Cigar Hustlers Podcast Episode 359 Quincy Jones, Chris Olave, James Van Der Beek and John Rodgers

Episode Summary

Episode 359 of A Cigar Hustler's Podcast finds Mike "The King" Szczebankewicz and Mike "BDP" Palmer back in the Delton, Florida studio with sound tech Phil for a news-heavy roundup. The opening half is the usual trending-headlines banter: the death of legendary producer Quincy Jones at 91, Saints receiver Chris Olave's concussion and the fallout from his brother Josh and former teammate Michael Thomas aimed at quarterback Derek Carr, James Van Der Beek's forced disclosure of his colon cancer diagnosis, and an Ohio sheriff's lieutenant, John Rogers of the Clark County Sheriff's Office, who was only reprimanded after posting that he wouldn't help anyone who voted Democrat. The hosts also smoke a Maestranza Castillito Murcia while riding out an expired, very much not sugar-free energy drink.

The cigar news segment covers Scandinavian Tobacco Group discontinuing select Forged Cigar Company lines — Bolívar, El Rico Habano and Helix — with only the regular Bolívar line getting the axe and discontinued lines no longer subject to minimum pricing (expect deep discounts). They discuss Gurkha's Aruba TAA announcements: a Year of the Snake release with collaborations from E.P. Carrillo, Oscar Valladares and Oliva Cigar Company (following the Year of the Dragon with A.J. Fernandez and El Artista) at $19 per cigar in 10-count boxes, plus a new Volition America by Gurkha 6x54 Toro in Maduro, Habano and Connecticut wrappers at $13 each, benefiting Folds of Honor — with the hosts needling Gurkha for announcing prices before blends or sizes.

Also covered: the Quesada Cigars ownership and management restructuring, with the Quesada Vega family now owning 100% of the company and Manolo Quesada Jr.'s daughters Raquel and Patricia taking over following his stroke at ProCigar 2024 and move to Spain — prompting a long-running bit about Terence Reilly's departure and Quesada's shift to a direct-ship UPS model. Plus the AJ Fernandez AJF 20th Anniversary Toro shipping to stores as a Nicaraguan puro, and JRE Tobacco's second batch of Aladino Limited Edition (6x52 Toro, Cameroon-seed wrapper grown at Iroa Farms in Honduras, $16 MSRP, doubled to 1,200 boxes for 2024). The episode closes with a Florida-man story out of Ormond by the Sea, a Shop of the Week nod to Outlier Cigars and Lenny, and Listener of the Week Shia Goldberg of Blend and Barrel, with the Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust news held for Patreon.

In This Episode

1. 01
   Trending Headlines: Quincy Jones Dies at 91
   The hosts recap the life and career of the legendary producer, from Mercury Records to Michael Jackson and The Color Purple.
2. 02
   Chris Olave Concussion and Saints Fallout
   Olave's fourth career concussion sparks criticism of the Saints from his brother Josh and ex-teammate Michael Thomas, who took aim at Derek Carr.
3. 03
   James Van Der Beek's Cancer Diagnosis
   The Dawson's Creek and Varsity Blues actor was forced to go public with his colon cancer diagnosis ahead of a planned People interview.
4. 04
   Ohio Lieutenant John Rogers Reprimanded
   A Clark County sheriff's lieutenant apologized after posting he would refuse aid to Democratic voters and blamed prescribed sleep aids.
5. 05
   STG Discontinues Forged Cigar Company Lines
   Bolívar, El Rico Habano and Helix are being cut from the Forged portfolio, freeing them from minimum pricing and likely heavy discounting.
6. 06
   Gurkha Year of the Snake and Volition America
   Gurkha teases a $19 Year of the Snake trio with E.P. Carrillo, Oscar Valladares and Oliva, plus a $13 Volition America Toro supporting Folds of Honor.
7. 07
   Quesada Cigars Ownership and Leadership Changes
   The Quesada Vega family takes 100% ownership as Manolo Jr. hands leadership to daughters Raquel and Patricia after his stroke at ProCigar.
8. 08
   AJ Fernandez 20th Anniversary and Aladino Limited Edition
   The AJF 20th Anniversary Toro ships as a Nicaraguan puro while JRE doubles production on the $16 Aladino Limited Edition Cameroon-wrapped Toro.

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

P. Hey man, everything I do, so instinctive, and so proud. Make way for the king. I got that better against people who doubted it, being negative.

Another Mike and Mike production. In three, three, two, two, one, zero. Welcome to Cigar Hustlers Podcast, episode 359. One of the best shows on everything.

On everything. You don't have an old one I sent you or something on your phone? No. I am Phil and I have returned.

Yes. We have a Phil here and he doesn't know what to say. I have succeeded in my quest. This is the show with Mike BDP Palmer and Mike...

The Cigar Hustler Podcast, episode 359, recorded live at the Mike and Mike Verdukka Studios in Delton, Florida. This is the Cigar Hustler Podcast. The show where two guys share their passion for cigars, business, and life. Join Mike the King, Szczebankewicz, Master Blender of Posanje Cigars, Master Blender, and his co-host Mike BDP Palmer, Semi-Master Blender of the BDP Cigars, as they talk about the latest cigar news, reviews, and interviews, some of the most influential people in the cigar industry, and me, uh, him, he's Phil, he's our sound tech engineer, whether you're a seasoned aficionado or new to cigars, this podcast is for you, so sit back, relax, and light up a cigar with the Cigar Hustler Podcast.

So I needed, I needed an energy drink and this thing has been sitting in the fridge for two years. Close to. We have a problem. Close to two years.

So we went NOS and this thing is not. Did it expire? I don't think so. This is not sugar-free though.

No, no, it's not sugar-free. It's not. That's why it's been in there. Can you feel your veins just like enlarging?

Pete brought it and then realized it was not sugar-free and he can't do sugar, so. Oh, this is a Pete Hernandez Especial? Yes. He brought it.

Then the second time he was on, I tried to give it to him. He still wouldn't drink it. I can feel You can feel it. You can feel the sugar?

Feel the cocaine rushing through your veins. The crash is going to be so hard later. Well, make sure Brittany drives to practice. She's meeting me there.

Ah, you have your own car. Put that down there. Pass it around, we'll drink from the- it's like a big old giant- Like a Viking goblin. Here we go.

Okay. Welcome to the Cigar Hustlers Podcast, the show brought to you commercial-free. But a massive shout-out to our amazing patrons on Patreon. Thanks to your unwavering support, we're able to deliver unfiltered, unbiased opinions on all things cigars and personalities in the cigar world.

Your backing makes it possible for us to keep it real for our listeners. Cheers to you! com and search A Cigar Hustlers Podcast. What's going on in the world there, Michael?

Quincy Jones died, Michael. You have no idea who he is. I have no idea who Quincy Jones is. How do you not know who Quincy Jones is?

I don't know who Quincy Jones is. Quincy Jones, a legendary record producer and songwriter who worked with several musical greats, died over the weekend in his California home. Those are greats. The enormality?

Oh my God. Enormality. It's a big word. The loss of Quincy Jones is a full display.

Words are hard. Yes, they are. On social media, mostly, especially the ex-social media platform. Quincy Jones was born, okay, he was 91 years old.

91. That's a good run. Yeah, he lived a good life. Jones' ear for music and talent has arguably created a pathway for him to join Mercury Records and its A&R director in 1964.

He was named Vice President of the label, becoming one of the top black executives in music at the time. Jones would continue to work with an arranger for the likes of Frank Sinatra, Billy Eckstein, and moved to composing music for the film industry. After suffering a brain aneurysm, Jones briefly stepped away from the music industry, but returned and found himself drawn to producing pop records. Jones created his record label, Quest, in 1980.

He would also become a film producer in 1985, helping bring the color purple to life, Along with creating the score for the award-winning film. Any affiliation to Diddy? Yes. Actually, it was.

Yeah, when Diddy got arrested, I read another story. He said he came back to the pop world. When Diddy got arrested, he was very adamant and was concerned that he would come out. It's time to go.

You think he was one of the... Oh, he was connected to Diddy. He was one of the private phone calls with the other people. In the '80s, he was arrested for cocaine possession, he had...

It was the '80s! You know, everybody keeps saying that, but he was also... They never arrested Kurt Cobain. He was arrested for, he had enough to distribute.

That guy had a drug problem? Crossing state lines. He had a lot of cocaine when they got it. Nice.

This is 19 grams, by the way. 19. What is it? It is the Maestranza.

Oh. Maestranza. Which one? Castielito Murcia.

Castielito. Yeah, but he said it wrong. Yeah. Skip said he said it wrong.

I know. Call Skip. No, he's in Texas, called Skip. I don't...

We have the big square one, Skip. Which one is that? Dimensions are... I don't know.

5x60. That's okay. 5x60. It's for a different show, Michael.

Yeah. So, he... Who was the... Michael Jackson?

He did Michael Jackson. He did Michael Jackson. He did Ray Charles. Oh.

Didn't do them, but he was there. Well, you don't know. It was a diddy party. Yeah, a diddy party.

A lot of lube. I don't know. " I'm like, "Okay, thanks, man. " Died at home in his- 91.

He was worth 500 million dollars when he died. Half a billion. How much did he have when he left? 500 million.

How much of that was cocaine money? Well, you could be worth 500 million. I don't know how much cash he had on him. What was in his wallet?

75 million. $75. Yeah. $75.

$75 and a bus pass. On a bus pass. He likes to travel incognito. I like that.

Kind of like Keanu Reeves. Right. When you guys pass away, do you want to be buried with your money or want to spend it all before you die? I don't want to be buried with it.

The answer is neither. Yeah, neither. The name of the game is Create Generational Wealth. Whoa.

Okay. Yeah, that's the name of the game. Set them up so that they can set theirs up, so that they can set theirs up. So, you getting into a new business?

Yeah, I mean, that's... So, when you leave, what business are you starting next? The cocaine? The cocaine, a lot of money in cocaine.

It's quick money, too. We have Reinhardt in the room right now, so we have a guest audience. So, what I was thinking about doing is doing some type of like 20... We have a lovely special interview with him later in the week.

Yes, I wanted to do like a 23andMe and then just link me to the Mirafel family. Yeah, and then tell them that I'm a long-lost... Long-lost nephew of some sort. By the way, I don't want to get ahead of myself here, but, you know, Ernest was a traveler, and yeah, he stopped over in Poland, apparently, and then here we are, and here we are, yes, so, just gotta get you one of those hats, yeah, yeah, perfect, perfect, love that, all right, what else you got, hit me, Saints receiver Chris Olave, did you say his last name, no, how do you say his name, Olave, no, let him keep going, Olave, man, Chris Olave was left in a heap after a scary hit to the head on Sunday, and his brother took to X, I don't think they call it, can they just say Twitter or something?

No, it's called X. You will respect it. Afterwards, to slam the organization, Olave. Yes.

That's it. Olave. It's French. I don't know.

That's probably not how you say it. That's how you say it. He's probably one of those guys, you know, like, my name is Bob, but I want to be called Boobbe. Boobbe?

Well, there's a little squiggy on top of it. There's no squiggy. No, Squiggy from the Geniuses. There's a little Squiggy.

There's a Squiggy. Oh my god. It's an umlaut. I've missed his small IQ.

He was, he was stretchered. Is that a word, stretchered? He was stretchered? He was stretchered.

Well, Squiggy's a word, so. Stretchered off the field and taken to a nearby hospital after being sandwiched between the Panthers' Mike Jackson and Xavier Xavier Woods. As he tried to catch a pass from Derrick Carr over the middle of the field. Yeah, dangerous place in the middle of the field.

Oh, when we talked last week about the Hail Mary pass back in the end, apparently it's standard procedure for somebody to hang back of the crowd. That's the guy who caught the ball. Correct. However, it's also Tyreek Stephenson's job to be back by that guy.

Oh, yeah, but we said that guy didn't want to get involved. He was probably just hanging out. I think that he didn't want to get involved. I'm going to stand by that.

I appreciate... Everybody's correcting us each week. I love that. I love, you know, because it's getting so much smarter now.

Because people are telling me how fucking stupid I am. It's a way to get it, the views and stuff, have you seen like, there's this guy on TikTok and Instagram, always never wears one shoe, but he changes one or the other, because then somebody will go, where's your shoe? Why do you have the one shoe? Why do you have the one shoe?

Well, it's just like Starbucks, they purposely misspell your name. Do they really? Do they really? Yeah.

You didn't know that? I don't, I don't go there enough. That's what happens. I can't afford Starbucks, I don't go there.

Yeah, so you ever see where it says like, Brian. I'm trying to make generational wealth so I don't go to Starbucks. But you can't make General Wealth here if you're making zero. So they have like- 7-Eleven, they never write my name.

You've never seen like Brian with the Y, and they write Brian with the Y? No. Really? I don't go.

" Oh, wow. It's brilliant. Do they write the names in the cups when we get them, when you get them all for all of us? No, they write his name in all of them.

Now we get this futuristic- It's like a sticker, right? Yeah, because I ordered before I walk in, because I'm a- You order on the app. Because I'm an adult, and I don't want to wait in line. A waiting line?

" I'll tell you that, Josh said. Oh, so he's just bashing the fact that the team... Yeah. Man, that's so fucked.

Right. Look, I'm not a New Orleans fan. Right. They're part of it.

division so i do not like them however if you're gonna be part of a team they're gonna pay you millions of dollars you gotta ball out every game millions it's football and concussions like something that happens yeah this is a thing every other play yeah but he must be something wrong i must have a weak head or something because it's the fourth concussion of his pro career and this is only his third season well it's a deadly spot in the middle of the field oh it's true he's a receiver so yeah he gets hit a lot and let's be honest these guys are you know two three hundred He's got a hundred pounds, some of them four. Pretty strong. Josh also endorsed a critique by Carr from the former Saints receiver Michael Thomas, who rallied against his former quarterback after Olave got hurt. Thomas, who played with Carr for just one season in New Orleans wrote, "Dude, try to lie and I say I was jealous of them making Chris WR1 whole time he can't even get a decent ball.

" Oh. That's what they put. I'll say ass. Derek Carney's that one?

He's going after Derek, yeah. You know, like. Derek likes to throw the ball apparently where the people are. Well, that's where.

You got to throw it in windows. Yeah. You got to throw it where the receiver is. Unfortunately, there are defenders with the receiver.

I find it very entertaining that, you know, brothers of people who are playing and stuff chime in and make these comments or so-and-so's wife or whatever, you know. I don't care what you have to say. Your opinion doesn't matter to me. You haven't sacrificed your entire life to this game?

The brother? Yeah, brother. Whatever. It's like the guy on Jerry Maguire where he's telling his brother, or whatever he was doing, because his brother got more money.

Right. Yeah. Like, I don't give a shit. Sorry, I have to reference movies, I don't follow sports.

Okay, I'll clip that in for you. You have been? You've been reading them each week? Yeah, I know, it's a pain, yes.

Is there anything that trends it's not a sport thing? You should watch sports now. I guess on Monday, it's not going to happen because... Yeah, it's football season.

Yeah, nothing happens during football season, other than football season. I mean, I'm hoping, listen, I'm going to put this out here. I'm going to put this into the ether of the interwebs. Uh-oh.

You have enough stroke, your eyebrow keeps switching. No, it's just doing it bad, so. Oh, okay. I can't believe the upset that happened last night, where the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Kansas City Chiefs at home.

Oh, I didn't get to watch it. Incredible. Wow. You missed it, huh?

Yeah, I fell asleep. Cade Otten, 200 yards, 3 touchdowns. Are you trying to tell the future or something? Yeah, that's exactly what I'm doing.

It ain't gonna happen. You don't even know. Oh, that wasn't last. Okay, I got it.

No, it hasn't happened yet. He's been gone for two weeks. He's got any catch-up. I am the cigar.

Where's Miami? It was in Miami, Puerto Rico, right? James Van Der Beek forced to reveal cancer diagnosis ahead of his play-in timeline. Oh, no.

It's Matt. What? What? What's his name?

James Van Der Beek? Apple? Yeah, James Van Der Beek. Didn't he play in Varsity Blues?

Yes, yes, that was him in Varsity Blues. Dawson's Creek? The actor best known for starring roles in Dawson Creek and Varsity Blues shared the news in his statement to People Magazine over the weekend, but later revealed that he wanted to wait to go public with his diagnosis. Well, he was waiting until later.

He didn't want to wait for his life to be over? He got leaked. I don't want your life. No, you don't.

You missed that. It's the Dawson's Creek theme. I don't want to wait. Oh, it is.

For my life to be alive. I didn't miss that. Don't put this on you. You guys are just...

Yeah, they're about to block this one. You gotta move faster, guys. You gotta keep up. Listen, I just had some of that NOS.

I'm ready. You're all wound up there, ain't you? We're rolling, baby. " That's it.

And each year, approximately 2 billion people around the world receive this diagnosis, and I'm one of them. He continued, "There's no playbook for how to announce these things, but I planned on talking about it at a length when People Magazine at some point soon to raise awareness and tell my story on my own terms. " Oh, so he had to? He had to, yes, he had to put it out.

Colon cancer is no fun either. That's a serious one. Yes. But it's curable.

Is it? I'm sure it's curable, but... Colon cancer is one of the most curable ones. Is it?

I don't know. Because they can cut it all out. Well, then you poop in a bag. Yeah, you get a bag of that?

Yeah, colonoscopy bag or whatever. Colonoscopy bag? Colonoscopy is when they stick the camera up. Coloscopy bag, whatever the fuck they're called.

Colostomy bag. I said that already. You get a poop bag, it's colostomy bag, and he's going, you get it. Never mind.

He's not listening to you. No, no. He's living his own world. Until now, he explained that he had been dealing with this privately, focusing on getting treatment and dialing in my overall health with greater focus than ever before.

And Ohio Sheriff Lieutenant, I apologize. That was it, you're done. Can we talk about Metamucil? I think that that's important.

Metamucil? You gotta work that in. Why? Because it helps prevent colon cancer.

Well, Palmer, at your age, aren't you supposed to take it? I poop all the time. I don't want to poop more. Well, you don't want anything collecting in there.

Trust me, there ain't nothing collecting. You don't know. Yeah, I do. I had salsa yesterday.

Whoop, it's all empty. Nothing in there at all. Yeah? Was it spicy?

No, it wasn't. That's why I ate so much of it. So much of it. And here you are.

And here I am. Yes. You look a little lighter. I should be.

Trust me, I should be. Slightly dehydrated? No, I was very thirsty last night. Very, very thirsty.

Nice. Okay, now you can go ahead and get into the next... " I'm not gonna help them Democrats. " Yeah, can't do that.

The Ohio Sheriff's Lieutenant has apologized and been merely reprimanded. After, uh, uh, where's he from? Ohio. Ohio?

Ohio. Oh. Isn't that a blue state? He's not helping anybody, I don't know.

After authoring a social media post boasting about how he would refuse to assist people who voted for Democrats during Tuesday's election and would require proof of a person's voting choice before providing aid. Wait a second. Kamala or Trump? I got to know.

How do you provide proof? He's got to ask. Maybe it's the t-shirts everybody's wearing. Maybe.

Kamala. Oh, sorry. We were robbed. Yeah, well, sorry.

You're going to Democrat here. Well, it's only the right thing for you. You're supposed to be. It's got to happen to you.

John Rogers, a veteran lieutenant with the Clark County Sheriff's Office, reportedly posted on Facebook that he would consider a person's voting record when responding to calls for These are the services in this jurisdiction, which includes the city of Springfield that has recently been at the center of conservative conspiracy theories according to the Ohio news outlet. Yeah, that's some sense. Oh, my God. They talk about everything.

This guy should have lost his job. He was just rubber band. Yeah, that's not enough. There's not a lot of people that want to be policing.

I don't care. Yeah, there's not a lot of people that want to be policing. It doesn't matter. And he's been around for, is that a lot of years, sir?

It doesn't matter. It's like the whole serve and protect thing, you know? He's serving and protecting. He's just doing Republicans first.

He's only conservatives. Listen, in Florida, that guy would have been put up on a – Well, Grady Judd's probably trying to hire him right now. No. You know, there was a warrant out for his arrest a couple weeks ago.

Grady Judd? Yeah. Really? Something he said some other county or something was after him or something.

Really? It obviously didn't happen. Grady Judd, they got to come get him? It's election season.

He ain't leaving Polk County. Bring it on. Come get me. I got a gun.

Come and take it. Okay. " That is so terrible. Really?

Rogers indicated people would need to provide proof of who you voted for if they asked him for help. Help me, help me. Who'd you vote for? Yeah, I gotta know.

I gotta know who you vote for. I literally got a gun to my head. Right? Yeah, well, it's your own fault.

You voted for Harris. Well, the next five seconds is going to determine whether you live or die. Like you totally just eliminated our democracy by going that route. Right.

Are you aware of that, sir? You know? They would just like it in no means reflects the Clark County Sheriff's Office delivery services to all our community. They completely detach.

And does not reflect the mission about gas. But he still has his job. It's a disclaimer. Yeah.

He was reprimanded. They said bad sheriff. That's not okay. That's not the same.

Move to Ohio and vote him out, Michael. Actually, you've got to vote out the sheriff. First of all, I'm not leaving Florida. You're not moving to Ohio?

I'm not fucking leaving. I'm not leaving. See, the community has a right to be upset over the actions of Lieutenant Rogers, and he, as well as the sheriff's office in general, will have to work even harder to replunders. I don't think that this is going to be gone next week.

At that point, if you're going to keep him, he's got to be like a meter mate or something. You know what I mean? Just something. What was his name?

Rogers. An internal investigation file pertaining to Rogers' post obtained by WHIO also said that Rogers claimed that he had been prescribed sleep aids by his doctor. Oh, that's it, dude. Oh, I think they drugged me.

They went the drug route. Yeah, there it is. Which he alleged had been causing some of his communications to be out of character. Rogers reportedly insisted that it was a documented side effect.

So now we're on the job high. Says right here, I'm with pills, H. Democrats, if you take these, I'll tell you. You may find yourself enraged towards Kamala Harris if you take this pill.

My God. It may cause drowsiness and don't operate heavy machinery. No heavy machinery and stay only in red areas. I mean like what?

And no Democrats. What are we doing? What are we doing? Oh, it's my damn medication.

It's documented. Right here on the pills. It's right here. It says may hate Democrats.

Right here on my pills. Side effects include nausea, death, may hate Democrats. Hmm. Hmm.

Well, that's fantastic, Michael. Yes, those are the trending headlines for today. I didn't say whatever you said before each one. You said there was some phrase I said before each one.

Oh, look at you. I couldn't figure out what it was, so I didn't say anything. This just then? No, I think you go, mm, okay.

Mm, okay. Oh, yeah, that sounds more, yeah. Alright, ready for the news? Hit the news button over there, Bored Monkey.

Give me the news. Haven't had my song in three weeks. From the four quarters of the world, all the cigar industry news you could possibly need. The Cigar Hustler Podcast Report with Mike Zoon.

Okay, try to get Justin Andrews on the phone. We started a contingency plan, by the way, Phil. A contingency plan? Yes, we have a substitute.

We have a board monkey on standby now. Oh, yeah? Yeah. Just in case you don't show.

I don't know what this button is. Hit it! This is the fourth, he read the lounge. Oh, okay, I know what it is.

Oh, that's Luciano. Yeah. Yeah. He wasn't in the news this week.

He's laying low. I haven't heard about him in the last couple of weeks. We had another story, not last week, the week before, the first week he was gone. STG discontinues some Ford's brands.

Oh yeah. But they don't say which ones. You're connected. Yes, they do.

Oh, maybe they did. Yes, they did. I got the email. Scandinavian Tobacco Group, the parent company of General Cigar Company, Ford Cigar Company, Cigars International.

Is he going to answer? Are you really calling? You tell me to try. Oh, well, let's get him on the phone.

Can we have Matt Booth talk to him? " Oh, my lord. It only rang once. I don't like him.

Instantly forwarded. Instantly. He's not in the office. Right, he's in Vegas!

He used to do the whole Vegas thing where he was, you know... Hey, they're all mugging, who was that, a basketball player they're all taking pictures with? I don't know. It looked like they were mugging him.

Yeah. A basketball player? It was a picture of Justin Andrews, Matt Booth, another guy I didn't recognize, and then a very tall, slender, black man. That's the Cohiba guy.

Yeah, dude. Is that the Cohiba guy? Oh my God. I don't know who he is.

Sean? Sean who? Uh oh. Williams.

I don't think it was Sean Williams. It was. Was it? Kind of looks like a darker Montel.

Oh my God. That was bad too. Oh my God. I think that was worse.

He just saved you to some degree. By saying it worse. - Was he really? - Yeah.

- That was him. - Why didn't they tag him in the photo? - That's why it said they had it in the wording. - I don't read the words.

I just know there was no name. - So many words. - It's so hard. - So many words.

There's so much going on. - Oh, let's see. - Oh, my Lord. - An email sent to retailers yesterday.

Did you get it yesterday or today? - Or Friday? - Friday. - Friday.

The STG announced the Bolivar El Rico Habano. - Yep. - Helix have been discontinued. Just those three?

They made the news? An SCG spokesman clarified to Scott's podcast that only regular Boulevard line is getting the axe. Mm. Forge will continue to sell regular Boulevard.

Yeah, it's not because they don't have tobacco, it's because they couldn't sell them. The lines being discuted will no longer be subject to minimum pricey requirements, meaning consumers may see them heavily discounted. Discounted, right. Oh.

Here comes the purge. Well, today's announcement only affects Forge. SCG already made some cuts in general portfolio, yes, back in July. O.

There was a basketball player there. I thought it was a basketball player. You know how racist that is because he's tall and he's black? You're like, oh, clearly he's got ping pong.

Must be an athlete. Cigar industry. Right. Yeah, obviously.

Oh, wow. Yeah. All right. Well, I mean, I guess you do have, like, it could be basketball or football and cigar industry.

Sure. Yeah. Are you saying about the tall girl that everybody's showing pictures of? Wow.

That's an actual story about the girl from the basketball team and her cigar, the PCA, released today. Okay. It's that picture of her lead. She also, she did play basketball.

Yes, I know. I said the tall girl that played basketball. Right. Yes.

So there's that. There is that. I am Sean Williams. Yeah.

The company splits its portfolio of brains between two cybers. More basketball players. Oh my God. Reinhold does not play basketball, by the way.

Reinhardt. I thought that was the wrong way to say it. Reinhardt. Oh.

I like to say Reinhardt. Reinhardt? That's not even close. Which is completely wrong.

Yeah, that's wrong. Completely wrong. Yeah, it's Reinhardt. See, and he's giving me a pass in the background.

Yeah, don't worry about it. Nah, it's fine. Gurken Abuse, Year of the Snake. Mike and Volition America line to the TAA 2024.

They got to get theirs out to people who start releasing. Yeah, they're first. No, they're not first. They're third.

Oh, are they? They're third. They announced at the Tobacco Association of Aruba? Yeah, at the Tobacco Association of Aruba 2024.

At the Tobacco Association of Aruba recent meeting and trade show in Aruba, Gurkha showed off a pair of upcoming releases. It's the year of the snake release and a new line called Volition America by Gurkha Cigars. Details are sparse about both releases at the moment, but the company said the year of the snake collection will feature three collaborations and begin shipping soon. P.

Carilio, Oscar Valladares, and Oliva Cigar Company. J. Fernandez, El Artista. The blend and size of cigars have not yet been disclosed, but when they arrived, they were presented in a 10-count box and priced at $19 per cigar.

They don't know what the size is yet, but they know what the price is. Yeah, of course. I think I see what they can find. Here's what we can get away with, yeah.

Right, what can we find? Do they work with different companies every year? Gurkha? Who?

For the year of whatever? The Tobacco Association of Aruba? See, he's nodding his head over there. He knows too.

They go around allegedly look for cigars. It's a quest. Oh. They have a guy who looks like Indiana Jones, runs around looking for cigars.

Yeah, they give him a hat and a whip. It's crazy. He's chased by big holders and things. Yeah, he carries a bag of sand.

Is this an LCA guy? He's trying to weigh it in. No, this is a Gurkha guy. Run from a boulder.

Aganorsa's not NTAA, by the way. Yeah, I know. I got the same text message. We got the correction.

We wouldn't know, because we're not about it. We're not. We ain't a good old boy. We were so happy with the collaboration from last year that we thought we'd just do it again.

Yeah, why not? Watch one more time. It's not broke, why not? You know.

Lawsuits are all blanketing again. We're going to carry that for you. We're really excited about the Mercury Year, the snake brand, and we're looking forward to everyone trying it after we get our lawsuit set up. Lawsuit set up.

Said Juan Lopez, VP of Sales at Gurkha via press release. Allegedly. Allegedly. Juan likes me.

I know him. Yeah, he likes me. Gurkha is also releasing a new line called Volition America by Gurkha Cigars, a 6x54 Toro that will be offered in three wrapper options. Three wrapper options.

Is he going to repeat everything I said? Is there an echo in here? So the filler and the binder is the same, and you just get a different wrapper. Maduro, Habano, and Connecticut, the company has not disclosed additional details about the blends, but did say that more information will release when we can find the cigars.

As soon as we know what we're doing. As soon as we find these cigars, we'll be able to tell you what's in it. So what we want to do is we're going to do three different blends. Right.

If we can find a Maduro, Habano, and Connecticut. Yeah, well, we're going to get that, we're going to get to the bottom of that. They are slated to debut on November 11th, but we haven't really found them yet, so we're still looking. That's in a couple days, guys.

At the Folds of Honor Golf Tournament, but a retail release date has not yet been announced. These will also be, they already have the price for these too, but they don't have one. Wow. These will be priced $13 each.

A nod to the 13 folds represented by American flag. Gurkha will donate a portion of the proceeds from the sales of a cigar to folds of honor. Apparently it's a flag thing. Got it.

Gotcha. I wonder what folds was. And a scholarship for fallen soldiers and first responders. It's usually when you say something.

Bum, bum, bum. I mean, I just shredded Gurkha the entire time. What else do you want me to do? We're making cigars that we don't even know, but here's the price, and it's gonna be Connecticut, it's gonna be Havana, it's gonna be Maduro, we're just doing a press release, just to do a press release.

You gotta hurry up, the sugar's coming down. No, man, I'm taking another sip. Let's go. His eyes are, like, moving right there.

His pupils are fully dilated. That's right. Quisada makes ownership and management changes. Oh.

Does it start with, we regret letting Taron Trilly go, and we've been suffering. It's not a ring this whole time because of that? They went to a completely different way. Oh, okay.

Quisada Cigars is new owners and leaders, while Manuel Manuel Manuel Manuel Manuel Manuel Manolo Quisada Jr. has long been the head of the company. He was not the sole owner. Other family members own stakes in the company, and it is so often the case the family business was not without drama.

Oh, I'm sure. Today, the company announced that Manolo's family, the Quisada Vega family, now owns 100% of the Quisada Cigars. It's all mine. With steaks held by Manolo, Sandria Vega, De Cuesada, and their daughters, Raquel and Patricia.

Right. One of them still says, you know, we gotta let Terrence go. Like, he's been gone for years. He's no longer here.

He's no longer with us. But what has he done lately? But you know, he's not with the TAA company, so, you know. I don't know, like, revamped Aganorsa completely?

Earlier this year, Cuesada Jr. suffered a stroke during Pro Cigar 2024 in Spain. Hmm, that's never good. So siding with his recovery, he has moved to Spain and turned the country's operation over to his daughters.

It has been one of my life's greatest joys to raise two strong, talented, and passionate daughters and see them grow into the exceptional leaders they become, said Guisada Jr. in a press release. Passing the leadership of our family business to Raquel and Patricia is the proudest moment of my 60-year career. 60-year career?

How old is he? That's a long time. He's 61. Oh, he started when he was, oh, when he was won.

Diapers, he was in diapers. Oh, a six-year career. I look forward to supporting them as they lead Quisada Cigars into the future without Terrence Riley, continuing our legacy for many years to come. While Raquel has had an active role in Terrence Riley's firing of the company throughout the last decade, Patricia left the company in late 2019 when Terrence left.

Last month, she presented at Enter Tobac 2024 in Dortmund, Germany, and indicated that she was back with the company in an active role. Guess who's back? Back again. Not Terrence Riley.

Not Terrence Riley. It was never my intention to leave the company because tobacco has always been my true passion, so it was a difficult time for me. But why did she leave? Money.

Never my intention to leave, but she left. You know, it's family bullshit. I'm sure she's like, you know what, fuck this, I'm out of here. Alright.

I don't like Raquel. She's mean. She's always telling me what to do. I'm smart.

However, I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, so that's why we fired Terrence. I'm grateful for all that brought to us this new chapter, so happy to be back. She was one of three family members who departed the company in the span of less than two years. Oh!

S. sales, and hostess Fernandez-Guessada, who oversaw effect. Was Terrence part of the family? Yeah.

She was one of three family members. They say Terrence Riley. And then Terrence. Then Terrence, Hosto, H-O-S-T-O-S, Hostess.

Yeah, Hosto. Hostess, like the Twinkie guy? No, Hosto. Oh.

Whoever saw factory operations also left the company. All three were part of the family's fifth generation. So Terrence is related somehow. Wow.

That's embarrassing. I didn't know that. Wow, your family fired you. " Why does he have such a normal name?

No, I'm tired of this giraffe motherfucker being around here. He's gotta go. This Irish guy's running around. How does he even get here?

Is he related? Somebody checked. Are we sure he's family? He's got us by 18 inches.

You're out of here. The girls are tall. Are they? Yeah, one of them's very tall.

Do they look like Terrence? No, they're blondes. " And none of them flex in any of the photos. No?

Wow, I didn't know he was related. Well, that's sad. Yeah, couldn't make it work. Like if Greg fired you.

It's not possible. Well, no, he'd have to close. Can't get rid of the goose that lays the gold out. Yeah, man.

S. sales operations. Oh, well, might as well get rid of Terrence, we have nothing for him to do. That's what it was about, yeah.

And move to a direct ship model via UPS. Yeah. Terrence was replaced by UPS. Yeah.

Just like everybody to know that? What can Brown do for you? It's like being a toll booth person in the 20 years ago. Not even FedEx, the expensive one.

If you called out and you're a toll person, you're just replaced by a bucket. Right. It's a tremendous honor for both of us to be able to work together to uphold our family's heritage and to write the next chapter in our story without Terrence Riley, said Raquel. We're excited to carry forward the tradition, passion, and dedication that defines Quisada cigars under the six-foot level.

I really feel like they're under the six-foot level. I feel like they missed a really good opportunity to release a cigar, you know, they could have did like a giraffe with khaki shorts, with khaki pants or whatever. Is that why he wears khaki all the time, the UPS colors? Yeah, yeah, his little shot back at him.

Yeah, it's like, huh, what can Brown do for you? Bam! AJ Fernandez, 20th Anniversary, Heads to Stars! The blend that celebrates the 20th anniversary of AJ Fernandez cigars is off to stars!

Multiple stores have taken delivery of the AJF 20th Anniversary Toro One of the new cigars celebrating Abdel Fernandez Did I say the name right? Sure, we'll go with that Blend wise, both cigars are Nicaraguan Puro's Using tobacco from Fernandez Says in the best leaves from the various forms The very best Across the Central American country It's the top of the top Just the top It's the very best The ones Terrence picks from the top Those are the nice ones Only he can reach Yes So far, only the AJF, that's a terrible name, AJF 20th Anniversary, Toros have shipped! There's a second size, which is only sold in humidors that could be shipping next month. For this year, I would like to release a cigar about me.

We will call it AJF. AJF. Me. Me 20.

That doesn't sound anything like him. No. No. You both took a good stab though.

Oh, that guy's so rich, he doesn't even want to do it. If I saw him, he wouldn't speak to me. AJ Fernandez? Yeah.

No, he doesn't. He doesn't talk. Hey AJ, he'd be like. He really doesn't.

Yeah. He talked to us at one time. I'm not even giving you an opportunity to learn my voice. When the bangerine came out.

Did he? Yeah. He did make it. Well, that's why.

Hector introduced us and he first was like, hmm. And they said, this is the bangerine guy. He goes, oh, are you good? That's how he sounded?

That's how he sounded. Perfect. Guzagar. Guzagar.

Thank you. Oh, Aladino limited editions are shipping next week. Next week, Jerry Tobacco will ship the second batch of the Aladino limited editions. Oh my goodness.

A 6x52 Toro uses a Cameroon seed wrapper. Is it Mirafel? Is it Mirafel? No, it's not Mirafel.

Cameroon seed wrapper grown in the... Ooh, grown in the... Go ahead. Iroa Farms in Honduras.

The amount of information that this man has is crazy. It's crazy. He knew. He knew.

He knew. No, it's not ours. Yeah. It's not the good one.

It's just, oh, so brutal. Company describes as the other Honduran tobacco of undisclosed origins. According to the company, all the tobacco was aged between, oh, five and six years. Yes.

What is it? What the hell? Yeah. That's new tobacco.

Which is easy when you don't use much tobacco on your cigars. So, well. MSRP of $16 per cigar, JREJ. I didn't even get to counter that because I was smoking on my cigar at the time.

Want me to say it again? No, it's fine. According to the company, all the tobacco was aged between five and six years. Which is easy because they don't use a lot of tobacco.

Oh my God, dude. So bad. So bad. Just because they're all light on the gram.

Look at you. Wow, they have room. They have room. They stretch out that tobacco.

It's good for the draw. It's good for the draw. Is that what he said? That's not what he said.

It's an MSRP of $16 per cigar. JRE released the Aladino limited edition last year and said it was bringing the cigar back due to the request from the retailers and customers. There you go, they like it. Yeah, they like it.

16. While most details such as size, blend, and price remain the same, the production run has changed. The 2023 release was limited to 600 boxes where the 2024 release is 1,200 boxes. So they stretched that tobacco even further.

They doubled it. In addition to 2023... Can you imagine the vision? Yes.

Five to seven years aged tobacco. Right. And then the next year you wake up and you say, you know what? Double the crop.

We need to make twice as many numbers. Double the crop. Okay, we cut it in half. I know where we're going to be.

The Sicar, the Sicar, the Sicar, the Sicar, the Sicar, the Sicar is a precursor to one of the several larger personal projects from our archive and we're from the archive, five to six year old archive. Yeah, it's not been around long. Exciting to begin sharing them in their interview. I'm going to get a nasty email about this one.

The company said in a press release last year, "As always, we are looking to have a cigar that has high complexity and flavor, but at the same time, contemporary for our smokes. " We want it to taste good, complex, but basic, simple. We stopped doing the eyebrow thing, it creeps me out, I don't know why. I think you're having a stroke over there.

Browsers. It's going around. Dunbarton Tobacco is coming out with a cigar, but we'll talk about that on the Patreon. You don't want to talk about the year of the Duque, hey?

No, we have some information. You want some intel that you want to unfold on the Patreon. It's handmade. It's handmade.

We're only 37 minutes, we're almost done. That's okay. The Florida couple accused... Oh, we have a Florida story.

Sorry, we have a Florida story. Okay. Yes, a Florida couple accused in a hatchet attack of a victim allegedly tied up and promised sex on the beach. So they went after him with a hatchet.

And this person was promised sex. Yes, in Ormond, not far from here. Oh, wow. The victim of an alleged hatchet attack in Ormond by the sea left behind a trail of blood as he ran along the road to wave down a deputy Wednesday evening, according to the Volusia County Sheriff's Office.

Described at the onset of the arrest affidavits as a frantic male with no shirt yelling at cars, the victim told the deputy that he had been jumped on the beach in the area of the 1900 block of Oceanshore Boulevard by a man and a woman later identified as Wayne Streeter and Alana Cagle. He was 24, she's 18, respectively. The victim said he had agreed to come to the beach with the young lady so that she could tie him up on the beach and have sex with him. Cagle allegedly picked the victim up earlier that evening and drove them to Michael Crotty Bicentennial Park.

The victim said, telling the deputy that he and Cagle were the only occupants in her car after getting to the beach, the victim recalled getting odd vibes. Yeah. You pick up a girl, and she went to tie you up on the beach, and now you're going to have something. Oh God, I'm chilly here.

Something strange here. So Mike, let me ask you, how did she convince you to get into the car? It wasn't me. Are you sure?

Yes. I'm not stupid. You're just changing names here. No.

After getting to the beach, the victim recalled getting odd about Kevin Cagle because she was sitting about five feet away from him. Does it say me or him? It's sitting five feet away from you. She's sitting five feet away from Phil.

Gotcha. Now he's trying to change it. The victim said that, Phil said that Kegel then tied his legs together with rope, adding this made him feel odd, and thus led him to decide he wasn't going to go any further. Okay, so she said, I'm going to take you to the beach, I'm going to tie you up, and then I'm going to have sex with you.

Right, they're at a bar, they're having a good time, and she goes, hey, you want to go to the beach? I'll tie you up. You want me to tie you up and bang you? So when he got to the beach.

That's a great idea, let's go. I love rope. She started tying him up, and this guy got nervous. He's like, hold on, what?

I thought you were joking. This is fine. This is fine. It's fine.

As he approached... Oh, okay. Then the victim recalled seeing a man dressed in black clothing, later identified as Streeter, approaching them from out of the darkness, prompting him to begin untying the rope. Oh, shit.

Oh, that's a good knot. According to the evidence, Keg allegedly began to jump on the victim's legs, yet he was able to fight her off and untie the rope before getting up and running away, with Streeter now giving chase. The victim said, Streeter allegedly managed to tackle the victim and began choking him, as Cagle reportedly observed with what would appear to be a hatchet, oh the girl had the hatchet, they caught up and started punching and striking the victim all over the affidavit states, the victim managed to free himself running at Atlantic Avenue and flagging down the deputy according to the affidavit, while the victim was taken to a hospital for evaluation for his injuries, an Ormond Beach police officer located and conducted a traffic stop on Cagle's vehicle. In the area of South Yonge Street and Division Avenue, the Sheriff's Office said it was aired over the radio that there was blood on the vehicle, which itself was occupied by Cagle, driving, and Streeter in the front passenger seat.

The updated states a backpack, that the victim later confirmed to be his, was also found inside the car, according to the updated. The deputy canvassing the beach found rope, a t-shirt, and a hat, as well as a sheath for a hatchet some 30 feet away from the other items. The deputy further advised that there was not only a clear disturbance in the sand, but there was blood on a nearby walkway, consistent with the male running while bleeding. Even more blood in the park when Cagle...

There's a lot of blood. Streeter told Deputy that he and Cagle are a couple, claiming they drove to the beach by themselves, adding he didn't know how the victim got there. And the sheriff's office said Streeter further claimed that he saw the victim push Cagle, but did not know how. I don't know how that happened.

He said, then, this, he said, is what prompted him to approach the two and begin punching the victim in the face after initially claiming that no weapons were used, Streeter allegedly uttered while in a patrol car that he had tried to choke out the victim for her, the affidavit states. It would have been better if he said. I would, BDP, I would mount you like a fucking facehugger. Right.

You know, I've been thinking about that since I said it earlier. Me too, Mr. Booth. You know what's funny is, it's a he said, she said scenario.

Yeah. Right, yeah, yeah. And somehow, they concluded that, yeah, no, this is legit, this guy was convinced to come here to this beach. Right.

Was tied. Tied, his legs were tied up. And then... Apparently, the guy came out too soon.

He just jumped the gun. There was no money offered for sexual, nothing. No. Wow.

That's incredible. Apparently, the plan was for Streeter to choke out the other guy, and then maybe she's gonna have sex with him then. You know what's funny is that the other people, they fucked up in what they were saying to the police where they got arrested. Yeah, they could have denied the whole thing.

Right, the guy in the street allegedly uttered while in a patrol car that he was supposed to choke him out. Right. That's what incriminated him. It could have been good up to that.

I don't know what that guy's talking about. He was already in the car. He was in the police car. Yeah.

Right. But, I mean, they have to take everybody down to the station to sort it out. Yeah, you get detained. You get detained, I mean, they're not going to just go, eh, you know, a bunch of weirdos on the beach.

Wow. I think the hatchet, too, probably threw it off. So this guy had a hatchet mark in his body. No, no, no.

They found the sheath for the hatchet. They never found the hatchet. He claimed there was a hatchet. So like on the beach where all the stuff was, well, they...

Were beating him. They beat him. Wow. He got in a fight, but he was running away.

So he's not very, he's stupid and not very fast. Well, he was stupid when he believed that she was going to go down and tie him up. That's right, yeah, right. It's going to go well for me.

Right. Cheater and Cagle were arrested to face charge of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. Records show they have both since posted $5,000 a bond. Oh, they're quickly out.

Right, just 500 bucks a piece. Somebody drops a G, yeah. Sure. Bail bondsman.

Yeah. Maybe they use the hatchet for collateral. All right, back to the beach, Susie. We've got to find another one.

We've got to find another one. We've got to pay this off. All right, Michael, Shop of the Week. You have it.

And on the gun. Owlier Cigar. Oh, my good friend Lenny. Yes, Lenny.

Yeah. Somebody asked him, oh no, it was Jason Sharp, commented on Lenny's Postanya Ashtray. It was Jason Hawkins. Jason Hawkins.

What did I say? Jason Sharp. Oh, so close. But it wasn't, it was Lenny.

It was Lenny. Yeah. You're having a hard day with names, huh? I'm having a hard day with names.

Any names. And basketball players. That's right, basketball players in the cigar industry. They're everywhere.

Listen to the week, Michael. Listen to the week, Michael. You have it. Oh.

Shia Goldberg. Shia. Over at Blend and Barrel. Yes.

He was quite taken with our Wolverine and Deadpool show last week. That was very good. Yes, it was. Okay.

He enjoyed the show. Him and Tom Darnell over there. That's a great show. I went there on Saturday.

Did you? Yes. Very nice. Sure.

All right. Does that wrap up the show? That wraps up the show. Let's get on to the Patreon.

Alright, thank you very much for an episode 359 of Cigar Hustler Podcast. Do you have an update on that? I know, I know. I just know.

Goodbye. Kill the camera. We hope that they will be entertaining to the audience. Hey there, cigar enthusiasts!

If you're looking for the latest and greatest in the cigar world, then you need to tune in to the Cigar Hustler Podcast Patreon. Join us every week, wait, every weekly? Join us every week for insider news, exclusive interviews, and some of the most entertaining and incessant bullshit discussions you'll ever find anywhere. Whether you're seasoned aficionado or just stupid, you're a fan of the most entertaining and incessant bullshit discussions you'll ever find anywhere.

Whether you're seasoned aficionado or just stupid, you're a fan of the most interesting news. It's starting your cigar journey. We've got something for everyone. Do not miss out on our behind-the-scenes stories, industry updates, and the occasional rant that will keep you coming back for more.

So grab your favorite cigar, sit back and light up with the Cigar Hustler Podcast Patreon available weekly. Subscribe today and become part of the Hustler family.

Show Notes

This week on A Cigar Hustlers Podcast, we’re diving into some of the hottest and heaviest trending topics: the unexpected passing of Quincy Jones, the troubling news of NFL star Chris Olave’s fourth concussion, James Van Der Beek’s recent cancer diagnosis, and the controversy surrounding Ohio Sheriff John Rodgers, who allegedly only serves Republicans. Plus, we’re covering all the latest in the cigar industry, and, yes—Phil the Engineer is back with us! Buckle up for an intense and insightful episode.