Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
Released every Tuesday, the LOUNGE LIZARDS podcast helps listeners navigate the experience of finding and enjoying premium cigars (both Cuban and non-Cuban) and quality spirits. Episodes are normally around 90 minutes long and feature a variety of different topics including food, travel, life, sports and work.
The podcast features eight members: Rooster, Poobah, Gizmo, Senator, Pagoda, Chef Ricky, Grinder and Bam Bam.
This is not your typical cigar podcast. We’re a group of friends who love sharing cigars, whiskey and a good laugh.
Join us and become a card-carrying lounge lizard yourself! Email us at hello@loungelizardspod.com to join the conversation and be featured on an upcoming episode!
Welcome to the Lounge Lizards podcast presented by Fabrica five. It's so good to have you here. It's a leisure and lifestyle podcast founded on our love of premium cigars as well as whiskey travel, food, work, and whatever else we feel like getting into. My name is Gizmo. Tonight, I'm joined by Brewster, Senator, 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 forty third official invitation to join us and become a card carrying lounge lizard. Quite a 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 discuss how drastic cigar pricing differences can be around the world.
Gizmo:We share a listener email on a disastrous situation in his humidor, and Senator shares that he's joined an exclusive member club all among a variety of other things for the next two hours. So sit back, get your favorite drink, light up a cigar, enjoy as we pair fifteen years aged Redbreast Single Pot Still blended Irish Whiskey with the Stoic Equanimity and Wisdom. A Dominican Churchill on the pod tonight, boys, from our friends at Stoic, and we are back to the equanimity. This one's called the Wisdom. It's a 48 ring gauge cigar by seven inches long.
Gizmo:And boys, I can't believe how long it's been since we've done the Robusta, the Courage, but I really have been loving the Churchill in the equanimity line.
Bam Bam:Really?
Gizmo:It's been amazing.
Bam Bam:I haven't had it. Really?
Gizmo:No. Oh, that's great. That'll be a nice
Bam Bam:Yeah, it smells fantastic. I
Gizmo:know we talked about this. I don't wanna repeat ourselves on the bands, but I just love the curvature I of was the
Bam Bam:about to just comment how beautiful this band design, the color scheme, and the gold edging with the dark blue and the lighter pale blue, beautiful. Just beautiful.
Rooster:Really is. Well done.
Senator:Yeah. I agree. I mean, I've always said the Davidoff late hour in Churchill, I feel like is one of the most handsome looking Churchills. I'd put this, like, right up alongside Yep.
Gizmo:And I I don't think I've seen, you know, curvature in two bands like that that
Bam Bam:are No. That's rare.
Gizmo:Perfect, like, spacing, you know? It must be a real pain in the ass to put them on.
Bam Bam:They're parallel
Gizmo:Yeah.
Bam Bam:As they curve around the cigar. It's unique.
Gizmo:Alright, boys. Let's cut this thing. See what we're getting on the cold draw and the wrapper.
Bam Bam:Just inhaled some cigar dust. My
Gizmo:draw is perfect. Mine too. Just a touch resistant. Just a touch.
Senator:Same. Perfect.
Gizmo:And I'm getting just Delicious. Dried fruit. Yep. Little bready thing.
Chef Ricky:Getting a fruity chocolate brownie.
Bam Bam:Mhmm.
Chef Ricky:That's what I'm getting on this cold draw.
Gizmo:And I hate to use the word tobacco, but what it reminds me of is when you walk into the area where the tobacco's resting, like waiting to be rolled.
Bam Bam:You mean when you open your cabinet?
Gizmo:Or when I open my cabinet. I just love that smell. But on this, it just tastes good.
Bam Bam:Mhmm. I'm lighting this with or without you.
Gizmo:Let's light this thing, boys. The stoic equanimity in wisdom, the Churchill. And, again, it's a 48 ring gauge cigar by seven inches long, blended by Vance Taylor and Klas Kellner and manufactured at Klas Kellner's factory in Santiago, Dominican Republic, which Pagoda and I had the fortune of visiting. We detailed that when we did our Pro Cigar recaps from pro cigar twenty twenty six. Is the tobacco grown by class color?
Gizmo:No. In their fields or no? I believe it's all sourced from, you know, different areas.
Rooster:Okay.
Gizmo:Off to a nice start. This is really It's delicious.
Chef Ricky:Quite exquisite.
Gizmo:The last large format cigar we did was the Vegas, Romania Unico. So tonight I was debating what I wanted to bring in, and I I went to the stoic and I was like, I want to have a good cigar tonight. Yeah. On the pod with the boys. What are you guys getting on the the light here?
Chef Ricky:Getting a lot of the bread mentioned earlier. It's really intense.
Bam Bam:It's toasty, a touch nutty. Definitely a little bread doughy thing happening.
Chef Ricky:Toasted bread.
Rooster:Like a sweet bread?
Bam Bam:Not too sweet though. It's nicely balanced. I think there's a little bit of a savoriness to it that I'm liking a lot And just a touch resistance I'm getting, which I love.
Gizmo:Yeah, there's just a little bit in the draw. Yeah, the draw is perfect. Look at the smoke output. It's just like the smoke is climbing up the cigar. Fantastic.
Bam Bam:Do we know how much the cigar costs?
Gizmo:These MSRP for around $14. You can get them with a discount code at small batch cigar. Use Lizard 15. Get them around 12. And if you're purchasing them at a brick and mortar supporting your local tobacconist, you might find them for 16 or 17, but I always like to pay those few extra bucks to the local tobacconist.
Gizmo:Gotta keep
Bam Bam:the local
Gizmo:B and M's
Bam Bam:Great deal. Yeah. Very well priced cigar for what you
Gizmo:get. Great priced cigar. I mean, think about how much, you know, Senator was mentioning Davidoff earlier. The late hour. I mean, what's that?
Gizmo:A $32 cigar now? A $35 cigar? Yeah. This is less than half the price of that.
Chef Ricky:Getting a little malted afternoon too. It's a very, very flavorful cigar.
Gizmo:It's a there's a lot
Chef Ricky:of flavor here. Lots of flavor.
Gizmo:I think the blend on this is more intense than the original Stoic line.
Bam Bam:I agree with that.
Rooster:Yeah. It's a bit more earthier too.
Bam Bam:Yeah, and maybe a very faint hint of white pepper on the finish for me, which I'm liking a lot. That kind of melts with that earthiness a little.
Rooster:On the retrohale?
Bam Bam:No. Retrohale, don't get any pepper.
Senator:I get some on the palate.
Bam Bam:Just on the palate, at the tail end of it, which works well with the cigar.
Gizmo:So we did the courage in this line, which is the Robusto 50 by five. We did that on episode two zero six, so over half a year ago. I mean, it's probably mid last year or something like that. We did that one. There are two others in the line, the moderation, which is like a a Corona Gorda, 46 by five and a half.
Gizmo:And then there's the Justice 52 by six. Last year, the original Stoic came out two years ago. Obviously, that was around the time we did that blind when Henri Tull came in, gave us the original Stoic and Courage. But, you know, the four Vitolas are consistent between the two lines. And to come out, I think, out the gate with a Churchill, 48 by seven classic format, I think is a pretty bold move by Vance.
Bam Bam:Two of them. Yeah. Two different lines.
Gizmo:I just think that, you know, when we see a lot of the big boys staying away from Churchills
Bam Bam:It's a big commitment.
Gizmo:Long skinnies. We don't see that. I think it's a cool push into the classic the Churchill that we love. And I think the blend really works well in this vitola.
Bam Bam:Yeah. Now, who's had this before? Because this is the first time I'm having this. I have had one. I've had several.
Bam Bam:Several?
Gizmo:Giz? I've had a bunch.
Chef Ricky:I had one in the lounge a
Gizmo:few You months all have had it. Okay. It's a great cigar.
Bam Bam:It's fantastic now.
Chef Ricky:Though today it's even better than the first time I had it. The flavor here feels a lot more concentrated.
Gizmo:Long have they been? I've had them a while, probably six months or more.
Bam Bam:Really?
Chef Ricky:Yeah. Wow, awesome. I think when I bought these at the launch, we had just got them in the humidor, so they were fairly fresh.
Gizmo:Yeah, I think mine had been sitting about six months. This
Bam Bam:is quite a sophisticated cigar. It's a grown man cigar. It's got really good body, just enough strength. There's also smoothness, a little maybe touch of creaminess, and the flavor profile is pretty cool. I like the cigar, man.
Rooster:It's got more body than the original line that Man's came out
Bam Bam:with, Which I like.
Chef Ricky:Yeah. If Dominican cigars typically tasted like this to me, I'd smoke a lot more of them. This cigar has a lot of flavor. There's a lot happening here. Big fan of this.
Chef Ricky:Big fan of what's happening.
Bam Bam:What are you typically smoking if you're not smoking Dominicans?
Chef Ricky:Honduran, Nicaraguan cigars.
Bam Bam:Pedros, El Adinos, FOH cigars. Yep.
Rooster:There is a sweetness in this tobacco that kinda envelopes everything, kinda makes the blend really work.
Senator:Yeah. I agree. There's a sweetness and, like, a creaminess that, like, is starting now. And from having smoked these before, I feel like it will it should pick up even more as we go along. You know, to chef's point about this smoking better than some Dominican cigars that you've had, I feel like there's a lot of complexity in this blend.
Senator:Like, there are some Dominican cigars I've had that are, like, very straightforward, one at most, two notes. This has complexity in addition to, like, the richness of flavor, and I feel like it's just so satisfying because of it.
Gizmo:Yeah. Let's talk about the makeup of the cigar coming off of these comments. The fillers are Dominican, Ecuadorian, and of course, coming from that undisclosed South American country, and there's also a little bit from the Or
Bam Bam:or Central New Jersey township. Correct.
Gizmo:It has a Dominican Criollo 98 binder and an Ecuadorian Corojo wrapper. So that is the makeup of the cigar. A lot of different tobaccos in this. I just think that this is such a cool blend. I think the intensity of it, I think it's so smooth, but there's a lot of flavor there.
Bam Bam:Mhmm.
Gizmo:Let me ask you guys this. How would you compare this to someone looking at the original Stoic line next to the Equanimity line in the store, what would you point the novice smoker toward? What would you point the experienced smoker toward? Would you say both? Would you say neither for that experienced smoker?
Gizmo:What do you guys think?
Rooster:I think the original for a novice smoker works better.
Chef Ricky:I agree.
Bam Bam:I think
Rooster:this is more for an experienced smoker. It's more earthier. It's got more body, a little bit more strength. I think it has I mean, they both have a lot of flavor, but I think this has a little bit more strength.
Bam Bam:Yeah. And definitely more body. No, I agree with the commentary.
Senator:I mean, I think the regular Stoic line is an easier entry point for a novice cigar smoker. It's not as rich in flavor. It's a little bit milder, which would do well for that type of person. But I think even for a novice, once they've tried some of that, I think this is a nice graduation into cigars with more complexity. Like, there's nothing overpowering about this.
Senator:There's nothing that should in any way intimidate a novice smoker.
Bam Bam:Mhmm.
Senator:So I think like this is a nice gateway to some of the more complex, rich cigars that we really enjoy. And then for anyone who's already an experienced smoker, I mean, you know, you could easily start with this, but there's also tons to like in the original line as well when you want something a little bit lighter.
Gizmo:I think my habits have been the original Stoic line I'm smoking earlier in the sit or earlier in the day.
Bam Bam:Yeah. I love it with a cup of coffee
Gizmo:in the This, I'm reaching for a little bit later. Yeah. You know, maybe after a meal, because this could work after a nice meal. It works at the, you know, in a long sit in your, maybe your second or third cigar.
Bam Bam:Think there's a
Gizmo:There's lots nice there.
Bam Bam:Touch more sweetness in the other line than in this one.
Chef Ricky:I get
Bam Bam:more of like a graham cracker y thing with that and a sweeter cream. I just love how rich and touchy you said it earlier, rooster, a little bit of earthiness with a hint of sweetness. It's beautifully balanced.
Rooster:Have you tried the other sizes in this other than the Robusta?
Gizmo:I've tried all four that you have. Yeah. This is my favorite of the four. Wow. I really obviously, we did the courage.
Gizmo:We did review that here on the pod.
Rooster:Are you on the Stoic panel as well?
Gizmo:I am not on the Stoic panel.
Rooster:It's hard to keep up
Bam Bam:these days. He's an alternate.
Senator:He's creating his own panels.
Bam Bam:That's correct. And we're not in them.
Gizmo:You're in it every week, baby. Alright. I gotta say, look at the construction here.
Bam Bam:Yeah. It's awesome.
Gizmo:Burn line is perfect.
Bam Bam:Yeah.
Rooster:It's like Mans Taylor, Klas Kellner, Gizmo.
Bam Bam:You know?
Gizmo:Well, we're off to a good start, boys. Let's go into some news now. I wanna start with some governmental stuff, and we're gonna go right to senator on this because he's gonna be bummed out Coming off our conversation a few weeks ago, the Alaska governor has vetoed a bill that would have allowed for new cigar lounge construction. So remember you were talking about the wonderful experience you had in Alaska, finding that incredible lounge, saying, you know, not a lot of different opportunities to smoke in town.
Bam Bam:Thought I
Gizmo:saw Wishing that there were more. And here we are.
Senator:Ironically, I had actually before you.
Bam Bam:Before me?
Senator:Yeah. But you were spot on as soon as you sent it.
Gizmo:Was like,
Senator:that's that's the right spot.
Bam Bam:That's the spot to be in.
Gizmo:On a Friday late in June, Alaska governor Mike Dunlavy vetoed a bill that would have allowed for the creation of cigar lounges in the state. However, it wasn't the cigar lounge portion of
Bam Bam:the bill that led to
Gizmo:the veto. It was a new tax on e cigarettes. So unfortunately, because it was in one bill, it was vetoed entirely. So that is a good There's
Senator:still hope. But I mean, the fact that there was even a bill introduced on that tells you that there are cigar smokers in Alaska pressing for there to be other options for them to smoke. So I'm actually super encouraged to see that.
Bam Bam:Nice.
Senator:And I hope that eventually one does get passed. It'd be great.
Gizmo:The only unfortunate thing is that the last time a bill like this was presented was in 2022, so four years ago. So if it trends the same way, it's gonna probably be quite a few years until something like this comes up comes on the floor again, at least to the point where they pass it and then send it to the governor to sign or veto. But no more cigar lounges for Alaska for a while, Senator. So you're gonna have to stick to your
Senator:They've got a great option already. 5th Ave, I think it
Gizmo:is,
Senator:in Anchorage. Ruins
Bam Bam:my business plan that I had, man. I wanna build vaping lounges across the country. Can you imagine that there's such a thing?
Gizmo:A vaping lounge?
Bam Bam:You walk into a vaping lounge, you get
Gizmo:Isn't every high school a vaping lounge?
Bam Bam:That's true. Every bathroom.
Senator:It's true.
Chef Ricky:It smells like a
Gizmo:real It's fruitful
Bam Bam:about to smell pebble. Fruity pebbles.
Gizmo:Cinnamon Toast Crunch.
Chef Ricky:Grape. It's like walking down the breakfast aisle.
Gizmo:And if you go in The UK, you can't buy cigars as an adult, but you can get, you know, Cinnamon Toast Crunch flavored vapes. Here's another one. East Hampton Mass, another municipality in Massachusetts, has approved a generational tobacco ban, bourning anyone after 2005 from buying tobacco and nicotine products in the municipality, hoping, of course, to reduce the city's smoking rates, goes into effect on January 1. Joining Amherst, Brookline, Hopkin Hopkinton, can't pronounce that Hopkinton, Newton, Northampton, and Belcherton as cities in Massachusetts that have passed a generational tobacco ban. That's crazy.
Gizmo:Yeah. So East Hampton is home to somewhere around 16,000 people. Shout out to Half Wheel for that. So, I mean, do you think that Massachusetts might be one of the first states to go for a generational tobacco ban here in this? Know, obviously New York's trying, but going for, you know, a generational tobacco ban, seeing the success it's had at the municipal level?
Senator:Yeah. I mean, Massachusetts is a very liberal state that historically has been the first to try a lot of things at a state level. I mean, they had one of the first outlines of single payer healthcare for a state like when Romney was governor there. So I wouldn't be at all surprised to see them statewide try to enact this crap, but I just hope that's where PCA and other organizations are able to be part of that debate, because to just completely eliminate the choice of a legal product is beyond outrageous. Correct.
Gizmo:I find this one interesting too because it's starting at 2005. The other ones that we've talked about have started like 2008, 2009, so they're actually going back even further. So anyone 21 as of this year immediately will not be able to buy any tobacco products, even if they've been able to buy it.
Bam Bam:Crazy. Crazy.
Gizmo:Pretty wild. So some good news. I like to see this one. Shout out to the folks at Holtz. They've opened a new 11,000 square foot space outside of Philadelphia, Northeast Philadelphia, Southampton Road.
Gizmo:You guys should see this facility that they put in. Full bar. Wow. Look at the seating, massive Humidor.
Bam Bam:But beautifully designed.
Gizmo:Beautifully designed.
Bam Bam:A 100,000,000.
Senator:Where did you say this
Gizmo:is? This is in Northeast Philadelphia, Holtz. Northampton Road. Yep, Southampton Road.
Bam Bam:What town is that?
Gizmo:Eastern Philadelphia. Eastern Philadelphia. Northeastern Philadelphia.
Bam Bam:Okay.
Gizmo:So the Humidor measures 2,000 square feet, offers over a thousand unique cigars, and they have over 100,000 cigars in inventory there. So shout out to those guys. That is good news. There's the outside of the building
Bam Bam:for Any vapes in there?
Gizmo:I don't think so.
Senator:Well, they better hope Philadelphia doesn't win any more championships because that place will be burned down.
Bam Bam:That's correct. That's a beautiful building too.
Chef Ricky:The design looks a lot like the Ashton cigar bar where there's a Holt's shop underneath in Center City.
Bam Bam:That's a big space, by
Chef Ricky:the way. It is. Yeah. But that's a lot smaller than the one they just built there.
Rooster:I think
Gizmo:they're connected though. I think Ashton and Holt's
Chef Ricky:are Yeah.
Gizmo:So I love seeing new lounges go up. And again, we talked about this in the past. Every time we talk about a massive, beautiful new cigar lounge going up, it's somewhere in Pennsylvania. Every time.
Bam Bam:It's only in Pennsylvania.
Gizmo:Like, I I don't understand how Pennsylvania has become this, like
Bam Bam:A waste of
Gizmo:place for tobacco It's
Senator:a state that even grows tobacco.
Gizmo:That's true.
Senator:Now the thing that's surprising is Virginia is another state that grows tobacco, and there's really not that many cigar lounges there. No? I mean, DC proper has one. Shelley's. Virginia, like Alexandria just outside has two.
Senator:Arlington has a restaurant actually that Josh Herskey is a partner in. He's a part owner that has an outdoor cigar patio you can smoke on.
Gizmo:That's cool.
Senator:Yeah. And that's oh, I shouldn't say guess and DC now also has a second, but this is members only and outrageously expensive, Clayton. They have one in DC, Chicago, but like Cool. That place is there's like a $30,000 entrance fee and some crazy thousands
Bam Bam:It's like country month.
Rooster:It is. That's not
Senator:bad. It's it's intense.
Bam Bam:It's pretty bad.
Gizmo:So let's go to some other news. This one is from our friends at Avowed. They have unveiled the Awakening Rhapsody, which is a new ultra limited sampler. Inside each pack of three is an original awakening with a twenty fifteen Ecuadorian hybrid wrapper that is no longer grown. Always cool when you have tobacco that you can't get anymore.
Gizmo:Awakening White featuring a vintage twenty sixteen Ecuadorian Connecticut New Dawn wrapper leaf and Awakening Black featuring a twenty twenty one Ecuadorian Carojo from the Hallowed Hands wrapper leaf. So each cigar includes the same binder and filler leaves from the concluding Awakening production in 2024 underneath wrapper leaves that were selected for other blends, bringing the past and present together for a limited time only. 1,000 boxes were available. So, of course, Avowed is also manufactured by Klas Kellner in Santiago, Dominican Republic at his factory sister to Stoic that we have in our hands tonight. So check those out from Avoud, the Awakening Rhapsody limited edition sampler.
Gizmo:And finally, more Dominican news. Eladio Diaz has announced the 73 anniversaryo unforgettable edition. So these cigars are now on their way to stores. The limited edition releases in all Dominican blend that uses a Corojo seed wrapper from the southern part of the country. They have two binders, a Sumatra seed and a San Andres Negro seed, both grown in the Southern part of The Dominican Republic as well.
Gizmo:Also, the filler includes barrel aged Habano 2,000, which is pretty cool. Carajo 99, Carajo 98, Carajo o six and Piloto Cubano with the Carajo 98 coming also from the Southern part of The Dominican Republic. So it is offered in two sizes, a 54 by six and a half Toro priced to $25 and a 50 by five Robusto priced at $20. So I guess the Robusto is limited to 2,000 boxes of 11 cigars priced to $270. And then I guess the Toro is more widely available, but I kind of like the band on that.
Gizmo:Pretty cool. Check that out, boys. Pretty nice presentation. So, of course, Eladio is a legend from his time at Davidoff. Of course, he's one of the guys that we always mention when we talk about the change of things.
Gizmo:You know, things have been changing at Davitt off over the last few years. Henke Kellner leaving, Eladio Diaz leaving, has created a lot of change over there. So now they're all doing their own thing. And Eladio Diaz now can get some of his cigars in celebration of his 70 birthday. And boys, I'm ready to try our pairing tonight if you are.
Gizmo:No, we have a good one. We haven't done a Redbreast in a while. I'm really excited to try this tonight. We have the single pot still fifteen years aged Irish Whiskey from Redbreast. It's our third Cheers.
Gizmo:Offering from Redbreast on the pod tonight. Cheers, boys. Good to see you. I did bring the Glencairns tonight, so I'm hoping that helps us here. We're all drinking this neat.
Gizmo:Who poured these?
Senator:Bam got a nice heavy pour. Mine was like
Bam Bam:Little too much? Tiny.
Gizmo:Look at how much mine is.
Senator:And yours you had the same. Looked at yours. Was 10. What are
Gizmo:talking about?
Senator:That's a proper pour.
Bam Bam:You want some of mine?
Senator:No. No. There's more in the bottle, bud.
Bam Bam:You gotta you gotta steady that headband. What's today? No. What's today?
Senator:Tuesday. It's early in the
Bam Bam:week for you guys. I drink every day.
Gizmo:That's not true. Correct. That is really nice. It's delicious. So kind of like this cigar.
Gizmo:I actually think it's a nice parallel to the cigar. For how I don't want to use the word intense because I think that sounds scary, but for how intense that flavor is, it's Yeah. So It's like there's a lot there.
Chef Ricky:Perfect pairing because you need that intensity or that concentration of flavor to keep up with what's happening in the cigar. Yeah. It's like almond vanilla, delicious, creamy, really, really intense and full flavor.
Senator:Yeah. I feel like the the whiskey, it it's very buttery.
Chef Ricky:Yes. There we go.
Gizmo:That's a good word.
Senator:Like, on the finish, it's like my palate. I feel like I literally just had something super buttery. Yeah. And I think kind of the intensity, the flavor that you get, like both of you guys were saying, it it in many ways mirrors the cigar. The funny thing is like there's so much flavor, you almost initially think it's gonna drink hot, but then like the finish, while rich and full and somewhat long, there's not, like, a burn or any, like, serious heat.
Senator:So I think both have, like, a lot of flavor, but, like, delivered in a in a pretty smooth way. So I like the pairing a lot, and I've never had the Redbreast 15. We've had plenty of the 12.
Bam Bam:Neither have I.
Senator:This is definitely a step up. I agree. The the 12 is thinner.
Bam Bam:Mhmm.
Senator:It's got more of a bite. This is definitely more refined, richer, really delicious.
Bam Bam:I do love that there is a touch of heat on the finish.
Senator:Just a bit.
Bam Bam:Oh, yeah. And it lingers really nicely. And I think I think it goes a long way with this pairing, specifically that little bit of minerality and touch of white pepper that I still get on the cigar in the finish. I think those two go really, really well on the finish.
Senator:And the funny thing for me is if I had this blind, I actually wouldn't guess that this is an Irish whiskey. I agree with you on that. Because most Irish whiskeys are lighter.
Bam Bam:Yeah. You know? Like the 12.
Senator:The 12, I think that Writer's Tears is an Irish whiskey. Jameson's an Irish Irish whiskey. They're all lighter. This is a much richer expression. I honestly didn't know in the Irish whiskey category that you would find something this rich.
Senator:It's excellent.
Bam Bam:Looked a little bit of sweetness, but not too much.
Gizmo:Yeah. It's kinda like the cigar.
Bam Bam:Yeah. Fantastic. How much was that bottle?
Senator:Yeah. There's the problem.
Bam Bam:Oh, boy.
Gizmo:A 130.
Bam Bam:Wow. Excuse me? Well, there's
Senator:a reason that we haven't tried this. When we would go to our North Lounge, not North Korea
Gizmo:That's where Barron
Bam Bam:That's my spot.
Senator:Northern Northern Ireland. The price on a glass of this 15 was insane, and that was the reason I never ordered it. It was like, I don't know, $35? Like, something silly.
Bam Bam:So you've you haven't ever had this? No. Okay.
Gizmo:That's first time I'm
Senator:having it. Just because it's been cost prohibitive, like, to spend $35 on a Irish whiskey. It's not even like a single malt that typically you'd expect, like, a higher price.
Gizmo:Correct. It is a single pot still.
Bam Bam:Is it copper? I don't
Gizmo:know if there's any value in that, but it's a single pot still. But, yeah, a $130 on this. So this is the third one we're doing tonight. We've done the twelve year a couple times, and we did the Lousteau edition. If you remember, we did that.
Gizmo:It was kind of like an orange box, the Redbreast Lousteau edition.
Bam Bam:Oh, yeah. Orange red.
Gizmo:Yeah. We did that, quite some time ago, actually. Longer than I expected when I was looking it up.
Bam Bam:A $130.
Senator:I do really love it though, I gotta say.
Gizmo:Do you think the Glencairn is helping our experience tonight in any way? I keep going back to that because the listeners have been very adamant about us using these.
Senator:I do, so this is gonna sound really odd, but I there's a thing like when you have a spirit that has like a somewhat buttery quality about it and like more viscosity, there's something about a glass with curvature, like the way that it hits your palate
Chef Ricky:that it that funnels that aroma
Bam Bam:in into your nose as well. Right? Like Yeah.
Chef Ricky:You get that richness and
Bam Bam:I love curvy elements. I I knew this. I knew it
Gizmo:was coming. I saw you
Bam Bam:What?
Gizmo:You're a curvature expert.
Bam Bam:I do.
Gizmo:I am. And what you do for work, you think about curves all day.
Bam Bam:All day long. Really?
Chef Ricky:You struck me more as a modern architect. Thought
Gizmo:more. Straight. Yeah.
Chef Ricky:More cubist. Brutal. That's
Gizmo:Brutalism, No,
Chef Ricky:but senator, your point is spot on. I was thinking the same exact thing about how because this doesn't it doesn't hit your nose hot, right? There's not a lot of ethanol or whatnot happening. It's such a pleasure to smell, so having it kind of come to that point where you could just put your nose in there and take really deep widths, it's really enjoyable.
Bam Bam:You guys getting any vanilla on that finish? Yeah,
Gizmo:think vanilla is Buttery vanilla.
Bam Bam:Yeah. Of that than butterscotch for me.
Chef Ricky:I was getting creamy vanilla, some notes of almond.
Bam Bam:Almond's there, yeah. Very complex.
Gizmo:So I always like to read the notes on the bottle as you know. They're saying on the nose, we should be getting a full and rich experience with a complex yet balanced mix of berry fruits and aromatic oils. And on the palate, full round and mellow with the succulents of fleshy fruit. Fleshy fruit. I like succulent things.
Gizmo:Combined with
Bam Bam:And very spicy.
Gizmo:And toasted wood. On the finish, they're saying it's long and sophisticated.
Bam Bam:That's true.
Gizmo:So that's pretty cool.
Senator:I mean, the only thing that's accurate there for me is the nose is actually you get a lot of fruit notes. You don't get it on your palate. I agree. On the nose, they're definitely there.
Chef Ricky:I think the almond and the vanilla that I'm getting, that's coming from the toasted wood.
Bam Bam:I'm almost getting on that aroma. Apple or a pear type thing. What's the alcohol content?
Gizmo:46%. Really? 92 proof. Alright.
Chef Ricky:I would not have guessed it was over 40.
Gizmo:I would think it it just a little more.
Rooster:A little bit.
Chef Ricky:42 maybe.
Bam Bam:I would have guessed 43,
Gizmo:but who's counting? So on the front of the bottle, says stone fruit mingles with cracked pepper giving way to barley and toasted wood. I don't know what they're talking about.
Bam Bam:Yeah. No barley.
Chef Ricky:No stone fruit for me. Barley, could see.
Gizmo:I think our notes are better. But this is a this is a really nice whiskey. This cigar comes in what, 20? Yeah, 20 count boxes. No 50 cabs?
Gizmo:No 50 cabs yet.
Rooster:Imagine if this came in a 50.
Bam Bam:That'd be cool.
Rooster:Just buy the 50 cab and let it age, let it sit.
Gizmo:I think we've talked about I mean, there's some great Dominican cigars out there, but the flavor, I think you were saying this, Chef, the flavor that you're getting out of this cigar, that I'm getting out of this cigar right now, it's like, how are more Dominican cigars not tasting like this?
Chef Ricky:Especially anything coming out of the Fuente house.
Gizmo:Totally.
Chef Ricky:Yeah, and I think that's where my comment aligned. Might have misspoke a little earlier, that's really what I'm comparing it to when I mentioned Dominican cigars.
Bam Bam:I couldn't agree with you more.
Chef Ricky:I think that's all just super mild across the board.
Bam Bam:Mildred and interesting or very earthy or very cedar forward. One note. One note. I I mean, I think
Senator:I think if you look at what is in the blend, there's a lot of different tobaccos in this.
Gizmo:Yeah. But no Nicaraguan.
Senator:Correct. And I think because of that, like, that's what clearly has produced this, like, complexity of flavor. And I think if you even think about, like, some of the Davidoff's that, like, we have liked, you know, Davidoff breaks down usually exactly what's in there, and there's usually a lot of different tobaccos that they use for those blends that are more complex that we've really enjoyed. So I just think like the best of Dominican cigars is when they really get creative in using a variety of different tobaccos and understand how each of those flavors kinda plays with one another. I think the Dominican cigars that we're bored by are you know, probably use very few distinct tobaccos, and it's a really straightforward experience that for a novice is fine and enjoyable, but for a more experienced smoker, you just want more.
Senator:So I hope to see more brands experimenting with more different types of tobaccos to hit our full palate.
Rooster:This kind of reminds me of a good Davidoff would be.
Bam Bam:Yeah? Honestly, it's like I haven't had the new Millennium Pyramids, but there's a nuttiness in this that kind of for me is just slightly reminiscent of that. There's a little cedar, just a touch slightly reminiscent of that, but the older Davidoffs and the ones that we've had for years, I mean, it's kind of right there.
Rooster:It actually reminds me of remember the Master Blend series, like the one through 15?
Bam Bam:Yeah. Wow. That's quite the compliment.
Rooster:Like one of those, I don't know if it's number 11 or maybe number 13, it was a delicious smoke. Like, Davidoff could take this church and put a Davidoff ban on this and
Bam Bam:charge you $50. Are not wrong, dude.
Rooster:It's very Davidoff esque.
Senator:I actually completely agree. The one that it reminds me of, I thought it was the 15, when we had one of the few times the proprietor of North Korea actually did something nice
Gizmo:for Don't talk about Bam's friend like that.
Bam Bam:That's correct. Don't He do broke off a favor for you that day.
Senator:We did some dinner at Roots across the street, and when we came back, we each got it was either before dinner or after dinner.
Gizmo:This place ain't a secret anymore. No.
Bam Bam:It was it was after.
Senator:It was
Bam Bam:after the dinner.
Senator:Yeah. It was a Davinoff Master Blend. I think it was the 15, and it was very good. And I remember like a creaminess with the flavor profile that in some ways reminds me of this, so I couldn't agree more. I honestly think like, what a tremendous value if you slap the Davidoff band on this, not currently, but, you know, maybe five plus years ago, I would believe that Davidoff made this cigar.
Gizmo:Can I make a crazy statement?
Bam Bam:Yeah. Just don't send this video, this clip to advance. Alright? I don't need the prices going up.
Gizmo:This is crazy. I just came up with this thought as you're talking about this. If you're Davidoff, why don't you throw a boatload of money at Vance Taylor and Klas Kellner and turn the ship around? Talked about is there not somebody that can turn that ship around?
Bam Bam:Oh, they can do it.
Gizmo:With the Kellner heritage Oh, yeah. What Vance is doing I mean, is that not a perfect fit?
Bam Bam:That is a great That is not a crazy idea, Giz.
Gizmo:Throw a boatload of money at him and turn the ship around.
Bam Bam:Hit the horn sound. Do you have it?
Gizmo:This one?
Senator:No. I mean like
Bam Bam:Yeah. Oh, I don't have that one on here. That's a great idea.
Senator:The one time we caught gizmo unprepared.
Bam Bam:Yeah. True.
Gizmo:I don't have it. But you know what I mean? Yeah. Yeah. Like, that's what Davidoff should do.
Gizmo:And if you're Davidoff I'm sorry, Rusty. You're a PCA.
Bam Bam:I'm actually getting goosebumps That's thinking about great idea.
Gizmo:Think about this. You're a PCA. Your booth is a stone's throw away from the Stoic booth. You look out your booth, and you see Vance and Nicole at their booth, the two of them, all day long Killing it. Swarmed Correct.
Gizmo:With people. What are we doing? So
Rooster:I'm just not sure what that relationship is between Henrik Kellner, the family itself with Davidoff. When they broke off the ties, how and what happened, and whether they would reconsider retying the knot with the second generation, maybe with class.
Gizmo:I'm talking about turning the ship around. What they need to do is fill the ship with cash, fill it with a lot of cash.
Bam Bam:Sail it over.
Gizmo:And turn it around. Oh, if
Senator:we need to broker some peace, nothing that Jared Kushner and J. D. Vance can't figure out.
Gizmo:Correct. And bam, going to North Korea. Correct.
Rooster:Our delegate. The prime minister of Pakistan.
Gizmo:I don't know. Think it's good idea.
Bam Bam:It is a good idea.
Gizmo:I'm gonna put that out in the universe because I think it'd be good for
Bam Bam:That's cool.
Gizmo:Everybody, and I think most importantly, I think it'd be good for the consumer. Because this cigar at $14
Bam Bam:Let's say 16 retail.
Gizmo:But we can get it for 12 at smallbatch.com. Right? Smallbatchcigar.com.
Bam Bam:It's crazy.
Gizmo:Between 12 and 16, you can get this cigar. This beats almost all of the recent Dominican scars that we've smoked on this podcast. This is unbelievable.
Bam Bam:And this scar for me is just getting better and better.
Gizmo:So with that, Bam, we've come to the end of the first third here on the Stoic Equanimity in Wisdom. We are singing its praises tonight paired with this Redbreast 15 age single pot still Irish Whiskey. It's just getting richer for me. It's very nourishing. I'm really blown away by this cigar.
Gizmo:I want more.
Rooster:It's very rich and elegant at the same time. Yeah. The blend is amazing.
Bam Bam:Yeah, agreed.
Senator:And I do think the fact that this is a Churchill makes a world of difference in the sense that we're often debating where certain cigars would slot into our rotation and things like that. There are not many Churchills. No. So that slot is dying for entrance.
Gizmo:The one entrant that we had there, Senator, fell out, the Winston Churchill
Bam Bam:The late hour.
Gizmo:Late hour in This the
Rooster:entrance is a good replacement for the late hour.
Senator:This is exactly it. That's
Rooster:Yeah, my sitting by the fire pit,
Gizmo:you light I this
Bam Bam:have a question. So for me that late hour was usually the end of evening or just before the end of evening. As incredible as this is, does this have enough body and oomph to end your evening, or doesn't it want you I think it's something special.
Senator:I'll just say, I think what's brilliant about this cigar, I think it can begin an evening, and I think it can end an evening.
Bam Bam:It's so personal.
Senator:Firmly medium right now in body. Mhmm. In flavor, there's a ton of it. And I think in the last third, given my experience smoking this before, it's gonna pick up even more. And I just think the versatility of this cigar is really off the charts.
Gizmo:Yeah. The construction's great. Again, the smoke output is still happening.
Bam Bam:Yeah, can't wait to get I down down into this
Gizmo:am I'm very, very happy right now. And again, that we paid what we did for this is crazy. It's pretty incredible. So we were talking earlier about members only clubs and the high price to get in them, and Senator reported to us that he recently joined a members only club, paid the fee to
Rooster:get in. Highly coveted. Highly coveted.
Gizmo:Mhmm. And honestly, I'm blown away because he's been a little bit of a naysayer on the members only clubs.
Bam Bam:A little
Senator:bit? Little bit. On members only clubs. I'm a fan of that. This is We belong to a low brow version of a members only club.
Gizmo:So how did you get to the point that you joined Rooster's beloved
Bam Bam:Wait a minute.
Gizmo:Costco.
Bam Bam:You actually oh. I'm like, what the fuck are we talking about? I thought you were talking about the Metropolitan. I don't want to talk about Costco. Why not?
Gizmo:That was that setup was working for
Bam Bam:me to get that reaction out of you guys. Holy shit.
Senator:So what happened? I am officially a card carrying Costco member, believe it
Bam Bam:or not. Wow.
Rooster:What brought about that change?
Senator:So I will start with why I have been a massive Costco naysayer and how I got to this point. When I first went into a Costco was when I lived in DC. I lived in an apartment. I had no kids. And number one, walking in that store, it is chaos.
Senator:Yeah. There's a shit ton of people. There is no labeling of the aisles at all.
Gizmo:It's like walking into Disney World on Christmas Day.
Senator:Yeah. To me, you you walk in a proper supermarket, it's like, this aisle has pasta, this aisle has water.
Bam Bam:Correct.
Senator:There's nothing labeled, it's just endless crates of stuff.
Bam Bam:Prophylactics in this aisle. So
Senator:that was supremely frustrating. And then the fact that you can't buy anything in a normal quantity other than a big bulk quantity. When I was living in an apartment, number one, I don't have the space to store these giant quantities of all these different items. Number two, I was in a household of two at the time, like, I didn't need that kind of quantity. Now fast forward years later, I have a house, I have tons of space, so I can store away all this stuff.
Senator:And I got to a point where I realized I'm getting really aggravated with running out of things and needing to replenish it and go to a supermarket to get It's like, oh.
Gizmo:You're starting to sound like somebody else in the room, not wanting to go to the supermarket.
Bam Bam:That's correct.
Senator:Well, he just categorically doesn't go.
Bam Bam:That's also
Senator:The rest of us actually do our duty and go.
Bam Bam:I do not go.
Senator:But it was just annoying. It's like, oh, I'm running out of paper towels. I've gotta go get that. I'm running out of pasta sauce. I need to go like, there's just like a thousand things I routinely need.
Senator:Eggs. The idea of buying things in bulk and not having to return to a supermarket for a lengthy period of time to replenish it was extremely attractive to me. So I said I'm gonna give it a shot. I signed up, got the executive membership.
Chef Ricky:Nice.
Senator:Went two weeks ago the Costco in Nanuet, which or Nyack. Sorry. New York? Yeah. It's very close to me.
Senator:It's like a eighteen minute drive. Oh, okay. And I did I went to that one because I expected on a weekend that the Teterboro one would be completely slammed, and I figured that this one would be probably more dead. Now I was right. It was definitely not as crowded.
Senator:It it's not it's not a nice Costco. You know, I remember the one in DC, like, no Costco is, like, particularly nice because it's all just crates of stuff, but this Costco in particular, like, did not do a great job. And there were things like I was expecting to find there that they seemingly didn't even have, which was odd, but I got the majority of essentials that I needed, and I was at least somewhat satisfied with my experience. Then doing a little more homework about kinda what's good to get at Costco, I had a whole other list of things that I needed to get there. So I went to the Teterboro one today, much nicer Costco, much more orderly.
Senator:They had everything in stock that I had heard Costco sells that I was interested in getting. And I gotta say, I'm very pleased with the experience. And even, you know, I had a return from my last time, I bought the wrong olive oil, and I brought it it was unopened anyway, but I brought it back, very easy.
Chef Ricky:They would even
Bam Bam:take it if it were.
Senator:I believe it. That's what's also I love about that.
Rooster:Only open, but half Yeah.
Senator:There's people that are speaking from
Bam Bam:experience. That's correct. He's on a board show.
Rooster:Dude, have seen people return- Mattresses. Shrubs. Years later. Shrubs because they're brown because they forgot to water them. Like a four pack of massive shrubs returned on a pallet.
Bam Bam:I wish I could
Chef Ricky:do that.
Gizmo:Push cart. This is
Bam Bam:completely brown. You could tell the person forgot to water them. This is what's wrong with this country, what you're saying right now.
Gizmo:It's Costco. They take everything back.
Senator:And the other thing I have to say, so recently for Father's Day, I grilled a bunch of prime New York strips.
Chef Ricky:Oh, the beef. The prime beef there
Bam Bam:is great.
Senator:Well, here's the funny thing. So the Nyack one, when I went because I had heard this, and from guys in the lounge that, like, I trust, like, Lizard Obey, I know he can cook. I know he's got good taste in food, he swore Gizmo. We'll put Gizmo in there, I guess.
Gizmo:Just just out.
Chef Ricky:They really have a big pack of I forgot what they're called. Pigs in a blanket over there.
Gizmo:Know, buddy. They do have great pigs in a blanket.
Bam Bam:They do.
Gizmo:Great hot dog options as we know. Yeah. The smallest of the dogs to the biggest of the dogs.
Bam Bam:Correct.
Gizmo:All available.
Bam Bam:Alright. At
Gizmo:Senator's new membership facility Correct. Costco.
Rooster:So you got meat
Senator:from But the problem was, no. So I I went to the Nyak one, and I looked at the prime beef, and I'm sorry, it looked terrible. Oh. So I was like, I will never buy beef in Costco. So Father's Day weekend, went to Whole Foods and got amazing prime beef.
Senator:But when I went to Teterboro today, I was actually completely different, way better than the crap that they have in NIAC. And the funny thing was, like, looked at a pack of four prime New York strips, which was exactly what I bought for Father's Day at Whole Foods, and I paid like a $138 for those four prime strips at Costco, I could've gotten a pack the exact same size.
Rooster:Half the price.
Senator:No, not half. But for like $98, which just saved like $40,
Bam Bam:Yeah. For I'll take four? Yeah. That's excellent. It's amazing.
Senator:So I immediately was like, wow, I will definitely now start buying some prime beef there. Damn. And all the essential stuff you need, I mean, it's really a great value.
Chef Ricky:And with your membership, since you got
Bam Bam:the executive card, you could go at
Chef Ricky:9AM, you could go earlier
Bam Bam:before That's regular right. You got one right. Of the first
Rooster:And another thing you could do in Hackensack, there's a business center that you can go to.
Chef Ricky:I've been
Rooster:to that one. No lines, easy in and out. So they don't sell any clothing. There's no liquor.
Chef Ricky:It's all food. But everything there is even larger
Rooster:than what you would buy a leg of lamb
Bam Bam:if you wanted to. If you need 10 pounds of salmon, you're in. If you need a five gallon bucket of
Rooster:soy sauce, they have I mean, if you're having a party, you're having
Bam Bam:They sell beans at like 42 cans of pop. How are gonna beat that?
Rooster:They sell regular sizes, but it's very easy to get in and out up there.
Senator:Yeah. I was impressed. The other thing I will say that I loved, the idea of standing in line, and instead of having to wait until it is your turn at the cashier to scan all your stuff, the fact that they have people with, like, a wireless scanner that prescans all your stuff tied to your card, and you just go up, they scan your card, and it all loads everything that's in your card on there, and you just pay. Only thing
Rooster:they should do is, like, those wireless scanners, they should also allow you to pay right there.
Bam Bam:That's that would be true. You know, you just tap your
Rooster:card and you walk out. No. It'd faster. And they have self serve lines there.
Senator:Yeah.
Rooster:You could just help check out.
Chef Ricky:Guys, I think we're gonna see Bam hit the grocery store because of Costco.
Gizmo:It's never gonna happen. Stop
Bam Bam:it. It's not gonna happen.
Gizmo:Dude, it took him six weeks to put butane in his lighter.
Rooster:There is there is one
Bam Bam:That is not true.
Rooster:There is one problem with Costco, though. If your wife tells you to get a gallon of milk and you walk out of there with patio furniture,
Senator:That's a problem.
Bam Bam:I need to I need you to call in reinforcements to get it home. And then you realize it's
Rooster:not gonna fit in your SUV, then you call Gizmo. Hey, Giz. I need your help.
Gizmo:Yeah. So I'm at the did you hear this story? I'm at the Amateur shopper. Correct. I'm at the airport.
Gizmo:Rooster Rooster goes Rooster goes to Costco, forgets his forgets his tape measure. I'm dropping somebody at the airport. He calls me in a panic that he can't get this couch in his car. First, I called Bam. He didn't pick up.
Gizmo:Of course. He never does.
Bam Bam:That's correct. So I had to run over
Gizmo:to Teterboro and pick up Rooster's new furniture.
Rooster:Yeah. Wicker daybed. And he
Gizmo:paid me in a $1.50
Bam Bam:Hot dog. Hot dog And a soda.
Gizmo:And a diet diet Pepsi or whatever it was.
Bam Bam:Diet Coke. Excellent. Excellent.
Rooster:Much much appreciated.
Senator:I love when I, like, announced on the chat that I had joined Costco. Rooster replies, I went there four days in a row last week. Please don't judge me. Jesus Christ. The whole point of me joining was to go there once every few weeks, and he goes four straight days in a week.
Rooster:Over my way to work.
Gizmo:Overzealous.
Rooster:Know, buy plants there. You can you can
Senator:buy everything. Yeah.
Bam Bam:You can return it when it goes brown.
Senator:And that's also like the comical thing. Like, you go in there and you feel like you're just gonna buy like a few things. You walk out with a ton of stuff, you're like, how did I spend $400 here?
Gizmo:Like, it's like crazy.
Chef Ricky:That's why they don't label the aisles. You can just make your way through
Rooster:all The of good thing about the executive membership is because you get 1% or one and a half percent
Senator:I think 2%. 2%. Yeah. 2%.
Rooster:Especially if you have that Citibank visa.
Chef Ricky:You get even more.
Rooster:Even more, you get 3% back. Yep. So it pays for itself.
Senator:Well, other thing that I give them credit for, which is why I signed up for the executive is if you don't spend enough at the end of the year to basically make it worth your while, the difference from that versus like the regular membership, they'll refund you the difference in membership True. And downgrade you. So I was like, I have nothing to lose. I may as well buy the executives, see if I spend enough that it was worth my while. Sure.
Senator:At the rate I'm going, it looks like it will be.
Rooster:They have some big ticket items too. They have jewelry. They have all kinds of
Bam Bam:Do they have luxury watches?
Rooster:They have some watches, but not like Rolexes and stuff, but I've seen Omegas, they have Cartiers, they have some other stuff.
Senator:Omega, yeah. Omega. That's crazy.
Rooster:They have the LG OLED TVs there, they're 200 inches. Have you know, optical Need
Chef Ricky:a 200 inch TV.
Gizmo:I'm gonna need to change the intro to a warehouse store podcast.
Bam Bam:Honey, I gotta go get eggs and an Omega. I'll be
Rooster:back He'll in send you for eggs, you'll end up with an Omega.
Bam Bam:That's correct.
Gizmo:Well, congratulations, Senator. Welcome to the dark side. It's good to have you here. I hope you buy just immense quantities of everything you need and everything you want. It's really it's really a wonderful club to be in.
Gizmo:I recommend going early in the morning on like a weekday. It's not as torturous, but like in Wayne, where I go, because that's where they have the alcohol there in the state of New Jersey. They they inside. Yeah, inside the alcohol is there. But it's crazy there on a weekend.
Gizmo:I mean, where they put it is just
Rooster:the And worst Mondays. For some reason, Mondays are just crazy.
Senator:I mean, do tremendous business.
Gizmo:I can't imagine the numbers.
Senator:Went at like 11AM on a weekday thinking most people are at work, school, something. I mean, the entire parking lot, full. Every space,
Rooster:I couldn't believe it. So this is only here. I've been to the one in Atlanta. No lines ever. Interesting.
Bam Bam:Costco annual earnings. Let's see what it says. Oh, you're not gonna believe this.
Rooster:They make their money
Bam Bam:at Starbucks. Not gonna believe it.
Gizmo:Well, what's crazy about Costco, dude
Bam Bam:No, no, no, You're not gonna believe the annual earnings.
Gizmo:Go ahead.
Bam Bam:Dollars $275,000,000,000.
Gizmo:That's their revenue. That's not their profit. I
Bam Bam:know, that's true,
Gizmo:but that's So what's crazy about Costco is tremendous. What's crazy about that is
Bam Bam:most Oh, of that have a revenue breakdown. Would you like to hear it?
Gizmo:It's memberships. The profit is memberships. Almost all of the actual goods that they sell are sold at cost.
Bam Bam:You wanna hear what the net income is? $8,000,000,000.
Gizmo:And that's pretty much membership fees.
Senator:Oh my Lord.
Gizmo:Everything else is sold at cost or a loss. Every I'm rotisserie chicken they sell is at a loss. Every hot dog they sell is at a loss. That is incredible. It's an amazing business model.
Gizmo:Wow. All right, boys. Let's get back to cigars. Yeah. And by the way, they sell cigars.
Gizmo:I've seen cigars there.
Bam Bam:Well, they have.
Rooster:Yeah. I've seen cigars.
Bam Bam:Philly Blunts. You can get a pack of 50 of Philly blunts. No. They have. A 50 cap of Philly blunts.
Bam Bam:A
Senator:master great of Philly blunts. Blueberry. So the question it begs the question, have you ever purchased a cigar at Cigar?
Bam Bam:Yes. He has.
Rooster:I have not
Bam Bam:because Yes. You have.
Rooster:I have not. Those are not the brands that I'm familiar with. But they have I've seen, like, Don Thomas, Don Tomas, Macanudos, Finca's, Rocky
Chef Ricky:Patel. All your favorites.
Bam Bam:No. Don't say that.
Rooster:Gurkha's.
Chef Ricky:I've seen Gurkha's.
Rooster:Yeah. You have?
Gizmo:Yep. In Costco. Wow.
Senator:Oh my goodness.
Gizmo:Alright, boys. Let's move on now.
Bam Bam:Yes. By the
Gizmo:you wanna keep going on Costco recently?
Senator:Have to. Wait. Wait. One more thing.
Gizmo:So last week, we had a discussion about our heavy rotation Cubans of the past and the non Cubans that replace them. If you remember, we talked at length about this. And I said that I was going to share some of the feedback we got after that discussion from FOH and our email and whatnot. So I wanted to share some of that. But the overwhelming thing that I took from a lot of the commentary, a lot of the emails especially, and the comments on FOH, is that folks don't think about the way they smoke their cigars the same way we do.
Gizmo:I think we kind of have this mentality around a rotation or a sit kind of lining up how you smoke. And what I found interesting is a lot of the commentary was that they don't really think about their Line up? Line up. Their regularity of smoking. They just kind of walk to their tower, pick what they want, and that's what they smoke.
Gizmo:I was kind
Senator:of like Pagoda the other night.
Gizmo:Yeah. I was kind of surprised to hear that, honestly.
Bam Bam:I don't know how you can live your cigar life without setting up the lineup.
Rooster:But are they smoking more than one? It could
Gizmo:be more than one. They're saying that they just they just grab a couple here and there and
Bam Bam:Well, that's
Gizmo:You know?
Chef Ricky:My guess would be they're not smoking multiples often, and they also maybe don't have as large of a selection to pick from.
Gizmo:But I even lay out on the thread on FOH and here, things like first of the day, second of the day, that kind of Hall of Famer slot, the big meal follow-up slot, the way I think about it, the Saturday morning cigar, you know, I want something different today kind of cigar. Like, I think about my cigars like that.
Senator:Yeah. But there's a lot that don't. There's a guy who recently joined our lounge who I mean, he's older than every person in this room, and he basically said
Bam Bam:Older than Brian. Are you sure? Older than Brian? Yeah. Oh, boy.
Bam Bam:Was he at the rock at Gibraltar?
Senator:And this guy was basically saying that he just picks up and smokes anything someone tells him, or he just grabs something off the shelf in a shop. He gives zero thought whatsoever, like, every day to what he's gonna smoke. He just grabs something and smokes it. I don't get it, but, like, that's there's a lot of people like that.
Bam Bam:No. Like,
Gizmo:a lot of the comments were, you know, you know, I haven't separated cigars out based on different parts of the day or a rotation. Just going a lot of the commentary was I'm just going for what I'm what I'm in the mood for. That was a very consistent theme. But a lot of the folks were saying that you know, I'll give you an example. This is Lizards Cigar on FOH.
Gizmo:He was saying in the daytime, he goes for Eprune, Isla De Cocadrillo, which I can never pronounce. A lot of the FOH stuff, Aladino Cameroon, La Aroma de Cuba, Dun Barton stuff, AG Prince at night, Fuente Don Carlos personal reserves, Davodoff Winston Churchill, regular and late hour, Cavalier Geneva, Black Series, the Bon Robbers Petite 01/2009 Byron Bandolero Padron 1964 Principe. So those are you know, that's how he's thinking about it is like daytime, nighttime smokes. A lot of other folks are saying that, you know, they're not grabbing stuff like we do and thinking about a slaughter the way that they smoke or how often they smoke them. They just go for what they're thinking.
Senator:I wish Pagoda was here. He sometimes thinks the same way. Mean, I'll I tell the
Gizmo:think there's stuff in his tower that he has no idea what's even in there.
Senator:No. I think you're forgetting what happened. So the other night, I had hosted a bunch of the guys for the World Cup at my place, and Pagoda rolls in. And his lineup for the night, what he brings with him, he grabbed a five pack
Rooster:That's right.
Senator:Of all the same cigar. It was a Trinidad Espiritu.
Bam Bam:That's right. He brought a He just brought a fiver. That's right.
Senator:And he was, like, looking at it,
Bam Bam:like, trying to decide what to smoke.
Senator:They're all the same. That's right. We were looking like, what the hell is this?
Bam Bam:Well, you know, the calculus equations were floating over his head.
Rooster:I think I think I know what happened there.
Bam Bam:Do you?
Rooster:The the five pack of a Spiridoo, you know, it's it's hard to open that, and he's probably in a rush. He's like, fuck it. I'm just gonna take the whole five pack, and I'll figure it out later.
Bam Bam:So did he smoke three of those in one
Senator:night? Probably.
Bam Bam:Oh, man.
Gizmo:So here's another comment. So this one is in line with the kind of way that I lighted out from our friend, the Cigar Soldier. He said, first of the day, his wrasse was replaced by the Aladino classic in Robusto or the avowed new dawn in Toro. Second of the day, the d four replaced by the stoic courage or the Robusto trinity from Vav five. The hall of famer slot, the Cigar six from Cohiba, Armani number two replaced by aging room Concerto Maestro, the LA Cigar Collectives House Blend, the Gellis Family cigars piece unique, the big meal follow-up, very similar to mine, the Padron eighty years Maduro, Bon Roberts one zero nine.
Gizmo:Saturday morning special, Aladino eighty fifth anniversary of Robusto, Fab five Churchill. Want something different today, Stoic Wisdom, the sister to this that we're smoking right now, My Father Blue, Padron Family Reserve fiftieth Natural. Big celebration, Gellis Family cigars, piece unique, you named that before, the Kellner Eli 80, Padron fiftieth, and the Super Bowl World Cup final cigar, which I kinda named, like, the Phenomenos is that cigar for me, like a massive cigar. Yeah. The Mani A was that cigar in the past for me.
Gizmo:He put the Stoic Equanimity in Wisdom, which is the one we're smoking tonight.
Bam Bam:So A lot of good cigars.
Gizmo:of good cigars there. Another one, Mani Petite Edmundo replaced by the Olivavy Double Robusto. So again, for folks out there, we're not saying that these cigars that are being replaced taste like the cigars that are replacing them in the rotation or the slot. It's just kind of lining up experience and palette coverage. Let's call it, you know, shout out to class counter.
Gizmo:That's what we're going for here. It's not a, you know, one to one flavor match. I want to make that very, very clear. Correct. So here's one from Rob Ayala, of course, El Prez on FOH.
Gizmo:I wanted to share his as well. He says he has his Cuban cigar rotation occasional being replaced. Naturally, I gravitate to my own line of cigars, of course, because that's what they were developed for. So he says d four, no problem replacing with a Robusto Trinity. BBF, the Bellicosos Finos from Bolivar, no problem replacing with a Corte Suave or the Petite one zero nine.
Gizmo:The Partigus eight nine eight, he says, I can't replace that one yet. I like that comment. The Lusitania from Partagas, no problem replacing with a b r one zero nine. I agree with that. Sir Winston, can't fully replace in my rotation, but Nudi's Churchill is 80% of the experience for 15% of the price.
Gizmo:Cohiba Cigarl five, can't fully replace. But again, BR Dahlia giving me 80% of the experience for 10% of the price. Punch double Corona Bam. I know you love that cigar. He says Phenomenos is the close match for him.
Gizmo:Yeah. Not bad. Agreed. Yeah. So if you wanna see more of these comments, some great great comments on FOH.
Gizmo:And like I said in the email, it was a lot of folks saying, hey, I don't really think like you guys do. You know? It's I just kinda just grab what I'm in the mood for. So I found that interesting.
Bam Bam:Very.
Gizmo:So that's that, boys.
Bam Bam:In the meantime, this is just getting better and better and better.
Gizmo:I'm loving this cigar. Yeah. Do you all have boxes of this? I do. This is definitely worth getting.
Bam Bam:It's my first time having this.
Senator:I really like that. Our retail shop here at 1086 has these. They have these? Yeah, would buy singles of these anytime I was in the lounge kinda running low, I'd just pop in and grab one, they were great.
Bam Bam:Talk to old boy Johnny and get a box.
Gizmo:So boys, we're coming to the end of the second third now on the Stoic Equanimity in Wisdom paired with this awesome 15 years age red breast, single pot still Irish Whiskey. How's everybody feeling about the individual entrance and the pairing at this point?
Bam Bam:I think the pairing overall is delicious. This this red breast, again, like the cigar, palate adjustments in full effect. It just gets better after every sip, better after every draw. Just great night.
Rooster:I know you would buy the cigar, but would you buy the bottle?
Gizmo:I think this is a special occasion
Bam Bam:Yeah.
Gizmo:Spirit. But God, if the flavor's so good, I definitely wanna have it
Gizmo:cabinet, man. Mean, how could you not? What's tough
Senator:is if it were a bit lower in price point, the answer would be absolutely.
Bam Bam:Of course.
Senator:And I imagine for most, if not all of us.
Bam Bam:That's correct.
Senator:A big role that price point, it's
Bam Bam:I'd have it during the holidays. I would have it around, I mean, at that price and just have it very rarely during the year.
Rooster:I'm sure there's many replacements for that.
Senator:I don't know. This is pretty unique.
Gizmo:Yeah. Is it? I don't think there's anything like that that we've had. I mean, it has a really unique profile. I think a bourbon drinker would like this.
Gizmo:I think a scotch drinker would like this. I think a rum drinker looking for something different would like this.
Bam Bam:Yeah, agree.
Gizmo:I just think it kinda hits a lot of different
Bam Bam:Yeah, good point.
Gizmo:Palates without kind of It kinda still stands on its own as a really unique thing. I think it's it's it's kinda standing alone for me right now Yeah. As to where it sits, you know?
Bam Bam:And I think this this spirit would be great with many, many cigars that we smoke.
Gizmo:I agree. Yeah. Alright, boys. Moving on. I have another one here for you.
Gizmo:Another hypothetical. This one Rob threw up on FOH, and I really liked it. And I wanted to throw this one at you guys. So the idea here is that given the possibility that Cuban leaf might become available to non Cuban manufacturers in the future, right? Assuming that with what's going on in Cuba, who knows what's going to happen, some kind of change is likely to happen here.
Gizmo:If there is some intervention that happens politically, the likelihood, if it is U. S. Driven, is that Cuban products are no longer going to be contraband. Right? So the idea here is and the question is, if Cuban tobacco is available to non Cuban manufacturers, where would you like to see that Cuban tobacco blended?
Gizmo:Like, what kind of cigars would you like to see that blended into? What kind of blends would you like to see that integrated into? And, you know, any sort of combination of those things, blenders, manufacturers, cigars that you enjoy, where would you like to see Cuba tobacco? If it ends up coming outside of Cuba, where would you like to see it tried out, let's say, or experimented with?
Senator:I mean, in the unlikely event that that were to happen. And I say unlikely because I I don't think it's the case that Cuba has this wild surplus of tobacco No. They don't. Certainly. Yeah.
Senator:Exporting this to a bunch of other countries. They struggle enough to meet the demand with the current situation. But in the unlikely event that this were possible, I think the Dominican would be the place that I would like to see it used the most. I think Nicaraguan tobacco is so much stronger and so different that I'm not really sure It'll overpower the economy. Exactly.
Senator:I I don't know that I see much utility in trying to work that in there.
Bam Bam:And the Honduran, I'm sorry, there's a lot of parity. So it may you may not be able distinguish.
Senator:Totally. Right? Like, I don't think Honduran tobacco needs it, but I think Dominican tobacco is That's
Bam Bam:a great point.
Senator:Right in the middle that could benefit from some of those, like, lighter, kinda harder to find flavors that Cuban tobacco can impart with that Dominican tobacco. So I would love to see it really incorporated most into, like, some Dominican blends.
Bam Bam:You know, I like what Ernesto said during our interview and how he's experimenting with tobaccos worldwide. I can see him doing something really
Gizmo:I'd love to see him work with Cuba tobacco.
Bam Bam:I can see him doing something very interesting. Absolutely. He'll test it for a while. I think he could do something pretty special. And Vance from Stoic.
Bam Bam:I mean, the way he and Kloss make these cigars, they can come up with something pretty special. Those are the only two makers that I'm aware of that have actually talked about experimenting globally with all the available tobaccos that I'm aware of.
Rooster:But if Cuba opens up, I would just like to see more production out of Cuba of Cuban cigars.
Senator:Yeah. Well, exactly, which is why I don't think they would ever export it to other places. Right.
Gizmo:I'll tell you, I I would love to see I have two thoughts. I would love to see Cuban tobacco filler and binder with a Cameroon wrapper on it. I'd really like to see what that is like. Interesting. Because I think Cameroon has offered a really interesting flavor with the Honduran stuff that we've enjoyed with Cameroon on it.
Gizmo:I'd love to and honestly, Arturo Fuente, our favorite line, Don Carlos, mean, I'd love to see what that wrapper would taste like with Cuban tobacco. Yeah. And I'd also, of course, think about Hamlet Paredes, who famously was you know, running the Partagas factory in Cuba for so long. He grew up. He made his name.
Gizmo:This is true. Built his life on Cuban tobacco. I'd love to see what integrations he could make into Honduran and Nicaraguan tobacco and, you know, what other things could come of that. I don't know. I think it's exciting to think about, because who knows what's going to happen here?
Gizmo:Mean, most of these
Rooster:companies, manufacturers came out of Cuba. Their parents, their forefathers were from Cuba. So there is that history. So I would love to get their take on, if that opens up, how would they incorporate that into their blends? Be interesting.
Rooster:But
Gizmo:I think you're right. I think Dominican tobacco Obviously, we're smoking a Dominican cigar that has, what, seven, eight, nine different tobaccos in it I named earlier. I mean, I think you know, Vance having access to this class, having access to this, I think would be pretty cool to see what that could end up. You know, how that could end up impacting future blends. You know, I would assume it would trend lighter.
Gizmo:That, of course, is my assumption given what we have experienced with Cupid tobacco, but it'd be interesting to try it.
Bam Bam:True.
Senator:Yeah. But also what's cool is with that mix of tobaccos, it doesn't have to be lighter, it just could especially if you're gonna incorporate some Nicaraguan tobacco, it can just introduce some unique notes that you would never be able to get out of a Dominican or a Nicaraguan pure. Dry
Bam Bam:fruit. Floral.
Senator:Yeah. That's exactly what was thinking.
Gizmo:You can get that punch punch flavor you've been searching
Bam Bam:for. Graham Crister. So
Gizmo:I thought that was really interesting, and I mean, who knows what's gonna happen, but it's an interesting exercise. So if any listeners out there have thoughts on how you'd like to see Cuban tobacco integrated into the non Cuban world via blenders, via specific blends, if you think it would work well with, like I said, Cameroon or Criollo 98 or whatever it may be, we'd love to hear from you. So write in. We'll continue this conversation in the future. Alright, boys.
Gizmo:Let's go now to some listener email. We're going to start tonight with a really important one. We have to help out our friend Lizard Casey. And he says, hello, Lizards. I just came home to a huge problem this evening.
Gizmo:I went to my humidor to grab a cigar, which is a new Air 300, which is an electronic one with air conditioning and heating. When I reached for a cigar, I noticed that my temperature was set to 99 degrees Fahrenheit, and my temperature and hygrometer were reading 23% humidity about five minutes into unplugging it. It started reading a 115 degrees Fahrenheit. What? Do you think all of my cigars are bad?
Gizmo:I have approximately 70 in the humidor that fits around 300. It hasn't been that way for long, maybe a week or two. Do you think that they could have been damaged? All New World. No Cubans.
Gizmo:For humidity, I use Boveda packs and a Cigar Oasis XL. I keep the temperature set to 70 and humidity set to 65. PS, I'm a longtime listener. Thanks. Lizard Casey.
Gizmo:Does he mention where he is?
Bam Bam:Does he live in Sub Sub Saharan Africa? He might. I don't know. He very well might. Ended up at a 100 and what?
Gizmo:Said it started reading a 115. I think that that must must
Rooster:have fallen That could be a wrong That's gotta
Bam Bam:be wrong. It's gotta be.
Senator:No way that that even can get that to 150 degrees. No way.
Bam Bam:Unless it lives in an Australian outback. Yeah. I mean, get a different
Rooster:hydrometer I than a
Gizmo:think there's a couple things here. I think number one, I don't think your cigars are ruined. I think you're looking at a week or two of if it's high temp, low humidity, I think you're okay. You need to regulate them. Get them out of that thing.
Gizmo:If you can't get that thing kind of stabilized, put them in some Tupperware with some stable Boveda. You're never going to mess up with Boveda. The thing that is really confusing to me here is he talks about having this new electronic air conditioning and heating unit, the Air 300, but he's saying, use Boveda packs in the Cigar Oasis XL. So this unit is doing its own thing as it relates to humidity, temperature, etcetera. And then you have Boveda packs and you have a cigar Oasis in there.
Gizmo:So you're talking about three different units providing in the Boveda case taking away humidity. Strange. Right?
Bam Bam:How many hygrometers does he have in the tower? Is it a tower? Is it a Huinedoor?
Rooster:I think
Gizmo:the Air 300 is one of those kind of like half Huinedoor cooladoor
Bam Bam:Got kind it. So not very big.
Rooster:I would probably shut the unit off, unplug it, leave the Oasis plugged in, take out the Bovedas, and get different hygrometers. And calibrate them. Calibrate them and see what the reading is. Because these things that come
Gizmo:with They could be very wrong. Because think about it. They're bouncing around in an Amazon truck, you know, having been in a warehouse that was bounced around on an Amazon pallet, which was bounced around on a shipping container, priced at the Strait Of Hermes for about ten weeks. Okay? Like, who knows where this thing was?
Gizmo:Certainly wasn't calibrated when he got it. But I think having all those things in there is a recipe for disaster. But again, I think if you don't have mold on the foot of your cigars, they are salvageable. I think just get them in the right condition with the right bovitas and you'll be okay.
Bam Bam:Well, he's not gonna have mold if the relative humidity is 23%.
Gizmo:Yeah, I don't know if it's accurate, I'm saying. That's Who knows? That's true. I mean, who knows what's accurate or not?
Bam Bam:Yeah,
Gizmo:yeah. Certainly the unit is fighting with the Oasis and the Boveda. I mean,
Bam Bam:I
Gizmo:agree with Rooster. I would disconnect the unit entirely. I would use the Cigar Oasis. You can use Boveda to augment that to get it to the point that the cigars are stabilized. I think the thing that you have to remember as well is if you have a unit that fits around 300 cigars and you have 70 in there, there's a lot of space that is not used.
Gizmo:And we always talk about a full humidor is a stable humidor. Correct. Right? Those cigars in and of themselves operate as regular They're regulating the humidity in that unit themselves. Tobacco is doing that as well.
Gizmo:It slows the process of pulling humidity out. It slows the process of introducing humidity. So I would do my best if you have the means to do it and you know what you like start getting some boxes in there, start getting some more cigars in there, fill that unit up a little bit more and make it a little bit more stable. I just think running these things with the electronic, I've talked about this before, they create this hell kind of thing where the air conditioning is on. Okay?
Gizmo:The humidity goes down. Then it turns the heat on to raise the humidity. Then the temperature goes, oh my God, it's too hot in here. It turns the air conditioning on to cool it down. And then what does that do?
Gizmo:Pulls the humidity down, and then the heat kicks back on. It's like this. It just keeps kicking on and off, and experience this. It keeps kicking on and off and on and off and on and off. So I would just be very careful with these types of units, especially trusting them if you're not paying attention to them.
Gizmo:They're not gonna do great work for you if you don't have your eyes all over them all the time.
Senator:Yeah. And I just think very simply, I don't think there is utility in any unit that attempts to regulate temperature. A A 100%. Like, it it inherently will fight with humidity, and the most important thing that you need to be controlling for is humidity. So that should be the focus.
Senator:You should not be using anything that's pumping in hot or cold air that's gonna screw with everything else.
Bam Bam:Oh, like our club.
Senator:As far as like temperature
Bam Bam:That's better. No, it's not. Alright.
Senator:As far as temperature, I mean, you you just need to be trying to find the most ideal location that you can in your home. And even if it's not perfect, that's okay. But what's more important is that the humidity is right because
Bam Bam:Mhmm.
Senator:If you are run way too dry or way too humid, I mean, you can ruin your collection.
Bam Bam:Yeah. So technically, temperature doesn't push humidity up or down. Temperature, depending on what if it's a higher temperature or lower temperature, either has a greater capacity to hold moisture or a lower capacity. So when it's colder, it has less capacity to hold moisture. But of course, when it's hotter, the capacity for that room or whatever it is has greater capacity to hold moisture.
Bam Bam:Now that doesn't necessarily mean the heat's creating the moisture. If you have balanced RH and your temperature goes up, as you're introducing more and more cigars that may be very warm or very humid, that humidity will go up because the capacity for that heat is a greater capacity to hold moisture.
Rooster:I think the gauges are way off because you cannot have a temperature of 115 and have 23RH. That doesn't make sense.
Bam Bam:It didn't feel like 115 degrees when you open that door. It's like you're frying eggs. It's like an oven. You're baking What are you baking? Throwing a pizza.
Bam Bam:Correct.
Gizmo:Neapolitan. What
Bam Bam:do we do?
Gizmo:So I'm going to email Lizard Casey as soon as we actually stop recording tonight because I want to get him an answer because it's certainly going to be a be a minute before this airs come out next week. But so I want to get this to him. But thanks to him for writing in and I hope that we're able to help him solve this problem because you know, you never want to hear about somebody who's panicking over their their new collection potentially being destroyed or ruined by heat or humidity or whatever it may be. Know, you hate to see that. And of course, if any anybody else out there has any ideas for him or has problems of their own, feel free to write us.
Gizmo:We'd love to share that with the audience. So let's go now, boys, to a voice memo from our friend Lizard Rob, and he he's sharing some feedback on the impact that the Lounge Lizards that we have had on his cigar journey.
Bam Bam:Hey, Liz. This is Rob. Just wanted to comment on the impact you guys have had on the cigar community if it's not too late. I also wanted to ask about specific Cuban cigar look alikes. But as far as the impact you guys have had on me, I ended up being motivated after I started listening to the pod to start my own cigar group and gives me it's given me an excuse with my with friends that I probably would've had a hard time keeping in touch with to meet up every so often and share a cigar as well as pairings.
Bam Bam:It also gives me an easy way to invite new guys over and and make new friends just because it's, you know, for for guys, sometimes it's tough to break the ice in that way, and it's kind of a manly way to invite somebody over. So it's been helpful for that. And, the group is is growing, and I think it'll continue to grow. So very appreciative of that. I also have a rover, that I move around from my garage to my backyard.
Chef Ricky:Here we go.
Bam Bam:I set up a exhaust vent in my garage and got a AC going in there as well, a mini split since I live in Houston, the the main part of that AC, obviously. Besides hurting my wallet, you guys have helped me out a lot in a lot of ways and just learning about so many, good cigars and being able to hand out, a good cigar to the guys I'm getting together with. We don't know much about them. It's been great as well. But do wanna ask you guys about specific Cuban, cigar comparisons if if you have any more.
Bam Bam:I know the Aladino Cameroon is very similar to the before, which I love. Obviously, I love both of them, since I just got to try them, but, and also just getting into Cuban cigars and knowing that I can't stay in it, much longer due to the high prices and the availability of them. Are there
Bam Bam:any
Bam Bam:other new worlds that are are very similar to certain Cuban cigars? And if you had any more recommendations, that would be very helpful just to know, what a certain Cuban cigar might be like or just to have a more affordable option. And I'm sure a lot of Lizards are in the same boat and wanting to try Cuban cigars but not having the the resources or don't wanna go through the headache of trying to give them. So appreciate it, guys.
Gizmo:I'll talk
Bam Bam:to y'all later. Bye.
Gizmo:Great voice memo. How cool is that? So he's found an opportunity to get a group of guys together, some friends together, smoke the same cigar, do some pairings. I love to hear it.
Senator:Yeah. He's growing Lizard Nation.
Bam Bam:Correct. Get the guys out of the house.
Gizmo:Exactly.
Bam Bam:Yeah, very important.
Gizmo:And I wish we could send this to the legislators who are trying to ban cigars. I mean, this is exactly, this is a problem solver. What we're doing is a problem solver. Smoking these cigars amongst friends, that's solving for a lot of these problems that we talk about, male loneliness or lack of opportunity to meet friends, it's great.
Bam Bam:From the point of view of mental health of men, sitting around like minded minds or unlike minded minds and debating and hanging out and busting each other's chops, It's very healthy. Yeah. And women. Yeah. And women too, of course.
Senator:I mean, the people you see in cigar lounges, they're sitting there. They're not on their phones. They're not on social media. They're engaged in conversation. Exactly.
Senator:They're having real conversations. They're forming lifelong bonds. They're meeting new people. That's what this is about. Agreed.
Gizmo:So going to his question, which I want to separate from the discussion we just had about rotation, slotting, stuff like that, his specific question is going to flavor trying to imitate the experience, right? He named the Aladino Cameroon as being kind of that replacement for the D4, right, in his mind. Senator's as well. Let's name some other cigars. I can think of two right now that I think are dead, you know, like dead nailed.
Gizmo:Actually three that are dead nailed for me right now. So I'll start, okay? I think the Mani two, we talked about this I think last week or the week before that.
Bam Bam:That's right.
Gizmo:The aging room concerto, I think gives you that chocolatey thing. Obviously it's a different experience, but if you're looking for that milk chocolate type of thing, you get Amani too. I think that that line is great for that. And then for me, the Cigarl five being replaced by the Bon Roberts Dahlias, I think is a dead ringer for me.
Bam Bam:Think that's
Gizmo:a home run. And I'll conclude for me the Lusitania's with the Bond Roberts 109. Think that's for me a one to one, not only in size, but it's very similar in experience. So that would be my those would be my three. Do you guys have any others that you would add to to this list of kind of thinking about the profile of a Cuban replacing with a non Cuban?
Bam Bam:I mean, I said it the last time. For me, like, cigars like the Chernativre Bustel, it, for me, mimics multiple Cuban cigars. I don't, for me, see a one on one correlation, but I'll throw a net out, and I know I'll grab two or three Cubans that that Trinity Robusto can easily replace or be reminiscent of. That's kind of how I'm seeing it. I love the Phenomenos.
Bam Bam:I love the Dahlias. These are cigars that have essentially taken over smoking our Cuban collection.
Rooster:I think the cigar that we're smoking right now gives I you don't know if it's more like a Cuban esque, more like an old, good Davidoff type flavor at onethree the price.
Gizmo:It's crazy.
Rooster:Mean, it's a home run. You guys mentioned the aging room, the concertos, the Sonatas, the Trinidad Esperitos Cabayguan. Cabayguans. Those are all great cigars. And all the FOH cigars.
Rooster:You guys mentioned the Phenomenos, the Petite 109, the Bond Roberts 109, the Dahlias. I mean, are very, very Cuban esque.
Bam Bam:Correct.
Rooster:Those are all good replacements.
Gizmo:Yeah. So I think, you know, like Lizard John from Cleveland a couple weeks ago said that he's a big Cuban cigar guy, Had some, you know, a friend of his present him with some cigars and there was one unbanded, smoked the others. They were really good. That unbanded, you know, really blew him away. Then he finds out it's like a queen corona from Fabrica Five and was completely blown away by it, you know?
Gizmo:And it's like, I I think that, you know, obviously we're homers here. We love Fabrica five. They're the presenting sponsor of this podcast. But if you've not tried them, I think you're crazy because it really does check a lot of those boxes and we're all smoking them very, very regularly. If it's not Bon Roberts, it's the Trinity Robusto.
Gizmo:It's it's we're smoking something in the line. Everybody's smoking stuff all the time, and the guys in the lounge are doing it too.
Rooster:You know? I mean, the perfect example is Lizard O. He's out in California. I think he was strictly a Cuban cigar smoker. He would not touch New World cigars.
Rooster:So I think Gizmo introduced him to the Bond Roberts line. And he sent us a picture of his last order. It must have been like at least seven or eight cabs.
Gizmo:50 cabs.
Rooster:50 cabs. I mean, he went deep. He's like, this is such a replacement for his Cuban collection. He still has a lot of Cuban cigars. But he's like, this he doesn't want to smoke a lot of the Cuban cigars, and this completely replaces that for him for his daily smoke.
Rooster:He smokes I think he loves the Phenomenos the most and then the Dahlias and then the 100 nine's.
Gizmo:Yeah. He's loving it. So with that, boys, we're gonna go into our lizard of the week presented by our friends at Bon Roberts. And our lizard of the week this week is actually Lizard O from California. So nice tee up there, rooster.
Gizmo:So Lizard O is going to win a 10 count box of cigars from our friends at Bon Roberts. Not that he needs them, but he has been an OG Lizard since almost day one. Sent us so many great spirits, shared so many great stories and experiences with us, and he's so, you know, he's so supportive of what we do. So he sent a great email over that I wanna share with you guys now, kind of following up on what Rooster was just saying. So he says, hey, Lizards.
Gizmo:I've been on this journey with you guys since the beginning. It's been so fun to watch the pod blossom into what it is today. I've become very close personally with Giz and Rooster, but I feel like I know you all. We've shared endless cigars, bourbon, and late night texts. You've you've taken my feedback to heart and have shouted me out endlessly.
Gizmo:I love you guys. Chef Ricky was such a brilliant addition. Bravo. As you know, I'm a giant Cuban cigar snob. Thank you, Giz, for sending me so many new worlds to try.
Gizmo:It really helped me discover how much I'd rather smoke my Cubans. Send some emo laughing emojis. But I will give you credit for my love of the Bond Roberts cigars. Unlike you, I don't get paid to speak highly of them, but they are really special. So it's nice that the student became the teacher for once.
Gizmo:Please note it took Giz over a year to send me a package with multiple reminders. Give him hell for me, please. Also, thank you for classing up the joint with Glencairn glasses. Spirits don't belong on ice. I'm very proud of the group for trying higher proof spirits as well.
Gizmo:There were a lot of questions as to how I could pair cigars for some of my bourbon choices. I don't. I drink bourbon at night, and I smoke in the morning on an empty stomach with coffee and water. To Lizard Nation, stay smoky, and thank you for supporting the best cigar podcast on the planet, Lizard O.
Bam Bam:Very awesome.
Gizmo:It. That's a great email. That's awesome. So congratulations to him. You know, he's been a huge supporter of us.
Gizmo:I don't think he's written as many emails, but he finally did, I think, after seeing the light with Bon Roberts. And he made an additional comment to us in a second email saying that I forgot to say that I'm think he's thinking about selling his entire Cuban cigar collection Wow. That's and just smoking What? Bon Roberts. Rooster sod as well.
Gizmo:I mean, it's crazy. Well, it's
Senator:only appropriate. Put them up on Bon Roberts.
Gizmo:Exactly right.
Bam Bam:Correct. Send us a list first.
Chef Ricky:Yeah. Gives the broker them for you. Oh, yeah.
Gizmo:That's pretty cool, though, man. You know, I you know, a guy like John and Lizards John in Cleveland, a guy like Lizard O here have been with us for so long. Seeing the light on on what the value of these cigars bring, I mean, yes, we're lucky to be in partnership with Fabrica Five and Bond Roberts, but at the end of the day, the product speaks for itself.
Rooster:Yeah. I mean, you know, us talking about the Bond Roberts cigars is one thing. They are the sponsor, although we are brutally honest about cigars.
Bam Bam:But we smoke them every day.
Rooster:We do. We do. But still,
Gizmo:Yeah. Know
Senator:I'm sorry. Just ask Hamlet how brutally honest this crew can be.
Rooster:Yeah. But for Lizard O to say that about Bond Robert cigars, who's strictly a Cuban smoker, and for him to order so many Bond Robert cigars, I mean, that's what else do you wanna hear?
Bam Bam:Because have you sent him any aging room?
Gizmo:I don't know if I sent him aging room.
Bam Bam:Any Stoic?
Gizmo:He likes Stoic. He's actually purchased some
Bam Bam:Stoic. Yeah. Good.
Gizmo:He's a big fan
Bam Bam:of Stoic. That's good.
Gizmo:Yeah. He's been smoking Stoic.
Bam Bam:He needs to try that aging room group of cigars, man.
Gizmo:So thanks again to Lizard O. Great great email from him. Let's go on now to one from our friend Lizard Enrique. He says, hello, Lizards. I wanted to share a recent epiphany about the pod.
Gizmo:I stopped drinking twelve years ago as of June 20. My man. And the show fills that void of grabbing a pint after work with friends and just shooting the breeze. The camaraderie is what I miss at times, not the drinking. The pod definitely scratches that itch.
Gizmo:Busting chops, laughing together, and sharing life experiences are such a foundational elements of the podcast, which brings so much happiness to so many people. The lads have built a wonderful culture with each other and the audience, and people like me are very grateful. Keep up the great work. Cheers, Lizard Enrique.
Bam Bam:Very nice.
Gizmo:That's a pretty nice note.
Chef Ricky:Yeah. Really is.
Gizmo:Alright, boys. Let's go to another one now. This one is from our friend Lizard Yorkshire Pudding as Pagoda called him, Lizard Yorkshire. He says, dear lizards, I just wanted to say I'm absolutely gobsmacked in the best way possible, incredibly grateful for being chosen as lizard of the week a few weeks back. Hearing my nickname read out on the podcast nearly made me fall off my chair.
Gizmo:From now on, I'll be announcing myself to everyone as lizard of the week everywhere I go. Whether people ask or not, I assume this title comes with absolutely no responsibilities but plenty of prestige.
Bam Bam:That's like Pooba walking. In love 14, my name is Pooba.
Senator:You should put that on his resume.
Bam Bam:Correct.
Gizmo:Thank you so much for reading my email and for the very generous gift of the Bon Robert cigars. I currently have a few Fabrica five cigars in my humidor that I received as a gift, I've always wanted to try the Bon Robert's blend. So thanks to you guys. I finally have that opportunity. I truly appreciate it.
Gizmo:I've already had the pleasure of smoking the Petite Corona and the Cana Nazzle, and I'm really looking forward to trying more of the range, especially the Robusto Trinity that you guys have highly recommended. Regarding your question about non Cuban cigars in The United Kingdom, the market is definitely growing, and each year, we seem to see a wider selection becoming available. We can indeed get brands like Rocky Patel. They seem to be everywhere, although I don't have any in my Humidor. The main challenge, however, is pricing.
Gizmo:Unfortunately, prices here are very high, and many smokers often prefer to stick with familiar Cuban cigars rather than take the risk on a non Cuban option. If it weren't for travel or kind friends bringing cigars back from abroad, it would be difficult to justify trying as many as I have. That said, we do have access to a solid range of brands including Aladino, Alec Bradley, AJ Fernandez, Arturo Fuente, Aging Room, AVO, Black Ladle Trading, CIO, Castagli, Caldwell, Camancho, Cavalier, Davodoff, True Estate, El Popo, Ipi Carreo, El Septimo, Freud, Foundation, Ellucian, La Aurora, Oforda Mincano, Macanuto, My Father, Oiva, Oscar Valladares, Padron, Placencia, Perdomo, Roma Craft
Bam Bam:Wow.
Gizmo:Room one zero one, Tatawahe Warped, West Tampa Tobacco Company, and Vega Fina, though I may have missed a few. So that actually surprises me. Yeah. The list that he sent over of cigars that are available in I'm the pretty blown away
Rooster:by I'm surprised to hear Padron. Correct. Thought you couldn't get Padron.
Senator:I'm floored by this. I mean, we have asked in prior episodes a while ago for listeners in Europe to share exactly what new worlds they have access to. In my wildest dreams, I never imagined that this many different distinct new world markers are available.
Bam Bam:So true.
Senator:It's incredible. Mean, years ago, when I was in Europe much more than I have been recently, none of that was available. I can't even believe it.
Bam Bam:You'd have to smoke a d four for crying out loud. Yeah.
Senator:You had to slum it.
Bam Bam:Correct.
Gizmo:So he says, unfortunately, we don't get the full portfolio from any one brand. It's usually a limited selection. Likely, their best sellers are blends thought to suit the European market. Prices can also vary significantly depending on the retailer, sometimes by a surprising margin. For example, a Davidoff Winston Churchill, the late hour in Churchill, the cigar we've talked about earlier, can range from £44 to £62 depending on where That's you buy over a $20 difference for a single cigar.
Gizmo:It definitely pays to shop around carefully here in The UK. Wow. So he sent a chart of and I appreciate I really appreciate him doing this work. He sent a chart, massive chart of The US prices versus The UK prices. So I'm just gonna give you a few examples here.
Gizmo:Okay? So we just talked about Davidoff, the late hour in Churchill. The Aladino Cameroon Robusto here in The US is about $10. The UK price in dollars is $21.50.
Bam Bam:Holy moly.
Gizmo:Okay. Drew Estate, Liga Pravada t 52 Robusto, $17.25 here in The US. The US equivalent in The UK, $44.30. Wow. Ipi Carrillo pledge prequel.
Gizmo:Okay? The one that won cigar of the year, $12 here in The US. Equivalent in The UK, $32.25. La Flora Dominicana Andalusian Bull, big one here in The US, $22.70 here, $61.76 equivalent in in The UK. My father blew in Robusto.
Gizmo:This one's crazy. $9.45 here in The US, $34.90 in The UK equivalent.
Bam Bam:What the hell?
Gizmo:Aladino, eighty fifth anniversary of the box of twenty here in The US, 03/15. So what is that? You're looking at $14 a cigar? In The UK, the equivalent on that for that same box of $2,685.
Bam Bam:Wow. My god. The my father's outrageous.
Rooster:Why would you smoke the New Worlds?
Bam Bam:Yeah. You well, that's what he said.
Rooster:You smoked the Cubans.
Bam Bam:That's what he said. Yeah.
Gizmo:Cheaper. You ready for this one to blow your mind? The Padron eightieth anniversary in Maduro. Here we go. Let me take a wild guess.
Gizmo:$37 here in The US. What do think The UK
Rooster:equivalent $180.85 dollars.
Gizmo:A $110. $100.70.
Bam Bam:Oh my lord.
Senator:That is crazy. A
Gizmo:$100 bill every time you wanna smoke. It's that good?
Bam Bam:Gotta hit my buzzer.
Senator:I would be leaving The UK.
Bam Bam:You gotta hit the buzzer on that one. Wow.
Rooster:So I wondered, like, what is the inventory level of Cuban cigars in UK at, you know I would
Gizmo:think it's up and down. I mean, right now, I know they're not getting a lot of stuff.
Rooster:And what about the prices? Like, what
Gizmo:is a d four in the K? The D four, I think we talked about it. It's like 40 or $50. I mean, you're you're paying serious money for these Robustas.
Bam Bam:That's true. So they're not getting any breaks.
Gizmo:I mean, the Padron eightieth is a perfect example. That's more than triple the price
Bam Bam:of what we're paying here.
Gizmo:It's absolutely unbelievable. One final one here. I found this one funny. The avo classic in Robusto is $10 here in The US. In The UK, it's $32 equivalent.
Gizmo:And Rooster Xeno, the one you smoke, the Nicaragua Robusto, $7 here in The US, $28.50 there.
Rooster:It's not bad.
Gizmo:Crazy. So he continues on, I'm very fortunate that I get to travel and that friends are often kind to bring back cigars for me from Europe to Caribbean or The US. I get especially excited when someone mentions a trip to the Disney because that usually means I can put in a small order from Neptune to try something new that we can't simply access here, and it's always at a bargain price I may add. Sometimes I like to have a look at what's available on Cigar Page, and I'm often in disbelief seeing deals like a five pack of Aleva Master Blends three for less than the price of a single cigar here really puts things into perspective. Or a 15 to 20% sale that I've seen in many online shops in The US, simply unheard of in The UK.
Gizmo:You guys are truly lucky when it comes to cigar pricing. I'm hoping to explore more Padron offerings in the future, especially the Exclusivo. And I also love to get my hands on some CAO Brasilia, which sounds right up my alley, as well as some of the Stoic and Avowed blends. The hunt continues. Once again, thank you for naming me Lizard of the Week and for taking the time to read my email.
Gizmo:It truly means a lot, and I really feel like part of the lounge sessions now. I hope this email offers some useful insight into The UK New World cigar market and the rather eye watering prices we have to contend with here. Long live, Lizard Nation. Best regards, Lizard Yorkshire pudding.
Senator:That's crazy. That may be the best follow-up to a lizard of
Bam Bam:week.
Gizmo:Let me tell you something.
Bam Bam:Very informative.
Gizmo:Look at and I actually, when we get off air, I only read maybe a third of the cigars he priced out. I mean That's it's crazy.
Bam Bam:Yeah. Good work there.
Gizmo:So thank you to Lizard Yorkshire for sending that to us and spending that time.
Rooster:How much is the late hour? Does he mention that?
Gizmo:Yeah. Yeah, that was the first one. 31 here in The U. S, only 60 in The U. K.
Gizmo:So that's not as much of a disparity as like the Padron eightieth. I thought that was the standout one hitting triple digits on the 80.
Rooster:That's £61
Gizmo:No. That's the equivalent in The US. £44 in The UK.
Bam Bam:Got it.
Bam Bam:Keep up, boy. Yeah.
Senator:Mean, the taxes there are just insane. And there's so many other markets that are like this. I mean, I mentioned years ago on the pod when I was in Singapore, that was when we were still getting Monty twos for like $12. And in Singapore, a Monty two was like $60. This is years ago.
Senator:I mean, can you imagine now it's probably a $100
Bam Bam:Easily.
Senator:Plus in Singapore for Monty two.
Gizmo:It's crazy, boys.
Bam Bam:That's a crime.
Gizmo:All right. One more email now before we get to our ratings. This one is from a resident philosopher here on the podcast, Johnny the Greek. He says, hey, boys. Johnny the Greek here.
Gizmo:The longer I'm in this hobby, the more I think it's really about the chase. For years, I spent a lot of time focused on Cuban cigars, and I'll always appreciate what they bring to the table. But as Cuban cigar prices continued climbing into territory I simply wasn't comfortable with, I found myself doing something I never expected, spending more time exploring the non Cuban market. What started as a reaction to pricing turned into a reminder of why I love this hobby. You know the one, the cigar that makes you stop halfway through and think, damn, this is good.
Gizmo:I've been finding a lot of these moments lately outside of Cuba. Fuente has been a big one for me. Whether it's Opus X, God of Fire, Casa Fuente, Don Carlos, or something else in their lineup, I keep coming across cigars that remind me of why I fell in love with cigars in the first place. Padron and others have done the same. Don't get me wrong.
Gizmo:There are things Cuba does well. There are things Nicaragua does well. Same goes for the Dominican Republic. Great cigars could come from a lot of places. When I talk about that elusive 95 plus point cigar, I'm not talking about a magazine rating.
Gizmo:I'm talking about the cigar that has you looking for another box before you've even finished the first one. The cigar you find yourself thinking about the next day, the one you can't wait to share with a buddy. That's what keeps this hobby interesting for me. No matter how many cigars you've smoked, there's always another blend, another vitola, another box waiting to surprise you. Ironically, what started as frustration over Cuban pricing ended up sending me on one of the most enjoyable cigar journeys I've had in years.
Gizmo:The hunt continues, boys. Shout out to my cigar brothers, Miles, Zane, and John. Cheers, Johnny the Greek. Cool. So that's a great email, and I think it's very reflective of what we've talked about here is as we've kind of backed away from regularly featuring Cubans on the podcast every other week to now once every five weeks.
Gizmo:And even the ones every five weeks are kind of disappointing sometimes. Yeah. Like that Vegas, Romania we did. But, you know, I think he's kinda on the money here. Alright, boys.
Gizmo:It's time to go into our ratings tonight. Please send your ratings over for both the Redbreast 15 years age, single pot still Irish Whiskey, and, of course, the stoic equanimity in wisdom. Alright, boys. It's time now to go into the formal liquorating tonight on the 15 Years' Age Redbreast Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey. Bam, bam, you're up.
Bam Bam:Really quite delicious, I have to say. Yes. Right? I think from beginning to end, I love that touch of heat. Very vanilla forward for me.
Bam Bam:Beautifully balanced. There's a very faint hint of minerality and that little bit of heat. For me, it's just a fantastic experience, but because of the price, I'm going to give this a nine tonight. But if someone else buys that bottle, I'm all over it. I'm at a nine.
Bam Bam:I'm at a nine.
Chef Ricky:Somebody else buys a bottle, I'm at a 10.
Bam Bam:That's correct.
Chef Ricky:Alright, Jeff. This stuff sticks to your ribs. It's so rich. You know? And I really love that.
Chef Ricky:I love having that in a spirit where when you take sips, it's so rich that it lingers, but yet the spirit also, with all its richness that it delivers, it still drinks really clean. The finish isn't overly long, it doesn't interfere so much so with the cigar, but it pairs beautifully. It's intense, It's focused and concentrated in flavor and the flavors that it's delivering. I really enjoyed it, and I'm at a nine, also because of the price point. I really want a bottle of this, but I don't want to share it with anybody.
Chef Ricky:Not
Rooster:even Bam?
Gizmo:I'll share with Bam. Especially if I was Bam. I'll share Bam.
Chef Ricky:This was great stuff. Really, really great, and just the way it went with the cigar was phenomenal for me.
Gizmo:So I'm also at a nine. I I I'm complete agreement with you guys. I I think the price is a little egregious despite how well it drinks. I if this was $90, I think it's a game changer for smoking cigars and find a great pairing with it. It's a premium spirit.
Gizmo:There's no doubt. I just think $130 is crazy. I said it before, I'll say it again. I think this works for a bourbon drinker looking for something different. The rum drinker, the scotch drinker.
Gizmo:I I think with all that being said, it stands on its own, but I I think it offers a lot. I think it offers a little bit of that kind of punch that the bourbon drinkers might be looking for, that little bit higher proof, the uniqueness of the sweet kind of, you know, you said it about the cigar, but the way it envelops the palate, you know, vanilla creaminess, as I'm sure Senator's gonna talk about. I I just think it's really, really great, but the price is just too high. It's just way too high for this. So for all those reasons, I wish it was a 10, but for me, it's a nine.
Gizmo:Senator.
Senator:So I'm in agreement with the group. I'm also at a nine. I think it's an excellent spirit. I think it really stands out in the category of Irish whiskeys. I said this before how you would never even guess blind that this is an Irish whiskey.
Senator:It's not light. It's got body. It's rich. It's flavorful. There's so much to like about it.
Senator:The buttery finish is memorable in this spirit. I love the vanilla notes. I think it's really versatile. It could pair with, I think, even Cuban cigars on the milder, medium side to full cigars like Nicaraguans.
Gizmo:I agree with you.
Senator:Yeah. So there's a ton of utility, but like everyone has said, the price you know, chef said he doesn't wanna share this with anyone else. I don't wanna share this with myself at a $130.
Bam Bam:I mean You stare at it.
Senator:It's just You know, I understand for single malts that are aged in sherry casks that there's some legitimate scarcity around, I get that. I don't understand why for this Irish whiskey, a $130 is in any way a justifiable price point.
Gizmo:Totally agree, man.
Senator:I don't think it is. I think there are better spirits at that price point. We recently did Macallan 15. Is so spectacular. That is deserving of a And $130 price
Bam Bam:a 10 rating.
Senator:For sure. I don't think this matches that.
Gizmo:I think that's in a different class level in a way. Exactly. You know?
Senator:Exactly. And so I hope over time they find a way to bring down the price point because I would love to feel comfortable picking up a bottle of this and feeling like I'm not grossly overpaying for what it delivers. You know, for me, this is like an 80, at most $90 bottle.
Bam Bam:Mhmm. Yeah. That's fair.
Senator:But in terms of flavor and what it delivered, it was a really excellent experience. I would happily drink it again. I think for
Gizmo:If me chef buys it. Yeah.
Senator:If someone else buys it for sure
Bam Bam:Then it's a 10. And also,
Senator:where it's helpful for me is if I'm at a bar, a lounge, and, you know, I'm just gonna buy a glass of this,
Gizmo:I would do little
Senator:Yes. I would do that. But am I gonna commit to a $130 on a bottle of this? Probably not, and that's why I'm at a strong nine.
Gizmo:So that's an easy one tonight, boys. The formal liquor rating tonight in the Redbreast Single Pot Still, 15 aged Irish Whiskey is a nine point zero. So I wanna go to the commentary that we just all had. Probably taking what could have been a 10 down to a nine on this this former liquor rating tonight. What do you think it is that is driving Redbreast to believe that this is worth a $130 on the shot?
Senator:It's uniqueness. I mean, yes, and particularly within the category. Mhmm. I think for them, Redbreast is definitely one of the most respected brands within Irish whiskey.
Gizmo:So the Macallan of Irish whiskey? Kind of? For sure.
Senator:No doubt about that. And that's why I think even their twelve year, that's maybe $65.70 bucks a bottle, which in the Irish whiskey category is high. That's a high price.
Bam Bam:That's true.
Senator:Do I think that that is more deserving of its price point? I do. I just think that this is so much better than what is in their category, but I don't think that they are recognizing that outside of their category, single malts, American bourbons, I mean, there there's so many options that the consumer has. This just doesn't hold up to a 130 in other categories. And so I just think that's where they clearly had to kind of benchmark what this should be within their own category, and I think it's a mistake.
Bam Bam:Yeah. Well said. Good points.
Gizmo:Well said. And like you said in your rating, I I hope they find a way to bring this back down to Earth because this price point is on Mars.
Bam Bam:Yeah, we could've punitively given it all an eight, and it would've been an okay rating. No, I
Senator:don't think this is serving up
Bam Bam:an eight. Well, that's what I'm saying. Because it's so delicious, you couldn't bear giving it an eight.
Gizmo:I'll say this.
Bam Bam:It deserves a name for the Senator,
Gizmo:I think if this came in, if it if it was not as interesting and and and well paired tonight That's what I'm saying. And and respect was. That. But it was. But Yeah.
Gizmo:That would have definitely taken that even mid 9 down to an eight here in the room,
Bam Bam:for sure.
Senator:I'm just saying, if you gave this to anyone blind and didn't tell them the price point, one would know this is not a $50 bottle. This is a premium
Bam Bam:Correct.
Senator:Premium spirit.
Bam Bam:And you'd wanna keep drinking it. You'd want For more and more, yeah.
Gizmo:So let's compare that to the other two red breast spirits we've done on this podcast, boys. On episode 132, we did the red breast 12 for a short smoke special, scored a nine, same as this. And on episode 171, we did the Listow edition from Redbreast, scored a 7.2. We also did, for the keen listener out there, Redbreast 12, on episode seven, well before we were actually doing formal liquor ratings on the pod. So we did not rate that one.
Gizmo:So this one coming in at the same rating exactly as the Redbreast 12, which I think actually kind of aligns with the price delta, with the difference of class, let's call it again, versus the 12. I think it's right.
Senator:Yeah. Mean, this is clearly better than the 12, but dollar for dollar, you would take the 12.
Rooster:Yeah. How much is the 12?
Senator:Like, 65,
Rooster:$70.
Gizmo:$65.70. It's like double. Yeah. Correct. Alright, boys.
Gizmo:It's time now to move into the formal lizard rating tonight on the stoic equanimity and wisdom. Rooster, you're up.
Rooster:So I think Vance Taylor has really done a great job blending this cigar. I prefer this line more than the original. I think this has more body, more strength. It fits my palate a little bit more than the other one. Although the other the original blend is great as a daytime smoke, this kind of even for the end of the day smoke, it kind of fits that bill.
Rooster:I like how the cigar started out. It was earthy. It was creamy. The sweet note kind of really balanced the cigar. The blend, I think, is spot on.
Rooster:The cigar really built as we smoked the cigar throughout from the first third to the middle. I did not particularly the last third of the cigar. I think it kind of got a little bit boring. I lost that sweetness that I was enjoying throughout the cigar, which really I mean, it was almost like at the last third something happened. It kind of became kind of like just like tobacco heavy or just maybe like nicotine was building up.
Rooster:And maybe that's the size of the cigar. Maybe that's not the case in a shorter size. But in this Churchill, the last third was the least enjoyable for me. But overall, this is a fantastic cigar. I think the blend is great, and I am going to buy a box of these.
Rooster:It's definitely a box worthy cigar. The cigar is really well priced. I mean, for a Churchill, I think it's
Bam Bam:a
Rooster:bargain. So I am still at a solid nine on this
Gizmo:cigar. Okay. All right, Senator.
Senator:So I'm also at a very strong nine. And I say a very strong nine because I've had the benefit of smoking this exact cigar and this Vitola many times. And I have had a number of these that honestly were a 10, were perfect. I have to rate this cigar for my experience tonight in the room, and the first two thirds of this cigar were spot on with my experiences in the past. It was complex.
Senator:It was rich. It had a creaminess. It, at the midpoint, started to build up in strength, think from going from firmly medium to in the last third getting to medium full. But the last third, I think what happened with mine is I noticed I think I had some construction issues. I mean, I looked and there were kind of two big air pockets, it seems from the roll.
Gizmo:Interesting. So you saw it like looking at the foot? Looking Interesting. At the
Senator:And that's what really started to impact the flavor for me. Mhmm. And so the final third, the flavor got a bit muddled because there was so much air just having to pass through because of the roll, but I do know from other ones I've had. I mean, I smoked one of these, and I'm I'm certain I had sent a text to this group saying, this may be the best Churchill I have ever had, period. It was that spectacular.
Senator:So I know when, like, the construction all the way through is absolutely flawless, like, this on its best day is a 10. It could have also been a storage issue.
Rooster:Most likely. For sure. Most likely.
Bam Bam:Most likely, yes.
Gizmo:I figured I'd say it instead
Senator:It's of one of it's good to see Gizmo even questioning his own story, finally.
Bam Bam:That's right.
Senator:But I I truly we've talked about this before, and I especially really appreciate a Churchill. I love that size. I am someone who, you know, when I'm sitting down for a cigar, it's usually for a lengthy sit. It's not like I'm typically lighting up for a very short period of time. The fact that there are not many Churchills that we can access and regularly slot into our rotation, it has always been a huge void.
Senator:As soon as I tried this months ago, I mean, it just immediately clicked. It's like, wow. Finally, someone has produced a Churchill that is absolutely deserving of being smoked regularly. I agree with Rooster that it is worthy of purchasing a box. There is no doubt in my mind about it, and the price point is so tremendous, like a great value for what it delivers.
Senator:I think, you know, Vance and and Klas deserve a world of credit for for what they've done with this cigar. So for me, again, for this particular cigar I smoked, I'm gonna give it a nine, but it's as high of a nine as possible in the sense that I've had many of these that are a 10.
Gizmo:So for me, it's a 10. My cigar tonight was perfect. I took it all the way down. I didn't have any moments of of rough patches, of construction issues. My smoke output was unbelievable.
Gizmo:My construction was great. Even as I was talking a lot, if I had to just quickly relight, the flavor did not Senator has a little ash on him.
Bam Bam:Get the vacuum.
Gizmo:Get the vacuum.
Chef Ricky:That is a first.
Gizmo:That's a first.
Chef Ricky:How long have I been on
Gizmo:this calling it out.
Chef Ricky:I've never seen this before.
Bam Bam:Somebody keep you a list. Part is I had We got we got quarter
Senator:quarter of an inch of ash
Bam Bam:that somehow fell off. We gotta keep a list.
Senator:I'm gonna send my dry cleaning bill to Rafael in
Gizmo:the dark. Tell folks it wasn't the Stoic. No. It was not Stoic. It was not Stoic.
Senator:I finished the Stoic, and I lit up an aging room, and somehow,
Bam Bam:here we are. Could be user
Gizmo:error. Correct. Storage issue.
Senator:Well, at least I'm not just least I'm not just sitting covered in Ash Lake Pagoda.
Bam Bam:That's correct.
Gizmo:So this Churchill tonight, I think, is is a prime example of what Dominican tobacco should be. Very similarly to the other Dominican cigars that we've loved, especially coming out of Klaus Kellner's factory, the Kellner LA 80, the other Stoic, the avowed stuff. I think what he's doing and Ipi Carrillo, the stuff we've done from him that we've loved, pledge purple. I mean, a lot of the recent Dominican stuff is really proving how great Dominican tobacco can be to us as harsh as we've been on it, especially with Davinoff. I mean, Davinoff needs to take note of what we're talking about here because the flavor that has been delivered tonight in this Churchill And the Opus lines.
Gizmo:And the Opus line. Yeah. No kidding. No. But for we're talking about a $12 Churchill tonight, guys.
Gizmo:Comparing it to $30.40, $50.70, 80, dollars 100 cigars out of out of both of those lines, I mean, this wipes the floor with all of them.
Senator:I I don't even think it's close. We've been critical of Davodop, but I I don't think it's fair to say we've been harsh on Dominican tobacco. We we all endorse.
Gizmo:I mean, he's talked about Opus. We've you know, we do love Dominican tobacco,
Senator:but We love EP Carrillo stuff that's Dominican. There's been I mean, there are many Davodoffs that we do love despite our criticism. So I'm just saying it's
Gizmo:not blanket statement. As a definitive statement.
Senator:Sorry. Gizmo definitive statement. Like, the problem is not Dominican tobacco. The problem is certain blenders
Gizmo:Correct. That have not done a good job. This is a prime example though of how great Dominican tobacco could be and at a fair price. I I think the price tonight is is really a standout on this experience. It gave us an hour and a half, hour forty minutes of of brilliance.
Gizmo:So I'm very grateful for that. I think this is a cigar that Lizard Nation will love. I think this is a low risk cigar that Lizard Nation will love. I think you should run the small batch cigar right now and buy them. I I think it's a home run.
Gizmo:I think you're gonna love these cigars. Buy a couple singles, try them. Or if you trust us, buy that box, throw them in your tower. You're gonna love this experience. It was brilliant tonight.
Gizmo:Unbelievable price. I'm gonna go back to that one more time. Unlike this pairing tonight, we talked about flavor on that pairing, how what it delivered, how interesting it was at the crazy price. This cigar was the same, except it was a crazy price for how low it was. I mean, it's really, really well priced.
Gizmo:Again, all the way through, was perfect for me. I'm very, very happy with the cigar tonight. So for me, it's a 10. Chef?
Chef Ricky:So I'm still finishing up my final third here, and I've slowed down significantly because I think Senator and Rooster mentioned earlier, the final third get for me too also got somewhat muddled. Right now what I'm getting is a lot of almost like eucalyptus and mint like notes. So it's
Bam Bam:just two:
Gizmo:nicotine backing up basically is what I'm experiencing. Yeah, haven't had that.
Chef Ricky:I'm not getting any of the sweetness, but I have maybe an inch left of the cigar at this point. Prior to this, the first two thirds of the cigar were phenomenal. I mean, insane flavor, you know, a flavor, just how and very typical class counter of like how we've been experiencing his blends, how they hit every portion of your palate. It's beautiful, quite frankly speaking, it's beautiful. The way it happens, especially for me, it's exciting as a chef to have, and I mean, all of us as well, but just the way it's hitting your palate and what it triggers And it's it's just it's a memorable cigar.
Chef Ricky:I wish the final third cleaned up a bit for me and continue to deliver that even parts of that. If it would have continued to deliver that, I would have given it a 10. But right now, at this point, it's changed entirely. What I do love about it, you know, aside from the flavor, the price point, come to think of it, if we combine this cigar with the with the red breast, now we're onto something because the wet the red breast is overpriced, but the cigar is underpriced.
Gizmo:Yeah. For
Chef Ricky:sure. So I think we'll be you know, they balance each other out and
Senator:just a phenomenal night overall. Sorry. Just one thing I wanna add I forgot to mention, and chef reminded me this as he was giving his commentary. The other thing that's remarkable about this cigar is how distinct the flavor profile is. We talk about it's a merit when you wouldn't compare a cigar to really anything else.
Senator:Like, this to me stands on its own. There is not another cigar that I would say like, oh, this is really similar to x, y, or z.
Bam Bam:Especially in a Vitola.
Gizmo:For sure.
Senator:But even outside, even across vitolas, there's really nothing. And I think like that undisclosed tobacco that's in here, like this mix of all these different tobaccos, like they've truly created something completely unique and distinct. Yeah. And I don't think like it's replaceable, which to me is a huge merit. There is not another cigar that I would say like, oh, if I weren't gonna light the equanimity in Churchill, I would instead have there's no analog to it, and I think that Vance deserves a world of credit
Bam Bam:for Yeah.
Chef Ricky:That's typical Stoic because even when we had the courage Agreed. The reason we had such a hard time nailing it is we've never had anything like that before. Exactly.
Bam Bam:What's unique is it's incredible commentary where you can also simultaneously say, like Giz said, it's a low risk cigar because of its price. That is incredible value. And I'll begin my review by commenting on how incredible the final third was. I am getting a very deep semi sweet chocolate with a minerality experience for me. It is just truly delicious.
Bam Bam:I'm down to a half inch. It does leave me wanting more. I can't speak enough about how much I love this cigar. For the
Rooster:No price eucalyptus?
Bam Bam:No eucalyptus. No mint. I don't know. What's going on with you over there?
Chef Ricky:Yeah, no. Parts of
Bam Bam:it were toothpasting.
Gizmo:Toothpaste? Oh, stop it.
Bam Bam:Yeah, no. Don't know what you're talking about.
Gizmo:Little crust, Colgate, blistering.
Bam Bam:I think this was incredible from beginning to end. I thought my cigar was perfectly constructed, ash. A little flaky, but I can overlook it. I touched it up maybe three times again just for a course correction, but it's a 10 for me. This is just a delicious experience.
Bam Bam:I can't say enough about it.
Senator:I'm so glad to hear that. Honestly, the experience that you had and Giz had
Gizmo:is what had
Senator:on it. Bro. I mean, there there have been ones like my fingers are burning, and I can't believe how delicious it is. So I I just you know, the score will be what it is, but I I will say I don't think the score necessarily reflects this cigar at its best. And I I like, in the words of BAM's North Korean supreme leader, like, I wanna break the rollers hands that rolled my cigar because like Break your hands.
Senator:The way the tobacco was bunched in the final third is the only thing that, like, screwed up me having that perfect delivery of flavor that I had in the first two thirds. But when you have a perfect one that's rolled exactly as it should be, I I can't stress enough, like, exactly what Bam described at that end has been my experience.
Bam Bam:It's just unusual to get that combination of flavor down at the half inch. Really special.
Gizmo:Alright, boys. The former lizard rating tonight on the Stoic Equanimity in Wisdom is a 9.4. Great rating. Let's compare that to the other two Stoic cigars we've done on the pod, the Stoic Equanimity in Courage on episode 206 scored a 9.6, just above this. On an and on episode 177, the Stoic Encourage, the original line, scored a perfect 10.
Gizmo:That was the blind review, if you remember. Famous episode. Very close to the launch of the original Stoic. So all three cigars from Vance Taylor on the podcast have done very, very well, boys. A nine four, a nine six, and a 10.
Bam Bam:You gotta thank Lizard Henry for introducing this cigar line.
Gizmo:Correct.
Bam Bam:I mean, he has redeemed himself. Himself.
Gizmo:That's By the way, that's like a year and some odd months ago.
Bam Bam:That'll never be forgotten, but he has redeemed himself.
Rooster:There's no redemption from
Bam Bam:that cigar.
Gizmo:Oh, you're talking the last time I gonna By the way, that's four years ago.
Senator:Yeah. And we still have, as Ben would say, PTSD. Henrito. It was PTSD.
Gizmo:Alright, boys. A great night tonight. Let's review one more time. The Redbreast Single Pots still 15 years aged Irish Whiskey scored a nine point zero, the Stoic Equanimity in Wisdom scored a 9.4. And, of course, we have to congratulate again our friend Lizard O, one of the Lizard OG listeners of this podcast from almost five years ago now who won lizard of the week.
Gizmo:He won a 10 count box of cigars from our friends at Bond Roberts. We really appreciate those guys supporting us and sending all of our lizards of the week a 10 count box of cigars. So if you wanna win, contribute to the show. Send an email, a voice memo, a comment on Instagram, Spotify, YouTube, whatever you want. I don't care.
Gizmo:Send something in. We really, really wanna hear from you. We constantly have new lizards saying, I've been listening forever. I'm sending my first email, sending my first voice memo. It's your time to do it if you're listening.
Gizmo:So please get your phone out and send us a note. And boys, of course, we talked about small batch a few times tonight. Getting this cigar at small batch using our code lizard 15. You get 15% off your entire order plus 5% back on every order in rewards. So it's effectively 20% off of everything you buy at smallbatchsupport.com.
Senator:Than the Costco executive membership.
Gizmo:You get 2% back. He's a Costco guy now.
Bam Bam:Well, what does Rooster think about that?
Rooster:Costco is the shit.
Chef Ricky:That's a sound bite. And so
Gizmo:is Small Batch Cigar Boys. So use our code lizard 15 at smallbatchcigar.com. Support those guys. They are very supportive of us, and we are very appreciative. And, of course, finally, our presenting sponsor, Fabrica Five.
Gizmo:I don't know if we need to talk about them anymore because we have talked about them a lot tonight. They are phenomenal. We are all smoking a ton of Fabrica Five cigars. And big news, boys, our code Lizard Pod now works on all Bond Roberts cigars. Amazing.
Gizmo:Damn, homeboy. Use our code lizard pod for 10% off everything in the store, including Wow. Bond Roberts cigars. So thanks to those guys for supporting us and adding Bond Roberts to the offering on the Lizard Podcode for 10% off everything at Fabrica zero zero five dot com. How awesome is that?
Gizmo:So go order yourself some 50 cabs like Lizard O did. And I just got my third 50 cab of dahlias,
Bam Bam:by the way.
Senator:Congrats. Pretty cool. You need to catch up to lizard o. You're five o n.
Gizmo:Correct. Alright, boys. A great night tonight, and, we'll see everybody next week. Hope you enjoyed this episode. Thanks for joining us.
Gizmo:You could find our merch store and ratings archive at our brand new website, loungelizardspod.com. That's loungelizardspod.com. Don't forget to leave us a rating and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform. If you have any comments, questions, if you wanna reach out, say hello, tell us what you're smoking, email us. Hello at loungelizardspod.com.
Gizmo: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.