ACHP Episode 545 Dunkin, Pink, Barbie & Cigars

Episode Summary

Episode 545 of A Cigar Hustler's Podcast finds Mike Palmer, Mike Szczepankevicz and Phil McGuffey working through a grab-bag of headlines before getting into the cigar business news. The first half is pure detour: New World screwworm confirmed in a Texas calf and whether it's the next fear-monger story, Dunkin's Barbie collaboration and its all-pink summer refresher lineup (Phil, the crew's resident fast-food connoisseur, has already tried the pineapple one), questions about the omission of finasteride from President Trump's latest medical report, a tangent on the youngest U.S. presidents, and a United flight from Newark to Palma de Mallorca that turned back over the Atlantic because a passenger's Bluetooth speaker was named "bomb."

The cigar news starts with United Cigars shipping its Independence Firecracker — a 3.5 x 50 Petit Robusto with a pigtail cap, Mexican-grown Habano wrapper, Dominican binder, and Dominican and Nicaraguan filler, made at the Arnold André Dominicana factory and priced at $9, packed in 12-count tins that flip over to serve as an ashtray. The guys also dig into the USTR's Section 301 child-labor investigation covering 60 trading partners and the recommended 12.5% tariff, plus the Section 122 tariffs set to expire in late July. That leads to a genuinely useful piece of inside-baseball: rumors that customs brokers and importers who paid the tariffs in their own names are collecting refunds on the illegal duties and not passing the money back to manufacturers — and why refunding consumers would be practically impossible. Palmer notes Postanas Cigars never raised prices through the tariffs and simply absorbed the hit.

Next up is Oz Family Cigars shipping the Maracaná, Tim Ozgener's recreation of the CAO Brasilia, using a Brazilian Arapiraca wrapper over Honduran and Nicaraguan binder and filler, offered in four box-pressed vitolas (Robusto, Robusto Extra, Toro, Gordo) and made at My Father Cigars in Honduras — reportedly the first time the Garcia family has worked with a Brazilian Arapiraca leaf. Sports talk covers the World Cup and NBA Finals officiating, including referee Scott Foster's "the Extender" nickname and his connection to disgraced ref Tim Donaghy.

The show closes with "What's the Score?", guessing Brooks Whittington's Halfwheel rating for the Chillin' Mali Pangu Double Corona (7 x 52, Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, Dominican and Nicaraguan filler, Mi Havana factory). Notes of toasted sourdough, creamy cedar, peanut butter, coffee, lemongrass and a sugary cereal sweetness on the retrohale carried it to a 90. The crew debates factory changes affecting the blend, why the same recipe can't be replicated at a different factory, and Palmer's claim that a pre-light RoMa Craft Neanderthal HN smells exactly like the Nica Sueño factory.

In This Episode

1. 01
   Joke of the Day & Listener Comments
   Phil's joke bit, CH Pod swag, the Patreon Opus X El Tributo episode, and comments about Palmer's viral 'thirst trap' video.
2. 02
   Flesh-Eating Screwworm in Texas
   A New World screwworm detected in a calf in Texas sparks a discussion of USDA eradication efforts and media fear cycles.
3. 03
   Dunkin' x Barbie Pink Summer Drinks
   Dunkin's Mattel collaboration, the Pink Pineapple and Pink Daydream refreshers, and a Barbie Dreamhouse store takeover in Manhattan.
4. 04
   Trump's Medical Report and Finasteride
   The hosts unpack the missing Propecia/finasteride disclosure, possible side effects, and why presidents are always so old.
5. 05
   United Flight Turned Around Over a Bluetooth Name
   United Flight 236 from Newark to Palma de Mallorca reversed course after a Bluetooth device named 'bomb' appeared on the list.
6. 06
   United Cigars Independence Firecracker Ships
   Details on the $9, 3.5 x 50 Petit Robusto with Mexican Habano wrapper made at Arnold André Dominicana, packed in flip-over ashtray tins.
7. 07
   USTR Section 301 Tariffs and Refund Rumors
   A recommended 12.5% tariff on 60 trading partners, expiring Section 122 tariffs, and rumors of brokers keeping illegal-tariff refunds.
8. 08
   Oz Family Cigars Maracaná & What's the Score
   Tim Ozgener's Brazilian Arapiraca revival of CAO Brasilia made at My Father, then guessing the Halfwheel score for the Chillin' Mali Pangu Double Corona.

Brands & Cigars Discussed

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

Transcript

Welcome to a Cigarser podcast where cigars are just the starting point. Join me, Mike Palmer, along with Mike Szczepankevicz and Phil McGuffey as we dive into the latest cigar industry news, Sports, current events, business, and whatever crazy stories are making the headlines. Whether you're a seasoned cigar smoker or just looking for entertaining conversation, expect honest opinions, plenty of laughs, and a few unexpected detours along the way. On today's show, we have another flesh eater in America.

Duncan makes a doll of a deal. Trump's health is a concern. " And then in cigar news, United Cigars is gonna pop. More tariff updates, Oz like soccer, and then a Chinese takeout version of what's the score.

But first, we have Phil McGuffey's joke of the day. Oh God, I wasn't ready. Oh, one day. Why didn't you say anything in the pre-talk?

I figured you'd do it from yesterday. I did. It's not like we only do it on Wednesday. I mean, I can pull it up.

I can pull it up. No, that's fine. Never mind. I'm right here.

Here it is. Now I have to edit. This is thrilling airspace you know what's funny is you could have just been like hey make sure you have this well you don't make the pre-production the production meeting all right guys production meeting here comes hello people's here at the VA joke of the day is William doesn't smoke cigars he conducts exit interviews that was worse yesterday's yeah that's all I got it's Is he creating these, or are you? Oh, no, no, I have nothing to do with this.

It would have been funnier if I did it. So, why is this happening? Let me ask you. He had three or four yesterday, he wanted to be a little more involved, so I gave him a bit.

Yeah, and I tried to do the Justin Andrews one, but he didn't like that one either. This is terrible. Well, then this bit goes away. Really?

Not like he's gonna remember that we do it. Yeah. Wow. No, no, please, we're still gonna do it, we'll do it again tomorrow.

Yeah, thank you so much for that, that was riveting. and we'll do it again tomorrow. Perfect. Right, that was great.

H. Ponce swag? Before I start, though, I just wanted to introduce my co-host, Mike Thirstrap Palmer, the legend. We're not doing the intros anymore.

We can put it back. Don't worry, there will be revenge. Thirstrap. Don't worry.

What is there to revenge? I didn't post anything. You posted it. No, I took it down.

Then you posted it. How was I supposed to? Apparently, you're showing it to other industry people And brought it up again on the show today. So, you know.

Don't worry, I'm sure our comments section will have brought it up already. No, they have. Yes, they have. I told you that before the show.

So what are you worried about? I'm not worried about anything. It was great. I loved it.

I don't mind making fun of myself. Yeah, but I'm gonna get you back. Well, 'cause you keep bringing it up. I can't let it go undressed.

Oh, yeah? Are you sure? Yes, I'm sure. I feel like we've done this before, and I don't think it ended well for you.

Oh, I'm not talking violence. -Needer am I. -Okay. -You're still here.

-I know I'm still here. -I'm not a violent person. -Okay. -Ouch.

-Please, on with whatever else you had planned. -Like and subscribe wherever you're viewing or listening to this show. com for all your chpod swag. We still got two away.

We didn't have any purchases yesterday. -One of the comments, somebody's offering to buy two. -Oh, really? -Yeah, just buy it.

-Berry up and bye. If you buy one, you get the second one 40% off. Yeah. I didn't think I had the overalls for no apparent reason.

Yeah. com, Us Cigar Hustlers Podcast, where we review cigars and talk more in depth inside baseball about people in the cigar industry. Great episode that came out yesterday, it was fantastic, about the Opus X. We smoked the El Tributo, I think that's right.

Yeah. And then we talked about a couple of things, which I thought was fantastic. Yeah, considering we didn't know what we were going to talk about at first, it worked out well. I'm pretty good at that, man.

There's, I mean, there's a lot of, there's a lot of things that I kind of reflect on anyways that it's easy to talk about. So, um, some comments from yesterday's show, Michael Z, Cigar Guy, can we get Palmer's video as part of the opening? It's going to attract a whole new demographic for you guys. I could cut it in.

I could cut it in. You'll have to give it, no, I still have it on my phone. Hey, viewers are viewers, man. Like, I'm...

I don't care. It doesn't bother me at all. It doesn't bother me either. It bothers Phil.

Oh. Yeah. Right, Phil? No comment, because I feel like if I comment, someone either, you know, doesn't like it, or, you know, I...

You're probably right. You probably just shouldn't talk. Yeah, I'm just not going to comment. Just stop talking.

Just stop talking. Yeah. No more jokes. Yeah.

Time to pay Palmer more. His new $20 is $20 Dude Trap Videos Seem Desperate. Pay more. Definitely best video of 2026 from @BrettMercurio.

Pay more. I agree. I agree too. Pay more.

You know what was funny? I just love how all this is played out because I didn't know that you took it down. " Okay. I mean, does that make any difference?

I mean, I put it up. It was up long enough for people to see. I'm surprised Hasselhoff hasn't commented about being jealous if you keep doing those Baywatch videos. Oh, Baywatch.

Running. @tmoney says, "Didn't these people watch Jurassic Park? " That's what I was thinking too, when you said the mosquito thing. " Oh, yeah, good thing about that.

One more from T-Money. That right there is exactly why no one sends three of things to the show. Phil is so unappreciative. I was going to send...

Well, it means because you didn't like the mask. I'm wearing it. Yeah, but... Yeah.

Disgruntal. Yeah. Disgruntal because... Did you see the fan art today?

T-Money? I didn't see the fan art. I didn't see the fan art. Another movie poster.

Yeah. I feel like T-Money's setting me up. I feel like that's why he's making that comment. From the man who starred in Dead Inside of Me, Butterfly Kisses.

Dude, that has got to be one of the coolest masks. Coming to a theater near you, see you. Nice. I'm appreciative.

I think it's amazing. You know what, and if I didn't thank you, David Hasselhoffman, thank you very much. - That was very well thought, very thoughtful, and the cigars too, we appreciate you guys, we appreciate all our listeners. - Cigars.

- That was very nice. - Yeah, he's in cigars too. Only two. - Yeah, only two.

- Of three different kinds. - Of three, two of three different kinds. - Wow. - So there's still six, but yeah.

- Yeah, sorry. - But there's not an extra of any of them. - At TheBuzzinator19, why is Google playing God? In my opinion, nothing good will come out of this.

Just like Bill Gates telling us he's a medical expert, or Leonardo DiCaprio shaming us for climate change, change as he's flying his private plane and yachting all over the world. I mean, yeah. Does he have a private plane? I don't know.

Probably. I don't think he does. You don't think Leonardo? No, I think we would have heard, 'cause I mean, you hear about everybody else.

He might fly private, but he probably doesn't. Does Leonardo DiCaprio have his own private plane? Of course he does. Leonardo DiCaprio's private jet is a Gulfstream G650.

Oh, look at that. Which is one of the most expensive and luxurious private jets on the market. Oh, yeah. Has the most emissions and gobbles up most of the gas.

Listen, when the earth wants to become a cold, dead rock again, it's going to do it. There's nothing you can do to stop it. Well, we don't have to hurry it along, either. I don't think that we are.

At Rook's Coatings, once Mike runs from the cops in the Hellcat and they get him, He calls Greg to get him out of jail. Exactly. Yeah, sure. That's exactly, yeah.

There'll be no bond. The mosquitoes things really took off. Jace1911, mosquitoes created by Google sounds like more data listening devices, but Phil is probably right about another problem being created. Thank you.

Thank you, Jace. Because I said, you know, to fix the problem, create the problem. " Send it. And I'll appreciate it, even though T-Money doesn't think of it.

No, no, you don't want his mask, I know what it is. Oh, don't send it. Send it! " But he already ordered one.

Oh, that was him. Yeah, that's not, no. That's not happening. No, no.

" I can't wait to read this. Does it come? Oh, go ahead. And it would be easy to make.

Take a... Oh... Oh, don't read it. Oh, I'm not reading it.

Angry people. Read it. I'm not reading it. That's not nice.

That's not nice. Wow. Oh, I remember what it said. At CW6383, it sounds as if Mikey and Phil were stunt drivers for the Fast and Furious series.

And our dear friend David Hasselhoffman, you're welcome, Phil. Your November mask has already been printed. Oh, nice. Gobble, gobble.

I don't know what it is, but I'm guessing. Does he, he must have like a, I mean, I have a 3D printer, but I don't think mine can change the color. You don't even know how to use your 3D printer. Yeah, no, I'm going to grab it here soon.

I got to figure out how to use it. Is it still here? Yeah. It's in Greg's office in pieces.

Yeah. Been there for like three years. Yeah, probably longer. If you want to hear your comment read aloud on the show, just comment below and we potentially may read it out on our next episode.

Today is the last day to be entered to win the lighter and cutter set that's not next to me. Oh, it's not there today. It's a carbon fiber set. I didn't see it in the cabin.

I hope nobody stole it. It's a carbon fiber set of a lighter and cutter. Look, Palmer's holding it. And then somebody took it.

Here, Palmer's holding it here. You guys want to see it? Oh, there it was. We're going to give it away.

We'll be giving it away on tomorrow's show. So, okay, on with the show, my friend. S. Oh, screwworms.

Okay, what's a screwworm? A New World screwworm has been detected in a bovine located in Zevalia County, Texas. S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services said a three-week...

Yeah, right, you on fire? Something going on already? Oh, you have ashes on you. Thank you so much.

No problem. Uh, three-week-old. Your shirt's on fire. Your shirt's on fire.

Stop, drop, and roll. Stop, drop, and roll. Phil, pee on him. Oh, is that how you get out?

Stop. Oh, wait, no. That was for you to get stung by a jellyfish. It was jellyfish.

My bad. Don't pee on him anymore. I thought that was the opening scene of butterfly kisses. Hey, Phil, pee on him.

Phil, pee on him. Phil whips it out and pees on him. And then the credits come running out of his penis. Wow.

A three-week-old calf was affected with larvae when identified in its umbilical cord, according to a press statement on Wednesday, adding that there are no further detections to date, so I don't know how they found this one worm inside the baby calf's umbilical cord. Okay. " Maybe. USDA invested heavily in the tools needed to eliminate the New World screw worm ever since cases started increasing to Central America and Mexico.

The United States has defeated the pest before and we will do it again, USDA said. USDA and Texas officials are working to contain and eradicate NWS from the country, including the establishment of a 20-kilometer infested zone around the detection and enforcing quarantine. So what does this thing do? - It's a flesh-eating worm that is laid on a cow or a horse or something by a fly.

- Okay. - So it's the larva version of the fly. And then once it grows, it becomes the fly. It flies around somewhere else.

Next thing you know, now there's two of them. And then they both land somewhere and make four. Four makes six. - And they eat flesh.

- They eat the flesh of the animals. - Got it. It's a problem. - Well, it also makes it to where, like, you can't, I mean, at that point, the animal has to be put down.

You can't, like, cut this part out and then give the steaks to somebody that way. - Right. - Sort of like the Hoof and Mouth on Dutton Ranch. - Still haven't watched.

- Oh. - Wow. - Yeah. - Still haven't.

- It's hard out in these streets to watch TV. - New World Screw Worm, which burrows into the flesh of a living animal, is a pest that can affect livestock and cause economic losses in the agricultural sector. So apparently they don't like to eat humans. - Got it.

- Okay. - But it's a new thing. - It's a new thing, but it's an old thing, 'cause we dealt with it before. - We eradicated it once, but now it's coming over from Mexico.

- However, we do like to fear monger, and we're running out of things. Hantavirus did not take off. - Didn't scare people like we hoped. - No one was fazed.

- Nope, nope. - You know. - So now we're doing flesh-eating flies. - We've already tapped into sex trafficking rings where we're arresting people on Disney cruises.

- Right, still nobody's worried, they're still doing cruises. And nothing has changed at the Strait of Hormuz, except the guy in charge keeps saying that we've got a peace deal, but there's no peace deal. Well, we did put a missile into a... We did shoot into an engine.

And through the window into the engine room. That's because our military is incredible. Oh, I know, isn't that true? And so, what do we...

Why would anybody pick a fight with us at this point? I don't, sometimes they don't pick a fight, sometimes we just go. We just feel like, I don't know. Oh wow, we need to bomb somebody, who do you guys got?

We gotta fuel the economy here, allegedly. Allegedly. So yeah, then at that point normally it goes Asian bird flu, but obviously we've kind of surpassed that, maybe it's just out of rotation. Oh, they were talking, oh we got the mosquito thing about to happen.

Yeah, so that's when we went flesh-eating fly. Google. Right, Google is creating little mosquito androids. Right.

How many little mosquito peepees are you counting up to now, Phil? Yeah, how many are you at? How many have you counted? 32.

32? Yep. You know, there's 34 billion, you might want to get going. David Hasselhoffman, his mask is off, just so you know.

It's on his forehead. Yeah. It has this little thing like in the middle that like... I know.

digs into my forehead. Well, let's put a little hole in your forehead. It's actually the top portion of the mask because it was two things created and put together. What you need is just a little piece of foam.

Yeah, that would be great. So when you send the next one, put a little piece of foam on the floor. No, we're not doing that. Put a little piece of foam in the box and we'll put it on.

No, no, no, no. I'll just get a piece of foam and put it on there for you. Perfect. Because you're a crime baby.

No, I was trying to figure out how to put this thing on there. How to snap off another piece. I mean, you just snapped one off yesterday that was bothering. Yeah.

Alright, Duncan is serving pink this summer with a bold beverage lineup and iconic collaboration with Barbie. Oh. Starting yesterday, Duncan is serving Summer in Pink with a vibrant lineup of iced beverages from the all-new Pink Pineapple and Pink Daydream Refreshers. Lovely.

With a collaboration with Barbie, the iconic fashion doll. Do you have another movie coming out this summer? Probably. That would make sense.

It would make sense. Let's read on. The iconic fashion doll and cultural icon from Mattel, Duncan invites guests to sip their way through a collection That brings its signature color to life in new ways all season long. There's like nine or ten drinks.

I didn't feel we needed to read through the list. There is no new live-action theatrical Barbie movie released in the summer. Hmm, very weird. Beginning June 10th, Dunkin' will debut a Barbie Dreamhouse-inspired store takeover in New York City, transforming a Manhattan Dunkin' into a must-visit pink destination throughout June, Where guests can step inside, snap photos, and enjoy their favorite pink zips.

Follow along @Duncan or @Barbie and @BarbieStyle for more details. Pink has always been part of Duncan's DNA. Are you guys familiar with that? That's always been part of the thing?

Well, it's in the logo, right? Uh, I guess you're right. The pink donut. And this summer, we're taking it further than ever.

Bold, fun, and unmistakably, Duncan, said Jill Nelson, Chief Marketing Officer at Duncan. Would you go and buy the pink drink? Because, Is it the pink drink? I think I would try the pink drink.

You would try the pink drink? It's probably way too sugary for me because I usually stay away from that stuff. But some of the names did seem intriguing like it might taste good. Okay.

Be like drinking ice cream or something. And I don't get their iced coffees for the same reason. Right. Too sweet.

Phil, would you buy the pink drink? Without question. These are already out and I've had one. They're already out?

I knew. Yeah, they came out yesterday or the day before. Yeah. And you were already there.

Well, my girls like to go to, my daughters like to go to Dunkin' Donuts. Ah, so that is the excuse. You take the daughters so you can get the pink drink. I guess.

We need three of these silly drinks, please. When we would go to Starbucks, we would get him a pink drink. Yeah, like the passion fruit lemonade. Oh, he would also get the hot apple juice.

Yes. " Like a kid. Right. Apple juice and heat it up.

- Does it come with a toy? - Well, I don't like coffee. - I know you don't like coffee. - But there's not even caffeine in apple juice, though.

- But I wasn't going for the caffeine. - Well, that's why you drink coffee. - That's what the drugs are for. - Yeah.

- I would go. - You would go? You have a daughter, you can go. - Yeah, she would love that.

- Sure she would, right. - I'm kind of excited about this. Take her and get a pink drink. - Take her and get a pink thing.

- Yeah, because the boys are always running around doing stuff with their friends and stuff, and then Teddy gets so mad. That she stuck by herself. Singled out. So here's something Daddy and Teddy can do.

Yeah, let's go get a pink drink. Let's go to Dunkin' and get a Barbie coffee. There you go. Wait, if it is coffee, is that okay?

It's not gonna be coffee. It's pineapple yada yada. Well, some of them have coffee, but I guess some of them don't. So I guess you're right, the refresher.

Yeah, it's like lemonade and something. They still have caffeine in the refresher. Yeah, just speak to our fast food connoisseur. Right, exactly.

Which one did you have, Phillip? The pineapple one. Pineapple. That was the one I did think sounded good.

What is in the pineapple one besides pineapple? Pink. Yeah, I think it's like passion fruit and pineapple and something else, like lemonators on my that. Is it thick like a milkshake or thin like a drink?

Oh, it's just a drink, yeah. Ah. What did your girls have and what did you taste from them that they had? Oh, I can't remember, man.

They have like... There's only two of them. It was two days ago. And there's two of them.

He's got to remember 75 drinks. Yeah, how does he not remember? He can't even remember what I did this morning. You went to the VA hospital and got your peepee looked at.

Well, not my peepee. The colonoscopy. " So now the VA is in front of the money for my movies. No, no, you just got to get your health certificate for the movie.

Yeah, you need to be cleared. See, if you do thirst trap photos by yourself, you need no medical. Yeah, absolutely, yeah. And apparently your DMs blow up.

Yeah. I can't believe I'm the one getting movie posters made of me while this guy has, you know, secret sex videos coming out of him on Facebook. Did you guys see the thumbnail for today? I did.

Is it me and him watching the movie? We're holding hands, watching you. Oh, you caught the hands, yes. I saw that.

That was pretty fun. That was pretty good. I'm glad you caught the holding hands. You're always going to see the hands.

Yeah, I saw it. I very much saw it. So you don't remember what they drank, huh? Did you taste the other drinks, too?

They didn't have the one I had, so what was the other one? I don't know. There's like seven or eight of these things. No, you said there was a pineapple one and another one.

No, there's like seven or eight on the list. I didn't get all of them. Well, they didn't get coffee in theirs, so if it had coffee in it, they didn't get those ones. Ah, gotcha, gotcha.

Oh, continuity, director of continuity has just had a heart attack as he changed his camera. Yeah, no, I mean like, yeah, no, it's a, yeah, definitely take your daughter, because I like to do things like that with my daughters. I'll take them for those, or I'll take them to go get their nails painted, or hair did. Oh, I guess mommy probably takes her to the nail thing, but she might like go to the nail thing with you.

If I had a daughter, I would go to the nail salon. No, you don't want to pry into the mommy-daughter stuff. Yeah, you don't want to screw that up. That's stupid.

They still go. That's a rookie move. You know, as far as going and getting your nails done, go, you know? - I mean, I get my, I do my toes.

- I know you do, I love that about you. Okay, next. All right, questions about President Trump's health. Squirrel after, swirl, not squirrel, swirl, they're spinning.

After delayed release of yearly medical report, he does this every year, and they're holding back all the information. It's probably just a tactic. President Donald Trump's medical reports no longer include, Okay, wait. Before you guys say anything, they've taken something out of it that has been in there his entire first term.

Body fat percentage is gone. No. That's still there? Well, I don't know if that's included, but that's not what's missing.

I'm going to probably say something with memory. A common hair loss prevention drug that his physician said he routinely used during his first term in office. Oh, I was close. Fenestride.

Fenestride, also known as Propecia. Yeah. Yes, we understand why you know Michael, it's fine. Why do I know?

Nobody, nobody, nobody. Well, he used to be a ginger. Ah. Oh, you've made several comments about you feel that maybe your hair is falling out.

I'm not saving it with Finistratin, I can say. I don't think he says falling out, I think he says thinning. It's just thinning. Oh, well, same thing, tomato, tomato, same thing.

Why is it thin? Because it falls out. Okay. A brand name Propecia is used by millions of American men to prevent male pattern hair loss.

Three of Trump's past physicians have said that he used the drug before and during his first term as president. But the drug has not appeared in Trump's medical reports since he returned to office. He dropped it. Including a report released Friday night that mentions three other medications he uses from the past but not Propecia.

White House officials declined to comment on the Trump's past use or fast, what, finasteride? And whether he has stopped taking it, the current report reflects all medications deemed clinically relevant And to disclose at this time, the White House said in a statement, adding that Trump's- What are some of the side effects from Finistrad? Well, let's read on. Okay.

Looks like we'll jump right to that. Trump's allies have mocked the persistent focus on the president's health, saying that many questions about his medication, appearance, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Where is it? Trump's use of a hair loss drug may reflect his willingness to be honest about nearly 80-year-old president's health.

Erases significant questions. What else is possibly not being revealed? All right, it's in here somewhere: Depression and loss of memory. Okay.

Okay. That was right. For long-term use. Okay, so yeah, they're probably, you know.

Oh, here it is right here. Noted that the use has been linked to an increased risk of depression, which could affect the President's performance, adding that it was crucial for Trump to be open about his health and medications. Other stories have said maybe he possibly had a stroke and they don't want that released either. - Well, I mean, politicians are never forthcoming.

Oh, what happened there? - There's a little pop. - Politicians are never forthcoming with all their information anyways. - Well, yeah, you're not going to release the bad stuff.

- No one's going to say, yeah, yeah. - At least the part where it says he has fits of anger and may feel like attacking other countries, but don't put it-- - They included that? - No, no, that's what I'm saying. That's the kind of stuff they're going to leave out.

If he's got depression, like, oh, I just want to die. Hit the button. And I hit the button. I didn't think releasing medical information of an individual is legal anyways.

Well, I think that the people want to know because he's the leader of the freedom. Right, I think there is allowances. Yeah. But he's talking about HIPAA rules and regulations.

I just, like even when they did this with Biden, I thought it was kind of crazy. Yeah. Only because, what other country do you know where they go, yeah, our leaders are real jerk Yeah, he's a jerk, and we don't like him, and his hair's falling out, so he's got memory loss. He's got memory loss.

He calls his wife mommy. That person would be hanging in the middle of Times Square so fast. He's starting to wear diapers because he's incontinent. Right.

I just think it's crazy. Uh, okay. Well, let me ask you something. Yeah.

As far as age is concerned, there's this weird thing that happens where Our presidents tend to be older, especially as of late. It is weird, isn't it? What was the youngest president? I think Kennedy.

No, I don't think it was Kennedy. Who was it? Well, it's going to have been. Kennedy was number two.

Yeah. Oh, there was somebody younger? It was the guy that stepped in. Holy shit.

Yeah. No, I mean, I know some stuff. Okay, go ahead. Johnson, why isn't it on you?

Show that butterfly. Spread your wings. I think it was the one when the guy got shot or whatever, And then he jumped in. God.

He's right there. Yeah, I can't think of his name. Oh, he's a good one. What, Abraham Lincoln's vice president?

No. He's a good one? Yeah. He has a great slogan.

Is it Star of the B? No. I don't know. Bob.

Bob, the vice president? No. " Oh, dude, I'm drawing a blank all around anyways. Teddy?

Teddy Roosevelt? That's right. Oh, Teddy. Yeah.

42. Well, he stepped in for the president. This is the first time. Yeah.

Remember that. Because he was twice. Yeah. Who was the president that he stepped in with?

Did you say McKinley? Yeah. Oh. 42.

And then JFK was 43. Oh, I missed it by a year. Don't you feel like it's time for a young president? Yeah.

You know what I mean? Why are all these old guys? Yeah. I think, I mean, I think the next term you'll probably get your wish.

Get some youth? Yeah. Get some young blood? They'll probably be in their 50s.

No, no, no, no, I need 40s. Is the vice president going to step up? No, I don't think it's going to be him. Well, it could have been the one kid that got shot, but no, no, he just got shot.

Charlie Kirk. Yeah, Charlie Kirk. Yeah, he was like in his 50s, I think. Charlie Kirk?

No, he's in his 30s or 40s. You sure? There's no way he was that old. Ah, look it up.

We're looking up a lot today, I guess. How old was Charlie Kirk? Maybe his wife will remember. When he passed.

- I hear a lot of grumblings of who it could be, but... - 31. - He was only 31. - Yeah.

- Wow. - I don't know, I just wanna see some, I don't care. I don't, either party, both parties, let's get some youth in there. You know, like this shouldn't, this is ridiculous.

- Why is this an old man job? - Maybe because they have to pay the guy after he's out. - Oh, they wanna wrap time. - They don't wanna pay for that long?

- Yeah, that's what it is. - Wrap up fair. - Benefits, benefits. - Benefits, benefits, benefits.

Benavents, Benavents, Benavents. We gotta watch this guy for the next 40 years. Which president has been in office in our lifetime that has passed? I think the last one I can think of was Bush Senior.

There was one that just passed. Who? Was that Bush? No, Bush Senior died a couple of years ago, yeah.

Didn't Jimmy Carter just die? Yeah, I think it was Jimmy Carter, yeah. Yeah, you know, he wasn't even, was he in my lifetime? I don't think he was in my lifetime.

Probably not in yours. Yeah. No. When was he president?

In the '60s? No, it wasn't in the '60s. It was in the '70s. The 70s.

The 70s? Okay, let's move on. Stop looking up. No, let's look up more presidential stuff.

That's fine. What was the favorite food of Thomas Jefferson's vice president? 77 to 81 was Jimmy Carter. Okay, so not in our lifetime.

Not in our lifetime. Palmer's. In Palmer's lifetime. We went to school together.

Yeah, Palmer was five when he was... I voted for him. No, it wasn't five. Palmer created the whole presidency.

Palmer was 70 when he was... He was Yankee Doodle. He helped write the Declaration of Independence. Right.

We the people. It was my idea to use we the people. They wanted to say all the people. I was like, no, no, come on, that doesn't sound good.

It's got to be we the people. When Palmer got his concealed weapons permit, he went in with a musket. Right. Yeah.

Very hard to hide that, too, by the way. He was Mr. Yankee Doodle. He didn't like the ponytail anymore, so he chopped it off.

They used to call me Yankee Doodle just out of curiosity. There you go. Out of curiosity? Yeah, in case you guys were wondering who Yankee Doodle was.

It was you. It was me. Why did they call you Yankee Doodle? Well, I knew who Yankee Doodle...

I went to town riding on a pony. Yeah, yeah, but what Yankee Doodle was, was Yankee Doodle was telling everybody the business. I stuck my feather in my hat, and I called it Macaroni, and that's the end of the story. All right, United Flight returns mid-air after Bluetooth device name reportedly sparked a security scare.

It says here that Yankee Doodle was a fictional person. Well, you know, I don't like taking credit for everything. Okay. I mean, you know, we the people...

Wasn't it like Paul Revere or somebody? Was it a real one? - No, but there was a Paul Revere. - What was he like?

- Paul? - Yeah. - He was very loud, very loud. - What was he like, Paul?

- I think Paul had a drinking problem. - Yeah, he's very loud, yelled a lot, so that's why we gave him that job. - He was really close to the Sam Adams guy. - He was, they were really good friends.

- Loved the winches. - Okay, that's actually what he was riding around looking for. - Okay, moving on, moving on. Let's keep it moving.

- I started a new story, you jumped back to the Paul Revere. Alright, the device name reportedly sparked security scare and caused the United Airlines flight to turn around and go home. What was the Bluetooth name? Oh, it was probably something ridiculous like C4 or Bomb or Explosive.

Phil? Praise Allah. Sorry. It was Bomb.

Oh. There you go. The four letter word that nobody likes on a plane. Saturday night after potential security concern prompted the aircraft to turn around over the Atlantic Ocean.

United Flight 236 departed Newark en route to Palma de Mallorca, Spain, but reversed course about 90 minutes into the trip and landed back in New Jersey later that evening. Why is it always a United Flight? Because there's more of them. How is it always a United Flight?

Weren't those the ones that crashed into a tower? No. I think one of them was. One of them was.

One of them was a United player. But that might have been the one that hit the clearing, I think. I don't think it was United. I don't think United was around at that time.

9/11? Oh, yeah. Yeah, they were. Yeah, they were.

No, didn't they merge into something else? No. Listen to Jesus here. He knows.

He saw them. Come on. I was there when they signed the contracts. He was there when the Wright brothers were thinking about it.

He said, "You know what would be a good idea for an airline? " This is the last thing I'm looking at that I'm done. Okay, just continue. Go ahead.

Oh, you're right. American Airlines and United. Yeah. I just always hear them with like, like the one that disappeared, I think, was the United flight.

Yes, it was. Right. He, what do you have, his vitamins today? What's going on here?

I don't know. Oh, that one president. That was because the other one with the assassination. I'm like, oh my God, he's getting it.

He's getting it. He was at the VA. They gave him a shot. Let me get into the...

Let me get into the Phil character. Let's try the Super Soldier Ceremony. Let's see if that works. Can you run around barefoot with a door in your hand like a shield?

Doctor, my brain no work for years. Oh, we got something for that. This guy walks out and, you know. Great.

Now Hydra's going to be looking for you. Be careful when you get outside. He solves world hunger on the way to the car. There you go.

With pink drinks. Yeah. " So, they tried to figure out who it was, they couldn't figure it out, and then the kid went... He raised his hand?

It's my Fitbit speaker that's in my suitcase in the belly of the plane. Wow. So, they couldn't turn it off. So, they turned the plane around.

Oh, my God. Went back off. He didn't do anything wrong. What was the point in turning the plane around?

Because they were flying over open water very soon, and they didn't want it to be an actual bomb. Because it was called BOMB, and you gotta take it seriously. Yeah, the speaker was the BOMB. Yeah, you're right.

We're gonna fly all the way back to this airplane. 90 minutes. That's not even halfway to Spain. 90 minutes with the BOMB on board?

You're taking this kid's word for it? Well, I mean, you don't know how long it took before somebody saw it on their Bluetooth list. I'm sure somebody saw it pretty quickly. Well, I don't know.

Do you pull up and turn your Bluetooth on the minute you get on the plane? Yeah. Why? Because people always have, like, weird, like, handles and stuff around you.

You know, you can send them weird photos from phone to phone on the plane. There was a story one time this guy was sending pictures of hot dogs to people. Like, airdropping or what? Yeah, because if they're Bluetooth, their phone's open, you can airdrop pictures, and they don't know who it came from.

Yeah. Yeah, if you don't have the contact. Right, you don't have Mike Palmer: Just don't send that video of you, Palmer, they'll know it's you. Mike Palmer: Oh, yeah, well, my face isn't.

I mean, I'm sure it's famous by now. It's probably all over the internet. Mike Palmer: Right. Mike Palmer: I remember a joke.

I don't remember what it was. I think it was like back in COVID's peak when somebody would drive with the mask on by themselves and then somebody would airdrop like a picture of like, never mind. It was really bad. Like, there's a picture of like a, A big woman mounting, like picking up her dude and shoving him up against the fence.

Nice. Phil, I appreciate that you appreciated that, Phil. It was funny. Yeah.

Like, airdropping a random photo with somebody at a traffic light is hilarious. Oh, at a traffic light. Sorry, I didn't hear that. I was trying to fast forward to the next story.

Oh, that would be funny. I'm going to start doing that while I'm driving. There you go. All right, Michael, you have another video of me doing anything embarrassing that you want to share today?

I do not. I do have a video, though. Oh, darn. Is it a Phil doing something?

No. I would never put any videos of myself on the internet like that. It doesn't matter. That's not true.

It's AI, and I can make whatever I want. First of all, that's not true. You do put inappropriate videos of you on, like you floating in a pool. Is that inappropriate?

And the cigars are hanging out of your mouth. Once I add different audio to it, it is. Well, yeah, when you alter it. - Did they alter your Baywatch video?

- I didn't, no, it wasn't altered. - Right. - Authentic. - Here's your video.

It's pretty good. Oh, there it is. I'm done. Somebody sent this to me, was it you?

It was me. Yeah. I thought it was funny. Yeah, this kid gets pelted by a...

A robot, karate kicks him in the belly and he doubles over. Yeah. By a clown bot. Right, yeah.

Yeah. Not only a robot, but a robot with big fuzzy blue hair. I like that nobody, like whoever was controlling the robot, nobody stopped to check on the kid or anything like that, there was no... Yeah, the parents, the mother sort of grabs him and pulls him back in.

Yeah. Do you think somebody was in role controlling it, or...? Yeah, well, even if it's AI, someone's gotta be there that's responsible for the robot. Right.

I think it just ended up, you know, it's programmed to do that little dance it did, the little karate thing it did. Right. And it just ended up next to the kid when it was time to kick. Yeah, bufui style.

You'd think it would know better. What, um, why is the floor... Some type of sensor? What?

Why is the floor furry? What? Did you see the playground floor? Yeah, it's in like a playground area or something.

Oh, is it, I don't know, it looked like some kind of, yeah, some kind of demonstration for the robot, I would imagine. You said in China if that kid goes down and gets hurt, whoever checks on him is responsible for him? Yep, if they need constant care. Yeah.

That's why nobody stops and helps anybody. Yeah. Oh, he looked like he may be handicapped. No check on him.

I don't want to take care of him the rest of his life. There's definitely no lawsuit there, I would assume. I would assume, yeah, no. Do they have lawyers there?

Yes, they do. Only for the Prime Minister? Yeah, I mean, it's communist, so it's like, okay, I'm the lawyer. Yeah, you're not gonna win today, it's not your turn.

Yeah, he's king. You haven't even heard the case, doesn't matter, not your turn. You lose. You lose.

Finish him! Buddha says no. Buddha said no for you. Okay.

Move along. All right, cigar news. Oh. Speaking of United.

Ooh. United Cigars is shipping Independence Firecrackers this week. Oh. Did we get Independence Firecrackers?

We did. Did you see the little case they come in? No. I said you should see it.

Oh, I thought you said did you. Oh, oh you should, it's nice. Comes in a metal tin. Yeah?

A square metal tin, and you turn it over and it makes an ashtray. Really? Yeah, that's pretty cool. That's so thoughtful.

The latest addition to the United Cigars Firecracker Series will start shipping to retailers this week, just in time for the 4th of July holiday. 5x50 Petit Robusto, not a Petit, a Petit, this one's got the E. This one's got an E? There you got my nose on a spell, double check there.

Oh good, that's good. With a long pigtail, blend white, with fused it's supposed to be. Yeah, fused, yeah. Blend wise, the cigar is made with a Habano wrapper grown in Mexico, covering a Dominican binder grown in Dominican, and a Dominican Republic and Nicaraguan filler tobaccos.

The cigars were made at the Arnold Andre Dominican SRL factory, never heard of them. Each cigar is MSRP of, do you know, because you bought them, so we just let him guess? I don't know, but we can guess anyways. Guess.

They call Greg. Ah. Uh, I'm gonna go with... Oh, our friend Oliver called Greg?

Somebody call Greg. Nine dollars. Nine, nine sounds good. It is nine.

I win. You didn't even let me guess. You said nine sounded good, I figured that we should guess. I was gonna say eight, but no, it's fine.

Now I, now I didn't play. Each cigar is an MSRP of nine dollars and is packaged in a twelve-count tin boxes that can also be used as an ashtray when flipped over. You know, we need to get more of those, I don't, we didn't order enough of those. Oh.

Because Greg ordered. So he ordered like six. Like two. Take two, yeah, I could have guessed two for Greg.

One to show, one to go, that's what they call me. Yeah. Greg, one to show, one to go. Right.

When asked about production numbers, Oliver, director of operations for United Cigars, and our friend. And our friend. Told Halfwheel that we don't have set quantities now for boxes and some will be used in different ways, I have to guess that. No, I just stopped reading it.

It's the end of the story. Yes. Guess. Um, this is a limited.

Let's go 10,000. Okay. Since I said numbers are over, so whatever number you said, if it's under it, it would be correct. Okay.

Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay.

This is a limited, let's go 10,000. Okay. Since I said numbers are over, so whatever number you said, if it's under it, it would be correct. Okay.

Right? But it's whoever's closest. So Phil wins. It's 30,000 boxes of cigars.

These little 10 things. Yes. Our partnership with Arnold Andre began a few years ago, and this profile came together after many hours together in the factory. 5x50 Petit Robusto that features a Long Pigdale, oh they've just given the information twice, something about Agonorsa, the Department of the Redundancy Department.

Yeah, there's a lot of stuff about the different cigars they had. And then, the USTR paves way for the next round of tariffs. Oh. Cigar-producing countries are set at?

What is the new percentage? 10%. OK, wait, Phil, for your answer. It's at 10 now.

You want to guess again? Why are you helping him? There's a new percentage. Because he didn't understand the question.

He's over there texting somebody. Maybe he understood it and he wanted to stick with 10. Do you want to stick with 10? 15.

Alright, thank you. Now what is yours? 12. 5%!

Yeah! No fireworks today! Woo-woo-woo-woo! You forgot to do the hand thing.

Woo-woo-woo-woo-woo! Wow. S. Trade Representative, the USTR, has concluded the investigation into 60 of America's largest trading partners over allegations of child labor.

5% tariff on many of these trading partners. Officially, this investigation was done under Section 301. We're not reading all this. It's about child labor.

Child labor, bad, let's just say, right? Child labor is bad. The Supreme Court says it's bad. National Emergency.

He wasn't supposed to do the 10, but now he's doing something else. Liberation Day, once the Supreme Court upheld the lower court ruling that had found that it was illegal. Illegal. Trump pivoted to Section 122.

Tariffs, another part of the Trade Act that allows the President to introduce some tariffs under the emergency basis. However, those tariffs are limited and will expire on July 24th. Unless Congress passes legislation to extend them. As such, the administration also began working on imposing tariffs under Section 301.

A lot of sections here. The investigation into these countries proves apparently no discernible difference between how Canada and China uses child labor, so either China doesn't, or Canada does, we're not sure they're discernible. They're in the same wheelhouse. In the same wheelhouse, they don't say which one's good, which one's bad.

Oh, we should call McTavish about that, ask him. Oh, yeah, well, in six to eight months, when he gets to this, he can... He's close to a hundred away, by the way. Oh, he's speeding up.

The report has... No, we're speeding up. We're speeding up. We're speeding up.

He's getting further away. Oh. You know, I tried to find this section in the thing about all these numbers and stuff. You know what's really kind of funny?

Oh, thank you. Keep talking about it. Here's some inside baseball cigar stuff. Yes.

A lot of the brokers and the distributors that handle your taxes and your tariffs and stuff, I've heard rumors that some of them are going out and getting the money back from the tariffs that were considered illegal. Yes, where you fill out the forms and stuff, right. And then they're not paying back to manufacturers. I have heard several rumors also.

Yeah. Because apparently when you file, when you pay the tariffs, when these guys pay the tariffs, they pay in their name, it's not like they're paying for Poshik. Correct. They're paying because they, you know, John Smith is bringing the cigars in.

That's correct. So when he fills out the refund, they cut the check to John Smith Tariff Company or whatever. Right. Now, one could argue the fact of, well, hey, that money needs to go back to the consumer who bought the product, who paid the higher price, right?

Right. So then it's up to the manufacturer, then pass it to the retailer that paid more money, or whatever the case may be, but here's what I'm going to tell you about Polstanias Cigars. We didn't raise our price. We just took the hit.

Right. Problem solved. Seems like it would be close to impossible to give the money back to the people that bought the cigars. It would be extremely difficult.

Let's say we had raised our prices, and some shop in some other state has seven customers that bought our cigars. How would we ever know? Right, you would have to give the money back to specific retailers, and then you would hope that those specific retailers then track the consumer, and then you would give five bucks back to somebody. Right.

And let's say you're like Walmart. There's no way you can figure out who bought, you know, who bought the shovel that had the extra tariff on it. They have all the data you gotta do. I gotta check myself out there.

Yeah, I understand it. But still, I mean, say you paid cash, then there's no record. Right. Well, yeah, I guess.

Well, they still record you. Facial recognition. Oh, so let's do facial recognition. So call the CIA and the FBI.

Run this, uh, large, uh, hefty man with the shovel in his hand. Photo through. Hefty, mm-hmm. - Oh well, it's a general speaking term, yes.

- Hefty. " - Yes. - And it would probably tell me who you were. - Probably, but I put my face on a lot of different things.

If you Google my name, it comes up. - Really? - Yes. I mean, there are several Michael Palmers, there's a couple of authors, and there's some of them, but I come up pretty early.

If you add cigars to it, I'd come up first. But Mike Palmer Cigars. Mmm. Oz Family Cigars ships the, I thought it was Macarena, and it was going to be funny, but it is M-A-R-A-C-A-N-A.

Maracana? During Tim Lozinger's time at CAO, prior to its 2010 integration into Scandinavian Tobacco Group, the company released a number of iconic cigars. Now, hey, your mother made another comment today and you didn't read that. I didn't see that.

Oh yeah. I didn't see that. Now that Ozenger is fully back in the business with Oz Family Cigars and Crown Heads, he has decided to recreate one of them, the CAO, Brasilia. Ooh.

Really? Oh, that's the best one. Well, the Italian, we like the Italian. The new, let's just say Macarena, it's funner to say.

The new Macarena line, which is shipping to stores, is an Ossinger's modern take on a Brazilian wrapper cigar. For that, it uses a Brazilian... Araparaca? Araparaca.

Araparaca. Araparaca. Over Honduran and Nicaraguan binders and fillers from Honduras and Nicaragua, it's offered in four pressed vitolas. Ooh.

The Robusto. The Robusto Extra. The Gordo. The Toro.

And it's made at my father's cigars, Honduras. Ossinger told Half Wheel that this is the first time that the Garcia family and owners of my father have worked in a Brazilian Araparaca wrapper. Araparaca? Araparaca?

Araparaca. Araparaca. Araparaca. Ara?

Araparaca. Ara. There's not even a D in the word. You need to know what I'm saying.

Yeah. Oh, what are you saying? Araparaca. Araparaca.

Araparaca. Sounds like A-D-A Paraca, but it's not. You're so Western. Ara Paraca.

Ara Paraca. You got that R-O-Perm. Brazilian Ara Paraca. Anyway, the name is inspired by one of the Brazilians' most famous soccer stadiums, the Estado do Macarena, home to both Flamingo and Fluminense.

A lot of soccer crap's been going on. FIFA. FIFA's coming. I don't know.

Well, the World Cup is about to start. That's FIFA. Are you excited about that, about the World Cup? You are.

You're such a well-versed man. Are you excited about any sport at all? No. Somebody, I was talking to one of the customers yesterday, and he goes, are you going to smoke something tonight during the, he said something, and I go, is that a sport thing?

In the NBA finals. Yeah, but he didn't say NBA final thing, he just said the finals. During the finals? Yeah, and I went, is that a sporty thing?

Because I don't know anything about sporty stuff. Tonight's hockey. You're from Michigan, aren't you? I don't know.

I lived there briefly. You're not from there. I mean, the fact that San Antonio lost that game. Well, you knew that because Scott, what's his name?

Yeah, because the Native Americans went crazy after the game. Well, the referee that's in there, Scott, was it Frost or whatever his name is? The referee's name is Scott Longtail. No, in the finals, they're 10-0 with that guy, ref him.

Oh, just that guy? Really? Yeah. They have specific stats now based on the referee.

Well, this guy was being looked into, and he admitted that, because he's been around since Jordan, this referee. Really? Country? No, since Michael Jordan.

Yes, since the country. He admitted that there was some games that he had to make calls based off of, like, mafia betting. Really? Yeah, he admitted to it.

Then why is he still a ref? You know, I asked the same question when this whole article came, I was like, how is he even allowed to still, you know, be in the building? He admitted that he, you know, favored somebody based on... What's the guy's name?

I think it's Scott Frost. Scott Frost. Scott. If you say it quietly...

If you put it NBA ref Scott, he'll pop up. Gray hair. NBA Scott. Gray hair.

Oh, look, it's a picture of me again. Might not be Frost. I don't know why that name's sticking with it. It might be Snow.

Or maybe Windchill. Something cold related. No NBA referee named Scott Frost has ever admitted to throwing games from the mob. You're likely thinking of Tim Donaghy, a disgraced former NBA referee who was sentenced to federal prison in 2007.

So he's not reffing anything because he's in jail. Well, they could have picked up games in jail. Who reffed the game last night? I thought you weren't looking anything else up to you.

I know. But it's just so readily accessible. Scott Foster. Scott Foster.

Scott Foster. Scott Foster. Foster or Phosphate? Foster.

Foster. He was born in '67. So not Joe Frost. Scott Foster.

I can see you get confused. Very similar name. Did Scott Foster admit to throwing any NBA games? Let's see.

No. Scott Foster has never admitted to throwing NBA games, nor has he ever been charged with the crime related game fixing. While Foster is a huge... No, I didn't say that.

While Foster has remained a figure of intense public scrutiny due to his past connection to disgraced referee Tim Donahue. Bro, he admitted to it. It doesn't... I know what that's saying, but I'm telling you.

He knows what the internet says, but it's completely wrong. When all that was going around, he said it in a conference when they interviewed him, that he did it, and probably because of that, I didn't know that he was linked to that guy, but he is now called the Extender. The Extender? Yeah.

He likes to make things better. Because every series that he's reffed so far has gone to game seven. You sure that's not what they call the fluffer that makes all your movies? So you think this is going to seven?

Yeah, they would win. Well, because the Extender's doing it now, of course. When the game was about to start, they showed Scott Foster. And they're like, and the Extender's here.

No, they did not. Yeah, they did, the commentators. Can I have my camera for a minute? Yeah.

The comments made by Phil McGuffey on the Cigars Podcast are not that of the advertisers, the owners of the show, or me and him. If you're going to sue someone, sue Phil. He is nicknamed the Extender. Yeah.

Okay, except when he says the Extender, apparently that probably goes wrong. He is also sometimes referred to as Agent 48, a play on his jersey number. Or the part when the, whatever else he just said about Agent 48 or something like that. No.

Asian or Agent. The nickname comes from a long-standing fan theory that the NBA assigns him to playoff games to ensure a trailing team wins, thereby extending the series to more games and generating more revenue. Yeah, so... Wow.

Would you like to produce our show? So he is one of the top refs in the NBA and one of the oldest ones. So he gets first dibs at the finals. These guys get paid like a million dollars a game.

- Oh wow. - To rest the finals. But they were thinking that he wasn't gonna be in in the beginning of the series. They were like, oh, you know, maybe he'll come in like towards the end since he's the extender.

And he got substituted in last night. Supposedly, this is what happened. He got substituted in last night and at the last minute. And they're like, oh, the extender's here.

And what was funny is during the third quarter, right at the beginning, after halftime. Put the camera on you. Sorry. You're doing a lot of talking.

Brunson for the Knicks went up and talked to him because he was getting fouled a lot. He talked at the end of him too. Yeah, at the end, yeah. Which is kind of crazy that he did that because now there's a lot of flags with all that.

But at the beginning of the second half, he went up and talked to them, and then all of a sudden the Knicks started getting calls and coming back And the Spurs aren't getting all these calls anymore, and it's kind of crazy, man. Wow, wild. Yeah. Wild.

Hmm. Anyways. So, game one in the books, apparently we're going to seven. Yeah, going to seven.

Because the extenders are. Yeah, why wouldn't you? How much money those guys are making? Here comes the money.

Here comes the money. Here comes the money. You know what else it's time for? Industry's favorite game: What's the score?

What's the score? Players are clues from a Half Wheel Cigar Review and try to predict. Can you wait till I get done with this game? No, you gotta let me hear it.

I have a pause built in after I tell them what the game is. No. Yes, I do. Okay.

But it's too late now. I'm very sorry. I won't do it again. You know, you asked me to put this in so people would understand, and then I can't hear it because you just...

every time I do it now. You're so chippy today. layers your clues because time's ticking on cigar yeah time i don't have a lot of time left yeah he just lost three seconds try to predict the score before it's revealed as more deals are shared the challenge gets easier or does it the closest guest to the actual score wins the round can you read between the lines to predict the score let's find out i think i might be in trouble today this guy is so on fire with everything else june 3rd 2026 brooks whittington I'm a fan of Chai Mali Cigars. Oh.

It's not pronounced correctly, but that's how we say it here on the show. Okay. Limited edition, the Chai Mali Pangu Double Corona. Okay.

What are you, looking it up real quick? What are you doing over there, typing away as I say his name? No, I'm dealing with website stuff. I haven't been able to get in touch with my guy for like 12 hours, and now he's lighting it up.

Oh, I sleepy. Why you call me now? He said that he had some kind of emergency. An emergency.

There's an emergency. There was beepers at my door. I have a heart attack. Can we not make fun of my guy?

He doesn't watch a show. You don't know. He might. You said there was a guy in Bahrain, right?

There's a couple. We're big with the military. Sorry. We had, for a while there, we had shows being watched in some weird countries that, I'm trying to say how to describe it, had to be like secret military bases or something.

" Little screen, nine goats, three guys. " Here they come, here they come, it's so funny. Okay. Alright, go ahead.

What was the song, there used to be a song that we played at the beginning that had words in it. Yeah? I don't remember what it was. No.

Yeah, yeah, the... On the podcast? Yeah, the original theme song had words. Rick Ross?

No, no, no, no, that guy who's not, I know it doesn't help at all, the guy who wrote it, I can't remember his name. Hugh? Yeah, Hugh B. Asking.

Uh-huh. He did the first, the first theme song we had, but it had words. Did it? Yeah.

" No. Okay, no. What? Hugh Be Asking made the one that you still use.

Adam Acri. Oh, that's right. It was Adam Acri. His name is Mike.

Oh, that was it, right. And he's Mike, too. Right. And this is Cigar Hustler Podcast.

You're right. It was Adam. Yeah. Right.

So that's why the indie guys are all sitting around singing the song. Yeah. His name is Mike. His name is Mike.

He is Mike, too. This is Cigar Hustler Podcast. Oh, I love this show. All right, so Chi-Mali.

Any scores, gentlemen? Who goes first? Oh, I'll go first. Okay.

He looked it up while we were over here singing. Yeah, he did. Let's go 82. I'm going to say 87.

Cigar Reviewed, Chi-Mali Pengu Double Corona, Country of Origin, Nicaragua. Nicaragua, sorry, sorry. Me Havana Factory, Mi Havana Factory, wrapper, Ecuadorian Habano, binder, Nicaraguan, filler, Dominican Republic and Nicaraguan, link 7x52, it's round and they smoked free. Who's this for?

Who did it? I don't remember. Do you want me to look it up? No.

No, you better not look it up. Just pull up the other page you have, open it on your phone. Brooks Whittington. Thank you.

- I'm gonna go with 84. - Damn it. 87. - Am I on it?

- Hold on, I'm fast forwarding back to all the stuff I already read. Alright, what did you say, 87? - Mm-hmm. - Clue number one, the flavor profile was rich, complex, and consistently engaging throughout the entire smoking experience, delivering notes of toasted sourdough bread, creamy cedar, peanut butter, coffee, beans, lemongrass, and a unique sugary cereal sweetness on the retro hill.

And he yawned. Hmm. Oh, Lord. He just looked at me, and it kind of looked like, it was like, you know, if you looked at a fox, like it had a flashlight that was kind of like in the woods or whatever, because the beam was brightening on, but it was with butterfly wings instead.

And that was amazing. Okay, senor. He didn't, did you read something? Yes, I read all of it, but the beans and the lemongrads and the sugary cereals.

I'm multitasking it, and I got that. Oh, God. 'Cause you were busy yawning. '84.

And I heard you yawn, now I'm yawning. '87. Dude. He yawned first.

I didn't yawn again. I didn't do it. Oh, sorry, you fell asleep last episode, okay? Yeah.

I'm only yawning. Your final thought was terrible. It wasn't mine! And you could have summarized it, summarized it.

No, because then you don't get the full clue, you complain. I couldn't get the score right because you shorted the thing. I've been nailing everything. I'm going to miss today, though, because-- Wait, wait, he tells you that it's your fault he didn't get the score right?

Yeah, that's what he says. After the show's over, after you leave. Oh, I blame you? He blames me.

If you would have read that right, I would have won. Yeah, I'd want to hit my fireworks. Clue number two, construction was a major strength for most of the cigar, with excellent draw, resistance, copious smoke production, Even burn lines and a virtual no performance issues until the final stages. " Oh, sorry.

I mean, it was just kind of a- Yeah, it's like not even close. Yeah, it was just a voice. I did my fireworks and you screwed that up. Thank you.

I figured that was the opposite of Hillbilly. Um, 80- Whose phone keeps going on? 84, it's my watch. Oh.

Is that a Hold on. 87. Clue number three, while construction was impressive overall, a wrapper crack on one sample and a required touch-up on another, during the final third prevented the cigar from delivering a completely flawless smoking experience. That was it?

That was clue three. What else you want? Okay. You want me to say the score?

No, it's just so short. Well, that was a complaint. The last one was like a novel. No, that's the final thought.

That was the third clue. Completely different thing. Yeah. Final thought is next.

Mm-hmm. All right. Oh, yeah, he's long. 85.

86. Final thought. Excessively long final thought. Is it?

Well, I had heard of Chai Mali from our news stories and PCA Convention and Trade Show coverage, which I think is how yesterday started, almost word for word except for the Chai Mali. I had not actually smoked anything from the brand until I picked up these cigars. What I found is that the Pangu Double Corona excels on multiple fronts. It is not only extremely flavorful and nicely balanced, but also well-constructed overall.

The flavors are nuanced and distinct, and the solid, medium strength will make this a great blend to smoke just about any time of day. After enjoying the Pangu Double Corona Vitola as much as I did, I will be on the lookout to try more of the company's cigars to see how they measure up. That was pretty good. Yeah, want me to add more?

No. Butterfly Kisses, let's go. That was funny. 84.

Do I just win, or do I go for it? It's not asking questions. Whatever does it make, a win's a win. Because, like, I could go 85 and win.

Then go for it, if you think that's the way it works. Because that's too easy. Okay, I think you're right. " Tell Keanu he's not gonna be on.

It wasn't him. Oh. Greg? No.

Greg plays all the time, but he looks at me as he says I have to pee, and then he picks his number based on whether I have to pee or not. Alex from the Cigar Guys. I'm going to say, okay, I'm going to go 88. You went the right way, but the score is 90.

90? 90. He said he had no problem with it other than I had a slight burn issue. Victorious!

I need to spread those out instead of move them together. Oh, shit, now they won't go off. We're all going to die. We're all going to die the one going on.

A 90? I need to spread those out. I'm covered in sulfur. Yep.

But it's worth it. I have to rotate the chairs. What did the San Andreas just get on Half Wheel? 90?

97. This week, flawless. Wait. No, you didn't get this one on the money.

Yeah. You didn't get this one exactly right. I have won every single one. Oh, what you said flawless.

Just let him have it more. Dude, 88. I'm not taking anything away from it. 88 was pretty good.

I mean, I could have just did 85. Yeah, I understand. I shot it. Okay.

Well, to be fair, you knew you would win if anything over 85, so I mean... I knew. So then I went with the number that I thought it would be. Has anybody smoked this 90 rating cigar before?

I have. I said we had some of these, but I think only he smoked it. I don't think I had one. I've smoked them more than once, and here's what I'm going to tell you.

The one that I smoked at the show was amazing. Then the one that they sent me, eh, not so much. They switched it. So, no, I mean, like, you don't know what happened.

They had special show cigars, they had a little something extra. No, but, you know, what could have happened, no, what could have happened was it could have been made at one factory, and then that whole deal fell sideways, and then they just tried to recreate it somewhere else. This is not the original factory listed on this thing. So, there you go.

Because everybody was talking about they were made at one of the old Drew Estate factories. Right. But this is not the name of the old Drew Estate. So, there you go.

So, that's probably what happened. Holding back, you can't just take the recipe and make the same cigar somewhere else. You cannot, no, tobaccos are different. They're different, they age, they smell, they absorb stuff.

Well, fermentation processes are different. Right, the Boveda packs that they put them in do weird things when they're in the refrigerator and stuff. Being in different factories make it taste different. Sure, different water.

Dude, I'm gonna tell you, when I pick up a Neanderthal HN, and before I light it, I pre-light it, like I can just smell it, man, it smells exactly like Nika Swaino, it's crazy. And it takes me right back there. Is it just that one, or because you smoke so much? I mean, I smoke that one the most.

It's probably all Roma products. I mean, but to be fair, I mean, I don't smell it with Postana. Oh, really? Yeah.

Isn't that weird? Yeah. Hmm, hmm, hmm. Maybe skip Sub-Zars out to some little small factory out back.

Take it over there. Take it over there, make it at that shit factory. I'll look at 'em when they're done, it'll be fine. What?

They hit number two? Goddammit. God, bring it back. Bring it back.

Bring it back. Send mine over there. Send mine over there. Okay, anything else to add?

You know, I would like to do like a blind tasting with you, but the Roma Craft stuff is such unique sizes, there would be no way to disguise it other than blindfolding you. And even then, you could feel it and you'd be able to tell. That's correct. Let's do different cigars.

Yeah, but the thing where he just said it tastes like Nick Esquenio. I can smell the fachum. He can smell it. You know what?

Give him four cigars unbanded, but... Let's do it. Let's do it with Pustania and Roma. First of all, Roma is such different sizes.

They're unique sizes. Why not hold them? First of all... You can feel it.

You tried to screw me with my own product on the Patreon. No, but you knew it. And you failed. No, I mean, it wasn't you.

He was after me. It wasn't after you. To be fair. He was after you, but I was part of that.

I just couldn't tell you about it because I know that you would tell Palmer. I could have easily got caught in the crossfire. No, he wouldn't have told me. If you would have told him what you were doing, he wouldn't have told me.

That's not like something that's going to change my life. No, I wouldn't have. You're right. But I know that you would have known it.

I mean, he put up my thirst trap yesterday. I mean, come on. Do you put up your own thirst? I took it down because it was thirst trap.

Oh no, what did I do as soon as you went to the bathroom? And I was like, yeah, I put it up, I went in the house, and then I thought, then I had the, you know, a couple of DMs. That's where it changed. He didn't think it was bad until he realized that he had other dating opportunities that were coming out of this post.

I sent it to my wife, I go, is this okay? And she goes, oh, it looks great. And I'm thinking, okay. Yeah, to her.

Right, exactly. Apparently her and a couple of fellas, so. Right. Hey, you know, I have options.

I don't know if you guys do. Yeah, no, I don't need options. I'm good. Well, I don't need them.

I'm good with my one option. I want zero other options. Don't come for me. I will block you.

Oh, I just deleted the comment and took the post down. I didn't even delete the comment. Oh, it was a comment. It wasn't a DM.

They commented on the photo. Nice. Oh, yeah. I mean, everybody could have seen it.

Oh, you should have kept it up. A comment and a little wiener pic, huh? No, no wiener pic. I didn't have anything from you.

Nice. Okay, anything else to add? No, that's it. I'm done.

I have to go make more thirst traps. I think this is the best show of the week. Like and subscribe wherever you're viewing and listening to this show. Thank you so much.

We hope we provided great edutainment for you today. com for your swag. com, a Cigar Hustlers podcast. All right, guys.

Thanks. We gotta go. Bye.

Show Notes

On today’s Show We Have another flesh eater in America!  Dunkin Make a Doll Of a deal!  Trumps Health is a concern!  United says “Turn off That Phone”  in cigar news United Cigars is gonna POP!  More Tariff Updates, OZ likes Soccerand then a Chinese Take Out version of What’s The Score!!