ACHP 596 Smart Thermostats, Sugar Babies and Crazy Cigar News

Episode Summary

Episode 596 of A Cigar Hustler's Podcast finds Mike "BDP" Palmer back in the chair alongside Triple G and Mike "The King" Shtepankewicz on engineering, opening with listener comments, CHPod swag talk (including the new limited-edition "Superstar Triple G" shirt), and the usual studio chaos — missing phones, dead lighters, and Keanu rattling bottles in the background.

The news block starts heavy with three scheduled executions in Tennessee, Alabama and Oklahoma on the same day, the first such trifecta in the U.S. since 2010. From there the crew tackles a Colorado woman whose smart thermostat locked her out at 79 degrees because she had opted into Xcel Energy's voluntary energy rewards program — sparking a debate about utilities controlling home temperature, AI assistants, and whether it's more efficient to let the house warm up while you're away. Then it's a Sumter County, Florida story out of The Villages: a 67-year-old man met a 21-year-old woman on Tinder, admitted he was looking for a "sugar baby," and after a shopping trip and dinner ended up in a car chase, a crash and an alleged gunpoint threat. The guys debate whether older users belong on dating apps at all.

Cigar news covers Jai Molly Cigars entering Canada through Canadian Craft Cigars — the distributor that also carries Black Label Trading Company, Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust, HVC, Oscar Valladares Tobacco & Company and Tatuaje — and whether Canada is an increasingly attractive market as Cuban cigars get harder to source. Luuz Cigars' new limited edition Fat Matt gets a rundown: a 5x54 Robusto Grande with an Ecuadorian Habano sun-grown wrapper over an Estelí ligero binder and Honduran/Nicaraguan filler, made at La Tabacalera Zambrano-style factory in Estelí, named for a family member of owner Lou Cross, following up the Nearest and joining Fat Tony in the brand's fishing-themed lineup. There's also a detour into Creekside Cigars' Queen of the Midwest landing in the retail humidor, and the PCA signing on as co-organizing partner of the Puro Vida Cigar Festival 2026 in Costa Rica — which leads to a pointed conversation about whether the PCA is non-profit, Joshua Habersky's disclosed salary, and whether international festivals actually serve cigar rights.

A long side-argument dominates the middle of the show: Triple G is furious that Palmer skipped his story about the suppressor tax stamp ruling, and spends several minutes explaining why the end of the $200 NFA tax stamp — and the resulting argument that registration without a tax is unenforceable — is a landmark firearms-rights development. The episode closes with "What's the Score?", featuring Brooks Whittington's 2010 halfwheel review of the Tatuaje Outlaw (6x52 Toro, all-Nicaraguan, made at My Father Cigars, $11), praised for a strong first third before going muted and one-dimensional — with a final score that blows past every guess at the table.

In This Episode

1. 01
   Swag, Patreon and Listener Comments
   The crew reads YouTube and lounge comments, plugs the limited-edition Superstar Triple G shirt at chpod.com, and roasts Phil for forgetting the read.
2. 02
   Three Executions in One Day
   Tennessee, Alabama and Oklahoma each schedule an execution on the same day — the first U.S. trifecta since 2010.
3. 03
   Smart Thermostat Locked at 79 Degrees
   A Colorado woman enrolled in Xcel Energy's voluntary rewards program can't lower her AC during peak demand, prompting a debate on utilities, AI and energy efficiency.
4. 04
   Tinder, Sugar Babies and The Villages
   A 67-year-old Sumter County man is arrested after a Tinder meetup turns into a car chase, crash and alleged gunpoint threat.
5. 05
   Jai Molly Cigars Heads to Canada
   Jai Molly signs with Canadian Craft Cigars, joining a portfolio that includes Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust, Tatuaje, HVC, Black Label Trading Company and Oscar Valladares.
6. 06
   Suppressor Tax Stamp Argument
   Triple G pushes back hard on Palmer for skipping the ruling that killed the $200 suppressor tax stamp and explains why it's a landmark for firearms rights.
7. 07
   Luuz Cigars Fat Matt
   The new 5x54 limited edition from Lou Cross gets a blend breakdown, a fishing-themed backstory, and praise for Luuz's honesty about small allocations.
8. 08
   PCA and the Puro Vida Cigar Festival
   The PCA becomes a co-organizing partner of Costa Rica's Puro Vida Cigar Festival 2026, triggering a debate about PCA's non-profit status and Joshua Habersky's salary.
9. 09
   What's the Score? — Tatuaje Outlaw
   The crew guesses the score on Brooks Whittington's halfwheel review of the all-Nicaraguan Tatuaje Outlaw Toro and gets it very wrong.

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

I don't - I don't have the thing. Oh, well just tell me when it's time to go. Just clap your hands. You should clap.

I had to clap for Ramon. Three, two, one. Go. Welcome to a Cigar Hustler Podcast, premium cigars, unfiltered opinions, and conversation with no boundaries.

P. Palmer, joined by co-host Mike "The King" Shtepankewicz. Oh, now you're an engineer. He's completely wrong, because I thought Phil would show up.

We have Triple G as the co-host, and then over in engineering, we have Mike Shtepankewicz, The King. There's a stupid movie name. From cigars, sports, and business, to pop culture, and the wildest headlines, If it's worth discussing, we're going to talk about it. No scripts, no safe spaces, just real perspectives, big laughs, and chaos, and chaos at any moment.

I change it today, you've got to give me a day to get back to... And the chaos. And the chaos. And the chaos.

And reading the teleprompter. And the chaos. Settle in, and welcome to a Cigar Hustler Podcast. Dun, dun, dun!

Thank you very much. On today's show, we go for a three-way, and not the good kind. Not a feel kind. Feel kind.

Ever have your house tell you it was too cold? Then in the villages, make sure you clear with your sugar baby. Then in cigars, Chinese cigar goes to Canada. Fat Matt likes to go fishing.

And hey, what's one more festival? Then what's the score that ends the show? But first, Mikey, how do we get some of that CHPod swag? And what are the people talking about today?

Where's my phone? I don't know. Does anybody see my phone? This is a complete...

You said that yesterday. I ordered the thing. Greg, can you go over there and check and see if I... Check for the phone?

Yeah, I find it. I find it. Find the phone. Find the phone.

Talk amongst yourselves. Hello, selves. Hello, selves. So the mess up at the beginning of the show yesterday was his fault, not mine.

It wasn't my typing. He cut and pasted wrong. I checked. Oh, okay.

Good. Just didn't get that cleared up. Like and subscribe wherever you're viewing or listening to this show. com for all your chpod swag, where you can now get...

the infamous Triple G superstar. Look, he's in that outfit and boom, he's in that outfit. Limited edition. Oh, very limited.

Yeah. Super limited. Check it out. You know, I'd actually like to buy one of those, actually.

com, sir. I'm not going through the process. com. How much is it?

Well, we're shipping. 95, sir. 30. 95 for shipping, inside the continental United States.

At least a couple of them. A couple! I like that he needs one for himself. Oh no, I'm not gonna wear it.

This is for the wife. Yeah, he wants his wife to wear that in the house. I'm thinking about actually getting them for the extended family, Abuela gets one, the TT's get one. Oh, well, they're no longer available now because Greg bought them all.

Oh, it's sold out. Yeah, actually, I would have to buy them all. com, a Cigar Hustlers podcast where we talk industry football and get reviews on cigars. Industry baseball.

That too. So confused. Football season's upon us. Oh, okay, gotcha.

Some comments from the previous show. We have no auction because... Somebody pushed the button. He bought it now again.

I must have them all. I love going to the lounge and just seeing the episode pod lounge comments. It's amazing. Okay.

Okay. Okay. At CW6383 says, "Can I technically charge rent for the unicorn mask now? " I'd charge him rent.

Yeah, right? We didn't expect it to go that fast. Right? Read the small print.

I'd lease it to him. Read the small print. It's a small print. Very small.

Michael Z. " I don't know. Collegard's where you poop in a box, isn't it? Collegard?

Collegard, yeah. Collegard. Oh, because you did a poop thing. Yeah, it was a poop story.

Yeah. It's where you poop in a box, see if you have cancer. A propylactic for Trojan. What was the Trojan story?

I don't know. I don't remember anything about the Trojan story. Me neither. That was the day.

They're all a blur. " I completely understand. It really is. I understand.

It isn't the same. It's true. You guys did a good job. I saw most of it.

Oh, you didn't even watch all of it? No, it was very late and I was editing it. Well, thank you for viewing. We appreciate your support.

Certainly. I appreciate the editing because he'd already put the intro on it, so there wasn't a lot to do. Did you adjust the sound? I fixed the sound.

No. Okay. I didn't think so. I didn't change anything.

All right. Well, I fixed it, then. Greg, talk real quick. Check, check.

Palmer talk? Check, check. Oh, there was a weird static there for a second, but it's gone, though. There's Keanu flush in the toilet.

I don't think so. I think it's where your radio sits. The radio? Oh, here?

This is a problem? No, that's fine. But I don't know where his is. It's on the table.

Oh, okay. @FrancisSoletto6035 says, "Peruvian gold. And Gold, isn't that white and in a powder form? Can be, yes.

Yes, generally speaking. Was that your evil empire laugh there? No, this is my normal laugh. This is my normal laugh.

What are they called when they're the grouper or something? Goliath grouper? No, no. Not Goliath grouper.

When you find a box, a bag, a square of cocaine. Oh, yeah, yeah, I know what you're talking about. Or marijuana. Squared grouper.

Squared grouper. Oh, I get it. It's like it's a reference to when it's floating in the ocean. Please, rattle more bottles.

T-Money says, the fact that Phil can't remember what to say when asked about what to do and where to get CHPod swag is frustrating. My kids can even tell you to like and subscribe and know to get 40% off the second item and free shipping over $100. Do better. He's right.

He should do better. Do better. He's really kind of checked in, checked out like the past week, you know? Yeah.

His video flipping and all this other stuff. He's not showing up as much. Yeah. He's just not, he's not in it.

Maybe, maybe it's time for Phil to part ways. No longer a household name. Yeah. Right.

Let's start by losing his sign. Just remove it? Just remove it and hide it? As a penalty?

We don't know where it is. Just to let you guys know I'm not wearing a mask. You won't, you don't have to wear a mask. You don't have to wear a mask.

That's not gonna happen. The E, Triple G, Superstack. Yeah. Mm-hmm.

Very good. Let's see here. @michimaduro says, "The king looking regal in his slightly turned to the side looking over at the teleprompter. A sith in my pants works on many levels.

I weep every time Phil opens his mouth lately. I hope one day you bring Broadleaf back. " Yeah. I'm very sorry.

Sorry. We love you, Mitch. com, check out the lounge and comment on this episode. That was really fast.

That was fast. Now on with the show. Was that all the comments? Yeah.

Oh, wow. It's all I got. All right, now the news. Oh, I know what the sound is.

It's Keanu. You gotta wait until he finishes shaking his bag over there. Hey, let's look at Keanu. There he is.

See him in the background there? There he is. Back there. They're behind the Superstar Turtle G.

That's broken. That's a symbol. I got more shit for Keanu to clean up. Fucking broken.

There you go, more noise. He told me he's gonna wait till all the noise stuff till after we're done. Apparently not. Three states are preparing to carry out executions on the same day.

It was yesterday. Something the United States hasn't seen in nearly 16 years. Cleaning it up. Trifecta.

Tennessee, Alabama, and Oklahoma each have an inmate scheduled for execution on August 13th. If all three proceed as planned, it will be the first time since 2010 that three people have been executed in the United States at the same time. Is it a competition? Like, who can make the heart stop first?

I like to think they're all hooked to the same button. Yeah, all three start at noon, right? All right, guys, you got your watches synced, you ready? You ready over there in Missouri?

Go to Greg. You ready in Alabama? Go to Mikey. All right, guys, here we go.

Put the three-way shot up. Ready? One, two, three. And Tennessee 66-year-old Anthony Daryl Hines is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection.

Hines was convicted of killing Katherine Jenkins, a motel maid in 1985. So this guy's been on death row for, what, like 40 years? This is kind of standard for us, I guess. Yeah, that's what we do.

His attorneys have sought to stop the execution for the last 40 years, apparently, raising concern about his health and Tennessee's ability to establish an IV line. So he's been in there so long, he doesn't have veins to show anymore. That's awesome. Dude, like that is the worst ever.

That's the worst. Oh, you can't kill him now. His veins are too small. I just turn around.

He's not well. I just turn around. Gah! And that's it.

You know, no, I know. No, I'm just saying you go up to him and you pull the trigger and you call it a day. You know, the state did say he's got health issues. Therefore, we can't kill him.

Yeah, we can't kill him. He's dying. The state faced serious problems during an attempt at execution earlier this year when the officials were unable to establish IV access. They're not good at it there.

This is a problem. Maybe they should go with a different form of execution. A bullet. Yeah, this will take two seconds.

In Alabama, Jeremy Williams is scheduled to be executed for the 2021 rape. Okay, well, that one's only been two years. That's okay. Oh, that's good.

Which one? Alabama? Yeah. Attaboy, Alabama.

In a murder of a five-year-old girl, Williams has asked that the execution move forward in declined efforts to delay it. Attaboy. Thank you, Madison. Yeah, speed this up.

Let's speed this up here, right? I hate this sitting around stuff. I'm a loser. And in Oklahoma, Carlos Rodriguez is scheduled to die for the 2003, well, it's a little better than the first one, killing of his girlfriend.

He has also declined clemency, and if the execution proceeds, it would become Oklahoma's third execution of 2026. There you go, Oklahoma. What do you think she did? He said sandwich.

It had to be something. Something triggered him. You don't just get there from nothing. Well, maybe he's just a little twisted.

He's a little twisted. He's definitely a little twisted. He unalived somebody. Right.

But it's not like he unalived her for, like, mopping the house, right? Well, it would be not mopping the house. Right. Something like that.

Their executions occur in one day is extremely unusual in the modern area of the American death penalty. Oh, they have an error, error of the death penalty. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, there's a place. Also located in the building where they study kidneys.

Big skull and crossbones on the top of the building. The modern area record is four in a single day. All right, we've got to do five now. Oh, wow.

Four in one day. We can do better. We can do five, which occurred on December 9, 1999. Death penalty information center information.

Ooh. Unless courts or governors intervene, all three executions should have taken place yesterday. Anybody hear anything? Not something I'm following.

It's not something you follow on your weird Instagram feed? What else is on his weird Instagram? Fried Palmer? It was just some guy with a weird-looking gun pointing it at the camera.

There was a firearm, yeah. It was a gentleman with a switched clock. He was not a gentleman. You're right.

He was definitely not a gentleman. Gentlemen don't carry switch clocks. His mic sounds terrible, by the way. Greg's?

Yeah. Okay, I need to go back there so we can return that? Do you need me to reset it? No.

No, no. Bring it up higher? No, you just don't know how to do this. You just don't know how to do it.

All right, we'll keep going. Yeah, keep talking. Well, you put Greg on the camera, and it's gonna show you and Greg hugging him. Yeah, I purposely did that.

Oh, he wants to do that. Imagine going to turn down your air conditioner and being told no. No. It wasn't even pinched on there.

A Colorado woman says her smart thermostat was locked at 79 degrees because the power grid was stressed. She was enrolled in Xcel Energy Voluntarily Energy Rewards Program, which allows the utility to limit AC use during certain peak demand events. Hold on. Did you kill him?

Are you sure? I'm not listening to you at all. All I'm doing is watching my weird brother touch me extensively. It's a great shirt.

Like your fingers sticking. I would have wanted my face to be bigger on it though. It's awfully small. Because the star is so big.

I don't know what he's doing. He's not walking around behind. For the people at home that just listen, that don't watch, he is sitting with them. They are taking photos together.

Greg, your hand is in front of the camera. You gotta put your hand down. Superstar. There you go.

They're taking a group photo for Ruckus Unchained. Do it for the gram, baby. Oh, look at now. It's all the way over here again.

And you did it. You see what you did? It's a lot harder than what you think. No, the microphone is not in the right place again.

The re-reads the microphone. Can you wear collared shirts for a show day, Greg? Oh, my God. Do you want me to change my attire for this?

Yes. You have black collared shirts. I have white. I do have some.

Where are the red ones that I bought you? Those are very nice. I still have to get them tailored. Just wear them at this point.

You've had them for a year. At this point, you've had them for a year. Yeah, it's true, I haven't had an opportunity to go and get them together. Well, bring them on our trip.

They're too blousey. Bring them on our trip. No. Well, just eat more beans.

Eat more peanuts? Beans. Beans, beans and rice. Yeah, peanuts.

I said peanuts, not beans. They sound completely the same, I understand. How's my mic now? We good?

I think so. You sound pretty good. Alright. Gargle the water after you drink it, too.

There you go. Alright, so this lady has a smart thermostat in her. She's not done. It's fine, it's fine.

Keep going. What are you doing now? Oh, you moving again? I got to read the story for the third time?

Welcome to the shit show. Oh, I need comments on this story. It's a short story. I'll give a comment.

Okay, okay. This lady has a smart thermostat. Yeah. She tried to move it, but because she's in this peak demand utility program, it said no, you cannot lower it.

Yeah, that's not right. The robots are taking over again. Right. Like I said, you're going to be fighting the Roombus in a couple days.

What is he doing? There's no lighter in this entire place. They're over there. What happened there?

They're in the boxes. They're on the table. This is a disaster. The ones on the, the ones on the, the ones on the, the ones on the table don't work.

None of those have fuel. Chantel Keanu is part of his cleaning to fill the lighters. None of this is gonna work. Not one of those lighters is gonna have fuel.

On the table. The big table. There's a whole can of fuel. Your square one's there.

He's just gonna break something. He's seconds away from breaking something. He's gonna throw it and hit one of it. It's so close.

He's gonna burn me with it or something. Look, he's passed the big square one. Oh. Take the big square one, it's yours.

Oh my lord. I hope it's out of fuel. It was a real disaster. For those of you listening at home, he was walking around looking for a lighter.

He found seven, six had no fuel. It's rough in these streets. No, you can't put the headphones on straight, they're on backwards. So, back to the story, is it the thermostat that won't allow her to do it, or is it the program that she has with her electric company that won't allow her to do it?

Well, it's a combination of the two. Without the thermostat, the electric company couldn't regulate where she could turn it to because she is stressing the local system. So the electric companies are now putting in thermostats that are going to control the temperature they want you to keep your house. No, when she put in the thermostat, because the electric company doesn't come in front of your thermostat, when she put in the thermostat, there is an option on it.

Would you like to enroll in the Xcel Energy Voluntarily Energy Rewards Program? You lose less power, you get a discount on your bill. So, she opted into that. How does the electric company know that about?

They know everything. Because they see that she's using more power. I see. More power.

More power. " Yeah, I don't like this. Yeah, she has a brand new baby, she tried to put it down for a nap, it's very hot outside, she lives in the Midwest, and she tried to lower it, but plus, was it 79? I mean, oh, 79 is not low, forget to worry, it's 71 at my house.

Yeah. 79 is not low at all, it's still hot in your house. Yeah, that's wild. That's wild.

That's pretty hot. Right. I've never had my AC at 79. Well, are you in the XL Energy Voluntary Energy Rewards?

No. There you go. That's why. How do they deem that that was a temperature that somebody would want to sit in?

I don't think they're based on temperature. They're based on how much energy is being used in your area. Like, if the guy across the street turns his air off, maybe she can go a little lower. Who in their right mind would put the AC in at 79?

I'm saying. So what, if you have a really super efficient AC and a bunch of insulation, you can keep it at 70 and still participate in the program? As long as you're not using a lot of power? That's wild.

It's power usage, not temperature. Right, right, right, I get it, yeah. What's the highest you put your AC at, Palmer? 73.

Holy shit, okay. What about you? My wife has hot flashes still. So when the home is not occupied, it's 75.

No, that's not the question. And while it's occupied, it is at a constant 70. See, now they say it takes more power to cool it back down to 70, than it is if you just leave it at 70 the whole time. Really?

Yeah. I doubt that. No, look it up. I'll have to look that up.

I'm not looking it up now. I'll look it up right now for you. Yeah, look it up right now. Ask your robot.

Ask the robot. That's pointing, it's gonna cost you money. You know what? We're just racking them up at this point.

It is what it is. Magic robot, tell me. Every time he says, what time is it? If I lower my AC unit to 70 when I get home and it goes up to 75 when I'm not home, is that energy efficient or should I just leave it at 70 the entire time?

Would you like me to ask Chad GPT? Very good. Sorry, I can't schedule that. You'll have to have a home hub set up.

Then he can. What a piece of shit this thing is. " - This is why Claude is better than ChatGPT. - You asked, Ron.

- You asked it, Ron. - No, no, I'm gonna ask, I'm gonna ask Claude. - My ChatGPT just upgraded to a new system. - Does it cost more?

- Nope, same price. - Do you pay for ChatGPT? I don't know. - Yeah, yeah, I bet.

- Yeah, you do? - You know Chat, that's weird. - Listen, you guys pay. - Yeah.

- If I set my AC unit to 70 degrees, and I leave my house, and it goes up to 75 degrees automatically, is it more energy efficient if I would have just left it at 70 degrees, Or should I let it happen to 75 degrees? Okay. We're going to find out right now. It's spooling.

We're going to get to the nitty gritty here. It's thinking. It's thinking. Letting it rise to 75 degrees while you're away is more efficient.

Oh, wow. Here's why. And then it's got three bullet points as to why Palmer's stupid. And the second one is Palmer's stupid.

And it says, don't listen. Palmer uses JetGPT. It says, the third bullet is, whatever the old man continues to tell you, don't trust him. Because you tell it bad things about me all the time.

No, it says you're sweet. He told us this afternoon I had a walker. I love it. Palmer just came up with his walker and he has a question.

And it said to me I was so sweet for helping my geriatric friend. He told him that. That's nice. Well, that's so nice of you to help your geriatric partially extra chromosome role.

There's a robot somewhere right now that thinks that you are old, like super old. Somewhere, it's right upstairs. Alright, in Sumpner County, Florida, a 67-year-old man was arrested after, deputies say, a late-night encounter that began with an online connection, escalated into a vehicle chase, a crash, and a reported threat at gunpoint. Sounds like a hell of a night.

Online connection like Tinder? Is that what we're talking about? Let's read on. Let's read on.

m. back at the end of july near the area of buena vista boulevard in el camino real investigators say they received multiple 911 calls multiple about a vehicle crash and reported that someone had a gun deputies made made contact with five people at the scene and learned o'brien had a weapon the report states everyone was checked by emergency medical personnel and later interviewed One of the victims, identified as a 21-year-old woman, told deputies she met O'Brien on Tinder. There we go. I love it.

And he's 67. This is nice. How does he know how it works? I don't know.

I don't even know how it works. I don't know either. And the two agreed to meet that night on July 21st. The report says O'Brien allegedly offered to pay her money.

Of course he did. Each visit. He's 67 years old. Right.

And then the two went shopping and to dinner before returning to his home in the villages. Oh, boy. So we know him. We know him.

Deputies wrote that the victim later felt uncomfortable and contacted her friend to pick her up, who just happened to be nearby. After she got the meal and the shopping spree. Right. And the money.

Yeah. Now it's time to pay the bill. Yeah, no. And she's like, you're weird.

Yeah. What the hell did you honestly thought that that was going to work out? Yeah, you got to render services first and then pay. Yeah, you don't pay up for it.

Exactly. Well, maybe you could do a little shopping before. No, no, no shopping. You can buy her stuff you want her to wear while she's paying the bill.

That's a rookie move. Oh, totally. Not only that, but when you're doing the deed, you got to hide your wallet. I mean, you know.

Well, you don't just leave it on the nightstand. Never do it once, either. Oh, that's right. You can't handle them all things.

I'll handle the camera, the second one says. Next thing you know, your wallet's gone. She's handling the wallet is what it is, yeah. The report alleges O'Brien demanded money back.

I didn't get one to pay for it. I want a discount. This is not what we agreed. What are we gonna do with this problem in my pants?

Then he chased her, then chased the vehicle after she left with the sister and two friends. Oh, so she hopped in the car waiting nearby. Gang robbery. " O'Brien told the victim that she should give the money back because that was not the agreement.

Right. You didn't touch my pee-pee. Yeah. The arrest report states she made her way outside of the home where she was waiting on her friends.

A crash and alleged gun threat afterwards, the victim got in the car with her friends and left the area though O'Brien gave chase in his truck. In his golf cart. I'm coming after you. - I love it.

- According to the report, the victim's car was struck from behind in a roundabout, she hit a pole and was hit again, leaving it disabled. Three hits, he did a pretty good job. The victim got out and ran, the report states. 22 semi-automatic handgun at one of the victims and threatened to kill him if he didn't get on the ground.

I like to think that he took his blue chew about an hour before he met the girl, and all of this is being executed just fully erect. I can't run. My third leg's in weight. The victim was on the ground face down and noticed that O'Brien was distracted, so he was able to move to safety.

He got up and ran. Man's not pointing his gun at me no more. The report continues, then attempted to locate the other victim briefly until he heard law enforcement arriving. Damn it, here come the law.

O'Brien was ultimately arrested, and now faces charges of aggravated assault and battery. Okay. Uh, I don't think that, I mean, I think that he was... Justified?

Is that where you're going? No, no, I think that he's also a victim in this, is what I'm trying to say. Oh yeah, they scammed him. They definitely scammed him.

Yeah. Right. Uh, so with that being said, do you think that old people should be on Tinder? No, I don't think old people should be on the internet.

Yeah, the internet? It gets to be a certain age. That's very scary at the end of it. You know what, take away their phones too.

Just put the one in the house that's connected to the wall? Well, even then they can get online. Beeper, beeper. It is a problem.

Old people. My mother almost gave her bank information to some guy from India. Hello, okay. Hello, we helped you fix your computer now.

Give me your logon for your Bank of America. Very serious problem here. And I can move your money to my account for safety. Okay, no problem.

Oh, what a great idea. Alright, so what do you think the age parameter should be? How, where's the cutoff for? I think there needs to be a test, not actually an age, a test, like driving.

On Tinder? No, to use the internet. In just, internet in general? Internet in general.

Alright, well, what if we just dumbed this down to like social media platforms and dating apps? Oh, okay, I'm fair, I'm good enough. Okay, what should the age bracket be? Well, apparently 67 for this.

67 is definitely not happening. Should there be a separate, like, you know, Tinder silver? There is! Silver?

Oh, the one called Silver, it's a good name. net There's one for just Jewish people, too. Yeah, there's one for Jewish people. Yeah, it's very interesting.

That dude does not want something in his own age bracket. No, no, no. No, no, no. He wanted a sugar baby.

He told her he's looking for a sugar baby. He wanted to take her out to dinner and give her $200 to swallow dessert. I mean, it is what it is. That's not a sugar baby.

You're talking about him being a sugar daddy. Right. Well, I mean, in the The story, he mentions that he was, he told her he was looking for a sugar baby. Now, sugar baby does involve some type of sexual deal in part of your deal.

Yeah. In part of the deal? Yes. I pay for your rent, I pay for you a car, whatever, I give you college tuition, whatever the deal is.

But, on Saturday, you come over to my house and you eat dessert as Greg so tastes. Well, I mean, that's pretty close to marriage is what you just said to me. Well, except they don't live together. Oh, it's a separate, separate house.

Yeah, she only comes over when she has to pay the bill. Monthly? It depends on the deal. Yeah, it's usually a scheduled thing.

It's scheduled? Yeah, they get together. Yeah, it's not like he picks up the phone and goes, you know, I know it's Thursday and we just did it Monday, but I need it again. Yeah, no, he's got to wait until Saturday.

Took another one of those pills. I accidentally took a blue chew gold this time. I like that we went from like old man to like old man Texan. Well, he's got money.

He's rich. He's an oil man. He's not that rich. He's from Landman.

He's old. He's in the villages. Oh, so he's probably Jewish. Is that what you're trying to say?

No, I had no affiliation with Jewish people at all, no. Is it a lot of Jewish people in the villages? Yes, it is. Really?

Yeah. How do you know that? Because we have a shop up there on the outskirts of town. They're apparently out of stock, by the way.

Of everybody's stuff that won't give it to them for free. Of everybody's stuff that won't give it to them for free. Don't be free. Oh boy, here we are.

There we are. That's nice. Okay, so you go out there a lot? No.

But you know of the... I still follow them on social media. Religious background? Oh, up there?

Yeah. When I was there, I'd been there several times. It's not like I only went once. A lot of yarmulkes?

Matter of fact, yes. At the event, there were. Yeah? Now that you mentioned it.

Okay. Maybe you would have sold more if you brought a yarmulke. I don't think. They didn't ask.

Half Jewish on your mother's side. I told my last name, we had a Steen at Palmer Steen, but they didn't buy it. Just the good half. There you go, you got the reference, very good.

Of course I did. Just the good half. Okay, moving on. Just the good half.

Oh, sorry. Old people should not be on the internet. Old people should not be on dating sites where they have young people on them. Yeah.

Because somewhere, somebody is just trying to do something to somebody. Either the girl scamming the old man, and the old man trying to get something for nothing. It's a double scammy. I don't think he was trying to get something for nothing, though.

Mike, he was perfectly willing to have an exchange of money for sexual compensation. Well, just blame it on the young people. Young people try to take advantage of old people. Yeah, yeah.

Actually, they should have been charged with something. Attempt to solicit prostitution, something of that nature. " I suppose. Yeah, I mean, you know, to be fair, he, yeah, what was the disclaimer?

" Right, doesn't say. No. Right, or did he just go, "I'll be nice to you, you'll be nice to me"? Oh, yeah, we're dating on Tinder.

Right, I swiped left, you swiped left too. Or is it right, I don't know. " He gave me money, and then I play right south of his tummy. Wow.

Great song. Thank you very much. Fast, fast. It had to be funny, it just had to be fast.

All right, moving on to Cigar News. Giant Molly Cigars, now available in Canada. Oh. Everybody's going to Canada.

Giant Molly Cigars is now available in Canada as the company has entered into a distribution agreement with Canadian Craft Cigars, the largest distributor of cigars in Canada, apparently, because everybody's using it. Blame Canada. Canadian Craft, we know these guys. Oh, is that the guys that came to see us?

Yeah, we know them. Oh, well, we know how this works. The first ship is already in the country. It's already in the country.

And the launch is underway with retailers across the country, according to Zhu Feng Wang of Jai Molly Cigars, Canadian Crafters Cigars, Canadian Craft Cigars, also posted a video on his Facebook page saying, "Welcome to Canada, Jai Molly. Canadian Craft Cigars distributes more than a dozen brands in the country, including Black Label Trader Company, Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust, HVC, Oscar Valladares, Tobacco & Company, and Tatuaje. Yeah, Tatuaje as well. Tatuaje.

That's the end of the story, if you guys want to talk about it. There it is. That's the whole story. That's the whole story.

Very brief stories on the Haffey Wheel today. How did you not pick up on the story that I sent you via text yesterday? Because I pulled the story, and I did all the work that I normally make a story, and it wasn't that exciting. You've got to be kidding me.

I'm not a gun guy. Our audience are not gun guys. It's groundbreaking for the United States, bro. It is insane.

Only if you're a gun guy. Okay, so just- I guarantee if I polled on our YouTube page, do you own a firearm? Right. Okay, well, now you don't have to buy a $200 tax stamp for your suppressor.

No, that's not what the story is. Oh my God, that's how it works. I love this, Greg. Oh, I see you, Greg, right now.

I see you. I'm very excited. And it's like, I get it. I understand your anger towards Palmer right now because not only do you have a great story that you want to share, he just undercut the fuck out of you by giving it in 10 seconds so that it could be chopped in half and moved on, and you're outraged about it.

I'm outraged because he's missing the point. What's the point? Yes, yes, yes, yes, this happens all the time. He misses the point.

Yes, yes, continue. Please, please, yes, go on. I have a great story about fat Matt waiting, just waiting right here. So, for as long as I've been into firearms, and even before me, you had to purchase a tax stamp in order to own an SBR, a short barrel rifle, a destructive device, or a suppressor, also select fire weapons, but that's not included in this, right?

Right. So, they changed it so that you no longer had to pay for the tax stamp, but you still had to go through the process, right? You still had to submit all of your documentation to the ATF, you still had to register the firearm. But it was ruled that because there was no dollar amount being paid, it's not a tax.

Instead, it's just a registration, which is illegal, right? And these are technically not firearms. A suppressor is either considered an accessory or a firearm part, right? So what happened is this sort of sunsetted, where they were now allowed for a period of time, it's not completely decided yet, to sell these tools without having to actually sell these tools.

So there have been two people thus far that I saw that within this window of time have purchased suppressors without letting the ATF know legally. This is huge. It's massive. He still doesn't get it.

I don't get why you're all excited. I understand they don't have to pay. Because a law that's been in place for a very long time that has restricted our rights to have weapons has finally changed. But you said it wasn't a weapon, it's an accessory for the weapon.

Okay, an accessory for the weapon, sure. Okay, alright. It's tremendous. Keep talking, go.

I don't know what he's doing now. He wants to change the angle. There's a lot of waving, and I guess. Oh, I'm sorry, I got it.

I got it, just continue. Continue to tell Palmer how fucking stupid he is. I'm not telling him how stupid he is. I still don't get how excited he is.

" And then yesterday, it wasn't a topic. " Well, I didn't even see it until you told me that. " And then here we are today, and I get, the guy gets the girl, and then... That was funny.

Yeah, I mean, I guess it was a good story. But, like, this has got a lot more validity to it, by far, but there are gonna be people that are gonna be walking around with suppressed weapons now, 'cause it's just easy to obtain them. Okay. Oh, he still doesn't.

He still doesn't get it. So I can't hear when I get shot, but I can still see when I get shot? You don't understand. I don't understand why you're so excited.

It was a step in the right direction for firearm rights in the United States. Oh, is it going to lead to other accessories not having directions? So this is actually kind of the point, right? Like, forget about even the accessories.

The accessories, like, if they should lift the tax-stamped dollar amount necessary to pay for an automatic weapon, yes, yes, that could mean with time it could be completely legitimate for anyone to own an automatic weapon without having to go through the process of registering it with the ATF. Okay. He just doesn't get it, Mikey. No, I don't get why you're so excited.

I mean, you're excited because you're a gun guy. You want to have more automatic weapons. No, no, no. You want everybody to have automatic weapons.

You don't want anybody to have automatic weapons. Even removing myself from actually owning firearms, just understanding what happened, it's massive. Right, but it's a serious news story. We don't usually cover it.

I mean, we've got an old man chasing a girl around because she wouldn't touch his peepee. All right. We cover serious news stories. I've got news for you.

This morning, the USS Abraham Lincoln news was on the Today Show as I was getting up. Yeah, they're sending the USS Washington in to replace it now. Yeah, so I was already telling Brittany that, oh yeah, we already did this. Well, I don't know why, they were a day late, because I got it off either ABC or CBS yesterday.

Yeah, so is that considered a main story? Yeah, but that's a war thing. We've been doing the war stuff. So, are there guns and stuff in war?

Well, yeah, but this doesn't mean now that people are going to go to war with suppressors. You can do that. Everything's about war, if you want to say it that way. So, you know the dude that was defending the people at that Arby's or whatever?

Yeah, he had a suppressor. He had a suppressor on his firearm. That he probably paid a tax for it. He did pay a tax for it.

Does he get that money back? No, you're not going to get that money back. You're not going to get that money back. I would love to hear your comments about this below on the YouTube channel, and if any of you would like to support Triple G, you may be entered to win something special.

Oh, so if they support him, they get a prize? And I will wager that you will get more comments about this topic than anything else that we've discussed. Well, because we've made it a big focus of the show. It's been three minutes.

Yeah, but it's a big focus of the show. It's a big focus because you poo-pooed the shit out of it. You guys are welcome to pull stories as well. We can all pull stories.

Oh, you know what? Now we're at the... I don't want to anger. You're not angering me.

Now we're at the angering me. You know what? You do it. How's that sound?

Well, I mean, if the level of the stories I'm pulling isn't what you want, then pull your stories right to it. No, that's not at all what I'm saying. I really enjoy everything that you bring up for all of the different stories. Can I stop you right there?

Can I stop you right there? Seriously? He needs to move that bottle. No, that's fine.

Yeah, well, that's fine. But look, let me tell you something: you pull all the stories, all right? And we're grateful that you do it. Sure.

And guess what? You do a great job of that. Right. I appreciate that.

Okay. Did he pull the story and give it to you? He sent me a link to the story. Yes.

Yeah. So did he try and give you something that he thought was vital? Yes. You know, no offense to anybody who sends me anything because the majority of them I do use, but I get stuff from dozens of people every day with different stories.

Do any of them write you a check? So I should use his story because he writes money? No, that was a joke, but let me tell you. Because he doesn't pay me for this part.

We actually gave him a check last. So, but he is like one of your closest friends, right? Yes, he is. And that's why I went through the trouble to read the entire story.

And then ignore it. Yeah, I mean, sometimes if it's a headline that says, you know, some guy cut off three people's heads and then ran across state lines, we don't do a lot of death stuff and we can avoid it, so I always sort of get away from those type of stories. Well, we talked about the lady that got decapitated on the lake. Yeah, because that was a guy with a repeat offender and he was getting very little punishment.

And you know what? A good story. I think the point that my brother is trying to make, that if I or he brings something to you, there is a justifiable reason we've ratcheted- And that's why I didn't just dismiss it. But you did.

No, I didn't. You absolutely- I read the story. And then dismissed it. Well, I pulled the 90-second read for it like I do for everything, and I read it, and I felt it was not appropriate for our show.

Okay. I like that his eyes just kind of wavered there gently. Well, it's the bright lights. They're really getting to me.

I'm kidding to me, and I'm trying to look at you, which means I have to look right at this light. We need a series of mirrors for you to be able to look at my brother. Oh, I can't see him at all without leaning. Oh, now I can see one eyeball squinting at me.

Okay. Well, Greg, thank you so much for bringing that. Yes, Greg, I appreciate it, and I appreciate everybody who sends me stories. Please don't stop, because I use the majority of them.

And thank you so much for giving that to Palmer. And, you know, it's a great story, and I'm glad that it was covered. And it is groundbreaking. It is groundbreaking, groundbreaking.

Groundbreaking. And it's interesting to see where it's gonna go. And what's super interesting is there are some retailers that are saying, okay, then we're gonna do this, right? People are coming in and they're selling them, and there are others that are saying, no, no, no, we've reached out to the ATF.

They don't actually have a ruling on this yet, so we're not going to stop this process. We're still going to continue to submit with the tax stamp. It's super interesting. So they're still collecting the money, even though the judge says-- No, they stopped collecting the money once they changed that law, but then because they stopped collecting money, it's no longer a tax, therefore, it doesn't exist.

Is that like the government says that you can have medical marijuana, but local authorities don't recognize it as a thing yet? In what context? In the sense that... Let's say, like, you're a school teacher in the state of Florida, and your doctor says that you need medical marijuana for some marijuana.

No, I understand what you're saying, I just don't, I'm not drawing the parallel in between the two positions. Oh, well, you said that there's some places that say it's okay, but because the ATF, a government organization, hasn't really said it is, some people are going, "Well, this guy hasn't said so," even though this guy said we can't. Well, these are individual proprietors. These are businessmen that are making that decision.

But the DOJ has said that they're not going to appeal it, which is... So it means it's done. It's done. There's a precedent set.

It's done. Right. It's done. Oh, and then you would think, I mean, it's not like they can press charges against anybody.

It's crazy. Do you think he's acting engaged now to try and back panel? It could be, I don't know. No, he explained it different than the way the story read.

All right, well then... So do better, Greg. New modus operandi, if we should present a story to you and it doesn't seem worthy, it could be because you're not understanding it, just a follow-up call. What am I missing here, Greg, right?

Why is this such big news? Well, I know you're a gun guy, so I assumed you would have been excited because it's a gun-related story. But it's really not about that, it's about rights, right? That's really what it's about.

That's why it's big news. Okay. Something that has been in place since, I think, 1986 is changing. That's big news.

That seems much further away for you than it does for me, 1986. So do you think that Chamali really just kind of missed the boat on that and that's why they're pushing into Canada? Missed the boat on what? Chamali?

S.? No, I think it's fine. They just think it's another way to distribute their goods. Oh, I think that they totally botched their first PCA.

The one that we saw them at, or the one that just happened? Yeah, the one that we saw them at. Yeah, I think they did on that one, too. This is something that you and I have discussed as far as going to that market.

It is another market, and it is viable. Not only is it viable, but it's very attractive because so many cigar consumers can't get Cuban cigars for lack of them being available, and they're pivoting to Nicaraguan, Dominican, Honduras cigars. There is a viable market there. And Coach Phil is up there.

Who's Coach Phil? Our friend. Our friend. Our friend.

Our friend. Our friend. Yeah, he's our friend, Coach Phil. Coach Phil.

Our recent listener. YouTuber. Oh, okay, very good. YouTube commenter.

Yeah. Very good. He's the only Canadian we like. That's not true.

We like John McCann. I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. God, look at how angry you are.

He's my friend. Yeah? I bet you if he sent you a new story, you'd cover it. He sent me one yesterday.

No, I didn't cover it. covered a lot of the canadian news is really washed down not a lot going on in canada canada they censored their news more than anybody else really yeah not here in florida baby not here everything's going on here another lady got her arm bitten off by the alligator but we've covered so much of those it's yeah it's just like an everyday thing here was the gator using the I would have wanted to talk about that. Right, right. Did he pay for the tax stamp?

He was very quiet when he took her arm off. Did he attempt to pay the woman to bite the arm, and then she reneged on the deal? Is that what happened? Yeah, that's what happened.

Twisted it right off. Do-do-do-do-do. That's why her son watched. Kind of ended up.

All right, Lures the Fat Matt is shipping tomorrow. The Fat Matt. The newest limited edition from Lures Cigars was inspired by a family member of the company owner, Lou Cross. Described as a follow-up to the nearest that was released earlier this year, The Fat Matt is a 5x54 Robusto Grande, with an E, made with a sun-grown Ecuadorian Habano wrapper covering a Lajero Binder grown in Esteli and a filler blend that includes Honduran and Nicaraguan leaves.

The cigars are made at the La Tabla Carolera Cigars in Esteli, Nicaragua. Matt is a reference to the future father-in-law of Luke Cross's son. My son's fiancé is from South Florida, and her father, Matt, apparently is fat, is a new cigar enthusiast and now part of the family's head cross in a press release. He catches peacock bass in the canal system behind his house.

Since we already have a cigar called the Fat Tony, a 5x54 Oscuro line, it seemed fitting to name this release after him, Fat Matt. Allure uses a fishing theme for its brand, and a peacock bass is used as the branding for the release. In the case, roughly 20 retailers will sell the Fat Mat bundles of the Fat Mat are scheduled to begin shipping August 14th. This brand, for lack of a better pun, is making waves.

Yeah, you're covered in ash, by the way. Oh, thank you. They're doing things. Yeah, he's doing well.

They're all over the place, and good for them. They're obviously working really, really hard. You know, I appreciate that. Lou's a good guy, I like Lou.

I appreciate his honesty. The fact that he said this will be available to about 20 retailers. " Right. So it was not a nationwide release.

Yeah, or anything like that, you know? Right. " And we didn't like it. How honest.

That's awesome. Yeah, he's a pretty good, pretty cool dude. What samples have we seen? I have yet to see them, I don't think.

We don't let them get to your desk, 'cause you don't decide to buy them or not. We smoke them and we make our own decision. We smoke them, we talk about them on the show. You know, there are things in our humidor that I don't even know what they are at this point.

They're cigars, Greg. Yeah, thank you. There's something that went on today that I approved the order. I'm like, when did we purchase this?

I didn't see this. Uh, the Queen of... Yep, that's exactly what it was. The Queen of the Midwest, or whatever it's called.

Exactly, yeah, Queen of the Midwest. It's a pretty box, isn't it? I didn't even see the box. I just saw the cigars to be approved on the image, and I'm like, what product?

Oh, you saw somebody bought some. Somebody bought some. I mean, great, good decision, all right? All right, you buy the cigars, you sell the cigars, that's a whole model, right, I get it.

Right, that's what we do here. So whose cigar is that? You know what's even better about that is that particular order that you're referencing. The guy tried to place the order on the site, and I had a problem with the address where it kicked everything and shut it down.

So his order billing and shipping didn't match, so we reached out to him. And I don't know if we contacted him or not, but we did call and text, and then I fixed the Google address thing, and he came back in and placed the order. Which is really cool. That's awesome.

That's a lot of work. Yeah. Back to the cigar. So just in case anybody's wondering, like where the site is, it's up, and it's live, and it's new, and there's little kinks that I'm continuing to work through, so if you guys find something wrong with it or whatever, just reach out to me so I can keep working through it, but I think I found all the major snags so far.

So that cigar is Creekside Cigar. Ah, now it makes sense. Now it makes sense. Yes, I did see that invoice.

Okay. See, I didn't want to drop that right away and just kill the story. I'd much rather see you frustrated, by the way. See you're frustrating.

That's Dave Ember, Queen of Del Oro, or whatever it is. What's it called? The Queen of something? Well, the city is actually known as the Queen of whatever that says.

I don't know what it says either. Oh. That's the nickname for the city they're in. Oh.

That's awesome. He fed me steak. Which is why we carry the cigars. That's all it took.

That's all it took. It was the steak that did it. It just took the steak. So for those of you making your own cigars, send the steaks, care of, cooked or raw, he's not particular.

I'm a man, baby. Alright, you know what you do after becoming partners in a UK festival? You create a cigar. PCA joins Costa Rican Cigar Festival as a co-organizing partner.

The hell? Yeah, we're in the festival business now, guys. The Premium Cigar Association, PCA, is pleased to announce its participation as a co-organizing partner of the Puro Vida Cigar Festival 2026, taking place November 21st, 22, 2026, in Costa Rica. Okay.

Now we're all going to Costa Rica. Well, I mean, what do you think the reason is for this? We're starting to see more and more of this. Well, all companies are just trying to increase their bottom line.

If you're hitting a point where you think that you're saturated in a particular area or territory, going back to the Canadian perspective, you figure out a way, how do I increase my total revenue, you've got to expand new markets. You think that's what Josh is doing? Well, I think the PCA is a for-profit entity, right? I mean, there's no mistake in that, right?

So if there's opportunities for growth in that revenue, yeah. What do you think, Palmer? Are they not a non-profit? Are they a for-profit?

No! Are they? Yeah! So it's a business?

It's a for-profit venture, 100%. I feel a little ripped off. I think PCA is non-profit. Yeah, how could they be an organization that's working for us if their ultimate goal is to make more money?

You can do both, but that's a good question. That's a very good question. Right. I mean, we're paying them money to be a member of an organization so that Josh can have a bigger paycheck?

You can fight anti-tobacco legislation and get paid for it and make a profit. You can. That just seems wrong. I agree with your question.

Like, how is that possible? That's a very good question. Well, I know it's possible. It just seems wrong to do.

Go ahead, juggle search it, Mikey. Yeah. It's confirmed a non-profit. And the reason why I knew that off the cuff is because we talk about how much money he makes on his salary.

And that has to be publicly disclosed. Yeah. Wait. So first of all, just being a non-profit doesn't mean that you have to publicly dispose...

You don't have to... You can be a for-profit venture and still tell people what it is that you make. It actually says non-profit when you searched it. Yes, but if you're a non-profit, you have to say where all the money is going.

Yeah, you have to show your salary. Everybody's salary. Yeah. He's a six-figure guy.

Oh, yeah, no, I know. Costa Rica occupies a distinctive place within the global premium cigar landscape with an artisanal, boutique-oriented industry built around craftsmanship specializing production and an increasingly recognized tobacco-growing and cigar-making tradition. They're doing organizations or festivals in countries that make cigars. Google AI says that he made $226,508, according to his tax filings.

That seems light. Other deferred benefits. $200,000 to fly around on somebody else's bill and smoke cigars and eat and drink. His contract has been extended to 2031.

Seems like he should make more money. Oh, he probably does. He probably does. Yeah, you know.

Come on. That's reported. Yeah, you know. I'm sure Perdomo gives him like 100 or something.

That wasn't me. Just for the record, it wasn't me. It was a joke. Get out of here.

PCA members, industry stakeholders, and adult passionados from the United States and around the world are invited to join the association in Costa Rica for an immersive celebration I think this is a good thing, man. I think that trying to expand and cover internationally will be better for Cigar Rights. I think this is a good thing, man. I think that trying to expand and cover, like, internationally will be better for Cigar Rights.

I think this is a good thing, man. I think that trying to expand and cover, like, internationally will be better for Cigar Rights. I think this is a good thing, man. I think that trying to expand and cover, like, internationally will be better for Cigar Rights.

I think this is a good thing, man. I think that trying to expand and cover, like, internationally will be better for Cigar Rights. But there's a lot of money in the United States across the globe. How is that?

Because we live in a global economy, and awareness of tobacco in a fashion that's not negative is positive for people who sell cigars. Can't you be aware of it without him investing our money in these other, in a festival? Sure, but I agree with my brother. I think the more people that are out there speaking about what it is that we do for a living in a positive way is good for us.

- Whether it be here or abroad. - Okay. - Yeah. - Whether you're here or you're abroad.

- Right, whether you're here or if you're abroad. - Or if you're abroad. - As the world's leading market for premium cigars, it's important for the PCA to engage directly with our manufacturing partners. We've been doing so in the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and Honduras for a few years now.

And I'm extremely proud for the PCA, he didn't mention the UK Festival. To take this step with the country that has the generational tobacco ban, we're partnering a smoking festival there, too. Yeah, so what do you do in 20 years when they're all dead? 20, it's like 10, you gotta stop smoking.

By supporting our friends in Costa Rica, said Joshua Habersky, CEO and ringmaster of the Premium Cigar Association, as co-organizing... You guys didn't catch that joke, ringmaster, the guy who runs the circus? I heard the joke, I just didn't understand. Maybe I just didn't think it was funny, I'm sorry.

Oh, wait, wait, wait. I had one that didn't land yesterday, either, Palmer. They all can't be winners, brother, can I? All right, we look forward to welcoming the PCA members and aficionados to experience the industry firsthand, meet the people behind it, and support its continued development.

International engagement is about building bridges across our industry. Yadda, yadda, yadda, yadda. Yadda, yadda, yadda, yadda. Hospitality, producing country, blah, blah, blah.

Two-day program, Costa Rican's premium cigar ecosystem festival experiences will include A visit connected to mountain grown tobacco farms and cigar factories, providing guests with a closer understanding of the agriculture and human craftsmanship behind the finished cigar, it's different in that country than the other two. Different leaves. Different rolling, different things. The program will also showcase internationally renowned Costa Rican products, including coffee, chocolate.

Okay, I don't care anymore, moving on. But they have warm hospitality and food. Whatever. We got it.

We covered it. They have education. Next, next, next. I'm trying to get through it.

I'll turn it off. I'll turn this machine off. I'll shut this whole thing down right now. I'll shut this down right now.

Register early. Register early. Now it's time for the industry's favorite game. What's the score?

Can you predict the cigars? Listen, you guys were not excited about that. I thought that was very loud. I elevated my voice.

But your eyes, your eyes, the eyes, Chico. I was staring right at the camera. You're like this. Because I can't see.

All right, whatever, fine. Can you predict a cigar score from a half-wheel review before it's revealed? We'll give you clues, you make the guess, and as the review unfolds, the answer gets closer. Or does it?

The closest guess wins. Let's play, What's the Score? Today's Cigar, August 3rd, 2010, Brooks Whittington is the reviewer. Brooks.

It is the Tatuaje, Tatuaje Outlaw. 2010, Tatuaje, '88, '88, '90. See, the Cigar Reviews, the Tatuaje Outlaw, country of origin, Nicaragua. Factory, My Father Cigars, Wrapper, Nicaraguan, Binder, Nicaraguan, Filler, Nicaraguan, Size 6x52, Toro, Sells for $11, and they smoke 3.

Nice. 88. 90. Clue number one.

The cigar is an attractive, well-constructed stick with a rich, dark brown wrapper. It's firm-feel, pleasant aromas of hay and leather, and cold-drawn notes of chocolate make a strong first impression. 90. 90.

The first third provides the cigar's best flavor experience, offering distinct notes of leather, dark chocolate, cedar, and a subtle touch of spice. Each flavor is clear and easy to identify. Still 90. I like to see you struggling on that one, like you had to burp or something or fart?

I don't know what happened there. Uh, I was running out of air. Tried to read it all on one breath. Ninety.

Third clue. After the promising first third, the flavors become noticeably mild and muted. The cigar shows very little development through the second and final third, making the remainder of the smoke feel somewhat uneventful. Uneventful.

- 87. - 90. - Final thought. I'm not going to lie to you.

This is not Tatuaje's best effort. - Oh, uh oh. - The flavors that are present are nice, albeit fairly normal for a cigar, especially a blend from Nicaragua. But the lack of almost any spice or pepper to keep things interesting, and more importantly, the fact the flavor seems somehow muted for the last two-thirds of a cigar was fairly disappointing.

Understanding this is not a bad cigar at all, just fairly mild and one-dimensional. And I expect more from the cigar that Pete releases. If you want to taste a great, milder Tatuaje, go with the El Truffador, number six. As a far superior example of what a milder and more flavorful Tatuaje can be, albeit in a different Vitola.

The end. The end. No commentary about construction, though. I didn't hear anything about that.

It must not have been a problem. Or, it was not an overwhelming success either. 85. Take the dub and just go 86.

You went the wrong way, dub. It's 75. Oh my god! Yes!

Wow! He's not putting you on. Michael, put 'em on. He's not gonna show you.

So, Michael, go ahead and close out the show. Like and subscribe wherever you're viewing and listening to this show. com for all your chpod swag where you get the new Superstar Triple G shirt. com Cigar Hustlers podcast thank you so much for listening and watching our show today we greatly appreciate you hope we provided great edutainment for you as well and here's your winner oh no it's gone it stopped I don't know what happened there it is nope anything else Palmer?

yes go get your suppressors now there's no tax stamps on these guys we're changing the world today no tax stamps on No, it's a practice. Oh, very nice. Very nice. He was hitting the button the whole time.

He didn't get it. He didn't get it. By the way, they're out of sparklers. Now we're out of sparklers.

It's out now. It's out. It's not even building. Not even going to happen.

Now we got to send you a bill for all that you used. Getting an invoice. We need our check back. All right.

That's it. All right, guys. We got to go. Bloop.

Show Notes

00:00 Cold Open

00:15 Show Intro

02:35 Announcements and CHPod Swag

04:10 Listener Comments

09:54 News Begins

10:39 Three Executions Scheduled on the Same Day

16:19 Smart Thermostat Locked at 79 Degrees

26:57 Tinder Trouble in The Villages

39:53 Cigar News

39:57 Jasim/Jas Sum Kral Cigars Expands into Canada

41:52 Suppressors, Tax Stamps, and ATF Registration

59:15 Lure Cigars Releases the Fat Matt

65:16 PCA Joins the Costa Rican Cigar Festival

73:22 “What’s the Score?” — Tatuaje Outlaw 2010

77:58 Closing and Outro

The crew dives into three executions scheduled for the same day, a smart thermostat locked at 79 degrees, and a wild Tinder encounter in The Villages. In cigar news, they discuss a Canadian expansion, Lure Cigars’ Fat Matt release, and the PCA’s involvement in a Costa Rican cigar festival—before wrapping up with “What’s the Score?”

Smart Thermostats, Sugar Babies & Cigar News Gone Wild