Cigar Hustlers Podcast 286 He’s Back!!
Episode Summary
Episode 286 of the Cigar Hustlers Podcast features a call-in interview with Nicholas Melillo, founder of Foundation Cigar Company, joining hosts Mike Szczepankiewicz ("The King"), Mike Palmer ("Reverend BDP") and cameraman Phil. Melillo talks about his new 300-acre Connecticut tobacco farm and office (complete with an underground bunker), why he prefers surgical, one-shop event trips over blanket national tours, and how the brand went from total obscurity in 2015 — when he was still the behind-the-scenes master blender — to a name retailers recognize.
The centerpiece is the full story behind the Joe Rogan connection: hand-painted boxes of Wise Man Maduro delivered through a mutual friend in Austin in late 2020, Melillo spotting the Foundation ashtray on the JRE set (first appearing September 11, 2020), the Eli Blue hand-inlaid humidor he had ready when Rogan DM'd him about humidors, and the custom Connecticut Broadleaf blend he now makes for Rogan personally — which he can't sell without permission. That leads into a broader conversation about whether celebrity cigars ever actually convert a celebrity's fan base into cigar smokers (Metallica and George Clooney get name-checked), and whether the COVID boom created lasting smokers or just bored ones with stimulus money.
The crew and Melillo also dig into the business side: what makes a sales rep valuable, when a brand outgrows a broker, managing retailer expectations, and the blurred friend/business lines in the cigar trade (with plenty of ball-busting aimed at rep Alfredo and Eduardo). Melillo previews his PCA 2023 news: Charter Oak Especiales, a 5.5 x 48 soft box-press Connecticut Broadleaf homage to his grandfathers using higher Viso and Ligero primings as a limited quarterly release; a November-only annual return of Sencillo tied to the King Cut anniversary (about 500 boxes); a new core line built on Ecuadorian Sumatra inspired by a 1996 Pudos Indias; and a high-end charity Tabernacle release tied to a new 501(c)(3).
After the interview, Phil's Fun Facts covers the first independent Cuban cigar brand (Cabañas, founded by Francisco Cabañas in 1797, nationalized in 1962). News includes Don Doroteo's "Salt of the Earth" PCA 2023 line using Dominican andullo tobacco with an exclusive quote from Garrett Robinson, Tatuaje's price increase, and Cigars International, JR Cigars and Famous Smoke Shop halting shipments to Hawaii on July 1, 2023 over SB 975 licensing language. The guys close with a care-package unboxing from Lenny of Owl Ear Cigars (hats, cutters, lighters, stickers), naming Owl Ear shop of the week and Lenny listener of the week, plus a tease that Alex from RoMa Craft / Nica Sueño is up next.
In This Episode
- 01Nicholas Melillo calls inThe hosts ambush Melillo by phone instead of the promised in-studio visit and catch up on his new Connecticut farm, office and underground bunker.
- 02Brand owner road life vs. retail lifeMelillo explains his surgical, one-store event strategy, why he skips retailers who don't care about the brand, and how to manage offended shop owners.
- 03The Joe Rogan cigar storyFrom hand-painted Wise Man Maduro boxes to spotting the Foundation ashtray on JRE, the Eli Blue humidor, and Rogan's personal Connecticut Broadleaf blend.
- 04Do celebrity cigars actually work?A frank debate on whether celebrity collaborations tap a star's fan base, with Metallica and George Clooney cigars used as examples.
- 05Sales reps, brokers and bringing valueMelillo and the hosts dissect what a good rep does, quarterly visits, when brands outgrow brokers, and the blurred friendship-business lines in cigars.
- 06Foundation's PCA 2023 releasesCharter Oak Especiales, the November-only Sencillo annual release, a new Ecuadorian Sumatra core line, and a charity Tabernacle.
- 07Phil's Fun Facts and industry newsCabañas as Cuba's first independent brand, Don Doroteo's andullo-driven Salt of the Earth, Tatuaje price increase, and the Hawaii shipping shutdown.
- 08Owl Ear care package and shop of the weekUnboxing hats, cutters, lighters and stickers from Lenny at Owl Ear Cigars, named shop and listener of the week.
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
Wait, what? Okay, go. Everything's recording? We're recording.
Oh God, I'm coughing. Welcome to the Cigar Hustlers Podcast, episode 286, 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.
The King, Mike Stevonkevich, and Reverend BDP, Mike Palmer are two dynamic individuals who co-host the Captivating Cigar Hustlers Podcast. With their unique perspectives and vast knowledge on the cigar industry, they offer a truly engaging and insightful experience for cigar enthusiasts and novices alike. And me, I'm Phil, your cameraman. So grab your favorite smoke, sit back, and join us for another exciting episode of the Cigar Hustlers Podcast.
He would read just a little bit faster. man i was going that wait nice shirts yeah what about we got these from our friends at development oh they're nice everybody knows the descent too phil everybody knows we opened i got one too oh yours is green i'm not familiar with the green uh under armor one right man these guys are really like they're ballers yeah they're spending some money huh i had no idea that you We were so special. I know, right? They should have sent you guys two Under Armour 1s.
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Call for pricing. com for pricing and purchasing. You know, what's really kind of funny is I was looking for my gi from back in the day when I would do Brazilian Jiu Jitsu with American Top Team. Yes.
And I was like, "Oh, this will be easy. " Oh, just scan the boxes, just four feet above. Yeah, so I just kind of scanned through them real quick instead of having to go through 35 boxes or whatever. Right, go up in the attic, dig around and everything.
Yeah, and I threw it away. Well, it probably wouldn't fit you now. I don't think so either. You're much bigger than you were back then.
I wanted to see, though. I just wanted to try. You could have cut the sleeves off and still used it. I think I weighed in for like a grappling tournament at like 165 pounds or something.
Back then? Yeah. It's like one arm now. Yeah, there's no way.
I couldn't see 165 pounds. Maybe the pants. Maybe. The pants would be 165 pounds?
No, no, maybe the pants. Oh, as far as the width? There's the width. Waist, but...
Yeah, waist is probably about the same. Did they make big boy sizes? Yeah. Oh.
Yeah, they make big boy sizes. Oh. I'm just curious. Yeah.
Why, you want one? No, no, no. I was thinking, because you're going to need... I'm going to need a big boy?
A husky. I used to call it a husky. I don't think it's... It's not the biggest.
I don't think I need the biggest. Oh. No, no. Yeah, yeah.
Like a little husky like the dog? Well, but for jujitsu and stuff, you wouldn't be able to move. I know. No, not husky the dog.
That used to be the size they used to put on Sears Toughskins. I'm not doing it yet. Huskies. I'm not doing it just yet.
Oh, I thought you already started. No, I'm not doing it yet, Michael. Oh, yeah, you can't. That's right.
So silly. I'm so silly. He can't do it yet. Why?
He can't. Oh. Oh, yeah. Love of God.
He doesn't do that. He's not the thing. He doesn't do that. No, he's talking about Phil.
Phil does that. Phil's been taking jujitsu. It was just so nice to have a rack above because I looked at my from Mikey. You wanted to put that thing on and see if it still fit.
Listen, listen, enough is enough. We're calling Nicholas Melillo. What's crazy is you found it on the rack above. No, no, he's out of the way.
You weren't even paying attention. He does his own show. Yeah, he's just living in this one. Who are we calling?
Nicholas Melillo. Oh, I know this guy. Hello? Who is this?
Hello? Uh oh. Nicholas? It's two guys in New Hampshire.
Oh, God. Oh, God. The number two. The number two show in the podcast.
I can't even hear you yet. Hold on a second. Oh, my God. Oh, my God.
Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. All right, redo.
Hello? Hello? You're trying to figure out how to get me on the podcast on the phone? Listen.
We thought you were going to be in studio. I just want you to know. We very seldom like to do a call in on the podcast. We like to do, when we bring in our guests.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And, you know, Eduardo tricked me is what happened. Your boy tricked me. Unbelievable.
He's like, yeah, I'll get him. Yeah, we can get him on. No problem. Sure, not a problem.
I'll get him to come in. Yeah. And then, boom. Oh, my God.
Come in by phone. Have you harassed him since this time? No, no. It's, you know, the harassment via, like, phone or Facebook just isn't as effective as in person.
I figured I'd see him at PCA. Right. I won't warn him then. Yeah, keep it under wraps.
One of those visits Michael makes to your booth where he just starts taking things. Yes. So, how are you? How are you?
I'm doing great. What are we, live right now? No. It's taped.
It's taped. We tape it that way if you say anything that we feel like could hurt you. Something racist or something. Yeah, something really dumb then we'll cut it out.
So are you guys in person or are you guys on phone? We're in person. We're in person. No, no, we're on phone, too.
Nicholas, you've done this podcast before, buddy. I know. Wasn't I one of the first in-person ones? You were, like a hundred years ago, when you would actually go out and interact with the people, you know?
Do you remember those days? What are you talking about? He fell down. I don't interact with people.
I never interact with people. Now you've built this fortified office that is built for the zombie apocalypse. You know, now, now I'm building a, um, a place so people can come visit me. Oh, is that how that works?
Oh, road trip! I mean, Mike, Mike, you should know this, it's an interesting thing, because customers are at their shops, right? You have your shop, but you have a brand too, so you, you kind of get it, um, but people come to your shop. They do.
And you're in one place. Yes. Us as brand owners, we gotta go to the whole country. I mean, that's a, that's quite the, uh, it's quite the escapade to do for, I think I did it for a good four years.
Yeah. Well, you know, not the whole country, just the good retailers. So, I mean, it's about 40 people. He did do that terrible RV trip with me.
Are you on? Yeah, he did do that. Are you on the road, Mike, a lot, or no? Uh, no, I, you know, here's the thing.
I think that you, and I think you would agree with this. I believe that other than the fact that I don't know what you're doing. It's the gate. He's opening and closing the gates.
I'm a big believer in we all have to kind of carve our own path and direction as to how to do it. We know what has been done in the past. We know what works, but it might not work for us, right? So what I like to do is I like to go in like a fucking surgeon, you know, and just hit one shop and do an event with them and get the hell out of there quickly.
You know, I don't want to go to the retailers that I don't have a good relationship with or I'm trying to establish. I mean, that's just not my thing. Now, if a good friend of mine is a retailer and they're in that area, I'll check in with them and shoot the shit. No problem, but I'm not doing the other thing, you know, I'm just not doing it.
I hear, I mean, I very much enjoy it, you know, even, I sometimes actually enjoy more not doing the event and visiting. We're here. Yes, but do you enjoy, well, as he calls in. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
But he enjoys the idea, it sounds nice. You should see I have my feet kicked up on my desk right now. He probably has no pants on. It sounds lovely, he's visiting, but going to the retailers that don't give a shit about your brand, and you know that these people exist, or want the discount or the other shit, no, it exists, it doesn't matter what brand you are, you know, I don't see the purpose of going into that store.
I don't need to get kicked in the teeth because I'm going to respond, you know? If it's a repetitive thing, I get it. I do enjoy meeting people that have no idea about the brand, have never heard of it, or retailers that are kind of out of tune. I'm not saying, you know, after like three times of trying, you know, for someone that doesn't get it, that's different.
But I do enjoy talking to people that do not, you know, at events or at stores that just have never heard of the brand before. Right. Because I like to see when they discover it, which is kind of cool. " or some shit?
No. I am Nicholas Malillo. Get out of here. Tobacco extraordinaire.
You know, Mike, you know, 2015, nobody, of course, knew the company. Nobody knew who I was at all. I know who the fuck you were back then. You did.
Yeah. You were the guy. Mike, you were talking about in general, though. You were the master blender.
I was the guy that knew the guy, that was the guy? No, you were the guy, you were the guy, here you go, I'm gonna say, I'm gonna say some shit, alright, I'm gonna tell you right now, you were the guy, behind the scenes, working your fucking ass off, creating fantastic blends, with actual thought processes, behind the curtain, right, that was you, that's what the fuck you did, that's what the fuck you did. That was my job. So it's my job as a guy, in the retail aspect of things, to know who the guy is that's making that shit, right?
I mean, if you want to have your hand on the pole. You need to in this industry. I mean, unless you want to be a 65-year-old retired guy who doesn't give a fuck and won't, you know, won't get up at the register and just tell him to leave money and then walk away, I mean, look at that. But there's a lot of that.
There is a lot of that. A lot of that. There's a lot of that. Is that when it started?
2015? For Foundation? Yeah, Foundation. Foundation.
Who is that? Who is that? That's Phil. Who's on this podcast?
Phil here. Phil, hello. What's going on, Phil? What's up, Nick?
How you doing, man? Great. How you doing? Nicholas has no idea what's going on with this podcast.
He hasn't listened. I have no idea. So don't... You know, I saw pictures.
You saw photos? The fancy studio you guys have now. I know, it's very fancy. When I was there, it was like, you know, I was sitting on a box.
Yeah. You know, you had me next to the garbage, and now you're big time. Yeah, now we're just crushing it. This all started in 2017.
So, speaking of podcasts, wait a second, speaking of podcasts, you gotta tell me about this Joe Rogan cigar, 'cause, you know, you brag about it all the fucking time on your social media posts, he's like, ooh, let's go, ooh, with the good comedian I saw, the fat guy that's really fucking funny, Burt, whatever. Burt Kischer. Burt Kischer. Yeah, he's great.
Yeah, and they're like, oh, ooh, foundation scars, they made, so how, so listen, how many hand jobs did you have to give? Listen, 243. Two, that was the line. Wow, wow.
That was the line. That was the line. Holy moly. That was pure exhaustion.
That's a lot of towels. That's a whole lot of towels. It was dedication, it was consistency, you know. How did you hook up with Joe Rogan?
I mean, I think that's fantastic. The fucking, I mean, does it get any bigger than that guy? I don't think it does. I mean, it's kind of crazy, man.
I don't really believe I'm in awe of it to this day. You know, I've always been a Rogan fan for many years. I want to say since 2012, somewhere around there. He had some authors that I really enjoyed that were, you know, into all that, say, ancient civilization stuff and, and Ethiopia and things like that.
So I really took to him and would actually keep him on in the background. " And everybody's tried to get him cigars, it's, you know, it's never going to happen. It's really difficult. " And it took a while.
Yeah, it's a great mentality. So we made up two handmade, hand-painted boxes for him of Wise Man Maduro's, and we just did some hand-painted boxes for him. This is like 2020, just after COVID, I want to say August, August, September. And we just happened to meet one of Rogan's friends who was also a big cigar smoker who happened to be going to visit him because he had just moved to Austin and it was like the first weekend he was out there and he was going to visit him for that weekend and he brought in the boxes and gave them to him.
And then, that was like, yeah, beginning of September, what is it? Memorial Day? Labor Day? I mean, September?
Labor Day, right? Yeah, Labor Day. Yeah, Labor Day. That was like Labor Day weekend, and then I didn't ask, or I didn't want to be hounding him, like, to get the box.
I didn't even know if he got them at first. And then it was like a month later, October, mid-October, and I was sitting working on my couch, And I looked on the podcast, and I saw behind like two water bottles the corner of a black ashtray, and then I caught another angle and I was like, holy shit, that's the foundation ashtray, is in between the gas, like right in the middle of the table. Detective Malillo was all over it. And then I went back to every podcast and found when the ashtray first appeared.
And it appeared, for the first time, it appeared on September 11, 2020, that was the first podcast, and then, it wasn't until November, they had like a, it was election time at that time, so they had like a Saturday election podcast, just an imprompt podcast, and that was the first time he took the box out. No shit. And then from that point on, he's just been awesome, man. Like just shouting us out.
So at some point... So did he reach out to you? Have you guys become friends? Yeah, so at one point he hit me up via Instagram and was just, "Hey man, thank you so much for the cigars.
They're amazing. I love them. I was thinking about getting a humidor. " And I already had made him a humidor.
I had Eli Blue do a hand inlaid. - Oh shit, get the fuck outta here. - So I had it all ready, so I was like, Joe, I got you. - Wow, Joe.
- So then I sent him that, I sent him that humidor and did like a hand inlaid of his logo on the top of the humidor, it was amazing. - That's pretty dope. - And then I was like, he likes teeny scotches, he likes heavy, like spicy barbecue. You know, he liked the Wise Man Maduro blend, so then I made him his own Connecticut Broadway blend with his logo on it, and he's just been, and then I got him, you know, eventually he's been getting into it more.
Last year I got him a humidor for the studio, but you see in the studio, on the left corner, back side is a humidor, so you can put boxes, and the ashtray is there, and it's been there for like three years. It's been three years, three years. Did he ever hit you with a bill? I mean, shit.
No, man. He's been awesome. Get the fuck out of here. I finally got to hang out with him after Thanksgiving this year.
I had a wedding in Arizona, and then I had to go to Tampa. They had some cigar festival the first week of December. So I had two days, and I just stopped in Austin because he was playing a small club, so I'm like, let me go check it out, and then he ended up finding out I was in the audience, and he sent a friend to come get me and bring me backstage, and we hung out like a bunch of comedians for like 30 hours. That's fantastic, dude.
I love that. That's a great fucking story. Super cool, man. He hasn't asked for, you know, I think I'm forever indebted for this guy.
It's like, you're a good dude, I'm a good dude, let's be good dudes and dock together or some shit. I mean, that's fucking awesome. So I make this cigar for him, but his cigar, I don't have any, you know, we've never talked about selling it or I can't use his logo. So this is, you know, people keep hitting me up, but I'm like, you gotta ask, you know, I usually gotta ask.
Of course, I would love to do it. Right. But, you know, I make it for him right now, he smokes it, but I can't start, you know. It's a market, man.
It's a market, you're missing out here on an opportunity, you know. Yeah. Dude, I hear ya. But I think he's got so much going on, man, you know what I mean?
Yeah. The fact that he hits me up on Instagram sometimes. It's awesome. You know, it's awesome.
Yeah, I mean, realistically, even if you partnered up with him and there was a fucking, when he got the check for the commission, he'd be like, what? That's it? Yeah. Just put this into the guys.
He's like, okay, just pick a charity or something to donate that to. Whatever. That's fucking awesome, dude. So your office is open.
Office is open, man. Do you have a slide there? Is there human bowling? Is there something cool?
What is it? It's a tobacco farm. I mean, that's cool. It's an active 300-acre farm.
Is there a high-clair castle? Is there a high-clair castle? Is there a high-clair castle? Yeah.
Is it? There's high-clair castle, like, signs and whatnot. But no actual castle. No, no, no, no.
There's an underground bunker. There is? Oh, that's cool. There is an underground bunker.
But you need a secret handshake to get in it. Full of Joe Rogan. 248 of them. Full of Joe Rogan cigars, too.
Oh, it's probably loaded with Joe Rogan cigars. Did you guys get the cigars that I sent you? Not yet, no. No.
Oh, man. That sucks. I mean, you know, we've talked about this last week. If you had shipped them out when we were talking about it, yes, we would have had them.
Let's be honest. This shit's on you, homie. Wait a second. I shipped them out Wednesday.
They should be there. Well, today's a holiday. No, Thursday. I shipped them out Thursday.
Yeah, it's a holiday. Are you kidding? You didn't get them? It's a holiday.
No, today's a holiday. No mail, no banking, no nothing. Oh. You gotta think...
Look, Nick, you gotta think these things all the way through. You know what I mean? I didn't realize that. But I hope you sent two.
Oh, wow. I sent a bunch of treats, man. Oh, I love it. I sent a bunch of great treats.
Everybody forgets about Phil. Two of a bunch of things. I feel like you're trying to give yourself some space and time during PCA, so I won't harass you. Yeah, I am.
I already covered the goodies. Back the fuck up. Dude, they should have been there. I sent them two days.
They should have been there Saturday. You know what's really kind of funny, so I'm not going to say which cigar, but I had aggressively pursued you at PCA for a cigar, and eventually you folded and you gave me that cigar, which I'm very grateful for, and thank you very much. It was very nice of you. " And they pull out a fucking Joe Rogan cigar.
And I'm like, "Mother fuck, I can't go back to this guy right now and hit him up. " You know, uh, uh, you asked for the wrong one. Son of a bitch! You know, I shouldn't say this on the podcast, but when I am out and about, I usually have some on me, so if somebody asks you for him...
Everybody better look out for Nick. You're looking for him. Well, I know where to find him, he's in the office. Oh, yeah, he's got to fly to Connecticut.
He'll hide in the bunker. Oh, he's not here. Are you guys all going to PPA? Yes.
Well, Palmer's not. I'm not going this year. Yeah. Yeah.
I got a Connecticut that's fucking ridiculous, bro. I'm going to tell you right now. Do you really? Yeah.
Yeah. What do you got in there? I don't want to tell you. I like it.
What are you using as a binder? Pennsylvania Broadleaf. Oh, shit. Yeah.
I was going to do Brazilian Matafina, but that idea was already taken. Ah, I love Matafina. Yeah, yeah. There's a good Connecticut with Matafina.
It's, uh, Matafina's tough, though. Yeah, well, I don't know, it was done, it was done well in this Connecticut that I tried. I'm sure you've heard of it. Well, I'd like to try it.
Yeah, I'm gonna, I'll bring you some. He put some in the mail last week on Thursday. Some asshole, some asshole. Yeah, they're all in the mail.
They're in the mail. I shipped it, I shipped it. Second day air. I thought you didn't even send you the tracking, huh?
Yeah. No, I don't get it. You might have used the old office address. That's probably what happened.
Oh, shit. You have an old address? No. No, we don't.
Oh. You guys have the address for the office? Oh, God. Well, we look forward to trying them.
So thank you. Yeah, we'll have to get you up here to Connecticut at some point. I will go. I'll go.
We're just getting settled in over here. He's very strong. He's good at moving furniture. Mike, he can move furniture, big boxes.
Yeah, he's very strong. He does. He looks strong. What does he bench in these days?
A lot. Two to three employees. Two to three, depending upon the employees. I don't know what kind of day he's having.
Did you redo the shop, Mike? No, the shop is pretty much the same. You know, there's been some little ads, you know, as you kind of progress, You make modifications and stuff, but nothing over the top. It's the same as when he was here last.
Yeah, you know, we've added like a Cigar Hustler, neon light kind of photo area. I don't think the lounge was done like that. Oh, yeah. We do have a private lounge downstairs now, which is fantastic, which you would do.
That studio looks badass. Thank you. Yeah, the studio is fantastic. Like if you came to town and you said, "Hey, let's do a thing," what I would do with you is we would do a private event downstairs and it would be ticketed.
So, you know, people would have to pre-commit to the purchases, and then anybody that's a member, they get the cigars, well, we pay for the cigars for them. And you get to hang out, and it's a little more intimate. It's a little less pedally and a little more intimate. So, we do them, I don't know, once every quarter, and it's pretty cool.
Nice. Yeah, that's the way to do it. I like the ticketed events. Yeah.
Makes more sense. So, we'll pencil you in then. Alright, we'll make, we'll make something happen. I can't talk to him, I can't talk to Eduardo about it, he's like, bro, ugh, ugh, ugh, he's so busy.
Yeah. You know what's difficult? It is a challenge for me, like, traveling to different areas because people, um, people get so upset if I didn't visit them. You know what I mean?
So, I would go into an area and then end up, um, you know, you can only, And you can only do so much, there's so many hours in the day, and then people just end up getting offended, and it's crazy. It's kind of intense sometimes. I think that it depends. I think that there's variables there.
You know, like, if you're gonna go to a town, and people have always been in direct communication with you, and you've told other people no, and then you show up to one event, then I feel like they have a right to be upset. But if they said, Hey, if they never reached out to you and said, Hey, let's do something and you popped in and you did something with another store, it's like, bro, you didn't want it. You've never mentioned, you've never, you know, you never opened up the checkbook to put it together. It's not my fault.
That's your fault. If that makes sense. Yeah. And it's also the sales rep and the team, uh, responsibility to manage expectations and then also put together a plan that makes, that would make sense.
And you have low expectations with Alfredo, I get it, we all have low expectations with Alfredo. You know, it's amazing, Alfredo's really come to the plate, and it's been killing it, especially this past year, he's, well, you don't see him? No, I think, you know what, you're probably 100% correct, I think the only brand that he talks about is yours, so I get it. Oh, now you're going to get me in trouble with the other brand, Jesus Christ.
If I want my Espinosa's, I call Jack Teronio. Dude, I love Alfredo. Alfredo, he knows that I always break his balls. It's all good.
It's all good. He brings me M&Ms. He's fucking harassed this guy. Peace offering.
Last time he stopped in, it's because he had a court date here locally for a ticket. Yeah, I was like, oh, what is it? Are you getting your ticket? It's so funny.
That's so funny. No, but I do place my orders with him as far as foundation is concerned, and he does order these things. So it goes well. You're making them, making them look good, and Teddy only talks about foundation, that's awesome.
Yeah, yeah, that's true. I don't even think, I don't even know what else it carries. Go tell Deon that. Yeah.
Good old Deon. Hey, so who's your rep in Florida? Oh, yeah, no, the retailers have no idea. Listen, it's not, not a job I think I would want.
I mean, it's a tough job. Yeah. It's atrociously charged. Cigar sales is a tough job.
Well, the broker position is the worst job because you build up the brand enough, they fucking fire you. Hey, we don't need you anymore. Yeah. I don't know about that one, though.
I think that happens sometimes, but then I also just think what happens is eventually a conflict There's a conflict of interest between what the... See, I don't think that's the case. I think it's the... Listen, it is the case in some...
I think it's a case-by-case basis, right? Right. It depends on who it is, but it also becomes, as a company is growing, it requires more time and more effort and more planning. And there's a lot more responsibilities, right?
Yeah, and you want to pay less for the position, so... You gotta fuel the growth. What? Right.
What's that? You gotta pay less for the position, so you gotta fuel the growth. You gotta pay for the new offices and things. Bunkers.
Alfredo. Yeah, your days are numbered. Your days are numbered, Erik. Days are numbered.
They're talking about somebody else. Meet the in-store rep of Foundation. In-office rep. As long as you're doing your job, you're good to go.
I'm sure you're, dude, I gotta admit, you're probably one of the fairest people to work for. I can't see you being other than that, you know what I mean? For as knowing you, as long as I've known you, you just don't seem like a ruthless prick that's looking at fucking numbers. Just the numbers.
You know? No, as long as I'm around and you're doing your job, I'm loyal to the job, man. Because as you know, I mean, it takes so much work to be successful in this industry. So, you know, it's, I want to be treated just like anybody else would want to be treated.
I mean, I put myself in, in the rep shoes and, you know, I wouldn't want to build something and then, you know, be let, let go. Um, so I'm loyal to the game, you know, to, to the work ethic and, you know, reps don't want to be burnt, you know, they want to get paid for counselor servicing. I mean, it's the same thing with brand owners, they don't want to be paying reps who are not doing their job and visiting accounts, right? Because we can do that ourselves, right?
We don't need a middle person to push a paper to a third party and then to the final consumer. I mean, to the shop. I mean, what's the point? We can handle that right from the office, that's why the touches are so important, we need the reps to be out there seeing you, that's why it is, it's important for him to walk through your door, at least once a quarter.
I mean, yes and no. I could argue the other side. I think so. I think that if they're accessible, and you know, they're on the up and up and kind of communicating, what's new, what's going on, So what's new, what's going on, and that sort of thing, I don't necessarily need to see them.
-Listen, I agree. It's servicing the account, right? As long as you feel, like maybe you as an account feel that way, you know? But I think a lot of clients accounts don't, they don't want conflict, so they don't even express it.
-Right. -And then they kind of talk behind, they'll never say it directly. -Right. -But they're really not happy with the rep, but they'll never say it.
But who doesn't want to, you know, have a visit, a planned visit, scheduled, and be properly presented information professionally? Maybe sometimes there's too much of a friendly relationship that happens. But then customers, you know, I know customers that get really friendly with the rep. They're joking around.
Everybody's busting balls. But then when it comes down to business, they get all worked up and they feel disrespected because they're not being true, they didn't get presented because the relationship has become too comfortable because our industry, this is the thing that our industry, the lines get blurred so quick, like, you know, you know, from when I started, I hired, you know, close friends. It was tough. I'm a different person, Nick.
Mike, when I'm wearing the hat of Nick Foundation, President of Foundation, compared to Nick who's not working or is not, you know, worried about work or responsibilities for work, that's a different Nick, that's a completely different Nick. Yeah, so, but it's the rep's job to know that, hey, you can bullshit and do all those things and have that good friendship, but you still got to be on point with everything else, right? Gotta be on point. Yeah, hey, this is what's going on, here's where we're at.
You know, or if the company has done something differently or there's different requirements where they got to be able to convey that information immediately. Hey, listen, we had to change, you know, so. Yeah, that means not going into the shop all the time or you don't want to see a rep once a quarter. Okay, that's cool.
As long as you feel that you're, you know, you're being, getting the proper service and what you need. Right. And the rep's bringing value. I mean, the whole thing is, right?
They gotta bring value. They gotta bring value. Otherwise, it just doesn't make, it doesn't make sense. Alfredo brings M&Ms, so that's the value.
I can't figure out if Alfredo's standing or not. One minute he's saying that there's necessary, and the other man's like, well, maybe not too much. No, Alfredo, I told you, Alfredo's on the top. He's been killing it the past year.
Well, I talked, well, Eduardo was in town with him recently, and, you know, he told me numbers. He knows that we've had growth and stuff like that with your brand. I'm like, okay, cool. So that's cool.
Yeah. I mean, be able to talk about numbers and growth. And that's it. Here's where you're at.
Here's what we're doing. Here's what I'd like to see you focus on, whatever. You know, those things are that those conversations are important, whether they're on the phone or in person. Right.
I'll tell you one of my best reps. He, he was a rep for a company. Oh, that's good. Most of his career was working as a rep for one company, and I think he was a manager for a territory for one company.
I've noticed that experience has definitely helped his role as an independent rep, because he's been able to see directly what one cigar company brand owner requires and needs. Does that make sense? Yep. So I think that experience adds perspective.
Sure. And those lifelong relationships that he's cultivated is also extremely helpful for any brand that takes on. Yeah. Because at the end of the day, if I love the rep and the guy, you know, leaves the company and starts a new company or starts working with a new company, you just pick it up.
Hey, I'm going to, okay, that's cool. If this is something that's for you now, we'll start working on this, right? Yeah. That's very common in this industry.
It is. And I think it also depends on the brand, right? Of course. Whether the brand is selling or not.
Well, sustainability. Well, yeah, because at the end of the day, the retailer can show somebody the cigar once, maybe twice, and then after that, it's got to kind of stand on its own. So if it's shit, you're not going to move it. Yeah.
Yeah. True. That's why I've been trying to drive, you know, traffic to also the final consumer and also to maybe different, you know, that's why the Rogan thing is, is interesting because hopefully it's opening up the world of handmade cigars to people that don't normally smoke, right? I mean, that's what our industry always struggles with.
Yeah, because, you know, before this, whenever I listened to Rogan from time to time, all I heard was, you know, You know, hey, what do you smoke? Oh, you know, he was, if he's interviewing somebody, I like those Romeo and Julietos. I'm like, fuck. Yeah.
Cause that's what Ron White. Yep. That was exactly the interview. That was the interview.
I'm like, God damn, what is, what is going on here? Somebody slapped us man. Yeah. Tater salad needs a little bit, but they're just like getting into it.
Right. Um, one of his friends, Robert Kelly, he's another comedian. He is a big, he was the one that was on with Chrysler. You know, and you can tell from Bert, he kind of knows.
He doesn't really know. But they're getting into it. But Robert Kelly knows cigars, you know, really well compared to, I think, the other guys. But, you know, that's the hope that they kind of, you know, get into it a little bit more, learn more, educate themselves more, and hopefully turn more people on to it.
And I think that's what happens a lot of times with celebrity cigars and whatnot, you know, they don't really work a lot of times, because they don't end up tapping into the celebrity's fan base, really, you know, they kind of stay in the cigar world fan base, and to cigar smokers, it's kind of like, okay, George Clooney's got a cigar, but, you know, George Clooney doesn't know tobacco, you know, like, what the fuck, it doesn't really translate. But then they don't do well in bringing in, you know, their other, their, I think, their fan base. And then they're afraid, maybe, because it's tobacco, and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I think that was the interesting thing with Metallica and whatnot, because I think they're really penetrating the Metallica fan base, which I think is good.
Whether you like it or not, or, but I think that's, you know. Yeah, I'm glad he followed up with that idea. Yeah, that's another thing. It's good or not, it's that important?
Well, you know, I think it's an interesting thing because that is a rough, that might be difficult because the blend is not particularly a blend, I think, for new smokers, so that might be rough. Yeah, that's that. I think just overall, it... Or old smokers for that, I mean...
What are they all things like this? What? Hello? What do I mean?
I fucking hated the cigar that was terrible. Right. How do you tap in? Yeah.
Yeah. I thought it was terrible, man. Sorry. That's one of those cigars that, hey, you can sell something new, right?
You can sell it once. I've never had somebody come in and say, hey, you know what, I really love that black and can I get a box? I just haven't had it. I'm sure those people exist.
Yeah. But I don't have that consumer. So, yeah. Whatever.
Hmm. They're out there, I think. Somewhere. You're so, you're so positive.
You're so positive. Well, maybe then they, they get into it and maybe they smoke another cigar. Yeah. That's what you're hoping for, right?
That's what I'm just getting at. Yeah. You're hoping to expand the consumer of the cigar industry. Absolutely.
Absolutely. I mean, do you think that happened over COVID? Do you think that was part? No.
Was it the COVID boom, or it was more just people having more time and they were just smoking? Well, I guess maybe a little bit of both, but more of the latter. You know, what's really kind of remarkable is if you don't, like, it's, you know, if you start smoking a cigar because you're bored or whatever, yeah, okay, maybe a very small percentage of those people stick, right? But the reality is that I think that the camaraderie really is where the things, the dynamic changes, right?
So, if you took that away and you didn't have that ability, you know, if you didn't know the Zoom calls and all this other shit going on and you just tried cigars, you probably didn't stick it through, right? But if you went to, if a cigar shop was open, you want to try something new, you smoke a cigar and you hung out with a couple of people and you're like, hey, I didn't need to get shit-faced, drive home, get scared, worried about driving home, get a DUI or kill somebody, you know, but I got to hang out, smoke a cigar, bullshit with some cool people, I'll definitely be back. That's where that consumer is new and kind of built on, right? So that was the one pitfall with COVID, so my personal opinion.
Yeah, you didn't have that. Yeah, you didn't have that. But people were smoking like crazy. They had more time.
Yeah, more time, more money. Stimulus checks, baby. Right. Let's go.
One more round. Let's go one more round. Stimulus. Fuck it.
What's inflation? Who cares? uh all right but hey you know i'm already i've already kept you on longer than i promised that i would keep you on i just i want to add one other question real quick and then we'll let you go uh have you announced anything for pca uh is there anything that you want to talk about briefly that you're going to be released releasing yeah go ahead and anything else with a leather football helmet that's going to surprise surprise everybody it tastes really fucking good the charter oak It's called Especiales, which I did in homage to my grandfather's, so it's a Connecticut broadly, it's in the shape of the traditional size of the Connecticut cigars of old. It's a five and a half by 48 soft box press.
They're completely different blends of the Charter Oak core line. The core line would have been, the core line of Charter Oak is really a line for my grandfather's, which I never really liked. really talk about but because they used to smoke all different types of connecticut brands that used to be produced here and those sort of faded away at the end of the 90s so charter oak was the the creation to kind of fulfill that pipeline of uh everyday you know good smoke and um so they would have been smoking those one like shade and the other like broadleaf so this is like a special A Cajun Charter Oak, a completely different blend, uses a lot of higher priming tobaccos, you know, Visos and Ligeros, whereas the Charter Oak, the Coraline, uses more milder Seiko and Viso primings. Hence, I'm able to keep that price point down because of the blend.
So these are, these are going to be a limited quarterly release, uh, just two special, same size special blends, so those will be coming out in the fall, and, um, we got some treats coming out, we got an announcement coming out this week, and then next week. Wow, new Senager? So, um, the Senager, Senager we're going to be actually re-releasing in November, just for November. It's going to be a one-time annual release, because there's been so many people that wanted it, so we're going to do it one time a year for the anniversary of the discovery of King Cut, which is every November, so we're going to do about 500 boxes every November and keep it as an annual release, so we'll be making that announcement before the show, too.
And then I got, I got a special, I got a new core line coming out, and then I have a really special tabernacle that I'm gonna do for charity, so it's gonna be a special charity release, so I'm working on starting a new 501c3 for charity, so we're gonna, yeah, raise some money, so it's gonna be a super high-end tabernacle. $75. One sticker. The Moses.
They'd probably be more around $40 or $50. Ooh. Is it a box press? No.
It's not a box press. No. No. Yeah, I've been doing a lot with the box press.
King Solomon. You can see the new... Oh, the Solomon Times. A Salomon called?
Can you stop running over him? For fuck's sake. I love the Salomon. Salomon is good.
Okay. You like the Salomons? I love Salomon. Yeah, I'm working with Sumatra Ecuador for my new four lines.
This has been becoming a thing. Is it the hybrid? No, this is straight up Sumatra Ecuador. You know, I've worked with it behind the scenes for many years.
I just never come out with anything. It's a tough wrapper to use. It's really interesting, it's very unique, has a very unique flavor profile, but it was on one of the, one of my most favorite cigars of all time, which was a specific year, '96, Pudos Indias. That was, that was one of my favorite cigars of all time, that year, they had a lot of problems after '96 and it all went to shit.
But that was, to this day, one of the best cigars that I smoked, and I, within the past couple of years, found out that the blend was using Sumatra Ecuador, so I kind of tried to recreate that in my mind, in a blend, so I'm excited about it. Nice. Very nice. All right, cool.
Well, anything else you want to plug before we let you go? Smoke Foundation Cigars, I appreciate you guys. It's always good talking to you. We will, at some point, make the in-person happen.
Perfect. I can't wait to see you at the show. Let's try to maybe hang out and talk before it's pure madness. Sounds like a plan.
When are you guys getting in? 7th. 7th? Yep, July 7th.
All right, well, maybe we'll try to have a cigar around the, uh, the bar, the, uh, center bar or whatever. I like it. Can you smoke anymore over there? Uh, I guess you can't.
I think, why couldn't you? You can only smoke, well, I think last year that you can only smoke around the electronic, uh, poker games for some reason. That's the only place they let, they wouldn't let you smoke at the tables and whatnot, which sucks. But they let us smoke at the bar?
I smoked at all the tables and... Oh, you did? Yeah, you can't smoke in the hallway. Okay.
That I know. Degenerates. Who are the degenerates smoking? Yeah, no, you can't smoke a cigar in the hallway, but if you need to get a hooker in cocaine, that can be arranged relatively quickly.
That's allowed. You know, perfectly acceptable. Yeah. Alfredo's good for that, I understand.
Yeah, if you need that. Number one. Number one sales rep. You guys are insane.
You guys are the biggest ball busters I know. Yes, thank you. We'll hold that as a badge. I can't tell when this guy's being serious or not.
I love that. I love that. You're going to be here in person, right? Yeah, I will.
I'll be there. I love Alfredo. I love Alfredo. But sometimes, man.
All right, go easy. Go easy. Yes. All right, bro.
That's an off-air conversation. Poor Alfredo. He's a good dude. He is a good dude.
He is a good man. He's a good man. Alfredo from Old San Juan. That's his nickname.
I like that. I call him Alfredo from Ortega, which is, which is gone. Ortega, I have him saved under my phone as Alfredo, Ortega, Kristoff, which he no longer reps either one of those. Oh my God.
Yeah. That's how long I've known Alfredo. That's the growth. That's a while.
Yeah. He, he repped Kristoff? Yeah. He did.
Oh, wow. I didn't know that. Yeah. Amazing.
Yes sir. All right, guys. Well, thanks for Thanks for having me on, and I look forward to seeing you at the show. Alright, Nicholas.
Thanks, Nick. Thanks, brother. Alright, be good. Bye-bye.
There you go. You could talk to him for four hours. I mean, he could have just kept going. There would be no lull in the conversation.
He would just keep talking. A lot of information. I mean, well, dude, he is fucking smart. How old is he?
I don't know. He's probably our age. My age is a little older. Early 40s, late 30s-ish.
I know we're running short time. I have one story I have to do, and we have to do his fun facts, because he has his new intro. All right, so let's do this. Well, we can run a little bit later.
Who gives a shit? Well, I know we can, but I mean, I don't want to run a whole seven pages of news. Oh my god. We'll keep it at an hour and a half max.
Yeah, okay. You know you're not ready? I'm ready. Welcome to Cigar Hustlers' Podcast Feature, Phil's Fun Facts.
Yes. That's where you start talking. This is great. That was a great intro.
Was that AI or something? I appreciate you. Yeah, the voice was. Yeah.
All right, fellas. The first independent cigar brand established in Cuba was... anybody? Uh, hold on, hold on.
Cuesta... Cuesta Monterey. Francisco Cabanas. Founded by Francisco Cabanas in 1797, the company lasted until 1962.
Then it was discontinued after being nationalized by the revolutionary government of Fidel Castro. Wow, he just took it. This is mine. Everything is here.
Everything is mine. We are communist. It's very good. That was great, Palmer.
I appreciate that. Good. I'm glad you liked it. Thank you.
All right. I have to do this because we have something. Don Doroteo plans the salt of the earth for the PCA 2023. Oh.
Last year, Don Doroteo. You didn't even do your news intro. That's okay. Here's the news.
Here's the news. Don Doroteo debuted at the PCA Convention and Trade Show with cigars. The company said were aged for more than 14 years prior to the release. This year, the company will be back at the PCA Convention and Trade Show with a line that uses some of the Dominican Republic's most unique tobacco.
Oh, it's very unique. The company has two new blends that will be sold under the salt of the earth. Don Doroteo issued a press release that said it was declining to disclose details about the blends in, oh, there's a typo, and I don't type these. Uh-oh.
Order. Order. Should be order. Order to heighten the sense of discovery and anticipation leading to the PCA trade show.
What it has disclosed is that the cigars will use Andulo Tobacco. Is that how you say that? Andulo. A-N-D-U-L-L-O?
Anduelo. Anduelo? Anduelo. Anduelo tobacco is only native to the Dominican Republic.
And instead of wrapped tightly in large pods, they make like a 15-foot long burrito and then wrap it in rope and help compress the tobacco even further. Oh, like the Amazon basin. The end result is something that is more or less a large log of tobacco where slices are cut off as seen in a video and are more commonly chewed or smoked via pipes. Andulo, or however you say it, is more of a process than a seed varietal, something that typically only found in Dominican Republic.
" this. The salt of the earth line is a column... Now I can't say the word. C-U-L-M-I-N-A-T-I-O-N.
Culmination? Culmination. Thank you. I got screwed up.
I couldn't say it. Oh my god. Culmination of legacy, time, honored, tradition, and innovation. We're over the moon excited to share them with everyone at the PCA.
Garrett, make sure you give them one for me. He's a culmination. Palmer, we will get you one. I'm making a list.
Good luck with that. You know how that works. You know what, last time I gave you a list, you got me everything on the list, but like two. Because I don't want to disappoint you.
I know. But I'm going to set the parameter of, hey, listen. Well, there's Boots and the Three Amigos going around. Certainly they can do it.
The Three Amigos? That's where I'm going in now. Down to Herf, guys. The Buffalo 5-0.
The Buffalo 5-0, I like that better. The Buffalo 12. Buffalo 5-0. Buffalo 12.
I'm excited for that, by the way. Yeah? I like the cigar. Oh, I mean last year's.
I know it's a little expensive. That was our favorite cigar from last year's show. I thought it was amazing. Yeah, I liked it.
Well, that was at TPE. Oh, that was TPE. TPE, yeah. Okay, well, the last show we went to.
Fantastic cigar. Right. Don Doroteo. You heard of Time Out Cigars?
Time Out. Time Out, no. We're going to take a break. We're going to take a break.
All right, America's largest cigar retailers prepare to stop shipments to Hawaii next month. What? Oh, yeah, this is a thing. S.
say they will stop shipping cigar customers in Hawaii beginning July 1, 2023. Cigars International, JR Cigars, Famous Smoke Shop, three of the largest retailers in the world, will stop shipping to Hawaii, a move that will likely cause most of the competitors to follow suit. All this is in response to SB 975, a recently passed law in Hawaii that purportedly aims to cut down on youth vaping. The law introduced changes to the rules regarding shipping tobacco and vaping products to addresses in Hawaii, including the law that the language that requires a retailer to get a license.
According to a source, the way the law is currently written, you can only get a license if you are in Hawaii. Oh, okay, so I'm understanding. Right. Got it.
If you want to sell tobacco in Hawaii, you have to have a license that says you sell tobacco in Hawaii, but you can't get it unless you're in Hawaii. If I'm Chris Duque right now, I'm like... I'm buying everything. I'm like, hey, I will have a license.
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I will facilitate. Instead of those pull-ups he was doing the other day. That's when he's filling out paperwork.
He can eat some donuts and, you know. Right. Yeah. What's in the box?
That question would be asked multiple times a day. Right. What's in the box? What's in the box?
Yeah. Tatuaje's doing a price increase a little late to the game. Enter Florida Story. Uh-oh.
Yeah. Congratulations, Florida, all the beaches to hang out in your birthday suit, two of yours made a very special list for 2023. Oh. Best nude beaches in the world.
So two beaches in Florida have made the best nude beaches in the world. Yeah. And did you go to investigate? No, but you can.
One of them is local. Oh, I want to hear. Ah, let's see where they are. Just say the names.
Nice, even, tan. The swimwear brand Pour Me, Pour Me, in French, released its Best Nude Beaches in the World last May of 2023, in May, where they like to say, Dare to Go Bear, finished on top, ahead of Nude Beaches in Brazil, Spain, and Greece. So, the first one is Playa Linda, over by Space Coast. Ah, wow.
And then the news gets better, because a second Florida Nude Beach was recognized coming in at number 20, oh, number 20 is Playa Linda, I'm sorry, Rivard County. The other one is a beach in Miami, and then one in, where's the other one at? What's three? What constitutes?
The only new beach in the world made the list was the San Francisco beach. Okay, so what constitutes it being? The best. The best.
I think it's beach quality, because I don't think a lot of new beaches are... Good? They're kind of dumb-y? Yeah, it's like, okay, you can go down there by the junk that washes up on shore.
You can go be naked over here. Right, you can be naked over there where you don't want the public to go. Gotcha. Is there activities?
Volleyball? Ring toss. Ring toss? A lot of ring toss.
A lot of ring toss. You walk them down to the beach with your rings, and just choo-choo. Right. Do you have any food trucks?
They have food trucks? For what I've heard about Playlinda, it's not really the kind of people you want to sing like it. I would assume that your new beach is not like, hey. Yeah, it's not the, you know, the Playboy models or the Sports Illustrated swimsuit models running around.
No, no, it's Grandpa who just doesn't wear pants at home either. He's like, you know what? If I don't have to wear pants here. That's right.
A little sand up in my crotch, brother, no, it's good, I'm fine. What's in this box? Oh, yeah, we have another box! This box.
What's in this box? We have not opened this box. This has a lovely face on here. There's a lovely face there.
Yeah. Lovely face everywhere. Yeah. This is from our friend Lenny, Lenny at Owler.
Yeah, Owler Cigars. Owler Cigars. He was doing a Facebook Live last week and I was the only one in the live. Yeah.
So, apparently, I won a prize for being in the live. Let's see what we got here. Let's see what we got from old Lenny here. Open it carefully.
I got to tell you. I like the prizes. I like when I get the prizes. Lenny is a fucking awesome guy.
He is. You remember what he did last time we were there? I do. That was very nice.
What did he do? He had some SD DuPont lighters. I was about to tell that story. Well, please.
It's your story. You go ahead. So there was an SD DuPont lighter that I really liked. It actually...
Orange. I think it was orange. It was orange and black and it reminded me of my father. Oh.
Yeah, so that's why I kind of gravitated towards it, because my dad would always talk about this Stingray that he had, this Corvette. Oh, that's right. Yeah, yeah. I didn't get the orange connection at first, but now it doesn't make sense.
Well, it was pumpkin orange, but you know, for whatever reason, this lighter kind of triggered in my mind. I'm like, "Wow, that's really badass. " And then, you know, a few weeks later, he sent it to me. I thought he gave it to you where we were there.
No, no, he shipped it. Oh, did he ship it? Yeah. Wow, that's pretty cool.
Yeah. Alright, we have hats, we can't lay these down on the table, there's only two hats, two is the number of goods to set, three, can I set it on the paper, can I rest it on the cup, yeah, as long as it doesn't touch it, there you go, as long as we, look at this, look, it's lovely, give me three, oh no, there's more, there's more, there's more! Fantastic. I love the hats.
We have a note. I'm rocking the hats. Phil's the best. I can't wait for this note.
Look, look at all the goodies. We have, oh, a lighter for you. Oh, look at this. A Lenny approved cutter for you.
This is very nice. We have a lighter for me. Oh. A cutter.
Oh, I also got a cutter. He's by far one of the fucking best guys in the industry. Oh, that's Phil leaving. I'm still leaving.
That was Phil. Phil just left. We have two regular Lenny stickers. Two reflective Lenny stickers.
Oh, hologram. I like it. Hologram, right. Oh, two for St.
Patrick's Day. How festive. How festive. Oh, every holiday he's covered here.
Two for Christmas. Oh, the fucking gifts keep coming. And two for Easter. Oh, the Easter one is fantastic.
Let's see what the card says. Palmer, I am sending this to you, please share with Mike Szczep, oh, well, he tried to spell Szczep, I think he put every letter for the alphabet on here, just to make sure he was all over it. I'm very sorry you never got a hat, unlike some assholes, I recognize the importance of proper headgear. Excellent.
He's trying to get one from Terrence. I know. So, that was nice. Thank you, Lenny.
Very nice of you. Lenny. You're very nice. I too have never received.
You two recognize good headwear? Nope. This has a punch. This is nice.
Just so Lenny's aware, if I was Terrence, I would give him a hat. I like when they have the little windows so you can see if it was inside a fuel or not. Oh, that's nice. Very nice.
Lenny's a good dude. He is, and these are the idiot-proof cutters. There are times where I'll just call Lenny just to talk, and we'll have an hour conversation. conversation and the guy fucking makes me laugh so hard sometimes i'm like i'm gonna piss myself like i have i have started to cry sometimes he's a very funny man some of the shit that he says like i'm starting to stop i'm fucking tearing up man it's hilarious that was that was nice thank you lenny look we're right on time yeah uh well i guess shop of the week would be owl ear then oh yeah shop of the week and listener of the week and listener of the week would be lenny shop of the week owl ear cigars in arizona right in arizona Listener of the Week, Lenny.
Lenny Smeagol. Schmeagol in Arizona. Love him. And, uh, what, uh, Four Finger Fred, your father.
Four Finger. Well, he's got a new dog. Lenny. Oh, does he?
Yeah. Oh. Yeah. His name is like, uh, ooh, it's like Luca or something.
Luca? Yeah. But I call him Henry. Henry.
So whenever he posts... He's just roaming over there. Take it away. When he posts, I always yell, of the dog, I go, Henry, in all caps.
That's Henry! That's nice. Yeah. So.
Alright, what do we got next week? Anybody, are we calling anybody on the phone next week? We are. Who are we calling?
Are we really? Yeah. Oh, who are we calling? Alex.
Alex Trebek? Alex Trebek. He's dead. No, Alex from Romacraft, the Nikosueno operation.
Oh, are we really? Nikosueno. Yeah, he hit me with a message today, he's like, hey, let me know if you have any questions or anything I don't know anything that I could run by Skip or whatever. I'm like, fuck no, dude.
I'm not giving you anything. I'm going to ask some questions and we're going to see how you do. You may or may not be employed afterwards. Oh, you put him to the test.
It all depends on how you respond and answer. Yeah. Yeah. So it's going to be like, so how's it working with Skip?
Be honest. What kind of gas does his car take? How often do you rotate the tires? Does he beat you?
You know, like I want to know, I'm going to ask the hard questions. Does he make you feed the monkeys? Yeah, do you have to go to the house and stand on the third? Are you in charge of picking up the poop now for Buster?
Yeah, what's it like walking Buster? You know, it's funny. All right, this has been episode 286 of the Cigar Hustler Podcast. Bye.
Thank you, bye. The End. Thank you. Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada Thank you.
Música Thank you. Thank you. Music by: Mike Szczec, Cs.
Show Notes
Episode 286: Interview with Nick Melillo of Foundation Cigars - Becoming Joe Rogan's Cigar Guy
Join the Cigar Hustlers Podcast hosts in this exciting episode as they sit down with Nick Melillo, the founder of Foundation Cigars, for an exclusive interview. In this engaging conversation, Nick shares his fascinating journey of how he met Joe Rogan and became his trusted cigar guy.
Nick takes us back to the beginnings of their friendship and the shared passion for cigars that brought them together. Discover the story behind their initial encounter and the memorable moments that solidified their bond over their love for premium cigars.
Learn about the cigars that have captivated Joe Rogan's palate and the role Nick plays in curating an exceptional cigar experience for him. Delve into the process of selecting the perfect cigars to complement different occasions and moods, and gain valuable tips on cigar pairing and appreciation from Nick himself.
Whether you're a fan of Joe Rogan, a cigar enthusiast, or simply curious about the behind-the-scenes connections that shape the cigar industry, this episode is a must-listen. Join the Cigar Hustlers Podcast as they unravel the story of how Nick Melillo became Joe Rogan's trusted cigar guy and the impact it has had on both their lives.
Tune in to Episode 286 of the Cigar Hustlers Podcast and explore the fascinating world of cigars and friendship with Nick Melillo and Joe Rogan.