Cigar Hustlers Podcast Episode 283 The Flu
Episode Summary
A short, under-the-weather episode — the crew calls it their "Michael Jordan flu game." Mike Szczepankiewicz (The King) is down with the flu and the show posts a day late after Memorial Day, so this one leans heavily on industry news rather than long-form review. Before the news, the hosts and Phil the cameraman knock around weekend chatter: a well-attended Corona Gorda event at the shop on Friday, a rained-out-then-saved Memorial Day cookout, Netflix and Max viewing habits (Ant-Man: Quantumania, You People, Extraction, Succession), dogs, and Phil's fun fact about Anthony Johnson, the Black tobacco farmer considered America's first legal slave owner.
The news block is the meat of the episode. The headline story is pricing on the new Cohiba Siglo de Oro, a 4 1/2 x 54 Exitosos honoring the Chinese Year of the Rabbit, which landed in Hong Kong at HK$2,388 — roughly $304.85 per cigar. The hosts unpack why Hong Kong pricing matters under Habanos' global pricing standard, and compare it to the Cohiba 55 Aniversario's $300 debut in Lebanon a year earlier, with plenty of skepticism about who actually buys (and can tell the quality of) a $300 stick.
PCA 2023 announcements follow: Big Sky Cigar Co.'s Blackfoot, a 6x54 Toro Grande with a Mexican San Andrés wrapper and Dominican filler at $15; Quesada's Casa Magna 15 Aniversario, a 6.5x55 Toro with Ecuadorian Habano 2000 wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and filler, limited to 3,500 boxes at $15; Stallone Cigars' new value-priced Mustang line in Rothschild and Short Toro, blended by Tony Barrios and made at Las Villas in Nicaragua; and E.P. Carrillo's Pledge of Allegiance 2023, a $20 Connecticut broadleaf Toro limited to 1,776 boxes that combines the names of the Pledge and Allegiance lines. The guys also cover Rob Gagner's departure from Boveda after seven years as the face of the Box Press podcast, and close with a Florida man story about an alligator, a bar bathroom line, and a lost arm.
Housekeeping: Havana House gets the shop shout-out, Matty Cupcakes is Listener of the Week for a 130-pound weight loss, and the episode ends with a surprise phone call to Victor Nicholas of Shal-We Cigars, who answers from Navarrete in the Dominican Republic on his way to a tobacco supplier and agrees to a full interview next week.
In This Episode
- 01Flu Game Intro and Weekend RecapMike is sick and the show posts late after Memorial Day, with talk of the shop's Corona Gorda event, cookouts, movies and dogs.
- 02Phil's Fun Fact: Anthony JohnsonPhil shares the story of Anthony Johnson, a Black tobacco farmer regarded as America's first legal slave owner.
- 03Cohiba Siglo de Oro Tops $300 in Hong KongThe new Year of the Rabbit Cohiba prices at HK$2,388 (~$304.85) and the hosts explain Habanos' Hong Kong-based global pricing standard.
- 04Big Sky Blackfoot at PCA 2023A 6x54 Toro Grande with Mexican San Andrés wrapper and Dominican-grown binder and filler, $15 in 20-count boxes.
- 05Quesada Casa Magna 15 AniversarioA limited 6.5x55 Toro with Ecuadorian Habano 2000 wrapper, rolled in the Dominican Republic and capped at 3,500 boxes.
- 06Stallone MustangTony Barrios' new two-size, two-wrapper budget line made at Las Villas in Nicaragua, priced at $5.45–$5.99.
- 07E.P. Carrillo Pledge of Allegiance 2023A patriotic $20 Connecticut broadleaf Toro using two American-grown filler tobaccos, limited to 1,776 boxes for July 4th.
- 08Rob Gagner Exits BovedaThe face of Boveda's Box Press podcast departs after seven years as his marketing content manager role is eliminated.
- 09Florida Man, Alligator and a Lost ArmA Port Charlotte bar-goer skips the bathroom line, falls in a pond and wakes up in the hospital minus his right arm.
- 10Listener of the Week and Victor Nicholas CallMatty Cupcakes is honored for a 130-pound weight loss, and Victor Nicholas of Shal-We Cigars picks up a surprise call from the Dominican Republic.
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 Hustlers Podcast, where we bring you the latest news and insights from the world of premium cigars. Wifey. Not me. It's my life.
In this episode, we dive into the big stories of the week. We also discuss the latest cigar releases, trends, and hot topics in the cigar world, and share our thoughts and opinions on everything cigar related. The King, Mike Szczepankewicz, and Reverend BDP Mike Palmer are two dynamic individuals who co-host the Captivating Cigar Hustlers podcast, where their unique perspectives and vast knowledge of the cigar industry, they offer a truly engaging and insightful experience for cigar enthusiasts and novices alike. Known as the King, Mike Szczepankewicz brings you welcome.
Just jump to the end. I love you, I love you, bye. And I'm Phil, your cameraman. When we were in college, my wife, then girlfriend, and I worked together at the dining hall on campus.
" So grab your favorite smoke, sit back, and join us for another exciting episode of Cigar Hustlers Podcast. The camera will not be on BDB at all this whole episode. You had a sample ready for me to help make the children so they weren't be Phil's kids. It's a cigar fact.
I can't crumple it, yeah. We need, we need, oh, you gotta get your clock going. It's on you. What's on me?
The camera. Forever. It's on me forever. A rack above, better overhead storage with a rack above.
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com, where you can now purchase through the website. Nice. Yeah, it's nice. Yeah, you can do a single garage or a double thingy.
It's nice. How's your rack above doing? Single or a double thingy. It's fantastic.
Nice. It's got everything stored away. Successful. Are you still using it?
Well, it's kind of always there. Yeah. Well, yeah, but I mean, like, have you taken shit down and not put it back up? Like I said, I'm not going to put stuff up there anymore.
No, he's saying, have you taken stuff off the rack and just left it in the floor and didn't put it back up? No, no, no, I haven't. Nice. So you utilize it?
Yep. Nice. Yep. Is it full?
Oh, yeah. Yeah. He needs a shoe above. Shoe rack above.
Yeah. I mean, there's a whole marketing thing he can do. I mean, a sex wing above. Right.
Sex wing below. Sex wing below. Oh, right. Hang it from the rack above with hooks.
There you go. That'd be perfect. So Mikey's under the weather today. I am under the weather.
We're a day late. We apologize because of the holiday, and we almost didn't do today because Mikey is ill. I'm pretty sure I have the flu. Oh, good.
Now we all have the flu. He rallied, and I Cloroxed your mouthpiece thing there for you. Why? I'm tired.
Well, yeah, but I'll hit it again after. Oh. Did anybody message you, BDP? About what?
About us being a day late. No, no. Well, it's still within the window. I mean, it's not that late in the day now, so it's new, it's new, and it was Memorial Day, so they're probably expecting late, they're probably expecting late, no, not yet, hate mail, Skip is not called, no, specifically, but he's got a new puppy, I told you he was getting a puppy, what do you mean you told me, we talked about it a couple of weeks ago, I said I saw something where he's getting a puppy, you go, no, he doesn't, he has the monkeys, I don't know if that's how that went down, I don't think so, I am the tapes, I'll go back and find out.
We've been rallying for a dog here for a minute. Yes. Yeah. I expected a different type of dog, though.
I mean, it's a pretty dog, but I thought it was going to be something more protection-y-wise. Protection-y-wise? They're great, they how? Yeah, but they're not going to bite your ankle.
What does he need to be protected from? He's in the middle of the jungle. That's why, he's in the middle of the Sandin-Eastern Rebels. That's what the guns are for.
Oh, does he have those? Are they allowed to have those? Oh, I bet he does. I never think about that.
Maybe a security guard. Does he have a security guard? I don't know. That would be great.
Skip, I can be a security guard for the summer. Wow. You walk around with a shotgun? Sure.
But you gotta speak Spanish. No, I don't. Yeah. No, Alto.
Alto. Alto, that's it? Yeah. Gun, I think gun is universal.
If I point it, yell Alto, I think they'll get the idea. Oh, okay. Silencia, Quidao. What's Quidao?
Watch out, like, caution. Oh, I just took Salencio. You ever seen a slip of Valsan? Diente!
Did you see that the Down to Herf guys are trying to get Caleb to eat like this really hot chip or whatever? I saw a spicy chip or whatever. Yes. I voted today.
Did you? I didn't know where the vote was. I voted against it. Oh, you voted that he will not do it?
Yes. Oh, I voted he will do it. It was he will do it, he won't do it, or he will really do it or something like that. Oh.
I said he won't do it. I said no. It's not fair. It's not fair to him.
Oh, I thought he wanted to. I thought he volunteered or something. I don't understand the vote. I don't understand what the vote is?
I'd like to start over. I don't understand the vote. Phil, your mask looks very uncomfortable. It looks like it just rides up on you.
Yeah, it's super uncomfortable. That should be the one we use all the time. Yeah, this is the permanent one. This is the permanent one for now on.
You guys should vote. Phil no mask or Phil mask. They can vote Phil what kind of mask. Ooh, yeah, we could put like a display of like three different masks.
Sure, we could do, yeah. And then have them pick. And have them pick. We'll do that.
We'll do like the chip thing. Yeah. Sure. Like the chip thing.
What is your favorite Ninja Turtle colored mask? How about that? It's like a Lone Ranger mask. Yeah, I like those.
But it's fabric. I'm cool with that. His eye looks like it's fucking gushy. I know, you can't even see his one eye in that thing.
It hurts. It hurts so bad. So what'd you do over the weekend, Mike? He was saying he gets sick.
I got sick. Is that just Sunday or did it progress through the weekend? No, it really kind of hit me yesterday. Anybody else sick at the house?
Yeah, everybody was a little under the weather. You're not normally the first. And it finally caught me. Oh.
Brittany's still going strong. I was going to have everybody over. I invited everybody over for Memorial Day. So I have like 75,000 burgers.
I got, you know. All these hot dogs. I got a ton. Potato salad.
Brittany is very upset about the coleslaw. She's like, what are we going to do with this gigantic tray of coleslaw? You know, I was like, I'm not bringing it to the shop. I was gonna say, bring it here, they'll eat it.
No, they won't. Keanu will. No, they fucking won't. I like coleslaw.
You'll eat the coleslaw? I like coleslaw. I heard there was an event tonight. It's delicious coleslaw.
Yeah, but this will post in time for your thing too. Uh huh. Yeah. So what's the event, Phil?
We love coleslaw. What else happened this weekend? I mean, we had a great event at the shop on Friday. Yeah, it went really well.
It was a good event. Corona Gordas, the Postañas. Do you think... It was fantastic.
Question for you. Yeah. Could there have been anything different? No.
So it was perfect. I think it went great. I think it was fantastic. It was great to see the support and the love from all of our customers.
" You know, there was no, nobody was messing around. Good. There's a lot of people you guys haven't seen in a little bit. Some people, yeah.
It was nice to see some old faces, yeah. Yeah. Mm-hmm. It was very nice.
I smoked a lot of Coronagornas. Yeah. And what happened Saturday? Didn't you come, you swing by the house on Saturday?
I did. Well, Boots did. Yeah, Boots did. And then I don't know what happened Sunday.
What happened Sunday? You were... I didn't die yet. Did you have a party?
Oh, you said Sunday's when you started to get sick. No, the party was Monday. No, I wasn't, you know, I don't know what we did on Sunday. I don't fucking know.
who knows nobody's gonna know I think we just kind of stayed home this whole weekend to be honest because all the kids were sick and stuff and we wanted to get them to all get better right that whole thing I saw the Ant-Man movie the new Ant-Man movie Quantum Tomaham Home yeah how's that I'm not familiar with Ant-Man so I don't know how this fit into the storyline thing Kane was somebody from the comics I guess I don't know yeah yeah yeah I heard this one wasn't like I don't think as good, you know, the reviewers or whatever you want to call them. There's a lot of moving critics apparently. Well, his big superpowers that he can get big. Yeah.
Yeah, that's really about it. He didn't control any ants. No. No.
You thought it could be, you know, you think that Ant-Man, you know. Well, the ant grandfather was there. Yes. Send the ants.
All the ants. Well, in the quantum realm, they had to suck the ants in with him. Oh, really? Yeah.
They got sucked in. So there were ants. There were ants, but the old man controlled the ants. Oh, there was, so there was a guy, and he was not, and he wasn't Ant-Man, was he Ant-Man?
No, the guy who invented the pin particles. Oh, yeah? I don't know what the fuck you're talking about, bro. I've never, you've never seen any of the Ant-Man movies?
No, not really. Oh. He did the particles? Pin particles and things that shrink them and make them big.
It's a, um, a famous actor. Crap, I can't think of his name. The pin particles. I don't know.
He's married to Catherine Zeta-Jones. Oh. Antonio Medeiros. No, no.
George Clooney. Nope, nope. Neither one of those. It's not important.
Michael Douglas. Yeah, that's it, Michael Douglas. Oh, is Michael Douglas? Yeah, I just threw that out.
It was a Douglas, but I was thinking Robert Redford, and I'm like, that is not the right name. It's not Robert Redford. Did you see the heat whooped that ass? That's the right baby.
I saw it all over Facebook. I didn't watch it. I have no idea. somewhere it was not everybody like oh it's hot that was the heat what are you doing what are you doing phil phil his name is hank in the movie yes hank but they call him pop and grandpa so yeah right then he controls the ants right he brought all the ants at the end and say to everybody nice i was trying to help out help out bdp of that so yeah i mean that's all another movie too but i'll remember what it was oh yeah i saw i saw some shit i you know i watched you people On Netflix?
Wow, that's a horrible title. I finally, you know, I couldn't turn on Robbie Doyle's Netflix anymore. Like, it got mad at me. It's like, hey.
Oh, did it ask you for the location? Yeah. See, I have my son's, and it did too, so I just skipped it, but when it came back later, it worked. Oh, really?
Well, no, he didn't want to turn it on anymore. It was too much porn. I was like, you know what? Oh, too much porn.
Whatever, I'll just go get my own. 99 for me to keep it. I'll just go get my own. Okay.
Well, you kind of owe me, you know, all those trips back and forth and stuff. Yeah, this is kind of on you. 99, get over it. So, yeah, so I watched a show called "You People", and it had Eddie Murphy in it.
Oh, nice, I like that. And, I don't know, this guy, I can't think of it, he was in "Superbad"? Uh, the guy with the curly hair? Yeah.
Galifianakis? No. No, the guy from Wall Street, not Wall Street, but, um, the, the, pfff, crap. I can't think of it.
Here's the fucking, here's the, oh, Jonah Hill, where he dates the black girl. Yeah. Oh, I started watching that and I couldn't. Yeah, let me just surmise that at this point, I think that every type of fucking Netflix movie or show that I've really watched that's really kind of devoted solely towards Netflix has been fucking disappointing.
I can't think of one. Mother? Eh. Yeah, I mean, it wasn't disappointing though, but it was.
I was like, eh. Right. It was a Netflix movie. The Gray Man?
That was pretty good. I haven't watched that. I watched, uh, what's the one with, uh, the Thor guy? That's Thor.
Chris Hemsworth? It's called, like, The Extraction or something like that. Oh, the, the, is the new one out? Is that on Netflix?
No, that's two, but Netflix was, was Extraction One. Right, and they're gonna come out with two. Right. Yeah.
That was a good one on Netflix. Well, I feel like it's kind of, you know, like, ugh. A lot of them show up on mine are movies from India. Really?
What's going on in your house? I don't know. Wrong location. I think I've watched all the movies now.
They're going, well, I'll send them some other stuff because there's something. I watched that one you talked about where the people were all captured and they had to decide who died. Were you talking about that a couple months ago? Yeah, but I can't remember the name of it now.
But it's dubbed in, it's in Spanish. The House of... It was definitely in English when I watched it. Well, the people are speaking English, but their mouths are moving in Spanish, and every time they show a word or something, it's in Spanish.
Oh, maybe. Because normally I can't watch dubbed movies, but since you had talked about it, I sort of got sucked in, and I watched it, and at the end I'm like, son of a bitch can't believe I've watched this for two hours. I watched the Covenant. Covenant?
Covenant? That was a great movie. Was that built solely for Netflix? No, it wasn't.
That's my point. It was on Prime. " Adam Sandler has a great one. What about the murder mystery?
You're just like such a fucking Adam Sandler fanboy, bro. Those murder mystery ones are stupid. What? With Jennifer Aniston?
Yeah, they're great. Those are stupid. Those are stupid. Those are stupid.
So that's my point, man. Happy Halloween. You know, at least HBO Max, they have, they released good shit. Oh, now Max.
It's not HBO anymore. It's now Max. Yeah, it's now Max. Yeah, there's some new show on there called, was it Succession?
Oh, that's an older show. It's been on for a while. It's been on season five or something. This final series season is this one.
I heard good things. I watched the first episode. It wasn't, it was like kind of dry. It is, but I got three seasons in and I'm like, oh, it's the same thing over and over again.
He pisses off his kids. His kids hate him. Right. And he takes all the money.
It's like a male Kardashian story. Yeah, kind of. Oh, that's back on Hulu. Terrible show.
My wife watches it. It's the only thing I won't watch with her. It's a Kardashian. I sound like a bunch of curmudgeon-y old fucks today.
Okay, great. I hate TV. Indian people are. Digging, digging, digging everywhere I look.
All right, well, let's get. Oh, we went dress shopping on Saturday. Oh, did you? Adrian got her mother's dress for Tanner's wedding.
Nice. Yeah, that was an exciting day. I probably need to get a suit. Where do I go for a suit?
Men's Warehouse? Yeah, Men's Warehouse. Yeah. What do you need a suit for?
A thing. Oh, yeah. Yeah. So, yeah, just go to Men's Warehouse, asking for the Michael Strahan edition.
I'm going to drop 200 on a fucking suit. I'm trying to tell you, man. Probably more than that, but it's a Michael Strahan. I'm going in for my casual chick.
Yeah, casual chick. Casual chick. That's right. If you say that, they know me.
They know you. Michael Strahan. Oh, man. We went to a party.
Our party didn't get canceled on Monday. Nobody died, didn't you? I was sick. Nobody's sick.
Nobody died. " Smoked a bunch of cigars, drank a bunch of beer, ate some food. This is day two, no cigars. I think I'm just gonna quit.
I don't fucking need it anymore. I haven't really eaten. So many more samples on his desk. I haven't really eaten.
I think I'm gonna give up food as well. I'm just giving up everything now. It's gonna be a whole new me. Oh, good for you.
It's crazy. I'm very excited. New dog, too? New dog?
Your dog? I like my dogs. Do your dogs, like, jump up in the bed and lay around with you and stuff? No, my dogs are not allowed on the bed.
Fuck that. Yeah, my dogs are not allowed on the bed either. It's a dog. So, our dogs sleep with us.
I don't understand, like, people that put the dogs in cages and then they put, like, fucking blankets and shit down. That doesn't make sense to me. It's a blanket. It's a fucking dog.
The dog goes in the cage. It doesn't need a fucking blanket. It needs a blanket. It's ridiculous.
He lays on a blanket. No, he doesn't. I'll buy a cushion. I'm like, well, that's stupid.
I'm just going to destroy the cushion. Yeah. First time in there. I'm like, we'll come back and clean this up, I guess.
No, no, it'll be fine. Nope. Come back. It explodes.
Everywhere. One of them has pulled part of the other one through the other cage. They're over. Went through this one.
We don't even know who's cushion is who at this point. He's got a little rowdy. He pushes his to the back and sits underground anyway. He's like, I don't know why he put this in here.
is in here. It takes up room. I'm going to poop on it later. I'm old.
I can't hold it. Oh, fantastic. What's that green thing you're drinking? This is prime.
What's his name drink? Is that the new sports drink of choice? It's like a hydration drink or whatever. The kids are all about it because like Logan Paul talks it up or whatever.
I like it. It's pretty good. It's a big bottle. Yeah, they're not bad.
Yeah. They're like Gatorade, but more potent. Less spit tasting. Less calories.
Yeah, less calories. It's only got 20 calories. There's no sugar, right? Yeah.
Zero sugar. No sugar. Where are the calories from? I don't know.
The BCAAs. The BCAAs. Oh, the BCAAs. Nice.
That aren't listed. This show's just terribly exciting today. Hey, listen, we're fucking here, okay? This is Michael Jordan's flu game, all right?
We showed up. We showed up. We didn't call out. Let's give me, give me Phil's fun fact, get some news, we're not hitting page with time today, I promise you.
All right, ladies and gentlemen, it's time for Phil's fun fact! Hello, peoples. The first legal slave owner, oh, oh, hello, hello. I already don't like where this is going.
Yeah, me either. Oh, no, no, no! The first legal slave owner in American history was a black tobacco farmer named Anthony Johnson. That's true.
That's a legit fact. It is. It's true. It was just short and sweet.
I thought it was interesting that the original slave owner was a black man. That's interesting. And he owned a tobacco farm, so it was connected to cigars. Huh.
And apparently he was mean to his slaves, too. Really? Yep. Was your name Anthony Johnson?
Mr. writing the beginning thing? Nope. Nope.
All right, the news, I guess, though. Oh. Rife a little longer. Oh.
From the four corners of the world, all the cigar industry news you could possibly need. The Cigar Hustler Podcast Report, with Mike Toon. Cohiba Ciglo De Oro pricing tops $300 per cigar in Hong Kong. $300.
The news is all over Facebook all weekend. Late last month, the new Cohiba Siglo de Oro began shipping to stores in Asia. In Hong Kong, each cigar will cost you more than $300 per cigar. Nice.
The Cohiba Siglo de Oro celebrates the Chinese New Year and symbol associated with the Zodiac calendar, which is a rabbit. As for the cigar, it measures a four and a half by 54, a new size known as, what size is it? E-X-I-T-O-S-E-T-O-S-E-T-O-S-E-T-O-S-E-T-O-S-E-T-O-S-E-T-O-S-E-T-O-S-E-T-O-S-E-T-O-S-E-T-O-S-E-T-O-S-E-T-O-S-E-T-O-S-E-T-O-S-E-T-O-S-E-T-O-S-E-T-O-S-E-T-O-S-E-T-O-S-E-T-O-S-E-T-O-S-E-T-O-S-E-T-O-S-E-T-O-S-E-T-O-S-E-T-O-S Yeah, because fucking $300 a stick sounds pretty fucking successful. Hold on, let's see what it sounds like.
Exitosos. Exitosos. Exitosos. Something flashed up on the screen with the cameras.
It just says limited system resources. I don't know what that means. Oh, it's gone. Oh, good.
We're good. When the cigar was announced in January, pricing was not announced. S. dollars.
The pricing in Hong Kong is more important than it might seem. Last year, Habanos implemented a global pricing standard, a system in which pricing for Cuban cigars around the world is supposed to be based on the prices in Hong Kong. The new price policy isn't exact, but the $300 price point is likely a decent guide for what consumers should expect to pay on other markets. Well, there are very few cigars that cost $300.
This is the second new Cohiba in 12 months to enter through the pricing stratosphere. Around that time last year, the Cohiba 55 and Versario debuted at Lebanon with a price tag of $300 per cigar. $300. Selling a cigar for $300 is the most gangster shit I've ever seen in my life.
It'll sell in Hong Kong. I know. Somebody will buy it. Some of those guys.
More than one. More than one person. " Do you know who I am? Do you know who I am?
This is a $300. Don't touch it. Don't light it. I only have the one.
And it's plugged. And it's plugged. Oh, my God. That would be horrible.
That would be horrible. Or it unravels or something. I mean, let's be honest, bro. Most cigar consumers, they have no fucking idea.
They don't fucking know. They don't know if it's plugged or not anyways. Oh, it's true. Oh, this one is so good.
It's got a heavy draw. It's delicious. It can hardly suck on this thing. Must be a lot of tobacco.
That was one blow. You have to fucking suck the shit out of it. It's $300. Why does he look like the little fucking kid from home alone when he hits the button?
Big Sky releases Blackfoot at PCA 2023. A new release from Big Sky Cigar Company is named after a famous ribbon trout stream in Montana. Blackfoot is a 6x54 Toro Grande made of a Mexican San Andres wrapper covered in binder and filler. Blend grown in the Dominican Republic.
The cigars will have an MSRP of $15 and will be packaged in a 20-count box. Casa Magna Anniversario debuted with the PCA is debuting at the PCA 2023. To celebrate the 15th anniversary of Casa Magna, one of its most notable cigars, a Quesada, is releasing a new limited edition aptly called Casa Magna 15 Anniversario. 55 Toro exercise with a Ecuadorian Habano 2000 wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and fillers from Nicaragua, and like the original Casa Magna blend, which is made in Plasencia family in Nicaragua, this limited edition will be made at Quesada Tobacco De Exportation Factory in the Dominican Republic, MSRP is set at $15 per cigar and production is limited to 3,500 boxes of 15 cigars, 500 boxes will head to Europe.
Well, that's exciting. I'm doing all the PCA announcements together. I see that. Yes.
Stallone Mustang to debut at the PCA 2023. Stallone Mustang? Yes. It's not Sylvester Stallone.
Oh. Yeah, it's about horses. Yeah, there's horses on it. Stallone Cigars has announced a new line called Mustang that will make its debut at the 2023 Premium Cigar Association convention or trade show in July, or PCA as you heard in the other stories.
Oh. I don't know why they chose to write it all out in this one. The Salon Mustang comes in two sizes, each size getting its own wrapper, the Mustang Rothschild, which measures a four and a half by 50 uses, uses an Ecuador and Sumatra Oscuro wrapper, while the Short Toro, which measures five and a half by 50, just an inch different, uses a natural Ecuador and Sumatra wrapper, both cigars use two binder leaves, one coming from Nicaragua, the other from Brazil, while the filler uses tobacco from Nicaragua, Condega, Esteli, and Jalapa regions. Cigars are made at the Las Villas Cigar Factory in Nicaragua.
Tony Barrios, owner and blender of Stallone Cigars, calls both blends medium strength, though denoted there are some nuanced differences between the two. He said the Short Toro offers flavors of nutmeg, brown sugar, hints of cinnamon, and underlying combinations of cream and baking spices. Tastes like a brownie. The Rothschild, meanwhile, adds cocoa and light pepper on top of other flavors due to the oscuro wrapper.
50 more for the Hinch. 25, not $300? No. 50 in size.
Same tobacco. Not the same price. Different tobacco. Interesting.
I have a question. Yes. Do either one of you get excited when you start hearing like something's tasting like a brownie, like, man, I really need to smoke. No, I don't get that stuff.
Yeah. Sorry. Skip Martin says it tastes like tobacco. Right.
Yeah. And now that I've quit smoking. Oh. Now that he has quit.
I'm not even excited. New things ahead of you. Yeah. Yeah.
I'm gonna quit upstairs, too. Oh. Wow. What are you gonna do with your life?
Where the fuck are we gonna hang out? I don't know. I guess I'll be in his little room. Do you still come and do the podcast on Mondays?
Sure. Okay, you're quite the guy. P. Corilio announces Pledge of Allegiance.
Oh! That's a new cigar, they're not actually doing the Pledge of Allegiance. I'm excited. P.
Corilio is leaning on a patriotic theme that gets its names from two of its company's existing lines. P. Corilio Pledge of Allegiance 2023. It's a 6x54 Toro that uses a Connecticut broadleaf wrapper, an Ecuadorian grown Connecticut seed binder, and fillers from the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and the United States.
This is the first time the company is using two American-grown tobaccos as part of the filler in a blend. Oh, Jesus. It's a Pledge of Allegiance. I had to put American tobacco in it.
Yeah, I bet they did. Pricing is set at $20 per cigar, and production is limited to 1,776 boxes. Ah, interesting. Did you get that at 1776?
Yeah, 1776, yeah. 10 cigars. According to Liberty Lisette Perez-Carilio, cigars are expected to be released ahead of July 4th holiday, beyond the patriotic tie-in. And the cigar combination names two existing lines of cigars, The Pledge and The Allegiance.
Yeah. Oh. Salim Hanoi, the former chief operating officer, is credited with the idea for the name. When he originally said the name, we thought it was stupid and fired him immediately.
After some consideration, we decided it was a good idea, so now Ernesto, Ernesto, Ernesto. I can't say the name. Ernesto. Thank you, Ernesto, is taking credit for the cigar.
So wait, the guy got fired? Yes, he made the, they said formally with, so I assume he got fired. I mean, got fired. Wow.
You know what you call it? The Bug of Religions. That's stupid. You're fired.
And then they went with it. That's a good idea. That's my, it's just me. After removing him.
After removing him. We had a deal with that guy. I think it's a terrible, it doesn't sound like a good name. And you can't have a red, white, and blue band and stuff.
1776 boxes. Yeah, that's kind of stupid. It'd be crazy. It'd be crazy if it wasn't red, white, and blue.
Right. Yeah. Yeah. It had, like, a Russian flag on it.
Hey, we're gonna call this a Pledge of Allegiance, we're making 1,776 boxes, and it has American Tobacco, but we're gonna make that shit fucking purple, black, and fucking green. And it'll just snap, it'll just pop right in front of everybody. Right. Rob Granger leaves Boveda.
Oh. I saw that. I saw that. Rob Granger, the face of Boveda.
Where is he going? Let's read the story. Okay, let's read. Let's read further.
Bob Granger, the face of Bovado's Box Press podcast, is leaving the company today, May 24th, marks Granger's last day. So it was last day. Last day of the company. After more than seven years, Granger told Cigaros of Podcasts that he was informed that his position, Bovado's marketing content manager for tobacco, was eliminated.
Oh, they shit can't. He's fueling the growth. Wow. They fueled the growth.
Seven years of dedicated service to Bovado Inc. See, that's what I'm saying. It's just best I cut and run at this point. I'm fucking done.
You know what I mean? I'm just fucking walking away. You're leaving? Yep.
Who's gonna fire you? No, I'm just gonna- Your brother? I'm just gonna quit. Oh.
Yep. He can't quit. Well, he can't upstairs. I can fucking quit.
What are you gonna do? Okay, if you wanna vote on Mikey quitting. He started his customer service department before transitioning to sales and later to marketing when he became the head of Boveda's Box Press Podcast. They still have several episodes in the can, so they're gonna release those, and then he'll disappear.
They're not sure what's gonna happen to the podcast. Where's he going? He doesn't say. So he was the face?
Yes. Yeah. He's that slender, dark-haired fellow with the beard. I'm pretty sure I have his number.
Oh, you wanna call him? Oh, yes, please. He won't remember me, though. That's okay.
I don't know. Tell him you just quit, too, and you wanna talk to him. Need to understand something. Even with the changes in my career, by unwavering loyalty above Boveda and confidence in their humidity control system, remains steadfast, said Granger.
What's his last name? Granger. G-A-G-N-E-R. Boveda remains the sole choice, assuring that the perfect conditions for my cherished cigars.
That's crazy. So nobody, they haven't announced anybody replacing them. They don't even know if they're going to keep doing the podcast. He's gone.
Boveda says it still has some previously filmed but unreleased episodes of Box Press that will be released in the future, meaning that for now the podcast will continue. They always had that really nice setup at the trade show. Yeah. He did it.
Good cameras, way better cameras than us. Oh, yeah, way better cameras than us. We just have more people, I guess. Better contents.
Where I got the idea for all the cameras, because they were the first ones I saw that did the multiple cameras. Yeah. And here we are. And here we are.
Still here and he's gone. So now we say we invented multiple cameras. We are number one and we were the first one to make multiple cameras, make them switch, make them switch. Now multiple cameras, multiple cameras, multiple cameras, and back to the three, oh, multiple cameras.
That was us. I had to put my head down. Oh, a trip to the battle, we have a Florida story. Oh, okay.
This was sent to me by Steve from us there, but I've seen it all over social media. V2? V2. Yeah, no, not the other one.
Not the other one. Oh, yeah. A trip to the bathroom with a Florida man without an arm. Why do they call him V2?
Because we had the other Steve before. Because Hank 10 was the first one. No. Hank 10 was the first one.
Oh, I like the name Hank 10. Hank 10. Nice. A trip to the bathroom with a Florida man without an arm on Saturday night.
Jordan Riviera, 23, was at the Banditos Bar in Port Charlotte, Florida, late Saturday night. Deterred by the long line to the bathroom, Riviera told Cigars Look Podcast that he decided to venture to a nearby pond instead: "I just saw the lake, just going over there and take a little pee or whatever," he said. Something happened where I either tripped and ended up in the water. It was literally the last thing I remember.
Unfortunately, the pond near where Riviera fell was also inhabited by a 10-foot alligator, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Rivera does not recall the next series of events that brought him to a local hospital, but he was missing his right arm when he woke up. FWC officials, as the first responders from the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office and EMS, responded to a report early Sunday morning of a man suffering significant injuries after being bitten by an alligator, according to the FWC. And those Gators, I didn't truly understand them until I woke up in the hospital and said, "Oh, Gator got your arm," Riviera said.
Gator don't play. Riviera's mother credited bystanders for saving his son's life, noting his body near the pond, and rushing to assist. "I called them angels. They were there to save his life," Teresa Riviera told WZVN.
The chances of someone being there with a tourniquet, to me, is a miracle that he's here. How old is this guy? 23. I've seen the video interview, too.
The guy's an idiot. Yeah. He woke up and his arm from the elbow down is gone. Okay.
So he fell in the water. Yeah. Alligator grabbed his arm. Fish!
Did the roll, snapped it off, and went and swam out. He's gone. And the guy was passed out drunk. Yeah.
Because he didn't want to wait in line at the bathroom. Lucky his arm snapped off. Well, it's an elbow, it's a socket. This guy's an idiot.
But I'm just saying, lucky- I saw the interview, the guy's an idiot. Wow. That's amazing. I saw that he was.
Because he would have been dragged in the water. Right, but yeah, that's the way alligators work. They don't just grab you and pull you in. When they bite it, then they twist.
Right. And it just went. And it would snap right off. And he's from Florida?
Yeah. Oh yeah, I think I'll just go by to the nearest pond. Yeah, I'm really drunk. I'll have a pond behind the bar.
I'll just pee over there. Whoops, flesh. Wow. The Charlotte County Sheriff's always declined to comment on the incident instead, referring questions about the attack to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, which is continuing to investigate the incident.
We're going to arrest them for a decent explosion. You're going to have to kill the alligator. Oh yeah, they're going to have to kill the alligator. Asked about online speculation that he might have tried to feed the alligator, prompting the attack.
Rivia firmly denied the possibility, adding that- There's no way. No way, I was too drunk to feed the alligator. Adding that the nearby bar does not offer food that he could have if fed the gator. Rivia is still recovering in the hospital.
His arm amputated, but he is looking back on the incident optimistically. I didn't lose my life, just lost my arm, he said. It's not the end of the world. And a friend.
Oh, he always has his right arm, too. So maybe he's left-handed. At least he is now. Wow.
That's all I got, Michael. That's it. You got a job of the week? It's not my job, Michael.
Havana House. Uh-oh. Havana House, since nobody's saying it. Well, I was waiting on you to turn the camera on me.
I put it on Mikey, because I told you in the beginning, you're not getting the camera. Say Havana House, Michael, put back at 3. You got a Listener of the Week? Havana House!
I got a Listener of the Week. You got a Listener of the Week. That's your job. I don't have a job.
I'm gonna quit this one. I'll leave everything. Ding! Matty Cupcakes.
Matty Cupcakes, Listener of the Week. Apparently, he's down 130 pounds. Yeah, I've seen the photos. Wow.
I've seen the photos. You've seen the photos? I follow him on Instagram. Do you?
Yeah. 130 pounds. I know. Wow.
That's a lot of weight. That's fucking impressive. All right. Well, hey, listen, you get a short one this week.
Memorial Day plus flu equals short. Very sorry. But that's all I got. So, thank you very much.
All right, episode 283, the short one. Cigar Hustler Podcast, thank you. Oh, I got Exocito. Exocito.
Felicito. Successful. Oh, I was going to call Victor. Oh, we're still on the air.
No? Oh, you want to try Victor? He's not going to answer. One more time!
Yeah, we're on. Is today Keanu's birthday? It is. Oh, he's not coming in.
He's not coming in. Do we have cake for the meeting? He's going to wear a shirt, I guarantee it. He doesn't have cake.
There's no cake. Somebody should get cake. What are the odds that he answers? Slim to none.
hello hello he answered he answered the phone he answered the phone yo what's up what are you doing well i'm actually having lunch here in navarreta about two minutes to the tobacco supplier i'm in Oh, very nice. Yeah, I told you I was supposed to come on Friday, but it was raining a lot, so... Okay. Waited the weather out.
Okay. So this is Victor. Yeah, I'm gonna go check up on some tobacco. Okay.
Well, we got some questions to ask you. Do you want us to... we can call you next week. Do you want to call next week and do a whole interview?
Yeah, let's do it. All right. Okay, we're gonna hold you to it now. I have some stories for you now, because I'll be fresh out of the tobacco supplier, so let's see what I can find.
All right. Sounds good, brother. Well, have fun. Enjoy your lunch.
All right. Tell them we said hello. Thank you. All right, brother.
Take it easy. We'll do. All right. Bye-bye.
Later. Victor Nicholas, Shall We Cigars. At least he answered. He sounded very nervous.
He was nervous. He was very nervous. We had the answer. No, no, I have to go.
I'm here, I'm here, I'm here, I'm here. Yeah, next week, next week would be much better, next week, block this call right now. Deal was, I answered. All right, that's it.
Goodbye. Okay, bye. So glad you stayed to hear the Victor interview. Thank you very much.
Goodbye, peoples. The End. Thank you. The End.
The End. The End. The End.
Show Notes
Title : The Flue
Episode Description:
Join your hosts, on this exciting episode of the Cigar Hustlers Podcast as they dive into the world of premium cigars and bring you the latest industry updates. In this episode, they have a special guest, Victor Nicholas, founder of Chogui Cigars, sharing his insights and experiences in the cigar business.