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Released every Tuesday, the LOUNGE LIZARDS podcast helps listeners navigate the experience of finding and enjoying premium cigars (both Cuban and non-Cuban) and quality spirits. Episodes are normally around 90 minutes long and feature a variety of different topics including food, travel, life, sports and work.
The podcast features eight members: Rooster, Poobah, Gizmo, Senator, Pagoda, Chef Ricky, Grinder and Bam Bam.
This is not your typical cigar podcast. We’re a group of friends who love sharing cigars, whiskey and a good laugh.
Join us and become a card-carrying lounge lizard yourself! Email us at hello@loungelizardspod.com to join the conversation and be featured on an upcoming episode!
**Gizmo:** [00:00:00] Welcome to the Lounge Lizards podcast presented by Fabrica 5. It's so good to have you here. It's a leisure and lifestyle podcast founded on our love, premium cigars, as well as whiskey travel, food, work, and whatever else we feel like getting into. My name is Gizmo. Tonight I'm joined by Rooster, Senator, Pagoda, Chef Ricky, and Bam Bam.
And our plan is to smoke a cigar, drink some tequila, talk about life, and of course, have So take this as your 163rd official invitation to join us and become a card carrying lounge lizard. We plan to meet us here once a week. We're going to smoke a Cuban cigar tonight, share our thoughts on it, and give you our formal lizard rating.
We discuss a recent Bon Roberts auction milestone, we share how we think Cuba has changed how it blends new releases, and Senator answers a listener email on wine, all among a variety of other things for the next two hours. So sit back, get your favorite drink, and Light up a cigar and enjoy as we pair Don Filano 20th anniversary tequila Añejo with the Bolivar New Gold Medal.
A very special cigar tonight for our holiday episode, [00:01:00] boys. It's from Cuba. It's a Grand Corona. And what is better for Christmas than having to unwrap golden foil on the entire
**Bam Bam:** cigar?
**Gizmo:** And, uh, Senator noted that it's on, so it's three quarters wrapped.
**Senator:** Yeah, it's not the entire cigar. I, it would make more sense if it was the entire cigar.
It's just the head of the cigar that they have covered and the foot's exposed. It should be the opposite. It doesn't make sense. My foot
**Gizmo:** has a crack in it because the box that it comes in. It's so loosely packed that unless the retailer puts, you know, like foam in it. Yep. They're bouncing around in transit.
So I definitely have the foil is
**Rooster:** on the wrong end. The foil should be on the foot. Correct. To protect the foot. Thank you. And why
**Senator:** is the band closer to the foot than it is the head of the cigar?
**Bam Bam:** Yeah, I don't know, man. I mean, this is ridiculous. I would tell you this is a handsome cigar, but I can't tell.
It's like the toilet zone.
**Gizmo:** Well, we're in the holiday spirit, boys. Merry Christmas, everyone. Merry Christmas.
**Pagoda:** Well, I hope all the glitter [00:02:00] is really gold.
**Gizmo:** This is what it looks like when my wife asked me to wrap the presents. It's like upside down, three quarters covered. It's a total mess. I think you can slide
**Bam Bam:** it
**Gizmo:** off.
Yeah, it's a slide off.
**Chef Ricky:** I love that you could slide it off.
**Gizmo:** So we're going to slide off this gold foil here and it's going to take the two bands with it.
**Bam Bam:** Yep, the LCDH band. The
**Gizmo:** Bolivar band. And boys, I got a little nervous when I realized today that this is a La Casa Del Habano release. Oh, great. So I did have a bit of anxiety about that.
So
**Rooster:** we're taking the entire thing off. The whole band comes off.
**Gizmo:** Yep. So you really, the cigar is smoked to, you know, it's designed to be smoked nude. Bruce is so disappointed. He
**Senator:** looks so disappointed. And there's no pigtail. Like a kid that got coal in his stocking on Christmas.
**Bam Bam:** This is actually a beautiful cigar.
It is. The wrapper is beautiful.
**Gizmo:** So, boys, this is a Grand Corona. It's called the Bolivar New Gold Metal. It's a 48 ring gauge cigar by six and a half inches long. And without the wrapper on it, without the gold foil, it looks very nice.
**Bam Bam:** [00:03:00] It does.
**Gizmo:** And it feels good in the hand.
**Bam Bam:** What's the year and box code on this thing?
**Gizmo:** So the box code on this BAM is an original release, UBL, August 2023.
**Bam Bam:** Okay. Fairly young, but not too young. Oh,
**Senator:** this is older than the box BAM has of these. Oh, yeah. BAM's got a 2025.
**Bam Bam:** Oh! He's already in the new
**Gizmo:** year.
**Bam Bam:** I get direct shipment.
**Gizmo:** Alright boys, let's cut this thing. See what we're getting on the cold draw on the wrapper.
**Bam Bam:** A little tight.
**Gizmo:** Yeah. A little tight. Mine's just a bit tight. Pleasant cold draw. Cold draw is nice. Yeah. Pleasant. A little cedar. A little fruity.
**Chef Ricky:** Fruity, savory a little bit. A little salty. Salted butter.
**Bam Bam:** Kind of good. That's
[00:04:00] nice.
**Gizmo:** All right boys, here we go. Let's light this thing. The Bolivar New Gold Medal La Casa Del Habano. It's a Grand Corona. 48 ring gauge cigar again by six and a half inches long.
Cigar comes in a dress box of ten cigars, laid out with dividers in between every two, so there's five dividers in there. Sounds like we're welding steel in here. The factory name on this cigar is the Partagas 15.
**Pagoda:** Really?
**Gizmo:** Which is the first time that this Vitola, uh, Has been used in regular production in Havana.
**Pagoda:** So it's a Bolivar with a factory native.
**Gizmo:** Well, Partagas is the, you know, the mother brand of Bolivar. It was, you know, Bolivar was purchased by the Partagas family in 1945. So Ramon Bolivar and [00:05:00] LaGoria Cubana were all owned by Partagas and they still live under Partagas being the mother brand and the mother factory for those three.
So that's why you see. Uh, the Particus 15 is the Vitola on this. And the only other time it was used was actually in 2012 for a special one off Ramon Iones release, which is. Of course, a part of his brand. So
**Senator:** did I mention how great this, uh, gold wrapping is on this cigar fits perfectly, this is amazing on the light.
Great on the, the reason I'm just really happy. It's not that I'm getting notes like a cigar I've never had before. There's a Cuban twang to this and I love that.
**Bam Bam:** Yeah. That salted butter continues. Yeah. It's almost like a pretzel type thing.
**Chef Ricky:** Yeah, I was going to say, I'm getting a little nuttiness here as well.
Yeah, nuttiness for sure. Kind of feels like toasted bread almost. Toasted bread and butter. A little salted butter. That's pretty unique. Yeah. It's very pleasant. Yeah, right off the [00:06:00] light. Right off the light. And it was really full in flavor. Yeah. Like there was no doubt about it.
**Gizmo:** I love how this cigar after the light just feels in your hand as you're holding it in between draws.
Oh yeah. It's not densely packed. It's of a reasonable weight.
**Rooster:** It's perfectly packed. It's a beautiful cigar. And it tastes unlike some of the new releases that we have had lately. You know, it's, it's a little fuller. Definitely fuller. Yeah. Yeah. Which I like. I mean, usually Bollies are on the fuller side.
It's true. And this is definitely, I mean, so far, very good.
**Pagoda:** Good smoke output. It feels good. Looking forward to it.
**Bam Bam:** The Oma on the foot's very, very nutty forward. Like almost like a walnut.
**Gizmo:** Mm-hmm .
**Bam Bam:** Guess.
**Gizmo:** Yeah, the retro hell is really nice too. Mm-hmm .
**Bam Bam:** Yeah. So on the retro, it's accentuating that salted butter note for me.
**Gizmo:** I'm getting a little earthiness there too. Minerality for me. Minerality. Yeah. Yeah. This is nice. How much was this? These are about [00:07:00] 60 bucks.
**Bam Bam:** Yowza. Yeah.
**Gizmo:** So the box is about 600 for 10. Oh, I thought the box was for 60.
**Pagoda:** Oh. I'm
**Gizmo:** sure you can find a box of Bolivar new gold medals somewhere for 60, but they're probably on a beach in Punta Cana.
In Mexico. Out of my budget already.
**Pagoda:** I can't like this at all too
**Gizmo:** much. So I was actually at the launch event This was the Wednesday event of the Habanos festival for the the Habanos festival I went to in 2023 and what was unique about this one is they were actually offering boxes for sale for the first time at the Habanos festival event.
So I didn't even try to get them because there was a line of about Several hundred people and I didn't feel like even trying but you know some folks did walk away at the festival with them But you weren't a global insider at that. I wasn't. Yeah. Yeah, I didn't know I couldn't cut the line. That's come much later You probably had
**Rooster:** them delivered to the casa.[00:08:00]
**Gizmo:** I Didn't have status multiple boxes. This is great.
**Senator:** Yeah,
**Gizmo:** very nice. Very pleasant This is so I
**Senator:** have to ask is I don't remember your take being you smoke this there. I assume I did not smoke it there
**Gizmo:** No, I actually got a gift box of it and I brought it home and I sold the gift box. I sold the Partagus gift box and I sold all my gift boxes in one package and got rid of them.
I didn't want to keep them. So you never smoke this? I have, this is the first time I'm smoking it. Oh wow.
**Senator:** Yeah. So I was gonna say, I don't remember you. Yeah. Like raving about this cigar and on the light. This is really good. So I was just surprised, but now it makes sense. Yeah. Yeah. I'm
**Rooster:** surprise you didn't keep it.
I mean, you didn't
**Gizmo:** wanna Yeah, I, I just was like, you know what, there's a demand for it. There's not a lot of them out there at the time. Mm-hmm . So I was like, you know what, I'll just transact it.
**Bam Bam:** Didn't you get a box of particles at that event too?
**Gizmo:** Uh, the, the blue label, the Friday dinner was a three count gift box of the, weren't we with you on that trip?
Maestro? You came later. Yeah.
**Bam Bam:** Yeah. And I remember that. Yeah. You came later on that trip. Right? Right, right. Very nice.
**Gizmo:** And [00:09:00] that Partagus wasn't that good. Did you, uh, yeah, so I've had the Linea Maestra, I forget which, uh, Vitola I've had. Uh, I did have it at that event, and then I had another one later. It's, uh, it's for me, in the early days of that cigar, because it's young.
Right. It's not, uh, It's not in line with my understanding of Partagas. So we're going to do it probably in the first or second quarter of next year, at least one of those new Partagas releases, but, and then we'll make a real judgment, but it wasn't great when I
**Rooster:** didn't hear great things about it. Like anybody I know hasn't really, wasn't like, you know, in all about that cigar, it was nothing great.
**Gizmo:** And I think them putting out a new line is them saying, Hey, this might, you know, this is a departure from what you might know of the flavor, but it didn't have that letter series. Okay. Part of DNA, or even what you'd get out of a Lucy, which is a little bit more mild or an eight nine eight, which is a little bit more oomph.
And of course the D four E two P two, you know, it's, it's just, it was [00:10:00] a little lighter, I think, than anybody would have wanted from, uh, part of this, which also let's not forget the last LCDH we smoked on this podcast was the part of the guys Aliados, which performed, that was one of the worst performing cigars of the year.
It was abysmal. Yeah. So this, this though, is great. Mm hmm. So we'll get into it, boys. This cigar follows and, and is named after one of the most celebrated cigars in the history of the Habanos catalog. The gold medal is a pre cigar. Revolution release discontinued in 1992. So I actually went back to Min Ron knee's book, the encyclopedia of old Havana cigars, and looked up what he had to say about it.
So I'm going to read that to you. He says the gold medal is arguably the most famous collectible cigar, half wrapped in gold colored, aluminum paper foil. This cigar existed before the revolution in production for some reason. Was always small, probably because it was hard to get the gold foil. It was discontinued in 1992 [00:11:00] because of the difficulty in obtaining the gold aluminum paper foils.
He says, this is the most earthy cigar he's ever tried. Bar none. The earthiness amplifies continuously to a shocking level towards the end. Very strong, pure tobacco taste. Other unmistakable Bolivar style. Thank you. But are overwhelmed by the earthy and strong tobacco taste from past experience. The tobacco and earthy tastes have the longest staying power.
The gold medal might still retain its characteristics in the next few decades. What I found unique about this cigar versus some of the others in his book, where he kind of lists like a preferred aging range, three to five years. For example, the Bolivar, Bella, Bella Cosas Finos. He recommends in the cabinet five years in the dress box three.
Now, remember we're. This was written 22 years ago. This is like the Holy Bible of Cuban cigars. But to hear him talk about the predecessor to this, uh, in such detail saying it's the most famous collectible cigar, um, in, in Cuban cigar [00:12:00] history is pretty wild. The release of the original cigars from, you know, pre revolution till the 19, early 1990s was very similar.
I actually have a couple of pictures of it. I took out of the book. Nearly identical.
**Bam Bam:** Yeah.
**Gizmo:** There's a little bit of a color, you know, a tone difference in the color of the foil. No LCDH band either. Yeah, muted. Well, that's also before the LCDH existed. Sure, sure. That didn't exist until the early 2000s, I think, or, you know, the aughts.
I don't, I don't remember when they, uh, came out with, um, La Casa Del Habano. Those are some dark wrappers on those cigars. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Very dark. And then there's another one. That one, the picture I just showed you is from 1985. And then this is a picture from the 1970s. Yeah. Yeah. That's the gold medal.
That's cool. Rooster.
**Senator:** Rooster. How
**Gizmo:** was that in the seventies? What was the original release of these? Like I was three.
**Bam Bam:** Good timing on that.
**Gizmo:** So what's wild with that being again, the first release of the quote unquote gold medal. [00:13:00] That was discontinued in 1992. There've been three subsequent releases of the Bolivar gold metal.
And the distinction between what we have in our hand being the new gold metal and the originals was the originals were a traditional Lonsdale 42 by six and a half, the cigar we have in our hand is 48 by six and a half. So I don't know if for blending flavor or just consumer preferences and. The 2020s that going to a bigger ring gauge makes more sense for them, or if it's a blending flavor decision, I don't know, but they went up to a 48 from a 42 and the gold medals that followed the 5th Avenue special release, which did have a La Casa Del Habano band on it, 2004.
Was, uh, very limited in release. They only released a thousand boxes and then they did a, another La Casa Del Habano exclusive release, which only lasted for four years, 2007 to 2011, which was the gold medal that you would see on Bon Roberts and whatnot. There's a lot of 2009 [00:14:00] box codes that you see floating around.
So. Amazing history on the gold medal and tonight we are smoking the new gold medal from Habanos, which is a regular production cigar. So these should hopefully be around for quite some time.
**Rooster:** I'm glad they went from 42 to a 48. Same. I mean, this definitely feels good in the hand and, um, you know, when you're paying what it's going for now, you kind of want something substantial.
**Bam Bam:** Oh yeah. This is exquisite right now. You love it? I do. I am. I think the RetroHail is outstanding. I agree with you. Yeah.
**Senator:** Uh, I feel the same way. The surprise for me, the BAM called out a walnut note, which I definitely get in this, and I actually really dislike walnuts, so there are some cigars, and I'm not, I'm not sure if it was the Punch 48, or There were a few where we called that out.
Where it was like so walnut heavy, and I, I didn't like the cigar because of it, but in this [00:15:00] cigar, It is balanced and blended in a way that like the salty twang and minerality and butteriness, it all just rounds it out so perfectly. So for me, what excites me most, there's not another cigar that I would compare this to.
And the fact that it is unique and really stands on its own and delivers a lot of great flavor. I'm super happy with this cigar. And
**Bam Bam:** I'll say if this continues like this all the way down. I think, I think it's worth 60 bucks. Because you're, like he said, you're not going to get very many cigars with this flavor profile.
Yeah,
**Rooster:** with the gold. But we shall see.
**Bam Bam:** With the
**Rooster:** gold foil, yeah, it's worth it, absolutely. Real gold foil, folks. I mean, you wouldn't get like a little fruit note. It's like a little fruit, a little nuttiness. I'm not getting any fruit. Salty. Believe me, I'd be the first one to call it.
I can't pinpoint what fruit it is, but it's, it's kind of like a floral fruit thing [00:16:00] going on. Also.
**Senator:** I get something sweet on the finish, not in the front of your palate. So I, it might be fruit. It's hard for me to say right now. You know what's
**Chef Ricky:** coming? I think it's going to transition after we get through. I think it's like a very
**Bam Bam:** mild honey that I'm getting kind of on the retro hell at the end of it.
Almost like an
**Chef Ricky:** Acacia style honey. Yeah, I don't know what that is, but I mean, what a case? Yes, it's a type of honey. It's, it's a lot milder than like, let's say a cone for honey or honey is right, right. Of course.
**Bam Bam:** Come on, Senator. Can I get some allocation of honey, please? For my chai tea.
**Gizmo:** What is it?
**Chef Ricky:** A different kind of bee that makes it like, is it like a I'm not, I'm no honey connoisseur, but I've had a few different honeys. It's definitely not
**Rooster:** Manuka.
**Gizmo:** Yeah,
**Pagoda:** that is a honey.
**Gizmo:** I don't know anything about
**Pagoda:** honey. Didn't you go to pursue some honey, even in Cuba, I remember.
**Rooster:** Oh, that's right. We did get to be, you know why?
Because the, uh, [00:17:00] because the guy who owned the Casa that we were staying at, he, he asked us to bring back some money from the farms. Apparently
**Gizmo:** we learned about this. As Rooster was pursuing honey, he was on a mission out in Pinar del Rio. We were looking for cigar information and education for our listeners, and he's putzing around trying to find a jar of honey.
**Rooster:** That particular farm. I think it was, I think it was a used Folgers cup. Was known for honey.
**Pagoda:** Yeah, because. Not for tobacco. Because they were the group of tourists all hanging out by the honey.
**Gizmo:** They were drinking ramen,
**Rooster:** like, you know, tasting honey.
**Gizmo:** But, you know, joking aside, we learned that Cuba is worldwide very famous for its honey because there's a complete lack of the use of, uh, things like Monsanto and, and, and pesticide, pesticide, and even fertilizer.
You know, so everything there is very natural and it's almost kind of organic without having the label on it because there's no, there's no resources to, to do anything [00:18:00] else. The bees,
**Pagoda:** bees are thriving. I hope nobody from Monsanto is listening to our episodes. They're not going to be a sponsor. They're going to be right there.
**Chef Ricky:** I'm sure Acacia honey just comes from a different flower. The nectar of a different flower or something along those lines. You said Makuna honey or Manuka. Manuka. Yeah. You know where I've seen that? Costco. no, no coincidence only place I've ever seen that sublimino
**Gizmo:** what a shocker I'm so opposed to
**Chef Ricky:** Ichikasa
**Gizmo:** this cigar is great man it is, it is
**Chef Ricky:** and now coming into I, I guess almost at an inch.
I am getting some of those lighter honey notes. It's nothing, not tried fruit yet, uh, but I am excited for the pairing because I think that's going to really do some, make some magic happen
**Senator:** here. Before the pairing, can I just take Gizmo to task quickly? It is at this point a crime that you didn't smoke this and sold that cigar.
I'm
**Gizmo:** sorry. [00:19:00] A crime. I mean, this is like one of the best cigars I've had this year so far. Can I, can I say why? I, I saw some things about it saying the cigar was outside of the Bolivar profile. People weren't loving it. Oh,
**Senator:** that's right. You don't like the Bela Cosa's Finos. The Bela Cosa's Finos is half, half wheel.
**Bam Bam:** You've read it on Reddit. I mean, that's the Holy Grail.
**Gizmo:** Listen, actually, I do have a thing about Reddit later. Good, uh, good preview. Reddit is
**Chef Ricky:** very informative. It is. And, you know, you get some real And it sways judgment, apparently. It's almost like a meal. There's so much happening. You're so full of flavor.
**Gizmo:** And, you know, we've talked about this on the last few episodes. Especially the New World episodes. You know, letting these sit. Letting cigars come down. And that's what I did. I've had these probably for about four months, five months. In the tower. Just anticipating the youth in them. The fact that they're only a little over a year old first release and just crossing our fingers that, you know, they were going to perform well as a new release cigar from Cuba, like some of the others have.
So, so far so good.
**Chef Ricky:** [00:20:00] How's the draw for you guys? I think if there's one slight complaint I have, I wish it was a little more open. I think it's perfect.
**Bam Bam:** Mine's excellent. Give me a little bit. Yeah, I've got just enough tightness here. It's perfect. Yeah,
**Pagoda:** I did pick up the cigar from the right.
**Gizmo:** Yeah, we had an issue when we were picking our cigars out.
Bam didn't know his left from his right. We were arguing which of his hands. So is it his right hand? All right.
**Bam Bam:** Let's let's talk about this for two seconds. So let me play out for the listener. So I just have a question. So there are five mini trays in there with two cigars. So is it the right in each tray?
**Gizmo:** No, I said choose from the right side of the box. And you picked one from the left.
**Bam Bam:** No, I did not.
**Gizmo:** I didn't see what I was picking up.
**Rooster:** He was trying to figure out how to put his headset on. And I know what happened. He was holding the box upside down.
**Pagoda:** And, and he did say, raising his left hand up. This is my right.
**Gizmo:** You
**Pagoda:** had
**Gizmo:** me overthinking there.
Always an adventure around here. [00:21:00] So boys, I do think it's time we're in the holidays. It's time to try our incredible pairing. I hope
**Bam Bam:** it's a
**Gizmo:** very expensive pairing for the holiday. For our Christmas episode this year, we have 20th anniversary. Don Folano tequila. So we've done a couple other, we've done two other Don Folano's on the podcast.
We did the Anejo. And the Reposado in previous episodes tonight. I guess this is an extra Añejo, aged for three ish years.
**Chef Ricky:** Yeah. So it's aged for three plus years in French, uh, French oak, but then they finish, uh, it for three months. Rested for three months in, um, Amontillado and Oroloso sherry cask. So, you know, it was made in, uh, for the 20th anniversary of Don Fulano.
It's a little bit hotter. It's at 44%. So we should be able to get some more agave. I mean, this, this should be great. I, you know, Sherry cast. I'm thinking we're going to get some dried fruit here for sure. I think we're going to get some minerality from the quality of [00:22:00] agave. Salute. Everyone's boys. Happy holidays.
Merry Christmas. Then the nose alone, bringing it up to my mouth.
**Senator:** Ricky, is this odd to say the nose on this for some reason of tequilas. This is the most mezcal esque nose I've smelled in a while on a tequila. And I don't know why, if that even makes any sense to you, but for some reason, that's what I get.
Not that it's smoky, like the other notes in some mezcals, it's like Yeah, sure. So for
**Bam Bam:** me, it's kind of like that, it's If I let my nose linger in the cup, it's more of a minerality draw that I'm getting. Yeah. I'm getting that. But it's a little sweet on the nose, and the first sip is
**Chef Ricky:** delicious. No, you know what, Senator?
That's a great call out from you. Um, because ultimately, I, you know, a lot of the mescals we've had, while there is some inherent smoke, they're not super smoky like mescals that came out years ago. So a lot of the mescals we've been having lately, they do have some fruit components to [00:23:00] them. And I think you're picking up the minerality with the fruit mixture on the nose here.
That's really just reminding you of mescal. You
**Bam Bam:** know? Yeah, it works. I like the heat. I'm actually really enjoying it because the finish is so sweet for me. Very unique
**Gizmo:** and I'm finding, I mean, given the extra on Yeho three plus years, the time in the, the, the bonus casks, the barrels, I'm shocked at how thin it is.
Yes, my expectation would have been that it's a thicker, more viscous spirit. And honestly, Coming in with this cigar tonight, I was a little nervous that this was gonna be a real powerhouse of a pairing with this Cupid cigar, and it's not the case at all, thankfully.
**Bam Bam:** Agreed.
**Gizmo:** You know, it's, it's actually working out okay, but, actually it's working out very nicely, but um, I'm surprised it's not more viscous.
**Senator:** I just wanna pick up on that, maybe Ricky can explain why, uh, so, Don Folano, their añejo, is a pretty dark, you know, spirit. Yeah, and we love it. It's got a lot of color. This is lighter than that. [00:24:00] It is. Yet it has more age. Why
**Chef Ricky:** is that? I'm gonna, I'm not, I don't remember if Don Folano ages everything in French oak.
I'm guessing the French oak has everything to do with that over American oak. No, I, I, you know, I don't know. Quick question on that though.
**Bam Bam:** If they're finished, they're starting in oak and finishing in the sherry cask, doesn't the sherry impart color where the oak doesn't?
**Chef Ricky:** At three months in the cask, I don't think it's a whole lot.
Got it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's not much. I think the sherry has imparted some flavor here. Like I do find this to be buttery, almost like the cigar. Yeah, there's sweetness that you get in sherry. There's some salted butter and some, yeah, and some fruit notes there, but. And how long is it in the
**Bam Bam:** oak casks? Do you know?
Three. Three. Three years. Three years. Yeah. Three years and then three months, correct? And then three months. I can see that oak barrel, because of the light wood, actually taking color out of the spirit, possibly.
**Chef Ricky:** Well, no, when the spirit goes in, oh, you mean the sherry cusk? No, the oak barrel. No, when the spirit goes in, there's no color.
Oh, not at all. Yeah, no, it's a [00:25:00] blanco. Got it, got it, starts as a blanco. Right, right, right. That's true. And then three years.
**Bam Bam:** Um, so. That's a good question that Senator's bringing up, though. Why it's lighter.
**Senator:** I was just so surprised. I just feel like the Don Filano Añejo, even compared to other Añejos, is like a darker spirit than many others.
It is much, yeah, it is much
**Chef Ricky:** darker.
**Senator:** Pagoda, what do you think of
**Bam Bam:** the heat on this thing?
**Pagoda:** Yeah, no, I'm really enjoying this. You know what I was surprised at? Like, I think even the Don Filano we had done earlier, and I've had it a few times, I really like Don Filano, that is, it doesn't like smell like tequila, right?
Like for, for me, like, or like you would say it's agave forward, it's not. Oh,
**Senator:** I agree with you on the Añejo. That is probably the most whiskey like tequila I've ever had. That's,
**Gizmo:** I can't believe that this is 20, or not 20 years, it's, it's, you know, a 250 bottle first.
**Bam Bam:** Correct.
**Gizmo:** Age three years extra Añejo, and to me is thinner.
Less aromatic, less
**Bam Bam:** powerful,
**Gizmo:** got a little more heat, but it doesn't have [00:26:00] the flavor or the body that
**Senator:** the body.
**Gizmo:** Yes. I'm surprised that that's absent in the spirit for being, this is a 245 bottle of tequila. Wow. By the way,
**Pagoda:** the heat on this is not coming, like, it's not blasting you, it's very, I think, subtle, and it's just coming out in a really nice way.
Like, there's definitely no need for ice in this. No. Shepariki. Oh, really? Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding,
**Gizmo:** ding. I'm curious, though, for me, is it a subtlety thing? Is it subtle? And complex or is it simple because I'm, I'm, I'm surprised by the price point, by the age statement, everything else we're talking about here that this is just not, it's really not impressing me, right?
It's not an impressive tequila for me.
**Senator:** I'm really enjoying it. I'm enjoying it. I just for 250 bucks. This is, this is not [00:27:00] leaps and bounds better than many, many tequilas I've had. Exactly. I would
**Gizmo:** argue that they're on Yeho and reposado for me. I would take both over this.
**Chef Ricky:** Yeah.
**Gizmo:** Right. I don't disagree.
**Chef Ricky:** I don't disagree.
I also think the Añejo has a very special place in your guys heart, especially Senators, uh, from Cinco de Mayo. That's right. But, but no, for sure what you guys are stating is factual. The Añejo is darker. It does have more viscosity. Um, it is more, um, almost like bourbon forward. You know, it is a lot sweeter.
And I think what happens with the Don Fulano 20, I think the number 20 there gives us this impression that it's age super long, right? Because we, you know, because of everything else that we drink, but it's still only an anejo. So I think that it's kind of skewing the perception a little bit. That and the price.
The price is what skews my perception. So what
**Pagoda:** is the number
**Senator:** 20?
**Pagoda:** It's the 20th anniversary of
**Gizmo:** which
**Senator:** I'll say is brilliant marketing because anybody you see that in the store, [00:28:00] you assume that's 20 year aged in that bottle. It's called fraud. Okay, let's
**Pagoda:** talk about moving. I would beg to differ. Brilliant marketing, please.
The
**Gizmo:** presentation on this is great. So this comes in a pretty simple bottle. With a nice, uh, wrapper on the top of the cork, which has almost like a, um,
**Bam Bam:** fishnet type
**Gizmo:** thing. It's a not fishnet. It's like a rope that ties it down. And then there's like a, what do they use on old in like the 1800s to like seal a letter?
I don't know. A wax stamp. Rooster. What was it? Wax. That's right. There was a wax on it that you had to pull off to open it up on the side of the bottle. And then it comes in this, I guess, cream colored with, um, Heavy orange detail box with the number 20 all over it to Senator's point, kind of looking like it's a 20 year age spirit, but, um, it's attractive packaging.
It looks great.
**Chef Ricky:** I love the pull tab there. The little pull tab
**Gizmo:** pulls out the, it's like a little, yeah, like [00:29:00] a door reveal. And then the bottle sits in there. There's like a cutout little notch there for the, for the bottle. But again, Given how this looks and tastes and everything else and costs. It's not a, this is not worth $250.
Well, I, I actually, I'm embarrassed that I bought
**Chef Ricky:** this from, I'll say this also defending the price point. There's only 9,000 bottles of this meat. Oh, only, um, that's, I don't care. There were 10 bottles. 50.
**Bam Bam:** I agree. Quick, somebody do the math on that. What's the gross income on 9,000 bottles? I'll do it right now.
**Rooster:** 9,000 times 200,
**Bam Bam:** 2
**Rooster:** 51 0.8 million 18. No. Okay.
**Gizmo:** 2, 250, 000. Say what? Left or right? I don't know. 2. 2 million.
**Bam Bam:** Okay. That's not a massive, uh. That's a 1. 8. You were close. It's not a huge, uh, game changer, but.
**Rooster:** So, Ricky, have you had this before?
**Chef Ricky:** I had it once prior. Uh, Lizard George brought it Here. [00:30:00] Oh, I had it.
That's, that's when I tried it the first time. Yeah. He brought it to the lounge and then when, uh, the first week that PYA was open, he came in with another bottle and we cracked the bottle at the restaurant and had a shop. Man, that's awesome. I need to become an accountant. Yeah. two bottles of these. Jesus.
Well, he does get. But much better price, uh, over the MSRP. So that, that helps. It's still expensive, but it's a little bit easier to swallow. So I, I will say that when I first had it, I, I think that the 20th, the number 20 has a lot to do with the perception here. Uh, you expect something to be, you expect it to just be much sweeter.
And it, it's not that it's not sweet. Like there's beautiful sweetness there, but it's salty sweet. Yes. Right. And I feel like that compliments a cigar. Well, Is it worth, you know, 180, 200, 250? No. Um, but it's good tequila. It's very unique. It's very unique. It's good. Yeah. And it's unique for sure. Every review that I've read about this, and I've [00:31:00] also encountered this personally, is that it gets better as it airs out, right?
Cause it is a little bit hotter. Um, and I think everybody familiar with the Don Fulano flavor profile wants something a little sweeter and viscous. So allowing it to air out, Helps just a bit.
**Senator:** I'll just say I agree with Ricky and that it is a really great pairing with the cigar. It is Yeah, like we got lucky with that.
Yeah price point aside, which is definitely my frustration and complexity things like that The notes marry up really well. They do get the saltiness
**Rooster:** of the cigar Compliments. Yes, and I think the
**Gizmo:** fact that it's a It, even though it's 44%, a little bit higher proof, it's not viscous. I think it pairs very well with a Cuban cigar.
I would argue that for the price on this and what my expectation was of viscosity and body, I would argue with a non Cuban cigar that this might struggle as a pairing.
**Bam Bam:** Maybe, I agree. Yeah, I think it's a
**Chef Ricky:** little
**Bam Bam:** salty. It's a little
**Chef Ricky:** too salty.
**Bam Bam:** Yeah, so it's definitely salt forward for me and sweet finish.
And like Senator said, [00:32:00] it pairs greatly with this. What other Cuban would you smoke with this thing? Particus D4. I don't know. RAS for sure. RAS. I was thinking RAS.
**Gizmo:** I'm staying in the Partagas family. Saying Partagas, family. Any cigar. Yeah. You know what would be great? LaGoria Cubana. MDO number four. Oh yeah.
MDO number two. I think the
**Senator:** two even better than that. Yeah. The two better for sure.
**Rooster:** I think most tequilas fare pretty compliment. With a Cuban cigars
**Senator:** in your experience, your experience, he's a good learner.
**Rooster:** I'm in the room. My
**Chef Ricky:** goods observer. And I'll say that, although it doesn't feel viscous when it hits the palette, especially initially when it first hits the palette, it feels really buttery, but in the glass, it doesn't look viscous.
So when it hits the palette, it feels like you're like, Salted butter.
**Bam Bam:** I will say though. It also demands a little bit of respect. You're not gonna drink this very fast. No Yeah, oh, I you
**Chef Ricky:** you can drink it fast But no not for [00:33:00] me at that price point from
**Bam Bam:** the point of view of the for me It is there was a little heat there.
So I'd like to sip on something with heat a little slower
**Senator:** Yeah, I'll say this. I'm not at all a fan of high proof spirits When I first had this with Lizard George that Ricky was mentioning, I found it to be very hot. For some reason, I don't know if it's this bottle, I don't know if it was, you know, opened a little bit.
You've uh, toughened up recently. It's had time to open for sure. It's, it's not as hot as You know, the proof would lend itself to lend you to believe. I also think just the flavor notes in it. It's very easy drinking like it because it's not super viscous and with a ton of body, like that is something that you can sip more frequently, where if this had a lot of body, I'd be sipping very slowly.
That's also the finish would be so lingering. It's like a cleaner finish on this that. I'm feeling myself reaching for it more often. So I do think it's a little sneaky in that you could, you know, you could definitely consume [00:34:00] more of this than you might other fuller bodied spirits. Get
**Bam Bam:** Uber
**Senator:** on a standby
**Bam Bam:** on this one.
**Gizmo:** So boys, we're coming to the end of the first third here on the Bolivar. New gold medal. What's everybody thinking? Very good. It's excellent. I'm shocked. I'm just waiting for, like, the youth and, like, ammonia or something to hit. And I'm hoping it doesn't happen, that we can take this all the way down to the nub.
Like, I'm praying that that's gonna happen, because where this is at right now, at the end of the first third, it's, it's superb. It is superb. I completely agree. It's superb. It's one of the best. One of the best cigars fresh that I've had out of Cuba in a very, very long time. And we've had a lot of good ones.
**Pagoda:** And started off really well.
**Gizmo:** It did. On the light. And it's taking us on a journey, I feel like. I feel like it's kind of progressing and it's, it's complexity and it's changing a little bit. But those notes of, I think the twang, that saltiness is really, really important for me. And it's great Cuban cigar and I'm [00:35:00] loving it.
**Bam Bam:** That salty, buttery, uh, note that I'm getting early on continues now. Minerality on the finish. So I guess
**Rooster:** you like this better than the BBF?
**Gizmo:** Yes. At this point, yes.
**Rooster:** Well, who doesn't?
**Pagoda:** Well, that's a no brainer. And the construction's fantastic. Yeah. You know, I like, I think I just ashed out around a little over two inches.
Mm hmm. It's, uh, yeah. It's, uh, been, uh, very pleasurable. Yeah, this is so
**Senator:** far one of the best cigars I've had this year. Agreed.
**Gizmo:** I agree. Agreed. Agreed. And thankful, you know, cause I w I was nervous with the LCDH band on it, man. Oh yeah. We've not had a lot of success with those.
**Rooster:** One of the best Cuban cigars
**Senator:** or the best cigars.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. This is just so distinct and interesting. Absolutely. Which, you know, we've smoked so many Cuban cigars. I say the same thing in the new world space where you feel like It's hard to find something you truly haven't had before flavor profile wise. And this does that. I'm [00:36:00] just really blown away that I can't, I haven't heard anyone compare this to another cigar.
No,
**Rooster:** I think the blend is excellent. Agreed. Yeah, you know, whatever they did to blend the cigar, it's superb. Yeah.
**Gizmo:** At this point, does it compare? This is the fourth Bolivar we've done on the podcast. So let's focus on the cigars we've reviewed. The Bellicose Osfinos we did very, very early on, hundreds of episodes ago.
The Royal Corona, which is a Robusto. And the Coronas Gigantes, which is a discontinued big boy. Is this in the flavor Profile range of what you'd expect from a cigar that carries the mark of Bolivar?
**Senator:** No. I'll just say I do think that there is Bolivar DNA in this. I think like the only two Bolivars that I think there are elements of, it's not, you know, tremendously similar, but elements of, I think there's a little bit of BBF and a little bit of the Gigantes in here.
Outside of that, [00:37:00] I think, uh, you know, it's very different. Maybe
**Bam Bam:** the Gigantes for me, but none of the other. Vitola's in this market are close to this. I haven't had anything that's buttery and salty with a sweet finish and minerality. That's, that's pretty hard to compare.
**Rooster:** Yeah. It kind of reminds me of the Bolivar Corona's extra, which is also, it's also discontinued, but it has that.
Like the DNA is closer to that Bolivar to me. Cause I think the twang is like really prominent. Yeah. You
**Gizmo:** Cause you know, what it brings up for me, I do think this is a little bit of a departure from Bolivar, like a lot of the newer production, excuse me, newer release cigars from Cuba, you know, I think these blending decisions that are being made in Cuba, I don't know if it's, is it that they're putting Leslie Harrow in it so that they're ready to smoke faster?
You know, cause you think about a, uh, a Boulevard Bellicose Finos, that's coming out today, it still needs quite a bit [00:38:00] of time, probably more than the year and a few months that this cigar has on it. Think about the other new release cigars we've done. The Turquinos, the Ramon Ionis number three, compare that to a Rass and some of those other cigars.
All ready to smoke. I think they're making blending decisions, given the sensitivity to price so that the consumer is able to smoke them. Faster and and and more quickly when they're when they purchase them. So that's what I'm wondering on these newer cigars out of Cuba. And this is certainly a question that I plan to ask when we go to Cuba again.
That's a great question. Are they actively making decisions to put Leslie Harrow in these cigars to make them more ready to smoke now? And then also I ask, what is the aging impact of these newer blends? Because if you taste a cigar like a, uh, uh, let's say a part of a series P number two, right? In the family of Bolivar, that cigar has a lot of oomph.
With a [00:39:00] year or two on it, it's, for me, probably borderline harsh.
**Bam Bam:** Did you say P2 in the family of Bolivar? Yeah, P2, yeah.
**Gizmo:** Yeah, what's, you know, Partagas, Bolivar, Ramon Iones, Liguria Cubana. So, like, that cigar young, at a year, year and a few months, is really tough to smoke. But with seven years, it's brilliant.
I wonder now, Cigars like this, Leslie Haro, a little easier to smoke young. Does this have the legs to age that those cigars do? What an astute
**Senator:** observation,
**Gizmo:** guys.
**Pagoda:** What an astute observation. It's an excellent question.
**Senator:** No, I think it's really smart. I mean, it would make sense that, you know, maybe they are using Leslie Haro.
It can't be a coincidence that all these new releases are smoking great young. I mean, we've never in our time smoking Cuban cigars have said like, Hey, there's this. Wide range of young Cuban cigars that smoke. Well, we have some favorites that do that, but a lot that don't and just need more time. So yeah, I think that very well [00:40:00] could be the case.
**Gizmo:** And what do you guys think then is the implication of that on long term aging? You know, does this cigar have
**Bam Bam:** the, you would have to say that it's going to impact you and you're going to consume those sooner quicker and sooner, which then of course requires you to buy more. And it's like a, you know, as you said earlier,
**Senator:** Didn't Danilo say that Uh, less milder, milder, the cigars age better, better, stronger cigars.
**Gizmo:** That was his opinion on it. I feel like, I feel like the cigars that I've had, that I've had for a longer period of time that have aged better are the stuff that have a little bit more oomph to them. I agree with that. Like the,
**Bam Bam:** like the BBF, BBF, we have, BBF is a great example. Yeah. I mean,
**Rooster:** but on the other hand, the Hoyo de Madre Epi 2, that's with a lot of age.
I mean, it's, it does really well. It does. Which is a fairly mild cigar.
**Gizmo:** I mean, I guess it's a matter of taste, but I just wonder, I do wonder some of these younger, or excuse me, these new release cigars out of Cuba that are smoking so great with six months, a [00:41:00] year, a few months on them, like, How are they going to be in seven years?
I'm, I'm really curious about that. I mean, even the Rafael Gonzalez
**Rooster:** that we did on the Corona Stallone still, right? I mean, that smoked wonderful. fresh box.
**Senator:** Yeah, I also, you know, I think Danilo said this when we met with him and this aligns with my philosophy, you know, cigars, when they're delivering what you want out of them Smoke them, just go through them and when they're not age them, but I, I don't subscribe to this philosophy that like every cigar needs more age to get better and reach some certain level.
I think many cigars, some cigars definitely need that. The BBF, perfect example, young, most of them. I'm not a huge fan of even a few years. Ras. I agree with that, but this cigar, if this finishes as good and as satisfying as it's been so far. Yeah. I don't really care what it tastes like with more age because this will [00:42:00] be a perfect expression for what I would look for in a cigar.
I'll happily smoke an aged one, but it's not like I'm pursuing that experience. There'll be nothing more I want out of this. Let me
**Gizmo:** qualify my question. My question is really to educate the listeners and us. If you go out and buy a box of these, you know, I think it'd be wise to expect that the cigar you're tasting today is how it's going to be smoking.
Now, I don't know if it's going to get better. It might after a year or two, but I wouldn't sit on a box for 10 years for the sake of it. You know, to Senator's point, my, my question here is saying to the, to the consumer, buy a box, smoke one. If they're smoking great, start going through them because I think they're smoking really well young.
**Bam Bam:** Yeah. I, I, I'm always sampling a box the moment I buy it. I'll take one out and try it. And if it's smoking well, I'm going to. continue to dip into them. If it's not smoking well, like Senator said, I'm going to put it aside for six months and then revisit it, have another cigar.
**Senator:** And I'll say, even when you age boxes, you know, I also don't think it's the case.
[00:43:00] Like maybe it's not that great. You age it. And then all of a sudden you pull one and it's. Awesome. I don't always subscribe to like, oh, well, if I just age it for another five years, it's necessarily going to be better. Like it may hit its peak. Like, I think a great example of this, the Ramon Iones 2019 limitada, that green box I brought, we did on the pod.
That cigar, when I got it, I didn't like it. I let it sit for a few years and then pulled one out and it was absolutely mind blowing. And And then we all smoked one from that box and gave it tens across the board.
**Pagoda:** We did.
**Senator:** And I don't buy that. Like if I, as I continue to hold that five years from now, it's going to be better.
Like it scored a perfect 10 from every single person in the room. Yeah. And so what did I do? I smoked the rest of the box. Thank you. Like it can't get better. This is a great point. So we
**Bam Bam:** all have tons of boxes in our towers and Tupper doors. I have cute boxes of Cubans that I haven't cracked open in a very, very long time.
How do I know that they're not aging past their plateau? [00:44:00] They very well maybe. Right. Share them. Okay.
**Gizmo:** Hey, it is Christmas. That's true. Do you want me to stop lying?
**Bam Bam:** We'll
**Gizmo:** keep
**Bam Bam:** you informed.
**Gizmo:** I'll
**Bam Bam:** go and we'll try one and tell you. Okay. But seriously though, you know, we have a ton of stock. Yeah. I think it makes sense to periodically go through. I don't do that. And I, I think I should. And I will now.
**Gizmo:** I think it's a good lesson.
Just go through it. You know, and let's, let's also qualify this too, that we've been trained. And I think most consumers of Cuban cigars out there have been trained by the blending decisions of the past that most, if not all Cuban cigars need a little bit of time to settle in and get to a point that they're a pleasant smoke.
What we're learning now. From our recent examples is that Habano's has changed their philosophy and blending. I just, I think that it's, it's, they've made a serious [00:45:00] change to, to satisfy a consumer who's paying 400 percent more than they did a few years ago on a newer cigar. I think that's a conscious decision.
And I think we all need to pivot our thinking with new release Cuban cigars.
**Pagoda:** No, but that's really smart, right? Because if you're competing with the new worlds, which are ready to smoke as soon as they come out. Of course. You know, uh, I think it's, uh, if it's a deliberate decision, really good for them. And especially for the prices they're charging now, you know, nobody's going to invest in them and put them in the box for another five, 10 years considering the prices.
So yeah, no, that's
**Senator:** fantastic. Yeah. It's brilliant because honestly, the, the brand we've obviously criticized is Cohiba around this, like you pay this extreme premium. And I don't think any of us have sat here and said that most of the Cohiba catalog is good young. It's not. It's not. Yeah, it needs time. And the frustration is if you're paying that premium, it needs to be ready to smoke.
So if they're starting to take that approach with a lot of the other marcas, and if they eventually do that with [00:46:00] Cohiba, I mean, I love the idea of being able to pick up a Cohiba Robusto Young that is great. I've never experienced that. Yep. But if that were the case, I'd understand the premium more. My only amazing Cohiba Robustos have been.
Heavily, heavily aged.
**Gizmo:** And I think, I think the thing that distinguishes well to your point here is that the old blends, the recipes that have already been designed that are in production, they're not changing. We're only talking about new production
**Bam Bam:** cigars. This is not fact, it's a hypothesis. It seems to make sense, would say our data
**Gizmo:** set, Bam, on new release cigars that we've smoked in the last year, it's trending this way.
I agree. It's trending this way. I agree. And I think if you pick up a part of his P2 that was rolled in the same month and year at this cigar that we have in our hand, I don't think we're going to have the same smoking experience we're having tonight.
**Senator:** He's saying it won't his point, which, which makes perfect sense is new releases never before produce cigars.
Yes. This is the blending decision. They're making the [00:47:00] standard production stuff. That's been around for a while. It's the same recipe. This
**Gizmo:** is true. Yeah. They're not going to deviate from that and disrupt what, you know, They're old consumers expect from new production.
**Bam Bam:** We should inquire next time we're in Cuba.
**Gizmo:** And we're going to, Ben. Boys, I'm loving this cigar, even as we're talking here. It's fantastic. I mean, what an experience.
**Chef Ricky:** You know, the advantage I have is I don't have the history with Cubans that you guys do. So as I sit here and listen to you guys, Pomp and circumstance about the cigar. I'm just really enjoying the flavor.
Yeah. Um, and I'm, so he's saying he is ignoring us is what? Saying . I, I, I don't blame you. I'm not, I'm not, because I'm taking, it's a backend compliment. I'm taking the opportunity to learn about Sure, sure. About this. Obviously, as you guys wax poetic about, you know, what's going on in Cuba and the decisions they're making and, and, and how it's benefiting the, the industry.
Now I'm, I'm having this kind of outer moment that I did something similar with. Uh, the Sir Winston, uh, way back when. [00:48:00] Where I'm sitting here and I'm just getting these really creamy notes of roasted, salted sunflower seeds. And because I'm not talking, I'm able to just kind of go back to the cigar quickly to revisit and to confirm that.
And it's, it's been quite. Quite the experience. It's been delicious. So yeah, I'm loving this cigar right now. Sounds like you're
**Senator:** ready for baseball and Juan Soto and the Mets
**Chef Ricky:** music.
**Senator:** Oh, are we talking Mets?
**Bam Bam:** Are we going to talk Mets? No. All
**Pagoda:** right. You can hand one of these, uh, cigars to Mr. Boone, Aaron Boone.
I
**Chef Ricky:** can't wait to see Juan Soto make this. 30 years in, uh, right field over there at Citi Field. Wow. Wow.
**Bam Bam:** Thank you, chef. This is just so interesting. But, uh, It's too many damn Yankee fans. Unbelievable. He's going to be the Aaron Rodgers.
**Chef Ricky:** And see his home run total drop by 15 because of the walls. But, um, no, yeah, this is a, it's, it's a great, and, and, you know, I'm, I'm coming around with this, you know, the tequila again, the Don Jut Net that I [00:49:00] wasn't there with it, but I'm developing an appreciation for it because it's delivering something so similar to what the cigar is.
Um, and very unique for me with all the tequila I've had, it's having like the salt, it's very pronounced salted butter component on the tequila is not something that I've experienced often. Um, and it's, it's so profound here. And then the minerality that's present, it's almost like the, the cigar in the glass, it's, it's insane how much they match.
They do, they do compliment a lot.
**Gizmo:** But you know what though? If this, the problem with this tequila, as I sip it, is it's tasting to me like a 60, 70, 80 bottle of tequila, not a 250 bottle of tequila. That is really impacting my willingness and want to go find more of this. I'm really struggling with this and probably will for the rest of the cigar in this episode coming up to the rating.
Like this is, it's, it's a challenging. [00:50:00] Set up here with this price with this flavor profile with the tequila. It's just yeah, it's it's off for me Yeah, it's good, but it's not worth what it should
**Chef Ricky:** be. Yeah, that's unfortunate, but I think at 9, 000 bottles This is probably more of the collectors bottle. It's probably something you're gonna yeah You know, drink a bunch and look for it because eventually it's going to disappear.
As
**Bam Bam:** I drink more and more of this, my palate's adjusted nicely. I'm actually pulling a caramel on the finish now. It is sweet. Right? There's a caramel note there that's starting to open up for me. Especially if you let it linger in your tongue a little bit. Yeah, it does take a palate adjustment though to get there.
**Gizmo:** All right, boys, let's talk about some news. This one's a big one, especially for the Cuban cigar industry. And our friend here. Mr. Rob Iowa look at this picture of we love you Rob. He's like a cigar Baron very svelte in this picture bond Roberts has celebrated 20 [00:51:00] million dollars in auction 20 million dollars in less than five years That's insane.
They launched in April 2020 And they achieved 20 million in sales.
**Chef Ricky:** They have Rooster to thank for that.
**Gizmo:** I mean, he's probably about a quarter of that. So Rob did a little interview with Cigar Journal, a great publication, and it says, according to a media release, Bon Roberts boasts over 235, 000 monthly page views and has facilitated the sale of more than 20, 000 unique cigar lots and over 500, 000 cigars.
**Bam Bam:** Unreal.
**Gizmo:** 8, 000. Enthusiasts are on the site from 130 countries. And he says, quote, when Rob Fox and I envisioned the platform, we never imagined it would evolve into such a pivotal hub for Cuban cigars. Globally passing 20 million United States dollars is a testament to our commitment to transparency and trust.
We're proud to offer collectors and aficionados the largest continuous selection of [00:52:00] aged, vintaged, and rare ALR aged, limited, and rare. Cuban cigars in a secure trading environment. So kudos to the team over at bond Roberts. I think it's amazing. It's incredible. Million bucks. And what an asset to the Cuban cigar community trading cigars, knowing it's safe, knowing it's vetted, you know, they reject, I believe 20 to 30 percent of the submissions.
They come in, they reject on photos and, and you know, authenticity. There's a lot of fakes, obviously they get submitted and they weed all that out. So I know when I've purchased there, I'm, I'm just happy knowing that I'm getting a legitimate box of cigars because the CTO over there, the guy who's looking at all these boxes is Alex groom, who runs Cuban cigar website Habano Moderno.
This is what he's doing now with bond Roberts. So. You have a team over there who's doing a really great job for our community. How much
**Rooster:** revenue out of the 20 million do you think came from the U. S.? Oh, I would assume, I would be quite a bit of a
**Gizmo:** curious, I would [00:53:00] probably say maybe half. I would assume you're about right and we can ask Rob that when we have him on.
You know, early part of next year, but, um, I mean, it's just amazing. 20 million bucks in less than five years. That's pretty awesome. All right, boys, let's go to a listener email. This one comes from lizard. Chris, he writes, Hey lizards. It's lizard Chris. Again. I love the new episode with the wine pairing and thought it was very refreshing.
Quick aside. We had a lot of listeners who loved the fact that we went back to wine. So I think Senator, for you, mental note, I think we should be doing more wine because we got a lot of positive feedback from listeners on the wine pairing. I had an idea for a future episode. I would love to hear Senator do a deep dive on his favorite wines of different categories at varying price points.
It would also be interesting to hear about the history of red wines. A question I have for Senator is, If you are having multiple different wines in a night, is there any similarity to cigars in how you structure the different [00:54:00] flavor profiles and which ones to have first? That's a great question. With cigars, you obviously start more mild to medium than finished with a fuller smoke.
Would love to hear your expertise so I can try it out myself. Thank you, gentlemen.
**Bam Bam:** Wizard Chris. Nice email.
**Gizmo:** Great email.
**Bam Bam:** Very nice.
**Gizmo:** So what is your thought on your, let's say, a wine rotation at event? You just had your Christmas party for your office recently. How do you set up your evening of, of wine?
**Senator:** Yeah, for sure.
So it is very similar to cigars where you want to work your way up to something fuller. You definitely don't want to start with something fuller. It's like if I were to pour someone a cab, a cabernet to start, and then. You know, a glass later, I pour them a pinot. They would think the pinot is the most, you know, light, watery, flavorless thing that they could possibly have just because their palate is so saturated with flavor from that cab.
So, um, you definitely just want to start with a, if you're going to sample or try, or [00:55:00] you're going to have different courses with wine pairings, You want to start with something lighter bodied and work your way up and finish with something full
**Bam Bam:** whispering. Oh, no,
**Senator:** we're talking red wine, serious wine, not a, not Rose.
Say, uh, no, no, nothing against for a safe, but Rose, actually, here's a great example that also, if you're going to include. Uh, a white wine, a rosé, in addition to some reds, you always want to start with white wine, then rosé if you're going to go there, and then finally red wine, because that's just going to be a lot, um, fuller in body than those other wines where it would completely ruin your palate to do that the reverse.
So yeah, very
**Gizmo:** similar to cigars. Can I dial down into something that I know for me has been a challenge when I'm at a restaurant, let's say, and there's a couple bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon, specifically on the table, you know, you're, you're having a meal, a piece of meat or whatever it may be. Bowler. How do you, how do you distinguish what to go for [00:56:00] first?
Like, how do you work just inside the confines, let's say, of Cabernet? How do you work through that? Not having, let's say you don't have the internet available to start scanning. You know, labels and whatnot. Like, how do you do that? Yeah. So
**Senator:** that that's a challenge, right? That's harder. Um, and I say it's harder because it really just comes with trying a lot of different cabs.
The, the reality is there are a lot of vineyards within Napa. That make cab that are so wildly different in style. Like per example, there's, um, uh, Heights makes a cab it's from Napa heights. I like, because it is very versatile in that it is not a super, super full bodied, aggressive cab in the way that like a Caymus or some other cabs also from Napa are the only way, you know, that is just trying it.
So that's the tough part when you're in that situation. The helpful [00:57:00] lesson is like, you know, when you have those bottles, you can take a little taste of each. Don't just assume that, Oh, well, they're all Napa cabs. So they're all probably about the same. There's going to be variation in how full bodied they are.
And, uh, that's what should help you. If you want to try something, you know, start with something lighter. And all these things come down to, you know, pairing with food and, you know, I'm sure, you know, Ricky has strong opinions around this, you want to just pair whatever you're drinking in terms of wine with the, how heavy, you know, that meal is that, that plate, that course.
And so, If you're having a steak, well, sure. A cab makes a whole lot of sense. But if you're having like a piece of fish that you could go red or white, like maybe salmon, you know, you don't need a cab with salmon. Can you drink one with it? Sure. A Pino would pair perfectly with a piece of fish in a way that.
You know, it would not with a steak. So there's also a sliding skill there. You just want to be cognizant of. I like it.
**Gizmo:** Yeah. Great email from [00:58:00] blizzard, Chris. And I would love to, I know you would need to prep for this Senator, but I would love to do what he was saying about doing a deep dive on your favorite wines in different categories at varying price points.
So maybe, you know, in the new year, the next time we do a nice wine, maybe that's something we can look to happen. I like
**Bam Bam:** the progression of the. Chardonnay or a white with a rosé and then into a cab. That's, I've never done that before. I would like to try that. That sounds like a lot of fun.
**Senator:** Per example, one year for Thanksgiving, this was the dumbest decision I've ever made in terms of hosting, but I did courses.
Because you didn't invite us, but go ahead. Well, that too. That's also correct. Definitely that too. But, um, I did wine
**Gizmo:** pairings.
**Senator:** I did wine pairings with courses. And so, you know, the first prior to dinner, I had some caviar and stuff like that. So champagne obviously was a perfect pairing there, but the, the first course kind of of the meal was, um, uh, a lobster bisque [00:59:00] and, um, with some great lobster, I was, that was, the meal was actually excellent, but.
Hosting and the preparation was not the wine pairing with that. Like you're going to want to do a big backstory
**Bam Bam:** there.
**Senator:** That's on lizard after dark, episode one, you're going to want to do something lighter with that. Like, I'm not going to have a cab with like fish, a lobster bisque, like that just doesn't make sense.
And so I'm pretty sure I had like a Greek assertico that I paired with that, like started with a white. Which was awesome. That's great. Like seafood like that. And then the next course I'm forgetting what it was like worked into reds and it was a Pino and then like the last course of the main meal was like a fuller red wine.
It might've been a Meritage or which would be a blend that has cab in it or a cab. And so it's fun to kind of just work your way up. You know, as you're going through the evening,
**Bam Bam:** that's
**Senator:** cool.
**Bam Bam:** We got to do that. Yeah. I'm ready for that,
**Pagoda:** but I'm just make sure you take the [01:00:00] next day off.
**Chef Ricky:** So it's good advice.
Senator, I have a question for you in, in, in the agave world, right? If, if you're looking for something more mineral forward, maybe with vegetal notes and, and slight pepper, you're going to stick to lowland, right? If you're looking for something. That off brings something sweeter, um, you know, has a higher bricks content or just overall brings in some dried fruit into the mix or caramel or cinnamon.
Then you're probably going to lean more Highland. Is there something similar like that in wine country?
**Senator:** Awesome question. Absolutely. So the first part, what you described, something, um, more vegetal or earthy, um, not as sweet, right? Drier. We definitely pull, you'd want to pull for a French or a Spanish wine.
Got it. Makes sense. You want something sweeter, definitely pull for. California wine. Yep. So there's a ton of variation or I [01:01:00] mean, there are even, you know, wines from South Africa that would be unlike the sweeter spectrum that are awesome with a fuller bodied meal. So every wine region and country definitely has its own distinct profile.
Um, Italy can be very versatile because it's kind of right in between like a French and a Spanish wine versus like an American wine. It's, it's Sweeter than French wine, um, but it's drier than, you know, an American cab. So, um, they all serve a purpose. And I think that's also what becomes fun about trying wine from different regions.
Like, You know, there's a reason that California can't produce what France does and why France can't produce what California does, but they all serve a purpose in the right setting with the right meal. And that's what makes it fun.
**Gizmo:** And man, what a parallel to cigars on that comment, right? You think about what Cuba can produce that Honduras can't, or what Honduras gets close to Cuba that Nicaragua can't, you know, it's, it's amazing how parallel these things are.
Sure. Sure. Sure are. Yeah, that's right. So senator. [01:02:00] We have to do that deep dive and thanks of course to lizard chris for writing Let's move on now to lizard bearer who writes. Hi lizards. I just wanted to say that I love the pod It's the best there is the group dynamic is so awesome. And for someone who usually smokes alone It's great to have you guys as company.
That's nice I love hearing that man Especially around the holidays. What a great email. And he said, I also have a recommendation for you. Castagli, Grand Cafe. Thank you for many laughs and many great evenings. Lizard Bera. Great email. Another one from Lizard Pedro. He says, I started listening to the episodes that you guys talk about the trip to Cuba.
So far I have really enjoyed them. Any plan of making a YouTube channel in which you have a video of the podcast? Additionally, is there a list of the places you have visited in Cuba, like an itinerary, Thank you so much. Lizard Pedro. First question on YouTube. That'll never happen. There will be no video content coming from the podcast.
Unfortunately, [01:03:00] given our lives outside of the podcast, a video podcast is not possible from a workload standpoint. We
**Senator:** don't, we don't need to hire security. Yeah, we
**Gizmo:** don't need that from a V from a workload standpoint or body doubles completely unmanageable. I've thought about some other things that we can do with video.
I see his body
**Senator:** dope.
**Gizmo:** Bam. This is bam.
**Bam Bam:** He would say that bam. This is bam. In fact,
**Gizmo:** I would make sure that
**Bam Bam:** he said that
**Gizmo:** that's a script must. Oh, by the way, speaking of bam, this is bam. I'm so funny. It's so funny. You just said that that was episode 63. That was 100 episodes ago. As of this episode, this is 163.
Can you believe that almost two years ago, since we did the bam, bam accountability, I punched anybody here yet. It's, uh, Hey, there's still time. All right, boys, let's go to one more email. This is from Lizard John from Boise. Always writes us, always has a great email. He says, hi, Giz, happy Thanksgiving week to you and yours.
He wrote us last [01:04:00] week or two weeks ago. Question of the week for the panel. I know that with the ever increasing prices, most Cuban cigar lovers have decreased or even eliminated in some cases, their Cuban cigar purchases. But I'm wondering if the environmental tragedies in Cuba have Have made anyone change their buying decisions.
Specifically. Are you concerned that the prices availability and perhaps the quality of Cuban cigars will become even worse over the next five to 10 years, making now the best time to buy. It sounds horrible to reduce the Cuban people's plight in this way, but I'm thinking of buying up what my budget allows now in the event that things might get worse.
We've been lucky that despite the government's bungling quality control has
**Pagoda:** What
**Senator:** the fuck is that Pagoda?
**Bam Bam:** I think Pagoda's listening to the podcast. He's studying.
**Chef Ricky:** Pagoda wants to listen to episode 63.
**Bam Bam:** Do not
**Chef Ricky:** edit that.
**Rooster:** Pagoda's listening to the episode [01:05:00] inside an
**Bam Bam:** episode.
**Rooster:** Oh,
**Bam Bam:** he's catching up on other episodes.
**Rooster:** Very studious. Somebody say, Hey, Siri.
**Gizmo:** All right. So back, back to loser John's email. It says, it sounds horrible to reduce the Cuban people's plight in this way, but I'm thinking about buying up what my budget allows now in the event that things might get worse. We've been lucky that despite the government's bungling quality control has stayed high.
But can that possibly continue after mother nature has wreaked havoc on crop hat reeked, but can that possibly continue after mother nature has wreaked havoc on crops, barns, et cetera? I would love to hear everyone's thoughts. Cheers. Lizards from lizard. John.
**Rooster:** I mean, we know that whenever, whenever there's a hurricane or bad weather or any such event, usually the crop that follows is very
**Bam Bam:** good.
Yeah. Yeah. But that's a three plus year window from harvesting, aging, and so on.
**Rooster:** But on the, on the other side, you [01:06:00] know, what he says about, um, whether he should buy now or wait, I would say buy when you see something that you really want and, you know, you should get it. I think the statement on
**Gizmo:** this podcast, That has been the case since Price Armageddon is if you are able to buy and you need to buy, the answer is always buy now because the prices aren't going down.
You know, we have some other things. Repeat after Gizmo Pagoda. Buy
**Bam Bam:** now.
**Gizmo:** Pagoda's looking at me with a weird face. Just play one of the previous episodes. Go ahead. Just hit play. You can listen to
**Bam Bam:** it. But
**Rooster:** the bottom line is buy now.
**Bam Bam:** Yeah, so just sticking to the topic of cigars. Well, I think we've always said this for years and years, if you need something that's not in your collection.
**Rooster:** Yeah, because I don't think the prices are coming down. They're not coming
**Bam Bam:** down,
**Rooster:** ever.
**Senator:** Yeah, I just think, part of his question though was quality, right? Quality control, yeah, correct. I mean, we've talked about this before, and it needs to be repeated. [01:07:00] There are runs with cigars. So, especially in Cuba. Right now, we've been talking about recent years have been very good out of Cuba, so this is definitely a time to buy.
I would not make an absolute statement that like, you know, it's always going to be the case. We don't know what the future holds. There could be an era in which we've talked about the folks who run these factories, how important they are. To those runs being true. Um, you know, we don't know who's going to be running some of these factories five years from now, 10 years from now.
So for right now and what we know, I think it's obvious we should, anyone who is interested in Cuban cigars should be buying the future. You know, that's what you've got to try and see. And if you start to notice that, wow, you're having a lot of quality issues. You know, maybe that's not the year to be buying a bunch of you pull back a bit.
**Rooster:** Yeah, but also if you listen to our, our, our podcast and you listen to the episodes, we always talk about the box codes. So if you can maybe able to find not only that box [01:08:00] code, maybe just that year. Yeah. Something close. Yeah. Something close to that. You're good. It's true. But how good is this cigar? I mean, this is a 2023 box.
Yeah. August, 2023. It's
**Gizmo:** incredible. And what's the code on this? Yeah. UBL. I think it's a mother factory. Yeah. I think it's part of his factory. Yeah. You know, again, it's, it's just, it's, it's really challenging what's going on there, but you know, given all that these amazing people in Cuba are still producing really good cigars.
I think most of the time, of course there's quality control issues. We all, you know, bitch and moan on the group chat sometimes when we light a cigar and we have to use a perfect drawer, it doesn't burn well or whatever. But at the end of the day, The Cuban people are making some great cigars. Sure. I don't credit the government.
I don't credit the institution there. I certainly don't credit Habanos and their bullshit, but the Cuban people are amazing. And that's what we celebrate here.
**Bam Bam:** Yeah. And to further the question, uh, the, uh, answer to those questions, stay with the standard production [01:09:00] cigars, start pursuing those and build your collection from there.
**Senator:** Except if there's gold paper on the cigar.
**Gizmo:** Correct. Well, I think the rating tonight might disagree with you on that. Tonight it might.
**Senator:** No, I'm saying as you'll agree. Oh yeah. I'm saying by standard production, like Bam is saying. And the only exception to that is if there's gold paper, buy all of it. This is, this is
**Gizmo:** incredible.
It's a home run. So boys, we're coming into the last third now on the Bully Bar. New gold medal. I'll say it again. It's a home run. It's a home run. It's a home run. It's a really, really good cigar. I am I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that this is one of the first cigars at its price point. 60, 65 for its youth.
**Bam Bam:** With an LCDH band. With
**Gizmo:** an LCDH band, with the dopey gold label that's sitting to my right, fully formed. To a cigar right now and there's nothing changed about it. I could put this on another cigar. Yeah, you can reuse it. I could reuse it. I am. This is [01:10:00] one of the first ones at that price point that I'm fully willing to pay for again.
I am really impressed with this. I can't believe it at this point. And I'm hoping here in the last third that it doesn't hit us with any harshness. Same. Wow.
**Senator:** You may be smoking the fastest.
**Gizmo:** I am. I'm loving it. Yeah.
**Senator:** I had to slow myself down because what I did find when I started taking my time or Maybe talking a lot and that was easier not to want to draw the cigar cooler.
The flavor is just Absolutely incredible. Yeah. Yeah hotter. It's still great, but it's worth waiting and being patient agreed Abuelo
**Pagoda:** understands
**Rooster:** I must well, I have to say like the flavor hasn't really changed throughout I mean, it's been consistent like the same flavor notes throughout the cigar. Yeah, it's still buttery Salty buttery is there too
**Senator:** I agree with that.
And this, to me, is the perfect example of when, if, if the flavor profile [01:11:00] is what you like, and it's consistent all the way through, I don't care if it's not a two or three act play. Like, this is a one act play, and it's hitting every note. But,
**Gizmo:** from the first light, it's delivered such interesting complexity that, you, what else can you chase for?
It's a great balance of flavors. Yeah,
**Bam Bam:** yeah, correct.
**Gizmo:** Alright boys, let's go to another comment. This is from Mr. Birdman on FOH. He says, he was re listening to the Esmeralda episode from Trinidad that we did. And he said, a quick note for Lizard Gizmo to pass on to Senator. So he, uh, he was commenting on the Ruinart Blanc de Blanc, uh, that we did on that episode.
He said, the sleeve on Ruinart bottles and the wrapper on something like Cristal is actually there for keeping the light out of the bottle. The glass on the bottles is thick enough to hold its temperature well. If pre chilled, people tend to drink champagne too cold anyway, he says. Clear glass does not block any UV rays and while all wine is susceptible to light strike, champagne is particularly.
Particularly [01:12:00] vulnerable. A light strike wine will have a cabbage smell. He says they keep the cigar glass for marketing. Unfortunately, it's still seen on a lot of champagne roses from growers who don't ship with sleeves. Ruin art used to ship in boxes, but ditch them for sleeves to cut back on their carbon footprint, quote, unquote, and shave the glass.
And save shipping costs. No doubt. Ruin art is the envy. Is that a non vintage? Is that what envy stands for? Non vintage. I recommend when asked for a good champagne under a hundred bucks, it's not super complex, but it's incredibly delicious and drinkable any time of day. It's a real crowd pleaser. And that's a, that's a champagne that I think I want to try again.
That was really good on that episode. I remember that. Pretty
**Bam Bam:** detailed email there.
**Gizmo:** Yeah. Hey, listen, I love when, uh, Senator gets clipped on the, uh, on the FOH comments. I like that. Did he get clipped? I just like saying he got clipped. I love that word clipped. I like
**Senator:** saying he got clipped. We talked about this on the
**Gizmo:** episodes.
That,
**Senator:** that, it's one of the only bottles that
**Gizmo:** [01:13:00] you get that's clear. Yeah. Listen, I just like sharing when you get clipped. Clipped. He's staring at me. He's in the eyes. I'm going to clip the eagle's wings of that eagle's, uh, zip up you have. Go birds. Alright boys, let's go now to our lizard of the week. This one's a unique lizard of the week this week.
This one is for Reddit user, Mountain Apartment7. We know why Gizmo picked this one. Of course. No, he started a thread called Lounge Lizards Podcast.
**Bam Bam:** On Reddit?
**Gizmo:** On Reddit.
**Bam Bam:** Wow.
**Gizmo:** And he says, how many listen and what, if anything, have you purchased as a result? I love the show and I've purchased the HDM that oiled the Monterey epicure.
Number three, the upman Robusto on a harness, the punch, double Corona BAM's favorite, the Trinidad, Colorado, uh, colonialists and the Ramon. I own a small club Corona as a direct result of the pod. And let me tell you something, his conversation that he started on, on Reddit, which sometimes, you know, [01:14:00] Reddit is sometimes known to be a cesspool.
The Cuban cigar subreddit is a great, uh, great resource for Cuban cigar aficionados, but man, the conversation on here from these listeners was incredible. I'll read some of them. Train physical said the interview with the head of Cohiba was a must listen. Uh, Another one from impossible role, 1767. He said, I listen every week and very much enjoy it.
As with all podcasts, the hosts grow on you over time. I have a box of Oliva Lanceros on the way due to their recommendation. I agree with them most of the time, but I do think they've been a bit harsh on E. P. Carrillo and Hoyo de Nicaragua. I've also zero interest in tequila, Chef Ricky. So it's a shame that they've gone so heavily in that direction as of late, but I still find it interesting.
Okay, that's the definition of
**Senator:** clipped. Okay, Gizmo, now you're aware. Alright, Chef Ricky got clipped. That's problematic. It's a
**Chef Ricky:** shame. It's a shame that he has zero interest in tequila because he's really missing out on some delicious stuff. I agree. I [01:15:00] agree. It's a whole level of part of your palate that's not developed yet.
**Rooster:** And especially if you smoke Cuban cigars. I mean, how good tequila is? It's incredible. It's
**Pagoda:** an incredible period. We're having one now and it's fantastic. Yeah.
**Gizmo:** So there were some other comments here. Best cigar period. Love the show. It's a weekly ritual. I even won lizard of the week. Another one wrote, regular listener.
I enjoy hearing reviews of cigars I have or are considering buying. The Ramona is number threes are really delightful. I bought with confidence after hearing the lizards rave about them. I also bought each up and have Corona's another Cuban excellence cigar. Based on their confirmation of the reputation of the cigars, they have a good time and they are fun to listen to.
There's a bunch of other comments here and I just got a shout out. The Cuban cigars subreddit on Reddit that, uh, this was a really nice thing to have shared with us. And, uh, I really appreciate it. And we really appreciate the support and everybody out there listening. So we're going to send a, a nice little care [01:16:00] package too.
That's cool. Yeah, no, that's, that's a great O. P. I was curious cause you,
**Chef Ricky:** you've read some pretty awesome emails and I was yet to hear lizard of the week. I'm like, man, the lizard of the week must be, well, you know, lizard of the week, of course,
**Gizmo:** Ricky, you know, we're coming into the holidays. I wanted to do a different medium.
So we've always done email or YouTube comment or, so this one's a Reddit comment. So, This one is a new one for us this week after all this time doing lizard of the week. So I'm going to contact him and, uh, send some cigars his way as a lizard of the week. And anybody out there out, uh, can win lizard of the week.
All you have to do is send us a, uh, an email, a YouTube comment. A Reddit comment like we're talking about here and, uh, you can win. So please, uh, please keep in touch with us. So boys, let's do a little bit of housekeeping before we get to the end of the cigar and our ratings tonight. So first up next week, Christmas Eve, December 24th is going to be our best of 2024 episode.
It's going to be a long episode. I've been [01:17:00] working on it. There's a lot of great content there. So tune into that the week after that. December 31st is going to be our New Year's Eve spectacular. We're going to smoke the Cohiba Esplendidos. We're going to do two different pairings with that, a champagne and something else.
And, uh, we're going to go through all our, all our data from the year and talk about the best cigars we smoked all year long. And finally, I want to share that, uh, my personal website. Lizard gizmo.com. Oh yeah, I know this is exciting for all you guys in the room.
**Bam Bam:** I love your website. Is there lizard
**Gizmo:** gizmo.com is back.
Is there OnlyFans
**Chef Ricky:** paywall?
**Gizmo:** Yes, there is a lot. . I do have an OnlyFans. I do have an OnlyFans, but, uh, lizard gizmo.com is back. I took off, uh, after my mom got sick last year and, uh, I resumed posting a couple weeks ago. So I would love for everybody to check that out. Um, and uh, yeah, there is no paywall, there's nothing there.
There's nothing for sale. . But, uh, check that out. So boys. What do you think about the cigar right now? I can't get over it. [01:18:00]
**Bam Bam:** Yeah, this is, there's going to be a lot to say during our
**Chef Ricky:** ratings on this thing. I'm very happy I'm not as far down as you are, because that just means I have that much more time with it.
That's true. So,
**Rooster:** are these fairly readily available?
**Gizmo:** Yeah. Yeah, these are regular production cigars now. Um, there's no limit of them. I've seen them come up. You know, I've seen them around. So, I would think that if you're looking for a box of these, I don't think they're going to be terribly hard to find.
They're not going to be as easy to find as a Particus D4 or an H Upman Magnum 46 or a cigar like that. But if you want to find them, you'll be able to find them. And they're also, of course, on bonroberts. com. So you can find them there. Of course, we have to make the distinction again for the listener. If you go on Bon Roberts, you're probably going to see a lot of gold metal.
The cigar we're smoking tonight is the new gold metal. Two totally different cigars. The, the, the former is from the, you know, mid two thousands. Yeah. I think, I think by the price, the [01:19:00] price is going to tell you, the price is going to tell you, yeah. The price is good. So boys, the other question I wanted to ask you guys tonight, cause I've been thinking about it cause my wife asked me and next week is Christmas.
We're a week away from Christmas. What are some of the gifts? For the wives out there, the spouses out there, the people out there buying for cigar enthusiasts. What are some gifts that you would recommend people purchase for the cigar enthusiast in their life? Air tags. Air tags. Okay, hold on. So, Pagoda, I heard from a little birdie.
**Bam Bam:** Just turn off your mic. I heard
**Gizmo:** from a little birdie. Thank you for teeing this up because I didn't think about this . I heard from a little birdie. I need
**Bam Bam:** tequila. Before we get into this that you took advantage
**Gizmo:** of, Manny Soto, low's Black Friday Cyber Monday sale. Is this true?
**Pagoda:** Yes, of course.
**Gizmo:** and that you bought a couple cases from Manny Soto Low?
Yeah, Manuel solow do com. Two of the
**Senator:** same size case because he's [01:20:00] already anticipated losing
**Pagoda:** once, so he has the second.
**Gizmo:** Now,
**Pagoda:** here's my question. Listen, this is not meant to be, you know, broadcast. Too late, buddy.
**Gizmo:** So, here's my question for you. Did you purchase AirTags?
**Pagoda:** Uh, in the process of.
**Gizmo:** In the process
**Senator:** for a year.
**Pagoda:** Go to, you have an iPhone, just go to the app store app on your phone.
**Gizmo:** How much did the two Manny Sotelo cases cost you?
**Pagoda:** They were very cheap. Okay. I can disclose the price.
**Gizmo:** Okay. So you got a good deal on them. Kudos to Manny Sotelo. He's Manny's best customer. So
**Bam Bam:** he is the Pagoda promo code. What's cigars?
And then,
**Gizmo:** and then, and then my next question is, is, you know, For the $20 a pop or $15 a pop on sale, you can get the air tags for. Why have you not purchased the air tags?
**Senator:** Laziness A a And his reaction the other day was the particle you sent him like a four pack of them and he goes 80 something dollars for these[01:21:00]
**Gizmo:** I know
**Senator:** I like these tiny tags. They should
**Pagoda:** not be that expensive. You know, I'm a value guy.
**Rooster:** I think Sotelo should give you a free AirTag, just to Pagoda. They should
**Pagoda:** have it like,
**Bam Bam:** you know, incorporated in the bloody. Well, they should have a Sotelo bag called the Pagoda with the AirTag in it. There you go.
**Chef Ricky:** There needs to be an AirTag pouch just for you. Correct. Well, Pagoda, just keep in mind, AirTags are a GPS, not Bluetooth. So With all that being considered, 20 bucks is cheap.
**Pagoda:** No, no, I, I need to order them.
**Gizmo:** I think before you put your Sotolos into use, and taking them on the train to the city where you're inevitably, inevitably going to leave them on the train, you need the I'm going to do it
**Pagoda:** right now.
Right now.
**Senator:** And you realize, Pagoda, when you have this with you, if you leave it somewhere on your iPhone, it will actually immediately notify you that you've left behind your Sotolo. If, if he sets the notification, which might take another, which might take a year, you don't even
**Rooster:** have to call the cops [01:22:00]
**Bam Bam:** on yourself.
**Rooster:** Have you seen my soda?
**Chef Ricky:** There's a bunch of milk cartons out there. We'll put go to soda. Do you remember
**Senator:** those commercials on TV? Like it's nine o'clock. Do you know where your kids are? It's nine o'clock. Do you know where your soda low is?
**Gizmo:** Oh, Pagoda. Pagoda is not laughing. Just bought a home.
**Chef Ricky:** It's
**Pagoda:** not.
**Gizmo:** Order
**Pagoda:** placed. Done.
**Gizmo:** You placed the order.
See, this is why we do accountability. My man. There you go.
**Pagoda:** Done.
**Gizmo:** It works. Accountability works.
**Pagoda:** I'm never going to lose a case again. Exactly
**Gizmo:** right. Sorry, Manny.
**Pagoda:** You're going to lose
**Gizmo:** it, but now you're going to find it. You'll get it back. Hopefully. All right. So other items that you would recommend for someone purchasing for a cigar enthusiast in their life.
What are some of the things that you go to? A lot of the time sending your, you know, allowing your spouse to run to the store and buy something for you is probably not the right move. They might just be, you know, The lead by the [01:23:00] person in the shop might not align with your palate, etc. What what do you recommend here?
**Senator:** Can I just ask before we answer this question? How many of your spouses have bought you something cigar related? How
**Chef Ricky:** about
**Senator:** zero every
**Chef Ricky:** year? My wife gets me something cigar related. And thankfully, the past couple of years, it's been a you should marry her. Gizmo plug.
**Bam Bam:** Not ever. Actually, I got a great cigar.
I got a
**Senator:** great ashtray once. There you go. Oh, that's nice.
**Bam Bam:** That's nice.
**Pagoda:** But you got that, I'll tell you the best gift you got was the saber. Oh for sure. Saber, that was awesome. That's a really good gift. There's a
**Bam Bam:** gift. That's a great gift. Saber's a great gift.
**Senator:** So if, uh, if someone's husband, or I guess it's going either way of course, uh, anyone who's into cigars like champagne.
Awesome gift. This is also an amazing wedding gift. Um, I've given sabers before a saber is I haven't gotten a saber. Yeah I wasn't invited to your wedding and you were
**Bam Bam:** That's true Um, [01:24:00] I think high quality accessories a cutter and a lighter
**Pagoda:** a cutter and a lighter i'll tell you goes such a long way because You know, you keep losing them.
**Bam Bam:** I
**Senator:** knew he was
**Bam Bam:** going to
**Senator:** say that!
**Bam Bam:** Because you
**Senator:** need
**Bam Bam:** 14
**Senator:** of them.
**Bam Bam:** So then you're going to go lower cost but high volume cutters and lighters for a Pagoda.
**Gizmo:** So speaking of cutters and lighters, I did bring a new cutter and lighter set that I purchased that I showed Bam the other night.
**Bam Bam:** What? Yes he did.
**Gizmo:** New year, new me boys.
You have been so anti scissor. And let me tell you something. Rooster is so much shit about this. I
**Bam Bam:** mean, he's been so secretive. This is ridiculous.
**Gizmo:** I, I was turned on to a brand called SISUMAN, S I S U M A N and they have. A phenomenal lighter. I bought the lighter on on the recommendation of Nick Hammond and Rob Isla, and this lighter is incredible, and it's a great torch.
**Bam Bam:** Yeah, that's nice.
**Gizmo:** And the scissor on it as well, the scissor pairing, great cutter. Bam used it. Yeah,
**Bam Bam:** I will say the [01:25:00] cut is precise. It's really surgical. It's beautiful, beautiful cutter. Alright. I actually want it. Let's do the over and
**Pagoda:** under and how many times Giz uses the cutter next year. The scissor, next year.
I'm a new No, no, no. Listen, I'm a scissor man
**Bam Bam:** now. Ten, ten, ten. So I will attest to the quality of that cutter. It's incredible. It's really, the precision on it is excellent. Do you have steady hands?
**Senator:** Gizmo has a lot of enthusiasm and a short attention span for accessories. Short attention span. He might cut his thumb.
**Bam Bam:** Because
**Senator:** he got that DuPont cutter stand. Yeah. That lasted for less than a year. Then he got like a cheap 5 plastic cutter with a back so he can't gizmo. I do like that thing. That was the greatest cutter of all time. Now he's got scissors after he told Rooster scissors are the single worst thing. Oh, this cut is
**Bam Bam:** back.
No, the gizmo is back. It's definitely back. The nice thing about that is you can really literally gauge and you can see how much you're taking off. It's great. And it's perfectly, perfectly cut. Please, Ben. I think scissors
**Rooster:** are great. I think scissors are [01:26:00] one of the best, I mean, pristine cuts. It's cool.
**Chef Ricky:** Man,
**Gizmo:** the blades on these
**Chef Ricky:** are super sharp.
No, but I think Ben brings up a great point. Often times with cutters, your hand is positioned over the cap that you're trying to cut and sort of see to make sure you're straight and not taking off too much. Especially a
**Bam Bam:** guillotine style cutter. Unless
**Rooster:** it's got a back
**Chef Ricky:** on it. And then with scissors, your hands are off to the side.
**Pagoda:** Chef Ricky, imagine get after a few drinks, please.
**Gizmo:** I resent
**Chef Ricky:** the implication for that. Just don't keep that in your pocket. You'll circumcise it. You'll circumcise yourself. God forbid your jean pocket has a hole in it. Um, you know, something that, you know, it's pretty, uh, low entry level cost here, but something that might get overlooked a lot is a nice big can of butane.
Yeah. You know, high quality butane for your lighters, because there's a ton of crap out there. You'll always need it. [01:27:00] Yeah. You get yourself some clean butane that's going to, you know, take care of your expensive lighters. That's a stocking stuffer. I think that's, yeah, for
**Rooster:** sure.
**Bam Bam:** For sure.
**Chef Ricky:** But I will say also I don't want that as a
**Rooster:** main gift.
So here's a can. You got your can of butane.
**Bam Bam:** I do have, I do have a pet peeve in the club and multiple clubs that I go to. I know what that is. Well, when you walk in and you sit down and, and there you got a, someone sitting next to you smoking a really expensive, very good cigar, and he pulls out a Ziploc bag that holds all of his cigars.
So a case, yeah, a case
**Rooster:** like, like this one. . I was gonna say, what about me?
**Bam Bam:** Yeah. Yes. You specifically? No. You have beautiful cases. You just, you just don't use them. I don't
**Gizmo:** use them. I use the cigar bags.
**Bam Bam:** I, I would rather see in improper club of case that holds your cigars and a gentleman opens it and pulls a cigar out, not from a plastic bag, you know, you can find 'em for 150 bucks.
I think a cigar case is the way to go.
**Senator:** You're too bougie. No, I'm not. [01:28:00] Sounds like Gizmo just got clipped.
**Bam Bam:** Oh, you, you triggered something and said it at the night.
**Gizmo:** He's not going to leave you alone. No,
**Bam Bam:** this will be next month. By
**Gizmo:** the way, Bam and I went out for an evening.
**Bam Bam:** We did.
**Gizmo:** The other wizards were unavailable.
Bam and I went out and it was, uh, we had a nice time. I brought my Sotelo. Yeah. Loaded it up.
**Bam Bam:** It's great.
**Gizmo:** Brought my new cutter, uh, lighter set and it was a fantastic night.
**Bam Bam:** And there was a table to my right, far end of the room with a big Ziploc full of cigars and You know, I don't want to be judgmental.
But I think a gentleman in a
**Chef Ricky:** cigar club should have a case. I've been with Gizmo when he pulls out the Sotelo and then he pulls a Ziploc from within the Sotelo. And he needs extra space.
**Rooster:** Extra space. We're not talking any Ziploc. It is a five finger. It is a five finger bag. Yeah, the five finger bags are actually great.
**Gizmo:** Yeah, I love, CigarBags. com, we use them. They're, they're, I guess [01:29:00] they kind of have like a, they're slotted.
**Bam Bam:** No.
**Gizmo:** And they protect the cigars. Yeah.
**Bam Bam:** I
**Gizmo:** travel with them. By the way, traveling with them. It actually, for me traveling, it, it makes a lot more sense than carrying a case because the humidity is preserved inside my bag when I'm on a plane.
So, and I don't get them damaged.
**Senator:** Bam is going to stroke out if you say anything more about these five figure bags.
**Bam Bam:** For storage at home, great, but not to bring to a club.
**Rooster:** But it's got a pouch for kitty litter.
**Bam Bam:** On the top. That's true. All right. We can't take this. There's no serious conversation here. Move on.
Listen, I understand
**Gizmo:** what you're saying, but there is utility for me in the five finger bags. It protects the cigars. At home. At home. It protects the cigars when I'm, when I'm traveling, when I'm moving around. I understand the elegance of having a legitimate cigar case. Why don't you bring the, why don't you bring
**Senator:** the Home Depot case if you want protection?
Right. So he said you could run over the thing with the car and it's fine.
**Bam Bam:** So he mentioned something interesting. Good point. Traveling, when we travel. So we've all traveled as a group to Cuba. Well, of course, we're bringing Xikar boxes and [01:30:00] bags of cigars. But when we go to a destination, Senator, you bring your case like a proper gentleman.
I, I can't go to a fucking cigar lounge with a plastic bag. I can't do it. I just can't, I'm sorry. We can't take Ismo anywhere. No, it's just, you've been saying that for a long period time. Am I getting too serious? This is maybe a little too serious, but you gotta get a case. You should. Next gift. Go ahead, . I mean,
**Rooster:** I would, I would wrap them in gold foil,
And by the way, only
**Gizmo:** partially though, mother fucker. And
**Senator:** if you do a case, do the air tag, not the foot, just the head.
**Gizmo:** Are there any other cigar gifts that you guys can think of? Yes, there is actually one that comes to mind. The cigar bib. Oh, the cigar bib. I would have needed that tonight. The ash was all over me tonight.
I'm going to leave. I'm leaving. We're going to get Bam
**Rooster:** a cigar bib. I think actually we'll get him a case for the cigar, babe. Oh, here's another gift. So he can pull out a
**Bam Bam:** cigar. Here's a gift. Okay. So you don't want to buy a case. So if [01:31:00] your husband or boyfriend or girlfriend, if they smoke cigars and they don't want to sit down for a four or five cigar session, you one year bought us.
smaller cases. Yeah. Two cigars, I think. I use it a lot. I love, I don't use it enough. It's like a weather slider. We don't use it because we smoke four or five cigars at a session, but if you have a short evening, let's say you're going out to dinner with your wife, you're not going to stay there for five cigars.
A smaller case would be a great gift. Thank you guys. Not expensive. All the time. That was an
**Senator:** excellent gift. And he hasn't lost that actually. Oh, yeah. It's because it's in his pocket. Well,
**Pagoda:** listen, what I do is I always have three cigars in it inside my jacket pocket. There you go. All the time. That's a great case.
**Gizmo:** Yeah, it's like a leather slider. All right. So you put the cigars in it. You should just start traveling
**Pagoda:** with two of those in each pocket. You'll be fine. I should really.
**Rooster:** You know, also a cigar stand. That's a nice. Cigar stands are great. They are. You can get them customized. Yeah.
**Gizmo:** We all use them. So there's some wooden ones out there.
There's metal ones that they, they come on key chain, like a key chain. They break apart. It's a nice, a nice little [01:32:00] device to put your cigar on. How
**Pagoda:** about membership to a lounge for a year? Oh, that's a great gift. That's
**Bam Bam:** a really good gift. Or something more utility, utilitarian, a perfect draw. Perfect draw
**Gizmo:** is
**Bam Bam:** great.
**Chef Ricky:** 30 bucks on Amazon. Or
**Gizmo:** a great nub
**Chef Ricky:** tool. Yeah. You know, something ornate, something nice. Um,
**Gizmo:** so for any lizards out there who want to send their significant other. Idea of what to get. Just tell 'em to listen to this section of the pod and, uh, tell him the, well, how about the mer
**Rooster:** How about the merchandise on, on the lounge lizard spot?
Oh, that would make a great gift. Some lizard underwear. , ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. Well, this's other stuff. We have hats. We have, uh, hoodie polos. Yeah. The lounge with sippy cups. Sippy cups. Yeah. I just
**Chef Ricky:** recently sent a friend of mine, a lounge lizard, uh, hoodie. He loved it. Awesome. I think
**Rooster:** that's a perfect
**Chef Ricky:** gift.
Yeah.
**Bam Bam:** There you go. Not to say so myself, but I love the lizard hats. Yeah, they're very sharp. A plus they're sharp.
**Gizmo:** All right, boys, we're coming to the end of our evening with the Don Filano 20th anniversary and the Bolivar new gold medal. [01:33:00] Any final thoughts here before we move into our ratings?
**Senator:** Overall, a delicious pairing.
I have to ask one question on the cigar. In the final, like, half inch of the cigar, was everyone really getting the same great distinct flavor notes you were getting in the rest of the cigar? No, I put
**Gizmo:** mine down with about, I guess, half an inch, three quarters of an inch left.
**Bam Bam:** So there is a touch of ammonia maybe that I'm getting, but I'm also smoking this pretty quickly.
Um, but it, the butteriness is dissipated. There's still that saltiness and the sweetness is kind of evaporating.
**Chef Ricky:** Have you purged? Not yet. I gotta say I did encounter like an air pocket. So, you know, I've said from the beginning how my draw is a little on the tighter side. There's like one section here on the head where there's a big rush when I'm drawing and the amount of salt I'm getting is insane.
Insane. Mine's perfect. So I'm still, yeah, the saltiness is still there. Which is quite nice. Yeah.
**Gizmo:** [01:34:00] So what would you describe that
**Senator:** you're
**Gizmo:** getting, Senator,
**Senator:** that's kind of off? I just, um, The notes are less defined and distinct, they're a little bit muddled. And that's the only complaint I have in the whole cigar, and so it's really just messing with me, because this was perfection, and I just wanted it to be perfect.
That's true.
**Chef Ricky:** I don't know, mine's pretty good. I think the retro hit was still perfect.
**Bam Bam:** Pagoda's still got a bit of leaf there, so you're Almost at that point where you may experience it. Okay, so
**Senator:** I will give Rooster credit. Rooster said, did you purge? I purged. I did too. And it is actually much better. Takes a senior moment.
A senior
**Bam Bam:** moment! That's good advice. That's sage advice.
**Rooster:** Only if you take it.
**Chef Ricky:** I took it. I did it. I think Rusev is going to clip someone.
**Bam Bam:** I'm writing his crosshairs.
**Rooster:** I'm going to use gizmo scissors.[01:35:00]
**Bam Bam:** Or a circumcision.
**Gizmo:** All right, boys, it's time now to move into the form of liqueurating tonight on the 20th anniversary. Don Filano tequila. Bam Bam, you're up.
**Bam Bam:** Catching me off guard here. Um, I will admit I didn't like it at first, but I'm in my second drink now and I'm really, really loving it. But that price point is tough to swallow.
It's a killer. Yeah. Yeah. Um, for as good as it is, as it is, and Senator, you mentioned it earlier, you know, you'll drink this quickly. I started to drink this faster and faster as my palate adjusted. It's just For me overall, a delicious experience. I'm going to give it an eight. I think, I think that's a good score.
It's, I'll never buy this again because of the price point. I may, but I think because of the, how tasty it is, I think an eight's a pretty, pretty good score for this. I'll never buy it again, but
**Rooster:** I. May . I may . I know you didn't like that comment earlier, [01:36:00] did
**Bam Bam:** you? ? No. Abu .
**Chef Ricky:** So all chef Ricky Ben. Just curious, what's that price for you?
'cause I know this was 2 52, but two 50, if you look a lot, you could probably find it for 180.
**Bam Bam:** Yeah. So it'd have to be a hundred dollars less than what it is. So 180 bucks. I would probably buy this. And it would be an occasional drink, but honestly, it's, there's saltiness, the butteriness. I've never gotten that in a tequila ever.
And of course tonight it pairs beautifully with this, the salty twang of the cigar and the butteriness that we got earlier. So, you know the overall experience for me is an eight. I'm
**Senator:** curious. What do you think is a fair price point? Like what should this be? 150 bucks. 120.
**Gizmo:** I think it should be 80. No, I do.
I can't wait for
**Chef Ricky:** this. I do. So I think 80 is the right price for what we have. I'd pay it. I'd pay a hundred fifty. Ricky's gotta be sitting
**Senator:** here saying don't drink at my restaurants. Uh, no,
**Chef Ricky:** no, no, I think if it was regular production, no, I think if it was regular production, 80 would be a good [01:37:00] spot, but I think for what it is, it's clearly a collector's bottle, right?
This is somebody who loves don't fool on all. And while it's not the Don Fulano flavor profile, uh, that we've all come to love from the Anejo especially, um, it still is a Don, you know, if you're a fan of the brand, it's something to seek out. If you're a collector, it's something to have, um, especially at that price point.
But yeah, I think for the uniqueness and flavor that we're getting here, the minerality, the salt, the butter, um, You know, I don't get a whole lot of dried fruit or, you know, I get sweetness, not necessarily in caramel, but yeah, I kind of get like plum. I get a little bit of plum coming from the sherry cask.
Um, so yeah, I think that's unique. I think it's fun. Um, But with that being said, I'm at a seven because I do think the price point is a little much. Um, and I think it's deceiving just a bit. Um, and they're using that to their advantage, but I do think it's good juice [01:38:00] as a collector. I would buy it. Uh, but I probably wouldn't open the next bottle I buy.
Yeah. Especially because it's in such limited production. Um, but there is a big collector's market out there for bottles like this and others. So, yeah.
**Pagoda:** Pagoda is a nine for me, I think would be. Wow. I, I really enjoyed it. And tequila is like, I'm not a, you know, like a big tequila fan, just overall. But there are a few tequilas which really sit well with me and this is one of them.
**Chef Ricky:** I love how every episode Pagoda says he's not a tequila fool. Right. . . I think those days are over. You said it about 25 times. You're a tequila man now. Okay. I think you enjoy tequila and a pagoda. I do.
**Pagoda:** I like in the last few tequila we've had, we've had a few, a few good ones. And. You know, it's just that I don't go to the liquor store and like, I'm not pursuing tequilas at all.
Oh, meanwhile, you go to pick up his house. There's like five different bottles of tequila. He's got it.
**Gizmo:** He's not a tequila guy, Senator. No, but
**Pagoda:** that's all for the guests so that people can come and [01:39:00] enjoy. Oh man, you are such a good host. Of course, uh, but yeah, meaning I, I think I really enjoyed it. I would drink it if it was 80 bucks for sure, uh, you know, 80 to 120 definitely, uh, you know, I'd pick a bottle up, uh, but you know, I'm not going to go out and pay 250 bucks for this.
Uh, I think that's the only thing which, uh, really, uh, brought it a notch down. It's a nine for me.
**Gizmo:** So for me, it's also a seven. I thought I was going to be the only seven, uh, I'm offended by the price on this. I think the price is in line with what we see in some bourbon, you know, bullshit marketing, limited production, fancy bottle, fancy packaging.
I think it's a bit of a ruse. I think. Compared to the Anejo and the Reposado, which we love from Don Filano pales in comparison to both. I think this is a thinner spirit than even the Reposado. I don't love it at all. I thought it was a simple tequila. It [01:40:00] wasn't complex to me. It wasn't terribly interesting,
**Bam Bam:** and
**Gizmo:** factoring in price, I really think it's, it's not a great buy, and I will probably never have this again.
**Bam Bam:** You know, honestly, I disagree with most of your commentary. Me too. But the, I kind of, I don't, you know, I can't hate the rating because of the cost. I feel like you should have gave it a seven. six. Yeah, I understand the rating due to the cost, but a lot of the comment. I mean, I feel differently about almost everything is such an easy, easy
**Pagoda:** drinking tequila.
**Gizmo:** I compare this to the other expressions specifically from Don Filano. It pales in comparison guys for spirits that are a quarter of the price. It's not
**Bam Bam:** trying to be the same thing as that. Exactly. And that's very unique. It's this is look, when, when have you ever had a tequila that was salty and buttery?
Yeah.
**Gizmo:** We've had salty and buttery tequilas. We've talked about several chef,
**Bam Bam:** not
**Gizmo:** many chef. We've had a
**Bam Bam:** couple. We've had a couple of maybe two
**Gizmo:** and they were a quarter of the price band. I understand 250 [01:41:00] for this. I understand. This is three times what it should be. Well then, I think you should concentrate on the price then.
I am, I'm very concentrated on it. Alright. But also, I think you, you pull out this Añejo three plus years aged and you pair it with a Dominican cigar, a Nicaraguan cigar, like you would expect to pair a Don Filano Añejo with. The normal, regular production on Jaho. Yeah, it pales. I get it in comparison. I get it.
But it pal. I know we
**Bam Bam:** have one more rating, but honestly across
**Gizmo:** the board, I
**Bam Bam:** think the more, the more I drink this honest, the more I like it. It's just, for me, it's just growing on me.
**Gizmo:** It it, I, I think that this did not, not deliver anything close to what it should have. I'm offended. For me, what's
**Pagoda:** also very interesting is.
Oh, by
**Gizmo:** the way, I know the rating, I'm re I'm regretting this because I'm about to get clipped. So for me, it's a seven and I'm sticking with that. Clip me Senator. Go ahead.
**Senator:** I just can't believe that I'm the first person that's going to say this to comment on how it actually [01:42:00] paired with the cigar that we are smoking.
This was actually earlier. Sorry. BAM is the only one that has. I don't understand how anyone else has mentioned this. We're so focused
**Chef Ricky:** on the price. Yeah,
**Senator:** exactly. And I'm, I'm honestly normally not the one that is overly focused on its performance with one particular cigar, but the reason for this spirit in particular, I cannot think of a better spirit flavor profile wise to pair with this exact cigar, this one of the luckiest pairings we've ever had.
I
**Bam Bam:** agree.
**Senator:** Most in the room had never drank that bottle. I think Ricky and I are the only ones that had prior and none of us had smoked this cigar. So it's not like we came into this knowing, oh, this is likely gonna work. Pure luck. This is, I am stunned how perfectly this pairs together.
**Gizmo:** Can I get kudos for the pairing?
**Senator:** So, well, very, had you tried that, can we just add that in? Absolutely. Thank you a hundred percent. Thank
**Bam Bam:** you. Go ahead. But then you gave it a seven .
**Gizmo:** Listen this based on your logic, this is the $300, $310. Evening get. You're
**Bam Bam:** not gonna get clipped it, just get smacked around a little bit [01:43:00] between
**Gizmo:** the, the cigar and the tequila.
This is $300 evening. But go ahead. Is
**Chef Ricky:** this, is this one of the most expensive spirits on the pod? It's a, it's, it's
**Gizmo:** very close. It's, it's watering the Balvenie, uh, 21 Portwood.
**Senator:** We've done it. We've done an XO Cognac. There's some plenty of spirits at 250 bucks on here. Um, but anyway, I just, for me, trying to figure out where all the vitriol is
**Chef Ricky:** coming from.
Oh
**Senator:** yeah. Gizmo is, he's got a little water poured out of today. And he's malfunctioning. How this paired with the cigar. Like I said, I cannot think of a better pairing. So it's a huge merit just because if I had this cigar again, sure. That's exactly when I would want another pour this. I think the flavor profile now, I was also frustrated that I did expect this to be more viscous to have more body.
And initially I thought more complexity, but as you drink it more, I think you figure out what they were trying to do. And I think like Bam said, there are not [01:44:00] many tequilas that deliver this salty, buttery profile that we've enjoyed with this cigar. I think it's a huge merit that they've done that. Yeah.
I think for a higher proof spirit, it does not drink like that. All of us had it neat. Pagoda said it doesn't need ice. I mean, none of us, none of us thought that it needed anything. So for all those reasons, I'm going to give it a nine.
**Chef Ricky:** Wow.
**Senator:** I'm not saying, I'm not saying that the price point is something that I think it's worth.
I think this should be priced at a hundred Absolute most like BAM said, 150, but for what it is with this cigar, if I can think of what I'd want to drink with this cigar, the fact that this is right at the top of that list, I mean, I have to give it a lot of credit for that. And the flavor profile being so unique.
I think anyone who appreciates tequila ought to try it. I think that there's [01:45:00] something they would find that they like about it. And I've come to realize like, this is not. Trying to in any way, shape, or form be like the Don Filano on Yeho or stuff in their other catalog. Like this is its own thing that is very unique and I do love the taste and flavor profile of it.
So for all those reasons, I'm going to give it the nine. But I do agree with the commentary that the price point is outrageous. Yeah. Beautifully said. And even for some
**Pagoda:** reason, the heat. I, like, you know, when you have spirits which are pretty high proof, the way, like, at least the way I perceive the, the heat in my throat, there was nothing.
It went very smoothly. I think it was very evenly distributed. I didn't even feel the need for a chip of ice. Well, that's a palate,
**Bam Bam:** that's a palate adjustment. So after 7 or 8 sips over 15 minutes, It was really good. It's very pleasant. It's so pleasant.
**Senator:** But I mean, even with adjusting our palate, you don't get that with every [01:46:00] higher proof spirit.
That's true. Some just continue to pack a punch. And sure, it dials down a bit, but you still get that craving for maybe a little ice or water just to mellow it out a bit. None of us at any point ever felt that with this and that's a premium spirit and the flavor profile There's not many tequilas that we would say deliver this exact profile agreed
**Chef Ricky:** Yeah, so kudos to don't fall under for delivering something unique And I think maybe that's worth the price in itself and this conversation.
It's not yeah And that you know, it's it's
**Bam Bam:** stop it already 150 give us the rating for fuck's the formal liquor rating tonight
**Gizmo:** on the Don fall on a 20th anniversary You Is an 8. 0. That's a very good score. That's a fair score. I got chastised, but that's a fair score. Cause I had to course correct.
**Bam Bam:** Exactly.
Course correction. Exactly.
**Gizmo:** Listen, let's compare. So first, let's compare that to the other two Don Filano expressions we've done on the podcast on episode 70. We did the añejo. Which scored a 9. 6 appropriately scored for an amazing [01:47:00] spirit and
**Bam Bam:** appropriately priced. Exactly. And on
**Gizmo:** episode 127, the reposado tequila scored a 9.
0. Both delicious. They are. I just, listen, I understand Senator saying this was a great pairing for this cigar accidental or not, right? I really question outside of a few Cuban cigars here, what cigars this would pair well with. And that's a challenge. I'll tell you right now.
**Senator:** I'm sorry. Anything you
**Bam Bam:** mentioned, you mentioned the Rast.
Hold on. You mentioned the Rast earlier. Exactly. I think that would be great with this. I said, I'm sorry, the Monty too. Correct.
**Gizmo:** Outside of a few Cuban cigars, outside of a few Cuban cigars, this is not a diverse cigar paired spirit. It's not. Any of the Hondurans. I think most. I disagree. I disagree too.
**Bam Bam:** You don't think the Sonata would pair nicely with this?
I think it
**Senator:** could. I think it could. But I mean, the only thing, you know, I think, I disagree with Gizmo that he's making this sound like it's the most extremely limited, [01:48:00] uh, pairing options you would have with this. I don't agree with that. Where I do agree with him is I don't think that most new worlds that are fuller bodied would pair well with this.
But I think there are tons of Cuban cigars that would pair. I
**Gizmo:** don't disagree with you on that, but I'm thinking the range of what we smoke, how we smoke. We sat down in an evening, we all had this and we're going through our lineup. I think it's going to fade off pretty quickly. And then you add in the price.
I mean, Guys, it's a 250 tequila. I can't even believe we're arguing about this. I think Ricky said it's 180. That's never
**Senator:** stopped you before. No, that's true. You've bought plenty of 200 plus spirits. How much does it cost to zoo?
**Chef Ricky:** That's just overpriced garbage. Agreed. Alright
**Gizmo:** boys, it's time now to move into the formal lizard rating tonight on the Bolivar.
New gold medal. Rooster, you're up. I love a good
**Rooster:** Boli. And this is a good Boli. So this Bolivar kind of reminds me of a Bolivar Coronas Xtra, a discontinued one that [01:49:00] I love. The DNA of this Bolivar has, I mean, there is so much Cuban twang. I would even say it's more than the Monty II, what it delivers in the Cuban twang.
Really good. The saltiness, the buttery, and even more than that, the way it's blended, how balanced this cigar is. From the beginning to the end. I mean, it's a one act play, but it's a perfect one act play. You couldn't do anything better with the blend of the cigar, with what it delivers. Um, I love the size of the cigar.
It's a great, I'm glad it's not a 42 ring gauge. It's a 48 ring gauge. Uh, I love the, I mean, the box is simple. The money that the money spent on the blend, then the, then the packaging. I like that. It's only, you know, it's a 10 count box, so it's, it's kind of palatable. I mean, it's 60, which is quite a bit, but for a Cuban, Cuban, uh, cigars, I mean, now the prices are kind of used to that, what they [01:50:00] are.
So I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna give it a 10. All right. I think this is a great cigar for anybody who wants to go out and try something new. And this is a fresh, I mean, this is a 2023 box that absolutely delivers
**Senator:** good review at a 10. All right, Senator. Senator. All right. Well, I'm going to need to balance out gizmo again, probably.
So I'm at a 10. There you
**Rooster:** go. Let me do it again. Gizmo's at a 7 on this. You all know
**Senator:** that's not true. You all know that's not true. Senator, go ahead. So, um, I'm so glad, you know, I was rooting so hard for this cigar to be a 10 just because the flavor profile has been excellent. Absolutely spectacular. And I mentioned how just in that last inch, the flavor is getting a bit muddled and that was really just a kind of heartbreaking.
I let the cigar actually completely cool down. Um, I relit it [01:51:00] purged and I've been smoking it and oh my goodness, the flavor is back to excellent. So you can smoke this nub. It's delicious. It is for me this year. The best Cuban cigar I've smoked all year. Wow. What a statement. I have never been, I have not been more surprised smoking a Cuban cigar this year.
I have not had as unique and memorable of flavor profile as this cigar delivered. I mean, granted, you know, a lot of the other cigars that are spectacular, I've had their cigars I've had before. And so I knew what I was getting into. I had no clue what to expect seeing an LCD H band on this. I immediately was skeptical seeing the ridiculous gold foil covering the head of the cigar, not the foot that actually needs the protection.
Continued specific, uh, forget about edit. I'm leaving that in.
**Gizmo:** Oh, no,
**Bam Bam:** you're not. Continued spectacism.
**Senator:** Spectacism. Are you
**Bam Bam:** [01:52:00] having a senior
**Senator:** moment from the left or the right?
**Bam Bam:** I'm just excited, dude. I'm very excited about it. He could have smoked the cigar from either
**Chef Ricky:** end today.
**Bam Bam:** I have.
**Chef Ricky:** I thought I was the only one that invented words on the pod.
**Senator:** But very seriously, how unique and memorable this cigar is a world of credit. Rooster said this, and I agree 100%. The blend is flawless, the right balance and proportions of every leaf, every flavor note. And, um, I can't wait to smoke another one of these. These would definitely be a celebratory stick for me.
Something to really look forward to the holidays are the perfect time for a cigar like this. And I always complain about cigars that are priced at 60. I think. That is 95, if not 99 percent of the time, a silly price point. Almost every cigar that I've ever loved in any way, shape or form has been 40 or less that I've procured them for.
I [01:53:00] don't remember ever having to pay 60 bucks for a cigar, but this was that unique and memorable that I would break my own rule and do it. And I think it deserves a 10. Yeah, great. So for me, it's
**Gizmo:** also a 10. Oh, he's warmed up. I was, I was very warm from the first light. I, I think this cigar is a tremendous celebration of whatever the blending decision changes that have been made in Cuba on new production cigars.
This cigar is the pinnacle of what we've experienced so far. And I'm hoping that Things continue in this direction. The fact that we purchased this box four to five months ago, it's a year old and it has delivered in the way that it has is a real, really, it's a really impressive feat in my opinion. It was delicious, fresh.
It was a brilliant blend and it's really showing us again, that new regular [01:54:00] production Cubans are delivering in ways that they haven't in the past. And I just think that's amazing. I think to Rooster's point, the fact that this aligns with our understanding of what, of what Bolivar is and what it can be.
is another testament. We did that part of this aliados, the cigar performed poorly, but also the flavor profile was such a departure that we commented that it didn't even, it wasn't even deserving of the part of this marker on the box and on the band. And tonight this cigar really, it was perfect. Perfect.
I find that the cigar was very memorable. I think this is a cigar. I'm going to wake up thinking about I'm glad I have a couple more in this box. I'm definitely going to buy another box. It's rare that a 60 Cuban cigar that I'm going to run out and buy a box. I don't say that a lot. This is one that I will.
I'm supremely impressed with this. I'm very happy with it. And I thought it was an excellent cigar. And one other thing is I think that We were all [01:55:00] smoking what ended up being like a naked Cuban cigar tonight. No bands on it. You know, everything was removed from the first light we were smoking a cigar with no band.
And it really just delivered in such a great way. Yeah. And I'm very happy with it. So, it's a 10 all day. And what a great cigar for our holiday episode. Agreed. This year.
**Pagoda:** Look at where the cigar is. Nubs out. I think each one of us smoked all the way to the end. It's a ten, it's a ten, it's a ten. You know, I always think about what kind of cigar I want to introduce to my friends who are not, uh, They're occasional Cuban smokers, because they don't pursue Cuban cigars.
So I often share with them, and this is one I really want them to try. Because, you know, when you're thinking about Cuban cigars, and you're thinking about handing them over, and you want someone to experience it, whether it's for someone's birthday or for an event you're celebrating. Did you have a big bonus this year?
**Rooster:** You must really hate me [01:56:00] because you gave me a Xena. I'm going to give my friends a 60 Bollie, but let me hand out these. I get a fucking party.
**Gizmo:** It did have a cutie band on it. I did say friends.
**Pagoda:** Oh, I'm kidding.
I hope
**Rooster:** you lose more cases.
**Pagoda:** No, uh, but no, this is definitely one of those cigars that I, you know, as you guys know, I'm a value driven guy. I really enjoy some really good cigars, but this is one I really do want to get a box and, you know, share them, uh, with a few of my friends and just, uh, have a really, really good time because simple things, great feel in the hand.
great smoke output. Um, the flavor profile from the very beginning, you, you light up the cigar and there's no unpleasantness. And, you know, we often talk about when Poober says, you [01:57:00] know, you got to give it a little bit of relief in the first half an inch or an inch. No, there was nothing that, um, it was smooth.
It was creamy, buttery, salty, It was a little bit of minerality. This is, uh, one of these cigars, which I've enjoyed so much, uh, that it's, uh, it was a 10 from the very beginning and it just continued throughout the process. Um, it's a 10. Awesome.
**Chef Ricky:** Chef Ricky. Yeah, I'm at a 10, you know, I, I think as the, as the rookie in the room, uh, well, I don't think
**Bam Bam:** you can say that for very much longer, by the way.
All right.
**Chef Ricky:** Well, when it comes to Cubans, you know, I'm not as well versed as you guys are, but if there's some, if you're looking for what Cuban twang is, the cigar has it. Yeah. From the very beginning to the very end. Um, and you know, what I love, one thing that I love the, as much as the flavor was the construction of the cigar.
Uh, down from, to the, uh, gold aluminum tube that is still in perfect shape, [01:58:00] uh, to the wrapper on the cigar, despite not having a band on it or two bands or whatnot. It just, it, it held up beautifully throughout the entire smoke, even down to the nub. There was no unraveling. There was no cracking. Uh, kudos to you guys for maintaining it and that cat litter.
And, uh, and, uh, yeah, no, the flavor was amazing. Meow. I haven't used cat litter in a long time. What? Uh, super salty, creamy, a little nutty. Some, some sunflower seed present there in the midway point. Uh, absolutely delicious cigar. The size was wonderful. Felt great in the hand. Uh, I really did enjoy it. And I do think this is probably a good cigar, uh, to give to a new world smoker who hasn't really experienced a Cuban, who may think most Cubans are too mild for them.
This cigar delivers a lot on flavor. And I think it's something that, you know, even that smoker would enjoy. [01:59:00] So yeah, this is a ton, a great experience.
**Gizmo:** All right Bam Bam.
**Bam Bam:** Not much else I can add. Um, I did like what you said earlier though, Giz. It's a memorable cigar. Yeah. This is something that I think we'll all remember for quite a while and we'll want to get a box of these.
But one thing that I find with this is it's so, it feels and tastes very nourishing. The butteriness, the saltiness. There's a nourishing quality to that and as you're taking a slow draw, you let that smoke curl kind of right in front of your face. It was unlike most cigars in that case. So I'm absolutely at a 10.
I
**Rooster:** mean, you almost did not want the cigar to end. Yeah. I mean, I don't want it
**Bam Bam:** to end. I'm literally at a quarter of an inch. It's just ridiculous how good this is.
**Gizmo:** All right, boys, that puts the formal lizard rating tonight on the Bolivar. New gold medal at a 10. Point zero, another 10. Can you believe it? A couple of weeks apart from the Aladino classic elegante.
I mean, we are, we are very, very lucky to [02:00:00] have had this experience tonight. So let's quickly compare that to the other three Bolivars we've done on the pod on episode 11. The bellicose Osfino scored an 8. 1 on episode 68, the Royal Corona scored a 9. 0 and on episode 107, the Corona's he got this scored a 9.
5. So this is the top of the, the, the pile right now for Bolivar. Then I'm sure we're going to be revisiting some of those in the future, but man, what a great night tonight and what a great. Cigar.
**Bam Bam:** Yeah, he said something earlier. And what a great pairing. Absolutely great pairing. Let's not forget Giz. Yeah.
Oh, then Giz gets a 10 for that. That's true. But the, how fortunate we are to have a cigar like this. I would never have guessed how good this cigar would have, would have been. I don't think anyone would have. So we're very fortunate. Very grateful. Absolutely, boys. Yeah, what else comes with
**Senator:** gold paper? I'm all for it now.
You
**Gizmo:** know,
**Senator:** right? I don't know,
**Gizmo:** the way this is looking, you might get a cigar for Christmas with some gold [02:01:00] band that, uh Put a Zeno in there. Yeah, I'll put a Zeno in there.
**Senator:** Pagoda gives one to Rooster and there's a Zeno in it. Hey, Rooster,
**Rooster:** take this. There is a Davidoff. It's called the Oro Blanco. With a gold, just for a casual 500 a
**Gizmo:** stick in this room.
I mean, if it delivers like some mediocrity, it'll get a high rating. There we go. Like that was not a mediocre
**Bam Bam:** tequila. All right. All right.
**Gizmo:** All right, boys. We have to send our thanks out to our lizard of the week. Mountain apartment seven on Reddit. He's going to win a little package from us. Of course.
Thanks to our sponsor fabric of five quick note for listeners. This is the last week to place an order with our code lizard pod for the end of 2024. They're going to close up shop at the end of this week. So they're going to close for a week. Rob is a very generous giving everybody off. So that's going to be it till the new year.
So if you want something by the end of the year, you have to order by the 20th. Next week, again, enjoy our best of 2024 episode, a pretty detailed, long episode featuring everything great from [02:02:00] 2024. And finally, our last episode of the year will be in two weeks. Our New Year's Eve extravaganza on December 31st featuring the Cohiba.
Esplendido. I
**Bam Bam:** just love the word extravaganza. I keep saying it because I know you love it.
**Senator:** Let's make sure we keep the spirit under 250. Yes, exactly right.
**Gizmo:** All right, boys. Again, the Don Filano 20th anniversary tequila Añejo scored an 8. 0 tonight and the Bolivar. New gold medal scored a 10. 0 a great night boys.
Happy holidays to all of
**Bam Bam:** you before we go. So I'm pulling a senator right now. Oh, he kept the for the gold foil and put it in his case. I'm doing the exact same thing for memories. I'm gonna put it
**Senator:** in my Ziploc. Oh, no, I just kept it so I can sell it to Pagoda to give his friends. Perfect.
**Gizmo:** Does he know? All right, boys, a very happy holiday to you all.
Of course, happy holidays to our listeners and, uh, we'll see everybody next week. [02:03:00] 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 lounge lizards, P O D dot com. Don't forget to leave us a rating and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform.
If you have any comments, questions, if you want to reach out, say hello, tell us what you're smoking, email us hello at lounge lizards, pod. com. You can also find us on Instagram at lounge lizards pod. We really appreciate your time and we'll, uh, we'll see you next week.