Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
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!
Welcome to the Lounge Lizards podcast presented by Fabrica five. 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, Senator, Chef Rick, and Bam Bam.
Gizmo:And our plan is to smoke a cigar, drink some tequila, talk about life, and, of course, have some laughs. So take this as your two hundred and twenty seventh official invitation to join us and become a card carrying lounge lizard. We're here once a week. We're gonna smoke a Nicaraguan cigar tonight, share our thoughts on it, and give you a formal lizard rating. We have a first time review from a major cigar brand.
Gizmo:Rooster shares yet another wildlife encounter, and we get an update on Bam's Fundie Dinner Plans, all among a variety of other things for the next two hours. So sit back, get your favorite drink, light up a cigar, and enjoy as we pair Volcan de Mieteira, tequila Reposado with Perdomo, Nicaraguan Shade Grown, and Epicure. A Nicaraguan Toro extra on the pod tonight, boys, and it's a debut. We haven't said that in a long time.
Bam Bam:It looks extra.
Gizmo:It is our first Perdomo tonight, and this is from the Legacy series, the Nicaraguan shade grown in Epicure. And it's a 54 ring gauge cigar by six inches long. And, boys, we finally have Perdomo.
Bam Bam:Correct.
Gizmo:After almost four and a half years, we have not done Perdomo yet on this podcast.
Chef Ricky:Don't sound so excited about that bet. I
Gizmo:know. Which is our fault entire entirely. But we did have some listeners say
Bam Bam:Well, have we have we been avoiding it? Yes and no.
Gizmo:Correct. But I think the enthusiasm from listeners and fellow media, my friend John Cigar Surgeon recommended this, Saw it on half wheels countdown. I am very hopeful tonight that this cigar is going to be great. You can always hope. Wrapper is great.
Rooster:Wrapper smells really nice.
Bam Bam:It's beautifully made. It seems flawless. Can't see the seams at all. Just maybe a touch here and there. No veins at all.
Gizmo:Good looking cigar. Let's cut this thing boys. See what we're getting on the cold draw and the wrapper.
Bam Bam:Very fruity, dry cold draw. That's delicious.
Gizmo:Very nice. And I like Ford's size that it's not like a wind tunnel.
Bam Bam:Yeah. It's some resistance.
Gizmo:A little bit of resistance there.
Chef Ricky:Cold draw is almost like berries and oatmeal.
Bam Bam:It's like bubble gum, berries.
Senator:I'm sorry, chef nailed it. That's a great call out.
Chef Ricky:Think Bam's just shy to say carbohydrate. Not at all. There's a little starchiness there
Bam Bam:that I'm getting It's on the very fruit forward for me. Berry in particular, like a blackberry or raspberry.
Senator:Cold draw is delicious.
Gizmo:We all are. I hope this translates, boys. We shall see.
Bam Bam:It won't.
Gizmo:Keep the faith, Bam. Let's light this thing. The Perdomo Legacy Nicaraguan Shade Grown in Epicure. Again, it's a 54 ring gauge cigar by six inches long.
Senator:Honestly, I don't even wanna light this. The cold draw is that delicious.
Bam Bam:It is.
Senator:I'm still, like, puffing That's true. On the cold draw.
Gizmo:I really hope
Bam Bam:While we're lighting this, because it'll take ten minutes,
Gizmo:how much does a cigar cost? MSRP is $14
Bam Bam:k.
Chef Ricky:Okay.
Gizmo:And we got it for $12.50.
Chef Ricky:That's much pricier for Perdomo than I would expect.
Gizmo:I actually thought it was pretty reasonable given the story behind this. We're gonna talk about that. I have a lot to talk about tonight with Perdomo and this line. But there's a lot of cool things going on here, so I'm hoping that it tastes good and aligns with the excitement that Perdomo certainly has behind
Chef Ricky:the cigar. So this is one of their premium offerings?
Gizmo:Yeah. This is right now, I would say their premium offering. This is what they're most excited about right now.
Rooster:Pretty good on the light.
Bam Bam:Yeah. Yeah. I'm getting a lot
Senator:of the same notes I got on the cold draw on the light.
Gizmo:That's a really
Senator:nice light. Someone in the corner is being a little snobby about
Gizmo:Does it taste like turpentine?
Bam Bam:No. I'm getting a good dash of white pepper here right now. Sounds like you overheated it. Oh, no.
Rooster:I don't know. I'm not getting any pepper.
Senator:Mine is sweet.
Chef Ricky:It's good on the light for me, but a little chalky. Just a little bit. Little bit dry. So we'll see.
Bam Bam:Great combustion. This is really nice. The draw is fantastic.
Senator:Yeah. The draw is perfect. I was worried at this size that this thing was gonna be a wind tunnel and wide open.
Chef Ricky:Mhmm.
Senator:It's got a bit of resistance. It's a perfect draw.
Bam Bam:I don't get that sweetness anymore right off the bat.
Gizmo:It's all over it for me.
Bam Bam:It's disappointing.
Rooster:Oh yeah. It's like sweet bread.
Bam Bam:They also make that champagne cigar. Tenth anniversary champagne. Yeah, lot of people here love that at one time.
Gizmo:People smoke that thing like cigarettes. They sell a lot of those cigars.
Bam Bam:Have you had that?
Gizmo:I had that a long time ago. I think that was in my early days of smoking.
Senator:It's a mild cigar.
Gizmo:Have it every It's pretty mild.
Rooster:Like a creme brulee.
Bam Bam:Is it?
Gizmo:I don't know, I'm asking. I don't think it's that sweet, but Not
Senator:that sweet, but it's as mild. Wow.
Gizmo:People love that cigar though. You see it everywhere. The yellow look to it.
Bam Bam:That cellophane that it's wrapped in.
Gizmo:I'm impressed with this man. I like the
Bam Bam:weight of it. It's nicely packed.
Gizmo:It's not too light. Feels significant in the hands.
Bam Bam:So you're getting good value.
Gizmo:What do you guys think of the band? It's like a disco ball.
Chef Ricky:That's perfect. Perfect way to put it.
Gizmo:Looks very Perdomo to me. I look at this, I would say that's Perdomo.
Rooster:I think if red band, like the extended red part was missing, just that black would look nice. If there was no red on it.
Senator:I think it's a little much. If this was like matte without this shiny disco ball finish around a bunch of
Bam Bam:It's certainly over top.
Gizmo:Yeah. Wow. I'm really impressed with the start here.
Bam Bam:Yeah. Very nice. I'm jealous.
Gizmo:I think you burnt yours to high heavens over there.
Senator:I agree. No way. Look how far you already are. You just started.
Bam Bam:I'm desperate to get some flavor out of this. I'm puffing through it.
Gizmo:Listen, if you want another one No. Cut another one I because
Bam Bam:refuse to do that. I'm sure it'll course correct. I hope so. Firmly mild for you guys or medium?
Gizmo:I would say mild medium right in the middle. Yeah.
Senator:I agree.
Rooster:I think more towards medium.
Bam Bam:Yeah. Okay.
Gizmo:It's very pleasant on the palate though. The finish is it's not short, but it doesn't, there's not a lot of lingering flavor like a clean, it's a clean finish. Guess is what
Bam Bam:I'd are you getting on the retrohale? Have you tried yet? You may singe your nose hairs.
Gizmo:I didn't. Really? I think that Oddie thing is there that chef was talking about. It almost tastes like a breakfast cereal like you often call out.
Bam Bam:Not Not tonight.
Gizmo:Really getting any of that pepper, man.
Rooster:It's nice. Think there's a little bit of, like, baking spice too. I agree. Get maybe I don't know if it's cinnamon or it's like a sweet bread with cinnamon.
Bam Bam:If there was any other spice, cinnamon cinnamon would be very close to what I'm getting, I think.
Senator:It's complex, it's hitting a lot of different parts of my palate.
Chef Ricky:I just got a nutty note that for me, that's my That's your jam.
Bam Bam:No ketchup? No. That's not your jam? No.
Chef Ricky:So hopefully this nuttiness continues throughout along with some of the sweet bread that Rooster's talking about. It just switched up for me rather quickly on that same draw. It went sweet and then it turned into nut. I have to
Bam Bam:say the aroma though
Rooster:is delicious. Aroma is really
Gizmo:nice too.
Rooster:Are you getting any sweetness now, Brian?
Bam Bam:The aroma is sweet for me.
Gizmo:Not on the draw?
Bam Bam:The retrohale is nice at the tail end of it. The initial retro is a little spicy for my nose tonight. I'm not sure what's going on.
Chef Ricky:Maybe let it cool down a
Bam Bam:little bit. Don't take a drop.
Chef Ricky:Maybe. Do that with the Senator Testes.
Rooster:I think the finish is not short at all. It's pretty
Chef Ricky:good. I
Senator:agree. That sweet bread reminds me of bread pudding.
Chef Ricky:Would it help if we take the band off?
Rooster:Like me?
Senator:Well, for Bam, I think.
Bam Bam:I don't know. You are the bread pudding expert.
Senator:He said the band of
Bam Bam:the cigar. We talked about you mentioned bread pudding.
Senator:That was before.
Bam Bam:That was three seconds ago.
Gizmo:He's ahead and behind.
Chef Ricky:Yeah. I love I love Welcome back, Bam.
Bam Bam:That's like one of my favorites.
Senator:Oh, yeah.
Gizmo:Bread pudding is great. Alright, boys. I haven't done this in a while, but let's talk about the history of Perdomo cigars. I was really kind of intrigued as I was reviewing this and putting this together tonight about the long story of the Perdomo name. So it starts.
Gizmo:The Perdomo family's cigar heritage goes back to Cuba before the revolution. Silvio Perdomo, who is Nick Perdomo Junior's grandfather. So Nick Perdomo Junior is the Nick Perdomo that we all know as the face, founder, and blender of Perdomo cigars. Right? His grandfather entered the cigar industry in Cuba in the early nineteen thirties.
Gizmo:He worked at several major Cuban factories, including H. Upman, and later managed the Partagas factory. Silvio's son, Nicholas Perdomo senior, Nick junior's father, also became involved in the industry and worked as an executive at Partagas and at other Cuba tobacco operations. The Cuban revolution drastically changed the family's trajectory. The Perdomos were strongly anti communist and had ties to the Batista government.
Gizmo:Silvio Perdomo, Nick Perdomo junior's grandfather, was arrested by revolutionary forces and was imprisoned for over fifteen years in a couple prisons, including La Cabana Fortress in Havana. Nicolas Perdomo senior, Nick junior's dad, fought against the revolutionary forces, was even shot twice and narrowly escaped execution. Eventually, the family fled Cuba and immigrated to The United States. After immigrating, Nicolas Perdomo senior worked low paying jobs in The US, including as a janitor at a mental institution. The family eventually settled in Miami, part of the Cuban exile community down there that we know very well.
Gizmo:The cigar tradition temporarily stopped, but the knowledge, of course, remained in the family. So Nick Perdomo junior's story, before he started the brand, he was a US Navy air traffic controller and then was an air traffic controller at Miami International Airport. Pretty cool story. In 1992, he started Nick's Cigar Co in his garage. He had three rollers.
Gizmo:His wife boxed the cigars, and they made just over 9,000 cigars in their first year.
Bam Bam:Unbelievable.
Gizmo:Pretty cool, right? That's very cool. 1992 started it all with three rollers and his wife boxing the cigars. To scale production, the company moved manufacturing to Esteli, Nicaragua in 1995. And in 1997, just five years after they started the company, they sold 1,000,000 cigars for the first time in the calendar year.
Gizmo:Unbelievable. In 1999, they built a second factory in Esteli. During this period, they introduced the Perdomo squared, which was alongside the nineteen sixty four series from Padron, one of the early box pressed cigars coming out of Nicaragua. Of course, during the cigar boom, they became very popular. In April 1999, Perdomo was approached by Conno A.
Gizmo:Osguner, who we've talked about before, the head of CAO with a proposition to produce its La Anniversari line patterned after the legendary Partagas series d number four. There you are, senator. Try that out. The CAO love lot anniversary.
Bam Bam:Give it a try.
Gizmo:Osganer was in the process of losing his manufacturing plant, Tabaclera Tombor in Costa Rica, manufacturer of the Bahia brand, and was in need of a new partner to keep his product in production, and Perdomo was chosen over the other potential partners. A mutually beneficial partnership resulted which aided in the expansion of the Perdomo operation. So today, Perdomo grows tobacco on over 1,200 acres in Esteli, Condega, and Jalapa. They operate an 88,000 square foot complex in Esteli nicknamed El Monstro, the monster, employs several thousand workers in Nicaragua, and they make a ton of cigars for other companies and retail chains. So this is pretty cool, and this is where we get to tonight with our cigar that we have in our hand.
Gizmo:Determined to prove that Nicaraguan shade grown tobacco could make for beautiful wrapper in 2015, remember that year, they developed the Nicaraguan shade grown, which is a Cuban Cameroon hybrid seed grown at the company's Finca Natalie farm in Esteli. Natalie is Nick Perdomo's daughter's name. Natalie. The Nicaraguan shade grown line, the one we're smoking now, features this wrapper after ten years of bale aging immediately followed by a minimum of ten months of aging in bourbon barrels. Unbelievable.
Gizmo:So this wrapper that we have right now is ten years old
Bam Bam:Plus ten months.
Gizmo:Plus ten months before it was even rolled.
Bam Bam:In a bourbon barrel.
Gizmo:Exactly right. Wow. All three of the lines in the legacy series use that hybrid seed, the Nicaraguan shade grown. Starting with the one that we're smoking tonight, the Nicaraguan shade grown in Epicure, which uses it as a wrapper over unspecified Nicaraguan binder and filler. In the Perdomo Legacy Ecuadorian Connecticut and Maduro versions, the Cuban Cameroon hybrid leaf that we talked about is used as a binder, not as a wrapper.
Gizmo:These two wines, of course, use an Ecuadorian grown Connecticut seed wrapper atop the hybrid binder and Nicaraguan filler. The Connecticut wrappers also get ten years of aging, but they don't see the bourbon barrel rest that the other seed does. For the Nicaraguan, separately, the wrapper is aged for ten years and that one gets a minimum of fourteen months in bourbon barrels for aging. And the special hybrid wrapper is for the binder. So that's a pretty cool story.
Bam Bam:It's pretty fascinating, the construction of the cigar.
Gizmo:So this is the first time that that seed was used was for this line, and this line was the first blended by Nicolas Perdomo III in honor of his father. So this is kind of that next generation of tobacco manufacturers that we've been talking about. And we've been seeing the airs apparent coming up as we've been at the trade shows and different festivals, etc. We can see these things happening. Fuente, it's happening.
Gizmo:Padron, it's happening. Perdomo, it's happening. It's happening all over. Even at Aladino. Yeah.
Gizmo:And so this is cool too, that Nicolas Perdomo III, this is the first cigar he blended in honor of his dad.
Bam Bam:So I will say at the last PCA show, their booth was jamming the entire time. Always full of people. Apparently, selling a lot of product. Yeah.
Gizmo:Wasn't it right outside
Bam Bam:It was near our area.
Gizmo:Where the media area was
Bam Bam:Yeah. Exactly.
Gizmo:Where we were recording it. It was right there across across the hall.
Senator:So is this a Nicaraguan Puro? Nicaraguan Puro. I mean, I'm sorry. Like, that alone is impressive. If you if any of us had this blind, there's no way your first guess would be Nicaraguan tonight.
Gizmo:It's got that Cabo Iguan thing.
Senator:Yeah, it does.
Gizmo:And I think that's because we're talking about a hybrid wrapper that, in this specific cigar, used elsewhere in those others, that is a CubanCameroon hybrid. So when I saw that, and I was talking to, as I said, Cigar Surgeon, our friend John over there at Developing Pallets, talking to him about Perdomo, I said, man, we need to do a Perdomo. What do you think about this Legacy series? And he was saying that it's a killer blend, a killer cigar, and he thought that it would perform very well in the pods. So I'm glad we brought it in tonight.
Gizmo:I will say the ash is a little flaky, though.
Bam Bam:It just fell right off of my Me too.
Gizmo:Yeah. Fell off right on my pants.
Bam Bam:I will say I have slowed down, and the flavor's actually quite nice. I'm admitting now.
Senator:No. You do have to smoke this slowly because I started slow, and I was enjoying it so much. I picked up my pace a little bit, and I noticed the sweetness starting to dissipate. So I immediately stopped myself, let it cool down, and it's back to
Bam Bam:It's a sensitive cigar, but I am now getting that berry that I was getting in the cold draw.
Chef Ricky:But
Bam Bam:not much more than that. Maybe kind of like a banana berry type of combo but no oatmeal or any carb.
Chef Ricky:Not starchy at all?
Bam Bam:No, not for me. It's quite good.
Chef Ricky:I have a crack developing in my wrapper here.
Bam Bam:It'll go away. You'll just smoke through it.
Rooster:Yeah, I'm hoping. Just switch with Bam.
Bam Bam:Sure. That's what friends are for.
Gizmo:Senator, back to your point, I don't think that there's actually anything that is screaming Nicaragua here. No. It's very similar. Actually it's kind of similar in profile I would say to the Cabo Iguan. What we experienced with that.
Bam Bam:This is a bit fuller than that cigar.
Senator:Yes, I agree.
Gizmo:It definitely is. I think that was a mild a breakfast first of the day cigar. But this is interesting where this could potentially slot as of right now.
Rooster:So we've had a few Nicaraguan blended cigars. I mean, Poros that
Bam Bam:Took us for a loop.
Rooster:Yeah. I mean, it's shocking that you would think that it's not Nicaraguan tobaccos. How can they do this? How are you getting that sweetness out of the Nicaraguan tobaccos that are known for power and strength?
Gizmo:It must be something with the seed or the bourbon barrel.
Bam Bam:Burrow aging, possibly.
Senator:I'll just say I'm thrilled to see it, and I really hope that more of this comes in the future because, you know, for me, Nicaraguan cigars have always had a very defined place and time, and it's later in an evening. You know, it's not often that I would light up, you know, Padron ex Luisivo in the morning or even to start my afternoon. There are many cigars that I would put before Nicaraguan. So if Nicaraguan manufacturers can come out with more of this, I mean, you could have an entire day's lineup of just Nicaraguan cigars, which we wouldn't have been able to say years ago.
Bam Bam:I could see us smoking this in the early evening as a kickoff to a nice long cigar session. There's enough body to keep your attention and it does snap you to attention. It's got a good body to it. I'm really starting to like it. Afternoon smoke.
Bam Bam:Yeah, maybe early after early dinner cigar possibly. Good golf course smoke?
Senator:I'm sure. I would like this in the afternoon for sure. Yeah.
Gizmo:I think this yeah. And I'm sure Rooster's doing this. I think this would be great with coffee.
Bam Bam:Oh, sure.
Rooster:It goes really well with coffee.
Chef Ricky:I think a latte or something like that. Maybe not an Americano or maybe.
Senator:Oh, man. Where I just got, it's like getting creamier.
Bam Bam:Mhmm.
Gizmo:Mine's very creamy. Actually, it's been for for quite a few minutes. So the other thing I wanted to point out too, you know, we talk about Opus X. Right? The whole thing with Opus X was Carlito Fuente proving to the world that Dominican tobacco could be used as wrapper.
Gizmo:Right? That's the whole genesis of what was happening in the nineties for Carlito with the Opus line with, you know, Dominican wrapper. It's interesting that Nick Perdomo set out to do something similar, which was to prove to the world that Nicaraguan shade grown tobacco could be used as a wrapper to produce a cigar of this kind of profile. Right? Because this is very divergent from what I would say the quote unquote normal Nicaraguan profile is.
Gizmo:Right?
Bam Bam:Or even the typical Perdomo.
Gizmo:Sure.
Bam Bam:Have you had the Perdomo black? I have. Me too. Long, long, long ago. That is a that will grow hair on the bottom of your feet.
Gizmo:I got a sampler, I think, from one of my early days from like Cigar Bid or Cigar Page or something, a Perdomo sampler. Yeah. And I had a bunch of them.
Bam Bam:Yeah. Yeah. And it's full. Oh, yeah. Interesting.
Senator:I always had this perception of the brand that like they just make milder cigars. I'm actually shocked to hear they have that.
Bam Bam:I have the opposite perception. I feel like most of their cigars are full bodied. I don't know enough about them.
Gizmo:This is certainly lending to the idea that
Bam Bam:This sophisticated we should is cigar. It's very elegant, and it's actually getting creamier and creamier. It's starting a journey off for me.
Senator:I love the flavor. I just can't believe. I mean, I'm not gonna
Gizmo:lie. Really nice.
Senator:I was not thrilled that we were reviewing this What
Gizmo:time did I tell you guys that we were smoking this tonight? Oh, late. About an hour before we recorded.
Senator:Once I already was here.
Gizmo:Well, I'm glad you came and I'm glad you stayed because I think this is definitely, you know you know, you judge a book by the by its cover. I think that we all did that tonight. I think we've been looking at this on the list for quite some time. And now that it's here, again, we found ourselves confused, surprised, and elated at how this a cigar is performing that kind of polar opposite what we
Bam Bam:what we expected. Definitely surprised. And potentially opening up other Perdomos that we should try.
Gizmo:Yeah. Right. So let's talk about the Legacy Line Boys before we get into our pairing. There is the Connecticut, the Maduro, and the Shade Grown. Those are the three.
Gizmo:And they all come in the following five sizes and they're all sold at the same price. So the Robusto in all three is the same price. The Epicure, the Toro that we have is the same price, etcetera. So the Robusto 54 by five. So this just identical to this, take one inch off.
Gizmo:Box of 24 MSRP on that is just over $300. That cigar is retailed for 13. The Epicure in all three lines, the one that we have in our hand, again, is 54 by six. Retail on that is just under 14. Box of 24 of those.
Gizmo:We found them for $12.50 at small batch cigar. The Churchill 54. That's weird to call that a Churchill. Again, same ring gauge as this add an inch. 54 by seven, $14 comes in a box of 24.
Gizmo:The Gordo 60 by six, of course. Oh, Pagoda. Comes in a box of 24, just under $15. And finally, the Gran Bellicoso, which is box pressed and only offered in 10 count boxes, 60 by six. So it's the same size as the Gordo, but it's a Bellicoso, so it has the rounded
Chef Ricky:The tapers off.
Gizmo:Yeah. The rounded the tapered head on it. Yeah. And it comes in boxes of 10. Those are $15.
Bam Bam:The ring gauge.
Rooster:So nothing under 50 for a ring gauge.
Senator:Yeah, correct. Can't believe they call it Churchill something with a 54.
Gizmo:Yeah, mean Churchill, you know, is normally what? 48 by seven? That's a factor of six on the on the ring gauge. You know, four to six. That's that's a lot.
Chef Ricky:That's a lot Churchill extra.
Rooster:Yeah. So I had the Connecticut in this.
Gizmo:Really?
Rooster:Not the shade grown. Yeah. What was your experience? Not as good as this. It was a bit milder.
Rooster:Had a little bit more notes of cedar, I would say. It was more cedar forward.
Bam Bam:Oh, you like cedar.
Rooster:Yeah. But this is tastier. I like the sweeter notes that you're getting out of this, the cinnamon, the sweet bread. And it's got a longer finish.
Senator:I feel like I'm having a meal. I'm just getting that much flavor.
Gizmo:And
Bam Bam:a very nice delivery.
Rooster:Smooth. The cigar, I think it's just perfectly packed. It's not too dense, not too light. The draw is perfect.
Gizmo:I feel like for that price we're talking about, like $12.3 or $0.40 right? I feel like you're getting a lot of value. It's a good value. Not just in the flavor. If you put that aside, the amount of tobacco in here, how it feels in the hand, like you're talking about, how it's packed, the draw, it feels like a pretty elegant cigar for that price.
Gizmo:I think this is definitely a value play here.
Rooster:That's burning slow.
Gizmo:Yeah. I think we're going to get a lot of time out of this. So the other thing I want to mention, boys, is this cigar in the Connecticut, the one that Rooster's talking about was Half Wheels, number eight cigar of the year. I think they gave it a pretty good rating like a 93 or something like that.
Senator:The band it says 91, excuse me. It says 1965 and on the other side, 2025. So did this come out in 2025.
Gizmo:This came out at PCA twenty twenty five. Okay. Just Makes sense.
Senator:To confirm.
Gizmo:Alright, boys. Let's go to our pairing now. K. I'm excited to try this because you guys said it was good. I didn't try it yet.
Gizmo:We have the Volcan de Mi Tierra. Yes. Close enough.
Chef Ricky:Volcan de Mi Tierra. Great job.
Gizmo:In tequila Reposado. Reposado expression from them. Back to Agave. Cheers, boys.
Bam Bam:Cheers. Cheers, boys. Salud.
Chef Ricky:This is gonna be a fun one.
Gizmo:Oh, that's really nice.
Chef Ricky:It's made at Gnome fifteen twenty three. You notice it's very clean, fruity, vanilla forward. Guess who makes it?
Gizmo:Who? Carlos comment Yeah. Right
Chef Ricky:No. Oh. Oh. No. You you could almost tell there isn't it's not it's not a comment in your product because there's not a lot
Gizmo:there's We don't have to insult us.
Chef Ricky:No. No. No. Sorry. Don't mean No.
Chef Ricky:That there's almost no minerality.
Gizmo:Hey, that's mine.
Chef Ricky:Sorry, guys. There's almost no minerality here. But I I love this for what it presents and for the way it drinks. It's super delicious. It is additive free.
Chef Ricky:It's made by Moet Hennessy.
Gizmo:What? Oh, wow. Yeah. No way.
Bam Bam:Interesting. What's the
Gizmo:So Louis Vuitton makes this. Correct.
Chef Ricky:Yes. LVMH, yeah.
Bam Bam:Correct. How much for the bottle?
Chef Ricky:49 maybe?
Gizmo:I think it was in the fifties. Yeah.
Bam Bam:Interesting. So I don't get the vanilla. I'm getting salted butter and apple.
Gizmo:I very much get the vanilla.
Bam Bam:No. I could see apple. A crisp apple
Chef Ricky:in the
Bam Bam:back, in the front for me, it's buttery, it's a little salty. I think it's delicious.
Chef Ricky:Buttery, salty, vanilla, oak. It goes about three sixty four days. So it's taken almost to the point of an Anejo. But and throughout that process, it hits about three or four different barrels. It's a combination of Americans, European oaks.
Chef Ricky:Obviously there's going to be a cognac barrel cask in there. You know, there's bourbon, maybe a Bulgarian whiskey oak or something along those So
Gizmo:we should cancel our mornings tomorrow.
Chef Ricky:But no, no, you know, it's still it's like I said, it's additive free. It's known for being additive free. It's known for being delicious. All these guys do, you know, to sort of keep that minerality out and some of those more sort of funky traditional agave flavors that we get, they use champagne yeast. So that's why it's clean.
Chef Ricky:They don't rely on the natural yeast and the environment and the environment of the agave. It's a little bit cleaner. It's less minerality, less mineral, less funky.
Bam Bam:Oh, yeah.
Chef Ricky:But you're getting a lot of that oak being presented.
Bam Bam:I see the oak for sure. It's very clean and crisp. Like I said, I get that apple finish. It drinks similarly to a very mild, modest whiskey like any of the Japanese whiskeys. It's kind of reminiscent from the point of view of the body and that touch of heat.
Bam Bam:It's very, very
Senator:similar to
Chef Ricky:whiskey like. Yeah.
Bam Bam:Kind of.
Gizmo:Yeah.
Senator:Just on price point, total wine, it's $62.99.
Chef Ricky:Okay. Jeez.
Senator:Which to me makes more sense. I'm sorry. I know I feels cheap for this.
Gizmo:I think it went up. I think I got it at $55.99. I just looked. It was $55 on my total wine app. So I think the price might have gone up.
Gizmo:I got this what, a month ago? I think I got this at the same time I got the last one. It's
Chef Ricky:probably about
Bam Bam:a month. Weeks. Yeah. Do you know what region this was made in?
Chef Ricky:This is a combination of lowland and the highland tequilas. Sorry, agave. It's made in Jalisco, but they blend lowland and highland agave. That tells you it's probably not a state of grown agaves, they're buying agave to make this product, but I think the fact that they're blending those two gives a little bit of depth and character to this.
Gizmo:Do you do you give, like, credo or a little bit more emphasis to estate grown versus folks who are out
Chef Ricky:there buying it? For me, yes.
Gizmo:Like, as a purist quote unquote, is that Exactly. Like a purist
Chef Ricky:It doesn't mean anything if they're producing crap, but if you're going out of your way to, grow your own agave and the labor of love that that takes,
Gizmo:you're going
Bam Bam:to make Penasse Moet is growing their own product? No. No. They're buying the
Chef Ricky:stuff. They're buying agave.
Senator:Okay. Which is similar to a lot of things. Most affordable wines, none
Gizmo:of them
Senator:are estate grown. They're all buying grapes from different places.
Gizmo:Yeah. Are all the higher end expressions of those manufacturers, are they mostly estate grown?
Bam Bam:Yeah. Okay.
Senator:And that is what commands a higher price point.
Bam Bam:Sure.
Chef Ricky:Like it. Now I don't know if Moet Hennessy is sourcing the agave or if the distillery that they've contracted is sourcing the agave. I would doubt that they're sourcing that. So this is a distillery fifteen twenty three. They make about four or five different brands there.
Chef Ricky:None that I know, but this is definitely the best one coming out of there for sure.
Gizmo:It's really good and I love how it's pairing with the cigar. And it's doing something at the front of my mouth. Maybe you guys can help me describe it because I I can't put my finger on it.
Bam Bam:They have medicine for that.
Gizmo:It's making it like a little I got one coming for
Bam Bam:you. Alright. It's
Gizmo:it's like a little citrus going on at the front of my mouth. Like, it's making me salivate when they come together.
Bam Bam:Tingly on her lips a little bit.
Chef Ricky:Are you
Gizmo:having fun?
Senator:Oh, yeah.
Gizmo:No swelling. It's it's it's really nice.
Bam Bam:It's nice. It's a great pairing. Oh, yeah. I'm sorry.
Senator:The the pairing I think is 10 out of 10.
Bam Bam:It's delicious.
Senator:They're so complimentary, and this tequila, I I really, really Mhmm. Love this.
Gizmo:It it seems like it goes a level deeper than the most recent tequilas that we've done. Meaning, there's like another level of complexity there. It's the
Chef Ricky:age and the number of barrels.
Bam Bam:We've rated those tequilas that we've had very high.
Gizmo:And I think the same is gonna be, you know, I think it's gonna be the same tonight.
Senator:Yeah. I just think for a Repo, like, this is probably one of my favorite Repos I've tried.
Bam Bam:It's a it's definitely a fuller experience.
Senator:Yeah. But what I love about it is
Bam Bam:like other Repos.
Senator:Kinda like Gizmo saying there's another layer. I feel like it starts by drinking like a traditional Repo, but then it finishes almost like an Anejo, which I really like.
Chef Ricky:It's literally one day away from being an Anejo. Yeah. So I mean that you could see the color here.
Gizmo:So what happens if like the guy who's in charge of like running the forklift, like gets like the flu at day three sixty three and then they don't pull it till day three sixty six? Does like is there like a guy standing there in a hard hat with like a little mustache?
Bam Bam:Yeah. Tell us what the factory floor is like, chef.
Gizmo:This is in Onejo now.
Chef Ricky:It's in Onejo and they marked the price up another $15. Who knows? But, yeah. Look, of course, you know, I don't know. I mean, I'm sure they stick to these guidelines.
Chef Ricky:Are there like, you know, some things that happen? Sure. The CRT doesn't live in the distillery. They're not there every day, but people know what they need to know to make the proper product.
Gizmo:Right?
Rooster:Are there tequilas that are aged even longer?
Chef Ricky:Than March? Yeah. Well then it becomes an annejo. It becomes an annejo,
Gizmo:but there's extra annejo.
Chef Ricky:After annejo, go to extra annejo. That's as far as you go.
Senator:Welcome to tequila rooster.
Chef Ricky:That's after three years. Give him a break. He doesn't drink.
Rooster:But how many years can they is there a there's no limit, I guess. Right?
Chef Ricky:No. No. There's there's a couple ten year extra aniyeos that I know of.
Bam Bam:Pay attention, oh boy.
Rooster:Does it get smoother?
Chef Ricky:It does, but it gets very oaky, very whiskey forward. It almost does not taste like tequila.
Bam Bam:Interesting.
Chef Ricky:And as you get deeper, as you go further down this rabbit hole, as you've noticed, we come to appreciate the agave and for the agave purists or enthusiasts, sometimes those hyper age tequilas are just, they don't feel like tequila. But it's a great experience, it's a great collector's item, know, they're obviously very expensive. Just like Bam's Louis Vuitton handkerchiefs.
Senator:Yeah. I wish
Gizmo:that this pairs perfectly with.
Bam Bam:Any reviews out in the world about this thing?
Chef Ricky:Yeah, so it's one of few metals which I don't really talk about because it's LVMH, right? So they have marketing dollars like no one else does and I'm sure they enter into all these competitions and whatnot, but they do have a few
Bam Bam:Or maybe just more of the common man commentary about this online. Actually drinks, a very unique experience.
Chef Ricky:Mean, my go to is Agave Match maker. It used to be tequila match maker or Agave match, I think it's called now. I guess they changed it from tequila to agave so they could include other agave distillates in that. This rate's about 83. And I could tell you why it's not reading higher.
Chef Ricky:It's because it's missing some of that tequila funk, that minerality.
Bam Bam:That's what I mean. I guess that's what I'm trying to say. It does taste and drink unlike other tequilas I've
Chef Ricky:had in a while. It had some of that funk or minerality, I guarantee you this would be an 80 eightninety, you know, very rarely do you see 90s on that platform, but it'll be an 88, which is probably as good as a nine, for us, you know. So but it's still it's a it's a great tequila. I think this is a great gateway tequila to get people into tequila without throwing additives down their throat.
Bam Bam:I think a scotch drinker would like this.
Senator:Yeah. Yeah. I think it's incredibly versatile.
Bam Bam:I agree. Do you think
Gizmo:it would work well with, say, a Cuban or a Honduran?
Senator:I think the overwhelming majority, if not all Cuban and and Honduran cigars
Gizmo:And then this would work well about up to the fullest of Nicaraguan cigars?
Bam Bam:I think with this?
Senator:A true full body cigar, this is probably not ideal. It's like so smooth and clean and easy drinking. I'm not sure like this holds up to the flavor bomb that like a full cigar has, but anything medium, and I think even medium full.
Gizmo:So would you what's the cutoff for you in your brain? Like '64 from Perdomo?
Senator:Yeah. Like a Perdomo 1960
Gizmo:Going into '26 would be too big of a step, your family reserve. 100%.
Bam Bam:But I think that all the natural wrappers, for what most of Perdomo makes, I think would do well with this. Yeah, very well. Right? Exclusivo and Maduro, wow. I think Exclusivo in Maduro would
Senator:be Super with smooth.
Gizmo:But I also think the Trini de Robusto from Fabrica Five would pair Oh, perfectly with
Senator:yeah, absolutely.
Chef Ricky:I have a box waiting at home.
Senator:The berry notes you get in that, the fruit in this, oh man, it'd be great.
Gizmo:Great combo. The problem here, this is a dangerous tequila because it's doing so well with the cigar
Bam Bam:It really is.
Gizmo:That I like love how the cigar tastes, then I want to go to the tequila. Then back and forth, it's like, you you can go through this pretty quick.
Senator:Oh yeah, the bottle's gonna be gone.
Bam Bam:Oh, tonight for sure. I could drink this in the summer.
Chef Ricky:Oh yeah.
Bam Bam:Drink this in the winter. I think your comment about versatility I think is spot on, and you don't need a chip of ice with this at all.
Chef Ricky:This, you know
Bam Bam:It's great. Now in the summer, if you're out in the shade and it's hot out, a chip would be ex I think exquisite. It could open up other
Rooster:I don't think so.
Gizmo:Okay.
Rooster:Tell them, chef.
Chef Ricky:This reminds me a lot of Balvini Doublewood.
Bam Bam:Oh, dude. I think the twelve year I actually did this the not the Doublewood, but they have a twelve year. There are a pair of Apple notes that I get in that that I'm actually getting here. More Apple tonight, of course. That's a great, I think, great call out.
Bam Bam:I
Chef Ricky:really like this.
Bam Bam:Well done.
Chef Ricky:The Blanco's even better. The Blanco's
Gizmo:Better than this. Wow.
Senator:Yeah. Really?
Chef Ricky:So you guys remember when we did Lalo Blanco, how clean and crisp that was. Lalo was great. So they use champagne yeast for the same reasons these guys do. That Blanco also utilizes champagne yeast, but I think where Lalo wins this over is that Lalo's much more affordable. So for the price point and that's all they do, Lalo kills it, but the Blanco in this Volcan De Mietera is super delicious.
Gizmo:So what about accessibility? Obviously we found it on Total Wine. It wasn't
Chef Ricky:that get. Okay. Yeah. I mean, it's it's Moa Hennessy. Right?
Chef Ricky:They're gonna have it up
Gizmo:Oh, that's a fair point. That was a stupid question.
Bam Bam:Do you carry this at the restaurants?
Chef Ricky:Yep. Alright.
Gizmo:Yeah. Anejo NYC. Stamp of Alright, boys. We're coming to the end of the first third here on the Perdomo Legacy Nicaraguan Shade Grown in Epicure. What's everybody think about the cigar right now?
Gizmo:It's before me well.
Bam Bam:I got a complaint coming in from the corner.
Gizmo:Hey. You're going I'm I'm
Rooster:looking at Giza Cigarades. He's going pretty fast.
Senator:Yeah. You're smoking fast.
Gizmo:We're also forty five minutes into the episode.
Rooster:I'm just So
Senator:so are we.
Chef Ricky:Yeah. We're in the same episode, but Where's that twilight zone? He's in a time warp right now.
Bam Bam:I think it's exquisite. I'm I'm still getting that fruit. It's very creamy. No cinnamon, that kind of dissipated really early for me, but it's really beautifully balanced. I just think it's an excellent cigar.
Bam Bam:I'm actually very shocked that I'm saying that.
Gizmo:I am too. I'm completely blown away by
Bam Bam:The ash structure as I actually get deeper into the cigar seems to be holding.
Gizmo:Just that first inch just kind of crumbled off.
Bam Bam:Yeah, definitely.
Gizmo:This is definitely holding on better.
Chef Ricky:I get to do this often because my wife is an amazing pastry chef, but you ever take a bite of fresh bread that's like warm still from coming out of the oven? No. And it just envelops your mouth with this puff of warm
Bam Bam:because you don't invite us over.
Gizmo:Ready. Correct.
Chef Ricky:That's what I'm getting. That's that'll change soon. That's what I'm getting on on this cigar right now on the retro. It's like biting into fresh, warm, out the oven bread.
Bam Bam:You getting any berry, guys?
Chef Ricky:I'm not getting any berry.
Senator:Oh, am. I am. Sure. Big time. Literally, for me, it's just fruit, bread, cream.
Senator:It's buttery. And it's like an amazing dessert. It's I love the flavor
Bam Bam:like
Rooster:bread and butter.
Chef Ricky:Buttery. That's
Gizmo:over the bread
Chef Ricky:and butter.
Rooster:Bread and butter.
Gizmo:It's like a it's like a buttery pastry with a a jam of some kind on
Bam Bam:it. And I will admit, the tequila's coating my mouth, and it's enhancing the smoking experience.
Gizmo:I agree with you. That's what I'm saying. It when I sip alongside drawing the cigar Yeah. It's like when they come together, it's even more elevated.
Bam Bam:I almost don't want that to happen because I wanna rate these independently, but they're just pairing perfectly.
Gizmo:I think the craziest thing for me right now is how clean the mouth feel is on this cigar. Yeah. Oh, yeah. I mean, we're talking about a $12 Nicaraguan. I feel like It's almost like I'm not smoking a cigar after every single draw.
Bam Bam:There's no dryness at all.
Gizmo:There's no dryness.
Bam Bam:Chalkiness at all.
Senator:No minerality. There's
Gizmo:nothing that's kind of cigar It's very clean.
Bam Bam:Yes. It's unique.
Gizmo:Alright, boys. Let's go to some news now. Couple things for you tonight. I think we're gonna see two themes this year at PCA. Of course, we're gonna see the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the United States.
Gizmo:So there's a lot of manufacturers coming out with two hundred and fiftieth celebration cigars. JC Newman, I think, is the only official one that has actually licensed the official thing with the United States government to release that cigar because it's American made. But a lot of manufacturers are putting out celebratory cigars for the two hundred and fiftieth. We
Rooster:I'm talked sure you've about a few out with something. I would assume so. Yeah.
Gizmo:But I think a lot of I think Aladino's doing one. There's a lot of them gonna be coming out. That's my prediction for PCA. My other prediction is it seems like the color or theme for this year is blue. Of course, the my father blue last year was very successful, but I'm looking at some of these new releases that are starting to pop up as we come close to PCA time.
Gizmo:And the first one here is the Rocky Patel sapphire, which is debuting at PCA. All blue. And like we talked about with the
Bam Bam:Nice presentation. 60,
Gizmo:almost the entire wrapper of the cigar is covered.
Bam Bam:Rooster's looking away in disgust.
Gizmo:By a band. I think this is a it looks box pressed to me here in the photos on a half wheel. So this cigar uses a Mexican San Andres wrapper over two binders. One from Esteli and the other from the Hamastran Valley in Honduras. Of course, we've talked about that with Rob from Fabrica five.
Gizmo:The fillers are from Condega, Esteli, and Jalapa, of course, from Nicaragua and are said to be six to seven years old. Pretty cool. Outside of the wrapper, all of the tobacco comes from the company's own farms. Sapphire is made in Esteli, coming in four of Atollas, Robusto, 50 by five and a half Corona Gorda, which I like to see, 46 by six. The 60, which is 60 by six in the Toro, 52 by six and a half, making its debut this year at PCA.
Gizmo:What I like about these boys is the price coming in. Even the biggest one, the Gordo MSRP is gonna be $18 all the way down to the Corona Gordo at 13.
Bam Bam:So Can't wait till you try it.
Gizmo:Until I try it. Okay. So let's go to another one now. Again, talking blue here. Perez Carrillo from Casa Carrillo has announced the Deep Blue limited edition 2026.
Gizmo:Very cool. Again, a lot of blue going on here.
Bam Bam:What's on the right of that box? Looks like a void of some kind with a lighter in it or something.
Gizmo:It looks like a void in the box here. I think it comes with like a I'll I'll tell you about it in a second here.
Bam Bam:Some bubble that you'll throw in the garbage.
Gizmo:The Perezqueria Deep Blue Limited Edition 2026 is a 56 by six Toro extra using wrapper from Jalapa and Nicaragua over a Honduran binder. Again, Honduras is popping up in these.
Bam Bam:Yeah. I don't get the range.
Gizmo:Like when we see blue, we we should be thinking Honduras. That's what the industry is almost saying here. It's very odd that blue Honduras is kind of popping up through these manufacturers that haven't historically been using a lot of Honduran tobacco. So it's interesting that we're seeing that. So this is the first release for Deep Blue.
Gizmo:So the cigar will have an MSRP of 22, 2,500 numbered boxes of 20 cigars, so that's 50,000 cigars. The first boxes are on sale as of March 14 at Smokin' in Florida. Other retailers will be receiving their boxes after May. So Ernesto says Deep Blue was blended as a journey. The wrapper speaks first.
Gizmo:The binder stabilizes. The fillers carry you deeper, Bam. It's a cigar about discovering what lies beneath. The company says the name, Deep Blue, was inspired by both the deep depths of the ocean and Hades, the Greek god of the dead. Oh, yeah.
Gizmo:The king of the underworld. So it looks, Bam, like it comes with a Rosary beads. A memento with a little chain on it.
Bam Bam:Okay. You put that on your
Chef Ricky:neck. Alright.
Gizmo:We're gonna wear those at PCA this year.
Bam Bam:The 56 ring gauge is shocking. I mean, that's that's
Rooster:It seems like that's the trend.
Bam Bam:That's crazy.
Gizmo:That's what people, you know, we're seeing that though. Mean, we've been smoking a lot of Toros on this podcast because that's the vitola that folks are recommending when they send it over. That's what people are smoking. It seems like that's the way it's trending. I think, you know, we've talked about this in the past, but it must be a value thing.
Gizmo:Maybe. You know, for another 50¢, you're getting a bigger and longer cigar. I mean, that's gotta be the value play that folks are thinking about when they're reaching for them.
Bam Bam:I don't know any serious cigar smoker that thinks in those terms. Right?
Gizmo:Well, I think the thing that we've proven in our exercise here every week is that often the length of the cigar and the ring gauge doesn't necessarily dictate how long the cigar is gonna smoke. Yeah. Like, we've had plenty of smaller ring gauge cigars that take us an hour forty five and we've had Toro extras that, you know, are an hour fifteen and we're disappointed
Bam Bam:Yeah.
Gizmo:Because they're a wind tunnel or whatever. But, yeah, 56, man. It's big.
Senator:Yep. Well, on the color blue, it's very intentional. This is the Honduran flag.
Gizmo:Of course, I understand that.
Bam Bam:Uh-huh. Yeah. Yeah.
Gizmo:Uh-huh. I understand that, but Honduran tobacco has certainly been used in the past. Look at Aladino. Aladino is Honduran they're Honduran puros. Most of their colors, would argue, are red.
Gizmo:Yellow. Yellow. I there's not much blue going on
Bam Bam:there. White. Brown? Black and brown.
Senator:But that's because that's all they do. I think it's like for the manufacturers that don't produce much with Honduran tobacco, they're trying to very clearly delineate, this is our Honduran line and we have everything else.
Chef Ricky:Yeah. Fabric of Five has no band, they have no opportunity to commit to the color blue, but no bullshit.
Gizmo:Correct. That's right. But I'm hoping, you know, in line with this lot of blue that we're talking about here, I'm hoping that we're going see some more Honduran cigars because they've all been hits.
Bam Bam:Yes.
Gizmo:I don't think we've found a Honduran that we don't like. You know, they don't all rate tens, but, I mean, Honduran tobacco has done very, very well in the pods. It
Bam Bam:is. I'm shocked. I don't know what to say. It's excellent. Dude, what the fuck, man?
Bam Bam:Very unexpected.
Rooster:It's like a sweet, I don't know, toffee chocolate thing happening now.
Bam Bam:Kind of.
Gizmo:This is a cigar as of right now that I could definitely see making a pretty regular appearance in the rotation.
Bam Bam:Correct.
Gizmo:Especially for the price.
Rooster:Yes. But I wish the size was a bit smaller. I tend to. You know, maybe something like a 52 ring gauge or a boost out.
Gizmo:Or even a 50. Yeah. Yeah. But they're all 54, five, six and seven inches long in the 54. And then of course the Gordo at 60.
Bam Bam:It's probably more economical that way.
Gizmo:Or just the blend makes sense in this ring gauge, it doesn't make sense in others. I'm not sure.
Senator:Yeah. I don't know. I feel like for Toros, I prefer them when they're medium in body and flavor. Like, I think of the Avow, the New Dawn that we liked. Yeah.
Senator:That's a creamy, smooth, delicious smoke, And I think in a large ring gauge when you're gonna be having a cigar that big, like, it it it's just delivered much better when the pro flavor profile is not overwhelming. Like, I don't like a fuller cigar in a really large ring gauge and a large size because by the end of it, I'm like, it's too much. Yeah. It's like almost overwhelming.
Bam Bam:I think that's the primary reason why we avoid that size cigar.
Senator:Right. And I think of other, like, 54 ring gauge cigars that we would like, like, lot of them are Cuban cigars, like, you know, Partagas e two or a QD 54. Like, there's nothing overwhelming about that cigar in terms of flavor. Like, it's medium, delicious. So given the nature of this blend, I actually think it lends itself well to a Toro.
Senator:Like, I like this in this format.
Bam Bam:What it's doing right now, I totally agree with what you're saying. Early on for me, was a little tough to take. I got a lot of pepper. It was tough to retrohale, but now what it's doing at this moment, and I'm hoping the rest of the way through, I think this ring gauge is justified because it's performing beautifully. You know, I often look, I
Chef Ricky:think about why we love smaller ring gauges and I think it is a 100% because we enjoy smoking multiple cigars.
Rooster:That's true.
Chef Ricky:Right? It's a journey for us. I think for the guy that's looking for a one and done, you know, they gravitate towards these cigars or dare I say, I don't even want to mention it on this podcast, but, the name
Gizmo:is What the baseball bat?
Chef Ricky:No. The the oh my god. The name is just I was talking about my uncle. He, you he's a he's a he's
Rooster:a Camping.
Chef Ricky:Motorcycle guy. Right? What do motorcycle guys like to smoke?
Gizmo:Harley Davidson's? Tires? They like to smoke their tires.
Bam Bam:Fuck you guys. Oh, thank you for that sound bit right there.
Senator:Oh, we're gonna be here for hours with this.
Bam Bam:Oh, good call.
Gizmo:We're ready when you are, chef.
Senator:What's gonna come first, this or EDF finding a photo of his kids? Definitely this.
Gizmo:Did you find it?
Chef Ricky:I did not find
Bam Bam:it. Never mind.
Chef Ricky:It's gonna come to me because it it's a common brand that you find in every freaking brick and mortar. Diesel. It's almost, but diesels are kind of small.
Bam Bam:Ashton.
Rooster:Gurkha's.
Bam Bam:Gurkha's.
Chef Ricky:No. It's like the non country club version of Gurkha. Right? So Gurkha is for like country club guys It's no. Who think they know what the hell they're doing and they're smoking.
Chef Ricky:This is the the motorcycle guy that smoked these. They have like the Neanderthal. What's that brand? What's that marker?
Gizmo:The listener who knows what you're talking about right now is screaming at the radio right now. Correct. Roma Craft? Yes. Roma Craft.
Gizmo:I wouldn't guess that in a hundred years.
Bam Bam:I was gonna take a nap, damn it. Back on.
Gizmo:Alright, Neanderthal, hit us.
Chef Ricky:So these, so, you know, we like smoking multiple cigars. I mean, there's not, there's very rarely a day we sit down and don't smoke at least three, right? If we're gonna commit to sitting, we're going to smoke three to four, even sometimes five cigars. I think these larger ring gauge cigars are for the guys that are lighting one cigar and they're going out on about their day. They want that bang for the buck.
Chef Ricky:They want that quote unquote experience, and they're not looking to smoke through half their humidor within a week. I mean, there's a time and place for everything. There's a cigar for everyone, but this isn't
Bam Bam:our generation. If that was the retailer's intention, think it's a really bad business idea. I'd want my smokers to smoke a smaller ring gauge and go through the box so they'd have to buy another one.
Gizmo:I don't know. I mean, on the ring gauge thing, I mean
Chef Ricky:and butter on these massive sticks. If
Gizmo:I could choose, I'd always choose as low. I just prefer the mouthfeel Correct. Of a smaller ring gauge. I mean, like, we've smoked that Bahike 58, and we smoked a 60 at some point on this podcast, the Rocky Patel. It's like, I just don't appreciate the Vitola.
Gizmo:Mhmm. Now the Padron 60 obviously kind of flares out at the end into, you know, a bigger cigar, but the mouthfeel on that is Yeah. More like a Corona Extra maybe?
Chef Ricky:Yep. Because of the taste. Or a Busto.
Gizmo:Yeah. So Great
Chef Ricky:cigar, but I'm holding on to the last one I have. Can't wait to like that thing.
Gizmo:So boys, I thought this was interesting. Lizard Luigi, who's always on top of it, sent us an email of something I hadn't seen yet, which was the Macallan 12 years old, a 110 proof. Mhmm. Finished in sherry seasoned oak casks in the sherry oak collection from them. So here's my question, senator.
Bam Bam:I have a Bam. Technical question right now to ask.
Gizmo:Go ahead.
Bam Bam:How do you season an oak barrel with sherry? Are you pouring sherry into it and then pouring it out?
Chef Ricky:Possibly.
Gizmo:Are you Are you heating it up?
Bam Bam:Yeah. How do you do that? Sherry seasoned oak cask. I've never heard of that.
Senator:You spritz it like grinder with a salmon You
Bam Bam:could do that.
Chef Ricky:Or that cask was used to age Sherry prior, and they're just throwing the word seasoned on there to make it seem different.
Bam Bam:And fancy.
Gizmo:And
Chef Ricky:fancy. Maybe it's a light toast, so it's not super aggressive.
Gizmo:I just don't understand the point of going from 40%, which is what we know of Macao and single malt scotch, going to a 110, 55%. What is the point of that?
Rooster:They're going after the bourbon drinker.
Chef Ricky:Maybe. I know why you do it in the tequila world. I'm curious to drink it and understand why it would be done in the Scotch world outside of just getting a hotter spirit. Like, are you getting more flavor? Yeah.
Chef Ricky:Is there a specific flavor you're trying
Bam Bam:to reach for? Trying to balance it with that sherry finished oak barrel.
Senator:Guess how much this is? $180. 110. Now what I'll say
Gizmo:for Honestly, that's a little less than I expected.
Bam Bam:Me too. Seriously.
Senator:I mean,
Chef Ricky:for a
Senator:twelve year, that's the hard part of it.
Chef Ricky:Yeah. But at one ten, it's not it's diluted less with water, so you're getting a pure spirit if you will. Right?
Senator:So No. That's true. Mhmm. I mean, the customer reviews are very good on it. But, yeah, I mean, it's funny.
Senator:Like, you know, one of these says, disclaimer, I do not think smoothness is a positive attribute for whiskey. So if you do, you might wanna disregard my review. So like, I'm sure it's hot. Like, it goes to what we've mentioned many times. Like, pairing that with a cigar It doesn't work.
Gizmo:It's tough.
Senator:Is probably overpowering. Now if you're just looking to drink a scotch and that's it, and you want a flavor bomb with a long finish, sure, that might work. But for what we do, that's where it becomes challenging.
Gizmo:True. Which is like the the the bourbon purists though who's who drink a a 55 plus percent bourbon and then pair it with a Cuban cigar, like our friend Lizard O.
Bam Bam:It's not possible.
Gizmo:I don't understand how that works.
Bam Bam:It's just not possible.
Gizmo:Now Like, call me a primitive palate, whatever you wanna say. No.
Bam Bam:You're not.
Gizmo:I don't understand how you have something at 55 plus and and pair it with the mildest of cigars.
Bam Bam:So what is the antique Weller? What's that proof that
Gizmo:$1.00 7. So that's 53 and a half?
Bam Bam:I'll give credit to our members here that drink that. I haven't ever seen any of them pair that with a Cuban cigar. They're typically doing it with a Nicaraguan, which I think makes total sense. Otherwise, I think you're gonna miss the mark. You're going to completely miss the cigar experience in that session.
Senator:Every review does mention that it's a sherry balm, so I'm sure the flavor is good, but the heat would be our issue.
Bam Bam:Correct.
Chef Ricky:This may be for what Pagoda does, which is lots of ice.
Bam Bam:It's true.
Chef Ricky:So this may be the one instance where that works.
Rooster:Could
Senator:be. That bottle might last him two nights.
Chef Ricky:Yeah. If you're gonna buy this and turn it into the regular Sherri Cass McCallon, then what's the point?
Bam Bam:Senator's gonna have to prepare for a shank.
Gizmo:Pagoda does take notes.
Bam Bam:Oh, yeah.
Gizmo:Alright, boys. Let's go to some listener email now. First one up tonight is from our friend Lizard Tyler. And he says, what you avoid is the subject. I apologize if this has been asked and answered before, but I know you often get asked about what do you recommend.
Gizmo:Are there any brands or lines, non Cuban or Cuban, that you avoid like the plague? And I saved
Bam Bam:dangerous question.
Gizmo:But I saved this email for tonight appropriately. I only smoke at best three to four cigars a week. And while I love the recommendations from the Lizards and Reddit and FOH, every once in a while, I try a cigar that is recommended by one of these forums and I'm stunned at how much I don't enjoy it. Sometimes I see cigars super hyped in different arenas only to try it and wonder what types of palates these people have. While I understand that taste is subjective, sometimes I'm just flabbergasted, especially if there are any lines that seem loved everywhere that the lizards don't enjoy.
Gizmo:Yeah. Well Thanks again for this pod. I am hoping that I will have time to go back and start from the beginning and hopefully not repeat any core any more questions. Thanks very much. Lizard Tyler from Pittsburgh.
Bam Bam:Well, I think right off the bat Rocky Patel. Well, you.
Chef Ricky:Correct, Diesel.
Bam Bam:What do
Senator:you mean you?
Bam Bam:Well, yeah. Us. Us. That's true.
Senator:When's the last time you've lit
Bam Bam:a Rocky? Never. But Well,
Gizmo:you smoked one on this podcast, you rated it. Actually, a couple of them.
Bam Bam:I know. But I think
Rooster:gave it a 10.
Chef Ricky:Rocky, Diesel,
Bam Bam:and Nub.
Chef Ricky:Rocky, Diesel, and Nub. I would
Bam Bam:say this is controversial because it's a very it's a beloved cigar worldwide or Plasencia? Yeah. Plasencia. So I
Chef Ricky:was gonna mention, Plasencia has two cigars that are Honduran blends or Honduran pudos.
Gizmo:We had one.
Chef Ricky:Oh, we did?
Gizmo:No, no, no. We smoked one. I think it was a PCA.
Senator:Okay. Was fine. Wasn't great.
Chef Ricky:I see. Just a comment earlier about
Bam Bam:Oh, the white label? We never had
Chef Ricky:Honduran pudo that we didn't enjoy. Not memorable. Wanted to put that to the test.
Gizmo:I don't know if the one we had was a Puro though.
Chef Ricky:The Cosecha one hundred forty nine and one hundred fifty something. I think those are both Puros. So I don't know if that's what you guys had.
Bam Bam:Got a Plasencia master in the room.
Chef Ricky:No, no. That's just when we went down our Honduran sort of rabbit hole, I was starting to find others just to see how they fared. I saw the Placencia, but I knew how we all felt about it, so I never brought her up.
Senator:Hard out on placenta.
Rooster:Yeah. I think that like the New World Cohiba, New World, Artigars.
Bam Bam:Definitely. That goes without saying.
Gizmo:Even New World Monte Cristo. I mean, Cristo, know, very early on we had a success with that.
Chef Ricky:Well, we're big fans of the New World Trinidad. New World Trinidad's great.
Gizmo:I mean, Rafael Nadal is
Bam Bam:Oh, yeah. Yeah. What If he touches it, then we'll try it.
Chef Ricky:Yeah. Yeah.
Gizmo:I would say any of the flavored stuff. So any of the premium cigars quote unquote that are flavored, acid, Java
Bam Bam:Like the real estate.
Chef Ricky:Like the flakes.
Gizmo:Yeah. Any of the real estate stuff that's flavored, I stay away from that. And honestly, I recoil when someone lights it in the lounge and I smell it. Mhmm. It like It takes over the turns off.
Chef Ricky:It's almost as bad as a cigarette.
Gizmo:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Or sometimes we have people that like to light candles in the
Rooster:That's
Gizmo:lounge while we're smoking, which is another thing that drives me insane.
Rooster:Oh, Macanuto is another brand.
Bam Bam:Correct. Macanudos aren't great. For me personally, I would say Ashton. Never been a fan of Ashton.
Senator:We used to smoke the VSG.
Chef Ricky:We did that VSG. Yeah, VSG
Bam Bam:was great too. That's an excellent cigar, the VSG, the Illusioni. Opus?
Gizmo:Honestly, I'm going to say, Opus is one that I continue after all these years, and I've had quite a few now off of podcasts that we've not reviewed.
Chef Ricky:You very generously gave a whole Ziploc bag of opuses to a fellow lizard here in the lounge.
Gizmo:I did. I just Tells
Chef Ricky:us everything we need to know about how you feel
Gizmo:about this. I've talked about this. We've talked about this. I have yet to find an opus that I
Bam Bam:Well, you I would argue, think is above an eight I'm point pointing right at Rooster. The night in your garage where we had Opus The three
Senator:of us.
Bam Bam:Yes. That's an exquisite cigar, Cigar, Cigar,
Senator:But I recoil at that brand. I'm sorry.
Gizmo:So do I.
Chef Ricky:I
Senator:have no interest in it. That's the only they make one cigar that I think is very, good outside of that.
Bam Bam:I do like the Dubai. I will admit. Even though I I know I bought a box, I'm not lobbying for it.
Senator:Rooster's eyebrow almost shot off his forehead.
Bam Bam:Well, we did give it an eight. That's a pretty nice score for an Opus in this room. It did okay.
Rooster:For a 120?
Chef Ricky:I know.
Bam Bam:No.
Senator:Yeah. It's like a $100 cigar.
Bam Bam:It's $90. 95. I
Gizmo:thought you paid 1,200 for 10. I think that's what you told us.
Chef Ricky:I don't
Bam Bam:remember. Doesn't it come in a box of 20? I don't remember. I'll count tonight.
Chef Ricky:No. I remember it being a 10 count box. It was a pretty
Bam Bam:It's expensive. And their whole line is expensive. Overpriced, overhyped.
Gizmo:I just don't I don't get it. I don't think that they burn well. I mean, I've I've had I've had some folks who are in the industry who have heard us talk about this actually have sent cigars. I remember I had an old Churchill that was like eight or nine years aged that was sent to me by a listener who owns a retail shop. He said, you gotta try this one.
Gizmo:This is the one. You're gonna love this. Yeah. Opus X. Mhmm.
Gizmo:And I lit it during the Super Bowl, really saved it for a special occasion. That's a you know, to have that during one of the halves.
Senator:You were supposed to share that. We were all supposed to take a few puffs,
Gizmo:but Well, I saved you. I snapped it in half. Was so angry. Thank you. I was so mad that I had wasted half of the Super Bowl on that thing.
Gizmo:It was it was really bad.
Rooster:We did have one other good one at that guy. Double I don't know what
Senator:was it? Double Chateau. It was the double Robusto. The problem
Gizmo:with yeah. That was
Senator:I mean, this is the issue with all, like, most of Opus' standard line, like, you taste youth in these cigars, and it's like the bullshit marketing line of we don't rush the hands of time. Like, They absolutely do with opus. They all taste fresh and young. Yeah. That double robusto, I will say it was spectacular, but the only reason was someone had gotten a bunch of these, didn't enjoy them when they were young, which when you're paying the ridiculous premium that Opus charges, you shouldn't have to age them any extra Mhmm.
Senator:Like any other New World cigar. Correct. And so they just tucked it away in their humidor for like five, six years, and some guy at the lounge who was obsessed with opus pounced and bought them at like what this guy paid for them years ago. So like tremendous discount. Compared to what they are now?
Gizmo:Can you imagine?
Senator:Oh, for sure. And of course, he was smoking through the whole box. We shared god knows how many cigars with this guy, and thankful for Rooster who very emphatically told him, you need to give each of us one of those cigars. You never share cigars. And so we finally got to try it, and it was outstanding, but only because someone had put that away for five, six years.
Gizmo:Yeah. Here's the thing, though. And and I wanna get back to Tyler's question now that we're on Opus here. But do you guys believe that any of the other Opus that we've smoked on this podcast, or off individually, do you believe that with that amount of time, they would turn into brilliant No.
Senator:No. No.
Gizmo:That's I don't think you can defeat a great like, a bad blend. I don't think you can beat a blend that's not good enough. Don't think time helps that.
Bam Bam:Well stated. I think I totally agree with you.
Senator:I wasn't smoking Opus many years ago, but from what I've heard, and that experience with that cigar, I think they used to be much better than they are now.
Rooster:Maybe. They were aged. I remember having when Opus first came out. Mhmm. I tried their
Senator:Nineteen forties.
Chef Ricky:Correct. Small,
Gizmo:like, corona size.
Bam Bam:Oh, boy.
Rooster:And it was delicious. It was actually really good.
Bam Bam:That's good.
Rooster:Because I think the the wrapper was like, they're known for their their wrappers. When they first came out, the tobaccos were more aged. Yeah. And the cigars were actually pretty good. But over the years, they've really gone down.
Senator:Yeah. Because it's gotten so hyped and popular, and so obviously the demand is there, and he could choose to really just restrict supply and age them, and it would be that much you know, he would sell that much less, and I think he just pumps them out at this point.
Rooster:Yeah. I think they change it to pushing the hands of Yeah.
Gizmo:I think the other thing too, we've talked about flavor. We've talked about our experience with them. The other thing that really turns me off to it is the marketing side of it. The special drops. It's like a crazy sneaker or something.
Gizmo:This whole idea that a retailer has no idea what's coming, when and why. And all of a sudden stuff shows up. It's outside of line. The lines are confusing. It's like you need to be a forensic scientist to understand what the hell is going on with Opus.
Senator:Yeah. There must be
Gizmo:a even if you're a retailer
Bam Bam:Correct.
Gizmo:There must
Rooster:be like forty, fifty different Opuses.
Bam Bam:That's crazy.
Rooster:If not more.
Gizmo:Crazy. I was a pro cigar with Pagoda like we talked about, and they did this crazy auction, and I think AJ Fernandez was the highest bidder on the Fuente humidor like they kind of do at the Habanos Festival. Right? A $150 or whatever. And they're talking about, you know, these cigars will never be released to the public, and they're only available here and they were rolled this many years ago and they're in this secret vault, this secret room, in this secret building.
Gizmo:Propaganda. Know?
Chef Ricky:He's sending those cigars straight to the lab.
Gizmo:Probably. But the thing is, it's like at the end of the day, aside from thyme or if like this, you know, Perdomo we're smoking tonight, they have a cool hybrid seed that's unique or something different about it. At the end of the day, the stuff isn't really that different.
Bam Bam:Oh.
Gizmo:I mean, the Don Carlos tobacco isn't really that different than the Opus tobacco aside from time.
Senator:Yeah. No. And it's better.
Bam Bam:The Don Carlos number two is a fantastic little cigar. Of course, the shark is beloved.
Gizmo:Mhmm. It is amazing how this industry has been so taken by
Chef Ricky:Mhmm.
Gizmo:Brilliant marketing.
Bam Bam:Yeah. Of course. Because at the end
Gizmo:of the day, it's not like, you know, it's not like McDonald's versus a high end three Michelin star restaurant.
Bam Bam:Yeah.
Gizmo:It's at the end of the day, the delta between what you're getting in a premium handmade cigar in the in this price range, $12 versus what you're getting for $80,100, 120. The delta in price does not align with the delta in quality of the tobacco. It just doesn't.
Bam Bam:Correct.
Gizmo:Maybe the wrapper's prettier.
Chef Ricky:Yeah.
Gizmo:Maybe the recipe's better. Maybe there's more time on it, but the raw product is just not that different. Mhmm.
Bam Bam:Getting back to the question.
Rooster:Rooster Opus Dubai.
Bam Bam:Yeah. Okay.
Rooster:What made you spend $1,200 on a box of
Bam Bam:Opus marketing? Another cigar I would avoid, of course, is the one you mentioned earlier, diesel.
Senator:Oh, yeah. That's a marca.
Bam Bam:Mean It's ridiculous. And I hate to say this because I'm sure there are millions of JC Newman fans around the world. I don't ever remember smoking any of their cigars and actually them.
Gizmo:I think one that was pretty good.
Chef Ricky:The Julius Caesar did good on That the
Senator:was very good, that Julius Caesar.
Bam Bam:So that line is actually, okay, I'm gonna step back a moment. That line is actually very good. But everything else they make is just so mild. It's not compelling.
Gizmo:I I think you have a little bit of bias there. I don't think we've done enough on the podcast. Okay. I do think there are some really good cigars there that we need to try.
Bam Bam:We should try then. Okay.
Gizmo:And I think your opinion's gonna change just like it did, you know, coming in tonight with Perdomo. Correct. By the way, prior to tonight Perdomo
Bam Bam:would have been on that list.
Gizmo:Smoking this cigar, Perdomo would have been on this list.
Bam Bam:Correct. For sure.
Gizmo:And here's the question now that we are, you know, as far as we are into the cigar. Were we wrong for that? No. You weren't wrong.
Senator:I don't I don't know that I mean, we were wrong to assume that everything they make is not pseudotard palate, so we were wrong there. That's true. But my impression, like, why I avoided Perdomo was primarily because I'm pretty sure the most popular probably their best selling cigar is the Perdomo champagne, and I've had it. It's a very mild cigar. So for my palate, I'm like, this is so unsatisfying.
Senator:It just doesn't have enough flavor. Yeah. So that's really the reason. You know, I didn't I didn't avoid the line because I think, you know, they can't make a quality cigar. It's just I I thought their style is way too mild for what I typically like.
Bam Bam:This is a very good question, because it kind of throws into question, should you just go out and try every single cigar, every marca, and see what you really like and don't like?
Rooster:Yeah, was gonna say that, because of the podcast that we are in, we get to try so many different cigars.
Bam Bam:But we haven't tried everything.
Rooster:No. That's true. But
Senator:if That's why we're still doing the podcast.
Chef Ricky:It's also true. If we were
Gizmo:not in the podcast
Bam Bam:Also true.
Rooster:I would never try half of these cigars.
Bam Bam:I know. I know.
Rooster:I mean, what would make you try even this cigar?
Bam Bam:Bias. You know
Senator:Yeah. Like, another market that I used to think poorly of that now I I think actually makes some good smokes like CAO.
Bam Bam:Yeah. The Brazilian, man.
Senator:The Brazilian was good. The BX we did was good. I totally changed my view.
Chef Ricky:You know what would make me try this cigar? A long drive, I pull over at some random gas station or something late at night, and I'm craving a cigar, and this may be the only brand that I halfway respect, and I'd pick it up.
Bam Bam:I'm not sure if I can get this at a gas station though.
Chef Ricky:No, you could get some Perdomo's SRM.
Gizmo:Perdomo's everywhere. I mean, gas stations.
Bam Bam:Philly Blunts. Can get a Philly Blunt at
Chef Ricky:gas station. At a gas
Senator:station would be the champagne. And a Philly And those, like, bags like he has here that you don't even need a humidor for.
Chef Ricky:Exactly. The Philly plant. Nobody's smoking a Philly. Nothing would get me to smoke a Philly. I'd have to be, like, maybe I know there's an eleven hour drive ahead of me or something.
Chef Ricky:I'm driving across Middle America. Not even then. And there's and I'm bored and I don't wanna fall asleep. And maybe I'll buy a roll of toilet paper and
Gizmo:If you don't have any cigars with you, that's a lizard faux pas.
Bam Bam:Yeah. Would argue. That's also true.
Chef Ricky:One never knows what happens, right? I have my wonderful Soda Low case today, but somehow because I smoked a cigar last night on my deck during the-
Gizmo:Hold up a goda.
Chef Ricky:I have all my freaking lighters and cutters at home. So, you know.
Senator:Another brand we have to mention, Gurga.
Gizmo:Oh, I've never smoked Gurga.
Chef Ricky:Had one Gurga. Will one
Bam Bam:ever make the pot? No.
Gizmo:It would Honestly, and it would take a lot of recommendations or Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Fellow industry folks
Bam Bam:Makes sense.
Gizmo:It well. Here's the thing I'll say about Gurga. We, in almost four and a half years, for the volume of email we get each week, we've to my recollection, we have never gotten a listener Yeah. Asking us to smoke a Gurka.
Bam Bam:I think
Chef Ricky:for any halfway decent cigar smoker, they already know Gurka is not something to take down.
Rooster:You know, even the La Flor Dominicas, we have not had great luck with them.
Gizmo:The LFTs. LFTs, yeah.
Rooster:Including the Andalusian
Gizmo:Bull. The only one True. And it almost made it into the small batch sampler, but it would have pulled it down to ninety two minuteimum was the Cameroon cabinet number one.
Rooster:That was decent.
Gizmo:Which was really good. Yeah. And we swapped that out for the my father Toro Blue so we can get to the 98 plus. True All Stars. True All Stars.
Gizmo:Correct. So but I do wanna shout out the LFD Cameroon Cabinet Mobile.
Chef Ricky:We ever do a chiseled tip on the pod?
Gizmo:We've not done chiseled yet. No. By the way, we're talking about Perdomo here, and I was looking at different lines. So I'm gonna shout these lines out, see if you guys have had any of these. So we the legacy we have in our hand tonight, celebrating Nick Perdomo junior, the thirtieth anniversary, the double aged twelve year vintage, the twentieth anniversary, the tenth anniversary, the champagne lives in the tenth anniversary line, the Habano bourbon barrel aged line, lot 23, Himenso Sabenti, and Perdomo Fresco.
Gizmo:So those are the lines I think top to bottom here.
Bam Bam:Just the names are a turn off. Yeah. Sorry.
Chef Ricky:Fresco sucks. Apologies.
Gizmo:I will say though that this one is making me, this really intrigues me. Yeah. You know, I don't know if Nick Perdomo the third just really has something special here with this crazy tobacco, great blend, whatever it is, but this has been great so far to me.
Rooster:And he uses mostly Nicaraguan tobaccos. Pure yeah. Pretty much.
Gizmo:All Nicaraguan. Yeah. Different seeds, but it's grown in Nicaragua. Alright, boys. We're coming to the end of the second third now on the Perdomo Nicaraguan shade grown in Epicure.
Gizmo:What are you guys thinking? Oh, paired alongside the Volcan Demi Tierra. Tierra. Tequila Reposado. As he waves his hand at the correction.
Senator:Let's hear it goes.
Gizmo:I can't I can't roll my arms.
Bam Bam:Yes. You can do it. I swear to god
Chef Ricky:I can. Come on. Just give the listener one try.
Senator:No. I'm trying.
Gizmo:Doing it. I swear to god I can't roll my arms. I can't do it. I'm like, you know, like that meme of the cow with the tongue? That's me rolling my I can't do
Bam Bam:it. You need some practice.
Gizmo:I've I've tried. How's the pairing?
Bam Bam:Delicious.
Senator:So the cigar for me, as you get down into the second, third, it it picks up a little bit in body, and it gets a little more savory, but I like that there's still sweet notes present. There's a little bit of nuttiness that I get now.
Bam Bam:Yeah. Right now, for me, it's more of a walnut for me, which I happen to love. I know you guys don't like that.
Senator:I get more almond. Yeah?
Chef Ricky:Yeah. I'm with Senator on the
Bam Bam:almond. But I am still getting berry here, which is unusual, but a very slight strain of it.
Chef Ricky:I think I think right now the fruitiness is coming from the tequila for me. I'm getting bread and nut on this.
Bam Bam:Are you?
Chef Ricky:Yeah. With a little pickup in string.
Rooster:Any chocolate, cocoa type
Gizmo:Coffee type Not for me. Coming through?
Bam Bam:No. You? Yeah. A little bit. I get a little coffee.
Bam Bam:Interesting.
Chef Ricky:I could see some coffee, a very light coffee.
Bam Bam:Guess what are you getting over there?
Senator:He's practicing rolling his Rs. Correct.
Chef Ricky:What was the
Gizmo:It's just gotten deeper.
Bam Bam:Yeah. It's gotten For sure.
Gizmo:It's You're a bit of ahead
Bam Bam:of us.
Gizmo:I am definitely a little bit ahead of you guys. But it's really, really delicious. Yeah. The sweetness has tapered off a little bit for me. It's definitely kind of moved a little bit closer to medium full, I would say.
Bam Bam:Are you finding you guys starting to slow down a little bit? I'm fearing a heat up here, so I'm slowing down now.
Chef Ricky:It must be a merit that Gizzas as far along as he is and it hasn't backed up on him. Yeah, true. Gotten any form of bitter, know, that's most The
Gizmo:mouthfeel shockingly is still one of the cleanest It's very clean. I can remember in a long time. It's crazy. It's I'm really, really impressed with this cigar. Yeah.
Gizmo:I do wonder, like, does the age of that wrapper tobacco, does that impact the cleanliness of the mouthfeel? Is there something about the, you know, age or blend here that is causing that to be so it's almost like refreshing.
Bam Bam:I think that double bourbon with the two different leaves in this roll probably has something to do with the fact that, for me, I'm getting that sweetness still that's present just a little bit.
Chef Ricky:I miss that. This tobacco's agent bourbon marrows or bourbon of some kind?
Bam Bam:Is it bourbon? Yeah. I think so. Oh.
Gizmo:It's a hybrid Cuban Cameroon seed, grown in Nicaragua, aged for ten years, and then sits in bourbon barrels for a minimum of ten months.
Bam Bam:That's one leaf, and the other part was aged fourteen months.
Gizmo:No. That's in a different cigar. Okay. Cigar Edit
Bam Bam:all that shit.
Rooster:Pay attention, old boy.
Gizmo:There it is. Revenge is sweet for you tonight, isn't it?
Chef Ricky:You know, I I gotta say I was listening to a Michael K Podcast or some podcast. I don't remember if it was his exactly, but someone said old boy, and I found myself in the car working on my old boy. Correct.
Gizmo:We've got a caller. We've got
Senator:a caller on the Michael Kay show, a disgruntled Mets fan who goes by Bam Bam. Yes.
Bam Bam:Correct, old boy.
Gizmo:Alright, boys. Let's go to another email now. This one is from Lizards Cigar. He says, guys, another great episode. Since all the podcasts seem to be all about two and a half hours long, which by the way, the pods have been trending longer, I've started jotting down notes in response.
Gizmo:Bam. I'm with you. All fine gentlemen know you need a good handkerchief in your pocket.
Bam Bam:Thank you.
Gizmo:I always have one in my back left pocket.
Bam Bam:Thank you.
Gizmo:Since I ride a motorcycle and I have an issue sometimes with dry eye, when my eye tears, I have to use a hanky to dry my eye. Oh, right here. The tear burns my It
Rooster:doesn't blow his nose.
Gizmo:I need something soft to dry it. What do think about that, Bam?
Bam Bam:So, you know, I've been thinking about this since our episode.
Rooster:Here we go.
Bam Bam:Left a little PTSD, but
Gizmo:I think there's more coming because
Bam Bam:I'm sure.
Gizmo:Lizards Cigar got in early.
Bam Bam:You know, I was thinking earlier today. I'm out and about in my sights. I have almost a runny nose every day. Every single day I've got a runny nose. It's just not realistic for me to carry around a box of tissues or a little packet.
Bam Bam:I'll go through them.
Gizmo:How often are you away from your vehicle?
Bam Bam:Well, keep the handkerchief with me.
Chef Ricky:You know what's funny? Brought this for Bam's
Bam Bam:Fold it in the pocket.
Gizmo:Can you give that to him, please? Yeah. No. Chef brought
Rooster:a little bag of tissues.
Chef Ricky:It's very
Bam Bam:feminine. Look at it. I mean,
Gizmo:it's it's It's blue. No.
Senator:It's Honduran paper. No. Honduran dishes.
Bam Bam:My nieces walk around with that. I mean, I'm not gonna walk How
Gizmo:for how far of a distance or time are you away from your vehicle at any point during a day?
Bam Bam:If I'm on-site, about an hour.
Gizmo:Okay. So you can't go an hour without putting snot into your pants.
Bam Bam:So when you're on a dusty site, when you're on a dusty site, I tend to blow my nose the moment I walk off a site. It's a must.
Chef Ricky:Okay. That that I give you that, Ben. Yeah. That These sites can get dusty.
Bam Bam:But even if I'm not on-site and I'm home
Chef Ricky:at the
Senator:Of course. But what's wrong with the tissue?
Bam Bam:Yeah. Well, I I mean, how many tissues can I carry around?
Chef Ricky:Construction site probably has construction paper
Rooster:for Use a mask. A
Bam Bam:No, I can't. Said it's feminine. It's very feminine. Like I said, I've got a runny nose every day, sometimes all day long. A handkerchief is just realistic for me.
Chef Ricky:Dude, if you walk in here with an n 95 mask and you put on your Bean voice, that is
Bam Bam:Look at
Chef Ricky:this hot cast gold right there.
Gizmo:It's blue. There's the Honduran hanky tonight.
Bam Bam:It's full. Don't open it. It's full.
Senator:Don't open
Bam Bam:it. I will not open it.
Gizmo:All right. So it's cracked. Talk about this. So you've used that since this morning? Lunchtime.
Gizmo:Okay. Since lunch. Yeah. How many times have you hit that poor thing today?
Bam Bam:About four times.
Gizmo:Oh, that's not bad.
Bam Bam:Yeah. It's
Chef Ricky:a late day. Just for the record, quadrant,
Rooster:One side is door
Chef Ricky:sections. So that thing is done.
Bam Bam:Well, now I gotta
Gizmo:get Not just one side. I gotta
Bam Bam:get creative. You gotta find
Gizmo:a clear spot, you know. I disagree
Bam Bam:with you
Gizmo:and I disagree with Lizard Cigar.
Senator:Well, disagree with both of you. Well, Lizard Cigar's use sounds far more appropriate. Mean, wiping tears.
Bam Bam:Oh yeah. That's totally Losing your nose in a handkerchief, that's not appropriate. Guarantee
Chef Ricky:your Lizard Cigar is blowing his nose in that thing and then wiping his nose.
Bam Bam:A 100%.
Gizmo:A 100%. Yeah. His second point here. I think I've asked before. I really think Rooster, since he doesn't drink, should give us what he's enjoying each week while enjoying a stick.
Bam Bam:That's a great tea. Great point.
Gizmo:It's helpful for those that don't imbibe. Correct.
Rooster:So for me, it's usually coffee.
Bam Bam:So do you have coffee tonight?
Rooster:I do.
Bam Bam:At this hour?
Gizmo:Any hour. My lord. And you don't drink decaf?
Rooster:No. Fuck that. Well, after It's it's why I drink why I drink coffee.
Bam Bam:After 200 year.
Rooster:Look. Using a hanky.
Bam Bam:After after 200 years of age, the atrophy may not be affected by the caffeine. But for us mortals, we can't do that in the slate.
Gizmo:So I can I can
Rooster:do an espresso shot and go right to bed?
Gizmo:Me too. Could
Rooster:do that. I You could do that too.
Chef Ricky:I can.
Gizmo:No, thank you.
Rooster:So coffee really pairs well with most cigars. And if I don't drink,
Gizmo:you know, it's
Rooster:a glass of water or maybe like a nonalcoholic like sometimes, you know, like nonalcoholic Guinness goes great with a lot
Chef Ricky:of cigars.
Bam Bam:Sure, of course. So I've brought tea into this recording from time to time, and I do love when it's cold out in between sipping the spirit or whatever we're drinking, a swig of tea, a little cream in there, a little bit of honey, fantastic with a cigar.
Gizmo:Oh,
Senator:yeah. It's very calming for Bam as he's under attack. Correct.
Gizmo:It helps with the trauma.
Bam Bam:That's correct. It is.
Gizmo:So Rooster, what kind of coffee are you drinking? So what you have espresso in there. You you have some milk in there as well. What are you drinking?
Rooster:So I'm trying this coffee that actually you gave me some beans that I'm trying out.
Gizmo:Cafe Cafe de Arte. Yes. Capri. Yeah. Out of Seattle.
Gizmo:Yeah. Nice. In the Italian style. Brilliant. Very good.
Gizmo:Good coffee. Shout out Lizards Only thing
Rooster:I found, like, the beans are a little bit oily, so I'm wondering if the Jira would
Bam Bam:get I like that though.
Gizmo:Mine has been great as I've
Chef Ricky:been using.
Gizmo:No No problems.
Chef Ricky:Oily is good. Oh, yeah.
Rooster:Because on the Jura machines, know, it can be oily beans can kind of
Bam Bam:like the
Rooster:rewinder can
Gizmo:like a jam up a little
Rooster:Yeah. Yeah.
Bam Bam:Sounds like a
Rooster:don't want to use a lot of very oily beans.
Gizmo:I've not had a problem. I've been using them probably for well over a year. Yeah. And I use I make a lot of it. So so are you drinking espresso?
Gizmo:Is there is it a cork? No, this is actually
Rooster:a regular coffee with a shot of espresso and one creamer.
Bam Bam:They call
Rooster:that a
Gizmo:red eye.
Chef Ricky:That's a red
Gizmo:eye.
Bam Bam:That's correct.
Chef Ricky:A red eye latte. And a creamer. Creamer.
Bam Bam:Sounds delicious.
Rooster:Just a little sploosh.
Chef Ricky:So not only are you drinking coffee, but you're also having espresso in there and then you're going go to sleep in a few hours. Well,
Rooster:I'm gonna have another espresso when I get home. Wow. Maybe.
Gizmo:Unbelievable. That's crazy.
Bam Bam:Yeah, can't do that.
Senator:I don't do that. Right after he chokes out a raccoon.
Rooster:Yeah. Well, he
Gizmo:needs the energy
Bam Bam:for that.
Rooster:Almost choked a bear last
Bam Bam:night. The
Gizmo:bear, yeah. All right. So what happened with a bear? Tell folks what Yeah. You were texting
Rooster:about 09:00 last night, I'm about to go in the garage and watch some TV. And I open the garage door. All of a sudden, I see it's looked like a person in the dark. I couldn't tell up on the top of the driveway.
Bam Bam:Holy shit.
Rooster:I see I see a garbage can.
Senator:Why would Bam be there, Duramax?
Rooster:She was there.
Bam Bam:I'm never going to your house,
Senator:you guys.
Rooster:I wish I had a flashlight so I could have
Bam Bam:taken a upright?
Rooster:This thing was dragging a 50 pound garbage can across my front lawn, and it walked it walked to the my neighbor's house. So I called him. I'm like, Matt, please go outside. There's a bear in your backyard.
Gizmo:Why would you tell him to go outside?
Bam Bam:On the go outside.
Gizmo:Why would you tell him, Matt, there's a bear
Bam Bam:Hey, Matt. There's that bear out there. Get your shotgun.
Rooster:No. Because he didn't want the garbage be, you know, all over his yard and stuff.
Gizmo:So Oh, he sacrificed himself.
Bam Bam:Yeah. Let's chase the bear to pick up some bottles.
Chef Ricky:I went I went
Gizmo:no. I went I went in his backyard. Me.
Rooster:I went in his backyard, and we you were shining the flashlight. So I guess the bear maybe got scared, or he couldn't really open the garbage can. So the lid was still on it, the garbage can was in the woods, and the bear kind of ran in the back. And we were shining the light at the bear, and he's just hanging out. He was there, or she, probably like a good twenty minutes.
Bam Bam:Wow.
Rooster:But he could not open the garbage can.
Senator:So And then Rooster slipped the bear Bam's address. That's correct.
Gizmo:I will say love to see that.
Bam Bam:Fuck that. I will say, I never ever put the garbage out at night. It's always the morning of pickup. Get up early, put it in your fucking thing, put it to the street when twilight is coming straight
Rooster:in in your backyard?
Bam Bam:No. But I don't want a a bear or a raccoon getting into it. I do not. Even with the lid. Some of those raccoons are
Rooster:pretty They they can lift the lid up.
Bam Bam:Oh, yeah. Or they can even unlock it.
Senator:You just gotta get the bear proof straps on your garbage can. I, after years
Bam Bam:Oh, I
Senator:see people doing that. Of dealing with this crap where these raccoons would I mean, they can get into almost anything. So I bought these bear proof straps that you drill into your garbage can.
Gizmo:You actually fasten them on two points.
Senator:Well, the funny thing, so like, it comes with four. You're supposed to put two on the front and then two on the side. I got a second one. I put four two on each side. So there's four on the sides, two on the front.
Senator:So there's I can't even do math right now.
Gizmo:16. Oh, boy.
Senator:Six of these straps on there. It is impossible to get in there. How long does it take you
Gizmo:to get in there? It sounds like it takes you an hour.
Senator:No. Honest, it just you just gotta go off and store it quick. Even the garbage guys, I'm sure at first it was annoying for them, but the alternative was they'd go in there, and, like, the trash is torn apart from raccoons. Sure. They're trying to get it into their bin without it spilling all over the place.
Senator:So at this point, I mean, I watch because I have cameras back there. The first night I put it, the raccoons, like, they tried a whole like, must've been three of them.
Bam Bam:Senator's got popcorn ready. He's watching us all night long. It was beautiful.
Senator:And they're so frustrated trying to get into it, and they couldn't. And it took them I think at the second night, came back, tried again, couldn't. After that, they don't go near it. Don't They even bother.
Bam Bam:That's cool.
Rooster:This this garbage can was so heavy Wow. That you needed two people to actually get it out of the woods and pick it up and bring it back. Unbelievable. It must have weighed, like, 50 pounds.
Bam Bam:Oh, that bear's probably 400. So
Rooster:don't think there's a grizzly bear.
Chef Ricky:It's like a kettlebell
Gizmo:for a grizzly bear. Dude, those black bears, they weigh
Bam Bam:a lot. They weigh more than you Grizzly bears get up to like 1,200 pounds. So a black bear is about half that, little less.
Gizmo:I think of a polar bear maybe.
Chef Ricky:Polar bears? Like, I could take that fucking I think I would like to
Bam Bam:Polar bears are like There's
Gizmo:they're bush get to get big.
Chef Ricky:Oh, yeah.
Gizmo:Surprise
Bam Bam:you. No. They get up to between four and six hundred pounds easy.
Rooster:Yep. Bear expert.
Gizmo:Wow. National Geographic. Alright, boys. Another one here from Lizard Seagull. Question number three.
Gizmo:He said, what is your favorite spot for a cigar? This one, chef Ricky will appreciate. We used to camp, and there was nothing better than watching a campfire With the bears. With the bears, enjoying a drink, and watching the flames on a cool evening while camping. Yeah.
Gizmo:Also enjoy when I can get with my son-in-law to enjoy a stick with him anywhere at all. Thanks, guys. Lizards Cigar.
Chef Ricky:I gotta say camping and cigars, they just go hand in hand. There is
Gizmo:I can't get with you on that.
Chef Ricky:If if if you camp, like truly camp, you know, I'm not talking about Glamping? Glamping or going into a cabin even though, you know, that that feels great too. But if Mhmm. There's not much to do, you know? So if you're out there and you decide to throw a pork butt in the fire and just kinda slowly roast it overnight or through the night and you light up
Senator:Attract a hungry animal, this sounds
Bam Bam:great. Also true.
Chef Ricky:Before you know it, you're five, six cigars in and
Gizmo:I can do that in the air conditioning with the electricity.
Rooster:Can camp in the backyard on the patio. That's about it.
Bam Bam:Kinda camping in the garage too.
Chef Ricky:There's just something really Visceral. Masculine for Bam about camping and smoking a cigar. Got it.
Gizmo:I can't get on board with this. I I think humanity humanity has fought for thousands of years to get out of the woods.
Bam Bam:That's
Gizmo:correct. And we've created this
Bam Bam:It's called evolution.
Gizmo:Evolution.
Bam Bam:Correct.
Gizmo:Look at what the human brain has done and all people want to do is run back into the woods.
Chef Ricky:But we're smoking 100% natural tobacco instead of the super modern vape, right? I mean, it's it's So do you hike?
Bam Bam:No. You don't like
Rooster:hiking?
Gizmo:I don't wanna be in the woods.
Chef Ricky:Really? I'm fine. You're from Pennsylvania.
Gizmo:I grew up in the woods. I've had enough woods. I don't need any more excitement in the woods.
Bam Bam:Any other ideas? Let's move on.
Gizmo:Do you like camping, senator? Absolutely not. Okay. Thank you.
Bam Bam:Hard no. I camped a few times. I did like it when I was younger, but I haven't done it in a very long time.
Senator:You won't even sit in Rooster's backyard on a deck. I can't even imagine you out in the woods.
Bam Bam:I've grown to be very afraid of critters.
Chef Ricky:Let me tell you, went camping with such a hardcore camper that I got shit for bringing a double height queen-size air mattress.
Bam Bam:That's not my thing.
Chef Ricky:That. That's camping. I still slept in a tent.
Bam Bam:Pseudo glamping.
Chef Ricky:I still shit in a bag.
Gizmo:You know? Oh, that's that's
Bam Bam:out of control.
Chef Ricky:It was
Rooster:I'm so out.
Senator:Well, now now I get why it's
Gizmo:so fun.
Bam Bam:Shit in a bag. I dig a hole with a shovel and take a dump when
Gizmo:I'm camping, and then cover it
Bam Bam:with the soil. Shitting in the bag? It's good fertilizer. What are you gonna wipe your
Senator:ass with the That attracts the bears.
Bam Bam:Yeah. It does.
Chef Ricky:Wipe my ass with a handkerchief.
Gizmo:You're gonna wipe your ass with a handkerchief.
Bam Bam:They're washable. Imagine you're in the woods.
Gizmo:It's disgusting.
Bam Bam:And you're taking a dump and a bear creeps up behind you. Just imagine that. Or a raccoon during the day.
Rooster:Yeah. What would you do?
Chef Ricky:Don't fuck.
Bam Bam:That's why
Chef Ricky:I shat in the bag.
Gizmo:Are you guys ready to do a formal liquor rating?
Senator:Yeah. So great night, boys.
Gizmo:We'll see everybody next week. Oh god. Okay. I will never go camping again.
Bam Bam:We didn't answer that question, though, properly.
Gizmo:Yeah. So what are some of our favorite spots that are not camping? I love hanging at the lounge, in my garage
Chef Ricky:And your beautiful day?
Gizmo:At at a at a random, beautiful, well built cigar lounge around anywhere in The US, around the world that I've been. It's like those are the those are the kind of three genres of what I like.
Chef Ricky:But when it's beautiful outside, do you really wanna be indoors?
Gizmo:I Depends on the wind. I almost always, when I'm by myself, almost always prefer to smoke indoors. When I am with you guys, if we're at Senator's patio, if we're at Rooster's house on his deck. Yep. When I'm with friends and it's a social thing, of course, outside.
Bam Bam:So those are two great spots. You have a very nice deck that's underrated in your mind.
Gizmo:I like my little deck thing but it's not That's great. I prefer my garage over there.
Bam Bam:And we got a snapshot of your backyard. It's actually very roomy.
Gizmo:Yeah, my backyard's too big arguably. Yeah, looks great. You know, for me, unless it's social, I prefer to be indoors.
Senator:So I'll just say when when the weather is great, for me, outdoors beats indoors. Correct. My patio is still my favorite place to smoke a cigar locally. Yeah. And you guys are always welcome as you know.
Senator:But last night was a great example. Last night, the weather was great. There was zero wind.
Gizmo:That's the best thing about this time of year.
Senator:Yes. Pagoda came by. We were watching the World Baseball Classic, and even he he's just sitting there and he goes, I love going to the lounge, but there's nothing better than a night like this being here. And like we're smoking. It's just I I don't know.
Senator:You know, with the lounge, there's so many distractions. Random It's people that come an uncontrolled environment. When I'm on my patio, it's like only the friends that I invite are there.
Chef Ricky:And Edieff. Edieff might show up unannounced.
Bam Bam:Well, he's got permanent residency there.
Senator:He does. And, yeah, it's like a more immersive cigar smoking experience. The dim lights, just every facet of it, like, it's just perfect for me. And then, you know, if I'm not home and I could be smoking outdoors somewhere else, like, just smoking by water, by the beach with a view, like, nothing tops that for me. And then second to that would be, like, a really nice cigar lounge.
Senator:I obviously love doing that, but outdoors with perfect weather for me will always beat indoors. True.
Chef Ricky:Yeah. Can't disagree. To to that, I'll add a long drive in your car with a stick.
Gizmo:Oh, I love that.
Chef Ricky:It's great. Yeah.
Gizmo:I actually look forward
Bam Bam:to I've yet to do that.
Senator:And sorry. The the last thing I have to mention, also smoking by a fire by a fire pit. Yeah. Like, a fire pit by itself is like so if if I wasn't even smoking a cigar, it's like so mesmerizing and relaxing. And masculine.
Bam Bam:Correct. And
Senator:masculine. You just add cigar
Bam Bam:to to my tissues. Yeah.
Senator:Perfect spot.
Chef Ricky:You know, it's funny. It was earlier this week, it was sort of warm, but kinda chilly as the sun was setting, and I was out throwing a football with my daughter and my son. And I had to stop myself because, hey, guys, I was about to ask him, how do you guys feel about sitting around the fire and smoking a cigar? Because it was just that kind of weather. That that kind of weather is perfect for that stuff.
Bam Bam:Tonight's beautiful.
Rooster:Yeah. Yeah.
Chef Ricky:Great weather. Great weather. But I hear there's like a split polar vortex on the way or something.
Gizmo:I don't know. I hope so. We need to get back to hoodie weather. Stop it. I don't need this hot spring.
Gizmo:Hoodie weather's I want 40s, 50s.
Rooster:We're just Come
Bam Bam:on. Breaking out of the miserable weather, man.
Gizmo:No. We need spring. Wants to can't enjoy summer unless you have spring.
Bam Bam:We have spring.
Chef Ricky:This is spring.
Bam Bam:This is too hot for
Gizmo:It was 80 degrees today, guys.
Bam Bam:Fantastic. Thank the lord.
Chef Ricky:He wants to get the bang for his buck for that fancy snowblower he got. That's what it is.
Gizmo:That is true.
Chef Ricky:Yeah. So my cigar is delicious, but it's cracking all over the place.
Bam Bam:We see that.
Chef Ricky:And this feels like
Bam Bam:User error.
Gizmo:A 100%.
Chef Ricky:Okay. Maybe. I've had this happen in the past. User error. With Perdomo's.
Chef Ricky:Oh, you have? Early on in my my Smoking
Rooster:too slow.
Chef Ricky:You've had I think that's what it is. But this cigar forces me to smoke.
Bam Bam:You've had other Perdomos?
Chef Ricky:Early on in my journey, a 100%. I've had the champagne, maybe mostly the champagne. Don't think I've had it.
Bam Bam:So that's cracked on you as well? Yes.
Senator:Wow. I would just say I've had the champagne. I've never had that.
Bam Bam:Yeah. They're great, beautifully made cigars.
Gizmo:User error. Alright, boys. Let's go to another email. Now this one is from our friend Lizard Enrique who writes us a lot. Love Lizard Enrique.
Gizmo:The subject of this one is Fundie Fallout. He says, hello, Lizards.
Bam Bam:Rooster, you better leave the room.
Rooster:Never ending.
Gizmo:It's been a few months since the hanky and hoodie connection, that's you and I, I guess, of Bam and Giz triumphed over good when they sold Roosters Trinidad Fundadores for a king's ransom.
Bam Bam:Wait. We triumphed over goods, so we're evil?
Gizmo:Yeah. That's what he's saying.
Rooster:Correct. Pretty Pretty much.
Gizmo:Bam promised the lads You are bane after all. He'd treat them to a steak dinner to celebrate.
Bam Bam:That's correct.
Gizmo:Including our resident vegetarian rooster. With his track record of follow through, like when he broke a sacred oath to bring Opus Dubai's to Tuxedo Timmy.
Bam Bam:I'm always ready for a steak
Gizmo:stock. Steak and a much revered cigar beetle mortality and freezer protocols. Uh-huh. I write to see what was the status of said dinner. Yeah, Bam.
Gizmo:Cheers, I Lizard
Bam Bam:am ready anytime, boys.
Rooster:Indefinitely pending.
Gizmo:That's got to get on the lizard checkerboard.
Bam Bam:That's perfect. Correct.
Gizmo:And definitely pending. So are you waiting for us
Bam Bam:to set it up? Well, I wanna I mean, I'm not sure if you're all available. I'm ready to go anytime. Oh, sure. A 100%.
Bam Bam:I'm actually looking forward to that.
Gizmo:We gotta set it up.
Bam Bam:We haven't had a dinner in a long time. You gotta set it up. So I'm happy to treat on that victory, based on that
Gizmo:victory. And what steakhouse are we taking Rooster to?
Bam Bam:He's gonna have the mushroom steak. Portobello mushroom.
Chef Ricky:I mean, if you guys are willing to go to the city, Cuerno's great. What? Cuerno. Cuerno?
Senator:Cuerno. Cuerno.
Rooster:Why don't we just go to Anejo? It's not a steakhouse. Cuerno.
Gizmo:Why does it have to be a steakhouse?
Bam Bam:Have you heard of Cuerno? I've never heard of Cuerno.
Senator:That's the place I told you all about, including chef he hadn't been before.
Chef Ricky:I went to three I went a month ago.
Bam Bam:Sounds expensive.
Gizmo:First of all, was expensive.
Rooster:It was my box of Fundies. Maybe I should pick the restaurant.
Bam Bam:Oh. You know what?
Rooster:Just think.
Bam Bam:I'm gonna give you that privilege.
Gizmo:That's great. You are making them a great mistake, but I can't wait to
Bam Bam:see it. That's a great idea.
Gizmo:Let's find something in between the 6
Rooster:of 11 Madison Park. It's gonna burn
Gizmo:it's gonna burn 2,500.
Bam Bam:No more than a $100 a plate.
Chef Ricky:You gotta sell three of those boxes at least.
Gizmo:So when are we going? Are we are we gonna put this on account? We see each other every week.
Bam Bam:Alright. Let's do
Gizmo:it. So you gotta set this up.
Bam Bam:I think I mean, ideally Jamie's, but I'm not sure what you can have there.
Chef Ricky:I'll see you guys at Shake Shack in two weeks. Have you
Gizmo:have you been to Jamie's?
Bam Bam:Jamie's RP
Gizmo:I have
Rooster:been there a while back.
Bam Bam:RP prime would be great, but again, I don't know what he'll have.
Senator:Yeah. No. RP prime is out.
Bam Bam:You don't like it there, No. Really? Their steak is mediocre. Or Wayne's steakhouse?
Senator:Wayne's steakhouse is much better.
Bam Bam:Wayne's steakhouse is great. But what's he gonna have? That's the question. Their broccoli rabe is great.
Gizmo:So is there a
Bam Bam:big bowl
Gizmo:of I'm there for a while.
Bam Bam:Bowl of broccoli rabe.
Chef Ricky:That day, Rooster's eating steak.
Bam Bam:You know what? I'll bring a I'll bring a plate of lasagna into the restaurant. Maybe
Rooster:we'll just go camping.
Gizmo:I'm out.
Chef Ricky:I'm in for a bowl of bolognese at on Bam's deck.
Bam Bam:Uh-huh. I don't have a deck. Not yet.
Gizmo:Alright, boys. It's time now to go to our lizard of the week presented by our friends at Bon Robert Cigars. And our lizard of the week this week is Lizard Carlos. He asked a question actually that we've never been asked. It says here, thank you for the recommendations on the Fabrica five sampler and the Robusto Trinity.
Gizmo:Great cigars. I've been looking for information on the blends for the cigars, but I've not been able to find it. Can you share that information with Lizard Nations? So if you go to fabrica005.com, you will find the blend information on each cigar. So most of the cigars are Honduran primarily with a touch of Nicaraguan tobacco.
Gizmo:That's generally how Hamlet is blending this stuff. Mhmm. So you can go to fabrica005.com as we always talk about. And if you choose one of the cigars, for example, I just picked the Puro Des Noodle Lancero n one, the bundle of 25. If you scroll down, it tells you exactly what the makeup is.
Gizmo:Wrapper Honduran, binder Honduran, and the filler is Honduran and Nicaraguan. So those specific details are not released, think, for good reason. But you can get a general idea of what the cigar makeup is by going to their website and checking it out. And all of them have that listed as well as some flavor notes and some other things that that Robin Hamm would put together on each of the cigars. So I know all of us have had a bunch of those cigars.
Rooster:It's mostly Honduran tobacco with some Nicaraguan like Exactly.
Gizmo:It's mostly Honduran with Nicaraguan. So for anyone out there who's looking for that information, of course, you can always go to FOH and ask some questions there. But the best place to go is fabrica005.com. But I think most of the blends, like you said, primarily Honduran and a touch of Nicaraguan. So congratulations to Lizard Carlos.
Gizmo:I'm giving him that. He's written some great emails. I've not given Lizard of the Week yet, so I appreciate him. We appreciate him. So we're gonna give him lizard of the week this week.
Gizmo:Very appropriate that Bon Roberts is sponsoring that with his fabric of five questions. So he's gonna win a 10 pack of cigars from Bon Roberts. So we really appreciate him. And boys, one more email now before we go into our ratings tonight. This one's from our friend Lizard Julio.
Gizmo:He says, dear Giz and the boys, I can't thank you guys enough for selecting me as lizard of the week a couple weeks back. It was so special to hear your most cherished cigar memories, and I was moved to learn that so many of them were of you guys together as a group of friends. I also can't wait to hear from other listeners from Lizard Nation and their special memories. That's a call out. Send your send your notes in Lizard Nation.
Gizmo:We'd love to share them on air. This note may be a long one, so please forgive me for the length. It hit me today that in my journey to listen to the entire archive of your pod episodes, I have spent a staggering amount of hours driving, doing chores, or even traveling in planes around the world while listening to you guys. I'm not sure if other lizards can relate, but I have a habit of going to a lounge, picking out a cigar that was discussed on a particular episode, sitting with my AirPods on and smoking along with you guys, laughing at the jokes I'm hearing but nobody else is while looking like a totally crazy person. All while receiving a master class in note point outs in real time.
Gizmo:The education one can gain from smoking alongside you all is an incredible service to the hobby. It's very nice of him to say that. I wanted to offer a quick note of gratitude to each of you. And this is pretty cool. So, Giz, it starts with you.
Gizmo:You're the captain of this grand experiment. The voice, the data, the ability to reign in a boisterous room with a quick okay, boys, is what holds this all together while your Spanish pronunciations have become part of the rustic charm of the show. Can I get a they've gotten a little better, chef? Can I get a little kudos to that?
Bam Bam:Rustic charm. Very accurate.
Gizmo:Very quiet in the rest of the room here. That hurt a little bit. Your leadership in keeping this about the leaf and nothing else is a true gift to all of us listening. Senator, you bring standards from cigars, champagne, caviar, or pairings. You approach it like someone who understands that while perfection may be unattainable, it's always worth chasing.
Gizmo:We see things more clearly thanks to you, and the respect we hear in the room after you speak isn't accidental. Bam Bam, you are proof that this podcast actually works. Listening to your evolution from self deprecating novice to secretly holding a world class collection ready for a post World War three dystopia Secretly. Having enough humility to be held accountable for it to developing easily the most sensitive palate in the room Oh. Shows that with an open mind and heart, anything is possible.
Gizmo:The absence of a correct or rooster is very noticeable when you take a week off.
Bam Bam:Our old boy.
Gizmo:Pooba. He's not here, but he'll hear this. Although your appearances are like waiting for an eclipse, you feel like the Yoda of the group. When you speak, it reframes everything, and you stand by what you think without apologies. I think in some ways, you've really shaped how the crew learned what great cigars are and should be.
Gizmo:I think that's true.
Bam Bam:Wow.
Gizmo:Grinder. You are a grounding wire. You say things in a way that makes sense to someone who's never smoked a cigar in their life, and that matters more than people realize. You add warmth, merch worthy vocabulary, and perfectly timed humor that isn't always due to overindulgence in a new tequila discovery. That was a great episode.
Gizmo:Rooster, you are the spine of the group. What can one possibly say about someone who likely smoked cigars while the Titanic was sinking?
Bam Bam:That's correct.
Gizmo:Jokes aside. Jokes aside, your depth of experience elevate every conversation, and perhaps one day will reach the goal you've been rooting for since episode one, a Costco Kirkland Signature Pure. Chef Ricky, your palate, your understanding of how flavors are built, and your ability to translate that into language we could follow brings true authority to discussions. Listening to your journey as you join the show mid production and how you've elevated all of our experiences through flavor and tequila education has been beyond impactful. And finally, Pagoda, who is definitely I'm gonna send him this clip so he hears it.
Gizmo:Words can't describe the chaos and charm you bring to this group. From ten ten wins to life to an obsession with ice, the snowing of ash on your shirt, tales of the annex office at the Carnegie club, and regularly losing expensive sticks and cases. And finally, to someone who closely resembles you trying to ask the police to find your car while stumbling home from New York City are truly unforgettable moments. That's amazing. By peer pressure in the room.
Gizmo:And when you decide something matters, everyone listens. And when you don't, that might even be funnier. Thanks, boys, for the countless hours of friendship, laughs, and learning. Sincerely yours, Lizard Julio.
Bam Bam:Wow. Wow.
Gizmo:Isn't that not a hell of an email? What?
Bam Bam:Quite a tail breakdown. Fantastic.
Gizmo:Like, that is the email. Like, you know, we read emails like It's a
Bam Bam:all star email.
Gizmo:Sometimes, and it just kind of like takes you back to like why we do it. Like that's pretty amazing.
Senator:That lizard is welcome to sit in this room and smoke with us anytime.
Bam Bam:Oh yeah.
Gizmo:That's quite an invitation. Listener is always with us, so we've never had that chair filled. Maybe we should do that sometime this year. Alright, boys. We are coming to the end of our evening now with the Perdomo, Nicaraguan shade grown in Epicure, and the Volcan Dimitiera, Tiquila Reposado.
Gizmo:What's everybody thinking of the pairing before we go into the ratings tonight? Any final thoughts?
Bam Bam:Delicious evening.
Chef Ricky:Just to finish up on that previous thought, I think we need a United Airlines sponsorship so we could have them sponsor the fly I
Bam Bam:don't think that'll ever happen.
Gizmo:If they offered, look at oh, no. Senator's getting up and leaving, everyone.
Senator:Enjoy this episode, chef.
Bam Bam:It'll be your last.
Gizmo:I I'm very happy with both entrants tonight. Yeah. I think this was a shockingly brilliant evening from both the cigar and the tequila, neither of which I I think are nor we, aside from chef with the tequila, we're familiar with. I am really blown away tonight, and I I can't wait to see where this ends up.
Chef Ricky:I'm right there with you. You know, look, I sell this tequila at the restaurant. I don't drink it often, And I'll be drinking it a little bit more now for sure. This is it's delicious product. I mean, know all the tequila we carry is delicious.
Chef Ricky:But this this tequila stands on its own. It's really well developed. It's really well made. You know, it's easy to drink. It's a great gateway into tequila.
Chef Ricky:You know, I I get a lot of listeners reaching out via Instagram asking me for suggestions. This isn't one I typically suggest, but it's definitely gonna be on that list from now on.
Gizmo:It should be. I mean, this is this is an excellent cigar pairing tequila it's also just an excellent tequila.
Bam Bam:Agreed.
Chef Ricky:I have a bad habit of of suggesting what some may consider to be advanced tequilas or maybe even purest tequilas, and this is a great way to get into tequila without that sort of purest mindset, and it's easy to find.
Gizmo:Reasonably priced, yes.
Chef Ricky:And it's reasonably priced.
Senator:The thing I love with the tequila, we were talking about the layers it has and how it finishes more like an anejo while it starts like a Reposado. The cigar in the last third like picks up even more. It is firmly medium Yeah. Even pushing medium full. And the fact that this tequila can hold up even as this picks up in body all the way through just speaks worlds to the versatility and how great of a pairing this has been with this cigar.
Bam Bam:Agreed.
Gizmo:Mhmm. Alright, boys. Send your ratings to me via text, please. Let's lock it in. And can you pass the tequila over if you don't mind?
Gizmo:Alright, boys. It's time to do the formal liquor rating tonight on the Volcan de Mi Tierra. Tequila Reposado. Bam. Bam.
Gizmo:You're up.
Chef Ricky:Hey. Hold on. Hold on. He's he's just trying to sort of gleaze over the fact that he rolled his r's right there. Oh, Grown.
Chef Ricky:Was great.
Bam Bam:Very nice.
Chef Ricky:You said Tierra.
Gizmo:Tierra. There you I can't do it more than that though. That's the extent
Chef Ricky:of That's It's a start. Thank you, Rooster. Time you see Mrs. Goosebumps, you say Tierra. That's all.
Bam Bam:Tierra. There you go. The birth of an Uster cat.
Chef Ricky:Look at that.
Gizmo:A Spanish Aristocrat. Correct.
Bam Bam:Alright, Bam. I'm at a firm 10 with this experience. I think this tequila is just outstanding. Buttery, a little salty. For me, was firmly apple, very crisp, delicious, clean, and a delicious long finish.
Bam Bam:I think this would pair with any cigar, Cuban or non world. And I and I think the versatility center that you noted earlier, I'm drinking this in the summer, winter, fall. I think it's just incredible. Fantastic. 10.
Chef Ricky:Alright, chef. Damn. Really? After Bam? Okay.
Chef Ricky:For me, this is a nine. I really, really, really enjoy this tequila, but I am missing some of that minerality and purity, if you will, and maybe it's just I'm a victim of my own knowledge. It's understandable.
Gizmo:Big dog.
Bam Bam:No, it's understandable.
Chef Ricky:So for me, is a nine, it's still very drinkable. I would recommend this to anybody that asks me and is looking for something that is approachable a first sip of tequila for sure. But I I would have liked a little bit more minerality and sort of roundness in that respect. I think it does develop it does deliver a lot of body and its butteriness and saltiness, but I still want a little bit more earth and just sort of terroir, if you will, or from the agave itself. So this being three sixty four days aged in cask, you know, in three or four different cask.
Chef Ricky:I think it delivers a lot of sweetness, a lot of vanilla notes, a good amount of oak for sure. But I want a little bit more agave. I think the the Blanco for me, when we do have that at some point, hopefully
Gizmo:We have to do that, like, next week.
Chef Ricky:That would be like a 10, probably. I'll definitely taste it before we bring it on here. But this right now is a nine, and I think it's a great score for
Gizmo:So for me, this is a 10. I think this Reposado is so good and so versatile for what we do and is also one that if you're at home or you're out and you don't have a cigar around, you reach for it. It's really gonna deliver on its own. I think it is one of those unique ones Senator touched on, and I'm sure he will when he rates it as well, but it is a tequila that really kinda runs the gamut of cigars. Of course, that's the lens that I'm thinking through here as as we think about this tequila.
Gizmo:Like we talked about, Cuban Honduran, great. Nicaraguan, almost up to full. Great. I I just think it runs a gamut that most other spirits don't run. I think it's incredibly versatile.
Gizmo:I love that extra layer of complexity, and I it it wasn't necessarily minerality, but there was something there that made the front of my mouth, especially with the cigar, salivate. It was almost citrus. It really was special. I I really, really love this. I'm gonna buy a bottle of this tomorrow for my bar.
Gizmo:I I think it's great. Very, very happy with it. Thank you, chef, for bringing this in tonight.
Chef Ricky:No. Listen. I can't take all
Gizmo:the credit of time
Chef Ricky:because you had two options tonight.
Senator:Well, guess take a guess who picked chef.
Gizmo:Hand up. Me. Yeah. I picked. Bullshit.
Gizmo:No.
Chef Ricky:You had two options tonight. Right? And at the time that you text me, I said, hey. I'm getting my shit pushed in right now. Beautiful day outside.
Senator:We're back to shit.
Chef Ricky:The the restaurant was packed. And I
Bam Bam:You owe me a dollar. But listen,
Chef Ricky:that speaks volumes to this group. Right? I had enough faith in this group that you guys would do the right thing. And based on whatever information I gave at the time that I could give, I knew that that we're in good hands.
Senator:You're welcome, Chef. Thank you.
Bam Bam:Alright, senator. I'm in
Senator:a strong 10. I really, really love this tequila. I mentioned the versatility, so I won't hit on that too much more. Like Bam said, you can drink this anytime a year. And I would go as far as saying that 90 plus percent of cigars, this would pair really well with.
Senator:The the flavor profile, it's complex. Like, that's what's memorable about this for me. The fact that, like, it has kind of the traditional notes that you would expect in a repo from it being like the fruit, how clean the finish is, but then also the barrel, the character that it imparts where you get like, the sweetness, the vanilla, the oak, it it it checks every box. It's like I said before, like, I feel like I'm having a Reposado and an Anejo It's in one, which I think makes it, like, a great value at its price point.
Bam Bam:There is something unusual about it, isn't there? It's like I noted earlier, it there is note there's the characteristics of a very light smooth scotch. I I'm pretty blown away by this Reposado. It's a very memorable Reposado.
Senator:For sure. And I get for chef's palate, you know, him mentioning he wanted more minerality for me. I feel like there are plenty of Repos that I can get that minerality from, and I like that this is so distinct
Bam Bam:Yeah. Sure.
Senator:And does this in a different way. And I mean, sounds pretty innovative what they've done. I mean, you were mentioning champagne yeast and all these kind of methods that they've used like that.
Gizmo:And they always pull it perfectly at three hundred and sixty four days. Never a day early Yeah. And never a day late.
Senator:That's right.
Bam Bam:You know, it's a little counterintuitive to what I look for in a tequila because most of the tequilas that we've had, a lot of them are very botanical. I don't really get that here, and I look forward to that in my tequilas. But this because of the buttery saltiness and that, for me, that apple, it's just such a unique Repo. I'm look I'm thinking about other Repos that we've had, the El Tesoro, which I love. This is more I think this is a touch more sophisticated than that, even though I think that Repo's probably more expensive.
Bam Bam:Just me. We interrupted you. Sorry.
Senator:No. So strong 10. I mean, I can't find any flaw.
Gizmo:It's great tequila tonight, boys.
Chef Ricky:Absolutely. I'm looking at Rooster for a rating.
Gizmo:And the formal liquor rating on
Bam Bam:the full coffee
Gizmo:tonight. Oh, tequila. Maybe Tiara.
Bam Bam:Coffee's a 10.
Gizmo:Tequila a little low.
Bam Bam:Correct. 10.
Gizmo:Is a 9.8.
Bam Bam:Excellent score.
Gizmo:Perfect score for this. Brilliant. Brilliant Tequila tonight on the pod boys. Correct. And now I'm interested to see how this goes.
Bam Bam:Now I've sent you a correction on my cigar. You got that? I got it. Okay. Good.
Bam Bam:I have sent a correction.
Gizmo:It's time for the formal lizard rating
Bam Bam:We'll chat about that.
Gizmo:On the Perdomo Legacy.
Bam Bam:Hey. It was sent before I give I'm giving him the ratings.
Gizmo:Nicaraguan Shade Grown.
Bam Bam:Well timed.
Gizmo:In Epicure. Rooster, you're up.
Rooster:Was a it's a beautiful looking cigar, first of all. Pristine. I think Nick Perdomo has really done a superb job blending this cigar. It's really hard to tell that this was a Nicaraguan puro. Had you not known that or Giz did not mention it, I would never think that this is a Nicaraguan cigar.
Rooster:Having said that, I mean, the notes out of the cigar, it was like buttered bread, sweet bread that was buttered. The cigar got creamier as it went along. Towards the end, I even got this chocolate coffee toffee type of note and even a little bit little hint of cardamom. I don't know if any of you guys got that.
Bam Bam:Bro, you're describing the reason why I changed my score. That this final I'm sorry to interrupt you, but this final inch is just, for me, extraordinary. It's so unusual. Bam, what's your
Gizmo:rating? Sorry.
Bam Bam:Okay. Proceed.
Rooster:So I mean, the cigar was exceptional. The blend was great. The construction was great. The combustion was awesome. Enjoyed everything about the cigar.
Rooster:I'm at a nine on this cigar. I'm not giving it a full, like a 10 score. I'm taking off just a tad just because it was a little bit of a flaky ash. And I don't love the ring gauge on this. I think a slightly smaller ring gauge would really do wonders on this cigar.
Rooster:Wow. But I don't think they make anything in a smaller ring gauge than this.
Gizmo:Not in this wine, no.
Rooster:But yeah, think still, mine is a very high score for
Gizmo:this cigar.
Bam Bam:Point for the ring gauge, okay.
Rooster:All right.
Senator:Rooster can't always be right. That's correct.
Rooster:All right, a smoke though.
Senator:As wild as this is for me to say, because I I genuinely think I was the least excited about this cigar in this room.
Bam Bam:You're not the only one.
Senator:Oh, I know there were others, but I I mean, I was like outright depressed before we hit record thinking about what this was this experience was gonna be like. And I take it all back. I owe Nick Perdomo an apology. And me. No, I'm not kiss.
Senator:Our listeners who recognize
Gizmo:how it. You much I was sweating today coming into this?
Bam Bam:I know.
Senator:It's a strong 10. Yeah. I'm I'm still even down to the nub just blown away by the cigar. I actually think the ring gauge works really well for this. Like, it delivers such a complexity of flavor in such a smooth way that, you know, in no way even as I'm down to the end, I'm not sitting here saying, oh, you know, I've had enough or, like, I could have another one of these back to back.
Senator:That's how much I enjoyed this experience. I think the flavor profile, the blend is awesome. You get those fruit notes. You get, like, sweet brioche. There's some saltiness that makes it in, a creaminess that's present throughout most, if not all of the cigar.
Senator:For me, I didn't have a problem with the ash. Maybe the first inch like we talked about was a little Yeah. Flaky, but the whole rest of way through, I mean, there were times where I had a good inch, inch and a half, and I tried to ash because I was worried it
Bam Bam:was gonna fall off. There was structure.
Senator:And I tapped it like five times, and it wouldn't even come off. I just continued smoking through and developed like two plus inches of ash before I needed to even tap it to get rid of it. So the construction for me was very very good. The draw, and I I emphasize this just because we've done more Toros recently. And we've complained about a lot of Toros.
Senator:We have. And some have been incredibly frustrating just how open the draw was, and it detracted from the smoking experience. And the fact that we finally got a cigar with five people in the room that everyone said the draw was great, I think is a huge merit to the construction. I think the value you get in this cigar, I mean, we all talked about how it's packed. It's not loosely filled.
Senator:What did you say the price point was again?
Gizmo:12? $13.50, 14 is the MSRP. We got them for $12.30
Senator:That's amazing for how how much time you get out of this cigar, how much tobacco's in it, and the flavor holds all the way down to the end.
Bam Bam:Oh, yeah.
Senator:For me, this was a three act play, and it's like as I'm saying, at $13, I don't know many
Bam Bam:cigars that
Senator:I would ever say deliver three acts. It's a big deal to deliver two at that price point.
Bam Bam:Yeah.
Senator:The opening third, very sweet, very fruit forward, mild medium. The second third, firmly medium. It got creamier for me. There was a nuttiness that started to get introduced. And then the final third, I was getting some of the coffee that Rooster was mentioning.
Senator:It got more savory, but it still kept some of those sweet notes, which I like. I hate when a cigar starts, like, very sweet and then goes to, like, the complete opposite extreme where it's so savory
Bam Bam:Mhmm.
Senator:That it's almost too dry and loses the sweetness entirely. It kept some of it, which I really, really like. So for all those reasons, I can't find a flaw with it. I think it's a tremendous value at $13 and it's completely changed my perception of Perdomo as a brand.
Bam Bam:Oh,
Rooster:yeah. It's a great blend. Yeah. Excellent.
Gizmo:Oh, yeah. So, like I said, I came in here absolutely terrified tonight because when a cigar pulls the room down, sometimes it's a little bit, no pun intended, a little bit of a bear you know, getting through this episode. Mhmm. Right? Getting through an episode like that.
Gizmo:This cigar was unbelievable. Shocking for me.
Bam Bam:It still is.
Gizmo:It still is for you. I finished mine. This cigar was a perfect 10 for me tonight. I am just aghast at at at how different my perception is right now, two hours and some odd minutes after we hit record tonight of Perdomo. The construction across the board, maybe except chef had some cracking, was brilliant.
Gizmo:The sweetness of it, the balance, we we talked about you said it was kinda like a bread. We talked about different kind of carbohydrates, Bam. Mhmm. To me, it was like a buttery pastry with some fruit on it the whole way through, and then it it it kind of fell off in sweetness and picked up in in body a little bit, and it just it maintained its balance. I mentioned a few times the clean mouth feel.
Gizmo:I still feel that now. It's almost I feel like right now I didn't smoke a cigar. That's how clean the mouth feel is. And I don't know if I've ever said that on this podcast. Yeah.
Gizmo:I'm shocked by it. It's unique. I don't think there's another cigar we've smoked in this room that tastes and acts like you know, performs like this cigar did tonight. It slots perfectly in where I would call that Dominican slot in my rotation kind of touching after Cuban Honduran, right where maybe I'd place a Davidoff or, you know, a Lagalera, something like that in that slot. That's where I would put this right before, you know, heavier Nicaraguans.
Gizmo:Let's talk value. I mean, $12.50 like you said. If we and I wanna put this to the room without calling out your ratings, chef and bam. But if this cigar was $18 tonight, I don't think my rating would have changed. I agree.
Gizmo:I think if this cigar was $22 tonight, I don't think my rating would have changed. And I kinda put my cap at $24.25 bucks. I don't think my rating would have changed tonight. That's how much value we get out of this. And at $12.50, I just don't think you can lose.
Gizmo:You know? It's unbelievable. The other thing I want to say too, and we didn't talk about this, but I'm kind of recalling a perception I've had about Perdomo in the past even when not smoking it. It does seem to me we did experience this in the room tonight. It seems like Perdomo, forgetting flavor, blend, recipe, whatever, it seems like Perdomo construction is pretty damn consistent.
Chef Ricky:Mhmm.
Gizmo:I've not seen people complaining about Perdomos blowing up, smoking like, you know, smoking like shit, you know, bad bunching, bad rolls. It seems like they've really got quality control. Oh, yeah. Pretty well nailed down.
Bam Bam:Yeah.
Gizmo:The complaint I think we've had historically was the recipe of the blend, and I think on this one they've proved us wrong. And I think hand up, we have done a disservice to ourselves and Perdomo, not bringing Perdomo in sooner. And I look forward to what's next for us with Perdomo in this podcast because this was really, really brilliant tonight. I can't believe it, and, it's a 10 for me. No doubt.
Gizmo:Chef.
Chef Ricky:So, look, I came into this pod tonight. Look, it was the perfect storm. Right? It's an off day recording for us, off time recording for us.
Gizmo:Yeah, little late tonight.
Chef Ricky:Yeah, I was running. Oh, you're couching it, I can tell. No, I was even running a little later than I was hoping because of the volume at the restaurant this evening. And you know, because of all of that and the fact that it was a Perdomo tonight, I said, you know what, let me bring my cigar case because this may be the first night that I ditch a cigar halfway through. Oh yeah.
Chef Ricky:Wow. Possibly. I never walk in with this thing.
Gizmo:It's true.
Chef Ricky:And today I came in with it because of that expectation that I had set in my head that this wasn't going to deliver. And boy, was I wrong. Now, I gave it a nine, not a 10, just because of my personal experience. I did have a lot of cracking. I had that initial crack that I smoked through and it was fine.
Chef Ricky:And maybe it was because I was smoking it slower. I made a conscious effort to go a little bit slower on this cigar to the point that I'm at my final inch now, almost two and a somewhat hours in. But this thing, you know, in locks up with what Ruth with what Senator said, with what Rooster said, with what you said is the flavor on this thing was phenomenal. You know, it delivered multiple acts, brioche, even sourdough. There were moments throughout the cigar.
Gizmo:Sourdough is a good call. It's a glass third. Especially
Chef Ricky:with the introduction of the tequila, it paired amazingly well. But I can't ignore the fact that there was severe cracking happening. I sped up my smoking a bit and it fixed it, but the ash got wonky. My burn lines are very wonky right now, but it's so good in flavor that I'm pushing through and I'm going to finish this thing and take it down to the very final quarter inch. So all things aside for me, this was nine.
Chef Ricky:My expectations are super low and they have been just blasted out of water. I'm very happy with this.
Gizmo:Alright, Bam.
Bam Bam:I was originally at a nine. I sent you a revised rating prior to any of us talking about
Gizmo:this It's true. Pagoda cannot get upset about
Senator:that That's why we allowed it.
Bam Bam:Correct. I am shocked that this is a 10 for me. It's all day a 10. It always will be. My favorite part was the final inch.
Bam Bam:I can't believe the toffee that I'm getting and that sourdough with a little sweet butter on it.
Chef Ricky:Even just the cardamom call out by Rooster, which I forgot to mention was a genius call out.
Rooster:Cardamom?
Bam Bam:Yeah. Early on, but not for me in the final third. The final inch
Rooster:is I got that I got that in the in the yeah.
Bam Bam:So I stopped I stopped sipping my tequila as I got so the beginning of the final third for me was was not good. It was very minerally, almost ammonia I was getting. So I just stopped smoking it. Just held on to it. But as I got deeper and deeper into it, it got again, the butteryness came back, a little bit of a salt, that sweet butter I got, the toffee I got.
Bam Bam:It's probably the very best experience that I've had with a New World cigar of this ring gauge in that final inch, I'm completely shocked. I think and for all those reasons, I'm in a firm 10, but I think it's this is gonna be a cigar that I wanna pursue. I wanna get a few of these. I'm not sure if I'm getting a box, but I want this in my rotation at least once a week. I think this is really
Senator:It sounds like you're gonna need a box.
Bam Bam:I might need a box.
Senator:It's really At least once a week.
Bam Bam:Yeah. So that revision from a nine to a 10, I think, is completely justified. I am blown away how delicious this cigar is right now at a half inch. There's no rough edges at all. It's so savory.
Bam Bam:Senator, you said it. I want more of this right now. It's incredible. So I'm at a firm 10. Awesome.
Bam Bam:You're really just a great experience, man.
Chef Ricky:I've never left this podcast with an idea for my wife. And now you need to try a sourdough brioche. Yeah. Just start with a sourdough starter and turn that into a brioche, and that's what the cigar is giving me right now. It's
Gizmo:And we get to be the first ones to try it, bud.
Bam Bam:The retrohale is so
Gizmo:put that on the ledger.
Bam Bam:I gotta just say the retrohale right now is just so incredibly delicious. I don't want this to end. It's off the charts.
Gizmo:So, boys, the formal lizard reading tonight on the Perdomo Legacy Nicaraguan shade grown in Epicure is a shocking, I can easily say, 9.4. I am blown away by that number. Actually, I think it's a little no, a little low.
Bam Bam:I'm disappointed.
Gizmo:I was hoping it would be my personal opinion, 9.69
Bam Bam:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Gizmo:In that range. The one thing I will say for listeners out there, and for you guys, this bunch of cigars, I got eight or 10 of them, sat at the top of my tower, the driest part of my tower for about six to eight weeks. So I will say that anybody who listens to this podcast or even anybody in this room that runs out and buys them, I do think time benefit you know, they benefited from time.
Chef Ricky:Mhmm.
Gizmo:So don't judge them a couple days off the truck, a couple weeks even off the truck. Give them at least thirty days before you try them off the truck, dry them out.
Bam Bam:So you had this for a month?
Gizmo:I've had these for about six weeks.
Bam Bam:Okay.
Gizmo:Yeah. They've Great. At top of my tower. So I would put these in the category of certainly they performed really great dry. I don't know how they'd be at 65.
Gizmo:They did very well at 61, 62.
Bam Bam:I'd like us to track down Nick at the next PCA that we're going to in April and shake his hand. This is just such a great experience tonight.
Gizmo:Yeah. Very good cigar.
Chef Ricky:Yeah. He deserves it.
Gizmo:Oh, yeah. Alright, boys. A great night tonight. Let's review one more time. The Volcan de Mi Tierra tequila Reposado scored a 9.8.
Chef Ricky:This is rolling right off your tongue right now, man.
Gizmo:It doesn't feel like it. And the Perdomo Legacy Nicaraguan Shade Grown in Epicure scored a 9.4. Both were debuts on the pod tonight, and I'm sure they will return soon. Boys, we have to congratulate Lizard Carlos, our lizard of the week. And we have to thank Bon Roberts who sponsor our lizard of the week.
Gizmo:He's gonna get a 10 count box of cigars from them. We really appreciate that. Of course, all of the lizards who wrote in, Lizard Julio with that amazing write up of all of us and what he thinks of all of us. It's really an amazing email. And everybody else who wrote in, we really, really appreciate it.
Gizmo:We have to thank Small Batch Cigars, boys. Smallbatchcigar.com. Use our code lizard 15. Check out our sampler, the Lounge Lizard 98 plus sampler. Use our code for 15% off.
Gizmo:Free shipping all the time. Fast shipping all the time. Small batch is great. And, of course, boys, our presenting sponsor, Fabrica five. Can't beat it.
Gizmo:We talked about Honduran Blue tonight. Correct. They are the OGs on this podcast for Honduran cigars. And I gotta tell you, we talk about letting them sit, letting them age. That is a cigar for me that has really done wonders with time.
Gizmo:I had a cigar the other night. I know I gave you one, Bam. Yeah. Trinity Robusto. I've had it for some time.
Bam Bam:Correct.
Gizmo:One of the best cigars I've had in months. Fantastic. Gotta go run out and try those. Fabrica005.com. Use our code lizard pod for 10% off the entire store and free shipping on all orders over a $125 US.
Gizmo:Boys, what a shocking and great night tonight. Delicious experience, though. Alright. Did how much would you have bet that this night would have ended up like this?
Chef Ricky:I would have bet the house. Yeah. No. Not like this.
Gizmo:Oh. The opposite.
Bam Bam:Sorry. The
Gizmo:opposite. I understand what you're saying.
Bam Bam:Yeah. I would not
Gizmo:have bet. Would have put a lot of money that this would have scored in the sevenths. Yeah. At the highest.
Bam Bam:Correct. Yeah. Yeah.
Gizmo:So at a 94 tonight, the 98 on this amazing tequila, what a great night, boys. And, we'll see everybody next week. Hope you enjoyed this episode. Thanks for joining us. You could find our merch store and ratings archive at our brand new website, loungelizardspod.com.
Gizmo:That's loungelizardspod.com. Don't forget to leave us a rating and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform. If you have any comments, questions, if you wanna reach out, say hello, tell us what you're smoking, email us. Hello at loungelizardspod.com. You can also find us on Instagram at lounge lizards pod.
Gizmo:We really appreciate your time, and we'll, we'll see you next week.