ACHP 407 What Not To Put In Your ASS w/Fred Rewey
Episode Summary
Episode 407 of A Cigar Hustler's Podcast hands the reins to guest host Fred Rewey — founder of Nomad Cigar Company, longtime collaborator with Dion Giolito at Illusione, and now on the media side of the industry. Fred reads cold off the teleprompter while Mikey, Mark Palmer and Boots heckle him, starting with the weekly "news you won't believe" segment (an aggressive squirrel terrorizing a San Francisco Bay Area neighborhood, and an ER doctor's viral story about a full-size Yankee candle removed from a patient) before moving into an NFL Week 4 recap covering Chiefs-Ravens, Steelers-Vikings in Dublin, Eagles-Buccaneers, the Packers-Cowboys tie, Micah Parsons' revenge game, and whether overtime should still end in ties.
The cigar news block is the meat of the episode. The crew covers Hector Becerra's departure as national sales manager of Quesada Cigars (with Fred predicting — and confirming — a landing spot), the national release of Elevé from Costello Group, the Opus X La Adición de la Sociedad from Manny Iriarte's Opus X Society adding three-count boxes at roughly $90 a stick, Crowned Heads' Mil Días Duel (a Habano/Maduro two-blend box inspired by the discontinued Cuban Hoyo de Monterrey Le Hoyo des Dieux), the Saga Gems Series Ámbar from De Los Reyes shown at InterTabac in Dortmund, Miami Cigar & Co.'s 2025 Creation Liberté benefiting the PCA, and the second release of The Shepherd, the Powstanie x Matt Booth collaboration found in the warehouse and repackaged with Pulp Fiction artwork.
Along the way the conversation digs into real industry questions: why brands hide their blends and factories, whether knowing the factory matters more than knowing the leaf, blind-tasting cigars with the band off (advice Fred got from Sam Leccia), why people move between cigar companies, short cigars in winter, and unusual pairings — craft sodas built for cigars, Michael Herklots' rum pairing, and Palmer's Powstanie Corona Gorda with black cherry pre-workout.
The show closes with two rounds of "What's the Score," guessing Half Wheel ratings for the Cohiba Rubicon Box Press Robusto and, fittingly, Brooks Whittington's 2014 pre-release review of Fred's own Nomad Connecticut Fuerte Robusto — the cigar every retailer told him not to make. Fred wins both rounds, then reflects on why he stepped away from Nomad, what he misses about blending, and why he'd never try to blend alongside Dion Giolito.
In This Episode
- 01Fred Rewey Takes Over the TeleprompterNomad Cigars founder Fred Rewey guest hosts episode 407 with no prep and no idea what's on the script.
- 02Weird News: Squirrels and Scented CandlesAn aggressive squirrel sending Bay Area residents to the ER, and an ER doctor's viral account of removing a full-size pumpkin spice Yankee candle.
- 03NFL Week 4 Wrap-UpChiefs over Ravens, Steelers-Vikings in Dublin, Eagles staying perfect, the Packers-Cowboys tie, and Micah Parsons' return to Dallas.
- 04Hector Becerra Leaves QuesadaThe national sales manager steps down, and Fred calls his next move before the news breaks publicly.
- 05Undisclosed Blends and Secret FactoriesCostello Group's Elevé sparks a debate about why brands hide tobaccos and factories, and why the factory may matter more than the blend.
- 06New Releases RundownOpus X La Adición de la Sociedad three-packs, Crowned Heads Mil Días Duel, Saga Gems Series Ámbar, Miami Cigar's Creation Liberté, and Powstanie's The Shepherd.
- 07Pairings, Short Cigars and Winter SmokingCraft sodas blended for cigars, Herklots' rum pairing, and whether smaller cigars really are a cold-weather thing.
- 08What's the ScoreGuessing Half Wheel ratings for the Cohiba Rubicon Box Press Robusto and the 2014 Nomad Connecticut Fuerte Robusto.
- 09Life After NomadFred on why he walked away from the brand, what he misses about blending, and why he'd never blend alongside Dion Giolito.
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
And go, Fred. You start, Fred. He doesn't know what to do. You're here.
Oh, I mean, you're supposed to tell him. We just should start. I thought, like, you know, okay. So this is all, I'm going to be here.
Mike, basically. I mean, this is like, you guys are, so you're just bringing in some guy to like run your show for you. Yeah, not only that, but we're going to up our viewership by taking your three listeners. Yeah, and in between all of it, you have to come change the cameras.
All right, so what do I do? I just hit play and then read what's on the board. That's it. That's it.
Just like we rehearsed. All right. Episode 407. Should I have said that part?
Or is that just the... No, that's perfect. Okay. Episode 407.
Welcome to Cigar Hustlers podcast. Episode 407. See, I probably shouldn't have said it out of the gate. Yeah, I'm your guest host, Fred Rui.
Yeah, that Fred, founder of Nomad Cigars, Troublemaker with Lusiane, and a guy who's been stirring the cigar pot for over a decade. I'm a marketer, a storyteller, I did not write this, a published author, and apparently the only guy on the show that has his own IMDB page. So, how in the world did I get roped into this gig? I have no idea.
I have no idea what's even on here, but stick around. We've got wild news stories, NFL week four highlights, cigar industry updates, and, of course, Mikey and Palmer doing whatever it is the hell they do. Oh, and Mikey, tell me again, how does somebody actually get some of the, wow, I am schlepping swag for you right now. How does somebody act, wait, hold on, let me go back in the days when I did commercials.
Back it up. Hold on, the back, all right. Try to be a little more professional, please, Fred. You have an IMB page, for God's sake.
How would somebody get some of that cool CHPod swag, man? You know, Fred, thank you so much for asking. That's a great question. com and check out our newest shirts.
Nice. Have you seen the Gordos & Goblin shirt? I literally felt like my presentation was more polished than yours, and it's your shop. I'm winging it.
I agree with you completely. Oh, like I'm prepared. All right, all right. Anyway, not only am I winging it, but I got to give some shout outs here real quick to Juan De Jesus, my guy Mark Palmer again, and I said Kali the entire episode, last episode, it's Kian, is my guy from Germany, so thank you very much for your support in this upcoming couple of weeks, or the past couple of weeks, and yeah, I'm not polished.
Kian, we hope your shirt gets there, first time international shipping. Yeah, we sent it to Germany. Yes, this show is going to be a train wreck. All right, let's fire this up.
Episode 407 starts right now. Now you keep going. And you're the next one. Oh, now I read more?
Yeah. Seriously, this is a lot. Let's see. Let's see what's making the headlines this week.
Some stories you definitely won't believe, but absolutely need to hear. Here's what's trending. That sets up a pretty high expectation. We deliver every week.
Do we? All right. Palmer does a great job. There's no small talk.
We just launch right into this? We small talk from the stories as we go over them. Wow. All right.
What do you think this is? Not a cigar podcast? There's some stage direction on there. I'll handle this.
There's stage direction on there, so don't read anything in the print scenes. Stage direction? Yes. Walk center, stage left.
First up, California residents are under attack, and no, we don't mean by earthquakes or wildfires. This time, it's a squirrel, and not just any squirrel, a very mean squirrel. Residents of San Francisco Bay Area City are on the lookout for an aggressive squirrel that has sent at least two people to an emergency. It's a emergency room for medical treatment.
Joan Habek told ABC affiliate KGO TV that she is walking in on the Lucas Valley neighborhood and San Rafael when a squirrel seemingly came out of nowhere and attacked her leg, clawing and biting. It clamped onto my leg, the tail was flying up there. I was like, get it off me, get it off me, he black said. Isabel Campoy also said that she was attacked while walking in the same area and the squirrel launched itself from the ground.
This is just a video that you have to make to her face, wound up on her arm, leaving her bloody, both women went to the emergency room in the TV station, and it was reported on Monday, flyers have been posted warning residents the squirrel is no joke, and that more than five people have been attacked by this very mean squirrel that comes out of nowhere. Lisa Blotch of Marine Humane Services says that they've had no reports of the squirrel attacks since mid-September. I guess squirrel attacks were down during that time. If the squirrel crops up again, nonprofit will coordinate with the state to remove the animal.
One more strike. Yeah. R. doctor went to...
This is where we chit-chat about the squirrel. So I feel like there should have been like a parentheses... Pause. Stop.
Yeah, you know, I mean, listen, we don't have many guests. He's working on that. He's trying to get better. You don't have a guest today.
Yeah. The good news is that it sounded like all the words were spelled correctly for you in that round. Yeah, I kind of feel like being here is like, it's like, it's like being, back in the day, like if you were invited on the Maury Povich show. Yeah.
But you don't know why you're on the show. Right. Your wife's like a dude or something. Like nothing good.
If you don't know why you're on the show, nothing good happens. I don't know why I'm here. So this, this can't end well. Anyway, back to the squirrel.
You are the father. You are the father. Wow, that sucks. A super secret squirrel that's attacking people.
The flyers look like wanted posters. They're kind of funny. Oh, so they're trying to find the squirrel? Well, yeah, they want to catch him and remove him.
Oh. And do, okay. Relocate him, I guess. Kill him?
I don't know what they're... It's in California? They're not killing anything. It's in San Francisco Bay Area.
Yeah, they're not killing anything. But do they know it's one squirrel? How do they know? Like, it could be more than one squirrel.
It could be like a squirrel gang. Yeah. And they just happen to see one at a time. But is there a squirrel sketch artist that's sitting back there like, is this the squirrel, is this what the squirrel looked like?
The squirrels are daring each other at some gang. It could be a gang initiation. If you want in, you gotta go attack that lady. He's got like a teardrop on his eye.
From the ground, not from the tree, from the ground, it's harder that way. Yeah, this could be like on the squirrel, whatever the squirrels have for their own TikTok, this could be like a hey you gotta go. Squirrel talk? It's probably being filmed.
They're probably like sharing it in the squirrel circles. Yeah, that could be true. That's a good point. That's a good point.
What do you say, Boots? What's that? What's that? He's probably got like a teardrop underneath his eye.
Two of them now. He's attacked two people. Thug life. Thug life, yeah.
That's tattooed on his back. Okay. Thug life squirrel? Are they allowed to remove squirrels from California?
I thought maybe there's like a law. Do you think that ice would remove them? No, I'm talking about- Are they actual- Do you think they're allowed to remove squirrels from California? From Cali?
Out of the state? Like anywhere? Oh, sure they are. There's a squirrel hunting season in Florida.
Yeah, you can, I mean, you know, especially a squirrel that's like attacking people. They won't be killing them, I can tell you that much. They, they, they, I bet they would. I bet if it's like a rabid squirrel or something like that.
Yeah, what are they gonna do, put it in like an apartment somewhere? In California? Yeah, exactly. There would be a rabid squirrel apartment.
There is not, they are, they would, what's the, euthanize or whatever. Euthanize, yeah. They would, they would, they would do something. Euthanize the squirrel?
I don't know how they have the little oxygen masks to put over the squirrels to euthanize them. Maybe it would be a lethal injection. I don't know where they would get those. Just breathe in, Mr.
Squirrel, it's gonna be okay. They'll all be over in a moment. Count back from four. You can rest now.
Go to squirrel heaven, lots of nuts. So many nuts in squirrel heaven. So many nuts. All right.
Well, I hope they solve the squirrel mystery in California. Poor Isabella. All right. Poor Isabella.
What's that mean? That was the lady that got attacked. Oh. There was two ladies.
Yeah, you got so hung up on the squirrel, you didn't pay attention to the victims. Forget about the victims, but I'm not to focus on the victims. Victims of the squirrel abuse. Next, an ER doctor went viral for showing the strangest thing he's ever had to remove It was removed from a patient, let's just say it was seasonal, scented, and stuck.
Mikey Boots, you want to guess what it is before I tell you what it is? Oh, this is what Palmer wrote on the thing. Seasonal. This is a safe direction.
Scented. You did a great job, Fred. Great job. Thank you.
And stuck. And it was, yeah, removed from their butts. Seasonal. Maybe it's like a pumpkin candle.
You want to go a candle? Yeah. I want to go with a, what do they call it? Like gores?
Like the pumpkin gore things? You mean? They're like the little ugly pumpkins? Okay, but those aren't pumpkins.
They're like squash. I mean, yeah. Yeah, whatever they are. A squash.
Yeah, those things. Oh, so you mean like a mutant pumpkin? Yeah. He wants a pumpkin squash.
Oh, man. I love it. Okay. I'd have to go candle to Chicago Emergency Room.
Dr. Kenya Oyasao shared that a comment about a The second common problem he encounters is the presence of questionable objects lodged in the rectum. Whenever I tell people I'm an emergency room doctor, they always ask me two things. What is the sickest thing you've ever seen?
And what is the weirdest thing you've ever pulled out of someone's butt? I mean, that would be the natural question. It's kind of standard. Yeah, I know.
I would think so. I would think so. As a veteran of the strange, Oyasu shared that he's seen many people whose issues can be summarized as stuff up the butt. I mean, that must be his specialty.
The unidentified patient confessed that he and his girlfriend got a little crazy last night, put something up there and unable to remove it. The unspecified something was truly sensational. This was a Yankee candle. And it was not the mini stocking stuffer variety, he said.
I'm talking about the desktop jar and not just the top, but the whole damn thing. Wow. He declared ever in the professional... What a champ.
Wait a second. Did it go up his butt or her butt? His. It went up his butt.
Yeah, he's a champ. He wasn't focused on how it got in there. He was focused on the exit strategy. Holy moly.
Well, yeah, after he got out there, he was definitely focused on the exit strategy. Yeah, the question now becomes how to get it out. And for really things that big, you can't just reach up there and grab and pull it out. Surgery.
Well, for those of you scientific, the suction causes a vacuum to pull it back in. So, to remove objects like this, Oyasu said that you have to intubate, paralyze the patient with anesthesia, and put them on a ventilator, as you would for an operation, give them medication that relaxes every muscle in their body, so you can go up and grab it. He added that, identifying the candle, he added that after identifying it as a candle, obstructing the exit, he placed his staff bets on what scent it would be. You guys want to guess the scent?
I said pumpkin. Oh, yeah, pumpkin spice. It's that time of year. Yeah.
I can't vote. I know the story. Yeah, he said this time I won the bad pumpkin spice. It was October.
It was easy. It seems our candle smuggling hero is not alone in his pursuit of curious butt plugs. Nearly 4,000 people, by the way, are hospitalized every year for something that accidentally got stuck in there when they fall down. Up their butt.
Of these reported cases. When they fall down. So here's something interesting, the average patient visiting the emergency room is 43 years old, 78% of the patients were male, and 40% of these patients required hospitalization. Over half of the bodies were sexual objects, including vibrators, anal beads, sex toys, while remaining inserted items were less obvious.
Just think of the man who had to rush into the emergency room after getting a can of deodorant stuck in his butt. So you're going to tell me that the average person going into the emergency room is 43 years old, is a male, and probably has something up their butt. Yes, and you're supposed to ask Boots right now what's the biggest thing he's had up his butt. Boots, what's the biggest thing you've had up your butt?
It's in parentheses. Boots, what's the biggest thing? How old are you, Boots? I just turned 38.
You're closer than me. Okay, so he's got some time. He's got some time. What's the average year?
So, I mean... Yeah. Give or take. Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you're like, you know what, honey?
That's not coming back out. Shove this up my butt. No. Not yet?
No. Never. Do you think it'll happen? Never.
Are you sure? I'm positive. You're not 43 yet. You never know.
It could happen when you're 43. Palmer, you tell us. I'm 58. I'm past that age.
I'm past all that now. Yeah, he was. Yeah. Didn't work for him.
From like 43 to 45. After that, you're like, this is just. Not fun anymore, huh? Anything but any butt stuff makes boots uncomfortable.
So we like to... Oh, is that what the call? Yes. Okay, all right.
Good to know. Yeah. I think he's up to something. And he's just not telling us.
Definitely up to nothing of that. Okay. All right. So, hey.
Scented candles. This guy's got a problem. I would say so. It's a big scented candle.
Yeah, it's not a little scented candle. I don't think you just like, like, that's your first experience. No, no, you're right. I think there were smaller candles.
I think there were thermoses, I think there were other things like, you know, you don't just like go, coming in hot, you know, send a candle. How do you keep the lid from coming off if it did come back? How do you know there was a lid involved? Because he said it wasn't just the top, it was the entire candle.
So you're saying it probably wouldn't work with the lid? Well, you'd have to, otherwise it's an open thing. I'm just wondering how you would know that. Yeah, I mean, how do you know this?
If you go back and read what you read, the man said that it was the lid and the candle. But wait, aren't the lids on there like really strong? Yeah, they're sealed. Yeah, but he said the suction's so hard he can't pull it out, so you think it might...
Didn't mean it couldn't get it in. Do you think he went lid first? I'd really like to get to the other story, because I don't want this... Like lid...
I don't care. I don't care. It would make sense, I guess, that way. Look at this curve.
Yeah, it's got like the little... The rounded top on it. Yeah, a little knobby. Look, somebody was drunk out of the gate anyway.
This was not like a sober decision, I'm sure. That's a proper decision. You think it was just alcohol? I don't know.
There was definitely some methamphetamine. Where's that candle? Yeah. I'm feeling a little spry.
You know what, honey? You know it'd be hot. You know what we should do right now? Go get the candle.
Keep it lit. Right. Make sure you do another bump. It'd be even better if somebody else bought them the candle as like a gift.
Oh, a gift? Like, hey, here's a seasonal bump. Perfect. I'm gonna shove that up my ass later.
Fucking epic. Okay, excellent. Okay. Excellent, sir.
Fred, you're doing a fantastic job moving on to the next story here. I hope we got better stories coming here, folks. All right, let's get serious for just a minute. What's better than that story?
We were in squirrels when we bet out, you know, what, what, uh, time for your NFL week four wrap up. This is a perfect. Do people listen to the show for the week four wrap up? Is that like a thing?
Yes, I think so, yeah. Because I watched the game last night and it was, it was sweet. We're going to talk about that game because you are a Green Bay Packer fan. I am.
So here's how big, how the big games went down. Kansas City Chief bounced back in a big way, taking down the Baltimore Ravens 37-20. Patrick Mahomes threw four touchdown passes, including 250th of his career. The Ravens night got a lot worse with Lamar Jackson left with a hamstring injury, raising big concerns about Baltimore's season.
Am I supposed to stop in between every game? No, you're doing great. Okay, all right. We'll review afterwards.
All right. Review at the end. We'll talk. Across the Atlantic, the Steelers and the Vikings made history in Dublin.
They played in Dublin Island this week, if you weren't following along, which is why we got an early game. on the East Coast. Pittsburgh came away with a 24-21 win, powered by seven sacks and two interceptions. Minnesota rallied late, but mistakes and penalties cost them in the end.
In Chicago, the Bears edged the Raiders 25-24. The defense forced three early turnovers and even blocked a field goal to seal it. Still questions linger about their offense, especially with DeAndre Swift struggling. Meanwhile, in Tampa, that's your team, isn't it?
Yeah. It was the battle of the unbeatens. It was the Eagles, jumped to a 24-3 lead, and they kind of held off a rally of the Buccaneers late in the game to a 31-25 finish. Philly stays perfect, proving once again, they're one of the league's most balanced teams, and in Detroit, the Lions rolled past the Browns 34-10, a 65-yard punt return highlighted the route as Detroit continues to build momentum.
It did. So, here's the picture. The Eagles and Bills remain unbeaten. Okay.
The Chiefs are showing life again. Yes. And the Ravens' seasons may hinge on Lamar Jackson's health. So week four reminded us kind of once more that the turnovers, injuries, and execution kind of make all the difference.
Right. That's a week four wrap-up. Let's shift gears to see what's burning in the scar world in a minute because I realize as that sentence was written, I haven't seen these folks, so I actually don't know where this is. Yeah, no, we just winged this.
We are done with week four stuff. Okay, all right. So to kind of briefly surmise, for one, let's talk about the fact that now you can say that you're a Kansas City Chiefs fan again. Congratulations.
Isn't that necessary? Because you won, and now you can say, yay. Now you can make for the jersey, back out, go out in public. Yeah, you can say, yay, go Chiefs, right?
Because you're a big Chiefs guy. Yay, go Chiefs. I love Patrick. You're a big Chiefs guy.
Yeah. My wife's a big Chiefs guy. We went over this last week. I know.
Well, now you're still playing that. My wife and I love the Kansas City Chiefs. Is that what the T-shirt says? Yeah, exactly.
I'm going to get you a new candle, Boots. Oh, wow. See, now, in order for me to do that short clip for the reel, I have to start with that one segment, and then I gotta go find that piece, and then bring it in, and it's gonna be epic. It's a lot of work.
Okay, so, I mean, the other big game, you know, it was the Dallas-Green Bay game. Well, this was obviously pulled before this game ended. What? This segment.
No, it was pulled today. Yeah. Yeah. We didn't talk anything about that, did we?
He talked about it. He mentioned it. Did he? Yeah.
The Green Bay Dallas here? Not on here. No, no, no. Okay.
So, should NFL games end in a tie? No. Let me ask you that. No?
What do you think, Fred, before I get to Boots? No. I like that they, and I think they eventually won't. Yeah.
I think that nobody wants it, the crowd doesn't want it, you know, I think that they made a good move move by making the overtime rules during the year match the overtime rules that exist in the playoffs right and the reason you made those changes in the playoffs was because you can't have a tie so why not just let's just let's just make that rule going along if they got to play longer they play longer um you know I like the new overtime rules I think it's fair you're going to get your you're going to get the ball back one way or another and deferring becomes a very strong reason in overtime because now you know what they did if they only did a field goal you know you only need a field goal if they got a touchdown you know you have to go for a touchdown so i like to do but absolutely i don't i don't think we should end in time last night was i even as a packer fan and ended up being a tie it was a shootout yeah i mean it was it was just like it that could have been a super bowl game and if just one of them would have won at the end that would have been like an amazing super bowl right i mean i stayed up and i think everybody left disappointed yeah i mean i you know i kind of felt like though look i wanted to win as a packer fan and kind of in some For some of that, I was happy to just be in it, because I thought Dallas was play calling a little better than we were, we, I think the throw at the very end, that we ended up with one second to kick a field goal, was a disaster, could have been an absolute disaster, I'm like, who was not watching the clock, who made that call, but I also kind of had a little bit of, you know what, they kind of both deserve, like, to share, because I almost didn't want to lose, even I'm a Packer fan, yeah, and I hate to have that attitude, but I'm like, God, they both played their hearts out, I mean, it was, It was a good game. Well, nobody won, though. They both, they both, they tied. They both didn't win.
But nobody lost. Nobody won, but nobody lost. And, I mean... Well, I think that's how Jerry wanted it.
Okay, so can we talk about that? Yeah, I think... Sure. Yeah, let's talk about it.
Let's talk about whatever you want. Well, let's finish talking about the game. But I want to talk about the Jerry Jones opening scenario. Okay.
What was it? He's talking about the opening segment of Sunday Night Football. The opening segment about Micah Parsons going to Green Bay, Jerry Jones. So it was very public knowledge that Micah went away and that like he said, you know, Jerry didn't even call me.
He felt abandoned. Well, he didn't even know he was going away. Micah didn't know. Yeah, that's what he said.
But when he found out, Jerry didn't call me like that. But here's what's weird. They opened up Sunday Night Football with Jerry Jones saying how proud he was of him, how he respected him. it's a total PR.
When is Jerry Jones ever opened up? And it was a total PR positioning thing. That was weird. Weird.
Yeah, it was. Yeah. Um, I mean, I, I guess I didn't see that part. I was probably just running around dealing with children or whatever.
Cause they don't normally have anything that big a deal in the beginning like that. Right. Yeah. Um, and then Micah Parsons apparently has a suite in Dallas.
Yeah. He does. And his whole family is there, but most of them are wearing Packer gear. Yeah.
That was part of his contract. Which is wild. Uh, you know, For me, the funny part is you can't judge if the player gone is worth it or not in one game, right? Agreed.
However, I will say this: there was one drive at the end of the game where Dak was running, and the guy who sacked him, because he didn't break the line of scrimmage, was Micah Parsons. And he was in. Yeah. I mean, Dak was in the end zone, and Micah Parsons ran from all the way across the other side of the field, chased him down.
And stopped it. So, was he worth it? Would the $28 million, would it have been worth just winning this one game? Yes.
Is that how far apart they were? I think it was like $28 million, right? Something like that. I thought it was less.
I thought it was only like $6 million or something. It was like some retarded. Because I know we paid like $180 million for this guy. Yeah, but I'm talking about for like the one year, right?
That's how far they were off on their contract per year. It wasn't a lot. Is Micah Parsons... Well, then that game right there, that game, as much money as you spend, it would have been worth $28 million to have you win that game.
Yeah, because Jordan Lowe would have had a lot different of a game. Oh, he's averaging $47 million per year. Yeah. On his new four-year $188 million contract.
But how far apart were they in the negotiation? That's the thing. You'd have to look back at that. But anyway, whatever it was, it came back to haunt him.
He was pretty quiet most of the game, you know, but you don't, you know, but... but so there's a hundred play there's 120 million guaranteed right yeah so that's about 30 million per year yeah you know if you didn't like so i was pretty close at 28 million yeah yeah 30 million was the 30 million guaranteed for that year um i don't know man i don't i don't know how you let them go well i don't i don't know i mean look i mean everybody's looking at their their dollar spent and stuff like that and what the value is and they picked up a draft pick in the process but But I don't know if you're serious about building a team, and I don't know that that was stupid money for Dallas to let them go, how do you let go of the number one defensive rusher on there? For us, it's another Reggie White. You just gave us a young guy that is a playmaker, and the thing is, even if he doesn't make the play, you got other guys that are good that all of a sudden aren't being double teamed, because they're all worried about him.
I mean, Dallas did, Dallas ran a lot of plays away from him intentionally. Exactly, yeah. He wrecks, he wrecks havoc on the field. Yeah.
Yeah, I agree. He, you know, first of all, you let go of Micah Parsons, but you kept Dak? Yeah. That's completely insane.
You think Dak's that bad? I don't think Dak's that bad. I would pay Micah over Dak all day. I'd go find another quarterback.
First of all, they need to find another quarterback. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know.
I don't know about that. I don't think Dak's that bad, honestly. He's not taking them to the promised land. You don't think so?
You don't think he's capable? No. I don't know. I don't know.
I think it's possible. I don't know what Dallas' problem is. I mean, Dallas, every year we look at Dallas' roster and go, man, they got a great roster, and they never put it together. I don't know if it's a DAC problem, or...
I don't know, they got your coach. Yeah. But... Coach seemed alright.
Yeah, the coach is fine. I will say this, at the end of the game, with two minutes left on the clock, I don't burn those two timeouts. No. I let them score.
I let Green Bay score. And then I go down the field with three timeouts in case anything is going so nice. They haven't been able to stop me, we haven't been able to stop them. So why would I conservatively think that I should stop the clock here twice, and then hopefully stop them to a field goal?
Do you think the NFL has gone away from instinctively play calling and stuff, and more towards the AWS AI stuff from Amazon? I think that it's case by case. You think so? Yeah.
I think when they're going into the game, they have data on the other team, but they're still calling, They're still calling. They're still making it. Quarterbacks, if they have the ability, they're making a different play call right at what they see on the line. Yeah.
I saw a clip from a year or two ago with Dan Campbell talking to Goff, and he's like, "You know what? " And they went for it and won. So, like, that's not... AWS data says that you should punt them or whatever.
Yeah, there's so many intangibles. I think that works really well on field position game, not on a play-by-play necessarily. I think Mike McDaniels uses it a lot. You know, that's why they're highly successful in Miami.
What an attack. Maybe he should pay the $20 and get ChatGPT Pro. Maybe the free version is not enough. He should go next level.
This is a great cigar, by the way. Thank you. I went and bought a bunch of cigars upstairs. We should have guests on here all the time.
I did. I went upstairs and I bought cigars. This is, I think it's catastrophic failure. That's a San Andreas.
That's a San Andreas. That's the San Andreas. I just assumed all yours were called Catastrophic Failure. Oh, yeah.
I'm sorry. No. I fell into that. Which, by the way, I love that cigar.
I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. No, this is the Broadleaf. This is the San Andreas.
Excuse me. This is the San Andreas. Anyway. Let's stay on topic here before we move on.
I know this will come out the day after the Monday night game is played, but if Mike McDaniels loses, I think he's fired, buddy. I hope so, if he loses, but there is so much stuff in his favor right now. What's in his favor? I mean, the roster alone's better.
Who? The Dolphins' roster is better on paper. What is it? What are you talking about?
On paper, they're better? Okay, tell me who on the Jets you believe is going to thrash the Dolphins today. It doesn't matter. You have a defense?
Yes. Other than DBs. We got one. Jalen Ramsey?
Oh, nope. No, we have Fitzpatrick. Okay. So you think the paper.
Yeah, on paper. They're going to thrash. I think we're better on paper than the Jets. You think they're going to thrash?
Yes. Okay. The Jets haven't been good on paper since Testaverde was first there. Bro, I got news here.
The spread's minus two and a half. Miami. Okay. That's not...
Yeah, the spread was really close on a lot of games yesterday, and that fucking got blown out of the water quickly, especially Kansas City Ravens, because The Ravens were favored. He pulled a hammy. Bullshit. Did you see him on the sideline?
He didn't pull a hammy? I don't know, man. They say they confirmed it, but let's see how long it takes to recover from a hamstring injury. You can walk around Fred at this point if you want.
It's three to four weeks. I just feel like Miami's kind of in a building decade right now. Decade? It's a building, it's a building lifestyle.
It's just, it's just, yeah, you don't, you don't just, you can't just, that stuff doesn't happen overnight. He's not a good coach. Oh, we, trust me, I know it hasn't. I would say if he's not fired in the next two weeks, he won't be fired for the season.
Well, if he doesn't win the Jets game, there's a lot of games coming up that's not going to be even close. If he loses this game, he's done. You think so? Yeah, if he loses the Jets game, I don't think.
Who are they going to get? They're just going to stick somebody in there, move them up the chain. The guy that sits on the side looks like The Rock, their defensive coordinator. Yeah, whoever that is.
He looks like The Rock. Yeah. And they'll just bump him up. I want the guy that looks like The Rock.
I don't even care if he's qualified. Exactly. I'm like, let's bring that guy up. Right.
Let's bring that guy up. And I think there needs to be a public apology to Brian Flores. Like a letter. Still on that guy?
Yeah. I'm pissed. You know, I'm not even a Dolphins fan, but I don't like to see a guy being mistreated. I'm pissed he fucked the pooch in Dublin.
Yeah? Oh, yeah. Why are they doing the international games? Is there a reason?
Why? Exposure. I mean, I think it sucks for the teams that have to go abroad and like, you know, it's already bad if you play like a Sunday and not play a Thursday game. thursday game when you got a jet lag your way over there and i get they go over probably in a comfortable plane and stuff but man that's a lot to ask some people to do minnesota's like i think if they go to england whatever team loses has to stay in england and they're not allowed to come back until they win we just keep sending teams over there it's like that's how we do it well that's what's happening with minnesota right because minnesota just lost in dublin now they're playing london this next week wait minnesota had two games abroad yeah that is that's that's wild You know what, I'd love to, I've never heard anything from like a guy that plays.
Do they like that? Do they think it's cool? I wonder if there's some bonuses for them or something. Well, but either way, maybe they like it.
Maybe it's cool to like go to, you know. Didn't somebody just get robbed over there? Was that Jake Browning? I have no idea.
People get robbed all the time. Oh yeah, somebody did. I saw something about that. Yeah, one of the players just got robbed.
Or they were attacked by a squirrel. I get it confused. There's so many stories out there right now, I can't remember. Candle guy, candlestick maker.
That's called a callback for people that are listening. All right, moving on. Okay, all right, so next, let's get into the cigar news. All right, so hey, we're done with that, let's shift gears, see what's burning in the cigar world.
Hector Becerra departs Quesada. Hector is the National Sales Manager of Quesada Cigars. He stepped down as of Monday, September 29th, in the statement Quesada said, "He, with passion and dedication, for which we as a company are very grateful, we wished him well in the future, no replacements have been named at this time though the company says that it is in the process of finding a replacement which will be announced before the end of the year we have reached out to mike palmer national sales manager but we we turned him down in the meantime we want to reassure all our valued partners and clients that you will continue to receive the highest level of service support from our dedicated team said cassada in a post on instagram we are excited about the future I look forward to sharing many great things. Soon, Becerra worked for Quesada first as a regional sales manager before being promoted to national sales manager in April 2023.
J. Fernandez. Oh. I've met the guy.
I was going to ask you if you knew him. I do. He's a hustler. He works hard.
I met him, first time I think I met him was at the factory at Quesada and we were just smoking cigars and, you know, getting his, you know, listening to his background. I wasn't there to visit him. He just happened to be there. I don't want to be there.
Right. A little hung up on Lanceros. I mean, he loves Lanceros. And I'm like, dude, let's give Lansdales a chance, you know?
A little thicker. But, I mean, he is a hustler. I mean, he really is, so... Okay, you've met him.
Have you met him before, Michael? I don't know. I don't think so. Where do you think he'll end up, Fred?
Since Fred's the one who has met him. So was he let go or did he retire? I think it was his choice. You think it was his choice?
I think that there's a move. I think there's a move there. yeah like i think he's gonna show up somewhere fast okay where do you think it is top three um man i don't um let's go friends i've only got one okay hit us costa 1910 okay with jeremy yeah that's my that would be my first call uh i don't think you know listen i could be wrong here but i don't think anybody is ever really uh leaves their job in this industry i think that everybody gets cut one way or the other god i've tried you know well you know what well i mean you left illusion to be fair right you said all right i'm done unless dion said fuck you you're out i still i still help and dna i still help so you're still there yeah i still help him so you're like you're like a satellite i'm like behind the scenes It's revolving. Every once in a while, help out with something.
Somebody's got to do it, right? Yeah. Okay, so, yeah, I tried to shoot holes in my own theory. Make that band blue.
I tried to shoot holes in my own theory, and that didn't work. But no, to answer your question completely, though, Dion and I, we had a plan to accomplish something in a certain set of time, and we did. Right. So, it was done.
So, for all intents and purposes, I mean, you know, it's done. It ran its course. Most people don't walk into a position in the cigar industry with an end date in mind. Or once this is completed, here's your end date, especially somebody in sales.
My guess is that he's gone someplace else, that he had an offer they couldn't match or something. Like I said, he was a hustler. " It's just a matter of time, Palmer. I won't go anywhere, Mike.
What if it's way more money? Stupid loyalty problem. Didn't we go over this in an episode one time? Maybe.
Somebody would give us more money? I don't know what I have for breakfast. 10 this morning. You're not supposed to give it out, Fred.
They let him find it later on his own. I can't do that. So then he wasn't let go. He had a better offer.
But at the moment of this, in your world, this is all the news. You can talk next week about it, and you can say Fred nailed that one. Wow, Fred was amazing. Fred really knows his stuff, look at that.
Yeah, I don't get my news from Palmer, so that's pretty much where it ends. He got his news today's from Coop, his bestie. Yeah, so he didn't get a go, he got a better job offer. Yeah, or if he sees more growth or something, who knows.
I mean, you know this industry. I mean, how many people jump from one company to another? It's like, don't burn any bridges. You don't know who you're going to be working for.
So... For money. They do it for more money. Or opportunity.
I've seen a lot of guys make lateral moves. It's not just the money. Yeah. You know, either there's a personality or they just see more growth at another company or, you know, who knows?
I mean, some of them, obviously, it's money and some of them deserve it. Okay. Cool. I mean, not Palmer, but I mean, I'm...
And I'm saying other people deserve it. He's gonna start paying us. We're almost at that now. It's pretty close.
I saw your post that you were like in Facebook jail or something. I am still in Facebook jail. All I saw was literally Mike Palmer free, and I'm like, man, that's way too much money. That just seems like too much money.
What is the reason? I didn't read the whole time. There was a photo I posted that apparently has sexual content back in November. Was it a Yankee candle?
I don't know. They don't show you the picture. It absolutely was. That is another callback.
That's another callback. And I also got hit by Instagram because I post everything on both. But you know what photo it is, right? No.
It was almost a year ago. But they don't show you. I thought they sometimes they don't tell you the exact reason, but they show you what the post was. No, I got a black square that said, "Look closely at the bottom," which must have been my caption on it, but no photo.
And you have no idea what it was? I post four times a day, a year, so 365 times four. Yeah, I don't know. I don't follow you.
I'm just kidding. I blocked you. Yeah, we blocked too much content. I reported like whatever post it was.
Yeah, I reported it. It's so weird. As a matter of fact, here's the image that I screenshotted on my phone. I mean, what really sucks about that is that, because I had that happen a long time ago on Facebook, and it is a black hole of getting an explanation of what it is.
- I love what it is, what did I do, and it took me four weeks to figure out what even the post was. Well, I knew what the post was, what their issue was, and I remember the post very specifically, 'cause it was one that we boosted or advertised, and I had a post of a woman that was a telemarketer, and I don't remember what the post was about, but it was a telemarketer or something sales-related, And I got slammed because this represented too attractive of what an image would, what, what a woman should be in this position or whatever it was, it was this weird. Wow. I mean, it was just like, it was wild.
Yeah. It was, and it wasn't like this hot woman. It just looked like a normal person that was on whatever. And, but somebody didn't like it cause she was blonde or blue eyed or red hair.
I don't remember what, you know, but Pakistan. Yeah. But I mean, it took me forever to find out like, well, if I can't post this, if this is missile, I'm like, wow. like wow but but but it's it's impossible to get anybody to tell you what it is there's nobody there's no help desk to call there's no i mean mark's unavailable yeah he's busy grappling you know my band's supposed to be lifted today but still nothing yet nice okay we'll just say tomorrow so you're just like in facebook jail and they let you back yeah yeah for a post how long ago almost a year november of last year wow you know what it was it was probably one of those There's videos of you mowing the grass in your bainzit.
Yep, that's exactly what it is. Yeah, that's what it was. I would report that. Well, then Kevin Sheehan is pretty much going to be in real trouble around 4th of July, because he shows up in that bikini-looking thing or whatever.
I mean, true. Okay, all right, next story. Costello Groups, why is this all in caps? Like, we have a story all in caps all of a sudden?
Yeah, just mix it up. All right, because she thought I was getting older as the show was going on. You might have hit the button with your thumb as you start to fade. I did not.
I can see both of them right here. Thank you. Costello Group's Eleve, am I pronouncing that right? I have no idea.
We have no idea. What do we know? Gets a national release. After debuting?
Who writes these? After debuting as an exclusive release for Casa Aficionado in Delaware, Ohio, in late July, Eleve from Costello Group is on its way to stores across the country today. Elevé is a single Vitola, limited edition release offered in 6x54, Sublime Vitola that uses an undisclosed blend of tobaccos from multiple growing regions. The cigars are made at an undisclosed factory in the Dominican Republic that has produced a handful of other Costello Group cigars.
It is priced at $22 per cigar, $220 per box, with production limited of 1,420 boxes of 10 for a total run of 14,200 cigars. The quote is, "Elevé symbolizes the encounter of great traditions and creativity," said Renato Beranado, president of EMT Board and, oh gosh, I'm not gonna do it, Wacahoa Group, via press release, when the cigar announced April 2025. Centuries ago, the Azores helped shape the global tobacco culture today through Costello. " The line gets its name from the French word "elevated" while companies say that "elevée" embodies the spirit of global creativity, craftsmanship, and the heart of Costello.
If you had told me it was French in the beginning, I could have dropped that in a little bit sooner. Oh. So this brings up a couple questions in this, but please, continue. Okay, what are your questions?
I don't remember, so I'm stalling to remember what my question was on there. Well, we're not going to help you. No, undisclosed. Undisclosed factory, undisclosed tobaccos.
Tobacos, okay with it? Not okay with it? Talk amongst yourselves. The price isn't undisclosed.
Yeah, I mean, personally, I don't know. I think that there's a way to do it to make it entertaining, and then there's a way to do it to try and sell on the lure, and that doesn't work. " They're like, that's like, what we've done is we've selected tobaccos from all over the world, it's like, okay, like, yeah, that's, that's pretty much what we all do. Magic trick.
You haven't, you haven't, you haven't said anything fancy. This is a magic cigar. Yeah. Yeah, this is Indonesia.
Like that one guy that I always see at, um, the smoke, smoke, great smoke thing down there. Yeah. What's that guy, the magician? The guy that dresses like the magician.
I don't even know who that is. He would sell the humidors or something like that. Oh, Mike. Yeah, Mike the Magician.
He's a magician. Yeah. Where's like the little Toreador jackets with all the sparkles on them. He worked at, oh shit, new humidor, it was a humidor company.
You know exactly who he is. Okay. He's got like, like his hair is like slicked back. It's all slicked back.
He's got long hair, way more money than any of us. Really sparkly. A little thin mustache with sparkly clothes. Yeah.
Yeah. He's at every PCA who's walking around. I don't know. Always smiling.
Yeah. Definitely looks like a magician. Oh, okay. I don't think he's selling an allure.
I think he's selling that he doesn't give a shit. Oh, yeah. I don't, I don't, I mean, the geek in me wants to know, I mean, you blend cigars, so the geek in me wants to know kind of what they put in there, especially if I'm sewing, oh, what is, this is interesting, what is it? But at the end of the day, I think I'd rather know factory more than I'd like to know blend, because I tend to, I always have told people, look, pay attention to what factories you like also, because obviously you pay attention to your manufacturer, but, you know, we've smoked cigars, all of us have smoked cigars for a long time.
We can smoke a cigar and kind of go, okay, well, this is Pepin's signature, it's probably a Pepin, or this is AJ's, or this is Skip's, or whoever it may be, so I'm always curious, you know, I always tell people, look, you know, pay attention to what factory you like, not just manufacturing, you might like more out of that factory, because they have a process of fermenting tobacco that you're familiar with, try other brands that are out of that factory, so for me, I'd rather know factory than blend, because it's a finite number of tobaccos anyway. Disclosing the blend is like, okay, cool, but... Yeah, I mean, to be honest, though, I don't know who Elevate is, and I don't really care. Like, the way that they kind of delivered that, I'm not interested in it.
That's the new from our friend. That's that group that he's with. Oh. Good friends, are you?
Who's our friend? I feel like we have no friends. I feel like, yeah. Oh, okay, I got you.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Is there a reason they're not doing the show today, and I'm here? I mean, I'm just... Yes.
Because they're from the Azores, where the farm is. Ah, I got it. Yeah, yeah, so like, okay, so you know what now... Wait, is the farm actually in the Azores?
You know what's even funnier? Supposedly. What's even funnier? In the Azores.
Allegedly, let's say. And the factory. What's funny is now that all makes sense, is I didn't even understand that at the time. Oh, yes.
And, yeah. It was my reading. I apologize. It's okay.
You know, I have no idea. He's not used to it. If I don't say it, he doesn't believe it. Yeah.
Yeah, that's fair. Okay, so that makes sense. Yeah, so, okay. But it might be that they don't know.
So, yeah, and I'm not. It might be that they don't know. Yeah, I mean. We found these.
Let's just say they're ours. Yeah. You know, it could be a combination. I mean, there's some reasons to not disclose the blend.
I mean, not because you have some secret tobacco that nobody has. Right. It's like, you don't want necessarily someone to make a prejudgment on it. It's like, if I made some killer cigar out of all jalapa and a Habano wrapper, and I disclose the blend, you go, "I'm not going to try that.
" But what if it's, like, really good? What if I had taken different parts and different years? Different primings. I mean, so I see reasons for it.
Just measure the cigar on the cigar. " So they're not prejudging it, we all prejudge cigars. You give me a cigar from somebody and I'm gonna look at the band, I already have this institutional memory of what I think of the brand, what I think of their cigars, and it is going to taint what I taste a little bit. So if you can go in completely fresh, not know, and just measure it on its own without a ban, without a determination of who the brand is, things like that, or the tobaccos, I think it's more of a fair shot at the cigar.
Has cigars always been released since Boutique Cigars started? Was that 25 years ago or whatever? Did they always release the blend? No.
No. You know, devil's advocate for that. I think that if the brand has done a good job, And if you're interested in doing a job as far as building and making good cigars, then the opposite, you'd be attracted to it because it was that brand in particular. Sure.
Oh, yeah, absolutely. So, pre-judging in that case makes sense. I mean, are you pre-judging or are you just open to go and look? Okay, so anything you put out, I'm like, I want to try it.
I want to see what your interpretation is. But you had to earn that right along the way. I don't just blindly do that with everybody. You know?
Yeah. Like Elevate. I'm not sure that actually proved my point. No, it's actually the opposite.
I think it just proved your point. The only reason why you would not disclose is if you just didn't really know what was in it. No, no, no, no, no. There's a lot of great cigar makers that just don't disclose because for whatever reason they don't want the distraction of it.
Yeah. It's funny. Sometimes it's funny. Well.
Like what's in it? I can't tell you. Yeah, like the, you know, but why not disclose the factory? Like, is there a reason to not disclose a factory?
Maybe it's not known as a good factory. If it has an image that's bad, then yeah, you know. I mean, are there really bad factories, though? Yes, absolutely.
Sure, there's tons of unknown factories where you're like, well, I've never even heard of that one before. Well, would you want that name to be known so it can grow? I mean, I would think. I mean, I don't know.
I mean, at the end of the day, we're just measuring whether the cigar tastes good or not. Look at the cigar. If the factory's made knockoff Cubans for a hundred years, and we all know it, you know, that's a bad, I wouldn't want to disclose that factory. If a factory is notorious for plugs, I wouldn't want to disclose that factory.
But most people would never know that, though. Your average consumer would never know that. But we all know. The inside baseball guys know, right?
And we're really good at talking shit in this cigar industry, right? Like, oh, here we go. I mean, this show. Yeah.
Oh, yeah. So much in 46 minutes, we've talked 40 minutes of shit, so. Yeah. With candles.
Yeah. Right. So, yeah, I mean. Probably doesn't smell like pumpkin spice now.
Yeah. Probably doesn't. Different type of spice. Really?
Really? Depends off the lid came off, I guess. Listen, he's used to being over in that chair. He's not really good off the, you know?
Yeah. Yeah. It's okay. Alright, moving on, Opus X, La Dicione de la Sociedad adds three count boxes.
I'm so glad it's not just me! Words are hard, aren't they, Fred? Yes, but the difference is, I pronounced it correctly, and we're going to repeat it again, La Opus X, La Dicione de la Sociedad, the first cigar release of Manny Errate Enterprises, Opus X Society, has added a second packaging option. In addition to the 20 count boxes that the cigar debuted in, it's now offered in three packs.
The cigar is the same six and a quarter by 49 grand Corona that uses an undisclosed blend that is made by Torre Fuente. Each cigar has a price of roughly $90 before local taxes. La Dicione is Spanish for the addition of the society. was introduced last year by the company, which started by Manny Erate.
See, I can't say his name. You said Erate earlier or something. I-R-I-A-R-T. See, Jack, names are hard, Jack.
Names are hard, Jack. Iriata. Iriate. Yeah, that's it.
That sounds good. Iriate. We'll go with that. I apologize, Manny.
Miami-based designer whose long history of working with Arturo Fuente. Beyond the cigar, Manny Enterprises sells a variety of Fuente Fuente Branded Merchandise, the company's second cigar, the Opus X Gold & Bullet is expected to ship next month. Oh, Gold & Bullet. So the three-pack for the people who can't afford the boxes.
That's awesome. And they're 90 bucks a cigar. So it's an Opus that's not sold by Fuente? Is that what this is?
Well, I mean, it's that whole relationship of the Opus X Society. Oh, this is the humidor company. Yeah. So this is their cigar that was limited.
I think it was in a humidor. And now, the same cigar, they're breaking into three-count. Is it Cameroon? Is it Cameroon?
Is it Cameroon in it? It's undisclosed, buddy. It's undisclosed. Maybe that's why it's undisclosed.
It's undisclosed. It's undisclosed. We can't see where we got it. Very interesting.
Yeah. Is it an expensive cigar? 90 bucks a cigar. 90 bucks.
90 a clip. Are you not listening to the... He doesn't listen when you read. No, no, no, no.
Why am I even reading? Who am I reading for? Exactly. Palmer.
Oh, okay. And Jack, and Jack as well. So Jack, and Jack. 70 a three pack?
Yeah, that's what it sounds like. Plus, plus local taxes. Plus local taxes. So if you're in California, it's like, you know, $400.
It's like $7,000. Yeah. $7,000. And a squirrel.
Yeah. Two days. Oh yeah, you gotta register it and all that. It comes with a psychopathic squirrel.
Yeah. All right. L. This is redemption for Palmer, he's feeling good right now.
Shipping in October, John Huber, co-founder of Crown Heads, has never been shy about acknowledging that some of the company's cigars have been inspired by specific cigars, which I think kind of everybody does that, they just don't always admit it. For the company's next limited edition cigar, the inspiration came from Joyo de Monterrey, Le Joyo de Du. The origin of the project probably goes back 10 plus years, said Huber in a press release. Back then, a friend introduced me to a cigar from Cuban Joyo de Monterrey, a portfolio called Joyo de Monterrey, Le Joyo des Du.
The Spanish translation is "of the gods". And you like how I just looked away and pretended that I made that up, but that's professional teleprompting right there. The cigar was discontinued in 2014 and I remember that I ended up asking my father cigars to make me two bundles of 2015 Las Calaveras blend in that exact size and I gifted him a bundle and kept one for myself. I finally remember how great the cigar smoked and how much I love that size ever since I've had that cigar in the back of my mind and I was always looking for the right opportunity to put a crown head spin on that Patola.
More recently, Huber asked Eradio Pachardo of the Duarte Factory, I'm probably saying that wrong, to create the Mildias De Du Duel, which is actually two cigars, and so this is a box, I've seen the box, so the box comes out, it is the Mildias Habano and the Mildias Maduro, both in six and an eighth by 42 Vitola, each cigar has an MSRP of 1150, both cigars are packaged together, They're in a single box which contains six of each. Production is limited to 1,500 boxes of 12 cigars. Habano Blend, the original Mildias, uses the Ecuadorian Habano wrapper over a Nicaraguan binder and fillers from Costa Rica, Nicaraguan, Peru. The Mildias Maduro, which was introduced in a regular production line in 2024, uses a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper covering Ecuadorian Habano binder and filler tobaccos grown in Condega, Jalapa and Ometepe, regions of Nicaragua.
Brownhead says the Scars will start shipping early October. Aha! So, Alonsdale. Six and eight by 48?
It's a little bit bigger than Alonsdale. A little bigger, yeah. It's an interesting size. Yeah.
Not quite Toro. Not quite Lonsdale. I'm a big fan. I like a lot of what John does.
I like a lot of his interpretations of it. Funny, I'm interviewing him tomorrow, actually, so I'm going to ask him. You better say nice things. But I'm, no, but I'm curious, you know, that six and six, you know, you have six Maduro, you know, six, and so it's just...
It's kind of different. Well, as a collector, I'm like, I'm in. I want them both. As a retailer, how is it for you when you have, like, some moving and some not, or do you just sell them as boxes?
I mean, yeah, you're right. That gets awkward, because some, a lot of people will say they just want one or the other. I just want the Broadleaf, or I just want the Habano. Howard G.
did that and we broke it down. Yeah, and that was a struggle bus because you sold a lot of one in particular and not the other one. Oh, the back nine. So I said, this came up the other day when I was talking to somebody and I said what I would like to see is I would like to see if you're going to do a combo box, I would like to see like six Toro and six Robusto of the same blend.
So I like that blend, but now I buy a box going sometimes I have time for a little one, sometimes I have time for a bigger one. I would like to see somebody do that. Now, I know that I could just go buy six out of one box and six of another, but if you're doing something limited and special, two different sizes to me, I think would be if somebody likes that cigar. For me, as a cigar smoker, that seems more convenient for me.
Yeah, that makes more sense than two blends. Yeah. Yeah, I think you're right. I mean, you could literally call it like Seasons because, you know, short dog walkers for winter when it's cold out and then summer, you know, you get summers, you could call it like Seasons or something.
But if you just, if you're only buying 12 cigars for two seasons, then we have a problem. Look, I didn't do the math. I didn't do the math. I just, you know.
He just said he's an idea guy. I'm just, I'm just, I'm just, you just, you just take that idea and do you on with it. Hold on to these six. When it gets cold.
Winter. Yeah. And then they're going to be nicely aged. He's against the short cigar winter thing.
What's it? He's against the short cigar winter thing. Why? I think it's silly.
He thinks it doesn't happen. Because you live in Florida. I do. It's a real thing in the cold.
You think so? A hundred percent. A couple of people. A hundred percent.
Yeah. A couple of people have defended it. Well, and maybe it's not winter. Maybe it's just time.
So, you know what, when I first started smoking cigars, one of the things I loved about the Fuente short story was the idea that I could still have a full cigar experience in a short amount of time. It didn't mean I wanted a small ring gauge, it just meant that I wanted a full cigar in a smaller package, and that's what I love about short cigars like that. Right. And where were you smoking this, Fred?
I mean, outside, I don't know. I'm sorry, where are you from? I'm originally from Wisconsin, but I mean, I was probably smoking it back then. It was probably Washington State, but it wasn't a weather issue.
It was more, you know. Just the experience. I got 45 minutes before the family's ready to go or whatever, and I'm like, but I want to have a real cigar experience, not just a little tin that has a tiny cigar. Right.
Man, I'll be honest with you. What you were saying, how you're against the winter cigars. I'm just smaller cigars for winter. It just doesn't make sense.
Yeah, it doesn't make sense. When I went to Minnesota with Tia, my bottle froze in my truck when I got out to go to the gas station. I'm good. There's nothing you can smoke without a matter of time at all.
I mean, it's a real thing if you're up north and it's winter and you gotta go outside to smoke or whatever, it's a real, you're not grabbing your Churchill and going out there because what happens is, halfway through, you are now power smoking to get back in the house, right? I mean… That's hypothermia. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. Romatron explained that to us. And he smokes smaller ones usually during winter. And I respect his opinion, for sure.
Absolutely. Let me ask you a question before we go to the next story. Please. Do you have, like, an awkward, kind of unique pairing that you really like?
I'm not talking about, like, my bourbon with my cigar. Right. Do you have a cigar that you say, hey, you know what, I drink it with this, and it's absolutely awesome. I don't think I do.
Nothing. No. I mean, a lot of times I'll have Diet Pepsi, but I mean, that's, I mean... That's kind of standard.
Yeah, I mean, that's not... Yeah. I don't think I have a weird pairing. I really don't.
I mean, I don't think... If I do, it's like, maybe I've had something somewhere that I'm like, oh, I didn't think that, you know, I just ate this Cajun food and didn't think the cigar would hold up. I don't have a go-to weird pairing or anything I can think of that would be like, do you have one? Yeah, do you have one?
Oh, I absolutely do. Do you? Oh, I can't wait to hear this. Is this going to be cereal?
No. Oh. You're close, though. I like Pop-Tarts and, you know, Winston Churchill's.
Only Ghost Pop-Tarts. Wait, what? What are Ghost Pop-Tarts? Does anybody else want to go before I go?
Like by the company Ghost? I don't think anybody else has one. I don't have one. They have Pop-Tarts?
Yeah, Ghost has Pop-Tarts. Ghost? It's a Pop-Tart flavor? Yeah.
The adults are talking here. Sorry, go ahead. What's your weird pairing? The most wild pairing that I have, that I love, is I'll drop my kids off at school, and I'm on my way to the gym, and I'll smoke a Posanya Justice, Corona Gorda, and I'll drink, it's called pre-gym, Black Cherry.
Okay. And it's absolutely the best pairing that I ever made for cigars, period. And there's something about like the sweetness that offsets with the cigar. It's just bar none.
Oh, Sea Cherry. I like Cherry Coke. I can see that. It's wild.
It's wild. I think we're going to see more interesting pairings. Like, so did you see that, did you see at the show this year, Abina, that was making the sodas? And he made, he made, I think there's four of them in the line.
Oh, what's his name? We covered that story here on the show. Yeah, and it's, they're good. Like, I kind of went over there, I'm like, I'll try these, or whatever, and so he sent me a case, and I was pairing them, and I'm like, they're non-alcoholic, they're sodas, but they all have these unique flavors.
I could see getting some of those going on there, and I think that'll actually pick up. Now, you could add alcohol to them if you really wanted to. Isn't Gene Simmons making something, some type of soda now to go with? That's it.
No, he's... No, it's a different... That's with Agonorsa. That's with Agonorsa, yeah.
But isn't it a soda-type product, though? I think so. Yeah, I think it is. Oh, so the gentleman you're talking about is different than that.
He has his own company. It's called Abena. He's a cigar guy that decided to do craft sodas that were specifically made to pair with cigars. And I thought it was I thought they were pretty good.
They're they're definitely very interesting. Yeah. Okay, I like I like a soda more than alcohol with a cigar. Yeah, I think I think alcohol takes away so much from the cigar.
Yeah, I think the alcohol is just too strong. I don't know, I mean, I was in DR with Herklots, and Herklots did a, he had the Summa, and he did a rum pairing with it, and it was like, I think it's, I think there's very few good pairings, but man, it elevated both of those things. I mean, so I think that, you know, but I think it's probably a short list that really does, just because you drink Balvini Doublewood doesn't mean it goes with every cigar. You're familiar with it, and your taste buds can separate the cigar from that because you're very familiar with it.
But, true, really good pairings, like I said, the Michael Herklots one, I'm like, wow, this just elevated both of these. Right. That makes sense. All right, carry on.
All right. Saga Gems Series. Ambar De Beus at Inter Tobac 2025. Last week, Inter Tobac 2025.
Trade Fair in Dortmund, Germany. De Los Reyes showed off the Saga Gems Series, Ambar. Ambar? Ambar?
I don't know. It's A-M-B-A-R, is it? Amber, or Ambar? Amber.
Sounds like Amber. Amber. It's the first release of the new series that is inspired by Gemstone, so it is Amber. In this case, Amber.
Blend-wise, it uses a wrapper from the Siabo, I am so bad at, Siabo Valley. It's undisclosed. Yeah, no, it's in Dominican Republic over Dominican Binder, and fillers from the Dominican Republic, and an unnamed country in North America. Unnamed country in North America, nice.
Okay. Press release from De las Reyes describes the cigar as a medium body. It'll be offered in three Vitolas, each of which come in boxes of 20 Saga Gem Series, Amber Robusto, 5x50, the Amber Toro, which is 6x54, and the Amber Corona, which is 5x5x48. De las Reyes says it is still finalizing prices for individual markets, but likely the cigar will be between 1770 and 2350.
S. markets next month. S. before the end of the year.
In a unique twist, there are 10 different secondary band designs which are placed in a specific order within the box. When that happens, the bands create an image that shows amber. Even though the cigar has not been released yet, it's been allegedly ranked as Coop's number one cigar of 2026. He likes Saga cigars.
He's a Saga fan. I love Saga cigars. Do you? I think they're very, very underrated, only because I just don't feel like they have a huge, you know, you gotta have, you gotta have a boots on the ground, you gotta have somebody out there that's doing it, but I mean, they make some, I think some, blend number seven's one of my favorites, I think they make some fabulous cigars.
We had one on the show, I don't remember which way, what it was, but it was, it was terrible, we didn't like it at all. We didn't like it at all. Really? Yeah.
Was I here when we had it? I don't think I've ever smoked this before. Maybe. I like, I like the cigars.
Yeah. I think it was his cigar of the year, that year. I don't know which one. I can't believe this.
You tell us which ones we need to smoke and we'll smoke. Blend number seven. Blend number seven. Yeah.
I mean, they have a lot of good, the short story ones are good, too. Should we get it from? Or the short, I'm sorry, the... I was going to say, whoa, they have a short story.
Short story, they're short tails. They come in a cool box. They come in a really cool box. Are those available at Paul's house?
Can we go grab some? I don't know. I don't know. Probably.
I mean, maybe. Yeah. Okay. Probably some in my house.
One of the humidors, I'm sure, has them. Well, we got to get some. Does he have a kid to your house? He does.
Oh, good. He does. Perfect. He does have a kid to your house.
All right. Go ahead. All right. Mirafel Cigar ships the 2025 Creation Liberté.
Mirafel Cigar has shipped the second incarnation of a limited edition that debuted last year. The 2025 Creation Liberté is a 6x50 Toro, made by Mirafel Family's camera and wrapper, We're covering an undisclosed binder and undisclosed filler. According to the press release, the tobacco used in these cigars was aged for several decades. And now that we have an abundance of Cameroon, we'll be making the cigar for many years to come.
Wait, no, sorry, that was reported from a different show. A total of 1,226 of the 2025 Creation Libertes are being released. 50. Wow.
The cigars are packaged in two-count wood coffins, I'm not even going to try to do that word, which once again has included a numbered lithographic artwork. Mirafel Cigars says that the proceeds from the sale of cigars will be donated to the Premium Cigar Association, PCA, to help Joshua New Clothing Allowance, is what it says up here. Creation Liberté is a unique Mirafel Cigar Master Blend, honoring the funding, and funding the invaluable contribution of those who have and will join the efforts protecting our industry and our rights, said Reinhardt, Vice President of Mirafel Cigar, in a press release, the cigar debuted last year in the same 6x50 Vatola and with the same production numbers, albeit at a slightly lower price of $120 for each cigar. However, the proceeds from those cigars were donated to several different organizations around the world that defend the individual's rights to enjoy premium cigars, including Cigar Rights of America.
So, it went up a dollar this year? Four. Went up $4. Oh, I thought you said 123 to 124.
I thought it was 120 to 124. 120 to 124. Oh. Do you listen when you talk?
You literally wrote it. I didn't write it. I cut and pasted it. You cut and pasted it, yes.
And you expect me to read it. Right. Right. It's wild.
The first joke you put in there that didn't land, what was that about? Some other. No, that one was funny. No, some other thing reported it, yeah.
Oh, some other show. I forget what the thing was. Yeah, reported by some other show? You forgot the joke?
I'm not sure what the joke was. Oh, okay. I'm sure I did. Okay.
There's three pages at this time. Wow. Okay. You're telling me?
I'm having to read it. The joke was The Abundance of Cameron Wrapper. Oh, that's right. They're making these for a while because they have Abundance of Cameron Wrapper.
Oh, wait, never mind. Right. No, no, no. But this makes sense now.
It makes sense that they have Abundance of Wrapper? Well, no. It makes sense that they are now coming out with more with The Cameron Wrapper. Well, they came out with this last year.
Oh, this is a cigar they've already come out with? Yeah. Oh, okay. They just made more of them.
It's a new one. It's a good cigar. It's a great cigar. I mean, yeah, that's not, yeah.
It tastes totally different, you know? I like them. For sure. I mean, they're not quite Saga Blend No.
7s, but you know. Ask Palmer what his favorite cigar is. What is as good as a Saga Blend No. 7?
Apparently, you're right. Fred, you should ask Palmer what his favorite cigar is. Yeah, that's a good point. What is your favorite cigar?
Any Powstanie cigar. That's not a great answer. Great answer. That's such a political answer.
Great answer. I feel like you haven't worked in your own cigars here. Do you want to? Is that coming up?
We have a press release in here, yes. Oh, good. Okay, good. It's the last story.
You save it for the end. So speaking of names I can't pronounce. Yeah. Okay.
All right, well, hey, let's move on because we're already over an hour at this point. And finally, oh gosh, you're right out of the gate. How do you pronounce it? Nope.
Nope. Do it. Nobody helps me. I can't pronounce any of your stuff.
Let's go. Let's go, Mr. Rue. Mr.
Rue. Poshik. Poshik. Poshik.
What? Poshik. Poshik? Yep.
Poshik. You know, you could phonetically spell it up here for me. You could help me out. No, why would we do that?
Poshik? Poshik. Poshik. Poshik.
Because I know it's going to come up again. Poshik sends second release of The Shepherd to stores. Bam! Two years ago, the Big P, Incorporated, I'm just going to call it that now, it's the Big P, and Matt Booth of Room 101 combined forces to create a limited edition named the Shepard, now a hundred more bundles of the original cigar are on their way to retailers.
The cigar is the Shepard, a 5 3/4 by 50 Robusto Extra, in an email, Mike Palmer, you're literally sitting right here, in an email Mike Palmer said this? National sales manager of Post... Of Big P cigars. Big P cigars sold half wheel.
The cigars in this release are from the original stock that was shipped in 2022, which were found in our warehouse. Nice. As was the case with the original release, some of the main details are being kept under wraps, including where the cigars are made, what's in them. Undisclosed.
Undisclosed, undisclosed, undisclosed. Redacted, redacted, made in blend details. There is no list. The wrapper is described as really good, the binder described as strong enough to keep it all together, and the filler is described as leprechaun magic with a dash of fairy dust.
While the blend remains the same, the new release has three main changes compared to the 2022. First, it's a dollar more with an MSRP of $15 compared to the '14. That was redundant. You could have just said a dollar more at $15.
You don't have to say compared to the '14. Well, Half Wheel has like a specific amount of words that they need to cover per article. Second, while the original release is packaged in plain 10-count bundles, the bundles for this version feature artwork reminiscent of Samuel L. Jackson's character, Jules Winfield, in the 1994 Pulp Fiction.
Nice shout-out there. Finally, there's only 1,000 cigars are being released for the newest incarnation, while the original release consisted of 10,000 cigars. The cigars in the newest release also have the same blends as the first release, which was the Ezekiel 25:17, which reads, the Bible verse, It's a verse that reads, "I will carry out great vengeance on them and punish them in my wrath. " I feel like I should have done that in the Samuel Jackson voice.
Motherfucker. Bundles of Shepherds start shipping to retailers yesterday. Yep. Yeah, they're gone.
All sold out. Didn't last long. Then why are we talking about it? Because it's fun.
Because it's going to hit the stores. But consumers are finding it. Oh, okay. All right, that's fine.
We've got to take care of our people, buddy. That's fine. Okay, but that's how you undisclose some information, you know what I mean? Yeah.
The binder is strong enough to hold something new. Wait, that's how you undisclose information? Yeah. Or is that how you disclose information?
That's how you disclose undisclose information. Okay, there you go. Okay, all right, that'll work. Is that better?
Yes. That was not redundant. The department of the redundancy department? Right.
Okay, that's a really good department. That's a really good department. That's a really good department. And now, the main, oh, should we talk about your cigar more, or?
No, I think that's good. I feel like we have to give it its two, it's your show. Well, it was so good, it's gone. I don't really care.
It's done. It's gone. You don't care because it's all sold. Yeah, it's gone.
It's all sold. It's a great cigar. Everybody's going to love it. Just smoke it.
There's only a small amount of them and, you know, we didn't even get to contact. But that is cool. So you just found these in the warehouse? Yeah.
You just found some extra ones? Yeah. Cleaned them up, repackaged them. Yeah.
Out they go. Put a cheeseburger on it. Good to go. That's...
It's a great cigar. You never had it? Normally the undisclosed end up like Caldwell's lost and found or something. It's cool that you found your own.
Yeah, it's nice to find our own. We don't let anybody in the warehouse. Yeah, okay. Now the moment you've been waiting for.
The end of the show? No. The game that keeps the industry talking, what's the score? So you're gonna switch with him now?
So here's your host, Mike Palmer. Oh, okay. Bing, bing, bing. Am I done with this?
I am done with this. Yeah, you're done. You're done with that now. You have completed your job.
Good job, excellent job, Fred. Thank you for all the mispronunciations. Hey, Jack, I'm not going to make funny anymore. This is, it's hard.
Yeah, it's hard. It is hard. It's hard. It's hard.
Teleprompter, it's hard. Jack did a great job. He did. Well, I think he speaks better Spanish than Fred and I both, so.
Well, that's very true. That's very true. Yeah, it's very helpful with the names and on the words. All right, so you know the game, what's the score, right?
Uh, it's where you tell me a cigar and we guess what, half-wheel score was it? Yes. Yeah, yeah. Yes, you get three clues and the final thought.
Perfect. You've seen the show, Fred. Perfect. Perfect.
I have. I do watch the show. I do listen to the show. Perfect.
I listen. I don't watch it. All right. Everybody ready?
Yes. Do you know the answers? No. No, no.
Wait, wait, wait, wait. Is this on the screen in front of Fred? No, there's nothing. I'm looking at episode 407.
Fred gets to play that way. Okay. All right. First cigars from September 28th, 2025.
Patrick Lagride is the reviewer. It is a General Cigar Honduras. It's the Cohiba Rubicon Box Press Robusto. Ooh.
Now, if you stay up on the articles on Half Wheel, you may know the score. It's an 88. Do you know that for real? No.
Is that your first guess? My first guess is 88. Okay. Michael?
I'm sorry, was I supposed to make it more complex in my guess? No, no, no, that's fine. I like that. All you know now is what cigar?
I like that. It's definitive. Boots, go ahead. A Cohiba?
Yeah. It's a Cohiba. Patrick. So we do one from the current, and then we do one old one.
All right, Boot says 84. Ooh. I'm gonna go 87. All right, it's the Cohiba Rubicon Box Press Robusto, it's from Honduras, Factories STG Donnelly, the wrapper is Ecuador and Habano, binder is USA Broadly, filler Dominican Republic, Piloto, Honduran La Entrada and Hamastran Valley, and it's Nicaraguan Esteli.
49, and he smoked three cigars. Okay. Now you guess again. Are you staying 88?
With the additional information. Nothing to change my information, 88. Okay. 84.
I think it's going to do relatively well. Really? Yeah, Habano with a broadleaf binder. This year, I mean, everything is good except the fact that it's STG.
So, um, what year was this? This year, this year, this is the September, okay, but it's Honduran, I'm gonna go 89, all right, 88, 84, 89, yep, all right, first clue, it reminds me a bit of pork jerky, particularly some pork bites I picked up recently, pork jerky, the veins are small and thin, and the wrapper has a bit oiling, a bit of oiliness to it, Giving it a smooth texture to my fingers with only the slightest bit of texture. -Oily Habano. -Hmm.
-Oily Habano tastes like pork. -Is this because he ate pork jerky right before he smoked it? -Well, he did say he picked them up right before, so. So odd.
-Okay. -89. -Okay. -Oh, Fred likes the pork jerky.
-He went up. 89, okay. -You had me at pork. -Fred's a foodie.
-He loves pork. -If he had said bacon, he would have said 97. Right now it sounds like a solid blend. I mean, I like the combos in here, so I'm going to go 89.
And I like the size he's smoking. Yeah. I like the, I mean, I understand the way you guys are voting for your numbers on this. Because it's literally the point of the exercise.
It is about the numbers. The Cohiba is probably going to do good with Patrick because Patrick would rate this cigar high and then, you know, like a Padrón low. Okay. So, yeah, I'll go to 87.
Ooh. - Okay. - Boots jumped up there. - You stole my number, you.
- Oh, can you not have two of the people? - No, I can stick 89. I'm going to go 90 though. What the hell?
- All right, next clue. One cigar also has the smell of a pouch of pork jerky with a bit of a sweet teriyaki glaze standing out. The cold draw on the first cigar is firm and also not forthcoming with flavors. It has a bit of sweetness, but not much else, with no pepper to be found across the three cigars.
Hmm. Okay. Hmm. I'm gonna drop down to an 87.
Oh, wow. Okay. Boots? I do like my number 87.
I think I'm gonna stick. You're gonna stick 87? I'm gonna slide back down to 89 since you uh, uh, since you get that one up. Uh, yeah, I mean, there wasn't a lot, listen, I don't think that the cold draw is gonna affect the overall rating.
And, you know, the fact that it doesn't have spice, I don't think that changes anything either, to be honest, so I don't really think that you really gave us too much information there, I'm just going to pivot down one because you moved, so… Alright, third clue, the second is livelier with the pepper, hitting my nose and my taste buds just from puffs while retro hails amplify the sensation. The third cigar isn't as lively, but also doesn't have the creaminess and richness, instead offering a bit of pepper and chili pepper spiciness to a dry taste. High, toasty profile. Hmm.
Chili pepper, dry. And then pepper in the first one. Not so much for no spice. Yeah, I'm back to my original 88.
Let's go in 88. Hmm. Boots? Yeah, I feel like he's gonna rate this super high, man.
89. I'm gonna go 89. Fuck him. He stole my 89.
I'm gonna stick 89 for right now. Yeah. Alright, final thought. Last one.
This is the second time I've smoked and reviewed a value-priced Cohiba, the other being the Cohiba Blue back in 2017. And I have to say, I have been impressed both times. Neither cigar is perfect, and each have their rough spots, but none are total detriments to the experience and may end up smoothing themselves out over time. In the case of the Cohiba Rubicon Box Press Robusto, it's the earthiness which doesn't quite feel dialed in for my palate, In which can get a bit excessive at certain points, but the rich, lush, creaminess, and balanced peppers are both standouts, while the dry wood flavor is enjoyable and stimulating.
If only a bit mouth-drying, construction was generally good, though I can excuse the combustion issues, something I also hope, hopes, something I also hope works itself out. " Damn, that's tough. I'm gonna go 87. Okay.
I feel like he's apologizing for the score, but that he likes the cigars. Yeah, he's upset that he has. I almost won 86, but I'm gonna stick 87. Okay.
I don't think he's apologizing at all, and I think he's gonna rate this a 90. Wow, okay. Yeah. So what are you doing?
I'm going 90. Oh my god, you guys are just... For Cohiba? I mean, this guy is going to rate this high.
You guys have just put me in like a pickle situation here. I don't think he tasted pickles. I think it was pork. It might be the only thing there.
87, 90. I'm going to stick with my 89 then. I'm going to stick 89. I think 89 is where I'm going to hit it.
So 87, 90, 89? Yep. 86. Wow!
I almost went down to 86! Wow! Fred won! Alright.
There you go. Mark, check for Fred. Wow. That's just a half point though.
Yes. Yes. Just by the way, that was still pretty high. We'll go the other way this time.
So I'll go first. Okay. To make your, I think that gives you a better advantage. Okay.
All right. This cigar is from February 12th, 2014. Brian Burt Cigars, Dominican Republic. The Nomad Cigar Company, pre-release review.
The Nomad Connecticut Cut Fuerte Robusto. Wait, Fred's allowed to play on this one? I don't remember. It's 2014.
I don't remember the cigar. Which cigar was it? The Nomad Connecticut Cut Fuerte Robusto. Great.
He's like, I didn't even make that cigar. Oh, wait, there's Ivan. Nomad Connecticut Fuerte Robusto. Yeah, there's no cut.
I didn't know what that was. Okay. It's a special, it's limited edition. Well, on my cigars, you did have to cut the top.
Yeah, it's very important. You're going to cut it. All right, Michael. The draw is way better.
Nomad. That's AJ's, right? AJ Factory? That's in the next, uh, I'm talking to the manufacturer.
That's, that's another clue. Oh, he's not telling. It's AJ. It is AJ.
I'm gonna go... It's the biggest cigar that everybody told me not to make. I'm gonna go 80, I'm gonna, you know what, fuck it, 89, I'm gonna go 89. I have no clue about the cigar, so I'm just gonna stick in the middle, 85.
Damn, that's low. Half Wheel 2004, I'm gonna say 86. Okay. 90.
Do you say the Rappers, Ecuadorian, Connecticut? Rappers, Ecuadorian, Connecticut. Okay, so it's a lighter cigar. Well, it's called the...
But it's a stronger, lighter cigar. It's called the Nomad Connecticut. Yeah, but it's called the Connecticut Fuerte. Yes.
Could have been Connecticut Broadleaf. Ah. They smoked three cigars. You reviewed three.
It's not a bad size, though, five by 50? Yeah, I'm gonna go 89. This was by Brian Burt, and I don't know if I said that. You did.
I'm gonna go 89? I mean, it sounds like a good cigar. I'll go... Tebaculari LMV?
Is that accurate? Is that accurate? The Connecticut Fuerte was AJ's, so… A little misinformation there? I think so, yeah.
Unless it's a special AJ factory. I mean, I'm trying to think if I did, but the Connecticut out of L&B was not Fuerte, so if they're saying Connecticut Fuerte, that was AJ's. Okay. So… Only AJ.
I mean, AJ's cigars are great, so… So what did you do? I'll go 87. Okay. What did you say, Michael?
How did you say, Michael? 89. 89, 87. I'm going to stay 86 until I hear otherwise.
Alright, first clue. There is a slight give when squeezing the cigar, though not soft spots of note. The aroma off the wrapper is a general barnyard and hay note with a sweet tobacco note on the top. The cold draw is an intriguingly creamy cinnamon and pepper note that already has me looking forward to lighting it up.
Let's try draw. It doesn't change anything. It doesn't change anything for us, or does it not change anything? I think it changes the rating.
89. I'm going to stick 87. I'm going to stick 87. Clue number two.
The burn continues to be nice and even, with the ash holding on well enough to keep the last bit of the cigar smoking cool. Without any bitterness or harshness, the notes of spice, pepper, cinnamon, and an overall nuttiness are able to shine through to the end. Hmm. Shine through to the end.
He likes it. Yeah. 5x50, Connecticut. Was that like a Brotherly Kindness size?
No, it's a standard Robusto. I'm going to go 80, I'm going to stick 89. 87. 88.
Oh, we're all in line here. Final clue. The first Dominican line Nomad released had four regular production sizes available at launch, just like the Connecticut Fuerte line. However, the sizes are not the same.
Sorry, it was a short review. There wasn't a lot of information. Yeah, it's older. At least he doesn't have the beef jerky stuff.
For his final thought? No, that's the final clue. Oh, we're not at the final thought. Not at the final thought yet.
Okay, that doesn't give us any intel about the cigar. Right. That's why I apologize. We're all probably going to stick where we're at.
I'm going to stick 89. 87. 88. All right, final thought.
As I quoted in the beginning of this review, Rui had stated that it's a crazy how hard it is to blend a Connecticut cigar. While that might be true, the Connecticut Fuerte sees it all fall into place. It's a solid construction and a good flavor profile combined to make a very desirable line that I'm going to assume will be well-received. The only minor issue I had were some slight burn issues in the beginning.
Ah, it's a 60. That corrected themselves. Great cigar. I love the flavor.
You know, I had to correct it a few times. 10. It was two millimeters off on the burn. I had to correct it.
It was atrocious. While the cigar might not develop or change much, it would be hard to argue that And having a consistent and good profile is a bad thing. I can easily suggest seeking these out when they are released in March. I know I'll be looking forward to smoking all four sizes to find out which ones I'll be adding to my collection.
It's not my week. 89. I'm gonna go 89. It's gonna be one of us, 'cause it's definitely in the '87, '80, '89 range.
You think so? Yeah. Okay. His number's good.
I don't know if it's '89, 'cause it's almost 90. Right. It's not like it had complexities, same flavor. I am going to stick a '87, though.
Okay. Oh, Fred. I'm gonna go '90. Mmm.
Damn it, Fred. It's a '90. Oh! You never read when did that go?
I did, I did, I don't remember. I really don't remember. It was nine years ago. I don't, I don't remember.
I really don't. That's a good score for Halfwell. Yeah. Yeah.
I think, I think I remember now saying, you know, it was a 90, which is basically 120 on anybody else's scale. Right. The Connecticut Forte was the scar everybody told me not to make. Like, I was all proud of it.
And it was a, the Connecticut Forte was out of AJ's because I remember being in the house and a bunch of retailers were down there and I gave them all to try it and they all told me you can't make connect connecticut with it has a little bit more to it because i put some lihero in it and the idea was is i wanted you know i didn't want all connecticut to be just mild and no flavor i thought i could still have flavor but still be in the mild category right and everybody said don't make it they said you're you're too new don't make this don't make the cigar and i'm like screw it i like it so i'm gonna put it out So, it sounds like I've never smoked one of these cigars ever. Yeah, you got any more left? Yeah, I have some. I think I have Lancero's in it.
At Paul's house? Also at Paul's house? Paul probably has more than I do. I've heard him say, yeah, that he has more than I do.
He does. He has a lot of the boxes of things that I did that were great cigars I can't find anymore. You know, I mean, I did have some, some blends were really, really good, and then some of them are just, you know, okay. And Paul's sitting on probably, you know, he's got a box or two, because I'd always give some to Paul, And he doesn't smoke 'em as fast, and so he's sitting on a pretty good stash.
Okay. Hey, we got a Listener of the Week! Tell me. Gavin, from Espinosa, and it's also his birthday.
Happy birthday, Gavin. And we hope you got your car fixed. Hope you got your car fixed. And we have a Shop of the Week, Two Guys in New Hampshire.
Two Guys. Don't they have a new name now? Is it still Two Guys? No, they are renaming it.
Three guys. Three guys, yeah. No, it's still two. Silent Investor.
Like Two Guys Tobacco or something? Yeah, yeah. Yeah, it wasn't Cigar Shop, but I think it's like Two Guys Tobacco or something. It was Two Guys Smoke Shop, now it's Two Guys Tobacco.
Yeah, I think there's something like that, yeah. Okay. So are they distributing that? They removed the barrel and the guy, and now it's just...
Right, they removed the barrel, right. Yeah. Yeah, they just went to a plain orange block logo. Simple.
Right. Actually, they kept the barrel, got rid of the guys. Yeah. Okay, anything else?
Hey, that's it. That's all we got. All right. com.
Check out our apparel. Make sure you like and subscribe. I probably should have said the beginning of this, but I screwed that up. And thank you very much for watching.
Fred, thank you so much. Fred, thanks for sitting. Thanks. This was fun.
We should do it again 10 years or so from now. In another decade? In another decade. We're going to review a Nomad from 2020 at that point or no?
No, no. What was the last time you made a cigar? Well, the blends that came out in 2018 were all done in 2017, probably. So, 2018 was your last release?
Yeah. Well, Fred's coming on the Patreon, too, right? Do you miss it? I do.
I miss the blending of it. But, you know, for me, Nomad became bigger than I was prepared lifestyle to do. Right. I mean, originally, it was one blend, it's following my journey, then I went to Nicaragua, then before I know it, I had, you know, 16 blends, 40-some-odd skews or whatever, and it was just turning into a real job and it wasn't why i got into the industry like you know on the road that much and everything else um but i i liked i liked blending i i used to think you know when you look at somebody the blenders and they go you know a million different blends out there like how do you have that many blends i'm thinking i'm gonna you know four blends or whatever you know and then as you do it when you're you know you know the process you're going through and you're like okay this one doesn't quite make the cut now but i mean this one that i'm probably They're probably going to want to put out later, and that's what happens.
So I miss that process. I miss the blending. I miss playing with the tobacco that way. Could you see yourself making something with Dion?
No. I would never get in Dion's way. No? No, because he's just, he's just, he's that good.
I mean, that's just, that's next level. I mean, me, I would just stumble my way through it and, you know, mix tobaccos and tell him, like, this tastes pretty good. No, I would never do a cigar with him. What if, like, you made a cigar with him?
Like, you made a cigar and said, this looks pretty good, and then he put, like, a finishing touch on it. He could collab. He could collab. He's one of those guys that I think you just let him do what he's good at.
I think that there's nothing I could add to that process with him. Okay, yeah, I understand that, but I'm not talking about him. I'm talking about you. Like, would you want to make a cigar?
Yeah, would you ever make another one? If I made another one, it would just be because, you know, cigar press and we would have our own cigar that we would just like give out in events or something like that. I would do that again. I would do that and just, you know, blend a cigar and stuff.
But I don't want the business of it is, it's just so hard. I don't need to tell you that. But I mean, it's a grind. Do you like the media side of it more than the making the cigar?
They're different. They're, they're, they're totally different. I'm still trying to figure out the media side of it. It's just, I've been in the industry so long and I've seen so many sides of it.
There's a benefit of being on the media side and it's fun. I mean, and I know all these guys, but Thor largely does pretty much all the reviews as far as putting a number on them. Because my thing is, I like all these guys, I've known them, I've hung out with them, had dinner and stuff. Y'all get 94s.
Can we move on? I mean, you know. Okay. Cool.
All right. All right. Well, thanks again for coming on. Yeah.
Thanks for inviting me. We're going to have you on in like two, maybe three years. Not ten. Ten's too far.
I'll be here. If I'll be dead by then, there'll be no use. Well, now I know there's a teleprompter I have to read. Yeah.
Now you're prepared. Yeah. So I still won't mispronounce most of it. Maybe like three months.
Yeah. Three months. January. Yeah.
2026. January 2026. Oh, good. Sure.
We can have short cigars because it'll be winter. Right. Yeah. We'll have Yeah, in Florida, it's winter.
Short tails. Yeah. Yeah. All right.
All right, we gotta go. Thanks, guys. Thanks. Welcome to the Cigar Hustler Podcast, the show brought to you commercial-free.
But a massive shout-out to our amazing patrons on the Patreon. Thanks to your unwavering support, we're able to do unfiltered, unbiased opinions. All things cigars, personalities in the cigar world. Your backing makes it possible for us to keep it real for our listeners.
Cheers to you. com and search the Cigar Hustler Podcast. That one up.
Show Notes
Welcome to the Cigar Hustlers Podcast, Episode 407! I’m your guest host, Fred Rewey—yeah, that Fred: founder of Nomad Cigars, troublemaker with Illusione, and a guy who’s been stirring the cigar pot for over a decade. I’m a marketer, a storyteller, a published author, and apparently the only guy on this show with his own IMDb page. So… how in the world did I get roped into this gig? No idea—but here we are.
Stick around—we’ve got wild news stories, NFL Week 4 highlights, cigar industry updates, and of course, Mikey and Palmer doing whatever it is they do.