ACHP Episode 445

Episode Summary

Episode 445 of A Cigar Hustler's Podcast welcomes Terrence Reilly of Aganorsa Leaf into the studio with hosts Mikey and the engineering crew (Boots, Magoo and Palmer). After the usual off-the-rails news segment — a NASA astronaut's undisclosed medical issue on the ISS, a baby giraffe naming contest at Keystone Safari in Grove City, PA, and a WWII-era bomb detonated on a Port St. Lucie beach — the show settles into cigar talk.

The highlight is Reilly's history of the Aganorsa Leaf Arsenio, the cigar he's smoking on air. He explains how Eduardo Fernández, Aganorsa's Cuban-born owner, recruited retired Cuban agronomists in the 1990s to build the company's Nicaraguan tobacco program, and how Arsenio — the most important of that group — developed Aganorsa's signature flavor and aroma over roughly 50 years in Cuba and another 20 in Nicaragua. After Arsenio's death in 2018, the company chose to release the actual blend he smoked rather than create something new; the Corona on the show is the size he personally preferred, and the band bears his likeness with a smoke ring hidden in the "O." Reilly also previews a new Supreme Leaf size, a 109-head Toro the company is simply calling the Toro 109, and the crew riffs on the fictional "Supreme Supreme Rare Rare Leaf."

Industry news includes General Cigar shipping the 2026 batch of CAO Amazon Basin (with plenty of skepticism about how "rare" a once-every-three-years Bragança tobacco can be when there are annual releases and spinoffs like Amazon Fumo em Corda, Anaconda and Orellana), Sans Pareil naming Joseph Perkins VP of national sales despite a non-tobacco background, and Kingmakers' new $12 Playboy Toro. Reilly offers a genuinely useful take on selling ultra-premium cigars: environment matters more than advertising, and licensed/celebrity cigars fight a math problem in a market of roughly three million cigar smokers — though he notes Nub and big ring gauges were once "bad ideas" too.

The show closes with a mini game of What's the Score on Brooks Whittington's Halfwheel review of the ADVentura Blue-Eyed Jacks Revenge Maduro High Tide. Reilly moves from 87 to 90 after a glowing final thought and takes the win at the actual 91, ending Boots' streak. Follow Aganorsa at @AganorsaLeaf and the Aganorsa Acolytes group on Facebook.

In This Episode

1. 01
   Show open, CHPOD swag and Pospiech retailer shout-outs
   Mikey plugs CHPOD.com merch and the Patreon, then shouts out the first retailers carrying the new Pospiech Postana San Andrés Corona Gorda.
2. 02
   News: ISS medical situation, a baby giraffe and a WWII bomb
   The crew derails a NASA story about a sick astronaut, a naming contest for a giraffe calf at Keystone Safari, and a World War II bomb detonated on a Port St. Lucie beach.
3. 03
   The story behind the Aganorsa Leaf Arsenio
   Terrence Reilly explains how Eduardo Fernández brought Cuban agronomists to Nicaragua and why Aganorsa released master blender Arsenio's personal blend after his 2018 passing.
4. 04
   CAO Amazon Basin 2026 release
   General Cigar ships another batch of the Bragança-filled Amazon Basin, prompting jokes about how rare a tobacco can really be with annual releases and multiple spinoffs.
5. 05
   Sans Pareil hires Joseph Perkins as VP of national sales
   The news sparks a real discussion with Reilly on how to market and place an ultra-premium cigar line and whether advertising actually moves product.
6. 06
   Kingmakers launches a Playboy cigar
   The crew debates whether the Playboy Toro and other licensed celebrity cigars can work in a market of only a few million cigar smokers.
7. 07
   What's the Score: ADVentura Blue-Eyed Jacks Revenge Maduro High Tide
   The panel guesses Brooks Whittington's Halfwheel score on the ADVentura Maduro, with Terrence taking the win at 91.
8. 08
   Supreme Leaf Toro 109 and where to follow Aganorsa
   Reilly previews a new 109-head Toro in the Supreme Leaf line, explains what a 109 head is, and points listeners to Aganorsa Leaf's social channels.

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

m. I am Terrence Riley. You probably don't notice that because you can hardly see me from Aganorsa Cigars. m.

I am Terrence Riley. You probably don't notice that because you can hardly see me from Aganorsa Cigars. m. I am Terrence Riley.

You probably don't notice that because you can hardly see me from Aganorsa Cigars. And yes, I am this tall. Today in engineering, we have Boots, Magoo, and Palmer, then as my co-host, Mikey, I wish I was as tall as Terrence, Step on Cabbage. I do wish I was as tall as Terrence.

None of this makes a lot of sense. I phonetically spelled your name for him so that he could say it. Very nice. Very nice.

Thank you for having me today. On today's show, we have a calling in six story, a naming contest, a bang of a bang of a Florida story, then in cigars, we have a new hire, A couple new cigars, and a mini game of what's the score. But first, Mikey, how do I get some of that CHPOD swag? CHPOD swag.

Nice! Terrence, thanks so much for asking, bud. com and check out all of our latest swag. If you buy one, you get the second one 40% off, and if you spend $100 or more, you're going to get free shipping.

Oh, wow. Also, make sure you like and subscribe to this show wherever you're watching. I know that you don't like or subscribe, that you just watch the short clips, which is very hurtful, as well as... Now I'm not going to watch anything, to be honest.

Now you're going to, yeah, that's good. He's lived it, I lived it, I don't have to watch it now. You win one, you lose some, I don't know what to, you know, it is what it is. But, before we kind of get, before we get any further here, for one, thank you very much for signing up to our Patreon.

That was very nice of you. I appreciate it. I'll make sure that you get the link. Thank you.

To do that, so, and we're going to take $10 a month from Terrence. Oh, nice. We're paying chocolate bunny heads. Chocolate bunny heads?

Yeah. As long as it's $10 worth, which and I are looking for compensation? Just a little bit. Yeah.

Yes. We will take bunny heads. We did just launch the Postana San Andreas Corona Gorda, and I did want to start giving shout outs to the retailers who were already getting them. So, we're going to do five a day for the upcoming month.

So, shout out to Harry Smoke Shop in Philadelphia, Brass Pipe in Fort Lauder, or Fort Myers, Florida. Sorry, guys. Cigar. Brass Pipe is in Fort Pierce.

Fort Pierce. That's what I meant. Well, it says something else on the... You said Fort Lauderdale, and then you said Fort Myers.

I know, but like on the... This is why I don't watch the show, to be honest. Yeah? This is it?

We're geographically challenged. Because we don't know what's going on? I didn't want to say it, but I'm glad you summed it up for me. I mean, but here's the reality is, I just don't care.

That's the truth. I can tell. Wait, it's even better when Boot starts talking, you're gonna love it. Oh.

Cigar Vault, Oaktail, PA, Smoker's Haven, Seneca, New York, And of course, Small Batch Cigars, out in Cali. Wow, what a nice group. Yeah, those are some good dudes. They are.

So, we got more of that, but I just want to do five at a time. com. Master Chief, are we going to get the beanies? Oh, you like the fact that, oh, Master Chief, oh, you're in on the Master Chief commenting.

Yeah, yeah. Master Chief is tall like Terence. Do you watch Halo? Did you watch Halo at all?

Yeah, he is actually tall. Tall like Terence, that's a nice alliteration. Tall like Terence? Yeah.

It's a reference of size now. Yeah. How tall are you? I'm Terence tall.

It's like Terence tall. That was not in the script, by the way. He came up with that. Oh, wow.

Yeah, that was sharp today. We're really good at it. Well, I gotta make up for my, you know, my Fort Myers mess up. Yeah, I was trying to forget about that, but you brought it back up.

Yeah, I like to really kind of bury it when I screw up. There you go. Drive it home. I can see that.

Yeah. All right, so hey, go ahead, carry on. Oh, no, now the news. Yeah.

NASA is facing a rare medical situation aboard the International Space Station, ISS, that has prompted the space agency to rethink its schedule and crew plans. Officials confirmed that one astronaut on the ISS developed a medical issue this week, leading NASA to cancel A planned spacewalk that has been set for Thursday. The astronaut's identity and the specific nature of the illness have not been disclosed due to privacy protections, but NASA says the individual is in stable condition and being monitored closely by flight surgeons. This development is significant because NASA is now actively evaluating all options, including the possibility of bringing the current ISS crew, known as Crew 11, back to Earth earlier than originally planned.

S. astronauts, a Japanese astronaut from JAXA, and a Russian cosmonaut, launched the orbiting laboratory in August and was slated to remain on the station through mid-February. Okay. How does that make you feel?

Are you a big astronaut guy? Not really. No? For me, Earth is...

I don't want to go... You prefer Earth? Yeah, I'm more Earth than space. I don't think they'd fit you in a spaceship.

Well, we'll never find out because I'm not going. He won't fit. Yeah, like when they want to colonize Mars, like I'm not going. No?

You're good here? Yeah, I'm fine here. What if you were to go up there and be like the first person to ever grow tobacco on Mars? No, I'm not going.

You're not doing it? No. You would just send somebody? I don't know if I'm that high up on the totem pole to send anybody anywhere, but yeah, it wouldn't be me.

I wouldn't be going because I can tell you that. Would you think you could convince Fabian to go? No, he's even less likely to go than me, I think. Even less likely.

That would be a rare, rare leaf, though, I mean. David would only go to Mars if he was the only person that was gonna be there. Okay, so hear me out on this, like, Mars, you get tobacco, and we call it Supreme, Supreme, Rare, Rare, Supreme Leaf. Yes.

I would add Mars in this one. Seems a little redundant. Seems a bit redundant? Yeah.

Think it's a little over the top? I'm not gonna take a turn to Negative Town, but I hate it. The colors of the box look very Mars-y. Yeah, you could do the orange.

The pink and blue or whatever, the pink and purple or whatever. It's orange and purple. Am I supposed to keep reading this? There's more stuff about this whole medical situation.

No, this is the way it works. They interrupt you, and then you really don't get back to the story. Yeah, we start making fun of whatever the topic is. It's kind of like being in a cigar lounge.

Okay, but what could be wrong with the astronaut that he has to come home? They won't say because of HIPAA violation. They can't say what's wrong with him. Hepatitis.

Bad case of hepatitis. Some type of STD or something? Is that traveling in the spaceship? Yeah, they're not cleaning the toilets or something.

Yeah. But they left those other people up there for eight months. With him. No, no, the two people that went up and then their ship got broke or something, so they were there for almost a whole other year.

And then this guy, they're trying to get back as soon as possible. Maybe he's having a panic attack. Maybe he's got some type of... Claustrophobic and he didn't know it.

Yeah. Maybe he's got some type of internal bleeding or a tear or something inside his body. Yeah, something. That would make more sense to me.

Well, there's no gravity, so it won't come out. I don't know. That can't be good. You know what I mean?

Oh, but I'm just curious what would be wrong with it. You know, Palmer, I'm going to say, when you said that, there's no gravity, so it won't come out, I really believed it. I just ignored it and kept moving. It would float around.

Okay. Just the blood would go bloop, bloop, bloop, bloop. All right. This story's not that interesting, to be honest with you.

I'm going to go to the next one. Okay, that's fine. We'll do that a lot. We're going to adjust, we're going to fix your camera for you now.

Oh, thank you. It's about time. So while he reads, Mikey can fix the camera. All right.

All right, here's the... We didn't know he was that tall. New story, an animal park in Mercer... Okay, wait, wait, wait, wait.

Oh, I'm not supposed to read? Yeah, the part in parentheses you don't read. Oh. That was your spacing so that you just don't go from one story to the next.

Oh, that's right, yeah, yeah. Well, I can say that. That doesn't hurt. It doesn't say like...

No, it's great, actually. Yeah. It doesn't hurt the flow. No.

In fact, you interrupting kind of didn't. An animal park in Mercer County. Where's Mercer County? Keep reading it.

It'll say it in the story. Oh, my God. Actually, it doesn't look bad. Yeah, it looks good.

All right, fine. I'm going to try to read this story for the third time here. Perfect. An animal park in Mercer County is celebrating the arrival of a new baby and inviting the public to help choose her name.

Keystone Safari has announced the birth of a female giraffe calf. Oh, my God. Tuesday morning. Tuesday morning.

Wow. This week? Yeah. The newborn weighs in at 154 pounds and already stands in at impressive six feet tall.

Wow, he is the fourth calf born to the park's resident giraffe pair, Levy in blue jeans, Levi, I guess, in blue jeans. The birth was carefully monitored by the park's animal care team who allowed the mother and calf on her up to time to bond before conducting a wellness check. After an exam by the park's veterinarian and senior staff, the calf was given a clean bill of health with no immediate concerns reported. Levi and Blue Jeans were originally raised at Living Treasures Wild Animal Park in Newcastle and relocated to Keystone Safari in late 2018.

Their growing family includes Calvin, born 2017, Timber, born 2021, and Kayari, born 2023. Nice. I'm not going to read that. Okay, that's fine.

No, no, no, he's got to keep going. Oh, yeah, I got to keep going. Okay. They launched a naming contest for the new calf.

The contest runs through Labor Day, and guests who purchase park admission receive one entry. Submissions are collected at the Giraffe Barn, where staff will ultimately select the winner. The person whose entry is chosen will receive two season passes to the park. I will add a prize if we can get enough entries to name the giraffe Terrence.

It's a girl! It doesn't matter. It's a girl giraffe. It doesn't matter.

We don't sweat the details. You know what I mean? We don't know how it is identified yet. Maybe you can name Terry.

It can be either way. Terry works. I'd be okay with that. I can see the giraffe family at the giraffe barn, though the park asks guests to speak softly.

I do that too. The barn may temporarily close for short periods to allow the calf to rest and nurse, with viewing still available through observation windows. Keystone Safari is a 144 acre animal and adventure park located in Grove City, Pennsylvania. Okay, there you go.

So, when you go to visit your niece in the zoo, will you parlay with additional cigar events or will you just go directly? Is there a specific age where you're like, okay, I can go and see her now or what? I'm just going to ignore this whole line of questions. You can't.

He doesn't like the age either. I'm in charge. I got the whole time. I'm in charge.

New story. Oh, I'm not supposed to read that. Oh, my goodness. Well, you know, congratulations on the new addition of the family, buddy.

I'm excited for you. Thank you. Yeah, this is good stuff. Of all the people I know, you're one of them.

I appreciate that. Yeah, I get that. Well, that's a Pete Hernandez joke. That is, yeah, that's, that is a Peter Hernandez.

Wow, that's where we're going today. That is, that is, wow, good, you got the reference. Of all the reps, he's one of them. Is he a rep anymore?

Yeah, it's a broker. He's a shop owner. He can be many things. Yeah.

He's all things to all people. He's doing what he can. He's doing his best. Aren't we all?

We're doing what we can with what we got. That's it. And then some of us are doing a podcast. Yeah.

Well, can't all be glory. That's it. All right. New story.

Perfect. A piece of history turned into a public safety moment this week along Florida's Treasure Coast. A World War II-era bomb was discovered on a Port St. Lucie beach, prompting a swift response from authorities and a controlled detonation to ensure public safety.

The unusual find occurred when scuba diver Tom Gramlich was exploring shallow waters near the shoreline and noticed an old, suspicious metal object beneath the surface. Recognizing it could be dangerous, Gramlich, who I'm sure I'm mispronouncing his name, didn't take any chances. He immediately lured local law enforcement. Deputies quickly secured the area and called in a specialized bomb squad, trained to handle explosive ordinance.

Once on scene, the team carefully moved the device to a safe, isolated section of the beach. There, bomb disposal experts conducted a controlled detonation, sending sand and debris high into the air by keeping onlookers and residents out of harm's way. Officials believe the explosives dates back to World War II, a period when parts of Florida's coastline, particularly around the Treasure Coast, were used for military training exercises involving live munitions. It's not the first time remnants from those activities have surfaced, but it serves as a vivid reminder that decades-old ordnance can still pose risks today.

Authorities are urging beachgoers and divers who encounter unfamiliar metal objects in the sand or water to stop immediately, mark the area if possible, And contact local authorities without touching it. Responders will take it from there to protect the public and safely dispose of any hazardous material. Mikey, do you have any video for us? Maybe one of you and Larim?

No, I don't have any videos of me and Larim, unfortunately. But like, okay, so we're not gonna talk about the bomb thing at all? I don't think there's anything to say. What are you looking at me for?

He's the one with the control over there. I know. What was there to talk about? A World War II bomb was just found.

Yeah, that's what I just read. Off the coast. That's usually what happens, like there's a news article, so like a news, you don't see a news article on the news and you don't talk about it at all? You just say, oh, news.

I don't know what there's to talk about. Yeah? It didn't, nobody got blown up. So if somebody blew up, then you'd want to talk about it?

Listen, I'm not having more to talk about. Look, I'm not having the ice conversation with you, okay? Like that's, I'm not touching that one. There's no way.

There's no way. I'm just saying the bomb, it must have been a slow week in news. I don't know if that's a really, you know. It's hard to get news every single day.

It's true. That's a good point. Yeah. You found the baby giraffe store.

That was impressive. Thank you. That's a short-notice thing, too. I only said I was coming.

For all we know, it could be made up. No, no, it's true. That's true. That's a good point.

There were three giraffe stories yesterday. Yeah, this could be fake news. That was the best one. Surprisingly.

A lot of giraffe stories this week. Yeah, there was. It was weird. I mean, it's pretty interesting that they finally found this bomb.

I mean... You don't find that fascinating? It's been sitting for how many years? Yeah.

70 years? 80 years? How long? They found like, I don't know, a treasure chest or something from like pirates.

That's kind of interesting. I don't know. Well, that's why they call that the Treasure Coast, there's supposedly a lot of shipwrecks out that way, but yeah, see, that's it, that's an interesting story. The World War II bomb, though, I mean, that had to be dropped from something.

Yeah, where did it come from? Right. It just said in the story, they were training out there with live munitions back in the day. Oh, I don't listen to the story.

The story is self-contained. Oh, we didn't pay attention to you reading. Yeah, I mean, you started just kind of rambling there for a minute. I'm just reading what's put in front of me, so blend yourselves.

We just checked out. Yeah, even the stage direction he's reading. Yeah, he's like, look left. Okay, all right, perfect.

All right, perfect. I read the story right to the joke, so you didn't catch it. There was no break in the next thing. It was supposed to say there's a break, and then, you know.

He's not really good. We're working on that. It's, you know, it's seven years running. I read it, and I set it up, so I know how it works.

Maybe for the 10th anniversary, you'll be up and running a tight ship here. Yeah, 10, yeah, in another three years. Yeah, we're almost there. Or two years.

So, hey, by the way, I'm smoking this. Can you see that? Ooh. Twist it a little, by the way.

Yes, Arsenio. Okay. Arsenio. Yeah, what am I smoking here, Mr.

Reilly? A wonderful Arsenio. Arsenio was the head blender of Aganorsa for many years. He was one of the guys, Eduardo Fernandez, the owner of the company of Aganorsa, he was not, he's Cuban, but he's not a tobacco guy himself, so he went to Cuba when he started up in the '90s and brought over a whole bunch of Cuban agronomists to come work for Aganorsa, and the reason he was able to bring 'em is that these guys had kind of been forced out, they were retired, but they had not been party members, so Arsenio was the most important of these guys, and he was able to take a A bunch of 'em over to Nicaragua, start growing tobacco, and Arsenio was really the guy that developed Aganorsa's signature flavor and aroma, he passed away in 2018, and this blend was the blend he smoked, we came out with it in three sizes, but this size that you're smoking, the Corona, is actually the size that he enjoyed smoking.

Well, yeah, this is delicious, by the way, but listen, I mean, we couldn't have done, like, anything a little bit nicer for him on this band, maybe. It's him! It looks like he's straight out of The Simpsons, bro. Is it exactly him?

That is him! That's what he looks like! He really looks like that. Yeah.

Does he drive like a pink sedan? No, he doesn't. Like the Simpsons? Does his wife have blue hair?

Does his wife have blue hair? That sticks up kind of like a beehive? Yeah. Well, here I am.

Look, in the O in the band is a smoke ring. Bet you didn't even notice that. No, I didn't. That is very good.

Yeah, see? That is good. Instead of making funny jokes, maybe pay attention. Look at the band a little bit more.

I didn't get one of those, Palmer. Did you get one? No, I didn't get one either. You guys aren't...

I got a... The box is right there. I got a super rare Supreme something. You know, I would have probably have noticed the smoke codes.

Which could be anything. I can only give so many of these out, guys. Yeah, it's a select number. I understand.

This cigar did really well with a lot of review sites. It ranked last year. Yeah, yeah. Dojo did well with it.

We got some good reviews on it. So, again, we kind of thought he liked to smoke it. I mean, obviously, he didn't have bands on it when he had it. But, you know, the guy had been doing it a long time.

50 years in Cuba and another 20 for us. Wow. So it's cool to see what a guy that smoked that long and was so involved in tobacco thought a cigar should taste like. Why did you release it after he died?

Well, again, he passed and then we wanted to do something to honor him and at first we thought, you know, let's come up with something new, but then it's like, why don't we just release the cigar he was smoking? It seemed like a good idea. So we utilized his blend. Okay, cool.

And that's an LE or is that a Coraline? It's a Coraline. Got it. Yeah, man.

This size is really good. Nice. Really good. You guys should try it one day.

You're going to love it. Maybe. Maybe one day. Yeah, one day.

I'm not going to make any promises. Okay. Next time I see Groover, I'll ask for one. Yeah, good luck with that.

It's like squeezing blood from a stone. Yeah, yeah. He always gives me cigarettes. He slides like something on here.

Don't tell the secrets. And he always makes sure he gives me one for my wife. He's very nice. Yeah, it's always the flavor-infused stuff.

Yeah, yeah. Yeah. He remembers. He has a good memory.

He does. Alright, let's move along with this. It's getting a little stale. I'm very sorry.

I think Terrence likes the next story. I tried to give you a nice plug. Whatever. Hey, screw me.

No problem. Keep it going. So, I read this already, but I'm going to read it again. Mikey, do you have a video for us?

No. Maybe one of you and La Ream? No, I still don't have a video of me and La Ream. No?

No. But he's my bestie now. He's a great man. Oh, he's up top?

He is a great man. He's really cool. I saw that guy when he was doing the Zeno thing. Yeah.

Oh, I'm sorry. Are we bothering you? - Oh. - With the Xeno thing?

- Is that Fabian or Groover? - Look left. - What was I saying? I don't even know why I was saying that.

- La Ream Xeno. - Oh yeah, yeah, like we're setting up the whole Xeno booth and everything, the whole thing. It was like 95 degrees out, and he's setting that whole thing up, like he's running around, working hard, he's driving all the country. I was like, this poor guy, so I'm glad he's doing well.

- He's just crushing it. - Yeah, he's crushing it out there. He's a great American. - He really is.

- Yeah. Yeah, yeah, I mean, he's like, he's up there, man, as far as if, as far as if he ever became available to jump to another corporation, like, I don't know how anybody lets that guy go. No, he's, he's awesome. Hey, I, we worked with him before, cause we did, uh, he did a bunch of videos for us for our YouTube channel.

Oh, so you let him go then. No, he was a contract, he was a contract at point. We hired him, he left us. He left us.

Like, all right, thanks so much for your time, bro. I'll see you. Thanks for the video. All right, let's move, let's move along.

Keep it moving, keep it moving. Darren's in a hurry, he must have somewhere to go. Last week, General Cigar Co. began shipping the 2026 batch of the CAO, Amazon Basin, one of the company's most popular limited editions, with some of the rarest tobacco in the world.

Super rare. This is the third consecutive year that General has sent a batch of the original Amazon Basin to stores in the first part of the new year. So rare it's available again. The cameos have been full, and we are bringing it back again this year.

The cigar, which debuted in 2014, is a 6x52 Toro that uses an Ecuadorian Sumatra seed wrapper, a Nicaraguan binder, and filler tobacco is grown in Brazil, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic. Like most CEOs, it is made at STG Esteli in Nicaragua. The Brazilian tobacco is known as Barranca, a varietal grown in the Amazon rainforest that the journal says only can be harvested once every three years. And actually, the only should be after harvestage, only can be harvested only once every three years, only harvested once every three years, they put it out for the last three years, release comes out every year, the tobacco plants are placed a full yard apart, further than most tobacco plants, and once the leaves are harvested, they are rolled into tubes called carrots, you should know all this stuff, don't you, I didn't think he'd have a problem with any of the words, for six months of aging.

When the cigar was introduced, General said the tobacco was transported out of the Amazon via boat. General declined to disclose production numbers. 49 per cigar. Amazon Basin became such a success that has inspired offshoots such as the CAO Amazon Fumo M.

Korda, CAO Amazon Anaconda, and CAO Oriyana. Yep. Each release uses strings of tobacco instead of the traditional paper band. Because it's so rare that we added four more.

He had it, other blends, other Vitolas, once every three years. Cynicism, there's a lot of cynicism on this show. There must have been extra boats. I call it entertainment, boats, you call it whatever you want.

Tomato, tomato. I like that he's like not getting involved either, he's like, okay, I'm just, this is, they're under attack, they're attacking somebody. Well, he never knows where he's gonna end up, so he can't, you know, he can't make fun of anybody. I will not say anything, I will not say anything, it will protect my best interests at all costs.

I'm in Switzerland, man. Yeah, I get it, yeah. He's gonna do a disclaimer at the end. Well, I love Justin Andrews of STG.

Yeah. But he's the only one I know. Oh, it's a great company. And Matt Booth.

I love Matt Booth. But he's not really, you know, he's kind of. Everyone's out there doing the best they can with what they got. They are.

And I'm going to make fun of all of them. Good. You see, you're equal opportunity. That's what matters.

Just don't pick, don't be a bully. Don't pick on people. You're a bigger guy, so people are intimidated by you. So, you know, I think they would be wrong to do that.

Yeah, that's not okay. Exactly. We're on the same page. I agree.

That's not okay. You gotta have fun in this industry, man. You know what I mean? Sometimes people take it too far.

It goes overboard sometimes. I'm not saying you. I'm saying it happens. I'm just trying to give you a little warning.

Yeah? Who takes it too far? I'm not going to get into name calling. What have you heard?

But there are. There are instances. There are things that have happened that we know. And you know.

Yeah, I do? I'm winking for the people listening. A little winky? I'm winking a little wink.

You know. I don't know. New story! Wait, there were some jokes in there that you skipped.

Look left. Oh, there wasn't. How about the canoe? That's okay, go ahead.

There's no joke, there's nothing there. All right. Yeah, you didn't put it in. Wow, you missed it.

Sands Parai has announced that it has appointed Joseph Perkins, the company's new VP of national sales. Perkins joined the company in July 2025 in an interim role similar to his new full-time position. David Swinburne, president of Sands Parai, told Half-Will that this was intentionally structured as a trial period based on Perkins' background in sales leadership, relationship to He's a part of the success of the development and strategic growth. While Perkins does not come from a background in the tobacco industry, he has experience in luxury products that require a consultative, hand-sold approach to the right clientele.

Swineburn said, adding that his performance in that capacity was exceptional, consistently leading his team month-over-month, exceeding targets, and driving measurable market expansion. S. S. tobacconists and partners, helping to ensure that San Parai's portfolio is presented in environments that reflect the brand's enduring values of exclusivity, integrity, and craftsmanship, according to a press release.

"Joe's presence, confidence, and ability to command the room were immediately apparent," said Schweinberg. Equally impactful were the relationships he demonstrated with the patrons of the establishment, relationships that, in my view, reflect the foundation upon which this industry is built. Additionally, Joe referenced several pre-existing relationships that had historically been difficult to establish, which further reinforced our confidence in proceeding with the trial period. Perkins was previously with MSI, a company specializing in countertops, tile, and other surfacing products, obviously high-trained with tons of experience in the cigar industry.

Boy, that was a lot of reading. You slid that in. No wonder you wanted me to do this. And he didn't even pick up on it.

Nope. Okay, so, first of all, Sweeney's cool. Yeah. We all know Sweeney.

Sweeney. He's a good guy. Oh, is that Sweeney? I wonder who Sweeney was.

David Sweeney. Oh, Sweeney. I was going to ask, what happened to Bootsy's buddy? So, like, what would you do?

What's the right approach? If you had an ultra-premium line, and that was pretty much what you focused on, like, what would be the approach that would be different than it was regular core line, you know, You know, kind of availability, something you would do? 'Cause you're super intelligent. Oh, well.

You are. You're smart, you're tall, you're handsome. Oh, he's gonna open up now. Somebody mark it down, I got a compliment from Mike.

Boots, boots, apparently Law's out. I don't know enough about the company, really, to give a thorough analysis of what your approach would be. I mean, again, obviously, the higher in the product, the more the environment is important to its sale. So if you're, you know, the Davidoffs of the world and things like that, and it's in a, you know, a case in a gas station, that doesn't play well.

So I think that's the main thing you have to kind of look like is if my product is sold here, what does it say about the product? Right. So I think that's the main. What about like marketing?

Do you think you market more like Rob Report or something like that? Like, yeah, I mean, again, I think that the more important thing is finding places that can really move the product well, you know, I mean, it's important to advertise, it's important to do those things, but it's always, I think, hard to say how much of that really works, you know, okay, so you did an ad, how many people saw it, how many people did anything from it, you know, the joke's always half your advertising works. And I think on that stuff it's even harder because you're appealing to an even more narrow group of people. You guys market with anybody?

Are you advertising? We do a couple. Yeah, we do some. But we focus, I'd say, more in the last few years on working with the retail partners, doing stuff promotion-wise, working with them to get the product in people's hands.

Do you sponsor any podcasts? Yeah, any podcasts? No, leave them. You leave them alone.

You leave them alone. We'll talk after today. There are no sponsors on this podcast. We're smoking the Smokey-O Arsenios.

Smoking the Arsenios. Smoking the Arsenios. Woo, woo, woo, woo. I'll leave you guys a couple, maybe.

We'll see how this goes. Perfect. New story! Okay, all right, carrying on.

We're gonna blast through this podcast. This is a really fast one. Yeah, we're at 26. Yeah, I know, I can see it.

There's an all-new Playboy-branded cigar. Oh! This time coming from Kingmakers. In the 1990s, there was a Playboy by Don Diego brand, and later, just a Playboy-branded cigar from Altatus USA.

King Makers has introduced the new Playboy Toro, the first cigar in the company's new Playboy cigar collection. It measures 6x54 and uses an Ecuadorian Habano Criollo wrapper over a Nicaraguan binder and Nicaraguan fillers. The cigar is made at an undisclosed factory in Esteli, Nicaragua. Each cigar has an MSRP of $12 and is offered in boxes of 10.

The Playboy Toro has gone on sale online and will be offered in brick-and-mortar retailers. Playboy shaped an era where culture, style, and indulgence intertwined. Our goal was to honor that heritage while crafting something distinctly modern, said Claudio Torres, core founder and COO of Kingmakers, in a press release. The result is a cigar that resonates with legacy while speaking to today's discerning audience.

The Playboy Toro joins Kingmakers' portfolio of licensed cigars, which includes products with the country band Midland and basketball stars Carmelo Anthony, And Kelsey Plum. Oh. A cigar you're buy for, what the heck does it say? A cigar you're buy for the articles, not the Playboy covers, adorn the inside of the box.

Hmm. That's a joke. Yeah, I got it. It took a second.

Head at the wall first. Yeah. Um, have you smoked the Kelsey Plum cigar? No.

No, I haven't either. No, I mean, I don't, for me, you know, like a Playboy money doesn't really seem like a good marketing strategy. I mean, more often than not, I think that if a person that's trying to consume cigars, And tomb cigars, especially if they don't dabble in it on the regular, they're looking for some type of kind of masculine approach for a cigar, right? Like, if a cigar says, you know, I mean, Supreme Leaf, like, that's still an attractive name, right?

Yeah, yeah. Not as attractive as Supreme, Supreme Rare Rare Leaf, but it's not bad. Well, listen, that's only for key accounts, buddy, you know, and unfortunately, it'll never be here until it's home, you know. But maybe one day.

That's a TAA exclusive from what I heard. It's always tough to combine things with cigars because the cigar market is a very select group of people. There's only how many millions of people in the whole country that have a cigar period, right? About three.

Yeah, let's say three million people. So you have three million people. Out of that, how many of them are fans of X team or of X individual? So now you're taking that pie, and you're cutting it down even smaller, it's hard to make that work.

" I don't think they make the magazine anymore, do they? It's just online. I think it's online now. Yeah, I think it's just a digital version.

The brand's kind of played. I mean, if they did it maybe 20 years ago or something. Yeah, a lot of people don't even know what that is. Yeah, right.

What is this Bunny? Oh, this is a bad Bunny cigar. Is this an OnlyFans thing? I don't understand.

Well, again, but you also, there's still a lot of smokers that are from that generation that, you know, might be nostalgic for them. Oh, yeah, I remember Playboy and have a... There'll be certain markets, certain countries where it'll still work. I think you're being very gracious.

You know, unfortunately, I just don't think that this is a good idea. Yeah, it's like a nostalgic... We'll see, we'll see what happens. Yeah.

I'll tell you, a lot of cigars in this industry, people, everyone thought they were bad ideas and then you never know. Which one was the biggest surprise for you? I would say Nub was a pretty big surprise. I remember everyone was like, that's the dumbest idea I've ever heard of, a half a cigar, it doesn't make any sense.

And then everyone's got that size now. So it just depends, you know. Or even with the big ring gauge stuff, I mean, who would have thought that that would have become as popular as it is? Yeah, that's true.

So you never know. There's really older vintage covers on the inside of the lid. Yeah. Of like Playboy covers?

Yeah, but I don't think that does anything. Not the ones where you see more skin, they're more the collectibles. So it's more of like a collector's edition. Okay.

Yeah. I mean, like, look, I want everybody to succeed, but I'm just gonna give my opinion if I don't think it's a good idea or a bad idea. That's fair, yeah. No, I think you gave a fair assessment.

Yeah. Does Kingmaker make any regular cigars? Are they all celebrity type stuff? I think it's all celebrity from what I've seen.

Did they do the Ocho Cinco one too? Yeah. Did they? Or are you just yeahing you?

No, no. From when we met him at PCA. Yeah? Yeah.

It was Kingmakers, yeah. Okay. Okay. Because I had never heard of them and then I saw they came out with Carmelo Anthony.

But who's the celebrity for Playboy? It would just be Playboy. It would just be Playboy. I guess it's iconic brand or whatever.

Just the logo. Yeah, just the logo. There's a bunny, the Playboy bunnies on the band. And well, does Kingmaker sell to other retailers or do they just sell direct and that's it?

It says in the article they sell to some brick and mortars too. They do? Yeah. Yeah.

Okay. Now, a mini game of what's the score. Wow. With that, we have the master of what's the score, Mike Palmer!

Yeah, so, okay, so you obviously don't watch the show, but this is how this is going to work. Mr. Palmer is going to announce a cigar that Half Wheel has done a review on somewhere in the span of 2005 and 2025, and we're going to guess what we think the score is going to be. And we're going to guess periodically, you're going to guess three or four times, depending usually on the title, like the description, And then there's going to be two or three kind of questions or statements about the review, and then the final thought will come in, and we will try our best to guess the proper score.

Do we know what the cigar is, or it's just a description? He's going to announce what it is. Okay, so we know what the cigar is, too. And I got a feeling that it's going to be in Aganorsa because you're… Okay, great.

Or if he was really gangster, he would have won Quesada. I couldn't remember the other brand. Oh, yeah. But I didn't do Aganorsa because I figured he would know.

Yeah, that's true. Well, that's fine. Well, there was one more you forgot at the end, though, that Boots is going to win. Oh, yeah.

Boots has been on a run. Boots is on a little bit of a tear right now. He's won so far this year. Really?

Yes. Which is not. He guesses the score? He just remembers it or?

No, like, well, what's weird is, you know, like, I usually have a tendency to kind of nail the score. But if he's all, if he guesses and I go higher or lower, or I guess and he goes higher and lower and he's closer, then he wins. But I, he, did you nail one? I think you nailed one.

Yeah, nailed one. Yeah. Two, actually, because you thought the first one I was cheating. Yeah.

And then I nailed the second one. He was cheating. So Palmer's here. But now Palmer is here.

Yeah, he's going to see I don't cheat. Unless he told you prior to. Maybe. But then he'd have to be.

Oh, that would have been funny. Yeah. I didn't think of that. All right.

You guys ready? Yep. All right. This one is from September 2nd, 2025.

Brooks Whittington did the review. It is the Adventure of Blue-Eyed Jacks Revenge Maduro High Tide. Oh. Blue-Eyed Jack.

Revenge Maduro High Tide. Do we know when this review is done? Yeah, he said it. Yeah, September 2nd, 2025.

Okay, oh, so just did it, okay. This is recent. It was the end of last year. Are we gonna let guests go first?

By Brooks. Yeah, go ahead and pick your number. Somewhere between 1 and 100. 87.

That's a good number. That's a good number. I'm gonna go 88. I'm gonna go 89.

Okay, you're just sticking with us. Yep. 5x50, and they smoked three cigars. Okay.

So it's a Dominican cigar. So now you have some intel about the wrapper, the length, and obviously who made the cigar, it's Adventura. So you would change your score, keep it the same, whatever you want to do. Is that their factory, Mina Del Rey?

I'm keeping the score, I don't know. I'm keeping the score because, not because of, I haven't even had the cigar, but I think it's probably a little higher than 87, but I'm going to stick to 87. Yeah, I'm going to inch up here to 90. I'm going to go 90 to start.

For the Blue Eyed Jack? Yeah, because then I just realized where it was coming from. I'm going to stick at 89. All right, clue number one.

The cigar delivers a rich, evolving profile highlighted by sweet cedar and creamy peanut butter, supported by complex secondary notes like Coco Nibs, Cinnamon Popcorn, and Baker Spices, keeping the experience engaging from start to finish. Coco Nibs is a go-to for Brooks. Yeah. He loves Coco Nibs.

Loves Coco Nibs. Always slides that in. We're not sure what it is, but yeah, he must love those. Yeah, he's a big Cocoa Nibs guy.

Yeah. Cocoa Nibs are good. Yeah. It's good quality.

" Yeah. Or send him some Cocoa Nibs. Yeah. With the shirt.

My score doesn't change. 87? Yeah. Okay, I'm gonna stick 90.

I've noticed, in my opinion, like, the descriptions, like, don't help you at all. And I've read half-wheel reviews that, like, I'm like, that sounds like the most amazing cigar ever. And then it's like, it doesn't have a great rating. " Yep.

And then it's a good rating. Yeah, 96. My score, whatever you read is not going to alter my opinion at all because I've never been able to kind of like figure out exact by reading the description what the score will be. I never guess it based on that.

Maybe just not paying attention. Maybe. There's a couple of facts here that you need to start kind of breaking down. Number one, who did the review?

No, that's, you know, so that, but that factors into like what I think the score will be. Some I think write a little bit, you know, more strictly than others, but, but in terms of the actual like, like notes and things like that. Like, I've never been able to use that to figure out what the score will be. You gotta also remember that one of the biggest things that impact Half Wheel's reviews is construction draws or anything like that, so listen for that if you hear that.

Oh, that's a good point. Okay. Yeah. Well, listen up.

So, where you at there, Bootsy? I'd go after you. Yeah. What'd you say?

90. Oh, 89. Alright, clue number two: construction is consistently strong with excellent draws, solid smoke production, and mostly sharp burn lines, Allowing the flavors to shine with minimal interface throughout all three thirds. So construction, good.

Brooks. How many clues do we get total? Three. Three and then the final thought.

So there's one more? Yeah, one more and then you get the final thought. And then you get to... Okay, so I'm sticking where I am.

I'm not moving. 87. Okay, that kind of just solidifies 90 for me. I like that you're kind of pigeonholed here, because at this point, if it's not an 88 or an 89, you're screwed.

Yeah, I mean, yeah, okay. I gotta hear the final thought. We can run defense. Final thought does give away all of it, and then just make sure that he's not gonna win.

Oh, now you're trying to team up? Yeah. Oh, was this the plan for the beginning? It's a team effort.

Oh, okay. Alright, clue number three. There is a noticeable inconsistency in the cigar feet shapes. Oh, look, I got a text message.

And two samples required minor burn touch-ups in the second, third, slightly detracting from an otherwise polished presentation. It might actually be an 88, but I'm sticking with 87. Yes. Okay.

I don't think that the foot inconsistency is going to change anything. It's so weird. I'm going to stick with 90. The feet shapes are different.

Yeah. Boots. The only thing, because it's Brooks, I think it might be a little higher. I'll stick with what I have.

I'm gonna go 86. Oh, wow, you're dropping down. Yeah, he's just trying to mess with you. Oh, wow.

This is a strategy of his. Yeah. Yeah. Mind games here.

Yeah. This is getting intense. He knows he has one more chance. Right.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. See if he can throw me off, huh? Yeah. That's exactly what he's doing.

Make you go lower. Don't be fooled. I get what you're doing, Aaron. This is sinister.

Alright, this is a final thought, gentlemen. I have made no secret of how much I have enjoyed the vast majority of ADV and McKay releases that I have smoked, and the Adventura Blue-Eyed Jack's Revenge Maduro High Tide is just the latest example. The blend features a complex and nuanced flavor profile, along with great transitions between thirds, but that is just the start of the story. There's also the extremely good construction and an amazing balance between the medium plus strength, the light spice present on my tongue, And the combination of red pepper and sweetness on the retrohale.

There are not many cigars that nail virtually every aspect of what makes a great cigar, but the Aventura Blue-Eyed Jacks Revenge Maduro High Tide is definitely one of them. Oh man, I gotta move up to a 90 on that. I'm moving up to a 90. Oh.

Mikey? All right, I'm gonna go 92. Watch again. I think his head's gonna explode.

I love that. Who's this? Brooks? Brooks.

Make sure I turn my phone so we can't see. 89. 91. You should have...

Oh! You would have had it! You would have had it! You should have thread the nail, man.

I love it! I thought you had it. I was so torn because I'm like, you know, Brooks does this whole number thing. We're like, he says he really loves it, and then he scores it low, and then he says he doesn't like it.

It was set up. I was gonna go. You ever thought it? I was going 91, but man, that final thought was just so loving.

I know. There's just no way. I went from 87 to a 90 on it. Yeah.

So that was a big change for me. Damn. You had your shot. It was almost five in a row, almost.

Your streak is over. So you guys split it? It's over, Johnny. No, no, we'll give it to our guests.

Terrence is the winner. Yes. Congratulations. Good job.

Nicely done, sir. Nicely done. You know, I don't want to brag, I don't want to make a big deal about it. Yeah, you know, well listen, take the dub, buddy.

Enjoy the victory lap. Okay, is there anything else to add? Just if he wants to plug anything, are you going to be anywhere? Got any events going on?

Where are you going to be? I'm just running around the whole country. This month I don't travel too much, to be honest with you. We have our select program where retailers can partake as Cigar Hustlers one.

Been a great partner to us for many years. So that takes a lot of time in the office with all a bunch of stuff. So actually, it's one of the few months I don't make too many trips is January. - Supreme Leaf time?

- Supreme Leaf time, yep. New Supreme Leaf coming, new size, 109 head Toro. We're calling it Toro 109. I don't know why we're calling it Toro.

- That doesn't make any sense. - Well, 'cause nobody knows what a 109 is. And so like, if you call it a Toro, then they're like, oh, it's a Toro. But then it's a 109 head.

- Why don't we teach them? - Yeah, that's a lot of work. - Is this too much? - Yeah.

- Too much. - Maybe Law can help you do a video. " And I'm like, "I have no idea what the hell you're talking about either. " I don't know what that means.

So then he explains it to me, you know, and how it's just kind of like a rounded... It's like a Toro and a Torpedo had a baby. Right. So the love child.

Yeah. Yes. Elicit love child. Yes.

Like the new baby giraffe. Yeah. So once he explained it, I was like, oh yeah, that's exactly what it is. So it's good to tell people these things, you know?

Yeah, it's nice stories. Yeah. Provide the knowledge, right? You're a plethora of knowledge.

Plethora, a good word. Yeah. I got a couple. Yeah.

Well, by the inch, he can store more knowledge. Yeah. Is there anywhere you want, yeah, by the inch, for sure. Is there anywhere you want anybody to follow you, Instagram, whatever?

Yeah, Aganor's Leaf on Instagram. We got a great group on Facebook called Aganor's Acolytes. Unlike other groups that are out there, we're, you know, we're not draconian in our rules. Yeah.

So please, please join. Yeah. YouTube channel, please, Aganor's Leaf. Great videos on there.

And, you know, and stay in touch. Like I said, like, one of the nice things about this is you get to stay in touch with a lot of people. To stay in touch with a lot of people through social medias, there's a negative side to social media, but the positive is, get to really keep your finger on the pulse of things, so as I always say, I don't have a lot of good ideas, I just take other people's and pass them off as my own, and that's been really good for me, so I need you guys out there to keep sending me great ideas. That's fantastic.

I really feel like your videos kind of tank, though, once you let law go. Yeah, well, I feel that too, to be honest with you. They're mostly filmed by me now. All right, perfect, man.

Well, thanks so much for coming on, dude. I appreciate you. No, thank you guys. Thank you for having me.

It's a great time. And again, you guys have been great partners since the beginning. So thank you so much. Thanks, brother.

Not one flex, huh? There you go. Oh, there it is. All right.

All right, bye. What about yours? Mine? Oh, you got actually a good flex.

We should have used your arm for that. I don't have any. Yeah, no. Come on.

It's just for show. Come on. They're inflated. That's it.

Come on. Take the shirt off like you do every day. This will be the most watched show if you do it. I can only do these things for us.

Take your shirt off. Think of the ratings. Think of the ratings we can get. I can't do it.

Take it off. Take it off. Take it off. Take it off.

Don't make this weird flex for us. I'm not doing it. For all you people out there just listening, Mikey took his shirt off. That's not happening.

Oh, my God. Nope. All right. Just a shirt.

Just a shirt. Just a shirt. All right. Thanks, everybody.

Bye, guys. Bye. Bye, guys. Welcome to the Cigar Hustler Podcast, the show brought to you commercial-free.

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Show Notes

On today’s show we have a calling in sick story.  A naming Contest, a bang of a Florida Story then in cigars we have a new hire, couple new cigars and a mini game of what’s the score