ACHP Talking Viaje and Todays HeadLines
Episode Summary
Mike Palmer, co-host Michael Stepankevich and engineer Phil McGuffey run through a news-heavy episode of A Cigar Hustler's Podcast, mixing headline chatter with the day's cigar industry stories. The show opens with listener comments from the CH Pod Lounge, talk of the "Boycott Cigar Hustler" pre-order shirt at chpod.com, and continued fallout from the crew's recent criticism of Arturo Fuente — a topic they say they're exhausted by but can't quite drop, noting that retailers defending the brand's charitable work are missing the actual point of the criticism.
The non-cigar segment covers renewed U.S. strikes on IRGC targets in Iran and the Strait of Hormuz, the USS Abraham Lincoln's port leave in Thailand, a fatal random stabbing in Times Square that killed a Bank of America vice president, the Lindsay Clancy trial and its likely mistrial, Flock camera removals, and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson ending his roughly 10-year Under Armour partnership while retaining Project Rock with Dany Garcia (Under Armour also split with Stephen Curry).
On the cigar side, Quality Importers Trading Company is cutting prices on 40 Xikar products — an average drop of 17%, ranging from 3% to 28%, including cutters, lighters, travel cases and humidification items, with the MTX scissors falling from $71.99 to $59.99. The hosts debate whether the cut is about tariff relief, shipping rates, or Xikar losing its old lifetime-warranty customer service edge in a crowded accessory market. They also cover Viaje's new Mystery Box: ten banded 6x54 toros, some never released in any form, sorted into common, rare, rare and highly coveted tiers, wrapped in tamper-evident paper at $150 to prevent cherry-picking — a concept they call brilliant marketing. Espinosa has begun shipping the Laranja Hybrid, an Ecuadorian Habano Oscuro-wrapped blend with Nicaraguan binder and Brazilian/Nicaraguan filler, made at the La Zona factory in Estelí in a short Churchill and box-pressed toro.
The episode closes with a portal entry on Mitchell Orchant stepping back from the Dominique London management team into an ambassador role, and a round of "What's the Score?" guessing Patrick Lagreid's halfwheel review of the Viaje Honey Bale — a $11.53 smoke sold in jars — which lands at 89.
In This Episode
- 01Listener Comments & CH Pod SwagShout-outs from the CH Pod Lounge, the Boycott Cigar Hustler shirt pre-order, and an idea for an Infinity Stone-style SBC display.
- 02Fuente Backlash FalloutThe hosts revisit consumer and retailer reaction to their criticism, arguing a brand's charitable reputation doesn't excuse a bad decision.
- 03Headlines: Iran Strikes and the Strait of HormuzCENTCOM's retaliatory operation against IRGC targets, shipping and fuel-price implications, and the escalation cycle.
- 04Times Square Stabbing & the Clancy TrialA random daylight knife attack that killed a Bank of America VP, plus the likely mistrial in the Lindsay Clancy case.
- 05The Rock Exits Under ArmourProject Rock's split from Under Armour after a decade, the Stephen Curry separation, and where the brand goes next.
- 06Xikar Price ReductionsQuality Importers drops prices on 40 Xikar accessories by 3–28%, and the guys debate warranty changes and accessory competition.
- 07Viaje Mystery BoxTen banded 6x54 toros at four rarity tiers for $150, sealed to stop cherry-picking — a marketing move the hosts love.
- 08Espinosa Laranja Hybrid ShipsAn Ecuadorian Habano Oscuro-wrapped Laranja with Brazilian and Nicaraguan filler, made at La Zona in two sizes.
- 09Portal Entry & What's the ScoreMitchell Orchant moves to ambassador at Dominique London, then the crew guesses the halfwheel score for the Viaje Honey Bale.
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
Hello, peoples! I'm back! He looks like a panda. That's all, folks.
Three, get the pork, and pig, and the dog, and the lump. " Oh, yeah, I thought that. That's not the Bible Belt. Yeah, I meant to mention it.
And I was like, that's not even close. No, the belt's like in the middle. That's not, like, that's not even, I mean, you know, like, if you, directly east of Minnesota is, there's Canada at some point. Right.
You know what I mean? Like... It's way at the top. Yeah.
It would be the Bible hat. Yeah. You know what I mean? Like...
Right. That's why we have him on. Yeah, you're a gem. We cannot replace you with anything.
Yeah, there is no replacing you. I know. From cigar sports and business to pop culture and the wildest headlines, if it's worth discussing, we're gonna talk about it. No safe spaces, just real perspectives, big laughs, and chaos at any moment.
Settle in and welcome to a Cigar Hustlers Podcast. Dun, dun, dun, dun, dun. Dun, dun, dun. Yeah, it should be dun, dun, dun.
I was waiting. Something more serious. You want him serious? Yeah, dun, dun, dun.
Not, here come the three stooges. Dun, dun, dun. Sorry. Can you not do that?
On today's show, The Rock keeps on rolling. Yeah, he's a coob. Oh, he supposedly talked about us last night, but I didn't watch. He probably talks about us every night.
Oh, okay. What did he say? I didn't watch. Probably something mean.
The Rock keeps on rolling. We are in a war. We are in it again, Bank of America is hiring, is that too soon, too soon, or Joe? That one position?
Yes. I don't even know what you're talking about. All right, well, you will find out. Then cigars, we have a price decrease, a mystery cigar, a new cigar, and because it's topical, we had to pick up the portal entry, and then we hit, what's the score when today?
There's a portal entry? Yes. First, Mikey, what's the word on the street? What are people saying about us?
And tell us how to get the CH Pod swag. Dope. Like and subscribe wherever you're viewing or listening to the show. com for all your CH Pod swag where we're accepting pre-orders on the Boycott Cigar Hustler shirt.
It's up. Shout out to my man T Money for the first person to place his pre-order. Nice. There you go, T.
He's right on it. He's right on it. Nice. com, us, Cigar Hustlers Podcast.
I got a little T for you that we can discuss on the Patreon. Oh! Should be quite interesting. There's always, there's always something abound in the cigar industry.
Always. Not around us either, right? No, that doesn't involve us. No, not around us.
Well, that's what's the odd part. Yeah, this one doesn't, this one doesn't involve us. It could. Mm-hmm.
Turn me and Philly loose. Yeah, act now. Follow now, it might not be the same, once he tells us what's going on. Okay, let me get into this.
You remember back in the day, Palmer, he used to turn us loose a lot more? Yeah. What are you talking about? He's really, like, brought back the reins on us, though.
How so? How so? Oh, there's certain things we can't mention. Some things we don't talk about.
What are you talking about? I feel like as soon as I slouched down, it's me three lower. Oh, God. Here we go.
Here he's going to fall. This is supposed to be part of B-roll, but now it's part of the A-roll. Yeah, now it's part of the regular show. I'm not taking this out.
Is that better for you? Yeah, I feel like that's better. You want more nipple? A little more nip.
Less tummy. No, it wasn't the tummy at all. What happens is that like as I kind of shrink, all of a sudden it's just like just a head on the bottom of it, that looks terrible. Like the peeper.
Like the peeper? Yeah, you don't remember that cartoon back in the day? The peeper? I don't remember the peeper either.
We don't watch those cartoons. Yeah. It was a newspaper cartoon. There was film footage of the butt sniffer.
There was surveillance footage of the butt sniffer guy. I'm talking about the peeper. Well, he was a peeper too, apparently. This guy comes up with the butt sniffer.
The story from yesterday. He bends down like he's looking for something on a lower shelf and then turns his head. Oh, he watched it? Oh, he watched the surveillance footage, sure he did.
It was funny. He bends down and picks up and turns it. Oh, wow. And turns back around.
Wow. That was funny. What a dog. Yeah, he had it down to a science.
There she comes. I gotta get that toothpaste on the bottom shelf. I knew it. I wondered how he did if he just walked around bending over, but no, he was trying to be discreet.
He's got to tie a shoe. Yeah, he's got to tie a shoe right. Your shoes come untied a lot there, Tom. Yeah, they're slip-ons, that's weird.
All right, go ahead. Sorry. From the CH Pod Lounge, Michael Z says, "Triple G just sees the money flying out the door. " He knows about the new lights, unfortunately.
Yeah, we haven't figured out how to get him to pay for those. Yeah, we are actually a self-sustaining podcast at this point. I'm telling you, I'm too loud. I can hear it.
even though I've turned it down on my mic. So we do, we actually, with the fan base that we have and the products that we sell, we don't make any money realistically, personally. Because we keep buying new stuff. But we keep upgrading our stuff with it.
So he doesn't... You want me to turn it down one for you? No, it's okay. Okay.
I'm sorry, we'll just deal with it. Like, maybe I'm wrong. Like, you're confident in it being right, and I'm just gonna go with that. The level looks right.
Okay, even though they... It's the same. Yeah, our levels are the same. Yeah.
Even though you totally botched the audio... That was two episodes ago, get over it, you botched an entire week. Yeah, I don't do it every day, what's your excuse? I'm very busy doing 17 different things at one time.
Oh, you're Triple G. No, no, I don't spin around in my chair. I don't have that kind of time. Super busy Triple G over here.
By the way, I still need that email address you mentioned upstairs. Okay, I'll get right on that. All right. Get that off my plate.
Looks like the episode ones didn't populate, so. I'll have to go to YouTube. Go to YouTube. Not on our air.
No problem. Ruckus Unchained. Hi, Mom. Mickey Mom.
Mr. Sharon. Can't wait for the new SBC, the sixth Infinity Stone of the collection. We need a display.
I'm actually working on that. I haven't aggressively pursued it, but I'm working on it. If you need photos, I have all six. You do?
SBCs. Well, what I need is, I need to figure out how to create a schematic for a 3D printer. Oh. Man, if we know a guy.
I do know a guy, but it's not that easy. Right, I mean, if you've got to fit cigars in them. They have to, like, encase and close. So we'll figure it out.
I'm thinking it should just come from the bottom. You know, and just have slots. Oh. Each one could be a finger?
Each one would be a stone. Oh, but how would you see the cigar? Just see the band? No, the cigar remains inside the gauntlet.
And you would just see the band. That's dope. Something like that. @CW6383 says, The amount of joy you guys bring me is ridiculous, thank you for being a national treasure.
Half-flag for all of us when we die. Yep, you're welcome. You're welcome. Enjoy your day.
We're rolling a little early today, so that's all the comments that I have from yesterday's show. If you want to hear your comment, write aloud on the show, send me a comment below on our YouTube page or on the CH Pod Lounge. Maybe tomorrow you can read these, the ones from today. Two.
Double up a little bit? Yeah. Just so the people that commented today, they don't get lost in the shuffle. Because we recorded early.
Sometimes it happens. You know what I mean? Okay. You don't like it when I comment on everybody's stuff anyways.
When you read everybody's comment? Yeah, but now it's a thing. It's part of the show. It's where we let the word from the people.
It looks like Fuente's getting a lot of backlash from consumers from what I'm hearing. Oh, really? They're all saying we're right. we're right i don't think they're all saying we're right i think that like you were gonna split the baby on this one right you know i was thinking if i had lost somebody in that day what i i wouldn't want a cigar sitting around my house that reminds me of that maybe i don't know dude i don't know I'm like, I'm so exhausted of talking about it, that I'm just like, whatever, you know, we made our point, and uh - All right, then let's move on, not talk about it ever again.
Hmm. I can't see that not happening. That's not happening here. Because - I'm trying to work with you here.
I know. You're tired of talking about it. We won't talk about it. Well, we have to talk about it.
Okay, but we don't want to talk about it. I know. I know. I know.
Well, that's how things change around here, Bomber. yeah i know i know i understand well not my first because we got this badass pre-order for this boycott cigar house shirt right it's a good shirt you know and i don't want it to go to waste so it's a great shirt it is a great shirt yeah so um do we still have travel mugs left i saw on the site i think there might be one or two oh i didn't realize that we still have these lovely uh mugs - A bing bong. - I didn't realize we still had time. - Yeah, I think there's one or two left.
- Snap those up for Christmas. Christmas presents. - It's coming up. - Christmas season.
- You would figure that eventually someone would have to address the actual criticism. - From his organization? - Yeah. - Yeah, maybe the guy that came up with the $11 then.
Like somebody, you know what I mean? Yeah. It isn't, 'cause like, the remarks of, well, Carlito does all these amazing things and all this other stuff, like, that's irrelevant. Right, it has nothing to do with this.
Right, and that's what they're failing to, that's what all the retailers are failing to see, you know? Well, they're all going under the idea that he does all these other great things, so this is a great thing, too. Right. That's not how it works.
It doesn't work that way. No. You can miss that. Sure, you can make a mistake.
Right. Do you think he saw our video? Yeah. Yeah, I think so.
He's watching it. If you don't think... Hello, Carlito. Hello.
If you don't think it was... Shown to him... Who are these people? Oh, I'm Phil.
How are you doing? Off with their heads. Why is that strange man in a mask? Why does he not like me?
What is this? Maybe I do wear a mask. Maybe we should start wearing masks too, Michael. And then you said that Coop said something on the show?
Yeah, I mean, because somebody commented on the show that Coop blew it out of proportion or didn't get all the details right or something. And he was on last night, but I don't. I mean, I wouldn't be surprised at that. No, I wouldn't either.
No. And I'm not really that curious to look. I kind of am. Yeah, I was just about to say, there's a cat right over there.
I might come back, I might turn it on as I'm working today and listen to the four hours of droning until he mentions us. Well, you're obviously going to go on the YouTube where it has the little highlight things. Right. And you're going to try and circumvent that.
I don't think he puts up chapters. Dude, we have enough listeners, and I can think of like three or four off the top of my head. Oh, yeah. That could help you fine-tune where to look.
Hey, if somebody would find that for me, give me a timestamp. Yeah, they already know where it's at. Yeah. They'll tell you.
I don't want Facebook. Somebody to tell me. Find the Cigarist. No, I just want to watch this.
'Cause this won't go out 'til tomorrow. I want it today. Oh, then, no, we got stuff to do. Just throw it out there and wait.
I told you, I told you, Mikey, that's the cat right over there. I know, just be patient. Just killin' 'em. Like, honestly, who cares?
I have to know. Okay. Well, is that it? I think so.
Let's get on. My phone is blowing up right now. Is it Carlito? No.
Oh. Is it all the reps? Chris Weiss? Skip Martin?
Yep. Comment it on my photo. Who knows which one it is? Where's the Patreon?
Could be me. That would be Skip. He will text me at four o'clock in the morning tomorrow. All right, on with the news.
We're back in the war. Of course. This was a broad retaliatory operation, not the one isolated strike. S.
troops. So they attempted to attack us, so we retaliated, and we did attack them - Israeli something, Guard. The target list reveals the mission's purpose. Air defense sites, radar systems, maritime facilities, communication sites, and mine lane capabilities were all attacked.
With planes, we hit all these things. Yeah. We didn't just shoot rockets from far away, we sent planes. Hmm.
Uh, Iran could use to threaten aircraft and ships, all that stuff that they could shoot, and we know they can shoot them. Okay. And you're all done. Thank you for coming to the show, I appreciate it.
What's wrong with my microphone? Oh, there's the hand. I'm not, I'm not loud enough? Please excuse the hand.
Thank you, Thing. So it's the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Thank you. The straight of our moves remains the center of the confrontation.
You know, we have guys just swimming around and they're finding mines. They're just swimming. Supposedly, yeah. I saw a picture.
Oh, really? Yeah. Was it the butt sniffer? No.
Oh. No, he's in jail again for 90 to 105 days. Maybe he can sniff out the mines. Cleaning out his nose.
He's a big affering guy. He's getting all cleaned out when he's in there. Big affering. Getting everything all ready.
I get released again in 82 days. You don't hear you pop? You don't hear you pop when you talk sometimes? No.
Really? Yeah. Maybe it's just my headphones. Maybe.
Oh, there's a pop. That was it. Disrupting shipping through this narrow passage could affect worldwide energy supplies, transportation costs, and eventually, what we pay at the pump. It's already affecting that.
Yeah, but it could go up higher. More? Where's all this oil reserves they keep talking about that we're having and using? Why are the prices going up?
I have no idea. And I thought we just stole a bunch of oil, I mean, bought or took or was given from Venezuela. Procured. We're gonna give it back eventually.
Oh. Yeah. And we're getting a bunch of beef from there, too? There's a beef shortage?
Do we have a beef shortage? Everything's great. Beef shortage? I got three packages of teriyaki jerky around my truck.
There's no shortage. Well, that's old meat. That's why it's jerky. You got it from the Bible Belt, straight of Hormuz.
Right, straight from the Bible Belt. Yeah, from the Bible Belt. Straight from DePaul, Minnesota. Yeah, DePaul, Minnesota, also the Bible Belt.
Where the floods are. Right from Mr. Maduro. Where the floods are.
Straight of Hormuz. We're taking out radar that could temporarily blind Iran's maritime operations, and they can't see us now. Can't see us. Yeah.
Can't see us. We're all just rolling and doing this. Oh, we're doing John Cena? We're doing John Cena over there, and they can't see us anywhere.
And his name is John Cena. Iran still has small boats, drones, and other surveillance options, but no more big stuff. We got all the big stuff. So when do you think this is gonna be over?
You ever think this is gonna be over? I don't, listen, I don't believe any of this anymore. Why don't you believe? I don't believe.
I saw footage. I just don't believe the news. I don't believe that, you know, one half is saying we're winning, the other half is saying they're winning. Who says they're winning?
Them? Yeah. Oh, well, I mean, they're not going to say, "Oh, we're losing now. " And do you think that, like, we're going to say we're losing now?
We're not losing. Yeah. How could we be losing? They didn't have to blow up boats.
I'll believe it's over when I hear it's over and we're running things. Well, it's been over three times. That's what I'm saying. That's what I'm saying.
Oh. If we were losing, MSNBC would have it on there right away. You think so? Yeah.
I don't know. There's a couple of them that'd be like, "Oh, yeah, this was a horrible idea. We told you we're losing. " I don't know.
The main subject right now that I'm seeing is that USS Abraham Lincoln is now in Indonesia. Well, they went to Thailand for leave. Oh, that's it. Thailand.
Right. Oh, I'm only seeing that. " 500 naval servicemen are being released on the island. It's 5,000.
Oh, 5,000. Sorry. I knew there was a five. It's 5,000.
That island's not that big. We're going to go spread our seed. Yeah, there's going to be a lot of Americans. They're going to hump everything on that island.
Our American seed. They've been locked up for almost a year on that ship. They're going to step on the land and just going to start... It's erupting.
All the coconuts are not safe. All the coconuts are safe. Coconuts, coconut trees. Whatever, man.
Let them have their fun. Right, I mean, come on, we'll pay, I mean, we'll pay the money. Oh, my wife's calling. Oh, of course she is, we're doing the podcast.
Hi, you're on the podcast. Hi. Okay, goodbye. Phil's here, Phil's here.
Phil's here, Phil's here. Amazing. It's like she has radar. Well, you should take, maybe you should take it out, so that way she can't see when you're doing it.
Right, cover up the camera on your phone. That's what she can't, though we're doing the thing. Yeah, that goes over well. So I thought it was the Strait of America, I thought it got renamed.
No, no, it's the Lake of America, Lake-merica or whatever it is. Lake Ontario is now Lake of America or something. Oh yeah, he did that too? Oh yeah, he did that the other day.
The Florida school system has adopted it, there are no more Lake Ontario. Really? Yeah, Lake of America. We had the Lake of America at the top, Gulf of America at the bottom.
We're all locked up now. This is amazing. Wait until he changes the Pacific Ocean to America Ocean. America Ocean?
Surrounded by America. Surrounded by America. Let's see, the biggest concern now is the retaliation cycle. Iran responds with missiles and drones aimed toward American positions and regional allies, increasing the possibility that one successful strike or miscalculation could widen the conflict.
Was that the Jeopardy beat? Yes. Why are they... I don't understand this at all.
Well, we shoot them, then they shoot us. and then we shoot them again, then they shoot us and then we go, oh, it's a piece we're not already shooting. Three days later we shoot them again, they shoot us again. Okay.
And round and round we go. Round and round we go. Round and round we go. Eventually they gotta have nothing left to shoot at us.
You think so? You think they would run out? We can bring more stuff. Aren't they backed by China or whatever?
Well, they're all backed by us. Not really. Ammunition. But yes they are.
Yeah, they're probably shooting missiles we sold them when the Iran-Contra thing was going on. Hey, are you guys out yet? We'll send over to Bobby. We got to keep this going.
Yeah. We're doing really good in the numbers back in America. Oh, my God. Okay.
Ah, well, then there's American, do we have, yeah, we have had casualties and deaths in a much larger regional war. All right. So, the fact is, we're at war again. So, to update us?
To update us, war on, war is not off. Nothing has really changed? Nothing has changed except we're winning again. We're winning again.
We're always winning. Allegedly. America. Abraham Lincoln is spreading their seed down in Thailand.
Yeah. When we won that Vietnam War, what are we talking about? We didn't win that. Who said?
America. It depends on who you ask. We didn't win that. That was a mistake.
I was in England one time and they were saying how we haven't won any wars. I know you told me this. How about the American Revolution. We won that first one.
We won that first one. Yeah, how did we leave here? We won that. How come you're not allowed back in here?
You guys haven't won any wars. Listen, it's the greatest country in the world. Sure it is. Never been attacked since that one time.
Then out comes Washington. Never been to what? We've never been attacked on our soil except that one time. Pearl Harbor.
Oh, yeah? Yeah. 9/11? Yeah, but that wasn't army people.
That wasn't an invasion. that was a terrorist attack. That's different. Oh, that's different?
It's qualified in a different category. He's saying that there's never been a war on American soil. There was actually another attack in Alaska. When was there an attack in Alaska?
Did I miss something? Was it recent? No. I wouldn't attack Alaska.
Those guys know what they're doing up there. There was an attack in Alaska. Was it in the middle of nowhere and nobody really heard about it? Nobody knew except you?
It was right next to the Bible Belt. Oh. Oh. With the polar bears.
Yeah. Yeah, with the polar bears in Alaska. Yeah. And the penguins.
Nice. All right, The Rock and Under Armour are ending their relationship. What? Oh, I heard about this.
I knew you'd be terribly upset. Their partnership after roughly 10 years is over. Mmm. Awesome.
What are you doing? Japanese forces attacked and occupied parts of Alaska during World War II. What? Boom shakalaka.
That's fake. Okay. How would they get way up there? It's right next to them, to the left.
It is not. Like it's right there. Yeah. They could throw a rock and hit us from a moment.
They take that invisible land bridge that's over there? That's part of Russia! Hold on. Let me get into this.
We could do a whole series on Phil's accounts of history. At their closest geographic points, Alaska and Japan are about 1,380 miles apart. - Oh, that's it? - That's a long way.
It's all water. - That's Florida, New York. - That's where Alcatraz is, you know, you're in the harbor. - The flight distance from Anchorage to Tokyo is about 3,500 miles.
- How come it's further by air? It seems odd. - No, it's just, it's just saying like... - We gotta go up.
- We gotta go around. - Like, you know, main city, main city. - Oh, city to city, gotcha. - Yeah.
Yeah, we're not landing the shrubs, you know what I mean? You could. They're one of those seaplanes. How fast and far can a ninja fly?
I want to be ninja. Fifteen hundred miles, here I go. Fifteen hundred miles, they run in those little booties. Oh, Shinobi, you're here so quick.
Shinobi? Shinobi? I don't know, is that like... It was a video game, but...
Is he saying the word wrong? No, it was a video game. You don't remember Shinobi? Yeah.
Is that the way you threw the stars? I remember Ninja Gaiden. Oh, Ninja Gaiden, too. Yeah, that was a good one.
Oh. All right, Under Armour describes the split as a natural conclusion to their business. Yeah. You never go into business assuming you're going to end.
I think the, yeah, no, it's got to come to an end at some point. Yeah, there was that one in Coming to America, remember? What was he talking about now? He was going out of business.
McDowell's? Yeah. No, no, no. McDougal's.
The other one, he's like, I'm going out of business. Everything half off. It's good for business? Yeah, I remember he's going out of business.
How long have you been going out of business? That was not coming to America. Oh, what was that? That was Remember the Zohan.
Oh, yeah. That was, yeah. Wow, not even the right race. Yeah.
That's totally wrong. Same city. He's so far off. He was so far off.
I'm smoking this, by the way. Delicious. Oh, Padau. Oh.
And me too. Padau. And me too. So there's none left.
There's none left. She's asking this wasn't an ugly corporate breakup. The Rock isn't losing Project Rock. He and long-time business partner Danny Garcia, was he in wrestling?
She. Oh, is it a she? It's his ex-wife. Oh, ex-wife.
Yeah. Retained ownership of the trademark and are reportedly searching for a new manufacturing partner. - Right. - Right here, Rock.
We will make your stuff for you. - And make your shoes? - I know peoples. - Yeah?
- Project Rock became a full-training brand under Under Armour, - Under Under Armour. - Mm-hmm. - Producing clothing, accessories, and eight signature sneakers. How many of them do you have?
- Zero. - You don't have any Rock shoes? - No. - Why not?
- I don't know. I don't wear-- - Sounds like you would have Rock shoes. You like the Rock. - I do like the Rock.
- Do you have any of the clothing? - No. - Not a piece? - He's talked about this before.
No, I don't. I know, but I don't remember. Bring it up because we're talking about the story. Why not?
I don't know. Would you like some? No. I see gifty ideas.
My wife bought me some. " Yeah, because you would think you would like it. I'm not wearing it. Aww.
It's just weird. I don't know. Why is it weird? I don't need to wear another man's name on my shirt.
Would you wear a Wu-Tang shirt? I have Powstanie on my shirt. That's another man. Yeah, you're closely affiliated to that brand.
That's not... Oh, not the same thing, huh? Yeah. Hmm.
Would you wear a Wu-Tang shirt with all their faces on it? With all their faces? Yeah. That seems weird.
Ghostface killer right up front? When you have to... Ghost killer. No?
More of a RZA guy. Would you wear a Tupac shirt? No. I had a Biggie shirt.
Tupac has been revenged? I had a cool Biggie shirt and I struggled to wear that. Why? It's weird.
I don't know. Do you wear like Polo or Izod shirts? Because... Well, I mean, I could.
He could. I don't think he has those. I'm not against that. No, he doesn't have collared shirts, I understand, but I was trying to think of brands.
I got a couple of them, but they're blank. Right, no names. I represent my own brands. You know?
I'm wearing, listen, if you're trying to poke a hole. I've seen you. I'm not poking a hole. I'm just curious why, I mean, you're a fan of the man.
Why wouldn't you wear his stuff? I'm wearing Kobe's. I don't know, because fat people wear rock stuff. Rents do.
You know what I mean? Is that what it is? Like, you're going to see it at the gym all the time. You know?
Rents do. I'm like, bro, you just showed up, you don't put in the work, the shirt doesn't make you, you know what I mean? And I don't need the shirt to feel validated, I know I put in the fucking work. Right.
But I have seen him before wear a shirt with another man's face on it. Who is it? Greg's. BDP.
Superstar. Yeah, BDP. Yeah, because I'm fans of you guys. Oh, no.
You're a fan of The Rock. Would you wear a Rock shirt? No. With his face?
" Wow. You smell what the Rock's cooking? Yeah, you smell what the Rock's cooking. There could have been so many other things you could have said, Palmer.
I was shortening it for the shirt. It was just a small shirt. No. I wouldn't.
No. Huh. We need a shirt with you on it. Why?
Because people are asking. They want one. No, they're not. They want one for the king.
Tell me who's asking. CCW686. You just lied. You just lied.
Hoffman. Hoffman. David Hasselhoffman. And T-Money.
T-Money. And Ruckus Unchained. Ruckus Unchained. She wants one.
Yeah, your mom. But she wants one. She's got the superstar one. Oh, and Skip too.
Skip. Well, the next one... Yeah, why aren't you buying our clothes? He didn't have one BDP shirt on the whole week I was there.
Oh, he's so hurt. I'm not a fan. He wants the Neesafina shirt. Twice.
Was he wearing an Alcatraz shirt? Yeah, that was probably given to him. Well, oh, so we have to give him a shirt? You have to gift him.
Oh. Well, let's gift him a BDP shirt. I can do that. Is that what you want me to do?
Yeah, it is what he wants you to do. No. When the new cigar, maybe when the new cigar drops, 'cause then it's the thing that he made, he'll like that. Okay, 'cause you're gonna open up that whole can of worms, right?
Why? That he wants another free shirt? Well, you can't just feed one kid. Oh, well, I mean...
You gotta feed all the kids. Rosales isn't gonna wear a shirt. He's a very upscale dressed man. You better include him.
Just put a collar on him. We'll send him a sticker. You're not gonna not include my guy. And I got news for you.
You better include Jamie. Oh, Jamie would wear one. Yeah. And then at that point...
What about Alex? And then at that point, you better acknowledge Jason. We don't have Smalls. Right?
We don't have toddler size? We don't have toddler size for Jason. And then he's right, you know what, you better hook up your boy Alex. Yeah, Alex.
He has, he wears one certain style. Oh, yeah? He just wears button-down black shirt. Well, you can put a little BDP around the side.
He wears like that? No, no, no, short sleeve. That's what he wears? Like a linen-looking short sleeve shirt.
Oh, it's flowy. Yeah. We should make him a special one. Oh.
All right, never mind, now it's got very expensive. See that? Just like that. Just like that.
just like that i still get lower i'm still lower you're sliding more we can't adjust i don't know what happens like i just kind of chill keep your feet flat or something i don't like that i like to be like chill well then just just go all the way down rest your head on the back we'll put the camera up shooting down yeah like uh that's like a fat girl picture He's full of it today, isn't he? Now you're making me want to set up one. I don't want a fat girl picture. Something just went out.
Oh yeah? Mine's working fine. No, yours is working fine. It must be my headphone.
Yeah, you're still good. All right. Under the laser, under the laser. So what's the other stories that you have?
I know we've kind of gone off and left the film. Oh my lord. Yeah, so like, I don't know, I love The Rock. I'm a big Rock fan.
I am. All right. I don't wear shoes, and you know what? I think Under Armour wasn't the best fit.
I mean, it was a good fit at the time for him, because he helped build the brand, but realistically, Under Armour, they seem messy to me. Who do you think is better? Somebody else just left too, some other basketball player. Steph Curry.
Steph? I don't know. There was a name, but I didn't pull it. I actually do have a pair of the Steph shoes somebody got me.
And he's teamed up with this Chinese manufacturer, so it must be a cost thing with it. Yeah, it's Steph Curry. Well, they're paying them more. It's like lightning or something.
Or he's going to make his own or whatever, you know what I mean? That is one of the possibilities here that he may be going off on his own to do his own stuff. Okay. He's a legend.
Dude, Under Armour can never even get the shirts right for the flag football teams. Oh, for you guys? Yeah, it's like they place the orders and like, even when we went to the tournament, it's like, well, We don't have sizes. I'm like, what?
Everybody's, all kids are in XLs. I'm like, but you're a shirt manufacturing company. Like, you're sponsored... How do you not have shirts?
Like, what are we doing? Did they do, you said they sponsored, do the shirts for free? No, no, Under Armour doesn't do anything for free. Gotcha.
Yeah, they're like the, never mind, never mind. You're just buying them from them. Yeah, don't ruin that connection. Well, it comes with the registration.
Like, you pay for the registration and it covers the cost. It covers the cost of the shirt. It's included in. Yeah.
Oh, nice. all right under armor will continue selling the products uh through october 2026 this appears to be part of an under armor's larger reset the company says it wants to simplify its business and concentrate on its core brand and it's also separated from stephen curry curry's brand in november of 20 stephen s-t-e-p-h-e-n it's because it's because he knows me stephen curry must be the big question is where project rock goes next does rock does uh johnson sign with nike adidas or or another major manufacturer, or use his celebrity power to turn Project Rock into a completely independent company. Nike. He's going to go independent.
Johnson tees new North Stars and new partners so the brand clearly isn't finished. Okay. Slow news, Dick. I like that news.
That was good coverage. Something fun to talk about. There was a lot of stuff that happened. Not really interesting for the show, though.
The whole verdict with Tupac. We covered that yesterday. We covered that yesterday. Oh.
What about the stabbing and then the other girl? Oh, you mean the stabbing in Times Square? Yeah. Where Monday, a random daylight attack, police say 49-year-old Pamela Cicero pulled two large kitchen knives from a shopping bag and attacked two strangers near West 42nd Street.
Did you see the video? Yes. No. It's this heavyset Chinese lady?
Yes. And she pulls out these steak knives and starts going like this? She didn't do it so ninja-like like that, but... Yeah, she was, she was doing that.
And then the police come up and she's poking at people. Oh, they, oh, they shot her. Yeah, then they shot her. Immediately.
Immediately. Two victims within seconds she stabbed. Cicero's allegedly stabbed a 68-year-old Rhode Island man in the abdomen, moments after, moments after he exited the subway, and then stabbed 32-year-old Aaron Pacente, who was a vice president, what are you moving now? Well, you keep your- I didn't touch the microphone.
Oh, there's the hand. Oh, there's Thing. Thank you, Thing. Continue.
She was the- Oh, that's much better. She was the Vice President of Bank of America. She was the Vice President? She killed her.
Well, she's dead. She had the knives? No, no. No, no.
The girl that stabbed her. She stabbed- The Chinese lady stabbed two guys, two people. She stabbed the guy getting off the subway in the tummy. Yeah.
He didn't die. And then stabbed this lady. She died. Holy moly.
Yeah. Both attacks as random and unprovoked, the young professional lost her life. Placenta was a Bank of America vice president and Fordham Law graduate. She later died at Bellevue Hospital while the male victim survived and has been reportedly been released.
Police used deadly force, which means they shot her. Yeah. Officers confronted her near the Times Square police substation and repeatedly ordered her They called her to drop the knives after two taser attempts failed, and she advanced while threatening officers. Two officers opened fire, killing her.
I didn't see any tasers pulled out. Did you? I did. Yeah, it looks like one, they shot and stabbed her, or not stabbed her, they hit her and she fell down and dropped one of the knives, but then she must have got right back up and then got shot.
You know what's crazy is like back in the day, like 20 years ago, they would have never showed this lady being shot on TV like this. well it's on i mean well they showed her being tased they didn't actually show the bullet oh i saw her i heard it all right bang bang and she dropped did you hear that we're reducing our flocker cameras already they're all being they're all being removed not all of them but the ones that are on state roads are being oh is that what it is yeah i don't even understand what they are the facial recognition or something they can track your license plates or something why are they taking them down why are people burning them everywhere because they feel like Do you feel like it's an invasion of privacy? Well, the problem is that they're just not secured. What do you mean?
That's the argument. Oh, that's right. People were using, like that one lady was using them to track her boyfriend's ex-wife or something. Yeah, and then also they've actually had some hacking stuff going on for the information.
Really? Yeah, it's just not, like, whatever company came out with it, their firewalls or whatever just aren't good, I guess. You know, you're pretty convincing. I just never know if I believe you or not.
you or not i know that you believe you but it sounds reasonable it does that's the problem you know i mean this time around yeah you know but never trust a porky pig deadpool right you know what i'm saying that's what they say that's what yeah that is the rule that's the term yeah what about the um oh no we just talked about what what about the other court case with the lady Oh, this is gonna end in a mistrial. That's what, yeah, that's what they said. They said they couldn't reach a verdict. There's somebody saying, somebody sticking to their guns saying that, you know, it's murder and whatever.
Well, yeah, from what I read yesterday, they're trying to decide, I mean, she's already admitted to it, so it's either murder one, murder two, or... Mental Institute. Yeah, manslaughter. So it's either she...
No, no, no, no, no, no. No, no, you're mixing this up. Yeah. I?
Yeah, you are. You are. Okay. Well, explain it.
Proceed. Proceed. The main argument is, should she go to jail or should she go to a mental institute? That's what the manslaughter charge would put her in a mental institution.
I don't think so. I think that the... That's what I read yesterday. Where'd you read that?
On the internet. Where else do we read anything? Well, he said her lawyer did say if this ends in a mistrial, that they're gonna do a plea deal. Okay, keep talking.
Yeah, 'cause I guess she doesn't feel confident enough to go through a trial again or something like that, I guess, 'cause of her psychological... I love her attorney. He's pretty cool. He's as cool as a cucumber.
He's a cucumber. Yeah, he's pretty cool. Urana? My wife is dead set that she's innocent and she didn't even do it.
Oh, she thinks that the husband did it? Yeah. I was like, how does that work? Well, you guys saw, there was just another guy.
Oh, man. Give me AI mode. That, like, strangled his five children. Look, no.
Oh, you think he did it? Does a manslaughter end in her going to a mental institute? No. A manslaughter conviction for Lindsey Clancy would result in a prison sentence rather than a commitment to a mental health institute.
So I don't know. Well, then maybe there's four. I don't know what Babylon news you're looking at, but no. Maybe your guy's wrong.
My guy's not wrong, because my guy is my wife, and she's all about this. She's watched. So you just texted and texted your wife? No, I added to confirm.
Oh, gotcha. So no. Yeah, that's what they're trying to argue. Well, I know they're trying to argue, right.
I mean, the fact that she did it or not is not in question. Yeah. It's what they do with her now. Well, it's a question of, was she over-medicated?
Was she misdiagnosed? And if you listen to some of these, if you listen to the trial, you're like, some of those therapists, or whatever the hell you want to call them, I'm like, man, you should not have a job. One of them lost their jobs. As soon as he got off, apparently, when he got back after his court hearing, he was asked to no longer be a part of the...
Oh, that's good. Look, if that doesn't show you that things are messed up, you know what I mean? Well, the lady in New York stabbing people, she had already been diagnosis crazy, and she was out on the street with steak knives. Well, she's in New York.
I mean, they give her the knives after she leaves the... Yeah, that's what happens, that's what I heard. Thank you for coming in, help yourself to some knives as you leave the office. You know, we've deemed you schizophrenic, and just grab your weapon as you leave.
Your weapon of choice, we have steak knives, swords, bazookas, and firearms. Hey, you're not allowed to go to a Gurkha event, no more. No more Gurkha. Well, we have a huge Drew Estate knife event coming up here.
Oh. We do. Still no details, nobody knows anything about it, just we're having it, we're having it though, it's here. It's happening.
Very excited. Yes. Okay. All right.
What else you got? Now we're into cigars. Perfect. Oh, good.
Quality Importers Trading Company is lowering the prices on 40 Zycar products. Oh. Wow. I was waiting on some type of response.
You say four of these or 40? 40. If you're looking for some new cigar accessories, Quality Importers Trading Company has some good news for you. I wonder why you think that's happening.
I don't think that's happening. As the company is reducing their prices on 40 Zykar products. Overstock? I don't think it's overstock.
Tariff reduction? I mean, overstock can be part of it. Right. Maybe they change production?
No, I think that the competition is now extremely vast, right? A lot of people like Weissel now making stuff too. Like, Zykar used to exist on this lifetime warranty. Right.
And it was awesome. It was great. You know, lighter broken, get rid of lighter, new lighter. New lighter.
Right. Right. Well, I believe that they've walked that back. Yeah, now it's not, no.
You know, so. Or it's not as easy to replace. Right. I mean, dude, you know, we used to have this guy, he was amazing.
His name was Nelson. Yeah. He was the Xikar guy. The guy was a stud, right?
And if you had an issue with the lighter, if he had the lighter, and if he had something right, pfff, here you go. Swap it right on, I'll take care of it. - Yeah. - Yeah.
- Yeah. - I feel like it's intentionally designed to discourage you. - Oh, sure. It's going to make it less easy.
- Yeah. - Yeah. - Yeah. - Yeah.
- Yeah. - Yeah. - Yeah. - Yeah.
- Yeah. - Yeah. - Yeah. - Yeah.
- Yeah. - Yeah. - Yeah. - Yeah.
- Yeah. - Yeah. - Yeah. - Yeah.
- Yeah. - I feel like it's intentionally designed to discourage you. - Oh, sure. easy so that's fine right but you know now that your customer service is no longer part of that factor you're only competing on price point i got a i got a lighter um for like 15 bucks or something oh and you know it's not perfect but i'm like it works yeah yeah serves its purpose company reached out to me and said hey go buy this and i'll give you cash and you review it i said no problem oh That's what I'm using right now.
Oh, they recently? I just got this the other day. See, there you go. Mine's very similar to that.
Is it? Yeah. Oh, that's nice. Yeah.
I got this cool thing that Bic fits in. And it torches? No, it doesn't torch, but it makes the Bic indestructible, and has a bottle opener on it, and it's watertight, and it's got a lanyard it hangs from. That's cool.
I like the torch ones that McTavish talks about. Yeah, I've got one of those. Yeah. Did you bring it to Nika?
Uh, no. Why not? Why not? Because it looks like a gun.
That would have been the end. " What do you mean they're drugs? Greg, they only think you're bringing drugs. Look how you're dressed.
Right, yeah, look at you. Look at me. I'm not getting sick for drugs. I look like the grandpa.
That's right. For those toys for the kids. Xenomorph, Xenomorph grandpa. Xenomorph, right.
Because your head's so long. Over the last several years, many factors went in the global supply chain, coupled with layers of tariffs, forced costs up, which ultimately put pressure on wholesale and retail prices, said Marilyn Flores Giordano, president and CEO of Quality Importers Via Press Release. We are passionate about our business and the people we serve, so our challenge was to find new ways to keep the line profitable and affordable. Sorry, I put that word in, too.
To address that challenge, Flores said that the company sought to create new efficiencies and cost saving throughout the entire supply chain. So they're making them cheaper? Is that what he's saying? I mean...
Cut corners, save money? I don't know, like... Sounded like it. I don't think that that's the case.
I don't think that's the case. I think that they've always been, you know, economically affordable to make. You know what I mean? Mike, what a nice way to say that.
Yeah, what a nice way. I wonder where he was going. You know what I mean? Like, I don't think that...
Well, they have found a way to save money. Okay. That's what they're saying. That's good.
We're going to Under Armour, baby. We heard they're opened up. We heard they're opened up. See, the return to stable and lower global shipping rates and the recent tariff reductions have also helped.
Today, we are thrilled to be in a position to pass on the benefits of our team's work to the devoted fans of Zykar Cigars. 99, yeah, but they're not the same, oh, they used to be stout, like these you're talking about, I still have a, I have my, these, I'm gonna tell you right now, look, check this out, These right here? The Roma ones? Did it say Roma?
You see the badge? Check that out. Look at the badge. Come on, focus.
There you go. These are awesome. The butane has been reduced. Yeah.
And they don't make them like these anymore. No, I have a pair of those. That's what's in my little leather pouchy. I love those.
Decrease goes into an effect today. The full list of products getting in price decreases below. I didn't copy it. We're not reading out a long list.
Okay. All right. Oh. Viaje is putting on new boxes of cigars.
Is this the mystery thing? It's a mystery box. You don't know what's in it. I know.
I don't know if I got the email for that or not. So I got to get those. Viaje has a new project coming to retail stores this week and it's full of mystery. it's called the mystery box and inside are 10 cigars all six by 54 toros as for what those cigars are the company says they are not saying size and shape that have been released before and exclusively to the box additionally some of the cigars have never been released in any form so they might be the ones we didn't like via social media the company did say that every cigar The car will be banded so that the consumer knows what they are smoking.
There's also four levels of uniqueness when inside the mystery box, with the company calling them common, rare, rare, what, now I do two rares? Common, rare, rare, and highly coveted. Oh, god, it sounds like Fortnite. Each box comes wrapped in a tamper-evident paper as the company intended them to be sold intact and want to prevent people from cherry-picking through the releases.
Sold as solid boxes only, no singles. Yeah, you gotta buy 10 boxes at a time. Each box has been MSRP of? Anyone?
150 bucks. You already knew. 150 bucks. Yeah, it's $150.
Oh, we both won. As of many of its releases, the company is not disclosing how many boxes are available, such as how many boxes are being produced, or even how many of each level. Oh, there's different levels of boxes. This shit is brilliant.
It is. This shit is so brilliant. Because people are going to jump all over this, and it's so simple, and you know, the whole allure of what is it. What is it, right.
Let me open and see inside. No, you can't. Drink more Ovaltine. Like, and it works.
Right. It works. Dude, my kid bought-- Secret Decoderine. My kid went, we were at the Minnesota State Fair, and there was, you know, mystery packs of signed auto football players from Minnesota teams, And basketball from the Timberwolves, like $15 bucks, and I'm like, I mean, buy 'em if you want, kid, but like, I don't know.
- Don't know who you're gonna get. - Yeah, he's like, oh, yeah, so he buys 'em. - Could get the trainer. - I have no idea who the hell these people are.
- Oh, gotcha, right. - He's like, check out this, I go, who's that? He goes, I don't know, I'm like, okay. - I don't know, but he looks cool.
- I'm like, okay, yeah. - So these are the cards they couldn't move. - Yeah, yeah, and then they'll put like one decent, one in the whole so you don't feel ripped off yeah so like somebody gets something good right it's a great idea yeah and it works we should do it with all the segundos upstairs they're mysteries mystery cigars or all the we'll take the bands off all the ones that the reps leave what could it be what could it be you never know could be an espinosa could be a bi bi doesn't It doesn't give us samples. Oh, that's true.
Speaking of Espinosa, they have begun shipping the Laranja Hybrid. Ooh. Espinosa Premium Cigars has begun shipping its new Laranja Hybrid line. Why didn't they just call it, like, Amarillo or some shit?
Because it's a hybrid. Yeah, but it's an orange hybrid. No, it's green. But it's called Laranja.
Yes, the Laranja. And it's green? It's green. It's got a green band.
The new blend uses an Ecuadorian Habano Oscuro wrapper and a Nicaraguan binder and Brazilian and Nicaraguan tobacco in the filler. It's offered in two sizes: a short Churchill and a box-pressed Toro, both of which are made at the Lazona Cigar Factory in Esteli. Known for incorporating Brazilian tobaccos into a balanced, flavor-forward profile... It's made in Lazona?
That's what I said. Wow. That's cool. They don't make a lot of stuff in Lozona.
They make this. I've had one. It's good. It sounds good.
Ecuadorian Habano Escudo is usually very good. "La Rangeline has become one of the company's most recognized brands and hybrid expands the identity with a new blend designed to evolve the series without losing what made it work in the first place," the company said in the press release. The original La Ranja line debuted in 2014. It became known for its bright orange bands and its orange-hued Brazilian rappers.
In 2019, the company released the La Ranja Reserva Escuro. La Ranja? Yes. Would you stop correcting me every time I talk?
No. By the way, there's ash on your shirt. Which offers a full-bodied, fuller-flavored profile. Thank you.
You're a sweet man. There wasn't any, really. I just wanted to see you. I just wanted to see you.
You have ash on your shirt, too, Palmer. Oh, I do. It's like a bird. It's like a moth.
I've been attacked by a bug. All right, now we have a portal entry. Oh! Mitchell, or Chant, he's exiting the Dominique London management team.
The what? Dominique London management team. I don't know what the hell it is. I don't know what the hell it is.
Is it a cigar brew? It was a half-wheel thing. Gars Limited. Gars Limited, is transitioning to a new role of ambassador.
Nice way of saying he's leaving. It's like what you do with your old people. He is an older man. Ending his active role in the business, prior to Dominique London, Orchant built his cigars, limited to the largest cigar specialty retailer in the United Kingdom, with around a dozen storefronts and online business, distribution services, and semi-annual vintage cigar auctions.
We should do a press release of you leaving. I'm not leaving. Yeah, but we don't have to tell them that. Oh.
We could just do like a whole press leave, you know, Mike Palmer exits Poshick distribution. And remains an ambassador. No, no, no, we just leave it up in the air. Oh.
You know, after X amount of years of whatever. Two and a half. Palmer is now leaving Poshick distribution, seeking other opportunities elsewhere. And then like six months later, we say, Mike Palmer re-signs with Poshick.
right so i found no other option elsewhere no i was it looks bad for me i mean that wasn't what i was gonna say but okay he left tried to find something good and so he took him back a new deal has been struck oh you know i don't like this idea no sounded like a firing at first but yeah it did it's like he's uh finding an easy way to get rid of me it'd be so funny i want to if i wanted to fire you and just fire you i would never fire you on the air you'd have to do it on the air you have to do it on the air i'd have to do it on the air and this And this is the end of Cigar House's podcast. Yeah, and then the podcast is over. That's not true. This has been a final episode.
I got news for you. I think that we could fire you. You'd still show up the next day. I'm like, where are we?
No. Yeah, where are you going? I'd be gone for a week, maybe. He'd revolt for a week.
Five days. He also added his own brand, Inca. I don't know what this is. Yeah, nobody cares.
Inca like the Indians? Yeah, but it was a portal entry. I didn't want to miss it. Your mic eventually rolled back to outside of your shirt.
Maybe it's the, 'cause you moved it up so high. What if I button this one in and it'll stay flat? No, your pacemaker went off, so it kind of moved it. That'll stay flat.
There you go. 'Cause you kept moving it up so high. I know, because you sounded so far away. Alright, hold on, he's got a press release, he's delighted to be the ambassador, continue success.
They have 30 stores in seven different countries. Can't wait. He's been part of the business, but now we don't need him no more. Nobody cares, man.
I gotta get through the story. I know, I'm just saying, dude. Dude. Is this the Jay London guy?
I don't think I've really, I gotta be honest, I don't think I've attacked you a single time in this entire episode. You've corrected my grammar 17 times. Yeah. Not my grammar, pronunciation.
In a jovial manner, and like, you are very defensive at everything that I say. Like, I'm finishing it. I'm like, okay. I don't care anymore.
It's over! We still look. Oop, gotcha! Now it's time for the industry's favorite game!
What's the score? Can you predict a cigar's score from a half-wheel review before it's revealed? Of course. We'll give you clues.
You make the guess. As the review unfolds, the answer gets closer. Or does it? Excuse me.
Old man dying. The closest guess wins. The tuberculosis is getting to him. Let's play, What's the Score?
Dun, dun, dun. Oh, sorry. Do you want to dun, dun, dun? Let's play, What's the Score?
Dun, dun, dun. Thank you. August 29th, 2026, Patrick LaGreed is the reviewer. Oh.
It is the Viaje, Viaje Honey Bale. Honey Bale? That's what it says. 2022.
No. 29, 2026. It's a new release. We talked about it several weeks ago.
It comes in a jar, tastes like honey. Oh. Well, a clear jar, more of a plexiglass container, but. 86.
I think this guy likes Viaje. I'm gonna go 89. Cigar reviewed as the Viaje Honey Bale, country of origin. Undisclosed.
Nicaragua. Oh! Factory, undisclosed. Undisclosed.
Wrapper, undisclosed. Finder, undisclosed. Filler, undisclosed. Length.
Undisclosed. We're not telling you the length either. Figure it out. 53.
A jar of $30, $346. Whoa. Wow. They smoked.
Oh, number of cigars released? They're not saying that either. They smoked free. 86.
89. Clue number one. Here we go. The smoky honey sweetness, thick creaminess, and classic black pepper worked together nicely, creating an enjoyable medium-to-full flavor profile without becoming overpowered.
Ok, got it, got it, got it, got it. 88. 89. Clue number two, construction was generally very good.
Generally. Delivering solid smoke production, mostly reliable combustion, and excellent pepper-driven retro hails throughout the experience. 88. 89.
Clue number three, the final third became noticeably rough and cough-inducing. Wow. While the firmer draws and late combustion issues kept the cigar from finishing as strongly as it started. Eighty six.
Eighty seven. Final thought, the Viaje Honey Bale is a solid cigar offering full, rich flavor from start to finish, highlighted by a few touches of what I would call a smoked honey sweetness. That really makes the cigar sing. I wish there was more of it, and I wish each successive cigar I made sure to slow down and savor it for as long as it was around.
Beyond that, there are what I would call a hallmark Viaje flavor profile with sufficient amounts of pepper, earth, and then some creaminess that creates both a great complement to the flavor as well as becoming a point of back and forth tension. At the start of the second, third, construction was also pretty solid. Not perfect, but also pretty good among cigars I've smoked lately. I'd certainly recommend trying one or two of these.
Just pay close attention for what that sweetness arrives in in the profile. Eighty-nine. Eighty-eight. It's eighty-nine.
What can it be? It's a mystery. And I said, you're welcome. I'm the best at this game.
I said that you're not first. And I got news for you. I'm right about a lot of stuff. It's crazy.
Why am I so poor? Cause we don't charge money. We keep buying lights and we don't have advertisers. We're getting like 70 bucks from YouTube.
Lights are expensive. I haven't bought the new lights yet. No. I'm about to drop a ton on swag stuff.
Yeah, but that creates more money. It does. Yeah, so buy the shirts. We like the shirts.
Buy the shirts. Yeah, especially the new ones. Get your boycott cigar hustler. It's not offensive.
No, we're not offended by anything. We're not offended. Yeah, we're not offended by anything. Yeah.
No. We're not. No. Okay.
Anything else? Nope. That's all I got. We're doing the Patreon now, right?
Yes. We're going to do the Patreon now. Okay. But before you do that, before you go, make sure you like and subscribe.
We're reviewing or listening to this show. Far, far world. com for all your chpod swag. Yes.
Pick up the pre-order for the Boycott Cigar Hustler shirt. Hurry up and buy. Limited edition. Before they're gone.
Before they're gone. Like the Mr. Magoomer. I know some of you people missed the Mr.
Magoomer. It's one of my favorite shirts. Now they can get the Xenomorph BDP. And then we're about to go and listen to the Patreon, so you should listen to the Patreon.
Well, we're gonna talk about it. com, us Cigar Hustlers podcast. Search it. Thank you very much for listening and watching the show.
I hope you had a great and wonderful Thursday, and we hope that we provide a great edutainment for you today. Yes. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul. Yes.
What was that? Thank you, everybody. Billy Madison. Duh.
Wow. All right, guys. We're here to go. Thank you.
Show Notes
On this episode of the Cigar Hustlers Podcast, the crew reviews and discusses the latest from Vaije and Espinosa.A full cigar-industry news discussion — reviews, interviews, and commentary, plus the week's wildest headlines.In episode 609 of the Cigar Hustlers Podcast, host Mike BDP runs from the news desk to the humidor — reacting to the week's headlines before digging into cigar news and reviews featuring Viaje and Espinosa. Honest conversation and industry commentary, new episodes every weekday.CHAPTERS0:00 Cold open & welcome2:57 "What's the Score?" game1:00:43 Show merch & where to find CHPOD——————————————ABOUT CHPODThe Cigar Hustlers Podcast is a premium-cigar, news, and culture talk show — honest conversation, industry commentary, and cigar reviews, new episodes every weekday.▶ Subscribe and turn on notifications so you don't miss an episode.👍 Like and comment — your comment might get read on a future show.SUPPORT THE SHOWSupport CHPOD on Patreon: https://patreon.com/acigarhustlerspodcastCHPOD show merch (mentioned in this episode): https://chpod.comCONNECTInstagram: https://instagram.com/cigarhustlerMENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE- Drew Estate- Espinosa(Links above are references to products and shops discussed in this episode, for viewers who want to learn more.)DISCLAIMER: This channel features cigar reviews, interviews, and industry commentary for adults 21+. Nothing here is a solicitation to purchase tobacco products.#CigarHustlers #CHPOD #CigarPodcast