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Lounge Lizards is a weekly premium cigar podcast covering Cuban and non-Cuban cigars, cigar reviews, cigar news, Habanos, spirits pairings, cigar culture, and the business of the premium cigar industry.
Hosted by Gizmo with Rooster, Senator, Pagoda, Chef Ricky, Bam Bam and the rest of the Lizards, the show combines long-form cigar discussion with honest reviews, industry news, history, travel, spirits, collecting, and conversations with the people shaping the cigar world.
Each episode typically centers around a featured cigar and spirits pairing, with regular coverage of brands including Padrón, Davidoff, Arturo Fuente, Cohiba, Montecristo, Tatuaje, Foundation and more.
Lounge Lizards isn’t a traditional cigar review show. It’s a group of friends sitting around the table, smoking cigars, sharing opinions, telling stories and trying to make sense of the culture and industry around them.
New episodes are released every Tuesday.
Join Lizard Nation and become a card-carrying Lounge Lizard yourself. Email hello@loungelizardspod.com to join the conversation and potentially be featured on an upcoming episode.
Gizmo: [00:00:00] Welcome to the Lounge Lizards Podcast - presented by Fabrica 5.
It's a leisure and lifestyle podcast founded on our love of premium cigars as well as whiskey, travel, food, work, and whatever else we feel like getting into.
My name is Gizmo, and tonight I'm joined by Rooster, Senator, Chef Ricky, and Bam Bam, and our plan is to smoke a cigar, drink some scotch, talk about life and, of course, have some laughs. So take this as your two hundred and fifty-eighth official invitation to join us and become a card-carrying Lounge Lizard - plan to meet us here once a week. We're gonna smoke a Nicaraguan cigar tonight, share our thoughts on it, and give you our formal lizard rating.
We are shocked by one of the biggest cigar and spirit surprises of the year, we debate what actually makes a cigar complex versus refined, and we discuss the economics behind limited editions - all among a variety of other things for the next two hours. So sit back, get your favorite drink, light up a cigar, and enjoy as we pair twelve years aged Glenfarclas single malt Scotch whisky with Powstanie San Andrés in Belicoso.
Gizmo: A Nicaraguan Belicoso on the pod tonight, boys. [00:01:00] And it's a debut from Powstanie. It's the San Andrés Belicoso 54 ring gauge cigar by five and a half inches long. And boys, I just learned about a, what did you call it? A reverse cold draw? Was it?
Chef Ricky: I don't know that that's actually a thing.
Gizmo: I- I- that's why I'm surprised that it- Yeah
came out of your mouth. It is, it is
Bam Bam: not a thing.
Chef Ricky: I'm, I'm here, I'm exhausted.
Gizmo: So can you tell Lizard Nation what in God's name is the reverse
Chef Ricky: cold draw? I, I just did a draw from the foot. That's it. Just to get some flavor, 'cause we weren't on the cut yet, and I wanted to see what
Rooster: it was like. How was
Senator: that draw given the other side is closed?
How was the retrohale on the foot? It's very
Chef Ricky: tight. It's a very tight
Rooster: draw.
Senator: How's
Rooster: the reverse cold draw retrohale? But there's still something there. What if you cut it first and then do it? We're not
Senator: there
Gizmo: yet,
Senator: Rooster.
Bam Bam: How dare you?
Senator: Yeah, we're only on the reverse cold draw. We, we haven't- ... got to the regular one.
Bam Bam: Can we just comment on a few things?
Gizmo: Yes.
Bam Bam: As to how awful this band is.
Gizmo: You don't like the band?
Bam Bam: And cheap And [00:02:00] terribly thought about. Like, there's no thought given to this design. It's... What, what is this?
Senator: It says San Andrés in big letters.
Bam Bam: It's unbelievable.
Gizmo: Yeah.
Bam Bam: I'm sorry. Well-
Gizmo: You're as offended about th- about this as you are, like, flip-flops and, uh-
Bam Bam: Look-
Senator: It looks kinda like a Davidoff though.
Gizmo: It l- it looks like a Graphic tee.
Bam Bam: I know I speak for everyone in this room. If they see this on the shelf, you're walking right by.
Chef Ricky: 100%.
Bam Bam: It's like- There's no way you're picking this thing up, regardless of how good it is. Yeah. Unless we love it tonight.
Chef Ricky: Yeah.
Senator: Bam did compare this to a Diesel, and- Yeah ... he's not wrong.
Bam Bam: It's, like, in that realm of visual impact.
Gizmo: Yeah. Graphic tee cigars.
Bam Bam: What the hell? I'm sorry.
Gizmo: Well, let's see how the cigar is.
Bam Bam: Okay.
Gizmo: Let's cut this thing, boys. Let's see what we're getting on the cold draw on the wrapper. Now, we did the reverse cold draw, chef, so I'm curious how the forward cold draw's gonna be for you tonight.
Bam Bam: Oh, senator.
Gizmo: Mm. Uh-huh,
Bam Bam: I told
Gizmo: you. Bam, you might start, you, you- I
Bam Bam: told you ...
Gizmo: might wanna start walking that back right now.
Bam Bam: You may have a point.
Gizmo: I [00:03:00] t- Wow, well, that's a hell of a cold draw.
Bam Bam: Chocolate-covered blueberry-
Chef Ricky: Mm-hmm ...
Bam Bam: or something like that.
Gizmo: You know, what it's like? Very wet
Chef Ricky: berries.
Gizmo: It's like that, um, w- those, those berries they sell at Costco, the, the red berries with the chocolate on 'em.
Mm-hmm. Yeah. I
Chef Ricky: m- I mentioned them maybe a couple weeks ago, the Brookside, uh-
Gizmo: The Brooksides ...
Chef Ricky: yeah.
Gizmo: Yes. Blueberries. Brookside berries. That's ex- it's exactly what it is- Yeah ... the Brooksides.
Bam Bam: Very berry-forward.
Gizmo: Mm.
Rooster: I don't know, where is that store? People keep talking about
Gizmo: it. Costco?
Rooster: Costco.
Gizmo: Isn't that where you sleep?
Bam Bam: It's a nice-looking wr- cigar, though. Mm-hmm. Wrapper's nice. Minimal seams.
Gizmo: I gotta say, it feels really good in the hand, and my draw, I was feeling it. I was like, "Uh-oh," like, is this gonna have a draw issue? Wide open. It seems really well constructed for- Yeah ... all that tobacco that's in there.
Rooster: When was the last time you had a draw issue on a New World?
Gizmo: It's so rare. You know, the one I have a little bit of draw issue sometimes is the Aladino 85th. I think that's rolled a little too tight.
Senator: Mm. Sounds like user error.
Gizmo: Could [00:04:00] be. All right. I am-
Bam Bam: Ready to go ...
Gizmo: very optimistic. Let's light this thing, boys. The Powstanie San Andrés Belicoso, coming out of Nicaragua.
Again, it's a 54 ring gauge cigar by five and a half inches long. MSRP on this cigar was $14.50. With our Small Batch code, LIZARD15-
Bam Bam: Okay ...
Gizmo: got it for $12.30 shipped. Pretty sweet.
Chef Ricky: You know, the band's actually more interesting when you remove it. Not more attractive, just more interesting.
Bam Bam: When it's in the garbage?
Chef Ricky: There's like a textured snakeskin-
Bam Bam: Oh, boy. It's even worse ... on,
Chef Ricky: on-
Bam Bam: You're not improving the-
Chef Ricky: On the black band ... interpretation of this thing. No, I never said ... I took it off.
Rooster: Hmm. I got to start carrying two lighters. One for me, one for Chef.
Gizmo: I, I
Chef Ricky: got to buy you some S.T. Dupont fuels.
Gizmo: Nice start.
Bam Bam: Well, I have to agree.
Gizmo: A lot of flavor. Yeah. Very [00:05:00] floral on the nose. There on the foot, nice floral aroma coming off there.
Senator: The
Rooster: flavor's great
Senator: on the light.
Bam Bam: Wow.
Gizmo: Yeah. It's different. Like, it's not what you'd expect from... I think a lot of the cigars we've had that have, like, that San Andrés wrapper on it- Mm-hmm ... I, I don't think that this is what I was expecting out of this cigar.
It's nice.
Bam Bam: Kind of like it.
Gizmo: Yeah. On the light it's pretty good. It's got, uh, it's got a little salt.
Senator: Yeah,
Gizmo: it's- Salt, a little-
Senator: Rooster.
Gizmo: Little salt, little nuttiness. I love the floral aroma.
Senator: For me, it's like sweet and salty on the light.
Gizmo: What kind of... What, what, how would you describe the sweetness?
Senator: Like berry and floral But then salty and nutty as well.
It's complex.
Bam Bam: Yep.
Senator: Yeah.
Bam Bam: So I'm getting salty, I'm getting nutty. The berry isn't there for me on the-
Chef Ricky: I get berry- ...
Bam Bam: traditional draw ...
Chef Ricky: on the initial traditional draw on, right on the [00:06:00] front. Sorry. I get Jesus Christ. The reverse draw. I get berry on the initial of the traditional draw, and then the nutty saltiness comes through on the retro for me.
Bam Bam: Hmm.
Chef Ricky: Kind of... It's, it's also pretty creamy on the retrohale.
Bam Bam: Yeah.
Chef Ricky: And that's, uh, somewhat unusual this early on, especially for San Andrés. I th- I was expecting a pepper bomb or something to start.
Bam Bam: Getting a little bit of a pinch in the retrohale, just a little peppery thing for me.
Rooster: No pepper on the traditional draw, though.
Bam Bam: No, not at all.
Gizmo: There's a nice... It's a, there's a little bit, it's like a white pepper maybe. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Like just a touch. It kind of- But it's nice. Yeah,
Chef Ricky: yeah. Almost baking spice-like. I wouldn't even say like-
Gizmo: It's not offensive ... yeah, it's not bad. It doesn't, uh, it, it, it doesn't make your, you know, nostrils flare like we talk about sometimes- Yeah
with that pepper in the nose.
Bam Bam: What's the blend on this?
Gizmo: So this cigar, of course, has the San Andrés wrapper on it. The binder is Ecuadorian Habano, and the filler is from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic.
Bam Bam: Hmm. Wow.
Gizmo: It's made [00:07:00] at Nica Sueño in Estelí, Nicaragua. Came out in early 2025, and there are five vitolas in the, in the line.
I'll go through those right now. The Robusto, 50 by 5; the Short Perfecto, also 50 by 5; the Belicoso we have in our hand, 54 by 5 1/2; the Toro, 52 by 6; and the latest edition is the Corona Gorda, 46 by 5 1/2.
Bam Bam: And they only have one line?
Gizmo: No, they have a several lines. Really? I'm gonna go through those, yeah.
Bam Bam: Interesting. I wonder if they're all the same band design.
Gizmo: All, they all have the P with the arrow, uh, but they're all different colors and, and variations of it.
Bam Bam: I see.
Gizmo: So I will say this. Mm-hmm. Out of all of the brands that we have not done on the podcast, this is easily top three requests from listeners- That's-
for us to review.
Bam Bam: It's only been out a year. Less than a year.
Gizmo: No, this cigar's been out a year. The brand's been around for about-
Bam Bam: Oh, I see.
Gizmo: I'm just saying Powstanie- Interesting ... not so much the-
Bam Bam: Wow ...
Gizmo: this line. But this cigar was reviewed very highly, and it was time to [00:08:00] do it. So- Hmm ... I'm happy we're doing this one, 'cause it's just really nice flavor here.
Bam Bam: Cool.
Gizmo: Hmm. Wow.
Flavor's rich
Bam Bam: It is
Gizmo: But it's a, it's a really creamy, smooth smoke
Bam Bam: Mm-hmm
Gizmo: You know? Very, very well-balanced. Let's go through a little bit of the history of here. It was founded by Polish-American brothers Mike and Gregg Szczepankiewicz. Szczepankiewicz. Let me, let me just spell that for you.
Please. S- S-Z-C-Z-E-P-A-N-K-I-E-W-I-C-Z.
Chef Ricky: Oh, Szczepankiewicz. St-
Gizmo: Szczepankiewicz
Chef Ricky: Szczepankiewicz, yes.
Gizmo: Szczepankiewicz. Szczepankiewicz. I really wanted to nail that, 'cause that's, uh, that's, that's quite a last name and- Correct ... um-
Bam Bam: Rucher.
Gizmo: Szczepankiewicz. So the brand, uh, has been around since [00:09:00] 2015. They have built their name on bold blends and distinctive branding, and they make their cigars where Roma Craft makes their cigars at Nica Sueño.
The name translates as uprising in Polish. The logo draws inspiration from the Polish resistance symbol associated with the Warsaw Uprising during World War II. Um, it's not just a marketing thing. It's, uh, you know, really part of the brand identity. So Mike and Greg are retailers. They operated Cigar Hustler, a brick-and-mortar cigar shop in Deltona, Florida, and then they developed a significant online retail business with Cigar Hustler.
They also do a daily Cigar Hustler podcast five days a week.
Bam Bam: Every day?
Gizmo: Every day.
Bam Bam: Wow.
Gizmo: Five days a week. It's a lot of content.
Bam Bam: Uh, yeah.
Gizmo: A lot of content. So I, I mean, we do this two, two and a half hours once a week. To do that five days a week, that's a hell of a commitment.
Chef Ricky: How long is each episode?
Gizmo: About an hour.
Bam Bam: Two guys?
Gizmo: Uh, it depends. Okay. There's a couple different guys. They have a producer. They have
Bam Bam: a bunch of
Gizmo: [00:10:00] folks. Interesting. So, yeah, they've been doing it a long time. 'Cause they now have jobs. Well, they own the retail shop. They- I'm
Bam Bam: joking ... I mean, if we owned retail shops,
Chef Ricky: we'd be- Mm-hmm ... you know? Oh, yeah, I'd be swimming in cigars every day. Yeah. I'd be happy as a pig in shit.
Bam Bam: No more cooking. No more chopping onions.
Chef Ricky: In the, the back of the cigar shop, but not, you know.
Bam Bam: Got it.
Senator: I gotta say, this is really good.
Gizmo: I'm impressed. This is a, this is a really
It's a, it's a flavor bomb right now. You, you're not loving it?
Bam Bam: I, I, I'm liking it. Well,
Gizmo: you're staring at me like I'm crazy.
Bam Bam: I'm just observing the reactions here. I like it.
Gizmo: Yeah, I really, I'm really enjoying this.
Bam Bam: I think it's gotta settle in for me. It's a little, um- There's a little sharp edge here and there, right?
Rooster: Like it's not as- Just a little ... it's, it needs a little more refinement.
Bam Bam: A touch.
Rooster: Right?
Senator: Really?
Bam Bam: Yeah, a
Senator: touch. Mine [00:11:00] is smooth as can be.
Rooster: I'm with, I'm with Senator on that. Mm. The flavor
Senator: is- Did you maybe heat yours a lot? It just needs to cool a little.
Bam Bam: I don't know. We're kind of
Senator: in a- Feel, uh-
Rooster: Feel down by the burn line.
Mine's-
Senator: That hot?
Bam Bam: No.
Rooster: No.
Senator: Really?
Bam Bam: It's pretty comfortable.
Rooster: The flavor is good, just the delivery is a little bit, it, it needs, it, it's got a little rough edge.
Bam Bam: Touch.
Rooster: Yeah. Uh, yeah, but slight.
Bam Bam: I do like the flavor. I, it's- Yeah, I do too ... it's nice and nutty. There's, I think, for me, I'm getting a little salty nut type of a thing happening.
Um-
Rooster: It's like salty,
Chef Ricky: nutty, and baking spice. That's-
Bam Bam: Yeah. And the baking spice is not, it's not like a cinnamon. It's more like a nutmeg, which is nutty, right?
Chef Ricky: Yeah. I think that's where the sharpness is coming from. It's kind of like that- Pungent, uh- That pungent nutmeg.
Bam Bam: Which I love.
Chef Ricky: Yeah.
Bam Bam: Depending on the-
Chef Ricky: I think there's a lot of cocoa here, too, that we're not calling out.
Is no one else
Bam Bam: getting cocoa? Maybe very dark chocolate. I agree.
Chef Ricky: Dark chocolate is what I'm saying. Yeah. Yeah. This cigar reminds me a lot of, um, your namesake, El [00:12:00] Senador cigar. Oh.
Senator: Yeah,
Chef Ricky: I can see that. This reminds me a lot of that cigar.
Bam Bam: Um- So
Senator: you get, like, cocoa,
Chef Ricky: salt? Yeah. Yeah. I'm sorry.
Bam Bam: Very,
Chef Ricky: very similar also in its delivery.
Bam Bam: That cigar is better than this cigar. Sorry. I
Senator: mean, we're, we're- I don't know.
Chef Ricky: I mean, you're half
Senator: an inch in. We just
Gizmo: started.
Senator: You, you really don't like the band that much, huh?
Chef Ricky: No.
Senator: Jesus. It's as if the cigar has flip-flops on.
Bam Bam: Hey, did you see that thing I sent you? What,
Gizmo: yeah, where was that?
Bam Bam: Club Macanudo.
Gizmo: Oh, Club Mac.
Bam Bam: I love it.
Senator: Proper
Gizmo: establishment.
Bam Bam: I love it.
Gizmo: Well, tell the people. They didn't get the text
Bam Bam: message. Well, I'm trying to arrange a, I have potential future partners in something, so I'm wanna take them out for a dinner and a, and a smoke.
Gizmo: Hmm.
Bam Bam: And, um, they live in various areas around New York, so we're gonna convene at Club Macanudo.
Chef Ricky: Nice.
Bam Bam: And in writing Chef-
Chef Ricky: I saw it ...
Bam Bam: shorts and flip-flops are
Chef Ricky: prohibited. Prohibited.
Bam Bam: Do you know how happy that made me?
Chef Ricky: I think there's even, like, an exclamation point on that or something.
Bam Bam: Correct. Yeah. And a little tiny little lizard next to it. [00:13:00] Oh. Yeah, that, that was pretty cool to see it like that.
Senator: Unfortunately, Carnegie doesn't f- uh, embrace the same policy.
Bam Bam: Correct.
Senator: I've walked in there and there are guys with literally shorts and flip-flops. Yeah, sitting at the bar there. Yeah,
Gizmo: yeah. Yeah, I've seen that. Unbelievable.
Chef Ricky: And tank tops.
Gizmo: One o- and then, and then there's Pagoda holding court.
Chef Ricky: Saturdays at 1:00.
Senator: The craziest part is I saw this during Sinatra Saturday. Oh. Exactly. Yeah. That's when it happens. And they actually say they allegedly have a strict dress code, and my father is sitting there saying, "What in the world? How do they allow people to wear this in this place?"
Chef Ricky: That's exactly
Senator: what
Chef Ricky: happens.
Bam Bam: He's floored.
Correct. It's a disgrace. It's... You know what it is? It's a chink in the armor to manhood when some guy's walking around with flip-flops. It is.
Gizmo: In a cigar club. Do it
Bam Bam: right. That guy has low testosterone. It's that simple. Low T.
Gizmo: They have, they have pills for that, I think.
Bam Bam: They do.
Gizmo: By the way, I wanted to apologize.
I am, in fact, wearing a graphic tee tonight.
Bam Bam: But you know [00:14:00] what? It's, it's not really a graphic. There's... It's got... What is it?
Gizmo: Casa Carrillo
Bam Bam: on it.
Gizmo: And it also aligns, it also aligns with the program.
Bam Bam: Yeah.
Gizmo: Right? It's a Casa Carrillo shirt.
Bam Bam: It's fine.
Gizmo: And I love this because it's the same blank that I wear every day.
Bam Bam: Mm-hmm, but
Gizmo: with- The Next Level 6210 blank.
Bam Bam: What's that?
Gizmo: It's a T-shirt.
Senator: Yeah, can you speak in English?
Gizmo: Next Level is the T-shirt brand. Oh. 6210's the model.
Bam Bam: Interesting.
Gizmo: The 6210, that was always, when I was managing bands, that was always my blank that I went to for merch-
Bam Bam: Oh, nice ...
Gizmo: was, uh, Next Level 62- so I order them for myself in bulk for, like, $4.
Bam Bam: Cool.
Gizmo: And that's what I wear.
Bam Bam: Love
Gizmo: it. I order, like, 30 every two months and-
Bam Bam: Mm-hmm. All
Gizmo: different colors? ... rotate through them. No. Y-
Bam Bam: Always black.
Gizmo: Always black.
Bam Bam: Like
Gizmo: this. And that's, like, 62 cotton and 10 polyester. It's called 6210 as the model or whatever, so.
Bam Bam: Nice, man. Yeah. Fits well.
Gizmo: Yeah, it does. Thanks.
Bam Bam: Mm-hmm.
Gizmo: But this Casa Carrillo shirt that, uh, uh, Lissette was... They, they were giving out at PCA, exactly the same shirt, so I love it.
Bam Bam: And they're friends of the podcast, so that's per-
Gizmo: Friends of the program ...
Bam Bam: perfectly permissible.
Gizmo: [00:15:00] Exactly right. And this was four bucks? Uh, well, no. I, I got th- Four bucks ... we got this for free.
Bam Bam: Uh-huh.
Gizmo: But the blanks are, like, four or five dollars.
Bam Bam: Mm.
Gizmo: But when you're, you know, when you're ma- Yeah, yeah. I used to be in the music business.
Bam Bam: Yeah.
Gizmo: Right. Uh, very tuned into the merchandising of the operation. Mm-hmm. And you have to be familiar with the-
Rooster: Every black tee ...
Gizmo: cloth. Correct. Every black tee.
Bam Bam: Correct. Each one has a unique story.
Rooster: Now we know the blend.
Gizmo: This is good, man.
Bam Bam: It's getting good for me.
Gizmo: Yeah. I am, I'm-
Bam Bam: So- ...
Gizmo: really, really happy right now ...
Bam Bam: Rooster, the rough edges are gone for me. It's pretty, it's pretty eloquent right now. Nice and smooth. Huh?
Rooster: Eh?
Chef Ricky: Getting there. Roos- Rooster needs a little more convincing.
Bam Bam: Yeah, no, honestly, the retrohale is, like, super smooth. Mm. Where literally five minutes ago, I couldn't do it.
Gizmo: Yeah.
Bam Bam: It's unusual.
Gizmo: So, let's go through the lines that, uh, Powstanie has. They have a Habano, Ecuadorian [00:16:00] Habano wrapper, Indonesian binder, Nicaraguan filler. This is the original expression that Mike came up with.
Wood, earth, pepper, and bittersweet chocolate, they say. The Broadleaf, which is his brother Greg's original counterpart to the Habano, uses Connecticut Broadleaf, the darker, richer side of the original portfolio, with cocoa, earth, and sweetness people commonly associate with Broadleaf. Then they have a Connecticut introduced in 2023.
Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper with Nicaraguan fillers, developed to offer a more approachable expression, uh, of the brand. And then the Sumatra, which is the newest one, came out in 2026. Ecuadorian Sumatra seed wrapper, dual binders from Mexico and Pennsylvania. I thought that was interesting. Mm.
Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers, just like this one. And then finally, the San Andrés, introduced in 2025, the one we're smoking tonight. Mexican San Andrés wrapper, Ecuadorian Habano binder, and Nicaraguan, Dominican fillers. So I wanted to talk a little bit about this 'cause I thought this was interesting.
So [00:17:00] this was developed, this line was developed as a replacement for the company's Connecticut Broadleaf blend following the brothers' concerns about the availability and quality of broadleaf tobaccos. So apparently, Mike wanted something distinctly different from what you'd typically get in a cigar wrapped in Mexican San Andrés.
Uh, he says he finds that too one-dimensional, and I think there are a lot of elements that I believe that to be true. I think there's a lot of cigars with that wrapper on it that we have said exactly that about, that have been pretty boring.
Chef Ricky: Mm-hmm.
Gizmo: Um, and I think obviously he's kinda lived up to the-
Chef Ricky: He's achieved that
Gizmo: with this cigar, yeah
intention here with this, with this blend. So what's cool about this Connecticut Broadleaf thing, so apparently Mike was saying that there isn't good Connecticut Broadleaf. He was suggesting that crop availability and overselling may have contributed to really poor quality of Connecticut Broadleaf that they were able to source.[00:18:00]
He says that manufacturers were increasingly promoting lower p- uh, priming broadleaf, but he believed consumers could taste the quality difference. So this was a reaction to that, developing it using this. So they didn't wanna accept tobacco that didn't meet the expectations, and they decided to move away from broadleaf for this new blend.
So like I said, they own their own retail operation, right? Cigar Hustler. What's cool about this, and I think this is very much in line with the guys over at Avowed. Obviously, some of the partners in Avowed are involved in Small Batch Cigar very heavily. It's not the same people. There's a little bit of a difference there.
But just like Avowed, these guys prioritize independents re- independent retailers and often give those folks, uh, stock and availability before it even hits their own site. So, like, smallbatchcigar.com obviously has these. That's where we got 'em. Uh, but you could find these all over the internet and, of course, at Cigar Hustler.
So this is the order that Mike lists as how he prioritizes independent cigar retailers. So n- when a, a product [00:19:00] comes out, he releases to the other retailers first, gives those accounts an opportunity to sell through the inventory, then he offers the product in his own physical store, and finally, once all those boxes have been checked, he puts it up in his own online store.
So I think that's pretty cool, you know, that, that you have this retail network and you're prioritizing those relationships with those dealers and, and allowing them to sell through before he even puts it in his own physical store, then online. Well,
Bam Bam: it's, it's also very smart because he's essentially market testing- Yeah
before he puts it out, right?
Gizmo: And I think you have stronger dealer relationships when you're not competing with your dealer base-
Bam Bam: Also
Gizmo: true ... with your own, with your own online store. It's a
Bam Bam: nice layered approach.
Gizmo: Yeah. Very smart.
Bam Bam: Yeah.
Gizmo: So I got this too from an interview he did, uh, with Fred over at Cigar Press.
He said, uh, he likes to use the phrase "pulling in the same direction" when he describes what he wants from his business partners. His philosophy also explains his firm stance against retailers discounting Powstanie products without any authorization. [00:20:00] He stops supplying retailers who undermine the brand through discounting.
And as we talked about a couple weeks ago, I wish there were some brands that punished their dealers for pricing stuff above what they should be selling their cigars for. But that's a discussion for a different day So yeah
Bam Bam: Would a maker ever do that, though?
Gizmo: They should.
Bam Bam: Yeah, but-
Gizmo: I, I think that, you know, I, I think it puts a stink on the brand when, you know, a cigar's MSRP is $40, $50, and at launch it's selling for 80, 90, or 100-
Bam Bam: Yeah, I know
Gizmo: at some shops, and then other shops are selling it at MSRP saying, "Look at us-" No, no, you're right "... we're
Bam Bam: good guys." You're totally right.
Gizmo: I think it's ridiculous. And, yeah, you say, well, you know, you s- you, you hand the product over to a retailer, they can do whatever they want with it, right? Maybe as long as they're not v- you know, uh, violating minimum advertised pricing.
You know, like you have to add it to the cart to see it, whatever it is. But on the other side of it, I think those dealers should be punished if they're-
Bam Bam: Yeah ...
Gizmo: overpricing stuff.
Bam Bam: I bet a maker probably thinks, "Oh, I'm, I'm giving you this product at [00:21:00] X, and you can- you're selling it at a 2 X." Maybe they think it gives their product a mystique, a-
Rooster: Yeah.
But,
Bam Bam: I mean- ... higher, you know, a luxury level-
Rooster: Yeah ... experience- Other, other than
Bam Bam: Opus- ... and priced accordingly ...
Rooster: other than Opus, there's very few other brands that probably that happens to. They'll
Bam Bam: have that. That's true. I
Gizmo: think what- No, you're right. You're right ... no, but I think that- You know? ... that we do see it with LFD with the Andalusian Bull- Maybe, yeah
is, is one of those. Uh-huh. Like I saw the other day-
Bam Bam: The Shark. The Shark, of course.
Gizmo: Yeah, there's some Don Carlos, too. I think a lot of Fuente outside- Right ... of Hemingway and, and Rare Pink is probably, there's a lot of cases here. The Man's 80th, you know, The Eye of the Shark, obviously the Opus stuff. But like I, I saw the other day with, with the Andalusian Bull, the 10th anniversary Maduro.
I think we talked about that last week or the week before, that new cigar coming out. Limited to 5,000 boxes, 10 counts, right? So 50,000 total cigars. They're not making any more. I saw Lido Goz- Gomez Jr. say that. It's a one-time run of 50,000 cigars. That's it for this 10th anniversary. And I'm seeing retailers, like if you want one of those cigars, you have to buy five or [00:22:00] 10 other La Flor Dominicana products from their store to get one of the Andalusian Bulls.
So it's interesting how they're playing this- It's like the
Bam Bam: mafia ...
Gizmo: exclusivity thing. Like you have to buy five of something you don't want to get the one you do. But this, is
Rooster: the, is
Gizmo: this
Rooster: being controlled
Gizmo: by La Flor Dominicana? No, I'm just saying again, going back to the retailers- Oh, the retailers are doing it
you know, doing their own thing.
Bam Bam: That's a joke.
Gizmo: That's a joke, yeah. I just, I don't think it's the right, I, I don't think it's right. But-
Chef Ricky: When is that-
Gizmo: That's my opinion ... Maduro set to come
Rooster: out?
Gizmo: It's already, it's already shipped to- Oh, it's out. Yeah, you can get it at retail right now.
Bam Bam: Yeah, but you gotta buy nine shit cigars to get that.
Let's get
Senator: nine Chisel Tips.
Gizmo: I'm enjoying this cigar.
Bam Bam: It's definitely unique. It's unlike anything I've smoked in a while.
Senator: I can't find anything wrong with this cigar.
Bam Bam: Isn't it different than what you've had recently?
Senator: It is, in a great way.
Bam Bam: Does it remind you of anything? I'm trying to think of what it w- could remind me of.
Senator: Not really.
It, it, to its credit, it, it has like- different notes and elements of different [00:23:00] cigars, but there's no one cigar that I would say has this complete profile
Bam Bam: You know what this reminds me of? I would, uh, I would love to have a very dry Cabernet with this- Mm. Mm ... because this is kind of-
Chef Ricky: That's a good one.
You're right ...
Bam Bam: there's a little tannic, kind of, I don't, it's not tannic, but it kinda gives me that-
Chef Ricky: Yeah, so there's
Bam Bam: a little- ... sense ...
Chef Ricky: fruit here
Bam Bam: and- But if I had a r- a really sophisticated dry Cabernet with this, it would be a really interesting pairing Which one? I don't know, but that's up to you What do you
Gizmo: think about that, Senator?
Senator: Oh, I think wine would pair great with this.
Bam Bam: I, I think so
Gizmo: too. And if you had a, if you had to pick one, which one, w- what would you go, what would you reach for out of your
Senator: cellar? I mean, a cab for sure. I don't think there's one particular home run with this. I think this is versatile enough that, sure, a drier cab, but I also think, um- Fruity too
kind of a juicier, you know- Mm ... cab that has a little more sweetness would do well with this. Um, I think because it has, like, kind of the sweet and savory thing going for it, it can really pair with a [00:24:00] lot of different red wines.
Bam Bam: I'm not getting as much sweetness as you're getting. Oh. It's there.
Gizmo: There is,
Bam Bam: yeah.
It, it's like a bitter- Yeah, the sweetness is very present ... it's a, it's more of, like, a bitter chocolate for me, which I love.
Gizmo: No,
Senator: for
Gizmo: me- My, my, the finish on this is really where I'm like, it's almost like a, it's, it's such a creamy-
Bam Bam: Yep. Mm-hmm.
Gizmo: Yep ... sweet finish. It's almost like a- Wow ... condensed milk, like-
Bam Bam: Yeah.
You know, I'll be honest- ...
Gizmo: sweetness on the finish that it, the, the mouth feel on the finish is unbelievable. Yeah. It's one of the best mouth feel-
Bam Bam: I, I don't disagree with you ... that we've
Gizmo: had in a long
Bam Bam: time. And I don't need this w- additional sweetness to enjoy this because I'm loving the earthiness of it, the, the, that nutty nature of it, a little salty.
It's, it's actually quite good. But for me, the sweetness is tamped down, and I don't mind. I- Y- I kind of like that from time to time.
Chef Ricky: Giz, you fucking nailed it with the condensed milk, man, because I'm tasting it- I'm working on,
Gizmo: after our discussion, I've been really trying to print stuff to memory
Chef Ricky: here.
Gizmo: No.
Chef Ricky: You know? But,
Bam Bam: but you know
Chef Ricky: what? On every draw, and Bam-Bam, you sort of mentioned this referring to the tannic-
Bam Bam: Uh-huh ...
Chef Ricky: uh, quality. It's, it's like tea leaf, right? Oh. So [00:25:00] instantly my- Very much so ... yeah, my, my mind goes to, like, Thai iced teas.
Bam Bam: Very much so.
Chef Ricky: Right, where they brew the tea, and then they, they, they, uh, sweeten that with condensed milk.
Mm-hmm. And there's a very unique, like, distinct flavor to that, and that is this cigar.
Bam Bam: Wow. I mean, I don't get, condensed milk is extremely sweet. I'm not getting anything near that. Where I am.
Chef Ricky: I just get an exaggerated note. I, I think it's a concentrated-
Bam Bam: I mean, I love the tea comparison ...
Chef Ricky: this is my thing with this cigar.
It's delivering a lot of different flavors, and we've had that. But some are kind of, uh, intense, and other flavors are, you know, kind of weaving in and out. Here, it's delivering everything almost at, like, max strength. And I love that 'cause it's creating a super rich experience for me.
Gizmo: And that- And with all that being said, it's still, I would s- argue, a medium, like, it's- It is medium
very approachable. 100%.
Chef Ricky: Yeah. Yeah. Correct. Yep, yep.
Bam Bam: I think Pagoda would like this cigar.
Gizmo: I agree. I think the tea thing especially, he'd
Bam Bam: be loving. 100%. He'd be bringing that up himself.
Gizmo: Yeah,
Senator: I really like- No doubt ... Chef's Thai tea
Gizmo: call-out. Yeah, yeah. The
Senator: funny thing is, [00:26:00] uh, years ago when we were members at North Korea, there was this, like, Privada cigar called the Thai Tea that came out- I remember that
with one of these stupid bands, and it had a little image of, like, a Thai tea.
Gizmo: Came with a pair of flip-flops.
Senator: But honestly, I mean, I wouldn't have thought of it- Yeah ... until you said that. This is the only thing that has notes like- Yeah ... were in that cigar. I think it's a really good call-out.
Gizmo: Mm-hmm I'm very happy with this cigar.
Chef Ricky: I, so am I. Uh, did we discuss price point?
Gizmo: Yeah. We, uh- I, I missed it ... we got these for $12.30. I
Chef Ricky: wanna hear Rooster's take though. That's great. It's being a little quiet.
Rooster: I mean, for me, it's, uh, I'm still getting that berry note, like that- Are you? ... chocolate covered, uh, blueberry thing. Wow. That's still, like, coming through.
That's where I find- Interesting ... that the sweetness is. It's not, to me, it's not super sweet. It's not- Same ... like the condensed milk sweet that you guys are talking about. Correct. I'm not getting that. And it's, the saltiness kind of balances the sweetness-
Gizmo: Mm-hmm ...
Rooster: which is unique. Mm. A lot of times a cigar is either very [00:27:00] salty or they're kind of on the sweeter side.
Gizmo: Mm-hmm.
Rooster: This has a good balance, so, so that I'm very happy with. And the cigar is actually, has gotten better, like that rough edge has- That's true ... improved a little bit for me.
Bam Bam: Yeah, yeah.
Senator: The other thing that has to be s- uh, be said about this cigar- The construction, yeah ... look at the
Rooster: construction.
Unbelievable.
Senator: Yeah. I mean, the burn line is flawless. Look at Jeff, Bam. Yeah. I mean, the ash is holding on perfectly.
Bam Bam: Correct.
Senator: The only thing that's just honestly frustrating given how, I think, elegant the experience is smoking a cigar is the band. I mean, I'm just sitting here saying to myself already, "If this continues to perform this way, I would absolutely smoke this again."
Gizmo: Yep.
Senator: And I'm just looking at the band saying, "It, it's, like, embarrassing- ... that this is the band on this cigar."
Gizmo: Yeah.
That's
Rooster: why I just
Gizmo: took the band off. I think the, I think the cigar is, is- ... deserving of- It's a good move ... a better presentation. Yeah. Especially from a retail standpoint. Obviously, someone who knows about the cigar, if we love it, we're gonna reach for it and buy the boxes, right?
But-
Senator: What's sad is as much as I think none of us like the [00:28:00] design, if this band were half the thickness, this San Andrés in big print were just removed, I don't know why the, you know, origin of the wrapper needs to be in big print on any cigar. It's not on most. And just this logo were just made smaller, even that would be a dramatic improvement.
It would be. I don't know why this had to be so-
Bam Bam: Correct
Senator: In your face. It's just too much.
Bam Bam: Yep.
Gizmo: Damn good cigar, though.
Bam Bam: Yeah.
Gizmo: One more note here, and then we'll get to our pairing, and then I'll do news after that. I wanted to talk about their blending process. So like I said, they make their cigars at Nica Sueño, which is RoMa Craft's factory.
So when Mike is working on cigars with Skip Martin, who owns the factory in RoMa Craft, when they exchange feedback and add or take tobacco components away when they're refining the blend, when Mike loves a blend and Skip believes it's not working, Mike says that he sometimes sees that disagreement as a confirmation that they've arrived at something that is distinctly [00:29:00] Powstanie.
So as opposed to-
Bam Bam: So they let confusion in
Gizmo: the selection. No, no, no. I think what he's saying is, is he doesn't want-
Bam Bam: And
Gizmo: conflict ... this, I don't, I, he doesn't want his brand to taste like RoMa Craft.
Bam Bam: Ah, okay.
Gizmo: So I think what he's saying is- Oh, yeah ... you know, Skip Martin blending for RoMa Craft, Mike doesn't want his cigars to be RoMa Craft.
Mike wants his cigars to be his cigars. So I think he views that disagreement as a good thing, and obviously they have a healthy relationship. But again, I, I think we're seeing something here that's really working for us.
Bam Bam: Yeah.
Gizmo: So with that being said, we're about 30 minutes in now. I'll get to news after this.
But let's go to our pairing.
Bam Bam: Please.
Gizmo: And I'm really curious how this is gonna do, because we have a sherry cask matured, 12 years aged Highland single malt scotch whiskey from the good people at Glenfarclas. What? There's an L there at the end.
Bam Bam: Is that right?
Gizmo: Yeah, I didn't know that. I thought it was Farcas, but it's- Farclas
Farclas. But cheers, boys. Good to see you.
Bam Bam: Cheers, Nook. Cheers. Good to see you guys.
Gizmo: Nice to see you. See how it is.
Bam Bam: Oh, nice on the nose.
Gizmo: Yeah. Very sherry forward
Bam Bam: on the
Gizmo: nose.
Bam Bam: Very. Mm-hmm. [00:30:00] I'm getting caramel on the nose.
Chef Ricky: I'm even getting a little saltiness on the nose
Gizmo: Senator, you've been sipping this for a while?
I see you're not reaching for it. Possibly.
Bam Bam: I know why you don't like it.
Gizmo: Why?
Bam Bam: I'm getting a good amount of honey, vanilla, caramel. I kind
Gizmo: of like it. No, it's, it's not that I don't like it like that because of those reasons- Mm ... it's just thin to me.
Senator: Give it time.
Gizmo: It's like, it's almost like it's watered down or something.
Senator: My first sip, I was not sure. After a few, I think you'll feel differently.
Gizmo: Okay.
Bam Bam: I like it a lot.
Gizmo: Not saying turpentine, but
Bam Bam: it's- Well, I'm in the mood to drink tonight.
Senator: Same.
Bam Bam: So that may skew my opinion right now, but it's, it's actually very nice.
Chef Ricky: I like it. I'm not at a lot yet. I'm not at, I like it- Yeah ... a lot just yet, but I do like it.
Um, what's the proof on here?
Senator: 43%. Mm.
Chef Ricky: It's drinking a little spicy.
Senator: Really?
Chef Ricky: Yeah, I'm getting a good amount of spice. Not heat per se, but just spice.
Senator: [00:31:00] I, I actually like it 'cause I feel like it counteracts the sweetness.
Chef Ricky: Mm.
Senator: So the funny thing, on the back of the bottle it says, "Natural color with a fresh tempting nose that oozes sweetness, full bodied and delightfully sherried, long and flavorsome with a lingering spiciness."
And I do think, like, there's a good amount of sweetness from the sherry, but I actually like it's like- Mm-hmm ... this little bit of spice on the finish that I think works really well.
Bam Bam: So I'm, I'm starting to kind of keep the spirits in my, on my palate a little longer before I take it down. Like, swirling it around on my tongue and then taking...
It's really-
Chef Ricky: Yeah ...
Bam Bam: for me, it gives me a very long finish when I do that, and it kind of lasts and I can pick out certain notes. Little, little butterscotch, salted butter type thing happening for me.
Gizmo: Yeah.
Bam Bam: Caramel, vanilla. I
Gizmo: don't know. You know, Senator, you're so right. That first sip is like, "This is watered down whiskey."
Now I'm getting like a, a, a- Like a fuller
Bam Bam: bodied experience ...
Gizmo: and a little bit of a bite. Yeah. Which is not bad. [00:32:00] Like, a, it has a little more oomph. Like, it's amazing on that first sip, it's like, "This is not doing anything for me." Two, three, four sips in, it's right there.
Bam Bam: It's good
Gizmo: shit. Pretty amazing.
Bam Bam: Yeah.
Gizmo: And it's only like 50 bucks.
Bam Bam: Nice.
Gizmo: 55 bucks.
Senator: Mm, that's not what I'm seeing.
Gizmo: How much are you seeing it
Senator: for? Total, Total Wine has it, uh, the 12 year for- Did
Bam Bam: you get this as a gift?
Senator: No ... 74.
Gizmo: I definitely got it cheaper than that where I purchased it. Wow. I think I got it closer to 60.
Bam Bam: Okay.
Gizmo: Yeah, where I shopped at my spot up in Guam.
Bam Bam: So we're calling it 60 bucks.
Gizmo: Well, I think most folks are gonna see it at Total Wine for 74.
Bam Bam: Okay.
Gizmo: That's probably the best, you know, price point. But I definitely paid less, much less than that.
Chef Ricky: Mm-hmm. Can you share with, share that contact info with me?
Gizmo: Which contact info? Um.
Chef Ricky: The store. For the spot in Guam.
Gizmo: Oh, yeah. Yeah. Okay. Will do. So let's talk a little bit about Glenfarclas history. Not too much to go through, but a couple cool things I found. The distillery was established in 1836 at the foot of Ben Rinnes. I'm s- pronouncing that incorrectly, um, I apologize to [00:33:00] all our Scottish listeners, in Speyside.
Then the Grant family purchased it in 1865 and has controlled it ever since. So that's over 180 years of history here. What's cool about this, three things. Number one, the distillery remains independent. It is still family-owned. Wow. Amazing. 180 years, family-owned.
Senator: I honestly would have never expected that given how-
Gizmo: Dude, this is on airplane bottled scotch
Senator: yeah. Not the 12, it's usually the 10, but, um, to your point, I, it's everywhere. I assumed they were owned by, you know, some- one of the big conglomerates.
Gizmo: Mm. I've only seen this prior to tonight, like myself, I've only noticed it in small bottles on like airplanes or the, like in hotels- Or airport lounges.
Yeah, airport lounges or like a hotel minibar-
Bam Bam: Interesting ...
Gizmo: those kind of things. But yeah, I'm impressed. 180 years. They use direct-fired copper stills.
Bam Bam: Mm.
Gizmo: They continue to heat their stills directly, which is an increasingly uncommon [00:34:00] practice in Scotland. They say it contributes to its distinctive, robust taste.
And finally, the distillery is particularly associated with European oak casks previously used for Oloroso sherry. Of course, that's Macallan is the same, I believe. Producing its characteristic dried fruit, bam- All right ... nutty and spicy profile.
Chef Ricky: I like that dried fruit. I'm also getting a fair amount of orange on this.
Mm-hmm. Some citrus.
Gizmo: So what I'm seeing here flavor note wise, on the nose, orange peel, raisins, honey, malt, toasted nuts. On the palate, baked apples, dried fruit, caramel, cinnamon, sherry and oak.
Chef Ricky: The malt is a huge call-out too, 'cause that's, that's definitely here.
Gizmo: Yeah?
Chef Ricky: Yeah. And I think for me, um-
Gizmo: Can you, can you describe to me w- what that malt note is?
Like w- how, what should I be looking for here?
Chef Ricky: It's like a... Well, the way my palate's perceiving it right now, it's, it's somewhat creamy and the lightest, lightest hint of fermented [00:35:00] grain. It's like a creamy fermented grain. Mm. I mean, I, I think if you're new to the flavor or whatever, you know, maybe a Whopper is the closest thing, but obviously that's not here.
The Burger
Gizmo: King
Senator: Whopper?
Chef Ricky: No, like the candy Whopper. Candy. Obviously, that's not what's in this scotch 'cause we don't have that sugar. But, you know, I don't know, uh-
Senator: Or like a malted beer, you get the exact same flavor.
Chef Ricky: Yeah, yeah. Mm-hmm. Malted beer, a malted shake. But there, there's like a, a density, a creaminess, a, a almost imaginary texture that it provides, um- Yeah.
I, a fermented grain is, is the closest thing I could say Like a Cold
Senator: 45.
Chef Ricky: With a Philly blunt. Malt
Rooster: liquor.
Senator: The other thing, I'm sorry, I, I think this pairs perfectly with this cigar.
Chef Ricky: I agree. Mm-hmm.
Senator: Every time- It's awesome ... I take a sip- Mm-hmm ... and then a draw of the cigar, it, like, accentuates all the right flavors.
I really like it.
Chef Ricky: Very complimentary. And the cigar just goes right back to kicking at 100%. [00:36:00] Like, it just comes right through the pairing, but pairs well at the same time. It's a great
Senator: experience
Chef Ricky: right now. Yeah.
Gizmo: And, you know, th- there's no, like, age statement on the cigar, right? Like, there's, we're not talking about aged tobacco.
Like, that's not part of the story that they're telling here in the marketing of the cigar. But this tastes very much like a mature- Mm. ... tobacco- Yeah ... experience. Like, there's not a... You know, you, you mentioned some rough edges earlier. But I think as far as the tobacco goes, like, I'm not getting any sort of youth-
Bam Bam: Mm
Gizmo: in the flavor in the tobacco here. Like, it's really-
Bam Bam: Not now. Early on I got a little-
Gizmo: I didn't get any of it ...
Bam Bam: edge here.
Gizmo: I got zero. Zero?
Bam Bam: Yeah, yeah.
Gizmo: Yeah, I'm pretty impressed. This is reminding me of a cigar that did not perform like this one did. There's some sort of flavor component here, but I can't put my finger on it.
Bam Bam: It's a unique cigar.
Gizmo: It definitely
Bam Bam: is. As I noted earlier, I don't recollect another experience like this.
Gizmo: So for listeners out there who don't have the Glenfarclas in their hand or in their glass, [00:37:00] what scotch would you most compare this to if you had to pick one? From a flavor standpoint. Obviously it's got that sherry thing, a little bit of that honey thing.
The malt, I don't know if we've ever called that out so specifically on a, on a single malt before,
Chef Ricky: but- I think I felt it before, but I didn't have a name for it, right? And I think sometimes I maybe misclassified it as a, uh, as peat- peatiness. Um, but- I'm not
Gizmo: getting any
Senator: peat
Chef Ricky: here ... No, there's no peat here.
But I think in the past, especially much earlier on when I was just getting into scotches with you guys, um, I, I misclassified that flavor.
Gizmo: Senator's racking his brain.
Senator: Yeah, I mean, I, I honestly think this is unique and distinct and has really carved out its own place Which is rare. Yeah. I mean, most single malts remind us of something, which is not a merit, right?
I mean, it's similar to other things. This is, [00:38:00] it's got a unique profile and I really like it.
Bam Bam: Yeah.
Chef Ricky: I'm sorry, I know we're talking about the scotch, but I just got the most delicious flavor note on this cigar- ... through my last retro.
Bam Bam: Let's take a wild guess what it is.
Chef Ricky: Is it, is it tomato? It's not tomato.
It's, like, the corner of one of my wife's brownies. Oh, like a burnt- Toasted chocolate.
Bam Bam: Oh,
Chef Ricky: yeah. Just f- you know, buttery, lightly caramelized. It was-
Bam Bam: Wow.
Chef Ricky: Wow, that was... And it, it just, it just poked me. It's like, "Hi,
Gizmo: I'm here."
Bam Bam: That's pretty nice. Anybody getting that?
Gizmo: Yeah. No. Well, 'cause he doesn't bring his wife's brownies here.
Bam Bam: That's also true.
Gizmo: So he tastes it, but we don't have the opportunity-
Bam Bam: That's correct ... '
Gizmo: cause he keeps secrets in Guam Plus. '
Bam Bam: Cause he deprives us-
Gizmo: Exactly right ...
Bam Bam: on a consistent basis.
Gizmo: Oh,
Chef Ricky: wait,
Gizmo: uh, you're, you're gonna get it. You're gonna get, like, that toasted chocolate. Pff. Yeah. I
Bam Bam: thought you said you're gonna bring
Gizmo: it.
Some- Yeah, no. He's, he's- He's not saying he's bringing us any desserts. We'll get there in the cigar. I'll bring
Chef Ricky: it. I'll bring it.
Gizmo: All right, boys, let's go to some news now. Couple things [00:39:00] for you tonight. Thought this was interesting given what we talked about earlier with exclusive releases and stuff.
Padrón has announced and released, it's already shipping to retailers, a new Padrón sampler featuring the five Cigar Aficionado top cigars of the year, the number ones, including the beloved, in this room, 60th Anniversary Perfecto, which of course was named the number one cigar last December. So you have a Serie 1926 40th Anniversary, which was the 2004 Cigar of the Year, the Serie 1926 Number Nine, the 2007 Cigar of the Year.
I've never had that. We should maybe do that one. The Family Reserve Number 45 Maduro, we did that one, the 2009 Cigar of the Year. The 1964 Anniversary Series Torpedo in Natural, we did that one, 2021 Cigar of the Year. And finally, the 60th Anniversary Perfecto, which was the most recent Cigar of the Year.
And what's interesting about this is two things. Number one, you can get these obviously, uh, in, in one cool [00:40:00] package. What I love about it is they're actually keeping the 60th in a coffin inside the sampler box.
Bam Bam: Wow. Wow. That's cool.
Gizmo: So I think that's cool. I think it's a bit of a different coffin from what I'm seeing.
I don't believe it's the lacquered one that we're used to. I just believe it's a cedar with a, kinda like a cedar slip, almost like you'd see on a-
Bam Bam: Interesting ...
Gizmo: like a Cuban, uh, like a-
Bam Bam: Cohiba?
Gizmo: Yeah, or the Cuaba, like that smaller- Mm ... cedar kinda, you know, slide lid there. Um, but you can see it here, boys. I'll show you.
That's, that's it.
Bam Bam: You know? So with that 60th in there, do we know how much that sampler is?
Gizmo: So this sampler- Not cheap ... is retailing for $195 and 85 cents. That's better than
Bam Bam: I thought. Oh, that's
Gizmo: not bad at all. So it's under 200 bucks.
Bam Bam: That's a great gift.
Gizmo: Yeah. Awesome gift. Now, what's interesting about this is, we talked about this, I don't know if we did it on podcast or if we just did it internally here, is, you know, a lot of us really loved that 60th Perfecto.
We loved it. And since that initial release- It's been slim pickings finding it anywhere. Yeah. Like, have you guys even seen [00:41:00] it come up from a retail standpoint?
Rooster: They're, they're starting to pop up a little bit more than we were seeing. You know, for a, for a while they were completely gone. Mm-hmm. Now you're starting to see them pop up a bit.
Gizmo: I think what they're probably doing- But there's a little- ... is saving them for batch releases. Or where I'm going with this is putting one cigar in a sampler like this, giving that kind of teaser out there like, "You want that 60th?" Oh. Now you gotta buy- They're doing the retailer- Exactly ... yeah,
Bam Bam: method,
Gizmo: yeah.
So obviously they don't wanna ship 10 count boxes, I guess. They, they don't have enough of them. They're not making enough of them.
Bam Bam: But the difference is all the th- those are all great cigars.
Gizmo: No, no, I'm not complaining. Right. I'm just saying it's an interesting thing. Like, I would love to buy another- Yeah
10 count box of those cigars. Not like, not like that. Those are all cigars we'd smoke.
Bam Bam: That's correct.
Gizmo: We don't have to push any chisel tips. Yeah, you're not buying, yeah, but that's, that's a BS retailer thing- Yeah. Exactly. Yeah, yeah ... I'm not, I'm not comparing that specifically. Mm-hmm. But it's interesting that if you want one of these right now, you wanna get it immediately at any Padrón retailer that can access them, you're gonna have to buy this sampler pack because you're not able to get that 10 count box.
Bam Bam: No problem. [00:42:00]
Rooster: I mean, the, the-
Gizmo: I'm cool with it too Yeah. Yeah, it's excellent ... the pack- Especially at that price ...
Rooster: the packaging of that cigar is so over the top-
Gizmo: Yeah ...
Rooster: that I wish that you could buy refills at a little bit of a cheaper price.
Gizmo: Mm-hmm.
Rooster: Correct. And I don't know if Padrón would even consider doing that.
Gizmo: They did it with the 50th.
Rooster: Yeah.
Gizmo: With the 50th, they, they do the refills. I d- I don't know if you send the box in or they just send you-
Rooster: No, I think the- ... you know, 50 of what you want, but- ... it comes with a certificate that allows you to get refills.
Senator: Yeah, Rooster just refilled his.
Rooster: Yeah. So you know what I, what I, what I learned?
If you look at the- Is that true? ... the hammer. He just bought a 50 count box on Bond Roberts. Oh, oh, that's right. The humidor.
Bam Bam: You motherfucker.
Rooster: I'm gonna sell it to you in a couple of years.
Bam Bam: I'll use my funding money to get it. Homeboy.
Rooster: So when you get that original humidor-
Bam Bam: Yeah ...
Rooster: the sticks have a [00:43:00] writing in red Right?
They only come, like, once you buy that humidor. So the refills actually have the, the writing, the serial numbers in black.
Gizmo: Ah.
Rooster: So that's how you can tell- So the first shipment
Gizmo: is
Rooster: the
Gizmo: red.
Rooster: Right, right. So when I bought the box, I'm like, I have a question. Like, how do I know that this is the original 2014 release?
So they said, well, the inscription is in red. I mean, the writing is in red. So when you buy the refills, it's in, it's in black, so
Gizmo: that's- Interesting. So that box that you bought is original 2014 release of those?
Rooster: 2014 box. It's number 26 of 1,000.
Gizmo: Wow. Well, that's a cool one. Number 1926 is a big year for-
Rooster: Yeah.
Me?
Gizmo: Padróns.
Senator: Can, can we just say-
Gizmo: You made that joke yourself. I did not That's correct,
Rooster: old boy.
Senator: C- can we just say what a big deal it is that Rooster is buying vintage New World cigars? Yeah.
Gizmo: On Bond Roberts.
Rooster: On Bond Roberts.
Gizmo: Yes.
Senator: I mean, think about it. None of us have ever purch- We've all aged [00:44:00] ourselves, right?
Correct. We bought young and just let them sit. None of us have ever purchased a vintage New World box.
Bam Bam: That's correct.
Gizmo: Yeah.
Bam Bam: Sounds like a scam.
Gizmo: So boys, we're coming to the end of the first third here on the Powstanie San Andrés, the Belicoso from Nicaragua, paired with this 12 years aged Glenfarclas single malt scotch whiskey.
Where are you guys at? I know we just talked about it a little bit, but from a pairing standpoint, Senator touched on it. Where are you guys at with the cigar, the drink, both?
Chef Ricky: I'm, I'm sorry, I just wanted to go back to the Padrón packaging on the 60th. So- The last place where I found these sticks was a random smoke shop in Bushwick, Brooklyn.
Really? And I saw singles in, I saw single Coffins in a white cardboard box. Right? So I just Googled it to see if it's actually legit.
Bam Bam: You sure it's Bushwick or Williamsburg?
Chef Ricky: No, this was Bushwick. Really? It was on Bushwick Avenue, not far from Wyckoff Hospital.
Bam Bam: Interesting.
Chef Ricky: Um, from outside looking in, it looks like a generic smoke shop- Hmm
[00:45:00] but they actually have a humidor. And- No shit ... the way I ended up there, I gave them a call, because I was looking for a place to buy cigars to smoke with a buddy of mine nearby. And, uh, he said, "No, no, we have a legitimate humidor." And I'm like, "Are you sure? Like, is it full with a bunch of shit, or is there stuff in there that, you know?"
Good
Bam Bam: question.
Chef Ricky: And he's like, "No, I promise you, like, there's good stuff in there." You gotta do that. Yeah, no, because you go there- I like the move ... and then it's a- I have, I respect
Gizmo: the move. Hey, is your humidor full of shit? This is Chef Ricky. Are your employees wearing flip-flops?
Bam Bam: Also correct.
Chef Ricky: No, so we go in there, and the, the guy that I was smoking, that I was gonna smoke with that night, I was able to source him a box of Padrón 60ths, the whole humidor, for his brother-in-law, for his sister's husband, who just, you know, gave him his first nephew.
And, um- I'm, I'm totally
Gizmo: following along. Go ahead ... sister's
Chef Ricky: husband's first
Gizmo: nephew. I,
Chef Ricky: I have no idea what's going on. White cardboard box. He asked me, he asked me to get him a special cigar to give to his brother-in-law because of the birth of his nephew. And, you know, so I said, "You know, I found the Padrón 60th case in Sparta, New Jersey."
[00:46:00] Hmm. Um, so anyway, we go into this humidor, and there's- I'll give him
Senator: another nephew for that.
Chef Ricky: So are
Gizmo: we in Bushwick or Sparta?
Chef Ricky: Well-
Gizmo: We're traversing
Chef Ricky: here We're in Bush- we're in Bushwick. We're in Bushwick now. God damn it, guys. Keep up, will you?
Bam Bam: Can we talk about the pairing?
Chef Ricky: Anyway, I s- I'm saying all of this because they do sell singles.
Um- How much were
Gizmo: they?
Chef Ricky: Uh- In the white cardboard packaging ... this, this retailer, well, the coffin was in the white cardboard packaging. It's still in the coffin.
Gizmo: Okay.
Chef Ricky: But that slipped into a white cardboard packaging. It was 105. They had- And this
Gizmo: is in Sparta?
Chef Ricky: No, that's in Bushwick.
Gizmo: Oh. Bushwick.
Rooster: Come on. Get with it,
Gizmo: Giz.
Chef Ricky: Sorry. That's in Bushwick, Brooklyn. In Sparta, they had the whole case for 9.20.
Gizmo: That's expensive.
Chef Ricky: Yeah.
Gizmo: Wow. That's quite a markup.
Chef Ricky: Oh, yeah.
Gizmo: I guess that's a New York tax.
Chef Ricky: No, but that was Sparta.
Gizmo: Oh, 105 is New York. Keep up, Giz. Correct. I, I'm, I'm lost. So boys, we've come to the end of the first third here on the Powstanie San Andrés, the Belicoso, paired with this [00:47:00] Glenfarclas, 12 years age, single malt scotch whiskey.
How's the pairing working for you? How's the cigar? How's the scotch? How's Sparta? How's Bushwick?
Senator: I just wanna go back to the Padrón box, though.
Rooster: I wanna go back to the Nephew.
Chef Ricky: I don't wanna ash this cigar. This ash is so beautiful. It's,
Gizmo: it's pretty incredible, honestly. It is. Yeah. It's so beautiful. You should, you should snap a photo of that. So where, where are you guys at?
Chef Ricky: The scotch for me is the, it changed in viscosity some, some, in some weird way.
Kinda feels like nectar now.
Bam Bam: Oh, dude.
Chef Ricky: It's- I totally agree
Bam Bam: with you ...
Chef Ricky: I don't know how that happened. I'm not sure why it's happening, but it's happening.
Bam Bam: The mouth feels totally different than
Gizmo: that- Yep ... first sip I was complaining about. Yep. I feel like Bam yelling about the bands.
Bam Bam: Yeah. It's, it's fantastic.
This is some scotch tonight. It's supple.
Chef Ricky: Mm-hmm.
Bam Bam: It's, it's pretty damn sweet, but, um, the longer I keep it on my palate, the more I'm getting from it. And, um-
Senator: And keep in mind, we're all drinking this neat.
Bam Bam: Yeah. And
Senator: with single malts, we tend [00:48:00] to need a chip.
Bam Bam: Yeah.
Senator: True.
Bam Bam: Yeah?
Chef Ricky: Actually, I know what's happening.
Gizmo: It's warming up.
Bam Bam: Yeah, uh, probably. Yeah. Okay. It's
Gizmo: warming up, so now it's getting... Yeah.
Bam Bam: It's outstanding, and I think the cigar pairing's fantastic.
Gizmo: Yep. I, this is right now-
Bam Bam: Z- yeah ...
Gizmo: one of the most surprising nights for me that we've had in a long time.
Bam Bam: It's a delicious combo tonight.
Gizmo: Like, I am, I'm really, I did not come in even close to this expectation on either entrant-
Senator: Mm-hmm
Gizmo: to this pairing tonight.
Senator: You know the biggest surprise for me? That there's an L at the end of- ... Glenfarclas.
Gizmo: I, I thought it was Glenfarcas.
Senator: Every person says Glenfarcas. No one s- pronounces an L in there. I've never even noticed it- Me neither ... on the bottle.
Gizmo: Me neither. Is it an
Senator: L or an H? It's blown my mind all these years that this has
Gizmo: happened.
Maybe the L's silent. It's an L. It's an L.
Senator: No, I even looked up the pronunciation. You actually are supposed to pronounce the L. Wow.
Gizmo: And so am I saying it correctly?
Senator: You are, but literally- I've never said it like that, ever ... 90% of people don't say it that way.
Gizmo: I have, like, 10 of these little bottles at my house.
I don't know where I got them. I think on [00:49:00] an airplane or something.
Chef Ricky: Mm-hmm. Giz, cue the graduation music, because you finally said something, you pronounced something correctly.
Gizmo: What about their names? I pronounced their names correctly. You did. Yeah. You're a Polish scholar, too. That's correct.
Bam Bam: You're a poet and you didn't know it.
Gizmo: Szczepanowicz. Sz- Szczepanowicz. And you
Bam Bam: remembered.
Gizmo: Szczepanowicz.
Chef Ricky: What? Szczepanowicz.
Gizmo: Szczep- Szczepanowicz ... Szczepanowicz. All right, I can't do this music. Uh, i- it, honestly, the music's very appropriate for this experience right now. I am completely blown away by this cigar. It's surprising. I wanna order a box immediately.
Rooster: Yeah.
Gizmo: What's interesting, I, I forgot to share this earlier, these come in 21 count boxes. Interesting.
Rooster: 21?
Gizmo: 21s.
Rooster: Wow, that's odd.
Gizmo: Yeah.
Rooster: Look, I mean, they, for the price point, for $12 a stick, I mean, this cigar is, it satisfies- Outstanding ... you.
Gizmo: Yeah. You know? You know what I'm, uh, you guys are gonna think I'm crazy.
Senator: Uh-oh. We never do.
Gizmo: So- You're great ... when I was in Bushwick. And then- Oh, here we go ... I drove to Spar- no, very seriously. The, the [00:50:00] retrohale on this, and h- hear me out, the retrohale on this, I've figured out what it's reminding me of, and it's interesting that we talked about it before. The retrohale on this is reminding me of the Padrón Hammer Maduro.
Bam Bam: I haven't retrohaled.
Gizmo: Oh. The retrohale. Not the normal draw. Yeah? The retrohale is reminding me of that smooth, creamy- Padrón 50 Year Hammer Retrohale. I'm dead serious. That's exactly what it is.
Bam Bam: I love the Retrohale. I think it's excellent, but I'm having a tough time comparing it to that cigar. It's different.
Gizmo: This is more saltier.
Bam Bam: I agree. I'm
Gizmo: saying on the Retro. Which- Not on the traditional draw ...
Bam Bam: Rooster can't Retro.
Gizmo: Retro, well, s- once in a while I do.
Bam Bam: All right.
Chef Ricky: All right, do it now, Rooster.
Rooster: Not on demand.
Gizmo: This is, uh, this is really... What a, what an evening.
Chef Ricky: I was worried coming into this. Me too. I thought the s- the streak was snapped.
Although we were only at, what, one week?
Gizmo: One week.
Chef Ricky: One streak. One cigar [00:51:00] streak.
Gizmo: We've had a good run though. Yeah. We've had a pretty good run. All right, let's go back to some news. I thought this one was interesting because we loved the 5205, but the Warped Maestro del Tiempo 6102R 2026 has gone on sale.
Why am I bringing this up? I normally don't talk about releases like this annual stuff, uh, unless it's- It's a 100 count box, isn't it? That's why.
Bam Bam: Holy moly.
Gizmo: It's a 48 Ring Gauge cigar by 5 1/4 inches long. It's $15. They're releasing 40,000 total cigars, and they only come in 100 count cabinets. That's crazy
Bam Bam: Do I want 100
Gizmo: of those?
That's a $1,500 commitment.
Bam Bam: Do I want 100 of those?
Gizmo: Guys wanna split that? We talked about it the other day with Henrito.
Bam Bam: It's crazy.
Gizmo: But I, I, to me, I, I would buy five or 10 simply because the 5205 was excellent. I know people love this release as well. Henrito certainly does here in the lounge. But the 100 count commitment, I don't know a single cigar blind, [00:52:00] 'cause this is an annual release, right?
And we know how these annual releases go sometimes. They're very inconsistent. Uh, I don't know a single cigar that I would commit at $15 a pop to 100 count having not tasted it. Am I crazy?
Rooster: It would be nice to try that cigar before you commit to 100- That's
Gizmo: what I'm saying ...
Rooster: like a cabinet of 100 sticks. I mean, that's crazy.
Gizmo: Like, why not sell them in fivers, tenners, 25s, and sell the cajon of, of 100 cigars? Like, I mean-
Rooster: So wouldn't a retail shop buy the 100, like the cab, and
Gizmo: sell
Rooster: singles?
Gizmo: Break it up. Break it up. Of course, I'm sure they would. Yeah, sure they would. But the intention here, my point is why can't I get a, a closed package of less than 100 count?
That's crazy.
Senator: Yeah, I mean, a perfect example. It, it, it hurts them in the sense that Henrito heard about this release, was interested in trying it, messaged us, and once we realized it's 100 count box, I mean- You need to
Gizmo: recruit 10 people
Senator: That's the thing. And so, like, we were prepared to move forward. If it was a [00:53:00] normal, like, 20 count box-
Gizmo: Which I thought it was.
Remember? Right. I said, "I'll take eight or 10,"
Senator: whatever- Right ...
Gizmo: for the review.
Senator: And I said I'd take five. Like, we thought- Yeah ... everything would be fine. Once we realized that, guess what? We did not order it because there's no way that we wanna split up 100 sticks when none of us have even tried it.
Rooster: Mm-hmm.
Well, this is not the first time. I mean, this is what, the second or third? This is the 10th. 10th release.
Gizmo: Release of the 6102.
Senator: And,
Gizmo: but I
Senator: don't think all of-
Gizmo: It debuted in, in 2016 I think they,
Rooster: have they all been, like,
Senator: 100? I don't think so. No. Because the fact that Henrito, who's had these before- I think the
Rooster: last one was, though.
The release before this was also 100 count.
Gizmo: I think the reason why they're doing 100 count on this is this is looking, apparently Kyle Gellis, who owns Warped, said that it would probably be the last release of the 6102 R. So I think that's why they're doing this. A- and I said it was the 10th, it's the 10th anniversary of the original release.
It came out in '16 with 150 boxes, returned again in '20, and then I guess since then it's been released pretty consistently. But I, I just find it very [00:54:00] odd, you know, that you're, you're, you're committing people to 100 cigars. That's a $1,500 spend on a, on a blind cigar. It's a lot of money.
Chef Ricky: Yeah, it is
Gizmo: So we'll see what happens.
Hopefully we can get our hands on a, on, on a couple of those, maybe small batch or somebody will get them. I got a flavor update. Oh, here we go.
Chef Ricky: Okay. Getting a Toblerone bar right now. Nougat and nut, baby. Yeah, nougat I can see. That's
Rooster: actually a good call-out.
Bam Bam: Yeah, nougat's there.
Gizmo: I can't tell you the last time I had Toblerone.
Chef Ricky: Oh.
Gizmo: When I was a kid, it always annoyed me. My dad would travel to Europe, and he would come back with these things, and it was a triangle, and you're t-
Chef Ricky: Mm-hmm.
Gizmo: It's too much work. Christmas. Yeah, it's too much work.
Bam Bam: It's light, though. What's, what's the-
Chef Ricky: The nougat's light, but it's there ... what's
Rooster: too much work?
Gizmo: It's like in a triangle. You gotta unpack it. Break it just- You gotta crack it off ... snap a piece off and eat it? Yeah, it's a little too much work. For eight-year-old Giz, it was too much work.
Chef Ricky: It is an adult candy bar. I can- It's, it's not a child's candy bar. I
Gizmo: will say that. Well, he brought it home to me like he was Willy Wonka.
Chef Ricky: Yeah.
Gizmo: You know, come returning.
Chef Ricky: It's 'cause he forg- he forgot to get something to bring you- That's ex- and he stopped at the airport ... and he walked by. Yeah, exactly. It's like, "Oh, look, I, yeah. [00:55:00] It's a great fucking day." This is
Gizmo: perfect for the kid.
Chef Ricky: Didn't wanna come home empty-handed.
Gizmo: Yeah.
Senator: I will say, on the bands, I was relieved to discover that it's actually not all one band.
The San Andrés piece is- Is a second ... a second band. Correct. Which if they just didn't include it, this already looks better without that.
Bam Bam: I
Senator: like- That would even be an improvement ...
Bam Bam: I liked with that thinner secondary band alone.
Gizmo: Honestly, this is a really beautiful cigar.
Bam Bam: Yeah, it's-
Gizmo: And it's really well constructed.
Bam Bam: It's handsome.
Gizmo: And I think going back to our earlier point, I think the one detriment to this cigar, the only thing that we've called out, obviously you, you called it out very early and very, with a lot of enthusiasm-
Bam Bam: Vigorously ...
Gizmo: is the bands, are really the only problem I have with this right now.
Bam Bam: Yeah, I, I will say that I didn't, I wasn't crazy about this cigar in that beginning of the first third, but it is now-
Senator: It has developed nice.
Bam Bam: It is so- Yeah ... fucking good right now.
Senator: Yeah.
Gizmo: Yeah. It's
Bam Bam: excellent.
Gizmo: It is. This is a brilliant cigar.
Bam Bam: It's
Gizmo: ridiculous. Brilliant. This is one of the best cigars we've had in a long time. It's
Bam Bam: surprising,
Senator: at least at this point. If you gave me this blind with no bands [00:56:00] and asked me the price point, I would guess this has to be 20 bucks.
Gizmo: Yeah. And would you have guessed Nicaragua?
Bam Bam: Hmm.
Senator: Yeah, I would've I probably would
Bam Bam: have
Gizmo: too. Maybe, yeah. Okay. And w- what manufacturer or what factory, like, where would you have placed this blind, having never heard of Powstanie, right?
Senator: I mean, the hard thing is I think we've all said it's very unique. There's not really another cigar any of us have compared this to.
Mm-hmm. So I, I would say it's nothing we've had, 'cause I, I don't think it's similar enough to any one marca.
Gizmo: That's correct.
Rooster: And the cigar is, like, medium- Yeah ... like you mentioned earlier. Yeah. So it's very versatile. Very
Gizmo: smooth.
Rooster: And you can smoke this in the daytime, in the evening- Sure ... anytime.
Gizmo: I think that this is, you know, you, you, you talk about a cigar that I think is very approachable, ton of flavor, but it's not requiring of, you know, going back to our conversation a couple weeks ago, of an expert palate-
Rooster: Mm-hmm
Gizmo: to appreciate it. I think that this is a cigar that-
Rooster: The notes are distinct.
Gizmo: Yeah. Yeah. I think a new smoker could pick this up tomorrow- Sure ... having smoked five cigars-
Bam Bam: Yeah ...
Gizmo: and [00:57:00] this would knock their socks off.
Bam Bam: I also think a bunch of the guys in here in the club
Chef Ricky: would love this.
Gizmo: Mm-hmm. I think this is gonna be a hit in this club.
I think so, too.
Chef Ricky: Can't
Gizmo: wait to see this- Especially at that price point ...
Chef Ricky: can't wait to see this ugly band pop up all over fucking Jess. At
Gizmo: least we'll know, at least we'll know what it is. All right, couple more for you here, boys, on news. Two more. This one's coming out of Cuba. There's a new African regional edition for Bolívar.
Chef Ricky: Here's a Cuban news.
Bam Bam: How are they continuing to re- make these releases? They
Gizmo: just keep announcing stuff.
Bam Bam: It's just an announcement. That's all it is. This one's for
Gizmo: the, this one's for the
Rooster: entire continent.
Gizmo: Correct.
Bam Bam: This is old
Gizmo: school. The entire continent. Guess what it's called
It's the Bolívar Safari.
Bam Bam: Oh, wow. Genius.
Gizmo: So this is for, like Rooster just said, the entire continent of Africa. It's like a Vigia,
Rooster: right? That size with the pigtail.
Gizmo: Yes, it's a 54 ring gauge cigar by four and three-eighths inches long.
Rooster: Torres, Torres or something.
Gizmo: The Torres, [00:58:00] yes. It, it's the factory name in the Cuban factories.
Same size as the Trinidad Vigia, or the Vigia.
Rooster: Rooster still gets
Gizmo: his Cuban- Vigia. Vigia is technically, I guess, how you pronounce that. I was
Chef Ricky: gonna say, I wanna know Rooster's... I, I wanna know your routine because obviously you find time to- He still gets his Cuban newspaper delivered to his driveway ... you find time to keep up
Gizmo: with your cigar,
Chef Ricky: uh- Correct
information.
Rooster: Well, Giz, uh, actually sends me a message every,
Gizmo: every d- every- Well, I'm required to by our contract. I'm required to send him a, uh- I'm like, uh-
Rooster: Es- especially when it's got a pigtail, he's gotta let-
Gizmo: Yeah ... know that it's a pig tail. It, it... Giz GPT over here. I just send him a note every day with the n- the latest updates on
Senator: pigtails.
I left that out of my contract. Just caviar once a month is in mine.
Gizmo: So yeah, this is a, uh, like I said, it, it's, like Rooster said, it's the same size as the Trinidad Vigia, and it has pigtails. It's the first pig-tailed cigar from Bolívar.
Bam Bam: Okay, that's why Rooster followed
Gizmo: this closely. This is pretty wild.
Bam Bam: Yet another cigar we will never, ever see.
Gizmo: So Phoenicia, correct-
Rooster: Unless you're [00:59:00] in Africa
Gizmo: In, in Africa. Not even there Phoenicia, who is based out of Cyprus, obviously we've talked about them quite a bit over the years here on the pod. They are the exclusive Cuban distributor, obviously in Cyprus, but also in Africa, as well as many other parts of the world.
These cigars are gonna come in boxes of 12, retailing for roughly 43 euros per cigar, which is just under 50 bucks. So, you think about the Trinidad Vigia- The size of that
Bam Bam: It's a short robusto
Gizmo: For $50 for that second band and a pigtail. Mm-hmm. I know you're gonna pay it.
Rooster: That's
Gizmo: not bad. But I don't think I would pay that.
I think it's a little, little, uh, pricey. So pretty, um, pretty wild. Nice little package there, 12 cigars. It has a flip-top lid on it. Oh. Like a cedar box, like a lacquered box- That's
Bam Bam: cool ...
Gizmo: with a flip-top lid, which is pretty cool. So- Again,
Bam Bam: we'll never see that,
Chef Ricky: but
Gizmo: that's fine. Yeah, I, I... It is, again, it's just, um, it's- That was a very appropriate-
pretty expensive ...
Chef Ricky: motion. It was like an elephant trunk in honor of the Safari.
Gizmo: Oh. Oh, look at you,
Bam Bam: chef.
Gizmo: Wow. We are on fire [01:00:00] tonight. Wow. Look at what a good cigar does for this room.
Bam Bam: You're a very
Gizmo: visual person, aren't you? We've, we're, now we've, we've been to Bushkill, we've been to Sparta. Bushkill. W- Bushwick, whatever the fuck it is.
Bush- Bu- Bushkill is in PA. Now, yeah, correct. Now we're in, uh- Now we're in- Now we're in Africa. Okay, we're in Cyprus. We're all over the place tonight. So the run of these cigars is gonna be 16,666 boxes. Probably a lucky number, a lot of sixes. Yeah, right. And just shy of 200,000 cigars. Oh,
Bam Bam: yeah, sure. That's gonna happen.
Gizmo: So I, uh, again, like you said, Bam, a lot of cigars apparently coming, and I don't think that we will ever see them in person.
Bam Bam: I'd like a listener out there anywhere in the world, I don't
Gizmo: care where you are- Who's not at the launch event. You're not a, like, I wanna see it in a retail shop.
Bam Bam: Yeah, I w- I want, I would love to hear if these things are actually real or it's just propaganda.
Yeah.
Gizmo: We do have some listeners in Africa, I know that. So if, if we, any of you folks out there in Africa, if you see these in a retail shop, or La Casa del Habano, or whatever it may be- Please tell us ... please tell us about it [01:01:00] And finally, tonight on News Boys, La Aurora, our friends over there, have announced three limited edition cigars.
They're coming out with new versions, according to Cigar Aficionado here, of their LE Preferidos Hors d'Age and Puro Vintage brands. So there's three cigars in total. So one is the Puro Vintage 2016 made with a five country blend consisting of an Ecuadorian Havana wrapper, Brazilian binder, and filler from the DR, Nicaragua, and Colombia.
All of the tobaccos in that cigar were harvested 10 years ago in 2016. Made in one size, a Salomon, 60 ring gauge at its thickest point by six and a half inches long. That's a pretty big cigar.
Senator: Hmm.
Gizmo: So this is what I like about this. The cigars will retail for $28 a piece. Nice. That is a good price. Correct.
Now, the reason why I'm bringing this up is I wanna celebrate manufacturers like La Aurora here in this story, and [01:02:00] even, you know, La Flor Dominicana with the 10 years aged tobaccos in that new Maduro and Andalusian Bull. I like seeing serious age statements on cigars. 10 years aged tobacco at a price point under $30 for a six-and-a-half-inch Salomon.
I like seeing that because we've seen the Davidoff stuff where they're combining all the... Like, if, if La Aurora were to do this, this cigar might have 150 years of tobacco age in it. But, you know, they're doing it right 'cause they're saying five, five different leaves, they're adding it all up to, like, this is the right way to do it.
Yeah. So I like seeing that, and I like seeing a good price on that. So La Aurora Hors d'Age, I can't pronounce that, forgive me, gets its name from the cognac term that translates to beyond age The 2025 in their name is when the cigars were rolled, so they've been aging for over a year now. Coming up on two years almost.
And this is, in the Hors d'age, so this is the second cigar. Every leaf in the blend was aged a minimum of [01:03:00] 12 years-
Bam Bam: Mm ...
Gizmo: on this one. Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper and binder, which has a combination of fillers from Colombia, Nicaragua, and the DR. So this is coming in two vitolas, a 54 by 5 3/4 Toro, and a 40 by 6 7/8 inches long Lancero.
Wow. So we're seeing an LE 12 years aged tobacco Lancero coming from La Aurora. So- Wow ... this is definitely one that we're gonna wanna get our hands on. And again, 12 years aged tobacco in all of these cigars, these Hors d'age, both of these vitolas. Guess what the retail price on this is?
Bam Bam: 13 bucks.
Gizmo: $25 and $31.50 respectively.
I think that is- It's great ... kudos to those guys. Yeah. Shipping later this year. There will only be 500 boxes of the Lancero, and 700 of the Toro allocated to the US. Of course, all these cigars are produced at their DR factory in Santiago, uh, which I've been fortunate to visit a couple times now. Hell of an operation.
And again, [01:04:00] really bringing it up because I like seeing those accurate age statements and great prices on aged cigars. So that's news tonight, boys.
Chef Ricky: That's it.
Bam Bam: Well done.
Gizmo: Well, I have two hours of Cuban news coming after the break.
Chef Ricky: Oh, boy.
Gizmo: Can I get some of that scotch, please?
Chef Ricky: Bam, you should describe this bottle, 'cause it's a very different bottle from what we usually have when it comes to scotch.
Bam Bam: Well, it kinda reminds me of, um, what's the, um, s- um, the-
Chef Ricky: Looks a little
Bam Bam: four squares ... the whiskey that we have at, uh, the north, the North Lounge. Oh,
Senator: Redbreast?
Bam Bam: It kinda reminds me of that bottle. Mm-hmm. Shorter, stout. It's amber. Even
Senator: has- Yeah, yeah ... the shape is also similar to Balvenie.
Bam Bam: Yeah, that's true. It's just not a clear
Senator: glass.
Bam Bam: It's the- It's an amber glass. Yeah. It's very old school-ish. Yeah. It's, it's very pretty, and I love the, the ba- the label. Nicely printed.
Gizmo: Mm-hmm. It's classic.
Bam Bam: Yeah, it's very
Gizmo: classic. It has that kinda cream background to it. Yeah, yep. It's not like a white.
Bam Bam: Yep, very nice.
Gizmo: With the red detail.
Bam Bam: Yeah.
Gizmo: I, I still, again, going back to the name, I can't believe that there's an L-
in Glenfarclas.
Bam Bam: Yeah, yeah. The amber
Gizmo: bottle- It's, I f- feel weird saying it.
Bam Bam: The amber bottle is beautiful.
Gizmo: Yeah, it's really nice.
Bam Bam: Yep. [01:05:00]
Gizmo: Again, 180 years, family-owned.
Bam Bam: So Senator-
Gizmo: Pretty awesome ... have you
Bam Bam: had this? This is on your list of, for us to do.
Senator: Yeah. So the funny thing is I've had the 10, which is, like, the airplane bottle stuff, and I did not think it was particularly great Giz, uh, had mentioned some listeners said for our five-year that we should do the Glenfarclas 30, and, or Farclas.
And funny enough, I had heard that's a great bottle. It's like a $700 bottle. Oh. We're obviously not gonna do- Is that
Bam Bam: in our... That's in our
Senator: budget. Unless that listener- Yeah, that's in our budget, yeah ... unless that listener wants to send that to us, we'll happily review it.
Gizmo: He's gonna send little airplane bottles of it.
Senator: But, um-
Gizmo: Everybody gets a sip.
Bam Bam: He'll
Senator: send
Bam Bam: a
Senator: case.
Gizmo: Yeah.
Senator: I was genuinely shocked, like, hearing from multiple sources that the 30-year bottle they make is, like, a really, really premium bottle of single malt scotch, and my impression of this brand was it's a very budget-friendly scotch. So I was just shocked to see they even made that.
Then I had heard that the 12-year is actually good, so I said, you know- Yeah ... if they make something as crazy as a [01:06:00] $700 30-year, I've had the 10, I don't think it's great, you know, maybe the 12 with some more time has something worth trying. And this has definitely performed. I
Bam Bam: agree. It's really good. It's delicious.
Here's a question for all of you.
Gizmo: Yep.
Bam Bam: How versatile do you think this is? Is this something you'll drink- Very. Incredible. Oh, my
Senator: God. I just think it pairs with- Incredible ... everything we smoke.
Bam Bam: Everything. Including Cubans. Yep. This is a year-round spirit for you?
Gizmo: Yeah,
Bam Bam: sure. For sure. Deep, deep summer, outside in the heat?
Yep. Yeah.
Rooster: Yeah? Oh, absolutely. We're drinking this neat.
Bam Bam: Just asking. It's
Rooster: 73 degrees
Bam Bam: outside
Rooster: right now.
Bam Bam: That's true.
Rooster: Yeah.
Senator: Yeah. Yeah, it's like a summer night.
Bam Bam: Yeah, I know.
Rooster: Is there a 15 and an 18 also, or?
Senator: I have to imagine, yes. A 21. But I'm not sure. Have to imagine.
Bam Bam: I'd love to have this with an Exclusivo.
Senator: Oh,
Gizmo: yeah.
Yeah. That'd be amazing. I think it'd be great with a... Oh,
Bam Bam: honestly,
Gizmo: any, any Nicaraguan. I think it'd be great with any Dominican cigar that we smoke.
Bam Bam: How about the Concerto, Sonata?
Gizmo: Oh, yeah.
Bam Bam: Yeah?
Gizmo: Oh, yeah. Okay. Partagás Maduro.
Bam Bam: Oh, yeah.
Gizmo: Yeah. Bolívar, we were just talking about Bolívar. Yep. The Petit Corona. The Safari.
The Royal Co- Yeah, the Safari. The Royal Corona.
Bam Bam: Yeah.
Senator: [01:07:00] Yeah, they have a 15, a 17, an 18, a 25-
Bam Bam: Wow ...
Senator: a 30. They've got a lot.
Bam Bam: A lot to explore.
Senator: I mean, the 25 for, uh, another milestone. It's 360. We've done, you know, crazy bottles at that price point. So yeah, we'll, we'll do more of this.
Bam Bam: That's within budget.
Rooster: What is the most aged scotch have you ever had?
You had something above 30?
Gizmo: I have not. No. Above 30, no.
Senator: No.
Rooster: But you have, you've had 30.
Gizmo: I've
Senator: not had 30. I've, I've had 30. So I had a Cragganmore 30, um, which I actually did not like.
Bam Bam: I like the Cragganmore, the younger, um-
Gizmo: Have we done that? We- I
Bam Bam: don't
Gizmo: think we've done that here, have we? ...
Senator: expressions. No. No. We did, I think.
Did we do a
Bam Bam: Cragganmore?
Senator: We did. We did. Yeah. I remember that name. We did the 12. I don't remember saying
Bam Bam: that.
Senator: It was okay. Th- this is in the early days, 'cause that was on my early list.
Gizmo: Got it.
Senator: Yeah, 30's probably the oldest I've had.
Gizmo: Mm.
Senator: Does it just get smoother and smoother- No, that's the problem ... with the older?
So the [01:08:00] Cragganmore 30 I had, it was hot as can be. Really? What?
Gizmo: What was the, uh... Do you know what the, the proof was w- on it?
Senator: I'm not sure. It, it... There's no question it's above 40. Low 80s. I mean, it- Oh, you
Gizmo: think so?
Senator: Oh, had to be. Yeah. I mean, this... It was hot.
Gizmo: Mm.
Senator: I couldn't drink it neat, honestly. I had a few sips, and I, I wanted to put it down.
I mean- I mean, I wonder
Rooster: if the water- This is a very expensive bottle ... kind of evaporates as, as it ages, and it gets more concentrated- I
Gizmo: would think,
Rooster: yeah ... and hotter. Yeah. But
Gizmo: you would
Rooster: think
Gizmo: that the flavor- But, but like you look, look at all the other ones, like the Balvenie PortWood. You know, I know that's only 21, it's not 30, but-
Senator: I mean, it depends on the blend, too.
You can't- Yeah ... it's not just a function of the age. Like, the classic example of this is our Macallan experience. Macallan 15 used to be way hotter than Macallan 12.
Gizmo: Mm.
Senator: Now Macallan 15 is nectar, like we're describing. Yeah, that was, that was a
Gizmo: killer.
Senator: Yes. I mean, it's smooth as can be, but the blend was just different, and it, it was a hotter spirit even with more time and more age.
Gizmo: Mm-hmm. So boys, I had a question coming in tonight, uh, kind of thinking about the palate discussion we had, like, [01:09:00] I don't know if it was last week or the week before. You know- Cracking
Chef Ricky: over 30 is 49%.
Gizmo: 49, there you go.
Chef Ricky: Okay,
Gizmo: that makes sense. It's almost 100 proof. Yeah. Yeah. So I wanted to, to, to kind of go back to that in a way, and I actually think that this is a perfect s- you know, question to have for you guys tonight, especially given the cigar we have in our hands.
And again, I'm totally surprised by it. I'm blown away. Shout out to these guys at Powstanie. I mean, it's amazing. So my question for you tonight, as, as it relates to palate and those kind of things, and developing that, but specific to the cigar, what makes a cigar complex? And I've had listeners ask me this in the past.
What, in your eyes, makes a cigar complex? Is it tons of flavor? Is it tons of transition? Is it balanced? Is it a, is there some sort of version of intensity that comes into it? Like, for someone who doesn't know simple, complex, et cetera, how would you [01:10:00] define what a complex cigar is? And would you put this cigar in that category tonight?
Bam Bam: I think it's several factors. Correct. Yeah. It can't be a single factor. I, in my opinion, if the cigar is a two or three-act play and it transitions smoothly, and yet maintains, uh, um, an, you know, a touch of sophistication and the, and it's velvety and, and you're capturing notes that are consistent from beginning to end, that, for me, defines-
Senator: Complex
Bam Bam: a com- a complex cigar.
Senator: Okay. For me, it's a little different. Uh, for me, it's one thing. If I'm getting several distinct flavor notes- It's complex
Bam Bam: That's what I just said.
Senator: But, but- No.
Bam Bam: Yeah, I said- It does not- ... if you're capturing multiple notes as you're transitioning through acts- You
Senator: said it's several factors for you- Oh, yeah
and that if it's a multiple act play- That's one, that's one factor ... I'm saying it does not have to be a multiple act play. It can all be one act. But if throughout that one act- Correct ... there's several different distinct notes, [01:11:00] even if those notes are the same all the way through, to me, that's complex.
Bam Bam: In your opinion.
Senator: Hence we're not saying the same thing.
Rooster: Right.
Bam Bam: Johnny.
Rooster: I'm glad we got to the bottom of that. I'm glad we got to the bottom of that. Yeah, baby. So the cigar doesn't have to have three acts to be complex. No, of
Bam Bam: course. No. Two
Rooster: acts, three, yeah. As long as the flavor notes are very distinct- Yeah ... and, and the flavor is full, flavor is not muted, the notes are distinct, and they are throughout- Mm-hmm
the cigar.
Senator: Yep. That's, that's- But several notes- Several notes. Yeah ... 'cause, like, that's the thing. I think, like, some, to some listener, and I would disagree, a full-flavored cigar is complex. I completely disagree.
Bam Bam: Mm-hmm.
Senator: It, it's not, it can't have just one or two notes that are really full. It's gotta have, like, three, four, five, maybe six distinct notes that are really prominent on your palate.
That's the complex piece, that there's so many.
Gizmo: But I think there's also an element of delivery, too. Yes. Oh, of course. Like we have tonight- Of course ... in this Nicaraguan cigar. I think this is an incredibly complex [01:12:00] cigar because of all the reasons you just said. Yep. But it's also delivered on, like, a pillow.
Senator: It is. You
Gizmo: know what
Senator: I mean? So I disagree. No. Really? For me, no, no, no. When I say a cigar is refined, I'm talking about the delivery mechanism.
Gizmo: Ah,
Senator: okay. So, like, there's all those distinct notes, and then when I say it has such a refined delivery, a smooth delivery, that's a whole other factor or layer- Agree with that
to me that's not part of the complex conversation. It's another step, yep.
Gizmo: So what's more important to you, complexity or refinement? If you had to pick one.
Senator: Um, I mean, if I had to pick one, I'm gonna pick complexity, but you can't have a truly outstanding cigar without both of those things being true.
Gizmo: Because I would think if you're getting a ton of flavors and it's complex, but it's got those rough edges, when we get to the rating, you're gonna punish it for those rough edges. That's
Senator: for sure. And the same thing. You know? I can have a really smooth cigar, but if there's really- There's not- ... not many flavor, like- Well, flavor
Gizmo: I think is paramount.
Senator: That's the thing. Yeah. Yeah. That's why I'm gonna prioritize.
Rooster: I mean, if, if you look at a Padrón 80th, that cigar is complex. It's got flavor. It's got distinct notes. And- Refined ... s- refined-
Gizmo: Yeah ...
Rooster: delivery, smooth. It's a perfect cigar.
Bam Bam: [01:13:00] Yeah. Exceptional.
Rooster: You know? Yep.
Bam Bam: But if you're gonna live in that Padrón world right now, I don't think you have to spend that money to get that experience.
No, you could, you know, the Exclusivo. You'll get it in the Exclusivo. Yep.
Gizmo: You're right.
Bam Bam: That's correct.
Gizmo: You can. But I don't- Absolutely. Here's, so here, I wanted to go to the Exclusivo, 'cause we talk about this a lot, and we've said this, I think all of us agree pretty flat out on this. It's a one-act play.
Bam Bam: Mm-hmm.
Gizmo: Yeah. Right? And while it's refined- Is it complex?
Rooster: It is. It is Not having-
Gizmo: But
Bam Bam: you're capturing multiple notes
Gizmo: in that cigar Okay. I
Rooster: think it is, because it is a one-act play, but the flavors are very pronounced.
Bam Bam: Mm-hmm. And the delivery-
Rooster: And the delivery is smooth ...
Bam Bam: is outstanding.
Senator: So I just wanna say, I think it's a really great question and a really- Yes
great example.
Rooster: Yes.
Senator: Because obviously, the Exclusivo, it's one of my all-time GOAT cigars. Mm-hmm.
Gizmo: Yes. Can
Senator: I say- I would consider it complex, but I wanna be clear, it's not that complex.
Gizmo: Yep.
Senator: Totally. I agree. The flavor notes that are distinct- That's why I
Gizmo: asked, 'cause I don't, I wouldn't describe
Senator: it as complex Yes.
I don't know. I would- I'd say this cigar is more complex ... I would, I would Levels. Levels. Without a doubt. I [01:14:00] would. I, I would describe it as complex, just to clarify, but it's not that complex.
Bam Bam: Hm.
Senator: Like, I can- Are we, are we
Bam Bam: varying the complexity?
Senator: Of course. Different complexities. There's, that's a perfectly legitimate thing to do.
The
Rooster: 80th is more complex than an Exclusivo.
Senator: Right,
Rooster: for sure.
Bam Bam: Yeah,
Rooster: yeah. Okay. For sure. And the 60th is even more than the 80th.
Senator: Right. I, I agree with that. Just like there are cigars that are more refined, less refined. That's true. So I think it's perfectly valid.
Rooster: Yeah.
Senator: But I just think that's a really great example, because we hold that cigar on such a pedestal, and I never make any allusions with that cigar that this is gonna be the most complex thing someone's ever gonna have.
It's not. But it's
Chef Ricky: consistent.
Senator: It's consistent. Yeah. It, and it's complex enough that it, it's so incredibly satisfying. That's
Chef Ricky: right.
Senator: But it's not, like Rooster said, more complex than an 80th
Rooster: But an aged Exclusivo will get more complex
Chef Ricky: I wouldn't know what that's like.
Senator: Yeah, but still not that complex The flavors would be more- Still not that complex
would be
Rooster: deeper
Chef Ricky: Did, did you buy those on Bond Roberts New World too?
Senator: No, no, but see, see- They haven't popped up
Chef Ricky: yet ...
Senator: there, there's a, there's a problem in that statement. So you said the flavors will get deeper. That's my point about complexity. [01:15:00] It's not about the strength of the flavor, it's about how many distinct flavors, and time is not gonna introduce all these, all the new distinct flavors that were never even remotely part of the blend.
So I've had, you know, I, uh, we all know I've loaded up in years past on Exclusivos, so- You? It wasn't until- No ... honestly, it wasn't until this year that I started smoking out of my own collection- Mm-hmm ... single banded Exclusivos. Yeah. They were all with the two bands, the old stuff I bought years ago. Yeah.
So my Exclusivos were all four or five plus years aged. There's no new notes that came into that cigar. The flavor was, was it a little smoother? Did it get a bit more refined? Slightly more refined, yeah. But can I ever say that it got more complex? No. Like, the 80th is a different blend, which is a more complex one, which is why it's more complex, but time can't just solve for that complexity is all I'm suggesting.
Gizmo: I think time solves for refinement. I, I think- And delivery Yes ... and delivery. And delivery. I agree. I [01:16:00] think it, I think when you have- That's correct ... a cigar with rough edges- It smooths out ... it's not all the time.
Chef Ricky: Right.
Gizmo: Mm-hmm. Not every cigar. We've had aged cigars that are sharp as hell.
Senator: And it can accentuate- Like razors
existing flavors, right? Yes. Yeah. Like, we
Gizmo: talked about some- It's not bringing new stuff into
Senator: the cigar That's the thing.
Chef Ricky: I just wanna say as the resident chef in the room, if we had a ding, ding, ding soundbite there, I would play it for Senator.
Gizmo: Mm.
Chef Ricky: Because I think he's spot on with what complexity is.
Gizmo: Yeah, I don't have a ding, ding, ding.
Chef Ricky: Yeah.
Rooster: You gotta- I apologize.
Gizmo: Er, er, er, er. Well, I have that.
Rooster: I mean, some of the Cuban cigars are very complex. Of course. Yeah. You know, you get lot of t- lot of different flavors coming out of them.
Gizmo: So, so all right, so let's take that, let, let's take it a step further. And I, I don't wanna just do Cuban.
Obviously, we're not smoking that many Cuban cigars these days, for all the different reasons we've discussed a thousand times. If you, if a listener were to say, "Hey, guys, uh, uh, you know, give me your top two or three complex-
Bam Bam: Mm ...
Gizmo: [01:17:00] cigars from a flavor standpoint, both Cuban and New World," right? What cigars would you put in that conversation?
Rooster: La Gloria Cubana Médaille d’Or No. 2.
Gizmo: Which we're gonna be smoking in two weeks on our-
Rooster: It's a very complex cigar ... five-year anniversary episode. You got a lot of flavor.
Gizmo: Can't wait
Rooster: for that. A lot of different notes.
Gizmo: Yeah.
Rooster: And it, and it also changes. Mm-hmm. It's not just a one-act play.
Gizmo: Correct.
Senator: D- Can I just make a quick side point?
'Cause I just thought of this. We all hold the Vegas Robaina Clásico 2011- I
Gizmo: smoked one last night, by the way ...
Senator: that's right. Mm-hmm. It was
Gizmo: awesome.
Senator: As- It was fucking
Gizmo: great ...
Senator: probably the greatest Cuban cigar we've ever had.
Gizmo: Mm-hmm.
Senator: Why there are different, you know, many factors here. I, I wanna be clear, I will never describe that cigar as the most complex cigar I've ever had.
I actually think the flavor notes are pretty, I don't wanna say limited, 'cause they're not. There's range, but it's a pretty defined set of flavor notes that you get.
Rooster: It's pretty straightforward for
Senator: what you get. That's the thing.
Rooster: Yeah.
Senator: But the flavor notes are things we [01:18:00] absolutely love and chase,
Rooster: and- And
Senator: the delivery
Rooster: vehicle
Senator: is just fucking
Rooster: brilliant
Senator: the delivery- Yeah ... the refinement- It's perfect. It's creamy ... of that cigar is outrageous.
Gizmo: That's correct.
Senator: And we hold that as, like, the Holy Grail of Cuban cigars, so I'm just using that as an example for the listener. I think it may be helpful, that it's not necessarily just the case that the most complex cigar equals the greatest cigar.
There are other factors, and that cigar proves where the refinement is just so spectacular that, for us, that's our Holy Grail.
Gizmo: And I think that's why the, the Exclusivo's in that same kinda conversation. Yeah, that's true. Obviously, we're talking two very different cigars, but neither- It's- ... can really be described as
Rooster: incredibly-
Gizmo: The most complex
Rooster: complex. Look, I think the Davidoff Maxamar that we just did-
Gizmo: Yeah, that was very,
Rooster: very complex ... yeah, very complex ... you know? I mean, I think that's a very complex cigar.
Gizmo: Yeah?
Rooster: Because you can pick out those flavor notes, and they're very pronounced.
Bam Bam: Correct.
Rooster: Yeah. You know? And it's a very smooth and a refined experience.
Bam Bam: Yeah.
Chef Ricky: The Coh- I'll give you a n- Kelner LE 80. [01:19:00]
Bam Bam: Yeah. Oh, Cohiba. All
Gizmo: right. Yeah.
Chef Ricky: Ding, ding, ding,
Senator: right here, Beck- ...'cause that's exactly what was on my mind.
Chef Ricky: Sorry.
Senator: No, no, it's great. Good
Bam Bam: call-out, man.
Chef Ricky: Yeah I, I think almost any cigar that I've had that Kelner has made is, it's super complex. It's almost like- Agreed
that's his intention when, when- Agreed. Yeah, I
Gizmo: mean, the Stoic stuff, the Avowed stuff-
Chef Ricky: Yeah,
Gizmo: the
Chef Ricky: Stoic. Yep, yep, yep ... the Kelner,
Gizmo: everything we've
Chef Ricky: had
Gizmo: from him has been- Yeah, agreed ...
Senator: exactly that. And those are not, like, full-bodied, like, super intense flavor profiles. No, not at all. They're not. It, it's just there's so many different notes you're getting, and even though they're, they're kinda lighter in their delivery- Mm-hmm
they're, they're just, like, a perfect marriage together.
Bam Bam: And the delivery's very elegant.
Senator: Oh, yeah.
Chef Ricky: Especially on the- Super refined ... on the 80.
Bam Bam: Yeah. Yep. I do think that's, there's a factor there in a, in a, in a complex cigar. If it's delivered in a very elegant way, that elevates the experience. Yes. In addition to capturing the notes as you're going through it.
Gizmo: Mm-hmm. So what else is on the list, complex? And I also want to, for the listeners' sake, I wanna get into the, the [01:20:00] pricing range of the cigar we're smoking tonight. I, I, like, we've talked about some pretty expensive cigars. Exclusivo, obviously we pointed out, it's not terribly complex, but accessibly priced.
Let's talk under $15, cigars that are really complex.
Chef Ricky: I mean, this cigar gets a lot of play on the pod, but, uh, Last Night was the best one I've ever smoked. Um, and it was the Aging Room Concerto.
Gizmo: Mm-hmm. Mm.
Chef Ricky: Last Night was the smoothest, sweetest experience that I've had with that cigar, and I think it's what I've been chasing.
Because I've always liked it, but hearing how we speak about it here-
Bam Bam: Would you call it complex?
Gizmo: Yeah, I don't- That's what I'm... I don't- I disagree I wouldn't say it's complex. I think it's refined. I think you're talking about the delivery.
Bam Bam: The refinement.
Chef Ricky: You're right. Yeah. You're, you're talking about- You know what?
You're 100% correct ...
Gizmo: you're talking
Chef Ricky: about sharp edges
Gizmo: being smooth. '
Chef Ricky: Cause that, that is exactly what was different for me. I felt in, in my prior experiences, it was a bit, not muddled, but you know, there was, there was... It took some time to get through some harsh notes. But, you know, they were young, you know- Mm-hmm
fresh off the truck. [01:21:00] These were in my tower for, you know, quite some time. And, uh, last night I was- And that's, refinement
Rooster: is the
Chef Ricky: word ... last night I was like, "Holy shit," like I, I think I found it.
Gizmo: I, I'm gonna say, this is a definitive statement that I'm known for around here, but I would argue that most of the Nicaraguan cigars that we love-
Chef Ricky: Mm-hmm
Gizmo: are not incredibly complex. I agree with that.
Chef Ricky: Yeah.
Gizmo: Like, if you think about the cigars we're smoking out of Nicaragua in a regular rotation, you got the Exclusivo we already talked about. You just brought up the Aging Room stuff. Yeah. I would put all of the Nodal stuff, all of the Rafael Nodal stuff, I would put in that category of brilliant delivery, refined, but not-
Bam Bam: No
Gizmo: terribly complex. No, no. That Montecristo Edición Diamante that we're all smoking and we love, same thing. Yep. Maybe the Trinidad Espiritu-
Bam Bam: Oh,
Gizmo: I- ... stands one level above ...
Bam Bam: I, I totally agree with that. I do think that's touching a complex experience. I
Gizmo: think that, I think that is maybe his most complex.
Bam Bam: It, it, it touches that, yeah.
I don't disagree.
Gizmo: You know, I, I think that Aging Room, the Blue Amber we did at PCA, I think that was maybe a step up [01:22:00] complexity wise. Mm. And again- And- ... for the listener, we're not commenting on quality, enjoyment, et cetera. Like- Mm-hmm ... we, we love all the cigars we're talking about here. So it's not a knock.
Senator: No. And I
Gizmo: would just- But it's a really definitive thing we're talking about, which is complexity.
Senator: Yeah. On Aging Room I know most of us love the Sonata as well. I know Giz, that's not necessarily his favorite
Gizmo: Honestly, I'm glad I don't have any more because I'm totally out on that cigar. I
Senator: don't understand that.
So I lit one- I can't stand it. I can't understand that ... I lit one up. I l- I mean, the only thing I will agree with Giz on, I do think that there is more variation in the experience you have Sonata to Sonata than there are in the Orange Band or the Concerto line. I think those are more consistent. I, I'm Blue Band all the
Gizmo: time.
That's my move there. Hm.
Senator: Hm. But the thing with the Sonata, so I, I won't lie, I started considering maybe having the Sonata f- completely out of my rotation. What? I have three Sonatas left. I
Gizmo: feel, I feel vindicated. Can I just say? Uh, I,
Senator: I- Just hear me out. Just hear me out. That's a, that's- Just hear me, 'cause you haven't heard the whole conversation.
Okay. All right. Okay.
Gizmo: Just hear me out.
Senator: So I, I thought [01:23:00] about it. I've been toying with this. I couldn't live without Sonatas. Now I'm at a point I have exactly three left as of last night. Now two left, 'cause I smoked one, and I was debating not refilling my stock and just moving on from that and keeping the Concerto and the Orange Band in my regular rotation.
The Sonata I lit up last night was easily one of the best Sonatas I've ever had. Oh,
Gizmo: I wish you didn't say that. And you're back in.
Senator: Where I'm giving, you know, Giz credit in, in I do think there is more variation, the experience. I've had some bad Sonatas, some good Sonatas- Mm-hmm ... and some amazing ones.
Bam Bam: Yeah.
Senator: The Concerto, for me, is a more consistently good or great experience. But the Sonata I bring up because from a complexity standpoint, and I probably love the Concerto most of the three at this point, but the Concerto is like a milk chocolate bomb. Mm-hmm. It's a pretty straightforward flavor profile. Yep.
I just happen to love the flavor and think it delivers it in a smooth, refined way. [01:24:00] That Sonata, and even when we reviewed it, we called out that citrus note-
Gizmo: Yeah ...
Senator: that you get in Nicaraguan tobacco, which is so rare with the cocoa and earthiness that you would expect. That's complexity to me. Like, that is such a distinct, rare flavor that you can somehow find a way to blend in with the cocoa, the coffee, the earth, and those other more traditional notes.
So I just call that out as I think one of the cigars in the Aging Room line that when you have a great one, delivers actually a lot of complexity.
Bam Bam: So the interesting thing about the Sonata for me, I've never had a bad one. Not ever. That citrus comes and goes- in the cigars that I have. So if I have 100 of those Sonatas, I'm not getting citrus in every cigar.
Senator: Same.
Gizmo: Yeah,
Bam Bam: they're- But-
Gizmo: They're, it's kind of peaks and valleys with it Yeah,
Bam Bam: but that's okay because it's still a delicious cigar.
Gizmo: Yeah, but from, from my palate- But when it's
Senator: there, that's a complex
Bam Bam: experience ... it's a different
Gizmo: experience. For my palate, the one we reviewed on this podcast, I've not been really able to consistently [01:25:00] replicate at home.
Senator: Mm. And I agree with that. I, I, it hasn't been consistent for me either.
Gizmo: Like, that first one we had was, dude, that was- But- ... lights out ... it was amazing. Yeah. Changed, it honestly, it changed everything for, uh, like, think about where we went with Rafael Nodal blends after that. Mm-hmm. Yeah. It was because of that yellow band cigar.
Yeah. Now it, I don't even smoke it.
Bam Bam: Yeah.
Gizmo: I don't stock it, I don't smoke it.
Bam Bam: Mm-hmm.
Senator: But again, you know, like Cuban cigars where we have a varied experience, it, like, that one I had last night, it brought me right back to say it's worth the pursuit. Because even if one out of every five delivers that, yeah, I, I want that experience.
Mm-hmm. It was that good.
Gizmo: And they're probably getting better with age, as the said-
Senator: I think so ... they get
Gizmo: better. I think so,
Rooster: too.
Gizmo: All right, so I'm gonna throw some cigars at you here, 'cause I wanna hear, complex or not. Very simple, yes or no. I'm gonna throw some cigars at you that we've reviewed. Recall it out of your memory.
I'm not as good at this as you guys are, so let me just throw some at you right now. So let's start with this one. The Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust 10th Jubilee that we did- [01:26:00]
Bam Bam: I don't
Gizmo: remember that one ... pretty
Bam Bam: recently. I'm glad I'm not alone. Don't remember.
Gizmo: What about the Coronas Claro from Quai d'Orsay?
Senator: Complex.
Yeah.
Gizmo: I would say that's a
Senator: complex cigar. Sure, I mean, citrus.
Bam Bam: Yep.
Gizmo: We already talked about all the Kelner stuff, so I'm not gonna bring up Stoic, ex- et cetera. So I'm not skipping them, but we've already said that most of those are pretty complex. The Meerapfel La Estancia, I think was a very complex
Bam Bam: cigar.
So complex. Very complex. That is an excellent- Yes ... excellent fucking cigar.
Gizmo: Yeah. Brilliant. What about the Perez Carrillo, the original Pledge of Allegiance that we loved, where you talk about citrus?
Bam Bam: Oh, we
Gizmo: got it. Yeah, punching you in the face, that citrus. That cigar, I would
Bam Bam: say yes.
Senator: That original one, for
Rooster: sure.
Not the second.
Bam Bam: Yeah. No. Strange.
Gizmo: What about the Perdomo Nicaraguan Shade Grown Epicure?
Rooster: Not complex.
Gizmo: I've only had- I, I, I would disagree with you. Really? I think it's, I think it's up there on, on the complexity. I
Bam Bam: can't, I can't comment. I've only had one, and it was here.
Senator: Really? Your,
Bam Bam: your- Never had any
Senator: [01:27:00] since
experience with the Sonata giz- Then you smoke more ... is my experience with that Perdomo.
Gizmo: Dude, every one I have is great.
Senator: So I, I, the one- But is it complex? The one we had on the pod was so complex. I vividly remember we were calling out so many notes- Mm. Yep ... it was almost ridiculous how many notes. You've been saying
Chef Ricky: it was Cuban-esque.
Senator: Yes. Yeah.
Chef Ricky: Yeah. Yeah.
Senator: The box that I purchased after, they're all good A few have been great, but none have touched the level of complexity of the one that we had on the pod. So the ones that I've been smoking, I would not describe as particularly complex. They're flavors that I like, that's why I continue to smoke it, but I would not describe that as a particularly complex cigar.
Gizmo: If you want me to take your box, put it in my tower, let it acclimate, and then you can try it again- ... just, you just let me know. User error. User error, baby.
Very rarely do I have that opportunity, Senator- Could we, could we- ...
Senator: so I'm gonna take it ... RH issue? All, all I'll say is- Hey ... all I'll say is- You need
Gizmo: a little kitty litter.
Senator: We can pull, we can pull some [01:28:00] stuff out of my Humidor, the scores. I've had some perfect tens on this
Gizmo: pod. You have. You have. All right, here's another one.
The Partagás D4. Is that a complex cigar?
Bam Bam: I would say
Gizmo: no. I think, I, I think it is.
Senator: I don't, I don't agree with that.
Bam Bam: I don't know.
Gizmo: I feel- I think there's a lot of flavor
Senator: there. I think there, I think- There's flavor ... I think there's complexity there. A
Gizmo: good aged D4 can be complex.
Senator: I agree.
Bam Bam: Are you picking out six, four, five, six, seven different notes out of that cigar?
Senator: I mean, I think what makes that cigar unique, you know, there- I think three
Rooster: is enough for me.
Gizmo: If I can
Chef Ricky: get three notes. I think minimum is three. Okay. Minimum.
Bam Bam: Well, in that
Gizmo: case, then yes. Which, and, and honestly, that's what I'm trying to do with this exercise. Yeah. Is nail down, like, what's the baseline, like, where it's a yes versus a no.
Chef Ricky: I think a variety of flavors, and for me, that's at least three.
Bam Bam: I, I would rather, for me, I'd rather put the, a, an E2 in its place if you wanna really talk about a complex Cuban experience.
Chef Ricky: For me. I mean, my 2014 Sir Winston, that was- I mean, that's, yeah ... incredibly complex. I mean, just lights out.
Senator: I'll just say this on answering your question.
I think
Rooster: it was sticking to under $15, huh?
Senator: Oh, yes.
Rooster: I [01:29:00] forgot.
Senator: I, I'll just say this on your question. I actually, and it, it's, it's not a coincidence, I feel the same way about the D4 as I do the Padrón Exclusivo, and I think they're very similar in the sense that I would describe each as complex, but not, candidly, not all that complex.
Gizmo: Yeah,
Senator: agreed. I'm not gonna pretend- Agreed ... that a D4 is a very complex cigar. I don't think it is. Mm-hmm. But I think that there are enough distinct notes that it has complexity.
Gizmo: Mm-hmm.
Senator: So I, I put it in the exact same camp as the Exclusivo.
Gizmo: It's, it's amazing, and I, I have a couple more for you here, but it's amazing, I think, tonight, what we've kind of drilled down on, is that complexity doesn't necessarily mean excellent, and it doesn't necessarily correlate directly to the wanting to smoke that cigar over and over and over.
It doesn't necessarily, you know, uh, dictate a repeat purchase of some kind. Like, we've talked about so many of these cigars that are in our rotations every single- Yeah ... week, that we'd define- Aren't the most complex ... as not complex.
Bam Bam: Mm-hmm.
Gizmo: No. And I [01:30:00] think that's honestly a pretty interesting- When you think about that point, like, if you were to say to a layperson or even us a couple years ago, you would think, "Oh, yeah, a complex cigar, that is the definition of a great cigar," right?
But I think what we've kinda drilled down here is that it's only one sliver or one silo in the calculation of what we view as a s- a really repeating, you know, wanting to repeat-
Bam Bam: Yeah ...
Gizmo: smoking that experience in that cigar.
Bam Bam: Well, you're, you're still gonna get a delicious experience in a cigar that's not overly complex.
That's not necessarily a factor to pursue a cigar.
Gizmo: Mm-hmm. I'll just
Senator: take that further, though. You said a sliver. I don't think it's a sliver. It's
Gizmo: one silo out of five.
Senator: But, but I, I'll even go a lot further and say it's 50% of the equation. Okay. Like, I actually think the two biggest things that we look for, and the things we're gonna regularly smoke and pursue, are complexity and refinement.
Gizmo: Mm-hmm.
Senator: Like, the most important factors. And
Gizmo: consistency.
Senator: Yes, that, too. But to me, like, th- those are the secondary things, 'cause Cuban cigars are inherently not consistent. Yeah, I mean, [01:31:00] that's true. So that's why, like, for me, that's a sliver. That's a few out- But the huge things- Yeah ... it's gotta be c- have some complexity, and it's gotta be refined.
Yep. And when it over-indexes on refinement, like an Exclusivo or, I would also argue, a D4 does, it's okay that it's not that complex. Correct. Yeah. If the flavor notes are what
Bam Bam: you like. In the Cuban world, there are maybe, like, five cigars I would call out as being complex.
Gizmo: Mm.
Rooster: Maybe. You know what comes to my mind is the Partagás Culebra.
Oh. The one we did on the pod. That was complex. That was- That was sick ...
Gizmo: honestly,
Rooster: that might be the
Gizmo: most complex that we've smoked on this podcast. Very,
Rooster: very. At least the most complex Partagás, maybe. That's not a crazy-
Gizmo: No. Yeah, that's not a crazy price, you know? That's
Bam Bam: correct.
Gizmo: So I wanna get back to this in a second, boys, but we have come to the end of the second third now on the Powstanie San Andrés Belicoso, paired with this Glenfarclas 12 years aged single malt scotch whiskey.
That L is gonna kill me. What's everybody thinking of the pairing, the cigar, the drink? I am in- The cigar is- ... heaven right now ... absolutely delicious. I'm in heaven tonight. It's re-
Senator: really grown on me.
Gizmo: Yeah, it's really good, man. I'll be, yeah,
Bam Bam: it's, it's excellent. If we were rating the [01:32:00] pairing itself, it would be a perfect 10 right now.
Gizmo: Mm-hmm.
Bam Bam: There's no doubt about it. Hell, if
Senator: you rate each on its own, it could be, each could be a 10. I mean,
Gizmo: this is that good. Ho- honestly- Wilson ... honestly, we are having that kind of evening tonight.
Bam Bam: I
Gizmo: agree. Like, I, I wish Dr. P was here. I, I really do, because I think that this pairing tonight is perfect for Pagoda.
Chef Ricky: I agree.
Gizmo: It's, it's- Oh. The- I
Chef Ricky: was like, "Who's Dr. P?" I know, it took me a minute too. You mean Ash Meter?
Gizmo: That, you know what's good about the construction of this cigar tonight is we didn't need the Ash Meter, because- And
Bam Bam: we don't need a vacuum today.
Gizmo: All right. So I got a couple more for you on this exercise before we get to a couple listener emails.
Bam Bam: I have one-
Gizmo: What's yours? ...
Bam Bam: that I think touches complexity, the Aladino Cameroon.
Gizmo: That's exact- Dude, look at what I was, where I was at right now.
Bam Bam: Yeah. I, I would put that in the category, it's, it's not overly complex, but I think it's-
Gizmo: I think it's on the c-
Bam Bam: It's bumping ... honestly,
Gizmo: that is one of
Bam Bam: those, like- It's bumping the ceiling
it's teetering. It's
Gizmo: teetering.
Bam Bam: I, I, I think it bumps the ceiling of complexity.
Senator: Disagree.
Bam Bam: Yeah. I don't, I don't agree with that. You think it, it's a definite
Gizmo: complex?
Senator: [01:33:00] Nope.
Gizmo: I, I'm with you. No.
Bam Bam: I
Senator: think it's on the other side. I do, a- I just hope it's clear how honest I'm being. Yeah. 'Cause I love that cigar.
Bam Bam: Yeah.
Senator: But to me, the Aladino 85th is complex. Yes. The Cameroon is straightforward, but it just happens to be notes that I like.
Bam Bam: The thing
Senator: is, about that- And to me, a D4 is that, but more complex, which is, I would put in the complex category.
Bam Bam: The problem with the 85th is it, I think that's the most inconsistent cigar that he makes.
Senator: Really?
Bam Bam: Wow. From a
Gizmo: construction standpoint, I really do have, I, I totally
Bam Bam: agree with you. It's inconsistent. Wow. Sometimes I
Gizmo: get- So I find it- ... the draw on those,
Bam Bam: it's like a Cuban ... but I s- so I find it challenging for me to say it's complex, because there are nights where it's an incredible experience, and then there are nights where I wanna put it down.
But I do get hints of things that I like, but when it's not performing well- It's difficult to say that it's always a complex cigar
Senator: So, but that's the third factor. Consistency
Gizmo: is not there The consistency is not there.
Bam Bam: Yeah.
Gizmo: But when it's- And I hear you, though ... here's the thing. Yeah. I think when we, when we look at a cigar, right?
And we're saying, is it consistent or not, we have to look at the best [01:34:00] example of it.
Senator: Correct.
Gizmo: Because consistency's gonna be up and down, here and there. Maybe not with a Padrón.
Bam Bam: Uh-huh.
Gizmo: Maybe not with a, a, another manufacturer that we love. But the best of the 85ths, I think those are complex smokes.
Bam Bam: It's complex.
Can we chat about the Cameroon just for a moment, and how varied the notes that I personally get from that? I do get deep cocoa, a little dark chocolate, a little leather.
Gizmo: But it's more savory.
Bam Bam: Well,
Gizmo: it's- And I think they're muddled. I, I don't think that- I don't
Bam Bam: know.
Gizmo: I- I don't think they're super distinct.
I think it's a muddled, kind of-
Bam Bam: I don't get
Gizmo: that ... blended, like, m- like, almost like a, y- you put all the flavors in a blender, and it's fucking great.
Bam Bam: Mm-hmm.
Gizmo: But they're not super- You're not able to- You can't throw a
Senator: dart and
Gizmo: hit
Senator: the- To me, to me it's a muddled D4.
Gizmo: Exactly. I, I'm, I'm, yeah. I'm 100% with you.
Well, we
Bam Bam: know what you think. But
Senator: you see, I'm even calling it muddled. Like, that's a, that's why- No, but that is not a D4- ...
Bam Bam: my D4
Senator: comparison ... but
Bam Bam: I get it. I
Senator: get what you're saying. There are notes in it that are very much like a D4. Yeah. But it's a muddled version of it, and it doesn't have all the notes that a D4 does.
Bam Bam: Yeah, I don't know if I agree [01:35:00] with that.
Rooster: Therefore, the D4 is
Senator: complex.
Gizmo: But also, I think, again- Slightly. Slightly ... you're, you're s- you're, you know, I, I wanna point out one more time, be very explicit on this. And
Senator: would anyone disagree that a D4 is more complex than an Aladino Cameroon?
Gizmo: You're, dude, no way. Y- y- absolutely 100%.
D4 more- You're 100% right ...
Bam Bam: more complex?
Gizmo: It's more, D4 is more complex than the Am- the Aladino Cameroon. Come on. Yeah,
Senator: okay. Sam's not
Gizmo: even sure of that.
Bam Bam: Yeah. I mean, I, look, I, I can't-
Gizmo: It's the hairspray. It's seeping through.
Bam Bam: No. The Cameroon, for me, is really, it's bumping. It's touching that potential of being a complex cigar.
Not a fully complex.
Gizmo: Yeah. As
Bam Bam: I noted
Gizmo: earlier.
Bam Bam: And
Gizmo: I think, I think the D4, but again, I, I just wanna be very explicit about this. I'm not comparing it to
Bam Bam: a D4 at all.
Gizmo: Y- you said before, like, you're, you're being super honest. Again, complexity, what we're saying tonight, what we're, we're getting through here, is that complexity doesn't mean repeatable, you know, repeating, you know, repeating that smoke, wanting to reach for it all the time.
And it doesn't mean the greatest. It doesn't mean the greatest. That's why I brought up the
Senator: Vegas Robaina example.
Gizmo: Exactly right.
Senator: That's our GOAT, and it's- Yep ... not the most complex cigar we've ever had. That's true.
Gizmo: I got a couple more [01:36:00] for you. I wanna bring this one up.
Chef Ricky: Tell me there's a Bond Roberts on this list.
Gizmo: I was gonna say the Dalias.
Chef Ricky: Yes, complex.
Gizmo: I think that cigar is complex.
Senator: Complex. Yeah. The, the Trini Robusto- The Robusto is complex ... is the definition of complex. Yes. I totally- That cigar, what has always made that cigar special for me, the fact that I get fruit notes- Button ... like on a Juan López Selección Suprema, yet the nuttiness that I would get in coffee notes of an H.
Upman, that's the definition of- 100% correct. Thank you
Gizmo: Yes. That's interesting, because- So the definition of complex ... that is a fucking great cigar. I've smoked more of those than anybody. To me, it's, like, such a familiar friend that, like-
Bam Bam: I, I think
Gizmo: I've outpaced
Bam Bam: you on that, man ... I'm not even- That cigar- Yeah?
was an addiction for me for a long time. Yeah.
Senator: It's the definition
Bam Bam: of complexity. It really was, for a while. I do love that cigar. I love
Gizmo: this discussion.
Rooster: And I
Bam Bam: think
Rooster: the Bond Roberts just executes a little bit more- Yeah, it's another level ... on refinement. It's another level.
Bam Bam: Definitely. Correct. For me, that Dalias is an oatmeal bomb.
Rooster: Yeah. What did you think of the cigar that I gave you the other day, the Two Sisters?
Senator: That was very good. Yeah. I think- And that, that I would describe as complex We have Two Sisters already? You have Two Sisters? Complex, yeah.
Chef Ricky: Oh, Global Insider. I thought it [01:37:00] was you
Rooster: on this thing. I, I haven't
Gizmo: e- I haven't even had one.
Rooster: What do
Gizmo: we mean? He didn't give me one.
Rooster: The
Bam Bam: hell?
Rooster: Same.
Senator: Yeah. Well, you have to show up to the lounge, that's- Same. Well, yeah ... part of the problem.
Bam Bam: Yeah, I don't like this.
Gizmo: It's been hard for me these last three weeks. I was here last night with Rooster, was I not?
Senator: Yeah. You were. Because you were here with a listener, not, not with us.
Gizmo: And then I hit a deer on my way home.
Bam Bam: Yeah, you did. So
Gizmo: I, I heard about
Senator: this listener. Fuck my car up. I'm
Gizmo: sorry. Yeah, Lizard Mike.
Bam Bam: There we go.
Senator: Dude,
Gizmo: what do you mean you heard about it? It was on the text days ahead. You were
Chef Ricky: invited. I didn't realize he was coming to the lounge afterwards. Days ahead. It wasn't
Gizmo: days ahead.
I heard, I thought it was same day. He put it out same day.
Chef Ricky: Same day. I thought, yeah, you
Gizmo: said days ahead. It wasn't days ahead. I told you guys- No. Yes, you did. Did I not?
Bam Bam: You did.
Gizmo: You
Bam Bam: put it out
Chef Ricky: the
Bam Bam: day of.
Gizmo: Thank you. Thank you, I did.
Bam Bam: I got
Gizmo: your back. I definitely did.
Chef Ricky: Nope. I just, I read about it- Better get your homework now.
I read about it same day on the text. I thought there was a meeting at a steakhouse.
Gizmo: There was.
Chef Ricky: I didn't realize there was gonna be another meeting or a continuation of that meeting at the lounge. I would've come.
Gizmo: We're lizards,
Bam Bam: bro. So hold on. So who was here when you had Mike, Lizard Mike over?
Gizmo: He was a bit vague.
It w- Uh, Lizard Phil was here.
Bam Bam: Okay.
Gizmo: Uh, there were some other folks.
Bam Bam: Lizard [01:38:00] Obaiy?
Gizmo: Uh, no. Lizard Obaiy wasn't here.
Bam Bam: Okay.
Gizmo: And then, uh, Lizard Phil- Pastor ... Lizard Mike, and I went to RP Prime.
Senator: Okay. Nice. Okay. Had a nice dinner. I'm sorry. I, I search Mike in my entire, uh, text history. It was only
Gizmo: yesterday.
Senator: It was yesterday.
You said, "I'm having cigars and dinner at RP Prime- Same ... with Mike from Cali this afternoon/tonight."
Gizmo: Yep. "
Senator: Great guy who's become a listener." That's the first time we heard of him. So- I'm going, the
Gizmo: last- I told you in person last week. Yeah. Did I not? I don't remember that. No.
Bam Bam: After the recording. They don't listen
Gizmo: to you.
You guys don't remember- They don't listen to you ... when I say how much the cigar is and what the cigar's made of.
Bam Bam: They undermine you.
Gizmo: Correct.
Bam Bam: On a consistent basis. I'm just saying,
Chef Ricky: if it's not in writing,
Gizmo: that's, there's no proof. It doesn't exist.
Chef Ricky: Some of us are actually busy.
Gizmo: Oh, okay. Yeah. All right. Uh-huh.
Yep. All right, I got a couple more for you. I'm gonna, I have one I wanna finish up with, but let's go back to Cuba for a second. The Cohiba Siglo VI, is that a complex cigar?
Bam Bam: I say no.
Gizmo: I think it's pretty complex. I think
Senator: it's complex.
Gizmo: I think that one's-
Senator: The, the best ones I've had are definitely complex It's so subtle.
Gizmo: I totally agree. It's
Bam Bam: so
Gizmo: subtle. I totally agree. All right. All right, I got one more for you and [01:39:00] we're gonna wrap this up and go to listener email The Don Carlos Eye of the Shark from Arturo Fuente Oh, yes. Sure. That might be- Without a doubt ... that might be- There's no doubt about it ... the pinnacle of new world complexity- Mm-hmm
that I think we've had on the pod. I think it's really up there. I agree. Obviously, that's not a $15 cigar, but- I
think
Chef Ricky: Kelner blends really-
Gizmo: I, I think that cigar might take the cake. That cigar is, there are, there are s- there's so much going on there, and it is-
Chef Ricky: Okay, let me add this to the, to the, the s- the scale of complexity Uniqueness.
I think Kelner, for me, in having those cigars, and, you know, whether it be the Stoic- Chef, you don't have to do this ... the LE 80- You're, you're on winning ground just on complexity alone. I actually think the Kelner LE 80 is more complex than the Shark.
Gizmo: Interesting. Hmm.
Chef Ricky: I, I, but- I ju- Okay ... I think those cigars present very unique flavors that I haven't had in others.
Bam Bam: How about this-
Chef Ricky: I'm not saying the Eye of the Shark isn't complex ... quick question It is. It is, very.
Bam Bam: If you're gonna, uh, the, the La Gloria Cubana Turquinos.
Gizmo: Turquinos?
Bam Bam: Would you consider that to be a complex- No.
Gizmo: [01:40:00] Yeah. Eh. Yeah, I would, because I- Borderline I would. No, I think there's, I think the, the, there's a citrus thing there that we un- undoubtedly, right?
Bam Bam: Citrus, graham cracker. There's a graham
Gizmo: cracker.
Bam Bam: There's a- Tapioca ...
Gizmo: there's a bready thing there. Yeah, there's a lot there.
Senator: That's fair. Light coffee. It,
Gizmo: it, it touches the complexity scale
Senator: enough. Yeah.
Bam Bam: And I would say Choix Supreme's kinda bumping the gate a little bit. Of
course.
Senator: Yeah.
Bam Bam: Yeah. Of
Senator: course. I agree with that.
Yeah.
Rooster: I think one of the most complex cigars was by Davidoff, the original Chef's Edition. Oh,
Senator: for sure.
Rooster: The 16 or the 21? The original one. 16. The one we love, the 21. Yeah. 21 too. Oh, he's saying the 16. But the 16 was even- Oh, I've never had that. The 21. The 21 for sure. I think maybe Bam has had the 16. I have
Bam Bam: had one.
I'm pretty sure. I'm, I'm pretty sure I had one. It was incredible.
Rooster: Incredible
Bam Bam: cigar. I would agree with you.
Rooster: Yeah.
Bam Bam: But I would love more.
Rooster: Right.
Bam Bam: So bring those- You think those- Bring, bring them in.
Gizmo: Absolutely. You think those are gonna pop up on Bond Roberts any time soon? Probably.
Bam Bam: Hell no.
Gizmo: Yeah. Dude, there's some crazy stuff going up there, man.
You wouldn't believe it. Wow. So boys, this was a great discussion. Excellent. And I wanna put this out to Lizard Nation, just like we did the palate discussion, right? And I'm gonna get to some of those comments next week. But I think this is a really interesting... I wanna hear from listeners [01:41:00] how you view complexity.
How important is complexity to you? Obviously, we've determined tonight that complexity doesn't necessarily mean that we're gonna keep reaching for that cigar. Mm-hmm. And conversely, the lack of complexity doesn't mean that
Bam Bam: we're- You're
Gizmo: not gonna get
Bam Bam: a great experience
Gizmo: Exactly right. That's correct. So I think that-
Bam Bam: Yeah
Gizmo: this has been a good exercise tonight in how important complexity is to us. It's one piece of the pie. Obviously, we've determined how important it is. I actually wanna keep talking about
Bam Bam: it. I like this. Yeah, I
Gizmo: can't wait for these responses.
Bam Bam: But I- Like, I wanna talk, I wanna talk about the Maduro 1. I wanna talk about the RASS.
Mm-hmm. I
Chef Ricky: wanna talk
Bam Bam: about- Mm-hmm. I don't,
Gizmo: I,
Chef Ricky: I don't know about the RASS, but the Maduro 1 for sure. RASS?
Gizmo: You're talking Partagás Maduro 1?
Chef Ricky: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Gizmo: Yeah.
Chef Ricky: Yep.
Gizmo: So we, we wanna hear from you guys out there in Lizard Nation. Write us, what, what do you think about this conversation, our perspectives- Can't wait
not just on the individual cigars, but the overall picture of it. We're gonna continue this palate discussion. I have some other topics that I wanna bring up as it relates to this. I think that we're, I think this is a really good deep dive, not just for [01:42:00] us here in the room, obviously we, we do this every week, but also for Lizards out there to, to get- A little further, if they so choose, into this journey.
Rooster: Yeah.
Gizmo: I feel like I'm on that same path, like we talked about a couple weeks ago. Like, this is very enlightening and interesting to me, so that's why I bring it in. Um, so we're gonna keep it up. So if you're out there listening to this, tell us what you think about this. Tell us what you think about complexity.
Some of your favorite cigars that are complex, some of your favorite cigars that are not complex. Definitely reach out and write in.
Bam Bam: It, it's a fun discussion.
Chef Ricky: It is. It is. And it could bleed into spirits. It could bleed into food. I mean, it
Bam Bam: just- Can I ask another one? It just goes on and on. I have one more to talk about.
Gizmo: Yeah.
Bam Bam: The first Steve Saka cigar that we had. Was that the Maestro del Tiempo?
Gizmo: No, that's a Warped cigar. That's a Warp.
Bam Bam: That's not a Saka. I'm sorry. What was the name of that cigar? I don't remember it. It's the very first-
Gizmo: The first one we did, was it the, uh- The
Senator: Sobremesa?
Gizmo: No. No. We did the, uh, the, the Sin Compromiso.
Sin
Bam Bam: Compromiso, that's
the
Gizmo: one. Number four? That wasn't the
Senator: first one. That wasn't the first. No, wasn't the M-
Gizmo: Muestra de Saka Muestra de Saka.
Bam Bam: Yeah. Yeah.
Gizmo: I think you're thinking of Sin Compromiso. The one in the
Bam Bam: coffin. I'm thinking- The ones
Gizmo: in the [01:43:00] coffins.
Bam Bam: So, yeah.
Gizmo: You're thinking Sin Compromiso.
Bam Bam: Correct. The Robusto.
The Sin Compromiso. What is your opinion about that? I find that-
Gizmo: That's a complex cigar ...
Bam Bam: very fruit forward. Yeah. And a lot of, really, a lot of different notes that you're getting. That I- I think it's a great complex cigar.
Senator: For me, it just touches-
Bam Bam: Yeah ... a
Senator: complex
Bam Bam: cigar. That's cool. Mm-hmm.
Gizmo: All right. So we're gonna come back to this, boys.
Really good discussion tonight. Yeah. Yeah. I appreciate it. It was awesome. And, uh, again, lizards out there, please write in because you're a part of this conversation with us here in the room. You know, please tell us what you think. Please tell us what you think, cigars are complex, not complex, and how important is complexity to your experience smoking cigars.
So be sure to write in. And boys, it's time now to go to some listener email. I've got two for you tonight, and then we're gonna go to our ratings. First up is from our friend Lizard Enrique. The subject on this one is Epic Run. Says, "Hello, lizards. Since episode 249, the lads have been on an epic run, and we've learned so much, but none more [01:44:00] alarming than Gizmo admitting he did not like the Exclusivo at Senator's birthday party in a moment of drunken honesty."
Bam Bam: Yeah, it's 'cause you were totally wasted.
Gizmo: And Rooster was not kind. The truth comes out. And Rooster was not kind.
Bam Bam: He's never kind.
Gizmo: What ... What more can- I'm, I'm complex.
Bam Bam: Well, over centuries and centuries, of course. And well,
Rooster: well refined.
Gizmo: Time does that. Time does that. What more can we expect from this podcast than impactful truth-telling?
Thank you, Giz, for finally coming clean. Yeah. I want to applaud the lizards for their conversation about cigars, palates, and memory. In particular, Senator's commentary throughout that discussion, the entire segment was candid and refreshing, and as someone who has a hard time calling out flavors like Jerusalem artichoke, chef-
or paper bag or tomato-
Bam Bam: Paper
Gizmo: bag. ... it was particularly resonant. As the show looks towards its five-year anniversary in a couple weeks, I'd be [01:45:00] remiss if I didn't thank the podcast. Without you, I'd probably have tens of thousands of dollars more in my life. As my frenzy of purchasing Cuban cigars corresponded with listening for the first time and getting your suggestions, whether it was an aged box of Ramón Allones, 2019 number twos-
the LE Senator in the green box-
Senator: That's a complex cigar ... from my tower- Very ... perfect 10, thank you, Giz.
Gizmo: Or, or a Tatuaje Cabo Iguana, the lizards have directly impacted the way so many of the listeners smoke and think about cigars. In addition, I've purchased multiple Roku TVs, a Navage, a tower, a Rover setup, everything except the cigar bib and kitty litter.
Bam Bam: Mm-hmm.
Gizmo: Here are a few questions I hope you can address for me, either now or for the five-year anniversary. We'll do it now. Number one, does anyone still communicate with the lizard who did not show up for the initial recording? Lizard number [01:46:00] eight Boy, boy did that guy miss out.
Bam Bam: Uh-oh. We mentioned him on the pod?
Gizmo: We've talked about him before. Oh, a couple times, yeah. He was
Bam Bam: mentioned very early on.
Gizmo: We've talked about him several times about the- Yeah ... so for the listener out there, we had a, there was another lizard early on that was very much involved in this group and was in the friend group, and we discussed recording.
He was sitting there with us at the Brick House when we did all that. And, uh, we set up a recording date, and he simply didn't show up, and then we never heard from him again.
Chef Ricky: Yeah, no.
Gizmo: It's been five years almost, and we've not heard from him again. I
Chef Ricky: hope he's okay. He might have died. No,
Gizmo: he's around. He's around, but-
Chef Ricky: Oh, he is?
Gizmo: Oh. Oh, yeah. But he, uh, he is definitely off the map. Number two, is Grinder taking a sabbatical because he is in reality the friend of the podcast, Chen Ji?
Thanks again. Cheers, Lizard Enrique.
Rooster: He's butchering a pig somewhere. [01:47:00]
Gizmo: Quite literally, right? And boys, now it's time to go to our Lizard of the Week, presented by our friends at Bond Roberts. And our Lizard of the Week this week is our friend Lizard Nick, first-time winner tonight, and the subject line on his email is Puerto Rico.
Says, "Hey, lizards. I was on a cruise this summer and one of our stops was Puerto Rico. While in port, I went to an outdoor market where one guy was selling Puerto Rican puro cigars, so I bought a small box of five to try them out. They are a small father-son company called Or Borinqueno Cigars and have no online presence at all, so I presume they just sell to tourists.
But it got me wondering, why isn't Puerto Rico a hotbed of cigar making? I'm not sure if this has ever come up on the pod before. It seems to share a lot of the same climate characteristics of other cigar producers. My mother's side of the family is all from Puerto [01:48:00] Rico, and I've been there many times to visit them, but they don't live near the resorts.
So this, this was the first time I ever saw local cigars for sale. It has always been economically challenged, relying almost exclusively on tourism, some, quote, 'near-shore operations,' and now as a tax haven for the wealthy. Everyone in my family who lives there works at a hotel or a restaurant near the hotels.
Hurricane Maria clobbered the island in 2017, and they still haven't fully bounced back. Why wouldn't Puerto Rico become the new Nicaragua for the major cigar brands, given all the political turmoil going on in that country? Does it have something to do with labor laws and the general cost of operation in a US territory versus a foreign country like the Dominican Republic?
It just seems like the island is dying a slow death, and there needs to be some sort of economic jumpstart. Thanks as always for the great work you guys do. Sincerely, Lizard Nick."
Chef Ricky: I think labor laws have a big part to do with it.
Gizmo: I- I would think, yeah, I would [01:49:00] think that- Yeah ... the wages is a- Yeah ... major problem.
Chef Ricky: I think that. I think workforce is a- another huge, uh, issue.
Gizmo: I also think moving tobacco around, like you're moving it into a US territory, I gotta imagine that that import situation-
Bam Bam: Mm ...
Gizmo: is very different than if you're moving tobacco around from Honduras to Dominican to Nicaragua, whatever it may be.
Bam Bam: Good point.
Gizmo: Like, I, I would think that that's very challenging as well, when you involve the US side of importing- Mm ... product like that. I see
Bam Bam: what, yeah.
Gizmo: Right? Yeah. So it's like, I, I think there's a multitude of factors, and also, there's not a history in Puerto Rico of- Rolling and, and producing cigars.
Chef Ricky: Mm-hmm. Well,
Gizmo: they- So it's almost like you'd need to, you- There used to
Chef Ricky: be
Gizmo: But you'd need to create, well, let's say it's several- Yeah
generations disconnected.
Chef Ricky: Yeah.
Gizmo: You'd need to recreate a workforce that is completely untrained. You'd have to build factories. You'd have to train people. You'd have to kind of cross your fingers that everything's gonna work. Like, I don't know, it seems like a major challenge, and I think that's probably why people haven't [01:50:00] done it, is because it's not a part of Puerto Rican culture, making cigars.
Chef Ricky: It is, but it's not a recent part. I mean, they, this, it's the same group of indigenous people. It's all Tainos. Whether you're in the DR, whether you're in Haiti, whether you're in, in, in the Yucatán Peninsula, Puerto Rico, Cuba, it's all the same indigenous people. It's all the same culture. It's all, you know...
What happened? I don't know. You could blame it maybe on colonization. You could may- blame it, uh, the, the, you know, there's a lot of different directions to go with, uh, with, to go with on this situation, but none of it is good. I've always wondered the same thing. I've always gotten, you know, at, at one point I kinda went down a rabbit hole where I started looking for, uh, Puerto Rican cigar makers to just kinda get some, and I forget the name, uh, of, a, or brand that I brought on into my tower, but it [01:51:00] wasn't great.
It was expensive-
Bam Bam: Hmm ...
Chef Ricky: but it wasn't great. You know, I, some of these cigars were over 20 bucks, and they weren't- Wow ... it wasn't a great experience.
Bam Bam: Yeah. Hmm.
Chef Ricky: Um, and this, this company in particular did, did have an online presence, and, you know, uh, they were also Puerto Rican puros. But, you know, I want nothing more as a Puerto Rican than to have something like that, um, and, and to have a cigar that I enjoy.
And so I'm, I'm kinda curious to know if the cigars that this individual got were good, you know, 'cause I'd, I'd try to get them myself. But yeah, it's, it's, it's unfortunate, and I don't know, maybe at some point we'll wake up and, and get, get at it. But, uh, I don't know. I, I don't know. Maybe, maybe it starts with me.
Maybe it starts with him. Uh, you know, I don't know what it is, but it, it would be nice. It would be nice to have.
Rooster: Do they even grow tobacco?
Chef Ricky: They can. Some, some are growing, 'cause there are Puerto Rican puros that are available, but-
Senator: Let's just say if Indonesia's growing tobacco-
Chef Ricky: Yeah. ... uh, [01:52:00] Puerto Rico should be.
And China. Yeah.
Gizmo: China's growing tobacco.
Chef Ricky: And Pennsylvania- Yeah ... and Connecticut.
Gizmo: It's got, yeah, it's gotta be easier to grow tobacco in Puerto Rico than it is in-
Chef Ricky: China ...
Gizmo: Connecticut or Pennsylvania or China or Indonesia. Or Indonesia, yeah. I mean, it's gotta be, right? Yeah. But the problem, like you said, is it's probably not financially as viable as it is in Dominican, Nicaragua-
Chef Ricky: Mm-hmm
Gizmo: Honduras, et cetera.
Chef Ricky: Yeah.
Gizmo: Cuba, of course, but-
Chef Ricky: Yeah,
Gizmo: there's- That's a whole different ballgame ... there's
Chef Ricky: not a lot of American puros, and, and it's, it's for a reason.
Gizmo: Yeah.
Chef Ricky: You almost need the skewed labor laws and, and, and- Or prison cigars.
Gizmo: Yeah. Or prison rolls.
Chef Ricky: Or prison cigars.
Gizmo: So thanks to Lizard Nick. Of course, being our Lizard of the Week, he's gonna win a 10-count box of cigars.
From our friends at Bond Roberts. We really appreciate those guys. And thanks to all of the lizards who write in, like Lizard Nick. Everybody out there has a chance to win Lizard of the Week, so please, like I said, with this complexity conversation, with the palate discussion, [01:53:00] please write in and share your thoughts.
Chime in, be a part of the conversation, and you can win Lizard of the Week, just like Lizard Nick just did. And boys, we have come to the end of our evening with the Powstanie San Andrés Belicoso and this Glenfarclas 12 Years Aged Single Malt Scotch whiskey. Boys, what an evening this has been.
Bam Bam: Excellent night.
Gizmo: Excellent. And now it's time to go into the formal liquor rating tonight on the Glenfarclas 12 Years Aged Single Malt Scotch whiskey. Bam-Bam, you're up.
Bam Bam: You know, everything I've said about this drink is just... I'm gonna resonate with what I've already said. I think it's an incredible s- scotch, just supple, buttery, a ton of butterscotch, a ton of caramel.
The longer you keep it on your palate, the more I'm capturing, as I noted earlier. It's just really, really unique, and this is something [01:54:00] I, I, I agree with all your comments about versatility. This you can drink all year long I can't give it anything less than a 10 because of the experience that I had tonight.
It was just outstanding. And honestly, as you noted, Senator, I could smoke this with almost any cigar.
Rooster: Drink.
Bam Bam: I'm sorry. I could drink this. I could, I could drink this with Oh, that's an edit, motherfucker.
Rooster: Is it?
Bam Bam: I c- yeah. I'm gonna listen to this episode, motherfucker. In 2030. Yeah.
Gizmo: Well, let me just tell you, I'm not worried.
Bam Bam: I am a little tired right now. But, uh, I'm at a str- We did
Gizmo: play golf the other day.
Bam Bam: Yeah, I'm still recovering from that. We should talk about that. We should. Strong, strong 10. Just outstanding.
Chef Ricky: I'm sorry. I got a, I got a f- a flavor note update here.
Bam Bam: Uh-oh.
Chef Ricky: Uh-oh.
Bam Bam: Jesus.
Gizmo: Quarter inch left. Here we go. In the ratings.
Chef Ricky: In which Padrón box? Did you buy the
Gizmo: sampler?
Chef Ricky: From Bushwick. I just got sweet [01:55:00] corn. Sweet corn. Nice. Put it where you want, I got sweet corn.
Bam Bam: Motherfucker. I can't disagree with you.
Chef Ricky: Really?
Bam Bam: Yeah.
Chef Ricky: That's amazing. I got sweet corn.
Bam Bam: Kind of like a, like almost like a- That's
Chef Ricky: actually-
Bam Bam: Right?
Chef Ricky: Yeah.
Bam Bam: Like a creamed corn type of thing.
Like an
Chef Ricky: esquites.
Bam Bam: Mm.
Chef Ricky: Esquites.
Bam Bam: Exactly.
Chef Ricky: Yeah. Yeah. Uh, for me on the scotch, complex, yes. Refined, yes, but not as refined as some other scotches that I've had on this pod. Um, so for me it's a nine.
Bam Bam: I can't disagree more. I don't understand where you're coming from.
Gizmo: So I'm, I'm at a 10. Yeah. I mean, that first sip, honestly, I feel like Bam yelling up at, at, at the bands very early on.
I, I teed off on the sip, and, and Senator was so right on this. Second, third, fourth, 10th, 50th sip, every sip has gotten better. Mm-hmm. This is a revelation tonight, this 12 year. Also a revelation that there's an L in the name. Who knew? [01:56:00] Uh, what a wonderful pairing for cigars. I think a- as a single malt scotch, if, if you were to say, "I wanna sip this separately," I probably wouldn't reach for this.
But with cigars, I think this is such a, it's an elevating, like it, it, it rise, it, it rises that cigar experience. I think it's a perfect pairing, a secondary to the cigar. And I think for that reason, what we do here, it's a perfect single malt scotch. Yeah. I think it would work with every type of cigar we smoke.
Yeah. Yeah. Obviously, we had a Nicaraguan tonight. A stronger Nicaraguan, a, a more mild Cuban or a Honduran, it would work perfectly. It's a 10 all day for me. I absolutely love this pairing. I'm blown away. Senator, you're up.
Senator: So on the scotch, I agree with Bam's commentary 100%. It is complex, it is refined.
There's so many distinct notes and qualities about it. The versatility is off the charts. I can't remember a [01:57:00] scotch that has been as surprising and enjoyable as this has been in a very long time.
Gizmo: It's been a long time.
Senator: Yeah?
Gizmo: Honestly. Maybe the Glenmorangie 10. That might've been the last one.
Senator: 12. That, that, that's the thing.
Gizmo: The new, yeah, the newer version of it. Yeah.
Bam Bam: Scotch has not entered a lot of our rotations, and I think this is a great-
Senator: The-
Gizmo: Honestly, it got booted out ...
Senator: yeah, the Glen- It kind of, it got kicked out ... the Glenlivet we did with the, uh, the Jamaica- Yeah ... edition. I
Bam Bam: was just gonna
Senator: say, did we not just do that last week?
The treasure, treasure
Bam Bam: something, yeah. Yeah,
Senator: but this is all recent. I mean, there was- Yeah ... a huge lull for us finding- Yeah ... new single malts that we would regularly drink and pair with cigars.
Chef Ricky: But to me, that was a 10, and that slightly edges this one out a bit. Mm. So that's why I gave this a nine.
Interesting. Interesting.
Senator: To me, they're both excellent. The only problem I have is total wine, this is $74. Yeah,
Gizmo: that's crazy.
Senator: Glenfarclas, this is a, as ubiquitous a single malt as exists. There's no way that they can't price this lower
Gizmo: That's what's crazy. [01:58:00]
Senator: I mean, this should be a $55 bottle. And at that price point, I would definitely buy this and drink this regularly.
At 74 bucks, I mean, you can get Oban 14 for, like, 80. I mean-
Gizmo: Yeah, yeah. It's not that far off ...
Senator: yeah. It, it's- Yeah ... it's just a high price point to set for something like this. So that is the singular reason that I'm at a nine, because what it delivers at a $74 price point I don't think is commensurate with what they're selling it for.
If this were 55 bucks, this is a 10, no question. I would absolutely be drinking this often. But at 74 bucks, now you're in the category with other 14-year single malts that are, no question, more complex. Balvenie Caribbean Cask, they're 14 years more complex. Um, the Oban 14 I mentioned is more complex. So-
Bam Bam: You know, it's interesting.
That Caribbean Cask, it drinks similarly to that, though. In the- I can see that ... in the [01:59:00] suppleness and- Yeah ... that slight sweetness. And when you keep that on your palate, I get the, I get a very similar experience.
Senator: No,
Gizmo: I mean, yeah. Let's not count out, by the way, the Macallan 12. The price has come down on that.
Yeah. It's not that far off of this.
Senator: That's also true.
Gizmo: So a- at 75, I agree with you. I paid 60, I think, for this tonight. But at 75, it's right there with Macallan 12 Sherry.
Bam Bam: Yeah.
Gizmo: It's not that far
Senator: off. Yeah, that's the only thing holding me back. So- That's fair enough ... I had to factor it in. That's why I'm at a nine.
But absent that, the, what it delivers for a 12-year, I mean, yeah, it very well, you know, can be a 10. So as strong of a nine as I'm gonna give on a spirit.
Bam Bam: Mm.
Gizmo: So boys, the formal liquor rating tonight on the Glenfarclas 12 years age single malt scotch whiskey is a 9.5.
Bam Bam: Okay.
Gizmo: That's great. Excellent. Hell of a rating.
Great score. Very nice. And now, boys, it's time to go to the formal lizard rating on the Powstanie San Andrés Belicoso. Rooster, you're up.
Rooster: So I'm at a nine on this cigar. Oh. It might have been a 10 if I had done the reverse cold draw. Which [02:00:00] I, which I didn't do.
Gizmo: You j- you know, I did notice you didn't do that.
I didn't do that, so- With a closed cigar ... that is a problem
Rooster: With
Gizmo: a
Rooster: closed
Bam Bam: head, by the way.
Gizmo: Yeah. In
Chef Ricky: Sparta or Bushwick? Both.
Rooster: Oh. I'm gonna have to do it there both times.
Chef Ricky: Listen, for the record- There we go ... before we hit record, I said on the reverse cold draw there was sweet, wet fruit.
Rooster: Mm-hmm.
Chef Ricky: You guys all called out the same thing on the cold draw.
You were, you were s- None
Gizmo: of us did the c- the reverse cold
Chef Ricky: draw. But you all called it out on the cold draw. I only did a reverse cold draw 'cause I had to wait for a cutter.
Gizmo: Mm-hmm.
Chef Ricky: And I was impatient.
Gizmo: All right.
Chef Ricky: Whatever it takes. When's, when's your
Gizmo: birthday?
Chef Ricky: July 15th.
Gizmo: Is
Bam Bam: Rooster done with his rating?
Chef Ricky: Wait, my birthday's October 17th.
Rooster: So the cigar, I think, had a perfect balance of savory and sweetness. It had, uh, you know, you got that salty note and it, it was, it was, uh, complemented by a, by a sweeter flavor, whether it was cocoa or, like, a blueberry covered in, in a- in chocolate. Uh, it was a delicious smoke. [02:01:00] Initially, I got a little bit of a harshness, but that really dissipated almost right away.
I mean, it was, it was faint. It had a little bit of the white pepper note, which was also very pleasant. The cigar was absolutely delicious. I mean, for a $12 cigar to deliver the way it did, I mean, to me it's... I mean, and the cigar, the, the notes were very distinct.
Gizmo: Mm-hmm.
Rooster: They weren't muted, and you could call out almost every single note from this cigar.
Gizmo: Mm.
Rooster: So which makes it a very good, excellent blend.
Chef Ricky: Yeah.
Rooster: Maybe, maybe the band, uh, you know, throws, uh, you know, uh, could be changed a little bit, but, you know, who cares about... But the cigar is absolutely delicious, and I'm, I would love to try other Vitolas in this, uh, in this
Bam Bam: blend. Yeah. I, I'm glad we got the recommend on this.
Gizmo: Yeah.
Rooster: Yeah. So I'm at a s- I'm at a nine.
Bam Bam: All right.
Gizmo: Senator?
Senator: So I can count on one hand... Sorry, I can count on my hands the number of cigars that I've smoked down [02:02:00] to the nub- Yeah, you're pretty far down ... that my fingers are burning.
Gizmo: Yeah.
Senator: And I still do not wanna stop smoking this It is outstanding. This, to me, at $12 has gotta be easily one of the most complex cigars that we have rated at that price point.
Bam Bam: Mm-hmm.
Senator: The flavor profile, it delivers all the kinds of notes that I chase and pursue and want in a cigar. Um, like Rooster said, the kinda sweetness and savory. I mean, the fact that you're getting ... Like, you look at the wrapper, like this Mexican San Andrés, like, darker wrapper, you're expecting cocoa, maybe some earth.
Rooster: Yeah.
Senator: A lot of the notes that were- And you get
Rooster: that
Senator: And you do. You
Rooster: get ... Yeah.
Senator: But you are not expecting the fruit notes that you get in this cigar. You're not expecting this level of creaminess that's present throughout. It, it is remarkable how complex of an experience this [02:03:00] cigar delivers. The construction is absolutely flawless.
Perfect, razor-sharp burn, structural ash that you never had to worry was gonna fall into your lap. The combustion was great. I, I was so happy throughout this cigar. It was so effortless throughout this cigar. We talk about, you know, we smoke a cigar to relax and enjoy ourselves, and nothing gets us more frustrated than a cigar that we're fighting the draw, the, the ash is spilling all over the place.
It was- Having to relight 10 times ... relight. None of that. Nobody
Gizmo: pulled out a lighter
Senator: tonight. At $12. We've smoked- Yeah ... $50 sticks-
Gizmo: Yep ...
Senator: that we've had frustration with on construction. Not a single problem here whatsoever.
Bam Bam: So that's a great, that's a great comment. Not a single one of us corrected.
Senator: Nobody pulled out a lighter tonight.
No.
Bam Bam: That's really unique.
Senator: It's
Gizmo: unbelievable.
Bam Bam: Yeah.
Senator: It was amazing. I mean, from start to finish. The [02:04:00] band is, you know, like I said, the only thing that's frustrating. Uh, as a result, I'm having to take two points off for that.
Chef Ricky: Bam's gonna do about 10 minutes on the band's problem. No, I'm not. I'm sorry, Senator, Senator, I don't wanna cut you off, but, Giz, what's the discount code again on Small Batch?
It's- All right, Pagoda, it's LIZARD15. LIZARD1-5, LIZARD15. As I type in LIZARDPOD four times.
Senator: So I, I mean, truly, uh, there's not a flaw in this cigar. I'm at a 10. I will absolutely buy more of these. I also just think for the amount of flavor that it delivers, how refined the delivery is, I think Rooster at some point said, you know, "You could smoke this even in the afternoon."
Bam Bam: Mm-hmm.
Senator: That's the case. There's really not a bad occasion for this. You can start a sit with this. You can end a sit with this. I can't think of a bad time to light this cigar. So at 12 bucks, I, I can't give it anything other than a 10. I'm really shocked. Hats off to the team that is responsible for this [02:05:00] blend.
It, the fact that we couldn't even name another brand that this reminds us of, that this is- It's crazy ... so unique in what it's delivering.
Gizmo: Yep.
Senator: I, I'm just blown away. Uh, it's a 10, no doubt for me.
Gizmo: Yeah. So I'm also at a 10. I mean, this is one of the easiest ratings that I've had here on the podcast with you guys in a long time.
I think this is beyond shocking. I, I think, number one, like you said, Senator, I think the performance of this cigar tonight, we talked a lot about complexity. Obviously, that was a, a big piece of the episode tonight. But beyond complexity was the delivery vehicle that we also highlighted, the refined delivery of this experience tonight.
I, I can't think of a moment where this cigar doesn't work, like you just said. I can't think of a smoker that this doesn't work for. The Cuban cigar smoker will love this. Mm-hmm. The heavy Nicaraguan, the Tatuaje, the, you know, 1926 Padrón [02:06:00] smoker, the Rooster Smoking a 90th at, at, at 8:00 in the morning smoker, this cigar will work for them.
It's unbelievable. And at $12.32 that we got this cigar tonight, I'm, I'm beyond shocked-
Bam Bam: Yeah ...
Gizmo: with the experience that we had tonight. This was elegant, it was smooth, it was refined, it was-
Bam Bam: Delicious ...
Gizmo: complex, it was delicious, it was mind-blowing.
Bam Bam: Yeah.
Gizmo: Honestly, I'm gonna wake up tomorrow and I'm gonna wanna smoke one of these cigars.
Mm-hmm. And I'm gonna buy a box or probably two. Done. Which I don't know if I've ever said, I'm gonna buy two boxes of this tonight. That's how good this cigar
Bam Bam: is. It does leave you wanting another one.
Gizmo: In a good way.
Bam Bam: Yeah, no, I
Gizmo: wanna- Not in a bad way. I c- 'Cause we've said that about other cigars. Of course,
Bam Bam: of course.
Gizmo: Like, I can't wait to go over there and smoke something, in a good way. That's a good point. I would- It's, because it's not heavy.
Bam Bam: Yeah, I wouldn't- Yes ... I wouldn't mind doing another one right now.
Gizmo: Yep.
Senator: Same.
Bam Bam: Yeah,
Gizmo: really. Like, the senator smoking four 80ths back to back.
Bam Bam: Yeah.
Senator: Oh, I could do that with this.
Gizmo: You could do that with this.
Yeah, agreed. And you would not be bored.
Chef Ricky: [02:07:00] Totally
Senator: agree. I, I'm just, this is outrageous. I mean, you- I know, your fingers are like a centimeter- You see Senator- Your
Chef Ricky: finger's looking like a seasoned pot smoker holding a
Senator: roach right now. This is insane. But the craziest part is when you do this, you, you almost always are, in some ways, compromising flavor.
Like, the cigar is hot- Yeah ... and you're saying it's, it- it's, it's got most of the flavor, but not all of it, and not that refined. This is still as refined as when I was smoking it midway through. Yeah.
Rooster: Yeah.
Senator: I don't even know how it's possible.
Rooster: There's not even any tar buildup. Zero.
Gizmo: Zero. None. Zero.
Rooster: Zero.
Gizmo: For a $12 cigar.
None. Correct. I- We're all leaving
Rooster: here with purple lips tonight ...
Gizmo: I, I can't, I can't believe the experience this $12 cigar gave us tonight. I could keep talking about this on and on and on. This was as perfect a cigar as we've had on this podcast, a- a- that I can remember. Yeah. This is one of the most shocking.
This is stoic level shocking. Blind cigar stoic level shocking [02:08:00] to me. Like, I, I can't remember the last time I felt like this. Completely blown away. Shout out to the guys over there. Thank you to Lizard Nation for requesting us to review these, you know, this marca, uh, a- a- and pushing toward this cigar. I mean, unbelievable, unbelievable.
I can't believe how good this cigar was. It's a perfect cigar. It's a 10.
Senator: It's a very- Just a- ...
Gizmo: very unique blend. It is.
Bam Bam: Yeah. Yeah. Correct.
Gizmo: There's no, there's no, like, comparison point.
Senator: And just to call out to Lizard Nation, whichever Lizards recommended this cigar-
Gizmo: Keep them coming ...
Senator: clearly you understand our palates, 'cause this very much fits within it.
Gizmo: Mm-hmm.
Senator: So please send us more recommendations. Correct.
Gizmo: All right, Chef. I You're at a seven.
Senator: I'm
Chef Ricky: at an 11.
Gizmo: Ooh.
Chef Ricky: Okay?
Gizmo: All right.
Chef Ricky: All right.
Gizmo: Pagoda's not here. You can get
Chef Ricky: away with that. Yeah, the guy, he's not-
Gizmo: Curb your enthusiasm, will you?
Chef Ricky: So as I'm lis- as I'm sitting here- Oh, no ... listening to
As I'm sitting here listening [02:09:00] to all of the, the, the ratings, I'm ordering a box, right? And I'm listening to everyone say $12. I just paid $10.80 for this cigar. What? Where? Gizmo or Page? On Small Batch. No. I used our c- I used our code. Oh, you had points. And I had some points. Oh, points. Okay. Ah. All right. Ah.
Ah.
Gizmo: Ah. I don't wanna be a... I don't wanna take that heat. Correct. But that's awesome.
Chef Ricky: Amazing, amazing deal. I mean, this cigar was perfect. I've never gotten corn on a, sweet corn on, on- Yeah ... or corn of any kind on a cigar. Isn't that crazy? By the way, any listener out there- And I've never gotten anyone to agree with me on such a
Gizmo: call-out.
No, but any listener out there who wants sweet corn, go to Playa Taqueria-
Chef Ricky: Also correct ...
Gizmo: in Montclair, New Jersey.
Chef Ricky: Yes. But
Senator: you're getting that- It's like the craziest thing is that didn't happen till, like, the final inch- Toward the end ... of the cigar.
Chef Ricky: Exactly. Yes. Talk
Senator: about complexity.
Chef Ricky: I mean- Which is why you don't wanna put it down.
Yep. That's correct. Right? Exactly right. Again, this is the second week in a row where I ended up juggling my nub, 'cause, you know, I, I burnt myself. Pause. Pause. That's a
Gizmo: weird- That's a weird phrase, but go ahead.
Chef Ricky: Please pause.
Gizmo: Oh, [02:10:00] Lord.
Chef Ricky: Anyway, um, this cigar was- It's a good innuendo. Dude, that's beyond innuendo.
This cigar was perfect. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I enjoyed every note it delivered. This was the definition of complex, of refinement. It was great. The band is ugly, yes. I will be taking the bands off, 'cause the box is not ugly. So this will sit happily in my tower, uh, with no bands. Mm-hmm. But the cigar itself was delicious.
I would love to share this with anyone, because it would absolutely blow them away. Um, and it would be a fun cigar to talk about and to share with other people. So for me, this cigar did everything it, a cigar should. Uh, and it did everything that it should for this podcast, and for us, it's a 10.
Gizmo: I'm with you, senator.
What the fuck? I know what's going on. Sold out. What the fuck?
Senator: You bought the last
Gizmo: box? Did I buy the last box? It's sold out, dude. Jesus Christ. Holy shit. I, I just tried to do it while you were rating. It sold out.
Senator: I'm on Small Batch right now.
Gizmo: I'm sorry. His, his eyes, I saw his eyes. Sh. I was like... I couldn't believe it.
[02:11:00] Great. But, uh, I got, I got two boxes. So honestly, I think, listeners, because when I, when I put this on the, uh, Hey Lizards Gizmo here thing-
Bam Bam: Yep. ...
Gizmo: plenty available. Now they're gone. Oh. We, we didn't even put the review out yet. That's
Bam Bam: awesome. God.
Gizmo: Chef, you bastard. All right, Bam, you're up.
Bam Bam: So, um, I didn't enjoy the very beginning of that first third.
Um- It was on a downward slope for me. But honestly- Yeah ... as I've noted throughout the recording, it got better and better. I, I personally did not get the sweetness that y'all were getting, not at all. And I didn't feel deprived, because honestly, that earth note, the salty, the nuttiness that I was getting, it was fantastic for me.
And you mentioned tea leaves, Chef.
Chef Ricky: Yeah.
Bam Bam: I got some, some sort of tannic quality that really wants me to have a, a glass of Cabernet with this cigar.
Chef Ricky: Yeah. Yeah, that, that was it. That was it.
Bam Bam: Fantastic. Um, you know, it's shocking how good this cigar is. They gotta redesign that fucking band. [02:12:00] I hope that happens sooner rather than later.
Gizmo: Yeah. Listen, how great is it that that is the only complaint?
Bam Bam: Uh, it's true. Is
Gizmo: the band.
Bam Bam: But also how unique that cigar was. It was- It really was ... really unlike anything I've had.
Gizmo: Yeah.
Bam Bam: Um, so I think f- for that reason alone, I'm giving it a 10. Wow. Wow. But for all the other reasons, it's definitely worth pursuing this cigar.
I think with what they're doing there is really, really smart.
Gizmo: All right, boys. The formal lizard rating tonight on the Powstanie San Andrés Belicoso is a 9.8.
Bam Bam: All right.
Gizmo: That is a brilliant- Phenomenal score. Yep ... score. That might be one of the highest scoring cigars we've had in here in half a year.
Senator: I mean, that's just what I expected when we lit the cigar.
Gizmo: Yeah, yeah.
Senator: Especially when I saw the band.
Gizmo: So boys, what a great night tonight. We were shot out of a cannon with this amazing cigar. We have to congratulate again our Lizard of the Week, Lizard Nick. Thanks to him, and thanks to all of the lizards who contribute to this show. We have episode 260, our five-year [02:13:00] anniversary celebration coming up.
Please, please, please tell us what you think about this run we've had of five years, and where we're going, and what you think, and who you've met, and what you've done. Tell us about your experience with the Lounge Lizards podcast. We wanna share all those coming up in a couple of weeks. Of course, voice memos are great, comments are great, anywhere you find us, DMs, all of it.
We love to hear from you. And of course, we have to thank our friends at Bond Roberts for sending our Lizards of the Week a 10-count box of cigars every single week. We really appreciate their support. And of course, boys, smallbatchcigar.com. Use our code LIZARD15. You can pick up these cigars right there.
Chef Ricky: Not anymore.
Gizmo: Yeah.
Chef Ricky: Because of you.
Gizmo: You were supposed to be able to pick up those cigars, but this bastard over here, Chef Ricky, cut us out in the room. So I hope that by the time this episode comes out in what, 10 days?
Chef Ricky: Yeah.
Gizmo: That they get them back in stock. I doubt it, but we will see. Use our code LIZARD15 at smallbatchcigar.com.
Those guys are the best. [02:14:00] And boys, Drew Estate, the rebirth of cigars. Register now for their 30th anniversary celebration and rewards program at DE30Rewards.com. Earn yourself cool swag, free cigars, and whatever else they might be giving for doing what you already do, smoking. And finally, boys, our presenting sponsor, Fabrica 5, fabrica005.com.
Use code LIZARDPOD for 10% off your entire order. The brand-new Maduro Churchill N8 is available, boys. 47 by seven. Rob says it's the closest thing he can imagine to a chocolate croissant-
Chef Ricky: Mm-hmm ...
Gizmo: in cigar form.
Chef Ricky: Can't wait to have
Gizmo: it. I cannot wait to have that.
Chef Ricky: Oh, yeah.
Gizmo: And I'd love to hear from listeners on our conversation about complexity tonight.
Obviously, a couple weeks ago, we talked about the memory component of flavor on the palate and everything else. Complexity was our conversation tonight, so please tell us what you think about that. And boys, one more time tonight, on the Glenfarclas, I'm gonna have a problem saying that every time, 12 years age, single malt scotch whiskey, [02:15:00] we had a 9.5.
And on the Powstanie San Andrés Belicoso, we had a 9.8.
Rooster: Delicious.
Gizmo: What a night, boys.
Rooster: Yep.
Gizmo: Phenomenal cigar, phenomenal drink, phenomenal conversation, and, uh, we'll see everybody next week Hope you enjoyed this episode. Thanks for joining us. You can find our merch store and ratings archive at our brand new website, loungelizardspod.com.
That's loungelizardsP-O-D.com. Don't forget to leave us a rating and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform. If you have any comments, questions, if you wanna reach out, say hello, tell us what you're smoking, email us, hello@loungelizardspod.com. You can also find us on Instagram @loungelizardspod. We really appreciate your time and we'll, uh, we'll see you next week