ACHP Episode 401 Taylor takes over, Mr Beast is in Trouble, Hurricane Cat 5
Episode Summary
Episode 401 of A Cigar Hustler's Podcast opens with Michael and Mr. Palmer running through upcoming events — the in-store release of the Sinisefina Connecticut on August 29, and an August 30 Postana event at Cigar Life in Lakeland, Florida with Adrian Palmer of the Florida Cigar Club. Michael also recaps his guest appearance on the Nice Ash Podcast, where he smoked the Postana Habano on their timed, live-rating format and spent the show trading conspiracy theories.
The general-news block covers Spalding parent Russell Brands suing Mr. Beast (Jimmy Donaldson) over "The Beast" trademark on basketballs and sports gear, Taylor Swift's record-breaking surprise appearance on Travis and Jason Kelce's New Heights podcast to announce The Life of a Showgirl, Hurricane Erin's rapid intensification into the season's first Category 5, and the divided fan reaction to the new Tom Brady statue at Gillette Stadium. A "wiener spill" highway story and a rant about poor sportsmanship at a Cal Ripken Babe Ruth 12U World Series game round out the non-cigar half.
On the cigar side, the big story is Arturo Fuente taking its international distribution in-house after ending its longstanding agreement with the Marifel family, with Jose Blanco serving as lead point of contact through Fuente Marketing Ltd. The hosts flag the open question of what this means for Cameroon wrapper supply — Marifel being the dominant Cameroon tobacco source used in Arturo Fuente, Don Carlos and Hemingway — and save the deeper analysis for their Patreon. They also break down Cigars International's planned 9,000-square-foot Orlando superstore near Universal plus a Kentucky location near Cincinnati, and skeptically dissect the PCA's hiring of Ricardo Carrion as Director of International Affairs and Education, questioning the role, the salary and the organization's Dubai/World Cigar Show ambitions.
The episode closes with news of Martin Kove's Prodigal Son cigar (a $14 6x52 Toro made in the Dominican Republic, launching at La Casa Grande, Sanji Smoke Shop and Smoke Inn) and a discussion of whether celebrity cigars ever stick, followed by "What's the Score?" — guessing halfwheel scores on the Casa Cuevas Pledge of Allegiance Rocket (a 6 3/8 x 58 limited edition that scored 90) and a 2012 review of the AVO 25th Anniversary Edition (86).
In This Episode
- 01Upcoming Events & Nice Ash Podcast AppearanceThe Sinisefina Connecticut in-store release, a Postana night at Cigar Life in Lakeland, and Michael's guest spot on the Nice Ash Podcast smoking the Postana Habano.
- 02Mr. Beast vs. Spalding Trademark SuitRussell Brands sues Jimmy Donaldson over 'The Beast' mark on basketballs, and the hosts debate whether a partnership would have made more sense.
- 03Taylor Swift on New HeightsSwift's surprise appearance with Travis and Jason Kelce to reveal The Life of a Showgirl draws record live viewership and ~90,000 new subscribers.
- 04Hurricane Erin Hits Category 5The season's first Cat 5 intensifies from tropical storm in 24 hours, and the guys talk Florida hurricane-prep habits and storm tracking.
- 05Tom Brady Statue BacklashA Boston.com poll shows fans split on the new 12-foot Gillette Stadium statue, prompting comparisons to the infamous Dwyane Wade statue.
- 06Arturo Fuente Ends Marifel Distribution DealFuente moves international distribution in-house under Fuente Marketing Ltd. with Jose Blanco leading — raising questions about Cameroon wrapper supply.
- 07Cigars International Expands to Orlando and KentuckyA 9,000-square-foot superstore with full bar opens near Universal on Conroy Road, plus a location south of Cincinnati.
- 08PCA Names Ricardo Carrion Director of International Affairs & EducationThe hosts pick apart the new hire's résumé, the Cigar Academy, the Dubai World Cigar Show tie-in, and what PCA members are actually paying for.
- 09Martin Kove's Prodigal Son & Celebrity CigarsThe Cobra Kai actor's $14 Dominican Toro launches at three retailers, sparking debate on whether celebrity cigar lines ever last.
- 10What's the Score?Guessing halfwheel scores on the Casa Cuevas Pledge of Allegiance Rocket and the 2012 AVO 25th Anniversary Edition.
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
1 grams by the way. Thank you very much. How are you? I'm fine.
How are you? I've missed you. Just a long regular weekend. It's been two days.
Far too long? Far too long. We had no interaction actually over the weekend at all. It was very peaceful for me.
Oh. That was not what he was looking for. Alright, August 29th we have the in-store release of the Sinisefina Connecticut Cigar. Oh.
That's fantastic. You should comment on these things. I'm very excited about that. Make sure you attend that event to support Cigar Hustler.
, also featuring Adrian Palmer from the Florida Cigar Club. If you're in the area and you love Postana and want to support Postana in a great store, you should stop by Cigar Life on that date. Nice. The ice maker?
Greg drops his wallet. Wow, that's heavy. And again. Yeah.
He's got a lot of money in there. This past week, I was on the Nice Ash podcast. Oh. Where we smoked the Postana Habano, and they do a rating show, so as you smoke it, they rate it.
Seemed kind of silly for me to rate it. I gave it five stars. Seems silly. Seems silly, but they gave it four and a half.
But we talked all about conspiracy theories, and then they timed their show on how long it takes you to smoke the cigar. Interesting. So if it's a little cigar, it'd be a quick show. And what were the conspiracies?
Did you cover 9/11? Uh, no, no, we didn't cover 9/11. How do you not cover 9/11 when it comes to conspiracies? Because there is no North Dakota.
There's no North Dakota? Have you ever met anybody from North Dakota? Yes. South Dakota, no.
South Dakota has the heads on the thing, but North Dakota has the heads. Mount Rushmore? Yeah, Mount Rushmore. I couldn't think of the name.
It's got the heads. North Dakota is not famous for anything. North Dakota has two Air Force bases. Wow.
Well, that's not, it wasn't listed on the list of things they're famous for. They're famous for like, Indian culture. Is that not important in American history? Hold on, let me verify this.
If you're an Indian. If you're an Indian, that's really important, I would imagine. Let me ask you a question, Paul. Do you like to go to the casino?
No, actually I don't. Yeah. I have been to North Dakota. Have you?
Yeah. I drove there. You sure? I'm positive.
Maybe it was South Dakota. I'm positive. The roads are flat, and the meth is bluntiful. I mean, I don't know what it's saying.
Oh, they are famous for their meth. Allegedly. No, but there is a North Dakota. There are two major Air Force bases there, Monat and Grand Forks.
One of them is specializing in drones. The other one, I don't know. I think like nuclear bombs or something. I honestly have no idea.
But I have been there. Or maybe you went to Canada. No, I had no passport. You don't need one for Canada.
That was your conspiracy? That was the big one, yeah. Well, the way they were talking about it, it made complete sense. That was the big one?
Then I looked up the seven things they're famous for, and it was stuff like open land. It is very open. Indians, I mean, and you can find Indians anywhere, I mean, or unless we keep them all there. It's extremely flat.
Right. It's very... Very flat. Very nothing.
I get it. It's nothing. But... We talked about how squirrels and pigeons are fake.
Oh, man, you guys. You didn't cover any serious conspiracies. Why cover the serious ones? The other ones are funnier.
They're more entertaining. No way. Epstein Files? Who's on the list?
Is there a list? Isn't there a list? That's a good conspiracy right there. Look, it wasn't my show, Michael.
I just was entertaining and funny and talked about ours, I guess. Okay. Five stars. Well, that's great.
I'm glad you were on. If you support us, please check out the podcast of, what is it called? Nice Ash podcast. Nice Ash.
Oh, the episode will issue, the episode will come out on September 10th. Okay, 9/10, the day before we never forget. I'll put all the links and stuff up. Never forget.
Never forget. Yeah. Okay, that's my wedding anniversary. September 10th or 9/11?
9/10. Not 9/11, oh my god. Well, it was way before, wasn't it? So.
Yeah, no. Oh. Mm-mm. Oh, you could have been on a plane going to your honeymoon.
Well, that would have been terrible. It would've been terrible. It would've been terrible. Yeah.
Okay. So what else you got? All right. Welcome to episode 401 of Cigarser Podcast.
This week, we're diving into the biggest stories making headlines. Mr. Beast gets slapped with a lawsuit from Spalding over the Beast trademark. Oh, Mr.
Beast. Taylor Swift breaks the internet with her new, with her surprise debut of the new Heights Podcast and Hurricane Aaron makes history as the first Category 5 of the season. We'll also catch you up on Cigar Entry News from Arturo Fuente, shaking up international distribution To Cigars International expanding into new markets, plus PCA's new global education push, and of course, we'll finish with What's the Score? I love it.
What's the score? What's the score? All right, trending news. What?
What? That's it? That's what we're doing. Yeah.
You don't talk about the shirts? Oh, yeah. But before we get into it? Michael, how can I get a shirt?
Oh, my God. Mr. Palmer. Yes.
You embarrass yourself. How do you not cover this? I embarrass you. You're supposed to say this.
This is a part of your thing. Just talk about the shirts. Well, thank you so much for asking me, Mr. Palmer, what you want to do.
Maybe Dak would like, sitting in the audience today as the mayor, Dak, maybe he would like to get a shirt. See, now I even introduced the... Pooches did an outright... He did, a spit take on the microphone.
There is spit all over the board, the monitor. I thought the interruption was completely classic right there. The screen, everything. I did have to apologize for that on the other podcasts, by the way.
For Palmer? For interrupting. Oh. I'm sorry, it's a thing.
I can't help it. I apologize. Please continue. Yeah.
I don't know how you're not concussed. Yeah. com. If you like and support what we're doing here, we're releasing shirts almost every month.
There'll be a brand new shirt. We release two this month, Alcatraz, New York, in honor of our boy Boots. It's the best, buy it! And the Postana SBC 24 shirt.
I like that one too. There's still some BDP shirts left, so if you want to go, if you buy one, you get the second one 40% off. Shout out to Frans Leto, Norman Joseph of Cigar Vault, Mark Palmer, I'm sorry, I always screw that up and they get mad. Cigar Vault, Oakdale.
There's a lot of Cigar Vaults. Cigar Vault, Oakdale, Oakdale, it's the best one. Our boy, Mark Palmer, Travis Peterson, Julian Gordon, and Joel Olazinski. Olazinski.
Olazinski. Yeah. Yeah. So, we've sold the most shirts we've ever done so far.
This month? This month. We've already broken a record. Banner month.
So, I just want to shout out to some of those guys that place orders, you know, until it gets out of control, and I won't do that. Oh, so every month we'll announce the buyers. I'll mention some names. Oh, actually.
Not all the names, but some of the names. Some of the names? Oh, we're gonna get letters from the people that you didn't mention. Letters?
I would love a letter, all caps. All caps? Yeah. I just meant a single letter.
Yeah. Now, also, just so everybody knows, if you like what we're doing and you want to support us, all you gotta do is like, subscribe, and share our posts. Just do that, please, for the love of God. We need the support, all right?
And we appreciate you guys, so. All right, now go on with your show. Trending news. What's wrong?
Oh, what are we doing for the Patreon? I don't know. What are we doing? Show it.
You should know because we covered this. We're doing the Casa Cuba. Perfect. It's crooked.
That we talked about at the end of the show last episode. Did we talk about it on the Patreon or the regular show? No, the regular show. We said, well, then we're going to do a Patreon version of the Casa Cuba.
Oh, because he said all the Fuente. Yeah, that's right. Are you okay? No.
You're not okay. No, I'm fine. That's obvious. I'm fine.
Did you red light? - No, I did not really. - No? Did you take your medicine?
- Yes. - Are you sure? - Yes. It's blood pressure medicine.
It has nothing to do with my head. - Okay. Because I feel like maybe you didn't take your medicine today. - My ginkgo biloba?
- Mr. Palmer did not take his medication. - Are you ready to go? - Yeah, let's go.
I'm waiting on you. I had to clean up your... - I'm trying to start this now four times. - I had to clean up your mess at the beginning of this podcast.
- You keep interrupting. - Yeah, because... - This is amazing. - Because somebody had to clean up your mess, and here I am.
Facilitating orders, shipping products for you. I'm sorry, I'm out doing other things. But did I complain? I just picked up the ball and just carried forward.
I can't sit here every day. Neither can I. And yet I still took care of it. What?
You're here doing stuff. Sometimes. All right, you ready now? I was born ready.
Because Mr. Beast is getting very upset. I was born ready. Let's go.
I want to light this cigar, so let's go. All right, Mr. Beast. With my how about that cigar lighter.
Yes, I love the lighter. With my How About That Cigar Lighter. Oh, isn't that nice. Yes.
Oh, it's a gun shape. From my boy, Matt Tai. Mine's at the house. Bam.
Okay, I'm ready now. Are you sure? One more time, please. I can't confirm or deny.
Mr. Beast sued by Spalding over the Beast basketball trademark. Spalding. James "Jimmy Donaldson", better known as YouTube star Mr.
Beast, I never knew his real name, is facing a lawsuit from Russell Brands, parent company of Spalding, over the use of the mark, the Beast, On basketballs and footballs in a federal complaint filed in Kentucky, Russell argues that it has owned the registration trademark, The Beast, since 2003, covering the basketballs, equipment, and accessories. Spalden markets its own The Beast basketball system, and the company says it has invested heavily in building the brand's recognition. Mr. Beast, whose YouTube channel is the most subscribed in the world, with over 422 million followers, sells merchandise ranging from candy to apparel to sports gear through his online The company insists these lingering listings amount to ongoing infringement.
The lawsuit seeks a court injunction. In general, the company insists these lingering listings amount to ongoing infringement. The lawsuit seeks a court injunction to a court in general. The company insists these lingering listings amount to ongoing infringement.
The lawsuit seeks a court injunction in jail. The company insists these lingering listings amount to ongoing infringement. The lawsuit seeks a court injunction. The company insists these lingering listings amount to ongoing infringement.
The lawsuit seeks a court injunction. The lawsuit seeks a court injunction to block further use of the mark and demand monetary damages including profits Mr. Beast earned from the sales as well as attorney fees. The case highlights the tension between established sports brands and celebrity driven merchandise.
For Russell, it's about protecting a 20-year-old trademark. For Beast, it can mean rethinking how his massive online brand expands into physical products. Okay, so what are they actually upset about, the actual basketballs? The Beast logo is pretty much identical.
It's identical? It's just a color change. Okay. So it's not the, you know, the standard 20%.
So who had the rights first? Was it Spalding? Spalding. Are you sure about that?
Yeah, they said, well, they're claiming they did. Yeah, they've had a Beast ball a long time ago. Yeah? I remember as a kid I had one.
Okay. All right, but it looks like so, but they sent the thing down. They did the cease and desist. He sent the cease and desist thing and took it down, but it's still lingering.
It's still on Amazon and it's still on other various smaller pages. There was, okay, so there are some places where it wasn't cleaned up 100%. You said it was on hidden pages. It does say hidden.
I don't know what hidden means. I assume that it's just smaller. Yeah, it means maybe they didn't delete it. They just moved it over so that you couldn't find it easily or something like that.
Could be. Until they run through the balls they made or something? No, I just, maybe they just didn't know how to remove it. I mean, if it's a smaller site, I don't know.
I just, that, you know, you never really know a guy via interviews or YouTubes or whatever the case may be, but to be honest, I don't see, Mr. Beast doesn't strike me as the guy that's like, I'll get you Spaulding, here's what I'm gonna do. Okay, I'll agree to this. And then fucking do some crazy shit where you can still sell the basketballs.
Well, he might just be trying to move the balls he has left. He's got so much money, he could easily just throw them away. I just, it seems like he tried to do the right thing, and maybe the organization or the people that represented sales kind of fumbled the ball, the whole process. You know what I mean?
And because of that, like, now you got this lawsuit? I don't know. It seems kind of fishy. Why does it seem fishy?
It just seemed like he was doing the right thing. It just wasn't perfect, you know? Go ahead. To kind of go into what you're saying, I think what happened is Spalding maybe figured out how much money he was making off of the name, like off of the ball, right?
So then they said, "Okay, well, we're going to put this lawsuit against you. " Yeah, I don't know. Why don't you just do a joint thing with Spalding? Right.
If they have the rights of the beast. Right. Like, hey, you know, why don't we just... Well, maybe the beast balls for Mr.
Beast are inferior. They're not as good as a Spalding ball. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. Maybe Spalding approaches them and says, okay, hey, how about we do this?
We'll do a Spalding beast ball together. Well, then they got to pay him money. Yeah. So right now they're supposed to be able to sell it just them, just Spalding, just says the beast on it.
Right. Do you think that the Spalding the Beast ball would sell more or less with Mr. Beast actually being a part of it? I have no idea.
I don't know how popular he is. You have no idea. I don't know how popular he is in the sports ball area. He's the number one YouTuber in the world.
Well, is it correct? He gets all fucking jockstraps. It doesn't matter. Yeah, I don't.
Well, also, too, like, if he's a YouTuber, right, that's going to be a younger generation. So they're probably going to be more likely to buy basketballs and stuff like that. So yeah, so there's probably, he could probably sell a lot. I don't know, maybe they don't like the way he represents himself, maybe it goes against whatever Spalding wants their brand to be, who knows?
But they had it first, I mean, they legally had it. Yeah, but I'm just saying, why not work with the guy? I wouldn't, I mean, that would make the most sense to me. Right.
Share revenue, help us explode the sales of the beast basketball. Yeah, do you want some money, or do you want zero money? Right. Well, they've been selling it, though.
They're still making money on the ball. But I'm willing to bet that they could four or five X that basketball sale. I don't know. Maybe his balls don't sell much.
I have no idea. Yeah. And you're angry now. I'm not angry.
Because I cut you back off. I'm not angry. You cut me off all the time. Why would I be angry because you cut me off?
I don't cut you off all the time. Okay. You do want to interrupt you, Michael. I review the video.
Yeah, when you interrupt me. See? Okay. And that's how he's...
Look, you see that, Boots? I'm not angry at all, Michael. I can see it all on the cameras. Yeah.
I'm so angry. I'm not angry. It's all right. It's okay.
You're allowed to be angry. Okay. I thought it was just funny how he said his balls don't sell much. Maybe they don't.
I don't know. I don't know what the sales of his sports equipment is. I'm not saying he's not known in his name. I mean, he's selling candy bars, for God's sakes.
He could sell anything he wants. Which are delicious. Yeah. You had the peanut butter cups, right?
Yes. Right. Yeah. They tried to squidado slip and fall on and get them covered.
Right. Through the Circle K or whatever it was. Yes. It's one of the best clips I've ever done.
Make himself rich. In my life. All right. Okay.
So, hey, I hope it works out for Mr. Beast and Spalding. Me as well. Together.
Together. As one. All right. Taylor Swift live updates, Life of a Showgirl, New Heights podcast debut breaks the internet.
The pop star also made an appearance on her boyfriend Travis Kelsey's podcast Wednesday, last Wednesday. Travis and his brother, Jason, gave fans a hint earlier Monday morning after posting their podcast would return from hiatus early for a very special guest. Only the guest silhouette was shown at the time, but fans immediately guessed Swift. Taylor detailed the 12-track set list on the podcast and revealed song names, including The Fate of Ophelia, followed by Elizabeth Taylor, Opal Light, Father Figure, Eldest Daughter, Ruin the Friendship.
Actually, there's lots of names here. Is there one about a breakup? Breakup with who? She breaks up with everybody, but she has not broken up with Kelsey.
Swift's appearance on The New Heights marks the first time the pop star has given an interview since she was named Time's Person of the Year in 2023. At the time, Swift and Travis had just begun dating, and she spoke about their buddy romance for the first time publicly. The two first sparked romance rumors in September 2023 after Swift appeared on Travis's NFL games with his family. Shortly before, Travis had tried to give Swift a friendship bracelet with his phone number on it at one of her concerts.
Nice. Explosive viewership and subscriber with live YouTube viewers. 3 million live viewers in the first hour, nearly doubling the 800,000 who tuned into Donald Trump and Joe Rogan's episode last year. Hmm.
These are the details for her being on the show. Yeah. 94 million, adding roughly 90,000 new subscribers in a very short time. The episode is on track to become one of the most watched podcast episodes ever, challenging existing records.
6 million views under 24 hours. Hmm. Is that it? Yeah, there's some other information, but we can talk about it now.
Okay, I didn't want to interrupt you. Okay, thank you very much. I was just going to sit here patiently and wait. Yeah, look, man, you know, they already have a huge following.
Right. Right? Talking about the Kelsey brothers. Kelsey brothers.
I think a good podcast already does very well. Right. Dude, you throw Swifty on there, now you got a whole other demograph that you're tapping into. Yeah, it's no different than their football team, they're used for the football team.
Yeah, well, I mean, there's reason to believe that some of those games were sandbagged by refs, so that the Kansas City Chiefs could continue to move forward throughout the season. Oh. And allegedly, supposedly, some of those refs have been fired. Quietly fired?
Yeah, we haven't really heard much about it, but it was the refs that reffed the three games that were very questionable. So at least that's what I heard, whatever. Could be wrong. But they didn't just do that on their own.
They didn't just say, hey, you know what? We're going to make sure Kansas City wins this game, right? Who didn't? The Kelsey's?
The refs. Oh, the refs. No, no, they were told to, obviously. Because of, I think it's because of the Taylor Swift ratings, right?
Sure. But that kind of fizzled out, right? Did you get tired? You got tired of seeing her.
Yeah. I think everybody did. Yeah. I mean, not seeing her, just hearing about the store.
Like, oh, here's a play, and Skybox. Yes. Taylor. Oh.
Right. And we're not here to look at Taylor. How many times are you going to show her just sitting there smiling? Oh, there she is.
There she is. There she is. There she is. There she is.
Okay, we can stop watching now. So, but this is brilliant for the Kelsey brothers. Right. Well, they came back from hiatus probably to time this with the release of her new album.
Yeah, brilliant. I mean, they got almost 100,000 new subscribers. Right. That's in like less than an hour.
That's like 98,000 more than us in seven years' time. Right. How many of them stick around, though, hoping she's going to be on again? Let's say they're all, what do they call them, Swifties or fans?
Yeah. So 90,000 screaming girls and women, you know, subscribe because she was on it, and then three more episodes, she's not on again, and they're like. You think it was just girls that subscribed? Yeah, I like how he did detail that.
Yeah, you think it was just girls that subscribed? No, I said the 90,000 new subscribers were just her fans. Okay, so you think those are just girls? I don't, I assume most of her fans are females, I mean guys like it too, but you already hear about the girls, you don't hear much about guys being called Swifties.
It's a new generation. Okay, well Boots, are you going to stop being a subscriber then when she's not on the show anymore? Absolutely. Absolutely.
Dude, let's say that it's 2%. Let's say 2% sustain out of that number. That's still an extra 2,000 people. We need to get Kiana down here with a wig.
Call him Kiana Swift. Kiana Swift. An extra 2,000 people. I just asked you how many of them you think are going to stick around.
I didn't say they weren't. I asked you how many you think will. If she's not on again. You call them all females.
I was just saying maybe they're not all females. Maybe they're not all females. But I was saying her fans. I was saying 90,000 people, maybe those were all her fans.
Yeah. How many of them do you think are going to stick around when she's not on again? I think more than 2%. I would say probably 30 or 40% because the Kelsey brothers are pretty cool.
Right. Minimal one girl. You know, that's the whole point, right? Right.
To get people to sustain if they're saying something. Well, the story is saying the 90,000 subscribed because she was on. Right. Yeah, I would, I'd be willing to bet that at least.
Okay, what is your show normally about? Sports and stuff? Everything. Everything?
I mean, I'm not going to be able to talk at all today, am I? That was like the third time I was in mid-sentence, and I was just... You guys are going to love the camera switchbacks, though, it's perfect. Gotcha!
I don't know, I honestly think that at least 10,000 or 20,000 of them will hang out, will stick around and listen. I don't think the number will be that high. Yeah? I think the ones that stay subscribed are the ones that's just too much trouble just unsubscribe.
I had no idea you were so pessimistic. So you're taking the under? I'm taking the under. Okay.
I don't think anybody really unsubscribes. You got to go out of your way on YouTube to be like, you know what? Well, that's what I said. I think the ones that stay are the ones because it's just too much trouble to unsubscribe.
I unsubscribe from stuff. What do you subscribe to that you unsubscribe from on YouTube? Shows that I thought that I liked that I watched three or four episodes and I don't just because it fills up the feed. Tell me one.
I don't know the name of them off the top of my head. That's why I don't watch them anymore. I can't wait for this. Come on, there's got to be one that you'd like this one.
Tell you what, I'll give you a list next week. A whole list of the ones you unsubscribed from? You said you wanted just one, so I will come up with one. How would you find them if you unsubscribed from them?
I'll look and see. What are you going to look at? I don't know. Well, you're so argumentative today.
You're going to look at the ether and see the nothing and then come back and say, "I don't have any information for you"? Yes. Okay, I'm not argumentative. You've cut me off three times and now you have.
Well, you don't notice when you cut me off. There you go again, cutting me off. I do notice when you cut me off. No, you don't notice when you cut me off.
No, I notice all the time when you cut me off. Oh, well, you both did a minute ago. Cut you off? Yes.
I don't even know what you're talking about. See, exactly. I only notice when you cut me off. You just said you notice when you cut me off, too.
Because I never cut you off. Yes, you do. Never. Okay, I'll point it out next time.
Not a single time. I'll point it out next time. Okay. All right.
Do you want to keep going? No, I would like to move on to the next story. That's what I meant. That's what I meant.
Do you want to keep going with the next story? That would be great. All right. Hurricane Aaron makes history with a rapid rise in Category 5.
Hurricane Aaron rapidly intensifies Saturday, becoming the first Category 5 hurricane of the Atlantic season after strengthening from a tropical storm in just 24 hours. The National Hurricane Center reported that Aaron's maximum sustained winds more than doubled to 160 miles per hour by late Saturday morning. Mike Bennon, Director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami, called Aaron a very powerful hurricane, noting its winds gained 60 mph in intensity with approximately 9 hours on Saturday. We expect to see Aaron peak here in intensity relatively soon, Brennan said in an online briefing.
Michael Lowry, a hurricane specialist and storm surge expert, highlighted the exceptional pace of Aaron's strength, calling it incredible for any time year, let alone August 16th. Lowry added that only four other Category 5 Hurricanes have been recorded in the Atlantic on over 4 August 16th. Aaron is noteworthy for being one of the few Category 5 storms so early in the season and for its rapid intensification. Mike Lowry.
That's nice. That's, that's amazing. And in other news, all the islands that went across are gone. There was like four of them.
Do you look at the Category 5? When do you start tracking hurricanes for it to hit us? When they say they're coming this way. Okay, so they've said that this one's been coming this way for a little bit?
No, it's never been... None of the string models have said it was coming to Florida. It's always supposed to have turned and gone north. Right.
So at that point, I stopped watching, but I did watch the news when it said it was going to be a 5, because that's unusual. But then it's going to die out there anyways, though. Well, it's going to go up the coast. They're evacuating the outer areas of North Carolina.
Are they really? Yeah, it's due to flooding. Oh, that's not good. Okay, well, I already started putting up my Halloween decorations.
Well, we're fine here. Yeah, but there's going to be more to come. Listen, you don't have to figure out until you start seeing all the water gone at Publix and stuff. And the toilet paper?
Yeah. Once all the water and the toilet paper goes away, then we know we're in trouble. Right. Oh, shit, there's a hurricane.
Yeah. I had no issues getting gas today, either. So. Yeah, me either.
Hmm. So what, at what point do you worry about the hurricanes? Like, cause when I saw it, it just showed like the cone of death, but it didn't show that it was turning, it just showed it moving west, but it wasn't remotely close to us. Oh, all the stories I saw about this one said it was going to turn.
So I didn't pay much attention to this at all until they got up to a five, and they're like, "Ooh, it's a five," which is unusual, but still doesn't affect us, unless some of the outer bands go across us. He was busy unsubscribing from all the shows. Yeah, I was busy unsubscribing on YouTube. All the shows?
All the shows. Perfect. So where are we at? It's almost September, right?
Yeah, we're almost out of the season. What's, yeah, what do we got, two more months of hurricane? Yeah, season goes till November. It goes till November.
Yeah. Like November 1st or something? I don't remember exactly. Yeah, we'll pick November 1st.
Why not? No one's fact-checking. I mean, we're on the E's, so, I mean, apparently there was A, B, C, D that we didn't even, didn't even know about. Yeah, I guess you got a point.
I hope that we have nothing. Because you're a Halloween director. We're due. We're due for one.
I mean, it's been a long time. What are you talking about? We got one last year. Yeah, but nothing terribly bad.
No excessive damage and stuff. What are you talking about? We still got one. I feel like there was one in Deltona yesterday.
We got one, and then we had one the year before. We've had one every year. That's what they're saying. They're saying we're due for a big one.
We're due for a big one? Yes. That's just what they say. I don't know what it means.
Why don't they throw ice cubes off the coast of Africa or something, seal the fucking water out? This is ridiculous. Yeah, they're going to thin the herd. You know what I mean?
How do we solve this? I don't understand it. Why are we still dealing with this crap? With hurricanes?
Yeah. It's Mother Nature. I mean, we can't control hurricanes. Mother Nature's trees too.
We control those all the time. Cut those down. That's the same thing. Trees don't, trees don't move.
They don't? Not like a hurricane. So you know, the tree in my yard has probably been there for the 40 years. It didn't just walk in.
So you don't think we can shut down a hurricane? I don't think we can, no. What do you think we would if we could? No.
No? Mm-mm. Why is that? Because it's, it stimulates the economy.
Oh. Conspiracy theory. You could shut down a hurricane. Yeah?
Yeah. You guys have seen the whole Twister movie? No. Come on, guys.
The new one? No, the old one. How do you shut it down? They put, like, a chemical, like, chemicals in the middle of it.
Yeah? Dry ice? I don't know if it's dry ice. Sprinkle the clouds with dry ice?
They put chemicals in the middle of it? Yeah, they put, like, a whole thing, and it broke apart. And they get rid of it? You just spit on the microphone again.
Really? That's a thing? That's what they did? I don't know if I believe you.
That doesn't sound accurate. Make another shirt, it's accurate. Make another shirt, it's accurate. S.
East Coast this week. Aaron is located about 105 miles north of Grand Turks Island with maximum sustained winds of 130 miles per hour moving northwest at 13 miles per hour as of Monday morning. S. by the middle of the week.
Sorry, okay, Aaron, got it. That was just the current update because the story I had was from Saturday. Okay, got it. Before you get into the news, do you want me to talk about social media posts or are we done?
I have one more news story. Okay. All right, go ahead. A newly unveiled statue of Tom Brady at Gillette Stadium has sparked a wave of debate among Patriot fans with reactions ranging from praise to disappointment.
Oh, yeah. The 12-foot statue, which the New England Patriots unveiled a week ago this past Friday, captures a legendary quarterback in a stoic post-victory pose and was intended as a tribute to his historic career. However, after being revealed to the public, it has left some Boston fans divided. com, 1,334 respondents weighed in on the statue with options running the gamut.
" For some fans, the statue's minimalist design and subdued pose resonate deeply. It captures his emotions after a win. Stoic, triumphant, but on to the next, Andy from Charleston. Supporters, Charlestown, is that Charleston?
Charlestown. Supporters of the statue argue that the pose perfectly reflects Brady's personality, focus, tumbled, and consistently looking toward the next challenge. However, not everyone agrees with the interpretation. Many readers expressed disappointment that the statue lacked excitement or energy.
There were many other poses they could have used, I think. This one was boring, said Tom from Worcester. While the statue's intentions were clearly to honor Brady's legacy as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, the execution has left many questioning whether it truly captures the spirit of his achievements. So, what you pretty much told me is that there's 527 people there that are completely fucking miserable, and no matter what happens in their life, they're gonna be negative.
I mean... Yeah, out of the, what, the 1,300 that they asked, 500 of them didn't like it at all. Yeah. Yeah.
I mean, dude, Bostonians, bro. They're just, some of them are just out of control. So bad. Have you seen Dwayne Wade statue?
Yeah. It looks nothing like it. Can we talk about that on the show before? Yeah.
Have you seen Dwayne? Dwayne. If you're a fan of Dwayne Wade, if you're Dwayne Wade himself, if you're a family member of Dwayne Wade, you have every right to be upset about this statue. It looks like a mutant is in front of the American Airlines arena or whatever it's called now.
Right. A complete mutant. At least Tom Brady's is clean, it looks nice. I thought it looked nice when I saw.
That's a big win. It looked like Tom Brady. They just don't like the pose. They're just angry people.
You know, they're paying too much in taxes. Right. They're not allowed to smoke up there. Right.
You know, it's just, it's ridiculous. And who, who has to, who gets lashed out at? Tom. Tom.
They take it out on Tom. Are they taking it out on Tom? On a statue. It's a terrific Tom statue.
Yeah, it's ridiculous. They're putting it in the lighthouse? Does that mean anything to you? The lighthouse?
That's what they said, in the base of the lighthouse. Oh, yeah, yeah, at the stadium? Oh, yeah, I guess. Okay.
So I guess it's not in its permanent location? Oh, because right now it's probably out front? Yeah, it's out front. We're going to put it in the lighthouse.
Is that where everybody, does everybody go through the lighthouse? No. No. Is this like a Walt Disney thing?
It's part of a museum or something. Yeah, it's like by their Hall of Fame or whatever. hall of fame or whatever and then they have their own store and stuff so oh okay but I you know you think that there would be I honestly think that that's got to be bullshit they went out of their way to find people that were just that are just I mean I guess if you have the time to respond to the newspaper voting thing you're probably a miserable person regardless right at least 70% of you I hate it you know why do you hate it They could've done something different. I really wanted to see him.
They could've been better. You know, they could've had him jumping over that one guy backwards doing the split. Like, that was Saquon Barkley. Yeah.
You know? No. Just give us some time, though. They'll like it.
Remember what happened when Tom first came in for Bledsoe? Nobody liked Tom. Yeah, no kidding. Seven Super Bowls rings later.
Yeah, just give us some time. When they remove the Bledsoe statue in the lighthouse and put Tom first, then they'll like it. The guy's got six rings. Right.
New England has six rings. Right. Ridiculous. Okay.
Do you have anything to add to that? No. No? Okay.
All right. All right, do we have a social media minute, or did we decide not to? I do have one social media minute that's not related to the one that you were talking about. Okay, go ahead then.
So, Jax, my oldest son, he had a couple of buddies that have been on this baseball team forever. And they were in the World Series this year, this season, they were in last year and won, at the 11U League, and they were in again at 12U, and they played against Japan, and I gotta tell you, I think it's the Cal Ripken Babe Ruth League should absolutely be embarrassed as to how they handled this situation. They had a person in the stands blowing a horn every time that their team went up. Usually those guys get removed.
Yeah. There was like two or three innings where it was not addressed at all. It was absolutely horrendous, man. I don't understand how an organization – this is the top.
This is the game. The game of all games. As soon as somebody blows a horn, somebody should have instantly nipped that in the bud. Right?
Yeah. So, you know, I'm watching these kids and I'm hearing this horn and I'm getting irate. I'm like, this is ridiculous. How is no one controlling it?
And then when the game was finally blown out of the water, the horn stopped. Somebody said, hey, you know, you should probably stop that. Was that, oh, you went to the game? No, I watched it.
It was in Missouri. So you could hear the air horn on the TV? Dude, it was so bad. And like, so the person would play the horn on the other team when they would play, but they wouldn't do it when they were hitting.
But they did it intentionally against every time that Altamont was hitting. Right. If I mean, that's ridiculous. How would you feel about that?
If you went, if you spent, these kids have been up there for three or four weeks at this point. Imagine you spending three weeks or three to four weeks in a hotel with your kid going through this tournament, making it all the way to the end. And then all of a sudden you have a person interrupting when your kids are hitting. How would you try to disrupt the kids concentration?
Yeah. Yeah, no, it's terrible. How would you be, how are you okay with that as an organization? I don't know, was it somebody from Japan?
You said they were playing in Japan? Oh, mm-hmm. They should have stopped it, you'd think. Right.
That's it, are you going to give me? Should have stopped it. What about you, that's it? I think it's completely horrible.
I mean, Little League is based off of sportsmanship. I mean, really, sportsmanship, right? That's their number one rule. That's, there's, that definitely doesn't fit the, uh, the word there, sportsmanship.
In the previous game, they got, they got mad about Altamont being too rowdy in the dugout. Oh, so they complained about the Altamont team? S. Championship, they got mad about the Altamont players being too rowdy.
But meanwhile, internationally, this fucking person got to do whatever they wanted. Right, yeah, it, I mean whoever, I don't know who governs that, other than the league, but like whoever's at the game that's supposed to stop that, they should have definitely been doing their job. You would think there would be somebody at least from the stadium that would have stopped it. Well, you know what the sad part is?
There are plenty other organizations that you can do that have other series of that magnitude. Yeah, kids are in baseball, I highly recommend you putting them in that one and not in this one because that was absolutely absurd. Right, yeah. Terrible.
And now I have my clip for later. All right, Boots Trending News. Boots, there's a piece of paper over there on your desk. I'm very excited about this.
Maybe this will turn Palmer's attitude. I don't want to read this. This will turn. Did you already read it?
This will turn. Read it. I read the top line. Read it.
Turn Palmer's attitude around. Of course it will. Make him happy. Who are you focused on?
On Palmer, because everyone wants to see his reaction to the headline here. Good. Thousands of wieners spill across busy highway. Wieners, wieners, and more wieners.
Crew mustered up the courage to deal with thousands of runaway wieners, with a fire chief saying, I can tell you personally, wieners are very slippery. I did not know that, but now I know, because I've been standing in nothing but wieners all morning. A truckload of wieners, packed tight with even more wieners, spilled across a busy Pennsylvania road. The wiener truck, carrying tons of steaming hot wieners, suffered mechanical problems.
The wiener-packed trailer scraped along a concrete divider, ripping wide open and scattering wieners in every direction. Highway crews were immediately knee-deep in wieners. They mustered up the courage to start the morning wiener cleanup. Shrewsbury Fire Company Chief Brad Dubberman didn't mince words.
Once those wieners leave the wiener truck and hit the wiener road, those wieners are garbage, hot garbage, and there are still too many warm wieners for anyone to handle. A front-end loader was called in to scoop massive piles of busted wieners. The loader dumped the rolling, sliding, splitting wieners into a wiener-filled dump truck. Creating a mound of broken, bruised, battered wieners, drivers stuck in traffic reported seeing waves of wieners stretching for blocks.
Some said the wiener spill smelled like a giant roadside cookout, gone terribly wrong. Others said it looked like a wiener apocalypse. The wiener incident will likely go down in local history as the greatest wiener spill of Pennsylvania. Thousands of wieners lost, thousands of wieners mourned, and a whole lot of wieners that never made it to a bun.
Reminds me of a trip to Germany for the club's opening night, where I also saw nothing but walls of wieners, streets of wieners, and crowds cheering for more wieners. That takes you right back to Germany, huh? Absolutely not. that's a very sad story buddy that's a terrible throw by the way it was terrible at all those wieners are everywhere now are you upset about the wieners i mean that's a lot of wieners a lot of wieners i'm not engaging are you upset that you weren't there for the wieners and that you can't consume the wieners i'm not engaging you know so you don't want to eat the wieners i'm not engaging you're not a wiener guy i'm just here so i won't get fined Don't get fine.
Yeah, it's Marshall Lynch. Yeah. Okay. All right, on the cigar news.
Toro Fuente and Marifel end distribution agreement. Oh, end? End. Yeah.
Toro Fuente's international distribution is going in-house, saying that the longstanding distribution relationship between the company and Marifel has come to an end. S. and the Dominican Republic. Arturo Fuente has local distributors in various countries, for example, Cop Tobacco is a distributor in Germany, and Business Bay Global is a distributor in Saudi Arabia.
But those entities had to purchase Fuente cigars through Arturo Fuente International, which was run by the Merifels. Now, those orders will be placed through Fuente Marketing Limited. Jose Blanco will serve as the lead point of contact, though there will also be a team in the Dominican Republic that will assist in fulfillment. In a letter sent to international clients, Carlos Carlito Fuente Jr.
indicated that the Marifels have existing inventory and that clients could choose to place orders through Marifel. 's letter said the distribution relationship had ended but made no mention of the other relationships that the two families have, most notably Cameroon wrappers. Merifold Family is the dominant supplier of Cameroon Tobaccos, and no company is known more than Arturo Fuente for using Cameroon Wrappers. C.
Newman. Today's news has no bearing on the American market. C. Newman have a joint sales team that sells both companies' products.
This is very interesting. Yeah, I have questions. Okay, what are your questions? So, if it stops the distribution, is it going to affect the supply of the wrapper?
That's a great question. And I gotta be honest, we're gonna hold back all of this and talk about it on the Patreon. Oh, okay. Because this is all, there's a lot to cover here.
So you have information? I don't have information. I have my own point of view, and normally my point of view is accurate. I mean, it could be inaccurate, but what do you got to say?
I was going to ask what he said, if you had some sort of insider information. No, I did try and get some intel, but I'll give you more information about that on the Patreon. And again, if you like supporting us and you like getting more news and more information about the cigar industry, check out our Patreon. com and look at Cigar Hustlers podcast.
Yeah, for all you Fuente people out there, this is probably something you definitely want to listen to. For all you cigar people in general, I mean, ask anybody who's a Patreon supporter, they'll tell you that the Patreon blows this show out of the water. Oh, yeah. Everybody says it's the better of the two shows.
And I think this is a damn good show. So, I mean, look, Palmer's practically crying today. It's about 5% of the shows of the world. Yeah, right.
Exactly. So, that's this one, and the other one's better. Yeah, exactly. Okay, so we're moving on.
Yep. Cigars International expanding to Orlando and Kentucky later this year, Cigars International is planning on opening two stores, one just south of Cincinnati and the other near Universal Studios in Orlando. Really? Yes.
5 miles east of Universal Studios. Unlike most Cigar International Superstores, the name given to the company's physical store, it will be an existing building, so the building's already there. Oh, really? And not ground up construction.
In this case, the building was previously a sports bar. Oh, wow. So, it must be close to what they use. Have you ever been in one?
Yeah, I think we went to one in Tampa. Yeah, because it's three quarters bar, one quarter cigars. Right. I mean, that's smart.
The location will work if you can fit it, you know. Right. I'm excited about that. I can't wait to see how that works in Orlando.
Yes, it should be very nice. You know, because the reality is that some people do their best to slow progress in this industry, and you know what, unfortunately, a bigger dog is going to eat you, so... Yeah, because their pockets are really deep. I look forward to seeing CI in Orlando, I'm excited, and they're in a great location down by Universal, there really isn't any competition in that area, so I think that they're going to do great there, you know?
It's a 9,000 square foot store and a full bar, large walk-in humidor and smoking offer both inside and outside. Nice. It's by Universal, like on Universal property? So property?
No, no, it's on Conroy, two and a half miles away. Yeah. Yeah, it's kind of like a Sand Lake, Dr. Phillips area.
Oh. Yeah. Got it. This will mark the company's fourth store in Florida, though, the first in the Orlando area.
You know, I think that there are other opportunities for other retailers to be open there, and it's unfortunate for them that that never occurred. So now, now you get the biggest guy possible that comes in and starts to take that opportunity. Right. So, it's gonna be great.
It's gonna be great. Competition is a good thing. Yes. Are you excited, Palmer?
I'm looking forward to it, yeah. I mean, there's nothing really friendly for us over that direction. Not even close, yeah. No.
Now we can go to a place we can't get trespassed, allegedly. You know? Well, we could eventually. But not very likely.
But not out of the gate. Not very likely. Yeah. Right.
Okay. When the two new stores open, the company will have 15 locations in Florida, or 15 locations, actually. Jacksonville, we don't need to read all these. It's not 15 locations in Florida.
No, no, it's 15. Yeah. Yeah, totally. It looks like there's a lot of them in Pennsylvania, a lot of them in Texas.
Yeah, there's only like two in Florida, right? I think Kentucky's kind of tough. Yeah, two. There's only two currently in Florida.
No, three. Jacksonville is open now. Does it say where the one in Kentucky is located? No.
Where it's going to be? It's going to be near Cincinnati. So somewhere on the border, I'm guessing. Near Cincinnati.
Is that close to the racetracks? I don't know. I'm curious as to how close it is to Jeff Mute's spot. Because he's in Jeffersonville, Indiana, which is like right across the bridge from Kentucky.
Is that the bottom of Kentucky, or top? Top? Dak says top. Top.
Oh, they scrapped a location in St. Louis. They were talking about that last year. I believe Dak.
Oh. Yeah. Okay. All right, moving on.
All right. Premium Cigar Association names Ricardo Carrion, Director of International Affairs and Education. The Premium Cigar Association has announced that it has named Ricardo as its new Director of International Affairs and Education. He joins the PCA after spending several months with Casa Turrent when he served as the company's head of business development.
Prior to joining Casa Turrent, he was the COO of Tor Imports in Great Britain and the CEO of Justina in Spain. Before joining the cigar industry, he served as a diplomatic role as Nicaraguan's Deputy Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Iceland, as well as the official representative to the United States, Maritime Organization, and International Organization. organizations in the coffee, sugar, and cocoa sectors. He has also led content strategy and operations across various geographies for TripAdvisor and William Hill.
I'm not familiar with William Hill. Is that a travel thing, I'm guessing? No idea. He's also co-founder of the Cigar Academy, an educational venture that he launched with the Thomas Greeson in March 2024.
The Cigar Academy's mission is to safeguard, nurture, and disseminate the rich artisanal heritage and traditional knowledge of cigar making by It's a way of educational courses and certifications for consumer retailers and those working in the cigar industry. Ricardo is a catalyst who brings a ton of energy and passion to any project, said Joshua Habersky, Executive Director of the PCA in a press release. His expertise will allow the PCA to refine existing projects and help service our growing membership ranks. S.
retailers Retailers and the Caribbean Basin, and develop universal education programs for all members' categories. Hmm. This guy seems super overqualified. Super overqualified?
Yeah. What's the point of... That was what I was talking about. Yeah, what's the point in this guy's position?
Yeah, I don't understand it. Something with education. Cigar education? Yeah, I don't know.
Yeah, he started the Cigar Academy? What is that? I think they teach you how to roll cigars. We talked about that months ago when it came out.
When it came out, it was a school that you could go to in a third world country if you wanted to learn how to roll cigars. Is that what that was? Yeah. And now he's, now he's, what are we doing?
We're, cigar education? Yeah, what do we, we're paying this guy to be in charge of cigar education, cigar education. He's, he's cigar. And, uh, help grow membership outside of the United States.
Isn't it a United States organization? It's Dirk Cigar. Well, it's the Premium Cigar Association, it's not PCAA of America. Right.
I mean, they're based in Washington. Yeah. They do fight for our rights in the US. Right.
And so we can wear anything we want. Do you think he was just friends with somebody and then just kind of built them a job? I don't know. It says the new role will also see him heavily involved in a new initiative that the PCA is launching with the University of South Florida and the World Cigar Show in Dubai.
He served as Chair of the PCA's Education Subcommittee and has already begun leading projects across USA and internationally, including training programs, cultural exchange efforts, and through leadership as a volunteer for the organization. I have no idea what this guy's doing. I don't fully understand why this has happened. Well, I mean, it sounded like he's trying to gain membership, right?
That was one. And that's it. That's all I heard. How is he gaining membership?
That's what it said in the reading. It said something about gaining membership. Gaining membership. Yeah, but okay.
Like, I'm trying to buy a Ferrari. You know what I mean? That makes no sense. What's his job pay?
Sounds like a lot. It does. It sounds like he needs to be paid a lot. Yeah.
CEO of one, I mean, we don't know what the companies are, but CEO of one company, COO of another company, some type of cultural attaché to Iceland. It's gotta be six figures. Six figures. You would think?
Yeah. And it's not like slightly six figures. Right. What do you think Joshua Burski, and what do you think we're paying him?
I don't know. Not enough, I don't think. More than Trip Advisor, probably. I mean, we saw his clothes recently at the last event.
Yeah, that's true. That's kind of questionable. So, I don't think he gets paid enough. We couldn't hold Scott Pierce for the pay, so...
Right, he left because of pay. Right. So, I don't think that... Could we ask Scott Pierce what the pay is?
Hey, Josh, how much did you make? We tried. We tried. Somewhere between.
We did, right? We asked Scott Pierce. He wouldn't say. He wouldn't say.
No. But he said it's more at CAA. Yeah, he did say that. Wow, this is the PCA, and there's so much secrecy on the pay, huh?
Very cryptic. Well, I mean, their budget has to be available somewhere. No, it's a non-profit organization. They don't have to disclose.
Oh, that's how they get around. That's how the NFL operated forever. Oh, we're non-profit. Until they had no choice but to be profit.
Right. And then as a, as a publicly gung- I don't know, something. They had to disclose exactly how much money Roger Goodell makes. PCA also announced now they're selling t-shirts and things.
Are they? Yeah. com. Yeah, they're biting off of us.
Not nearly as good. Yeah, it's ridiculous. They don't have... What are we doing with this guy?
They don't have Alcatraz in New York. No, obviously. Or a BDP shirt. No.
Yeah, ridiculous. Or the coffee thing. Yeah, I wonder, I'm curious as to how much is this guy getting paid. Right.
And what the hell is he actually doing? Right. Because it sounds like he's not doing anything. But he's collecting the paycheck.
There's a lot of stuff he's supposed to be doing, but all of it adds up to nothing. Yeah. Right. We see a lot of that in the cigar industry.
A lot of people say, I will, you know, I can do these things. I'm like, but what are those things? I have a farm. I show you how to roll.
I have a farm. Do you have a farm? Well, yes I do. Yes, I have a farm.
I have a farm. You should come. Look into my eyes, I have a farm. I have a farm.
This is not the droid you're looking for. I mean, the picture of this guy, he's a handsome, European-looking dude walking down the street in a black suit with a white shirt, all sorts of stuff going on behind him. That's all you need. Can't wait to see the evolution of PCA.
You should start carrying a briefcase, like, looking like you're running with your suit. Did we ever hear about this guy again, or now this is the announcement, he's there, and then he's there. " And then you're going to get a clipping, and then you're going to read it, and it's going to say, this guy got fired, he's back at TripAdvisor. You think it's only a year?
No way, man. PCA. He'll make at least a PCA next year. He'll walk around and talk to the Third World Country Boots.
This is at least three or four years. Takes a while to figure it out. He's going to collect half a million dollars. Yeah.
Easy. Easy. This guy's going to, yeah, he's going to, hmm. How come we didn't get this job?
I could have done this job. No, no, you are not cultural attache to Ireland or whatever the fuck it is. Cigar education. Don't smoke that shit.
That's terrible. That's terrible. Don't smoke that. That'd be better off than what he's doing.
You're right. He's first-generation international immigrant. What is the travel budget now? I don't know what the fuck that means.
Well, because you're... Your first... Your dad was from Poland, right? Your first-generation immigrant.
Oh, yeah. Yeah. See, I made it sound good. Oh, for me.
Yeah, so that way you get the job. Oh, yeah, that's great. Yeah, I'm first, what did you call me? First generation immigrant.
International. International, yeah. International, yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, now they're doing all these meet and greets, so there's this blonde lady and Joshua and somebody else that's traveling all around, visiting all these shops and stuff.
Well, that's good. They sound like cigar raps. What are they doing when they're there? Looks like they're just wearing clothes they slept in and, you know, hanging out and smoking cigars.
Listen, Josh is going to wear what he wants to wear. If he wants, you know, if he wants to do the, uh, Derelict edition from Zoolander, then Derelict. There's the, uh, the blonde lady had a lovely outfit on. She looked, she looked fine.
Yeah. I don't know what to tell you, buddy. Um, man, I don't know, man. I'm kind of curious about this whole Emirates thing.
Like, what are we, what are we doing there? Well, we're locking in. Cause that's the Dubai thing. Yeah.
That's where the money is. Well, there's a cigar thing that goes on over there, right? Yeah, that's new. So is PCA not involved in that?
No, no, well, we don't have a piece of it, I don't think, but we go to it. Apparently, we are involved and that's what this guy's going to do. Wow. So it's to get more money to pay him?
Pretty much. Well, they don't give us money to be involved in that. I'm sure we have to pay to be in it. I have no idea.
They have the money. Why would it take hours? We don't have it. First of all, we have no idea what PCA does anyways.
They just hired this dude. So, I mean, let's say that's $600,000. Let's say it's $300,000. Yeah, he's probably like that.
He's probably $250,000. Okay, so still, they had to have that money. And if he's making three, Joshua's got to be making six. No way.
You don't think he's making more? No, dude, $600,000 a year? So this guy is the international, whatever he is, you think he's higher up the food chain than Joshua is? I'm willing to bet this.
I don't know. I wouldn't know if I consider him higher up the food chain, but if I were betting, man, I bet you he gets paid more than Josh. Oh, you think they had to bump his pay to get him? He gets paid more than Josh.
Yeah. To sweeten the deal a little bit. He worked for TripAdvisor. Yeah.
I don't know if it's a high paying thing, TripAdvisor. Yeah. I don't understand. I mean, I know what it is, but you know.
5. Right. Yeah. He gives the ratings in the books.
Yeah. Right. It's amazing. With his black suit.
This place tastes very good, very good coffee, if I get five stars. I have a great peacoat. No, no. It was like a black suit.
Oh. Not a peacoat. It was a suit. It was very hot where it was, I'm sure.
Gucci. Yeah, it's very, very good. Oh, yeah. Okay, so hey, listen.
What are we doing with all the money? I don't know what we're doing. Paying all these people? Hey, we're working really hard and audible.
Wait, what happened? How about this? We're going to create our own organization and we're going to charge half the money, PCA charges, and everybody just give the money to us. I tried doing that one year.
I forget what we were going to call it. We were starting our own organization. Yeah, we were. Let's just call it triple A cigars.
Yeah. That's like everybody else. That's fine. That way, we get listed first.
Right. We're the Association of American. American, AAC, Association of American Cigars. Right.
We could do a convention. Sure. Why not? We'll have a convention.
They got the big Mac. We got the big Mick. And we're going to let all the media in for free. Early.
Early. Early. Early, Coop, for free. Yep.
John McTavish, we'll get in without any issues. Right. Yeah. We'll vote Coop king of media.
Yeah. We'll award him every year. Every year he gets a trophy. Oh, yes.
You're going to give him like a baseball trophy. Yeah, he likes trophies. He would love that. He likes trophies.
I love that. A little pitcher one. He likes those. McTavish can be international media or something.
Yeah. International media king. Yeah, he is Canada. Yeah.
We'll give fish steak, we'll give him fish steaks. Yeah, we give Fishstick nothing until he gives us a review that's somewhat positive. I love Aaron, but god damn, he's ruthless. I can't follow their rating schedule thing.
I can't follow our rating scale. Well, I mean, Gavin has been sending me texts, he's like, for love of God, you just have to divide by three. I don't, I don't understand what the problem is. And he's like, I'm like, yeah, you're right.
I don't know why we mess that up every time on the Patreon, but so. Maybe half of it will finally get their grading scale fixed. No, their grading scale is fine. They're fine.
Yeah. They're fine. Yeah, I love their 82. It's a nice warm 82.
Yeah. All right, Martin, the batters are dying on the iPad. We need to keep going. Okay.
Martin Cove's The Prodigal Son heads the stores. The Prodigal Son, the new cigar line for Martin Cove, the actor who played John Kreese in The Karate Kid and Cobra Kai. Oh, good. It's on its way to stores.
It's being released in a 6x52 Toro Vitola with an undisclosed blend which were produced at Tabacalera, Juarip, Chico Riva's factory in Tambor, Dominican Republic, which has also produced cigars for Sanji Patel, the MSRP is set at $14 per cigar, great price for a cigar, and $280 for a 20-count box, these cigars share a name with the upcoming TV series and four-part comic book series developed by Cove. Oh, I didn't know he'd come out with a TV show. I guess he has to, they killed him on the other show. Did he die?
He died. He blew up on a boat. Oh. Is that, Ralph, who is this?
John Kreese. This is the- The Cobra Kai guy? Yeah. Didn't he bite a person allegedly?
I don't know. Recently? Like in real life? Was that John Kreese?
That's the older guy, right? Or is that the younger guy? That's the guy in charge of Cobra Kai originally. They're all older.
From the movie. Okay. The older guy. I gotta look this up.
I think it's the right guy. Well, he is old, but I don't... When you say Cobra Kai, the movie, that's a series. Because there was two of them.
No, the correct guy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. This is the guy. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah, it's Johnny. He got in trouble, I think. He bit a... He bit an actor or something.
Oh. Allegedly. A TV show? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
She's like, there was a video footage of it, and like, you don't get to just bite me or something. Oh. Yeah. You make that part of the clip.
Yeah. That'll be amazing. The line was developed by Cove and Paul DiSalvo of La Casa Grande Cigars and Sanji Patel of Sanji Smoke Shop in the SP-1014 brand of cigars. DiSalvo has also worked with actors Chaz Palminteri on his A Bronx Tale line of cigars.
Cigars are being launched at three retailers, La Casa Grande Cigars in the Bronx, Sanji Smoke Shop in Bloomfield, New Jersey, and Smoke Inn, which is multiple occasions in Florida. Ooh, Abe got in on that one. Interesting. A press release said that the company hopes to expand production and availability which it would make the cigars more widely available by fall of 2025 or early 2026.
This is fall of 2025. Okay. Thoughts on this cigar? You think it's going to work?
I mean, it's been sitting for a year at least because they said a year ago it was being released. Did they? Yeah. They announced it like a year ago or something.
Okay. So do you think it's going to work? We were still in the other room. I know Celebrity Cigars are kind of popular right now, but it would have been better if he released it during the season he didn't die or was still alive.
What Celebrity Cigar has been popular that came out and sustained? Well, not the... Only one. Yeah, only one.
Not to sustain, but there have been a lot of them lately. They seem to do good at the beginning and then you never hear from them. Which one? What other ones come out recently?
Well, the Mike Tyson is still collecting dust. Yeah. Yeah, there was the Mike Tyson. Okay, that was April of last year.
Who's the Irish guy? Oh, yeah, it wasn't this year's show, it was last year's show. Yeah. Who's the Irish guy?
Conor McGregor. Conor McGregor. Also Dominican stick. I was just asked about his stick yesterday, and I was like, hmm, no.
It's okay, but I don't, I haven't seen a lot of people like posting it. I smoked one that was good, and then I smoked three that were bad. Oh, inconsistent. Uh, the baseball player's coming out with one.
Okay. Mexican. Mexican Olympic guy. Not really a celebrity.
Well, not John Kreese level, I guess, but... Don't really know who he is. The Papi? Papi's old.
Chaz Balmentari. A few years now. I thought he just came out with another one. No?
But he's been doing it for a few years. Oh, is that what it is? Yeah. Guy Fieri.
Ray Lewis. That was one of the first ones. Does Ray Lewis still make that cigar? Karl Malone.
Karl Malone's been doing it for years. Is his cigar still with La Aurora? Karl Malone, yes. Yeah.
So not, I mean, it's not like the celebrities are flooding in to do cigar things. Ike Taylor? He's been doing it for a few years. Didn't some rapper just come out with a cigar?
I don't know. I don't remember. I don't know, I wouldn't know who it was anyway. You covered the news, I just listened to the news.
You listened to the news. I only have so much room, I don't store all this stuff. Oh, sorry. Okay, yeah, well, uh, wish you the best, John Kreese, I don't know, it's gonna be an uphill battle.
First of all, nobody knows John Kreese. I mean, the good thing is, he did partner with Abe, Abe will help the exposure. Right? Yeah.
This is the other guy from the movie. Well, they're probably mostly talking about, it's a Western, the new shows are Western. Oh, this is the guy from the Western that you've never seen? Yeah, the new TV show.
I wonder if he's gonna bite any other actors. Please be an Evander. Maybe. Okay.
All right, you ready for the biggest game show in the cigar industry currently? Yeah. It's time for What's the Score? Uh-oh.
First cigar today is reviewed by Charlie Minato. It's a Casa Corilio Cigar, Dominican Republic, limited edition, the Perez Corilio Pledge of Allegiance Rocket. Oh, the Rocket. Okay.
Boots. You want me to go first? You want to go first? Perfect, you go first.
You want me to go first? Okay. I'm going to go 85 out of the gate. Yeah, that just totally messed you up, didn't it?
I'm going to go 82 since it's warm. 82? Since it's warm? That's what you said earlier.
Oh. Pledge of Allegiance, Rocket, Country of Origin, Dominican Republic, Factory, Casa Corilio, Wrapper, USA, Connecticut, Broadleaf, Binder, Ecuadorian Habano, Filler, Nicaragua, Condega, Jalapa, USA, Connecticut, Havana Seed, Pennsylvania, P41, it's a 6 3/8 by 5/8, it's round, MSRP is $30, it was released in June of 2025. Can you read the size again? 6 3/8 by 5/8?
6 3/8 by 58, you mean? 6 3/8 inches, ring gauge is 58. Okay. I was like, dang, that's a big cigar.
It's a big cigar. That's a huge bitch. Yeah. Number of cigars smoked for the review, three.
Huh. That is a big cigar. I'm gonna stick 85. Charlie smoked this?
Yes. Yeah. He's very angry. I'm gonna stick 82.
Okay. The first right thing he's done so far. So wait, he's at 82 now too? I'm at 85.
You're at 85. He went down to 82. Oh, he's been at 82. A Warm 82.
Oh, okay. Remember? Warm? Yes.
The wrapper is on the lighter side of what's probably the upper quartile of wrapper darkness and plenty of discoloration, veins, and oil. Plenty of discoloration. Plenty. Means I don't know, I don't like the appearance.
Eighty-four. Eighty-two. Warm 82 is taking the Warm 82. Okay.
As the finish develops, the first cigar starts to taste like a toasted sesame seed bagel. Oh, God. While the other two cigars lean more into toasty and roasted flavors, though the third has unique chocolate pudding flavor. Climber has now hit the ground.
He pushed it off. He's very angry. I heard pudding. A cigar that tastes like pudding?
I must have. Wow, I don't think I've ever tasted a cigar like pudding. Well, last week it was flan. I'm sticking 85.
No, I'm going to move up to 83 with the pudding. Okay. Well, it's not going to be plugged because it's probably underfilled and it's six and three quarter by 58, so. In the early part of the final third, each cigar seems to go through this brief moment of bitterness.
Given how consistent the profile has been up until this point, it's even more jarring than it would be on most other cigars. 86. Okay. 83.
Alright, final thoughts. If by the third puff of the Pledge of Allegiance Rockets you aren't into the flavor profile, it's probably best that you find a different cigar to smoke. Most of our reviews will show that not only is there some variance between the three cigars we smoke for a review, And it also transitions throughout a cigar. This is an exception, an example of the extremely consistent experience.
It's also an example of a great cigar from a technical standpoint, executing the flavors it has very well, with only a few construction-related hiccups. Unfortunately, this is also one of the most limited cigars we reviewed this year, and so if you are reading this and you haven't already purchased the Rocket, you probably aren't going to get a chance to, at least not in 2025. So it's consistent. It's probably boring.
It gets bitter a little bit. He sounded like he liked it. And I think Charlie's definitely a pudding guy. Maybe he doesn't like pudding.
Oh, you think he's a pudding guy? The final thoughts thing means nothing from Charlie. He could write, "This is the greatest cigar ever," and it could be an 88. I'm gonna go 87.
I'm going to go 86. 90. And I won again. A 90.
A 90. He got a 90. He's a pudding guy. He loves his pudding.
I thought it was going to be a dog rocket. Remind me of what's it? Nestle. All right.
We got to go because the iPad is going to die. Oh, my God. This is from August 21st, 2012. It is reviewed by Brian.
Why didn't you charge it? Well, because you showed up early, or it would have charged for another hour and a half. I mean, we did it like a week ago. I have to charge it every week.
Yeah, you had seven days. It sits over there in the cabinet. Where do you want me to leave it plugged in at? Plug it in over here.
It'll be gone by the end of the week. This is a Davidoff Dominican Republic limited edition review, the Avvo 25th Anniversary Edition. We have cameras here. We would tell you who took it.
People unplug it all the time. The thing was unplugged this week when I got here. Okay. What?
This is the AVO 25th Anniversary Edition cigar. By who? Brian. Brian?
Reviewed by Brian. Okay. This is from 2012. 2012.
Okay. You want me to go first? No, I'll go first. You sure?
Yep. Because we've just proven that I can beat you either way. No, I'll go first. 82.
Okay, uh, 88. All right, it's the AVO 25th Anniversary Edition, it is a Dominican Republic, uh, factory is OK Cigars. They make a OK Cigar. OK Cigar.
Rappers, Dominican Criollo, Sun Grown, Binders, Dominican, Fillers, Dominican, it is a 6x52, uh, $16 back in 2012, the release date was September of 2012. Number of cigars smoked for review? Only two. They must have really liked it back in 2012 for $16.
Yeah. I'm talking about the manufacturer. 82. It's okay.
Buy the okay brand. Okay. I'll stay 88. Oops.
I said 82. Oh, did he? Oh, he went first this time? We're sticking.
Yeah. The second third continues much as the first, which is to say, delectably mild. Hmm. Delectably mild.
It's a sun-grown. Okay. Boots? Oh, that's it?
That was it. That's it. That's the clue. 82.
I'll stay 86. No, you're 88. I'll stay, uh, I'll move to 86. The final third has started to get a little harsh, which unfortunately for a cigar with such a delicate profile means that most of the flavors The numbers have become muted.
Now it sucks. The final third. 82. I'm gonna go...
I'm gonna say 86. Ironically, the final third has been the best as far as construction goes with very little flaky ash and no touch-ups required. But tastes like garbage. Very bitter, $16.
What? 84. One more. He slid up.
Is this the last? Is this it? Yes, and we have final thoughts. Oh, we do have one more.
I'm going to go 85. I haven't smoked an Avo in quite a while, and I'm not entirely sure why. I used to enjoy them regularly, but for some reason they have fallen out of my rotation. This cigar reminds me that I should occasionally enjoy an Avo, especially if I'm looking for a good mild cigar.
The subtle flavors and delicate profile was enjoyable throughout most of the cigar. Unfortunately, the mild profile was overwhelmed at the end with some slight harshness that would have ruined a fuller-bodied cigar. I'm hoping that a few months in the humidor will allow the last third to mellow out and let the cigar shine in its entirety. For now, though, I can easily recommend picking up a few to try, as overall it was an enjoyable smoke.
Boots. Mm. Eighty-three. Oh, he went down.
He went down. Oh, my God. I'm going to go back up. I'm going to go eighty-seven.
Eighty-six. I was on it! Damn it! I still won!
You still won. Unbelievable. Oh man, it was, it was not even that great. He has to put it back in the humidor, let it sit, and he still gave it an 86.
I was so close. Well, he said it was a good cigar. He wishes he smoked more and you should go buy one. Guess what?
What he said was, he said that he usually liked to smoke Avo, but this reminded him why he, why he hasn't. You know what he said? He said, he said, guess what? In 13 years, there's going to be a show that's going to guess these reviews and Mike is going to dominate in it.
He's against Boots. That's exactly what he said. That's exactly what he said. Nothing.
No chocolate put in it at all. Final thoughts. Okay, what else you got? You got a listener of the week?
I do not. Boots, you got a listener of the week? Yeah, he's sitting behind you. Oh, look at that.
Brilliant. He's in the bathroom. No, he's not. That's behind me.
He's more beside me. Dak Prescott of the Dallas- Mayor of Cigar Town. Of the Dallas Cowboys. Yes, Mr.
Dak. Dak, what is your last name? Noel. K-N-O-L-E.
Canole. Shop of the Week, Cigar Life, where I'll be doing an event at the last Saturday of the month on the 29th, or the 30th. The 30th? The 29th is here, 30th is there.
Excellent. All right, this has been episode 401 of Cigar Officer Podcast. Make sure you jump on the Patreon because we're going to talk all about the Marifels and the Arturo Fuentes. Yes, like, subscribe, share.
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Show Notes
Welcome to Episode 401 of The Cigar Hustlers Podcast. This week we’re diving into the biggest stories making headlines: MrBeast gets slapped with a lawsuit from Spalding over “The Beast” trademark, Taylor Swift breaks the internet with her surprise debut on the New Heights podcast, and Hurricane Erin makes history as the first Category 5 of the season. We’ll also catch you up on cigar industry news, from Arturo Fuente shaking up international distribution to Cigars International expanding into new markets, plus PCA’s new global education push. And of course, we’ll finish with What’s the Score and a fresh review.
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