Cigar Hustlers Podcast Ep. 380 Bankruptcy, Blossoms & Big Releases
Episode Summary
Episode 380 of A Cigar Hustler's Podcast opens with Mike Palmer and Michael previewing the upcoming Bentley Cigar private dinner with John Kearney and their plans for the PCA Convention & Trade Show in New Orleans (April 12–14, 2025), including how retailers and media can book time with them. The hosts then run their usual trending-news block: 23andMe's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing and CEO Anne Wojcicki's resignation (and their theory that she resigned in order to bid on the company herself), the DC cherry blossoms hitting "stage five" ahead of peak bloom, and Tiger Woods confirming his relationship with Vanessa Trump — complete with a very Hustlers-style breakdown of net worths, alimony and child support math.
The cigar news is the meat of the episode. They cover Escobar Cigars (Nas's brand) announcing distribution in Ghana/Guyana through Leaf & Flame, Warped Cigars' new event-only R/Waste — a 5 1/2 x 52 box-press torpedo barber pole using Connecticut Broadleaf and Ecuadorian Desflorada wrappers made at NACSA — and the company's refusal to answer follow-up questions. From there it's a rapid-fire rundown of PCA 2025 debuts: Rocky Patel 30th Anniversary, AJ Fernandez's Viva La Vida Connecticut, Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust's Mi Querida Gordo, Karen Berger's Halftime, Altadis's H. Upmann by AJ Fernandez Heritage Finca Provincia, Aladino 85 Aniversario Reserva, Black Star Line's Metalwood Martin Luther King, and Foundation Cigar Company's event-exclusive Primer Fabrica 1810, a Connecticut Broadleaf/Brazilian Mata Fina tribute to the first known American cigar factory (Suffield, CT, 1810).
Industry business follows: Eddie Tarazona joins League of Fat Bastards Cigars as director of sales for the USA and Americas, Bocock Brothers expands its officially licensed LSU program with a Jay Johnson Signature Series baseball cigar (San Andrés wrapper, Honduran binder, Robusto $16 / Toro $16.25) benefiting an LSU NIL collective, and Scandinavian Tobacco Group discontinues 56 SKUs — roughly half of them Alec Bradley, with CAO and the Cohiba Red Dot Robusto 5-pack also cut. The hosts speculate that deep-discount pricing being switched off after STG's acquisitions killed those sales. They also break down ST Dupont's US price increases blamed on the new 20% China tariffs (with pricing left alone on French-made Ligne 2 and Le Grand), and question whether the roughly 17% MSRP jumps are as much greed as tariff.
The episode closes on Tyler Jeffries' sophomore release, the Viso Horny 555 — a 5 x 55 broadleaf-wrapped, Cameroon-bound cigar made entirely from viso priming at NicaSueño, $15, limited to 500 bundles of 10, distributed by Poshik/CICC and shipping right after PCA. The hosts discuss Jeffries' work with Alex Nogazooka and Skip Martin of RoMa Craft, plus mentions of Michael Rosales, Angel Oliva III and Gustavo Cura. Listener of the Week is Rick Bavone (the Cigar Whisperer) and Shop of the Week is Cigar Castle in Tampa, host of Mike's April 4th cutting light.
In This Episode
- 01PCA 2025 & Bentley Cigar Dinner HousekeepingShow dates for the PCA Convention in New Orleans (April 12–14) plus the private Bentley Cigar dinner with John Kearney and how retailers can book meetings.
- 0223andMe Files Chapter 11The hosts dig into 23andMe's bankruptcy, Anne Wojcicki's resignation, the mass board walkout and whether she's tanking the company to buy it back private.
- 03Cherry Blossoms and Tiger WoodsDC's Yoshino cherry trees hit stage five before peak bloom, and Tiger Woods goes public with Vanessa Trump — plus a net-worth and child-support tangent.
- 04Escobar Cigars Adds Ghana DistributionNas's Escobar Cigars lands a new distributor, Leaf & Flame, and the guys question the strategy of chasing small overseas markets over the US.
- 05Warped's R/Waste Event-Only CigarA 5 1/2 x 52 box-press torpedo barber pole with Connecticut Broadleaf and Ecuadorian Desflorada wrappers, made at NACSA and sold only at Warped events.
- 06PCA 2025 Release RoundupRapid-fire coverage of Rocky Patel 30th, Viva La Vida Connecticut, Mi Querida Gordo, Karen Berger Halftime, H. Upmann Heritage Finca Provincia, Aladino 85, Black Star Line Metalwood MLK and Foundation's Primer Fabrica 1810.
- 07Personnel & Licensing: Tarazona and Bocock Brothers LSUEddie Tarazona becomes director of sales for League of Fat Bastards, and Bocock Brothers extends its LSU license to a Jay Johnson baseball cigar supporting an NIL collective.
- 08STG Cuts 56 SKUs and ST Dupont Tariff PricingScandinavian Tobacco Group discontinues eight lines and dozens of vitolas — half of them Alec Bradley — while ST Dupont raises US prices roughly 17% citing 20% China tariffs.
- 09Tyler Jeffries' Viso Horny 555The all-viso, broadleaf-and-Cameroon 5 x 55 sophomore release made at NicaSueño, limited to 500 bundles of 10 at $15, shipping right after PCA.
Brands & Cigars Discussed
Linked items are in our shop. Mentions without a link aren’t currently stocked or couldn’t be matched with confidence.
Transcript
Welcome to episode 380 of a Cigar Hustlers Podcast. We got a few things here that we're going to cover. But before we get started, this Friday, we have the Bentley Cigar Private Dinner with the one and the only John Carney. In this private lounge, only 20 members.
If you haven't got your tickets, reach out to us, Cigar Hustler, and we'll lock you in. Also, April 11th, PCA... - 12th. - 12th?
- Starts on the 12th. - 12th to 14th. - We're gonna be there forever. - We get there like on the 9th.
- Yeah. - The night of the 9th. - Crazy. April 12th, PCA, the Cigar Convention of the Year in New Orleans.
If you are a retailer and you want to meet with us, we'll put a Calendly link below so you can click on that. And if you want to do an interview with us, click that link, we'll put both links in the bottom portion of the comment section on our YouTube page. So, without further ado, I give you the legend, Mr. Mike Palmer in the building.
Well, thank you for the introduction, Michael. It was very nice of you. I'm just living vicariously through you, my friend. Did you see John Kearney do a private dinner this weekend?
He did, I, I, it, yeah. At somebody's, he told us he was doing it, but I didn't expect to see photos, it looked delicious. Yeah, he's like, this was my moment, or something like that he did on social media, it's good to be working with friends and stuff. Yeah, Simon looked like two of his buddies, I guess.
Ryan and Mike. Who's Ryan and Mike? Ryan's a Oliva rep. Oh, I don't know him.
Yeah. He's a little crazy. Oh, that must be the bigger guy? Yeah.
And was it, uh, Mike Wilson? McAuliffe, yeah. Oh. Formerly of McAuliffe.
Did you see the second guy? Yeah. Oh, isn't that nice? Uh-huh.
I should look at things with my glasses on. You should probably check that out. He was in a suit and everything. Chef outfit.
No, no. Mike was. Oh, Mike was. Yeah.
Wow. So he was in a suit for the dinner. So he does own one. He has a suit.
He has a suit. But whenever he's repping Hoot & Young, no suit. Well, they're a t-shirt. I don't understand it.
It doesn't make much sense to me. If you have the suit, just wear the suit. It's not their dress code, dude. I guess.
T-shirt people. What are we doing for the Patreon? We are smoking for the Patreon is yours. The Vow, the green one, I'm not sure what it's called.
The Vow, the green one. I have the notes on my phone for that show, but it's, you know, oh. We have what? Good and clear.
It's an audio show, you have to talk. If you could talk, that would be fantastic. The nodding does not help the audience. I forgot where I was for a second.
Oh, gotcha. Yes, we have Ryan again today, did such a great job last week. Back on the ones and twos. Back on the ones and twos.
So yeah, let's see what this weighs in at before we get going. This is Small Batch's cigar? Yes, one of their cigars. I'm excited for them.
They're about to gravitate into the abuse of wholesale. 14 grams. All right. 15 grams.
Want to know what's going on? Let's get going. All right. In trending news, we got 23andMe is now just zero and me.
Uh-oh. C. Cherries are in stage five. Oh.
Tiger Woods takes the love of Trump a tad further than anybody else. And then in cigar news, Guyana, how do you say that country? G-H-A-N-A. Guyana.
Guyana. That's where the big cigar sales are going. The sales are going. Warped can't be bothered.
We have several PCA releases. We have a new event cigar from our friend Nick. Nick Malololo. Nick Malololo.
Eddie Tarzona is gaining some weight. And let's see, Bocock news about the size of their bat. SG, STG is cutting back way back. Cutting way back.
STG. STG. DuPont Lighters are hit by Trump's tariff and Tyler Jeffries is releasing his second cigar. Boom, yeah, all that's very exciting.
Good news is that, you know, we're finally in the portion of the year where Cigar News, like, trends. This is what everybody waits for. Yeah. This is it.
This is our Super Bowl. This is our Super Bowl. Right. Okay, let's go.
All right, trending news. Genetic testing firm 23andMe files for bankruptcy. Gene testing firm 23andMe said on Sunday it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in order to facilitate its sale After years of struggling to find a sustainable business model, wonder what happens to all your DNA they have now. We part it all out.
We sell it to the highest bidder. We're selling those too. In a statement announcing the bankruptcy, the firm said it's CEO Anne Wojciki? Wojciki.
Wojciki? Yeah. Is she one of your peoples? It looks like she's one of my peoples.
Had resigned, effective immediately. Doesn't matter who she is now, we don't care. We don't care. She will remain on the company's board of directors after a thorough evaluation of strategic alternatives.
We have determined that a court supervised sale process is the best path forward to maximize the value of the business, said Mark Jensen, chair and member of the special committee of the board of directors. So they have a board of directors and a special committee of the board of directors. Yeah. Do you know why she resigned?
She didn't want them to take her DNA? No, it's not about her DNA. But the reason why she resigned is because she wants to be able to have the ability to bid on the company. Oh, she wants to buy it herself?
Yeah. So if she's part of the company, she can't bid on it. Huh. So, yeah.
Wait, she's running this company, the company's going into bankruptcy, now she wants to buy it? Oh, I know, it sounds totally fucked, yeah, 100%. Right, like maybe she did it allegedly for various reasons? Right, oh my god, oh man.
I made that wrong decision. This doesn't seem to be working. No. It's so strange.
I'll give you a dollar for it, though. You know, I'd like to bid on that. Right. Late last year, the company said it was cutting about 40% of its workforce, around 200 employees.
Do they need that many employees? That's a lot of genes. You spit on a stick and send it to them. What else are they doing with it?
That's what it is, spit on a stick. It's not blood work. You put it in your mouth, and then you mail it back to them. Yeah.
You can do it on YouTube and somewhere and then see if you have cancer. Or if you genetically match someone else. Genetically match cancer? I guess.
And discontinuing further development of its therapies as part of, they have therapies. As part of the restructuring program, according to Reuters, in September, all seven of the company's independent directors resigned en masse. Oh, they all left at the same time. Citing their frustration with the CEO's strategic direction to tank the company, so that she could buy it later, in efforts to take 23andMe private, oh there it is, the company which went public in 2021 had never made a profit, the stock shot up following the listing briefly valuing the company at $6 billion, Wojichiki, who owned 49% of the company became a billionaire.
It sounds like a bit of fuckery about here. It does, doesn't it? You know what I mean? In core product, an at-home DNA testing kit offers personalized genetic insights that the company says can flag potential health risks, such as one's likelihood to develop Alzheimer's or certain cancers, not all, just certain cancers.
Right. 23andMe tried to convert one-time buyers into subscribers with the promise of continued feedback and personalized wellness plans, but had reportedly fallen short of its goals. What's subscription plans? Yeah, they try and loop you in to pay for it.
Well, I understand why they're doing it, but what would you get of? Like annual, any updated information. We need you to spit in another tube and send it in again and we'll reevaluate you. No, once the tube's done, the tube's done, but as like links happen and additional things, they can tie you back in and whatever.
Ryan, how do you feel about the 23andMe going bankrupt? Are you registered with any of these companies? Absolutely not. No.
I do not pass out my DNA. Yeah. It's up to my wife. Just to your wife.
I was gonna throw some. And did she give out your DNA to 25? Well, she made things with it. Yeah.
She's currently making one right now. I give my DNA to my wife and she gives me babies, that's it. That's it. Oh, it's a good deal.
That's where that ends? Yep. Do you think the lead CEO is actually purposely tanking this in order to acquire it herself? It sounds like it.
It definitely sounds like she's trying to shift around money to... Reap the benefits. Closer to the microphone there, Ryan. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Mike. It looks like that to me. Yeah, I agree. Absolutely.
What do you think? She must have some type of plan to, you know, bring it back up now that she's tanked it. She wants to make it private. Well, it originally was private, then they sold, they sold shares to raise money, and now that she's a billionaire, she wants it to go private again.
Yeah. But it's never turned a profit. And this time, she'll make money. I mean, she just doesn't show profits to spend, you know, that's not that hard.
It seems there's some fuckery about here. I've already said that. I am just agreeing with you. Now you're just repeating.
I'm agreeing. Now you're just taking my stuff and making it your stuff. I'm seeing some problems here. Okay.
Okay. All right. Okay. Moving on.
Next story. DC's cherry blossoms reach stage five puffy white blossoms. I love cherry blossoms. Well, apparently everyone else does too.
Yeah. A million people were looking at this story today. Okay. The Yoshino cherry trees at the Tidal Basin have reached stage, the last stage, before peak bloom.
Puffy white blossoms, the iconic cherry blossoms are continuing their journey toward peak bloom, officially reaching stage five, or puffy white blossoms, March 23rd, 2025. According to the National Park Service, the blooming process began with stage one on March 11th, followed by stage two, and then March 16th, They quickly progressed into Stage 3 by March 19th and Stage 4 coming the last day or later, March 20th. Stage 5, Puffy White Blossoms is the final stage before Peak Bloom arrives. Very exciting stuff.
Apparently it is. I wanted to have cherry blossoms at my house. Why don't you? You can't.
They don't grow here? It's too hot here. Oh. They won't sustain.
But I like them. I think they're badass. Oh, they're very pretty. C.?
So am I dropped a cherry? No. C.? Nope.
I'm pretty sure they were donated from Japan. Oh, that makes sense. Yeah, like a whole peace thing. They're going to want them back soon.
So after we bombed them? Yeah, after we bombed them. Oh, we're so sorry. Here's some trees.
I don't know. Here's some trees. Here's some trees. We can't grow them here now.
Nuclear waste everywhere. I don't think they're going to try and take them back. Well, there's that one French guy who wants a Statue of Liberty back. Yeah, whatever.
He's still full of shit. Come on, dude. Do you honestly believe any of that? " Well, it was just one guy.
He doesn't really hold any power. But I saw it. It was mentioned at the press conference to the secretary or whatever that little girl is. I don't know her name.
The blonde girl. Whatever she does. I'm scared of her, but I don't know her name. I'm terrified of her.
I don't know her name. But somebody asked, you know, "How does Mr. " She laughed and said, "He holds no power in France. " We don't care what he has to say.
We don't care what he says. He means nothing to us. He's a French blogger. So maybe the Japanese, well your brother's there, so maybe the Japanese will want the trees back after your brother's been plomping around Japan.
I can't see that, we dropped two bombs on them. Oh, it's true. You know what I mean? I don't know, people get up in the air, they forget.
I don't think that you would forget that one. We killed like 200,000 people. 100,000 people. They're all dead.
All their relatives are dead. You killed 100,000 people when they drop and then like another 100,000 afterwards for like radiation and stuff. I don't think that after that type of abuse... You don't think they ever forget?
Yeah, I don't think that they want to go up against you again. They want peace. Well, they just want the trees. They're not going to attack us and come get them.
I don't think they want to start anything. Aren't you guys with shovels and things going to show up and start digging them up? No, man, come on. Be reasonable.
Have you been to DC? Have you seen how many cherry blossoms there are? When I was a kid, we used to live in Maryland. There's a ton of them over there.
They had to take all of them? Just on that basin. You had to take all of them? Well, after stage six.
Once we reach stage six, they're going to take them? The cherries fall off. No more cherries? No more cherries.
Now it's no more cherry blossom? What's it called after it doesn't cherry blossom anymore? Just trees. We're gonna take back these trees?
Take back these trees. Okay. Alright, Tiger Woods confirms his relationship with Vanessa Trump. Yeah.
President Trump's former daughter-in-law golfing hero Tiger Woods on Sunday confirmed his relationship with Vanessa Trump, the former daughter-in-law of President Donald Trump, by declaring that love is in the air. Think she still has access to Trump? no man she don't she don't she gave him grandchildren kids i guess maybe a lot of grandchildren yeah five woods posted a picture of him alongside trump uh to his instagram like they just call her trump now yeah right uh there's instagram and x accounts oh he's on x with the caption love is in the air and life is better with you by my side has he said that like 12 times because there's a lot of girls is that is that his moment that's That's his standard, I think, post. Got it.
We look forward to our journey through this life together, or as long as she lasts. I mean, why is she still going with the last name Trump? Well, would you change your name? Yes.
Okay, she's divorced, but she's not remarried, so she has not changed it back to whatever her maiden name was. That doesn't normally happen. She should go back to her maiden name. Why?
I don't know, it just seems tacky to hold on to, you know, hey. But by keeping that name, okay, all the grandchildren's last name is Trump. Right. So now she has the same last name as all her children.
Okay. Until it's Woods. Then what happens? Well, who knows?
He's not getting married again. So it's different at that point because, you know, she married another dude? Right. That doesn't even make any sense.
My second wife kept my last name until she married some other guy. Yes, this sounds lazy to me. Was she lazy? Well, of course.
Okay, exactly. So that's my point. Well, her maiden name was Smith, so, you know. I would have went back to standard Smith.
You know, if you divorce, I would make that in the, in the paperwork. Uh, you know, I think I did ask for that, but it was shot down by the judge. " Why not? I don't know, I'm not the judge!
I would have asked him. I'm not gonna argue with him. " You know, penalty fees. Penalty fees?
Penalty fees. At this time, we would appreciate privacy for all those close to our hearts. Vanessa Trump was married to Donald Trump Jr. from 2005 to 2018.
That's a long time. Yeah. A long time. And the couple has, oh my lord, five children together.
Thirteen years. Five kids. Okay, so. Carry the one.
That's like two years, every two years, every three years? Every three years, pop out a kid? Yeah, that's not bad. That'd be fifteen.
4. They were together for fifteen years? Yes. No, thirteen years.
Thirteen years. So every three years, three, six, nine, twelve, one was a little tighter. Okay. One of those children, Kai, goes to the same school as Woods' two children, Sam and Charlie.
Kai is due to play golf at the University of Miami in 2026 and compete in an invitational golf tournament against Charlie Woods last week. I wonder how old she is. Ooh, sibling rivalry. Well, not really sibling, they're not married.
Well, kind of. They're just dating, at this point. There's not even no living together yet. If you don't think for one second she isn't moving, I'm moving in, you know what I mean?
Wow, she's married to a Trump, she might have a bigger house than him. No, she only got half of his shit, and it was one of Trump's kids, at best. But child support for five billionaires' children? That's a lot of money.
Well, the real question is, is Trump Jr. a billionaire? I don't think so. Ryan...
Can you look that up for us? You look up the... How much money does Trump Jr. have?
You know, I don't think he's a billionaire. He's probably up there, but he's probably not a billionaire. You know, child supports, for five, it's pretty good. Well, if this one is playing golf in college, I would assume...
Donald Trump Jr.? Yes. Net worth, $350 million. That's still a lot of money.
$350 million. That ain't a B, though. Can you look up Tiger Woods? 3 billion yeah okay yeah yeah so so that's 4x you know what i mean like okay so we're moving in right right and i bet you there's some prenup or some some type of technicality though where if she finds another dude like it gets reduced i'm willing to bet uh alimony well i I don't know about what state they are, but in Florida, when they remarry, alimony goes away.
Right. But not child support. Oh, child support carries forward? Until they're 18.
All right. So what does she have to lose? She's going to 4X her network. Well, she doesn't have the 350 million, but let's say she got, I don't know, call it 25%.
That's why I was going to say 20. 120 million? Right. That's 10X.
Yeah. Rolling in there. I love the fact that we're supposed to please respect our privacy, but we just did an Instagram post and an X post about us being a couple. Well, he does that so that people won't be stalking him and trying to get photos of him.
That's the strategy? Well, that's what it said, yeah. Hey, here we go. Here's a photo, yes, we're dating, there's no more questions, so leave us alone.
They'll leave us alone. But no, that means now we follow them both. I'm excited for the kids. Like, if he's a golfer, that's like, you know, having a kid that loves basketball and then all of a sudden, you know, you marry Jordan or something.
Yeah, I don't know if Kai is a boy or girl, I have no idea. Either way, it doesn't matter. You just got access to Tiger Woods! I don't think it gets any better than that.
Right, yeah. Look who's coaching me now. She might be sacrificing for Kai. What about the other four?
Hey, I really don't like this. Maybe Kai's the favorite. Could be. Yeah.
Maybe now they all take up golf. Didn't even mention the other four kids. No. Did they not go to school?
Bastard one, bastard two. She doesn't even call them names. She just calls one Kai. The Instagram post from the normally very private woods confirms weeks of rumors The tactic is reminiscent of when the golfer confirmed his relationship with Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn in 2013, saying on social media that he'd gone public to limit the stalkerazi and all those sleazy websites that are out here following us.
Woods confirmed his breakup with Vonn in 2015. They're still gonna stalk him. It doesn't change anything. Oh, no, no, no, no.
They still, yeah. So, I don't, you know, I just think that that's kind of a, this feels like more of a, hey, look at me. - Could be. - You know, 'cause paparazzi's still gonna be all over it.
- Oh yeah. - Mr. Woods. - Now they need more pictures of the couple together.
- Mr. Woods, can you smile, Mr. Woods? - Yeah, look over here.
Hey, look over here. Son of a bitch. I'm a blind girl. Oh, no, sorry.
- No, no, no, no, he already taken. He already got, he already has one. - Yeah, but he changes. Like, he changes his socks.
- Hey, but he's getting older now. Maybe he's, you know. - What, slowing down? - Yeah.
I don't think so. - You don't think so? - I don't think so. - Okay, well, whatever.
All right, into the cigar news. We're going right into that. Do you want to talk about any social media stuff first, or no? Oh, sure.
What do you got? Well, you brought to my attention that we were covered on smoking tobacco. a. Cigar Coop.
He said lovely things about you. Well, about the company, also. He started with the company, but he went heavy on you. He did, which is kind of odd, considering I attacked him last week on social media.
No, no. Yes, you did. Very nice of him. Yes, you did.
He did mention the back and forth. He says he gives me shit all the time. I don't know what he's like. I think that he does.
It's just more like Facebook post-y. Oh, I gotcha. You know, it's not. Apparently, my intern work is being a social media person is paying off.
Yeah. That was something he mentioned. Yeah, you're working really hard. You know what I, what I really loved about the whole thing.
Yes. It's the one thing that I loved about that post. That he said our name wrong again? He still calls it Powstanie, which is hilarious.
Yeah, it's Powstanie, Coop. It's Powstanie. Powstanie. It's been around for 10 years.
We should send him a box stop. It's 10 years. With the pronunciation phonetically spelled inside the box. Yeah.
No, the one thing that I thought was hilarious. Yes. Was that Matthew Tobacco and the other guy just like, bro, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, they didn't leave.
Well, Matt did say, yeah, I agree. Yeah. But, I mean, that's not really saying something. There's no elaboration on that?
How do you not, you know… Yeah, I mean, he could have said, "Oh, I don't know. He's an asshole. " Yeah, screw that guy. The third guy only talked on the show when Koops got kicked off the show by a technical glitch.
Right. So, Matt had to talk to him. I don't know who he is. So, he could have been, I mean, you know, like, he could have been excited about something in particular we're making.
I mean, he's all about the Perdomo stuff. He's very excited about all that. They love Perdomo. Yeah, but he didn't cover any, like, very popular with Berdomo.
He said there's that horny cigar that everybody seems like. Well, that was Coop. Oh, you mean Matt. Yeah, Matt could have elaborated on any of it.
He probably didn't have notes on it. Yeah, excited. Damn, bro. It's dirty.
Does he ever, he never interviews you at the show either. Uh, he, I think he did. He, I think he interviewed us last year. I don't remember him coming by last year.
I feel like he interviewed us last year. Hmm. He hasn't, obviously he hasn't booked an appointment. No, no, he's not booked an appointment.
No. Matthew. Okay. All right.
Well, hey, I thought it was nice that you got a nod from Keith. It was. It was. Yeah.
He's buttering you up because he's going to see you in person is what it is. Is that what it is? Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's a strategy.
It's very smart. He's got to be nice to him. He's going to see me in the house. They're going to be in the media house.
I'm going to yell hi to him every time I see him. I love going to the media house. Oh, we have not got the invitation yet this year. Oh, we don't need the invitation.
We just show up. We don't know where it is. Don McTavish will tell us. Oh, that's true.
Aaron Loomis will tell us. You know? Bear will tell us. Aaron doesn't really speak.
Aaron speaks to me. Oh. Yeah. All right.
I'll get it under control. You get the deets from the fish, from fish sticks? Yeah. Aaron Fishstick Loomis.
Aaron Fishstick Loomis. All right, so let's go. Some cigar news. That was all you got from social media stuff this week?
Yeah. Other than my, you know, elaborate exposure for the brand. Yeah. Two to three times a day, seven days a week.
You've been turning that on. You run out of stuff to talk about sometimes. Just keep talking about the same stuff. There's a certain rotation.
You have a technique. Okay. Escobar Cigars announced a distribution in Guyana. All the countries in the world, that's where they go.
Nas. This is Nas. Yeah, this is Nas the Cigar. Escobar Cigars announced that its cigars are now available in Guyana.
The company's new distributor in the country is Leaf & Flame. And Flame, I read this wrong when I originally did, I thought it said Leaf & Bean, I thought Island Jim had gone to. Ah, no, it's Leaf & Flame, it's a totally different leaf. Totally different thing.
Cigar Shop, which is located in the capital of ACCRA, Acura. In addition to Escobar's Leaf & Flame is a distributor for El Septimo, ah, I did not read that. Prince Abubabu. Did Prince Abubabu sell you on this, Nas?
Nas, what are we doing? What are we doing? He promised me one of those ashtrays to keep my cigars cool. I got this cool here.
In 2021, Puros Privados, the parent company of Escobar, announced that Nasir, it's N-A-S-I-R, they say his full name. He's given a legal name, Nasir. That's called his government name. Oh, his government name.
Jones. How do you have that first name and then your last name is Jones? Well, you know, she obviously stuck with the man's last name. I don't know what to tell you.
I'll tell you. Well, maybe she's divorced and that's not her name. Yeah. Well, at this point, if she is divorced, I hope she goes back to her original name.
That could be Jones. I hope that he changes his too. It is very possible. Who knows?
Nas had been added as an equity partner in the brand. The brand's name is also a tie-in to another name that Nas has frequently referred to himself as, including a 1997 track called Escobar 97. The company says it has distribution in more than 20 countries and has been aggressively increasing the number in the last couple of years. You think they're all smaller countries?
I mean, I don't know how big Guyana is, but it's not really something you hear every day. I don't know what the strategy is on that. It sounds interesting to me. So if you find one shop can buy you, so if one shop buys you, let's say we sell Powstanie, one shop picks it up in a country, you had distribution in that country.
Is that the way you get to say it? I mean, I don't even think you need that, I just think you need to open up a distribution with a company, right? " Okay, done. You know, like, that would count as distribution.
But they're only selling to this one, the Leaf and Flame. Right. Maybe Leaf and Flame has distribution through all of those already. I don't know.
You know, this is that whole hokey scenario when it comes to a celebrity creating a cigar. And what happens with it? " Like, I'm a huge fan of Nas, I would love to see- Oh, yes, distribution in Deltona. S.?
That's what I mean. How many cigars does Guyana sell a year? Two. Maybe three.
Two? Oh, three. There's one guy. One guy really likes to smoke.
Yeah. I don't. Is he a warlord? He is a warlord.
A warlord. He's a warlord there in Guyana. Oh, that's nice. Yeah, there's one guy.
Don't upset him. He likes. We like you very much, whoever you are. He likes to have like one or two cigars a year.
I'm picturing that guy from the movie Lord of War. Yeah, Nicolas Cage. Yeah, Nicolas Cage. I love that movie, but I'm picturing that's the guy.
Yeah. He's just in Guyana. Right. Smoking one cigar every quarter.
No, as many as he wants. He's got a good distribution. That's as many as he wants. He wants two a year.
Right. Maybe three. Hey, ready to move on? Yeah.
Warp announces a, announces R/Waste? R/Waste? That's what it says, as an event only cigar. Okay.
Warp Cigars will have a new creation available exclusively for people who attend one of their company's events. Dude, how many events do they do? I don't know. They're like, it seems like they're trying to make a resurgence in all of this.
They've gotten a, they got a few nods on top 25 last year. Yeah. Yeah. And it looks like they're going full court press.
Hmm. The name is short for radioactive waste. Oh. I guess they've got to explain that.
I don't know if I'd want to smoke that. Not any worse than a catastrophic failure. No. It's totally worse than catastrophic failure.
Why is that? It's not like I called it poison. Well. Radioactive waste.
Well, maybe you become a superhero. What did we call this cigar? Sounds like something Viaje would make. Yeah, right?
We named this Death. Oh, so it's a black label cigar. No, right, right, right, yeah. Blackworks.
Blackworks Studios. All their stuff's named Death. Death. It's a five and a half by 52 box press torpedo barber pole.
Well, they couldn't have thought of anything else to add to it, could they? Yeah. Unless they made it a cubalera, where they just rolled three of them together. Box press, barber pole, cubalera.
Culebra. Culebra. Culebra pole made with two different wrappers. Well, that's barber pole.
Connecticut Broadleaf and Ecuadorian Desflorada? What the fuck is that? Why don't you come to your senses? Desflorada.
All these new tobaccos. When did we start discovering all these new tobaccos? This is a whole other thing, too. This is more of the hokey stuff.
Ecuadorian Desflorada. Look, man. I don't know what to tell you. There's another one mentioned in a later story that I've never heard of before, either.
Yeah. They're like, why don't we just make up some more shit? And people are like, okay, sure, okay, yeah, why not. Inside is a binder and filler blend composed of tobacco grown in Nicaragua, the barber pole's name refers to the two visible wrapper leaves that are rolled together at an angle to produce a spiral pattern similar to a barber pole.
Can we just get past this now? I think everybody knows what a barber pole is. No, that's the problem. They don't?
No, I talk with people all the time, they have no idea what's going on in the cigarette industry. Oh my lord. Yeah. Besides your brother?
He definitely doesn't know what's going on. He has no idea. He has no clue. No clue.
No. Three-pack boxes of cigars were available only during warped events. Nicaragua American cigars, Knoxa, will produce the cigars. An email went to Warped Cigars for additional information, and they could not be bothered.
Kyle's saying no. And no talk. No talkie-talkie on the phone. All right, we got some P-A-P-A, PCA releases.
Okay, so they submitted the media release. They must have said, well... So how does that work? Everybody knows where we get our news from Half Wheel.
Right. So, they could have, he could have seen a photo, you know how Charlie is. That's true. Did you see like an Instagram post about it, or no?
No, there was just a picture of the box they come in, and the three cigars, so maybe it was a press release. So, it had to be a press release? Correct. And when he asked additional questions, nobody responded?
No, we were very busy. " Undisclosed, you say undisclosed. " Something. Maybe you have to come to an event to get more information.
The dead air, though? I don't... Charlie, if you ever have questions, just send them to us, we'll answer. Charlie hits me up all the time, and if I don't know...
No, no, not for our stuff, for anybody's stuff. Oh. Oh, yeah. Post-tribution responds by saying they have no idea what's going on with the cigars, it's not theirs.
But at least we have something else to add to the story. However, it is made at Noxa, so it's gonna be high-quantity, low-quality... Oh, wait, who said that? Oh, wait, oh, wait.
Oh, God. Just kidding, just kidding. Alright, these are the releases that people are talking about this week. I didn't grab the story, it's just the headlines.
Rocky Patel's 30th anniversary is debuting at PCA 2025. Viva La Vida Connecticut. Okay, that's AJ's. Yes.
Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust is adding a Mi Querida Gorilla Gordo at PCA. Is that one you worked on with him and he's not telling anybody? Yeah, we had a private plan on that. Like the one I helped him with that he doesn't talk about?
He refuses to acknowledge us. He does, it's terrible. Yeah. So upset with him.
Karen Berger is releasing a Halftime at PCA 2025. It's a little 60 gauge guy that you can smoke during a Halftime. Yeah, it looks like a little. Her cigar is usually pretty good.
Yeah. Oddly speaking. I don't know why you don't expect it, but I've always been surprised. Okay.
J. Fernandez, Heritage Finca Provincia. Okay. A long name.
Heritage Finca Provincia. At PS. Aladino 85 Anniversario Reserva, debuting at PCA 2025. Okay.
Black Star Line Cigars to release the Metalwood Martin Luther King at PCA 2025. Okay. Foundation is announcing a Primer Fabrica 1810 as an event exclusive release. Now their last event was the Menelik?
I think that's how you say it? Originally they did Menelik. Originally that was, so maybe this one will eventually end up in production for... That would make sense.
Like he's testing it out. Oh, we have the whole story here, Foundation Cigars has created a new event, exclusive cigar to honor the first known cigar factory in the USA, the Premier Fabrica 1810, composed of a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, Brazilian Modafina binder, and undisclosed filler tobacco. Cigar will not be sold and is still available only during Foundation events offered to consumers as a promotional item in wooden boxes of three. He doesn't do a lot of events, does he?
Nick? Yeah. No, he doesn't get out much. No.
He's a farm guy. So, who does his events now? Is it the one? The reps.
Oh, the reps do? Yeah. Like, if we had one, it would be, what's his name? Alfredo.
So, that's why we don't do any. Yeah, it's like, oh, is he gonna come around? Right. You know what I mean?
He's not showing up. The oldest known cigar factory was established in 1810 by Roswell and Samuel Veetz in Suffield, Connecticut by 1830. In 1930, approximately 14 million cigars were being made per year at factories in the area. Foundation headquarters is located in Ellington, less than 15 miles east of Suffield.
The cigar is a tribute to the deep-rooted history of Connecticut tobacco and the origins of cigar-making in America, said Nicholas Melillo, founder of Foundation Cigar Company in a press release. " Yeah. Exclusive. It's an exclusive experience.
It's an exclusive experience. Why is it exclusive? Because you get to try it only at the events. I can't try a similar cigar at a different event?
Yeah, you probably could. Oh, okay. But it's not going to be the same. True.
It's going to be exclusive. What sucks, though, is that... You can pause that. What sucks, though, is that...
I'm sort of just going to let it roll through and then just wrap up the story. Got it. Yeah, you know, Alfredo is just good enough to not get fired. You know what I mean?
Like, he won't get ruined. That's like, how's that cigar? It's not bad. Yeah, he won't, uh, yeah, the only way that he would actually get fired is if they brought somebody in-house.
Oh. Yeah. Do they have any in-house reps at all yet? I don't think so.
I don't think they do either. Just that one guy. Eduardo? Yeah, is that his name?
Yeah. Do you think we'd be able to get the exclusive cigar at the show? He always hides from us. It says they're available at the show.
Yeah, but I want to smoke it. You know what I mean? Like, yo, give me three of those. He's gonna hide.
He's gonna run from us. He always does. Like, Nick! Well, you can have them, but you gotta buy this, this, and this.
No, I'm not talking to Eduardo. I'm going right to Nick. Say, yo, I want to smoke the cigar. He hides from you.
You're right, he does. He does. We will find you, Nick, and we will break you, and we will take the cigars. I was trying to think he gave us cigars last year.
Yeah. But they were like their standard. Yeah, it's not their newest yada yada. Nothing fancy.
Right. Yeah, here's a handful of stuff. Go away, please. I'll text him when we're done with this podcast to prep him that we're coming.
That you're coming? Yeah. And hell's coming with me. I guess I'm hell.
This is hell. This is hell. League of Fat Bastards names Eddie Tarzona as its new director of sales. Yes.
League of Fat Bastards Cigars has appointed Eddie Tarzana, appointed, so it's not even a hiring? Or is that just a choice of words? I think it's just a choice of words. Eddie Tarzana is the company's new director of sales for the USA and Americas.
Okay. Oh, North America, South America, Central America, Latin America, Canada, our new state. For more than 20 years, Tarzana ran his own cigar company, Tarzana Cigars, in 2022. S.
congressional seat representing Florida's 18th congressional district, though he fell short in the race because he's small. He's short. I'm honored that Adam and the team have entrusted me with his role, not just to share incredible cigars, but to be part of the... Oh, it's already ours.
But be part of the critical cause to tackle men's mental health. This is mine. This is mine now. This is the company that donate part of their money to men's health.
Correct. Stuff. S. and the Americas.
" Everything's bigger than me, literally. S. market because it doesn't have one. While also working with Ferdinand, Pete?
Who is Ferdinand? I have no idea. Oh, the brand's VP of Business Development for the Asia-Pacific, Middle East, and North American regions. Oh!
North African regions. Oh, okay, okay. I was like, why is this guy in the Americas, too? It was very confusing.
To further develop the brand in other areas of the world, in building his own brand for the last 20 years, that closed. Tarazona? Yes. I can't hear you.
Yes. He built his brand for 20 years, and then it closed. Yeah. It's gone.
Well, he's working for somebody else now. Okay. Eddie has seen it all. Eddie has seen it all.
He has been there and done that. It said Adam J. Levine, the founder and CEO of League of Fat Bats. He's the head fat bastard.
Adam Levine. It's a different Levine. It's a totally different Levine, but it's still Adam Levine. Oh, that's why I said Levine.
I figured I'd just get a different name. No. Maybe he got divorced and he changed it back. Maybe.
I love his work ethic and his... And aim to always find a win for everybody. A win-win solution for consumers, retailers, suppliers, manufacturers, And businesses. He lives according to his mantra, do it with passion.
That was a slogan for his company that closed. Do it with passion? Yes. Okay.
And it fits so well with our mission-focused brand. League of Fat Bastards Cigars currently has distribution in the USA, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, New Zealand, Qatar, whatever. What's UAE? United Arab Emirates?
maybe maybe sure that sounds good uh bahran kuwait oman and saudi arabia while distributors in several european countries including austria ireland will be receiving their first shippings in the near future oh they're big in other countries but here yeah they're huge wow that's weird yeah okay well hey listen there's a lot to cover on that yes and i think that that's something we're gonna have to cover on the page i believe that would be better suited yes it would yeah so We'll have to cover that one. We look forward to Eddie Tarzona joining the Patreon members to see what we say. He won't be joining. All right, Bocock, our favorite cigar company.
We love the Bocock. I love the Bocock company. Brothers adds LSU baseball cigars. Last year, Bocock Brothers Premium Cigars announced a series of officially licensed LSU cigars focused on the university's football program.
Next week, it will begin selling cigars with an LSU baseball theme. Oh, they must be really connected at LSU. Big Louisiana boys. The Bocock Brothers, the powerhouse Jay Johnson Signature Series uses the name and replica signature of Jay Johnson, head coach of the LSU Tigers.
Baseball team. Well, I assumed it was baseball team because they're selling baseball cigars. Stop reading my teleprompter. That's like looking when you mess up.
Blendwise uses a Mexican San Andreas wrapper over a Honduran binder and fillers from the Honduras and Nicaragua. It's made in Honduras at an undisclosed factory. Oh, mystery. What can it be?
Undisclosed factory. It's a mystery. It's offered in two box press fatolas, the Bocock Brothers, the powerhouse, J, what? Oh, this is the name of the base, the, oh, this is the name of the cigar.
Yeah. Bocock Brothers, they really like their own name. They put it on everything. Yeah.
Everything. I mean, I love their name. Bocock Brothers, the powerhouse, J Johnson Signature Series Robusto, 5x50 for $16. 25.
That's not that much more money for a Toro. No. 25 cents. Maybe the Robusto's overpriced.
Maybe. 16 bucks, maybe a little high. The Robusto comes in a purple box, while the Toro ships in a white box. Oh, that's why.
That keeps the price down? Purple. Well, the purple one's more expensive because it's purple. Well, you had to put purple on it.
I mean, that's why McAuliffe, everybody's going purple. Everybody's going purple. I was just going to say that. Everybody's going purple with you.
I took the words out of my mouth. Ships in a white box. Oh, with pinstripes. The cigars are divided into two groups of 10, while the middle section has a place that is designated to rest a baseball, though one is not included.
No baseball included. There's a place for it, but one can't give me one. Johnson led L. I bet it was going to be a signed baseball at one point.
They had to walk that back? Probably. He wouldn't sign the ball. How many boxes are you making?
Did you make it? Yeah. I don't fucking know. Johnson led the LSU to national title in 2023.
Bocock Brothers says that a portion of the sales is donated to Bayou Traditions, an LSU restaurant. No, it's an LSU nil collective that's sports. NIL. NIL.
It's called NIL. NIL. Okay. This is how I know that you know absolutely nothing about sports.
No, I know nothing about sports. Yeah. What's NIL? NIL deals.
I want to see sports athletes, college athletes, to use their names. It's not nil as in nothing. Yeah, it's not nil as in you get nothing. Well, they should, you know, put the words in for the non-sporty people.
This is Cigars, for God's sake. It looks like he's getting nil. Sports University's athletes, the cigars will ship to stores in Louisiana next week. com.
Check out the Bocock. Don't spell it wrong. Don't spell it wrong. Don't spell it wrong.
You may find yourself somewhere else on a wanted list. Yes. STG discontinues 56 SKUs. Yeah.
We have the complete list. We're not rattling off all 56. Scandinavian Tobacco Group, the parent company of General Cigars Company and Ford Cigars Company, has announced that it has discontinued eight lines in various other cigars from its massive portfolio. We have the entire portfolio.
Roughly half of the cuts affect Alec Bradley, which was acquired in 2023. Eight lines have been discontinued. For like $70 million. Well, it's not worth that much, no.
So, Alec Bradley, there's a bunch of them here. I'm afraid to hit the fast-forward button. That's okay. You can rattle it off.
We don't have to rattle them off, but... Gordo, it's mostly multiple sizes of different ones. Alec Bradley, whatever that one is, Double Churchill, La Gordo, Petit Lezzaro, Robusto Toro, so there's a bunch of different ones there. Yeah.
What do you think the strategy is here by axing all of them? And why do you think it happened? I assume the sales probably are not sufficient. You think sales were down?
Yes, I think sales were down on this. There's some CAO ones that are being done, too. What do you think it was, Ryan? Gotta be sales.
Sales? Just overall sales? Stuff's not pushing. You got so much stuff.
You got to cut the fat. Right, because there's some lines where they're only getting rid of certain sizes. Right. Not the entire line.
So like people like it, maybe people only like the Toro in that one. I think a lot of those brands were brands that they would deep discount. Oh, it could be. And then they stopped discounting them, and then that slowed the sale.
Why would they stop discounting them now that they have complete control of them? I think that they thought that if they could inflate the price, now that they, this is all hypothetical. Oh, that maybe the people would still buy them. Yeah, it's like, okay, well, hey, we'll just turn off the discount and, you know, we'll raise the price that way.
We have these people hooked on this particular one. And realistically, you know, that I would assume that that consumer isn't the consumer that really cares about the overall flavor profile of a product. They care about the value that they're getting. Right.
It was the price. Right. Right. So I think that there's so many moving parts at STG that this always happens.
They buy something, they screw it up, and then they're like, okay, we got to revamp. We got to figure out this whole thing. We're buying so many cigars from these guys. We should buy the company.
Right. They buy the company like, well, fuck, these things are more expensive than we thought they were. we spent more money on acquiring the company, so we got to raise the price to order offset the purchase. And then, oh, now it's not, now they're not selling.
Oh, you know, it's probably better if we just discontinued them. Discontinue the product and then come out with a product and another entirely different label or whatever the case may be. Right. Right.
Very confusing. When Alec and Bradley were asked to comment, they simply said, Daddy said we could work here. In addition, the following skews have been discontinued in this case. General is still selling other Vitolas of these lines.
And then there's more of them. Yeah. More Alec Bradley, more Alec Bradley, more Alec Bradley. So do you think that they're going to acquire anybody else?
They always buy somebody. They haven't bought anybody, like this was the... This is the last one. What was this, two years ago?
Well, it was Alec Bradley and Room 101. Right, but they bought Room 101, then they bought Alec Bradley. Oh, was that the order? I thought they brought Alec Bradley and then they bought Room 101.
No, no, it was the other way around. Really? Okay. Because Booth said he got more money.
Oh, he did? I believe, allegedly, or in a rumor. I think he did. Yeah, it's not verified.
71 million? Yeah, just one million more. That's all it counts. It gets him the helicopter.
Gets him the helicopter. Yeah, I mean, you know what, dude? Some of these I've never even heard of, these could be older ones, too. I don't know.
You know, kudos to Alec Bradley's dad for selling it for 71 million. Right, now he's not involved with the company anymore, just the kids. I don't know. Or was he a consultant-like booth?
I think he could be a consultant, you know. I think he was, but I think it was just for a year. I just don't think that they care. Like, I think that they could bring somebody on, and they're like, yeah, we're not listening to you.
Like, all right, cool, fuck me. Oh, I don't think they took anything he said with any value. It's just part of the deal. Yeah, that's so dumb.
It's like, we have to pay him for another year, so let's just say he's an advisor. Let's have him sit in on meetings and then not care what his opinion is? Well, he probably doesn't even have to go to the meetings. That's probably like Zoom.
Yeah. Oh, so it's just on? Yeah. I feel like if I got up and the microphone was still here and I'm sitting back here somewhere?
Yeah. What do you think about this? I'm still doing the show with you? Right.
See, the company has also announced that it is no longer selling the Cohiba Red Dot Robusto 5-pack. So see, there's just weird things that they're just- The Ziplocs. Yeah. Apparently that wasn't as an attractive move either.
Apparently not. Let's see, 2004, different brands. There's a funny thing at the end here. Keep talking.
Uh, STG knows how to spend money, and we're very proud of them, but you know what? Spending 70 million is nothing to them because they make billions of dollars. The company splits its portfolio of brands between two separate sales teams, General Cigar and Ford Cigars. In related stories, Matt Booth is cut back on his golden helicopter fuel, and Justin Andrews was not available for his comment, or for comment his two assistants said he was in a meeting, and Alec and Bradley have been sent to the room.
We like Bradley, though. Well, he still got sent to his room. Sales are down. They're blaming the children.
They're blaming the children? Where were the parents at? Right. You know?
What is the dad's name? I don't remember. Is that Alan Rubin? Alan Rubin, yeah.
Oh, maybe they're blaming fake Alan Rubin. Yeah. Social media, he's always asleep somewhere. Here is your Alan Rubin.
Quickly throw lettuce at him. Tomatoes. Make sure he's awake. Estee DuPont, Raising the American Prices, Cites Tariffs.
Yeah. Coles of London, the distributor for Estee DuPont Products in the USA, has announced that it has increased the prices of some of its products due to recent tariffs. Right. I am sure you are aware the US government recently imposed 20% tariffs on all goods made in China, said the company in a letter to retailers.
This does affect some Estee DuPont product ranges and consequently we have had to increase prices on goods made in China. Jet Flame Lighters, Cigar Cutters, and Ashtrays. Please note that all products made in France, including the Line 2 and La Grande Lighters, will not be subject to any price increases for the time being. They're reserving that for a later decision.
Okay. I'm sorry, checking your social media? Yes. Anything exciting?
Yeah, yeah. All right. Very exciting. While the tariffs are at 20%, the changes in MSRP are lower, oftentimes around 17%.
We're just going to eat that 3% for you. Hey, it's fine. We'll just take care of that. Yeah.
I mean, this is, I'm glad that you, you covered this cause I got a couple statements about it. Okay. Let's see what they are. Okay.
Uh, number one. Yes. Listen, if you voted for Trump, then you should have been prepared to pay more for things, right? Right.
It's inevitable. That was gonna happen. Right. That's what tariffs do.
Right. They raise prices. Uh, you, you hope that they offset in that with other things as far as maybe income. And they didn't go away.
These tariffs were… These are new, yes, these are on top of that one. So this tariff just went into effect like a few weeks ago. Right, he hadn't been in office at all. Yeah.
So Esteban's like, whoa, we got this huge weight, oh my goodness. Yeah, they're just betting on stuff that they haven't received yet. Right. Everything they already have doesn't have tariff.
So my point, yeah, well, they're just covering anything that's coming from China, it's not reflecting anything from France. But it's not, but the price is like, well, today. Right. Right.
Well, my point is, it feels like, or is it possible, is it possible that this price increase is just another greed push for higher pricing on product? Like we saw back in 2020 when people were raising prices on cigars and some of them couldn't even justify why they were raising their prices. Some could, but some of them couldn't. Well, these are high-dollar things to start with.
I don't think people are going to complain. So, I'm agreeing with you, I believe it's just, you know, we can get another 17% out of this thing. Yeah, we can just push this. Somebody in a meeting.
Nobody cares. " Yeah, if they're gonna spend 320 on the lighter, they'll spend 380 on the lighter. Right. No big deal.
320 people aren't gonna balk over the 60 bucks. Right. Yeah. That's what it feels like to me.
That's a tip for his driver. 25. The Slimmy, oh, apparently they're... The Slimmy, we call this one the Slimmy, because it's smaller than the Biggie, 395 from $350, the Twiggy, which is even smaller than the Slimmy, 395 used to be $350, and the Mini Jet, which is shorter, $195 to $170.
See, that's only $20. Yeah, so it just seems like they pushed as close as they could to that threshold without going over that number. They didn't want to hit 500. They didn't want to hit 200.
So they're like, oh, we're just going to raise these things. Ooh, the SD DuPont Deli Extreme went to 375 from 295. Right, because they figured the threshold's at 400. Could be.
Right? Yep. Yeah, the Extreme Lighter, 395 from 345. Soft Flame.
Everything's under $400. Right. Yeah, that's a strategy meeting, man. Yeah, then the cutters are all under $300.
$295. Right. These are the starting prices for these models. For every one of the items, ST DuPont offers more expensive versions with different finishes and designs.
There you go. When asked for a comment, they said, "Look, we're a Scandinavian company run by a German man who buys their lighters in China, and then we sell them to the Americans. We have no idea what's going on. I love that.
Yes. Okay, is that Matilde? Is that Matilde? Matilde?
Matilde? Yeah. They're getting a new German distributor. The Germans.
Add Matilde to the list of companies that have switched German distributors from Coop, Tobaccos, to MK & Son. We are very excited to add Matilde to our portfolio, said Daniel and Adam Kohlhaus. Managing partners of MK and Shawn in a press release, this brand represents the artisanal perfection, tradition, and exceptional taste, experience, while the expertise of Josh, say Josh, Jose, Jose, Jose, say Josh, there's glare, I told you, it was glare from the light, and the passion of his son Enrique Matilde is a valuable addition to our collection, and a delight for all aficionados, seeking something special. The two brothers used to work for Kopp, part of what was now the Nazi, I mean, Kohlhaus and Kopp, the largest cigar distributor, a few years ago, the brothers eventually left and started their own company on the other side of the wall, which distributes cigars for Ashton, Mayaselva, Gilbert de Montesalvat, Rocky Patel, Skeltron, some of which were formerly distributed by Klaus & Kopp.
Not League of Fat Bastards? Nope. No, they're not in Germany, that was not one of the, that was the only country apparently not mentioned. Everywhere else?
Everywhere else. Apparently, Germany doesn't care about men's mental health? No. They started mental health in Germany.
They started it? That's where it started? During the war, that's where it started. Yeah, for men's mental health?
Yes. Interesting. That guy with the little mustache yelled at people all the time. Viso Horny 555 is debuting at the PCA 2025.
Next month, Tyler Jeffrey's sophomore release will be headed to retailer shelves. Cicc, Inc. has announced that it will be distributing the new Viso Horny 555, the second Viso Horny Cigar, as the name would suggest, the cigar measures 5x55, blend wise, it uses a broadleaf wrapper over a Cameroon binder and fillers from Honduras and Nicaragua, and as the name would also suggest, it uses a lot of tobacco from the Viso, priming the middle part of tobacco plant. It's actually made entirely with tobacco from Viso priming, hence the name.
100% Viso. 100% Viso. 50% Horny. Right.
Each cigar will have an MSRB... Is that right? I thought we... I guess it is.
Yeah. And production is at $15, and production is limited to 500 bundles of 10 cigars. The cigar is made at Nicasueno, best known as the home of Roma Craft Tobac. Yes.
Over the course of the last seven years, Jeffries has spent substantial amounts of time in Nicaragua at the factory. Annoying Skip Martin considerably. This is a second Vitola of Viso Horny. He's so horny.
Last year, Jeffrey offered a 4x52 Vitola via private sales. Correct. Do you have something you wanted to say? Yeah, no, I mean, I'm very excited to be a part of this, you know?
Yes. I love Tyler. Tyler's a great guy. I think that he does, he works really hard as far as trying to learn and understand parts of this industry, and he's a little nervous this time around.
Very nervous. He's a little jittery at points. A little bit. A little movie sometimes.
But he's gonna be all right. He's gonna be all right. He didn't mention us in his press release. He doesn't?
Not as much as he mentioned everybody else. No, you know what, dude, you know. We'll be in the post press release. It doesn't, that doesn't surprise me.
You know what I mean? It doesn't surprise me either, it's still a bit nice. I mean, Coop says we're doing a fantastic job. We are doing a fantastic job.
You know, I'm not looking for any acknowledgement from, yeah. Well, it'd be nice. I think people, more people. You know, Michael, you're doing a great job.
Thanks. I appreciate that wow so amazing you know what it's like hey I'm gonna put in the work regardless we're gonna do we're gonna do our thing certainly and eventually people are gonna take note right and say good things about us and if they don't they don't it's not gonna stop us from doing what we do no no you know right damn it I said you know like eight times and you told me that's one of the things I do you do being involved from the very beginning personally selecting the tobaccos "Because that became part of this blend makes the 555 deeply personal for me," said Jeffrey in a press release. "Crafting this blend was both an exciting and rewarding challenge. Utilizing only Viso primings throughout the cigar, we focused on achieving the perfect balance to ensure all the exceptional burn and effortless draw.
" Is there a particular reason why he's gone with the Viso part of the plant? I mean, it could have been any part of it. Is that just like his favorite? No, I just think that that was kind of his name, and then they kind of labeled that in, lumped that in with his name, and whatever, just kind of rolled in that direction.
Just curious. Yeah. Jeffrey developed the blend with Alex. I'm not getting his last name right.
Yeah, I can't see it either, so. Nogazooka. Yep, perfect. Who works at Nicosueno in its tobacco operations?
He doesn't work at Nicosueno. Well, he kind of works at Nicosueno. I'm just reading the press release. No, I didn't write it.
He works for Roma Craft. Oh. Yeah. He doesn't work for the factory, he works for the brand.
Correct. Huh. I didn't know that. Yeah.
I thought he was a guy that ran the factory now. No. He doesn't run the factory. Oh.
Other people run the factory. Oh. He oversees manufacturing for Roma Craft. And apparently be so horny.
Yeah. And apparently be so horny. And our stuff too? Yeah.
I was going to say, because he's the contact when Greg sends over messages. Right. Oh. Hmm.
Why don't they just let him run the factory? But he's not, because other people run the factory. Other people do a good job running the factory. Right.
He makes sure that everything is maintained and balanced. And when something goes back, if there's ever any issues, reports to Skip. But Skip owns the factory. Sure.
Does Michael own part of the factory too? I think so. I'm not sure how all that works. Yeah.
I don't know how the organizational chart goes. But Alex works for Roama Craft. Oh. Okay.
Alex's passion for tobacco is contagious and his depth of knowledge is remarkable, especially for someone of his age. How old is Alex? He's younger than me. I think he's in his mid-30s, early 30s.
Being with him in the bodega and factory was an incredibly rewarding experience. Previously, Jeffrey worked at Havana Lounge and Cigar in West... Alias? Allies?
It's in Wisconsin. La, oh, wait, did he work in, I'm confused, previously Jeffrey, oh, okay, sorry. And La Country. I got confused, I thought we were talking about Alex.
No. La Country Cigars in Deerfield, Wisconsin, in addition to Alex, he has mentioned Skip Martin and Michael Rosales of Roma Craft Tobacco, and Angel Oliva III, not one and two. The third. And Gustav Kuro of Oliva Tobacco Company is being helpful in his cigar journey.
Be so horny 555 will be shown off at the 2025 PCA Convention and Trade Show, which takes place April 12th, April 12th, through the 14th, in New Orleans, Poshik says it will ship immediately following the trade show. That's correct. I'm excited about it, man. I'm very excited.
I mean, it's always nice to have a new cigar to sell around. Yeah, and he's a good guy. He works really hard. He's very passionate about the industry.
It's a good fit for us, and it's a good fit for him because we're not going to screw him over. Right. And a lot of people in this industry will screw you over. Right.
Yeah. So, we're looking forward to it. Ryan, are you excited about it? I haven't heard from you lately.
Yeah, I'm excited about the V, so I really enjoyed the first one. Yeah. I'm glad it's a little bigger, too. Yeah.
Yeah, I'm glad it's a little bigger. Yeah. I think that it's going to do well. And a lot of people like Tyler.
They do. Yeah. He's very well liked in the industry. They like him more than they like me.
Nobody likes talking about me. Oh. Yeah. Most people do like people better than you.
Yeah, they just stay away from me. Because you're very passionate at all. I don't understand it. I don't get it.
It's because you're angry, Mike. How am I angry? You're always angry. When am I angry?
It'd be easier to tell you when you're not angry. Go ahead. What am I not angry? Now.
Yeah. Every podcast. I feel like you're getting angry. No, I'm not.
By talking about why you're not angry. I'm not angry at all. Not now. He's going to yell at me after the show, just so you know.
I have a listener of the week. I think Tyler has more friends than me in the cigar industry. Well, he has been able for the last several years to just bebop around the show and, you know, shake hands and kiss babies and stuff where, you know, we have to work. Some guy yelled at him like two years ago at PCA.
Yeah, he got in somebody's way or something. Yeah. He was hanging out in somebody's booth or something. Somebody said something, yeah, really hurtful times.
Heard his feelings. Heard his little feelings. Yeah. Yeah.
That's why we call him baby grande. That's not why we call him baby grande. That's why I call him baby grande. Oh, okay.
a. The Cigar Whisperer. Ooh. He does all those neat videos from Cigar Castle.
Okay. Shop of the Week. Oh, what a coincidence! m.
for my last Cutting Light before the PCA. Very nice. And they will also have Warbear. They just bought Warbear for the Cutting Light.
Oh, the previous year's, 2020. Yeah, yeah, last year. Not the new one. You can't get the new one yet.
Yeah. The older one. Somebody came in and asked for it. So they bought, they bought Heavy for the cutting light.
Nice. Yeah. It's good stuff, buddy. You got anything else?
I think that covers everything. All right. It's been episode 380. Thank you very much.
We'll see you guys next week. Bye. Welcome to the Cigar Hustler Podcast, the show brought to you commercial-free. But a massive shout out to our amazing patrons on the Patreon.
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Show Notes
Episode Description:
In this exciting episode of the Cigar Hustlers Podcast, we dive into trending topics like the surprising bankruptcy of 23andMe, Tiger Woods’ new relationship with Vanessa Trump, and DC's stunning cherry blossoms in full bloom. But the big news in the cigar world? Escobar Cigars expanding to Ghana, hot PCA 2025 releases from Rocky Patel, Dunbarton Tobacco, and more! We also highlight the latest from Foundation Cigars, Black Star Line, and S.T. Dupont. Plus, get the scoop on the Cigar Whisperer, Rico Bavonne, as Listener of the Week and a sneak peek of Mike's upcoming visit to Cigar Castle in Tampa. Don't miss it!
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