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Released every Tuesday, the LOUNGE LIZARDS podcast helps listeners navigate the experience of finding and enjoying premium cigars (both Cuban and non-Cuban) and quality spirits. Episodes are normally around 90 minutes long and feature a variety of different topics including food, travel, life, sports and work.
The podcast features eight members: Rooster, Poobah, Gizmo, Senator, Pagoda, Chef Ricky, Grinder and Bam Bam.
This is not your typical cigar podcast. We’re a group of friends who love sharing cigars, whiskey and a good laugh.
Join us and become a card-carrying lounge lizard yourself! Email us at hello@loungelizardspod.com to join the conversation and be featured on an upcoming episode!
Welcome to the Lounge Lizards Podcast presented by Fabrica Five. It's so good to have you here. It's a leisure and lifestyle podcast found on our love of premium cigars as well as whiskey travel food work and whatever else we feel like getting into. My name is Gizmo. Tonight, I'm joined by Rooster, Senator, Pagoda, chef Ricky, and Bam Bam.
Gizmo:And our plan is to smoke a cigar, drink some tequila, talk about life, and, of course, have some laughs. So take this as your two hundred and thirty third official invitation to join us and become a card carrying lounge lizard. Clint once a week. We're gonna smoke a Dominican cigar tonight, share our thoughts on it, and give you a formal lizard rating. We recap our New Orleans food, drink, music, and cigar experiences.
Gizmo:We share an injury report on two lizards, and we discuss if improper stemware is affecting the liquor ratings, all among a variety of other things for the next two hours. So sit back, get your favorite drink, light up a cigar, and enjoy as we pair lost lord Tequila Reposado with the La Galera Imperial Jade in Robusto. A Dominican Robusto on the pod tonight, boys, And we are back to La Galera. This is the Imperial Jade in Robusto, and it's a 50 ring gauge cigar by five and one eighths inches long. And boys Mhmm.
Gizmo:I'm excited that this cigar is wrapped with Cameroon.
Bam Bam:It looks beautiful.
Gizmo:And I don't know, aside from some of the Fuente stuff, if we've done any other Dominican cigars that have been wrapped with Cameroon. Think the only stuff has been
Rooster:The Honduran.
Gizmo:We did the Honduran, but Dominican, I think
Bam Bam:You're correct.
Gizmo:Fuente would be the only one.
Chef Ricky:The aroma on this wrapper is intoxicating. It's like
Bam Bam:It's delicious.
Chef Ricky:Milk chocolate deliciousness. It's amazing. Amazing.
Bam Bam:You know what it reminds me of? Those little shortbread cookies.
Chef Ricky:With chocolate? No. Or you're just getting breadiness Shortbread? Oh, I'm getting a lot a lot of chocolate.
Senator:I'm getting so much chocolate. Exactly. Chef's saying, like, if there's any cookie, this is like a chocolate chip cookie. I mean, this is insane.
Chef Ricky:It's like a Duncan Hines
Rooster:chocolate chip cookie.
Bam Bam:The only problem that I have is I can't stand the band.
Senator:Yeah. Or the box. It's very faint.
Rooster:The box the box is weird.
Chef Ricky:The box, it it feels like something you get someone's ashes in.
Gizmo:It it you know what it does? It's kinda like a a marbled Marble. In a way.
Bam Bam:Marbled finish. Like a blue mar but
Gizmo:it feels almost like marble band. It's a
Bam Bam:it's marbled lacquer finish, which gives it the weight. It's a good looking box.
Rooster:But the colors are not attractive.
Pagoda:It's And like
Bam Bam:a light I have a problem with the band.
Rooster:You do? I'm not
Senator:a fan.
Gizmo:What do you like about it?
Bam Bam:Don't like the geometry
Gizmo:of it.
Bam Bam:I don't like how faint the ink is. It's almost the hologram.
Gizmo:It's lifted. It's a quality band.
Bam Bam:Oh, that's
Chef Ricky:It's almost like the background is almost too similar in color to the ink.
Bam Bam:They did spend some money on that lifted ink.
Gizmo:What's interesting is I read that they did the green and white to try to make the camera and wrapper pop a little bit.
Bam Bam:Mhmm.
Gizmo:So that's why they went with those colors. That's what I was reading. So Let's cut this thing. Let's cut this thing, boys.
Chef Ricky:Oh, that's green. It looks teal here.
Gizmo:See what we're getting on the cold draw.
Rooster:Green teal. The wrapper?
Bam Bam:My Lord. That's a delicious cold draw.
Gizmo:If the cigar tastes anything like that, we are in for a treat.
Bam Bam:I don't get cocoa on that. I'm getting a very light apricot type thing happening for me.
Chef Ricky:On the cold draw?
Senator:There's like a breadiness too. I don't know if it's shortbread or something.
Bam Bam:That's where I would go.
Chef Ricky:Cold draw is apricot all day long.
Bam Bam:I think so. And the shortbread on the nose that I was getting on the wrapper, I'm getting this on the cold draw.
Chef Ricky:Yeah. There's a breadiness, but I'm also getting cocoa here now too. I took a nice deep cold draw.
Bam Bam:Nice wide open draw. Alright, boys. I
Chef Ricky:think we're in
Gizmo:Let's light this thing. The La Galera Imperial Jade in Robusto. And, again, it's a 50 ring gauge cigar by five and one eighths inches
Pagoda:long. I was getting tea, so I completely off.
Chef Ricky:He's making me laugh. People Already.
Gizmo:We got by the way, so we're we're gonna get into this, but we have two injuries in the room tonight.
Bam Bam:Correct.
Gizmo:Two. And we're gonna talk about two injuries in the room tonight.
Bam Bam:And I'm gonna light this fucking thing right now.
Gizmo:Let's do it. I am very excited to smoke this cigar with you guys tonight.
Bam Bam:How much is this cigar?
Gizmo:Oh. Right around 8 or $10. Value. Nice value price. Absolutely.
Rooster:Turn that down, Pagoda.
Pagoda:No. It just went up on its own. It light us.
Bam Bam:Remember, we have a global presence.
Rooster:You can actually light the cigars for him and then hand them, kinda like at a at a nice That's a
Gizmo:good idea. We should have a
Rooster:Why don't we hire somebody?
Gizmo:We should hire, like, a like a our cart tender that
Rooster:Yeah.
Gizmo:Brings the cart in, cedar spills if you'd like. Exactly. Matches if you'd like.
Rooster:Brings cart. Exactly. It's
Senator:like they do at Coheat Atmosphere.
Rooster:Exactly. Again, the Kompinski.
Gizmo:With the apron.
Bam Bam:When you're done daydreaming
Chef Ricky:Cigar bib. This
Bam Bam:is an exquisite start to this.
Gizmo:This is a great start.
Senator:Very unique.
Chef Ricky:There's this amazing saltiness on the retrohale that is catching me off guard. I'm like
Bam Bam:Salted caramel for me on the retro. Honestly, the palate
Gizmo:What the
Chef Ricky:hell is going on with this? It's delivering all kinds of somethings.
Bam Bam:$8. Not bad.
Gizmo:You're right on the salty thing in the retrohale. And actually, it also hits almost the back of your throat, not in a bad way. It's got like a little tingle to it. It's very good. Wow.
Gizmo:This doesn't taste like an $8 cigar. Interesting cigar.
Rooster:Tell us about the components of the cigar.
Gizmo:So the wrapper's Cameroon, like I said, the binder and filler are both from The Dominican Republic. The binder is Criollo 98, and the filler has the same Criollo 98 and Piloto Cubano. Comes in this box we were talking about a few minutes ago of 20 cigars. Retail is somewhere around $200.
Rooster:So it's not $8?
Gizmo:8 to 10. MSRP is right around 200. I got them for 8. Thank you for the Well
Bam Bam:for the nitpicking.
Rooster:Just wanna make it clear.
Bam Bam:Oh, that's why you're here.
Rooster:I guess the box is extra.
Gizmo:This cigar comes in seven Tollas. The Churchill 47 by seven, the Toro 52 by six, the Pyramid 52 by six, the Corona Rooster, you might like that 44 by five and a half. This Robusto we have in our hand 50 by five and an eighth. They have a Mayor Perfecto, which is 53 ring gauge at the foot of the cigar and at the head of the cigar 48 by just under five inches, four and three quarters. And then there's a Chiquito Perfecto, which is 52 by four.
Gizmo:So seven Vitolas in the line and all coming in around those same prices.
Rooster:Not too bad. It's still early, but I think, like everyone said, you know, that apricot that you got on the cold roll. I'm not getting that right
Pagoda:now, but
Rooster:it's mostly cocoa, I would say.
Bam Bam:Okay. Any pepper?
Rooster:No, no pepper.
Chef Ricky:I have a very faint amount of pepper here.
Bam Bam:Me too. Just a Yeah.
Rooster:Yeah. Maybe like white pepper.
Pagoda:No black pepper. Yeah.
Chef Ricky:Nothing off putting. I think it's just another layer. Mhmm. Something nice.
Gizmo:So, of course, this cigar was blended by Ho Chi Blanco and was rolled at his Tabaclar Palma factory in the Doctor. If a keen listener will remember, this is the second Lagolera we're doing. We did the Habano line in the Lancero. If you remember, that did very, very well.
Bam Bam:Yeah.
Gizmo:That was the cigar for listeners, we were calling out like a real strong t note Yes. As we were smoking it.
Bam Bam:Still a great cigar.
Gizmo:Great cigar. And that Habano line is in their core line over at La Galera, which includes the Connecticut and the Maduro and what they called the nineteen thirty six box pressed as well as the Habano. This Imperial Jade line is in what they call their finest selection. So this alongside another line called the Anemoy are the two cigars in that, and then they also have some limited edition stuff. So you can check that out at their website, langaueracigars.com.
Bam Bam:You know, I regret not walking into their booth at PCA. I did. I did not. They were there. It looked great.
Bam Bam:I just kept walking.
Gizmo:I talked to Ho Chi briefly Saturday morning when the show opened. How was
Bam Bam:the history?
Gizmo:He had a beautiful booth.
Bam Bam:Really?
Gizmo:Yeah. It was nice. And it was very sizable.
Bam Bam:Really?
Gizmo:It was actually right next to, I think it was Rocky Patel.
Bam Bam:Big
Gizmo:football when you walk in the show, it was to the left
Pagoda:of Rocky. He did have four eyes on us, so.
Bam Bam:That's true.
Pagoda:Oh, that's right.
Gizmo:Yeah, you guys were getting your beauty sleep. Yeah, we were. I was walking the show. It was Well, really like a proper manager. Really nice presentation.
Gizmo:Correct.
Chef Ricky:The talent needs rest.
Gizmo:I'm not gonna indulge you and hit that clip right now. I'm not gonna give you that satisfaction.
Bam Bam:Correct.
Gizmo:You know, I when I was looking at these cigars, I mean, obviously it's a Robusto. Right? But it that eighth of an inch that's on here on top of what would normally be that little Robusto, it does feel a little bit bigger to me than the standard Robusto. Like, it almost feels like five and a half or even a little bit more than that.
Bam Bam:Yeah.
Gizmo:But it does feel great in the hand.
Rooster:I mean, I feel like the band is so big on the cigar that it makes the cigar look a bit shorter. Correct.
Gizmo:There's a lot of tobacco in here. It's dense.
Bam Bam:It is. But well rolled. You know, I like the initial light. I've a question mark in my mind right now about this thing.
Senator:Okay, thank you. I've been noticeably quiet because I'm not having seemingly the same experience as everybody. I'm not unhappy with this cigar, but I'm not, like, moved or particularly grabbed by this cigar. Mhmm. And Bam, like, hit the nail on the head for what I'm experiencing where, like, on the initial draw, I like the flavor notes that hit the front of my palate.
Senator:Delicious. The finish for me at the back of my palate, there's like a
Chef Ricky:Spicy?
Senator:No. It's like a vegetal, like, bitter
Pagoda:Bitterness.
Senator:Kind of yeah. Like like note I get that I just don't love how my palate feels after on the finish. Yeah. That's so nice. Draw is great, but it doesn't finish the same way.
Senator:I'm not getting that.
Pagoda:Mm-mm. I'm getting that. Right?
Gizmo:I'm getting I'm getting I'm zero
Chef Ricky:getting some spice, but no bitterness. Mhmm.
Gizmo:Mine is a very smooth, well rounded affair.
Senator:Yeah. And it's not necessarily like I I don't mean like bitter bitter. Like, it's like an earthiness that's just maybe like amped up a bit too much for my liking on the finish that, like, makes it feel a little bitter.
Chef Ricky:Is it drying like tea leaves?
Bam Bam:It's not dry.
Rooster:No. Is it a vegetal note, like an herbal note?
Senator:Yeah. Like a Grassy
Gizmo:hay.
Senator:Like a Kind woodsy, earthy kind of note.
Bam Bam:Yeah, so I'm calling a question mark only because I don't know where it stands right now with me. And I did love that initial draw.
Chef Ricky:That initial draw
Bam Bam:was Since then, it's kind of I don't know. It's hard to pinpoint what I'm getting.
Rooster:It hasn't really changed much for me. It's about the same as that had started.
Bam Bam:Really? Me too. You're very fortunate. It's not bad. I don't think it's bad at all.
Senator:No, it's not bad. No. I'm getting the saltiness that everyone was talking about, but I wish I was getting a little more sweetness than I am right now.
Chef Ricky:Me too. I'm getting a light salted caramel still, some nuttiness, and spice at the on the back of my palate. I'm not getting spice. I'm getting some spice. Again, not off putting.
Bam Bam:I am taking very shallow draws.
Chef Ricky:It's tingling quite a bit.
Bam Bam:Yeah. Due to my condition
Pagoda:tonight. Oh, you don't want to reach a tooth, were you?
Bam Bam:Well, I just want to take shallow draws.
Gizmo:So BAM was let's tell the tell the lizard nation what happened. So you actually had a tooth pulled yesterday?
Bam Bam:Yes. A full extraction.
Gizmo:Full extraction. You said your doctor was a wizard, but he was banging around in your mouth with a hammer, you said?
Bam Bam:I thought my jaw was gonna, the upper jaw would snap in half two or three times.
Rooster:Wait a minute, go back though. Why the tooth extracted? Was it chipped? No,
Bam Bam:the cavity, there was a void above the tooth that was nearing the nasal passages that my dentist found through x rays. She said, Look, you don't have to do this now, but you'll
Rooster:On the upper jaw?
Bam Bam:Upper jaw.
Rooster:In the back,
Bam Bam:like molar? No, two in. And as your tooth over the years grows closer to that nasal passage, can cause infection and then get really serious. So she said you should get it extracted.
Rooster:So preventive.
Bam Bam:Yeah. Preventive. And the guy was a wizard. I had no pain at all the day.
Gizmo:That's pretty incredible. You had a tooth extraction, no pain.
Bam Bam:It was violent though. I mean, procedure was pretty damn violent.
Rooster:Well, numb the whole area.
Bam Bam:Yeah, but still they But you'd
Gizmo:expect it after some swelling or something.
Bam Bam:Not only that, but they get physical in there. Mean, the guy had some kind of a and he was like chopping, digging for gold.
Gizmo:Were you wrestling with this guy?
Bam Bam:No. But he was a master. No swelling.
Gizmo:That's No
Bam Bam:bleeding, hardly So any
Gizmo:I just want to put it out there for the listeners. Everybody in this room, except for Rooster, was telling Bam not to smoke tonight out of an abundance of caution.
Bam Bam:I know.
Chef Ricky:No, I wasn't.
Gizmo:Neither I was smoked
Chef Ricky:same day.
Gizmo:Yeah. So when had a tooth pulled, you smoked same day. Yeah. You as well, Rooster. You were saying that he was a day behind.
Rooster:You know, look, mean, I would have smoked. Rooster smoked
Senator:during it.
Gizmo:I'm just gonna
Bam Bam:say Hey, doc. Hold on. I gotta play
Senator:a draw.
Rooster:You go head on while I smoke. No. I think I I smoked, like, literally that evening. That's crazy. Once it stops bleeding, good to go.
Pagoda:Wow. Yeah. What's the worst that could happen?
Gizmo:I thought there was a dry socket thing. So my wife had a tooth
Senator:pulled There is.
Rooster:That's what
Gizmo:you said
Senator:you Google this.
Gizmo:If you just like, it's like the suction thing from like sipping So on a
Bam Bam:that's what it is.
Gizmo:You're drawing a cigar.
Bam Bam:He was more fearful of using a straw or smoking, I don't smoke, I smoke cigars. Can I have a cigar? No, you can't smoke for a week. And I asked him why. And it's the pressure that you create by drawing through and that could open the there's sutures in there that he closed up and they could open that up.
Rooster:There's no sutures.
Bam Bam:Oh there is?
Gizmo:What? So ma'am, how's your signal? There's no sutures.
Rooster:When they take out, when the because your your the blood coagulates and that's there's no sutures when I take out a
Gizmo:Oh, okay. Take out are you sure?
Bam Bam:No. Yeah.
Chef Ricky:Yeah. I had stitches.
Bam Bam:Absolutely.
Chef Ricky:They were soft, but they dissolve on their own.
Senator:There there's that.
Gizmo:There are no sutures right now.
Bam Bam:Well, you know, back in Rocket Gibraltar.
Gizmo:Roosters over here used have sutures. There was a
Senator:new rule
Bam Bam:that they took off the barrels. Okay. I understand. They told
Rooster:me they had to put sutures.
Chef Ricky:I I
Rooster:was never told that. So I don't know.
Gizmo:There's no sutures. No, because I just love the was definitive
Pagoda:great. Pagoda shaking his head. But I kind of agree with him. I don't remember stitches being broken, man. Yeah.
Bam Bam:No, he sewed me up.
Chef Ricky:Yep, same.
Bam Bam:And he showed me the tooth, dude, with the, It's massive. Realize You how massive your teeth are when they come out. It's incredible.
Rooster:The root structure is deep. So maybe because it was back, you know, on the job, maybe they do put sutures. I don't know. I've had it done and I had crown work done.
Bam Bam:So the lesson for me is don't show up to the pod because I can't resist smoking when I'm in this room.
Gizmo:Well, we told you no. No. No. You and I had a conversation about this.
Bam Bam:I know. I can't resist. I can't.
Gizmo:You we had a conversation. I told you not to not to come and smoke. You wanted to be here. We're I gonna talk about the PCA food and drink and all that stuff today.
Bam Bam:Yep.
Gizmo:Friend in New Orleans.
Bam Bam:I was gonna have my
Gizmo:You wanted to just come and have a little sip, and here you are smoking the Imperial Jade and Robusto.
Bam Bam:I can't resist smoking.
Pagoda:The lesson for you
Bam Bam:is When I'm among you, I have to smoke.
Pagoda:Don't overthink it. Correct. Yeah. I
Rooster:think when you make the appointment with the dentist, you should ask the dentist, Are you a cigar smoker? If not, I'm not coming. Dentist Find that's a cigar smoker.
Bam Bam:Well, back in the 40s and 30s, they would probably-
Rooster:boy. Five years older than
Pagoda:this one apart.
Gizmo:I know. That's the funniest thing to me is you guys are like less than five years apart.
Bam Bam:That's correct.
Rooster:Oh, boy. Enough for this shit. Alright.
Gizmo:All right, boys.
Bam Bam:All is well.
Gizmo:Thank you. I'm glad to hear it. We have another injury report to talk about in
Bam Bam:Oh, a this little is bit. The doozy. We're gonna hold off on that one for a I'm to hear We're
Gizmo:getting there. Wanna Just wait. I wanna do some news first. We'll do our pairing and then we'll talk about another injury in the room tonight. So we're gonna start with this one, boys.
Gizmo:I saw this on FOH. Rob shared this. I thought this was pretty shocking actually, the number. Apparently, the amount of people traveling to Cuba for tourism from around the world has almost halved since the beginning of the year. Almost half.
Gizmo:Apparently, between January and March, the island received just 300,000 foreign visitors, which is, like, almost half of that same period in '25. So imagine what that number was, like, pre COVID or like when the Obama thing that when they opened it up and you could travel there. 300,000 people between January and March. March saw a record breaking drop when just 35,000 foreign tourists visited Cuba. Wow.
Bam Bam:That's crazy. And if
Gizmo:you remember, Cuba has pretty much focused all of their economic efforts on driving tourism. Their manufacturing, all those other things have obviously been stunted by their own lack of ability to get things going and you know, put a priority on it. We're talking sugar, rum, even cigars.
Bam Bam:Correct.
Gizmo:You know, they've been doing better with cigars over the last couple of years, but it's certainly down from where it was. But tourism being the economic driver and seeing these kind of numbers, I mean, that island is in a lot of trouble, man.
Rooster:And I know it's not getting any better.
Gizmo:It's not getting any better. No. Apparently, what I heard, I talked to some friends there before coming in tonight, the power has been a little bit more consistent for residents. There's been a lot less outage. So that's nice to hear, but I think that I'm only hearing from Havana.
Gizmo:So I'm not hearing from, you know, anywhere further east on the island. So I don't know if that's accurate out there. But in Havana, it's been a little bit more consistent. So at least there's a bit of good news. But I miss going, man.
Bam Bam:Oh, I think the rest of us do too.
Gizmo:I really do. I hope to get back there sometime soon. Alright boys, let's go to another one. I wanted to share this one because I thought it's pretty amazing and we actually spent some time with Lizard Jason of the Milwaukee Humidor Company at PCA and he is designing for JC Newman the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary, the America two fifty Humidor for them. And I couldn't believe this, but each of the 50 states has their own individual wood on the top.
Bam Bam:Yeah. That's cool.
Gizmo:So it's a map of The United States and all 50 states have a different wood representing them in this lid.
Bam Bam:What's New Jersey's state wood? Red oak. Red oak? Yeah. Really?
Gizmo:Red oak is what was chosen for New Jersey. New York was sugar maple.
Bam Bam:What's California for red oak?
Gizmo:Redwoods. California was redwood. Coast redwood. Florida was sable palm. Sable palm.
Gizmo:I don't know that. Hawaii was Koa. Pretty cool though. I'm I'm pretty impressed with Lizard Jason here. Pricing on these is set at twenty seven fifty per humidor.
Gizmo:There's only gonna be 50 of them, and it can hold between a 100 and a 125 cigars.
Rooster:So is it just the humidor or does it come in cigars?
Gizmo:So it comes with 50 of what they're calling the American Perfecto, which is a new 50 ring gauge by six and a quarter size of an all American cigar, of course, that uses a Florida grown wrapper, Connecticut broadleaf binder, and fillers from both Connecticut and Pennsylvania. So that's pretty cool. Ben, that's not bad.
Bam Bam:That's not that bad.
Gizmo:And it's beautiful, man.
Bam Bam:Well, it is.
Gizmo:I mean, one of 50. Look at that.
Bam Bam:So only Look at that thing. One box for each state and that's it.
Gizmo:Yeah. They have fiend making 50 of them and they'll be for sale. Yeah. It's the purveyors of JC Newman cigars. So, you know, kudos to Lizard Jason.
Gizmo:Check out Milwaukee Humidor Company. He makes amazing stuff. Certainly, this is real amazing piece. Again, I don't know how you incorporate 50 individual pieces of wood cut to the right size of the state in it's unbelievable that he's doing this. It seems like a lot of work.
Bam Bam:Oh, yeah.
Gizmo:We were actually talking to him about the time that he has to put into designing humidors, building them, etcetera. It's an immense amount of labor. So, you know, the prices on these things, we think sometimes high numbers. I mean, I don't think that's that high for what this is.
Bam Bam:They're handmade.
Gizmo:It's incredibly laborious to put these things together and design them and everything. So so kudos to him. I thought that was pretty cool and I wanted to share that because we talked about that last week on our on our PCA episode. So I think that's pretty cool. So look out for that.
Gizmo:Also, if you remember, he did he did some other stuff with JC Newman as well in the past. So he's he's pretty involved with them making their humidors. What do you
Rooster:guys think of this cigar?
Bam Bam:Jury's still kind of out
Chef Ricky:for me. I'm still enjoying it. It's still very round and now I'm getting like this yeasty bread note that I'm enjoying a lot.
Gizmo:I'm getting a little funk.
Chef Ricky:I'm really liking it. Yeah. Yep. Yep.
Bam Bam:If anything, sourdough is fairly accurate for me. I get the same.
Gizmo:Yeah. Has yours come around at all?
Senator:No. I'm like Bam. I'm not sure where this is gonna go. Again, it's not bad. It's just not great.
Bam Bam:What about you Pagoda?
Pagoda:Yeah. Like, I've got so many different you know, I was trying to retrohale a few times initially, like in the beginning. Mhmm. I was getting like a Nutella kind of a thing, like a chocolate with hazelnut kind of a thing.
Bam Bam:I wish I was getting that.
Pagoda:And then it just went off. And then, you know, in the cold ride, I was getting tea. So like, think today I'm just totally, other than that You
Senator:have some Nutella on your nose.
Bam Bam:Correct. Remnants of your vacation. Right? That's true.
Pagoda:That's probably true. You know, when he was mentioning a little bit of the bitterness, and I think chef Rakesh had said, do you get this black tea? Because I think in the cold draw, I was getting tea. I So think the slight bitterness I was getting, it reminded me of the black tea bitterness when it's like overboiled. Overboiled.
Pagoda:Right? Like, I think That
Senator:actually is accurate. That very much, now that you say it Yeah. Describes what I'm getting.
Pagoda:And yeah, so it's all over the place.
Rooster:It gets better, right? It gets better.
Pagoda:It gets a little better, yeah. So I, you know, the thing is, so for me, I've been able to get a consistent note. You know, like you seek that consistency as well while you're on the journey. But it's kind of all over the place for me. So let's see.
Gizmo:So of course, boys, this episode is coming out on Cinco de Mayo, May year, and chef Ricky flagged that. I actually didn't even take notice to it. My bad. Hand up. And we have come in tonight with an agave, a tequila Reposado from Lost Lore.
Gizmo:Tell us about this spirit a little bit, chef.
Chef Ricky:Sure. So Lost Lore was created by Arturo Llamas the third. He sought out the Vivaan Tourist distillery, which is the known number fourteen fourteen. So I believe here on how we might have done a fourteen fourteen, the art in on fourteen fourteen or we definitely did an art in home. But these guys are known for making high quality tequila.
Chef Ricky:And the the reasoning behind this brand and this tequila is Arturo felt that ultimately with the commercialization and industrialization of tequila, the lore and the tradition of great high quality tequila was lost, hence the name. So this tequila is made in all the right ways, additive free, mature agave, stone, you know, cooked in brick stone ovens. And then it is it's it's shredded not tohona, but it's shredded the agave. Then from there they do open air fermentation, so we should get some nice funkier and they finish it in or they use copper stills to distill. So that also brings an element of funk and some depth that I enjoy.
Chef Ricky:Yeah, this tequila, I really, really like it. It's a new addition to the restaurant, maybe within the last year. And I just happened to polish half a bottle off last night.
Bam Bam:Here you are, guys.
Gizmo:I was
Chef Ricky:happy to be able to find this at Total Wine. Yes. So, yeah, I think this is a great one.
Bam Bam:Cheers.
Gizmo:Cheers, boys. Salud. Happy Cinco de Mayo?
Bam Bam:Salud. Oh, yeah. Salud.
Pagoda:Did you get into May?
Rooster:Did you us to talk about
Gizmo:Pagoda, do you know what Cinco de Mayo is? Of course. What is it?
Bam Bam:It's day to drink.
Pagoda:Yeah. It's taco tuesday kind of a feel. It is a Tuesday this year. It's a Mexican it's a Mexican festival. Right?
Gizmo:Correct. A lot of people think it's actually Mexican independence. It is not.
Chef Ricky:It is not.
Gizmo:It's celebrating Mexico's victory over the second French empire at the battle of Puebla in 1862 led by
Rooster:Yeah. You were born then.
Bam Bam:Led by Rooster. Was he on the front lines?
Gizmo:He was standing next to general Ignacio Zaragoza.
Bam Bam:Correct.
Gizmo:Who died months after the battle from an illness. And then a larger French force ultimately defeated the Mexican army at the second battle of Pueblo. And then Yeah. Actually have
Pagoda:mentioned that, meaning.
Gizmo:I'm just sharing the story here.
Bam Bam:Correct. Almost
Gizmo:two hundred years ago.
Senator:So they're celebrating a battle that they won Correct. Then they ultimately ended up losing. Losing. Interesting.
Pagoda:Yeah. But meaning I've always celebrated like I won the battle. So
Chef Ricky:I think most most most Americans celebrate Cinco de Mayo like they won the battle. Correct. It's I'd say it's it's definitely American.
Gizmo:Yeah. It's a very American.
Chef Ricky:It's an excuse to get hammered.
Gizmo:So what does that look like at the restaurant for you?
Chef Ricky:It's the busiest day of the year. Really? Yeah. It's intense. There's a lot happening.
Chef Ricky:We don't take reservations just because it's impossible. You know, it's hard to kick people out or anything like that. So we just we do walk ins and then people that insist on wanting like a private room or anything like that Charge
Gizmo:them out the wazoo?
Chef Ricky:Yeah. The minimums are pretty high.
Bam Bam:Nice. How much was this bottle?
Gizmo:$65.
Chef Ricky:65.
Bam Bam:Okay.
Gizmo:I really like it. I do too. What do you guys think of it? Senator doesn't
Bam Bam:No. Look
Senator:No. I I buy just Ben's reaction to the price. Okay.
Bam Bam:Yeah. I mean, it's fair price.
Gizmo:To me, it's right in line with a lot of the other reposadoes that we view as kind of
Bam Bam:And how clean is this? Do we know?
Gizmo:100.
Bam Bam:100100% clean.
Chef Ricky:Additive free, no additives, no artificial thickeners,
Senator:sweeteners. I
Bam Bam:will say it leans more botanical than sweet.
Pagoda:Yeah. I totally agree.
Bam Bam:Right?
Senator:And for me
Bam Bam:Which is a nice change of pace.
Senator:On its own, I would enjoy this. For me, because I'm getting so much earthiness on the finish of the cigar, and I'm wishing I had more sweetness, I wish I had, like, a more traditional Reposado that had more sweetness to help counterbalance the, like, bitterness I'm getting in the cigar. So that's, like, the only thing from a pairing standpoint based on the flavor I'm getting out of the cigar. I wish the tequila were sweeter, but on its own, I definitely appreciate what it's doing.
Chef Ricky:It's a great pickup and call out because I the bottle I had yesterday, I had for a year. So I'm pretty sure they're not the same lot because this tastes a little bit drier, more botanical than what I had yesterday. Yesterday's bottle felt like it had a lot more barrel influence than this one does, and it leaned a little bit sweeter. Still clean, but a much longer finish here. The finish here is shorter, so it's much drier.
Chef Ricky:I'm not getting like there's still some touches of caramel vanilla, but they were more present in that first bottle.
Bam Bam:Those notes are faint for sure.
Pagoda:Very faint.
Bam Bam:But that has to be a product of a lot.
Chef Ricky:Yep, that's what I'm
Bam Bam:saying. Yeah,
Chef Ricky:My bottle was a year
Bam Bam:old before I opened it. I don't think age is a factor once it's in glasses.
Chef Ricky:No, no, I'm just saying that there's definitely not the same lot.
Bam Bam:Oh, Okay.
Gizmo:Me, the pairing's working very nicely. I mean, I am not having the problem you guys are. Why is that funny?
Bam Bam:I love your enthusiasm.
Gizmo:It's very good.
Bam Bam:Yeah. It's nice. It's
Gizmo:really working for me.
Bam Bam:It's nice. It's nice. You know, honestly, I can appreciate this pairing. It is different than what I think I'm used to for sure. The cigar leans more minerally and earthy and the spirits more minerally and earthy.
Bam Bam:I don't get the bitterness in a cigar that I think you and Pagoda are getting. For me, I'm just getting a little bit of a muted experience with the smoke touch. That's not to say that it's bad, but it's muted
Gizmo:a bit.
Chef Ricky:So just to get back to the tequila real quick, I had a lot number one, bottle of 38. This is lot five. Bottle 132.
Rooster:Okay. So
Chef Ricky:yeah, there's definitely a slight variance and
Bam Bam:makes sense.
Gizmo:Did you prefer the other bottle?
Chef Ricky:I did. I did for what? For the same reasons for what Senator's missing, More sweetness. Yeah, there was more sweetness.
Rooster:So lot number one,
Chef Ricky:that's like first production.
Rooster:They haven't been around that much.
Chef Ricky:No, no. They came out maybe a year and a half ago.
Gizmo:I gotta say, show the bottle to Bam and It's very
Bam Bam:band is very rustic.
Gizmo:It's a pretty cool presentation.
Bam Bam:It's interesting.
Chef Ricky:The bottle is artisanal, hand blown. It's a gorgeous bottle.
Bam Bam:Yeah. Very nice.
Pagoda:It's heavy.
Bam Bam:You gotta go to the gym.
Gizmo:Don't forget he's injured. That's correct.
Pagoda:Oh yeah.
Senator:Oh shit.
Bam Bam:Let me help you out bro. Yeah I love the bit. The label's great.
Gizmo:Yeah it's very cool. I love the logo. When I came today I was like this is pretty pretty good looking.
Bam Bam:Lost lure.
Rooster:I wanna know about this injury.
Gizmo:Alright, Pagoda. So let me set this up. So we come in tonight, and and we give Pagoda a little bit of shit every time he travels because I've never seen somebody travel as much as Pagoda does And at the same time, share so little details, so little photos. Zero. Like, I I I swear to
Pagoda:you I'm proud man.
Gizmo:When senator travels
Bam Bam:It's zero communication.
Gizmo:Senator sends at least three to four
Bam Bam:A day.
Gizmo:Cigar shots minimum
Bam Bam:A day.
Gizmo:A day, plus everything else. What he's drinking, eating, the things he's saying, etcetera.
Senator:And for the record, I actually used to be like Pagoda, where when I would travel, wouldn't really send anything. And then you guys gave me shit saying you wanted photos. Yeah. And so I took the feedback and I started sending them. We've given Pagoda the same feedback and he hasn't changed it out.
Bam Bam:He doesn't accept the feedback.
Pagoda:No. No. No. It takes a while for me to
Bam Bam:It's falling on deaf ears. I have to say it in a different language.
Chef Ricky:He when Pagoda came in doesn't take much photos or video.
Gizmo:Oh, he has plenty. False.
Bam Bam:Correct.
Gizmo:Pagoda, when we came in today, was showing the room some photos he had taken in Costa Rica. And he scrolled past one, which was him airborne.
Bam Bam:Totally. Like Superman.
Gizmo:Like Superman. Airborne. With a helmet on. With a big
Bam Bam:grin on his face.
Gizmo:And then we came to hear what the hell happened that you got injured in Costa Rica.
Rooster:Wait a minute. Why were you airborne?
Pagoda:So we, you know, we were doing ATV riding.
Bam Bam:Right. Well, Rooster, wait till he lifts his shirt.
Senator:He can't drive a car.
Gizmo:That's what I'm saying.
Rooster:Can
Senator:you imagine him on an ATV?
Gizmo:He the Tesla's a problem.
Rooster:Wait. You were a passenger or you were the
Senator:He was the driver.
Pagoda:Passenger. Do you
Senator:It's a one seater.
Pagoda:Yeah. I knew. No. I grew up
Bam Bam:riding bikes. His nickname is Saddlebag Mary.
Gizmo:He he had his arms around Shad. So
Rooster:what happened?
Pagoda:No. No. I grew up riding bikes. I'm very it took me a while, and when I got used to it,
Bam Bam:like It's like
Rooster:it's like ping pong.
Pagoda:I was having so much fun. Like, you know, we were racing each other in the water. You know? It's it's rough terrain in a lot of the places where they take you through.
Rooster:So you were, like, going through the woods, jungle?
Pagoda:Jungle, the woods. And it had rained just that Heavy rain. So it was all, like, muddy and, you know, it was
Chef Ricky:That's the best part.
Pagoda:It was one of those, and it was it was just great. I was having a lot of fun. And I was a bit giddy. Was And right to the end
Rooster:there any alcohol in
Pagoda:the market? Of course. Of course.
Gizmo:So you're okay. So this out. You are coming to the end of your vacation.
Pagoda:Not end of the vacation. End of the the ATV riding. End of the ATV. End of about four hours.
Gizmo:So you're four hours into drinking and driving ATVs through the jungle.
Pagoda:And the water and stream.
Gizmo:And everything else. Yeah. And then you get to the point where you and your friend or a couple friends
Pagoda:decide to race. Yeah. We were racing.
Bam Bam:Did you hit a ditch? What happened?
Pagoda:No. So the guy who was actually guiding the tour was right in the front.
Senator:He got mixed up with the gas and the brake, like when he backed into the pole. Correct.
Pagoda:Dude, in this case, it was quite the opposite. Like he was riding, like he was also racing. We were having a lot of fun. And then I'm like really coming in really fast, and I'm overtaking a lot of these guys in the water mine deal. And it's, you know, it's rocky below, but there's, you know, about 10 inches or about a foot of water.
Pagoda:So, and you're just going fast and water splashing everywhere. And then I'm going really fast, and this guy suddenly decides to turn right. Generally, people veer right and they'll go slowly. He just makes like a 90 degree turn, and I'm gonna go hit him head on. And honestly, I don't want to go hit him head on.
Pagoda:So I brake like in full force, like, you know, so you have
Gizmo:to Front brake. Yeah. The back brake.
Pagoda:And because of the momentum, I just flew off.
Gizmo:You just kept going. There was no Pagoda brake.
Pagoda:Yeah. So the ATV got saved, meaning that stopped,
Gizmo:but not me. Not your middle torso. Alright. So you gotta show chef and rooster what you showed us.
Pagoda:Yeah. No. I've like it's really like like a
Gizmo:Look at the injury on
Rooster:his Lifted higher?
Pagoda:What? He wants to see your nipples.
Chef Ricky:Those hairy and the nipples.
Gizmo:Oh, shit. It's all black and blue. Yeah. Yeah. You're pretty beat up.
Gizmo:So what what was the pain like?
Rooster:It's like a tooth extraction.
Pagoda:No, didn't feel anything. Any sutures? All the way out.
Senator:These sutures.
Bam Bam:Mine are about to burst.
Pagoda:But it was
Rooster:you landed on your belly.
Pagoda:I've I
Rooster:near your
Pagoda:shoulder. No, I felt like, I don't even know how I fell. I, you know, I did, I think when I was taking off, might have, I don't know. And then I fell on my left back as well. So like my left back shoulder is gone.
Pagoda:Like, it's really hurting really
Rooster:I see it. It's there.
Pagoda:It's there. It's there.
Bam Bam:It's final It's laws of gravity now.
Pagoda:So how did you get a picture? I've tried it. And everyone was very concerned, and everyone stopped. Then I Can you please pull
Gizmo:the picture up and show them the picture that we saw
Rooster:that prompted this whole thing?
Bam Bam:So there has to be a way where It's you can blank out his gotta be posted on social media. You have to do that.
Gizmo:You have I'll put it up. Just take the face out. I'll take the face out.
Rooster:Wait, who took the video or the picture of you actually airborne? Somebody
Bam Bam:watching No, a
Pagoda:no. So one of the guys had these
Gizmo:The better glasses? GoPro.
Pagoda:Yeah. No, no, the glasses Right. And But I, like, a part of me tends to say I generated. I'd like, you know
Gizmo:So you think it's
Chef Ricky:a Alright.
Bam Bam:That's real.
Rooster:Never happened. Right?
Pagoda:It's gotta happen.
Gizmo:I mean, it's it's pretty incredible.
Bam Bam:It's gotta black and blue to prove it.
Gizmo:So while you're pulling the photo up, I'm curious. You said you didn't have any pain first day, second day. When did the pain hit, day three?
Pagoda:The third day suddenly started hurting me like, what the hell? It
Bam Bam:looks painful.
Pagoda:I think that photograph's been deleted.
Gizmo:The only person that could have deleted it Yeah, was exactly.
Bam Bam:That's correct.
Rooster:Check that other folder.
Pagoda:Yeah, it may be in the other Other chat.
Rooster:You want the password? That's why you should share it.
Gizmo:We're rocking. Here we go.
Bam Bam:Chef, take a look at this. That's unbelievable.
Gizmo:Look at this photo.
Bam Bam:Look at his face.
Gizmo:Pagoda, any time that you are Away. Operating a vehicle.
Bam Bam:You mean stepping on a plane?
Gizmo:Operating a vehicle. There's always a story. What do you think it is?
Pagoda:I have no idea. I'm not meant to. I need a driver.
Bam Bam:You are. You need a driver.
Senator:Sorry, I just sent it to our chat.
Gizmo:Oh, perfect. I'll do that.
Pagoda:That's horrible.
Gizmo:Well done. Oh my gosh. I am definitely gonna black out that face Big time. And and put that up on Oh, yeah.
Chef Ricky:This is Instagram. This is great. You know what? Even though you look like
Bam Bam:He's having a great time. Yeah. You're having a great peril right there.
Pagoda:I was I just had a great time.
Bam Bam:It's mortal peril, chef.
Chef Ricky:Oh, man. This is phenomenal.
Gizmo:Well, I'm glad you're okay because honestly, I mean, ATVs and ATV accidents, that can get really bad. Very.
Pagoda:They're really bad. I, you know
Gizmo:I actually I actually know somebody who died
Pagoda:on an ATV. Oh, really?
Senator:Yeah. Like every single
Gizmo:Oh swear my god. Yeah.
Bam Bam:Bruce is very serious right now.
Rooster:That's not you. Is that you? At least you have the helmet on.
Chef Ricky:Yeah. Good thing.
Gizmo:What were you guys drinking?
Pagoda:Just beer. It was in the morning.
Senator:I mean, this photo has the logo of like the place that you're at. This looks like like one of their professional photographers took this.
Pagoda:Yeah. Oh, really? It could Yeah.
Senator:It's got the logos.
Bam Bam:Oh, that's gonna be on their website. This is gonna be
Pagoda:on their website.
Bam Bam:Did you sign a waiver?
Gizmo:Oh, he definitely signed a waiver.
Bam Bam:Oh, you better believe it.
Gizmo:Do they have waivers in Costa Rica?
Bam Bam:I don't know.
Chef Ricky:It's like one of those pictures you get taken
Bam Bam:It's gonna be on a resort's Instagram.
Chef Ricky:Yeah. While you're on a roller coaster.
Rooster:Get airborne with us. Alright.
Gizmo:Well, dude, I'm glad you're okay, but thank you for the hilarious story because we were belly laughing before we even hit record. And
Chef Ricky:He looks like a flying squirrel.
Gizmo:He did.
Pagoda:That's true.
Senator:That's a well fed squirrel.
Bam Bam:That's a shank, baby.
Pagoda:Life.
Gizmo:So, boys, we're coming to the end of the first third here on the Ilagalera Imperial Jade in Robusto. Has it turned around for you guys at all?
Bam Bam:Take a puff. It's
Senator:like a little creamier right now, like, almost like a sour cream, which is kind of helping with what I was getting before. So it's not as pronounced, the earthiness, but it's still there in the background.
Bam Bam:Yeah.
Rooster:It's a little less dry.
Bam Bam:Yeah. Right? It was never dry for me nor bitter.
Gizmo:It's just
Rooster:I mean, the finish is is a bit less dry. I agree. But it's a bit one dimensional, but the flavors haven't really changed much.
Bam Bam:Well, the flavors for me haven't identified themselves after the
Rooster:initial You're getting few the sourdough, like the breading
Bam Bam:consistent. I had earlier.
Gizmo:Consistent, salty.
Chef Ricky:Yeah. Gone. Getting salty sourdough.
Bam Bam:If anything, I am getting a bit of salt.
Chef Ricky:Almost even like a beer yeast I'm getting here.
Gizmo:I don't know how I would describe the funk. I don't have a reference to kinda call it, but it's interesting. I I don't dislike it.
Chef Ricky:Yeah.
Gizmo:I think the cigar has dipped for me a little bit from about ten minutes ago, so I'm gonna
Bam Bam:Maybe I've gotta slow down. I'm gonna let
Gizmo:it ride, but we'll
Pagoda:see. You're coming close to
Rooster:the rapper. Yeah. I'm the pro I see you took the band off, Gus. I did. I did
Gizmo:too. Yeah. Well done. Big band, man.
Rooster:Try that band. It helps.
Bam Bam:Good job, guys. Alright. Band is off. Oh boy.
Gizmo:Oh boy. So boys, we did our PCA episode last week in New Orleans. We were back in New Jersey and we kind of skipped over a big piece of our annual recap of when we traveled together, especially to the PCA show. We did it in Vegas. We did it in New Orleans last year.
Gizmo:And I would say might be the listener's favorite part is when we talk about the food, music, culture, cigars out after the show, that piece of it in New Orleans. And and we've said it a thousand times. I mean, New Orleans is a phenomenal host for us, for cigars, for PCA. But senator said this before. I 1000% agree with him, especially reaffirmed after this trip.
Gizmo:I think New Orleans is the best food city in America. Period.
Senator:Correct. Full stop.
Gizmo:Have have and I know we're gonna go through everything that we ate, but have we had a bad meal yet in New Orleans? Even a mediocre one?
Bam Bam:Even a sandwich down the street from PCA last year was incredible. Yeah. But this trip was special from the point of view of the cuisine.
Pagoda:And you know, last year's top restaurants, you know, didn't even make it to the list.
Gizmo:Mhmm. Well senator want us to try new stuff. Yeah. And I'm so glad you did by the way.
Bam Bam:Oh yeah.
Gizmo:Because it really, it was really brilliant. So talk us through your thinking, the game plan, laying out the reservations, etcetera, going into PCA.
Senator:So what I liked we did last year is the first night, we did seafood, and then restaurants that I think the second night was more like Southern Creole, third night, like meat heavy, and then Commander's Palace. And so I tried to kind of follow that formula this time, but just with different restaurants that kinda competed for that slot. So we did Pesch last year as the seafood spot, which is like the hottest new seafood restaurant, new as in like within the last ten years in New Orleans. There's another place that's been around a very long time called GW Finns, which I've always heard amazing things about, I've actually never eaten at. So we went there the first night.
Senator:The food, I think, was definitely better than Pesci, it was incredible.
Gizmo:And the service elevates me.
Senator:Oh, our waiter was awesome.
Gizmo:Marcus, I think? Yeah. Yeah, Marcus. Incredible night.
Bam Bam:First of all, the ambiance, the place is fantastic.
Gizmo:It's cool design. Can you describe the design choices It's they
Bam Bam:a nautical theme overall. I would think it's a touch dated. It's probably been that way for
Gizmo:Like the eighty's, early nineties?
Bam Bam:Maybe not that long, but I'm thinking late nineties. That's really rustic. No. It's all very clean and crisp. It's just a touch dated, but the nautical theme and the way they maintain it, it looks fantastic.
Senator:But like a nicer nautical theme in the sense that like Peche is nautical, but super casual
Bam Bam:Yes, correct.
Senator:That's like
Bam Bam:a more rustic There's a lot of partition gestures and half walls that do show a nautical theme, and that's where I would find it to be just a touch dated, but overall, the lighting's beautiful, the seating was comfortable, I love the layout of the tables, and the service, I mean, they were just flying back and forth through the tables, through the entire place. I don't think I've ever seen service like that.
Pagoda:A well oiled machine.
Gizmo:Except the commanders.
Bam Bam:Very well set. And commanders, of course.
Pagoda:And it had a dress code.
Senator:Well, almost everywhere
Chef Ricky:New Orleans
Senator:does. With a kids set of
Gizmo:always loves. Listen, All right.
Bam Bam:Let's just talk about the food.
Senator:Yeah, please.
Gizmo:I'm gonna tell the story So real Senator tells me that we need to wear a collared shirt to this joint. So I'm thinking, you know, I'll just wear my rock, my black t shirt, put the jacket on, which is apparently not in line with their dress code.
Senator:You mean a black t shirt doesn't have a collar?
Bam Bam:Correct.
Gizmo:That's fine, but I think the jacket kinda negates the need for the collar when you have a nice jacket on. So, I mean, that's my line of thinking. So I show up there with the collar on and there's guys there with polos and shorts and boat shoes. I don't understand how that is more classy and dressed up than a guy in jeans and a jacket.
Bam Bam:I will can I correct you? The guys that were wearing shorts and polos were teenagers. They were kids.
Gizmo:That is not true.
Bam Bam:They were. I didn't see a single
Senator:Hold on. Was only first of all, 95% of the people that were in there were in pants and a collared shirt exactly like the dress code.
Bam Bam:And a lot of them were wearing jackets.
Senator:Some of them were.
Gizmo:Yeah. I was the only
Senator:So that was number one. 95% of the people followed the dress code to the T.
Bam Bam:That's true.
Senator:We saw when we were starting to walk in someone who was totally inappropriately dressed, but the operative thing is that guy was not dining there. That guy attempted to walk into the restaurant without a reservation, and they told him they don't have any seating, and he And
Bam Bam:what was that fucker wearing?
Senator:Like shorts and a t shirt.
Bam Bam:What kind of t shirt? My Graphic t shirt. Fucking graphic t shirt. I can't stand those things. It's appropriate for when you're six, not as an adult.
Bam Bam:It's true. Sorry. Okay.
Senator:So all I'm saying is that most were the overwhelming majority were following the dress code perfectly. So I was just trying to help you out, Giz, because you would have stuck out is the point.
Bam Bam:You looked good, Ben.
Gizmo:It was fine.
Bam Bam:You looked good. But the food there, off the charts.
Senator:Food was outstanding.
Gizmo:So I gotta
Senator:go through what we ate.
Gizmo:Walk through what we ate because every single item is gonna hit
Senator:my There so we got a bunch of starters. Their lobster dumplings were unbelievable. Off the charts. Unbelievable. We got, I think, tuna tartare there.
Gizmo:Yep. Yep.
Senator:That was great.
Bam Bam:Yep.
Senator:Oh, the Gulf shrimp agua chile, that was excellent. That was very good. I think we got a beet salad.
Pagoda:Yep.
Senator:Did we get some kind of
Bam Bam:I thought we had croquettes or something.
Senator:Yes. Crab? Crab, croquettes. Crab, or crawfish maybe.
Gizmo:Crawfish or crab.
Rooster:I don't
Senator:think was really crawfish, croquettes. They were actually
Rooster:very good. And
Gizmo:what was the, as we were eating our appetizers, they put a, like a
Bam Bam:Almost like a scone, like a little baked good of some kind.
Gizmo:It was almost like A
Bam Bam:A biscuit. Biscuit. Yeah yeah.
Rooster:It was
Gizmo:a biscuit of some,
Senator:it was good.
Pagoda:That was excellent.
Gizmo:That was awesome.
Pagoda:They were heavenly. That was heavenly.
Rooster:It was. It was better than Arthur Creatures.
Chef Ricky:Was it like the Cheddar Bay Biscuit at Red Lobster? Yeah.
Gizmo:Not that good. No. I've never had it.
Rooster:Those are good.
Senator:And then for entrees, know, I think Bam and I got the scallop at there.
Bam Bam:Which was amazing. The chain.
Rooster:It was perfectly cooked.
Chef Ricky:Satisfying. I love it.
Rooster:You can mess them up.
Bam Bam:Yeah. Satisfying.
Senator:It's really like it's a halibut fillet. Yeah. On the side, it's supposed to come with scallops. Actually, I'm pretty sure ours had crawfish. Yes.
Senator:They must have ran out of scallops. Yeah. Then it says a red shrimp risotto Right. Snow peas, pea shoot butter. It was excellent.
Senator:Fantastic. Giz got what the chef said is his favorite Sorry, what the waiter said is his favorite thing on the menu, which was cool. Awesome. What was yours called? It was like a
Gizmo:It was like the tuna
Bam Bam:Tuna steak
Gizmo:Tuna steak prepared like a, almost like a rib eye. Was like
Senator:a tuna rib eye. Yeah, tuna rib eye.
Gizmo:Tuna rib eye.
Pagoda:It was a bluefin tuna.
Gizmo:Bluefin tuna, but prepared in the style
Senator:of A rib eye steak.
Gizmo:A rib eye steak. Now it was cooked rare, of course. Mhmm. But it was It
Chef Ricky:had the rib bone attached. Oh, that's beautiful. It had
Gizmo:the grill marks on it like like a rib eye would.
Bam Bam:And it melted.
Gizmo:And they had the sauce, kinda like a rib eye, kinda like steak kind of dressing on.
Senator:Yep. Like when you took a bite, like Giz shared so we could try like.
Bam Bam:It melted
Senator:in was my like steak like, yet it was-
Chef Ricky:I'm sure. Was it dry aged? Did it say if the-
Gizmo:No, I think so. I think the flavor was coming from the sauce or however they prepared it. It tasted like what you'd expect a steak to taste like, but it was just tuna. Yeah. Was excellent.
Bam Bam:Yep. So
Chef Ricky:what was the price on that thing? That had to
Gizmo:be 60 maybe?
Chef Ricky:That's it?
Gizmo:Yeah. It wasn't terrible. Dude, there's no price in New Orleans that's crazy unless you're going to like Yeah.
Senator:Our scallop it's 42.
Chef Ricky:Yeah. Bluefin tuna I thought would have been just like through the roof.
Bam Bam:I think it was $60.70
Gizmo:maybe, something like
Bam Bam:that for that meal. We can't forget the wine that we had.
Gizmo:Oh, the wine was brilliant.
Bam Bam:White? That was special. Yeah, we had a fantastic white. The wine there was spectacular. It was buttery, a little briny, there was a touch of sweetness, beautiful, long, balanced finish.
Bam Bam:It was fantastic, paired perfectly with seafood.
Gizmo:So senator, talked to our server about what we were looking for and then asked him for a recommendation, and you said it was South African. Correct?
Senator:Yeah. He had recommended two, and I had picked that of the two. He I'd asked to try each because they actually have them by the glass. That reminded me of like a Greek Assertico. Like the minerality that that had, which was so perfect for all the seafood we were eating, it was awesome.
Bam Bam:Yeah. Chenin Blanc. Fantastic.
Senator:Oh, yeah.
Gizmo:Yeah. That was a great start food wise to the
Bam Bam:Big time.
Gizmo:To the trip. That was amazing.
Bam Bam:Oh, yeah.
Gizmo:So the next night
Rooster:oh, we didn't talk about the dessert.
Bam Bam:Oh, yeah. We did have dessert.
Rooster:We did
Pagoda:have dessert.
Rooster:What was the dessert? Yeah.
Senator:That wasn't my favorite.
Pagoda:I forgot. Yeah.
Bam Bam:We shared something. Not memorable.
Gizmo:Yeah. It wasn't that great.
Rooster:Yeah.
Bam Bam:I don't remember what it was.
Pagoda:I forgot what I ate
Senator:for It was like that butterscotch type tasting thing.
Bam Bam:Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah. My wife puree disappointed.
Rooster:It was okay. Mhmm.
Chef Ricky:My wife would be disappointed. She would be. She hates when no one remembers dessert.
Gizmo:So the next night, senator set us up at
Senator:La Petite Grocery. And this place I've been wanting to try because the chef there, he's won a James Beard award for best chef in the South. Like, he'd won it like five straight years. It was crazy. Wow.
Senator:So I've heard really, really good things about this place. It's on Magazine Street.
Bam Bam:That's
Senator:correct. Technically, like, in the northern part of the Garden District.
Bam Bam:That's right.
Senator:But a nice restaurant, very French vibe when you Almost go
Bam Bam:kind of like a turn of the century European spot that's a little shabby chic, old rustic floors, beautiful bar, really good ambiance there. Fantastic.
Senator:So at L'En Petite Grocery, starters I know we had, the steak tartare was excellent. Mhmm. The blue crab beignets
Gizmo:They were great.
Senator:Were awesome.
Pagoda:Oh, they were really good. Oh, yeah.
Senator:We got the gumbo the second time we went, which was really good. Very peppery but very good. Yep.
Gizmo:Yeah, the gumbo had a kick to it that was unexpected and it was like a lingering kick
Bam Bam:to I liked it.
Pagoda:Black pepper.
Gizmo:Really stuck with you. It was very, very good.
Bam Bam:Excellent. We had the cassoulet the first night.
Senator:Was one of the sides.
Bam Bam:Yeah, which I inhaled the whole thing.
Senator:The sides were great. We had like the roasted broccoli, that white bean cassoulet. The grits. Oh yeah, their grits.
Chef Ricky:Cassoulet was a side.
Bam Bam:Yeah. Yeah. Small little guy.
Gizmo:Did you guys get the shrimp and okra gumbo? Did we get that there that first night?
Bam Bam:The second night, I thought.
Senator:We got the gumbo the second night.
Gizmo:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That was good. And
Senator:then for entrees, Bam and I. So we should say that the plan was for us to go there the second night we were at PCA. The third night, I had another place picked out, and the fourth night was meant to be Commanders. We loved our meals so much at La Petite grocery the second night. We canceled the reservation for the place the third
Gizmo:night Saturday.
Senator:And just booked to come back to the same restaurant. Like, that's how obsessed we were with their food.
Chef Ricky:So
Senator:Bam and I, both times each night for our main, got the shrimp and grits. The best shrimp and grits I've ever had has been in Charleston, South Carolina. This is just as good, if not maybe a little bit better than the best shrimp and grits I've ever had.
Bam Bam:Wow.
Senator:It was incredible.
Bam Bam:I thought about chef the entire time I was eating that entree. And you, Brewster. I think you gotta gotta find a way to come down there next year or If well, we're not going back.
Gizmo:In three years.
Bam Bam:In three years. That's correct. But I missed you two guys. I think just for the the cuisine experience at this place,
Senator:unchef Chef woulda had a field day with unparalleled dude.
Pagoda:I didn't think about you guys at all, by the way. I would I I would focus on the food and really enjoying it.
Gizmo:You know what's crazy too, chef, is it's it's kind of, honestly, I would say kind of in your thinking the way you present your food where it's not, you know, it's not fancy plating. It's not ridiculous, small portions and dressing and it's flash. It's like meaty. It's crisp.
Senator:It's flavor. It's like there's a lot
Gizmo:of flavor.
Bam Bam:That's
Gizmo:correct. And they really don't skimp on the portions at any point. Well, that's just that the shrimp
Bam Bam:frits, it wasn't a massive portion, but it was so rich. But not heavy.
Chef Ricky:Loads of
Senator:butter That's a thing, but not heavy. It So that was rich, but not heavy.
Pagoda:The key
Senator:So with like, there's actually a number of places in New Orleans that do this that I don't like. Like, Grits can be really heavy, cheesy, all that. That's not the kind of grits that I like. The best grits in South Carolina and at this place, La Petite Grocery, it's light and airy Correct. Yet like rich, still rich.
Senator:It's so hard to do that.
Bam Bam:It's almost like a magic trick that they pull off.
Chef Ricky:The secret, you have to start your grits in stock. A lot of people start their grits in a rich liquid like milk or cream or something, then they hit it with butter and cheese at the end. You have to start it in stock or at least cut your your dairy with stock.
Bam Bam:I do have half fifty fifty that'll make it lighter.
Chef Ricky:It'll make it lighter.
Gizmo:Yeah,
Rooster:it's a cornmeal, right?
Chef Ricky:No, it's it's stone ground corn. It's not meal. I mean, it's it's not as like polenta. Exactly. It's not as finely ground as cornmeal.
Chef Ricky:And then I'm sure down there you guys, they used heirloom grits, you know, so it wasn't something like, you know, they probably came, especially if you're talking about Charleston grits. I know there they have some phenomenal, you know, acid mills is out there. They make some great grits. In fact, I ordered grits from those guys to stock at home. It's an entirely different experience when you use heirloom grits over like store bought.
Bam Bam:I'm still thinking about that meal.
Gizmo:Yeah. Yeah. Mean, it's both
Bam Bam:of them. It was just incredible.
Chef Ricky:Yeah. They probably in fact, they probably use shrimp stock. I guarantee you they say they use those shells, they use shrimp stock in those grits and that had a lot to do with that texture.
Gizmo:So we had had fish the first night. So I was looking at this menu and I made like a I I would say a risky decision.
Senator:Yeah. Was a
Chef Ricky:little nervous.
Gizmo:I I was a little nervous about it, and you guys were too. I ordered a filet mignon, and it was probably the most flavorful, best filet mignon I've ever had.
Pagoda:It was really good.
Gizmo:And you guys all tried mine again.
Bam Bam:Yeah, the color was perfect. The temperature was perfect.
Gizmo:Yeah. So I did mine rare the first night. The second night you guys were like, Yeah, it's a little too rare. So I did medium rare with Pagoda the second night. He ordered the same.
Gizmo:I'm say
Chef Ricky:rare plus the second night.
Gizmo:I didn't say rare plus once. I didn't want that to come up
Senator:Oh, on the As second after he said rare when the waiter was starting to walk away, he goes, plus.
Gizmo:That was just for you guys. It was phenomenal, the filet mignon. Then he got roasted duck
Bam Bam:blitz that first night. Really Excellent.
Gizmo:So we've talked about duck, I don't think on air, but you know, there's a place here in New Jersey Senator and I have been to that you said is probably the best duck you've ever had. For me, it's the only duck I've ever had that's Second best. Second best, excuse me. Why is it so hard to prepare duck?
Chef Ricky:Because it takes time, right? You have to render that skin because it's very fatty on the skin itself. But yet you don't want to overcook the meat because the minute you overcook that duck meat, it just turns into a game bomb. It's just super gamey. It's not it's not delicious.
Chef Ricky:So you have to render that fat at a low at a low heat and allow it to cook down so it gets crispy and do it in very shallow, like almost let it happen in its own fat, so that way you don't have a pool of fat that's then cooking the meat at the same time. So you know, it's one piece of meat that you're cooking in two different methods essentially. So it just takes time, It takes a good amount of time.
Pagoda:It was perfect. It was really, really good.
Chef Ricky:Crispy skin,
Senator:rare meat. They also have a very unique dish on their menu that I definitely want to try the next time. I've seen the photos, it looks awesome. Turtle Bolognese.
Gizmo:Bam. Little nervous, man.
Senator:Now listen. Don't start. Don't you start. No.
Gizmo:We're just ready to go on the Bolognese.
Senator:The reason I'm telling you, I I guarantee that this is gonna be fantastic. You have to understand. I explained this our first trip there that turtle is a delicacy in New Orleans. And we had it Commander's Palace. I told all of them, like, we order a bunch of starters, and I said, look.
Senator:Like, you have to try the turtle soup here. It's one of the most famous things on the menu. And I asked if they could instead of, like, one portion, bring out, like, small ones for all of us to try. They're these little cups. Yep.
Senator:Every single guy liked it so much, they asked for another round
Bam Bam:of turtle soup. That's correct.
Senator:That's how good. And the turtle in that soup is tender. It doesn't have any strange taste. Like, if anything, it tastes like chicken. Like, it it was awesome.
Senator:So I do believe, and especially the photos I'm telling you, if you look up the the dish at La Petite Grocery, it looks very good.
Rooster:Is the soup like a cream based?
Senator:No. No. No. It's more like a gumbo. So like at Commanders, which I had told them I wanted to do when we were ideally gonna go back, the soup trio, which is like their gumbo, the turtle soup, and I forget what the third is.
Senator:But turtle soup is very much like gumbo in consistency. It was excellent.
Gizmo:So I have to talk about my favorite side, and it's gonna sound silly talking about this. The roasted broccoli side at this restaurant was lights out.
Bam Bam:Yeah. Simple but fantastic.
Senator:I roast broccoli all the time at home and I make great roasted broccoli. That's the best roasted broccoli I've ever had.
Gizmo:It's it's shocking. I can't even believe I'm talking about that on a podcast, the roasted broccoli. It wasn't air fried.
Rooster:It was roasted. It was roasted. Yeah.
Senator:Roasted. Oh my goodness.
Gizmo:With chili flakes and
Bam Bam:And garlic. And Garlic.
Senator:Yeah. Yeah. We forgot the best side at GW Finns, the dirty rice and chicken liver. Oh, yes. Oh my god.
Senator:We got just a random side on their menu. It's dirty rice and chicken liver, and we're just like, yeah. We'll we'll try a little bit of that. It was probably the best thing on the table. Yeah.
Gizmo:It was phenomenal.
Senator:Dude, we were attacking unbelievable. That Was it
Gizmo:it was rice and collard greens, wasn't it?
Senator:Oh, and green oh my god. The collard greens. So good. Really, they
Rooster:actually I love
Senator:collard So good. Me
Gizmo:too. It was incredible. Unbelievable. You know, other thing I wanna say about GW Finn too is I was shocked as to where what the location. Yeah.
Gizmo:It's right off Bourbon. Quite literally off Bourbon Street where all kind of the madness that you know of happens. I mean, there's like families
Bam Bam:block off the street.
Gizmo:There's like families walking and insanity happening
Senator:There on Bourbon tons of like very nice high end restaurants on and off, like right off of Bourbon. Yeah. Like Galera Tois is literally right on Bourbon Street. Two blocks from where we normally would have cigars late
Bam Bam:night. The place that you took us to last year.
Senator:Doris Metropolitan. That's also toward the end of Bourbon right off of it.
Gizmo:Yeah. That's right.
Bam Bam:Very good. Duck is a unique dish. I haven't had very good experience with it.
Chef Ricky:No. I'm saying that can't be more unique than turtle. Just I just while you guys were talking, I was just looking at photos of how to butcher a turtle.
Bam Bam:Well, don't wanna see that. I don't wanna
Gizmo:see Well, you're gonna have to when you make some bolognese for us.
Bam Bam:Turtle bolognese?
Rooster:He's got to make regular bolognese first. I was waiting, Roose.
Gizmo:That's a by the way, that's a five year running joke,
Chef Ricky:and I
Bam Bam:love took so long.
Chef Ricky:We should have on the gram, we should have a instructional video of band making bolognese.
Bam Bam:There is a place
Gizmo:We don't have that kind of time. I'm
Chef Ricky:sorry. I'll pass.
Bam Bam:The best duck I've ever had was in Massachusetts in Chatham, Wild Goose Tavern. They leave the skin on and it's roasted and it's I think it's it's there's a there's a little bit of cinnamon and cardamom in it and it comes out very dark. It's really pretty incredible. Very easy to eat. Not as rare as you had a Pagoda, a different style, but it was, I think, the best duck I've ever had.
Lizard Christ:Wow.
Bam Bam:Yours was good though.
Pagoda:It was really good.
Gizmo:Yeah. We had such a great meal the first night. I was shocked when you took the suggestion like, hey, let's do this again next year. What prompted you to say, like, let's skip this next experience on Saturday night, and let's come back to petite grocery?
Senator:It was just that good. I mean, I it's so obvious why this chef wanted James Beard for, like, best chef in the South. Like, I've eaten at many restaurants in New Orleans. I've eaten extensively in Charleston, and their cuisine is very similar in both places, and I think two of the best food cities in this country. Like, that restaurant, man, what a spectacular job they that chef does there.
Senator:So it it wasn't a hard sell when I forget who initially suggested it, and I was like, yep. Sure. I'll cancel it, and we'll just come back. I mean, it was awesome.
Bam Bam:And we can't forget the wine that we had there that night. Oh yeah. The first night.
Gizmo:So they had a somm on-site. Yeah. And so you were talking to the somm, know, gave them our entree, you know, choices, and said, give me some, you know, options.
Senator:Yeah. So they're also deciding between two was a French cote d'Oron or an Italian wine, and the cote d'Oron was perfect. Like
Bam Bam:It was incredible.
Senator:Enough structure for, like, steak, but wasn't, like, so full and heavy that it would overpower our shrimp and grits. It was perfect. Fantastic.
Gizmo:So then we came back the second night, had another great experience there. Did not regret it for a moment. I got the fillet again, as we said Pagoda did as well. You guys went shrimp and grits
Bam Bam:Again. Again, Oh, yeah.
Gizmo:You did it again that second No, guess. It's pretty much like repeated. Irresistible, the shrimp and grits. The only change was your entree, Pagoda.
Pagoda:Yeah. From from the duck to the steak.
Gizmo:Duck to the steak.
Senator:Even the french fries there. Do you remember so long?
Pagoda:Oh, french fries.
Senator:The first night this guy brings out french fries as a side, and we're like, we didn't order french fries, and then they were like, oh, just it's on the house, just enjoy them. So we're like, alright, we'll try some of these. I mean, they must cook that in duck fat. It was Phenomenal. Incredible.
Senator:These thin cut french fries.
Gizmo:And again, I can't get over the fact that we're having these gourmet, special, memorable, to the point that we're gonna spend as much time as we are talking about on this podcast. And you walk out of there, and the bill is like you went to a mediocre restaurant in New Jersey.
Bam Bam:Very affordable.
Gizmo:Very affordable. You would sit down at these places and think you're gonna be spending $150 $200 a head. It's that kind of level quality, but
Bam Bam:you're not. You're full, but you don't feel bloated. You don't feel weighed down.
Chef Ricky:You're not getting bread. Bread.
Bam Bam:Yeah, we're not getting bread, but the overall style of cooking, it's I don't know. Again,
Senator:it's magic. Right? Point, like, I feel heavier, like, the food, like, when we have a meal in Cuba.
Bam Bam:Oh, Yeah.
Senator:Oh, definitely. I do walking out of these restaurants in the malls. It's like it's hard
Gizmo:Also to eating rice and beans every single meal in Cuba.
Bam Bam:Kind of. We had a We were
Senator:eating grits and they were so light the And way they were tons able of appetizers get
Bam Bam:and a ton of wine and you walk out of there, you feel like a million dollars.
Rooster:How about the coffee? Did you go to any cafes?
Senator:Went to cafes in Monde. Yeah. Chicory coffee.
Chef Ricky:That was true.
Bam Bam:Always good. Always unique.
Rooster:Chicory coffee.
Bam Bam:Yep, and the beignets are fantastic. Good follow-up to our daily lunch.
Senator:Oh, So lunch every day, like last year, was Central Grocery, the Muffalada, the most famous sandwich in New Orleans.
Bam Bam:Never get tired
Senator:It's of just as good as last year.
Bam Bam:I mean, it never gets old. Never ever get How
Rooster:big is that sandwich? Oh, it's huge.
Senator:So if you get a whole one, it's cut into four, and basically one person can eat a quarter of it.
Bam Bam:So the diameter is about 12 to 14 inches, so it's about that big. And a quarter, it's about that thick, and it's a wedge that's roughly seven by seven and then the radius to edge. It's unbelievable. It's huge.
Rooster:And the bread is like a focaccia? Like a
Senator:Kind of that Yeah. It's that style but softer. Softer and lighter.
Rooster:Yeah. More airier. What's cool about
Gizmo:it is the place is like an assembly line. Like, you're not going in there ordering the sandwich. You wait around. They make it. You're ten, fifteen, twenty minutes.
Gizmo:They hand it to you. You order it, and they've already made it, and they just hand
Senator:it to you. Because they have one thing on the menu.
Gizmo:That's all they make. That's all they serve. Oh, really?
Rooster:That's cannot one order
Senator:anything else there. That place has been there for, like, a hundred years, and all they make is a muffulada.
Bam Bam:Wow. No soy ball. You're just
Pagoda:damn it.
Senator:But like you said, it's like a machine. I mean, you just walk in, and all you see is, like, five people just making the same sandwich, just constantly packaging it, and they're just handing them out to every person as they're coming in and ordering.
Bam Bam:It's crazy.
Rooster:How much is a a whole sandwich?
Senator:A whole one is only $20. Now the funny thing is, like, when I Goldbelly ordered this, like, during COVID, I was depressed I couldn't go to New Orleans. It was, a $100 for that sandwich. It's normally $20.
Rooster:Well worth it, I guess.
Senator:It was worth it. I'm not even kidding.
Bam Bam:It's an awesome take on an Italian hero.
Senator:I mean, now that you all have had Very unique. During COVID, can't travel, can't do anything, would you not pay the $100 to Oh, go belly yeah. Absolutely.
Gizmo:Especially with all the money you were saving not going out to eat That's correct. You know, couple times a month.
Senator:And one one whole sandwich feeds four people for that $100.
Bam Bam:And you're full.
Gizmo:Right. Yeah. Pretty incredible. So we had planned initially to go to Commander's Palace on our final evening there, Sunday night. We had you had a long standing reservation with them.
Gizmo:I know you were really, like Yeah.
Senator:Is the first and only time I've ever canceled a reservation at Commander.
Rooster:So Is that only open for dinner or
Senator:No. No. They do lunch. Oh my god. No.
Senator:Do they do they do brunch too. Their brunch is, like, legendary.
Bam Bam:I'd like to do that.
Gizmo:Maybe we should do that next year. I wanna do that.
Senator:I mean, when? We have PCA. We'd have to be there.
Bam Bam:Hey, you're making us work. Fucking manager.
Pagoda:That'd be perfect. Maybe A boozy lunch on a Sunday.
Chef Ricky:Couple ATVs.
Senator:I mean, the funny thing is there's a I think in the afternoon on I think it's Fridays, they do 25¢ martinis.
Gizmo:Oh, that's deep.
Senator:What? They've been doing this for decades. They've kept the price the same for decades.
Rooster:Bam's all in.
Gizmo:Bam's ready. I
Bam Bam:can't do that. A quarter. I'd be wearing my lunch in four hours. It's I cannot do that.
Rooster:You just have a liquid lunch.
Bam Bam:How much for a martini?
Senator:25¢.
Bam Bam:Are you fucking
Pagoda:kidding to go now.
Bam Bam:Four martinis for a dollar?
Rooster:Dude, a $5 muffaletta and a 25¢ martini.
Bam Bam:I'd do that if on an empty stomach. I wouldn't I can't eat. I will be very sick afterwards, but very happy. I will be very happy.
Rooster:You will be.
Pagoda:Yes. Well, it depends on the dinner we've had the night before.
Senator:True. So commanders, it was painful to cancel that reservation. I hope they don't permanently hold that against me. Just send them a card. But we had been invited to a nice gala dinner with one of the one of the brands that was at PCA that obviously we couldn't turn down.
Senator:So that's why we had to miss our commander's reservation.
Bam Bam:That was a great night, however.
Gizmo:Oh, It was. And so we'll detail that next week, but I do wanna highlight one thing, we'll talk about it again next week. I couldn't believe how good the old fashions were.
Pagoda:Yes.
Gizmo:And so they had these pre made old fashions at this party we went to. And do you remember what the place was called? It was a very
Senator:odd It's the Building Of Trade
Gizmo:That's in New Right. It was an odd name. They had these premade Old Fashions with Bulleit Whiskey. I must have had eight of them. Yeah.
Gizmo:I felt Eight. I swear to God, I felt like a million dollars. Like there wasn't any alcohol in the because
Bam Bam:you were wasted.
Gizmo:No, I wasn't. I swear to you, wasn't. No, to this point, like,
Senator:we all left there feeling great.
Gizmo:Dude, I felt great. Yeah.
Rooster:Were these like smaller sized?
Senator:No. No. Full size glasses.
Gizmo:They were full size.
Rooster:Eight of them.
Gizmo:I had about eight in three, four hours, but it was They were delicious. One of the best old fashions I've ever had. And I know you're an old fashioned guy, Pagoda. How would you rank them?
Pagoda:I I think they were better than the old fashioned Le Petite grocery, but I didn't try the one
Bam Bam:The in one I had at GWFN?
Senator:Yeah. You had like a smoked old fashioned
Bam Bam:It kid in actually the best old fashioned I've ever had, because I haven't ever experienced an old fashioned that was so smoky, a touch of sweetness, and I do like a touch of bitterness there too. I don't like an overtly sweet drink. That was balanced perfectly, but the smokiness with a cigar, just fantastic.
Pagoda:But these were really good.
Bam Bam:Worth trying again.
Gizmo:So, boys, we have come into the last third now on the Ilang Galera Imperial Jade in Robusto and the Lost Lore. Tequila Reposado is our pairing tonight. What's everybody thinking of both entrants? I'm getting
Bam Bam:a hint of newspaper in my cigar.
Rooster:The cigar is good, but it's not great. I would agree with you.
Senator:Yeah. Same.
Gizmo:It's definitely fallen off for me since the first third. It's kind of been a gradual decline.
Bam Bam:Getting any blank ink?
Gizmo:That might be your suture. That could be.
Rooster:When we smelled the wrapper, it was promising.
Gizmo:Oh, yeah.
Rooster:Then you cut the cigar and the notes we were getting, it was like, wow, this looks promising. This is going to be a great cigar. You were getting that chocolate cocoa note. And you got that in the beginning, but after that, it just kind of
Gizmo:fell off. Don't know
Rooster:what happens. It's very one dimensional, a little bit boring, a little dry.
Pagoda:Yeah, it became even drier in the end. I did get a hint of spice, like not black peppery, but it became a little spicy.
Rooster:It's not offensive.
Pagoda:It's It's a
Rooster:cigar you can pick up and just smoke and it's, you know, I mean, it's it's not it's not great.
Bam Bam:I don't think I could smoke this again, personally. That's me.
Rooster:If that was the only choice you had.
Gizmo:I don't think it's that bad, Bam. I mean
Bam Bam:I'm not enjoying it.
Gizmo:I mean, I think that's a little harsh. I don't know.
Senator:I mean, we've all got different palates. Yeah.
Bam Bam:I'm not I I liked that that first few puffs, and then it was confusing for a while. Smokable. Not bad. Look at the construction's really good. And I haven't gotten any bitterness at all until now.
Rooster:I think the blend of the original La Galera that we did, that was fantastic.
Bam Bam:Of course.
Gizmo:Yeah, the Habano.
Bam Bam:Yeah, that was a resounding 10.
Rooster:A lot of chocolate, lot of sweetness on that cigar. We don't get in this.
Bam Bam:I think it's great if a marker can differentiate from line to line and do it in a very sophisticated way. If they could have matched the production of the Habano line in this cigar, then it would probably be better.
Rooster:Well, I think it's the blend, right? I mean, you have to change the blend in this to make it with a little bit more oomph, bring a little bit of sweetness in it, get some more of the chocolate notes going. It needs more. It's lacking something.
Chef Ricky:It's become a very light affair for me. I was really excited in the beginning with everything that it was starting to offer and the cold draw and the Roman the rapper. But now coming into the final third, don't know what happened. It's almost like it just got diluted.
Rooster:It's almost like borrow a leaf from Padron and put it in there and that would completely fix the cigar. Put a Nicaraguan leaf in there.
Senator:So the funny thing is, I had forgotten. I've had one of these before, and I'm pretty sure Ben I remember also this in the chat.
Gizmo:I think that's what prompted us getting this cigar.
Senator:I have never had this. Could you? I didn't sing its praises. No. No.
Gizmo:No. I'm not saying that, but you said we should you know, when we do another La Galera, let's look at Imperial Jade. I don't That's how I found out about it, through you.
Rooster:It's your fault.
Senator:Don't remember ever suggesting this would be a great review cigar. Lizard Ryan had gotten these,
Bam Bam:and I haven't never tried
Senator:sworn that you smoked it with me. I would remember it.
Rooster:That explains it.
Senator:I mean, it's not that memorable. Honestly, I thought I had never had this cigar until about halfway through I realized I have.
Bam Bam:I wouldn't forget the offensiveness of the band design, so I would have remembered it.
Senator:Alright. I mean, the the thing with the cigar, what I remember from the first time, it was super, super smooth all the way through. There was no bitterness, so I'm very confused by the bitterness we're getting. But what is in common, it was one dimensional. And I said that that night to Lizard Ryan, it's not a bad cigar.
Senator:It's not a great cigar. It's it's a good cigar. It's not there's nothing remarkable or offensive about it. That tracks with exactly the experience I've had tonight, but I am surprised by the bitterness that I was getting at many points in this cigar that I definitely didn't remember getting that first time I had one.
Gizmo:So I have a question for you guys on this cigar because as we noted coming on, this is probably the first Dominican cigar that we've had with Cameroon wrapper on it outside of Fuente, namely the Hemingway series. Right? Are there any parallels to the experience you've had tonight with Fuente, the Hemingway series, call it short story, bestseller, any those better?
Rooster:No. Hemingway is better.
Bam Bam:I agree.
Gizmo:I I agree
Bam Bam:with you. There's no parallel to me
Rooster:Yeah.
Bam Bam:At all.
Gizmo:It's almost like the
Rooster:Cameroon wrapper is not doing anything for this cigar.
Bam Bam:Yeah. The Hemingway has a nice, almost like a raisin type thing for me. And there's a touch of
Gizmo:It has more flavor.
Bam Bam:And it's very flavorful.
Gizmo:And there's that sweetness kind of that rounds it.
Bam Bam:Get that from that raisin or that dry fruit that I'm getting in that cigar for sure.
Gizmo:So I was hoping coming in tonight that being in the same price range, being in a similar kind of makeup as some of that Hemingway stuff, I was hoping that it would be, you know, perform really well, especially for an $8 cigar. I mean
Bam Bam:Let me get my buzzer out.
Rooster:Dollars 10 cigar. All right.
Gizmo:So back to New Orleans. So of course, after the PCA show, wrapped up every day at around 06:00, we would find ourselves either at a PCA after event, then we'd go to dinner. And then after that, we'd go out and have some more cigars. So I think the common place for PCA attendees is a place called Cuban Creations. Right?
Bam Bam:That's correct.
Gizmo:We end up starting last year, we ended up at La Habana, is what you guys found that first night last year.
Bam Bam:The best destination to be in.
Senator:That's the best place to smoke a cigar in New Orleans.
Gizmo:Hands down. Phenomenal hospitality, great environment, what an awesome place to
Senator:smoke. Yeah, to set it up for the listeners, so it's right on Bourbon Street. It's basically like a two story, it feels like a house.
Bam Bam:Mhmm. It is. It's a residential dwelling.
Senator:Yeah. And downstairs, they have a humidor. There's, like, lounge seating. You can go upstairs. There's a a number of different kind of rooms with seating.
Bam Bam:Yep. There's two large rooms up there and one room to the left of the stairs as you go up with a bar. Very nicely done space.
Senator:Yeah. Yeah. When you go upstairs, it's like open air because it looks over the courtyard that's in the back, and the courtyard is awesome. You can sit out there. There's some tables and chairs.
Senator:They have live music every night. And behind the courtyard, then they have another house that has a full bar in it, bathroom, stuff like that. And a balcony Yes.
Bam Bam:Where the magic takes place.
Senator:That's right. So they have this, like, Cuban salsa band play every night from, like, 10PM to 1AM. They are absolutely incredible. Like, better than any live Cuban jazz band I've heard in Havana anywhere. So much so this time, I had one of the this waitress asked for the band's information.
Senator:They don't even have a name, which like what a tragedy. These
Gizmo:guys Really? So they don't have social media, a website, nothing? No. They just show up there
Senator:They just show up and play.
Gizmo:The the main a balcony.
Senator:The main guy who who she told me about, he does have a website because I found it, and I had asked her to ask him if he'd be willing to give his information and if he'd be interested if I were to pay to have him basically fly to Jersey and, like, perform for a night.
Gizmo:Oh, yeah. Let's do that.
Senator:I wanna do this for my birthday in August. This is my Oh, yes. And he was obviously very amenable, he wrote down, like, his phone number, email, all that. I chatted with him after. He's a big cigar guy, so I gave him some cigars to smoke.
Senator:But they are just spectacular. Mean, this place is rocking when they perform.
Pagoda:The family.
Rooster:How many guys?
Pagoda:Think they've about themselves being the Robinson family.
Senator:Oh, that was a joke.
Pagoda:Oh, that was a joke, I wasn't
Bam Bam:thought there were
Gizmo:a lot of
Bam Bam:Get back to the topic. We go at it.
Pagoda:What's the topic?
Gizmo:Many guys were in the band?
Bam Bam:How many pieces? So you had a keyboardist Four or five? Five.
Senator:I think five.
Gizmo:Yeah. You had vocal sax, keys Yes. Drums. Was there a bass player? Trumpet.
Gizmo:Trumpet.
Bam Bam:And trumpet. No no guitar, no bass. But on the last night, a young lady joined them where prior to she wasn't there. This girl is probably the most talented live performer I have ever seen.
Senator:She's amazing.
Bam Bam:Her voice is spectacular. She plays the saxophone. I was in a trance. It was captivating. Was just incredible how talented she was.
Bam Bam:She added something to the band. I'm not gonna say they lacked because they were incredible without her, but her but she totally elevated them.
Senator:Yeah. It was just That was the best performance. That last night at PCA, we've ever heard out of them.
Bam Bam:And here's the cool thing. We were there. It was pretty quiet. There were some people back there.
Senator:Some people? Well, early on. Okay. Early.
Bam Bam:And then eventually, one group from PCA found their way there. Then a second and then a third. Rocky Patel and his brother walk in. This fucking guy hangs out with them, doesn't introduce us. It's okay.
Senator:Thank you, Pagoda. Yeah. And Nish That's were right.
Rooster:Yeah, Nish
Pagoda:Patel. Hey, that's the Indian connection. Hey.
Bam Bam:And it doesn't matter how tired you are, how long of a walk it is, and I can say, looking at Pagoda that night, we were trudging up and down Bourbon Street to get to this place every night. Regardless of how tired you are, the moment you get there, you feel fully energized, especially when the band's rocking.
Senator:It's electric. Mean, there's tons of people dancing salsa. Unreal. It's awesome.
Gizmo:And it's like, I think some of them were locals, right, who were dancing. Oh, yeah. Like, this wasn't all PCA. Like, were some folks that
Senator:lived in an avid local following, because the funny thing is now that we've been at PCA New Orleans the last two years, there were people there that I recognized from last year who were there, and then it was like you find out like some of them literally live as close as across the street, and they just always come to this place. That's where they love to dance and just have a great time. It's a really fun spot.
Bam Bam:Yeah. If I lived there, it'd be a problem.
Rooster:Would have martinis for $25 That'd be
Gizmo:a huge problem. Game over.
Rooster:That and turtle bolognese were done.
Gizmo:I would
Bam Bam:disappear into the fabric. I would never be found again. Amazing.
Gizmo:Yeah, that place was great. Shout out to them again, the hospitality. I mean, we sat there every night smoking a lot of cigars, you know, certainly buying drinks and whatnot, but there was no like they weren't, you know, looking for cutting fees. They weren't looking for cigar sales. They were just happy to have us happy to have us, you know, supporting the bar.
Gizmo:And they were just fantastic. I think that goes across all of New Orleans. The service is just incredible. Yeah. Hospitality.
Bam Bam:I will say it was impressive to see the selection of aging room that they had. They had the concerto, the sonata, and one or two of the quattro line. All right on that upper tier shelf, nicely lit.
Senator:It was funny because Rafael Nadal and his wife were there one night dancing salsa. That's right. Oh, that's awesome.
Bam Bam:So cool.
Pagoda:And I think we finished all the Florida Cana.
Gizmo:Yeah, so we were drinking Florida Cana Four. Yeah. Which is all they had.
Chef Ricky:So Pagoda, what were you talking about with Patel Brothers?
Pagoda:I have no idea. I was drunk.
Rooster:I'm sorry.
Gizmo:You said Nish remembers you though, right?
Pagoda:Yeah, know. We were having this conversation. So I used to go to a place called Nat Sherman in the city as, so we used to hang out over there, and there was one of these afternoons where we ended up speaking. So he would frequent Nat Sherman often. And we didn't know who he was.
Pagoda:And in the old time, there were just like these four leather, you know, chairs over there. And And so you know, we
Senator:But met same thing actually in New Orleans. Correct.
Pagoda:Yeah, no, but there was this guy who kept going deeper and deeper and deeper into cigars, and I think I might have said, what the fuck? You know, some common thing, what the fuck? Who are you? Because, you know, he knew so much about cigars. And then he was laughing and he introduced himself as Nish Patel.
Pagoda:But what was interesting at this time when, you know, met him at this bar, you know, we kind of hugged each other and I said, Nish, I don't know whether you remember me. And he said, of course I do. And I said, no, but you're kidding. And he said, no, you were the guy with the, you know, I used to always wear a suit. And Nat Sherman, obviously you're a tourist, you had a lot of different people going in there.
Pagoda:So he says, I remember you with the shirt and tie, and you know, there were very few of us. So I said, all right, maybe he does have a great memory. But you know, it started, it sparked off the conversation. And then we hung out, you know, for a bit.
Gizmo:Awesome.
Senator:Yeah. All I can say as an observer, Pagoda and Nish have a lot in common. Oh, yeah. They like to have a good time.
Pagoda:Oh, yeah.
Bam Bam:Woah, Nelly.
Gizmo:So I wanna tell one more story about the Patel's because we had a
Bam Bam:Oh, yeah.
Gizmo:Funny moment with Rocky, actually. So I wanna set this up. And shout out again to Josh and the team at PCA because last year, I think the word got around that there wasn't really enough places to smoke after the show. Cuban Creations is small. La Habano, that's not I don't think that's like an official place to smoke.
Gizmo:Last year it was. This year it was.
Senator:This year it was, and I think Cuban Creations wanted like an exclusive thing.
Gizmo:Got it. PCA actually rented out for the first time an after show large venue. I guess they call it the old sugar Mill. It's technically the warehouse now. Yeah.
Gizmo:So it's this massive, like, I don't know what you'd call it, like industrial wedding venue kind of space. Yeah. Event space. They have a stage. You know, they have screens.
Gizmo:It's huge ceilings. How high would you say the ceilings
Bam Bam:are? It's a repurposed factory. Probably 25 feet to the bottom of the rafters, the rafters go up another eight feet.
Chef Ricky:Wow.
Bam Bam:Beautiful space.
Gizmo:Big space. Mean, could probably fit a couple thousand people in
Bam Bam:there if
Gizmo:you were doing something. Beautiful brick building. Packing them up.
Bam Bam:Great big windows.
Senator:And open air, like it feeds out into this courtyard. They've got lighting out there.
Bam Bam:And the garage doors at the back that allow you to go in and out to that back courtyard with the lighting, fantastic.
Gizmo:So we had gone to the warehouse a couple times and we were leaving there one night and we're walking out to get our Uber. And all of a sudden we're approaching like where the guard, you know, kinda stands and he's looking for badges, you know, the PCA like badge that we wear around our neck for people to come in and how to be official.
Bam Bam:He was very diligent.
Gizmo:And Rocky Patel is standing there totally flustered on his phone, like clearly trying to either text or call someone, right? Forgot his badge. That's correct. And the guy
Bam Bam:He was The a
Gizmo:security card.
Rooster:Oh, wasn't.
Gizmo:This poor guy was not letting No badge. No entry. Yeah. No badge. No entry.
Bam Bam:And in fairness, he was doing his job.
Senator:And the funny thing is, like, there was such a commotion about this. Like, as we were walking out, some other PCA attendee, I just hear this guy yelling out like, they're not even letting Rocky Patel in. This is crazy. So we're walking up to this whole scene where Rocky can't get in and is trying to find someone. I'm sure he was texting Josh and other people.
Senator:Like, someone help me at this gate.
Bam Bam:So leave it to the lizards.
Chef Ricky:You give him Pagoda's badge?
Pagoda:No. Bobby, shut up. No.
Senator:We started talking to the security guard.
Gizmo:I'm like, do you know
Senator:who this guy is? I'm like, this is his event. This is Rocky Patel. He's like, but he doesn't have the badge. I'm like, who cares if doesn't have badge?
Senator:This is Rocky Patel. He's like Do you
Bam Bam:know who this is? No. I don't. And I don't wanna know. Doesn't have But
Senator:we literally convinced the security guard to let him in, and obviously he was thankful after that, but it
Gizmo:was very funny. I was like, this event doesn't happen without Rocky Patel.
Bam Bam:Like Correct.
Gizmo:He is a huge piece of PCA. Like, obviously, Rocky should have had his badge.
Senator:Well, it's funny because he was telling the security guard, he's like, this is my event. And the security guard's like, without a badge, it's not
Gizmo:So I would venture to say we saved Rocky Patel. I think that's an important thing.
Bam Bam:Correct.
Gizmo:Rooster?
Rooster:Very impressed. But, man, it was
Gizmo:a it was a great show. Yeah. Fantastic. It was a
Bam Bam:great show.
Gizmo:So we'll talk next week a little bit more about the big event we went to that we talked about the old fascist tonight. It was really awesome. Rafael Nadal and AJ Fernandez and the team over there at Altanis put on a great event. So we'll talk about that we'll talk about that next week.
Chef Ricky:And you guys did a great job. I feel like I was there with you.
Gizmo:Well, I think the thing that we learned last year, and I know specifically one lizard, Lizard Sean took our itinerary that senator put together last year and quite literally took his son and went and did the itinerary in New Orleans and So reported I really would encourage more lizards to take this advice from last year and this year and go have yourself a phenomenal few days in New Orleans of cigars and food and music and drinks and culture. I mean, you know, the one thing I wanted to mention is my father-in-law really, really was pushing me to do it, and I regret not building the time in, but there's the World War II Museum in New Orleans, which is massive. And I have heard it's so big and complete that you could spend like two or three days there and almost not see everything.
Bam Bam:Wow.
Gizmo:It's that serious. I know Tom Hanks produced some sort of immersive experience, you know, experiential thing there with like four d, you know, like you're immersed in what happened during World War II. But that's literally right outside the convention center we were at. So I wish Senator would have
Chef Ricky:loved that. Senator would have loved that.
Senator:Okay. Apparently I'm a big World War II guy.
Gizmo:I do wish
Rooster:that I
Gizmo:had built in some time. I think in '29 when we go, unless I get there sooner. But I think when we go next time, I'm going to build in some time to go check that out because But I've heard it's pretty New Orleans, what a great city. What a great experience. And we will be getting back there in 2029.
Bam Bam:Long time.
Gizmo:Yeah. So you have to start planning reservations for Vegas next year, senator.
Senator:Oh, I will. I'm I'm gonna be all over Vegas, please. Awesome. Fucking desert.
Gizmo:How's your cigar, boys? I
Bam Bam:put it down.
Senator:It's done. Same?
Gizmo:Done. Yeah. The finish was a little weak. I'm kinda bummed out about it. The start was great.
Gizmo:The finish was not. Alright. So we're gonna get to our ratings in a moment, boys, but now it's time to go into our lizard of the week presented by our friends at Bon Robert Cigars. And our lizard of the week this week is gonna be our friend, Lizard Chris. And he has a voice memo for us that I wanna play
Bam Bam:right now.
Lizard Christ:What's up, Lizards? It's Lizard Chris here, and this is my first ever voice memo. I've written you guys a bunch of emails in the past, and I feel like there's been two or three other Lizard Chrises since I've written in, but I am the young lizard that originally prompted the FreshNet conversation. First off, I love that Lizard O's been sending in some more bourbons lately. It's honestly one of my favorite pairings.
Lizard Christ:So I love to see some more of that. And I wanted to wait until there was some organic discovery that ice isn't a bad thing before bringing this up. With that being said, being able to quantify the
Pagoda:colors you're
Lizard Christ:using as well as the glassware is very important. So I wanted to challenge you guys to purchase a set of Glencairn glasses for the pod. So like just like Senator with wine and how Stemware is so important, drinking whiskey or bourbon out of a Glencairn, I believe it genuinely does elevate the experience and it even changes the notes you pick up. I get a lot more whenever I drink out of a Glencairn compared to, like, a rocks glass or something like that. You can get, like, a multi pack on Crate and Barrel or there's, like, branded versions through various distilleries and whatnot.
Lizard Christ:And I wanted to touch on ice a little bit. So personally, I use three different molds. You can get them basically anywhere. I think I got mine from Target, but they have, a small cube one, a medium small cube, and a large cube. And the large one, I only use for mixed drinks like old fashions.
Lizard Christ:And depending on the proof of the spirit, I will either start with the the smallest cube and titrate up to effect without diluting it too much or go straight to the medium cube if it's something like a barrel proof Jack Daniel or something that's like 60 something percent. There's a lot of great high proof bourbons out there, but it does take a while to get used to them. Usually, drink
Bam Bam:a bottle
Rooster:with
Lizard Christ:a Bond, which is 50% or
Gizmo:a 100
Lizard Christ:proof. And anything in that range, even a little above, I'll usually drink it neat. If it drinks a little hot, then I will titrate with the ice. I'll use, like, the small cube. And honestly, it's totally possible that some of you guys, I mean, bourbon just isn't your thing, especially with exploring so many different spirits like the tequila's, rums, cognacs, and whatnot.
Lizard Christ:But I do drink every spirit that I consume other than cognac out of the Glencairn glass, and I I truly does do think it makes a difference. So I hope you guys try it out, and I've also compiled a little list of recommendations below. I'm gonna have to look at what you guys haven't done to make sure it's not on there. But thank you guys for your time, and keep smoking.
Gizmo:So congratulations to our friend Lizard Chris with that great voice memo. He's gonna win a 10 count box of cigars from our friends at Bon Roberts.
Bam Bam:Very detailed.
Gizmo:Very detailed. Listen. I I the reason why I wanted to share this today is our lizard of the week, Lizard Chris here. Obviously, he's very passionate about bourbon, but he represents a a pretty large component of our audience, especially our American audience who loves bourbon, who really want us to fall in love with bourbon. And, you know, we've talked about Stemware before.
Gizmo:Obviously, Senator's pretty passionate about Stemware. We've talked about proof of bourbon, etcetera. What do you guys think of Lizard Chris' suggestions here to get the Glencairn glasses, try some higher proof bourbons, the different types of ice, etcetera? Like, what what's your read out on on what Lizard Chris is suggesting here?
Chef Ricky:Personally, love it. I think the Glencarron glass is a great all purpose glass from for multiple spirits. I love drinking tequila out of them. And yeah, I mean, he's correct. You know, the way that the glass is formed, it allows you to get good whiffs of the nose.
Chef Ricky:It allows slow aeration or oxidation, like slight oxidation that develops the spirit a little bit. Yeah, I I'm I'm in full support of the glassware. As for the ice, I mean, he's doing ice right. Right. He's talking about solid cubes.
Chef Ricky:He's talking about different size cubes depending on the application. My issue with ice is when people use ice the way some people that often frequent diners use salt, right? Like salt is like something they just apply for the sake of applying before they even taste anything, before they know what they're eating. Because a salt shaker is there, let's put salt on the food. Or if you go to a restaurant that doesn't have a salt shaker and you ask for salt before you even taste the food.
Chef Ricky:That's my thing with ice, just, you know, utilizing sort of generic ice maker ice that's going to melt instantly and dilute your drink and, you know, people fill their glasses up. So yeah, I think if you're being intentional with your eyes and you're being intentional with your last word, you have my full support. He's 100% correct.
Senator:I'll just say Lizard Chris has good taste. Crate and Barrel for Stemware. I buy so much from that place.
Gizmo:Do you really?
Senator:Oh, yeah.
Gizmo:Is that where you go for most of your stuff? Oh, yeah. Yeah. The problem with getting Glencairn glasses is I'm gonna have a Pelican case that I'm pulling around with glasses in it.
Chef Ricky:Oh, we keep it in my locker.
Gizmo:But how are we gonna wash them and stuff? There's really no meaningful way to do it here. I think we'd have to take it home every week.
Rooster:Get your hand
Gizmo:washed that they don't disappear. Know what I mean?
Senator:I mean, if we just order a set and each keep kept one in our locker, that's fine.
Gizmo:Yeah. Maybe we can do that. Honestly, you know, he's not the first one to recommend that. Lizard O has recommended that to us in his pursuit of us falling in love with bourbon. We've had many other listeners saying, why the hell are you guys drinking out of rocks glasses when you're drinking these bourbons?
Gizmo:Obviously, the ice commentary, not drinking the right ice. So I think Lizard Chris has kinda tied up a lot of these things that from a logistics standpoint, listeners are feeling has compromised our ability to fall in love with bourbon. Let's try it.
Rooster:Sure.
Gizmo:Yeah. What do you think, Pagoda? I know you're more into bourbon than some of the others in the room.
Pagoda:No, I'm, like, the problem with bourbon is I get like a little tipsy very quickly. But I typically drink bourbons mixed for rock glass and with ice, and mostly mixed in Manhattan. And that also now, like in Manhattan, prefer the Bulleit Dry as opposed to the bourbon. Yeah, so with bourbon, I think the last one we had, the Turkey Hill, was really good.
Gizmo:The Wild Turkey 101? That was so good. Was Yeah. Surprisingly
Rooster:Turkey Hill has an ice cream, I think.
Pagoda:Yeah, Turkey.
Gizmo:And a gas station beside Yeah.
Pagoda:So no, there's definitely, I think what I often find with bourbons is the flavor profile is excellent. It's just that for me, it's, yeah, for me it's a bit of the heat, and you know, when they're high proof.
Chef Ricky:The alcohol content.
Pagoda:The alcohol content, you know.
Gizmo:Mean, I don't know if the Glencairn can make a 60% ish bourbon taste closer to something in the low fifties or high forties. It seems improbable to me. But if if that's gonna make such a big difference for us that we're gonna fall in love with it. I mean, my problem with a 60% proof bourbon is not that I'm afraid of it, but we're here first for the cigar, right? So that is a pairing to the cigar.
Gizmo:If that is punching the cigar experience out of your palate, every sip, is it serving what we do? That's my question.
Chef Ricky:And the one issue with the Glencairn glass is that you're committing to having it neat. Unless you know, drop some water in there, you're not going to put ice in, you're going carrying guns. You know? So
Gizmo:It's an interesting point. So I'm going do this. I'm going to get some Glencairn glasses for us. I'll talk to you offline, Senator. Lizard Chris here did send some different crate and barrel and then also some links to different ice molds or whatever.
Gizmo:Small, medium, and large like he was talking about. So listen, we'll take him up on this. He's our wizard of the week. Have to we have to indulge. Right?
Bam Bam:Great. Look forward to that.
Gizmo:Why not? So thanks to Lizard Chris for writing in and very apropos to this voice memo.
Chef Ricky:Maybe we need cognac glasses.
Gizmo:So I'm gonna have a large pelican need with some a lot of snipers.
Chef Ricky:Need some Glencairn glasses, you know, some proper wine glasses.
Bam Bam:Could we get a locker here just for the Stemware?
Gizmo:I'm gonna need yeah. I'm gonna need a storage unit next door.
Bam Bam:You need an annex.
Gizmo:So very apropos to the last voice memo and what we're discussing here and specific to chef Ricky, this one's from our friend Lizard Enrique, whose subject line was legal issues question mark. Hello, Lizards. I read with interest of the recent battle between NBA legend George Girvin and NFL star Caleb Williams and their trademark dispute over the nickname mister Ice. Listeners across the globe are wondering if chef Ricky will seek legal recourse in this dispute as he has emerged as the one and only iceman. Yeah.
Gizmo:Chef's recent revelation as an ice lover was shown as a rapt audience heard the culinary one drown his Jack Daniel single barrel, heritage barrel, toasted barrel Tennessee whiskey in cube after cube after repeated cube of the cold stuff.
Pagoda:Correct.
Gizmo:Like Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus, Ricky's previous and ultimately empty antagonism toward the frozen cubes makes his embrace of ice all that much more satisfying for the audience. Even if he does not, lizards around the globe know there's only one true empresario of ice, the king of cold, and the father of frost, the one and only chef Ricky. Stay cool, lads. Your friend, Lizard Enrique.
Bam Bam:Very well written. Isn't that awesome? Very eloquent.
Gizmo:King of frost. The king of frost over there.
Chef Ricky:One fucking episode with ice.
Gizmo:Think about that. That one episode and that one little segment created that email that I just read from Lizard Enrique. We appreciate Lizard Enrique's is fantastic emails. I thought that was hilarious.
Chef Ricky:That was great.
Gizmo:You are the you are the father of Frost. The king of cold, the empresario of ice. What are your thoughts on that?
Senator:Pagoda has abdicated his throne. Correct.
Pagoda:I I did it a long time back. Yeah.
Chef Ricky:I I guess all I could do is accept it. And
Gizmo:Was this harsh to do on Cinco de Mayo? I apologize.
Chef Ricky:There's always a method to your madness, Giz. There's always a yeah. You spend a lot of time. Very
Pagoda:well timed.
Gizmo:Can't I've got nothing. So, boys, we're coming to the end of our evening tonight with the Lost Lord, Tequila Reposado, and the La Galera Imperial Jade Imperial Jade in Robusto. Any thoughts here before we go into the ratings tonight for our pairing? Nope. Alright.
Gizmo:Send your ratings to me via text, please. Alright. The ratings are in, and it's time now to go to the formal liquor rating tonight on the Lost Lure Tequila Reposado. Bam. Bam.
Gizmo:You're up.
Bam Bam:So as I drank more of this, my palate adjusted really nicely. I captured a lot of sweetness toward the end of the evening that I wasn't getting early on. I love this tequila. I'm at a very, very strong nine. Initially, it was very botanical, very minerally.
Bam Bam:That kind of continued, Chef, toward the end, but, honestly, the sweetness came back in, and I was getting vanilla toward the end. Yep. Yeah. I took two drinks, so by the second drink the palate adjustment was fantastic. So I'm at a very, very strong nine.
Bam Bam:Very good tequila.
Gizmo:Alright, chef.
Chef Ricky:Yeah. I I I was I'm right there with you, Ben. I I don't it must have been the cigar because for me, it started really dry, botanical, almost briny. But yeah, even right now, after my second pour, I'm getting a lot more vanilla, a little bit of caramel. I'm getting more of the oak influence.
Chef Ricky:It's tasting now like what I had yesterday. My initial pour did not.
Bam Bam:Could be the cigar.
Chef Ricky:Yeah, still a great tequila even on the first pour. But the first pour for me was an eight. Now I'm at a nine. So, yeah, I'm I'm sticking with my nine because my experience yesterday mimicked what I'm having now. So and yesterday, I did not have this cigar.
Gizmo:Alright. Pagoda.
Pagoda:Yeah. I'm at an eight. You know, the experience was exactly the same. I think I was I think the word I was thinking in my mind when I was even just, you know, trying to get the aromas in the beginning was vegetable, but I think botanical is more accurate. I think with the cigar, it wasn't helping at all.
Pagoda:You know, I was looking for the sweetness, which, you know, typically, you know, with tequilas, I kind of get a longer finish in the sweetness. In this case, it wasn't happening at all. And I don't know whether it was because the cigar was very dry and it was overpowering it. Something wasn't working very well. But like everybody said, I think towards the end, I'm really enjoying the cigar now that, sorry, the tequila, now that I've finished the cigar.
Pagoda:A very long finish. The sweetness has come in. It's left a very, very pleasant, you know, taste in my mouth, and it's just really good. And hence an eight. Because I think, you know, I was wavering.
Pagoda:I was pretty low in the beginning, and I think it kinda redeemed itself. So I averaged it out at an eight. Yeah.
Gizmo:So for me, it was a nine as well. I loved it. I thought it was a really refined, clean experience. I thought it was very well balanced. I love the creaminess of it.
Gizmo:I love the minerality. I love a little bit of the sweetness. I actually thought for me, especially in the first third, the first half of the cigar, let's say, it paired very well for me in my experience with the cigar tonight. And I think and we always talk about this. I do think that this tequila can pair very well with a lot of Dominican cigars.
Gizmo:And I think it would pair well with a lot of Honduran cigars or even lighter Nicaraguan cigars. And a few Cubans. And a few Cubans. I do think it's a very versatile spirit. I'm very interested to try their blanco because, of course, tonight we did the repo.
Gizmo:I really am interested to try their blanco, see how that stacks up against some of our favorite blancos that we've done. I think it's a great flavored tequila. I think the price is fair at $65. I love the presentation as we discussed. Great finish.
Gizmo:Overall for me, very, very good tonight. It's a nine. Senator?
Senator:I'm at an eight. I thought it was a very good tequila. You know, as I mentioned before, the kind of vegetal drier notes that I was getting, botanical, call it what you want throughout, didn't help the cigar. You know, at $65, like, there are a lot of Repos that, like, I have fallen in love with that Chef has brought to this pod. For me, I can't put this in that same category of a nine or a 10 as ones that, like, I absolutely love and I would absolutely go out and pursue.
Senator:Would I drink this if someone offered it to me? No question. But is it something I'm gonna go out and buy, like, a bottle or two of? Probably not. For me, this almost drank more like a Blanco than it did a Repo.
Senator:Like, it kind of defied what I expected. Like, I was expecting some more sweetness from this.
Bam Bam:Initially, yes.
Senator:Yeah. And even where it landed, like, I agree, it did get sweeter as, like, maybe our palates were adjusting, but for some reason, the finish on this, like, there are some of those, like, special tequilas where, like, the finish is so smooth and either buttery or creamy or it just dances on your palate.
Chef Ricky:The finish here is more pepper cinnamon than it is that yeah. It's
Senator:a little bit more abrupt. And so, again, like, a very good tequila, but those are the reasons that I couldn't put it at, like, that nine or 10 with some of the ones that, like, I've just fallen in love with.
Gizmo:Alright, boys. The formal liquor rating tonight on the Lost Lord Tequila Reposado is an 8.6. Nice score. And now it's time to move into the formal lizard rating on the La Galera Imperial Jade in Robusto. Rooster, you're up.
Rooster:So the cigar, you know, once we took it out of the box, the presentation is really nice. The cigar looks good in your hand. The wrapper is beautiful. It smelled promising. The wrapper was I mean, you got notes of cocoa and shortbread on the nose.
Rooster:The cigar was constructed well. It held its ash, good combustion. But it lacked flavor. Like the binder and filler, even though it was Dominican, it lacked flavor. It lacked depth.
Rooster:I think a puddle has more depth than this.
Lizard Christ:A puddle?
Senator:That's great.
Bam Bam:Haven't sampled the puddle recently.
Rooster:Mean, had It's a metaphor.
Gizmo:I think it works perfectly.
Rooster:I think it just doesn't deliver. I think the blend needs a little bit more oomph. It lacks flavor. It lacks depth. I mean, you need more.
Rooster:It lacks that sweetness. After the first few puffs, it really got super one dimensional. And a lot of times the cigar kind of picks up in strength. It did not. At the halfway point, it did get a little creamier.
Rooster:So it looked like maybe it's going to change. But towards the end, it actually got worse. So I'm at a seven.
Gizmo:All right, Senator.
Senator:I'm in the exact same place. I'm also a seven. I think, you know, as Rooster said, the construction was very good, draw was perfect, good smoke output, ash held on. The cold draw was the best part of the cigar.
Bam Bam:That's right.
Senator:Mhmm. I mean, I was like genuinely shocked and thoroughly enjoying
Rooster:the didn't cold get great. You know?
Senator:It was a totally different experience once you lit the cigar. And I think for me, the first third was confusing. Not offensive, but confusing. Like, I I was wondering if it was going to get sweet enough that it didn't feel so dry on my palate. The second third for me got better in that this, like, creaminess, but more of like a sour cream started to become present that helped kind of mute the dryness that I was getting initially.
Senator:So that was actually better than the first third, but the final third is where I feel like the flavored notes, completely dissipated to the point, I think Chef has called out brown paper bag before as a note.
Chef Ricky:I'm glad you guys are getting it though.
Senator:We're evolving. The final third of this to me was as close as I've felt I'm getting a note like that. Yeah, it was
Chef Ricky:called out newspaper.
Bam Bam:That's correct, with blank ink.
Senator:Yeah. I mean, that's literally what felt like at moments in that final third. You know, to its credit, like, blend isn't so, you know, off or bad that, like, I was really turned off at any point that I said I couldn't smoke the cigar, but it it wasn't leaving me feeling like I wanted to choose that cigar. And that was the disappointment. So I think they they ought to do something with this blend.
Senator:I don't think it's nearly where it needs to be. If I were in a retailer with limited options, would I smoke this? Could I smoke it? Sure. But is that my preference?
Senator:Not even close. And that's what precludes it from an eight, nine, or 10, something that I would ever go out and pursue actively. So for those reasons, I'm at
Gizmo:a seven. So I'm at an eight. I'm not being as harsh as you guys are. The first half for me was probably low nine. The second half was definitely a low seven.
Gizmo:So that's my composite score. I really enjoyed most of the first half of the cigar. I'm shocked. I really did, man. I I thought it was really well balanced.
Gizmo:I loved the saltiness of it. I loved the sweetness. I loved the flavor. I was not getting any of the bitterness. I was not getting the overboiled black tea.
Gizmo:Any of the negative notes that were thrown around tonight, I wasn't getting it. And I think I know that Rooster was at a seven, little bit harsher than me. I don't know where where chef's gonna end up here, but for me, it wasn't a seven or a six. It was an eight for me. I think it was a good cigar.
Gizmo:It was not a great cigar. I'm not gonna chase the cigar down. Would I be am I gonna be upset having the rest of this box in my possession? No. I think it's gonna be a cigar that I probably will reach for.
Gizmo:I'm curious how it's gonna age. We'll see what happens. But overall, great construction. You know, flavor was promising in the first half. I wish it continued into the second.
Gizmo:I did not have the negative experience that you guys did, so for me, it was an eight. Pagoda.
Pagoda:Yeah. I don't mean to be so harsh, but I think for me, the rating is a six. It was all over the place for me in the beginning. There were very, very few months. You know, in some cigars, you get few really good moments which kind of last for a certain amount of time.
Pagoda:In this, nothing. It was just really quick transitions. I had like some really, you know, there were some really hints of flavors which I kind of liked. You know, like I think on the cold draw I was getting teas, which I really like, by the way. But then when you
Bam Bam:smoke Was it it overboiled tea?
Pagoda:No, this is just Not overboiled, when you smell it. You know, like,
Rooster:Like chai and chai tea.
Pagoda:Chai tea. Yeah, you will, it's more of a cultural thing. I think if you have tea the way Indians have it, when when you over boil the tea, it gets really bitter. And that was the kind of flavor I was getting, you know, about an inch and a half into two, which is which is pretty unpleasant. Towards the end, it got very, very salty for me.
Pagoda:Once again, a very unpleasant flavor. And my thought with it is, hey, you know, between an 8 and $10, there's so many other cigars we can recommend. So when I'm thinking about seven, which is, in my mind, it's a soft recommend, A six meaning like I can't recommend the cigar, especially based on the experience I had. I think it was very short. It was dry.
Pagoda:It was short. You know, there were so many things which I just didn't find pleasant at all. So I think six, let's see how it ages, you know. Hopefully we can try it later.
Senator:I just want to say I'm glad to see a six. I was debating between a six and a seven, and I think there is absolute merit to everything you just said, Pagoda. Correct.
Gizmo:All right, chef?
Chef Ricky:Yeah, I was debating between an eight and a seven, and I landed on a seven because I broke this cigar down into quarters. So the aroma on the wrapper was amazing. It was like chocolate bar. And then the first quarter of the cigar danced on your palate, you know, like Pagoda said, the transitions were quick, but they were unique and they were fun. And then, you know, the next two quarters kind of lingered into this and stabilized into what was this sourdough note with some nuttiness.
Chef Ricky:And then after that, it just became this whole light experience with very little flavor, very little oomph. There wasn't a whole lot happening. Know, BAM's, you know, black ink on newspaper resonated with me. It wasn't quite brown paper bag, but I'm I'm glad that some are understanding that now.
Gizmo:I wouldn't say understanding. We've heard
Chef Ricky:No, I think Senator understands.
Bam Bam:We acknowledge it.
Chef Ricky:I think Senator understands.
Senator:I do.
Chef Ricky:Yeah, you know, it's just it. I was excited for it in the beginning and it just slowly as the cigar got smoked, the rating just kept dropping and dropping. So, yeah, if I'm if you know, like like you said, Giz, if you know you're and Senator, if you're in a in a bind and there's, you know, in a pinch, some mediocre cigars and this is maybe one of the better mediocre cigars, then yeah, you go for it. But yeah, I'm not a fan of the packaging, but, you know, and the price point is okay. But we had some bangers at that in that range.
Chef Ricky:So, yeah, I think 7 is a good score here. I don't think it's a complete waste of time, you know, but, it's not quite an eight for sure.
Bam Bam:All right, Pam. I think a seven is a terrible score because the only part of the cigar that I liked was the cold draw, the aroma on the wrapper, and the first quarter of an inch of the cigar. The rest of it, you have to admit, took a very, very slow, tortured nosedive, and then it would plateau, and you'd get some hints of something, and then it would just continue to go down. But for me, I didn't get any bitterness that Pagoda and Senator were mentioning until I got down to that final inch and a half of the cigar, and, honestly, it was unsmokable. But I smoked it.
Bam Bam:In this pod, we smoke everything down to the bloody end. In a pinch, if I didn't have any other cigars and I was on an island, I would not smoke this cigar.
Pagoda:What?
Bam Bam:Wow. I would not smoke this cigar. I just didn't enjoy it.
Chef Ricky:So you're giving this a five.
Bam Bam:No, it's not that bad. I am echoing a six. I think a six is a very fair score. I think, like many other cigars, maybe this was a bad box. I don't know.
Bam Bam:How long have you had these?
Gizmo:So I ordered these December 1. Holy cow.
Bam Bam:Wow. So they've been in a right environment for a while.
Gizmo:Quite some time. Yeah. I got them probably December 3.
Bam Bam:It's a highly touted cigar. I think it was what could have been a bad batch. I don't know. I think they need to revisit this blend. So I'm in a very firm six.
Gizmo:Alright, boys. The former lizard rating tonight on the La Galera Imperial Jade in Robusto is the mirror image of the former liquor rating. Thanks. A 6.8.
Bam Bam:Okay. That's pretty
Gizmo:Not great. Ironic. Let's compare that to the other La Galera we've done on the pod. We did the Habano Inland Cerro on episode two thirteen. Scored a perfect 10.
Bam Bam:Correct. Wow.
Gizmo:Quite a departure from that cigar tonight, I would say. I mean, we were giddy smoking that cigar.
Bam Bam:Yeah. It was so good.
Gizmo:We all went out and bought a box or two. Yeah. I mean, it's it's a phenomenal cigar. I mean, it's amazing how different this experience was from that, especially inside the room here. I know I had the eight, there were a couple sevens, a couple sixes.
Gizmo:That's a pretty big gap.
Bam Bam:Strange. The delta is dramatic.
Gizmo:It's large.
Rooster:Yeah. Yeah, mean the fact that when you pick up the cigar, it looks promising. It like it's going to deliver. And then you light it. And initially, the notes are present.
Rooster:It's there. But then that should develop into something and it doesn't. And it just gets one dimensional and boring.
Bam Bam:Other cigars in this price range, like the Trinity Robusto, are a pleasure to smoke.
Gizmo:Totally agree. What you guys
Bam Bam:are smoking now, the Concerto by Adrian, it's a pleasure. You don't have to work hard. You don't have to face
Rooster:The Trinidad experience.
Bam Bam:It's like you're going to prison, and you're facing
Rooster:the In El Salvador.
Bam Bam:In El Salvador, smoking the cigar. It's like, you have no choice. I gotta smoke the cigar. I'm going to prison. I'm in.
Bam Bam:You know, it's tough. These cigars are pleasures to smoke. They should reconsider the blend. Honestly, it's offensive. I don't care how cheap it is.
Bam Bam:Done. I'm done.
Gizmo:So, boys, we have to congratulate again Lizard Chris tonight, who's our lizard of the week, who has now forced me to buy more Pelican cases to carry all of our new Stemware around for the podcast. We're gonna have Glencairns. We're gonna have Snifters. Snifters. We're gonna have different wine glasses.
Gizmo:I know we need at least three, right? White, red, and champagne. Correct. So I'm gonna have a whole mountain of cases coming in here every time we record moving forward. But thanks to him for that
Senator:great we not have the best manager in the business? Oh, yeah.
Bam Bam:That is correct. We're the talent. You're the manager. Correct. That's correct.
Gizmo:I love that clip. So, yeah. So thanks to him. That was a great voice memo. And I think all of this this listener action to try to prompt us and help us get to the point where we can all sit here and love different kinds of bourbon, different proofs of bourbon, I think is a really noble effort.
Gizmo:So I'm thankful to all of our listeners out there. Lizard Chris tonight with that great voice memo, Lizard O who's been sending us some stuff, and other lizards out there. You know, I think it's awesome. So keep it up because we're with you. We would love to sit here and fall in love with high proof bourbon and and and different types of bourbon.
Gizmo:So it just has not happened generally yet. We found some gems.
Bam Bam:I think we respect the effort that they're putting in.
Gizmo:Exactly right. I I think that's why we're gonna take action on this. So so thanks to him, and thanks to everybody who's written in, and please keep it coming. Of course, thanks to Bon Roberts, our friends over there who are gonna send Lizard Chris, our friend, a 10 count box of cigars. And by the way, boys, this episode comes out May 5.
Gizmo:Dalia and Phenomenos are launching May 1. So check out fabrica005.com. Check out bonroberts.com. You're gonna be able to get yourself some Bon Roberts cigars, the new releases. Of course, we did those with Hamlet and Rob on that episode.
Gizmo:I've been dreaming about them. I've had a couple more since. They are phenomenal. I know you guys love them too, so I can't wait to get our hands on them. Of course, boys, we have to thank Small Batch Cigar.
Gizmo:They are great retailers. They are the official retail partner of the Lounge Lizards Podcast.
Bam Bam:Good to see them at PCA.
Gizmo:Great to see them at PCA, and they are phenomenal. Great prices. Check out our sample or use our code lizard 15 for 15% off your entire order. Fast shipping, free shipping all the time, and, of course, great customer service. You mentioned them before, Bam, Fabrica five, the Robusto Trinity.
Gizmo:Correct. In the same price range of the cigar tonight, you're not gonna have any sixes and sevens and eights on that one.
Bam Bam:That cigar blows this thing away.
Gizmo:By a mile.
Bam Bam:By a mile. Yeah.
Gizmo:No question about it. Alright, boys. Let's recap one more time. On the podcast tonight, The Lost Lord Tequila Reposado had an 8.6, and the La Galera Imperial Jade in Robusto had a 6.8. Happy Cinco de Mayo to everybody out there in our audience celebrating.
Gizmo:If you get a chance
Chef Ricky:I look forward to seeing a bunch of tequilas and margaritas and see what people are drinking. And we have a few listeners that send over to my Instagram their bottles of tequila. I can't wait to see what comes through on that day.
Gizmo:And if you're listening to this episode on Cinco de Mayo and you're in the New York Metro Area, go over to Anejo and try to get in. No reservations. No reservations. Good luck. Anthony Bourdese, use promo code chef Ricky.
Gizmo:Use code what was FatherOfFrost? Correct. Use promo code. FatherOfFrost. KingFrost.
Gizmo:KingOfFrost.
Chef Ricky:Correct. I will be in New Jersey that day.
Gizmo:Boys. A great night tonight, and we'll see everybody next week. Hope you enjoyed this episode. Thanks for joining us. You can find our merch store and ratings archive at our brand new website, loungelizardspod.com.
Gizmo:That's loungelizardspod.com. Don't forget to leave us a rating and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform. If you have any comments, questions, if you wanna reach out, say hello, tell us what you're smoking, email us. Hello at loungelizardspod.com. You can also find us on Instagram at Lounge Lizards Pod.
Gizmo:We really appreciate your time, and we'll, we'll see you next week.