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Lounge Lizards - a cigar and lifestyle podcast Best of 2022 Episode.
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 Wizards podcast, best of 2022 episode. 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, and I'm joined by Rooster, Poova, Senator, Pagoda, Grinder, and Bam Bam. And our plan is always to smoke a cigar, drink a spirit, talk about life, and of course, have some laughs.
Speaker 1:So take this as yet another invitation to join us and become a card carrying lounge lizard. Plenty me to see her once a week. We're gonna go through some of our and your favorite clips from the last year. So sit back, get your favorite drink, light up a cigar, and enjoy as we review an amazing year of cigars and spirits from 2022. We're gonna start with a frequent listener question featuring a clip from episode 3, the origin of the lizard nicknames.
Speaker 1:So, let's go to some listener email here for a second, and then we'll do our, we'll do our, our our formal lizard rating on the exclusivo. So, Ed writes after the last pod, I'm enjoying the podcast. Can you guys explain the origin of nicknames such as Bam Bam?
Speaker 2:Oh, boy.
Speaker 3:Pooh poohbah, I feel like you were the mastermind behind these.
Speaker 4:You are
Speaker 5:You just you just wanna go around the ring, Poohbah?
Speaker 1:Let's go around the ring. Let's start with Bam and go.
Speaker 2:So I will tell you before you say anything, because a lot of guys have asked me the same question, and Poobah gave me my birth name.
Speaker 3:He gave all of us, sir.
Speaker 6:All of
Speaker 5:us are the lizard name.
Speaker 6:You were born again.
Speaker 2:I was born again.
Speaker 5:Are lizards are lizards born in the shells?
Speaker 7:Okay. Let me go into the
Speaker 2:Come on, dad.
Speaker 7:I didn't prep for this, but okay.
Speaker 5:Puppy.
Speaker 7:I'm a puppy. Well,
Speaker 6:Big puppy.
Speaker 7:He's a he's a formidable man. Bam Bam. So,
Speaker 5:he's a
Speaker 7:man, man. He he has musculature. I'm moving the
Speaker 2:mic away from my face.
Speaker 7:He has he has he's a formidable he's a
Speaker 6:man bam.
Speaker 7:Well, yeah. And he's a little yes. He's a little bit rough and tumble. So, I don't know. He he it just, so bam bam bam with the
Speaker 8:Thank you, ma'am.
Speaker 7:Bam bam. Oh, pagoda. You know, he, so that's where that's where that came from. He likes to go bam bam on a lot of things.
Speaker 2:Go ahead. Let it loose, will you?
Speaker 7:Yeah. I mean I
Speaker 2:give you permission. I give you permission. Go ahead.
Speaker 7:Yeah. He he go he, you know, he likes to he likes to swing a stick.
Speaker 6:He's a good golfer.
Speaker 4:He's a
Speaker 2:good bam bam. The swinging.
Speaker 6:He's a good golfer.
Speaker 2:Thank you, rooster.
Speaker 7:Let's just let's just say that. I'll leave it at that. Oh, okay. Oh, yeah. So let alright.
Speaker 7:So, as we were hanging out, you know, so in the lounge so getting to to to to Grindr, in the lounge, great you know, so one thing about Grindr is he's got, like, this crazy, he has a crazy insane work ethic. So, you know, I would show up at the lounge at like, you know, 5:30, 6 o'clock, and I'd say 8 o'clock. 8 o'clock, whenever it was. When how long have you been like, you're still on your laptop. And he'd be like, yeah.
Speaker 7:And I'd be like, okay. And then I'd show up the next time at the lounge, and I'd see him. And he's on his laptop. I'm like, what's up? He's like, what's up?
Speaker 7:And then he, like, wouldn't talk, And he he he he wouldn't say anything. He's, like, super quiet. And I'm like, what's going on with this guy? And then I get to know him more and more. And he's constantly working on slide decks and deliverables for his for his clients.
Speaker 7:So that's how he got the name Grindr. I'd go, you're always grinding it out, baby. You're grinding. I'd say, it's him dad. I'd go, what you doing, baby?
Speaker 7:And he'd go, oh, he'd go, now I'm working. I'd go, you're grinding. You're grinding. So that's how he got the grinder name. Pagoda?
Speaker 7:Pagoda. So Pagoda, Pagoda. Pagoda's
Speaker 9:name. Pagoda?
Speaker 7:Pagoda's name.
Speaker 9:What is this?
Speaker 2:Hold on. Just make sure he doesn't have the knife. Okay?
Speaker 7:Well, no, he does have the knife. So there there's a there's a scene in the Royal Tenenbaums. So so I believe. But but but but but but but but but but but but but but was was born in India, but raised in the UK. And, and, he he he has this wonderful accent and everything else, and I I don't know.
Speaker 7:I just there's a scene in the Royal Tenenbaums, and there's a character named, the Wes Anderson movie. And there's a character named Pagoda who's like Gene Hackman's, I don't know, sidekicks,
Speaker 2:slash nemesis.
Speaker 7:Well, no. They're like friends. And Pagoda's this really nice guy, and he's this gentle guy. But then one day, he takes out a Swiss army knife, and he just stabs he just stabs Gene Hackman in the stomach with the Swiss army knife. And he's like, you just stabbed me.
Speaker 7:Why did you just stab me? And because, you know, he he's reserved, and the pakote pakote character in in the Royal Tenenbaums is, like, this reserved, pleasant, polite guy. But once in a while
Speaker 5:He'll shank you.
Speaker 7:He'll shank you, and that's exactly
Speaker 9:what and that's exactly what You there. What the
Speaker 7:photo is there.
Speaker 4:So that's how
Speaker 7:so he's reserved and so polite, and but then once in a while, he'll just come out, and he'll just stab you with the Swiss army knife. So that's how Pagoda got
Speaker 5:his Point point of point of personal privilege as the, as the social say. The, I didn't really get the get the the nickname until I was shanked.
Speaker 6:Oh, can can I tell
Speaker 4:you that story?
Speaker 5:Good shanked. I was I was aggressively shanked Yeah. By pagoda.
Speaker 3:Can I can I tell that story?
Speaker 10:Go ahead.
Speaker 8:Go ahead.
Speaker 3:Alright. So we're at another cigar lounge that we frequent, and and and I actually had a hard time understanding the Pagoda name because I hadn't seen the movie for this context. But after this story, I very quickly understood exactly why this was a very fitting nickname, and I I love it because that's one of the things I love about Pagoda is just he's the happiest guy, and then he just has this these really witty, sharp, hysterical comments. And we just love these shakes.
Speaker 7:Shakes. It's a shake.
Speaker 3:They're they're tremendous. And so we're sitting there, and we're talking about, for some reason, just some of the worst cigars we've ever had. And Pagoda has no context of cigars that either Grindr or I are are particularly passionate about or once really liked at all. And Pagoda sits there and he goes, I had this horrible cigar. And he goes, you know, I I don't even consider myself an expert, but I just found it to be terrible.
Speaker 3:And he goes, it was this strange octagonal shaped cigar, and it was this Placencia Alma Fuerte. It was just horrendous. I would never smoke this cigar again, and I'm sitting there practically on the verge of tears. Because at one point, one of Grindr's favorite cigars was the Placencia Almo Fuerte. Begode has no context to know this, and so he is sitting there eviscerating this cigar.
Speaker 3:I'm in tears laughing, and Grindr is just sitting there trying to remove the shank from his side, and he's, like, bleeding out in the chair. I mean, it it was just unbelievable.
Speaker 5:Senator, it wasn't even that. It was the fact that he kept coming back for more. It was like That's true. Like, we got it. And then he was like, just so you know, it fucking sucks.
Speaker 5:And and my only defense was that that shape
Speaker 8:Yeah.
Speaker 5:Is not the shape that I like.
Speaker 8:No. Fair enough. I I didn't know that. I Yeah. You know, my thought was I was just giving an honest opinion about a cigar I didn't like.
Speaker 8:But at the same time, I think when you have an easy target
Speaker 2:There he is. Shank. There's a Shank right there.
Speaker 7:We do we do some soft target.
Speaker 5:Shank them. That's that's why. It's it's it's it's the Swiss army knife. It's not a machete. It's the small it's like this this small, like, little, like, fucking pinprick
Speaker 4:that
Speaker 8:it just See, I would call them zingers, but Zingers. Yeah. Zingers don't work.
Speaker 5:But we we we're using we're using the pagoda analogy and knifing and all that stuff. So anyway.
Speaker 7:Absolutely. And and and and and so then we come to to to the senator, and the senator got his name because he's, well, 1, he's he's, he's the most intelligent man in the room, probably the highest IQ, here. He he he's an Ivy Ivy League educated guy, and he, and he's he's got the silver he's got the silver tongue.
Speaker 2:Silver
Speaker 7:tongue. And and He has the silver tongue. He has the silver tongue. And so at at the former lounge that at the lounge that we used to belong to, there were always kind of, like, pilot let's call it politics that would go on, things that would happen. Let's just say we had a contentious relationship with management.
Speaker 7:And, and, you know, so we would we would discuss these things, and then we would we would say, well, what are we gonna do about it? And and, the senator got his name because he would say, well, I'll leave it to me. I will take care of this conversation. And and so Andy worked on Capitol Hill for a little while and and and has experience in in in politics and things like that. So, so that's how that's how the senator got his name because he's the senator.
Speaker 7:So we would
Speaker 6:take great negotiator.
Speaker 2:We raised a negotiation.
Speaker 5:About to say that. And and and he delivers. And he delivers.
Speaker 7:And he delivers on that. The tongue delivers.
Speaker 2:If I may.
Speaker 6:Senator always delivers.
Speaker 1:If I
Speaker 2:may, in the most difficult situations that we experienced at that place, we all just my head swiveled right to his chair. He we didn't have to say word.
Speaker 7:Basically bring up all the key issues he need
Speaker 2:to be
Speaker 7:like, I'm gonna consolidate this now, and
Speaker 3:then I'm
Speaker 7:gonna come up with a strategy, and now I'm gonna go negotiate.
Speaker 2:Senator would actually get up, get the owner on the phone Yeah. And set him in his place. Right.
Speaker 6:So you could get extra 15 minutes.
Speaker 2:Extra 15 goddamn minutes.
Speaker 1:But but the silver ton Or or Saturday hours. That's big.
Speaker 2:Yeah. That's that was big. And no one was able to do that. Yes.
Speaker 7:And and then we get then we get to Gizmo. So Gizmo, when he looks like so Gizmo
Speaker 6:Which wasn't his original name.
Speaker 7:No. His original name was Opie because he kinda looks like Opie from from the Andy Griffith Andy Griffith Show. A little bit like Ron Howard, type look, as a boy. But as a young child, is Gizmo. So it was originally it was originally Opie, but then it then it migrated to Gizmo because when you when you when you put certain ingredients into this little gremlin, certain things happen.
Speaker 2:Kiddie litter. Yeah. As one. Macallan Macallan 12?
Speaker 7:No. Well, chivas regal. And chivas oh, gosh.
Speaker 6:Chivas 18. Oh.
Speaker 7:Oh, that was probably
Speaker 5:the the the genesis of
Speaker 7:the The genesis of it. So one night one night so one night, we injected, well, we didn't, but but but but a but a local business owner, with where we live, injected a lot of Chivas Regal into into into OP, and that
Speaker 6:was force fed.
Speaker 7:Force fed it to him, and that was when he, he, transformed. Exploded and exploded with vomit.
Speaker 6:He had to do payroll.
Speaker 9:He was doing payroll.
Speaker 6:Yeah. He
Speaker 7:was doing payroll.
Speaker 2:I did have to
Speaker 1:I did have to do payroll. I gotta do payroll at
Speaker 2:1 AM. 2 AM? Okay.
Speaker 6:1 AM. I gotta
Speaker 7:do payroll.
Speaker 6:All of a sudden, he's doing payroll.
Speaker 7:All of a sudden, he's doing payroll. But but, but but if you put certain ingredients into Gizmo, like a gremlin, you know, like, if you put a water water on a gremlin, they they they they they freak out. So so and also kinda Gizmo, ladders back to this notion that he's he's great with stuff.
Speaker 2:He's great. Creator.
Speaker 7:He's a creator.
Speaker 6:He can fix anything.
Speaker 2:He makes things
Speaker 3:gizmo puts the Geek Squad at Best Buy to shame. It is ridiculous. Just for some context here, this was another name that No question.
Speaker 7:I
Speaker 3:I I sort of understood and I wasn't sold on. And then over time, I'm sitting there saying, Poobah just has this wisdom that he he sees where all of us are heading because with Gizmo, this is a guy who takes some big TV
Speaker 6:50 inch TV.
Speaker 3:A 50 inch TV that is basically dead, and instead of throwing it
Speaker 6:out garbage.
Speaker 3:Out for garbage. You know, all of us would have just thrown it out. It doesn't turn on. It doesn't work.
Speaker 1:Throw it in
Speaker 3:the mirror. Places like the entire motherboard or whatever the hell it's called and gets the TV working.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 3:This is a guy who creates with a battery and some other stuff that he, I'm sure, you know, procured and made in his own home to to create a fan in his tower humidor and was actually making this for other lizards.
Speaker 2:Which is now for sale, by the
Speaker 1:way. Remarkable.
Speaker 6:He can make a 1 k TV into a 8 k TV.
Speaker 7:So so basically, net net, he
Speaker 4:comes with instructions, and he can follow instructions. So so basically, net net, he comes with instructions, and he
Speaker 7:can follow instructions. So and he can follow instructions
Speaker 5:like a Kremlin. Can can we can we make a motion to, to say net net on an uncle?
Speaker 7:Net net. So Puba
Speaker 3:can't name himself. Can I can I can I at least give this Puba story?
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah. And we're all gonna chime in. So go ahead.
Speaker 8:Said to say. Yeah.
Speaker 3:So Puba, we we went through a a few names that we were considering. I I was actually a fan of the mayor The mayor. At first, but I think the 2 achieved the same thing. So the Pooba is meant to be the grand poo.
Speaker 8:Grand poo. Right.
Speaker 3:Pooba has a larger than life personality. He's he's the the most fun guy in the room. We go anywhere in the area we live, and everybody knows Pooba. We walk in, we sit down, someone comes over. Oh, Puba.
Speaker 3:Hey. Haven't seen you in a while. Puba, just saw you on the golf course. How's the family? He knows everybody.
Speaker 3:Everybody. It doesn't matter if they're running the security detail for the New York Yankees or if they own 10 restaurants in the area we live. He knows everybody, and and it was only fitting to call the the most legendary of lizards the the pooba.
Speaker 5:It's it's a it's a it's a name of honor.
Speaker 2:I have I have called him mister pooba from time to time. Flattery.
Speaker 6:Sir, sir pooba. Sir.
Speaker 5:I just called I just called pooba.
Speaker 8:I just called pooba.
Speaker 2:I like that better.
Speaker 6:It's pooba. It's been knighted.
Speaker 7:A lot of nights out. Do we have and then Rooster, of course, Rooster is the elder statesman. He's he's he's the, he's the oldest of the bunch probably behind me and Bam and, or ahead of me and Bam. And,
Speaker 6:Not by much.
Speaker 7:Not by much. But, but he's a, you know, he's the he's the so I think Rooster comes from, like, he's the he's
Speaker 2:He's a sage.
Speaker 7:He's a sage.
Speaker 3:He is.
Speaker 7:He's a sage. He's the red rooster. He's from India. So red, red rooster. He's just the red rooster.
Speaker 10:More brown.
Speaker 7:More brown. Okay. Fine. Whatever. But you get the idea.
Speaker 7:It's a shade of it's whatever. Yeah. He's But but but
Speaker 6:British Brown like a Cuban rapper. His
Speaker 8:his his comments level us. Is that Maduro's? Is that Maduro? Alright.
Speaker 3:I think Bam is
Speaker 2:exactly right. Yeah. There's a there's a leveling in his commentary, and it's Say go ahead. A lot of it's based in I'm not gonna call it a religion, but it's a belief, and it resonates from him. And it does affect us in a very positive way.
Speaker 3:I agree. I think there's a wisdom there's a wisdom about Rooster.
Speaker 2:Very good stuff. Very good stuff.
Speaker 3:Yes. I mean, Rooster's a guy who shares, you know, inspiration and quotes and he's always glass half full, and there's just something about him that I feel like is
Speaker 5:true to me. There's a presence that, that that the Red Rooster exudes in any situation.
Speaker 2:And we
Speaker 5:love we love that. And that's
Speaker 6:very high praise.
Speaker 2:We love that about it.
Speaker 8:A lot of positive attitude.
Speaker 7:Well, great. And also and also, he's the guy who if you if you if you're gonna pick up the phone and call somebody or, or if you're not feeling well, the first person to pick up the phone to call and see how you're doing is always the rooster.
Speaker 2:That's absolutely true. Don't ever cut him off in traffic.
Speaker 7:Right. But that's also true too. See, like a rooster roll
Speaker 2:over the
Speaker 9:top. Side.
Speaker 4:He will
Speaker 7:do that too. Like,
Speaker 2:you know,
Speaker 4:there's a lot of
Speaker 7:He's got claws. He's got claws. He's got claws.
Speaker 1:You don't
Speaker 4:fuck with
Speaker 2:the rooster.
Speaker 3:The the other thing I'll say about the the rooster, if and and I think this comes with being the elder statesman and the wisdom that rooster has, if you need thoughts on power tools, if you need thoughts on snow blowers, just
Speaker 4:do that.
Speaker 2:And sneakers and rooster
Speaker 3:Rooster has is is very prescriptive about what is an acceptable brand and product to purchase and what's not. He's like a walking consumer report.
Speaker 2:Sound systems. No doubt.
Speaker 1:Most of the things that he recommends can be found at Costco. Let's be clear.
Speaker 2:And also the self professed longest tenured smoker of the exclusivo. Self professed.
Speaker 3:Longest tenured, I'm willing to concede that. That is true.
Speaker 4:If I
Speaker 1:if I go to somebody,
Speaker 3:I have him beat. But longest tenured, I I will concede.
Speaker 6:If I if
Speaker 1:I were to sum up a rooster in a sentence, it it would be what's mine is yours. And I mean that from a generosity
Speaker 6:standpoint. What's yours is mine. And
Speaker 1:whenever he acquires and and he is a master of acquiring aged Habanos. It's incredible. And when he gets a box, he's not a guy that keeps it a secret. He throws it in his humidor, keeps it to himself. He walks in the room, and he starts handing out cigars.
Speaker 1:So Cigars are to be shared. Very generous, very kind.
Speaker 5:Yes. But
Speaker 3:don't piss him off. Rooster philosophy to be smoked immediately.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:You know? Regardless of like I
Speaker 5:said earlier, cigars are meant to be smoked.
Speaker 6:Yeah. And shared.
Speaker 5:And shared.
Speaker 2:And shared. And shared.
Speaker 7:So Chico's r o t t right off the truck.
Speaker 3:Absolutely. That's right.
Speaker 5:Well, like, you know, I walked I I came I came late to the to the pod today, and these guys were, the the lizards had been, smoking one of the, nice selections that Rooster had recently procured
Speaker 2:and shared.
Speaker 5:And, we're about to light up the ex placebo, and Rooster walks over. He's asking me about my family and my wife, and I haven't seen Rooster in, you know, a couple weeks. And, you know, he went out of his way to to to, you know, see how I'm doing. And then he pops open his his his, box of, cigars, says, here, this is what we've been smoking. I want you to try this.
Speaker 5:And I'm I I I'll probably smoke it later, but I didn't even get to enjoy it with him, but he still was generous enough to say, I want you to have this.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. Let's revisit the origin of Grindr's famous petrichor flavor note. Man, would
Speaker 6:you guys say this is one of the best Montys we have had? Oh, hands down. Absolutely. Right?
Speaker 2:Hands down. I've only had the Monty 2, though. You have smoked
Speaker 7:the alcohol.
Speaker 3:You actually bought and Rooster did the Monty 85th at special anniversary skirts. You have had.
Speaker 2:Right. That's a very light, creamy, very elegant stick. Delicious. Yeah. It's delicious, but in a different way.
Speaker 2:It's much milder than this. Now this is not I don't consider this to be a full cigar for me, but from the point of view of the flavor profile, it's almost all flavor.
Speaker 5:Is anyone is anyone else getting I'm
Speaker 6:I'm about
Speaker 5:an inch through now. Is anyone else getting, like, earthy petrichor, like, after
Speaker 2:What's petrichor? No. Petrichor?
Speaker 5:Petrichor is that is that scent that's, like, after after a rain, and then the sun comes out, and like, there there's like a, you know, there's certain oils that come up from the earth and
Speaker 6:Like petroleum.
Speaker 5:Coalesce and it's a scent. There's like a look
Speaker 4:it out.
Speaker 5:There's a fuck there's I'm not an I'm not fucking crazy. It's a real thing. It's like after rain scent, like after a quick storm outside.
Speaker 6:Your palate is way too refined for us, man.
Speaker 5:You need to leave.
Speaker 2:Cocoa all the way here. English is
Speaker 8:a second language for me on
Speaker 2:my boat.
Speaker 3:I just have to say
Speaker 5:Good film of a platypetricor.
Speaker 1:The guys think I'm a Grinch. Here's a clip from our New Year's Eve episode 1 year ago with my hot take on Christmas trees.
Speaker 7:I personally think that that Gizmo should stop burning down Christmas trees in Midtown. That's that's what I think. I think that I I I I I think that that you should have a more positive outlook on the Christmas tree. I believe that that that that that you have
Speaker 1:You're framing this unfairly.
Speaker 7:No. You have a problem. Alright.
Speaker 1:The lizards and I got into a little bit of a, heated Christmas battle in the last few weeks, name of this last weekend as I was teeing off about the Christmas tree situation in my home and how if it were up to me, we wouldn't have a Christmas tree. And not because I hate Christmas trees, but because I just don't need the aggravation.
Speaker 7:So for the listener, please, please don't stop listening at this point. Everyone in the room besides Gizmo loves Christmas trees, and we love everything about Christmas. So
Speaker 8:And the presents below.
Speaker 7:So why did you burn down the Christmas tree in the middle of Midtown outside the Fox News building yesterday?
Speaker 1:It was in my way. It was inconvenient for my traffic needs.
Speaker 8:By the way,
Speaker 5:we're not incriminating Gizmo here. He did not burn down this. We don't want any listeners right
Speaker 3:in this.
Speaker 4:We we can
Speaker 1:neither confirm confirm nor deny, but no absolutes. The Don Carlos eye of the shark was one of the best cigars we smoked all year, and Lizard Bill, a listener of ours, said this was one of his favorite cigars that we've recommended.
Speaker 3:Cuba, I mean, obviously, you know, we're not ever gonna suggest that this is like a Cuban, but there are certain elements of it. You know? These sort of shortbread flavors, dessert like flavors you get out of this, you know, that's the kind of thing that reminds me of things that you would get out of like an Upman Cuban.
Speaker 7:I was just about to say that. It's exactly what like, it reminds me of some of the qualities you get out of an aged Upman 2 or or like, you know, when you're just it gives you that that really wonderful thing that you need sometimes, which is kinda these these baking spices, these a little bit of citrus, a little bit of it it's delicious. It actually it makes my made the hairs in the back of my neck stand up. I'm not trying to sound like a loser. No.
Speaker 7:It's true. But it's but it this is a great fucking cigar.
Speaker 5:It tastes like a Lorna Dune. It's like a Lorna if if there was a Lorna Dune cookie
Speaker 7:cigar. It's a great cigar.
Speaker 1:To me, it it just when I smoke this cigar, time just slows down a little bit. Like, it it really demands your appreciation and your your, and and your time.
Speaker 2:It takes time to smoke the cigar.
Speaker 7:Yeah. It's it's yeah. And you take your time. You don't I don't rush it. It's great.
Speaker 1:We're coming to the end of the, Don Carlos eye of the shark here. I still haven't ashed. Senator still hasn't ashed. Bam Bam still hasn't ashed.
Speaker 5:I I mean, I Grinder has ash.
Speaker 1:He ashed all over himself.
Speaker 2:Completely ashed
Speaker 9:on myself. I could still see
Speaker 3:it on his g.
Speaker 7:I'm waiting. I'm waiting.
Speaker 1:He's waiting. Like, he's giving me the eye like, hey, dude.
Speaker 6:I need to go I need
Speaker 5:to stand up, walk outside, and and deash myself.
Speaker 7:My god. Ashed all over himself like he does
Speaker 9:every night. Oh.
Speaker 7:Or every morning. We just got shankos.
Speaker 5:Yeah. I'm gonna give I'm gonna give you the pagoda stick.
Speaker 7:We gotta rate we gotta rate the stick.
Speaker 1:We gotta rate the stick. I mean, I gotta give it to you, rooster. Go.
Speaker 6:Alright. So this is gonna be an aggregate rating from all the sharks that I've had.
Speaker 7:It's it's a 10. It's a 10 for me. It's a 10. It's a 10 for me too. It's a 10.
Speaker 1:It's a 10 for me. Not even close.
Speaker 6:It's a 10.
Speaker 3:I just have to say, this episode means a lot to me because I love this cigar so much, and I was fully prepared. And I can't believe, again, I haven't asked them all the way down to the end. I was gonna give this a 10. I thought I would be the only lizard in this room that gave it a 10. This warms my heart like words can't describe.
Speaker 2:The ratings are not done yet.
Speaker 1:Oh. Pagoda.
Speaker 7:Pagoda. May not be strong enough for him.
Speaker 5:No. He's a he's a
Speaker 8:strong 9. Okay.
Speaker 7:Alright. Strong enough for
Speaker 2:him. Okay.
Speaker 5:Alright. I'm a 10.
Speaker 2:10.
Speaker 5:That's a 10.13. Or sorry. 9.13. He
Speaker 7:was a kidding
Speaker 5:again. 9.13.
Speaker 7:He wasn't kidding. Yeah.
Speaker 6:It's a 9.9.
Speaker 3:It's a 9.9.
Speaker 2:Damn it. Wow.
Speaker 4:Wow. Wow.
Speaker 2:Wow. It's
Speaker 10:only 1 to 9.
Speaker 1:So that is that is not even close. It's not even close. That's the highest rating that we've ever given on this podcast so far.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Alright. Not even close.
Speaker 5:I need to
Speaker 8:DM myself.
Speaker 2:You know?
Speaker 6:Please please email us if you need any boxes.
Speaker 7:Can I watch?
Speaker 1:Pupa just compared the shark to the Cuban h Uppin number 2, one of the best cigars we smoked all year, on episode 40. I have really, really enjoyed this cigar tonight.
Speaker 6:I mean, I don't want this to end.
Speaker 4:I know. I
Speaker 6:mean, it's so good. Right?
Speaker 1:It's unbelievable.
Speaker 2:What's funny is now I'm getting I'm still getting the salty twang, and I'm getting a little coffee now.
Speaker 7:Yeah. Like all those rough edges. I mean, I'm not selling it.
Speaker 1:I'm just saying
Speaker 4:I haven't got to say
Speaker 7:rough edges down the stretch. Right? You smoke it to the end, and
Speaker 2:it's just beautiful. I wanna see you smoke it to
Speaker 7:the end. It is. I mean, it's done.
Speaker 2:You, my man, look at that. Now that is
Speaker 7:When do I finish forever?
Speaker 2:Who am I
Speaker 3:finishing first?
Speaker 7:Never because this is my jam. Alright.
Speaker 2:I'd like to see that.
Speaker 6:Really good steak, and thank you for bringing it.
Speaker 7:Yeah. Thank you for your you know? Appreciate it. You know, Rooster, thank you, everybody, all the lizards. Your generosity, everyone comes into boxes.
Speaker 7:Everyone has great sticks in this room. And, when this stick came up, I I said, you know, what should I how can you hold these back? And and I think part of, part of cigar smoking that I think is important and there's more or I would just say to the listener out there, there's more ROI in sharing, cigars, particularly special cigars. It's celebratory. If you if you if you smoke them in a vacuum, yeah, you'll enjoy it, and it'll be nice.
Speaker 7:But you get much more ROI when you share special cigars with special people. I recommend everybody do that. And I think most people do who who are in this hobby.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. Well, it's
Speaker 7:it's just it makes it that much better.
Speaker 1:So you guys ready to do, the formal wizard rating on this thing? Yeah.
Speaker 6:Rooster, you're up.
Speaker 3:I I saw 2 eyebrow raises for Brewster
Speaker 9:before he
Speaker 3:can even utter a word.
Speaker 6:I mean, it's hard because I you know, I mean, this is one of this is the best upland I've had. I mean, this is better than the younger the young, sir Winston that we had. Yeah. But this, I mean, it's phenomenal steak. I'm gonna give it a 10.
Speaker 2:Awesome. Wow. Woah. Wow.
Speaker 9:I love it.
Speaker 6:Wow. I love this steak.
Speaker 1:Puma. Really?
Speaker 7:Yeah. I mean, I love it. I it's a 10 for me. I knew it delivers there on everything that it's supposed to deliver on. I can't knock it on anything.
Speaker 6:It's incredible. Balance, complex, smooth.
Speaker 1:I I knew an inch in that this was a 10 for me, and it's if I give it 11, I would. I love this cigar. Senator.
Speaker 6:He's a 9. This is tough. This is tough. Folks.
Speaker 3:This this is tough. And these are this is a good decision to make because it's a 9 or a 10. There there's Right.
Speaker 6:That's exactly right. Thought in
Speaker 3:my mind that it's anything
Speaker 2:lower than that. Yep.
Speaker 3:And what's what's where I'm leaning closer to 10 when Puba said it delivers on everything it's supposed to deliver on, I can't find a flaw in this cigar. The only reason I hold back a little bit on the 10 is because there are still other sticks that the flavor profile. Right? So it this delivers what it's intended to deliver. Gets me more where, like, I have to have it, like, all the time.
Speaker 3:I want these. There's no doubt about that. I have 2 boxes of these. I just don't know that I I I want it every single day in the way that I'm, like, obsessed with, like, you know, certain d fours or even other other sticks. So I am gonna give this
Speaker 6:Before you give that rating, I just wanna say, he's advocating Oh, boy. No. I mean, I just I'm just making a point No.
Speaker 3:No. Help me out.
Speaker 4:This is good.
Speaker 6:I'm just making a point that this Upman stick with this box code rated just based upon this stick, not the boxes that you have, This is a 2014 LUB box code. We
Speaker 2:have salesmanship going on here.
Speaker 6:Very elite box code. And, You
Speaker 2:should be a lobbyist.
Speaker 6:You know? I mean, not
Speaker 7:They are unicorns.
Speaker 2:Senator can school you on that, but Absolutely.
Speaker 6:I I can learn a lot from senators.
Speaker 3:No. I actually That's all I have to say. No. No. Rooster's commentary there was actually very helpful because he he's right, and, I'm gonna have to round up.
Speaker 4:I'm gonna
Speaker 3:give it a 10. Yeah. Yes.
Speaker 1:Very nice. Pagoda, you're up.
Speaker 5:Oh, my lord. Now this puts a lot of pressure on me.
Speaker 9:Be honest. Be honest.
Speaker 8:But being very honest, I thank Uwe for introducing me to the H Upman 2. This is my first, Upman 2. Really, really enjoyed it. Really enjoyed the second half more than, you know, how it gradually just grew into something I really, really enjoyed. The way I look at it is, it's it's a 9 for me.
Speaker 8:Yeah.
Speaker 1:K. Yeah. Bam bam.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, I don't give in to peer pressure ever, and I don't like to always go with the crowd. None of that has any meaning for me. So when I really love something, I I'm very brutally honest for the good or for the bad, regardless of what people think. I am gonna give this a 10.
Speaker 1:Alright.
Speaker 2:This is a 10 for me.
Speaker 6:Well, boys.
Speaker 2:It's a high fucking score.
Speaker 1:The composite lizard score
Speaker 6:9.7.
Speaker 2:On Pubas. It's gotta it's gotta be the highest rated cigar.
Speaker 1:14, Upman twos.
Speaker 3:Pubas a great roller.
Speaker 1:9.8. That's that's fucking crazy. I think that's the highest score yet.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Just quickly on this, Rooster's commentary was really helpful for me because Agreed. If if I were to review the 2018 Upman 2, I'd give it a 9. Yeah. And I think Rooster's point was really helpful in me figuring out where this really sits, and it's the age and what that brings that Puba described.
Speaker 3:And I think, like, that creaminess and how it just married all those flavors together, regardless if I'm gonna be so obsessed with this cigar, I'm gonna need to have it every day, every week. It it's a 10. It really it like you said, it delivers on everything it's supposed to. I I can't take issue with it.
Speaker 1:Another cigar that we really love from h Upman is the Half Corona, which we also discussed on episode 40, being introduced to it in Poohbah's backyard, which then takes us to Bam Bam and his hoarding. And then, you know, we talked about, one of our favorite cigars collectively, I know a lot of us smoke it at the end of an, a smoking session is the half corona.
Speaker 2:Oh, dude.
Speaker 10:I mean
Speaker 6:Oh, love those.
Speaker 1:I mean, all of us and all everybody.
Speaker 2:We can never get enough of those.
Speaker 3:I will never forget.
Speaker 2:We never
Speaker 3:goes up together. This was we were at Puba's house. We, let's just say, enjoyed ourselves quite a bit.
Speaker 7:One of those summer nights.
Speaker 3:And it's the very end of the night. This was a late it was a ridiculous at 3 o'clock in the morning.
Speaker 9:It was, like, 2:4
Speaker 7:it was 248. Gotcha.
Speaker 4:At this point, it's
Speaker 3:like 2 something in the morning.
Speaker 2:I think there were only 3 of us left that night.
Speaker 3:There was. It was me, Bam, and Poohbah, I think, at
Speaker 4:that point.
Speaker 2:That's right.
Speaker 3:And I think Begoda had left.
Speaker 2:And Giz got mad at us that day.
Speaker 3:He did. He was there. Basterds.
Speaker 5:Well, for many other reasons.
Speaker 6:I must have gone to bed because I'm x o, extra old.
Speaker 5:You were taking a nap.
Speaker 7:I'm taking
Speaker 8:a nap.
Speaker 3:I needed just, like, a small little stick, and in that same auction that I had bought the Upman Anajados, I had gotten these little half coronas. Never had none of us had had it at that point because I had asked if anyone knew if they were good. No one had ever tried them.
Speaker 2:So I
Speaker 3:And so I just
Speaker 2:From our guy down south, I bought go ahead. After your story. Because of your story.
Speaker 3:Oh, yeah. And and I have a bone to pick, so let's get there. Dude, let's get there.
Speaker 2:I couldn't help myself.
Speaker 3:So so we I like this stick up, and I'm sitting there gushing about how good this cigar I mean, this thing is so small. I couldn't believe the flavor out of this little Cuban cigar, And I'm just sitting there. The only thing you can question at that point is, like, I've had plenty to drink. Either it's the alcohol that I think this cigar is that good or it's really that good. And maybe I had one extra with me, and I think I gave it to Bam that night.
Speaker 2:Yes. You did.
Speaker 3:And Bam had the exact same reaction. Holy shit. This is one of the best short smokes I've ever had. Now the problem with me sharing that cigar with Bam was that he went to the same source I bought them from, and he cleared about, and they were sold out. So when I messaged the guy, he said, someone just bought all of them, and I wonder who that was.
Speaker 7:That's correct. Fair. And by the way by the way, it's inappropriate, and not all not all not all is fair in loving cigars. Wow. So
Speaker 8:No. But to be fair to be fair,
Speaker 2:he did share
Speaker 7:that. He did. Of course, he shared them, but still.
Speaker 8:You know, that's kinda rare rare to share, but he did share that.
Speaker 7:Yeah. The, you know, the the sniper, stop sniping, or whatever the the the little cartoon character
Speaker 2:is. I've learned my lesson. I've learned my lesson.
Speaker 8:Do I remember no. Thank you, Bam, for introducing me to that. I remember that night we were once again at the bar up north, and it was just fantastic. And it's actually become one of my favorite.
Speaker 1:Yeah. You smoke a lot of them.
Speaker 8:Yeah. Like end of night smokes, there's nothing better. Maybe, you know, there are a couple of others which are, you know you know, a few percentages below, but that is fantastic. Bam's
Speaker 1:had a cigar tower for himself for a few months and still hasn't set it up. Here's a clip where we discussed that he's cursed Cuban pricing. 3 left. Boxes?
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 6:No. I mean, since you got your tower now, let's talk about
Speaker 7:that. Yeah.
Speaker 2:And it's nice to see How happy
Speaker 6:are you?
Speaker 1:Yeah. How big is
Speaker 3:the tower?
Speaker 2:I'm very fucking unhappy right now.
Speaker 6:Is it is it still in the garage?
Speaker 2:It's still in the garage. I have no enthusiasm to season that thing. Not yet. Why? Why?
Speaker 3:I don't have to do okay. Jesus Christ.
Speaker 8:No. No. No. Here here we go.
Speaker 6:Let's get into those. After 8
Speaker 1:months of this shit,
Speaker 2:I've got huge bins of boxes of cigars. Now my anticipation when I first ordered this thing, it was on at a 10. It took 8 months to get to me. I'm at, like, a 3 now.
Speaker 3:Why? That's a year now. Alright. So let me just clarify for you.
Speaker 6:Kinda like dating. Like, you dated this chick for, like, 8 years ago. Hag now.
Speaker 3:And now you don't.
Speaker 9:So
Speaker 6:so you're like me with what That's a joke. That's a joke. It should be like a lease, 3 years, you know, buyback option.
Speaker 10:That's true.
Speaker 9:That's true.
Speaker 6:Too much too much mileage. No thanks.
Speaker 2:So here's the thing.
Speaker 1:Give it give
Speaker 6:it back.
Speaker 2:So I will be I will be seasoning that thing this weekend. I made a promise to myself to get that.
Speaker 3:The beauty of it is the seasoning process is so simple.
Speaker 2:I know.
Speaker 3:All you have to do is just, like, wipe it down with a sponge and some salt water.
Speaker 6:A little salt and pepper.
Speaker 1:Put Put
Speaker 3:the oasis in there with the saltwater. That's it.
Speaker 4:That's all you
Speaker 3:gotta do.
Speaker 2:I've gotta uncard it, get it downstairs. That's an effort, and then I'll start to do that. It'll happen.
Speaker 1:And then now
Speaker 6:Then it'll be 20, 25.
Speaker 2:That I'm paying $1,000 a box of, say, for cigars.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah. My inventory is gonna stay where it is for
Speaker 5:a while.
Speaker 6:Yeah. But you you said you have them in a bin in a I have in a Tupperware. Yeah.
Speaker 1:You have boxes there already.
Speaker 6:Yeah. So don't you wanna get them out and put them nicely, just a
Speaker 1:little air movement?
Speaker 4:Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Do you
Speaker 3:wanna look at them?
Speaker 2:I do. I'm dying to look at them. Yes.
Speaker 8:I think, Bam, Bam, this is embarrassing.
Speaker 1:Here's my question for you. And I'm, you know, I know that I'm I'm I I'm a little superstitious with it, but I feel like the moment you got your tower, the prices went through the roof. Exactly.
Speaker 3:That was my immediate reaction. As soon as that happened, I was like, he cursed us.
Speaker 1:He cursed us.
Speaker 2:I'm gonna fill that tower with Philly blonds and be very proud.
Speaker 1:And cigarettes. Listener lizard Bill also asked us to include the clip of Bam balking on sharing a box of cigars with Pagoda, and said that if he was in his friend group, he'd be out very quickly. So are you go are you gonna source a box or 2 of these?
Speaker 2:Like Oh, I would love a box or
Speaker 3:2 for my tower. Yeah. Well, when you ask him that
Speaker 1:question, you mean that you're gonna source a
Speaker 9:box for him?
Speaker 8:Will you share, or will you feel the peer pressure to
Speaker 2:yes and no?
Speaker 7:Oh. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
Speaker 1:Oh, yeah. We gotta tell the story.
Speaker 6:Tell the story.
Speaker 3:So we we we have we have a little drama among the group.
Speaker 1:Wizard drama.
Speaker 3:I had ordered a couple boxes of Ramon Ionis, small club coronas, And Bam said that he wanted a whole box, so I said, fine. He can have a whole box. And the other box, we split among 4 of us. Pagoda wasn't here the day that I placed the order, and I was asking who wanted in on it. So when I got them in and I sent the message to the group that they were had arrived, Pagoda said, oh, if I could have 5, I would love to have 5 of them.
Speaker 3:And I said to Pagoda, I only got 5 out of the whole box. Like, that's what we we all split it, so we each got 5 sticks. But Bam has 25 of them, so I would assume that he could part with 5.
Speaker 2:I'm not looking at you now.
Speaker 5:And Bam's response looking over here.
Speaker 3:Bam's response was not, enthusiastic to
Speaker 1:share. That's not true.
Speaker 3:His response was, these are great. We should get more of them. Honestly.
Speaker 9:Alright. So
Speaker 3:That's not saying yes, Begode. I'm happy to share
Speaker 10:with you.
Speaker 2:Also wasn't saying no. It was expressing enthusiasm about that cigar. That's really I love that little guy.
Speaker 3:The purse of the pudding because you arrived here today
Speaker 8:before before we have
Speaker 3:all witnesses, before the microphones went on. Pagoda said, oh, are you gonna share the 5 sticks with me?
Speaker 2:I said you can have 10.
Speaker 3:And Bam said, I I was not excited to share any of the sticks with you.
Speaker 8:I feel the peer pressure. Yeah.
Speaker 3:He said I felt the peer pressure to share them with you.
Speaker 2:That was a joke.
Speaker 4:I'm
Speaker 2:hurt. You'll get over it. When I deliver 5 beauties to you, I'm sure you'll you'll get over it.
Speaker 1:Who knows when that'll be, but
Speaker 2:At the clubhouse. Transactions will be
Speaker 3:made. I think to make up for this, you should source the next box for the group.
Speaker 2:I will. You know, I I will do that.
Speaker 6:I'm only gonna live for the next 30
Speaker 9:years. So here's all fair.
Speaker 6:I mean, the the tower might still be in his garage.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's all fair. This is so for the listener, this is very fair.
Speaker 2:I am very lazy when it comes to making purchases.
Speaker 6:We didn't say that.
Speaker 2:Buying and sourcing. I am. I am. But I I aim to change that. I aim to change that.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:You picked a good time to do
Speaker 2:it. Yeah. Well, I know. Well,
Speaker 8:do we hear about the receiver?
Speaker 6:So wait a minute.
Speaker 8:What in hell?
Speaker 6:Does this mean that Giz does not have to get any more boxes for you? No. I Doesn't have to source it.
Speaker 2:No. That does not mean that. Wow.
Speaker 6:That's what it means. That means that means you're gonna you're gonna do the homework. You're you're gonna source the boxes.
Speaker 2:Rooster, you gotta leave. Because I hope
Speaker 8:you don't feel the paint pressure. That's all I'm saying.
Speaker 2:It does not mean that Rooster stops sourcing, but what it means I've gotta step up my sourcing game, and I aim to do that.
Speaker 3:When?
Speaker 2:This week.
Speaker 8:Starting tomorrow? This weekend. In the near future.
Speaker 2:Yeah. For sure.
Speaker 3:This is in house.
Speaker 6:How are you?
Speaker 2:Honestly, I gotta be honest. I'm not as you're much better sourcers than I am.
Speaker 8:No. Yes, you are.
Speaker 6:You you can achieve that same,
Speaker 3:Let's be real. Hang on. No. How many boxes did you, on your own, order from one of our groups that we order cigars
Speaker 4:from? Okay.
Speaker 2:So now now this was my fill those Tupperware. Yes. Now this is my very the very first time I was given access to this exclusive group, and I was like a kid in a candy store. These guys were so
Speaker 4:friendly, professional. I know we we really stopped you. We really stopped you
Speaker 2:for a number of years. I did stop
Speaker 4:for a
Speaker 2:long time. Here's the thing I realized I realized I didn't have a tower. I'm in Tupperware. It didn't make sense to continue buying, so I just put a hiatus on it. Now that the tower's here.
Speaker 2:You did
Speaker 3:you did a lot of good buying for yourself, Ben.
Speaker 4:Well, you
Speaker 2:guys have everything I have in spades, and you know it.
Speaker 3:Well, I didn't have a La Punta until you had And what's your cigar rating, Rooster? Credit that.
Speaker 1:Listen. I just as a reminder, though, Rooster only has 30 years left.
Speaker 4:Okay.
Speaker 1:Okay? Just
Speaker 6:give or take. Mostly take, hopefully.
Speaker 2:You got it.
Speaker 1:Speaking of Pagoda, unfortunately, we have to include this clip of some car trouble that he encountered that we discussed in episode 36. And she took her hands off the wheel, and the car parked itself.
Speaker 3:Is it a Tesla?
Speaker 1:I don't know what it was. I wasn't paying attention. I was just admiring the fact that her hands were not on the wheel. And you know who I thought of when I saw this car?
Speaker 2:Senator. No problem. Of Pagoda.
Speaker 1:Oh. Because Pagoda had a little
Speaker 6:this yet?
Speaker 1:Little incident this year.
Speaker 9:Haven't heard?
Speaker 2:I haven't heard.
Speaker 4:Oh, wow.
Speaker 1:Pagoda's or or actually, Rooster, tell us what happened. You were there. Well, where do I begin?
Speaker 6:So this was a night after, you know, after the lounge. You you were all there. So me, Pagoda, a couple other guys, we went to our favorite Indian restaurant. And, we got there before Pagoda and, one other guy. So we're sitting we're sitting down at the table.
Speaker 6:You know, the owner of the restaurant had a table set up for us outside, really nice laid out. It was it was it was a little late. So we're sitting there, and then we see Pagoda pull up and his truck, and then all of a sudden we hear a loud bang.
Speaker 2:No way.
Speaker 6:A loud bang. Uh-oh. He backed up into the pole
Speaker 11:on the sidewalk. The public sidewalk
Speaker 12:on the sidewalk.
Speaker 6:Electric or maybe a phone pole, and I think he hit the wrong pedal.
Speaker 2:He's excited. He's gonna see you guys.
Speaker 6:So he put it in reverse, and I think he hit the accelerator.
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh.
Speaker 6:So quite a bit of They
Speaker 1:are right next to each to get to his to be let's be fair. The the gas and the brake are very close to each other on the floor.
Speaker 6:Yeah. But in Pagoda's defense, he grew up driving a clutch
Speaker 3:car like
Speaker 6:a, you know, like a 3 pedal. So you can just imagine, like, how much more confusing that would be. That's true.
Speaker 3:So when when it was easier with only 2 pedals, it makes perfect sense.
Speaker 6:He needs a car with just no pedals.
Speaker 8:I think I need
Speaker 10:a Tesla.
Speaker 1:Selfie. Selfie. He needs a driver.
Speaker 6:He needs a driver.
Speaker 1:I told you. I just love the the visual of him sitting in his car after he did this and going, oh my lord.
Speaker 6:But you know what? I mean, nobody nobody got injured.
Speaker 2:I wanna hear you.
Speaker 3:Damage, a
Speaker 6:little damage. This is
Speaker 2:Dakota this
Speaker 6:year. So
Speaker 1:he he
Speaker 6:got home. Mhmm. And in the morning, he told his wife, he's like,
Speaker 7:what did you do to my car?
Speaker 1:So, Pagoda, talk to us about give us the insight from inside the vehicle.
Speaker 8:I don't know. It happened so quick. I just saw a man in a turban screaming at me outside the window, and I couldn't hear him at all.
Speaker 5:And I was like, what? It was it's it's you know,
Speaker 8:I was a bit startled. It was loud. It was my first accident.
Speaker 2:No way.
Speaker 8:Really? Accident. Yeah. Wow.
Speaker 5:So he is a driver. He's a very good driver.
Speaker 6:He just got his license last month.
Speaker 9:Hey. Don't tell the truth.
Speaker 5:You don't need to disclose
Speaker 8:that to him.
Speaker 2:But he's been driving for 25 years.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Just illegally.
Speaker 8:Listen. I'm used to, you know, drivers driving this around.
Speaker 9:This is difficult. Hello?
Speaker 2:This is difficult.
Speaker 7:I I'm
Speaker 8:just not a DIY kind of guy.
Speaker 9:You know?
Speaker 1:You're more a DUI kinda guy. Oh, man. Oh. Oh, somebody's getting shanked.
Speaker 6:Oh, lord. It's about time. It's about time.
Speaker 10:I
Speaker 8:think the pagoda title has to be just, you know, shifted. It's gotta be whoever's shanking goes to them.
Speaker 7:Oh, man.
Speaker 8:Yeah. But it it happened really quickly, and I was kind of it I just didn't know what to do, and the car just really stopped because all these new cars apparently, it rested for 2 minutes, and I couldn't even move, you know, I guess. Stuck. Yeah. Don't confuse me here again.
Speaker 8:But, yeah. A stick. It was kind of really embarrassing, but it is what it is.
Speaker 6:The scotch pounding continued after that.
Speaker 4:Of course
Speaker 1:it did. Absolutely.
Speaker 8:Here, just to calm my nerves down, please. Please.
Speaker 1:Well, we're glad everybody's alright. You didn't kill Ricky. I heard he was close to getting the
Speaker 8:yeah. I don't think he would have felt anything.
Speaker 2:Was this right in front of your table?
Speaker 6:Right in front.
Speaker 2:They're sitting outside.
Speaker 6:It was very you know?
Speaker 2:I wish I was there.
Speaker 6:I'm on the sidewalk. I mean, how much room is there between the sidewalk and the road?
Speaker 8:No. But, Fatima, that's why I didn't think I don't think we texted you after that because I think we all were just in shock. Yeah. In shock.
Speaker 1:Let's turn it around for pagoda now with a clip from his impromptu birthday celebration from the Partagas Calabrio episode number 14. We love some sabered champagne. I don't I don't know what else to compare this to.
Speaker 6:Is it a p 2? More like an MDO. It's not like an LGC MDO number 4.
Speaker 2:Not the anise finish? No.
Speaker 7:I get to me, this tastes all like all partagus. It just tastes like a concentrated aged partagus with the smaller ring gauge. It's beautiful. That's all those characteristics are there. This would go Sweeter,
Speaker 8:though. Sweeter notes, I thought.
Speaker 6:Go well with champagne.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Right?
Speaker 2:Yeah. Sure.
Speaker 7:A little Paul Richer.
Speaker 2:Senator. Where's your where's
Speaker 1:your Where's the saber? Pop a bottle. Where's the saber? It would
Speaker 7:go great with it would go great with champagne.
Speaker 5:I'm just saying this all the time now.
Speaker 7:I'm just saying. Like, I'm just
Speaker 5:Hey, senator.
Speaker 7:I'm just saying, senator. You don't go very well with champagne. Just saying it would be great with champagne
Speaker 3:Alright.
Speaker 7:If you have champagne.
Speaker 3:We're gonna have to take a quick time out. We'll be right back after these messages.
Speaker 5:Oh my god. No. He's not.
Speaker 7:He is.
Speaker 3:He's doing it. Serious? I love it. I love
Speaker 4:it.
Speaker 7:Don't hit it, pagoda, in the fucking don't chop his head off. Okay. We're back.
Speaker 6:Happy birthday.
Speaker 1:We have a bottle of. Senator is ready with his saber in honor of Pagoda's birthday tomorrow. Thank you, guys. And, this is very exciting.
Speaker 3:Before I saber this, this just goes back to our earlier discussions. Champagne pairs fantastically with cigars. We did not intend to pair this cigar with champagne, but I think we all took a few puffs to know what we needed. So quick trip down to the cellar. Happy birthday, pagoda.
Speaker 12:Let's do it,
Speaker 2:baby. Alright. Happy birthday. Let's do this.
Speaker 8:Thank you, Santa. Thank you, everybody.
Speaker 9:Yeah. Woah.
Speaker 1:Perfect. Every time.
Speaker 7:Perfect. Every time.
Speaker 2:Wow.
Speaker 1:Beautiful. Wow. Happy birthday, pagoda. Fantastic.
Speaker 7:Sabered it right off.
Speaker 5:Oh, that's beautiful.
Speaker 7:Look at that.
Speaker 5:Well done, senator.
Speaker 1:Well, this could this knife is not going the way that I expected.
Speaker 9:Let's put that away for
Speaker 2:you. Thank you.
Speaker 7:Oh, yeah. Thank
Speaker 2:you. Wow. Fantastic.
Speaker 6:You like that?
Speaker 2:I like it. You like that?
Speaker 1:Thank you, sir. Another well done savoring there, senator.
Speaker 5:You know what the best part is?
Speaker 7:Oh, yeah.
Speaker 5:I was hold withholding, like, excessive enjoyment of the cigar while Senator was
Speaker 2:Oh, yes.
Speaker 5:Gathering the, accoutrement for the Oh. The savoring. Yeah.
Speaker 7:Oh, god.
Speaker 5:It's it I lit it up, and it's just amazing.
Speaker 7:Oh. Alright.
Speaker 1:We gotta do a, cheers. Cheers. Scolded last time. Indeed. We do.
Speaker 1:Hold on. Let's wait till Senator is done pouring. Nazi.
Speaker 7:Excellent.
Speaker 1:This is so exciting.
Speaker 7:Alright. It's so good when it hit your lips. Cheers to pagodas. To pagodas. Happy to go.
Speaker 8:Cheers. Thank you, guys. Exciting.
Speaker 7:Happy birthday. Happy birthday.
Speaker 8:Thank you. Yeah.
Speaker 2:And to an epic lizard day. And that
Speaker 1:was nice. Boys. Cheers.
Speaker 5:Cheers. Cheers. Wait till, senior senator.
Speaker 7:Senator, thank you, Joy. Cheers.
Speaker 3:Cheers, boys. Cheers. Cheers.
Speaker 5:Love you, guys. Cheers.
Speaker 7:Paul Roger.
Speaker 1:Paul Roger and Aparticus. Is there any better combo?
Speaker 7:Oh my god. PRT. Goes perfect
Speaker 6:with this thing.
Speaker 1:Let's try it with the cigar now. Oh.
Speaker 5:Whoever suggested this who who was it? Pooba. Is that
Speaker 3:the rooster? I think it was rooster.
Speaker 2:Oh, maybe. Yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah. I think it was rooster that suggested. Great suggestion. A great recipe. You don't have to twist my arm for champagne.
Speaker 1:Not only did senator introduce us to champagne this year, he also shared his love of great wine and how it pairs with cigars in episode 8. Speaking of vaults, I mean, we're busting roosters balls, but Senator has quite a collection of wine in his cellar. I do love wine. He's a wine guy.
Speaker 5:So how many how many bottles of wine do you think you okay. Let's let's go first. How many how many bottles of wine do you buy a week?
Speaker 3:I usually, for a while now I've now slowed down because I had a storage issue where I was running out of places for it. I had to clear out a storage closet in my basement and make that into essentially a cellar, just have the reserve space to store a lot more. But for a while, every weekend, I was buying a case, so a case a week.
Speaker 5:And and was your was your quantity
Speaker 4:level? I mean, I consume a lot. I was just gonna that's where I
Speaker 1:would. Do you drink it in the shower?
Speaker 3:Well, not not in the shower like Bubba, but to to your point, you know, it was so funny. I I feel like a colleague of mine had heard I'm a big wine guy. I was asking me, like, oh, I hear you have a really, I hear you have a really big wine collection. I said, well, I'm not sure how much I would call it a collection because wine doesn't last very long in my house. I buy a lot of wine, but we also consume a lot of wine.
Speaker 3:So, you know, I'm not I I'm sort of, I guess, like, rooster in that, you know, cigars are meant to be consumed. They're meant to be smoked, and
Speaker 4:Absolutely.
Speaker 3:I feel the same way about wine. There are very, very few bottles of wine that are gonna last more than a few years in my cellar. Some maybe I've left for 5 or more years, but the vast majority, they're there to drink and share when, you know, I'm we're hosting dinner parties or stuff like that.
Speaker 6:I mean, you're not you're not buying, like, Bordeauxs and stuff and storing them, letting them sit for No.
Speaker 3:I'm not a huge Bordeaux guy, believe it or not. I mean, I actually like a lot of new world wine. So I'm, like, I'm a big California, you know, Napa cab guy. I would say probably the wine I enjoy least is Italian wine. I've really tried to make an effort to get into Italian wine.
Speaker 3:I found one Chianti, a reserva that I really liked that shockingly did extremely well 1 year in in Wine Spectator, and I I I got a case or 2 of that that I I'm still holding. But for the most part, outside of new world wine, there are a lot of good French wines. Just I'm not all in on Bordeaux because some of them can be so just bone dry that I just don't really love the the flavor in that. I mean, Oregon's got some great wine now. There there's so many good wine out
Speaker 6:of the Pinos out of Oregon. A lot. That's exactly right.
Speaker 3:I mean, the Willamette Valley in Oregon is it makes some of the best Pinos in the world.
Speaker 5:Would you would you consider that as, like, a side hustle, become a sommelier?
Speaker 2:I was just thinking that
Speaker 3:I always joke. I I've said this to my wife, and and I think she's on board with this because I remember the 1st year we went out to Napa, I was so excited as as a as a wine person to go out and spend a lot of time in Napa. My wife, she likes drinking wine, but she's, at the time, at least, didn't appreciate wine the same way I did. And we left that trip, and and her first question was, can can we retire out here? This is amazing.
Speaker 3:She loved it. And so I've always half jokingly, but I'm I'm actually pretty serious at this point. I would love to retire someday and actually try to become, like, a a master some.
Speaker 12:I I would have
Speaker 3:so much fun.
Speaker 5:Well, you have the cigar element covered.
Speaker 3:That's right. Yeah.
Speaker 5:You do. Because that is part of the exam, I think. Am I wrong?
Speaker 4:I I
Speaker 5:think it is.
Speaker 3:I don't know that it's part of the exam.
Speaker 5:But they have they have to, like, they have to, like, understand different cigars, different origins of cigars. Yeah. I think so.
Speaker 3:I don't know. I didn't see that. But but but to your point about that, I mean, you know, to appreciate cigars and review them in the way they do, your palate's gotta be able to pick out those flavor notes and things like that, and we did a, we've done blind tastings on this podcast, and it's hard to guess, and when you're a master som, I mean, you've gotta pick out the the region Right. The grade
Speaker 6:the region. The year. Yeah.
Speaker 3:I mean, it's so difficult, but that's what makes it really fun. When you drink enough of it just like when you smoke enough cigars, you're you're able to pick a lot of that out.
Speaker 1:The guys had some wild fun at my expense this year, enjoyed Poohbah's rant on my salad after effects, the roast of my night with Chivas, and a visit from Bill O'Reilly.
Speaker 2:Is Poohbah subdued today? Gotta get you up. What do you
Speaker 7:what? You wanna you want me to I need some more
Speaker 2:to explore. From Florida. I need the animated Before
Speaker 1:we came out, Eric, he was teeing off on me. And then as soon as I clicked record,
Speaker 7:turned into the moon movie.
Speaker 2:A possessor poo ba now.
Speaker 7:Well, I mean, I think that your belching is a problem. Oh, yeah.
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah.
Speaker 7:So, you know, so Gizmo, our esteemed illustrious producer, who has so many redeeming qualities, has some qualities that are that are that we could call them. I don't know. How would you how would you characterize him? Just slightly quirky. He eats salads while driving, which is so odd.
Speaker 7:I mean, I would I I I've never eaten a salad
Speaker 2:while I was fucked
Speaker 7:as bad. He told me the other day, oh, yeah. He belched last last session we recorded.
Speaker 4:Well,
Speaker 1:I tried to get it out before we're going there.
Speaker 7:And I mentioned something. You know? What's what's going like, what did you eat? Like like, because I'm I'm detecting some furrier.
Speaker 3:To a medical doctor. Right.
Speaker 7:Like like the belching because he he just he doesn't cover his mouth. He doesn't, like, do the thing where he chokes the belch. He just he just belches it out. And he goes he goes, oh, I just I I ate a salad in the car.
Speaker 9:I go, yeah. I
Speaker 2:do. I do.
Speaker 7:I go, wait. Yeah. Eat a salad in the car? I mean, think about trying to do that and drive. It's not like a crunchwrap supreme.
Speaker 1:I have 2 hands in
Speaker 4:the floor.
Speaker 6:Defense here. Yeah. He does drink a lot of seltzer.
Speaker 1:I drink a lot of seltzer. Oh, nice.
Speaker 3:He pounds too much.
Speaker 6:Gallon of seltzer.
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
Speaker 9:A lot.
Speaker 1:Every hour. Yeah. Like, I'll drink, like, 6 of these. What are they? I don't know if they're liters.
Speaker 1:What are these?
Speaker 7:And see there, you have a whole see, there it is.
Speaker 1:One liter. I drink I drink about 5 or 6 of these liters a day.
Speaker 7:Wow. Like, just move to, like, mineral water. Like, I'm, you know, it's less bubbles. You don't burp as much.
Speaker 1:I listen. I just I try to get it out before we come on air. I'm trying to be considerate to the listener. I mean, you guys are the you know, you take the brunt of that.
Speaker 7:No. I understand.
Speaker 1:That might
Speaker 7:be fine with it. I mean, we're we're friends. It's okay.
Speaker 8:Well well, until that point, you know, why fart it and waste it when you can burp it and taste it? What?
Speaker 7:Where did that come
Speaker 3:from when Gota strikes again?
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah.
Speaker 7:I think
Speaker 2:you just struck at the entire group.
Speaker 1:Oh my god. It's emphasized. I think that's probably just for being in the dress box.
Speaker 3:Dress box.
Speaker 5:I like that. Yeah.
Speaker 1:But, you know, that off that, you know, we've talked about that before. That that often causes that tightness in the draw that shouldn't be their construction.
Speaker 3:Oh, sorry. Just said
Speaker 6:fuck it.
Speaker 3:Started letting it happen.
Speaker 2:He did say fuck it.
Speaker 4:I'm right
Speaker 7:I'm right behind him.
Speaker 8:I'm right behind him too.
Speaker 9:Let's do it.
Speaker 7:Let's light it. Bullshit. Oh, fuck. We're
Speaker 5:wasting time
Speaker 1:for that. The punch punch. Alright. Hold hold on, boys. He doesn't have audio because he lit a cigar and put his headphones on.
Speaker 1:Right?
Speaker 5:Who's that?
Speaker 8:With no check?
Speaker 5:Because most kids
Speaker 2:are so angry right now.
Speaker 7:He sounds like a he sounds like
Speaker 6:a I'll
Speaker 3:do it live.
Speaker 7:For your fucking little Riley.
Speaker 3:I can't do
Speaker 10:it. Do
Speaker 7:it. Fuck it. Do it live. We'll do it live.
Speaker 3:Alrighty. We'll do it live. Fucking thing sucks.
Speaker 2:I didn't even draw.
Speaker 12:I lit
Speaker 2:it, but I didn't draw on
Speaker 5:it yet. It's just kinda
Speaker 3:What is For credits.
Speaker 13:I don't know what that
Speaker 14:means to play us out. What does that mean?
Speaker 13:To end the show? Yeah. Yeah. Alright. Go.
Speaker 13:Go. 10, 5, 4, 3.
Speaker 3:That's tomorrow, and that is it for us today. That's tomorrow,
Speaker 14:and that is it.
Speaker 13:10, 5, 4, 3.
Speaker 14:That's tomorrow. And that is it for us today, and we will leave you with a
Speaker 13:I can't do it. We'll do it live. We'll do it
Speaker 7:live. Fuck it.
Speaker 13:Do it live. I can I'll write it, and we'll do it live. Fucking thing sucks.
Speaker 1:You bet?
Speaker 7:Alright. Good. Let's
Speaker 13:go. 4, 3.
Speaker 2:Perfect timing.
Speaker 9:Tomorrow. And that's it, bro.
Speaker 7:We gotta keep that in.
Speaker 8:We gotta keep that in.
Speaker 2:I would keep that in.
Speaker 1:Alright, boys. We're lighting the punch punch.
Speaker 14:That needs to play us out. What does that mean?
Speaker 13:To end the show?
Speaker 7:43. That's the item.
Speaker 14:That's tomorrow, and that is
Speaker 9:a Yeah.
Speaker 6:Fucking thing sucks.
Speaker 14:That is it for us today.
Speaker 7:That's it. Thanks for tuning into the podcast, everybody.
Speaker 13:Do it live. Okay.
Speaker 7:Oh, do it live.
Speaker 1:We're doing it live, baby. This is the content we're becoming known for.
Speaker 7:Oh, god. Guys, we had a production snafu for the listener. We had a production snafu, and Gizmo lost lost his fucking mind on Pagoda. I mean, his headphones weren't working. He lit the cigar too early, and he's gonna have to just get over it.
Speaker 1:It was a major protocol breach.
Speaker 7:Fucking he was like Bill O'Reilly in here in the studio.
Speaker 1:He was like, the
Speaker 3:best part is Pagoda didn't give a fuck.
Speaker 9:He just sat there.
Speaker 3:That's just like, you're gonna take care of this. Right?
Speaker 7:Fucking screaming at him. What are you doing there? The what are you doing? Your your headphones are? Your headphones are?
Speaker 7:It up. Did you fuck it up? Did you fuck with it? Did you not put it on?
Speaker 3:It's pagoda. Like, you
Speaker 1:just I did not say any of those things,
Speaker 6:you asshole.
Speaker 5:It's on tape, brother.
Speaker 1:We'll pull the tape. We'll pull the tape. Oh, gosh.
Speaker 7:This tastes great, by the way. Great cigar. We're doing it live.
Speaker 2:I wanna hear how he got wasted on this because I wasn't there. I wasn't at this place that this happened.
Speaker 5:Cover your ears, Gizmo.
Speaker 3:Who wants to start?
Speaker 7:Are we are
Speaker 6:we are we going there?
Speaker 7:Yeah. Oh, we're we're we're going there. Are we going there? We're going there.
Speaker 3:I'm pretty confident saying the only reason Pooba picked up this bottle is to go there. Yeah. Now
Speaker 1:So for the listener, buckle in.
Speaker 2:I wanna, yeah, I wanna prime it for the listener. This was a legendary lizard night. I wasn't there.
Speaker 3:Yeah. I'm I'm sorry. I wasn't either, actually.
Speaker 7:You weren't there?
Speaker 3:I wasn't there. It
Speaker 4:was just
Speaker 6:it was just me, pooba, rooster, pooba, and Gizmo.
Speaker 2:And shit fuck.
Speaker 7:Oh, is that right? Yeah. Yes. So, dude, so this so so we're at we're at our we're at the lounge we all met at, Really nice elegant lounge, but it closes at
Speaker 6:9:58.
Speaker 7:What was it? Yeah. 9, like, 9:58. And, if you've been listening to the podcast, we go longer than that.
Speaker 4:Not
Speaker 1:10 o'clock doesn't work for us.
Speaker 7:10 o'clock doesn't really work for us nor should it for for most people. I mean, so the hours are not reasonable at this place. So we would look for alternatives, and one of the alternatives, locally is this local Indian restaurant. And, the owner who we're friends with happens to let us smoke cigars in there, which is fantastic, from time to time, not all the time, but, you know, late at night, nobody's in there, and we would crack the doors or whatever. And so we we go in and, we didn't light any cigars yet.
Speaker 7:I actually, I don't even know if we smoked cigars that night, did we?
Speaker 6:I don't think we did.
Speaker 7:I don't think we did. No. So we walk in, and, the owner of this Indian restaurant, great guy, dynamic guy, funny guy, he's got a full bottle of of Chivas 18 on the table. And he's running his whole scene in there. He right?
Speaker 7:He's running his whole ecosystem. He's got an ecosystem that he runs. And
Speaker 6:This is after the restaurant had closed.
Speaker 7:So it was
Speaker 6:him and this lady who were sitting at the at the table.
Speaker 1:They were they were meeting about the
Speaker 6:first She was apparently there
Speaker 2:What was her name?
Speaker 6:Since 6 PM. We just know her as shit fuck.
Speaker 7:Right. So so so so she got yeah. We only call her shit fuck. So so the owner of the restaurant's hanging out with this woman who we ended up
Speaker 6:because she called us shit fucks.
Speaker 7:Because she called us shit fucks. So I I basically, we were talking about she was talking about our kids and she goes, she goes, you know, she goes, I don't understand these kids. They they they talk back to me, and I'm like, you shit fuck. Like that. And I and and and I'm like I'm like, wow.
Speaker 7:Shit fuck. And she's like, shit fuck. I'm like, you you're shit fuck. And she's like, you're shit fuck. And then I guess that's it.
Speaker 7:So we just started calling her shit fuck, and she didn't mind. She thought it was funny. And, and so now
Speaker 3:It's a term of affection. She calls
Speaker 10:her kids
Speaker 3:shit fuck.
Speaker 2:I'm like,
Speaker 7:come on, shit fuck. Have another drink. Because I'm like, I can't believe she's talking like this.
Speaker 1:It was Yeah.
Speaker 7:Her mouth and everything. And I and I and she was like, shit fuck. These shit fucks. I go, yeah. I go, shit fuck.
Speaker 7:So I kept calling her shit fuck. She thinks it's funny. Everybody is is drinking, and and and we're drinking this shivas Regal. So, so Gizmo is there, and and Rooster's sitting to the right of me. Gizmo's sitting to the left of me, and and we start drinking.
Speaker 7:And, it's not an ask, like, I need a refill. The owner of the restaurant, mister s, let's call him, mister s, he just he just fills up your drink as you're moving along. You'll be, like, talking, and then you'll turn back in your drink,
Speaker 6:and then it's just full. It's Indian hospitality.
Speaker 7:It's Indian hospitality. Precisely. So long story short, I look over at Gizmo, and he's it's like as if someone threw water on the gremlin. You know what I mean? Like, his his, like, there's weird he's twitchy.
Speaker 7:Weird things are starting to happen. His eyes are going all kinda crazy. Like, you know, like, what's up, kids? And he's like he's like, he's like, I gotta go do payroll. I gotta go.
Speaker 2:What time was this? 2 AM?
Speaker 6:It was midnight.
Speaker 7:It's like fucking midnight. Payroll at midnight. Yes. I gotta go do that.
Speaker 6:Well, like, you gotta do payroll now? He's like, yeah. I gotta deliver. I gotta do this. I gotta do that.
Speaker 6:I gotta do payroll.
Speaker 7:I'm like, oh. Payroll. I look I look at rooster. He looks at me. He goes, payroll.
Speaker 7:What the fuck is he doing? We're, like, talking about him in front of him. He doesn't even know what's going on. So, you know, we're like, whatever whatever. And he he walks out to his vehicle, and I and we were wrapping up kinda anyway.
Speaker 6:No. We thought he left. They were like, alright. He's gotta do payrolls.
Speaker 7:Yeah. We let him go, which wasn't the most responsible thing as a friend. But, anyway, he's an adult. He's gotta take responsibility for his actions. He walked out the door, and and we thought he had gone.
Speaker 7:And we're going back to our car, and I see
Speaker 5:An hour later.
Speaker 7:Next thing I know, I'm looking at this this Volkswagen, and there he is. He's in the Volkswagen and
Speaker 6:The RT on.
Speaker 7:Right. And I and I look inside and he's asleep. He's completely unconscious. Right? I go, Rooster, come here.
Speaker 7:You gotta see this. I go, look at look inside. I go, Gizmo's fucking shot.
Speaker 2:I wish you would've taken
Speaker 7:a photo. Shot.
Speaker 9:And then
Speaker 7:and then Rooster says he goes, is that vomit in the car? And I'm like, definitely, that's vomit in the car. The entire passenger side of the vehicle is covered in puke. So I knock at the door, wake him up, and I look at him and I go, he snaps right too, Like nothing. Like, he he seems like he's totally straight.
Speaker 7:I said, hey, man. You should
Speaker 6:I'm done with peril.
Speaker 7:I don't think you should drive. And he goes, he he goes, nothing to do. And I go, listen, man. You own a business. You can't do this.
Speaker 7:You're not driving anywhere. And he said, oh, you're right. You're right. And that was it. And then we just pulled him out of the car.
Speaker 7:Rooster drove him home, and that was it for sure. Hold on.
Speaker 3:I heard he christened roosters. Roosters. Yeah. The side of roosters.
Speaker 2:The color of his car changed there.
Speaker 6:Well, I just said I just said, listen, man. I gotta drive you home. I was like, Yeah.
Speaker 7:He got in.
Speaker 6:Yeah. He got in. And, you know, the whole way home, we have the window window down, and I think he he must have got
Speaker 3:give you a new paint job.
Speaker 2:A new paint job.
Speaker 7:This is humiliating. I know. But but but but but this is the I know it
Speaker 1:was coming. As soon as I saw Chivas on the, the itinerary tonight, I was like,
Speaker 3:Oh, the only thing I heard the only thing I heard, I I feel like Gizmo needs an attorney right now. So I'm just gonna play a fake one for the podcast's sake. I I did remember Gizmo saying that he had told the owner he didn't want any more shivas.
Speaker 1:I was putting my hand
Speaker 3:on the glass. The glass. That the owner was pouring the shivas through his fingers Yes.
Speaker 7:Into the glass. That's exactly what happened. Oh, and that's exactly what happened.
Speaker 1:I was begging him to stop pouring, and he was I was covering the glass with my hand, and he was pouring through my hand.
Speaker 8:Were you drinking through a straw?
Speaker 7:But but I'd like to also put in context for the listener, please, just so everyone understands. 1, Gizz is not a big drinker at all. He's not a huge drink. Like, he doesn't overindulge.
Speaker 3:But For the record also, Gizmo didn't drink in college, which is the reason this happened.
Speaker 1:That is true.
Speaker 7:That's true. And so he's vomited, but you know, subsequently to that as well. But so he's a puker. What I'm trying to say is, is that I want to provide context in that he's a little bit of a puker.
Speaker 1:You're really helping with the context. Well, no.
Speaker 7:No. Because I don't wanna make it seem like you're that guy who's, like, constant because you don't me, I drink. You you kinda drink. You know? He hit he hit he hit up Senator Sink 1 night.
Speaker 7:Yeah. We because he claimed it on water. I mean, he's Yeah.
Speaker 3:That was the best one.
Speaker 7:That was
Speaker 3:the best one. So we we had a legendary night at my place.
Speaker 1:This is about 4 months after the Chivas incident.
Speaker 4:Yes. Right.
Speaker 3:Which at the time, you know, Gizmo said, oh, it was just that night. I I'm not a puker. Puker. I never this never happens to me.
Speaker 7:And so we happened to meet a Van Halen concert in, like, 1994. And you're like, okay.
Speaker 3:So we have this this great night at my place, and this was, sort of when the the I had spread my love for caviar and rubbing caviar, champagne, cigars, all this Sushi. Catered. Karaoke. Karaoke on my deck. I mean, it was a wonderful day.
Speaker 7:It was a wonderful day. Paul Roger
Speaker 3:night. Paul
Speaker 1:Roger. Saber. Sabor. Sabor. Sabor.
Speaker 1:Sabor. Sabor.
Speaker 3:Sabor. Sabor. Sabor. Sabor. Everything.
Speaker 3:And, fast forward, I noticed Gizmo so part of the problem I noticed, everyone was pouring for themselves, and I Gizmo was actually sitting right next to me that night. I'm looking at his glass, and it it's like a mister s pour. Dude. I mean, he's just filling up his own glass.
Speaker 7:Of what? I'm sorry. Mister. Of the count 12. The count 12.
Speaker 4:But I
Speaker 3:still remember he he had the box next door next to
Speaker 7:the deck.
Speaker 3:And he just kept filling it. And I was like, oh, boy. That that's aggressive pour. Dude. I'm like, alright.
Speaker 3:You know, maybe he
Speaker 2:One after another was a full glass.
Speaker 4:It was full.
Speaker 7:It was full.
Speaker 1:I Ubered that night.
Speaker 7:I Ubered that night.
Speaker 3:And then you fast forward. I noticed I'm like, this has been in the bathroom for a long time. And I see I look like through the sliding glass door, and I see there's like a line to use my bathroom. It's not a line. Okay.
Speaker 3:Something's not right here. How long did it take to, you know, take a piss? So I go inside.
Speaker 9:It's so funny. And
Speaker 3:I go inside and just open the bathroom and Giz is just standing over the sink at my sink, met Gizmo in a way it never hoped to. Wow. There was god knows how much worth of caviar and sushi in the sink.
Speaker 7:And also, I'd just like to say, like like, senator's bath, like, the guest bathroom, it's very nice.
Speaker 3:It's pristine.
Speaker 4:It's a
Speaker 7:very nice sink.
Speaker 3:Pristine. It's
Speaker 7:very, very nice. And it's like, this isn't like an American standard
Speaker 2:Oh, no.
Speaker 7:You know, sink that your grandmother had. This is like a flat sink, not to be puked in and stuff. It's a fucking disaster. It's a custom Durovic sink, modern, crispy. It's like built into the wall
Speaker 2:by shit. Oh, yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 7:It's like, you know, real the real thing.
Speaker 3:It was It's like
Speaker 7:a it's like a fucking $11,000 sink
Speaker 4:or something.
Speaker 1:At least.
Speaker 4:You know
Speaker 7:what I mean? At least. The the best part is
Speaker 3:just Gizmo looks at me and he goes, it it was the water. I was I was just trying to shovel water in my mouth, and and that's how it happened. It was the water.
Speaker 7:It was the water. I'm just sitting
Speaker 3:there, like, this is not the fucking water.
Speaker 7:Because this is so much water. And then then we so we we split up into so now we're, like, seal team 6ing them. We're like, okay. We've gotta
Speaker 1:because I'm trying to
Speaker 6:fix it.
Speaker 7:We're gonna cut This
Speaker 3:is the worst part.
Speaker 6:So just
Speaker 1:I was trying I was trying to
Speaker 9:fix it.
Speaker 3:Was usually mister fix it, but in this state was doing the exact opposite. He's, like, trying to rip the drain out. I'm, like, Gizmo, just get out of the bath. No. No.
Speaker 3:No. I got it. I got it. I'm telling Rooster, like, Rooster, just get him out of the bathroom so I could try to fix this. And I had to plunge the sick and finally
Speaker 2:There were chunks.
Speaker 7:When I okay. So you just gotta for the listener, you have to have the visual of of, like, of of senator because he's not a real tool guy. I mean, he may do spring plantings or whatever he does, but he's not he's not Bam. I mean, Bam Bam can Bam Bam can climb up the side of a fucking tree and, like, chop them off for, like
Speaker 1:I could do that.
Speaker 7:Climb on somebody's roof.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 3:He could build a house. He could build
Speaker 7:a fucking house, this guy. Then, you know, you got he goes and he grabs his toolbox. Yeah.
Speaker 3:I should
Speaker 4:have to bring it
Speaker 3:to him.
Speaker 7:Fucking toolbox, dude. It's like right off Amazon. None of this shit's been fucking used. I'm like, they're stuck with plastic on it and then barcodes and shit still. I'm like, dude, what is this toolbox?
Speaker 7:It's like, yeah. I'm gonna have to I'm gonna have to really address this. He was so serious. His his wife was away and everything, and he's like, I can't have this.
Speaker 4:Yeah. I
Speaker 3:can imagine. My wife gets home, and it's like, why is there sushi in our bathroom sink
Speaker 7:clogged in the drain?
Speaker 3:Crack in the drain. I mean,
Speaker 7:thank goodness. Oh, that's unbelievable. And he's trying to use this toolbox. It was very funny. But, You'll have to give me credit.
Speaker 7:I fixed it. You did. Yes.
Speaker 2:I did.
Speaker 7:Yes. You did.
Speaker 3:So Giz had, like, dislodged the stopper, which I had to reattach.
Speaker 1:It's the only time in in the time I've known senator. We get along very well. It's the only time he's ever been irritated with me at a degree that I knew it was that night. It was that moment. Yeah.
Speaker 1:I remember him yelling. I remember very distinctly him yelling at rooster. Get Gizmo the hell out of here.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Out of the bathroom.
Speaker 1:Get him out of the bath.
Speaker 3:The house. No.
Speaker 4:Just out of
Speaker 1:the bathroom. Yeah.
Speaker 6:That wasn't easy.
Speaker 2:So the moral of the story to the young listeners out there, do not overly hydrate while you're drinking.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 1:It's the water. Yeah.
Speaker 5:Don't do that.
Speaker 1:Yes. It's the water.
Speaker 2:You hydrate you hydrate before
Speaker 7:or the morning after. Not during. No. Oh, but we love you so much. And then you you know, genius producer, and we love you.
Speaker 7:But, you know, sometimes
Speaker 3:Sometimes he malfunctions.
Speaker 1:Well, listen. That was
Speaker 7:like That's that's why you're Gizmo. I mean, it's because if if, you know, the wrong ingredients go in or you get exposed to certain things, you can have well, you have, like, you know, you have food vendettas too. Vendettas? Like, he's got he's got certain dietary vendettas. Like, you won't eat dairy.
Speaker 7:Like, it's a vendetta.
Speaker 5:It's true.
Speaker 7:You know?
Speaker 1:I am. I'm anti dairy.
Speaker 7:Anti dairy. Just because I don't like how
Speaker 1:it makes me feel. It's not emotional.
Speaker 7:You can fix everything and you're smart and you're you can there's certain ingredients that if you mix with you, he's He explodes.
Speaker 2:He's a gremlin. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Well, let's hope that, 3 is not a charm because those 2 were plenty for the roast tonight. Yes. The roast of Gizmo tonight. Holy moly, boys.
Speaker 3:It is nice to see you able to drink Chivas again because you swore you couldn't drink it again, but you're being a good sport today.
Speaker 1:It is so good.
Speaker 7:Right?
Speaker 1:It's nice when I'm pouring it myself
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:In a reasonable manner Yes. As opposed
Speaker 3:to We know exactly how that ends. A gizmo pour is a term for a reason.
Speaker 2:Yes. Mhmm.
Speaker 1:Oh, boy. What a nice Well, I'm very thankful that you guys recap those stories for me. That was and the listeners, thank you guys so much.
Speaker 7:Well, we try to share.
Speaker 9:You know?
Speaker 1:Sharing is caring. We learned a lot about a variety of different spirits this year. Here's a great clip of Grinder explaining the distillation process of Eli Petey Scotch from episode 9. So I'm I'm dying to take a sip of the log of olin Scotch that we have here. I'm dying to take a sip and and pair this.
Speaker 1:So log of all and 16 year aged, scotch, grinder, our resident, Scotch expert. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Tell us so I'm gonna By
Speaker 1:the way, I'm gonna sip this.
Speaker 2:I'm gonna sip this, and I wanna hear That's great on the nose. Very nice on the nose. Very nice.
Speaker 5:I'm I'm interested to see what Giz thinks of
Speaker 3:it. It's Well, this this was very controversial with Giz, the first time he had it.
Speaker 1:Yeah. We'll
Speaker 3:have to tell that.
Speaker 1:I had the I had an amateur palate at the time. No. Primitive. Primitive, excuse me. Primitive palate at the time.
Speaker 1:It's a little more refined now.
Speaker 5:Yeah. I would say you every you've rounded out a lot of the rough edges I have. In in a lot of ways. Look at your cabinet. Look at your whiskey selection.
Speaker 1:It's true. Yeah.
Speaker 5:So this is a personal favorite of mine. This is one of my favorite scotch of all time. It has a lot of sentimental value for me because when I first started drinking it, I drank it with good friends of mine in Germany, still good friends of mine, Germans, who you know, I was 22 23 years old working over there on a project and was there for a better almost a year. And we used to be in this little small town in the Rhineland called Gueterslohe, and it was like this there's nothing there except for this park hotel that you used to stay at. And they would say, this is the scotch we're gonna drink.
Speaker 5:We're gonna try to drink this a lot. And then we did. It was it was really special. But but it really kinda started my introduction to, petey Scotch. And, you know, it the they have they make different, obviously, like, all distilleries.
Speaker 5:They make a lot of different aged these are sherry, mostly sherry, casks, but they do sherry and bourbon casks kinda mixed. And the I one of the funny things about this brand is that it's it's notoriously or not notoriously, famously associated with Nick Offerman, who's who's, Ron Swanson.
Speaker 2:Ron Swanson. Yeah.
Speaker 5:Because Ron Swanson's character in parts and recreation was, like, the man's man. He, like, only ate red meat and was, like, no nonsense, you know, had certain proclivities and political views that were associated with that whole ethos, and he was just, like,
Speaker 2:a lot like poo poo. And
Speaker 5:and, you know, and and and since that that, episode or not just that episode, that whole show, he has now he has, like, his I think he has his own lageville and Scotch. That's like an 8 year Nick Offerman special edition, Lagavulin. But, back to the basics. It's an Eli Scotch. So Eli Scotch is is famously peaty because of all the peat marshes, especially in the southern part of the island.
Speaker 5:The most famous peat peaty Scotch is obviously Laphroaig.
Speaker 2:Yeah. I can't Lafroaig.
Speaker 1:That is that is I can't do that.
Speaker 3:That's gasoline and bottle. I can't mess with that.
Speaker 5:So this I think this distillery is, you know, just has been around for a while, probably early 1800, like like most of them. And like most of them, they were probably distilling for a long time before then, illegally because that's just kinda what the Scotch did the Scotts did. And they, I think they actually got into quite a few legal battles with their neighbor, the Laphroaig Distillery, because they saw couple of the distillers who founded the Lagavoyn saw the success that Laphroaig was having, and they said, we wanna make something similar and make this an, like, an, like, an, like, kind of Scotch. And they did, and it turned out to be to taste very different. So if you tasted Laphroaig and then you taste Lagavone right next to it, you certainly know notice a difference.
Speaker 5:The peat is more softer. There's a more there's more sweetness. You can definitely get some
Speaker 1:of the cherry
Speaker 7:In the Lagavone?
Speaker 5:Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. And, to the benefit, it didn't taste like to their benefit, I think, it didn't taste like, like Laphroaig.
Speaker 5:Now one of the things that makes it different is that their pot stills are very shallow. They're like pear pot stills, or and they're not as high. So what that happens is this this scotch, you it's kinda it's kinda thick. Its viscosity is it's a little heavy. And the reason is is because when when you have a pot still that short, a lot of the particulates don't get don't you know, they they they stay with the they they don't get sucked out of the, not sucked out, but they they stay with the the vapors as they go up, and it's distilled.
Speaker 1:Know what's funny as you say about viscosity? If you turn your cup to the side Oh, yeah.
Speaker 5:You'll kinda see it. It's like it's like molasses.
Speaker 1:It is. It it kinda stays on the side of the glass.
Speaker 2:It's got some legs.
Speaker 1:That's pretty wild. Yeah. That's pretty wild.
Speaker 5:So that's why is because it has these short pair, pear shaped pot stills, copper pots. And, and it because it's shorter, a lot of the particulates in the peat remain in it, but also a lot of the particulates from the sherry, casks remains in it
Speaker 10:as well.
Speaker 1:We've mentioned a few pyramids during the best of as we reviewed quite a few this year. Here's a clip of the conclusion of the 2022 battle of the Cuban pyramids.
Speaker 2:So what are the torpedoes? Just remind us all.
Speaker 1:Alright. So the other ones that we've done so far Yep. We did the San Cristobal de la Habana La Punta
Speaker 2:That you all loved.
Speaker 1:We did we'll discuss that. We did the Vegas related It's not. Unicos, the Montecristo number 2, the Partiga Series P number 2, and the 2014 h uppman number 2. So I I just quickly wanna go back, to the ratings of the other pyramids. We went through them before.
Speaker 1:So this fits, in, the number 5 slot of 6, right above the San Cristobal della Habano La Punta. That was a 5.9. This was a 6.2. So do you think that is appropriate?
Speaker 3:I do. Yeah. I think so. I think both cigars, the flavor was incredibly muddled, and I didn't get a whole lot out of it for most of those smokes. So I for me, I think they're right where they should be.
Speaker 3:Agreed.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Cool. So, again, Upman 2, a 9.8, the p 2, an 8.7, Monti, 2, an 8.4, Vegas, Rubenia, Unicos, an 8.2, the San Cristobal de la Habana La Punta was a 5.9, and the diplomaticos number 2 tonight, boys, was a 6.2.
Speaker 2:Right. I love it.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So that alongside the Fortaleza Reposado at an 8.3, I think, that we got our money's worth tonight,
Speaker 7:at least
Speaker 1:on the tequila. A lot of listeners have told us they relate to the various mindsets we've discussed one can have while smoking a cigar. Here's a deep discussion we did on the topic from episode 46.
Speaker 7:You guys something just crossed my mind. Do you guys know that feeling that you get when, like I'm asking if you know. Of course, you know this feeling, but the feeling that you get when you smoke a cigar and it and even if it's just a good cigar, like a a good to very good cigar. You know? And it gives you that, like, punch where you're like, Yes.
Speaker 4:Do you
Speaker 7:know what I mean? Where it gives you that therapeutic punch.
Speaker 1:Yep. Do you
Speaker 7:know what I'm saying? And you're like, okay. And you, like, settle into it, and you're having this kind of, like, therapeutic response almost to it where it really hits you. And, like, with with cigars that we really like, I feel like almost a room gets quiet for a second. Yeah.
Speaker 7:You know what I mean? And this just this particular cigar isn't it's maybe just starting to do that now with a little bit more strength or something maybe, but it's just not doing that for me. Like, I feel like it's not like I'm fighting with it. It's just not delivering, like, that present that I want that a cigar to me that's like an like, I'm not gonna score it now, but that's like an 8 or above Yeah. Gives me.
Speaker 7:Do you know what I mean? It's not giving me that. And I don't know why, but it's just not delivering that kind of pleasure zone. It's not triggering that pleasure zone in my in my brain.
Speaker 1:Let me ask you a question about this. I do, and I I'm I'm I wanna dive into that because I think about that a lot because sometimes I'll have let's say a cigar that I have a lot, like like a Padron exclusivo or, a BBF or a Mani 2 or whatever it may be. I find that I'm curious what your answer to this is, but I find that it's not only a combo of the cigar and the environment. If I'm by myself or I'm with others, we're smoking the same thing or not, the vibe, but also just kinda where my energy is coming from my day, going into the day.
Speaker 6:It's
Speaker 2:a great conversation. I have some comments on that.
Speaker 4:Like
Speaker 1:Yeah. What is the formula for you, personally, yes, that you have found that helps you achieve that?
Speaker 7:So for me and this isn't for everybody because I've actually spoke to senator about this multiple times. I've spoke to I think I've spoke to you
Speaker 2:the most about it.
Speaker 6:Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 7:You know, for me, like, when I'm really stressed out, you know, like, if, you know, we all get there, you know, whether it's about work or life or whatever, when, you know, you have one of those days. Sometimes, like, to me, a cigar, I have to be in the to enjoy a cigar, and I'm in that mindset now, ready to enjoy. But for me, when I'm stressed out, it's kinda hard to get in the mindset for me to unwind enough to actually let let the cigar present itself for me, for me to take my time with it, and for me to be in that kind of a meditative mindset where I can sit and just enjoy a cigar, listen to music, have a drink by myself Yeah. You know, and smoke it. Almost like that feeling where you'd have, like, you know what?
Speaker 7:I don't really wanna go out tonight because I'm just I had such a rough day. It's that kind of a day. But I to me, cigar now other people feel differently in this room and
Speaker 1:everybody's different.
Speaker 7:Where they're like, if I had a stressful day, I really need to have a cigar to unwind.
Speaker 8:Correct.
Speaker 7:I fall somewhere in the middle there. Like, if I have a medium stressful day, a cigar to unwind is great. But if I have a super stressful day or something, that's not what I'm looking for. Because I can't just get in that meditate I for me to get to the meditative state where I can actually accept the delivery of it and, like, be into it Yeah. I'm too preoccupied to even enjoy it.
Speaker 7:It doesn't take me out now. So I don't know where I'm going, but I guess what I'm saying is is that everybody's different and that and that, when you're in the mindset, when I'm, like, in the best of circumstances, for me, where I'm like, I wanna really have a cigar in optimal circumstances mentally, this still this isn't giving me that, you know, that delivery where it's like, oh my god. Like, this is really so nice. Do you know what I mean? It's not doing that.
Speaker 7:Sure.
Speaker 8:I I feel exactly the opposite. In fact, me and my friends, when we started smoking cigars and we would get together, we'd call it our therapy sessions, and the reason was we'd go to bars and we're in loud,
Speaker 7:you know,
Speaker 8:environments barely having a conversation, and your conversations are very different. You have a stressful day. You hang out with a couple of buddies. You're hanging out smoking a cigar, and maybe the first cigar doesn't deliver. But, by the way, you would get to the second cigar.
Speaker 8:You'd be in such a relaxed state, and that's what really drove us to cigars. And for us, it was called a therapy session. In fact, we still call it our therapy sessions, and if we were to open up a cigar lounge, we'd call it therapy session. It's it's you're you're right. Everyone feels differently about cigars, and for for me, every time I have a stressful day, I wanna go, sit down, you know, be in my solitude, have my cigar, have a cup of coffee or a drink, and just chill.
Speaker 8:And, you know, within a couple of cigars, I'm really good to go, and then I'm back to, you know, being, you know, the husband or the citizen of, you know, in the community, but the cigars really help me unwind because it gives me that hour, hour and a half, 2 hours of just being in the quiet zone in the solitude. That's great.
Speaker 7:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah. I think I I think I'm, somewhere, in the middle. I mean, closer to Pagoda in that, I think, for me, cigars are, like, my version of therapy, but, I can relate also what Poop is saying in the sense that I think the best smokes are always celebratory smokes.
Speaker 1:Yes. Absolutely.
Speaker 3:That's right. When you have a great day, you know, at work, you know, whatever the case may be, nothing beats the feeling of being in a good mood and a cigar just putting you on cloud 9.
Speaker 7:Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. Nothing beats that. Nothing beats that.
Speaker 7:But you're right. I mean, like yeah. I fall a little bit more into the middle of the like, a cigar is not gonna it's a spectrum thing. I mean, you know, it's degrees. So it's not gonna bring me out of it.
Speaker 7:I'm not reaching for it when I'm really, like,
Speaker 9:ah,
Speaker 7:you know, if because of something. But if I'm in the middle and I'm with people, yeah, it's gonna help me. That's why I'm alone.
Speaker 3:I can relate on both sides because I where I am more like pagoda, though, when it is on the far other end of the spectrum, if I'm having my worst of days, I mean, my wife will just have to look at me to know I've not had a good day. And she'll say,
Speaker 2:do you
Speaker 3:wanna go you're gonna go to the lounge?
Speaker 2:Go to
Speaker 4:the club.
Speaker 3:Just have a cigar. And I'll just sit down even if no one is around me. If I'm just by myself and I light up a cigar that I enjoy, it just brings me back. Yeah. I mean, like, everything's fine.
Speaker 3:I can think with more clarity. I mean, there are times I'm just wrestling with a really tough work related decision, and I can just have a cigar, and all of a sudden, I feel like I have perfect clarity. It it's like I can't even explain it. So I'm I both, I can relate to both sides there, but all that's to say, I clearly, I and many of us could not live without cigars. No.
Speaker 7:Absolutely
Speaker 2:not. So, honestly, for me, the meditative state that Pupa mentioned is important here. I reach for a certain cigar because not every cigar is gonna get me to that meditative state that I'm pursuing.
Speaker 1:That's interesting.
Speaker 2:No doubt about it. Like, I'm not gonna reach for, you know, a a lighter bodied cigar. I need something that's gonna that's interesting, that captures me the moment I light it. Nextclusivo, I'm in a cloud heaven with that cigar. And that so I reach for when I need it, I go for the specific cigar, and I've got a short list on my mind that I really love.
Speaker 2:Gotta have that on on a tough day, and it gets me right there.
Speaker 1:Interesting. Yeah.
Speaker 2:And it allows me to kinda put my day aside, and I've only recently learned how to do that. It's not easy.
Speaker 1:I think for me, the only difference maker, as far as my ability to de stress, let's say, with a cigar or get to that state, is if I've had a very stressful day, sometimes I just like to smoke by myself.
Speaker 2:Those are my favorite moments.
Speaker 7:You know?
Speaker 4:Some of
Speaker 2:my favorite moments.
Speaker 1:And and it it's always balanced with, you know, we do this a couple of nights a week. We smoke by ourselves a couple of nights a week. But when I'm really super stressed, unless we have an appointment like this, like, we're gonna do a pod, like, I know that when I'm driving here, it's like I'm I'm no This
Speaker 2:for me is an event.
Speaker 1:Me yeah. I love it. I
Speaker 2:look forward to this.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. And what I'm saying what I mean by that is on my way here, I'm trying to prepare my mind to get to the place that that we need to do the you know, we're gonna do the pod.
Speaker 2:You know, Rooster inside is laughing because he's always in his
Speaker 5:I know.
Speaker 1:He's yeah. I can't wait to hear what
Speaker 6:he has to say.
Speaker 1:But really, the difference for me only is smoking with folks Yeah.
Speaker 2:Or smoking by myself. Yeah.
Speaker 8:I just wanna say one thing. You know, the other day, Rooster and I were hanging out with, now a friend of ours, we'd call it, and we were exhausted.
Speaker 7:We were
Speaker 8:we had spent the whole day golfing, and we went for a very long dinner. We were just exhausted. It was past, our buddy's bedtime as well, but when Rooster pulled out the 898, a 2,002-898, thank you, by the way. Really appreciate it. It just woke us all up.
Speaker 8:We were fully energized. So what a cigar, a really good cigar, can do for you is just liven your mood up, and it's like a second wind, and it was great because it just changed the whole conversation. Everybody was energized, and, it's interesting how cigars can really just, you know, really influence your mood.
Speaker 7:That's one that's that's
Speaker 6:one great day.
Speaker 2:Goes back to what Pupa said earlier. This, for him, this isn't getting him there. Right? It's a good cigar, very tasty for him, but it's not giving him that body that elevates it. And that, you know, that's fair.
Speaker 1:And the complexity. I I would argue that he chases complexity in a cigar.
Speaker 4:So I think
Speaker 1:Whether it's it's full or not Yeah. I'm speaking for you, but he chases a a really Sure. Interesting complex cigar.
Speaker 2:And from the point of view of the listener, as they smoke more and more cigars, they're gonna find the ones that they really love. Like, I have my shortlist, as I mentioned, that I have to have when I have a terrible day.
Speaker 7:What are they?
Speaker 2:You're gonna find those. The BBF
Speaker 7:K.
Speaker 6:D 4. Millennium.
Speaker 2:The Millennium for sure, the Exclusivo. QD won't won't that's not sufficient for a tough day for me. The, up and 2, 100%. Yeah. No doubt about it.
Speaker 7:But boy oh, boy, when you think about a Davidoff millennium, bro, dude, like Bro. Like, in just not that I'm about to compare that to this, but, like, what that delivers Yeah. In terms of, like, this Yeah. Boy oh, boy, it's a nice cigar. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Because you know you know what you're going
Speaker 7:to get.
Speaker 2:And it's so consistent. Just like
Speaker 7:It's so consistent. You know what you're gonna get. Yeah. Yes.
Speaker 2:But Just like the Exclusivo, you know what you're gonna get.
Speaker 7:But if besides knowing what you're gonna get, I could smoke this again and kinda kinda know what I'm gonna get. Right. But what I'm getting, what you're getting with the Davidoff money is really, really good.
Speaker 3:Yeah. The
Speaker 7:no. That's the thing.
Speaker 3:The only thing, though, I think Ben brings up a very important point because this has got me thinking now. There really is something to be said about when you're in those moments that you you need to pick me up. You've had a long day. You're, you know, tired, need to pick me up in the way that Pagoda mentioned. You reach for a cigar that you know exactly what you're gonna get.
Speaker 3:And even though we're smoking this cigar, sure, we think we know we're gonna get the next one, but I would even say as much as I love the d 4, I can't say that every single d 4 I pick up from every single box
Speaker 1:is gonna
Speaker 2:be the same. They're
Speaker 1:not. Absolutely.
Speaker 3:They're a little different. Some are gonna be a little sweeter. Some are gonna be a little spicier. Yeah. Some are gonna have a little more baking spice.
Speaker 3:Like there's all these, it's kind of a, I know I like all the variations of it, which is why I love the D4, but it got me thinking. I mean, I really, when I'm in a tough moment and I just need a cigar to just relax and unwind, I do find myself reaching a
Speaker 6:lot Exclusiver?
Speaker 3:For a Padrone, either an Exclusivo, an 80th 80th.
Speaker 1:80th. Yeah. Or, you know,
Speaker 3:a millennium because those are cigars that They're a millennial friend. It's not even every single box, every single time, it's the same. I mean, truly, there's not much variation where even with the d four, as much as that's one of my favorite cigars of all time, there is variation where I'm not exactly certain from that particular box unless I've smoked it before what I'm gonna get.
Speaker 5:So So what he just
Speaker 2:said is interesting. Unless I smoked it before, if you find a box of d fours, like one you and I ordered a while ago, I still have that.
Speaker 10:Yeah.
Speaker 2:They all smoke incredibly good, really rich and robust. I'm holding on to those.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Because those for those moments, that hits the fucking spot.
Speaker 1:I I do the same thing then.
Speaker 2:It hits the spot.
Speaker 1:Yep. And that's you know, listen. That's part of the journey. Right? I mean, even a cigar you guys have mentioned a couple of you guys have mentioned the exclusivo.
Speaker 1:I've had they're all great, but I've had those exclusivos that for whatever reason, is it the cigar? Is it my mindset at the time? Is it the group I'm with? Are we laughing a lot? Are we having a great discussion like this?
Speaker 1:That there's like that extra 1% or extra 5% that that exclusivo out of the same box that I've been smoking is like a holy shit moment.
Speaker 2:Yeah, man.
Speaker 1:Yeah. You know, even with since ago.
Speaker 6:Sometimes you kinda wanna go back into your tower, like revisit some of those smokes. Like you might not have had it for a while, like I had a I think it was the Upman, 54 or even the 50 or the Kanye. Yeah. I mean, I I used the Kanye's were, like, they didn't do it for me in the beginning, and Puba used to love the Kanye's.
Speaker 7:I love still do.
Speaker 2:I love that cigar.
Speaker 6:It still does.
Speaker 4:It still does.
Speaker 7:It still does.
Speaker 6:And so I I went back, like, after, like, months of not smoking that cigar, I went back, had a Kanye, and it was an afternoon. It blew me away. It was so good. I don't know if because it sat for a while. It kinda changed it, made it more complex and balanced and, really good.
Speaker 6:And then the Upman 50 and the 54
Speaker 7:Yeah. Delicious, delicious cigars. Cigars. Yep. Yeah.
Speaker 7:As the the you know, as these cigars sit in our tower for for years, they they do change. Like, I had a Vizia the other day. I've got some 2018 Vizia. I was okay with that cigar when I, like, first got it, but, like, I haven't touched touched that box in a couple of years. Did you have one recently?
Speaker 7:I had one recently, and it was really good. Wow.
Speaker 4:Like,
Speaker 7:I mean, it still wasn't I wasn't like it was way better than I remember it, but it won't it's still to me only just pretty just very good, not great. But, again, it it changed. One last thing,
Speaker 2:if you don't mind. Also, the dimension of the cigar matters.
Speaker 1:I totally agree.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Like, that last week, I had the HTC. The oil double corona. Yeah. That's a that was a 2 hour cigar.
Speaker 2:I was alone at night looking at the lake. My mind just completely drifted, and it and it allowed my mind to drift because of the time needed to smoke that cigar. So that that matters as well depending on the situation.
Speaker 3:I think to your point, the ring gauge does, there are certain ring gauges that are more appropriate for certain occasions. For me, personally, probably everyone doesn't subscribe to this, but you all have heard me several times if I've had a really rough day say, I just wanna drown myself in clouds and stuff.
Speaker 1:Be a chimney. Yes.
Speaker 3:I just wanna be a chimney. I've said it a 1,000 times, And I will reach that's when you'll see me pull, like, a Partagas e 2, a 54 ring gauge stick that's just plumes of smoke everywhere, and it just puts me in that kind of meditative state where I'm not thinking about anything else that's pissing me off that day except that cigar. Yep. In the same way that sometimes for a a really celebratory occasion and I I remember once, our former lounge, I had a really great day at work. I landed a big client, and I wanted a really big cigar that just put out a ton of smoke, and I had gotten a Davidoff pick one for the first time.
Speaker 3:And it was That's a good cigar. It's a great cigar.
Speaker 1:I've never had that.
Speaker 3:It was, they didn't have the Robusto. They just had this 60 ring gauge, and I let that thing up. Sixty. Was so happy.
Speaker 8:Wow.
Speaker 3:I would never I don't have a single 60 ring gauge smoke in my humidor, but for that one occasion, when I just wanted a big cigar in my hand and clouds of smoke to just celebrate a really, you know, a nice moment for for myself, it was perfect. So I I like your point, Bam. I I do agree that, you know, depending on the situation, the ring gauge really
Speaker 7:matters. And when and when you're smoking a Lonsdale like this, back to this cigar, to me, like, my expectation with a good Lonsdale is this, like, I just maybe I mean, this bar is setting it too high, but like a classic host or an 898.
Speaker 1:Yep.
Speaker 7:This elegant it's like this it the wrapper's delivering this and the binder delivering this kind of pointed flavor. It's you know, I my expectation, it it size is like there's a disconnect. The the elegance of the size and the how it feels in the hand and when you light it. And then what this delivers for me fall short for me, you know, in terms of the length of the commitment, because it's not a it takes a second. You can't just blast through this thing.
Speaker 7:It takes a second to get through. And there's time in between draws. The the finish so the finish on this is abrupt enough where it's not hanging around on my palate long enough for me to really be, like, in between draws for me to really being enjoying it. You feel me?
Speaker 1:Yeah. Totally.
Speaker 3:Yeah. I think also to your point, I mean, smaller ring gauge cigars for me, maybe folks agree or disagree. I think the draw is usually just a little bit more resistant, and so it forces me to smoke it slower
Speaker 7:Yeah. Right.
Speaker 4:Than it
Speaker 3:does a larger ring gauge cigar that's got obviously a lot more surface area to just, you know, blow smoke, you know, through that.
Speaker 1:Of course.
Speaker 3:True. So I think in those moments where I just wanna take my time and savor cigar, I'm not you know, I've had a long day. I just wanna puff away and just be a chimney, but I just really wanna enjoy and appreciate a cigar slowly. That's when I reach for a Lonsdale or a smaller ring gauge cigar that I'm just ready to be taken on that journey.
Speaker 7:Right. But that journey for me to get there, the finish needs to be just much longer for you you know what I mean? Where it's like hanging around and hanging around in between draws because to your point, you gotta take your time a
Speaker 1:little slow.
Speaker 9:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 6:I mean, there's a time and a place for all different sizes of
Speaker 1:sticks.
Speaker 2:So true.
Speaker 6:And that's why every single cigar manufacturer makes different sizes, you know, for different moods, different times of the day. If it's the wintertime, you might want just like a quick 20 minute smoke.
Speaker 1:Yep.
Speaker 6:And I really I mean, I love the small ring gauges and the small sizes. That's typically a morning smoke for me.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 1:You know,
Speaker 6:I love the Trinidad, like the Rayas, half Coronas, the Ramon, the, the small one.
Speaker 3:What's
Speaker 7:the Corona
Speaker 3:Club? Corona.
Speaker 6:Yeah. Club. Delicious.
Speaker 7:But those cigars you mentioned have so much more flavor.
Speaker 6:So much flavor.
Speaker 7:Oh, that's good. They're packing so they're punching so far above their weight class.
Speaker 2:That's why we're calling Colenials as well.
Speaker 6:Even even the, the Montecristo Mediacorones, delicious cigars. I mean, in that size, awesome.
Speaker 7:Yeah. And when I think of Montecristo, I think of that, like, chocolate bomb, some of those dessert flavors that you get from a typical Monte. And this particular cigar just isn't delivering in that fashion for me.
Speaker 1:I wanna I wanna tie 2 things together here really fast because I think it's interesting. You mentioned about, seeing the potential in a cigar or tasting the potential. Yeah. Sure. And also going to what a couple of you guys have said about, you know, when when you have a cigar that's not great, you leave it in your humidor for a little while, you come back to it.
Speaker 1:It is interesting how, a, in a lot of cigars that are young, you could taste the potential saying, oh, in 2 years, 5 years, 6 months even, this is gonna be way better. And in moments like this, it is interesting that some cigars just don't age even like their peers, same size, same vitola, etcetera. It it's it's a it's a really interesting journey, as far as aging cigars goes.
Speaker 3:I agree. The only thing, though, I would say to the listener is I think that more times than not, this is not foolproof, but more times than not, when you encounter a cigar that you don't enjoy
Speaker 2:Yep.
Speaker 3:I've been in this boat so many times where I've been so frustrated with a cigar. I just I've considered just throwing it out. I don't even want it in my humidor. I'm sitting there saying this is not at all enjoyable. Maybe at best, it gets somewhat enjoyable, but it's still not gonna be a great cigar.
Speaker 3:And the reason I say this, I remember some random kinda yard everyday cigar I had bought years ago. I hated. And I thought about throwing them out, and then I said, screw it. I'm just gonna leave them in this extra humidor I had. I left it there for years.
Speaker 3:All of a sudden years later, just as a joke, I thought it'd be funny. I said, let me just try and see what this possibly tastes like. Out of all of a sudden, it was probably 3 years later, that cigar was creamy and sweet and delicious, and I could not believe how different it was from my first experience. So I just say it's not it's not perfect. It's not foolproof, but more times than not, and in fact, I'd say most times, if you just tuck something away for years and revisit it, you could be very pleasantly surprised.
Speaker 7:There's no no doubt about it. I mean, that's there's no doubt about it.
Speaker 1:We've welcomed on a few guests this year. And first up was our friend, chef Ricky Camacho from the Anejo Restaurant Group, who introduced us to Artisan Tequilas on episodes 32 and 34. Here's a clip from episode 34, where we tasted tequilas in both Anejo and Extra Anejo. Alright, boys. We have Ricky here, so we know what we have to do, which is drink some tequila.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Can we just dive into this tequila? Let's get into it. It's staring at me, and a cigar like this needs Absolutely. Deserving pairing.
Speaker 1:What's up first? Tell us about it.
Speaker 12:Alright, guys. So first up, we got the Fortaleza Anejo. This is a lowland tequila, meaning it comes from the valley of tequila in Jalisco. This is cooked in brick ovens. This is, extracted using a tahona, which is a large stone wheel that's rolled over the cooked agave.
Speaker 12:And, as far as fermentation, wooden fermentation tanks, open air fermentation, meaning there's wild yeast that goes in there. And for aging, the Asian American white oak, ex bourbon barrels, And distilled near proof, but, they do have a still strength on the market too that's a little hotter, but a little brighter on the agave.
Speaker 1:This is delicious.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Oh my god. I think it's safe to say that most of us in this room love this tequila. I happen to really love this.
Speaker 1:The nose is really interesting. The flavor is very interesting. I mean, top to bottom, it is just a superb spirit.
Speaker 2:Honestly, I haven't had this knead until tonight.
Speaker 1:Really?
Speaker 4:Wow.
Speaker 2:So it
Speaker 4:is The
Speaker 2:first time I had it, I
Speaker 4:don't know how it would be
Speaker 6:made to me knead.
Speaker 2:I don't know how you let that happen. You're not doing your job. But at the club, I had it with just a chip of ice. It really was so delicious. I happen to like it better than a Don Julio.
Speaker 2:But neat now, it's a different experience. Very balanced. Very enjoyable.
Speaker 12:So, Grinder, if you there there's softiness here in minerality that really just pair well with this I
Speaker 5:was just gonna say a lot of minerality. It kinda tastes like hard water.
Speaker 7:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 5:I'm serious. It's like I'm getting, like, a mineral water. Yeah.
Speaker 4:So
Speaker 12:You for me, I sort of I I I refer to that as as salt. Right? And that comes from this process that you know? 2 weeks ago, we had tequilas, and neither of those tequilas are made with a tahona. Those agaves were processed using a screw mill.
Speaker 12:So it's more of a shredding process and and metallic in that sense. But here, you're using that tahona, and it's really introducing a lot of minerality and saltiness. And
Speaker 5:the pairing is phenomenal.
Speaker 2:Yeah. It is.
Speaker 1:Oh my god. Working really well. Yeah.
Speaker 5:I mean, so well complimented.
Speaker 3:I also have to say, I mean, Ricky's poured for us also the reposado before, and this is obviously the anejo. Mhmm. And we're talking about lesser known brands that really deserve a spotlight. And I think Fortaleza because the reposado is fantastic. I like, that I can actually find.
Speaker 3:I have purchased some. I don't have the anejo yet. I need to find this. This brand is deserving
Speaker 4:of a
Speaker 2:lot of credit. Fantastic.
Speaker 12:Alright, guys. Next up, we have the Tapatio Excelencia. This tequila is made by one of my favorite master distillers in Carlos Camarena.
Speaker 2:Beautiful color.
Speaker 6:Is that a region in,
Speaker 12:Mexico? Tapatio? Tapatio is actually the name of the I wanna say it's the name
Speaker 4:of the What's
Speaker 6:the region that rhymes with, sounds similar? Jalisco? No. No. That doesn't sound similar.
Speaker 10:Tomatillo? Tomatillo?
Speaker 6:We're not talking about vegetables.
Speaker 2:Says to himself.
Speaker 7:See.
Speaker 12:So fun fact about the previous tequila we drank, it's made by Guillermo Salza. He is the 3 times removed grandson of salsa, the tequila that we all know as the sort of poor favorite. And, basically, he want he saw this empty distillery on his land that his grandpa used to use way back in the day or his great great great great grandpa. Sorry. Two times removed.
Speaker 12:He wanted to bring it back to life, and he did so by creating Fort Alyssa. So that's, and you know what the reality is in this industry? That's how a lot of this tequila is made because it's such a labor of love kind of thing. You know, it's not a a quick moneymaker or anything like that. You really need that passion and that that history to make it happen.
Speaker 12:This next guy, Carlos Camarena from Tapatio. So he makes a few different tequilas. He makes tequilaocho. He makes el Tesoro, and he makes Tapatio, out of La Tena Distillery. Now this distillery is positioned on a place in Mexico where the soils are so rich in iron that they're red and the water taste of blood.
Speaker 1:That's unbelievable.
Speaker 2:It's so cool.
Speaker 12:It is insane.
Speaker 2:Very cool.
Speaker 12:So maybe if we do this again, I'll bring the Altasoro next time around. But he basically made it tequila for everyone. So the the tequilaocho is sort of like a, it's 3 times distilled. It it has a smooth finish, and then he has the altosoro, which is artisanal and every they're all artisanal, but he follows all of the old school methods. And then we have Tapatio, which is somewhat in the center.
Speaker 12:So, you know, he has an engineering background. So he sort of, you know, used that to create his distillery, and he has all these different methods of of fermentation, of processing, or grinding the agave, everything from a a screw mill to a steel roller to a tohona. And in the case of Tapatio, he uses both. So he's getting maximum extraction. Now this tequila is the only extra anejo, that we've tasted so far, both here and in the clubhouse.
Speaker 12:It is 4 it spends 4 years in oak, and then it's rested in glass for an additional year. So like the Fuenteseca, he's letting it sit in the glass just to kind of marinate and come together, and be itself.
Speaker 2:I'll tell you. I get a lot of caramel in this one.
Speaker 12:Yeah. Lots.
Speaker 4:The the
Speaker 1:note by the way, I the only note that I can really explicitly call out on the nose is cherry. When I smell this, it's like cherry.
Speaker 6:Yeah. I get I get caramel.
Speaker 2:I get cherry I get caramel in the front, and I get caramel in the finish.
Speaker 1:So now with the taste, it's all that.
Speaker 2:It's it's caramel. Senator? Senators would be there.
Speaker 3:I I think so I get the cherry on the nose like you're describing
Speaker 2:here. Accurate.
Speaker 3:But then like Bam says on the finish, I get the caramel notes.
Speaker 2:It's really nice.
Speaker 12:Familiar with Mexican Mexican
Speaker 6:cinnamon or canela?
Speaker 12:No. Yes. I'll I'll bring I'll bring a a nice piece of bark of that just so you get your
Speaker 2:I'll chew on it. And that's
Speaker 9:they're working there here on the finish. I
Speaker 6:know what you're talking about.
Speaker 12:Yeah. This is just amazing. Right? It's an extra on the. This bottle retails for about 170.
Speaker 5:Wow. Once again, very generous.
Speaker 1:Thank you. Bring in the heat, man.
Speaker 12:But but it drinks like something that should cost much more. And, you know, you guys react to the price point. But to me, I'm like, that's a liter bottle, and it's fucking delicious Yeah.
Speaker 2:It is.
Speaker 5:For a $170. It's excellent.
Speaker 4:I don't
Speaker 1:think it's really good. So is
Speaker 6:that is that typical for an extra annejo cost wise? I
Speaker 2:mean No.
Speaker 12:Extra annejos are typically a little bit more, especially when they're aged as long as this. Right? Because you could age for 3 years and still be an extra anejo.
Speaker 1:So is 5. Correct?
Speaker 12:All in? 5 all in.
Speaker 2:4 in a barrel, 1 in a glass. Barrel,
Speaker 4:1 in.
Speaker 1:Unbelievable. So is
Speaker 5:it when when you when you're in the glass, though
Speaker 2:Yeah. Yeah. That's a good
Speaker 5:Can can you have you ever tasted something that was everything up until putting it in the glass and before it goes in the glass to taste that versus after it's been in the glass, is there actually a difference? Because I I'm I'm thinking myself, what is actually happening in that bottle?
Speaker 12:A a 1000%. I mean, there there is a difference from opening the bottle and and waiting a few months that it's it's you know, I I wouldn't say that the bottle's imparting any flavor, but I just think the resting process allows it to Yeah. Come together and and and to
Speaker 5:So that's fascinating to me because Yeah. Because I I I like we all drink scotch. Scotch to me when we have an, you know, age statement on the bottle and it's it's in a bottle and it's not really changing from the day that it came out out of the barrel. Right? If you can have a a 12 year old scotch that was out of the barrel and ready for distribution in 2000 and then try that same bottle, you know, 10, 12 years later, whatever, and it's gonna taste pretty much the same.
Speaker 12:It's close, but I think if you're tasting it and analyzing it, you'll find differences. Okay. A
Speaker 1:100%. Dan from Cigar Salute came on for a 2 and a half hour discussion about a counterfeit box of cojibas I acquired, how advanced the counterfeiters have gotten, and also how we can all try to avoid buying fake Cuban cigars. Tell us a little bit about what you found in my box, how this whole thing started with this specific ring of really good counterfeit cigars, how they ended up in these trusted retailers, and and I guess let's start there. Let's start there.
Speaker 7:Sure.
Speaker 11:This very well done counterfeit cigar, this style of, counterfeit cigar, It's really kind of been replacing the, you know, the the old, tropes about glass tops and and, really, you know, janky looking fake bands. Like, over the last couple years, you've been seeing it more and more, that, you know, with counterfeit cigars, they're they're getting better and better at, duplicating the real deal as far as, aesthetics go. More often than not now, I'm seeing scenarios where, it appears that the bands are either genuine bands that were stolen and and, you know, made it into the black market somehow, or they are absolute perfect copies, which I don't believe that they are. I I personally think that they're stolen genuine bands, because
Speaker 1:out the back door of the Cohiba factory, like stolen? Like, what does that mean exactly?
Speaker 11:Well, that's certainly possible. You know, if you think about the economy of Cuba, especially right now, it's certainly, not too far of a stretch to think about, you know, a handful of, you know, bundles of bans, making their way out the back door because they can mean serious money for somebody, you know, if they know what to do with them.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 11:And, you know, the other thing that I'm seeing is that they're using, with the with the increased accessibility of custom rolled Cuban cigars. It really isn't hard to get a bundle of Cuban robustos and slap a bundle of Cohiba Bands on them, and now you have transformed a $2 custom roll into a, you know, 25 to $60 cigar. And, you know, the consumer that winds up with this box, they light the cigar up, and they get that unmistakable Cuban flavor where they they they know it's Cuban tobacco, but they're not getting the cigar that they paid for.
Speaker 1:So, Dan, as we come to the end of the episode here, I wanna leave the, I wanna give our listeners and us. I mean, I open it up to you and everyone here. But, what are some action items that you can kinda give us and the listener to, first, source authentic Cuban cigars to the best of their ability, but also know and check that they have authentic Cuban cigars even in their humidor right now that they already have, like I did? You know, what are some of the things that that they and we can do, to be better set up to not have fake Cuban cigars in our humidor?
Speaker 11:Okay. Well, the biggest thing is, who are your connections? You know, you wanna learn how these cigars are distributed. You know, I touched on it a little bit earlier. Yeah.
Speaker 11:But if you want to be certain that you're going to get authentic product, then deal with licensed sources. You know? Learn about what La Casa del Habano is. Learn about Habano Specialists and Habano's Points. You know, if you stick with retailers who source only from official supply chains, then you're not going to have the issues that the gray market is dealing with right now.
Speaker 11:The other thing is, you know, being involved with Cuban cigars, knowledge is always power. So right now, there's a retailer, a gray market retailer, that they have more Cohiba than I've seen anybody have in the last year. And they have stuff that I haven't seen on the shelf in god knows how long. SIGLO 5 cabinets, they have Medeosiglo and and Siglo 6 and and Cohiba Robustos in stock and whatnot. And this is a retailer that their their regular selection is dismal on a reg on any given day.
Speaker 11:They might you know, they they they're a retailer that picks up, overstock from Spain, and they sell them out of Canada. I'm talking about, RSVP Cigars right now. Something like that to me is a red flag. Yeah. Because
Speaker 1:If it's if it's too good to be true, it is. Right? While we're on the topic of disappointment, the worst cigar and spirit we had all year both happened to end up on the same episode just a few days ago, The Nightmare Before Christmas. We started thinking it might be fake.
Speaker 5:Cigar cigar. I'm reading in one of the, reviews from a retail giant, cigar retail giant that says, arguably the largest boutique brand of the past 5 years.
Speaker 1:Oh, wow.
Speaker 8:Oh, really?
Speaker 5:That that's it's too boutique for us to know
Speaker 9:about it. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Sounds like a PR ploy.
Speaker 5:It does. Absolutely. So much of this.
Speaker 4:It it
Speaker 3:does say Cuban inspired packaging, blending, honor the tradition of cigars.
Speaker 2:More PR.
Speaker 3:The cigars they have so it says some of their 90 plus rated cigars include 4 kicks. The first of their cigar line, earthy balanced by sweet and spicy notes, Headley Grange, and Jericho Hill dedicated to legendary Johnny Cash. So I feel like there's a a lot
Speaker 1:of lot it easy, crowned heads.
Speaker 2:Thank you, Gizmo.
Speaker 1:Inspired by did you say Cuban packaging? So did they put these in undersized dress boxes that give them a subtle box press?
Speaker 4:Do they
Speaker 2:squeeze the shit out of me?
Speaker 3:Do they misspell the names on the labels and still sell them?
Speaker 2:A subtle box press.
Speaker 1:Do they raise the prices 300% year over year?
Speaker 3:Do they sell counterfeits at these on the Fortuna. That's right.
Speaker 6:Yeah. Where's the black light?
Speaker 1:We may need to check this.
Speaker 6:We need to have Dan back on.
Speaker 1:Yeah. We need to get Dan back on.
Speaker 5:If there's, like, some, like, I don't know, strategist that Montfortuna or something. It was some guy who's, like, these fucking podcast guys are, like, ripping our assholes apart here.
Speaker 1:They are. I think they're very well aware of us.
Speaker 7:Thank you. Oh, boy.
Speaker 5:There you go.
Speaker 1:I would think they are.
Speaker 3:That's what's sad. If you were to give this cigar to even the most novice of cigar smokers, I don't think they would understand why we smoke cigars. They would say, what what does this taste like?
Speaker 2:They would probably never smoke a cigar again.
Speaker 1:You know what
Speaker 4:and you
Speaker 1:know what's you know what almost makes that worse is is the counter to the point I made about its performance. Someone smoking this cigar, seeing it burn like it does, ash like it does, output like it does, draw like it does, and then has nothing else. That's almost worse to me than having a cigar that's like, oh, this isn't burning right. The wrapper's coming undone. It's not like, that's my argument.
Speaker 2:It's deceptive. It's deceptive.
Speaker 1:Sorry. Like it makes it 10 times worse.
Speaker 5:Right? I mean, I don't I I don't I don't factor any of that in really much, but for me, the the bitterness just really fucking threw it
Speaker 2:for me.
Speaker 6:Wait a minute.
Speaker 5:Like, they did
Speaker 6:You don't factor in the way it's burning, the way the draw is that has nothing to
Speaker 8:do with,
Speaker 2:you must with the rating? It's a must.
Speaker 10:It's a must. Yeah.
Speaker 5:I think I do, but I'm not pulling hairs on you know? For me, when I I'm thinking about the enjoyment of it. And for this particular stick, I wasn't focused on the draw. I didn't really care about the draw.
Speaker 6:The draw was good. I mean, they're they're
Speaker 5:really comfortable. The burn. I was I was I was Hold on.
Speaker 2:I need to counter just for a moment. The most my most favorite Cuban, if there's no draw, how do you enjoy a cigar that you can't draw? Right? It's a fair point. Yeah.
Speaker 2:The performance has
Speaker 3:to be to touch up every 5 seconds. It's like you can't It has to factor into
Speaker 1:it, Grinder. Yeah. A bit.
Speaker 5:Okay. It does. But my point is that I'm trying to make is that the bitterness was so overwhelming. Yeah.
Speaker 8:Forget about it.
Speaker 5:Like, I just couldn't get through it. Yeah. I was just like, this is too much. Like, I can't enjoy this. And then the app the finish the bit the finish with the bitterness was just so prolonged.
Speaker 3:Like Yeah. The saddest thing about this stick is that this was meant to honor 4 people who passed. They deserve better
Speaker 2:than this. Absolutely.
Speaker 1:Blizzard listener, the cigar soldier, also agreed with our review of the Ata Bay Brewhouse on episode 49.
Speaker 7:It just it didn't it's not a standout to me.
Speaker 2:It didn't
Speaker 7:stand out flavor wise, like, where I was like, wow. Like, whoo. Like or you get that relax relaxing. You guys are really hurting me. They're they're breaking me up tonight.
Speaker 7:The, no. But it doesn't give you that like, I was confused by it more than I was really I I would like, enjoyed it.
Speaker 5:You know? I would I would echo your your sentiment there. There's a good barometer for a good cigar for me is if you're if if I'm if I'm smoking a cigar and I and I like it enough that it there's something in it that keeps me coming back, and I'm focused on that. And I'm like, wow. This is really good.
Speaker 5:I get just as much enjoyment out of this out of this cigar as I get from a decent cigar that I smoke when I'm mowing my lawn. It's just something to to puff on and and slightly enjoy while I'm doing other shit. Like, there's nothing that I'm focused on where I'm like where I'm doing the Bam Bam Pounce with the with the hand and and the the revelation of how great the cigar is. There's nothing like that.
Speaker 7:No. There there there's there no. There's no exclamation point on it. There's nothing that's like, there's not,
Speaker 1:that's a great way to
Speaker 7:put it. Yeah. Exclamation point. It's not like this is, and it's like,
Speaker 2:yeah.
Speaker 7:You know, it's not bad. It's not unpleasant, but it doesn't, it's not, it's, it wasn't exciting to me.
Speaker 1:I do think though, and this is maybe a stupid statement, but I think if grinder came in and said that this cigar was $12 I think I'd be like, wow. Okay. Maybe I should get a few of these for the humidor. Not that I'm gonna smoke them at night, but at 32, I think it's different than at $12.
Speaker 3:I just go back to those. So this is where for me, even at $12, I'm not sure this has a place for me, and that I still don't think there's enough flavor at $12 for me to pick up this thing. Not. I go back to one of the most shocking cigars we reviewed. Was that Arturo Fuente?
Speaker 3:Hemingway. The Hemingway signature. Hemingway signature. I never had that cigar.
Speaker 4:It's a
Speaker 1:great cigar.
Speaker 3:And that cigar, it it's a mild medium cigar. It's not a full cigar at all, which is not normally my speed. I would like medium full full. I was just shocked. Like, the the nuttiness in that cigar, it had enough flavor that I could light that in the morning, even in the afternoon, and I would be satisfied.
Speaker 3:I could mow my lawn, have that cigar, and be very happy. This cigar has less flavor than that. I'm calling out that nutty flavor that I got from that random, probably, $10 Arturo Fuente cigar. This cigar, I I don't know what I'd even say stands out flavor wise.
Speaker 7:It's just
Speaker 3:it's like it's just creamy and sweet, but there's nothing really distinct. You know, you we could name every single cigar brand, and we would say, you know, a part of this. It's got, like, that that spice and and cinnamon and all these things. We could talk about an upman and the dessert like flavor. I don't know what to say about an atobee other than it's creamy, it's smooth.
Speaker 3:There's not much more there.
Speaker 7:And flawless construction and and
Speaker 2:That. Yeah.
Speaker 7:And and, you know, and and it's a very handsome smoke.
Speaker 3:But I I just mean for flavor. Like, it's just the distinctive characteristic to me about each brand. It's got a unique flavor profile. I can't say there's really a unique flavor other than it's creamy and it's a smooth, pleasant enough cigar. That's about it.
Speaker 1:Rob Ila from FOH joined us on episode 56. We loved his take on factory runs and his interesting perspective on doing business with Habanos SA.
Speaker 3:I feel like this is a big source of debate just on the last lizards in the room. I know
Speaker 7:where you're going.
Speaker 3:And and I say that because, like, there's one school of thought that, you know, aged cigars are always the best cigars. That no matter what stick we're talking about, the more age, the better it gets. There's another school of thought that's, sometimes age actually doesn't necessarily do as many favors for certain cigars, and sometimes a younger, you know, cigar with just a few years of age may actually smoke better than that same stick with more age on it. We have this debate amongst ourselves all the time. I'm looking at rooster in the room.
Speaker 2:The connoisseur corner.
Speaker 3:At Rooster as a a connoisseur with, some heavily, heavily aged, inventory of his humidor. But I asked this. I'm just curious. Maybe if we just bite off the last 10 years, it kinda what your perspective is on, you know, how much age is really needed for some of the brands that we smoke a lot of, like Partagas, Upman, Monty. And then over the last 10 years, you know, what years have really stood out to you as as kinda overperforming, let's say, and years that maybe have underperformed that, maybe you don't pursue, as as aggressively?
Speaker 3:I'm just curious.
Speaker 10:That's such a hard question. I until or pre COVID, you know, I was looking at I'd be inspecting 200,000 cigars a year, yeah, of of of everything.
Speaker 3:I I want that job.
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh.
Speaker 1:Are you hiring, Rob? It was
Speaker 2:Not right now.
Speaker 10:But you get you get oh, shit. You get a little bit disillusioned in in when you have a bad run of cigars. I don't think it has much to I don't think it has that much to do with to use. It it really is about consistency in in in runs. You've got some great box codes, which bring out some superb cigars in a period of time, but you go back in 6 months later, and that same box code is producing rubbish in that cigar.
Speaker 10:Right? So and and people don't talk about that. They they they always remember the the the fourteens. Yeah? The up and fourteens, LUBs.
Speaker 10:But, you know, that and they're they're great. But, you know, you go you go to the next year in cliff things, they weren't as good, and they're still coming out of. I I don't think there is such a thing as a a great, great year. I think the the the or the consistency of Habanos production isn't there. It comes down to the factory.
Speaker 10:It comes down to the factory manager. It comes back to the culture that he puts into that factory while he's there or she's there and and what they're producing. We saw the we saw the tip the turnaround in Trinidad in 2,018, 2 late 2017, 18. They're made in Pinal de Rio predominantly, and they went through a couple of years of absolute crap. The the Reyes, the Coloniales, even the Fundis that were coming out of there were rubbish, and we called it.
Speaker 10:And because I see them. I used to see them every week. It was just rubbish.
Speaker 2:That was prior prior to 2018? Yeah.
Speaker 10:I mean, just for a couple of years.
Speaker 2:3 or
Speaker 10:3, 4 years prior. And we were calling him. And how do you have a premium cigar that how do you come out with these paper bark flaky thin tracks, almost green wrappers on them and call them a premium? And then all of a sudden, bang, it changed. It changed almost overnight.
Speaker 10:And Trinidad production for the last couple of years since 2018
Speaker 4:has
Speaker 10:been superb. Generally, it's been excellent compared to what they were for the previous 3 years. It's it's a so what changed? The culture changed. Someone paid attention to it.
Speaker 10:Changes like that don't occur without a focus and a vision. And I've seen that. I mean, when I if I remember correctly, you know, the manager the manager at Upman ran that 2,014, I knew quite well. Passionate. Absolutely passionate.
Speaker 10:He was in there. He had everyone everyone talking off the same reading off the same page, which would say, brilliant. And and what was coming out was superb. Romeo and Julieta went into a hole in 2,000 and, what, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.
Speaker 1:Still haven't come out?
Speaker 10:Yeah. Yeah. They're
Speaker 3:still in
Speaker 10:that hole.
Speaker 7:I think they're still in the hole.
Speaker 5:They had
Speaker 10:they had they had a really nice run, r and j Churchill's in 16/17, and a a nice run of of, of r and j exhibition fours. I think they were PAUs, in 2,004. It was a stunning cigar, still some of the best orange exhibition floors ever produced. And we went that went for 18 months that run. Who was who was in charge of that?
Speaker 10:We'll never know. We will never know.
Speaker 7:Yeah. It's you're you're so you're saying it's about the runs. It's about who's managing the factory at that time?
Speaker 10:It is it's it's more yeah. It's far more micro. It's more micro.
Speaker 9:It's
Speaker 10:more micro than people than people make it after. Yeah. You know, people people pull about years and and and this. It it really is micro, in terms of what's going on internally in that factory. Who's putting because every it's it's all about attention to detail.
Speaker 10:It's all about saying, no. That's not acceptable. That standard's not acceptable. That no. We're not gonna accept that that leaf or those fails into this blend.
Speaker 10:You know, someone it's it's about someone saying no, and someone getting away from quota and looking at quality and looking at consistency. And and and, unfortunately, pretty much every one of those cigars that had those great runs, it never it might last 18 months, but it just doesn't continue. I just haven't seen it continue.
Speaker 7:There's just too much turnover. It sounds like there's turnover where you don't have consistent management. Turnover.
Speaker 10:Yeah. And the internal politics of a factory are phenomenal. You know? It makes the bold and the beautiful look like, you know, amateur out. It yeah.
Speaker 10:You know, you don't you you have to bring everyone along with
Speaker 1:you. What is going on over over at Habanos, Rob? Give us the give us the inside scoop.
Speaker 10:The the there is no inside scoop because distributors are scratching their heads. Retailers are pulling their hair out, like, all over the world. And I feel sorry for those who've got serious bricks and border enterprises, with and heavy investments because it's very hard for them to to pivot. However, I can only I can only guess that they've they've sat down and done the numbers and worked out that they won't be able to get back to serious, like, full production in terms of I would get back to full production for a number of years for one reason or another. And and until they start seeing stock semi piling up on shelves around the world, maybe that's when they'll work out they've got the balance right, or they believe they've got the balance right.
Speaker 10:Is it is it greed, or is it need? And I suspect it's it's somewhere between the 2. They've got to perform with the joint venture. They need they need the cash. But at the same time, what what are they producing?
Speaker 10:40% of their portfolio? 45% of their portfolio? They've gotta produce their portfolio. You know, and and the problem with her one of the issues with her balance is that there is no transparency whatsoever. They don't tell anyone anything.
Speaker 10:They don't tell the distributors anything. It's it's just they make these grand announcements. They would launch these beautiful new cigars, and no one sees them for 2 years. Or they do a little batch that comes out, and then no one sees them for 2 years or maybe ever again. In fact, there are some cigars that have never been released, but they've been out.
Speaker 10:So, you know, you you in the end, if you're in the in the business, you worked out that you're dealing with a dysfunctional operator that's got inherent issues. And if you're waiting for the next order to come through as a Habanos retailer without doing anything else, then you're in serious trouble. You you need to have pivoted. And look, you can see it now. You got the customer trying to sell non Cubans and get and get, non Cubans distributorships and trying to get some non Cubans in.
Speaker 10:You've got Cuban Habanhas distributors the dorkman was the best one. You know, at dorkman. You got Habanhas distributors chasing down NC non Cuban supplies for distributor ships left, right, and center. Of course, it doesn't help too much for them because a lot of those major non Cuban brands and smaller ones haven't got the excess capacity to supply Europe or Asia to make that Havana's football, and they won't have it for years to come. The the US is still booming as a cigar market.
Speaker 10:It's going exceptionally well.
Speaker 7:So you're saying that are are you are you saying that it's so you're saying that the the overall European market is just short, generally speaking?
Speaker 10:Yeah. Yeah. I've never seen if you look at if you look at, the Spanish market, take the Spanish market, You'll find in most of the stores there at the moment, you'll find some Monty Fours. You'll find, Vega Fina, which is distributed by tobacco there. You'll find a Pia address, and you won't find you'll find bugger all else.
Speaker 10:Except last month, every store had our tour of Fuente.
Speaker 7:Yeah. That's interesting. That's
Speaker 2:interesting. That's very
Speaker 7:That's interesting. Now now is Asia, is it not short, but fat with demand, therefore fat?
Speaker 10:Yeah. Everyone's fat with demand. Asia's exceptionally short of cigarettes. No different to Europe. You know, no one's got enough.
Speaker 10:No one's got you're selling the same stuff every week, every other week. If you get a specialty order comes through, even if you're a London high street. Yeah? So if you're a London high street retailer, and they launched this brand new cigar, it's come out, your allocation will be 3 to 4 boxes. Right?
Speaker 10:There's just no depth to the volume. And that's why you're saving for a 1000000 cigars ready to go. That's all fine and dandy, but if their Monty two's deposed as there, well, then it's they've been in regular supply now for for the last 2 years. Well, that mind you. So some major net retailers who are mates of mine, they're out of money twos and and d fours for a significant period of time.
Speaker 10:So, yeah, it works.
Speaker 1:We celebrated our 1 year anniversary in November with an amazing Padron, cognac, and champagne, and we shared our appreciation for you, our listeners. Thanks so much for joining us this year.
Speaker 5:This cigar is so amazing.
Speaker 4:It's a
Speaker 7:cigar, isn't
Speaker 6:it? Unbelievable.
Speaker 9:Yeah. What
Speaker 7:yeah. Now that it's opened up, can you do so, Garcon, can you talk about the champagne before we toast real quick?
Speaker 6:Let's do that.
Speaker 3:So the this champagne, I picked very intentionally. First of all, champagne is extremely hard to pair with any new world stick because champagne is light. Right? This is not something like a red wine that's gonna hold up against a stick like this. Of champagnes I like to drink, this is one of the, fuller flavor with a longer finish that will hold up best, and that's relative with a cigar like this.
Speaker 3:The champagne we're drinking, fitting for a celebratory occasion like this one, is Bollinger. Mhmm. It is I love this because it has a lot in common with Paul Roger. I have figured out for whatever reason, champagne's designed I shouldn't say designed. Champagnes that have become known as sort of British champagnes, They're they're really, really popular in the British market and tend to be drier champagnes, which is exactly what I look for in a champagne.
Speaker 3:So a little quick actually, we should toast because I have
Speaker 4:a lot I
Speaker 3:wanna start
Speaker 1:off with. Excellent. Let's toast first.
Speaker 7:Toast because I because this is great stuff.
Speaker 1:Gentlemen, cheers. Cheers, lizards. Happy 1 year anniversary.
Speaker 2:Cheers. Cheers.
Speaker 1:To all the listeners out there, we're cheers we're we're cheering to you as well. Cheers, boys.
Speaker 2:Cheers. Peace and love.
Speaker 1:For joining us on this journey.
Speaker 3:Long long live the lizards.
Speaker 5:Yes, man.
Speaker 1:Lizard nation is strong as Long
Speaker 4:live the lizards.
Speaker 1:Lizards. Lizard nation is strong as would say.
Speaker 5:Cheers. Cheers, boys.
Speaker 2:Peace and love, gents.
Speaker 1:Love you all.
Speaker 3:Oh gosh. Oh, yeah. There's the long finish.
Speaker 4:We
Speaker 1:have settled in.
Speaker 7:We are here now, but it's dry.
Speaker 2:That's It's delicious.
Speaker 7:A little bit of minerality. It's got a little bit of fruit, but it's not too sweet. Super balanced. It's a great
Speaker 5:I like
Speaker 2:the tang. Champagne.
Speaker 7:I like
Speaker 5:the tang on the finish there.
Speaker 1:It per it pairs wonderfully with the cigar. Oh.
Speaker 3:Wow. It honestly works better than I even expected. I'm really happy with this.
Speaker 1:Well, there's something about this cigar. You know? There is a there's a weirdness to it, which is beautiful. It's so different than any Padron I've ever had or 80th. I I can't even I I I was I'm surprised that Padron can reach another level which it has tonight for me.
Speaker 6:Which I
Speaker 1:mean, you you we all know how much we love these cigars. This is on another Yeah.
Speaker 2:So this is a legendary cigar among our group.
Speaker 1:Oh, yeah.
Speaker 2:But we've always known it to be a very smooth, but flavorful cigar. Smooth. Yeah. This has a richness that This is I haven't had before.
Speaker 12:I agree. Cigar.
Speaker 6:Can I can I just add something, senator, before you start about the champagne? I just wanna say, like, this has been 1 year, right, that we just, like, used to sit around and talk about, you know, stuff that we just hang out and drink and smoke. And we just started to you know, we decided to record a pod, And now here, it's been 1 year now we've been doing this. And how awesome this is. Yeah.
Speaker 6:It's amazing. This is unbelievable. Great cigar, great champagne, and great to know you all and, do this pod together.
Speaker 1:Yeah. It's a great
Speaker 8:thing. Sense.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And again Cheers. To all the lizards out there who listen to this every week who are so passionate about what we're doing. I mean, you know, we don't fancy ourselves as experts. We're just bunch of guys sitting around having fun. It's it's awesome that we have a a a community, a worldwide community now.
Speaker 6:Yeah. And it's great to connect with, like, like minded people
Speaker 1:Yeah. In all around the world. Yeah. Very special. So
Speaker 5:And one of the things that I always, like, find amazing is that a lot of the the things that I enjoy about coming and sharing this time together for the podcast, a lot of the magic happens in the tips and tales of our time together where it's actually we're not recording. And there and some of those moments where we're in either the senators' lounge late at night where, you know, we're all going through different life issues, and we're talking real talk. And, you know, some of that stuff is is something that's always been memorable to me, and and I'll be able to reflect on. But it's not something that we shared with listeners, but, well, I think some of it we
Speaker 1:Some of it
Speaker 5:we have. Some of it we have. But it's been, like I said, some of that some of that magic is is also very resplendent in my memory over the past year.
Speaker 1:I've always kinda thought about the person who is kind of in the middle of nowhere that doesn't have the access that we do to a beautiful lounge like this, or or a lounge somewhere near them, that they're able to sit down and listen to this podcast, and they're in the room with us. Like, there's always that it's like there's an empty chair between me and Pagoda right now that Max is right there. Max is right here from Australia. You know? Andrew on insta you know, there's so many listeners.
Speaker 1:They're right there next to me. Like, I always think about that person. Like, this has opened up the conversation that, you know, we welcome all of these folks into this conversation with us. That to me is really something special, and I'm just so glad that it's worked and it's clicked.
Speaker 7:Well, and it mirrors it. It it it it absolutely. And it kinda mirrors what lounge life is like.
Speaker 2:Right? Exactly right. That's exactly right.
Speaker 1:Hope you enjoyed this episode. Thanks for joining us. You can find our merch store and ratings archive at our brand new website, loungelizardspod.com. That's loungelizardspod.com. Don't forget to leave us a rating and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform.
Speaker 1:If you have any comments, questions, if you wanna reach out, say hello, tell us what you're smoking, email us, hello atloungelizardspod.com. You can also find us on Instagram atloungelizardpod. We really appreciate your time, and we'll, we'll see you next week.