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Released every Tuesday, the LOUNGE LIZARDS podcast helps listeners navigate the experience of finding and enjoying premium cigars (both Cuban and non-Cuban) and quality spirits. Episodes are normally around 90 minutes long and feature a variety of different topics including food, travel, life, sports and work.
The podcast features eight members: Rooster, Poobah, Gizmo, Senator, Pagoda, Chef Ricky, Grinder and Bam Bam.
This is not your typical cigar podcast. We’re a group of friends who love sharing cigars, whiskey and a good laugh.
Join us and become a card-carrying lounge lizard yourself! Email us at hello@loungelizardspod.com to join the conversation and be featured on an upcoming episode!
Welcome to the Lounge Lizards podcast presented by Fabric of Five. It's so good to have you here. It's a leisure and lifestyle podcast founded on our love of premium cigars as well as whiskey travel food work and whatever else we feel like getting into. My name is Gizmo. Tonight, I'm joined by Brewster, Senator, Pagoda, chef Ricky, and Bam Bam.
Gizmo:And our plan is to smoke a cigar, drink some scotch, talk about life, and, of course, have some laughs. So take this as your two hundred and forty eighth official invitation to join us and become a card carrying lounge lizard. Find a meet us here once a week. We're gonna smoke a Dominican cigar tonight, share our thoughts on it, and give you our formal lizard rating. We smoke the only trademark Vitola in the cigar world.
Gizmo:A listener takes us into the Bam Bam Zone, and we share a critical email on our discussions around Cuba's future, all among a variety of other things for the next two hours. So sit back, get your favorite drink, light up a cigar, enjoy as we pair Glendronach fifteen year revival single malt scotch whiskey with the La Flor Dominicana thirty years. A chisel tonight, boys, from The Dominican Republic. The first time I've ever said that Mhmm. Because this thing is patented, apparently.
Bam Bam:Yep.
Gizmo:It's the La Flor Dominicana, thirty years, and it's a 58 ring gauge cigar by six and one half inches long. And, boys, I think we're gonna get through every single email that I have on this thing because this looks like a four hour episode of it.
Rooster:It's got about 30 pounds of tobacco also.
Gizmo:This thing is much bigger in my hand than I even realized when I got them in a couple weeks ago. I am Lot
Bam Bam:of jokes I could make there.
Chef Ricky:I was waiting for it.
Rooster:Hey. It grew in size.
Chef Ricky:What happened?
Gizmo:It's a pretty large cigar.
Bam Bam:That's interesting.
Pagoda:Don't know what you're talking about. It's a normal sized cigar we have.
Gizmo:So before we even cut it and start smoking it to light it, what do you guys think of the shape and the chisel thing?
Pagoda:I like it.
Chef Ricky:I feel like I'm gonna start to play this a wind instrument.
Gizmo:Yeah, it almost looks like a recorder like you have in elementary school.
Senator:I wasn't ever a fan. Mean, reminds me of like a plastic tip on like a cigar, which I don't love that association, but that's
Bam Bam:The thing is, what it reminds me why I don't like it, haven't ever liked it, when you cut it, I like to kind of grip it with my teeth and then put the lips around it. There isn't much there. It's very thin at the top for me. That's for me. It's a little uncomfortable.
Chef Ricky:So with that being said, do you generally cut a little lower?
Gizmo:What kind of cuts should we be doing on this,
Bam Bam:you I would do a flat cut.
Gizmo:No, but I mean how much should we take off?
Bam Bam:I'm taking off exactly a quarter of an inch.
Chef Ricky:Got it. Right.
Gizmo:Let's cut this thing boys. See what we're getting on the cold draw and the wrapper. This is interesting. I've never had one of these before. Wide open.
Bam Bam:Oh, wow. Yeah. I also recommend pinching just slightly the ends to kind of open it just a touch without cracking around.
Senator:I like it. I'm not so opposed to the I kinda like it. Yeah. The airflow is perfect. The draw is great.
Bam Bam:It's true.
Gizmo:It's almost like you're playing like a
Bam Bam:Have you guys ever smoked a chisel?
Gizmo:No. Long time, I've seen it up. I
Bam Bam:have. I know you have. So I have too. I like that it does concentrate the flavor at the top of the draw.
Senator:Mean, the cold draw is super flavorful.
Gizmo:It's like salty raisin bran.
Bam Bam:And cocoa. Any berry? I'm getting berry.
Gizmo:Little chocolate there?
Chef Ricky:I'm getting very faint pepper in a very enjoyable way, almost like freshly cracked pepper on a steak.
Bam Bam:No berry or raisin
Gizmo:at all?
Chef Ricky:Getting raisin I'm not getting a lot of berry. It's very savory for me.
Rooster:There's some dried fruit on the cold raw.
Senator:I get berry and cocoa as Dominicana.
Pagoda:Me too,
Bam Bam:and raisin I'm getting.
Gizmo:Smell the foot too.
Senator:Raisin, chocolate covered raisin. Chocolate covered raisin.
Pagoda:Here
Rooster:it comes.
Senator:Glucose biscuits.
Bam Bam:No. No. No. Carbohydrate.
Pagoda:I'll tell you. It's brightened up the flavors of my tongue already in a cold ride. It's great. Can't wait
Bam Bam:to smell this.
Gizmo:Alright. Let's first take off the footband.
Bam Bam:Yeah. A lot of printing going on here.
Gizmo:It's a big cigar.
Bam Bam:And mine's stuck. It won't come off.
Gizmo:Mine came off easily. Mine peeled right off. I just peeled it right from the center.
Bam Bam:Alright. I'm very unhappy.
Gizmo:Alright, boys. Let's light this thing. The LFD's Dominicana, thirty years. Again, it's the chisel or one of them that they make. First time we're doing one of these on the pod.
Gizmo:And it's a 58 ring gauge cigar by six and one half inches long.
Bam Bam:Now I guess the price on this.
Gizmo:I was accurate, you said? So the price on these MSRP is $32 So we got them actually for that because there's no discounts allowed on these.
Bam Bam:It's quite the investment.
Senator:I mean, it's a big cigar. Honestly think that that's pretty fair.
Bam Bam:Let's hope it smokes well.
Gizmo:Listen, there's lot of makers that are selling much smaller cigars for a lot more money than 30.
Bam Bam:That's true.
Gizmo:I mean, with this, we should get a solid two hours, fifteen minutes out of this.
Bam Bam:Or five for Pagoda.
Pagoda:You mean rooster?
Bam Bam:Correct. That's delicious. Am I wrong? That is delicious off That
Chef Ricky:is very, very nice. Love the way the flavor is concentrating.
Bam Bam:I'm very fucking surprised. I wasn't expecting this to be such a good, smooth experience off the light.
Senator:It's good.
Gizmo:It's good. And you know what? It's honestly I I kept reading like you know, we talked about this when we did the I think it was the Cameron cabinet number nine or something like that that they make.
Pagoda:We did have that.
Gizmo:Yeah. Go through the rating later. And we were surprised. I was surprised. We talked about, you know, expecting LFD to be on the stronger end of Dominican cigars.
Gizmo:And I was reading that about this again. Yeah. And I don't think that's the case here.
Rooster:We just lit it. It's going to build. But sometimes you get cigars with a huge pepper blast and you're not getting that with this. It's a very balanced, very smooth. The delivery is very smooth.
Bam Bam:It's like I'm eating a pastry of some kind. Yeah. Like a salty pastry. I'm getting that. Very faint sweetness, very pleasant.
Gizmo:Are you guys getting any of the notes that you were getting on the cold draw? Is any of that present here?
Rooster:It's like a chocolate mousse cake.
Gizmo:I was gonna say there's a little chocolate here for me.
Bam Bam:Cocoa, but not fruit for me. And that very faint pepper that chef mentions there, very faintly.
Chef Ricky:Yeah. For me, this is more of a savory experience. I'm not especially now I'm not getting much of that raisin note that I got on the cocoa.
Rooster:You're not getting any cocoa, I'm
Chef Ricky:getting cocoa, but I could see it, you know, the way it's playing with the salt and the pepper right now. The cocoa is still feeling somewhat savory. It's not cocoa in a sweet sense for me.
Bam Bam:Yeah, I'm getting a little cocoa and raisin, just a touch of raisin.
Senator:For me, the chocolate cake call out is spot on.
Bam Bam:Yeah, pastry.
Rooster:Sure. Like a chocolate mousse cake. It's yeah. Creamy. It's very smooth.
Chef Ricky:It is a very creamy smoke.
Bam Bam:This is really, really goo. So goo. What? Pagoda, what do got? You look very satisfied.
Pagoda:I'm very, very satisfied. I'll tell you, I think right before we lit up the cigar, I got a very pleasant flavor in my mouth. And like on my lips, I'm getting a little bit, it's still lingering, which is great,
Gizmo:with a little bit
Pagoda:of the berry kind of
Bam Bam:flavor That's very interesting.
Pagoda:Just on my lips. But when I'm inhaling, not inhaling, or rather taking a draw, Yeah, it's a bit salty and a little bit of cocoa here. This is very pleasant.
Bam Bam:It's awesome.
Gizmo:I'm really, really happy on the light here.
Bam Bam:It's also nicely medium. Yeah. It's not firm, it's not, you know, pushing an upper strength. It's right in the middle there, I think.
Chef Ricky:Very smooth delivery.
Pagoda:Smoke up, it's fantastic. I like
Gizmo:that it's not boring. Sometimes you get these bigger ring gauge cigars and it's a bear to smoke them because they're just
Senator:don't know what it is about this shape, but when you draw, it's like such a cool smoke.
Bam Bam:100%.
Senator:I was just thinking that. It's really weird.
Bam Bam:It's got a cooling effect, the draw across your palate initially.
Senator:You don't feel like you're drawing something that is hot, like that you heated. It's very odd, but satisfying.
Bam Bam:That's a good call out, man.
Chef Ricky:Now it's getting very sweet for me. Does it feel like
Rooster:the cigar is going to kick your ass?
Senator:No, not Not at all.
Bam Bam:Hope not.
Rooster:From the last
Gizmo:chisel experience that I had, Don't it was forget though, the other chisels are from a different line.
Chef Ricky:That's the double
Gizmo:We have double Ehara. That's right. So this one And it was
Bam Bam:a much smaller ring gauge. Smaller range gauge. Kind of a Lancero, not Lancero, maybe a Churchill with a chisel. I'm not sure.
Gizmo:Think the I chisels are all the same Yeah. Similar size.
Bam Bam:It's all okay. It's been many, many years.
Pagoda:You know, soon we won't be able to see each other. Well, then you
Senator:have ten minutes. I'm curious for people who've had a chisel before, are they all this large in ring gauge, like at the end? I Or smaller
Bam Bam:thought they were smaller. Think were smaller. A little smaller than And they have a green chisel too, right?
Gizmo:They have a couple, yeah.
Chef Ricky:The chisel I had was the same size a few years back. It was a double Lieto. That one kicked my ass. It did, right? Yeah.
Rooster:Yeah. I think it's a double lieero that has I mean, because the name implies it, it's double lieero. So the
Gizmo:chisel in the double lieero is 54 by six, so it's just slightly smaller ring gauge and a half inch shorter. Okay. So let's talk about the cigar boys comes out of The Dominican Republic, of course, from the LFD's Dominican factory. The wrapper on this cigar is Sumatra seed Ecuadorian. The binder is from The Dominican Republic.
Gizmo:It's called Cotui, and the filler is also from the Doctor La Canela. This cigar comes in humidors of 60 only, and the MSRP was 30 at its launch, now is 32. So you can get those boxes for about $1,800.
Bam Bam:You really got to love this cigar.
Gizmo:And they are beautiful. So they come in a very bright yellow box.
Chef Ricky:That's a beautiful humidor.
Gizmo:And I got to tell you, so they have the image, of course, of Lido and his wife on the horses, which I think they have gotten more mileage out of that photo than any other company has. You see that in CA going on probably twenty years now. This cigar was originally released in July 2024, celebrating thirty years of Lido and Innis, his wife, making and selling cigars. So LFD didn't actually start until 1996, but this is actually pushing back to 1994 when they started Brewster just dropped his cigar. We're falling apart in here tonight, boys.
Bam Bam:Keep it, keep it.
Rooster:The cigar is so heavy.
Bam Bam:It Hey, old boy. Keep it sharp.
Pagoda:Why don't you hold it with both your hands? With both your hands.
Bam Bam:That's correct.
Pagoda:That's it.
Gizmo:And your water cup too. So when they announced these cigars, they were supposed to come out a little faster, but apparently, according to Lido, what held them back were those boxes. They're made in The Dominican Republic at their factory containing 60 of these chisel shaped anniversary cigars. They're gently pressed. They have three bands like we talked about.
Gizmo:Bam, I wanna talk about that in a second. Each bordered in golden leaves, including the footband we took off, which was thirty years, and a resplendent pink tobacco flower in the middle of the main band, as they say, the symbol of the company whose name, of course, translates to the Dominican flower. So the blend apparently has similarities to other Lafour cigars, but we should be expecting something a little bit more medium or milder Yeah. Than what I think
Bam Bam:is Makes more sense.
Gizmo:Exactly. It's what we're getting, I think.
Pagoda:Yeah. It's very pleasant.
Gizmo:So this is the second LFD we're doing on the pod tonight. And like I said at the top, this chisel is the only cigar that is trademarked. So they actually, in 2006, filed for a trademark on this shape, which they had been using. They came up with this in 2003. And then I actually went to the Trademark Office.
Gizmo:I was fascinated by the this whole thing. But so they originally applied for this in 2006. They got it approved in 2012, which is crazy. And then I guess it went all the way back to 2003 and then they renewed it again in 2016. Renewed it again a couple weeks ago because they have to renew it every ten years.
Gizmo:So now they have it again renewed until 2036.
Chef Ricky:Because I think this is the third LFD we've done on the pod. The Andalusian Bullsin LFD.
Senator:He's correct.
Gizmo:Yeah. We're falling apart tonight, Falling apart. I'm very impressed. Why is that not in the ratings guide?
Chef Ricky:I do remember that thing getting hammered.
Gizmo:It is. I wrote LFD.
Bam Bam:It did not do well.
Gizmo:Yeah. It not. This is the third one, correct.
Bam Bam:There you go.
Gizmo:Chef. So I found it fascinating. I'm going to read a little bit more about this patent thing. So apparently, they tried to get this four or five times and they were rejected and they kept refining the trademark application. And then it was finally approved.
Gizmo:So the name Chisel is also registered. So the shape is trademarked and also the name Chisel is trademarked for the use of cigars. So Gomez got the idea for the shape while driving in the Dominican Republic while chewing on a traditional torpedo. By the time he had arrived at his destination, the cigar had taken the shape of the chisel. He liked the way it felt, as we've said we enjoyed tonight, and instructed workers in his factory to try to replicate the shape.
Gizmo:So it's pretty cool.
Bam Bam:Yeah, very cool.
Gizmo:So they make this in a variety of blends. Like we said, Double E Harrow, the Air Bender Chisel, which came out, I think, in 2010. But they've been making this shape since 2003, so quite a long time now.
Rooster:I wonder why the Colabra shape was not patented. A few different
Gizmo:Well, because
Bam Bam:it's manufacturers so made imperfect. I would think it's old. Yeah, it'd be hard to patent a specific shape. Maybe just the concept of it could be
Gizmo:patented out. I would think though that that shape has been made probably for a hundred years or more.
Bam Bam:But it's also imperfect, It's not an exact shape of something. It's kind of deformed.
Rooster:Cigar is a snake, right? I mean, Spanish,
Chef Ricky:cigars braided together.
Bam Bam:Yeah. It's a nice looking snake, man. The hell
Rooster:are we
Senator:talking about? Was.
Gizmo:They've only released 120,000 total cigars. So they've made 2,000 humidors of 60. Not sure about refills or re releases, but cigar was not hard to find, but there's not a ton of them out there. So, of course, for that price, this is not a cigar that most folks are going be smoking every day.
Senator:So I understand now the shape and the purpose and all that, and I'm bought in there. I just think boxes of 60 to be the only option is insane. That's tough buy.
Gizmo:And I guess, you know, your other option is to buy singles or fivers at your local B and M. But, you know Are
Bam Bam:they allowed to do that?
Gizmo:Yeah. We bought I didn't buy 60 for this, Pam.
Bam Bam:Well done.
Gizmo:I left the humidor in the truck. Alright. So what are guys thinking of the smoke?
Bam Bam:What are you thinking of the retro? Chef, I'm not sold on it. It's okay. It's okay. But the traditional draw is delicious, though.
Gizmo:I don't let it knock my feeling about the cigar though.
Chef Ricky:Retro is very light for me. I'm hoping that as we build into the cigar, it picks up a little bit on the retro. Right now it's a very faint nuttiness I'm getting. Much else.
Bam Bam:Right now on the palate, I'm getting a little graham cracker y type of honey cocoa y thing happening.
Chef Ricky:I'm definitely getting some baking spice, it's a creamy smoke, but I'm not seeing that creaminess on the retro.
Bam Bam:And a tiny bit of pepper.
Senator:If you smell the burn line, you get a lot more pepper that you don't get.
Gizmo:Yeah. Actually I kinda
Bam Bam:like that.
Gizmo:I like nose flare. Really? It's not a bad thing.
Bam Bam:I kinda I don't know. Maybe I'm craving a pastry, but I'm getting all sorts of pastry things happening here.
Senator:A of pepper in Pam's
Chef Ricky:The burn line is very sweet.
Bam Bam:I agree with you.
Chef Ricky:Yeah. With some pepper there.
Bam Bam:Mhmm.
Gizmo:So what do you guys think of the band design that they do in this? I think it's very classy. I think it works.
Senator:Yeah. Yeah. I like it.
Pagoda:For the side of the cigar, I think it bodes well.
Bam Bam:Yeah. It's attractive. Deep, dark brown with a touch of red in there. Of course, the gold leaves that you mentioned and this beautiful rose or tobacco flower. Think proportionally it's just a touch out of proportion.
Bam Bam:If it were scaled down slightly.
Chef Ricky:If it didn't have the second part of the band here, if it just stopped right
Bam Bam:you look at the back If this was on a computer and I could scale it down 5%, I think it'd be perfect.
Rooster:Yeah, then they could sell it for $29.90 Correct.
Gizmo:So what do guys think as of right now? What do think of the price on this at $30 I
Chef Ricky:think it's a substantial cigar. Like you said earlier, for a lot of the cigars that we smoked well above this price point, some with a lot less tobacco and a lot smaller in size, I think it's a good deal, especially if it continues smoking like
Rooster:Yes. If the flavors remain the way they are right now, I think it would be justifiable, that price. But I think it's going to build. I think it's going to get stronger. It's going to get more body.
Senator:I agree that it's justifiable if it stays like this. I also think this is a very unique shape. If you think about other cigars like a shark from the Opus line or Don Carlos, those are very unique shapes and they command a premium because of that. I So don't think this is far off from the novelty of some of those more uniquely shaped cigars.
Rooster:Do they talk about the age on the tobaccos?
Gizmo:Not that I'm aware of. I'm not aware of any age statement.
Bam Bam:I think this is quite good. It is really quite nice. It's a touch unique. You mentioned the shark. It's not in that range, but it's got that type of uniqueness and that smoking experience.
Bam Bam:This is very, very good.
Gizmo:I'm really quite surprised. I really like this chisel thing, man. I think it's very, very cool, and I think it's really working for the smoke. Alright, boys. Let's go to some news now.
Gizmo:Got a couple things to talk about. First up, we got two new releases coming from our friends over at Casa Carrillo. They have announced the release of the Encore Noir two and the Encore Edition Unique two, which are international exclusive limited editions that celebrate, as they say, the artistry, innovation and craftsmanship behind the acclaimed Encore brand. So following the success of its predecessor, the Encore Noir two returns as a bold new expression of the Encore line. Rather than recreating the original, this second edition has been developed as its own distinctive release, showcasing a blend composed of entirely Nicaraguan tobaccos.
Gizmo:So it's presented in what they call a celestial number two, which is a 50 ring gauge cigar by six and one eighth inches long. They say it delivers a rich, balanced smoking experience with layers of complexity and refinement. So they're making these at Casa Carrillo in Santiago Dominican Republic. They're producing this in limited run of 1,500 individually numbered boxes with 10 cigars each. Now what's cool about this is it's international only.
Gizmo:So for our international audience, they'll be able to get their hands on some limited edition stuff from Casa Carrillo. So hopefully your local tobacconist wherever you are in the world is going to have these. The other one, as I said, is the Addision Unique two from the Encore series. So this is the second installment in the brand's annual international exclusive series celebrating their rare tobaccos, exceptional craftsmanship, and limited availability. So this one, they're using the number one zero nine factory shape, 54 ring gauge by six and a half, of course, with the tapered head.
Gizmo:Oh, cool. So they call it the Amigos.
Bam Bam:Do you have a photo?
Gizmo:Honoring the friendship and shared experiences that have always been central to the premium cigar tradition. So I only have pictures of the other one. Bam, I don't have pictures of the
Bam Bam:109. Very cool.
Gizmo:So Ernesto, our friend here says, every Addision Unique is an opportunity to create something truly special. With Amigos, we wanted to showcase the beauty of the number one zero nine format while allowing carefully aged tobaccos to deliver remarkable balance, complexity, and refinement. End quote, each Addision Unique is not a continuation of the last, they say, but a new expression of craftsmanship defined by its own blend, Vitola, and personality. So like they're alluding to here, they're doing this every single year. Again, Nicaraguan poro on these.
Gizmo:All tobaccos are aged a minimum of five years made at the Casa Carrillo factory, and they're going to make just 1,100 individually numbered boxes of these also containing 10 cigars. So that's the latest from our friends over at Casa Carrillo. Here's another one now from Eladio Diaz. Eladio has announced his third line coming out of the Dominican Republic. This one's called Mi Vieja, and it's a beautiful presentation.
Gizmo:Look at this box voice. How nice is that?
Bam Bam:Wow.
Gizmo:It's like a baby blue.
Bam Bam:Very nice.
Gizmo:Really, really nice presentation on that. Eladio, according to CA here, says, it's like feeling the forest after a rain, the subtle smell of wet earth, very famous around here.
Rooster:Petra.
Gizmo:Shout out Grindr. And feeling the pleasant aroma of pine trees. So the 73 year old is very, very excited about this release. It's a tribute to his mother. So this is the third standard production core line from Diaz following Before and After and La Diana.
Gizmo:It's made with a Connecticut seed wrapper from Ecuador, a Dominican Corojo seed binder, and a filler blend of Dominican Havana 2,000, Criollo 98, and Piloto Cubano. There's also some Peruvian Pello de Oro in the filler as well. Pretty cool. Rolled at his Tabaclera Diaz Cabrera factory, which has been in operation for about four years now. The three sizes each reference something personal to Diaz's timeline.
Gizmo:So the ENB is a 43 ring gauge by four and three quarters inch cigar stands for in Sanchez, Bermudez, the area of Santiago, Dominicana Republic where he was born. The El Ejido is the location of the first cigar factory Diaz worked in the Doctor. It's five by 50 Robusto. And the m Santiago 52 by six named for Eladio's mother who is depicted on the bands and is the woman in that image I just showed you, but there she is on the band.
Bam Bam:Very
Gizmo:nice. I think that's very, very classy. Yeah. Agreed. Very cool.
Gizmo:So the cigars are gonna retail between 10 and $15. Love to see that coming out later this year in November, boxes of 20 from him.
Rooster:Pretty cool. We haven't done a Eladio Diaz We've not. Cigar. We should.
Bam Bam:No. I'm not a fan.
Rooster:Really? Which one have you tried?
Bam Bam:I tried one. It was okay. I don't remember which one it was. I had it at the Havana On Hudson. It was fine.
Rooster:Like $60?
Bam Bam:Yeah. 65.
Gizmo:Alright, boys. One more now before we go to our pairing. We're gonna have some music on this one. Very excited to play this music because it's one of my favorites. Fairy Otago has announced that they're paying tribute to one hundred years of Miles Davis.
Gizmo:They have announced the milestone series celebrating one hundred years of Miles Davis. Look at that packaging.
Bam Bam:That's cool.
Gizmo:Pretty cool. Yeah. When I think about jazz, I think Miles Davis.
Bam Bam:Oh, Greed.
Gizmo:And Keith Jarrett. Yeah. But I love this song.
Rooster:Generique. Not John Coltrane?
Gizmo:I think of Coltrane too, but I'm more of a Miles guy than Coltrane personally. So Ferri Otago, owned by Michael Herclotz and Brendan Scott, is releasing a cigar that celebrates the one hundredth birthday of the late Miles Davis, the Milestones. It's a 50 ring gauge by six inch Toro using an Ecuadorian Connecticut seed wrapper over a Honduran binder and fillers from the Doctor, Honduras, Nicaragua. They're kinda doing all. It's made at Dia Dema Cigars in Honduras, the Davidoff owned factory there, best known for making Camacho.
Gizmo:Each cigar has an MSRP of $18.50 and is sold in boxes of 10. Production is going to be limited to 1,600 boxes. Also inside is a representation, one of four, of a sketch by Miles Davis.
Bam Bam:I like that.
Gizmo:So the boxers are, like, labeled sketch one, sketch two, sketch three, sketch four. Of course, the same cigars, but you get a different drawing inside. So that came out earlier in August and is now available wherever Ferri Otago cigars are sold. And I feel weird talking over Miles Davis, but I do love the song, and it's a cool story. So check out those new Ferri Otago cigars.
Gizmo:So I'm ready for a drink.
Bam Bam:I need a drink.
Gizmo:Let's go.
Bam Bam:I needed one since 10AM this morning, so let's go.
Rooster:I was kind of enjoying that music in the background.
Bam Bam:It's nice.
Gizmo:We'll play it
Bam Bam:while we're there.
Chef Ricky:That was nice. Cheers. Cheers, boys.
Gizmo:Cheers, boys.
Pagoda:Salud. Salud. Cheers.
Gizmo:Cheers. So this song that we're listening to that I played before is a song called, is French for generic. Of course, Miles was anything but generic. But he was watching a movie and improvised this while he was watching a movie and wrote this watching a film.
Bam Bam:This wakes you up? So this
Gizmo:is the fifteen years aged Glendronach. Fifteen year revival. Pretty cool. What do you think of it? Wow.
Bam Bam:I like it. Salted butter. Definitely. Yeah. With a hint of honey?
Chef Ricky:Yeah. Honey all over the nose.
Bam Bam:Honey salted butter. Fantastic.
Senator:Honey, but there's also something on the finish. There's a little bit of cocoa on the finish.
Bam Bam:There's something there. Can't pinpoint it.
Senator:It reminds me of only one other scotch that has cocoa on the finish, and that's Macallan, particularly the Macallan 12 Sherry cask. And I'm very pleased to see it because this scotch is affectionately called the Macallan killer in that there's a lot of similarities in this bottle to some of what Macallan makes. And I can see it. It's a flavorful scotch. It is definitely on the sweeter side, not the peatier side.
Senator:That's true. And some of these notes are Macallan esque. How much is this? 120.
Bam Bam:Fifteen years though.
Senator:Fifteen years that's the thing.
Gizmo:Yeah. That's what I was gonna ask you is how does it compare in your opinion to the Macallan 15?
Bam Bam:Isn't it less expensive?
Senator:That we've recently reviewed. So the Macallan 15, I think, is smoother, but flavor wise, I mean, this is a flavor bomb of a scotch like this is as flavorful, if not more than that Macallan 15.
Bam Bam:Pagoda, you have to admit that finish is very special.
Pagoda:It's I don't it's it's excellent. But
Bam Bam:It's excellent.
Pagoda:Yeah. I'm just finding it I can't pinpoint it. I need to.
Bam Bam:Just have
Pagoda:a couple of sips.
Chef Ricky:It's a honey butter. Yeah. Honey butter on toast.
Bam Bam:I think a chip of ice would ruin this. Oh, yeah.
Gizmo:I actually think it's a wonderful pairing with the cigar too. I haven't I think it's on the money.
Bam Bam:Taking a draw yet, but this is really quite good.
Chef Ricky:I think the controlled and refined spice on this stick with this scotch is perfect.
Gizmo:All right. So let's talk about the Glendronach distillery. It was founded in 1826 by James Alartis. It's one of Scotland's oldest licensed distilleries. It's located in the Valley Of Forge in Aberdeenshire in the Highlands Of Scotland.
Gizmo:The distillery has specialized from its early days in whiskey matured in Spanish sherry casks, of course, a style that remains its defining characteristic today. Everything I read about this online was that it was was a Sherry bomb. Like you said, the comparisons to the McCallan. People really love this. And it's called a revival.
Gizmo:We'll get into why in a second. But people were very, very excited when this came back, and they were very, very happy with how well it tasted. So in 1862, it became one of the largest duty paying distilleries in the Highlands. In 1920, it was purchased by a guy named Captain Charles Grant, who is the son of the Glen Fiddick founder, William Grant. Production was halted, creating a gap in whiskey stocks that still affects some of the older bottlings today for six years between 1996 and 2002.
Gizmo:In 2008, it was acquired by the Ben Rake. I don't know if I'm pronouncing that correctly. Distilling company under a guy named Billy Walker, who dramatically elevated the brand's reputation. Eight years later, he sold it to Brown Foreman for 285,000,000 British pounds. It's now overseen by renowned master blender, doctor Rachel Berry, who is the master distiller.
Gizmo:So on her, a true artisan of her craft, she brings more than three decades of casking experience to the Glendronach with a history of making and sharing the finest single malts with whiskey lovers and aficionados across the globe. She has worked for the Scotch Whiskey Research Institute and distilleries from all the regions of Scotland. She holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Edinburgh and has been inducted as a keeper of the Quake, c q u a I c h. Quake is how I believe it is.
Pagoda:So I
Senator:I know someone who is part of that society. Really? Yeah. Poohba? No.
Senator:It's a long story, but a friend in DC who I think I told you has like one of the craziest private collections of single malt scotch in the entire world. Mhmm. He worked in the spirits industry for a very long time. He's very proud of this. He's got the exact same award.
Gizmo:Did I pronounce that correctly? Do you
Senator:know? I don't think so.
Gizmo:What else is new? So apparently, she's been voted master blender of the year in the past. She's received a lifetime achievement award, and she's become the first lady of scotch inducted into the Whiskey Hall of Fame.
Senator:So I'll also just hilariously say the same guy I'm talking about. I was speaking on a panel in DC about business, and he proceeded to raise his head and ask a question. And before he asked any question, he shouted out in front of the entire audience how much he loved our podcast. Everyone's looking around like, he has a podcast? What is he talking about?
Senator:I just sat there shaking my head. I can't believe that
Gizmo:this is good door. So Glendronach is famous for full body highland spirits, exclusive maturation in Pedro Jimenez and Olarozo Sherry casks. They use non peated malt, and it's a rich natural color from cask maturation. They do not use artificial coloring. Their warehouses are traditional dunnage warehouses where whiskey matures slowly in a cool, stable environment.
Gizmo:We've talked about that in the past. Now on to the spirit. Fifteen year revival, 46% ABV. Like I said, the two cast, Pedro Jimenez and Olarozo Sherry. It's non chill filtered, natural colors, I just said, and the water is sourced on the property.
Gizmo:Get they get their name from the Dronic, which is a, I guess, a stream or something that runs through their property. The name Glendronach means valley of the brambles or valley of the blackberries. Pretty cool. So the fifteen year expression was originally introduced in the nineteen nineties, was discontinued, and then returned in 2009 as the revival. So we're coming up on twenty years of the revival being back in play.
Gizmo:It was discontinued again in 2015 simply due to inefficient mature stock, which was a consequence of the the six year closure we talked about earlier. And then after enough whiskey had reached the required age, it was relaunched globally in 2018, and it's been around ever since. So pretty cool story there on the Glendronach. I really like their logo too. It's like an old school, like what you'd see painted in a window, like a stained glass window.
Gizmo:Yep. It's pretty wild.
Bam Bam:Very nice.
Gizmo:The other thing I found interesting about this January bottle is it's only 700 milliliters. It's not seven fifty. So they cut 50 milliliters off the bottle.
Pagoda:Weren't we talking about that in one of the episodes that they're reducing?
Gizmo:I haven't seen scotch. You know, we haven't talked about scotch manufacturers doing it.
Senator:They're What's like weird
Gizmo:is It was highlighted to me that it was only 700.
Senator:I had sent over to obviously a bunch of pairing ideas for upcoming episodes, including this bottle. And the weird thing is, I was on a website looking at this and a whole bunch of others that I put on that list, and so many of them said 700 milliliters, and I assumed it must have been a typo. This was actually on Aster's website. And the fact that it's actually 700, this must be a thing now in scotch because
Rooster:it was all
Senator:single malts that I was seeing this on, and apparently this is real now. Mean, it's kind of bullshit, I'm sorry, for the prices that you pay for a single malt. The last thing you wanna see happening is less spirit.
Gizmo:And it's like, what are you getting every 15 bottles? You're getting a bottle back by doing 700 versus $7.50. Like, it doesn't seem like a crazy play versus the price delta. Like, just I don't I I just don't like like you're saying. I don't like shrinkage.
Gizmo:I don't like all of a sudden when you buy something, it's the same price and they take 20% off of it, which I noticed the other day at Costco. What? Yeah. Oh, boy.
Chef Ricky:What's happening? What happened at Costco? Should be the reverse.
Gizmo:There was a snack that my stepdaughter likes. Which one? Dots pretzels? No, it wasn't Dots pretzels. It was the You know, like, peas?
Gizmo:Are they, like, salted?
Rooster:Oh, yeah. Crunchy peas? The snap peas? Snap peas.
Gizmo:Yeah. So they've shrunken the The in the package. Same price.
Bam Bam:Yeah, it's roosters.
Senator:Oh, that's so funny that you say that actually.
Bam Bam:That's his doing, by the way.
Senator:I thought that that was the case, but that was just like a guess. I had no No, they shrunk it significantly. Interesting. Interesting.
Gizmo:I'd say at least by twenty, thirty, 40% somewhere in there. Interesting.
Rooster:It's a lot. But you know, when open one of those bags, it's only like about even less than three quarters full.
Gizmo:I'm not I'm not using my eyes. I'm I'm literally looking at the weight
Senator:of It's my significant. It's so noticeable that without any reading of how much was in it before versus now or looking at the price, I could tell it looked much smaller.
Rooster:But that's not Costco. That's Matt Pease. I mean, that's the brand. What are you? What are giving them?
Pagoda:Why can't Costco negotiate with them?
Senator:Yeah, and why can't Costco lower the price?
Gizmo:I thought Costco had power.
Bam Bam:It's because Rooster's a majority shareholder.
Rooster:Costco doesn't make any money. We talked about it. They make money on their No,
Gizmo:they make money by having members.
Rooster:The quantity is probably the same. The bag is maybe smaller. Maybe the packaging is smaller. No way. Really?
Rooster:Don't have to compare.
Gizmo:He's defending Costco.
Bam Bam:Of course he is. Always.
Senator:He's never even eaten these
Pagoda:and he's defending it. No. I know.
Rooster:We have those bags at home, I know what you're talking about. They're like they're like snap peas.
Senator:Yeah. It looks like a pea
Rooster:pod, dried up pea pods.
Pagoda:Alright.
Senator:The one thing I was going to say, just back to the scotch, it's really shocking to have a female master distiller in the scotch space. Like that's big in rum, like Appleton Estate has had a woman, I think the first woman master distiller in the world, and that's been decades long. I don't know we've ever done a scotch that has a female master distiller, which is pretty cool.
Gizmo:I remember talking about a woman master distiller somewhere, but I don't remember what kind of spirit it was. It was a whiskey, like you're saying.
Senator:I don't know if it was maybe Irish? Could have been. I don't think it was a
Gizmo:single I don't think it was a single malt. I don't remember.
Chef Ricky:So I'm doing some reading on the bottle size change here, and apparently 700 milliliters is the standard everywhere else but The U. S. The U. S. Required companies to go up to seven fifty.
Chef Ricky:And as of 2020, they changed the regulations allowing all other companies to have only one size packaging. Just help them helps them consolidate, I guess.
Senator:I mean, does make sense. I just hope the price has adjusted for that.
Chef Ricky:Yeah, we essentially lose one more pour, right? It's about 1.7 ounces, so we lose a drink.
Bam Bam:That's enough. Yeah, no, for sure.
Gizmo:Especially at $120.
Pagoda:Could though, right? What's the conversion of ounces to milliliters? I'm just kidding.
Gizmo:Pagoda's checking your math.
Chef Ricky:1.73 ounces, I think.
Senator:I will say though, it could actually be factored in on price because we were talking about how single malt scotch prices were rising, and then even Macallan now, we were all saying, has come down, but the bottles actually may be smaller. That may be why.
Chef Ricky:Well, the first bottle I saw it on was, believe it or not, Tapatio XL NCO about three years ago.
Senator:So in tequila, the same thing's happening.
Chef Ricky:Yeah. I've seen it on that that was the first time I've ever seen it, and the only place I've seen it until today. Wow.
Pagoda:Don't worry. The way we're headed, we're gonna be at 500 ml soon.
Gizmo:Correct. So boys, wanted to tell you, I know we talked about Bam and I going to Rush. I went to a couple more concerts, but I wanted to say one very important thing about the Rush concerts, and that is that I went to Anejo in Hell's Kitchen.
Bam Bam:Right.
Gizmo:And not because he's sitting here and because he's a lizard on the panel, not because he's a great guy, and certainly not because his wife makes amazing pastries and desserts.
Bam Bam:It's a long list.
Pagoda:That's a lot of compliments. What's going on over here?
Gizmo:I'll tell you something.
Bam Bam:A lot of couching taking place.
Gizmo:Let tell you something.
Senator:Sounds like someone needs a pastry order from someone's wife. For free. For free, yeah.
Gizmo:I had a phenomenal meal at Anejo Hell's Kitchen.
Bam Bam:Okay, what'd you order?
Gizmo:So I had the skirt steak, or is it hanger steak?
Chef Ricky:No, that's strip. Strip.
Gizmo:Whatever it was. Asada. Well done. Carne asada. Wow.
Gizmo:Listen, you know, don't speak Spanish. The carne asada was so unbelievably good. Dude, it rivaled the steak that we paid ridiculous amounts of money for over at Wolfgang's. I would
Bam Bam:say Really?
Gizmo:That his carne asada was more flavorful. It was unbelievable. Unbelievable. I couldn't believe it.
Bam Bam:Yeah. I don't know about that.
Gizmo:The chips come out warm. There's like 17 salsa choices on the table. Wow. The guac comes out in like a how do you pronounce that? A quake?
Gizmo:Master of the quake, a bowl? Comes out in this massive bowl. Molajete? Whatever it is.
Chef Ricky:It's not a mochaete. It's a it's just a wooden Mochaete. Acacia, an acacia wood bowl.
Gizmo:It was a phenomenal meal. I didn't wanna leave. I had a margarita that was
Bam Bam:was good to that night.
Gizmo:So my buddy Mark, who I grew up with in Pennsylvania
Chef Ricky:Did he enjoy it just as much? He had
Gizmo:a blast. Oh, he was blown away. He's also a chef, so he was totally freaked out.
Bam Bam:Is he a Rush fan?
Gizmo:Massive. He turned me on to Rush when I was a kid. Oh, nice. Yeah. Wow.
Gizmo:That goes way back. Yeah, I've known him for like thirty years. Oh, wow. Twenty five, thirty years. Not a cigar smoker yet, though.
Gizmo:And how about I'm coming out of the city. A woman hit my truck getting into the tunnel. What? Yeah.
Bam Bam:Where? Like On where on a
Gizmo:the back left, very behind, like behind the wheel, between the wheel and the taillight.
Bam Bam:Fucking bitch. I love that pickup, man.
Gizmo:I know, I was pretty bummed out.
Bam Bam:That sucks.
Gizmo:But yeah, it was crazy, man. We were trying to get in the tunnel and she clipped me.
Bam Bam:Did you pull over, have a conversation?
Gizmo:Well, there was so much traffic, was like bumper to bumper. We pulled I had I took like ten minutes, but until I could get to the next intersection
Bam Bam:Or she didn't ditch you,
Gizmo:and pull off. No, no, no.
Bam Bam:Alright. Good. No. That's good.
Gizmo:She has way more damage than I do.
Bam Bam:Really?
Gizmo:You know, it's like a tank.
Bam Bam:What was she it is. What was she driving?
Gizmo:A Chevy Traverse. Equinox. No. Was a Traverse.
Bam Bam:Would love Traverse. Okay. It's like a matchbox car.
Senator:You did say Equinox A on my seven seater Equinox. That's
Gizmo:what think it was a seven seater Traverse. We had a big argument at senator's house the other night about this car.
Pagoda:Because I think you need to downsize.
Chef Ricky:The Traverse is the bigger version of the two of those.
Bam Bam:Sorry to hear that, man.
Gizmo:Yeah, it was unfortunate. First accident I've been in since I was 17 years old.
Rooster:It wasn't your fault.
Pagoda:Oh, no
Gizmo:way. Mean, she hit my back left panel.
Chef Ricky:Is it fixed?
Gizmo:No. Not yet. We're dealing she's dealing she put it we put it through her insurance and all that.
Bam Bam:So Good. See what happens.
Gizmo:Good. Alright, boys. We are coming to the end of the first third here on the La Flora Dominicana, thirty years. And the Glendronach, fifteen years age revival, single malt scotch whiskey. What's everybody thinking about the cigar?
Gizmo:I know we just talked a lot about the scotch pairing. Where's everybody at right now?
Rooster:The cigar is still smooth. Yeah. Still balanced. All of those notes that we were getting in the beginning, it's cocoa forward. It's creamy.
Bam Bam:Aroma is awesome. It's got
Gizmo:a little bit of
Rooster:dried food. It's just I keep thinking this is going to pick up so much in strength that I'm going to not like it. It's not the case.
Senator:Don't be
Gizmo:so negative, Brewster. It's
Rooster:delivered. Past experiences, man.
Bam Bam:The aroma is like a big pastry and the retrohale has, for me, turned. It is excellent.
Chef Ricky:My favorite thing about this is just how it's delivering spice in such a controlled and refined manner. It's unbelievable. It's so balanced, so clean.
Rooster:The spice is in the background. It's so nuanced. Not forward. Very faint.
Bam Bam:But appreciate it though. You can sense it. It's there.
Senator:Yeah, which is great. I far prefer the dessert notes I'm getting in this than the spice. And I agree, like you said, the spice is refined in the way it's delivering it, but it's very much in the background and I hope it stays there.
Bam Bam:Yeah. And it's pairing beautifully with the scotch tonight.
Gizmo:I love the scotch. I do too. And I think the cigar is great. And I think we talked about this when we did the Cameron Cabinet number one from LFD. I can't believe, for the experiences we've had with the Andalusian bowl, both on and off pod, I can't believe that that blend is coming from the same manufacturer that this blend is coming from.
Pagoda:Yeah. You know, lot of people do like the Andalusian bowl. I know
Gizmo:that.
Bam Bam:Yeah. They do.
Senator:Yeah. Bless their heart. Yeah.
Gizmo:Yeah. I've had I've had two since we recorded, and I think our rating stands.
Pagoda:Oh, really?
Chef Ricky:Yeah. Was just Did gifted one last
Gizmo:you smoke it?
Chef Ricky:Not yet. I'm gonna let it sit for a bit.
Pagoda:What I'm really enjoying about this cigar is it leaves, for me, like a really pleasant, you know, palate. You know how like some cigars don't leave that? This is it's got a reasonably long finish for me. It's it's I'm loving it. No harshness at all.
Pagoda:Doesn't get dry. And it's really interesting, like when you have a cigar but does not dry your palate, it's so different. It's so much, it just feels excellent. I'm really enjoying it.
Gizmo:You know, we said the other day, or a couple weeks ago, not the other day, a couple weeks ago when we recorded the stoic equanimity episode talking about, you know, like this is what Dominican tobacco should taste like. I love how different this is from that.
Bam Bam:Correct.
Gizmo:And this is Dominican. And it's very different. It's certainly, I think, closer to a Nicaraguan profile in flavor than what I would kind of calculate in my brain as being a Dominican. But I think this is excellent right
Bam Bam:It's super refined, super velvety, super easy to smoke. I still love this cocoa that I'm getting in the background. It's really, really special.
Chef Ricky:Bam, you're the only one that's been able to develop a significant ash
Senator:on the Thank you. I was thinking the same.
Chef Ricky:My ash has been a little flaky.
Bam Bam:I have a secret, though. I'm not showing you the other side of it. It's got a bridge that's
Senator:supporting it. Yeah. Oh, okay. Oh my makes a whole lot more sense.
Chef Ricky:So I have I have that happening on
Bam Bam:mine too. I've intentionally
Gizmo:You have a half inch there.
Bam Bam:Yeah. I've intentionally not corrected that to keep the structure in place. I'm cheating.
Senator:Well, this makes more sense because I was like, okay. Maybe we just ours we're off and you got a perfectly constructed one. That's my only complaint. Yeah. The construction the tobacco is all not burning at the same rate.
Gizmo:Mhmm.
Senator:Like, I've had, like, a little bit of tunneling, and then I'm having to, like, correct for it to, like, prevent it from really becoming an issue. And the ash really will only stay on for, like, half an inch, and you kinda need to tap it.
Bam Bam:So when I tap this, it'll be very ugly.
Chef Ricky:It's so unlike the shark in that you could go from full cigar to full ash. It's perfect.
Rooster:It's like the tobacco is burning faster than the wrapper.
Bam Bam:And I got to say, what we're drinking, I wouldn't call it a Macallan killer. Like it. I think it's exquisite. I love the finish. It's one of the most unique finish experiences I've had in any spirit.
Bam Bam:It's a little too sweet for me. The Macallan 15,
Senator:though.
Gizmo:I think the Macallan 15 is a step above this.
Bam Bam:For sure. I can take down glass after glass of the Macallan 15, and I have. I feel feel great. I honestly think
Senator:much this more similar to the Macallan 12 than it is the 15.
Gizmo:And that's why it's not the killer because it's double the price almost.
Bam Bam:That's true. Yeah. Pretty price aside, though, I do think the Macallan 15 is superior to this, but this is unique in its finish, which is really quite good.
Pagoda:It feels different. It feels lighter to me on the palate, at least in the front of the palate, like in just terms of the viscosity. Generally, with a lot of the scotches that I love, I like the fact that it coats your palate and there's a little bit of viscosity to it. This feels light. It's really pleasant, by the way.
Pagoda:Don't get me wrong. Mhmm. It just feels a little bit lighter, you know, when it swivels around your in the mouth. But, yeah, I think overall, the flavor is very nice.
Bam Bam:I think it's
Senator:I don't find this to be light at all.
Pagoda:Yeah. I find it very yeah.
Senator:Like, a light scotch would be like Glendronach, like, that's a light scotch. Their 18 is like half the shade of color that this has.
Bam Bam:Yeah. It has some legs.
Senator:This this this has viscosity. This has body. Mhmm.
Pagoda:I don't feel it at all. I feel like this is a good summary.
Gizmo:Wow. Kind of
Pagoda:a yeah. I'm finding it sweeter
Bam Bam:Interesting.
Senator:And a bit lighter. I'm curious, Chef, do you consider this light?
Chef Ricky:I don't think it's light at all. It almost feels like honeysuckle on my palate. There's a richness to it that I enjoy. It's buttery. It's buttery and it's delivery.
Bam Bam:I'm really enjoying it. Do you catch any honey on that second?
Chef Ricky:I do. I do.
Bam Bam:I'm surprised you like this, Giz. It is truly honey forward for me.
Gizmo:I'm not getting a honey thing. No?
Chef Ricky:No. It doesn't have the aftertaste of honey, which is what I think Giz doesn't like.
Bam Bam:It doesn't.
Gizmo:You're right.
Chef Ricky:But it has that body, that vibe, that honey touch
Bam Bam:of that taste, initial taste of honey.
Chef Ricky:If you were to make an equal part simple syrup with honey or a fortified simple syrup where you just use sugar and honey, this has that same body for me. It's very, very velvety, very rich.
Gizmo:Had you guys not talked about honey and I'm still not getting it as a note for me, which, you know, I don't like. It's not there for me. I'm getting that sherry thing. That's what it's overwhelmingly sherry to me. It like you said, is very in line with what I'd expect from a Macallan 12.
Gizmo:Of course, at this pricing.
Chef Ricky:I think the sherry is there. It's not overwhelming for me.
Gizmo:I shouldn't use the word overwhelming. That's the priority note, I would say
Bam Bam:for me
Gizmo:that I'm calling out. But it's not it's certainly not, honey. But I really, really like it. And I think it's a great pairing tonight.
Bam Bam:I think the pairing is outstanding. Very enjoy
Chef Ricky:the ball. Like the scotch. I'm not crazy about the price, but I'm loving the scotch.
Bam Bam:Yeah, it's good.
Gizmo:Yeah. So, boys, I wanted to go back. We talked a couple of weeks ago about things in our smoking setup that we could not live without and talked about the cutters and stands and different things. Kate, you mentioned your case. Bam.
Gizmo:So I wanted to share some of the comments that we got on FOH and elsewhere with folks sharing their absolute must have cigar accessories when they smoke. So first up here is one from John s. He's an awesome dude on FOH, one of the moderators over there. I didn't know this existed, I actually bought it. And you guys might think I'm crazy, but I love it.
Rooster:You're crazy.
Gizmo:So he was sharing that he purchased a perfect punch and stand late last year and fell in love with it. And I got curious because it's the same logo as the Perfect Draw, right? So he said he bought it for a friend and he loves it. So this thing, check this out. So this is made by the folks who make the Perfect Draw, and it's a stand.
Senator:Definitely looks like something Gizmo would buy. And a punch,
Gizmo:all in one. Three punches of different sizes.
Bam Bam:Interesting.
Gizmo:Super sharp. And what I love about it is it eliminates, like when I went into the city, I had this little thing in my pocket. It's aluminum, very, very light. It's like, you know, maybe two and a half inches long. Very discreet.
Gizmo:Put it in the pocket. Had the cigar and a lighter that I keep in my car, and I was all set. Super sharp cut. An amazing accessory. Highly recommend this.
Gizmo:I know you think I'm crazy, senator. I can see your face,
Bam Bam:So but it's you're inserting the cigar in your No.
Gizmo:No. No. It's just a it's a punch.
Bam Bam:Oh, okay.
Gizmo:And then when you close it, it's a stand. You can put your cigar down on.
Pagoda:You know, that would match your orange Yes. The Home Depot box? That's correct.
Senator:The BAM gives those out on his job sites to all of his employees.
Bam Bam:They put the trucks up on those things for oil changes.
Gizmo:So let's share share some other ones. User Tom ribs two ten. Lizard Enrique said, I have to say my Turtlebox portable speaker for my outdoor sessions has to be the most consistent and adds the most to my experience. Close second is the Sussamon Portable Ashtray, which is the one I have in the truck that we used when we were smoking in my truck, BAM. Very good.
Gizmo:That's rest and ashtray. So
Bam Bam:I have to say, I was skeptical. I don't ever smoke in a car. So we get in his truck and he's got the rain guards on both doors.
Gizmo:The weather guards? Yep.
Bam Bam:Cracked those open.
Chef Ricky:It was fantastic. That's exactly why I put them on my car.
Bam Bam:No smoke in your face. The smoke goes out immediately. It's very comfortable. I enjoyed that trip.
Chef Ricky:Even today, was driving in a monsoon. It was awesome. And there was cars in oncoming traffic throwing waterfalls over Nothing came in the car.
Gizmo:We had the same thing
Senator:going in. The storm
Gizmo:went out. When we went to that rush show, it was a monsoon. Remember we were on Route 3 and it was people were doing the same thing he's saying. They were throwing water up and we were smoking.
Bam Bam:It's fantastic.
Gizmo:It was awesome. Yeah. And a couple more here. This one is interesting. The XIFI lighters from user Shybears V.
Chef Ricky:Is that
Gizmo:thing c I? X I f e I.
Chef Ricky:Yes. Yeah.
Gizmo:How do you how do you pronounce that?
Chef Ricky:I think it's like that, but I'm I'm familiar with it. One of my very first favorite lighters was from that brand.
Gizmo:You've seen those before. It's those. Yeah. They're cylindrical.
Bam Bam:Yep. Yep. They're awful.
Chef Ricky:That's exactly it.
Bam Bam:It's like a paperweight.
Rooster:I used
Chef Ricky:to love that thing. It had a It's like
Bam Bam:a baton.
Chef Ricky:Draw tube built into It's
Gizmo:police baton. He's crazy.
Chef Ricky:Punch built into it. It has a rest built into it.
Bam Bam:I'll take that to a fight
Gizmo:with you.
Chef Ricky:And it's like a lightsaber.
Gizmo:If you're
Chef Ricky:a Star Wars fan, it's perfect.
Bam Bam:All right.
Gizmo:Couple more here. Of course, a couple of folks mentioned the perfect draw cigar poker, cigar stands like we have here. Travel case, Zaikar Cutter, Perfect Draw Jet Lighter and a LFD's Llamas stand. Have you ever heard of that? I know you like to buy high end stuff.
Gizmo:It's like a LFD's. It's of those. Stands. Yeah, must be.
Bam Bam:Yeah. Yeah.
Gizmo:Another one is the Zykar Tactical. Zykar gets a lot of love from cigar smokers. Interesting. Do you guys buy Zykar?
Senator:May I have their cutter?
Gizmo:Oh, that's right. That's the one you use. That is a nice cutter.
Bam Bam:I've got their box for travel.
Pagoda:What was on sale, buddy? What was on sale?
Bam Bam:Big value guy.
Gizmo:Another one here from Deuter. He says, my Halliburton ambassador and my Peter James case, which I know you
Bam Bam:Oh, yeah.
Gizmo:Love your Peter James.
Bam Bam:I do.
Senator:Well, hope he has one of the old ones like
Bam Bam:That's correct.
Senator:Because the new ones are garbage.
Gizmo:This one, think Rooster has this, the Fox cigar cutter.
Bam Bam:I to don't. Let's talk about this for just a second. That's a Peter James, right?
Senator:No.
Bam Bam:It looks supple, like that leather's broken in.
Senator:Exactly, and it is.
Pagoda:Well, you feel
Senator:it, it's great. It's not It's Peter Their new stuff is like cardboard. Remember we talked about that? Giz and I ordered their new ones when they put them on sale. Who's the main Cigar dagger.
Bam Bam:Actually will
Pagoda:The be
Senator:leather is great.
Bam Bam:It feels
Senator:great. Just pass this to Ben.
Bam Bam:It's a great replacement for the old Peter James. Probably the closest thing you're gonna find.
Senator:That's why I bought it, exactly.
Bam Bam:It feels like broken in leather. That, I think, is very important. You should get one, Pagoda. Up. Just don't lose
Pagoda:this now.
Bam Bam:You're off case? Plastic bags, Pagoda.
Senator:Actually, we have an update. No, Pagoda lost another case.
Gizmo:No way. Oh my God. I
Pagoda:don't even remember. Which one? Don't tell me. I don't know. This is a mystery.
Bam Bam:Wait. Is it the big soda law?
Pagoda:No. But it is the soda law. You lost
Gizmo:another one?
Chef Ricky:Oh, man.
Gizmo:Alright. What was in it? Talk about stuff you can't lose.
Senator:Oh, he had some good cigars there.
Gizmo:What was in there?
Senator:He gonna bring them to my house to smoke
Pagoda:them. Yeah. That day I was getting some good cigars. Think the fabric of five, the Trinity Robusto. I had a D4.
Pagoda:Had a Padronach. I had, I believe, a My Father Blue. And So you had it at
Bam Bam:home and just don't know where it went from your house to the senator's house? Some Are you serious? Is that what happened?
Pagoda:I'll tell you something.
Bam Bam:Know, it's like a twelve minute drive.
Senator:It's a six minute drive. Six
Gizmo:minute drive. Wait, this isn't in the city on the train.
Pagoda:No, no, no. This is
Gizmo:This is from your house in a town.
Bam Bam:The same town.
Gizmo:To a house in In town. The same town. You've lost your Sodalos, six cigars, your cutter, your lighter, and your perfect Rock.
Pagoda:So I don't know. The only thing I can guess is I was going to get into my car, and then I realized that my phone, I left my phone upstairs, and the car wouldn't open without the phone, so I went upstairs to get the phone.
Gizmo:Put You it on
Pagoda:the roof? So I might have put it there. Now I don't know because I did look around the area, you know, so I reverse out of my garage, and
Gizmo:Which you're not supposed to do. You're not supposed to put your car in reverse. We've talked about that.
Pagoda:We've talked about it, but that's Maybe the only way
Gizmo:I can get it's
Bam Bam:in your garage somewhere.
Pagoda:No, that's what I thought. It's not there. Basement area? No. Kitchen?
Pagoda:No, I've looked all
Gizmo:the Can I?
Senator:Mean, there's a good thing. He has an air tag in it, he could just, you know, look Oh, at it right
Bam Bam:That's correct.
Gizmo:We're three or four years into discussing
Pagoda:This is ridiculous.
Bam Bam:The air tag.
Pagoda:Feel really embarrassed about this one.
Gizmo:You're putting an air tag in your case, you still haven't done it. And you've lost it at your house.
Senator:Oh, the air tags are too expensive.
Gizmo:He has them.
Pagoda:I have them.
Gizmo:They're not even activated. He has four of them in the house.
Senator:Oh, it's hard to activate them. You just pull the tab out and throw it in.
Rooster:You need an air tag for the
Senator:air tag.
Bam Bam:Rooster, do you have any dementia medications right now?
Pagoda:Think it's Alzheimer's. Don't know. Something's up, man. Maybe an
Gizmo:I'm eight ball would sorry to hear that.
Pagoda:Yeah. Me
Gizmo:too. That's not good. I hope you find it.
Pagoda:I was really disappointed that day.
Gizmo:All right. Back to the accessories here. Jay Doughty said, the rabbit air. Though when I go shop and this is funny. Though when I go shopping for a replacement, especially a remote, I will not make this mistake again of doing a general web search with images without adding lots of very specific qualifying terms to make sure that what I see is actually related to the air quality in a home cigar lounge.
Gizmo:So think about Googling rabbit or rabbit air. What comes up? Another one here from Dan O5. He says my Cohiba lighter. It's one of those three burner ones with a hole punch attached.
Gizmo:The hole punch is perfect every time. First, DuPont mentioned the DuPont Defy Extreme. So to a case. This one was funny. Joey put up his chair.
Bam Bam:It's quite the accessory.
Gizmo:I don't know how you're gonna lose that.
Bam Bam:Well Well, put an air tag in it.
Gizmo:Put an air tag in it, you're good. Here's one from Rob El Prez. He says, I'm not generally into expensive lighters. This one is a gift that I've used since November. Love the flat torch flame.
Gizmo:It's one of those DuPonts. Do you know which model that is there, Rooster?
Rooster:No. I'm not sure.
Gizmo:It's a little skinny one.
Bam Bam:It's old.
Gizmo:But it's an old one.
Rooster:It almost looks a Dunhill.
Gizmo:Yeah. And it has like a pattern on it.
Rooster:Like a Dunhill roll a
Gizmo:gas. Yeah. So a lot more, you know, lighters, cutters, Zai cars, Sodalos, etcetera. But some great replies there. And one other one I wanted to share as well.
Gizmo:This one was a hot topic on the forum and also in the room here. You know, we talked about what is one cigar that every cigar smoker should smoke at least one time in their life. And of course, we went through a pretty hefty list here. Most of ours were non Cuban cigars. So the folks on FOH, when I put this up, as I expected, a lot of it was Cuban cigars.
Gizmo:So I'm going to throw some at you, see what you guys think of these answers. Part of the series D number four. So Heba Robusto, Mani two, Magnum 46. Porviranyaga, Petite Corona. Mhmm.
Gizmo:Cigar four, Epicure number two. A Sir Winston, Juan Lopez number two. Partagas Lusitania. JL one prefer. Here's another one here.
Gizmo:Bolivar Petite Coronas, the Romeo y Juliet to Churchill, Romania, Formosos, Colonialis, the Cigaros, one, two and six. The Hoya de Monterrey Palmas Extra, I've never had that one. And then we had our first mention, Purro Des Nudo de Canganazo, which is a good one from Fabrica five. Cojiba Esplendido was another one mentioned. So, I mean, folks love a lot of different Cupid cigars.
Gizmo:Now, generally, as a comment, which of these that you've heard so far would you say is an absolute requirement for a cigar smoker to have kinda checked the box? D four. I think D four is Yeah. Probably And money too.
Bam Bam:Yeah. I agree. That's Sir Winston's special, though.
Gizmo:Yeah, man. Sir Winston's a good
Rooster:What's funny? Nobody mentioned the Fonda Doris by Trinidad.
Bam Bam:Wow. That's
Pagoda:the door sold out.
Gizmo:That's correct. The price is too high now.
Bam Bam:The price is right, baby.
Rooster:I mean, they mentioned the Sir Winston, the Cojiba Esplandido.
Gizmo:The
Bam Bam:colonialis they mentioned, which I love.
Rooster:Colonialis is
Bam Bam:That's a delicious cigar, you have to admit.
Gizmo:Yes. It's a very good.
Chef Ricky:No sugar. Supreme.
Rooster:It's no fundodorus.
Bam Bam:No. It's not. $20.18. No less.
Gizmo:So here's one here that I thought was really interesting. Brighton Corgi said the Cohiba Gran Reserva, and then Rob Ayala El Pres responded, Cohiba Cigar six Gran Reserva is the finest cigar I've ever smoked.
Bam Bam:Wow.
Gizmo:If I had a magic wand, I would hand that to anyone who wanted to experience the ultimate expression of cigar brilliance. Wow. I have never had a Cigar six Gran Reserva. No. I would love to.
Gizmo:Rooster did.
Rooster:One day. But I
Gizmo:think I think Sir Winston, Esplenidos, Partagas d four Mhmm. And Amani two. I think that would be my list for Cubans on top of what we named a couple weeks ago Yeah. As far as those cigars. Agreed.
Gizmo:So, yeah, I thanks to everybody for writing in and and commenting on that thread with different cigars you think everybody should smoke. It's interesting. I'm gonna put a nice fiber together for my dad's friend. I'm actually gonna give it to him this weekend. So Nice.
Gizmo:I'm gonna take the suggestions and do exactly that.
Bam Bam:The bridge is still working on these.
Gizmo:Yeah. You are now an inch into a It's wrapper
Bam Bam:crazy. A little structural support there.
Senator:I'll say, the flavor is outstanding.
Bam Bam:It's so good. It's awesome.
Senator:Outstanding. But? But the construction is a problem. This cigar is so satisfying, and all you want is for it to just be an effortless experience. And I'm constantly having to touch this thing up, make sure that I ash it, avoid tunneling because it's not burning all at the same rate.
Bam Bam:I haven't had to ash.
Pagoda:I haven't had ash.
Rooster:It's a bit surprising because the shape of the cigar should hold the ash easier than it does. And it doesn't. It's just like the tobacco is burning faster than the wrapper.
Gizmo:Yeah. The filler and the binder. Yeah.
Senator:Honestly, it's a crime. It's like if this cigar were mediocre, I couldn't care less that the construction sucks. This cigar is hitting on every single cylinder flavor wise. Why this just can't be perfectly constructed, it frustrates the hell out of me. So when it comes to the rating, when you're thinking about your individual rating, are you gonna this
Gizmo:is really tasting great. Are you gonna dock it because of the performance on the construction All
Senator:I'm gonna say is the flavor is so outstanding that I'm definitely gonna be generous generous with the construction. It's that good. If the flavor were just very good, I wouldn't be as generous, but it's outstanding. Yeah. This is is mung grade.
Senator:And that's why I'm as frustrated as I am. If this were just an average cigar, I would just I'd be fine with it. I'm rooting so hard for this because damn, it's so close
Bam Bam:to perfect flavor. It's delicious, delicious cigar. You could stick a toothpick in there and hold your ass if you want. That could work.
Gizmo:Alright, boys. Let's go to some listener email now. We're gonna start here with a serious one from our friend Lizard Enrique.
Pagoda:He's back.
Gizmo:He says, hello, Lizards. Congratulation on the biggest new entertainment sensation, The Lizard X Files. I will say, and I say this quite seriously, which is a change for me, that a substantive issue is at hand. While the behavior of missus Lizard X is reprehensible, the proprietor of the lounge is equally, if not more, at fault. A key function of a members only lounge is that it is reserved for members only, all caps.
Gizmo:If that breakdown occurs, we have anarchy. It's like selling a great car, but it doesn't have any brakes. Allowing illusions of violence against one's domestic partner, the intrusion upon the peace of members, and general breach of the social contract falls squarely in the lap of both the proprietor and, in equal measure, the perpetrator and the proprietor for allowing an environment where such behavior is enabled. Anything that would endanger the environment of the greater Lizard community is wrongheaded and should be addressed immediately. Pagoda often references lounge time as therapy.
Gizmo:This type of breach is like shock therapy. Thanks for listening. Mhmm. Lizard Enrique. Couldn't agree more.
Senator:Alright. So I'm sorry. I disagree. Oh, I agree. I'm gonna defend our proprietor here.
Senator:One of the things I really appreciate about our proprietor here, unlike what we were subject to in North Korea for a few years, is that we have twenty four hour key card access. And by nature, that means that the proprietor trusts that the members will only use their key cards to come in and not allow in any random person who knocks on the door. The proprietor cannot be here twenty four hours because that's impossible. And so late that night, when that door doorbell rang, I told everyone in the lounge, do not open the door.
Bam Bam:Someone didn't listen.
Senator:Someone didn't listen.
Bam Bam:But it made for great entertainment.
Pagoda:It made for amazing entertainment.
Bam Bam:Oh, yeah.
Senator:But that's where, like, I'm sorry. Like, the member is very the the proprietor is very clear. Like, you shouldn't open the door for random people. Like, you use your key card to enter, and that's it. Only members with key cards should be coming in here.
Senator:So for a member to get up and open the door for a random person, that's not the proprietor. That's on member y for opening the door.
Bam Bam:So this also similar incident happened during daytime hours. And senator, you policed this situation. Correct. You had to do it. Yeah.
Gizmo:Because missus Lizard X walked in.
Bam Bam:Because the proprietor was nowhere to be found.
Senator:Yeah. But that's the nature of this place. This isn't a place where we have, like, a lounge attendant that sits around and monitors what we're smoking like when we were in North Korea and reports to the supreme leader.
Bam Bam:Don't we have a monitor like person here?
Senator:In the shop. Right. But not in the lounge, which I actually prefer. So in our old North Korea setup, there was someone in the shop and a lounge attendant who was literally reporting to the supreme leader what we were smoking
Bam Bam:That's right.
Senator:How long we were there, what we were doing, if we used a glass for our drink versus a plastic cup.
Bam Bam:Mean We're counting bands.
Senator:It was insanity. It's got PTSD. Just far prefer a setup where a proprietor trusts us as grown adults to police ourselves, and he extends that freedom to us until he's proven wrong that someone can't be trusted as a member. To me, that is infinitely better than someone literally being there like we're children, monitoring what's happening all the time.
Bam Bam:How did Lizard X's wife get into the lounge during the daytime hours?
Senator:I wasn't there when she first got there, but the only way is that one of them had to get up and open that door. No.
Gizmo:The store was open. I think she went through the retail store. Okay. That is the thing you're saying about the attendant being in the retail store
Senator:But then again problem is for the attendant that's there, she says, I'm so and so's wife who's a member. You're not gonna say that you can't come in because you are allowed to bring guests, so that member is entitled to have his wife there as a guest.
Bam Bam:That's true.
Senator:There's not much you can do.
Bam Bam:That's tough. Tough situation.
Senator:And I wouldn't have done anything I did if she was sitting there, you know, just very, you know, respectfully throughout that afternoon. It wouldn't be a problem. But when I'm getting messages from guys saying like, this is incredibly uncomfortable, she's like scolding him in front of everyone in the lounge instead of like privately taking him aside Mhmm. And then I'm walking in just wanting to relax. I don't need to see a couple arguing or fighting in the lounge, and so I had to do what I
Bam Bam:did, she left. That's true. There could be a bit more of a ruling with an iron fist in this place, just a little bit. We don't need If I
Senator:own this We have the iron fist, they're here. Don't need We don't need him to
Bam Bam:do it. This is true. But if I own this place, I would instruct my employees to go to the member and ask that member, would you like me to allow this person to come in?
Pagoda:If you own the place, you'll run it like North Korea. Exactly. No. Steve
Bam Bam:Bird. No. No. Wait a minute. Hold on.
Bam Bam:Hold on. What I would okay. Let's say it's me sitting in the lounge.
Rooster:No slippers.
Pagoda:Let's say it's no slippers.
Rooster:No sandals.
Pagoda:That's correct. Please comb your hair
Bam Bam:with you. I wanna be serious.
Senator:No shorts.
Chef Ricky:If I
Bam Bam:were in the lounge and missus Bam Bam came to the retail establishment, wanted to walk into the lounge, what I would prefer is one of the staff members come to me. Your wife is here. Would you like me to let her in? I would say, no. I'm gonna get up.
Bam Bam:I'm gonna go meet my wife and take her outside and have a chat.
Rooster:That's the proper thing
Gizmo:to do.
Rooster:Should take it outside.
Bam Bam:Yeah. And if she's cool and if she's behaved, then she can come in and sit down if she wants to. If she's not behaved, if she's angry with me for any reason, she's not coming in. It's not gonna fucking happen.
Pagoda:We're all family over here.
Senator:No. No. Yeah. But the difference is that Lizard X is not going to say I know.
Pagoda:That's the problem.
Senator:So she would be there anyway, which is why it just needed to be handled the way it was. True. I can't blame their proprietor
Bam Bam:on this. Alright.
Gizmo:It's a compelling email from Lizard and Revenge.
Bam Bam:Very compelling.
Gizmo:And honestly, I mean, we've made, you know, we've made, you know, we've had some fun with the story, but it is terrible that a guy's wife comes in here and
Bam Bam:Berates it.
Gizmo:Like effectively says, I wanna kill you in front of his friends.
Senator:And the last thing I'll say is, like, literally, Lizard X, once I got his wife to leave, just looked at me and said, thank you. Yeah. That's great. He himself
Bam Bam:That's rough, man.
Senator:Couldn't get his own wife to leave the lounge. See, think that's no proprietor is gonna do that. Mean, that's
Rooster:the bigger That's problem. The Lizard x needs to handle this situation Correct. Where you should not have to interject Exactly. And do that for him.
Bam Bam:And from that perspective, you're right. The proprietor shouldn't be responsible to that. Yeah.
Senator:He can't. I mean, if a guy can't get his own wife to leave, you're not gonna come in there and say, get out.
Pagoda:Mean,
Bam Bam:But if, again, I'm gonna tell my employees not to let anyone walk into the lounge without asking that person, do you have a guest? Do you want that person to come in? No. I'm going get up and go meet her. That's me.
Bam Bam:That's just me.
Senator:No, I agree with that. I'm just saying that he would have still said, Yes, she can come in.
Bam Bam:Well, that's because of his personality.
Senator:Yeah. Which is why the member to
Bam Bam:me is most at fault here. He needs coaching.
Pagoda:I don't think I've seen him since.
Senator:Oh, no. I've seen him.
Pagoda:Oh, you have? Alright.
Gizmo:Alright, boys. Let's go to another one now. This one is from our friend Lizard Randy. He says, hey, Lizards. Lizard Randy here.
Gizmo:First off, thanks again for all the awesome work you guys do. You're still my number one podcast every week. When a new episode drops, it's the first thing I put on that morning. The chemistry, the laughs, and the cigar knowledge make it a highlight of my week. I've got a couple of questions I was hoping you might be able to weigh in on.
Gizmo:First, have you noticed anything specific with the Ramon Iona small club coronas once they get past the seven year mark? The box I'm referring to has the box code ASR March 19. So they're now well over seven years old. They've been stored consistently at 65 degrees Fahrenheit, 62% humidity, but they seem to have lost a lot of their flavor. Some have even become a bit acrid and generally feel flat compared to how they smoked when they were younger.
Gizmo:I'm curious if you've experienced anything similar or if this might just be a quirk of my box. So I'll hold on right there.
Bam Bam:Wow. That's disappointing.
Gizmo:So he's saying that after seven years, you know, consistent storage, this box has completely fallen off a cliff for him. I've not experienced that with that cigar.
Senator:No. And I can definitely speak to this because I only have one like, a handful of sticks from a box of that exact cigar left, and I gave out, I brought out that box one night on my patio and a bunch of guys smoked them, and I'm pretty sure my box is 2018. Mhmm. Everybody loved them. Do you know how how long ago?
Senator:End of last year, last fall.
Bam Bam:Okay.
Senator:It's been And it's 2018 box. I also gave someone a cigar from that box as recent as like two weeks ago, and the person also loved it. It's a flavor bomb. So I really think that's a uniquely problematic box. That has not been my experience.
Bam Bam:Cuba being Cuba maybe? I haven't had one of those in a very long time. I have a lot of those.
Rooster:I'm curious now to pull one out of that box and check it.
Bam Bam:I want to check it as well.
Pagoda:And let us also get a little experience.
Bam Bam:I'm gonna bring a box You gotta
Rooster:go to Senator's House for that one.
Senator:I promise I gave so many out, I probably have like four left.
Gizmo:So let's complicate this a little further. Of course. Second, have any of you run into any aging issues with Fabrica five cigars? I've had some resting and Tupperdor's for almost two years. Same temperature and humidity, he says.
Gizmo:And if you have developed a sort of earthy, almost body odor or locker room aroma that definitely wasn't there when they were fresh.
Bam Bam:You can't put your socks in your tower. Correct.
Gizmo:They also don't seem to be smoking quite the same. Have you noticed anything like that, or is this completely off the wall? When I first encountered both of these issues, I immediately tried dry boxing them for a couple days before smoking them just in case they were carrying a little too much moisture. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to make any difference. Thanks for everything you do.
Gizmo:I really appreciate all the time and the effort that goes into the show, and I look forward to every episode. Keep up the fantastic work, and I hope to hear your thoughts on these whenever you get a chance. Best, Lizard Randy. So I can say unequivocally that I have never had that experience with Fabric Cafive cigars.
Senator:No. Which in fact, like you you guys have seen, you know, I had like an original box when they had first come out with the Petite one zero nine that I hadn't touched in a while, and I recently started picking up and smoking over the last few months, and I was commenting how outrageously good they were. Like, time is incredible with that cigar. I agree. This is clearly a storage issue.
Gizmo:I think there's something going on.
Rooster:I think the fact that he has them in a Tupperware.
Bam Bam:That's a problem.
Rooster:And there is very little air movement, and we all have them in a tower.
Senator:It sounds like dirty Tupperware. I'm sorry.
Gizmo:Yeah, there's something up either with water, temperature, aroma that's getting into the into the Tupperdor's when they're open. I don't know what it is. Blondry. No, but something's off because I've not had I can't speak to the small club Corona thing, but I can unequivocally say that I have fabric of five cigars that even before they were Fabrica five, when they were just Porro Desnuto and like Mofo, like the original run of Lanceros from like 2018, 2019 or something. They're freaking great.
Gizmo:And like Senator saying, I think like Cuban tobacco, Fabrica five continues to improve with time. I think we experienced that with most of our cigars, but like you said, I'm finding that the 100 nine's are smoking better. The petite 100 nine's are smoking better. When I rest the Trinity Robustos, they smoke I've even
Bam Bam:had those for almost a year now. They're still delicious. No complaints.
Gizmo:Yeah. So I'm I'm feeling you've got a storage issue here at Lizard Randy. I would I would shake up your system. I would either get new Tupperdor's, go just bovada, you know, do something different because I'm very confused as to what's happening here. To have this happening on both of these boxes or both of these types of cigars tells me that it's a wider issue than there's no way the small club corona is bad.
Gizmo:The fabric of five is bad. The other fabric of five is bad. It's not possible. And I've also never gotten an email saying that there's an aging problem with fabric of five. Agree.
Gizmo:Quite the opposite, honestly.
Senator:New Tupperware and Boveda is definitely what this person needs to do.
Bam Bam:Yeah. Or if you can afford it, get a tower. Go to Reising, buy something.
Gizmo:Or go to If you're gonna be your elegant bar.
Bam Bam:If you're gonna be in the business, be in
Senator:the business. Okay? Thanks, ma'am.
Gizmo:Let's go to another one now, boys. This one's from our friend Lizard Julio. He says, dear gentlemen, I write to you as a patient needing a diagnosis. I just had a nice dinner, and I decided to pull out a Davidoff Maduro in Toro that's been resting in my Tupperdor for nearly a year at 64 RH. I decided to put your episode featuring this cigar during Pooba's birthday celebration.
Gizmo:Shout out to Pooba. We miss you, he says. And I lit up with you. For the first inch, I was mostly experiencing similar notes to all of you, but perhaps a bit more pepper forward giving the larger Vitola. After that, my experience took a turn for the worse.
Gizmo:My wrapper began to burn very unevenly. The ash began to split. When my first ashing happened, it was completely lopsided. The flavor turned bitter, burnt, and the nicotine hit was noticeably harsher than what I was comfortable with. For comparison, the Padron eightieth was a minor challenge for me, but nothing compared to this.
Gizmo:I tried to correct, touch up to correct, the uneven burn, purge to rid the cigar of carbon, and to slow down my pace. I'm sad to report that after trying to wait out an improvement for another inch, I simply couldn't go on. The flavor was harsh, the nicotine was beating me up, and the cigar wasn't anything close to the wonderful notes you were all experiencing. It wounded me to have to make the executive decision to let the cigar go out and to dispose of it. So what happened here?
Gizmo:Can this be a fluke of construction or perhaps something that should have been rejected in Davodoff's fastidious quality control? Or is this just another example of Davidoff dropping off as a brand for an over $50 cigar, which I forgot it was that expensive? It was simply unacceptable that it fell apart like this. I've never had these issues with my Aladino or my Fabric of Five cigars, but this was just like Doctor. Jekyll and Mr.
Gizmo:Hyde. I'm curious to know if I should have done something different or if you've experienced these kinds of situations. If anyone can help me, I know it's you. Wishing you all better smokes than whatever I just had. Sincerely yours, Lizard Julio.
Gizmo:Wow.
Pagoda:Stick to Robustos. Terrible.
Gizmo:So I've not had the Toro in the Maduro. Have any of you guys?
Senator:No, but there's a reason that we haven't. I'm sorry. There's one That's the thing. There's one rule. We've said this on countless episodes we've discussed Davidoff cigars.
Bam Bam:That's correct.
Senator:Davidoff, for whatever reason,
Gizmo:for as This going way back.
Senator:Way back. As Pooh would say, for time immemorial. Right? Davidoff cannot make a well constructed Toro. Nope.
Senator:We would talk about how every year at North Korea for our Christmas gift, and it almost felt like intentional punishment, we love the Millennium line, or used to love the Millennium line, and instead of any of the Vitolas that we like to smoke that in, the proprietor would gift us a four or five pack of them in Toro
Bam Bam:He's trying to get rid of them.
Senator:And they would burn unevenly, the flavor profile wasn't the same, for whatever reason, Davidoff and Toro does not work. And this is no exception. I'm not shocked.
Bam Bam:Mhmm. The Robusto in that cigar is delicious.
Senator:It's excellent. Yeah.
Gizmo:We've been saying this for a long time.
Senator:Yeah. And for listeners, when we review a cigar, the Vitola is really important to
Gizmo:get the same
Senator:one because there's countless cigars that all of us love that we've tried other Vitolas, and we don't feel nearly as strongly about how that smokes in other shapes.
Bam Bam:Now I will say, Giz gifted me the Toro aging room concerto. I've never had that before. So that night, you gave me one. It was incredibly delicious.
Gizmo:It's a good cigar.
Bam Bam:And I'm not a fan of Toros. I was a little nervous about it, but that smoked incredibly well.
Senator:Oh, no. I'll say Aging Room, I actually think, smokes best in Toro. I'm actually preferring I'm them
Gizmo:preferring to the them to the Maestro.
Senator:Smoke in Toro Literally, I smoke the Sonata in Toro, the Concerto in Toro, and I just bought some of the You too, or orange band in Toro that I'm experimenting with, and I may only smoke that in Toro.
Bam Bam:Holy shit.
Gizmo:Yeah. I mean, the torpedo, the maestros are great.
Senator:I really love the Toros. Wow. They're outstanding.
Gizmo:They're Yeah. They've been very good. I can't wait to review them when we revisit those lines down the road. But Very they're excellent in that shape. But unfortunately, to our experience going on six or seven years now as a group, And what Lizard Julio is describing here and I've seen online, this is not reason for Davidoff.
Gizmo:It's like you said, Senator, it's been a long time that we've been saying that.
Rooster:So Davidoff Toro is an anomaly. I mean, it's it's an aging room. It's not an issue. And I think most manufacturers make a great Toro. It's just Davidoff somehow struggles making a Toro.
Rooster:And in their staple lines, like millenniums and
Pagoda:Even late hours.
Rooster:Late hours. Yeah.
Gizmo:Alright. Let's go to another one now, boys. This one is from our friend Lizard Glacier. She says, hello, Gizmo and team. I hope you're all doing well.
Gizmo:I'm writing this time to comment on the email from a couple weeks ago from Lizard Philip regarding international orders from Fabrica five to Europe, and he's saying in Germany. I'm not exactly from Germany. I'm from Switzerland, so not very far away. But I order Fabrica five quite often, and I wanted to share my experience hoping it could help Lizard Philip and maybe some other listeners from Europe. First of all, there's no shipping cost if you order the minimum amount required on the Fabrica five website.
Gizmo:Of course, you hear that every week on the beginning of the episode when we do the ad. I don't remember the exact threshold, but I believe it's somewhere around €150 Shipping is a bit slow, of course, going from Florida to Europe, usually taking between two and three weeks based on my experience. I've never had any issues with delivery. Everything is very well packed with Boveda, and my cigars always have arrived in perfect condition. The tax system for premium cigars isn't exactly the same in the two countries, but it's somewhat similar from my understanding.
Gizmo:Number one, you have value added tax or VAT, which is applicable to all imported goods. It's 8% in Switzerland and 19% in Germany. Cigar excise tax, almost insignificant in Switzerland, about 1%. Says he's not sure how that works in Germany. And number three is brokerage fees charged by the delivery company.
Gizmo:This one can be a bit surprising. It's basically the cost of handling the customs paperwork, and it's usually a flat fee of around 20 to €50. Wow. So you have to pay That's crazy. The delivery company to deal with the customs.
Gizmo:Now, for us, we don't have to do that. No. Right? Here in The US. Like, you get something that comes in, like, the shipper deals with the customs, and the only reason you might have to is if something's wrong or misreported or whatever, or it's some sort of contraband that they take, like Cuban cigars.
Rooster:Well, you are paying some tariffs if
Gizmo:you bring in certain goods from other countries. But the shipper's paying that or the manufacturer. It's not coming to the end user. It's factored into our prices.
Chef Ricky:I've actually received a bill from FedEx.
Rooster:Yeah, me too.
Chef Ricky:For a a knife that I ordered from Really? Yeah, and it was like a $30 bill. I don't remember what it was for, but it might have been either the tariff or
Rooster:It's a 15% tariff that you're paying on anything that's coming from a European country. Interesting. Which is fairly new for us.
Chef Ricky:Not FedEx, DHL.
Rooster:They'll all charge. FedEx, UPS, DHL.
Senator:This is all like Trump tariffs.
Gizmo:Yes. I see. Interesting.
Senator:Also, who knew? Chef, big knife guy.
Gizmo:Yeah. Big knife guy over there.
Bam Bam:Oh, he's gotta cut the tomatoes.
Gizmo:Gotta make ketchup. That's correct. That said, most of my orders are not even inspected by customs. About 90% of the time, I don't pay any taxes or fees at all. Even when an order is inspected and I do have to pay, the total cost is still lower than buying almost anything comparable from Swiss retailers.
Gizmo:Based on my experience, my advice would be place smaller orders of around 20 to 50 cigars. Shipping is free, and I think if the declared value isn't too high, customs doesn't even bother processing the paperwork. I think that's really good advice. I'm wondering if I've just been lucky or if other lizards in Europe have had the same experience when ordering smaller quantities of cigars from abroad. On another note, I'd love to hear your thoughts on beer pairings, and please don't hate me, white wine pairings with cigars, senator.
Gizmo:If you guys ever happen to visit Switzerland, you're more than welcome to stop by my place for a traditional cheese fondue or raclette. What is a raclette? Do know what that is?
Chef Ricky:Raclette is a type of cheese, and oftentimes they melt it under a lamp and scrape it off. You're not a cheese guy, so I'm sure that
Rooster:With honey.
Gizmo:Thanks again for the great weekly content. All the best. Lizard Glacier from Switzerland.
Senator:Alright.
Gizmo:So a great email from him. That's very informative. So talking about beer pairings, and he says, please don't hate me, senator. White wine pairings with cigars. So we have done some white wine now.
Senator:Why would I hate that? I've brought white wine on the pod.
Gizmo:And we've also obviously, you know, the bubbly isn't technically white wine champagne or the the cove Laurent. What is that called? The covlarants Blanc de Blanc, we did. That's a white wine technically. No?
Bam Bam:Can you help him out, please? You're leaving him out on a No.
Pagoda:You're gonna just let him talk.
Rooster:He knows
Gizmo:exactly what
Bam Bam:he's talking about.
Pagoda:Of he nothing.
Gizmo:Of course he does. He knows exactly what I'm saying.
Bam Bam:He's teetering on a cliff right now. He's pushing me off. No.
Pagoda:He's trying to push me off the cliff. See that.
Rooster:We can all see that.
Gizmo:What the heck?
Bam Bam:He's making him sweat.
Chef Ricky:I think he's talking about freezing a.
Bam Bam:That's great, friend.
Rooster:I got your back, bro.
Bam Bam:Thank you, Pam. Have we done an Assertigo on that pod yet?
Gizmo:Yes, we have. Yes, we did. Domaine Cigar. Yeah.
Senator:My favorite was was
Bam Bam:outstanding with this.
Gizmo:You see how quickly he responds to your question?
Senator:Well, he's speaking in English. He said Assertigo.
Bam Bam:That's great.
Gizmo:Blanc de blanc. So we've done quite a few white wines at this point. Right? We have. What are your thoughts on
Senator:I also brought a Pascal Jolivette, which is a Sancerre on the pod. Mhmm.
Gizmo:Any other whites that you anticipate bringing in that you've had recently, or something you think might work with a Cuban or in Honduran or something like that?
Senator:Nothing specific, but I at some point will bring a Chablis on. What's a Chablis? So that's like a French chardonnay, and I categorically hate American chardonnay.
Bam Bam:Yes. We
Senator:know. But French chardonnay is not like oaky and extraordinarily buttery like American chardonnay. There's some very good Chablis, but nothing imminent. But at some point, for sure, there'll be more.
Rooster:White Burgundies.
Gizmo:Yeah. And he also brings up beer pairings. We haven't done a beer pairing in quite some time.
Bam Bam:That's true.
Gizmo:So I'm not I don't reach for beer a lot. Honestly, the only beer I reach for is the athletic non alcoholic when I
Senator:want Honestly, something beers that pair really well with cigars, it's a lot of Belgian beer.
Bam Bam:Not burger? Chemay.
Senator:Yeah. Chemay. There's a lot. I mean, a lot.
Gizmo:Nice. I will tell you, when I go to my dad's compound in PA, he has Yangling on tap.
Bam Bam:Wow. That's nice.
Senator:It's a great Belgian beer.
Gizmo:He has a half. I know it's not no.
Pagoda:I know it's not Belgian.
Gizmo:It's Chinese. I
Rooster:know. Yangling.
Bam Bam:No. I love that beer. It's great.
Gizmo:Let me tell you something. With cigars Yeah. It's the greatest.
Senator:No. I do love Yangling.
Gizmo:Fresh off the tap. Yeah, man. Oh my god. Was a half beer.
Bam Bam:Ice cold.
Gizmo:He's like a kegerator.
Bam Bam:Oh, it's the best.
Gizmo:He used to drink Lounge brauch. You guys ever hear that? German beer? Yeah. Yeah.
Gizmo:So he couldn't get it anymore. He he's been depressed for like fifteen, twenty years on that, But he went to Yangling after that.
Chef Ricky:He probably liked Grosh too or something on the pop cap. Had like a little Unique bottle.
Bam Bam:The green bottle.
Pagoda:From time to time.
Chef Ricky:Never had? Had a nice little stopper on
Gizmo:the top. Mhmm. Let's go to another one now. This one is again from Lizard Enrique. I forgot about this one.
Gizmo:It says, hello, Lizards. I have two quick questions for senator and Gizmo. In episode 246, a Lizard audience member emailed asking for advice on catching tasting notes when you are a novice. You weren't here that day. The advice range from repetition to taking notes.
Gizmo:Interestingly, Gizmo states that smoking with others helps him understand what flavor he is getting, specifically citing the palates of chef and bam as having discerning palates, end quote.
Bam Bam:Why is that funny?
Gizmo:To some degree, senator.
Bam Bam:To some degree.
Senator:Alright. Giz, you're
Bam Bam:out. Oh, yeah.
Gizmo:He's a king shit stirrer, this guy. Oh, boy. Lizard Enrique. My question is for senator. Do you agree with Gizmo, the FOH man of the year, the fam and chef have the most discerning palates, and your palate is only discerning to some degree?
Gizmo:True lizards will remember that in episode 202, the Padron nineteen sixty four anniversary torpedo Maduro episode, senator challenges chef to a test of the palates. My question for Gizmo. What do you think happened to senator's palate since that episode? Cheers, Lizard Enrique.
Pagoda:Well, he clearly does not retrohale.
Rooster:He's starring the pot.
Pagoda:No. I'm just kidding.
Bam Bam:That's correct.
Gizmo:By the way, his recall of the things we say is unparalleled, this guy.
Pagoda:Oh, yeah. Well, he probably takes now to
Senator:be repenting gonna take the bait. My palate speaks for itself. I'm not gonna take the bait.
Gizmo:I don't remember saying to some degree.
Bam Bam:You said that?
Gizmo:I guess I did.
Bam Bam:Alright. Remember.
Gizmo:I said you guys, and I said to some degree senator, apparently.
Pagoda:Well, I didn't listen to that episode, but I'll remember that.
Bam Bam:It's called it's called Inside Baseball, folks. Alright,
Gizmo:boys. Let's go to another one now. This one is interesting from Lizard Steve. He says, with love and admiration from South Alabama. Bam Bam Zone.
Gizmo:And there's a logo he's created called the Bam Bam Zone. That's cool. And there's a voice memo attached. Let's see.
Bam Bam:Oh, boy.
THE BAM BAM ZONE:Submitted for your approval. Imagine, if you will, a place that exists just beyond the edge of reason, a cigar lounge where every day is a vacation, every Cuban maraca, every new world offering, limited editions, even long discontinued selections resting at the perfect humidity. Every one of Bam Bam's favorites.
Senator:Correct. The seating is ideal.
THE BAM BAM ZONE:Every chair has a beautiful patina and comes with a view. Every cigar priced well below suggested retail. Every single one.
Bam Bam:Well below reason.
THE BAM BAM ZONE:No accountability hour, no PTSD, and no storage issues.
Pagoda:Correct. Again.
Rooster:Think of
THE BAM BAM ZONE:it as if Rob Ayala and Costco had a love child. There is, however, a dress code, a small matter of lounge attire, flip flops are required. And so, one old boy remains forever outside. Not because the humidor lacks selection, not because vintage spirits aren't poured freely without one chip of ice, not because conversations somehow don't suffer in his absence, but because he simply cannot bring himself to bear his feet amongst other men.
Senator:Ladies and gentlemen,
THE BAM BAM ZONE:you've just entered the Bam Bam Zone.
Pagoda:Love it. Love it. I let
Gizmo:me tell you.
Bam Bam:Right on the money.
Gizmo:When I heard that, brilliant. That
Pagoda:is that's a spin
Bam Bam:off podcast in and of itself.
Senator:That's another nomination for Lizard of the
Chef Ricky:Year. Correct.
Gizmo:Lizard Steve, he says, Idiav, with love and admiration from Lizard Alabama, Lizard Steve and Lizard Chase. Both of those guys have won Lizard of the Week in the past. Don't forget, this is the father son duo. They listen to the podcast independently and then get together and talk about it. They're big fans, and I thought that was awesome.
Bam Bam:Please send me that logo. I
Gizmo:will. I send
Bam Bam:it to my marketing team.
Gizmo:All right, boys, we've come to the end of the second third now on the La Flor Dominicana thirty years paired with the Glendronach fifteen years revival. Sherry cask matured single malt scotch whiskey. What's everybody thinking of the cigar, the whiskey, the pairing? What's your experience like right now?
Bam Bam:So I have a question for Rooster. Has this ramped up in body? Has it punched you in the face? Has it gotten bitter?
Rooster:It hasn't.
Bam Bam:It's incredible, isn't it?
Rooster:It has not. Yeah, mean, it's still good. It's still very smooth and refined and balanced. It has not picked up in strength like the other, especially the Double Ligero Chisel. It's very good.
Bam Bam:I love this cigar. I can't say anything negative. Even the ash for me, it hasn't been flaky like you've all experienced. I'm really loving it.
Chef Ricky:Ash and Berlin are all over the place for me. That's true.
Gizmo:I've had to touch up pretty much every time I read an email, when I come back to the cigar, I kinda have to if it's like
Senator:Oh, two believe me. Or whatever If you weren't reading emails, you'd be coming back and touching it.
Bam Bam:How's your flavor profiles
Gizmo:though? Fantastic, man. I love the cigar.
Senator:Great. The flavor's outstanding. I'm at war with this cigar construction wise. It is excruciating.
Gizmo:Do you remember, let me ask you this, do you remember a cigar, and I'll start with Senator, but everybody, but do you remember a cigar that was so flavorful and good, yet was so punishing from a construction standpoint? I can't remember that existing to this degree.
Senator:Oh, Not to this degree, but it's happened before. There have at least been one, if not two other cigars where I do remember, like, I'm loving everything about this cigar, and I'm saying the only frustrating part of the experience is just the construction. It's definitely happened before. I just with this, it's so acute because I don't recall the flavor being as outstanding as this is and me still having this level of frustration construction wise. So my frustration is just infinitely higher because I want to say this is like so perfect and construction is really, really taking away from my experience right now.
Bam Bam:What kind of flavors are you getting right now?
Chef Ricky:I'm getting a little clove. The retro for me has gotten spicier.
Bam Bam:Really?
Chef Ricky:Yeah. Especially on the end. But it's still bready for
Gizmo:me. The retro is still bready. Definitely.
Chef Ricky:It's still controlled spice.
Gizmo:It's not bad.
Chef Ricky:Yeah. But it's now changed from like a pepper notes to clove, maybe some nutmeg. It's gone a
Gizmo:little more spicy. It's almost like a more baking spice.
Bam Bam:Baking spice, for me a little prune, I'm getting kind of a prune type thing, and it's bready on the retro and the traditional draw.
Rooster:And I think that cocoa has become a little bit more espresso. It's like a deeper, darker chocolate note that you're I
Bam Bam:think that
Chef Ricky:has something to do with more of the spice coming through.
Bam Bam:I think that's actually very accurate.
Senator:I think the espresso note is spot on. So the funny thing is at this point in the cigar, the head of the cigar has enough moisture that I've you can easily mold this into like a traditional torpedo.
Chef Ricky:Yeah.
Senator:And I'm just gonna say I'm I'm actually now out on the chisel shape. I think this is a torpedo.
Bam Bam:Thank you.
Senator:Or a bellicose, so it's perfect.
Gizmo:Yeah. Actually, mine has gone to like a torpedo.
Bam Bam:Yeah. Thank you. Correct.
Senator:This is even better. I'm getting the smoke output is better with it like this. Mhmm. It just feels better in the mouth. I I
Gizmo:Listen. They just renewed the
Chef Ricky:patent, dude.
Bam Bam:But I have to say though
Gizmo:Ten more years.
Bam Bam:Earlier, that cooling effect was real.
Gizmo:Maybe it helped in the first two thirds.
Bam Bam:It did, and it dissipated. It definitely is gone in the final third.
Gizmo:But I think the reason why is I think the moisture, just the saliva from
Bam Bam:Of course.
Gizmo:We're drawing it now an hour forty minutes.
Senator:Yeah. My smoke out of the fridge. Literally double though. Oh, this is open.
Bam Bam:I'm telling you. I don't disagree. Pagoda.
Gizmo:Pagoda, how's your experience?
Pagoda:For me, I think
Bam Bam:Are you?
Pagoda:The flu valve just dropped. So I just wanna give it a few more puffs. But, you know, how I was getting the whole pleasant feeling, like, in the palate? That's kind of tape it off completely. I don't know
Rooster:that smoking too fast.
Pagoda:Know. Come on. It's an hour and forty minutes already. How fast could I be smoking?
Rooster:Mean, to all
Pagoda:of us, you're you're right. No.
Senator:It's true.
Bam Bam:You're you're just you're barely at the final third. Look at you.
Chef Ricky:There's a possibility that your palate could be heating up and slightly numbing, you're getting less flavor. That's possible.
Bam Bam:What are you getting right now?
Chef Ricky:I said I was getting the clove, getting some nutmeg, dark baking spice, which I think very
Gizmo:Espresso, appropriate dark
Bam Bam:chocolate, and for me, a touch of prune, that little bitterness but in a good way. I love prunes. Kind of getting that of a deep raisiny prune thing happening. I think it's still excellent.
Gizmo:I do too. I'm enjoying it. I actually think it's picked up a little bit for me, And I think that's good because I think the journey has taken us on from the first light has been interesting. I think the flavor notes, I think espresso is perfect. Dark chocolate.
Gizmo:The dark chocolate espresso, the bready note through the retro.
Bam Bam:That's still there.
Gizmo:A little bit of spice. I think it's very, very pleasant. The smell at the burn line's great. The only problem, as we've discussed, is the construction. So again, I'm curious.
Gizmo:I remain curious about how that's going affect our rating tonight. So I'm curious what's going happen there.
Chef Ricky:What I will say is when you get cigars that need so much touching up, I get nervous about how the flavor is shifting, if you're going to get more charred notes, carbon, heat, and it's not really happening with a cigar. I think it's a substantial enough ring gauge where it could take a little heat without affecting the flavor negatively. Thank God because it needs it.
Gizmo:But I just wish that the wrapper was in line with the filler. Yeah. I mean, it's just
Chef Ricky:Mhmm. It's frustrating.
Gizmo:The fact that BAM for about an hour had a bridge of about an inch and a half of of wrapper holding up the ash. Yeah. While the rest of us were flaking all over ourselves. I mean, it's
Bam Bam:just strange.
Gizmo:It's a weird construction thing.
Chef Ricky:What sucks about the experiences is let's say, you know, you drop the 1,800 for a humidor, and as delicious as this cigar is, you might hesitate in picking it up because it's a chore to smoke.
Gizmo:Especially when yeah, you're picking up a $30 cigar win. Celebratory moments. Exactly. Holidays, New Years.
Chef Ricky:Yep. You know? And you want an easy smoke. You want something where you could relax and this makes you work a bit.
Gizmo:Alright, boys. Let's go on now to some other email. Let's go to Cuba for a second. We got two on Cuba I wanna talk about. First up from our friend Johnny O.
Gizmo:He says, Giz, listen to your most recent podcast on Cuba. It's an interesting take. So I think it was talking about what we thought might happen and planting and infrastructure, all those conversations. It says, interesting take. I always like to hear all points of view.
Gizmo:Not sure if your friends down there have informed you on the gas situation. For about five months or so, the Cupid, c u p e t gas station for the rental cars, which is right over where we stay, sold only 20 liters daily to cars with rental plates. Most had to park their cars overnight in the line or pay someone to $10 to get in line for you. So you rent a car and you have to pay someone to go get gas for you. The business was so lucrative, the Cubans were renting a car for a month and going from gas station to station and then selling it on the open market for $8 plus per liter.
Gizmo:That gas station has now stopped serving fuel. No explanation. I have a generator, so I have to buy gas. I bought it in March at $8.29 a liter. A month later, 7, then 6, then 5.
Gizmo:And now I found a licensed agency that is selling it at $3.80 a liter. They should have run out of gas by now. And if they had any from that March Russian shipment, it should be at a higher rate. My guess is that they are bringing it in using ISO tanks, which can be 1,000 to 10,000 gallons and fit inside a shipping container. The 1,000 gallon ones are stackable.
Gizmo:This way, they can be brought in with the rice and beans that are, quote unquote, donations. A more expensive way to get fuel, but it keeps the machinery running. In Playa, they are playing with the on off switch. I was there for a forty eight hour blackout, but lately, it's two hours on, four off, three on, two off, etcetera. Further out of Havana in areas like La Lisa, which is 10 miles from Havana, it's two hours a day, and that's it.
Gizmo:Wow. So two hours on, 22 off. The real countryside, they might get it every six to seven days, couple of hours. So think about it. Outside of Havana, in the countryside, we're talking, you know, East Of Havana on that island, They're getting two hours of power a week.
Gizmo:That's insane. Some have no water for weeks. Of course. I stopped eating at restaurants in March and take everything down I need to for meals. He's obviously going from Florida to see his family.
Gizmo:It's just too worrisome what you're going to get served. I am sending down another big bigger 10,000 watt generator that runs on natural gas. Most of Central Havana has it piped in, but it's limited to about seven miles from the center of the city. Playa has natural gas as well, and it's basically free every month. There is a new twist in making me a seasoned backwoods camper.
Gizmo:John. Wow. So I appreciate that real and raw update from what's actually happening in Havana. Obviously, John is going there quite a bit to see his family, but it's just it's just a crazy situation. And now, boys, it's time to go to our lizard of the week presented by our friends at Bond Roberts.
Gizmo:And our lizard of the week this week is Lizard Carlos. And this is a little bit of a tone change for our normal lizard of the week, but I think that this is an important email here from our friend Lizard Carlos, who's gonna win a 10 count box of cigars from our friends at Bond Roberts. And he writes, hope you are doing well. You have no idea how big a part of my life and of my monthly budget, the Lounge Lizards podcast has become. Lately, I have nonetheless felt uncomfortable in regards to the treatment of the Cuba political and humanitarian crisis topic on the podcast.
Gizmo:It is evident that Cuba is going through a significant energy and quality of life crisis. It's also clear that this situation is not new, but a consequence of decades of failed management, failed politics, and systemic corruption. Up until this point, we have a basis for agreement. Where I start having uneasiness is with the failure of the podcast to mention or acknowledge the role and influence that The US embargo has had on the Cuban economy and the Cuban human rights crisis. It can be argued that the longevity of the current regime is in a large part because of the embargo.
Gizmo:At present, a main cause of the current energy crisis is the tariff threat made by the US administration on any country that assists Cuba with oil or other nonfood resources. It is facetious to be critical of a situation created by our own government with policies aimed with the full intention of causing the current damage. Another recent pain point for me was the levity with which the podcast addressed the topic of sovereignty of the Cuban people. The USA nor a consortium of countries, quote, unquote, should have the power to take over the government of Cuba and control its industry or resources in the name of the Cuban people. Cubans have a high degree of education, and with the removal of embargoes and granting of financial support by the international communities, have the ability to govern themselves.
Gizmo:The world should learn from its past history of failed colonialism and misguided manifest destiny strategies. The Lounge Lizards podcast is extremely important to me and to a lot of people. The content, camaraderie, and example that you all provide is loved and needed in today's world. My two cents is that the political opinions and comments do not add to the quality of the podcast and maybe create noise and discomfort to a segment of your loving audience. Lizard Carlos.
Chef Ricky:My two cents.
Bam Bam:There you go. So Let me just take a deep breath.
Gizmo:You just did. You heard it. So here's what I will say. You know, my feeling on this is informed by my friends in Cuba. And my friends in Cuba have been there for a long time.
Gizmo:We communicate as much as we can. And I think that a lot of the commentary I get from them is that they are hoping for some sort of change or intervention. So I've not felt uncomfortable in commenting on that simply, number one, on the basis that it has been commented a lot from a lot of different people in our government and others that there might be something happening here. But Cuba needs something to happen. Now, are we going to sit here and say that The US is not involved in the responsibility of what's happened in Cuba?
Gizmo:Absolutely. But the acute nature of the chaos that is happening now, I don't think our commentary has been off on that. Agree. What do you guys think?
Bam Bam:I don't disagree with you.
Senator:I don't think he's taking issue with our commentary on what's happening there.
Gizmo:It's the lack of No. No. He's saying it's the lack of us pointing our finger at the US government.
Bam Bam:What he's saying is
Senator:That's one. But he feels
Bam Bam:that we believe that they can't govern themselves.
Senator:Correct. He's talking about That's a different point. Conversations where and even for me, like, I have mentioned this when this discussion has come up. Like, there's been almost this implicit assumption among some of this group that like, well, The US is just gonna take over Cuba at some point. I mean, clearly, are a disaster there.
Senator:And I mentioned before my favorite moments when you land in Havana and usually someone's arranged for like a, you know, taxi or something to pick me up, bring me to the place we're staying at. And I always talk to the taxi driver and Without me prompting it at all, very political discussions have come up and I'm always surprised that I will hear things like, what's happening clearly isn't working, but we don't want to move to a capitalist system like The US. Yep. As much as they love America, we don't want to be The US. What we're doing isn't working, and they kind of want some hybrid, and I hear that consistently from Cuban nationals that are there.
Senator:And I think that's where this listener is coming from in the sense that we don't want someone else coming in here and governing our country in a way that is inconsistent with what they're comfortable with, and with their own people being responsible for self governance and determining their future. And I think that's perfectly legitimate. And even if I personally, you know, think that socialism is a failed experiment in places like that, they don't want to move to a fully capitalist system. So I just think it is legitimate critique because I've even, amongst this group, brought up like, look, our own personal opinions aside, like, I know from talking to people there, they don't want any capitalist government coming in and ruling or even setting up a government in that that mold. So I do think it is legitimate, entirely what he is saying, and I do think it's it's it's ideal that like Cuba governs itself.
Senator:I mean, I think history, exactly as he's pointing out, has shown like, you know, The United States intervening in countries and thinking like, we're just gonna completely turn a new page and a new leaf for this country, and everything's gonna be rosy. Even we talked about the Cuba thing, was like, oh, well if The US just came in, all these great things would happen. It's like, no, it would never be that simple. So I take everything this listener has said to heart. I think it is perfectly fair and legitimate.
Senator:And I think what we've gotten right, unquestionably, I don't think he said anything inconsistent with that, is us pointing out the realities of the situation they face. But as far as the solutions, I think what we may be comfortable with is not necessarily what Cubans may be comfortable with that are there, and even different from what Cuban Americans who are here, you know, think And they work I think that's perfectly fair.
Bam Bam:I think that I totally agree with everything you said, but Cuba right now is run by a very small group of people that care about their self interests more than the health and well-being of the country and the government and economy. So, you have that scenario, that's the element that needs to be removed. They can't argue with that. That small group has ruined the country. I don't think anyone's talking about taking over.
Bam Bam:Yeah, we've joked about it. But once that small group is either either come down to earth and they realize what they've done or they have to leave. When they leave, great, govern yourselves, but you can't do that. No one in Cuba right now is self governing. This small group is controlling the country, and that's a problem.
Gizmo:And it's been sixty or seventy years.
Rooster:It's a problem. Cuban people have a lot of pride
Gizmo:and resilience.
Bam Bam:They've had to become resilient because of this small group of people that are ruling the country for their own benefit.
Rooster:Right. So if the current regime is removed somehow, or they lose power, it's going to create a vacuum in that country, And that might make it worse.
Bam Bam:Well, if what he's saying is correct, that let's say we remove that small group, they can possibly form some democracy of some kind, where it becomes more of a fair government.
Gizmo:And I also think too, from The US side, I think once that group were to leave, my assumption is that the embargo component is probably going to be lifted.
Bam Bam:Yeah. We're not arguing that there aren't
Gizmo:Maybe not wholly, but it's gonna, in part, at least
Bam Bam:But has anyone in this room ever said that there aren't intelligent people that are very well educated, that aren't capable of running the country?
Gizmo:No. No, but I think Senator makes a great point, and I think his comment does too, that we've been a little flippant.
Bam Bam:I know.
Gizmo:In the way that we've talked about US or other countries, or a consortium, as he's quoted here, coming in and just fixing everything.
Bam Bam:But also, quite honestly, we haven't really talked about it seriously. It's always embedded in jest.
Gizmo:Yeah. And I mean, you know, shining a light on this is just because I think, you know, from a Cuban cigar component, which obviously has been a very important part of this podcast for five years almost, You know, we like to shine a light on this because nobody else in this space, in this Cuban cigar world, is doing this.
Bam Bam:That's
Gizmo:true. Everybody else is afraid to talk about this stuff. And we're not a political podcast, but it is important to us in the context of the people that we've met there, that we've become friends with, that we love, who just happen to be in the cigar community over in Havana, in Cuba. We really care about those people, and we want the best for them. So that is our intention.
Gizmo:And we get it wrong sometimes, sure. Like you said, Senator, I think what Wizard Carlos has said here is very fair, and that's why I read this email. This is not an email that's you know, this is not a fun, happy, laughing conversation, but I
Rooster:think it's important. I mean, our love for the country and for the people beyond the cigars.
Gizmo:Correct.
Rooster:But what The US is doing by choking and not supplying the gas or petroleum that they need for their survival, that's bothersome to me.
Gizmo:Oh, it is. It's for all
Senator:of I'll just say this, though, and this is where it cuts both ways. There are no easy answers to any components of this. So The United States has one option, is to provide all these things to the Cuban government, and what that does is it's gonna perpetuate exactly what's been happening for decades. And that small group of people enriches themselves, they give the Cuban people just enough to barely survive A fraction. And nothing changes.
Bam Bam:Right.
Senator:The alternative is what the government's been trying to do, which is like, sure, to choke and stranglehold this government to the point that like things get so untenable for them that somehow the people actually run them out of office. And the problem is like Cuba, the government there has such a stranglehold on the people, the people have no arms, no meaningful way to resist, and No food. No food. I mean, it's awful. And so there's no perfect solution.
Senator:No. Either way you go, you either enable an awful regime that is enriching itself at the expense of its people, you choke the regime, and the people are suffering even more, there is no perfect solution. And even in getting rid of the regime, and this is where I think like we've been a little potentially naive in suggesting, well, once you get rid of the Castro regime and Diaz Canel, who's obviously leading the country, everything just must get better. It's like if you look at history, right? Castro came to power with the whole premise of the government's not working for the people, I will provide for the people, and look at what that did for them.
Senator:It didn't work. And so the same notion applies here, like, okay, great, you get rid of these guys who clearly are no good for these people, but there's no telling who the next standard bearer of that government will become.
Bam Bam:That's also And
Senator:will they be any better?
Bam Bam:That's
Senator:also Will they become corrupted by power and realize like, wow, I can enrich myself to such an outrageous degree in this position, like, we just don't know. But what history does show is that when there is a power vacuum and you get rid of a bad regime, usually what comes next is not just sunshine and No.
Bam Bam:That's It's
Senator:usually more of the same, if not even worse, and so that's why, like, there's no silver bullet, there's no perfect answer. Mhmm. There's just a hope and a prayer that what would come next ends up being better, and that's why this whole thing is so complicated.
Bam Bam:That's right. And it has caused the youth of Cuba to flee.
Rooster:At least the things were better two years ago than they are now.
Senator:We've talked about this. You ask any Cuban there also, when were things much better here? And they all say the Obama years. Of course. And it wasn't that the embargo was lifted, it was that we eased certain things, we allowed more free travel to Cuba And trade.
Senator:And trade, and that helped their tourism economy, it helped the Cuban people get more, even more of a taste of the freedoms that we enjoy here, and you just have to hope that when that kind of thing happens, that somehow, someway, these incredibly resilient people will find a way to someday rise up against their own government.
Bam Bam:So that's the key.
Senator:I'd far rather that than us forcibly remove the current regime, and then there's a true power vacuum, and we think we've installed the right government to lead, and it's gonna be more of the same shit that screws
Pagoda:the cubes.
Gizmo:Tourism is
Bam Bam:the backbone. The rising above when that opportunity is there, that is the ultimate key, the ultimate scenario, because you're hoping that the individuals that do rise will be very democratic and very fair and professionals. And they're there. I don't think we've ever said that they don't exist in Cuba.
Gizmo:We No. We've listen. I I think Lizard Carlos would agree with this statement. We've always been incredibly complimentary of the Cuban people. I mean, Havana is my favorite place to go, not because of the cigars, but because of the people.
Gizmo:I love Cuba. I love it. We love it. We've been there so many times. There's no question that they're intelligent, resilient, I mean, creative.
Gizmo:Mean, the stuff that they're able to come up with to improve their situation in the face of so much adversity is incredibly it's unbelievable. Yeah. They're able to do what they do. And, you know, again, to Lizard Carlos' point, to the conversation we've had tonight, I mean, I think he makes a great point here, and that's why I read it, and I'm glad we discussed it. And, you know, we'll keep this in mind in the future when we discuss these things.
Gizmo:We're not gonna stop discussing what's going on in Cuba. We're not a political podcast, but we'll keep this in mind moving forward with the way that we approach talking about change in Cuba and The United States involvement
Senator:in both ways. The complications. The only areas that I'm in any way pushing back on that listener is just for the same reasons that it's unfair to suggest that The United States going in is gonna solve all problems. It categorically is not. By the same token, the assumption that the next regime of the Cuban people will be infinitely better, that also is a question mark.
Senator:We don't know. And so that's why I just think it's important to recognize how incredibly fragile and complicated this is no matter what direction it takes. There is no guarantees either way.
Bam Bam:And while he's saying that, you have to think that there has to be some outside support to cultivate this more positive direction once
Gizmo:But you
Rooster:can't take out the current regime in Cuba without having some plan for the future. There's got to be something
Gizmo:now. This is
Bam Bam:what I'm saying. I would think that there needs to be some outside intervention from another country that can provide some support while this transition is taking place. You would think that would be a necessity.
Rooster:Or multiple countries.
Pagoda:We
Senator:could do that. Of course. It's said and done. Yeah. And also, like, the realities are, like, look, this is geopolitics.
Senator:It it needs to be a situation that is beneficial to The United States just in the same way it would be to other like, this is just how the world works, and this is why all this becomes so complicated. And
Bam Bam:you know I so, think the greatest benefit to The United States is to have a friendly neighbor, honestly.
Senator:For sure. And they're an island. We've talked about this. This is an island of people that very much is aligned with the spirit of the ideals of this country.
Bam Bam:Yep.
Gizmo:Very much so. Well said. Alright, boys. And again, congratulations to our lizard of the week, Lizard Carlos, with that great commentary on our conversations about Cuba. You mean the
Bam Bam:Bam Bam Twilight Zone isn't gonna get the lizard of the week?
Senator:No. That may be, as I said, lizard of
Gizmo:the Lizard of the year, maybe. Oh.
Rooster:Oh. You have no idea.
Gizmo:Correct. And our friend, Lizard Carlos, is gonna win a 10 count box of cigars from our friends at Bond Roberts. Alright, boys. We've come to the end of our evening now with the La Flor Dominicana thirty years and the Glendronach, 15 years age. Sherry Cask matured single malt scotch whiskey, the revival.
Gizmo:Send me your ratings. And I gotta tell you, I have really enjoyed this pairing tonight aside from the construction issues. I think that that is a common theme that's gonna come up in our ratings tonight. How has the scotch worked for you getting down to the end of the cigar? Not specific to the
Bam Bam:scotch, That's but a great question.
Gizmo:As it's gone down to the end of the cigar, how has it stood up for you?
Bam Bam:So, well, I ran out of booze.
Pagoda:Same here.
Gizmo:Send it
Bam Bam:back. For me, it
Chef Ricky:was he was in a week
Senator:in the yard. Literally. Rooster's week in the arbs after all
Pagoda:the Have they been drinking? By the way,
Gizmo:that's the second thing you've dropped tonight.
Chef Ricky:No. I know.
Gizmo:Yeah. So what's the answer on the scotch? How's it holding up as we've come to the end of the cigar? Not don't comment on the scotch. We're gonna do that in the ratings.
Gizmo:But as it's related to the cigar, how's it held up?
Bam Bam:I for me personally, I think the scotch has really supported the cigar because for me, the smoke has gotten a little dry. Just a touch dry for me where the entire cigar was so flavorful, that final inch, it became uninteresting and a little dry where I had to take a sip of this delicious booze and it's really helped
Rooster:to support the smoke. It has lost the sweetness. The flavor has kind of diminished a little It has definitely gotten a little bit drier. Correct.
Gizmo:Yeah. All right, boys. It's time now to move into the formal liquor rating tonight on the Glendronach, 15 years age, the Revival, Sherry Cask matured, single malt scotch whiskey, Bam Bam, you're up.
Bam Bam:As I'm pouring my final drink for the night For the night?
Senator:No. You're full of shit.
Bam Bam:I'm at a solid nine. Putting the price aside, I think it was delicious, exquisite, a little too sweet as I noted earlier for me. I'd love what it gives me on the finish. I don't think I've ever experienced this long, interesting finish. It almost has like an apple cider, like a warm cider, cinnamony baking spice thing that lingers for a long time and it's very honey like on the palate for me.
Bam Bam:I think it's very different, delicious, a touch too sweet. I'm on a strong nine.
Gizmo:Alright, chef.
Chef Ricky:I don't find it sweet at all. Think the balance is great. I love the way it fills my mouth. I love the way it's how creamy it is.
Bam Bam:A lot of good jokes
Senator:there. Pause
Chef Ricky:as they say, hey, yo, pause.
Bam Bam:Lizard, obey.
Chef Ricky:But no, this cost delivered on so many levels for me. It was very unique in its flavor. I you know, it was it did lean somewhat sweet. It wasn't overly sweet for me, but I do appreciate the sweetness that it brought because I think with certain cigars that may have more spice, it pairs extremely well with them. But, you know, and also its butteriness and its creaminess, it just does a lot for the palate when you're smoking either a deeply rich cigar or a cigar.
Chef Ricky:That's a very long experience like this one. I mean, I don't know where it's somewhere like two and a half hours in with this thing. Two ten to ten ish. Yeah. So, yeah, I love the pairing, I love the scotch.
Chef Ricky:Price point's a bit high, so I'd probably still reach for the Macallan on an everyday level, especially the 12. So for me it's a nine.
Pagoda:Alright, Pagoda. It's a nine for me as well. So initially when I had the scotch, I thought it was very light, sweet, more like I thought it was even it was very pleasant though. There was something very good about it, but on the sweeter, I was getting a lot of the sweeter notes. Now over a period of time when my palate adjusted and I let the scotch linger a bit, like, in my palate for some time, that's when I really, really enjoyed it towards the back of my palate.
Pagoda:It did become, in fact, I did feel a little bit of the cocoa. You know, when it's warm and it's lingering in your palate and then towards the back when it's going into, it really, really became very, very nice. So I could see, like, I think it's really interesting that if you take a faster sip, it tastes slightly different. And if you just let it, you know
Bam Bam:No gulping.
Pagoda:No, but you know, just a faster sip. It's not about gulping. It's about just sometimes you take a sip, you know, and it's just a bit quicker. Sometimes you just let it linger and you're It's
Bam Bam:called a gulp.
Gizmo:That's gulping. Yeah.
Pagoda:Either way, meaning, like for me, thank you for teaching me how to drink. Will take your notes.
Senator:The medicines are coming.
Pagoda:Hey, can you add that on the Bam Bam?
Gizmo:I will, yeah.
Pagoda:Put that in there.
Bam Bam:It's already there.
Pagoda:And and this is North Korea Lounge again. We have a new leader in town. Yeah. No. But having said that, a very, pleasant experience.
Pagoda:Yeah. The price is a bit high, so I was thinking, is it something that I'm gonna go and pursue? I'm not sure, but I wouldn't mind having a bottle of this at my house, but it's not something which would enter like my daily or weekly rotation. But definitely, you know, once in a while when you are looking for some kind of a change, it's actually very delicious when you let it linger and just, you know, it's like when you savor things, sometimes they bring about the true experience and hence a nine.
Gizmo:So it's also a nine for me. I really loved how long the finish lasted. Even as I was talking, after I took a sip, if I'm reading an email, I come to the end of that email and I can still taste the scotch in my mouth. I think pairing this with this cigar tonight, I think it's an excellent pairing. I think it did elevate the evening for us.
Gizmo:Not the cigar so much. I think the cigar stood on its own, but I think that this did elevate the evening. I think at a fifteen year age statement, the price compared to a lot of the other stuff that we've talked about or reviewed on this podcast in fifteen years, it's certainly a little bit more reasonably priced.
Bam Bam:Yeah.
Gizmo:I love the flavor profile. I know you guys talked a lot about honey tonight. I didn't get that from this, thankfully. I was very, very happy with this. I think it's an excellent, excellent scotch.
Gizmo:So for me, it's a nine. Senator.
Senator:Well, I'm gonna start by saying the lizard who questioned my palate, let the ratings reflect
Gizmo:Was that me?
Senator:Yeah. Let the ratings reflect that the pairing scored very well. I suggested this spirit. Correct. I'm thrilled with this spirit.
Senator:We have tried so many single malts. That's why today I spent a silly amount of time just trying to find some new stuff that we haven't had that should do well. And this is you
Pagoda:know,
Senator:the funny thing, there's the Macallan comparisons because Macallan in many ways is like the gold standard for like a sweeter, fuller single malt. This stands completely on its own. Like, doesn't even need a Macallan comparison. This is so complex by itself. The flavor notes are awesome.
Senator:It is substantial and viscous, but never heavy, never overpowering. I mean, this is what, 46%?
Gizmo:Yeah.
Senator:You don't even feel like you're drinking we're all drinking this neat. Pagoda has not once even asked for ice or mentioned ice in this recording. At 46%, like, that's a huge testament to how refined this spirit is. The funny thing is, like, for the honey and the sweeter notes that we're talking about and, like, that butteriness that this has. There's even, like, a little bit of apple, I think, like, Bam might have mentioned that I And also the cocoa on the finish is really cool for me because that's the only part that I think there is a Macallan comparison truly of any single malt.
Senator:The only one I get cocoa is Macallan 12 sherry on the finish. You get that here. I would absolutely drink this again. I think this would pair with the overwhelming majority of cigars that we smoke.
Bam Bam:Are we gonna get an unbridled enthusiasm reaction here?
Senator:It's a nine. It's a nine. Alright. And the only reason it's not the 10 is just the price point. Know, look, the reality is if this were $80, even $90, this would get a 10 for
Gizmo:me. Yeah. All
Bam Bam:of Yeah.
Senator:Yeah. Yeah. At that price point, absolute perfection. But at a $120 price point, I mean, I would pick up Macallan 15, which is what, maybe a 150, so we're talking $30 more.
Bam Bam:Mhmm.
Senator:I do think that that is a superior spirit to this.
Bam Bam:Correct.
Senator:But this is excellent for what it is delivering. For all the single malts we've tried, it's gratifying to finally have found something else that holds its own among some of our favorite things that we really love in the single malt category. So I would love to try more from this distiller. I think they've done an excellent job. It's as strong of a nine.
Senator:Would happily drink this again. And the other thing I'll say, for bourbon drinkers, I actually think this is a great gateway into some of this, Scott.
Bam Bam:Yeah? It it so for me, because it leans sweeter, I can see that comparison
Rooster:for sure.
Senator:Leans sweeter.
Gizmo:And at 46, it's a little it's
Senator:got that little more oomph to it.
Bam Bam:That's correct.
Gizmo:It's a pleasant
Bam Bam:oomph. I'm saving a question for him. Is it a Macallan killer, however?
Senator:No. No. No way. Correct. It's not.
Senator:That's correct. It's good
Gizmo:or it's not that good?
Bam Bam:That's correct.
Senator:Yeah. If it were at a lower price point, it could be. So if this were $80, the funny thing is The
Gizmo:15 at 80 would be would be as tough as Unbelievable.
Senator:That that's
Pagoda:just what?
Bam Bam:The lip smack. You know, that's mine.
Gizmo:Right? Unintentional. I'd be curious You're curious on me.
Senator:I'd be curious to try their twelve year, and I don't know the price point, but if it's less than Macallan 12 and it delivers anything close to this, that could be. I'm not
Bam Bam:the list. Interesting.
Senator:Yeah. We ought to try it, but the funny thing is with Macallan 12, I think we mostly drink that with at least a chip of ice.
Gizmo:Mhmm.
Senator:I do think neat it it's got a bit of a punch. This neat is far more refined. So, you know, who knows? We should try some of their other expressions, but outstanding spirit.
Gizmo:Yeah. Alright, boys. This is an easy one. The formal liquor rating tonight on the Glendronach, 15 years age. The Revival single malt scotch whiskey is a 9.0.
Gizmo:Very good. 90 tonight on the pod. And now it's time to move into the formal lizard rating on the La Flor Dominicana. Thirty years. Rusty, you're up.
Rooster:This cigar actually really surprised me. I mean, comparing it to what I've had in the past, the LFDs, this was a much different experience, much pleasant experience, much refined, much more balanced experience. The cigar started off, I think, at a solid 10 for most of us. Had it not been a minor construction issue well, not minor. I would major say construction issue.
Rooster:The ash did not hold that well. The tobacco, the binder, and the filler was actually burning faster than the wrapper was. But on the flavor side, I mean, was fantastic till the last, I would say, about an inch or inch and a half. Most of the cigar is a 10. But because of the construction issue before, because of the ash falling off and multiple relights, and the last third just kind of fizzled off, I might have had mine.
Rooster:But the flavor, I mean, the cocoa that became like an espresso towards the end, the cigar was creamy, it had some baking spice. It was a fantastic smoke. It's an exemplary Dominican cigar, and I think LFD has really done a great job with this. Even at a $30 price point, this is a rather large format.
Bam Bam:It's satisfying.
Rooster:And it gives you that satisfaction. I wouldn't dare buying a whole box of this. You don't want to spend $2 on a 60 But definitely
Gizmo:60 cap.
Pagoda:I thought you did that tonight.
Rooster:But it's a great cigar. I think it was a great experience and LFD's back on the chart for me, and I definitely will pursue this cigar.
Gizmo:Interesting. I'm at a solid nine. Wow. Alright. Senator.
Senator:This is one of my most frustrating and sad moments.
Bam Bam:Oh, boy.
Senator:And I say that because
Bam Bam:Do want
Gizmo:to put the miles back on?
Senator:We may need it. No. I say that because truly the flavor, two thirds plus the way through was so outstanding. I could have no issue with a 10 or a nine on this cigar. Brewster said this put LFD on the map for him.
Senator:Like, it absolutely did that for me from a flavor perspective. My construction issues, it was the whole way through. And that's where for me I was already at a nine even if the flavor held like this was one of the most challenging cigars to smoke. A cigar should not be a challenge to smoke through, it should be an effortless, enjoyable experience. The final third of this, the flavor definitely took a turn.
Senator:It got too dry. Yep. Way too dry.
Gizmo:I was too reliant on the whiskey The whiskey. In the last
Bam Bam:third. Correct.
Senator:I mean, if I didn't have this single malt, my level of frustration would be through the roof. My level of frustration was high just because, you know, your mouth is dry, you're not getting any sweetness, the balance is off. That shouldn't happen. A cigar also at a 30 plus dollar price point should never have these kind of construction issues. We smoke $9 cigars that have flawless construction all the way through.
Senator:I can't possibly excuse the level of effort that I had to put in to get through this cigar construction wise. The other thing I'll say, the chisel shape, while I was very intrigued by it early on because of the cold delivery of smoke and the interesting kind of feel of it, by the end, once that I opened it to basically a standard bellicose or torpedo, I far prefer it that way. I actually think that this would burn and perform better.
Bam Bam:Better combustion.
Senator:Better combustion. It was literally twofold.
Gizmo:I don't think the wrapper burn is gonna change because of the mouth feel.
Senator:No, I do. I actually
Gizmo:I don't think so.
Bam Bam:I'll just say this. The combustion increased.
Senator:It increased a lot, and I
Gizmo:think that the wrapper No.
Senator:Let me be I very touching
Gizmo:it up the whole way through.
Senator:Let me be very clear. I agree with that, but I think that I'll just say this. When I was having tunneling issues with the cigar, the first two thirds of the way through, I'm drawing, and the only thing heating with the decent but mediocre smoke output I was getting was the tobacco inside the cigar. In the final third, once I had opened it up, I was able to create enough heat that the wrapper was actually catching.
Gizmo:You were just pulling more air through it.
Senator:Exactly. More air was coming through
Gizmo:more combustion.
Senator:Which was actually heating the exterior of the wrapper as much as it was the filler, and so it was easier to avoid tunneling that way. So for first, the construction issue, which is what bumped me to a nine, and then the final third not being nearly as satisfying as the first two thirds, I'm at an eight. I say that with such regret because this cigar could have been an easy nine and even potentially a 10. I hope because this blend, the flavor is so excellent at so for the vast majority of this cigar, they ought to rework this at some point. Either move this to another manufacturing facility, teach folks exactly how they need to roll this such that all of the tobacco burns at the same rate.
Gizmo:Change the wrapper.
Senator:Change the wrapper.
Bam Bam:Yeah.
Senator:Something needs to be adjusted because this could be a killer. I mean, a top tier cigar, and at 30, it it needs to be. You can't sell cigars at that price point and not deliver as close to perfection as possible. So for all those reasons, I'm at an eight. And that means, would I smoke one of these again to enjoy the flavor for most of this?
Senator:Yes. Would I ever pursue a box of this? Am I even ever
Gizmo:For 60 count? I love saying that. I'm sorry. It's so ludicrous.
Senator:I mean, it's crazy. $2. And am I ever even going to, in a celebratory moment, pursue this at a retailer, even a single? No. Because it's not gonna be the effortless experience that anyone's looking for to celebrate.
Senator:So I think it's worth anyone trying. The flavor is that good, but they've got to go back to the drawing board on the details to refine this the point that this should be, which would be an easy nine if not a 10.
Gizmo:Yeah. So I thought I might be the only one. Oh, boy. But I'm also an innate. Wow.
Gizmo:I there's a couple things here. Okay? For a $30 cigar, we talk about anniversaries. We do we smoke 10 cigars, sixty year cigars, fifty year cigars. This is their thirty year celebration.
Gizmo:This cigar should not be work. Outside of this podcast, I am not gonna reach for the cigar again, as you just said. I don't have any extras. I'm not gonna order anymore. So my rating in an eight is saying, yes, the flavor's really good, but I might never smoke this cigar again.
Gizmo:And it's because of two reasons. Number one, the effort required to keep this thing lit. I literally filled my lighter before I came into the episode tonight. It is half full. Two hours and twenty minutes later.
Gizmo:That is a problem. Yeah. When you're smoking a celebratory thirty year cigar, you should not have to touch your lighter after you light it.
Bam Bam:For $35.
Gizmo:Yeah. You shouldn't have to touch it. Mhmm. That's number one. Number two, I agree with senator.
Gizmo:This cigar never touched a 10 for me. It never even got close. It was a nine on flavor all day. But the amount of touch ups, the amount of work, the distraction it was for me, for all the stuff we discussed tonight, the emails and everything else, it, like, distracted me from what I was wanting to do tonight and needed to do. That is should not be the case for a $30 celebratory cigar.
Gizmo:So I honestly think and senator, you might or might not agree with me. I honestly think for how I feel about this, I think an eight is generous tonight. I almost could go down to a seven. What? Because it is so frustrating on the construction and everything else.
Gizmo:And it's why I was asking those questions earlier. How's the construction gonna affect it? But I went through half of the gas in my lighter tonight keeping this thing lit. That's a problem.
Bam Bam:Yeah.
Gizmo:Very good flavor. I think the last third, as senator noted, I won't rehash that, but the last third definitely fell off. The first two thirds were the highlight. I thought the chisel was interesting. First time I've ever smoked it.
Gizmo:The size was massive. There was a lot of flavor there for a big cigar, which doesn't happen a lot. All in all, a a really good cigar, but it wasn't great. And certainly with the construction issues, it's unacceptable for me at this price point for this kind of cigar. So for me, it's an eight.
Gizmo:Pagoda.
Bam Bam:I think we should just go home now.
Gizmo:We have three more ratings, baby. Alright.
Pagoda:Yeah. For me, it's a nine. You know, unlike you, Giz, for me it was running at a strong 10 all the way through, You up to the end of the second, third,
Gizmo:were at 10 level. Yeah. I didn't get there.
Pagoda:I didn't, so firstly, I didn't have a lot of touch up issues. I touched it maybe once.
Bam Bam:Well, do have ash in Yeah. Your
Senator:I mean, there is that, but he's
Bam Bam:There's some ash on the pants.
Senator:His was, construction wise, performing way better than most of ours in the room. Was looking at his cigar like envying that he wasn't having to relight a fraction as much as I was or most of us were.
Chef Ricky:You think it was a storage issue?
Gizmo:Yeah. I put his cigar separate from the other five in Somewhere the special. Yeah. Yeah. His was special.
Pagoda:I was just smoking at the right pace. That's alright. I was just smoking at the
Gizmo:right Didn't we criticize him for smoking too fast? Just wanna say.
Bam Bam:Well, he's special.
Pagoda:But at that point in time, but you know, I did say the last third for me took a huge drop. Yeah. And I think that's why I brought it down to a nine. But overall, I'll tell you, from the cold draw, it left a very nice berry kind of flavor on my lips. It had a very, very pleasant palate profile.
Pagoda:I love that. You know, when you have a pleasant palate profile when you smoke a cigar, there's nothing better. Because, you know, you're really enjoying it and it's leaving that lingering taste. I said it wasn't dry at all, I was comparing it to drier cigars where the sweetness was carrying through, very, very good in terms of overall flavor profile. For me, the construction was pretty good in the sense that the smoke output was fantastic.
Pagoda:I was excited about smoking the chisel, you know. Just overall from a marketing perspective, I'm sure these guys had done this. Everything about the first two thirds of the cigar was great. I think it just dropped for me at the last third. And that's where, you know, I started to face a little bit of problem.
Pagoda:I touched it up again, relit it, and then, you know, the flavor just never did come back. In fact, I've still, you know, most of the last third left. So, you know, I dropped to the point for that and it's a strong nine for me. Chef.
Chef Ricky:While I think that Senator's and yours commentary was spot on, There were parts of the cigar and most of the cigar for me that were great. What I didn't experience, I didn't experience extreme dryness in the final third. I did get some, you know, it started the minerality started to come in a lot more. It did get a little earthy, but it wasn't it almost became like bitter cocoa, you know, almost like 100% chocolate versus a bittersweet or semi sweet chocolate that we had maybe earlier on. So for me, I just took it as part of the story, part of the progression of the cigar.
Chef Ricky:I'm still smoking it. I enjoyed it. I'm not going to spend $2 on a humidor for it. I won't light it as a celebratory cigar, but I would probably light one as just a 30 cigar that I'm gonna smoke knowing that it's gonna be
Gizmo:job. Like it's gonna When be you your lighter, you light this cigar.
Rooster:Gotta get this gas out of my lighter.
Chef Ricky:But I just think, you know, we haven't really done a lot of LFD's on this pod and the ones that we have done haven't done well. One did. I don't know. I think I was here for that one Yeah.
Bam Bam:Well, so far this is doing pretty good. But I
Chef Ricky:I think this cigar was better than any LFD we've done prior. And, you know, I for that for that reason, I'm giving it a nine. It paired great with the Scotch. It's given us almost three hours of smoke time. So even at $30, you know, 33, whatever it is, I mean, it's a great value.
Chef Ricky:You know, there's not many cigars that you could take down that's going to give you three hours of time with your buddies. Yeah, for me, it's a nine.
Gizmo:Alright, Pam.
Bam Bam:I thought the flavor profile was a 10. The flavor That's
Gizmo:interesting.
Bam Bam:Just the flavor itself.
Senator:Alright, great rating. Can go home now.
Bam Bam:Not correct. I didn't have the flakiness, and I know my bridge really did truly help me. I took that in almost two inches.
Gizmo:I've never heard someone give a cigar a higher rating because their wrapper didn't burn because it
Bam Bam:Well, I haven't rated it yet. Go ahead. You stay corrected. I love the flavor. I thought it performed fairly well.
Bam Bam:I didn't really touch up my cigar maybe twice, so I didn't have the flakiness.
Senator:Because you kept a bridge It's to hide up the
Gizmo:a two inch bridge.
Bam Bam:That's true. That's true. It shouldn't have to be that way, right? I really enjoyed it. I did note earlier that for me, very end of the final third was very dry, thank goodness for this spirit that we were drinking, but I'm at a strong nine.
Bam Bam:I think a nine is a very fair score. I think eight, I don't know. That's you guys had a tough time with your performance. That's tough on this cigar, but I completely agree with all of your commentary about not pursuing this cigar. I don't think it's worth chasing.
Bam Bam:It's too expensive, and it leaves a lingering memory of the experience, but it's just not worth pursuing.
Gizmo:So how do you give it a nine?
Bam Bam:I think a nine is very fair. It's not a perfect score. It's just a notch below. I think for me, the flavor profile won the night.
Pagoda:Hey, listen, for two thirds of the cigar, about an hour and a half, you definitely It was a bit more than
Bam Bam:two thirds because the beginning of the final third was actually still quite delicious. It's that final inch and a half of that final third, it was unmemorable.
Rooster:So you don't pursue anything that you rate 9?
Bam Bam:I would, but not for this price. Like Senator said earlier, we smoke sub $10 cigars that you have no problems with
Rooster:You have a box of Opus, Dubai.
Pagoda:So, boys
Senator:Here we go.
Bam Bam:I'm done.
Gizmo:Go home. The former lizard rating tonight on the La Florida Dominicana thirty years is an 8.6.
Bam Bam:Okay.
Gizmo:All right. So I have a quick question. Did you at any point, senator, you and I were both eights. Did you at any point during your smoke tonight get to a 10 on flavor?
Senator:No flavor.
Gizmo:So I did not. That's why I'm asking this because Pagoda mentioned it, chef I did. Rooster mentioned it.
Senator:I didn't get there. Yeah, but I just want be clear. I'm not as militant on this as you are. I mean, I think a seven is insane to even suggest. I totally wanna be very clear.
Senator:My rating, the first two thirds even as much as I wanted to throw the cigar against the wall construction wise was a nine. That's how good the flavor was that I was not even going to go to an eight despite this being one of the most frustrating cigars in terms of construction. The only reason I went to the eight was when I got to the final third, that the fact that this like incredible flavor I was gushing about for two thirds, that I was willing to completely overlook Mhmm. How awfully constructed it was, I was still there, and then the flavor just fell off. That's It got too dry, and I lost everything I love flavor wise, and that's when I had to go to the eight.
Senator:Okay. So that's what did it for me, but there was never a point that I've been entertained a seven, and I can totally see even when I was a firm nine, like, if my construction was perfect, could I maybe have been a 10? Absolutely, it's possible.
Bam Bam:Farewell to Kings.
Gizmo:Nice rush reference. That's correct. Alright, boys. Let's compare this to the other two La Flor de Minicana cigars we've done on this podcast. On episode 120, the Andalusian bowl scored a 6.8.
Gizmo:And on episode 207, the Cameroon cabinet number one scored a 9.2. Wow. Wow. Great rating. So this falls just under the Cameroon cabinet number one, six points below that, and very well above the Andalusian bowl.
Gizmo:I
Bam Bam:think I missed that Cameroon episode. Don't I think I was here for
Gizmo:the summer. You were here, and you rated it a 10.
Bam Bam:Was that Correct. Memory banks are working great.
Gizmo:Did you buy a box of those? No.
Pagoda:There 100 there were 100 in a
Senator:box. Yeah. It was
Pagoda:a double cab. Like a double Toro, Alright, double
Gizmo:boys. What a great night tonight. Come on. Yes. Two and a half hours
Bam Bam:It was special.
Gizmo:Of great conversation. You're special.
Rooster:Somebody else needs dementia meds.
Senator:Correct? Oh my god. Wow.
Bam Bam:That was great timing.
Pagoda:That is that is excellent.
Senator:Oh, boy. Let's
Gizmo:congratulate again our friend Lizard Carlos with that, listen, critical but constructive email about Cuba and our commentary on it. You know, I I think it's really important that we share all the emails and all the kinds of emails that we get. So congratulations to Lizard Carlos for being our lizard of the week. Despite the critical email, He's gonna win a 10 count box of cigars from Bon Roberts. And, of course, we have to thank all of the lizards who contribute to our show each week, sending in comments on FOH and emails and voice memos and creative things like the Bam Bam Zone, which I
Bam Bam:thought
Pagoda:was I love that. That was fun. That That
Gizmo:was awesome. So we're really appreciative to all of you. And as I always say, if you've not emailed us before, there's so many of you that haven't. I think we've gotten emails from maybe one half of 1% of all of you. Please send us an email.
Gizmo:Tell us what you're smoking. Tell us what you think. Good, bad, indifferent. As you heard from Lizard Carlos tonight, we're not afraid of the truth. We're not afraid of criticism, so please reach out.
Gizmo:Send us something. We really appreciate everybody out there in Lizard Nation. Of course, we have to thank Bond Roberts for sponsoring our lizard of the week segment, sending Lizard Carlos a 10 count box of cigars of his choice. Of course, you can get any of those at fabrica005.com. And, boy, small batch cigar.
Gizmo:Do you know how many cigars I purchased this week from small batch? No. It's obscene. These by the way, tonight, these came from small batch. I ordered them.
Gizmo:I got them from California to New Jersey two days.
Bam Bam:No discount code?
Gizmo:No discount code on these cigars because they're the thirty years.
Bam Bam:Ah.
Gizmo:There's no codes allowed, but on everything else, use code Lizard 15 for 15% off your entire order. But I did get 5% back in rewards and free shipping.
Senator:The other funny thing with Small Batch, a lot of the cigars that I had sent that we should do in upcoming episodes, the only place you could actually find them available was Small That's cool.
Gizmo:So look for those on future Hey, Lizards. Gizmo here. You know, here's what's coming up. Recordings. We will be sharing that.
Gizmo:Go to smallbatchcigar.com. And of course, boys, our presenting sponsor, Fabric Cigar. Oh, yeah. The best.
Bam Bam:Love you,
Gizmo:Rob. I've been smoking a lot of Fabrica five. We have some great stuff coming from them. You know, a lot of lot of great stuff through the end of the year through those guys. So check out fabrica005.com.
Gizmo:Use our code Lizard Pod for 10 off your entire order. Get in their system. They'll start sending you promo codes. There's specials every week. It's unbelievable.
Gizmo:And don't forget that code now also works on Bon Roberts. Correct, fabric of five. Correct, senator. I know I've
Senator:been taking advantage of that.
Gizmo:So have I. Alright. Use our code lizard pod for 10% off your entire order. One more time tonight, boys, on the Glendronach fifteen years Revival single malt scotch whiskey with a 9.0, and L'Oreal Dominicana thirty years was an 8.6. What a great night, boys.
Gizmo:Long recording tonight with that big cigar. Overall, delicious evening. A delicious evening. The scotch was amazing. The cigar was very, very good, and, a great night, boys.
Gizmo:And, we'll see everybody next week. Hope you enjoyed this episode. Thanks for joining us. You could find our merch store and ratings archive at our brand new website, loungelizardspod.com. That's loungelizardspod.com.
Gizmo:Don't forget to leave us a rating and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform. If you have any comments, questions, if you wanna reach out, say hello, tell us what you're smoking, email us. Hello at loungelizardspod.com. You can also find us on Instagram at loungelizardspod. We really appreciate your time, and we'll, we'll see you next week.