Cigar Hustlers Podcast 279 Missing Have You Seen This Man?

Episode Summary

Episode 279 of A Cigar Hustler's Podcast opens with the running gag that cameraman Phil has gone "missing" while shooting a documentary in Nicaragua, with fill-in producer "Karen" taking over camera duties and delivering the week's cigar trivia segment (a top-tier cigar roller is called a rolador, expected to roll at least 200 cigars a day). Before the news, Mike talks new Powstanie T-shirts shipping with Corona Gorda orders, a DIY dryer repair, Cocaine Bear, and a stop-in from a groom-to-be who bought Diesel Whiskey Row cigars as groomsmen gifts (plus a Carol Baskin) in the lounge.

The news block is the meat of the episode. Multiple sources indicate Altadis USA, Drew Estate and Scandinavian Tobacco Group's General Cigar are considering exhibiting at PCA 2024 in Las Vegas (March 22–25) — three of the four companies that walked away in 2020. Altadis is already on the 2023 exhibitor list with three smaller booths (Rafael Nodal says an announcement is coming), General will be present inside a booth purchased by Alec and Bradley (now part of STG via Room 101), and Drew Estate will have staff in the Joya de Nicaragua booth rather than a booth of its own. The hosts riff on why PCA may be regaining ground over TPE, calendar shifts, the CigarCon consumer-day idea, and writing orders off the trade show floor.

Other stories: Jeff Borysiewicz's Florida Sun Grown crop in Clermont, Florida was wiped out by a baseball-size hailstorm just before topping and harvest — tobacco that feeds FSG by Drew Estate, the 20 Acre Farm, J.C. Newman's Florida Sun Grown wrapper and the American line — with the hosts explaining why hail-shredded leaf can't be used as wrapper. Aganorsa Leaf announced the Rare Leaf Reserve Maduro (Mexican San Andrés wrapper over Estelí and Jalapa binder/filler) in Toro, Belicoso and Robusto at $13.50–$14.50, with a quote from VP of Sales and Marketing Terence Reilly. Drew Estate honors late Best Cigar Prices founder Alan Blatt with Acid Ode to Blatt, a 5x50 Ecuadorian Sumatra–wrapped robusto gordo at $10.95 made at La Gran Fabrica Drew Estate in Estelí, with comments from Jonathan Drew and BCP's Greg Fox. Diesel and Rabbit Hole return with the Whiskey Row Founder's Collection Boxergrail ($15.79 per cigar, $157.90 per box of 10), and Drew Estate teases a new line reveal at its June 8 Freestyle Live, complete with unbanded sampler event packs, a $10,500 watch and airfare giveaways.

The episode closes with Cigar Hustler's own press release: the Powstanie Corona Gorda Habano and Broadleaf release exclusively at Hogshead Cigar Lounge in Fredericksburg, Virginia on May 19, with Mike and BDP in attendance. Adam Akry is Listener of the Week and Hogshead Cigar Lounge takes Shop of the Week.

In This Episode

1. 01
   Phil the Cameraman Goes Missing & Karen Fills In
   The hosts run their long-form bit about Phil vanishing on a Nicaraguan Jeep trip while a new fill-in producer, Karen, handles cameras.
2. 02
   Powstanie Shirts and Shop Talk
   Mike announces roughly 400 silkscreened Powstanie T-shirts going out in Corona Gorda orders to retailers who ask for them.
3. 03
   Karen's Cigar Knowledge: The Rolador
   The trivia segment explains that a highly skilled cigar roller is called a rolador, capable of producing at least 200 cigars a day.
4. 04
   Whiskey Row as Groomsmen Gifts
   A soon-to-be-married customer visits the lounge and picks Diesel Whiskey Row cigars for his whiskey-drinking groomsmen, plus a Carol Baskin to smoke on site.
5. 05
   Altadis, Drew Estate and General Eye PCA 2024
   Three of the four companies that quit the PCA trade show in 2020 are weighing a return in 2024, and the hosts break down what it means for PCA versus TPE.
6. 06
   Florida Sun Grown Crop Destroyed by Hail
   A hailstorm wiped out Jeff Borysiewicz's Clermont, Florida tobacco crop used in FSG by Drew Estate, 20 Acre Farm and J.C. Newman's American line.
7. 07
   Aganorsa Leaf Rare Leaf Reserve Maduro
   The San Andrés-wrapped Maduro extension ships next month in Toro, Belicoso and Robusto with new gold banding and retailer-exclusive positioning.
8. 08
   Acid Ode to Blatt, Diesel Boxergrail & Freestyle Live
   Drew Estate honors Best Cigar Prices founder Alan Blatt with a new Acid, Diesel partners again with Rabbit Hole, and a new line will be revealed June 8.
9. 09
   Powstanie Corona Gorda Release at Hogshead
   Cigar Hustler's press release sets the Habano and Broadleaf Corona Gorda worldwide release for May 19 at Hogshead Cigar Lounge in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

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

Here we go. Sweetheart, you start 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 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 Hustler Podcast, with your host, Michael the King, Stepon Kavich, 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. Oh, yeah. You'll be fine.

You're doing great, Karole. You're doing great. 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?

They collected on the insurance and took a cruise or some vacation or something. And they're just rolling hard. They're 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 challenge 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 rank above. Why must we damage our homes? This is why we don't have advertisers, Michael.

Homes just have overhead garage storage. A rank above. It's challenged the status quo by developing a superior overhead storage system that will not harm your home or damage your house or trusses. It 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 Fatman?

Yes. Red Fatman. The Fatman. The Fatman.

Yes. That's the little boy or the Ivan? I've had the little boy already. Oh.

That sounds weird. Oh, I forgot to hurt the time. I'm going to tell you right now, if I make the soundboard, I will break it. We'll break everything.

I've had the little boy already. Is that what you're saying? 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. Oh, you were talking about Rack Above real quick? Talk about Rack Above. We love our supporters that have been backing the Rack Above movement on social media and stuff.

It's hashtag, what's the hashtag they do? It's not Rack Above, it's better overhead garage storage with a Rack Above. That's what they put up. That's what they were doing?

Yes, that's what they do. Better overhead garage storage. That's a mouthful. It's quite the long hashtag.

Yeah. So, well, we thank you for your support. Before we get into the whole Phil thing. thing yes now you're not gonna even light and smoke this again 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 happen to have uh xl here that would be me yes yes and karen you strike me as a double xl type of an individual very full-figured woman i have a double Michael XL for you.

Oh, nice. Here you go, Karen. Powstanie shirts. I'm going to 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 silkscreens. Oh, it feels like the heat press thing.

Yeah, no, these are silkscreens. 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 a new one, yeah. Oh. So, if you're retail, if you have a retailer, and they would like these Powstanie shirts, they will be in Corona Gorda orders, 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. Yeah. - I meant to do $500.

- I mean, XL and up, I would've assumed. - No, I have a couple smalls, a couple 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. - So, Phil. - She has a little bit of a hormone problem. - Yeah, she's running high tests, apparently.

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

Let me write that down. I'm right here. So yeah, 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.

He was freelancing, he was not working for us. Yeah. But I got a notification last week for... I heard it was a jeep thing.

Oh, it 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.

It could be a jeep thing. I got a notification from the Nicaraguan Government Department of the Interior, or whatever they call it, or that his group has gone missing, and they're assuming that he will not return. He's declared, they declared him dead. Well, they have a body, but the Nicaraguan government is doing the medical autopsy.

They will not release the body to the family, but they did quickly send notification, the family had him pronounced dead very fast, so that they could get the insurance money. And he's gone. And Phil's gone, apparently. that was it that was in so yeah you know those those jeep trips they can give they can get dangerous yeah they can very dangerous yes very all those shenanigans very yeah i heard there was drinking involved minimal invitations yes it's a select crowd select crowds a small group of small group of people that are allowed to go right yeah i mean i've never been invited to a jeep thing uh me either no no i haven't either so crazy you know funny thing we got invited uh 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, 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 and...

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, so. We'll work on that. Everybody donate. Yes, everybody, everybody donate, they're distraught, his wife is terribly upset, her new boyfriend is terribly upset, so.

Yeah, her new boyfriend's boyfriend. I heard they'll take cigars, too. Oh, it's nice, that's nice, okay, cool. So, yeah, well, 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 page? She asked me which ad I was responding to. No.

You don't have an 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, Christian Mingles, no, no, it wasn't Christian Mingles.

It was Indeed, Glass Floor, one of those. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, her bar must be really low because this job doesn't pay for shit. No, 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. Oh. Very soft-spoken young lady. Yeah, gentle.

Yeah. I'm from Iowa. You're 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.

I mean, 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. You're not supposed to point that out.

I 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 knew? 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 could close outside on Sunday. So I Googled the parts.

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

This heat thing. Yes. The heating element, that's what it's called. Oh, 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. There's a 33% chance that it's this thermostat thing.

Right. 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. I'm like, okay, so I ordered the other two parts from that one place, and I said, fuck it, I'll just get 'em in and see how that goes.

Sure. They arrived the next day. Oh, not on a weekend? Yeah.

So I ordered 'em like Friday, ordered 'em Saturday? I ordered 'em Friday, they're Saturday. Oh, that's nice. So I YouTubed how to disassemble a dryer.

Oh, no disassemble. No disassemble. No disassemble. I short-circuited the fuck out of it.

Number five alive. No disassemble. Uh, dryers are amazingly simple products. They really are.

Yeah. 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 decent one. I mean, you could probably get one for like $700, $800 or some shit, right? Right.

So I'm taking apart this thing, and Brittany was helping me as well, which thank God. So Brittany was doing it. Well, I did it. Oh, okay.

Next week, Brittany, if you need to call in and explain that you did it. Oh, 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.

Right. 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, it's, believe me, I need her help. - Right. - You know what I mean? But it's not like, she doesn't sit there and say, okay, now unscrew that one, or, you know what I mean?

- Yeah, you're doing that wrong. - Yeah, no, we work together. - Oh, good. - And she's like, well, what about this?

What about trying this, or whatever the case may be. So we got the thing apart, and I removed, 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, she does 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? No.

It's probably got a lot of product. It's very real hair. It's your real hair. 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.

It's so mean. 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. Yes.

Reassembled it. Oh, reassembled number five back of life. Turn this thing back on and we're good to go, baby. Oh, look at you.

$60 in parts. Oh, it'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. 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. I can see flames under mine when it comes on. Really?

If the lights are out, you can see the flames under it. No shit. 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. First time we did that, I was like, why is everything still wet? Yeah, but it's wrinkle-free.

Look at this. It's wrinkle-free. Shit, it's broken. I go, 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? Is she a bear? No. She kind of looks like a cocaine.

I got to tell you. Her fault. Wow, man. That's messed up.

Why would you talk to her about her? Because her hair. It's beautiful. Like a bear's mane or whatever bear has, a coat.

We need her. Bear's coat? It would be a coat or a mane? What does a bear have?

Fur. 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 and there's the comical parts were at least the graphic scenes where you know it went 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 it's at the end of it it says in loving memory of ray liotta and i'm thinking myself man that's worse than fucking dying on the toilet you know what i mean right this is a cinematic this is you leave for all 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? Jeez 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 doesn't go nuts killing start yeah eating so it was a bear looking for more cocaine oh yeah it loves it oh yeah it loves the cocaine so there were some parts were like oh that was funny but we're 45 minutes into it and i'm like this isn't gonna get any better oh and i almost turned it off but we're like we're already here yeah you're halfway you got to see how it ends might as well just walk it through The bear lived. Oh!

Yeah. Rehab, Betty Ford? Yeah. 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 like that.

Yeah, that's like a telltale side. " Is that your wife? Did you catch a wife? She already knows you're taking credit for the dryer?

No. Is it Craig? Someone's in trouble. No.

It's a retailer. Oh. A successful one. Oh, he knows about the shirts.

Oh, is it the, uh, the Kardashian, uh, from Secrito? The Kardashian from Secrito? Chaldean or whatever it was. The Chaldean.

Oh, 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? About 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. He gave me a hard time. I was like, "Alright, well, fuck you. " I love Ronnie.

So yeah, that was pretty much the extent of my weekend. I didn't really do much. We did have football. Ooh, I yelled at a kid.

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

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's Clout. Karen Knows Things or something like that. I'll call it Karen if you'd like sweetheart. Okay.

Go now. What does Karen know? Tell us what Karen knows. Pull up your camera.

Okay. Hello peoples. 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. Maybe it's in her sunglasses. Okay, here it goes. There's a unique job title for cigar makers.

A highly skilled cigar roller is referred to as a Rolador, did I say that right? 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, Ken? Can you roll a cigar?

I don't know. You'd be good with your hands, I would imagine. I've never... Wow, now you're kind of hitting on them.

Sure. We'll talk later. Wow. That's nice.

Karen's very loose, apparently. Wow. I'm not going to lie. Karen's a lot nicer, softer than Phil.

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? They usually have a hair appointment on Mondays. Oh, goodness gracious.

So there was, so I had a kid that pushed out another kid in a play. One of you on the same team? No, so 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.

" 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. Oh. He fell out of line. Okay.

Yeah, I mean, listen, it's football. Right. Right, it's a little bang-bang-y, whatever. " Oh, a kid flicked you off, the kid who got pushed.

No, a 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.

" And I pointed right to the kid who was there. I go, "Dude, we're out here having a good time. You're supposed to be a good person. Don't be like that.

Was it in that tone? That's not really yelling. Do the tone. Do the tone.

I was probably a little louder than that. Probably a little aggressive. Hey! Fucktard, you call him 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. 1-0.

so I said be a good person man have a good time meanwhile they had a play where they did something totally illegal and we said hey you can't do that and they're like oh I'm sorry I didn't know I was like okay no problem just redo the down we just let them redo it 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 be a good person didn't the kid flick you off he didn't say a god damn thing I would have flicked you off if I was a kid 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. And he's done 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. Oh, maybe he watches The Smoking Truth because there's a lot of that on that show. Oh, bird flipping?

Yeah, a lot of that. Really? Yes, yes. So you're saying that he's going to 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. I heard that's a thing.

If you're a good person, I'll be a good person, too. I didn't say you did anything wrong, Michael. You know what I mean? If you're a shitty person, well then, that's where shit gets interesting.

You're going to take them to class. That's where shit gets interesting. I'm going to pour them some tea. Pour them 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. We don't like that here. Not acceptable behavior, young man.

No, I mean, just, you know what I mean? Just have them, just relax. Be a good person. Hashtag be a good person.

Just relax. We should start a hashtag every week. This week it'll be hashtag be a good person. That's, I stole that from Skip, that's Skip.

Oh, no, do Skip's kind of, no. 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, you like to cut the grass. I cut the grass on Sunday.

You always cut the grass. Sprinkler guy came on Sunday, fixed all the sprinklers. Uh, 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. Man of your stature? Oh, Saturday, we, uh, we repaired another section of fence.

I had Connor all weekend because his car was in the shop. Mike Schaumbia, Estuck with you. Mike Schaumbia, Estuck with you. Mike Schaumbia, Estuck with you.

Mike Schaumbia, Estuck with you. Mike Schaumbia, Estuck with you. Mike Schaumbia, Estuck with you. Mike Schaumbia, Estuck with you.

Mike Schaumbia, Estuck with you. Mike Schaumbia, Estuck with you. Mike Schaumbia, Estuck with you. Mike Schaumbia, Estuck with you.

Mike Schaumbia, Estuck with you. Mike Schaumbia, Estuck with you. Mike Schaumbia, Estuck with you. Mike Schaumbia, Estuck with you.

Mike Schaumbia, Estuck with you. Maybe you weren't so, maybe you're not fucking stupid. Oh, he's, he's very helpful at 22. I mean, he was, he was, you know, stuck in a house with no car, but like, hey, uh, she would like some gum.

Here, here's, here's $5. Go buy her gum at the store. Uh, you hungry? Eh, kind of.

Well, she would like, uh, Zaxby's. Here's 20 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, uh, cause, I mean, he's never really actually lived with me full-time, even though my mother was a dirtbag and...

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, 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? No, we've never really had that. Interesting.

Called for advice quite often. Always, huh? So, he, God beloved him, his stories, he's very detailed like I am. Yeah.

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 while it 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, I think we can- 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-- Ooh, a 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 Rowe ones, 'cause they're... Whiskey Rowe?

Whiskey Rowe, 'cause they are... well, made by Diesel, yeah, the Whiskey Rowe. Right. 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.

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 groomsman. 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, it's ain't a word.

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

Oh. 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 fiance, I guess he is?

Yeah. They did a little 30-minute podcast out there in the other room. Oh, like a free trial. This is like hard.

And I go, man, it's not as easy as you think. Is it though? What do you talk about? I go...

We 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, Mike Barrett: What do you do in 2023 if you don't know about cigars and the cigar industry? Mike Barrett: Nice. Mike Barrett: Yeah, we can't really, we don't really have any money, so we can't really give them any money. Mike Barrett: Oh, yeah, we can't buy ratings, we can't afford it.

Mike Barrett: Yeah, that's lovely. Mike Barrett: Be reasonable. Mike Barrett: Right now we need new lights. Mike Barrett: Yeah, because these lights are terrible.

Mike Barrett: Well, they were good when we bought them. Mike Barrett: Not anymore, we've moved up in the world. Mike Barrett: Well, same thing happened with the microphone, the soundboard, the chairs, the desk, the room, the walls. Mike Barrett: Here we are, just a matter of time before we outgrow this place.

Everybody is surprised how small it is when they see it. Yeah, well, because, yeah, I get that. It comes out and they had a guest on the Smoking Truth Friday and the lady came and sat down and she's going like this, I'm going, yes, she goes, it's a lot smaller than I thought it was. Yeah.

It's 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 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 few couple of pictures, which I understand probably won't work well for this, but maybe I'll throw them up with the thing. Okay.

Sorry, but I printed the pictures, 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 Rolador. I was gonna say, I'm practically a Rolador. Rightly a Rolador, and you 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. Oh, Master Rolador. Yeah. King Rolador.

King Rolador. Oh, she likes calling you the king. Oh, wasn't her? Yeah.

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. Yes, I saw that.

It was a Mother's Day present. I jumped a gun. I could not. I just couldn't wait.

Oh. 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 gonna 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 to dinner? 19 years.

No, well, tomorrow we're going out to dinner and stuff. Oh. Excellent, lovely. We got a whole little, 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 there. We're going to celebrate it. What else do you want me to use this gift card?

Just a regular date night. Well, every day is magical with her. It's magical with her. I don't know what to tell you.

Oh, so romantic. At 30. It is magical. Okay.

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. Altanis 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. Altadish 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. Altadish 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 Hustler Podcasts 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.

Altidus 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 Altidus, told Cigarser Podcast that an announcement would be made soon. It's unclear whether the reference to 2023 or 2024 through Noudal 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. Sorry.

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. That pay way too much.

That pay way too much money, and they're in charge of world something. Yeah. Optimization. Where can I make you?

Right. What can we put a cigar logo on? CEO. This is the second year in a row the STG will be an exhibitor because the company it's purchased last year, Which is he purchased, Room 101.

So basically, they're just buying companies to get back into the trade. " Can you just include me? Of course, of course, I'll slide that in, without 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, free dealers. So tacky, so tacky. Drew Estate 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. " 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 would be.

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, number one, number two, PCA is now moving in on TPE's turf as far as approaching on the month.

Right, they've moved up a little bit. Right? Don't need to go to both, they're right after each other. 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.

" 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. " Hey, on the third day, we're letting anybody in. Yeah. Dress up as your favorite person.

Everybody dressed up like Karen. Everybody dressed up like Karen. Because she's now in the industry. So lovely.

She's in the industry. Right. At least for this week. 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 Mrs.? 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. Oh, my God. You have a purdy mouth.

Uh-oh. It's the beard, right? It's the beard. I love the beard.

I have a beard? It's amazing. No, no, no, no. It's just dirt.

It's got a little dirt. 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. 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. Everybody fucking knows. Go get me somebody, and bring me here so I can talk to them.

Is that Jonathan Drew? 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 fall down. I'm all wet. Anyway, moving on.

Alright, 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 Borchewitz 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. Yeah, it was only over there, apparently. " Of course, it was... That made the news?

Yeah, it made the news. 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. " Borchowitz shared photos of the farm both before and after the hailstorm which came through the area earlier this week and was forecast to bring up baseball. All 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, 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.

Wouldn'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... Big tarp? With blankets? 10 acres?

Blankets? 10 acres of blankets? Get the blankets out! Get the blankets!

There comes the hail! Run it over. Scream 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 them 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 Borges, apparently.

Oh, interesting. Argonosa Leaf, Rare Leaf, Reserve Maduro, their names are getting so long. I think it was always a Rare Leaf. Was it Maduro?

I don't know. Argonosa 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, Argonosa 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 the new Postal. 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. Okay. When we launched the Rare Leaf in 2021, the idea was to provide our retail partners who make the commitment to our agonosis-like 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 Ash, and 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 the The city of Nicaraguan Tapas. Oh, my God.

Comes with tapas. 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. The new line to retail. 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.

How you going? Drew's State honors best cigar prices. Alan Blatt with a new acid Eau de Blatt. Eau de Blatt.

Have you heard of Alan Blatt? Alan 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 Alan Blatt, a noted retailer who founded Best Cigar Prices. You heard of them? I have heard of them.

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, or with 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, 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. " Nine years? He was only in the industry nine years?

Uh, 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 Sumanta wrapper over Nicaraguan tobaccos, The Cigars, 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. 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.

"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. " 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. I got it.

That's right. He's been working on this for longer than the man was in the business, basically. That's why, yeah, that's why he threw all this matcha 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 Estate 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 Eau de 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?

" 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.

It's over. Right, I wanted to call them junk in the trunk and he said no. You can't use that, it's not nice, he said. And that was the end.

That was the end of the friendship and then we split ways. You should've stuck with him. 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 the controls, the specific things, as far as two-portion verification codes. Oh, he took that with him. " 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 3 o'clock in the morning here, Michael? I don't care. I don't care.

They're like 6 hours ahead of something. Oh, I try, because it's Europe, it's not Asia, so that's right. He's having beignets. He's having beignets.

Beignets are in Louisiana. They have beignets in France? And he's having croissants. Oh.

Croissants. All I've seen is a lot of videos of him walking on Couplestone 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 Founder's Collection, Boxer Grail.

Diesel. 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 Whisky 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, Havana, Tobacco, blah, blah, blah. Justin Andrews is doing a little.

Yeah, Diesel, Founder & Collections, blah, blah, blah. 79 per cigar. Woo! 90 for a box of 10 cigars.

And the box is designed to mirror the packaging of Rabbit Hole, Boxer Grill, Kentucky Straight Rye Bourbon. Hmm. 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 no 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 if, yeah, but what's the swag?

The swag. Hold on, maybe it's in here. Oh, it's in here, hold on, okay. Okay, 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, though they are not banded. Right.

So they could be anything, really. Could be anything. Could be anything. Or any other identification.

The packs also contain a Freestyle Live 4 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.

m. on Facebook and YouTube. Yeah, I think I'm going to skip that one. In addition to announcing the new line during the freestyle album, Drew State will be giving away a luxury watch valued at $10,500.

$10,000. As well as $6,000, an 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 like the skateboard. 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 kits. Lacrosse sticks? Do we get lacrosse sticks too?

No, you win a credit. A credit? Against future. Here's your orders.

Oh. Freestyle 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 and can be purchased at participating retailers nationwide. Okay.

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. Terrible. Another little boy was eaten by an alligator.

That was bad. Damn alligators. They're a problem, they gotta 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 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. You know why?

I like to throw them out. Yeah? Different colors and confuse everybody. Keep it going.

I like where your head's at. That's why you can 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 go, "Well, Groover's in charge now. " That's amazing.

You have a Listener of the Week, Michael? No. Shop of the Week, Michael? Oh!

We have one more story. Yeah. Hold on. I got to 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. It's good. Okay. 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 immediate 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, this will be released on May 4th. Oh, I'm a couple of 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 is always prioritized taking care of its retail partners, and in that spirit, 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 Szczepankevich. 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 was this jumpy for?

Oh, God. We are confident that the cigar users will appreciate the quality and craftsmanship of these cigars, Subsonia, Corona, Gorda, and Broadleaf are highly anticipated releases from Cigar Hustler, known for their exceptional quality and flavor profiles. With this release, Cigar Hustler is poised to further solidify its position as the leading player in the cigar industry. com.

boom boom there you go you heard it here first get nobody else to touch my pressure we haven't pressed the release that 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 listening to the week michael michael adam akry congratulations mr adam akry 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 And contact Adam Akeri. 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. Oh.

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

We will be there on May 19th for the World Wide Web. Worldwide release of the Corona, Gorda, Habano, and Rod Leaf Cigar. Yes. Can only get it there on the 19th.

That's it. That's the only place. The only place. Worldwide release.

World prestige. Worldwide. Investors, possibly you. Oh.

I understand David Morris is gonna be there. Yeah, yeah. Nice. We got some people coming out.

Some peoples. Should be good. Oh. Should be good.

All right, you got anything else? No. We're really close. Yeah, close enough.

Well, that's off. So you got to be at about an hour. Oh, that's right. So we're at an hour right over there, Karen?

56. 56. Oh, 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 or whatever. 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. Jeeps are dangerous. Secluded meetings. They're very dangerous.

Secluded Jeep meetings. All right, we're going to go there. 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. The 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 host of the show.

Hope that they will be entertaining to the audience.

Show Notes

Welcome to episode 279 of the Cigar Hustlers Podcast. In this episode, we have some top stories to share with you from the world of cigars.

First up, we have news that Altadis U.S.A., Drew Estate, and General Cigar will be exhibiting at PCA 2024. This is a big deal for the industry, as these three companies are some of the biggest players in the cigar world.

In other news, Florida Sun Grown's tobacco crop has been destroyed by hail. This is a huge setback for the company, as they are known for their high-quality tobacco. We'll be keeping an eye on this story as it develops.

Next, we have news that Drew Estate has honored Best Cigar Prices' Allan Blatt with a new Acid ode to Blatt. This is a great tribute to someone who has made a big contribution to the industry.

And finally, we have some sad news to share. Our beloved Phil got lost in Nicaragua while filming a jeep safari documentary. We hope he's safe and sound and will keep you updated on his whereabouts.

That's not all for this episode of the Cigar Hustlers Podcast. Thanks for tuning in, and we'll see you next time.