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Released every Tuesday, the LOUNGE LIZARDS podcast helps listeners navigate the experience of finding and enjoying premium cigars (both Cuban and non-Cuban) and quality spirits. Episodes are normally around 90 minutes long and feature a variety of different topics including food, travel, life, sports and work.
The podcast features eight members: Rooster, Poobah, Gizmo, Senator, Pagoda, Chef Ricky, Grinder and Bam Bam.
This is not your typical cigar podcast. We’re a group of friends who love sharing cigars, whiskey and a good laugh.
Join us and become a card-carrying lounge lizard yourself! Email us at hello@loungelizardspod.com to join the conversation and be featured on an upcoming episode!
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, Pagoda, chef Ricky, and Bam Bam.
Gizmo:And our plan is to smoke a cigar, drink some Armagnac, talk about life, and, of course, have some laughs. So take this as your one hundred and seventy eighth official invitation to join us and become a card carrying lounge lizard.
Rooster:Plan to
Gizmo:meet us here once a week. We're gonna smoke a Cuban cigar tonight, share our thoughts on it, and give you our formal lizard rating. We discuss the impact of popular retailers ending US shipping for Cubans. We share our first memories of great Cuban cigars, and we discussed Pagoda's unique cigar journey all among a variety of other things for the next ninety minutes. So sit back, get your favorite drink, light up a cigar, enjoy as we pair Lara Songla, Armagnac VSOP with the punch punch punch.
Gizmo:A Corona Gorda on the pod tonight from Cuba. We are revisiting the punch punch. It's a beautiful 46 ring gauge cigar by five and five eighths inches long. And boys, it still amazes me when we reach into a box of Cuban cigars
Chef:Mhmm.
Gizmo:And you pull out a cigar that has what looks like a box press on it.
Bam Bam:Kind of. Yes.
Gizmo:Like, from being stuffed in the dress box, they have this subtle kind of
Pagoda:Box press.
Gizmo:Accidental box press.
Bam Bam:Dress boxes are notorious for that.
Pagoda:Exactly. But it does feel good at the hand. Yeah.
Bam Bam:It's nice.
Gizmo:It does.
Bam Bam:Yeah. The cigar is an old friend.
Gizmo:So for the listener out there, especially those who have listened all the way back to the catalog or have been with us since the beginning, we're revisiting some Cuban cigars that we reviewed at the early in the early days of this podcast. Certainly ones that didn't rate as well as we think they might perform more, you know, in a more recent run. So we are doing a redux, a revisit
Bam Bam:Mhmm.
Gizmo:On some of these older Cuban cigars that we did. So this one is the punch punch tonight, boys. And let's cut this thing. Let's see if we're getting on the cold draw and the wrapper. So we originally released this episode in March 2022, so just over three years ago, which is crazy by the way.
Pagoda:It's been a while.
Gizmo:Yeah. Oh, I got a nice dimple, boys. Nice. I'm hoping my draw is good.
Pagoda:I have a slight dimple. Me too, but it's off center.
Chef:Acceptable. Same. Draw is a little resistant for me, but not bad. Not overly tight. Did you take enough off?
Bam Bam:Oh, yeah. So my draw is perfect.
Gizmo:Mine is too. Just a touch of resistance. Touch of resistance. Rooster, how's yours?
Rooster:A little resistance. I'm gonna just do a second cut. Just a slight.
Bam Bam:What do you got?
Gizmo:What I always get on a punch punch, cedar, floral,
Bam Bam:dried fruit. Very mild dried fruit.
Chef:Yes. Get mild dried fruit and also a touch of licorice.
Pagoda:Licorice? I thought it was like tea ish kind of sweetness.
Chef:I don't know. Not licorice in an off putting way, but just I get like there's a complexity of cold spices here that are reminiscent of licorice to me.
Bam Bam:I think this will be good.
Gizmo:I'm also getting a little bit of salt too on the front of my tongue. Not yet. Just a touch. Alright, boys. Let's light this thing.
Gizmo:The punch punch from Cuba. Again, it's a Corona Gorda, 46 ring gauge by five and five eights inches long. The factory code on this cigar tonight is UMRDecember21. U M R December 20 1. That is a provincial.
Gizmo:Most of these are coming out of provincials. And this is coming out of, like we said, a dress box of 25 cigars with these subtle box press on them. It also comes in tubos, in dress boxes of 10 cigars and the aluminum tubes. And I know, Bam, you love the punch punch out of a tubo.
Bam Bam:It's rare to come across those, but when you get those I'm sure you've had them, Rooster.
Rooster:Green tubes?
Bam Bam:They're beautiful, and the cigars are so pristine, perfectly round, no box press, and they're flawless.
Rooster:They don't make those in
Gizmo:the tubes, do they? Yes. Yeah. Oh, they still do. They still do.
Rooster:Actually I thought they discontinued this.
Gizmo:So this cigar is pre embargo, pre revolution Mhmm. You know, before 1960. The cigar until the nineteen eighties, according to CupidCigarWebsite.com, shout out Alex Groom. This cigar was named the punch punch deluxe. It's been issued in 25 cigar dress boxes, and there was also a slide lid box of 50 cigars.
Gizmo:I know you have one of those. Rooster, that was discontinued in 2017. And in 02/2009, they introduced the dress box of 10 cigars in aluminum tubos. So that's only been around now for about fifteen years. But they have this nice army green Mhmm.
Gizmo:Tubo, and I love using it because this cigar is identical in size to some of my other favorite Cuban cigars. The Magna 46. Cohiba cigar four. Yeah. Juan Lopez number one.
Gizmo:You can You know, those are all the same size.
Bam Bam:Yeah. That's true.
Gizmo:You can reuse those tubos
Bam Bam:and But that cigar in a tubo is incredible.
Gizmo:I love the cigar in a tubo.
Bam Bam:What are you guys getting in the light? First of all, the aroma. It's dark chocolate and coffee for me.
Gizmo:I I honestly, the first thing I'm experiencing before I even talk about flavor is how much smoke output this little cigar has.
Bam Bam:Just from holding it
Gizmo:your hand. Just from holding it and then you draw it, you just kiss it, tons of smoke.
Bam Bam:As that smoke's billowing out of the foot, just put it to your nose.
Gizmo:It's almost like a potpourri.
Bam Bam:I'm not getting any of that. I'm getting like a deep dark chocolate and some coffee.
Rooster:Usually I always get a lot of cedar on the punch punch. On this one, I got it more on the cold draw than I'm getting on the light so far.
Chef:I'm definitely getting some cedar here now, coffee, dark cocoa, but it is mild and the smoke itself is somewhat on the thinner side. It's not super creamy or viscous or velvety just yet.
Bam Bam:It doesn't you know, it's unusual because these typically for me coat your mouth. I'm not getting that tonight yet, but on a traditional draw I like the dark cocoa reference. I think that's pretty accurate and cedar. Yeah, I'm getting a
Chef:good amount of cedar on this.
Gizmo:Me too.
Pagoda:It's nice.
Gizmo:Getting a touch of citrus as well.
Bam Bam:You know what? I'd get it on the retrohale. Yeah. Lemon.
Gizmo:That's exactly it. And what's funny, I have lemon seltzer. I haven't even sipped it yet. And I can't wait to do that because that might enhance that might enhance the the cigar. I'm following your rules, Bam.
Gizmo:No cigar before the pod Correct. And only water.
Bam Bam:No sleep till Brooklyn. No cigar before the pod.
Pagoda:I generally do, but today I just couldn't resist coming to the lounge a bit earlier. Mhmm.
Gizmo:What are you guys getting on the on the flavor here? Pagoda, what are
Pagoda:you thinking so far? Yeah. For me, you know, typically, like, think in the punch punch, I'm expecting a different flavor profile. But yeah, today I think it's a lot of cedarish, a little bit of sweetness. I thought initially it was slightly different, like not on the cocoa profile, but more slightly different.
Pagoda:I don't know, like milk tea kind of a thing. I don't know. But now it's like very cedar ish. Roosta, how's yours right now?
Rooster:It's performing really good. I like the flavor, but it's amazing how different it is from the older Punch Punch.
Pagoda:It is. Right? The expectation of the flavor was very different for me.
Rooster:Yeah, yeah, it is. I mean, on the 2014, '20 '15 Punch Punch, you get heavy cedar. You don't get a lot of cocoa. It's different.
Bam Bam:It is different.
Rooster:You get I don't know. The flavor is very smooth. It's just very
Bam Bam:I don't remember coffee in the older No, it's not like
Rooster:coffee and chocolate. It's a lot of cedar, very floral, I would say. This is not quite as floral.
Pagoda:Floral. I kind of agree with Right
Gizmo:now for me, this is as if I'm shipping black espresso and I have a piece of dark chocolate on the side and a like a lemon rind. Correct. Yep. That's like boom boom boom. So It's like I'm sitting having dessert.
Gizmo:He's not wrong.
Chef:And it's those three things. Nailed it. And you know, for me, the lemon is more it's a little pithy. Yes. Like, it's very tannic.
Chef:It might be coming from, like, the super dark chocolate and espresso notes that we're getting to. And that's why I've been sitting here like, what what is that? It's it's it's a very intense citrus lemon, but almost like, you know, you kind of took in took in too much of the pith, you know, it's not just the oily rind itself. Are you getting that on the retrohale or? I'm getting that immediately, like right at the front of my palate.
Chef:I could lick my lips after removing the cigar and getting it there Yeah.
Gizmo:I'm getting it on the draw and in the retro, but it's a little different in the retro than it is.
Chef:Yeah. Retro's not as pithy.
Bam Bam:Yeah. But it's for me, the the citrusy lemon is much more pronounced in the retro hale for me, especially on the finish tail end of it. It's delicious. Really good. This is this is working out to be a complex cigar.
Rooster:Maybe it's subliminal, but I'm starting to get the citrus now.
Pagoda:I haven't got it yet. No. So I did try retrohale. Oh, damn. It was like hot smoke.
Bam Bam:I hear you.
Gizmo:Keep practicing. I gotta practice. Keep practicing.
Pagoda:I'll tell you, the deviated septum doesn't help.
Rooster:It is a delicious, delicious cigar.
Bam Bam:He's not wrong. If you have a deviated septum I have a deviated septum.
Rooster:Do you?
Bam Bam:And if you retrohale, not that we should be on top topic with this, but if you don't keep your nose clean, like if you're congested and if you have allergies and you're not constantly blowing your nose, it's impossible for you to experience a cigar. It's impossible, I think. Because when I'm congested, I don't get the flavor notes that we're gonna You just can't get it.
Chef:No, it makes sense. Anything you're tasting, yeah, you don't taste anything.
Gizmo:I wonder if the deviated septum just kind of emphasizes that.
Bam Bam:It exasperates it. Yeah. Because remember, only have air channel flows differently when it's deviated.
Chef:But that's why I also think that the retrohale is crucial to extracting every flavor of a cigar, you know, because it's critical. It's like being a chef and you're out there tasting food, but you know, you can't smell anything because you're, you know, for me it was one of the scariest things throughout COVID. First time I got it.
Gizmo:Sure.
Chef:Yeah. And I
Gizmo:remember knowing when it's coming back.
Chef:I remember the barback coming up to me and saying, hey, chef, and this was before it made news, you know, that it was a symptom or whatever. The barback comes up to me. He goes, Jeff, can you taste this? Because I can't I'm not getting any citrus. And for a couple of days I was facing the same dilemma, but it hadn't hit news yet that this was one of the symptoms.
Chef:And sure enough, maybe two days later it came out and I'm like, Oh, man. And it was scary. It was scary to go a couple of weeks without being able to smell what you're tasting And therefore being able to taste what you're tasting.
Gizmo:I'm lucky when I had it, I did not lose my sense of smell at all.
Pagoda:I lost my sense of taste completely,
Gizmo:really.
Bam Bam:I lost it for one day.
Pagoda:Oh, really? I lost it for quite some time.
Chef:Wow.
Pagoda:And I don't think it's ever really come back
Bam Bam:to 50%. This is a thing for some people, they don't ever really get it back some.
Pagoda:I've got like 80%, but not what, like before that I was just much, you know, better at deciphering.
Bam Bam:So food's not a thing for you anymore, that's why you're so zeldt.
Pagoda:No. That's why I eat a lot more spicy food now.
Bam Bam:Oh, you gotta you gotta ratchet up
Gizmo:the flavor. Ratchet up. So, boys, like I said, we originally did this cigar on episode 20, if you believe it. This is episode 100 Unreal. And 78.
Bam Bam:So that's back in the garage days.
Gizmo:This is definitely in the garage days. Pretty crazy. Episode 20, we did the punch punch. And when we did the cigar in March of twenty twenty two, guess what the price was on the cigar? It's gonna $14.
Gizmo:14 bucks. Rooster, what do you think the price of the cigar was when we did this three years ago?
Rooster:Probably around 12. 12? Okay. Pagoda?
Pagoda:Yeah. I would I would say around $2.80 a box.
Gizmo:$2.80 a box? Okay.
Chef:I'm I'm I'm just heartbroken at the fact that people are calling out 12 and $14.
Pagoda:A big 10 to 12.
Chef:Don't have three boxes of this.
Gizmo:So Pagoda got the closest. The box price three years ago in March 2022 was 280 something dollars.
Bam Bam:Look at that.
Gizmo:For a box of 25, pricing this cigar out effectively connoisseur. At $11.50. No.
Pagoda:Just a financial guy.
Gizmo:I said
Rooster:$12.
Gizmo:You said 12, but he was closer. So anyway We count
Bam Bam:we count pennies here. Rooster. Okay.
Chef:Do you know pennies? Like the price is right?
Pagoda:Carna eggs now. What are they now?
Gizmo:So eighteen eighteen months
Pagoda:later $11.40.
Gizmo:Correct. Eighteen months later in September 2023, the podcast was cruising right along by that time. The price was $18 per cigar. Now this cigar is $25.
Bam Bam:That's outrageous.
Gizmo:In three years, it has more than doubled in price for this little Corona Gorda.
Pagoda:Well, it has become cocoa forward. So,
Bam Bam:you know, on a serious note, for you to buy, you really have to love this cigar to pay that price, because the average Cuban smoker's not gonna find this particular vitola in this market.
Gizmo:Totally agree.
Bam Bam:Not gonna
Gizmo:happen. The box price right now on this cigar is somewhere hovering between $6.15 and $640
Bam Bam:You know, I'd rather get a box of D4s in these.
Gizmo:Exactly.
Bam Bam:I do love this cigar, but if I have 600 and something dollars to spend, I'm going for a Partagas box, or even if I can find it, Ras or Schwa. Yeah. It's a shame.
Gizmo:It's unfortunate because it's almost like their pricing strategy has squeezed some of these amazing cigars out because the value prop is fading
Bam Bam:very It's backfiring.
Gizmo:Yeah. So let's talk about some current events that take us back to March 2022. Mhmm. Three years ago. So in March 2022 at the Oscars, Will Smith slapped Chris Rock right across the face.
Pagoda:Oh.
Gizmo:Three years ago, if you believe I
Chef:remember watching that. I thought it was fake.
Pagoda:My wife's
Gizmo:name out your mouth. I don't know if you remember there was that cargo ship that sunk off the coast of Portugal with 4,000 Volkswagen vehicles on it.
Chef:Yep.
Gizmo:Right to the bottom of the sea. I remember that. 4,000. I remember that because there was a lot of you know, that was right when we were coming out of, like, the COVID shortage on chips and everything else for cars.
Rooster:Yeah. You couldn't get cars. You
Gizmo:couldn't get cars. Expensive.
Bam Bam:And then they dump them all in
Gizmo:the ocean. And they dumped them in the ocean. There was a fire on the ship, and I guess it sunk. If you're a music fan, Taylor Hawkins, the drummer from the Foo Fighters died three years ago this month. Three years ago, March 2022.
Rooster:I like this segment.
Chef:I was just gonna say, I like where you're is cool.
Gizmo:Finally, my favorite of the four, Aaron Rodgers resigns with the Green Bay Packers on a four year deal, taking him to 2026, a $200,000,000 deal, making him the highest paid quarterback ever at the time. And how's that working out for him, Bam?
Bam Bam:Oh, I don't know. Not good.
Pagoda:Steelers maybe?
Gizmo:The Jets fans
Bam Bam:in the room.
Gizmo:Soul crushing human being. So the Jets fans in the room don't love him, but I I was shocked when I saw that in 2022
Rooster:How
Gizmo:do you how do you live four year deal.
Rooster:The guy had an Achilles injury. And then he came back, I think, too soon. It's He didn't have a great first half.
Bam Bam:I know.
Rooster:The second half was actually better. I mean, he's 43, right?
Bam Bam:Yeah. But his are we going to do this now?
Gizmo:No. Okay.
Bam Bam:I gonna launch.
Pagoda:No. No. I was about to say, hey. You know, he came seeking Helen of Troy to New York. So
Gizmo:that was what was happening in March of twenty twenty two taking us back. And really the most shocking out of all the stuff we just talked about is how the price has gone from about $11.50 a cigar to 25. You know, even I would say at the price it was about eighteen months ago in September 2023 at $18, that is a palatable price to me for the experience you
Rooster:get out I think $400 for a box of 25 is
Gizmo:That's a fair
Rooster:price. It's about fair.
Bam Bam:Yeah. I agree. You know, and the whole notion of buying across the entire catalog of Cuban cigars was much easier back then. I probably wouldn't have bought this box today if I didn't have it. Back then, we bought three boxes It was so affordable.
Bam Bam:And all the other marginal vitolas that you wouldn't spend money on now, bought back then. And that was a blessing, but it's a disaster. I can't see how this is going to continue.
Gizmo:It's almost like too, as we were going, the prices were reasonable enough that you kinda wanted to have a little bit of everything. And now you're having to make Exactly,
Bam Bam:that was the thinking back then.
Gizmo:It's like you're trying to collect them all, and now it's like you're really having to make very specific purchasing decisions because the price is just egregious. The Cuban cigars were cheaper than the New World staples.
Pagoda:They were.
Gizmo:Sure. Definitely.
Rooster:When you could get a Particus D four or a Punch Punch cheaper than an Exclusivo
Bam Bam:For $13?
Gizmo:It was a home run. Right? Incredible.
Rooster:Can you imagine if the Padron Exclusivo doubles, if not triples the price, then what?
Gizmo:Yeah. That's gonna be painful. If that's in the
Chef:aging room sonatas.
Bam Bam:Yeah. I'm going to go
Pagoda:to seven Eleven. I'm going to start Gonna get
Bam Bam:my blueberry cigars.
Rooster:I'm going start buying some zen from Pupa.
Gizmo:So, boys, I'm gonna say this only once because I think it's funny and wild. But the technical name, the actual name of this cigar is the punch punch punch. Punch three times. So we're gonna call it the punch punch tonight, of course, but it's the punch punch punch. And it is the fifth cigar we've done in the pot.
Gizmo:Obviously, at the time, it was the second one. We had done a regional prior to this on episode 20. And now we are revisiting it. So this is now the sixth punch we've done on the podcast. If you wanna hear some punch history, we've done it over a couple of those episodes.
Gizmo:Check them out, and we'll go through the ratings a little later tonight.
Pagoda:You know, it's really interesting because I always thought Punch was one of the cigars where you'd get at the gas station, and the New World sure. So for whatever reason, was always like, Punch, I don't know. But, you know, I love some of the Vitolas.
Bam Bam:Wow. Before the lizards were born, one of us smoked punches.
Chef:Hey, you see Romeo and Julietas at gas stations, you see Cohibas at gas stations, all New World variants obviously. Yeah. Yeah. You see them all
Gizmo:there. Correct. So boys, do you want to go into our pairing tonight? Yeah. We are back to Armagnac.
Bam Bam:Love it.
Gizmo:And this one is called the Rasongo. What? Larasing Larasongo.
Bam Bam:Rooster, you gotta read that, please.
Gizmo:Lara Larasongo.
Pagoda:Oh, it's in English. I'm sorry. Laryngitis.
Bam Bam:It's the chef. What does that say?
Gizmo:I was trying to translate Lara is single. I was trying to translate it on Google translate in French, and I can't even repeat what they're saying. I my my mouth doesn't
Pagoda:move that Can pull it West Senator. Senator needs to be here for this. A little bit of poity toity French.
Rooster:I think it's
Chef:Lara is single. In fact, a phone or phone
Pagoda:voice I think I like that one.
Gizmo:Alright. Here we go. Here's how it's pronounced.
Pagoda:Lara Sangla.
Bam Bam:Lara Sangla.
Rooster:Lara
Bam Bam:Sangla. Lara Sangla. Sangla.
Gizmo:Sangla. Lawasangla. Lawasangla. I'm gonna call it the Laresangla. It's the Armagnac, the very special old pale VSOP Armagnac tonight, sister spirit to what we know as cognac.
Gizmo:Mhmm. And we've done some Armagnacs. Cheers, boys. Cheers. Cheers.
Gizmo:And we're going back to armagnac tonight. Bam, I know you have been Mhmm. A big fan of armagnac for some time now.
Bam Bam:Yeah. And I've had this spirit before. I like this. It's different.
Gizmo:Oh, it's medicinal for me. For you? Yeah? Oh, it's like cough syrup.
Pagoda:There's The second syrup. Second syrup. Yeah.
Bam Bam:It'll it'll you'll adjust to it. It for me, there's like a very it's a little cherry forward.
Pagoda:A little cherry and a little bit of cocoa, I thought.
Bam Bam:Yeah. On the finished cocoa.
Gizmo:Yeah. You know what, Pagoda, you're right. The second sip, totally different.
Pagoda:Different, yeah.
Bam Bam:It does adjust. It's quite nice. With a chip, it's actually quite enjoyable.
Rooster:Everybody looks at chef. Just mentioned
Chef:the word chip.
Pagoda:No. Chef is gonna come up with 10 different flavors that way.
Bam Bam:I meant chocolate chip.
Chef:No. No. No. I yeah. I'm I'm I'm right in lockstep with you guys with the cherry there and I get I'm getting I think someone said cocoa.
Chef:I'm definitely getting cocoa. I'm getting like chocolate cherry
Bam Bam:I'm the finish though.
Chef:The cocoa comes through at the tail end. I think it's quite good. I agree with you that first sip was a little medicinal, not quite as a spirit we had recently. But I don't mind it. It does feel a little like, is it 40 proof?
Chef:It feels a little less than that.
Bam Bam:It does feel less.
Gizmo:It's 40%. Okay.
Chef:It's 40%. Sorry.
Pagoda:80 proof. Yeah. Think our Armeniacs are slightly they have slightly less alcohol than cognacs. Right? Yeah.
Bam Bam:Do you remember what you paid
Gizmo:for This was purchased for $52.99
Bam Bam:Okay.
Gizmo:For the bottle. Alright. Not a bad price for the VSOP.
Bam Bam:No. And it's, I think, a good change of pace.
Chef:Yeah. So Armagnac is from which region of France typically?
Gizmo:The Armagnac region. From from the Armagnac region. Yeah. So I do have some history on Lara Sangla tonight that we'll go through. But first, my question for you boys is how is this pairing with the cigar for you?
Gizmo:Because what I'm happy about, I will say, didn't love the initial sip. I'm still not in love with the spirit, but I am happy that it's not very viscous. It's not very thick. It's not overpowering the cigar to me. Not at And I think some of the notes, namely the chocolate and even the cherry a little bit, the fruitiness, actually are complementing the smoke.
Gizmo:So, definitely.
Bam Bam:So the word complementary is key. It works with it. There's nothing in parallel to it. I think it works. It's not incredible but it's good.
Chef:It helped dissipate the cedar for me. The cedar really came down. I'm almost getting an interesting candy ginger bag note on the cigar now.
Bam Bam:Wow.
Gizmo:Is that a good flavor for you or?
Chef:It is. It is. Okay. Yeah. It reminds me a little bit of ginger candy like the Asian ginger candies.
Bam Bam:Oh, I could see that on the finish. I'm getting on A bit of that on a retrohale. Yeah. Ginger.
Gizmo:It's funny. You know what? I you guys a couple of you guys have mentioned cedar on the cigar. I haven't gotten a lot of cedar on this tonight.
Chef:I'm not getting much now.
Bam Bam:Early on.
Gizmo:Early on. I I really never got hit with cedar. Tasted it on the cold draw, but it was never really there in the smoke for the I think as
Rooster:these age, you do get a lot of cedar.
Pagoda:Oh no, no, yeah, in the beginning I was getting a little bit, definitely, yeah. Along with a little bit of the cocoa, yeah.
Bam Bam:Do you remember when we recorded this, the room and how it received the cigar? I do vividly.
Pagoda:I do too.
Gizmo:Yeah. It was not received well.
Bam Bam:Well, because we know some people,
Gizmo:they actually boycott this entire market. Well, they did love the punch double Corona.
Pagoda:I love the punch double Corona. We love that too.
Bam Bam:Yeah. But, yeah. It's it's not a favorite.
Gizmo:It's not. You know what I will say? Amongst the five of us, and I know that the four of us, ex Ricky, love this punch punch.
Bam Bam:I love this cigar.
Gizmo:I rarely see any of us pulling a punch punch out of our bag.
Bam Bam:I do. I do.
Gizmo:I've rarely seen
Chef:it.
Rooster:I do, but the problem is I don't have any fresh ones, I'm kind of sparingly going through The aged stuff? The aged stuff. And I thought I had like two fifty cabs, they were like fairly full. And I just realized the 150 calves, there's about 30 sticks left, and the other one only has like 15. I'm like, holy shit.
Rooster:Yeah.
Gizmo:You gotta be careful with
Pagoda:that. Oh, how sad. Yeah. Know. There's about 50 sticks.
Bam Bam:I know, right? I've never seen a 50 calves in these.
Rooster:Oh, these are they're awesome. I'm sure.
Bam Bam:Pretty awesome. That's special.
Rooster:You open that open the slide lid box, and the aroma just hits you like there's so much cedar on them. I think I gave chef one. I'm sure I gave you.
Chef:Was just gonna ask you You never gave
Bam Bam:me one. Really? Not ever.
Chef:Thanks, man. Is this what we spoke on the deck?
Pagoda:Yeah. You definitely gave me one, I think, for sure.
Gizmo:So boys, let's go through a little history of Lara Sangla. The story of this Armagnac began in 1837 with a pioneering family setting out to create a spirit that would embody the rich traditions of Armagnac production. From its inception, the brand emphasized quality and a commitment to artisanal methods, values that they continue to define it today. It is a fifth generation family company. Pretty cool.
Gizmo:Yeah. So this specific spirit, the VSOP we have tonight, has a cross vintage blend of Armagnacs that are five to seven years age. So the legal minimum is four years for very special old pale VSOP. This has five to seven years, and it's exclusively from wines in the Basse Armagnac and Tenerese districts. Again, I'm pronouncing this stuff terribly.
Gizmo:I'm sorry. It's 60% bass armagnac and 40% Tenerase. I don't know how to pronounce that. It's blended of five to seven year old year old armagnacs. It's aged in 400 liter Mont Lausanne oak barrels.
Gizmo:Wow. And like I said, it's been family owned since 1837. That's incredible. Their process of distillation, a portion of it is double a double distilled spirit that they bring into a blend. For that, you know, with that, they ensure a light smooth texture and a refined character that has become their signature.
Gizmo:This is one of the top selling Armagnacs in the world.
Pagoda:Mhmm. Oh, really?
Bam Bam:Yes. But it's a lesser known one
Gizmo:It is.
Bam Bam:In these parts. Even places where I go, where they drink Armagnac, I don't see this often. I like it.
Gizmo:So it's gotten some good ratings online and whatnot, but Go ahead, forgot.
Pagoda:No, forgot about You
Bam Bam:have the green light.
Pagoda:What kind of places are these where they drink Armagnac?
Bam Bam:Places you don't
Pagoda:get And then the social club.
Bam Bam:Maybe someday, young grasshopper.
Pagoda:Wow. The brandy club. That sounds great. Mhmm.
Gizmo:So, boys, we've had some unfortunate news in the land of Cuban cigar retail operations shipping to The United States. So what we've learned is that cigars of Habanos or COH as it's now known, and iHavannas have both independently stopped shipping entirely, even to existing customers, Cupid cigars into The United States.
Bam Bam:It makes sense from the point of view of business.
Gizmo:I get why they're doing it, but it is a huge blow That's destructive for us. Even cigar smokers in The US because certainly for I Havana's, that is, for me, I mean, certainly one of our favorite in the room. We've all purchased a lot of stuff from them. Brian over there has been really great, you know, to deal with great customer service and whatnot. And we talked about IJAMENNA's a few weeks ago.
Gizmo:As you know, there was a little bit of a Reddit issue. And I'm curious what you think. I mean, I'm wondering if that has any impact on this. I mean, that that that user did post a picture of the box with the forwarding shipping return label address, photos, everything. So I'm wondering if there's a component to additional custom seizures that is happening.
Rooster:Don't think that helped. It definitely didn't help. But I think it comes down to a lot of seizures happening
Bam Bam:That's what I think.
Rooster:In the last six months or so across the board.
Bam Bam:But even in our group and in our lounge, a lot of people have gotten pinched. They're incredible. They will replace the box and send another Exactly.
Rooster:So that becomes a pretty big expense. Exactly. And I'm sure the Reddit post didn't help the No,
Bam Bam:but honestly, most of my collection comes from I have very, very early on Monte Fortuna, promo, and our groups that we belong to. And FOH, VFOH? One hundred percent.
Gizmo:Yeah, you've gotten a lot of
Bam Bam:100% from me. Losing I have is a huge blow.
Pagoda:It's a huge blow.
Bam Bam:Because when you're going through your cigars, you're depleting them, it's first of mind for me, always top of mind. Me go online. It's friendly. Oh, it's incredible. Their customer service is great.
Bam Bam:They come pristinely wrapped, inspected. They're always perfect.
Pagoda:They're really good deals. Prices are good.
Rooster:Are they not shipping just Cubans or across the board?
Gizmo:No. You can order New World cigars and and get them shipped in. They do have a nice selection in New World, especially in the
Rooster:bulk deal The bulk deals.
Pagoda:Oh, yeah.
Gizmo:You know, every month they have a new section of bulk deals.
Chef:But
Bam Bam:I have a story about that.
Gizmo:But, yeah, I I, you know, I am I I was disappointed to see this because it it is a major sea change as far as retail, possibilities for United States Cuban cigar smokers. And I know it's illegal. I know it's contraband, blah blah blah. But at the end of the day, we do enjoy the product. And despite the prices even, a lot of us are still ordering cigars.
Gizmo:And even for me, I'm concerned acquiring stuff for the podcast. Know, get a lot of it on FOH when I can, but you know, sometimes I have to fill, you know, getting stuff. So I'm a little concerned about that.
Bam Bam:Of course. Yeah. So speaking of new world bulk deals, I was cruising around Brooklyn, went to one of my job sites, sat on a steel I beam with my stomach hanging over. Like my AI image?
Pagoda:Love it.
Bam Bam:Gizmo and Senator, you guys call me, and we do a three way call. Bulk deal on Davidoff pyramids. Millennium Pyramidies, yep. Davidoff Millennium Pyramidies. Forty count for it was outrageously
Gizmo:Outrageous person.
Bam Bam:It was outrageous. I stopped all operations and I immediately placed an order.
Gizmo:You shut the whole job site down?
Bam Bam:I did. Because there was a meeting. I had to walk away. So they just stood there waiting around. They didn't know what they thought, have an emergency.
Bam Bam:I'll get right back to you. It's legitimate. That was incredible. And I'm still smoking through that order. Yeah.
Bam Bam:Now how long ago was that? At least Probably two
Gizmo:years at least. Two,
Bam Bam:three years. Yeah. And that was the beauty of I have. And now it's gone.
Gizmo:You can still get those.
Bam Bam:I know.
Rooster:You'll get the doubt.
Gizmo:But at the time, you could get that Anabox of punch punch if you
Bam Bam:want it. But I'm thinking about Chef. He's got a brand new tower.
Gizmo:A bunch of listeners just ordered new towers.
Bam Bam:Correct. And who where where are you gonna get your stock? You have to start stocking up on your Cubans. Yeah. An I have was ideal.
Chef:I'm just going to have to start stocking it up with fabric of five cigars.
Gizmo:Exactly right. I have a shelf on my tower dedicated to that. I'm starting
Bam Bam:to build a shelf for those. But you have other sources that you can go to, but it's limited now.
Chef:Yeah, we should probably not talk so much about those other sources.
Gizmo:So, you know, the thing that makes me kind of cringe as well is I would assume if I'm I Havana's or, know, COH, if they do start resuming shipments to The United States, my assumption is that if they do that, that they're going to remove the guarantee that if they're taken, that they're going to replace them. And like you said, it's a business, so they need to protect themselves. But removing that delivery guarantee, getting it through customs, it's going to be a major change for us here in The States. And I'm wondering how that's going to affect the gray market because a lot of those resellers are getting their cigars from places like this. You know?
Gizmo:So is that going to increase the price on the gray market even more? And not even the gray, the secondary gray. You know, online on these groups from friends, etcetera, you know, how are those prices going to be affected? Because, you know, risk
Pagoda:is gonna But the overall demand's gonna probably drop.
Gizmo:I don't
Pagoda:think so. Know, it's really interesting. We were talking in the lounge just earlier prior to the pod about Cubans. And it is just, you know, we go to, you know, oftentimes we'll find ourselves in different lounges if we're traveling. We often find that a lot of people don't smoke Cubans anyway.
Pagoda:So most people are really smoking a lot of the new worlds. And you know, ease of access, this is becoming more and more difficult. So for anyone really wanting to purchase Cubans really has to now seek them out. Yeah. And the risk still remains.
Pagoda:Sure. Because it's like, you know, it's like the customs are out with a vengeance because that's their priority right now.
Gizmo:Yeah. And what's interesting too is the barrier to entry, not just on cost, but someone who's not super educated navigating these back channels of getting this stuff, like, on top of price, now the
Bam Bam:Sourcing issues.
Gizmo:Quite honestly finding it anywhere that it's legitimate. Correct. On top of price, it's like they're for new smokers, it's it's gonna be a real challenge.
Bam Bam:It's a disaster for them.
Pagoda:I wonder what do they do when they receive any of these boxes? Do the customs deport them?
Gizmo:I'm sure they
Chef:take them home. Take them straight home.
Gizmo:I'm sure they take them straight home and enjoy them and smoke along with us on the pod.
Bam Bam:I don't wanna start. Don't get me started.
Gizmo:Alright, boys. So we're gonna go into our first lizard email, and this one's gonna be our lizard of the week, and it ties in exactly to what we're talking about. It's a great question from Lizard Goff. He says, esteemed lizards, first time emailer but longtime listener here. I've really been enjoying the podcast since I found it several years ago.
Gizmo:I have a lot to learn and have a lot of cigars to try, but I have two Cuba focused questions for you guys tonight. For a new smoker getting into Cubans, what do you think are some of the biggest misconceptions with Cuban cigars?
Rooster:Do you
Gizmo:think are some of the biggest misconceptions with Cuban cigars?
Bam Bam:The previous misconception years ago was that they were so expensive, and that's proven to be true. I think overall the assumption is that they're very mild. Mild. That's one.
Rooster:I would say that we used to think that it was a common thought that Cuban cigars need a lot of age. And I think now with the new production, especially the last couple of years, we have noticed that the fresh Cuban cigars are ready to go. They're ready to smoke. You don't need to age them that long.
Pagoda:They're smoking well,
Gizmo:They're smoking well.
Chef:Yeah, I would say, you know, just coming, you know, being a fairly new smoker five years, you know, a little less than seven years at this point.
Rooster:You're a baby.
Chef:You know, early on, I was like, why even bother? You know, every any cigar, any Cuban cigar I could get my hands on at the time was a counterfeit and they were expensive. Right. So a part of you being a new world smoker, you're just like, are people amping these things up for something that they're not? And is it really is it just desirable because you can't really have them?
Chef:And then I meet you guys and I start smoking Cubans and I'm just like, holy shit, this is a life changing experience. You know, it's well worth it. If you're able to source an amazing Cuban cigar. It's well worth the experience. It's an entirely different experience from anything you experience on a new world.
Bam Bam:I think that's probably the biggest misconception I've heard, Chef. Overall, almost everyone that smokes a New World cigar assumes that Cubans are fake. All of them. Yeah? Yeah.
Bam Bam:That's a good point.
Gizmo:And while a lot of them are, you know, if you have the right source, you know, you can trust it.
Bam Bam:Correct.
Gizmo:Right? I'm gonna go on the other side of it. From the perspective of people hearing Cuban cigar smokers talk about Cuban cigars. And I think actually folks make this assumption about us quite a bit because our enthusiasm, you know, when we have a great Cuban cigar, you know, the enthusiasm in this room
Bam Bam:is off charts.
Gizmo:Off the charts. Yep. I think one of the biggest misconceptions from folks who see Cupid cigar smokers smoking Cupid cigars is that we feel that Cupid cigars are really the only game in town Mhmm. As far as quality. Where if you look at our ratings guide, if you listen to the conversations we have on both sides of the aisle, obviously, that's not the case.
Gizmo:But I think people make an assumption if you smoke Cubans, you smoke a lot of them, you smoke the higher end markets, the global brands, etcetera. People assume that you're snobby, believing that Cuban tobacco is the end all be all and everything else is, you know, an accessory to it.
Bam Bam:Good point.
Gizmo:When in the reality for me and I think us is one helps the other. Right? Cuban cigars make new world cigars better, and new world cigars make Cuban cigars better. You know, we've always talked about it's kinda like sitting down at a great meal
Bam Bam:Mhmm.
Gizmo:Getting an appetizer, a salad, an entree dessert. That's how my lineup is. Cuban, Honduran, Dominican, Nicaraguan, and I go home. Look, that's that's how
Rooster:I roll.
Bam Bam:The variety game is important. It
Gizmo:is. And what we're doing. And they all offer such different things. I can't sit and smoke three or four Dominican or Nicaraguan cigars. I can't do it.
Gizmo:Yeah. I need to work my way up in body and strength Mhmm. Starting with the Cuban and then going from there. And it's just like they all make Yeah. You know, each other better.
Bam Bam:Absolutely.
Gizmo:So we're gonna pause on this email for a second, boys, and we are coming to the end of the first third here on the punch punch from Cuba, the Corona Gorda. What's everybody thinking right now?
Rooster:Starting to get some leather and wood
Bam Bam:also. No leather for me.
Rooster:Yeah. Well, like a hint of leather.
Bam Bam:It's very enjoyable.
Gizmo:I'm very satisfied right now.
Bam Bam:Me too. There's almost a savoriness to it.
Gizmo:I was going say there's a little savoriness and maybe a little salt.
Bam Bam:That's been salt right now, but it's savory and a touch of sweetness and it's not dried fruit. I can't put my finger on what that is. I feel like
Chef:there's a green almond and salt here. It is nutty.
Rooster:Agree with the almond.
Bam Bam:There's nuttiness there, yeah
Chef:for I'm getting a little frustrated with the burn line here. I've touched it up a few times.
Pagoda:I think
Rooster:we all have had to Long, you want a real Yeah,
Pagoda:there's something missing in the construction and smoke output for me now. You know, initially it began really well, but now it's like
Bam Bam:He's right. The smoke is not filled with The room is not filled with smoke at all.
Gizmo:My combustion's great, and I'm happy with my burn line right now. I think I got lucky with this one. Yeah.
Chef:Yeah. I've I've been trying to touch mine up and strain it out for a bit, and it just kinda keeps going back, and I'm afraid it's gonna canoe if I don't make some adjustments. So I have slowed down as a result, but it doesn't seem to be helping a whole lot.
Bam Bam:How's your overall experience with flavor?
Chef:I love the flavor. I'm really enjoying the flavor.
Pagoda:Yeah, the flavor profile has been good.
Bam Bam:It's nice, right?
Pagoda:With a little bit. It's, Like I still think it's like more on the medium body, you know, in terms
Gizmo:of flavor Not
Bam Bam:full flavored cigar, no.
Pagoda:Yeah, but it has that cocoa, it has that, you know, initially the cedar, Meaning I'm just enjoying it, yeah.
Chef:You know what's really helping on the flavor here too, the Armagnac is now for me bringing a vanilla note forward here, and I really think that's what's kind of bringing out these, the almond flavor profile in the cigar for me.
Bam Bam:You still getting cough medicine or what?
Gizmo:No, the drink is much better now.
Bam Bam:Hasn't it leveled out beautifully?
Gizmo:It really, like Pagoda said, it really only took the second sip for a quick adjustment. The first one really tasted like cough medicine that I had in like the early nineties, and now it's like, you know, when they didn't really care about flavor.
Chef:You have a lot of trauma with cough medicine.
Gizmo:I do, I do.
Bam Bam:There's a crispness to this that you don't get in cognacs or other army knacks that we've had. It's crispy, It's almost that there's a brightness to it. And for me, that's a unique experience with this type of spirit.
Gizmo:I'm wondering here on this Armagnac though, it's pairing possibilities with a wide range of cigars. Of course, my brain goes to that. I'm not sure if I see this pairing well with even a lot of the Cuban cigar catalog and and then into Honduran, Dominican, Nicaraguan. I don't see it being something that I I I'm thinking about reaching for.
Bam Bam:I got a couple. The Schwa Supreme would be great with this. I think that little Raz, the Ramon Club Corona, also an excellent pairing, and then the Media Corona. They all have those for me. They've got this kind of sweetness that kind of marries with this thing.
Chef:Also, on the New World side, I'm thinking the shark with this here.
Gizmo:The urethra point
Pagoda:I'm thinking as simple as a bellicose would be great with this. Oh, absolutely.
Gizmo:Yeah. You're talking Davodoff or Davodoff. Yeah. Davodoff. I
Bam Bam:think any of the white label series Davodoffs in that Churchill line would be great with this baron.
Gizmo:Let's go now to the second part of our lizard of the week, Lizard Gough's question, And he says, I hope this question isn't redundant, and if it is, please ignore it. But what made you guys fall in love with smoking Cuban cigars? What made you fall in love? And there's several other questions here in this second part of his email.
Pagoda:Peer pressure. Carole G? No.
Chef:I'm just kidding.
Bam Bam:Peer pressure.
Gizmo:Peer pressure.
Bam Bam:No. No. That's what
Chef:got me started. What made me fall in love was the differences, the nuances and flavor that you would get on the Cuban side that weren't present so much on a new world side, you know, floral salinity, baking spice, but really pronounced, oftentimes not muddled by coffee or darker notes like leather or wood, although we're getting all of the above in this cigar, but this is an exception. I think for me that was really what, you know, and then of course, my Sir Winston, that was a holy shit experience.
Bam Bam:It's rumination.
Rooster:When you have a good Cuban cigar, it's unmatched. I don't think there's any new world cigar, no matter with how much age on it, can get you those notes that you get out of a good aged Cuban cigar.
Bam Bam:I wouldn't say that it's better. It's just
Rooster:a different experience. It's a different experience. Like, when you have an La Gloria Cubana MDO number one, two, three, or four. Yeah. I mean, those cigars with some age, they are so floral.
Rooster:Mhmm. Those floral delicate notes that you pick out.
Bam Bam:Not on any cigar
Gizmo:in a You
Rooster:cannot get those on Nicaraguan tobacco, maybe on some Honduran tobacco, if that, but not, you know, it's rare. You can't really pick those out.
Bam Bam:I wouldn't say that it's a better experience. It's absolutely a different experience.
Rooster:Yeah, the nuances that you get out of a Cuban cigar, they're very unique. Very unique. Agreed.
Pagoda:Yeah, no, I kind of really agree. So for me, think initially when I started off, obviously I used to smoke really bold and strong cigars. I think my journey to come towards, you know, the center of things, you know, how I think Steve Sakai had mentioned, hey, that you go all the way up to the extreme, and then you can't go any further, so you start going backwards towards the center. And when I started coming towards the center, and obviously, thanks to the pod where I got exposed to a lot of these cigars, I started finding cigars other than the Default because I think the Default was really good from the very beginning. But, you know, I started enjoying cigars like the Upman II, the Ras, you know, and you know, the punch double Coronas, and then Corona Claros in the mornings, you know.
Pagoda:And then you begin to realize that, hey, different cigars have a different place and time, and you smoke it with different experiences. And when you reach a point where you're actually selecting a cigar to match your mood or what you want to start off with, I think that experience itself becomes such a part of a very joyous journey. And I think it's really something which has evolved over time for me. It's not like, oh, this is it. But, you know, fortunately, you know, a lot of the exposure came through the pod and obviously hanging out with you guys for me.
Bam Bam:Well, we all started our Cuban journey together.
Gizmo:Yeah, exactly. But I
Bam Bam:think, Pagoda, very well said. I enjoy standing in front of the tower, planning out my smoke night. What's your mood? What do you feel like smoking tonight? And Having more variety is a blessing.
Bam Bam:So if you have a lot of cigars you can choose from, you're very lucky. I think that's
Rooster:the- Hopefully with the doors closed. Because these days if the doors open, the humidity's just dropping.
Bam Bam:In our place, yeah, where we live, yeah, that's That's
Gizmo:very dry.
Rooster:Within like thirty seconds it
Bam Bam:goes from like 63
Rooster:to 48.
Bam Bam:Because I like to get in there, but that's really a lot of fun. Standing there, getting your cigar lineup settled, that's a lot of fun.
Pagoda:And Cuban cigars provide you the variety and the flavor profile. You know, in the new world, a lot of the cigars I was buying was more in the Padronas, you know, kind of flavor profile.
Gizmo:Like a more bold Nicaraguan.
Pagoda:More bold Nicaraguan. And so I didn't really open myself up to that kind of variety. And when I got exposed to the kind of the various flavor profiles within the, you know, the Cuban cigar allotment, it was just great.
Bam Bam:Of anyone in the room, he has taken the greatest journey from the point of view of strength of cigar, and over the years getting refined and then experiencing the nuances of the sticks on down the line.
Chef:This
Gizmo:guy. And what's great for the listener, and listen, none of us have been smoking for, you know, ever other than research
Pagoda:since Nineteen twenty seven.
Gizmo:Nineteen '20 '7. No. But seriously, from the Cupid cigar side of it, we're only a few years few few years ahead of where we started on the podcast. For Pagoda, in real time, the listener has been able to sit with Pagoda Yeah. Every week or every other week doing a Cuban and kind of follow along in this journey of discovery.
Gizmo:And I think that that's really been, obviously, us in the room here, a lot of fun. But for the listener, it's like we're doing this alongside every single listener every other week.
Bam Bam:Yeah. And regardless of how long we've smoked, the new world journey, learning about all of those cigars that we would have never even given a second look.
Gizmo:I'll argue too, Bam, a lot of Cubans that we would have never tried. Correct. We would have never tried a lot of those Cubans had it not been for the podcast.
Bam Bam:Correct.
Rooster:I mean, you smoke some Cuban cigars, and then you go back and smoke a new world because you crave that. You crave that strength. You crave that bold notes that you don't get out of the Cuban. And then you smoke a bunch of New Worlds, and you want to go back and get the nuances that you get from the Cuban cigars.
Gizmo:So you go back and forth.
Bam Bam:It's an excellent experience.
Rooster:As the prices have gone up though, I mean even, I'm smoking a lot more New World than I'm smoking Cubans. You know, the ratio might be like one to maybe four, five.
Bam Bam:Yeah. I will say though, if I'm depleted in a certain box of marca, I'm I'm buying it regardless
Gizmo:of how much You don't have a choice. We don't have a choice.
Bam Bam:You don't have a choice, but it's not really that. It's like it's what else do we as men in this room do for I don't shop for clothes.
Gizmo:You're not a car guy. You're not a watch guy.
Bam Bam:I'm not a watch guy. Yeah. My money goes into my kids, my house, and the household. What do I do? I get haircuts and I buy cigars.
Bam Bam:Yep. That's it.
Rooster:Sneakers.
Bam Bam:Once in a while.
Rooster:Untuck it. Correct.
Pagoda:You know, the other thing I do wanna mention is there's certain experiences, you know, which really, really got me so, you know, somewhat turned on with the Cubans was I remember sitting in a deck and we had the Ras, and then we had the eight ninety eight. Do you remember that? Yeah. That was, what a beautiful evening. It was just a beautiful, pleasant day.
Bam Bam:Great.
Pagoda:I think we all were hanging out, and then you're having a cigar that's smoking really well. And Rooster has like really, really good cigars, aged really well, and it was just a fantastic experience. And then once you have those experiences, you come, it's like, you know, hitting a really good, you know, shot in golf, right? Like a really nice drive in golf. And you know, you keep seeking those experiences over and over That's what draws you in.
Pagoda:Yeah, it draws you in.
Bam Bam:It's, yeah.
Pagoda:It's what you said.
Gizmo:I'll tell you. So for me, I think the, there was this light bulb moment when we all started smoking together. Obviously Mhmm. When when Brewster gave me that Vegas Rubagna Classico that is famous in this group, of course, we talk about it a lot. That was like a light bulb going off.
Gizmo:But I think what I started to understand and experience about Cuban cigars, even versus some of the new worlds that we love so much, is that a lot of these cigars really take you on a two or three act journey. We often talk about acts in the cigar. And I think in a lot of times, a great new world, even for how great it may be, we may give it an eight, a nine, or a 10 on this podcast. A lot of times, they're still very linear, whereas Cuban tobacco and Cuban blending often is taking you on a journey, and I think that's unique.
Chef:It's true.
Gizmo:And I think the other element of it too is the social kind of component and also playing into my own neuroses, the addictive nature of just trying to absorb as much knowledge and as much of a collection and as much of variety and as much, you know, bringing as much to the table inside our group of friends, even before the podcast. Like, hey, guys, look at this new cigar I found or hey, look at what I learned or hey, you know, look at this new thing I saw on the Internet. You know, that really became the conversation we were having every time we sat down together. Everybody was throwing new cigars at each other. I mean, it became this, like, social experiment that we were all experiencing together, and then we turned it into this thing, this podcast of ours.
Rooster:I mean, like Panoda mentioned
Gizmo:But it's addictive.
Bam Bam:Correct.
Rooster:About the moment, like that all moment. For you, it was the $8.98.
Pagoda:Yeah.
Rooster:What was it for you, chef?
Chef:Sir Winston, twenty fourteen that you gave me, yeah. With a bit of water on that. No, no, no, no. Wasn't that. It was the Vegas Rubinia crust.
Chef:I I know, I'm sorry.
Rooster:I think every single one of us in this room has had that one Cuban cigar that really sucked us in. Yeah, changed And that moment that you were like, wow, this is an amazing So
Bam Bam:early on, it was the Vegas Rubana Classico. I had that at the garage during the garage days, just two of us in that room. I couldn't explain what I was going through. The dried fruit was off the charts.
Gizmo:Yeah, the cocoa.
Bam Bam:Coke, but it's very creamy and there's a little honey there and almost like a lavender thing on the finish. That was just an incredible thing. Then you discover some of the other cigars. Like Don't Laugh, that little Club Corona by Ramon Alones. There's a lot of notes that you can capture
Rooster:from It's complex little smoke.
Bam Bam:So the Rarina classic goes like a holy grail cigar. Everything you're getting in there is a true Cuban. You get hints of that in other cigars.
Gizmo:Sure.
Chef:That Sir Winston for me was banana bread all day Yeah,
Bam Bam:yeah, exactly. And you end up chasing that because it creates an anagram and you go after that over
Chef:and I was happy I lit it and disappointed all at once. Never gonna get it again.
Gizmo:It's like, when am I gonna find this again? It's the same thing if you sit down and somebody brings a great bottle of wine Mhmm. That's rare or old or something and you have this euphoric experience and it's like, holy shit. That's true. I don't think I'm ever gonna experience this again.
Gizmo:And and a lot of times these aged or crazy, you know, cigars and oftentimes even sometimes you have that one cigar in the box that is just a hundred point cigar, like a perfect cigar, and then the rest are like mid eighties.
Rooster:You know? What particular cigar for you guys really drew you in?
Gizmo:I mean, the Vegas Romani Classico. I'll never forget. I remember what I was wearing. I remember what was on TV. Yeah.
Gizmo:The fireplace. I remember where I was sitting, what chair. Like, I am so addicted to trying to recreate that moment, and I've not been able to.
Bam Bam:Like I said a moment ago, once you get that imprint, you're you're chasing it.
Rooster:See, I thought you were gonna mention maybe the Koro, the Cohiba Robusto.
Bam Bam:The Koro?
Gizmo:Yeah. The first yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I I've had some great Cohiba experiences, but it didn't you know, those have been amazing, and I chased those as well.
Gizmo:But the real, like, change in my life, like, there's a fork in the road, like, before and after, the Vegas Romani Classico is it because
Bam Bam:Me too.
Gizmo:That holy shit moment. Yeah. You know, listen, we're pretty well experienced now. We've smoked a lot of cigars. So when we have those, it's great.
Gizmo:Hopefully, we have them on the pond and we can share them with each other and everybody else. But, you know, that one was just like that changed my life. That cigar changed
Chef:my life.
Bam Bam:I'll also say one thing that may be controversial, but when we first started smoking these Cubans at the other lounge we were a member of, we were doing P2s and Monty twos. And that's kind of all and maybe a D4 once in a while. Our palettes weren't developed enough to capture the nuances of what a Cuban cigar is. It takes time. You've got to smoke a lot of Cuban cigars to understand them.
Bam Bam:So it was really early, so now you give me a Montitu now, I'm gonna cherish that cigar because I know how good it is. Back then, I didn't know how good it was.
Gizmo:And it's also like, bam, even inside one box, now because of that experience, you know when you have one that's like, Oh my God, this is a great Monti two. Then you have one that's like, It's okay.
Bam Bam:So you get that over time.
Gizmo:Exactly. And it's just developing your goalposts with each cigar, what you expect, what it's delivering, and then what could it really be because you've experienced that at some point.
Chef:But this is why it's really important to approach hobby with an open mind and surround yourself with like minded individuals. Mean, can any of us say, even as a chef, I can't say that if I only smoked alone, I'd be able to come all the conclusions and all everything that I found along the way. No way. I'm definitely a better person today because in this hobby and in life because of my experiences with you guys and even just sitting here for the amount of time, I guess on everyday basis since the summer of twenty four, just watching how you guys have evolved and developed and you know everything that people, everyone's calling out, Pagoda calling out the apple when he was so Yeah, like I mean, that has to be a year end cut, right? He was so excited about that apple,
Bam Bam:Dried apple.
Gizmo:Dried apple. That'll be on the best stuff.
Bam Bam:Not wet, but dry. One comment on that, though. I do try not to be influenced by what someone else is getting, even if we're in the room, because our palates are different biologically. Is a slight difference
Gizmo:What I find though, what Chef just said, is I don't hear you say a flavor note and then say, Oh, I get that too. What's happening a lot of time is you're finding a definition faster for what I'm tasting than I am. Yes. Because it's just word association. That's true.
Gizmo:It's flavor association. True. It's palate association. So I might be tasting something and my brain hasn't registered that to some food or drink I've had in the past, and you guys find it faster. So that's the influence to me.
Gizmo:It's like throwing the basketball back and forth.
Bam Bam:But I will say, that's
Gizmo:a good discovery.
Bam Bam:In our club and in a lot of other clubs, guys will start talking about what they're getting, and if they're not that experienced, they'll kind of hitch onto that and say, Oh, I'm getting that too. Sure. It takes time for you to have some individuality in what you're really getting.
Pagoda:No, that takes a lot of time. It takes time. But you know, you said it very aptly. Like, you know, my thought is that I go through these certain flavor profiles, and I'm thinking in my mind, hey, but I'm basing it based on my association, with my background and the food that I've eaten over the years, and you know, things I can associate with. You know, you guys are doing it based on your experiences.
Pagoda:And obviously, me having grown up in India, it's so different than people who've grown up here. Know? I'm not talking about the fig that often or I'm not talking about certain spices that often.
Rooster:Marmalade.
Pagoda:But marmalade, yeah. Tea, you Yeah.
Chef:But that's why having these open conversations are important because we could be calling out a flavor note and you're thinking of a specific
Rooster:Chai tea.
Chef:Of a specific item. Maybe it's a specific cookie or biscuit, but then someone calls out a note and you know that note is in that biscuit and now what you're thinking makes sense to
Pagoda:you. Absolutely.
Chef:And so that's why it's important to have the But it's
Gizmo:also too, like chef Ricky coming in over the summer, chef Ricky will call out some stuff. I mean, he's obviously tastes That's what he does for a living. His palate is his- Turnip.
Bam Bam:Tomato. Green earth. Green. Yep. Asparagus.
Bam Bam:I've heard it all from this guy.
Gizmo:But what I'm saying is I'm often not tasting exactly what chef Ricky is or my brain's not so saying it, but my palate's just not as refined as his is, that's what he does for a living. His palate is his living.
Bam Bam:Yeah, so the flip side of what I said, it is interesting to get an interpretation from others in the room based on what they do and what they eat. Pagoda said that earlier. You're a chef. You're exposed to things most of us aren't exposed to on a daily basis. So that's a cool perspective.
Pagoda:By the way, I am getting a bit of the sweet salty now.
Gizmo:I am too. I'm actually getting a little bit of that butter we were talking about with the partagas, Lydia Maestro, the Rital.
Bam Bam:Yeah, so that savoriness for me is continuing, but there is a salty, buttery thing. Don't laugh. I'm getting a slight tapioca type thing happening. It's there for me.
Pagoda:So for me, it's a lighter flavor profile of the glucose biscuit. I'm gonna get it for you guys.
Bam Bam:So that biscuit,
Gizmo:I have to You've saying this for six months,
Pagoda:so no, But I'm getting a little bit of it, and it's like either we are because we're talking about It
Bam Bam:is biscuity. Yeah, it's a
Pagoda:little biscuity. It's really interesting.
Chef:Needs a better name than glucose biscuit. It's a tea it's
Pagoda:a it a tea tea. Tea Tea biscuit. It's a tea biscuit. So,
Gizmo:boys, we're still here on Lizard Gaffi. Has a couple more questions for us. I'm gonna read these all and we'll answer them because they're kind of in tandem. What made you take the risk of acquiring Cupid cigars for the first time? And how did you convince yourselves and others that what you were getting was real when you didn't know yet?
Gizmo:Right? So this is prior to our experiences and relationships and purchasing good stuff. I obviously purchased a bad box of Cohiba Robusto's we talked about a few summers ago that was not a fortunate situation. But how did we know at the time that we were getting good, real, authentic Cupid cigars? And how did we convince ourselves and others, which is hard to do when you're in a lounge, you know, people buy them for the first time, they're fake, they're fake, they're fake.
Gizmo:How did you guys know?
Bam Bam:Research. Research. And I mean, you're the research machine in this room. And we honestly, me relied heavily on Gizmo. I'm not gonna shy away from that.
Bam Bam:Early on, I wasn't buying anything. You guys would give me one or two. I would try it delicious, and I would go back to my pyramid, my millennium pyramid from Davinoff and Exclusivo. But as your collection gives increased, my curiosity increased. And we bought from you early on, and then we were turned on to a few of the groups that we now belong to.
Bam Bam:Honestly, I bought a lot from that group. I would ask questions of individuals in that group. That's a vetted group. You gotta be if you can source cigars from a vetted group of people that are passionate about this and that are deep into this Cuban cigar hobby, that's the place to start. And that's where I personally started by recommendation of one of our lizards in the room.
Gizmo:Yeah. And I was getting mine
Bam Bam:started for
Gizmo:just like you said with research. I was so deep into forums, read it. I would talk to people who had no vested interest
Bam Bam:in You and Puba, you guys the both of you launched you, of course, more than any of us, launched into the stratosphere as far as the knowledge of Cuban cigars.
Chef:Yeah. And now you have things like a Habano Habano Modeno that so
Bam Bam:Like, I'm not gonna beat around about this. I couldn't believe how much this fucker knew. Yeah. Like, what the do you work? Like, I I'm not joking.
Bam Bam:Like, early on, he knew everything about every Cuban cigar that was ever made. How the fuck is this possible?
Gizmo:I'm just an obsessive sponsor. It's crazy.
Chef:And now I think we can all spot, especially really bad counterfeits fairly easily. Yeah. And even decent ones pretty easy because of our influence from Gizmo and his research. True. Also, I
Rooster:must say that Bond Roberts was a big Oh, huge. Was a huge source for me personally. That was
Gizmo:a lot source. Also love, maybe more than anybody, we all love it, but I think you have been known, we busted your ball at Connoisseur's Corner, etcetera, but you love aged cigars. I And that was a great, authentic, verified, safe place. Sure. It still is the place to get aged cigars.
Rooster:I mean, that's the only place that I know of getting aged cigars. So yeah, you do I mean, going back like five years, you could get them at decent prices that I probably wouldn't touch now. And then second to that are the Facebook groups that you're talking about. So once in a while, boxes would pop up with some So after smoking cigars for a while, you know what box codes you should be looking for, what markers you like, and what ears you want.
Bam Bam:Over time.
Rooster:Over time.
Chef:And I would say for the listener, it's much easier now because Giz put together this amazing spreadsheet with box codes. Like I said, that book, Habano Moreno, it's a great resource. I mean, and there's just so much online
Gizmo:to find And you don't know, by the way, if you're a listener out there like Lizard Goffier who's getting into Cuban cigars and you're not sure, number one, feel free to email us. Ask I've had so many listeners say, hey, Giz. You know, I'm not emailing you for the pod. I just I'm curious. Is this a legit site?
Gizmo:What do you think of this box? What do you think of that? And listen. It doesn't take us a lot of time. It doesn't take me a lot of time to help you point you in the right direction if you need that direction and you want it.
Gizmo:So feel free to email us. And also, go to our Instagram, which we're not terribly active on. But on Instagram, if you click one of those little circles under our profile photo, there is a picture with authorized, authentic dealers there of online cigars that you can look at. So feel free to use that resource as well. We keep it updated.
Bam Bam:So that box code chart that we have is invaluable. I've been at clubs with friends, dear friends that have bought boxes of Cuban cigars. I'd flip it over. I go right to the iPhone. Is it in there?
Bam Bam:Is it a legitimate box, legitimate ear? Does it jive out? Three times out of 10, those boxes were fake. Wow. And that's the great tool that that provides.
Bam Bam:Yeah. It's awesome.
Gizmo:Yeah. And you can find that on the website, by the way. It's loungewizardpod.com/codes, I believe it is. The factory codes of all the boxes. I think going back, I think I have it till 02/2005.
Gizmo:So twenty years now.
Bam Bam:That's enough. So
Gizmo:let's wrap this up here with Lizard Goff. He says, these are the questions I'm consumed with as I listen and learn and smoke with you guys. Thanks as always, and please tell Pagoda to keep the ice out of his drinks.
Chef:Amen. Lizard Goff.
Pagoda:Alright. Lizard Goff. I was enjoying your evening, but now Well, you're not
Bam Bam:having ice in your glass right now, sir.
Pagoda:No. I'm not. I'm not.
Chef:I tell you what, the spirit doesn't need it.
Gizmo:No. It doesn't. Does not
Pagoda:need it. Has to Chef sitting right next to me. If I were, he would just pull
Bam Bam:it out.
Chef:Smashing the eyes out of a drink.
Gizmo:Is drinking very well.
Chef:It's a very level
Bam Bam:and So I don't see it as a very complex Armagnac compared to the others that we've done and that have had, But this is very, very drinkable. Exactly. It's pretty well priced. Initially, it's a little hot and there is that medicinal thing happening, but two or three sips, like you said, it's actually quite good. And right now, the way it's drinking, it would actually pair with almost any Cuban.
Gizmo:I agree with you. Actually, I almost take back some of the statements I made about twenty minutes ago because as I'm sipping it and my palate's adjusting to this new spirit or this new flavor, I'm actually finding it to be very enjoyable. And I think after we stop recording and we go hang in the lounge, I think I'm gonna continue with this and see how it does.
Bam Bam:That's nice.
Chef:Very easy to drink.
Gizmo:So, boys, like we said, lizard golf is our lizard of the week. You could see why I had a feeling that these questions would prompt a great discussion in the room. Every week, we give a lizard of the week prize out, and all you have to do is write us an email, give us a comment on YouTube, Instagram, a DM, or a voice memo. We love voice memos, and you out there can win lizard of the week. And Lizard Goff did it tonight on his first ever email.
Gizmo:So Great email. Anyone can win. So we really really appreciate him writing out. Here's another one from Lizard Carlo. He says, hi, guys.
Gizmo:A newer lizard here about three months. I've been smoking just over two years now, mostly New World. But listening to you, I have ordered some Cubans. And when they arrive, I'm going to listen along to the podcast where you discuss the cigars. Okay, man.
Gizmo:Here's my main question. I don't even know if I wanna read this, but here we go. So he says, what's the deal with Kirby Allison? I heard you mention him once. The dude is so full of it.
Gizmo:This guy, I do not get his appeal. Anyways, thank you guys for all that you do. It's the best cigar podcast out there in my opinion, Lizard Carlo. So to answer your question, we did comment on Kirby Allison quite some time ago. You can go listen to that.
Gizmo:I think that's what kinda let that lie. I don't know if I really wanna dig into that anymore.
Rooster:I mean, I'll just say one thing about Kirby. If you're looking for pocket squares and wooden hangers
Bam Bam:You're good.
Rooster:He's a good source. Correct.
Gizmo:That's
Bam Bam:it. But he hasn't been smoking
Gizmo:Well said.
Bam Bam:He hasn't been smoking cigars for very long. No. That's a known fact.
Gizmo:No. I think Habanos just latched on to the fact that he has a large YouTube following of of you know, bespoke goods and and folks who are into the clothing and all that, and he's branched now into Cuban cigars. And what's you know, I said this then, and I'll say it now because it's continued. It's just it's odd to me that a guy from Texas is one of the mouthpieces of Habanos SA in the Chinese and Cuban government. So that's it is what it is.
Gizmo:He he great production quality on his videos and whatnot, but the whole thing is very confusing.
Chef:I don't get Steven, actually say that he's from Texas. Yeah. It just doesn't strike me as someone from Texas.
Bam Bam:Not someone I listen to ever. Honestly, I'm not gonna say anything negative or positive.
Chef:Yeah. Yeah. If it wasn't for that Poffett Square video, I would have never known what the guy looks like.
Gizmo:So boys, we're coming into the last third here on the Cuban punch punch, the Corona Gorda. What's everybody thinking right now?
Pagoda:Yeah, I think the flavor profile's been pretty good. Yeah. Although I do wish that it just had slightly, it would have held up better in the construction, and that's really it.
Gizmo:Are you saying from the burn or compulsion or like the burn Yeah, think, yeah,
Pagoda:compulsion, I think there's a bit of resistance in this.
Bam Bam:Well, gotta take a deeper draw.
Pagoda:I have been.
Bam Bam:Let me watch it.
Pagoda:Oh my lord. You know, I'm not sitting in that corner, but and yeah. I it's not like one of those hold on. Let me show you.
Rooster:Yeah. I'm kinda getting a walnut note on the cigar.
Gizmo:I'm still kind of in the almond zone. Like, the salty almond for me than walnut. Yeah.
Bam Bam:No. Pagoda does
Pagoda:not know how to
Bam Bam:take a draw. You're not drawing enough smoke.
Pagoda:No. No. No. I'm not even saying words. I'm speechless.
Gizmo:Poor pagoda.
Pagoda:Oh my god. Alright,
Gizmo:boys. Let's go now to another listener email. This one is from Lizard Peter from Nottingham, England. He won lizard of the week quite a few weeks ago. He said, dear Giz, I returned last Sunday from my second trip to Havana.
Gizmo:I was, of course, there during festival week, not to attend it, but first because my birthday fell on the twenty third as did my flight, so it seemed favorable. Plus, I thought the Cuban authorities would pull out all the stops that week to keep the lights on, which definitely seemed to be the case. Some brief points about Cuba. Cha Cha Cha and Cinco Centidos, which are two of the restaurants that we love Oh, yeah. And recommend recommend to everybody who goes to Havana, were great recommendations, particularly Cinco Centidos, which was at another level.
Gizmo:The most welcoming lounge I found, and I was staying at Parque Central and visited some other shops including the Partagas shop. And at the shop, it was at the Commodore was run by four women. They were extremely cheerful and immediately gave me a complimentary custom roll
Pagoda:Oh.
Gizmo:Which was based on the Epicure number three, and it was delicious. Espresso and rum. It was very busy with a great atmosphere. As is the usual case when mixing with fellow cigar smokers, I was straight into conversation with the visitor sitting next to me who was from Los Angeles. Cool.
Gizmo:It was his forty third trip to Havana. He was of Mexican lineage, so I asked him about tequila as a pairing using my knowledge gained from chef Ricky's briefings on the podcast. I think it really impressed him. Pretty cool.
Chef:Very nice.
Gizmo:Look at you. Make an impact in Havana, Ricky.
Bam Bam:Global you're a global insider now.
Gizmo:Global tequila insider. I went to Buena Vista Social Club tribute concert, although some of the musicians seemed old enough to be the originals, which was great fun. Tell Senator that the opening number happened to be Chan Chan.
Bam Bam:Oh, right.
Gizmo:So he would have loved that. Very best wishes to you all. No surprise if the pod is attracting listeners exponentially, Lizard Peter from Nottingham. Cool. Very nice.
Gizmo:Love hearing from lizards across the pond.
Pagoda:Nottingham, UK? Yes. Oh, wow.
Bam Bam:Yeah. Nottingham, England. I miss the Partica shop. I can't wait.
Gizmo:Yeah. I can't wait to go back. So, Bam, we must tell the people.
Bam Bam:Tell them.
Gizmo:You and I are going to Havana next week. Yes, sir. Last minute trip worked out that I had some time off. Bam was able to get it and get some time off, and Lizard Henrito is also going with us. So just the three of us.
Gizmo:Unfortunately, the other lizards can't join us this time. Not happy. We're taking advantage and we are going. And we will be certainly reporting back on what we find in Havana. Yeah.
Gizmo:And I think this trip, Bam, we've talked about it. We're gonna go to the beach for the first time.
Bam Bam:Are we? Yes. I may block out that trip.
Gizmo:Pack your sunscreen.
Bam Bam:Nope. I may stay on the rooftop. I don't know. Maybe.
Chef:Why not? 10 of your You
Rooster:know what?
Gizmo:We'll have
Bam Bam:to take
Gizmo:your shirt off. You have a
Pagoda:chance to put on your speedos.
Bam Bam:I don't want to intimidate people. You don't want my belly comes out.
Pagoda:They'll think you're European.
Bam Bam:People are running and they're running the other way.
Chef:Something tells me there's not very many bellies in Cuba, but
Bam Bam:There there are not.
Chef:I think
Pagoda:Well, they'll be
Rooster:mostly tourists.
Chef:Yeah. That was true.
Rooster:That's So which which beach town are you planning?
Gizmo:We're talking about going to Veradero, but we may stay a little closer and go to Playa Del Estes, which was recommended.
Chef:I'm sorry,
Gizmo:sorry from that. Playa Del Estes is about twenty or thirty minutes, and Veradero is around two hours.
Bam Bam:Yeah, we're not doing What
Chef:brought about this beach trip? Because you don't strike me as a beach
Gizmo:Lizard Henrico said he wanted to go and we've been there so many times and have never gone and apparently the beaches are beautiful. Lizard Henrico is definitely a
Chef:beach guy.
Gizmo:We have heard from so many listeners like
Bam Bam:you guys are Yeah.
Gizmo:You guys are crazy for never having gone to the beach. So we're gonna try it this time. Of course, we're hoping to get some great content for the lizards out there and lizard nation, and we will keep you updated.
Bam Bam:Alright. Go.
Pagoda:Envy for sure.
Bam Bam:Know, Parque Centrale, that lounge is incredible.
Gizmo:Yeah. They did a nice job updating that. Enclosure.
Bam Bam:Yeah. They put a glass enclosure in. The ventilation's excellent. The service is impeccable. Cohiba Atmosphere, we're gonna hit that too.
Bam Bam:Yep. Arguably one of the better humidors in the event.
Gizmo:That might be the best humidor in Havana.
Bam Bam:Well, if the Partica shop is fully stocked, that's hard to beat if
Gizmo:I would assume they've been cleared out, though, by the festival.
Bam Bam:Yeah. I'm not look
Pagoda:see, that's
Gizmo:a my assumption. That's a problem. You know? So we'll see what happens. But, yeah, we're really looking forward to going to Cuba.
Gizmo:It's been since I think we were there in October.
Bam Bam:We were there at the blackout.
Gizmo:Yeah. So But Pagoda got, you know, hot tub. Crisis, and and Pagoda was stuck there during
Chef:No elevators.
Gizmo:Electricity out.
Bam Bam:He turned into MacGyver that
Gizmo:night. He was MacGyver.
Bam Bam:Oh, yeah.
Pagoda:Yeah. That's a normal trip for me.
Bam Bam:He figured out how to pour his Havana club in the dark.
Pagoda:Oh, that sounded like a I'm just kidding.
Chef:Pagoda had to call the Amex Platinum Concierge to helicopter him out from Cuba.
Gizmo:Let me tell you. The Amex the Amex concierge does not work in in No. They don't.
Bam Bam:That's correct. No. They don't. Yeah. So apparently, the power is a bit more settled down.
Bam Bam:Right?
Gizmo:It's up and down. I think I think, you know, during the festival, I think they did a nice job trying to keep it up for most of the area, but I would assume we're going to experience some some brownouts for sure.
Bam Bam:We'll see.
Gizmo:We'll see what happens.
Pagoda:It should be fun either way.
Chef:Long are you guys going for?
Gizmo:We're only going for five or six days.
Bam Bam:Six days.
Gizmo:Okay. Nothing crazy.
Chef:You're increasing the probability of a brownout or blackout happening while you're there.
Bam Bam:Yeah. We shall see.
Gizmo:Alright, boys. We are coming to the end of our evening tonight. Obviously, Gorda a little shorter than some of the larger cigars we've been smoking, Cigla six, the Partagas Linea Maestro, which was a double Corona a few weeks ago. This Corona Gorda and the I can't pronounce this. Lara Singla.
Gizmo:That sounds bad. Lara Singla. I'm gonna figure this out before I record the intro.
Bam Bam:It does.
Gizmo:VSOP Armagnac tonight on the pod, and, of course, the punch punch from Cuba. Any final thoughts on the pairing before we move into the ratings tonight?
Chef:I think the triple p with this Armagnac was a great pairing.
Bam Bam:I agree.
Chef:Yeah. I think the vanilla, cherry, cocoa
Gizmo:Mhmm.
Chef:All complemented the notes that are found in the cigar. Yeah. It was a home run pairing for me. Agreed.
Pagoda:Yeah, no, same here. I think the pairing really worked. Think for me, I think, especially the bit of the cocoa and the sweetness, you know, when you're smoking and then you take a little sip of the armanac and you get a little bit of the cherry in the front and then it goes back into the cocoa profile. It was great. And then I think towards the middle of the cigar when I got a little bit of the biscuity flavor, which was sweet and salty, it just felt very nice.
Pagoda:I really enjoyed the pairing, for sure.
Gizmo:I've really enjoyed the transitions the cigar has taken us on, and how the Armagnac has complimented the whole way along. Used that word early on. Like it's been right there with it. It's not overpowering. It's not a thick viscous, you know, Armagnac.
Gizmo:I would sometimes expect that from like a brandy or almost like a dessert type of Sure. Spirit or pairing.
Bam Bam:It's thinner than the other Armagnac.
Gizmo:But this is definitely a nice thin spirit. I think it works perfect for this type of cigar. And I've been loving this cigar in the last third here.
Bam Bam:Me too.
Pagoda:And no ice folks, by the way. No ice.
Gizmo:No ice.
Bam Bam:Never in an Armagnac.
Gizmo:Not ever. But I was a little nervous on that first sip, but it quickly resolved itself, and, you know, we'll see where it ends
Chef:up today. I think their call to the still to double the still 20% of this batch for blending, I think that's a great call. I think that has a lot to do with some of the of the spirit and yeah, I could see why they did it. Phenomenal call.
Bam Bam:Think the other lizards would like this.
Gizmo:I agree.
Pagoda:Yeah. Yeah. Very smooth. Even though there was a little bit of sharpness. And overall Yeah.
Pagoda:But the delivery was just very smooth.
Bam Bam:That's awesome. Awesome.
Gizmo:Alright, boys. Let's go into our ratings. First up is the formal liquor rating tonight on the Larasangla VSOP Armagnac, Bam Bam, you're up.
Bam Bam:Yeah, so as I said earlier, this is one of the brighter Armagnacs I think that you're gonna experience. It's a touch fruity. There's caramel. There's vanilla there for me. But with all that said, it's very straightforward, so it's not the most complex spirit.
Bam Bam:But it's not always a demerit, especially for something that tastes this good. I was going between an eight and a nine, but I'll settle at an eight. It's a great price, but there are other Armagnacs that'll knock your socks off that'll keep you lingered and with a thicker viscosity, keep you more interested. This is a great sip, very easy to drink. It's an eight.
Gizmo:All right, Chef Ricky. Yeah, I've
Chef:had two Armagnacs in my life. First one was probably something like sixteen years ago in the South Of France at a wedding. I don't remember it.
Bam Bam:Fancy. Very
Chef:fancy. And this one. And I'd say, you know, this was very approachable, very drinkable. And it actually has gotten me excited about what's to come in the Armagnac realm, you know, terms of complexity and depth of flavor. I think this delivered what it needed to deliver at this price point.
Chef:This feels like a great entry level Armagnac for me. $54. I'm gonna give it an eight.
Gizmo:So for me it's the same. I mean, I'm also at an eight. I'm very happy at an eight. You know, I think if this was priced a little lower and it didn't start with that medicinal thing, which I think again, kind of shocked me a little bit. I'm glad I settled in and let it do its thing.
Gizmo:I did think it paired very well with this. However, I just don't see myself reaching for this, even versus the other cognacs and armagnacs we've done in the pod.
Rooster:Right.
Gizmo:It does make me want to dive a little deeper. Like I'm hopeful that maybe they have an XO we can find, you know, that's a little bit, you know, a little bit more interesting.
Bam Bam:Be worth trying.
Chef:Yeah.
Gizmo:To me, that's kind of where I want to go with this, but I'm never going to probably go and buy this bottle again if
Chef:you I'll be honest. I wouldn't mind buying this bottle. Wouldn't mind stocking this bottle.
Bam Bam:Just keep it in your locker.
Gizmo:Yeah. It's a
Bam Bam:great change of pace from for me, the tequilas and cognacs that I've been diving into. It's a nice little change. Yeah. You know? But an eight's a great score.
Chef:Yeah. I agree. Yeah.
Gizmo:So For you know, I'm very happy at an eight. Mhmm. Thought it was a a nice spirit tonight. I thought it actually paired pretty well with this cigar. I still question the other stuff.
Gizmo:I'm gonna find out when we when we stop recording tonight with some other cigars after we're done. But, yeah, so I'm gonna stick with an eight. Pagoda.
Pagoda:Yeah. It's an eight for me as well. I do think that I'll probably get a bottle of this because I think on a nice light spring day, you know
Bam Bam:Oh, yeah.
Pagoda:It could be very nice on the deck in the evening, you know, instead of reaching out for a cognac, reach out for an armaignac, which is a bit lighter. The viscosity was a bit lighter, but it does provide, you know, very pleasant flavors.
Bam Bam:So it's versatile that way.
Pagoda:It's versatile
Bam Bam:that It gives you an option that doesn't punch you in the face, and you can really sit with this bottle for an entire night.
Pagoda:And I did enjoy that cocoa, you know, flavor, which was pretty distinctive.
Bam Bam:On the finish, yeah.
Pagoda:And yeah, the finish. And it really kind of, for me, I thought it really complemented the cigar really well tonight, and it's an eight for me. Mhmm.
Chef:And, you know, kudos to Giz because he he put it out there about, do we wanna do what do we wanna do today? And you, Bem, shout out cognac and tequila, and this is right in the center.
Bam Bam:It is.
Chef:This is right in the center between any tequila I could think of or just the flavor profile of a cognac. And it was yeah. I think it was a home run pairing for this.
Gizmo:So the formal liquor rating tonight, boys, on the Larasangla VSOP Armagnac is an eight point zero. I think a perfect score I I agree. For this Armagnac tonight at $54. And now, boys, it's time to move into our formal lizard rating tonight on the punch punch, a revisit from 2021 on the Cuban Corona Gorda. Rooster, you are up.
Rooster:So this is one of my favorite markers out there. I love a good punch punch and YouTube, man.
Bam Bam:Correct.
Rooster:Having said that, I think the cigar needs more age. The cigar gets phenomenal with some age on this. The notes that we got out of this were in line. I think with the age, you get a lot more cedar, a lot more cocoa. It's a lot more floral.
Rooster:It's overall a much better experience than we got today. The construction on the cigar, we all had to relight this a little bit. It was burning a little bit wonky, which it shouldn't be. I mean, at this price point
Gizmo:And with three years of age
Rooster:on Three years of age, it should be much better. But the flavor notes were great. I mean, we got the saltiness out of this. There were cocoa notes. There was a nuttiness.
Rooster:There was a biscuit note that Pagoda mentioned. So for that, all of those reasons, I'm at an eight. Okay. Pagoda?
Pagoda:Yeah. I think I'm in lockstep. Eight, I think, is just the right score for me because I did really enjoy the flavor profile. It's one of those cigars that, you know, you're enjoying the flavor profile. For me, I think I would have preferred it if it was just easier in terms of the combustion.
Pagoda:I know that there was a bit of resistance in this, and I had to touch it up, I think, once or twice. It felt you know, it could have been just a little better in construction, which would have actually raised its score. Having said that, you know, a very pleasant experience smoking this. And I do think it was reasonably complex because it did have a different flavor profile throughout the cigar.
Gizmo:Oh, yeah.
Pagoda:Where, you know, I got couple of in fact, for a portion of that, I got this milk tea thing for a very bad, and then obviously, I got cocoa. I got the biscuity, the salty sweetness. It worked really well with the pairing as well, and it's an eight for me.
Gizmo:So I'm at a nine on this cigar.
Bam Bam:Wow.
Gizmo:I love the punch punch. Mine was excellent. My combustion was great. I did have to touch it up a few times, but not in a way that drew me out of the experience. Yes.
Gizmo:It was just light touch ups.
Bam Bam:Is that a true demerit? Unless you're touching it up every five minutes?
Gizmo:Well, if you think about the Sig O six that I had a few weeks ago, right, and you guys had a much better experience, I think Senator and I both had kind of lower level experiences with the Sig O six. I was fighting that cigar with touch up. I had a perfect draw it a few times. My it totally drew me out of what should have been a really great experience, especially for that price point. Right?
Gizmo:For this cigar tonight, the touch ups were minimal. It was mostly when I was talking and not paying attention to it as much as I maybe should have been. The combustion was great for me. I loved the two or three act play at Tucasan. You know, as I mentioned, it had that espresso, dark chocolate, lemon citrus thing.
Gizmo:You know, there was earlier in the cigar on the light, we had the cedar, a little bit of that, a little floral. I was getting a little potpourri on the the Burn line. On the burn line of the cigar. And then getting to that kind of buttery biscuit salty thing Yeah. In the last third.
Gizmo:And I took it all the way down to about half an inch left.
Bam Bam:Same.
Gizmo:Same. You know, the only thing I knock it on, of course, is the price. Mhmm. I just wish this price, this cigar was a little bit more excessively priced than $25. And of course, as we know, over the next few years, of course, it's gonna continue to go up.
Gizmo:So in five years, is this gonna be a 35 or $40 cigar from Habanos? The likelihood is high. You know? So that's the one knock I have. But aside from that, the cigar was superb for me tonight.
Gizmo:I'm very, very happy with the punch punch.
Rooster:But the pricing is across the board.
Bam Bam:But can we talk In
Gizmo:all of Habanos.
Bam Bam:I got to talk about this. I mentioned it earlier. For these, I'm not going say that this is a marginal cigar, but it's not a cigar that a lot of people pursue. And there's a lot of Cubans in that category. When they go up in price and they don't sell, what happens to that vitola?
Bam Bam:Eventually, does it get phased out? And that's that's a shame. You know? I don't
Rooster:think punch punch would ever get phased out.
Bam Bam:No. But this this this vitola. At $35 in five years? I mean, that's that's outrageous.
Gizmo:And I mean, you think about the other corona girders in the Habanos catalog, they're either at the same price. Yeah. Or more little lower with Juan Lopez. I imagine it's probably around 25.
Bam Bam:The max
Gizmo:40 is probably around there and or above it. And then you you talk about the Cohiba Siglo four, you know, which is Forget it. Astronomically priced in comparison. So all in all, I'm very happy with this cigar tonight. I wish it was a little cheaper, more reasonably priced.
Gizmo:But, man, I had a great ninety minutes with this cigar and and in this conversation tonight with you So it's a nine for me. Chef Ricky.
Chef:Alright. It's still burning somewhat wonky for me. I thought coming into the last third, it started to clean up a bit and I was hopeful that I wouldn't need to touch it up again, but I needed to touch it up tonight. I'd say probably eight times.
Bam Bam:You do have rose petals for me there.
Chef:And yeah. Yeah. It's kind of like just splaying out a little bit. And, you know, but with that that aside, the flavor notes were great. You know, the citrus the cedar in the beginning was a little heavy for me.
Gizmo:In a bad way?
Chef:In a bad way. Yeah. But I think that has something to do with my draw. My draw was really tight early on. A little bit more.
Chef:I wouldn't say really tight, but more resistant than I would have liked as I got closer to the head of the cigar opened up and I started really getting flavors that I enjoyed. Some of that almond, even a little touch of the candy ginger. You know, I was getting citrus, but it was leaning more pithy for me. And I think that had a lot to do with the cedar notes that that were coming early on in the cigar. So I've been between a seven and an eight.
Chef:I'm going to give the cigar an eight because I think it did deliver beautifully on flavor with the first third aside. And, you know, the price point is it is what it is. $25 is pretty steep for this and you know five years going to 35 that that would just be insane. But you know that aside the cigar it was enjoyable. It was a great smoke.
Chef:It wasn't as good as the one I had on your deck with your rooster. But that was probably aged a lot more than this one here. 2014. Yeah, of course.
Rooster:So that's my point. The aging. Yeah, it needs some age.
Chef:Yeah, because I remember that one being a lot more nutty and like almost peanutty, whereas this I wasn't getting any of that. The nut I was getting was a lot milder. And, you know, I've sat in these these pods with you guys and I hear you reference age and and tasting youth, there were moments in this cigar that I felt I got some of that. You know, there was a point where I wanted to call out what felt like an ammoniated note.
Gizmo:I wonder if that's because you're having to pull so hard cause your draw was tough.
Bam Bam:I think so.
Gizmo:You know, like you're having to work it too
Bam Bam:Yeah, there's an accumulation of heat.
Gizmo:Yeah.
Chef:Of course there's some purging that happens in between there. But yeah, it was still a great cigar. I really did enjoy it. It sucks that they only have four Vitolas, you said? Three or four Vitolas for this marker.
Chef:But yeah, I'll do this again. Yeah, so for me, the Triple P got an eight.
Gizmo:All right. That's a good Bam, bam.
Bam Bam:So one thing that wasn't mentioned is I feel that this is a very versatile cigar. I could do this in the morning, afternoon, or evening. So I think there's a lot of merit there. I love this cigar. I think historically, I've had better experiences than what I had tonight, although tonight was delicious.
Bam Bam:My rating will reflect that, but I have nothing negative to say about this. I do love some of those unique notes and it definitely made for a very sophisticated smoke. Some of the other podcast guys will probably differ on that opinion, but all of the notes that we called out, it made for a complex cigar. So I think for all those reasons and because of the price, I'm at a solid eight.
Gizmo:Alright, boys. That puts the formal lizard rating tonight on the punch punch, the 2021 version, the Redux on the podcast tonight, three years later at an 8.2. Much better. Somewhat better. Wow.
Gizmo:And we'll talk about that in
Bam Bam:That's a lot better. Alright.
Pagoda:Go ahead. Oh, no. I was just about to say I had one of these in Panama. And I think that would have been a 10. It was so good.
Pagoda:Was really well kept. And I think it was reasonably new as well, one of the newer Runs. Yeah. New runs. So, it is you know, we have to rate the cigar we're smoking currently.
Pagoda:And but overall, it's a fantastic cigar. For anyone who wants to try it, please reach out and try it.
Gizmo:Alright, boys. So let's compare this to the other punched cigars we've done on the podcast. We'll hold off on the original punch punch we did on episode 20 till the end. First, the first one we ever did was on the Christmas twenty twenty one episode, which is crazy. The Mantua, the Addision Regionale from Italy Twenty Eighteen.
Gizmo:We did not rate that cigar. Then we did another regional edition.
Rooster:That was another one I forgot to put on the split twice. Too
Gizmo:late. Too late. There's a statue of limitations definitely.
Rooster:Goddamn it.
Bam Bam:We should do that again.
Gizmo:The Duke Mexican regional on episode 58 scored a 6.6. Yeah. Stalk shit. Not very good. The short to punch on episode 102 scored an eight point zero.
Gizmo:The punch double corona on episode 117 scored a 9.8.
Bam Bam:Oh, It's great
Gizmo:to finally, on episode 20, the first time we did the punch punch scored a 7.7. So tonight at an 8.2 scoring just five points higher
Bam Bam:Well
Gizmo:than the original. So we weren't that far off.
Bam Bam:Correct. You cracked that eight point o score. You're kind of at a good recommend.
Gizmo:So a great night tonight, boys. One more time on the Lara Singla VSOP Armagnac, we had an eight point zero. And on the Punch Punch Redux, we had an 8.2. Of course, we have to thank our sponsor, Fabrica Five. They're a great partner to us.
Gizmo:Go buy some of their cigars. And congratulations again to Lizard Goth, our lizard of the week. Every week, a listener wins, so please continue writing us. We'd love hearing from everybody out there in Lizard Nation. And, great night, boys.
Gizmo: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. That's lounge lizards p o d dot com.
Gizmo:Don't forget to leave us a rating and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform. If you have any comments, questions, do you wanna reach out, say hello, tell us what you're smoking? Email us. Hello at lounge lizards pod dot 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.