ACHP Episode 370: TikTok Ban Looms & Trending News: Soap Star Death, NFL Injuries, and Global Quakes

Transcript

*Muja* ACHP, Episode 370. Recorded live at the Mike & Mike Production Studios in Deltona, Florida, this is ACHP, the show where cigars, business, and life collide. Join your hosts, Mike Stepon-Kevich and Mike Palmer, as they bring you unfiltered tanks on the cigar industry, insider stories, and a whole lot of laughs. And me, I'm Boots, your sound and video engineer.

That's Boots, spelled B-O-O-T-S. E-O-O-T-S. Yeah. So, sit back, light up, and enjoy the hustle.

I like doing my own show here. This is great. 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 deliver 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. I'm interested to see how quickly he switches. Did he switch at all? He didn't, he hasn't switched a single one.

He hasn't switched a single one. Well, I talk first. Yeah, do I need to switch? Yes, you need to switch.

That's the whole purpose. But when I talk, you have to switch to me. No, you don't. All right, trending topics, we got soap opera legend dies at 79 for Michael's favorite show.

Okay. Uh-oh. Eagles linebacker, N'Kobi. Do I say N'Kobi right?

Keep going. N'Kobi Dean feared to have suffered a significant knee injury in the win over the Packers. Mm-hmm. Oh, there was a price to pay for that win.

Price to pay. 9 magnitude earthquake rattled Japan this morning. Okay. m.

local time. And then finally, TikTok, why you should delete from your iPhone, Android, or app next week when it stops. I'm interested to hear about that one. That's very trendy now.

Everybody's talking about TikTok. Okay. All right, so back to the beginning. A soap opera star who appeared in more than 2,000 episodes of General Hospital is dead at age 79.

Reports, Leslie Charlson, the actress best known for playing Dr. Monica Quartermain, on General Hospital, died Sunday after a long illness. Health problems include mobility issues after falls in recent years, and she was hospitalized last week after she fell down. That's usually how people die when they get old.

They fall down. They fell? My dad fell, that's why he died. He fell?

He fell and cracked a rib and punctured his lungs. And then he drowned? Basically. Yeah, over a period of time.

His body could, And it doesn't hold up to the constant draining of the fluid. So I can't go on now. And I'm done. Oh no, it's not dead today.

I'm good, it's next week. It is with a heavy heart that I announced the passing of my dear friend and colleague, Leslie Charlson, the show's executive producer, Frank Valentine, announced on Instagram, her enduring legacy has spanned over 50 years on General Hospital alone. And just as Monica was the heart of the Quartermain, Leslie was a beloved matriarch of the entire cast and crew. I will miss our daily chats, her quick wit, and incredible presence on set.

On behalf of everyone at General Hospital, my heartfelt sympathy goes out, her loved ones during this difficult time. She first appeared on General Hospital in 1977. I wasn't even born yet. Well, they said for over 50 years, so I assumed.

Yeah. And appeared in 2,079 episodes. That's a lot. over five decades, mostly recently in 2023.

Oh, she became a star recently. Plus the spinoff General Hospital Night Shift. Ooh. There's a spinoff?

There's a spinoff. No one told me about this. Are you not aware of this? No.

It's probably like there used to be a Baywatch night shift too. I wonder if there's anything to do with that. What would happen at night on Baywatch? Mostly it looked like they went to clubs and they were like private detective type things.

Oh. Yeah, not saving a lot of people in the water at night. So you abandoned the whole like- Well, Mitch and the main people became, I think, private detectives or something, and at night, they would chase drug dealers on the land or something. Really?

It wasn't not long. It didn't last. No. Doesn't sound like this show did either.

You think you would know about it? Yeah. Everybody loves Hoffman. Everybody loves the Hoffman.

She was nominated for four Daytime Emmy Awards, and her Monica Quartermain character was known for a love triangle with Rick and Allen. Rick and Allen? Quartermain? Were they Quartermains too?

It's a family inbred thing? Here's the thing, here's what I can tell you about General Hospital: I don't really know the names of the people, but I can get some of the names when they cycle in and out. Quartermaine's a big name, you'd think that would be like a Maine type character? Quartermaine is, they have a lot of power on them.

Like in Days of Our Lives, it's the Hortons. Yeah, it's the, and it would be in General Hospital. They're the Hortons of General Hospital. Yeah, the Quartermains are the...

Much cooler name. Quartermain? Yeah. Alan Quartermain and the legend of the something.

He's like an Indiana Jones guy. Oh, okay. Horton only hears a who. He does only hear...

Not as exciting. Just the one time. Yes. She became legendary for her mix of comedy.

She famously slapped co-stars on screen. Really? Yes. And drama, getting shot, losing three children, and surviving breast cancer.

I don't know if that's on the show or in real life. I'm not sure. Yeah. Which energy drink is that we're supposed to be monitoring?

This is Red Bull. It's still an energy drink. I'm not consuming as much. Your wife has asked me to keep an eye on them.

Listen, this has been a hell of a parlay for the past four or five days for me. Yes, I've been very busy, I understand, very busy. Right. Today was not any less than everything else.

What do you mean? Well, for her birthday, she got four new tires. Yeah. Unexpectedly.

Yeah, surprise. So I need a little pick-me-up here, bud. I'm just worried about your safety. It's a limited amount of sleep.

Your health and your safety. We're just going to keep it going. All right. I'd like to hear the opinions of our listeners as far as what energy drink I should be consuming.

What's the healthy one? What is the best? What is the best one? I'm talking, thank you.

What is the best energy drink that Michael can be drinking? Because normally I drink black coffee and then I parlay into Ghost and then Red Bull. Which is how you've gone today? No.

No ghost. No ghost. What were you drinking for the Patreon? Just my regular Mio water.

Oh, that's right. It was your orange cup. Yeah. Oh, I'm sorry.

Well, your ghost of choice is orange also because it's the mango. Tropical mango. It's still mango. It's not orange.

The can's not orange? The can's yellow. I think it's an orange yellow. All ghost cans are yellow.

But anyways. No, no, no. I'm drinking a red one in there. Are you?

Yes. Oh, that's probably one like a limited edition or something. No, it's Cherry Limeade. Okay.

Limeade green. Eagles linebacker N'Kobe Dean is feared to have suffered a significant knee injury. So you're sitting here judging me about my ghost. My wife has not asked you to keep track of my intake.

Your wife probably upped her insurance policy on you and gives you more caffeine. No, I did just renew one of my insurance policies. One? You have several?

Oh, I have several. I have 3. Do you have one for me, for you, when you go? No.

I mean, to replace you is going to be a lot. It's going to be really expensive. I understand. Okay, I'll write one over to you then.

Thank you. There's one with State Farm that's just not that big, but it might be enough to replace me. At least for a short period of time. Yes, yes.

For the first year, then after that, you're on your own. Then I'm on my own. Okay. So this N'Kobe fella.

Yes. Go ahead. Go on. Philadelphia won't have one of its key starters for the remainder of 2024 playoffs.

In the playoffs, Eagles linebacker N'Kobe Dean is feared to have suffered a significant knee injury in Sunday's wildcard game win over the Packers. Oh no. So this isn't one of those, they had to win, somebody else lost. This is a straight win, win thing for them.

Yeah, we are officially in the postseason. Okay, so now it doesn't matter. Now if you win, you go move. If you lose, you go down.

That's right. Gotcha. As like the Bucks lost last night. I thought they won.

That thing I sent you, I thought I said they won. Last second. No, they lost last night. Oh.

They were in the playoffs. Right. They were the only team in Florida that made the playoffs. Right.

Oh, that's what that was. And then they screwed it up. Oh. So they lost last night.

So not in the playoffs anymore. It's over, Johnny. Oh. It's over.

And I'm, you know. Yeah. Eh. Look, I'm ready to move on from it.

You know, your favorite character from General Hospital dies. Yeah. Your team died in the playoffs. You're not allowed to have all the Red Bulls you want.

Yeah, you can't have all the energy drinks you want anymore. Life is tough for you, Randy. 2025 is looking rather grim. It's not starting good for you, is it?

No, I'm not happy. Were you a fan of N'Kobe? Uh, no, I'm not really a big Eagles. He's not going to tell us if he is right now, because it's going really bad.

I'm not really a big Eagles guy. The only guy who I enjoy watching on the Eagles is right now, Saquon Barkley. Oh, is Mike Garofalo related to David Garofalo? They're brothers.

Oh, NFL Network Insiders Ian Rappaport and Mike Garofalo reported Monday, They say, per sources, that an MRI on Monday will determine the full extent of Dean's injury, so by now they probably know. Here's what, normally in the NFL they know right when he's getting off the field. They know exactly where he's at. Well, yeah, they just...

They do an x-ray there or whatever. Just to verify if they're going to shoot him up with a quarterfone or not with a leg. I mean, I'm sure they probably can't do an MRI there or whatever, but... You would think by now they would have one like in a locker room.

" Right. Without anything else. Right, right, right. Right?

They know what it looks like. Right. There are physical therapists. There are doctors that, you know, in sports medicine.

Sure. That can touch a knee, make it move, and say... Oh, yeah. Oh, it's float kneecapping there, buddy.

I got some bad news, bud. You're out. How is your commentating? I can't confirm it at this current time.

Right. But here's what it looks like. Right. And they know.

Well, we have a doctor that diagnosed most of us over the phone, so, I mean, it's no different. Yeah. I mean, a buddy of mine that's a doctor, when Jax hurt his arm or whatever, he grabbed it, he touched it, and he said, yeah, you need to take him in. Like, he knew, without saying anything else, he knew that there is, at minimal, a fracture.

I understand how fast he's hitting the buttons. Oh, he's doing pretty good with it. Yeah. See, Dean had been leading the Eagles in tackles, six, in the early going, He was quickly ruled out of the game before getting carted to the locker room.

After the game, the 24-year-old was seen on crutches and wearing a bulky knee brace. A former third-round pick, Dean, excelled in the first full season as a starter, finishing second on the team in tackles. Ooh, he had 128 tackles. That's a lot.

While also producing three sacks, one interception, and one forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries. Oh, they're going to miss him. They are going to miss him. His energetic play makes up for his undersized frame, oh, he's a little fella, and sure-handed cleanup behind a stout Eagles defensive line was instrumental in Philly leading the league in defense in 2024.

Here's what's cool about the postseason, about the playoffs, when it comes to the NFL. Well, first, that stupid rule about if you lose, you could still win or something, I don't, too confusing. That's out the window now. That's gone now.

That's gone. So, so easier now to keep track. That's no longer a thing. " But it's okay!

So did these guys! So now you win! Ah, fuck, I don't know what's going on. No, so, you're deep into the season at this point, and it's just a question of how many injuries you've sustained, and what is the will and drive on the team?

Oh. So, you really kind of see who has it, and like, what kind of... Who's got the heart. Yeah.

Who's ready to go. That's the fun part. Who's a team player. Yeah, I'm looking forward to Detroit.

I want to see Detroit play so bad. I like Detroit. Do you? Yeah, I'm rooting for Detroit now.

I mean, the Bucs are gone, so. Right. That's Jake's favorite team, my son Jake. Oh, yeah?

Well, his mother's family is from Detroit. Is the Lions his favorite team? Yes. Okay.

Yeah. That's the Detroit team, right? Yes. Okay, just making sure.

We were talking about two teams, so I didn't know. I wasn't following them. Just making sure something didn't change I wasn't aware of. Boots, we don't care if you're paying attention to us, as long as you're paying attention to the cameras.

I'm paying attention. I know, I'm just saying. I'm not looking. Hey, that was a gray line.

Gray line. It was a gray line of is it the lions or is it the bucks? Oh, okay. Oh, yeah.

Okay. 9 magnitude earthquake. Wow. It's a tsunami that gets you.

It's pronounced a tsunami. No, the T is silent. It's a tsunami. It's not a tsunami.

The T is silent like on climb. It's not Kleinberg. No, I remember a long time ago, listening to Howard Stern. Well, he's an idiot.

What? He's rich, he's rich, but he's an idiot. He's the pioneer of what we're doing. Yeah, I know, it doesn't mean I don't think he's an idiot.

What was the Star Trek guy that would always go on there? The Reading Rainbow guy. The what? The Reading Rainbow guy.

No. No, no, no. Not Geordi LaForge. Completely different Star Trek show.

George Sakai. George Sakai, Mr. Sulu. Yes.

There was a guy at the hotel we used to always stay at in China. There was a guy that looked like him. We called him Mr. Sulu.

Nice. To his face. And he was like, oh. Oh.

Yeah, he liked it. I can't wait to kick this guy's ass. And he was a doorman, so he wore a gray tuxedo with tails and a top hat. He looked like it.

Yes. Oh, man. Sorry. Stupid American.

Stupid American. So, um. Yeah, whole funny, whole funny funny. So, George Sakai would always say, no, it's pronounced tsunami.

Well. I believe him. Bro. You know what I'm saying?

What's crazy is that you remember that? How many years ago was that? Oh, a long time ago. Less than when the lady started on General Hospital.

Right, right. It's good to know that my brain still works. Yeah. Well, like me, though, you start to have these weird random facts from way back.

Right. And then you don't have room for anything new. It triggers in. Right.

Like nostalgia. All the new stuff sort of gets pushed out, and you're going tsunami to everybody. Tsunami. This is such a great clip.

The tsunami advisory was in place late Monday after a strong earthquake struck off the coast of Japan's Miyazaki Prefecture officials said it had an intensity of a lower 5 on the Japanese scale of 0 to 7. That sounds high. 0 to 5? A 5 on a scale of 0 to 7?

Well, what, hey, Boots, if you could look up, please, what is, like, the highest earthquake rating that they've ever had? What is the ultimate disaster? You mean tsunami? No, no, no, this is the earthquake causes a tsunami.

I thought that you rated the tsunami on a 5 from 0 to 7. No, the quake, the quake is 5 on a scale of 7. Gotcha. In Japanese terms.

Okay. It's like, you know, inches and meters. It's gonna be different. This is American, this is American earthquake and Japanese earthquake.

The American way is the only way to measure. Freedom measurements. Freedom measurements. That's what it's called.

Has he been able to click back and forth while looking up the question that you kind of asked him as a question? So I believe he is. He's pretty empty. Go ahead.

Is it, um, you want the question to be what is the highest earthquake before a tsunami? No, no. What is the highest earthquake on record? Strongest earthquake of record.

In Japan? No, just period. Oh, that's, that doesn't really help us. Sure, it gives us a scale.

I mean, we know we've had earthquakes here. Alright, here it is. The largest earthquake ever was in 1960, Valdivia earthquake in Chile. 5 on the Richter scale.

So, okay, so then six is not that bad. It killed around 1,600 people, but it lasted 10 minutes. Their scale only goes to seven. No, no, Japan's scale goes to seven.

Right. Not Chili's. That is on our measurement. Right.

Isn't it a universal scale, no? 9. I'm not going to argue with you on this, because I feel like we're not going to get anywhere. 9 is really big or not.

Oh, okay. Not 5. Right, no, not 5. I'm not doing Japan at all.

Okay, okay. Because I don't think anybody else is measuring but Japan, Japan's. 9 is pretty significant. Right, but 9, there was a 9 somewhere else.

Right. Okay. That's the biggest one ever, though. I'm glad that we can move on from that.

m. with its epicenter a few miles offshore at a depth of about 19 miles. Japanese and American officials said, oh, they agree on where it started. Okay.

Just not how strong it was. Which is progress, because we couldn't determine where the coronavirus started for years. Exactly. Yeah.

The Japanese Weather Agency issued a tsunami. Oh, I'm sorry. What was it? Tsunami.

Tsunami. Katsunami, advisory for Miyazaki and Kochi, and expected heights of about one meter. Okay. That's pretty big.

A meter? How big is a meter? Is that just under a mile? I think it's longer than a mile.

A meter is more than a mile? Boots. Boots. How long is a meter in inches?

Is a meter longer than a mile? I believe it is. We don't need him if it talks. A mile is longer than a meter.

Oh. A mile, right. What's the comparison? How many inches in a meter?

34 meters. Yeah, so a meter's not a mile. Oh. So what is a meter in inches?

In freedom measurement. That's so small. That's what I'm saying. And you're like, nah, it's a mile.

So then why do they, what's the... Yeah, why are they worried about this? Somebody's knees are gonna get wet. Yeah, this doesn't sound right.

0254 meters. - No, do meters two inches the other way. - Do it the other way. 125, and then I have to do this 17,000 times.

37 inches in one meter. - Three feet, so three feet and a meter. That's what I figured, it was about three feet. - How does it make news coverage if there's gonna be...

- A three-foot wave. - A three-foot wave. - That doesn't make any sense. - Well, in Japanese, they're tiny people.

- Tsunami! - And it's an island. So three feet goes over the island, no more island. And they're only two feet tall anyways.

Right, so it's up to the, it's over their heads. Yeah. That's racist. And he already made that joke.

It's not racist. I didn't say there was anything wrong with being two feet tall. I said they're tiny people. Oh, and Kochi, uh, residents of some areas were advised to evacuate.

See? Three feet. I feel like we're not understanding the whole story here. I'm reading it to you.

It has to be, it has to be a misprint. m. Is it inches in Japanese inches? No.

Yes, yes, one inch in Japan is worth 752 feet. Yeah. Yeah, the Japanese inches are totally different. Totally different than our inches.

Yeah, they incorporated the name, but they've moved on. Actually, we don't know how tall it was because the guy ran so fast after he had the ruler out there. Hey, how tall was that? Holy good ruler, hold on.

Oh man, eight inches, get the fuck out of here. Japanese weather officials said about an hour after the quake that they were still gathering information about disruption. Some train services were halted. Trains.

And it was unclear whether they would be restarted. Oh, the trains went off. I wish I could call somebody that knew about tsunamis. Do we know anybody in Japan?

Do we know anybody in Japan? What about, uh, what's his name from Diesel? Justin. No, Justin's busy in the Dominican Republic, and he'll never take our calls.

Oh, Matt Booth. He never takes our calls. Yeah, not anymore. Authorities warned that aftershocks and other jolts may still arrive, so residents should stay in safe places.

Residents were cautioned to be wary of broken glass or other debris. So the damage has not yet been reported, well, from the 8-inch tsunami, and there have been no abnormalities in radiation levels. Oh, radiation. Oh, Godzilla.

Oh. Uh-oh. He's responsible for all this? Uh-oh.

It's like radiation, that's how we got to be big. Operations of regional nuclear power, oh, nuclear power plants. They have a lot of nuclear power plants. Who are we calling?

Oh, please be Mabu. It's Mabu. Who's the tsunami expert? Skip.

It's gotta be Mabu. Skip knows everything. Telephone number 2-1. Oh!

Oh, jeez! 2-1, 2-1. Oh, stay tuned for the other six numbers. Who were you calling?

I was calling a Japanese tsunami expert. I'm an expert. Oh. Yeah.

Hmm. All right, the TikTok ban. TikTok's getting banned on the 19th. Are you sure?

All signs point to it being banned. Is this like the Pornhub ban? It's the same thing, huh? No, no, no.

TikTok's being banned by the government. Porn's been banned by the governor. Oh. I mean, it's the same thing, right?

It's a totally different thing. Uh, yeah. I don't think they think the porn people are stealing our secrets through the porn sites. No, they're just stealing our children.

Right. Yes, yes. But not through the website, on my phone, if I had one. Yeah, it's through the website.

That's what's going on. Like, there's a whole, like... You talking about porn or TikTok? Yeah, the Pornhub stuff or whatever.

I think they're starting to figure out that all the websites are stealing all the information. Yeah, they all are in some way or another. Right. Yeah, I gotta accept all these cookies.

I don't understand. Yeah, what's all the cookies all the time? In order to proceed... I normally just say yes, but then something happens to my phone.

There's a... Oh, there it is. Notice something happens to your phone. All my baking counter information is opened up and everything.

You gotta stay off the porn sites, buddy. I don't go to the porn sites. You get cookies from everybody. Yeah, you can't in Florida, not even if you wanted to, apparently.

I mean, Half Wheel, I have to say, don't allow every time I go to Half Wheel. Yeah, well, that's, you know, Charlie. I'm like, jeez, man. It's Chinese.

The site will probably get turned off, too, because it's owned by somebody who's Chinese. The half-wheel is going to be shut. TikTok and half-wheel on the 19th. Well, maybe.

Maybe. I don't think it happens to either one. I don't know. Unless something happens in the next, what, say is the 13th in the next week.

As of right now, they've said, no, it's going bye-bye. I'm willing to bet. Yes. Well, read the story and then I'll talk.

All right. S. and you can expect nonstop coverage until then. As well.

170 million American users ask what happens next. The mood music appears to have turned against TikTok's argument for a stay, but nothing is certain yet. What is certain is that they should, that they should, the ban happened, all 107 million users should delete the app on their phones and Androids with the threat of serious consequences if they do not. Wait, wait, wait.

Is there more into that? Yes, yes, I'm pausing for effect and for comments. Dun, dun, dun. I particularly chose this story about TikTok for this reason.

Okay. We can't comment until we hear more because there has to be more. You can still comment. Maybe you're wrong.

Maybe you're right. Who knows? No, I want to hear it. Keep going.

Yeah, you got to keep going. This is absurd. Okay. The best thing that could happen right now is that they get a stay because Trump takes over the day after the ban.

Okay. So if the, what's the court? If the Supreme Court gives them a pause, basically, then Trump can come in and save it. Okay.

But if they don't, he can't bring it back, because then they have to change the laws to bring it back. Well, they do that every day. They change the laws all the time. Yeah, but that's not an overnight thing, though.

Senate, they have to put the left to write the law up, it's got to go in front of the Senate, they have to vote in the Congress, blah, blah, blah. I feel like Biden created a law for his son, like, overnight. That's a pardon. That's a pardon, not a law.

Have you ever seen the Schoolhouse Rock, I am a Bill, I'm only a Bill, sitting here in Capitol Hill? With Jack Black? No, Jack Black. Yeah, he's too young for Schoolhouse Rock.

But, you know, there are these things called executive orders, I mean, he could fucking... Yeah, I don't, can executive order just overwrite anything? Yeah, I think so, yeah. Could he, like, do an executive order that says, "Now you can kill people"?

I don't know how smooth that would go. Well, I'm not saying it would be popular, but could that happen? Could Trump build an executive order for a purge? Right, purge, that's what we're looking for, yeah, we're now doing the purge!

I think that's how the movie goes, right? I think that you would have, you know, a civil war of some type of upheaval at that level, you know what I mean? Like, I can't see anybody grabbing their pitchforks because TikTok's saved. No, but I'm just curious, where is the line for the executive order?

s currency as a whole replaced it with something else you would have the global impact would be huge there would be no it would take probably a hundred years to recover from that across the world okay here's what happened when I think it's banned. Okay. This immediately has to happen the day of. All right.

All right. Apple and Google will remove the app from the Play Store and App Store immediately. Okay. So how do you download it?

You can't. You can't. That's the point. That's the simplest, most immediate action.

It would stop new users getting hold of the app and the half of Americans that are already using the platform, as ByteDance points out, which is, I guess, a computer magazine. But I didn't point out, unlike ISP blocks in other countries that have banned TikTok and other social media apps, it is unlikely though, not impossible, that traffic will be blocked. So you can get a hidden ISP, and you can still operate the app. The problem is, I'll just summarize this part of the article, you no longer get the updates, and the security patches, and whatever else, and they average three a week.

Because people find a way to hack the information, and then they have to go, okay, well now I have to stop this, and they put out a security thing. Right. So you will no longer get updates on the app. Okay.

So then your phone becomes open to hackers and what else through the app. All right, well, you know, the fear mongering of all that doesn't really concern me, but the reality is that I'm not going out of my way to keep the app on. No, I mean, once it's not as usual, the users will drop down. It's mostly ads now anyway.

So what's the new thing? Well, that's just it. There is not a new one right now that can take over. Okay, so, but keep going, because you were talking about...

Okay, the danger in that removing TikTok from the App Store also stops it from being updated. Five versions of the app have been released in the last month, automatically download and blah, blah, blah. Let's see. What's the danger of me not deleting the app immediately?

Because that's what you said. Right, somebody will eventually have access to your phone and all the information on your phone. They will be able to get, yeah, if you open the app back up on your phone, someone will be able to get into your phone through the app. I thought they were already in their phone.

That's why TikTok was so controversial to begin with. Well, that's what they're saying that because China, somebody, a Chinese company owns it, that they have information. Well, yeah, people get into your phones all the time, but they don't have unlimited access to your phone. That's how when you talk about new shoes, all of a sudden you get all sorts of shoes apps on your phone, or shoes ads.

I've got to be honest, I'm not really buying that, I just don't... You don't buy the fact of why they're doing it or that someone will have... No, that just sounds, to me, that sounds like media horseshit. That they'll have access to your phone?

Well, apparently the updates that they put out are mostly security updates to stop people that have found a way in. Yeah, I just... That's like your regular update you get on your Apple phone, same idea. Yeah, I can't see somebody saying, "Okay, well, the app exists on this phone, So now I have the ability to get into the phone and access all their stuff.

Well, how is it any different than anything else that you get a security update for? Because that is what has happened. Well, you're not going to be able to open up the app regardless because it's shut down. No, the app will still work.

You just can't get the updates. You said before the only way that the app would still work is if I had a VPN hider or something. No, that is what people are saying to do, but that's not going to stop it either, because you still can't get the updates. So what you're saying is nothing changes?

Well, the app will eventually stop working on your phone, because they will still do the updates, but you won't get them. People in other countries that use it will get them. Okay. So it'll be like if you have an old iPhone that won't run the software anymore on certain apps.

Okay, so it's kind of like when I post a cigar on TikTok now anyways. Well, I'm not saying for you it's not a thing, but, you know, I mean, the majority of the people don't use it with cigar stuff. Right. Okay.

Look, are you done with the article? No, any app that is attached to that company, I forget what the name of the company is, that should not work either because they'll just shut the company's apps off. Right. So it's like CapCut, LemonAte, and there's another one that was listed as one of the more proficient ones that everybody, not proficient, that's the word, ones that people use more often.

Reliable. Well, that'll work, too. It doesn't feel right. No, that's not the right word either.

Prolific? Prolific? Matt Booth. Oh, Japanese Tsunami expert.

Matthew. Afternoon, bro. You're on the podcast. Oh, my God, yeah.

Oh, shit! Right like that? Yeah, just like that. Matt Booth, Room 101, what's up, buddy?

Man, right here, doing the thing. I'll run in some errands, live in life, ideating on products. You're getting groceries? No.

No. Okay. No, I'm not getting groceries. New clothes?

Are you getting some new clothes? New shoes? Socks. Docks?

Socks. Actually, I don't buy socks too often, man. Those shits are expensive. You know what I mean?

I go in, I'm like, I need new socks, and then I see what they're commanding. You know, uh, and it's like, you know, pass on that, bro. You know, Costco buddy, too crazy. Yeah, I know.

No, I, I did. I did. I did cops and Costco sucks. I'm very, very pleased with the, uh, you know, the product and the price.

So, you know, there we go. You know, you gotta take these little incremental wins. What are you guys up to? You're out preaching your words to your devout listenership and evangelizing combustible dick-shaped dead plant rods.

Kind of. We just did a story on the earthquake in Japan. Oh, okay. Shaky, shaky.

Yeah, shaky, shaky. We know you have been to Japan recently. Yeah, I was in Japan in the spring and we were waiting to go up in the Tokyo Tower and they came through and said, I went through and said, "Everybody down, there's an earthquake," and I thought, you know, is this how I fucking go out? Like this?

After all the shit that I have survived, I'm a tourist going up in the Tokyo Tower, and that's how they fucking take me out? Yes. And then it didn't happen. I went up to the top, we looked around, very nice scenic outlook type situation, and then, you know, we left alive and remain in that condition.

To this day. So, go ahead. There's a tsunami warning out for apparently a three-foot tsunami that might hit the island. Is that a lot over there, the small buildings?

Look, man, I'll tell you what there's a fucking alert out for, okay? And there's an APB I got out on Cheddar every fucking day of the week, okay? : In your day to day, you know, your travels, you might actually come into contact with people that are afflicted, both in the chase of the paper and also there are others that like, I mean, from my observation are allergic to making money and this is a horrid affliction and many of them don't even know. : Yeah.

: You know, and you find people that are afflicted. People that are working harder to keep their jobs than to do their jobs, and, you know, but I mean, these aren't hustlers, these are, you know, like work-a-day fuck-type people, so, I mean, you can't, some of them don't know the difference, right? How can you know you're in the matrix if you've never been unplugged? Right, you know.

Hey, speaking of hustling, I just saw on social media, you have a 15th anniversary cigar coming out soon? Oh. I would like to take you into a 1983 public school bathroom, and I would like to ram you. And your face into the shock powder soap dispenser.

No, you know the one with the little spoky stick that you tippy-cap vertically and you get the dust on it? I'm sure these guys don't know, but I know exactly what you're talking about. No, no, I'm sorry. Wait.

That was uncalled for. Oh, thank you. I was lashing out. I appreciate that.

I get so excited. Sometimes I just, you know, it's like, go crazy. I don't know what I'm doing. He's got 20 seconds before I hang up on him.

We got to move on to the next topic. We got to move on to the next topic. Who the fuck are you calling that's going to be remotely as provocative or enticing? Can you call some cigar brand owner that's going to fucking outshine me, bitch?

What are you doing? We're not going to call anybody else. I wanted tsunami information and now you're pummeling my friend in a bathroom in 1983. I don't know.

Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. Hey, hey, toss my salad. How about that? My salad.

All right, well, hey. With vim and vigor. Thank you very much, Mr. Matthew.

15th anniversary, we're 101 bitches celebrating another year of disenfranchisement in this industry. Go out and buy it. Buy it from Cigar Hustler if they actually put it on their shelves. It'd be great.

Do it. Yeah. Thank you guys. All right.

I was gonna, all right. Love you, buddy. Bye. Is that it?

Love you. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. See, I didn't hang up on him.

I gave him his opportunity. They gave him an extra 30 seconds. Do we have that cigar coming? Yeah.

It's a lovely pan. I was going to make jokes, but I let it go. I let it go. I got you.

I was going to say. He's so angry today. Yeah, yeah, obviously. Something happened.

Right. You would think that, you know. Maybe the sock thing set him off. They were too expensive.

You would think that he just had to pay for four tires on a whim. Right. Is he in LA still, or? Well, if he's out shopping, he's got to be out in California somewhere.

Yeah. Oh, he's not in LA. He's in Northern California. Oh, okay.

A. at this current time. No, he's only in Washington. Right, yeah.

It's not California. No, but it's above California. It's a totally different state. They're getting the smoke screen.

Yes, it is completely different. They're getting the smoke screen? I don't think the smoke's going north. Okay.

All right. So I'm willing to bet that TikTok is... You think it's going to be fine? I think it's going to be fine.

Okay. I think it's going to be fine. You keep saying that. I thought you said in the beginning of the little reading, though, that there was going to be, like, we're going to get in trouble from somebody.

Right, well, somebody are the hackers that are going to get into your phone when the security gets breached for the end. Not on him. There you go. And now he stopped talking.

Just like that. Well, because he likes looking at the camera. I like looking at myself on the camera. Hello, how are you?

I like that we're leveling our game up here a little bit. This is good. Yes. We're going to keep working, we're going to keep investing and spending our hard-earned cheddar, as Matt B.

says. Cheddar, yes, we need more cheddar. And apparently we're not good at acquiring it, but we're good at shelling it out, so. All right, I have...

How do we shell it out if we don't acquire it? I don't know. I have a question from a Patreon member that we forgot to cover on the Patreon, but we can do it here, that's fine. Yeah.

Perfect. All right, it's from Michael... What? So, before you go.

Yes. Before you stay. I'm leaving? Now, before you go into this question, so our Patreon members, sometimes they ask us questions, and we answer these questions on Patreon, so here is a quick glimpse of like, I have no idea what the question is, and this is just me kind of giving you my answer, so if you ever have questions, generally they are addressed to you, please ask these Patreon questions, become a Patreon member, because we have more stuff to buy.

Okay. They usually make a comment to me about something I have misspoke or something, which he does. And then they ask you a question. Okay.

All right. This is for Michael. I can't pronounce his last name. Uh, can you read that first, that last name on the top line?

Yeah. Do you want to put the guy's name out on blast? It's not bad. It's not a bad question.

Okay. I mean, do you not want to? Uh, yeah. Leave it alone.

Okay. Well, his name is Michael. Yeah. Of course.

Another Mike. Yes. Thanks for the laughs on the drive in. In the lab had me cracking up.

Yes. Uh, yeah. That's the lab. He almost, Almost lost me with the full point on appearance, though, lol.

Palmer with Spotted Leopard was good, too. I don't remember that. Did I say he had on Spotted Leopard? I don't know.

That was a couple weeks ago. You know what I mean? It's hard to remember. It's hard to remember, right.

I can't remember what it meant to be. Mike Lachaveta is the warped broker here in New York. It must have been one of the names for the rep rewards. Yeah.

He also reps them in the PCA show. Anyway, I have a question. What is it about, this is for you, Michael. I have a question.

What is it about the Neanderthal or what are you getting out of it that makes Mike smoke it every day in the lab speak so, wait, smoke it every day and in the lab speak so highly about it? I smoked one the other day and enjoyed it. Just want to make the connection. Here's why I enjoy the Neanderthals so much: the San Andreas wrapper is a very overbearing tobacco leaf, and a lot of San Andreas cigars tend to have that one similar dimension as its flavor profile.

I believe that the Pennsylvania Broadleaf, the Green River Valley Sucker One, or the thicker filler that they add into it, offsets that San Andreas to give it a uniqueness that I can't find in any other San Andreas blend. So because of that, I enjoy that profile, and I can appreciate the fact that they kind of went above and beyond when it came to making that blend. There was, you know, a tremendous thought process. So many people can make a cigar.

Sure. Yeah, I'm gonna make a San Andreas cigar. Right. And you know what?

There is a 90% chance that it's gonna taste like a lot of other San Andreas cigars. If you, you know, if you can make something different with that wrapper, I'm gonna gravitate towards it. Sure. So I gravitated towards that Neanderthal HN.

And, you know, even though I've smoked all of them, like, the HS, I went on a little small tangent with the HS and the JCF and, you know, even the little guys, the shallow gene pool, I went back to the standard HN, man, the standard HN for me is just so money, so much to a point where, I bet you if Skip told me the names of the pairs, you know, I could probably start to decipher when specific, who rolled what. Oh, really? Just by the overall tension of the cigar, because there are some sets that they're a little bit tighter than others. Because you smoke that many of them.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And there's not a ton of pairs in the factory.

There's, I think, 12 pairs, 12 or 14 pairs, something like that. He's told me more than once. Yeah, it's 10, 12, or 14, something along that line. It's not astronomical, is my point.

It's not like there's, you know, a room of 300 pairs. Right, exactly, yeah. Exactly, yeah. Yeah, there's not rows and rows of people doing stuff there.

Yeah, exactly. So... Are they the only ones that use the Green Valley sucker whatever thing? Um, I think so.

It's possible that other people do. You know, what's more important is, look, is the concept and the thought behind filler. Right. And I think that a lot of companies don't do that.

A lot of companies don't take the time into specific leaves for the blend and what do i what do i mean by that like it's easy to say here are the components we'll do the dominican this nicarazin that and boom right and okay this tastes pretty good we're moving on right or hey this is what we have in the factory and this is what we can kind of this is what we can produce and you know it's it's okay good make it right sure you have to go that extra So you can get a mile to kind of determine, hey, this, how do we make this different? Like, how do we make this, you know, something that no one else has ever tasted before? And that Neanderthal, for me, falls in that category, man, hands down. Well, thank you for answering the question.

Oh, you're welcome, Michael. Thanks, Michael. You're welcome. You're welcome, Michael and Michael.

I like Michael, by the way. He's a good dude. Yeah, that was a good question. Facebook friends for years.

Oh, yeah. I don't know if we are Facebook friends or not, but we should probably should be. I'm not sure at this point. Yeah, you will be now.

Yes, yes, certainly now. All right, you want to do your topic over there, B-O-O-T-S? We're running out of time here. The B-O-double.

B-O-double-O-T-S. B-O-O-T. All right, here we go. I am the boot in the lab.

Wicca Wicca. It's still short. Sorry. I've been very busy day.

No, that's the wrong one. That was the wrong one. Yes, but you're... Doot, doot, doot, doot, doot.

That one's wrong. It's labeled! Just delete the other ones. We used them.

So many books. That's two of our login. So many books. Login.

Theme songs. Oh my God. He can't find it. He can't find it.

Bay one. Second button on the left, I believe. Oh, third. Hello, peoples.

Hello, peoples. Take my part. You gotta start it sooner. Take my part.

You gotta let it, yeah. Hello, peoples. There you go. This is B-double-O-T-S.

B-double-O-T. Oh. Hello, peoples. This is B-double-O-T-S.

All right. J. Brown says, "Book wasn't a sign of frustration. Frustration.

I'd like to read. J. Brown was spotted reading a book on the sideline during the second half of Philadelphia's 22-10 wildcard round win over the Packers on Sunday, and that generated some questions. What was the book?

Why was he reading it during the game? Was it a sign of frustration because he had just one catch for 10 yards on three targets? Brown answered them once, one by one after the victory. The book is, anybody want to guess?

How to not kill your quarterback. I know what the book is. Inner Excellence by Jim Murphy. Written to train your mind for extraordinary performance and the best possible life.

Brown said he brings the book to every game. This is just the first time cameras caught him reading it. He said he has highlighted passages that he said help bring him a sense of peace. And no, he wasn't reading it because he was discontented.

I wasn't frustrated at all. I figured that was why y'all probably thought. Brown said, why do you always think I'd be frustrated? Dang, I like to read.

Brown went on social media to further explain why reading during games works for him. I use it to refocus and lock in despite what may transpire in the game, good or bad, he wrote. People tend to create controversy when they don't know the truth. Okay.

Is that the end? I can keep going. No, no, that's fine. Like, it's kind of abrupt.

Can you just, you know, use your voice and sort of end? I like to read. Yeah, I like book. I like book.

I mean, he had a lot to say about his book. A lot of pictures in his book. I bet you there was a surge. And the purchase of that book?

Oh, certainly. Yeah, I mean, I'm intrigued to go and get it. Well, now there's definitely, yeah, now there's definitely going to be a surge. Somebody's highlighted stuff in it for him to read while he's playing.

I like the fact that he does that. I think that's pretty cool. It would have been cool. Obviously, he doesn't read the book every game, though.

Has he switched at all on that camera when I've talked to him? No, no. It's been me ever since we started the boots thing. The whole time?

Yeah, that's why I was waving, making faces. I don't know if this is going to work. Now he's just flicking back and forth. I may have to get someone else.

I guess he's not going to be a household. We could do Edgar. We can't understand her when she talks either. I guess he's not going to be a household name after all.

Oh, this show is gonna be bananas right here. Listen, you can't handle the first two buttons. Don't add an actual one. It's ridiculous.

Can't find your own theme song week to week. I had to switch the cameras while I read? On you guys? No, no, afterwards, when I started talking.

Oh, it was just a little slide of the hand there. So, yeah, I'm intrigued to read that book. To read the book? But I think it would have been more badass if he was reading, like, Art of War or some shit.

You know what I'm saying? Well, maybe this is like that. It sounds like it teaches him how to focus. It sounds more meditative.

You know what I mean? I think it would be. He wants something more to wind you up than to, you know, wind you down. J.

Watt would talk about how he would listen to Adele in the locker room before he went out and pummeled people. Well, maybe he was one of the upbeat Adele songs. No, no, he said that he needed to be brought down. Oh, he's too angry.

Yeah, I need to level off. Just a big Adele fan. Just loves Adele. Just loves Adele.

She's a lovely person. And then he made a comment in one of his interviews that he's like, I bet after he leveled somebody, he's like, that guy has no idea, I was just listening to Adele. While he was pummeling? No, prior to.

Oh, I just read it before. Yeah. All right, news button, please. Oh, God.

Did you move it on him? No. Start trying. Start shifting around.

Welcome to ACHB News, your source for the latest updates in the cigar world and beyond. Here is our anchor, trusted cigar media personality, Mike Palmer, bringing you the stories that matter. Cuban cigar prices increased in 2025. Cuban cigar prices will once again go up, though this year's changes appear to be the most modest quite some time.

A new price list published this week in Spain shows that around 365 SKUs have increased from their 2024 prices nearly the entire Cuban cigar portfolio, with an average increase of 5%. Wow. This is where you say something. Yeah, that sounds about right.

Okay, thank you. Using the January 2024 price list as a comparison, the most notable increase affects the Cohiba Bahiki BHK line, a flagship series from the Habano SA, and three cigars have increased 21 to 22 percent. Yeah, so, you know, they started basing it off of Hong Kong pricing. Right.

And that shot everything up. Yes. Inflation shot everything up. Right.

Prices are still going to continue to move up. That's not going to change. You know, like, we were looking at our numbers for production of this year, and there's an increase. The question is, will we absorb that cost, you know, in the past?

It's probably in our best interest to not absorb the cost. Right. Just don't know what we're going to do yet. Gotcha.

So you know 5% that's probably a little over the top I would say an average of 3% overall cost increase makes sense sure but they're smarter than me they have more money than me they have more you know they have more all of that right so I'm sure that they factored in what they what they could do as far as to make more profits and and pass on their additional costs of their consumers so 5% maybe a little high but Seems reasonable. Well, these, these, this particular line, the, uh, the, uh, Cohiba Bahikis are going up 21 to 22%. That's just supply and demand. That's a very sought after, uh, Cohiba.

I mean, if you can get it, you can get it. Well, the reality is, yeah, you know, if, if it's, it's only, the value of it is what someone is willing to pay for it, right? Right. That's what it all, that's, that's what it boils down to.

And if someone wants to, look, if you're still smoking Cohibas and Cubans and stuff, and you believe that that's the best, then you're going to pay that premium. I disagree with you. I think that, you know, you're way off more often than not. There are some Cuban cigars that I think are really good.

You know, I don't see the purpose of going out of my way to acquire them, and I'm not going to pay that price. Certainly right. Yeah. Yeah.

So 5% increase. Yeah. Okay. Makes sense.

Alright, Punch Rare Corojo moves to regular production. Wow. Since its debut in 2001, the Punch Rare Corojo has been a sought-after seasonal release eagerly weighted by cigar enthusiasts, but now General Cigar Company has announced that the Rare Corojo will be transitioning to a regular production item available year-round. Are they changing the name?

No. To not Punch Regular Production Corojo? Oh, they're taking the rare part out? Yeah, it's no longer rare.

Punch Corojo, um, no. No, this is a... Still rare. Yeah.

Nope. All the names of the sizes are right here. They're still adding. Well, it was never really rare.

Regular Production Corojo. Yeah. Punch, Regular Production Corojo. Yes.

Yeah. The blend remains unchanged, featuring an Ecuadorian Sumatra Rosado wrapper, a Connecticut Broadleaf binder, and a combination of Dominican, Piloto, Cubano, Honduran, and Nicaraguan fillers. Produced at STG Donnelly, the iconic cigar will now be available in eight sizes. Because it's so rare.

Additionally, a limited edition size, so there will be a rare one, a rare, so there's gonna be a rare Corojo amongst the rare Corojos, the rare Corojos, yes, it's a rare size, it will, will they call it the rare rare, no, it's called the Prest El Gordo, Prest El Gordo, yes, a 6x60, the product is so rare, yes, it's so rare, yes, That we could make a cigar that's a 6x60 ring gauge and make that the rarest one. Well, the tobacco's not rare. The tobacco's no longer rare. No, it never was.

Just the cigar was rare. The finished product. But now it's not rare at all. Except for this one.

So this one should be called the rare. Yes, this is the rare Corojo Box Rare Pressed El Gordito Rare. Thank you. And the other one should just move to regular production Corojo.

I want to see that on the name. Punch, Corojo. Yeah. Just take the label.

Yeah, just punch Corojo. Yeah. Yeah. It's no longer rare.

Ooh, they have a Rapido. Rapido? A Rapido? A Rapido?

A Rapido? Rapido means fast. Rapido. So this one, I guess you smoke quickly.

It's probably a little cigar. A 5x40. Oh, there it is. Yes.

And there is an Elite. An Elite? Elite. Yeah.

El Laitai. El? El? El?

El? L-O-L-A-I-T-I. There's no second L. Oh, L-L-A-I-T-I.

You've changed it several times. Well, it's not spelled phonetically here. I'm trying to do the best I can. You know, you really, if you're gonna pick the joke, you just kind of wedge it in and stick with it.

Oh, what about the pita? The pita? It's a sandwich. The pita.

The cunta. The pita. Santa Maria. The cunta.

What? He's talking about the... That's the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. There's no Kunta.

Whatever. Kunta Kinte is the character from Roots. Wow, I did not say that. Well, that's where you were going.

You said Kunta. Mr. with the big forehead and the dark hair. Wow.

There is a Magnum, comes with a big mustache. Oh, yeah? Yeah. From Hawaii.

Right. Oh, really? Is it in a Ferrari humidor? Matter of fact, it is.

Yeah? It's a five and a half by 54 Ferrari. Yeah, V12? No, it's just an eight.

It's not the standard eight. All right, Tatuaje. That was it, huh? Yeah, I mean, there's more, but, you know, now available to you around.

The Punch Raric Rose, ready to become a staple in the humidor of both longtime fans and new cigar aficionados. New. I feel like you could always get that cigar before. Well, it was rare.

Okay. All right, Tatuaje. Tatuaje. Boris Karloff cigar is coming this week.

Tatuaje. Do we have that? We don't have that. We don't carry Tatuaje.

We don't. Unfortunately, we do not do business with Tatuaje. with Tatuaji. That's still Pete?

Pete 777? Still Pete. His dad passed recently. Oh, Pete's dad?

Yeah. That was really cool. Yeah? You met his dad, apparently.

I did. So now he's in the club. He's in the... Yeah, unfortunately.

Ooh, another week. He would have had the same days. I'm four days away from my dad. Unfortunately, he's in the dead dad's club with the rest of us.

Right. Except for Boots. Right. His dad's still hanging in there.

His dad's still... His dad's my age. He looks great. He was here.

I saw him out there doing something in the trailers last week. Healthy as a clam. Yeah. I don't know how healthy a clam is.

Yeah, I didn't get that reference. Me neither. As healthy as an ox. Healthy as an ox.

A clammy ox. Clammy ox? Yeah. Tatuai is set to release a new cigar honoring Boris Karloff, legendary actor best known for his iconic role as Frankenstein's monster in the 1931 classic Frankenstein.

That's it. Do you want to say anything? That's it. No, keep going.

All right, the Tatuai Boris Karloff cigar Cesar Measuring a 5 and 5/8 by 49 is a full-bodied blend featured an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper over a Nicaraguan double binder and Nicaraguan fillers. The release is a follow-up to the highly acclaimed Tatuaje Karloff from 2020. What's the time of the blend one more time, please? Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper.

Nicaraguan double binder. Okay. And Nicaraguan fillers. Okay.

That's it. All right, there you go. There you go. It doesn't like fire, though.

It doesn't light up. It doesn't like fire? Frankenstein doesn't like fire. I got it, I got it.

Ah, fire! Ah, fire! No, it's not Frankenstein. It's the guy who played Frankenstein.

It's totally different. He played Frankenstein's monster. Right. But he ad-libbed that line because he didn't like fire.

But what I'm saying, he really didn't like fire? Right. In life? He was burned as a child.

Boris? Yes. He was burned as a child? Yes.

That was an ad-lib, but they kept it in because it looked so cool. He said, ah, fire. Really? Yeah.

- I don't know what to tell you. - Normally, you're a web of lies. - Please. - In 2020, he was named Half Wheel's Number One Cigar of the Year.

- Oh, so this has been out before. - No, no, the Karloff, the Tatuaje Karloff, not the Tatuaje. - Oh, you've already moved on. You don't even know what's going on anymore.

- No, there's more than one. - Oh, there's a Boris Karloff. - Okay. - And there was another Tatuaje Karloff from 2020.

- Apparently, they put this out at the same time. - So it's coming back out. - It's a redo. - It's a redux?

Redux? Yeah, like the werewolf. It's the guys that did the Redux werewolf. Who's the guy that played the werewolf?

Jack Nicholson? Yes. He did actually play a werewolf in a movie. I know.

Actually, that's my favorite. I like that movie. They like that movie? Yeah.

I thought it was terrible. Oh, I like that movie. Yeah. You think you're going to come out with the Jack?

The Twahey Jack N? I think... No. You can't?

No. Because there's already a Jack in existence? Yes. The Big Jack?

The Big Jack. I haven't seen The Big Jack lately. Doesn't mean it's not out there. I wonder if the Big Jack is getting Big Jack residuals from the Jack.

Probably not. No. No, they're probably jacking him. It's a hard industry.

Whoa. Yeah. The new cigar is at $15 each and will be sold in 20 count boxes with only 1,000 boxes produced at My Father's Cigars in Esteli, Nicaragua. Not My Father, but there's a factory called Mine.

1,000 boxes? 1,000 boxes. That's not a lot. 20 count.

Is this a regular cigar or a skinny monster? No. It's a five and five-eighths by 49. Okay.

So it's like borderline Corona Gorda. Yeah. Right. Ish.

Yeah. It's debuting this week at the Evil Empire. The Boris Karloff will be available for pre-order. The shipping dates are announced.

Other retailers will receive their allocations later this month. The release marks a special moment in the ongoing relationship between Tatuaje and the Evil Empire, as the two companies previously collaborated on the Little Boris. It was small. Right.

The Tatuaje, Boris Karloff is a must-have for collectors and fans of both the brand and the actor's iconic legacy. Lovely. Nice. Lord Baltimore revives the Gurkha's Red Witch Blend.

Oh, I can't wait. I remember this cigar. Holy shit. I'm getting old.

Yeah. Wow. I've been in the industry long enough to see a cigar go away and then come back. That's fantastic.

Well, brought to you by Gurkha. Gurkha. Gurkha. Lord Baltimore Distributors has announced a deal with Gurkha.

Right. Oh. To bring back the Red Witch Cigar and the Steak Knives. And the Steak Knives.

And the Steak Knives. Which originally was part of Gurkha's East India Trading Company, Kitchen Supply Line. Yeah. Ooh.

First introduced in 2012. It's only not that long ago. That was 13 years ago. I know.

Well, in my life, it's not a long time. It feels like a long time to me. If it was 13 years ago for your bomber, that's 13 years less. Oh, think of that.

If it was 13 years ago, it was 13 years less. The bits just write themselves at this point. Wow, he's like a math razor. How old are you?

Are you in your 60s yet? No, I'm not in my 60s. So you'd be in your 40s. If you took where you're at right now and you subtracted the 13 years, that's where you would be 13 years ago.

Oh, thanks for explaining that. Happy to clarify. Thank you very much. The Red Witch maintains its original blend.

They couldn't. Yes. Oh, really? Oh, wow.

Are you sure about that? Well, what? 12, 13 years later, they could not figure out how to make it better. Tobacco was not super rare.

An Ecuadorian Rosado wrapper over a Dominican binder and Nicaraguan fillers, which were previously described as three-year-old tobacco. So now they're... Oh, from Jalapa. 16 years.

That's the most reasonable thing I've heard from Gurkha in a long time. And it's still a bit of an exaggeration, but hey. Still made at the American... Allegedly, allegedly.

Allegedly, of course. Of course. Still made at American Caribbean Tobaccos, the same factory as before, so they still found them. Okay.

We have some more. That's good. We made too many. We have them in the room for you.

Oh, you want to bring it back? Oh, perfect. Somebody get the Red Witches out. They're back.

Yeah. Mortimer. Mortimer. We're back.

The line will return in its original three Vitolas because, you know, that's what they have sitting around. Right. Robusto. Hold on.

Let me guess. Okay. Robusto Toro Gordo. Except they're calling it an EXO.

It's an EXO? They're calling an EXO? 6x60. Yeah.

All right. Yeah. There you go. $739, $879, and $939.

That's cheap. For a 60? $939 for a 60, yeah. Yeah.

Oh, that's crazy. These are kerkers. They gotta taste terrible. Lord Baltimore, if anybody has a red witch on the camera, if anybody has red, what are these called?

They're not out yet. They're not out yet. Well, we obviously can't go over there and get them. And they're definitely not going to give us any.

Could you send us? Could you send us? Yolanda, could you send us three Red Witches, please? Yeah, we can't wait to taste them.

Lord Baltimore, owned by brothers Steve and David Castro, also operate... Oh, I wonder if it's at Castro. Yeah, it's... yeah.

It's gotta be the same guy. Well, they operate. Uh, Davidus Cigars. Davidus.

Davidus, not Davidoff, Davidus. No, it's Davidus. S.? Wait, is it David Off?

David... yeah, David Off. It's David Off. Yeah.

Did you hear about the other companies launching? What? David Onn. Oh, not David Inn?

Yeah. Well, David Inn, that's a totally different thing. Totally different thing, huh? Yeah.

Oh, it's a chain of cigar stores in Maryland. The revised Red Witch is ready to ship and expected to rekindle interest among cigar enthusiasts who were around 15 years ago. Rekindle. All right, and finally, our final story of the day.

Rising prices of premium cigars, what consumers can expect in 2025? Oh, I'm interested to hear this. This is an exclusive commentary from the Mike & Mike Production Chat GPT. Oh, okay.

The premium cigar industry has seen some price increases in 2025 as top brands adjust to economic pressure, with EP Corilio, Artista, Black Star Line, Oscar Valladares, and Oliva all announcing hikes. These increases range from three to seven percent, reflecting rising production costs, supply chain challenges, and inflation. However, despite these changes, cigar lovers can take comfort in knowing that the quality and craftsmanship they've come to expect remain unchanged. Perfect.

There's a summary of the different price increase. EP's going up 3%, Artista 4%, Black Starline 5%, Oscar going up 7%, and Oliva's going between 3% and 5%. Wow. While it's clear that price increases are a trend across the industry, there's still plenty of optimism for cigar enthusiasts as we move through 2025.

The adjustments made by top brands are largely a response to ongoing inflation and global supply chain issues, but many manufacturers are committed to maintaining their high quality standards and delivering great value. In fact, some brands have been proactive in absorbing costs where they can, ensuring that the price increases remain manageable for their loyal customers. The commitment to quality and value show that while the industry faces challenges, is it adapting with resilience. - Man, that chat GPT is something else.

That's pretty spot on. You know, I would say you're right. If three to five percent is where I would probably be, right? - Right.

- Like, that's reasonable. - Sure. - I think that those numbers make sense. Outside of that number, I may have other questions for the company.

Like, what's going on that really kind of boosts that additional cost? But there could still be those other things, you know? - Sure. Uh, more, more labor, you know, more investment in tobacco, whatever.

More over it. In general. Excuse me. But, um, I wasn't talking.

I didn't want to have the camera in one of his coffins. Thanks. I don't know what happened there. " He's having an attack, I had to get it off him.

Yeah, exactly. That's when you zoom in. You don't want to see the death. Yes, you do!

Yes, you do. No, you don't. It's higher ratings. For those who appreciate a fine cigar, the future still holds plenty of exciting opportunities.

The rising costs are an inevitable part of global economy. Yeah. But cigar enthusiasts, you just keep coughing over there, be quiet. No, I'm better now.

Because cigar enthusiasts can continue to look forward to high quality smokes that offer both great flavor and craftsmanship. Yeah. So like, you know, I think the only way that if a company does, if a company absorbs a cost, I can see them saying, hey, yeah, things cost more money, but we're going to absorb those costs, right? This time around.

And then I could also see a company justifying raising those prices. And I could also see a company saying, we're not going to raise prices because our costs are the same. I think that if you're saying that your costs are the same, then you're not going to raise prices because our costs are the same. I think that if you're saying that your costs are the same, you probably just didn't produce more product.

Right, they already had some from before, actually. Yeah, yeah. The problem with doing that... Like the red witches.

Yeah, the problem with doing something like that is, you know, if you don't have, if you don't start factoring that in, like, you could get yourself in trouble eventually. Sure, right. You know, all of a sudden, you could have a bigger increase when you go back to production. What happened?

Everything costs more now. More than it did last year. Do you think there's ever a cap on cigar prices? I know inflation, obviously, there's always inflation, but do you think there's a time where people just go, "Man, cigars are just $30 for a Gurkha Redwich.

" Usually, things get so high, people stop buying, and then it sort of regulates itself to a point. Has that ever happened with cigars? With cigars? I don't know.

Yeah, listen, the best, from what I can see, the best regulator in the world is capitalism. Sure, right, yeah. If the price becomes too high, people seek alternatives, right? Right.

And they will go and buy the alternatives. So, yes, I have seen that more than once, and, you know, things get out of a person's price range for purchase. Sure. And they look for something else to buy.

It's called capitalism. You know, so, yeah, that's a thing. Capitalism's a thing. Boots.

Okay. Anything else? No, thank you for answering my question. You're welcome.

Thank you for asking. It was a great, it was a great question. Yeah, no problem. It was, it was a good question.

Thank you. All right. Anybody got anything else? Wait, you got a listener of the week?

No, I don't have a listener of the week. Oh, God. Do you have a listener of the week? Yeah.

I've got a listener of the week. I've got a listener of the week. Michael Eleftharou. Oh, I wonder where that name came from, because we weren't saying his name, so just random name.

Thank you, Michael Alvaro. Alvaro. Alvaro. Yes.

Have a shop of the week? Do I have a shop of the week? Yes. Oh, I just did the Manstream podcast this week.

It went up on Saturday night, I guess? You did? Yeah. I had a great time.

They're a great group of guys. I'll have to listen to it. Nice. So you don't have a shop of the week?

Top of the week? No, go ahead. They're not from a shop. In Fuego, Vegas.

Oh, where Casey was today. Oh, was he? Casey Aldu. Casey Aldu.

Who did not like my shaving reel. My beard trimming reel. Yeah, he didn't like it at all. Dude, he doesn't like you.

No, I know. I know. He comments on all my stuff. But he got over 400 plays.

He's your biggest fan. Right. Right. Yeah, he watches everything.

Yeah. Yeah, he watches and reads everything. I think that he wants to be you, is what it is. Oh, wow.

I think that he would love to replace you here. You know what I mean? Like, he would... Well, you have to wait at least another 20 years before he dies, and when he dies.

He would go, he would go... He might be about the same age. Yeah. Hmm.

That's never going to happen. In case he goes first. Yeah, he looks less healthy. You think so?

I think so. I think he does. Maybe. Maybe.

You know, but you kind of stress out about a lot of stuff. Oh, I just don't, I just look healthier. I didn't say I was. Yeah.

Yes. I have internal issues that are going on all the time. Stressing out of my mind. Yeah, right.

You know, no sleep and, you know, crave sugar all the time. I think my cortisol levels are too high. Yeah. And that thing where you crave sugar and don't sleep.

Is that how that works? That's what I've read. Interesting. 's cortisol levels might be too high.

That's what they say. Because I love sugar. And you want to know what it is? It's the people that are coming for your TikTok, and they're going to steal your phone.

Yeah, they're going to get you. Oh, I don't care if it goes away. I just find something else to watch. That's what's bothering me.

I mean, there's reels on other things you can look at. Yeah, there is. Totally. Like I said, TikTok's become mostly ads.

I'm eventually going to do a whole breakdown of what I've noticed as far as social media trends and what things we can do and get away with. Oh, right. Yeah. Share that interesting data.

It changes, it seems, randomly. It seems randomly. That's one of the things we talked about actually on the mainstream. Yeah, it's pretty interesting.

Because they do reels for their show. Really? But they are a, it's just a man show. They talk about men things.

It's not a primarily a cigar show. Gotcha. But two of the guys on the show do smoke cigars. Do they drink beer?

They do a, one of their sponsors is some liquor store or something. They do a bottle, like down to Herf Guys, they do a different bottle every week. Oh, very cool. And they don't have trampolines.

No, no, no, no. It's called the man show. Yeah, what was I going to say? The Man Stream.

The Man Stream. The Man Stream Podcast. The Man Stream Podcast. Yeah, it would have been great if it was Man Joe.

I'm going to try to listen to it. There's a link on my page. I'm going to listen to it this week. Maybe today.

Right now. Let's play it. Right now? No, I'm just kidding.

All right, that's it. They are sending me, they were fascinated with my BDP and how I got the name and all this stuff, so they're sending me a large, black, penis-shaped lighter. Oh, God. That's going to be perfect for you.

I'll just set it right here on the table next, and it'll be fine. It's going to be fine, not a problem at all. We're not going to get blocked off of YouTube. Well, now with the zoom in, you'll never even see it.

Oh, and they go, well, you can light your cigars with it. I'm like, well, we had to stop. That's how it came out. We don't smoke on the show anymore because we were getting shadow banned.

All right, you got to keep a PC. All right, guys, this has been episode 370 of this ACHP. Thank you for listening and watching. All right, bye.

Thank you.

Show Notes

Episode 370 ACHP: Trending Topics and Cigar Industry Updates

In today’s episode, we cover the latest headlines making waves, including:

Soap Opera Legend Passes at 79: A beloved soap star who appeared in over 2,000 episodes of General Hospital has passed away. We reflect on their remarkable legacy and contributions to the iconic show.

Nakobe Dean Injury: Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean is feared to have suffered a significant knee injury during their win over the Packers. What does this mean for the Eagles' defense moving forward?

Tsunami Advisory in Japan: A powerful 6.9 magnitude earthquake strikes southwest Japan, triggering a tsunami advisory. We’ll break down the latest updates and what’s being done in response.

TikTok Ban—What You Need to Know: The pressure is mounting for the potential TikTok ban. Find out why experts are urging you to delete the app from your phone next week and what this means for the future of the social media landscape.

Cigar Industry News:

Cuban Cigar Price Hike in 2025: With Cuban cigar prices set to increase, we discuss what this means for cigar enthusiasts and what to expect in the near future.

Punch Rare Corojo Moves to Regular Production: Punch’s Rare Corojo series will now become a permanent fixture. What does this mean for fans of the brand?

Tatuaje Boris Karloff Cigar Release: A new Tatuaje cigar featuring a tribute to Boris Karloff is hitting the market this week. We preview what’s in store for cigar lovers.

Lord Baltimore Revives Gurkha's Red Witch: The Red Witch blend is back with a bang as Lord Baltimore takes over. We dive into what’s new with this fan favorite.

ACHP Special Report:

Rising Prices in Premium Cigars: What can consumers expect in 2025 as prices continue to climb in the premium cigar market? We give you an in-depth look at the trends shaping the industry.

Tune in for all this and more in Episode 370 of ACHP!