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Released every Tuesday, the LOUNGE LIZARDS podcast helps listeners navigate the experience of finding and enjoying premium cigars (both Cuban and non-Cuban) and quality spirits. Episodes are normally around 90 minutes long and feature a variety of different topics including food, travel, life, sports and work.
The podcast features eight members: Rooster, Poobah, Gizmo, Senator, Pagoda, Chef Ricky, Grinder and Bam Bam.
This is not your typical cigar podcast. We’re a group of friends who love sharing cigars, whiskey and a good laugh.
Join us and become a card-carrying lounge lizard yourself! Email us at hello@loungelizardspod.com to join the conversation and be featured on an upcoming episode!
**Gizmo:** [00:00:00] Welcome to the Lounge Lizards podcast. It's so good to have you here. 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. Tonight I'm joined by Rooster, Poobah, Senator, Pagoda, Grinder, and Bam Bam, a full house of lizards.
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 125th official invitation to join us and become a card carrying lounge lizard. We're going to smoke a Cuban cigar tonight, share our thoughts on it, and give you our formal lizard braining.
We wrap up the Cuban Connie series with the fourth and final cigar in the line. I attempt to revisit the power of the retrohale, and we answer a few listener emails, all among a variety of other things for the next 90 minutes. So sit back, get your favorite drink, light up a cigar, and enjoy. As we pair 12 year age Tomatin Single Malt Scotch, With the H Uppman Connoisseur 2.
A Cuban Robusto on the [00:01:00] pod tonight from H Uppman. It's the Connoisseur 2. It's an interesting size boys. A 51 ring gauge cigar by five and one quarter inches long. I don't think I've ever had a 51 ring gauge cigar. No,
**Bam Bam:** but this is quite beautiful.
**Gizmo:** And
**Rooster:** it's longer, longer than
**Gizmo:** a regular Robusto. Yeah. Another quarter inch on it than the traditional Cuban Robustos.
Very nice cigar and this rounds out our connoisseur line deep dive that we did the other three. This is the final in the line Yep, and so we we're gonna wrap that up tonight boys. So let's cut this thing See we're getting on the cold draw on the wrapper. It's a beautiful cigar BAM. Like you were saying.
Oh, yeah The wrapper is gorgeous. I think yeah, it's Perfect. Invisible seams. Nice construction. Nice risotto. It draws
**Bam Bam:** wide open. Yeah, rich brown color and it glistens a bit.
**Poobah:** Mine draws wide
**Gizmo:** open. I love this kind of risotto kind of brown. [00:02:00] Like I feel like a lot of good Lusitanias are this color from Partagas.
You're right. It's like that exact shade of Partagas Lusitania that I like. It's really quite nice. What are you guys getting on the cold draw?
**Bam Bam:** I'm getting dried fruit.
**Grinder:** Yeah, so am I tried like
**Bam Bam:** that's
**Gizmo:** quite nice. Wow. Yeah, like a little raisin.
**Senator:** Yeah, man I get the same if you smell the wrapper though, I get a little bit of like milk chocolate
**Gizmo:** milk chocolate
**Pagoda:** totally agree I'm
**Bam Bam:** in agreement with you.
Yeah.
**Poobah:** Yeah, it's got some up in
**Gizmo:** Dessert flavors. It almost has like a Who knew I can
**Bam Bam:** smell? I
**Gizmo:** don't retrohead. Your nose is coming to form. That's quite nice. Does smell good. All right, boys, let's light this thing. The H. Upman Connoisseur II. Again, it's a unique size Robusto. 51 ring gauge by five and a quarter inches long.
Its factory name is the Bohemios. [00:03:00] And this cigar was released in 2020. Well, it was announced in 2020, but of course, Hibanos always is a year or two behind. It was actually released three years ago now. Last week. Last week.
**Bam Bam:** Did you mention
**Gizmo:** the, uh, box code on this? I did not. This is mid 22 from the Upman factory. Oh, nice. The only, only cigar in this ring age,
**Rooster:** I believe.
**Poobah:** 51. You may be right about that, but I'm not
**Gizmo:** sure. This is really, really nice in the light. There's a sweetness to it. I don't know if it, if it aligns with the milk chocolate thing that Senator was saying, but it does have like, it's rounded out by this, uh, it's almost sugary sweet for me in a way.
**Bam Bam:** I get, you know, I'm getting still the dry fruit, but it's earthy for me on the finish.
**Grinder:** I'm definitely getting the sweetness. It's like, it's like a, it's like a sugar cookie. It
**Gizmo:** is. Yeah. It definitely has up in DNA on [00:04:00] the way. What I'd expect are arguably more than I remember with the connoisseur B, which I don't think performed very well in the pod.
We'll go through that later, but yeah. Um, this is definitely more in line with what I'd expect from upman for
**Poobah:** sure. The Connie B head was very Cedar, Cedar, like, and light up front. Very like extremely mild. I'm not getting that here.
**Grinder:** I'm going to have a hard time with this because it's so good.
**Gizmo:** You're going to rush through it.
Yeah. This seems
**Rooster:** to have more flavor than the Connie
**Gizmo:** B. I agree. It does. Oh yeah. At least on the light.
**Senator:** I also, on the finish, there's like a little nuttiness. Mm hmm.
**Bam Bam:** Yeah, that's what I'm probably mistaken as earthiness, but I'm getting that. That's really quite good.
**Gizmo:** So, like I said, these cigars were announced in 2020.
They were released early 2021 and they come in slide lid boxes of 25 cigars, like most of the other cigars in [00:05:00] the Upman line. Uh, again, it's called a Bohemios, which is a unique size for this cigar. And it is the most recent and apparently final, I guess we'll see, How Habanos does in the future, but this right now is the fourth of four in the connoisseur line again Following the connoisseur number one, which was released a long long time ago pre 1960s The connoisseur a and the connoisseur B which show like I said, this is the last that we're doing on the pond tonight So this is really nice.
Oh, yeah Elegant cigar. You know what I like about it too? It has a nice, like when I, I actually called for a, I asked the guys before we came on, I was holding the cigar in my hand and I was looking at it. I was sensing that I might have a draw issue or it might be overpacked, but it's a densely packed cigar.
At least mine is. And the draw is perfect. Oh yeah. So I'm totally fine with it. It doesn't feel that heavy. Yeah, mine's kind of light. I think mine's on the heavier end of what's going on in the room. Yeah, could be.
**Senator:** I'm just [00:06:00] amazed by this cigar because I never hear anything about the Connie II. And just the flavor profile on the light, this is ideal.
Like, if I could say notes I would want in a connoisseur cigar, period. Yeah. It would be what I'm getting right now. This is delicious. This is
**Gizmo:** fantastic. Is this what we had in Cuba?
**Pagoda:** Did we have the coni B or the
**Rooster:** coni 2? Coni, coni 2, I think, right? Yeah, it was this, I think. Was it this?
**Senator:** You guys got this at Havana
**Gizmo:** Libre?
Unlikely. At, uh,
**Rooster:** Havana Libre. Hmm. I remember we Not Havana
**Gizmo:** Libre. We had the mag 54. That's where you guys got the punch double Corona. Oh yeah, yeah.
**Rooster:** That's it. Yeah. I'm getting
**Gizmo:** confused with the part with the, uh, the
**Rooster:** one that's closer to where
**Gizmo:** we stay.
**Rooster:** Only a Cohiba.
**Poobah:** Yeah. Okay. I'm getting some peppery notes too here.
Um, on the finish, I get
**Rooster:** some pepper.
**Poobah:** So there's a lot going on. I'm getting
**Grinder:** some ginger. Oddly. There's like some [00:07:00] gingerbread. Not like, not like ginger that you'd have like the, but like a gingerbread cookie
**Gizmo:** kind of like a sweet ginger. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. When I think of gingerbread, I think I get like those cookies have like a little bite to them.
Is that like what you mean? Like that little kind of? Yeah, kind of, but
**Grinder:** it's like a sweet, soft spice. It's not like a, like if you were to take ginger and put it in your mouth, it's not like
**Gizmo:** that. So we've done a lot of Upman cigars in the pod, so we're not going to go through the full H Upman history, but we could talk about some of the other cigars in the line.
Uh, that we haven't done. Um, I don't know which of these we might do. I think the only one that really is a standout right now that we have to do is the Magnum 54. We've done the other Magnums. We haven't done that? No, we haven't. We did the Mag 46. We did the Mag 50.
**Bam Bam:** I've been pining for that cigar to be recorded because I
**Gizmo:** happen to like that a lot.
And there's another one in the line that they just released. Magnum 52. Oh, 52. So that's an interesting one. Do we
**Grinder:** recall from, do the different [00:08:00] Vitolas have a different Magnum taste? Like, is it, is
**Gizmo:** it? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Mag 46 is a little bit more of a punch. Mag 50 is very light. Mag 54, I think, I
**Grinder:** love that spicy punch of the 46.
**Gizmo:** Yeah. I think it's a great cigar.
**Rooster:** I think, I think out of all the Magnum, that whole series, the 46.
**Gizmo:** It's probably my favorite. Yeah.
**Poobah:** It's mine too. For sure. It's a nice size. Yeah. 46 ring gauges is a real nice
**Gizmo:** size. The problem with the Corona Gorda though, I think, you know, we've talked about this before, you know, the punch punch, I think experiences it a little less, but the mag 46, I think that Vitola just, they pack too much tobacco in it sometimes.
It's inconsistent. And, and there's just so often a performance issue, you know, you're pulling them out of the box, you're looking at the foot, you're feeling them. Yeah. I just, I don't know if that blend just calls for too much tobacco for what that 46 ring gauge Vitola demands. So
**Bam Bam:** Rooster's shaking his head, no, I've never had a bad.
I have never had
**Rooster:** bad. Maybe you just had a bad,
**Gizmo:** bad box. I've gone through a lot of [00:09:00] boxes of those. I've had
**Senator:** the same experience as Giz, multiple boxes. I mean, they're, they're fantastic cigars, but legitimately like a third of a box that I've had have like a really tight draw that I've had to take a perfect draw to.
**Gizmo:** That's strange. Cohiba Siglo 4 is the same size. I've had better luck with them than I have the Mag 46, but, and the Punch Punch, which is identical as well. I've never had a Punch Punch that had any sort of draw or construction issue, ever. So, you know, it could be luck of the draw, too. Yeah, so the other one that is interesting that people have asked us to do, so I think we're gonna have to do it at some point, is the Corona's Major.
Have you guys heard of that? It comes in a tubo. Yep. I have a bunch of those. It's an Eminentis, a Corona 42 ring gauge by 5 14. It's the same length as this. It's just a 42 instead of a 51. And then, you know, we have to do the Sir Winston, of course. That's one of the highlight cigars of the line. And the other one that Bam and [00:10:00] I have, we have jars of these, the La Casa Del Habano.
The Noelas. The Noelas, yeah.
**Bam Bam:** Yeah. That's a very nice, smooth, mild cigar.
**Gizmo:** Yeah, that's a Corona 42 by five and three eighths. And that only comes in glass jars.
**Poobah:** So the Coronas Major, um, I bought Um, two bows of those, like a full box years ago. Not good. Yeah. Yeah. They're just not even, it's like a budget cigar, I think, um, within the Upman line.
It's just not, it's not something people, Oh, I still have them. I'd be happy to bring them in. We could review them, but I just don't know how worthwhile of an endeavor it is. It's, it's kind of like when you get. When you get lower into the part of this
**Gizmo:** line, I was going to say, it's like an aristocrat. It's like an aristocrat or super
**Poobah:** part of this super part, right?
It's just, it's really kind of not,
**Bam Bam:** could it have improved since you've had
**Poobah:** them? I'm sure it improved some, but it had a long way [00:11:00] to go.
**Gizmo:** I've heard that the profile on those is just very, Blah, very mild and meek. Um, you know, can't wait to smoke.
**Poobah:** It's a budget. I mean, it's a budget. I think it's one of these budget cigars within their line, like the Partagas.
It's just like the lower end of
**Gizmo:** the Partagas line. The other one too, that's kind of in line with what Poobah is saying is the Regalius, which is a petite Corona 42 by five and an eighth. I actually have a box of those. Those may be better. Actually, I haven't pulled those in. I haven't even thought about that box till right now in about four years.
Probably the couple that I've had were, were mediocre. But what's interesting is I think that because of the price increases that we've discussed that nauseam. That just kicked in a few weeks ago, people are reaching for regalias and Corona majors and part of gets aristocrats and because they're just affordable co op
**Bam Bam:** us and co op us.
You've seen them come up a lot now where you've before you've never seen them up.
**Poobah:** Well, the opportunity costs for flippers or the, you know, or anyone, it's a little [00:12:00] bit lower and. You know, you can get somebody to bite on those, but I, I can't see anyone real. I mean, maybe I could, you know, going through the trouble and the hassle that they, those could, those cigars just don't, those budget cigars within the Partagas and, and up in catalog, there's only, there's only a handful.
They're not, they're not particularly good, you know, and then you've got this other thing that's going on, which we should talk about, which is the punch punch, uh, or no, not the punch punch. Um, The, uh, the new punch release in the metal tin.
**Gizmo:** So yeah, they, the punch triunfos is in line. I forget the name of the linea from Habanos, but it's in line with the part of his capitals tins and the Romeo club Kings, which come, you know, the tin is interesting.
It's one of those tins that the lid actually, you push the tin and it pops open. It's a good looking tin. It's a gimmick because the cigars just aren't great. No. And I'd expect the same thing from the punch.
**Poobah:** The tins are [00:13:00] actually useful. I do use the part of this cat. I got to dig around and find my, put your bullets in them.
Yes. I load them up. I load them up with the ammunition and drive around. There you go. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, no, but did they come in, they actually come in really handy because you can fit. A Robusto, you can fit a petite Corona and they're in like this metal 10 and it is secure. I mean, the actual packaging itself on the Pardigis Capital is quality.
Unfortunately, the um, Cigars within are, um, are substandard
**Gizmo:** in my view. And I think they're actually getting worse with time. I had one, uh, About three months ago, I got worse. I got, I got about, uh, we've had those probably, that's one of the first cigars we bought. You and I split a box of those probably four or five, you know, four years ago, five years ago, whatever.
Wow. And they've gotten worse with time. Really? Not better. Yeah. How's that possible? [00:14:00] Well, try them. No, no, I haven't bothered. So what's interesting too, is that, and, and we were talking about this before we came on air. H up and does have another Robusto, the Royal Robusto, which is a little Casa del Habano exclusive 52 by five and three eighths.
It's an Edmundo same size as the Monte Cristo Edmundo. I don't see people celebrating that cigar, the Royal Robusto. I've never had it. So I wonder if, you know, releasing a Robusto in the connoisseur line is upman's attempt to put something in the, the Robusto Vitola. That's a little more in line with what people are looking for, because I've had some of those.
I've seen people talk about them, they're, they're not a great cigar, the Royal Robusta.
**Poobah:** But they're not awful either. They're not, they're not awful. They're just not like an
**Gizmo:** Anahata. Well, the up in Anahatas, that's one of the best Robustas ever to be
**Poobah:** released by Habanos. Yeah. So it's kind of tough. [00:15:00] This cigar, however, is performing quite well right
**Gizmo:** now.
It's really quite
**Bam Bam:** a good cigar, dude.
**Gizmo:** It's amazing. Great,
**Rooster:** great
**Gizmo:** construction.
**Senator:** Yeah. The other thing I love with this, the smoke output has been amazing. Good combustion.
**Gizmo:** That's what
**Poobah:** I, that, you know, that's what I love about good Upman cigars out of the Upman factory. Boy, oh boy. Like they can, they, they, when they perform well, like a razor sharp burn and they have great construction to your point, they have, they have, um, great combustion and, um, when they're really good, a good Upman, I love them.
Can't
**Gizmo:** beat it. This is smoking
**Bam Bam:** very nicely, very rich, a bit earthy, still a little sweet. It's really quite nice.
**Pagoda:** And reasonably long finish. A very nice finish. Meaning it's leaving such a pleasant
**Gizmo:** Oh yeah. Yeah. You know what's interesting about you saying that is I haven't thought about reaching for either my seltzer or, or the scotch that we're pairing with tonight.
I haven't even thought about [00:16:00] reaching for something to kind of cleanse my palate. Like, it seems like it's like a really smooth, long, clean finish. That's Right. Really, really nice.
**Poobah:** It's super solid. It's super so far. I hope it stays this way and its youth doesn't present itself. Um,
**Gizmo:** we shall see, you know, we
**Rooster:** were talking about the LCDH releases.
Can you think of any stellar LCDH release
**Gizmo:** ever? No, not one. Well,
**Poobah:** the kind of, well, the connoisseur a, the LCDH, well, which is a LCDH for research just doesn't have the band. That's
**Gizmo:** true. That is a great cigar. And we love that cigar.
**Rooster:** Other than that, I can't think of,
**Senator:** you know,
**Gizmo:** nothing with the band on it for sure.
Yeah. I agree. I don't think there's anything been anything that's been memorable. I think they're very similar to the regional releases. You know, I think that they kind of come out and there's a hype around them because there's a second band and you know, it kind of falls by the wayside. [00:17:00] One of the other cigars boys that we actually have coming up on a short smoke special in the next few weeks, I guess, one of our favorites, The H up in half Corona.
Oh boy. Oh, it's crazy. We haven't reviewed that. I know we not reviewed that. I
**Senator:** mean, we've probably smoked a thousand of them across all of us at this point. That's true. I
**Bam Bam:** felt such a staple. Honestly, I think we did a short
**Gizmo:** smoke episode. No, we haven't done that one and it's coming up. Uh, it's a big favorite of this group.
Like, you know, Poobah was talking about with the tens in the linear line, they come in tens, not in line with those, but they come in these little five pack tins. Yeah. Five of them
**Bam Bam:** These are tins that you want. These are incredible.
**Gizmo:** They've been a little harder to find in the tins the last two years, I would say.
They also come in a dress box of 25. But you talk about a cigar that's an amazing finisher. Start of the evening, end of the evening, wherever you want to slot it, that cigar is a home run and I can't wait to review it.
**Bam Bam:** I will say though, sorry. The half Coronas that come in the dress box, they're actually very good.
I agree. Right. [00:18:00] Right. We've experienced that. They're not pressed. There's room in the box for them to breathe a little bit. Unlike a lot of other dress box cigars that they work well at a dress box.
**Poobah:** They do. I bought a great aged box of, of half Coronas, man. And like they were great.
**Gizmo:** They're delicious.
**Poobah:** 2015 age by aged, uh, tens, boy, oh boy, something happens in there with that cedar, just right there.
And, and the tens are great. Keep the tens. Cause then you buy a dress box and you can just carry the tens around. I love to transfer those in. You can put your bullets in them too. They're wonderful to, um, I think, I think, I think you've got enough legs out of that
**Gizmo:** one. I don't know how
**Poobah:** much, I don't know. I don't know how much more you got with that, but
**Gizmo:** the, uh, Just keep punching the card, man.
I gotcha. I
**Bam Bam:** gotcha. Peace and love. Back to the well again.
**Poobah:** Um, but uh, they're great to share. The half Corona is great to share. Um, I actually, I, [00:19:00] before the podcast, does anyone have a half Corona? Cause I didn't think I had a small cigar on it. Right. Right. I ended up finding one thing thankfully, um, but they're wonderful to, to share.
So I would pack those up if I was, um, and go somewhere to a party, to a wedding and you only have a, and, and the, the, the, uh, the tin, it has that con has that concave it's curved. So it fits right in your jacket. It's awesome.
**Gizmo:** It's awesome. And the scars don't move around in there, which is amazing. No, they don't move around at all.
You could be on the dance floor. And they're bouncing around your pocket right next to your, right next
**Poobah:** to your class. Exactly. A hundred percent. And you could, during a cocktail hour, you could punch it. You could go outside and have a quick cigar. And by the way, anyone can smoke that cigar and like it.
Absolutely. Um, any kind of cigar smoker from an expert to a novice would like it. Um, so. You can tell I'm a big fan.
**Gizmo:** So I can't wait to do that. It's coming up on the pod. And the other one we mentioned, boys, we did it on episode 72. One of the highest rated [00:20:00] cigars we've ever done is the H. Upman Anahatos, which is also a Robusto, which is one of the best cigars.
I think that Habanos has ever put out. Certainly in that program is a highlight cigar. Incredible. In the controversial Anahatos
**Bam Bam:** program. I had one this weekend. It was really, really good. Yeah. From beginning to end.
**Gizmo:** Yeah. So, what's interesting about the Anahatos program, for anyone who's not initiated or hadn't, hasn't heard that episode, they release cigars that are, are at least five years age.
So the boxes that we bought, I think have a 2016 stamp on them. Mine are 2011. And they're actually 2011. Yeah. We have 11s as well. Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. So I think there is 2011 on does it? Yeah, it must have been a 20. It must have been a 2016 release. I'm sorry, maybe, but they're five years aged and they're just amazing.
So they come up.
**Bam Bam:** We'll never see those again. I
**Senator:** think for a very long time, I'll say this, they still pop up somehow because within the last year, [00:21:00] I've been shocked to see it pop up really. And I ordered it and it came same 2011 box code on the bottom. They're great.
**Gizmo:** I think I have had them. Exactly. Yeah.
Nice. How much, how much are those boxes? 750. I think it was
**Senator:** less. I thought it was 695,
**Gizmo:** something, 685, maybe something close to this. Stop advertising
**Poobah:** this.
**Gizmo:** Correct. So, boys, this is a very, very good. Cigar tonight. It's excellent. It's burning slow. Yeah. Which I
**Pagoda:** like. Yeah. And I thought it was smoking too low, but yeah.
No, it's great.
**Grinder:** It's been great. I think I'm just puffing
**Senator:** fast. Yeah. To Griner's point earlier, I'm having a hard time being patient with this because it's really good. Yeah. And in the draw is so open, it's just easy to keep. And so flavorful.
**Gizmo:** Yeah.
Yeah.
**Poobah:** I mean, I feel like I could slot this in, in a similar spot that I'd slot a deformed.
**Gizmo:** Good point. Yeah. Or RAS. Or RAS. Yeah. It's milder.
**Senator:** It's milder than both of
**Gizmo:** those. Oh, it [00:22:00] is. That's
**Poobah:** also true. For sure. No doubt, no
**Senator:** doubt about it. To me, I'd have this before a D4.
**Gizmo:** Uh, yeah.
**Poobah:** Yeah, I could, uh, I could see myself too, but I could, if I want a Robusto. Oh, and plus a little bit extra that up
**Bam Bam:** in flair,
**Poobah:** maybe I have just a little bit more time.
There you go. Um, this could slot in. Yeah. I mean, it's not, it's not so mild that it's, um, mild, mild, it's got, it's got some body to it. I mean, it doesn't, it doesn't, it's not lacking
**Gizmo:** body. You
**Grinder:** know what? You know what? Very true. You really should do. You should really retrohale. Oh, yeah. Tremendous.
**Gizmo:** Tremendous.
Senator, give it a retrohale. Giz. I
**Bam Bam:** can give you a
**Grinder:** dissertation. It's actually a great retrohale. Wow. It's very, it's like horseradish. Yes. It clears
**Bam Bam:** your airways. So Giz, I've got a question. We've been smoking this for how long, about 10, 15 minutes? 22. And is that
**Gizmo:** your [00:23:00] first retrohale? On this cigar? No. Okay.
Oh, we didn't hear that reaction earlier. No, it's
**Bam Bam:** a little suspect. It's suspect. Ah! This doesn't
**Gizmo:** add up here. I was doing it because the question was asked. All right. I was being a little more dramatic. But, uh, listen, the retrohale for me is a recent rediscovery. A revelation. A revelation. Rediscovery. I like that.
Because, no, because we have, we've talked about it so much on this podcast. And action. We have talked about it so much on this podcast. Yes, it's true. And I have had a. Miraculous transformation in my experience with cigars by not just pushing a piece of the the draw through my nose But pushing the entire draw through my nose on the Siglo 5s that I've been smoking from Cohiba that it is It's eye opening.
Look
**Bam Bam:** for people that can do it. It's something that's important to them for me particularly. I love doing that I almost every other draw I'll retrohale It's important because for me, I capture notes that I don't always capture on a typical draw. Those [00:24:00] of you that can, great. If you can't, you're discovering cigars in a different way.
Yeah. Right. This is what it is. Very profound and
**Gizmo:** democratic.
**Poobah:** This is like hot tub time machine.
**Gizmo:** You're a big retrohale guy. Yeah, definitely. How often are you retrohaling usually? Oh,
**Grinder:** almost every draw. Yeah. Yeah. And if not a full retrohale, um, Like little, some little small bit of it, you know, just to, just to wet the whistle and it's just the way I smoke cigars, always.
Gizwan's
**Senator:** 100 percent every time though, I don't know
**Grinder:** if you meet his criteria. I, I, and you know, if you have, that's, maybe that's why I like the lighter cigars as well because It doesn't get too overpowering. It's not as much, because when you, when you get like a, a rich, very rich cigar in your retrohale and you do it over and over, it really like, it really nullifies your palate.
It just brings it down. And then it's just like peppery bomb constantly. So,
**Gizmo:** yeah, I've been enjoying the [00:25:00] retro way more on Cubans than I have You know, trying to work on it with a, uh, a new world. It, the new world experience with, with the retro Hill is, is never an exclusive. It could be harsh. It doesn't do exclusive.
Oh, yes. But some of the, some of the other new worlds that I smoke, like the Davidoffs, I don't really love the retro on those. Really? The millennium. I don't get all the flavors. I love it. I have never said that jokes aside, like for
**Senator:** me, you can't enjoy a cigar without retro hailing
**Gizmo:** it. I mean, what do you mean?
Have I said that
**Bam Bam:** bam? I, I, you're making fun of it, but I actually have, I would never be able to smoke a cigar unless I retro. He said he doesn't like to retro David off.
**Gizmo:** Well, that's
**Grinder:** good. I, I
**Senator:** think that was a great, so maybe then Bam is going to take the mantle. I think Giz has lost it. Giz may be
**Bam Bam:** suspect.
I don't know. This
**Grinder:** is great. I love you. I love
**Poobah:** you guys. He's so rattled right
**Gizmo:** now. I don't even understand how this is a controversial topic. He thought he was the king of the retro hell. And now we find out it's really bad. I'm like the prince of the retro hell. We need Judge
**Senator:** [00:26:00] Meta.
**Gizmo:** I think he's on the payroll.
Judge Meta. So anyway, for the listener out there, I encourage you, and Bam encourages you, and Grindr, everybody else is a shithead, I encourage you to really, really try to get yourself into the retro hell because it has really elevated my cigar experience.
**Senator:** I've learned a lot from Bam and Grindr on this one, so thank you guys, because Giz hasn't been able to really explain it.
Very well.
**Gizmo:** Listen, you want me to explain it? It, it takes, that was, that
**Poobah:** was rhetorical. This
**Gizmo:** is not, this is not the
**Poobah:** earnest in which you
**Gizmo:** bit that.
**Poobah:** That beat, you're like a large mouth bass. Yeah.
**Bam Bam:** I'm usually the guys biting the bait. All right.
**Poobah:** The beat went right by you and you're like,
**Gizmo:** Listen, I'm, I'm very passionate about the retrohale these days.
And I think we should discuss
**Pagoda:** it every pod now. [00:27:00]
**Gizmo:** So boys, let's talk about our pairing tonight. We have a single malt scotch, it's called the Tomatin, 12 year aged. Let's see how this thing pairs. Has anybody tried it yet? I tried it. Can
**Senator:** someone I tried it. Can someone
**Grinder:** pass the ice?
**Bam Bam:** Yeah, we'll need ice. But I do encourage you to try
**Grinder:** it and eat.
I think on the nose I started off with some ice. On the nose, it smells great. It smells very smooth. Getting a lot of like, warm, molasses, kind of caramelly. Definitely gets some sherry. There's definitely Oh, wow. Some kind of sherry in
**Gizmo:** there. Not a lot. It was finished in sherry and bourbon casks. Well, there you go.
Senator,
**Bam Bam:** it's much
**Grinder:** better on ice. And, and, and I mean, I've been, like I said, I started with ice. It's very smooth. It's, it's a good, I think it's a good, very good, I think it's a fine single malt scotch. Um, I
**Senator:** have to say, I, I tried it neat to start and it drank way too hot. I, I couldn't get any of the flavor.
It's just like my taste buds were singed. With ice, everything Grindr said, I completely agree with it. [00:28:00] It's. Totally transformed, like mellowed out. It's pleasant. The flavor notes are distinct there. I get everything Grindr said, I also get some like honey, um, it's, it's tasty. It's actually, it's really good.
I'm getting like a little
**Grinder:** citrus on the finish as well, which is my favorite. Very pleasant. That's Bamsaline.
**Gizmo:** Yeah.
**Grinder:** We, we colluded before the
**Pagoda:** episode. When I tried it without the ice, it was really, uh, hot and bitter. I don't know, I got a real bitter taste. Yeah. That
**Grinder:** might be like my, the citrusy that I'm getting might be just muted, muted,
**Senator:** you know?
Yeah. I'm really getting the citrus on the finish now. It's like, I just took a bite of an orange peel or something. Definitely a lot of
**Bam Bam:** citrus. It's nice. It's nice. It's good. Yeah.
**Gizmo:** It's okay. Oh,
**Senator:** Poobah's the dissenter. Um,
**Poobah:** it's okay. I had it without ice. Now I have ice in it. It's, it's just, there's so many other, um, alternatives.
Um, I'm sure I would hit, I don't know how much this costs, but I would handicap it at [00:29:00] probably around 45. No, no, no. 68, 70. Okay. I was going to do it myself,
**Gizmo:** but there you go. That's
**Poobah:** it for today.
**Bam Bam:** Poober goodnight, bro. By the
**Pagoda:** time you get to it, everybody's already mentioned numbers.
**Gizmo:** It is a 68 bottle of scotch.
Ah, okay. Very nice. Okay. It's interesting. When I reached for this, when I reached for this, it came off a recommendation when I was in total wine and I had gotten a recommendation from a listener for this. And, uh, I just grabbed it while I was in total wine. We were looking at stuff and I grabbed it.
What's funny is prior to being in that store in that moment and having seen the listener email, I have never heard of this scotch. I've
**Grinder:** never heard of it either, but I'll tell you what, It's, it, it tastes and smells and feels like, like someone who knows how to make scotch made this. It's not, it doesn't seem like a newcomer.
Mm hmm. In other words, does that, does
**Gizmo:** that make sense? It's [00:30:00] definitely not a newcomer. They've been doing this since 1897. I would agree with
**Poobah:** that. It, it, it certainly does, it, yeah, it doesn't taste like some kind of new Newfangled thing it's made in the tradition of the taste like Scotch from Scotland.
It's kind of one of those, you know, what I would call, uh, off brand kind of things. That's not that interesting to me. I would need, maybe I need to drink more of it. I'll be
**Gizmo:** honest. I think, I think there was a little heat before the ice. I think with the ice now, it kind of chilling out a little bit. It's opening up.
I actually don't think it's bad for this cigar. It's very drinkable. I think neat, it would have been way too rough for this cigar. I'm getting like a little,
**Grinder:** like a almondy, kind of vanilla almondy on the, on the end there, which I think is, it's nice with this, with this H Hutman.
**Senator:** Yeah, I, I think the big thing for me, I think it pairs really [00:31:00] well with this cigar in a sense that this cigar, it's a, it's a medium smoke.
And so. I think any very full Scotch, and I would even say like some of it is kind of medium mild when you, when you start with this smoke, any really full Scotch I think could overpower this cigar. But I like that. I mean, it's lighter in color and um, the flavor notes are, I think heavily dessert notes. Mm hmm.
Uh, which pair well with an upman. So I just think pairing wise, it's worked really well with, with ice, with ice. But we, I mean, look, we're not going to sit here and pretend most scotches. We all drink with ice. If we're being honest, it's true. Sure. It's true. Um,
**Gizmo:** even our favorites.
**Senator:** Correct. Yeah, that's true.
And, um, I think for me with this in particular for a lighter style scotch, I find a lot of lighter scotches to be like very one dimensional and not that interesting. Kind of like Poobah feels about this to me, the fact that I'm able to pick out distinct flavor notes and grinder when, you know, [00:32:00] at length about distinct notes that he got out of this.
And I think they're all correct. That's a merit for a scotch. That's in the 60 something dollar range that It's from a brand that I'm not familiar with at all. Um, I've at least seen and heard of it. I've just never drank anything that they make. I mean, for what it is, I'm
**Gizmo:** impressed. Do you think that, do you think the 20 haircut on the price of this versus let's call it McAllen 12, do you think that, that, that 20, you know, swing in price is appropriate for what we're getting out of this, or do you think that this should be priced lower?
Slightly, slightly lower. So you think this should be in the
**Poobah:** fifties? I, cause this is priced like Balvenie. Yeah. Yeah. And that's, that, that, that's far superior.
**Grinder:** I don't, I don't agree. I think, I think this is, I think this is a very well made scotch and the flavor profiles to me are very traditional of a scotch that I would, that I enjoy and always enjoy with cigars
**Senator:** especially.
I would just say, I think they're, they're different styles. Like, I don't think this is trying to be as [00:33:00] bold as a Balvenie Doublewood or certainly not as bold as a McAllen. Like, I think it's intentionally trying to be lighter, but with just enough flavor. I mean, kind of like this cigar, we're saying how, you know, it's mild medium, but finishes medium, right?
It has just enough legs that it leaves you very satisfied. And I think it's trying to do something in that vein. I also suspect that years ago, because I have known this brand to be. A budget brand, I guarantee it just a couple of years ago, this was probably 10 at least cheaper. I mean, everything in the Scotch market's gone up recently.
So I think that they've probably just had to increase prices just to
**Gizmo:** it's, it's, it's amazing to me that this has been around since 1897. Yeah. And I guess the space is just so flooded with brands and offerings and different varietal, everything. You can get so many different things that for something that's been around this long, that none of us in the room have ever heard of it.
None of my friends. Maybe,
**Poobah:** maybe there's a reason for that. Very well could be. Is the, and I just It's, [00:34:00] it's for me, I see the notes that, that, that Senator and grinder picked out, I can taste them, um, but they're not all that distinctive. You have to search for them a little bit too, too much. And then when you, when you, when you top it off, you put ice in and there's still a little, just a little bit of ice in there.
And then when you top it off and you're kind of in that middle range, it's still. It still has some characteristics that are just a little bit off putting to me. That's just not my thing. Like it's not bad. by any stretch, but it's not something that I would, I would reach for.
**Gizmo:** Right. And I
**Grinder:** also think, I think a really good Scotch, you should try to consume without any, you know, without neat.
You should consume it neat and drink it and drink it as such. And if you're, if you're kind of repulsive, I think a couple of people were, that's probably not the best sign, right? Like it
**Senator:** should be.
**Gizmo:** For the
**Poobah:** individual. Cause it's all about individuality. Some people may like, I [00:35:00] mean, the listener who. Brought this in, right?
Yeah. Like it were recommended this. He, he likes it. And I think that, and you guys like it and I think that that's good. Um, but maybe it's a little bit polarizing in the market. Maybe it's, it's, it sits in a spot where. It's not kind of the universal love isn't there, you know, you know what I mean? And that's okay for what it is.
It's got its spot. It's got it's they're selling it as I,
**Bam Bam:** as I drink this, as I settle in with it, it's actually overtly sweet for me. It's really sweet forward for me personally. So I'm getting almost a syrupy consistency for me from the point of view of the taste. I'm not sure if I really like that. Um, it's very drinkable, but it's probably a
**Gizmo:** bit sweet for me.
So let's hear a little bit about the history. I do have the notes, the flavor notes. Let's let it settle another minute or two. Well, uh, Senator kind of runs us through a little bit about Tomatin and, uh, we'll [00:36:00] talk about the flavor notes on the box. Yeah. So I was
**Senator:** especially curious about this brand just because not being familiar with it or ever consuming their product.
And there's a few interesting nuggets that I think kind of explain why we probably haven't heard much about it. Uh, to start a Highland Scotch, it's actually one of the highest distilleries in Scotland, uh, just a few kilometers east of the famous, uh, Loch Ness. The, uh, actual distillery itself, so Giz mentioned, started in 1897.
They went bankrupt as early as 1906, so got off to obviously a rocky start. They reopened again in 1909.
**Gizmo:** years. That's not good. That's not good. That's not a good sign.
**Senator:** They reopened three years later after going bankrupt. They were one of the smaller distilleries for a while. They only had two stills that they were using to make everything over.
Then a few more decades time, finally, in the late fifties and into the sixties, they started installing more stills, increasing production. Um, and they were all of the, uh, basically the ingredients they were sourcing right there [00:37:00] locally. Um, it says that their own maltings that they were using to make their Scotch, uh, that shut down in the seventies.
And so they started purchasing from Glen Orr Distillery and then they went bankrupt again in 1985. The
**Gizmo:** trifecta is now in play. And
**Senator:** this is when a Japanese company bought them and Tomatin is the first Japanese owned Scottish distillery.
**Gizmo:** Wow. That's very interesting. In the late 80s. Because what's funny about that is there is no indication on the packaging that it's owned by a Japanese company.
It's run by
**Poobah:** Scots I'm sure. On the ground. Sure.
**Gizmo:** Oh yeah, for sure. You know. What, what,
**Grinder:** what did it tell you, uh,
**Gizmo:** what Japanese company? Yeah, it
**Senator:** says, uh, Takara Shuzo Co. and Okara Co., uh, they both purchased it in 1985. And then they've actually won some awards recently. It says that in 2016, Whiskey [00:38:00] Magazine named them Distiller of the Year.
They have age statements between 12 and 36 years old.
**Gizmo:** Wow. We'll have to try to 36 at some point. Probably about 40, 000. Yeah. Gizmos buying.
**Bam Bam:** I
**Grinder:** wonder if they're still in, like, sourcing their, you know, malt from elsewhere as well.
**Senator:** I think so. Yeah.
**Gizmo:** So let's talk about the flavor notes on the box here, boys. I always think this is interesting, see if this is accurate.
So it says the Tomatin 12 year old is classically smooth, having been matured. Yeah. and traditional scotch whiskey, ex bourbon and ex Spanish sherry casks, aroma of wild heather, pine and cedar, soon sweetened to reveal notes of creme caramel, With apples, pears, and mango before a full bodied and buttery finish.
I just, I wonder if there's like a firm that just writes all of these? For [00:39:00] these manufacturers? You think?
**Poobah:** You think it's like, you think it's like Cindy down in the office with a, with a word processor.
**Gizmo:** Wild Heather. Wild Heather. Chat GBT. Oh boy. Yeah. Yeah.
**Grinder:** Right. Right. A description of this whiskey for what
**Gizmo:** is Heather?
I thought it was a color of a sweatshirt.
**Grinder:** Heather's like, Hey,
**Gizmo:** like Heather gray. I love that. Gizmo's point of reference is
**Poobah:** a sweatshirt. Heather's something you don't want to hit your golf ball.
**Pagoda:** Now who was Heather would have been more appropriate but
**Gizmo:** yeah, I think the scotch is serviceable. It's it's not it's not ringing my bell very much I I don't think it's overpowering the cigar which I'm happy about but It's just not great.
Seems like what Poobah said that there's better stuff out there For sure at that price right at that
**Poobah:** price range [00:40:00] you can get an Irish whiskey that's gonna knock your socks off At that price point, like a green spot, that, that pound for pound for me is, is, is a hell of a, way better. Yeah. But if you're
**Bam Bam:** looking, if you are looking for a sweeter side to a scotch, this is perfect for you.
I just, if that's your thing, for
**Senator:** me, my point of reference, like I, so there's two ways to look at this. I don't disagree with Poobah. I mean, at the price point, yes, there are absolutely better options out there. No disagreement whatsoever there. I would pick up Balvenie 12 any day over this. The thing, when I just look at the color of the scotch, like I always compare this to some of the lighter color, lighter style scotches.
And so like the thing that always is my point of reference is down when I knew you were going to go there always. Yeah. Always. And that's more than this costs. Yeah.
**Bam Bam:** It's a little lighter than this
**Senator:** though. It is. And, and I just, like for me, I would drink this again. We're downy. I don't enjoy. And some of the other lighter ones we've had, like, um, you know, Glen Ranchie 10, [00:41:00] it's a very light scotch.
It's fine to me. It's, it's very one dimensional. This just has a bit more than any of those lighter scotches, which I like. It says something to you when you drink. Yeah, in a way that a lot of those other ones don't for me.
**Gizmo:** Exactly right. Do
**Poobah:** we think, I haven't had a glass of dalwini, and I'm just asking for the group.
That's very much. I haven't had a glass of, well, I haven't had a glass of it in at least, in at least 15 years. No,
**Senator:** we,
**Gizmo:** we did it on the pod. Did we do it in a pod? Yes, since the pod. We were recording at my place, yeah. Yeah, long ago. Yeah, we did it a long time ago. When we were rookies. Yeah, because I And hadn't
**Poobah:** Okay.
Well, and it hadn't changed, I guess It hadn't changed. So what I'm saying is sometimes over time these things can change and evolve and get better. Like Macallans had kind of its ups and downs. It's true.
**Senator:** Uh, I've had alwin, he at multiple points, I mean, when I first started drinking scotch a long time ago, I had Dal Winnie.
Even then as a novice Scotch drinker, it was boring to me. And then I had it as recent as within the last two [00:42:00] years. And
**Gizmo:** I still didn't like it.
**Poobah:** I was just, I was just raising the question. If we still, we must've reviewed that two, three years ago or something.
**Rooster:** Aren't all the Japanese whiskeys also lighter in
**Gizmo:** color?
Not all, but some of them, most of them.
**Poobah:** We've like the Nick
**Gizmo:** of coffee was spectacular.
**Grinder:** The Hibiki was spectacular.
**Senator:** It's really like the sun, the color is light. No, not on Hibiki. The sun, Sun Tree is very light.
**Rooster:** Right. So I was just thinking maybe because this is Japanese owned and Scottish runs, so maybe the color is, uh, you know, lighter, but maybe it's, maybe that's not the case.
**Senator:** I, I would, I would doubt it, honestly.
**Gizmo:** So boys, we're about halfway through here on the H Uppman Connoisseur number two. What's everybody thinking
**Bam Bam:** the pairing is actually not that bad.
**Gizmo:** Yeah, I think I'm happy pairs. Okay. I'm happy with the pairing tonight You know and it's funny we get emails from folks who say hey you guys are you know?
You're not purists on the scotch [00:43:00] and the rums and the whiskeys you drink because you're putting ice in it You know, you should be drinking it neat and this is a 40 43 per you know percent 86 proof spirit Which is on the lighter end especially as you compare to some of the single barrel and and you know Some of the bourbons that we do but You know, my answer is always that our first intention here is reviewing the cigar and what we're drinking needs to complement the cigar and not the other way around.
That's correct. You can't be, you can't have something, even if 43%, like Senator said, you take this, you take a sip, it bites you. We're not interested in that. That's not why we're here. I'm happy that with a little bit of ice, this pairs nicely pairs well with the cigar. And
**Senator:** for me, for some reason, every sip of this, there's almost like a palate cleansing quality about it.
It's that's the citrus. Yeah. It's the citrus. And I'm even getting apple now. And I don't know if it's because it was set on the box, but like, I do get like a mango, like a no mango, but like a green apple. And I don't know. It's just like a very clean finish that is allowing [00:44:00] me to enjoy the cigar that much more.
It
**Pagoda:** works well. I kind of really agree with that statement. It's like a palate cleanser.
**Bam Bam:** But the cigar itself is spectacular.
**Gizmo:** It is. I'm loving the notes. It's changed a little bit for me. Yeah, it's gotten a
**Bam Bam:** bit richer for me. I agree. I think it's a fairly complex cigar. I mean, this is a nice
**Gizmo:** experience. Are you guys getting similar notes?
Same notes? Has it changed at all for you? For me, it's
**Bam Bam:** been consistent. It's just improved in body, increased
**Senator:** in body weight. Yeah, that's, that's what I would say. For me, the last third, like, picks up a bit in body and, and slightly in strength. But the
**Bam Bam:** notes, notes are carrying through though.
**Gizmo:** Yeah. I think the thing that's changed for me is I'm getting a little bit of cedar.
Which I wasn't getting at the beginning. Okay, so I'm getting in the you know, I'm just around the halfway point Are you getting that on the retro?
**Senator:** We know he did retro how I would have heard it.
**Gizmo:** Oh look
**Senator:** at
**Gizmo:** that.
**Bam Bam:** Oh
**Gizmo:** You guys are not being nice [00:45:00] It's all love. Now, this is a very, very good cigar. I'm very, very happy with it. All right, boys, it's time to go to some listener email. I want to share a couple of things. Uh, we have some questions we, uh, we need to answer. First up, we have a email from Lizard Garifo.
Hello guys, I recently listened to your podcast and heard that you guys enjoy smoking cigars in your garage. I tried it for the first time myself, but my wife was less than thrilled. That's not good with the lingering smell. The next day, especially a rooster, just use the hand signal. They were like, he was like,
especially since we use our garage garage as our home gym. That's a problem. I was wondering if you had any tips or tricks for reducing the cigar smoke odor in the garage after smoking, any advice you guys have. Would be greatly [00:46:00] appreciated. Thank you. Lizard Garifullo. I have a tip. Get a new wife.
**Bam Bam:** That okay.
**Gizmo:** When, when moving up, moving on, I think the, the, my answer to this, my, my overarching statement about this is you need to create negative air pressure, which is you need to have an exhaust of some sort, constantly pulling air. Okay. Out of the, out of the space. To the exterior. To the exterior. Just open
**Rooster:** the door every 15, 20 minutes.
Open the door, let it air out and don't use the garage as a gym. It's a big mistake.
**Senator:** I have strong thoughts on this. I do too. Um, as an early adopter of the garage setup, I obviously tested this a variety of different ways because I wanted to avoid exactly the problem that this listener is having where.
My wife were to come into the garage and say, why does it reek of cigar smoke? That would be a problem. So, I agree with Giz, you need an exhaust. Whether it's a [00:47:00] window, whether it's what Rooster's saying, you're opening the door at regular intervals to continue to air it out. You have to have that. The thing for me is, After you've done all of that, there will always be some smoke in that room, and so the key is what you do with that, having an air purifier that runs, and a lot of these will have like a timer, so whenever I smoke in the garage and I leave, I just put a one hour timer on the air purifier, I leave, it automatically turns off, and that little bit of smoke has all funneled through that purifier so many times over that hour, That when you come back in that garage, you'd barely smell anything.
If at all, that was happening in there. Now, if you're doing that and you're still having a problem, another thing I found to be helpful is buying one of those lampers. Yeah. Um, things it's essential oils. Exactly. And so when you're done smoking, don't do it while you're smoking. But after you, you like that thing.
And I think you let it run for 15, 20 minutes. Yeah. 15 minutes, put it out. Then put that one hour timer on your purifier and leave. And with [00:48:00] both of those, I can't imagine that you're going to have a serious
**Gizmo:** Also, you know, if you're
**Rooster:** going to, if you're going to smoke in your garage and it's summer months, leave the door open.
You don't need to close
**Gizmo:** the door.
**Senator:** Yeah. That's only for winter. For you in the winter
**Gizmo:** time,
**Bam Bam:** pretty salient point here, what Senator did in his garage, I took note of. You have to seal cracks and crevices seal around the door. Anything, any pipes, wires
**Senator:** going into the
**Bam Bam:** house, any wall or ceiling surfaces where you've got living space adjacent to it or above it.
You've got to seal those cracks.
**Rooster:** Yeah. I mean, it depends where your garage is. Like my house is a ranch, so it's
**Gizmo:** kind of like off to the side. So attached to the living room though. Right. Yeah.
**Rooster:** But, you know. But then again, I smoke in the
**Gizmo:** living room. Correct. Yeah, you're in a different setup. You're a baller.
See, my garage is right off of my entranceway and my living room and kitchen are both right above the garage. I haven't done any ceiling. My door is not special by any means. I have a bedroom fan that has, you know, two fans in it. It's [00:49:00] like the one of those little white window fans, two, two little fans in it.
And it blows out or in whatever you choose. And what I do is I haven't sealed anything. I don't open any doors or windows. Um, Obviously my garage door seals for the, you know, for where the cars pull in is imperfect. So there are cracks there where it's pulling air in to, you know, bring fresh air in and then push it out the window.
But what I do when I'm done is I literally put my, you know, cigar out and I just let that window fan run overnight. And by the time I come in the next morning, it does not smell like I've had cigars in. You keep the window
**Bam Bam:** fan. In the opening itself. Correct. I do. Okay. And you have another fan
**Senator:** freestanding on
**Gizmo:** the whole night.
I leave it on the whole night. Wow. I just let it exhaust
**Bam Bam:** the whole night. And you have a separate fan somewhere on the floor away from the window, pulling air, pushing toward
**Gizmo:** it. Nope. Nope. I, you know, I run my heater during the winter, which is a forced electric, not when you're in there. Yeah, I run it when I'm in there, the heater.
When you're not in there, you don't run it. I do not run it when I'm not in there. And in the summer, I have an air conditioner that's a window mounted thing. Okay. But I, I have been very lucky. [00:50:00] My wife is very sensitive to cigar smoke. She's not happy when she smells it, and she's never complained. So, I've just found that running that exhaust overnight, keeping it on while I'm smoking So,
**Bam Bam:** both of you guys have Senator has a shorter rectangular window unit.
If I remember it's got two fans and it's inside the window. Same setup. Same. Yeah. That's an important element. It sounds,
**Gizmo:** that's the biggest thing. If you don't have a window to me, what you have to do is you have to call a garage door installer and have them put an exhaust in the actual garage door, which is a pretty common thing I've seen guys do just cut, they cut a little hole in and they put a fan in there and you can flap it.
So it's closed when it's, when it's cold and you're not using it, but does it keep the raccoons out though? It does. Well, I also have rooster. He can, he can come over. He's on,
**Bam Bam:** he's on speed dial
**Grinder:** is the deterrent,
**Gizmo:** but that that's the biggest thing for me. I'll bring my 10 with the bullets. So to me, the biggest thing here, Garifo is making sure that you have an exhaust fan of some sort.
The Lambert J obviously helps if your wife is super sensitive to smelling it at [00:51:00] any time. When you're done smoking, you I'll throw that in the episode description, the Lamper J you order some essential oils with it. It works great. It smells really nice and you don't have any problems, but exhausting breeze, ocean breeze.
That's the right smell. My favorite one. Yeah, that's a good one.
**Rooster:** And, um, air cleaner, you know, that's. That's I think
**Gizmo:** the air purifier
**Bam Bam:** is a great idea.
**Senator:** That's a great idea because that just eliminates having to leave a fan running for like eight, nine hours overnight. You just literally run it for an hour and you're good.
What do you have
**Pagoda:** a rabbit or do you have
**Grinder:** something
**Senator:** different? No, I honestly, I don't love the rabbit units for like truly cleaning the air. Uh, mine's a Medify air. And
**Bam Bam:** you've got two of them in your garage,
**Senator:** right? Just for overkill.
**Gizmo:** I don't want to risk. So when you're done, you run both or just one? Uh, both.
I
**Poobah:** mean, one thing that neutralizes, um, cigar smoke odors, they use it in hotels. Um, I found this out the hard way. I won't tell the whole story. Um, but, uh, it's, it's, [00:52:00] uh, it's, it's arm and hammer commercial. So it's called the arm and hammer and you can get it on Amazon. They sell it by the case. It's like an Aaron neutralizer.
So I'll just say is going back over the decades. There's been a couple of times and there were two, two times where housekeeping had to get involved. Cause he
**Bam Bam:** smokes cigars in
**Grinder:** his hotel
**Bam Bam:** room.
**Gizmo:** Well, things happen. And he forgot his exhaust. Oh yeah. And no Lambert.
**Poobah:** Details aren't necessary. I'm just giving the information.
How many properties are you bad? I'm not getting into this information. However, the, but that arm and hammer I'm talking like, and also it's fantastic because it has like a neutral kind of smell. It doesn't smell like a fragrance really. It's, it's like a baking, baking soda, uh, base. So it really does a good job.
I mean, of neutralizing, just having it in your house, like a. [00:53:00] For anything, any kind of odors that you'd want to kind of neutralize. It does a very, very good job of that. So if you needed to do a touch up, you don't need anything. Let's say the day after, I think it's all,
**Bam Bam:** all this is great advice. I think there's no such thing as overkill.
If you're trying to keep smoke from getting into your house, just go above,
**Poobah:** above arm and hammer commercial is the commercial air freshener on Amazon is fantastic. I mean, it's really good. It's just good to have in the house. Only you buy a case in the last year, a year, it's like 10 bottles of it. The last
**Gizmo:** year, year and a half.
Can
**Bam Bam:** you get it at
**Pagoda:** Costco? And if nothing works, you go to rule number one. Can you buy singles?
**Poobah:** Get a new wife. No, you can't really buy singles on it. No? No. Not really.
**Gizmo:** So thanks to Lizard Garifo. Hopefully that helps. Let us know how it goes and, uh, what works for you. I think, you know, you just gotta test it.
You really need to test it and see what works. But I think the biggest thing is just running an exhaust at all times while you're, uh, I want him to write
**Senator:** us after he tries. Yes. Because if it doesn't work, we're going to have to recommend divorce attorneys. [00:54:00]
**Gizmo:** Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. All right. We have another email.
This is from lizard. Matthew. He says, hello, lizards. I've been a long time listener and I want to finally congratulate you on a job. Well done. Not only is your content very entertaining, it's also refreshing to listen to a group of humble. I thought that word was interesting. Gentlemen, very, very interesting.
My same passions. I especially love listening to your accounts of your travels to Cuba. It's truly a magical place. And I'm looking forward to a trip this April. Coming up soon, lizard Matthew. I haven't been since pre COVID. So I thought, so I can only imagine that much has changed since my last visit. I was hoping to get some insight since you were recently there.
My first question is how were you able to book a tour at Hector Prieto's Finca in Pinar del Rio? I've searched online and can't seem to find any information about it. So let's answer that question first. And then we'll go into the second one. So, uh, we literally just showed up there. Okay. There was no booking a tour or anything.
Uh, it was hard to find on a [00:55:00] map. I think the biggest thing is you need to download before you go to cubamaps. me. It's an app you go in there and you literally go to Cuba and download the entire Cuba map.
**Senator:** He needs to do that because then that map will work. Even if you're somewhere with no cell reception at all.
You'll still be able to navigate. It's
**Gizmo:** very helpful. Exactly right. And doubling down on what you're saying, Apple maps and Google maps are very, very unreliable. They're very spotty in Cuba, very unreliable. So get maps. me. It's a free app. Great, uh, great app. So the important thing is when you're navigating there is you cannot put Hector Lubez Prieto in the map.
You have to put the name of his farm, which is Camado de Ruby. Camado de Ruby is his farm. And that's how you will find it. But otherwise it's set up for tourists. If you go there, Seven days a week at a reasonable hour around lunchtime. Early dinner, you're going to be able to get in, have a meal, have a drink, get a tour, go in the humidor, buy some cigars.
You'll have no problem, you know, [00:56:00] getting around Hector. And maybe get a taxi driver. Who's been there before.
**Rooster:** Yeah. You know, cause there's, there's some other farms
**Gizmo:** there that you could visit. Yeah. Good recommendation is find a. Concierge at one of the hotels, even if you're not staying there, obviously as American citizens, you're not staying at government owned hotels, but the concierge there are very, very helpful.
They know people, they know drivers, they know where to go. Throw them a few bucks, they'll help you navigate that, they'll get you a good driver, and you'll be all set. Uh, you'll be on your way. And just hold on for dear life to ride over. Yeah, just don't get a classic car, get something with shocks. You may need
**Bam Bam:** Dramamine.
**Rooster:** Highly recommend a
**Gizmo:** convertible. All right. Second question from Lizard Matthew. Second, how did you guys book a tour at El Liguito? This place is on my bucket list, but I understand that it's generally not open to the public. And unfortunately that is very much the case. We have gotten very, very lucky, uh, through friendship there and the podcast, [00:57:00] but there is no meaningful way for us to recommend El Liguito.
Uh, you getting into El Aguito, my recommendation is try the Romeo factory or La Corona, or again, talk to a concierge, see if they can hook you up with a, with a tour. But Laguito is becoming increasingly more difficult to get into as a tourist, um, certainly around festival time, anytime that they're busy and you know, they're really, really business first over there now.
So, uh, it's very, very hard to get in there. So I would not count that on your bucket list for a trip to, uh, to Cuba is going to Laguito. So it's very, very hard to get in there. Lastly, were they accepting cash at the La Casa Del Habano stores, or do you still need to use the MLC cards? At the Particus shop, they
**Poobah:** were,
**Rooster:** you could use a U.
**Gizmo:** S. dollar.
**Senator:** Yeah, and they'll give you change in U. S. dollars too, it's great. Yeah, but I think
**Gizmo:** most of the other Other
**Rooster:** lounges and shops, uh, it was a bit more challenging. So if you could either maybe [00:58:00] ask another customer who's from Europe or other parts of the other parts of the world, other than the U S you could maybe use his credit card and give him cash that has worked for us in
**Gizmo:** the past.
That's tough though. Yeah. You got to get lucky, especially if you're. Trying to buy a couple boxes. I mean, I know, Senator, you guys ran into, uh, a gentleman there from another country, right? Yeah, we were in Spain. We were
**Senator:** at, uh, Malia Cohiba, and Rooster and I spotted some H boxes that we wanted. And, uh, we asked this really nice guy from Spain if he would be okay charging on his credit card.
We would give him cash in dollars. He was very happy to. Uh, so we lucked out there. I think the thing is It, if you're not at Partagus where they're happy to take cash for anything, you know, some of the other places, if you're just buying like loose sticks in a small, reasonable quantity, they'll do it like Havana Libre, you can give cash for reasonable amount.
I actually feel like. I'm pretty sure I paid cash at Havana Libre for boxes. [00:59:00] Yeah. I bought a while back, um, the, uh, uh, QD, uh, Corona Sclero there. They took cash from me. So that Havana Libre, actually, I think would be another one I would put on. They're pretty cash friendly there. They're very cash
**Pagoda:** friendly.
In fact, there's a tourist place right across from where he can go and get some change as well. But also,
**Bam Bam:** yeah, the, um, The hotel downtown, name is escaping me. Parquet Central. Yeah, we bought, I bought a box there in cash, and we bought loose sticks there in cash as well. Our first trip there.
**Poobah:** But aren't you able to break American dollar for In exchange anywhere
**Rooster:** you can't break it.
They don't, they won't even take Cuban. Uh, they don't want Cuban Pay, want
**Poobah:** credit cards? Oh, they want foreign, they credit want foreign credit cards. Huh?
**Rooster:** Sometimes the employees at these places, if it's a small transaction, that's a great point. Yeah. They will put it on their card and you can give them the cash.
**Senator:** Oh, yeah. Limited. We did that at
**Gizmo:** Cohiba. Atmosphere. Atmosphere, yep. Right. But they're not gonna be able to do that at volume. Right. No, boxes that's never gonna have, under
**Poobah:** 200. How much of that do you want to do anyway? [01:00:00] Because coming back it's going to be, you know, you're running a big risk of that getting
**Rooster:** confiscated anyway.
At that time, we had direct flights into Cuba. From, you know, from Newark and uh, JFK and LaGuardia. So you have to, you have to stop in
**Poobah:** Miami. And I mean, and they're a little more, they're, they cut back down. More
**Senator:** there. Um, Yeah, you don't want to, you don't want to give cigars away in Miami like, uh, some of us.
Somebody else. Pagoda.
**Gizmo:** Hey,
**Pagoda:** I love the Miami Cubans, all right?
**Gizmo:** So yeah, to answer your question specifically, if, if you're concerned about it, you know, the MLC card might be an option. The thing I'll say going in April, I wouldn't expect there to be that much stock. No. I mean, the part of his shop when we were there, it's sparse, it's barren.
I know that they probably loaded up for the festival, but definitely got cleared out, you know, by the, by the first week of March, there's no question about that. So MLC card might be the way, but I would not go to Cuba expecting to find. Stashes of boxes of stuff you're looking for. [01:01:00] You might find a few things here or there, but everything that's coming out of those factories is pretty much being immediately exported.
As I assume Matthew's American. I'm assuming he is. Yeah. He did not name that where he's from, but, uh, I'm assuming that seems like every time you go
**Rooster:** to Cuba, it's so dynamic. It's constantly changing. Like this time, the last time we went, we didn't even have to change the currencies. No, pretty much. We use us dollar at every restaurant, everywhere we went, everywhere we went.
Yeah. So it can change. It can change any, any moment.
**Poobah:** It's Cuba. It's complicated. Before you sit down to dinner, do you need to confirm that? I guess this time, if they're going to take the US dollar, they
**Gizmo:** always take you to take the US exchange rate.
**Rooster:** That's an issue. So sometimes you don't get a very good exchange rate.
That's why we were converting in the past, but this time we went, the exchange rate was. You know, at the restaurants that can vary, but this time it was pretty much, uh, pretty much the same. There wasn't a huge difference.
**Gizmo:** There was a time in the past before the [01:02:00] significant inflation where we were able, and we're talking year and a half ago really is when it kind of started to end, but there was a moment when you were able to go and really take advantage of the conversion rate.
If you were to bring euros, it was a benefit to dollar because you're getting more dollars. Euros for dollars. And then when you converted it, you were really able to take advantage of the conversion to CUP Cuban pesos. All of these restaurants that we go to are not government owned. They're privately owned.
So they move at their own pace. In that time, they've all adjusted their conversion and their rates to really match the American dollars. So that advantage of converting to CUP to kind of make some, make some back. In the conversion, it doesn't really exist anymore. It's really changed. So now it's just the benefit of you're not carrying a duffel bag full of Cuban pesos around.
You could just pull out your dollars and there's really no difference in the
**Poobah:** conversion. Right. So you really only have to worry about if you're trying to procure some cigars while you're there, which becomes more of an issue. Exactly. [01:03:00] Gotcha. Or Doritos. or Doritos,
**Gizmo:** which I think they have now. We found Doritos for you, but you can come next time.
I showed him the photo. I flagged down Senator. I said, Oh my God, dude, we're on Obispo over. Did I not over by the part of yourself? I said, Oh my God, Senator, there are Doritos. Take a look. I mean, I
**Poobah:** I'm just worried that you can't get a snack there.
**Gizmo:** You're getting now dynamic.
**Bam Bam:** It's always changing. No more hunting snakes on the beach.
**Pagoda:** They expired in 2016.
**Gizmo:** That was a good year. That was a good run of Doritos. And, uh, so Matthew wrapped it up. Thank you in advance and thanks again for your consistent commitment to the leaf. Respectfully, Lizard Matthew. A great email. Awesome email. Very, very grateful for our listeners and emails. That's awesome.
So, thanks so much. So, boys, we're into the last third here on the H. Upman Connoisseur II. What do you guys think? Is your cigar appealing? Yeah, I, I, I, that [01:04:00] was my fault. I bit it. He gizmoed it. Oh,
**Senator:** boy. He was massaging it, biting it. He gizmoed it.
**Gizmo:** No, this was my mistake. He soldered it. That's what, uh, Lawrence, Lawrence
**Poobah:** soldered it.
That's what happens when you
**Gizmo:** wreck your
**Senator:** nails
**Gizmo:** too much. What are you guys thinking of the cigar? I think
**Grinder:** it's, um, it's definitely, I think it's definitely picked up a little bit, but not overpowering. It's just more of the goodness. Yeah, it's very lovely. Yeah. I thought it got a
**Pagoda:** bit, uh, earthy, and I felt a little bit of this really light saltiness towards the end.
When, um. It's a good thing. Yeah, very good. I'm really enjoying it.
**Poobah:** I noticed that Senator kind of ditched his a little bit.
**Gizmo:** Did he? I'm done. You
**Bam Bam:** blew through it, man. What's the dimension over there, Poova? What's he got left there?
**Poobah:** I need a report. Two inches. No, no, no,
**Gizmo:** no. Oh, wow. He took it down. Took it down.
He did take it down. You're done? Look at how
**Poobah:** much lower I am. No, you were done. It was the ash on there that was deceiving. I love the cigar. I think the cigar was, I think the cigar was Senator, you're vindicated. [01:05:00] You're totally vindicated. I think the um, I think the cigar was terrific and it, it, I think it's wise beyond its years in terms of its age.
**Gizmo:** Yeah, it's not even two years old. So
**Grinder:** I think, you know, from foot to cap, it's been
**Gizmo:** great. Yeah. This is another example of these recent releases. We've talked about this so much from Habanos, these younger cigars, recent releases, these, these post COVID this one was released during COVID. But I mean, it's, it's just incredible.
The run of these new cigars, how they've been performing. We've really had a good batch of fresh, young, And, and newer cigars that have been really, really great. It's crazy. You'd hope for the price. Yeah. Yeah.
**Poobah:** I think, I think this cigar would age up really well. And like those dessert notes would become more present and whatever kind of sharp edges were there, which there weren't many would round out.
I mean, I think it's a good, good cigar to sleep for a while. A good cigar to smoke now. I really, [01:06:00] I was very pleasantly surprised with the smoke. Not surprised, but I was pleased with it. I guess I shouldn't say I'm too surprised.
**Bam Bam:** Any of you seen any Connie's coming up on the market anywhere
**Gizmo:** recently? I've seen them on FOS.
They've all been coming up on FOH. FOH has had a pretty good, got it. Rob is, you know, Rob has had a really good amount of stock. I mean, he had Sir Winston's up the other day. Really? He had, uh, uh, LGC MDO fours up. He's had the full gamut of the catalog that's been been coming out. So.
**Poobah:** The cigar was, it tasted very Cuban.
Yes. It had a very cute, it was in the Cuban style that I like there were dessert notes, it was complex and, and really great. I think with, with a few, few years more time, it'll get even better.
**Rooster:** A Joplin DNA. Yeah. All the way through, no doubt. You know, the baking spice, the, uh, the
**Poobah:** nuttiness. Mm-Hmm. . I, I liked that it delivered a medium full, [01:07:00] like a, like a, a me a little bit more of a medium plus, I guess.
Yeah. It's a medium plus steak, the way of putting it. Yep.
**Pagoda:** Um, especially in the second half. Yeah.
**Poobah:** Yeah. I liked, really liked the way it's kind of started out and eased you in and it was kind of a little bit of a two act play
**Bam Bam:** for me. It's elegant, it's very elegant, the way you're describing, and it's very, it performed the same way.
**Gizmo:** All right, boys, before we get to the ratings, we have one more email I want to read. This one is from Lizard Paul. He says, hello from Oz, which is always cool to get an email from Australia. Dear lizards, I'm sending love from Melbourne, Australia. I just wanted to say thank you for your great podcast. It has been a great source of information and entertainment for me as I've gone on my cigar discovery journey.
over the last six months or so. That's awesome. Six months in fully dialed. I'm listening to your back catalog and I've learned a great deal from you. And really enjoyed it. Thanks heaps, and keep up the great work, Paul. Nice. We are killing it on the [01:08:00] emails, boys. It's a great email. We love you, Paul. We love, we love getting, we love getting emails from, from the listeners.
So boys, what are you thinking about the pairing at this point? A little over an hour in?
**Bam Bam:** Like I said earlier, I think that these two work quite nicely together, you know,
**Gizmo:** I think actually as the ice melted, I think I put three or four chips in, it kind of like faded for me as it watered down and kind of opened up there.
It kind of had this like peak and valley and then it's, it's now it's kind of in the dumps, but yeah, I, I don't
**Grinder:** know who said it. Um, it's like the, when you put the water in it and it dilutes it a little bit, it's with this scotch, it's definitely like a refreshing taste. It, it kind of clears the palate.
Cleansing. It may have been Senator, um, and I still get that, and I think it's a nice touch at the end when the cigar is amping up a little bit, um, I didn't get that super dilution that you mentioned though. Yeah, you
**Senator:** gotta better
**Gizmo:** regulate your ice, uh, consumption. I'm waiting for my vindication, Bam, it hasn't come yet.
Wow. You notice that? It's coming. [01:09:00] Yeah. I don't see it. I don't see the light at the end of the tunnel. Not
**Bam Bam:** from these guys, but
**Gizmo:** you got it from me. Thanks, Bam. Alright. Alright, boys, you guys ready to move into the ratings, uh, for tonight? Let's start with the Tomatin 12 year old. Age. Single malt scotch. Bam Bam, you're up.
**Bam Bam:** Uh, I'm gonna give it a seven. I think it's, it's a nice drinkable scotch. If you like a sweeter spirit, I think it, it, for that person, I think it would be great. Personally, I probably wouldn't pursue this, but I would have it if someone offered it to me. I think it's a very drinkable with ice and it paired nicely with the cigar.
Seven.
**Gizmo:** All right,
**Grinder:** Grindr. I think I'm at a seven as well. It's not, I think it's a very good, uh, you know, well made scotch, nothing too extraneous, nothing that knocks your, you know, knocks your socks off, but there's nothing bad either, you know? So, uh, I think the pairing was very well aligned to the flavor profile of the cigar, uh, which was amazing.
So I think, you know, perfect. Anything would, would taste great. You just kind of have to show up and this [01:10:00] showed up pretty well. So I'd give it, you know, give it a seven. Okay.
**Gizmo:** Pagoda.
**Pagoda:** Uh, it's a great palate cleanser. I think I totally agree with Senator on that. Um, you know, I think when I started, uh, uh, the drink, uh, with, uh, without ice, it gave me a very unpleasant, you know, feeling.
And my expression was really actually, I think Poohba looked at me and says, what's that? I, um, At that point, I think I might have been at a five or a six, but I think, uh, as, uh, you know, after adding all the ice chips, it definitely improved a lot. And, uh, you know, you're right. It was clean, you know, citrusy.
It just, uh, really worked well with the cigar, like everyone's saying. It's a seven for me as well.
**Gizmo:** All right. Senator.
**Senator:** I'm in lockstep with everybody. I'm at a seven. For me, it's a soft recommend. Um, you know, a lighter scotch like this is not something that I regularly pursue. If someone poured me this, I would [01:11:00] happily drink it.
I think with a mild cigar, a medium cigar, it pairs really well. I think a cigar with dessert notes like this Upman had, I think this pairs really well with. So, uh, for what it is, I, I think it's done a pretty nice job. I'm at a seven.
**Pagoda:** What do you think about the price factor though?
**Senator:** 68. I just think, you know, sad, the sad reality to me is that most single malts now all start at 60 and above.
At 12 years of age. Yeah. The days where we used to be able to pick up like a budget single malt at like 40 something or even 50. I think those days are gone and it's just, it's sad. That, that's kind of where the market is
**Grinder:** now. I think from my experience too, and I think this is one of the reasons why I like it too.
There's that subtle sherry, uh, sherry flavor and anything that they transport into a sherry cask and age it there for any period of time, you, you're going to pay a little premium on, uh, as well. It's true. And it's, it's small, but it's still there.
**Gizmo:** So for me, it's a six. I, uh, [01:12:00] It started weak. Did you even retro hell it?
You know, I'll try that now. No, um, it's a six. I, uh, it started weak without the ice. I put the ice in and I said, okay, this is really something I was getting some of the, the deserting, some of the nice, you know, Sherry stuff that you're talking about, some of the flavors I thought it paired pretty well with the cigar.
I'm not going to rate it based on that. I would never go by this again. I would never reach for this again. Would you push
**Bam Bam:** it away if someone offered it to you?
**Gizmo:** On a wedding? On an airplane? No. Airplane, of course, but At a wedding, I would maybe look for other options. Wow. Okay. You know, I think there's some blended scotches I would take over this at a wedding.
See, that's, to me, it sounds like it's Oh, Chivas 18.
**Bam Bam:** Uh, no. Tomatin
**Senator:** 12, coming to a United flight near Disney. Yes.
**Gizmo:** Yeah, so I, you know, when I put the ice in it, it had a few minutes there where it was pretty good. I was in between a seven and an eight and it really finished weak for me to the point where I don't even want to finish it.
I'm not interested in it. And you know, it is what it [01:13:00] is. It's certainly not something for me. So I'm very, very happy with a six Poobah.
**Poobah:** Um, I think I'm in lockstep with the majority of the group at a seven. I think I editorialized enough earlier. I'm not going to add too much more commentary, except that, um, it's not for me.
I can see, um, I see how it could slot in for someone who likes a flavor profile like this. That's a little bit lighter. Um, has some citrus notes. Um, but all of it, the sum of the, the sum of its parts was slightly muddled for me. Like nothing really stood out that distinctly. I think that the group was astute and pulling out, um, some of the notes in there.
Uh, but for me, it was. It just, it's a seven. I wouldn't reach for it. Um, I wouldn't buy it, but I could see how somebody could really like it. It wasn't unpleasant for me in
**Gizmo:** any way. All right, boys. So the formal liquor rating on the Tomatin 12 [01:14:00] year age, single malt scotch. Is a 6. 8, which I think is a fair score for the spirit and the experience tonight.
**Senator:** So one thing on the price, the price of the bottle, it's actually 46, not
**Gizmo:** 60. I'm sorry. I thought it was 68. That's my mistake.
**Senator:** I mean, that's, that's as accessible a single mall as we've found in a long time, steep drop
**Bam Bam:** in price, but it doesn't change my rating. I'm probably where I am at a seven.
**Senator:** I'm, I'm for sure a seven with it.
Just to me, it, it deserves credit for delivering a drinkable, even enjoyable experience at 40 something dollars a bottle. For a 12 year old scotch. Absolutely. I mean, there's really not much single malt scotch at all that we found at a 40 something dollar. Like we used to buy like Oban Little Bay at 40 bucks like a few years ago.
That now has gone up. It's well over 50, if not even maybe 60. Um, I just think it deserves credit for being able to produce something that I would [01:15:00] drink. I won't pursue, but I would drink at a 40 something dollar price
**Gizmo:** point. Yeah, absolutely. I think everything about it for me stays the same. Like you asked about, you know, would you drink this at a wedding if somebody handed it to you or on a plane?
Like, yes, but I'm not reaching for it. I'm never going to drink this again or buy it.
**Bam Bam:** You put your hand up, no, I don't want it.
**Gizmo:** Stop. No, it's just, you know, even at that price, which is significantly less than what I said it was. Yeah. Um, you know, I, I don't think anything changes. It's a huge merit though, to
**Bam Bam:** Senator's point.
I
**Grinder:** think everybody has personal benchmarks in their, you know, in their criteria for how they evaluate these things and what they'll, what they like and don't like. And this is, this is like another one of those benchmarks where it's just, Hey, it's, it's an actually cheap. It's not a cheap, nothing's cheap about it, but it's, it's a well made, um, affordable scotch.
And, you know, it pairs well with the cigars. Very
**Gizmo:** drinkable. The question is, would you buy it? I would not buy it. No, I wouldn't. No,
**Senator:** I wouldn't. But this is like the classic case of, that's why I feel like we always use travel. You know, if I'm at an airport lounge and [01:16:00] they have a very limited selection, and if they have this, I'm going to say, okay, yeah, I can drink this and I'm not going to be upset or It's It's
**Bam Bam:** part of your arsenal now, right?
Like when you're
**Gizmo:** traveling, it makes sense. But you probably won't see it because
**Rooster:** it's not that well known.
**Senator:** I have seen this in like random odd places. Really? Yes. That's how I've like heard of the brand. I've just never drank it because I'm not familiar with it. I'm not going to reach for that bottle or ask for it.
Not having had it before, but I've definitely seen it. It is meant to be like a budget except like an airport lounge is exactly reading a bar
**Gizmo:** manager at a hotel, you know, at a Hilton or something, you know, having a, uh, A scotch that's half the price of what they're selling the Macallan Sherry or something else for.
I mean, it makes sense that they're looking at the list and buying this from the liquor suppliers. So, okay, now it's time to do the formal lizard rating on the H. Upman Connoisseur II. The new Robusto from the line. Rooster, you're up. Beautiful cigar, [01:17:00] silky
**Rooster:** wrapper, smooth. I wasn't quite expecting this experience out of this fresh H opmin, but having had one in January with Pagoda in Cuba, I think we were very impressed with the cigar.
It's balanced. I mean, it's got H opmin DNA through and through, nuttiness, and um, You get that Cuban twang, very impressed. And it's, you know, it's, it's, it doesn't have that much age on it. And I don't think we talked about the pricing of the cigar, but in Cuba, I think we paid under 20 for this cigar, maybe
**Gizmo:** 18, I think in the States I'm getting it, we, I got these for a little under 22.
Under 22. So yeah,
**Rooster:** that's fair.
All right. Poobah.
**Poobah:** Yeah, I'm at a nine too. I love a chop and I thought that the cigar Performed really really well given given its youth It's something I would pursue all day that I will pursue I want these cigars in my humid or it's a nine for me for all the reasons I stated [01:18:00] during during the episode
**Gizmo:** All right.
So I'm in lockstep. It's also a nine for me. I thought the cigar was fantastic. It might be my favorite out of the connoisseur line. Um, it's right there with the Kanye. It's right there. I know the Connie is we did, I think had a little bit of age on them. But for how fresh this was, I can, I, you know, I poop was saying, I think these are really going to age well.
I think that medium plush, as, as he kind of called on the, on the, the profile, I think is going to age tremendously. And I think at a nine at a little under two years, I, I'm very, very happy with that. It was excellent tonight. Not
**Bam Bam:** to interrupt, but I don't remember hearing a price
**Gizmo:** on these. A little under 22.
Yeah. In Cuba, I think they got them for around 20 in the States, I think 17, 17 in the States here. They were, they were 22. Excellent price. Yeah. Senator. So
**Senator:** I, I think this is one of the easiest ratings in a while. I'm also at a nine. I, there's nothing wrong with this cigar to me. I thought the flavor profile was right in my sweet [01:19:00] spot.
I think the construction. was flawless. The combustion was great. The, the flavor notes were defined and complex. It didn't show a ton of youth. I would definitely smoke this again. And I, you know, honestly, the, the Kanye, I like the rest of the Connie line. I'm just kind of ambivalent about, so I wasn't really expecting much out of this cigar.
I would absolutely smoke this again. And even hearing the price point, I think 20, 22 is fair for this. It's a great smokey great price. I agree. I'm all in on this. I would have another
**Gizmo:** pagoda. Well,
**Pagoda:** that's a nine for me as well. And, uh, I've actually been debating between a nine and ten, but, uh, a nine, uh, what's really interesting is, I think, you know, going back to the initial episodes, I remember Poobah has always loved Hitchopman.
And we smoked, uh, I think maybe the Upman 2 and I might've rated it a little low. And now I've come around to the Upman 2 and now I have a couple of boxes of Upman 2 and I love the half Corona. I think I'm becoming, [01:20:00] slowly I'm becoming like an Upman, uh, fan and this has been fantastic. The smoke output, you know, there are a few things I really, you know, Like, you know, obviously the flavor, the construction, I like a good smoke output, uh, really sharp razor burn, uh, you know, uh, it was just overall very, very pleasant, left a long finish of really pleasant flavors in my mouth, uh, this is something I've really enjoyed and I'm very impressed.
It's a nine.
**Gizmo:** All right, Grindr.
**Grinder:** This is a nine for me as well. Um, construction was great. Burn was good. I did have to do a small touch up, which was, you know, nothing. I'm basically. I think I'm all the way down. There's not much left in this and I'm still going. Um, the, I love the like classic up, upmint taste that was associated with it, but it was like, kind of like the medium.
It was like the sophomore junior class. It wasn't, it wasn't like the full upmint, the full Monte as it were. Um, and I, you know, [01:21:00] it was very nice to have a, a Cuban cigar that was, The draw was perfect, like the whole time, and uh, I thought it was wonderful, very pleasant. All the spices were just perfectly aligned to the, I thought the pairing was great too, by the way.
So, yeah, nine for me all day. Awesome. Bam.
**Bam Bam:** Yeah, I'm right there with you. I'm going to nine. You know, I said it earlier, the fruit and dessert notes for me carried through all the way in a beautiful, smooth, elegant delivery. But as you get to that final third, it ramped up in body, but the notes continued nine for that price.
It's incredible.
**Senator:** Is this the, is this the first time we've all had the exact same rating? I don't know.
**Gizmo:** With seven of us, it might be. Maybe. It might be. I don't recall that ever happening. This was a great experience. Yeah. Truly. It was. So boys, the formal lizard rating, easy calculation, is a 9. 0. So let's compare that to some of the other upvotes that we've done.
I want
**Bam Bam:** to know how this guy got multiple boxes of up and twos. I want to know now. I need an atonement [01:22:00] hour. For Pagoda?
**Pagoda:** Yes. I got a couple. I bought one actually.
**Bam Bam:** That's like an M. Night Shyamalan plot twist, okay?
**Pagoda:** Yeah, you know, it's slow. Slow and steady, buddy. Slow and steady. I admire it. One at a time. I
**Bam Bam:** admire it.
**Gizmo:** So let's go through some of the other ratings that we've done here on the podcast for H Upman. We'll start with the connoisseur line. The connoisseur number one, the sister cigar to this, on episode 96 got an 8.
6, so this edged that out. The connoisseur A we did on episode 86 was a 9. 2, and the connoisseur B we did on episode 111. Was a 7. 2. So this is at the top of the list. They're right below the connoisseur. A in the connoisseur line. Some of the others that we mentioned tonight, the up in number two, we did on episode 40, the love 14, the famous one, 9.
8 Magnum 46. We did on episode six was an 8. 1 Magnum 50. We did on episode [01:23:00] 62. That's the famous bam, bam accountability. Our episode 7. 6. I'll never forget. None of us will. And the Robustos Anahatos we mentioned we did on episode 72 was a 9. 6. So Upman is a very, very strong marker on this podcast, boys. I think globally as well.
Very, very strong. Oh yeah. Yeah. So that's a great pairing tonight, boys. Well deserving. Very, very good. So on the Tomatin 12 year age, single malt Scotch, we had a 6. 8 and on the H Upman connoisseur number two, we had a 9. 0. Excellent. Great conversation. Great being with you boys. 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, lounge lizards, pod. com. That's lounge lizards, P O D dot com. Don't forget to leave us a rating and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform. If you have any comments, questions, if you want to reach [01:24:00] out, say hello, tell us what you're smoking.
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