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The definition of connoisseur smoke often includes “indoor cultivation,” but what if we told you many of your favorite players have bagged up a particular brand’s mixed light and sold it as indoor? You’re about to find out why this was a blessing in disguise.

Blackleaf sits down in the FSOTD studio with recurring guest and certified legend, Dave of Preferred Gardens, along with his core team, Alex, Mike, Blaine, and Nikki (also Dave’s wife,) to discuss turning a legacy brand into a thriving MSO, winning the $60k Proper Doinks Z Challenge, raising kids and building a brand with your significant other, breeding in-house genetics, and the intricate and mythical nature of Preferred’s methods for Quality Control.

​David Polley founded Preferred Gardens in 2015 in Sacramento, California. The company is renowned for its mixed light growing methods, and cultivating over 260 unique strains, including Sherbanger, Lazer Gun, Znackz, and more. Initially prominent in the medical market, Preferred Gardens now operates in California, Florida, Arizona, and New York, with more new states coming online in the future. They’re even dipping into international markets, as you’ll hear Dave discuss on this episode.

With over two decades of experience in the game, Dave will shed light on how crucial being a cultivator and lowkey breeder has been to his success as a brand owner, allowing him to fully understand quality control, as well as set up his same facilities in different states and be able to make minor adjustments and thrive. He’ll also discuss how he and his team are the sole barrier of quality control in terms of what they’ll put out, and how to develop relationships with retailers and partners where their word is bond and that trust is maintained.

Aside from Dave and his constant game-dropping, the rest of his team that’s in-studio shed tremendous light on how they’re each able to make this global operation work without ever giving into the big investors and corporate hellscape structure. Hustling is an understatement when you get to hear from Preferred’s sales and management team, Mike, Blaine, and Chris, as well as their resident mom and powerhouse accounting, programming, and back-of-house champ, Nikki.

Again, bringing up quality control, Blackleaf rattles off tons of bubbling questions surrounding how they define a keeper, what Dave deems as the proper cure time, if white ash really matters and how they breed for it these days, how important unique genetics are in the legal game, how to establish trustworthy relationships with buyers, their internal voting system for picking fire cuts, how they’ve been able to keep crops A-1 with The Flowery in Florida, and if you really need to be a passionate smoker to run a top-tier flower brand.

Find out more by visiting preferredgardens.com and check back on any of our previous episodes with Dave and Preferred Gardens to learn more about his journey and imminent rise to the top.

Subscribe to our channel and the FSOTD.com site to keep up with other key players and enjoy conversations with trailblazers from the culture you can’t find anywhere else.

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Brothers Broadleaf: Luxury Blunt Craft, Whiskey Barrel Blunts, Tradition Meets Innovation

This is an extra special episode of FSOTD for all of the blunt smokers out there who think they are rolling up with the finest leaf. Today’s guests are going to redefine your standards for what you believe to be the best tobacco wraps for your flower.

Blackleaf is joined in the studio by brothers Dawson and Paxton, founders of Brothers Broadleaf, and fourth-generation cigarmakers, to discuss the art of sourcing and packaging premium tobacco from around the world, what sets Dawson Dudz and Paxton’s Pearls apart from your average cigar, how the brothers are carrying on their family’s legacy, what it means to be running the last operating cigar factory in the US, Old World vs New World tobacco, becoming the gold-standard blunt wrap for Adam iLL and Roll BMC, and so much more.

For those unaware, Brothers Broadleaf is a premium brand that began in 2019 and has quickly become known for crafting high-quality, natural tobacco leaf wraps sold direct-to-consumer. They built their reputation by offering hand-selected, unprocessed whole-leaf wraps that deliver a smooth, slow burn for an elevated smoking experience. Based in Tampa, Florida, the brothers have cultivated a strong following through strong attention to detail, consistent quality, and bold branding. With a focus on authenticity and craftsmanship, Brothers Broadleaf has become a go-to choice for smokers who value purity and flavor in their sessions.

It’s truly a family affair for Dawson and Paxton of Brothers Broadleaf, which will become glaringly apparent throughout this episode. Blackleaf will ask the brothers what it was like growing up in a tobacco family, to which you’ll hear them romanticize growing up going to cigar conventions in Vegas, and traveling to destinations like Ecuador, Colombia, and Nicaragua to stay on large-scale tobacco farms. Dawson and Paxton will talk about their buyers in South America and how some of them have been sourcing premium leaf for their family for over 35 years.

One of the overarching messages Blackleaf permeates in this pod is that, in his experience, if you’re a real blunt smoker these days—you know about Brothers Broadleaf. Few other companies are rolling their cigars with an extra inner leaf, which you’ll hear the back-story on how the brothers’ mom insisted on this addition, and using zero binding agents, making it seamless to break down the cigar and get the perfect leaf with the vein down the middle.

With a ridiculous commitment to quality and blunt-smoker standards, Dawson and Paxton will remark in this episode that they still QC every single leaf that’s wrapped and packaged for Brothers Broadleaf. If you’ve ever smoked one of their cigars, there’s 100% chance it passed through their hands to ensure the utmost quality. If you’ve ever wondered what legal hoops and back-bending efforts it takes to work in the tobacco industry and source leaf from all over the globe, this is a great episode to get lost in.

Follow @BrothersBroadleaf to get the real inside scoop on what it’s like to be a part of a generations-old family tradition of cigarmaking, but modernizing it to fit the needs and desires of connoisseur blunt smokers everywhere.

Subscribe to our channel and the FSOTD.com site to keep up with other key players and enjoy conversations with trailblazers from the culture you can’t find anywhere else.

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