ACHP Repeat of Episode 279 "Where Is Phil?"

Episode Summary

This Christmas 2025 replay reruns episode 279 of A Cigar Hustler's Podcast, introduced by Mike "Reverend BDP" Palmer as one of his favorites. It's the episode where fill-in engineer "Karen" is introduced to the crew and where hosts Mike Szczepankiewicz and Mike Palmer read the now-infamous mock press release about producer Phil vanishing on a Jeep excursion in the Nicaraguan jungle — a running bit that sets the tone for an hour of shop talk, industry news and deadpan chaos.

The opening half is pure Hustler banter: a live read for A Rack Above garage storage, news that Powstanie shirts have arrived and will ship in Corona Gorda orders to retailers, a Patreon smoke of the Viaje Skull & Bones Red "Fat Man," a dryer-repair saga, a Cocaine Bear review, and a youth flag-football story that spawns the week's hashtag, "be a good person." Karen also delivers a replacement for Phil's Fun Facts, explaining that a skilled cigar roller — a rolador — is expected to produce at least 200 cigars per day.

The news block covers the big trade-show story: Altadis USA, Drew Estate and Scandinavian Tobacco Group's General Cigar are all eyeing exhibit space at PCA 2024 in Las Vegas, three of the four companies that walked away in 2020. The hosts break down what it means for TPE's momentum, PCA's calendar shift, STG's acquisition strategy (Room 101), and Drew Estate sharing the Joya de Nicaragua booth. Other stories include a hailstorm wiping out Jeff Borysiewicz's Florida Sun Grown crop in Clermont, the Aganorsa Leaf Rare Leaf Reserve Maduro (San Andrés wrapper, Estelí and Jalapa fillers, three sizes), Drew Estate's ACID Ode to Blatt honoring Best Cigar Prices founder Alan Blatt, the Diesel Whiskey Row Founders Collection Boxergrail with Rabbit Hole Bourbon, and Drew Estate's Freestyle Live event packs.

The episode closes with the official press release for the Powstanie Corona Gorda Habano and Broadleaf, releasing exclusively at Hogshead Cigar Lounge in Fredericksburg, Virginia — also named Shop of the Week — with Adam Acri as Listener of the Week.

In This Episode

1. 01
   Christmas Replay Intro
   Mike Palmer sets up the holiday rerun of episode 279 and explains why it's a favorite.
2. 02
   Meet Karen, Phil's Replacement
   The crew introduces fill-in engineer Karen and reads the mock press release declaring Phil lost on a Nicaraguan Jeep trip.
3. 03
   Powstanie Shirts & Patreon Smoke
   Silkscreened Powstanie shirts ship with Corona Gorda orders while the hosts prep a Viaje Skull & Bones Red Fat Man for Patreon.
4. 04
   Karen's Knowledge: What Is a Rolador?
   Karen replaces Phil's Fun Facts with a rundown of the rolador title and the 200-cigars-a-day benchmark.
5. 05
   PCA 2024 Exhibitor Shakeup
   Altadis USA, Drew Estate and General Cigar weigh returning to the PCA trade show, and the hosts discuss TPE, STG acquisitions and booth politics.
6. 06
   Florida Sun Grown Crop Destroyed by Hail
   A hailstorm wipes out Jeff Borysiewicz's Clermont, Florida tobacco crop used in FSG cigars and JC Newman's The American.
7. 07
   New Release Roundup
   Aganorsa Leaf Rare Leaf Reserve Maduro, ACID Ode to Blatt, Diesel Whiskey Row Founders Collection Boxergrail and Drew Estate's Freestyle Live packs.
8. 08
   Powstanie Corona Gorda Release & Shop of the Week
   The press release for the Powstanie Corona Gorda Habano and Broadleaf exclusive to Hogshead Cigar Lounge, plus Listener of the Week Adam Acri.

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

Hey everyone, I'm Mike Palmer and Merry Christmas from all of us here at the Cigar Hustler Podcast. Today, we're bringing back one of my personal favorite episodes, episode 279. This is the episode where we officially introduce Karen to the engineering staff, and yes, it's also the one where we read the now infamous press release announcing that our primary engineer, Phil, has somehow become lost in the Nicaraguan jungle. It's ridiculous, it's classic Hustler, and it's exactly the kind of chaos that makes this show what it is.

Whether you're relaxing, hiding from family, or enjoying a good cigar today, we hope this episode gives you a few laughs and a little holiday escape. Thanks for spending part of your Christmas with us, and enjoy episode 279 of the Cigar Hustler Podcast. We heard you, sir, right there. Oh, hello, welcome to the Cigar Hustlers Podcast, episode 279.

Welcome to Cigar Hustlers Podcast, where we bring you the latest news and insights from the world of premium cigars. In this episode, we dive into the big stories of the week. We'll also discuss the latest cigar releases, trends, and hot topics in the cigar world, and share our thoughts and opinions on everything cigar related. So grab your favorite smoke, sit back, and join us for another exciting episode of the Cigar Hustlers Podcast With your host, Michael the King, Steponkiewicz, and his producer, Mike, Reverend BDP Palmer, and I'm boot, and I'm Karen, filling in for boots, for Phil this week.

You're getting so flustered, honey, you'll be fine, you're doing great, Karen. While he's found, I guess, or something. We'll update everybody on Phil here in just a moment. We are deeply saddened at the loss of Phil the cameraman.

Our hearts are with his family and I'm sure they will miss him when they get back from the vacation they are paying for with his insurance money. So they're out spending his money apparently. So they collected on the insurance? Collected on the insurance and took a cruise or some vacation or something.

And they're just rolling hard. Just rolling hard. Okay. They're suffering through, Michael.

Well, Karen, it's nice to have you, Karen. Yes, thank you for coming in. Oh, thank you. You're a perfect fit for us.

You're a perfect fit, Karen. You're lovely. Very lovely. Camera one, please, Karen.

Thank you. Better overhead garage storage with a rack above. Why must we damage our homes just to have overhead storage? A rack above.

It's challenged the status quo by developing a superior over. You're going to rattle that through the live read again. I really want a cigar. Can you maybe pull it away from the microphone?

There you go. All right. Back to one, please. I'll start over.

Better overhead garage storage with a rack above. Why must we damage our homes? This is why we don't have advertisers, Mike. Homes just have overhead garage storage.

A rack above has challenged the status quo by developing a superior overhead storage system that will not harm your home or damage your house or trusses. Comes with a 48 inch shelf that spans the width of your garage, keeping items within arm's reach, allowing you to ditch the ladder. A rack above will fit any size garage, has suspended telescopic legs that go up and down stairs, around water heaters, between electrical boxes, and... Over cars.

Over cars. Oh, over cars? A rack above is the last storage system you'll ever need. A rack above easily disassembles and reassembles in any garage.

No matter where life takes you, a rack above can go with you. com. Nice. What do we got for the Patreon?

For the Patreon today, we are smoking the Viaje Skull & Bones Red Fat Man. The Fat Man? Yes. The Fat Man.

The Fat Man. The Fat Man. Yes. The Little Boy or the Ivan?

I've had the Little Boy already. Oh. That sounds weird. Oh, I forgot to write the time.

I'm going to tell you right now, if I make the soundboard, I will break everything. I've had the Little Boy already. Is that what you said? 308?

308. Karen, I don't appreciate your help over there, Karen. I don't know what I'm doing. I'm just here.

Just remember. She's yelling out numbers. She doesn't know. No, Karen.

Uh oh. Karen. Karen, your phone. Your phone needs me on silent.

I'm sorry. I didn't know the rules here. I didn't know the rules. She doesn't know the rules.

She's very new. I'm very excited about my Rack Above. I love my Rack Above. Should we talk about Phil?

Do you want to get it? I was just going to talk about my Rack Above real quick. We love our supporters that have been backing the Rack Above movement on social media and stuff. It's fantastic.

What's the hashtag they do? It's not Rack Above. It's better overhead garage storage with a Rack Above. With a rack above, that's what they put up.

That's what they were doing? Yes, that's what they did. Better overhead garage storage. That's a mouthful.

It's quite the long hashtag. Yeah. So, well, we thank you for your support. But before we get into the whole fill thing.

Yes. Now you're not going to even light and smoke the cigar. I know. I know.

Before we get into the whole fill thing. Yes. The shirts are in. Oh, that's funny.

I don't have one. Well, it's funny. You should say that. Oh, because I just so happened.

I would recommend to have XL here for you. That would be me, yes, yes, yes. And, Karen, you strike me as a double XL type of an individual? Oh, very full-figured woman.

I have a double XL for you. Oh, nice. Here you go, Karen. Postaña shirts.

I'm gonna work on releasing them to retailers across the nation. I thought you said they were silkscreen. I mean, I'm not complaining at all. These are silkscreened.

This looks like the heat press thing. Yeah, no, these are silkscreen. Oh, that's not the one you made, you have one of the new ones on? Yeah.

Oh, it looks just like the other one. This is the new one, yeah. Oh. So, if you, if you're retail, if you have a retailer and they would like these Powstanie shirts.

Super P. They will be in Corona Gorda orders. Ah! While supplies last.

How many? Assorted sizes. Quickly. Yeah, I gotta work out the details still, but if you want, if your retailer wants them, You better have your retailer reach out to me.

How many do you have total? Are we disclosing that? I think it'd be like 400 and something. That's a good number.

Assorted sizes. Yeah. I meant to do 500. I mean, XL and up, I would assume.

No, I have a couple of smalls, a couple of mediums. For the women. Yeah. Well, I mean, there's a woman over here.

She's a double XL. Well, she's a cigar woman. She's a smoker. It works.

Lovely hair. I love your hair. It's very nice. Oh, thank you.

I just had it done. All right, so Phil. She has a little bit of a hormone problem. Yeah, she's running a high test, apparently.

I'm right here. 8 grams, by the way. 8. Gotcha.

Let me write that down. I'm right here. So Phil was doing a documentary in Nicaragua. Oh, really?

Yes. I don't know exactly, tobacco or something in the jungle. Sex trafficking, who knows? Who knows?

I don't know the exact details. Could have been anything. He was freelancing. Yeah.

But I got a notification last week. I heard it was a jeep thing. Oh, could have been. Yeah, I heard it was jeep related.

Well, through the jungle. So it might be a jeep thing. Yeah, it could be a jeep thing. I got a notification from the Nicaraguan Government, Department of the Interior, or whatever they call it, that his group has gone missing.

Ah. And they're assuming that he will not return. They declared him dead. Well, they have a body.

Oh, that's horrible. But the Nicaraguan government is doing the medical autopsy. They did not release the body to the family, but they did quickly send notification, the family had him pronounced dead very fast, so they could get the insurance money. And he's gone.

And Phil's gone, apparently. That was it. That was it, so yeah. You know, those jeep trips.

They can get dangerous. They can. Very dangerous. All those shenanigans.

I heard there was drinking involved. Yeah, minimal invitations. Yes. It's a select crowd.

Select crowd, yes. Small group of people. Small group of people that are allowed to go, right. I mean, I've never been invited to a Jeep thing.

Me either. No, no, I haven't either. So crazy. You know, funny thing, we got invited by a different couple, a friend of Adrian's actually lives in Daytona for Sunday.

Oh, for a Jeep thing here? To do the last day of Jeep Beach here, yes. But because of the weather, you know, there was a tornado warning, and then there was high winds, and there was a possibility of rain, so we didn't go. I get it.

It's too dangerous. Yeah. I mean, that wind was terrible yesterday. It was like it was fall already.

Phil's out doing the Jeep thing. Yeah. He's gone. He's gone.

It could happen like that. A lot of condolences on Facebook. Yes, yes. Thank you, everyone, for the outpouring.

We're going to start a GoFundMe to help his family take a second vacation once they get back from the first one. We'll work on that. Everybody donate. Yes.

Everybody donate. They're distraught. His wife is terribly upset. Yeah, her new boyfriend is terribly upset, so...

Yeah, her new boyfriend's a new boyfriend. I heard they'll take cigars, too. Oh, it's nice. That's nice.

Okay. Cool. So, yeah, once we have the details more, we'll tell you how you can contribute. So Phil's, yeah.

So, we have Karen. I hired her off of Indeed. Indeed? Not Craigslist or anything like that?

No, no. She kind of looks like a Craigslist pic. I think she does other things on Craigslist. Yeah.

Yeah. Karen, do you have an OnlyFans pic? Yeah, she asked me which ad I was responding to. No.

No. You don't have no OnlyFans page. Okay. She wanted to know which ad I saw her on, so it was a little awkward.

Oh. So there are multiples, apparently. Oh. I thought it was like that Christian Mingles thing.

Oh. No. No. No.

It wasn't Christian Mingle. It was Indeed, Glass Floor, one of those. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, her bar must be really low, because this job doesn't pay for shit.

No. Yeah. No, no. And she jumped at the relocation, too.

So, apparently... I saw the story, and it was so horrible. Oh. You were moved, Karen?

She was moved. Yeah, I was moved. Okay. Very soft-spoken.

Yeah, gentle. Yeah. I'm from Iowa. Kind of turning me on right now, Karen.

I'm not going to lie. I didn't want to admit it. I didn't. That you were getting turned on?

I'm a married man. Yeah. I shouldn't say those things on the air. Uh-oh.

Wow. You have a lovely beard, by the way, Karen. I think it's the high test. I have a beard?

Yeah. Oh, she gotta shave again. Maybe she's blind. Maybe she can't really see.

Oh, it's terrible. She's working on cameras. Yeah. Well, that explains a lot.

Maybe Phil was blind, too. Yeah. Who knows? Who knows?

Who knows? Who knows? So, were you sick over the weekend? You said you didn't feel good?

Yeah, I wasn't feeling great. Yeah? But I did do something very interesting. What did you do?

My dryer had shit the bed. Your dryer? Yeah. Oh.

It was windy. You put clothes outside on Sunday. So, I-- I Googled the parts. Yeah.

And so what's really cool is I ordered, I thought it was like the heat thing. Right. Which is like this. Very technical, yes, the heat thing.

This heat thing. Yes. The heating element. Oh.

That's what it's called. I was like, how did you find this part? So I ordered the heating element and the heating element hasn't arrived yet. Oh.

But then I jumped to another website and it said, okay, here's what happens with your dryer. So there's a 33% chance that it's this thermostat thing that's attached to the heating element, and then there's a 20% chance that it's this other thing attached to the blower. So that's 50%. Yeah.

And then there's a 3% chance that it's the heating element. Oh. Well, that's very low. " They arrived the next day.

Oh, not on a weekend? Yeah. So I ordered them like Friday or Saturday? I ordered them Friday or Saturday.

I ordered them Friday or Saturday. Oh, that's nice. So I YouTubed how to disassemble a dryer. Oh, no disassemble.

No disassemble. I short-circuited the fucking thing. Number five alive. No disassemble.

Dryers are majorly simple products. They really are. Yeah. To a point.

It's just a big barrel. To a point where I'm kind of upset about how much they charge for fucking dryers. Oh, yeah, I know. Everybody needs one.

It's like $1,100 or $1,200 for a diesel one. I mean, you can probably get one for like $700, $800 or some shit, right? Right. So I'm taking apart this thing.

Right. And Brittany was helping me as well. Oh, just thank God. So, Brittany was doing it.

Well, I did it. Oh, okay. Next week, Brittany, if you need to call in. No, no.

I'm going to tell you right now, she was a big help. She was a big help. But we got there. We got it done.

Disassembled the whole thing. That's good that you could work with your wife. I would have been going crazy and told her to just leave. No, it's usually, believe me, I need her help.

Right. You know what I mean? " You know what I mean? You know what I mean?

Yeah, you're doing that wrong. Yeah, no, we worked together. Oh, good. And she said, "Well, what about this?

" or whatever the case may be. So we got the thing apart, and in order to get to it, you do have to remove the whole barrel. Right. And there is so much lint and shit.

Oh, I bet. Oh, my God. So I vacuumed it all up. I mean, the stuff that was on the heating element was burning.

It was caked on. Oh, that's how the fire started. Yeah. Oh, she used to work at the fire industry.

Karen's a professional. - Yeah, no, I do a lot of laundry. - Yeah? - Oh, there's a lot of laundry.

- Yeah, nice. - Very nice, Karen. - Watch that hair. Don't light that hair on fire.

- Yeah, it's highly flammable. I mean, is it highly flammable? - It's probably got a lot of product in her. - It's very real hair.

- It's your real hair. - Well, I'm sure it is, but it has a lot of product. - You have no forehead, Karen. - It's covered with her hair.

Some women do that. - It's so hurtful. - You got a beard, no forehead, it's amazing you have a wife. - Oh, I don't talk to her like I talk to Karen.

Oh, well, be nice to Karen. You're very supportive of Karen right now. Well, yes, we need her. I don't want to go back to doing it.

I like not having anything here. So, cleaned it all up, reassembled it. Oh, reassembled, number five back of life. Turned this thing back on, and we're good to go, baby.

Oh, look at you. Yeah, it was like 60 bucks in parts. Oh, that's great. Mr.

Fixer. Hell, yeah. She's a little turned on now. I feel like I need to get into the whole dryer business.

We need to just start picking up broken ones, fixing them, and flipping them. Oh, some places, you just drive around, pick them up on trash days. Yeah. You just need a trailer.

This one's garbage, no problem, take it. Right. It probably needs a $30 part. Might be.

$700. See, mine's gas, I'd be afraid to take mine apart. Ooh. I can see flames under mine when it comes on.

Really? If the lights are out, you can hear, you can see the flames under it. No shit. It gets hot, it dries first.

I'm sure it does, it's gas powered. It's also connected to water, it'll spray water in there to de-wrinkle. A little steaming? Yeah.

Very nice. The first time we did that, I was like, why is everything still wet? Yeah, but it's wrinkle-free. Look at this.

That's wrinkle-free! Since it's broken, he goes, no, no, I think we hit this spray button there on the side or something. We did do this other thing, and I very much regret it. Yes?

We watched Cocaine Bear. Oh, did you really? Oh, my God. Oh, I didn't even try to watch that.

I'm sure it was terrible. Karen, have you seen Cocaine Bear? No. She kind of looks like a cocaine bear.

I got to tell you. Her fault. Wow, man, that's messed up. Why would you talk to her about her like that?

Because her hair, it's beautiful, like a bear's mane or whatever a bear has, a coat. We need her. Bear's coat? It would be a coat or a mane?

What does a bear have? The previews look stupid. Oh my God, it was a terrible movie. Was it a CGI bear or a guy in a suit?

It was a CGI bear. It's about a bear that gets cocaine. Yes, yes, cocaine bear. The comical parts were at least the graphic scenes where, you know, it went like straight jaws on some motherfuckers.

Like ripped off limbs and pulled out Ray Liotta's intestines and stuff like that. Ray Liotta, he's dead. Yeah, he was in the movie. Oh, poor guy.

That's his last movie. Yeah, that's kind of where I'm getting. So at the end of it, it says, in loving memory of Ray Liotta. And I'm thinking to myself, man, that's worse than fucking dying on the toilet.

You know what I mean? Right. This is a cinematic gift you leave for all eternity now. And now I'm leaving and take this cocaine bear with you.

Oh my Lord. How hard up was he that he did cocaine bear? Geez Louise. I wonder if it was just a part of his life.

The cocaine bear? Maybe he was portrayed as a cocaine bear. Maybe. Oh, maybe, maybe a coke problem.

Yeah, that's pretty deep, Karen. Yeah, I mean. So a bear gets a hold of cocaine in the woods and loves it and then kills people to get more cocaine? So it's actually based on a true story.

Really? Yeah, the bear in real life finds this cocaine. Right. But then it just eats too much of it and dies.

It doesn't go nuts. It doesn't go nuts. Killing people. Start eating.

So is the bear looking for more cocaine? Oh yeah, loves it. He's all strung out. Oh yeah, loves the cocaine.

" Yeah, you're halfway, you gotta see how it ends. Might as well just walk it through. The bear lived. Oh!

Yeah. Yeah. Rehab, Betty Ford? Yeah.

Betty Ford Beer Clank. It joined a 12-step program. With a baby giraffe? Yeah, with the baby giraffe.

With the baby giraffe. That's terrible. " Oh, did you watch one of those videos? It just came up on Instagram or something.

"Don't do that. It makes you look like you don't know," or something. Yeah, that's like a telltale side. " Is that your wife?

She already knows you're taking credit for the dryer? No. No. Is it Greg?

Someone's in trouble. It's a retailer. Oh. A successful one.

Oh, he knows about the shirts. Oh, is it the Kardashian from Secreto? The Kardashian from Secreto? Chaldean or whatever it was.

The Chaldean. Oh. I thought it was the Kardashian. If it was the Chaldean, I probably would have answered.

Oh. Just to hear him rattle off for a few minutes. Rattle off? How they invented math?

I listened to the show yesterday. He's amazing. I love Ronnie. I didn't hear him when he was on the air yelling about all the stuff they invented behind as you were talking to him.

Yeah, he was going nuts. We invented math. We invented the Trojan War. We invented clothes.

Give me a hard time. I was like, all right, well, fuck you. I love Ronnie. So yeah, that was pretty much the extent of my weekend.

I didn't really do much. Oh. We did have football. Oh, I yelled at a kid.

Oh. I did yell at a kid. 14, 17, 26, I yelled at kid, then I had a little boy. Wow.

Put them together. Watch me destroy your soundboard. Hey, isn't there something supposed to happen at like 16? Oh, is it 16?

Oh, it is 16, isn't it? Oh, that's right. That's right. We're very sorry.

This would be where Poor Departed Phil would do Phil's Fun Facts, but we could do Karen's Knowledge or Karen knows things or something like that. Karen, if you'd like sweetheart. Okay. What does Karen know?

Tell us what Karen knows. Pull up your camera. Okay. Hello, peoples.

Oh, there we go. You can't see the light in the camera, can you? No. I see the red thing.

No, no, no. The light is very close. I just make sure it wasn't in your shot. Oh, maybe it's in her sunglasses.

Okay, here it goes. Uh, there's a unique job title for cigar makers. A highly skilled cigar roller is referred to as a "Rollador"? Did I say that right?

A Rolador. A Rolador. A Rolador. That sounds amazing.

With them able to produce at least 200 cigars a day. So that's a qualification to be a Rolador. A Rolador. A Rolador.

Wow, that's amazing. Are you a Rolador? Are you a Rolador, Karen? Can you roll a cigar?

I don't know. You'd be good with your hands, I would imagine. Wow, now you're kind of hitting on them. Sure.

We'll talk later. Oh, okay. That's nice. Karen Dre Lutz, apparently.

Wow. I'm not going to lie. I don't know why. Karen's a lot nicer, softer, I know, isn't she?

Than Phil was. Phil's very angry. Maybe Karen should stick around. No, it's just a Monday.

No, it's just, oh, okay. Oh, she's just filling in. Who knows? We'll see what happens.

Who knows what the future will hold for Karen? You usually have a hair appointment on Mondays. Oh, goodness gracious. So, I had a kid that pushed out another kid in a play.

One of you, on the same team? No, so it was, We were on defense. Okay. And I were on the defense.

Okay, right. And the kid kind of was on the line and he just pushed him. It wasn't a hard push. Like a block.

Well, it wasn't. But you're not allowed to block. Like he was going for the flag and then he just kind of shoved, right? The kid's never played before.

It's his first season. The kid went tumbling, the other kid. No, he just stepped out and he goes, well, you know, that was a shove, but. Oh, he had the ball.

No, we were on defense. Yeah, he had the ball. Gotcha. And he was running up the field and the kid went to go for the flag.

He pushed him a little bit. He fell out of line. Okay. Yeah.

I mean, listen, it's football. Right. It's a little bang-bang-y, whatever. " I'm like, "Okay, whatever.

He's talking back. " Uh-oh. " Oh, kid flicked you off, the kid who got pushed. No, kid flicked off the kid who pushed him.

Okay. On my team. Okay. Wow, did they do that at that age?

Apparently so, apparently 10-year-olds are, yeah. 10-year-olds are giving a finger. " Was it in that tone? Yeah.

That's not really yelling. Do the tone, do the tone. Maybe, it was probably a little louder than that. Okay.

Probably a little aggressive. Hey, fucktard, you call him a fucktard? Is that a fucktard? No, because I always ask for input afterwards from Brittany.

Oh, did I handle this correctly? How was I? Yeah. And, you know, apparently the dad was right there, and he didn't say anything.

You're a large man. He didn't say shit. One, zero. So I said, "Be a good person, man.

" Meanwhile, they had a play where they did something totally illegal. Right. " I didn't know. I was like, okay, no problem.

Just redo the down. We just let them redo it. Okay. That's the type of mentality that I have on this field.

I'm not here to destroy and win and blah, blah, blah. You know what I mean? Right. Be a good person.

Just be a good person. So what did the kid say about you? Didn't the kid flick you off? He didn't say a goddamn thing.

I would have flicked you off if I was a kid. You know, man, hey. Go ahead. And then I would have said, where's your father?

Daddy, come fight this man. I flicked him off like you taught me. Just like you taught me. Just like you do to mom when she's not looking.

He had to pick it up from somewhere. Yeah, of course, you know, obviously that somewhere, you know, he's seen it done, he knows what I mean. Yeah, I don't think that, like, I don't get angry and flip the bird in the car. Nah, I don't do that.

Or any of that. Yeah. So, obviously, that kid saw it. Right, he's seen it somewhere.

Multiple times. Maybe he's allowed to watch our movies. My kids are allowed to watch our movies. Cocaine bear.

I can't see a lot of bird flipping going on. Maybe, oh, maybe he watches The Smoking Truth because there's a lot of that on that show. Oh, oh, bird flipping? Yeah, a lot of...

So you're saying that he's gonna be a politician? He could be, who knows? You never know. But that was fun for me.

I had a good time with that. Oh. Intimidating the child and his parent. Just be a good person.

If you're a good person, I'll be a good person too. I didn't say you did anything wrong, Michael. If you're a shitty person, well then, that's where shit gets interesting. You're gonna take him to class.

That's interesting. I'm going to pour him some tea. Pour him some tea. Hey, bud, speaking of tea, do we have a call-in today?

No, we don't have a call-in. Oh, did you follow up on the call-in? Of course I followed up. Oh, so that's for the Patreon.

You have to wait or become a member. And there's going to be a discount code for the Nuviaje Skull & Bones on the Patreon as well. Oh, nice. I will disclose the Patreon code on the Patreon.

So, but it'll be... Flip the bird 19. Flip the bird 19. No, that's not it.

So, I'll put that up after we smoke this cigar. Not acceptable behavior, young man. No, I mean, just, you know what I mean, just have them, just relax. Hashtag be a good person.

Just relax. We should start a hashtag every week. This week it'll be hashtag be a good person. Hashtag be a good person.

I still have them skip. Oh, don't do skip. Yeah. Just be a good person.

It's not that hard. That's right. I said what I said. So, what did you do this weekend?

You cut the grass again. I cut the grass on Sunday. You always cut the grass. Sprinkler guy came on Sunday, fixed all the sprinklers.

But Saturday, we did nothing. You always have a very eventful weekend. A lot of maintenance. A lot of maintenance going on at the house, yeah.

A man of your stature? Oh, Saturday, we repaired another section of the fence. I had Connor all weekend because his car was in the shop. Stuck with you?

Yes. He had no vehicle. He had no choice. He had no vehicle.

He had to spend some time with his dad. Right. How old is he? 22.

So he's almost at the age, like 23 is usually the age where it's like, "You know what, Dad? Maybe you're not fucking stupid. Oh, he's very helpful at 22. I mean, he was stuck in a house with no car, but like, hey, she would like some gum.

Here, here's five dollars. Go buy her gum at the store. You hungry? Eh, kind of.

Well, she would like Zaxby's. Here's twenty bucks. Go get you guys Zaxby's. Oh, but that's just you sending him around to do errands.

I'm just talking about him enjoying your company. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Well, we've always, 'cause, I mean, he's never really actually lived with me full-time, even though my mother was a dirtbag.

Ah. He stayed with me most of the time when he was younger anyway, but we've always gotten along. We've never really had any problems. Hmm.

But usually now that's you, usually there's like a segment of age. Yeah. Where, you know, the adolescent, "fuck you dad" kind of comes into play. Sure, sure.

What do you know? Yeah. Type shit, right? So.

No, we've never really had that. Interesting. Calls me for advice quite often. Always, huh?

So, God beloved, his stories. He's very detailed like I am. So when he tells you how something happened, you're getting a minute by minute. He starts with the dinosaurs?

Yes, exactly. It all began when— Sometimes I have to hurry him up a little bit. Like, okay, let's get to the part where you made the sandwich. What was on it again?

Right. Okay, now we can stop. We're good here. I didn't tell you how I ate it yet, though.

I imagine bites in your mouth. Right. I think we can pass that part of it. So you ate the sandwich.

So you ate the sandwich. And it had that one piece of bad turkey on it, so you didn't like it. Okay, I understand. You feel like you're very in detail?

You're a very in detail person? I've been told when I explain things, sometimes I explain things too much. I've never gotten that from you. No, I don't either.

It's just mostly my wife that thinks that. Oh. " We came up here Saturday. Did you?

Yeah, we did that. A couple that's getting married. Father-son moment? No, no, not Connor.

Me and Adrian and another couple. The couple is getting married, and the young man needed help picking out cigars to give to his groomsmen to ask them. Well, now I'm intrigued to know what you went with. He bought the Diesel Roe ones.

Whiskey Roe? Whiskey Roe, because they are, well, made by Diesel, yeah, the Whiskey Roe. The guys are whiskey guys, but only one of them is a cigar guy. Ah.

So he went with those. Did you explain to him the lead optimization meeting? Yes. You did?

Yes. I mean, we started with BDPs, but that's a little awkward to give somebody a Big Dick Palmer cigar when you want them to be your groomsmen. So, and then we just... Why would you explain what BDP stands for?

Say, this is a really good cigar. It's a BDP. Big Deal Palmer. Big Dick, you know, say the word.

It's named after me. I don't know why he wouldn't buy it. I mean, that's the biggest sale ever. And he bought a Karole Bashkin to smoke while he was here.

I brought him down, showed them the podcast room and the private lounge. They were very excited. And they did a little 30-minute, my wife, her friend, and the husband, the fiancee, I guess he is? Yeah.

They did a little 30-minute podcast out there in the other room. Oh, like a free trial. They're like, well, this is like hard. And I go, man, it's not as easy as you'd think.

Is it, though? What do you talk about? I go, you talk about every Sunday lawn requirements. Right.

I heard you guys were number one. We are. Yeah, we are. We're definitely number one.

We have more followers than any other show on Podbean. Nice. And Feedspot, that we don't give money to, recommend us as the number one show to listen to in 2023, if you don't know about cigars and the cigar industry. Nice.

Yeah, we can't really, we don't, we don't really have any money, so we can't really give them any money. Oh, yeah, we can't buy ratings, we can't afford it. Yeah. That's lovely.

Be reasonable. Right now, we need new lights. Yeah, because these lights are terrible. Well, they were good when we bought them.

Not anymore. We've moved up in the world. Well, same thing happened with the microphone, the soundboard, the chairs, the desk, the room, the walls. Here we are.

It's just a matter of time before we outgrow this place, and we have our own telephone, television network with a helicopter. Everybody is surprised how small it is when they see it. Yeah, well, because, yeah, I get that. " Yeah.

It's movie magic. Movie magic. That's right. Movie magic, madam, now sit down.

Get your ass in that chair! I said the red chair! You're only allowed to sit in the red chair! No more talking.

No more talking. No more talking now. It's on the show. We're live.

Okay. So, you want to get into some news? We have some news. We have, there's nine pages, but I did a couple of pictures, which I understand probably won't work well for this, but maybe I'll throw them up with the thing.

Okay. But I printed the pictures. Excellent. Because I have a question for you with one of the photos.

Oh, okay. Oh, interactive. I love questions. With your, you know, vast cigar-making knowledge, you're probably almost a Rolodone.

I was going to say, I'm practically a Rolador. I'm practically a Rolador. You've got to make 250 cigars a day, then you could become a Rolador. 200.

Oh, is it just 200, Karen? Yeah, 200. Oh, I'm sorry. Thanks, Karen.

Maybe at 50, 250 or something else. A mega Rolador. A mega Rolador, oh. A master Rolador.

A king. Oh, master Rolador. King Rolador. King Rolador.

Oh, she likes calling you the king. Yeah. Wow. Oh, by the way, your wife got a lovely picture of her as the queen I saw.

Oh, yes, did you see that? Yes, I saw that. Oh, I forgot to mention that as well. Oh, because it came early.

Oh, that's right. It's not been Mother's Day yet. Yeah, I couldn't wait. I had to have her open it.

Did she like it? I mean, obviously she was quite overtaken when she opened it, but is she going to hang it up? Oh, yeah. I hung it up.

Oh, it's already up? Oh, yeah, I didn't wait. Oh, you hung photos? You fixed a dryer?

Oh, you're quite handy. Oh, yeah, I did. Yeah, I was crushing it. Look at you.

So, today is actually our dating anniversary. Nice. Oh, the day you went on the first date? Yeah.

Oh, you're not taking around? 19 years. No, well, tomorrow we're going out to dinner and stuff. Oh!

Excellent. Lovely. Yeah. Where are you going?

We have like a whole day planned. Oh. It's very nice. Where are you going?

Enzo's. Nice. Yeah, we got a gift card. That's very nice.

We got a gift card. Oh, you cheap son of a bitch. What do you want me to do with this gift card? Use it for not a special occasion.

This is like, this isn't the anniversary, this is the dating anniversary. The dating anniversary is still an anniversary. Yeah, so we're going to go out to dinner. We're going to celebrate it.

Who else do you want me to use this gift card? It's her regular date night. Well, every day is magical with her. I don't know what to say.

So romantic. 30, every day is magical. Okay. Are you ready?

Yep. From the four corners of the world, all the cigar industry news you could possibly need. The Cigar Hustler Podcast Report with Mike Toon. Big story of the week, Michael.

Altidus USA, Drew Estate, General and General are eyeing exhibit space at the PCA 2024. Three of the four companies that pulled out of the PCA convention trade show in early 2020 are seriously considering returning to the cigar industry's most important trade show of 2024. Great. Altidus USA, well that's just, that's for next year, not this year.

Ah. You know what? I didn't really, until I just read it too. I thought it was this year too.

Altidus USA, Drew Estate and Scandinavian Tobacco Group's General Cigar Company, Ford Cigar are looking into exhibiting at the PCA 2024 which takes place March 22nd through 25th in Las Vegas. Multiple sources have told Cigar Hustlers Podcast that they expect all three to exhibit in 2024. Notably, those are three of the four companies that announced in 2020 they would no longer exhibit at the PCA convention and trade show. Right.

Well, that announcement was made in 2020 is not to say that the companies stopped participating altogether. All three will be present at this year's trade show in very different ways. Altadis USA was added to the list of 2023 exhibitors this week, albeit with three smaller booths instead of the large presence the company historically has had. When asked about the decision to return to 2023, the plans for 2024, Rafael Noudal, head of product capacity for Tap Calera USA, which includes Altadis, told Cigars or Podcast that an announcement would be made soon.

It's unclear whether the reference to 2023 or 24 through NoDoll previously confirmed the company was considering exhibiting at both, so really, he had nothing to say. Well, it's interesting. There's more. Okay, I'll continue.

You go ahead. STG's Ford Cigar Company will be present at this year's trade show in a booth purchased by Alec and Bradley. Ah. Who are now having nonsense jobs at STG.

STG, that pay way too much. That pay way too much money, and they're in charge of world something. Yeah. Optimization.

To make you. Right. Why can we put a cigar logo on? CEO.

This is the second year in a row the SDG will be an exhibitor because the company it purchased last year, it just purchased Room 101, so basically they're just buying companies to get back into the trade. I mean, I keep asking Justin, I say, hey, listen, somewhere north of 20 million, you can have all of it, give me a cush job, and we'll just hang out. Can you include me? Of course, of course, I'll slide that in.

No question. Let me just get my foot in the door. Unlike the other two companies, though, Drew Estate will not have a booth, but a small number of employees will be in the Hoya Nicaragua booth. Seeking out secret meetings with, you know.

So tacky. Yes. So tacky. Juristate Distributes.

Oh, we don't care about that. Oh, sure. No, we could just, we could do that here, or we could meet in this hotel room. Weird.

Right. We have a conference room set aside. We have a room. All right.

You know that. Florida Sun Growns. Wait, I wanted to talk about that a little bit. Oh, sorry.

Sorry, yes. I mean, you instantly move on. That's why I was trying to interject, and you're like, yeah. We will follow this story as the PCA 2024 becomes more available, we'll have more information.

I think a lot of things have happened. Yes? Number one, TPE isn't as cracked up as everybody thinks this is. No, you know, last year, I think it was bigger for cigars than it was this past year.

I believe that. Yeah. I believe that. " You know what I mean?

Right, we have all these vape people that have spaceships and discotheques and stuff. Yeah, so I don't think that TPE produces the sales that they were hoping that it would. Right. Number one.

Number two, PCA is now moving in on TPE's turf as far as encroaching on the month. Right, they've moved up a little bit. Right? No need to go to both, they're right after each other.

So, and number three is, I think that if PCA did that, it's probably because they're considering what other people have been telling them about the specific month That they've been releasing. So now it's like, the PCA are saying, "Hey, we hear you," and we will adjust accordingly. Now, I don't know if that's gonna segue into other things. I think that it would be great to do some type of cigar con thing that they were doing.

Oh, you like that idea still. Yeah, I'm not against it. I think it's great. " Yeah.

Dress up as your favorite person. Everybody dress up like Karen. Everybody dress up like Karen. She's now in the industry.

Yeah. So lovely. She's in the industry. Right.

At least for this week. I don't know. Maybe it doesn't work out. Maybe it does.

We're on a trial basis. So yeah, you know, I think that it's stupid. It is Miss Karen, right? Is it Misses?

It's Miss. Oh, okay. Thank you. And I don't understand.

I lost my train of thought. Oh, you got excited because she's a Miss. Yeah, it's Miss. Oh my goodness.

I have a chance. You have a pretty mouth. Uh-oh. It's the beard, right?

It's the beard. I love the beard. I have a beard? No, no, no, no.

It's just dirt. It's got a little dirt. Oh, okay. You need more foundation.

Oh, okay. I'll do that right away. On the break, honey. On the break.

Yeah. What break? Makeup between shows. Oh.

She yelled makeup. And I think that it also looks bad when you write orders outside of the showroom floor. But you're still there. We don't tell anybody.

I don't want anybody. Everybody fucking knows. Go get me somebody and bring me here so I can talk to them. Is that Jonathan Drew?

Allegedly. Allegedly. Allegedly. I need people to talk to.

Somebody tell me I'm great and go get somebody. Where's my tarp? I need my tarp outfit. A tarp outfit?

Tarp. Tarp. Oh, your tarp. It was all wet.

I'm wet. I stepped in the water. I fell down. I'm all wet.

Anyway, moving on. All right, moving on. All right, camera two, Karen. And do you actually jump to the Florida?

Oh, Florida. No, no, Florida sun-grown. Yeah. Florida sun-grown tobacco crop destroyed by hail, or some people say karma.

A brutal hail storm that claimed the current crop of Florida sun-grown tobacco being grown by Jeff Borsiewicz in Claremont, Florida. The total loss of the FSG tobacco-- I didn't even hear about hail. Oh, yeah. I didn't hear anything.

I'm sure there'll be an insurance claim. Only in that field. That feel. Yeah, it was only over there, apparently.

Borchowitz wrote in a Facebook post that tobacco was looking incredible. Of course, it was. That made the news? Yeah, it made the news.

Wow. It was on the wire. I pulled it from the wire. Wow.

The tobacco news agency, the TBA. We're going to top the plants this week and start harvesting next week. In a matter of minutes, an entire season got wiped out by a hailstorm. Borchowitz shared photos of the farm both before and after the hailstorm, which came through the area.

And earlier this week, it was forecast to bring up baseball size to head. Wow. There's a photo of it after. Oh.

And growing prize tobacco, the growing prize tobacco was easily, easily, everyone would be doing it. So sad. C. Newman, the Florida sun-grown wrapper, and his American line.

Oh, so they do use it as a wrapper. Is this a big deal? The American line, the FSG. From what I understand, from Mr.

Robbie Doyle, who has mapped the property, there is generally speaking about 10 acres of tobacco on the farm. Wow. Okay. But can't they still use it as filler and stuff?

Yeah, but that diminishes the value significantly. Well, but he's using it himself and his stuff. Yeah, but he's charging, I'm sure. Well, yeah, so it's not a complete loss.

I guess not, no. Right, as stated in the article. What, did the hail crush it? Okay, you know what a tobacco leaf looks like?

Yes. Okay, hail puts holes in it. Yeah. So it shreds it.

Yeah, you can't use it as a wrapper. You can't use it as a wrapper anymore. Yeah. Well, you can, but you have to make little tiny stuff.

Don't you think somebody would maybe prepare? Was there a warning of the hail? They said there was a weather report that there was going to be hail. How do you stop it?

Cover them with blankets. Ten acres? Blankets. Ten acres of blankets.

Get the blankets out! Get the blankets! There comes the hail! Run it over.

Screen it. Cut it now! Poor fella. I don't know what he's going to do.

I feel like he's going to be okay. I think he'll be fine. Worst case, he feeds it to the cattle. I don't know if that's a good idea.

You probably don't want to feed him to the cattle. The cattle can't get anything. Anything else on that? They have seven stomachs.

No, that was a short story. That was the end of it. But it made the national news. It's a big deal.

We have to report it. Yeah, we've got to cover it. Right. So, Karma took care of Jeff Worshawitz, apparently.

Oh, interesting. Argonosa Leaf, Rare Leaf, Reserve Maduro. Maduro! Their names are getting so long.

I think it was always a rare leaf. Was it Maduro? I don't know. Aragonosa Leaf, which is the main leaf, the rare leaf reserve, so the reserve of the rare leaf, is now Maduro.

Interesting. Shipping next month. Very exciting. For the last two months, Aragonosa Leaf has teased the upcoming rare leaf reserve Maduro.

Next month, you'll be able to purchase it finally! The Aragonosa Leaf Rare Leaf Reserve Maduro uses a Mexican San Andres wrapper over dual binder and filler tobaccos from Esteli and Jalapa, Nicaragua. The company says that it is the boldest expression of Aragonosa's signature flavor to date. Who said that, Terrence, or just somebody?

The company. The company can speak on its own? Apparently, yes. They have changed the band finally.

Oh. Oh. So, the Maduro is a gold band. Close up, close up.

Kind of looks like, I'll throw the photo up if we do. I'll be offered in three sizes, the Toro, the Bellicoso, and a Robusto. Toro, Bellicoso. 50.

Do I have to buy all three? I don't know, let's read on and see. When we launched the Rare Leaf in 2021, the idea was to provide our retail partners who make the commitment to our Argonos-elected program with a special blend that would have exclusivity on, said Terrence Riley, VP of Sales and Marketing. There he is.

There's my guy. The giant baby giraffe. Baby giraffe, not Ashley. We learn how to smash.

Due to the success of the original release, and our Agarosa Select Retail Partners enthusiasm for it, we added Rare Leaf Maduro, the truly powerful expression of Agarosa. Megalodon Rolador. Tobacco, and I haven't experienced before. This blend will make you sit up and pay attention while smoking, or as we say, validating.

Validating and tapas? Yes. While having some tapas. The original Rare Leaf Reserve uses a blend made entirely of Nicaraguan tapas.

Oh my God. Comes with tapas. Comes with tapas. We're doing the tapas and charcuterie.

We're getting into the deli business here in the tobacco industry. It's always nice to compliment the cigar with something, Michael. You know what I mean? A little charcuterie.

A little something with it, huh? We get together, we have some wine, some charcuterie, you know. Drew's State honors best cigar prices, Alan Blatt with a new acid Eau de Blatt. Oh, De Blatt.

Have you heard of Allen Blatt? I can't say that I have. Well, let me read you the story and I'll explain why. Tell me.

With its newest asset release, Drew Estate is paying tribute to Allen Blatt, a noted retailer who founded Best Cigar Prices. You heard of them? I have heard of them. All right.

According to the press release from Drew Estate, Blatt started his cigar retailing career in 1996 by selling cigars out of the back of his car. Seems to be the most standard in the industry. Yeah, that was a good approach. Before launching a catalog and website for his business in 1997, so a year later, so business out of the back of the car was good.

Business is a booming. Platt passed Blatt, I wonder if it's Paul Blatt's brother. You know, what is kind of funny to me, before you go further in the show, is I really do love how some retailers will badmouth other online presence and stuff if they're operating out of their home, meanwhile some of these big dogs that got started, one guy started a mechanic shop I heard allegedly. Oh, I've heard about that, yeah.

Yeah, he's giving oil changes and selling acids. Right. And the other guy is in the back of a truck, or whatever the fuck that is. He's out of the trunk of his car.

Yeah. Interesting. He passed away in 2006. Ah.

So what, 18 years later, now they're saying, oh, we miss him, let's do a cigar. Nine years? He was only in the industry nine years? Apparently.

I'm looking forward to my acid cigar then. Oh, that's right. Yeah. For the new release, Drew Estate created a blend that uses Ecuador and Sumatra wrapper over Nicaraguan tobaccos, Which the company says delivers aromatic, spice, and herbal notes with a creamy, floral finish.

Okay. Sounds delicious. 95. I really like it.

She was tossing her hair, it distracted me. Oh, it threw you off. Yes, it threw me off. Website first, wrong line altogether.

The cigars are produced at La Gloria Fabrica, Drew Estate, in Esteli, Nicaragua. Let's see who reads this, oh. While he has been gone nearly 20 years, Allen continues to have a profound influence on my life, said Jonathan Drew, co-founder and president of Drew Estate via press release. Witnessing his legacy live on is a tremendous personal honor and I'm looking forward to raising a glass and some divine smoke to my dear, dear friend on August 5th during our event at BCP's on-site location.

The Best Cigar Prices also operates Best Cigar Pub, a restaurant, bar, and retail store, in Drums, PA. Oh, this is a big day for a company, said Greg Fox, president and CEO of Best Cigar Prices. I feel like I could close my eyes and John's in the room. To partner with Drew Estate on this project is very meaningful, especially because of Alan's friendship with John and Drew, even though he died several years ago.

Even though he died almost a decade ago. Almost a decade ago. They really loved him. Yeah.

They want to make sure he's just right. It was just right. I got it. He's been working on this for longer than the man was in the business, basically.

That's why you threw all this mantra wrap around. I started with the company when Alan hired me 20 years ago, and I know that he would be so happy to see this tribute if he were with us today. I can thank Jonathan and the entire Drew State team enough for making this a reality and honoring the man who started it all for us and for choosing such a terrific cigar to do it. The acid Ode to Blatt is currently available for purchase.

Ode to Blatt. Ode to Blatt. We miss him. He was a nice man.

I never knew him. We used to drive around in his car together, me and him. Oh, yeah? Yes.

I sold him one day, I said, "You know what? You should sell the cigars out of the back of your car. " Yeah, quite the trunk. " I should do that.

And then we got in a huge fight, and I never spoke to him again. And that was it. Yes. It's over.

Right. I wanted to call them junk in the trunk, and he said no. You can't use that. Yeah.

It's not nice, he said. And that was the end. And then we split ways. You should have stuck with him.

It sounds like... He was the one who got mad at me. I think he just stole my idea. He built quite the empire.

He did in nine years. Best cigar price. I'm a little disappointed in your empire size, Michael, to be honest. You know what?

You and me both. You can't even take a vacation. You and me both. Well, your brother's drapesin' around Europe.

I know. What's amazing, too, is he has things that... He has, like, the controls, the specific things, as far as two-portion verification codes. Oh, he took that with him.

" I don't I don't know why you are the person for this, but I have no choice control. He keeps control that way, but to reach out to you. So do you realize it's three o'clock in the morning here, Michael? I don't care.

I don't care. If you like six hours ahead of something. Oh, oh, I try to get Europe. It's not Asia.

So he's having beignets. He's having beignets. Beignets are in Louisiana. They have beignets in France.

He's having croissants. Oh, All I've seen is a lot of videos of him walking on cobblestone streets. Oh, I haven't seen any videos. Oh, she's been posting.

Oh, I don't know. Right, I understand. Diesel and the Rabbit Hole come together for Whisky Row Founders Collection Boxer Grail. Diesel and Rabbit Hole come together for Whisky Row Founder of Collections Boxer Grail.

Okay. Boxer Grail. Diesel Cigars and Rabbit Hole Bourbon and Rye are coming together for the third collection, the Diesel Whiskey Row Founders Collection Boxer Grill. Yeah, you want to call them?

No, I don't want to call them. Okay. Is it optimizational meeting time? Yeah.

Oh, it's four o'clock. The 6x52 Toro that uses what describes a press release as a proprietary Nicaraguan habando binder. Oh, so they've come up with something no one else has. What are you doing?

Nothing. You're doing something. What are you doing? I'm having a podcast.

Cigar then uses a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper. You're having a podcast? I'm having a podcast. Like a child?

Yes. I'm having a baby. I'm having a podcast right now. Okay.

Hey, he's doing a podcast right now. Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, Nicaraguan, Havalvano, Tobacco, blah, blah, blah. Justin Andrews is doing a little. Yeah, Diesel, Founder & Collections, blah, blah, blah, let's see.

90 for a box of 10 cigars, and the box is designed to mirror the packaging of Rabbit Hole, Boxer Grail, Kentucky Straight Rye Bourbon. I don't think he answers. Well, don't call him. It's okay.

Okay, because I was about to connect. Nah, I was looking for a quote from him, and there's not one. Drew stayed to reveal, a lot of Drew stayed news today. Drew stayed to reveal, okay, new cigar line.

Okay. It's just okay. It's all right. During the June 8th Freestyle Live.

They really jumped on that Freestyle Live stuff. I know. I think I'm going to pass on this one. On the next one?

But we need more of that shit to give away. They're giving away like a watch. We're running out of the shit, though. I don't know.

Yeah, but what's the swag? Hold on, maybe it's in here. Oh, it's in here. Hold on.

Okay. Drew Stable will once again be revealing a new cigar line, but its online Freestyle Live event has begun shipping out of the associate event packs containing samplers of unbanded cigars from the line being announced. Okay. So you get, okay, okay.

Each of the new Freestyle Live packs contains. Candle. Here we go. Four of the new cigars.

Okay. Though they are not banded. Right. Though they could be anything, really.

Could be anything. Could be anything. Who knows? Or any other identification.

Right. The packs also contain a Freestyle Live four cigar case. Okay. The other one's a three.

Ooh. So one up. Okay. A torch lighter.

All right. A cigar rest. Okay. Apparently that's it.

It's a hard pass. Oh wait, no, here we go. Oh wait, tell me more. The Freestyle Live Pack also includes a Freestyle Live badge with a QR code.

Yeah. Which allows purchasers to enter a sweepstake by giving us all their information so we don't have to go through the retailer anymore. It's brilliant. Brilliant.

Brilliant. Brilliant. m. on Facebook and YouTube.

Yeah, I think I'm going to skip that one. In addition to announcing the new line during the Free Salon of Andrew State, we'll be giving away a luxury watch valued at $10,500. $10,000. As well as $6,000 in airfare that can be used to plan a trip for two to anywhere in the world.

You could go wherever you want. Additionally, 10 participants will win a longboard created by Subculture Studios. Oh, a longboard. Guess that's a surfboard.

Well, it's, no, it's, you kind of, oh, the skateboard thing, oh, yeah, no, but it's a longboard, you can, no, the bigger skateboard, I don't know if it's a skateboard, I think you, like, it goes in the water and you paddle with it, no, no, it's a paddleboard, it's a paddleboard, longboard's the longer skateboard, okay, which were very popular when my kids were in college, I don't think, three retailers who carry the free sale of event kids, lacrosse sticks, do we get lacrosse sticks too, no, you win a credit, a credit, against future. Oh. Free, oh sorry. Free Star Live is dope, plain and simple, said Jonathan Drew, co-founder and president of Drew Estates.

I pressured these. It's even more dope than when mystery packs are included as an announcement or unveiling. People go bananas trying to guess what it could be. I love it.

These event packs retail for $40 can be purchased at participating retailers nationwide. Okay. Are we packing? Are you passing?

Yes. All right, don't get them here. You can't get them here. Can't get them here.

That's all I got. That's all you got? There was nothing going on in Florida this week that is not depressing. There was a lot of deaths, some children, there were some old people.

Oh, Shaq Barrett. You hear about Shaq Barrett? Who's Shaq Barrett? Is that Shaq O'Neal's brother?

No, he's the defensive player of the Tampa Bay Bucs. Oh, what happened to him? His two-year-old daughter drowned in the pool. Oh, I saw that.

Yeah, that was one of the stories I passed on. That's fucking terrible. Another little boy was eaten by an alligator. That was bad.

Damn alligators, they're a problem, they got to go. Yeah, there's an alligator story every week. Yeah. Something.

In the villages an alligator came up and knocked on a door. Did it? Yeah. What did it want?

Was it door dashing? It saw the colored pom-pom on the car and it knew this was a swingers house. Upside down pineapple? No, no, in the villages they use colored pom-poms on the cars.

Oh. And their golf carts. Interesting. The different color means what level of swinging you do.

Do you have a golf cart up there? No. No? You borrow someone else's when you go there?

No, I just take a pom-pom and throw it. You know why? I like to throw them out. Like a parade.

Oh. Different colors and confuse everybody. Keep it going. Yeah.

I like where your head's at. That's why they never know. You bring Karen. Did you see Groover on his cruise with his We Play Well with Others sign on his room door or something?

No. Oh, he put that up on Facebook. Really? I'm assuming it was his room, but it might have been somebody else's.

That's pretty funny. It is funny. I tag Skip in and Skip goes, I didn't know you guys did cruises. I go, well, Groover's in charge now.

We do all sorts of different things. You ever Listener of the Week, Michael? No. Shop of the Week, Michael?

Oh, we have one more story. Yeah. Hold on, I gotta pull it up on my phone. Listener of the Week?

Yeah, yeah, we just said we don't have one, but thank you. Think about it. Oh, I should think about it. Tell me.

Acre. You want me to do Acre? Yeah. I have a Listener of the Week.

Hold on, let me read the press release first. This is for immediate, this is for, uh, immediate, uh, release. Okay. For immediate release, Cigar Hustler announces release of the Postana Corona Gorda Habano and Broadleaf at Hogshead Cigar Lounge.

Wow. May, this is today, uh, those is, well, this will be released on May 4th. Oh, I'm a couple days early. Cigar Hustler has announced the highly anticipated release of the Postana Corona Gorda Habano and Broadleaf, or Rodleaf, it depends on which one you get, Which has gained significant attention from cigar enthusiasts around the world after receiving an overwhelming number of inquiries through various channels, including social media, email texts, and Carrier Pigeons, Cigar Hustler is excited to finally unveil the release date.

The company has always prioritized taking care of its retail partners, and in that spirit, the Bosnia, Corona, Gorda, Habano, and Broadleaf will be available exclusively at Hogshead Lounge on May 19th in Fredericksburg, Virginia, To celebrate the release, the Cigar Hustler team, including Cigar Hustler BDP and Cigar Hustler Industry, will also be in attendance to meet with customers and share their experiences. "We're thrilled to finally bring the Powstanie Corona Gordo Habano and Broadleaf to our loyal customers," says Cigar Hustler Mike Szczepankewicz. "We've been blown away by the response from the cigar community, and we're excited to share this release with everyone at Hogshead Cigar Lounge. We believe that our commitment," what happened?

"believe that our," whoop, hello, what is this jumpy for? Oh, God. com. Boom!

There you go. You heard it here first. Get nobody else to touch my press release. We haven't pressed the release just yet.

That was a nice press release. Thank you very much. I wrote it. Yeah.

That's fantastic. I have a listener of the week. Oh, okay. Who's the listener of the week?

Michael? Michael? Adam Acri. Congratulations, Mr.

Adam Acri. You are the listener of the week. His wife has put out a lovely new line of bird shirts. Oh, really?

Yes. Which I'm sure if you're interested, you can contact Adam Akery. For bird shirts. Bird shirts.

Yeah. She's a bird enthusiast. They are very bird enthusiast. They have an awesome owl.

Averyan. The one I saw was the owl on it. It was a very nice shirt, actually. It's a lovely owl.

It was a lovely shirt. Yes. Maybe they need you to model it. You have a Shop of the Week?

This is your job. I have a Shop of the Week. Oh, who's the Shop of the Week, Michael? Hogshead.

Congratulations, Hogshead. I don't know what came here. Hogshead in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Yes.

We're on May 19th for the worldwide release of the Corona, Gorda, Habano, and Rod Leaf cigar. Yes. Can only get it there on the 19th. That's it.

It's the only place. The only place. Worldwide release. World prestige worldwide.

Investors, possibly you. Oh. I understand David Morris is going to be there. Yeah, yeah.

Nice. We got some people coming out. Some peoples. Some peoples.

Should be good. Oh. Should be good. You got anything else?

No. We're really close. Close enough. Well, that's off.

So you gotta be at about an hour. Oh, that's right. So we're at an hour. Right over there, Karen?

56. 56. Anything else you would like to say, Karen? You need some more air time?

No, I really appreciate you guys for having me on today. Excellent. And once again, Phil's family can't hear this because they're still on the cruise or the vacation, But our heartfelt condolences go out to his entire family. And you?

To his entire family, it's terrible. Yeah. And the new boyfriend. Yeah.

That's what happens. Jeep meetings. Yeah. Jeep's are dangerous.

Secluded meetings. They're very dangerous. Secluded Jeep meetings. All right, we're going to go then.

Thank you, everybody, for listening. This has been episode 279. On to the Patreon. We're going to go smoke these Fat Body Somethings.

Yes. Fat Body Somethings. All right. Talk to you later.

Bye. A Cigar Hustlers Podcast, its owners and its sponsors take no responsibility for the opinions or statements made by the talk show host or their guest. Statements or show topics are not necessarily the beliefs of Mike and Mike Productions or the podcast providers, and opinions between talk show hosts may differ. It is not our intention to libel, incite, or hurt anyone's feelings.

We invite you to write the show's host, Mike Szczepankewicz, with any feedback or suggestions that you have for their shows. These broadcasts are presented and made public as entertainment in the hope that they will be entertaining to the audience.

Show Notes

“Merry Christmas from all of us here at the A Cigar Hustlers Podcast.

Today we’re re-airing one of our all-time favorite episodes — Episode 279 — where we officially introduce Karen to the engineering staff… and, unfortunately, announce that our primary engineer Phil has gone missing somewhere deep in the Nicaraguan jungle.

It’s one of those moments that perfectly captures the spirit of this show — equal parts cigars, chaos, and questionable decision-making.

We hope you’re enjoying the holiday with a good cigar, a good drink, and some time to relax. Thanks for spending a piece of Christmas Day with us — and enjoy one of our favorite episodes we’ve ever done.”*