Cigar Hustlers Podcast Episode 367: Festivus Frenzy, Big Wins, and the Top Cigars of 2024!

Transcript

*Music* *Cough* *Cough* I've got to tickle. Welcome to Cigar Hustlers Podcast, episode 367. Recorded live at Mike and Mike Production Studio in Deltona, Florida, this is the Cigar Hustlers Podcast. The show where cigars, business, and life collide.

Join your hosts, Mike Steponkevich and Mike Palmer, as they bring you unfiltered takes on the cigar industry, insider stories, and a whole lot of laughs. Me, I'm Boots, your sound of video engineering. You can't ad-lib and just read exactly what's on the paper. So, you may sit back, light up, and enjoy the hustle.

Hello, Michael. Good afternoon, Michael. Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas.

This is our Christmas Eve episode. It'll come out tomorrow on Christmas Eve. The Christmas Eve Especial. So, I dressed up a little bit for Christmas Eve because it's time for the Top 25.

Yes. It's time. It's okay. You combed your hair, so that was nice.

I comb my hair. Nice of you. Oh, it looks nice. I combed my hair.

Boots even has a sport coat on. You just can't see him. Yeah, I combed my hair too. He combed his hair.

Yes, he did. He did, yes. I put the finishing touches on. Nails okay?

You need a manicure? I put the finishing touches of the paint. I'm sorry, was my mani-pedi skills not up to par for the weekend? No.

I put the... Painted more? Yeah. I was finishing my house doing like details and it was brutal.

Oh. It took like five hours and I wasn't not even, I'm not even done. I don't have to tell you. Maybe Santa's little elves will show up and finish for you.

That'd be nice, it would be nice. So, what do we got? Let's go. Okay, we got some trending topics.

The Cowboys edge out the Buccaneers in a thrilling matchup, securing a narrow 26-24 victory with clutch plays on both sides of the ball. Dallas managed to hold off on Tampa Bay's late game surge to claim the win. Yeah. I guess it came two days after they were kicked out of the playoffs?

Yeah. But they're mathematically kicked off or something I was reading. Yeah, they can't. Yeah.

There's nothing else they can do. No, there's nothing Dallas can do to make it into the postseason. So let's play really good this last time. Well, at this point you're playing for your job.

Oh, I guess. Yeah. Okay. We'll get into complete details when we do the whole story.

This is just the intro portion. All right, go ahead. It's the intro portion. President Joe Biden has commuted the sentence of 37 out of 40 inmates previously in death row.

Uh-oh. We have the three that decided could still be killed. Okay. Honda and Nissan have officially announced plans to merge a groundbreaking move that will create the world's third largest automaker.

Oh. Oh, wow. Behind Ford and General Motors, I would have asked. Okay.

Today is actually Festivus, the iconic made-up holiday from Seinfeld, celebrated on December 23rd. It's a day of airing grievances, feats of strength, and of course, an adorned Festivus Bowl. Okay. When's the Krampus day?

Is that today? Krampus? That's a different TV show. We're doing Seinfeld today.

That's the evil Santa Claus day. That's the evil Krampus. He's in the red alert or red zone or whatever the hell that was called. The red one.

Red one. Is that what it was? I know it was red something. It was terrible.

It's a terrible movie. What? It was terrible. I thought it was a good movie.

Nope. Boots has a story on Christmas. Oh. Okay.

And those venture now will actually open. So Boots has a list of who's open on Christmas. It's a very long list. I like it.

It was much longer. I cut it down. Oh, perfect. I don't think we care what financial institutions are.

Basically, there's none. Spoiler alert. There's none at all. Okay.

Well, let's go. All right. Well, then also after that, we have the Cigar Fission out of top 25. Who's on it?

Who should be on it? why is this person on it and how much did they pay to get on it? Gotcha. I also have a curveball for both of you when it comes to aficionados top 25.

We're going to call somebody from a cigar aficionados? No, no. I'm going to play some clips for you. Of cigars?

People smoking cigars? No. What cigar was that? Hotcakes.

Sorry, go ahead. You'll have to see. Oh. Clips.

I'm very excited. You actually did some pre-production work. I did. Oh, people like the clips.

I'm getting a lot of comments on your clips. Yeah. But they say the quality has sort of gone down lately. They're very upset.

Oh, yeah? You don't put the funny pictures and stuff in anymore. Yeah. I like the funny pictures.

I'm just telling you what the people have said, Michael. That's fine. A lot of people go, you know, I don't watch your show, but I love the clips. Yeah.

That's fine. There's more clips on the show. You should watch the show. Yeah, if you like the clips, watch the show.

It's a much longer version of the clips. You'd really like the show. It's crazy. It's crazy.

It's a crazy concept. Right. Alright, Cowboys get Grady with a 26-24 win over Buccaneers after playoff elimination. The Cowboys' season ended before they even had a chance to play this week.

Yeah. That's what we're talking about, I guess, they're mathematically eliminated. They are mathematically eliminated, brat bastards. Well, while nobody actually expected them to reach the postseason, Dallas has mathematically eliminated from playoff contention early on Sunday when the Commander's quarterback, Jaden Daniels, threw a go-ahead touchdown.

Go ahead and make a touchdown, I guess. Right. Okay. With six seconds left to upset the Eagles.

Yeah, that was big too. So it's that easy, huh? This guy made a touchdown and then all of a sudden, they're out. Are we talking about the Cowboys or are we talking about the Cowboys?

Yeah, so the Commanders had won against the Eagles. And because of that, Dallas is mathematically eliminated from their division. So it has nothing to do with that it was a touchdown pass or anything like that. No, no.

It was a go-ahead touchdown because they were behind. And then they took the lead. Oh, then they went ahead. Let's go ahead.

Guys, you need to go ahead and make a touchdown. Hey, let's go ahead and make this one. Okay? No, not like that.

Oh, all right. So, now, I will say this. There is nothing more dangerous in the NFL than a team that has to play with absolutely nothing to lose. Right, you would think.

And that's what Dallas had. The speech the coach gives, you know, look, it doesn't matter if we win or lose, but let's not lose. Let's play 100%. Right.

And that's what you got. The last game of the season for us. If you get hurt, you'll be healed by next year. Well, it's not the last game of the season for them because they still have two more to go.

Oh, seriously? Yeah. But they're out of playoff contention. So, realistically, what they're doing, each individual and as a unit, is they're playing for a job.

And if you don't perform now... " No, I guess not. I guess you got a point there. Yeah, so he's like, alright, get the fuck out, right?

Yeah, you're done. So, the head coach especially, because the head coach, what's his name? Matt Bootsy, tell me. Mike McCarthy?

Ty. Ty? It's a Ty. It's Mike Ty.

No, it's not. I don't know. Yeah, McCarthy. Mike McCarthy.

Mike McCarthy. The guy from Green Bay. He doesn't know. He was from Green Bay.

He's just guessing over there. Now he's in Dallas. Yeah, I mean, he's playing for his job, for sure. Right?

Yeah. So, interesting stuff. And, you know, The way that they... Tampa started to come back.

Yeah, it was a very close game, it seems. And it looked good. And then there was this one panic throw to Rashad White, and he scrambled up the field a little bit. Rashad, he's a good scrambler.

Go ahead. And then he fumbled the ball, and they took it back. Not a good ball handler, though. Good scrambler, bad ball handler.

He's a great ball handler. They're actually second in the NFL ranked for rushing yards. Yeah, poor guy. I mean...

He really got chastised. The team or him personally? The team. It wasn't entirely his fault.

Yeah, exactly. Baker made some bad decisions, some deep throws that he shouldn't have made. You know, it's just a team game. It's not just one guy making a mistake.

Are the Buccaneers still in contention for the playoffs? Now, well, if they had won that game, there was a 97% chance they'd be in the postseason. Now it's 50-50. Oh, so they have to really play good the next couple of games.

Well, yeah, not only that, not only do they have to play well, they have to play, they have to beat Carolina and New Orleans, and they need Atlanta to lose either against Washington or against Carolina. That's what I was going to say, it's kind of interesting with football, it really doesn't matter how good you are, because somebody else has to be bad. Yeah. I mean, you still have to be good, obviously, but somebody else has to lose, for your record to be better than their record.

I got news for you, Mike. Yes. That's every sport. Well, okay, but...

You have to be better. I don't follow sports. You have to be better than your competition. Well, yes, I understand that, but I haven't heard, or maybe it still happens, I haven't been watching a basketball game, and they go, well, they won, but it doesn't matter because the Lakers beat somebody else.

Well, that's because it's the NBA. You know what NBA stands for? I know it stands for, and that's what I'm saying. In football, it's...

What does NBA stand for? National Basketball Association. No, that's not what it stands for. What does it stand for?

Not before April. Okay, that's not what it stands for. If you look it up, Michael, that's not it. We're looking, the only reason, no one's talking about the records in the basketball, because as of right now, none of it matters yet.

When you start getting into April, that's when things are like, okay, well, we need this guy to lose in order to, this is how many games back they are and all this other stuff. That's specific for basketball, I assume. They don't play, NFL's not for something. Not for something.

Not for something. Not for the league games. No, the NFL stands for No Fun League. Well, that could be.

Yeah, that's because there's so many penalties. A few hours later, the Cowboys kicked off a primetime showdown against a Buccaneers team with plenty left to play for, but it was the Cowboys who looked like a team trying to prove something. The game came right down to the wire, but when all was said and done, the Cowboys emerged victorious with one of their toughest wins of the year. He gets so angry, Boots.

Like I was attacking him or something. That's not what it stands for. You were attacking me. I wasn't attacking at all.

I was explaining to you. It doesn't really stand for not before April. I'm sure that's some type of joke with the game, but that's not what it stands for. I'm trying to explain to you that every ranking matters with wins and losses against your competitors in your division, especially.

It doesn't matter what the sport is. All right. Okay? Fine.

Okay, angry Mike? Let's get to the dead people. Okay. Oh, wow.

Because it doesn't matter who dies. They all die. Except 37 of them aren't. Okay.

Biden's corrupt pardon of death row inmates. The Biden Justice Department filed a death row penalty charge against Luigi Mangione, the alleged cold-blooded killer of health insurance, executive Brian Thompson. Mangione was already facing state murder charges for the murder committed on a Manhattan street. The only reason to pile on a capital charge for the administration that both says it is philosophically opposed to the death penalty was to impose a moratorium on execution.

The case of the execution since President Biden entered office in 2021 was to grab headlines in a case that had riveted public attention, and now just days before Biden has cynically commuted the sentence of almost all remaining federal death row inmates. Okay, so wait a second. Okay. So Biden did something with the Luigi guy?

Yes, they wanted the death put on the ticket or whatever it's called, because originally they weren't going to. Okay, they wanted the death penalty. They want the death penalty, yeah, but they want him given the death penalty. Okay, and Biden can do that.

Well, he can ask for it, yeah, I guess. Well, his Justice Department, you know, he doesn't know what's going on. Yeah, well, that's the thing, that was what I was kind of leading into. Yeah, no, he doesn't.

He hasn't been calling the shots for ages. No, no, no, but there's still somebody behind the scenes, you know, calling the shot, like, you know, saying, doing stuff in his name, as it was. Death penalty. Yeah, we need the death penalty on this one, because we need to look strong as we go out.

We will look strong. " So one for 37. Everybody who's federally on death row, except for three guys, 37 out of 40 that he pardoned. So wait, what does the pardon, what does that mean exactly?

They're not dying. Yeah, they're not, they're still staying in jail. Yeah, they call it a pardon, but it's more commuting the sentence. " So 37, you don't have to die.

" No Dai. No Dai. More ham sandwich for him. Yes.

More deviled ham. Okay. Perfect. But there's three there.

There's three. These guys are really bad. Can you imagine? Can you imagine?

No. Being... What is that? Absolutely not.

That's like an 8% chance of not being pardoned? Right. " Oh, no, not you. Not for you, motherfucker.

Not for you. No, you, you, and you, dead. You're all going to die. So, I don't know exactly what this guy did, or how do you say his name?

It's T-S-A-R-N-A-E-V, Tasnarav, is that one of the terrorists? Maybe. Allegedly. Allegedly.

Well, no, he's guilty, he's a terrorist. He was found guilty, he was not alleged. Do you know he's a terrorist, or is it by the spelling of his name? Well, if this is the guy, I think this is the guy that the Boston bombing at the race, I think it's that guy.

The marathon one? Yeah. You have an 80% chance of it being a bombing. Well, that's true.

But it was in America. It's not like he's bombed somewhere else, and we don't have a lot of bombs going off here. Okay. Because they're making it sound, naturally, this guy was left on the list, so it's got to be a big thing.

That guy didn't get a pass. Right. The others are Dylan Roof, a white racist who in 2015 murdered black worshipers at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston. Oh, I remember that one.

That's pretty bad. That's pretty bad, yeah. Against whom the Obama-Biden Justice Department sought the death penalty despite its claimed constitutional qualms, and Robert D. Bowers, the Jew-hating murderer who killed worshipers at Pittsburgh's Tree of Life Synagogue in 2018, He's also still going to die.

So hate crimes, no pass. Right, apparently hate crimes, yes. Racial hate crimes. I think that's fair.

Yeah, I don't have a problem with leaving these guys. That seems reasonable. It seems okay to me. Do you have any information on the 37 that got parted?

There was a couple of guys that had pot, there was a jaywalker. There was a jaywalker. No way. It was a high-speed chase, I believe.

It was a jaywalker. And then there was some bitcoin problems or something. Something bitcoin. It's something Bitcoin.

So the Haktua Grow, OJ, and... Right. Haktua, OJ, um... Okay, good.

All right, perfect. Nissan and Honda officials announced plans to merge and recreate the world's number three automaker. The world's number three. The world's number three.

Honda and Nissan has formally agreed to hold talks over the next six months on a possible merger, so it's not even a deal yet. Yeah. We were thinking about it. We were thinking about it.

thinking about a deal that would create the world's third largest automaker and give them more resources to compete with a growing threat from chinese car makers a third smaller japanese automaker mitsubishi which is already in an alliance with nissan will also participate in the talks so these three guys are going in together okay the combined company should be created would trail only toyota and volkswagen in global sales i don't even know mitsubishi still We made cars. Well, apparently. They're like us too. Yeah.

Us too. We went in. We wanted. Sell us.

Mergers in the auto industry are nothing new. They have taken place since the acquisition of various brands formed General Motors in the first decade of the 20th century, but they sometimes have trouble succeeding in bringing together different partners. Then this is from Nissan CEO Makoto Yuchinda. Today marks a pivotal moment.

We have an old moment. Or today. Together, we can create a unique way for a customer to enjoy cars that either company could achieve alone. Oh, neither company could achieve.

Sorry, I couldn't understand that. Yeah, it's fine, neither. Nissan has struggled since the collapse of its alliance with Renault. Those cars are really good.

What's a Renault? Renault used to be a small car back in the 80s. I didn't even know they were still around. They were with Mitsubishi.

Probably. Facing severe financial problems that put it in desperate need of a larger merger partner. So Nissan has possibly gone out, if this doesn't go through, Nissan might go bye-bye. I don't think so.

They owe a lot of money. They just filed for bankruptcy. It's the American way. Yeah, and then Biden pardons them.

Biden won't be there by then. This is six months away. Well, we better do it quick. Well, I mean, Biden can just grant them, you know.

Oh, pardons now with your son. Yeah. Oh, there you go. 10 years of not doing it.

10 years of, you know. Anything you did is fine for the next 10 years. You know what, Nissan, here's what we're going to do. In advance of the next three years, if you file for bankruptcy, You're going to be cleared of any debt and wrongdoing.

You'll be fine. It'll be okay. Blanketing statement. I would like a Renault, though.

Leave the Renault at the White House for me to leave quietly. Would drive away in one? You might not fit in one. They're kind of small.

All right, Festivus, the Seinfeld holiday focused on airing grievances is for everyone. For those folks who may be finding that holiday cheer. You know, it's kind of amazing that this holiday has become almost an actual holiday. I didn't even know this was a thing, though.

Yeah, I've never heard of this. You've never heard of Festivus? Festivus? No.

Festivus for the rest of us? No. George's dad started this, or George started it as a fake holiday to get out of work or something, and his father grabbed a hold of it and made all these rules for it. Oh, really?

How young are you guys? I have to watch this episode. Seinfeld. For those folks who made me find out a holiday, cheer is hard to come by.

There is a different alternative to the cheery decking of the halls. There is available options to celebrate a holiday that maintain a healthy dose of grumpiness. That's right, there is Festivus. December 23rd, it's Festivus, a day reserved in history for all who feel that normal holiday traditions don't quite fit the bill.

Festivus is a special holiday reserved for those more opt to want to embrace their inner bah humbug than their Christmas spirit. It is a fair guess that many of us may be in that camp than ever before. And an antidote, or at least an outlet, that may prove cathartic is Festivus. Nice.

So let's see. This is from 1997. How old were you in 1997? I was 13.

Boats? 10. The camera's not recording, by the way. What?

That's okay, that is over there, it's red and green over there. Yeah. Oh yeah, it's off. Is it, did you hit record on the?

It says recording on the screen. Okay, I can't see that far. Still no space. Not still, it's again.

It was clean right before the Sokka thing. Still no space. How long did you interview Sokka? That was three episodes ago, Michael.

No, it wasn't. Sokka went up last week. That was three episodes ago. So every three episodes it's got to be cleaned up?

Yeah. Uh, George Costanza, played by Jason Alexander, revealed that his father, played by the late Jerry Stiller, created the day to contrast the religious and commercial aspects of the traditional December holiday. Uh, but I'm trying to think what the rule, where are the rules at? Yeah, what are the rules for Festivus?

Sounds like you'd just be crumpy. You air grievances. I saw that. So you tell all your, all the people, if you have something that you complain about, you air your grievances.

Oh, that's every day for me. Yeah, I know. There's feats of strength. Okay.

They had an old guy on there who was just lifting things, and you could punch him in the stomach. Also every day for me. And then they have a Festivus pole, which is just a plain pole instead of a tree. You just stick a pole?

You stick a pole up in your living room. That's normal for me. You don't have to decorate the tree. Not a Polish person.

Oh. A metal pole. Oh. You don't have Greg come over and just stand there.

I didn't know if you were being short. No. Okay. Listen to me, if they were getting really technical, Festivus may have roots dating back as early as 1966 when Seinfeld writer Dan O'Keefe, who introduced Festivus into the plotline, first heard his father dream up the holiday.

In 66? Wow. In 1966. Festivus for the rest of us.

Festivus for the rest of us, yes. So happy Festivus, everyone. Today is the 23rd. All right.

All right, Boots, you want to do your trending fact? Don't hit the button because I haven't changed your music. Boots, trending facts. Boots, trending facts.

Hello, peoples. There it is. There it is. All right.

Last minute errands often seem to pop up on Christmas and Christmas Eve. Whether it's buying a quick present or picking up a last ingredient, many stores and offices are closed on the two holidays to give employees a chance It's time to spend time with the loved ones during the holiday season. This year, Christmas Eve falls on Tuesday, December 24th, and Christmas falls on Wednesday, December 25th. Before heading out, make sure to check the times of locally owned businesses.

Grocery stores, here they are. Albertson's Company Stores, Safeway, Albertson's, Jewel Osco, Acme, Randall's, Shaw's, Vons, and Tom Tom will be open Christmas Eve with reduced hours. Many of those banners stores and pharmacies, including Jewel Osco, Randall Shaw's, and Tom Thun will be closed on Christmas Day. Some Albertson, Safeway, Acme, and Vaughn stores will be open at adjusted hours.

The company is said to check with your local store before visiting on Christmas. How long does this read? I forgot he reads slow. Retail!

m. local time on Christmas Eve, and all stores are closed on Christmas Day. m. m.

local time Christmas Eve, but it will be closed on Christmas. Home Depot says to check with your local store, but locations will generally close at 5pm on Christmas Eve and remain closed on Christmas Day. Lowe's will be open as normal on Christmas Eve and will close on Christmas Day. Department Store and Macy's will be open from 8am to 7pm local time on Christmas Eve and close on Christmas Day.

Lowe's will be open from 7am to 7pm local time on Christmas Eve and close on Christmas. Alright, alright, that's good. We're good. You know what, I'm very proud of you for expediting that.

That was fantastic. No problem. You don't want to hear about the Postal Service? Postal service is closed.

UPS runs on selected services. There you go. FedEx and UPS close Christmas Day. Listen, Christmas and Christmas Eve have been the same for the past however many years you've been alive.

No, there were some stores on there open at Christmas that weren't usually. That was during COVID, wasn't it? No, I meant now. All right, now we got the top 25.

I just sent you a leak, Boots, because I realized I didn't give you the thing, so hit it on your phone. We start with number 25. We work backwards. Everybody knows how this works.

We say if we think it should be on the list, shouldn't be on the list, and if we've had it, and then if it's any good. Okay. Okay, do you have your clips ready? Do you connect to the board?

I am connected, let's confirm that. Yep, it's connected. Well, I'll wait till we're done. Okay.

I'll wait till we're done. And you know, but before we get into this, I want to say one simple thing. Certainly. Every year, this cigar aficionado, yada yada, loses more and more credibility.

And every year, I feel like less and less people actually care about the top 25 cigars from Cigar Aficionado. I really feel like this is no longer a thing of relevance, but let's go ahead and entertain it anyways. Have you already pre-read this? No.

Okay. I mean, I saw bits and pieces of it. Now, I asked ChatGPT if your ranking can be bought. Yeah.

Here's what it said. Yes. It said, while Cigar, it just said yes. Well, Cigar Aficionado maintains that its annual top 25 list is based on blind tasting and objective criteria, there has been ongoing speculation in the cigar community about the potential biases.

Advertising dollars, brand visibility, and relationships with manufacturers may play a role in exposure, though the magazine insists that rankings are merit-based. Now, that said, many industry insiders believe that while you can't outright buy a spot being an advertiser or having strong ties with the magazine, certainly doesn't hurt your chances of being noticed. Alright. And these are obviously not top 25 new cigars, these are top 25 of all time.

I don't know, top 25 of 24, so some of them I believe are from this year. Some of them are new, some of them are old, some of them are Cuban, some of them are we don't give a shit, we're going to do whatever the hell we want to do. Right. Right.

Alright, we're going from 25. Alright, here we go. Who do you want to read them? Do you want him to try, do you want me to do it?

Yeah, let's have Boots read them. What do you want? Yeah, let's have Boots read them. Okay, Boots, read number 25.

Number 25 is the Tatuaje Reserva Euno. Okay. Okay. I've had it.

Yeah? It doesn't stand out in my memory, though. Okay. You know, I will say this.

I think that Pete Johnson does make some great cigars, and I feel like he deserves to be on a list. On the list, yes. Yeah, I don't know if that's the cigar that I'd put on the list, but... Right.

Yeah. Go ahead. Yeah, out of all of his cigars, I think there should be others. And at number 24, the Fierro Tego Sumo Corona Gorda.

Like the space between Corona and Gorda. Corona, Gorda. Corona, Gorda. Okay.

Have we smoked this on the show, right? Do we have this upstairs? I think so. If we have it upstairs and I've had it, I don't particularly enjoy a lot of his cigars.

Yeah. But again, it's Dominican, so he's not going to like it at all. Yeah, it's Dominican. But he certainly should be on the list.

Yeah. You know, just because you don't like it doesn't mean that it's going to be acceptable for masses. Correct, correct. And I think that he's doing a lot of good things, Herklot's doing a lot of good things, and I believe that...

It's a good size. It warrants being on here, for sure. Certainly. You know, especially with his affiliation to New York and all this stuff, and Scar Aficionado, like, it fits the mold.

I don't know if he should have ranked it 24, he probably should have came in a little bit higher than that, but it feels like it's just a nod to him, you know? This was the first of his flagship brands, regular production line with Fierro Tego Summa 2023. Well, and too, like he's been making a lot of noise this year. He's working his ass off.

Right. Yeah. I like how he softened his look up a little bit with the new company. Yeah.

He's not as, you know, coat and tie and all his photos and all that kind of stuff. And even his interaction on social media is a little more lighthearted than it used to be. Okay. Ready for the next?

Yep. And at number 23, the Warped Corto X-52. Never smoked it. I think I have had it.

Yeah. It's been around since 2015. Okay. If you click on the picture, it gives you a little...

Oh, a little bio? A little bio on that cigar. Hmm. Okay.

Okay. Does it belong on the list? Boots? No.

Palmer? No, I don't think so. I don't think so either. I don't think so either.

Okay. You know, as you can kind of go through this, I think that you're going to start to see an attempt from Cigar Aficionado to start incorporating brands that actually warrant being in here. I still don't think that they've figured that out, but do you remember Austin Powers with Dr. Evil?

Yes. And before he's like, "I'm hip. I'm cool. Yeah, baby.

" That's what I feel like is going on here when I looked at this. Oh, for the, oh, that would make sense. Like, oh, there's a couple in here that, yeah, you know, so... Yeah, let's sprinkle some of the cool guys in here a little bit.

Yeah, so this is who I think I've, they're like, these guys are right, you know, Kyle or whatever. We still have questions as far as whatever his Gallus family cigar is. That was the guy we talked about last year, right? We talked about him last week.

Last week, that meant last week, yeah, not last year, yes. Well, soon he'll be last year. Soon he'll be. Soon he'll be last year.

All right, and then number 22, the one-off black and tan Robusto. Who makes this? Illusion. Illusion?

Yeah, that's Illusion. So it's Aganorsa. That means I won't like it, but it's Aganorsa. It's actually a pretty good cigar.

You sunk it. Yeah. I don't think that it's... Look, the answer is...

I'm going to tell you right now, if I got to say no to... You know, there's going to be three that are on this list. I'm going to say, okay, too. Other than that.

This brand's actually owned by Dion. Yeah. But it's not actually part of Illusion. Oh, really?

It's like a sub-brand. It's a one-off. Yeah, exactly. This is a one-off cigar.

It's a one and only. So it's kind of weird that it's on the list. I don't think it should be on the list. I don't think it should be on the list.

It's getting the same scenario. Yeah. I'm hip. I'm cool.

Number 21. Wait, I'm still talking. And they're not even saying what's in it. They won't disclose what's in it.

I don't think he He disclosed what was in it. That's what I mean. There's leaves? He didn't.

Tobacco leaves? What's wrong with that? Well, nothing. But it's just so weird that it's on the list.

We know nothing about this cigar other than who- He's very good. Who owns the company? This is good. And you can never find it again.

It's a one-off. Right. It's like if Catastrophic Failure made the list and then nobody can see it again. It'd be way better though.

Well, certainly. One-off has a complicated past. It was started in 2001 by an Italian retailer and gained a loyal cult following, especially in the United States. 2001?

One of those fans was Dion Giolito of Illusion Cigars. Fast forward to 2017, the brand ends up in Giolitos. That's probably not how you say his last name. Possession, and by 2018, a new line of one-offs were on the market.

Black and Tan is a one-offs brand to the newest spinoff and comes in only one size. Yeah. Peace. Okay.

Not much is disclosed about the cigar. We think we smoked it, but we're not exactly sure. All right, next one. LFD, Double, Leagro, Chiselito, Maduro.

Nice. Wow. What did he say? Lajero.

Say Lajero again? Lajero. Lajero. Lajero.

Lajero. Lajero. Lajero. Is that Lajero?

Chiselito. Yeah, it's Lajero. There's no hyphen. Chiselito.

So that's just a regular LFD Chisel? Been around forever? Yeah, I think it stays on the list. I mean, fortunately for them, they had the cigar for them to try, you know, realistically, LFD belongs on a list.

Certainly, certainly. But did, was there nothing new this year that could have made the list? I mean, you know, this might have been the only one they had. Their new cigar, their new cigar, I thought, was pretty amazing.

Their 30th. Unfortunately, we ordered two boxes at the show and we'll probably never get them. Yeah, I didn't even get them. He ran out of samples.

I didn't even get them. So I may have ordered more than two at the show, doesn't matter, Leo's not getting his commission on that sale anyways, so. Sure. I mean, even the, uh, what's the, uh, purple and blue one?

The purple and blue one? With the circle, with the circle, uh... Purple and blue, the McFly or whatever it's called? No, no, no, the L of D.

The Lennox? Nope. There's one more. Purple and blue.

It has like the cool, uh, box that comes in. It's like a circle. That's a Lenox. That's a Lenox.

The Lenox, the circle box. But there's a day and a nighttime window. The Lenox is a nighttime. The Sol, the Sol, the Sol, the Sol.

Isla del Sol? Isla del Sol? I think it's a Del Sol. Is it the Soltis?

I don't know. The Soltis. It's the Soltis. That one's good.

That should be on the list. Is it the summer solstis? Yeah. They make good cigars.

I don't know if this is the one that should be on the list. Yeah. But at this point, we're four cigars in and it's like, okay, let's just pick some people. Well, no, at this point, they're thinking, oh, shit, we didn't put LFD in here.

Right, that's what I mean. They're just going through the list of guys at this point. Yeah. Well, you know, I had a chisel the other day.

It's the only one the store had. I'll put that one on. Yeah. Just put it on.

All right, number 20. Number 20, Cohiba, Riviera, Robusto. Somebody came in Saturday and wanted Cohiba, but they couldn't pronounce it, and I couldn't figure out what they wanted. " You couldn't figure that out?

Well, and then he showed me a picture, like, oh, Cohiba, and he's like, yeah, and I go, so I go through the, you know, we don't have the Cuban one, whatever, he bought two of the ones in the glass tube we have up there. Oh, you gotta understand, at that point, you just give him the Cohibas. Well, I was just informing him of the brand and everything, and, you know, we have, there's a Nicaraguan and a Dominican one, there's a red and a black one, we have one of them, I'm sure, let me take a look. He must have been very nice if you explain those things to him.

Mm-hmm. Why? Because normally if somebody comes in and they say, hey, I want a Monte Cristo, I want a Romeo Giulietta, or I want a Cohiba, I'm not going to have the conversation with them. It wasn't that guy.

It wasn't that guy. Other than those two, he bought some boutique stuff. Okay. Because more often than not, that consumer is never going to be taught or wants to hear anything else.

Oh, it was a gift for someone else, the ones in the tube. Oh, okay. I would like the number 20 cigar, please. So that makes sense why you explained it to him.

Yes. Because if he came in and said, I've been smoking Cohibas for 30 years, this is the cigar I want. Right. He's looking it up on his phone, go wait, hold on, get the name, get the name, and then he goes, Kochiba.

I'm like, Kochiba. He goes, Kochiba, and I'm like, oh, Cohiba, okay, fine, we can work with this, here we go. Follow me down the road, sir, here we go. Here we go.

I don't know why that was on the list. I mean, who even makes this? Is there even a person? STG makes it.

So no really though, no person, there's not a face on it. Well, Cohiba always makes a list. Yeah, look, there's no Cohiba that belongs to them. First time the non-Cuban Cohiba has been on the list.

Is that what it says? Yeah, so they've got in trouble for having the Cuban one on there for the last several years. " You know, Sean Williams, a basketball player, probably aggressively attacked them. " Well, the non-Cuban Cohiba, they usually put a Cuban Cohiba on the list.

- Yeah, that's what I'm saying. - Right. - Sean Williams is not a Cuban, Cohubic guy. - Okay, I know, he was just on the podcast you were on.

- Yeah. - I never saw him talk. - He didn't say, uh, yeah, no, he was, he was happy. He said the weather was nice.

- I'm, oh. Sean Williams, what do you ever say about this? Well, it's really good weather here. Okay, moving on.

- The weather's nice. - In Cali. - The weather's nice. All right, uh, I don't think that would be, I don't, uh.

- No. - No. - Doesn't belong there. - Doesn't belong.

Number 19, Herrera, Esteli, Norteño, Norteño, Lonesdale. Is that just a new size? Because that cigar has been around forever. No, I don't think it's a new size.

I mean, I've smoked it. I don't think it should be on the list. I think this is just another... Hey, June State.

It's another, put the name on it. Yeah. Number 18. Wait, is this one of Willie's cigars?

This is a Willie. Willie Herrera, yeah. Yes. Oh, yeah.

Another. Now they're just doing guys. Yeah. We like Willie.

We like that. We're just doing names, just people's names. All right, go on. 601, La Bamba, Warhead X.

Hey, should be on the list. It's a good cigar. We finally got to one where we could say, okay, I get it. Right?

Right. The only thing, Aficionado messed up because it's a foot band cigar. Yeah. They should have shown the bottom of the cigar in the little circle.

Yeah, no. Then why would they do that? Right, why would they, right, somebody can't just scan down there? Yeah.

It's a beautiful wrapper. I got this tickle. Is there any other Espinosa cigar that you think would warrant above this cigar? Oh.

Who are you asking him? I'm asking everybody. I'm sure they would have been happier if it was a knuckle sandwich. I don't know how they haven't acknowledged knuckle sandwich at this point.

Right, something. Like at this point. So many to pick from. At least the Birthday Cigar.

You have a guy that taps into so many, I think all four quadrants as far as the marketing spectrum is concerned, right, who's doing, who's out there beating the drum for this brand, he doesn't need the money, you know, the guy is absolutely crushing it, if you've had a conversation with him and it's been a 30, even if it was a 30 second conversation, the guy is unbelievable, you walk away feeling like a million bucks sure he's extremely talented he knows exactly how what to say who to say very personable he gives you a he pays attention to you when you're talking to him right so because knuckle sandwich doesn't give you any money you feel like they don't warrant being on this list but we're going to give warhead the cue i mean we're going to give him a nod i got some questions you know that las provincias that newest one yeah that thing is a banger is it i still haven't had It was good. It was damn good. You know? So anyways.

I'm glad they're on the list. Yeah. They definitely need to be on the list somewhere. Yeah.

I'm hip. I'm cool. Yeah. They could.

Right, Eric. Eric belongs on there. Certainly. Next year, aficionado, can you just list it by the people's names?

Make things a lot easier for us. This one was cool. Yeah. This one is Eric's.

This one we had to get on or else he'd get mad at us. Yeah. This one is Willie Herrera's cigar. I would like.

Here's what I would like. Just their faces in the pictures. I would like just to know, you don't have to tell me the dollar amounts, but give me like tiers as far as advertising contributors to the magazine. Does Espinosa advertise?

Tier one, I think so. Tier one, tier two, tier three, something like that. Like tier three. This is how you get up in there?

Like just some type of clause. You know what I mean? That way I can at least decipher. This person is a tier three contributor to the magazine.

In the November edition, they did a big thing on Eric. Right, they did a story on him, but I don't know if he paid for that. Probably not. No.

Well, Knuckle Sandwiches, and I've seen it advertised in the pages. Yeah, he's probably paid for ad space. I mean, but he belongs in there. Certainly, certainly he does.

All right, number 17, the Plasencia Coseca, 151, musica. Coseca. Cosecha. Yeah, I think it belongs on the list, I like this cigar.

For Placencia. You've had the La Musica? The La Musica. Oh, I'm guessing that's the size.

I mean, I don't know. If it's a shorty one that's upstairs, yeah. This is a 5x50. This is all Honduran.

Do you like Honduran cigars? Or is that with the Dominican? Anyways, this is a great cigar. I have smoked this.

The 151 and the 149 are great. Okay. This vintage Pacific blend comes in a 2016-2017 harvest. I would have gone 149, personally, over the one.

I like the 149 better. Yeah, I think the 149 is a better cigar. Yeah, it is. You know, I don't know how, you have to have Nestor on this list.

Every, the Criollo 98 tobacco, every puff of the tobacco is like taking a bite of a Christmas fruitcake. Is that what it says? Christmas fruitcake. I don't even like Christmas fruitcake, but I like the cigar.

Does it make like a funny noise or something? Hey! A little fruitcake. As a chorus of baking spices, candied fruit, molasses, and walnut notes are harmonized, having a rum barrel finish to bring the whole holiday effect home.

Oh, they must have Chad GPT'd that shit. Yeah. Give me the, make it taste like the holidays. I want the holiday flavor profile, please.

The most wonderful time of the year. The most wonderful time of the year. Alright, what's the next one? Number 16, the Perdomo 30th Anniversary Sun Grown Epiker.

I don't know. Should they be on the list? No. I don't think so either.

We got to expedite this a little bit. I'm going to tell you right now. They definitely should not be on the list. We're at 16 and I'm already bored.

We do this every year. I know. It's tradition. Okay.

15, 14, and 13. I'm a solid no. Casio Magna, Romeo and Julieta, and 13. You don't like the Viva La Vida Jester?

No, but that's a nod to AJ. It's like a liquor store. It's an AJ thing. I'm cool.

Well, they had the La Bamba was made by AJ. Yeah. But not AJ's. Okay, Axum Calero Robusto.

Sorry, we're just moving along. Best Axum. The Axum. I like Axum.

Number 12. I think he says Axum. Axum. Well, we say Axum.

Yeah, but that doesn't make it right. I say a lot of things wrong on this show, and I get in trouble all the time. Our show, our rules. Okay.

Now, that was a different cigar. He just changed the name. Yeah, that was the poet guy. Yeah.

Yeah. Metapa. Metapa. This is the Metapa.

Okay. So, look. Does Nick Malolo belong on the list? I think so.

I think if they're going to add some of these other people, certainly. He 100% belongs on the list. Right. Yeah.

Okay. You're going to put this cigar. You're going to put this cigar, this number 12 cigar, Sumatra blend, And we're not gonna nod to Volstead at all. Yeah, I was gonna mention when we got to the end the lack of, you know, Roma Craft, anything.

Look. Lack of taste. Yeah, I mean, this is just a good pivot point for me to say, hey, you know, again, over and over again, it's not like Roma Craft has been around for one year. These guys have been around for over a fucking decade.

Right. And you're not gonna acknowledge them. We could tell you right now, we could call random people out of my phone and say, hey, listen, would you rather smoke the Axum or Volstead? Half the story about the cigar is the history, the historical background of the name.

Yeah. Well, yeah, that's all they have it in. That's them writing it in. You know what I mean?

Right, sure. Like, oh, here is the history of the cigar. Yeah, here is the Axum cigar. Right.

J. Fernandez. Yeah, now look, I'm not discrediting Nick because I think Nick is probably one of the greatest blenders of my generation. Which you have said it more than one time.

Yeah. This cigar in particular, I could think of three Sumatras I'd smoke over it. Yeah, it's not his best work. Yeah.

No, no, no. And it's top 12. Right. All right, we can nod the Aroma De Cuba if you want.

Okay. I've never smoked it. I haven't smoked this one, but look, it's going to be good. I'm sure.

It's Pepin. The passion box pressed. Again, there's someone I got to get another name in. It was made in Honduras.

I mean, it was not that good. But now it's a, well, I don't know. The number 10 Brickhouse? He's got to be part of the conversation.

You know what? What's really crazy about this cigar? The Brickhouse? Is that where we're at?

Yeah. It's actually a really good cigar. It's pretty decent, especially for its price point. Really?

Yeah, you know, I can't really shun that. Is it more mainstream? Yes. But the reality is, I think that it's actually not bad.

I still don't think it belongs in the top 25. Yeah, looking at, but considering that it's Cigar Aficionado, it makes sense to me. I think that for the value of the cigar, its flavor profile is pretty up there. So they're more mainstream cigars anyways.

Yeah, and now they're trying to pepper in the I'm hip, I'm cool shit. Because they're losing, I think that they lose, they lose, what's it called, relevance, I guess, yearly. Oh, I'm sure. Every year.

Yeah, it's a matter of time before they go away. At this point, I see it on the media guys. It's just more of a, oh, cigar fish, you know what I mean? Sure.

There's that whole thing. But at this point, look, Sokka's never going to be on here because he doesn't get along with the guy. Yeah, they don't like him. He says that every year.

I'm never going to be on it. They don't like him. So that goes to show you how biased, it's incredibly biased. Sure.

I didn't hear as much chatter about this even being out. It was two or three days in before I even noticed. Yeah, nobody cares anymore. Nobody cares anymore.

So it's like, you know, what's even funnier is, you know what, I can absolutely despise a person. If I don't, you know, I could disagree with everything that they represent. If they make a good cigar, I'm like, damn, that's a fucking banger. I have no problem saying that.

And this goes to show you that this is ego and, you know, tremendous bias. Right here. Certainly. Like...

They probably don't like Skip either. I mean, Saka should have at least been at 25. Right. Right.

You know what I'm saying? Well, he's not. The blue or something. He's not cool, though.

You know? It's so ridiculous. Like, hey, you know what? I can't stand you as a person.

You're obnoxious. Right. Sure. I didn't really invent cigars.

Stop saying that. We buttheads. You know, everything that you say is wrong. Right.

And everything I say is right. But you know what? That brule blue. The cigar's still good.

It's a damn good cigar. Right. All right. Number nine.

Eye of the bull. It was once the cigar of the year. Again, Fuente is going to be on the table. Cohiba Maduro, number five.

That's Cuban. I don't think Cuban should be on the list. Cubans don't belong on this list. Rocky Patel, Conviction Toro.

Got to throw a Rocky in. Yeah, exactly. And this is one of their most expensive ones. I think that's a bust.

It wouldn't be on the list. Oliva Siri V. Milano. Yes.

Yes, it belongs on the list? I think it belongs on the list, but not that high. Number six, okay. All right, it's a decent, consistent cigar, whatever.

Capartagas, Linnea, Maestro, Maestro, Maestro, Maestro, blah, blah, blah. Maestro, Maestro? I never spoke to him. Yeah, I think that's a Cuban.

Is that a Cuban? I think it's a Cuban, too. Maybe. Yeah, it says Cuba on it.

Padrón, number six. Padrón's always going to get a nod. Padrón's always going to get a nod. Sure.

I think it should be a different one, but yes. I don't disagree with the number six. I think number six is fine. Number nine is fine.

85th is fine. 50th, Toro Maduro's the one, as far as I'm concerned. Just pick one. Yeah.

Ernie's Encore. Here we are again, still trying to give this guy an acknowledgement. When it was number one, you still couldn't sell it, unfortunately. I don't know what to tell you.

I like Ernie. I think he's a good guy. You know, he's an icon in this industry. Unfortunately, even being in this number three spot, it's not going to move the needle for him.

That's unfortunate. Number two, Monte Cristo, Nicaragua. Never smoked it. Same scenario.

It's just, whatever. It doesn't belong in here. No. All right.

They've got to have a Monte Cristo on there. Okay. Cigar of the Year. Number one.

Yep. My father, the Judge Grand Robusto. The Judge. The Judge.

Okay. Now, listen. Here's the thing. Here's what really kind of frustrates me.

This whole thing is designed with them looking at unbanded cigars and identifying them. Right. They ended cigars, supposedly, they did. Okay.

Show me what other one was a 5x60 box press that rated 94 or above in the cigar fishing out of this year. There isn't one. It's just the same thing as the Andalusian Bull. So, to tell me that it's blind and there's all this shit, it's just ridiculous.

Right, yeah. The Bull's the only one that comes in that size. Yeah. You can pick that thing out.

You can smell that thing and know what it is. Completely obnoxious. But here and again, you know, they're the same guys that are always going to be in rotation, I think it should be on the list, I just don't think it should be number one. Yeah.

It's a good cigar. Yeah. All right, I'm going to play two clips for you guys, okay? Yes.

What are we looking for? Now, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on. We're blindly listening to it. Right, but for what, though?

We've got to figure out who it is. So listen, the day before all of this was released, before the number one cigar was released, I had the privilege of being on the Light 'Em Up Cigar Lounge Holiday Special. Light 'Em Up! Light 'Em Up!

Light 'Em Up! Light 'Em Up World, if somebody's looking for it. Okay. I typed in Light 'Em Up Cigar Lounge in a pop-up.

Oh, I tried that, it didn't come up, and then I found the world part and added it, and then it didn't. Okay. Now, there's going to be two comments here, one from John Huber and one from Will Cooper. Okay.

Okay. And this is not a dig towards them or an attack in any fashion. So please listen, if you're going to send them the messages and show them this, send them the link for the entire show. At least send the information that I love these guys.

They're good guys. They're, you know, they're part of the industry and they've given nothing but respect to me and I'm not trying to diss them in any fashion. Now, with that being said, I'm going to play these two clips and I'm going to ask you guys two questions and I want you to answer them for me. Okay.

Okay. Ready? Here we go. I'm going, I'm going to go with my father for number one.

I hope that's true. Okay. I'm going to back that up. I'm going to go with my father for number one.

The day before. I hope that's true. No, that's George. George.

I keep thinking, so would you think it would be the Garcia and Garcia or would it be the 40th? You know, I, unfortunately, I don't know what's been rated what during the year because I don't get the magazine or Insider, so I'm kind of shooting in the dark, but it's just the one, it's a true story, but I'm just kind of shooting in the dark that they're the one, you know, It's a name that hasn't been in the top 10, that has like a 94 or above during the year, so I'm gonna say it'll go to Pepin. I mean, truth be told, I wish they would give Pete his flowers because he's been overdue for- Well, it should be- Okay. So he says he thinks that Pete should get his flowers, that's why he should be acknowledged.

I mean, he's not wrong in that statement, right? Guy's put in his time. All right, now here's Coop. Thank you, thank you.

And I do agree with John's pick of my father, but I think it will be Lyle Palencia, or the judge. It will be one of those two. Those were the ones that got rated over the past year. Okay, so both of these guys said, hey, it's Pepin, and one of them even said, hey, it's the Judge.

So now my question to you guys is, number one, did someone give them the information beforehand that it was going to be Pepin Garcia? And number two, did somebody tell them what cigar it would be, Boots? You had to, because that cigar should not be number one. Okay, so you think that somebody gave them the information for the brand and the cigar, or just the brand being number one?

I think probably the cigar. I mean, you could get the rest off of that, right? " It's the judge. It's gonna be the judge, it's Pepin Garcia.

Because that was specific. I mean, yeah. Right. Okay, so you feel like it was both.

Okay. Palmer, what do you think? Do you think that the brand was given specifically to John Huber, or brand and the cigar, or nothing at all and he's just Nostradamus? I think Huber was given the brand.

I think Coop may have gotten an entire list released to him beforehand. Okay. I mean, it would not be out of the realm of possibilities that someone would leak the list to him. Right.

But now, Huber, maybe. Why would someone send him the list? He's not in the media, maybe just likes to know, or wants to know if he's on it or something? Don't know.

Yeah, well, but it's a small industry, right? It's very easy. Certainly, yeah. If one guy's got it, I mean, Coop's probably the only one that wouldn't share it any further.

Well, he did on the show, but he didn't say, he didn't give out the entire list, and he agreed, because now the blame's on John. John said it first, not me. Right. But if he leaks it, and whoever leaked it, you know, if he, you know, like if he did a story and put out the entire list the day before they released it or something, he would never see it again, whoever gave it to him.

Okay. Okay. So here's where I'm going with this. Okay.

All right. Hypothetically speaking. So if two guys that are not affiliated with Pepin Garcia, crown heads and media, know, we are guessing, know exactly what the cigar is, exactly who the brand is, ahead of schedule, I would safely assume at this point, you know, in my opinion, somebody at Pepin Garcia obviously knows that they're getting the number one. Right.

You don't think somebody from Aficionado might have told them? I think that they did. I mean, this list could have been done for weeks. Hypothetically, right?

Thank you for your contribution of $100,000. Okay. All right. So, hey.

Hey, I'm going to pick up the phone. Hey, guess what? Yeah, what do you got? Hey, just want you to know this is so-and-so from Aficionado.

You got the number one cigar of the year. Oh, really? Awesome. Okay.

Hey, which one is it? That's going to be the judge. Okay, cool. All right.

So now, you know, thanks. Hang up the phone. So they called Pep and Garcia. Somebody.

Yeah. They called somebody. Yeah. So I'm sure that happens.

Yeah. Okay. Okay. So now we're assuming here that the brand now knows that they're number one.

Okay. Right. Okay. So what does the brand do?

Blast it. No ramp up production. Yes. They don't have to blast it.

Yeah. They don't want to say it early. They will, of course they will, but who do you think that they would, I would assume, who do you think that they're going to say it to? The media.

No. No. They're going to feed it to the top dogs. Right?

What, is it a nanny nanny boo-boo? If you could, if you're going to take care of somebody. Right. They're going to feed their top retailers.

Sure. Right? So, hey, just so you know, I can't say anything to you. Right, you didn't hear it from me, but.

Hey, hey, so-and-so, you know, I really feel like it would be in your best interest if you bought another 20 boxes of this, right? So what does that do to your mid-level and your smaller retailers? Oh, it cuts them out. They hear about it later.

Right. " Right. Right? Okay.

How many times have we been told that? that right so why why as a small look we're talking about a small retailer a mid-level retailer if they got three of those boxes and they make the extra three four hundred bucks it makes their week sure right the 20 or 30 that goes that top retailer yeah it's just a little cherry on top for them right right so instead of helping a small or mid-level retailer allegedly you went You went ahead and you took care of your top dogs. Why, as a retailer, as a small or a mid-level retailer, why would you support a brand that doesn't have your back? Well, you shouldn't, but you still want to sell the cigar everybody's looking for.

You're not going to get it. Well, no, I mean, you might, but not in time. Right. Sure.

So, I mean, I wouldn't, if I owned upstairs, I wouldn't be hunting down the judge because it's going to be too late. Right, sure. You're hip, you're cool. What about you, Boots?

Yeah, but if I'm hip, I'm cool, it's too late. I don't know, man. I mean, my father, the judge, and the other one, what's the other one like the judge? It's like another name like that.

I have no idea. The jury. No. The court.

The prosecutor. Defendant. The defense attorney. The bailiff.

I think they made one 37 out of 40 forgiven, something like that. That was the next one. Wow. Anyways, there's two cigars from my father that I would, be a no-brainer, be put in my humidor, but I get what you're saying.

Yeah, if somebody's not gonna take care of me, then yeah, why am I gonna reciprocate? You know, I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna help them. I want to call Jack on the Patreon, I have a question. Okay.

But not on the regular show. That's fine. Okay. How can you support a brand?

How can you support a brand that doesn't have your back? It doesn't have your back. I get what you're saying, but it's not just supporting the brand, right? You're also in the business of sales.

You're not going to get the cigar in time to sell it. No, but if it's a popular brand, you might still have to carry it. Labajun is the other one, I'm sorry. Oh, the My Father Box Press, the Bayou?

Yeah. Did somebody text you? No, Labajun. No, it just came in my head.

It's a great cigar. Yeah. I mean, as a retailer, I guess you can. I mean, you can always find somebody else.

You can always find somebody else. If you're a good retailer, if you're the guy that sits at the register, you need shit that sells itself in there and you're not working nothing. But if you can educate your consumer, I mean, you know. Well, that's what I'm saying.

If you're the retailer that sits behind the register and doesn't educate your customers when they come in. Right. You just want what's going to sell. But I understand what you're saying.

I mean, why would you? But I'm betting. That's a hard one. I'm betting everybody in this list got a phone call that, hey, you're going to be number 22 on the list.

Or whatever it was. Well, just like the Oscars, they all get phone calls, they all know who's going to win before they get there. Really? Maybe they buy their spot.

How do you think they do the videos? You know, not with us tonight, you know, so-and-so, he did a video. Thank you, I appreciate it. They didn't shoot that live.

They had to send a crew out there and everything. Right. And they don't know if you're coming until they tell you you're winning. Like, you know, the Rock goes, thank you very much.

I should have won by now. I'm not going to be able to attend. I'm shooting another movie where I'm playing the Easter Bunny. Right.

So they send his crew out, and he, one, he plugs the Easter Bunny movie, because he's dressed as the Easter Bunny, and two, he does his little speech, so... He'd be a hell of an Easter Bunny. Well, I'm surprised he hasn't. He's been the tooth fairy, and now Santa Claus is his helper, so it's just a matter of time.

What's it called? Pastel 2 or something? Something like that, yeah. Yeah, when he has to shoot out the jelly beans, though, that's going to be crazy.

Right, hippity-hoppity Easter's on its way. He's got a gun that shoots jelly beans. Someone's abducted the Easter Bunny. Right, exactly.

And he's got to find him? He's got to fill in and find him. He's got to fill in and find him. Right.

That's incredible. Well, they dress up, who's the little comedian who's really good friends with? Kevin Hart. Kevin Hart.

Kevin Hart is the Easter Bunny. He has to be the Easter Bunny. The Rock goes and saves the film. That'd be perfect.

And it's Shaq Black. The three of those worked great. Okay, hold on. I gotta bring this back.

So bad, yeah. I gotta bring this back real quick to close out on this. Well, why are you asking? So, okay, tell us why.

Here's why. Because, look, at the end of the day, this is what I think is what's fragmented in this industry. is it is designed where top retailers are fed from these top brands. Sure.

And it's never going to change until mid-level retailers and smaller retailers take their time and investment and learn what actual good tobacco is and the craft. Right. Right. Sure.

And it's unfortunate to me to see this because, you know, I've experienced it over a decade at this point. And it's just like, yeah, big shocker. Right. And I don't know.

It's humoring. It's kind of humorous to me that it continues year in, day in, day out. It's the same shit. I haven't – look, I have no disrespect to Pepin Garcia.

The guy has built a huge brand. He's extremely successful. He makes great cigars. Right.

They're not in this humidor. No, we don't carry them here. We don't have them. Do you guys don't have my father?

No. We get asked all the time. We don't carry him. You used to.

Not all the time. I wouldn't say that we get asked all the time. Not all the time, but we do get asked. But that's not the only brand he asks.

Some people, you know, all cigars don't sell in all places, which is something that doesn't work here. You have the other one though. Aroma De Cuba? Yeah.

Yeah, through Ashton. Oh, okay. So it's a different carrier. So it's not, for me, it's just like, eh, I could show you a bunch of different other things.

Sure. You can find something else. Things that I think are way better. Well, yours, your shop is, okay, you're, you're a mid-level guy, right?

Sure. So, but you're a different type of mid-level shop, right? You're not just a cigar shop, you're a cigar lounge and, you know, online retailer. You have way more knowledge.

So when you come into this place, it's different, right? It's, take me on a journey, show me what's going on, show me the different cigars, Show me the things I should be smoking and not what everybody's telling me is the best, but what really is the best by my taste buds, not by, you know, by my palate, sorry, not by, you know, a magazine or whatever, you know, it's a different type of shop. When you go into some of these other shops, they're just like, yeah, the cigars are over there on the shelf. Yeah, but that's kind of my point, right?

And you got the knockers with them. So it's kind of, it's both sides, right? Like, you should take care of the retailers that are actually invested. There are plenty of cigars.

There are plenty of mid-level retailers that are working their ass off that are invested. You know, one that pops in my head, Cigar Den Nick. All the time, man. That guy is working his ass off.

He's on social media. He's always at his shop. He's in tune with brands. You know, like, and I even saw a post where he's excited about having the judge.

I'm like, oh, okay. But, you know, I guarantee you he didn't get a call. I guarantee he didn't get a read between the lines of, hey, just so you know, you're going to need 20 of these. Maybe we can call him on the Patreon, find out if he got a call.

I mean, I'm happy to call him at any time. But my point is, we have reason to believe that this information is leaked out prior to. Certainly, right? Because of those two interviews.

I mean, just those two interviews, those two statements. Coop is very specific. Those two statements just. Yeah, Coop was very.

On page 12 of the release I got yesterday, it says. How many judges have you smoked Coop? Those two statements are just an example of all of the things that I've heard in the past. They just so happened to happen.

John covered himself a lot better than Coop did. Yeah, he was very fumbly. " It's the judge. Pepin did a great job.

It's the judge. Right. I'm smoking it right now. It's just comical to me, man.

And I think that it's a big portion of what's wrong with this industry, and that's the reason why Cigar Aficionado continues to lose its viewership every year. Well, this list is a bunch of bullshit anyways. 100%. Sure.

There's maybe four cigars on the whole fucking list that you could say, yeah. Yeah, exactly. That should be in the top 25. All right, let's wrap this up because we're running late.

All right, Chap of the Week is Cigar Club Manila. Okay. And Listener Week, we've never, I don't think, made this man a Listener of the Week. Really?

Mr. Skip Martin. Oh. Really?

I don't think we've ever made him a Listener. Never made him a Listener. I don't believe so. Skip Martin, Listener of the Week.

I mean, die-hard fan. Die-hard, avid listener from the beginning of both shows. Yeah, from the jump. Right.

He's a great listener. And a great friend. Yes. Yes, he is.

And his cigar should have been on Top 25. Something should have been on there. I just don't understand how it wasn't. It never is.

It's because of cigar politics, and it's all bullshit. Right. It's crazy, man. There's not even a Room 101, there's nothing on there.

No. All right, we gotta go, we got people upstairs. All right, thanks. All right, bye.

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Show Notes

In this jam-packed episode, we kick things off with trending topics: the Dallas Cowboys squeak by Tampa with a nail-biting 26-24 victory, President Joe Biden commutes the death sentence for 37 of 40 federal criminals, and Nissan and Toyota discuss a merger that could make them the third-largest automobile retailer in the world. Plus, it’s Festivus! We share some grievances and take a look at who’s open on Christmas Day.

Then, we dive deep into Cigar Aficionado’s Top 25 Cigars of 2024, breaking down the list and sharing our thoughts on the year’s hottest smokes. Don’t miss it!