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Released every Tuesday, the LOUNGE LIZARDS podcast helps listeners navigate the experience of finding and enjoying premium cigars (both Cuban and non-Cuban) and quality spirits. Episodes are normally around 90 minutes long and feature a variety of different topics including food, travel, life, sports and work.
The podcast features eight members: Rooster, Poobah, Gizmo, Senator, Pagoda, Chef Ricky, Grinder and Bam Bam.
This is not your typical cigar podcast. We’re a group of friends who love sharing cigars, whiskey and a good laugh.
Join us and become a card-carrying lounge lizard yourself! Email us at hello@loungelizardspod.com to join the conversation and be featured on an upcoming episode!
Welcome to the Lounge Lizards podcast presented by Fabrica five. It's so good to have you here. It's a leisure and lifestyle podcast founded on our love of premium cigars, as well as whiskey travel, food, work, and whatever else we feel like getting into. My name is Gizmo. Tonight, I'm joined by Rooster, Senator, Pagoda, Chef Ricky, Grinder, and Bam Bam, a full house of lizards, and I plan to smoke a cigar, drink some whiskey, talk about life, and, of course, have some laughs.
Gizmo:So take this as your one hundred and seventieth official invitation to join us and become a card carrying lounge lizard. We're gonna be this here once a week. We're gonna smoke Cupid Cigar tonight, share our thoughts on it, and give you our formal lizard rating. We review AI created images of ourselves sent in by a lizard listener. We detail the long history of our whiskey pairing, and we discuss the telltale signs of counterfeit Cubans, all among a variety of other things for the next two hours.
Gizmo:So sit back, get your favorite drink, light up a cigar, and enjoy as we pair Johnny Walker Gold Label Reserve blended Scotch whiskey with the h Upman magnum 54. A Cuban Robusto on the pod tonight, and we're back to h Upman. This is the h Upman magnum 54, and it's a 54 ring gauge cigar by four and three quarters inches long. And boys, Pagoda's already lit his cigar.
Pagoda:I didn't realize that this was gonna be mentioned.
Gizmo:It wasn't me.
Pagoda:Hey. Listen. Once in a while, we all messed up. Right? I did the Ricky today.
Pagoda:Yep. So he showed up.
Gizmo:Came in, sat down, cut the cigar, and lit it. So he's a little bit ahead of us all.
Rooster:Excited we're doing another large ring gauge cigar.
Grinder:He's no
Pagoda:more excited about the gold label.
Chef Ricky:He thought we started recording without him. Exactly. Exactly.
Gizmo:The factory name in the cigar is actually called the Magnum 54. It's a unique size to this, to this line. And, boys, I'm very excited to smoke this tonight. I don't remember the last time I had a Magnum 54. It's been probably years.
Bam Bam:It's been a while.
Grinder:Yeah. COVID times.
Bam Bam:We waited long enough to do this.
Rooster:I've
Pagoda:never had it.
Gizmo:Yeah. I'm looking forward to doing it tonight. Let's cut this thing, boys. See, we're getting on the cold draw and the wrapper.
Senator:Begona, do you need a cutter?
Pagoda:No. I just wanna make the noise. I'm cutting.
Gizmo:Do you
Rooster:use the v cutter?
Pagoda:The v cutter is only for special cigars.
Bam Bam:Draws wide open.
Gizmo:My draw is just a little bit resistant, but very nice.
Grinder:Very cedar y.
Gizmo:Yeah. Yeah. I wish you get a little saltiness on the
Grinder:Oh, yeah. Yeah. Right off the bat.
Bam Bam:I like the cigar a lot. Yep. I also started lighting it. I course corrected, though.
Grinder:He was influencing you.
Senator:This is probably a bad pet peeve. You may get upset with yourself on this.
Grinder:Correct. Put
Gizmo:it put it on the list.
Bam Bam:I'm anxious to smoke, I'll be honest.
Gizmo:Me too.
Grinder:Alright. Let's go.
Gizmo:Alright, boys. Let's light this thing. The h Upman Magnum 54. Again, it's a 54 ring gauge cigar out of Cuba by four and three quarters inches long. Let's get stuck in.
Gizmo:This is the third in the Magnum series from h Upman we're doing on the pod. The other two that we've done are the Magnum 46 and the Magnum 50. We'll go through those ratings a little later. The box code on these cigars is BLT, bacon, lettuce, and tomato, September 21.
Grinder:I didn't know Havana had a bacon, lettuce, tomato factory.
Gizmo:They do now. And, the price on these cigar boys is just north of $32 a stick.
Grinder:Yikes. Yeah. How's that? Lots of delicious Huttman spice.
Senator:Just look at the smoke above my head right now. Yeah. This thing's a chimney.
Gizmo:Yeah.
Pagoda:It is. This is great.
Gizmo:Which, you know, from a large ring gauge cigar is what you're you're expecting. You know? Contrary to some of the cigars we've had in the last few weeks that, even at a large large ring gauge didn't combust much at all.
Pagoda:And, sir, just a reply to rooster. Hence, no be cut. No be cut.
Bam Bam:I've been looking forward to this all day.
Gizmo:Me too. This is really nice on the light. What are you guys getting right now?
Chef Ricky:I'm getting Smoke. Baking spice,
Rooster:chocolate,
Chef Ricky:salt, and cedar.
Grinder:I'm getting nut.
Chef Ricky:All very deep deep in rich flavors right now.
Gizmo:This is surprising on the light how close it is to some of the better Mag 40 sixes I've had from h Upman, which I think that cigars an outlier versus the magnum 50. So I'm curious if this is gonna be more in line with that because I I feel like Mag 50 is a little outside of the It's a little mild. Of h Upman. You know, lacking the baking spice and
Rooster:It's much milder, I think.
Pagoda:Yeah. Yeah.
Grinder:I love it.
Gizmo:Mhmm. This is really nice.
Senator:I'm already realizing that my prior experience with this cigar is not at all representative of what this is probably normally like. The wrapper on this is so thin. The ones I have, I had gotten, like, a 10 count box a long time ago.
Grinder:Mhmm.
Senator:These thick wrappers, and just it burned wonky, and the flavor was not none of the notes were clearly defined. Where in this, every single note is, like, very clear and clean. This is this is off to a good start.
Rooster:That's what I have. I have a 10 count box as well, and I think I have, like, maybe six left, so I I forgot about it. I had one or two and then just didn't smoke anymore. Yeah. But, yeah, you're right.
Rooster:I mean, this smoke's very different.
Senator:Yep. Mhmm.
Rooster:Because I would have gone through them, you know, had they been this delicious. Same.
Grinder:I think this explains some of the negativity that
Bam Bam:you guys had with this particular cigar
Gizmo:For sure.
Grinder:Over the years. Yeah.
Gizmo:Honestly, I my last time smoking the cigar Mhmm. Was not very great. I don't know if it was wet, different run, whatever, but it didn't I mean, I know we just started, but it wasn't even close to this on the light.
Bam Bam:Most of my boxes, I have three of these. Kind of
Grinder:very similar
Senator:I'm curious.
Bam Bam:To this experience.
Senator:Your boxes, are they 10 count or twenty five?
Bam Bam:Twenty five.
Senator:And this came out of 10 or 25?
Gizmo:This came out of its 25 count box. Okay.
Senator:We could be onto something. Yep. I mean, Rooster and I did not buy those together. We have, I'm sure, different codes, everything, and, our 10 counts have been a problem. Yeah.
Rooster:I think mine's a 21, if I'm not wrong.
Gizmo:Yeah. That's what this this one is.
Senator:Probably around roughly the same time, plus or minus a year. Mhmm.
Grinder:Guys, the foot aroma in here is amazing. Yeah.
Gizmo:This is classic up. It's a great cigar. I mean, this is right in line for me Mhmm. With what I expect from an h upman cigar, and I'm actually surprised I'm saying that for some reason given the experience with the 50 and sometimes even the 46 is kinda outside the lines of some of the others mag, h uppman cigar.
Bam Bam:The ring gauge is excellent. It's not intimidating because of
Grinder:the length. Right? So this would be a
Bam Bam:good hour and a half maybe for some people.
Gizmo:Yeah. Yeah. And it doesn't feel, like, big in your hand, but it it's significant enough.
Bam Bam:It's substantial.
Gizmo:You know what I mean? Yeah. Will
Pagoda:it fit to yours? No. I'm just kidding.
Grinder:Go ahead.
Gizmo:Not nice, pagoda. Alright. You and the people on Reddit giving me shit about my hands.
Senator:The tribe has spoken. Have
Pagoda:you seen the episode where, George, becomes a hand model?
Gizmo:Of course.
Pagoda:And then he starts putting the mitten and start oven mittens.
Gizmo:So as senator mentioned, these cigars come in slide lid boxes of 10. They also come in a slide lid box of 25 cigars, like we said we're smoking out of tonight, and they come in a display box of 15 aluminum tubos in five cardboard packs of three classic Cuban release, types. This cigar was announced in 2016 and was released in early twenty seventeen, '1 of the one of the later cigars for h. Upman in the line.
Rooster:We just need to go back on a comment that Bam made earlier. Okay. Just wanna dwell upon that a little bit. Did you say three three boxes? Actually, he's right.
Rooster:That's That's a lot. Three twenty five count boxes.
Grinder:That's a lot.
Bam Bam:I've always had that. Wow. And go back to the original list that's on there, I think.
Gizmo:That's amazing. He had one of these
Senator:He's got nothing.
Bam Bam:That's true. I had one of these very, very early on, and I fell in
Grinder:love with it. So I whenever I can buy a
Bam Bam:box, I
Gizmo:grab them.
Rooster:Glad. Yeah. Coming over tomorrow. Alright. We got it.
Gizmo:So, boys, this is the eleventh h Upman we've done on the podcast if you believe it. We'll go through the full list and the ratings at the end of the episode tonight, but, we clearly love h Upman around here.
Pagoda:Oh, definitely.
Gizmo:One of the global brands that, we celebrate from Cuba, and we smoke a lot of these cigars, namely the Upman number two, the magnum 46, I would say, and the half Corona. And then there's the outliers, the the Anajados Sir Winston. The Sir Winston. You know, some of the cigars are a little bit harder to find. And a Puba, of course, the Kanye.
Bam Bam:Correct. Kanye. That's right.
Gizmo:I love that. Big Kanye guy.
Grinder:It's a great cigar.
Senator:Kanye's been making a lot of appearances lately.
Grinder:Yeah. Pagoda had one the other day. So I can't.
Rooster:I mean, there was a time when
Gizmo:this is what? About 30, 30 2 dollars? Yeah. $32.50.
Rooster:There was a time when you can guess sir Winston's for this price.
Grinder:Yeah. It's outrageous.
Gizmo:Yeah. Sir Winston's now are probably between 80 and a hundred a stick. So depressing. Unbelievable. It's crazy.
Gizmo:This is really nice on the light here, guys. Yeah. I'm very satisfied. First cigar of the day for me, off to a great start. Yeah.
Gizmo:What year is this? BLT September 21.
Chef Ricky:There's a complex bitterness that I'm really enjoying that's rounded out with some with, like, a creamy undertone, so that's why it's not unpleasant. But I'm really loving the complexity of the boldness, in this cigar. It's like it's it's it's somewhere in the medium full range for me. I feel like it's presenting a lot of flavor without being, too much, and there's there's just a really pleasant aroma to it and some slight sweet nut pecan coming through that just kinda works through the chocolate and the salt. It's really and and wood, like, tons of it.
Chef Ricky:Like, this is a really, really enjoyable dish.
Bam Bam:Definitely chocolate. There's definitely salt. That's there for sure. A little coffee maybe.
Chef Ricky:Yeah. It's nutty. Espresso. Yeah.
Bam Bam:That bitterness that you mentioned, I'm getting for me, it's like a turnip type of, Mhmm.
Gizmo:Yeah.
Bam Bam:Bitterness, which I love. Turnip turnip radish.
Chef Ricky:Is it real? Is a little
Bam Bam:Yeah.
Rooster:Yeah. Radish
Chef Ricky:It's a little spicy.
Rooster:Little radish is like sauerkraut.
Senator:Right? Not really.
Rooster:No. Isn't isn't sauerkraut? From
Chef Ricky:Are you
Grinder:correcting the chef?
Senator:I'm just correcting myself. Hey. He makes hot sauce.
Grinder:Alright. He's gonna have
Rooster:What is sauerkraut made
Chef Ricky:out of? Cabbage. Cabbage.
Rooster:But it tastes tastes like it tastes like white radish.
Pagoda:There's equations floating
Grinder:around his head right now.
Rooster:If you taste like white, like raw white radish, they can kinda taste
Chef Ricky:like that.
Pagoda:Like Daikon or
Rooster:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Grinder:I could
Chef Ricky:see that.
Grinder:Sure. Connoisseur's Corner.
Gizmo:Yeah. What
Grinder:can I say?
Gizmo:Hot sauce corner. So what, Bam is referencing with the hot sauce comment is, Rooster showed up tonight with his famous Yeah. Hot sauce in jars for us and gave us all a jar of, Yeah. The famous Rooster hot sauce, which is excellent. It's a
Bam Bam:good show.
Gizmo:Great on eggs, man.
Chef Ricky:Hold on. I just gotta go back to Bam. I don't like, every week you're hearing it now about how impressed you are with you. But, dude, you just pulled turnipile.
Bam Bam:Can you stop placating
Gizmo:me, please?
Chef Ricky:No. That's incredible, man.
Grinder:I think this is authentic.
Chef Ricky:That's incredible. I mean, turnip is not something that people are eating.
Pagoda:I don't even know what turnip is.
Bam Bam:I appreciate it.
Pagoda:People don't eat it right now. A vegetable?
Rooster:To be able to It's
Bam Bam:a root
Grinder:it's a root vegetable.
Chef Ricky:Oh, really? It'll call it out. Yeah. Alright.
Pagoda:I'm trying to avoid vegetables. Thank you. Appreciate
Gizmo:it. Oh, man. This is a nice cigar, boys. And, you know, you can feel the spirit in the room when a cigar is good. Like, it always it's
Bam Bam:it really put
Gizmo:me in a better mood and ready to go.
Bam Bam:So for those of you that didn't like the cigar, what was it about that particular cigar that you didn't like?
Senator:So for me, the the performance and construction was problematic. It burned unevenly and was just kinda wonky, and the flavor was just muddled.
Gizmo:Mhmm.
Senator:Like, there was one point I remember one of them, maybe a quarter of the cigar I really did like where it suddenly got really sweet in, like, an unexpected way. And I'm kinda curious if this takes us on a journey where, like, right now I'm getting sweet and some savory. I'm curious if, like, there's gonna be a point at which it gets, like, really creamy and sweet like I remember in that other one. But that was so fleeting, and then the rest of it just went back to being muddled, and I couldn't really pick out a lot of the notes. So Really?
Senator:I my take on it was like, oh, there's, like, a glimmer of greatness in it, and then the rest was just all over the place for me.
Rooster:Yeah. For me, this was, the MAC 50 and the MAC 54 were probably my least favorite. And this one, you know, coming out of the 10 count box, I haven't had it in a while, so I don't really remember exactly what the issues were, but I do remember that it wasn't memorable. Like, it did not make me go back to that box.
Bam Bam:Yeah. Yeah.
Grinder:What I get from these kinda the halfway point is a a lot of anise I get.
Bam Bam:It kinda turns a
Grinder:bit, which I like to. Anise and deep coffee.
Gizmo:Halfway through. The last time I had this, I just remember it being like a muddled mess Mhmm. Of flavor. Very similar to what senator described. And it was so off from the greatness that I've experienced with Upman that I haven't ever revisited it until tonight.
Bam Bam:Yeah.
Gizmo:Like, this is the first time back for me.
Senator:The funny thing, I was curious to try it just because I had read a lot of commentary from folks who had smoked it before saying that this is, like, the sweetest in the Magnum line. Yeah. And so I was looking for, like, a lot of those Upman dessert notes, and I got it for, like, that glimmer, but it just didn't really last throughout. This is actually not as sweet as I would have expected, but we're still early in, so I'm curious how this develops.
Bam Bam:Yeah. At $32, though.
Gizmo:I was just gonna go there. I think it's that's that's a high price for look at the cigar, man.
Grinder:I mean, it's
Gizmo:$32 for this. I don't know if you saw a cigar like this in in the new world category
Pagoda:The Maduro.
Gizmo:In a shop.
Chef Ricky:The Davidoff Maduro.
Pagoda:$50.
Gizmo:But I I don't see someone walking in there and just picking that up on a whim
Bam Bam:Not for $30.
Gizmo:Unless they're educated about the cigar. But this size at $32 Yeah. Is wild.
Bam Bam:Just goes back to how fortunate we are. Buying what we did when we did.
Gizmo:Yeah. We got lucky.
Grinder:I mean, I'm not ever gonna buy another box of these at that price.
Rooster:How many of them are fifties?
Gizmo:They gotta be better. Probably around the same price. Maybe 34 because they're longer.
Senator:Yeah. I also I mean 50 by six? With the reality of pricing as it is right now, I I don't think it's actually that crazy. I mean, if a d four Robusto is going for what? Like, $28?
Gizmo:Yeah. It's good. It's definitely gonna be 30, I would think, by the end of the year.
Senator:Four ring gauge. I mean, it's four millimeters more.
Rooster:Yeah. It's more more in line with the e two.
Senator:Yeah. Although this is shorter.
Rooster:Yeah. But price point wise, e twos are around a little over $30.
Senator:Then, yeah, this is a little bit high because you get more cigar, and we'll see, but
Gizmo:I think probably a better cigar at the e two. So, boys, we have covered so much of H. Upman's history in the past. We're not gonna go through it tonight, and we've done so many of the cigars from H. Upman like I said.
Gizmo:So if anybody out there wants to hear H. Upman history or, obviously, any of the other reviews that we've done, check out the website, go to the ratings guide. You could find the episode numbers. And like I said, we'll go through the ratings and the episode numbers later. So, boys, it's a little early, but I wanna go to our pairing tonight, which, by the way, we have to talk about.
Gizmo:The room was not thrilled about the pairing choice tonight.
Bam Bam:You're not wrong.
Gizmo:Okay. I got a little heat on the
Grinder:chat disappointed.
Gizmo:From you and Rooster who doesn't even drink.
Pagoda:I'm excited
Gizmo:about it.
Rooster:I was the first one at home.
Gizmo:He's like, who the hell chose that?
Bam Bam:Yeah. Does Pagoda want a sploosh of seltzer, though? What's the question?
Pagoda:Well, just because it's not from Costco, it doesn't mean it's not a good drink.
Gizmo:Costco does sell it.
Pagoda:Costco does.
Grinder:Pagoda knows that. How do you
Gizmo:know that?
Senator:Here we go.
Bam Bam:They don't have this, do they? Of Of course.
Chef Ricky:Yeah. You
Pagoda:know you know,
Grinder:of course. They have
Pagoda:they sell blue labels. You you you you know what Roost is?
Rooster:Talking about BJ's.
Bam Bam:This is Costco.
Pagoda:You know what Roost is doing? Costco. He's walking by the liquor aisle.
Gizmo:Taking inventory.
Rooster:They have palates of this shit.
Gizmo:So boys, tonight, we are drinking the Johnny Walker Gold Label Reserve blended Scotch whiskey, and I have never had it before tonight.
Bam Bam:This is my second time.
Rooster:I know you prefer shivas.
Pagoda:Cheers. Cheers. Cheers. Cheers.
Gizmo:Cheers. Rooster, no cheers to you. Cheers to everyone else. I'm drinking this neat. I think we all are.
Chef Ricky:Mhmm. If Pooh was here
Pagoda:I don't think that may not be a good idea.
Rooster:Look into my eyes when I do cheers.
Gizmo:That is, that is much better than I expected.
Bam Bam:I'll be I'll be blunt. It's delicious. This is my second last
Senator:Yeah. So, ironically, you would never expect I was the one that to ask is to pick this up, the gold label, only because there was a guy at our former lounge who used to drink this all the time. Not a person of
Gizmo:Great guy.
Senator:Taste.
Grinder:Or repute. Not not
Senator:a great guy. But, all of us were just curious why he would only really pick this bottle up. And I remember he poured it for us a few times, and I I was surprised. Like, it it's very drinkable, very easygoing. And I said to Giz, the key with it because it's really smooth and it's on the sweeter side is to pair it with a cube and not a New World.
Senator:Not that it can't be drank with a New World, but that it would be ideal with this, and I think it's working well.
Gizmo:Mhmm. I think it works very well. The honey, the sweetness thing pairing with the cigar flavor profile, which as we said is a little absent of sweetness as we expected. So I think it's actually very complimentary.
Bam Bam:Balance. Yeah.
Gizmo:So there's balance. How
Rooster:much is it?
Senator:60. 50 something?
Gizmo:So I paid, $58 for this with tax here in New Jersey. It was marked down, quote, unquote, from, a price of $70.
Senator:But that's nonsense.
Gizmo:So I think that's a fake price.
Senator:Yeah. To Total Wine has this for 50 something. Yeah.
Gizmo:Yeah. So we got it for 58 tonight.
Bam Bam:Honey and a touch of vanilla.
Grinder:Yeah. Delicious. Yeah. All in the finish, though.
Chef Ricky:Yeah. Yeah. I gotta say, I I took a couple sips, before, lighting the cigar, and I wasn't that big a fan of it. But the pairing, it it it made me go, oh, shit. You know?
Chef Ricky:It it it woke me up a little bit. I was shocked that I while it worked together.
Pagoda:Yeah. Chef is not tequila. Yeah.
Rooster:Yeah. Oh, I know. I know.
Pagoda:I just thought I'd say that.
Gizmo:So for the listeners out there, let's run through so we've done two other Johnny Walkers on the pod. We did the Johnny Walker black label, and we did the double black. So we'll go through those ratings later. This is the third Johnny Walker on the pod tonight, and very rarely do we do a blended whiskey like this with a Cuban cigar. So this is also a a kind of unique experience tonight.
Gizmo:Very rarely are we going single malt with a with a Cuban.
Bam Bam:It's a great change of pace.
Gizmo:So my question is the line of Johnny Walker all the way from, I guess, it's is it red or green? Is the lowest Red. Right. Red all the way up to
Senator:Which is not for human consumption.
Bam Bam:Literally. For washing machine parts.
Gizmo:So so can you run us through, senator? Can you run us through the order of of, you know, from least to greatest in their wine?
Senator:So it's red, green, gold, used to be platinum, but now is eighteen year. They actually put an age statement on it, and then blue is
Chef Ricky:the highest of the black,
Pagoda:red, black
Chef Ricky:black, green.
Senator:Black, green. Red, black Green. Double black,
Bam Bam:green
Pagoda:Oh, double black.
Senator:Yeah. Gold, platinum now eighteen year, and blue.
Gizmo:And the eighteen year is the only one that has an age statement. Like, even the blue doesn't have an age statement.
Senator:What's funny is when we did the black label, we were talking about at the time that they had recently made a move to actually put a twelve year statement guaranteeing that it was minimum twelve year, scotch that was in that. The gold, ironically, they still haven't done that.
Gizmo:I was looking at the bottle earlier and the box looking for some sort of age commentary, and there was nothing on it.
Grinder:You don't see age statements that, like, often on blended Scotch
Gizmo:either. So
Senator:Even Blue Label doesn't have one.
Gizmo:You know who does, though? Rooster.
Senator:Costco. Kirkland. Jesus.
Rooster:Oh, well,
Gizmo:is that true? It's better Scotch. Right? What? What?
Gizmo:I'm, I'm pretty impressed
Grinder:with this to me too. Very happy.
Senator:And the reason it's notable in their line is just almost all of them. This and blue label are the outliers. All the rest are are kind of their signature note is like a little bit of peat that you get with those sweet notes. I mean, the black label, for sure, you notice some peat. The double black, we got a lot more peat.
Senator:And, the gold is made in a very different style, and blue is also sweeter in profile like this.
Bam Bam:No Pete here tonight.
Grinder:There's there's a lot of, Eli Eli distillers that that make Scotch for Johnnie Walker blending.
Bam Bam:You know, I could see this interchanging in a week, taking a break from cognac for a day. This is a great
Grinder:change of pace. I could see us drinking this whole bottle tonight.
Bam Bam:I'll I may finish this fucking thing. I think it's gonna go You
Pagoda:know, actually, like, from from my perspective, I think this could be more of a summer drink as well because of viscosity. I think it's very light bodied.
Bam Bam:With ice during the summer? Sure.
Senator:I don't even think it needs ice. This is so smooth. Yeah. I would never really think of putting ice in this.
Bam Bam:Just for for temperature purposes. Right.
Rooster:Yeah. So it goes from gold to
Grinder:We just went through this. 16.
Rooster:Right. I don't know
Gizmo:what I mean. What I mean is,
Rooster:I mean, the price point wise because this is 60, and then the blue label is almost three times. Well, there's the
Senator:platinum or 18 before that, which is what, like, 80?
Gizmo:I think it's under a hundred. Yeah.
Grinder:Still pretty good.
Chef Ricky:Do you
Rooster:think the blue is worth No. What it is?
Gizmo:No. No. Some folks love it. And I've heard it's better you know, like, we talked we've talked about this on previous episodes about Scotch. Like, Macallan kinda went through a phase.
Gizmo:Balvenie went through a phase. We've talked about this before. I've heard that the recent stuff of Johnnie Walker Blue. My dad loves Blue Label, and he fell off it for about five or six years and recently got back, and he said it's really, really good. But the problem is the price.
Senator:I'll just say this. I I mean, I've had plenty of Blue Label. This this is so similar in flavor profile to Blue Label and literally just as smooth. Blue Label has some more complexity, but it's not worth, like, five times the price. That that's the problem.
Gizmo:I'm enjoying it. I'm shocked at how well it's pairing with this Cuban cigar that I would argue is mild to medium.
Bam Bam:Outstanding pairing.
Grinder:Right? Says the guy who picked the pairing.
Gizmo:No. Actually, senator did. We're gonna give him the credit. But
Rooster:Wait. The blue is not five times.
Senator:Retail? More like three times.
Gizmo:Are we?
Rooster:It's like $1.80. No?
Senator:No. It's $2.50 retail. Wow. You can find it duty free for cheaper for sure. Like, $1.60 you can find it for, but
Bam Bam:the retail price fiscal approach tonight, aren't you?
Senator:What other question do you have?
Rooster:When I used to only drink Blue Label, it was $1.80.
Grinder:Alright.
Bam Bam:Back in 1922.
Pagoda:He was talking about the Gatorade. Wait a
Rooster:No. Was it the Gatorade Blue?
Pagoda:The Powerade Blue.
Rooster:Blue Label used to be around like $1.60, 1 80.
Bam Bam:Now I know Pagoda loves the sploosh of seltzer in his Johnny Walker. Is that happening tonight?
Pagoda:On the black. No. Not in the Not in the Good.
Bam Bam:Alright. But in black, yeah,
Pagoda:chef Ricky has trained me well. Alright.
Bam Bam:No sploosh.
Gizmo:Pagoda, do you still drink Black Label with the sploosh? Is that like, I'm I'm being serious. Do you have your average
Pagoda:I haven't had it for a couple of years. I do always have it at home.
Senator:You're welcome, Pagoda. That's because of us.
Pagoda:Oh, yeah. No. Absolutely. And and I've got into rum, and I've got into a couple of other drinks, and then in tequila. And so it's, just not made it in the rotation for whatever reason.
Rooster:Look. It's if there's some Indian guy in the room and you put out a bottle of black label, he'll be very happy.
Pagoda:Of course. No. That's so I'm holding out for the cricket team when they come over. I'll get the black labels out. I'll say, oh, that's a nice They
Rooster:love black label and shivers.
Bam Bam:You guys lifting weights when they come over?
Grinder:No. We don't. Okay.
Chef Ricky:Well, Gauta, I'm curious. You just celebrated your birthday. Happy birthday.
Bam Bam:Well, thanks so much. Happy birthday, man.
Chef Ricky:What was the, beverage of choice that evening?
Senator:How long do you
Grinder:have here? What wasn't the beverage of choice?
Pagoda:I have no idea, man. I mixed it all up, but I'll tell you what the greatest thing was, no hangover the next day. I was like, what the hell? I I gotta keep that mix in mind, but I can't remember what I drank.
Gizmo:You know Keep it in mind.
Senator:You know what was responsible for that pagoda? What? The champagne.
Pagoda:The champagne. Yeah.
Chef Ricky:Well, I thought you were gonna say
Senator:ice. No.
Pagoda:We, yeah, started off with beer, a lot of Balvenie, Hibiki. Oh. The yeah. And I think that's what I sucked and then champagne. And then, we went home, and then we had, the gram 20 port.
Pagoda:We called it a night. You had port? Yeah.
Chef Ricky:It's six in the morning. Six in the morning. Wow.
Gizmo:Yeah. That's that's a hell of a night. You covered it all.
Grinder:Pretty disgusting. Yeah. It's a nightcap with the port. Holy
Pagoda:lord. Love it.
Grinder:I love it. I I love it.
Bam Bam:You're very adventurous. Alright.
Grinder:We should
Senator:do that on the pod.
Pagoda:The gram 20 is fantastic. No. I have had that. It's delicious.
Grinder:We've actually delicious. After having seven different types of
Pagoda:olive oil. Just a little. We were just hanging out. We we did a small cigar at the end of the night, and then we went home, and we were still chatting. And Okay.
Pagoda:Yeah. This is this is how we roll.
Gizmo:So We had some listeners, by the way, request us to try, pork and other We
Senator:need to. Yes.
Bam Bam:Yeah. Yes.
Gizmo:We we should do some of that at some point here. So you
Rooster:had a nice sleepover.
Bam Bam:Okay. With the cricket team.
Rooster:No. Not the cricket team. No.
Pagoda:This is nobody plays cricket in that team. Alright.
Gizmo:So, boys, let's go through a little bit of Johnny Walker history. I listened to the, previous episodes we've done, and it was a little incomplete. So I'm just gonna go through that real quick. The company was founded in 1820 by, of course, Johnny Walker, who was a Scottish grocer. And he started blending whiskey because he wanted to create consistent whiskey products for his customers.
Gizmo:At the time, single malts were very inconsistent in quality, and blending created a smoother, more reliable whiskey. John's blends gained local popularity, but it was actually his son, Alexander Walker, who propelled the brand to international fame. The iconic striding man logo, which is on every bottle of Johnny Walker, Scotch was introduced in nineteen o eight and was created by a cartoonist named Tom Brown. The figure symbolizes progress and forward thinking. The famous slogan, born 1820, still going strong, was designed to reflect the brand's commitment to innovation and global reach, and it's been their, their slogan for quite some time.
Gizmo:As we discussed before, Johnny Walker uses the color coded label system to differentiate their blends. I thought this was cool. Both the the red label and the black label were launched in nineteen o nine.
Rooster:Wow.
Gizmo:That is a long time for a single product to have been on the market. Rooster was there.
Senator:I love how
Gizmo:Rooster just looks around. He's waiting for the age joke.
Grinder:He said Rooster was there.
Gizmo:So, of course, the gold, green, and blue label and the other offerings were offered much later. The slanted labels on the bottle were deliberate were a deliberate innovation by Alexander Walker, his son, to make bottles stand out on shelves. Johnnie Walker was one of the first whiskey brands in the world to heavily emphasize the art of blending. Each blend contains grain whiskies with single malts from various distilleries with Cardew being the heart of most of their blends. By the nineteenth by the late nineteenth century, thanks to Alexander Walker's innovative marketing, Johnny Walker was finally sold worldwide.
Gizmo:The brand's distinctive square bottle introduced in 1860, which is also wild that they brought this in in 1860, the square bottle, minimized breakage during shipping and allowed more bottles per case, which was crucial for exports. What's interesting about that is I was surprised that the bottle is square, but it comes in a rectangular box that frames out the square bottle. Like, it makes no sense to me why they would do that.
Bam Bam:It looks like a
Grinder:remnant that they've adapted.
Chef Ricky:Well, it's it's actually great for shock absorption.
Bam Bam:That's true.
Gizmo:Ah. Yeah. So it's a That's true.
Chef Ricky:Yeah.
Gizmo:Preventative, like, breakage thing.
Grinder:I gotta ask a question.
Bam Bam:Did you say Cardhu? Cardhu.
Gizmo:It's c a r d h u. I may be pronouncing that.
Bam Bam:Anyone know what that is?
Rooster:It's not g.
Senator:I've heard of it. I've never had it.
Grinder:Isn't that a region?
Gizmo:I think it's a region. Yeah.
Bam Bam:It's a region. Oh, okay.
Gizmo:It's a various distill it's
Senator:it says What's made there? I'm curious, like, the
Grinder:you guys know? I don't know.
Gizmo:So in the nineteen nineties, we've talked about this before. Johnny Walker became part of Diageo, the world's largest spirits company, giving it, of course, unparalleled global reach, making it the best selling Scotch whiskey brand in the world. Apparently, by the way, I have to mention this because I saw Winston Churchill loved Johnny Walker Scotch. Which one? I would assume the black.
Pagoda:Oh, really?
Gizmo:That's what I was told.
Pagoda:Wow. This is fantastic.
Bam Bam:It's a disappointment.
Senator:There's no way.
Grinder:Very disappointing. Yes. He did.
Bam Bam:That's a disappointment.
Pagoda:A history of the black label and the Paul Roger.
Gizmo:Well, I don't know if the gold label was out at that time. I'm not sure. There had
Senator:to be some premium version. There's no way in the
Pagoda:Red label.
Senator:Rochelle's taste would drink black label.
Grinder:He also he also put seltzer in it, though. A sploosh. He put seltzer he put seltzer
Bam Bam:in it.
Senator:In his defense, the guy's drinking at, like, six in the morning. This guy woke up with champagne. So I'll I'll give him a pass on that.
Gizmo:Just like pagoda the other night. Correct.
Pagoda:So you see, this this is what we call sophisticated taste.
Bam Bam:Very elegant.
Gizmo:Alright. Let's talk about Gold Label Reserve, the one we're drinking tonight. It was created by master blender, Jim Beveridge, which is a hell of a last name. Jim Beveridge, one of the most respected figures in all of Scotch whisky. It includes whisky from the now closed Kleinlish distillery known for its subtle waxy and creamy characteristics.
Gizmo:The distillery's water source is said to flow through gold bearing rock, which inspired the gold label name. It's known for its silky texture, which we're experiencing tonight, I think. Globe label reserve, they say, delivers honey, vanilla, and dried fruit notes, which Bam pointed out, with a touch of smoke in the background with a long smooth finish with hints of wood spice and smokiness. I'm not getting the smokiness No. Not at all.
Bam Bam:Not at all. And, thankfully, we're not getting it.
Gizmo:Gold label reserve, finally. Gold label reserve was crafted as a celebratory whiskey positioned between the very approachable black label and the premium. So Cardew
Grinder:is a distillery in Speyside.
Senator:That's what I thought. I've heard of it as a brand. Okay.
Rooster:Spelled with a c. Right?
Grinder:Or is that
Senator:it Yeah. C.
Grinder:Just like Costco.
Rooster:See, I don't I don't bring it up. I don't talk about it.
Gizmo:Why are you looking at
Grinder:me? I just,
Chef Ricky:you know
Grinder:You're the moderator.
Gizmo:Do bring it.
Rooster:I wish we could rewind.
Pagoda:Abuela, did you do the spelling bee? Because you're really old with the drips in the spellings. I realize that.
Senator:And he's a big numbers guy.
Grinder:He's a talk sharing guy. Alright. I'm sorry.
Pagoda:It's just January.
Gizmo:So, boys, I can't believe it, but we're already coming to the end of the first third here.
Bam Bam:It's gone quickly.
Gizmo:H upman magnum 54. I've been talking, and I've not been smoking.
Grinder:We smoked $15 already.
Gizmo:And, I'm surprised it's moving this quickly.
Pagoda:Yeah. It's moving quicker than I thought. Yeah.
Rooster:Me too. I think it's maybe not packed very densely.
Gizmo:It's not. Yeah.
Bam Bam:Does seem very light. Pagoda, what are you thinking about this?
Pagoda:I'm loving it. Have
Grinder:you ever
Bam Bam:had this before?
Pagoda:No. Never.
Bam Bam:This is your first one. Right?
Pagoda:Yeah.
Gizmo:Okay.
Pagoda:And it you know, like, it's it's like one of those things where I feel like it's it's an upman for sure.
Bam Bam:It's nice, isn't
Pagoda:it? It's, definitely. I I got, like, like, it was very like, the bay the baking spice in the in the beginning, you know, there was sweet creaminess. And then towards the end, I got the saltiness, like
Gizmo:and
Pagoda:then now that I'm in the middle I I don't know. I felt a little bit of the earthiness, saltiness, which
Rooster:No marmalade? A
Pagoda:little bit. No. No. No marmalade. So I'm really enjoying it.
Pagoda:This is fantastic. The retrohale is delicious.
Gizmo:It is.
Bam Bam:I agree. Right.
Gizmo:And I'm I really I can't get over the pairing right now.
Grinder:That's great, man.
Senator:Giz, you're you're really, you're gonna be vindicated. Why? The Gizcut. It may no longer be the Gizcut.
Grinder:It's the pagoda cutting.
Senator:This is happening. Too much pagoda. Look at this. Oh, that's a huge the head of the cigar is unravelling. He took off, like,
Bam Bam:a half inch That's a bit it's a big cut.
Grinder:I I think he just chews it. No. No. That's a bad cut.
Pagoda:I've I've heard a few bad cuts recently.
Bam Bam:It's okay. Jesus. Alright.
Pagoda:No. I'll say that.
Gizmo:Cut early too. I don't know when you were rushing. Yeah.
Pagoda:Because, yeah, I just came in and I just cut, and I said, damn. I gotta catch up with these guys.
Bam Bam:I have to say, you look very dapper tonight, dude. I like the outfit.
Pagoda:Yeah. I come out today on the bathroom.
Grinder:Straight from work. Yes. Socks. The socks are sharp.
Pagoda:It's, yeah.
Bam Bam:This I
Grinder:like that. Work.
Pagoda:It's work.
Bam Bam:Look at you, man.
Chef Ricky:Razor sharp creases on the sleeves and
Bam Bam:Correct.
Grinder:Legs there. Nice.
Gizmo:He's ready to go to our next topic, boys. We're only a couple weeks away from the Habanos Festival, very appropriately dressed for the Habanos Festival. And I have good news for you, Pagoda.
Pagoda:Yep.
Gizmo:Habanos SA is giving away two free tickets to the Habanos Festival this year.
Pagoda:Well, really? What do you
Rooster:have to do? This is what's exciting. You have to send us an email.
Chef Ricky:Is that is that what our listener of the week
Gizmo:is? Yeah. Listener of the week is gonna go to Habanos Festival courtesy of Pagoda. So Habanos is making the contest very straightforward with the theme centered around Bejike. Of course, we talked on our New Year's Eve, Cohiba Esplendidos episode that the Cohiba Bejike 58 is expected to be launched at the festival this year in only a few short weeks.
Gizmo:And I just love this, and I I'm hoping we can practice together here tonight, boys. To participate, you have to answer one single question in the comments of an Habanos SA Instagram post.
Rooster:Can you afford it? And the
Gizmo:question is, what is the magic of Bejike?
Senator:Okay. Medio Tiempo.
Grinder:That's correct.
Gizmo:High price. That's also correct. Impossible to get. That's also correct. Fakes everywhere.
Bam Bam:Yeah. Danilo.
Grinder:Sleight of hand. Sleight of hand. Smoke and mirrors.
Chef Ricky:Oh, boy.
Gizmo:False false scarcity. Yikes.
Pagoda:It reminds me of a really bad word in India.
Gizmo:It's an elite cigar. According to Habanos boys, if we wanna win this pair of tickets, our answer should inspire and capture the essence of Bihike. Cigar of the gods. You also have to use the hashtag twenty five festival Habanos, and you have to follow their Instagram account. This is a new thing for them, like reaching out on social media, giving away tickets.
Gizmo:I don't think they've ever done this before, but, some of the responses, of course, is, you you know, you can imagine are people just lighting up Habanos over the price of the cigars and the scarcity and the fakes out there.
Rooster:Maybe sir Kirby Allison has something to do with it.
Gizmo:He might.
Grinder:Sir, he was knighted?
Gizmo:He was knighted.
Grinder:He was knighted in Havana.
Gizmo:So you'll, you'll win two free tickets, and that's an expensive, that's an expensive ticket probably close to $2,000 each. So it's a pretty high price. I went, two years ago, in 2023 as we detailed on an episode after coming back. That was probably my first and last time going. But whoever goes this year is gonna get a gift box of, Bahiki fifty eights.
Grinder:Yeah. Worth it. No.
Gizmo:I find this interesting too. You do not get your travel paid for. You have to find your own way to Cuba.
Bam Bam:Alright.
Grinder:That's not too bad. Obviously.
Pagoda:They're both going out of Miami.
Grinder:No worries. You bring your own electric generator with you. That's a must.
Gizmo:Alright, boys. Let's go to some listener email now. This one is from lizard Blake. He says, hey, guys. I just came across your podcast, and I've been listening to a bunch of them while at work.
Gizmo:So far, I've listened to to ones of the cigars I've had to see your opinions on them. A few things I'd love to see you guys review. Cohiba Sigalos four, Cohiba Sigalos six, the Joyo de Nicaragua Classico original, and the Casa Cuba, which is a Fuente line. I don't know if you guys have ever had Casa Cuba, but No. Two guys in the lounge smoked them here, and they say they enjoy them.
Gizmo:Yeah. And this one, I I wanted to earmark, senator, especially because we've talked about this before, and we've had a few listeners requesting, asking why we haven't done Emanente Reserva Cuban rum.
Bam Bam:Yeah. We should do that.
Gizmo:As well as the other one is Pato Navio.
Bam Bam:We should do that too.
Senator:Yeah. We should do.
Grinder:I've had the Emanente. It's nice.
Gizmo:So he says, keep up the good work, fellas. Lizard Blake. This one's another one here from lizard Jason. He says, hi. I'm a New York City resident that recently discovered the pod.
Gizmo:It's such a refreshing change from the garbage reviews online, and it's filled with interesting facts I wouldn't be able to find easily elsewhere. Thanks for putting this out there, and keep up the great work. I'm wondering if you guys ever make it out to Manhattan for recordings. I'd love to meet you guys if there are any upcoming events. Pagoda, you, you go to Manhattan all the time.
Gizmo:Yeah. You were there today?
Pagoda:Yeah. I'm always there, but I'm very antisocial.
Grinder:That's a great that's a great fucking answer. That is a great fucking answer.
Rooster:So I
Gizmo:do have to ask, you know, Pagoda does like the the Carnegie Club, and I know that, bam, you were at the Carnegie Club with Pagoda Just
Bam Bam:the other night.
Gizmo:The other night?
Bam Bam:Yes.
Gizmo:Is this guy the mayor there or what?
Bam Bam:He is the mayor. Everyone knows him. They're like, celebrities in that place.
Pagoda:It's just home for us.
Bam Bam:Oh, mister Pagoda, how can I help you? What can I get you? I will say one thing. I had a diplomat ago there. It was outstanding.
Bam Bam:Padron. Padron
Senator:From their humidor?
Bam Bam:Yeah. Shock. I was shocked how good it was.
Pagoda:What was the price?
Rooster:By the way 50.
Grinder:This is
Bam Bam:not It was expensive.
Grinder:From Bambi. You like that cigar. You love the diplomatic.
Bam Bam:I don't have it enough, but I need to get a box.
Grinder:You always explain fucking stole the virtues of the diplomat. But
Bam Bam:that night, I was over
Rooster:Never seen them on Yeah.
Senator:He never smokes that cigar.
Grinder:Kugota left me alone. He talks about he talks about it. I do.
Bam Bam:I do.
Pagoda:I've been so bad. I Yeah. I'll tell you.
Bam Bam:He left me alone. So I ordered a put a Diplomatico, and it was exquisite. Senator, you it's I I have boxes.
Gizmo:I I love this.
Pagoda:You do.
Bam Bam:But I was shocked how good it was there because I wasn't my expectations were very low from the humidity point of view. It was beautifully kept. It was exquisite.
Pagoda:And you know what's really interesting? Because initially, I think they had contracted out to, the Davidoff store on Avenue Of The Americas on 50 Sixth. But now they go and they put it in their own humidor. So whatever they're doing, it seems like if they've been able to keep the cigars well, it's fantastic.
Bam Bam:It was impressive.
Pagoda:That's impressive. Yeah.
Chef Ricky:Yeah. It looks like
Gizmo:you guys had a good night. I was very envious.
Bam Bam:It's very nice.
Gizmo:Yeah. I I love smoking there. So lizard Jason, concludes here. Also, I'm looking to pick up a box of special occasion cigars to age for three plus years. I don't really have a price point or limit in mind, but I have really liked the Trinidad, especially the Esmeraldas, but I have found some of the Partagas too strong for my taste.
Gizmo:Any pointers on sticks, I should be looking into finding. Thanks very much, wizard Jason.
Pagoda:I think,
Bam Bam:wait a minute.
Pagoda:I think senators already said, you're out. You're out.
Bam Bam:Yeah. Partagus too strong?
Gizmo:It doesn't work for his palates. So we'll stay away from Partagus, but he's looking for high end special occasion cigars. He clearly likes Trinidad.
Pagoda:What about the Utman two?
Gizmo:H Utman number two is a good one?
Rooster:If if price is price is not
Gizmo:a fact, it doesn't make sense.
Rooster:Winston's would be good that's a good cigar to age for a few years.
Bam Bam:Yeah. That's quite the exclusive cigar.
Gizmo:I think the one we did on the New Year's Eve episode, the Cohiba Asplendidos, I think that was we all had a yeah. Wonderful experience with that Yep. With, four or five years of age on it. The other one I was thinking because he mentioned Trinidad, he likes Trinidad, the Trinidad Fundadores
Bam Bam:Correct.
Gizmo:Is a nice box to age. I think those do need some age.
Bam Bam:They do.
Gizmo:You know, I don't think that's something that you wanna be buying for the price that they go that they command and then pulling something out.
Bam Bam:And they are on the milder side. So for his palate, it might fit.
Senator:I'd also on the Fundadores, I'd be curious how some of the recent ones are smoking. I mean, we've been talking about the quality has improved
Gizmo:of
Senator:recent years.
Gizmo:Mhmm. I
Senator:mean, the Coheba, that Espinidos we did, that was a recent cigar. Right? That wasn't heavily aged?
Gizmo:It was about five years we we had. Okay. Yeah. That was, like, a '19 or an early twenty. Okay.
Senator:There was some Cohiba we did that was not not old.
Gizmo:Well, the Sigl o five is smoking brilliantly. We did that one. We rated that very
Bam Bam:well. Young.
Senator:Did we do the Pyramides extra on the pod? Yes. We did.
Bam Bam:We did.
Senator:And that was very new.
Gizmo:Yeah. That was great.
Senator:So That's great. I would just be curious. The Fundy the recent ones are probably good.
Bam Bam:Yeah. So the oldest I mean, the youngest Fundy I've had is a 21, and it was very, very mild. Delicious, but
Pagoda:So so what so what's the
Grinder:oldest like that?
Bam Bam:That's the that's the oldest, youngest. That's it's it doesn't capture your attention Yeah. Honestly. Yeah. Once you're done with it, you kinda move on.
Bam Bam:But it's a very good cigar for your specific palate if you'd like.
Gizmo:I think the other one too, if if price is no factor, I I would look at something like a Cohiba Sigla six. You know, those with some time on them are smoking really well. If that's a little too high on the price point, I mean, a box of those of 25 is probably about $2,700 right now. You know, you could go for a a Cohiba Robusto
Bam Bam:But there are
Gizmo:put those down.
Bam Bam:Some other markers like that Punch Double Corona. That's for
Pagoda:this punch Double Corona.
Bam Bam:That's like a celebratory cigar because of its fatola. That's a great cigar.
Pagoda:It's an excellent cigar. Right? Yeah.
Gizmo:And we rated that very high.
Pagoda:But it's
Bam Bam:very it's fairly full bodied. It's not a mild mild cigar for this for this particular guy.
Gizmo:My recommendation is if Partagas is not in your flavor profile, I would stay away from the entire Partagas family. Boldivar, Ramon Ionis, Partagas, I would stay closer to the Trinidad Cohiba, Upmans, if that's your if that's your profile.
Bam Bam:I'm just curious what Partagas he's had that he feels is just too strong for him. I mean,
Senator:the only partagus that I feel like can be strong P two? Not can be. No. No. No.
Senator:I think the young p twos aren't strong. I was gonna go eight nine eight. The the young eight nine eights, those
Chef Ricky:are bold.
Bam Bam:They are.
Senator:They're bold cigars. They need time to mellow out,
Pagoda:but that's that's what
Rooster:he wants to do. He wants to age them for three to four years and maybe even longer. The eight nine eights will change.
Senator:Absolutely. After five years But they're still a fuller Cuban is all I'm saying.
Chef Ricky:We're like
Senator:the other Particus cigars, young and with age, are not as bold as the eight nine eight.
Rooster:I mean, I would try the e two.
Bam Bam:A %. Yeah.
Gizmo:Particus e two might be one to try. Yeah.
Grinder:It's delicious.
Gizmo:If you don't love some of the others, that that one, I think, is a little creamier, a little smoother. Even in the letter series, you know, the d four, the p two, I think the e two is the standout in that series. You know? Well, thanks to, lizard Jason for writing. Alright.
Gizmo:Let's go to another one, boys, and I sent you this document. I wanted to, share this, and I'll put these up on the lizard Instagram page.
Pagoda:Hey. Just just before you say that, did he just say e two is a standout or just send it right? Just wanted
Rooster:to I'm
Senator:glad that
Grinder:you picked up notes.
Senator:I refrained
Gizmo:to it as a stand.
Grinder:I was hoping that water was gonna run under the bridge. Thank you, ma'am. Right?
Senator:I held back.
Gizmo:The water flooded the bridge, Jonah.
Grinder:I swear to God, I was hoping that water was gonna go under the bridge.
Gizmo:I can't get away with anything around here. That graphic haunts me that Lizard Max made for us where the list of names who voted for the e two. Mhmm. There's six.
Senator:And there's one.
Gizmo:And there's one.
Senator:Wizard on an island unto himself. On
Gizmo:the p two. I do love a good p two.
Senator:In a hoodie on the beach.
Gizmo:So boys, I I want you to open up that document I sent you.
Bam Bam:Yeah. I don't like it.
Gizmo:So lizard John
Bam Bam:No. I don't like it.
Gizmo:Lizard John sent over AI created images of what He perceived us to be. Yeah. So let me read the email.
Bam Bam:Disappointed lizard John.
Gizmo:He says, hi, Giz. It's lizard John again. After sharing the lounge lizard's bingo card sheet with you, I started wondering what else I could create while enjoying a cigar to send your way. Since there's no video feed, we're left to imagine what you all look like based on your voices and what you've mentioned on the pod I took you shot at creating AI generated versions. I love my bed.
Gizmo:I don't like it.
Bam Bam:I don't like it.
Gizmo:Hold on. Let me
Rooster:finish here. It.
Pagoda:That's the most accurate, by
Gizmo:the way.
Grinder:Oh, really? Is my stomach really that big? Is it really that big?
Senator:Let's get the tape measure. Hey.
Pagoda:Have we been running?
Gizmo:Have we
Grinder:been running outside? Have, motherfucker. Yes. I have.
Gizmo:Lizard John says, love the work you're doing on the podcast. Keep it up. I tune in every week. So let's open the document here, boys. I know you're gonna have it open.
Gizmo:So it opens with me, his image of me here, Gizmo. I had more work, more to work with since he was on FOH with Rob, which is true, wearing a hoodie, of course.
Grinder:It's not that far off.
Pagoda:Yeah. Good is a good one now.
Bam Bam:Had some work to do since he was on FOH with Ron.
Gizmo:He may
Pagoda:be he may be most accurate. Wow.
Gizmo:Really?
Rooster:Yeah. I think the pooh boy is spot on.
Gizmo:Alright. So what's going on?
Grinder:I like senators like a 05:00 shadow.
Gizmo:Senator Esquire. Oh, shit. Rick Hoffman, he looks inspired.
Pagoda:But that could be senator. Yeah.
Grinder:He looks like he looks like a pedophile here. That that's no good. Jesus. I mean, no good.
Rooster:Alright. Grinder is way off.
Gizmo:Alright. Hold on. Let's go to Pupa now. Brendan Fraser inspired since his voice sounds similar to him You know? With blonde hair on a Gulfstream.
Gizmo:And, of course, he has a picture of the Gulfstream he doesn't have. Well, on the Gulfstream, he definitely does not fly on. Two watches because
Grinder:That is this is great.
Gizmo:Two watches because senator only has one.
Rooster:What? That's hilarious.
Gizmo:He doesn't even know how much they were at the, authorized dealer. He just gave him his black card, delayed on the tarmac, probably thinking this is fucking lunacy. And by the way, that is so hilarious because Pupa's in Florida right now and was getting absolutely tortured at the airport yesterday with, like, an a six hour delay or something and was absolutely screaming that on the lounge lizards text chat. Now this one this one's wild. The Bam Bam, an Italian man with shaggy hair smoking a cigar
Senator:in a construction size. Yeah.
Bam Bam:Yeah. With quite the waistline dimension.
Grinder:That is a big fatola right there. He's a
Gizmo:formidable dad. That's a that's a Toro Gordo.
Grinder:That does not look formidable.
Gizmo:For some reason, his voice reminds me of someone with shaggy hair.
Rooster:Alright. Question mark.
Gizmo:I just love the construction equipment behind you there. That's hilarious.
Senator:I just wish I could see his shoes to see if they're clean. Correct.
Grinder:Correct.
Gizmo:Grinders. Sounds like a skinny guy with glasses always working, always grinding. That's not that far off.
Pagoda:That's not that far off. He's a consultant, and you can see that he's with a little laptop over there. I think that's pretty good.
Gizmo:Alright. Sleeves are rolled up. I love this one. Pagoda.
Pagoda:Pagoda, you look
Gizmo:so handsome here. Middle aged Indian man with an accent.
Pagoda:Look how handsome you look.
Gizmo:A cup of black tea not pictured.
Pagoda:No tea with milk. Tea with
Grinder:no I
Chef Ricky:think he's on to something here. You need to get that beard going.
Bam Bam:Gotta get that beard, bro.
Pagoda:No, man.
Bam Bam:Why is it gray?
Pagoda:It it will be gray.
Grinder:I have gray?
Pagoda:I might just look right like it.
Bam Bam:Pictured near
Senator:the Titanic.
Bam Bam:Don't be ashamed of the gray, man.
Gizmo:Yeah. This is great. Rooster, a more chronologically seasoned Indian man. That's a kind way to put it.
Pagoda:That's another really good one.
Gizmo:Is he bald? I'm not gonna say.
Bam Bam:Wow.
Gizmo:Pictured near the Titanic since he was old enough to be on it and made it off.
Bam Bam:Amazing. That's fucking
Pagoda:That is excellent,
Rooster:Stash. Bro.
Pagoda:That is excellent.
Chef Ricky:I gotta say it's pretty accurate.
Grinder:That's crazy. No alcohol.
Gizmo:And chef Ricky, a nice Latino man, pictured with bottles of fine tequila.
Grinder:Of course.
Pagoda:I like the way his shirt says tequila on it. Yeah.
Gizmo:You're like, tequila. Tequila.
Senator:Look at the glass he's drinking the tequila out of too. Yeah.
Rooster:I think there's some ice in it.
Gizmo:And he's smoking, and the AI has him smoking his cigar backwards. The lid end is on his lips.
Bam Bam:Are these AI generated? Yeah.
Gizmo:This is all AI. Really? He prompted all these things.
Bam Bam:No. That's very accurate. Very handsome. Very handsome.
Gizmo:So, I'd be so if you wanna check these out, I will put them on Instagram right when this episode drops.
Rooster:I'm sorry. You don't win the lizard of the week. He won
Gizmo:he won he won recently, so, we're gonna give it to somebody else. But thank you, lizard John, for putting this work in. It was, it was pretty hilarious. I was, I was really enjoying, looking at the images of the boys here. So we'll put this up on Instagram if you wanna follow along
Bam Bam:It's pretty awesome.
Gizmo:While we go through them. It's pretty creative. So thank you, lizard John. And boys, our lizard of the week is gonna go to lizard Maximus. And this is one we get a lot of questions like this, but I wanted to highlight this one.
Gizmo:He says, good morning. I've been listening to your podcast for over a year, and I've thought about writing in with comments, but I never did. I believe your show and panel are the Cuban cigar authority. I've never been into Cuban cigars. I've only spoke New World, but I'm curious about Cuban cigars.
Gizmo:However, the price point and consistency issues have been my excuse for not making the leap. I know you have discussed it during some of your emails of the week, but as a future show idea, you should think about going you should think about going through the steps to validate a Habanos SA cigar. For the real reason I'm writing you, I was gifted a box of Romeo y Julieta Churchill's, which is still in the cello wrap, the cellophane wrap, and the warranty seal intact. I've gone to the Habanos verification site, which states that they are valid box, but could that seal have been forged as well? They are from a Cuban immigrant with many contacts and families who still live in Cuba, and he is trustworthy.
Gizmo:Also, how do I read the factory code and the date on the box? It appears to have a b k I code, July 11. Does that mean these cigars have 13 years of age on them already? I'm trying to learn all of this, but the Habanos world seems so confusing. Thank you for the show and information, lizard Maximus.
Gizmo:So, unfortunately, boys, we have to break some bad news here to lizard Maximus tonight.
Chef Ricky:Jesus.
Gizmo:Our lizard of the week. So, you know, there are so many red flags as as we go through this. First off, the idea that you've gotten Romeo y Juliet to Churchill's in cellophane
Bam Bam:Yeah. It's a problem.
Gizmo:The number one tell that you do not have real cigars. Yeah. As soon as you open that box, you know. The barcode seal's not bad.
Bam Bam:So hold on.
Senator:They're probably better than the ones that aren't in cellophane. Yeah.
Bam Bam:It's true. Is each individual cigar in cellophane? Oh, that's throw them in the garbage. As opposed to what? I mean, I I thought the box was wrapped in cellophane.
Chef Ricky:Cellophane? How
Gizmo:Yeah. Each individual cigar is unfortunately, the box code doc, the box code image, the factory code is the incorrect font and is just not authentic. The bar code's wrong. You know, everything about this is wrong. And then the classic backup story of, you know, I have a trustworthy Cuban immigrant, a lot of family members in contact still in Cuba.
Gizmo:Trustworthiness has nothing to do with it. It's just the fact that there are so there's so much rampant forgery even inside Cuba with these cigars that they don't even know that they're buying something that's fake.
Rooster:I mean, too bad he didn't send us
Gizmo:a picture of the actual cigar. I know. I had just the box. Yeah. I I asked him for him, but I didn't get them in time tonight.
Bam Bam:But Rooster, if they're in cellophane, it's they gotta go.
Rooster:They used to be in cellophane, but I think that was before,
Gizmo:$2,011,000. Yeah. That's a long time ago. Mhmm. Long time ago.
Gizmo:So, yeah, I mean, everything about this box is wrong, and I like pointing out pointing this out even though Wizard Maximus is getting some bad news right now. You really need to be careful when you get a box of cigars. I'm I'm assuming you got these as a gift and didn't pay for them, but when you're getting something that's highly aged in cellophane with a bad box code, with a questionable warranty seal that's still sealed for thirteen years, they didn't crack the the seal on the box. I mean, everything about it is wrong. And we've talked about this before, boys.
Gizmo:The number one thing for someone with authentic Cuban cigars is knowing where you get them. And saying you have a friend in Cuba or trusting that that friend in Cuba knows what even they're getting is just it's just a recipe for Does
Rooster:he mention how much he paid?
Gizmo:I think he got them as a gift.
Rooster:Oh, Return it.
Chef Ricky:Yeah. It's it sucks to break that news to someone because there's it they're just heartbroken. I mean, at least in in the case of this listener, he didn't pay for it.
Rooster:Well, smoke it.
Gizmo:You know?
Rooster:What do you do?
Chef Ricky:Cut them open first if you're gonna decide to smoke them just so you can see what's in there, I think. But, yeah, it's, it's never a great thing to break this news to people, especially when they pay, good money for these cigars, but there's usually some big red flags. And having dealt with it recently and a couple times now, I could tell you it's not a my mother-in-law of eighteen years called me ungrateful when she brought me a few boxes of, Cohibas. And I was like, mom, yeah, these aren't, legit. I don't know.
Chef Ricky:And, you know, she she didn't talk to me for two weeks. And at the time serious? At the time, she was living with me.
Pagoda:Yeah. And I
Gizmo:think I
Bam Bam:think this is this is all
Grinder:good advice. Don't ever break the news to the gift bearer.
Bam Bam:Well Just accept it and Well,
Gizmo:I I think there is an example that you have to, and that is if it's going to be a repeat gift.
Chef Ricky:Yeah. It
Gizmo:might be a risk mitigation.
Rooster:This is your mother-in-law. Right?
Chef Ricky:That that was my mother-in-law, but now
Rooster:now she doesn't live with you.
Gizmo:She does have it. Right?
Rooster:I mean, maybe it worked out. Worked.
Pagoda:Are you sure there was no other reason? No. I mean
Chef Ricky:No. You know what it took. She gave cigars to a friend of hers, who's, you know, I guess, at the time, was smoking cigars longer than I have. He's about your age rooster, so he probably started in the early nineteen hundreds.
Rooster:Ninety '7?
Chef Ricky:Yeah. And and, he he broke the news to her. So at the after that, she came and apologized to me, but I I also had an experience recently with a friend, father of a friend of mine. You know, we connected over some cigars. He sent over a few gifts.
Chef Ricky:First one, you know, it was I mean, the the just the thought itself is a great thing. It's it's amazing for someone to go out of their way and be so generous. But after the second time, you know and I gifted him the, Habana Moderno with the hopes of
Gizmo:Alex Groom's book,
Grinder:by the way.
Chef Ricky:With the hopes that it just you know, he could use it as a resource. And, after I received the second gift, and these were blatantly, they were just obvious how fake they were. And we had a FaceTime call, and he was a he was a trooper about it. You know, we had a whole conversation. He's buying cigars from this guy for fourteen years, and buying cigars from, SwissCubancigars.com.
Gizmo:Which is one of the biggest Yeah. Most successful counterfeiting operations that's ever existed on the Internet with Cuban cigars. SwissCubancigars.com never ever buy from there.
Chef Ricky:Yep. And it sucks to break that news to someone, especially because, you know, they tell you fourteen years and you just think of, wow, like, how, you know, how much money and time has gone into this. But you know what? Now he knows. I sent him a couple cigars, some some authentic ones so he could just compare to what he has, and hopefully, he enjoys them.
Chef Ricky:But, yeah, it's never a good thing to break down use to somebody. It it really sucks. And you don't wanna come across as a know it all, but, look, if you do your research and you're as lucky as I am to be surrounded by you guys that, you offer that advice and
Gizmo:then A
Bam Bam:bunch of know it alls.
Rooster:Yeah. But
Gizmo:it kind of depends
Rooster:on your comfort level with that person. Sure. Because I think you're kind of doing him a favor by letting him know so he's not getting, you know, robbed.
Gizmo:Yeah. Which he clearly has been for fourteen years. Yeah.
Pagoda:That's a long time. But but but being an optimist, hey. Listen. You know, ignorance is a bliss.
Gizmo:And if
Pagoda:you've been smoking cigars for fourteen years, then you've enjoyed it.
Rooster:Knows well about handing out seniors. We know there
Chef Ricky:is a lot of
Rooster:species wrapped in QD wrapped
Gizmo:or the
Rooster:other way around.
Gizmo:Yeah. You know, it's unfortunate. And and I think the the other thing that we should note here is that, a lot of folks go to the Habanos verification site. When they get something that's questionable, they plug in the code, it comes up authentic. And as we've said before in the past, that system is compromised.
Gizmo:You know, folks know these these the numbers that work, They print these labels. There there are micro differences versus authentic labels and quality of the print or the number, the font, whatever. If you're not studying this on a regular basis, you're gonna miss that. You cannot trust the Habanos verification site.
Rooster:You you don't even have to go that far. I mean, the biggest telltale sign is the price. Well, the price price. Yeah. You know?
Rooster:If
Chef Ricky:if if you're
Rooster:paying, like, half of what they're going for
Grinder:Yeah.
Rooster:It's it's an it's obvious.
Bam Bam:It's
Chef Ricky:true. And having my conversation with my buddy, you know, he'd he was looking at some Cohiba Seagull sixes, and he's like, hey. I'm a get this box of Seagull sixes, and they're, you know, just above $900. And I shot a quick text to Gizmo, and you're already shaking your head no rooster. And I asked
Rooster:one one third of the price.
Chef Ricky:Yeah. Exactly. And I asked him, hey. What's the box of Seagull sixes going for these days? He's, like, $262,700 bucks.
Chef Ricky:So as he even after a long conversation, what she was convinced by this point, he's like, I'm a get this box, and I'm a send you somebody. Let me know what you think, and I'm just shaking my head no in the in the
Rooster:It's impossible because even in Cuba, you can't get them at that price.
Bam Bam:Definitely not. Yeah.
Chef Ricky:So So I'm just like, don't do it. Just don't do it.
Bam Bam:It's hard to break that
Grinder:news to someone that does this.
Rooster:But that but he you know?
Grinder:It's true. No. You're right. In the
Rooster:in the future, he's gonna he's gonna prevent him from spending $900 on a fake box.
Bam Bam:It's true.
Gizmo:I I do think there's a difference though if if you're sitting in a lounge with someone you're not familiar with Mhmm. You don't know. To drop the news on them, it's as if they're wearing fake shoes, you know, fake Jordans or something.
Bam Bam:It's a big slap in the face.
Gizmo:It is. And and people take, you know, they take the it's it's an insult.
Rooster:Yeah. Well, that's why I said, what's your comfort level?
Gizmo:Yeah. So someone like this that Ricky, you know, that chef trusts and and trusts him, you know, that that's a different story. But it's just amazing how many of these emails we get asking for authenticate authentication, you know, details, and can you check out these photos and stuff? And this is a prime example kinda hitting every single wrong mark on these cigars from cellophane to sealed box to the code is wrong to the c the the the seal coming up accurate. It's, it's so common these days.
Chef Ricky:And and it's probably good fair to assume that anything available online as just as we could use it as a source of verification, counterfeiters could use it as a way to secure somewhat better counterfeiting measures. So, you know, be careful. You know? I mean, just don't don't do a Google search asking Google if, Swiss Cuban cigars is a legit Cuban retailer, because you know who controls that is Swiss Cuban cigars.
Gizmo:Yeah. They put up sites with reviews of for themselves.
Chef Ricky:Exactly. So, you know, you have to be careful and, yeah, just yeah. I mean, the obvious red flag is is price point. If it's too good to be true, then it's not true. You know?
Gizmo:Yeah. So sorry for the bad news here, lizard Maximus, or any other lizards out there who are in the same position, but he's gotten a little bit something good out of this. He's won lizard of the week, and anybody out there could win lizard of the week. All you have to do is send us an email like all these lizards did, a voice memo as we've played in the past, comment on Instagram, YouTube, whatever you choose, just reach out to us, and you can also win lizard of the week, and, we'll send you some stuff from the humidor. So, boys, we're coming into the last third.
Gizmo:I can't even believe I'm saying that right now. We're only about an hour in on the h up and magnum 54. This is not
Rooster:It's delicious.
Gizmo:A value cigar, but it's delicious.
Bam Bam:Yeah. It's great. Very good.
Gizmo:But for 30 some odd dollars
Grinder:That's tough.
Gizmo:I can't believe how fast this is smoking. This is smoking faster than a Yeah. Corona Gorda.
Bam Bam:Yeah. So the boxes that I bought were
Grinder:at least $12 less per stick
Bam Bam:way back in the day.
Gizmo:Yeah. And
Bam Bam:that that for me, it's worth every dollar because I happen to love this cigar. But at $32
Gizmo:At 20, I think that's a fair price. At $32.50 Yeah. There were a little too high for it.
Bam Bam:Probably, like, $22 each that I paid.
Grinder:Yep. But, you know, the smoking experience is great. You know? The the combustion is the balance. The the combustion is great.
Grinder:The balance of spicy and sweet Yeah. Is pretty, delectable. It is. There's, like, this nutty cashew flavor in there that's just rounding out. It's, like, adds
Bam Bam:to that. Nuttiness for me is in that final third.
Grinder:Yeah. Deep cashew and some I'm getting a little more now.
Bam Bam:But there's a little strain of sweetness there too that I like. Yeah.
Grinder:And and I think chef
Bam Bam:mentioned it. Touch.
Grinder:The woodiness with that spice, it's like I don't know. It's like sitting by a campfire, but having, like, a
Gizmo:like, an It's definitely
Rooster:a wood note that Yeah. That
Gizmo:comes through. Yeah.
Grinder:It's great.
Chef Ricky:You know, something that's going just as fast as the cigars is scotch.
Gizmo:Yeah. It's good, man. Wow. Yeah.
Grinder:I was gonna say the the the the pairing as as, as Gizmo has has mentioned is just spot on.
Bam Bam:I think I'm so
Grinder:Good job, Senator. Sleeping. Good job.
Pagoda:Look at Senator. He's been He's naughty.
Senator:He's like No. No. No. No. I'm looking at the bottle.
Senator:We're running on Eve right now.
Gizmo:Are we
Grinder:really? We are. Seriously.
Gizmo:Gosh. We are. I haven't gotten a second pour, Bam, so
Grinder:That's all you.
Bam Bam:That's all you. I had three pours. I'm
Grinder:good. And I'll I have to say they were heavy pours.
Rooster:It's a good thing I don't. Right?
Bam Bam:Yeah. I'm not leaving here tonight.
Grinder:I'm staying home. I'm staying here.
Chef Ricky:So, guys, I have an announcement to make.
Pagoda:Oh. What? You're getting married?
Chef Ricky:No. I got married already twice.
Gizmo:An announcement. This is huge. Uh-oh. Yeah.
Rooster:You can't leave the pod. Oh, I I just got here. I just started.
Gizmo:He's still on his pep.
Rooster:I ordered my I ordered my tower. Hey.
Bam Bam:Hey. Hey.
Gizmo:No time. Let's go. Did you did
Pagoda:you get the tower of power?
Chef Ricky:I got the El Bard, it's a black espresso. It looks like the tower of power, but maybe a little bit more
Pagoda:Did you get
Grinder:did you get the cabinet? Alright.
Pagoda:No problem.
Chef Ricky:I got the cabinet. It's
Bam Bam:the same
Grinder:it's pretty much the same model, but does it have the drawers?
Chef Ricky:It has drawers. It has a built in fan, and it has a
Gizmo:I was so pumped. It has a built in fan system and lights built in. And guess what? On the bottom, there's a plug already built in an electrical plug so you don't have to seal it. Like, it's all sealed up.
Bam Bam:Oh, wow.
Grinder:That's an upgrade.
Pagoda:That's a why does not have that?
Gizmo:It's serious.
Chef Ricky:So long story short, it won't take me as long as it did Bam Bam to set it up.
Grinder:Oh, come on. I'm sure you're right. We're still there. You know you know what was
Pagoda:really funny? Because when Giz said on the bottom, I I thought he was gonna say, there's a little tray for kitty litter because
Grinder:the fan is already built in. It has it does have drawers.
Gizmo:I'm gonna fashion one out of cedar for chef Ricky.
Grinder:I know that model.
Bam Bam:It has drawers. It's pretty cool.
Gizmo:Chef Ricky, so what was the impetus to finally do it? What's the plan with the tower? When do you think you're gonna get it? Like, run us through this.
Chef Ricky:So I already got the email. I I ordered it last week, maybe Wednesday, and I got the email two days ago saying that
Senator:You gotta say where you where'd you order it from?
Chef Ricky:Mhmm. ElegantBar.com.
Senator:Elegant Bar. That's where I got mine from. Grindr got his.
Bam Bam:Mine. Same. Yeah.
Senator:Bam got his from there. I think Pagoda did as well. Great site. They do a really nice job.
Bam Bam:The only problem if it gets stuck on a ship Yeah.
Pagoda:Like mine did.
Rooster:When you wait, like, two years later to order it and there's a shipping container crisis
Chef Ricky:That's what happens.
Bam Bam:It's circling around the Gulf Of Mexico.
Chef Ricky:No. Let let me go to
Gizmo:the Gulf Of America.
Grinder:Oh, that's right.
Pagoda:Is it the Gulf Of America?
Grinder:We're gonna name it
Bam Bam:the Gulf Of America. Okay.
Senator:That was good.
Chef Ricky:That was perfect.
Bam Bam:We're gonna do it.
Pagoda:I hope that now through the Panama
Grinder:Canal amazing.
Bam Bam:It's incredible.
Chef Ricky:No. Listen. I ordered it, Wednesday of last week.
Pagoda:Really good.
Chef Ricky:And I think I
Pagoda:got really good.
Chef Ricky:I got the email two days ago saying that it would arrive Tuesday.
Grinder:So so when I Are
Gizmo:you serious? Yeah. Wait. Under I'm sorry, Grindr. Under two weeks, you're gonna get
Bam Bam:the tower
Chef Ricky:in about a week. Yeah.
Gizmo:So for for the list you know, the I'm listening. That's not fair. That's pretty amazing. It's coming on an Estes truck. Yeah.
Gizmo:It you know, that doesn't ship UPS or something. That comes on a, a less than load, an LTL truck with a with a
Bam Bam:That's awesome.
Gizmo:You know, to your house. So that's fast. Bam
Rooster:ordered it during COVID, so maybe that Yeah.
Senator:I don't know. I ordered mine right at the start of COVID.
Pagoda:It was a disaster. And it
Senator:was so fast.
Grinder:I think No. No. No. No. No.
Senator:His timing just coincided with
Gizmo:that shit.
Pagoda:No. No. No. No. Bam ordered it at his friend's place.
Pagoda:Remember? And then what? And then he had to carry it over from there. Wasn't that the case? Or something?
Pagoda:No.
Senator:It was in his garage. No.
Rooster:You ordered
Grinder:it to your hotel. Yeah. You had to you had to get it groomed.
Senator:Yeah. No.
Pagoda:That took no. No. That's just
Grinder:weeks. I gotta go back now. Hold
Rooster:on. Wait a minute.
Pagoda:Because he had to carry it on his back? No. No. No. Sorry.
Rooster:May I ask why?
Bam Bam:I don't know. Because I wasn't a procurement expert at that time. So
Grinder:so he
Rooster:He forgot his can't type your address.
Senator:He forgot where he lived.
Grinder:So and I and I let me I didn't wanna order it, but I wanted it. I have people I delegate. Alright then. Counsel needs to speak on his behalf.
Senator:Thank you.
Grinder:I will I will say, when I ordered mine, I was I was living I was living in an apartment at the time, and, I found out when they were delivering it that it was, you know, it was coming on a a big truck, and they wouldn't deliver it to the apartment. So I they took it to they had a like, last mile
Senator:Objection. Relevance. Pam lives in
Rooster:a house. I'm just saying. I'm just saying.
Grinder:Somebody pipe down the judge. Okay? Order.
Gizmo:Order. Order in
Grinder:the corner. Shut his mic off. Here.
Pagoda:Leading You
Rooster:don't speak to the judge like that.
Pagoda:You need leading the witness.
Rooster:I'm gonna hold your contempt.
Grinder:So I had a I had to ship it to an I had to send it to, like, my family members. They they also have a warehouse. Send it to there and then have a, like, last mile, shipper bring it to my house. And then they I had to pay them to bring it up the steps and install it and all this other shit.
Bam Bam:I don't know if you had that problem. No. No. I didn't.
Gizmo:No. No. I get
Senator:he lives in the house.
Gizmo:His problem was it was in the garage, and he just didn't unpack it and deal with it for about a year.
Chef Ricky:No. But you didn't you didn't
Grinder:you didn't get the the cabinet.
Senator:You got the tower.
Grinder:I didn't get the tower. The the cabinet is a it's a
Bam Bam:it's a massive piece of furniture. Double wide.
Grinder:Yeah. Yeah.
Rooster:I still don't get why you ordered it at to your friend's house, though.
Bam Bam:Well, so we were ordering it. So we were sitting in
Gizmo:Let him finish.
Bam Bam:Alright. So we were sitting in his yard, and we were, you know, looking around shopping and okay. Irrelevant. Irrelevant. Craig, you place the order.
Bam Bam:I'll give you the money for it. Great. So he was he was about to order it. So okay. Put two.
Grinder:That's it. That tracks.
Senator:So he thought that meant that Craig was gonna
Rooster:bring it, deliver it to his house Well,
Pagoda:he did.
Senator:Set it up for him, and
Chef Ricky:none of that happened.
Bam Bam:So he he brought it to my house. He's a sweetheart. But then I did put it in my garage for about a month. That's it?
Gizmo:I think it was a little
Senator:while ago. Longer than that. I think it was plural.
Gizmo:Oh, yeah. It was
Pagoda:Well, he's just on the band. Can we
Grinder:cut his mic off? I don't think that's possible.
Gizmo:By the way, I love how we've completely derailed Ricky's story on how he's getting his tower to go back to your tower.
Grinder:It's not about you guys. It's not about me.
Gizmo:It's always about you.
Chef Ricky:It's my fault. It's my fault.
Gizmo:Alright. So, Ricky, so you have this tower coming. It's coming next week.
Chef Ricky:This week.
Gizmo:It's coming this week.
Rooster:Wow. From
Senator:from the Amazon of towers.
Rooster:Excellent.
Gizmo:Yeah. That's awesome. So what is your stock like right now? Like, how much of that do you think you're gonna fill, and what's your plan to, fill it up?
Chef Ricky:Half the tower is gonna be a bookshelf for a couple months, because my stock isn't, you know, there yet. I probably have about a 34 cigars.
Senator:Bam's got three of these boxes. He's happy to lend you
Gizmo:some. Yeah.
Bam Bam:You can have a box.
Rooster:At $22 each.
Grinder:At $38
Bam Bam:each.
Chef Ricky:But listen. I'm just happy to have it. You know, I could grow into it. Whereas now my wine ador is, you know, it's it's fully stocked. So, you know, I'm just looking forward to growing into it, and now I could build a collection without any kind of anxiety or worry that I'm gonna
Rooster:be boxes in there so it looks full.
Chef Ricky:Yeah. Sure. Yeah. Yeah. Through do that, some kitty litter, a couple books, you know, whatever.
Gizmo:So what is your plan for humidification? Are you gonna go cigar oasis?
Chef Ricky:The cigar oasis is already in my house waiting to be
Bam Bam:Is it is it the, three point o?
Senator:Three point o. Why why ask that question like there are options?
Bam Bam:Yeah. There really isn't.
Senator:I mean, it's cigar oasis or bust. So kitty litter and that crap
Grinder:is You might you might consider I've considered this with this
Senator:With the spritzing.
Gizmo:No. Spritzing.
Grinder:Not the spritz. You might consider getting two
Rooster:Milton's because
Grinder:because it's it is remote controls. It is bifurcated in the middle.
Gizmo:And Grindr, he didn't get a, double wall. Yeah. He got down there.
Chef Ricky:No. No. I got the tower. It looks like a cabinet, so that's why your question confused me.
Gizmo:But, no,
Chef Ricky:I got the tower.
Gizmo:My bad.
Grinder:My bad.
Chef Ricky:Single door. Yep.
Gizmo:Congratulations. Thanks. I mean, this is a huge move.
Bam Bam:Big time.
Gizmo:And I gotta say, I don't know if this is good lizard influence or bad lizard influence.
Bam Bam:Yeah. Get your checkbook ready.
Gizmo:Since you since you joined the pod couple months in
Chef Ricky:Yeah.
Gizmo:You're in full tower mode.
Chef Ricky:Oh, yeah. And and my wife was fully bought in. She even, you know, she had a great week last week with her business, and she even said, here you go, honey. I'm contributing to the tower.
Gizmo:Wow. Six seventy Well, you
Bam Bam:know what's gonna have to happen, Shadi.
Pagoda:I know what's good and good in the top of the tower. You can put cookies.
Grinder:Yeah. Cookies. Yeah.
Bam Bam:It could
Grinder:be a pastry storage.
Senator:If if pagoda will be over every night.
Grinder:It will be.
Rooster:You'll really be getting some baking spices.
Grinder:With a glass of garlic. For for the listener, mister chef makes the best. Incredible. Incredible.
Gizmo:Thank
Chef Ricky:you. Thank you.
Grinder:He's gonna have to sell a lot of tacos to fill that humidor, man.
Rooster:Yeah. That's what we do.
Chef Ricky:Or tequila.
Gizmo:Or tequila. Yes. So we need all the listeners to run to Anejo restaurants
Bam Bam:in Correct.
Gizmo:New York and Philadelphia and in Montclair, New Jersey, Playa Taqueria.
Bam Bam:Yes.
Gizmo:Absolutely immediately so that Ricky can fill his tower ASAP. We need you to place big corporate orders.
Chef Ricky:Yeah. Let's go to sweet Melissa bakeshop while we're at it on Instagram.
Grinder:There you go.
Chef Ricky:Just to get her money back. Yeah.
Gizmo:Let me ask you this. While we're on the topic, what is your let's put budget aside like we just did with that listener. What is your first, like, I can't wait to buy this box and put it in my tower.
Chef Ricky:What
Gizmo:what's your first Cuban cigar and New World cigar purchase you're eyeing up?
Chef Ricky:The first New World purchase is already done, and, it was a box of a chef's edition.
Gizmo:Oh, from Baraboo.
Rooster:Very fitting. Yes.
Pagoda:You beat me to it.
Chef Ricky:Yeah. I was there. And, I think, there's there's no better cigar for me as a chef to put in there first. And then, I did get a box of QD fifties. I wouldn't say I got it for this humidor, but I'd love to stock it with a bunch of d fours.
Chef Ricky:And, Now we're talking. Yeah. Maybe get some, some of the good Lucy's in there at some point. Lucy's?
Pagoda:Just a quick question. Where'd you get where'd you store security fifties? Was it a Devdoff store?
Grinder:No. I just
Pagoda:wanna make
Gizmo:sure. Zenos.
Chef Ricky:No. No. EGM. Alright.
Bam Bam:Confusion has ensued.
Gizmo:Well, congratulations. Got him on Amazon. No. It's all sweet. Congratulations, Ricky.
Gizmo:This is huge news. That's great. And any listeners out there who wanna want the link or anything like that, just email us and we'll send you the link of what he bought. Because I was surprised we were actually looking for the tower of power. I think it's been discontinued and replaced by this model.
Bam Bam:You see, that's a disappointment.
Gizmo:But it seems a little upgraded. No.
Senator:It's not. They upgraded. It's really clever to add the built in fans. I mean, almost no units have built in fans.
Bam Bam:But we're not but you don't like the drawers, though, do you? No. Neither do I. I think when I have to Do
Rooster:they do they make the model without the drawers?
Chef Ricky:So I I think I misspoke here too. They're shelves that you could put either at an angle.
Gizmo:They don't slide. Or two. Yeah.
Senator:Yeah. I don't think he
Gizmo:got the one with the drawers.
Chef Ricky:Yeah. I don't think there's
Rooster:drawers in it. Yeah.
Senator:Yeah. I saw the image.
Bam Bam:We we just
Senator:sent it in our chat. Yeah. Yeah. He did. I would have said something immediately.
Gizmo:They're just trays, and they're they have those little pegs in the side that you can adjust to hang or thing
Bam Bam:on the tower car. And we've we've talked about this ad nauseam. Like, you have to you're gonna go for the basic standard production Cubans. I don't care how much they fucking cost. You're just gonna have to buy them.
Bam Bam:Just buy them. You're gonna want them. D fours, RAS, the whole
Senator:Mortgage the house, whatever it takes.
Grinder:Yeah. It's not gonna take that much.
Senator:But Have your friend order them and
Grinder:deliver them.
Bam Bam:Yeah. You get a box of each, start collecting, and you'll be very satisfied.
Gizmo:And, I mean, you could start with 10 count boxes. I mean, we've done a lot of like, this cigar tonight comes in a 10 count.
Rooster:Yeah. We
Gizmo:have some turkey, terquinhos Yeah.
Bam Bam:Don't get
Grinder:those in
Rooster:a 10 count box.
Chef Ricky:Well, with these, I think 25 con is the way to go. Yeah.
Bam Bam:Correct. Sounds like it. Correct.
Rooster:So your tower has built in lighting already.
Senator:Yes. Correct. Statue. That's another improvement.
Rooster:That's cool.
Gizmo:It's nice. Yeah. And I think the door is sealed, which the tower power is, and I think the door comes We
Bam Bam:have to seal that ourselves.
Gizmo:Seal in it. So it seems like a nice upgrade.
Grinder:Nice.
Gizmo:And and if you don't mind me asking, what was the price of the tower? Does your wife listen?
Chef Ricky:No. I told her what it. Be careful.
Bam Bam:He is the fiduciary in
Gizmo:the room
Chef Ricky:now tonight. The price on the tower was 14 and change and after taxes.
Rooster:Price. That's not bad.
Bam Bam:No. Yeah.
Chef Ricky:Not bad. And knowing I think the lowest price I saw on the tower power a few years back when I was considering it, it was maybe 1,200 or so. And then just knowing that you have to, you know, outfit it and
Gizmo:Mhmm.
Chef Ricky:You know, kinda Yeah. Just do all the things you guys said, whether Yeah. You know, the lighting or or securing the air gaps or whatever. This one seems to have all of that done. So that extra $200 felt
Gizmo:what was
Grinder:My my cabinet when I bought it was, like, a wow.
Gizmo:Yeah. $20.17. Right?
Bam Bam:Dude, that thing is massive.
Gizmo:It's gotta be more than double that now. Oh, easy. I would think. Yeah. It's gotta be probably 25 My
Senator:tower power when I bought it was, like, probably $600.
Chef Ricky:Wow. Jesus. Yeah.
Gizmo:Alright, guys. Why are you Now
Chef Ricky:I feel like shit. Thank you.
Bam Bam:No. No. No. You need it, you get it.
Gizmo:Let me ask you this. Where in your house are you planning to put it? We talk about that a lot too. Great question.
Chef Ricky:A finished basement. And right now, the basement is what I call the family room. You know? The biggest TV is down there. The video game systems are down there.
Gizmo:We're gonna have to get that all out of there. No. No. No. Family's out.
Chef Ricky:No. It's it's fine because, honestly, the only one who spends time down there right now is my son.
Bam Bam:Oh, okay. Okay.
Pagoda:Who enjoys it goes?
Chef Ricky:Who who enjoys listening to the pod.
Bam Bam:And he's on a p x two. I'm
Chef Ricky:sure. And playing his p s five. We're up to we're up to the five now, Ben. At a time
Gizmo:his p s five is in the garage. I have no idea. He didn't move it in yet.
Grinder:P x two,
Bam Bam:p x five, whatever it may be.
Grinder:P x or p x
Pagoda:I had no idea.
Rooster:P x.
Gizmo:He's combining the PlayStation and the Xbox. Correct.
Rooster:Do you know a gallon of milk went up?
Bam Bam:I thought it was like $11.
Grinder:What's what's the cost of a dozen eggs?
Senator:Wait till he sees egg prices. They're all crazy.
Gizmo:Yeah. They're crazy.
Grinder:Yeah. But
Pagoda:what would the strawberry price be?
Bam Bam:You can't get chicken breast anymore. Right?
Gizmo:I sent
Senator:you a picture of the strawberry. How would you know?
Grinder:Costco. I heard. I was told by
Bam Bam:the by the house manager.
Grinder:The house manager.
Gizmo:Well, congrats, Ricky. That's huge news, man.
Chef Ricky:Thank you.
Gizmo:Let us know. I'm curious, like, how it shows up and the process of getting it in and and how ready all of these new details are about it versus the others that we we have. I mean, if that's a great recommendation for listeners, that's awesome.
Chef Ricky:Yes. So so far, I've received an email from Elegant Bar saying to take pictures of the package just as it comes off the truck. Otherwise, I'll have no claim if there's anything wrong with the tower itself. And it it was it was a breeze. It was a breeze purchasing it.
Chef Ricky:I think they even do Apple Pay, so you don't have to, like, pull out the wallet. You know? You could just do it do everything, the entire process through your phone. So, yeah, it was it was it was great.
Rooster:It's like buying a Tesla.
Chef Ricky:Pretty much.
Rooster:I mean, Tesla. That's a throwback.
Gizmo:Hey. Hey,
Pagoda:guess.
Gizmo:We're hitting all the we're we're hitting all the greatest hits today.
Bam Bam:By the way, that's fucking hilarious.
Grinder:I love that.
Rooster:Feels like the best stuff I
Gizmo:could say.
Grinder:Oh, god.
Gizmo:Alright, boys. We're coming to the end of our evening tonight with the Johnny Walker Gold Label Reserve and the h Upman Magnum 54. What's everybody thinking of the pairing as we, close it out tonight?
Bam Bam:Delicious. Pairing was great.
Gizmo:Yeah. I have a question for you before we rate. Do you think that the whiskey made the cigar better or vice versa?
Chef Ricky:I think it was vice versa. I think the cigar made the whiskey better.
Senator:I disagree.
Pagoda:Yeah. I think they complimented each other completely. I'm gonna this
Senator:will be reflected in my rating, but, I expected this to be sweeter and more up and like than it was. There were a lot of woody notes that I was not expecting. So the sweetness in the Scotch really helped
Pagoda:Yeah.
Senator:Me feel like this was more Upman like, but without it, it would have been more disappointing.
Gizmo:Yeah.
Pagoda:Yeah. Because this is very savory. Yeah.
Bam Bam:Did you dislike the cigar?
Senator:I I didn't dislike it, but I didn't love it.
Bam Bam:Really? Interesting.
Senator:I mean, I I'm I love Upman. I'm I'm a huge Upman guy, so, like, I want traditional Upman sweeter baking spice notes. And the woodiness in this cigar Yeah. Detracted from that so much that I was left craving so much more Upman that I didn't get. That was my problem.
Grinder:Is an outlier, this cigar
Gizmo:It is.
Grinder:In the entire line.
Bam Bam:But there's some uniqueness to it
Grinder:that I happen to
Gizmo:love. Sure.
Chef Ricky:Yeah. You you're not wrong about that, but I think because it delivers it in a in a creamy fashion
Gizmo:Mhmm.
Chef Ricky:It's tolerable. I think if that creaminess wasn't here, then the cigar would be way too dry. Good word. Sorry. It's, serviceable.
Grinder:That's not a good word. I'm glad we're all just muddling through it. Yeah. Right.
Rooster:And the
Senator:thing I will say, the the magnum 50 fours that I've had that I haven't really enjoyed, they're sweeter than this all the way through. They're not this woody, so I'm also very thrown by, like, how intense the woody notes are in this.
Rooster:Yeah. I'm curious. I wanna go back and try it. You know?
Bam Bam:The other
Rooster:ones. Because it's been sitting around for a while.
Bam Bam:Let me try one of yours.
Gizmo:Sure. Alright, boys. It's time to move into the formal liquor rating tonight on the Johnny Walker Gold Label Reserve. Bam Bam, you're
Bam Bam:up. I thoroughly enjoyed this. In fact, I'm I'm finishing my third pour. If you're not gonna drink that, I'm drinking it.
Gizmo:Oh, I'm gonna drink it.
Bam Bam:At Jesus. Fifty dollars a bottle? 60. 60 bucks a bottle? I said earlier, I would interchange this with the cognac journey that I'm on.
Bam Bam:And it's so easy to drink. It there's a sweetness to it. It's not complex. It's not it has a little bit of viscosity. It's sticking to the glass a little bit.
Bam Bam:I'm at a nine. I'm at a nine on this all day long.
Senator:For the record, the loudest complaints about this pairing
Bam Bam:Oh, that's true.
Senator:Record was from that corner of the Amen.
Grinder:I was Amen.
Bam Bam:I was scared. I I remember I didn't I don't remember the first time I had this. It's been a very long time. This is a revelation tonight.
Pagoda:Listen.
Bam Bam:It's a nine.
Pagoda:Johnny Walker's good stuff, man.
Bam Bam:Well, this one is. I don't
Grinder:know about the black, but this is good.
Gizmo:Alright. Grinder.
Grinder:It's a seven for me. Wow. I thought it was good. I typically not a fan of blended Scotch. Typically not a fan of sweeter Scotch.
Grinder:There was the the sweet on the finish was odd to me. It was almost unnatural, but I liked it. So I'm I'm not knocking it forward necessarily.
Bam Bam:Prefer a smoky finish.
Grinder:I do. Right. Yeah. That's your palate. I thought I thought the pairing, it went very well with the pairing.
Grinder:I would agree with senator's commentary. I think it it added some sweetness. I do I do think there was some sweetness in the cigar that it just it kind of kicked up a level. So for me, it's just, you know, it's a it's a solid seven. I've had a lot of really good Scotch, and I wouldn't put it in
Bam Bam:Well, like I said echelon. Resident Scotch guy.
Grinder:Come on.
Gizmo:Alright, chef Ricky.
Chef Ricky:Yeah. I'm still developing my Scotch palette, and I probably came into this some somewhat biased with Johnny Walker, not being one of my favorites. Not that I have a ton of experience with it. Maybe, you know, growing up, my uncle's drinking black label, and I go into the kitchen sink and grab the bottle and, you know, drink a little bit of it. Then I realized they would market to see if I was actually drinking it or not, so I stopped probably for good reason.
Pagoda:But, yeah when you pour water in it.
Chef Ricky:I did. I did. I I stopped short in case you decided to listen.
Bam Bam:Well, pagoda calls out a sploosh.
Chef Ricky:But, yeah. No. The this gold was was good. You know? I I was surprised.
Chef Ricky:There's a there's a finish that I'm not the flavor in the finish that I'm not fond of. I almost wanna I don't think malty is the right word, but there's something there that I that I find that I'm not crazy about the way it ends. And I think Grindr's onto something where, you know, there's some sweetness present, but it doesn't feel supernatural to me. Because of the price point, because I enjoyed it, and because it did better and I thought it was gonna do and it was a great pairing, I'm gonna give it an eight.
Bam Bam:Good score.
Pagoda:Okay. Pagoda. I'm at a nine. I I know it seems very simple in terms of the overall flavor profile. It doesn't feel very complex.
Pagoda:I also think, for me, the viscosity was a bit lighter. Like, it was a lighter bodied thing. And I and from that perspective, I think drinking in need you could drink it this need even in the summer out on the deck. I think it it provides some versatility from that perspective. But I'm also a Johnny Walker fan.
Pagoda:Right? Like, I really like Johnny Walker in terms of the Black Label, as, if you've listened to the episodes before. You know, my thought is it's such an easy drink, and I I'll tell you, the bottle's finished. It's very rare that we have sometimes, you know, the bottles just finished so quickly. I just think everyone really enjoyed it.
Pagoda:For me, I agree. Like, I think, and I'll talk about the cigar later and the pairing a bit later when I'm doing the cigar. But I think it did add, to the sweetness in the second half more so, and it was fantastic from that perspective, and it's a nine for me.
Gizmo:Alright. So it's also a nine for me. I I'm blown away by this. I really enjoyed it. I I don't think when I think Cuban cigars at this point in our journey with other spirits or pairings, wine, tequila, rum, cognac, I'm not thinking
Bam Bam:You're not thinking Johnny Walker.
Gizmo:I'm not thinking Scotch whiskey Well with a with a Cuban cigar, and I think this you know, senator nailed it on the head when we were talking about pulling this one in with a Cuban tonight. This is a great Scotch. It's
Bam Bam:different for
Gizmo:Cuban cigars.
Bam Bam:Surprisingly good.
Gizmo:It was so easy to drink. I love the sweetness of it.
Pagoda:You don't need ice. You don't need a sploosh of soda.
Gizmo:You don't need any of that. The vanilla, the honey, which are notes I actually normally don't chase, but it was just done so well. It was so subtle. It was so easy to drink. The bottle's empty.
Gizmo:I mean, there's I don't know the last time we sat in a ninety minute episode and looked at a bottle like that, and it was empty. I mean, the entire room kept going back, and I haven't even touched it yet. You know? I mean, it's a real merit to this. You know
Chef Ricky:what fairness? Bam Bam must have had a rough day because he finished his first class before we hit record. Correct. And,
Grinder:you have good peripheral vision. I am not sure if I like that.
Senator:It was it was it was the four finger pour.
Bam Bam:Yeah. Oh, yeah. That's true.
Gizmo:He did 12 fingers tonight.
Bam Bam:Rough night.
Gizmo:And I love too that, none of us even thought about reaching into that ice bucket tonight. We all drank it neat. Absolutely no ice ice needed. The price, I think, is very, very fair for what it is at at $58, 60 bucks. Very, very happy with this tonight.
Gizmo:It's a nine. Senator.
Senator:So I say this as I'm not a Johnny Walker fan. And, this bottle in particular, like, for me, I would just describe as supremely drinkable. Like, it is this stuff goes down like water. It is versatile, incredibly smooth. You would never dream of putting ice in this.
Senator:I think, you know, dollar for dollar, I think this is, like, the best value in the Johnny Walker line, period. I am thrilled to see, like, with a Cuban cigar, it really held up. I mean, I ironically, I I said, I think this will pair well with a Cuban. But at that lounge, we were not smoking many Cubans. They were New World.
Senator:Mostly New World. Yeah. So, like, I hadn't even really drank this with a a Cuban, and and I think it's clear, it's something we would do, again. I think for me, what stands out in this is it has a defined place. Like, most of the single malt scotch that we drink, we drink when we're looking for a bolder, fuller experience, and that typically lends itself to a new world cigar.
Senator:There's not of the lighter bodied scotches that we've tried, I don't particularly like any of them very much. I'm not saying I wouldn't drink it, but I I certainly don't seek it out. I mean, we did that, Dalwani. Dalweni 15. That's probably my least favorite, like, lighter bodied Scotch.
Bam Bam:Agree. Yep.
Senator:And it's it's it's harsh. It doesn't it's not nearly as smooth and and refined as this drinks. And so I think some
Bam Bam:price point's very close.
Grinder:Oh, it's higher. That one is higher.
Senator:Yeah. Yeah. For sure. Oh. And and I think Pagoda maybe mentioned this, like, the summer, you know, the summer is also not a time that, like, you're always thinking of, like, wanting that, like, fuller bodied single malt There's versatility here.
Senator:For sure. And so, like, it has this defined place where it's not competing with the single malts that we would drink in those occasions. It's got its own place in, like, summer months and even winter months with a Cuban cigar that's lighter and not as full bodied as many New Worlds we smoke. So I I give it a world of credit. Like, there's I can see myself drinking this at certain times and places.
Senator:I would give it a strong eight. You know, for me, the only reason I didn't give it a nine or something like a nine or 10 is, it's not, it's not a complex Scotch. No. No. Of course.
Senator:Very simple straightforward Scotch. But what it's delivering, I do like and I think has a place. And I think anybody that is looking for, a tamer scotch, which is what blended scotch is meant to be as a category. But I think among blended scotches, which I'm normally not a big fan of, this is definitely one of the better ones, and I would drink again. So a strong eight for me.
Gizmo:Alright, boys. That puts the formal liquor rating tonight on the Johnny Walker Gold Label Reserve at an 8.3.
Bam Bam:Nice score.
Gizmo:That's a nice score for the That's
Pagoda:a nice score. Score.
Gizmo:I'm I'm honestly surprised that it scored that high tonight coming in. I was not expecting that.
Bam Bam:Personally, I think I'm gonna buy a bottle and keep it in in a locker.
Gizmo:I agree. And I think too, I I wanna piggyback on something a bottle. Yeah. Yeah. Senator was talking about with the lighter single malts that we've done Mhmm.
Gizmo:And how bland they are Yeah. And basic and boring.
Grinder:But some
Bam Bam:are edgy as he noted as well.
Gizmo:Some are harsh.
Grinder:And that's not.
Gizmo:This kinda toes the line between not very viscous and thin. It's not taking over your palate, and it has a lot of sweetness and and really good flavor. For $60, I think that's something.
Grinder:So, Giz, what did I
Senator:I when I when I look at
Grinder:the rating, I I I kind of wanna compare it to a very standard light single malt scotch. And for me, the quintessential scotch to that caliber is the Glenmorangie 10. And that is a light. It's very drinkable, and it has all of that essence that Scotland that Scotch whiskey should should have in it. And this, it it felt a little it felt a little artificial.
Grinder:That sweet finish is not something you get with the Scotch. No.
Bam Bam:You don't get it with the Glenmorangie
Gizmo:for sure.
Grinder:No. And and and that's not a demerit by any means. It's just something different. It's a blended Scotch versus a single malt Scotch. So so when I
Senator:In fairness, Abelur is as sweet as sherry Obama's exists. You can get some very
Bam Bam:sensitive to the whole cow.
Grinder:A sherry cask. This is this is not this I'm talking I'm not talking
Senator:about We don't even know what this what cast is. Yeah. We have
Gizmo:no idea.
Bam Bam:Blending. Yeah.
Gizmo:So the Glenmorangie 10 by the way Cask. The Glenmorangie 10 that, Grindr's referencing, we actually did on episode 20. We never rated it. Yeah. That was one that was the last, spirit that we did not rate.
Gizmo:We started rating seriously on a bound around episode 21. We started doing them every week. So We were Maybe we should, revisit that one, the Glenmore and GT.
Grinder:But, you know, we're we're smoking cigars with it. It's a pairing, and it doesn't matter whether it's you know, it carries this purest mentality or not. It's it's what we enjoy, and and we enjoy we certainly enjoyed it tonight. We drank the whole bottle. Yeah.
Grinder:So it is what it is. I mean, I'm it's just it's just a mode of comparison. And I think for me, when I look at single malt scotch or or very light scotch, that's the that's kind of the that's kind of the standard, and then I I raid around it.
Senator:The last thing I'll just say on this, you know, we've talked about this with certain rums, certain cognacs, and other spirits that we like, but we also like the way we feel after we drink it. Yes. And I can already tell from just a couple of glasses of this, like, this is, you know, the the reason that we don't drink in as much volume certain single malts is they're much fuller, and heavier and, you know, you can't really consume a ton of that and feel great in the morning. This bottle, you know, I mean, Bam could probably drink this whole bottle and feel fine in the morning.
Grinder:Like No doubt about it.
Gizmo:Well, if you look at the AI image that, wizard John put together, I would agree.
Grinder:I'm gonna pay you again. That's your job.
Senator:But I I do give a credit for that because as much as we love the flavor profile of single malt scotch, none of us well, maybe pagoda is the exception, are able to drink that in as much quantity as certain rums or cognacs or other spirits. Quantity. And feel, you know, great in the morning after. And I just think this is one of these rare scotches. And I wouldn't say this about Black Label.
Senator:I mean, I remember when I was younger drinking Black Label environment, not feeling great in the next morning.
Bam Bam:Mhmm. Yeah.
Senator:And I feel like this uniquely, you could have several glasses
Gizmo:Yeah.
Senator:And feel wonderful.
Bam Bam:Yeah.
Grinder:It's it's eminently drinkable, for sure.
Bam Bam:Agreed. You know?
Pagoda:You know what's really interesting? And I was just thinking about it because you're discussing this. You know, when we got into the rum journey, and I'm not a big rum guy. And then when we discovered the floridicana, and we loved the 12. And then we finally found the seven.
Pagoda:And, you know, it gives me the same feel and experience like the florocana seven.
Gizmo:I totally agree. Thank you. Know.
Grinder:Yes. Very accurate.
Gizmo:Yeah. Because it's so easy to drinkable. Yeah. It is
Pagoda:so well preserved. Every day, but you'll have it in your locker, and, hey. It's a great drink to go to. Yeah. And it's not that overly expensive, and it's easy.
Gizmo:I think that's an interesting comparison too because I think about the different applications in which we're drinking the Florida Cana seven. This is right with that. Yeah.
Senator:I agree.
Gizmo:I would reach for this at at about the same amount as I would the Florida Cana just want.
Bam Bam:% agree.
Gizmo:In the mood for? Correct. You know? It's a home run.
Bam Bam:Gotta keep you in the locker.
Gizmo:So let's compare this to the other Johnny Walker whiskeys we've done on the Pod Boys on episode 39. We did the Johnny Walker black label, scored a 7.6. And on episode 43, four weeks later, we did the double black, which scored a an eight point zero. Okay. So this edged both of those out.
Gizmo:That tracks. And boys, it's time now to move into the formal lizard rating tonight on the h Uppmann Magnum 54. Rooster, you're up. So I
Rooster:was a bit skeptical on the cigar, having read some reviews and, having, you know
Senator:Your history with it.
Rooster:Yeah. I mean, you know, smoking one out of the the box that I have.
Grinder:Your shit box
Bam Bam:that you have.
Rooster:I'm gonna trade you. And I I really wasn't looking forward to it, but it was I was pleasantly surprised. It was started off like it was creamy, and you were getting a baking spice, which is kinda like the upman DNA. It had a nice woody note, and I don't mind that it didn't have the sweetness that we were talking about. You know, it wasn't there all that much.
Rooster:But I felt the cigar was a bit under filled. It kinda we kinda blew through that cigar. It went it went kinda quick.
Bam Bam:We did. Yeah.
Gizmo:So I
Rooster:think it it I mean, it was a bit under filled. So I think, and and then the sec and the price point of it, the price point is is a little
Gizmo:bit on the higher side Fiduciary.
Rooster:For that size of that cigar. Having said that, I'm at an I'm at an eight. I mean, I I did enjoy it. K.
Gizmo:Senator.
Senator:I might be the outlier on this cigar. I'm gonna give it a seven. I think it started out really nicely. I was, like, pleasantly surprised. It was completely different from my prior experiences.
Senator:I thought I was gonna love this cigar. It didn't transition much at all. And the transition I was hoping for was some sweeter notes at some point, and that woody note really stayed consistent. And at the very end for me in the last third, I think early on, we were talking about this bitterness that we were getting, but it was like a pleasant bitterness
Gizmo:Mhmm.
Senator:Early on. For me in the last third, that bitterness kicked up in a way that was unpleasant. I didn't really enjoy.
Rooster:You mean the turnip note? What is turnip?
Senator:So that that really didn't, you know, it just didn't finish the way that I had hoped. I did have some tunneling issues actually while I was smoking it.
Bam Bam:Really? Yeah.
Senator:Yeah. Wow.
Gizmo:And I
Senator:had to, like, aggressively light the outer portion of it to try to get it to catch up with the filler, and I think it
Rooster:goes Underfilled.
Grinder:That's it. Smoking too fast.
Senator:I think it goes through Reacher's point filled.
Bam Bam:Yeah.
Senator:That the cigar is underfilled. So, my experience with the 10 count box I have, there have been construction issues. This is now a completely different 25 count box, also construction issues. So for all of those reasons, you know, I can't, for my palate, give this higher than a seven. Would I smoke it again if I didn't have, you know, much else to choose from?
Senator:Sure. But is it anything that really excites me or that I would pursue again? It's not. I think it's a departure, really from the Magnum line and from a lot of Upmans in a way that I don't love because I love the traditional Upman profile. So, I'm at a seven.
Gizmo:So I'm at an eight. You know, I I thought the first third was actually pretty close to excellent, if not amazing.
Bam Bam:That was nice.
Gizmo:And then from there, it just decreased in enjoyment for me. I actually found myself enjoying the the whiskey pairing, the Scotch that we were having with this tonight more. The second third was good, and I thought the last third, similar to what senator just said, just said was not great. I have two problems right here with this cigar. Number one, I think with four years of age on this or a little over three years of age, it should be way better.
Gizmo:And the construction issues, I I didn't experience it as bad as you did. I did have to touch it up a couple of times after I was speaking. But with four years of age, I mean, this should be pretty damn close to perfect. So I feel like what we experienced tonight is maybe close to the best of what this cigar has to offer, and I wish there was more there, And which is why I don't know if it'll ever reach a nine or a 10 even with some more time on it. I just think the blend, you know, the Vitola, the the underfill that we all experienced, you know, it's unfortunate, but the cigar is what it is.
Gizmo:And, of course, the final piece of it is the price to value delta there Yeah. It is it's not great.
Grinder:It's outrageous.
Gizmo:I mean, we smoked that Juan Lopez Alexio number one two weeks ago. Mhmm. And that cigar, we got, I think, another thirty or forty minutes of actual smoking time out of it. You know, most of us finish this cigar right around, right around when Ricky was talking about his tower. Like, this cigar and
Senator:I lit another cigar. I mean, we finished it so quickly.
Gizmo:And and grinder too.
Bam Bam:Yeah. Yeah.
Gizmo:Yeah. So it's like for $32 to get an hour fifteen, hour twenty out of a 54 ring gauge Robusto, I mean, you get more time out of a an epic Epicure number two from from Hoyo. You get more out of a d four. You know, so for $32.50, I just I can't buy it. However, I think A
Bam Bam:nice score.
Gizmo:I I'm fine at an eight. I thought the cigar was very good. I think it's peaked right now.
Bam Bam:Mhmm.
Gizmo:I don't see it getting better. I don't think it has legs from here, with more age, but, I thought the cigar was okay. So I'm gonna give it an eight. And did
Rooster:you have good smoke output?
Gizmo:The smoke output was amazing.
Chef Ricky:Would you
Senator:buy any to put in your tower or no? I'm just curious.
Gizmo:You know what I would do, senator, is I would probably buy a more recent run of them. Like, I would buy a recent 10 count box maybe and and try that because I think the recent stuff is performing better than maybe some something, you know, from four or five years ago, but I don't know. It's definitely a risk. It's definitely a risk. I just don't know if this is ever gonna touch a nine or a 10.
Gizmo:I don't know if this blend is ever gonna get there for me. Alright. Pagoda.
Rooster:I'm not getting
Bam Bam:What was that?
Senator:Pagoda is summoning the universe right
Gizmo:now waving his eyes.
Grinder:Helicopter over there.
Pagoda:You know, generally, I put both my arms out and say abundance. Abundance. But right now, we have a small cloud right up which is just hanging right above us. That's a pleasant sight. Yeah.
Pagoda:It's it's it's it's a it's a difficult decision because I've been at around an aid and listening to everybody and now really reconsidering it. Don't get
Gizmo:influence. No influence. No.
Pagoda:Should it be a seven? Should be an eight. But it is somewhere between a seven and an eight. This is better to say. But I'm gonna give it an eight for two reasons Because I think I really enjoyed the first third because for me
Gizmo:I agree with that.
Pagoda:Did get in fact, even up to the first half, I really enjoyed the smoke output. It feels really good in my hand. You know? 54 ring gauge was very, very easily, like, smokeable. The smoke output was great.
Pagoda:Sweet, creamy, you know, baking spices. I thought it it initially, in the first, definitely had the Atman DNA. But after that, I think it became extremely you're right. Like, worry. Well, it maintained a little bit of an, you know, the savoriness I liked, but then it became a little salty and earthiness.
Pagoda:I think I might have mentioned it. So it it kind of really declined in terms of, my enjoyment in the second half. Having said that, the things I really enjoy is also did it leave a pleasant palette, like, flavored my in my palette? Yes. It's left a reasonable, you know, a pleasant, flavor in my in my mouth because sometimes some cigars give you a really, you know, bad tobacco kind of feel.
Pagoda:I I think yeah. It's been a seven and eight, but I'll give it an eight today. Yeah. Okay.
Gizmo:Chef Ricky.
Chef Ricky:Yeah. I'm a give this a strong eight, and maybe that's in part to the whiskey, the pairing, just kinda elevated it a little bit. For me, the first third was great. I got not that much baking spice, but I got enough creaminess, a little bit of baking spice, but the wood was a dominant note throughout the entire experience. But I did enjoy that.
Chef Ricky:Now that's not a flavor note that I typically enjoy, but the way this cigar delivered it, I did because it was on it was in a creamy smooth fashion. Now for whatever reason, I had you know, maybe this is because I for for once, I was one of the first ones here today. And for the first time in selecting my cigar, I actually looked at the foot. I looked at the cigar, and I made it a point as you guys usually the one selecting your cigar off the box, you know, to look at how the cigar is packed and the condition of the foot and all these other things. And I think I hit a home run.
Chef Ricky:I had no relights. I had no burn issues. My burn line was great. You know, the aroma was great on the cigar. I even punched my cigar.
Chef Ricky:Usually, when you punch a cigar, there's a little little crack happening, especially, you know, with Cubans and, you know, Gizmo who stores them at 62, and then maybe dry boxes it bringing it down to 58. And, you know, I had none of that experience. So I think it delivered what it did. I think it did it well. Was a typical Upman?
Chef Ricky:No. But, you know, I enjoyed it. It was a little bit bolder and wood and earth for sure. I enjoyed that salty chocolate sort of truffle note in the beginning. And at the very end, as I got to the knob and burning my fingers, I started to get some, like, bright fruit, almost currant or raspberry happening.
Chef Ricky:So I I enjoyed it. I I I did enjoy it. So I'm gonna give it a good eight.
Gizmo:Alright. Grinder.
Grinder:I'm a solid eight. I, I enjoyed it from the first light all the way down to the bottom. I did have some some minor, burn issues at the end, but that was you know, I'm not worried about that. I I found that the the taste profile to really, you know, be something that I enjoy, very typical of something that I enjoy. And as a result yep.
Grinder:If I were to I I wouldn't give it anything higher than that because I just felt like it could be more. The comments about maybe it was packed too loose. Yeah. I think that's probably a good that's a fair assessment and a and a good reason why I was look searching for more. Having said that, the combustion was crazy in here.
Grinder:Like, there was a lot of smoke in here. It was a great experience. I did get a lot of that that creaminess in the end. The it felt like it it seemed like it was cashew cream, towards the end there. And you combine that with the wood, and there was a little sweetness that I got.
Grinder:And like I said, the pairing helped, elevate that sweetness to another level. So, and I think it was senator. It said, you know, it it added to it. Yeah. I think it added to it, and it may have it may have augmented my score a little bit, but, it's a solid eight for me.
Grinder:I would smoke more of them if it weren't so widely wildly, priced.
Gizmo:Yeah.
Chef Ricky:I
Grinder:would wanna get some of those boxes off BAM if you were willing to part with some. Sure.
Bam Bam:And
Gizmo:Everybody has a price.
Grinder:Yeah. Every Yeah. So, yeah, it's an eight for me. Happy with it. Very pleased.
Gizmo:Alright. Bam
Bam Bam:Bam. Yeah. I'm also an eight. I've smoked these for years. I happen to like this cigar a lot.
Grinder:I think there's that strain of sweetness for me that continued from the beginning all the
Bam Bam:way to the
Grinder:end. Chef, you mentioned it, chocolaty, a little salty. That was there. It was also very earthy, so I love that savory, sweet, earthy, fruity type thing that happens with, I think, some of the best Cuban cigars in the world. I mean, that's what we're that's what I pursue.
Bam Bam:So for me, it's a solid eight.
Gizmo:Alright, boys. That puts the formal lizard rating tonight on the h Upman magnum 54 at a 7.9.
Grinder:Right.
Gizmo:So I wanna ask a question
Bam Bam:touch low.
Gizmo:I wanna ask a question. The reviews as we're going through our ratings, I think across the room, even with senator seven, and the complaints that each of us had in various areas of the cigar. It seems that the commentary is a little higher than what the rating is reflecting.
Senator:Oh, I And I completely disagree.
Gizmo:I'm wondering what's there because It's true. There's a lot of glowing reviews here.
Grinder:There's a
Gizmo:lot of positive commentary. Positivity.
Senator:There's no one in here that's gonna go out and buy a box this tomorrow.
Gizmo:And that's what I wanted to get to.
Grinder:They can't find it.
Gizmo:Because of value.
Senator:That's for sure.
Gizmo:That's what I was getting.
Senator:I agree. $2 for this cigar is absurd.
Gizmo:And so
Bam Bam:what all agree.
Gizmo:Is that if you listen to the ratings we just gave Yeah. Compared to the numbers, I think the major thing that's factoring in here on this $7.09
Bam Bam:Is price.
Gizmo:Is the price. And If this was $15 Dude. Or $10
Bam Bam:You're gonna tell me that
Grinder:you guys would at least get one box at $15
Gizmo:If it was half the price or less, it would change For sure. Quite a bit. But there's
Senator:but there's many cigars we'd say the same.
Bam Bam:This is also true. That's also true.
Gizmo:But I just I find it interesting the difference in the quality of the commentary Yeah. Yeah. Versus the actual final rating.
Pagoda:Answer to the other guys, the other lizard's question, I think, a couple of weeks ago about why do you put price in in terms of a value?
Grinder:It matters. That.
Pagoda:It does matter. Matters. Right. Because the other thing, you know, like, loosely packed is one thing. Loosely packed when it smokes like in bloody you know, it smoked very quick.
Gizmo:Yeah. Too quick.
Bam Bam:Now these I bought at low twenties years ago. Yeah. I would not buy another box at this price.
Gizmo:Of $35.50. I agree, Dan.
Rooster:So it's actually two things. It's it's under filled. Yep. And the price is a bit on the higher side. Correct.
Rooster:Right.
Gizmo:I think if for you. I think if we got a good two hours out of this cigar tonight That'd be different story. That also would change the value equation Of course. For me.
Rooster:I think $32
Gizmo:to get wine over an hour because
Bam Bam:we'd still be smoking it.
Rooster:Exactly right. I would say every single one of us or most of us enjoyed the first half more than the second half.
Gizmo:Absolutely. Right? Yeah. The first third, I thought, was excellent, but it fell off from there.
Bam Bam:Good commentary overall.
Gizmo:So let's compare these boys to the other h Upman cigars we've done on the pod. I'm gonna skip over the Magnum series for now. We're gonna go back to those at the end. On episode 40, we did the h Upman number two, the Love 14 we always talk about, rated a 9.8. On episode 72, the Robustos Anajados rated a 9.6.
Gizmo:On episode 86, Pupa's favorite, the connoisseur a rated a 9.2. Then we went through the connoisseur line following that. 96, we did the connoisseur one rated an 8.6. Episode 111, connoisseur b rated a 7.2. On episode 125, the connoisseur number two rated a nine point zero.
Bam Bam:Wow.
Gizmo:On episode one thirty five, we did the h up in half corona on a short smoke special, scored a 9.7. That's a killer cigar. Of course. In episode 153, we did the Robustos Anajados LCDH scoring a 9.2. Now let's look at the two sister cigars to this starting with episode six, the Magnum 46 rated an 8.1.
Gizmo:And finally, episode 62, the Magnum 50 rated a 7.6.
Bam Bam:So not too far off
Grinder:from the mag 46.
Gizmo:The mag series is lagging.
Pagoda:No. But, you know, the 40 sixes have been spoken really well. They have I think the recent ones we've had.
Gizmo:And that's what I was getting
Grinder:to. Runs.
Gizmo:We just did the Juan Lopez, Alexion number one. We revisited that. We're gonna redo the punch punch. I think the Magnum 46, we're gonna revisit another Corona Gorda. Yeah.
Gizmo:Sorry to all the folks out there who want us to be smoking 54 plus ring gauge cigars, but, we are gonna do another one of that because I do think that the recent Magnum 40 sixes are smoking Yeah. Brilliant.
Rooster:Let's see. So the connoisseur b rated the lowest? Yeah. Right? Quite
Gizmo:a bit lower.
Bam Bam:But the Kanye, though.
Rooster:The Kanye
Gizmo:was was high. Kanye was 20 points higher than the condenser.
Rooster:The condenser b and the MAG 50 were kind of Those were
Gizmo:right in right.
Rooster:They were in the low Max.
Gizmo:Yeah. Low sevens.
Grinder:50 was
Gizmo:a little
Bam Bam:bit very mild cigar.
Grinder:Yeah. Not interesting.
Rooster:So the MAC 50 would be interesting in this flavor profile.
Bam Bam:What's interesting about this cigar is because it's such a large Vitola, you're expecting so much more from it. Right.
Gizmo:So And
Bam Bam:you're getting
Grinder:And you're getting
Gizmo:so thin.
Bam Bam:Yeah. You're getting so much less.
Rooster:So the Mag 54 blend and the Mag 50 would be a home run, I think. Yeah.
Gizmo:Because what's funny about the Mag 50 is you never have construction issues
Bam Bam:with that. That's true.
Gizmo:That cigar has always performed well. It just doesn't taste great.
Bam Bam:No. It's very mild.
Gizmo:Alright, boys. A great night tonight. Again, let's review the Johnnie Walker Gold Label Reserve scored an 8.3, and the h Uppmann Magnum 54 scored a 7.9. A nice pairing tonight, boys. Of course, we have to thank our sponsor Fabrica five.
Gizmo:We have to congratulate lizard Maximus and his unfortunate question about the authenticity of his Romeo y Juliet to Churchills. He won lizard of the week this week. Like we said, anyone out there can win lizard of the week, so please be sure to write us. And, great night, boys. We'll see everybody next week.
Gizmo:Hope you enjoyed this episode. Thanks for joining us. You can find our merch store and ratings archive at our brand new website, loungelizardspod.com. That's loungelizards,p0d,.com. Don't forget to leave us a rating and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform.
Gizmo:If you have any comments, questions, do you wanna reach out, say hello, tell us what you're smoking, email us hello at lounge lizards pod dot com. You can also find us on Instagram at lounge lizards pod. We really appreciate your time, and we'll, we'll see you next week.