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January 18, 2021· 58m

157 CA Top 25 with Jake Palmer

157 CA Top 25 with Jake Palmer

Episode Summary

Episode 157 is the podcast's annual tradition: Jake Palmer (Mike Palmer's firefighter son) returns for his third year to read Cigar Aficionado's Top 25 cigars of the year out loud — mangling the Spanish names along the way — while the hosts debate whether each pick actually deserves a spot. Michael Rosales of RoMa Craft Tobac calls in from Texas to serve as pronunciation referee and cigar-industry sanity check, opening with some football small talk (Bucs, Chiefs, and regional NFL fandom) before getting down to business.

The countdown runs from No. 25 to No. 1, covering the Ramón Allones Allones No. 2 Edición Limitada 2019, Herrera Estelí Miami Short Corona Gorda, La Flor Dominicana 1994 Mambo, Romeo y Julieta Reserva Real Nicaragua Toro, Highclere Castle Victorian Toro, Crowned Heads Four Kicks Capa Especial Robusto, Plasencia Cosecha 146 La Vega, Fonseca by My Father Petit Corona, Camacho Nicaragua Robusto, Viva la Vida Jester, La Aroma de Cuba Edición Especial No. 1, Casa Turrent Serie 1973, Ashton VSG Sorcerer, Bolívar Belicosos Finos, Henry Clay War Hawk Corona, Rocky Patel Number 6, Oliva Serie V Melanio Churchill, Alec & Bradley Gatekeeper, Joya de Nicaragua Numero Uno El Embajador, Punch Short de Punch, La Mission L'Atelier 1959, Padrón 1964 Anniversary Series, Arturo Fuente Fuente Fuente OpusX Double Robusto, and the No. 1 pick, E.P. Carrillo Pledge Prequel. Recurring gripes: Cuban releases that aren't available to U.S. retailers shouldn't qualify, several picks feel like "sympathy" placements, and the list seems to lag years behind when a cigar was actually great.

The back half turns to industry news: Scandinavian Tobacco Group splitting its portfolio and launching Forged Cigar Company to serve brick-and-mortar retailers, with Bolívar, Chillin' Moose, Diesel, La Gloria Cubana and Partagás moving to Forged while CAO, Cohiba, Hoyo de Monterrey, Macanudo and Punch stay with General Cigar. The guys speculate on the reasoning, note the new sales hires, and cover the accompanying General Cigar price increase, plus a Listener of the Week shout-out.

In This Episode

  1. 01
    Guest call-in with Michael Rosales
    RoMa Craft Tobac's Michael Rosales joins by phone to talk football, regional NFL fandom, and to act as pronunciation coach for the countdown.
  2. 02
    How the Cigar Aficionado Top 25 works
    The crew discusses the rumored criteria — retail availability, a 94+ score during the year — and why Cuban releases keep slipping onto a U.S.-market list.
  3. 03
    Nos. 25–16 breakdown
    From Ramón Allones Edición Limitada and Herrera Estelí Miami to Four Kicks Capa Especial and Viva la Vida Jester, with verdicts on which belong.
  4. 04
    Nos. 15–6 breakdown
    La Aroma de Cuba EE No. 1, Casa Turrent 1973, Ashton VSG, Bolívar Belicosos Finos, Henry Clay War Hawk, Rocky Patel Number 6, Oliva Serie V Melanio and Alec & Bradley Gatekeeper get debated.
  5. 05
    The top 5 and the No. 1 cigar
    Joya de Nicaragua El Embajador, Punch Short de Punch, La Mission 1959, Padrón 1964 Anniversary, OpusX Double Robusto, and E.P. Carrillo's Pledge Prequel taking the top spot.
  6. 06
    STG launches Forged Cigar Company
    Scandinavian Tobacco Group splits its brand catalog between General Cigar and the new brick-and-mortar-focused Forged Cigar Company, with new reps and a price increase.
  7. 07
    Industry odds and ends
    Rep responsiveness gripes, a shop anniversary event in Lakeland, COVID-era trade show uncertainty, and Listener of the Week.

Brands & Cigars Discussed

RoMa Craft TobacRamón AllonesHerrera EstelíLa Flor DominicanaRomeo y JulietaHighclere CastleCrowned HeadsPlasenciaFonsecaMy Father CigarsCamachoDavidoffLa Aroma de CubaCasa TurrentAshtonBolívarHenry ClayRocky PatelOlivaAlec & BradleyJoya de NicaraguaPunchL'Atelier ImportsPadrónArturo FuenteE.P. CarrilloGeneral CigarForged Cigar CompanyScandinavian Tobacco GroupCigars InternationalDieselLa Gloria CubanaPartagásCAOCohibaHoyo de MonterreyMacanudoChillin' MooseDunbarton Tobacco & TrustCase Elegance
Ramón Allones Allones No. 2 Edición Limitada 2019Herrera Estelí Miami Short Corona GordaLa Flor Dominicana 1994 MamboRomeo y Julieta Reserva Real Nicaragua Toro Highclere Castle Victorian ToroHighclere Castle ConnecticutFour Kicks Capa Especial RobustoPlasencia Cosecha 146 La Vega Fonseca by My Father Petit CoronaCamacho Nicaragua Robusto Viva la Vida JesterLa Aroma de Cuba Edición Especial No. 1 Casa Turrent Serie 1973 TorpedoAshton Virgin Sun Grown Sorcerer Bolívar Belicosos FinosHenry Clay War Hawk CoronaRocky Patel Number 6 Corona Oliva Serie V Melanio Churchill Alec & Bradley Gatekeeper RobustoJoya de Nicaragua Numero Uno El Embajador Punch Short de PunchLa Mission L'Atelier 1959Padrón 1964 Anniversary Series Hermoso Arturo Fuente Fuente Fuente OpusX Double Robusto E.P. Carrillo Pledge Prequel

Linked items are in our shop. Mentions without a link aren’t currently stocked or couldn’t be matched with confidence.

Transcript

The End. This is why we can't have your friends come over. I forgot to hit record on here, too, so it doesn't matter. Oh, did you?

37? Oh, my God. So, this is episode 157 again. Guess we'll be piping in the music after all.

Well, it'll be over there until it went dead, and we're just... You're a hot mess. Nobody's talking at all. So, again, we have Jake with us here, so...

Who's Jake? My son. Everybody knows Jake. This is his third year in a row.

Not everybody. You get new listeners every year, brother. Come on. Have a little faith.

All right. So anyway, what were you saying when I found out we weren't recording? So he's going to fuck up these words and then he decided to expose himself in front of his girlfriend and you know, like the whole firefighter, I'm a cool guy, this is like right out the window. Now it's over.

Yeah. Oh, well. It was a good run. Are we worried about that?

Oh, I forgot to tell. I have a guest, uh, guest call-in that we got to work on. Uh, yes. Uh, but first, uh, that's the letter for this.

That's a letter for that. Oh, no, I have that over here. Would you like your copy? Does he have a copy?

I mean, he has the internet. That doesn't answer my question. Here's a copy for you. My copy, you don't get yours yet, Jack, 'cause you will go ahead.

It wouldn't even make a difference if he gave it to me ahead of time. You'll read ahead, and that doesn't work. Doesn't work for us. All right, today's show brought to you by the Octador by Case Elegance.

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Yay! Didn't screw it up all this time. Art Finch picked up the Octador. Oh, did he really?

Oh, thank you, Mr. Finch. Yeah. Um, so, can you turn on the Bluetooth for the yada yada?

The yada yada is on. It just, it didn't let me connect. Oh, it's already on here. That's right, let me see.

Rodecaster Pro. Did you just turn me on? Yes, but I think it was hooked to my phone. I know, it says Mike's iPhone.

I have no idea whose phone it is. What do you call your phone? Are you paired with it? I'm trying to connect to it.

Connection unsuccessful. This is fun. Nice dead air. There you go.

Try now. Okay. Hold on. Let me see.

I feel like this keeps good. Connection unsuccessful. All right, Jacob, I got you a little present. Ooh, thank you.

Thank you, guys. Appreciate it. Do you like one too, Michael? No.

Whatever, big girl. Yeah. I'm okay. Are you calling?

It's not connecting, brother. It's not even on here anymore. You've removed it from my phone. How can I remove it from your phone?

You unpaired it. You said you weren't paired. It was here, and now it's not. Well, try again.

What is BT 70? I have no idea. Okay, my Bluetooth is off, so it's not going to connect to mine. It's not even on here anymore.

Should we pause while we fix this technical glitch? Yeah, let's do that. Go to commercial? Yeah, let's pause.

Alright, we'll be right back. Hey, it's Mike too. Want to be part of the show? com/theCigarHustlersPodcast.

We have tiers starting just $5 a month. For $10 a month, you get a special show swag, And then you're eligible for the weekly Secret Show. Secret Shows cover in-depth cigar reviews, behind-the-scenes information, and sometimes we just talk shit about people. Choose which tier works best with your budget and become an official show hustler.

Thanks for the support. All right, now we're back. Holy shit. Jeez.

All right, are you making the phone call? Yes, that's what happens when you do these shows and then you get an audience in here. I mean, God. Yeah, I'm gonna call, I'll call Mike right now, ready?

All right, we didn't even say who it was yet, it's gonna be a surprise. I mean, the guest. The guest. Special guest.

Hello? Hello? Hello? Blocked your call.

It says it's on. He's not talking. Is the volume up? Yes.

Volume is up. Michael. Michael, Michael. Hello, Michael.

Oh, hello. This is the Murphy's Law Show. Oh, did not connect. Inavailable.

Inavailable. Try skip. Oh, there it is. There he is.

Michael. What's happening? How are you, sir? Hello, Mr.

Rosales. Michael Rosales, Romacraft Tobac. The more handsome-- Yes, sir. --half of the Romacraft-- The Roma Craft.

The healthier half at the moment. The healthier half. Well, not even at the moment. Oh, that's true.

Generally speaking. That's true. Yes, yes. Yes.

How are you doing, sir? I'm good. I'm ready to talk a little bit of football today. Yes.

It's relaxing. Yeah, man. Enjoying some nice weather. It's about 65 degrees, no breeze, nice and warm.

Oh, that's very nice. I put my Bucs flag out today as well. Oh, look at you. Yeah, I know that, you know, your wife is a man, she's a Kansas City fan.

So, in your neck of the woods, I mean, is that pretty common? I mean, is being a Bucs fan in Orlando, I mean, that's, I mean, like people who, like if you're from Austin, you're either kind of a Dallas fan or you're a Houston fan, you're kind of... It's probably about half and half-ish between Miami and Tampa. What about Jacksonville?

Nobody likes Jacksonville. You know what it is, you know, what's kind of funny though... There are like three people that like Jacksonville. I can tell you this, when I drove around, I went to Costco and shit today, and I didn't see a single, I saw Cleveland, I saw Green Bay, I saw Kansas City, nothing bucks.

It's like nobody wants to admit it unless they beat the Saints, you know what I mean? We get a lot of transplants too from out of state. Plus it's wintertime, snowbirds are out there. Yeah, exactly.

Yeah, especially from, you know, up north, up north, that area, Kansas City area. So, in the past, whenever, let's assume that in that area, you have a lot of chances that comes out because of the weather, so did you see a lot of New England in previous years? Did you see a lot of New England paraphernalia in football? Yeah?

So, now that they're sucking, they're just, they're just kind of... I think that people, yeah, yeah, people start to thin out, right? So, but you still, I mean, I guess your Giants fans are really, they're always devoted, and if you wear a Jets hat at this point, you don't really care if they win or not. So, you know, that happens a lot.

You still see some Jets. Every once in a while, you catch a Buffalo fan, which is the only real New York team. I mean, I'm just going to go out there and say it, because the other ones are not in New York. They're in a totally different state.

But, yeah, you see that a lot. No, it's interesting, like, when you get a chance to kind of travel around, you start to, especially for the Northeast, and whenever I say Northeast, I'm talking about from, let's say, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, California. And they're kind of towards the East Coast, right? What's interesting is you get a lot of these football areas that are pockets, and they're only about a two hour, hour and a half kind of window from each other.

And they have, sometimes even in that, just like in the New York and the Jets, with some of these other teams, like the Giants, like they're all kind of, they're really not too far away at all. But my point is, is that you don't really understand like how culturally, how big of a rival is, because like I said down here in Texas, um until recently you know it was just dallas right and dallas and then kansas city was the next closest team that you had you know and and so you were if you're from oklahoma city or or even you know um louisiana or whatever like you're just kind of gravitated to being a dallas cowboy fan because that was your regional market team right and so um anyways as you're going to go because Chicago, you know, and then, you know, Green Bay, you really see like how close these teams are to, you know, and it's pretty interesting to see kind of how culturally, like, especially what I was asking about in your area, did you see, like, like if you're in Orlando, are you, you know, as Bucs, like the team? It's a beautiful melting pot down here. It's really, it's very mixed.

I'm going to tell you right now though, that we're losing Mike Palmer because he hates football. He does not, he's not excited about it. He doesn't, you know, I try explaining things to him on the show, and it's, it's a, it's a who's on first, it's terrible. It's on second, I don't know, third base.

Yeah. So, um, I, well, that's, that's okay, I mean, we can talk about, what does Mike want to talk about? Well, we're going to cover the top 25 cigars of CA. Did you not tell him what this was for?

I did tell him. Oh. I did tell him. Oh, okay.

Wow, he's so angry. Well, you could tell him a little bit. You act like you didn't brief him at all. He's just, you know, he's just, he's excited to be here.

I'm going with the flow, I'm just, you know, one. I'm excited to catch up with my friends, I didn't really want to talk with you guys in a hot minute. Yeah, it's been a couple weeks, it's been a little hiatus, you know? Yeah, you know, I just don't just jump in, you gotta, you gotta, it's a net.

Yeah, that's how, that's how relationships work, you know? Oh, well, it's further relationship. My son's on here too today, Michael. His name is Jake.

Yes. Jake is here. Jake, say hello to Mr. Rosales.

Jake, what's going on, sir? How are you? My man, how you doing, brother? Oh, not too good here in a little bit.

And, uh, yeah, he can't read, so it's pretty amazing. We're gonna have him... We don't pronounce Spanish words, so we have him on every year to read the top 25 for us and just butcher the names of the cigar. Yes, so what we were hoping is that he would say one, and then maybe we would speak about it briefly, and then you could possibly correct him as to what exactly it is.

We usually do if we've had it or not, and if we think it belongs on the list. Yeah, exactly. And then if you could correct him, Michael, with the… I will let you guys debate whether it should be on the list or not. I will correct him.

Yeah, you can very much remain in Switzerland without a… Oh, certainly, yeah, yeah. But we always have someone else on to correct me. Yeah, someone less white than us. Someone who may speak Spanish, possibly, as a secondary if not a primary language.

It's always nicer. Mike, you're sweating today. It's hot in here today. It's 45 degrees in this room.

Not in here, it's not. All right, Jacob, here's your list. He's about to have a heart attack. I am sweating today.

All right, so let's get into this, starting at number 25. Number 25, Jacob. I don't know why you guys don't let me see this early. It wouldn't even make a difference.

Because what kind of fun would that be? We need legit exposure. Okay, Jake, go ahead. 25.

All right, here we go. Number 25. Ramon, Alones, Alones. Number two, Edicion Limitada, 2019.

Is that the sound effect you added? Yes. I like that just for you. Do I get a bell if I get it right?

Well, I didn't see any need to put that on. Go ahead, Michael. Well, I would say you turned it off really good, that first, the first, the first word, and then, you know, yeah, the first, well, naming the first word is like the first syllable was good, and that's how I would say it. Oh yeah, Jake, you were very close, very close, Jacob.

Oh, you've seen my father, I had no chance. No chance. I have no chance. All right, Jacob, 24 on that side.

All right, well, wait a second. We got to tell you one of the 25. Oh, that's right. That's right.

I believe I have had this. It's a Cuban. Oh, then no, I haven't. Is it a Cuban?

Well, the 2019 is, the ones that you normally see are like the 2015, 2016. I haven't seen 2019. Yeah. Kind of float around.

Right. So, I don't think... Oh, then no. Previously, they are very, very good.

This is probably a box-worthy cigar, typically. Whenever I was in Europe, it's probably one of the ones that I had, like, gone out of my way to look for. So, I would vouch for this one. This is a good cigar.

Well, 2015, 2016. So, Michael feels that it's a worthy cigar, but I'm going to tell you that it doesn't belong on this fucking list, because it's a top 25 from CA. So if it's not, again, you have the same problem every year, if it's not readily available. Yeah, if this is gauged on readily available cigars in New York, and even, you know, an outer-worldly man such as Michael Rosales has not even smoked this cigar.

That's true, he has not had the 19. I mean, you know, the world traveler himself hasn't consumed the 2019, so it's obviously not readily available. It doesn't belong on the list. I would go with that.

To me, my understanding is, is that it has to, well, for American market cigars, I don't know about all of it, but I think they say that you have to have, you have to be in New York in a store, and at least a hundred retailers have to carry your cigar in order to be… Yeah, so they're obviously not following, they don't, they obviously don't follow their own rules if that's here. Yeah, so for this list, I think you have to have, like they have to have reviewed it over the course of the year, and if they scored it at 94 or above, that's how they compile the end of the year list is my understanding, right? So the regular, so during, throughout the course of the year, they'll say, "Hey, we reviewed these cigars, these were the highest rated cigars that we went through," and then they kind of compiled throughout the year. It's my understanding.

So you have to have a minimum of 94 when they initially reviewed it, but in order to get in the initial review, you have to be, You have to be in 100 stores in New York City, and then they review it, and you have to get 94, and then so on and so on, right? So that's my understanding of the process. But so to answer, or to go back to what you're saying, I think that, I don't know how they exempt the Cuban branch. All right, so let's go.

24. 24. I've been trying to practice the two of you guys are talking. You got to rip the sheet away from me.

It's not fair. Herrera, Esteli, Miami, Short, Corona Gorda. Where's the button? That was close.

I mean, that was, I mean... He should be missed. Oh, so close. Herrera, Esteli, Miami, Short, Corona Gorda.

I can't roll my tongue like that if I had to. Well, I mean, you know. Right. He speaks Spanish.

Yes, yes, I understand. His last name is Rosales. I understand. Come on.

Palmer. His last name is Palmer, and mine doesn't have any vowels. That's true. That's true.

All right. So, the Herrera Selene Miami Corona Gorda. Have you had this, Michael? Did we have it here in the shop?

I believe we have. Then I would say yes. It wasn't in the shop, but it was given to us. Oh, okay.

I have had, I have, I have had what I think is this today. There was a, I think, yes, I have had it, but it wasn't, I don't think it was like a 2019 release. It's a while away. Yeah.

Is this also the TAA version? This is a 2020, it says. It's not the, uh, no, it's not the TA. At least it doesn't say it.

Yeah? Okay. So... Well, it could be just different bandage.

Same cigar. I don't know. I'm not saying that. I'm just saying that, uh, but yeah, no...

He's very careful. He's very careful with his words. Yes, yes. No, I mean, I think Will's done a really good job of making cigars.

Obviously, kudos to him for coming in and being on the list. I'll dig it. Good. Yeah.

So, I mean, I could tell you that I've had this before. What are they doing? I don't know. They're signaling this.

I don't know what's going on. I've had this cigar before, and I have no issue with, especially that type of gauge, you know. Oh, that's your favorite size. Yeah, Corona Gorda.

Willie Herrera does make some good stuff, especially in that size and the blend. And this one's definitely a good cigar. So I would say that it qualifies. I give it a okay.

It's okay? Yeah. Okay. It's okay with Michael.

I'm fine with that. All right, Jake. I know that CA kind of looks to me for the analysis. They do.

Of course they do. Yes, or afterwards. Yes. All right, Jake, 23.

All right, La Flor Dominicana 1994 Mambo. He got that one. He got that one. That's pretty good.

I don't have a noise for it when he got it right. I didn't expect it. I'm looking forward to 18, 19, those are my two that I can see right here on this page. Both of those are gonna be fun.

All right, Jake, 22. Wait a second, hold on. Oh, sorry. So the 1994.

It's a good cigar. It's kind of a value cigar. I don't know anything about the year ones, but I mean, I recognize the band, but not that. Yeah, we've had them in the shop.

" Right. So I don't think that it belongs on the list, but it's a good cigar. What do you think? I already said.

Oh. I recognize the band, so I'm pretty sure I've had it, but it doesn't stick out in my mind at all. Oh. But that's the La Floridomenicana that you don't realize is a La Floridomenicana until you look close enough.

Yeah. Because it doesn't say LFD big and bright like they normally do. All right, Jake, 22. All right, Romeo and Julieta, Reserva, Rio, Nicaragua, Toro.

I got that one too, didn't I? No, I didn't. It would be... It's close.

Real. Yeah. Real. Real.

Real. Real. Real. Yeah.

Very good. He's getting better. He's good. I'm really looking forward to the 1819.

I'm really not. So, you know, I've never had this cigar. I could tell you that Aaron Nielsen, when I did the little podcast on Coop, he said that this cigar would fall in this category. Oh, did he?

He's from the band Cheap Trick or whatever, yeah, his father's from Cheap Trick, and there it is, sure as shit, here it is on the top 25. Just name dropped us too, look at that. Did you even say the guy's dad was in the band Cheap Trick? Yeah, yeah, Aaron Nielsen, I don't know.

I haven't heard that name, I mean, I grew up listening to them with my dad, so that's not gonna be wanna get off topic, but I did not know that. Yeah, he's a huge cigar guy. Okay, cool. All right.

So, I've not had this cigar either. I don't. It's one of those ones that I'm sure they sell a ton of them. Yeah.

I'm just going to go off of his opinion, and I'm going to say that it probably belongs on the list. If he says so, he knows what he's talking about. Right. He's not an idiot, you know, like he's not just some kind of fly-by-night.

The guy's... And that was months ago. Yeah, the guy's entrenched in the cigar industry, so... I'll be okay with that.

All right, Jake, 21. All right, Jake, 21. Right now, I've got a 50/50. Two yes, two no's.

All right. Hi, Claire. Castle, Victoria, and Toro. I feel like I probably need a little more flair on that, though.

But that wasn't bad. I've had worse. Yeah. Oh, you're about to have worse.

What'd you think, Michael? How was that? As far as he said? Yeah.

That was good, right? Ms. Rosales says you're good, Jake. I think you have to kind of say it with a British accent, but don't you?

I mean... But he wouldn't know that. He would have no idea. He had no idea.

The Highclair Castle. Victorian Toro. La-di-da. Have you smoked a cigar, Michael?

Michael's? I have. I had it at the trade show a couple years ago when I heard the trade show. You're smoking Highclair now?

Yeah. Go ahead. I mean, the irony is I'm actually smoking a Highclair right now, and I had the choice of smoking this or the Victorian, And I will head nine, 10 times out of 10, I will always pick the standard Ecuadorian Connecticut over the Victorian. So, like, for me, I would think that I'm cool with, you know, Nick making it because that's, I mean, that's awesome.

I think they're a little pricey. Yeah, but that's not what this is about anyways. It's about it being a bang and cigar. So, I mean, I would, I just wish it was the other one, the standard.

Oh, the Connecticut. Yeah. So. You know a lot of the Connecticut, don't you?

Of the regular High Clary? Yeah. I remember you coming out of the Cape Show saying that was one of your favorite cigar juice. Yeah.

I would tell you that I smoke, but right now, dude, I'm burning through so many brotherly kindnesses. It's ridiculous. So, so much to a point where I could see that, like, this cigar, because we had a light problem for a long period of time in the store, that the top is bleached. Like, if I remove this band, it'll be darker.

Yeah. Is that from the old lights or the new lights? It's the new lights, but when, because we didn't have them, because they constantly ran, and we never shut them off, even through the day and the night when the switch broke, you know, it took out a couple of cigars. So, I'll be happy to smoke these, don't worry, I'll take care of that for you.

Right, not a problem. " Oh, nice. Good for you. All right, Jake.

20. All right. Four Kicks, Capa Especial Robusto. I think that qualifies.

That's pretty good. That's pretty good. That's a good cigar. I like that one.

Yeah, the Capa Especial was a very good cigar. I think the Four Kicks definitely came out with a lot of good stuff in the course of, I would say, 18 months or so, maybe two years, because we lost a whole fucking year because it's goddamn COVID. So, yeah, I'm alright with this one being on there, for sure. One of the things, I believe this one is made out of Ernie Carrillo.

Is that correct? You know what? It might be. I'm not 100% positive.

Is it the purple or blue? I can't tell. Which they obviously have a feeling towards Ernie. Yes, they are quite fond of him.

They love Ernie. Alright, number 19. Yeah. We gotta move on.

I gotta hear 19. Is it just dying over there? All right. Just say it, Jake.

Let's do it. Plasencia, Cosecha, 146, La Vega. Hit the button, hit the button. Yes!

Solid performance. Michael? Plasencia, Cosecha, 146, La Vega. That's kind of close.

I don't think that you were remotely close. I feel like you have the memory of a goldfish if that's the case. Is this that $20 one that we were going to review? No, no, that's the Fuerte.

Okay, I have not had this one. I've never had this cigar. Michael, have you had this cigar? I don't think I have.

I've had some places, but I don't think I've had... I cannot say. I cannot say. So it's like, it's not like, you know, through the mainstream course, everybody's kind of gangbusters on the cigar.

It just seems like it's a sympathy leg. It's like, oh, okay, we'll put you on there. We'll just throw one up. Yeah, let's put this one up.

So I would say no. All right, no then. All right, Jacob. Or you could look at it objectively and say, here's an opportunity to, if they thought it was good enough, they put it on the list, we should reach out and try, right?

So it is, it's a good opportunity to start conversation and dialogue as to, three of us had said that we have not had it. So optimistic. That's why we love him, always a politician. Yeah.

That's true. Everybody says he's the nicest man in the industry. I will tell you this, a broker called me, and I'm not going to say his name, Pete Hernandez. " And I'm like, "No, no, I didn't.

I didn't call him. " Do you want it for the one? No. And he's like, well, La Mission.

I'm like, okay, well. Well, that one we sell, so. Moving on. All right, Jake, 18.

Number 18. Fonseca by my father, Petit Corona. That wasn't bad. It was better than I thought.

Go ahead, Michael, for clarification purposes. Fonseca by my father, Petit Corona. So, Fonseca was recently bought. " That's what he sounds like.

Zorro. My name is Zorro. You're good, my father. So, this Fonseca, so, my father bought Fonseca last year.

I didn't know that. Yeah. Or, was it last year? Maybe a couple of years ago.

That way, they could have the, um, it was something, yes, thank you, you know, kind of protect themselves. So, it does, I mean, it doesn't surprise me that a My Father product makes the rank. I haven't smoked this cigar. I'm sure it's pretty good, but that's all I really got.

You haven't had this one, have you, Mike? No, no, no. No idea. What about you, Rosales?

I've had it, but it was in a 60 gauge, which I'm not, I'm not a big, but it was just when they kind of rolled them out. I want to say they finally just didn't score. It wasn't too long ago. It was probably back in September.

Right. Whenever I finally got one. But like I said, I mean, I'm not, I'm not a huge 60 smoker, 60 gauge cigar smoker, but, I mean, it was, it was, It was good, you know, I don't necessarily know, um, I'd like to try it in some of the smaller sizes. Right.

Yeah, I bet you the smaller ones gotta be good. How are we doing on time, Michael? Uh, 22, we got eight minutes. Okay.

All right, Jacob, go ahead, number 17. All right. Kamucho. Oh, yes, yes, you did.

Hit him. Thank you very much. Tell him about the Kamucho, Michael. How did you invert the O and the A to Mucho?

I went to public school. He's a firefighter now, he saves lives and stuff. He doesn't have to read. Fire, hot, treat, green.

Fire, hot, water, good. Thanks for the shape, stop sign. So go ahead, Michael, please educate my friend Jake. Camacho, Nicaragua, robusto.

There you go. Camacho, Camacho. Camacho. You need like a 10 gallon fucking hat or something.

I smoked me a Camacho. Is my Futi Futi making this list? Just calm down. Don't get ahead of yourself.

Don't get ahead of yourself. Okay, so. I've had this. I can't believe it's on the list.

Yeah, I don't. You know what? I haven't had this blend. I don't know what it is.

I just feel like this was like a, it was a major Davidoff failure to begin with and it continues to be that. So, it's a no from me. Well, it's interesting to me that they would even, you know, that they have a Camacho, even though it is owned by Davidoff, but they, when was the last time you ever saw a Davidoff race? That's true.

That is very true. Maybe they're trying, you know, to amend some fences. Who knows? I can tell you they're not trying to amend Sokka's fence for whatever reason.

Did you see his post? Yeah, yeah, yeah. We'll get into that afterwards. All right, Jake, 16.

16. Mr. Jake. Viva La Vida Jester.

Okay. He was so confident, though, he said that one. Yeah. I figure if I fake it, I'll...

I think the Ricky, the Ricky Martin had, you know, he was, you know... Yeah, it's true. Viva La Vida Loca, he was almost there. Yeah, he had heard it before.

Right. Yeah, so, there you go. This cigar had, I don't think I've ever smoked this cigar, but this, this cigar definitely had some momentum throughout the year. I like it, I've had it.

It's an AJ cigar. Yeah, it's a good cigar. So he's got some good tobacco, obviously. Yeah, like he said, he's got a lot of play on social media.

Right. So, I mean, I'm okay with it making the list. Michael, have you had it? I've had it, yeah.

What'd you think? The cool thing about this cigar, no, it's really good. When they first, the guys, when they sold the cigar in up in New York City, they immediately went and made the cigar, but then they kind of put it on the back burner for a little while. So all those cigars kind of aged out for a long time before they actually went and kind of put a full purpose on getting them out into stores.

So, and that probably helped them out quite a bit, right? Because of the amount of times they did not fit. Right. Yeah, it makes a big difference.

Married a little bit. Yeah. Okay. All right.

Let's go. 15. All right, Jake. 15.

All right. La Aroma De Cuba, Edition Especial Number One, or Numero One. Number one's fine. Number one.

Number uno. Number uno. Number uno. Number one.

That wasn't too bad. No, you know, as the years go on, I think he's getting better at this. Yeah, you know. Oh, I started drinking this time before.

But at least he fucked up a couple. Yeah. I mean, but if he gets them all right, that's his last year. Right.

We find somebody else. We find somebody whiter. Somebody whiter. Adrian!

Oh, man. My wife. I didn't think about that. Oh, I see, what number, what is it, eight?

So the EE number one's been around for a hundred years, right? So, I mean... Did he say uh-huh? Yeah, I think that was a casual, mm-hmm.

You said it, you said it fine, right? Right, Michael? He said it okay. Yeah, yeah, there's nothing wrong with the pronunciation.

With the pronunciation, yeah. Yeah, I mean, I don't know, it doesn't belong on the fucking list, though. It doesn't seem like it, no. It's more like an everyday cigar.

Yeah. Yeah. And not like everybody's, you know, oh, hey, you got any more edition of Special No. 1s?

Right. You know, I've had it for the past 20 years, and it's been fucking a lot. All right, Jake, 14. All right, 14.

And then we're going to take a break. Go ahead. All right. Casa Turrent, Siri 1973 Torpedo.

Okay. Michael? That passes. That passes.

Okay. Okay, that's close enough. Casa Turret. Yeah.

All right. I haven't had this cigar. I don't even recognize it at all. Who makes it?

Casa Turin. Casa Turin. Is that the name of the company? Yeah.

Not familiar. Yeah. They produce a lot of the San Andreas tobacco at it. Oh.

So is this a San Andreas cigar? Also, at one time, the Schuster's out of Germany did their distribution. I don't know if they still do, but they did at one time. But yeah, it's a pretty good cigar.

Also, Hector has come out with, he's making his cigars out of that, yeah. All right, so we're gonna, we're gonna take a quick break from right here. Just don't go anywhere, Mike. We're gonna turn it off, reset the camera.

Yeah, and then we'll turn it right back on. We'll be right back. All right. No, I would consider it the number two, but as far as Cameron cigars that came out last year.

Cameron's a tough wrapper, man. It's tough to work with. It's got a unique flavor, and I don't think a lot of people really gravitate towards it. So, I think they did a good job with this cigar.

You're either a fan of it, or you are not. You know what I mean? Like, there's no, it's not like, hey, I really liked it on this cigar, but I didn't really care for it on that. You either, like, you either kind of gravitate towards it or you're not.

So, Jack Taranio was kind enough to give me a couple of these when I became down to Austin. a couple months back, and it was good to go. So, good for them. Because that was Jeff and Andrews and them kind of worked on it together, so it worked out really well.

So it's a yes from us. Yes, yes. We all agree on that one. Alright, Jake, number 12.

Ashton, Virgin, Sun Grower, Sorcerer. Sorcerer. Yeah. I mean, there's nothing special about that.

There's no Spanish word or anything like that. See, that's what I mean. I think they're whiting up the names. Oh, come on, man.

Come on. There's a, I think that, I feel like there's out of every, you know. Well, this cigar though, it's been around, again, it's like number 15, and pretty good. Yeah, an old timer on the list.

They, they, they, they, yeah. So, now, it's a, it's most people who get into the cigar smoking culture will gravitate to this cigar, you know, right away. And it's something that would keep them going and, and kind of, you know, progress them into, they would, you know. You know, so I think that, you know, does it belong on the top 25 cigar list?

Like, that's debatable, but I think for what it does for the culture and the industry as a whole, like, I don't know how it's positive. Right. You know what I'm saying? " And they would enjoy it.

And they would progress, you know, further into the culture. So, from that perspective, I mean, I'd call it a win. So, but is it the best cigar of the year? Like, that's debatable.

Debatable. Yeah, I don't think... We're down to number 12. I don't think it belongs in the top 25.

Pretty low on the list there. All right, Jake, number 11. 11. Boulevard, Bellicoso, Finno.

Finno. Finno. Finno. I'm Finno.

Finno. Finno. Does he have a horse out front, or what the fuck? All right, Mike, how do you properly pronounce the Finno?

Boulevard, Bellicoso, Finno. Finno. Vino. Vino.

Vino. Vino. Bolivar. So the I has a high, like an iron.

Bolivar. Bolivar. Bolivar. Bolivar.

Bolivar. It's another Cuban, right? Yes. I've had it.

It's good. But like you said, it's not a readily available cigar. Yeah, it's not readily available in New York. I don't understand how it makes a list.

It still doesn't make sense to me. And it's a no from me. Okay, moving on. Yeah, I don't think that, yeah.

Number 10, Jacob. Henry Clay Warhawk Corona. Yeah, I mean, he's got the name of him. Yeah, Henry Clay is, you know.

How does that get out? That's pretty there, that works for me. Yeah, yeah. Henry, as I could have said, Hank.

Yeah, that's more, that's. Hank Clay Warhawk. That's almost as white as Jake. Just about.

Yeah. Just about. Jake Palmer. I don't know.

I swear to God, man. I don't know how this got on the list. Yeah, I mean, it's a weird cigar for me to make the list. I feel like that always kind of happens though, with these Harry plays.

I don't understand how it, like I feel like it's popped up in other places too. I mean, it's number 10. I mean, let's be honest, the only war anything that qualifies on top 25 anything this year is the one with the bear, right? Oh, which isn't even on the list.

Yeah, of course. They don't even know I'm here. Right. Yeah.

Alright, so it's a no from me. Maybe you should put out a press release like Sokka did while you're not on the list. Yeah, ooh, I should just copy and paste his. Just changed the name?

A lot of you guys have reached out to me and asked me questions about, and always ask me. And the fact of the matter, and I appreciate your outrage. But the publisher and I just don't get along. We just don't get along.

But we agreed to just not talk about each other. Yeah, I should totally copy that. That would be funny. All right, Jake, number nine.

Number nine, Rocky Patel, number six, Corona. Yeah, well, might as well have been Henry Clay again. Those are my favorite ones. The names, not the cigar.

He's in a tobacco-free workplace, he does not smoke. Yeah, he does not smoke. Tobacco-free workplace. You can't do the air quotations, there's a camera.

Oh. So, yeah, I feel like, and here's another sympathy delay, right? Like this guy, you know, Rocky. Yeah, Rocky's not on here anyway.

He does a lot of good things for the industry. He's never made it a number one cigar. He's always marketed with these guys. Hasn't that one been around for a while, too?

It might be. I don't know. I know. It's possible.

I don't know about that. Well, but, you know, I know that he, I mean, he also rebrands a lot of his stuff, same blends, and then just, you know, puts a new band on them, so. Allegedly. Allegedly, yes.

Someone told you. Yeah, that's what I heard. Right. All right, Jake, number eight.

All right, number eight, Olivia Siri v. Millenio Churchill. Okay, I mean that qualifies as a total miss. If you can hit the button for me, I'd appreciate that.

Thank you. Michael? It's a common mistake though, Jacob. Oliva, Derry, V, Milano, Churchill.

Oh shit, I wasn't even close. I think what he said was Olivia, did he say Olivia? He said Olivia. Yeah, there's no I between the V and the A.

Everybody does that though. You got any of those Olivias? Can I have them Olivias on there? Yeah.

The one with the V. I'm looking for, I'm looking for the E-A-O, E-V, A-V-O's, and the Cows, the C-A-O's, I'm like wait a second. That's Cows. Hey, you know, I mean...

Postanis? I want those Postanis. Postanis? Those Italian cigars.

Even my good friends call them Postanis. I mean, the Milano always, for me, is always kind of qualified for being, you know, an elite, kind of a top 25 cigar. So I have no problem with it making those lists. That's how we spoke of very highly.

Yeah, and it's consistent. Right. You know, they have consistent tobacco. This isn't the first time it's been on this list.

No, normally, I think the last one was the Figurado though, not the Churchill. And that was when it was made like a number one. And that was probably, I don't know, seven years ago. All right, let's see here.

All right, Jake, a seven. Seven. Alec and Bradley keep a Robusto. Robusto.

Keep messing that word up. Robusto. There's an O in there, Jake, no O-R-O-B-O. The Alec and Bradley, so it's no longer Alec Bradley, it's the Alec and Bradley?

Well, it's the two sons. Yeah, but I thought it was, I thought they were called Alec Bradley. Well, that's the main principal company, and then the two, the kids, have come out with their own... Ah.

medium distribution under the umbrella, is my understanding. Oh, see, he's so well versed in the industry. That's why he's, oh, him or us. The separation of the names.

Gotcha. Have you had this gatekeeper? Negative. Me neither.

I don't think I've ever had an Alec and Bradley period. What, an Alec and Bradley or an Alec Bradley? Either way. Oh, okay.

Both? I mean, I don't know. Yeah, I mean, it's a no from me. I haven't, nobody's even talked about the cigar to me.

No. Who represents them? Alec and Bradley. Oh.

Yeah, it's on direct, yeah. the rep's name was Kevin I believe and I haven't seen him in three or four years he's worse than Alfredo by the way I called Alfredo to place an order or I text him like two days ago oh you texted him then he didn't respond he didn't respond for seven hours and I go dude seven hours I could get a vaccination faster than you fucking responding And then he's like, okay, I'll follow up with you tomorrow. Motherfucker, didn't even bother following up. I'm like, you know what, I ain't gonna call.

I'm not gonna call. It's, you know what, what's gonna happen is you're about to lose the shelf space. So, all right, Jake, next. Oh, boy.

Yes, this is what, this is my favorite. Oh, now we're getting somewhere. Got the Gioia De Nicaragua numero uno, La Ambassador. Gioia.

Gioia. Hit the button, hit the button, hit the button, hit the button, yes, Michael, oh yeah, oh yeah, Nicaragua, numero uno, Nandozor. He sounds so romantic, doesn't he, I mean, it's amazing, yeah, the cover of a romance novel or something, unbelievable, we should have him on all the time. Just to say these words, yeah, yeah, just to read it, he can do, he can do the Case Elegance commercial with the flair and the rolling the R's, yeah, absolutely, that'd be great.

Um, you know, did we smoke the cigar? I think we did. I think we did. Yeah, we had it.

It came in the coffin. Yeah, it was a big deal. We did it on the Patreon, I believe. Yeah.

What's interesting was, this made everyone's number one cigar for the live trade for last. Yeah, that's right. In the consensus and stuff. Yeah, this was the one they only handed out at the embassy event thing.

Yeah, it was an event-only cigar and then eventually they released it. Right. It's a no for me. Yeah.

No, no, I don't remember any good. I think just because it's a special cigar. Sell the sizzle. Where's the death bucket?

All right, Jake. Next. Punch Short De Punch. Punch Short De Punch.

How's that, Michael? Was that close enough? Yeah. For Cuban cigars, that's pretty gringo.

That is extremely gringo. So that falls into the Cuban category for me of why is it on this list? Why is this on the list? We're already getting to the nitty-gritty here, huh?

We're down to the last four. Holy moly. Thank goodness. The last four.

This might be your last year, Jake. You haven't been funny enough this year. Yeah, I think you might be done, yeah. I'm sorry, guys.

I think it's funny. Honey, start messing up some Spanish words. You're on deck. She's already a glass of wine deep, too.

Yeah, give her one and then plop her down. All right, here we go. All right, Jake, number four. I just want to get her drunk enough where she starts calling you a retard.

Okay, thank you. Yeah, she won't use that word. She won't use that word. That's not a nice word.

Sorry. She's in that industry. They don't call him that. Yes.

Okay, but you would call him, what, special? Dumb fuck. Asshole, okay. She's not an asshole.

No more wine for her. No more wine for her. All right, Jacob. Number four.

Number four. There's no way he gets that second word right. You mean the third word? I don't think he gets any of it right, except for two letters.

La. Hey! Mission. Oh, he got that too.

Oh, jeez. Because I said it earlier. My finger on the button. Go ahead.

Latier, 1959. That wasn't too bad. No. That wasn't too bad.

No. Yeah. Yeah, you're not coming back. It's fine with me.

Your last year. That's because I've started drinking this year. So here's what's amazing for me is like this cigar, I qualified it in like a top 10, I don't know, four or five years ago. Oh wow, that long ago.

Yeah, and it was a really good cigar. Right. So it takes them that long for like, oh yeah, you know what, that cigar is really good. Like what the fuck?

They're very busy up there. They have a lot of cigars to go through. I'm going to give it a yes because I believe that it belongs on the list. It's a good cigar.

But like, what the fuck are they doing? What are they doing? They're just catching up. They have a backlog.

Oh, yeah. I guess so. COVID's got them slowed down. Oh, and COVID.

The townhouse is closed. That's right. What are we going to do now? Yeah.

Michael, have you had the cigar? Yeah. I mean, it's been a while since I've had to revisit it. Right.

But when they first came out, they made a big splash. Yeah. It was a great San Andreas. All right.

Number, Jake, number three. Number three, Padrón, 1964, Anniversary Series, Hermoso? Yeah. Hermoso?

I don't know, how else would you say? Padrón? I would take Padrón. That's it?

That's what I say. I mean, everything else is kind of good. Yeah, so, I mean, so Padrón's a consistent cigar, it comes out every year. it's always in their top five without question.

They pick one, they go with it, and this one's really good. So I have nothing against Padreau making the list, but it's just so unoriginal at this point. Right. All right.

Number two, Michael. Number two, Jacob. I mean, Jake, sorry. We look a lot.

Yeah, you do. This is a younger person. All right. The Fuente Fuente.

God damn it, he's got it right now. That was Footy Footy. Yeah, that was Footy Footy. Robust.

He's gotta go. He's off the island. That's it, Jacob. Well, Jake, we appreciate you coming in.

It's been real, guys. See you later. Thanks for the bottle. All right.

All right, so the Funti Funti. The Funti Funti Opus X. Double Robusto. The Fuente Fuente.

Right, Michael? Yeah. You guys made so much fun of me last year. That one just stuck.

Yeah, I guess so. I mean, that's in the back end of the trailer. Oh, the Hojo. Yeah, Hojo and Funti.

Funti Funti. Yep, that's in the closing credits. Is it really? Yep.

It is. Oh, a joy. It is. My guess would be that a lot of these cigars were on the list last year, with the exception of a few, right?

They just kind of reshuffled them last. Yeah, they just moved everything around. He's got some practice. He's got some practice, you know.

So, I mean, at least he's learning. That's good. Right, right. Yeah, well, now he's got to go.

Fine by me. All right, Jake, do the next one. We can't get his brother. His brother did a better job than he did two years ago.

Yeah. We'll get somebody else. Don't worry. He deals it in the public.

We'll stick Jacks in there. Oh, by next year. My eight year old son in there. By next year, he'll be ready to go.

Yeah. He'd still probably do better than me. He'd do a lot of poop jokes, though. I mean, that's gonna happen.

That's all right. Poop. I'm like, all right. Oh, calm down.

Okay, so. Do a lot of air fart. Yeah, exactly. Exactly.

So, yeah. Hit him with our crowd. Yeah. Oh, they'll love him.

They'll love that. I love that. Okay, so, yeah, I'm okay with Opus making the list. Yeah, I mean, it's gonna be in there somewhere.

Yep, so. All right, Jake. All right, Jake, number one. Come on now, count on you.

All right, the EP. There are two R's and two L's in this one, so. Oh. Well, shit, you better just get ready to correct me then.

The EP Carrillo Pledge Prequel. What? Carrillo. Carrillo.

Go ahead, Michael. , Carrillo, Pledge, Prequel. Carrillo! So, this is, this one's kind of weird for me, because like, it was weird that Ernie made it again to the number one.

Like, that doesn't really happen too often. It's not the same one as last year, though. It's a different cigar, but when, when people started talking about this being number one, I saw a lot of, yeah, it deserves to be number one. Right.

Well, was that Groover? Groover posted that. No, yeah, I mean, you know, he's just living his best life with his order forms. Right.

Taking orders from other states and shit, I'm sure. But so I'm kind of, you know, I'm definitely now I'm intrigued to see, you know, what the hell the cigar is all about without question. Right. Because not only did they make that statement, but it was backed by a lot of people on social media.

It was, unusually. Yeah. So I'm curious to see how that cigar tastes. I mean, I probably won't be able to taste it for a year, but.

No, we're still waiting on our bowls to come in. From two years ago. They're still coming. Well, Jake.

You did a great job, Jake. You did okay this time. Guys, the disappointment. It's all right.

It's all right. Ms. Rosales, we appreciate you, sir, taking time out of your Saturday to do this with us. Yes.

Thank you for reviewing. We hope you and the family stay safe. And the whole coronavirus is, you know, you're safe from that as well. All right.

Well, guys, I appreciate it. Thanks for the call. We'll catch you guys later on. All right, Michael.

Enjoy football, brother. Thank you very much. All right, bye-bye. We are at just about 50 minutes.

Should we just wrap it up? Do you have anything else to cover? I have some news, but you know, price increase and general split. We might as well cover that real quick.

All right, well, we'll skip the price increase, because everybody's doing price increases anyway. Who did a price increase? Everybody. Everybody is.

This week it was, who was this week? STG. No, that's the wrong one. That's the wrong one.

All right, that's who split the company. Yes. Oh, yeah. Have we already talked about that?

No, no, we haven't talked about it. It could just happen. Yeah, that's interesting. All right, Scandinavian Tobacco Group, the parent company of General Cigars, Cigars International, Thompson, and others, has announced that next month it will launch an entirely new cigar distribution company called the Ford Cigar Company, aimed at serving brick-and-mortar retailers.

Effectively, the company will be splitting its massive catalog of brands between the existing General Cigar Company and the new Ford Cigar Company, It's a factory company, which will operate independently from General and have its own large sales force. Yeah. In the Forge portfolio, they will have Bolivar, Chillin' Moose, Cofredia, Diesel, La Gloria Cubana, Partagus. We don't carry any of those.

Diesel. Oh, Diesel, that's right, Diesel, we do. And the General will now have the CAO. The CAO.

Cohiba, Hojo de Monterey, Monterrey, Macanudo, Punch, and other brands. Right. Will, oh, the Cuban names, like the LaGloria, Cubana, Partagas, and the Cohiba, and the Hoya de Monterey, it's only the US. So will they still have a sales force for the latter?

Yes, they've split it, I guess, let's see. Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on. What was your question? Well, here's the, I mean, I have a theory behind it.

Hold it over there, Jake. Go ahead. Oh, he throws it just like you. Yes.

So I have a theory behind it. the reason why they're doing that is because the, the, the latter, the Cohibas and stuff like that, they sell like those consistently will move from your mainstream companies, you know, your well-established retailers, those guys who have already had that. Right. Right.

And your old school consumers will continue to go to that cigar and never change from it. Correct. The other brands need more attention. The Meganudo, the punch and the other brands.

Yeah. You know, so I could see, I mean, I think, feel like even some, even the punches, they, you know, Forge will also serve as a distributor for third-party brands, which they do not own directly. There you go. So it just seems like anything that needs a little more of that effort, they've removed the other ones.

I wonder if it's going to be like a scalable percentage rate or something like that, like, because they know that they're going to make X every year with X amount of growth on those brands. They've hired 12 reps for the Forge company. Yeah. Did you see what they hired in Florida?

I don't know. David Mealy. Yeah, there's a list here of everybody that hired. Formerly a Nat Sherman.

And formerly of McAuliffe. Oh, he was of McAuliffe as well. He was McAuliffe briefly after the Nat Sherman. Mm-hmm.

Sean Hardiman will be the lead salesman. Yeah, I saw that too. Independent marketing and customized programming initiatives. P.

of North American Branded and Rest of World Division of SDG Enterprise Relays. That's interesting, you know, and I'm looking forward to seeing how that kind of plays out this year, especially with COVID. Because, you know, half the guys aren't traveling yet. Right.

The companies won't let them. This weekend, the shop over in Lakeland's having their big anniversary show, Cigar Life, and there's several reps there with little tables. I have a little mini cigar thing. Buy a box, get a mask?

I don't know. I saw photos. I didn't see a mask. I don't know.

In a related story though, General Cigar is doing a price increase. Oh, okay. To pay for Ford's. Yeah, we got to pay for our new sales force.

To pay for our new sales force. Her SLE is releasing a special cigar. Oh, and then real quickly, I like this story. Some gorillas tested positive for coronavirus in San Diego.

I saw that. I thought that might affect you because you're hitting that. Because I'm a gorilla? Gorilla family.

Thank you so much. Research studies have verified that some non-human primates... Yeah. Me.

Are susceptible to infection with SARS-CoV-2, but is the first known instance of natural transmission to the great apes. Several gorillas at San Diego Zoo Safari Park, if tested positive for the virus it caused COVID-19, was believed to be the first known case transmission to apes. So New York did the tiger, and they said, you know what? How do they get the apes to wear a mask?

Now they gotta wear a mask. Yeah. How do they social distance? Stay away from him.

Now they gotta pick fleas off each other and stuff. I don't think the gorillas do the fleas. Oh, please. Were they coughing?

I don't know. What made us taste them? Were they coughing? They were coughing, probably.

They don't cover their mouth. They have no manners. They got mad. They couldn't taste bananas.

Oh, they couldn't taste the bananas. Oh. Started throwing them. These are bland.

I only had the right buttons up, because these rotate through the right. Yeah, damn it. We do have a Listener of the Week. We can do that, because I have that button ready.

Ooh, hit the gong. Well, Bill, too, down in Fort Myers. Bill Calhoun. Thank you, Bill.

Listener of the week. Will. Will. Will.

Bill. Or Bill. I mean, I guess you can go either way. You can go either way, whichever one is.

He said a very nice. Several. Quite. Really nice comments.

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, for us, nice. Bad.

Everybody else. Hey, I mean, it is what it is. Right. He calls it like he sees it.

Apparently so. We appreciate that. Apparently so. All right.

Well, that's all the stories I have. That's all you have, huh? That's it. We're at 20, uh, we're at, uh, 53 minutes.

I feel like we're in Pedro time. Pedro? That's, that's good enough. Oh, she's back with her second glass of wine though.

Uh-oh. Uh-oh. Studio audience getting liggered up. This is where we get to the asshole part.

Oh, this is where I'm an asshole. That's because you're an asshole, Michael. You're an asshole, that's why. Oh, yours didn't get another glass, Jacob.

So what are we reviewing for the Patreon? Uh, I don't know, because it's a Saturday. Yes, so we had to do this one. We had to do this podcast.

So we will do the Patreon on Tuesday. We will have to do the Patreon on Tuesday. Because it goes up on Wednesday, so that still works. Thursday, I thought it was on Wednesday.

No, Thursday, oh it does, the video goes up on Wednesday. You're just forest gumping your way through this. Maybe we'll just rotate, switch those. Oh, mix it up.

Give it a day between the audio and the video. I don't think so. Like you would even know. You're probably right.

Unless somebody complained to you. And they would. Oh, there's a coyote out. I think there's a coyote out on the ring thing.

On the ring thing. The ring thing. All right, Jacob, again, thank you for coming in. Thank you very much.

Thank you for your service. Nice to know you never have to do this again. That's going to be the last time to disappoint you guys on this podcast. Hey, we had a good run.

You better bring your kids up. Mine's got too old. That's what it is. Yes.

But mine, you know, you can only do like, well, I guess we can do, we can do Jack's a couple of years, and then we can bring in Justice, and then we can bring in Teddy. Oh, yeah. You got the next couple of years lined up. You're good.

Yeah, you're right. Yeah, like the next 10 years, perfect, by then I'll lose my mind and I'll say I'm wrong. It's true, so, looking forward to that. He's not far off from that, you can see his print on his paper how big it is.

The printer does that, I don't understand. Hopefully then we'll be able to hire somebody for all that. Oh, that'd be nice, like a little booth, we'd turn the bathroom into a booth. Gary D'Alabonte.

Alright everybody, thank you very much, this has been episode 157. Yay! We have to have the board because I can't remember. A Cigar Hustlers podcast, its owners and its 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 and 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. m. for all new episodes. - Hi, I'm doing, I'm, who stole your off?

- 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 Deeb. - Hojo! It's the Hojo! - Demandre-- - He didn't even let him fuck it up all the way.

- I can't get past Hojo! - I don't even have to try it. - He's not even gonna try it. - We're gonna cover a lot of ground here, Mike.

- All right. Try to keep up. - That's a sign of a good podcast. It would be like four cigars when I walked in a door.

All right, end this.

Show Notes

The best Episode of the year!  CA Top 25 as read by Jake Palmer and translated by Mike Rosales of Roma Craft Tobac!