Smoke Inn Blog
Smoke Inn’s The Great Smoke for the 2023 officially wrapped up with the Sunday Brunch event on March 19th hosted by Terence Reiley from Aganorsa Leaf. Last week we did a recap of the TGS main event at the South Florida Fairgrounds. This blog is a quick recap all the peripheral happenings and event parties outside of the main event and a discussion of past and future TGS happenings.
The Great Smoke 2023 Parties and Get-Togethers
The Great Smoke 2023 Events:
- March 16: Kickoff Party w/Jonathan Drew of Drew Estate
- March 17: Red Meat Lovers Club Dinner with Michael Herklots
- March 17: Pre-Game with Steve Saka at Smoke Inn Boynton
- March 18: The Great Smoke Tailgate Party with Erik Espinosa
- March 18: The Great Smoke Main Event
- March 18: After Party with Matt Booth
- March 19: TGS 2023 Sunday Brunch with Terence Reilly
The Great Smoke 2023 Kickoff Party with Drew Estate
TGS 2023: Mardi Gras Madness began on Thursday, March 16th at 7 pm, with the TGS Kickoff Party, hosted by Drew Estate with emcee, Jonathan Drew. The kickoff event was free of charge for all ticketholders and gave attendees access to some special deals and promos as well as a chance to chat with Jonathan Drew. It all went down at Smoke Inn’s Boynton Beach store and we saw a great turnout of Smoke Inn Socialites and others amped up to pre-game before Saturday’s main event at the Fairgrounds.
Red Meat Lover’s Club Pre-Event Dinner
Thursday’s kickoff party was followed by the Red Meat Lover’s Club Pre-Event Dinner on Friday evening at 7pm. The dinner was hosted by our good friend, Michael Herklots, of Ferio Tego and organized by Evan Darnell of the Red Meat Lovers Club. The setting was the same South Florida Fairgrounds venue as Saturday’s TGS 2013 main event.
200 steaks were served along with New Orleans themed appetizers and sides. Each diner also received an exclusive 3 pack of premium cigars valued at $60+, which included: 1 Ferio Tego 2022 Elegancia, 1 Ferio Tego 2022 Generoso, and 1 Ferio Tego Timeless Black TGS 2023 (created just for this year’s event.
Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Friday Night Event
At the same time as the Red Meat Lover’s Club Pre-Event Dinner, the Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust get together was happening at the Smoke Inn Boynton Beach location. This event was hosted by Steve Saka, of course and was free of charge and gave those who didn’t opt for the RML Dinner another option to herf, socialize and pre-game before Saturday’s big show.
The Great Smoke 2023 Tailgate Party
The last bit of pre-game shenanigans happened at the TGS 2023 Tailgate Party at the Florida Fairgrounds and was hosted by our good friend, Erik Espinosa Jr. of Espinosa Cigars.
The Great Smoke 2023 After Party
After Saturday’s The Great Smoke 2023 Mardi Gras Madness main event during the day we had an after-party to unwind. The TGS 2023 After Party began at 7 pm and was graciously hosted by Matt Booth of Room 101 Cigars. Some special promos were offered and a good time was had by all.
The Great Smoke 2023 Sunday Brunch
Finally, on Sunday we closed out TGS 2023 Mardi Gras Madness with a fantastic brunch at the Fairgrounds venue. The TGS Sunday Brunch was hosted by our friend Terence Reilly from Aganorsa Leaf. The brunch featured several food stations catered once again, by Culinary Flair of Lake Worth.
The Great Smoke 2024: The Year of the Dragon
As those in the know are already aware, the next The Great Smoke event will take place on February 24th, 2024, and next year’s theme is “The Year of the Dragon”. We’re sure you are as excited as we are to see the magnificent cigars the esteemed master blenders concoct, inspired by the 12 animal signs of the Chinese Zodiac. Be sure to get yourself signed up right here so you don’t miss a beat as the details of next years festivities are slowly meted out over the months.
Smoke Inn is Your Cigar Shop
So, there’s our brief breakdown on the extra events, brunches and afterparty surrounding 2023’s The Great Smoke. We hope you were able to join, if not in-person then with your virtual tickets. If not, we really hope to see you for TGS 2024: The Year of the Dragon, it’s sure to be one to remember. Next week’s blog will be another deep dive into a legacy brand. We’ll cover the history and legend of Macanudo Cigars– Don’t miss it!
As always, if you’re local or happen to be visiting South Florida, be sure to reward yourself with a visit to one of the country’s best cigar shops in person. We’d love to see you.
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