wrapper. A TRUE Double Maduro is what Mr. Sparacio described above with the Maduro wraper AND binder. - G.K.)
A rare opportunity to own a discontinued classic from Zino Davidoff
Zino Connoisseur cigars were made in Honduras at the height of the cigar boom 90's and were recently discontinued by Davidoff of Geneva, which many of you may not be aware. Fortunately, the lot fell to us and if you've ever wanted to own a true vintage cigar that will never be made again, I hope you will consider taking a look at these cigars. Speaking from personal experience, the Ecuadorian Connecticut wrappers are rich-looking, oily and have darkened beautifully over time. The filler is a medium-bodied, all prime-select Honduran tobacco blend, and when you put it all together, it adds up to a smoke that's perfectly-balanced, somewhat understated, yet has a lot of depth to it. I just thought I'd mention it here as a matter of public interest to those who might want to own a piece of cigar history, especially to the collectors out there. - G.K.
Reader Feedback and Tips from Our Mailbag
Keeping your primos at prime temp
My wife and I both work during the day so the heat is turned down to about 62 during the day and again at night at bedtime. For years I have placed a small 60 watt lamp near my humidor and it keeps it at a perfect 68-70 degrees. - Mike Schultz
Got a good cigar tip? Send it in and share it with our readers by
sending an email to . Please be
sure to put "Cigar Tip" in the subject line.
*** SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DEPT.***
Attention Cigar-Smoking Bikers!
Look for a re-print of my article on cigar cutters titled, "Prime Cuts", in the March issue of East Coast Rider magazine under the "Biker Aficionado" column. The magazine is on newsstands this month, or catch it online by clicking here. Thanks to everyone at East Coast Rider for the plug (no pun intended).
Free Advice!
Have a question about the care and feeding of your cigars or another
cigar-related topic? Send your questions and comments to me at: . I will try to respond as quickly as possible, but some replies may take a few days.
Subscribe To Famous Smoke Shop Talk
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Shop-Talk Archives
Want to catch up on your Famous Smoke Shop Talk reading or reference an article, tip, or other bit of information that appeared in a past issue? Go to our Famous Smoke “Shop Talk” archives page.
*** RATING LUNATIC DEPT.***
February 2005 cigar reviews from Famous Smoke Shop customers.
Reviews are selected at random and may be edited for length, not content.
Plasencia Reserva Organica Corona (6¼" x 44 / Mild)
My new go-to mild cigar. Comparable to Creme De Jamaica aroma. Pricey, but nicely constructed. A little tight on the draw, even burn right down to the nub. Not hot. Will buy again. - Al in Billerica, MA
Bayamo Superiores Robusto Maduro (5" x 50 / Medium)
Absolutely awesome. Got a Maduro Robusto in a sampler. Put in the humidor for a couple weeks and decided to give it a shot. It lit easily, the draw was a pleasure, the flavor was full and creamy while still being an overall medium bodied smoke. The construction and burn were nearly flawless. Then I looked at the Famous price for a box. Found my new everyday smoke for that price. Anyone can feel very comfortable offering this cigar to a friend. I smoked it until was 3/4 of inch long and burnt my fingers. - Mark R. in Latrobe, PA
Nicarao Julieta (7" x 50 / Full)
Unbelievable earthy Cuban like smoke. Reminds me of the Cuban Montecristo #2. Somewhat of an uneven burn but not bad. I highly recommend these, great Sunday afternoon smoke. Plan to age several for one year for the experience. - Robert Collins, Orange, CA
Gurkha Regent Churchill (7½" x 52 / Full)
THIS CIGAR IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE CIGARS FROM START TO FINISH. THE DRAW ON THIS CIGAR IS SMOOTH WITH A CREAMY TOASTY WOOD TASTE, IT HAS TO BE ONE OF THE BEST CIGARS ON THIS PLANET. ALL THE GURKHA LINE CIGARS ARE THE BEST ON EARTH. - Kevin in Clinton, Maryland
AGREE/DISAGREE? Your opinion may be similar or completely different and is also appreciated, so don't be shy. Rate the cigars you smoke on our web site and write a review. You might even get your quote re-printed in our monthly mailorder catalog! What you say can help others make a more informed decision, even you!
*** CIGARS IN THE NEWS ***
(From BrokenNewz.com)
Cuba's Ten Blankets, Box Of Cigars Finally Reach Tsunami Victims
By Matt Myford
February 23, 2005
Cuba's Navy finally delivered aid to tsunami-struck Southeast Asians, sources said yesterday.
The cargo, a "humble collection of ten blankets and a box of cigars," was accepted by residents of Banda Aceh, Indonesia, with a mixture of either "forced smiles" or "upright middle fingers."
Cuban leader Fidel Castro praised the relief effort, giving a 13-hour speech that an anonymous Cuban called "a bit long-winded."
"Imagine a Latino version of John Kerry speaking for over half a day, outdoors in the scorching Caribbean sun...muttering heavy prose and other assorted dimwitted observations...the audience has trouble holding up under such conditions," another Cuban said.
The Cuban naval vessel apparently made "repeated mistakes and kept heading for Florida," but the armor-plated bass boat - over the course of almost two months - eventually sailed true and docked in Banda Aceh, the area hit hardest by the tsunami.
"This gift from Cuba is…puzzling," said Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. "Actually, I don't even know why the hell they bothered sending this crap."
Along with China's offering of $40 million, the combined Communist contribution to the relief effort is $40 million, ten ratty blankets, and a box of 25 rather stale cigars.
*** GIVE THAT MAN A CIGAR! DEPT.***
If you live in or near the verdant Lehigh Valley of PA, stop by our
retail store at 1100 Conroy Place in Easton, PA for one of our cigar tasting events. For details and more information call 610-559-8800.
Thursday, March 31 - 4:00 to 7:00 P.M.: The Griffin'sToro Maduro tasting.
If you've ever wanted to experience the luxuriously smooth flavor and wonderful aroma of The Griffin's cigars, this is your chance to sample the Toro in the dark, oily and richer-tasting Maduro wrapper. Don't miss this event and bring along some friends!
It’s Like eBay® for Cigar Lovers!
Now you can get the cigars YOU want at the prices you want to pay by logging on to CigarAuctioneer.com. It's FUN, it's FAST and the ACTION is great! You'll not only find RARE cigars, closeouts, and discontinued cigar brands, but now you can bid on humidors, cigar lighters and more!
(“eBay” is the registered trademark of eBay, Inc. Famous Smoke Shop-PA, Inc. is not associated or affiliated with eBay in any manner.)
*** EYES ON THE PRIZE DEPT.***
Cigar Sightings
Poker Royale (Game Show Network) - During their current "Battle of the Sexes" tourney, professional poker ace, Amir Vahedi, is never without a cigar in his mouth. When the camera can catch it, I've noticed it's often a Cuban Cohiba or other Habano, but I thought he was smoking a Zino Platinum Scepter a couple of week's ago.
Other Famous Cigar Smokers Caught “Infumare Delecto”
My wife has asthma, so I smoke outside. - Joe Lyons in Rialto CA
WANTED! Cigar-smoking photos of you and your friends
Have You Made A Cigar Sighting Recently? It can be from a movie, TV show or a celebrity you've seen elsewhere or in-person puffing a primo. If you can name the brand of the cigar, even better! Or send in a herfing photo of you and your friends to me at and please put "Cigar Sightings" in the subject line. Limit: 1 sighting or photo (preferably, a .JPG) per email.
NEXT MONTH: An interview with Tony Borhani of Bahia cigars.
That's all folks. Until our next issue on Wednesday, April 6,
Happy Smokes!
Gary
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Shop Talk graphic at top of page by Robert Ingram.
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