ACHP Episode 396 Elmos Looses it, A Kid Falls Off A Boat and We've Got Cigars
Episode Summary
Episode 396 of A Cigar Hustler's Podcast opens with the usual trending-news roundup before settling into a solid block of cigar industry news. The crew revisits the Disney cruise story where a five-year-old girl fell backward through a Deck 4 porthole while sitting on a railing and her father jumped in after her, debating whether Disney bears any liability or whether the family should sue at all. From there they get into Coca-Cola Plus, Japan's fiber-infused, government-certified "functional" soda, the Elmo X account hack, and the first birthday of Moo Deng, the pygmy hippo at a Thai zoo. A short sports item on the arrest of Browns rookie Quinshon Judkins rounds out the front half, plus a social media segment about a back-and-forth with John Carney over his AI-generated Squid Game–inspired cigar art.
The cigar news is the meat of the episode. Drew Estate's Summer 2025 Freestyle Live packs are heading to retailers with three unbanded preview cigars and a 40-ounce branded tumbler at $40.75, with Jonathan Drew teasing that the new line is "100% unapologetically Nicaraguan" — not a dead wood and not Dominican. The guys debate the value of the swag-heavy Freestyle Live program compared to past years. Cigar Kings announces distribution in Bahrain through Luxury Tobacco World, offering Robusto and Toro vitolas in Maduro and sun-grown. J.C. Newman launches the Diamond Crown Tampa, a 6x52 Toro made by Arturo Fuente in the Dominican Republic using Florida sun-grown filler under a Connecticut shade wrapper and Dominican binder, priced at $30 per cigar / $600 per box of 20, debuting July 15 in Tampa on the city's 130th birthday. The shop's own Ceniza Fina Connecticut (Ecuadorian Connecticut-seed wrapper, Dominican Criollo 98 binder, Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers, made at Tabacalera La Isla) gets a candid segment about a premature press release and an impatient retailer. Finally, My Father Cigars ships My Father Blue, the Garcia family's first Honduran cigar out of their new Honduras factory, with a Connecticut Broadleaf Rosado wrapper over Honduran binder and filler grown at Finca La Opulencia.
The episode closes with "What's the Score," the halfwheel rating guessing game — now with a fourth clue instead of the final thoughts. The panel guesses on the RoMa Craft Intemperance Volstead 1920 Fiorello La Guardia (Charlie Minato, 88 — nailed on the button) and the Black Label Trading Company Bishops Blend Robusto reviewed by Patrick Lagreid, which shocked everyone at 94. Listener of the Week is David Morris, Shop of the Week is Ramsey Cigar Smoke Shop in Minnesota, with upcoming events including an Espinosa night at Cigar Hustler in Deltona on July 25.
In This Episode
- 01Disney Cruise Overboard UpdateInvestigators confirm a five-year-old fell backward through a Deck 4 porthole and her father jumped in after her — the crew debates liability and whether Disney owes the family anything.
- 02Japan's Fiber-Packed Coca-Cola PlusA look at Coca-Cola Plus, Japan's FOSHU-certified soda with five grams of indigestible dextrin per bottle.
- 03Elmo's X Account HackedSesame Workshop scrambles after Elmo's account posts antisemitic content, and the guys speculate on who actually did it.
- 04Moo Deng's First Birthday & Sports BriefThousands flock to a Thai zoo for the pygmy hippo's birthday, plus the arrest of Browns rookie Quinshon Judkins.
- 05Social Media Minute: John Carney and the AI Squid Game CigarA back-and-forth over AI-generated cigar art and the sold-out Squid Game–themed release.
- 06Drew Estate Summer 2025 Freestyle Live PacksThree unbanded preview cigars plus a 40-ounce tumbler for $40.75, with Jonathan Drew teasing an unapologetically Nicaraguan new line.
- 07Cigar Kings Expands to BahrainPhilip Kugler's brand signs with Luxury Tobacco World for Middle East distribution of Robusto and Toro in Maduro and sun-grown.
- 08Diamond Crown Tampa & My Father BlueJ.C. Newman's $30 Florida sun-grown Toro made by Arturo Fuente, and the Garcia family's first Honduran blend from their new factory.
- 09Ceniza Fina Connecticut Shipping UpdateThe house blend's Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper details plus a lesson in PR timing after a premature press release.
- 10What's the Score: halfwheel Rating GameGuessing Charlie Minato's 88 on the Intemperance Volstead 1920 Fiorello La Guardia and Patrick Lagreid's surprising 94 on Bishops Blend.
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
Welcome back to the Cigar Hustler Podcast, episode 396. We've got a wild ride ahead this week. We have an update to the dramatic rescue of the young girl who fell overboard on a Disney cruise. And then over in Japan, Coca-Cola is getting things moving with a new fiber-packed soda.
I mean, Smith's got nothing moving in Japan, apparently. Yeah, he's having a hard time. Oh, and Elmo, yeah, Elmo got hacked and went full chaos mode on X. Definitely not brought to you by the letter S.
Plus, we got Cigars News, hot off the presses from Drew Estate, summer freestyle drop to my father's bold new Honduran blend, and a new twist to, what's the score? Oh, a new twist. A new twist. Yes.
Light up, sit back, and let's get into it. What's the twist? He falls over. Do we need to start over?
No, we're good. I gotta just disconnect. Keep going. Alright, events this week.
Monday night, Mike, you'll be on How About That Cigar, which is actually tonight, so by the time you hear this, it will have already happened. I did fantastic. It was lovely. It was a great show.
It did fantastic. He made Coop cry. It was terrible. Coop again tried to come for me.
He tried to make a little jab. I ignored it. I just let it go. If you didn't let it go, I probably didn't let it go.
Yeah, you didn't let it go. You don't let things go. But we'll see. You don't let things go.
There's definitely a jab back. You'll have to tune in. So if you didn't watch it, you got to go back and watch it. Go back and see it.
Because it was epic. Tomorrow, I'm on D-Cups Live with Antoine from the PCA. And then this Thursday, July 19th, in Minnesota, Mike, you'll be doing a cut and light, a Ramsey smoke shot from 3 to 7. Thursday?
In a Thursday? The 19th? I thought it was Saturday. The event's Saturday, buddy.
It's the 19th. It's five days from now. It's Saturday. Is it Saturday?
Okay. It's the 19th. Whatever it is. I thought it was Thursday.
No, I fly in late Thursday night. Oh, you know. Oh, good. The 19th is a Saturday.
The box isn't showing up till Thursday. So, that's nice. The 19th is a Saturday. Oh, then it's Saturday.
Okay. I have to look at the poster. I don't know what it... Maybe it doesn't say the weekday on the poster, and I thought you said...
Hopefully, it doesn't say Thursday the 19th. Hmm. Who knows. And then, well, it does say the 19th.
And then on July 25th, at Cigar Hustler in Deltona, we're having an SMO's event from 6 to 11 with Jack Taranio and Richie Wright Otero. Oh. Giving away lighters, giving away ashtrays. I like the gold one up there.
It looks cool. Except that it's silver. It could be yours, Boots. It's silver, Boots.
It could be yours. We don't have a gold one. It's silver. It could be yours.
The gold one could be yours, Boots, the gold one could be yours, with the right purchase of cigars from Espinosa Cigars, you could have it. Perfect. Yep. The gold one.
The gold one. No, I know somebody that already wants it, so they're going to buy more quicker. They're going to accelerate their purchasing power? Buy more quicker.
Who's that? Tara. I knew you were going to say that name. I could have guessed that.
She wants the big one. Well, she likes the silver ashtray, but I meant the lighters. There's a gold lighter. Oh yeah, there's a gold bomb.
We have another one of the limited, only 300 available, never see it again, And a giant ashtrays to give away. I saw that. The knuckle sandwich. Yeah, the knuckle sandwich.
The very rare. The very rare. You'll never see this again. We have it again.
At this point, we've possessed like 1% of them. That's right. We have. Very true.
Very true. Michael, say I would like to get a shirt from this podcast. What do we do? Oh, what a great question, Mike.
Thank you for asking. com, where we just released our Cappuccino Gino Assassinino shirt, it's doing very well, shout out to my guy, Julian Gordon, already got his, and Paul Carlson, two fine individuals who are supporting this podcast, so thank you very much, we still have the original BDP up there as well, still have some of those left, however, the 4th of July BDP is gone, gone, I have to wait for the Memorial Day BDP, you had your shot, so, but we got more fun and exciting shirts along the way too, yes, got some crazy ideas, we're going to keep going, Keep this thing going, we're having a lot of fun with it. We are. com.
Ding. What are we smoking today on the Patreon, Michael? What a great question, Mike, two great questions. Today we're having the McAuliffe red.
He's bringing the heat back a little. Yep. The gold is kind of blingy. Because I would have rather done the purple, but we only had two purple.
Yeah, so we're having the McAuliffe Red from Dan Thompson. I'm just kidding. Dan didn't give us a sense. It was the young lady's name.
I don't know who it is. The rep, whoever the rep is. Dan. National sales manager.
Okay. Dan Thompson, national sales manager. Okay. All right, well, let's go, buddy.
All right, ready to get into the trending news? No, let's just skip everything and go to the twist thing. Let's hear about the twist. No, no, you've got to wait until we get there.
We don't give out early. Then people will not stay to the end. We can't even remember how the game goes when we start playing it. I know how the game goes.
You guys screw it up. I know how that goes. I think you're making things up as you go. I do like your scream when you win, though.
Yeah? There's a certain yell you do when you win the game. Yeah, you're very excited. You're very excited.
Hey, right now, I'm one and a half games up right now. Yeah, he's one and a half points up. At two boots, you gotta start taking clothes off. Yeah.
See, you can't write. You're not allowed to write the rules. See how you add things in? There's no camera over there.
You know, it shows over. We found out what the twist is. We're out of here. He wants you naked.
All right. We have an updated story. More details have been revealed after a girl fell overboard on the Disney cruise ship. Apparently, Michael, your friend who saw it wasn't even close.
Really? Yes. To what they have found out now from the closed-circuit TV footage and eyewitnesses. Well, that was the story that was going around.
Sure. Correct. m. while the ship was returning from the Bahamas to Fort Lauderdale, according to detectives, the five-year-old girl lost her balance while sitting on a railing at Deck 4, causing her to fall backwards through a porthole.
She sat on the railing? There's one section you can climb up on, apparently she found it. After the girl's mother alerted her husband, who didn't see the incident, he jumped into the ocean to save his daughter. The release reads.
Investigators added that the 37-year-old father managed to tread water until they were rescued by a tender that was launched from the ship, and all the rescue took around 20 minutes, all that we had before. The ship arrived at Port Everglades by Monday morning, deputies said. Though the father was ultimately hospitalized, the family lives out of state. The release continues.
For the family's continued privacy, detectives are not releasing their names, where they live, or details of the father's injury. Meanwhile, the sheriff's office also announced that detectives have reviewed the ship's security video, which lines up with statements by family and cruise ship staff. A little bit more. The investigation into the matter continues.
The release concludes his family is so blessed it's great to be able to respond to good news rather than what we could have been a tragic outcome. So she was sitting on a rail. She climbed up and was sitting on the rail, apparently in front of a porthole. What's a porthole?
a hole in the side where you can see through so there's no glass in it so on some of their decks there are walls okay but they don't want you know there to be a big solid piece of metal so they cut a hole in it and make it look like it's a window so she climbed up was sitting in the window and then fell backwards got it so where did he jump did he jump through the porthole i'm guessing he would have to or i guess he could have went down a couple of feet to He wanted to jump in the water then. Right. He might have, boop, through the hole. I don't know.
Dude, I'm just thinking about this interaction, man, and it's like... Yeah, he's over here doing something else with other kids. Wife goes, "Oh my God! " Again, lawsuit.
Off he goes. I don't think so. I don't think so. It's...
It seems like Disney did everything they could to make sure nobody climbs up on that thing and sits up there. That's negligence on the individual. Should have been a fifth safety. " What are we going to do, man?
I don't know, I'm just saying. Well, you know, we have to put on carb batteries, do not drink acid. " You don't do that? I can't say I do.
No? No. No. Sometimes I want a life supply of Reese cups.
The new ones? The Beast? The Beast ones? Oh, you guys saw the post.
Well, you tagged the show, and we see everything you tag us in. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, you think it's negligence on Disney? No, I don't think so.
I don't know, I do. But you feel it's negligence on Disney. What are they going to do, wrap the boat in chicken wire? Okay, look, as we can see in history before, right, every lawsuit that has happened with some stupid incident, right, they always win, every time, especially with a big corporation like this.
Well, they settle. I mean, we can bring it all the way back to the coffee of McDonald's, right? Like we've talked about before. Coffee's hot?
It's hot. The coffee's hot. You don't have to put it on the cup. Coffee's hot.
Right. That poor lady's got a burned vagina. Hey, this porthole leads to the ocean. You know?
Do not sit in porthole? Yeah. Do not sit in porthole. There might be a sign on it that says, do not sit in porthole.
If there's not, there's going to be one now. Should they sue? No. Yeah, I don't think, you know.
I mean, you could sue for anything. So, I mean, they can. But I don't think they should. Should Disney maybe throw him something?
Yeah, maybe, just to make it nice. Pay for the dad's medical bills and maybe throw him a cruise. Maybe like a free Disney Plus for a year or something? Give him another cruise.
Put him in a Marvel movie? Ooh, I'd like that. I'd tell him for that. You get to be Iron Man.
One of the good ones, though. Not some of the ones that are bad. He gets to be Aquaman. He's not Marvel.
He's the new Aquaman. Yeah, not the Thunderbolt one. It's DC. You got to do something on a universal cruise.
There's got to be a, there's got to be an Aquaman in Marvel. There's got to be some Mariner, I think it's called. Sub-Mariner, I think it's called. Sub-Mariner, I think it's called.
Water Dude. Water Guy. Oh, it's, uh, the bad guy from the Wakanda. That's, that's the, that's the.
Oh, that was him? Well, yeah, he's got the things on his ankles. Wakanda Forever? Uh, the one where the girl was.
I couldn't watch, I couldn't. I couldn't watch that one either. It was unbearable. It was terrible.
Yes, that was terrible. It was unbearable. Um. All right, so Boots would sue, he'd look for a boat in his name.
And some other things, but you think it should be let go? Yeah, I mean, they should do something for them maybe, but I don't think, if I was them, I wouldn't sue. I mean, on public relations alone, Disney, I'm sure, will do something. Yeah, that's what I mean.
Have them down in the park for a weekend or something. Just for the positive PR of it, you know? They can bring them down, give the guy the key to the castle thing. The key to the castle?
I think they do that. Like, where you sleep in the Cinderella? Well, I don't know if you do, but you know, like a key to the city, it doesn't really open the city. The key to the castle doesn't really open the castle.
Right. But it, I mean, he didn't save somebody else's kid. He saved his own kid, right? Right.
But still, they make him a hero for the day or something. I'm just curious where the line is. Where the line is where they have to do something? Yeah.
Well, if he dies, I wouldn't do anything. And what would that thing be? Statue. He would get a statue.
It'd be a statue. Yeah. Bronze statue. He'd be mayor of Disney time.
Why do you think he was hospitalized? I'm not saying, I don't know, maybe, well, if you tread water, so you figure there's probably not a leg injury, maybe separated his shoulder, maybe got sunburned. I mean, that's jumping. That's pretty far down.
It is far down. You know how to successfully jump like that? Yes. What's the right approach?
He probably knows, even though he was never on a boat. Yes. What? How do you do it?
You put your arms out and you hold your legs together. Put your arms out? Yeah. Because you don't want to sink too far, he's got to keep an eye on his little girl.
If he puts his arms down, he's going to go deeper in the water. So when you're a lifeguard and you jump in the water, you jump with your feet together and your arms out, so that slows your descent, and then you can pop back up faster. Well, you're talking about 10 feet. It doesn't matter what the feet, well, okay, he swan-dived, did a half gainer, and...
I could probably break his arms doing that. Yeah, you're supposed to cross your arms and your chest, and you cross your legs. And are you supposed to, like, jolt? Yeah, it's like a pencil dive.
You're supposed to jolt your legs right before it hits water. And then you're going to break your legs. You're going to break your ankles. You bend them is what he's saying, not just jolt.
Oh, well, he was doing a push thing with his feet. I thought he did like a push thing. Yeah, you're supposed to, when you're getting ready to break water, you bend up and then go down when you break water. He doesn't know.
I feel like he knows. I did it. He lived it where? You had to do it in boot camp.
You were in the Navy. You didn't even get wet. You had to do it in boot camp. He got wet in the Navy.
He just didn't go on the boats. He didn't get wet. Did you get wet in the Navy? In boot camp.
Just in bootcamp. Maybe we can get that rescue swimmer from Texas to come on and he can tell us. The Coast Guard? Yeah, Coast Guard rescue swimmer.
You say like 160 people? You ever watch The Guardian? Yes, I watch The Guardian. How do they jump out of a helicopter?
With a little thing around their neck that makes them float. Okay. I don't think I've ever seen that. He got a promotion.
Who? Ashton Kutcher? Yes. The guy who saved 160 people?
Yes. Yeah. He got a field promotion from the Director of Homeland Security. I mean, he saved 160 people.
Well, the pilot got a field promotion, too, but the other two people just got a, hey, thanks, nice job. Perfect. Can't wait to get back to work tomorrow. He got the highest, whatever, the biggest award they can give a Coast Guard swimmer he got.
The pilot got the biggest award he can get. And the other two people, they did, nice job. They're just accessories. What were they doing?
Were they just kind of like hanging out? Apparently, they were just sitting in a helicopter. Playing on their phone, taking selfies. There is, they were pointing.
Look at this. When someone's in the water, you always point. You point? That way you can fall.
There's one. Did you just watch the Aston Kutcher movie? No. Oh.
Okay. All right, so hey, well... All right, so... Congratulations.
That's the update. Now we have closed the Disney story. So she fell. She fell, right.
Out of the porthole. Out of the porthole. Allegedly. Allegedly.
No, no, that's been the findings from the investigation. Yeah, there's no allegation. You're closing the investigation now. Now it's over there to say and that's what happened.
Okay. All right, moving on. All right, Japanese Coke makes you poop. Ooh.
Coca-Cola's health drink that makes you poop. Of course it does. Yes, really. When you think of Coca-Cola, you probably imagine fizzy, sugary refreshment, not a beverage designed to regulate your digestion.
But in Japan, Coke is doing something that might surprise you. It's targeting the health conscious crowd with a soda that literally helps you poop. MSG. Let's say, filled with Metamucil or something?
Meet Coca-Cola Plus, a fiber-infused version of the classic drink. First launch in Japan in March 2017. Unlike the usual Coke lineup, this one comes with a government-backed health claim. Apparently, there's an entire line of health-conscious drinks in Japan.
People must have problems pooping there, I guess. I don't know. Well, I mean, you know, fiber intake is good for you, regardless of when it comes to poop or not, right? Right?
Well, yes. Yeah. But this is, uh, maybe it says further down. Hold on.
All right, go ahead. Keep reading. Uh, it's earned a coveted foshu, food for specific health uses certification, Japan's gold standard for food products to provide measurable health benefits. So what makes Coca-Cola special?
Each bottle contains five grams of indigestible dexatrim, a high fiber carbohydrate derived from corn. Oh, okay. Is that what's in Metamucil? No, psyllium fibers in Metamucil.
Oh. This type of fiber acts as a This is a functional dietary supplement promoting smoother digestion, in short, it makes bowel movements more regular. And that's just marketing spend. Japan's health authorities agree that the drink's effects are significant enough to justify the foshu label, which is no small feat in a country with a $6 billion functional beverage market.
But digestion isn't its only selling point. According to Coca-Cola's press release, the drink also helps suppress fat absorption And moderate the levels of triglycerides in the blood after eating. Yeah, it's a fiber. They have an obesity crisis in Japan?
Probably not. Not if you drink this poop, poop coke. Right after you eat the rice. The rice isn't, but no, the rice isn't what makes you fat.
Eating too much rice is what makes you fat. Yeah, that's the sumo wrestlers. Eating too much of anything makes you fat. Right.
Caloric surplus greater than expenditure. That means it's being pitched not just as a soda but as a health-supported product for post-meal metabolism. It's a bold and very Japanese move. Japan's population is increasingly health-conscious and aging and functional foods are immensely popular.
While Western markets have flirted with kombucha and protein drinks, Japan has long embraced enhanced foods from yogurts to teas that offer cholesterol-lowering our digestive benefits. Of course, Coca-Cola Plus doesn't taste exactly like the classic version. Reviewers described it as a bit thinner and less sweet with a mild aftertaste, probably from the fiber. Well, they use real sugar over there too, right?
Probably. I'm sure they use substitutes too in things. I mean, if they're a health conscious society now. Well, not like us, like our Coca-Cola is with the corn syrup.
Corn syrup? Yeah. They don't use that over there. Would you drink it?
Would you try it? Would I try it? Yeah. Sure.
Yeah, I would too. I don't know why. I'd like to know, like, is it a regular poop? Is that a regular poop, or is it like an MSG poop?
Is it like a purge? Yeah. Right. I guess that would depend on the person.
I don't think the fiber would necessarily give you like a significant purge, per se. Alright, if it's a regular one, I'm in, but... But it helps you clean your intestines and all that other stuff, anything that's kind of lingering inside. Like, fiber's important.
Yes. Sorry. Reducing your cholesterol is important. Gying over there, behind you.
Ginger's a big fiber guy. Yeah. Yeah. He's Irish, so he's all about, like, his corned beef and cabbage and stuff.
Yeah. It's a large purge. Cabbage backs you up, is that what you said? Corned beef and cabbage.
Corned beef and cabbage. Yeah. Which is delicious, by the way. So, yeah, I mean, do I, would I try this?
Sure. Yeah, there's no reason not to. Are you going to get us some? It's in Japan.
I guess we can get Mitch to bring some back. Yeah. Yeah, let's message Mitch, tell him to bring back the poopy cola. You know, we have had a couple of messages back and forth since he's been there because I had questions and things and now that's all I see on my feed are reels about Japan.
Yeah. One after the other. And then I'll ask him, did you get the jelly water? There's water over there that's got gelatin in it or something so it's thicker water.
It just fills you up more? I guess, I don't know. That would make sense. Yeah.
Maybe it has like the chia seeds in there, jelly water. Would that be like aloe water? Does it be like aloe water? No, it's still clear.
There's nothing in it other than the gelatin. Yeah. Like the aloe water? Like an aloe water?
Is it like an aloe water boots? It looked like clear jello, but it's a little more pliable. It's not, you know, you can't chew it, I don't think. But if you squeeze it, it does come out a little like toothpaste.
I do like jello. He likes jello. That makes complete sense. He's a jello guy.
Complete sense. You don't like jello? Who doesn't like jello? Oh, okay.
Except banana. Nobody likes the banana stuff. No, well that's only for pudding. Oh yeah, banana pudding, that's amazing, but no banana jello, no banana popsicles.
Right. Okay. A fly, still here. A banana fly, get him out of here.
That fly had to have died by now. No, no, I've already seen him today. How do you know it's the same fly? Well, it looked like it.
Maybe the same family. It looked like the fly. It's a totally different fly. I brought one of those traps down, but somebody had unplugged it over the weekend.
So we don't need that. Maybe the fly did. I don't know. He's a very, very diligent fly.
What's the shelf? How long, how long does a fly? I don't think they live very long. I don't know.
All right. Eight days. Oh, he's still in here. Twenty eight days.
The life expectancy of a house fly is generally 15 to 30 days. In here, it's got to be super low. It's lost smoke. So that guy, he's the same guy.
That's what I said. Same fly. Yeah, he's very fast, but he's getting old. Cold.
They probably start slowing down another week. Have a little cane. Yeah, his days are numbered. Your days are numbered, Fly.
Just so you know. Okay. I think you get sucked into the filter by now. All right, so Poop Coke.
Poop Coke. Disney Jump. Disney Jump. What's next?
Anti-Semitic posts appear on Elmo's X account after his account has been hacked. No, not Elmo. Oh my God, they got to Elmo? They got Elmo.
Tickle me racist. Elmo's ex-account was hacked on Sunday, causing the beloved Sesame Street character to appear to post expletive-filled anti-Semitic rants and anti-Trump statements. The posts have since been deleted, but widely circulated screenshots show Elmo apparently calling for violence against Jews and calling for the release of files related to the Jeffrey Epstein case. Elmo's ex-account was compromised.
Elmo's got a point there, you know, he wasn't entirely wrong, I guess. Elmo's ex-account was comprised of an unknown, was compromised, sorry, but an unknown hacker who posted disgusting messages, including an anti-Semitic and racist post. A spokesperson for Sesame Workshop, the makers of Sesame Street, told CNN in a statement, we are working to restore full control of the account. We have lost Elmo.
Yeah. It definitely wasn't the guy with the hand up Elmo's butt. Okay. Is that it?
CNN has contacted X for comment. The triad was a jarring departure from Elmo's usual upbeat motivational post and wholesome pictures. Wow, I can't believe you're laughing about that. That's not funny.
That's true. Other Sesame Street characters are celebrities. Some of the post even mimicked his habit of referring to himself in the third person. The post came a week after Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company XAI froze its Grok chatbot's X account After it began spouting anti-Semitic tropes and White House nationalist talking points.
The company later issued a lengthy apology, saying a system update caused Grock to refer to existing ex-users' posts, including when such posts contained extremist views. Meantime, it issued responses praising Adolf Hitler, repeated conspiracy theories, and spewed long-standing anti-Semitic remarks. The Omo Hacks post also referenced documents relating to the Epstein case, which has been the headlines again in recent days. S.
President Trump Administrator, that fly, mentioned a memo about Epstein, an accused sex trafficker and disgraced financier who died by suicide in 2019. Okay. A lot of unpacking. All right, so guy, person.
Yes. Hacks Elmo. Yes. And then decides, the best approach here is to be anti-Semitic.
Perfect. Yes. And then talk about the Epstein files. Yes.
Right. And say bad things about Trump. Okay. So, let's say that you had the ability to hack, right?
And you could, or whatever that means, I mean, I guess maybe, uh, Elmo was convinced that his password was wrong and sent, read the email and clicked the link, something dumb, uh, but maybe the password was Elmo, you know, they're stupid. No, it was definitely, it was definitely Big Bird. So let's say you have that ability. Let's say, whatever, you're on this quest of hacking Twitter accounts and you crack Elmo's account.
What would you write? Oh, yes. Well, okay. Are we going to So he's going under the assumption that he's not already an anti-Semite.
Yeah, it's standard Elmo. No, no, no, no, I know Elmo is, but this hacker, was he doing this so he could say these things? Obviously. So, okay, but you're asking if I was a hacker.
I'm asking you, like, okay, so you have the ability, you hack Elmo, Elmo's, you know, one, two, three. I'm not this guy, I'm regular me. Yeah, A, B, C. Like, going anti-Semitic seems, like, ridiculous, you know?
Right. What would you do? Well, he wanted to get his message out, probably. What would I do?
Something about somebody's hand up my butt all the time. Something how I'm disgruntled with my employer. Yeah. Disgruntled with your employer.
I've been doing this too long. I can't believe Jim did this to me. The payment is ridiculous. You know, the pay scale is ridiculous here.
That stupid bird gets all the praise and, you know. Something like that. Something more, yeah. So you'd lean into, you'd probably get away with it longer.
You might even find yourself with a job at that point. Yeah, right. You're a creator. I would be disgruntled Elmo.
Disgruntled Elmo? Disgruntled Elmo, yeah. Okay. You don't need to be offensive or anything.
Well, that's kind of like the grouch, right? That's a disgruntled Elmo. They're just different colors. It's gotta be a kid.
You gotta figure, like, how old do you think the person is that hacked this? Oh, I don't know. Who knows? Like 20s?
Probably. Early 20s? They sound like they got a lot of hate in them. They're probably in their 30s, 40s.
So you think you gotta get your 30s and 40s to be filled with hate? Yeah, they're, I mean, you know, they're referring things that happen a while ago. Normally, I think that a lot of younger people are more malleable, and they, you know, if they're around, if their parents are jerk-offs, or whatever the case may be, they become them. Do you think he specifically went after Elmo, or just a crime of opportunity?
He was probably going through a bunch of them, and Elmo popped, is what I would assume. " How to get to Sesame Street, exclamation mark, or something. Okay, so what about you? Let's say you hack and you get Elmo.
What would you write? Something stupid, like "Fuck Barney" or something. Fuck Barney? Yeah, like maybe something like that.
Ouch. He's not getting a job. Yeah, he's done. He gets the one out.
He gets the one. That's it. Fuck Barney. Wow.
You could go after Miss Piggy or something. Like "Dinosaur and Elmo" action? Is that what you're talking about? Yeah, yeah.
You're down with a little bestiality? Yeah, well, I mean... No, actually, fuck, yeah, here we go, the room again, come on, let's not talk about that problem. You're the one that said it, I didn't say it, I was just seeing if that's where he was going with his comment.
No, come on, a hacker, a hacker did this? This is not a hacker, this is the guy that puts his hand up Elmo. And there's an excuse where he goes, oh, wait a second, everybody saw that? The actual puppeteer went there?
Yeah, I got hacked. Oh, you think, so you think, you think that it's... He thinks the puppeteer went rogue. Yeah, come on man, who's hacking an Elmo's account?
Well, I would imagine they have some type of social media department that does all the stuff. Yeah, and somebody clicked an email. That's like someone hacking Greg's account. Somebody clicked an email.
Hey, you know what, I'm really gonna go hack Greg's account. Somebody got the, your McAfee is going to renew unless you click here. 99. If you hack Greg's account, you got like two people, two viewers.
That's what I'm saying, like, do you ever look at Elmo's account? Right. I look at the off Elmo accounts on TikTok. They're hilarious.
Oh, where he gets like all mad and everything. Elmo says get a fucking job or something like that. Yeah. Like I love those.
Yeah. Don't stop being a lazy bitch. Like, I'm like, okay, I got you, Elmo. I'm gonna go lock in.
I got you, Elmo. You know, I like those. I get those all the time. I'm just saying.
And it's got like the mythical music, whatever. Do, do, do, do, do, you know? Right. It just seems like, you know, like this is such a weird account to hack to do this.
I just think it went. That's what Mike and I were just talking about. We don't think he specifically went after Elmo. He had maybe some type of software that, you know, puts in stupid passwords on everybody's account, and that wouldn't...
It's the email thing. Somebody clicked the email. I'm telling you, it's something dumb like that. Gotcha.
No. Elmo clicked the email? Can you imagine being the person... Whoever Elmo's social media person is.
Can you imagine being the person that works, you punch in the email, you get the email, you click the link, you punch in the password, and then all of a sudden you realize that you just got locked out of Elmo's Twitter? Oh, this is gonna be bad. You're going to tell your boss right now? Oh, shit.
Oh, shit. No, you need a couple more days of work. I'm in a lot of trouble. I'm in a lot of trouble now.
Hey, Bill, why is Elmo making anti-Semitic posts and talking about Epstein files? Well, I had a rough night, and they kicked me out of the basketball team I was on. I'm back on meth. I had a bad night, some things happened.
All right, okay, so I gotta be honest. Is it the whole Hollywood thing where Elmo's puppeteer or social media person thinks that the Jews are running Hollywood and he's disgruntled? I don't know. You know, I gotta be honest though, if I'm Sesame Street social media planning platform and you tell me that you're gonna do these funny things disgruntled about Elmo, I'd almost set it up where we got hacked.
Oh yeah, right, right. As long as you kept it kind of humorous. Semi-clean in humor, right. Yeah.
Yeah, nothing offensive. Yeah. Then it'd be funny. Well.
We're hacked again. I mean-- If you guys want to reach out. You've already been hacked, so give me somebody else. Yeah, it's Big Bird.
Big Bird, Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy. Oh, that'd be good, Miss Piggy. Yeah? You like to-- The only female in the entire mail.
You like to dress up as a girl from time to time? No, I'm not going to-- you don't have to dress up. You can't. But she could have bigger complaints.
Yeah. Somebody's looking down at her dress. Right. You know, she got-- who is the-- Just like to file an HR department on Kermit or something?
I'm Fozzie. I'm Fozzie Bear. I'm Fozzie Bear. I'm Fozzie Bear.
That would be funny. Fozzie Bear. You just kind of. The Me Too movement with Miss Biggie.
Wait a second. Hold on. Wait a minute. You just jumped, though, from Sesame Street to the Muppets.
Yeah. The Muppets are part of Sesame Street. Are they? Yes.
Are they really? Yes. Kermit the Frog is on Sesame Street. Is he?
Yes. Hmm. I didn't have a childhood. You know all about the rock, though, Michael.
It's fine. Yeah. They're definitely not part of Terrence and Phillip, though. Terrence and what?
Terrence and Phillip? South Park? No, they're not part of South Park. The Canadians?
Yeah, the Canadians. The Canadians. John McTaps, we can call him about that. Yeah.
Maybe next week. We keep putting him off until we find a really good reason. Well, I'm going to see him tonight, so. Oh, there you go.
Thousand Celebrate Baby Hippo Mudang's first birthday. Mudang? Mudang at the Thailand Zoo. This is exciting.
Oh, man. Yeah, but when you go to look at the pictures you get to use to make this clip, I'm going to love it. You're going to love it. Ooh, Mudang.
Thousands of excited fans flocked to a Thai Zoo on Thursday to celebrate the first birthday of Mudang, the adorable baby pygmy hippo that has become a social media sensation. I should have named him Wu, Wu Dang. Wu Dang? Yeah.
The open zoo was overrun with Mudang fans on the first four days of activities marking the hippo's birthday. Children under 12 years old can enter the zoo, which is about a two hour drive from the capital, Bangkok, For free, throughout the extravaganza. Where? It's in Thailand.
Bangkok. Bangkok. Thank you. Bangkok, Thailand.
Many of Mudang's fans flew miles to see her. Among them was Molly Swindle, who traveled from New York for the celebration. She is seen handing a tray of food to a zookeeper for Mudang's breakfast, which the baby hippo and her mother, Jonah, quickly devoured. Everything I was seeing started to be Mudang, and I just loved her so much and decided, "You know what?
I have three or four days off work," said Swindle. I can make it work to fly to Thailand. " That's exactly what I did. Mudang ain't nothing to fuck with.
By Thursday afternoon, the numbers of visitors reached 12,000. Zoo director... Ooh. Ooh.
Oh, yes. Nargawit Chudokchol. Nargawit Chudokchol. Nargawit Chudokchol.
That's exactly how it sounds. Good job. Despite the noise of visitors calling out for her attention, Mudang appeared peaceful She took a dip in the pond in her enclosure. Mudang couldn't be bothered.
Mudang cannot be bothered. Boots, you got a trending sports story over there, I believe. How do you have a trending sports story in the summer? I guess it's summer basketball league.
Find out in the moment. Or something fake that you made. It's nothing fake. There's a piece of paper over there somewhere.
Hold on. It's in the back. Let me go. Okay, you go get it.
Sorry. He's not prepared. There's a printer over here. No, it's on the table.
Oh, there it is. He pre-reads them. It's in the back. It's in the back.
Hey, look who's back. It's Boots. Oh, God, that was far. All right, here we go.
You know, if you didn't stop to eat one of those Mr. Beast Peanut Butter Cups again, you'd have been back sooner. Ah, they're delicious. Hello, peoples.
Yeah, I noticed he popped that thing and disappeared. One bite. One bite, help. All right.
I didn't even chew it. Nope, it's wild. The Browns' rookie, Quinchon Judinkins, was arrested on Saturday in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in an alleged case of domestic violence, according to Broward County Inmate Records. The description of the charge in Judinkins' inmate details specifies battering domestic violence via touch or strike, according to Chris Easterling of Acron Beacon Journal.
A Brown spokesperson said they were aware of the situation and gathering information. While further details on the situation have yet to be revealed, the situation will undoubtedly raise questions about the second round draft pick. That's it? That's it.
Very short story. You guys complained his stories are always too long, so now he's got a nice short story, and it's too short. Make up your mind. What do you want?
No, I'm happy. Well, you know what that means, though. What does that mean? It's time for Mikey's social media minute.
What? I have one? I don't know. I would tell you if I had one.
I don't have a social media minute. Tell us more about your parents tonight on How About That Cigar. I'm going to be on How About That Cigar, and I'm going for Coop. You have to have one every week.
You have to find one every week. But what happens if I don't find one? I didn't see anything that was exhilarating on... Then you make something up.
Okay, I got one for you. Okay, go ahead. , once said John Carney. Oh, that's right.
About the AI. Yeah, he's very upset about the squid cigar. Yes, he's very defensive about his Squid Game cigar. Yes.
Wait, wait, wait. He didn't like what we said? He didn't like what we called the Squid Game. I don't think that he didn't dislike it, but I do think that he, you know, felt against it.
Did he justify the AI not having a photo of it? Felt the need to defend it, yeah. I mean, it arrived in his hand three days after the story broke? Yeah.
So then somebody could have taken a picture. So, he posted it with a picture, and did you see what I wrote in the comment section? I saw the Squid Game show. No.
" Oh, I get it now. Like the legitimate one? Right. Oh, boy.
So, I mean, they were in transit, so somebody could have taken a photo. Yeah. Maybe that's what sent him over the edge. I think he wanted to do it in AI.
Oh, I'm sure he did. That's his thing. Yeah. Yeah.
We should try those. The Shoulders of Giants, or whatever it is. We should totally try those. Make AI every next year.
The cigars or AI? Try it on the Patreon. The midnight hammer? Oh, try the cigar?
Yeah. If you can get us some. I'm sure I can. You should get us some.
I'm going to text him right now. If I had headphones, I'd call him. I mean, I have headphones. He has headphones.
Yeah. Well, you're not going to relay them. Hold the speaker up to the microphone. I have three John Carney's in my phone.
Two of them are old. Oh, yeah. He's got a new number. You would like to try the midnight squid and cigar on Patreon.
All right, I text him. Are you sure I was the right number? Maybe not. You should have texted all three.
It could be going LFD, who knows? They'll know if it goes LFD. They're friends with us too now, so, you know. I don't know who John is, but stop texting me.
The other brother just did somebody else's podcast I saw. The other brother, Tony? Tony. I forget who it was.
Okay. I mean, there was zero information in your statement. The other brother did a podcast on something. The other brother from LFD, I don't remember the other one's name, Tony, the tall one, he just did somebody else's podcast, I don't remember who it was.
What was the podcast? I just said I don't remember who it was. Okay, so I'm going to go back and say again that you gave us zero information about anything. You didn't even know the guy's name.
Or the podcast. That one guy from that company did a podcast, I'm not sure who it was. Right. And it sounded exhilarating.
It was red. I was very excited. No, he had it on a black shirt. He says they're sold out.
Oh. Tell them we're going to go buy some squid, and we're going to smoke that on the show and say it's a cigar. Now I'm writing I hate you. They're not sold out.
We know that. He likes sushi. He's got a stack of them at his house. I'm sure it wasn't hard to sell out of them.
Well, yeah, there was only, what, 2,000? Yeah. I thought he was going to say two. I thought he was going to say two.
Yeah, 2,000. You know, it's probably not hard to flip. All right, cigar news! With Carney's resources.
Moving on, because you really didn't have anything for social media. I just gave you something. Yeah, he said John Carney with the AI then. You just didn't like it.
You want to know what it is he's being defensive now because he did about, there was a podcast with a guy. No, no, that was stupid to say, but I get excited and things come out, and then I realized I shouldn't have said it. Right. I built a seven-year podcast career.
I'm just saying things that make no sense. The first step is accountability, and I'm proud of you for owning it. Thank you. All right, can I go on?
Sure. Drew Estate releases summer 2025 Freestyle Live packs. Oh. Have you seen the new one?
No. Drew Estate's newest cigar is heading to stores for a preview, as the company has done for the last few years. The cigar is getting previewed as part of the Drew Estate Freestyle Live program. Is anybody still excited about these things?
Are they giving away a helicopter yet? No helicopter. Close. It's a Stanley Cup.
They're giving away a Stanley Cup. Oh, not a Stanley Cup. Which is a multi-faceted marketing campaign that starts with selling these sampler packs that are on their way to stores. The packs come with three unbanded cigars, a preview of the new line, and a Drew Estate branded 40-ounce tumbler.
Oh, it comes with it. They come in the tumbler. But it's not a Stanley. It looks like a Stanley.
It's a fake Stanley. It's a Hanley. It's a what? Family.
It's a Hanley? Well, Mikey said family. Yeah. Yes.
Fake Stanley. Yes. Each pack has an MSRP of 4075. The second part of the Freestyle Live program will take place in late August when Drew Estate releases a video podcast announcing the new line.
Okay. What were the... Wasn't even close to the helicopter. One of them was the blue...
Well, you don't know that. Rustica. What was last year's? I don't even remember.
We stopped getting them. Yeah, I know, but they still did the program just because we didn't get it. They still did it. I wasn't paying attention, but let me ask you something.
Yes. So it's retail at 4075? 75? Yes.
How much do you think the cup costs? 75. Well, it's a knockoff, Marco. Okay, but what do you think the cost is for a fake Stanley Cup?
Fake Stanley Cup? 40 ounce tumbler. 00. $3?
Sure. No. No way. No.
Five tops. Five? 00. No way.
00. That's what the Stanley ones cost. Yeah, I think that might be too much. Okay, but maybe five.
Okay. And how many cigars you get? Three. Three.
You get three cigars. Right. Six bottles. That's all you get this time.
There's no, there's no funny hat, there's no flashlight, there's no cutter, you get the cigars. No cutter, no lighter, no case. Right, so at least you're scaling back, they're realizing people don't want that big 10 anymore. The big metal box with all the dominoes and everything in it.
I like that, I still have that. Yeah? Yeah, I play the dominoes all the time. You play dominoes?
Yeah. With the red ones? Yeah, the red ones, yep. My daughter.
Oh. The big one or the little one? Little one. Do you really play dominoes?
You just set them up and knock them down and they all go. No, no, it's like I try to teach her the domino game. It's a little easier for her because there's only so many numbers. Oh, yeah, one through six.
Yeah, exactly. Okay. Well, cigars are meant to be the mystery. The company describes them as 100% unapologetically Nicaraguan.
You have to work on that word. Nicaraguan? Yeah. What's wrong?
It's still really bad. There's no E in it. It's an I. Nicaragua.
Nicaragua. Why can't I say Nicaraguan? It's U-A-N. Oh my God.
They're talking about not the country, but the thing in the country. I understand. That's like America and American. There's no G in it.
Yes, there is. I'm looking at it. At the end. Nicaraguan.
It's a C at the beginning. It's an N. It's an N at the beginning. Nick.
Nick. Nick. Nick. Nicaraguan.
Whew. Glad we got there. All right, now re-say it. Redo it.
We will give you two clues. First, it's not a dead wood of any kind. Second, the new drop is not about the Dominican Republic, says Jonathan Drew, co-founder and president of Drew Estates in a press release. Drew Estates is the original people's champ.
That's my word. Typically, those shows have included some sort of giveaway, though the company says no sweepstakes. What takes place is part of a Freestyle Live event because apparently they're bored with the whole thing too. Because apparently what?
They're bored with the whole thing too. Well, I don't think it tracks is the problem. Well, I mean, now this time it's just a cup, but next time you get just the cigars. No, I think that they'll always have a swag item in it.
Something to put the cigars in. Yeah, instead of giving you seven items, they're gonna give you one. Something fancy, and then they just realize that where's the payoff on the giveaway? Right.
Well, didn't they give a car away at one time? Did they? That was the very first one. The very first one.
It was some type of car. Helicopter? No. Abe used to have giveaways.
He used to give away a car at the Great Smoke. Oh, we met that guy. Abe? We know Abe.
Oh, no. We met the guy that won the Porsche from the Placencia. We met the guy? Yeah, I remember because I was like, oh, I think it's fake.
And then we were at PCA that year. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. He's in Miami. Yeah.
Oh. He's a cool dude. Can't think of his name. Provada gave away a car that one time, too.
Does he own a shop or something like that? Oh, yeah, yeah, that guy. We met him when we were eating with Oscar. Right.
We met him when we were eating with Oscar with your favorite family-style food. Oh, yeah. And I choked on the potatoes. Yeah.
That was a great night. Yeah, I was in the bathroom. I didn't even know you choked and almost died. That was a great night.
You hated the food and I almost died. It's ridiculous. We've never been invited back to that one either. Things that go on at a cigar convention.
So we're not allowed to eat with Oscar anymore, no more tapas with Terence, we're running on people to take us to eat. We don't really get invited, we just go with Skip, we go wherever Rome is going. Uncle Skip always takes us. All right, Cigar Kings adds distribution in Bahrain.
In where? Bahrain. Bahrain? Bahrain?
Okay, fine, Bahrain. I'm sorry. Cigar Kings has announced that it has signed an agreement with Luxury Tobacco World to have its cigars distributed in Bahrain. Distributed in Bahrain.
On launch, the company will offer its Robusto and Toro Vitolas in both Maduro and sun-grown wrappers. Cigar King's products are made at undisclosed factory in Esteli. We are incredibly excited to enter the market and add another country to our distribution network in the Middle East, said Philip Kugler. founder and owner of Cigar Kings, and a press release.
We believe our premium hand-rolled cigars will be warmly received by cigar aficionados across Bahrain. Bahrain. Bahrain. Whatever.
So how does that work? How does what work? How do cigars go to Bahrain? Do they come into the States?
Do they just go directly through Nika or what? I don't know how they do it. You would think it would be cheaper just to ship them direct. Yeah, why would you expand into Middle Eastern country?
Well, this isn't their first foray into, or foray? This isn't their first? It isn't the first time they've been to the Middle East. They said they're happy to add another country to the Middle Eastern distribution.
Click. What's the name of their cigars? Cigar Kings. That's the name of the cigar?
That's the brand, apparently. It's not called like, I don't know. Jimmy Baran? No.
Camel something or other? The Sultan. That would be offensive, Michael, no. Would it be?
Okay. I don't think the people that ride and eat the camels want to have a cigar made. Maybe. Well, cowboy guys would like horseback cigars.
They don't eat horses. They don't eat horses? Only in extreme emergencies. They eat camel?
Cowboys? The Middle Easterns. Yeah. Have you never had camel?
I've never had camel. You didn't have a childhood or an adulthood. No Sesame Street. You've had camel?
I've had camel. I've had camel. I've had camel? I've had camel.
I've had it in China. Who knows? They tell you what things are. Who knows if it is or not?
Maybe that's what the fiber is. It's just a piece of meat. That's Japan. Keep up.
Oh, well. Right. It's just a piece of meat. It's camel.
I asked. That's what they said. I don't know if they're telling the truth or not. Maybe they get confused and they thought camel was a cow.
Who knows? Sometimes they'd go, no have American name. Just don't tell him it's dog. I've had dog.
I know I've had dog. Did the camel taste differently? A little chewy. They could have been overcooked.
Who knows? Did it taste like steak? Yeah, it just tasted like beef. Not like chicken.
It tasted like beef. Overly hydrated. What story were we talking about? Three Kings.
Bahrain. Or the Cigar Kings. The Cigar Kings in the Middle East. The Three Kings are going to the Middle East?
That would be a great cigar for them, though. Three Kings? I think there's a cigar called the Three Kings. You could put an AI image of Ice Cube and George Clooney.
Oh, he's talking about the movie. He went a totally different direction. Yeah, I know. I didn't see that coming.
I didn't either. I'm thinking the guys with the incest, the myrrh, and the gold. Oh, yeah. Right, like the whole, you know, Jesus thing.
I think Ice Cube will look a lot better on the cigar. Holy moly. Sorry. He's got George Clooney over there in his.
Mark Wahlberg. Wow. And Ice Cube, or Ice Tea, or Ice Tray, or something. Ice Tea and Ice Cube are different.
I don't know which one he is. He's the darker one. Geez. Wow.
Wow. I would say that that would probably be the most provocative thing that we've heard on this podcast. However, I think we're going to have to edit something out that you said earlier. So.
What, Barney? No, no, Barney stays. All right, ready to keep moving? Yeah.
Let's just ride this train right into the mountain. This is a disaster. Is this what's coming? Diamond Crown Tampa launching next week.
Oh, yes. Wait, what now? Now, Diamond Crown Tampa, launching next week. C.
Newman is not shy about celebrating its home city of Tampa, largely though the cigars it makes at the Gummies El... Okay, how do you say the name of their factory before I get butchered? No, you just go ahead. No, no, I'll let it happen.
Let's not get crazy. The Gummies Factory Headquarters in the historic Ebor City neighborhood. Moving on, moving on. No, no.
The viewers like to hear you pronounce these things. Yes. They're sitting in the background staring heavily. I gotta tell you, that's probably the most notes that I get, aside from the half-wheel thing that we do at the end now, is I love listening to Palmer just demolish words.
Butcher names. Yeah. Except when you say Nicaragua. Mmm.
No E. Relojo. R-E-L-O-J. Yeah, that was pretty good.
I feel the J does not sound like a J. No, but you did alright. Relojo. For the factory's headquarters in historic Ybor City neighborhood, now its flagship Diamond Crown is paying tribute to Tampa.
C. Newman showed off the new Diamond Crown Tampa, a new blend that is made by Arturo Fuente in the Dominican Republic. Uh, did they get burned? Apparently they got burned.
Uh-oh. They got burned? Apparently not. Fuente is on fire?
J. Oh, boy, did you red light? No, I didn't today. J.
is in what country? He's in Nicaragua. Okay. Why you, oh, never mind, totally the filler includes some of the Florida sun-grown tobacco grown by that family in Claremont, Florida.
Who? We don't say his name. Oh. Don't try to, yeah, don't try to get him into that.
I thought he was saying he didn't want to say a bad name. No, I can say this name. Yeah. Now you can skip it.
This is the first time that the Pointe Factory has worked with the Florida sun-grown tobacco. The rest of the filler blend is not disclosed because you can't cover that flavor. But it uses a shade-grown form from Connecticut over a Dominican binder. The Diamond Crown Tampa is offered in a single 6x52 Toro size with an MSRP of $30 per cigar or $600 per box of $20.
$600? Yes. So, $30 stick? Yes.
It will launch at an event on Tuesday, July 15th at the place in Tampa, which is owned by that guy. The store previously, the Davidoff store in Tampa, includes a Diamond Crown, The Crown Lounge, July 15th, is also the 130th birthday of the city of Tampa. Oh. C.
Newman plans to offer a cigar to stores in Tampa. 30 a pull. 30 a pull. Wow.
It's a commemorative Tampa cigar, Michael. Does it come in like a gold foil or something? Does it come with a bitcoin? Um, well, they gotta buy all those tinfoil hats.
They gotta buy the tinfoil hats? Right. It comes with? It comes with a tinfoil hat?
Yes. Allegedly? Okay. Ceniza Fina, Connecticut, on the way to stores.
Oh. Is it? Not technically, but it's on the way here. It's on its way here.
Yes, I got an angry phone call from our friend at Secreto Cigars this morning. Yeah? Because he doesn't have it yet, and I promised he would get it first. He's gonna get it first.
You're gonna get it, that's why I called and told him, you're gonna get it first, I don't have it. Ronnie, chill. We got you, buddy. He was very calm, he was about to go into a massage.
Ah. Nice. Yes. He goes, just so you know, you're the last thought before I get a massage.
Oh. That's nice. Special massage now. Rub and dub, bud.
And he thought Ceniza Fino was spelled C-E-N-I-S-E or something. He goes, and why do you keep saying it wrong? I'm like, that's how you say it, Ronnie. He goes, spell it.
I said, C-E-N-I-Z-A-F-I-N-A. He goes, oh. I thought I had an S. I'm like, nope.
I love it. I love it when Ronnie's extremely confident and then it's totally wrong. " No, wait, what is this? What does it say?
Who did the press release? You? Brooks! But who did?
I didn't do a press release about it. No, I didn't do a press release about a shipping, or about it arriving or something. So somebody else did? Apparently.
Sam or Rose? Probably Sam. I don't know. We don't even have it yet.
We'll just skip the story. No, keep going. The Ceniza Fina Connecticut is made with an Ecuadorian Connecticut Seed Wrapper covering a Dominican Criolo 98 binder and fillers from the Dominican Republic, Criolo 98 and HVA and Jalapa. It's actually really good.
It is good. Everything's in there. Production of the regular production of the regular production line is being handled by Tablicalera La Isla Essente Diago Los Caballeros, Dominican Republic. There are four different box press Vitolas, each packed in 20 count boxes.
Ceniza Fina Connecticut Corona, Ceniza Fina Connecticut Robusto. All right. So the press release was a little preemptive. Yeah.
Brooks has been emailing me asking me when it's coming and I've given him information, but I've not given him a press release. So I was like, it's shipping next week. Did you say that to him? Yeah.
When Sam sent us the thing last week. Okay. So he took it from your information. I don't know.
Yeah. He 100% took it from what you said. Oh, when I said shipping, he thought it was shipping from here. Yeah.
Oh, that makes sense. Yeah. You need to choose your words wisely. PR.
Well, everything up to that was, when is it leaving the country? And I go, it is shipping next week. Yeah. All right.
So, listen. So, I see what you're saying. Okay. But let me explain to the podcast viewers.
Okay, go ahead. Hello. Well, moving forward, you got to understand that you have to control, when you have the variables under control, then you can release the intel, right? As of right now, we know that it's shipped to us.
Right. We don't know what the hell that means, though, right? Okay. When it gets here, then you can say, okay, we will be shipping to retailers soon, right?
But to say, to make the comment, it's shipping without any other details, he's going to take that and run with it, right? I see what you're saying, yeah. So like, you're kind of, you put yourself behind this eight ball now because you could have ridden this wave a little bit harder if you had the product, you know, retailers contact you and then you instantly start shipping. Now you got angry Ronnie who can't spell Ceniza Fina.
Can't say it right either. And that's all you got out of the press release, which is no bueno. Right. Well, we'll actually do a press release when it gets here.
But now Half Wheel's not going to cover it. They might. They do a correction. Okay.
I bet you they don't cover it. Well, they get in line behind Coop then. They get what? Yeah, they get in line behind Coop.
Oh, Coop's not covering it either. Coop has stopped covering us completely. I'm going to ask him. I should ask him about that.
You should ask him about that. Hey, you didn't talk about the SBC release. Right. Yeah, why didn't you release the SBC?
He'll say that Half Wheel leaked it before him, so he didn't want to do it. That's what he'll say. How much do you want to bet? They both got it on the same day.
Charlie does not mess around. No, it's pretty quick. Okay. All right, we got another cigar story.
Do you want to jump to what's the score? Give me the cigar story. My Father Blue, the Garcia's first Honduran cigar, heads to stores. That's interesting.
My Father began shipping the first new line made at the company's new factory in Honduras. It's called My Father Blue, a color the company says was chosen as a nod to Honduras' flag. Blendwise uses a Connecticut Broadleaf Rosado wrapper over a Honduran binder and Honduran fillers. The Honduran tobaccos were grown at Finca.
Hold on, hold on. Back up. What's the wrapper? There is no backup.
Hold on. What's the wrapper? It's a wrapper or a Honduran. Wait, you want to know what the wrapper is.
Hold on. Uses a Connecticut Broadleaf Rosado wrapper over a Honduran binder and Honduran fillers. Okay. The Honduran tobaccos were grown at Finca La Opulencia, which is a Garcia's Family First Farm in Honduras.
The company describes the blend as medium to full-bodied. It's offered in four box-pressed regular Vitolas, My Father Petit Robusto, My Father Blue Robusto, My Father Toro, and My Father Blue Toro Gordo. Okay. A little Robusto, a regular Robusto, a regular Toro, a big Toro.
All right, MSRP. What? The Garcia family, which is best known for making cigars at its factories in Esteli, Nicaragua, opened the My Father Honduras factory last year. The family has been growing and harvesting tobacco in Honduras for multiple years ahead of the opening of the rolling operation.
In addition to the factories in Central America, My Father also operates a small rolling operation in Doral, Florida, making it one of just a few companies producing handmade cigars in three countries. all right i mean that's interesting i'd be curious to see what it tastes like yeah it's all it's all honduran filler and binder so i just don't like the blue like they already have the you don't like the blue the don pepene blue yeah so that kind of gets lost with that maybe it's a different color blue well maybe it's a dark blue like gatorade's got two different blues it's a dark blue it's a dark blue the blue and the light blue the uh I think the Don Pepin is a darker blue, but maybe it's a different shape. I think it's lighter than the Pepin blue. Than the Pepin?
Yes. What about the Pepin? What about it? Is it lighter than the Pepin or just the Pepin?
No, no. Just the Pepin. Just the Pepin? Yes.
Okay. You having a stroke? You okay today, Palmer? Yes.
Took a second there. Okay. I'm fast-forwarding. Why are you fast-forwarding?
I don't want you to fast-forward. Because this story's no good. He's looking for the twist. The story's no good?
Yes. What was the story? It was a cigar release that Quisada, Casa Magna, Connecticut, Lancero. And you didn't want to cover it?
No. Why not? Because I didn't like it. But you felt the need to pull it?
You smoked it? Well, I mean, sometimes you fluff stories in in case you need more time. Got it. Because when I, at the time, the, um, trending news stories were very thin yesterday, so I pulled more Cigar News, and then this morning we had more stories.
A boat? A poopy cola? Yes, those weren't even trending stories. These are stories I had to go find because the trending stories were no good.
Yeah, they were very weak. There's a fire, there was an earthquake, somebody died. Those were not good at all. No, those aren't.
It's the end of the world stuff, is what you're saying? Right, as we know it. All right, Ginger just dropped his wallet. All right, it's time for what's the score?
Oh! We've changed it a bit. I'm no longer reading the final thoughts. It gives away too much information.
No, it doesn't. That's what you said last week. You said you don't like the final thoughts. Who, when did I say that?
So you're getting a fourth clue instead. No, I think I said I don't like the final thoughts because whatever they say about the cigar on the three of them, And when it's at Final Thoughts, it's like completely contradicts everything that they said. Oh, well, the two I pulled, they said in the Final Thought exactly that it was too much information. What the score was.
Ugh, dude. Too much information. I think that you need to consult me before you just change the game. Last week, you said you didn't like the Final Thoughts.
You said, "They don't do me any good. " I don't remember that. I think I said that. Nope, he said it.
No, what I said was they will write something about the Final Thought and the rating will not match what they write. Right. Right. Not the way I took it.
Yeah, that's exactly what I said. So I pulled the glue from the final thought. Did you mow the grass this weekend? Yes, mow the grass every weekend.
I'm just making sure everything's okay. Ridiculous. Okay. All right.
Charlie Minato reviewed the cigar. Take the fun right out of the game. Here's what I did. I was going to tell you the score and take the suck and the fun right out of this damn game.
It's no fun for me anyway. You guys don't let me play. Oh, that's what this is about. No, it's not what I did.
That's what this is about. No, it's not. You are the baby Billy of this. I love this.
What is baby Billy? You know who baby Billy is? Yeah, baby Billy. Righteous gemstones?
He had Bible bunkers? You're baby Billy. Yeah. You want to do this or not?
Oh, yeah. I have no choice. Of course we want to do it, yeah. We have to do it, but I don't like how you just change things.
Well. It's not okay. When I'm the one that makes the stories, it's not okay. It's not okay.
You're going to have to change it back. I might change it again next week to something different. No, you won't. I might have flashcards or pictures.
You remember how they kicked Wayne Brady off as the host of Price Is Right? Oh, but then the... Okay, which one do you two want to do it? Have Ginger slide in.
Then Ginger's got to pull the reviews. Yeah, no problem. Okay. Oh, I can't wait for this.
I can't either. I'm going to put him in a white suit too. Yeah. Make his red hair really pop.
Yeah. Yeah, with a top hat. Oh, it's nice. Yeah.
We actually have one of those. And I want him to have like a southern accent. We have one of those suits. Yeah.
Well, come on down. All right, you ready or not? You want to do this or not? Baby Ginger's half-wheel rating.
I don't know, I feel like the white suit would be a lot better. Yeah. At this point. Can we just put Palmer in the white suit?
I have wet pants, I don't have a white jacket. We have it from Greg's wedding. Okay, you guys' jackets are not going to fit me. Well, his has no arms.
Still not going to fit me. I did, I cut the slide. I threw mine out, I think. I'm going to keep that shit.
All right, Cigar Reviews, the Intemperance Volstead, 1920 Fiorella. 1820, Fiorello, La Guardia. Okay. Country of origin is Nicaragua.
Oh, so we don't get to guess. Who did it? Charlie Minato already said that. Did he say that?
I don't remember. We got off on top at land. So, Intemperance? Yes.
Bolstead? Yes. Charlie? Yes.
And this is recent or no? Yes. This is recent. This is recent.
Within the past couple of weeks. Yes. Okay. Wait, you went first last week?
Yeah, you go first this time. Right, so I will go first. Oh, man, this is a tough one. I'm gonna go 91.
Boots? I'd love the camera change, though. He's so angry. When I change over to Palmer.
He's just so angry today. He needs to take his vitamins or something. 91, huh? I mean, this is one of my favorite cigars.
Is it? Yes. Okay. I would think this thing would definitely kick in the 90s.
Okay. But these guys, like, the way that they rate cigars is just so crazy to me. " Okay. All right.
I'm going to go 89 for Charlie, because I feel like he's tough. All right? Yeah. 50, box of 24, release date is April 1st, 2025.
So this is a 6 by 54? So this is a Toro, this is their Toro release. It's a regular production cigar, and they smoke the three cigars. Alright, I'm gonna crank it down, oh wait, you're at 90?
I'm at 89. He's at 89. Alright, I'll go 90. Are you gonna change?
No, I'm gonna stick. Okay. Alright, the aromas from the wrappers are surprisingly nondescript. Wow.
And so this is the last one, because you say you're not gonna read Final Thoughts. No, this is his first clue. This is the first clue. Oh, I thought it was the third.
He's got four clues. Okay. I'm just, okay. Go ahead, Mikey.
I'm going to stick 90, I guess. Yeah, we can't move. There's nothing really changing. 89.
Nondescript. During the second, third, each cigar heads in a different direction. Palmer's angry. I did this yesterday.
He is. It's Charlie, and all the comments are about the nutmeg and the raisins and everything else that tastes like. You're at 89? Yeah.
Shit. I'm gonna jump to 88. I'm gonna stick at 89. The first cigar continues to struggle with its combustion, but the other two are able to make it through the final third without any need for a lighter.
88. 89. I can't think of the last review when I thought the first third was what needed the most improvement. He can't think of a review when he thought the first third was what needed the most improvement.
I guess I'm going to stick with 88. This is a banger cigar and there's really no description on this. Well, you're giving it, but you're looking at it and you're giving it 89. It's one of your favorite cigars.
I think this thing should be 95, 96. Okay, so like, you have to, okay, rule number two, rule number two in life is be reasonable. 95-96 by Charlie is just not reasonable. Any of them.
So that's why I think, I'm going to stick at 89. Okay, is that the final score or no? That was the fourth clue. It's 88.
Oh, yes! Oh, man. Oh, boy. 5 now, buddy.
Yeah. All right. On the button. Second cigar was reviewed by Patrick.
Okay. And it's a black label trading company, Bishop's Blend Robusto. This thing better not break 90. Okay, hold on.
Okay, so it's a Bishop's Blend. Yes. Patrick. Yes.
And it's old. Yes, this is an older one. I'm gonna go 90. The way it's always gonna work, the first one is the more recent one, second one's gonna be an older one.
Well, last week you did the opposite. Well, going forward. Oh, no, new rules? Twist.
No, just to keep it straight. Okay. 90. I'm going to go 87.
Okay. Big difference here. There's no way that this thing, if it breaks 90, this is ridiculous. This grading scale is ridiculous.
Factory is the Ovea Negra Factory, Rappers Ecuadorian. Wake up. Get it together. Stop yelling at me.
No, because you're getting all on me. Rappers, Ecuadorian Maduro, Binders, Ecuadorian Habano, Filler is Connecticut Broadleaf, Nicaragua and Pennsylvania Broadleaf. 50, release date was July 2016, number of cigars released, 150 boxes of 20 cigars, number of cigars smoked for review, 3. It's taking a 90.
87. It's taking a 87. 87 and 90. The Black Label Trading Company, Bishop's Blend, starts out with a complex balance between sweet milk, chocolate, and rich steak.
Sounds like he likes it. Uh, I'm gonna stick 90. Yeah, but his like is still low. 87.
Okay. I had briefly forgotten about how potent the Retro Hells were when I took my first one of the second third. He briefly forgot about how potent the retro was. Like zero intel on that clue.
I'm going to stick with 90. This is a Black Label Cigar? This is a Black Label Cigar. 87.
We don't score the ash of a cigar, but if we did, it would have cost the Bishop's Blend point or two for being so weak and unpredictable. Unpredictable weak ash. I'm going to Even though he wouldn't calculate that against it. Of course he would.
I'm going to roll to 89. I'm going to go to 88. Oh, you're coming up? That way there's no gap.
That's stupid. Now he's just playing the odds. Now he's playing the numbers. I find the lack of an apostrophe in bishops to be almost unsettling to my core.
Oh, my Lord. The lack? The bishop's blend is B-I-S-H-O-P-S. He says it should be an apostrophe because it belongs to the bishop.
So nothing to do with the taste, just how it's written. Right, but it bothers him. That would affect the score, you would think. It angers him.
Yes. You might have been better off at 87, bro. Yeah, this is such a boring cigar that he has to kill the grammar. I'm going to stick 89.
He's doing the grammar score. I'm going to stick 89. 87. Is that the final score?
That was the final one. Okay. 94. Oh!
Are you kidding me? I knew it was gonna-- Boots' mistake is he's thinking how he would rate it. No, he's trying to think how it would rate for Patrick. Well, no, 'cause he keeps saying if this is high, this is stupid.
These guys don't rate any-- there's only been one cigar that's been over a 90 before this. The highest score they've ever given is a 95. What was it? And this was close to that.
I'm not telling you, I might pull it one day. I went and looked for higher scoring cigars this week. The biggest cigars this week? The highest, so the Bishop's Blend clocked in at a 94.
I figured by the name and stuff, nobody would go, you guys wouldn't go. The Bishop's Blend? It's black with a red label. Have you smoked it?
No, no, no, because it's a black label cigar. They're not normally mentioned with the higher ratings. Out of all the high, the 90 and above cigars, this is the only one of theirs that was in there. Yeah, this is the one.
Oh, this is the one? Yeah. Ah, gotcha. You gave me bad information with your...
That's a whole idea. That's not even fun, though. So we're not even really going off of Patrick and them anymore. We're going off of Palmer.
Well, not only are we going off of Patrick and all them, but we also have to go off of Palmer. Yeah, yeah, because I'm going to try to trick you into thinking something else because he's angry because he's not playing. I'm not angry that I'm not playing, but I'm not going to do it where I'm going to give you all the nice stuff they say because then it'll score high. If it's a bunch of nice stuff, maybe they didn't score it so high.
If it's just bad stuff, maybe they scored it high. I'm trying to get you not to get it. You're just angry. I'm not angry.
Well, I nailed the last one. You did. And that score went down, and you got to an 88. I was impressed.
Oh, and I impressed you? Yes. All right. You got a Listener of the Week, Michael?
No. David Morris. David Morris, Listener of the Week. Obviously.
Shop of the Week. Shop of the Week? Yes. Ramsey Cigar Smoke Shop.
Well, they were last week's. Yeah, they're going to be until I get there. I will be there this Saturday, not Thursday, this Saturday, July 19th. Well, it's July 19th.
I just got the name wrong. Yeah. Good. That's correct.
It's better for the shipping. Great. All right. You got anything else?
No. com. And thank you very much for your support. All right, guys.
Thanks. We got to go. Thank you. Welcome to the Cigar Hustler Podcast, the show brought to you commercial free.
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Show Notes
Welcome back to the Cigar Hustlers Podcast! It’s Episode 396, and we’ve got a wild ride ahead. This week, we have an update into the dramatic rescue of a young girl who fell overboard on a Disney cruise. Then, over in Japan, Coca-Cola is getting things moving with a new fiber-packed soda that’s more gut health than guilty pleasure. Oh, and Elmo? Yeah… Elmo got hacked and went full chaos mode on X—definitely not brought to you by the letter “S.”
Plus, we’ve got cigar news hot off the presses—from Drew Estate’s summer Freestyle drop to My Father’s bold new Honduran blend—and a new twist to “What’s the Score!” with an extra clue and no spoilers.
Light up, sit back, and let’s get into it.