Bo Nickal on Blind Cigar Tasting and Building a Humidor

From Creekside Podcast Ep. 066: Bo Nickal Is A Cigar Fanatic, aired Sep 11, 2026. Recorded at Creekside Cigar Co. in Maineville, Ohio.

UFC fighter Bo Nickal joined Dave, Tyler (T-Money), and the Creekside crew for a conversation that moved from wrestling and fighting to the cigars he reaches for. We heard how Bo went from an occasional smoke to exploring boutique blends, watched him tackle his first blind tasting, and drafted an imaginary five-cigar humidor. Along the way, the episode shows how curiosity and a willingness to try different cigars can turn a casual interest into a real hobby.

How did Bo Nickal get into cigars?

Bo’s first cigar experience came in high school, when his father offered him a puff while barbecuing. It didn’t immediately spark a passion. Years later, he tried a cigar at his bachelor party and didn’t enjoy it; another cigar at a wedding changed his mind. His early experiments included a post-fight smoke that left him feeling unwell, a familiar lesson for anyone who has ever gone too quickly with a cigar.

His interest grew as he tried more cigars and started watching Creekside’s videos. At first, he relied on the simple advice to try a mild Connecticut cigar. Then he began hearing about blends, flavor, and boutique makers he hadn’t encountered before. That opened up a much bigger world for him, and he began ordering cigars and exploring more intentionally. Bo said he had been seriously into cigars for roughly a year and a half to two years.

What cigar introduced Bo to boutique blends?

Bo pointed to Rojo Puro Blue Bonnet as the cigar that really drew him into boutique cigars. He remembered hearing Dave discuss it on a podcast, then ordering several and smoking through them quickly. The crew described it as a medium-bodied cigar with plenty of flavor but little perceived strength, and agreed it was worth bringing back into the conversation.

That story also explains why Bo asked to smoke blind on the podcast. He wanted to focus on the cigar itself rather than its label. It was his first blind tasting, and he began by guessing the cigar was Dominican. As the smoke developed, he described earthy and grassy qualities early on, then leather after trying a retrohale. The crew also picked up baking spice, bread, and a changing sweetness. They enjoyed the smoke, but the transcript does not include its reveal, so its identity remains unknown here.

What did Bo notice during his first blind cigar tasting?

Bo approached the cigar with the same patience he described bringing to learning new disciplines: observe, test an idea, and revise it as more information comes in. At first, he thought the earthy opening pointed toward Dominican tobacco. Later, the cigar’s evolving profile made him reconsider, and he wondered whether it might be Nicaraguan. He also tried retrohaling for the first time on the show. The crew explained that pushing a small portion of smoke through the nose can reveal another dimension of flavor.

The group talked about how useful it is to let a cigar develop before committing to a guess. Bo held off on naming the blind cigar while its flavors shifted, describing its sweetness as restrained rather than sugary. That attention to changes in the smoke made the tasting a conversation, not just a guessing game.

Which cigars made the Creekside humidor draft?

The crew’s draft gave each person a mild, medium, full-bodied, and special-occasion slot, plus a wild card. They also discussed how subjective those categories can be: a cigar one person calls mild may sit closer to medium for someone else. Their early picks included Crowned Heads Moonflower for a medium-bodied choice, Crowned Heads Queen of the West, and Crowned Heads Tennessee Waltz. Bo chose Creekside’s C50 as his full-bodied pick, a cigar several people around the table said they would have selected as well.

Other named picks included Padrón Family Series 85 and a Padrón cigar referred to as PB99. For a special-occasion choice, Dave selected the Serino Elenor Rose RPM, a cigar with personal meaning for him. The conversation also touched on the Serino Wayfarer Taino, which Tyler considered for his medium slot. The draft was still underway in the available transcript, so these are the picks and cigar conversations heard up to that point—not a complete final lineup.

Key takeaways

• Bo’s cigar interest grew through trying different cigars and learning from Creekside’s videos.
• Rojo Puro Blue Bonnet was the cigar he credited with drawing him toward boutique blends.
• His first blind tasting showed how a cigar’s flavor and a smoker’s first impression can change as the cigar develops.
• The humidor draft highlighted that body categories are personal, and that a good lineup can include a range of styles.

Cigars from this episode

• Rojo Puro Blue Bonnet: Bo said hearing Dave discuss it led him to order several; he called it a favorite boutique discovery.
• Crowned Heads Moonflower: Selected as a medium-bodied draft pick; the crew praised it and mentioned that the Toro had been hard to find.
• Crowned Heads Queen of the West: Chosen as a medium pick; one host said he had recently enjoyed smoking it.
• Crowned Heads Tennessee Waltz: Selected for the full-bodied slot.
• Creekside C50: Bo picked it as his full-bodied cigar and several hosts agreed it was an obvious choice.
• Padrón Family Series 85: Named as a full-bodied draft pick.
• Padrón PB99: Named as a special-occasion pick; the exact cigar designation is unclear in the transcript.
• Serino Elenor Rose RPM: Selected as a special-occasion cigar with personal meaning for Dave.
• Serino Wayfarer Taino: Discussed as a possible medium-bodied draft choice; the transcript's spelling is uncertain.

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