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Released every Tuesday, the LOUNGE LIZARDS podcast helps listeners navigate the experience of finding and enjoying premium cigars (both Cuban and non-Cuban) and quality spirits. Episodes are normally around 90 minutes long and feature a variety of different topics including food, travel, life, sports and work.
The podcast features eight members: Rooster, Poobah, Gizmo, Senator, Pagoda, Chef Ricky, Grinder and Bam Bam.
This is not your typical cigar podcast. We’re a group of friends who love sharing cigars, whiskey and a good laugh.
Join us and become a card-carrying lounge lizard yourself! Email us at hello@loungelizardspod.com to join the conversation and be featured on an upcoming episode!
Welcome to the Lounge Lizards podcast presented by Fabrica five. It's so good to have you here. It's a leisure and lifestyle podcast founded on our love of premium cigars as well as whiskey travel, food, work, and whatever else we feel like getting into. My name is Gizmo. Tonight, I'm joined by Rooster, Pooba, Senator, Pagoda, chef Ricky, and Bam Bam, a full house of lizards.
Gizmo:And our plan is to smoke a cigar, drink some wine, talk about life, and, of course, have some laughs. So take this as your one hundred and seventy fifth official invitation to join us and become a card carrying lounge lizard. Playing to meet us here once a week. We're gonna smoke a new world cigar tonight, share our thoughts on it, and give you our formal lizard rating. We spoke latest release from Padron.
Gizmo:We answer an email on cigar lingo, and senator does a listener request to deep dive on wine, 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 parricade Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 with Padron sixtieth anniversary in Maduro. A Nicaraguan perfecto on the pod tonight from Padron. It's called the sixtieth anniversary, and we chose the Maduro version of it. And it's a very, very unique size, boys.
Gizmo:Six and a half inches long by 56 ring gauge at its largest, and at its smallest, it's 48 ring gauge. So it goes from 48 at the head of the cigar up to 56.
Bam Bam:Correct.
Gizmo:Tapers up at the foot of the cigar and then it has a perfecto on both ends. Yeah. And boys, this is a very special cigar for our 70 episode tonight.
Bam Bam:Great choice.
Chef:It's Awesome.
Bam Bam:Smells. Yeah. On the nose, it's extremely pleasant. It's a little bit of a sweetness, almost a little bit of fruit again. Yeah.
Gizmo:It smells great. It does smell like a Padron to me. You know, what I would think of smelling an eightieth or a 50 year.
Bam Bam:The wrapper is glistening for me, but not handsome. It's very rugged, but very glistening.
Gizmo:Alright, boys. Let's cut this thing. See what we're getting on the cold draw and the wrapper. This one's a unique one for the listeners out there as the closed foot puts you in a precarious position if you are not patient. I'm sure most of us won't have much of a draw initially because the foot is closed.
Gizmo:You have to allow it to open up. It's a very tight perfecto tip on the foot of the cigar, which takes about ten minutes
Rooster:to open up. How much are you cutting off?
Gizmo:I cut a very little bit my first I did two.
Bam Bam:So my first cut I took maybe an eighth, but I took another eighth off. Woah. A bit more than most,
Chef:I think.
Pagoda:That looks like a good cut.
Bam Bam:A bit more than what Senator's taken off.
Chef:I think I took off about a quarter or so. You go.
Gizmo:I took a little bit off on my first. I might take a second if I'm feeling it necessary, but See what happens.
Chef:Just a little taper. Mean, when you feel the cigar, it's got
Bam Bam:some weight to it. Yes, does. It'll be tight regardless. It will.
Rooster:Well, it's deceiving because the end is closed almost.
Senator:Yeah. Yeah. I think the
Rooster:thing So you're not gonna get a draw.
Bam Bam:I think the
Senator:thing to keep in mind with this, I mean, the the foot is even more closed than the eightieth is. It is. Right. So it's gonna be super resistant at first, and you just gotta be really, really patient, and then it's just gonna explode.
Rooster:That's why I asked because if you cut a little bit and you do a cold draw, you're like, oh, I'm not getting any. Let me cut a little bit more because you
Gizmo:don't wanna it's not gonna make a difference. You don't wanna do that. Yeah. And that's the thing for listeners out there. Number one, you don't wanna take too much off.
Gizmo:And number two, you do not wanna panic if you're not getting a lot of draw here on the cut. It's okay. So Gotta be patient.
Bam Bam:First time I had this, I was panicking like crazy.
Gizmo:That doesn't surprise me, Ben.
Bam Bam:I considered the perfect draw. I didn't do anything.
Senator:So so was someone else I know the first time we smoked this together.
Gizmo:I was a little nervous. Alright. But I didn't think he was gonna call me on it, he's totally right.
Bam Bam:Y'all were texting saying, just give it time, give it time, and honestly, it just opened up beautifully, all natural on its own. It's incredible.
Gizmo:Once it hits the crown, like where the taper kinda It's magical. Off there. Once it hits that, it opens right up and turns into a brilliant, brilliant cigar. So let's get started here, boys.
Senator:And the wait is honestly fun. There's something exciting about you're not sure what you're gonna get out of the cigar because you're not getting as much combustion yet, and then all of a sudden, you can't predict exactly when And it's just boom. You are blasted with flavor, and it's just such a great feeling.
Gizmo:What's like this thing, boys? The Padron sixtieth anniversary in Maduro. Again, it's a Perfecto six and a half inches long by 56 ring gauge at the foot, tapers down into a closed Perfecto. And then at the head of the cigar, it's more like a Corona Extra in size 48 ring gauge. So we're gonna be very patient.
Gizmo:We're only gonna light the tip. And then The extreme tip. The extreme tip. And then we're gonna let it do its thing for about ten minutes here. Correct.
Chef:Just the tip.
Gizmo:Just the tip.
Senator:And this is a perfect example where, like, I'm literally getting zero straw.
Gizmo:Zero draw.
Senator:And okay. Normal. That's how it should be, and you just have to be super, super patient with it.
Gizmo:You know what's interesting is this cigar actually plays into Pooba's long held theory on this podcast that lighting the cigar with the torch as we just did, you need to give it a little while to develop and breathe. That it's almost like the cigar is designed to do that without even letting you start the experience with it running too hot. So it's almost like this cigar is designed for all that time you've talked about, the first ten minutes being inappropriate to really comment on the flavor. It's like, we're not going to be able to because it doesn't drop.
Chef:Right. Right. It'll develop up nice, so slowly.
Chef:The first one that I had, I was worried and senator was there next to me and he told me, just give it time. And I didn't realize that upon the light that it was such a close foot. And then it hit me and it opened up beautifully. But this time around, it's pretty open for me. I'm actually surprised.
Pagoda:I'm getting there. Feasibly open.
Chef:Yeah. Yeah. And I'm looking I'm looking up at Pagoda and his smoke output is also showing me that it's pretty open. So
Gizmo:Mine's very tight. Yeah. But it'll get there.
Rooster:Mhmm. So who has had the cigar in this room? Bam, you have had it?
Gizmo:Yes. Bam, Senator, and me. You. Oh, Ricky too?
Chef:Wow. Okay.
Gizmo:I thought
Chef:only you two had it. I have not had it.
Rooster:Yeah. Haven't had it.
Gizmo:Just over half the room has had it. Me neither. So these cigars were announced at PCA twenty twenty four when we were there. We were very excited about the launch, and then they were released into the retail chain in September. And I believe, Rooster, you got this boxed water around Thanksgiving time, right?
Rooster:I think I've had it for about four months.
Gizmo:Okay. Months. Okay.
Bam Bam:At a deep discount, I hope.
Rooster:No. You'll see it tomorrow on Splitwise, by the way. Actually, maybe tonight.
Bam Bam:I was afraid
Rooster:of that.
Bam Bam:I don't know, for
Pagoda:some reason my app's not uploading at all.
Bam Bam:I'm sure that's intentional.
Gizmo:I will say, if you do try, you know, for those of us in the room that don't have a lot of draw, if you try to make a draw, it is unpleasant. It's a fight. If you're trying to
Bam Bam:Meant to. Yeah.
Gizmo:Work it too much, it's gonna fight it.
Rooster:Fight it.
Gizmo:Yeah. Just let it open it.
Senator:And my only advice, this is kind of different than a typical cigar. If it's taking a really long time to make progress in opening up the draw, you can touch up and just light more of the wrapper because it's really the faster that wrapper burns to open up Yep. The quicker you're gonna get that draw. So don't get insanely aggressive with it, but you can help it along to speed that up a little
Chef:bit.
Bam Bam:Pagoda, you attempting to retrohale back there?
Pagoda:I just tried once, and what a bad idea. Oh, yeah.
Chef:Yeah. It's way too early in this regard. This thing starts off super peppery. Absolutely. Yeah.
Chef:If you try to retro that.
Pagoda:I didn't know, I've just been looking for that apple ever since.
Bam Bam:You're not gonna get it tonight. No, I know. Yeah, it very peppery. Very, very You know, as tough as the retro is, the traditional draw is actually, for me, quite good.
Rooster:Yeah. It's opening up too.
Bam Bam:It's a little sweetness. Mine is
Gizmo:slowly starting to open.
Bam Bam:Yeah. Very nice. Very balanced right now.
Senator:There's also a ton of tobacco in this. I mean, it's not a cheap cigar, but you're definitely getting a lot of tobacco, and and this will be a long smoke.
Gizmo:And it's like it like you said about the weight and the weight, you know, the unbalanced
Chef:weight distribution.
Gizmo:It's almost like a baseball bat in the way the weight is distributed. Mhmm. I'm not saying it looks like that. It's a very elegant cigar.
Senator:It's like a traditional car. Yeah. Right? The engine's in the front. Yep.
Senator:In most.
Bam Bam:What what are these retailing for now?
Gizmo:So, Bam, good question. Mhmm. So if you remember last week on the pod, we did the Cohiba Sigla six as the Cuban component
Bam Bam:Correct.
Gizmo:Of our one hundred and seventy fifth episode celebration.
Bam Bam:It's about the same price.
Gizmo:No. That one was a hundred bucks.
Bam Bam:No. Not for what you bought it for.
Gizmo:Well, now it is. Yeah. That cigar is a hundred dollars retail. This cigar is $75 retail, so there's no coincidences. The two cigars we're celebrating one seventy five
Bam Bam:There you go.
Gizmo:Cost us a hundred and $75.
Rooster:So that's at a discount.
Bam Bam:Is it? Because I think the boxes
Senator:go a thousand,
Bam Bam:don't they? Is it?
Gizmo:No. The boxes are going for 7 hundred Yeah. The cigar is $75 So let's talk about the packaging for a minute. So these cigars come in a very ornate box of 10 individually packaged coffins. The cigars are each in cellophane inside the coffin.
Gizmo:Each little coffin is sealed, and then they sit in this ornate box, you know, kinda like that Weller by Cohiba we did a few weeks ago. It is definitely an oversized ornate box for how many cigars you have in there
Bam Bam:for sure. So these are lacquer finished. Yes. And that box is also lacquer finished. It's an exquisite presentation.
Chef:Absolutely. I mean,
Bam Bam:the ink work is razor sharp.
Gizmo:And isn't there felt on the bottom?
Bam Bam:Felt on the bottom.
Gizmo:Yeah, it's
Bam Bam:pretty cool. Cool.
Chef:I love the push button clasp on the
Rooster:There's felt on the bottom of the box.
Bam Bam:That's right.
Rooster:And there's actually an outer box that comes, a cardboard box with the foam lined. It almost looks like a fancy humidor.
Bam Bam:So we saw that for the first time at PCA. Was a crowd stunner. That thing was unveiled. It was incredible.
Rooster:And they also introduced some lighters. Right? A lighter and a cutter?
Gizmo:Yeah. The SD DuPont series, which are very expensive. I think they did a line too, and then they did that one that goes from a soft flame, and if you push it again, it goes to a jet. Yeah. There's a few different designs.
Gizmo:There's one that's very ornate, several thousand dollars. And then there's a more simpler one that's kind of a lacquer, almost identical in lacquer finish to the box that you were just describing, Bam. And it was a big
Senator:deal because that was Padron's first collaboration with SD collaboration with SD DuPont.
Gizmo:That's right. That's correct. I wonder how that's selling. Mean, you think about how much a DuPont is and how passionate people are about Padron. I wonder if it's brought more people into SD DuPont or, the Padron smoker buying their first DuPont.
Gizmo:I'm curious how it's selling.
Bam Bam:Well, the first lizard lighter by DuPont, that's gonna be 2 and a half grand. It's gonna have emeralds. Green for the lizard shape.
Senator:I mean, it doesn't even need emeralds. That seems to be standard fare
Bam Bam:these days. Yeah, they're
Chef:not cheap.
Senator:Mean, those Padron accessories, they're
Gizmo:a couple grand. I think the one might be 4 or 5,000. You're joking. Crazy. Yeah, I'm serious.
Bam Bam:But you know what, a
Pagoda:lot of these are meant for collectors. Right? Of course.
Gizmo:And they're limited. I think they might be limited and released to 60 pieces, you know? Like this cigar that we have in our hand, we should note, is the sixtieth anniversary celebration cigar of Padron being around for sixty years as a company founded, of course, in 1964.
Chef:Pagoda, let me know when you buy the lighter. I'll start taking the train.
Bam Bam:Yeah. Just make sure you sit right behind him.
Chef:Well, you know, I I I I'm trying to
Bam Bam:think that Very well played. Yes. Very well played.
Chef:The sometimes the finish on I'm trying to remember. Like, I really love the blue SD Toupon, you know, that's got that kind of black, the blue.
Gizmo:Royal blue. Right?
Chef:You guys know the rules? Your pants almost.
Gizmo:Yeah. It's a cool lacquer.
Bam Bam:It's a
Chef:very cool cool lacquer finish, but what they say is, you know you know, the famous ping. Yes. Like, you don't like like, with the all either precious metal or or or stainless steel versions of those, you get you get a more distinct
Gizmo:Uh-huh. More defined ping. A more defined Well, the more you pay, the more the better the ping is,
Chef:of course. Well, no. But the lacquer ones are expensive. I mean, they're they're not cheap. I mean, they're not, like, discounted because of that, but it's just I've you know, online, I've seen a lot of reviews, but I I I I'm gonna get one of those.
Chef:I think that the the the line two is is pretty cool.
Bam Bam:Yeah. The more you pay, the better the ping. I've heard that many times.
Gizmo:There's no
Chef:doubt about
Rooster:there's no no
Chef:no doubt about that,
Gizmo:Bam. You know, Bam, I will say over 175 episodes, you are consistent.
Pagoda:Correct. That's a Bam approved activity.
Bam Bam:Oh, yes.
Gizmo:So boys, I feel like we're all kinda getting to the point where we can start talking about flavor. My cigar, certainly from a draw standpoint, has opened up. And let me start by saying this is definitely a full bodied Sure. Oh, yeah. Oomph of an experience.
Gizmo:Yeah.
Chef:But not in a bad way.
Rooster:Mm-mm. No. The delivery is smooth.
Bam Bam:The aroma on the foot is The delivery
Chef:is smooth.
Bam Bam:It's almost like a cocoa for me.
Senator:Yeah, you've got to smell the
Bam Bam:burn line. It's a cocoa.
Senator:It is even that much more satisfying than the actual draw itself.
Bam Bam:It's crazy.
Chef:Wow. Yeah, for me, from what I remember, the flavor on the palate really didn't start developing almost until the end of the first third of the cigar because there's so much tobacco up front. You're just getting hit with strength and some spice, but I'm not getting much of sweet or dried fruit here just yet, but I know it does come. Yeah. It's just interesting the way that develops.
Chef:Purging, I find with these vitolas, just purging them a little bit.
Chef:Helps a little bit.
Chef:Yeah. It helps a little
Bam Bam:bit as well. The first time I had this, I'll admit I smoked it very, very quickly. And the first two thirds were delicious, and I had some serious issues on that final third. Yeah. It was hot.
Bam Bam:Yeah.
Gizmo:If you're pulling too hard on it, you're drawing too much, it's gonna fight you.
Bam Bam:I was excited about it. It was delicious, so I kept going and going and going. Big mistake.
Gizmo:I will say, contrary to how you're describing your first experience, senator and I smoked them together for the first time when we when we got them.
Senator:Can we can we set up for the listener the occasion?
Gizmo:It was serious, by the way.
Bam Bam:Oh, really?
Senator:Oh, yeah. We lit this up on New Year's Eve at our lounge here. I told Gizmo I was gonna bring a little surprise. I came in with a dozen Shucked Oysters, some Paul Roger. Yes.
Senator:We started with some oysters and champagne, then we dove in
Gizmo:on this cigar. Thanks for the invite.
Bam Bam:I'm glad you said it.
Chef:Yeah. Appreciate the looks, Samuel.
Senator:And I think we paired some high rare VSOP you had.
Gizmo:Yes, did. And I will say, we had almost the opposite experience of what you just described, Ben. We smoked it slowly. Yeah. Thankfully, through with senators coaching,
Bam Bam:he That's a key. I mean
Gizmo:He caused me to not panic like I was planning to with the
Senator:early draw. But for us Xanax was on standby.
Gizmo:He had a drip for me. No, for us, we were smoking it slowly and kind of pacing ourselves, enjoying it, and every draw, even through the last third, kept getting better and better. So what I'm curious about tonight, the reason why I'm talking about this so early is I'm curious if the seven of us have identical experiences with the last third, divergent experience? Like, I'm curious how this is gonna play out in the same box in the same room.
Bam Bam:Who supplied that cigar that night for the two of you? Did you have those?
Senator:Did. Senator.
Bam Bam:How long did you have it in your tower?
Senator:Wasn't long. Wasn't long? Maybe
Bam Bam:two weeks? Two weeks, and who's had these, rooster? Roosters have I've had these for three months. Yeah. I would expect a different experience tonight, from what I had the first time around.
Chef:You think they're so secure in the claw. I don't know.
Bam Bam:Maybe, maybe he's not.
Senator:They are. I mean, for only two weeks, when Giz and I even took it out for the first time, we thought it felt great. I had not one issue construction wise really throughout,
Bam Bam:or
Senator:felt like it was too wet and muddling the flavor. It was spectacular.
Rooster:Look, this is their flagship cigar, and I'm sure the amount of age that's in this tobacco, that it's ready to go. It's ready to
Chef:strong. It's not a box. It comes in special packaging, within special packaging. Exactly. It's probably
Rooster:Only thing is
Gizmo:No, what I was going to say too is that what's different about this box, to your point here, versus all the other stuff that Padron sells, this none of these boxes that anybody has purchased, if you've been able to get your hands on cigars or boxes, they've not had the opportunity to sit in a high humidity retail situation.
Chef:That's my point.
Gizmo:It's a quick sell
Bam Bam:through.
Gizmo:They're almost probably sold at these retail shops before they even get them.
Chef:That's a great point too. Plus
Gizmo:Plus they're packaged well.
Chef:They're well.
Bam Bam:So then it's really pace of smoke.
Gizmo:Yeah, exactly. I think if you are sitting down to smoke the cigar like we are tonight
Chef:You gotta take the time.
Gizmo:You need to set the time aside. Because if you're trying to squeeze this in and rush it, I mean, number one, you're gonna burn a good portion of $75. Not gonna have a great experience. Correct. The last third's gonna bite you, and then you're not gonna wanna reach for it again.
Chef:Correct. So we gotta talk about other stuff like these boots. So like so senator's got these boots on. I haven't seen them before. I think they're new.
Bam Bam:I've had these for, like, five, six years. Have you really?
Senator:Yeah. Like, literally since the Davittoff
Chef:days. I I kinda like them.
Bam Bam:Eddie Bauer. Yeah. Eddie Bauer.
Chef:Because it's kinda like a cow it's like a it's not a cowboy boot, but it's like, what kind of a boot is that? Bam.
Senator:Bam, you're the
Bam Bam:That's a three quarter. It's a three quarter boot.
Chef:It's like a is it a Is
Bam Bam:that a That's a very typical traditional boot. Yeah.
Chef:Yeah. Is that a
Senator:chop had these for ages.
Chef:Oh, you have? It's a
Bam Bam:slip on. Those are great.
Gizmo:Chop sleeve?
Chef:Slip ons.
Gizmo:Like, I like to allow. I like to announce to the listeners now that at episode 175, we're now getting into fashion. Well,
Chef:got to give a long cigar to smoke. So I'm I'm trying to just, like, pump in some content that,
Bam Bam:you know, what colors the paint in the room?
Chef:It's an it's an arm wheel lifestyle podcast as well.
Gizmo:We are. I know.
Rooster:I think the shape is called
Gizmo:a chukka. Is it is
Chef:it a chukka?
Bam Bam:I think so.
Rooster:I think it's a chukka.
Chef:Because I thought this was a chukka.
Senator:No. No. No. That's a chukka.
Rooster:Oh, that's a chukka.
Chef:This is a chukka. That's something else.
Bam Bam:You have those too, Rooster.
Chef:I like those.
Bam Bam:Yeah. But I've seen you wear boots.
Rooster:Not as nice.
Bam Bam:Okay.
Rooster:Mine or not, Eddie Bauer.
Chef:Eddie Bauer.
Gizmo:You know they're These are Kirkland. You know they're Kirkland.
Bam Bam:Are they are they the moose? Are roosted the rubber?
Senator:The only ones I do have that are new, so these I've had for a long time. The the ones I just got, they're like a lace version of this by Thursday Boot Company.
Bam Bam:Have you
Gizmo:heard these guys?
Bam Bam:Oh, dude.
Gizmo:They're running they're running heavy ads right now.
Bam Bam:Are they making boots?
Chef:Instagram kind of Yes.
Senator:I think so.
Bam Bam:So I found Thursday Boot Company on Facebook.
Chef:Oh, I gotta look at this.
Bam Bam:And I bought a pair of their brown sneakers and their white sneakers. Both identical style, but they're laced. Once you lace them up, I slip them on and off. The quality, dude? Yeah.
Bam Bam:Impeccable, and they're very affordable. Yeah. Very affordable. Yeah. Thursday Boot Company.
Bam Bam:Not a sponsor,
Gizmo:but just Yeah.
Bam Bam:It's good stuff. It's really good stuff.
Gizmo:But they're doing a heavy push on social media ads right now, so you definitely are seeing it. If you're on Facebook and Instagram and Facebook knows you're a guy, they're definitely pushing those ads to
Chef:the I think Rooster is as well. I'm a big Olakai guy. You guys like Olakai? You know that brand?
Bam Bam:I do. I don't know the brand,
Senator:but I like them. But But
Bam Bam:your wine.
Gizmo:Yeah. Don't push that through the wine.
Chef:I'm not pushing it through the wine.
Bam Bam:Everybody Look how annoyed he gets.
Rooster:Pretty calm down.
Chef:He just wants to show off his mobility.
Chef:I see.
Bam Bam:I know.
Senator:It's been
Pagoda:a question.
Bam Bam:He's kicking.
Pagoda:I did think that was
Bam Bam:a form of karate. This is Kobra
Chef:Kobra Kai never die.
Bam Bam:There you go.
Chef:But you have those
Rooster:Ole Kais are awesome. Ole Kais. It's kind of a
Chef:good brand. Right?
Rooster:Yeah. I don't have the lace ups like you have. I have more of
Chef:the slip ons. The slip ons are great.
Senator:You could
Bam Bam:say you geriatrics.
Chef:They're they're like they're they're like rock ports for the for for, like, the middle aged man.
Chef:Well, I'll have you guys know that I have on fleece lined joggers that happen to be Eddie Bauer from Kirkland.
Pagoda:Eddie Bauer.
Chef:Wow. Is Eddie Bauer
Rooster:on the band?
Bam Bam:He hit all three.
Rooster:Tick. Tick. Tick. Man
Senator:after rooster's heart.
Gizmo:Bingo. Bingo. I gotta say, boys, the flavor on this cigar is outstanding.
Chef:I'm getting intense chocolate right now.
Gizmo:Intense chocolate, a little bit of spice. Dark chocolate with spice.
Chef:Yes. Bouchard.
Bam Bam:Is anyone retro ing it?
Chef:Tough. Literally just got there with this draw. With this draw, I just
Chef:got there.
Bam Bam:I'm enjoying it. I'm getting that German chocolate thing in the retro with just a little bit of pepper. Bouchard? No. Standard milk chocolate, but on the traditional draw, it's kind of like a biscuit chocolate chip thing.
Gizmo:It's very good. Yeah. And I agree with Senator, the smell at the burn line is outstanding. It's incredible. It's fierce, it's intense, but it's really, really good.
Rooster:Take it in slow. On the light, the cigar kind of reminded me of like a ninetieth, like how powerful it is.
Bam Bam:It's your breakfast cigar.
Rooster:But that's kind of, I mean, it's not as strong anymore. Yeah. You know? Like the ninetieth has throughout.
Bam Bam:This is evolving.
Chef:Yeah. So I overstated. It wasn't the end of the first third, but rather the first quarter where the flavor starts changing and getting a little bit sweeter and a little bit
Bam Bam:Oh, you should be getting it now. Noted. Yeah. Right here. Right
Gizmo:here. Noted on the list.
Bam Bam:Noted. Be nice.
Senator:I'm nice.
Gizmo:So boys, this is not a huge celebratory episode tonight, but we are celebrating 175 episodes of the podcast.
Chef:That's fucking massive.
Gizmo:It's crazy. We're in, you know, three and a half years now. We're coming up on Correct. Episode 200, which, of course, is gonna be a banger, I'm sure, with some wild champagne and a great cigar. But 75 episodes, I was thinking about it today, how quickly the time has flown by, you know, and how many great cigars we've discovered over the journey and the listenership and the volume of emails and the wizard nation out there.
Gizmo:And really for me, the biggest thing is the worldwide conversations that we're having with people everywhere,
Chef:from
Gizmo:every walk of life, every country you can think of. It's pretty amazing. I mean, somebody posted the other day a photo sitting in Havana listening to the podcast, the podcast was up on the screen of their laptop, sitting in Havana
Chef:having
Chef:a
Gizmo:Really?
Chef:That was really cool.
Gizmo:And it's just amazing to see this stuff.
Bam Bam:That's awesome.
Gizmo:So I just wanna shout out the listeners out there, whether you joined us today, you know, wanting to hear about the Padron sixtieth or if you've been here since day one, we're so glad to have you with us. And I always say this on every Milestone episode is that we always view that there's an empty chair in the room next to us that the listener's sitting in, and that's how we approach this.
Rooster:We're so glad to have you with us. Absolutely.
Chef:Where do you pod?
Rooster:Where's your favorite
Chef:place to listen to podcasts?
Rooster:In the car.
Bam Bam:Oh, the car for sure.
Chef:Yeah. Same.
Bam Bam:No doubt.
Chef:The car. I saw a good podcast the other day. What's that? It was Joe Rogan and Bill Murray.
Gizmo:Oh, that was good.
Chef:I was listening to it.
Gizmo:You know, it's the first podcast Bill Murray's ever done. Yep. Ever. Yeah. And I love he didn't know who Joe Rogan was.
Chef:Yeah. He
Gizmo:said, showed up, and I said, are you Joe? I mean, the guy has more eyes on him than any media
Chef:in the But he what amazed me was about what was kinda cool is that you think of Bill Murray as all these various characters that he plays that are wild and zany and etcetera. And he's funny by nature. I've actually met him a couple of times, like like, really quickly and formally at Madison Square Garden. I won't go into the story because he, like, goes out in the public and stuff like that, by the way, and, like, interacts with, like, the public. He's not afraid to do that.
Chef:But I thought it wasn't like, he was very articulate. He was very bright on the podcast. You're picking up and I'm putting down. Yeah.
Gizmo:I I was He was
Chef:really, like, on it, like, thoughtful. Yeah. And, like, it was like the real Bill Murray, you know, without the because he doesn't do many, like, long he I don't I don't think he's done any long form interviews in a long, long time.
Chef:I I was gonna the Joe Rogan format is perfect for that because it really allows you that time to come out and have the open conversation. And, I mean, you're talking three, three and a half hours. That you have to sit with people. That's why it's a great gauge for seeing what people are about sometimes because you really get to know them on a somewhat of an extended level.
Rooster:We should have them on the pod.
Gizmo:This cigar, by the way, tonight might be a three and a half hour episode.
Chef:So we're
Gizmo:we're gonna really get to know each other tonight.
Chef:Well, the yeah. But it's a real it was a really good one because it was it gave you insight kind of into because he's done so many different types of roles. You know? And he mentioned something I thought that was cool. He was like, there's only he said, there's only three three directors that and writers that I'll work with where if you say, do you wanna be in this movie?
Chef:And I just don't even read the script. And one of them, of course, was Wes Anderson. And then the other one was Sofia Coppola. And then there was one more, which I'm forgetting the name of. Yeah.
Chef:I don't remember who it was.
Gizmo:I always saw pieces of it.
Chef:But he said, you know, yeah, if Wes Anderson calls me you know what I mean?
Chef:And and
Bam Bam:I love his films. I love his movies. They're very touching and funny. And creative. Very creative and uniquely very witty in a very unique way.
Chef:In a unique way. And there's all this level of An almost innocent wittiness. It captures his style. He pays attention to every piece of topography. He pays attention to all the details with the costumes and the set design and
Gizmo:And he's notorious for symmetry. He's notorious for symmetry in his films. There's it's always squared off. So if if there's a shot of a building, it's perfectly squared in the frame. I see.
Gizmo:Very symmetrical with everything.
Bam Bam:So he did a somewhat animated film called The Fantastic Mr. Fox, which I watched with my son. It's hilarious and really well done. He did one. It's a hotel in India.
Bam Bam:I don't remember the name of the movie, one of my favorite films.
Chef:Oh, that's a great one.
Rooster:Is that the Marigold
Bam Bam:Marigold something? No. It's The Something Hotel. I just don't remember the name of the damn Yeah.
Gizmo:That's one of his more recent ones.
Chef:Among the excellent. How many more Indians in the room do we need to figure out the name of this hotel?
Pagoda:I've been watching this movie.
Chef:That was really good. Mean, all the
Gizmo:makes were excellent.
Chef:All of
Bam Bam:his films were excellent.
Chef:Absolutely terrific.
Pagoda:You know, it's loss in translation. That's all.
Bam Bam:There's a few others. Well, yeah,
Chef:but then there's like the loss in translation character too. Oh You know, like he's so flexible in terms of being able to be Did he do that? Totally hilarious.
Bam Bam:That's his movie, Lost in Translation.
Chef:Well, he didn't write it. Okay. He didn't write it. But I mean That's a great movie. But he like he talks about in the podcast too, he's like, I'm happy to enhance a script.
Chef:Like, I can enhance a script. Yeah. But he's like, if I get through the first five pages and it's shit, I just put it down. Yep.
Pagoda:I think the funniest was What About Bob?
Chef:Oh my god.
Pagoda:God. Did you remember that? Baby
Chef:steps. I'm sailing. I'm sailing. But baby steps, you gotta you gotta take Bob, I'm gonna write you a prescription for happiness.
Bam Bam:Are you ready? It's
Gizmo:the Grand Budapest Hotel.
Bam Bam:The Grand Budapest Hotel.
Chef:Oh, I just remembered that.
Bam Bam:What a good movie. If you guys haven't seen it, it's a must.
Rooster:I've seen it. Yeah.
Bam Bam:Asteroid City's cool and The Fantastic Mr. Fox. Like if you have kids that are kind of like- Rushmore. Rushmore was
Chef:incredible. Know, really interesting characters.
Bam Bam:Yeah. Oh, Isle of Dogs.
Rooster:Isle of Dogs?
Chef:I I haven't think I've
Bam Bam:ever seen that It's another animated film. It's not a cartoon, but it's certain technology that they use.
Chef:Interesting.
Bam Bam:Such a good movie.
Gizmo:Alright, boys. I gotta tell you, I'm parched.
Bam Bam:Alright.
Gizmo:It is time now to move in. What I'm being told, because I haven't tried it, is a fantastic Howl Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon from Cade, the 2018 vintage that Senator was kind enough to pull out of his cellar for our one hundred and seventy fifth episode tonight.
Chef:I'm looking forward to this.
Gizmo:Senator, thank you for bringing this, and, boys, cheers
Bam Bam:to you.
Senator:Cheers, boys.
Gizmo:Cheers to lizard nation out there to a 75 episodes.
Bam Bam:Before you sip, though, take it in.
Gizmo:Go to your nose.
Chef:The nose is fantastic. Cheers. Cheers. Cheers. Oh,
Bam Bam:the nose is rich. It's fruity and earthy.
Chef:It's exactly what the cigar needs, just on the nose of them.
Senator:This is truly one of my favorite cabs.
Chef:Retail price?
Senator:Wow. Wow. $1.50.
Gizmo:Wow. That is a
Chef:great wine, man. I gotta tell you.
Bam Bam:You know, I can easily take a bottle down myself.
Chef:Oh my goodness gracious.
Bam Bam:There's no doubt about
Senator:it. Wow.
Gizmo:That's fantastic. Thank you. Senator, that's good.
Bam Bam:Pagoda, come on.
Chef:That's very good.
Bam Bam:You can take that bottle down alone. I can.
Gizmo:The microphone's over He's
Rooster:talking he's throwing the liquor. He's talking into the glass.
Gizmo:One hundred and seventy five episodes later. By the way,
Bam Bam:this is gonna
Chef:cost me. This is gonna cost me because this is good. Wow is that good.
Gizmo:So we have been teeing up a wine deep dive prompted by a listener email, and I'll read that in a moment. But I wanna ask Senator specific to this wine in this moment with this cigar, why did you choose first, you were you really wanted to do a Cabernet with the Padron sixtieth. What was the impetus for that decision, and then the specific choice of the Cade?
Senator:Yeah. So I I the Padron this cigar is like a meal. Right? Like, it's so rich and flavorful and full bodied. And so I remember when we first lit this together, I immediately thought of, man, a great rich red wine would pair perfectly with this cigar.
Senator:And as I was thinking about, you know, what would be an appropriate choice, I really love Howell Mountain cabs from California. Howell Mountain is a very high altitude, like, growing area in Napa, and the high altitude I mean, one, it's closer to the sun, so when it is hot at, like, peak sunlight during the day, that sun just concentrates the flavor in those grapes more and more. That's why cabs grow really well in Napa because that hot sun during the day gets that concentrated flavor. A cooler growing region won't produce the same rich kind of full bodied wine. But what's also unique about that mountain altitude is actually the temperature variation is much greater where at night, it actually gets way cooler at the higher altitude than it does for wine that's made lower in the valley.
Senator:So that kind of extreme variance in temperature leads to, like, a really just rich, complex, flavorful wine, and I think for whatever reason, that that particular region, I can't think of any California wines that deliver as much flavor as smoothly as Howell Mountain reds do. You'll remember we did, and this is one of my favorite budget Howell Mountain wines, and budget and Howell Mountain are never used in the same sentence. Like, the entry point to Howell Mountain wine is like a hundred something plus a bottle. We did the Robert Craig Howell Mountain Couvet. Exactly.
Bam Bam:That was delicious.
Senator:Which was a blend from Howell Mountain, which you don't normally see, And that was at like a $40 price point, which is outstanding for the value that that delivers. And, you know, you get some of that kind of similar character. What I also like is the the wine at Howell Mountain is not overly sweet. It's like very balanced. It can, like, start, like, fruit forward, finish a little bit dry, like, it's really well balanced, which is just my personal preference.
Senator:So for all those reasons, with a cigar like Padron that I think you get sweet yet earthy notes in, it that has that same balance that I think a lot of Howell Mountain reds have. So that's why Kay just immediately popped to mind, and it's a vineyard that I really, really love, and we haven't had a chance to do on the pod. And it's not like we break a 50 bottle of wine every day. So Mhmm. With a cigar at this price point, that's an occasion special occasion type cigar, you know, I think the wine definitely fits the bill for, like, a really nice dinner out at a steakhouse.
Senator:Yeah.
Chef:It seems a little versatile too. Yeah. Like, it it it feels versatile to me. Like, if you were to it's full bodied, but it doesn't hit in the face with a two by four.
Senator:Exactly. Easy Yeah.
Gizmo:For the listener out there, I wanna reference this now because I'm not gonna bring this one out as a comparison point for the rating later, so I'll share it now. On episode 23, which is crazy to think that it's almost a hundred and more than a 50 episodes ago, we did the Robert Craig Howell Mountain Couve. On episode 23, we gave that an 8.4.
Bam Bam:Oh, boy.
Gizmo:So obviously at a budget, a different
Senator:kind of Yeah. Can make the comparison later. Mean, I think it's actually like that. That's a very fair score for that wine, and I think you'll see the difference in
Gizmo:You'll definitely see the difference. Yeah. Yeah. This being a Cab though, a little, you know, different than
Bam Bam:the It's an exclusive wine for the price. Not easy to find, right?
Gizmo:Yeah. So senator, what's with the 2018 vintage specifically on this wine? Why is that one so celebrated as you found?
Senator:Yeah. So funnily enough, I mean, all pretty much every Kate is a newer vineyard at number one, so they haven't been around actually very long, but they just have really made their mark quickly where their wines are super highly regarded, very, very popular. I've had the twenty seventeen, 20 18, and 2019 vintage. And the 2017 and 2018, had intentionally. The 2019, I was at a steakhouse.
Senator:The wine list said they had twenty eighteen. I was thrilled because I'm in love with this vintage. And they brought the bottle out and it was 2019. I said, Woah, woah, wait a minute. You know, it said 2018.
Senator:Oh, we're sorry, we should have updated that. We just recently ran out of our last bottle of the 2018 vintage. And the 2019 vintage I had actually drank hot. So how we're saying this is so smooth and boo boo yoo is versatile, which I agree with, that wine needed more time. And I think whatever the growing conditions were in 2019 at that vineyard, it needs more time than maybe the '18 certainly did.
Senator:So I had stocked up on, you know, this is years ago, as much of this 2018 as I could. I'm down to my last two bottles at this point, so we're doing one here, and I'm saving one more that I'll probably open up around the holidays this year.
Gizmo:Or later tonight after we're done recording,
Bam Bam:you can go get it. We'll go over his house. Yeah.
Gizmo:That's totally fine. I'm good with that.
Senator:But my personal preference, I think the twenty eighteen is like the perfect expression of the Cade style of making Cabernet. The twenty nineteen, I'd be interested to try it's been a few years, so maybe now it's ready just certainly a few years ago. It was aggressive. I was just shocked because what I love about Kate is like, it's like Padron, it's like it delivers so much flavor, but so smoothly and in such a balanced way, And I was a little surprised by at least the twenty nineteen I had.
Chef:That's interesting.
Bam Bam:You know, I think this is probably the most balanced wine I've ever had.
Chef:It's very, very good.
Bam Bam:Usually, a lot of cabs are either way too sweet or not sweet enough and they aren't earthy enough or way too earthy. This is a great balance. Upfront, get kind of like a berry.
Senator:I can't
Bam Bam:put my finger on Or a currant. If you've had those tiny little blueberries, I get it on the But as I let it curl in my mouth and take it down, it's kind of buttery to me on the finish.
Chef:I get a very interesting, almost blueberry, cola, cocoa happening all at the same time. And it goes amazingly well with this cigar.
Chef:It does. It it it a little bit of viscosity to it.
Chef:Yeah. There's almost weight to it.
Chef:Yeah. Yeah. That kind of coach your palate. Yeah. And it's got a longer finish than you'd expect and a smoother, longer finish than you expect.
Chef:And I think that that's a real merit here in this particular vintage by this by this winemaker. I I I've quite frankly, I mean, I love wine. I'm not a wine aficionado, but I know what's good and I know what sucks. I've drank enough wine in my life. This is this is fantastic.
Chef:I mean, in every way.
Gizmo:And to find a wine, I think, to stand up to the powerhouse cigar that we have in our hands, which is delivering so much flavor, such viscous smoke, such a rich experience, to have a pairing like this that lines up so well in parallel is it's actually kinda shocking to me how well
Bam Bam:it's doing well.
Chef:Yes. Because it's like coating your mouth. The finish is long enough and pleasurable enough, and it pairs well with the long finish of this cigar. It holds up. It marries up quite well.
Chef:It's unexpected. Yes.
Bam Bam:It's unexpected.
Chef:This is way better than anything that I was expecting, this this wine. I agree. So senator, thank you.
Bam Bam:So It's really delicious. Where can we find this?
Senator:So you can find it at a a lot of places. I just say, I mean, you know, wine's at the hundred and something dollar price point. You can't find it at liquor store. Right? You know, a simple liquor store that carries some wine isn't gonna have wine red wine really above, like, a $50.60 dollar price point.
Senator:But total wine should definitely have it.
Bam Bam:You know, my AI character's gonna ask a question. Go for it.
Chef:Why are you interrupting the man? He's giving you insight.
Bam Bam:Go for it. I have a joke. Can I get it at seven Eleven?
Chef:Okay. You would find Kool Aid. Lehman.
Bam Bam:A lot of Kool Aid of flow.
Senator:Yeah. Aster wine in the city, Sherry Lehman would definitely have it, although don't buy wine at Sherry Lehman, I'll never support that place again. Have I told my Sherry Lehman story on the No.
Gizmo:Oh, man.
Senator:Oh man. So I used to live in Manhattan before I moved out here, and Astra I had purchased from for years. They're outstanding.
Chef:Astra's a great source also for agave destinations.
Rooster:For sure.
Chef:Their selection is better than anyone's.
Bam Bam:A beautiful and a beautiful destination too.
Chef:For
Senator:sure. I remember even when we had some mezcals with you, the easiest spot to find it was Aster, and I had it shipped to my house. They're great.
Chef:Oh, yeah.
Senator:So Sherry Lehman, very, you know, kind of a historic, you know, almost wine shop in the city. And I remember I was so excited to I had been in there before, but this was like once I was living in the city and I buy in quantity. And so, you know, it's very fun to go to a place and, you know, you anticipate you're gonna build a relationship and and buy a lot of wine for a long time from them. And I walked in there and there was an Italian wine. And this is when I was still in my frustrated state with Italian wine.
Senator:I hadn't really loved a lot of what I had tried. Wine Spectator that year had this Chianti that was very highly rated, and I tried it somewhere and I actually loved it, and I was like shocked. It was like the first Italian wine that like really grabbed me and said like, this this fits your palate. I see Sherry Lehman allegedly carries it. So I walk in there, I tell them, again, a wine shop like Sherry Lehman, I shouldn't have to explain that vintages matter or are important.
Senator:I go in there looking for a particular vintage, this one that had scored really high. It was by far their best vintage, the best yield for that wine they have ever produced. And the guy tells me like, oh, yeah. Yeah. Sure.
Senator:We have that wine. I tell him the vintage everything. I say, you know, I'll take a case, and he brings out a case, and I I look in it, and it's totally the wrong year, wrong vintage. So I'm just assuming it's just an honest mistake, and I say to guy, hey. You know, I told you I wanted the, like, 2016 vintage.
Senator:This is like the 2018. And he's like, oh, well, it's $10 cheaper, who cares? What's the difference?
Rooster:And
Senator:I'm looking around like, this is what I expect in a seven eleven. This is a highly
Gizmo:regarded Hey.
Bam Bam:My AI guy just walked out. Alright? It's me now.
Chef:It's it's what you expect from a minimum minimum wage worker who's stocking shelves at Total Wine anywhere.
Senator:Like, I mean, it's just outrageous in a place that's regarded in the way that Sherry Lehman is that a guy is telling me, like, who cares what vintage I brought out? It's cheaper. You know, shouldn't you be happy with that? And I said, I asked for this specific vintage because that's the one that I wanna leave here with. I don't care that it's $10 more.
Senator:And the guy just looked completely confused, like, why would this matter so much? And it turned me off, and that was my first bad experience with them. And then like an idiot, I gave them a second chance, and I ordered wine and had them deliver it to my apartment. And it was again a specific vintage, and you can check substitutions if they don't have the vintage or no substitutions, they will cancel the order because that's the bottle you're looking to drink. They deliver it.
Senator:I put no substitutions. It's again the wrong vintage. The wildest thing happens. I take this back to their store. I tell them this is the vintage I ordered.
Senator:This is what I received. I I need it replaced. They say, okay. Sorry about the mistake. They go back.
Senator:They don't have the vintage I ordered. And I say, okay, then I wanna be refunded. They say, there's no refunds. I said, what? I ordered a vintage.
Senator:I put no substitutions. What do you mean there's no refunds? I mean, that's the most ridiculous thing. This is their error. They never should have sent me the wine, and I have it right there.
Senator:And I had a whole argument with them, and I said, I will never shop in your store again, and I think I even had to charge back the wine. I mean Oh, jeez. Oh my god. That's All they had to do, first of all, RefundMe. Worst case, which still wouldn't have been okay
Chef:It was store credit. Is give
Senator:you store credit. And they're telling me, nope. You are stuck with this wine. I couldn't believe it. Haven't bought a single thing there
Chef:since By the way, that would be great for judge Judy. You'd win that. Oh, for sure. I mean, that's a slam dunk. She'd be
Gizmo:like Absolutely. You'd you'd win all the money. And you might win damages too. Yeah. Emotional distress.
Gizmo:Correct. She'll hit you with the cap of 5,000. You're good. So, boys, we're coming to the end of the first third here on the Padron sixtieth anniversary in Maduro, the limited edition, newer newest release from Padron. What's everybody thinking right now?
Bam Bam:I'm looking at chef's ash. Look at that thing.
Gizmo:Yeah. He's got about two and a half inches of ash on his cigar right now. Looks great. So I did a second cut of mine because I wanted a little bit more draw. Same.
Gizmo:And I knocked the ash off, you know, intentionally. But Senator and I, the first time, I think we took our ashes down almost into the last third of the West Coast.
Bam Bam:Pagoda, senator, and chef still are working on nice long ash.
Gizmo:Yeah. Nice. Well constructed cigar.
Senator:Just stay on the cut. I wanted to let everybody do their own thing, but I I do have at least a strong preference or recommendation as far as this cigar and what you should take off. I actually think you need a healthy cut on this cigar.
Chef:Correct.
Gizmo:Are we in giz cut territory?
Senator:No. No. Not giz cut. Not even a cold You'll kinda what I took off.
Chef:Just at the taper.
Senator:Yeah. And the reason I say that is like a cigar that is so flavorful, you want like voluminous smoke output. You really want to be able to just envelop yourself in everything that that's delivering. So for me, you know, taking a little bit off and having it aggressively tapered at the head of the cigar, you're just getting a fraction of what the experience
Bam Bam:can be.
Senator:And once you get to the widest part of the cigar when it starts to burn, and that's really what for every listener, you know, I guarantee any of you smoking this for the first time, like I remember my first time with this, initially, you're gonna get not a whole lot of flavor. You're gonna be confused, probably disappointed thinking this is gonna be the experience all the way through. Wait until you hit the widest part of the cigar, which is just maybe half an inch from the end of it.
Bam Bam:That's where we are now.
Senator:That's when it just explodes in flavor and is a completely different experience, And then the combustion when you've taken enough off the head of the cigar is just off the charts.
Gizmo:Yeah. It's such a pleasure to smoke this cigar. It really is.
Chef:No. It's so pleasurable. It really is. And and I I think pace I'm pacing myself at a pace that I'm comfortable with. I think that whatever you're comfortable with, do it do it.
Chef:But it's it's delivering in a way, but you gotta you gotta kinda take it slow.
Rooster:It's it's
Chef:it's a it's powerhouse. There's a lot of tobacco in here. So I think to reiterate senator's point is, you know, do a decent a healthy cut at the taper because you want it opened up because there's a lot of I mean, it's it's not tightly packed, but there's a lot of tobacco in here.
Senator:Yes? Oh, for sure. I'll also say flavor wise, I mean, this cigar really kinda takes you on a bit of a journey in the sense that I think everyone was talking about on the light getting a lot of spice and some pepper. And I think once you get about half an inch in, you start to get some sweet notes. I mean, I was getting like figs, some dried fruit, then you start getting a little bit of cocoa.
Senator:And now about a little more than maybe an inch in, I get a saltiness Yes. That I really love that kinda adds this complexity to the fruit notes that I was getting, the cocoa, the earth, so it's just a really rounded experience.
Chef:It really is a little minerality.
Pagoda:Yeah. Yep.
Rooster:It's also unlike any other Padron. It's very different.
Gizmo:It is. Yeah.
Rooster:And I was trying to think, what can I compare this to? I want to say the shape is like the eightieth, but it smokes not like the eightieth.
Bam Bam:It's much fuller.
Rooster:It's much fuller, much more complex, much more balanced. Well, eightieth is very balanced.
Bam Bam:Yes, it is.
Rooster:Eightieth has a it's a little sweeter note. This has a little bit more it's a powerhouse. It's like in between an eightieth and the ninetieth almost.
Senator:I agree with that. Yeah. I'd call it an eightieth on steroids.
Bam Bam:Yeah. Yeah. I agree with that.
Gizmo:I'd call it an 80 plus.
Bam Bam:Alright. Oh, yeah.
Chef:Well, it doesn't it doesn't it doesn't have Mute his mic. The eightieth tends to have a little bit more forward chocolate maybe in it. Cocoa.
Bam Bam:I'll be with that.
Rooster:This has more spice. It's balance of spice and chocolate
Gizmo:and What
Bam Bam:distinguishes this is that fruit and berry experience. With that, I don't get in any other Padron.
Gizmo:True. And the salt too. Minerality That's unique to this, I think.
Rooster:I don't know what they did to blend this because this
Gizmo:is And what's crazy, Rooster, is we don't even know there's no age statements. There's no definition of the different kinds of tobacco in this. You know? I think Padron is just betting on the fact that they're so trusted with the lines of their cigars, that this being their premier limited offering, that they know that they've put something great together here. I'd obviously love to ask George Padron what the blend is, what the age is, you know, what some of the components are.
Bam Bam:Well, gonna have lunch with him next week.
Chef:I am,
Gizmo:yes, exactly. All right. But I would love to know. So, you know, at some point, we'll have to sit down and answer.
Rooster:I would say this has at least seven years of age on tobacco.
Gizmo:I would think so. Probably closer to 10. We have to talk about the bands, boys. Because these bands are unique in that, first off, this is, you know, one of the newer padrons. They're starting to do this on the '64 line, I believe the 1926, where the serial number band is actually integrated
Bam Bam:Mhmm.
Gizmo:Into the the main Padron band, and then there's a what looks like a third, but actually a second band that has sixtieth on it. But what's cool is on the main Padron band is a image of the island of Cuba. It says handcrafted, Padron, of course, above it, but the island of Cuba here paying tribute to Jose Padron's, you know, early life and and birth in in Cuba before he eventually came to The States. But definitely a unique band on this cigar.
Pagoda:Beautiful. It's a beautiful band. Yeah. Beautiful. And glossy as a glossy.
Gizmo:It's very classy. Of course, everything Padron is class, but
Bam Bam:%.
Gizmo:This just is it's elevated. Alright, boy. So I wanna go to this listener email. We have a bunch of stuff to get to tonight, but I do wanna go to this listener email from December that prompted this wine conversation from Lizard Chris. And I'll read it again to you guys.
Gizmo:He says, hey, Lizards. It's Lizard Chris again. Love the new episode with the wine pairing. This is back in late November or December. I thought it was very refreshing.
Gizmo:I had an idea for a future episode, which brings us here. I would love to hear senator do a deep dive on his favorite wines of different categories at varying price points. It would also be interesting to hear about the history of said wines. Of course, I don't know if we can get into all that, but certainly naming some of your favorites and the price is definitely very doable. A question I have for senator is if you are having multiple wines in a night, so different wines in a night, is there similarity to the cigars in how you structure the different flavor profiles and which ones you have first and in what order you have them?
Chef:Well, that's a good calculus.
Gizmo:With cigars, you obviously start more mild to medium than finish with a fuller smoke as you guys have detailed many times. I would love to hear senator's expertise so I can try it out myself. Wow. Well, I mean, thank God he's Ivy League.
Senator:No. It's a it's a great question. I mean, I think fortunately the answer is is probably more straightforward than than maybe the the listener thinks. Wine is no different than cigars in terms of if you were to want to sample or try, you know, a number of different wines in a sitting or with multiple courses of a meal or dinner, you would want to start with and pair, you know, initially, if we're talking red wines, lighter reds and end with a fuller red. So very similar to a cigar we always talk about starting with something Cuban, Honduran, lighter, milder, medium, and working our way up to, you know, new world, fuller, Nicaraguan, Dominican tobacco.
Senator:Very similar in wine. You'd start with like, you know, a Pinot Noir, something very light, easy drinking, you know, a Merlot, something a little more body, but still on the lighter medium side. And then, you know, toward the fuller end, a Cabernet Sauvignon, a Cab Franc, a Malbec, all fuller bodied reds that, you know, just would pair with a fuller Nicaraguan cigar like we're smoking tonight. So I think as far as pairings go, very, very similar to cigars, and you just wanna kinda work your way up. And, you know, this is a great example of this is a very full bodied red.
Senator:If we were to, you know, wanna drink another bottle of wine after this and open up a pinot noir, I mean, everyone would laugh at it, and you wouldn't even your palate would be so shot. You couldn't appreciate the subtlety and nuance of a pinot noir. You'd be sitting there so unsatisfied because your pal is craving a full experience like you just had. So the order is really important.
Gizmo:And it would be like if we put this cigar down tonight when we're done and then lit a very light Cuban cigar. Yeah. It's it's identical to that feeling.
Chef:It's like trying to shoo in like a Beaujolais Nouveau. Do you know what I'm saying?
Gizmo:I have no idea what that is.
Chef:At the end of the night.
Senator:Bourgeois is basically like a French Pinot Noir, essentially. It's very light. It's like a lot of people drink it with a turkey on Thanksgiving.
Gizmo:I thought
Chef:it was a French hooker
Bam Bam:or something.
Chef:Well, it's it's it's like a preview of what maybe the maybe maybe what the vintage could be like.
Rooster:So what's a fuller what's fuller than a Cab?
Senator:I mean, I'll say this. There's nothing fuller than a Cab in the sense that Italian wines, like for their fuller bodied stuff and Super Tuscans, they're using Cab grapes to pack the punch that's in those. So from a, you know, a grape perspective, like, a Cab is as full as it gets. Cabernet Sauvignon grape or Cab Franc grape, very full body in terms of what that delivers, and you'll see that in really any full Italian, French. I mean, you know, a Bordeaux, the the five noble grapes that that make up a Bordeaux, Camernaise Sauvignon, Cab Franc, Merlot, Petite Verdot, and Malbec.
Senator:And of those, like, the fullest are Cab Sauv, Cab Franc, and Malbec. So it's all in how you blend it, no different than tobacco basically, but that's definitely at the fullest end of the spectrum.
Pagoda:Senator, a quick question. Yeah. So just to, you know, carry on that conversation, would you start with white wine or champagne and then move into reds?
Senator:For sure. Great question. So the one Thanksgiving that, like an idiot, I
Gizmo:did I like, by the way, how many times on this episode you've called yourself an idiot. No. On this this was this was truly third time.
Bam Bam:Well, we've gotta listen to counting.
Senator:This is truly a stupid move on my part where I hosted Thanksgiving, and I did, like, tasting menu style, like, all these courses with different wine pairings for every single course. It's just a lot of work, and it's like the amount of stemware. You know, I'm not a person that, like, you could just reuse your wine glass for all these different like, there were there were specific glasses for every single pairing. It was and and then the glass have to be washed by hand. You know, I don't put crystal in a dishwasher.
Senator:There it it was honestly brutal.
Chef:But Thanksgiving is tough too because it revolves mostly around side dishes and
Senator:I know. But I classed it up aggressively, and it was coarsed, it was That's a lot. Was great.
Gizmo:I mean There was a printed menu.
Senator:There was a printed menu.
Chef:That's right. True.
Senator:It's ambitious But to Pagoda's point, I mean, I started with some champagne with caviar, some shrimp cocktails, stuff like that. I remember then there was a lobster bisque with a French Sauvignon Blanc, so that was a white wine that really held up well with, you know, kind of a seafood based type soup, but also still had enough structure to hold up to like the, you know, a fuller soup and like a bisque.
Chef:No. And the sweetness and the sauvignon with the lobster, I'm sure went amazingly well.
Senator:Exactly. Exactly. And then I forget all the rest of the courses, but I know in terms of reds, it was then just building up from there to, like, I think a miritage. I had a blend and then, like, probably ended with something, like, much fuller. So, you know, even whites, I I love if I'm, you know, having some seafood to as as appetizers.
Senator:I'm out at dinner, and I want some champagne or a white wine, and then I order, you know, a a heartier main and Mhmm. I want a glass of red wine with that. Totally, you know, acceptable. I I think anybody should feel free to do it, and I think it's fun to kinda work your way up. Also, in between there, you know, you can do a rose in between a white wine and a red wine.
Senator:So there's lots of options, which I think makes it a lot of fun.
Gizmo:And the point is just like cigars, you gotta go in one direction.
Bam Bam:Correct. Correct. That's correct.
Poobah:Yeah. In
Gizmo:body and in flavor.
Chef:Rose doesn't get a gonna get enough attention.
Senator:I agree with that. I really do.
Chef:I I think when it comes to anything dealing with the palate, you have to build up to get to that. If you're going to go backwards, you have to do a full reset. You almost need a course where, you know, maybe there's a mineral water that stands out or something like that to just kind of really champagne to reset your palette or champagne. Sure. Because it's yeah, once those heavier tannins and heavier flavors get on the palate, it really clouds whatever.
Chef:You know, you don't want to go backwards without cleansing your palate or resetting your palate, if you will. I think with anything, as you guys are saying, with cigars, with food, with with wines, I think it's really important.
Chef:And I think with wine, there's like a lot of traps out there. Like, it's a confusing landscape to kind of navigate, In some ways, confusing than cigars. It's it's it's like you can't it's like you have to really read up on it and kinda, like, do your research and rely on referrals and rely on
Chef:You have to understand the blend. Right? Because to what Senator's saying, just the concentration of cap grapes or whatever grapes are in those blends specifically, it's gonna increase Correct.
Chef:Correct. And money for value, like, you know, like you talk about a standard bottle of Silver Oak, for example. Like, it's okay. Like, it's okay. It's serviceable, but is it really worth a hundred bucks?
Chef:I don't know. I don't think so. No. It's not. It's not.
Chef:Like but this is a hundred and 50. So the cost delta versus what you're like, the product you're getting, like, it's definitely more than 50% better. Do you know what I'm saying? So navigating and then there's this, like, weird and and, senator, I'll defer to you, but there's this weird, like, price point gap where it's like you can't really find anything that I know of or, like, it's very hard to to to hunt down. You gotta really do your research to find something that's, like, under, let's say, $30.
Chef:Find a bottle of wine for $30 that's worth a shit. Very difficult to to to to to find. You gotta, like, get over that. You gotta get to, like, that stag's leap level as, like, table wine almost. And I'm not trying to sound like like a Bougie?
Chef:Bougie. Toady. Yeah. Sure. Do you know what I'm saying?
Chef:Yeah. Like, we're we're you know, you gotta get to that 60 to $80 level to get, like, a decent wine. Now if I can find stuff in between that's cheaper than that, like, that would be great to explore. But, like, it it's like and I'll defer to you, senator. It's like kinda finding a needle in a haystack.
Chef:Am I wrong?
Senator:No. No. You're you're
Chef:to navigate.
Senator:I mean, I've said this before, and I think for any listener that enjoys wine, you go in a wine shop. Like, if you wanna know if a wine shop is really worth anything, go in there and say, what's a great $20.30 dollar bottle of red? If they can actually recommend something that you buy and drink and would purchase again, do all your business there. It's the toughest thing to find, and good wine shops are actually able to recommend solid red wine at a $20.30 something dollar price point, where for most, they either look totally lost or they recommend something that's awful that, you know, they just have sitting there and that they've never really drank or or clearly don't know much about wine. That's the hardest question.
Senator:Like, I hate when you're in a wine shop. Anybody can pick out a good $50.60, $70.80 dollar bottle of red wine. Everybody. There's so many good options at that price point. It's so much harder to find at like a $30 price point a great bottle of red that you would actually be comfortable serving to people that you get together with.
Senator:And then, you know, the the price delta, like, where you start to get crazy is, you know, I think I've said with cigars, my philosophy is no cigar should be over $40, and the few that are above that price point that are the ones that are above that price point that are spectacular are few and far between.
Chef:Mhmm.
Senator:Right? I've broken my own rule a handful of times. Not often. Tonight.
Rooster:For
Senator:sure. Disqualifies. Yeah. I'm happy to
Chef:know Disqualifies for $150.
Gizmo:I'm I'm saying about cigars. Oh, the cigars.
Senator:Sorry. Cigars usually say nothing over $40 sometimes break that rule. Now with wine, I truly don't think I think you can count on your hands the number of bottles that are above a $200 price point a bottle that are actually worth that, like, big delta from other great wines. And that's where, like, I think, like, the poster child for me, like, Opus is very ironic. You know, in cigars, we kinda have the same frustration.
Senator:Yeah. Opus in wine is regarded as some of the best wine money can buy, and they average 300 something bucks a bottle for a bottle of Opus.
Chef:Yeah. Right.
Senator:I've been lucky to try plenty of Opus. I haven't had a single Opus bottle that I think is worth $300 plus.
Chef:No. It does not blow your hair back at all.
Senator:Not one. I think it's a status symbol. Think very similar to some Opus cigars that, you know, things just come at a higher price point. Everyone is so quick to just assume that that must mean higher quality, must be better.
Gizmo:Yep.
Senator:You know, what I love about Kade, depending on the vintage, I mean, you can find this between $1.20 and $1.60 for pretty much any vintage that they put out of their their cab. And I put this up against countless $250 bottles that I've had that I think that this actually drinks better than. Now that's not to say there aren't some bottles. I think, you know, maybe I've said this on a prior episode. For me, Schaeffer Hillside Select, that's a 300 something dollar bottle.
Senator:It's the best bottle of red I've had in that class. I'd put it up against almost anything. Yeah. It's actually worth that price point. I can't replicate that experience.
Bam Bam:Make a note. But
Gizmo:Schaeffer Hillside Select. Select.
Senator:2016 vintage.
Gizmo:We might have to do that episode 200.
Pagoda:Just don't put
Bam Bam:it on split wise.
Gizmo:Well, it's a good point, and I think it's really important for the listeners. And will say, to answer Lizard Chris's question here about some of our favorite wines in different categories at varying price points, we've done quite a few wines in a 75 episodes. So I think that, you know, going to our ratings guide and seeing some of the wines we've done, seeing how we've rated them, we've kind of hit a gamut of varying priced wines, you know, as low as Oberon or Bonanza. Bonanza, all the way up to, you know, some of the higher priced stuff we've done. You can look through that, including champagne and get a good, you know, look at how these things not only drink, but also how they pair with cigars, which of course is what we're doing here.
Chef:I mean, like, least Oberon by Madhavi is like at least like kind of like a serviceable tail, you know, table wine with a bowl of spaghetti and meatballs. You You can kind of do
Bam Bam:you know
Chef:what I mean? It's it's it's it's good enough for the money.
Bam Bam:I
Chef:agree. It's almost too sweet for me.
Chef:The overall Yeah. You know, you're not wrong. You know
Gizmo:you're not
Senator:jammy
Chef:and Yeah. You're not wrong. But I mean, what are you gonna find at that price point? You know, it's kinda like
Senator:I will say, also at that price point, you know, where you get a ton of value are a lot of, like, Spanish wines and wines out of Argentina, Chile. We randomly you know, we were in Havana at a restaurant and, you know, it's slim pickings when you're looking at a wine list there, but I I try I've gotta get creative. And so went to Chile and we tried this Marquez Casa Concha.
Gizmo:Yes. Cabernet. Yeah.
Senator:Yeah. And it was delicious. Everybody liked it.
Bam Bam:It's I
Senator:bought bottles when we got back home, and that's like $20 a bottle. Yeah. And I'm telling you, you'd serve that to anybody. It's a totally serviceable, great table wine, versatile. So you find good values in South America and Spain in a way that California wines are just priced much more.
Gizmo:For the listener out there, we did that on episode 78 with the Cohiba Lancero. The Marques de Casa Concha Cabernet Sauvignon rated in 9.3.
Bam Bam:That wine was very balanced. Wasn't overtly sweet.
Chef:Very mixed.
Gizmo:It paired brilliantly with the cigar. Yeah. You know, which is obviously what we're doing here. Yeah. Again, for Lizard Chris or any listeners out there who wanna ask us about wine, feel free to email us, of course, but also refer to the ratings guide.
Gizmo:We've done quite a bit of wine.
Chef:Yeah. I'm I'm interested in diving a little bit deeper into the vortex. Yeah. To be honest. I I because I I really do like red wine.
Chef:But, again, it's like if it takes a lot of work to kind of to navigate the space. Do you know what I mean?
Bam Bam:Or I could just make a phone call.
Rooster:Yeah. Yeah.
Chef:So you can make a phone call.
Pagoda:Correct. Senator knows how many times I've
Chef:called him.
Bam Bam:And and we him from we all said.
Chef:Well, I've texted him from restaurants. Yeah. It's the list. Like like, I'm in Washington DC. I need a butt this is the this is the champagne list.
Bam Bam:Hey, senator.
Rooster:Can you
Chef:please tell me what to get?
Senator:That's how that's how you had The bolognese
Rooster:for the first
Senator:time. Yeah. Yeah.
Bam Bam:Yeah. What's a good shower But
Senator:I I will say one one watch out for any listener. When you find a wine that you love, you find a vineyard that you love, you can assume that you're always gonna love that wine. It's gonna drink the same. And I say this because there are countless vineyards. California is a great example of this.
Senator:You know, these vineyards start really small. They're like family operated a lot of them, and then they get big, and they get sold, and things change. Private equity comes in or whoever. For sure. And there's a lot of examples of this where, you know, Silver Oak years ago actually used to make excellent wine.
Senator:I think the stuff they put out now is way too aggressive. I mean, you ought to aerate it for like ten hours until it like seems like it tame enough to enjoy a glass of it. I I just they've gone in a very odd direction for me. Caymus is another great example. I mean, Caymus used to make outstanding wine.
Senator:Outstanding wine. And now I think, not that is terrible, I'm not saying I wouldn't drink a glass of Caymus, I'm not in any way suggesting that's the case. It's just that I think like their cab is very sweet, very straightforward and simple, and not really deserving of a of a higher price point. Mean, now Caymus Go is like as high as like $80 a Yeah. And I'm like, it it doesn't drink like an $80 bottle.
Senator:Like, that drinks like a $40 bottle. So there's a lot of these vineyards that, like, they have their heyday, and if they get sold, if their operation gets too big and they need to find ways to cut costs and increase volume, you don't necessarily get the same. So kinda like we talk about cigars going on runs Yep. I really think wine is the same. And, you know, it's funny.
Senator:Oberon was mentioned. I had Oberon for the first time over ten years ago. It was when Michael Mondavi of the famed Mondavi family kinda went out on his own and wanted to create like an accessible wine that would kinda put him on the map, And the first stuff that they were making was really good. Like for 20 something bucks, probably the one of the better $20 bottles of wine you could find. And then everyone started catching on.
Senator:Everyone was buying their wine. They ramped up production. They rebranded the labels, and that was like when everything kind of got different for me. It's still a totally drinkable bottle of wine, but it lacks the bit of complexity that it used to have where you would say like, this can hold up to some more substantial meals. This is something that someone can try and have to say a thing or two about, and now you drink it and you're like, it's drinkable.
Senator:It's good enough, but you're not gonna have a deep conversation about Oberon anymore. And so all these things go on runs, and you've really gotta get it when it's good. And the single most fun part of wine is the whole is vintages. Right? Any spirit you can buy today is gonna taste almost identical ten years from now.
Senator:That's the whole point of blending. Wine doesn't have that luxury. They have to put a year on it, and the the climate, the soil, natural disasters. I mean, when there were wildfires in California that hit Napa, mean, you drink any of the wines from those years, there's a smokiness in those wines unlike any other vintages that you would Absolutely. And so when you find a vintage that's good, the crazy part about it is it's produced in a finite quantity, you will never ever be able to replicate that exact experience again.
Senator:Right. It's impossible, and it's frustrating because when you run out of a vintage that you love, you can't have it again, but there's also something really beautiful and special about how natural and subject to the elements this this product is that you gotta appreciate when you have it. I mean, these are my last two bottles of this. We're all enjoying this. I'll be very sad when that last bottle's gone, and that's it.
Senator:I'll never be able to replicate this exact experience again. Yep. The other vintages will be similar. There are many that are enjoyable, but you'll never have verbatim what you're having in the glass again outside of that vintage.
Chef:That's correct. Yeah. I mean, a % correct. The quintessential year was what? Twenty fifteen?
Chef:Sixteen. Sixteen. Thank you.
Senator:It's because it was one of the hottest years in Napa.
Chef:Yeah. I mean, like, anything from that year out of Napa was great. I mean, not anything, but a lot of it For sure. Was great. Alright,
Gizmo:gents. A great deep dive on wine. Thank you for that. And I hope, Lizard Chris, I hope we answered your questions. You got some good insight there.
Gizmo:Any listeners out there, of course, who want some more info on wine, feel free to email us, of course. Tell us some of your favorite wines out there, of course, in line with what we're talking about, especially with cigars, and we'd
Senator:be happy to review them on the pod. Can I say a quick fun fact on Cade? Yes. So I'll be honest. I I did not know much about the vineyard itself.
Senator:I haven't visited Cade. I've just I've discovered their wine years ago. I love it. I've drank plenty of it. The thing I was shocked to learn is actually who owns Cade.
Senator:This is really bizarre. So Cade started in 02/2005. I mentioned they're not an old vineyard. And three guys partnered to start this vineyard, a guy named John Conover, Gordon Getty, and the third name I was stunned to learn is Gavin Newsom.
Gizmo:Oh, wow. What? The governor of California. Governor of California. That's crazy.
Gizmo:How interesting. Wild.
Chef:Goodness.
Pagoda:Let's vote him for president.
Bam Bam:Hey. They
Gizmo:make a good wine. No.
Bam Bam:I'm I'm sure I know. I know you are.
Chef:I'm sure I'm sure all of their licenses and regulatory
Gizmo:Oh, yeah.
Chef:Paperwork went through like clockwork very quickly. Very quickly.
Senator:They they started Kay. They have a sister winery, Plump Jack, which I've heard of. I've never had their wine. I'm actually now kinda curious to try it. All the stuff at Kade is made in Howell Mountain.
Senator:And the thing I'll mention about Howell Mountain, so there's just a handful of vineyards in Howell Mountain, and what a lot of other producers in other parts of Napa do is they'll buy Howell Mountain grapes, and they'll make like a Howell Mountain Maripage. Or a Howell Mountain Cab, like kind of a special release. So like Dunn, some of like the big names in Napa, you'll find a Howell Mountain bottle that they'll put out, and it's because the grapes there are so sought after. Even if their vineyard itself is not located in Howell Mountain, they'll buy grapes and actually produce a cab with all product from there. So that's kind of the, you know, the special sauce of of Howell Mountain.
Senator:You see it even in vineyards that aren't located there.
Gizmo:Very cool.
Chef:So even if it's from there, would it even if they're sourcing grapes from that same region, it would still be, I guess, technically a miritage, or did they not classify it as No.
Senator:No. If it's all cab a miritage is just a blend. So if it's a blend of a bunch of different grapes, they'll call it Meritage. But if you're buying all Cabernet grapes from Howell Mountain and bottling it
Chef:Okay.
Senator:It would be. Now what they can't say is estate grown, and that it is not grown on their So like a single estate grown, you know, bottle like Cade, this is all from their their vineyard there. Right. And they've got a huge property there. It's 50 something acres they have.
Senator:And the cool thing about it, so it's a 54 acre estate. 21 acres are dedicated to cultivating Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Petit Verdot, three of the five noble grapes I mentioned. Five of the acres are for production and hospitality on the property, and the remaining 28 acres are part of a land trust that will forever be preserved as open space and they won't develop or use. So Very
Gizmo:cool.
Senator:They've got a cool property there.
Gizmo:Very cool.
Bam Bam:It's awesome.
Gizmo:Awesome. Great deep dive on wine tonight, boys. And we're coming into the last third here on the Padron Sixtieth Anniversary in Maduro. This has been such a journey through these first two thirds. I can't wait to see where it gets to at the end here.
Bam Bam:It's I'm getting words.
Pagoda:So I'm
Rooster:It's unbelievable.
Bam Bam:So I'm still getting berry, but it's very faint, but I'm getting more molasses, a touch of molasses, and a very smooth delivery. No harsh edges at all. I actually like the traditional draw better than the retrohale.
Gizmo:I agree with you on that.
Bam Bam:Not that the retro is rough in any way, but I'm getting more from the draw.
Chef:I think I'm a little ahead than most, but I right now, it's it's dried out for me a little bit in a pleasant way. And what I'm really getting here is I kinda wanna say cayenne pepper, but I think when you hear that, you think spicy. I'm getting more
Bam Bam:of a Yeah.
Chef:I'm getting more of paprika.
Rooster:Would you say Hungarian paprika? A %.
Pagoda:It's it's like the red it's like the red chili I was thinking in my mind, but the paprika. Correct. Yeah. In fact, if you
Chef:Even if you just, yeah, flavor of it is like the aroma of red chilies.
Pagoda:Yeah. In fact, if you just bring the cigar to your nose.
Rooster:Yeah. The paprika has like a smokiness to it.
Gizmo:Yep. Pagoda, how's your cigar?
Pagoda:Excellent. You know, it's, I've been enjoying this. You know, obviously I love Padron's, and just having it in the hand is fantastic. You know, I was holding the cigar like just towards my nose from where I'm actually.
Gizmo:Where you're drawing from?
Pagoda:From where I'm drawing from. And I found the aroma change over the period of the cigar. And I, at one point, was getting deep espresso from the back, and then now it's become paprika. It's really interesting. And I think it's kind of really, you know, just adding to the flavor.
Bam Bam:Yeah, awesome. Not getting paprika, but I think everything else is there
Gizmo:for me.
Chef:I think Pagoda and I are kind of in similar places with our cigar. Okay. I think it's gonna come for you guys.
Bam Bam:Looking forward to the Hungarian paprika.
Chef:Yeah. It's It has a very, like, forward presentation, but it's absent of some of those, like, I guess, kinda traditional dessert flavors you kinda get, like, maybe from an exquisite, but that's not a demerit. It's it's it's different. It's it's different. It's got a little it's got some spice, and it's got there's baking spices, but, like, a little bit more on the spicy side.
Chef:Yep. So where you're at where you're at, I was getting I was getting that. Now where I am, that's, for me, it's almost all gone. Now it's it's almost vegetal and earthy. And and yeah, I propose that for the next pod studio, it's somewhere of a mashup between a chopped kitchen where we have all these ingredients in mason jars, and then when we call out these flavor notes, we have An intern?
Chef:An intern that goes and grabs what we're calling out.
Bam Bam:And brings it to your nose.
Gizmo:No. But we don't want to interrupt the recording.
Bam Bam:Well, they'll tiptoe. Yeah. Yeah.
Chef:No, because I think this way, it'll kind of help us all in our journey, you know. I mean, obviously, I'm kind of joking because that's sort of a big production, but at the same time, I think it'll be beneficial, you know. Mean, just hearing the notes that Pagoda's calling out, it's pretty awesome, and, you know, this is great.
Gizmo:This has been a hell of a journey of a cigar so far. And I'm curious, I don't want to discuss it now, but when we get closer to the ratings, I want to talk about how many acts of a play this has taken us through because I'm curious what kind of number we're gonna get to because it's really been a dynamic and ever changing cigar the whole way through.
Bam Bam:Yeah. You can't question a combustion. The room is full of smoke.
Gizmo:Yes. Very smoky.
Bam Bam:Very productive.
Rooster:Can imagine if Davidoff came out with this cigar, with this presentation, with this kind of box
Gizmo:At this price? With these coffins.
Rooster:It would be like double the price.
Bam Bam:More than triple. Exactly.
Gizmo:Exactly. Exactly. Correct. They're putting out cigars that are a hundred bucks in a normal box.
Chef:Oh, yeah.
Gizmo:Alright, boys. Let's do some other listener emails. So first up, I thought this was a really important one, and I wanted to share this going back to our conversation about prostate screenings. So Lizard Sean sent us a note and said, after the episode from the other week where you guys did a deep dive on getting a prostate screening, I'm gonna be 55 this summer, so I decided to get mine done. I was going for blood work anyway for other concerns, so I figured I'd kill two birds with one stone.
Gizmo:I got the results back today, and the PSA levels are within range. And honestly, I would have never even thought about it had you guys not brought it up on the pod. That's great. I love hearing that and I hope it inspires other listeners out there to go and get yourself checked out. Very important stuff, so I'm happy to see that.
Gizmo:All right. Let's go to one from Lizard Grizzly. We really cover it all. Yes, we do.
Rooster:Oh, yeah.
Gizmo:From boots to prostate exams to wine.
Bam Bam:That was a great episode.
Gizmo:It was. Health
Chef:screening to, you know, strong Nicaraguan cigars. We cover the spectrum.
Gizmo:So Lizard Grizzly writes, hello, lizards. I hesitate to read this one. After listening to all the Lanceros you have reviewed, I finally took a deep dive into trying that Vitola. I went with an Aleva Series V. What a great stick.
Gizmo:The former lizard rating rated it a nine seven overall. Considering how cheap I got them on a bidding site, I'd probably give it a solid 11. Wow. I'd also love to give a recommendation on a value friendly whiskey, Woodford Reserve Kentucky straight malt whiskey. It's fantastic whiskey at about $44 from my local retailer, and it's great neat with one chip of ice.
Chef:That's not neat.
Pagoda:But I like the one chip of ice.
Gizmo:That's just that's
Pagoda:one of
Bam Bam:the
Bam Bam:you
Pagoda:Did
Gizmo:like
Bam Bam:the to write this email?
Chef:What the fuck is this rare plus? Exactly.
Chef:That's neat plus, neat rice.
Chef:That's in chef Ricky gets the ticket for the for the skirt steak, and they're like they're like, yeah. I like it I like it rare plus. And he's like, what the fuck is this?
Bam Bam:Gizmo must be here.
Senator:Yeah. Tell that guy I can eat it in the bathroom. Get him out
Chef:of my restaurant. So this one's a
Gizmo:great note on YouTube actually from Lizard Edmond. He said, I'd like to thank you Lounge Lizzards for great and informative podcasts I catch here on YouTube. There are not many channels I enjoy in such a comprehensive manner. In fact, I can go back to the Doctor Joe Show, which was my go to channel, and still I will run them back again despite their length. Your podcasts are similar, and I do not mind the length and the area of the broad informative nature I would like to see more of, an experience in Manhattan along my brothers of the leaf and sisters of the leaf.
Gizmo:I recently gathered about a dozen people at the Casa De Monte Cristo in Manhattan for a bourbon night where everyone brought a bottle of bourbon so people could try different spirits.
Senator:Thanks for the invite.
Gizmo:But remained within the same genre of spirit to not suffer the consequences the next day. I trust it will catch on, and we will continually repeat across many genres. As an aside, I too have recently caught the brandy bug and find it a challenge to leave the Armagnacs and Cognacs for the other spirits, particularly the former for value to age. I also have kept my cigars and wine adores for at least seven years after watching Doctor Joe on the subject and aging cigars properly. I also share your agony over the steep uptick in Cuban cigar prices.
Gizmo:It's been greatly curtailing my purchase of the same or at least making me highly selective. We hear that a lot from listeners. Keep up the good work, and you have people who are enjoying your format and would enjoy sipping and smoking with you whenever and wherever is opportune. Cheers, gents. Lizard Edmond.
Gizmo:What a great a great email.
Chef:Can we just raise a glass to doctor Joe? Can we because he was he not He's the greatest. Here's doctor Joe. Doctor Joe, wherever you are
Rooster:To doctor Joe.
Gizmo:Wherever he's gone
Chef:Wherever he's gone.
Gizmo:He's somewhere. He's not on the Internet anymore.
Chef:But boy, oh, boy. What a what a what a great Great resource on you. What a great resource that was that early on in our cigar journey and early on in my cigar journey, I mean, I watched every single episode of the Doctor. Joe show multiple times. He was really that good, and he influenced people, by the way, within our group big time.
Gizmo:Oh, yeah.
Chef:Big
Gizmo:time. Was like was he was so early in the cigar content on YouTube. Unfortunately, he doesn't make content anymore. There was a rumor he died. He didn't die, but he just left the genre.
Gizmo:He's doing other things. But his content is amazing. Go out and check it out.
Chef:Yeah. Yeah. Mean, he worked at Barclays Rex. I mean, you know, like, he was very knowledgeable on, like, different fatalities, you know, how to identify fake boxes, like, all that stuff. Like, he really put good content out there with with, I think, a lot of positive intent.
Chef:And I enjoyed his podcast very, very much. For any listeners that are out there, search up Doctor. Joe. He's still up he's still up on YouTube.
Rooster:Yeah. You
Gizmo:can still watch everything.
Chef:You can still watch everything. It's dated at this point. It's got some vintage on it, but I enjoyed him very much. I had no
Chef:idea we were on YouTube.
Gizmo:We are on YouTube. We're not a video podcast, but the podcast does live on YouTube. Not a lot of attention there because if you don't pay for YouTube premium and you lock your screen, it pauses. So that's why for an audio podcast, most folks are going elsewhere because unless you pay that $15 a YouTube premium, once you lock your once your screen locks, the audio stops playing. So Makes sense.
Gizmo:That's most folks go elsewhere. Alright, boys. It's time now to do our lizard of the week. This is lizard Maddie, and he writes an email with the subject line cigar lingo. I don't know if we've ever approached this.
Gizmo:I'm excited to hear Bam's take on some of these. Greetings, lizards. I'm a huge fan, and at this point, I believe I've listened to all of your episodes. I was curious if there was any cigar lingo that made you roll your eyes and why. For example, Styx, Stogies, Stacking Dimes, etcetera.
Bam Bam:Well, we've used all those.
Gizmo:It's been awesome to see your palettes develop from some of you liking the judge early in the pod to absolutely hating it more recently. It was a different Vitola. We didn't really love either of them, but the latest one was really rough. For a recommendation, try the Saum Rioja, which which I'll slot in sometime. Lizard Matti.
Gizmo:Mhmm. So congratulations to him. He's gonna be our lizard of the week. So what do you guys think of cigar lingo?
Bam Bam:I cringe at the word stogie. Stogie, me too. I don't like that.
Rooster:I use sticks a lot.
Bam Bam:Stick? I'll take a stick. Sure. That's fine.
Gizmo:Stacking dimes, we don't really say that. I've said it a few times.
Bam Bam:And you know what? I've regretted it every time. Alright?
Chef:You have more regrets than that.
Bam Bam:I'm gonna edit that out.
Senator:I'll tell you who loves the term stogie.
Poobah:Stogies.
Bam Bam:Yeah. Arnold.
Poobah:It's very simple.
Chef:Correct.
Poobah:I went home with Maria in 1977 when I met her at the tennis tournament. I went home with her to meet her parents in Hyannisport. And there, her father, after dinner, pulled out a cigar, lit it up, then he gave one to his son, then to the other son, and to some other people. And he said to me, do you want a cigar? And I said, I don't know how to smoke a cigar.
Poobah:He says, well, try it because after dinner, everyone ought to have a cigar. So I tried it. Well, the rest is history. I'm still smoking Stogis. I love it.
Poobah:And he introduced me to something really good.
Chef:Oh, gosh.
Gizmo:That's a nice story, but I agree with you.
Bam Bam:Well, the one gift from the in laws. That's great.
Chef:Correct. And he paints the wrapper of his cigars with tequila.
Gizmo:Yes, he does. He dips them. So, yeah, I mean, you can listen to the lingo we use on the pod here. I mean, don't, you know, stogies, I don't know if we've ever said that. Sticks, we say very infrequently.
Gizmo:Stacking dimes comes up every once in a while, really only when we see a cigar that actually looks like that, which is, I guess, kind of rare. But is there any other lingo that drives you guys crazy?
Rooster:I think George Burns used to call them stogies.
Senator:Yeah. It's a very old school term.
Bam Bam:It is.
Senator:Yeah. I'm surprised BAM doesn't use it. Well, Brewster's let's just carry carries he's
Bam Bam:the only lizard
Senator:that carries a handkerchief.
Bam Bam:Correct. I love handkerchief.
Senator:He uses terms like cans. Wow.
Gizmo:For his headphones, mean.
Bam Bam:Broads. What did
Gizmo:that say?
Bam Bam:My two by fours and a two by eights on job sites, they're broads. They're
Rooster:broads. They're broads.
Chef:And let's be let's be on let's be honest. Rooster uses the term stick.
Rooster:Good stick. Good stick.
Chef:Yeah. It's a good It's fine.
Gizmo:Says But he's smoking longer than
Bam Bam:anybody. 1927. That's right.
Chef:Well, yeah.
Rooster:It was a good vintage.
Bam Bam:Correct. Was a good vintage.
Chef:I mean, he smoked his way through the Great Depression, the best thing, and World War II.
Bam Bam:He's a vampire. Look at him. He doesn't age.
Gizmo:Alright. So congratulations to Lizard Matti winning lizard of the week this week. Anybody out there can win. All you have to do is send us a great comment, email, YouTube, Instagram, whatever you choose. And we'd really love some more voice memos.
Gizmo:We have a lot of fun with those. So please do share, and you'll win a little gift package from us. Alright. Let's go now to our final listener email tonight. This one's from Lizard Jules from France.
Gizmo:He says, hello there, lizards. I just discovered your podcast, and I'm enjoying to learn how to better appreciate the smoking experience by following your esteemed footsteps. As a keen collector of whiskey, McAllen, Lefroy, Nika, La Gavulin, etcetera, I love the fact that you review pairings. I'm feeling very lucky that I have a long list of playlist to work my way through. I'm relatively new to smoking cigars, but luckily, I'm in my early thirties, so it's far more financially accessible now than it used to be.
Gizmo:My first question. While I keep Tubos for possible future transport and just remove the cap, do you have a rule of thumb for cellophane wrappers? I'm currently finding my taste, so I tend to buy a lot of singles, which of course sometimes come in cellophane. Any thoughts on cellophane, boys? I generally remove it.
Rooster:Yeah. I think if you're to age the cigars, I think you should remove the cellophane wrappers.
Senator:I've never done that. I completely disagree.
Gizmo:Never done it either. Yeah.
Senator:And I forget who we talked to about this, but I feel like someone in the industry like, if the cellophane's on there, it's on there for a reason. Mhmm. I have I mean, we talk about yellow cello, and like the sign of a great aged cigar. Totally. Mean Yeah.
Senator:Perfect example, that Idiot. The Padron eightieth that I brought after, you know, my son was born.
Gizmo:For our one year anniversary episode, which was episode, I think, 53 or something like that. Long time ago.
Senator:Oh yeah. And I mean, those aged in cello, in my tower. I mean, I think it scored a perfect 10, it's one of the best cigars we've ever had.
Gizmo:Yep.
Senator:My experience has been anything in cellophane, I've always left in it, and I've been incredibly happy with the aging process and the performance over time. So I've never felt compelled to take it off, And I feel like even early on, I was kind of averse, and I would take it off. And I don't know if it's psychological, the experience has always been so perfect with it, I see no reason to remove it, and I feel like the manufacturers put it there for a reason, and I haven't found a reason to disagree
Bam Bam:with it. I'm gonna cite one example. That EP Carrillo El Senador cigar, I've had a you've had them, senator? I've had I have four left. I have a box that's kind of been in my humidor for a year.
Chef:Where is she there?
Bam Bam:Oh, it's almost gone. But they have gotten smoother. They've gotten sweeter. They're incredibly delicious, and they're all in cellophane.
Rooster:But would not have happened had you removed the cellophane?
Bam Bam:Don't know if it would have made a difference. What's the point?
Senator:I don't know. For me, the thing I've noticed is a lot of cigars in cellophane, they're naturally New World, and they tend to be fuller flavored or bodied cigars with like a Maduro wrapper or like a an oily type of wrapper that I think ages better at like 65 and not necessarily, like, 60 or 62 like a lot of Cubans. And I feel like the cellophane just keeps a slightly higher RH that for whatever reason like, I've taken them out, left them in my tower, and it loses kinda that sheen that some of them should have on the wrapper. So I think for cigars with like a thicker new world wrapper
Bam Bam:Yeah.
Senator:The cellophane actually helps
Chef:kinda I totally agree.
Bam Bam:Yeah. I agree too. I think it's difficult to know what the chemistry is, but there's a crystallization that forms maybe because of the cellophane.
Chef:Well, I'm not sure about that or not from a technical perspective.
Bam Bam:I don't know.
Chef:But but but but I but I but what I do do, and I've mentioned this before, is if I have, like, like, some loose singles of, like, stuff that because I don't keep my humbler is not as organized as Senator's. Okay? Like, where every band is lined up and it's, you know Pre
Gizmo:pre child's? Was like a
Chef:looks like a library. Mine mine mine doesn't look like that. It's like he's got his organized by the Dewey decimal system, and mine's just fucking in there. But what I do do, though, like, with certain Cubans, like like, I have Joyos, like some some epicure your Epi twos, you know, or something like that. And let's say I've got five of them.
Chef:Like, I'll take a ribbon from any box, Juan Lopez box, whatever it is. I'll take a ribbon, and I'll just tie them together and put them in a bundle. And I think those I think that kinda helps to, like, maybe marry them up. Do you know what I mean? If you gotta make more space in your humidor, just put them just tie a little ribbon about it.
Chef:Or if you've got nine cigars, you're just like, alright, I need to make more room.
Gizmo:You make your own little mini bundle or something.
Chef:Like you make your own mini bundle with Cubans, and you
Gizmo:put them in Have any of you guys done that with New Worlds? Because I've never done that with New Worlds. No. No. I've never done it with Worlds.
Gizmo:Yeah. So it's like, it's interesting. I mean, the Cuban thing, you know, obviously they come a lot of times wrapped in in the ribbon sitting in a slide lid box. But the New Worlds, first off, Cuban cigars don't come in cellophane, number one. Number two, the New Worlds do, and they're generally in a pretty tight, concise package that's pretty easy to slide in your tower.
Gizmo:So it's, you know, like, I've only pulled the cello off of New Worlds when I'm getting ready to smoke them or if I just wanna put them in, like, a singles tray or something.
Chef:Right.
Gizmo:But otherwise, I'll leave them in the box in the cello and let them marry up that way. Yeah. You know what mean? Yeah. And some of the Cubans, of course, they they're kind of loose, if you don't wanna keep a whole cab for nine cigars, you take the ribbon and bundle them and
Chef:marry them like that. Mean, that would be my recommendation. Just bundle them up. I mean, like, it's not hurting the process. Do you know what I mean?
Chef:Like, I don't know how much it helps the process. I can't say that quantitatively. Like, oh my god. Like, it's such a difference because of that. It's not a bad practice.
Rooster:I mean, take the single Cuban cigars that are like you know, if you have a box and you're almost done, you have a couple of cigars left, put them in five finger bags. That kind of protects the cigars, and I'll leave them in there.
Bam Bam:When I'm down to two or three in any box
Chef:doesn't like plastic.
Bam Bam:No, if they're New World, I keep them in the plastic. But Cubans, if there's four left in the box, I'll put them at the top of my tower.
Senator:Same thing.
Chef:Yeah. Yeah. Same. Same. I ordered those.
Chef:See your But if I have like nine or 10, I'll bundle them up.
Bam Bam:That's different. Where I think
Chef:I need to rest them. Yeah. Yeah. Like some of those Joyos, I'm like, let me see what happens with those.
Pagoda:That's a good idea.
Chef:Like, I'm not smoking them now. Let me just bundle them up, and I'll touch them in two years and see
Rooster:what I think the listener had a question about the tubes. About the tube.
Gizmo:No, he was saying that we've recommended in the past keeping tubos for future transport, which I do.
Bam Bam:They're great.
Gizmo:I love keeping a tubo, but he was asking specifically about the cellophane. Mhmm. You know? Because I don't think we've actually ever discussed taking the cellophane off or or keeping it on.
Chef:Yeah. I think it's tough. When you buy cigars at the volume that Bam Bam does, could you imagine how long it would take him to unwrap each cigar?
Gizmo:Thank you, Chef Ricky.
Bam Bam:Go there?
Chef:Hashtag accountability. So Rooster, you
Bam Bam:actually believe in taking the cello off the new worlds?
Rooster:Not particularly, but I just wanted to hear everybody else's opinion.
Senator:You did
Rooster:just say
Pagoda:you take
Gizmo:the cello off.
Bam Bam:Yeah. That's a lot of work for what we all have in our collection.
Senator:You're the drone Aeneas? You take the cello off?
Rooster:No. I have not. I really only have half a box of the 80 eight's left, so I leave them in there. I don't take those.
Senator:So what cigars do you take to sell off? Because you said you'd
Rooster:In the past, I have taken some because I read somewhere that you should take them off because they age better, or at least open the end. You know how they're folded and taped? So open them up so they breathe a little better.
Senator:My experience has been completely different.
Gizmo:Know. I only take the subtle off, like I said, when I'm getting ready smoke them, throw them in single straight. You know?
Bam Bam:Yeah. I don't even do that.
Senator:But Yeah. Know. Me neither. Yeah.
Gizmo:Alright. So thanks to LizardJules for writing us from France. We love hearing from our international listeners. And boys, we are coming to the end of our one hundred and seventy fifth episode tonight with the Cade Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 vintage and the Padron sixtieth anniversary in Maduro. What is everybody's thoughts
Rooster:right now? Almost don't want the cigar to end.
Chef:I know.
Chef:Well, I wish we had more wine.
Bam Bam:Me too. I wish we had more cigar. I've been saving my last sip for a half hour.
Pagoda:Same here. I haven't haven't savored anything like this before. I know.
Bam Bam:It's true.
Pagoda:It's patience.
Gizmo:I must say, what an excellent pairing tonight. I know we're getting into the ratings, but as the the two, you know, entrants to our pairing tonight match up in on your palate with the experience, the flavor match. It was a home run, I think, as far as pairing goes. Really, really stellar. Absolutely.
Gizmo:A great night tonight. So first, boys, it's time to move into our formal liquor rating on the Cade Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2018 vintage. Bam bam, you're up.
Bam Bam:Alright. I will say this is probably the most balanced experience that I've had with you guys in the room. From the cigar and the wine, the balance between savory and sweet and how it married perfectly, I don't think I've ever had that experience here. Putting price aside on this wine, it's really easy to give this a 10, so I'm at a 10. I want to buy this.
Bam Bam:I want to find it. It's expensive, but if any listener listens, I don't always rate based on price. I rate it based on if I like it or not. This is delicious. Again, I said it earlier.
Bam Bam:What I love about this wine, the tannins on it. Usually, I'm not a wine guy, but the tannins on a typical wine create this almost astringent finish.
Chef:It's like a mustiness that No,
Chef:it's more
Bam Bam:astringent and a little bitterness, which you get in a lot of wine. The tannins on this are very muted or very
Senator:subdued. They're subdued.
Bam Bam:For me, for all those reasons, I'm in a 10.
Gizmo:All right. Chef Ricky.
Chef:Yeah, this is great. This is a 10. Price point aside. Know, I mean, even with the price point, it's such a satisfying wine. Just how it drinks, it's super rich, very concentrated, but in the most delightful way.
Chef:You know, Senator very expertly poured six glasses here, and that was probably the slowest I ever drank something, but, you know, sure, you could have drank this fast if
Bam Bam:you could have brought a second bottle.
Chef:But you didn't need to because it was so satisfying.
Bam Bam:Yes, he
Chef:needed sip delivered and every sip lingered and carried itself and it just held up so well to the richness of the cigar and delivered on every freaking level. So yeah, this is a 10.
Gizmo:All right. Pagoda.
Pagoda:It's a 10 for me as well. Pagoda, have some even though I'm a bad boy, no,
Gizmo:I've been
Senator:savoring this.
Bam Bam:He's got a lot in there. I've been taking really small sips. I'm not gulping at all. Thank you. It has been a while.
Chef:By the way, that's a behavioral change.
Rooster:That's right.
Bam Bam:It's also pet peeve number four, so well done.
Chef:You're hashtag growing.
Bam Bam:Ever
Pagoda:since the It is. It is a journey, and you know, the thing is, I don't particularly reach out for wines. Thank you, Senator, for always introducing us to wines and talking about it. And you know, the little bit of knowledge I'm gaining is through this experience with the pod. So I really appreciate it.
Pagoda:In terms of just overall, the drinking experience, wow, this is fantastic. It was delightful at the nose, delicious throughout, you know, the berry fruitiness. It was just wonderful. And I, you know, took a little of the sip and let it linger in my tongue for a while and long finish even after that, and it paired excellent with this cigar. And I don't know whether the berries were matching up or something, it just complemented it so well.
Pagoda:It was just fantastic. Know, savored it. Meaning, and you know, to chef Ricky, how he said it was complete in the sense that, you know, it was very well balanced and complete. You felt satiated by having just this one glass of wine. That experience, you know, I, in particular, haven't had it because I don't think I've had such expensive wine anyway.
Pagoda:But it's been fantastic. It's a 10.
Gizmo:All right. So for me it's also a 10. I actually think that the price point is perfectly appropriate for how this drinks. I have no complaint about the price. So even factoring that in, it is still a 10 for me.
Gizmo:I think it actually drinks better than its price at $150 which is actually kind of crazy for me to say. Guesslation. I'm not a wine guy that runs out and buys bottles like this. Even on special occasions, I just don't have the prowess that that Senator does and even Pooba. But I think the price point is appropriate on this one for sure.
Gizmo:It's one of the best cabs I've ever had. It might be the best. It was amazing with this cigar. I I can't get over having such a rich, full, flavorful cigar, which we'll get to in a minute, how well this paired in the palate. It cleansed the palate but enriched the experience.
Gizmo:It matched up with the viscosity of the smoke, the richness of the flavor. Really, really impressed. And I think that if you didn't have a cigar and you had a great meal in front of you, a great steak, you know, some sort of really, really wonderful experience with food, I think this is a brilliant pairing alongside food. I think it would enrich anything thing that's gonna touch your palate for sure. And I just think it's such a well rounded cab, such a rich and full experience tonight, elegant to the final sip for me, and I wish I had more.
Gizmo:Absolutely brilliant Cabernet Sauvignon tonight, a 10 for me. Senator.
Senator:Well, I love hearing this just because we haven't done, you know, wine in a while, and I think this is just a great reminder of what an awesome pairing wine can be with cigars. And I think fuller reds, with a fuller new world cigar like we're having. You know, this is funny for me because there are there are a few ways I can look at this. There's I can rate the wine solely for the wine itself, which we don't do decimals, so I'd be at a nine point something.
Bam Bam:Pagoda? Pagoda, you wanna chime
Rooster:in on Wanna
Bam Bam:police this?
Pagoda:Not allowed.
Senator:So I I can't do that. And then there's a temptation of, well, should I give it the nine? Because then it's gonna the composite score is gonna reflect the wine. But we rate spirits, wines, whatever we're enjoying for its pairing with cigars. And I think with full bodied, complex, refined New World sticks, you're hard pressed to find a red that would pair better.
Senator:And for that reason, I am rounding up to the 10. I do agree. I've had countless other wines at a even higher price point that I don't think drink as as well as this does. I don't think that they're as balanced. I don't think that they're as refined.
Senator:And I think for California cabs, you know, there's so many that just punch you in the face, and that's not my style. I really love that. Clearly, everyone shares a similar palette to mine in that my ideal red is a balanced you get some sweetness, some dryness, kinda somewhere in between. I don't love aggressively fruit forward jammy reds, and this is like the perfect expression of of that balance that I always seek out and pursue. And the balance that Howell Mountain is so famous for producing, which is why I always say, like, if you see anything with Howell Mountain on it and it's at a price point that is in within your budget, your odds are pretty damn good, and you ought to pick it up and try it.
Bam Bam:And
Senator:I've only scratched the surface on trying Howell Mountain wine, so there's countless others that I I definitely want to experience. But this one is is definitely, you know, one of the best. I think Kay does a really, really excellent job. So, a 10, a strong recommend, for the wine itself, but also really for its ability to pair with such a refined, cigar that it feels like a meal unto itself. I mean, I've ordered this many times with a steak and just a really full, rich dinner, and and this cigar feels, you know, just like that.
Chef:Yeah. This one would even go great with game.
Bam Bam:For sure.
Chef:Like, this is a fantastic wine. And and someone said earlier how versatile it was.
Senator:Pooba dish, which is
Rooster:spot on.
Gizmo:Yeah. Alright, Pooba.
Bam Bam:You're up.
Chef:Yeah. It it I I think it does have versatility. I mean, I'm not one of these like, I would drink this if I was in the mood for a glass of red wine with, like, a salmon Dijon or something like that. Like, I could do that. Like, not that that's traditional.
Chef:But I agree. But you know what I mean? Like, I could eat it with something like that. I could eat it with a lot of so there's a versatility that's built in it because it's rounded and because it's it's got this body to it and and and there's there's a level of of of viscosity to it that I thought was just right, like, not too viscous, It was perfect. And and it really I have to say there there's there's few red wines out there that that kind of blow my hair back a little bit.
Chef:Do you know what I mean? And, like, this one did it. You know, I have some experience with wine. I'm certainly not, you know, a sommelier or an expert, but I've been to Napa. You know, I've been to the I've been to Burgundy.
Chef:You know? I've done wine tours. I'm not I'm no expert. But but but I will say this wine really, really blew my hair back in in in in many ways because it's because of all the points that everyone made. I give it a 10.
Chef:Yeah.
Gizmo:Alright. Very nice. So, boys, the formal liquor rating obviously tonight on this brilliant Cade Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon of a 2018 vintage is a 10.
Chef:Deserves it. Excellent.
Chef:It deserves it. It's it's really a a great wine.
Senator:Garson is still employed.
Bam Bam:Well, still employed. Garson is going for not bringing us up believe
Chef:you guys.
Rooster:The renew that compart.
Chef:Too verbose. I mean, everyone else gets a chance to comment, and then all my comments are gone. I gotta try and create something.
Chef:You're brilliant. No. No. I was drum roll.
Chef:Oh. It's just me.
Gizmo:Was playing the timpani. Okay. Alright, boys. It's now time to move into the formal lizard rating tonight on the Padron sixtieth anniversary limited edition in Maduro Rooster Europe. What what an experience this cigar was.
Gizmo:I mean, I I have had this box for about four months, and I was very tempted to try it, but I wanted to try
Rooster:it with everyone on the pod.
Senator:That's a first.
Gizmo:That's a shot, too. It was
Rooster:a shot. It was difficult. It wasn't easy, but I did it. This was an amazing, such a rich experience. This cigar, I mean, it's the best expression of Padron there is.
Rooster:This is, I think, better than any other Padron that's out there. The size of this, the amount of tobacco that's in this, the flavor notes that you get out of this cigar, it's complex, it's balanced. It's a lot like this wine that you guys the compliments that were given on this wine. Correct. I mean, it's an amazing, amazing cigar.
Rooster:I would definitely I just wish the price wasn't what it is, but I wish maybe Padron in the future might consider making this regular production and not in these ornate boxes, and maybe come down on the price point a little bit.
Bam Bam:Never going to happen.
Rooster:But yeah, it is what it is. I mean, this is not an everyday smoke. This is definitely for special occasion smoke. So for that reason, I'm at
Gizmo:a 10. All right. Awesome. Pooba. I'm at I'm at a
Chef:10 as well. I I really enjoyed this cigar, and it's actually not in my power alley, this kind of a a more powerful Nicaraguan cigar. I think I tend to lean the other in the in kind of the opposite direction. However, this delivered and is continuing continuing to, in a smooth, complex delivery. It changed over the course of, you know, over the course of the journey.
Chef:I think it was kind of a three act play where it was kind of a little bit, okay. Where's this gonna go? And then it, like, settles in. And then now in this this very last third, it's it's rounding out for me, like, a little bit more, and I'm enjoying it even more, which is great. It like, that's that's super.
Chef:You know? You get towards down to the end, and you go, wow. This is actually this is actually getting better. It's pretty special. And and and so for me, it's a 10.
Gizmo:Awesome. Senator.
Senator:So I'm I'm in lockstep with all the the lizards before me. It it is definitely a 10. I think it is the the single greatest cigar I've ever had out of Padron. I think it it just takes the Padron DNA, that kind of traditional sweet and savory notes that you get in Padron, and they're just on steroids. I mean, it is such a rich, full, enveloping experience, but it's never aggressive.
Senator:It never goes too far in any one direction. Nope. It maintains its balance all the way through. And the sign of any truly outstanding cigar is, like has been said, it it gets better and better as you're smoking it. You know, the the last third is as satisfying, if not more satisfying than any point in the cigar.
Senator:And the the, you know, the the price point obviously is high, but the thing I really give them credit for, there's a lot of tobacco in this cigar.
Chef:A lot.
Senator:It's a lengthy smoking experience. I mean, for $75, the amount of tobacco and how long it can take you to really get through this, and you do need patience with this. I'm actually grateful that we happen to be doing wine with this, and so I did a lot of talking, and it forced me to be so patient with
Bam Bam:this CR.
Senator:Oh, yeah. For sure. And I think, you know, when this overheats, I think that's when you can, you know, get some harshness and even I think you lose some of the sweet notes. I mean, for me, in the last third, it's not as sweet as some other parts in the cigar, but I'm still getting like some espresso and, like, some just faint sweetness that I like with the earthiness that you get out of this cigar. The minerality that just suddenly appeared midway through was an awesome transition for me.
Senator:I think, you know, this is a two, maybe even three act play. I can't recommend this enough, and it totally violates my $40 rule, but this is one of those exceptions that for a special occasion, you know, it's hard for me to think of a more fitting cigar to to really just enjoy and something, you know, you don't necessarily wanna light up with a ton of people in a loud place. Like, it commands attention. It commands time. It commands appreciation.
Senator:And what an outstanding treat by Padrona. I'm so glad that they came out with this and the perfect way to celebrate their sixtieth anniversary.
Chef:I think that's a really good insight about the cigar that you mentioned just to reinforce that. I think that that that like, this this you have to sit with this and say, I'm gonna take my time with it. And you're gonna get the most out of it if you just take your time with it. Don't rush it. Like, as great as it tastes, don't suck it down too fast.
Chef:You're not gonna get the most, you know, satisfaction out of it. And if you smoke it, I think I think if you pace it, I think it it you know, the benefits there.
Gizmo:Really good. Really, really solid. So for me, it's a 10 as well. I think that's obvious. I'd be shocked if it wasn't tonight coming in, and it even delivered more than the first one I had, and the second one I had at home by myself a few weeks ago.
Gizmo:This just is a brilliant, brilliant demonstration of the greatness of Padron. I think that we've talked about Padron, and we'll go through those ratings in a little bit. We've talked about Padron so much on this podcast, and this is a perfect headliner example as to why. The experience we had in this room tonight, the seven of us having brilliant cigars, none of us touched them up. I saw no touch ups, no relights.
Gizmo:It was perfectly constructed. The combustion was great, and I loved the design in it enforcing you to be patient in the open and setting up the tone for the rest of the cigar. I thought that was a really really brilliant decision by Padron and it's forcing every cigar smoker who picks this up to give it the time that Senator and Pooba have been talking about. I think it's excellent. I found it to be a full sensory experience, almost in ways that I think other cigars, even for the greatness that they've been, haven't given us.
Gizmo:I mean, even in that last half of an inch, the burn line in the last half of an inch might have been one of the best sensory experiences I had Yeah. In the entire two hours of smoking this cigar.
Bam Bam:Mhmm.
Gizmo:The burn line was great. The retro was great. The traditional draw was great. Pagoda was talking about the smell at the head of the cigar where you're drawing from being great. I mean, it was an overwhelmingly strong sensory experience, and I don't think you're getting that out of a lot of cigars.
Gizmo:I would argue this is probably a four act play for me. I think it does eclipse three act play, and I think we've talked about and senator specifically has talked about a lot of Padrons that he loves are very linear. You light it, you get the experience, and it carries through. Exclusivo. Exclusivo is a perfect example of that.
Gizmo:This is not that. This is another level and another, like I said, excellent demonstration of Padron. Very unique and different. And finally, the price is hard for me to accept at this you know, at $75 It is a special occasion cigar. It's a cigar you have maybe three, four times a year at the most.
Gizmo:Right. However, I do think, like the wine, it does deliver value. It gave us two great hours of smoking. It was effortless. It was delicious.
Gizmo:It was perfect. Can't say enough. It was a 10. Brilliant cigar. Brilliant.
Gizmo:Brilliant. Brilliant. Pagoda.
Pagoda:It's a 10. It's, there's no question about it. You know, it's, so what
Bam Bam:I really enjoyed about it, firstly, it is, you know, you talk about
Pagoda:the Padron DNA. You know, we talk about the Davidoff DNA. You get this in your hand, and you know it's a Padron. Straight through. For me, the experience was just fantastic.
Bam Bam:Firstly, I was smoking this, probably one of
Pagoda:the slowest cigars I've ever had, I think, you know, nearly completing two hours on this. The burn line, look at this, is straight. The edge is straight.
Bam Bam:All the way down to the last half an inch. Yeah. And the construction was flawless. You know, what I really enjoy
Pagoda:in a cigar is when it's really easy to smoke with a great smoke output, you put it in your mouth and you just let it go and you get a huge puff of smoke. You feel like you're smoking something excellent. You know, my recommendation is if you want to splurge or you're celebrating an event, get this wine, get this cigar, and just enjoy a couple of hours just taking your time, savoring the moment, and really, really enjoying it. If, you know, from a little bit of the espresso, the cayenne pepper, the the initially, it was a little more spicy in the beginning. You know, the cocoa notes, you know, the dark chocolate cocoa notes, it was just fantastic.
Pagoda:Loved it and would recommend this. I know I'm a value guy, but, you know, sometimes you got to splurge and celebrate. So thank you once again for a wonderful experience, Dan.
Gizmo:Well said, Pagoda. Chef Ricky?
Chef:If there's ever a cigar that epitomizes this hobby, this is it. This is why we do this. You know, we sat here for two hours effortlessly, not one touch up, not one relight, not a, not a perfect draw plunge, nothing, nothing. I mean, the cigar was just perfect. Know, for me, four acts easily, little, little bit of a pepper blast in the front, which was expected because of the Figueroa shape.
Chef:But then it just kind of turned into some baking spice, some cocoa. The burn line was German chocolate cake all day long. You know, band called that out earlier.
Bam Bam:That was an act number two for Yeah.
Chef:And then, you know, getting to the end there, you just started getting a little miner You know, you got minerality at the midway point. You know, towards the end, I started getting the aroma of dried chilies, and it just presented itself in such a beautiful manner, and it was almost like eating a meal. You know, it was such a full experience. You know, at one point, I was rocking a foreign chash on this thing. I mean, the construction was flawless, just all around a wonderful cigar, you know, price being a little bit higher.
Chef:I think for this, you know, our hundred seventy fifth episode, any special occasion, it's well worth it. It's not something you're going to go for every day. But every once in a while, need to reach for you need to reach for that banger, and this is it. And, you know, many times we've had cigars that have been at this price point. They're not going to give you that two hour experience.
Chef:They're not going to give you this delivery. This cigar did it all. It's a 10.
Gizmo:Alright. Bam bam.
Bam Bam:Yeah. I said it earlier. I haven't had a balanced experience as I've had tonight from the wine to the cigars, so they married beautifully. It's a firmly a three act play for me. And the final inch and a half, I can see why lizard Idiav would have could have a a challenging time with it.
Bam Bam:I found that as I got closer to the end, I started slowing down even further because I smoked it quickly as I got down to that final inch and a half, and it was getting really bitter and difficult to smoke. So I stopped. I slowed down, and I got the notes that I was getting in that final third. And for me, I didn't get paprikas or anything like that. It was the continuation of the molasses.
Bam Bam:I get dates and minerality. And that balance, again, that's the key for the cigar. So I'm firmly at a 10.
Gizmo:That's an easy one, boys. The formal lizard rating tonight and the Padron sixtieth anniversary in Maduro is a perfect 10 lining up exactly with the wine pairing tonight. Excellent. Excellent. Both entrants to our pairing.
Gizmo:Let's go through the other eight Padrons we've done on the podcast. On episode three, very early on, we did the 1964 series Exclusivo in Maduro scored a 9.6. On episode 17, we did the 1964 Torpedo in natural scored an 8.7. We did the budget Padron 2,000 Maduro on episode 25, scored a 7.5. Then we went to the 1926 series, the eighty years in Maduro, the one Senator was referencing on episode 53.
Gizmo:That was our one year anniversary. Episode scored a perfect 10 alongside this one. We did the Padron fifty years Maduro, the hammer, the other limited edition from them on episode 100, scored a 9.9. Then we went into Family Reserve. We did the number 85 in Maduro on episode 85, scored a 9.2.
Gizmo:The Family Reserve number 50 in Natural on episode 152 scored a 9.5. And finally, on a Short Smoke special, we did the nineteen twenty six series number 35 in Maduro episode 161, scored a nine point zero. So Padron, obviously, as we know,
Bam Bam:boys Yeah. We don't like Padron.
Gizmo:Yeah. It performs very, very well on the program, and this one tonight is no exception. And I would argue is the headliner cigar for Padron, and it has taken its rightful throne at the top of their product offering. And I would recommend, and we would recommend, of course, at this 10, that anyone goes out there and picks this cigar up, give it the time, give it the patience, and have a phenomenal smoking experience thanks to Yeah.
Chef:Take your time, and what a special cigar.
Rooster:I kinda wanna get the Estee DuPont lighter now.
Gizmo:Just get seven of them.
Chef:Just convinced himself he's gonna have one next week.
Bam Bam:Yeah. Spell my name correctly. B a m when you when you get it engraved.
Gizmo:You got it. Alright, boys. What a great night and two perfect entrants to our pairing tonight. Again, the Cade Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon, the vintage 2018, and the Padron sixtieth anniversary limited edition of Maduro, both scoring perfect 10 zeros. We have to thank lizard nation for sticking with us and, enjoying the content that we put out and, writing us emails and listening every week.
Gizmo:We really appreciate it. Congratulations again to lizard Maddie, our lizard of the week. We always give a lizard of the week out. You can win. All you have to do is write in and tell us what you're thinking.
Gizmo:Tell us what you're smoking. We'd love to hear from you. And, of course, we have to thank our sponsor, Fabrica Five, for being with us for as long as they have and continuing to stay with us. We really, really appreciate them.
Senator:And my last call to action for Lizard Nation, we get a lot of recommendations from Lizard Nation around spirits. Yes, we do. I would love to hear from some lizards recommendations around wine. I mean, there's so many.
Gizmo:Yeah. I would say out of all the spirits we do, including Armagnac and Cognac, out of all the pairings, wine is probably the one that we get the least recommendations from lizards on. So please, as Senator is saying, send us some of your favorites, varying price points. If you love a $20 bottle, if you love a hundred dollar bottle, we'll find a way to slot it. We wanna do some more wine and continue to expand our pairing experience here on the pod.
Chef:It's a super suggestion.
Gizmo:Alright, boys. A great night tonight. Congratulations to us and lizard nation again on a 75 episodes, and, we'll see everybody next week. Keep smoking. Hope you enjoyed this episode.
Gizmo:Thanks for joining us. You could find our merch store and ratings archive at our brand new website, loungelizardspod.com. That's loungelizardsp0d.com. Don't forget to leave us a rating and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform. If you have any comments, questions, do you wanna reach out, say hello, tell us what you're smoking?
Gizmo:Email us. Hello at LoungeLizardsPod.com. You can also find us on Instagram at Lounge Lizards Pod. We really appreciate your time, and we'll, we'll see you next week.