Cigar Hustlers Podcast Episode 331 PCA to CAA

Episode Summary

Episode 331 opens with Mike Stepankiewicz back from Nicaragua, where he toured RoomCraft's Nica Sueño operation in Estelí alongside Skip Martin. He walks through the "pre-industry" facility — a separate off-site location where incoming tobacco is sorted, graded and checked for fermentation before it ever reaches the factory floor — and argues it's a level of process control he hasn't seen at any other factory. The conversation covers who runs what (Alex on the pre-industry side, Arlen's sister Fran managing the factory), why bodegas being kept apart creates checks and balances, and the reality that a company can sit on millions of dollars of leaf and still be unable to build a blend because one component is missing or subpar.

From there the hosts get into a genuinely useful primer for newer smokers: buying an entire crop versus cherry-picking leaf (the "you can't just buy the filet, you buy the whole cow" analogy), how seco, viso and ligero are graded by plant position, mislabeled primings being used to inflate prices, and how binder holds a bunch together before the wrapper goes on. Mike also rolled a filler bunch under Alex's guidance and shot footage for a future release. The travel talk turns to the realities of Estelí — hotel quality, avoiding tap water and ice, the poverty outside the factory gates, and the difference between a curated "Disneyland tour" from a factory and actually seeing how the sausage gets made.

The news block leads with the big industry story: Scott Pierce is leaving his role as executive director of the Premium Cigar Association to become president of the Cigar Association of America. The hosts unpack the difference between the two organizations, speculate that the PCA wasn't paying Pierce what the job was worth, and announce Pierce has agreed to come on for a mini-special. Also covered: Minneapolis City Council preserving a cigar-sampling exemption capped at 15 minutes per cigar, the end of the All Saints / McCauley Cigars sales partnership (with repeated unanswered calls to Mickey Pegg and a rant about a grocery-store "short selling" story told on another podcast), Carlito Fuente's 70th birthday gala in Tampa featuring Kid Rock, new vitolas from Black Star Line Cigars for La La Bella and Dark Wharf Witch, and a German court ruling barring non-Cuban companies from using "Habano" and "Cubano."

Rounding it out: Phil's Fun Facts on nitrogen application rates in tobacco cultivation (150–175 lbs per acre per a 2020 University of Kentucky study), a surprise call-in from Brittany, shop of the week honors for Brass Pipe in Fort Pierce, Florida, and listeners of the week John Richards and John McTavish.

In This Episode

1. 01
   Inside the Nica Sueño Pre-Industry Facility
   Mike details the off-site sorting and grading operation behind RoomCraft's Estelí factory and why its checks and balances stand out.
2. 02
   Who Runs the Factory
   Alex heads the pre-industry side while Fran, Arlen's sister, manages the factory floor, with Skip Martin building out systems.
3. 03
   Buying Tobacco: Whole Crops and Missing Components
   Why brands can own millions in leaf and still not be able to build a blend, and why you buy the entire crop, not just the primings you want.
4. 04
   Cigar Construction 101: Seco, Viso, Ligero
   A plain-English breakdown of plant priming grades, binder versus filler versus wrapper, and Mike's hands-on filler rolling lesson.
5. 05
   Travel Reality Check in Estelí
   Hotels, tap water, ice, poverty and the difference between a curated factory tour and seeing the real operation.
6. 06
   Scott Pierce Leaves the PCA for the CAA
   The hosts break down Pierce's move from PCA executive director to president of the Cigar Association of America and what it signals.
7. 07
   Minneapolis 15-Minute Sampling Rule
   A city council loophole lets retailers offer in-store sampling — but only 15 minutes per cigar.
8. 08
   All Saints and McCauley Split, Plus Carlito's 70th
   The end of the All Saints/McCauley sales partnership, unreturned calls to Mickey Pegg, and Kid Rock at Carlito Fuente's Tampa birthday gala.

Brands & Cigars Discussed

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Transcript

B. Yeah, I'm dead, it's my destiny. Make way for the king. How long time, can't be stopped, shootin' my shot, another Mike and Mike production in 3, 3, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1, 0.

Welcome to the Cigar Hustlers Podcast, episode 331. Recorded live at the Mike and Mike production studios at Deltona, Florida. This is the Cigar Hustlers Podcast. The show where two guys share their passion for cigars, business, and life.

P. Palmer, as they talk about the latest cigars news, reviews, tips, and interview some of the most influential people in cigars. And me, I'm their engineer and sound tech, Phil. Whether you're a seasoned aficionado or a curious beginner, this podcast is for you.

So sit back, relax, and light up your cigar for CigarHouse's Podcast! One. Oh, there it is. Welcome to the CigarHouse's Podcast, the show brought to you commercial-free, but a massive shout-out to our amazing patrons on Patreon.

Thank you for your unwavering support. We're able to deliver unfiltered, unbiased opinions on all things cigars and personalities in the cigar world. Well, your backing makes it possible for us to keep it real for our listeners. Cheers to you.

com and search A Cigar Hustlers Podcast. Don't forget that A. It's very important. A Cigar Hustlers Podcast.

A Cigar Hustlers Podcast. Hello. Hi, Michael. How are you?

So, how is Nicaragua? What are you allowed to talk about? It was fantastic. I do have some stuff to talk about.

I will talk about some of it here. Something happened to my cord. It's all tangled and I was getting cut by the thing. It looks lovely.

And I will talk about some of it on the Patreon. There is something that went down when I was there, and I could not believe this. I couldn't. Skip sleeps in the nude.

No, it was nothing like that. Don't tell nobody. This is for the Patreon. It was, it's definitely going to be Patreon material.

And, well, it definitely is Patreon material. I'm just going to have a little technical problem here while you just go ahead. So go ahead, just keep talking. He's very bothered right now.

I can tell you, I can tell you a couple things that... Well, put on camera three and nobody will see me doing it. I went to, I went to the pre-industry... It's hard to get free help anymore, you know, good free help.

Good free help. What are you talking about? We took his money. It's hard to take somebody's money and not...

Okay, next. So long ago. It was so long ago. Okay, all right, I'm good.

You better know? You're not getting the camera. I'm not happy, but I'm good. You're not getting the camera.

Mike, he has something to say. That's fine, go ahead. So I went down to, I saw the pre-industry factory for Nika Sueno from Roma Craft. What does that mean, pre-industry factory?

So what happens is, you know, when you acquire tobacco, you have to go through it and sort it, and some of it isn't completely fermented. Oh, the, what's that thing he keeps calling it? The bodega. Yeah, the bodegas, you saw the bodegas.

Yes. Oh, is that a different location? It's in a totally different location. Oh, I didn't, I figured it was there.

Yeah, no, it's in a totally different location. Right. And that's pretty cool because it helps with checks and balances and things that are being regulated. Is it like on the left side of the island and the Nicosueno's on the right side?

The left side of the island? I'm just saying, like, is it like super far away or is it like... No, it's gotta be close. They're hauling tobacco back and forth.

It's probably about five or ten minutes away. Okay. Just another part of the city. Yeah.

Yeah. And, but it's on the main highway. Okay. And I'm gonna tell you right now, man, I have not seen a factory that goes It goes through all the processes of the sorting and the checking.

Oh, I'm sure. And the verification that these guys do. Right. I mean, it is next fucking level.

Oh, I'm sure. There is no one. There is, I don't give a fuck who you are. You guys aren't, there isn't a single one.

There's nobody. There's not an AJ. No. AJ doesn't.

Marafel doesn't do it. No. Arturo Fuente doesn't. Nope.

What about the other one? It's just them. Yeah. It's crazy.

Argonosa? They do? It's on like... No, they're all flexing everywhere.

They don't do anything. Does Alex run both of these? No. Well, Alex runs the main pre-industry, and then he facilitates some things inside of the factory.

Oh! So he's in charge of the bodegas? He is. So he's like a store clerk?

He's the bodega guy. Oh. But Fran handles the factory. Fran?

I don't think I've heard that name before. No. She is Arlen's sister. Oh, okay.

Gotcha. You said Fran. I assumed a man like Francis was his name or something. No.

Okay. So, yeah, she runs the factory. Well, Arlen owns the factory, so it doesn't make sense. Right.

Right. So. If you can own the factory, you're going to put your sister in charge. Right.

Kind of somebody you can trust. You know, I don't know. Well, your situation is a little different. He wasn't bringing that up.

No, your brother. We weren't going to talk about that. But, you know, your sibling maybe is a little different than hers. No, I was gonna say, I don't think that that's the case, I think that, you know, when it comes to systems, and people putting people in systems, that's probably more along Skip's realm, and he handles all of those things, and I don't think that she was the original person that ran it.

Was that the quite rogue guy? No, there was someone after that. Oh, whoa, but he was the guy when he was there. Yeah.

Oh, okay, all right. Yeah, so he created a hole when that whole separation happened. Yeah, well, there's more organization now than I've ever seen before. Well, it's absolutely incredible, and it's only getting more and more efficient.

Sure. You know, and Alex is... More, more, what is it? More tobacco, more taste, better efficient.

More efficient. More efficient? There's just more, there's more, way more structure. More structure.

Way more. More tobacco, more taste, more structure. You guys are going to need a bigger business card. That should be a t-shirt.

Business card. We had the t-shirt problem already. Yeah, start slicing through names. Right, start crossing things up.

Okay, we're not really at a fishing anymore, cross that one off. It was Alice and Martin, that's it. Right, right. So, you know, it's funny because, like, from a retailer side, you look at things and you're like, "Well, why haven't we had more of this?

" or whatever. We're in Aquitaine or whatever the case may be. But what you don't understand is there can be one component of that cigar that isn't obtainable at this time, or it isn't of good quality, so they just don't produce it. Makes sense.

So they hang on to everything else. And then sometimes when you find it, you have to wind up buying three years worth of it, right? It's good and it's available. Get all you can.

Yeah, so it's easy to have millions of dollars of tobacco and still missing that one piece, so you can't use all of it. Oh, I see what you're saying. There's 20 million dollars worth of tobacco there and they still can't make a cigar. I wouldn't say it's to that level.

Well, I would say exaggerating a little. Do they ever make, so they don't own a farm, right? Correct. And what you're saying, if they're missing a part, they can't make the cigar.

" Or like, do they ever do stuff like that? I don't know if that would happen. It's possible for something like that to happen. But normally, if you're going to acquire something like that directly from the farm, normally you're obtaining the entire crop.

If you're obtaining the entire crop, yeah. Well, I think that's what he was asking. Like, we need Cameroon wrappers. So can you grow a crop of Cameroon?

We'll buy everything. Oh, but then you gotta buy the second of the beast. What do you do with the rest of it? Oh, you can't just buy a part.

You can't just, right. When you say the entire crop, you mean the entire plant. Look, when Phil's Fun Facts brought to you by fucking, uh, you know... Meat.

Right, right, right. " You know, just leave the rest of the fucking cow there. That's fine. I'll just be, you know, it doesn't work.

But you could go there and buy filets, I would imagine. Right now, they don't sell just filets. Ben and Sarah, they don't sell just filets. They sell by the cow.

Yeah, you have to buy the whole cow. You can buy half a cow. I got you. Right?

So, I'm sure that there are some farms that where you can actually... Yeah, there's places like your grocery store where you can buy the filets. Or, there are some farms where you can buy specifically one particular thing, you're probably going to pay a premium for it, and you've got to establish that relationship. So, if you're buying the entire crop, you're buying the entire crop.

You're buying the whole thing. You're buying the whole plant. Yeah. Oh, I got you.

Cut and sorted. And then you've got to worry about that if it's sorted properly, because sometimes, you know, Seco is, uh, Veso's, uh, Seco's labeled as Veso, so you pay more, Veso's labeled the Harrow, so you pay more. Well, they slip it in. There's all types of shit.

So you have to know by looking at it. There's all types of shit that's going on down there, man. Oh, I'm sure. Central America.

It's fucking crazy. It's fucking crazy. So if you aren't, and you know, that made it even more fascinating to me because when you really think about things, it's like, hey, make me a cigar. Right.

You don't understand what you're really saying. So, you know, it's, I got this crazy like analogy is like, well, let's say your wife is pregnant. Right. And you have to have a c-section.

Okay. And you say, hey, you know, we need to have this baby today. They're like, fine. Drape comes up.

All this shit's going on back over here. Bam. Here's your baby. Don't look on the other side of the curtain.

Right. So, you know, I think that that's what really happens with a lot of these factories. When you say, hey, I want to make a cigar, they don't really tell you. You don't really get to go in and break down the internals and understand the process of actually making the cigar.

Right. They're just handing you the fucking baby. Exactly. showing you the ripped apart right like all of your wife all of the bullshit that it just went down right so i would never want to work with a factory that just shows me the baby i want you know i got you yeah like and and that's what i think that people kind of miss out on people don't understand like i'm getting into the cigar industry like oh okay oh okay good for you so you're going to go to a factory right give me a cigar okay here's one right here's here here's all right here's which one you want here are three components here are three different blends that we They have access of this tobacco, but they're not going to tell you that, and this is the finest.

These are the three best we can make, if you choose one. Because we do not lack capacity to sell, I don't know, I have no idea, whatever. What they do is they hand you a charcuterie board and then they fucking say, bam, gotcha. Pick the one you want.

Right. Okay, you pick that one, don't give them that one, it's too expensive. And then if you work with somebody that actually does teach you, you still got to operate in the parameters of being, having that factory be successful you can't just say well i really like this wrapper so go out and fucking go out and find go find it like you know like this wrapper please go you go now it's like what what no i'm not i'm not doing that no to make 6 000 sticks or 10 000 sticks fuck out of here right so it was pretty fast a cigar you were talking i did roll one oh i did roll a filler You're jumping ahead so fast. Hold on.

He was still going. I forgot about that. I did roll a filler. He ended that portion of the story.

Yeah. He said, okay, so that he was done. Yeah, I rolled the filler. I rolled the interior one.

Alex showed me how to do it. I got some footage from it, too. Oh, cool. So, I'll work on piecing that together.

I haven't had an opportunity to really do that just yet. Very busy. Super busy. But I will put that together.

Yeah. That was pretty fascinating. There's still a lot to learn about that. You rolled the filler, so you didn't put a wrapper on it?

I did not put a wrapper on it. you just lose time you know no i just didn't have time but i don't understand how you could just i mean because i've seen i've seen videos where you know they bunch it and stuff and then then you put in a press right oh and then it stays together enough where you could smoke yeah well you put a binder on it oh so it's together and then you add a wrapper oh binder filler oh okay i got you i got you the binder the binder holds it together correct oh i never i just i never thought right but i never thought it was an actual tobacco leaf that went around look you're learning so much Sure. It's all about learning. You're on your way.

I'm on my way. If Palmer doesn't know, I really fucking don't know. And John, I'm on my way. Now, Seco and Viso, is that second and thirds?

Well, it's different categories of the plant. Okay. Seco, Viso, Lajero. So the Seco is the thinnest.

The bottom. Viso is usually your binder, and then your Lajero is your top portion of the plant. Sometimes it uses filler, sometimes it uses wrapper. Sometimes you can use Viso's wrapper, I mean Secco's wrapper, it depends, it all depends.

It all depends, unless you make a Viso horny, then the entire thing is Viso. It's all Viso. Yeah. Delicious.

That one he couldn't find. It was some tobacco that he originally couldn't find in it, or whatever it was. Yeah, because you know, there are times where crops will be bad for an entire season, or if not longer, you know? Yeah, didn't they just have something happen?

They haven't had rain, is what's crazy. So I saw that, so Skip was showing me places that were just filled up, that would normally fill up with water. we fill up with water is like this is where buses are sitting here now this is a parking lot you know we're crazy if the water comes in like in dubai all of a sudden all of a sudden it's flooding yeah well the thing about dubai is they just put their rolls royce in little boats and just let them float around right they don't care there's so much money there or buy a new one yeah right just leave that there i shall buy a new one we would like a boat for yes rolls royce could you could you imagine that you guys can't go in that river over there why it's the river of rolls royces It's the river of Rolls Royces all on the bottom of this river. It's the Rolls Royce River.

Oh my god. Terrible. So much money. Terrible.

I saw a video from Venice, Italy. There's some restaurant, cause you know there's water everywhere there. There's some restaurants that are flooded constantly. So like, when you go in, they give you a pair of rubber boots, the staff's all wearing rubber boots, there's fish swimming around as you're eating.

Really? Yeah, it looks like a nice restaurant. It's gotta stink. Yeah, until they pan down, and you're ankle deep in water.

Right. It's called mayhem over here. There's a fish swimming by. Why would anybody want to go to Venice at all?

It just sinks, I mean, the whole place is sinking. We're flooded in two inches of rain. I would love to see Venice. I don't know.

And ankle deep water? Yeah, there's poop floating around in the water. I didn't say that I would eat in the restaurant where the poop is floating. No, no, like, when you're going in the little boat, you know, through all the, there's poop running by.

The gondola? Yeah, the sewer system is the river. I'm gonna tell you. You just complained about Nicaragua.

I'm gonna tell you. I'm gonna tell you. There is nothing better than the fucking United States of America. Oh, did you have to go to the bathroom over there?

Of course. Well, yeah, he was there for five days. No, I held it. Which hole did you use?

There wasn't a hole. It's where you have to put the toilet paper that's upsetting to him. Oh, yeah. I don't like that.

Yeah, I don't like that. Oh, they don't flush the toilet paper? In some places. Well, at the hotel at Hex, you can.

Oh, that's nice. Yeah. I would just go at Hex. You were there a lot.

I did go at Hex whenever I could. Did you have to, other than somewhere? I mean, Skip's house, 'cause Buster eats it, we found out. Yeah, yeah, that's a treat.

Buster does eat it. Buster eats it. Did you witness this? Put a lid on the garbage can.

But he doesn't, Buster doesn't give a fuck. You can put a fucking lock on that, he'll open that shit up. Oh, yeah. Buster is not playing.

Will you be including Buster in your footage? Uh, do I have Buster? He took a picture of Buster, then there was a press release about Buster's new cigar. Yeah.

Oh. He's pretty cool. He's a cool dog. He gets mad if you stop petting him.

Oh. And do they talk to him in Spanish? I mean, they have to. Look, man.

No, no, I have a funny story, that's why I'm asking. I'm gonna tell you that no one talks to Buster, but Skip. Skip is Buster's dog, period. Skip is Buster's dog, or Buster's Skip's dog?

Whatever, Buster is Skip's dog. I mean, it could be the other way around. And he chewed the $10,000 chair, so. Yeah, it's interesting.

So, nobody else in the family talks to the dog? Okay, yes, they talk to him in Spanish. What's your story? I don't think Arlen really likes the dog.

No, I can see that. I can see that. Arlen's like, get rid of this fucking dog. Yeah.

Skip loves the dog. Oh, yeah, you can. Skip loves the dog. Yeah, that's usually the way it works.

I don't want the dog, I don't want the dog. It's my dog. Yeah, this is my fucking dog. Oh, that's what it is, my house.

I don't like these boxers. I don't want a boxer. Oh, they're both mine. Yeah, these are my buddies.

Now you have a family photo of you with the dogs. Right, right, right. Exactly, exactly. No pictures of your wife and your child, it's you and the dog.

Yeah. I was in China trying to talk to the dogs at my friend's house I went to for dinner, and they're all laughing. I'm like, what? And they go, dogs only speak Chinese.

They don't speak English. Right. I'm like, well, that makes sense. You just assume dogs all speak English.

Right. They're American dogs. We all have them in America. Well, none of them speak anything.

Well, yeah, but they don't understand it either. I mean, I might as well be barking at them for barking. I guess Chinese tone's a little different than American tone. Well, the word, you know, I'm trying to call the dogs to me, and they're all just giggling away.

They know speak English, Mike. I'm like, oh, that makes sense. Yeah, I mean, Bubbles speaks German. Well, right.

He's a German Shepherd. Yeah, right. Yeah, exactly. Exactly.

Well, my boxers speak English. They're German, too. Are they? Boxers are originally from Germany.

Really? Yes. Interesting. Right.

So, there's that. So, what else? Was that the story? Yeah, that's what I know.

I mean, if he's sitting there talking to Buster, like, "Come here, Buster. " He's looking at me and going, "That ain't my name. My name is Busterino" or whatever they say in Spanish. With an "O".

Yeah, everything has an "O". No, you just put an O in the end. I tried that Friday Night with Z. Doesn't work all the time.

No. Him and Edgar were just... I just throw something out. Hello-o.

Yeah, they're looking at me funny. How are you-o? I can speak in Spanish too, just like you guys. Sounds more Canadian than Spanish.

That's true. I mean, there's more cigars in inventory than I've ever seen before. Oh, wow. Because they're expanding in some degrees in some areas, right?

Did you count them? No, but there was one area that used to be. They had one aging room. Now they have two.

Oh, nice. So what's his name? Was there from aging room? Rafael Nadal.

Yeah, Rafael Nadal. Yeah, he was there. Yeah, of course. County.

He's the one to county. Yeah. Drinking his little coffee. He has a chair.

He has an office in the back. Right. Yeah. He's never there.

Oh. What are those nice hotels? Is it a nice hotel? Like an American standard?

Yeah. It's the nicest hotel in Esteli. Well, okay, but that doesn't say- Paint us a picture, please. That doesn't say it's a nice hotel.

Yeah. I've said it's the nicest hotel in some Chinese cities where the door doesn't shut. It's not bad. No?

No, it's not bad. Did you compare it to a hotel here? No. No?

Oh, okay. Well, yeah, you can. Super 8? Better or worse?

Better than Super 8. Hampton Inn? Worse than Hampton Inn. Days Inn.

Days Inn and whatever I said first is about the same. The old school days in. You gotta plug, you gotta use your hotel card to plug it in to have electricity going. Yeah, you gotta keep it in the wall slot.

Yeah. Oh, it's like putting a quarter in the bed for the vibration. Crew ships do that too. You go to use, you go to hang up your stuff in the bathroom with the hook and the hook just spins.

It's only a quad screw. It says nope. I'm not going to fucking do that shit. Can you, can you drink the water in the hotel?

Uh, I wouldn't recommend that. Is there a sign that says that? It doesn't say. It doesn't say to, right.

That's not how, that's not how Nicaragua works. What did it look like when it came out the bathroom? No, no, I understand. You just gotta figure this shit out.

They don't fucking. I mean, I keep comparing the thing in China, but it's the only country I've spent, you know, excess money. You know, there's some hotels where you can, and there's some where, no, you don't. You might be able to at Hex, maybe, but I'm not taking the risk.

What about brushing your teeth? Skip would always laugh at me. I would always just bottle water. It makes sense to you.

I avoided a lot of ice, and he would laugh. I'm like, fuck you, man. He's like, it's filtered, it's fine. I'm like, I don't.

Well, Nicaragua is considered a third world country. Yeah. Is China? China is not considered a third world country.

No, no, no, no. Now, like if you're in Shanghai or something like that, you can do whatever you want, you know, in the big cities, but there's some cities I would go to where, you know, you don't, you keep your mouth shut when you're showering. Yeah. Wow.

Trust me, I was just thinking about it. Yeah, because now he's thinking about how he was singing in the shower. You don't eat anything, you don't eat anything that's uncooked, like a salad bar or something, don't touch it. So this is, this is probably really difficult because you're a German freak.

He's a bit of a German guy. It was so stressful for him. We had some nice dinners too. I mean, you know, yeah, we ate well.

Yeah, like in China, you avoid fish. Yeah. You don't know what it was swimming in. Oh.

I've seen some of the fish farms. No bueno? No bueno. They ship all the fish over here.

No, they don't. We grow it over here. Oh, yeah. Do we?

Fish farms. There's no Chinese fish. I don't know. It's kind of funny.

You know, cause you go down, the first time you go down, you normally go with a factory, right? Right. And it's this Disneyland tour. Right, yeah, real nice, yeah, fancy, compounds, and food brought in every day, some guy barbecuing on his spit, you know, a person, a pig, yeah, no, if you do the kind of thing that you just did, no.

Eat where the factory eats, you stay in the factory, yeah. The more involved you get, you see all of the, everything, just, there's so many different things that can and will go wrong. It's just the mentality of the people and the culture. It's crazy.

Right. It's crazy. So it's more, it's not really, it's more of the people. It's just everything.

It's the environment, you know, there's, there's a lot of, there's a lot of poverty around there. Oh, sure. You know, and nobody picks up trash. Well, they don't get paid for that.

It's fucking crazy. It's fucking crazy. That's what the homeless people are for. You think that they, all the homeless people pick up the trash?

No. Now I'm sitting here, fuck that. I'm almost really doing that, so nearly almost. I'm not fucking moving.

Right. Crazy. So. Very interesting.

So the hotel, so the restaurants you ate in were nicer hotels? Yeah. And restaurants and things. Oh, yeah, yeah.

Okay. Skip has a standard. Oh. Because like, you get tea everywhere in China, obviously you get tea, and it's the hottest thing to bring.

So you have to wash your utensils and your plate and your bowl and everything in the hot tea when they bring it to you. What? Yeah, so the first cup they bring you, it's not for drinking, it's for cleaning. So you pour...

Did you ever fuck that up? No, no, nope, just after the first trip, the first trip they do it for you, after that you're on your own. Oh. So you pour the tea into your bowl, and you slosh it around your bowl, then you take your spoon, you slosh it around on the hot tea, and then from there you pour it into your plate, and you slosh it around your plate, and then you do your chopsticks in it, and then you pour the tea into the little bowl in the middle of the table.

Wow. And then they take it back, put more bags in, and then bring it back out. Well, they take that tea, they throw away, and they give you fresh tea. Allegedly.

Yeah, allegedly. Why tea? Does that clean things? It's hot.

Well, the water. Yeah. But it's tea, but it's super, super hot. It's just yellow water.

Yeah, it's just yellow water. I'm trying to figure out, like, what's the tea for? It's just yellow water. It's just yellow water.

Well, they all drink tea. That's the drink of the country. So, everybody has tea with everything. Right.

It's not iced tea. You can't get iced tea. Right. Yeah, you die.

You drink the iced tea. Yeah, you don't eat the ice. No, no. If you're at one of the restaurants down the street from the factory, no, you don't eat any ice.

You want a Coke Light? It's called Coke Light, not Diet Coke, you wipe the top off, and then you don't, I have no glass, no ice, I'm fine, I'll drink it hot. Did you have ice in Nicaragua? Yeah.

No stomach problems for you at all? No. That's good, it's probably smart to avoid as much water as possible. Yeah, let's drink bottled water.

Skip drinking from the tap. Is he going out to the side, you're scooping up from the sink? No, I don't think so. You animal, look at him, he's drinking it.

No, but that guy can handle anything. Well, he's been there long enough, he's built up whatever the thing is, that's right. It's crazy. We had a guy one time almost die, a customer came down.

He had to be rushed home and he almost died, he ate some type of fish that had something in it. Really? They were giving him the last rites at the hospital. Oh my lord.

He almost died. Wow. He got some kind of amoeba or something inside of him. Holy moly.

Yeah, after that we're like, no more fish, when nobody ate any fish. No more customers. We're not bringing our customers. Yeah, well, he wasn't with us at the time, thank God.

When he left our visit, he went with somebody else. No, that's where he almost died. What happened to Paul? Oh, he's almost dead.

They're praying for him. They're praying for him, apparently, at the hospital in New Jersey. It's a horrible trip. I listened to your Palmer Plus One.

Oh, yeah? Yeah. You gave me your notes. I appreciated that.

Yeah. It went really well. That was really good. Thank you very much.

It's doing better than I thought it would do. Yeah. Yeah. It's almost beat the highest ratings of all the other shows from the other one.

That's good. Yeah. You just got to slow it down a little bit. Don't talk.

Yeah, I have a problem interrupting. I understand it. Yeah. I do it to you all the time.

But I think it's something funny. I want to get it out. Yeah, you got to hold it. Yeah, but then at the moment.

Yeah, but he forgets. I could forget. Or the moment might be gone. It won't be funny anymore.

Yeah, but dude. You got to let them speak. I know. I know.

So. I've got guests booked up through June, and I started booking July today. Wow. Look at you.

I had one lady cancel, but that's okay. She wasn't going to be a fit anyway. Right. But I replaced her with a guy who's got ghost stories.

So it's fine. Oh, ghost stories. Ugh. Ghost stories are amazing.

Yeah. I would look for ghost hunter, but I'll take ghost stories. UFOs? You mean demons?

Yeah, those are demons, apparently. No, those are demons. Those are demons. Why didn't you ask John about the dinosaurs?

I don't know anything about him and dinosaurs. I'm pretty sure that the Bible doesn't acknowledge dinosaurs. They don't. I doubt it does.

No, no. He knows a lot about the Bible. So tell me about the dinosaurs, John. Well, he's going to come on again, because I had a lot of questions I didn't even get to.

He's going to have an answer after he listens to this podcast because he's a fan. I can't wait to see the comment about the dinosaurs. Tell me about the dinosaurs, John. What are the dinosaurs?

I want to know where the dinosaurs are. Where they came from. And what's behind the dinosaurs? I need to know.

My son loves dinosaurs. They're not real. They're demons. They're demons.

Demon dinosaurs. Yes. Hmm. Is that skip?

Don't you say that one thing that happened. It's not him. Trying to call Mickey Peck. There's an event tonight?

Here? Yeah. That I'm aware of. What about this tonight here?

There's nothing tonight? There's nothing tonight. Oh, Friday? Friday, the Justice release.

Oh. This Friday, the in-store Justice release. Ah. Thursday's the beer tasting.

Beer tasting. And coming in May, we have the Placentia Cutting Light and the Ponce Pig Roast. We're keeping busy. Oh, Ponce Pig Roast.

Ponce Pig Roast. That's going to be a good one. You want to get into Phil's Fun Facts? We'll do Phil Fun Facts.

Welcome to Cigar Hustlers Podcast feature, Phil's Fun Facts. Hello, people. Alright. Tobacco cultivation is very nitrogen intensive.

A study from the University of Kentucky in 2020 found the best application rates were between 150 to 175 pounds of nitrogen per acre. Results usually result in around 2,000 to 2,200 pounds. Apparently there are some typos in there from our staff. There was a reprint, but I didn't have time to add it.

No problem. I'll try to muddle your way through. Of tobacco per acre. With about 35% of that being wrapper.

Ironically, 150 to 175 is roughly the amount of steak and chicken Brittany has to cook and pack for Michael each week. They were a little worried about making fun of you. I said, no, no. Go right ahead.

Go right ahead. It's fine. Yeah. Oh, speaking of which.

Wait, I got to fill the fun facts. Come on. Okay. Okay.

Okay. One. Phil's Fun Facts brought to you by Cigar Hustlers Podcast and Braze Ranch in Waldo, Florida. Follow him at Braze Ranch on Instagram or Facebook for regular ranch updates and news on beef availability.

Cigar Hustler Patreon where the true news and info comes out every- Who are we calling? Wow. I don't know who we're calling. Hello?

Hey, you're on the podcast. Uh-oh. Oh, good. Hey, I just wanted to touch base really quickly because, you know, you had a- you got to talk a lot about me and- And Palmer said something in specific that I, uh, I, uh, that you are, spoil me.

Oh, you've watched this episode. Oh my God, you've been holding, you've been holding on to this for a while. You said, oh, you spoiled it, you said yes. And then you didn't get to complete your sentence.

You said, yeah, but he, and I figured I'd give you that opportunity to finish your sentence. Did you thread her home? Is this a prepared statement she has to make? First of all, first of all, he has brought this up to me multiple times since last week.

Oh. Just to make sure I don't forget. But yes, you do spoil, I do spoil you, but you spoil me as well. Okay.

Okay, alright, does that make you... We all understand, Michael, you've created a nice life for your wife and family. Can someone give him a little pat on the back, please, for me? I'll hug him when the show's over, I'll give him a little hug.

Thank you, thank you. I don't have to remind you, you never forget anything. You remember everything. No.

uh yeah i guess yeah i guess okay um all right all right all right thank you thank you for providing me with everything i have i would be lost about you you are the best thing that has ever happened to me you saved me 20 years ago wow wow can't even tell she's reading a piece of paper she's really good i know i've been working on it this is a long paragraph all right brady So you take it from the top, say it one more time. I've been working on it. You mispronounced Michael, now say it like you love me, say it just like that. Wow.

All right. Well, I just wanted to get that clarification out there. It's for the podcast, you know. Yeah.

And you know, I like to razz you. Yes. For sure. I mean, everything I said was 100% true.

Yeah. Of course. I still love you, like that doesn't, you know. yes I get it anything else you want me to say no this is Maximus Desimus Meridius and thank you very much you're amazing you're in shape no you're good you guys talk about his hair he likes when you mention his hair talk about his hair his beautiful hair don't even get me started on that tip alright okie dokie it's backfired Love you.

It was clearly stated. Yeah, did that sound prepared at all? Not at all. Not at all.

Clearly stated. 100% honest in her idea to say it, I'm sure. Yeah, exactly. Well, I'm picking up one of your children now.

All right. " She's there. One of the kids he picked up now. Bye.

All right, love you. Love you. Bye. We'll have you on again next time he's gone.

So there you go. Ha ha. I knew he'd listen to that episode. Oh, sure he did.

I mean, haha, I made my wife say this. It would have been better off if she had called in and go, "I need to get a few things straight. " And then went into her little speech you made her say. That would never happen.

Could have, you never know. I'm just stating, stating, you know, you didn't give her an opportunity, because there you go again, cutting people off when she was in mid-set. I was laughing! Yes, but he, and you're like, blah, blah, blah, blah.

I don't think that's where she was going, Mike. I'll show you. I'll show you the clip. No, I've seen all the clips.

Do you want to get, I can get a plane right now. No, no, but I don't know if that's where she was going. I was trying to save you. She was going to slight you with something.

Oh, she was going to, you were saving. I was saving you, yes. It didn't seem like quite the saving. Sure it was.

Mm-hmm. Interesting. I had more things planned, but I just, I just ran out of time. Yeah, he stopped.

I ran out of time. Oh, no, with the show, I stopped. I stopped, I didn't cross any lines with shows, right. But I was going to interview like each employee, but Brittany was a better choice.

Yeah. Yeah, for sure. Right. Okay.

All right. Personal stuff there. Employeeships are going, "He's a great boss. " Mmm.

Please don't air this. Please don't. Is he going to hear this? Please don't air this.

Did I say it right? I need to do it again. Who are you calling now? I'm waiting until you get to that news.

There's some news. Some news popped. All right. Uh-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. Scott Pierce is leaving the PCA to become CAA president. Scott Pierce is leaving one Cigar Association for another.

As of today, it was announced he is leaving his role as executive director of the Premium Cigar Association of America. That is a big deal. To become president of the Cigar Association of America. Yeah, that's a big deal.

So he's leaving the Premium Cigar to become the Cigar. What is the CAA? Cigar Association of America. It's like he doesn't have a show.

We've talked about them several times. It's a different organization. Are they hired than the PCA? They do a different thing.

Yeah. They cater more to the rights and protecting the rights in the cigar industry. They work together, and one of the primary reasons as to why they work together is because of Scott Pierce. Like, we joked about this guy, we broke balls about him.

Oh, he called the show several times. Yeah, and it was hilarious when he called in. Right. It was at one point, he was the only one there.

Yeah, the reality is, the guy worked his fucking ass off, so it's gonna be interesting to me, you know, I have questions, I'm very curious about all of this, because the reality is that Scott was an integral piece of the PCA, and I would guess, and I could be wrong here, but I would guess that the PCA didn't want to pay him what he should have been paid. Well, if the title has anything to do with it, and I looked up the difference between the titles, he's going from executive director to president. Right. There's a difference in the jobs they do.

Yeah, executive director is like three down, usually. Right, but he was the head guy. Right. Executive director answers more to a board where the president doesn't or something.

I don't know. I have one page of things of what the difference is, but no. Yeah. He has agreed to be on the show.

We are working out a time and date, and we'll do one of our little mini specials. Oh, nice. We can get them set up. Yeah.

Like true media. Yes. Ask the fucking hard questions. Ask the hard questions.

Like, does he have to move? Like, hey, we'll- Did they take the keys away? Hey, Coop, why don't you answer the phone on Monday when we call? Right, or when you were here in town, you stayed in Deberry, you didn't even come by.

Didn't even check in. What? Didn't even check in. He was in a house in Deberry, at least one night.

Because he went to the Carlito party in Tampa. Oh, the 70th birthday party. Which we have later. We have started, as of this week, we have started writing some of our own news stories.

Oh, we are, we are, we would like to thank, we would like to thank Half Wheel for their stories for the last six years, but, yes, we are now getting press releases, we get press releases, and we have a writing staff. Oh, that is, that is helping write some of the stories. Oh, Ben and Sarah. No, no, I can't.

Don't ask. Oh, sorry. I have some new software. Oh, Scott Pierce is humbled and honored to take the reins of the CAA, said Pierce as a press release.

I am optimistic about the Talk about the future for our industry and look forward to working with the great companies and people of CAA to drive greater value for members and develop new advocacy strategies to both defend and catapult the industry to new heights. That's fantastic. Right. There's a lot of more information, but we'll get that when we talk to Mr.

Pierce. You got the other one? You want to go right to that? Yeah.

We have a quick story. The Minneapolis City Council preserves cigar sampling exemption, but you can only smoke for 15 minutes at a time. I'm in the shop. Shut it down.

15 minutes? Set timer for 15 minutes. There is a sampling rule apparently in Minneapolis, so you can't smoke in the building, but for 15 minutes you can try the cigar and then you have to put it out early. Put it down.

How many people's tickets can he use? You only get one, one cigar, 15 minutes per cigar. I guess you can smoke seven cigars. I just don't understand.

You know, who sits around on the table and, you know what, we're gonna cap it at 15 minutes and somebody doesn't look at the other person and say, fuck did you just say right are you out of your fucking mind it's a loophole in an old law that the shops have found so this customer spoke in the we're sampling sam we just started we're 30 seconds in i mean give me a fucking break how fucking stupid forgot to start the clock some of the shit oh some of the shit some of the fucking it just doesn't make fucking sense It doesn't make sense for me. No, it does. It's just ridiculous. I'm going to go buy a $15 cigar after 15 minutes.

Here, you can smoke the cigar. Right. But you have to smoke between the television and the bathroom. Those are the rules.

And you have to hold up your left hand. Right. Yeah, it's stand on one foot. Yeah.

And you have to have on a purple hat. And you have to bark like a dog. A big dog. Why are you smoking?

All right. All Saints and McAuliffe. There it is. Sales partnership.

A shift in the cigar industry. All Saints Cigars and McAuliffe Cigars have announced the end of their sales partnership marking a significant shift in the cigar industry. A significant shift. This is one of the stories that we wrote.

Please don't critique our writing stuff. Wonderful choice of words. The two companies have been working together to distribute McAuliffe's premium cigar lines in the United States but have now decided to part ways. The decision to end the partnership comes as both companies look to pursue different strategies to grow their business.

All Saints Cigars, known for its boutique approach to cigar making, is focusing on expanding its own brand and distribution channels. Meanwhile, McAuliffe Cigars, a family owned company known for high quality cigars, is looking to explore new sales and distribution opportunities. The end of the sales partnership is not expected to impact the availability of McAuliffe Cigars in the United States. The company has stated that it remains committed to proving its customers with the same, committed to providing, also providing its customers with the same exceptional cigars they come to expect.

There's more if you want to go ahead and try calling. I'm calling Mickey Pegg. What's up, Huge? Huge.

Will he answer? Yeah, he knows what we want. I'm just going to be sitting here, crying. He's not going to answer.

- He's injured. - Your call has been forwarded to voicemail. - This motherfucker. - Forwarded, so he ditched us.

- Buy one, get one. - Fucking All Saints is what that says. - Whoa. - Whoa.

- I think it just says forwarded. - No. - Oh, no, that means you were sent to. - No.

- Your call has been forwarded to voicemail. - Oh, no. - You gonna keep calling until the answers? - Yes.

One more time. If he doesn't answer, release his phone number. Too bad this show's not live. We can go Facebook live real quick.

Yes. Do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do. Your call has been forwarded to voicemail. Man, no.

Mmm. This makes me mad. Get 'em, Michael. If he calls me back and I'm not on the podcast, I'm not answering.

Your call has been closed. Lit Palmer call, does he have your number? Yes, I've been texting him all weekend. Did he respond to you at all via text?

No. It normally does, like for your birthday thing, answered right away. Do you think maybe McAuliffe took his phone? Oh, yeah, that could be.

No, no, because when I got his number, it was just All Saints, he was not McAuliffe. " We're taking the phone, so in case somebody calls. Yeah, this is your phone now. So what happens to all the reps that they hired when they were together?

They didn't hire you, they used the McAuliffe reps. Like your friend, the McAuliffe rep, just does McAuliffe now. Oh, he's only McAuliffe. Only McAuliffe now.

Look, you know, since Mickey doesn't want to defend himself, I'll go ahead and defend him for me. Yes. That's fine. Oh, okay.

This was kind of fucked, to be honest, Mickey has, as fucking crazy as Mickey Pegg is, because Mickey Pegg is a fucking lunatic, the guy has a lot of research and data and work when it comes to Salesforce and the ability to incorporate those things, you know, specifically routes and promoting and building brands. Right. So there was no real value for Mickey receiving through McAuliffe. I mean, other than the reps.

It gave him a Salesforce. Yeah. But all he did was just pretty much train them how to do their job better, and then they sent them fucking packing. Now this is me speculating.

Right, right, right. Allegedly. I can't fucking confirm this. The press release is that it was amicable.

" I gotta be honest, I don't believe that for a fucking second. It's never that way. And I'm gonna tell you why. You know, we were listening, we were driving to Managua or something, and Skip put on the second best podcast.

The, um, I don't know who's the second, but the, uh, David Garofalo. I don't want to talk about it. They do the, they do the after party show. Yeah.

The after thing that skips sponsors. Yeah. And they had the McAuliffe guy on and the McAuliffe guy was telling a story. Right.

Uh, about when he was younger, I'm probably fucking this whole thing up, but that's fine. Uh, about when, when he was younger, he worked at a grocery store and he had, he was talking about this thing called the, uh, a Johnny brush. Right. You know what Johnny brushes?

Well, I heard you tell the story to Greg. Oh, did you? I knew what a Johnny Brush is. Okay, so a Johnny Brush was like a toilet cleaner.

Toilet brush. Right. They used to be called John's. Yeah.

I thought they used them for bottles, right? No, clean toilets. No, you didn't clean toilets. When they first came out.

Oh. Yeah. Back when I was a kid. So, he talks about this trick that he learned.

Because he had to sell all of these things very fast. Right. So, what he did was, as customers were buying their groceries or whatever, he would ring up one of these things and put them in their bag. Okay.

And he did this to everybody. They were probably relatively cheap back then. Like a buck. Yeah.

Yeah. So people would call and say, "Hey, there's this plastic thing in my bag," and then he'd play stupid. " and blah, blah, blah. " Last time I fucking checked, that's fucking stealing.

That is. You fucking forced somebody to buy something and didn't tell them. Right. Yeah.

Like, how is that okay? I'm sure it's some type of theft, but I don't think it's actually stealing. There's probably a different term for it. What would be the term?

What's the term other than? Fore-sailing or? Yeah, something like that. Not larceny or whatever.

Would you be okay with that? Well, back then I guess a dollar would have been more money. But if I got home with something in my bag I didn't buy, it's not worth my time to go back to the store for a dollar. So you're okay with that?

No, I'm not okay with him doing it. So you're okay with somebody taking something out of your pocket and just fucking saying huh? No, I'm not okay with that. So here's my point.

I'm saying how he got away with it. So this guy was fucking proud of it. Sure he was. He was excited about the fact that he did...

Sure, he ripped these people off. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. I'm like, that's not okay.

Right. This is not... No, it's not okay. How the fuck...

Like, that wasn't... You're proud of it. Right, he's bragging about it. On a fucking storyboard.

Right. On a podcast. Right. I mean, you know...

With my friend, David Garofalo. I will say this. I will say... Your close friend, yes.

I will say this. I'm one he's... I think that there's a different category of individuals. There are individuals that I have seen in the cigar industry, I think there are some people in your industry and just in life in general that will fuck you and then will justify why it went down and not really admit to fucking you.

Right, right, right, right. Justify it. That person is far worse than this guy because at least this guy said, yeah, I did. Yeah, I fucked these people and I got away with it.

But holy shit. So then you kind of look back and I see this whole scenario going down with Mickey and how it shook out. I'm thinking, well, that's easy. If this guy is the type of guy that'll just say, well, now I got the info, so fucking deuces, you know, like, this shit is not okay.

How is this okay? Tell me. What did my friend David Garofalo and the other people on the show, were they just laughing, going, oh, that's amazing. That's a super idea.

It's a different podcast, brother. If somebody had said that here, I'd be like, are you fucking kidding me? No, dude. Why would you do that?

if anybody stepped up and went, of course not. Of course not. So it is a crime. It is a chargeable crime.

Oh, I like this. I just don't know what it's called yet because there's no service down there. There's no service down there. Like you fucking padded the tab, man.

It's called short selling. There you go. I knew there was another word for it. Holy shit.

There's an old thing like a lost leader. It's like a family of attorneys. Bait and switch. There's all sorts of things.

Like, you go, this is on sale, and they come in and go, well, I don't have that, you gotta buy this. Right. Yeah, oh, where are we at? Everybody wants these, but no, I'll have this.

This one's $20. Right, right. Very sorry. When you sell something to somebody without their consent.

There you go. Yeah. Is he in the solar panel business now? I mean, what's, like, is he doing door-to-door shit?

Like, what's going on? This is the McAuliffe owner? Yeah, I think so, yeah. Mr.

McAuliffe. It's gotta be an older guy. Gotta be an older dude, yeah. I met his sister at the PCA, or his sister's daughter at the PCA, she's like my age.

Yeah, I accidentally met her, too. I don't get that. Well, she's right by the bathroom. Well, yeah, that's not how I met her.

I don't even know what the fuck he's talking about. Well, I don't even know if I want to go there. Well, maybe I can tell you on the Patreon. Yeah, I'll tell you on the Patreon.

Interesting. Wow. Yeah. Apparently, he got some at the BZ.

Interesting. No, it's just not. I just don't think it's for the public right now. Like, it needs to be on the Patreon.

I just couldn't believe that. I couldn't believe that. He tripped and fell and... Okay, Palmer.

Move along. She tripped and fell. I'm an angry Tex Mickey. Bro.

Hey, Carlito Fuente, star-studded birthday bash, a magical evening in Tampa. Carlito Fuente, the legendary cigar maker and owner of Arturo Fuente Cigars, celebrated his birthday in style this weekend with a star-studded party in Tampa. The event was a glamorous affair with a guest dressed to the nines in elegant tuxedos and evening gowns. The highlight of the evening was a special performance by none other than the iconic rocker Kid Rock, who had the crowd on their feet with his elective fine performances.

Kid Rock was there? Kid Rock was there in shorts. He didn't have a tuxedo on like everybody else. Of course, he's Kid Rock.

Whoa, he's Kid Rock. And in the video I saw, Carlito was yelling at him to put his beard down or something as he was introducing him. Wow. And Carlito had on an Elvis Presley sequin jumpsuit with a cape at one point in the evening.

What? Oh, yes. Oh, oh, like the magic trick guy at the PCA, the magician, the body was the magician at PCA, I didn't say this is the guy that sells the humidors or something like that, oh, oh, I know who you're talking about, the party was held at a luxurious venue in Tampa, decked out with dazzling decorations and a lavish spread of gourmet food and drinks, guests were treated to a night of music, dancing, and celebration as they toasted to Carlito's health and his happiness. Wow.

Kid Rock. As the night came to a close, guests left with memories of a truly unforgettable evening filled with laughter, music, and magic. Carlito Fuente's birthday party was a testament to his status as a true cigar aficionado and a beloved figure in the cigar community. Here's to many more years of success and celebration for Carlito Fuente.

Cigar Coop made a stylish statement at the Fancy Cigar Gala sporting a white tuxedo jacket paired with black pants. While they looked dapper in his ensemble, many attendees couldn't help but miss his trademark tan pants. That's which have become synonymous with the signature style of a cigar coupe. Wow.

It was a white tuxedo jacket, black pant. That was the dress code for the men. So he followed the dress code then? He pulled it off.

Yeah, I couldn't see the shoes. I was hoping maybe someone had shoes. No, he did have the black pants. Yeah.

He looked nice. Yes. All right. Kid Rock.

He did. Well, I can't believe he told Kid Rock to put his beard down and did it? Well, he put it behind his back. Was it a Bud Light?

It was a Bud Light. Oh, yeah, I know it. He's Kid Rock. He's Kid Rock.

Black Star Line Cigars introduced two new Vitolas for Lala Bella and Dark War. Does that sound right, Dark War? Dark War Witch? Oh, maybe.

Yeah, you might have left off that last word. Maybe jump to the other page. I got pages mixed up. Dark War.

Black Star Line Cigars is thrilled to announce upcoming release of two new Vitolas for their popular Lala Bella and Dark War Witch Cigar lines. These new additions will offer cigar enthusiasts even more options to enjoy, and the rich flavors and expert craftsmanship that Black Star Line Cigars is known for. The new Vitola for the Lalabella line will feature a large ring gauge, providing a longer and more leisurely smoking experience. The size variation will allow smokers to savor the complex flavors of the Lalabella blend, which is known for its bold and spicy profile with hints of earthiness and sweetness.

For the Dark War Witch, Black Starline Cigar is introducing a shorter, more compact Vitola. The size is perfect for those looking for a quick smoke without compromising on flavor. The Dark War Witch blend is characterized by its rich, full-bodied taste and notes of dark chocolate, espresso, and leather making it a favorite among aficionados. Interesting.

German court rules non-Cuban companies prohibit from using Habano and Cubano due to potential consumer confusion. Yeah. You can't use the words. Can't use the words that the Germans are getting all confused.

Yeah. They don't know what's going on. They don't know what's going on. We don't know.

We don't know the size of the type of the cigar when they call it the Cubano and Habano. We cannot tell where it comes from. We cannot tell where it comes from. The fatherland.

I'm sorry. Don't. Okay, Mike, you got a shop of the week? Brittany had a shop of the week.

Did she? Yep. She did. Who did she use?

I thought you listened to his show. I did, I can't remember. Smoke on the water. Smoke on the water.

Yeah, that was a good one. That was a good one. Are there any cigar shops in Esteli? There are.

Did you go to one? Did you go to one? No, no. So at that restaurant you were at, apparently you could smoke there.

Yeah. Wow. That's amazing. Well, there's a lot of cigars down there, I guess.

Yeah. Yeah, yeah. What's really kind of crazy, though, is the poverty, the line from, you know, You know, being in poverty, and being, you know, somewhat, I guess, relatively affluent. Right.

Or, I mean, you could just say medical class. Because that was nice looking, the photo, I mean, it looked... Yeah. Other than behind the bar, it looked like all empty bottles.

No, they were all Florida Cano. Yeah, a lot of Florida Cano. Oh, yeah. Well, they make that there, too.

So, like, what happens is you're one of two tables that are there. Oh. So, when you're there... One of two?

Yeah, normally your server's all about, like, hey, like, this is it. This is it. Right, this is it, this is where I'm making my money. Yeah, I better fucking, I gotta deliver.

Right. And we had one server that was great and then we had one server that just didn't give a fuck. Oh. They were on break.

Same restaurant? Yep. Yep. So these two different nights, like one night had great service, one another night and the guy was like, ah, fingers in your food.

He's like, fuck you guys. He comes out licking your steak, like hell. Oh my god. Fuck you guys.

Like, okay. All right. Thanks so much, dude. You know.

Did you have steak both nights? No, you had a hamburger. Yeah, a hamburger. Did you know I listened to the show?

I had a hamburger one night, and I had... I loved it. I think I had steak the other night. Still didn't listen to it.

Churrasco. Oh. Yeah. " If you've always grown up with a dirt floor, that's all you know, so you don't know you're poor.

Yeah, it's like sitting first class. Right, yeah, if you're never sitting in first class, you don't know how big it is. It doesn't suck until you sit first class. " Son of a bitch, how do I get the ice cream cart to come by?

Right? I haven't seen an ice cream cart. Oh. Well, even an 18 hour flight, they bring out food a lot.

Do they? Business class, sometimes every little Sunday. Keep them busy. Do, do, do, do, do.

Would you like a chocolate sundae? Fuck yeah, I would. Oh, you bet I would. I got 18 more hours on this damn plane.

Hoping season. Baby, let's go. So, shop of the week. I didn't know if you wanted to pick one in SLE you went to.

No, no. Let's go Brass Pipe. Oh, Brass Pipe. Uh-huh.

In Fort Pierce, Florida. Brad's Pipe in Fort Beers, Florida, where Mark Palmer, my cousin, works. There's one more. Listener of the Week.

Mark? I have a Listener of the Week. Wow, okay. I have a Listener of the Week.

Save yours for next week, obviously. Save yours for next week, because this man is very upset. He's never been mentioned Listener of the Week. Okay, well, let's go.

I'm a little confused on one of two people. Oh my God, you just had it in your head. In your head. I know, I know, but then I'm thinking, well wait, maybe the other guy said it.

Say both of them. John Richards and John McTavish, I know it's a John, so I don't know which one it was, I don't remember. John Richards has never been a Listener of the Week? Nope.

No way. Yeah, that's what he said. Or maybe John McTavish said it. Or maybe John McTavish said it.

So, you're both Listener of the Week, congratulations. A shared Listener of the Week. To the Johns. To the Johns.

They're both good Johns. They're both good Johns, yes. John McTavich is a guest this week on the Palmer Show Plus One. Oh, really?

Talking about changing careers in midlife, changing careers. Interesting. He is currently without a job. Yeah, I know.

Oh, I forgot to always- He's just riding the government funds, is what he's doing. Well, they have a lot of government funds there. Do they? I saw a video last night that groceries are very expensive.

I'm sure. Like a 12-pack of soda was like $17. 12-pack of soda here is like $10. That's $7 more.

That's $7 more. $10 is still expensive. We cut that back and said, no, you're not getting any of that shit. Maybe that's why Canadians are so fit.

I've never really seen a fat Canadian, have you? Yeah. Maybe. Eating a lot of moose.

Yeah, so it does work. Overtaxing. I don't know. I like it.

We get sick and just go to the doctor. I don't think it works that way. It does. It's not that efficient.

Socialist. In Canada. Socialized medicine. I don't think it works that way.

I'm sure it does. Why not? Okay. You have to go in line.

It's like going to the VA. Yeah. Just go right in. Just go right in.

No, you got to make an appointment. They take good care of you. I don't know about the good part. All right.

You got anything else? No, that's it. How about you other, Phil? You got anything?

Um, no. I look forward to the Patreon. I just smoked with the Mirapfel. Those just came in.

Those are fantastic. I don't know how to respond. I have not had one. Bronzeback just came in.

I have had two of those. The website's finally up and running after the nightmare of a week that we've had with the server being down. It was almost two weeks. It was almost two weeks.

That was terrible. Yeah. We're still ironing out some kinks, but at least we're operational. Oh, really?

Super stressful. No, there's nothing wrong with the website, but the emails haven't been sorted out yet. Oh, oh, gotcha, gotcha, gotcha. Was that because of the move too?

Yeah. Oof. Brutal. Brutal stuff.

You don't realize how much of that is connected to different things, or like, we couldn't get the pen to change passwords Couldn't get the pen to log in to charge somebody on the wholesale stuff, I mean, it was just so much. I couldn't access my emails, and I started, I went to a support group, support chat or whatever, and I said, hey, I can't access my emails, and they're like, okay, we're gonna send you a verification code via email, and I wrote back, are you not paying attention? I can't get into my email. And he's like, oh, I'm so sorry, I'm like, no problem, zoom, fast forward me to feedback, will ya?

Obviously, there's gonna be a problem here with the help portion of this help center. Yeah, no shit. He didn't go, dude, do you have one maybe with someone else? Do you have an AOL that we could get access to?

Maybe we could send it there? All right. Oh, that's it. All right, it's been episode 331 of Cigar Hustler Podcast.

Mikey's back. Yeah, Mikey's back, and I'm pissed off of Mikey Pegg for not answering his goddamn phone. Release his phone number. Two for one, two for one All Saints Cigars at the Cigar Hustler.

Buy two, get one free upstairs right now. Buy two, get one free. Yeah, and it's today. If you buy two boxes, you get his phone number.

Yeah, there you go. It doesn't matter, he doesn't answer. Yeah. Why do we care?

He's on a sabbatical. 785-222. He's crying right now. Oh, Lord.

He's trying to figure who's going to sell the cigars for him. Huge. All right, we got to go, bye. Bye.

Huge. The Cigar Hustlers podcast, its owners and its sponsors take no responsibility for the opinions or statements I hope that they will be entertaining to the audience. Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada

Show Notes

On this episode of the Cigar Hustlers Podcast, Mikey takes us on a journey through his recent trip to the Nica Sueno Cigar Factory in Nicaragua, giving us an inside look at the production process.

In industry news, Scott Pearce's departure from PCA to become CAA President shakes up the cigar world, while the Minneapolis City Council's decision to preserve cigar sampling exemptions but limit them to 15 minutes sparks debate.

The episode also dives into the glitz and glamour of Carlito Fuente's Star-Studded Birthday Bash in Tampa, offering a peek into the magical evening.

In a notable industry shift, All Saints and Micallef end their sales partnership, signaling changes in the cigar landscape. Additionally, Black Star Line Cigars introduces two new vitolas for Lalibela and Dark War Witch, expanding their unique offerings.

Finally, a German court ruling prohibits non-Cuban companies from using "Habano" and "Cubano" due to potential consumer confusion, highlighting global regulatory challenges in the cigar industry.

Tune in for these updates and more, only on the Cigar Hustlers Podcast!