ACHP Episode 371 Tik Tok and Trump "We Are Back"
Episode Summary
Episode 371 of A Cigar Hustler's Podcast opens with Mike Szczepankewicz and Mike Palmer (plus "Boots") on the news of the day — TikTok's roughly 13-hour blackout and its quick return, speculation over who might actually buy the platform (Mike's pick: MrBeast, not Elon Musk), the 15-foot bronze Trump statue funded by Canadian crypto investors, Biden's preemptive pardons of Mark Milley, Anthony Fauci and the January 6th committee, and a long NFL playoff tangent on the Commanders' upset of the Lions.
The cigar meat of the episode is a rapid-fire walk through Halfwheel's 2024 Top 25 list, ranked from #25 to #1, with the hosts saying whether they've smoked each cigar and whether it deserves the slot. Highlights include the Viaje Skull & Bones, Padrón Black PB97 Maduro, Espinosa's Knuckle Sandwich 56, Powstanie Connecticut Corona Gorda "Justice" at #20, 601 La Bomba Warhead X, Warfighter Night Shift, Crux Epicure Habano, A.J. Fernandez Días de Gloria Brazilian and 20th Anniversary, Davidoff Winston Churchill Late Hour and Grand Cru Diadema, Aganorsa Leaf Adventura Blue Eyed Jacks Revenge, RoMa Craft CroMagnon Knuckle Dragger, Plasencia Cosecha 151 La Música and Alma Fuerte, Crowned Heads Las Calaveras LC52, Avo Expressions, Dunbarton's Sin Compromiso Seleccion No. 4, the Quesada 50th Anniversary at #2, and RoMa Craft's La Maestranza as Cigar of the Year. The hosts also praise Halfwheel's transparency — Charlie Minato disclosing which listed brands buy ads, and breaking the data down by brand, factory and country.
Skip Martin of RoMa Craft Tobac then calls in live to talk about winning Cigar of the Year and Factory of the Year (three of the four years the award has been given). He discusses not tying self-worth to rankings, the depth of Halfwheel's review data, why Nica Sueño ranks so highly by average score, a conversation with Italian distributors about whether the factory "overdoes" its attention to detail like filler sorting, and how much the Factory of the Year honor meant to his production team — including general manager Frances, a 16-year Padrón veteran.
Cigar news closes the show: a proposed Florida public smoking ban that exempts cigars, Chip Golden joining the charity-driven Cayman Cigar Company (founded by Grainger Hout and John Lemieux), two new HVC Hot Cakes "Fresh Out of the Oven" Broadleaf vitolas for 2025, and a McKay Black Firecracker coming from Two Guys Smoke Shop in June at $9 for a 3.5x50 — more than the same blend in a Toro. A ChatGPT-written editorial tackles generational tobacco bans proposed in Hawaii, Massachusetts and Indiana, arguing they hurt small retailers, fuel black markets, and ignore data showing minimal risk for non-inhaling cigar smokers.
In This Episode
- 01TikTok Goes Dark — For 13 HoursThe hosts unpack TikTok's brief U.S. shutdown, the creator-goodbye-video panic, and who might actually end up buying the platform.
- 02Trending: Trump Statue, Crypto Coins and Biden's PardonsA 15-foot bronze Trump statue funded by Canadian Bitcoin investors, the Melania coin launch, and a debate over preemptive presidential pardons for Milley, Fauci and the Jan. 6 committee.
- 03NFL Playoff TalkThe Commanders' 45-31 upset of the Lions, Terry McLaurin, why the Chiefs aren't fun to watch, and the Super Bowl streaming on Tubi.
- 04Halfwheel Top 25 of 2024, #25 to #1A full rundown of Halfwheel's list with the hosts weighing in on what they've smoked and what belongs, ending with RoMa Craft's La Maestranza as Cigar of the Year.
- 05Why Halfwheel's Data Stands OutPraise for Charlie Minato disclosing which Top 25 brands buy ad space and breaking results down by brand, factory and country of origin.
- 06Skip Martin Calls InThe RoMa Craft Tobac co-founder on Cigar of the Year, three Factory of the Year wins, Nica Sueño's average review scores, and why his factory team took the most pride in it.
- 07Cigar News RoundupA Florida smoking ban that exempts cigars, Chip Golden joining charity brand Cayman Cigar Company, new HVC Hot Cakes vitolas, and the $9 McKay Black Firecracker for Two Guys.
- 08Editorial: Generational Tobacco BansHawaii, Massachusetts and Indiana proposals examined through the lens of personal freedom, small-retailer revenue, black markets, and the actual health data on cigars.
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
*Muchas* Recorded live in the Mike and Mike production studios in Deltona, Florida, this is ACHP, the show where cigars, business, and life collide. Join your host, Mike Szczepankewicz, and me, Mike Palmer, as we bring you unfiltered takes on the cigar industry, insider stories, and a whole lot of laughs. And there's no boots here either. Sit back, light up, and enjoy the hustle!
Welcome to the Cigar Hustler Podcast, the show brought to you commercial-free. But a massive shout-out to our amazing patrons on the Patreon. Thanks to your unwavering support, we're able to 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. Alright, we're on our trending today, just like Mikey said, and how you said it would happen, Michael, the TikTok is back. And just like that.
Just like you said it would. TikTok has returned. " It was gone. Less than 13 hours, we were back on.
That's all it took. Yeah, well, uh, our, um, what's it, what's that thing we use? Our, our, our, cap cut? Cap cut, that's still not back.
Okay, cap cuts, so, so it's like a ha-ha? Oh, well, ha-ha, well, this isn't, that wasn't what we were talking about, was it? Well, we did mention that. We were speaking specifically about, it didn't change.
You can't, if you can't see the button, how you, you're gonna block it? I know, I know it didn't change. I can see the buttons, there's one and two right here. I didn't know 'cause you got it.
I'm letting you talk. If you can't, we knew, I knew it was gonna come back. I knew it was going to come back. It didn't take long at all.
I can't believe that you guys bought into the gloom and doom. Thirteen hours is a long time. It's not a long time. It is in TikTok world.
Not even remotely close, buddy. Not even remotely close. All the creators made their goodbye videos. All the big ones.
Yeah. And this is the end. Right. They all played the same song.
And we're back. And, uh, yeah, right. So, yeah. No.
Sorry. Didn't happen. All right. A giant statue of Trump has been commissioned by the Bitcoin boys from Canada.
Wait, go back. So who do you think is going to buy TikTok? Let me ask you that. Wait, this is the intro to this thing.
Then we go over the stories. Oh, okay, okay. You're right. I'm sorry.
That's exactly what he told me to do. You're right. A giant statue of Trump has been commissioned by the Bitcoin boys from Canada. It's supposed to look like it's made of gold and will end up at his Trump presidential library.
Okay. Washington Commanders put the Lions back in the cage this weekend, their hopes for the Super Bowl are over now. And, as a final gift to the Democrats, Biden did some pre-empted pardoning over the weekend. Not that these people broke any laws, but just in case.
Very interesting stuff. Just in case. Very interesting stuff going on. Alright, let's see.
In the turning of the world of cigars, another public smoking ban in Florida has been proposed. Cayman Cigars is on the hire. They're hiring people. Ah, the portal.
The portal. Yep, they're looking through the portal. They're entering the portal. HVC is making more bread for 2025.
Okay. And let's see. McAuliffe Firecrackers are doing more than blowing up. They're blowing up cash.
Okay. And then we have another editorial. This time a generational tobacco bans from our show Chat GPT. Okay.
And then you may want to join our Patreon show, Michael. You might want to be part of it. And we're also going to cover the Half Wheel Top 25. Oh, yeah.
Sorry. I didn't have that in the notes for before. Kind of a big deal. Kind of a big deal.
Probably starting the cigar media with that one. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. Uh, and then on the Patreon show, we have an exclusive interview with the newest member of the portal.
Oh, we do. Someone has recently entered the portal. Someone has entered the portal. This is a thing that we got going on.
So, you know, as Q1 is kind of going through here, normally what happens in the cigar industry, you see a purge, a reshaping, a refueling, the The growth, if you will, fuel for cigar companies across this nation, and what happens is, they usually fire some people, and hire some people, and do all sorts of different changes, so we've seen some, we've seen a few people enter the portal early on, end of last year, into this year, and we have another one that has entered the portal. As of today, we have an exclusive interview with this person. Yes, indeed. And then a new feature, we're doing the Industry Tool of the Week, that is the person in the industry for the week that has been the biggest tool.
Mm-hmm. We have that, and we have more questions from our Patreons, and a very surprising cigar review this week. Indeed. Indeed it is.
All this and more on an ACHP episode 371. All right, let's get into it. So, the TikTok. Oh, I thought you were going to say something else.
No, the TikTok. No, it would have been good if you said something while I was switching over. I was just watching you. I was just lost in it.
There's so much going on over here. So many buttons. All right, TikTok restore service after going dark in USA. Credit, it was Trump.
Woo, okay, yeah. So, hey, listen, here's the thing. Are you going to tell more about that story or do you just want me to get into it? I have, you know, a lot of words.
Yeah, well, I don't really think we need to, just to kind of briefly surmise, it was going to go away and then it came back and it's a Christmas miracle, hallelujah, whatever, right? It went dead on Saturday night at midnight. Right, and it came back when? Did you, did you try to use yours at all while it was dead?
No. I, I, I kept, because, I mean, I don't sleep anyway, so, yeah, so first it would work a little, and then you realize that you have, like, stored stories, and then it starts to slow down, and then it sort of locks up, and then Sunday morning they were posting that message that they were sending. And it's gone. Dude, to the United States government saying that we were stealing your information, we are no longer allowed to, you know, show you dances.
Yeah. Well, you know, hey, that's all very entertaining to me. Here's the reality. There's too much money to be made at TikTok for it to just go away.
Well, the government didn't get a piece of that. I mean, other than in taxes. S. I don't look, I don't begin to proclaim that I have, And this tremendous amount of knowledge about what is going on.
Right. I just know that common sense is common sense, right? So, as far as the money is concerned, it's not going to go away. It just doesn't.
It's not going to get deleted. It gets moved to someone else. You know, it's just that simple. Now, here's the real question.
Who do you think is going to buy TikTok? Because I think I know who's going to be the person acquiring it. Oh, well, it has been stated that in a social media post on Sunday, Monday, Trump asked tech companies to not let TikTok stay dark and reiterated his plan to issue a reprieve once he takes office. I will issue an executive order on Monday to extend the period of time before the laws prohibition takes place.
So the order will also confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped TikTok from going dark before my order. Okay. So who do you think? I have no idea at this point.
I mean, because they keep throwing names out, but it's, uh, every time they do, they go, that's not true. Are you? Okay. So you know who I think is going to get it?
Who? Mr. Beast is going to get it. You think so?
Oh, yeah. It's not going to be Elon. Elon's got too much going on, man. Elon does want to.
He's got Twitter. He's running X. He's got the whole Department of Government Efficiency thing. He's got all the rockets and everything.
There's a space shuttle. He's got his cars. Starlink. Oh, yeah.
I forgot about Starlink. You know. Yeah, it's everywhere. So he's keeping.
He can't. It's just not possible, right? Okay, do you think so? I think that this is an opportunity for Mr.
Beast, and I think that he's going to put the right investors together. His team of billionaires, as he keeps saying? If you listen to the Joe Rogan, Mr. Beast interview, it's remarkable.
The kid, I guess a kid, because he's younger than me, but the guy is amazing, man. If he's a kid to you, he's making him a child to me. He's a child to you, he's a kid to me, yeah. He's, he's, his, his principles, the way that he acts, the way that he operates, how he conducts himself.
I mean, I'm a fan. I'm, I'm in. I'm a fan. I've been following him since he used to actually be in all the videos.
He's no longer in the video. He is. But I mean, back when he used to be like the main guy in the videos, now he like pops in. Well, he's got studios.
Well, he's got people now, right? He's got things to do. He's very busy, man. Very rich making tiki-talking videos.
That guy is. So yeah, I mean, I'm for, I'd like to see Mr. Beast take that over. He would definitely make the platform better.
What was that group on MTV that made those stupid videos? MTV group made stupid videos. Oh boy, how long ago you taught me? Bam Majera was one of them.
Jackass? Jackass. It's like Jackass though is buying TikTok. No.
He does videos where he like buries somebody alive and they're one of his buddies and they have to stay underground for 24 hours. For 36 hours. Yeah, that's all. But that's energy.
That's like jackass stuff. No, no. Jackass is like. Just with better tech.
No, jackass is like, hey, I wonder how hard you are going to take this of me hitting you in the nuts. That's what I'm saying. With this skateboard. He just has better tech because he buries a guy in the ground, but he has a camera on him and they can drop food through the little tube.
Or they drop roaches through the little tube or something, I mean. He's a little more PG, buddy. Yeah. All right.
There are no nut shots. We're not shaving someone's head when they're sleeping. I bet he started making those in the beginning. He started when he was 11, so I don't think that that was what it was going on.
He's sitting around with his buddies going, you know what, we could hit each other in a nod to be famous. I don't think so. I don't think that was the case. Eventually, I'm going to make my own chocolate bar.
He has his own chocolate. Yes, he does. I've eaten it. Oh, is it any good?
Yes, I'm bad. I haven't had one. Alright, let's go to the next topic. Alright, an Ohio artist, oops, wrong button.
An Ohio artist has created a 15-foot-tall bronze statue. The statue of Donald Trump that will travel the country before it will be permanently placed in a future Trump presidential library parking lot. This is absolutely hilarious. Have you seen the image of this thing?
I've seen the statue. It's very shiny. It's gigantic. The statue shows off the moment Trump pumped his fist in the air after an assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, PA, on July 13th.
How iconic is that going to be now? Oh, it's definitely iconic. I mean, it already is, but now they're making a statue. they made him look a little better in the statue than he does really in real life.
Like they toned down the turkey gobbler on his neck. He's a little bit thinner. And how cool would it have been if they put the notch in his ear where the bullet went through? Right.
That would have been a slight little sting. A little, a little, a little. Well, you know, that image, I think, is also part of his crypto currency. He's coming out with a coin, him and his wife.
He already came out with his crypto. Well, there was two articles today. One, she was actually trending, but his, yeah, had come out before. His is already out.
Is he doing a new one? Oh, I have no idea. I think he's doing a presidential one. Is that illegal?
Isn't that one of those things he's not allowed to do? I have no idea. I don't know. He just pardoned himself.
Oh, and wait, there's a new law now that the president can't, what, the president can't... Pardon themselves? No, no, he can't be found guilty of crimes he commits while he's president or something like that or something. Who created that law?
When did that come out? You know, I'm sure it's a, you know... Are you sure about that? Maybe that's something he said he's going to do.
I don't remember. Where I will be able to pardon myself. I cannot be tried for any crimes I commit while I'm president. Wait, he did that his first term.
That's why he didn't get in trouble for supposedly the money thing. Are you sure? I think so. I don't think that that's true.
I could be making this up. I think you're making all of that. I remember reading something. You read it once?
Yes. Okay. Uh-oh. Is it here?
It's here. All right, we need to take a break. We'll be right back. All right.
All right. We're back. You're back. Ah, and I'm back, too.
, just ahead of the Make America Great Again victory rally. Cottrell is also known for his Thomas Edison statue, which stands as the guy that made the Thomas Edison statue. Yeah. I've seen that.
Oh, he did that, too. In the rotunda thing. Got it. Yeah, he made that.
S. Capitol representing Ohio in 2016. I mean, according to the source, Trump is expected to be with the statue during the inauguration. So it's there now.
It's there now somewhere. I totally messed this up. It's all right, keep going. That's the rest of all of that story.
And that's it. So there's a big Trump statue that's going to run around the world, run around the US. Yeah, not the world. No.
The US. And you're excited about this? No, I thought you were excited about this. I've already seen it now.
I saw a picture. I thought it was hilarious. It is hilarious. And they're just going to polish it, make it look like it's made out of gold.
And it was funded by, like, Crypto Brothers. There were three Crypto Brothers in Canada. Oh. Canadians love Trump.
Yeah. Yeah. It's funded by Canadians. Canadian Bitcoin.
Oh. Two O's. He's trying to make up for his lost time. I'm trying to get a wallet.
So it's gold, like a gold member. Well, it's painted gold. And polished. Oh, it's just flake.
Yeah, it's aluminum. Gold flake. It's plated. Oh.
Not really gold. No, no, no, that would be way heavy and expensive. I've emptied out Fort Knox to make my statue. Executive order number two.
Maybe it has a QR code on it so you can buy your crypto for months. Oh, maybe. It's hotter over here than it was over there. Straight to Dogecoin.
With the lights? No, it's just the heat. Oh, yeah, Doge, well, Melania Coin, Melania Coin is gone. You think that's gonna happen?
It's trending. It happened today. Melania Coin happened today? Yes.
Oh, I should've bought it. I guess you don't know. Nobody told me. Well, you know, he had his coin.
I'm sure she wanted her coin. Could have rode that wave up. To a girl has coin. Why, I have no coin.
I would have sold it instantly. Bought it and sold it? Yeah. Today's going to probably be the high day.
You're right. Probably a good idea. Yeah. It's only good for like a day or two.
You didn't start the timer. No, I did not. I didn't know which remote it was. I tried.
There's only one. Oh, yeah. What's that right next to it? You did that one on the Patreon.
It was the fan. I didn't realize that that was the timer. Don't worry. We're going to go over our hour here anyways.
It should be easy. All right. and commanders feel good story will continue for another week after dan quinn's team upset the detroit lions at ford field 45 31 yeah to book this spot in the nfc championship game because now if you lose you're out there's not you know it's uh yes that's exactly correct right is there a date when that rule stops going or is it just when it gets to be like only four people it's called the playoffs oh when you get into the playoffs the rules no longer apply you win and you advance. You lose.
You're done. So harsh. You've got like a buffet over there. I know.
I've got so many options. I have three different liquids here. You got that? Oh, I have this one.
Yeah, the Commanders. So we went to the Bucks-Commanders game, obviously, and that was sad because they lost. But I will tell you this. For the most part, the Commanders fans are very nice.
If you yell Redskins, do people get mad now? I don't think so. They're just happy to be there. They haven't been, you know… Relevant?
Yeah, they haven't been relevant. Yeah, the Indians are off the helmet now, right? Indians, it's just a big W. Oh, for Washington.
Yeah. Commander doesn't start with a W. It's, it's, it's a little crazy. It's a little stupid.
That was my brother's favorite team growing up. I mean, I'm sure it still is. Yeah. But that was always my, so, yeah, so I'm used to seeing it at least.
So, I'm kinda, like, okay, if I'm gonna root, they, they destroyed Detroit, you know, so that was who I wanted to look. Put the Lions in the cage, as they said. They put the Lions, Terry McLaurin, I don't know how you don't cover Terry McLaurin. I know, really?
Yeah. I don't either. Boots, help me here. He's the best receiver on Washington's team.
Dude. Oh yeah, Boots is back. What's interesting is, they've kind of established that RPO, they've developed that with a run pass option. I was going to say Arpey.
Or, you know, or they like to do the Lamar Jackson where he's going to, he pulls the ball to the running back and then he decides if he's going to give the ball to the running back or keep it himself in a run. So, that was, all that was amazing. I don't know if any of that was on camera. No, it wasn't.
Yeah. Yeah. Can you do it again? Like this?
Like this? Or he runs? Well, no, then you fakes the hand. He fakes it off and he keeps it and he's hit.
There you go. Thank you very much. It should be interesting to see how they go, because I'd like to see them win. The Commanders?
Yeah, at this point I'd like to see them win. So who's it down to now? Who all got eliminated this weekend? Buffalo has to play Kansas City.
Okay, who are the Chiefs? Yeah, I'd like to see Buffalo just destroy them. You don't like the Chiefs? No.
Is it because my wife likes the Chiefs? No, it's because they're not a good team. Apparently they are, they keep winning. They're not fun to watch.
You know, a good example, which you still wouldn't understand, is the San Antonio Spurs. Right. They were not a fun team to watch, right, Boots? No, they were not.
But they won several championships. They're systematic. Okay. And that's exactly what you're seeing with Kansas City.
It's basketball, right? It's San Antonio Spurs. Yeah. When we were talking football, I was thinking, I go, pretty sure it's a basketball team.
It's a great comparable as far as league. I understand the comparison. So, you know, there's nothing. Patrick Mahomes didn't make Pro Bowl.
There's, you know, there's no. Why didn't he? Because he's not that good. How do they keep winning?
I'm not saying they're not good enough. I don't know anything about football. I don't watch it. Statistically, he produces enough, right?
Oh. And coaching-wise, they do a good job. Okay. And then the refs help them tremendously.
Do they really? Yes, I think the refs. Boots, do you think the refs help them? I've heard that.
Yeah, I've saw that. You guys keep going. I'll chime in after I hear about your comments. I saw that on social media, people always say that kind of stuff.
But they used to say the same thing about Brady and the Patriots. They make some questionable calls for these guys. Yeah, I mean, some of this. Is it questionable because they win?
No, it's just like they give them roughing the passer calls that... They give them calls that dictate the end of the game, yeah. Yeah. It's not even...
The tide turner. They don't deflate the balls, though. Oh. You mean science doesn't deflate the balls?
I don't know the team doesn't deflate the balls on purpose so that it's easier to catch. When it's pulled out there's less PSI in the balls. I'm just saying, Michael, what everybody says. Yeah.
I don't know. I've never seen their balls. I'd much rather be accused of cheating than having the refs be in on it with me. Isn't that cheating?
That's a bigger problem. That's a bigger cheat? Yeah, it's way bigger. Than the team just cheating by themselves, allegedly?
I've heard, now I'm just devil's advocate because I don't know anything about sports at all, I've heard people say that, you know, when Brady was playing, that the Patriots got favorable calls from the refs, too. They always say that about whoever. Hey, if you're not cheating, you ain't trying. There you go.
That's what they say. No, listen. From the guy that showed up late today. At least the Patriots are fun to watch.
It's because you're a Patriots fan. Yeah, Kansas City is not really fun to watch. I bet if you're a Kansas City fan, it is. I'm not a Commanders fan, but they were fun to watch the past two games.
Okay. You know what I'm saying? Right. With no cheating.
And so, if I'm... If they have an identity problem, they can't cheat. So who do the Commanders have to play? The Bills.
No. I'm sorry. The Bills are playing the Chiefs, but that's AFC. Oh, the Eagles.
They've got to play the Eagles. Yeah, sorry. Oh, because the Eagles won. Yeah.
Okay. So, yeah, I don't want to see the Eagles win. So, Eagles, Commanders, Bills, and who? Chiefs.
Still Chiefs. Oh, Chiefs. Okay. So, whoever wins against the Bills and the Chiefs plays whoever wins against...
Super Bowl. This is a Super Bowl. This is at AFC and NFC Championships. Did you hear what network it's going to be on?
Have we talked about this? No. It's going to be on Tubi. What?
Tubi's carrying the Super Bowl this year. Everybody's carrying the Super Bowl. It's not just on Tubi. Well, it's streaming on Tubi.
Okay. Yeah, it might be in addition to. Oh, I don't know. I know, because Alex was here this weekend, so he went to Chiefs, so there's only certain channels that the Chiefs were on.
Well, that's probably in this area, because it's not a network. Well, streaming, there was only one. But then he went to watch the Commanders game, and it was on a different one, so I said, well, if you have $750, we can get all these different streaming services, you can watch all the games all weekend. Every streaming service carried a different game.
Right. This weekend? Yeah. There's only four games.
So that's four streaming games. If you had the NFL ticket with YouTube TV, you had all four games. Yeah, but we don't watch that enough. He had ESPN something where he could watch it or something, I don't know.
But Tubi is owned by Fox. So Fox has a Super Bowl, Fox is putting it on Tubi. As well. For streaming.
Okay, that makes sense. But Tubi is free. But now they charge more for the commercials. Makes sense.
Makes sense. Yeah. Okay. Man.
What's up in your nose? Dude, you do it so fast. Just watch the thing. I had an itchy nose.
You can watch the second screen. Yeah. Is it Netflix that has... Don't turn it on right now, see?
Netflix has a level where they show commercials. Do they have more commercials? Does Netflix have that too? I think so.
They make more money on the lower tier because of the commercials than they do on the upper tier where they charge you more. That makes sense. So they want more people to do the cheap one than to do the other one. So they're going to charge more for the more expensive one?
Probably. That would make sense. Okay, moving on. Moving on.
Biden did a going away present for the Democrats, Michael. This is very interesting. That's interesting. It is.
It's the first time this has ever happened. What did he get them all? Yukons? No, no.
Scooters. He did some preemptive pardons. Yeah. Oh.
There's something in his eye, and I can see it, and it's driving me crazy. Something in your eye. For Millie? Miley?
Who is that? Millie. M-I-L-L-E-Y? Yeah, I don't know who that is.
Okay. Fauci. That's his cousin. No, no, these are all people that are tied into some type of medical...
Oh, it's his doctor. Fauci's not his doctor. He doesn't know who his doctor is right now. Anyway, Millie, Fauci, and the January 6th committee members have all been preemptive pardons.
Now they're saying, not that they broke any laws, but in case Trump says they did break laws, nope, they're fine. Oh, he gave them a Monopoly get out of jail free card. Right. President Joe Biden on Monday issued preemptive pardons for General Mark Milley.
Oh, he's a general, Dr. Anthony Fauci and members of the Congress who served on the committee to investigate the January 6th, 2021 attack on the Capitol, oh, it's these people, using an extraordinary executive prerogative as a shield against revenge by his incoming successor, Donald Trump, the pardons coming in at the final hours of Biden's presidency amounts to a stunning flex presidential power that is unprecedented in recent presidential history. You may have just shorted there. No, I didn't.
I didn't really flex. Terrence is going to be so jealous. It has nothing to do. I reserve the right to say that it has nothing to do with Argonauts.
Serve to protect several outspoken critics of the incoming president, including former Republican Representative Liz Cheney, whom Trump has vowed retribution against. I will get her. It's like the statue. That's the fight.
That's the fight. This is a perfect clip, right? These are exceptional circumstances, and I cannot in good conscience do nothing, Biden wrote in his statement saying he has to write stuff. He doesn't talk no more.
Right. Yes, no, somebody else has to write. Mommy says I have to say these people are good people, because they're no longer bad people in the world. Okay.
Before he was said to welcome Trump to the White House for tea. Oh, we had tea with Trump. Nice. I'd like to have tea with Trump.
I bet you would. That sounds fun. Oh, yeah. Sending his swearing-in, baseless and politically motivated investigations wreak havoc on the lives, safety, and final security of targeted individuals and their families.
You make fun of his reading. Biden, it's not a word I read every day, Michael. Wreak havoc? I can't see.
I thought I said weak. There's a small "r". Weak? There's a small "r"?
Maybe it was wreck. W-small-r-e-a-k? Yes. Okay.
The recipients of Biden's pardons have all faced intense criticism from Trump and his allies. Fauci served as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease for decades, including during the outbreak of COVID and Trump's first presidency, and Miley served as a chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during Trump's first term and has warned Trump is a fascist. Okay, so what do you think about the pardons? Let me ask you.
What do you think about it? I think the whole pardon thing is kind of funky anyway. I mean, they all pardon their friends and their allies and somebody who donated money to them or their children. Right.
So, you know, like Boots said, to get out of jail free card. Right. These people aren't even in trouble yet. Yeah.
Maybe that should be where the line is. You cannot pardon someone who has not done something yet. What was kind of bad, though, is like you go, hey, I'm going to pardon these guys, and they haven't done anything yet. " Right.
Well, here's what I think. Worse than his son, who's been pardoned for things he might have done years ago. Right, just 10 years blanketing stuff. Just a little bump up, bro.
And it should be, you can only pardon somebody for the four years that you were in office. Right. Oh, yeah, you don't want it to be extended. Yeah, like his son goes back 20 years.
And Casey did something back when he was 7. It's 10 years, yeah. Whatever it was. Casey did something when he was 7, he's okay too.
Here's what I think. The gumball he stole. If you're gonna give a pardon to a guy like Fauci, what you're doing is you're saying one of two things, in my opinion. You're saying one of two things.
Number one is what he did was illegal. Illegal. Illegal. And it was this whole massive outcry, which I honestly don't think that that's true, but a lot of people do think that that's true, right?
Or number two, you're saying that the person in power has the ability to manipulate the judicial system and put somebody under fire, right? Sure they do. So, both of those things aren't good, right? No, they're not right.
Right. Yeah, so... But, I mean, if, not you specifically, but if a person thinks that the president does not have any power over the judicial system to get something done he wanted done, you're being a little naive. Right.
But this, like, really kind of confirms the fact that, hey, if I want to throw some indictments or some things at someone, we can make some accusations, we can draw up some stuff, and we can have them arrested and all of these things. Sure. That's pretty much, to me, how I interpreted that pardon. If you're going to pardon Fauci, you're pretty much stating either A, he did something illegal, or B, the person that's going to be in power has the ability to make it look like he did something illegal and we can put him in jail.
And both of those things are not okay. No. But both of those things happen. That's a problem.
Right. Well, and Trump is kind of a unique individual also. He sort of holds a grudge for a while, you know, that we haven't really seen a president do in the past. Normally after, you know, the president sort of just goes away after he becomes president.
And he just lets bygones be bygones? I've never seen anybody preemptively pardon people because they're afraid the incoming president is going to do something to one of his buddies. I mean, to be honest, I think the other way, because a lot of the people that are working with Trump have said a lot of hard, hideous things about him. Sure.
And they're currently working with him. So I don't think that he holds that grudge in that scenario. I mean, this one guy, the general, has been pardoned because he said he's a fascist. That's the only thing, and they're afraid Trump's gonna do something to him.
Right. That's crazy. So, it may be not that, like you said, that he did something. Right.
But it's that they might say he did something. That's insane, man. That's completely insane. And, you know, it's one of many problems that we have in this government that need to be straightened out.
And the aliens. Aliens. Aliens. Blanketing pardons, the ability to convict somebody and yield judicial power.
It's not an hour without any real cause. You know, I'd like to know? Yeah. Camera?
I would like to know who shot JFK. Once and for all, let's just put that to bed. Bobby might get out, you know, who knows? Bobby's there.
I thought there was a video about that. Bobby... There was a video, there was a movie, there was an investigation, we still don't know. Look, man, Bobby's, he's there, he's in the cabinet.
If he really wants to go for it, I'm sure that he could dig that out. Well, they know. I don't think, do you think Bobby knows? Oh, I know, but he will when he gets there.
Well, the guy that shot him is probably dead by now. Well, probably, but who though? The guy that shot him? The guy that shot him is dead.
Well, that's what his name is. Allegedly. Allegedly he did it because the way he shot that rifle with the single action bolt was really, really fast. Who knows?
Maybe he's really, really good. And they lost one of the bullets so they can't see if they all match and all sorts of stuff going on. It's crazy. Right?
They could do whatever they wanted to cover me. It's crazy. They could come in here and take one of us and then the other two have to pretend like we never knew you were here. We just got to let him go?
Hopefully. You think they take boots? He's closest to the door. Wow.
He's dressed as a longshoreman when he got here today. Maybe he's hiding. Sometimes he shows up, sometimes he doesn't. Right?
Yeah. We wouldn't even know. He takes things to the dump all the time? Yeah.
Maybe he goes to the dump. Well, I've seen him take things to the dump. To the dump. And stays.
Oh, he goes and just the dump trailer comes back. Yeah. It's back. We don't know what happened.
Crazy. Okay. Crazy. That is the last Trending Story!
Okay. I had one for him, but I didn't put it all together because... We didn't know he was going to be here. But it is Martin Luther King Day, right?
It is Martin Luther King Day, Boots. Tell people about that. It's a great day. It's huge.
What does Martin Luther King Day mean to you, as we stare at Palmer's camera while I'm speaking? Day of Liberation. Day of what? It's a Day of Liberation.
Day of Liberation. For you? No, everybody. For everybody.
Everybody's Day of Liberation. They did it during the inauguration. They did what? One of the pastors.
They liberated? One of the pastors up there did the speech, the Dr. Marlin. Of Marlin?
Dr. Marlin Luther King's speech. So what you're telling me is, the reason why you're late is because you were watching the inauguration. It was on at 11:30.
He was participating in the, whatever he just said they do. I don't remember what he did. In the liberation? In the liberation.
It's supposed to be a day of service. You're supposed to volunteer your time and energy doing service for your community or for others today. Nice. What'd you do?
I did your job over there. That was a, that was a, yeah. Community service over here? Community service over there.
Big community service. Well, that's weird. That's what that, that's what you're supposed to do? Yes, because, you know, I did research to give you stories.
He likes to help you. So that was what it was all about. There he is, he's helping you. And I had it on a first grade reading level, so you had no problem.
He did, it was very, three letter words, a lot of three letter words. I don't like Palmer's camera anymore. I am. End up.
I like. MLK. MLK Day. Happy.
Happy. Sad he shot. Good man. Good man.
Gave speech. Need more good men. Gave talkie talkie. All right.
So, hey, let's get into Cigar News. Cigar News, hit the news button over there. Is there cigar news? Yes, there's cigar news.
There's a lot of cigar news. A lot of cigar news. Oh, you want to do the other thing now? The Half Wheel Top 25, yeah.
Yeah, okay. We're going to review this list really quickly. We're going to talk about things briefly. Welcome to AC-- Oh my God.
Because it's only--can I have my camera, please? Camera? It's on your camera. Oh, sorry.
It's only important if we talk about it. That's what Coop said. Oh. Are you ready?
Yes. 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. The consensus is now up, too, if you want to do that one.
No, let's talk briefly about the Top 25. I want to kind of run through the list relatively quickly and say, "Hey, have we smoked it? Will we smoke it? " Just quickly.
Okay, the eligibility for them, because everybody's different, for them there's only two things it has to be, it has to be shipped to stores in 2023 or 2024, and the cigar must get a regular review during 2024, or a Rev Jude? Redux? No, R-E-V-J-E-W-E-D, during Holy Grail Week 2025. It must have been a review, but they just mistyped it.
Yeah. Could be, could be. Rev Jude. Well, in the consensus, they had the La Verana for the image instead of the Maestranza.
Ah, I got you. Well, it's life. They're doing the best they can. Yeah.
And I got to give them credit, man. But I'll get into that a little bit after we go through these top 25. All right, number 25. Yes.
The Viaje Skull & Bones Zar Bamba Camo Blue. Yes. I've never had it before. Yeah.
Have you had this one, Boots? No, I don't think that one's been here. Blue Camo. No, we don't carry it here.
When it comes to Viaje, we do carry it, it comes in a few boxes at a time, and generally, I try and sell them before they- Oh, that's right, they go in and out fast, they never hit the shelf. Yeah, sometimes, but some, like, there's one coming up, this Vampire something- Vampire dust. Yeah. Sell that story.
I haven't really pushed, I haven't reached out to a lot of people with that, so I don't know if that's gonna, that might be available. Oh! So, Viaje can really be a hit or miss brand. Right.
There are some cigars that are absolutely stellar, and then some that are just complete flops. They have a lot of undisclosed information as far as where they produce their cigars and all this other stuff. Oh, really? Yeah.
Why are they so secretive? No, maybe they just can't be bothered, you know? Maybe they don't know. Maybe they don't care.
That could be too. Tastes good, throw it out, sell it, sell it out. Sell it, sell, sell. All right, number 24, the La Llorona, La Llorona?
Yeah. Is that how you say that, La Llorona? Sure. Two L's?
Corona. By Advent and McKay Cigar Company, not familiar with the brand at all. Me neither. It's a band with a pirate skull on it.
Ooh, by Advent? No, ADV and McKay, it's not Advent Ventura, unless it was Advent McKay, ADV. ADV? And McKay.
That could be, is it Dominican? Oh, founded in 2016, it's a collaboration between Henderson, Ventura, Tatloquera, William Ventura, and Marcel Noble, a Swiss Sommelier. Oh. And coffee producer.
Salmonee. Not Salmonee. Salmonee. Salmonee.
I haven't had that one. I haven't had that one either. No. But I'm interested to try it, that's for sure.
Yeah, that one actually looks interesting. The Salmonee is a coffee guy too, so maybe it's got a little, you know, something goes there. All right. Benvetura Flavoritos 56 Natural.
Is this a 23? Yes, this is a 23. Okay. Nope, haven't had it.
Trying to see who it is. Oh, it's a $100 cigar. Ooh, definitely haven't had it. And I haven't had it.
We're not trying that one. Go ahead, moving on. Next. 22.
Hold on, hold on. I've got to go back here. A lot of pushing buttons on this thing. Padron Black PB97 Maduro.
Okay. Yes. I think I've had that one, didn't I? Good cigar.
We've had it. It's a good cigar. Yes. All right, number 21, Knuckle Sandwich 56.
Oh, look at that. That's from my friends over at Espinosa Cigars. See, after the birthday of Guy Fieri. Guy Fieri is now 50T.
See, it, that's kind of funny, right? Why is it funny? It made that list. Oh.
Espinosa made that list, Knuckle Sandwich made that list. Yes. So when the question always becomes is who's more relative in the industry, it's going to be Half Wheel. Yeah.
Right. Oh, certainly. This is just one point of many, not to mention the fact that they mentioned two other cigars that I've never heard of. So they're doing, when it comes to the research, the data, all the hard work.
Oh, no, you've heard of the Viaje Blue thing. Yeah, when it comes to the research, the data, all the hard work, Half Wheel is, bar none. No offense to anybody else who does these, they seem more legit for some reason, I don't know what it is. I'm going to tell you right now.
Because they smoke cigars? They do. All the shows smoke cigars. They do a ton of work.
Yeah. I'll get into, when you're done, I'm going to get into some of the things that really impressed me, I watched the live of the release that they did with these top 25, and I thought it was outstanding. It was a good show. They need to work on the lighting just a little bit, but other than that.
Okay, now, but now we're just... Yeah, now you're picking. Yeah, now we're picking. Well, I mean, we're in the, you know, in the industry.
Nobody said they had the best looking show. We had the best looking show. Nobody said they had the best. I have been told we sound and look the best.
We might not have the best content. We have the greatest content. And we're idiots most of the time, but we look and sound better than anybody else. I think we have the best content.
Yeah, ours is unfiltered. Yeah, we have by far the best content. I didn't say we didn't, I just said nobody actually says that, but they do say we look and sound. Right.
All right, number 20, Powistana? Powistana? Wow. Powistana?
Wow. Powstanie, Connecticut, Corona Gorda, Justice, number 20. Delicious, smoked plenty. That's funny.
Did you tell him he's made all these lists again this year? I did not. I have not shared that with him. But if your wife is watching, it should be some sort of party, I would imagine, thrown together.
So we had a number 20 last year with them, with the War Bear. Yes. And here we are again. The number 20.
Yeah. With a different cigar. With a different cigar. But last year we had two on the list, I believe.
Did we? Yeah, because this one made the list, but I think it was lower last year. And then the Connecticut was number 15 or something like that. Yeah.
So two years in a row. Connecticut's been on there two years in a row. Perfect. Number 19, oh, this explains why you couldn't see the band, 601 La Bamba Warhead X.
Yeah. Nice. Again, we're sandwiched between, oh no, this is the one, we're sandwiched between the Espinosas. Yeah.
Warhead X, the Warhead 10, it's a great cigar. Delicious. Great packaging, the whole, you know, yeah. Yes, they won the packaging award also.
Yeah, so, you know, we're, so, okay, so here's what I'm trying to say, like, we're into number 20, right? 19. No, he was talking about Pestani. So wait.
Oh, weird number two. At 21 or 22, what was 22? 22 was the black, Padrón. Okay, so we're at 22, and we said yes.
21, we said yes. 20, we said yes. Hell yes. 19, we said yes.
Yes. You know, see what I'm saying? Okay, keep going. We're not leaving.
Number 18, Warfighter Night Shift. Okay, question mark. Right? It looks interesting.
It's got a Candela cap. Who's a buy? Warfighter. That can't be.
Name of the brand is Warfighter. Name of the brand is Warfighter. I bet you it's good. I've never had it.
And you know what? I've never ever really acknowledged this brand. But now that it's made this list, I'm like, oh shit. You wanna try and smoke it.
Yeah, this is the first time they've ever made the list. Yeah, like, oh, maybe they did something good. I've had some of their other stuff. Yeah.
And you're like, hmm. Well, I like their advertising and stuff. Two years ago at the trade show, they had the big poster, the big banner thing up that said, That said something like, not only men wear suits, smoke cigars or something, it was a picture of a construction worker, a fireman, a cop, and something else. Okay.
Okay. Number 17, our friends over at Crux, Crux Epicure Habano Toro. Okay. Smoked it.
We've had this. Yeah. It's not bad. Obviously, they were impressed with the blend this year.
Yep. So, these aren't cigars that just came out this year. These are cigars they smoked this year. That's what it said to qualify.
They said it had to be in stores between 23 and 24. Right, right. J. Fernandez.
Okay, this one interests me. The green one. Yeah. I haven't had it, and I bet you it's really good.
I have. I've smoked. Yeah? It is good.
So there you go. All right, keep going, because we're tight on time. All right, just flip it back and forth as I can, Michael. All right.
Davidoff, Winston Churchill, The Late, Our Petite, Pantella. Yeah, the little one. Yeah, the little one. I have not smoked.
I haven't smoked this either. Yeah, it's pretty good. It's a Dominican cigar. Yep.
Alright, number 14, Adventura, Blue Eyed Jacks, Revenge Robusto. Okay, so here Henderson hits the mark, right? Which is interesting. It's one of his own, not the collaboration, no.
Yeah, because, you know, the only up-and-comer I have seen successful in the past couple years has been Henderson as far as Dominican cigars. And here he is on the list. You know? It's a good cigar.
Okay. This one's also a collaboration with somebody Swiss. I must like Swiss. Number 13, AJ Fernandez, 20th anniversary Toro.
I have not had the anniversary. Okay. I bet it's going to be good. Yeah.
Number twelve, Cro-Mag Knuckle Draggers, 2024 version. Right, this is the Pennsylvania Broadleaf. Of course, it's great. And it's a knockout, for sure.
Number eleven, Plasencia Conceica 151 La Musica. Their Conceicas, for me, I think are really good. Makes sense that it's on the list. Number 10, Davidoff Grand Cru, Diademus, Venus, Limited Edition, Collection.
Okay. Very long. Nope. Haven't spoken.
Nope. When Michael Herklot comes, you like to break some. That'd be fine. Las Calaveras, Edition Limitada, 2024, LC52.
This was kind of surprising to me. It hit higher than I thought it would hit, but it's nice to see that Crownheads made the list. It is their most popular limited release. Yeah.
Really? Okay. Back and forth, back and forth. I think my favorite for them is probably the La Patisserie.
The La Patisserie. The La Patisserie. The La Patisserie. Or however you say it.
La Patisserie. That's what they say when I have to go to the bathroom. Honey, where's the La Patisserie? I'll take a La Patisserie.
Wow. Leroy Neiman's 2023 collector's edition. I haven't smoked it. Haven't smoked it.
That I don't know. It's got a band that covers the entire cigar but the cap. But the cap. We don't want you to see these.
All right. There's a few of these that I'd like to try. Number seven, Monstranza Citadella Catalonia. Yeah.
Another good cigar. So another Roma Craft cigar hits the mark. Number seven. Okay.
So, so far we got three cigars that are made out of the Nikasueño factory. Yes. Two of them Nikasueño in this top 25 list. Yes.
You know, I thought it was very nice. Skip posted our number 20 thing on his social media. J. J.
makes. No, that's a good point. J. Not ours.
Oh, yeah, he doesn't make... Avo Expressions, limited edition 2024. Okay. This is the gray banded one.
All right, next. No, that's all. That's number five. Number four, Plasencia Alma Fuerte, Colorado Claro Robusto 2.
Okay. Good. That's a good start. That one's okay.
Number three, Sin Camaromizo, Seleccion, number four. Yeah, you figured Dunbarton is going to be somewhere in the top five. Number two, Quesada, 50th Anniversary Toro, Prenzado. That was interesting for me.
You know, I'm curious about that cigar. If it pelted that high, you know. 2017, Quesada made number one on the top 25. It was a barber pole.
And then number one. And then number one, Cigar of the Year, Craft Marquette La Monstranza. Oh! The one with the little ribbon on the bottom.
Yeah. Delicious. Another Roma. So Roma's got four, three spots in this entire thing, and their factory's got four.
Right. I mean, rightfully so. Oh, we're gonna have a guest. Eagily, out of the video for this, Skip?
Skip! Live on the phone, Skip Martin from Roma Craft Tobac. What's up, brother? You're on the podcast, man.
How are you? Good, man, good. I'm up bright and early watching the... Yeah?
What are you watching? He was up bright and early watching the Patreon. Oh. Yes.
You're watching the Patreon? Hello? What is that sound in the background? There's a sound in the background.
What sound? We're not even talking when you're talking. It's not like I heard... Talking.
Is that you? I think it was my TikTok, I guess. Oh, yeah, it must have been your TikTok. Oh, are you dancing?
Did we interrupt? No, I'm up right and early watching the peaceful transfer of power in the greatest nation in the world. Oh, he's watching the inauguration. Absolutely, man.
It's very exciting. You know, congratulations on hitting number one on Half Wheel's Top 25. I think that that's long overdue. You guys have, you've always worked your ass off, and you guys continue to get better and better every year.
I just wanted to check in with you and see how you were feeling about that, because I saw you had some posts and they were entertaining, and now you're getting blocked, which I think is funny. But yeah, so how does it feel to be number one? Oh, you know, Garofalo tried to explain to me how I was going to feel to be number one, and then, no, it's good, man. It's always going to be recognized, I think.
I mean, I don't think I pin my self-value or self-worth based on, you know, other people's opinions. As long as the cigar's selling and people are buying it again and again and the retailers are happy with it, that's really the measure, but it's good to be recognized, always. And, you know, Halfway got a pretty sweet trophy. It's better than the plaque we got from Cigar Aficionado, right?
So... Free magazine subscription and a coupon for coffee? No. Here's what I was, here's what I think is kind of remarkable about Halfwheel.
For one, I think that, bar none, as far as their top 25 list, we just kind of briefly reviewed it. There's a lot that when you, when they're going through, I'm like, yes, yes, yes, yes, more so than any other brand or, you know, than any other medium. And I watched that view, that live, and I'm thinking to myself, okay, so then Charlie and Patrick and Brooks are all there, and Charlie's saying, okay, so just to let everybody know, I'm like, okay, my first question on the top of my head is, how many of them are ad space? And then he goes, and here's the list with the highlighted ones that are ad space, that purchase ads with us.
So you can see where they all fall, I'm like, oh my God, he's done all the work for me. That's amazing. And then he goes, okay, and then let's talk about, you know, the fact that brands that hit on the top 25 more than once, and he talks about Romacrafts, and then I'm legitimately writing. I go, well, it's four if you're looking at the factory, which is important, right?
And then the next power point, he goes, but now let's break it down by as far as factory. And there you are, boom. I'm like, holy shit, man. This guy has covered all the data in every avenue, in every avenue, in every avenue, in every avenue.
Every question that I'm thinking of, he's already answering, and then he's like, okay, now here are the categories by country, and then it's by the flag, and he goes, and in case you don't understand flags, here it is by name. I'm like, oh my God, man, like, there is nobody that works as hard as these guys in the industry when it comes to cigar media. Well, I mean, he's been doing it for a while, they've been doing it for a while, so, you know, they constantly work on, you know, doing better, you know, or. I'm not one of the people who is a big fan of the flavor note thing, and all reviews at some level are subjective, right?
I mean, if you ask me what I like to smoke this year, it's going to be a different list. But, I mean, you know, the fact that there was a Palestinian on the list last year and a Palestinian on the list this year, that cigar is probably not even reviewed by... So I think they pay attention to the business. They go out specifically and search out for new cigars.
I don't know how much Charlie or Brooks or Patrick smoke just for themselves. I think they smoke so much for the review processes that they probably don't smoke like they do. we smoke right pleasure or something right i mean right i mean you guys smoke the cigars for the podcast and the patreon but um i mean even if you didn't have that and on top of that you smoke three or four cigars you know normally a day mike revealed he doesn't smoke on the weekend which baffles me but you know what i'm saying like uh i don't know how much a lot of these guys who get I mean, of course you have to like cigars or why would you do it, but I think so many of them kind of stay in it so they can have this weird kind of place in the industry and, you know, I don't, I mean, I'm sure Brooks is not like that at all. And Patrick, you know, maybe a little more, but not much.
And then Charlie, definitely not. Right? I think they just do it because it's a, a, a It's a niche that they found and they do a good job at it. Yeah, absolutely, man.
I was watching that live. I was so pumped when I saw you guys hit number one. Dude, it's a long time coming. It's well-deserved.
You know, I don't see anybody work as hard as you guys do when it comes to the factory level, when it comes to production and quality. And you've always worked on improving. And it's nice to finally see that sort of nod. You know what I mean?
Well, I appreciate it. Yeah, absolutely, dude. We had the Italian distributors, they came in the country, and then they spent a few days in SLE. " He goes, do you ever, cause his, his, what he's trying to figure out is that, you know, he was really surprised or amazed by how much kind of effort we put into kind of like the attention to detail and, you know, different aspects, like sorting a filler and stuff like that.
And he said, do you think you overdo it? Like, is it too much? Like, does a, does a consumer even realize that you're doing that? And why don't you talk about it?
And why don't you tell the story? And it's like, we tell the story every time you like the cigar. He goes, yeah, but you have to shell the cigar to him. I'm like, no, you don't.
You just have to match the cigar to the right guy. Say, hey, trust me, this is a good one. And, and then if they like it, they'll re-buy it. If they don't like it, it's not necessarily a judgment on the cigar.
It's just, it's not their thing. Right. And he says, well, most people just want to be sold a story and they just want to buy the popular brand or the packaging or whatever. And I said, "Well, you know, we don't make cigars for those people.
I don't know what to tell you. " So, it's good. You know, I asked Charlie to send me the, his data. So he has these spreadsheets every year that he does this process.
So he sent me like seven or eight, maybe five years or six years worth of this data. Well, where, you know, he does the review of the reviews. I think I sent it over to you, but... You know, I started looking at and analyzing it.
So one thing, you know, I'm just grateful that they actually smoke a lot of our cigars, which if they weren't good, I guess, could go either way, right? Right. But they smoke them. And if you look at it, other than, you know, the onesie twosies, anybody with more than two or three reviews, Nick Casueno is by far the top factory in terms of average score.
In terms of brands, Romacraft is by far, you know, the top one. So, you know, I think Hatful is a serious thing, and as much as we appreciate them saying, "Hey, you know, your cigar is the one we liked the most this year," that could have gone either way. Right? The Sin Compromissional #4 could have been number one, or the Casada could have been number one, or even the Davidoff could have been...
Davidoff could have been, there's a lot of cigars on that list that depending on your taste, it could have been the best cigar, I mean, the Justice could have been number one, right? That's probably the one you smoked the most. Yeah, for sure. Um, but the, the thing that I think is, is you can't deny is they gave factor of the year in 20, 22, 23, 24.
They didn't do it in 21. And we won three out of those four years. And the fourth year in 2023, Davidoff won. Which is a billion dollar company, right?
" Our name has to come up in there. Right. Unless you're a hater, right? Yeah, absolutely.
If you're serious, you say, look, you know, big companies, you got Drew State, you got, you know, Davidoff manufacturers, you got people like AJ and Placencia, you know, and growers, you got my father, you got Davidoff, you got, you know, Ho Chi Bung, you know, but somewhere in there, you have to say, as a factory and as a brand. And I don't know that there's any, I mean, Ovea Negri is a great factory, I think, and they're starting to make a lot of traction as a brand, but I don't think everybody kind of thinks about them as both. Right. They are as much as we are, but I don't know if they're, for whatever, they're doing tours, and I think that stuff's changing, but like Krishna Roa you think of as a factory and a brand, or, you know, some people like AJ maybe think about them more as a factory that makes cigars for other people.
Polpetta is becoming kind of known for both instead of just as a factory, but a company our size with a factory our size, it's a big deal, and last thing I'll say is, you know, Arlen's sister, Frances, is kind of our general manager now, she does production, she manages production, she worked at Padrón with her parents for, I think she was there for like 16 years, but she was the most excited person about the factory of the year. Like legitimately, when I told them about it, she was the one who just for a couple of days was just like, I can't believe it, I can't believe it, this is so great. And so, it's just amazing how the people at the factory take ownership of, you know, they see, oh, that's our cigar, that's our cigar, oh, I can't believe, you know, again, we got named Factor of the Year. And then when you start explaining to them, no, what they're saying is we're better than, this year we did a better job, at the end of the day, Then all of the factories that all your friends work at, like even my father, yes, my father, even AJ, yes, more than AJ, even Padrón, yes, more than Padrón, and then they're like, well, yeah, you take care of us, we, you know, we have lines of people trying to get a job whenever one opens up, you know, the word is out on the street that that is the place to work.
And so they're like, yeah, of course, this is the fact of the year, where else would you, you know, that, where else would I want to work, you know, you give us good tobacco, you take care of us, you're fair, you know, you're constantly kind of, you know, concerned about us on another level, it's intimate, it's small enough, you know, it's for all the reasons why somebody who has to sit and make 500 or 300, 400 cigars a day, they're proud to work there. And so they're proud to be acknowledged. So I think that's pretty cool. A hundred percent, man.
All right. Well, we're going to let you go on that note, but dude, I appreciate you. Um, congrats again, very well-deserved, and, uh, I'm sure we'll be talking soon. So, all right, man, I'll, um, I'll, I'll save up some, some, you know, kind of homeless, homosexual things or talk about my dick or whatever that you can get to see and get some sound bites from me.
but all right perfect work on that if you could if you could beat up uh palmer in a 1984 bathroom yes so that then you'd make me a little older one year one year better yeah perfect i want to be on the i want to be on the soundboard like like these guys yeah we'll make that happen all right brother all right guys later all right so there you go man factory of the year 25 yeah factory of the year number one cigar of the year four cigars total from the factory all of it's pretty impressive man and the data that charlie provides is absolutely bar none so uh okay well we got about 10 more minutes so uh what story you want to do we got a florida center proposes public ban on smoking but cigars are exempt okay uh chip golden joins cayman cigar company it's kind of unique story because cayman Camin Cigars is a charitable company. Oh, really? He joins Camin Cigars with Cell Cigars, but with a charitable aim. The company was launched by Grainger Hout and John Lemieux, Camin Cigar Company says that it donates all its profits to various charities, including those that support entrepreneurship, opportunities for marginalized population assistance to American veterans, and addiction recoveries.
Portfolio includes cigars that are made in the Cayman Islands, as well as at least one line made in the Dominican Republic. 5x56 for $17, and an HVC Hotcakes Fresh Out of the Oven Broadleaf Corona Gigante for $16. Both Vitolas are limited to 350 boxes, will begin shipping in the middle of February. Okay, this is a good story.
McAuliffe Black Firecracker is scheduled for June. Yes, this is interesting. All right, the summer 2024 Firecracker release will come from McAuliffe, so they have been the chosen brand now for Two Guys to launch as Firecracker. Which makes sense.
Right, yeah, they're the favorite brand up there now, and they have a lot of free money now because they don't have any employees. Yeah, well, who's going to sell it? Two Guys. Oh, just those guys.
Yeah, this is an exclusive for them. So Two Guys releases the Firecracker cigar. Yeah, sometimes they say they invented the Firecracker cigar. That's what Mr.
Garofalo says. And then sometimes they release it to other... Yes, after they get it, you know, like any shop exclusive. We're the only one that has it, until they don't all sell, then now it's all to other people.
5x50 Petit Robusto with a long pigtail, which is the fuse. But it is, let's see, MSRP is $9 per cigar, and it'll be offered in boxes of 20 cigars, production numbers not announced. 19. So the Tiny Firecracker is more than a regular Toro.
It's a dollar more, almost. Yes, almost a dollar more. Still. Is that what that means?
It's still a fraction of the size. It's still a fraction of the size. It's the same blend. Yeah, I don't think I'd buy a 3x50 for $9 anyway.
I mean, it's almost like they took, let's just cut these in half. I'll just take the Torah. Take the Torah, I'll cut it. And then just trim it?
Just... Oh, glue these on, glue the shavings on the end there. Right, right, the parts that fall out, just twist them together at the end thing. Stick a little piece of wire in the end.
Right. That is, yeah, that's very interesting. Well, you know, you have this brand that's covered, that's backed by two guys, right? Right.
You know, they've obviously been doing what they can to kind of promote and help build them. Sure. Right, I think that they're brokering them or something to some degree. I think it has been brought in under United Cigars or something, I think.
" Right. Make it easier to do your taxes because there's no income for this year from us. Well, but now, I mean, two guys better produce, right? They better grow that brand successfully.
Or they'll get fired? I don't know. " Oh, on a wholesale level, you know, you go back to another, a different way or something. Who's the United rep down here right now?
No idea. I mean, it used to be the young lady, and then after that, there was a guy, but I'm not sure if he's doing it anymore. Yeah, I don't know who it is, to be honest. Yeah, I know.
Maybe they got rid of all theirs, too, like McCallum. We're just selling them all up here in our shops now. Hey, you know, more power to her if you can. Right.
All right. Let's see. All right, this week's Chat GBT editorial is on generational tobacco bands, brought to you by this week's Shop of the Week. Yeah.
Raza's Cigar Emporium in Ocala, Florida. Heyo. m. Oh, look at you.
Sliding that in. Perfect. Let's see. In the name of public health, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Indiana have proposed generational tobacco bans, which, that's just this week, which aim to prohibit the sale of tobacco products to individuals born after a specific date.
While these initiatives are framed as progressive steps towards reducing tobacco use, they raise serious concern about personal freedoms, economically, And the potential for unintended consequences. Right. Hawaii, once celebrated for being the first state to raise the smoking age of 21 in 2015, is now considering taking it further by banning tobacco sales entirely for future generations. The idea of a nicotine-free generation may sound ideal, but in practice, it infringes on the personal choice and autonomy.
Are we really comfortable allowing the government to dictate lifestyle choices in such a sweeping way? No. No, we are not. We are not.
We are not. According to Trump's statue, fight. Fight. Let's see.
Massachusetts is following a similar path with Brookline already enacting a generational tobacco ban in 2020. This local law upheld by the state's Supreme Judicial Court prohibits tobacco sales to anyone born after 2000. While some hail this as a victory for public health, it sets a dangerous precedent for government overreach. What's next?
Bans another legal but disfavored products like alcohol or sugary drinks? McDonald's? Or McDonald's? Shut it down.
Burger King? Over. Delicious Burger King chicken sandwich this week. It was amazing.
The ban doesn't just target smokers. It penalizes small businesses that rely on tobacco sales to survive. Retailers in Brookline have already reported lost revenue as consumers simply cross town lines to purchase tobacco elsewhere. Indiana proposed generational ban introduced by State Senator Ed Charbonnet aims to eliminate tobacco sales for anyone born after June 30th, 2004.
Indiana. Yes, this is Indiana. He's got a specific day, not just a year, a day. It's a little harder to check.
Nobody's going to remember. Probably doesn't like somebody. What's your birthday? I'm going to tell you what I'm going to do.
My ex-wife's kid was married on June 30th. No more tobacco for him. Yeah. While the intention is to reduce smoking rates, the ban just...
What are you guys doing over there? I accidentally moved the camera. Oh, my word. Economic and social reality is such a policy.
Tobacco sales generate significant tax revenue and support thousands of jobs in the retail and manufacturing sectors. Cutting off this revenue stream could have lasting consequences for state economies. Moreover, bans like these are unlikely to achieve their intended result. Restricting legal access often fuels the growth of black markets which produce an unregulated, untaxed And potentially more harmful prohibition has historically failed to curb demand.
Simply drives it underground. Yep. Instead of heavy-handed bans, policymakers should focus on education, harm reduction strategies, and ensure adults can make their own choices responsibly. This real solution lies in empowering people, not taking their freedoms away.
Yeah, educate people, empower them, and have them make their own decisions. Right. If you go back and you look at the government charts, there's a government chart that shows if you don't smoke at all, Right. Or if you smoke five cigars every day.
Right. Without inhaling. Right. Which is how most people smoke cigars.
Certainly. It shows that the data for any type of heart disease or cancer or anything, the raise is nominal. It's extremely, extremely low. So why are we going out of our way to banish something that doesn't really have an effect?
The FDA made the same, you know, proclaim like, hey, the data here shows that cigars aren't really that bad, but we're just going to go ahead and ban it anyways. Like, or we're going to say it's bad for you. But wait, no, how about, but the data says otherwise. I don't understand what we're trying to accomplish here when we're going after something that isn't really proven to be bad for you.
Well, they're going after the popular opinion. I think the problem is we're getting lumped in with cigarettes. Right. Because it's not a ban on cigars.
It's a ban on anything tobacco. Okay, yeah, but that's the first argument. The second argument, let's say it's bad for you, right? I mean, the majority of your cigarette smokers are normally guys that are hardworking individuals.
Sure. People that are labor workers, that are busting their ass all day. Certainly. They want to take a break.
Right. So we're going to punish them by taking that away from them? Can't have a moment in peace. There's going to be a lot of murder.
You want to know what you're starting to see, though? Is you're starting to see these Zin? Do we have charts that show the correlation between non-smokers and murder? Yes.
Right. You're starting to see these Zin pouches popping up everywhere. Yes, yes. That's mouth cancer.
Well, the FDA has just said these don't hurt you at all. You can have those. Really? They don't hurt you at all.
No, they just can't. Well, they hurt you, but it's like with the suit, like you said with the cigarette, it's nominal, so this is better than smoking. They just came out this week. Right.
Well, they kind of won't hurt you, so they're kind of okay. Right. Well, compared to smoking a cigarette, they are better for you. I wonder who's behind it, who's getting the most money behind it.
Just follow the money. Big Pouches. Big Pouch. Like Big Tobacco.
Big Pouches. Big Pharma, Big Pouch. Big Pouches. Big Pouches behind it, right?
Yeah, Listener of the Week. Big Nicotine. I did Shop of the Week. What was your Listener?
I did Shop of the Week and even got a plug-in for my event. Wow. You've got to do something. Okay.
I just produced 700 hours of quality information because you said the content for our show is the best. Listener of the Week is Stephen Wells. Stephen Wells, Listener of the Week. Congratulations, Mr.
Wells. My guy. You got the gong. You got the gong.
Not a literal gong, the sound gong. All right, anything else? If you'd like to buy a car and you're in the Illinois area, please go see Mr. Wells.
Illinois? Is that where he is? No. Where does he live?
New York? I was so close. New York. It's a big city.
Does he live in New York City? No. I didn't think so. He doesn't live in New York City.
He's Midwest something, doesn't he? Midwest something. Doesn't he live in the Midwest? No.
All right, never mind. Don't go buy a car from him, apparently. You need to buy a car from Stephen Wells. Michael doesn't want you to.
He's the best in the business. Maybe if he can write in to Mike Palmer about where he sells cars. He'll message. I don't need that other piece of information, no, there's only so much room in my head.
Right. All right. Perry, Eric Mitchell moves all the time. No, he has the same address.
No. Yes. I'll explain that to you later. All right.
All right. All right. Thank you. We got anything else?
That's it. We're all right. It's been episode 371 Cigarister Podcast. Thank you very much.
Go listen to the Patreon. Bye. Goodbye.
Show Notes
ACHP Episode 371: Trending Topics & Cigar News
In this action-packed episode, we dive into the latest news and headlines making waves across the country. TikTok made its highly anticipated return to U.S. shores after a temporary outage, crediting former President Trump's "clarity" for the resolution. The Washington Commanders make a major statement by putting the Detroit Lions "back in their cage" in a hard-hitting victory. Meanwhile, in Ohio, a 15-foot-tall bronze statue of Donald Trump is set to tour the nation before being permanently installed at a future Presidential Library.
In other political news, President Biden has issued preemptive pardons for key figures including General Milley, Dr. Fauci, and several members of the January 6th committee. We discuss the implications and the reactions from across the political spectrum.
Cigar News:
The cigar world is heating up as Florida Senator introduces a public smoking ban, with cigars getting an exemption. Chip Goldeen joins the team at Cayman Cigar Co., bringing exciting new developments to the brand. HVC's Hot Cake line is expanding in 2025 with two new vitolas featuring Broadleaf. Meanwhile, McAuliffe Cigars teases their Black Firecracker, set to hit the market in June.
Chat GPT Editorial:
This week's editorial dives deep into the controversial topic of Generational Tobacco Bans, particularly looking at movements in Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Indiana. Are these bans a necessary step for public health, or a slippery slope that threatens the future of the cigar industry? Presented by Roz's Cigar Emporium in Ocala, Florida, where we’ll be hosting a Cut n Light event on February 7 from 3pm to 7pm.
Tune in for all of this and more on ACHP Episode 371!