ACHP Episode 437 There Goes The Neighborhood

Episode Summary

Mike Palmer, co-host Mikey Stepankiewicz and engineer Boots Hippelhauser open episode 437 with their usual off-the-rails news block: the latest tranche of released Epstein files and the questions around redactions and unverified documents, Mark Zuckerberg's ever-expanding Palo Alto compound (11 homes, $110M, eight years of construction, hydro-floor pool and "basement" bunkers) and the noise-canceling headphones, sparkling wine and Krispy Kreme donuts his staff handed neighbors, and the tragic presumed shark attack that claimed swimmer Erica Fox off Lover's Point in Pacific Grove, California.

The cigar half starts with a shout-out to Drew Estate's "Big Willie" and a conversation about the brutal travel load carried by brand reps — 100+ nights in hotels, 30,000 miles of driving and 100 in-store events a year — and why acknowledging that grind matters more than one-upping it. From there the guys cover the new Fox Cigar x Chai Mali collaboration: a 6x52 "Robusto E" with an Ecuadorian Habano 99 wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and Dominican/Nicaraguan filler, made at the Mi Havana factory, $16 MSRP, limited to 500 boxes of 20. They give honest impressions — strong at PCA 2025, more mixed on the samples sent afterward — and push back on the vague "old world style" marketing language.

Legal news follows: Judge Monica Ramirez Almadani of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California denied the plaintiffs' preliminary injunction request in Rocky Patel Premium Cigars Inc. et al. v. Bonta, the 77-company challenge to California's Unflavored Tobacco List. The hosts argue the state has the burden backwards — list the flavored/infused cigars rather than forcing every traditional maker to pay to prove a negative. Then La Vega Cigar Company's third Limited Series release, La Trilogia, a 6x50 barber pole Toro (Ecuadorian Connecticut seed and Mexican San Andrés wrappers, Dominican Olor binder, Dominican, Nicaraguan and Pennsylvania broadleaf filler) at $14.99, limited to 200 boxes of 10, releasing February 4, 2026.

The back half includes one of the episode's most substantive segments: Mikey explains how blending actually works at a factory — starting with what tobacco the factory already has, trading for leaf between factories, why a leaf intended as wrapper can ferment into a binder, and how his own request for Pennsylvania broadleaf on an early small-batch project got sourced. The show closes with a "What's the Score" round guessing halfwheel's rating on the Trinidad X Tommy Bahama Island Collection Harbor (5 x 52, all-Nicaraguan, made at Tabacalera AJ Fernandez, $16.50), which scored 88.

In This Episode

1. 01
   Epstein Files Release
   The hosts dig into the 30,000+ heavily redacted pages newly released by the Justice Department, the disputed handwritten letter, and why so much remains unverifiable.
2. 02
   Zuckerberg's Palo Alto Compound
   Mark Zuckerberg's $110M, 11-home Crescent Park compound, eight years of construction, underground 'bunkers,' and the noise-canceling headphones and donuts handed to fed-up neighbors.
3. 03
   Fatal Shark Attack at Lover's Point
   The disappearance of 55-year-old swimmer Erica Fox off Pacific Grove, California and the suspended Coast Guard search.
4. 04
   Life on the Road as a Cigar Rep
   A tribute to Drew Estate's 'Big Willie' and a discussion of the 100+ hotel nights, 30,000 driving miles and time away from family that brand reps rack up each year.
5. 05
   Fox Cigar x Chai Mali Collaboration
   Details on the 6x52 Fox E Chai Mali — Ecuadorian Habano 99 wrapper, Mi Havana factory production, $16 MSRP, 500 boxes — plus the hosts' honest take on the blend and its 'old world style' claims.
6. 06
   California UTL Lawsuit Setback
   A federal judge denies the preliminary injunction in Rocky Patel Premium Cigars et al. v. Bonta, and the guys argue California should list flavored cigars instead of making traditional makers pay to prove a negative.
7. 07
   La Vega La Trilogia Limited Edition
   Aaron Poletta's third Limited Series release: a 6x50 barber pole Toro at $14.99, limited to 2,000 cigars, releasing February 4, 2026.
8. 08
   How Cigar Blending Really Works
   Mikey explains sourcing tobacco from what a factory already has, trading leaf between factories, and why a would-be wrapper sometimes ferments into a binder.
9. 09
   What's the Score: Trinidad X Tommy Bahama Island Collection Harbor
   Boots and Mikey guess the review score on the 5x52 all-Nicaraguan Trinidad made at Tabacalera AJ Fernandez, priced at $16.50.

Brands & Cigars Discussed

Linked items are in our shop. Mentions without a link aren’t currently stocked or couldn’t be matched with confidence.

Transcript

Mike Palmer: I'm Mike Palmer and this is episode 437 of the Cigar Hustler Podcast. With me today is Boots. No, I'm not Santa Claus Hippelhauser. Oh, you're so funny.

Our engineer, and with me as always, my co-host, Mikey, can I have seconds on the stuffing, Stepankiewicz? Seconds on the stuffing? Seconds on the stuffing. That's not nice.

And on today's show, we have The Gift That Keeps On Giving, Mark Zuckerberg gives more gifts to all his neighbors, A Shark Attack Claims a Life, and then in cigars, Fox Cigars Gets Chinese Takeout, more UTL news, and the La Vega has a big announcement. All this and more in episode 437 of Cigar Hustler Podcast. Yay! There should be music right here or something.

Da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da. There you go. But first, Mikey, how do we get some of that CHPod swag? I'm gonna need you to like and subscribe right now to this format, whatever you're listening to, YouTube, whatever, podcast, anything.

Just like and subscribe, for starters. com And buy some of our apparel. If you buy one, you get the second one 40% off. Oh, still?

Yeah. And if you spend a hundred dollars or more, you get free shipping. Still? Still, yeah.

Yeah, still. Holiday season's over. Okay. So, I don't know what to tell you.

Scroogeman Duck over here needs to make some more money. All right. So, we'll pull back on the hundred dollar shipping. Now, you already said it now.

It's going to be in existence at least this week. But then after that. End of December. End of December?

End of December. Okay. End of December and then no more free shipping. You're going to pay for it.

How are you going to get it to you? It's like Seinfeld, you know? Like the key fee? Oh, yeah.

Oh, it was a key fee. The key fee. Yeah. How are you going to start it?

You know how to take the reservation, but you know how to hold the reservation. These are the true questions. Okay. So, yeah.

com, like, and subscribe, and thank you so much for your support. com. Yep. Thanks so much for your support.

Okay. What are you talking about, Zuck? That's not the first story. Okay, then tell me about what you wrote it down.

The gift that keeps on giving, more Epstein files have been released. Oh. I'm very excited. The Justice Department has released a new badge of documents tied to the investigation of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

I don't know if these come out daily, coming out weekly, but I'm really enjoying this. Okay. Adding more fuel to the already murky and controversial case, the release included more than 30,000 heavily redacted pages. some of which reference or mention President Donald Trump.

S. gymnastic doctor Larry Nassar. That's the dude they busted for giving all the creepy massages and exams. He got popped.

Yeah, he's into pokey now. Is he still alive? He's in jail. I thought that guys like that don't live long in prison.

Well, he's not giving massages anymore. He might be giving massages. He might be getting massages. The letter contains a line claiming, and I quote, "Our president also shares our love of young, nubile girls," in parentheses.

Which president? Trump! At that time, he wasn't a president, though. Yeah, he was.

It was the first time he was president. Oh. The Department of Justice later stated that the letter is fake and does not represent a verified communication from Epstein, which means, oops, that got through. I mean, that doesn't necessarily mean that.

No, it doesn't necessarily. Come on. I mean, but you got to figure, they can let us know what they want to let us know. They just redact it and say, because of national security, ain't nobody checking.

Yeah, well, you think that that would accidentally leak out? 30,000 files, things fall through. No way. Not like that.

So how did a fake letter get in the pile? How do you know it was in the pile? They said it was in the pile. How do you know it was in the pile?

No, the story says it's in the pile. Yeah, but that's part of the pile. It just leaked out. I mean, I don't know.

S. attorney. The email alleges that Trump may have traveled on Epstein's private jet more times than previously reported. I mean, okay, so I took a ride on the jet.

Here we go. Here we go. According to that email, Trump is listed as a passenger on at least eight flights between '93 and '96. The Department of Justice emphasized that these claims are unverified and appear in internal correspondence, not sworn testimony or established findings.

In a statement accompanying the release, the Justice Department said the files contain untrue and sensationalist claims made against President Trump. Officials also made clear that Trump has not been accused of any wrongdoing related to Epstein, nor has he been charged or named as a suspect in any Epstein-related criminal case. Well, he's not going to be. I mean, he's the president, for God's sake.

Can he pardon himself? I pardon myself! Yes, I... these are not the droids that you're looking for.

These are not the droids you're looking for. They're not the charges you want to give me. As with previous Epstein documents, releases as much as material is fragmented, redacted, and uncorroborated, highlight how difficult it remains to separate fact from rumor in one of the most scrutinized investigations of the past decade. " Yeah, that is the wild part of this whole thing, right?

But at the end of the day, if we can sift through some of these things and hold some people accountable, I'm for that. Are you not for that? Oh, I am for that. And I don't care who it is.

So this is back in the 90s. So we're going back 25 to 30 years-ish. I don't know. What's the statute of limitations on pedophilia?

I don't know. I have no idea. Maybe 20 years, 25 years? So, if they did it back then, they can't be prosecuted now anyway.

Yeah, but listen, even if you can't be prosecuted, they can be disgraced. You know what I mean? We can still do something, you know? Like, it should come to light, one way or the other.

Oh, I see, Jane. Sure. I'm a fan of getting to the truth, you know? I hope that we do in a lot of these cases, if not all of them.

Why do you think they're redacting so much? It can't be national security. I don't know, because it's probably protecting people they want it protected. That's how this works.

Right, so yeah, we're not gonna, so why are they saying, I mean, you think Trump would be the head guy, he could go, look, anything with my name on it, just put that little mark across it and then we can see it. Well, that's why I'm saying it's highly likely that he, any of that was leaked with him. Right. You know what I mean?

Sure. That's why it's probably, anything that's popped up is probably not true. Not true. I would say that it's probably.

It doesn't make sense. Yeah. But because if it was, it'd probably be covered up, right? Some movie director from Hollywood, though, his name's going right at the top of the list.

Well, it depends upon, was he an active contributor to XYZ? I mean, who knows, dude? Somebody who's already dead, write his name on everything. Yeah, there you go.

Oh, that guy. You're not going to believe this. I'm not going to believe it. Former director of national security, Mark Zuckerberg.

That's just the next name on the television. All right, let's see what Mr. Zuckerberg's up to. Mark Zuckerberg gifted noise-canceling headphones to his Palo Alto neighbors because of the non-stop construction around his 11 homes.

Apparently, he's buying up this neighborhood every time a house goes for sale. I'm mine. Billionaire Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has reported been wearing thin on the patience of his neighbors in Palo Alto as years of construction continue around his ever-expanding residential compound. According to the New York Times, Zuckerberg recently offered a small peace gesture: noise-canceling headphones for his next-door neighbors.

That's very nice. It's funny. It's funny. Like the parents on the plane that pass out little candies and earplugs because your kid's gonna scream.

Please pardon our dust while I destroy this entire neighborhood. While I make it my compound. While I make this my compound. Zuckerberg, who co-founded Facebook and now leads Meta, has spent more than $110 million over the past 14 years acquiring at least 11 homes in Palo Alto's Crescent Park neighborhood, now called Zuckerbergville.

We call this Facebook. Once a quiet enclave of lawyers, business executives, and Stanford professors the area has gradually transformed into a zone marked by construction equipment, heightened security, and frequent high-profile gatherings. Some of the properties remain unoccupied despite the region's well-documented housing shortage, while others have been converted into guest houses, gardens, and pickleball courts. And a pool with a hydro floor.

What is a hydro floor? I want one. I have no idea. Is it a hydro floor?

Maybe it's so you could swim against it. Maybe that's what it is. You know, it makes the water come at you, maybe? Maybe.

If someone would find out what a hydro floor is, because boots is not. I look for your hydro. How do you spell hydro? Yeah, exactly.

T. T. Yeah, it starts with a T, Boots, keep looking. T-W.

At one point, a private school for Zuckerberg's children and a few others operated on a property, an arrangement that reportedly conflicted with local zoning rules. Beneath the compound, Zuckerberg added roughly 7,000 square feet of underground space described in permits as "basements", but often referred by neighbors as "bunkers" or "billionaire's bat cave". Okay, hold on. A hydro floor is a high-tech, movable pool floor that raises and lowers with the push of a button, transforming a swimming pool into a solid, usable patio, dance floor, or event space, maximizing property, utility, offering adjustable depth for safety and recreation, and acting as a secure pool.

Oh, thank you very much. Thank you. That's very nice of you. So pretty much what it is, it's like the water.

The kids are coming. Put it at three feet. Yeah. Let's fill up the, let's put the pool down.

Right. Now we're going to play water polo. Put it down to 10 feet. Imagine having so much money where you can just add the pool and then, you know what?

I'm going to take it away today. I don't need it. I don't need it today. Raise it up.

Make all the water go away. No pool. No pool. Or check out the espionage level.

What you can do is you can tie somebody to a chair, right? Put them in the pool. Yeah. Yeah, no, put them on the regular floor and then have them start asking questions, asking them questions and as they don't answer, slowly start to fill the pool.

You're gonna die! You can take him down to the Batcave. Similar underground construction has drawn attention at his Kauai, Hawaii estate with which Zuckerberg insists is not a doomsday bunker. Could you dig that deep in Hawaii?

No, no, it's not a doomsday. Nothing to see here. Nothing to see here. It's not a Batcave.

It's not a doomsday bunker. This is perfectly fine. You would expect to see this in Hawaii. Much of the neighborhood frustrated stems from nearly eight consecutive years of construction.

Eight years. With residents siding blocked streets, debris, constant noise, and a heavy security presence. In addition to headphones, Zuckerberg staff has been reported to distribute sparkling wine and Krispy Kreme donuts. Here are some donuts.

Here are some donuts. Sorry that we're crushing your gazalias again. It's almost been a decade and we are destroying your neighborhood. Have these donuts.

And these noise-canceling headphones that you look silly when you wear. Put these headphones on and eat these donuts. I hope it's the kind that make you look like cats or something. Or Spongebob ones or something.

They say meta? They say meta on them? They got the F on the side. Why don't these people just move?

I don't want to move from Zuckerville. Dude, I'm packing my shit. I'm getting the hell out. With roving security teams.

It's the safest you've ever been. But it's loud and annoying. Eh, they're rich people. They just want to bitch.

No, okay, you're probably right. They're not Zuckerberg rich. No, they don't have... He would love for them to move because then he will buy their house and add it to the compound.

Exactly. So he's surrounded by wealth, but none of them... Not his wealth. scratch the surface of Zuck.

I mean, honestly though, like home is supposed to be a place of peace. Peace and tranquility, yes. I can kind of chill. Yes.

If somebody's there, and they're disturbing my peace, and there's nothing I can do about it, I gotta, I gotta pack it in. You know, it's time for me to go. Yeah, it's what he wants. Move the wall another 200 feet that way, and bring that house inside.

Yeah, he's purposely annoying the shit out of them. Right, until they all leave. And then giving them Krispy Kremes to offset it. Krispy Kremes and sparkling wine.

Oh, you want to leave? Does that go-co together? I'm gonna try that. Oh, I'm sorry.

Too much? Too much? If you want, I'll buy your house. Yeah, you just leave.

Obviously, Mr. Zuckerberg will buy your home from you. Facebook land, as he calls it. Spokesperson for Zuckerberg told Fortune that he and his family value being members of the community and have taken steps beyond local requirements to minimize the disruption.

This is not Zuckerberg's first real estate clash in 2016. Palo Alto officials rejected plans for large compound redevelopment, though critics say similar work later moved forward in pieces. , each drawing its own share of scrutiny. It's been eight years.

He keeps buying another house! It's been eight years of him doing construction in this neighborhood. By then, well, like the pickleball used to be tennis courts, now it's all pickleball, so we gotta go pickleball. Right.

Like, we want to pretend that we play tennis, so we'll play pickleball. So, the in color now is taupe. I need everything painted taupe. He's got his jiu-jitsu mats.

He's probably got a UFC, a fighting house. This is my fighting house. This is where I go to fight. This is where I keep my dragon.

Don't let anybody look. This is not my dragon. This is not my dragon. This is not my dragon you're looking for.

Okay, so, yeah, man. Do you move or do you suck it up and stay? I pack my shit. But then he wins.

I live to fight another day. Like, you have to understand where you can win the battles and the wars here. Like, this is a battle that you're not gonna win. No, there's no way you can win this.

He's got all the money in the world. " Look, it's been eight years. I don't care how nice you've been. That's irrelevant, right?

Why don't you work it into being his friend? Invited to the big house in the middle up on the hill. " I'd like to come over for the Christmas party. Excellent, my plan is working.

Will Tom Cruise bring the Bundt cake? The coconut cake? No, they get in trouble, there was something wrong with the coconut cake this year. There was coconut cake issues?

I think there was. Oh no, that's not good. The ingredients were mislabeled or something, and somebody ate it, they shouldn't have eaten it or something? Oh, I did not know there was coconut in this coconut cake.

Right, sorry about that, booty booty. Oh, I get instant diarrhea, you know how I feel about diarrhea. Give him a bing bong. Bing bong.

There you go. My buttons got a little messed up there for a second. All right, a shirt goes for dinner. Authorities have indefinitely suspended a search for 55-year-old swimmer Erica Fox, who went missing Sunday while swimming near Lover's Point in Pacific Grove, California.

Officials announced Monday evening Fox for a long time, Fox, a long time swimmer and triathlete was a co-founder of the Kelp Crawler Swimming Group, which he helped establish nearly 20 years ago, according to members of the group, excuse me, and reporting by Monterey County Weekly, Pacific Grove Police said Fox was swimming with the group during its regular Sunday morning outing. Investigators said the swimmers entered the water as usual, but around noon, a witness on shore reported that Fox was swimming with the group during its regular Sunday morning outing. Investigators said the swimmers entered the water as usual, but around noon, a witness onshore reported seeing a large splash offshore. Police said the site caused concern among the group, prompting swimmers to head back to shore out of fear.

It may have been a shark encounter. Everyone returned safely except Fox. S. Coast Guard, the first report came from a driver stopped at a nearby intersection who said he saw a shark breach the water with what?

It appeared to be a human body in its mouth before submerging and not resurfacing. A second witness, a member of the swim group, then conducted a head count and realized Fox was missing. One, two, three. Fox was described as having blue eyes, wearing a red bathing suit and a yellow swim cap.

Search crews from multiple agencies, including the Coast Guard, Pacific Grove Police, Monterey Fire, Seaside, and California Fire. Search for more than 15 hours, covering over 84 square nautical miles using boats, drones, and helicopters The force of spending active operations. The Coast Guard extends its deepest consolances to the family, friends, and loved ones affected by the tragic incident, said Captain Jordan Balduzzi. Fox's father, James Fox, told NBC News that swimming was his daughter's passion.

She was doing something yesterday that she really loved, he said. Local beaches remain closed and authorities continue to investigate circumstances surrounding the disappearance. So how old was she? She was 55.

She was an older lady? I'm 54, Michael. You're an older man. She'd been doing this for 30 years.

She helped start this group. 25 years or so. That's a pretty good run. Yeah, I pulled this because I thought it'd be interesting to talk to Boots about what would you do if he saw a shark?

Oh, what do you want to ask me? Similar to the bear. Ask me about shark. Go ahead.

Okay, you're out in the water, Boots, and you see a shark. What do you do? I drown the person next to me, so shark eat it. You know how I feel about dying.

I must live forever. Yes. Boots. I take care of my body.

Boot Survival, but all among everything else. With Reese's Cup, I like Reese's Cup. Okay, so. She's wearing red and yellow, I mean, it kind of draws the attention of the shark.

Does it? Brighter colors, yes, they do. Then I put, I swim with someone who has bright on. Oh, you swim with somebody else that has brighter colors.

Yeah, I do, that's what I do, and I make sure that they're in front of me and behind me at all times. Oh, both, both, front and behind. Yeah, cover both sides, always cover both sides, very smart. Very smart.

You are. You're a very smart guy. Very smart boots. Yeah, that's a great tactic, you know?

Put some bright colors around you. I mean, they haven't even found pieces. Probably ate the whole person. It had to be a hell of a shark.

It had to be a big shark. I mean, okay, a big shark grabs her and takes her down, they bite off chunks, and then come back and get more chunks, and then come back, you know, and then everybody's eating the chunks. Is that how that works? Yeah, it's not like a, you know, like an alligator crocodile doesn't take you down and shove you somewhere until you get all bloated and soft.

They're not loaded and soft. Right. They're taking pieces. You would think something would float up, a wristwatch or a hand or something.

And where did this take place? Off the coast of California, a place called Lover's Point. Wow. Hmm.

It's a terrible way to go. I'm sure. Because, I mean, you're either going to die from blood loss or drowning. It's going to be one or the other.

I think that you go, you just, like, after the first bite, you're in shock. You're in shock and then you just go from there? Yeah, you don't even know what's going on at that point. Oh, terrible.

It has to be extremely painful. Reminds me of one of the James Bond movies. Piece of hunk. Hunk of fish.

Piece of hunk? Piece of hunk is a hunk? Piece of chunk? Fish take a big chunk out.

Chunky ice cream? What was that? I don't remember the name of the movie. Not important.

Ace Ventura? No, it was the guy from the blonde guy who died in the car accident, Vin Diesel's buddy. Paul Walker? Paul Walker.

He did two movies where he was a treasure hunter. Two movies? There was a sequel? There was a sequel, and the sequel is where the girl, nope, the first one.

Yeah, this girl got half her thigh ripped by a shark. Really? In the movie. But they did show it, it was quite graphic.

Okay, well, this is a very sad piece of news. And you're right, Boots would do anything that he could... Somebody could... To save himself first.

Yeah, because the money makers needs to survive and thrive. Oh, I mean, I didn't pull the story, I just saw it briefly, but Trump is signing a bill where after January 1st, you have to pay taxes on money you lose. Gambling, gambling losses. Really?

Yeah. Gambling losses? You can't write them off or something, I guess you used to be able to write them off. You can't anymore, so you pay taxes.

Oh. I only read the headline, I didn't read the whole article. I mean, that's interesting. Interesting.

Like, how about we go back to making it illegal? Gambling? No, no, it's fine. It's fine now.

It's fine? It's fine for the Indians. The Indians get the gambling. Not anymore, buddy.

Sure they do. They're part of it, but they're not the only ones. Who else gets it? The Amish?

How about Las Vegas? Have you been there? Oh, well, that's Vegas. Vegas has always had gambling.

Okay. Sports betting and stuff. It's always been legal there, but now it's legal everywhere else. Sports betting.

Yeah, well, now you can use, except for the state of Florida, but in a lot In a lot of states you can use their apps and stuff to bet wherever you are. Oh. Yeah. Nice.

Why am I sweating? Because your fever's breaking. Again? Yeah.

I never actually had a fever. No? Nope. " Yeah.

I always call it cold Zika. Yeah. Keep up Mitch, God. I had this nice picture that I did of me in the hospital, I AI'd me in the hospital, I thought, It looks way too real.

People are going to think of it now. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. He's dying.

All right. Now on the cigar news. Cigar news, Michael. Okay.

Just make sure you're on board. Yes, thank you very much. Do you have a video for us? I do have a video.

It's more of a photo. I don't want it. No? No.

You're just going to yell at me by the way how I put it up. But I want you to do it right. I do do it right. No, you don't.

Yeah, I know. The last two videos you did wrong. No, I didn't. Yes, you did.

No, I didn't. You need to give it to me without the black blocks on the top and the bottom because that makes you have to make it bigger. And then it covers our faces. You can just crop it yourself.

No, it won't let me. Yes, it will. No. Yes, it will, dude.

All right, now on the cigar news. On what planet are you not permitted to crop it? On the non-crop planet. No, I give you the video.

You can crop the video on your own phone. No, it won't let me. Yes, it will. No, it's a format you send it in.

Oh my God, that's not true. Please pardon us for a moment, while we have a squabble. Go ahead. Mike is right.

You're stupid, Palmer. Thank you very much. No, he's not. And I never invite you to my Christmas party, because you're me.

I don't care. I don't like you. You treat me like poop. That's right, man.

You stick up for yourself. That's right. You stick up for yourself. And we're going to make great cigar with Skip, and you're going to sell it for us.

Good. You tell him. You tell him, right. $12.

Cost $12. Sell it at the shop, $12. You're right, I do whatever I want, I'm smart. Nobody makes any money but Skip.

We call it, what do we call it, Boots' Business, what? Boots' Business, that's the name of the cigar, Boots' Business. That's right, I like that. Industry standard, that's it, industry.

Can't, can't use that. Boots' is industry standard. Can't use it, Ty. Boots' standard.

Sorry. The Boots' standard. Sorry. Nobody has boots.

Never a Christmas party for you. That's right, you tell them. Hey, Poshick didn't have a Christmas party. Are we supposed to?

Why didn't we? We didn't have a Christmas party. We pay you now. We're even poorer than we were last year.

Last year you paid me too, just not for a full year. Yeah, now we've had a full year under our belt. It's a net negative operation. And we have to pay taxes on our losses now, apparently.

It wasn't a gamble. It was a gamble. Are you talking about the photo? What are we doing here?

Sure, I could do that. I was doing that. And then you got into the boots parading me. Well, that was just boots, I was just letting boots talk.

Oh, a customer came in today. Yeah. " Do you know who I am? " You make a lot of people laugh.

This is awkward. And that's usually how it is for you when you meet somebody in public. " You're the opposite of who you are on this podcast. Not at all, no, no, no, no.

Alright, so. I just never know what to say. Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed the show.

Thanks for watching. So my boy, Big Willie. Big Willie? Do you know who Big Willie is?

I know Big Willie. He's my friend. Yeah, from Drew State. Drew State.

Yep. He did a picture of him and his daughter, and I just sent it to you. Oh, that's very true. I have my phone over here.

And it said something like "100 days of flying" and all this other stuff. I'll tell you what it says. Hold on. Oh, it's going too fast.

Survived 110 nights in hotels, roughly 30,000-plus miles driving, 100 in-store events, and a few flights. Yet she gets the best of me. And it's a picture of him and his daughter. It's super cute.

Oh, nice. And then Justin Andrews, in his infinite wisdom. He says something cocky. Right.

I'm right there with you, big dog. Merry Christmas. And he shows a picture that he's titanium elite, And he spent 106 nights out in hotels this year. " I mean, like, dude.

It's about him and his daughter, with about how many nights he spent on the road. " Right. " I stayed out, too, I stayed out, too. I stayed out, I have no kids, but I stayed out, too, 106 nights, like, yay, bro.

There are a lot of reps regaling their year at the moment with how many nights out and that kind of stuff. Because it's hard, man. Oh, it is hard. Trust me.

I'm doing it. They work there. You kind of. I don't have to do it as bad as they do.

They're temporary. You do some of it. I'm not as much on the road as the average rep. No, not by a long shot, right?

But, you know, kudos to these guys. It's hard. It's a lot of hard work. And it's a long times away from your family and stuff.

And, like, he's got a little daughter, and it's crazy because, like, I just saw a picture of her, and I'm like, I remember when she was this big, you know, and now she's, like, a daughter. Like, she's a person. Yeah, you know, she's a person, right? Like, there's, you know, interactions and stuff.

And, like, you don't want to miss out on any of that stuff as a dad, you know? So, he's just kind of expressing that. And then, of course, Justin Andrews got to go, Well, I stand out, too. I'm executive level.

I'm right there with you, big dog. Even though I Zoom meeting a lot of people, but, you know. Don't answer the phone. Yeah.

So, Justin, I love you, buddy, but. Call Santa and ask him to fire Jack again. Yeah. But do better, man.

Do better. Do better. Be a better person. Just acknowledge one of the hardest workers in the industry.

Willie's been around for a long time. Yeah. Yeah, man. Good for you, Willie.

Good job, buddy. Keep doing what you do. Great father. You are.

You're a good dad. One of the real ones. You are a real one. Okay.

So that's my video, and I sent it to you so you can clip it directly beneath me. There's no room. Right here. Look at the screen.

There's no room. You're going to fix it. I don't care. Let it eclipse my face a little bit.

I don't care. Oh, so it can eclipse our faces? Fine. I don't care.

It needs to be in the middle of the shot. Oh, all right. If it can eclipse our faces. I'd much rather eclipse my face, and then I can say to you, okay, now I need you to make it smaller.

Then it should not be in the video at all. I would eclipse your face. You're an eclipse. You don't eclipse his face.

He's a good person. You show. You show. He eclipsed your face like nobody's business.

You sure took a hustler's face. Nope. Bing bong. I'm going to eclipse it like he likes it.

Bing bong. Like he asked for it personally. Bing bong. All right, Fox and Chai Molly goes on sale.

Foxy, Fox. Yeah, Foxy Chai Molly goes on sale. You know, we missed an opportunity with these guys. Chimoli?

Chimoli? Chai Molly? How do you say it? Is it Chimoli or Chai Molly?

This is the Chinese guy. Chinese thing. We missed an opportunity here. We were so close.

We were? " Oh yeah? Chai Mali Cigar, a relatively new Chinese-themed cigar brand in Fox Cigar, Phoenix Retailer, have worked together on a new release. The new Fox E Chai Mali is a 6x52 Toro, the company refers to it as a Robusto E, with the E standing for Extra.

It uses an Ecuadoran Habano 99 wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and fillers from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua. In Nicaragua, Chai Mali Cigars have been, have, excuse me, Chai Mali Cigars are made at the Mi Havana Factory in Nicaragua, each cigar is an MSRP of $16, production is limited to 500 boxes, 20 cigars, Chai Mali says it's cigar has been blended in the old world style. Ooh. Our collaboration with Fox Cigar comes from a shared belief in building brands with characters and care, said Xu Fang Wang.

Founder of Chai Mali in a press release, this project represents more than a cigar, it's the meeting of two worlds that value authenticity, texture, and tradition. I am the number one fan on the Fox Cigar Facebook page. Are you? Oh, yes.

Very nice. While the cigar is marked as a Fox Cigar exclusive, the store is also offering the cigar for wholesale orders. Already two stores in California are selling the cigar, and the companies say they're willing to offer the Fox Chai Mali for internet. On the national distribution, Fox Cigars stands for the distinctive identity of the new way to cigar, of the new way to cigar, with a genuine dedication to the customer experience and quality.

This is why we've been successful with Chai Mali since launching together at the 2025 PCA, said Mitchell Fox, founder of Fox Cigars, in a press release. The Fox Chai Mali debuted on Thursday, December 18th. Okay, so we tried these, I tried these cigars at the show and I thought that they were really good. They were really good.

They were good. I had one. And then they sent us some. Oh, that's when I had one.

They sent us some to retry and I kind of had mixed feelings about it. I didn't love it. I didn't hate it, but you know, I was like, okay, this doesn't feel like the same cigar. So the problem is that the only way that they've been able to get in touch with me is like via email.

Right. Yeah. And they're hard to get ahold of. Yeah.

So, well, I mean, they'll respond to my emails. The problem is that I'm hard to get ahold of via email, right? Right? If I'm not dealing with customer service or retailing partners or, you know, this thing that we do now every day because we're psychopaths, it's difficult to...

Maybe WhatsApp. They're probably on WhatsApp, that's big in China. Yeah. I don't know.

So, does it feel like they're reinventing anything? That's kind of my point. Well, it's just a new cigar. Yeah, but, you know, they're talking about New World and all those other things.

New world, the old world way. I'm not exactly sure what that means. So like the old world way, the only thing they really can kind of reference I think at that point is kind of Antubaro rolling, right? They're making it with their feet.

They're making it with their feet? Allegedly. Allegedly feet rolling? Allegedly foot rolling.

Just one foot. So nothing's really... Very, I mean... Ampedustrious toes.

I'd like to hear more as to what's being reinvented. What is old world style? Reinvented? Please let us know what this old world style is.

I wish them the best I hope that it starts to work out Congratulations We may carry this brand in the future We may carry the brand in the future I just haven't figured it out yet He hasn't figured it out yet You don't need to repeat him Stop being You need to repeat him Not only you not come Christmas party You not come to Thanksgiving either New Year's party either No more New Year's You know I get invited to his house one year for Thanksgiving too You got it I did invite you to Thanksgiving Yeah one time No more? No more turkey? No, no more. No, he eats all the turkey.

You're not allowed to eat the turkey. I like the turkey. Good for you. Make me sleep.

Make me sleep. Take a nap. " This keeps me out of ocean from shark. And from the bears.

Keeps me out of ocean from bear, too. Alright, ocean from bear, too, yes. Okay. Alright, the federal court denies preliminary injunction requests in California UTL case.

They struck out again. Well, there was a time to submit things, that you can submit comments or whatever, and they had to read them all out loud, I think, or something like that. Andrew over at Small Batch, he was so kind to give me like the intel as far as what to do and submit. Oh, because he's in California?

What? Because he's in California? Yeah, and I submitted... Did you?

Yeah. Did they read yours? I have no idea, I didn't watch. Hmm.

You know, you're a hot mess today. I'm starting to drag because... The illness is starting to win. Have a Red Bull or something.

The cigar industry has once again lost a legal battle as part of its lawsuit against California's unflavored tobacco list law. That's what it says. An actual list that will show the products the state has determined are not flavored and legal to sell in California. S.

District Court for the Central District of California denied the plaintiff's request for a preliminary injunction in Rocky Patel Premium Cigars Inc. et al. Bonta. Oh, very nice.

That's what it says. Inc. et al. Bonta.

Inc. al. Bonta. The case was filed in October ahead of the state's UTL deadlines by 77 family-owned cigar companies.

They are challenging the UTL's rules as they apply to premium cigars, which more or less started less than a week after the federal lawsuit was filed. Ramirez Almedini quickly tossed one part of the lawsuit, finding the challenges under the California Administrative Procedures Act needed to be made in state court, not federal court. A second lawsuit was filed in state court to deal with those claims. And then rejected.

And then, rejected. And then, then, rejected. And then, a second lawsuit was filed in state court to deal with those claims. And then, rejected.

And rejected. But on the bright side, Bizaraberski got a brand new chair for Christmas from his staff. Did he? Oh, it's a very beautiful chair.

Oh, make sure you throw that in here. He got a new chair. You need a clip of that. He got a beautiful new chair.

That's cool. Now he can sit comfy. Maybe it raises a little higher because, you know, he laid out. Like a little booster, maybe.

He's got the little... Well, I know that we like to make jokes, but the reality is that it doesn't make sense to... - Go tracking against unflavored cigars by labeling everything that's traditional. - Can't they just say these are flavored?

Can't they just make that the list? - Wouldn't that make more sense? - Make more lists of the things we... You're having to prove a negative.

- Right. Not only that, but... - These are not flavored. - But the list of traditional cigars is so much more vast...

- Well, that's where they get the more money. - Than the list of infused cigars. - They get the more money that way. But the thing is, nobody's going to pay to have their name put on the list.

You must pay $300 to have your name added to the list. Just hire a guy to identify what the flavored or infused cigars are. You can smoke all the flavored stuff. This is infused.

Maybe the stuff that has the name infused in front of it. Yeah. Or acid. What you should do is...

Anything made by Drew Estate. Just, just, no. Oh, sorry. Make everything required that has some type of infusion to state that it's infused.

There you go. In order to be in the state of Florida, Florida, in the state of California. Well, they don't want it in the state. Right.

So if it doesn't state it, if it doesn't state infused, or flavor infused, or flavored, or whatever, then it should be fine. Now, if a manufacturer is found circumventing that, then they could fine them, or whatever the case may be. Ah, so my grape bubblegum flavored cigar is not a grape bubblegum. Correct.

I'd just say it's not. Well, if you did that, and they caught you, then you'd be in trouble. This is not the cigar you're looking for. Oh, there's more of that, more, oh, very Star Wars theme today, huh?

Very Star Wars theme. Well, now you mentioned, uh, the Diddy thing came out again, and, uh, since we didn't talk about that. And you made it 37 minutes today, Boots, congratulations. Yeah, I forgot to tell you, Diddy, uh, didn't, I haven't watched the episode yet, but I'm very excited about it.

Very excited. Heard good things. Heard good things. 50 Cent, very smart.

The people whose Disney thing we had, they canceled it. Went to log into Disney the other day. Went to log into Disney the other day and said, would you like to re-up your subscription? They're like, no.

Oh, damn. No. Their kid's probably aged out. I mean, we've had it for a long time.

If that's not an F you, right? Like, you know what? I know what we're going to do. They don't even remember we have it, probably.

Yeah. You should text them or call them. It was some teacher at one of the schools they even worked at in the past. Oh, you should be like, hey, man, just want to check in on Disney?

Just want to check in. Yeah, you know, and how's that Disney look? Yeah, uh, so strange, this is kinda odd, uh, but wasn't, wasn't able to log in, log in to you. I went to go watch the new Star Wars thing and it wasn't, I can't get in?

I had no access to your Disney Plus, I know you gave us, it was like 10 years ago, but what's going on with that? I don't know, I think maybe we can get the new one, what's up? We can get the update on that, that'd be great. That'd be great.

I hit yes when it said reinstate subscription, so if you could update that credit card on file. Hey, uh, just a random question, what's the latest expiration on your credit card? On your credit card. So that's four digits?

You don't have to tell me anything else. But I just need it for a reference. Hope things are well. Hope things are going well for you and your family.

Merry Christmas. So what are you trying to watch on Disney? I thought there might have been something new out. I don't know.

I was just bored looking for something new to watch. Oh, you know what's on Max that I just watched? Cinemax? I don't have that either anymore.

No, it's HBO Max, sir. Yeah, I don't have that either. It's One Battle After Another. What is that?

It's a Leonardo DiCaprio movie. movie oh gotcha yeah it was pretty good interesting little weird little wild uh the guy from king of queens did a new movie on prime it's pretty good guns drawn or something like that it's called oh yeah that's a watch pretty good all right la vega announces a new la true trilogia limited edition la trilogia la trilogia not exactly what it says that's exactly what it says limited edition In early February, La Vega Cigar Company, Limited Series will be getting its third release, a barber-pulled cigar, called La Trilogia, the Italian word for trilogy, so pretty close, just like in the movies, I'm trying to keep the theme, and the trilogy seems like very fitting to name this particular release, said Aaron Poletta, founder of La Vega Cigar Company, and press release, the cigar is a 6x50 Toro that uses a This is a five-year-old Ecuadorian Connecticut Seed Leaf and a three-year-old Mexican San Andres Leaf to create the barber pole design. Underneath them is a Dominican Orlo Binder that has been aged for three years, while the filler contains Dominican Seco and Lajero, Nicaraguan Tobacco, and Pennsylvania Broadleaf, all of which have been aged between three and five years. Three and five hundred years.

99 for a box of ten cigars. The release is limited to 200 boxes of 10 cigars, a total run of 2,000 sticks, carry the one, add five. The new cigars will be released to all retailers on February 4th, 2026, with the date paying homage to the day Aaron founded his band when he was a resident of Las Vegas. He has started a band.

We're getting the band back together. , Mercer, PA, as well as at the very first La Vega Legacy Room in Living My Best Cigar Life, The Cigar Lounge in Moundsville, West Virginia. The company calls it one of the most interesting creations, having been worked on in the early 2025. So wait, so he's releasing it on a certain date that he started the band, unless you're in West Virginia or Pennsylvania, then you can buy it two weeks earlier, and that had nothing to do with the anniversary of his band.

banned that's correct i want to it's going to be in 47 states it's going to be proper but the other three the three you got to wait till the date of it's going to be earlier i thought it was earlier i don't know i'm so confused me too early 2025 with the team at the technical era las lavas factory in dominican republic while las lavas produces the company's core line it is the first time that the factory will produce a limited series release why is that special I have no idea. They make the cord line, but we're announcing the first time they're making a limited. Yay, limited. Yay, limited.

Limited would be easier. You make it, you want it done. Well, that's not entirely true. I mean, if they don't have specific tobacco that they have to acquire to make the cigar, then, you know, then it's a bigger deal.

" That could make it a bigger deal. How does that work now? When you go to blend a cigar, is it, they go, look, this is what we got, you blend it out of this. Come look, this is what we have.

Or does he come in and go, I have a list of things on my piece of paper I would like to use, can you go find it? I mean, the reality is it depends. Thank you for this precise answer. No, because I will tell you, a lot of times, I like to try my best and work with what the factory has, right?

Okay, let's say you, for example. Okay, let's say me. You go down to make a new, you go see Uncle Skip, and I need to make a new cigar. Okay.

He goes, okay, I'll make it for you because you're stupid. Okay. And then you go, no, no, I really need to blend it, and then it takes 10 minutes to talk him into letting you blend it. I may have that ability with Skip.

It may take longer than 10 minutes, but I'm a rare breed. Alright. I'm trusted. I'm in a circle.

No, no, I understand that. Yes. So, you go down and he goes, here's all my pre-production stuff. You can just go through the bodega and pick out a handful of things.

I got to be honest, that's not how we've done things ever. I got this little, there, it's gone. I can't see you, I tell you. You know, the first, like, special kind of cigar that I made.

Yes. So, like, the first two cigars we made were based off the stuff they had in the factory. I bought our own Broadleaf, right? And, but then I wanted to make something cool and special, and I wanted to work with Pennsylvania Broadleaf.

" So how did you know to choose that one? At that time, I smoked a bunch of cigars. Oh, okay. " And I was contemplating it as a binder.

Right. " Oh, so we had none. Yeah, so he went to AJ's factory. Went down the street to the 7-Eleven.

No, you go, what you do is you, you go to other factories that may have it. " We have this crap that didn't work out for us. It's not crap, it's just, it didn't fit for what they were trying to do or it didn't ferment the way they thought it was going to ferment or whatever. So, you know, or maybe they thought it was wrapper and then fermented into a binder or something.

How does that work? Well, just through the fermentation processes, you know, some things, some things just age differently, you know, they, I mean, they, Alex or Skip would be able to get a little more into detail as far as that's concerned, but, like, more often than not, if you, you know, you buy something that's not completed and you think it's wrapper, and then as it kind of goes through the process of fermentation, it starts to thin or whatever, and you're like, this isn't going to be wrapper, this isn't going to be good enough. So then maybe you'd offer it as binder to somebody else because you have no use for it or something like that. " At that point, it was a small run.

I was only making like a hundred cigars. It was for the birth of justice. So that was no big deal. You know?

Sure, whatever. Yeah, I'll go grab some of that stuff for you, right? Right? Because I'm young, I'm young, I'm still in a good mood.

No, man, he's never been in a good mood. Fifteen years ago. He was angry then. Actually, no, he's probably happier then.

He's happier then, yeah. No, come on. Things were good, no. Things are great.

He had his heart bypass surgery, yeah. Look, it's a tough industry, man. Trust me, I know. And if you're in the thick of it, it's a tough industry on this side, it's an even tougher industry on that side.

Right. So he went and got some, and we blended a cigar for that, and that's what, if you fast forward 10 years, and then Pennsylvania Broadleaf was in their rotation at that point, you know, they had done some of the Fable stuff, and you know, when I decided to make the Connecticut, they had access to it at that point. We have some now. Yes.

Would you like some now? Well, that's kind of, interestingly enough, how it was, like, well, I'd like to do this, right, make it core. Yes, you shall. But like a lot of other times when I'm looking to make a LE or something like that or something different, I do like to start with, well, what do you have?

What do you have that's different? Well, no, no, I mean, maybe, maybe what do you have that's different sometimes, but sometimes it's, what do you have that you're not using? Oh, because... Give you a deal.

No, I... No deal? No deal, but like the reality is that it's better for the factory if I make a cigar out of it... Sure, then it just sits there and rots.

No, then for them to sell it pre-industry, because pre-industry it's worth only, you know, the- Oh, it's worth more as a cigar. Of course. Ah, I see. So, when you work with your friends and you want your friends to succeed, you always try and build a scenario that's best outcomes for both parties.

How does everybody work out the best? Yeah. And like sometimes, sometimes it doesn't work out. Sometimes one, somebody gets the raw end of the deal.

It's just, it's not perfect, but you know, it could happen, and when it happens, as long as you know that everybody's intentions were good, you figure out how to navigate through it, one way or the other. And everyone happy. The objective is everybody wins. Why do you keep looking over there?

I'm not, what happens is I look at the screen to confirm that... Oh, who's on and who's out? Yeah, so, cause it's like sometimes I'm screwing that up. And then usually when I think I do this, yeah.

I thought you were looking for a bug. No bug. So that's how that works for us. It's generally stuff that's available.

Unless there's something distinct that I wanted to work for. And I don't know at this point if I would bother them with that. Unless I was really hell-bent on something today. Something you really wanted to do.

Let's go and source. Can we go and source this? So. All right, you guys ready?

We got a mini episode of What's the Score now? Yeah. You and Boots. Ready.

What's the score? What's the score? Today's cigars from December 25th, 2025, Christmas Day, Patrick Lagreed, Altanese USA Cigars, Nicaragua Reviews, Trinidad X, Tommy Bahama Island Collection Harbor. Which you probably can't get anymore because the factory is closed.

Oh, yeah. Allegedly. Allegedly. Allegedly.

No, it's really closed. I'd just like to say allegedly. Oh. Cover all bases.

Gotcha. Okay. Allegedly, it's really closed. All right.

Boots, do you want to go first? Yes. I go 85. That's a good number.

Good number, Boots. Good start. Good start. You said Brooks?

Brooks. No, it's Patrick. Oh, it's Patrick. 88.

I'll go 88. All right, to Turnitad X, Tommy Bahama Island Collection Harbor from Nicaragua, Factories, Tabacalera, AJ Fernandez Cigars, they can still get this. 50, release date was October 4th, and they smoked 3 cigars. Okay, Boots, where are you at on this?

Are you okay, Palmer? You're very sick. Yeah, I'm winding down. Is it 'cause you no come to Christmas party?

No, that's not why. Are you sure? Yeah, I'm perfectly alright not coming to your Christmas parties. Okay, 'cause I might consider inviting you in 2030.

Nope, I'm good, thank you. Okay. Appreciate the offer. 85.

85. I'm gonna stick 87, did I say? What did I say? You said 80, I don't remember what you said.

I'm going to go 87. All right. First clue, the Trinidad X Tommy Bahama Island Collection Harbor stands out visually with well-matched fonts and band colors that complement the well-tanned wrapper creating a refined presentation that feels polished without being overdone. So basically, it looks pretty.

It's a pretty cigar. It's a beautiful cigar. It's the greatest cigar I ever made. Most beautiful cigar ever.

Most beautiful cigar in the factory that no longer exists, allegedly. Boots, what do you got? 84. Pretty bad.

84. Okay. Is he going down? Yeah, I go down.

Okay. He's pretty. I don't like pretty. Oh, sorry.

Yeah. Dominican. It's Nicaraguan. It's not Dominican.

It's a factory open in Nicaragua. Yeah. It's made at the AJ factory. You just read that.

We don't listen to you. You know that. You're right. We don't listen.

Oh, they don't listen. Okay. So then I got to go up to 87. That's my number.

You can't change your score. You said 85 already. Okay, fine, 85, I'll stay 85, so mean. Next time around you maybe you can change your score.

Okay, maybe I change. 89. Number two, flavor progression is steady and engaging, moving from dry toast and pepper into creaminess and subtle citrus accents, with solid retro hails and a consistent medium profile that finishes with better focus and balance in the final third. 87.

I go 87. Ha ha. I moved my number anyways. Okay, I'm going to stick at 89.

I think that's what I said last time. 89. While construction is generally very good, there is a noticeable cigar to cigar variation, including an uneven burn early on and differences in draw and aroma that slightly disrupt overall consistency. Are we keeping you up, Palmer?

Yes, terribly so. Almost done. Almost done. We're almost done.

Ah, so you say, what do you say, inconsistent? The inconsistent burn between cigars, the flavor changes, different between the cigars. One cigar is not the same as the other cigar. Okay, 85.

Okay, I'm gonna go to 87. The Trinidad, Tommy Bahama Island Collection Harbor is a cigar that checks a lot of boxes to be called a solid cigar. The flavor is engaging and balanced while the construction is solid and overall experience is enjoyable. I can't say I found any disappointing spots in the three cigars setting a pretty high floor for the line.

I also didn't find many of those breakthrough moments where the flavor really shines and carries a blend into the next echelon. If anything, the cigar reminds me a bit of the Tama Bahama restaurant, plenty of good options that will satisfy, but nothing that's pushing the culinary envelope. I enjoyed the cigar and look forward to smoking the next two after the first one, something I don't always get to say, and after all three, I'd still welcome the opportunity to light up another one. Oh, mixed bag, though.

Very mixed bag. Yes, mixed bag of information there. Okay, so Boots, what do you got? Uh, 81.

Big drop there. Big drop. Yeah, you know, inconsistent, just okay. I think 81, and you won't let me win because you're in charge and you're making my decision.

Okay. Yeah, you're right. I'm gonna say 85. 85.

You're at 85, he's at 81? Yeah. 88. Oh!

Oh, you're smarter. You're better than me. You broke my streak. Ugh.

Oh, that's right. His streak is over. Streak over. He was on a winning streak.

Just like that. Mmm. Sorry, Boots. It's okay.

It's okay. I do very good before. You DJing anywhere this weekend, Boots? Oh, this comes out Monday.

It doesn't matter. Yeah. I DJ at this German bar, downtown Sanford. Lots of leather.

German bar? Lots of leather. That big biker bar over there on the side street? West Side Street?

Yes. It's called the Wet Spot. My favorite bar, Wet Spot. The Wet Spot, yes.

I'll be at the Wet Spot. I bet you will. Okay, buddy. Good for you, man.

Atta boy. How about you, Michael? You doing anybody's podcast this weekend? Not to my knowledge, but hey, you never know.

You never know. You never know. It might pop up. You never know, buddy.

I don't know. We may break down. We may do a quick run here to South Florida and do a little family time, so we'll see. Oh, go see your mom?

No, she's up here. He's up here. I'm going to go down there. Run.

Run the other direction. Run the other direction. Yes. All right.

It's been episode 437 of Cigar Hustler Podcast. Thank you, everybody, for listening. We'll be back on... Oh, this comes out Monday.

Yep. We'll see you tomorrow. Yep. Make sure you like and subscribe.

Thank you very much for your support. Bye-bye. com, the churelli comes in black, bold, clean, and built for battle, available in multiple sizes for warriors of every shape and strength, and remember, the actual image does not dance or move, but it definitely makes a statement. com before they're gone.

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 deliver unfiltered, unbiased opinions, all things cigars, the personalities in the cigar world. Your backing makes it possible for us to keep it real for our listeners.

Cheers to you. com and search the Cigar Hustler Podcast. F*** that one up.

Show Notes

on today’s show

We have the gift that keeps on giving, mark zuckerburg gives gifts to all his neighbors a shark attack claims a life in cigars Fox cigars gets Chinese take out! More UTL news and the Lavega has a big announcement all this and more on episode 437!