Cigar Hustlers Podcast Episode 372 Big Moves and Bold Moves: This Week's Trending News, Sports, and Cigars

Transcript

Welcome to the Cigar Hustler Podcast, the show brought to you, commercial, But a massive shout out to our amazing patrons on the Patreon. Thanks to your unwavering support, we're able to do unfiltered, unbiased opinions. All things cigars, 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 the Cigar Hustler Podcast. Welcome to Episode 372, The Story of ACHP. One sunny day in Deltona, Florida, there was a fun show called ACHP.

The show was recorded live at Mike and Mike Production Studio. It was a special show where cigars, business, and life all came together. On the show, there were two hosts named Mike Steponkevich and Mike Palmer. They talked about cigars, they told cool stories, and they made everyone laugh.

They always shared fun secrets about the cigar world, and the only insiders knew. And then there was me, Boots. I was a sound and video engineer. For the show, I made sure everything sounded great and looked great on camera.

People would always hear me say that Boots is spelled B-O-O-T-S. " And that's exactly what everyone did. They relaxed, listened to funny stories, and had a great time on ACHP's show. It's not any longer than the other one.

The end. That was terrible. That's a long... All right, we're gonna scrap that.

Super long intro. Well, I wrote it on a... It was a first-grade reading book level. It'll be the first and last time we do that one.

It's out the door. Oh, okay. So what cigar are we doing on the Patreon today, Michael? Today, we are gonna be reviewing the Mirafel.

Which one? Which Mirafel is this? The Mirafel. No, there's cartoons on the back.

They're all gold. Oh, that's the long one. What is this? This doesn't say anything.

That's the same thing, it's on the box. It's Meerapfel under the name there. It's the Ernest. The Ernest?

This is the Meerapfel Ernest, and it's the Lonsdale. It's in the cartoon? I just realized it was a cartoon on the back. Yeah, because each individual is like, yeah, this is the story of Ernest.

Oh. Here's a story. He didn't mention it. We're big on stories this week, apparently.

Oh, we love stories. Yes. Of a lovely lady. All right, here's a recap of this week's Trending Stories.

Oh. Trump and Columbia are sparring over migrant reparation flights. Politics never take a day off, Michael. Mm-hmm.

Super Bowl 2025, teams are officially locked in. Who's ready for the big game? They're locked. I have my comments on that.

Uh-oh, Circle K in Ohio accidentally put diesel in the unleaded tanks. They're in so much trouble. They are. And finally, the Philadelphia Eagles' Saquon.

Saquon? Yeah, not Saquon. He said it right. Clark Lee melted hearts with his pregame ritual, a special handshake with his daughter.

Oh. And then in turning to the world of cigars, here's a roundup of what we're going to be talking about. Well, here's what's the buzz. Crown Heads is kicking things up a notch, revamping the iconic mule kick in 2025.

C. Newman sparks excitement with the release of the El Baton Cameroon firecracker. Oh, the El Baton. El Baton.

General Cigars expands the El Rey Du Mundo line. Oh, I like that cigar. Villager is debuting the 1888 Nicaraguan Blending Tradition with a bold Nicaraguan flair. And then James Flores Estrada is joining Global Premium.

The guy from Chips? Does he come out on every fucking title that you say? Apparently. I mean, jeez, Louise.

That's his new thing, I guess, now. Stop! And cigar legend Michael Gianni has officially joined Perdomo Cigars in an epic match made in tobacco heaven. has entered the portal.

Let's light it up and get started with the trending news. All right. Donald Trunk, Donald Trunk, Donald Trunk, Donald Trunk, that's his cousin, Cousin Trunk, Donald Trump claimed an early victory for a cohesive foreign policy based on tariffs and hard power on Sunday after announcing Columbia had backed down in a dispute over migrant reparation flights. S.

ally in his most overt attempt yet to make an example of a nation that crossed him to assert dominance in the Western Hemisphere. Okay. Did you hear what he did? No.

Well, we sent three planes. Yeah. I don't think this is covered in the actual description of the story. We sent three planes.

Okay. Insider News. " We cannot take these. Cannot take these.

We will not take these people back. It is not going to happen. Nope. Sorry, no refunds.

Right. S. military flights carrying undocumented migrants from landing in a hitch for the mass deportation operation meant to honor one of Trump's most highly profiled campaign promises. But these are your people.

But these are your people. Right. But we don't want them. They're criminals.

Sorry, no CODs. Yes. No returns. No refunds.

You buy, you keep. Okay. So, Trump said, oh, then 25% tariffs, none of your ambassadors or diplomats can come to America. Oh.

Yes. Really? Really? What else?

There was a third thing. What was the third thing? Can we get all your cigars for free? We lose you at...

Colombian cigars? And no more Colombian Bam Bam comes into America. Oh, man. That's gonna put a hitter in some boots on Saturdays.

Oh, no. After hours of tension, but then six minutes later. Yeah. Just six minutes, Michael.

Within six minutes? Trump's phone rings. Ring, ring, ring, ring. I'll send my own plane to pick them up.

It's fine. You know what? Don't worry. I just don't want the big C-130s coming.

Get them out of here. I will send my private jet. Pick people up. Bring them back.

Yay, everybody good. No tariffs, please. Is that Trump's? No, that was the Colombian guy.

Oh. He just went. The Colombian guy sent his private plane. Yes.

Okay, I thought you said Trump. Do you think he, like, what do you think he does over there? He's just kind of, you start talking. You start talking, he's just going, what, plane, plane?

Where is plane? The plane, the plane. Well, you know, hey. Allegedly, Trump just went, Biden left yesterday.

Or four days ago. Hey, just so you know. There's a new sheriff in town. I just want you to know that, oh, no, you won't accept my return policy on these.

I have my receipt. But I can show you, they're from you. These are your people. No document in America.

It reminds me of Godfather 2. You ever see Godfather 2? I've seen all the Godfathers. So, you know, young...

Michael Corleone. Yeah, but no, it's not Michael Corleone. It's young Robert De Niro. Oh!

He's the... I can't even think of his name, the Corleone that he was. He was... De Niro?

Yeah. He wasn't Michael. No. Pacino was.

Michael was Pacino, yes. Help me out, Boots. Who was the guy? Yeah, you can talk now.

Or you can Google it. He's like, "Fuck you guys. " Yeah, well, you guys are talking. I gotta do the cameras.

Switching cameras. There's a plane. What plane? He can't do more than one thing at a time.

Keep talking back and forth. You gotta keep switching. So many things. So many things.

Switching cameras. Switching cameras. Switching cameras. So, he went to go.

He tried to argue with the rent. Okay. " Right. And then the guy got upset about the dog and he lost his mind.

And then he comes back later on in the week and he's like... Vito. Vito Corleone. Vito Corleone.

It says, "The rent stays like a before," and Vito, that's legit what it sounded like, and then Vito looks at the guy that he was working with or whatever, and he goes, "You know what, I'll even lower it," you know, I feel like that's kind of what went down here. " Oh, well then, 25% tariffs, and nobody can leave. Yeah, by the way. Okay, we'll keep it.

You know what, I think that we just It had the translation error there. I didn't quite understand, I think. Yeah, what I said was, I didn't want your planes. Oh, I see.

I'm going to send my own plane to get them. Well, that works for us, too. Do you think it has some kind of chamber that just dumps them out? I saw a picture of the plane.

It looked like a regular DC-10 with Colombian stuff on the side. Columbia. Yeah, Columbia stripes for the flag and the word "El Presidente" on it. Here we come.

El Presidente. He's the president of Colombia. And so he used his own... He said his own...

Yeah, the picture was his legit plane, like his version of Air Force One. That's got to be the best feeling for those illegal immigrants. Right. Oh, look, very nice.

Look, we go home in style. We should... They're Chinese again. They're Chinese.

Yeah, Chinese. We should do this again. We should do this. We should do this.

We can't get in now. We got a wall. Yeah. Oh, no, it didn't.

No, come on. It's on the wall. I'm sure, but it's not done. He sent people down.

It's probably going to be a lot quicker. It's 3D printing now. It's 3D printing. It looks like the wall they put around the city in the zombie movie.

That's what it looks like. Yeah. The giant metal wall. That's what it looks like.

Exciting news. Exciting news. Send them back, right? Send them back.

No, you don't want me to get them? Okay, okay, okay. Right, that's the new American slogan. Send them back.

Send them back. Hashtag, send them back. You think it's going to be like a Wolf of Wall Street type? We're not fucking leaving.

I'm not fucking leaving. I'm not fucking leaving. I mean, I gotta be honest. S.

military and not get on the plane? I gotta be honest. I mean, if you go back, you're gonna die anyways, right? How so?

Well, they're criminals. Well, they're criminals. I mean, it's not like they're just gonna put them in with society. Dude.

Open the door, let them out, here they come. Welcome. Welcome home. Welcome back.

We missed you. Welcome. You want your job back? I gotta be honest.

I was bank robber before? Oh, okay. Perfect, perfect, perfect. Perfect.

Just don't tell Trump. I gotta be honest, I would not want to leave. I wouldn't want to leave. Well, no, I mean, they're here for a reason.

You know, I'd almost take, like, death by cop or something. You know what I mean? Like, I don't want to go back. Oh, you want to just place this way too nice?

Well, we already had them all corralled up. They were on C-130s before. Yeah. You think a lot of them, like, flee to, like, Alaska or South Dakota so that they can't be found?

Oh, at that point I'd accept Columbia. Yeah, they're from Columbia. I don't know how, they don't want to go to Alaska. I'm not going South Dakota.

South Dakota, I'm done. See all these Colombian Eskimos? Yeah, it's not like the C-130s landed and they all scattered. Oh, now we got to find them again.

Hide and seek time. All right, moving on. All right, the Super Bowl bound Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles is always, it's always the Chiefs. It's always, always, always the Chiefs.

Kansas City, I'm just reading the story. Kansas City's quest for the first Super Bowl, three-peat is alive and well after a 32-29 win over the Bills, and it happened in the way it often does, in clutch, nail-biting fashion, powered by Patrick Mahomes. They cheated. They cheated.

They cheated. You always say they cheated. Boots. Listen, I don't care if they cheated.

I'm so glad they beat the Bills. What? I'm sorry. That's not nice.

I'm sorry. Down to hearf guys are crying. That's not nice. They're so mean to me on text messages at times when the Dolphins are playing the Bills, you know what?

Back at you guys. This is what you get. Kansas City will face a familiar foe in Super Bowl. The Eagles are also headed to the big game after 55-23 blowout of the Commanders that saw Philadelphia set one record after another.

Yeah, that was kind of a crazy game. I just, the Kansas City game was obviously on at the house, but I wasn't. Listen, listen. How did they cheat?

What did they cheat to do? What did they do this time? Oh, there's a big conspiracy. There's a bunch of stuff.

It's a bunch of stuff. There was a catch that didn't happen that hit the ground that they counted as a catch. There was a fourth down that there's a third down that the Bills completed that they didn't count as a third down. And then they went for a fourth down that they completed that they didn't count as a fourth down.

So that was a turnover. I mean, look, I get it. I understand why the NFL wants it for ratings and stuff. But now I'm going to be a contributing factor to the non ratings.

And I'm going to watch like Sound of Music or something. I'm not watching the Super Bowl. So you don't want to come over and watch the ball? I'm not watching the Super Bowl.

I'm out. I'm out. It's not happening. I'm not going to do it.

I don't see anything on Instagram how you had the Super Bowl party. I don't care. You won't see anything. You know what?

I'm going to throw a party. I'm going to throw a party on Super Bowl Sunday. Right. And I'm not going to watch the Super Bowl.

We're going to watch something else. We're going to watch... You might not want to call it a Super Bowl. How the Grinch Stole Christmas or something.

I'm going to call it something. Yeah, don't call it a Super Bowl. No. You know what we're going to watch?

What are we going to watch? We're going to watch Gladiator 2. Yeah, I'm coming. It's going to be more suspenseful than the Super Bowl.

I watched it. It's terrible. I don't need to see Patrick Mahomes win another one because the refs let him win. This will be the first repeat ever.

First repeat. Did you see Dave Portnoy lose his mind on Barstools? No, I didn't. Oh, yeah.

He's mad too. It's rigged. It's totally rigged. I have no respect for the NFL.

No, it's like wrestling. That's pretty much what it is. I love wrestling. Yeah, everybody loves wrestling.

It's pretty much what it is. Everybody loves wrestling. I don't love... Do you think maybe football has always been rigged, it's just now more obvious?

I think that there's a reason why to skew it now. And it's all about ratings. Well, it's always been all about ratings. High multi-billion dollar business.

Yeah, they want to make money. Yeah, of course they're going to do something. And it's going to be on 2B. The only way that the Chiefs will lose the Super Bowl is if we all get together as a nation and we all bet on the Chiefs to win.

Because Vegas would not let that happen. Oh, now you can't leave. Right. Hey, listen, you know, we got a lot of money on the Chiefs here.

That's the only way. Yeah. That's the only way. Well, place your back.

But they got, I don't have enough money for that. Well, not one. I'd have to get, it's like, it's like, you know, the statement. Would you please take one Marifel cigar on the line?

You know what I got. It's the Estevez. The what? It's like, you ever, like back in the day, you used to get like these massive emails where, let's all get together and let's not get gas, you know?

Right, right, that never worked. Yeah, exactly. It's the same thing. You can't, you can't.

Let's all bet on the Chiefs and nobody's gonna bet. Right, you can't get everybody to bet on the Chiefs. No, you can't get everybody behind anything. Yeah.

You remember everybody did that one time with the gas thing? Yeah, they've done it more, yeah, don't anybody buy Doritos today. No, I'm saying, what'd you say, like, I don't think, what happened? People still bought gas.

I feel like he doesn't hear us when we talk. He's doing his own show. It's incredible. It's incredible.

I just said that whole thing. No, I know. I'm just capping off. He's asking.

He doesn't realize that really happened. Oh my God. It's like with the Pelicans. Or the- Pay attention!

Sorry. It's like with the Starks. It's like with the Starks. You guys are talking back and forth so much and my fingers are going ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding.

And then the cigar, I don't even notice. He's over there like he's got a paintball gun going- You gotta pay attention. I must be sneakiness. Sneaky, sneaker.

Yeah. It was in Kansas City, though, where Mahomes was superb again. No, he wasn't. Trailing by one early in the fourth quarter, Mahomes rumbled in from 10 yards out for a touchdown and threw the two-point conversion to Justin Watson for a 29-22 Chiefs lead.

Rumbled in. After that, Josh Allen answered with a touchdown drive of his own. Mahomes led a quick field goal drive, making it 32-29, Chiefs. And there it would stay.

Fallon failed to convert on fourth down, Mahomes threw first down passes to Kareem Hunt, and Samajay Perrine to seal the win. Say what you will about the Chiefs' close game performance, they've won 16 straight single possession games. Yeah, the refs help them. It's ridiculous.

The reason they win so many of them is that they're good at those narrow margins, despite the imperfections. Mahomes is a stone-cold killer with his legs. Two rushing touchdowns for the first time in his career. And his arm.

And his arm. And his arm. And Andy Reid knows how to use both aspects. With Travis Kelsey blanketed, Mahomes relied on other options.

He looks like a walrus. Xavier Worthy, whom the Bills passed on in the draft, had 101 total yards and a touchdown. Look, the Bills also passed on Patrick Mahomes. Well, they really stayed.

In the draft. They traded the draft pick. Apparently he knows a lot of referees. No, no, no.

The 10th pick, they traded to the Chiefs for three other picks, so they could have had Mahomes, but they were doing the whole Tyrod Taylor thing at that point. Well, Michael, you might be tired of the Chiefs. You might think they're lucky or favored by the refs or annoying or whatever, but this is an unprecedented run headed by an all-time great quarterback and an all-time great coaching staff. No, it's not.

A team that makes big play after big play and never blinks when the other team closes its eyes and hopes it's unreal. The Eagles, on the other hand, had no need to bite their nails. No. They too were busy running around over and through an overwhelming Washington defense.

Yeah, they did. They did. Dequan Barkley scored a 60-yard touchdown on Philadelphia's first play. He did.

And that was just a start. That makes me happy too. That makes you happy? It does.

I don't even like the, I hate the Eagles. The Eagles. You hate the Eagles. You were enjoying watching the Commanders play last week.

Yeah, but I'm enjoying Saquon just totally making the Giants eat Crow for the fact that they let him go. The 55 points are a conference championship record. Really? That the team scored.

Wow. They scored 55? I stopped watching. The seven rushing touchdowns, three from Barkley who fulfilled a promise, three from Jalene Hurts, and one from Will Shipley.

Jalen Hurts? That's what it says. Jalen. Maybe it's Jalen.

It's not. That's not how he identifies. It's Jalen. Actually, you're not allowed to identify like that no more.

Wait, that's over. That's over. Can't do that now. No more.

We got rid of that. Only two now. Only two. We've eliminated that.

One flag, two genders. That's all we got here in America. It's a shame. I wanted to be a cat, too.

I was coming out. Can't be a cat. Tyrannosaurus Rex. Can't be a cat.

The ground game was overpowering. And the officials nearly gave Philadelphia points before it actually scored a wild little-known rule. What was it? Oh, yeah, the "unparalleled pardon" or something like that, something crazy.

What? Explain this, because I just read it earlier. Okay, so what happens is if a person continues to do the same penalty over and over again and they can't advance, like you lose a quarter of an inch to a quarter of an inch, you know, because you're at the one-yard line. Oh, okay.

" Oh, the defense made the same. Yeah. Ah. Well, that's strategy.

Well, you know, like, that's like, you know, you have to have that, it's a weird rule. Yeah, you have to have it, or they'll just keep doing it. Well, you have to have it because, let's say a person, you know, is streaking down the field, and they catch a deep ball, right, and then someone on the sidelines just steps in and tackles them, right? Like, it's not, the ball isn't dead there.

If the guy was clearing, apparently going to run a touchdown, you have to. Oh, because a fan. So it's like an interference call. Yeah, yeah, so it can be used kind of universally, like, hey, what you're doing is not, you know, you're kind of hacking the system here, so you can either A, stop it, or B, we're going to just give them the touchdown.

Yeah. Go ahead and explain it, though. Go ahead and explain it? Did it say what it was about?

No, no, it doesn't say that. Oh, yeah, yeah. This is, you know, not the way this works, and I can't forward or reverse very well. Oh, okay, so it's gone?

I can't. No, no, it's right there. It nearly gave Philadelphia's points before it actually scored a wild, little-known rule. The Eagles also forced four turnovers, none bigger than one late in the third quarter.

There's nothing going on over here. I'm not smoking. Washington, I said you ashed yourself, I said nothing about smoking. Yeah, I just like to throw, I bring ashes everywhere I go.

I just throw them. Right. Religious thing for you. Yeah, that's exactly what it is.

Washington trailing 34-23 was driven when Owen Burks punched the ball out from Austin Eekler. He punched it? Eekler. E-K-E-L-E-R.

Eekler! How do you say it? How else would you pronounce it? Eekler.

Does nobody have a long vowel in their name? There's no two E's. It's not Eekler. Eekler.

There's an umlaut over his name. He's doing the key and pill version. Yes. Zach Vaughn.

He has no idea what that is. I know who those guys are. Do you? Have you ever seen that?

No, I haven't seen what he just described, but I know who they are. They used to do the Good Burger. Okay. Good Burger?

Good Burger? Oh my God. They didn't do Good Burger? I'm glad nobody really caught that.

All right, a fuel mix up at the Avon Circle K damaged cars. When we're done here, I'll show you the clips. Okay. Of Key and Peele, not Keenan and Kel.

Oh, Keenan and Kel and Good Burger. Oh, so I thought that's what you said. No, Key & Peele. Key & Peele, is that one person?

No. Two different people? There's an N in the middle. Like a cut in light?

Yeah. Ah, okay. Several drivers who refilled their tanks at an Avon gas station in Ohio got the wrong type of gas. Really?

The mix-up happened in January, at January, on January? At January? Well, this is, you know, I don't write these, I just read them. January 19th at the Circle K along Chester Road when diesel fuel was inadvertently poured into the underground storage tank for unleaded gasoline.

He's gonna shit when he realizes it's shit. It doesn't work there. No, it doesn't really. No.

And vice versa, according to a Monday statement from a Circle K spokesperson. At Circle K, we guarantee and stand by the quality of our fuels. However, issues sometimes arrive, and customers should report them as soon as possible to us for review by our claims department. " How fast does it fuck up your car?

Oh, instantly. I mean, I read the thing what it does, but I don't know how fast. So, maybe they start it up, and poof. Yeah.

You can't start it up. No, you can probably get down maybe like a mile down the road or so. Oh, okay, so you do get out of the gas station. Yeah, I would assume that you leave.

'Cause 14 people have filed claims. Well, they probably didn't realize that until they got it to a mechanic. I'd like to... Oh, yeah, it could be.

Oh, do you know you have diesel fuel? It probably still runs. This runs really bad. The car troubles experienced by some customers who purchased fuel at our location in Avon on January 19th resulted from fuels being delivered inadvertently into the wrong underground storage tanks.

Otherwise, it's not our fault. We fucked up. We fucked up real bad. No, the guy with the truck didn't.

Yeah, that was the guy. But it's okay. He's on the C-130. We sent him back to Columbia.

It's gone. He's back to Columbia. He's not Colombian. We don't care.

We added a few people in the back. This guy, he doesn't know the difference between diesel and, you know, standard option gas. He can't read. He can't even read.

Now, you can't put a diesel thing in an unleaded car. Correct. You would think it would be the same way when they are unloading from the truck. You can't get the diesel fitting to go into the unleaded tank.

The tanker is the tanker, though. That's not how the child people make it. It's just a big tube. I know.

What I'm saying is they should make different size fittings for that, too, so this would not happen. Listen, do we have to fucking idiot proof absolutely everything in this country? It says on a car battery, don't drink the fluid in the thing, so yes we do. I'd like to walk some of this back and start weeding some of these people out.

Wait, wait, wait, it says on the car battery, don't drink the fluid? I'm sure it does, it says on all that kind of stuff, don't do that. You should not put that on and just let them drink it. I mean, the fact that McDonald's coffee has to say hot is just obnoxious.

Well, they got sued for a lot of money. They got sued for a lot of money. That's what I'm saying. It didn't used to.

Yeah, it's ridiculous. right look wish i would have been that first guy the sad it was a lady of you oh the sad part is that common sense is not so common is all it's not oh it's not it's all i'm saying common sense is not coming yeah you know i'd like coffee oh it's hot oh how did that happen sbi is going to be our next cigar instead of sbc right surrounded by idiots oh you know i mean i'm gonna talk about you obviously you're very smart man you know i have a lot of common sense you know i might not I'll be really smart, but I have a lot of comments. Oh, the guy over here repeats the story after we just explain everything, just saying, you know. He probably doesn't know that coffee's hot.

As soon as we became aware of the situation, we shut down the fuel pump. Shut it down. Shut it down. Hit that red button on the other side of the building.

Some guy's going, I've always wanted to hit that button. Yeah, I didn't even know what that was for. It says, in case of fire, hit button. Emergency shutoff.

Yeah, emergency shutoff. Hold on to your books. Does it, does it have like the thing with the fire alarms? Like when you, when you take them down, it splurts out like some little red stuff on you so you never hit it?

I don't think so. I didn't know that happened on a fire alarm. Yeah. Man, that's epic.

Well, yeah, keep it on him while he's dying. That's smart. We apologize to any customers affected by this issue and we are working to assist them with their claims. In the meantime, we have removed and replaced the fuel in the affected storage tanks and our bumps are once again operational.

Our bumps. Yeah, somebody bumps. Says Chris Barnes, Director of Communications. I'd like to file a claim.

Where was this? Ohio. Can I pull that off? Probably gotta have a receipt.

We can make that. I could Photoshop. I could AI that. We could make a receipt.

Yeah, I could rock that. That's probably right. So they probably had to suck all that gas back out. Yeah.

And then there, I would imagine, there's gotta be some type of cleaning process or something. Yeah, all that's toast. Because there's residue and stuff, right? Yeah.

That's bad. Oh, yeah, they just have to dump all that. You can't, like, you know, put it back in the other one. Yeah, and I gotta be, I got news for you.

I think that Circle K is gonna have to bite the bullet on that as well. You gotta figure, I think, I'm not positive, but I think a full, if they took a full tank, it's like 8,000 gallons. Right, and there's always some left in it, so I mean, they can't reuse it. I think that, but let's say it was 7,800 gallons of diesel or something like that.

Right. And what, diesel, you sell it for, what, five bucks a clip or something like that, five bucks a gallon? 340. 40.

I was going to say. 40 a gallon right now? It's under $4, I believe. Wow, that's impressive.

20-ish? Well, wouldn't it be on the distributor? Depends on who's sending the gas. No, because I think once it's in the tank, that's it.

Yeah, you're right. I mean, the distributor. The distributor, the guy with the truck who fucked up. Yeah, so realistically, they usually have a deal with two or three distributors.

Sure. Or maybe it's just one. Right. And that guy blew it.

So yeah, the truck company is going to - Yeah, it's up to the trucking company. Unless that's owned by Circle K too, unless they have their own peoples. Well, it probably falls on their insurance too. But it's got to fall on the insurance of the truck driving company.

Right. Unless it is all owned by the same people. Right. Errors and emissions.

When you see our Circle K next door, the truck that shows up does say Circle K on it, but that could just be part of the deal. Yeah, wear our sticker. Yeah, it still could be from Uncle Ed's gas. It's probably their own trucks.

It isn't like Uncle Ed's gas. Well, but I'm not thinking they make their own gas, so it's gotta be picked up somewhere. Yeah, they pick it up from the bay, from the docks, and they fill their tankers there. The refinery.

Yeah. Right. I guess you're right. If anybody from Circle K is listening and would like to let us know how this works, please feel free.

Or if Sarah can Google it and look it up and tell us, that'd be fun too. I was trying to get a Buffalo police officer on the phone with us. The company is now helping 14 customers who have filed insurance claims. Lucky it's only 14.

Right. It's not that big a number. It'll probably grow. I guess, yeah, I mean, who knows how fast they, you know, found out.

It could have been days. Yeah, there are people that are having car problems that are just so stubborn and just figure... They don't, yeah, they don't even realize this. I don't know what the hell's wrong with this damn thing.

What kind of gas you put in a car, honey? That's why you gotta always do 93 octane, you know? The high-end? That's really expensive.

Yeah, well, you wouldn't have had any diesel, I could tell you that much. Mike Carr doesn't like that kind of gas. No? No, I don't like to spoil it.

Yeah, it's silly. Silly. I had to buy it the one time, because that was all the gas they had that one time I did. Wah!

Just running around like crazy. I feel so much better. Turbo. I feel so much better!

You put a turbo. Philadelphia Eagles Saquon. Did I say his name? Yeah, now you got it.

Saquon Barkley. Are you gonna die? Uh, there's something on my throat. I'm choking, I don't know what it is.

You go ahead. Go ahead. Focus on me. Take a sip of your drink.

Philadelphia Eagles' Saquon Barkley shares a special handshake with his daughter, who is six years old, at the NFC Championship game. Saquon Barkley always has time for his daughter, even right before a very important football game. On Sunday, January 26, just before the running back, 27 and the rest of the Philadelphia Eagles faced off against the Washington Commanders in the NFC Championship game and secured their spot in the 2025 Super Bowl. Barkley took a moment to greet his kids and girlfriend.

Oh. , two, and girlfriend, Anna Congdon, could be seen approaching him on the sidelines. " And the pair launch into a prepared sequence completed with kisses on a cheek and a peace sign. Nice.

Would you like us to do the handshake? I actually have a handshake with my daughter. We do it. No, we could do the one.

No, you're not my daughter. No, Saquon's handshake. You want to do it with Saquon's daughter? That's weird.

No, with you. No, it has to be a father-daughter thing. Are you calling me a daughter or are you calling you a daughter? Yes, you're my daughter.

It's kind of like a father-son. Okay. No. Nope.

Palmer's old enough. Funny thing is, Barkley then bent down to hug Jada, who wore a white puffed coat with an eagle sweatshirt underneath. Yeah. I love you, daddy.

She can be heard telling the running back. Yeah. It's a little slow. Although he didn't have quite as involved a handshake for his son.

He's two. Barkley put his face up to Squan Jr. and also gave Congdon a kiss. My dog.

Hold on. Listen. Are we really going to judge this guy because of the fact that he didn't have an elaborate handshake with a two-year-old than he did with a six-year-old? I'm judging it, I'm reading the story.

I'm just, but that's what it sounds like. Well, if he's two years old, then maybe, but I mean. What do you expect? He could have done something just to make him feel included, you know, a high five.

No, he just gave him a hug and a kiss, but the daughter was like, boom, boom, boom. Yeah, she's six, she's in, you know, she's dialed in. He probably, the two-year probably has his own cell phone by now. No, he doesn't.

I bet you. It's ridiculous. He definitely has his own laptop. I will tell you.

He has his own iPad. Here's what's amazing. The fact that this guy appears to be a great dad, a hard worker, a NFL, a great teammate, and the New York Giants sent him fucking packing. They're like, you know what?

You gotta get out of here. We don't need you here. We're done with you. And they sent him to a division rival.

And now that division rival is going to the Super Bowl. That's absolutely hilarious. Boots? I mean, I'm pretty sure that he was the one that said, get me the hell out of here.

Have you seen some of the clips from the general management? I haven't. Oh, yeah. I mean, I'm sure they're kicking themselves in the...

No, they're talking about it. They're like, all right, Siquan's got to go. We're done with him. We need to focus on Daniel Jones.

That's exactly what was going on. Well, they're... Somebody's knocked them in the head. Oh, my.

It's hilarious. We need to focus on Daniel Jones. I read Mr. Jones has a handshake with his two sons.

Stop it. Does he? Yeah. And his daughter.

Yeah. And they're all under the age of two. No, no. That'd be sick.

Three kids under the age of two. Yeah. Who does that? Phillip Rivers.

That would be a little hard to do. I guess one set would be twins, I guess. Yeah. See?

Triplets. Triplets. Oh, I'll sit down. Well, then you have to do it even.

Yeah. Octomom. Oh, eight. Mm-hmm.

He's got eight all at the same time. Wow. Yeah. That's hard.

Wow. It's like puppies. It's a big litter. Oh, two, congratulations, sir.

All right, hold on, three, four, five, oh, there's eight, there's eight, there's eight, stop it, stop it, stop, stop it right now. I only had three names picked. All right, you're five juniors. I just named the kids numbers.

Number one, number two, number three, four, five, six, seven, eight. You're the favorite, number eight's the favorite. Why would eight be the favorite? It's the smallest one.

It's the oldest or the youngest? It's the youngest. It would be the baby. It'd be the baby.

Let's call that one Ocho. Ocho, there you go, the Spanish family. Yeah, well no, one, two, three, five, six, seven. Ocho.

And Ocho. I don't know, there is an Ocho somewhere, isn't there? Ocho Cinco. Yeah, he made a cigar.

Yeah, he did. Ocho Cinco, eight, five. Yeah. Right.

You're so smart. I speak poquito Spanish, Mike. Poquito Spanish? Poquito.

Okay. All right. All right, good cigar news. Here we go.

Crown heads. No button for the news? You don't want to hit it? It's way over there.

All right. I mean, last time he fucked it up. Yeah, let's just roll. Do you want it?

No, Crown Heads, go ahead. Welcome to ACHP. Stop! Crown Heads revamps Mule Kick for 2025, Michael.

The Mule Kick. The Mule Kick. In 2012, Crown Heads released the first Four Kicks Mule Kick, a cigar that had an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper that was deemed too dark for the regular production line. Really?

Yes. The Casa Carrillo factory. Casa Carrillo. House of Carrillo.

Carrillo. Then called by its original name, Tabula Carrera, La Alalanza. Alalanza. Took the darker wrapper and created a stronger filler blend for the original blend and the end result was a mule kick, 2012.

Between 2013 and 2016, there was no mule kick. No. We stopped the kick. No more kick.

We can't find the dark wrapper any longer. Just mule walk, moving forward. In 2017, Crown Eds brought it back, and from 2017 to 2023, there was a mule kick release every year except 2021. During that stretch, the mule kick release used a number of different rappers, including Connecticut Habano, Ecuadorian Sumatra, Mexican San Andreas, and a rapper from Nicaragua, which we don't know what it was.

Undisclosed. Must have been made by AJ. It was made by AJ. It's what is it?

It's a Nicaragua. Nicaragua. I don't want to talk about it. Like the 2023 version, the four-kicks mule kick LE 2025 isn't a four-kicks blend.

Okay. The wrappers, Connecticut Broadleaf, the binders from Mexico's San Andreas Valley, and the fillers from Nicaragua's Esteli and Jalapa regions. For context, the regular mule kick blend calls for an Ecuadorian binder and fillers from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua. That said, there are no two constants.

One remains a 5 and 7/8 by 52, Robusto Extra, and Vitola. Second, it's still made in the same building, even in the first mule cake to come to the factory with the Casa Carrillo name. Carrillo. Yeah, whatever.

Carr. I'm white, Michael. I'd say... Crrrr.

Carrillo. So, AJ did not make any of them. It's always been made at this place. And at this place?

Ernie's place. Yeah, Ernie. I like Ernie. He didn't want to tell you about the Nicaraguan...

Nope, he bought it from AJ. I cannot tell you. They bought it from AJ. This is from AJ.

He says it's Nicaragua. Right. 95 per cigar, and production is limited to 2,500 boxes of 10 cigars. $16, little man.

When we were evaluating potential new blends last year, one blend from Casa Carrillo really stood out to me. One more time. Give it to me again. Say it again.

Carrillo. Carrillo. Wow. Sounds like your tongue's a little dry there.

Oh, sorry, he said Crown Heads John Humor, so with no accent, no accent, no accent at all. Oh, damn. Co-founder of Crown Heads and a press release. And hat king of the cigar industry.

Maybe in '21 it was made by Luciano. Oh. We do not talk about that. We do not talk about that.

That is not mentioned here. We do not. He still owes us tons of money because we have not paid no pay. That blend really connected with my palate, exhibiting body, complexity, Impeccable balance, and ultimately, we decided that it needed to become a part of the Mule Kick lineage.

In addition to the change in the blend, the packaging gets an update for 2025, most notably the cigars are packaged inside the boxes, in trays. Oh, I thought maybe they should be packed inside. We just throw them in. We put them in the boxes, instead of last year, we put them outside the boxes.

The box came separate. Each with its own individual slot for each cigar. The ship date has not been announced. We do not know.

When is it coming? No one knows. No one knows. Undisclosed.

But here is the cigar. Here it is. Here is a nice lovely photo, not AI. Well, that's coming.

That's the next story. El Baton! Oh, real quick. Yeah.

No, real slow, go slow. Oh, there was a story that AI is now one of the largest producers of CO2 in the world. Chat GPT. Apparently, whatever the computer is, it runs it.

Oh, good. Just kicking out CO2. You mean to tell me that my AI photos of you. - Yes.

- Damage the Earth. - Ozone, the whole thing. - Killing the ozone. - Climate change.

- Climate change, yes. - But it's a really funny picture. - It is, it's a good picture. - I can't let the picture go.

I'd rather end the world. - Oh, I thought, well just put it on your phone, it can be when I call, it comes up. - Nope. - No, I wanna, you're gonna see it on this reel.

- Oh, and this one too? - Yeah, like the end of the world, and then you just trying to run around. - Oh, just with the boxing gloves on. - Yeah, I'll put a, you know, what color you want the boxing gloves?

- I don't care. - Just tell me. Just tell me. Black.

Purple. Black loves? Black. Okay.

With poison on it, you know, because it's AI. I can't put poison on it. You can, you just gotta cut and paste. It's too much.

El Baton. Don't you roll your eyes at me. El Baton Cameroon Firecracker. Yeah.

We do know when it's coming. It should be scheduled for August. C. Newman will become the latest company to add his name to the growing list of companies that have made a firecracker release.

5x50 Petit Robusto with a long pigtail. While it uses the same brand as the regular production El Baton, it is not the same blend. Yeah, and it's slightly more in price than the Toro? Uh, it's not mentioned in this story, but that's the way that Marifel was it.

Marifel? Not Marifel, I'm sorry. Oh my god. Calif.

Yeah, that was the story last week. Wow, that was last week. Did you red light today? No.

I've been very busy today, Michael. Well, there's a lot involved now with our new teleprompter. Just throw it on in the shower or something. Just have it just hitting you.

You told me to bring it here, now it's here! So why didn't you turn it on when you were here? Because I was working upstairs today. You didn't do anything downstairs?

Uh, ate my lunch, I guess. You could have turned on that. No, no, because you came down while I was eating my lunch and I had to eat and tell you about these stories. And you could have turned on the light, we could have both taken the red light in.

It would have hurt your eyes. No, it wouldn't have. I would have been fine. You think Marifel gave him the Cameroon for the rapper, sold it to him?

Marifel? No. El Baton? C.

Newman. Hell no. Just curious. Wait, uh, maybe.

Oh, what happened to hell no? We went from hell no to maybe like that. C. Newman.

I mean, they're tight with Fuente, Fuente's time with Mirafel. It's possible. It could be. It's possible.

It wouldn't be good though. Oh, not the good stuff. Gotta be lower grade. If it's El Baton, it's just gonna be cheap.

But it's a firecracker. So it's overpriced? Probably. Okay.

Each cigar is an MSRP of $9 per cigar and will be offered in boxes of 20 cigars. Production of the new release is limited to 500 boxes for a total of 10,000 cigars. That's not a bad price. C.

Newman Pensa Factory in Nicaragua. $9. This special release commemorates the visionary legacy of Stanford Newman, a second generation cigar maker who in 1965 pioneered the use of Cameroon tobacco and premium cigars. C.

Newman Cameroon Firecracker pays homage to his trailblazing spirit and the rich heritage of this unique tobacco. The Firecracker series dates back to 2007 and the Two Guys Smoke Shop, a New Hampshire-based chain of retailers owned by Dave Garofalo, Dos Hombres, who also owns United Cigars. The Firecracker cigars are typically three and a half by 50 Petit Robusto that features a long pigtail. Very exciting.

Over the years, various manufacturers have made Firecracker series including: Agronosa, All Saints, Dunbarton Tobacco Trust, El Artista, Fratello, Christophe, La Flor de la Medicana, My Father, Protomo, Roma Craft, Rojas Cigar, Selected Tobacco, and Tatuaje. But it was originally created by Erik Espinosa. David Garofalo says they originally did. I know.

I understand that. But I'm just getting the facts out there. It was originally created by Erik Espinosa. I believe Erik.

He's a very honest man. Me too. Yeah, he's an honest guy. The series is now distributed nationwide by United.

This is the second new firecracker release that United has announced for 2025. The McAuliffe Black firecracker with toilet brush is scheduled to ship, while the El Baton Cameroon firecracker is scheduled to begin shipping to retailers in late August. Just because it's a teleprompter doesn't mean I can't add to it still. With toilet brush.

Today only. No, you got to take this with you. No, it's in the box. What do you want to do?

They want to come back in to get you two dollars. Yeah, I mean, let's be honest, I stole it, and I'm going to take it, and I'm happy about it. I didn't mean to put it in there, I'm so sorry. I'm here to help you take your money.

It's not like everybody doesn't need a toilet brush. Yeah, and you don't need that two dollars. Right, exactly. And I do.

And I do. 200x the two dollars. All right, General is adding to the El Rey Du Mundo a shade-grown Churchill. Yes, yes, yes, yes.

Apparently he likes Churchill's? I like the El Rey Du Mundo. Oh, this is shade-grown. Yeah, but now this is Connecticut instead of, what was it before, Habano?

I don't know. I don't know. Read the story. In 2023, General Cigar Company reduced the El Rey Du Mundo shade-grown in three Vitolas, two of which are regular production, made by Karim.

And the third was a limited Vitola. Now the line is getting its third full-time size. Oh, yeah? The new El Rey Del Mundo, Shea Grown Churchill.

Super rare. 7x48 Churchill, made entirely of Honduran tobacco, capped off by Connecticut Seed Wrapper that is grown in the... Talanga? I was going to say Taladega, but it's Talanga?

Taladega. Taladega Valley. It's a Taladega. Yeah, just leave it at Taladega.

If you ain't first, you're last. El Rey Del Mundo, if you ain't first, you're last. Line is made at STG Donnelly. Will you just let me get my joke in instead of just running over me all the time?

It just scrolls, it's hard to hit the pause. Oh, no. Oh, he just had a birthday. We missed his birthday last week.

Just hit the pause button. Make him listener of the week. I have so many listeners of the week now. Oh, now you guys are both on task here.

There are several people. Several people in line. And we have not acknowledged. Oh, do you have many to do?

Can you just do, like, a bunch of them? Do a group. I'm going to do one today. All right.

" Yeah, I remember you said that. I don't remember the name of your name. Yes. Maybe a co-listener of the week?

And each, that's what I said, where you do like a group. It would be a co if I could remember them, but I know one for sure. All right. Each cigar is an MSRP of $6.

Ooh, I got 'em both. I got 'em both. Okay, write it down. That is a great price.

89 for Churchill. I was gonna say it's six bucks. It's Honduran, and it's gotta be really low-grade tobacco, so... Offered in boxes of 20.

Why? It's true. And it's general. Hey, I'm fine with it.

It's a great... I like the price. It's general cigars, so they don't have anything expensive. Yeah.

89, but if you buy five boxes, it comes with a fucking Range Rover. It's incredible. No toilet brush. Yeah, no, all you gotta do, you spend $250 and you're gonna get a Tesla.

That's what I heard. That's what the giveaway is. Yeah, yeah, it's amazing. We're all saving the world.

Does Tesla save people's lives during the fire? I believe it. It has a, we might have already discussed this, it has a non-disclosed feature where the, when it senses something outside that should not come inside, some type of gas or smoke or something. Yeah.

The air system locks up, like shuts all the outside vents. It doesn't circulate the air. Right. Yeah.

That Elon, what a piece of garbage, huh? I mean, incredible. You know, those Nazis, they really know what they're doing. The air circulation locks up well.

Yeah. Well, you know how you have the, so like when you have the circle button on your AC, like you can bring in air from the outside and then it rotates or whatever. So it has a sensor, it automatically shuts that down. It's like, hey.

Hey, smoke outside. I woke outside. We seem to be in a bad situation here. My car is melting, no more air from outside.

So they just circled at the inside. Yeah, as the tires are melting, I'm starting to realize that... I don't know if I'd get in my Tesla during the fires. Well, if you're in LA, it might be the only car you have.

Where the hell are you gonna go? I'm trying to... have you seen one of those things blow up before? A Tesla?

Yes, in Vegas, they showed video footage you saw for weeks. Yeah. With the fireworks? There is no surviving.

That is just the most ridiculous thing I've heard you say today, and you've said three ridiculous things so far, that's number one, numero uno, 45, 45 minutes, the Teslas explode, right, these things are dangerous, Mr. Musk, could I have my camera, Mr. Musk, we don't think they blow off, you like, send us Teslas, we're fine, we'll drive them all through fires, and after you buy the L-rated windows, yeah, if you sent me a, oh, I can, because they're $6, if you sent me a Cybertruck, my kids would love that, you know what I mean, but, you know, it's probably not good. Let's see, these El Rey Del Mundos begin shipping on Monday, February 3rd.

This is the fourth Vitola for the line. There's an El, okay, I have to go through these because it's... Why? Hold on.

Oh, just hit pause, just hit play and keep time, we'll talk about something else. There's a lot of El Rey Del Mundos. Lots. $6.

Obviously, you could tell we have a new toy here. We're constantly investing in the podcast, trying to give you the very best content. No, Palmer just likes to sit there at attention. They're out of tension.

There is a forward and reverse. I found it. Oh, there you go. And at this current moment, we are playing with this teleprompter.

So that way you could stare deeply into Palmer's eyes as he's speaking. Villager is adding the 1888 Naked Rock winner. Villager. Villager?

Villager. Oh, I like Villager. Villager? Will they come out to YMCA?

MCA? Do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do. Where did it come out? Where is it?

Young Men. Oh, the Village People. Yeah. Oh, you got it?

The Villagers. The Villager. The Villager. Ah, Villager is adding an 1888 Nicaraguan Box Press Toro, and the Villagers is adding a new song to their line.

Yeah. Young Men, da, da, da, da, da, da. All right, that's it. Yeah, don't know what we're going to assume.

Thank you. This week, Villager Cigars North America will release a box press version of its 1888 Nicaraguan line, a line extension that is being done in partnership with, Tobacco Tactical. Tactical? I don't know what it is.

Let's find out here in a minute. Bluetooth? Does it come with rope like they used to do? It comes with a sensor so that you can not inhale.

Oh, a not inhaling sensor. The Villiger 1888 Nicaraguan Box Press Toro measures 6x52 with a slight modification. Okay. Compared to the round 6x50 Toro that is offered as a regular production Vitola blend-wise.

The 1888 Nicaraguan uses an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper over a Nicaraguan binder. Yes. Hiller's from, it's going slow, Nicaragua and Pennsylvania. Okay.

Each cigar is an MSRP of $12, so it's two El Rey Del Mundos. Two El Rey Del Mundos. Production is limited to 500 boxes of 20 cigars, which will be shipping on Wednesday, January 22nd. Which is also 10,000.

Which was shipped last week. The release is being done in partnership with Tobacco Tactical, a company that has a lifestyle brand on an online storefront with monthly subscription club. We have ropes. We got a rope with that.

In 2023, Tobacco Tactical traveled to the Villager de Nicaragua factory, a visit that ultimately led to the release. Tobacco Tactical's branding is on the package of the cigar. Additionally, Alexander Borowski, of My Cigar Pack, is credited with assisting on this project. The release is going to be fast forward.

Perfect. That's fine. We don't care. Villager's been around for a while.

Yes. They have. All right, Jamie Flores Estrada. Jamie?

Jaime? I don't know. J-A-I-M-E. I feel like it's Jaime.

He's Jewish? That's a Jewish name. No. Jaime Garcia?

Yeah. Hmm, maybe. Jaime Flores Estrada. Let's just change it to Eric Estrada.

Yeah, it's a Pancharella. Can we just go Bob? Okay, it's fine. Bob Flores Estrada joins Global Premium Cigars.

Okay. Have you heard of Global Premium Cigars? No. I don't know.

Worldwide. No. This feels like it's ran by Dr. Evil.

Global Cigars. , the parent company of the 1502 brand, has announced that Bob Flores Estrada has been named the company's Global Chief Growth Officer. What the fuck does that mean? You will be the global chief officer.

We've heard from our friend Luciano, people like titles. I want sharks with laser beams on them. Freakin' laser beams. Flores Estrada worked in the cigar industry in 2015 to 2020, first as the VP of Marketing for Drew Estate, and then Executive VP of Marketing for Royal Agio USA.

In 2020, following Scandinavian Tobacco Group purchase of Agio, he went on to work on Silverback Dip. I don't know, man. How are we not making a ton of money, though? I don't understand it.

Like, we have great stuff, good brands, all of these things. This guy went Drew State, and then Scandinavian Tobacco, and then Silverback Dip, and now whoever these people are. Global Domination. I'm delighted to join Enrique and the team at GPC during this exciting and pivotal point in the company's journey.

You think they have like an underground basement where they take their meetings? Maybe. Said Mr. " Oh, they haven't turned it yet.

They haven't turned it yet. They're just getting ready. They're just getting ready. They're on the edge.

On the way. How long have they been around? After 12 successful years establishing themselves as a legitimate and highly sought-after boutique cigar company that we've never heard of. We've never heard of them, yeah.

I mean, we're in the media. No, we're not. We are the media. We are the media.

We are the media. They probably sponsor Coop Show. Yeah. Probably.

Well, then they definitely got on that top 25 list. They'll be on that top 25. Yeah. The number two cigar, Global Tobacco, yada yada.

Global Tobacco. And I look forward to helping GPC, not GNC, completely different places. That's totally different. Realize its full potential.

So they don't know. But they've been successful for 12 years. He's been successful for 12 years. He's going to tell them.

About to turn the corner. Silverback comes in. Silverback dip guy comes in because they're going to help him get around that corner and become successful more than the 12 successful years they've already had. You know, I know you've had a solid 12 years.

Very successful. But we're going to turn the corner here. Being the most sought after boutique cigar in the industry. And here we are.

Here we are. It's time to turn. It's time to turn the corner. It's going to be huge.

They're going to turn the corner. They're going to turn the corner. I have faith in them. Thanks to Enrique.

Enrique. Hey, no. I thought it was Bob. No, no.

Enrique is Bob's boss. No, Jaime's Bob. Oh, got it. Thanks to Enrique Sanchez, deep, deep-founded passion, cigar-blending talent and commitment to his craft, he is producing some of the best and most distinct cigar tobacco expressions of it.

Are cigars now called expressions of tobacco? Maybe. I like that. They're expressions of tobacco.

Oh, I'm going to start using that. I like talking to a guy that says I don't smoke cigars. I don't smoke cigars. I'm like, okay, you don't smoke cigars?

He's like, yeah, it's bad for you. You have dip? I like to dip. So do you eat vegetables?

No, it's bad for you. Nicotine and that too, buddy. Cigar tobacco expressions available anywhere today. Founded on an authentic and uncompromising ethos that is deeply rooted in his Nicaraguan heritage.

The Greek ethos? Yeah. Ethos. They're hitting all the quadrants.

I think there's like a really old grape thing called ethos. Yeah. Something like that. Oh, see, Global Premium Cigars was founded by...

Global. was founded by Enrique Sanchez, a Nicaraguan who originally wanted to become a tobacco broker. But that didn't work out, so now... So now, global domination.

expressing tobacco. Yes. After speaking with Nestor Plasencia Senior... Okay.

" He opted to start his own brand instead, launching, I have all this tobacco I can't sell. What should I do with it, Nestor? Well, I am not buying it. I will, I have plenty of my own.

I have plenty of my own back here, you'll see. You don't go to the guy who owns them. We're working with this new guy, maybe you heard of him, his name is Luciano? Global Domination.

Global Domination. So I cannot buy your tobacco. Cannot. Cannot.

Cannot. Cannot. So he launched 1502 in 2012. Oh, that's Enrique.

Yes. Oh, yeah. For the most part... He's global now?

He's 12 years of success. Let's be honest. He's turning a corner to global, Michael. 1502's been around for a minute.

They've had some good cigars. 12 years. Yeah. They've had some good cigars.

But I thought he went away. I haven't heard or anything from him in a few years. Well, he did it until he hired this yada yada dude. And now we're getting...

Right, now he's making a dip. Getting back to it. He's doing a dip? He's making dip now.

For chips? Silverback. Silverback chips. Let's see, for the most part, the company's cigars are made by the Plasencia family.

Oh, we won't buy you tobacco, but we will make cigars for you out of the tobacco. Have you met my friend Luciano? Luciano, be in charge of his cigars now. I've beaten the joke.

Well, yeah, but it's funny. It was, but I've got to move on. Michael, well, that's the end of the story now. We're going to switch.

Michael Gianni. Yes. The angry magician. The angry magician.

Oh, the magician. Joins Berdomo. Oh, he's made another magic trick. Michael Gianni, a long-time Cigar Industry Executive and Magician, has joined Perdomo Cigars.

I have had the privilege of knowing Nick Perdomo since the early days of my Magician career. As you're reading this story, I can see this guy just saying this. Nick's Cigar Company, said Gianni in a press release. Over the past three decades, I have witnessed his unwavering dedication and vision transform Perdomo into a symbol of excellence in the cigar industry.

Nick's passion for the craft and his relentless work ethic have earned my deepest respect. So he was part of the New Orleans group. I don't know what that is. Humidors, lighters, kind of stuff.

Oh, yeah, I see him at every trade show in his outfits. His magician outfits. His magician outfits, yes. He's usually walking back and forth on the bathroom when I see him too.

They must have a small bathroom. That's where the rabbits are. That's where the rabbits are. He's the rabbits in the stall.

Oh my God. As a cigar enthusiast and an industry veteran, I truly believe Perdomo's products speak for themselves, but they take up a lot of space in everybody's humidor. I am honored to join the Perdomo family and contribute to his incredible journey. And now I'll make them disappear one by one.

Johnny has been in the cigar industry for more than 40 years. I believe that. I believe that too. Working first as a retailer in Philadelphia before becoming a national sales magician at El Credido Cigar Company, which was owned by Ernesto Perez Carrillo.

Thank you, Junior. Now VP Carrillo, in 1999, Swedish match acquired El Credido, best known for its La Gloria Cubana brand. And Gianni and Perez Jr. both stayed on the Swedish match, which eventually folded into what is now known as General Cigar.

Yep. He folded it. Ta-da. Ta-da.

Ta-da. It's a goose. Gianni worked for General's first at LaGlorie. Okay.

Now you got it. So after 40 years, there's still hope. This guy is crushing in the industry. He's done very well for himself.

He's been around for a long time. Yeah. Obviously, 40 years. Yeah, he's doing very well for himself.

He worked for Crytex, Ventura, Cigar Company, before joining Quality Importers, Zycar. Oh, Quality Importers, that's a New Orleans group, whatever, what's the difference? Well, apparently a name. Yeah.

So, he's pretty much worked for everybody. Yeah, you know, and the guy's done pretty well for himself, obviously. The Perdomo link-up, it seems a little weird. I don't know.

And in 2022, he was Chief of Customer Engagement. Of Perdomo? A. Magician, that's where he got to do it.

That's what that is. Ta-da, ta-da, ta-da. Check this out, Perdomo. Where is he Chief of Customer Engagement at?

It doesn't say. Quality Importers. The parent of Zykar, Paleo, and other brands as, oh yes, Quality Importers. And Zykar, and P-A-L-I-O, how do you say that one?

I gotta be honest, like that line though, Chief of Customer Engagement, when you look to, you know, You know, surge profits. Right. That's one of the first salaries you can have. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

I'm sure he made a lot of money. " All right, he's gotta go. So maybe that's what happened. I don't know.

Or, who knows? I'm just speculating here. Ta-da, I'm at Perdomo now. Ta-da, ta-da.

Michael's unique blend of experience, creativity, and genuine love for premium cigars makes him a perfect fit for our team. There you go. Said Nick Perdomo, president and CEO of Perdomo Cigars and Moving Company. His innovative approach and ability to connect with cigar enthusiasts align seamlessly with our values.

All right, that's nice. And finally, for our next trick. Well, I have a ChatGPT editorial, if you like to do that. Yeah, we were going to do Coop's Top 25, but it's a little complicated.

Yeah, it's complicated. Well, there's 25 different posts you have to go through. Yeah, it's just not that user-friendly, so we got to build the whole thing. Yeah, we got to build the thing.

We'll do it right. We'll do it right. Oh, we have low battery on our thing. Uh-oh.

Uh-oh. Hurry up. End the show. No, now I can't get off that screen.

Oh, there's your finger. I fixed it for you. Ding dong. Thank you very much.

Uh, okay. This week's Chat GPT Editorial is brought to you by Leaf & Bean by Island Gym Lounge in St. Augustine, Florida. m.

Very nice. All right. Florida domination. Florida domination.

A new bill introduced in Hawaii could make the state the first to set nicotine limits for products sold within its borders. Last Friday, Senator Chris Lee, Democrat from Kaluilau. Kaluilau. Kaluilau.

S. Food and Drug Administration about a similar federal proposal. However, Hawaii bill is much more concise, aiming to direct the Department of Health to establish safe levels of nicotine in products sold in the state. Okay.

Safe levels. The bill doesn't specify what those levels might be. They just have to be safe. Or which products would be affected, and we're not sure what we're going to do yet with it.

For comparison, go ahead. But we know we just want to over-regulate the shit out of it. Yes, exactly. Yes, yes.

Because that solves all problems. When in doubt, just over-regulate. More rules. We need more rules.

Makes sense. 7 milligrams per gram of tobacco. Okay. 2 milligrams of nicotine per gram in 2017.

Notably, the federal proposal would exclude premium cigars from the nicotine limit due to ongoing litigations on specific criteria defining, eh, what's a premium cigar? Yeah, we don't know what's going on. The bill, the Hawaii bill, however, might include premium cigars under the nicotine restrictions, though this is unclear at this stage. In short, while Hawaii's bill is in its early stages and lacks many details, it could make the state a pioneer in setting nicotine limits for tobacco products.

Setting it apart from federal efforts still in development. So, you guys are just as messed up as California, man. Yeah. Well, yeah, last week they're doing the age thing, too, the generational tobacco basis.

So basically what I'm understanding is that it's only going to be vape allowed in that state because that's the only way you can really regulate it, right? Per gram? I have no idea. Well, there's nicotine.

Yeah, I mean, I'm sure they could regulate nicotine per ounce. I honestly don't know how they would do it. But you know what's funny is you watch Bookie, right? Yeah.

Do you watch Bookie? No. On HBO. What's the guy's name?

Sal Galifianakis or something like that? No. That is somebody, but I don't think that's him. That's not him.

No. Damn, he's hilarious. Zach Galifianakis is a real actor. No, yeah, no, that's Zach Galifianakis.

Sal, he's a comedian. He's a comedian. Google comedian, Sal, and it'll come up. Tell me.

So he does this, he does this show called Bookie on HBO, and it is hilarious. Vulcana. What? Sal Vulcana?

Nope. Nope, that's not it. Do Sal, Bookie, do Bookie on Max. Go ahead.

So he does this show, and it's absolutely hilarious. It's very fun. And in the last episode, I don't know, have you seen the last episode? I'm not sure.

Was there one over the weekend? I don't know what day it comes out. I think so. So he goes to Costa Rica.

Okay, I haven't seen it. I know he's talking to those guys. Okay, so, all right. So he goes to Costa Rica, and he's talking to the head guy of...

Oh, Sebastian Menesco Calco. Sebastian Menesco Calco. Sebastian Menesco Calco. Yeah, Sal Sebastian.

As Danny Colavito. Yes. Danny Colavito. Thank you.

I was way off. Sal Calco. He's crazy. He's funny.

Yes. So he was talking to the guy and the guy goes, how are things in the States? And he goes, I'm not from the States. I'm from California.

It's about accurate. And it's so true, man, that like they're in their own world. I don't, they are. Everything is different in California.

Very strange. Yes. Like Martians. Well, it's on fire or sliding off into the ocean or earthquakes or, you know, electric lawnmowers.

Yeah. Apparently God hates him for everything they're doing. God, you think, I don't think that's the case. He burned them.

Silly. Not even the first time. That's like saying, a hurricane's coming to Florida. Oh, God, I hate you.

Yeah, but we never get a lot of damage. He loves us here. He loves us here. He's got to send it somewhere else.

He likes the governor. Yeah? Yeah. He's a good fan.

He's a big fan of the governor. Got it. Uncle Ron. Okay.

All right. That's it. Listener of the week, Michael. I have two listeners of the week.

I have two. Two very well-deserved listeners of the week. Yes. One, Luis Torres, my dear friend, Luis, such a dear friend, we forgot to make him listen to Luis.

He's been a dear friend of the shop for almost 15 years at this point. Oh. And, my other deal friend. Your other what?

Dear friend. You said deal. I know. The gongs.

Paul Carlson. Oh, Paul! That's right, Paul had to be listening to Luis. Yes.

Yes. Very nice. I got two there for you. Nice!

He has quite the hair now. It's very silky looking and long. Lovely. And now Fred has his hair short, so they kind of...

They offset. Yeah. It's like they change roles. Change roles, exactly.

Interesting. Okay. All right, this has been episode 372 of the Cigar Houser Podcast. Thank you for listening.

We gotta go. All right, bye. Bye.

Show Notes

Title: ACHP Episode 372 – Big Moves and Bold Moves: This Week's Trending News, Sports, and Cigars

This week on ACHP Episode 372, we're diving into the latest headlines that are making waves. In the world of politics, Donald Trump declared an early victory after Colombia backed down in a high-stakes dispute over migrant repatriation flights, showcasing the effectiveness of his tough foreign policy. Meanwhile, Super Bowl fever is heating up with the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles gearing up for the big game! We'll also touch on a bizarre fuel mix-up in Avon, Ohio, that caused damage to several cars, as well as an adorable moment between Saquon Barkley and his daughter at the NFC Championship Game.

For cigar enthusiasts, there’s exciting news from the industry! Crowned Heads is revamping its Mule Kick for 2025, El Baton Cameroon Firecracker is set for an August release, and General Cigars has unveiled the new El Rey Del Mundo Shade Grown Churchill. Villiger is also adding a box-pressed Toro to its 1888 Nicaragua line, and Jaime Flórez-Estrada joins Global Premium Cigars while Michael Giannini teams up with Perdomo.

And don’t miss this week’s ChatGBT editorial, brought to you by Leaf and Bean by Island Jim Lounge in St. Augustine, Florida—where I’ll be doing a Cut n' Light event on Thursday, February 20th, from 6 to 9 pm. Tune in for all this and more!