ACHP Episode 426 What You Need To Know Before Its To Late!

Transcript

m. I'm Mike Palmer, your host, and we don't have boots. Boots is downward. What?

What do you mean? Oh, sorry. And over on the board, we have Boots, I Eat, Gas Station Pizza, Hippelhauser. I poop a lot.

Pushing the buttons. Welcome, Boots. Thank you. Thank you.

Okay, then on today's show, Florida drivers, here's what you need to know before you get pulled over. Australia becomes the first country in the world to outlaw social media. Paramount is all in, and I have called the bets. Over in the cigar world, HBTHBTC, how about that cigar says farewell, Riverside Cigars is celebrating, Drew Estates has a new friend in their nether regions, Vector Humidors is playing peekaboo, Don Emanuel is expanding, and we all, and we wrap it all up with a mini round of what's the score.

But, before we get started, over here on my left, the man who needs no introduction, who has the thickest hair you've ever seen, the biggest muscles of anybody, In the cigar industry, Michael Deadlift Stepankiewicz. Do you want to know how you get some of that swag, or you just wanted to introduce me? Well, I was introducing you, and then after you said, "Hello, Michael," I was going to ask you how we get the swag. Ah, well, hello, Michael.

I mean, we've only done 426 of these. Well, the CHPod swag thing's relatively new. So, Michael, if I was the one to get some of this CHPod swag, how would I get some? You know, that's a great question, Mike.

Thank you so much for asking. Thanks for asking. com and check out our latest apparel. If you buy one, you get the second one 40% off, and if you spend $100 or more, you get free shipping.

We have the Pressure is a Privilege shirt right now. We have a couple of BDP shirts. Do we still have a couple of Blackout Warbear hats, like the ones that we're wearing? Oh, we have hats.

People have been asking for the hats still. Yeah, we got a couple hats right now. But when they're gone, I'm not going to make more of them. That's it.

No. We'll work on the next thing. Next hat. Yes.

com, like and subscribe to wherever you're viewing or watching, and let's go. Real quick question about swag, do these logo things, these rubber things, do they only come in black? You can probably get them in different colors and stuff. Just curious.

Someone mentioned something I thought was a good idea. Okay. All right, now on with the news. Boom.

So back in October, Florida passed one of those big laws that has a bunch of little laws hidden in it. Okay. Oh, they're sneaky, sneaky. They're sneaky, sneaky, yes, yes.

So Florida's new License Plate Crackdown, what you need to know before you get pulled over, just started Monday, Florida just tightened the screws on anything that even slightly gets in the way of your license plate, and the new rules are catching a lot of drivers off guard. 061 got a major update, and it's pretty simple: anything covers, distorts, tints, flips, darkens, or decorates your plate in any way that affects how easily it can be read is not legal. Period. Any frame around your license plate is illegal now.

Any frame. Any frame that covers up any of the wording, so most license plate frames, as I looked today when I was driving around, because everybody has one, covers up the Florida part. So the AI scanner thing that scans you when you run a red light or at the tollbooth or something can't tell what state you're from when it reads your plate. So no more frame?

No more frames, all frames are illegal. And thanks to House Bill 253, that's the one it was part of, 253, the state now has more teeth behind enforcing it using any kind of license plate obscuring device, even something as basic as a frame that overlaps part of your numbers or stickers, Stickers can now be charged as a second degree misdemeanor. Okay. Under the revised law, you can't use anything that interferes with the plate's visibility or readability, including decorative or dealership frames that cover any part of the numbers, stickers, or even the state name.

Clear plastic covers, tinted shields, vinyl wraps, reflective coatings, or any additions that distort or darken the plate are illegal. Flip devices, I don't think, I thought that was already illegal. Yes. Flip devices or plate hiding gadgets, those are bad.

The plate isn't visible exactly as the state issued it. Odds are it's illegal. So here's what happens if they catch you. And they can pull you over for this.

Tell me. It's a second-degree misdemeanor intervention up to 60 days in jail and or a $500 fine. I think they'd probably go the $500 fine route, you know? Well, I don't know if you get to pick.

I don't know how that works. You think it's up to the judgment on the police officer pulls you over? Like, come on, you're coming with us. I don't know.

I haven't had a ticket so long, and I'd never go to court. If I get a ticket, I'd just pay it. You call it a ticket clinic? Well, it depends on what it is, and if I have any points already.

Okay. Is that the way it works? You get to pick one, pay the fine, or go to jail? Or is it up to the officers?

It's probably up to the judge or something like that. They'll probably look at your record and see if there's, you know, previous yadda yaddas. Right, if you've done this before or something. Law enforcement agencies across Florida are already issuing more citations And even plates with harmless frames are getting flagged.

Bottom line, if you've got a frame, cover, or anything mounted around your plate, now's the time to double check it. The state isn't playing around, and that little decorative border might cost you more than you think. I'll be taking mine off. I didn't have a screwdriver all day, but I will be taking mine off toot-sweet.

Okay, so who do you think it hurts the most as far as losing the frames? I think, well, from what I saw today, most of them are dealership type things. So, like, if you buy it at Kia Hyundai or something like that, they put it on your car, and they don't even really tell you they did it. No, why would they?

Right. They're just advertising their dealership. There's only one frame you can have, and that's the one that says you support the Sheriff's Department. Oh, really?

Yeah, because the Sheriff's Department's issued a statement with a picture of their plate, or their frame thing, and because it is cut different, and you can see the word Florida. Oh. Well, let's go get, I support the Sheriff's Department. Why do you, I'd just rather not have one.

I imagine there's a fee, they don't give them away. There's a fee fee? A fee fee for the 5-5 benefit. I'm okay with that.

I mean, okay, so, do you have a problem with this law? Uh, no, the way it came about, yes. Because, I mean, if you haven't heard about it on the radio, or seen it on TV, or one of your neighbors tell you, or you listen to a Cigar Hustle podcast episode 426, you don't know. Okay, you think that they're just gonna go and start enforcing it really hard?

When is it going into effect? Monday, this past Monday it did. Oh, it already went into effect. Yeah, it's going now.

Oh, okay. Monday was the cutoff, or the start date. Well, here we are just helping the citizens of the sunshine state of Florida. Exactly, that is why we carried the story today.

Yeah, okay. " You gotta love the fact that, you know, if you're an asshole. Sure. Yeah.

Right. Don't be an asshole. I've gotten off twice just for being nice. Being nice can go a long way.

Right. You know, you didn't give me any trouble. You answered all my questions. You know what?

Don't do it again. Bye-bye. I love that. I absolutely love that.

That's great. Okay. All right. So, you know, Boots, how do you feel about license plate covers, and are you going to take any off?

My cars don't even have license plate. They just drive around with the metal in the back. So, like, nothing? Nothing at all, but it's?

Yeah, it's fine. No one giving me a hard time. Oh, okay, dude. I might want to get that checked out, buddy.

Big bong to you, buddy. You might want to get that checked out. I'll get it checked out between my diarrhea pulse. That's right.

He's still got the food pointed. Okay, buddy. That he had to go to the hospital for. Okay.

All right. So, moving on. All right. Australia.

This also starts today. A lot going on in the world today. Australia becomes the first country to ban social media for children under 16. Wow.

Australia has introduced a landmark law banning anyone under 16 from using major social media platforms including: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Snapchat, X, Threads, Reddit, Twitch, and Kik! New accounts can't be created and existing profiles are being shut down, making this the first nationwide ban of its kind. And one that other countries are watching closely, now you remember when Facebook, well you might not, but when Facebook started, it was originally a thing for college students, so to get an early account, you just had to lie about your age, I mean I was obviously too old at the time, so I just backdated my thing, just so you know, everybody was talking about it, you said I'm young and spry, I'm young and spry, here we go, I'm 22 years old, or whatever the age was, okay, okay, what's gonna stop them from doing that with this? I don't know, not much.

I mean, it sounds like over-regulation, but Australia is notorious for that at this point, you know? Well, it's a country of criminals, so. But you think that being a country of criminals, that it would be more lawless? Well, there's always the one guy that's in charge.

The one guy that's in charge? You haven't seen the movies? There's always the one, the warden. Like the guy who's running, like, the Thunderdome?

Yes. Okay. So. Master Blaster run Bartertown.

Who run Bartertown? Master Blaster. Master Blaster does not run Bartertown. He made, uh, what was her name say that?

What was her name? Um, what's a guy that, uh, Tina Turner. It was, it was Tina Turner. It was Tina Turner.

I was gonna say, what's the woman that got beat up by Ike? I couldn't remember her name. What was the one that got beat up by Ike? Oh my God, dude.

Um, okay, so. Allegedly. So. If his family's listening.

If you age out, if you become 17 years of age, can you get a TikTok or no? They're just done. No, no, no. It's 16 and under.

When you're 17, you're back in. Okay, so it's just an age restriction on TikTok. Yes. Well, all the Those ones that were mentioned, yeah.

On all social media platforms. All social media platforms, basically. Okay. So, you're saying...

Seems hard to police. Yeah, you're saying that it's gonna be tough to regulate. Yes. Okay.

" I mean, yeah, well, like, what's stopping my son from building an account under my name? Exactly. And then just doing a faceless social media? Right.

Or even using your picture. Yeah. Or Google 18-year-old dark-haired male and then just grab a photo. Or just AI a picture of him.

Oh, yeah, I forgot we have that. Yeah, we forgot about that? Yeah. Yeah, picture of him, what he's gonna look like at 18.

Right. Morph me into an 18-year-old. Fake IDs are so much easier now. Yeah.

It's ridiculous. It's ridiculous. The kind of hard work we had to do before. We had to cut out poster board and make a little hole, you know, and then hold it up and have somebody else take your picture.

Exactly. What was that in Vegas vacation? Papa Gino or whatever his name is? It's been in a bunch of different movies.

Yeah. Okay. Well, dude, look, Australia is a hot mess. I don't know what else to tell you.

This is just another dumb thing. Yeah. It's just something else. I don't think we'll do it.

I mean, are you, I'm not for necessarily a bunch of kids being on social media. No, but I, well, we'll read more into this story here in a minute. I think it's more something the parents should be able to. Right.

I don't think, I don't need the government to step in on this. Right. I mean, you have three kids, any of them on social media at the moment? I'm sure Teddy's not, is he?

Jax is on social media platforms, but it's mainly faceless stuff that he likes. He likes to edit, he likes to do video clips and all this other stuff. Right. So like YouTube and stuff.

Yeah, and I'm not going to deprive him of that, you know. Does he have the age restriction thing on there? Because like sometimes if I'm not even logged in, I can't watch certain videos because it wants me to log in to verify my age. I don't have age restriction on any of his stuff, you know, but I have a different philosophy towards all those things.

I don't necessarily believe in sheltering my kid to that. I mean, I think that he's of the age enough. He doesn't get to go in his room and sit on social media. Right, sure.

When he's on social media, it's in front of us, it's around us, so if I hear something that I think is not okay, I tell him, hey, that's not okay, and here's why, you know? Right. So, but I don't think a lot of people have that same philosophy, they just... Sure, some people just turn them loose.

Yeah, they'll do that, or they'll over-restrict, you know, and is there a right or a wrong way? I don't think that there is, I just think there's just the way that you want to do it. And that kind of brings me back full circle as to why I don't think the government gets to say, ha, this is how it should be. Right.

Didn't they talk about doing that in Florida, too, but it didn't pass? I don't know if you don't know. I seem to remember us doing a story about it. Maybe.

I don't think. I mean, but Florida, bro? I mean... Well, that's why it didn't pass.

The license plate thing is kind of a surprise for me. I'm not mad about it. They snuck that one in on us. Yeah, they slid that in.

The government says the move is meant to protect young people from the harmful design features of social media That push constant screen time and expose them to dangerous content. A government study in 2025 found that 96% of kids aged 10 to 15 were already on social media and many were encountering disturbing material. Misogyny, what is that exactly? Is that the women stuff?

All right, violence, eating disorder content, and even post-encouraging self-harm. Well, you gotta be on top of this stuff. Right, you gotta see what they're doing. You know, like, my kids don't get to touch any of, any tech.

We just call it tech. I don't care if it's the television, I don't care if it's the iPad, I don't care if it's the iPhone, it's just video games, none of that gets to happen until they read 20 minutes a day, right? Minimum. So they know that they don't get to touch any of that.

And they know that we're on, you know, look, no one's gonna be perfect. You're never gonna, you're never going to catch everything. Sure, something's gonna slip through, I was gonna say. Whether it's through government regulation or personal regulation, you're never gonna catch everything.

So all we can do is just our best, man. You do your best, and when you do what you think is right as a parent, and everybody's gonna be different, you know? Right. I think that that's the way to kind of handle things.

I don't need the government to step in. No. Alright, the same research revealed one in seven children experienced grooming behavior and more than half had been cyber-bullied. What exactly is the grooming behavior?

Where they're talking them into coming to see them and stuff? I don't know, maybe. Exactly. I mean, I hear it all the time and I know vaguely what it is, but I don't know how they do it.

What are they doing? Yeah, like you're prepping a kid to... Right. To come meet you after school or something?

Yeah. Like any moment I can look at my kid's stuff and he'll, you know, I will tell you this, I'm very fortunate to have a great relationship. I've had a great relationship with all my kids, especially our oldest, right? I mean, he tells me all the stuff that's going on with his friends, with any platform, and we discuss.

It's like, okay, well, let's talk about it. What do you think I would approve of that, right? He's like, well, no. I'm like, okay, well, why wouldn't I approve of it?

Let him use his brain. Let him think. sure. Why wouldn't I be okay with that?

Well, that helps him too. So when another situation comes up, he's already not programmed is the wrong word, but he's already ready to go. Okay. Dad's not going to like it if I do this.

Well, he's had enough repetitions now and had more experience in life where he can kind of identify this is a problem. Right. Good things, bad things. Like, yeah, exactly.

Not like I can't do this because I'm going to get in trouble, but I shouldn't do this because it's wrong. This is a wrong thing to do. Right. You know, I think that's what we're trying to accomplish.

His TV's already broke, what else can he do? Right, the TV is broke, TV's broke. Hey, I found one on, look, Best Buy, 80 bucks. Still $80.

Money well spent. All right. Not only that, dude, but listen, I could go fix that today. We're hanging tight.

There's gonna be like, there's gotta be at least, you know, three or four solid days of remembering, hey, don't do that. Right. Right? And then we'll get the TV.

Then you get the TV. That's 80 bucks. All right, four, is it a bigger TV or same size? I was actually going to go the other direction and start shrinking them.

He's watching an iPhone on the wall from across the room. I was going to start shrinking them. So this next one's 32 inch. We have a couple small iPads that we have gathered through the years when you get to that size.

I'm going to tell them. If I have to do it again, the next one's going to get even smaller. That's hilarious. For a platform to be included in the ban, it must allow social media interaction between users, enable posting and allow some level of open user-to-user communication.

Based on these criteria, services like YouTube, kids, Google Classroom, and WhatsApp are not included. Kids under 16 will still be able to view most online content that doesn't require an account. Critics say the legislation doesn't go far enough and argue that online gaming platforms such as Roblox and Discord, where minors also interact, should be added to the list. Yeah, I think that shit's way more dangerous.

I hated the gaming when the kids were younger. Yeah, because that's where trouble lurks. I mean, the language was so bad. Not only that, but that's where the creepers are.

Well, yeah, you know, sure. " Paul, Paul, he's his 42-year-old guy that we play games with all the time, but yeah, no, you're not, you're not busy, he's a big Roblox guy, he's a big Roblox guy, right, exactly, not that Paul, I don't know, is this a Paul, poor Paul, poor Paul, poor Paul, I even asked him to come do the show today, he was busy, oh, that's okay, hostile territory, Paramount makes a bid for WBD, uh oh, they have upped the ante, three days after Netflix announced the deal, Paramount is making things messy, Let's see. Leave it to a merger between entertainment companies to have drama. Paramount Skydance launched in all cash.

Guess how much? Okay, before, was it 83? Billion? Yeah, it was 83 billion.

7 billion. Okay, now guess the new offer by Paramount. 92 billion dollars. 108 billion all cash.

That is a flex. That is a massive flex. That is a flex. Oh yeah?

108 cash. Yeah. Like, like, small, small bills. Small bills, non-sequential.

Non-sequential. Not brand new either. We'll have them to you by the end of the day today. 17 silver suitcases.

Where are you located? Yeah, I can have that done. I'll have that brought over. 7 billion.

We're really here to finish-- I thought that's what we said. I thought we said 83. Did we say 82? Whatever it is.

Whatever. We're really, I mean, at this point, you know. 82. What's another billion?

What's another billion at this point? Still not enough. We're really here to finish what we started, Paramount CEO David Ellison told CNBC, referencing the six bids his company made before Netflix's offer was accepted. Oh, they had already bid five other times.

Wow, that's incredible. We'll give you a dollar. Okay, $10. $108 billion, final offer.

Making sure his words were as hostile as the takeover bid itself, Paramount is relying on more money for shareholders and what it sees is a more straightforward path to a green light from regulators to bolster its bid. Paramount's offer is $30 per share in cash and could reportedly go higher. Cash money for the 99 and the 2000. 75 per share in cash and stock.

Ah, we're not even getting cash. Yeah, was I? I want that cold, hard cash. Well, Netflix only wants Warner Brothers streaming and studio businesses.

Paramount wants it all. The path to Hollywood runs through Washington no matter which bid ultimately triumphs. A deal can only close if antitrust regulators sign off. The Netflix deal was already facing scrutiny with President Trump saying Sunday that Netflix's large market share could be a problem.

Paramount is perceived as more likely to get the nod. A nod. That's partly because it lacks Netflix's streaming dominance and partly because of who's involved. Some of Paramount's funding comes from Affinity Partners, an investment firm started by Trump's son-in-law.

Aha! Aha! Alleged that Trump, the plot thickens. Sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, and Qatar have also kicked in $24 billion per.

Jeez. But they and Kushner would forego any board voting rights, which could help push the deal through. Oh, well, of course, of course, we will vote, we'll throw the 24 in, a piece, you know, that's whatever, that's a solid 70, 80 bill, you guys just got to come up with the other 20, there you go, and you know what, we're not gonna say anything, we're not gonna say a word, we're not gonna vote, we'll just be quiet, silent partners, I gotta be, I got news for you, that's gotta be the scariest thing I've ever heard in my life. I mean, like, yeah, you know, you want the 80 billion?

No problem. Yeah, yeah. And no, no, we're not going to get involved. No, we're not going to get involved.

Just money. Okay. Okay. Meanwhile, Ellison is son of Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, an ally of Trump.

Market research Netflix shares dropped more than 3% yesterday, while Paramount shot up 9%. But Paramount's perceived pandering may have had the opposite effect. C. have expressed frustration And the notion that the Justice Department would favor an Ellison family.

Okay, so who do you think should get Warner Brothers? Do you think it should be Netflix? Do you think it should be Paramount? Do they have to go with the highest offer?

Is that the way it works? I don't think you ever have to go with the highest offer. You just go with whoever you want to. Yeah, I don't have to accept.

I'm taking the $108 billion, man. You're still taking the highest offer. Still taking the highest offer, even though I don't have to. Still taking it.

These guys aren't going to talk at all. Remember, they said so right there. Yeah, this guy is $25 billion more. Right.

Yeah. I don't know, that's a lot of billions. Cash. Cash, that's right, cash for money.

That's a whole 'nother seven suitcases. You know what, though? But I would honestly talk with some of the other people who've done interactions with the Saudis. I mean, you know, how does Vince McMahon feel, right, after his sale of the WWE?

There's some other ones, you know, the Live Golf thing. Like, how did all that, like, I would want data from all of these guys, so I can kind of make a decision, you know, am I really giving something up that's worth that much? Does that, does it make sense for me to do it, you know? But I mean, I mean, you're selling it and walking away.

Yeah. I don't care what they do, they can close it. Somebody has to care. Yeah, the people that are buying it, I mean, they're not gonna buy it and close it, that'd be ridiculous.

It's ridiculous. They're just, they have that much money. They're going to just throw $108 billion and flush it down the toilet because he didn't get the DVD of the Knight's Tale that he asked for back in the eighties. No, but here's what I think.

I think that somebody started a company because they believed in something, no matter what it is. All right. Walt Disney, right? Sure.

You know, the Costco guy. I love the CEO, the former CEO. The Costco guy with the hot dogs? Yeah.

He says, you're not raising the damn price on a hot dog. I don't care what you do. Right, you gotta love that guy, you know, so somebody started Warner Brothers, right, and it became the behemoth of what it is, is that person, or is there remnants of that person, whether it's family lineage, or something that's still part of the company, or is it just this corporate thing, you know, if it's just this corporate thing, and they don't really care, you know, then I could see it being sold, and not having an issue with that, but. I think that's the way it's become, I don't think there's anybody from the original, let's just call them the Warner family, that are still involved.

The actual brothers. Oh, that's right, the Warner brothers. Maybe they were actual brothers. They were Warner brothers.

Warner brothers. Yeah, that makes sense. Yeah, I would imagine they're long gone by now. I mean, there might be family involved, but still, I mean.

Yeah. I don't know, I mean. So, I don't know, man. Do we want Saudi Arabia to own everything?

Because that's where it's all going. They're just a partner in the deal. That's not all. I mean, there's guys from Abu Dhabi.

Listen, man. Listen. Qatar, I'm not even sure what that is. None of this, I gotta be honest.

It doesn't, when somebody starts buying everything, I mean, I have some concerns. It's a, it's a movie thing. Not like they're buying, you know, the key to the castle. Uh, that's probably, that's probably next.

You're talking about the, the mouse? Yeah. No, no, no, no. Just the, the castle being America.

Okay, but, okay, so they're not buying the key to the castle, but they're in ties with the current president of the United States, his family. Well, they're already, they're already involved there, I mean, we can't back that up. Like, that can't be, that's not a good thing, you know what I mean? Like, you don't want, you don't want other, other countries having influence on major organizations.

I don't, I don't know, I don't know. Well, I mean, you don't, but it's already there now. I don't think this $108 billion deal, Trump's going to go, woohoo, my son-in-law is rich. I imagine he already is.

Yeah. I don't know, man. I don't know. If somebody sold, if you sold Cigar House, you and Greg sell Cigar House for $108 billion.

Yeah. Are you going to have restrictions on what they have to do with it? No. You're just going to take the money and go?

Yeah. Yeah. $500 billion for you, $500 billion for Greg. You're not wrong.

I'm not really passionate about any of this stuff. Maybe these guys aren't either. You know, like, Dana White had a great example, it was like, hey, he's passionate about his kids, and I'm like, yeah, that makes sense. Right.

You know, I want to be a good dad, that's all I, like, the other stuff isn't as important. Right. Like, okay. You can break TVs every day if you have $500 billion.

Imagine the TVs that I could break on a daily basis. You could just crack them over people's heads. You make me sound like I'm a complete animal. That's, I didn't do that.

I don't think I'm that bad. You're not. Okay. I keep seeing people in cars.

It's freaking me out. All right. All right, now let's enlighten everyone on today's Cigar News. We're switching to Cigar News.

Okay, so before we switch to Cigar News, I don't honestly don't know what the right move here is, whether it's Netflix or Paramount or. Yeah, I mean, people a lot smarter than us are gonna make this decision. Yeah, or it's bought and it's sustained, kept the same where it's at. I mean, because now I also have other concerns with DC and all these other things that are sold with them, who has the rights to them, then theme parks become a mess, like, there's a whole...

They didn't mention DC, did they mention the superheroes? Yeah, you mentioned DC in the previous... Yeah, well, yesterday, I didn't remember hearing the superhero, but I do remember DC. DC is definitely on the board.

DC is all of them, so, right, yeah. I read an article, I mean, you mentioned the Mouser real quickly, I read an article last night that you can get a flight to Japan, go to Disney World Japan, stay in a hotel, and then fly back cheaper than a family of four can go to Disney World in Orlando. I don't know how true that is. It's cheaper over there.

I don't think that that's accurate. I don't know. Sounded pretty accurate when I read it. They raised the price again.

Because they can. Well, I know. Well, they're going to keep going with the price until people stop going, and that's not going to happen. Yeah.

Well, until people feel that there's no more value there. I don't know where that price is going to be. Somebody's going to pay it. I don't know, because if, you know, you drop a ton of cash on this, and you're like, well, was it worth it, you know?

No. Or could we have to, or could we have done this, you know, Bora Bora or something, you know what I mean? I'm like, hmm, okay, all right, now we're into the cigar news. Now we're into the cigar news.

How about that cigar says goodbye with one final episode. After years of bringing cigar fans, the conversations, interviews, and industry moments nobody else could quite capture, how about that cigar has aired its final episode? Did you watch last night? Uh, last night, where was I?

Oh, I went out to dinner. Oh. So, uh. So, no.

I don't know, I got home relatively late. I did turn it on, but there was a guy on. That I don't know who he was. They had a guy from Reds, I think, which is where they were doing the show.

They did the show from a cigar lounge. Okay, and... He was some guy from the... I stopped watching when they brought that guy on.

Okay. Because I didn't know who he was either. So, he was talking. He seemed very nice.

You know, I'm not trying to... Sure. He was some guy from the very, very, very beginning. And, like, he was talking about kind of like the basics of sharing experience and social and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

And he started to get kind of loopy. Like, he would repeat it over and over again. So, I kind of struggled on that aspect, unfortunately. And at that point, I was exhausted.

The first 30 minutes, they talked about us and our show. Oh, really? Yes. Well, Matt Tai is a gentleman and a scholar.

He's an amazing person. Raul's amazing. And Justin's amazing, you know? Yes.

That's awesome. They said nothing but good things. So, Raul asked if Matt thought that maybe they purposely didn't mention us because of our relationship, our current relationship with Coop. Right.

Matt said no, but Raul and Justin, I guess, had talked previously and they said something to the effect where maybe subconsciously they didn't because of that. Right. But we were not intentionally not mentioned. Oh, okay.

That's cool. They have nothing but respect for us. They love the show. They're all fans of our show.

They all watch it all the time. Oh, man, I didn't read into... They just wanted us to know that we weren't being whatever the word would be. They weren't...

We weren't like stricken out of the conversation. Yeah, we weren't stricken out of the conversation on purpose. Yeah, no, you know, yeah, I mean, yeah, I get that. I totally get that.

I don't, but I don't think the other guys, I think the other guys, they don't like to talk about anybody anyways. Right. You know? Well, then on another channel, let's say channel, another show last night, Coop was on, they did their CA 2025 Cigar of the Year pre-show.

With McTavish? With McTavish and some other guy, I don't know who it was, and Hector Alfonso from Espinosa Cigars. Yeah. The best cigars, you can find those at all.

Stop it. Postana is the best cigars. So, we were- You better get that right, right now. Go ahead, tell them, tell them what's the best.

Post on your cigars. Okay. Thank you. No, I lost my train of thought.

A graphic came up on the screen, because I was flipping back and forth, because they were going on at the same time. So I had to ask Cigar Surgeon John McTavish, you know, what exactly was I watching? I didn't even know what list it was. Right.

It was the general data of, let me guess, the general data of all the ratings that Cigar Aficionado has done throughout the year, and how he kind of categorized where the people he suspects was going to land. 6. Got it. So there was about, there's two columns, so maybe 10 to 12 brands.

Okay. Interesting. I saw the graphic, and then I went back, and then I came back, and then they were talking about something else with the graphics still there, so I had to get John to explain to me what it was. I thought maybe these were, I thought this was Coop's List, and these were the brands he didn't like, so he didn't want to list them, something like that, because Luciano was on the list too, and I'm like, well, I can't be right, because he loves him.

This is broken. This is broken. The show that became a Monday night hangout for the entire cigar community wrapped things up with the same authenticity and heart that made it a staple in the first place. In their closing episodes, the guys didn't chase drama or some big emotional spectacle.

Instead, they did what they've always done. They spoke honestly and shared a few laughs and thanked the people who showed up every week or showed up week after week. They highlighted the friendships that formed, the events that shaped the industry, and the crazy ride that turned a simple idea into one of the most respected cigar shows out there. It really was a good show.

It was a good show. I mean, I didn't watch it religiously, but when I did watch it, I enjoyed it. And I enjoyed being a guest on it. That was always fun.

And it sucks to see it go, man. It really does. Yeah, it does. I know.

It's definitely going to leave a hole. It's depressing. Yeah. Damn.

You know? But hey, everything's got to come to an end. You know? Not us.

Not now, at least. But, you know, eventually. Not until I die. No.

Because what are you going to do with Bing Bong? You and Bing Bong? No, I can just put a... See, look, if you were...

Right now, it's on you. Right. " Yeah, but who's gonna do all the work to get all the stories together? AI.

I don't have AI do it. You still gotta have somebody do it. I'll figure that. That sounds like a problem.

I don't even focus on Friday's problem. It's Tuesday. Okay, I didn't mean to talk to you about that. Maybe now is not the right time, but as long as you brought it up.

This is our life. Sure, I know. You always throw me out here to the wolves, and I have no problem with it. I think we have gotten too big to do the that's tomorrow's problem thing.

I think things catch up to us eventually, and we're gonna miss something, or not be able to fix something, or something's gonna become too late. Okay, I can argue either side of that, but give me an example. Well, I don't know, it hasn't happened yet. Yeah, that's exactly my point.

Doesn't mean it's not going to. The only way that I'm kicking the can on something, and I'm saying that that's tomorrow's problem, It's because there are more urgent pressing things that I have to deal with. " Well, no, I'm not saying we're doing that. You know what I'm saying?

I understand there's always something going on here, but trust me, I completely understand that. Yeah. So, realistically, what happens is when an ongoing problem occurs and it isn't fixed in enough time, and it isn't fixed efficiently, You start to look for a new staff member that can alleviate some of that pressure, right? Like, okay, we have identified this is an ongoing problem, right, and we've tried to fix it, and we've come to the conclusion that the only way we can fix it is that it becomes someone else's issue and that they address it constantly, right?

So that's how you fix a problem that continues to go forward. But you have to consider, you have to remember, man, there are podcast problems, there are wholesale problems, there are retail online problems, there are retail in-store problems, all of these things are going on simultaneously, right? Like, I could, you know, like, I just got bombarded and spammed, like, there's, I've had server issues, I've had all of these other things in the past 24 hours that I've dealt with that you don't even know about, right? Sure.

By the way, my email has fixed itself, apparently. No, it hasn't. I got it fixed. Oh, you got it fixed.

Yeah. So, you know, but there and again, like, so, you know, you, you just, you're constantly building and putting out fires and kind of going and going and going. And when you say, Hey, alert to this problem, I break it down in my head and say, okay, do I need to fix this immediately? Right.

And, and if I fixed it immediately, would, would I be giving it the attention that it deserves? Right. Right. So that's how I say That's tomorrow's problem.

I'm not kicking the can on it. I'm like, I know that if I focus on it right now, there are other things that are priority, and it's not going to get the attention it deserves, and we're going to set things back even further with the other issues. So, when tomorrow's problem can no longer be tomorrow's problem and has to be addressed day of, and then we're inundated, you need more help, right? That's how that works.

Well, in your defense, too, I don't know what other things you're dealing with. I mean, there's, like you said, there's all this stuff that goes on here in this little world we live in. Right. I don't always see all the problems that someone has put on you.

Yeah, I mean, everything's different spokes. You know, the wild part is, though, is that you're a part of a lot of the spokes. You're involved not just in wholesale, but you're involved in retail as well. You're involved in podcasts, you know, but like, you know, one of the problems is with this.

Like, we got, we're down a guy. Right. So, you know, we, we've talked about it, right? Like, okay, so what, what happens when he's gone, when, when Boots can't make it?

And we figured it out. Sure. We've worked around this. Right.

But, and, and we've also had light conversations of, okay, now what happens when I'm not here? Right. What happens when you're not here? Right.

Yeah. That one we have not overcome yet. Because, but those things are going to happen. Oh, sure.

And we're still. I mean, it almost happened today. Right. And we're still playing with ideas as to how to make it work.

Right. uh we'll figure it out we may screw it up i mean listen we launched awesome hats that were floppy you know what i mean like right was it was it perfect no do we have a great fan base 100 yes to a point where they're like some of them are like i just fixed it myself yeah i glued it on some of them you know and look and there's no right answer here like we appreciate all the help And all the opportunities to fix it, right? So, you know, we'll do what it is, we'll fix the problem, maybe the problem isn't solved, maybe it adds to the catastrophe, but guess what? We'll get it right.

" All right, no more hats. And then just pack it in, you know, we'll just, we'll keep going. Don't answer the phone if somebody with a hat calls you. Yeah, if someone with a hat calls, don't go through it.

Tell them we're not here. You know, so, yeah, man. I don't know, that's just kind of case in points. So, whatever.

All right, going forward, they all said, uh, so, um, I went and saw the end of the show this morning because I didn't, like I said, I didn't watch the whole thing. They were saying thank you to people and bringing people up from the audience. They did it in front of a live studio audience type thing. Right.

All right, so going forward, Raul is teaming up with Red, which is, they were at Red Cigar Shop last night, and they're going to do a new lifestyle podcast. Okay. About once a month. That's cool.

Uh, Jesse Pants, uh, the engineer, he's focusing on his, uh, growing cannabis THC business. Matt Tai is going to spend some well-deserved time with his family and he's going to take a look at some offers that he's been given by other shows. Oh, wow. Maybe being a small part of somebody else's show.

I think that's amazing. I think that's a great idea for him. I mean, it'll be so much easier from being the guy that has to do everything every week, because I'm sure he's mostly show content for that show, to just doing, I only got to do five minutes on, you know. Well, the pressure's off a little bit.

Right, right. Makes it more fun. And he's highly intelligent. He's a great speaker.

He's got a voice that you want to hear. Right. So, yeah, I could see that. I could see that working out for him.

Absolutely. Just because something ends doesn't mean it's the end. It could be the beginning of other opportunities. He's developed a fan base and he's got the talent to do it.

Right. That being said, it's never easy to see a good show call it quits, especially one that gave so many brands, makers, and fans a place to connect. The Fan's a place to connect, but they signed off with real gratitude and zero regrets. They built a legacy that, they built a legacy, they did it in their way, and they left the lounge a little better than the way they found it.

So for the last time, how about that cigar? How about that cigar? How about that cigar? Nothing but respect for those guys, man.

We wish you all the best in what you're doing in your future endeavors, and we look forward to seeing what it is that you wind up creating. If you ever want to be a guest on our show, just reach out. Dude, if they lived here, we would rotate them in. No problem.

Oh, yeah. You know? Hey, come in and sit down. Come in and sit in.

Guest host. You don't have to do anything. Just talk. Right.

Just have to read the thing. Yeah. All right. Riverside Cigars unveiling their 15th anniversary cigar.

This is good stuff right here. Riverside Cigar Shop. You know, this was in a magazine. It wasn't carried anywhere else.

Not aficionado, but cigar snob, maybe? That's interesting. Yeah, it is. That was kind of weird.

You know what, when we're done here, I'll call Jeff and see if there was a press release given, and if not, we'll figure that out for them. Riverside Cigar Shop & Lounge announces a Riverside 15th Anniversary Cigar available exclusively via presale from December 1st to the 7th. Oh, apparently it's over. The presale.

Yeah. The cigar will be released later this month, the 5x54 Grand Robusto Prenado? Prenado. Pernado.

Pernado. Pernado. Pernado. Pernado.

Pernado. Pernado. Pernado. Tomato.

Tomato. You say Pernado. Produced in partnership with Roma Craft Tobacco at its Nicasueña factory in Esteli, Nicaragua, the partnership with Roma Craft is based on trust, creativity, and a mutual commitment to doing things the right way, Jeff Moutet, owner of Riverside Cigars, said in a press release. When we started planning the release, there was no question who we wanted to collaborate with.

Their team understood the importance of this anniversary, and together we crafted something truly special. - I mean, that's all true. - They're also related. - They're also family at this point.

- Right, exactly. - So, there's that. - Makes it a lot easier there, Jeff. - Like, you know, you just Dom Toretto'd them, you know?

- Right. - Family. - Who should we have make the cigar? Maybe my father.

- I'm just, I would just hit him with the, it's just like. - What a great idea, sweetheart. Your father-in-law, how about that? - That's brilliant.

- Brilliant idea. Let's get him on the phone. They make the best cigars in the world anyways, and now their family. Right.

All right, Drew Estate's getting a new distributor in the Netherlands. This fall, Drew Estate told international distributors and retailers that it was in the process of overhauling its non-US business. The most notable aspect of that was the company wasn't an exhibitor at the Entertabac 2025 trade fair show. However, it also means that it's changing some of its distributor relationships.

Effective January 1st, 2026, Small Batch Traders, BV, will be Drew Estate's new distributor in the Netherlands. oh, is this Jonathan Drew? Hold on. No.

Damn, I was practicing that all day. Drew Estate is a true pioneer in the handmade cigar industry, staying true to the mission, the rebirth of cigars, said Sten Elbertson, founder of Small Batch Traders, in a press release. We are proud to bring Drew Estate's exceptional brands to Dutch retailers and aficionados by our sales manager, Henry, Henry Ter Har. Ter Har?

Ter Har? Ter Har. It's T-E-R space Har. And T-E-R is not capitalized?

Ter Har. And we look forward to developing the market together. Elbertson launched small batch traders in 2021. The Netherlands represents a dynamic and discerning cigar community, said Dave Cruz, toward Toronto.

General Manor of International, Dr. Brand Development in Drew Estate, and a press release, a lot of press, a lot of press releases in this thing, partnering with small batch traders allows us to expand our presence with a distributor that truly understands a premium segment of our shares of commitment to quality innovation and craftsmanship. Okay, so why drop the, why release a cigar in the Netherlands? I have no idea, is Netherlands a big cigar community?

I don't think so. I don't think so either. I have no information on Netherlands. No, other than people have funny last names.

So they're just trying to grow their market space? They're non-American business. Okay, I mean, you know, I'm not against it. Are you sitting around going, or just throwing a dart at a map?

I mean, how do they decide, you know what? Netherlands. " Oh, it could be. If you'd like to approach us.

It's more complicated than that. I don't know if we could make that work. I've been approached. Well, we have actually through me, that one guy.

Well, yeah, I mean, multiple from different individuals. We would have to make more cigars. Not only that, but then it's got to come. You know, my father-in-law makes them for us, so we can call them.

Oh, yeah, your father-in-law? That's interesting. Well, we're going to say that now. Uncle Skippy.

Okay. Don Emanuel. Have you ever heard of these cigars? No, I don't think so.

They're expanding into the Caribbean and Latin America. Everybody's going somewhere. Well, that's interesting. Don Emanuele Cigars is proud to announce it expands into new international markets including the Caribbean region, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and Puerto Rico.

This step represents a notable development for the brand showing increased interest in the debut line Anuki created by Don Emanuele. I haven't heard of these people. S. market, Which would probably be the easiest one for them because I haven't heard of them.

You haven't heard of them. You know who I have heard of. Master Blender Eladio Diaz. Yes, we have.

We have heard of Master Blender. Atabicalera Diaz, Cabrera, and the Dominican Republic. Expanding into these markets is a very meaningful moment for us, said Don Emanuel, founder and creator. Each of these regions has a rich cigar culture and a deep appreciation of a craftship.

Okay, now this makes more sense with the cigars, though, than the Netherlands. I mean, I guess. At least we know these are cigar places. I'd actually argue the other way.

S. market extremely well. They, you know, they've dominated in various flavor infused, even the Liga blends and all these other things. So, you know, trying to gain more market share by expanding into different countries, I could see it.

Will it work out? I have no idea. A brand that I have never heard anything of that's in this market space already, why expand? Why go somewhere else when you haven't really figured out how, for one, how to create demand for your product, for two, how to move your product successfully, or at least at a rate where people know the name, you know?

Maybe the name's known more in these Latin American countries. You'd have to sell things for far less in the Latin America countries than you would in America. You know, I could go to, I heard I could go to Japan, Disney World, for way less. Oh, cheaper too.

Yeah, that's what they, that's what someone told me. Cheaper. Yeah. All right, Vector releases a new acrylic humidor.

Acrylic. See-through. Got it, okay. Peekable.

So like the Xikar one. Yes, but this is made by somebody that is a completely different. Completely different company. Completely different thing.

Vector KGM has released a new acrylic humidor featuring an extensively customizable interior design. Or was it Boveda? Different. Yeah, it was Boveda.

1 pounds. Ooh. That's pretty heavy. That's pretty heavy.

It's a hefty Boveda. According to the company, with a storage capacity of up to 100 cigars, the main tray is fully removable. You could take it all the way out. Just take it with you.

Take it out. Two large dividers and four adjustable mini dividers allow the owner to customize the Humidor's layout. You can put things in, take them out, it's amazing. This is crazy.

The new Humidor also features a magnetic front door panel that opens outward. Okay. Which other way would it open? In?

Up. So it goes this way? Yeah. Maybe, it's like a door.

How do I get this, it goes in the back? I don't, I have no idea. Hmm. Allowing an entire tray.

Oh, you pull the entire tray out. Got it. Without needing to open the top lid of the humidor. Much, much better design.

Makes way more sense. It's just like a cooling ashtray. You know what I mean? This makes sense.

The top lid is also held in place by magnets, so you can open the top if you wanted to. And features side grips to help with opening and closing. Humidor also allows the owner to store some accessories, such as lighters and cutters, in a dedicated tray. Each humidor also comes with four 67-gram Integra Boost humidification packs that are designed to keep the humidor at a cozy 72% humidity.

So that's what this is about. This is the boost, the boost one. Yeah, this is a push for a humidor that caters directly towards their own humi packs. Yes.

Right, that makes sense. With those packs sliding into the bottom of the humidor, pricing is set at... Ooh. Ooh.

Now wait, I'm going to give you a clue. It is not made by Ellie Blue. - Yes, so it's not $7,000. - Not $7,000.

Actually, it's pretty reasonable. - I think it's probably like $200. - Exactly, $200 per humidor. - Look at that.

- Which are now available to both retailers and consumers. - I like it. But, you know, at the end of the day, do you want your cigars kind of on display and like a clear view? - No, I mean, isn't that bad?

I mean, you have to keep it out of the sun because it's going to heat up. It's going to heat up. Oh, I mean, lights could affect the coloration of them, but you're probably not. Yeah, we've seen, everybody's seen cigars bleached that have been in humidors for too long.

Yeah, I don't think that that's going to be the issue here. I just don't, like, I'm not neurotic to, I have, I'm OCD to some degree. Like I have, I got my Posonic Connecticut's in one kind of tray. Right.

I took all Neanderthal trays, so they're all HNs. So I have my Polsania Connecticuts in one, I have my Polsania Habanos in another, I have my San Andreas in the third, and then I have actual Neanderthal HNs in the fourth, so I have these four trays, right, and then like I have a tray on the bottom of some random stuff, like some Weaselitos, like little quick smokes, maybe a couple things that have been given to me or something like that, but, you know, I like the organization of those things. I wouldn't want it in a clear humidor where the Connecticut's would be here, the Habanos would be, you know what I mean? Like I don't, for one, I don't think it could cater to me because there's probably at least 50 of each in the humidor now at this point, right?

And when I run out, I just replenish. So, um, most cigar consumers, I don't think that's, I don't think that this is big enough for them anyways, you know, like real, real cigar consumers. I think this is supposed to be like a desktop type thing or an additional humidor to something, system you already have or something. I mean, it's eight pounds.

It'd be too heavy to carry around. I guess it would be cool on a desk, you know, to kind of show and display. Right. But then you have to keep them perfect.

Like my humidor, the bottom tray is all the stuff that I don't smoke and then the top tray is everything I do smoke. I just have the desktop thing now. But if I could see it all the time, I'd have to make sure everything's not lined up. And you have to turn all the labels facing up.

Right. So you've got to be really neurotic about it. Right. Yeah.

Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I'm just saying that. No. The pictures of it look very pretty.

And if it's on a desktop, I guess I could see that. Then your cigars become the display piece, not the humidor itself. But all my stuff is unbanded Segundos that didn't pass quality inspection. Sure.

All right, now we got a What's the Score mini-game. Okay. We have one cigar from September 21st, 2021, Charlie Minato. Saints Cigars from Nicaragua reviews the All-Saint Francis Toro.

We have not done one of these before. We have not done one of these before. Mr. Pegg's assortment of the lovely cigars.

Who may or may not be selling his cigars anymore. Last I saw, he was looking for people to come smoke and walk with him across the Appalachia Trail. That was his last post I saw. Oh, that's awesome.

Okay. He's just wandering the Appalachian Trail now back and forth. Right. Long beard, pants are torn.

Okay. Still a giant of a man. All right. Boots.

Mistaken for Bigfoot every once in a while. Boots, you're an All Saints guy, right? Yeah, I love All Saints. I'm a big All Saints guy.

Okay, so what do you think this cigar does? 100! Oh! Perfect score.

Wow. Perfect score. You know, there's not many of those on the list. That's incredible, dude.

Okay. 100 for you. I think I'm going to say... I can't wait for him to win one of these.

Yeah. I think I'm going to say... We'll start at 85. All Saints, St.

A. 5x52, it's a Toro Extra, June 2021, and they smoked three cigars. Okay, Boots, does that change anything for you? Oh, no, I like cigar, 652, good size, Mickey Pegg, my boyfriend, 100.

Okay, I think the Ecuadorian Oscuro should be a good, would be a good wrapper. Toro, I'll eek up to 87. All Saints, oh, first clue, sorry. All Saints really nailed the presentation on this cigar, especially with the band design.

The color scheme, most notably the rich, vibrant red, adds a premium look that complements the dark wrapper perfectly. It gives the cigar a striking, classy appearance before you even take it out of the cellophane, and it sets the stage for hours. a high-end smoking experience okay so you like the colors boots are pretty colors boots what do you think I like pretty cigar very good 105 can only go can only go to 100 no 105 I stick with 105 105 you know pretty cigar doesn't change much for me I'm gonna stick at 87 clue number two the flavor profile the all St. Francis Toro shows an impressive balance right from the start.

The mix of cocoa, barnyard, hazelnut, praline, and a subtle tartness all work together in a way that feels intentional and layered, even as the barnyard note stands out. Okay, what is a barnyard flavor? What is it? It tastes like chicken shit?

Yeah, barnyard. You don't know a barnyard? I don't know what it tastes like. You ever walk into a barn and just...

That's a smell. Well, he's talking about a taste. We're linked. The barnyard note stands out early in the sporting flavors, adds depth and sweetness, giving the cigar a complexity that keeps the palate engaged.

Okay. Boots? Barnyard Boots, Barnyard. Don't like barn, too much work, 102.

Okay. Too much work. All right, 102. Boats.

I'm going to go 89. While the cigar avoids any catastrophic, oh sorry, third and final, or third clue, then we still have final thoughts. While the cigar avoids any catastrophic construction failures, the issues with the draw and burn become too noticeable to ignore as the smoke progresses. The draw consistently trends toward the tight side, and by the midpoint, touch-ups are no longer optional.

They're required. Combined with slow burn rates and a less than clean burn line on multiple samples, the construction ultimately holds the cigar back from performing as well as the flavor profile suggests it could. Ran out of the air there. Yeah, you did.

Okay, so, some touch-ups. What do you got, Boots? I think, uh, touch-up bad. 98.

Okay, so you still like the cigar. I like the cigar. Oh yeah, good cigar. Okay.

All right. I'm gonna come back to 87. All right. A final thought.

Like Brooks Whittington, I was impressed with the debut All Saints Dedication line and was curious to see what the company would do with his second line. Then I started smoking the first cigar and then I kept smoking the first cigar and then finally that first cigar ended. While the three St. Francis Toros I smoked were far from bad, they were also noticeably not in the same league as the Dedication I've smoked to date.

I'm curious to see if the wrapper change helps to remove some of the massive barnyard flavors and brings a bit more balance to a cigar, or perhaps it only happens with lots of time in the humidor. Okay. What do you got, Boots? 95.

95. I like 95. Okay. 94.

No. 93. Anything. 90.

90. I had 90. Okay. 90.

90. I mean, there's a dramatic drop there really quick. Was somebody inspiring you to lower that number? Nope.

No, I'm just very smart. Okay. All right. All right.

Sounds good, buddy. I'm going to come down to an 85. What do you got? 85.

Oh! Sorry, Boots. I tried, buddy. Oh, I got so close.

I nailed it. He had the five right, originally. I mean, if he was really here, he wouldn't have nailed it anyways. No.

What are we talking about? He wouldn't have. Who reviewed that one? Charlie.

Oh, yeah. That was definitely an 85 for a Charlie is a good score. Yeah. Better than the 82 we got.

Yeah. Okay. All right. It's been episode 246, or 426.

I'm dyslexic though. So close. 426, buddy. 426.

Get it right. Yes. Get it right. Oh, my Lord.

This every day is exhausting. Okay. All right, everybody. Thanks for watching.

We'll see you again tomorrow. All right. Thanks, everybody. Bye.

Welcome to the Cigar Hustler Podcast, the show brought to you commercial-free, but a massive shout out to our amazing patrons on the Patreon. Thanks to your unwavering support, we're able to do unfiltered, unbiased opinions, all things cigars, personalities in the cigar world. Your backing makes it possible for us to keep it real for our listeners. Cheers to you.

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Show Notes

On today’s show: Florida drivers — here’s what you need to know before you get pulled over. Australia becomes the first country in the world to outlaw social media for kids. Paramount is all in and making big moves. Over in the cigar world, HBTC says farewell, Riverside Cigars is celebrating, Drew Estate has a new friend in the nether regions, Vector Humidors is playing peekaboo, Don Emanuel is expanding, and we wrap it all up with a mini round of “What’s The Score.”