ACHP Episode 429 Two Icons
Episode Summary
Episode 429 of A Cigar Hustler's Podcast finds host Mike Palmer, co-host Mikey Sztepanowicz and engineer "Boots" running through a mixed bag of pop-culture headlines before getting into the cigar news. The opening block covers Snoop Dogg being named an honorary coach for the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic teams (including his Fanatics merch partnership to raise funds for athletes), NASA losing contact with a long-serving Mars orbiter, and Disney's $1 billion investment in OpenAI plus a licensing deal putting more than 200 Disney, Marvel, Star Wars and Pixar characters into the Sora app — with the crew debating how quickly AI video novelty wore off in the cigar space.
On the cigar side, the guys dig into the early release of the Cigar Oasis Plus 4.0 electronic humidifier at $199, and have plenty to say about the app-based humidity monitoring (and its $3.99/month or $19.99/year subscription) versus simply using Boveda packs and a decent hygrometer. They also congratulate PCA CEO and Executive Director Joshua Habersky on being named one of The Hill's top lobbyists of 2025, and touch on the PCA's recent educational event.
New release news includes La Flor Dominicana's TAA 2025 exclusive, the Apollonia — a 6 1/2 x 44 box-pressed Lonsdale with a Cameroon wrapper over Dominican binder and filler, named for Michael Corleone's first wife in The Godfather — plus the U.S. arrival of Swiss retailer Ettore Gabriele Morciarelli's EGM Cigars and its sister line, distributed by City of Palms out of Fort Myers and made at the ABAM factory in the Dominican Republic. The hosts question EGM's positioning as "not a Cuban substitute" and its sprawling 11-size core line priced from about $16 to the mid-$50s.
The episode closes with a "What's the Score?" game guessing Brooks Whittington's Half-Wheel review score for the Flor de las Antillas San Andrés Toro (spoiler: 90), a look back at John Cena's retirement from in-ring WWE competition, a call-in from Jack Taranio about a Guy Fieri cigar event, and a Patreon holiday-gift pitch.
In This Episode
- 01Snoop Dogg Named Honorary Team USA CoachThe crew reacts to Snoop Dogg's honorary Olympic and Paralympic coaching role and his Fanatics merch partnership benefiting athletes, then debate who else could fill that entertainer role.
- 02NASA Loses Contact With a Mars OrbiterAfter more than a decade relaying rover data, one of NASA's longest-serving Mars orbiters goes silent while engineers run recovery procedures.
- 03Disney Invests $1B in OpenAI and Licenses 200+ Characters to SoraDisney becomes the first major studio to greenlight Sora usage, and the hosts discuss how fast AI cigar videos got old in the industry.
- 04Cigar Oasis Plus 4.0 Arrives EarlyThe $199 mid-range electronic humidifier ships ahead of schedule, prompting a debate about app-based humidity monitoring, subscriptions, Boveda packs and hygrometer accuracy.
- 05Joshua Habersky Named a Top Lobbyist of 2025The PCA CEO and Executive Director is recognized by The Hill for his advocacy work on behalf of the premium cigar industry.
- 06La Flor Dominicana Apollonia TAA 2025 ExclusiveLFD's 6 1/2 x 44 box-pressed Cameroon-wrapped Lonsdale ships to TAA retailers at $20, with a name pulled straight from The Godfather.
- 07EGM Cigars Launches in the United StatesThe Swiss-born, Dominican-made brand lands stateside via City of Palms with an 11-size core line, and the hosts question its 'not a Cuban substitute' pitch.
- 08What's the Score? Flor de las Antillas San Andrés ToroPalmer and Boots guess Brooks Whittington's Half-Wheel score for the $13 San Andrés Toro, arguing over cocoa nibs, pencil lead and burn issues.
- 09John Cena Announces WWE RetirementA look back at Cena's 16 world titles, Hollywood crossover and record Make-A-Wish work as he wraps his in-ring career.
Brands & Cigars Discussed
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Transcript
Welcome to Cigar Hustler Podcast, coming to you now five days a week. I'm Mike Palmer, your host, and for the next 60 minutes, along with our engineer, Boots Bing-Bong Hippelhauser, And my co-host, Mikey, no one has told me I'm pretty today yet, Shtepan Kiewicz, we have today's top news and top cigar information. Bing bong. You're very pretty, Mike.
Thank you. There you go. You know, that one wasn't as good as... No, I tried to be nicer today because you complained yesterday.
Glad we got that housekeeping out of the way. What did I complain about? That I'm getting shots in. That wasn't a complaint.
Oh. It was just a fact. Yeah, it was just a statement, I think, yeah. Oh, it sounded like you were complaining.
It's hard to tell the difference anymore. Oh, okay. On today's show, Snoop Dogg is now an Olympic coach, NASA has lost a spaceship, Disney says if you can't beat 'em, join 'em, and then in cigars, Joshua Habersky has been named one of the top 2025's somethings, LFD is releasing a new cigar, Oasis has started making us wetter, we have What's the Score minigame, and then to round out the show, we say goodbye to a legend. All this and more on today's episode 429.
Alright, that we heard. Hey, we said, "Hey, don't worry, you're fine. " Alright, okay, I'm gonna be super quiet. Should I not eat these chips?
" Chips are fine. Just don't shut off your car alarms and make sure your phone's on mute. Alright, well, go ahead and jump to you. I'll make sure you can come back in here.
You wanna start over? No, you're good. Keep it going. That's hilarious.
Alright, but before we get started, Mikey, how do we get some of that CHPod swag someone's trying to steal? and just steal. com and check out our latest apparel. Buy one get the second one 40% off and spend $100 and more get free shipping.
Our soundboard guy just walked away. Yeah, no, but the car alarm. No, I'm here. Oh, he's back.
Bing bong. Bing bong. That's my connection. Now you left.
Oh, he's gone. Alright, now the news. Mike, tell us about the news. Well, he left.
How's he going to comment? I'm going to have to read it twice. Right. So, Boots, what you got going on this weekend?
Well, you know what I was thinking? You got a DJ thing you want to plug? Oh, actually, I do. I have a wedding tomorrow.
All right. Well, plug that. DJ Boots Entertainment, for all your DJ needs. Come on by.
So, can anybody go to the wedding? No, this is a... Can we crash it? This is a private one.
It's in St. Cloud, actually. Oh, Kissimmee St. Cloud?
Yep. Nice. Actually, Robbie Doyle will be there. I'm sorry.
He's an avid listener. Is he getting married? He's not, no. Yeah, right.
Secret wedding? Are you DJing? I am DJing. He just plugged that.
See, we tried to do something we didn't have to repeat again as soon as you came back. Apparently, it's anything we say we gotta repeat. All right, back to the news. All right, Mikey, tell us about the...
S. Olympic and Paralympic teams. If you had Snoop Dogg becomes an Olympic coach on your bingo card, congratulations. You're living in the right timeline.
Somebody won money on that. S. Olympic and Paralympic teams, and somehow it makes perfect sense. What started as Snoop popping up around Team USA events has turned into a full-blown cultural crossover moment That blends sports, entertainment, and straight up vibes.
This isn't about X's and O's, this is about energy, confidence, and showing up with the right mindset. Snoop has been everywhere around Team USA, cheering, encouraging, cracking jokes, and connecting with athletes in a way that feels genuine, not forced. He's become a hype man, a moral booster, or morale booster, sorry, and honestly, a walking reminder to enjoy the moment while you're chasing greatness. Do you want to say anything?
I mean, there's more, but this is where I pause. Oh, okay. How many people do you think will log in and watch the Olympics just to hear Snoop Dogg talk? Wasn't he in the last Olympics?
He was there. I mean, he showed up everywhere. He was everywhere. So apparently he was parlaying into this.
Well, he was like an ambassador. Yeah, he announced. He was like an announcer and stuff. Oh, and now he's a coach.
Man, what's next, do you think he should participate? I think he's a little over that unless there's a smoking... It's like a blunt rolling competition. Longest Ash contest.
Longest Ash. Oh, that'd be nice. Right. Who can get the highest?
Not jumping. Who can get the highest. Okay. All right.
It goes beyond just showing up. Snoop has also partnered with Fanatics to help raise funds to support the Team USA athletes using exclusive merchandise and activations to bring real financial support behind the scenes. That matters, especially for Olympic and Paralympic athletes who don't always have massive endorsement deals or year-round spotlight money. It's not just vibes.
It's tangible help. That kind of support hits different. Olympic and Paralympic athletes live under the insane amount of pressure. Years of training for moments at last seconds.
Having someone like Snoop around, someone who's been at the top of his game for decades, brings a different kind of perspective. He's lived through the spotlight, handled criticism, evolved with the times, and stayed relevant without losing who he is. Calling him honorary coach isn't about pretending. Stop pretending, he's running drills, it's about recognizing leadership that doesn't come from a whistle, it comes from presence and from putting resources where your support is.
Okay, so who do you think would be better than Snoop Dogg to do something like this, announcing or coaching or, you know, as far as, I'm not talking about just a coach, I'm talking about just entertainment purposes. Entertainment purposes? Yeah, I mean, that's what he's doing. Kevin Hart.
You think Kevin Hart, that's a great pick. Yeah. That's a great pick. I don't know if he'd be as good as Snoop Dogg, though.
How about you? Will Rogers or some shit? Will Rogers? I think he's dead.
Yeah, he's not going to make it? I don't think he's going to make it. Maybe Bob Hope. Bob, also dead.
Isn't he dead? Big supporter of the military, so why wouldn't he support the Olympics, too? Yes, he's dead also. Yeah.
All my icons are dead. Leave me alone. All your heroes have passed. All my heroes are gone.
Anybody else? Well, Morgan Freeman's still alive. Who is? Morgan Freeman.
Yeah, but I don't see him doing that. No? He's not that big a fan, I think of sports. Bill Cosby.
He's not a lot around people's. Yeah. I got my yellow pudding with me. Wow.
I was going to say The Rock, but I don't, I don't know if he would just be standing around. I don't, I don't see him getting as involved. Standing around? Snoop is.
I don't think he has as added entertainment value. Right. Yeah. I think Snoop's a perfect choice.
I mean, he's, he crosses all the borders now. I mean, everybody. Yeah. When I, when I did the story that I started playing Snoop in the house and I never listened to Snoop.
You started listening to Snoop. Yeah, I said, yeah, Alexa, play Snoop. Really? Yeah.
And I knew the first three songs. I was surprised as you are. What'd you get hit with, gin and juice? Yeah.
Yeah, that one played, I don't know the names of them, but that was the first one that played. Yeah. That one I can sing to, because I knew the words. Right.
Did you get Snoop Doggy? I mean, he did the, you know, he crossed over into cooking, he does all sorts of stuff. Yeah. Right.
It's a perfect. Perfect. What about, what about 50? 50 Cent?
He's too busy fighting Diddy. But it'd be a perfect timing. 50 would be good. Perfect timing.
Yeah. 50 would be good. Can you think of any women? Any women celebrities or athletes or something that would be a good fit?
Yeah, the one that roasted Tom Brady. I was just thinking the same thing. Of the comedian? Yeah.
She'd be hilarious. She would be hilarious. Yeah. She's not very clean, though, as far as her act.
Glazer. Nikki Glazer. Nikki Glazer, yeah. I'm sure that she could.
She probably knows how to turn it down, turn it up. I mean, she's an entertainer. Right? - Yeah.
- That'd be a good fit. - What about the Bad Friend guys? - Look at those guys. - The two comedians, Bobby Lee and the Redhead?
- Oh, the comedians that do a podcast. - Yeah. - No. - Bobby Lee's the Asian guy.
- Kevin Hart is the ultimate guy, I think. - You think so? - Yeah. - Kevin Hart would be funny, but I think the way Snoop's doing it, he's actually part of it.
- I think Snoop's the best pick. - Yeah. - Yeah. - I really do.
- Hmm, okay. All right, cool. - Not even terrific, Tom? - Brady?
- Yeah. - No. - Now, there's like a flag football. There is flag, isn't there?
There's a flag football? - Is there flag football? - No, wait, what is this? I don't know.
- Yeah, yeah, there's flag football. - Is this winter Olympics, or is this? - This is winter. - There's not gonna be flag football on that.
- No, it's too cold. - Yeah. Snow flag football. - What if you did like an ultimate panel, like Tom Brady, Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky?
I don't think that those guys would, uh, would segue into really great announcers, per se. No. Mm-mm. Dick Vitale?
Who's that? Boom, baby! Still don't know. NCAA?
Give me another one. Basketball? Oh. Yeah, I don't watch.
No? Mm-mm. Uh, the money these kids have to have to do this is just ridiculous. Yeah?
Uh, I follow a couple of winter athletes on, on TikTok and stuff because it's entertaining. Oh, and the one girl who does the, uh, the rugby. I mean, this one girl, she's a bobsledder, she had to come up with $4,000 the other day to pay for the rental truck she had to have to drive her bobsled around Europe. No kidding.
Yeah. You would think if she's a bobsledder though, she would just have like a truck and trailer. She's in Europe though. Oh.
She's doing the European games right now. I guess. Wow. There's no, like, Larry over there that does this thing for people?
Nah, she sells, she sells swag, she's got a couple of, she put out a calendar. She's got some sponsors from back home, like the local barbecue place or something, sponsors her, and stuff is just, I mean, you just don't think about the kind of money they have to have. I wonder what the Fanatic swag looks like that Snoop is gonna... From what I read, it's really nice, and it's exclusive, and it's limited.
Is it? Yeah. Which I thought was another good thing he's doing. I mean, he's teamed up with somebody who provides gear, and he's doing his own gear for the Olympics.
Is it already available or no? I think it is. I'm curious. Okay.
Okay. I'll check that out. I'll look right now while you talk about the next thing. All right.
NASA loses contact with the Mars spacecraft after more than a decade on the job. There's people on it? No. It's just a spaceship.
After quietly... How do you ruin every story? " So now it's not a big a story. Cut.
After quietly doing its job around Mars for more than a decade, one of NASA's longest serving spacecrafts have gone silent and engineers back on Earth are working the problem. So they're going to turn it on, turn it back off, see if it works. Oh. NASA confirmed it has lost contact with the Mars orbiter that's been circling the red planet for years, collecting data, relaying signals from rovers, and helping scientists better understand Mars atmosphere and the surface.
The communication drop wasn't planned, but it's also not panic time yet. I think I'd be panicking. According to NASA, the spacecraft stopped responding during a routine communication pass. these orbiters operate millions of miles away so even small hiccups solar interference power fluctuations or onboard computers slipping into safe mode can knock out contact temporarily when that happens the spacecraft essentially shuts down non-essential systems to protect itself and waits for instructions if it can hear them oh the particular orbit this particular orbiter has had a long productive run for more than 10 years it's helped map mars monitor weather patterns and And most importantly, act as a middleman between rovers on the ground and mission control back on Earth.
In many cases, Mars missions don't work without orbiter like this one quietly doing the heavy lifting overhead. NASA engineers are now cycling through recovery procedures, sending repeated Hail Mary signals and waiting for a response. Just gotta unplug it and plug it back in. I said that when you were looking up, Snoop.
We all know. They tried that already. You could do it again then. They tried Control-Alt-Delete, they tried that.
Control-Alt-Delete didn't work either. It's hard to unplug it when it's in Mars. Send somebody out there. Stay out there.
You know how long that takes? You ever see Hot Shots? You can't get anybody there. You ever see...
Well, you can, but they're not coming back. What was it? Was it Hot Shots Part Deux or whatever? Yeah, with Charlie Sheen?
Yeah. Where they're on the ship? Or is it the regular one? Hot Shots?
I think Hot Shots didn't have Charlie Sheen in it. I don't remember anything in outer space. They did? No.
I'm just saying how to solve the problem. " Oh, the ship captain's hat. It was a joke, it's not tracking well already because you're fucking making it miserable for me. This is perfect, now I'm starting to get jaded.
Okay, all right, continue forward. Sorry, I'm not familiar with the topic you brought up. Yeah, oh yeah. I don't know, you kids in your fancy movies.
Yeah, Charlie Sheen wasn't in there. Charlie Sheen was in the other one. I don't remember the scene where he shoots. He was in Hot Shots.
Yeah. I don't remember the scene where he shoots the chicken from the bone arrow. Ah, okay. So you have seen it.
clip several times this process can take days or even weeks space is unforgiving and so is michael and patience is part of the job unforgiving you're still here it's also worth noting that this isn't uncommon nasa's lost contact with spacecraft before oh they do this all the time uh sometimes temporarily sometimes permanently only to regain control later when you're operating aging hardware in deep space well past its original mission timeline every extra year is Best case scenario, spacecraft wakes up, phones home, and gets back to work. Worst case, it joins a long list of silent sentinels still orbiting Mars, having already delivered more science than anyone originally hoped for. Either way, it's a reminder that space operation isn't clean, easy, or guaranteed. Sometimes even after a decade of success, the universe reminds us who is really in charge.
How much junk do you think we have we've sent out that's kind of floating around in space at this point? You can track it. There's apps and stuff you can put on your phone where it'll tell you like it's going over you now, you know, and you can see the just the blip through space. Of garbage?
Yeah. Really? They'll give you the location of the things that we left on the moon, and if you got a good enough microphone or a microtelescope, you can find it. Really?
Yeah. No way. Sure. Are you sure?
I'm positive. Because there's the whole conspiracy that never happened. Well, yeah, and that's one of the things where they say that's how we prove it to us. I've never seen that image.
There's like a giant mirror up there you can, you know, if you have the ability, you can shine something on or something. A mirror? A mirror, yes. They left a mirror?
Yes. For that particular reason, so they can bounce stuff off of it. Oh, I thought it was like a vanity mirror or something. Yes, they left like a little vanity mirror.
The guy dropped it when he was combing his hair. Yeah. " Where's the Tesla thing that they shot into the space? The car thing?
Yeah, do you know where that is at? Not personally, no. It's probably going to Mars now. I want to know where that is.
Maybe some guy, well, where's the car they drove from, from the movie? Where they flew the Fiero in outer space, I mean... Fast and Furious? Fast and Furious 17 or whatever?
That's not real. That's not real? No. Oh.
But the Tesla car is? Yeah, the Tesla car actually happened. All right. Tyrese was really in space?
No, he was not. That's a lie. We should call him up. Call Tyrese?
You can't, he's in outer space. All right, let's go. Next, next. Coop's going to have Marlon Wayans.
Did you look up the fanatics floating? I did. I didn't see any Snoop Dogg stuff. Maybe there's a special website or something.
Maybe. All right. Disney lets OpenAI use its characters in AI videos. Really?
Yes. That sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. Doesn't sound like a good idea. No.
The Mouse House inked a licensing agreement with OpenAI and invested $1 billion into the company. A billion. A billion. They just had that laying on the table.
You're about to see some wild stuff. Bart Simpson can ding-dong ditch the old guy from Up, and nobody's firing off a copyright lawsuit. That's because Disney just cut a deal with OpenAI, and yeah, Hollywood's sweating the Mouse House. Oh, sweating, sorry.
The Mouse House dropped one billion equity investment into OpenAI and cracked open the vault, licensing more than 200 Disney characters across Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, and the core Disney universe to use inside OpenAI's Sora app. Really? Users can now prompt animated or illustrated AI clips starting these characters. Important caveat: The only covers animated visuals.
No real actors' faces or voices are getting Saurified. Saur is their animation AI. Yeah. You saw Saur.
Saur popped up briefly, especially in our industry, in our industry. You saw a handful of dudes just posting random things. Yeah. And I'm like, okay, this is not gonna last long because the first clip was funny.
The second one, I was over it already. Right. You know? Does it look real?
Semi-real. Yeah. But it's still limited. So there's only so much you can do.
You can tell. I mean, it's obvious. And, like, I don't see the value in it. I don't see, in our space, the way that they've been, the way they utilize it.
It's not a good way to... It's still kind of limited. Yeah, but... I mean, like, the videos were them, you know, I just fought with a sword with some dude, I'm like, dude, now I'm lighting up a cigar off to the side.
Yeah. So, I mean. How is that? But, like, four different people did that same type of video, so, like, there has to be, like, the option, like, smoke a cigar after you have a sword fight or something.
Yeah, but it's just not even funny. No. It's not even interesting. No, like you said, the first time, you're like, oh, this is cool, and then, you know, by the time you see the fourth company do it, you're like.
Right. Or the same guy do it eight or nine different times. Right, yeah. I'm like, okay, dude, I get it.
You got, you're, you got Sora. Right. Atta boy. So, are you excited about, what's the first thing you're going to do with one of the Disney AI characters on Sora Boots?
He's going to put it on his OnlyFans page. Yeah. I don't know how to do any of this. Yeah.
It's an app. I've never used it. He's going to make videos of him banging all the Disney princesses. No, he's not.
Are they animated? Princes. Princes. Prince?
I said the female version. Thank you, Palmer. Oh. Okay.
Maybe princes then. Palmer is not firing on all cylinders. of that yeah what's going on did you red light no i didn't really i can't hear you well over there you're not talking loud today am i not talking loud well he can hear he's got headphones on i mean the volume is the same i feel like i'm at the same level here maybe you're just a little deafer today that is very possible as the days go on as the days go by he will become deafer if you I've become less and less coherent visually and auditorially. Well, we can always go back to the headphones.
No. We're not at that yet. Okay, so they paid the money so you can do this. You can do, like I've been doing the ones for Postana with the different Christmas characters.
You can do, like, look-alike. You know, draw a look-alike. Right. Of Spider-Man.
Of Spider-Man. I mean, it's pretty damn close to the actual Spider-Man. Right. But if you say, draw Spider-Man smoking a cigar, they go, oh, I can't do that, it's a violation.
It's a violation. Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot the word look-alike. Draw someone that looks like.
Right, exactly. Spider-Man. Like, I can't do that. It's a violation of copyright.
Oh, I'm sorry. I need a look-alike of Mickey Mouse smoking a cigar. Oh, fine. Here we go.
Perfect. Hey! All right, so what does Disney get out of it? Money, control, and a seat at the table.
According to the Wall Street Journal, OpenAI is paying Disney to use its characters with guardrails in place to keep things kid-friendly and out of fiction hell. Oh, he's out. Boots is out now. Boots is out.
Sorry, Boots. Some Sora-generated clips will even land on Disney's Bob Iger says this lets Disney thoughtfully and responsibly extend the reach of its storytelling, which is CEOs speak for, we're not getting left behind. Industry folks say that Move is really about control. Disney characters were already popping up in AI videos without permission.
This deal puts Disney in the driver's seat and makes it the first major studio to officially greenlight Sora usage. It's a historic pivot for a company that usually protects its IP, like Scrooge McDuck guards his vault. Don't think Disney suddenly went soft, just a day before announcing the OpenAI deal, Disney sent cease and desist letters to Google, accusing its AI tools for generating content that leans on Disney IP without permission. AI caught one too.
Translation, OpenAI gets the keys, everyone else gets the lawyers. Big Picture, Hollywood has been dragging its feet on AI deals, mostly because actors, unions, and visual artists are worried about being replaced. Disney just blinked first, and once Mickey jumps, the rest of the industry usually follows. Okay, so, do you think that this is good or bad for the entertainment industry?
I think it was going to happen eventually anyway. Okay. That's probably, you know, it's the way it's going to go. Aren't there some actors that are already signed deals where their likenesses can be used?
Yeah. So, I mean, eventually, but we won't even have actors anymore, I guess? Yeah, you should be able to just AI them. Right, you just AI everything.
Right. I mean, you would think that the movie industry, with all the special effects, has had the ability to do it for years anyway. Right. What about you, Boots?
Do you think it's good or bad for the industry, entertainment industry? I'm trying to figure out why Disney gave money to Sora other than to be able to sue other people. They invested in the company to have control of the company. Yeah, but how does Disney get paid from that?
Well, they said Sora has to pay Disney money to use it. OpenAI has to pay Disney money every time they use Mickey Mouse. Oh, okay. There's rights to that.
Oh, okay. You know, there's probably more to it than that as well. I think that there's definitely something to be said about having your characters being used on social media platforms in a market space where they're constantly looked at, right? There's significant value in that.
Yeah, the more you see them, the more they'll be utilized in other things. Yeah, the more you think about them, the more you want to buy the sweatshirt, or the toy, or you go to Disney, yeah, all that stuff. I think that all of those things are beneficial. I don't know though, man, do you think that, like, we keep, the B word, the billions keeps coming up in all of these topics.
Yeah, what are we doing? And everybody's just throwing this money around like it's, like, everybody's got billions to just spend on stuff. Boom, boom. You're hearing it more and more I'm cool with an M With an M with no B?
Yeah just an M An M would be nice But an M doesn't necessarily solve A huge amount of problems It solves some We could get another camera or a light We could get a camera maybe Because if we have a million it's going to be huge The one that gets you going to want A robot that runs it for us This one's a Sora camera Yeah right I don't know, I, this is why I keep thinking that there's gonna, so we're on this cutting edge thing where AI is becoming more and more apparent, right? Right. User accessible, easier to use. It just feels like 2000 tech to me.
Fakey. Super fakey. You know, when, when things regressed and popped, like, I feel like you're gonna see, you're gonna see a lot of this money being thrown around on all of these different platforms. And all these different open AI or whatever, ChatGPT, all these, all of them, and only one or two, I think, will become the superior to the others.
Somebody will rise to the top. And you're going to lose billions of dollars is going to be lost on these other companies. So it's definitely a bold move for Disney. I don't know if it's the right move, you know.
I'm sure they did some type of research, you know, if we're going to do this, who do we do it with? Oh, I'm sure of that, but that doesn't mean that they won't screw it up. They've screwed up plenty of things. You know, maybe Disney did it, you know, they invested, so that way maybe they'll absorb them later once it builds to a certain level.
They can control it, yeah. Makes sense. I mean, but I know billion dollars is a lot of money, but is it a lot of money to Disney? No.
Or they're like, we'll just raise the prices next year and we'll cover this. Yeah. Disney Plus is going up. Right.
It's going up $5 for everybody. We need to cover our OpenAI buy. Well, Disney Plus pretty much is on everything. Like, you buy a phone, you get Disney Plus.
You know, you buy whatever service on TV, you get Disney Plus. You know, so they're in everything. They're pushing. Yeah.
Well, that's how they get the billy. You get Walmart, the shopping thing, where you get the delivery, you get Disney Plus. 95. A lot of those things, some of them are built into your bills already, like your Verizon bill or whatever.
Yeah, when I lived out here we had HBO apparently connected through the Wi-Fi service we had AT&T. When we moved and canceled the Wi-Fi, apparently we canceled HBO it too. Yeah, the big companies have figured out that the best way for them to take money from you is for you not to realize that it's happening every month. Right, exactly.
Right. Yeah. Your Wi-Fi service is $52, but you don't know that 32 of that is a streaming service. Right.
Right. And it's highly effective. Yep. Right.
" It's free. Right. It's bullshit. Little do they know.
It's not free. Right. Okay. All right.
What do you got? What's next? All right. This is a Cigar News transfer, Michael.
Pop Culture, Into Cigar News. Cigar News. Now some Cigar News. 0 debuts just in ahead of schedule.
0. Slow Cigar News Day, sorry. It's newest electronic humidifier that wasn't expected until next year. 0 for, anybody want to guess?
$300. 0. $350. $199.
Apparently it's a deal you guys are running close. Yes, still. The Oasis Plus is the company's mid-range option marketed for large desktop humidors or small cabinet humidors. It's an electronic humidifier that must be plugged into a wall outlet and use a two-piece design.
The bottom is a cartridge where the water is refilled, the top house is a fan control unit, and the rest of it is the operational part. Once plugged in, users set the humidity to the desired number, and the humidifier turns on its fan to draw moisture from the reservoir and provide humidity. Sounds pretty simple. Makes sense.
Water in, fan, go. Water in, moisture out. Yeah. The sensor detects when the humidity has reached the set level, which then turns off the fan.
Obviously makes sense too. Fan off, moisture on. Until it is needed to provide more humidity. Fan on, bring up moisture.
Thank you. From the outside, you know, I wouldn't mind to talk and say that in your voice. Yeah. Every time.
Fan on. Humidity up. 0 model, they're the same size, six inches by two by three, and have the same layout with a large screen, three soft touch buttons, basically it's the same thing, they just put a four out. Here's what we're going to do, four minute abs, and just crush the five minute ab market.
Oh, one less minute, same abs. Right, exactly. The Oasis XL and Plus models are nearly identical and also the same size, but the Plus is more powerful fan. Here's what we did.
We added a fan that's more powerful. $199. But you'll never know. Is it quieter?
No, the fan's bigger. It's louder. That's it. Cigar Oasis says that the unit has smarter connections with the Cigar Oasis app, which is available for iOS and Android.
It allows for instant readings of large temperature or humidity swings, but less frequent updates if there is no change in the future. So you can put it on an app, and you can control it from here. Look, that's just insanity. Listen, if you're a cigar person, and you have a decent humidor at home, and you have cigars, and you feel the need to check an app to make sure that the humidity levels are fine, I don't know what we're doing here.
Hold on, it's my 12 o'clock humidity check. Oh, okay. Also, there's a charge. 99 per year for the app.
How many of you suckers are subscribed to that? No, I use the Govi one. You don't have to pay for it. That little tile one that you put in there?
For humidity? Yeah, it just tells you what the humidity is. Okay. How often have you checked that thing?
I check it like once every three weeks, four weeks. But I put Bovitas in the humidor. So once a month you check on this app? Yeah, but I also have a hygrometer.
Yeah, a hygrometer? They'll have one of those on the front, but I don't always trust that. Is it digital or analog? No, analog.
Yes, it's not going to be accurate. So you can't just walk into the room and check it when you're home? Yeah, you can't just look at it? Are you not home once a month?
I mean, I can, but I just have it to dial in. Just so much easier to look on his phone. I mean, really, I just put the Bovitas and I really don't have any work. That's just, yeah, that's just the lazy...
Oh, that's right, you've got Bovitas in it, so it only goes to whatever the Bovitas are anyway. This is wild to me. So he's checking the system that doesn't need checked. Pretty much.
Can we start doing like a, can you tell us what day of the month it is? We'll put and make a part of the show? Right now. Who's humidity of the month is?
I checked my Gobi out and I'm running at 69%. Sure. Which is odd because I have 68 Bovitas in here. Perfect.
68 Bovitas. 68 Bovitas. Oh, percent. 68%.
Yeah, not 68 different Bovitas. Well, I guess you could, you could have the small ones. Bing bong. Bing bong.
Super wet, right. All right, Joshua Hedberski. Oh! Our guy, our friend.
Our guy, he's got another award. Our PCA legend. PCA CEO and president. Named one of The Hills, The Hills is a Legislative Magazine.
Okay. He's been named one of the top lobbyists of 2025. Wow. Now, he claims he has been named the top lobbyist, but he's just one of.
In the cigar world or in the world? In the world. Oh, okay. Yeah, can I imagine there's not like a whole lot of lobbyists for cigars.
There's probably three or four, but no, he's... Well, we knew that after this whole California debacle. Right. Joshua Habersky, the CEO and Executive Director of Premium Cigar Association, PCA, has been recognized by The Hill as one of the top lobbyists of 2025.
An acknowledgment that underscores his influence in Washington's advocacy world, Habersky's work centers on representing the premium cigar industry's interest before lawmakers and regulators, a niche he's been cultivating, he's cultivated into serious clout on Capitol Hill. Under his leadership, the PCA has pushed back against restrictive legislation, amplified grassroots engagement, and helped shape federal and state policy conversations around tobacco and specialty products. The distinction from The Hill, a respected nonpartisan outlet covering Congress and the political landscape, is a nod to Habersky's sustained advocacy impacts and relationships he's built across the policy community. Haberski is also known for his broader involvement in government affairs, education, and thought leadership, including work as a lecturer at George Washington State University, Graduate School of Political Management, for the cigar industry, and the broader world of trade association lobbying.
This recognition isn't just a personal milestone. It signals that even niche sectors can be a major player in DC's corridors of power. Congratulations, Mr. Haberski.
Congrats. I'm looking at the hill, the top list. It's where it's really long. It's it's a disaster.
By the number of people? Yeah. Yeah, it might be all of them. I don't know how many there are.
It's like grassroots is one of the things, one of the subjects. That's a person? Yeah, he's in the second category. The second category?
I said corporate. Yeah, he's in that one. In corporate? That's where I saw his name.
You got to look close. There's a lot of peoples. Holy moly. Associations?
It's got to be associations. I thought he was in Corporate. Corporate is the first one, and then Associations is the second one. Okay, whatever the second one is, he was in that one when I looked.
I think they're alphabetical. They're not. Oh, yeah, they are. A, B, C.
Let me see. Holy moly. G. There he is.
There he is. Joshua Bershe. Yeah. How many names do you think are on this list?
I don't know. I got tired of counting. Holy moly. There's a ton of names.
I think 250. Maybe more than that. Dang. So maybe all of them are listed.
All the lobbyists. Congratulations. So how does he determine his top 25? No, nothing said he was a top 25.
He was of 2025. Top lobbyist of 2025. Yes. Got it.
Not the top 25. Okay. He's changed his profile picture on Facebook. That's how I found out.
As top 25? Yeah, there's a little... No, not top 25. Just of 2025.
Top lobbyist of 2025? Yes. He did a thank you. What?
What? He did a thank you video. Oh, did he? Yeah.
Oh, I didn't see the video. Thank you. Speaking of videos, Michael, do you have one for us today? I do.
I'm sorry, we should have done that earlier, but I don't think you were paying attention. While we're on the subject of Joshua Habersky, the PCA was the one doing that educational thing at… At the college, yes. At the college, right. How did that go?
I saw some… Okay, now I'm confused, because I saw pictures of people at one, and it was different people. Yeah. So, there was one that Mr. Smoke Inn was at, Abe was at?
Abe, yeah. Was that the same one Joshua was at? I think so. Okay, then it looked like they had a decent amount of people?
Yeah. The people from Executive over in Melbourne went. I saw their photos. Oh, okay.
Oh, so you could, I thought this was just for college students. No, you could have, no, no, non-college students. They wanted you to pay to go. All right, I'm sending this to you guys right now.
Okay. I have a clip from a top podcast show. Oh, from ours, all right, perfect. It's a very controversial statement that I wanted to bring up.
Do I have to put my phone down below my head again and everything? The top. Yep, so go ahead. Can we play?
Just listen to the auto, just keep it away from the mic so when you put it in. Okay. Beep boop, beep boop. You got it?
What's that? Falcons, Bucs? I'm going to be there, yeah. You're going to be in the game?
Yeah. So you can bet? Bet at the window. Let's go, we'll just do Tampa Bay on the money line.
Tampa Bay outright. What's the spread? Four, minus four. Tampa's minus four.
So you're saying Tampa money line. They just had a bad loss to the New Orleans. The Falcons are looking rough, man. So are the Saints.
Division game? I don't know, man. You ain't gonna take your home team? Why was it on me for 75% of the video?
All right, that's what I'm taking. Okay, because you know how you get sometimes. All right, so, money makers. I want to talk about this, money makers, because you said-- That was a crazy game, by the way.
You said, hey, hey, here's my pick of the week. Yeah. I'm going to take Tampa money line. You didn't even take minus four.
You took Tampa money line. Outright win. Bro, the only thing I can tell you is Vegas made the call, I think they did the call, because they were winning, and fourth quarter, they lost in, like, what, Falcons scored two touchdowns, three touchdowns, two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, one super late, missed a two-point conversion, then they still get the ball back, and then they drive all the way down with penalties, they've had 124 yards of penalties the whole game, and then they kick a field goal. Win by one.
I heard this this morning on the radio and I was like, oh, they lost again. A must win situation for Tampa Bay. Yeah. That was completely nuts.
And I believe that I said to you, I don't know, I don't think they're going to win. You actually asked, do you think they're going to win? And I said, no. And moneymakers, I got news for you.
I got news for you. I think if we just went back and we tracked the moneymaker's betting so far, I just have to pick the opposite of what you pick at this point. Well, I will tell you this, it's one for three at the moment. I will tell you what I did last night.
He's done it three times. Yeah. One time he's been running. One time.
Okay. All right. I'll tell you what I did last night. Okay.
Tell me. So I did, I did do my early bet on Tampa to win. Okay. For 40 bucks, it was going to pay out like, I don't know, $120.
Okay. And then when I saw this fourth quarter, going how it was going, I was like, you know what? I bet you Vegas is going to try and fuck everybody. Here it is.
So I put $40 on the Falcons at that point, which they were down. It paid out $260. I made money. Even that late in the game?
Yeah, you can live bet. I mean, they were winning, and you bet for them to win. No, they were down two touchdowns. Oh, they were down.
No, because I saw what was happening. I was like, these guys are scoring. The whole game, they couldn't freaking really score. The Falcons.
And then all of a sudden in the fourth quarter, it's like Kirk Cousins is revived and Kyle Pitts is catching everything. And these no-name wide receivers for the Falcons are catching stuff. And then there was this one really controversial call at the end with the fumble, right, where Cousins fumbled. And they go, oh, we don't know who had it, so we're just going to give it to the Falcons.
Yep. Go James. They said Ty goes a runner. I'm like, this isn't fucking baseball.
Ty goes the offense. Yeah. We don't know who had it. So, let's just say it was the Falcons.
So I was like, you know what, this is... So, touchdown Falcons! Oh, wait, sorry. No, they hadn't gotten it yet, but they were going down for...
No, I was joking, that's what they said next. Oh, they were going down for the field goal. I was like, right before that though, I had placed the money, 'cause I was like, they're gonna let these guys go all the way down. That's what's gonna happen.
And it's not Tampa Bay's letting them go down. It was really the referees. 'Cause then there was the one where he caught it and he went out of bounds at the end, the Falcons player. Yep.
And it didn't look like it was a catch. I just kept it going. Yeah, it was like, oh, it's a, he was looking, the referee's like looking at him, and he's like, oh, it's inbounds, like, it was not inbounds. Boots was moving frantically, for those of you who can't see him.
Yeah, it was not inbounds, but hey, he was mimicking the move of a running back going down the field. So, but more importantly, you know, it's kind of odd, it's kind of strange that your picks, my pick was wrong, and you know, and now, like you say that, like you did this other pick later, like, oh, I've changed this. No, I did. I did change it.
I don't know. I don't know. There's got to be some way he can tell all his fans that he changed his bet. Well, you've got to be in the group.
Everybody that took the information and lost. You've got to be in the group. You know what? The only thing that we can do now, the next step of this, is that he actually shows the screen of his bets, and we post them.
We post them. And we post them. I can show you the screen. Not now.
Camera on me. I can show you the screen. So thank you so much. Oh.
You were at that game? Yeah, I was at the game. Oh, you were probably freaking angry as hell. No, I figured, nope.
I kind of had that sense that that was going to happen. I'm like, this isn't good. They're not stopping. He bet the opposite of what you said.
So a couple things happened. Well, like one is, so, you know, Jack's had a football game, so then we arrived, we were at the game a little late. And so we sit down and Jack's, look, Jack stands at all these games. Yeah, yeah.
Did you get another fight? What? Did you get another fight? Kind of.
so uh so a guy says to me excuse me can you have him sit down and i turn around very politely and i said i'm sorry he's gonna stand the whole game and he goes what oh i said i'm very sorry man he's gonna stand the whole game he's a kid he's a kid you know and if he's in your line of sight you can just you can right lean or you can stand up or whatever yeah jackson is what three and a half feet tall four feet tall yeah he's taller than three and a half yeah but this guy could stand up and see over yeah so so i turn back around and the guy says oh just like that controversy controversy how much cash get on you i need to bail money and there was something dude no this guy disappeared he just disappeared i was like so then you hit him no i was yes i don't know i'm He was just so comfortable in that space, it's weird. Was it closed fist or open fist? Oh, so... Was it like a Will Smith slap?
He was an older guy. Oh, he took pity on him and just punched him in the stomach. " Yeah. And I've been paying good money for ten years.
Yeah. So he's gonna stand. Yeah. And I turn back around.
Yeah. Did he hit you in the back of the head? No. No.
Dumped his beer on you. I think he changed seats with his wife. What a clown, bro. Honey, change seats with me.
This guy's an asshole. Wild, man. People are out of control. You should ask him if he was related to that last crazy lady.
You know what happened to the last guy he sat behind me, sir? That's why you got to buy the tickets. It's probably his wife, because it was a lady last time, I think, wasn't it? No, I think it's always been a guy.
There was one lady with Brittany where she had dressed. Oh, that's scary. She had to address somebody at Jax's game last night, too. I was like, uh-oh.
I don't think Brittany is as political as you. Because, you know, like, when you play flag football, sometimes you grab shorts when you're trying to pull flags or whatever. Yeah, yeah. Yank the kid's pants off?
Oh, they call it flag guarding if they think. they think yeah but like so uh one of our players i don't know if it was my kid or not but one of our players tried to grab and he snagged shorts a little bit but he instantly let go right and then went back to trying to get the flags and then like the next play after that so this lady yells they're trying to pull the shorts and apparently britney was close to this this girl so uh so she's like i can't stand i can't sit next to this person so she moves her chair and then she this lady yelled it again they're pulling the shorts so britney goes they're not trying to purposely pull shorts like she erupted and then we didn't hear anything from way to get up and left that entire crowd the rest of the night fear of their lives i gotta go here we go so yeah mikey's keeping this very clean for everybody there was a lot more said no that was it the coach looked at me and said the coach the coach on the other side goes what's going on and And I said, "Okay, well, here's what happened is somebody on your side yelled something about shorts and then my wife said something back to that person. He's like, 'Okay, Mike, as long as we're fine, that's their problem. " Was that guy's wife like, "Do we need to fight?
Are we fighting? " No, they were pretty cool. The coaches weren't bad yesterday. Very high temperament going on this week.
It's a very brief glimpse into the likes. We don't really talk anymore about personal stuff, you know, personal coaches. Don't turn anything. Okay.
Got scary. Got scary. All right, Cigars Podcast is not endorsed betting. We recommend that you do not take any of Boots' recommendations.
They are just for entertainment purposes only, and we are not responsible for any bets you make based on Boots' information. Apparently take the opposite. Yes, take the opposite. Well, don't do that, because then if that doesn't work either, then we're still in trouble.
La Flor Dominicana, Apollyona, what? Apollyona? Hold on. Apollyona?
Apollyona? Shipping this week, this week, LFD, Dominicans, sorry, TAA 2025 exclusive cigar will head to a small group of American stores, a very small group. Superior, small but superior. Yes, the LFD Apollyanna, a six and a half by 44 box press Lonsdale that uses a Cameroon wrapper over a Dominican binder, well, there's a lot of Cameroon floating around now.
Right, it's plenty. Yeah, Dominican binder and Dominican fillers, each cigar has an MSRP of, gentlemen, TAA exclusive cigar, small. $25. $17.
$20. Damn. I win. Yeah, you were closer.
I just saw him go up and think in his head. That was awesome. Production is what is the size of the cigar? You overbid.
Six and a half by 44. Box press. Is that a lawn? Six and a half is a lawn stand?
Yeah, it's a lawn stand. Look at you. Dominican bite. Well, he's a blender now.
He makes cigars. And Dominican fillers each we did this. The name is a reference to Apollyanna Corleone, the first wife of Michael Corleone, the protagonist in The Godfather, Simonetta Stefanali, played the role in 1972. Monday, Tuesday, Saturday.
S. That was it. Boom. That was the story.
That was the story. Moving on. They have a cigar. They make 20 of them.
The TAA Good Old Boy Club. We're not interested. Got it. All right.
There's always that long thing that there's a big paragraph that explains what TAA is. And we don't care. We've done that so many times. We're not doing it anymore.
We know what it is. We know what it is. We don't get it. If you know what it is, go back and watch 425 episodes of ours.
Right. Read any story Charlie does on the TAA. Put the same paragraph at the end. Right.
EGM Cigars officially lands in the US. What started as a European house brand has officially crossed the pond. EGM Cigars is now being sold in the United States. A Swiss cigar retailer, Ettore Gabrielle Moschellini, launched the EGM brand in 2022 after years of running...
Is your hand OK? Oh, I thought you were just twitching. I am not OK. A successful online business near the Italian border.
While he built his early following selling Cuban cigars, customers kept gravitating toward his own Dominican-made brand, EGM, smartly stamped with his initials. As Cubans became harder to find and more expensive, EGM picked up steam and quickly built an international following. S. market.
Morciarali is clear. EGM has never meant to be a Cuban substitute. It was built to stand on its own. EGM and its sister line, Empirin, are now distributed stateside by City of Palms.
Uh-oh. Out of Fort Myers, Florida. With plans to exhibit at the next PCA trade show, both lines are produced at the ABAM factory. ABAM?
Or is it A-B-A-M? ABAM. It's in capital letters. ABAM.
ABAM factory. What do you say like this though? Bam! Bam!
There you go. Back to the Dominican Republic using all Dominican tobacco. The core EGM line comes in 11 sizes. Oh my lord.
From Petite Coronas and Lanceros to modern big ring gauges with pricing from about $16 to the mid-50s. There you go. Most landing in the $20 to $30 sweet spot. Is that the sweet spot now?
$20 to $30? I don't think so. I don't either. Pemperine is a smaller, more full-bodied line featuring older tobacco, aged at least five years in larger formats.
S. It's arriving with confidence, a clear identity, and already proven global following. Hmm. I mean, I have a small issue with this article.
Okay. Uh, the way that they said, well, it's not supposed to, it's not a competitor or a replacement of Cuban cigars. -He says that. -Yeah.
Like, that doesn't sound like a reigning endorsement for your brand. -And no, and the fact that he made his brand is because Cubans were getting harder to find. -Yeah. -Yeah.
-Like, none of that makes sense. -No. -So, you know, well, what is it? So, for one, do you think, do you believe that Cuban cigars are better than New World cigars?
Because if that's the case, then why are you making New World cigars? And if you're making New World, it's like, I don't understand what's going on here. Oh, well, he had a shop on the border of Italy, sold Cuban cigars. " And you know what they need?
11 different Vitolas. Yeah, 11 different Vitolas. Not only 11 different Vitolas, but they're not as good as Cuban cigars. Yeah, but they're still, they're good.
They're just not as good. They're just not as good. It's not a substitute for it, or it's just another cigar. What are we doing?
S. All 11 Vitolas. I don't know this guy, I'm not trying to smash this guy. Can you name 11 different Vitolas?
Can I name 11 different Vitolas? Probably. Yeah? Yeah.
Oh, alright. It wouldn't be easy. Right. So this guy literally makes every Vitola almost.
Well, I mean, there's gotta be more than 11. I didn't even realize there were 11 different ones. I mean, I know you can do a different size, but does every different size have a... It's a different size.
Sure. Like if I did a six and a half by 57, does that have a name or is it just a six and a half by 57? It's a different size though. Yeah.
You can name it whatever you want. Nobody's going to look at the Vitola size. So there's not like an official list somewhere? There is.
There's an official list, but like the whole creator art. Yeah. You can call it whatever you want. This.
This is a loopy loopy. This is Medio Tiempo. What does that mean? So wild.
It's so wild. This is the bing bong. Oh, that's a great size. Yeah, great size.
It's a... Industry standard comes in a bing bong. Oh, bing bong. Comes in a bing bong.
Bing bong. It's got like, it's bulbous. It's got like a... Yes.
In the middle. It's bulbous in the middle, right. Small on the ends, big in the middle. Right.
I forgot to pull a... What's the score? But I have another story. Oh.
You forgot to pull a what's the score? Yeah, I meant to do it this morning and then I didn't get to it and then other things started happening and I just realized it because I know it was going to go before this. Unless there happens to be one here, we might be surprised here in a minute. Alright, and finally, WWE legend John Cena announces his retirement.
One of the biggest stars in professional wrestling history is officially calling it a career. WWE icon John Cena has announced that he will retire from in-ring competition, closing the book on a legendary run that helped define an entire era of sports. Cena debuted on WWE Television in 2002 and quickly became the face of the company, carrying WWE through its post-Attitude era and on to the modern age. S.
champion, and a cornerstone of countless WrestleMania moments. Whether fans cheered him or booed him, John Cena was a must-see TV. Beyond the ring, Cena successfully crossed into Hollywood, becoming a major box office draw while still returning for special WWE appearances. He also earned massive respect for his charitable work, granting more Make-A-Wish requests than any other celebrity in history.
Sounds like a good guy. Yeah, he does, doesn't he? I've seen some interviews. He seems like he is.
While his retirement marks the end of an era, Cena's influence on wrestling will be felt for generations, from "You Can't See Me" to "Never Give Up", John Cena didn't just headline shows, he became part of WWE's identity, and even as he steps away from the ring, his legacy is already untouchable. It was a bad day. So there's no more matches? It's over?
There's one more match he's doing like next week or something. It's next week and that's it? So no WrestleMania and none of that stuff? Unless he comes back as some type of announcer or something, he's not going to wrestle anymore.
Right. Do you follow this closely or no? I thought his last match was going to be at WrestleMania. Right, me too.
I saw a poster today, I assumed it was coming up soon. Was it not when I was doing research for this little story? Yeah, I mean it's probably coming up soon. Because there was no actual story, there was just people did videos saying he was going to retire.
Because WrestleMania is like the Super Bowl. Right. It is. Yeah.
Okay. Unless he's got an injury or something where he can't. Maybe that, maybe that's it. Yeah.
I mean, those guys beat the hell out of themselves. Yeah. And when you get older, man. There's no stuntmen.
Yeah. Yeah. He has been around for a long time. Okay.
Do you have a what to score? No, unfortunately I don't. Okay. So here's what we're going to do.
" because I know that you want to play this game. Yes. " Palmer gets to play. Okay, so, I'm looking at the first article here and it's going to be the "Flor de las Antillas San Andreas Toro", December 11, 2025, by Brooks Whittington.
Okay. Palmer first. Palmer, you are our guest today, so you get to pick your first score. Floralicentillas.
I'll go 86. Okay. Standard. 85.
Don't critique my every. I didn't. Hey, this is how the game is played. You want to play?
Here we are. Okay. Cigar review. Floralicentillas.
San Andreas Toro. Country of origin. Undisclosed. Factory.
Undisclosed. Wrapper, Undisclosed, Binder, Undisclosed, Filler, Undisclosed, Length, 6 inches, Ringgauge, 54, it is pressed, MSRP, $13, available November 2025, regular production, cigars smoked for the review, 3. Palmer. I'll stick at 86.
I mean, everything was undisclosed. You know nothing about it. I feel like my score is going to be undisclosed. 85.
Okay, now look, I'm just winging this, so it's not going to be perfect. Each of the three cigars starts out surprisingly light with virtually no spice or pepper and a slightly bitter dark chocolate note. Very shortly after lighting the cigars, distinct flavors of powdery, cocoa nibs, and creamy almonds take over the profile, followed by secondary notes of bitter espresso, cedar, barnyard, plain oatmeal, tree bark, and light cinnamon. Plain oatmeal.
Nobody likes plain oatmeal. But then you taste cinnamon later. Why have you put cinnamon in your oatmeal? Who knows?
Palmer? Uh, I'm gonna go 84. 84. I'm gonna go 86.
86, okay. During the second third, the amount of spice on my tongue picks up noticeably for the first and last cigars, while the second cigar continues at about the same level as the first third. Main flavors of dark chocolate and coffee beans emerge. More coffee beans than dark chocolate for the second cigar, along with additional flavors of cocoa nibs, toasted bread, cinnamon, chalk, earth, cedar, earth, cedar, leather tack, and dry hay.
The retro hail features slightly more black pepper and significantly more raisin sweetness. And while the citrus peel note is now present on the finish, on all three cigars, the second cigar has the most. What is a cocoa nib? I always wonder what a cocoa nib is.
Great question. Write that down. All right. Figure out what a cocoa nib is.
I'm going 87. 83. We're just flip-flopping back and forth. Okay.
Clue number three: the final third sees a new combination of toasted bread and gritty earth on top of the profiles, but there is also a quite a bit of the powdery cocoa nibs from the first third present, along with coffee beans, cinnamon, cedar, barnyard, pencil lead, and granola. As the final third burns down, the amount of spice on my tongue continues to increase, and while it does have a slight impact on the overall balance, It never becomes overwhelming. Is there a final thought? Yes.
I'm going to stick at 87. 81. 87, 81. Okay.
Write the difference. Final thought. I have enjoyed quite a few of the Flor de Les Antillas cigars in both blends in the past, and a new My Father's Cigar is always one I am eager to try. Oh.
The Flor de las Antiñas San Andres Toro is full of chocolate notes with powdery cocoa nibs, dominating the first and final thirds, while dark chocolate is a main player in the second third, and an ever-present raisin sweetness is just icing on the cake. Yes, there were some problems with the burn line at various points, and the flavors in the final third were not quite as distinct as the first two thirds, but even with those minor issues, the Flor de las Antiñas San Andres Toro is an extremely enjoyable blend. that is well worth trying out. Palmer?
I'm going to go 90. Boots? 89. Have you seen this?
No. It's 90. Oh! Wow!
Boom! Boom! Wow, now you've got two people teeing off on you. How does that make you feel?
You haven't seen this? No. Do you even know what cigar this is? Have you smoked this cigar?
I know the name, but I can't picture it in my head. I got to be honest, the way that you guys were rating it off the jump, I was like, you guys are way off. Because it's Brooks. Right.
Even though it says undisclosed, you have reason to believe that it's from Nicaragua. But if it's not, it could just be the leaves that they grow there, and then they brought them over to their Honduras factory. Right? Could go either way there.
You said it was all undisclosed for factory? Yeah. But then he said it was my father. Correct.
But they have a factory in Honduras and a factory in Esteli. Oh, okay. So, or maybe they just had somebody else make it. Who knows?
So, you guys were rating it really low for a Brooks. " And then you popped at the end, both of you. I'm just jumping around in the middle. I mean, it doesn't, you don't have to track your score based on what you're saying.
You just listen, and then the final score, the final thought sort of gives it away. I was trying to bring Palmer down. Yeah, I figured you were. Yeah.
" Nope. I think that if I was going lower, he might go lower. I don't know if I would trust you. It's not like you have an outstanding track record of just crushing at this game.
You really weren't saying anything negative other than the burn line problem, and he was ranting in the final thought, even though it's got a burn line. This guy must buy Coco Nibs from Costco. Yeah, I don't even know what it is. He must have a huge pack of them.
He's a big Coco Nibs guy. Is that a candy you eat, or is it something you cook with? No idea. Coco Nibs, I think, is a cooking thing.
Dana, what's a Cocoa Nib? You may directly eat it, because it's in chocolate, and also, you can cook with it, with a stronger, more pure form of cacao. Okay, so it's a stronger, or more pure form of cacao. Cacao.
You can eat it, or you can cook with it. Oh, thank you. Perfect. Thank you, Dana.
Thank you, Dana. Well, yeah, Brooks eats a lot of these. Apparently. He's a big Cocoa Nib guy.
Yeah. And leather tack. " Cocoa Nibs. I love Cocoa Nibs.
And pencil lead. I'm just here for the Cocoa Nibs. I'm just here for the Nibs. Alright, anybody got anything else?
No, that's it. No, I saw the Guy Fieri event. Oh, yeah. Oh, the video?
I saw a picture of him standing up. Yeah. Oh, I saw his foot sticking out from behind the table. You can see he's got a boot on his leg.
He has just a boot? But it's his quad. Yeah, I know, which is odd. So, I mean, all you could see was from, like, just below the knee to the foot.
So I was making sure I was making it this time. He might have a full one. Yes, sir. Hey, buddy, you're on the podcast.
Just real quick. So you did the Guy Fieri event with Guy, correct? Correct. How was his leg?
Was he straight? Did he have something that made it so his quad couldn't move or did he stand? Yeah, yeah, yeah. His right leg's in a full brace.
Oh, it's a full brace. Did he move, or did he stand? Yeah, yeah, yeah. His right leg's in a full brace.
Oh, it's a full brace. Brace. Okay. Because the picture I saw, he was standing.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. He stands. He puts all his weight on his left leg. That's incredible, man.
I mean, what if you lose your balance? He shot six triple D's, he did the cigar event, and then a santo tequila sighting. That dude is a machine. That guy's next level.
Yeah. Yes, sir. I love it. Okay.
That's it. That's all. That's all we wanted from you. Okay.
Answer your call. Your phone. I called you yesterday. I didn't get it.
I answered Jack. Hi. Me too. I never...
I was forced to call Paul. Oh, I'm sorry. You know, I get to tell... He can't hear me, but tell him I get so excited when he calls and then I realize it's because you didn't answer the phone.
Yeah. You heard his feelings. Well, listen, I hear he wants to work for us, so... Oh, yeah.
Oh, there you go. I'm updating my resume, Jack. All right. He wants some work for us, and you guys are trashing the off-menu cigar.
Excuse me, sir. That's Patreon material. We don't talk about Patreon stuff. First roll of Patreon, we don't talk about Patreon.
No. This is the regular podcast, our daily podcast. You didn't trash it anyways. I was just fucked up with you.
You're correct. Stop giving away all the info. We're going to have to increase your price. A membership to the Patreon would be an amazing Christmas present for someone.
Ooh. Yes. You're right. I just want to put that out there.
You know, people are missing a lot of really good content. Can we do that? Can we give somebody a free Patreon? No, not us.
Like a wife should buy it for her husband. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. You're right. You're right.
It would be a good Christmas present. What the hell? Yeah. Give the gift that keeps giving all year round with a Patreon on Cigar Hustlers Podcast.
Or it keeps taking out of your bank account. Wow! All right, we got to go. Thanks, Jack.
We started so well. Okay. All right. All right, guys.
Goodbye. All right, Jack Taranio, guys. That's what I'm serious. Look at the camera and make that thing and then make that one of the shorts.
The perfect Christmas gift for any cigar aficionado. The perfect? You do it. You do it.
You just said it. No, I liked what you just said. I said cigar aficionado. You said the thing.
All right, boots, put my camera on. Yes. Wait, hold on a sec. We gotta go, you let the light get back up.
What? It's changing. Once it's after an hour long, it starts to go crazy, your camera. Oh, does it really?
Yeah. Well, go ahead. You look kinda like a William Shatner kind of thing. What are you guys gonna tell me this?
It's been doing that for years. Yeah, it's like a William Shatner. Go ahead. Oh, wow.
Is that me? Yeah. Oh, it's lighting up. Go.
This holiday season, the perfect gift for any cigar aficionado, the Cigar Hustler Podcast Patreon, the gift that gives all year long. Available in monthly installments. Perfect. Okay.
All right, that concludes our... All right, this has been episode... What'd you say was yesterday? Because you were right yesterday.
This is 429. This is 429. This is 429? This is 429.
Episode 429-er? 429-er. Don't go by what the graphic says yesterday. Go by the actual number and the name.
The graphic... 428? So yeah, you're 429. 429.
All right, guys, thank you very much. We'll see you on Monday. Thanks, bye. Goodbye.
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Show Notes
On todays show Snoop Dog is now an olympic coach, Nasa has lost a space ship, Disney says if you can’t beat them join them, then cigars Joshua Habursky has been name one of the top for 2025, LFD is releasing a new cigar, Oasis has starting making us wetter, we have a what’s the score mini game and then to round out the show we say good bye to a legend…..all this and more on. Todays episode 429