Lounge Lizards - a Cigar and Lifestyle Podcast

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Recorded at Ten86 Cigars in Hawthorne, New Jersey, the Lizards pair Davidoff Puro Dominicano Corona Larga with Barrell Seagrass Rye Whiskey. The guys try Davidoff’s first new regular production black label line in almost a decade, Gizmo details his recent trip to Europe and they launch the new Lizard ratings website.
PLUS: Is Davidoff Back?, New Ratings Guide Launch, Gizmo Lost His Passport, Tabaclera de Garcia Is Open, Listener Feedback on Pod Impact, Bam's Fashion Faux Pas & More

Join the Lounge Lizards for a weekly discussion on all things cigars (both Cuban and non-Cuban), whiskey, food, travel, life and work. This is your formal invitation to join us in a relaxing discussion amongst friends and become a card-carrying Lounge Lizard yourself. This is not your typical cigar podcast. We’re a group of friends who love sharing cigars, whiskey and a good laugh.

website/merch/rating archive: loungelizardspod.com
email: hello@loungelizardspod.com to join the conversation and be featured on an upcoming episode!
instagram: @loungelizardspod
Gizmo HQ: LizardGizmo.com

What is Lounge Lizards - a Cigar and Lifestyle Podcast?

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.
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The podcast features eight members: Rooster, Poobah, Gizmo, Senator, Pagoda, Chef Ricky, Grinder and Bam Bam.​

This is not your typical cigar podcast. We’re a group of friends who love sharing cigars, whiskey and a good laugh.
​
Join us and become a card-carrying lounge lizard yourself! Email us at hello@loungelizardspod.com to join the conversation and be featured on an upcoming episode!

Gizmo:

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 whiskey, talk about life, and, of course, have some laughs. So take this as your two hundred and thirty sixth official invitation to join us and become a card carrying lounge lizard. Plan to meet us here once a week. We're gonna smoke a Dominican cigar tonight, share our thoughts on it, and give you our formal lizard rating. We tried Davidoff's first new regular production Black Label line in almost a decade.

Gizmo:

I detail my recent trip to Europe, and we launched the new lizard ratings website all among a variety of other things for the next two hours. So sit back, get your favorite drink, light up a cigar, and enjoy as we pair Barrell Seagrass Rye Whiskey with the Davidoff Coro Dominicano in Corona Larga. A Corona Larga on the pod tonight, boys, from The Dominican Republic. And we are back to Davidoff. Correct.

Gizmo:

Which, I'll be honest, I was kinda bullied into by senator and rooster. But we're back with the Porro Dominicano in Corona Larga, which is a 44 ring gauge cigar by five and seven eighths inches long. And, boys, because it's Davidoff and they're so good at this, I figured they did the legwork already. Right? So why not let them tell us about the cigar?

Davidoff's Mr. Marketing:

From the soil of the Dominican Republic comes a rare duel. As you are drawn to its warmth and its glow, you discover its untold depth.

Bam Bam:

Correct, old boy.

Davidoff's Mr. Marketing:

Raised from six unique terroirs with unique contours. These are buried treasures, Heaven from the earth. Davidoff, Puro Dominicano, a gem raised from the ground.

Bam Bam:

There's a there's

Gizmo:

a lot of superlatives in there, man.

Pagoda:

I I thought it was a GEICO speaking. You know, the GEICO and the bird. You know? Yeah. The little the the what's the name?

Bam Bam:

But yeah.

Bam Bam:

Oh, wow. It's a good looking cigar.

Gizmo:

It is. I love nice looking cigar. It's a cool

Bam Bam:

Vitola. The Vitola's awesome. Yeah.

Chef Ricky:

The wrapper smells incredible. It's like dark chocolate, honey and black tea for me.

Bam Bam:

A little rough for a Davidoff product. A toothy wrapper, which is unusual for what they typically do. Very jagged. I don't mind that. Yeah. Observation.

Chef Ricky:

Well, it depends. What's this cost?

Gizmo:

We'll get there. Okay.

Rooster:

I like I like the size.

Bam Bam:

It smells very good. What

Gizmo:

do you wanna rate it?

Bam Bam:

Greatly.

Gizmo:

Alright, boys. Let's cut this thing. See what we're getting on the cold draw and the wrapper. So I agree with you, Bam. The I was surprised that the roughness of this wrap.

Bam Bam:

Yeah.

Gizmo:

It is not as smooth as I would expect from a Millennium series or from a late hour series. It has a little bit more Toothiness. Toothiness to it or even jaggedness, I'd say, than usual. But overall handsome. Yeah.

Gizmo:

What are guys getting on the cold draw?

Bam Bam:

Touch of cedar, which is very, very typical for Davidoff for me.

Gizmo:

Getting some earthiness, little sweetness.

Bam Bam:

It's nice.

Chef Ricky:

You guys familiar with Angelica? The fruit vegetable, it's often found in fruitcake. Kind of looks like celery, but they they candy it. It's kind of has like a light green tinge.

Bam Bam:

You getting that?

Chef Ricky:

I'm getting some of that here. Yeah.

Gizmo:

It's amazing how many fruits and vegetables you're aware of that I've never heard of.

Chef Ricky:

But just think of the flavor profile of fruitcake.

Gizmo:

Okay.

Chef Ricky:

Right? And it has the diced up fruits and then there's one that is usually a very pale lime green, that's usually the Angelica. And that has a specific flavor that I'm getting a hint of here on the cold draw.

Gizmo:

Alright, boys. Let's light this thing. The Davidoff Puro Dominicano in Corona Larga. Again, it's a 44 ring gauge cigar by five and seven eighths inches long. This is a new regular production line from Davidoff, and it's the first in the Black Label series from them in almost ten years since the Yamasa.

Gizmo:

So we're gonna see how this does tonight. Of course, we've been harsh on Davidoff. I have never been

Rooster:

a fan of the black label, Davidoff.

Bam Bam:

No. You said that earlier, but I have to say, though, this is actually this is very good off the light.

Bam Bam:

Like, you don't like the late hour, the original late hour, the Maduro? The Maduro was

Gizmo:

Those really aren't really black label offerings.

Bam Bam:

That's correct. The

Rooster:

black label would be the Yamasa Nicaragua. The Nicaragua. That's it.

Gizmo:

No, I think there's basically Oscuro one or two maybe. Yeah.

Rooster:

So this is the fourth one, I think. And it took them ten years to come out with this.

Bam Bam:

Lot of sweetness on this up front here.

Gizmo:

I'll tell you this. It's a nice start.

Bam Bam:

It is.

Gizmo:

I smoked the Perfecto about a week ago, two weeks ago. I was actually sitting next to Rooster in Senator's backyard.

Bam Bam:

And I smoked the short Robusto a few days ago.

Gizmo:

And I put it down about, what, halfway?

Bam Bam:

Yeah. I put it down about a half inch in.

Gizmo:

You put it down?

Bam Bam:

I sent you a photograph. Did.

Gizmo:

Oh, that's right.

Chef Ricky:

That's why I thought it wasn't a very strong cigar.

Bam Bam:

It was unsmokable. Now I will admit it was little bit wet. I probably shouldn't have touched it for at least two weeks, but I was curious.

Rooster:

So I haven't had all three. I had the Perfecto, I had the Short Robusto, and I had the Corona Larga. Out of the three, I enjoyed the Corona Larga the most. Now, they have not sat for a long time. I'm talking about seven to eight days.

Rooster:

That's about it. But I found the Corona Larga had the least amount of spice. It was a little bit more balanced. I found the Perfecto, after about the halfway point, it got the black pepper was the dominant note, which I don't really enjoy that, you know, and nothing else. It started off with like espresso and sweetness, just kind of like what this is.

Bam Bam:

Pagoda's doing a deep dive on aroma right now.

Bam Bam:

No, no, no. You know what it is, is I'll tell you, you know, he pointed out tea, and I'm getting tea of this. And like, it's really weird. And I'm like wondering whether is it psychosomatic because he set it up already?

Gizmo:

No, I think it's there.

Bam Bam:

It's there, right?

Gizmo:

Oh, yeah.

Bam Bam:

So it's actually

Gizmo:

pretty I start. Yeah. Yeah. So I will say, you know, we have to hedge one thing, and I I was joking earlier about being bullied into this, but my hesitation about bringing this cigar in so soon was they were just released two or three weeks ago at the end of April, right after PCA. So I ordered them as quickly as I could, got them as quickly as I could, but they've not had No.

Gizmo:

A ton of time to acclimate. So normal procedure for us is, a month, two months, three months before we smoke something after So we get it this is definitely an outlier in that way.

Bam Bam:

We're taking a risk.

Gizmo:

I definitely was a little bit more aggressive with this. But Gizmo, preparing this,

Rooster:

aren't the tobaccos aged like 150 years? So that's a

Gizmo:

good point, Rooster. Very seriously, they say that the

Bam Bam:

Well, weren't you there during the aging process?

Rooster:

I was a master blender back

Gizmo:

then. Correct. The tobaccos in this, by the way, are aged for a combined thirty two years.

Bam Bam:

Interesting.

Gizmo:

So they're back to combined aging. So, you know, listen.

Bam Bam:

So in this room, we've got a combined what? Three hundred years of age.

Gizmo:

Mean, we should start marketing the podcast like that.

Bam Bam:

That's 300 of wisdom.

Gizmo:

Exactly right. You know what's funny about that? I mean, you know, like I said, we've we've been a little rough on Davidoff with their marketing stuff, the lack of, you know, front facing blenders and people and human beings. And it's it's an odd move that they've done over the last year or two, especially with new releases. But what I find fascinating here is that places like Cigar Aficionado, places like Half Wheel indulge them on this combined age thing, and they share that as if it's some sort of notable mark.

Gizmo:

Wow. Where I'd love to know, like, a Padron exclusive. If you combine all the years in that, is it thirty years? Is it twenty five years? I mean, saying it's combined thirty two years makes no sense to me.

Bam Bam:

It's absurd.

Gizmo:

And they named one of the cigars, the 111 if you remember, after that number.

Bam Bam:

And when reviewers kowtow to markers that do that, I don't think it sets a good precedent.

Rooster:

I mean, if the cigar actually delivers, I'm okay with it. But when you're marketing it has 100 years of age and the cigar sucks,

Bam Bam:

Even what's the if it's good, I can't handle that kind

Rooster:

of marketing.

Gizmo:

It's good. I can tolerate it, right? Like here, let me give you an example. So obviously, was on their website, right? So this is one of the photos that they have on their website promoting this cigar.

Gizmo:

So in one photo, a guy is wearing an amber ring, and on his other hand, he has the black Davidoff band from the cigar on the opposite ring finger.

Bam Bam:

Are this Costanza's hand? I'm just, you

Bam Bam:

know, correct.

Gizmo:

He has a nice hand model.

Rooster:

That's great. But, like, I

Gizmo:

I don't understand what this is doing.

Bam Bam:

Well, he should raise the middle finger salute on that one.

Gizmo:

Very odd choices. So we're gonna get into this a little deeper. But first, as Rooster detailed, this new regular production line from Davidoff comes in three sizes. Comes in a short Robusto 52 by four and a half. The Corona Largo we have in our hand tonight, 44 by five and seven eights, and the Perfecto 50 by five and a half.

Gizmo:

So the prices on that respectively are $19.80, $23.30, which is the one we have in our hand, and finally, the Perfecto is $25.20.

Bam Bam:

You know, it's not that bad for a Davidoff product.

Gizmo:

I think this is a pretty small cigar for $23.

Bam Bam:

I agree.

Bam Bam:

It is. But where do you find anything which is Davidoff which is below $20?

Bam Bam:

Also true.

Gizmo:

Sure. I don't disagree with that. I'm just comparing it to other cigars of this size that are, you know, of quality. There are cigars of this size, other Lonsdale's, you know, that are coming in quite a bit less than this. So we'll see if it delivers the kind of value that they're promoting tonight here on the pod.

Gizmo:

So what's interesting about this, of course, the name is Porro Dominicano. So it is Dominican puro. So maybe that is playing into Bam, the commentary on the rapper. Obviously, Opus X was famous in the nineties for being the first cigar that featured a Dominican wrapper. Nobody thought it could be done.

Gizmo:

Carlito Fuente proved them wrong. Of course, now a lot of folks have, you know, followed suit and put cigars out with Dominican wrapper. This cigar has six different types of Dominican tobacco in it from different areas. Martin Garcia, Villa Gonzalez, Mao, Piloto, Navarat, and Yamasa. And what's interesting is they don't actually detail what the tobaccos are.

Gizmo:

They just name the six areas that they're from. So we have no idea what the actual tobacco leaf plant, etcetera is.

Bam Bam:

Great devout of marketing again.

Gizmo:

Is kind of what they've been doing, you know?

Bam Bam:

Being very aloof.

Gizmo:

So they say that this is

Rooster:

a full bodied blend. I disagree. I think it's about medium right now.

Bam Bam:

Yeah.

Rooster:

It's good. But I think the perfecto was a little bit fuller to even to start out.

Bam Bam:

Was that because it was concentrated in certain areas physically the way it was rolled?

Rooster:

Again, I think it was more spice dominant. Spice was the underlying note, but it was also the dominant note. It had like a deep espresso and sweetness, but I only got that on the first third, and then it was

Bam Bam:

a lot of spice. Spice meaning peppery spice?

Rooster:

Yeah. Like a black pepper. Like, even even there's a hint of that in this cigar right now.

Chef Ricky:

Very faint.

Rooster:

Very faint. Faint.

Bam Bam:

Yeah. Any sweetness at all?

Rooster:

Yeah. There is. I some

Bam Bam:

sweetness. I get a little bit of sweetness as soon as it, you know.

Bam Bam:

Hits your power.

Bam Bam:

Draw on the thing. And then it just dissipates. And then it becomes, I don't know, for me it's becoming slightly bitter.

Gizmo:

Right now mine, I'm getting a saltiness that I'm enjoying here.

Bam Bam:

On the finish, I'm getting a bit of salt.

Gizmo:

Yeah. It's there. It's present. So far, nice. Very nice profile so far.

Gizmo:

I'm not going to complain.

Rooster:

Saltiness, if it's aggressively salty, it can also be drying on your palate.

Bam Bam:

I don't think it's aggressive here, though.

Bam Bam:

Yeah.

Gizmo:

You're getting like an espresso coffee note? On the retrohale, I'm getting that. So two other things we need to note here for listeners, and I know that this has actually been very confusing inside our circles, not in this room per se, but you know, other groups that we're in and whatnot. This cigar has nothing to do with the Dominicana. This is the Porro Dominicano.

Gizmo:

This is not related. It's not even a sister to. It is not a cousin of the Dominicano from Davidoff, which was a cigar featuring ten years age tobacco. It was a 2014 tobacco released in 2023 or '24.

Bam Bam:

A truly storied cigar.

Gizmo:

That was brilliant.

Bam Bam:

No longer available.

Rooster:

Excellent smoke. That's typical Davidoff, right?

Bam Bam:

From tip to tip, it was perfect. Delicious.

Rooster:

I mean, I'm not sure what happened with that cigar. Apparently, the story is they ran out of those tobaccos.

Gizmo:

Yeah. They had a limited amount.

Bam Bam:

Yeah. Yeah. I think they used only the 2014 vintage for those.

Gizmo:

Correct. Which is why it had a 2014 band, even though this was already coming out.

Bam Bam:

So there's gonna be a limited release in any case.

Bam Bam:

True.

Gizmo:

So the other thing to note too is the Porro Dominicano was offered in 2009 as a limited edition Bellicoso, 48 ring gauge by five and three quarters. While this shares the name that was an LA limited edition only offered in 2009, this line, even though they're using the name is returning as a completely different blend, completely different offering. So don't let those two limited edition offerings, the Dominicano and the Porro Dominicano from 2009 confuse you from the 2026 offering new regular production black labeled Davidoff in one of these three Battalas.

Rooster:

I mean, this is black labeled. That was white label.

Gizmo:

Correct. True. But the name is confusing. Dominicano Dominicano. I mean, it's easy to think that they might be related.

Bam Bam:

If you'll ever do a comparison, this pales in comparison to that cigar.

Gizmo:

Oh, totally. From the light.

Bam Bam:

Oh, yeah.

Gizmo:

Which is not a fair comparison.

Bam Bam:

With I

Gizmo:

the tobacco and the blend

Bam Bam:

and It's everything true. I'm getting a fair amount of white pepper right now with a touch of like a tapioca type sweet cream thing in the background. Little saltiness maybe.

Rooster:

Yeah. To me, it's I mean, it is creamy. It's salty. There there is that pepper.

Gizmo:

Mhmm.

Rooster:

But I'm also getting the espresso and a little bit of sweetness on the palate.

Bam Bam:

You're happy with it?

Rooster:

Yeah, I like it so And I don't think it's full. It's medium.

Chef Ricky:

Yeah, for me, I think if I were to right now it's delivering 100% on shortbread and black tea. It's like shortbread with Earl Grey is what I'm getting.

Bam Bam:

Yeah, I can see the tea.

Chef Ricky:

Not a whole lot of white pepper just yet, but maybe that'll come in at some point. Interesting. But yeah, it's just the

Rooster:

Any any pepper on the aroma? Like

Gizmo:

I find the aroma actually might be my favorite part right now.

Bam Bam:

It's quite nice.

Chef Ricky:

Aroma is great. Very balanced, mellow.

Bam Bam:

It's not

Chef Ricky:

making my nose want to

Bam Bam:

The retro is a little edgy. Just a touch edgy.

Gizmo:

I've not enjoyed the retro. Yeah. Actually, I've not been doing it really too much because it's not very pleasant. The regular draw is pleasant for me, The aroma at the burn line, the retro is not.

Chef Ricky:

The retro is where I'm getting some of that sort of bitter tea flavor profile.

Gizmo:

I wouldn't I I would say it's not good.

Chef Ricky:

Yeah. Correct. It's like over steep tea a little bit. Yeah.

Bam Bam:

Yeah, but a very easy smoke, meaning it's, the smoke up, it's fantastic and very very

Gizmo:

Draw is very good?

Bam Bam:

Very very good.

Bam Bam:

And it's Well made.

Bam Bam:

Very well made. The construction typically is flawless.

Chef Ricky:

Correct. Pagoda's a fan.

Gizmo:

I'm always a fan. So let's talk a little bit about the story behind this cigar. I find this interesting again, just the way that this is being presented. This cigar apparently has been inspired by Dominican amber. So, of course, in the Dominican Republic, amber is very famous, very popular.

Gizmo:

That's where it's most often found. If you remember Jurassic Park, there's a component of that movie that is based around the amber that they they actually used amber from The mosquito. The mosquito in the amber. They actually used the amber from the Dominican Republic. So it says here in the mountains around Santiago lies the world's finest yellow amber formed from the resin of an extinct tree that has rested on the island for millions of years, preserving nature's history in its honey gold glow.

Bam Bam:

Almost as long as this cigar.

Gizmo:

As you are drawn to its warmth and glow, you discover its untold depth.

Bam Bam:

Much like the Roose did.

Gizmo:

Dominican amber reveals its luminous clarity only through careful polishing by the skilled hands of artisans. Same is true of another gem from the same ground, the Davidoff poro Dominicano. That's quite the gem. And finally, this fine cigar brings together tobaccos from six distinct Dominican terroirs with its core rooted in the Northwest of the island. From seed to cigar, Davidoff's master blenders, whoever they may be, apply the same precision and care as amber craftsman.

Gizmo:

So they're amber craftsman now, Bam. Alright. The Amber Yellow Second Band stands as a symbol of skill and tradition. So that's the story that they're telling on the website behind the cigar. Again, I find the presentation of this whole thing very odd.

Bam Bam:

I love everything they say.

Bam Bam:

I have to say I'm a bit I'm a bit further along than I think most of you. The pepper's disappeared now. It's kinda grounded now. It's pretty easy to smoke, decent flavor. I can't say that I hate it.

Davidoff's Mr. Marketing:

Right.

Bam Bam:

Yeah. You know?

Gizmo:

I think it's okay.

Bam Bam:

Yeah. But, you know, like, I wish it was a bit sweeter or there was a little more of the chocolate coffee flavor coming through.

Gizmo:

I wish and honestly, me, I wish it tasted like what I go to Davidoff for. It's missing that kind of, for me, an elegance, a refined maturity to the blend. It's there's something missing that when I think Davidoff, that's what I think and it's absent from this right now.

Bam Bam:

I think you guys if you get a bit a bit further in, I'm a little ahead of you. So another inch, all the pepper goes away and the retrohale is actually really quite good and much easier to handle. I think you'll get a different experience.

Gizmo:

Is it heaven from earth, Bam? Is it a

Bam Bam:

rare jewel? You know, captures your attention. It's not a mild cigar. It's not a mild fare, right? It's got something to it.

Rooster:

Yeah. It's got some body.

Bam Bam:

Yeah. And it builds surprisingly. I need to slow down.

Gizmo:

Alright boys, let's go to some news and then we'll get into our pairing tonight. This is very exciting. I'm very happy to read this simply because of the good news that this brings to some folks in the Dominican Republic. So Tabaclera Garcia, which is one of the largest Dominican factories, if not the largest, has finally resumed manufacturing and its shipments of cigars to Tabaclera USA. So if you remember, we talked about it last year, OFAC and the Department of Justice went after Chenji, who was a major owner of the holding companies that held the factory and Tabaclera and some other things.

Gizmo:

And it prevented cigars that were being made at that factory. And another one called Flor de Copan, which is a cigar factory in Honduras, prevented them from being imported into The United States. So you're talking about 40,000,000 cigars a year that it hasn't been a year, but even in six months or so, it's a significant amount of cigars that have not been able to be imported into The United States. And on top of that, what's for me, the worst part of the story is it put a lot of rollers and people in the Dominican Republic out of work. So thankfully, this being lifted, even if it's temporary, this being lifted while they sort everything out with the ownership piece with Chenji, it is nice to see that that factory is back in action.

Gizmo:

Those cigars are coming in.

Bam Bam:

It's huge.

Gizmo:

And it should be putting Tabaclera, Altadis, those folks in a better position cigar wise to be able to make sure that their supply chain is maintained. So it says here OFAC, the Office of Foreign Assets Control, of course, here in The US granted a temporary license to Tabaclera SLU, the Spanish based company that operates both of these factories, allows the company to do business with American companies until 2028. So it's a couple years runway to sort out the business side of things and clear up these headaches that have been put in. The UK's Office of Financial Sanctions also issued something similar, valid all the way until 2031. So that's good for them as well.

Gizmo:

So, of course, Half Wheel says here, the most compelling piece of this is that the corporation can continue the process of trying to remove its majority shareholder, Chen Zhi, who is, of course, the Cambodian Chinese guy who was running that pig butchering scam, stole billions and billions of dollars from folks all over the world through his holding group, the Prince Group, and then, of course, was a major owner in Habanos, Tabaclera, etcetera. And so he's in China. I don't know if we'll ever see him again, but he remains under indictment by the Americans, the British, and the Chinese. So if you think about I we've

Bam Bam:

talked about this in the think he's been dismembered, and his body parts are probably distributed throughout the country. There's no doubt about

Rooster:

it. Okay?

Gizmo:

I don't know if we're ever gonna see a picture of him again.

Bam Bam:

That sounds very graphic, by the way.

Gizmo:

Well, pig butchering.

Bam Bam:

Oh, yeah.

Gizmo:

Dismemberment. It's all in there. So anyways, we're not going to go through this whole story again. If you want to hear more about Sheng Ji, you can go back and check out that episode. But, you know, it's good to see those folks being able to get back to work, the supply chain resuming some normalcy and then allowing them to figure this out because I would say my assumption is that the folks running Tabaclera Altadis as we've talked about in the past probably had no idea what this guy was doing had no idea that he was even involved.

Gizmo:

It was just a source of investment and everything seemed on the up and up and then they got the rug pulled out from them. So anyway, good to see those folks back to work and things resuming for Tabaclera. So boys, I'm very excited today. I brought my briefcase. Correct.

Gizmo:

Which as I told you guys, when we went into the Glencairn experiment that I would need a carrying device. So I now have a briefcase that carries six Glencairn glasses in foam. So I could throw that thing off a bridge.

Chef Ricky:

This is amazing.

Gizmo:

And you can run it over with your truck, Bam, and it'll be totally fine.

Bam Bam:

So I lifted each glass out of that case. It is they're very snug.

Bam Bam:

Oh, really?

Bam Bam:

Yeah. The foam is very stiff. It it holds every glass perfectly. I like I like the case.

Bam Bam:

The the problem is I can't even see it. It's hidden.

Bam Bam:

Correct.

Gizmo:

Open it up for him, Bam.

Bam Bam:

I Have a have

Bam Bam:

to move?

Rooster:

Yes. Oh, wow.

Gizmo:

Put it into the mic, Bam. We wanna hear the latch. There's the latch. Very high quality.

Bam Bam:

Very nice. You know, I used to go to work with something like that.

Gizmo:

That's what I I thought. Like, I look like a guy in the sixties going to Yeah. Madison Ave.

Chef Ricky:

For an archaeologist about to go on an expedition or something.

Gizmo:

Find some amber. Yeah. There you go. There you go.

Bam Bam:

That'll hold amber really good.

Chef Ricky:

No, it's a very nice looking case and very funky, like the perfect case for what you're using it for. I would have never guessed something like that even

Rooster:

in So Glen Karen case and a Ziploc full of cigars.

Gizmo:

Correct. Correct. Well, you know what it is for me is I just don't want to be carrying around a cardboard box, which those Glen Karens came in. I don't want to be carrying around a cardboard box, you know, for the rest of the, you know, however long, you know, getting beat up and everything else and So

Rooster:

I figured, why not? Was Potentially, twenty twenty five five

Gizmo:

So I could take this home every week, run them through the washing machine, let them dry.

Chef Ricky:

That was $25? Yeah. Wow.

Gizmo:

Very nice. Very nice.

Bam Bam:

Yeah. I have thinking more on the lines of, hey, listen, Barton, we just go to Central Park and have a little picnic.

Gizmo:

We could. I could take the foam out of there. We could load it up with

Bam Bam:

Correct.

Rooster:

Cheese.

Chef Ricky:

No. I think everybody pulls out those Davidoff Churchill briefcases that we all got a And couple years you use that for your sandwiches and we have our Glencarron suitcase here.

Rooster:

Getting back to the cigar, I'm at that point where you were, Bam. Yeah. The spice completely dissipates. It's and completely it's gotten a little sweeter.

Bam Bam:

So at the tail end of that first third is when, for me, the spice dissipated. And it's actually very It's very abruptly

Rooster:

It stops. Dissipates.

Bam Bam:

Yeah, it's unusual.

Rooster:

You know, it's not a slow, it's not like a gradual, just gone.

Chef Ricky:

I'm finally picking up on the salt that you guys are putting down a little bit earlier. So yeah, I'm enjoying this. It's like right now it's nutty and

Bam Bam:

salty. Nutty. Yeah.

Chef Ricky:

Yeah. I'm not getting much sweetness or cream.

Gizmo:

It's strictly

Chef Ricky:

nut and salt. And then hopefully like

Rooster:

a cashew kind of

Chef Ricky:

it's it's yeah. No. No. Not so much cash. I'd say probably almond for me.

Chef Ricky:

Little a little salted almond.

Bam Bam:

I think almond's spot on right now. Mhmm. For me, it's a sweet cream. It's

Bam Bam:

it's creamy.

Gizmo:

Sweet cream on the retro for me. It's definitely getting better. Yeah. What are you getting? Same as you guys.

Gizmo:

That creaminess is there. It actually is coming into what I was just complaining about a few minutes ago, that lack of elegance. I'm getting that Davidoff

Bam Bam:

It's funny because

Gizmo:

Davidoff funk is coming through. The

Bam Bam:

draw and the retro are very nutty. I like that almond, maybe a touch of walnut and a little bit of sweetness. It's really quite good.

Gizmo:

Alright, boys. Let's go to our pairing now. This is gonna be an interesting one tonight in our Glencairn glasses. We have the Barrell Seagrass Rye Whiskey, which is a blended rye whiskey. Smells And it's in our Glencairn.

Bam Bam:

The aroma is outstanding.

Gizmo:

Why I picked this up is exactly this reason, Bam. It's finished in Martinique Rum, Madeira, and apricot brandy barrels.

Bam Bam:

Well, for me, it's salted caramel on the nose.

Gizmo:

Yeah, it smells like candy. It's more a

Chef Ricky:

fruity for me on the nose. Really?

Bam Bam:

Yeah.

Chef Ricky:

I'm definitely getting fruit.

Bam Bam:

So Cheers.

Bam Bam:

Cheers. Folks. Yeah.

Chef Ricky:

Beautiful amber color, by the way.

Gizmo:

Just like the

Chef Ricky:

jewel. The second band on

Gizmo:

this Little heaven from earth in our glass tonight.

Bam Bam:

Keeping with the theme.

Gizmo:

So the thing to note about this, 60% ABV.

Chef Ricky:

Holy cow.

Gizmo:

120 some odd proof. So for anyone out there saying that the lounge lizards are afraid to try high proof spirits, Here we are with a 60 percenter.

Bam Bam:

I must I like it.

Gizmo:

It's good. It's good.

Bam Bam:

I really,

Gizmo:

really I like as per usual, I think as we take sip two, three, four, five, I think that heat you're gonna adjust to that, I think you're gonna fall right

Bam Bam:

in.

Bam Bam:

I love the heat. I'm getting a touch of maple. Yeah. And vanilla, of course, and that caramel. It's really, really quite good.

Chef Ricky:

So I'm getting all of that, but I'm also getting a bright apricot. I'm getting, like, a brightness here that is coming from the high proof At first, I was in shock, and then all of a sudden, it just I got four or five different flavors on my palate.

Bam Bam:

The finish is so extraordinarily long. I took my sip maybe a minute or two ago. It's still I get the apricot way, way in the back at the end of the finish. As I take a draw of air in, it comes through. It's incredible.

Bam Bam:

Is

Gizmo:

apricot normally a fruit that is potent, I would say, with its aroma? If you put a little bit of it in a dish, right?

Bam Bam:

It's delicate.

Rooster:

Does it

Gizmo:

give you a lot of flavor for that little bit?

Chef Ricky:

The riper, the better. It's definitely gonna deliver more on that aroma. But like Bam said, it is delicate. It is somewhat floral. It's not in your face like citrus.

Chef Ricky:

It's a little bit denser in aroma, I would say. But, yeah, it is you know, there's nothing like a deliciously ripe. Apricot. It's in the peach family. Yeah.

Chef Ricky:

I was just going to say, you ever get a beautifully ripe peach that's just perfect and it bursts with juice and that's a lot what

Rooster:

Have you not ripe had an apricot?

Gizmo:

I can't tell you the last time I had an apricot. I'm on a big grapefruit kick right now. Okay. I'm a big grapefruit guy. I love grapefruit.

Gizmo:

Every day I have a grapefruit. The whole thing.

Bam Bam:

Eat the That's whole awesome.

Gizmo:

Every day.

Chef Ricky:

You sell a George Costanza.

Gizmo:

I love it. And you know what's funny? My mom, when I was growing up, used to take a spoon.

Bam Bam:

Right, right.

Gizmo:

I don't do anything. I cut it right in half, and I slice it, cut out the center with a little pair of scissors on every one, and I just go to town fantastic.

Bam Bam:

Do you use your cutter, your cigar cutter?

Gizmo:

I do not use my cigar cutter. That is a good suggestion.

Chef Ricky:

I'll teach you how to supreme, so so you don't have to use scissors. What's a supreme? That's doing what you do where In the membrane. Yeah, you actually remove the pit, the rind, and then you cut out the fruit from each membrane, you just get the clean It almost looks like a jewel.

Gizmo:

Oh, like the cigar we're smoking today.

Chef Ricky:

Yes. It's like the word of the day. We need the Pee Wee Herman sound bite.

Bam Bam:

You're going to have a ritual then.

Gizmo:

Yeah, correct.

Chef Ricky:

You know something about this fry, is anyone else picking up the load of salt that it's delivering to?

Bam Bam:

Not yet. Not for me. I'm not getting salt.

Chef Ricky:

It's very salty for me.

Gizmo:

So boys, let's talk about this rye whiskey for a second. And by the way, this is the first rye I think we've done in quite some time. And the reason why I brought this one in is because of these finishing casks, even though it's high proof, I think that we have been a little harsh on rye. I certainly have. I think I made a definitive statement that was largely emailed.

Gizmo:

The listeners didn't like it where I said rye does not pair well with cigars. Right. And I think that was too blanket of a statement, a silly statement on my part to have said that. Obviously, I think it's time for a little bit of a Rye redemption and I think this one is a good way to start it tonight.

Chef Ricky:

This will make an amazing man.

Gizmo:

Sure. I agree with you. I think this is a great

Bam Bam:

You know what's really interesting? The dome feels very hot for

Bam Bam:

the Initially, high it does warm my entire torso.

Chef Ricky:

Oh yeah. Yeah, I'm sorry. I think

Gizmo:

you're adjusting to it.

Bam Bam:

Yeah. No, no, but you know, with certain bourbons I get like like it's in my chest.

Bam Bam:

No. It's quite good.

Bam Bam:

This is way better.

Bam Bam:

Yeah. Yeah. What do we know about this?

Gizmo:

So this was released originally in 2021. And, again, it's finished separately in Martinique rum Agricole casks, apricot brandy casks, and Madeira barrels. So three distinct casks launched in 2021 by Barrell Craft Spirits. So I wasn't familiar with these guys. This is a blend of American and Canadian rye whiskeys.

Gizmo:

They say it stands alone as a whiskey while also inviting the drinker to explore the multitude of influences created by a global approach to sourcing, finishing, blending. Says the founder, guy named Joe Beatrice, it highlights the grassy oceanside notes we love in rye and the opulence and spice of finishing barrels. It's bottled at cask strength so that you can appreciate its true flavor. So what I love about this, the founder names the chief whiskey scientist over there, the chief production innovation officer, and also the assistant blender. So, you know, four or five folks here involved in putting this release together.

Gizmo:

So Barrell Craft Spirits was founded in 2013 in Louisville, Kentucky, and they blend products that explore different distillation methods, barrels, and aging environments, of course, as we're experiencing tonight, and bottles, all of them at cask strength. So they do not have any spirits that they release that are not a cask strength. So the original one was bottled at 59.2%. Obviously, this one is a slight bit hotter than that. And the price on this was $85.

Chef Ricky:

Yeah. I was gonna say, I'm gonna guess it's a little higher because it's not diluted. So that tracks.

Gizmo:

So what do you think?

Bam Bam:

I like it.

Gizmo:

Yeah. And how's how's the drink working with the cigar for

Bam Bam:

you guys? Well, that's my question. How are you guys thinking about this?

Gizmo:

I think the drink is bringing a little bit more out of the cigar.

Bam Bam:

I'm really enjoying it because, you know, the sweetness I was craving? Uh-huh. Because of the long finish, it made it very sweet for me.

Gizmo:

Uh-huh.

Bam Bam:

But then I get a little now the saltiness increases.

Bam Bam:

I couldn't disagree with the both of you more.

Bam Bam:

For me, it's for me, I'm really

Bam Bam:

I don't I can't say that I don't like it.

Rooster:

Is it is it overpowering?

Bam Bam:

Yes. And for me,

Gizmo:

it's I disagree with you, Ben.

Bam Bam:

I disagree with you I as

Chef Ricky:

think you have to let that the finish End? Do its thing, which takes

Bam Bam:

a But but I'm also I'm also very slow on this. I've been taking very small steps, leaving in my tongue for a very

Chef Ricky:

long It's it's still a very long finish. You do have to let the finish dissipate.

Bam Bam:

I think so. And once it dissipates, then you'll maybe, for me, get a sense of the cigar. It takes a while. This is a powerful spirit.

Gizmo:

I'm enjoying, as this sits on the palate with a little bit of heat, drawing the cigar, I think it makes some of those flavors really pop in a great way. I actually think the way it lingers adds a lot to the I pairing agree with you, Gizmo.

Chef Ricky:

It's drawing out the almond a little more for me.

Gizmo:

The saltiness for me too.

Chef Ricky:

And the saltiness.

Bam Bam:

But here's, look, for what we do on this pod though, how is this cigar performing on its own

Gizmo:

Well, we talked about that.

Bam Bam:

Now that you've introduced the spirit.

Gizmo:

I think it's the same. If I'm smoking this cigar, I think right now it's doing as we were talking about before. I think some good moments have come into play right now. I think when it is paired alongside this whiskey, I think it's really nice. Me right now, the star of the show is the whiskey.

Bam Bam:

There's no doubt about it.

Gizmo:

Over the cigar for sure.

Bam Bam:

No. That is a definitive statement that I'm all for right now.

Gizmo:

Other thing I don't like too is how much I'm having to touch up this cigar.

Bam Bam:

Yeah. A little bit.

Rooster:

I was just gonna say that. And the ash is a bit flaky.

Gizmo:

Yeah. So very quickly back to Barrell Craft Spirits. So they do have a bunch of other core products. They have a foundation series. They have the batch bourbon.

Gizmo:

Of course, the seagrass that we're drinking tonight. They have a dovetail, which is really interesting. Whiskey finished in rum, port, and Dunn vineyards cabernet barrels. Also, of course, bottled at cask strength. That one's almost 62% right now.

Gizmo:

So everything they do is pretty hot. Now, what I like about these guys and what I've learned from their website is they encourage putting a splash of water into the spirit and opening the spirit up a little bit with a with just a little bit of water. A very little bit.

Bam Bam:

Shall we try?

Gizmo:

So I think we should try it.

Bam Bam:

Just a drop.

Gizmo:

Yeah. Very little bit. Then go for it.

Bam Bam:

Chef's not doing it.

Rooster:

He's a purist. I'm gonna stick with chef on this.

Gizmo:

We'll do two and two. Let's see how you guys find the changing experience to be with the Cheers. Introduction of water. And chef and I will drink it neat out of our Glen Cairns. Any change?

Bam Bam:

Oh, it feels very different.

Gizmo:

Yeah. In a good way or a bad way?

Bam Bam:

I think it's a bit of both. I don't like

Gizmo:

I think

Bam Bam:

it becomes a little, yeah, I don't like it too much.

Bam Bam:

Yeah. I need new glass.

Gizmo:

You prefer it? Well, is

Bam Bam:

You're right two on medicine, though.

Gizmo:

Right? There's two more in there.

Bam Bam:

I was about to say it became light, fruity, and medicinal.

Bam Bam:

Right on

Rooster:

the No, there are.

Gizmo:

Spot on. Mine. There's two more glasses in there

Bam Bam:

if you want a fresh one. But spot on to what Pagoda just It becomes more medicinal.

Bam Bam:

You know, there's something, it just, it became like a robot.

Bam Bam:

And I can't do it. Interesting. I love the purity of what we're getting in that bottle. It's really something special.

Rooster:

Try another sip.

Bam Bam:

No. I I I need another glass. I'll I'll give

Bam Bam:

you some more time, man.

Chef Ricky:

This is great, though. I I love that we're shying away or or or we're leaning into higher proof spirits because they deliver a lot more flavor, whether it's mezcal, tequila. I mean, it's you know, and high proof tequilas are it right now. Everybody's making a 100 proof tequila, blanco, you know, every brand. Brands Why

Gizmo:

is it trending in that direction?

Chef Ricky:

Of course Because

Gizmo:

scream and yell here that about pairing with the cigar is best at the the 40 to $42.45 range. Why is bourbon Why are the purists so into castor drinks? Same with the agave people.

Rooster:

You get wasted quicker.

Chef Ricky:

No, I think that's

Gizmo:

I don't think that's it, but that's funny.

Chef Ricky:

I think purists want the flavor. You want to extract the flavor from the medium that's being used to produce the spirit Cause you have a respect for the spirit that you're drinking. Right? So if I mean, it's something that if it's something else that you just kind of want to hammer and get through the night with there that you don't need much, cerebral energy for, then this isn't that, you know, This is for someone who appreciates what's going into making the rye and the nuances because all of those nuances are increased exponentially. I mean, that's that stuff was delicious.

Bam Bam:

The the only issue with this is like for me, have to be very, controlled Yeah. In the way I drink it.

Bam Bam:

Yeah. Like That's the problem.

Chef Ricky:

This is And it's not

Bam Bam:

not like

Chef Ricky:

Yeah. This is not a

Gizmo:

two or three

Chef Ricky:

Yeah.

Gizmo:

Pores because you're gonna be on the floor.

Bam Bam:

Yeah. Correct.

Chef Ricky:

Yeah. Now I

Gizmo:

like to see that.

Chef Ricky:

If Pagoda goes back to his old ways and he loads this thing up with a ton of ice and

Bam Bam:

I will.

Bam Bam:

I'll sit with this and

Chef Ricky:

melts and then he could probably drink more of it. But, yeah, to drink this neat and, you know, have a few I mean, we're gonna be pretty lit in another half hour or so if we keep going this

Gizmo:

I'm taking it real easy.

Bam Bam:

Yeah, there's a lot of merit to the spirit. I think it does demand you to drink it much slower. A glass in one sit would be very, very satisfying, and the finish, because it's so dramatic and very long, you're getting an awful lot of value regardless of the $80 price point on this, in my This

Chef Ricky:

is also something craveable. This is something I could see myself like after having a long day of work. Correct. And it's like, Oh, I can't wait to get home and try some of that, you know, seagrass. Correct.

Chef Ricky:

And all you need is one neat pour and you're good. You know, you're good to go. The flavor's there. It's delivering on all cylinders and it's a one and done. You know?

Rooster:

So how is the pairing though? Is it working with the cigar for you?

Chef Ricky:

It works, but I do agree that the finish has to it has to dissipate. You have to allow the finish to do its thing or you're going to take about four or five draws on your cigar before you start tasting that cigar again.

Gizmo:

I disagree with you guys. I think the way that this sits on the palate after you I think the finish is so long. I think it's kinda like the plane going to the runway. I think it's nice and easy, and I think when you start drawing the cigar as it's sitting there, I think it's really, really interesting when they're combined together. I honestly, I disagree with you both.

Bam Bam:

Yeah. There's I agree with you.

Bam Bam:

But but the thing is, I think what's really different this time is I'm taking extremely small steps and letting Yeah. Really linger for a very long time. Yeah. And then waiting before. So it's giving me that sweetness, which I was kind of, you know, craving for a little earlier.

Bam Bam:

And so I think that's why I think, for me, the combination's working. But now that I've added a little bit of water, it's you know, some I I could see people say it becomes a lot more fruity. And, you know, if you were to try do you wanna try a sip of this? You might find that it becomes but I think it becomes medicinal. Fruity

Chef Ricky:

into medicinal. I I could see the medicinal aspect because

Bam Bam:

It becomes uninteresting.

Bam Bam:

Yeah.

Bam Bam:

Yeah.

Chef Ricky:

Because adding the water, I mean, you you drew you brought down the proof significantly and the flavor. But it wasn't a lot. It was a little touch. It's I'm

Bam Bam:

surprised how quickly the whole experience changes.

Gizmo:

That's interesting. I don't I like what they're doing. I think it's interesting. I like the How did you hear this? I don't remember how I heard of it.

Gizmo:

I I don't know if it was someone in the lounge. I don't remember if it was a listener, and if it was, and you're a lizard out there that recommended this, forgive me. Shoot me an email, and I'll I'll, you know, mention it on a future podcast. I have no idea where the hell I found this, but I ordered it in a bulk of spirits that I got from Total Wine. And I don't just randomly order stuff.

Gizmo:

And I certainly wouldn't randomly order a 60 plus percent rye whiskey. So it definitely came at the recommendation from someone. So we'll see. There's a lizard out there that recommended this, please email us or I'll figure out. Hopefully we'll figure out where it came from because I like the reco on this.

Gizmo:

This is nice.

Chef Ricky:

It's such a rich berry. The salinity in it reminds me a bit of Jefferson's Ocean. Yeah. That bourbon.

Gizmo:

Yeah. Kinda has yeah. Very similar thing. I agree with you on that.

Bam Bam:

So You know, now that the water's been splashed, I'd like to hear your thoughts because the flavor changes so much. I don't even know whether this would be really good with a Manhattan

Chef Ricky:

or me get your glass. Yeah. I'll taste this adulterated. Yeah. Even the nose is the the sweetness on the nose is completely gone, and it's just a lot of heat and some, like,

Rooster:

oak. I don't know. Be careful, chef. Hantavirus going on.

Bam Bam:

That's correct, old boy.

Bam Bam:

I'm not gonna I'm not gonna drink that back.

Rooster:

Cruise ship?

Bam Bam:

I'm not gonna drink that back.

Chef Ricky:

Yeah. No. With the water, I'm just I'm getting a lot. I'm it's interesting. I'm getting almost more heat.

Chef Ricky:

I'm getting heat that the definitely the medicinal quality and what feels like a buttery oak, but I'm not getting any of the brightness. I'm not getting any apricot. I'm not getting any of that when the water's at it.

Bam Bam:

Oh, I love it so much more without the water.

Gizmo:

Can I just say Way better? I love and us being prompted by, I don't know, a 100 different listeners over the past couple years, what the hell are you guys doing? Drink Glencairn. Drink out of Glencairn glasses. I love what's happening

Bam Bam:

in this room tonight. Agreed.

Gizmo:

Love the experimentation. I love what the Glencairn's offering us. I think if you put this in a rocks glass, like we would have done in the past, I think the nose might have been overwhelming. I think the first sip or the following sips would have been overwhelming. I actually do think this is a perfect spirit for this experiment because it's really working at a high proof offering tonight.

Chef Ricky:

Yeah. I think putting this in a really wide rocks glass would have just sort of made the nose disappear. You know, it would have evaporated quicker. The Glencairn kind of contains it and preserves it.

Bam Bam:

I can't believe that I'm drinking such a high proof.

Gizmo:

In I can't believe I'm enjoying such a high proof, though. Yeah. Agreed. So boys, we've come to the end of the first third now in the Davidoff Porro Dominicano Corona Larga. What's everybody thinking right now on the cigar?

Bam Bam:

It's quite nice. Honestly, it's a little nutty, as I noted earlier, very creamy, very easy to smoke. The body's built up a bit now, but really very enjoyable.

Bam Bam:

I don't know whether it's trying a little bit of liquor or something's changed, but I find the cigars suddenly, at least the last couple of puffs Super. Have felt very dry.

Chef Ricky:

Mine feels very mild Really? This moment.

Bam Bam:

And maybe it's just the alcohol in my tongue. Like, I don't know.

Bam Bam:

Could be.

Gizmo:

I would experiencing is saying excellence and refinement and elegance. I actually, if you've noticed, I've not been sipping the spirit. The cigar definitely, since I made that compliment and I was enjoying the cigar, I kind of put the spirit to the side here. It's definitely dipped back down again. There was about five, ten minutes of brilliance.

Bam Bam:

How far are you?

Gizmo:

At the end of the first third.

Bam Bam:

Yeah, about the same.

Rooster:

Right around the same.

Bam Bam:

I'm right behind you a touch now. I slowed down.

Gizmo:

The other thing too is I'm finding I've had to relight. Every time I have to talk, at some extent, I'm having to touch it up and relight,

Bam Bam:

which here.

Gizmo:

Cigar out of the box, it's not been sitting at a retailer being over humidified for six months. It should not be performing like this directly from the manufacturer.

Rooster:

Yeah, I think relighting the cigar multiple times has been an issue for me. The other issue is also the draw. My draw is a bit tight, and I have cut it a little bit further down. And the cigar kind of goes out on you.

Bam Bam:

It does go out on you.

Rooster:

And you have to relight it. And the construction the ash is a bit flaky. It's burning like a perfect it's not stacking dimes.

Bam Bam:

No.

Rooster:

Although chef's ash looks pretty good.

Gizmo:

I just don't think for a 23 some odd dollar cigar that any of us should be having to pull out lighters.

Bam Bam:

Yeah. I'm relighting now. What notes are you getting?

Gizmo:

Gizmo Still getting that almond thing. The creaminess has fallen off for me a little bit. The saltiness is still there. The retrohale is not enjoyable at all. I've not been retrohaling My at any retros are fantastic right now.

Bam Bam:

No issues.

Chef Ricky:

My retros are just a tad bit spicy, but they're not unenjoyable in any way. It's in fact helping me get more flavor because on the traditional dry, I feel like the flavor's dipped.

Bam Bam:

It's like an anise set biscotti. I'm getting almost. Yeah. Just a touch of that. Yeah.

Gizmo:

Right now, again, it's alright right this second. What I was experiencing and loving before kind of fell off.

Bam Bam:

It's not great and honestly it's not worth? Not even close.

Gizmo:

How much? $23 before tax?

Bam Bam:

Yeah. No.

Bam Bam:

I think we should definitely try this once it sits for a while.

Bam Bam:

This should be priced at, I think, around $18. No more than that.

Gizmo:

I would even say 16.

Bam Bam:

Yeah, 16 to $18.

Gizmo:

Yep. So boys, let's do a little housekeeping here before we get into some listener email and a bunch of stuff we have to talk about. So first up, I want to share that the brand new ratings guide is now live on the Lounge Lizards website.

Bam Bam:

It looks super cool.

Gizmo:

So if you go to loungelizardspod.com/ratings, plural, you will see our brand new ratings guide, which you can sort by country of origin. You can sort by lizard rating. You can sort by newest, oldest, highest rated, lowest rated. You can search spirits in the search bar. You could search cigars.

Gizmo:

You could see everything. If you're a, you know, if you're a Cuban smoker, you can only see Cubans. If you want to see Nicaraguans, you could see that. It's really, really easy to navigate. And what I love about it too is there are sliders.

Gizmo:

So if you only want to see cigars that are eight and above, you can slide that slider and it will only show you those cigars. If you're looking for something to purchase, you can then filter by the country. You know, there's a lot of things you could do with it. So, of course, I want to thank Lizard Alexandros. He was very helpful to me to get that live on the site.

Gizmo:

I'm very appreciative to him. And of course, if there's any lizards out there who have recommendations, questions, etcetera, you know, I'm happy to make any changes that are necessary. Of course, this is a work in progress.

Bam Bam:

You know, I've always seen the rating guide as a great tool for a beginner smoker, or even an intermediate and experienced smoker, to know what to avoid. Or to maybe try some of the cigars that haven't rated well in this room and see what you think.

Chef Ricky:

Yeah. Or even to hone in on what

Bam Bam:

It's a great tool.

Rooster:

Yeah. I've often gone back and

Bam Bam:

Me too.

Rooster:

Looked back at the ratings, you forget about cigars. Of course. You forget about those. You have done 200 plus episodes. And you go back and like, hey, I've almost absolutely forgot about that.

Rooster:

And you order a five pack and you enjoy it again.

Bam Bam:

Correct.

Gizmo:

So like right now, I just scrubbed the minimum rating up to an 8.5 and it cut down the cigars to 125 from Now all the cigars we've if I go to ten, seventeen cigars in five years have rated a 10.

Bam Bam:

Very discerning group, my friend. There you go.

Rooster:

How many of those are New World? That's a great question. Can you do just New World?

Gizmo:

So I didn't separate it by New World and Cuban. I separated by origin. So in the past, it said Cuban or non Cuban. But now, because we've moved away from doing a Cuban every other week, I felt it was important to have Honduras, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, United States and Cuba represented and being able to be filtered. I wanted to increase that.

Gizmo:

And I was actually surprised when I look at the amount of cigars that came from The US, I was actually surprised that we've done four of them were US origin cigars.

Bam Bam:

Were 10s?

Gizmo:

No. Just out The US. There were no 10s out

Bam Bam:

of the for sure,

Gizmo:

At least to this point. But there were

Bam Bam:

a good deal of tens from Cuba for sure.

Gizmo:

Oh, yeah.

Bam Bam:

Yeah. Can't forget the Pedro and eightieth. Can't forget the Don Carlos the shark.

Rooster:

But you said from Cuba.

Bam Bam:

Well, that's also now I'm going to the other. Yeah. Yeah.

Gizmo:

So it also highlights so if you follow along with one of our palettes let's say, for example, you follow Pagoda's palette, you really align with how he smokes and what he likes to smoke, you could choose him, and it'll highlight him and his individual rating on each of those individual entries. So Correct. And then, of course, for listeners out there who don't smoke cigars, who just listen for the camaraderie or they like the spirit portion of the program, They're all of these spirits are represented as well with their formal liquor ratings. So everything is there so much easier to use so much easier to sort. So I hope I hope that everybody out there finds it to be valuable and sorry it took so long.

Bam Bam:

Pagoda's a national treasure.

Gizmo:

Correct.

Bam Bam:

Worth looking up. Yeah. You know, we haven't heard about your trip to Italy.

Gizmo:

It's true. And to went to Italy. I went to Austria. I went to Poland. Correct.

Gizmo:

It was a great trip.

Bam Bam:

Quite the excursion for your Yeah. Did you have your hoodie with you? Yes, you did?

Gizmo:

I did have a hoodie.

Bam Bam:

Did you have the lizard hoodie?

Gizmo:

I did take the lizard hoodie. Actually didn't wear it. Blasphemy. I'm sorry to say.

Bam Bam:

That's blasphemy.

Gizmo:

I thought, you know, some of the places I went, I thought it would be a little inappropriate, but you know. Yeah, so my stepdaughter is studying in Florence, Italy. It's actually coming to an end very soon this semester. So Mrs. Gizmo and I decided to go over and see her.

Gizmo:

And obviously it's a good excuse to go to Europe, which we haven't done a ton because it's just with work and life and everything else. It's so difficult.

Rooster:

And Lizard

Gizmo:

Luke. And Lizard Luke went as well, my stepson. So yeah, we went over and saw her, man, and it was my first time in Florence. I was completely blown away. You know, Senator teed up a lot of different spots that he had gone to, which he detailed in the past.

Gizmo:

So I won't repeat all that stuff, but a few general comments that I will say. Number one, I can't believe the quality of the food over there where every night you're eating, you know, some sort of pasta dish or pizza dish, and it doesn't hit you like it does here. It's kind of crazy. Like, you could sit at a dinner and the pasta that you eat does not sit in your stomach the same way. I was eating pizza.

Gizmo:

Of course, no cheese. I was eating like marinara pies, which, by the way, sound like they're not amazing. My family was getting into my pizzas because they enjoyed the marinara pies so much with the basil and the seasoning and the sauce. It's just amazing when you sit there and you eat a whole thin pie at eleven at night and it doesn't hit your stomach like a brick.

Bam Bam:

Yeah, you know, when they make all the pastas homemade in almost every restaurant there. How many ingredients are in pasta? There should be three. And I think their

Gizmo:

flour is totally processed. Everything they have is processed Correct.

Bam Bam:

You're eating homemade pasta every night.

Gizmo:

It was really amazing. Some amazing pieces of meat. Every place we went was fantastic. Of course, we did a lot of walking. You know, there's a lot of leather in Florence.

Bam Bam:

Oh, yeah. The leather bazaar there is out of That's

Gizmo:

out of control. Mrs. Gizmo went there, found a couple of things she liked. So as far as the experience, I was completely just enamored with Florence.

Rooster:

Honestly Did she get a leather whip to use on here?

Gizmo:

That's weird.

Bam Bam:

A little bit.

Gizmo:

It got a little weird.

Bam Bam:

What did you say? Whip? Or Whip. Oh, yeah. Wake up, I gotta Oh, oh, yeah.

Bam Bam:

Oh, yeah. Got his attention.

Gizmo:

You see what works? By the way, Uzi wakes him up.

Bam Bam:

Oh, yeah. But you know what it is, is Oh, you know, I was just thinking in my mind, what a journey. Gizmo's becoming such a global culture. And, you know, heathen insider, as everybody knows. Pleasurely.

Bam Bam:

And the whip comes out. Oh, wow. You that pagoda?

Rooster:

He's been whipped into shape.

Gizmo:

So I will say, and, you know, any folks from Europe, Italy who might be listening to this, if you think I'm crazy, that's fine. And I was texting Bam, actually, as I was walking around Florence. As I was walking around, it felt and looked and seemed what Havana could and should be. If Havana was taken care of, if it wasn't in ruin

Bam Bam:

It's what Havana was Originally. Correct.

Rooster:

In its heyday.

Bam Bam:

Correct. In its heyday. That's correct.

Gizmo:

It really is nearly identical

Bam Bam:

Sure.

Gizmo:

In you know, not the crazy things like the Duomo and the incredible churches and all that stuff, but the general architecture and construction of Florence really reminded me

Bam Bam:

Yeah. Of Keep in mind. Renaissance architecture spread around the world. So a lot of countries adopted that building style because it was very ornate and it looked very rich and robust. So when you go to like, I went to Cartagena.

Bam Bam:

The old city is very Renaissance in style, And you'll get that in pockets in certain countries. So it's a prolific style.

Rooster:

Yeah, Spain.

Bam Bam:

Back then. Yeah, of course. Of course.

Gizmo:

It made me nostalgic for Havana. Yeah. And it kinda made me sad about all that stuff, honestly. Like I said, I was texting you about it. Yeah, I went to some vineyards.

Gizmo:

I actually went to the Verrazano vineyard out in Tuscany, out in the

Bam Bam:

In Staten Island.

Bam Bam:

Staten Island, near by the bridge.

Gizmo:

So it is actually, that's who it's named after.

Bam Bam:

Correct, already?

Gizmo:

It's the same guy.

Bam Bam:

Yeah. That's correct, yeah.

Gizmo:

Verrazano. So we had a great time out there, a great meal there, tried some great wine. We just had a wonderful time. Actually it was a good time of year because it wasn't very busy because it's harvesting season, it's not planting season, so it wasn't mobbed like it would be in September or October when all the winos go to experience the harvest and the preparation of the grapes for wine. Yeah, it was really an awesome experience.

Bam Bam:

There was one disappointing element. You didn't smoke any cigars, or not enough.

Gizmo:

So what's interesting is the weather at night was really rough.

Bam Bam:

It was cold.

Gizmo:

It was cold. And there was no heating element or mechanism to do it. I actually rented at my Airbnb. I had like a back patio area that would have been perfect to smoke a cigar, but it just didn't. The weather was not working for me.

Gizmo:

It was really cold at night, probably in the forties.

Rooster:

Couldn't you smoke in the daytime just walking around and have a short smoke?

Gizmo:

Not really because I was with Mrs. Gizmo. I was with my stepdaughter. So I felt like if I did that, it'd be like a selfish play. And I don't want them to smell like smoke.

Gizmo:

I figured, you know, a break might be good if

Bam Bam:

Did you dine? You dined al fresco most of the time, yeah?

Gizmo:

Outside? Yeah.

Bam Bam:

How was the temperature during dinner time?

Gizmo:

Dinner time was fine. When it got to ten, eleven midnight, that's when it started to get real chilly, which is when I would have the opportunity to smoke. The other thing I was really disappointed in, I couldn't find a lounge. I couldn't find a legitimate

Bam Bam:

don't think there's LCDH.

Gizmo:

There's no LCDHs No, that's correct. I was very disappointed in that fact because certainly there's so many folks there smoking cigarettes. There's no question about that. There was not a single destination cigar lounge to be found in Florence.

Chef Ricky:

Yeah. Chances are you'll probably come across a couple Toscanos, which you're not going to smoke.

Bam Bam:

Well, he brought his own cigars as well.

Gizmo:

Yeah, I brought a bunch of cigars and they all came home with me.

Rooster:

But having a cigar at a cafe, having

Bam Bam:

a That's the oldest experience.

Rooster:

Espresso outside, you know, in one of

Bam Bam:

the Right after dinner, as your espresso is arriving to the table, you got your little biscotti.

Rooster:

Little tiramisu. Correct. Biscotti. Biscotti.

Bam Bam:

Right. I could see I could see lizard rooster there with a hat, a cigar, sitting in I one

Rooster:

would definitely make time for a cigar.

Gizmo:

Correct. A good fedora. I don't know, We were over there for a reason and it wasn't for me. And you know what? Listen, I smoke a lot of cigars.

Gizmo:

We smoke a lot of cigars. So the little respite, the little break from cigar smoking when I came back, it was good to be I was, like, refreshed. I was gone for ten days. You know? It was nice to come home and get back into the routine.

Gizmo:

So, you know, plus we didn't see each other for a couple weeks while I was gone. So, you know, it was a it was a nice trip.

Bam Bam:

While you were there, you walked a lot, yeah? Walked a lot. Yes. It was only walking. I remember when I was there, it was a daily routine.

Bam Bam:

You eat breakfast. I was there for school, so you'd walk all day long and then lunch and then you continue to walk. Then dinner, at night, you're walking. And unfortunately, back at that time, I wasn't smoking cigars because if I was, I'd probably slow my roll down and not walk as much.

Bam Bam:

So you'd keep walking?

Bam Bam:

Well, no. I don't like to walk and smoke.

Gizmo:

Chef does.

Bam Bam:

Yeah. You do. I can't do that.

Gizmo:

Interesting.

Bam Bam:

I can't do that. But what's amazing about Europe in general, you're walking so much. Yeah. The food's clean. It's all natural, but that movement, Of course.

Bam Bam:

It so it just so helps you feel really really good after a meal.

Chef Ricky:

Very true.

Rooster:

Yeah. But how good does the produce taste?

Gizmo:

Oh, it's incredible. Fresh.

Rooster:

I mean, the lemons, the the tomatoes.

Chef Ricky:

The tomatoes. What makes the marinara pie so delicious.

Gizmo:

Versus tomato flavor.

Bam Bam:

I see a big smile, but Jeff Rookie, tomatoes. It must be the The tomatoes

Gizmo:

They were were. So then, so we left Florence. We were only there for five or six days. Then we went, We took a train to Venice. I didn't see Venice.

Gizmo:

I didn't have the opportunity to do that based on the time and what we wanted to do. So took a flight from Venice to Vienna, Austria. And then I was in Vienna for thirty six hours. And I loved Vienna. This is a country that's on my bucket list.

Gizmo:

Let me tell you something. It's

Bam Bam:

beautiful. I

Bam Bam:

I know. Oh, I know.

Gizmo:

It's so clean. It the air is just it you feel like you're in the mountains and and like some

Bam Bam:

But the

Gizmo:

The architecture The buildings. Oh, the buildings. The art. So robust. Incredible.

Gizmo:

I went to the museum where Gustaf Klimt Yes. Famous painting. That's correct. The Kiss is there. Amazing.

Gizmo:

We had a great time, man. We toured St. Charles Church, which was excellent. We had the best meal we had at this amazing place in the park there. We had this breakfast.

Bam Bam:

What'd you have?

Gizmo:

Oh, dude, I can't even name what we had. It was like some thing that came out. It was like three plates of, you know, increasing sizes of-

Bam Bam:

Eggs and sausages.

Gizmo:

Like a pyramid. Well, they're on a pyramid. It was it was one of those crazy meals where everything's presented in some weird, you know, fancy way.

Bam Bam:

Yeah,

Gizmo:

yeah. Which I normally wouldn't reach for or go for, but it was a cool way to have breakfast. Yeah. You know, sitting on the park, watching the dogs and the folks run by. And it was just amazing.

Gizmo:

Vienna was really, really great. And then, Mrs. Gizmo is a dancer. So I actually, well in advance of going, I actually got us really amazing tickets at the Vienna State Opera, which of course is a very famous place. And just happened while we were there, there was a ballet.

Gizmo:

Well, how cultured. Very cultured. Vienna State Opera. I blew her mind with that.

Bam Bam:

All hold on. Need to know

Gizmo:

Here we go.

Bam Bam:

What you were wearing.

Gizmo:

So what I was wearing, I was wearing

Bam Bam:

A graphic tee.

Rooster:

No. I was

Chef Ricky:

wearing Lan Ingenios concert tee.

Bam Bam:

No. I was wearing a Did you No.

Gizmo:

I was actually wearing a I was wearing my nice pair of jeans, a nice clean pair of shoes, black t shirt, and a jacket.

Bam Bam:

A jacket?

Gizmo:

Very Yeah. Woo I was very much

Rooster:

Like a members only jacket or No.

Gizmo:

My, you know, my sport coat.

Bam Bam:

This sounds like a very romantic trip.

Bam Bam:

It was nice. That's awesome.

Gizmo:

It was great.

Bam Bam:

Claimed meeting you two museums.

Bam Bam:

Very, very nice touch to get tickets to the opera.

Gizmo:

By the way, so if I had waited, would have never gone in there. They have this like standing room It's thing pretty When

Bam Bam:

I was a backpacker, I ended up You You were a backpacker? Yeah, when I was young.

Bam Bam:

He backpacked through all Europe.

Bam Bam:

I didn't know that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And we ended up over there.

Bam Bam:

Terrorized the entire continent.

Bam Bam:

You know, we went and told the opera as well because I think that's where the opera started.

Gizmo:

Yeah, that was, that's like, you know, I think it's like all the famous folks were

Bam Bam:

in Vienna Yeah. So we bought tickets standing room only and

Bam Bam:

we sold Were you wearing cargo shorts?

Bam Bam:

No. Was living, whatever. I don't even remember what I was wearing.

Bam Bam:

Yeah, know exactly what you were wearing.

Rooster:

How many backpacks did you lose?

Bam Bam:

He's ignoring him.

Bam Bam:

What are you talking what are you talking about?

Bam Bam:

Yeah. No air tags.

Bam Bam:

I had

Bam Bam:

air tags in them. Yeah. Right.

Gizmo:

He still doesn't have the air tags going.

Bam Bam:

He doesn't.

Gizmo:

So yeah, that was pretty wild. And then, you know, I know this is gonna sound crazy. We took a flight to Krakow, Poland from Vienna, and then went to Auschwitz the next day.

Bam Bam:

And this is where it gets serious.

Gizmo:

Yeah, went to Auschwitz, Birkenau. Pretty unbelievable to have been there. I mean, there's so much media out there. There's so many movies on it. I'm not gonna take the podcast in a very sad direction, but it was good to go, and it's pretty amazing the experience there and having, you know, being able to take the tour and you really get immersed in it and it was pretty intense.

Gizmo:

So I'm glad we did that. So, yeah, I'm not like I said, I don't want to go too

Bam Bam:

deep into that, but

Gizmo:

I'd recommend anybody out there who is in that area in Poland and has the opportunity to go to Auschwitz Birkenau. You know, that's really two sites under the name Auschwitz. The one thing I will say, the craziest thing for me was how big Birkenau was. You know, Auschwitz was kind of the testing ground for that concept that the Nazis were doing, and Birkenau was 300 buildings. What?

Gizmo:

300.

Bam Bam:

Had no idea. That

Gizmo:

totally blew my mind. Unbelievable. 300 buildings. So anybody out there, you know, who wants to know more about that or has questions, certainly feel free to email us, email me and I'll detail that there. So But yeah, pretty powerful trip going to Auschwitz.

Gizmo:

And then I drove, actually. I got a car and drove up to Warsaw, and we flew home.

Bam Bam:

How long were you in Warsaw?

Gizmo:

We were just there overnight. Okay. Yeah. We didn't stay any.

Bam Bam:

So between the three countries, were you flying or how were you?

Gizmo:

So we took a train from, so we were in Florence. We flew into, we went through London into Florence, Florence to Venice on a train, Venice to Vienna on a quick one hour flight, then Vienna to Krakow, and then I rented a car in Krakow, kept it overnight, and then drove up to Warsaw.

Bam Bam:

Did you enjoy the train from Florence to Venice? Very, very cool, right?

Gizmo:

The United States is so lacking Dude. In the rail, man. It was like $20 business class.

Bam Bam:

It's awesome.

Gizmo:

And you're sitting like in this amazing train. The views are great, and you just no delays. No. Yeah. No BS.

Rooster:

They're so punctual.

Gizmo:

Are there's spawn time.

Bam Bam:

Have you done a tour rooster train

Rooster:

in Europe? In Spain. Yeah.

Bam Bam:

So it's very similar. They're never late, but the viewing Yeah. The window dimensions at your seat are incredible. And they don't go too fast, so you're getting really the full view of the landscape.

Gizmo:

Can go like 120, 140 miles an hour.

Bam Bam:

It's off the charts. The comfort is fantastic. The chairs are big, and if you're on a very long trip, the food service that some of them have are exquisite.

Chef Ricky:

Any smoking cars?

Bam Bam:

Know, I don't know.

Gizmo:

No, I don't think so. No. I don't think so. Not in the modern era.

Bam Bam:

Can you imagine though? A cigar Amazing,

Rooster:

yeah. Cigar lounge on wheels.

Bam Bam:

Correct.

Gizmo:

So I gotta tell you guys a crazy story. I don't think I've told you guys this story. So going back to the beginning of the trip. So the night before we were leaving, we were leaving on a Tuesday, so a Monday night. I'm packing my stuff.

Gizmo:

It's like 10:30, 11:00 at night. And like our friend here at Pagoda, I had no idea where my passport was. So I'm flying out. So let me just say this

Rooster:

That is so scary.

Bam Bam:

It's a nightmare.

Bam Bam:

What do you say, friend, like, Pagoda? You know, ever since I speak ICE has been on, I carry my passport with me everywhere I go.

Gizmo:

Well, I'm just saying

Bam Bam:

I'm just kidding.

Gizmo:

Cigar cases, you know, cigars, etcetera, food.

Bam Bam:

That's a nightmare scenario.

Gizmo:

So let me just lay this out. So I'm leaving at 6PM on a Tuesday to fly to London to then lay over to go to Florence. It is 11PM the night before, and I, for the first time, realized that I cannot find my passport. And I'm not a guy that, like, know, weave stuff in weird places. Like, it's one of those things that I knew immediately it was gone.

Gizmo:

It had either fallen out of a bag. Something happened that was weird. It's not like I put it down someplace like that, you know? Kind of like Pagoda, didn't have an air tag on it. So I was in full on panic mode.

Gizmo:

It was probably the closest I've gotten to a panic attack in a long time because I'm thinking here I am going to ruin this trip for Mrs. Gizmo, my stepson, my stepdaughter over there. I'm going to miss this flight. I'm going have to pay thousands of dollars to get one in a couple of days. So once I came to and I kinda switched back into, like, my Gizmo mode, I decided, I said, you know what?

Gizmo:

I'm gonna make this happen. So I said I decided I'm gonna pull an all nighter.

Bam Bam:

By the way, I've seen him in hypergizmo mode, which is what he's talking about. This motherfucker here saved 20 people at the Cuban airport.

Gizmo:

Oh, yeah.

Bam Bam:

We remember that?

Gizmo:

Yeah, when all the flights were getting canceled.

Rooster:

One of them has his passport. Yeah, maybe.

Bam Bam:

No, I'm not joking. So there's Gizmo, and then there's Hyper Gizmo, and that's, I'm sure, where you were.

Gizmo:

So when I got there, it was it was pretty panicky for a while. I was ripping my house apart. So I decided it was about midnight at this time, and I decided, you know what? I'm gonna pull an all nighter. I'm gonna figure out how to get a passport.

Gizmo:

I live forty five minutes from New York City. I'm gonna make this happen, right? So I start Googling how to do it. Everybody on Reddit and everywhere else is saying it's impossible.

Bam Bam:

We were chatting you too.

Gizmo:

Never gonna get it. I didn't go into this level of detail, but So it was of course, when you get a passport, you need the photos. Right? So where the hell are you gonna get photos at midnight? So I started calling around and I found a twenty four hour CVS nearby.

Gizmo:

And I called this guy and I found a guy named Sean over there. And I said, Sean, are you gonna be there all night? He said, Yeah. I said, I'm gonna come in probably around three or four. I need some passport photos.

Gizmo:

So at this time, I'm on the website of the State Department trying to book an appointment. Don't you think that the one time that the website is down for maintenance? That night.

Bam Bam:

Correct. You're kidding me.

Chef Ricky:

That makes sense. Those are overnight hours. That's

Gizmo:

usually No, no, no. One I've checked it since, just curiosity. Always available. Wow. That one night it was down and not available, right?

Gizmo:

So I'm panicking. I'm refreshing, refreshing, refreshing all night. So now I go, I print out the stuff, I'm filling out the forms, everything you need to do, the DS-eleven to get the passport on it. Go to CVS, I get my photos. I decide to drive into New York City.

Gizmo:

I park outside the the State Department office, the passport office there. I'm there at like 05:45. I get in line. I'm the first guy in line. Of course, I'm learning, you know, as I'm reading online, you cannot get in this place without an appointment.

Gizmo:

Hell or high water, you can't get in without an appointment. This place is designed for people who are traveling in seven days, don't have a passport, emergency situation, but you need an appointment. So the place opens at 07:30. I'm the first person in line. Of course, the security guard comes up.

Gizmo:

Let me see your appointment. I don't have one. What can we do? Can we make it happen? Nope.

Gizmo:

Sorry. Can't do it. Nope. Nope. Nope.

Gizmo:

He said the folks on the phones open up at eight a. You can try them, but good luck. It's not going to happen. So I'm there at 05:30. I wait till 07:30.

Gizmo:

Eight comes. I figure out how to navigate the phone system to get in early to hit the first human being that comes on and comes on no appointments available. Said, Listen, I need you to find a way to make an appointment. Talk to a manager, whatever you need to do. Get an appointment for me, please, because I'm leaving at six p.

Gizmo:

M. Tonight. So they get me an appointment for 10:45 a. M. I walk in with my finger covering the time, showing them, hey, got an appointment.

Gizmo:

I walked in at 09:00. Got in, went through the whole process. By 10:30, they said, if you come back here at 02:30 p. M, your passport will be ready.

Bam Bam:

Fantastic.

Gizmo:

So then I ran. I made I had a hair appointment to get my haircut at eleven a. M. I made my eleven a. M.

Gizmo:

Haircut haircut in

Rooster:

Englewood. Couldn't just go to the in the city.

Gizmo:

Yeah. This is And no, but I had to come home. I had my truck. I had to drop my truck off.

Bam Bam:

The guy's traversing states.

Gizmo:

I'm I'm all over the place, man. I didn't miss my appointment. I drive home, grab my suitcase, Uber to the city, get there at 02:30, picked up my passport. I pulled into the airport at four at JFK, and I

Bam Bam:

made a Amazing. Wow. Unbelievable.

Gizmo:

And insane. So that is one of the craziest things

Bam Bam:

I've your other passport, didn't you?

Gizmo:

Never found it. It's gone. No idea where it

Rooster:

So let me ask you a question. If this happens to anybody else Mhmm. Is there any way that you can get a passport the next day?

Gizmo:

You can get it same day.

Bam Bam:

You can get it the same day.

Gizmo:

So the the whole thing about Because the site was down. The site was down, so that's why I had to wait till 8AM to get it. But this whole process is designed for people who are in emergency travel situations. If you're traveling in six months, you got to go to the post office. You can't go to the It's State only designed for emergency situations.

Gizmo:

So someone who out there might be listening that's in this situation, you need to find a major city, you need to find a passport office that is designed to do this. You can get it same day if you end up in a situation like I did. Now, if I had discovered at 9AM that I didn't have my passport, that would have been different.

Bam Bam:

Correct.

Gizmo:

But because I was there early, got on the phone early, got the appointment, I made it happen.

Bam Bam:

Yeah. Incredible.

Bam Bam:

Yeah. The other thing I do wanna mention is, you know, I lost my passport in London. In fact, it was stolen, I think, from the I

Davidoff's Mr. Marketing:

knew it.

Bam Bam:

No. I had the passport. I was ready to go. Went It

Rooster:

was in that backpack.

Bam Bam:

No. No. This this is much later in life. And I was there for a business trip. And but either way, what you can do is go to the embassy, and they'll issue you a temporary passport.

Gizmo:

But you can't do that in your own country.

Bam Bam:

You can't do that in your

Gizmo:

own country. You can only do that in a foreign country. Yeah. I'd be So if I was in Italy and had lost my passport, I would've had to go to Rome probably.

Bam Bam:

Yeah.

Gizmo:

And, you know, go to the embassy there.

Rooster:

It's a good idea to take a picture of your passport.

Gizmo:

Absolutely. The thing I did now and I, you know, I harp on Pagoda about air tags. I ordered a passport case with an air tag holder in it. So now I have my passport with an air tag now because I I never wanna go through that again. But I I can't believe I pulled it off, man.

Gizmo:

It was one of the craziest things I've ever done.

Bam Bam:

It's awesome.

Gizmo:

I went into, like, super gizmo. Correct.

Bam Bam:

Hyper. Hyper gizmo.

Gizmo:

Hyper gizmo.

Chef Ricky:

That's incredible.

Gizmo:

Yeah. Unbelievable. Yeah. So boys, we're coming to the end of the second third now on the Davidoff Puerto Dominicano in Corona Larga. What's everybody thinking?

Gizmo:

Mine's okay. Yeah.

Bam Bam:

So

Chef Ricky:

so. Mine's not It hasn't developed. If anything, it's fallen off and it hasn't come back.

Gizmo:

A mediocre affair right now for I've honestly not sipped the whiskey in maybe twenty five minutes. I miss it because it's been the star of the show tonight, and the cigar is just a mediocre affair right now.

Chef Ricky:

I've actually gone back to it because the cigar hasn't been delivering much.

Bam Bam:

Yeah. And there's something about the whiskey that keeps me drawing back to to it with the small steps. I don't know.

Gizmo:

It's good. I'm

Bam Bam:

really enjoying it.

Bam Bam:

Rooster, what's up?

Rooster:

I think the cigar is still the the notes are they haven't fallen off for me. I mean, they're they're still there. I'm still getting the creamy, the nutty. The spice has kind of come back a little bit, but it's faint. It's not like

Bam Bam:

Oh, you're

Rooster:

It's not like the beginning.

Bam Bam:

You're behind all of us.

Gizmo:

Yeah. Not by far, though. Maybe a half half an inch, quarter of an inch.

Bam Bam:

A little bit more, I think.

Gizmo:

Yeah. I I am finding this to be. It's pretty average. Average.

Bam Bam:

Rooster, you said earlier, it keeps going out. Keeps That is exactly what I'm experiencing. So I'm having to relight it.

Rooster:

That has been happening It's on an entire

Bam Bam:

not a touch up effort.

Gizmo:

It's an

Rooster:

effort Completely to goes go out. Exactly. Completely goes out.

Bam Bam:

Very strange.

Rooster:

And it's not like we're not puffing on the cigar.

Bam Bam:

Yeah, and it leads me to believe that it's underfilled. It's not containing. It's not keeping its heat. So it just dissipates and just goes out on you.

Rooster:

Yeah, I'm curious, like Pagoda mentioned, look at that flame.

Gizmo:

By the way, Pagoda has a lighter that somehow has some sort of metal in it that his flame is bright red. Right. Every time he fires his lighter.

Bam Bam:

Yeah. You better go get a blood test after. There's some there's some chemical reaction taking place in that later. Mercury in there. Correct.

Bam Bam:

Heavy metals going on.

Rooster:

Rare earth. I mean, I don't know if the cigar is underfilled, but it's something with the construction of the cigar that you should not have to relight the cigar

Gizmo:

multiple cigars. Think there's some sort of issue with the blend in the way that they've put this together, that it's not combusting to the degree it should be. When you get it going, it's good and there's a lot of smoke output. But the problem is it doesn't stay going.

Rooster:

What's odd is from the first one that I had, obviously from a different box, I did not have this experience. I didn't have to relight this. So I don't know. It's the inconsistency, is very unusual in the rare for a Davidoff cigar to have that. Davidoff cigars are known for impeccable construction.

Bam Bam:

Of course.

Gizmo:

Disappointed. Yeah. Know, ball busting aside, I mean, on Davidoff. But honestly, I was hoping that we were going to come in tonight and love this. And maybe it'll get there in the final third here.

Rooster:

Right now, For But it's not too them to wait ten years and come out with this new black label, it should be a home run. There should not be any construction issues. The blend should be amazing. The construction should be awesome. You shouldn't have to relight it.

Rooster:

The ash shouldn't be flaky.

Gizmo:

Alright, boys. Let's go now to some listener email. I found this one hilarious. Actually, you mentioned this earlier, Bam. So I'm going to go to this one from Lizard Enrique first.

Gizmo:

And the subject is Bam's New Commandments. And he says, hello, Lizards. In recent months, Bam Bam

Bam Bam:

It's not new.

Gizmo:

Has trained his blistering screeds away from lounge etiquette and onto fashion. Not not since Tom Ford has such a voice spoken so incisively on high fashion as our resident untuck it enthusiast. Correct. Bam Bam. On his list of no nos are graphic tees, tie dye tees, Vans shorts

Bam Bam:

Yes.

Gizmo:

I'm sensing a theme. Hoodies. Gibbets and Crocs.

Bam Bam:

Correct. Oh, definitely not.

Gizmo:

What other fashion faux pas should we as listeners avoid? Cheers, Lizard Enrique.

Bam Bam:

Well, I've got a long list.

Gizmo:

So Lizard Enrique wants to hear it. There have been other lizards that have not so eloquently laid it out, but they wanna know.

Chef Ricky:

You know, Bam, I'd love if you go into footwear

Bam Bam:

because there

Chef Ricky:

wasn't anything they were mentioning Let

Bam Bam:

me tell you something.

Rooster:

Bam's top 10 list. Here we go.

Bam Bam:

As an adult, male or female. Now female, women get a pass on this one. But as a man going into a cigar lounge wearing a flip flop Oh, the flip flop kills me. Regardless if it's summer or spring, that is a no no. I can't stand it.

Rooster:

No flip flops.

Bam Bam:

Cannot have flip flops in a cigar lounge.

Gizmo:

I endorse that one as well. You know I'm

Bam Bam:

very intentional. I know that.

Gizmo:

I don't wanna see your feet in the cigar lounge.

Bam Bam:

Give me, okay, you're in your backyard. The You're beach. Beach, fine, around the house, no problem. But in the lounge, that is not proper. I'm sorry.

Bam Bam:

That is unequivocally a no. Shorts in general. Honestly. No shorts. I'm not a fan of shorts in general out in public for a guy, Especially over the age of 25, 30.

Gizmo:

What if it's a 100 degrees out, Bam? And you're touring tobacco fields.

Bam Bam:

Okay. So if you're gonna wear shorts, make sure they're tailored, no cargo shorts, and they've gotta be right at the knee or just maybe hovering just above it.

Bam Bam:

So humpbacks, less?

Bam Bam:

No chubbies. No chubbies. You gotta hover just above the knee, and it's gotta be tailored. Look like an adult. Look like you're put together a little bit.

Rooster:

Fitted fitted shorts.

Bam Bam:

Fitted shorts. They should be fitted and color coordinated with whatever you're wearing.

Rooster:

You know, Untucket used to make good shorts. They still do. They don't make shorts anymore.

Bam Bam:

Well, I don't know. So that's a no no as well.

Rooster:

That was number two.

Gizmo:

There's no shorts.

Bam Bam:

What about the length of

Rooster:

the flip flops.

Bam Bam:

No Length

Rooster:

of the trousers.

Gizmo:

One I've seen is you don't like jeans that are not properly length.

Bam Bam:

Well, he just said, yeah. I'm looking at Gizmo's jeans. Those are good because they're fitted, and they're tapered. Guys that wear pants that are too long for them, and they're bunching up at the bottom, it's like how many other clowns are gonna walk behind you out of their little car? It's

Bam Bam:

hey, you look

Bam Bam:

like a clown.

Bam Bam:

But I have something to say to that.

Bam Bam:

I know, because you sometimes wear those pants. I do.

Bam Bam:

Because you know what it is, is that the waist size and the length size are pretty standardized.

Bam Bam:

Get well,

Rooster:

that's It's not.

Bam Bam:

You go to a tailor.

Rooster:

You can get a thirty six thirty, thirty six

Bam Bam:

thirty two. But but but a thirty six thirty

Bam Bam:

is long on me. So you get it tailored.

Gizmo:

You can just go to the I'm

Bam Bam:

not gonna get jeans

Bam Bam:

course tailored. You are. Of course you are. It costs $25. You're gonna have those jeans for years.

Rooster:

What about are you opposed to cuffing?

Bam Bam:

Yes. Cuffing jeans and cuffing

Rooster:

Cuffing jeans.

Chef Ricky:

I think Bam is opposed to all kinds

Bam Bam:

of cuffing. That is no

Bam Bam:

You know, they have suits. That's very By the way, that's

Bam Bam:

now, not that there's anything wrong with it, but it's very effeminate to do that. Be masculine. Wear a proper pair of jeans that are hemmed at the bottom. Proper length. You're good to go.

Rooster:

That was number three, folks. Next. Number four, Bam.

Bam Bam:

Yeah, I'm trying to think.

Bam Bam:

Yeah, buy yourself a polo, right?

Rooster:

No, couch. No,

Bam Bam:

polars are great.

Rooster:

All right, no tank tops. Cutoffs.

Chef Ricky:

Yeah. No tank

Gizmo:

No tops

Bam Bam:

in a

Chef Ricky:

lounge are like weird.

Bam Bam:

Decide boots.

Bam Bam:

Honestly, here at our club, I haven't ever, all the clubs I've been to, I haven't ever seen cutoffs or tank tops. That's a definite no no

Chef Ricky:

for Tank tops are weird. Nobody wants to see your armpit hair as they're sitting next to you smoking a cigar.

Bam Bam:

The modern adult is no longer wearing

Rooster:

those.

Gizmo:

I know one that really irritates you is improper shoe wear. Like dirty beat up shoes.

Bam Bam:

Well, yeah. Well, work boots I think are acceptable. If you're in a field and you wanna come have a cigar, as long as you know how

Rooster:

to act, you're good. What about a short sleeve shirt button down?

Bam Bam:

Definitely. That's a good it's gotta be collared. Nice polo shirt's fantastic. I wear a lot of those.

Gizmo:

I know something you don't like too is improper cases for your cigars.

Bam Bam:

Well, that's not a tire, but correct. No plastic bags. Now I was disappointed with Pagoda today.

Gizmo:

He came in with those humidified plastic bags.

Bam Bam:

Even worse.

Bam Bam:

Oh, no. Because I just got back. Ah.

Gizmo:

We're we're still

Bam Bam:

on the Charlotte. So I had that Didn't you bust

Bam Bam:

my balls at one time? Bam. You have to have your case loaded and ready to go at all times.

Bam Bam:

I know. I do. You said

Bam Bam:

that to me.

Bam Bam:

Yeah. Today, I don't know. I just came straight up. I just picked up the bag and came.

Chef Ricky:

We are we still on fashion? Charlotte.

Bam Bam:

We are in fashion. What

Rooster:

kinda you know, where are we going? Correct.

Gizmo:

What's your feeling on bow ties?

Bam Bam:

Bow ties?

Bam Bam:

Well Well, possibly.

Gizmo:

If you're not at a

Bam Bam:

If you're coming from a

Gizmo:

fancy let's say you're at, you know

Bam Bam:

If I'm at a wedding.

Gizmo:

Formal Wedding, not tuxedo. Not a formal formal, you know, black

Bam Bam:

Yeah, tie but that's preference.

Rooster:

Black tie affair. The

Bam Bam:

professors will wear bow ties all the time.

Bam Bam:

Well, I'm actually going to a bow tie event soon, and I'm a fan of bow ties if the event calls for it for sure. And look, if you drop the wife off at the house, Honey, I gotta go have a cigar, and I come to the lounge with my bow tie, I'll probably take it off, keep my jacket on. So one other big football at a wedding or an event, you can't stand it when you see a guy take off his jacket

Bam Bam:

Do dance. And put

Bam Bam:

it on his chair. No. A gentleman always keeps the jacket on-

Bam Bam:

Oh my Lord.

Bam Bam:

At all times. That's ridiculous. No, not.

Bam Bam:

Do dance. Look it Look it up. It's What is

Bam Bam:

not proper etiquette for a gentleman

Gizmo:

What if taking a party jacket USA comes on? You know, are you doing

Bam Bam:

the Macarena? Or are doing the Macarena? I I know. Know.

Bam Bam:

I keep my jacket on at all times, regardless of how hot it is in the room, regardless.

Bam Bam:

I'd just like to see you dance. Let's go.

Bam Bam:

Yeah, so jackets stay on.

Chef Ricky:

What's your take on headwear? Mean, have a lovely head of hair.

Bam Bam:

Thank

Chef Ricky:

you. I don't think you'd

Bam Bam:

I never seen you in a

Chef Ricky:

hat, but just curious what you think

Bam Bam:

of hats. I'd like to try a beret. Oh. I would like to try that.

Bam Bam:

No. What what about what about chef Ricky's little

Rooster:

Man bun. Top knot.

Gizmo:

The top knot.

Bam Bam:

I love chefs, I'm not gonna say a word.

Bam Bam:

I'll keep it to myself.

Gizmo:

Well, listen. If you come up with any others

Rooster:

I will.

Gizmo:

Listen. Back in.

Chef Ricky:

I'm sorry. I bet you rooster wish he had a top knot. He

Gizmo:

would rock a top knot.

Bam Bam:

He would.

Rooster:

Would. A rooster wishes he had some hair.

Bam Bam:

He looked like one of those Chinese ninjas. You know? You know how

Rooster:

much how much money I've saved on haircuts in

Gizmo:

the years?

Bam Bam:

Of course.

Chef Ricky:

Oh, I yeah. Especially

Rooster:

buy more vintage cigars?

Chef Ricky:

Haircuts are so expensive.

Gizmo:

Yeah. Haircuts

Bam Bam:

are expensive.

Gizmo:

Paying like $55 for easily.

Bam Bam:

What about

Rooster:

Alright. Here's one. What about facial hair?

Bam Bam:

As long as it's trimmed, beard's great. Well groomed. Goatee is great. Mustache is fine. Just groom it and make it look like a nicely groomed

Gizmo:

look. Civilized.

Bam Bam:

Yeah. Don't let it grow out of control. Just think about what you look like before you leave the house. Take a glance in the mirror.

Gizmo:

Take a We're gonna move on now. If you come up with any more

Bam Bam:

Correct.

Rooster:

Let us know.

Bam Bam:

You got it.

Gizmo:

But I think we nailed the major ones.

Bam Bam:

The major ones,

Gizmo:

yeah. Which is the shorts

Bam Bam:

The flip flops?

Gizmo:

The flip flops.

Bam Bam:

Gotta go.

Gizmo:

And the hemmed the pants.

Bam Bam:

Yes. Can't wear pants that are too long.

Rooster:

I think we got to the top five.

Gizmo:

Yeah. He'll find some more.

Bam Bam:

There you go.

Gizmo:

All right, boys, let's go now to some other listener email. I wanted to start with kind of a group of emails here. So we had Lizard Enrique a couple of weeks ago prompted a question of, you know, asking us to reflect on as we were going into PCA what we think the impact of the podcast has been. Of course, you know, you know, inside the room here, that's a weird question to answer, but we put it out to listeners to to ask them to share some of the things that they feel have been impactful.

Chef Ricky:

Oh, totally.

Gizmo:

And we got some great responses, so I wanted to share this. This one's from our friend, The Cigar Soldier on FOH. He's a good dude. Check out his podcast, by the way, Cigar Soldier Podcast. Very, very good.

Chef Ricky:

Yeah. We love you cigar soldier.

Gizmo:

He's the man. So he says here, how have the lizards impacted the cigar community? Well, for starters, it's brought people from all walks of life together and made every one of us feel like we're that ninth lizard in the room with you guys. Grindr and Pooba will always have that seventh and eighth seat no matter how many episodes they can't make. For me personally, this show and the FOH forum has introduced me to great friends that I now talk to on a weekly basis.

Gizmo:

It's a constant reminder to stop judging a book by its cover. Every year, there are probably five to 10 cigars I never would have tried if not for the review that became that becomes staples in my rotation. And it's cool to see you guys do it too in real time. There'll be weeks where the guys will joke about calling in sick when they're lighting up only to then give the cigar a nine or a 10. That's a good point.

Bam Bam:

Correct.

Gizmo:

I think your guys' greatest strength is the fact that you all have no angle. You're just chasing great cigars from a variety of flavor profiles week after week. And now that the Cuban game, as we know it, is over, I look forward to hunting great substitutes alongside all of you. Like senator said the other week, you guys have a very good bullshit meter and call it like you see it. I love that when you guys do a review, I know it's going to be authentic because you guys bought the cigar and drink, which is very important to note that we have never Nope.

Gizmo:

Rated a cigar that we have not purchased at full price or with a normal discount. And we never taken a free cigar and reviewed it. The only time we've ever taken, you know, done cigars, we did a couple with Rob Isola and Hamlet. We did cigar with Danilo. We did not rate those cigars with those guys because they were gifts to us.

Gizmo:

So we will not review cigars that we've been given free.

Bam Bam:

And the ones in PCA.

Gizmo:

And the ones in PCA.

Rooster:

Correct.

Gizmo:

When the pod starts rolling, the cigar has no choice but perform or it's going to get hammered during the review time. You all have carved out a niche in this space and the fact that none of you need to do this from a financial standpoint lets you be free in this podcast. The industry has noticed this show and you guys represent what it means to be true cigar enthusiasts, the people these manufacturers should want to make cigars for. If a cigar gets a 10, I can guarantee you supply for it online is going to shrink up, and it's going to become hard to find. This show moves the needle, and I think most manufacturers, especially boutique brands, have wised up to this fact.

Gizmo:

But more importantly than all of that, you all have been there for myself, and I'm sure I speak for countless others, when I've been down on my luck. Whether it's the stress of being stationed away from family for months at a time, navigating uncertainty, job markets, etcetera. Whatever the case is with our lives, this show drops every Tuesday at dawn. Death, taxes, Bam Bam, hating the first sip, and this show dropping every Tuesday. It's a testament to your commitment to the to this production.

Gizmo:

So, Giz, thank you for putting this whole thing together every week and maintaining a consistent rhythm for everyone to look forward to. Keep up the great work, and here's to many more years, boys. Cheers, the cigar soldier. Lizard Rates.

Rooster:

Great email.

Bam Bam:

Fucking excellent email. Awesome, right? Excellent email.

Gizmo:

And you know, it's like to hear that from folks, especially folks that have been with us for so long. Mitch, I consider a friend now. We chat all the time. I know you chat with him as well, Chef. You know, it's awesome to hear that you make that kind of impact on folks.

Gizmo:

Yeah. You know, and I want to continue on with that as we have some others here. Let's go to another one now. This one is going to be a voice memo from our friend Lizard John from Boise answering the same question. So let's check this out.

Speaker 7:

Hey Giz, Lizard John from Boise here. I wanted to respond to the question that was raised on the podcast last week, concerning what value the podcast has brought to the listeners. Speaking personally, I agree, obviously, with all the points that were made during the podcast in terms of just having an unfiltered, non business motivated review system, you're not trying to push a product. You're not trying to push a brand. You don't have a website you're trying to direct traffic to.

Speaker 7:

When you guys rate a cigar, I know that it's coming from your hearts. And there's, I can take it at face value. Obviously, every other podcast out there almost is pushing some kind of agenda. I never felt like you guys were pushing anything, but just honesty and community. And for that, obviously we're eternally grateful.

Speaker 7:

But there's also just kind of a touchy feely aspect for me that I'm sure other listeners feel as well. Just the fact that you guys get together every week and spend time irregardless of the cigars or the spirits or anything else that you end up having to talk about during that week's episode. Just the fact that you're getting together as friends and that this hobby has brought you together from different walks of life. And you've taken trips together and you socialize together outside of the pod and you spend time together, obviously outside of the pod in the lounge. That means something to me, especially, you know, as we get older, it's harder and harder to have and maintain quality friendships and to see that or hear that, I guess, in this instance is meaningful.

Speaker 7:

It's meaningful to me. And I love that for you guys. And I love it for other people across the country and across the world that that hopefully have that experience over cigars and spirits. But just that ability to get together with friends as adults when you've got so many other competing distractions, whether it's work or family or whatever it might be to get together as adults and spend time together is so meaningful. And it's meant a lot to me just knowing that you guys are out there getting together every week and laughing and joking with each other and poking fun at each other.

Speaker 7:

And that's another meaningful component to the pod that's related to some of those other issues, but maybe a little bit underneath the surface and just thought I'd bring that up. But again, always thankful. Appreciate you guys. Hope you're all doing well and keep up the great work.

Bam Bam:

Very nice.

Bam Bam:

Very nice email. Yeah. Very nice voice. Nice email.

Gizmo:

Always great to hear from Lizard John, like Lizard Mitch, Cigar Soldier. Yeah. You know, I mean, it's funny you don't think about that. I mean, we've talked about the male loneliness epidemic and cigars in the community and being lizards kind of being a counterpoint to that. But to hear that just us getting together inspires him, you know, the fact that we take this time out of our busy lives as adults to do this every week.

Gizmo:

And I've said this before, and I think you guys would agree with me that had it not been for this podcast over the years, I don't think we would see each other nearly as much.

Bam Bam:

No.

Gizmo:

Yeah. I think it'd be very every once in a while if that that the all of us would be in a room together on a regular basis, some combo of

Chef Ricky:

it. Sure.

Gizmo:

You know, and I think it inspires the other, you know, times that we get together during the week because it's just we're in the rhythm of it. So we're spending time here at the lounge. We're at Senator's house. We go to Roosters in the summer. We're kind of all over the place.

Gizmo:

Go to pagodas. I think that's a product of us getting together to do this. I don't think it's the other way around.

Bam Bam:

That's correct, and it's created this polarizing effect in our club where a lot of our mates in the lounge are also with us. They're going to other houses, and it's kind of created this beautiful little community here. Right?

Bam Bam:

Yeah, I know. It's fantastic. I think, you know, a lot of, my other friend also have, you know, talked a lot about this as well. And some of the other friends have joined lounges and build their own communities in their own way. But yeah, cigars are fantastic.

Bam Bam:

Cigars are fit.

Bam Bam:

No, they are. And, you know, they're a means for so many positive things, right, attributes. Like, it it just brings about, I think, the best in people often. So it's it's great.

Bam Bam:

That last line hit home. Yep. It brings about the best in everyone, this thing that we do. Very well said.

Gizmo:

Alright, boys. Let's go to another one on this topic, and this one is gonna be our lizard of the week presented by our friends at Bon Robert Cigars. And our lizard of the week this week is gonna be a first time writer, Lizard Fireball. And he wrote in on this same topic. So I love hearing from new folks for the first time.

Gizmo:

We've been listening for quite some time, so we always appreciate hearing from everybody. And if you're a listener out there who's never written us, and I think 99.9% of our listeners out there have never written us, please sit down, write us an email, send a voice memo, whatever you choose. We love to hear from you, and you can win lizard of the week like lizard fireball. And his message here is, I was listening to some episodes that I missed, and in late April, a question was posed about what value slash impact has the pod had in the cigar community. I love that I can listen to a review of a $300 cigar or a $10 cigar, and I never know where you guys could uncover a hidden gem.

Gizmo:

More importantly, I do not have any friends that enjoy cigars, and I've never clicked with people at my lounge. I work a lot and have kids, so there's not much time for lounges to begin with. Enjoying cigars was a solo adventure for me, at least until the pod started. Now I feel like I'm there with you guys, and I'm staying engaged with talk of travel, food, unique industry interviews, and Paul Roger. The pod is not trying to pull a fast one on me to make a buck.

Gizmo:

Just people talking and hanging out. This certainly has had a positive impact on me and I'm sure many others. I'm sure it is a lot of work for you guys, so thank you. Wizard Fireball.

Bam Bam:

And it's not hard work over here. I wanna be a fireball. Remember, wear the tally. You're the manager. Okay?

Gizmo:

So congratulations again to Lizard Fireball, that great email. We really appreciate it. He's gonna win a 10 count box of scores from our friends at Bond Roberts, the Dahlias, and the Phenomenos of now Drop Boys. They just came in the other day. I can't wait until they're out of their rest period.

Gizmo:

Unbelievable cigars. But how about that email from Lizard Fireball?

Bam Bam:

Yeah. Awesome.

Gizmo:

Very nice. So this is kind of a

Rooster:

question for you, Giz. I mean, we just come here, we smoke cigars, we converse, we have a great time. But a lot of this work is on you to do editing, We bring in all the

Chef Ricky:

pack in and pack out too.

Rooster:

We do. We help. We help, but nothing like what

Gizmo:

he does, right? That's So

Rooster:

how do you really feel? I mean, is it becoming monotonous at times?

Gizmo:

I mean, the the time that I spend editing because I'm so crazy about it sounding as good as possible, I do spend a lot of time editing. You know? Obviously, much less time now than I did in the past because I just think we've gotten better at the rhythm of things and being good at what we do or better at what we do. Yeah. It gets a little monotonous at times.

Gizmo:

And certainly, you know, for me, being in the room and part of the panel and then kinda taking that hat off and putting the editor hat on, I do have this sometimes conflict of, do I think the episode was good or not? Did this work or not? And my perception is often always wrong. Every time I think it's not working or I didn't love something, that's when we get the most emails saying, You guys are killing it, and this is hilarious, and I love it. So it's this weird thing that happens for me.

Gizmo:

So I try to stay, when I'm in the room at least with you guys, I really try to stay grounded in just doing what we do, and then I analyze it later. Sometimes if I get into an analytic mode in here, it gets a little grating because I think it's unrealistic. But overall, I think for me, I think the listeners out there sending emails and voice memos like this, the comments on FOH and hearing from people on Reddit and on the Spotify comments, that to me is the oxygen that makes this thing really worthwhile because I know that a lot of folks out there, if not most folks, really do recognize that we have no angle in this. I'm very proud that we've never asked our listeners for a dollar to keep this thing going. And I can't believe

Rooster:

That might change, by the way.

Gizmo:

I can't believe when I see new entrants to the cigar media, they've not even put out episode one and they've already got a Patreon launched where they're asking people for subscription dollars. And they also own a retail shop on the side as their main business. So I'm very proud that I think we're one of the very few in this cigar media landscape that operate like that, you know, who are completely sponsor driven. We don't take any free cigars. We don't take any free spirits and rate them.

Gizmo:

We've been sent cigars in the past. We smoke them. We do not bring them into this room to review. Good example is we got some of the Perfectos from Davidoff very kindly. We did not even discuss that really tonight.

Gizmo:

And we certainly would not bring them in for review. I ordered these from small batch using our code, paid full retail with our code. That's how we work, and that's what I'm most proud of.

Rooster:

So what about the pressure of putting out a pod week after week every Tuesday at 05:30 a. M? Like, it has to come out.

Gizmo:

Yeah. There have been

Rooster:

some crazy There's got to be some pressure.

Gizmo:

Familiar with It's not some pressure.

Bam Bam:

I feel

Rooster:

a lot of

Bam Bam:

pressure too, man.

Gizmo:

You do? Yeah, there's a lot of pressure. There have been some nights when I'm printing an episode at 04:30 in the morning for it to come out in a half hour.

Bam Bam:

Then I send him notes. Can you take this out?

Bam Bam:

Can you adjust this?

Bam Bam:

Can you do this?

Gizmo:

You don't do that very often. No. You probably don't have five times in five

Bam Bam:

But you're very accommodating.

Gizmo:

Yeah, thank you. But, know, there's definitely a pressure every week. I feel that it's not like a pressure cooker, but honestly, for me, I think it's something that keeps my week in order. But sometimes when my Mondays get crazy and and the editing gets away with me, if I'm starting an edit at, like, eight, nine, 10:00 at night

Bam Bam:

That's a problem.

Gizmo:

Yeah, it's not good.

Bam Bam:

Yeah.

Gizmo:

Now, do I get it done? Am I good under pressure?

Bam Bam:

Of course I do.

Gizmo:

It doesn't feel as good as Honestly, I wish I could hand the editing off. I wish I could do that. I am crazy in knowing that I'm gonna do it better than I think anybody I would hand it off to.

Bam Bam:

That's the perfectionist

Gizmo:

Yeah, side of that's the problem. But can't compromise on

Bam Bam:

that. Lilith rooster.

Gizmo:

Yeah, you

Bam Bam:

should start doing it. He'd be a good editor.

Gizmo:

You should definitely start doing it rooster.

Rooster:

You do want the pot to grow, right?

Gizmo:

But overall, I I would say that it doesn't feel like a job to me. It feels like a very serious commitment. And it's almost like one of those things you hear about folks who have, like, a Wordle, you know, streak or, you know, they they've done every crossword in The New York Times for as many years as they have. For me now, like, not missing that Tuesday 5AM going on coming up on five years now, like, I'm not breaking that streak.

Rooster:

Right.

Gizmo:

So, like, hell or high water? You know?

Rooster:

How do you handle while you're away? So on vacation, like you were in Italy and, you know, you were all over Europe.

Bam Bam:

That's a good question.

Gizmo:

Yeah. So I edited two episodes while I was in Italy. You know, the times I would have been smoking, I didn't smoke, but I was editing at night when my family went to sleep. So I did edit two of those. I recorded the voiceovers before I left, after we did our episode.

Gizmo:

So I had it. But yeah, I've done some editing. Do it on planes. You saw me on the plane. Oh, Going to PCA, was editing.

Gizmo:

At PCA that Saturday morning I was editing.

Bam Bam:

Were you editing while you were waiting for the passport? I was I could see you.

Gizmo:

That was not a good editing day. Yeah, was not a good editing day. No, you know, it's just a really serious commitment for me now. Like, It has to come out.

Bam Bam:

Of course.

Rooster:

We are very thankful and grateful I to appreciate that.

Bam Bam:

A 100%.

Chef Ricky:

It's a

Rooster:

lot of work.

Chef Ricky:

A 100%. I have a suggestion for Lizard of the Week here.

Rooster:

What's that?

Chef Ricky:

Barbara Walther. Barbara Walther. The reverse interview here is fantastic.

Bam Bam:

I like it.

Gizmo:

Yeah. I mean, it's a lot of

Rooster:

work that happens, you know, behind the scenes.

Gizmo:

Absolutely. You know? Yeah. But very seriously, I wanna make it very clear to you guys and the listeners. I think it's clear, but I wanna make it extra clear.

Gizmo:

I'm not. There's not been a moment where I regret it or I'm frustrated by the idea of having to do it. It's just a serious commitment for me that requires that dedication, and I'm cool with that. I've never wavered from that. And oftentimes, I'm wondering how can I increase it to grow this thing, you know?

Gizmo:

So I'm working on some stuff that that will probably be coming out soon.

Chef Ricky:

But I want you to know, Giz, that that none of that goes unnoticed. That's why it's important to me and I think every all of us here that make a constant effort to show up every week.

Bam Bam:

Oh, yeah.

Chef Ricky:

This is why we do it.

Gizmo:

Yeah. Oh, yeah. I appreciate it. And, know, I think I think for all of us, I think the important thing that I think if it goes unsaid 99.9% of the time when we talk about it in reflective moments like this or when we have an anniversary episode, is like the idea that this catalog is gonna live well beyond us. That is, I think, the most interesting and compelling thing to do the best job that we can, not for revenue or selling cigars or whatever these things are that we've elected not to do.

Gizmo:

For me, it's just, I'm very proud of the catalog. It's kind of like a musician putting out an album and reflecting on it ten years later. That's how I look at this. Like, I'm very proud of the catalog.

Bam Bam:

Oh,

Gizmo:

You know, Some of the early episodes, I'm a little

Bam Bam:

They were fun.

Gizmo:

Little preseason action. You can see the development. You can feel it. And I think I'm very proud of what we've done here.

Rooster:

Everyone that has come across the pod that I have spoken to, they always comment about the audio quality, that how clean it sounds, that it's a pleasure to listen to two hours of a podcast. Because most of the podcasts out there that are reviewing cigars, you light it. It's like the opening of the box, pre light, first, third, half place, second, third, and then that's it. And they waited at the end, which is it kinda you know, it's not fun to listen to a lot of the episodes.

Chef Ricky:

It feels like work.

Gizmo:

Yeah. I think the one thing I noticed too, and, again, this is not a knock, but I just find it interesting that, you know, of all the other media that covered PCA, we're the only guys talking about the experience in New Orleans, the restaurants, the culture, the music, after parties. That is, I think, our niche, I think that that's what we bring to it is we're trying to share the experience, not just here's all the new products.

Bam Bam:

It's not just about smoking for us, right? It's about everything we're experiencing in life.

Rooster:

Exactly. Lifestyle Podcast.

Bam Bam:

Correct.

Chef Ricky:

Yeah, I listen to a lot of podcasts, and some of them are like big budget podcasts.

Bam Bam:

Where else are you gonna get some fashion tips?

Chef Ricky:

Tons of ads. Yep. You know, and the sound quality is horrible. The editing is nonexistent. And I don't understand why it doesn't bother them.

Gizmo:

Well, think the thing I'll say, and to put a pin in this, is that what I've learned over the years with audio for as long as I've been doing it is that people don't know what they want until they hear what they don't like, and I think that that is what makes those comments happen, Rooster, and what you're saying, Chef, is that people don't realize it until they hear what they don't like. Yeah, what they don't like or even in this case, wow, that sounds different than everybody else's

Bam Bam:

Correct, sure.

Gizmo:

Yeah, yeah. And I'll be honest, it's very difficult because we got, you know, air conditioning. We've got We've smoke got stuff. We're not in a studio with soundproofing.

Bam Bam:

Got Doors opening?

Gizmo:

Doors and everything else. So it yeah. So thankfully, found a setup that works. So I appreciate the question, Rooster. I appreciate all the comments and nice words, boys.

Gizmo:

And of course, thanks to all the listeners who write in. I would love to continue this conversation. I love hearing from listeners. I think this is a really important part of the connection we have with you out there. We love to hear from you on this stuff.

Gizmo:

I think it's really compelling. I think it's really interesting. And for us, it's like it's the ties that bind all of this together between us in the room and you out there. I think it's a real special thing that we have. So please continue to share your comments, your voice memos, your emails, etcetera.

Gizmo:

We really, really appreciate it. So, boys, let's go on to another one now before we get to our ratings. I wanted to share this one from Lizard T, and this is important because this is about a cigar coming up. So Lizard T wrote about the pledge purple. Hi, Lizards.

Gizmo:

I heard on the podcast that you guys were planning to smoke the pledge purple. I applaud your choice. I've been chasing Casa Carrillo cigars around for a while ever since I've tasted the pledge prequel, and I was genuinely impressed by the amount of flavor that that little stick delivered. I enjoyed Lisette's videos and appreciate seeing more smart, knowledgeable women being movers and shakers in the cigar industry. I've enjoyed several of their blends, including Encore and Allegiance, which have very different but equally impressive and dynamic flavor profiles.

Gizmo:

I also hunted down the much rarer silk. I've not had that one. Driving an hour each way to secure some since they weren't available in my area. Sadly, this particular release wasn't as much to my taste, but the pledge purple certainly is. I was able to grab and smoke some of the pledge purple at a store I only had to drive thirty minutes to, after which I immediately ordered some more boxes.

Gizmo:

I'm eagerly eagerly waiting the Ascend and the Deep Blue, the two new releases that we talked about, and we'll probably go to fairly silly lengths to get my hands on some as soon as they are released. Here's the important note for us and for listeners out there as we do have the pledge prequel coming up alongside a great inner interview with Ernesto Perez Carrillo from PCA. Lizard T continues. The one thing I learned the hard way about the pledge purple is that it does deliver every bit of the high expectations you would have of ten year age tobacco, but it only works at a higher relative humidity.

Bam Bam:

Interesting.

Gizmo:

I would suggest around 68 to 69. At 73 RH, which is where it was when I smoked it the first time off the retailer shelf, it of course had some burn and draw issues, but it was absolutely delicious. I probably should have waited to smoke any after seeing that number come up on my humidity checker, but, of course, I didn't. I was not one bit sorry. High humidity be damned.

Gizmo:

Dropping the rest of them down a few ticks in humidity solved the burn and draw issues, and the flavor was still fantastic. But when I tried dry boxing them to my normal smoking RH of 63 to 65, they really were not good at all.

Bam Bam:

Interesting. Wow.

Gizmo:

That for me was huge about this email because, of course, that's where I was going. Yeah. Leaving them in a lower humidity situation to try to bring them down. So I kind of slowed it because I respect Lizard T's palette here. You know, she writes this a lot.

Gizmo:

So she says it was just not the same cigar. The difference was really striking. I smoke as well as age a lot of Cubans and Davidoff's and both perform beautifully beautifully at lower RH as we've talked about a lot. I also find 63 to 65 an enjoyable enjoyable smoking point for most of the other non Cubans I favor, so that's what my quote, smoke at this week box is set to. Putting a handful of pledge purple in there was not a mistake.

Gizmo:

I will be repeating. The survivors now have their own Tupper door that I've set to seven. That's higher than I store or smoke anything else, but this cigar seems to really benefit from it. I beg you to consider smoking the pledge purple at a higher humidity than usual even if you normally prefer to dry box. So most, if not all, cigars will, of course, vary a bit in what they deliver depending on humidity you smoke them at.

Gizmo:

But the purple was the most extreme example I have personally encountered. At a higher humidity level, they are superb. Drop them much below 68, and they dip pretty dramatically in my experience. Take it for whatever it's worth, and I do hope you enjoy them to their fullest potential, Lizard T. So good warning out there.

Bam Bam:

I love the detail. Right? Fantastic.

Gizmo:

That's that's Gizmo level detail.

Bam Bam:

That is excellent detail.

Gizmo:

So that honestly, I I did change my protocol based on this email because again, I respect Lizard T's palette. You know, she writes us a lot. She smokes a lot of cigars. She's been smoking a long time. So hearing from Lizard T on this did change my planning for the Pledge Purple.

Gizmo:

So that one is coming up very soon. So hopefully it will perform as expected, boys.

Bam Bam:

I like that cigar.

Gizmo:

So I got a 10 count box. I haven't had any yet. Mhmm. You know, for review. I haven't smoked any.

Gizmo:

It was hard to find that damn cigar, dude.

Bam Bam:

I had it very early out of the out of the box. The group of us ordered it. I took five. I started smoking one after Which

Rooster:

group would that might be?

Gizmo:

It wasn't us.

Bam Bam:

My hometown group. Let's say. My neighbors.

Rooster:

So many groups.

Bam Bam:

Yes, my neighborly group. So, you know, it was very smooth, very creamy, really enjoyable experience. Honestly, it's smoked like a very elegant, smooth cigar. Looking forward to reviewing it here.

Gizmo:

Me too, man. And that interview with Ernesto, I can't wait to share. Dude. One of my favorite things we've done.

Bam Bam:

I think it's one of the best all time cigar experiences I've ever had.

Rooster:

He's a legend in the cigar industry.

Gizmo:

He is He such was totally different than what we expected.

Bam Bam:

He was a sweetheart. The guy was a gentleman, Very knowledgeable. That interview, for me, kicked up just my perspective Me too, man. Dramatically.

Rooster:

Like his knowledge? Yes.

Gizmo:

No, it was his willingness to educate and

Bam Bam:

share,

Gizmo:

which of course aligns with our ethos. But I think, you know, if you look at and we'll talk about this in the future. But if you look at all of the Dominican kind of personalities, if you look at a Carlito, a Lito Gomez, a Hanky Kellner, a lot of these folks are big personalities. Right? He's not.

Gizmo:

He's probably one of the most chill, relaxed guys.

Bam Bam:

Very humble.

Gizmo:

So when we sat down with him, that's what I was expecting. But man, he really just immediately opened up. We dove into fifty years of his passion and love for tobacco and Incredible. I mean, it's really special. I cannot wait to share that interview with everybody.

Gizmo:

It's really a

Bam Bam:

Off the charts.

Gizmo:

Yeah, it's gonna be really, really good. So, boys, we are coming to the end of our evening now with the Barrell Seagrass blended rye whiskey and the Davidoff Porro Dominicano in Corona Larga. Any final thoughts here before we move into the ratings? Don't forget to send your text message of ratings over, please. I gotta say, you know, as we go into our ratings, this cigar really was peaks and valleys for me tonight.

Gizmo:

And I'm having difficulty coming up with a number, honestly, to rate it because

Bam Bam:

Well, I just sent you mine.

Rooster:

It's it's pretty easy.

Gizmo:

For me, the whiskey was definitely the star of the show. Alright, boys. It's time now to move into the formal liquorating tonight on the Barrell Seagrass blended rye whiskey. Bam. Bam, you're up.

Bam Bam:

I love the spirit tonight. It just, for me, got better and better and better. I just love how rich. Honestly, me, the end as I drank my second glass, it got creamier for me. But the vanilla and butterscotch were all there.

Bam Bam:

The aroma on the nose was just off the charts. Regardless of how hot this is and how much this bottle cost, for me, because of the experience and the I get value out of a spirit like this because I need one glass in an hour plus long sit, and the flavor just lingers and continues. And if you have the right cigar with this experience, it would be an exquisite evening. I'm at a firm 10.

Gizmo:

Wow. I don't

Bam Bam:

think I've ever had a spirit this hot that drank so beautifully, and as your palate adjusts, you're really capturing a lot of the nuances of this. Very sophisticated spirit tonight, so I'm at a really firm 10. I am going to buy this bottle.

Gizmo:

Awesome. Yeah.

Chef Ricky:

Jeff? This was shock and awe. You know, I took a sip of this and I just, at that sip, quick scan of the room and we all sort of had the same look on our face like, holy shit, this is hot, holy shit, it's delivering so much flavor and it's delivering so much, you know, for me, what was new flavor. You know, that burst of apricot that I was getting there that was, you know, from the barreling, the butterscotch, the vanilla, you know, usually, especially in bourbons, some of those flavors are a little cloying and heavy. And, you know, here we are in May.

Chef Ricky:

Right? And sure, it's it's a cooler May than normal, which makes us rye even even better for that reason. But the fruitiness and the brightness and the acidity that's present here, along with those butterscotch, vanilla, caramel notes that you are, you know, sure to find in a rye, It was magic. It was magical, you know, and I I loved it. You know, the price point, I'm it's fine.

Chef Ricky:

It's an unadulterated spirit. It's cast strength. There's no water added. I'm all for it, you know? So I I love this stuff.

Chef Ricky:

You know, Bam hinted at it. I think if the cigar was just a lit, you know, a a bit better, it would have been a great pairing. But on its own, this spirit was phenomenal.

Bam Bam:

Sure.

Chef Ricky:

I I really, really, really enjoyed the spirit, and it's right up my alley. So, yeah, I'm at a firm 10.

Gizmo:

I thought I was gonna be the only 10 or maybe alongside Pagoda. We'll see what you got to, but

Bam Bam:

you too.

Gizmo:

I'm impressed because, you know, I think Pagoda and I were the ones who were really loving this the whole way through, especially as it paired with this Dominican cigar. Yeah. I mean, we drank a full cask strength spirit tonight, a rye whiskey that I've railed on. Know, like I said earlier in the episode, I think irrationally railed on rye, saying stupid shit like that it doesn't pair well with cigars.

Chef Ricky:

Gizmo, in your defense, there isn't a rye that we've ever had in this room So

Bam Bam:

I that tastes about say that. This is a very unique

Gizmo:

But the blanket statement that I put over all rye, I think, was ridiculous. My commentary on those individual ryes, I think, played. I think I still I think I stand by those. But this one tonight, man, even at 60%, man, it blew me away. I think the the finishing in those three barrels, I think they've really tapped into something special here, especially as it goes for cigar smokers.

Bam Bam:

Sure.

Gizmo:

I think what we do in this room for most, you know, Dominicans and almost all Nicaraguans, I think this is a really brilliant spirit to sip alongside your cigars. I do agree with you, chef. The price is high, but I'm gonna, like you said, Bam, go out and buy a bottle.

Bam Bam:

Correct.

Gizmo:

It's a really good whiskey.

Bam Bam:

Now I will say, you can't have every cigar with the spirit.

Bam Bam:

Oh, no.

Bam Bam:

You cannot. I don't think I would ever smoke a Cuban with this unless it No. Was

Gizmo:

Cuban and Honduras are out, I

Bam Bam:

Well, I would do a Partagas Maduro number one with this. Beyond that, I'm not sure. A Ramon Alonas, possibly?

Rooster:

Maybe a boulevard. I

Bam Bam:

don't know. I don't know about that. Maybe those two for me, but a Padron Exclusivo? Yes. My gosh.

Bam Bam:

100% would be incredible.

Gizmo:

Actually, when we're done here, I think that should be

Chef Ricky:

my I think Same same here. Any of the any of the aging rooms.

Rooster:

Aging room

Gizmo:

be great with these.

Bam Bam:

I agree. Yeah. I would also go the that Trinidad Espiritu. Espiritu absolutely would be beautiful with this spirit. It would really beautifully match.

Gizmo:

You know what I think would be really good with this? The Padron eightieth.

Bam Bam:

I think, yeah. Almost any Padron.

Gizmo:

But I think that one specifically would really pop with this.

Bam Bam:

The sixtieth would do great too?

Rooster:

Yeah, 60. Was gonna say

Bam Bam:

the 50, the hammer would do fantastic here.

Rooster:

Probably any other family reserve.

Bam Bam:

100%. 100%.

Gizmo:

So again, I'm blown away. 60% here of rye whiskey. Can't believe it. The nose was just so I would I would say flavorful. Oh, The nose was flavorful.

Gizmo:

I know that doesn't make any sense, but sounds like you could taste it. It was brilliant. So this Barrell Seagrass, cheers to them. This is a 10 for me tonight. I'm completely blown away.

Gizmo:

Pigarh?

Bam Bam:

Yeah. For me, it's a nine. And by the way, I was debating between a nine and a 10. It's a very, very strong nine for me. The two reasons why or three reasons why I think I knocked it down a bit, and this is mostly because of my personal tasting profile and, you know, my ability to withstand higher proof liquors.

Bam Bam:

From that perspective, you know, what I found was obviously, the price is a bit high, 85. Alright. That's fine. You know, a great bottle to have. I think in terms of versatility, I think we all kind of kind of covered that.

Bam Bam:

It's probably gonna be suited for some stronger flavored cigars. The thing for me is that for by the way, on the merits, I'll talk of the merits after this, but the reason why I knocked it down a bit, my chest feels heavy. And you know, part of me thinks, like, while I've been sipping this, you know, this drink throughout, and I've been gravitating towards it from a flavor profile perspective, You know, I was asking myself, is this something I'm gonna buy and drink often? I think for me, I would find myself not not you know, like, it's not gonna become staple or it's not gonna be one of those spirits, you know, which I'm gonna be drawn to all the time because I have to take really small sips to be able to enjoy it. And I think for me, what that was doing was, alright.

Bam Bam:

So what if I did put a little bit of a chip of ice, but the flavor

Bam Bam:

So what you're saying is you'd prefer to gulp?

Bam Bam:

No. These are very, very small sips, Bam. Like, you know Small you know, it's not like

Gizmo:

No. But he was he was sipping small. Mean Yeah. He and I were on the same page, I think, most of the episode. I'm actually surprised to hear rating.

Bam Bam:

Yeah. And no, but it it was, you know, was just debating whether it's something I'm gonna be gravitating towards all the time. And you know, if you put ice or if, you know, just so that I could have a lot more of it, That flavor just changed so dramatically in a negative way that, you know, it's not something I'm gonna be having all the time. And so it's definitely one of the spirits I'll have. I'm definitely gonna get a bottle.

Bam Bam:

So you're confirming

Bam Bam:

a very. You're

Bam Bam:

a nice man.

Bam Bam:

No. Nine is a very good score. You know, let's not course. Yeah.

Gizmo:

It's an elite score, Bam.

Bam Bam:

Elite. And

Bam Bam:

especially, you know, for such a high spirit, for a person like me. But on the flavor profile, man, this was fantastic. You know, I remember having Angel's Envy rye the first time, and that's an expensive bottle too. I think 85 or $90. And I had that experience with that rye, and I believe this may be the second rye that I've really enjoyed so much.

Bam Bam:

It's excellent. So but, you know, overall, I think yeah. I was debating between nine and ten throughout, and I, you know, ended up choosing nine because it's a very, very strong recommend, but it's not something that I would be doing like, I'd be drinking all the time. So

Gizmo:

Alright, boys. The former liquor rating tonight on the Barrell Seagrass blended rye whiskey is a 9.8. Yeah. Great composite there. Perfect score

Rooster:

for this.

Bam Bam:

Of course.

Gizmo:

Yeah. Perfect score for

Bam Bam:

this. Correct.

Gizmo:

And now, boys, it's time to move into the formal lizard rating tonight on the Davidoff Dominicano in Corona Larga, Rooster Europe.

Rooster:

So Davidoff took ten years to come out with this cigar.

Gizmo:

Ten years.

Rooster:

Ten years. Fourth cigar in this Black Labour label line. Was Labour despoken. It.

Bam Bam:

Correct.

Rooster:

And I mean, I like the size of the cigar. I've smoked the other Vitolas in this, the Perfecto and the short Robusto. I thought those were super heavy with and loaded with pepper, but so is this. This is also think whether it's the white pepper or the black pepper, that is the dominant note. The only time this cigar really got good was after the first third, when the spice or the pepper dissipated and there was a little bit of a sweet note and espresso was coming through.

Rooster:

I enjoyed that.

Gizmo:

It was like a strobe light, though.

Rooster:

Yeah, but it was very short lived. It was very short lived. Then the cigar kind of got muddled in the halfway point. In the last third, it actually did pick up in strength. It's definitely a medium full bodied cigar.

Rooster:

I don't think the cigar is for a novice smoker, but if you enjoy that spice heavy, that black pepper note, you might enjoy that. But I'm not a fan of the Black Label Davidoff cigars. And now to the construction side of it. This cigar, all of us had to relight the cigar multiple times. I even had a draw issue.

Rooster:

I took out the

Gizmo:

I saw you had the perfect draw.

Rooster:

Perfect draw to to help with that. I took multiple cuts.

Gizmo:

That's first time

Chef Ricky:

the perfect draw made an appearance on this part.

Rooster:

I'm very Yeah. Mean, especially on a new world,

Gizmo:

it's rare.

Rooster:

And on a David Davidoff, the construction to be off on a Davidoff, that's very rare. And unacceptable. Unacceptable for sure. So I'm curious to see if this cigar does sit for a while, you know, three months, six months, maybe a year. See what that does to that cigar.

Rooster:

See if it kind of mutes the spice level on the cigar and it's tastier at that point. I'm hoping. I'm hopeful. I do have a couple of boxes of this in this Vitola itself. Think this is the better You bought

Gizmo:

boxes of this?

Rooster:

Two. I bought two boxes. Wow. And so I'm curious how it's going to do, perform like if it sits for a while. I'm at a seven at this point on this cigar, and we'll see how it does in the future.

Rooster:

Alright. Pagoda?

Bam Bam:

Yeah. Likewise, I'm at a seven. And for me, most of the listeners know I really love Davidoff as a brand. Like, it's I've had some of my most favorite cigars and memorable moments with Davidoff's. You know, Davidoff's and Padron's, you know, whether it's a late hour, whether it's the Maduro, whether it's a Dominicana or the Churchill, there's so many, like, and a lot of them have made it into my rotation for quite some time.

Bam Bam:

This cigar, you know, multiple, multiple relight, like not even touch ups. They were complete relight. It was just absolutely just, you know, it would just dying. And Cigar

Rooster:

would just go out

Chef Ricky:

on you.

Bam Bam:

Yeah. It would just go out on you. And so it just creates it's not a great experience. You know, it's funny because initially when it started off, I said, oh, look at the construction. It's flawless.

Bam Bam:

You know, the smoke up, it was really good and velvety.

Rooster:

That's what you expect from

Chef Ricky:

a davanagh. Think that's all that's what we all wanted.

Bam Bam:

Yeah. It's and then there were a few moments where it was really good. I was looking for a little bit of the sweetness to come through, which I think, you know, when I did have that rye, it did bring about the sweetness with the, you know, the the long finish. It was it helped the cigar a little bit. But, you know, like with Davidoff, it's not something which I would expect.

Bam Bam:

And, you know, like, I, like, was looking forward to smoking the Davidoff. And I initially went walking in, I would have thought that Davidoff would have stolen the show. But in this case, was just completely opposite. Yeah. It was underwhelming.

Bam Bam:

You know? And it's a seven for me.

Gizmo:

So given everything you guys have said, it's a six for me. I I thought this cigar was smokable. I thought there was a blip of excellence, as you said, rooster, at the end of that first third. I really came in tonight hoping that for all the ball busting that we've done and and we've been harsh, I've been harsh on Davidoff, I was hoping it was gonna prove us wrong. We've had two in a row now, this being three in a row, that have not performed very well.

Gizmo:

And I don't take a lot of joy in that because, as you said, we've gotten so much joy out of Davidoff. I think Davidoff is probably the manufacturer who we've we've reviewed the most on the pod. And at one point, they were the composite highest rated, especially at volume at three, four, or more reviews. One of the highest rated manufacturers we've had on this podcast. For Pagoda to rate it a seven.

Gizmo:

For for Rooster to rate it a seven. For me to rate it a six, and we'll see where you guys end up, Chef and Bam, I just think it's an unacceptable experience for $23 tonight, especially in this format. If this was a Toro or a Churchill, maybe we'd be having a little bit of a value a different value discussion. The fact that we at that price, all of us were relighting continuously, not just me. I talked a lot tonight, but all of us were relighting.

Gizmo:

It's unacceptable for a 23 Davidoff in this format. This is a Corona, 44 by five and seven eighths. I mean, it should be perfect at that price. And it's not and it's really, really sad to me that Davidoff continues, at least over the last three cigars we've reviewed, continues to be a disappointment here. I'm hoping they turn it around.

Gizmo:

I hope the next one we review is a is a 10, but tonight for me, it's a six. Chef.

Chef Ricky:

I was excited for this cigar. Me too, man. You know, the wrapper smelled amazing.

Bam Bam:

Oh, yes.

Chef Ricky:

The cold roll was delicious. You know, we it took us a minute to hit record, and I Just the entire time, maybe five, six minutes long, I was smelling the wrapper because it was so intoxicating. The first third was good. The second third, I started to pick up some tea notes with some almond and a little shortbread. And then the final third, it was almost as if someone took over steep tea and tried to correct it by adding water.

Chef Ricky:

Rooster, I wish I got any of that spice you were calling out. I didn't. And that maybe would have brought excitement and some interesting character to the cigar that just wasn't there. You know, the I I don't have the history you guys have smoking Davidoff, but entering my final that final third and all throughout, all I kept thinking to myself was this does not feel smoke like, taste like, or remind me of any Davidoff I've ever had prior. And, you know, price point aside, because it's a Davidoff, you know, it just it didn't feel like it.

Chef Ricky:

It didn't smoke like it. You know? And I probably had the best constructed cigar in the room where I was able to build some ash. You know? I didn't have as many relights.

Chef Ricky:

I did have one full relight and maybe one touch up. But everywhere else in the room, was so much more than that. And even still, it just it really fell in the background, especially in that final third. So with all that said, it was a seven for me.

Bam Bam:

Alright, Bam. Where do I begin? You know, I love all of your commentary from the perspective of all of the negativity of this cigar because this is an extraordinarily disappointing Davidoff. There were moments where it was fine, and then it got very flat, and you get a plug here where it's great, and then down here it's not good, and as you go through it, it's on and off and on and off. This is not a Davidoff cigar, and you said it perfectly earlier, you didn't have the experience that we had in the past smoking Davidoff's.

Bam Bam:

I have a special place in my heart for Davidoff, especially the Davidoff Millennium Pyramid, but I love a lot of their cigars, and I'm recently discovering new things that Davidoff's making that right now is incredible. This is a complete flop, and at this price point, it's a complete disaster. I don't know how it recovers. I'm just curious what other listeners, if they've had this, I'd love to hear their commentary, but it's just an extraordinary disappointment. And I'm I'm at a six.

Bam Bam:

I could have easily given this a five, but I was getting some decent notes here and there that kinda kept my attention. But that's about it. Not much more than that. So I'm at a flat six.

Gizmo:

Alright, boys. The former lizard reading tonight on the Davidoff, Puerto Dominicano, in Corona Larga is a 6.6.

Bam Bam:

It should be lower.

Gizmo:

And again, we opened this episode hearing from Davidoff that this was a rare jewel. Heaven from Earth. These are buried treasures.

Bam Bam:

Yeah, I'd bury it in my is

Gizmo:

a gem raised from the ground.

Chef Ricky:

I'd bury it again.

Bam Bam:

Correct. Put it back in

Gizmo:

the ground. I mean, the marketing exercise again proves, especially when Davidoff fan, you know, fanatics. Yeah. Especially like Pagoda, Rooster, Bam, even you, chef, more than me, giving it sevens and sixes like we did tonight. I just think it's another example of Davidoff is not on the right trajectory here.

Gizmo:

No. And I'm hoping that you know, we talked about meeting some great folks at PCA. I'm hoping that they've heard this and that they're turning it around. But the fact that this is the first new black label Davidoff to be introduced in ten years and to rate like this tonight on this podcast Yep. Is shocking.

Gizmo:

To use your word, chef, shock and awe. Yeah. That this is the best that Davidoff has to offer for regular production right now.

Bam Bam:

And we're saying things like it's a total disappointment.

Gizmo:

You said it was a flop. Think that's perfect way to

Bam Bam:

put it. It's a complete flop.

Gizmo:

Let me ask you this. You're a buyer out there. Yeah. You've listened to this podcast. You think we're crazy.

Gizmo:

You go out and buy a five pack of these for $23. Each. Each. You know, you buy the five pack for what? 121.

Gizmo:

Whatever it is. You smoke one, two, three of these cigars. Are you ever going to go back to this? No. In a regular production cigar?

Bam Bam:

People would probably avoid the Marco overall, and that's a shame.

Chef Ricky:

I was just gonna say that.

Bam Bam:

And that's, see, that's what's the most devastating part of this. You're pushing people away from your brand.

Bam Bam:

It seems like Ruse is pot committed. He's got a couple of boxes.

Rooster:

He's couple of boxes already.

Gizmo:

He's looking to flip them, by the way. 90 bid.

Bam Bam:

Here's the flip side. So for me personally, the flip side of my Davidoff experience, I recently discovered the Grand Cru series, and these have been such a joy to smoke. It's shocking and surprise how delicious and beautifully smoking these particular cigars are, and for them to do this, it's like, I don't know

Rooster:

what's It's going a totally different cigar. The Grand Cru series is creamy hashing,

Bam Bam:

but it's coming from the same brand. And everything a brand puts out should be consistent to The what they're

Rooster:

Black Label Davidoff, they are very similar. The Nicaragua, the Escuro, Yamasa, and this one. None of them I mean, they're all like spice heavy. They're heavy smokes. So there might be people out there that do like that flavor profile.

Bam Bam:

But that's okay. I'm not even commenting on the flavor here. I'm commenting on the performance of the cigar.

Gizmo:

Oh, well, yeah.

Chef Ricky:

I did this as the first

Rooster:

worst performance.

Gizmo:

No. It it had a moment of brilliance. And that's it.

Rooster:

Heavy meaning, like, full bodied and I I don't know. You didn't get the spice. For me, it was like the pepper was a dominant spice throughout the single.

Bam Bam:

I didn't

Rooster:

more so in the perfecto and the short robusto, less in this. Yeah. But it was there.

Chef Ricky:

You know what's crazy? The the the unbear unbearability of the retrohale that Bam was calling out in the first third.

Gizmo:

And I was experiencing too.

Bam Bam:

That's a toilet paper word.

Gizmo:

Unbearability, folks. Unbearability.

Chef Ricky:

I thought that on the retrohale at the final third where I take pride in being able to retrohale the cigars and and and and elevate the the aroma and flavor that I'm getting. And I just couldn't on that final third. And Pagoda, to your point earlier, where you had said that, you know, I think I mentioned the tea call out and and you you were not sure if it was because I mentioned it that you were getting it. You know, if that were true, then we would all fall victim to the Davidoff marketing. And we didn't, you know, despite the the the sound bites and the videos and everything, we still came to conclusion that we came into.

Davidoff's Mr. Marketing:

From the soil of the Dominican Republic

Gizmo:

Oh, yeah.

Davidoff's Mr. Marketing:

Comes a rare jewel. As you were drawn

Gizmo:

to What are we doing?

Davidoff's Mr. Marketing:

And it's glow. Red. Discover. It's untold. Rare.

Davidoff's Mr. Marketing:

Raised from six unique

Rooster:

terroir It's got manure.

Davidoff's Mr. Marketing:

With unique contour.

Gizmo:

Terroir. Did you guys experience any of this tonight? No.

Chef Ricky:

You know what was unique? Paying $23 for this cigar.

Davidoff's Mr. Marketing:

Davidoff Dominicano. A gem raised from the ground.

Chef Ricky:

Yeah. We should have known. They have an Australian doing as as an ad for a Dominican cigar.

Gizmo:

I I don't know what accent that is.

Bam Bam:

It's crazy. Yeah.

Gizmo:

Alright, boys. So let's compare this 6.6 tonight. We're going to only compare it to the last five Davidoff's we've done. We've done so many on this podcast. Many were nines plus.

Gizmo:

So we're going to go. We're going to start with episode 132, the Bellicoso on the short smoke special from the White Label scored a perfect 10. On episode 138, the Maduro in Robusto scored a 9.9. On episode 165, the late hour in Robusto scored an 8.5. On episode 203.

Gizmo:

The chef's edition twenty twenty five, the Toro scored a 7.9. On episode 229, the Winston Churchill, the original series in Churchill scored a 7.7. And tonight, once again, the Porro Dominicano and Corona Larga scored a 6.6.

Bam Bam:

Well, that graph is declining.

Gizmo:

That's what I'm saying.

Bam Bam:

That's correct.

Gizmo:

Everything before that was nine plus. Yeah. And then once we hit remember we did that late hour Robusto? Eighty five was like, oh my God, what's Yeah, sure. Now we're in the sevens here?

Gizmo:

Yeah, you know, look, is crazy too.

Bam Bam:

Because the late hour Robusto was, like I smoked a lot of that. I smoked the Churchill mostly, but the

Gizmo:

Robusto Of course,

Rooster:

we all did.

Bam Bam:

But put aside the flavor profile of this cigar tonight, if it performed well, if it was better constructed, it would actually allow us to experience more of the flavor profile and be more consistent in its experience tonight, it would've rated higher.

Chef Ricky:

It would've gotten another point.

Gizmo:

It would've gotten another point. Would've gotten a 77.

Bam Bam:

Of course. And that's big deal for this cigar because it's so abysmal tonight. It's just

Chef Ricky:

But even a 77 for any Davidoff is almost

Gizmo:

It's crazy to me.

Bam Bam:

All sort of failure.

Gizmo:

It's almost dropped off 20 points or something.

Bam Bam:

This is like a lower grade Davidoff. They should have a lower tier for this particular cigar.

Chef Ricky:

It's crazy. I mean,

Bam Bam:

that white We're particularly being brutal because we happen to love this marca. We want to experience the very

Gizmo:

best

Bam Bam:

But

Gizmo:

I don't think the brutality or ability

Bam Bam:

Right.

Gizmo:

We've coined tonight.

Bam Bam:

That's correct.

Gizmo:

I don't think that would have been present in this room despite our aversion to that marketing and laughing about it. If the cigar performed like we hoped it would That's right.

Bam Bam:

It would have

Gizmo:

been a nine or a 10.

Bam Bam:

Correct.

Rooster:

It would

Gizmo:

have been.

Rooster:

I mean, I would smoke a Padron thousand series over there.

Bam Bam:

Oh, easy. Those are all excellent cigars.

Gizmo:

The 3,000 a piece a was unbelievable. Was a The taco

Chef Ricky:

Bella Coastal White Label Churchill.

Gizmo:

By the way, that's short It's

Chef Ricky:

a dollar cigar with short filler that blows What the

Bam Bam:

you said is almost unfair because, yes, a lot of people would consider the thousand series a lower tier cigar in the Padron series, but those are also made exquisitely well. They're very, very consistent, and the aging potential Yeah. Most people don't realize the aging potential of the thousand series Padron cigars. It's off the chain when you keep them for a year, two years, five years. I've experienced it, not in my collection, but other people have given me very old 1,000 series cigars.

Bam Bam:

They are incredibly delicious.

Gizmo:

Brilliant.

Bam Bam:

This pales in comparison to anything that Padron makes. I'm sorry.

Gizmo:

Alright, boys. So we have to congratulate again Lizard Fireball, our lizard of the week, winning a 10 count box of cigars from our friends at Bon Roberts. Thanks to those guys for sponsoring our lizard of the week segment each week. We really appreciate it. Go check out their cigars.

Gizmo:

It's nothing like we've had tonight, boys.

Chef Ricky:

Yeah. I'd like to thank to thank Seagrass Whiskey. Yeah. Rye Whiskey for

Rooster:

saving the night.

Gizmo:

Barrell Seagrass. Yeah.

Chef Ricky:

I'd like to thank Barrell Seagrass Rye whiskey for saving the night.

Bam Bam:

Correct.

Gizmo:

Yes, that was the star of the show. And boys, we have to thank Small Batch Cigar, the official retail partner of the Lounge Lizards Podcast. And we also have to thank our listeners out there who have again sold out

Chef Ricky:

Nice.

Gizmo:

The Lounge Lizards podcast sampler on smallbatchcigar.com.

Bam Bam:

That's incredible. I wonder why.

Gizmo:

We are one of the only ones that have sold out. I'm really, really thankful to our listeners for trusting us, to putting their dollars where their listening is. We really, really appreciate you guys going to Small Batch Cigar supporting them, supporting us. Keep it up and use our code lizard 15 for 15% off your entire order. Smallbatchcigar.com.

Gizmo:

Always free shipping. No BS. They're fantastic. Great customer service. Go to Small Batch Cigar.

Gizmo:

And boys, our presenting sponsor, Fabrica Five.

Bam Bam:

Love you, Rob.

Gizmo:

Can't beat it. Correct. They're the best coming out of Honduras. Check out the cigars if you haven't and re up If you have, it's time to do that. You know, Fabrica five has been a real hammer.

Gizmo:

And by the way, I've smoked a couple of Trinity Robustos recently. Lights

Bam Bam:

out. I know.

Gizmo:

Lights

Davidoff's Mr. Marketing:

out. That's correct.

Gizmo:

Alright, boys. One more time tonight on the podcast. Barrell Seagrass blended rye whiskey was a 9.8, and the Davidoff Porro Dominicano in Corona Larga was a 6.6. Overall, a good night tonight, boys, despite the cigar. Yeah.

Gizmo:

That 9.8 on that Barrell Seagrass, I can't wait to have another couple sips of this tonight.

Chef Ricky:

Oh, yeah. And that could have easily been a 10.

Bam Bam:

It could have been. It should have been a 10, really.

Bam Bam:

We'll blame it. It's your fault, Pagoda.

Bam Bam:

Photoosis, Neil. I'm sweating out here. Look at this. I'm really literally sweating.

Gizmo:

Alright, boys. A great night, and we'll see everybody next 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 loungelizardspod.com.

Gizmo:

Don't forget to leave us a rating and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform. If you have any comments, questions, if you wanna reach out, say hello, tell us what you're smoking, email us. Hello at loungelizardspod.com. You can also find us on Instagram at Lounge Lizards Pod. We really appreciate your time, and we'll, we'll see you next week.