ACHP Episode 398 Torano, Tariffs, and the Death of a Legend
Episode Summary
Episode 398 of A Cigar Hustler's Podcast welcomes special co-host Jack Toraño of Espinosa Cigars for a wide-ranging news episode. The show opens outside the cigar world with the death of wrestling legend Hulk Hogan (Terry Bollea) at 71, just weeks before the launch of his new Real American Freestyle wrestling venture, prompting a hosts' debate over whether Hogan or The Rock is the true GOAT of professional wrestling. They also cover a widespread Yahoo Mail "temporary error 15" outage and the 22-count defamation suit filed by French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte against podcaster Candace Owens.
The cigar news centers on Half-Wheel's brutal review of the Powstanie SBC 24 — a rare 82 score, the lowest the brand has ever received. The crew reads through Charlie Minato's construction complaints (plugs, knots above the band, double-digit relights) and the host leans into it, joking he'll make "82" shirts for chpod.com. The conversation turns into a genuinely useful look at how cigar reviews work: why Half-Wheel's willingness to trash an advertiser's cigar builds credibility, whether relationships and ad spend create bias, how a redux score often climbs, and why one reviewer's palate is still just one opinion. They also discuss Skip Martin's factory and their own experiences with Mi Casa Su Ceño construction across vitolas.
Other industry segments include Altadis USA's renewed push to grow Vegafina in the U.S. with a limited-edition sampler and tins (the guys are skeptical it moves the needle stateside), General Cigar's value-priced Cohiba Rubicon made at STG Danlí — Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, broadleaf binder, $8.49–$9.49 — and whether existing Cohiba smokers will ever trade down, and La Aurora's August 1 tariff-driven 25-cent wholesale increase, with a broader discussion about tariffs, price hikes and where the sweet spot for cigar pricing now sits ($14–$16).
The back half includes industry talk on Sean Hardiman's departure from STG/General Cigar and where he might land, Jack Toraño's career arc from leaf tobacco to Toraño to Roberto Durán to General to seven years with Erik Espinosa, and the red tape of big companies versus the speed of a boutique. The episode closes with the "What's the Score?" Half-Wheel guessing game featuring the Camp Aladino Corojo Gorbusto and the Toraño Vault Corona Gorda (both 90s), plus listener of the week Jose Torres, birthday shoutouts to Skip Martin and Hector Alfonso, and a store shoutout to Ash & Anvil in Kansas City.
In This Episode
- 01Hulk Hogan dead at 71The crew reacts to the passing of Terry Bollea weeks before his Real American Freestyle wrestling launch, and debates Hogan vs. The Rock as wrestling's GOAT.
- 02Yahoo Mail outageA 'temporary error 15' outage takes down Yahoo Mail for thousands, sparking a nostalgic detour into AOL dial-up and 56K modems.
- 03Macron sues Candace OwensEmmanuel and Brigitte Macron file a 22-count defamation suit in Delaware over Owens' conspiracy claims, and the hosts debate whether it goes anywhere.
- 04Half-Wheel gives Powstanie SBC 24 an 82A blistering review citing plugs, knots and 10+ relights hands the brand its lowest score ever — and the host plans to lean in with '82' merch.
- 05Do cigar reviews have bias?An honest discussion of advertiser relationships, redux scores, palate subjectivity and why Half-Wheel's willingness to pan a partner's cigar earns trust.
- 06Altadis pushes Vegafina in the U.S.A new limited-edition sampler and tins aim to grow the Tabacalera de García-made brand stateside, but the hosts doubt it cracks the U.S. market.
- 07Cohiba Rubicon: value-priced and HonduranGeneral Cigar's new $8.49–$9.49 Cohiba from STG Danlí gets scrutinized — who actually buys it, and will Cohiba loyalists trade down?
- 08La Aurora's tariff price increaseGuillermo León announces a 25-cent August 1 wholesale increase, prompting talk of 10% vs. 19% tariffs and whether the industry is pricing itself out.
- 09Sean Hardiman leaves General/STGSpeculation on where the veteran sales exec lands next, plus Jack Toraño's take on boutique agility versus big-company red tape.
- 10What's the Score? gameThe guys guess Half-Wheel scores for the Camp Aladino Corojo Gorbusto and the Toraño Vault Corona Gorda — both landed at 90.
Brands & Cigars Discussed
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Transcript
Hi, I'm Jack Taranio with Espinosa Cigars and welcome to the Cigar Hustlers podcast episode 398. Buckle up, because this week's episode has everything. It sure does with a special co-host. Yeah, you gotta read everything.
You're the guy. The show doesn't... Is it on here? Yeah, everything's on there.
Just hit play again. You told me it was over after I read this. Yeah, after you read the whole thing. Don't listen to Fred.
Ooh. There you go. So let's go. On this week's show, we say goodbye to an icon as wrestling legend Hulk Hogan passes away just weeks before launching his new company.
What was his new company? I don't know. I'm sure we'll find out in the... Yahoo Mail crashes hard, leaving thousands in the digital dark.
Candace Owens is being sued by the president of France, yes really, and it's over a conspiracy theory about his wife. Oh boy. I heard about that. You did?
I didn't. I got my news from Paul. Yeah, that she was like a man or something. Well, we'll see.
I heard about that. I'm on target here. I heard about that. In Cigar News, SBC 24 gets smoked in a brutal review.
I read that from Skip Martin, actually. Yeah. S. comeback push, Cohiba drops a wallet-friendly Rubicon, and La Aurora raises prices thanks to tariffs.
Before we get started, Mikey, how do I get some of that podcast swag? You know what, Jack? Thanks so much for asking. That's a great question.
com and check out our current merch. com? com. Right now, we've got two shirts up there.
We're working on our next shirt. com like nine times. com, and if you buy one shirt, you can get the second shirt, 40% off. Are there any new ones in there?
Right now, we have the Cappuccino Sassanino and the BDP. The next one will be... What's the first one? BDP.
No. Cappuccino... Sassanino. Sassanino?
Yeah. I haven't seen that one. You don't know what Italian brain rot is? No.
Oh, so many things to teach you. Yeah. That's why I'm here. I'm here to learn.
It's a good learning experience for you. All right, so now on to our trending stories of the week. Let's go. Professional wrestler Hulk Hogan dead at the age of 71, WWE says.
Did they really say it? Probably. That's where he probably got the answer. Professional wrestler, Terry, what's his name, Bolea?
Better known as Hulk Hogan died on Thursday at the age of 71 according to World Wrestling Entertainment. Bolea, Bolea? I don't know, you can't see it, but if you start screwing up names, you know how, you know what happens. I know.
Jack's gonna call and tell you you're doing it wrong. I'm gonna get the Spanish ones right. You'll get the Spanish ones right? I'll get the Spanish ones right.
Balea's rightly, Balea, I like Balea better, is widely recognized as the biggest wrestling star of all time, bigger than The Rock? We'll get into that. Oh. And help the WWE become the behemoth, you know Palmer would have fucked that up right there.
Yeah, 100%. Behemoth, he would have fucked that up. He could have got Behemoth right. That it is today, in the 1980s and 90s, Belia's larger-than-life personality, every time I say his name, I say it different, in and out of the ring, made him a household name and a crossover mainstream star, starring in movies and recognized around the world.
He even had a reality show you left out here. And a beer. And a what? He's got a beer too.
A beer? Beer's the new company. Yeah. Oh.
Doesn't have no beer. It didn't really get started. WWE is saddened to learn, WWE, how many times are you going to put WWE in here? Yeah.
Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan has passed away, one of pop culture's most recognizable figures. Hogan helped WWE achieve global recognition in the '80s, the company said in a post on X. Yep. Is that Twitter?
Yes. Excuse me. WWE extends its condolences, as does Cigar Hustlers podcast, to the Hogan family, friends, Hogan's family, friends, and fans. Yeah.
Oh, he died not too far away. Yeah. The city of Clearwater, Florida said in a statement that police and fire personnel were dispatched to Balea's home after a report of an individual in cardiac arrest. Balea was treated by fire rescue crews when they arrived and transported to Morton Plant Hospital where he died.
Yep. He did. He's gone. He gone.
Well, Leia's death comes a little more than a month before the first event by his new wrestling company, Real American Freestyle. Oh. Oh. That's not the beer company.
That's not a beer company. Maybe. No, but the beer company didn't get started. Yeah.
Oh, you think they offed him? They might have offed him. Allegedly. They might have offed him.
He's at 71. He looked like he was fit. Yeah, he was taking care of himself. Yeah.
It doesn't matter, though. You know? He lived to 71, and did buckets full of steroids back in the day. Yeah, that's a pretty good, allegedly, but yeah, that's a pretty good run.
No, no, he admitted it. He confirmed? He confirmed. Are you sure?
He confirmed. Always say allegedly. Yeah. Purportedly.
It's better safe than sorry. Purportedly. That company seeks to provide a bigger platform for traditional wrestling, the kind one would see in the Olympics, rather than WD - oh, yeah, that's what I did really well. That's Greco-Roman.
than WWE's version and was set to host its initial event on August 30th. The company has not responded to a request for comment on Bollea's death as of early Thursday afternoon. So Palmer reached out to them and they had no comment. No comment.
No comment at all. Is that the end of the article? Who are you? Exactly, that's what it was.
You're with what? That's it. We can talk about it now. We can talk a little bit.
So who do you think the greatest of all time is when it comes to professional wrestling? I mean, listen, listen, listen, listen, Hulk, Hulk is up there, Hulk. Everybody love Hulk. Not everybody loves Hulk.
Hulk gets mixed reviews. But I really like The Rock. Yeah. I love The Rock.
Yeah, that's true. I mean, The Rock is definitely up there. Yeah. Andre the Giant?
I didn't like Andre the Giant. No. I grew up in the old days with Pac Song and the Briscoe Brothers and... Iron Sheik.
Iron Sheik. Iron Sheik. Iron Sheik. Iron Sheik came model.
Dusty Rhodes. Yeah. I don't think that... I think that the Hulk is the greatest of all time.
This is a guy who turned heel in a different organization and went head to head with the WWF or WWE now. Yeah. He's an icon in the industry. I don't think...
I think that the conversation is even close to who the greatest of all time as far as... Who's more recognizable in the world? Hulk or The Rock? Or is it equal?
Probably right now it's The Rock because he's also a movie star. Yeah, I mean, as far as the world goes, I don't think that everybody recognizes The Rock as a professional wrestler. They identify him as the actor, as the entrepreneur, as all of these other things. But when you think Hulk Hogan, it's just so...
He was solely based on his professional wrestling career, I mean, he tried acting, you know, he was great in, what, Rocky II or something like that? What was he? Thunder Lips? Thunder Lips.
He was in one of the Rockies. Yeah, he was Thunder Lips. Thunder Lips. He had a TV show for a brief time.
A reality show? In the late 80s. Well, he had an action show where he drove a boat down in the Everglades or something. Oh, yeah.
Oh, yeah, you're right, he did. There you go, Thunder in Paradise. I thought that was a movie. There was a movie and then a TV show.
Oh, really? So yeah, I think that he's the greatest of all time. Okay. Yeah?
Yeah, there's no argument there. You know, listen. Riveting response. I think, like you said, for different reasons.
I think they're both, you'd be hard-pressed to find somebody that didn't know who the hell him or The Rock are. No, I mean, The Rock, but The Rock is an icon. But Hulk Hogan, The Wrestler, where The Rock would get, you know. Right.
Just The Rock, The Wrestler. Like, The Rock was heel, then he kind of, then he turned good, and then, you know, but like, if Hulk walked into the arena today, well, not anymore, but if he walked in today. If he was rolled in. Yeah, he would be, you know, met with a huge welcoming party.
The Rock would still get a mixed review. Whose cigar would do better? As far as what? The Rock or Hulk Hogan?
The Rock. I'm a rock guy. That's not the question. He'd put the big bullhorns on it.
Yeah, if you're asking me, you know, who's the better icon? I think The Rock could have a successful cigar line. Yeah, if he wanted to, but he would have to be a cigar smoker. Yeah, isn't he?
I don't think so. Well, fuck that guy. Okay, all right, fuck that guy. Screw him.
Yeah. Go back to Hulk. Okay, Hulk it is. All right, let's move on to the next article.
Okay, Yahoo Mail down. Service remains unstable. Thousands hit by a temporary error 15 outage. The Yahoo Mail faced a major outage on Thursday, affecting thousands of users who couldn't access their accounts.
Many, I don't have Yahoo Mail, but Ceci does. Yeah. Thousands of users who couldn't access their accounts. Many reported a temporary Area 15 message.
While complaints surged on social media, Yahoo has not yet addressed the issue or provided a resolution timeline. So it's still down. That's what it says, the Yahoo Mail experience is very repetitive. Yeah, it can be.
m. , prompting a sharp-rising complaint, according to the outage director, site down-detector. Users across several regions reported encountering a temporary error 15 message. It's a great name for a cigar, Matt, when attempting to log in or use the app.
Operation Midnight Hammer is already taken, so. Well, it's a little bit better than catastrophic failure, I can tell you. Oh, hey, they all catastrophically sold the fuck out, so I guess it doesn't matter. Did it finally?
What do you mean finally? Palmer was struggling a little that first week. Maybe the first week, yeah. Yeah, Palmer was struggling.
Come week three, they're all gone. Nice, nice. The error appeared to block access to email services entirely, with many expressing frustration over the inability to send or receive messages. Despite the widespread impact, Yahoo has yet to issue an official statement.
Again. Yeah, they weren't available for comment. Yeah, but you said that already. Yeah, but Yahoo wasn't either.
Ah. All right. Social media platforms quickly became a sounding board for affected users with many seeking updates and venting their concerns about the disruption. According to Dow Detector, the outage in the United States was substantial with over 10,000 users, that's not substantial.
Yeah. Well, it's Yahoo, there's not a lot of people that use it anymore. Yeah, that's practically half. No way.
I'm just kidding. No shot. Approximately, well, that's approximately 47% of their users. There you go, it is, it's half.
I guess I should read ahead. 33% had trouble and 19% reported problems with the website itself. as of the time of writing the service remains unstable for a number of users with no confirmed fix in place further updates are expected once yahoo formally acknowledges the problem or restores full functionality okay that's why i still use aol you're dude you're taking away my jokes you're taking away my jokes that was going to be my question do you have an aol account yeah i knew I knew it. I knew it.
com. I've got mail. Oh my God. Do you still have dial-up too?
Is it dial-up AOL? I've got an AOL account here. I've got 375,000 minutes on CD. Fred Rui has 375,000 minutes on a CD, on a CD for Jack Taranio in case he needs to use it.
Remember when he had to buy that shit? Yeah. Oh my God. Yeah.
My dad used AOL until he died. That was the email they always used. Yeah, they, you know, you old-timers stick with AOL for some reason. I don't understand it.
Old-timers. My dad had dial-up just in case the internet went down. In case things went sideways. Right.
I got my 56K modem. Things are legit. That was back when computers started being in everybody's house. I mean, they had a lifespan of about six months.
Yep. Before they were obsolete, you had to go to a next one. You had to get another one. Yeah.
My AOLCD won't load anymore. You had to change your computer every six months, and you were screwed. Yeah, that one's too slow now. So do you have a Yahoo?
I don't, but my wife does. And do we know, has she had any experiences with emails or anything? I don't know. She hasn't said anything to you?
She hasn't said anything. Maybe she's one of the 3% that it still worked. She could be one of the elite few. One of the lucky ones.
One of the lucky ones. You got to love a company that doesn't even address it. Hey, nothing's working, what do you got to say? Like, pfff, no comment.
Yeah, we'll let you know. We'll email you a press release. You know, we're going to have to get back to you on that one. So they have so little to say that I never even heard about this.
Right. Well, it only affected 10,000 people. They just brushed it under the table. Right.
Shh, don't say anything. We'll get it back up and running. Yeah, we'll fix that. That's like back in the day when your cable went out or something.
Right. You're like, it'll be fixed between noon and 10 tonight. Right. Okay.
What else are you going to say? Exactly. You have no other... No recourse.
No recourse. I'm going to switch cable companies. No, you can't. You're under contract.
There isn't another cable company. We got you. We are. Yeah, well, Yahoo's not the only game in town.
It doesn't sound like a lot of people use their emails anyway, so it kind of is what it is. I would have thought Yahoo was a lot bigger, to be honest with you. Yeah. If 10,000 users is 47%, that's...
There was a time when you thought that Yahoo was going to go directly up against Google. Come to think of it, I think I do have a Yahoo. Yeah. Because I have to have it for one of the fantasy football leagues.
There you go. So. Right now. I don't use it.
You could have won, but they can't email you. Yeah, I got news for you, buddy. This year, you're going to have to be on the struggle bus with that fantasy team. I am every year, dude.
At least I can blame something this year. Yeah. Palmer, I thought that, you know, he's going to sit in this chair, he's going to read all of these articles and stuff, And then he's going to realize how difficult it is to kind of do this. But so far, at this point, he's already criticizing the way that you post these things up and how repetitive.
Can we bring Carnie back? He was very sympathetic. Yeah, Carnie loved it. Yeah, he thought I did a great job.
Yeah, Carnie did the Patreon, man. He did both. He did both. Oh, did he?
Yeah. Oh, Jack has not watched the regular show, apparently. Yeah, you haven't watched the regular show? We're trying to get our views up, and you're not even watching these things?
Fred watches all the clips. I pay for the Patreon. I even called you to compliment you on it. I know, you did.
Thank you. Yeah. Yeah, he liked the Patreon. I not only called to criticize, I called to compliment.
You did. That was true. It was his cigar. He got a good score.
Yeah, that's true. He did get a good score. Okay. All right, let's go.
Let's go and move on to the next article. We didn't set the timer. You had the remote right next to you. That's not my job.
Oh, sorry. French President sues Candace Owens over claims his wife is a man. That's a man baby. News at 11.
French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Bridget filed a 22-count defamation lawsuit in the United States against right-wing podcaster Candace Owens Wednesday over the claim that Bridget could be a man. The lawsuit filed in Delaware Superior Court alleges Owens has broadcast a relentless year-long campaign of defamation against the Macrons. According to a statement from Tom Clare, the Macaroons are not happy. The Macaroons are not happy.
" according to the complaint. Promoted widely on X, Owens said the conspiracy theory was likely the biggest scandal in political history. 5 million YouTube subscribers. I'll bet you, Yahoo, she's jealous about that.
She's super jealous. Including a multi-part series called Becoming Bridget. This is awesome. The lawsuit further claims she also has sold merchandise promoting the claim.
Cigar Hustler will be surprised. Selling t-shirts promoting this soon. com, McCrone is a man. The McCrone's attorney, Tom Clare, told CNN Wednesday that they have asked Owens to stop making the claim for about a year and filed a lawsuit as a last resort after she refused.
The complaint alleges Owens was the first person to bring these baseless claims to the US media and an international audience. The couple are suing for punitive damages and allege that they have suffered substantial economic damages, Including the loss of future business opportunities. " Does he just copy or paste or does he write this? I think it's a little bit of both.
A little bit of both? Yeah. She later posted a video on YouTube saying the lawsuit was an obvious and desperate public relations strategy. Okay.
So, we make a shirt with a macaroon on it with a wig. Yeah. With a cock. No, we should.
That's what we do for a CH pot. We should make a macaroon with a wig? Yes. You think?
Is it a man? Question mark. How does this macaroon identify? There you go.
Hmm. So, do you think that they... Beans and Franks. Do you think that...
Beans and Franks. Frank and beans. Frank and beans. Yeah, we got to make it Frank and beans so we don't get sued.
Frank and beans. So, do you think... I'm an attorney. No, you're not.
I am staying at a holiday. Yeah. Which is practically the same thing. Do you think they actually have a leg to stand on in this lawsuit?
Like, the person's making these suggestions. They're going down this rabbit hole of this conspiracy theory. What do they have to prove? Slander?
Yeah. Yeah, hell yeah. Slander, defamation. I mean, they're gonna have to do some sort of DNA test to prove that she's not.
Well, I hope that she's not. But he didn't say that she was, he said that there's a possibility that... Correct, but... So, I mean, at that point, like, what can they honestly...
S. In Delaware. It's not going anywhere. Yeah.
S. citizen. Right. So you don't think it goes anywhere?
I don't think it goes anywhere. How long do you think it drags on for? Hopefully a long time. It's fun.
Yeah, news cycle. Keep it updated? Keep it updated, man. Okay, Palmer something to talk about.
Yeah, come back next week for the update. Now, here's the other side of that, what if it's proven that she was a man? Do you get to reverse the lawsuit and sue for... Do you get to counter sue?
You know, in my... In your attorney experience? My attorney experience. His vast legal experience?
A counter lawsuit coming. Right. Because they're now going after her. Do they have kids?
I would say no. No, this is some teacher he had in school or something I was reading. Oh. So she's older than he is.
Okay. Or he's older than she is, whatever happens to me. Was she the phys ed teacher originally? No, I think it was art or something like that.
Okay. Art? Art. I don't know.
I don't know. Art history or something like that? I don't know, that doesn't track. If it's an art, if it's art.
You can't do the show and keep a cigar lit, right? It's difficult. It's very hard to do. Yeah.
I mean, I normally can, but then I don't have my lighters. He's got my lighter, so I can't fix it. Okay. Okay.
Well, hey, we'll keep you updated on how this goes. As more details become available. Yeah, yeah. This is a good story.
This is a hot take. This is a hot take. Have you been sued for defamation at any point in time? Unbelievably no.
No? Yeah. Unbelievably no. Unbelievably no.
That's incredible. Rumor is we might be getting one from Coop, but I don't know. I don't think so. I got sucker punched for defamation.
Oh, that's right. You got attempted. Attempted. Attempted sucker punch.
There was no contact made, sir. But again, alleged defamation because I never said anything. Right. He knew what I was thinking.
It's all hearsay. Thought police. Thought police. It was the thought police.
Okay. All right. On to the world of cigar news. All right.
Half Wheel has reviewed the SBC 24. We won't bore you with the entire review. With notes of salted tortilla chips, unsalted popcorn, butter, and unbuttered eggs. Unbuttered eggs?
That's what it says here. Wow. Marshmallows from Lucky Charms. And my personal favorite...
Ooh, this is my personal favorite, too. Murd seed. Tastes like murd seed. But what we have to do is give the final thoughts and the final score.
The first cigar's construction was not good. More than 10 relights were needed, roughly half for uneven burn, And the other half coming in the latter stages of the cigar, when the combustion faded. The draw was too tight, and the various knots around the band causing issues. Unfortunately, one of these knots was above the band, meaning it was blocking the airflow from the entire cigar.
After touching up that cigar-- That's where the knot's going to be all the time. All the time. Yeah. After touching up that cigar, the smoke production would be good for a few minutes, and the profile would come alive.
Unfortunately, it had this weird aspect where each flavor seemed too intense for its own good, even if the profile was more medium-full than full. Mmm. SPC 24 is not a full-body cigar. No.
No. OK. It's not. I smoked it and I enjoyed it.
I loved it. Yeah, and I'm not a full-body guy. I loved it so much I made it. I made, you know.
I bought the company. Yeah. The second cigar had three hard spots, much like Macron's wife, but none as large as the first cigar. It had flawless construction.
The third cigar was consistently hard from top to bottom. Allegedly like Macron. Allegedly like? That's what she said.
That was left almost like a cigar that was left out for months. Obviously, it was not the wrapper, had the suppleness, suppleness, that a dried out cigar does not have. Unfortunately, the top inch of the cigar above the band was very firm. No, they're not?
No, they're not. We're just putting knots in there. There's knots everywhere. As I've noted in other reviews, I felt more impact from the nicotine from that cigar than had significant, That had significant construction issues.
I'm beginning to think that this was not a coincidence. While the third cigar was not the best Powstanie SBC I've ever smoked, it was a good cigar. There you go. One I thoroughly enjoyed and would be happy to smoke any day of the week.
Right. Way to go, Charlie. Way to step up, trash a cigar, and then say you'd smoke it every week. I can tina, baby.
I can tina, I can tina. Build it up, smack it down. Yeah. I really love you, honey.
When it comes to this color on cigars, I immediately think of the Camacho, Ecuador. Yeah. Anybody want to guess at the score? It got the absolute lowest score that we have ever gotten.
Oh, so much to the point where I'm actually proud of it, to be honest. It got an 82. An 82. An 82.
He's an 82. My God. Incredible. Incredible.
It would have been fun to put this on what to score. But he would smoke that 82 every day of the week. Yeah. Well, one of the three.
So, first of all, I'm going to say when the redux hits, it's a 90. That's obvious to me. I think that he's going to revisit it a year later and it's going to pelt well. But like, look, you know, there's a couple of really good positives here.
Number one is this really further proves the fact that Half Wheel does not care who you are, they're going to tell you their opinion all the time, period, no matter what, right? We promote Half Wheel, Cigar Hustler has ad space with Half Wheel, and these guys are my friends, so... He mentions the ad space at the back of the article. Yeah, there would be no, there would be more reason to fluff it than to not fluff it, right?
So you know that when they say something, they're giving you their honest opinion, right? Sure. Which is great. I can tell you that I have never, and I told these guys earlier before you showed up, had a cigar with any construction issues out of Skip's factory.
Yeah. I have. I never have. I have.
Well, you got to remember too, though, that I'm smoking shit. Way more than I am. And all of it's Nikasueno. Yeah.
So I can tell you when something slightly off at this point. Right. Um, I've had batches of HNs that, that you can tell are tighter, you know, and that's a tough one because it's a chopped Solomon on both sides. Um, not really on the Coronas.
I've never really seen a Corona Gorda have a plug issue. So, you know, hey, somebody had a bad day. I don't know what to tell you, but, um, at the end of the day, they ended up at Charlie's, they ended up in Charlie's hands. In Charlie's hands.
So, what am I going to do? I'm going to lean right into this motherfucker, and I'll be making 82 shirts. Now, that begs the question. The eternal question?
Eternal question. Tell me. Is Macron's wife up? No.
The eternal question. I'm still stuck on that story. Macaroon. Charlie has a great relationship with you.
Yeah. He has a great relationship with Skip. Mm-hmm. If he had all these issues.
Yeah. " Because I don't think this is right. I mean, you could always go that way. For me personally, Charlie's going to Charlie, man.
I don't expect that at all. I think that, if anything, that's more cush. Like, just give it to me raw. If it didn't go well, then do it.
Light it up, man. Let's go. I'm just upset it wasn't in the 70s because, my God, that would have been. Eric's been asking for a 69 for ages.
The lowest cigar rating ever. 69. Yeah. Well, you know, I'm sure that he can find a nice woman.
So he'll put on an ad with that. He'll find a nice woman to provide that for him. But look, I'm kind of excited about it, because it's the lowest score I've ever had, and... You've never had lower than an 82?
No. 88's the lowest I think I've ever had. So this shatters it. Yeah, by a long shot.
And by reading the description, I kind of understand that when he smokes them again, it's going to score well. So I'm not concerned about that. But, what I will do is, I will turn this... Now put bird seed in the next one?
Yeah, I'm gonna put buttered, what was it, buttered eggs? Buttered and unbuttered eggs. Buttered and non-buttered eggs. Yeah, first it was eggs, then it goes, and now it has butter.
Anybody butter in their eggs? Maybe when you cook them, you know, if you cook them in butter, but yeah, you don't butter them after the fact. I'm gonna lean into it, man. I'm gonna make some badass shirts.
It's gonna be awesome. So, I'm excited. And they'll be available where? com.
com. There you go. There you go. Absolutely.
Are we done with Half Wheel? Are you done with Half Wheel? How do you feel about Charlie? I love Charlie.
Yeah. I've always gotten along great with Charlie. That doesn't surprise me from you. No, no.
I've gotten along great with Charlie. He doesn't really – Patrick LeGreed is the guy that handles coming to our booth at trade shows and Charlie's off. Right. I guess when they split things up, Charlie doesn't end up with him.
Patrick's your guy. Patrick's awesome, too. Yeah. Patrick's a great guy.
He's a baseball guy. I mean, I've always gotten along with all of them. Me, too. You know, with Brooks.
Yeah. Brooks is a good guy. Big Tatuaje guy. Yeah.
Brooks is a good guy. But I don't know. I mean, listen, I think half wheels come a long way. Yeah.
I think a lot of people are, a lot of consumers are now looking at half wheel. For sure. Where back in the day, it was kind of our trade thing. Right.
We looked at it. Yeah. You know, and I still, I still, I'm sitting around, nothing to do, I tend to go right to Half-Wheel just to see what, what's going on. Don't tell Coop that.
Sorry, Coop. Oh, you're already, he goes to Half-Wheel and Cigar Aficionado. Yeah, you're dead in the water then, you know, I just want you to know, it's already guilt by association. Yeah, you're already here, buddy.
I just want you to know there will be no additional coverage of the Guy Fieri after party at next year's PCA. Just based on the words of what you have said on this show. Much like you could fix the relationship with me and James Garcia, I feel I could fix the relationship with you and Coop. Yeah?
You think so? I think so. I think I can fix it. Really?
Yeah. I think I can fix it a little bit less than I thought a week ago after talking to Coop, but I still think I can fix it. I still think I can fix it. I don't know, man.
He's hurt. He's hurt. Well, look. I've extended the olive branch several times.
Yeah, but he's hurt. He's hurt. Well, he's gonna have to fucking- You cut him deep. Does he not have skin?
Yeah, Fred's staying in a hotel with them next month. Is he? Yeah, Fred's been in a weekend with me. I spent in a weekend with him, so maybe Fred can do a little massage in there.
You mentioned her name a couple of times, Fred, where you're hanging out. If you can get in there on... Oh, you don't know yet. I misunderstood.
When you start working the knots for Fred, you can say, you know, Cigar Hustlers podcast. Bring up Macron's wife. Bring up Macron's wife. Stellar stuff.
Yep, so 82? 82. I'm proud of it. I'm pretty sure everybody's gotten those from Half Wheel.
Did it, like, when the first time it happened for you, when you were covering, when you're, I mean, because you've represented brands, for how long now has it been forever? 20 years? Back, back 15 years. I mean, listen, I didn't represent brands.
When I was in the business in the 80s, I was selling leaf tobacco. Right. So I wasn't representing any brands. So Taranio, you're representing Taranio.
Taranio. Right. Then, uh, Duran. , Roberto Duran.
You still got some. Yeah, they're still upstairs. Can't move, though. It's just a matter of time.
General. General. Fueling the growth. Fueling the growth.
You're fueling the growth. There was another fueling the growth. My boy is no longer there. Yeah.
Justin Enders? Sean Hardiman. Yeah, we talked about that on the regular show with John Carney. Did you?
We did. Yeah. I love Sean Hardiman. Yeah.
But he believes that it was more him wanting to retire than the growth being fueled and I don't know if I believe that. He's wrong about that. Yeah. Correct.
Yeah. I think that he was fueled. He was fueled. Yeah.
Yeah, he was fueled. Allegedly. Not even at Christmas. Yeah, you'd think that they caught him at the Christmas party.
That's the way to go. That's the way they do things. That's the text that I sent Sean Hardiman well wishes after the news came out. I mean, I told him, I said, that's the last thing I expected to see on Half Wheel.
You know, I look at Half Wheel and I'm like, Sean Hardeman gone at STG and I said, dude, I wish you the best moving forward. And he says, at least I didn't wait till ugly sweater day. He's a good guy, knowledgeable as hell. He's going to be an asset to whoever picks that guy up.
So you think he's going to stay in the industry? He stays in the industry. Yeah. Yeah.
He's a cigar guy through and through. I mean. Interesting. Interesting.
Did he work for Carney? He did. He did, right? Yeah.
He's a cigar guy through and through. It'd be interesting to see how he comes back, you know, because he's been with General for seven, eight years. Right. And it's tough to, you know, like all of a sudden, I mean, go back to, can he be a national sales director for a boutique company?
Yeah, do you think he gets-- For a micro boutique company? Yeah, do you think he gets tapped out for a better organization or, I mean, like, or worse? What do you define better? How about if it's, if it is a company that sells, let's call it four or five million sticks annual, if the job is considered the same position than that, or if it's a lesser position, like a company that sells, Two million sticks, if he becomes VP.
Well, I don't think he comes in to a company that sells X amount, and that's what they're doing. I think he comes in to grow a company. Of course. I think he has the potential.
Yeah. I mean, Sean is a worker. So, like, if it's in the SDG conversations, like Davidoff, Fuente... I don't know if he comes back with somebody big like that.
So you think he'd come back with somebody smaller? Yeah, yeah. I think you know more than what you're telling us. I don't, I don't.
I honestly don't. I mean, I haven't, I don't, I don't think Sean knows. Okay. Um, but, but I think he, listen, I came from the boutique world, the micro boutique world, then I went to General.
Right. And while I didn't want to leave General, I was fueled. You're out of here. Listen, I'm closing in on seven years with Eric.
Wow. And I've never been happier in anything I've done in the cigar industry. This is the company I want to be with. I'll probably be fired next week.
This is the company I want to. But I'll leave happy. My experience in working with Eric is fantastic. There's absolutely no complaints.
It was a relief for me to go back to the boutique world. Right. After watching the machine that General is roll. Because there is, listen, they're all great people, I have nothing bad to say about any of them, I still get along great with them.
Justin Andrews, hello. I love Justin Andrews. I love him. Me too.
I love the guy that fired me. Chris Tarr. Chris is a good friend. I love all these guys, but you know, you sit in a conference room with General, and the red tape is insane.
Right. I mean, you could come up with the greatest idea in the world, and you've got 18 guys that are going to give you their opinion. Right. And a lot of times, if one or two of them, 16 of them love it, and one or two of them say, you know, it's shot down.
It's dead. , and we come up with an idea, dude, that cigar's coming out in six months. Right. You know, that ship turns quickly.
That makes a big difference. So I think, I think Sean Hardeman would thrive in an environment like that. So I don't think he goes, I don't think, I don't think he goes to, to one of the big boys. Okay.
So, but getting back to the original article, have you ever had a brand, a cigar that ranked really, really bad on Half-Wheeler, extremely low, and how did it affect you? It's a two-part question. In no way whatsoever. In no way did you ever have one that ranked low?
We've all had cigars at Radclow. And it just didn't bother you at all? No, it bothers Hector like crazy. I could see that.
Yeah, yeah, it bothers Hector like crazy. I could see that. And it might be why Charlie stays away from our booth. But in the big picture, it's one guy giving an opinion on a cigar, you know?
Right. And it's just, it's still exposure. If you know how to use these... It's, you know, we're not reviewing a cigar.
cigar we're but my opinion your opinion palmer's opinion fred ruy's opinion right it's our opinion just because i like a cigar doesn't mean it's a good cigar right just because i dislike a cigar doesn't mean it's a bad cigar right you know i can't tell you how many times somebody has said buddy you gotta try this cigar and i'm like this is terrible this is awful yeah doesn't hit my palate right yeah and the other way around i've heard that dude that cigar is garbage trash this And I spoke and I'm like, it's pretty fucking good. Right. You know, I like it. Everybody's palate's different.
Right. All right. So, you know, you got a review of Coop or Charlie or, you know, any of these people, it's their opinion. Right.
That's it. Still just one guy. Still just one guy. Just one dude.
Just one dude. Okay. All right. Hit me with the next one, Mr.
Taranio. USA plans Vegafina push next month. Vegafina is a non-Cuban brand of cigars that is sold internationally by Tabacalera SLU, a company that has close ties to Habano's SA, and often the various Cuban cigar distributors. In recent years, Vegafina's distribution has grown in international markets because many of those distributors have put more effort into Vegafina due to the lack of Cuban cigar inventory.
Despite being a non-Cuban brand, the intent of Vegafina has always been a brand focused on international markets. Most Vegafinas are produced at Tabacalera de Garcia. See that? Write that down.
That's how you say that. Macrone. The massive factory in La Romana, which, well, you won't be there, right? The TAA?
Are you going there with Coop? No, Coop doesn't go to the TAA. No? Fred might take him as his plus one.
, but over the years, there have been some that Altadas USA has brought over as part of: Uh-oh, uh-oh, it's frozen. I don't know. What is it? Say it.
S-P-O-R-E-F-F-O-R-T-S. I don't think this word exists. Sporoforts? It's in the article.
I don't know what to tell you. Brought over as part of Sporoforts. That's what it says on this thing. See, sometimes it's not easy.
S. Is there a company that Altadas has called Sporoforts? Maybe. Apparently.
S. It is doing so with the introduction of a new limited edition sampler and some small cigars sold in tins. With these new offerings, we're not only just expanding our product range, we're creating new opportunities for consumers to engage with the Vegafina brand in meaningful and memorable ways, said Gabriel, Gabriel Diaz, brand manager for Altaris USA. Gabriel.
Gabriel. Gabriel. In a press release from on-the-go convenience to the cultural celebrations, these new innovations are designed to enhance the cigar experience while honoring the artistry that defines Vegafina. Okay.
You think that any of that is going to help develop the Vegafina brand? No. S.? Yeah, me neither.
Me neither. No. The marketing will. Yeah.
Yeah, yeah, Altadas will put some heavy marketing behind this, and they'll get a little sell-through. A little pop, but generally speaking, you don't think- International. Yeah. I think internationally it does really well, probably.
Right. S. market. Correct.
And that's not going to change. I don't believe so either. Yeah. What do you think, Palmer?
No, I don't think so either. No. No, it's just going to be a European thing or something because they're familiar with the Cuban version. Right.
They're going to think, oh, this is a cheaper version of the Cubans again. Right. Okay. All right, there you go.
General as value-priced Cohiba Rubicon rolled in Sean Williams' house. For the most part, non-Cuban Cohiba Tagars tend to be expensive and made in the Dominican Republic. However, the newest non-Cubic Cohibo will be neither of those things. 49 per cigar.
Blend-wise, the Rubicon uses Ecuadorian Habano wrapper over an American broadleaf binder and four fillers, Dominican Piloto, Honduran Tobacos, and La Entrada, And Hamastron Valley, a Nicaraguan Tobacco from Esteli. Rubicon is made at STG Danli, the same factory that makes the Cohiba Royale. 49. Gigante.
Big shocker. "Rubicon gave us the opportunity to offer a cigar without boundaries," said Sean Williams. The brand ambassador for Cohiba in a press release. The blend was thoughtfully created with intention.
It was. Like we're going to make a cheap-ass cigar. The result is a cigar that bridges tradition with a more modern expression of complexity. We have all this extra tobacco.
It rewards a practiced palate, a practiced palate, while remaining accessible to emerging enthusiasts. , says Rubicon will begin shipping in August. There you go. So are you excited about the Rubicon?
Uh, not really. No. Are you? No.
Will you carry it? No. Probably not. Do you carry any of the Cohibas?
Yeah, I just carry a couple of basic glass tubo things. I mean, there's some rules. Listen, again, I'm a Connecticut guy, the Cohiba, Connecticut I love. Right.
Not at $22, or whatever it is. Yeah, I mean, for me, you know, if a consumer comes in and they're looking for the Cohiba, and you're not gonna get them off of the Cohiba, you have to have the Cohiba to offer, right? So, as a retailer, if a consumer comes in looking for a Cohiba, that's the first thing out of his mouth. " There you go.
They're right here. Right here. I have the red and the black. They're gonna be 22.
We got a live one. There you go. Enjoy these. Yes, sir.
You know, generally speaking, if a person is committed to something and they have no desire to change or try anything new, I'm not going to take them off of it, you know. I do. People like that blow me away. Every event that we do, Richie's probably up there dealing with it, right?
You know, I only smoke and it's usually Padrón Fuente. Right. And listen, I'm not telling you not to smoke. Those are great cigars.
Right. But dude, if you love cigars, you should be trying other things. I've been trying other things. Of course.
If you consider yourself a cigar aficionado. Right. I mean, you don't eat the same thing every night. Right.
Yeah, you can say, what's your favorite food, pizza? Do you eat pizza every day? Yeah, do you eat pizza every night? So.
Yeah. Yes, I do. But it's, you know, a lot of times they'll say, yeah, I'll try your cigars and buy two things. But you know they're coming back to the.
Right. You know. They have their go-to's. They got their go-to.
That's what they smoke. And listen, God bless them. I'd rather have a consumer that was consuming every day than someone that wasn't consuming at all. Even if they were stuck on a brand.
He talked me into something else and I'll never smoke again. Right, that's it, and then I quit. I quit smoking. I'm done.
Okay. All right, so good luck with the Rubicon, Mr. Cohiba's. Listen, this day and age, that's a hell of a price.
And I think that's what you're seeing. You're starting to see people... Will the Cohiba smoker gravitate toward that cigar? No.
I mean, it's... No. " Unbeknownst to them, because you got to also remember that a retailer has to educate the consumer and 90% of the time that's not going to happen. I mean, you're smoking Cohiba.
You're a guy that likes people to know what you're smoking. People are very recognizable, you know, I'm smoking a $20, $30 cigar. Right. Is that guy gonna...
No. Now, that's a good thing, because they won't be cannibalizing themselves. True. The $20, $30 guy's not getting onto that $9 car.
No. You know, so, will they get some new traction? Yeah. More than the Vegafenas, I could tell you that much.
Yes. Yes. It will do better than Vegafena. Yeah.
S. S. It can't sell anywhere else, by the way. Yeah, I believe that.
It can under, uh, what do they call it? Oh, because of trademark infringement or whatever? , but you sell it as Silencio, is that what? Is that what they do?
Yeah, the Silencio. Silence. Silence. Shh.
Silence! Shoosh. La Aurora adding tariff price increase on August 1st. Yes.
More tariff prices. Joining Espinosa Cigars, La Aurora Cigars, no, I'm just kidding. S. says that, listen, we may be joining this, depending on what happens.
We're waiting until August 1st. Supposedly the announcement of 10%, 18%, 19%, 100%, whatever is going to come in the first week of August. It's going to be 19%. You think so?
Yeah. Yeah. So we have to increase prices. You have to.
You have no choice. La Rora Cigars USA says that it will be increasing the prices of its cigars next month, as with many other cigar companies that have announced price increases recently. The company is citing the Trump administration's tariffs. Effective August 1st, La Aurora will increase the wholesale price of its cigars by 25 cents.
The company says this amount is less than the added tariff, which is 10% for cigars. So what happens on August 1st if they decide to go to 19%? Apparently you'll have another price hike come the end of the year. Yeah, that's why at this point, why not wait it out And see what the hell is going to happen.
Yeah, if you haven't adjusted your prices coming into the last week of July, yeah, you should probably stay going on. You should be holding on. To help our trade and retail partners maintain pricing stability, we have been fully absorbing the cost of the tariffs for more than three months. As were we.
While negotiations have been ongoing, said Guillermo León, president of La Aurora, in a press release. Guillermo León. No greater clarity given as to when these tariffs may or may not be renegotiated. This time, we must increase prices.
Yeah. La Aurora was one of the more awkward, was in one of the more awkward positions of any cigar company. While most cigar companies announced price increases in January, La Aurora had planned to wait until after the 2025 PCA Convention and Trade Show, which took place April 12th through the 14th. This ended up being just after the tariffs were announced.
5% increase that took effect May 1st, but that increase did not account for tariffs, meaning a second quite quick price increase was more than likely. In an unrelated story, Willy Monante has cut his vacation short to hurry back to make sure, make sire, make sure his job is safe, allegedly. He's vacationing with Macron's wife. But they're in the Dominican Republic, so their tariff isn't going to jump to 19 points.
No, it'll be 10%. Yeah, it'll be just 10. So then they're okay. Yeah, so come August 1st, there shouldn't be too much change for them.
No. No. 10% is manageable. That is a good point.
Right? So they should be okay. I can't see them doing another, even if things stay at the 10% for them. I can't see them saying, all right, we've got another price increase come the end of the year.
Yeah. Mm-hmm. You think, you think at what point are we pricing ourselves out of this industry? I don't know.
I don't know. I mean, I remember 12, 14 years ago, six to eight dollars was a sweet spot. Yeah. Well, 12, 14 years ago, I mean, if you, if you're looking at, if you, what do you think the sweet spot is, 12, 16?
If you gauged, if you gauged average inflation, it's probably $14 to $16. Yeah. That's your sweet spot. And the BDP came out three years ago, $14 was expensive.
Yeah, people were like, whoa, hey, now $14 and we're in the running. It's a value cigar at this point. Richie left, I just saw him walk by. He quit.
He sold all the cigars, he's done. I just can't, I can't do it. I can't, Greg's up here, I can't deal with him. Yeah, it's ridiculous.
So yeah. Yeah, so Willie Morente, cut his vacation short, make sure he doesn't lose his job. He's in a tuxedo. Where is he on vacation?
Who knows? Some island somewhere, something. Yeah. He's probably got shorts on.
Was it a waist up picture? Yeah. He's got shorts on. Yeah.
He's in flip flops. He's living life to his fullest. He is. Something is what it says.
Well, a steady paycheck will, you know, help you take a vacation. Yeah. You guys love Willie, right? I love Willie.
Oh my God. He's one of the best guys. Willie's awesome. I don't know if you learned this, but, you know, everybody's under fire.
It doesn't matter if we love you or hate you. It's irrelevant on this show. You know, some type of association to a story, we're gonna go with it. It's so much to a point where, like, I mean, like, Fred commented to us a couple weeks ago.
He said something about Patreon or whatever. I'm like, okay, like, I don't know what we said, like, but if we did, we weren't trying to be a dick. Like, Fred, we love you, you know? So he's like, no, it was fine.
I'm like, okay. But we instantly go back to like, oh, fuck, what did we say? What did we say? Did you say it?
Did I say it? I don't remember anything we've said on this show, by the way, and it's still going on. Yeah, exactly. Has my old rep been around?
Who's your old rep? Yeah, he came in a couple of weeks ago, Alfredo. There you go. Oh.
You said he never came in. Well, he had to. Yeah, he was trying to mend fences. A couple weeks ago, maybe like a month ago.
All right. Yeah. He's all right, too. I was in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean on a cruise that he was calling me.
He was calling me. I forgot to call him back. I have no idea what he was calling me. Probably nothing.
He wasn't going to answer that $40 phone call. Yeah, he's like, hey, I'm sorry. Hey, I'm sorry. How's Richie doing?
Baby, come back. Richie's a monster. You can blame it all on me. No, we're getting in trouble.
Richie is the man. Richie is the man. Okay. Is that it?
Well, we got a listener of the week. He's got a listener of the week or we can jump to what's the score. Okay, give us, give me, okay, so you want to, okay, so hang on to that. We are going to play the half-wheel game of what's the score?
Okay. All right. You're our guest. 82.
82. I got it right. Yeah. I'm guessing that won't be on.
You know, but what is kind of funny, man, is normally when I get a half-wheel review, I get blanketing text messages, Facebook messages from people like, oh, you did a great job, here's the review, blah, blah, blah. I didn't hear anything. Nobody likes giving bad news. Bad news.
But like, hey, nobody wants to be, yeah, nobody wants to be the bearer of bad news. Well, you know, you're very passionate in Princeton. I am very passionate. Nobody wanted to hear it.
I'm not angry about it. I'm not mad about the score. It's a great cigar. I don't, you know.
Is it sold out? No. Close. We're getting there.
Almost. How much of that do you make? 500 boxes. 500 10-count boxes?
520-count boxes. 520-count boxes. Okay. Do they come gift-wrapped?
Yes. We gift-wrapped them here. My wife gift wrapped all the boxes this year. Yeah, because I saw them in a shop gift wrapped and I'm like.
Yeah, we put them in a special covering. Nice, nice. Yeah. All right, you ready?
Ready for what's the score? Let's do it. All right, first cigar. Camp Aladino Corojo Gorbusto and is reviewed by Charlie.
Ooh, this is a new one? This is the new one. Aladino. Aladino.
Charlie. Charlie. Corojo Gorbusto. Charlie's been nice to Aladino in the past.
Okay, Jack as our guest, you go first. I'm feeling 89. I'm feeling 88. If I got an 82, like somebody pissed in his Cheerios, and if you reviewed in the same week, you can't imagine being so much better than mine, so.
I'm feeling 89. Okay. All right, here we go. It is from the Honduras.
Factory is Fabrica de Puros Aladino at Las Lomas Jamestran. That's a given. Jamestran. It's Jamestran.
It's Jamestran. It's Jamestran. It's Jamestran. It's Jamestran.
Everybody shut up. Binder is undisclosed. Filler is undisclosed. Length is four and a half inches.
Ring gauge is 60. It's a round cigar. MSRP is $11. Box of 2220.
Release date is April 2025. Is it the game? What's the score? Yes.
Yes. This is the information. So it's a 60. Oh, because we have the opportunity to change.
Yeah. All right. So it's a 60 gauge. Yes.
The wrapper is undisclosed too? Do you? Honduras Corojo. Okay.
You guys were laughing at my JAMA strand. Yes. Okay. Price point?
$11. Okay. Three cigars. Okay.
Is that factored in? The price is not factored in at Charlie's reviews. I don't know. I don't think so.
I'm going to stick with my 89. Yeah. I'm going to go 87. All right.
First clue. Given the ring gauge, I'm caught off guard by how tight the cold draw. I love it. But I believe when he lights it, that will correct itself.
Sticking with 89. I'm going to stick 87. All right. Each cigar's finish differs.
Saltier and sharper in the first, more burnt pepper in the second, and a balanced mixture of starch and pepper in the third. Three cigars, three different experiences. I'm going to go 88. Um, I, ooh, do I drop to 86 at this point?
Mmm, yeah, I'm gonna go 86, I'm gonna go 86. Okay. All right, next clue, the first and second cigars both need a touch-up for one instance of an uneven burn, but the third cigar continues to burn quite well. Mmm, 88, 88, I think he's gonna, he's gonna put it all on that third cigar.
87. All right, final thoughts. I write these descriptions as soon as I finish smoking the third cigar. Top of my mind is trying to figure out how the third cigar finished so differently from the other two cigars.
At the midway point, the three Camp Aladino Corojo Gorbustos were more or less smoking the same, but then they went down a very different path. Regular readers might be surprised to read this, but I actually prefer the third cigar's red pepper domination I wouldn't want it for the full length of the cigar, but it was a great way to finish the cigar and add a bit of pep in the step. It will be curious to see how this line expands over the years. As for now, as of now, this first release is yet another solid cigar in a company's portfolio that is chock full of them.
88. I think Charlie likes who still? And I believe I think Charlie likes me. You don't advertise on a show.
I mean, yeah, that's true. So you think that there is some bias? Wait, can we advertise on Half Wheel? Well, Cigar House it is, but you, so you think that there is bias on relationships and potential ad space?
Yes? Yes. Even with Half Wheel? Say it's a video show, you have to make it.
I think so. I think, I think. I think it's a given, no matter what. No matter what the circumstance.
Mika Sueño is not a, as much as skipping him, I think that phone call that I was talking about earlier might have been made to, one of your top advertisers, certainly. Yeah. It would be smart to do that. Right.
Listen, I don't want to trash your cigar. Right. You spend 50 grand a year in advertising with us. All right.
I think I might do lower, but I'm going to stick 87. What was Jack? 88. It's a 90.
Holy shit. Your 82 sucked. Wow. That's a whole new beating to the 82 you got.
Yeah. Wow, that, see now it's, now that's personal. Think so? I think that, I think it's personal?
It's a Gorbusto, what is a Gorbusto? I have no idea. A Gorbusto? Yeah, it's a Gorbusto.
A fat Robusto. I mean, a fat Robusto does have really good tobacco. He sure does, I mean, I love Aladino. Yeah.
You know? All right, ready for the next one, this is the older one. Okay. Great, it's a Taranio Vault Corona Gorda.
What is it? Taranio Vault Corona Gorda. Corona Gorda. What year did you get that?
I think it was 2012, to be honest. And it was reviewed by Brooks. Ooh. Ooh.
The Vault. Corona Gorda. Which Vault? This is the first thing that he states, so you can't give you more.
2012, it would have to be the original Vault. Black Box. Okay. Uh...
I'm going back to... I'm going to go 90, because I believe, I remember they really liked it. I'm going to go 91. Yeah.
I like that Fred just laughed in the background. You know, no, like, so I honestly think, um, I, the problem is that he picked a number that I was going to pick, so I don't think it goes lower than that, so I had to go 91 in that, in that point. But go ahead. Brooks.
The problem is that I don't think Palmer picks two reviews that are 90s. We'll see. Yeah. We'll see.
We'll see. I think, I think, I think Palmer is varying it, so. Okay. All right.
Country of Origin, Nicaragua, Factory, Plasencia, Rapper, Nicaraguan, Binder, Honduras, and Nicaraguan. Filler, Nicaraguan. It's a five and five eight by forty six. That's a good size.
Seven dollars and twenty cents. Box at twenty hundred and forty four dollars. Uh, it was released in two thousand In 2011 and in 2012, number of cigars released 500. Humidors of 20 cigars.
That's not right. Number of cigars released 500. That's what it says. 500 boxes.
500 boxes. That was way more than that. Humidors of 20 cigars. Okay.
He only smoked one cigar. One cigar. Where are you at? I'm going to stay with 90 for now.
91. All right. First clue. The Taranio Vault Corona Gorda is a wonderful looking cigar with a dark milk chocolate brown wrapper that is smooth as a baby's butt.
Is that what it says? That's what it says. Smooth as a baby's butt. It's definitely a 90.
I'm going to go 92. All right. Clue number two. There's still no spice at all.
There's no spice at all, and the pepper from the first third has sadly disappeared completely by the halfway point. Ooh. Still no spice at all, and the pepper's gone. Pepper's gone.
Is pepper a spice? I don't know. With these guys, who knows? I can't read.
I'm gonna go 89. He's big on flavor. Brooks is big on flavor. Yeah, he's big on flavor.
Alright, I'm gonna go to 90, that's where I wanted to be. Next clue, this is not a powerhouse smoke by any means, but it nails my palate perfectly, very flavorful, complex, and medium-plus strength. I'm back to 90. I'm gonna go 91.
I'm gonna go 91. You can go 90. I'm gonna move my price. I'm gonna take 90 back.
Okay. I'm gonna go 92 again. I'm going to go 92. All right.
Taranio is just not a brand that I smoke very often, although I honestly can't tell you why, but that will change with the Vault Corona Gorda. Smooth, rich, sweet, and earthy profile, great construction and draw, and the perfect Vitola means a box purchase for me when they are released again. This is easily the best Taranio I have smoked, and also easily the best Vault Vitola by a mile. I'm going to go to 91, just not to take over your 92.
Okay. I'm going to go 93. 90. 90.
Jack wins again. It was a 90. You hear that? They were both 90s.
Both 90s, fucker. I don't even pay attention to that part of it. This is the first game where I have lost motors. Yep, you were smoked completely.
You don't pay attention is your middle name. All right, go ahead and give us the listener of the week, sir. The listener of the week is Jose Torres. I'm thinking it would be Torres, but he only put one R.
That's the way it was spelled. That's how it was spelled? Yep. Torres.
Jose Torres. Where is Jose Torres from? Social media. Social media?
Social media. And the store of the year is Hector? No, no, he's also listening to the week, because today's Hector's birthday. Happy birthday, Hector.
Happy, and Skip's birthday. Skip Martin and Hector Alfonso share a birthday, one is substantially older than the other. How old is Skip today? Great question.
I would say he's gotta be, what, mid-50s? Mid-50s, okay, so not substantially. Yeah, because I'm older than he is. His thing is 55?
Hector's 59. Queen Quanginaria was made, and then took three years to make, so he's probably 54. Yeah. Yeah.
Still a puppy. Yeah, if I'm guessing, I'm guessing 50. Yeah, he's still a pup. Okay.
Is that a Palmer? Store of the Week? There is no Store of the Week. No, pick one.
Small batch cigars. Small batch cigars. Mm-hmm. I'm picking Ash & Anvil.
Ash & Anvil. Ash & Anvil. Ash & Anvil in Kansas City. Espinosa Lounge.
Yeah. If you're ever in that area. Yeah. Go to that store.
They don't carry Powstanie. They will if you go. I was introduced to them at Lozona Palooza like that they wanted to meet me and now they don't answer the phone. They don't see he called.
I'll make a call for you. Your rep brought him over and introduced him to me. Yeah, they are fantastic people. They were very nice people.
Fantastic people, and this is a shop that is very unique. Well, then we need to be friends. And they make a bourbon slushie that is outrageous. Really?
They have bourbon slushie machines. Excellent. Okay, anything else to add before we let you go and do this event? Well, thank you.
Thank you for letting me do this. Well, thank you! I hope I lived up to Kearney's... I mean, you did okay.
No. Kearney did quite well. I complimented him. Yeah.
Well, you're a great friend, dude. You guys are great friends, man. And we truly appreciate you, dude. Thank you so much for coming up for the event.
Thank you for doing the podcast. Is there an event going on tonight? It's supposed to be. It's supposed to be.
It might be going on upstairs. Yeah. We better get to it. Yeah, let's go to the event.
And this has been episode 397. 398. 398. It says 397.
Well, it's supposed to be 398. At the beginning, it said 398. Here it says 397. 398.
That was probably last week's of the Cigar Hustlers podcast. He's a hot mess, dude. Listen, right under 397, it says, I'm Jack Tarano with Espinosa Cigars. You decide.
You were supposed to be here last week. All right, that's it. Goodbye. Welcome to the Cigar Hustler Podcast, the show brought to you commercial-free, but a massive shout-out to our amazing patrons on the Patreon, thanks to your unwavering support, we're able to do unfiltered, unbiased opinions, all things cigars, personalities in the cigar world, your backing makes it possible for us to keep it real for our listeners.
Cheers to you. com and search the Cigar Hustler Podcast.
Show Notes
Episode 398 Torano, Tariffs, and the Death of a Legend
Jack Torano with Espinosa Cigars and Welcome to the Cigar Hustlers Podcast episode 398— buckle up, because this week’s episode has everything:
We say goodbye to an icon as wrestling legend Hulk Hogan passes away just weeks before launching his new company.
Yahoo Mail crashes hard, leaving thousands in the digital dark.
Candace Owens is being sued by the President of France — yes, really — and it’s over a conspiracy theory about his wife.
In cigar news, SBC24 gets smoked in a brutal review, VegaFina makes a U.S. comeback push, Cohiba drops a wallet-friendly Rubicon, and La Aurora raises prices thanks to tariffs.