Founder & Editor-in-Chief
Rob Sanchez
Rob Sanchez is the kind of person who notices things. The blends and highlights of a well-painted miniature. The moment a skill toy stops being a trick and becomes a conversation with physics. He's spent a lifetime moving through music, sci-fi, comics, cannabis, BBQ and tabletop gaming with the same quiet conviction: that craft deserves witnesses, and that knowing what you love makes every choice a little sharper. That instinct became Connoisseurship Roadshow — a place to slow down and look closely at the people who make things worth looking at. A Certified Ganjier, BBQ Judge, Agile Coach, Dad, Miniature Gamer and Relentless Reader, Rob also hosts the Apt 113 podcast and writes for Fat Nugs Magazine and Beard Bros Media.
■ 10 Articles by Rob Sanchez
The Porch at Casa del Humidor
Pouring rain, a barely-spotted sign, and a last-minute U-turn — Casa del Humidor turned out to be one of the finest cigar sessions of the entire trip, under a covered porch while Ontario weather pounded everything around us.
Wine, Rain, and Muskoka
By the time Matt and I pulled into Muskoka Lakes Farm & Winery, the sky had completely opened up. Inside, warm wood, fogged windows and wines that tasted exactly like the land outside — tart, wild, resilient and unmistakably northern.
A Farm-to-Glass Surprise: Quayle's Brewery
One name came up twice from locals in Muskoka. That kind of repetition always catches our attention. Nestled in the forests and fields of Oro-Medonte, Quayle's Brewery is a farm-to-glass experience inside a four-story musical barn — and it was one of the best unplanned stops of the entire trip.
Down the Alley: A Night at The Griffin
Near Bracebridge, a basic search for nearby pubs led us down an alley and through a red door into one of the best unplanned evenings of the entire trip.
Hallways of Contrast: A Day Inside the AGO
What was supposed to be a quick stop at the Art Gallery of Ontario turned into almost two full hours of wandering — and we still could have easily spent another four. Every time we thought we were done, another hallway opened into something unbelievable.
Copperhead Distillery: The North in Every Sip
Less than twenty-four hours into Canada, Matt and I were already heading into the forests of northern Ontario looking for whiskey. Copperhead Distillery in the Almaguin Highlands delivered everything the drive promised.
Hidden Histories and Towering Views: Inside Toronto's Iconic Fairmont Royal York
Coming from Las Vegas, I thought I had seen luxury. The Fairmont Royal York showed me something different — less spectacle, more substance. A behind-the-scenes tour through nearly a century of hidden rooms, royal suites, and stone guardians watching over the city.
Where There's Smoke, There's Flavor: A Stop at The Smokin' Birds BBQ
Two classically trained fine-dining chefs drove north to Muskoka and built a BBQ operation that passes every test — including the Kansas City Barbeque Society's.
Subtext Coffee Roasters: Pursuit of Clarity
At Subtext Coffee Roasters in the Junction Triangle, founder Alex Castellani is treating coffee the way serious winemakers treat grapes — as agriculture first, and everything else second.
Behind the Unmarked Door: The Story of Correnti Cigars
Hidden above Spadina Avenue, Frank Correnti Cigars is Canada's last handmade cigar factory — still rolling the same way it always has.