ACHP Episode 421 Rage Bait!
Episode Summary
Episode 421 of A Cigar Hustler's Podcast is a hostless-guest day with Mike Palmer and the crew riffing through general news before getting to the cigar business. The non-cigar block covers Oxford's 2025 Word of the Year, "rage bait," how brands use engagement-farming marketing (including a Cigar Guys post where Alex lit a Powstanie from the wrong end on purpose), the White House release of details on President Trump's MRI and executive physical, and ESPN's launch of ESPN Bet across 17 states via its Penn Entertainment deal after Penn's costly Barstool Sports split.
On the cigar news side, the guys break down the Gillis Family Cigars Absolutos Lonsdale, a store exclusive heading to Stogie's World Class Cigars in Houston on December 4 — a Nicaraguan puro made at Nicaragua American Cigars S.A. in Estelí using Condega, Estelí, Jalapa and Ometepe tobacco, priced at $14.50 with production limited to 150 boxes of 14. They untangle the relationship between Kyle Gillis, Gillis Family Cigars, and Warped Cigars, which distributes the brand. They also cover the end of the Elie Bleu Route 66 humidor series with the Route 66 Full Moon Night 110-count humidor, limited to 66 numbered pieces at roughly $6,400, and have fun with its "Easter eggs" and pricing.
Two bigger industry stories round out the news: Hooten Young's new direct-to-consumer Cigar Operations Club, a bi-monthly curated club with three membership tiers (Recruit, Officer, Commander), club-exclusive and limited releases, a collectible coin for the first 500 enrollees, and a bi-monthly Fireside show on YouTube and Facebook — with the hosts debating whether going DTC helps or hurts brick-and-mortar support. Then J.C. Newman's ribbon-cutting on the final phase of the historic Sanchez-Haya building restoration in Ybor City, an $18 million project aided by Hillsborough County preservation funds and Tampa CRA money, set to reopen as a hotel and gift shop in November 2026.
The episode also includes a candid media-drama segment about the "How About That Cigar" panel discussion on the future of cigar media, featuring Fred Rewey, Eric Guttormson and others, and the hosts' frustration at vague criticism of "flash in the pan" media personalities and being left out of the conversation. It closes with the "What's the Score" game guessing the halfwheel review score for the Crowned Heads Broadway Epicure (actual score: 88).
In This Episode
- 01Rage Bait Named Oxford's Word of the YearThe hosts unpack Oxford's 2025 Word of the Year and how rage-bait marketing shows up in cigar social media.
- 02White House Releases Trump MRI DetailsA discussion of the president's executive physical, cardiovascular and abdominal imaging, and presidential health transparency.
- 03ESPN Bet Launches in 17 StatesESPN's $2 billion Penn Entertainment partnership, the Barstool Sportsbook fallout, and the crowded sports betting market.
- 04Gillis Family Cigars Absolutos Lonsdale for Stogie's World Class CigarsA 6 1/2 x 42 Nicaraguan puro store exclusive at $14.50, limited to 150 boxes of 14, plus how Gillis Family and Warped are connected.
- 05Elie Bleu Route 66 Full Moon Humidor Ends the SeriesThe final Route 66 humidor, a 110-count piece limited to 66 numbered units at roughly $6,400, closes out the collection.
- 06Cigar Media Drama: The 'How About That Cigar' PanelReaction to a three-hour panel on the future of cigar media, vague jabs at 'flash in the pan' creators, and being snubbed by peers.
- 07Hooten Young Launches the Cigar Operations ClubA direct-to-consumer bi-monthly club with three tiers, exclusive blends, collectible coins, and a new Fireside video show.
- 08J.C. Newman Restores the Sanchez-Haya Building in Ybor CityThe $18 million restoration of the 1910 cigar workers' hotel into a hotel and gift shop opening November 2026.
- 09What's the Score: Crowned Heads Broadway EpicureGuessing the review score for the Nicaraguan-made Broadleaf-wrapped Epicure, which landed an 88 despite burn issues.
Brands & Cigars Discussed
Linked items are in our shop. Mentions without a link aren’t currently stocked or couldn’t be matched with confidence.
Transcript
Welcome to episode 421 of the Scar Hustler Podcast, coming to you every weekday. I'm inserting my name, see, because we were going to have somebody, so I had it blank. I'm Mike Palmer, your host for the day, and behind the scenes, nope, that's not me. That's not happening either, let's skip past that.
On today's show, Oxford unveils its brand new word of the year, and the White House reveals fresh details on former President Trump's MRI, former, he is the president, the president's MRI. In sports, ESPN is pushing its chips in and betting big on the new strategy. In cigar news, Gellis Family Cigars sends the Absolutos Lonsdale to Stogie's world-class cigars. C.
Newman continues restoring Tampa's cigar legacy. But, before we get started, on my left is a man who needs no introduction. How do we get some of that CHPod swag? com and check out our latest swag, like this one.
Pressure is a Privilege. Available now. Buy one, you get the second one 40% off. And on all orders that are $100 or more, you get free shipping.
Guess what, Mike? What? We may have the black-out Warbear shirts or hats back in stock. We may have them back in stock.
It's very possible that there's three or four in stock right now. That's not accounted for. Certain people are on a list. That's correct.
Okay. Just making sure everybody's on the same page here. Yes. Excellent.
It's an amazing hat. It's my favorite hat. It fits really well. It's the only hat I have.
I don't have to put on the very last hole on the thing on the back. It's a great hat. It is. It's the best hat.
It's the best hat. It's the greatest hat. It's the hat everybody would want to have if they had a hat. Yes.
com and like and subscribe to wherever you're listening. Because there's a lot of places they could listen, though. It's true. A lot of places.
Alright, now on with the news. Rage bait. Do you use that in your everyday vernacular, Michael? I do not, sir.
It's named Oxford's Word of the Year. Now it doesn't make more sense now. Do you want to use it? I can't say I do.
The latest Word of the Year might be the first one that also describes how you feel about its selection. In a decision that referenced deepfakes and social... What? What do you want?
Clickety, clickety, poppity, poppity, this is not an ASMR show. I'm doing my best here, okay? Relax. Deep fakes and social unrest, Oxford University press named rage bait as the most culturally significant expression of 2025.
The phrase's usage tripled in the last 12 months, according to Oxford, before the internet was focused on grabbing our attention by sparking curiosity in exchange for clicks, but now we've seen dramatic shift to its hijacking and influencing our emotions. Any of you want to guess what it means? Rage bait? Rage bait.
Rage bait. Rage bait, rage bait, rage bait. When someone dupes you into something and it makes you angry. Half a point.
Okay. But how do they find out people are using these words? I'm sure that... I mean, it's in everyday speak is what they're saying.
It's, I mean, I have no idea what it meant. I'm sure people -- listen, they hear everything. I was still trying to figure out 6-7. They hear everything with the phones.
The president of Oxford Language said in a statement, "You've probably been rage baited. " Oh, you want to know somebody who did this recently? Who? Our boy Alex, Cigar Guys.
Oh, did he? Yeah, he did a -- They're very trendy. He did a post where he was smoking a postagna, and he lit the bottom of it. Oh, I saw that.
" Ah. It can take the form of staged public arguments, cooking hacks, as you boil pasta in the dishwasher, or POV videos of posters asking strangers irritating questions, which often blur the line between rage bait and rudeness. For brands, the rage bait area may provide leeway for marketing campaigns that may find offensive. Though it wasn't intended as rage bait, American Eagles heavily criticized Sydney Sweeney campaign, one of my favorite campaigns, was a massive success, the company's CMO told Marketing Brew, but inflammatory doesn't always work.
Cosmetic brand Elf admitted it misspelled the mark after partnering with comedian Matt Reif, who has joked about domestic violence. Oh, well, that sucks. I don't know if joking about domestic violence is smoothest. No, you know who Matt Reif is, though?
Yeah, he's the guy that did well with the TikToks and stuff. Yeah, he's good at, they call it the crowd comedy or whatever, something like that. " Right, yeah. Kind of like this show.
So we should do a Rage Bay, we should stage something. Like we could do the fight that they did on Billions. You really like that. I do really like that.
We could do that during a show and then one of us gets up and walks out. I mean, that could just happen naturally anyways. Well, yeah, but I want to record it. Okay.
All right. We can rage bait for you. All right. We'll come up with something.
All right, White House. I'll write that down. Yeah, I'll write that down. Boots, write that down over there.
Write that down. Bippity boppity. Bippity boppity boop. I wrote it down for you.
White House Releases Details on Trump's MRI Scan. Okay. Can you imagine being the person that everybody wants to know every single time you poop, every time you get any type of medical thing, you get a hangnail, they got to make a report? Do we get to have lots of money?
Not necessarily. I mean, a lot of the... has there ever been a president that wasn't rich? They all start off not rich, but by the time they're done with the presidency, they end up rich.
It's not a high paying gig. Yeah. And you still pay for all your food. Dude, isn't that odd?
Does that make you wonder? Yeah, it's like 80 grand or something, isn't it? Isn't that crazy? What?
No, it's like 400k a year. Oh, really? That's not bad. Yeah.
I mean, not for all the stress and aggravation, but it's still 4,000. They make way more money than that. How else do they make money? It seems illegal if they make money in other ways.
I mean, I don't know. Alleged. Allegedly ways of making money. Through sorts of, through all types of things, I guess.
Through donations. Various donations. You know, he sees a dollar on the floor, he picks it up, and just things happen. Lobbyists.
Oh, that's alleged. President Trump underwent advanced imaging on his abdomen and cardiovascular system for preventative reasons. Do you think he gets better medical service than we do? I mean, he has access to better machines and stuff, like there's certain machines that only the president uses?
No, but he is the president of the United States of America. Yes, I understand that. So he has access to the best of the best? Whatever it is.
Absolutely. You don't think there's machines that we don't know about that they use on him? No. Really?
No. Uh-oh. I think that we would know about them. We don't know about the aliens in Area 54.
They announced the aliens. Yeah, but that was just so we wouldn't look. Aliens, look over here. So you don't look at what the government's doing over here.
And then we stopped talking about the aliens. Right. Yeah. All right.
The White House said Monday, one day after, the President told reporters that he had no idea what body part his MRI covered during his October physical at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. How could he not know? I guess they gave him the whole scheme. Yeah, I guess, you know, like, that's very possible.
I couldn't tell you what I had for breakfast, you know, like. You want to hang out with my mom? It was a muffin. She doesn't know what she had for breakfast either.
Yeah, well, she doesn't know anything, though, at this point. No. She thinks that you're trying to see. Until the doctor asked her a question, then she's just sharp as a task.
She rolls it all out. Yep. The president said Sunday that the MRI conducted in October wasn't for his brain and the results were perfect. It was the best.
It was the best MRI results you could get. It was the greatest. Everybody wants these. It's the best one.
It's the greatest brain. The biggest brain. The biggest brain. The most beautiful brain.
The big, beautiful brain. Exactly. Although he didn't know what they covered. No idea it was just an MRI, Mr.
Trump said Sunday when asked about what part of the body was the test covered. What part of the body? It wasn't the brain because I took a cognitive test and I aced it. He also said Sunday he would release the results from his MRI as part of President Donald J.
Trump's comprehensive executive physical. Advanced imaging was performed because men in his age group benefit from a thorough evaluation of cardiovascular and abdominal health. Reads a letter dated December 1st from Sean Barbabella, Barbabella, physician to the president. The purpose of this imaging is preventative, to identify issues early, confirm overall health, and ensure he maintains long-term vitality and function.
Barb Abella said the president's cardiovascular imaging is perfectly normal, and his abdomen imaging is also perfectly normal. Okay, so why do we have to know all this? That's the point, that's what I was trying to say at the beginning. I mean, everything that happens to this man, well, we want to know if something's wrong, so they got to tell us everything that's right.
you know i don't let me know when when the when the wheels fall off you know what i mean like i don't need by then it might be too late i don't need it i don't need the the check engine going through and everything's fine you know like oh everything's humming along everything's good it just seems obnoxious to me you know doesn't seem obnoxious to you uh well no i mean i'd like i mean if let's say well are you just going to assume everything's normal then if they don't They say everything's normal? Yeah, I just don't care. That's how they hide things. Yeah, but I don't really care, you know?
You don't care if something's wrong with the president? They were gonna hide stuff regardless. Do you honestly think you're gonna get the truth either way? No, but it just makes people that believe this feel good, though.
Oh, it's fine, he's fine, he's perfectly fine. On with getting his own county in Florida. As the 68th president. As the 68th president of the United States, yes.
Okay. Mr. Trump underwent a physical examination in October. I'm just going to flip through this.
All right, that was the end of it now. Now on to ACHP Sports. Boots, take the sports. Bing bong.
Bing bong. Bing bong. Well, the moneymakers did place a wager. Yes.
And they announced it on today's show. Yeah, you know, but unfortunately, it was last night. It was yesterday's show, yeah, yesterday's show. But the way that it was released, it was released after the game had happened.
So, just to let everybody know, that the bet did work. He was correct. Which, was that the magic one? No, he took the...
Pat's minus seven. Oh, and he won? And won. Well, there was a magic game last night, too.
But that's not the one he bet on, so they're playing back to back? The magic game is going to be tonight's bet. Oh. Yeah, so, money makers did make something.
They were right this time around. But we do not endorse or support their gambling habit. That's correct. Okay, continue.
ESPN enters the sports betting world. ESPN will launch ESPN Bet in 17 states today, hoping to break through the already crowded sports betting market. And partner, Penn Entertainment, will pay ESPN $2 billion in cash and stock over the next 10 years He decided to slap ESPN branding on its online and brick-and-mortar operations, previously known as Barstools Sportsbook. Oh, Barstools.
That's a big deal. Barstools is now tied into ESPN. Now it is ESPN Bet. Well, Dave Portnoy is constantly betting and gambling on all this stuff anyway, so he's a great poster child for the whole thing.
Penn ended a similar agreement with Barstools Sports to team up with ESPN and looks to be chasing its losses. The company left its Barstool partnership $923 million in the hole. Oh, so they cut ties to Barstool, now they're going to ESPN. Barstool is still over here by itself.
Oh, really? This Penn guy lost $923 million. Well, they originally bought it, I believe. I could be wrong here, but I believe that it was originally acquired.
Yes. For that, I guess that amount, $923 million, and then it was sold back to Dave Porter for a dollar. Oh. So, it was a complete loss in that scenario, but now it sounds like they're tying everything together via the betting.
Well, it's going to ESPN. Barstool is still by itself. It's not exactly what you just said, but okay. Penn ended a similar agreement with Barstool Sports to team up with ESPN.
Okay. All right. I'm not gonna argue with you. According to information filed with the Securities Exchange Commission, what could make this partnership profitable?
when it comes to market share over the past 12 months it's fan duel 36 percent draft kings 33 percent and everyone else espn bet is acquiring barstool's three percent share believing it can flourish even though fox bet the sports betting venture of another tv network and other sports books closed up shop recently oh why did that happen uh i don't know i think that you know like your hard rocks and some of these other ones have really been taken over by via surge you know um It's hard to say. It's a great industry. You know, it's so much where I believe that they're rigging everything. So, you know, yeah.
I mean, whatever. More ways. More betting. More taking money from poor people.
ESPN and Penn outline how they think ESPN Bet can become the worldwide leader in sports betting content integration. It started last night with the Monday Night Countdown pregame show and will likely never end. Oh, so they're using on the network to push the betting. Yeah, I'm sure there's going to be like links on your computer or on your phone.
Bet now, right? ESPN has 20 million fantasy sports users who could be converted into sports bettors. Oof. I don't think all of them, but yeah, you're definitely gonna get some of them.
When sports betting became legal in 2018, it felt like there was no escaping sports book commercials. ESPN could deploy that strategy again. Yeah. None of this is good, by the way.
ESPN has taken measures to avoid shenanigans by forbidding its insiders to bet on sports they cover or appearing on the network's daily gambling show. Oh, they're going to do a gambling show. Good luck regulating that. Yeah.
Right, just have somebody do it for them. Yeah, I mean, you know. It's all the ways wrong. Among the many rules for its 5,000 employees, no betting on draft picks, which could be a direct response to the Athletic Insider and FanDuel partner shams.
Ah, Mikey, do you have a video for us today? I have no video today. All right, thank you. Back to me.
Now on to some cigar news. How about you, Boots? Do you have a video? No, I don't have a video, bing bong.
I'll do that moving forward. Moving forward, if you want to talk to Boots, I'll put it on you and then I'll... Thank you. Gellis Family Cigars, Absolutos Lonsdale, heads to Stogie World Class Cigars.
Who now? What? The what? The who?
Gellis Family, they make cigars. Okay. They are sending a cigar called the Absolutos Lonsdale. Okay.
It is heading over to Stogie World Class Cigars. Got it. Okay, got it. Stogie's World Class Cigars, I guess if I put the inflection on the other word.
Stogie's World Class Cigars. Right. On Thursday, December 4th, a new Vitola for the Gellis Family Cigars Absolutos line will go on sale. Why do they call it Absolutos?
Why do they just call it Absolutos? Well, maybe they can't because of the alcohol. El Noo, you smoke 'o. Put on your seatbelts.
The Gellis Family Cigars Absolutos Lonsdale is a 6 1/2 by 42 Lonsdale. Well, that's good because it's in the name. Yeah, that's good. The third Vitola for the line.
It's a Robusto. It's a Robusto, yeah. 5x46 Corona Gorda. There you go.
The third Vitola for the line, this time is exclusive for Stogie's World Class Cigars. There we go. Absolutos, which was introduced earlier this year in two regular production Vitolas, is a Nicaraguan Puro, using tobacco from Condega Esteli, Jalapa, and Umentempe. The line is made at Nicaragua American Cigars SA and Esteli.
Each cigar is an MSRP of Mike Lonsdale, $14. 50. Ooh, got it. And production is limited to 150 boxes of 14 cigars.
That's not a lot. Jorge, Jorge, Jorge? No, it's Jorge. Jorge.
And in a team at Stogie's World Class have been long-time friends of ours and absolutely amazing retail partners for not only to get his family, cigars, but also Warped. Got a weird red end of sentence. Warped? That's what it says.
Crafting this for Jorge and his customers was a privilege, said Kyle Gillis, founder of Gillis Family Cigars. Oh, it's Warped Cigars. Well, yeah. Got it.
But they call it Absolutos. It's a cigar show. Is it? Yes.
Okay. So, just a recap here. Yes. Kyle Gillis, owner of Warped Cigars, now has Gillis Family Yada Yada, and then Gillis Family Yada Yada is releasing the Absolutos Lonsdale.
Lonsdale. Which is a Lonsdale. For Stogie's. World-class.
In Houston, Texas. Yes. Okay. All caught up?
I think so. All right. The person is also the founder of Warped Cigars. While the two brands are considered separate, Gale's Family Cigars is distributed by Warped.
So they're not really separate. It's a dome within the dome. Right. It's a thing that has a thing.
What do you think, Boots? I like a cigar, but, you know, Lawnsdale is kind of small and tight and blah, blah, bing, bong. All right, the final, thank God, the final, uh, Ellie, Ellie Blue Root 66 humidor heads to stores. Oh, no, the final one?
They finally, yeah, they're finally, do you think they're gonna have another one by the end of the year? Yes. So they have the Root 66 humidors, they have some horse ones, they have some blue ones, they have some yellow ones. Root 67.
Okay, third. Ellie Blue makes humidors in a variety of shapes, sizes, and series. Yes, we have covered all of them in the last three days. Mm-hmm.
One of those series, a tribute to the famed Route 66, is coming to an end this year. Oh, thank goodness. It will go out on a full moon. Okay.
Last week, Rans International shipped the final Route 66 humidor model, the Route 66 full moon night humidor, 110 count humidor. It measures... we don't really care. Oh, so this one's called the Full Moon.
This one's called the Route 66 Full Moon. And it's going to be released on a full moon? On a full moon. Okay.
All this sounds very exciting. Yes. It's a common size for a French humidor company. It comes with two humidifiers, one hydrometer, and two removal dividers.
This humidor has a few Easter eggs. The retro neon sign says LE blue, and the side has a mock license plate. How's that an Easter egg? Yeah, that's why I don't get the easter egg part of that.
Okay. Maybe it's hidden. Maybe it's an Ellie Blue license plate. Will it drive away when I'm not paying attention to it?
That'd be a great easter egg. Well, at this price, let's hope not. Okay. Each humidor is priced at...
$4,500. $6,400. How am I so off on this? You know, like I shoot...
You don't have any idea about accessories, apparently. I know, but like I try and shoot the moon, you know, I go up as high as I possibly can, and it's still... Never enough. I wasn't even close.
$4,500? They're like, that'll get you the fucking dividers. That's for the dividers. You know?
But you want the fake license plate, too? You want the Easter eggs? Yeah. Why is it $6,500?
The Easter eggs. Easter eggs. Easter eggs. A lot of Easter eggs.
And it's got a hydrometer thingy. It's got a hydrometer. Production is limited to how many things they made. You wait.
Before you answer, use your head. I know. It's low. Oh, man.
Is it high? 300? 66. That's what I was going to say, but then you did like a, and you kind of threw me through that.
I didn't look up. I was just closing my eyes. I was going to say 66. 66 numbered humidor.
You get one through 66. This is terrible. The number of the unit is shown on the retro gas pump. I quit the show.
I'm done. This is where I storm out. Where you storm out and rage bait. Yeah.
Oh, they also, the numbers on the gas pump, I guess where it ticks, you know, shows how much money you owe. Yeah. So, number one has a one, then a two, then a three. It doesn't have like a $6,500?
No, it should, shouldn't it? Okay. All right, this will conclude the Route 66 series, which has seen release of multiple different humidors that have depicted the famous highway. This particular scene has been used for a few different humidors shown at different times of the day, as well as the motorcycle-themed humidor.
It was a motorcycle-themed humidor. It was also a Route 66-themed ashtray. Okay. Why do you think they finally decided, look, this is enough?
I think that they've probably beaten the dead horse and they're moving on, you know? It's $6,400. I'd keep going. You think, why didn't they charge $6,600?
Well, let's not be unreasonable. What's an extra 200-month rent? It's a humidor. Uh, okay.
Okay. Uh, whatever. Hmm. But I mean, when they're sitting there and they're starting to go to the house, I mean, when they're sitting there and they're starting to design this and they're going, you know what, 16, I think we could make 16 out of this theme.
Let's go with 16. I think that's a good number. Well, I mean, it's always been low production, apparently, if they're making 66 of them. I'm sure that all of them are low numbers.
That raises the price. Yeah, I get that. But my point is that, you know, after a while, like, even at that price point, it's 6,500 bucks, you only sold 66 of them. You probably, you know, a couple people probably got them for free, maybe the CEO or whatever, you know.
Yeah, people, somebody who's part of the company, but they're, you know, they're probably kept on display or whatever. Well, that's probably number 67. No, no, no, no. No, it's not the way it works?
No, it's just capped at 66 and they take one. So, you know, yeah, I think eventually you got to kind of move on and create something new. That's the forever challenge of this industry, right? Right.
I do have something to talk about. Oh, please. Did you watch How About That Cigar last night? You know, I forgot it was on, and when I came in halfway, I figured I missed all the good stuff.
So no, I didn't. Okay. I watched the whole thing. It was three hours long.
Oh, my Lord. It was three hours long. Fred Rue was on. I saw the part I did see.
Fred Rue was talking about how the people who came before everybody else deserves more respect. Oh, like the ones that got you there. He's talking about brand owners, manufacturers, stuff like that. Right.
I mean, maybe to some degree. I think that that's a fair statement. Sure. There was like, there were like casual undertones of comments about people that were, you know, that it'll be like flash in the pan for media, 15 minutes or whatever, right?
I don't, I don't think they were talking about us, it's possible, but that was Eric Gooders, Jim Jim Jim. Ah, yeah, him and Coop would probably be the only two I could see that would say something like that about us. Well, Coop didn't really say anything. - No?
- No, he didn't really, I thought that for sure, maybe he did, maybe it was like undertones, but like what was really kind of crazy is that we weren't really mentioned at all, I mean, McTavish, shout out to John McTavish, he mentioned us in Powstanie, but when they kind of covered interviews and all this other stuff, they didn't talk about any of our interviews or anything like that, you know, and I'm like, maybe they're, maybe, you know, so then I insisted on that. They start to reflect, I'm like, okay, well, maybe your interviews do suck, maybe they weren't, maybe they're not good, they're good, I'm like, but, but I've had people reach out to me and say, hey, that was a fantastic, including Matt Tai. So I'm like, okay, but they, but they mentioned Bears, Bears interviews are usually very good. Was he part of the panel?
No, he was not part of the panel. So that was also made me consider like, well, maybe they just, they, maybe some of the people on the panel are intentionally not mentioning us. Oh, I'm sure. I mean, that's so shitty.
Yeah, well, I mean, we know Dojo doesn't like us, and everyone asks us to be on the show. Oh, we think Dojo doesn't like us. We can't, we can't, we can't, we can't prove any of this. We can't prove that Dojo doesn't like us.
No. But they never invited, they have never invited us back on the show. Yeah. Well, and they're very close with Coop.
Right. So, I guess that would make sense. So, and we know he doesn't like us. Yeah.
Even though he won't come out and say it in public, he likes to say it behind. In, to other people. Closed door, yeah, I like to mention stuff to other people. Yeah, so, that's interesting, man, you know.
How could we be a flash in the pan after going on eight years now? It's an awful big flash. Yeah, and then, you know, it's really funny, as I hear you rattle off 400 and something, yada yada. Right, 421 shows, we just, this is.
So, yeah, maybe, I don't think that, I can't imagine that that's referencing us. No. Yeah. We have, at this time, I think we have more shows than Dojo does.
I was kind of surprised that we weren't, like, you'd think that Fred would have said something, or, you know, I don't know. It's kind of like we've become the one, nobody wants people to know that you're friends with us. " Well, it's Booth. He's a different type of guy.
He doesn't care. He'll talk about pooping himself. Yeah, but at least he's authentic. Well, no, I'm not saying he's not.
I mean, from what he said was totally genuine in regards to us. But he doesn't care if somebody knows that he's friends with us, but some of those guys do. Raul didn't even ring us up at all, either? Uh, Raul did a little bit.
Raul did through a casual jab. Yeah? Oh, a jab. " Oh.
Um, but, yeah, I, uh, you know, I was kind of surprised. I was, I was kind of surprised. Uh, you know, like, if you're gonna, like, if it's the future of the media, If you have problems with specific things that are in the media, like they mentioned, but they never said, "I don't like what this guy's doing and this is why he's bad for media, I don't like what this guy's doing," like they didn't do any of that, which I thought was kind of odd. I thought they should have done that, you know?
So what were they talking about that was bad? Did they talk about anything that was bad? Just nothing specific? No, it was kind of weird.
Like they talked about specific things that they, specific people that they thought were bad for the industry, but they didn't specify exactly who it was. And then they kind of went back and said- Wait, wait, wait, wait, back a minute. They talked about people that were bad in the industry but didn't say who those people were? Correct.
Okay. And then they, but then they said, you know, like, social media influencers and all these other things are important and good for the industry. Oh, that's a change. It's all a necessity.
Well, that's how Eric felt that all of it would be good for promoting. So I was like, okay, so like, do we hate them? Do we not like- Yeah, I thought we didn't like social influencers. Like, if you could specify for me exactly which ones you felt are wrong or inappropriate, you know, that would have been way better, more helpful for me.
So, but yeah, so, but I was privately messaging people and then I started messaging in the thing and, you know, Coop would not engage with me at all. No. Well, it depends on how you are watching it when you're on, if you can see the comments or not. Justin's my friend.
I made the screen numerous times. Weird. Interesting stuff. So the guys have one more show next week?
There's one more. How about that cigar I left and then it's done. I saw that, who's the guy in charge of the PCA? I can't think of his name.
Joshua Hbersky. Joshua Hbersky has been named Guardian of Tobacco. Yeah, he was awarded. Who gave him that?
Some restaurant. Some restaurant said you ordered the guardian of the tobacco. That's what he tagged in it, yeah. So I looked up, you know, is there a, you know, who the other guardian of tobacco people were.
Yeah. Well, the CRA doesn't, does the official guardian of the tobacco, and there's a dozen or so people that they've picked over the years. But, it's just some restaurant, as far as I know, that decided he's... Sorry, Josh, well, this is real, or did you just leave a big tip?
I don't, I don't know. Hold on. I'll be right back. Hold on.
Let me print this for you. Yeah. We'll get this Indy back. Be right back.
Hold on. You're a guardian of the tobacco. Right. It's some restaurant over in France or something.
Oh, it's not even in the US? No, I don't think it was. Maybe it was just a French restaurant here. I don't know.
I'll go back and look. We don't fact check. No, we don't fact check. We're not that interested in just, you know, casual conversation between two guys sitting in front of cameras.
Yeah, there you go. Where we spend 80% of our life flashing in the pan. That's it. I don't, again, I don't think that it was a reference to us.
It can't be a seven years, I mean, that's a hell of a flesh. Yeah. Yeah. Okay.
All right, moving on. Continuing forward. Hooten Young announces the launch of the Cigar Operations Club. Oh.
Now this just came out on the first, and some print publications had picked it up, but I did not see it on the half wheel. So Hooten Young announces the launch of the Cigar Operations Club, a bi-monthly cigar experience created for enthusiasts. The Cigar Operations Club, which goes live November 28th, Black Friday, delivers a curated selection of premium cigars every two months, featuring club exclusives, small batch releases, limited editions, and specialty blends crafted solely for members. So they're doing a Hooten Young Cigar of the Month Club, it sounds like.
Yeah, it sounds like they've gone direct-to-consumer. Yes. Do you think that's good or bad for the brand, longevity-wise? The longevity are probably bad.
Okay, why do you think that it's bad? I don't know. I mean, this is kind of a good idea, I guess, because now they're going to get their cigars to people, but the shops aren't going to want to buy it if they're shipping them direct. That would be the bad part, I guess.
Yeah. This could go either way. Right. I mean, if this goes really well, and they add more people, add more people, add more people, then they have a, you know, then they're selling their cigars themselves and making more money.
Right. But if it doesn't, it's going to be hard to get a shop to pick it up when they're, you know, made, well, nobody's buying mine because you're mailing them to them every two weeks or whatever it is. I mean, they could protect their prices, I guess, and it's not a deep discount. I guess, yeah.
All right, there's three tiers of membership. There's the Recruit Officer, Commander, Officer and Commander, sorry, Program offers a structured and international journey of cigar lovers at every level. A new standard in cigar membership experiences, the Cigar Operations Club provides enthusiasts with guided discovery, expanded education, and exclusive access to Hooten Young's most unique creations. Members receive tasty notes, pairing recommendations, curated insights, specialty perks throughout the year.
In conjunction with the club launch, Hooten Young will just will debut the bi-monthly Fireside Live show hosted on YouTube and the dedicated Cigar Operations Facebook page. Ah, oh my goodness, they have a Facebook page? Well, they're going to be doing a bi-monthly video show. Bi-monthly, so once, twice, twice a month, twice a month, okay.
These episodes will take members behind the scenes featuring deep dives into each limited edition club cigar, production stories, and heritage insights, so it's not a live, not a live show. No. Guest interviews from industry experts, veterans, artisans, and Hooten Young partners. Early looks at upcoming drops in special events, announcements, membership tiers.
We don't really need all this, do we? But you don't know the pricing on the tiers. Um, hold on. Tell me.
I must know. Tell me. I'm trying to get the price. Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up.
No price, no prices. But they do get that lovely coin that John has been, Mr. Carney's been. You get the coin?
You get the coin? Yeah, that Carson and John Carney's been showing. I'm working on a bear coin. Is this the one Greg's working on?
Well, I talked to Greg. Oh, you took over? I talked to Greg and I told them my concept. And I think it's a good concept.
I think it'll be really cool. I'm excited. So we'll see what happens, how it develops. There's a lot of special gifts for the first 500 members.
You get a coin. No pricing, though. No. How fast do you think he hits 500 customers?
Well, the first 500 to enroll will receive two exclusive collectible items that will never be reproduced. Yeah, but that doesn't answer the question. How fast do you think he closes out 500? 500?
Yeah. I don't know. Is the brand that hot right now? No, but there's definitely some notoriety with it.
There is, with the Houghton thing and the Houghton thing. You know what they need? They need a re-release of the movie. That would be a big help for them if they can get the production company to re-release the movie.
What, like put it out in movie theaters again? Yeah. I don't think that that's going to happen. No, it's not going to happen.
It's not going to happen. I don't think it was that big a success the first time around. The first time around. It was pretty popular.
It was. I mean, I'm sure it made money. Yeah. But, you know, maybe not enough to re-release.
Okay. Yeah, I don't think it's going to be re-released. But I don't know how fast it closed out of 500. It, you know...
I don't either. Maybe a couple hundred. I mean, I'd like to be wrong, but I don't... Right.
There's like five levels of this thing. And I'm sure they go up because they all have additional things as you go higher and higher. Right. Okay.
This is a disciplined cadence of cigar discovery, says Norm Hooten. It connects our members not only to exceptional cigars, but also to the history, purpose, and craftsmanship that defines Hooten Young. com. Very exciting stuff.
And we'd like to announce our... No, I'm just kidding. I wonder if a certain tier you get to ride on the plane. It's tier seven.
There's only three tiers. Yeah, there's four secret tiers. And Tears. Oh.
Yeah. Wow. Yeah. Boots is gonna go for Tier 7.
Oh, I'm sure he will. With all that cigar money. I like Boots playing. That's what he did.
Yeah. Thanks, Boots. Appreciate that. Thanks, Boots.
Appreciate you clamoring in there, buddy. A bing bong. C. Newman's restoring Ybor City Sanchez Haya Hotel building.
Okay. Cigar industry... Well, I don't need to read it. C.
Newman Cigar Company cut the ribbon on the final stage of restoration for the historic Sanchez-Haya building. The building will include a hotel and a gift shop. It is expected to open in November 2026. More than a century ago, the building served as a hotel for cigar workers who were visiting Tampa.
C. Newman Cigar Company is leading its resurgence to reclaim its past. Christian Klein is the great-great-grandson of Serafin Sanchez, the man whose name adorns the front of the building and more than a century after it was built. This all had to be done by hand by a lot of people, Klein said.
During an interview on Tuesday, a lot of love went into the building. Serafin Sanchez was the namesake of the Sanchez-Haya Real Estate Company. They spearheaded the hotel in 1910, which was often used by workers at the cigar factory across the street. So you'd think it probably wasn't that nice then back then.
It was probably nice for what it was back then, maybe. It was probably decent, at least. Cigar factory workers were the only people staying there? I guess.
And family visiting the cigar factory workers. I guess. I mean, look, that ain't the fucking Ritz, you know what I'm talking about? Right.
You know, but whatever. C. Newman? Sure, they're trying to rebuild that little area of Tampa?
Yeah, it sounds like they're just trying to acquire more assets and really kind of develop. I think that that's smart. It would be a moneymaker, you think, people that come in, because there's only one hotel on that street, it's Hampton Inn. It's not really...
It's a Hampton Inn? Yeah, there used to be. I don't know if it still is, but there used to be a Hampton Inn. C.
Newman be providing waffles as well, like Hampton Inn does? I don't know. Let's read on and see. Okay, let's see if there's waffles.
When I came by and saw it, and you actually see the name on the front marquee, that's important, Klein said. So, he never saw it again, before? I don't know. C.
Newman Cigar Company owns the factory now. C. " Nobody else would do it. Or could do it.
I wonder how much it costs. Did they buy it or they had to have bought it? They had to have bought it. C.
Newman Cigar Company broke ground Tuesday on the final phase of restoration, which will take another year. Our only goal is for this project to bring the Sanchez Haya building back to life so that it looks and feels and smells just like it did when it opened 115 years ago. Well, let's hope it doesn't smell the same. You want an updated scent.
Yeah, no air, there was no air conditioning. And I want to know if there's going to be waffles. You think they're going to put air conditioning in? It's got to have no air.
It probably has central air. From 1910? No, it doesn't. I'm sure that at some point it didn't close down in 1910.
No, but I don't know. Boots, when did air conditioning become a thing? I like air. Air cold and making me not sweat, so I like air.
Oh. Yeah, thanks, Boots. Doesn't help at all, but thank you for your input. No problem.
Boots. He was very wise. " What? Hold on, lay back up here.
" So this is the board that says that's an old building we need to save. We need to save that. Here's $600,000. Right.
And then $5 million from the Tampa CRA, that's Cigar Rights of America. I don't know. They had $5 million to throw away on a building? That's wild.
$5 million. The $18 million project was helped along with 1,400 bags of concrete. So $18 million to restore this building. Okay, that sounds, yeah, I would assume that's probably accurate.
You think $18 million could be better spent to help save the cigar industry? No, we got to preserve the hotel room. Think about the waffles. The fact that they're using it for what it was meant to be used for, I think that's why it's significant, Klein said.
Don't use it at the hotel, because they need the hotel, we think it should be a hotel. The building would include a hotel and gift shop, but expected to open in November 2026. They keep stressing that gift shop, must be a hell of a gift shop. Maybe full of LE blue humidors.
Oh, there's 66, Route 66 now available at the... Full moon. Yeah, full moon. And there's 66 of them, so...
$6,300. So it's gonna open this time next year. We should go stay there. And like, yeah?
Take the wives. Both get a room. We're not sharing a room. What do you mean?
Why wouldn't we share a room? Why wouldn't we? Yeah. I hit the wrong button that time.
Because there will be four of us. But take the wives. One bed. One bed.
Gotcha. Yes. All right, now here's Palmer with What's the Score? All right.
See, that was, we had intended a guest host, but it didn't happen. No, we did not, yes, but we're going to continue, we are committed to doing every day. Every day, no matter how bad it is. I don't, I think this one's okay.
Yeah, this was okay, it's not a bad show. It was a decent show. How long was it? You're rolling at about 42 minutes, it's a little light, but it's still a show.
Well, there's a What's the Score that would have eaten up. Yeah. 15 minutes. Okay.
All right, so this has been episode 421 of the Cigar Hustler Podcast. What's the score? I didn't do it because we didn't have a person. Give me the what's the score.
All right, I put it on here because I figured I would have to do what's the score. Okay, yeah, it's just me versus me. I want to see if I guess it. You versus you.
I got an order. Yeah. Let's go. The pressure is a privilege.
The pressure is a privilege. All right. I'm on my glasses. August 21st, 2025, Patrick Lagrid Cigars, Crown Heads, Nicaraguan Reviews, the Crown Heads Broadway Epicure.
Okay, I think that this one's gonna do well. I'm gonna go, I'm gonna start 90 off the rip. A. is the factory, Rappers, USA, Connecticut, Broadleaf.
Got to get Broadleaf. Binder is Nicaraguan Jalapa. Filler, Nicaraguan, Esteli, Jalapa, and Omontempe. 5 by 56.
75 for the cigar, and they smoked three. It's a bigger gauge. It's a 56. I'm going to slide slightly down to 89.
Alright, clue number one. The first third delivers a remarkably engaging experience, opening with a hearty profile, full of pepper, toasted whole grain bread, and just a touch of chilly heat that adds complexity, without overwhelming the senses. The retrohale is especially noteworthy, full of pepper, and vibrant yet somewhat never sharp, creating an energetic start that sets a compelling tone for the rest of the cigar. Okay.
All right. Boots, what do you have? Uh, I like cigar, uh, big cigar, good, uh, 92. Oh, good.
That's a big number. Excellent vote. That's a big number, Boots. Um, I think I'm going to stick 89 for right now.
89. Yeah. All right. Clue number two, despite the cigars looking beautifully rolled and draw and burn consistently, it becomes a real issue as the smoke progresses.
Two of the three samples experienced noticeable combustion problems that require intervention, and while the cigars don't feel damp, they seem potentially overfilled. These repeated interruptions, touch-ups, re-lights, and uneven burn lines disrupt the rhythm of the smoke and take away from what could have been a more seamless experience. That's tough. Boots, what do you have?
Uh, draw never affect anything on half wheel ever, so, uh, tastes good, 96. Okay, I'm on 96, alright, um, I, you know, I, you know, I, you know, I, I, I tell you, I disagree with you on that, buddy, um, I think that the draw is going to be a major problem here, and because of that, I'm going to drop it down to an 86, so you got a 90, what are you, 90, he's a 96. 96? You're at 86.
96 and an 86. Quite the gap there. 96, huh? Let's see if this third clue will close the gap.
Yeah, 96, yeah. I like peanut butter cup. Okay, all right. We'll get you a peanut butter cup.
In the middle third, the profile shows impressive nuances shifting from its earlier pepper-forward intensity to reveal an intriguing chocolate-covered cherry note before settling into a balanced interplay of earthiness, light sweetness, and a surprising return of creaminess. This back-and-forth evolution keeps the cigar engaging, and when paired with an enjoyable retrohale that offers a quick burst of bright pepper before fading, clearly the cigar showcases a dynamic and well-rounded flavored journey. Now, there is no final thought on this one, so that is the last clue. Okay, Boots, what do you have?
Sound tasty. I like tasty, peanut butter cup, bing bong. I go, I'm gonna go 99. 99?
Wow, dude. That's incredible. You must really like the cigar. Yeah, I buy lots of, lots of cigar.
I buy lots. I like cigar and peanut butter cup, bing bong. Okay, buddy. All right, man.
Whatever you say. So what was he at? All I heard was peanut butter cup. He said 99.
99. Oh, wow. Look at that. Yeah, 99.
Very good. Wow. Almost perfect. Bing bong.
Great cigar. It's a great cigar. Okay, 99. All right, buddy.
It sounds like he liked it, but I think that there's going to be some serious penalties on the cigar because of the draw issues and the relighting. And the relighting, so I think I'm going to stick at 86. All right, the score, the winning score is 88. Okay, I was close.
You were close, a lot closer than Mr. 99 over there. Oh, 99, I win, I win, yay, closer to 86 than 84, yay. No, buddy, that's not how it works.
That's not how it works. He's two away, you're 22 away. Oh, bing bong, sad bing bong. Sad ping-pong.
Okay, buddy. All right. Big surprise. I win again.
Right. Big surprise. Even today. Yeah.
Wow. He was so in his game earlier, too. Yeah. Remarkable.
All right. Anything else? No, that's all I got. All right.
Well, this concludes episode 421 of the Cigar Hustler podcast every day of the week. Make sure you like and subscribe. Subscribe. com.
Thank you. All right. Bye. Bye.
Show Notes
On today’s show: Oxford unveils its brand-new Word of the Year, and the White House releases fresh details on President Trump’s MRI. In sports, ESPN is pushing its chips in and betting big on a new strategy. In cigar news, Gellis Family Cigars sends the Absolutos Lonsdale to Stogies World Class Cigars, Ellie Blue returns with even more new releases, Hooten Young steps deeper into the Special Operations game, and JC Newman continues restoring Tampa’s cigar legacy.