Cigar Hustlers Podcast Episode 280 Pick One And Smoke It Some Time
Episode Summary
Episode 280 of A Cigar Hustler's Podcast opens with the usual unfiltered banter between host Michael Szczepankiewicz, producer Mike "Reverend BDP" Palmer and in-studio engineer Karen, including a rundown of what's coming on the Patreon feed — a review of the Jake Wyatt Maverick — and a thank you to Patreon members who received the Powstanie Corona Gorda samples (one Broadleaf, one Habano) the crew sent out. There's a long, candid tangent on youth flag football coaching, sportsmanship and teaching kids not to cheat, plus movie talk (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3) and a Costco gas line rant.
The news block covers the week's real industry stories: Fuerte Libre announcing its first-ever price increase effective June 1, averaging 8.1%, driven by manufacturing costs up more than 15% and unexpected trademark expenses; ProCigar announcing the 2024 Dominican Republic festival for February 18–23, with context on how the Santiago portion works and how it slots between Nicaragua's Puro Sabor in January and Cuba's Festival del Habano; the return of the Arturo Fuente Opus X "Big B" as part of the 2023 Fuente Aged Selection release; and HVC's 10th Anniversary 54 shipping to stores — a Nicaraguan puro with a Corojo '99 wrapper over Corojo '99, Corojo 2012 and Criollo '98 fillers, now made at HVC's own Fábrica de Tabacos, priced at $13.90 in boxes of 10. The hosts also argue HVC is the most underrated brand in the industry.
Also covered: My Father Cigars shipping the Don Pepín García Vintage Edition TAA release, inspired by the earliest Don Pepín bands; and Sinistro's El Burro Connecticut, a value-priced line with an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper, Pennsylvania broadleaf binder and Dominican/Nicaraguan/Pennsylvania broadleaf filler, made at El Artista and priced from $5.77 to $6.82. The guys gripe about Halfwheel and Cigar Coop editing their event mention out of press releases and pledge to send releases to Developing Palates and Smoking Tobacco first.
The episode wraps with Shop of the Week honors to Rudy's Cigar in Indiana (Joe Pasquale), a Listener of the Week nod to Pete Hernández, and industry rep chatter — word that Mike Wasp has left Rocky Patel Cigars for El Septimo. The crew plugs their May 19 Powstanie Corona Gorda release event at Hogshead Cigar and the May 26 in-store release at Cigar Hustler.
In This Episode
- 01Patreon Preview: Jake Wyatt MaverickThe crew teases their members-only review of the Jake Wyatt Maverick and thanks Patreon subscribers who received surprise Powstanie Corona Gorda samples in Broadleaf and Habano.
- 02Youth Football, Sportsmanship and Coaching DadsMichael recounts a sideline dispute over a blown interception call and rants about parents who teach kids to cut corners and cheat.
- 03Cigar Media Gripes and Press ReleasesThe hosts call out Halfwheel and Cigar Coop for editing their Hogshead event mention out of a press release and say Developing Palates and Smoking Tobacco get releases first.
- 04Fuerte Libre Raises Prices June 1Fuerte Libre's first-ever price increase averages 8.1%, blamed on manufacturing costs up over 15% and unexpected trademark expenses.
- 05ProCigar 2024 Dates AnnouncedThe Dominican Republic's ProCigar Festival runs February 18–23, 2024, with details on the Santiago and La Romana portions and how it compares to Puro Sabor and the Festival del Habano.
- 06Opus X Big B Returns / Fuente Aged SelectionThe Arturo Fuente Opus X Big B comes back next month as part of the annual Fuente Aged Selection limited release.
- 07HVC 10th Anniversary 54 ShipsHVC's 10th Anniversary 54 — a Nicaraguan puro with Corojo '99 wrapper, priced at $13.90 in tens — ships, and the hosts argue HVC is the most underrated brand in cigars.
- 08My Father Don Pepín Vintage Edition & Sinistro El Burro ConnecticutMy Father ships its TAA Don Pepín García Vintage Edition, while Sinistro adds an Ecuadorian Connecticut blend to its value-priced El Burro line from El Artista.
- 09Shop of the Week, Listener of the Week and Rep MovesRudy's Cigar in Indiana gets Shop of the Week, Pete Hernández is Listener of the Week, and Mike Wasp reportedly leaves Rocky Patel for El Septimo.
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 the Cigar Hustler Podcast. Karen. Welcome to the Cigar Hustler Podcast. I have a new voice, honey.
Sorry, I had a little frog in it. We're off and running. 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.
So grab your favorite smoke, sit back, and join us for another exciting episode of Cigar Hustlers Podcast with your host, Michael the King, Step on Cabbage, and his producer, Mike, Reverend BDP Palmer, and you know me. Who are you? I'm Karen. Karen.
We got to get something for Karen because when she holds up the paper to read her intro, it's in front of her camera. So we'll have to try to fix that for Karen. I don't know. I don't know if I'll be back.
Well, whoever happens to be the engineer, we hope you're back. We hope you come back. You're very popular with the audience. I feel like you're doing a fantastic job, you know.
People really like you. Yeah. Yeah. I have some, I have to get some photos printed for you to autograph for some fans.
Yes. Oh, people are asking for my John Hancock? Yeah. Yes, yes, for your, amongst other things.
Oh, yeah. - Camera one, please. - Okay. Better overhead garage storage with a rack above.
Why must we damage our-- - God damn it, Karen. - Karen, you know the rules now. - Again. - Now you know the rules.
- Yeah, you knew that last time. - Sorry. - Sorry. - Her husband calls every week as soon as we start the show.
- Yes. Jesus. - I'll start over. - He's very concerned.
- Yeah, start over. He's very jealous. Better overhead garage storage with a rack above. Why must we damage our homes just to have overhead storage?
A rack above has changed the status quo by developing a superior overhead storage system that will not harm your home or damage your house or trusses. It comes with a 48-inch shelf that spans the width of your garage, keeping items within arm's reach, allowing you to ditch the ladder. A rack above will fit any size garage. Suspended telescopic legs go up and down stairs, around water heaters, between electrical boxes, and above your car!
Bam! Got it! A Rack Above is the last storage system you'll ever need. A Rack Above is easily disassembled and reassembled in any garage.
No matter where life takes you, A Rack Above can go with you. Call for pricing 407-474-1214 or visit A Rack Above dot com. Above your car. I understand he's doing very well.
He is doing very well. He's selling like hotcakes. Nice. Well, that makes sense.
That's right. It makes sense. It makes sense. I'm not going to lie.
It makes sense. Everybody needs a rack above, except for Skip, 'cause he's a minimalist. Yes. Nothing in his garage.
Nothing in his garage. Nothing. But if he did, they could go over the cars. Yeah, over the cars.
Over the cars. Over the F-100. And his little go-kart thing. The four-wheel drive thing he goes at a bus stop with.
That's in San Juan del Sur. Oh, that's where I'm in, not here. Oh, you want a rack above in the crowd? I'm in San Juan del Sur.
Yeah, yeah, over there. Oh, it's international. Yeah, it could be. What do we got going for the Patreon?
I don't know. What do we got going for the Patreon, Michael? Today, we're going to be reviewing the Jake Wyatt Maverick. Oh, from the movie?
Yeah, from the movie. Oh. It's actually Gerard's son's name. Is he a fan of the movie?
I would assume so. That's where he got that. Yeah, it's gotta be. How old is his son?
I don't know. Probably like four or five, I wanna guess. Oh, then yeah. It's a great movie.
Yeah, it's just like Star Wars. Yeah. Karen's a huge fan of it. And Harry Potter.
Yeah. Same thing. Only difference is, you know. Yeah, Harry Potter, they have sucky lightsabers.
I don't want to get into it, but it's different. Yeah, let's not get into it. There's some, you ask Quentin Tarantino's theory about Top Gun. It'll change the way you think about Top Gun.
2 grams, just so you know. It's a Toro? Yeah, so we did a thing for our Patreon members. So, not only are you, you know, did you guys get the opportunity to hear our reviews and some of the dark web secrets of the cigar industry on a weekly basis, we sent out Corona Gorda's samples of the post on that.
Oh, we got, we have a new patron. Do we? Yes. Oh, excellent.
So, we sent them out to everybody, the one Broadleaf and one Habano. That's very nice of you guys. For everybody to try. Just wanted out to say, personally.
Julian Gordon is the new patron. I'll bet, I'll bet he is, I'll bet he is. I just wanted to personally thank, thank you, I just wanted to personally thank all of our Patreon members for coming along, helping us along the way, and continuing the journey with us together as we continue on in the cigar industry. As the number one cigar podcast.
As the number one cigar. Podbean. Why is he going off my camera? He's crazy right now.
Dude, he just hit all three. He just hit all three? I mean, she just hit all three. Why did you guys keep referring to me as a guy?
Bing, Bing, Bing. Karen. What's her name? It's Karen, right?
Karen, yes. I want to say Kristen so bad. Oh, my God. Maybe that's your mentality.
No, it's not. I want to say Joe Dirt so bad. Joe Dirt. So, yeah.
Oh, and the number one podcast to listen to in 2023 if you want to know about cigars. So, listen, just so you know. It may happen again when other cigars come out. Oh, because you have a lot coming out this year.
This could be a thing. This could be a thing. You know, I got a lot of thank yous from people because it was a surprise. They weren't expecting it.
Well, you mentioned it on the show. Yeah, but I don't think all of them had met. Like, Mitch didn't listen, obviously, right away, because he's like, who want to taste it? Mitch Smith.
Oh, because he didn't say thank you? Well, no, I was like, well, if you listen to the last Patreon, sir, he's like, I listened, I'm excited. And I'm like, I don't think that you listened. I don't believe you, Mitch.
Maybe he's like that Hippelhauser guy, and he always says that. What's that day? " Yeah, always trying to dry bag. Weak weasel game?
Yeah, weak weasel. Wow. Well, it's not you. Nothing against you.
Yeah, it's like one of the guys that comes in here. I see him when I leave. Yeah, he does the patron with us. And here's the thing, Kerry.
If you're gonna roll with us, you gotta have thick skin, right? Yeah, it's super important. Yeah, like when you guys keep calling me a guy. Yeah, exactly.
Yeah, exactly. The QR thing doesn't work. Oh. Uh-oh.
Are you sure? Well, it's not my phone. It's not up yet. It's not up yet.
I don't know. They do expire. Oh, really? Yes.
Well, this is a brand new cigar, so. Well, that doesn't mean they might not have had the QR code for a long time. Oh. I'll find out.
What does the QR code do? I have no idea. I don't know. That's why you scanned it.
I thought maybe you'd tell me about the cigar. That'd be a cool thing. Uh, yeah, but I don't know how this one... Several people have done it already.
Diesel's done it. Padron. Justin Andrews. Padron.
Not Padron. Padron hasn't done it. Perdomo. Perdomo's done it.
But Perdomo does it right by the UPC, so when you go to scan the price, you have to cover the QR, because the register will scan the QR code. It gives you no information. The register will take you to a website? No, it just is not on file.
Error. Error. Error. So, hey, listen, check this out.
I saw Guardians of the Galaxy this weekend. Oh, you did? And I gotta tell you, this was the best fucking Guardians of the Galaxy I've ever seen. Was it really?
This is the best movie I've seen in probably two years. Oh, wow. It was fucking amazing. Yeah.
It was a great movie. Don't ruin any of it for anybody. Do you mean like the special effects or like what made it great? Everything.
Everything. The storyline made it great. The special effects made it great. The action sequences weren't over the top as far as always going on.
It looked like there was... The dialogue was amazing. There was more story in this one than usual. It was incredible.
Yeah. It was absolutely incredible. I loved the entire movie. Oh.
Yeah. I was so... I don't know. I was caught off guard by it.
Oh. Because Jax wanted to go and see it. Right. And I'm like, how am I going to swing this?
Because we have football and all this other stuff. Right. And they actually had the day off school. So I'm like, I can take them in the morning, I guess, and we'll go see this movie before we do football.
So, I'm like, okay, I can make this work. We go to see the movie, and I'm thinking, all right, I'll probably enjoy it, but I don't even think I watched all of number two. I think I gave up on volume two. Number two, got the dance thing at the end.
It's got Kurt Russell in it, I think. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. You didn't like that second one? I don't think I finished it.
No. No. So, yeah, the first one has the dance thing at the end. Yeah, the first one was pretty good.
Yeah. But again, I was never excited. Right. I was never, I need to go see the next Guardian.
Right, yeah, I've never been a big fan. I mean, I've watched them, but just because it's part of Marvel Universe. And the box office numbers actually show that it was terrible, like, as far as, I don't think a lot of people went out to see it. No, I heard it wasn't that good.
Yeah, a lot of people didn't go out to see it. Right. The numbers, you're saying, weren't that good. I heard the movie wasn't.
The movie was fantastic. Well, I understand you liked it. Yeah, I loved it. I heard the reviews, they were, people were disappointed.
Oh my God, I loved the movie. I thought it was fantastic. Did you see the new Shazam? No.
Oh, because I heard that was bad, too. I was going to just see a comparison. No, I'm sure, I don't wait, no. I'll tell you what does look really good is that new flash with Michael Keaton.
Oh, man. Oh, yeah, it does look good. Yeah. Except that flash is a mess.
Karen's a little deeper this week. I'm sorry. Oh, yeah. Maybe she was smoking heavy over here.
I don't have no water or anything. Oh, there's some whiskey over there. Oh, thank you for trying to get me drunk on the show. From our friends down to Herf.
Oh, that was the one they sent? That looks nice. Yeah. So I had a little back and forth as well with another coach on the field.
Oh, I got another argument. Oh. Oh. Dude, I'm tired of these coaches, man.
These people are just assholes. Did you hit this one? No. He paused.
I thought he was going to tell us he hit him. No, but I approached him halfway through the game. He was close. Oh.
" Right. And it's not third down, it's second down. " Like, they're close to scoring. Was he one of your reps?
No. Oh. No. I mean, the ones that listen to you, no.
No. Because you know the... No, that didn't happen here, unfortunately. There was no payoff.
Oh. Anyway, please continue. So I told them, hey, no, it's second time. Hey, look, it's second time.
Because again, same scenario, it's all about being a good person and teaching these kids, you know... Good sportsmanship. Yeah, and character and all these things. Work hard.
Work hard, play hard. Yeah. Don't cheat. Don't cheat.
So... Is that your wife? No. Anybody you want to talk to?
No. I'm in the middle of a story. Your phone's ringing, not mine. Yeah, I love the story.
So, it's none of your damn business what's going on with my phone. I have mine face down. You know, did you hear Top Gun when my phone rang? Tell us more.
Am I trying to get your attention? No, it was... Tell us more. So, I run the defense on this team, on the third grade, fourth grade team, and another dad runs the offense.
So, can we name him something? Can he be like a Tom or Tim? Who? The other dad.
Chris is his name. Oh, Chris. Okay, Chris. Yeah.
So, I go on to take, which is totally irrelevant to the story, Karen, but fine. Sorry. So, I mixed up my lineup and I was short one kid on the defense. I said, "Hey, give me one second.
" Oh, the one you get the down to. I said, okay, timeout. And then I looked at him and go, but do you do just remember not five minutes ago when you were trying to fight for your second and third down, I had no problem speaking up for you, right? So we're already off to a bad start.
I said, okay, here we go. So, you know, we stopped them. We get the ball back. You know, the game goes on.
And we're doing great. The kids are playing fantastic. Right. They're having a good time.
They're doing coaching. Yeah, they're having fun, which is the most important thing to me. Certainly, yes. I don't want to see any kid getting dumpy, right?
So, we're trying to drive the ball, and you've got to get the ball to half field in order to get a fresh set of downs. We couldn't really move the ball on this set of downs. I'm just trying to understand, is that a flag football rule? Yeah.
Oh, okay. So, if you have four downs, you don't get to halfway? You get three downs on the first half, and then you get four on the second half. Oh, so it's not like you got to go 10 yards like in regular football or whatever it is.
No. Oh, okay. Sorry. I was trying to understand.
So it's third down. Jax heaves the ball deep because he's far back. Right. In the pocket.
In the pocket, yeah. And a defender reaches up, grabs it, but when he hits the ground, he drops it. It hits the ground. Oh, fumble.
No, it's just not a catch. It's not an interception. Oh, complete. So I'm like, okay, no big deal.
Well, they're getting the ball back anyway, so I get my defenders out, we're going to take the field. And they're setting up where this kid almost caught the ball. Oh. " Now, from the perspective view, the coaches, we could all see that it wasn't an interception.
Right. The ref is on the other side and back, so he couldn't see if it was an interception. Oh, okay. So he called it an interception.
So I go, "Wait, that wasn't an interception. " Oh. " He's playing that game now. Okay.
I go, that's not what the ref said. I'm like, we could all see that he didn't catch the ball. Right. And then their kids go, oh, it was an interception.
I was like, listen, I'm not gonna have an argument with 10-year-olds. You go ahead and do fine. You get to take your ball right here. That's fine.
You know, so it was short, but we stopped them anyways. Right. Right. And the offense took back over.
That coach goes to the sidelines. And then I walked up to him. I go, look, man, nothing for nothing, but what you're doing isn't the right thing. I'm not the type of dad that's out here to try and win a game for whatever, to cheat and win a game.
For any region, right. Right, at the end of the day, like, they look and see everything that we do. Right. So you're gonna, you know, you're encouraging...
Them to lie. Right. Cheat. Well, that's not what the ref said.
I'm sorry, but that's not what the ref said. I go, yeah, but you know, and I know, that that's not how this went down. Right. Like, I'm here for both sides of the, kids on both sides of the ball.
And you should be here too, for both sides of the ball. " And then that was it. What happened? I walked away.
Did he set up on where the ball came? You weren't listening to the story, Karen, I can't tell you again. Oh. They already played through.
They already played through those downs. I was thinking about something. Do you have a juice box guy? No.
Does anybody bring orange slices? You should definitely have a juice box guy. No, I would give them lollipops at the end. Oh, that's great.
That's great. So, yeah, I'm just fucking, I can't stand some of these dads, man. These dads are complete idiots. You don't even realize what you're fucking doing.
You're so hell-bent on winning a fucking game that you're gonna cheat and try and curtail things. How did Brittany evaluate your interaction with the other coach? Because you said last week you asked. Yeah, she was further down at the end zone, so she couldn't really see all of it go down, I guess.
But, you know, I should have asked. She didn't tell me anything either. " Alright. He didn't die.
Well, yes. I didn't swing on him. You didn't swing, right? Honestly, you didn't hit the open, so.
So, 1-0 you, or? Oh, I mean, I would definitely give, I would take the point. Okay. I would totally take the point.
Now, if I had just given up the interception and just kind of laid down and not made any conversation about it, and then readdressed it later, it would have been a point for him. See, the problem is we need this dad to have reoccurring issues with Michael. Yeah. We should get with him.
It's like everybody who plays that team. You know what we really need is we really need dads to actually give a fuck and invest the proper time to educate their kids. And if I have to hold the hands of every single fucking idiot father out there, I will do that to make sure that this fucking league becomes better for their kids and my fucking kid. It seems like people should bring their children to your league, because this is where they're going to learn the correct way to do things.
I would much, look... I'm not being sarcastic, but I mean, you don't get this in every league. I say the same thing over and over and over again. Sports are microcosms of life, right?
Yes, yes. So if you're going to teach a kid, "Hey, cut the corner and take the pick and that's all good," then I'm going to teach my kid how to employ your fucking kid because your kid is never going to do the right thing and work hard and fucking build. It's just that simple. Right.
Right. But if you don't, and if you as a father don't understand that shit on the fucking field, then you're teaching your kid improper things at home, right? Right. Hey, just, it's okay.
And when your kid comes home with D's and F's or whatever, or he cheated to get the C or the B, and then he can't fucking figure it out in life when things are really, really hard, I'll tell you why. You fucked up. It's just that fucking simple. There's a lot of people teach the cheat, get-ahead thing.
Yeah. Yeah, they do. And that's how homeless people are created. That's how you get homeless people.
Oh, that's how it starts. That's how it starts. Wow. No, I don't think that it's, look, it's not to that extent, obviously.
That's a bit absurd. But the reality is that, you know, look, at the end of the day, I'm not the richest person in the world. Not even close. No, you don't get vacations.
I'm not even the richest person. Your brother's still gone. Right. Yeah, he's still gone.
Still gone in Europe somewhere. For weeks. He is alive because he liked my photo just now on Instagram. Dude, you want to see this place implode?
I'll go disappear for 14 days. Oh yeah, no, nothing happens. Well, if you disappear, everybody else disappears. I'll go disappear for 14 days.
I stop showing up, Boots doesn't show up, Karen doesn't come in. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
No, but my point is that, look, at the end of the day, as a parent, all you can do is teach your kid the right principles and hope that they have a good life, no matter what that means financially for them. but you want them to wake up every morning, have a fulfilled, feel fulfilled, right? Enjoy life. Right, just want your kids to be happy.
Right. And self-sufficient. And feel like, hey, I didn't fuck anybody over today. Right.
And it was a good day instead of justifying screwing somebody over. Certainly. It's not okay. Not okay.
That's all I'm saying. And then we did like some college park party on Saturday or Saturday. Oh, nice. Oh.
Which is really cool. A party in college park? Yeah, they shut down, they shut down the street. Oh, you did a street thing.
Oh. Yeah, a friend of ours had to purchase a table, we watched a couple bands play. It was cool. They have food trucks and stuff.
Oh, nice. Yeah. Mm-hmm. It's nice.
Our friends Jeff and Becky were- I'm a little gassed up now, I'm just trying to bring it down. I know, you're trying to bring it down. Our friends Jeff and Becky were in town again. Oh, yeah.
For a cheer, the one of their daughter does competitive cheerleading, which a lot of that happens in Central Florida. Yeah. Oh, nice. That happens.
Adrian ended up with a migraine on Saturday, so we didn't, we just stayed home. Yeah. But Sunday, you saw the photos, I'm sure we… We went to the beach. No, no.
They stay at a timeshare that they have over on the Disney side of town. It's got all those huge resort pool things. Oh. So… With a beach?
No, no, no beach. Just a pool. With sand? No, no sand.
There's a bar. I felt like there was sand. There's a bar. And then they did the, they always do the thing where they try to make you buy more stuff.
Yeah. And if you do that, you get bar credits. Yeah. So we had free drinks.
Nice. Oh, I went to Volcano Bay too on Sunday. Oh. Oh, nice.
Jake's going to be in town this coming weekend. We're going Friday night. Did you see that Boots was out and about on the sand having a good time? I saw it on Friday afternoon he went.
Yeah, just gone. And then later I saw his wife helping some guy climb up on the roof here. That's crazy. Yeah, she was holding the ladder and helped him carry it around the building and stuff.
Karen, you know anything about that? No, I have no clue. Wow, that's so weird. Yeah, him and his son and some other dude.
Some other dude, I don't know if that's his boyfriend, or some guy he's dating, I don't know. Some guy Tia's dating, or? No, no, Boots. Boots was at the beach with his son and another guy.
Oh. Having a beach day. It's two weeks in a row he had a beach day. Yeah, it was very beachy.
Yeah, he did invite us this time, but I was working. I can't just take off or whatever. Yeah, I can't go. Oh.
Did I get invited? No, you, well, yeah, he invited both of us, but you were at the movies. Oh. Yes.
Oh, yeah. Yeah, you said you went to the movies Friday. Yeah. I was here, working.
Interesting. Yeah. Well, we're well past 16 minutes. And I feel like this is a good flow time to segue into...
Right, after we do our... Karen's knowledgeable... Well, why don't we push Karen back a little bit and we'll do our little intro, what we did... Right.
and then before we start the news... We'll do Karen's fun facts. Karen's fun facts. Yeah.
All right, Karen, you have a fun fact today? Uh... I do. Nice.
Okay, fellas. Sigmund Freud, the famous psychoanalyst The journalist who saw sex in everything. What? I'm sorry.
There goes her voice again. She's getting excited because it said sex. Excuse me. It's famous for saying sometimes...
Make sure the camera's not blocked by the paper. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. Freud was an avid cigar smoker. He was also infatuated with men's...
Read the fact. Penis. I'm sorry. He was the one, he was, this is true.
He was the one that said, that thought everything, you know, like if you have problems with your mother, it's because you want to sleep with your mother type thing. And he sometimes goes, well, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. Not everything is a phallic symbol. Right.
Let me finish. Let me finish reading the thing. But he was, he was fascinated with penises. Penises and things that are shaped like penises.
That's a well-known fact. - And would ask to see other men's penises, often at parties. - Oh, geez. - Huh.
Makes complete sense. Interesting. " - I did, poo. - You hit it with the paper.
- Oh, pee. - Oh, wow. - You hit it with the paper, Karen, nice. Watch your voice, Karen.
Keep track of your voice. - I know, I'm trying. Interesting. That's very interesting, Karen.
Oh, what a cigar fact, huh? Penises. If you Google "weird cigar fact," you get some weird information. It's very, very weird.
Yes. I feel like Karen, you know, it's right up your alley, though, you know? Yeah, I know. Yeah.
Probably, you know, I'm afraid she's gonna answer to see ours now. Probably get a lot of dicks, Karen. I'm definitely not coming back. You have to, Karen.
You're doing such a great job. I feel like you're coming back, Karen. All right, camera one, please, Gary. We miss you too much.
Oh, yeah, I know. From the four corners of the world, all the cigar industry news you could possibly need. The Cigar Hustler Podcast Report with Mike Toon. The news today brought to you by Developing Pallets and Smoking Tobacco.
The only two places to get all the complete actual news in the cigar industry. Yeah. Not edited down news by all these other media sources. You know, Charlie from Half Wheel was asking me about the SBC 22, so I told him, hey man, that's kinda fucked up, you didn't, like, I don't even care, I just knew that you guys were, so you guys put your Instagram name in the press release, well, first of all, Michael, Mike Palmer does the press releases, I don't, I just look at it and I tweak it, so you put that you guys would be May 19th, at a Hogshead, well, it's a bit of a draw for the event, no, listen, I'm not, I'm not beating it up, I'm not beating it up, you kept it in there, let's go, You know, I'm all for everybody.
Right. And apparently. He edited it out. Yeah.
So did Coop. Yeah. Gone. Gone.
Took that section right out. Got to remove these guys. Remove that whole paragraph. Yeah.
Don't need this. Like you didn't even matter. So, you know, so Charlie was asking me. So he was kind of a dick.
He was kind of a dick. And I'm like, all right, cool. And I'm like, no problem. So he's asking about SBC 22.
And I was like, sorry, I don't have information for you at this time. So Developing Palates and Smoking Tobacco will get all of our press releases first. We're going to make sure that, I'm going to build a separate sheet and we'll release it to them first. Right.
But Developing Palates is kind of linked to Coop. Yeah, but they do their own news. They do their own stuff. We're going to make Coop wait.
They're on, how about that cigar this week? Are they? Yes. Well, Coop is very busy doing the F1 racing.
Yes, he's very busy in Miami. He's living a good life. I mean, not going to lie, it looks like he's having a good time. Right.
Another cigar media guy, not doing cigar media, I don't, I don't know what all these things are going on here. Oh my goodness, I'm sure there's cigar smokers at the F1, yadda yadda. Well, Terrence said he was going, but he was too busy, he was doing cigar stuff, he couldn't go to the car stuff. Such a hard worker Terrence.
He's flexing, you know, doing this all over the country, he's a very busy man. Agonorsa. Agonorsa, everywhere. Alright, Fuerte Libre increases prices on June 1st.
For the-- I have to read this. I have to read this. For the first time in history, Fuerte Libre will increase the prices of cigars effective June 1st. Oh, my goodness.
Is this the first June 1st they've been around? It might be. That's what I was thinking too. Yeah, maybe the second time.
1% on average. Fuerte Libre says that since its first line debut in May-- Oh, 2019. So they've been around for four June's. Okay.
Four June's. Four June's. The company's manufacturing costs have increased by more than 15%. It also highlighted the unexpected cost Costs related to trademarks is another reason for the increase.
What trademark prices have increased? They get in trouble? The Rock come after them for using that bullhead? Maybe.
Pro Cigars release a date for the 2024. The 2024 edition of the Dominican Republic Pro Cigar Festival will take place February 18th to the 23rd, 2024. Given that the festival typically takes place that week after Valentine's Day, these dates are not a surprise. what can they just say every year, we're gonna do it again, same time next year?
You would think so. Are they the ones that have the white party? Yeah. With the khakis?
Oh yeah, where you wear khakis. Apparently. Yeah, it's the white khaki party. Who's gonna stab you?
The event is one of three of the established cigar festivals. Nicaraguan Purosabor takes place in January, while Cuba's festival, De Habano, typically takes place the week after Pro Cigar. Though, you know, you rattled the cellophane again during the commercial. I know, I know, I know.
And now you're scraping during the news. I know, I know. Are you still talking about Forte Libre? No, Pro Cigar now!
Oh, that's right. And the white and khaki part. Yeah, khakis. The Pro Cigar Festival split into two parts.
Most attendings only attend the portion in Santiago de la Caballeros, home to most of the cigar factories. Caballeros. Caballeros. Caballeros?
Isn't that cowboy in Spanish? Gentlemen. Three caballeros. The portion begins the evening on Tuesday, February 20th, and includes on February 23rd, a small percentage of total attendance will also attend the optional part in the eastern part of the island, which typically includes a visit to Tabla Calera de Garcia, La Roma, and a stay at the Casa de Campo.
Once in Santiago, the festival includes daily tours of cigar factories, blah, blah, blah. The festival allows attendees intimate access to Dominican cigar companies and direct access to the country's most prominent cigar makers. Yeah, we didn't need to read those. I missed it.
That was DMs. I know. It's funny. Opus' Big B returns for the 2023 Fuente...
2020 Fui? 2020 Fui, yes. Is it 2020 Fui? 2020 Fui.
It's not the 2023. Only funny speech impediment, Michael. It's very rude. 2020 Fui.
Fuente Age Selection releases. A decade ago, Fuente Age Selection released a novel size... Fui. of the Fuente Fuente, the Fuente Fuente, Fuente Fuente, Fuente Fuente, Opus X called the Big B.
Fui. As part of its annual release of limited edition and rare Arturo Fuente cigars next month, the Big B will return to stores in a much greater fashion. Did we get that? Were we supposed to get it already?
No, it comes to the next week. Oh, probably not. Next month. Next month.
I'd say no. Oh. Well, the cigar didn't get any thicker. Well, then we're not reading the story.
All right. Moving on. We're going to run out. It's a long story.
We're going to run out of here. It's going to be a short one. HVC's 10th Anniversary 54 ships tomorrow. The second size HVC 10th Anniversary line will begin shipping to stores tomorrow.
It's called the HVC 10th Anniversary 54 reference. Did you see his Instagram post? Where he's on the airplane? No, he was in the warehouse.
Check this out. It is the HVC 10th Anniversary. Oh, the one this morning he was on an airplane. " This is good.
I'm very excited for it to come. my little friend very tasty like the original six and a half by 50 toro extra this was made to celebrate the company's 10th anniversary in 2021 it's a nicaraguan puro that uses a corojo 99 wrapper and corojo 99 corojo 2012 and criollo 98 fillers i think if there is a brand that is the most if i were to pick the most underrated brand yes in the cigar industry yes it would be The HVC. You know Skip said that last week. Did he?
Yes. No shit. Yes. I believe that.
See? We're smart. Yeah, you're right there with him. It makes sense.
You're on the Skip Martin level now. Yeah, practically there. Practically. I'm just two F-100s away and a Learjet.
And a mountaintop home and your own monkey. The second location, St. Wendelsenheim. I'm almost there though.
Right. I'm close. Almost. It's a matter of time.
No, I felt like Skip today, I had like four or five squirrels running around, chasing each other over my house, around the fence, back over the house, down the front, down the street, driving my dogs crazy. But he has monkeys. Yeah, but the squirrels, they're kind of like monkeys. He has dogs?
I don't know, but I had the squirrels running all over the house, like he has monkeys running all over the backyard. Driving his dogs crazy? I don't think he has... Isn't he getting a dog?
I thought he mentioned he was getting... He needs to get a dog. I think he was mentioning he was getting Fiorella. Fiorella needs a puppy.
She needs a puppy. Yeah. What kind of dogs do you have in Nicaragua? They're probably the same dogs they have across the world.
You think so? Yeah. Oh, you know, the black label people have a great day. They do.
Yeah. And another hound-looking dog. Yeah? A hound dog?
Hound-looking. As he ain't nothing but a? Yes. Mm-hmm.
One of the changes compared to the original, the cigar is made at the company's Fabricade. Your wife is in me, dear. Hey, baby. Hit me back.
I'm going to chat here later on. We'll be on the after party. Don't win me. Very long.
Very long. Let's see, oh, he named the factory after himself? Who? Lorenzo.
Oh, hey. Original, the cigars made at the company's Fabrica de Tobacos, HVC, SA, de Renier Lorenzo. Perfect. Perfect.
I like that. You know what? I want my own factory. Yes.
Tobaculera de Factura, Miguel, step on cabbage, motherfuckers. Come get it. If you pay by the letter, Michael, it's going to be very expensive building. It's Nicaragua, man, it's gonna be, you know, six bucks.
Uh, let's see, where the original, six bucks, six and a half by 50 size, but they delete the paint there though, they thin it out, so. You gotta, you gotta, you gotta, we gotta cut it down, you gotta cut down, you gotta get all the letters in. 90 per cigar and is sold in boxes of 10 cigars. All right, my father's new Don Pepin Vintage Edition is shipping next week.
Pepin. Pepin? Pepin. I like Pepin.
Pepin. Pepe. This week, My Father Cigars will begin shipping its newest line, the Don Pepin. Pui.
Vintage edition to retailers of the tobacco, oh, it's a TAA cigar. Yep. Ah, shit. Can't cut this story out.
We're only 30 minutes. Something to talk about. The new line is to view the TAA's annual meeting in a trade show in March that draws its visual inspiration from the earliest known bands to ever grace a Don Pepin Garcia cigar. Listen, it's not my fault you don't do anything on the weekends.
Okay, I told you, my entire weekend, I did a bunch of things. It was a bunch of things. You're like, well, migraine, and we went out one take. That's all we knew.
Yeah. We went on a blow-by-blow of the pool. Every occasion, you cut the grass. No, I didn't cut the grass this weekend.
I didn't need it. Yeah, I mean, I need to hear some other shit from you. You know what I mean? I have a very simple life.
Did something happen? Did you piss anybody off? Did anybody piss you off? I could tell you another story about me.
I'm in the Costco gas line. Yes. You hit somebody in the Costco? And there's this fucking guy.
And we're in line. Oh. And it's fucking busy. Right.
I'm in line, I'm next up, and there's two, there's always two people in the gas line and then they move forward, right? Right. Well, this guy is in the back and the other person that was in the front is gone, this son of a bitch is just sitting there, I got my window down, I'm pissed. Was he pumping gas?
He's just sitting there holding it, waiting for it to kind of top off and then push a little bit more in. Oh, he's trying to completely fill it up. He sits there, he sits there and he pushes a little more in. " And Brittany's freaking out.
Don't roll up your window right now. Stop it. Stop it. I'm about to get out of my car and say, move your fucking, I mean, look, know what's going on here.
Right. Like, there is a ton of people. Right. Don't worry about the top off.
Whatever you're trying to do is ridiculous. How much longer did that take? It took an extra five minutes. Oh.
That's a long time. Five minutes. That's a long time. No, it's not.
Yes, it is. No, it's not. Yes, it is. Even your wife was telling you to get back in the car.
I looked at her, and I said, "He's not even touching it. " Well, at that point, I would have just been sitting there, too. What? He didn't hear me yelling at him.
Click, click. I thought you said the window was down. It was. He didn't hear me.
Click, click, click. Oh, he didn't hear you. No. Oh, I thought he heard you.
No. So, he finally finishes. Right. Happy as a clam.
I got all the guests. You want to know what he wanted to do? What he wanted to do? He needed to make it $50 even.
Oh, well, okay. He told you that? Did he start at like $45? No, I pulled up, but I saw it.
It was at $50. Did he start at $45? He started somewhere. Oh, shit, I went over.
Yeah, he started somewhere about 46 bucks. 02, and I gotta go 48. Took him an extra 10 minutes to get this done. 03, son of a bitch.
If you're so hell-bent on doing something like that, you should go where there isn't a ton of people waiting for gas. Why is a lot, is it that much cheaper there? It's pretty, it's like 20 cents less. Yeah, because I think Sam, we went to Sam's that night, it was 20 cents.
Yeah. I'm just a maniac, man. I just... No, you're very angry.
I always have my routines. This is where I get gas. Why did you go earlier before anybody gets there? Well, at the time we were leaving Volcano Bay and we needed gas.
And I said, why is this car on E? You're at a Costco to get there or to get back? On the way back. So you're in tourist town at a Costco?
No, I was close to my house. I said, will we make it home? And Brittany's like, of course we'll make it home. She always rides on E.
You know, it's not to make it at home, it's to make it back to the gas station I always worry about. Yeah. I mean, you can get home. Right.
Mike, I'm gonna get to the gas station again tomorrow. It was a scary, scary time. Right. Because then you're by yourself.
" And it was me. It was you. Well, it's only the two of you. Uh-oh.
Uh-oh. " He was having a lovely weekend around. Oh, yeah, living it up with her. I mean, I'm gonna start calling her "Fiance", you know, whatever.
Oh. It's just a matter of time. It's just a matter of time. It's just a matter of time.
It's just a matter of time. It's just a matter of time. He's the one, huh? I think he might be the one.
Oh. Yeah. Then you have an extra room again. Or are they both gonna live with you?
Hey guys, what's for breakfast? Hey, you know what? We have a great idea. We're gonna live here.
Yeah. We got a great idea. Me and my Paul Malls and my boyfriend, we're just gonna live here. We're staying here until we're 40.
Staying here. Gonna save some money and buy a house. I have to charge more rent. No, no, same rate.
Same rate? Right. But they consume more. Still the one room.
But they consume more. Yeah, but they need to save more. Well, there's two incomes at that point. She's going to quit.
She's going to quit her job? Yes. That's also why they need to live at your house. I could see that happening.
I could too. No, they start having children. We're out of here. There's more children in your house.
I don't feel like working anymore. Okay. Sinestro releases the El Borough Connecticut this week. week that one's in your car just oh i had that one in my car did you smoke it yet no oh now it's been in a good week yeah it's nice and you know i dry boxed it i dry boxed it so that's for cigars i am the worst when it comes to taking care of my personal cigars right the cobbler's kids have the worst shoes exactly i know dude i dumped in in my humidor i re-upped and i'm past capacity i did post on in connecticut toros i saw you you loaded up thursday so you know i know you didn't You tell me Friday, you weren't coming back till the date already started, but I kind of assumed because you were loading up on Thursday.
Yeah. Yeah. I had decided at that point. Yeah.
And you know, but when you left, you're like, oh no, I'll be in at a decent time in the morning. I'll see you first thing in the morning. And then I was like, no, I'll come back. And you text me like, nah, I'm not going.
I got both Corona Gordas. I got bundles of Habano and Broadleaf. Right. And then I got a bundle of Neanderthal HNs.
Right. Right. So I'm dumping all these things in and they don't fit. And I'm just like fucking shoving it.
My humidor has got to. Pushing the lid down. Come sit on this. It doesn't close all the way.
It's open a smidge and shit. Oh, great. It's got to drive people crazy. But that's just going to be gone in less than a month, so who cares?
What do I care? Who cares? So that's a new Connecticut blend to the value-priced Elboro line. And we'll be shipping the cigar to stores next week.
Are we getting that or just the one? We're not getting that. Yeah. Not right now, at least.
No, it's the value-priced line. The blend uses an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper, a Pennsylvania broadleaf binder, and filler made up of Dominican, Nicaraguan, and Pennsylvania broadleaf tobaccos. It is described as a medium plus blend that was created by James something, I can't say his name, Agapin? Agapin?
A-G-O-P-I-A-N? Agapin? Agapin. Agapin.
Agapin. He's Chinese or Japanese. Maybe. Herro, my name is James Agrabah.
Herro. Herro. Sinistero Saga, and produced at the El Artista. He's actually a really nice guy.
I believe we met him. Was he the older gentleman that was there? No. He's a younger guy.
Oh, no, I'm thinking of a different, but yeah, those are the younger guys. Yeah. Being offered in the same three vitoles as the El Borro Corojo and the El Borro Maduro. Apparently they like the El Borro name.
Which is a beauty of the 2021 TPE trade show. 77. 30. 82.
Oh. Elboro, this is an asterisk. Elboro. Elboro, oh no, this is a quote.
Elboro is our value brand line that has gained a lot of popularity since its release last year. So much. Said Coleman Fine. Coleman Fine.
Co-owner of Sinestro Cigars via press release. I wonder if Half Wheel edited that too. Huh. " Oh, this is brought to you by developing pallets and...
But keeps the cost low by using expensive boxes and... And smoking tobacco. And? That's where Half Wheel edited it.
Oh, it's over? Yeah, that's where it ends, 'cause Half Wheel just got that off. That's funny. Well, regular production Segal, or Burro, is part of Sinestro's La Fremliga series, which was created as a way to show off what is called...
Yeah, they edited that too. That was it, huh? Apparently that too. All right, you got a shop of the week?
There was no Florida. The Florida news, it was another alligator. Hmm, big deal. Well, there are alligators everywhere this time of year.
Yeah. Uh-oh. There was some deaths, and deaths are never good to talk about on the podcast. Yeah.
'Cause they're usually children when they're in the news, and that's just depressing. I do have a shop of the week. You got a shop of the week? Yeah.
Uh-oh. Is it Hogshead Cigar, where we'll be on May 19th in two weeks? It's not. Oh.
But we'll still be there. It's gonna be Rudy's. Ah, Rudy's. Where's Rudy's?
I don't know anything about Rudy's. Rudy's Cigar in Indiana. Hey, you might get an order for a lady in North Carolina. If you do, let me know.
All right. So, Joe, Joe Pasquale. Oh, I like you. You know Joe.
Yeah, Joe Pasquale. Yeah. Yeah. He was the first person to instantly reach out when he saw the press release of the Corona Gordas.
Which press release did he see? The edited one or the non-edited? I don't know. I should have asked him that.
Yeah. You should do it when people call you go and say, and who is going to the event at Hogshead? And if they know, then they get the shirt. Tell me who's going to be there.
They get the shirt. Tell me who's going to be there. Right. Hmm.
That's a good idea. Also, developing pallets put theirs out first, too. They're fast. They're fast.
Very fast. John McTavish and Aaron Loomis. Yes. The cigar surgeon.
Oh, no. Aaron doesn't have a nickname. Aaron Fishstick Loomis is what I'm going to call him. Aaron Fishstick Loomis?
Yeah. That works for me. And Fishstick, Loomis, and John Cigar Surgeon McTavish. Yep.
The Fishstick guy. Yeah. He's a huge fish fan. Loves fish.
Yes, he does. He would love for it to be sent to his house. Yeah, if you guys could just send him some fish. Just send him some fish.
The fish sticks. He loves fish. Just sticks, though. Just sticks.
Huge fish fan. You got a Listener of the Week? Uh-oh. I just did, but I lost it.
Damn it. Under the table somewhere? Who did I have? Who did I have?
Karen, do you have it over there? Did you lose it over there? Uh-oh, let me look. Mmm.
Nope, I don't see it. Nope, you don't see it over there? That's terrible. Son of a gun.
Look for it for about another 18 minutes. I had a listener of the week, and it's evaded me. Evaded me from Scandinavian Tobacco, Mr. Evaded.
Evaded me. Damn it. Wow, what a name. God, I'm sorry, person who I forgot.
What about Julian? You know who I'm going to make the listener of the week evaded me? No, you know who I'm going to make the listener of the week? Who?
Pete Hernandez. Oh! Pete's going to be at Smoke Rings on Thursday, I believe. Is he?
I believe it is. Well, it looks like he's currently unemployed as far as El Septimo is concerned. Oh, did they cut him loose? Yeah, it looks like.
Maybe I'm wrong. I could be wrong. It's just a rumor. I could be wrong.
We don't fact check and we don't... But I received an email from Mike Wasp, formerly of Rocky Patel Cigars, saying that he is now the rep of El Septimo. Oh, that's a big change, because he's been at Rocky Patel for a long time. 10 years.
Yeah. So he's officially in-house, I believe, for El Septimo. Oh. Hmm.
He heard about the trips to Paris and stuff. " I want to be a part of that. I want a $5 million lighter. Oui, oui.
$5 million lighter. I heard that Greg Stepankiewicz was on an El Septimo trip at the moment. Oh, is that what's going on? All the El Satimos that we purchased.
Yes, all those El Satimos. Flying through them. Well, you'd be surprised when you come back and see the ones that show up. Cancel all the Romas, Michael.
I bought El Satimos. We won't need these Romas. We won't need these. These sell for $20 each.
Much better pricing. We get a better ROI. We get a better ROI. Look, here's the spreadsheet.
Look, the spreadsheet here. We only got to sell three. Look, I have an abacus. I moved some beads over.
Clearly, El Satino. Clearly, El Satino. Without question. Because he likes Mike Wasp anyway.
How do you not like Mike Wasp? I like Mike Wasp. Yeah. Handsome guy.
He's got his shit together. I love his socks. He does a good sock game. Multiple socks.
He's got a strong sock game. Yes, he does. He does. Yeah.
Wow, that's wild. Yeah. No pressure. It's not really that wild, actually.
It's very common in the industry. Oh, yeah. I mean, there's only, like, 17 people that work in the cigar industry, and they just move around the company. It's just funny that nobody really talks about it when it happens.
And what's really kind of crazy... Well, like, when Willie made his, all his several moves recently, Willie Marriotta or Marrottet, Marrottet, when he made all his moves, it was a press release every time he moved. Yeah. But this is...
No, but when the broker gets cut... Right. and never, never gets announced. No, no, that's true, the broker never, never gets announced.
No. Call Pete. He's a good guy. You think he answers?
Oh, sure he does. Come on. Of course he answers. I don't know if I want to put him on the spot.
I don't know if I want to put... Well, you know what I mean? It's Pete though. If he got canned, he could be drunk.
Okay, wait, wait. Do you have his brother's number? Steve? Yeah, call Steve.
You have to pick one, yes or no. I'm going to ask him. Oh. Do you want to come on the air and talk about El Subtimo?
Exclusive. I'm on the podcast. I'm going to talk about it. And if he doesn't answer, I'll know.
Exclusive. I think I'm asking where the hell our lighters are. Where the fuck are our lighters? Where the fuck are our lighters?
Elsa Timo has them, I'm very sorry. Oh my goodness gracious. Please hold on for a moment, but we're trying to get you a live person. Yeah.
We will take this time. I mean, when in doubt, we just call that move. Hey! Hey, he doesn't have the phone with you anymore.
Yeah, that's true. He's lost that love and feeling. He did another car show over the weekend. He's a big fan of the weekend.
Did he? Yes, he does a lot of car shows. He's a car guy. I know he is.
Yeah, he's on a lot of cars. So he's not answering? All right, we're just gonna wrap this up. Doesn't look like it.
Oh. Well, maybe we can have him on the Patreon. Well, if he calls back or texts, yeah, we'll have him on the Patreon. Nice.
All right, this has been episode 280 of the Cigar Hustler Podcast. Yep. The 19th, Hogshead, Powstanie, Corona Gorda, Release, Vanu and Broadleaf. Who's gonna be there?
Half Wheel and Coop edited the show. It's way shorter this week. Cigar Hustler Indie Industry and Cigar Hustler BDP, as well as myself, will be in the building. Sending autographs, taking photos.
Kissing babies. Kissing babies. And then, May 26th, we're gonna release it in store here. Cigar Hustler.
Nice. Up there. Don't want everybody to come down here. There's a dungeon.
Right here. Right now. Yes. All right, guys, we're going to go.
We got to go to the secret show. You didn't want to talk about the booze that you got or anything from down to her? We haven't drank it yet. You didn't want to say anything?
We mentioned it. Yeah, we did. Vaguely. Those guys are great.
Well, pull up your camera and show the bottle. Okay, here we go. It's one of 125. It was a nice little present from them for coming on our network.
How's that look? Ooh. I talked to Jerry just this morning. Did you?
I talked to Jerry just this morning. Did you? Oh, lovely. Thank you guys, we'll be cracking head soon.
All right. I got nothing to turn off, I went like I was going to turn something off over here, there's nothing over here. Well, hey, thank you very much for your support, and we'll see you next week. All right, bye.
Bye. A Cigar Hustlers podcast, its owners, and its sponsors take no responsibility for the opinions or statements made by the talk show host or their guest. Statements or show topics are not necessarily the beliefs of Mike and Mike Productions or the podcast providers, and opinions between talk show hosts may differ. It is not our intention to libel, incite, or hurt anyone's feelings.
We invite you to write the show's host, Mike Szczepankewicz, with any feedback or suggestions that you have for their shows. These broadcasts are presented and made public as entertainment in the hope that they will be entertaining to the art. Music by: The American Heart of the Year.
Show Notes
In the latest episode of the Cigar Hustlers Podcast, episode 280, several stories are covered in the cigar industry.
Firstly, Fuerte y Libre will be increasing their prices on June 1st. Additionally, the dates for the 2024 PROCIGAR event have been announced for February 18th to 23rd, and tickets usually go on sale in the summer.
The OpusX BigB is returning for the 2023 Fuente Aged Selection releases. This humidor comes with 102 cigars and a copy of the book “Arturo Fuente: Since 1912”. The humidor is made of red sycamore and okume and can hold up to 300 cigars. Each humidor costs $11,000, and a portion of sales will be donated to the Cigar Family Charitable Foundation. 50 humidors will ship in June, and the remaining 50 will ship in December.
HVC is celebrating their 10th anniversary with the release of the HVC 10th Anniversary 54, which will be shipping tomorrow. My Father is also releasing their new Don Pepin Vintage Edition, which will be shipping this week. Sinistro is releasing the El Burro Connecticut this week as well.