152 Saka Squatch Exclusive Interview and Charlie Pride Tribute
Episode Summary
Episode 152 of A Cigar Hustler's Podcast opens with one of the show's most tongue-in-cheek "guest" segments ever: the hosts conduct a straight-faced interview with the Saka Squatch, the three-foot Sasquatch statue that Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust sends to retailers as a brand icon for Steve Saka's company. The bit covers the Squatch's "origins" in Saskatchewan, his physique, his love of hide-and-seek, and — when pressed — his favorite Dunbarton smoke, the Sobremesa Brûlée Robusto. It's pure shop humor, but it doubles as a fun look at how Dunbarton's in-store marketing has become a fixture behind the counter at cigar shops.
After the Squatch "returns to the woods," the guys pay a short tribute to country music legend Charlie Pride, the first Black member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, who died at 86 from COVID-19. From there it's the usual Mike & Mike banter: a birthday party at Chris and Christy Baldwin's house with Cincoro tequila and cigars, gym talk and bulking season, Mr. Olympia in Orlando being COVID-limited, ribbing of Ronnie Hayesha of Secreto Cigars over his cardio obsession, and a follow-up thank-you card from Rick and Gunner Wilbank — the man who wrestled his dog out of an alligator's jaws — after the shop sent them cigars.
The news block runs long. Merchants Cigar Bar in Midtown East Manhattan has reopened after a four-year shutdown, complete with Atmos Air purification, transparent dividers and a $10 cutting fee for outside cigars. General Cigar and Espinosa Premium Cigars extend their Warzone collaboration with a 6.5 x 48 Short Churchill ($8.99) built around a hard-to-source Cameroon wrapper supplied by General — a cigar the hosts say genuinely delivers. Warfighter Tobacco adds a 4 x 44 Minuteman vitola across its Court lines, now produced at Tabacalera Carreras after leaving Plasencia. JRE Tobacco's Aladino Cameroon gets a 7 x 38 Lancero called Elegante as a Blue Smoke (Dallas) exclusive, with $1 per cigar going to Cigar Rights of America. Also covered: an E.P. Carrillo 3–5% price increase for 2021, the one-of-a-kind $150,000 Xikar/Jacob & Co. "Dueling Dragons Chasing Flaming Pearl" cutter, the PCA's furlough-and-layoff math involving Scott Pearce and staff, and Jesse Rodriguez's Jessum Crow Nugs THC-infused cigar sold direct to consumers.
Wrap-up chatter includes the new Lost & Found Ya Ya Ya, a memory of Ashton Heritage quietly swapping its Cameroon wrapper for Habano, and Ronnie Hayesha named (sort of) Listener of the Week.
In This Episode
- 01Interviewing the Saka SquatchA comedic in-studio 'interview' with Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust's three-foot Sasquatch statue, who names the Sobremesa Brûlée Robusto as his favorite cigar.
- 02Charlie Pride TributeA brief remembrance of country star Charlie Pride, the first Black member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, who died at 86 of COVID-19.
- 03Shop Talk, Birthday Party and Gym BanterCincoro tequila at the Baldwins' party, bulking season, Mr. Olympia in Orlando, and endless ribbing of Ronnie Hayesha over his cardio routine.
- 04Alligator Hero Follow-UpA thank-you card from Rick and Gunner Wilbank after the shop sent cigars to the man who pried his dog from an alligator's jaws.
- 05Merchants Cigar Bar Reopens in NYCThe Midtown East cigar bar returns after a four-year closure with new air purification, seating dividers and a $10 cutting fee.
- 06New Releases: Warzone Short Churchill, Warfighter Minuteman, Aladino Cameroon LanceroThe hosts break down the General/Espinosa Cameroon-wrapped Warzone Short Churchill, Warfighter's 4x44 Minuteman, and the Blue Smoke-exclusive Aladino Cameroon Elegante Lancero benefiting CRA.
- 07Price Increases and a $150,000 CutterE.P. Carrillo raises prices 3–5% for 2021 while Xikar and Jacob & Co. unveil a one-of-one ruby-and-gold Dueling Dragons cutter.
- 08PCA Layoffs and a THC-Infused CigarUntangling the PCA's furloughs and layoffs under Scott Pearce, plus Jessum Crow's Nugs Kind Puro THC-infused cigar sold direct to consumers.
Brands & Cigars Discussed
Linked items are in our shop. Mentions without a link aren’t currently stocked or couldn’t be matched with confidence.
Transcript
*Music* Can you see me? *Music* Yeah, you need to move this way. All right, welcome to episode 152 of A Cigar Hustler Podcast. Yes.
Welcome. Wait, we have to introduce you, please don't talk yet. Yeah. All right, sitting in with us today is the three-foot Saka Squatch.
Yes. Hello. Hello, Saka Squatch. Me Saka Squatch.
You Saka Squatch? Hello, Mike. Hello, Mike. Oh, very nice.
Thank you for joining us today. Yeah, this is amazing. Thank you for finding me and having me here. Yeah, you know, it wasn't easy for you to get here, but, you know, it took a little hemming and hawing.
Hey, it's a big day. We got these lovely new shirts. Yeah. I didn't get one.
We didn't get, well, you know, you're Dunbarton Tobacco. We're, you know, we're more craft. Yeah, so. And we also got you.
You came last week also. Yeah, so thanks for coming in. I'm the king of hide and seek. I'm surprised you guys found me.
How long have you been working with Steve Sako? Many years. Many years? He created cigars back when I was created in the big boom.
Are you happy with your overall size? Did you wish that you were more than three foot? I feel like, you know, you're a little inadequate for what you actually are. I'm a little tiny, Mike.
A little tiny. I feel Sako is embarrassed by me and he wanted to make me smaller than him. Oh, very nice. Okay.
Well, that explains a lot. That makes sense. Yeah. You are bigger than, was that your child that all the other shops have?
They were my mini-me's. Oh, very nice. You look, you're very fit. I mean, it looks like you have, you know, some big, big chest, big, big shoulders.
Very big, muscly, muscly there. Do you work out a lot? I'm, how do you say, I'm in a shape of a V. So you're more of like an hourglass shape, as Ronnie Haysha likes to say?
Well, that's weak. I'm more of a V. You're more of a V? Hourglass is soft.
Hourglass is soft. Sasquatch, tough. I eat a lot of beef jerky. A lot of beef?
Okay. Your other endorsement, yes. That's very nice. You slid that in, didn't you?
He's all about the plugs here. So tell me, Saga Squatch, what is your favorite Dunbarton tobacco cigar? Very easy. That would be Sobremessa Brulee Robusto.
Oh, he has an accent, apparently. What country are you from originally, Saga? Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan.
Is that like a planet or something? Is that Canada? It's Canadian. Eh.
Eh? No, seriously guys, I'm just kidding with you. See, everybody thinks that the Sasquatch is very mean and, you know, we're burly, but actually we're a very refined animal. Oh, wow, it's very well-spoken all of a sudden.
We just put it on for everybody, that's all. Oh, okay. Oh, yes. That's nice.
Is the Sack-A-Squatch your actual name or is it like Carl? That is my name, actually. You are Sack-A-Squatch. Sasky is what they call me.
Sasky. Oh, to his friends, he's Sasky. That's nice. How often do you make it out to other cigar stores?
Is this new for you, or what? This is new for me. I've traveled around quite a bit, but this is new for me, the whole cigar game. Is this your first podcast ever?
Absolutely. Everybody comes here first. Yeah, this is usually the platform, the foundation. I was told Cigar Hustler is the place to come to, for sure.
Yeah, number one on Palm Beach. Just ask Mike Palmer. I'll tell you every single time. Number one Cigar Show on Bobby's still.
He'll tell you. So do you have plans to go on Cigar Advisor? Not sure. What do you have planned for Christmas there, Sock of Squanch?
Oh, great question. Well, I've got to get all my little mini-me's gifts, and we're going to sit around the fire out in the woods, and we're just going to celebrate the day. If you're out in the woods, you want to make sure nobody sees you though, right? Absolutely.
Yeah, you've got to keep moving, no fire. Gotta hide. All about hiding. There you go.
There you go. Thank you. Much better. There you go.
Sorry. It looked like you were going to light that on fire with your cigar. Yeah. But that doesn't look like a brulee in your mouth.
Well, sometimes I go with the regular brulee. Oh, you mean the regular Sobremesa? Yes, yes. Or Sobremesa.
As the ambassador of Dumbarton Tobacco, I would expect you to know a little more. I'm more of an image, Mike. Yeah. See, I'm the image.
That's all. Since Saka, you know, he needed something big and burly, so he uses me as his image. It's okay. Okay.
That's very nice. Yeah. Do you have anything else to ask our guest today? I'm just dumbfounded by the fact that he's even here.
He is here. I am here. It's just overwhelming. And you have nothing to complain about now.
What the hell are you going to complain about? You know, I'm looking, well, okay, first, he was your complaint. Well, we, okay, we have nothing to complain about. Okay, thank you.
I'm sorry. Thank you. We'll find something else we need. I forgive you.
Something we need or want. Yeah. I am now here for you two. I look forward to the many dresses and outfits that you will be putting me through.
He's been helping me through. Yeah, I mean, you know, we can't... And Mike, too, the other guy you fool around with, what's his name, Chet? Chet, yes.
Yes, yes, you guys, your videos, excellent, thank you for taking me on a trip around the world. Oh, you're active on Facebook. Yes, yes. Take a little walk.
Oh, sure, sure. Oh, maybe he should be. Saka Squatch Facebook profile page. Oh, that'd be awesome.
Saka Squatch Hustler Facebook. Oh. Mmm. Mmm.
That sounds like more work. It does sound like additional work. I don't have time. Take that back.
Take that back, we're not doing that. But if somebody else wants to create a Sokka Squatch Facebook, I think that'd be hilarious. Twitter or Instagram. Yeah.
You're welcome. You're welcome, world. So. Anything else to add before you go, Sokka?
We don't want to keep you... Yeah, we know you're very busy. You've got to get back in the forest. I'm just looking forward to hanging out here with you guys, that's all.
Yeah, and we're listening to the podcast. Apparently, we're not permitted to raffle him away or give him away in any sense. No, he is a permanent fixture here now at the Squatch. But I think Abe is raffling one away.
Well, Abe's the best, he can do whatever he wants. Oh, that's true, yeah. Double standards. I was told by Sokka to stick around here, you guys cannot get rid of me, ever.
That's cool. And watch that Czech guy, because I think he's got his eyes on me. He does. He's trying to get me.
He's trying to steal 'em. Yes. All right, well, hey. We appreciate you taking the time to sit in with us, Mr.
Squatchy. Mr. Squatchy. Mr.
Squatchy. I forget what he said to call him. Thank you for being a guest on the show. We haven't had a real, oh, we did have the nanny, the manny.
Manny, yes. But nobody in the cigar industry recently, so it's really nice to have you, and we look forward to doing inappropriate things with you throughout the course of the year. Certainly bring him back, I would imagine, for other things. Oh, yeah, other comments, stuff.
You know, when we have questions that we have to address with Sokka, we will address... Maybe monthly we do a Sokka feature, a Squatch feature. I feel like a month is kind of a commitment, but we could just definitely tie him in. No, no, we could handle him.
Yeah, okay. All details. I'm here for you guys, but I must go back to hide-and-seek. So, Sokka back.
" Alright, we're gonna take a quick break here. To let him go hide, and then we'll be right back. Alright, and we're back, episode 152. And the Saka Squatch has disappeared.
He went back to hiding, hide and go seek. Is it tilted? Oh no, it's just the cord. Yeah.
Alright, Michael, ready? You want to win the show? Yeah, yeah. Uh-oh.
There was a death over the weekend, Michael. Okay, but you know how this works with the music, right? Oh, this isn't actually his music, I just told music. Oh, okay, good.
I didn't want to get in trouble again, but Charlie Pryde, Michael, died at age 86 over the weekend. Oh, no. Who's Charlie Pryde? Charlie Pryde, country music's first black star, whose rich baritone, such hits as "Kiss" and "An Angel Good Morning" helped sell millions of records and made him the first black member of the Country Music Hall of Fame.
He died over the weekend of COVID. Oh, no. He got the Rona. He got the Rona, yes, he died.
Are we jumping right to the news? You don't want to talk to the news? No, no. You wanted to throw that in there.
I just throw that in because of the music. It was hard to place it and then get it right. Oh, I gotcha. Yeah.
Because it looked like you had it all crumpled up and stuff. I wasn't going to do it, but Saka's interview didn't, or the Squatch interview didn't go as long as I thought. Oh, yeah. So I brought it back.
Well, you know, it's helpful if you script those things. We just kind of wing it. Well, yeah. Yeah, we did.
And he probably needed our, he probably needed to give the Saka Squatch a few drinks. You know, loosen him up a little bit. Yeah, I would imagine. I can imagine.
Yeah, that's probably better. Yeah, I think he was a little nervous. Yeah. Yeah.
First time on. Couldn't keep the voice. Yeah, it's the first time on an actual camera. Yeah, well, High and Go Seek, the king of High and Go Seek.
Yeah, he's tough to find. Mm-hmm. So, did they get any cookies from the announcement? Did she get any actual followers?
Oh, I have no idea. I have no idea. I haven't really followed up, to be honest, you know. Oh, well.
But I thought it was cool. Nice show. Yeah. I mean, I know that she's pretty busy right now anyways.
I don't even know if she could take on new wars. I made followers on her Instagram, or did she more likes on her Facebook page or something? I don't know. I'm sure Yogurlite at least liked.
Minimum Yogurlite. Wait, now are we saying his name wrong? There was some question on one of the posts over the weekend. Really?
Yes. Whether or not his name was Yogurlite, Jururlite. Is he correcting? Yeah, but I'm not sure if he's just giving me the business or not.
It's hard to tell. It's hard to tell. It's hard to tell. Yes, it is very hard to tell.
Yogi. Well, then we'll just call him John. Yeah. Fuck you.
It's John now. John. Ha. Yeah.
So, this weekend, we went to the doctor's birthday party. Ah, yes, we did a rare sighting of me outside in the wild. You're out all the time. We don't hang out.
We don't hang out, but us at the same time. Exactly. In the same place. That's what I'm saying.
Oh, you said it was a rare sighting of you. Yeah, no, I'm never out. Yeah, Universal and all sorts of places. Okay, okay.
Maybe, sometimes. But we had a lovely time. Yeah, but I'm usually with the family. Chris Baldwin and Christy Baldwin's home.
Yeah. And their giant dog, Yoshi. I love that dog. He's a good dog.
I love that dog. All 400 pounds of him. Yeah, we smoked some cigars and, you know. We had some sea capra miso, is that what it's called?
Meat capra miso, your fancy tequila. Sincoro? Oh, there you go. We did.
We had a little Sincoro. Yes, we did. That was nice. You know, get you loose.
We didn't have that much. No, it's just enough to taste. Yeah, it's just a sampling. Yeah.
You know, when you give it as a gift, you don't want to break it off. All right, let's go. All right, let's go. Drink it out, boo.
And then you had your frickin' Skitterball or whatever the fuck it is. Scatterbrain, I brought Scatterbrain. Scatterbrain, it's not Screwball. I'm not drinking what you think isn't the best.
It's just not happening. Oh. Well, I went home and had a glass of it. You got shit-faced on Screwball.
I got shit-faced on Screwball. I got one more glass when I got home. You know, sometimes that's all it takes. Nah, I still don't.
It doesn't take a lot for me to get fucked up. What is that? You're very beefy, I mean. I don't know.
I don't know. And you drink a lot, so. Of alcohol? Yeah.
No, not really. How many nights a week do you think you break out the Sincormies or whatever the fuck it's called? The Sincoro. Oh, okay.
Maybe once. Oh, really? I thought you were like three. Nah.
Maybe three. Nah. Maybe once. Not a big drinker, Mike.
There's a lot of shit you don't know about me. I think you're playing it down for the viewing public. No, so Ronnie Heisha, of the Secreto Cigars, he's on this tangent of this cardio shit. Wait, he's charging people for cardio now or something?
Oh, you know, everybody wants an hour of cardio, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And so, like, I don't fucking do cardio. No. No.
Boy, though, Mr. Rosales and that jump rope. Yeah, he does cardio. Very impressive.
Sean Lightweight Heavy. Trix and the flipping. And it's like a weighted jump rope. So they do cardio.
And that angle for the camera in his gym. Yeah, it's nice. That's nice. He's living in his bed in a little fridge in there, full fridge.
Full fridge, a little. For his bougie water and stuff. Bougie water? Yeah.
He's living his best life. Yeah. But yeah, no, for me, it doesn't fit my routine, right? Why would you want to trim down?
Yeah, I'm not going for that. No. No, I'm trying to gain more size, gain more muscle. When you do high-intensity cardiovascular workouts, it just doesn't work.
Yeah, that's what I'm doing too. Oh, good for you. Bulking season. It actually is bulking season.
I feel it's always bulking season. Kind of. But normally what happens, so as far as bodybuilders are concerned, I feel like there's a, you know, like September, October, Like, you probably have their whatevers. Well, is there a, when they had the competition?
Yeah, I think Mr. Olympia is going on down here, actually, in Orlando. Oh, so you're going? You and Sam?
You know, the thought crossed my mind to maybe go. I think you would enjoy it. I think I would, but like, holy shit, in December, how can you go as far as retail is concerned? Oh, it's like literally right now.
Yeah, it's like, it's in three days. Oof. Yeah, so like, and it's 17th to the 19th I think, 17th, 18th, 19th, and we definitely can't go on the 19th. What's the 19th?
Customer appreciation? That's the 18th. Definitely can't go on the 18th. I don't know, I'm just, I'm just doing my best here, okay?
I'm trying my best. You should go Saturday. Go in the morning because they're going to start breaking down at noon. It's tough.
Go for an hour or so, walk around, get some samples of some weird-- It's not like that. It's the actual contest, the bodybuilding contest. Oh, it's not like a-- It's not an expo. Oh, I don't know.
Who wants to go watch a bunch of old- Well, Mr. Olympia is like- You wanna go watch guys flex? That seems weird. Mr.
Olympia is like top notch. It seems just guys flexing. You think it's weird? It seems a little weird.
Alright, so maybe I won't go. Sure, there's no expo involved? I feel like they would do that- I think that all that shit's been COVID canceled. Oh, yeah, yeah, I guess so.
I didn't think about that. Mm-hmm. I'll tell you what, I mean, the gym doesn't look like it's fucking slowing down. It's got busy.
I saw some video online of a Jim, I don't know where it was, but he did that thing where he does the cards and his message on the cards. Yeah. He's been fined like $50,000, he's been shut down four times. There's cards?
No, well, he has words on the cards so he doesn't have to talk. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Change my mind, guy? No, no, no, no, no, he's got, he's got like...
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, and he just flips them, but yeah, so he's been fined like over $50,000, they've closed his gym seven times, They barred the doors, and he doesn't require a mask in his gym, and the governor can come kiss his ass, and all sorts of stuff like that. And the gym was just packed with people, asses to elbows, just, I mean, everywhere. And he's closed? No, not at the moment, but he's just waiting on the police to come again.
What state is he in? I don't remember. I want to say Michigan? But, I mean, Ronnie's in Michigan.
He's working out. That's obviously not closed. Yeah, but Ronnie doesn't really work out. He jumps on a fucking elliptical for 60 minutes.
Well, he's at the purple and gold place. He's at the purple place, yeah, where you get a bagel. And pizza. I don't want my gym to give me a bagel.
And they have Tootsie Rolls by the door. Oh, dude, a little something sweet, a little Tootsie on the way out. Yeah. And then, you know, Ronnie, you know, he's very aggressive when it comes to the Facebook.
He is very aggressive. But when you meet him in person, he's not so aggressive. He's got a GoFundMe now for, well, keyboard cowboy or whatever they call him. Yeah, GoFundMe for his iPhone.
For his iPhone, and I think today he wanted people to pay him because he was working out. I don't know. Pay him to work out? Yeah, that seems odd.
Huh. Guy's got more money than... I don't know. He's got more money than Habibi money.
He does. Like oil money or something. Oh, yeah. But the real, the real Hyesha...
Yes. is his brother. Oh, yeah. That's what you said.
Yeah, he's got the "fuck you" money. The one with the actual "fuck you" cash. So if you're gonna, you know, if you're gonna respect either brother... That one.
Yeah, you respect the better brother. You want to find him on Facebook. Be his friend. He's probably not angry all the time.
Well, I'd love to interview him so we can talk more about Ronnie. How do we get him? We should call him. Maybe he's a listener of the show.
Well, you know, I know Ronnie is, so hey, Ronnie. I'd love that we talked about him for five minutes. We'd love to have your brother on. Can we get your brother on?
That'd be nice. Right here, we're Saka Squatch. But we've been prepping for Christmas and birthday and blah, blah, blah. Yeah.
You've got a couple here in a row. Yeah. Yeah. So, like, I don't know what happened.
I went nuts yesterday with, like, mulching and, you know, like, the whole yardage. Oh, preparation. Yeah. I went, you know, it was long overdue.
I mean, let's be honest, but, you know, yeah. So, I was, when I went to the gym today, I had zero energy. Oh, nothing. I was very disappointed in myself.
Very sorry. Very sorry. But I probably still burn more calories than Ronnie did on his fucking elliptical, which is amazing, so. Oh, that's nice.
Who's he get to hold the camera for? It looks like he's taking a whole camera crew with him though. You know what, it's great having your own platform where he can't really counter back. He can't say a word.
This is great. I love it so much. Oh, I was thinking it was live. Your phone was gonna start ringing, but it's not live.
So, you know, I was thinking about calling him and then hanging up on him. And then saying something and then calling him back. Oh, hey, well, we got disconnected, man. Oh, sorry.
Oh, sorry. Oop, sorry. Maybe we could find a way to call his brother like we interviewed Saka Squads. Right, that's what I'm saying.
Oh. Oh. Interesting. Maybe he's right here under the table.
Oh. Saka Squads is not under the table. Oh, the knocking has started again. Oh, good.
Oh, you could so hear it on the last episode. Maybe it's just one or two things. Yeah, you know, it's funny. Some people thought it was hilarious.
Oh, like it's planned? Yeah, like, you know, that's really funny. Oh, those guys up to it again. Other people were very agitated by it, so we're really sorry about this, there's nothing we can do, I mean, you know, we're here, we're just two slapdicks running a podcast, it's really about nothing.
Forrest gumping our way through the cigar industry. That's it, yeah, hammering our way through the cigar. Hammering our way through the cigar. Oh, that'll be the new one, both of us with a hammer up against the wall to get back.
So you got anything else entertaining to add that happened throughout the week? No, my wife came back from the funeral. From the funeral. Yeah.
Interesting. No, nothing too exciting. Nothing I went to divulge here on a public platform. You know, I got to love.
Oh, yeah, that's right. I love Adrian. D. King Palmer.
Oh, you know what? After the party, things were kind of calm. I mean, that was what I was going to get into. I didn't know.
Oh, yeah, no, nothing happened. Nothing happened. D. King Palmer, which, you know, she gets into her cups a little bit.
I'm like, yeah, your husband's an asshole. Like, I try and get her going. Try to get her going, yeah. But, you know, she was...
I've got that, he paid for the plane ticket. Yeah, oh, yeah, that's good for at least another seven days. At least, at least, yeah. Then, as long as you don't fuck up Christmas, you might be good rolling into, like, January 1.
Yeah, I'm a little nervous about Christmas. Oh, you're a little under the what? No, no, no, I mean, I've got her good presents, but there's some presents that aren't really, you know, presents, I guess. Right.
Things that she needed or something. I don't know how that line goes, sometimes, you know. Well, this isn't a present, well, you needed it, I didn't need new socks, but you don't hear me complaining. We kind of, Brittany and I dumbed it down this year, like we've really kind of eliminated ourselves for gifts.
Oh, well, see, it's just the two of us. Yeah, well, that's the thing. Then there would be none. Well, you know, you got a lot going on with Christmas and kids and family and blah, blah, blah, and plus the birthday party, and like, it's like, you know what, I love you, you know, we love each other, we're good.
Right. Yeah. We can circumvent this year. We've got enough going on.
She's not good at the gift thing anyway. I mean, the three of the four things now I, you know, I bought. Yeah. You know what?
She wrapped and then she paid me for them. I go, I don't even want the check. I've always found it difficult. Like it's, I mean, for one, if you want something, you're probably just gonna go out and buy it.
That's what she says. Yeah. Right. And I'm pretty much the same way.
Right. Oh, this is cool. Send. All right.
It'll be here tomorrow. Right. Yeah. Amazon, right.
It just shows up. You know, it'd be great if I had this and then boom and there it is. And there it is, right? And that happens throughout the year.
Like I was thinking today, I go, you know, I probably should get a black mouse pad so it doesn't show up so well in the camera, and I go, eh, there we go, it'll be here in a couple of days. Oh, there you go. So, you know, we don't make it easy for us. Oh, now we're power drill.
Power drill is better than hammer. I don't know, I like that. The rhythm. The rhythm of the night, Michael.
It's the rhythm of the night. Oh, the night! Oh, yeah! Well, this isn't part of the news or anything, but we got a thank you card.
Oh, did we? Yes. Well, the shop did. Oh.
The shop did. But something you and I had talked about the other day, but I'll read the card. Okay. To the employees of Cigar Hustler.
Hey. Thank you very much for your thoughtfulness to Gunner and myself. Gunner says he will stay away from alligators from now on. Have a wonderful Christmas.
Rick and Gunner Wilbank. There it is. That's right. We got $30 from Gunner and Rick.
Hey, I didn't know that happened. You've been hiding. It just came today. It just came today.
Greg was over there reading it. " What did we do? Who did we send cigars to? How much did that cost us?
What is this all about? It was the alligator guy. Greg, if you only knew. If you only knew.
" He ripped the fucking dog out of the alligator. " $700. We'll take pictures and put it up on the... Hey, that's a very nice one.
It's very nice. Well, we know the two people have done it. I'm sure, you know, Lenny talked about doing it, too, and how it was. Oh, did he?
Yeah, so, I mean, there's probably a handful of people who have sent this guy stuff. I would imagine, so, yeah. It's not that hard to look up. " I think it wasn't a scam.
It's fucking on video! Yeah, well, that was his thing. " I go, "It was Fish and Wildlife's camera, Greg! " It's not supposed to shoot the water.
It's not like there was angles and special effects. It's all about animals coexisting and shit with humans. And that was a really, really good example of coexistence. The fucking gator got ripped out from the dog.
He did. He tore that thing's mouth open. I would have fucking brought that thing home as a trophy. Well, he turned it loose.
He didn't kill it. I know. It's not the right thing to do. There's too many of them in Florida.
Teach it a lesson. They're a problem. That's the problem. They took the kid from fucking Disney.
I mean, he was just-- Well, it probably wasn't the same alligator. No, that one's already been, you know-- I have a story here that we were gonna do at the end that I'll grab real quick. Uh-oh. This poor man, in June 11th of 2020, a Florida man fought off an alligator that attacked his dog, but there was no video, so.
Oh. But Trent-- So we can't confirm if he's holding scarring. Tweedledow, Tweedledow, Tweedledow, he got into a tug-of-war match with a sharp-toothed reptile He grabbed his six-year-old pooch, Loki. He pulled the pup into a river, the alligator did.
Tweeted out, a former army staff sergeant, pounded on the gator's head until the alligator let go of the dog. Both Loki and his owner were unharmed. The alligator was not available for comment. Again, again, these alligators constantly just avoid media.
They do. They do. They're like psycho squats. Yeah.
Oh, I need that still. Got part of another story on it. I meant to throw the other page away. Oh, go get that.
Yep. This is the best part of the video of YouTube, so you get to see Mike struggling. The best part of the whole show, when I throw something away by mistake. Yeah.
Okay, well, I don't know where we're at, but we can take a break and then we can get right into the news. Yeah, we're at 25, well, I don't know, we're at 17 minutes of the 25 total, so... So there you go. We can take a break, reset, and jump into the news.
Jump right into the news. All right, we'll be right back. Hey, it's Mike too. Want to be part of the show?
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Oh, yeah. A lot of news here, a lot of big fonts. You got like a book there. Merchant Cigar Bar reopens in New York City after a four-year hiatus, Michael.
Four years. Merchant Cigar Bar Manhattan reopened on Wednesday, December 2nd after a four-year shutdown. The cigar-friendly bar, which had been closed since December of 2016. Because of COVID?
2016. I know. That's the joke. Is new and improved.
A smoking, eating, and drinking lounge sells an array of premium cigars, curated cocktails, and even food in Manhattan's Midtown East neighborhood just by the Queensborough Bridge. I think there probably was problems with the smoking and eating at the same time. Closed for four fucking years. Somebody finally bought them, I guess.
Merchants originally opened in 1997 during the cigar boom when Manhattan was filled with places to enjoy a cigar. It closed in 2016 for planned renovations as its upstairs restaurant was facing a decline in revenue amid reduced business. So people didn't like the smoke, imagine, coming upstairs with it. The reopening was a long time in coming and after four years of being shut down, Merchants has opened its doors once again.
The new Merchants brings a fresh look and menu to the table. The mahogany staircase, bronze plating, blah, blah, blah, owner Merchants Hospitality Group, owner Merchants Hospitality Group, concerned about the pandemic installed air purification technology from Atmos Air. We should look into that for an ear. Sounds expensive.
A system that the owner says continuously monitors, disinfects, and purifies the air within the establishment. Does it test for COVID? Oh, do they have a Keanu that changes filters? I don't know.
Maybe they do. Maybe. Additionally... And there's more.
More. Transparent dividers separate all seating areas. Oh. Well, you're safe if you're in the seats.
There you go. Due to limited capacity per New York laws, reservations are highly encouraged. Mmm. Let's see.
There's a $10 cutting fee if you bring your own cigars. So the people are getting out in New York now? Is that what's going on? Apparently so, yes.
Huh. Okay. There's a lot of cocktails here. Johnny Walker Blue.
There's also a food rarity. You didn't say anything about Sincoro. I don't know. I'm out.
You're out. Alright, Michael, there's something about going to a place and eating dinner and then just like lighting up a cigar at the table. But see, that's what I think you can't light at the table. Yeah, you know, I mean, mainly in Esteli, that happens.
Like you can eat, and then you just poof. And you just ash on the bone from your stink? Um, hopefully they'll come and get the plate. Oh, but yeah.
I didn't know how fancy a restaurant it was. No, I mean, you know, it's just pretty much, I mean, listen, it's not that fancy, it's Esteli. That's what I figured. Oh, why'd you start ashing on my chicken leg?
Uh, like, you know, you try and eat outside anyways. But they're bugs. It's like patio. Bugs.
Ish. A lot of bugs. I feel Leslie has a lot of bugs. You think so?
Eh, no, not really. No? Maybe some mosquitoes. Not really?
Ooh. You get, uh, oh, you get the, uh, Zika. Uh, that was a problem for a while. People were nervous about that.
You know, if you're past the, uh, um, uh, reproduction stage of your life, it's just a cold, isn't it? Oh, so what's the problem? I mean, if you get Zika and you're going to have babies, you might get the shrunken head baby thing, so I can see that could be bad, that would be bad, I would imagine, but I mean, at my age, it's just a little cold. Bite me, mosquito, what do I got to lose?
Before you get to the next article, you know what I watched? I powered through this. This little mini-series called The Undoing. The Undoing, it sounds familiar.
Yeah, it's Hugh Grant, I don't know, the guy, Hugh Grant, what's the guy's name, like, you know, he did like all the English rom-coms and shit? Hugh Grant. Okay, him, and Nicole Kidman, dude. Is that before prostate surgery or after prostate surgery, Nicole Kidman?
Well, it's gotta be after. Wait, was this a movie, or? It's like a mini-series, it was like six episodes. She wasn't the woman who had amnesia, was she?
No. Okay, go ahead, it was a different movie she was in. Yeah, no, totally different movie. Okay, anyway, go ahead.
It was great. It was good, huh? Yeah. What service was that on?
I think it's on HBO. The Undoing. The Undoing. I don't want to write on that.
Why not? Who cares? Because we're going to keep it. Oh, okay.
I still got to take a photo. Take a picture. Take a picture. Yeah, we got one too, Jack.
Ha ha. Cover up his address. Screw you, pal. Nobody else has his address.
Huh. Why? I don't know. Somebody might go and harass a man at his home.
That guy's got to be like, "Look at this. all these cigars. Life is good. Where's the other dog?
Set up the camera. How many do you think I get for a pelican? So, yeah. So anyway, it was a good movie, huh?
It's a good show. Oh, does it have anything to do with Manhattan? I'm going to sneeze. It takes place in New York.
Oh, okay. I wonder what the tie-in was with the other story. I have no idea. It just dawned on me.
You're just yelling things out now. Yeah. I'm thinking Manhattan, New York. Yeah.
All right, Warzone Short Churchill. Yeah, don't, you better not sneeze. I know. There are many cigars that are billed as collaborations, but most of them are just a fancy way of saying that Company A will be manufacturing a cigar that Company B will sell.
Yes. It's something that is relatively commonplace and has been commonplace as a client-factory relationship. Last year, one of these exceptions to the most collaborations are just factory clients. One of these over and over again.
General Cigar Company and Espinosa Premium Cigars. Like most of those cigars, one company, in this case General, would be selling cigars that were made by the other one. There's a lot of times where a factory just makes a cigar for somebody else, and this is just like the one of those times. Oh wait, but in this case, General would supply some of the tobacco, specifically a Cameroon wrapper, that Espinosa likely would've never had access to.
I feel he still could've found one. It's tough to come across, I'm not kidding. It's Eric Espinosa. It doesn't matter.
It's hard to come across. He could have broad his way to Cameroon. The Fuentes dominate the Cameroon wrapper, for one. And for two, I think that Pepin might be growing some, but high quality Cameroon is tough to come across.
80, or 2,000 boxes of 20 cigars for $40,000 total. Cigars for 40,000 total cigars. Warzone was a success right out of the gate, and he wanted to celebrate the brand's one year anniversary of bringing out an additional size, said Eric Espinosa, via a press release. That's why I didn't do his voice, because it wasn't actually a press release.
Justin Andrews and I tested the blend in a bunch of different formats, and we both agreed that the Churchill really allowed the Cameroon wrapper and the blend to come through. It's actually a really good cigar, and Cameroon wrappers are tough to work with. Looking forward to making Warzone available in time for the holidays, Eriksson. And they did.
And it's here. But that feels like an old article. It debuted early November ahead of the virtual version of Espinosa's La Zona Palooza event, which took place 12th through the 14th, which we did not get invited to. Typically, guests are invited to Espinosa's headquarters.
Mike, we got the shirts. We got the statue. I mean, you know. I'm moving on.
I'm just making a comment. Okay. That's what we do with the news, Michael. This is the news, Michael.
Yeah, we complain. COVID-19 pandemic. This year's event was held online. General began shipping the cigars to retailers in mid-November.
Mm-hmm. So do we have that one here? Yeah. Oh, well, finally!
Yeah, we have it here. It's good. It's good. I smoked it.
I was like, son of a bitch. This is really good. It's like one of those- They have the short short gel? Yeah.
It's one of those cigars with Cameroon, you just don't know what to expect. The spectrum is so wide. And, you know, I feel like a lot of times you smoke a Cameroon cigar and it's very disappointing. Keep that in mind, we have a story, and then we'll get into very disappointing Cameroon rappers.
Okay. All right? All right, Warfighter is adding Minutemen size to their court line. Oh.
We don't carry that one, though. Warfighter, no. No. In the coming months, all six of Warfighter's tobacco companies' court lines will have a new smaller Vitola known as the Minuteman.
Are they anti-the-war? What? Warfighter? They fight wars.
We stop war. They fight wars. They fight in the wars? They fight against war?
Against war. I'm exactly sure. Maybe the Minuteman will know. Okay.
Oh, maybe Scott Jansen, president of the warfighter, told Halfwheel. Maybe he'll know. We're releasing a size which measures a 4x44. That's kind of small, isn't it?
Yeah, it probably sounds like it's a Minuteman. Oh. Let's see. To one line every month, so beginning in January, the first line to get the small Vitolo will be the 5x56mm Garrison Corojo, which uses a Nicaraguan Corojo wrapper.
Maybe they should have called themselves Peace. Peace fighters? No, just Peace. Oh.
95 before taxes, all of Warfighter's cigars are made at Tabla Calera Carreras, I haven't heard of that place before. Carreras. After moving production from Plasencia in March of 2020. We're out of here.
We're moving. You know what, we're going over here to Carreras. To Carreras. All right, JRE Tobacco Company is adding a Lancero to the Aladino Cameroon line.
Oh, there it is. There it is. Disappointing Cameroon reference for Michael. JRE Tobacco Company's Aladino Cameroon line is getting a Lancero Vitola.
Can you wait to try this one? Do you know how hard that's gonna be? For you to try it? Well, no, Lancero is such a small gauge.
Like, there's nothing, you can't, there's so hard to work with as far as your filler. Well, because there's not a lot of room in there. Right. Right.
That's my point. Right. But you have come out publicly and said you were disappointed by this one on several other shows. I was.
I'm sorry. So, are we going to get the Lancero? Forgive me, Justo. Justo.
Justo. Hello? Justo? I guess it depends upon who Pete calls, because if Pete calls Greg, he'll be the They're like, yeah, sure, whatever, we'll take it, because that's, you know.
So, Pete, the trick is to call Greg. You gotta know which brother to call. Oh. A cigar named Elegante is a 7x38 Lancero.
Elegante? Elegante. Isn't that like San Cristobal? Don't they have an Elegante?
I don't know these things, Michael. Mm. The store, oh, wait, it's going, and the store is Blue Smoke in Dallas. Oh, you're off the hook.
Mm. The retailer is receiving 132 boxes of 20 cigars. He's a good dude. Announced that they will go on sale this Friday, December 11th, well, that was past Friday, I guess, pricing is set at $9 per cigar, with a dollar for the amount being donated to the Cigar Rights of America.
That's a good price. Yeah, that's a good, I think that's a bad price. Jay Davis, owner of Blue Smoke, said that it keeps the cigar reasonably priced and allows us a medium-sized store with little excessive cash due to COVID to help CRA with a donation of $2,640. He's a good guy.
Jay Davis is a good dude. Well, the line is made in Honduras at Fabrica de la Puros Aladino, at Las Lomas. Holy crap, that's a big name. Okay, the name of the factory is Honduras at Fabrica de Puros Aladino at Las Lomas, Jamestan de Aladino Cameroon.
You killed my father. Prepare to die. Prepare to die. It has roots in Texas.
The idea for the cigar came from Tom Poehler. Where the stars shine bright, night and day. You know, that's why they have the star on the Cameroon. Like this?
The Baca star. Oh, it's a Texas star. Is this the Texas one, or is this the Baca one? I don't know.
Who knows? It's blue. It's not maroon. It's blue, it's not maroon, and it's not a black shirt.
I'm just happy not to be wearing a black cigarette shirt. Look, we're so, yeah, we're blue. And it's a very comfortable shirt, though. Well, I mean, what do you expect?
Top quality stuff. Fuller has been visiting. He's a hard ass when it comes to that. He's like, it's gotta be good quality, you know?
It's gotta feel good on the nips. If it doesn't feel good on the nips, we're out. Uncle Skip and his nips. You gotta have the nipples, it's all on the nipples.
This will be the last shirts anybody ever sends us. Never, he's gonna win, he's back. Polar been visiting the factory. You know what, put them in a package and send them back, you assholes.
The cigar is scheduled to get its widespread release in 2021 tobacco at the TPE trade show which is rescheduled from January to May. We'll have an MSRP of $8, you're on a different thing now. It's the same story, it's going to be after the original release, they're not adding the dollar anymore for the CRA. So after TBE, it's only $8.
I'm sorry, am I boring you? I told you it was a tough day yesterday, man. Mulching and lawn and lights. I don't know.
And then I stayed up and watched The Undoing. I had to know who the killer was. It was crazy. Don't tell me.
I'll tell you. P. Carillo announces a price increase. Oh, Ernie.
Ernie. P. Carillo advises its retailers that it will be taking a price increase in 2020. As a white man, you can just say, as a white person with no fucking clout when it comes to Spanish slang.
Yes, it's Carillo. Just say Carillo. Can you say Carillo? Carillo.
Carillo. Carillo. , but all but one of the lines in the company's portfolio will be increased by three to five percent, with that one exception being the recent release, Pledge Line. The increase will go into effect as January 4th, 2021.
You're right with the nose. You're going back in the nose. I was sneezing. I mean, it's itchy now.
And next solidarity, Michael, I'm going to raise my prices here also, so you have to pay me more. For what? Everything. How?
You get more than zero? What do you? I like to up it from zero to something. 0001.
Maybe I can have one of these this next item, you'll buy me one of these. Stop looking! No, I'm not getting you the $150,000 Zykar Cutter, but I'm glad you're talking about it. Zykar Jacob & Company announces a $150,000 Zykar Cutter.
Yeah, the Mulan, I would call it. It's got the little baby dragon from the cartoon. I love the cartoon. For those looking for the ultimate tool to cut one cigar.
Which was Eddie Murphy, I believe. Quality Importers has announced a new series of Zykar cutters that should do the trick. The company is partnering with Jacob & Company for a new collection of luxury cutters, the first of which is the Zykar Dueling Dragons Chasing Flaming Pearl. I mean, you sell one of those and you've covered your quota for the year or something.
Well, that's good because there is only one. Oh, just the one. As a one of one, the cutter is built around the Zykar body, the XI body, and it's stainless steel blades. Who sells it?
5 carats that cover both the front and back of the cutter. 21 gigawatts. On the handles are two ruby-eyed dragons made from 18-carat yellow gold. Do they talk?
That are chasing, for that price they better. They better speak. I want to be able to have a conversation with my dragons. Chasing a pearl engulfed in more gold in the shape of a flame set at the top of the cutter.
But wait, there's more. All of the gold and gems bring the cutter's weight up to 169 grams, or just over a third of a pound. I would really, really like to see some ridiculously rich guy that's a complete fucking mess just pick up on that and just kind of carry it around in his pocket like it's no big fucking deal. Throw it on the table, like, fuck it.
There you go. Oh, what's up now? Oh, you guys have nice cutters. Like, you know, borderline shit-face 24/7, you know, just hammered enough where he's obnoxious in saying bad shit.
So, you want Skip to have it? Oh, that joke, that joke, that joke, Skip, that joke. Uncle Skip, I love you. He doesn't say stuff.
Don't take my shirt away. That's not nice. Or my computer. Don't talk about my friend.
Don't talk about my friend like that. Everything that you've ever given me. Yeah. It was funny!
Come on, relax! Very, very bad humor. According to a press release issued by Quality Importers, the design is inspired by an Asian legend of two dragons chasing a mythical flaming pearl, which is seen as a symbol of luck, wisdom, and prosperity. It's named after a female fighter who snuck into the army.
Used in numerous pieces of art around the world, as well as items that have become art over the centuries, such as helmets, medallions, badges, and ceramics. The Zycard Dueling Dragon Chasing Flame Pearl Cutter Selling at $1,495. Where's it going? Who gets to sell it?
It's a museum piece. Nobody gets to sell it? No. Well, I imagine...
Imagine having enough money, so much money, you're like, you know what, let's build something that we can't even sell. Publicity probably didn't really cost that much. That's retail value. At this point, they could not even be real rubies, allegedly.
Hey, they gotta be real rubies. Okay, I normally now don't pre-read the stories. We all know I don't read the stories before they, but this next one got a little confusing so I did read it. So there's highlighting involved?
No, but I did summarize later in the story because I'll read it as is and you'll understand, okay? Okay, where'd you get it from? Let me ask you that. It's from Half Wheel.
Okay. Is it Charlie's fucking crazy verbiage? Oh, PCA lays off two staff members. Wait a second.
Okay, see that's just it. But there was only the two. Wait, there was only two. So who laid off who?
You know what, we're letting you go. Good to hear because guess what? I'm letting you go, Joe. You're fucking out of here as well, pal.
It'd be like if we fired each other. You know what? We're parting ways. You know what?
Oh, that's good. You know what? You're off the show. Okay.
You know what? Fuck it. Okay, done. All right.
Premium Cigar Association, the PCA, industry's most prominent trade group, has laid off two staff members. Mm-hmm. Okay. Now, what was not mentioned, which as we read further, they've hired two back.
Oh. Or at least one. They hired one back. They hired ...
Hold on. Let's read. Okay. Let's go.
Christine Morgan, the association's Member and Industry Partner Relations Director, and Greg Vickers, the Retail Member Director, have been laid off. Okay. Okay, both had been furloughed since mid-July after the organization announced that its entire staff of six would be furloughed due to the budget shortfall. So Scott's still there.
In the end, Scott Pierce, the organization's Executive Director, and Joshua Haberski, those two were still there. So they decided. Mike's government affairs, wait, we're never furloughed, staying on so the organization would be able to have some operations other than that carried out by his volunteer board members, apparently he's volunteers. Yes, I see, you know, they vote him in when you're getting, when you're eating your scrambled eggs.
Yes, Lisa Cox, Senior Director of Meetings and Events, returned in September, and Aaron Holland, Marketing and Communications Manager, returned in October. Okay. There was no press release for those things. Yeah, I mean, okay.
That meant only Morgan and Vickers remained furloughed. So out of the six, four had come back. They had come back. Oh, and they were talking mad shit about those other two.
Oh, yeah. They got to go. Yep. As we continue to feel the repercussions with COVID, the PCA has been forced to make some terribly difficult decisions, and that unfortunately means restructuring is required for PCA to maintain consistent lobbying work at both the state and federal levels.
Okay. So, Pierce, in a statement to Happy Wheel, Greg and Christine have been great team members and have helped the association grow in progress, and PCA thanks them for their hard work. With a plan for a 22-woman trade show, Lisa Cox will be taking on both sales and membership responsibilities, will be shared between Aaron Holland and Scott Pierce. See, it gets confusing.
I'm not exactly sure. Lisa Cox will be taking on booth sales, not both, booths. So two people are cut, and now the burden has been, like, doubled on the other people. Okay, so in July, we had Scott Pierce and Greg Herbersky left on staff.
Lisa Cox, senior director of meetings and events, returned in September, and Aaron Holland, marketing and communications manager, returned in October. Now Greg and Christine have been furloughed, leaving Scott Pierce, the sole survivor. And I believe it was Scott Pierce in the dining room with the candlestick. So he is the only one, he's the last man standing.
Well, he's the guy. Right. There's nobody to fire him. Now there's nobody for him to talk to.
No, but the other two people are still there. There's four people there now. They had six, they had six, they laid off everybody but two. Right, and they brought the two back, but they cut the other two loose.
So there's four now. Well, they brought two back, but then they let two go. Right, so if we had six, we had six, and we put four on furlough, and we brought two back, and we cut two loose, we have four. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Lisa Cox will be taking on blue, and then, and then, yeah. Lisa Cox will be taking on booth sales and membership responsibilities. I pretty much understand what's going on. Okay, but wait.
But you don't. Lisa Cox will be taking on booth sales and membership responsibilities. Right. Oh, and membership responsibilities will be shared between Aaron and Holland and Scott Pierce.
Right. Yes. Oh, okay, all right. That sounds like a lot of work for four people.
Well, now it's, how many people are there now? It's still four. Still four. It's not six.
Well, they only brought back, they only brought back two. All right, I need you to follow me on this. I'm glad that we're getting this on video. Yes.
Okay. We have six. All right, so we have six. We fire everybody but two.
No, right. Well, we don't fire them. We furlough. We furlough.
We furlough everybody but two. Four people, right? Right. So there's two left.
Right. So then we bring back two from that four, and then the other two, we say, you're not coming back. Right. Okay.
So now there's four. So there's still four. Yeah. Okay.
There's four people. But then they just laid off two more. No, no. It's just the two.
Right. They only cut the two. There's two they didn't bring back. Right.
That's so confusing. I now feel dumber after all of that. I thought it was just one. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.
Well, maybe I need this next story. You don't know what movie that's from. I wasn't listening, I'm sorry. It's Billy Madison, yeah.
Oh, no. Jessam Crowe. I just feel like I'm just talking to myself. Your friend Jessam Crowe?
Riste. Riste, yes. Riste. THC and few cigars go on sale.
THC infused cigars. THC infused. Oh, we're upping the stakes. He is up little notch now.
Good for him. I hope he gets like a Lamborghini or something else. We have eight minutes here. So, made a cigar infused with CBD, now he's selling cigar infused with THC.
Oh. The company's began selling the Jessam Crow Nugs Kind Puro Selection, Jack Carrere, a four and a half by 48 Rothschild size that uses an Ecuadoran Habano wrapper over Nicaraguan binder, Nicaraguan fillers. Of note, the cigar also includes 25 milligrams. Of some dank ass, we Of THC, the main psychoactive cannabinoid found in marijuana, Jack H-E-R-E-R, Herrr, Herrr, Herrr, Herrr, Herrr, Herrr, Herrr, Herrr, Herrr, Herrr, Herrr, Herrr, Herrr, Herrr, Herrr, Herrr, Herrr, Herrr, Herrr, Herrr, Herrr, Herrr, Herrr, Herrr, Herrr, Herrr, Herrr, Herrr, Herrr, Herrr, Herrr, Herrr, Herrr, Herrr, Herrr, Herrr, Herrr, Herrr, Herrr, Herrr, Herrr, Herrr, Herrr, Herrr, Herrr, Herrr.
It's a famous marijuana and hemp activist who predictably has a strain of marijuana named after him. It's a direct-to-consumer's website. Founder of Jessenwood, Told Half-Wheel, this is the- Direct-to-consumer? Yes.
Founder of Jessenwood, Told Half-Wheel, Told Half-Wheel, this is the only cigar in the country that is being sold directly to consumers. Yeah, because it's- It's kind of weeded. It's believed to be the first premium cigar sold that is infused with THC. It's an extension of the Nugs line, which launched in 2019, and infused with various amounts of cannabis.
Say what you want about Riste. That guy is fucking creative. He is. I mean, nobody else is doing this, so.
Yeah. Only thing is, you have to inhale for that to work, right? I don't know. I don't know.
I mean, that's how THC works, right? Yeah, well, I mean, if it enters your bloodstream through your palate, I mean, I guess it could still. I don't seem like it would get enough. But it's got the jack-fucking-dank-ass sticky-icky in it.
THC content. Yes, but doesn't THC have. Of Kamehameha levels. I mean, if you smoked regular things with THC in it, you have to inhale, right?
I don't know how this stuff works. I feel like. The squarest guy in the world. I don't know.
I don't know. I feel you, though. Near the beach. Boy.
Does it come with some kind of Rastafarian flag or something? Hat or music or something? I don't know. I don't know.
Congratulations. You've invented the... Samson Simpson. Stick to my story.
Boundation. Oh, wait. No, that's a totally different company. Wrong company.
Wrong company. That's it because I already did the alligator story. Wow. Wow.
Some compelling stuff. Well, Lost and Found just came in with the yada yada toy try thing. I'm smoking that now. I don't know what it's called.
I don't fucking know. But it just came in, so I'm smoking it. Yada yada toy. Yeah, the yada yada.
Yada yada's like my favorite. We'll have them up here soon, so the yada yadas. So we got the yada yadas coming out. What else we got going on?
What are we doing on the Patreon today? We should have reviewed the yada yada, but... But you're smoking one now. Yeah, you know, we need to review that cigar culture.
Oh, we should probably do that one then. That's a, it's a good cigar. I like it. It is good.
It tastes good. It is a good cigar. Yeah. You know, what's funny about the Cameroon, that whatever pings me, for, back in the day, Ashton Heritage had, it was a Cameroon wrapper.
Yes. And then one day they just switched to Habano, and they didn't even tell anybody. Oh. They switched the wrapper.
They just run out of, probably just ran out of the Cameroon. Yeah, it's probably, well, I mean, It was probably tough to get a hold of or something, so they just switched it. You know what? Just switch the other.
We don't really fact check, so that's my comment. But I'm pretty sure that's what happened. Oh. Pretty entertaining.
Yeah. I think you'd know the difference. You would think. I bet nobody knows.
Nobody knows. I think some people know this. Well, maybe somebody did. This tastes different.
I don't know. I don't know. Something's different about this. Something's off about this one.
It's just totally opposite of what it used to taste like. You have a Listener of the Week, Mike? You know, I did, but I forgot who it was. Oh, Mike.
I had it, I had it, I had it right on the tip of my tongue. At least remember the lights this time. Yes, the lights are on, so at least it looks good this time. I'm trying to think it was, it was an industry person too.
Oh, an industry person. Yeah, I don't even know. Cigar manufacturer? Oh, I think it was gonna be, um, uh, it was gonna be, Ronnie, how is ya?
Oh, really, Ronnie, yay. I haven't talked to him enough today, so Ronnie's a listener of the week. Yeah, go do some push-ups, Ronnie. Stay away from the elliptical.
Get off the elliptical, for God's sake. Go lift some weights. It's all about cardio for him, so I don't know. Read a book.
God damn it. Read a book? Yeah. Oh.
About health. Oh, about health and health. No, like he started doing it to get to be healthy. Like there was, you know.
Right. And it's obviously working for him. That's why he's on this whole thing. Right, this thing.
But, you know. And he looks good, so. I mean, you know. Yeah, but he's always got, like, that small frame.
You know what I mean? Like, he's in a fucking actor. I've never met him in person. He's a little guy.
He's cute. He's cute, pocket-sized. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Carry him around with you.
Yeah, he's like a sampler pack, yeah. Yeah. I can't wait to meet him in person. Totally different guy.
But that's why I can't wait. I can't wait. I'm like, wait, you gonna talk shit now? I can talk shit.
You know, I feel like, I feel like, I feel like, I feel like he would talk shit if you met him at his shop. Oh, well, yeah, it's home court advantage. Yeah, but if you met him outside of there. Right.
Different guy. Sweetest guy in the world. Probably. Good.
He's very nice at the show, but he did shoot the ghost on us a couple times. Oh, yeah, no, we're going to hang out. And just disappear. Oh, he's gone.
Yeah. Like Chris from Fable. Chris? I see.
Sean? Sean. He looks like a Chris. There was some customer in here Friday night.
I came in here Friday night on the way to the airport. Yeah. " And then walks out the door. Oh, without missing a beat.
" Please excuse my friend, he's, you know, he's losing it. It's a borderline here. Well, Chetty just referred to him as Jason on something else, so I had it stuck in my head, so. Jason.
Jeremy. Jeremy and his wife. Jeremy. So, Jeremy, if you're a listener, I'm sorry.
I'm sorry, I forgot your name wrong. Sorry, Jeremy. I don't know your wife's name. I never introduced you.
Was Ronnie really going to be the listener of the week? Yeah, no, no, he wasn't. We're 29 minutes, so we just wrapped this up. No, it was Ronnie.
I didn't plan on us talking about him through the first half of the show. So we're going to go. Ford just cuts off. It's been episode 152.
152. The number one show on Cigar Hosts Podcast. It's owners and sponsors. Take no responsibility for the opinions or statements made by the talk show host or their guest.
Statements or show topics are not necessarily the beliefs of Mike & Mike Productions or the podcast providers, and opinions between talk show hosts may differ. It is not our intention to libel, incite, or hurt anyone's feelings. We invite you to write the show's host, Mike Szczepankewicz, with any feedback or suggestions that you have for their shows. These broadcasts are presented and made public as entertainment in the hope that they will be entertaining to the audience.
This has been a Cigar Hustlers Podcast, a Mike and Mike production. Be sure to listen every Tuesday at 10am for all new episodes. Hi, I'm doing, I'm Husto-E-Raw. Yeah, we just don't have to do a single, uh, single podcast ever again.
Perfect. I'm good, Mike and Mike. How are you guys doing? The Hojo D.
Hojo! It's the Hojo! Demandre, you didn't even let him fuck it up all the way. I couldn't get past Hojo!
I don't even have to try to hit the record. We're gonna cover a lot of ground here, Mike. All right. Try to keep up.
That's a sign of a good podcast. You'd be like four cigars when I walked in a door. All right, end this.
Show Notes
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