Cigar Hustlers Podcast Episode Title: Columbus Day, Aidan Hutchinson, AI Cigars, Haunted I-4 & More: Cigar News, Sports, and Ghost Stories

Episode Summary

Episode 356 of A Cigar Hustler's Podcast finds Mike "The King" Szczepankiewicz (Powstanie Cigars) and Mike "BDP" Palmer, with engineer Soundtech Phil, recording in Deltona, Florida in the aftermath of a hurricane that still had parts of the state — including JC Newman's John Oliva — without power and the supply chain jammed. The first half is the show's trademark trending-news banter: Columbus Day vs. Indigenous Peoples Day and which businesses actually close, Detroit Lions edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson's surgery on a fractured tibia and fibula suffered in the 47-9 win over Dallas, Jim Harbaugh's heart-related sideline scare during the Chargers' win over Denver (with Jesse Minter stepping in), and a confusing report about a man, Vem Miller, detained with firearms at a Trump rally near Coachella. Phil's Fun Facts covers a 71-year-old pole dancer at Hollywood's Bourbon Room.

The cigar news block is the meat of the episode. Bentley Tobacco, led in the U.S. by Jonathan Carney, has launched the AI Cigar Project — a 30-plus question consumer survey whose answers will be fed to an AI model, with the resulting cigar slated to debut at the 2025 PCA Convention in Detroit; the hosts are skeptical about how AI balances "artisanal tradition" and suspect press-release ChatGPT language. Drunk Chicken Cigars (founded by Desiree Silva, known for Mother Clucker, Homicidal Hen and Fat Hen) signs a distribution deal with Fort Myers-based City of Palms Distribution Services, run by Kevin and Ann Dinkins, which also handles Patina, ADV & McKay, Quality Importers, Conspiracy, Escobar and Chad Ochocinco Johnson's 85 cigars. Steve Saka's Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust is bringing a bolder Sobremesa Solita Red in early 2025 in a 6 1/4 x 46 parejo, 13-count boxes — the follow-up to the discontinued Solita Cervantes Fino — and the guys note how Dunbarton has expanded Mi Querida the same way.

Other news: Plasencia is marking Nestor Plasencia Sr.'s 75th birthday with the Nestor 75, a 7 x 50 Churchill in 750 boxes that is not for sale but gifted to retailers and friends — a move the hosts compare to Arturo Fuente's 2010 Don Carlos "death blend" Robusto honoring Carlos Fuente Sr.'s 75th birthday. Quality/Crytek International takes over U.S. distribution of refillable Clipper lighters from Flamagas on January 1, 2025. Viaje releases The Crow for Halloween, a 5 1/2 x 50 Robusto with a Corojo 99 wrapper made at Aganorsa, $9.60 each, tied to the Full Moon line, plus a Ghost Pepper. A fire at Dominican box and label supplier Alsak on October 3 will disrupt packaging for PDR Cigars (Abe Flores), Hiram & Solomon and Sanjay Patel's SP-1014. Foundation Cigar Company's Tabernacle Knight Commander returns for charity at around $40, with net proceeds to the Royal Ethiopian Trust. The show closes with the debut of a haunted-Florida segment on the I-4 Dead Zone in Sanford — the unmoved graves of 1880s German settlers killed by yellow fever — plus Shop of the Week Old City Cigars in St. Augustine and Listener of the Week Bobby Scott. The hosts smoke Padrón cigars from the Padrón/Fuente Legends box, reviewed on the Patreon.

In This Episode

1. 01
   Columbus Day / Indigenous Peoples Day
   The guys debate the renamed holiday, which businesses and schools close, and post-hurricane school closures in Volusia and Seminole counties.
2. 02
   Sports Headlines: Hutchinson and Harbaugh
   Aidan Hutchinson's surgery on a fractured tibia and fibula from the Lions' 47-9 win over Dallas, plus Jim Harbaugh's heart scare on the Chargers sideline.
3. 03
   Trump Rally Firearms Story
   A confusing report on Vem Miller, detained with a shotgun, rifle and pistol at a Trump rally near Coachella, and whether it was really an assassination attempt.
4. 04
   Bentley Tobacco's AI Cigar Project
   Jonathan Carney's Bentley Tobacco launches a 30-plus question survey feeding an AI model, with a cigar due at the 2025 PCA in Detroit — and the hosts' skepticism.
5. 05
   Drunk Chicken Cigars and City of Palms Distribution
   Desiree Silva's Drunk Chicken signs with City of Palms Distribution Services, the Fort Myers back-end logistics outfit now repping Patina, ADV & McKay and more.
6. 06
   Dunbarton's Sobremesa Solita Red
   Steve Saka's bolder Solita Red arrives early 2025 as a 6 1/4 x 46 parejo in 13-count boxes, replacing the discontinued Cervantes Fino.
7. 07
   Plasencia Nestor 75 and the Fuente Precedent
   Nestor Plasencia Sr.'s 7 x 50 birthday Churchill is gifted, not sold — echoing Arturo Fuente's 2010 Don Carlos 75th birthday Robusto.
8. 08
   Clipper Lighters, Viaje The Crow, Alsak Fire, Knight Commander
   Crytek takes over Clipper distribution, Viaje's Halloween Crow from Aganorsa, a Dominican box-and-label fire hitting PDR and others, and Foundation's charitable Knight Commander.
9. 09
   Haunted Florida: The I-4 Dead Zone
   A new Halloween segment on the Sanford stretch of Interstate 4 built over unmoved graves of German settlers lost to yellow fever.

Brands & Cigars Discussed

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Transcript

Everybody stand by. Industry is in the house. It's what I've been and who I am, all the ways I've grown. Blood in the sweat, tears are regretting my stone.

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

Welcome to Cigar Hustlers Podcast, Episode 356. Recorded live at the Mike & Mike Production Studio in Deltona, Florida, this is Cigar Hustlers Podcast, the show where two guys share their passion for cigars, business, and life. Join Mike "The King" Stepankiewicz, Master Blender of Powstanie Cigars, and its co-host Mike "BDP" Palmer, Semi-Master Blender of the BDP Cigar, as they talk about the latest cigars news, reviews, and interview some of the most influential people in the cigar industry. And me, I'm their engineer in Soundtech Phil.

Whether you're a seasoned aficionado or new to cigars, this podcast is for you. So sit back, relax, and light up a Cigar with Cigar with Cigar with the podcast. Welcome to the Cigar with the podcast, a show brought to you commercial-free, but a massive shout-out to our amazing patrons on Patreon. Thanks to your unwavering support, we're able to deliver unfiltered, unbiased opinions on all things cigars and personalities in the cigar world.

Your backing makes it possible for us to keep it real for our listeners, for you. Cheers to you. com and search A Cigar Hustlers Podcast. Yeah.

Yes. So. Do it. Tell us.

Tell us what's going on in the world, Mr. Palmer. Uh, let's see. Well, today's Columbus Day.

It is. But it's no longer called Columbus Day. It's not. It's Indigenous Peoples Day.

Indeed it is. Didn't he kill a lot of people or something? I'm sure. I mean, whatever.

I thought he was a bad man. What's Indigenous? Indigenous means Indians. So people that already live here.

What's weird about this holiday now is that some people have off, some people don't. Yeah, it's a national holiday, it's one of the national holidays, but banks are closed, no mail today. No mail today. No mail today.

Okay. But that's really the only thing. So hold on a sec. You get rid of the Redskins, you get rid of the Indians, the Cleveland Indians.

Correct. And you make Indigenous Day? Yeah, we acknowledge the people's day. So we acknowledge they were here first.

Yeah. So does the Redskins and the Indians. No. Yes, but that's a racial.

Yeah, that's racist. That's not racist. That's not racist. Listen to him.

So, banks, it's an option if they want to be closed or not. Right. The Slack Exchange, Stock Exchange is running. Yep.

Uh, no, no retail's closed. Walmart's open. Target's open. Costco's open.

Chick-fil-A's open. What about the mail? That, that tells it all. I just said no mail.

We started the show with the mail. There's no mail. Oh. That's the only thing that's happened today is no mail.

No mail, I mean. No mail. That's big. But we got, UPS came in.

UPS is not mail. I feel like I got mail. They're not run, oh, you got mail. S.

government. No, you got no mail. No mail. No mail today.

Very interesting. Such a weird holiday. I guess so. Kids are at school, my kids are at school.

Uh, oh, are they? Yeah, but public schools are. So, I was gonna ask, is your county closed? I think so.

But I thought you, if your county was closed, you were closed. Is that just on storms? Yeah, not on that. But like, well, they're a private school anyways.

Right, but he said they followed Seminole County when I asked him. Yeah, but there are specific holidays that are off that we're on. And look, man, they've been home for five fucking days, almost a week after this storm. Well, Volusia County, the schools are open, but it was already an in-service day.

Right. So teachers are there, but no kids. Right. Yeah.

" Right. Well, there's-- You're all going. There's schools out here that are closed in Volusia County. Because of power?

Damage. Yeah, I believe it. Yeah. Like Adrian's old high school over at Pine Ridge, the canopy walkthroughs.

The canopies got ripped off, and they have some flooding problems out there. I mean, if the canopies got ripped off, I feel like they could still walk to class. It depends on, I guess, the damage and stuff, because, you know, kids, if they're hanging down, if you try to swing from them or something. " Oh, yeah, they listen to those people.

Those are the same ones that say, "Don't fight each other" right before they start fighting. Yeah, my wife used to do that there. Yeah, I think that's the problem. Yeah, don't fight.

Your wife can't be the don't-fight person. Uh, no. There needs to be, like, a presence. Well, they have those security guys or whatever they're called.

Guardians. Guardians. They're not allowed to break up fights. Yeah, they're not allowed to touch.

Not allowed to touch. They're not allowed to touch anybody to break up fights. They're just allowed to guard. Yeah, it makes no sense.

Okay. They're only there, I guess, in case somebody shows up with a weapon. Yeah. Yeah, then they bring theirs out and start shooting.

Right, exactly. But you can't touch. You can't touch them. Yeah, you know, whatever.

You can touch them with the bullets, apparently, if you want to. Well, if they brought the bullets and they brought the guns, yeah. Adrian's nephew is a teacher in Missouri. He got in his first fight last week, and he called her, he goes, "How do you keep doing this?

" Hmm. Pepper spray. Oh, you can't do that either. You can't spray 'em?

Nope. Why not? Nope. Can't tase 'em either.

Nothing? Not a tase? There's only certain ways you can touch them, too. Yeah?

They take, there's training. Really? Yeah. There's only certain things you can do.

And that, I would imagine that goes out the window as soon as you get the first smack in your own face. They'd all get a cry chopper. They just started leveling students. Right.

Bam, bam, bam. I lost it. They hit me. You know what's crazy, though, is that it used to be like that.

No, no, when she started, she, well, I've told the story, she took down a six-foot drug dealer her first day. She dropped him to the ground. Yeah? Sweeped a leg, Johnny?

I guess. Well, then the training was a little different. Right. Go for the nuts, you know.

Oh, really? Is that what she did? No, no, no, she, she swept the knee and dropped him and put him in a hole on the ground. Nice.

Ground and pound? Yeah. Yeah, I'm impressed. Yep.

So there's some other news. Indigenous Day. Lions' Aiden Hutchinson undergoes successful surgery on his fractured shin. This is a big one.

It was a big one. This is the number one trending story all day long today. Really? Detroit Lions star defensive end Aiden, is that your name?

Aiden Hutchinson underwent successful surgery on the fractured tibia and fibula. Both of them broke in the boat. Wow, are we doing sports news? We're doing trending news.

He suffered at Sunday's 47-9 win. He broke his fibula? Tibia and fibula. Tibia and fibula, yes.

Wow. But they still won 47-9, so apparently he's not very important to the team. He is extremely important to the team. Well, no, they won 47-9.

No, it's just the other team wasn't extremely important. Oh, so it wasn't. Listen. Oh, yeah, they were playing the Miami Dolphins.

No, they weren't. You're hurtful. You're being hurtful. They were playing the Cowboys.

They were playing the Cowboys. But, you know, listen, the way that the last game ended when they played Dallas, played Dallas. Very controversial. So this is a statement game for Detroit.

For sure. So they put on a fucking clinic. There's no timetable for his return. His injury occurred in the third quarter in Sunday's game.

The star edge rusher's leg appeared to snap above the ankle. When he collided with the left leg of a teammate. Oh, not even the other team. Yeah.

By the way, I was corrected. Kyle Allen and Josh Allen are not brothers. Yes, yes. Oh, my.

Several times. Several times. I was corrected on that. By people that aren't generally watching the show.

Yeah, they're like, hey, by the way, no. Hey, that's not him. Okay. It must be Bill's name.

We don't factor. Yeah. The injury appeared to be immediately serious. Yeah, no shit.

Well, his legs, you know. Yeah, boom. Right, swinging. Oh, yeah, man.

Oh, that's broken. Dude, that's so bad. He mained on the turf for several moments before being loaded into a cart with a cast on his leg. Oh, so he didn't walk off the field?

No, he was not walking. Did they get the applause? Did they do the applause? I'm sure.

I thought maybe they only get applause when they walk. No. You couldn't hear from all the screaming. " No.

Like that... Do they keep playing? Yeah. Well, he didn't die.

He didn't die. Well, that was a big blow for Detroit, man. He is a beast on the field. Teammates and Dallas players all reached over to Pat the 24-year-old.

Oh, they didn't hit the leg. Oh, damn it. That would hurt. It's probably a butt pass.

You'll be all right. You'll be fine. Let's see. There's just over seven minutes remaining in the first quarter.

Harbro finished the victory with no further issues. What? I don't know. Who's Harbro?

This guy's not allowed to report sports. You just jumped to a different story. There was no headline. Sorry, I just jumped to a different story.

Okay. Yeah, I don't do sports. Actually, I think he's a baseball player. No.

No, he's not. Well, there's a baseball story, too, but I didn't pull that one, apparently. Harbro is a coach. Uh, yes, yes, for the Los Angeles Chargers.

That's the next story. What? No, he's not. Endured a concerning moment on the sidelines.

How many sports stories do you have over there? It was during the Los Angeles Chargers game, but he's not the coach for the Chargers. No, who's he the coach for? I don't know, over the, it's gotta be Denver Broncos?

Because that's the other team. This is amazing. This is a good game. Jim Harbour endured a concerning moment on the sidelines early during the Los Angeles Chargers 23-16 Week 6 win over the Denver Broncos.

So he wasn't even part of the game? I don't think you have that right. I copied this off of Google. Well, they fucked you up.

Just cut and paste. His team's purple. What team's purple? I don't know, there's no colors on here.

Well, that's Baltimore. Harborough began with the Week 6 game coaching the Chargers on the sideline. Is Jim Harborough the Chargers coach now? Because there's two Harboroughs.

One of them left Michigan. Oh, so apparently I'm the sports expert now and the two of you are the idiots. What's his name? Jim, H-A-R-B-A-U-G-H.

Well, maybe he is. He coaches the Chargers, just like I said. Yeah, he is a coach for the Chargers. Oh.

I would like... No, you just said the Broncos. So, sorry, Promo. No, well, because you said Chargers were wrong, so I said, well, the other team was the Broncos, so he must be the Broncos.

Oh, he had a heart condition. Yes, he had a heart murmur. I would have gotten to that eventually. That was in the headline.

Okay. He briefly left the field and went back to the locker room in the first quarter, leaving many to wonder whether the 60-year-old was okay. Eventually, Harbro emerged from the locker room and took back the coaching range from the interim coach, defensive coordinator, Jesse Minter, also coach for the Chargers. That's gotta be tough.

Especially if you're defensive. Alright, we're gonna run some offensive. I'd look at the quarterback and be like, okay, you got this? Alright, trips left.

I don't know. Run it. What plays next, coach? I don't know.

Where were you thinking? Well, let's have a quick back and forth here. Mine are completely different in my book. Blitz, what?

Okay. What else you got there, Mr. Palmer? Oh, there was another possible assassination.

Another possible? I think the sheriff just wants it to be a possible. I don't know, dude. Okay, so he did a rally at the Coachella.

Who? Trump did. It was a Trump rally. Coachella?

Coachella? Where they normally do the Coachella stuff. Oh, okay. Coachella was not going on.

All right. Yeah, they broke the concert down. He walked out. Here he is.

He ate a shroom. It's a micro dosing. No, he was going to do a rally there. So they're doing the checkpoints.

Okay, this one guy had guns in his car. Okay. So now they're thinking he was there to shoot Trump. What state is this?

Wherever Coachella is. Is it California? Where's Coachella? California, isn't it?

Like Southern California? Is that a gun in California? I don't know. We really need to do more research on this before we just go.

The man being accused of a potential third assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump spoke with Fox News Digital and says the claim against him are false. Coachella is in Cali. That's what I'm saying. Yeah.

Yeah, they don't have no guns in California, do they? Apparently. But they weren't allowed. Vim Miller, 49, said he reported the guns to authorities, which he says he always travels with despite never using them.

Somebody was just trying to get that guy. I don't know, man. Well, no, apparently he had a death threat on him a couple years ago, and ever since, he's carried the guns with him, a shotgun, a rifle, and then a pistol, but he's never shot them and he doesn't know how to use them. What?

Exactly. Why would you bring them to a rally? Why would you always have them with you if you don't know how to use them? Look, man.

Well, they're in the car. I don't care. Well, in a semi-related story, a couple years ago, a teacher got fired because he had gone hunting and forgot and left his rifle in his car. Right.

And somebody saw it on the school campus. Yeah, you don't want to do that. No, so he was fired immediately. Yeah.

I mean, man. I don't know, man. But this guy's not a hunter. This guy, he says, "I'm not even a novice.

Not even at that level. " So why do you have them? Yeah. If you're not there to, you know, use one.

Yeah, it's a bit much. A shotgun is an unusual choice, though, for a rally shooting. Well, don't you have to be relatively close to hit somebody with a shotgun? The guy had an assortment.

Pistol, rifle, and shotgun, is what you said. That's what you said. Right. I don't think the other rifle was a sniper gun.

He starts far and then starts coming up near. Well, at least we know the security's in play here. Right. They stopped it.

What could have been, I guess. He was released on $5,000 bail and so far no federal charges have been filed. Okay. Yeah, so I mean, if they let him go that fast.

Right, yeah. They're not. So the sheriff just, you know, because now we know the sheriff. Well it's a question of what legal grounds do they have at that point, you know, is there, are you permitted to carry your weapon in your car still, even if it's at a rally?

I don't think that that's illegal. I don't think so either. Is he up for election? Unadvised.

Trump? Yes, Trump. It's not the bright, it's not the brightest thing to do. No, exactly.

Yeah, it's not a wise decision. Yeah. He started, "It was while doing his work that Miller told Fox he began receiving death threats and purchased the firearms. Miller said he was a Democrat growing up, growing up and thought Barack Obama was going to save us from the needless wars and censorship.

What? Interesting. Yes. Okay.

You're a Democrat. You're at a Republican. He was a Democrat. Well, he was a Democrat.

I'm not understanding that. It's a weird story. It is. It's a very weird story.

I mean, I heard Trump's not golfing anymore until after the election. Well, yeah, that second attempt was on a golf course. Yeah, it's hard to contain. A hard-to-contain-a-golf course.

Yeah. Right. Interesting. Very interesting stuff.

What else you got? Then we get into the news. Oh, okay. Oh, no.

We have Phil's Fun Facts. Okay, but before we get into that, did you have any fun sales things? Nothing? No, no, because I haven't visited jobs.

It was a hurricane last week, so, you know. A lot of downtime. Yeah, I did find out. I was planning to go into Tampa this week, and I was advised not to.

Yeah. It's probably pretty messy over there. Yeah, still a lot of people without power. Gas is still hard to find in some areas.

So yeah, we'll put that off again. So I might go as far as Lakeland. Okay. So, from Mr.

John Oliva with JC Newman Cigars. All right, well, let's roll. He still has no power at his house. Really?

Yeah. There's still people out here. Saturday Tara did not have D'Erico. She did not still have the power.

And neither did the Danium Cool. And, like, supply chain's definitely jammed up right now. Right. Yeah.

All right, well, let's get into Phil's. Welcome to Cigar Hustlers' Podcast Feature, Phil's Fun Facts. Hello, people! All right.

Did you hear about Mary Suratella? No! No. At 71, she's defying gravity in 7-inch neon heels.

What? Spinning around poles at Hollywood's Bourbon Room. With moves like the Chopstick and the Jade Split, she wowed the crowd. When she revealed her age after the performance, the place erupted, proof that age is just a number.

You know, I wish Grandma would call me. My number for her is 69. So you like them? You like the older women.

You like the old women, huh? The gilfs? I'm not commenting with you guys. You like the gilfs, huh?

No comment. You down 71 plus? 71. At your range?

Good for you. Unbelievable. Good for you. Shatter a pelvis.

Go ahead. Shatter a pelvis. Wow. Houston, we have a problem.

Her pelvis is broken. Her pelvis. I have shattered the pelvis. I have shattered the pelvis.

My name is Phil, and I have shattered the pelvis. Does she have a walker? What? You hit a button, but nothing happened.

You hit a button, but nothing happened. Does he have a walker? I didn't hit a button. Oh, I thought he saw you hit a button.

Hmm. No, apparently not. I mean, she's pole dancing. Getting it done.

You have to use legs to... Yeah. Yeah, I mean, he even identified the terms. I don't even know what a chopstick is.

My goodness. What was the other one? Some type of split? Jaded something around.

Jaded split? I don't know, Palmer, you're that age. Good for you, you should understand. I'm not 71.

I don't think it's an age thing, I think it's a talent for a thing. You're closer than us. Well, maybe, but it's not she is a pole dancer because she's 71, the amazing part is she is a 71-year-old pole dancer. Yeah.

And you seem to enjoy that. And you, you know, your number for her is 69. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Good for you, Phil. Right. Takes off.

Live your life. Try. Embrace it. No accounting for what some people like.

Yeah. Good for you. We're not judging. Let's hit some news, baby.

Fuck Alfredo. Oh, he's gonna fuck Alfredo. Wow. Look at that.

It's terrible. All right. Give me the news. Did you see on Facebook where Alfredo announced he was safe?

Oh, yeah. And Groover said something. He said, damn, I guess I can't rep foundation. Right.

He said, I guess I can't. Oh, he's still a rep for foundation. I said, repping seems kind of strong, Jerry. Maybe it's, you know, associated.

Yeah. Associated with foundation. All right. News button, please.

Bored Monkey. From the four corners of the world, all the cigar industry news you could possibly need, the Cigar Hustler Podcast Report, with Mike Szczecin. Bentley Tobacco launches an AI Cigar Project survey. Bentley Tobacco says that we use artificial intelligence for an upcoming cigar project, but first, they want to ask lots of questions.

Yeah. S. subsidiary... Are you a human?

Are you human? Do you like cigar? Pick the seven photos of the stairs. Pick the seven photos of the stairs.

S. subsidiary, led by Jonathan Carney, have launched the AI Cigar Project, which will eventually result in what the company says, just we'll have a lot of information on you. By the way, we're smoking the Padrones from the Padron and Fuente Legends box, then we're going to review that on the Patreon. The new website with a 30 plus question survey has been launched where people can provide feedback about what they look for in cigars, though approximately half of the questions seem to be focused on how consumers purchase cigars.

I would agree. There are some questions that are distinctly related to how cigars are designed, ones related to shape, country of origin, and smoking characteristics. Bentley says these responses will be submitted to an AI model that has already been developed. So, Chad GBT, I guess?

Bentley? Bentley, yes, Bentley. Isn't Bentley a guy, or Carney said it? Bentley says the responses.

Maybe that's the AI's name. Hi, I'm Bentley. Hi, I'm Bentley. What size is there a good life?

Are they pairing with Elon Musk, and they're getting human robots? No! Oh, did you see that? That's not one of the stories, and it wasn't even trending, it was weird.

How is that not trending? I don't know. They look like the ones from iRobot. Yeah, I heard it can babysit your kids and stuff.

Yes! Good luck with that shit. You need one. You should get one.

Babysit my kids? Basic household chores? They're super affordable. Truly are.

$20,000 to $30,000. Charge it to the carton. Yeah, what the hell? Greg will take care of it.

I'll take six. Six? Yeah. You only have four kids.

Well, you know, the dogs. Oh, the dogs you went to? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't know.

Bubbles is going to need a bigger one. Bubbles is going to have to put chew toys around. Right. Or it will become a chew toy.

Yeah. Plots. Plots. See the robot yelling at Plots.

As he's being chewed his head off. Plots. This AI will conceptualize the ideal blend of blending technology and the deep expertise of world-renowned tobacco producers. The result will be a cigar created through a harmonious balance of consumer insights and artisanal traditions.

That sounds like chat GBT to me. It does, but I don't see how AI is going to balance artisanal traditions. Well, we'll get into more of that on the Patreon. Yes.

We can talk about that. Yes. Oh, I thought he was drinking a ear cup like that. Maybe we can get John Carney to subscribe to the Patreon and then he can tell us to go fuck ourselves like Mickey did.

I was like, Mickey did. Oh, that'd be nice. Yeah. Oh, that'd be so great.

For just a mere $10 to $15. $10 to $15. You can hear all the shit that we talk about everybody. For those hoping to get a cigar that was developed exclusively by AI, this isn't going to edit.

No, it says it right here. Yeah. So I don't know what they're saying. Did anybody want, was someone looking for that?

Well, I mean, it's kind of what they're saying is going to happen, but then they're like, no, that's not really. But we have your email address now, so we're building that. It sounds like they have Charlie Minato's email. Oh, you know, he took the survey.

Yeah. I'm sure he's got a throwaway email. Probably several. Probably.

Yeah. com. Foot fetish at Half Wheel. Right.

No, not at Half Wheel. He doesn't want the Half Wheel. Oh, yeah. com.

Got it. Chinese girl looking at something. Actually, grasshop. com.

I like Charlie. I like Charlie. Very smart man. Yeah.

Just not with the emails, obviously. Right. com. For those hoping to get a cigar, we read it right.

Once the survey and analyst phases are complete, master blenders. Oh. Like you. Yeah, like me.

I'm just semi. You're a semi-blender? Semi-master. I'm a master blender.

You're a master blaster. Bentley says the cigar is produced as a result of this project will debut at the 2025 PCA Convention of Detroit Show. That's fast. That's next year.

Yeah. Well, you know. So in like six months. Tell the data.

Hmm. It's only been up for a week. It's done. Wow.

Cigar. This is it. We'll see. " Everybody chose that one.

" Alright. Cigar Project is more than just a new product," said Carney in a press release. " This is all Chad GPT too. By uniting traditions in technology, we're boys to craft something truly remarkable.

I know, John, this isn't how he talks. No, it's not how he talks. All caps, truly. Karney's also a co-founder of Shoulders of Giants, an AI-focused consulting firm.

Somebody should be mad that they covered that. That they added that on? And they didn't cover him. Oh.

Why are you guys talking about John Karney? Right. Hmm. All right, Drunk Chicken Cigars is Part-ter-ing.

Part-ter-der. Part, partnering, partnering, partnering, partnering, partnering, with City of Palms, oh wait, we heard about them, City of Palms is everywhere now, they also have Moe with Patina, we're absorbing everyone, we're absorbing everyone, Drunk Chicken Cigars has announced that it has entered into a distribution agreement with City of Palms Distribution Services, interesting, which the company says will help expand its reach, by partnering with City of Palms Distribution Services, we will become one of many cigars that they have in their portfolio, you know, I've never seen a City of Palms representative in this shop. Hmm, that's true. Drunk Chicken Cigars will now be able to meet increasing demand and reach new customers in Florida!

Oh. Hmm. Across the United States, a drunk chicken at a press release, they called the agreement a significant milestone in the company's expansion. It's a major accomplishment.

Yes. Desiree Silva, founder of Drunk Chicken Cigars in 2019, was a company based in the District of Columbia. The company sells a variety of blends with various chickens. Oh, inspired.

Like Mother Clucker, Homicidal Hen, Fat Hen. Yeah. The company's cigars are made in the USA at an undisclosed factory. Oh, they're made in the USA.

Right. Undisclosed. Undisclosed. Shipping's not a problem.

Yeah. They already get 'em here. Shipping 'em very fast. Yeah.

Where's the biggest chicken farm? Maybe that's where they're made. Maybe chickens make them. Ooh.

Drunk chickens, obviously. We booze 'em up. Oh, that's nice. And, you know.

See, City of Palm Distribution Services led by Kevin and Ann Dinkins, who have more than 30 years of combined experience in the premium cigar industry. Ever heard of either one of these people? They have 30 years. Dinkins?

Dinkins. Not Duncan, not the Donuts. That's a completely different person. Yeah, that's a totally different thing.

It's a completely different industry. No, there's an N, Dinkins. Yeah. Why, do you know a Dinkins in the cigar industry?

Oh, that's AC stuff. That's what I was wondering. Oh, no. No Dinkins.

No Dinkins. The company aims to provide back-end logistics services to smaller companies, which include importing bonded warehousing, inventory, well, they don't have to import the chickens. They're already here. They don't need the bonding warehouse, either.

Yeah. Well, I mean, they have to pay taxes. Yeah, but the bonding warehouse is where you put them, so you don't have to pay taxes. because they're not here yet.

Technically. They receive them there. Well, they receive them here, but they're not actually... Maybe they don't have to pay taxes yet until they ship.

Do they still have to pay that TTP or whatever the hell it is? TTP? TTP? I'm sure.

I just thought that was an import thing. I don't know. It's a good question. S.

Let's see. The company aims to provide warehousing, inventory control, invoicing, shipping, payment processing, Commission Processing, that's important that they could do the commission process, so they know which money they need. Very important. Its headquarters is in Fort Myers, Florida, and has steadily been adding to its client list lately, apparently.

Most recently, Patina Cigars announced in September that it was partnering with City of Palms. The company also distributes for ADV and McKay Cigars. Collab Cigar Drunken Palms. Makers of the Adventure line.

Is it Palms like the tree? Palms like the tree, the palm tree is their logo. Not like hands? No, it's the tree.

Okay. I mean, Drunken Chicken, those people seem pretty cool. I like the Drunken Chicken people. Yeah, they are very nice.

There's that one man and his wife we always see everywhere. Yeah. What's his name? I don't know.

Yeah, that guy. He's cool. Yeah. His wife is very nice.

Let's see, Quality Importers, Conspiracy Cigars, Chad Ochocinco Johnson, 85 cigars. Ooh, German, they do the German engineering cigars. Oh. Oh.

And Escobar Cigars, among several others. -Nas is a big one. -Is he? Ocho Cinco is not a big one?

-Nas is like a- -Nas is bigger than Ocho Cinco. -Yeah. -In the cigar realm or? -No, just in the world.

-Well, yeah, I've heard of him. -You have? -Yeah, he makes that drink right there, Nas, that's right there. -Yeah, that's him.

-That's the guy. -Yeah, yeah. -Dear God. -Jim Harbaugh.

-What? -Yeah, Jim Harbaugh. -Jim Harbaugh, yeah, yeah. -The Broncos coach.

-No, Chargers, Michael, it's Chargers. I'm very sorry. You said it wasn't Chargers, so I went to the next team that they said was playing. John Harbaugh is Baltimore.

Oh, it wasn't him. He's fine. No heart problems. No heart issues.

No heart issues with that man at all. He's healthy as an ox, they say. Okay, good. All right.

Sober Mesa Solita Red slated for 2025. In 2023, Dunbart Tobacco & Trust founder Steve Saka, who invented cigars, was discontinuing the Sober Mesa Solita Cervetas Fino. And now we know at least why. Invented cigars.

He's supposed to say like the money, but he's not paying attention. I like money. There you go. Thank you very much.

I am paying attention. Early next year, Dunbarton Tobacco Trust will be releasing the Sober Mesa Solita Red, a new bolder and richer version of the Sober Mesa line. While specific blend details, such as pricing and pricing information and production numbers, have not been announced. So he's not saying how much, how many, or where he's making it.

It just announced it. Right. Yeah. I saw a nice photo.

The regular Sober Mesa with red in the background. There you go. Oh. So he has the gold, the blue, the green, and now the red.

Yes. Kind of like the Me Coritos. Yeah, right. He will make a six and a quarter by 46 Parejo.

Not the most popular one. You can talk to John Carney. He will tell you. I.

says otherwise. I. says otherwise. Cigars we package in 13 count boxes is unclear whether there will be additional Vitolas or just the one.

Okay. When I ceased making the Cervetas Fino, which was one of my personal favorites of the original Liga, why is he, he's the only one that calls them Ligas? Hmm? Yeah.

He's the only one that calls them Ligas. Yeah. Thank you for the, for, for the fourth. That's amazing.

Thank you very much. Dunbart has followed a similar path with its Mi Carita brand, which debuted in one, in one blend, but has since expanded to various lines, differentiated by a number of factors. He's very busy. He's traveling all over the world.

Oh yeah, he's playing in the red. Yeah, right. John Lafferty's going to Hawaii. John Lafferty?

David Lafferty, his brother. John's brother. John's driving to the airport. My mistake.

Okay. Still stuck on John Harbaugh. John Harbaugh? John Harbaugh.

What are we doing? What were the two brothers, the Kelsey brothers' names? Who were they again? Travis?

No, the other two that we talked about before. There's more than one? I don't know. There's more than two.

Alec and Bradley. There you go, Alec and Bradley. Alec and Bradley. What if his sons would have been named Bob and Phil?

Would it have been the Bob and Phil? Bob and Phil. Robert and Philip. Robert and Philip.

Oh, Philip, like Philip Morris. Yeah. Nestor Placentia celebrates his 75th birthday with a special cigar. Alec and Bradley.

75 years old? 75 years old. Still plugging away making cigars. Just dominating.

He just loves it so much. He loves it. He's like George. Yeah.

Jorge. I'm calling him George. He does not look like a Jorge. Okay.

So nice Padron. So? That doesn't sound Spanish either. Sounds not English.

Jerry does. Sounds French. When Cigar Company's Padron. He's got the little over the word.

It's called an umlaut. It's got an umlaut over it that looks French. Oh, I am George Padron. I am George.

I will make the cigar. They will make cigars for you! For Carlito Fuente. Let's see about this birthday cigar.

Okay, let's see. Cigar companies are the people who own them celebrate a major anniversary or a birthday. Oftentimes, they release a cigar. Well, what else are they going to do, they make cigars?

What are they going to do, release a car? Yes. Typically, it's a limited edition, though other times it's a regular production line. Depends on what kind of tobacco they have.

This one's a special edition. While the cigars might be different, the concept is more or less the same. There's a major milestone, and then we make a cigar and we sell it. For Nestor Placentia Senior, it's the father, 75th birthday Placentia concept is quite, actually quite different.

Really? He's making a cigar. Yeah? Is it Bluetooth?

Placentia Cigars. It's got a QR code? Family's, no, no, QR code, didn't, isn't, uh, Sokka doing, no, Sokka's doing the reflective, uh, holographic. Yeah.

Authenticity. Right. Uh, Family Cigar Rain is releasing the Nestor 75. Oh.

Original. Yeah. A 7x50. Oh, 75.

That's smart. Churchill, while the company is not disclosing blend detail, it says that it's a personal cigar of Nestor Placentia. There are 750 boxes. Oh, I have 10.

Oh, I screwed up there. It should have been of seven. But there's a major twist. They aren't for sale.

There's only seven. They're not for sale. Oh, they're not for sale. He's making a cigar for his birthday and not selling it.

I like it. Eladio sells them out of his trunk because he's missing out. Not Nestor. Not Nestor.

Ah, Nestor. Nestor's got a fuck-ton of money. That's right. I do not have to sell these.

Yeah, I'm gonna make these, and guess what? You can't have them, not on a boo-boo. No, Plasencia is sending them to cigar retailers and others as gifts. Oh!

We love Nestor. Hopefully we should call him. Nestor, Nestor, Nestor, Nestor. Happy birthday to you.

You're welcome any time. Happy birthday to you. We're not qualified for that, just for the record. The company says the cigars are being sent as a gift from Elder Plasencia for those who have walked the path with him.

Yeah. That's not us? We haven't walked the path. He doesn't feel that way.

The thing you did to PCA was you follow him around for one whole day. I walked behind you all day. Following the steps. What are you doing?

We're walking in your steps, Nester. We're following your path. Following your path. We're going for the 7x50 75 anniversary.

750 cigars. We've all got to walk 75 steps behind you. Yeah. 75 years is a milestone birthday and inspires us to look back and appreciate all that he has accomplished, said Nestor Andres Placentia in a press release.

Is that the son? Andres? See, that's French. That sounds French.

I don't know. They're all French now. They're all French. Andres?

He's accomplishments in the tobacco industry. Speak for themselves. My father looks forward to recognizing those close to us with these special personal blends. The Plasencia family grows tobacco in Honduras and Nicaragua and operates, you know, those were your two favorites on the AI quiz that we're going to take after this show.

Really? Yeah. Multiple scare factors between the two countries. The Elder, Placentia.

I don't think he likes being called the Elder. I don't know. I wouldn't be mind calling the Elder. It sounds wise.

Greg's older though. He would be the elder brother. He's definitely the elder brother. I was bored.

He doesn't look it though. No. He's living his best life. He's tan.

Did you see the hat he's wearing today? No. He's wearing a Sleptic hat. Oh, I did see that.

That's yours. Yeah, whatever. I don't wear it. But why is he wearing it?

I don't wear it. I don't wear it. It's like a I don't wear it. But why is he wearing it?

I don't like when he changes his appearance. It's fine. It's fine. All right.

He's one of the large growers and suppliers of tobacco for the premium cigar industry. Yeah, we know. It also has its own cigar brand that is best known for the likes of Alma Fuente and Alma de Fuego. While releasing a cigar to make a major birthday without selling it, it's incredibly unique.

It's not the first time this has happened. A decade ago, a decade and a half ago, Arturo Fuente did nearly the exact same thing. In 2010, Arturo Fuente sent retailers 10-count boxes of a special Don Carlos Robusto wearing 75th Benz. , and cigar was the blend that he was smoking at the time of his death, a cigar formerly known as the Don Carlos Sr.

Death Blend. Really? Death blend? No, I figured it was one.

As with Placencia! I wasn't believing it. These boxes. I will call it the death blood.

The death blood. It's the one my father was smoking when he died. I shall call it the death blood. As my time is coming to an end.

They were sent to retailers free of charge. We didn't get that either. Fuente did the same a year later for Fuente Senior's 75th birthday, but stopped after that. It's getting too expensive.

You know, Eric Espinosa called me. He's doing a birthday cigar. We get it for free? No, but he called me before the storm.

He called me after the storm. A lot of people checked on me, which is awesome. But Eric called. Well, nice.

Yeah. Jack called me. So if Eric is going to make a cigar for his birthday, we might get it. We might get that?

Jack called me, Hector texted me. Yeah. No, Eric. Hey, Jack called me as well.

You didn't answer the phone. Is that what happened? Yes. There was a lot going on, buddy.

You were still sleeping. It was early in the morning. Was it? Because you weren't answering me either.

I had to call you. I was very tired. I had to call your brother. So he's not making it anymore.

No, getting it two years in a row. We can't afford this, Dad. Stop sending us free cigars. Yeah.

Shut it down. You might be dying soon, but I'm not. I need to keep the money. Right.

Residuals. S. distribution for Clipper lighters. Okay.

You ever had a Clipper lighter? No. There's one upstairs, actually. Really?

Yes. One. What's a Clipper lighter? It's a neat little lighter.

Somebody left it here. Oh, really? Yes. S.

distributor for Clipper lighters. Crytek and Flamangas, F-L-A-M-A-T - Who is also French. Flamangas? Flamangas.

Flamango. We will dance the Flamango. Today, we will do Flamango. The parent of Clipper made the announcement today, the synergy with Crytek's current brand portfolio provides Clipper with a robust new presence across retail channels.

Where we compete, said Jorge Munoz. Maybe it's George. It probably is George. George.

CEO of Flamangas. And a press release, Crytek Extensive Distribution Network will also help us grow, we've never seen a Crytek representative in here either. No. So we're not getting clippers.

Probably not. They were founded in 1959. Few different models, but it's known for a unique feature compared to its competitors. In the affordable lighter category, the lighters are refillable.

What is that? It's a disposable looking lighter that you can refill. That's fantastic. The classic clipper lighter retails for around a dollar.

It has a single soft flame packed inside a unique body shape that combines a cylinder with an angular shape, though the company offers other styles and even the torch flame option. There's a press release, there was some information. Biahe is releasing the crow, the head of Halloween. Now, I read this quickly originally, I thought they were releasing the crown head.

No. The crow a head. The crow. Yes.

I thought it was a crown head. Ca-caw. Ca-caw. The Crow.

The Viaje is a new cigar called The Crow. It's just like the original Crow with Brandon Lee, where you can smoke it and it doesn't die. It just doesn't go away. Oh.

Yeah. It's a 5 1/2 by 50 Robusto with a new full... That's not true. Yeah, it is a 5 1/2 by 50 Robusto.

Yeah, but when you smoke it. Oh, I guess. It burns. Yeah.

Right. Can't rain all the time. All Nicaraguan blend highlighted by a Corojo 99 wrapper is being made at the Aganorsa factory in Nicaragua when I explicitly... Oh, it's Aganorsa.

Aganorsa. So it should be good. Well, explicitly an offshoot of the company's Full Moon line, which is not being released this year, there is still a connection as the Full Moon packaging features a small crow on each box. Yeah.

60 per cigar and is offered in boxes at $15. Scheduled to begin shipping October 16th. Are we getting this? We are, but they're all gone.

I hate when you sell stuff before we get it. Look, man. I understand that's how the business works. Stuff comes in, it gets sold, and then we can buy more stuff.

I pride myself on customer service, so if someone's going to reach out, and someone's interested, it's gone. So how many do you do again? You got three boxes. Oh, okay, well, you can sell three boxes where you're still working out.

I sold, those three boxes were sold without me reaching out. The other, you know, our consumers reach out to us. Ah, yes, yes. They're also coming out with the ghost pepper.

Oh, I had the pepper before, I didn't really like it. Oh, yeah, maybe it's a different pepper. Well, the ghost pepper seems like it would be stronger, more peppery. more peppery peppery potpourri there was another fire no yes another one another fire man so many insurance claims all sack labels burned up all sack labels all sack labels all sack suffers a fire all sack labels a dominican-based supplier boxes and labels to numerous cigar companies suffered a significant fire on october 3rd that will impact several brands ability to They're packaged their cigars.

What's their logo? They have no sacks anymore. They're burned up. All the sacks are burned.

What is their... What is their... What is their... It's a scrotum.

Yeah. This is a fucking set of balls. Set of balls. Allegedly.

All sacks suppliers, boxes, and labels of several cigar companies, including PDR cigars. Hot dog? No. All sacks.

Are PDRs even still around? Yeah, they're still here. Hiram and Solomon. Okay.

Sanjay Patel's SP-1014, among others, Abe Flores, BDR Cigars, told Cigars of the Podcast that all sack produces 95% of his sacks, I mean boxes, and that the fire will affect his ability to send out cigars in sacks for the foreseeable future. No more sack. No more sack. Patel told- You got no sack, buddy.

Patel told Cigars of the Podcast that the fire will- Patel? Yes, Patel. Sanjay Patel, not Rocky Patel. Okay.

Totally different Patel. Patel. It's a different Patel, completely different, that's like Smith over there, it's very common, you have tobacco between your teeth now, just so you know. Thank you.

Patel's on, yes. Thank you, I ate it. Yes, well that's, wasn't he talking about eating, somebody else, no somebody else was eating tobacco, oh the. We lost Phil.

The Bob, or no, oh it's back again by the way, it's back again. Let me get some water here, fix that for you. All SAG labels are located in the northern edge of San, well it's Dominican, he doesn't want to hear about it, he doesn't like Dominican. Oh yeah, only if it's Dominican.

Only if it's Dominican. Is it gone now? Yes. Okay.

As long as it doesn't come back again. Fifth Avenue gets new commercial manager. Saks? No, no, Fifth Avenue.

Is this a clothing store? Nope. Fifth Avenue Products Trading, the distributor of Cuban cigars in Austria, Germany, and Poland will have a new commercial manager. See, why is he covering this story?

Because there's nothing else to talk about. Obviously. There was a lot of stories. He could have left this one out.

There were like four reviews this week though. Yeah, I think that there was some down time. Barbara LaVeya de la Torre. Again, you're in Q4 officially.

Right. Isn't this normally when everything starts like dropping? No, you get some special things drop, like your Fuente and Ajo's come out. Right, the pinks just came out.

Yeah, Maestran's is about to turn out. There'll be some Halloween themed stuff. Yeah, stuff like that. There'll be some Christmas stuff when it gets closer to Christmas.

This is Christmas. It's beginning to look a lot like... Oh, yeah, you can do that. Copper.

Let's see. Barbara, who has served in the role... Santa? No, Barbara.

Barbara. Barbara. La Vea de la Torre. Oh.

Who's French. Also French. Served in the role for six years. She's leaving a position which will be taken over by Osmar Hernandez Fuente.

Osmar. His last name's Fuente? Last name's Fuente. Oh.

I see what's going on here. Yeah, a little nepotism. With other disputers among local management roles are filled by employees from Habano's SA. Oh.

You think he's related to one of the Fuentes? I said, is he like the long lost brother or something? He could be. Like a cousin.

Just like, you know what, fuck, we gotta get Ozmar a job. Shit. Yeah. Oh, they're not even saying Fuente.

Now, later in the article, they start calling him Hernandez. They call him... They fucked up, that's why. Maybe he's related to Pete.

Start calling him Oz. He's one of the Pete brothers. He's one of the Hernandez's? He's going to be one of those Hernandez's.

He's one of the Pete brothers? One of the Hernandez brothers. Pete and Steve. Yeah, but nobody knows, everybody knows Pete, though.

I know Steve. I know Steve. Yeah. I said everybody doesn't know him as Hernandez.

Steve is much nicer. He's the better brother. Yeah. He's the one that keeps the other one in line.

Exactly. Yeah. Let's see. Hernandez began his career in the cigar industry in 1997 as an employee at the famous El Laguito factory at the home of Cohiba.

He served as the factory manager from 2003-2006, then he moved to the larger Romeo and Julieta factory. What's that? I'm podcasting. What?

I don't know. I'll check in a minute. The bag's not in the car. That's why everybody's caught up.

Bruce Lee says he enjoys Cuban baseball. Listen, when my son calls, I'm going to answer, and when my wife calls, I'm going to answer. I didn't complain. I'm just letting everybody know.

I don't, you know, I love this podcast, but I love them a lot more. Oh, hurtful. Yeah, it's just facts. Hurtful.

I can feel the tobacco now again. It's by my teeth. Uh, um, all right, Tablachalera is bringing a new, bringing one back, Michael, just for you. Oh, the ghost pepper.

Tablachalera Night Commander. Oh, that's already been out. Tablachalera? You mean Foundation.

Tabernacle, sorry. Oh my God. I was like, why does that name not make any sense at all? It's French.

The Knight Commander. We still have them upstairs. Yeah. Oh, well, you're going to get rid of them because there's another one coming out.

Oh, my goodness. Last year, Foundation Cigar Company released a special version of its tab... Now I can't say it, I'll screw it up. Oh, my goodness.

Foundation. Line that has charitable intentions. While the 2023 release was limited and has since sold out... Well, it's not sold out.

We have it here. We ship the COD. The plan was for it to return again this year. Now that's happening.

Part of the plan. It's not called the Knight Commander, it's called the Knight Humander. Humander. The other one does better, the Heikler Senniger.

Right. That's also coming out, too. Well, I think the Night Commander is just a little too expensive, wasn't it? I can't remember how much the Senniger was.

Quasi-disappointing. $40. $40 per cigar. Yeah, that's a little-- You know, today's market, it's kind of a cheap cigar.

What? We're smoking a $185. We're just over here just fine. Padrón Fuente, just letting this thing sit in the ashtray over here.

$12 more dollars, you get a 50th. That's right. The Knight Commander Cigar is my way of giving back, and I'm honored that all the net proceeds will support the Royal Ethiopian Trust. Well, now I feel bad.

See? Just like that. Wow. What is the Royal Ethiopian Trust?

I don't know. I don't think they need more money, though. It's Royal! Yeah, it's Royal.

They need his little Peasley cigar money? Yeah, it's ridiculous. Maybe he's the Royal Ethiopian. Maybe you should sell those to Joe Rogan.

Oh, take a band, put a band on it. Yeah. These are the royal Joe Rogan commanders. Yeah, the Joe Rogan commanders.

He'll never know. He'll never know. Let's see, the knight commander of the Ethiopian Star of Honor is an order of knighthood that he was established to honor both foreign and domestic people for their service to the country of Ethiopia by the Ethiopian Crown Council. What did he do for the Crown Council?

He's just really smart. I don't know, man. I know, he's very, very, very smart. He is.

Maybe he figured out how they can all build wells or something. Maybe he will figure out how to respond to texts, I don't know. Maybe that's where he draws the line. Well, Ethiopians don't text.

I'm an Ethiopian knight, I don't... He's tapping on those drums every time you text him. Send me smoke signals. Maybe he's got to make an Ethiopian tobacco.

Well, he's not up during the day either. He's only at night. He's the night commander. He's the night commander.

The Ethiopian Crown Council is a community organization that aims to reserve and promote the culture of the former Ethiopian Empire. Well, now I feel even worse. I don't know. This sounds like a made-up group.

No, that's a real thing. It's got to be a thing. Well, I'm sure it's a real thing. It's probably just some type of distortion.

Well, you'll know it's real when he has to change the emblem. It'd be like Dana making the Deltona Crown Council. Deltona Commander? Yeah, the Deltona Crown Council, and she knights you a member of the...

I mean, Ethiopia's a little bit bigger than Deltona. Okay, not by much. Volusia County. Is there...

Volusia County Royal Council. There's 100,000 in Deltona. Yeah, we're getting bigger all the time. Singles are swallowing us up.

We need somebody to help us with the infrastructure here, too. When my time comes. Yes. And I'm at the Golden Gates.

Yes. " No, they're gonna play clips of all the shit that we said. " You remember that one time you made fun of those Ethiopians? See this guy sitting over outside the gate?

That's Palmer. He's not getting in. You're sitting with him. Play episode 346.

We're going to wait for Nick Malella to get here. We're going to talk about this. About 32 minutes. No, Nick's already here.

Nick, he's trying to get in, Nick. You're not going to believe this. No, they made fun of my cigar. Fuck those guys.

Do not let him in as he pulls his sword out. I am the Knight Commanda. I am the Knight Commanda. Do not let them pass.

Oh, damn it. Winter is coming. Winter is coming. But as it says, it donates all its profits from the sale of the Knight Commander to the Royal Ethiopian troops.

All proceeds? All. I believe it. You'd think they would make it easier for you to get it then.

Well, you know, I just think... All but two dollars. I just think that there's a, there's a, there's some issues in that chain. Maybe it's been fixed by now.

I don't know. Who knows? We'll find out when they say get by 750 boxes to get your one Knight Commander. I got news for you.

Oh my God. I still got the others. Unfortunately, I won't be donating this year to the Knights to Ethiopia. Jesus.

The Ethiopian Crown Council will not be getting my money this year. Yeah, not this time. Not this year. Sorry.

We're gonna be famished. As it is, uh, we have plenty of time. As it is coming into the Halloween season. Yeah.

Oh, we have a surprise. We have, yes. We're going to start doing the most haunted places in Florida. Oh, okay.

Sound like a little thing? St. Augustine's haunted. Well, that's not the one.

We're going, we're starting here and working our way out. Oh, okay. So, right near us, Interstate 4, the Dead Zone. Are you familiar with this?

Is that where I lose service? It's the bridge. That's from the bridge to the first exit. Really?

Yes. Okay. As you're coming this way. Moving back to downtown, okay, blah, blah, blah, blah.

I-4, you're not alone. If you travel I-4 in Sanford and see strange lights or hear questionable noises, in the 1870s, a group of German immigrants called this area home after surviving many hardships. We are the Germans. We are the Germans.

We must move. To Florida. Including the famous yellow fever outbreak of 1887. We have the yellow fever.

We are bringing the fever. The immigrants buried the dead and left the area for greener pastures. I mean, that makes sense. So that stretch of road between the bridge and the first exit, there's a graveyard there.

Really? Yes, of Germans. Germans? German settlers.

Yeah, the Germans. Years later, Interstate 4 developers agreed to move the graves of the German immigrants. Oh, like poltergeists? You're in trouble.

But they did not move them. Oh, they left them. They did not follow through with their end of the bargain. Today we see ghostly apparitions.

Can you imagine that conversation? Hey, we're gonna move these. Alright, yeah, yeah, yeah. Right.

That's a lot of work. The ground's kinda soft here. We don't have the taxation for that. How do you move that anyways?

You dig 'em up. You dig 'em up. You dig 'em up and move 'em. They're disintegrated by them.

They're probably in coffins or something. Coffins or something. Like in St. Augustine.

Yeah. That whole graveyard's still there. You dug 'em up? The dead zone.

No, not there. They leave 'em there. But yeah, they're probably in some type of shell concrete. Some type of shell concrete thing.

Yeah. But they didn't move them. So today we see ghostly aberrations, truckers hear strange noises on their CB radios, and this section of I-4 is notorious for deadly car accidents. That's just us fucking with them at nighttime.

There's supposed to be more accidents than that one mile stretch than the entire length of I-4. Stop it. I read that before. I don't believe it.

There's accidents there all the time. Yeah, all the time. It's always jammed. It's so fucking aggravating.

And it's so weird because they lose phone service, everybody freaks out. Yeah, because there's really no reason, because you'll notice there's really no backup, but at that exit, everything opens up. Yeah. You got a little ghost out there going, wait, wait, wait, do not go, wait, we can't do that no more.

No, we cannot, you crash, you crash, join us down here. Not the Volkswagen, let the Volkswagen go, sir. Oh, we like the VWs, we like the VWs, the Passats, so I have a Listener Week and a Shout of the Wigs. You come unprepared each week.

Listener of the week is... Hold on, I had it here somewhere. Tabaculera? Tabaculera Night Commander.

Tabaculera Night Commander. Oh, where'd it go? Good thing I remember where it is. Shop of the week is Old City Cigars.

Excellent. In St. Augustine, Florida. And Listener of the week...

I remember his name. Is Bobby Scott. Bobby Scott. He works at the Old City Cigars.

Very nice. Very big on social media. He used to be a country western singer. Really?

So like, if you google him on YouTube, you can find his songs. " I don't wanna do it. I'm out. I'm gonna go work at a cigar place.

S. Mail, he's a mailman. And he does cigars on his side. He does cigars on his days off, 'cause he loves cigars.

Nice. Huge cigar fan. And he loves the show. Thanks for listening, Bobby.

Yes, Bobby Scott, thank you very much. If he'd come in and play for us, except he hasn't played in 10 years. Never picked up the guitar again. He's done.

Yep. Oh, it's gonna be like a life story. All right. Right, make a great movie.

Yeah. Right. All right, well, hey. All right, this has been episode 355 of the Cigar Hustler Pod.

Time for the Patreon. Where I get to finish my Pafuente. Your Pafuente. My Pafuente, or my Fadrone.

Your Fadrone. Your French Dominican? My French Dominican cigar. Goodbye.

Goodbye. The Cigar Hustlers Podcast, its owners and its sponsors take no responsibility for the opinions or statements made by the talk show host or their guest. Statements or show topics are not necessarily the beliefs of Mike and Mike Productions or the podcast providers and opinions between talk show hosts may differ. It is not our intention to libel, incite, or hurt anyone's feelings.

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Show Notes

In this week’s episode, we dive into trending topics across cigars, sports, and the supernatural. We discuss Columbus Day 2024 and Indigenous Peoples Day, exploring the evolving perspectives on these holidays. On the sports front, we highlight the Detroit Lions’ rising star, Aidan Hutchinson, and the ongoing drama with Jim Harbaugh. We then take a deep dive into the cigar world, covering Bentley Tobacco’s groundbreaking AI cigar project, Drunk Chicken Cigars’ partnership with City of Palms Distribution, and Néstor Plasencia’s 75th birthday celebration cigar. We’ll also touch on Viaje’s spooky release of The Crow, just in time for Halloween.

In our second half, we explore Florida’s haunted history, with a chilling look at the ghostly apparitions and deadly accidents on Interstate 4—known as “The Dead Zone.” Plus, we’ll cover major industry news including Kretek’s new role with Clipper lighters and the return of The Tabernacle Knight Commander for 2024.

Hashtags:

#ColumbusDay #IndigenousPeoplesDay #AidanHutchinson #JimHarbaugh #BentleyTobacco #AICigar #DrunkChickenCigars #CityOfPalms #NestorPlasencia #ViajeCigars #TheCrow #Kre