CIGAR HUSTLERS PODCAST PCA Pre Show 2024 EPISODE 325
Episode Summary
Episode 325 of A Cigar Hustler's Podcast is the crew's annual PCA pre-show rundown, recorded from the Mike & Mike studios in Deltona, Florida ahead of the 2024 PCA Convention & Trade Show in Las Vegas. Mike "The King" Szczepankiewicz and Mike "BDP" Palmer open with a blunt statement of editorial policy: their cigar reviews on Patreon are honest, sometimes unflattering, and they're not changing after 15 years in the industry — plus a warning to Patreon members who share paid content.
The bulk of the episode is PCA logistics and news. The guys cover the show's move to the Las Vegas Convention Center Central Hall, early registration, the Las Vegas Loop (Tesla Tunnel) from Resorts World, the trade show app, and the new PCA media rules — no show-floor access during setup, no early entry, no soliciting manufacturers for free goods or ad space, and badge restrictions. They also touch on the opening party sponsored by Crowned Heads and the Best of the Leaf Awards, plus Las Vegas airport's new pilot self-screening TSA checkpoint and a Clear/TSA PreCheck signup story.
New-release news includes the Hoyo de Monterrey Cabaneta lancero returning as a PCA 2024 limited release, Freud Cigar Company's Carlos & Maria "Orgasmo" limited edition (the follow-up to Amorío, with a third line teased for 2025), A.J. Fernandez's Días de Gloria Brasil, Smoking Jacket's Mini Henkie, and Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust bringing back the Umbagog Bronze along with a Sin Compromiso robusto. On the industry-drama side, they dig into Nick Melillo leaving Aganorsa Leaf for My Father/Pepín García and why that move is such a loaded statement, Esteban Disla's new project given to 100 "top retailers," Luciano Cigars moving Fiat Lux production to Plasencia's Tabacos de Oriente in Danlí and adding the Tenebris limited edition, and a Miami counterfeit-cigar bust involving fake Cuban bands for Romeo y Julieta, Trinidad, Montecristo, Cohiba, CAO, Bolívar, La Gloria Cubana, Macanudo, Punch, Partagás and Sancho Panza.
Rounding it out: Phil's Fun Facts on the new USDA "Product of the USA" labeling rule, a shout to the Powstanie Mafia Facebook group, Shop of the Week Boll Weevil Cigars in Enterprise, Alabama, Listener of the Week Michael Elefterio, Powstanie's own upcoming Justice and Cro-Mag releases, and a detour into the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul fight stipulations.
In This Episode
- 01Honest Reviews & Patreon PolicyThe hosts defend their unfiltered, sponsor-free reviews and call out members sharing paid Patreon content.
- 02PCA 2024 LogisticsNew Las Vegas Convention Center Central Hall location, early registration, the Tesla Tunnel from Resorts World, hotel walkability, and the trade show app.
- 03PCA Media RulesA point-by-point read of the new media badge agreement: no setup-day access, no early floor entry, no soliciting free goods or advertising.
- 04Parties & AwardsCrowned Heads sponsors the opening party and the Best of the Leaf Awards honor the year's top tobacco at the convention center.
- 05New PCA 2024 ReleasesHoyo de Monterrey Cabaneta lancero, Freud's Carlos & Maria Orgasmo, A.J. Fernandez Días de Gloria Brasil, Smoking Jacket Mini Henkie, and Dunbarton's Umbagog Bronze and Sin Compromiso robusto.
- 06Nick Melillo Leaves Aganorsa for Pepín GarcíaWhy the jump between two factories whose owners despise each other is a major industry statement — and why other media won't cover it.
- 07Luciano Fiat Lux & Miami Counterfeit BustFiat Lux production moves to Plasencia's Tabacos de Oriente with a new Tenebris limited edition, plus a Miami-Dade arrest over counterfeit Cuban cigar bands and boxes.
- 08Phil's Fun Facts, Shop & Listener of the WeekUSDA 'Product of the USA' labeling rule, Boll Weevil Cigars in Enterprise, Alabama, and listener Michael Elefterio.
Brands & Cigars Discussed
Linked items are in our shop. Mentions without a link aren’t currently stocked or couldn’t be matched with confidence.
Transcript
Everybody stand by. Industry is in the house. Here he is, the controversial, but legendary, BDB. Yeah, I'm dead.
It's my destiny. Make way for the king. It's a long time, can't be stopped, shootin' my shot. Another Mike and Mike production in 3, 3, 2, 2, 1, 1, 1, 0.
Welcome to Cigar Hustlers Podcast, episode 325, recorded live. At Mike & Mike Production Studios in Deltona, Florida, this is the Cigar Housewives Podcast, the show where two guys share their passion for cigars, business, and life. Join Mike, The King, Stepankiewicz, and Mike, BDP Palmer, as they talk about the latest cigars news, reviews, tips, and interview some of the most influential people in the cigar industry. And me, I'm your engineer and sound tech, Phil.
Whether you're a seasoned aficionado or a curious beginner, this podcast is for you. So sit back, relax, and live with Cigar with Cigar Hustlers Podcast. Oh, almost timed perfectly. Welcome to Cigar Hustlers Podcast, a show brought to you commercial-free, but a massive shout-out to our amazing, well, almost all amazing, patrons on the Patreon.
Thanks to your unwavering support, we're able to deliver unfiltered, unbiased opinions on all things cigars and personalities in the cigar world. Your backing makes it possible for us to keep it real for our listeners. Cheers to you. com and search "A Cigar Hustler's Podcast".
Make sure to add that "A". Run to camera three real quick. Uh-oh. Just so you know, we're gonna do the Los Datos Deluxe on the Patreon.
Los Datos. Oh. I just wanted to get out here and get in front of this and kind of state this right now. Right.
Just for the record. So you're not weighing it with the foil. 9 grams. So, if you're a Patreon member, or a patron of the Patreon, please do us a favor and don't share the content with people who are not patrons of the Patreon, they can always pay as well.
This is designed so that we don't have to take on sponsors so that we can have open and honest opinions about things, and sometimes those opinions, they are frowned upon. Controversial? Yeah, people get upset. People get upset.
Get a little miffed. So, look, I'm going to tell you right now that when it comes to me reviewing a cigar, when it comes to us reviewing a cigar - Thank you, I was going to say us - When it comes to us reviewing a cigar, we're always going to give our honest opinion. Of course. And the fact of the matter is that if somebody does a misstep in the industry, I'm going to say it.
If my friend is 50 pounds overweight, I'm going to tell him he's 50 pounds overweight and I'm not going to say no, man, you look good. He does that. People fucking, when people make, I do do that, when people make mistakes and people fuck up, it just happens. We took points off of Road Leaf.
Would you prefer me to be dishonest about something and then when business starts to tank you, you have no idea what the fuck went for? What happened? But everybody loved the cigar. Mike, why didn't you tell me?
So, you know, I'm just flat out, I just want to address that, man. You know, if you're going to be upset about it, you know, for one, fucking pay for the subscription so that you have an opinion instead of bootlegging that shit, that's fucking dirty as fuck. It's $10 a month just for the audio. Yeah, it's not like it's $100 or something.
You know, and it's $15. Now, if you share that stuff, I'm going to figure, we're going to figure out who is. We always find out. Yeah, it doesn't take, it's not long, it doesn't, it's not hard for us to do that.
We find out who does it, and you know, we'll talk to you about it, and hopefully you don't repeat it again. If you do, like, if I find that there's a new customer and then they're just sharing the shit, we're just going to turn you off, man. It's just that simple. And as far as brand owners and manufacturers that get upset with us, Us?
No, that's just you. Or get upset with me. You can be upset. No, it does.
That's perfectly acceptable. You can be upset with me. I'm not hard to fucking find. You can call me, and we can have a conversation about it.
So, you know, I am who I am, and I've been in this industry for 15 years. I'm not about to fucking change for anybody. If I feel like you made a misstep, I'm going to tell you when you made a misstep. I don't care if we're best friends.
So, do better. Do better. Do fucking better. And if you want to talk to me, you know where to find me at PCA, you know where to find me- Who, 30910?
You know where to find me Monday through Friday. I'm here at Saga Houselur, so- Well, mostly Monday through Friday. Mostly, yeah, mostly. Mostly Monday through Friday.
Wow. You know, I don't fully understand the statements of punishing other people that are affiliated with me either, that makes no sense, you know, just because of my opinions. Yeah, I thought you were, I was like, what did somebody say to me, but no, I figured out what you're talking about. So if, you know, don't go and chastise my friends because they're my friends.
That's stupid. And you just come close my account. That's fine. Go shut me down.
That's fine. If you really, if you really don't want to, if you don't want to talk to me about things, then fucking you can punish me. I don't care. That's fine.
I'll be okay. I promise. She knows when we, when we're, is she calling? Yeah.
Put her on the phone. Wow. Wow, it's like she's got radar. And we haven't done this at the same time.
Yeah, it's been all different on these early morning duns. Hey, we're podcasting. You're fucking kidding me. It is 12 o'clock.
We're getting it out of the way. This is complete bullshit. I feel like this is a fucking setup. We ran down as soon as you called.
We just sit around waiting on the phone to ring. Yeah, we just... I knew it. I knew it.
Okay, well, never mind. I will talk to you later. Is everything okay? Do you need mouthwash for Vegas?
Ah. Of course. Yes, yes, he does. I'm his roommate.
Yes, yes, a lot of mouthwash. Yes, I need mouthwash for Vegas. Oh, wow. Okay.
Alrighty. Alright, I love you. Love you, bye. Bye.
I feel like that mouthwash was for the wrong reason. My amazing wife. So yeah, so let's, we're gonna review this one today. And let's see if this one sucks or if it's any good.
Do we all want to do a pre-it-sucks-or-doesn't-suck? No. No. That's part of the Patreon content.
Go ahead and pre-hit the shit button if you want. I've heard good things about this. Have you? From other people that have smoked it, yes.
I've seen it posted, yeah. Not just fanboys. Really? Yes.
We don't really hold his opinions in high regard anyway, but still, they did say he liked it. Oh, okay. Well, this is a whole line, right? All right, the blue one, the green one, now this one?
Yeah. Yes. Okay. I know this will release tomorrow, but tonight I'm going on How About That Cigar?
Yes. I saw that. They tagged me in the post, but not the show. Oh.
Well, they wanted you to see the post. They want me to help. Yeah. You get to slide in from time to time.
We'll let the comments. I'll watch. I remember. I always forget.
So we're gearing up for PCA? Yes. This is a PCA pre-show. It's coming up quickly.
It's all PCA news. And our t-shirts are done, by the way? Oh, I saw Greg showed me his. Do you have all of them?
Yeah, well, I have everybody here's. Ah, here's. Here's? Everybody's.
Oh, here's. Well, you might want to hold on the other ones. You might not need them. Oh, the dent.
Well, I was going to make ones that said like, you know, we'll chug cock of blank and stuff like that. Oh, nice. Draw penises on them and stuff. Oh, that's nice.
Wow. Because you don't want to fuck with me, dude. I'll fucking... I'll make a...
I'll have a good time. Sure. I'm going to have a good time. I can't think of it already.
It won't harm us one way or the other. You know, I mean, you can't fuck with my pots and pans. Oh, by the way, when... Romatron?
Yeah, I forgot he was the one who gave us the pots. Yeah. Yeah, he said they need a little seasoning or something. They need some tarnishing?
Some fixing up or something. We love them the way they are. Yeah, that's what I told the guy. We use them as ashtrays, they're fine.
Yeah, we're not putting eggs in there. I mean, but it would make a nice little egg. It's like a nice little egg. It would, it would, yes.
What size is this? I guess I'll look it up later. It's a perfecto. Yeah, but...
It's on the sticker. It's like a... Oh, is it on the sticker? It's like a five and a half by 50 perfecto.
That's really small. How am I supposed to see that? Los Toros. I can't see that.
So I had kind of a chill weekend. I didn't really do much. Sunday... We went to lunch on the river on Saturday.
Oh. And then Sunday we went boating with our friends. Oh, boating. Dave and Lauren again.
The submarine commander. Ex-submarine commander. Nice. Yeah.
It was a nice weekend. Adrian's gonna go paddleboarding Saturday, but I talked her out of it. With the ankle. That really didn't seem like the best thing.
Probably not a good idea. Right. I go, honey, nothing's gonna, you know, well, first it doesn't do that. And I go, well, it's gonna move somewhere.
Right. It's water. Yeah. You know, ankle tightens up, you fall in the water, hit your head or something, and then you take pictures, and then, you know.
My idiot husband. Fuck yeah, right. Well, that's good. You know, I definitely got, like, a sniffle.
Yeah? So, this is lovely. Maybe it's the pollen. Let's just hope it's the pollen.
That's what I thought it was, and I'm like, oh no, I'm actually sick. I got a cold, for sure. I got a cold, my fucking leg's fucked up, my back's been bothering me, my neck's been bothering me. I'm like, I'm a fucking mess.
Oh, wow. All in time for PCA. Is the back from the limping, you think? I think the back is from the injury.
Oh, the car thing. Yeah. And then because of the fact that I have to wear the boot, I off-shift. Right.
Yeah. I went to a birthday party on Friday with Jax, which was entertaining. Yeah. Had some kids that had a physical altercation that was...
Oh, a fight at the thing? Yeah. Oh, and it wasn't you? No.
Oh, wow. No. What, were they fighting over a girl? Were they fighting over a girl?
Who got first place? Don't you remember us last time when we told you, like, the next fight, like, you had to insert yourself? Right, you're supposed to be part of the fight? I actually did have to insert myself to separate these kids.
His kids. Oh, okay. Did you zip over on your little scooter? I hobbled off my scooter and grabbed a kid and said, "Stop, man.
" So it wasn't any of your children? No. Oh. You just let them go.
It wasn't your party. No. Well, the party wasn't at your house. It's not one of your children.
Was it Levi? No. Okay, because he's like one away from your children. He's practically my kid, yeah.
Yeah, I can see you jumping in for that, but if it's just two kids... I can't not let... Were there other parents there? There were some around.
Around? Around? Were the two dads of the kids throwing money? 20 on my kid.
My kid's got yours. Okay, I'll see you at 20. I don't know, man. You know, I'm just not...
I'm not built to just kind of stand there, right? And I think that sometimes... It's been your physical condition. The last thing you need is to get knocked down and roll around on the ground.
But you don't think about that. Ask Adrian. Yeah, but he's all upper body. Who?
This guy. Me? He's all upper body. Yeah, but the lower half is what hurts.
I'm not... Well, yeah, but he doesn't have to use his lower half. Like, he could just use his upper half. Well, he didn't take the scooter over.
What do you mean I'm all upper body? Yeah, I mean... Hold on, hold on, hold on. What do you mean I'm all upper body?
You're like Hulk Hogan up top. So I don't work out legs or something? Well, I didn't say you don't work out legs, but your upper body is definitely probably stronger than your lower body. I don't know, man.
My legs are pretty strong. I work out legs three times a week. They used to be. No, they still are.
I would say at the moment, Michael, your upper body is stronger than your lower body. I would say, in general, I'm a fucking mess, to be honest. But if you had to go right now, you could not do a leg press. Well, right now, definitely not.
I would say a leg press is probably off the table. There you go. But you can still do a chest press. Yes.
So. Bench press. Bench press, thank you. As soon as I said it, I know that just does not sound right at all.
Chest press. Chest press. Chess flies. So yeah, all that was entertaining.
Today's my mother's birthday. Oh, does she know? I don't know, I haven't talked to her yet today. We're gonna go over there after work today.
Oh. She doesn't know we're coming. Oh, nice. Even if you told her, she probably wouldn't.
You know what I mean? She probably wouldn't know either way. Yeah, her thing now is she thinks her golf cart batteries are going bad. Like, mom, you bought those after dad died, they're not even two years old.
They're fine. Stop putting water on them all the time. They're low. Yeah, she likes them to stay top.
They gotta stay filled, all the way filled. Now there's acid stains in the garage floor, there's acid stains on the driveway. Yeah, you're only supposed to, you can't fill them all the way to the top. You have to fill them a little bit below that.
Right. We even gave her an article that says you're only supposed to do it once every two months. Right. I'm not reading that.
But she rides her golf cart every day. I'm not reading your MSNBC bullshit. She gets fixated on these things. You keep that Fox News garbage away from me.
And now, at the moment, it's the golf cart. Yeah, right. Yeah, well, I mean, we've solved the people in the roof or whatever. Yes, yes, the roof thing's gone, yeah, we forgot them, we've moved on, so now it's a golf cart pattern.
There was a bear outside, there was somebody on the roof. Right, no, the bear was on the roof. The bear was on the roof. And shit in the yard.
Oh my God, a bear on the roof. Yeah, yeah, a lot of noise, bear on the roof. That's scary. Bears don't climb in the house, mom.
I heard it, it was on the roof. Nice. Okay, fine, whatever. So, I went to the airport today and I set up my TSA pre-check.
Yeah? Which I'm very excited about. Oh. You have to let us know how that works.
So it's Clear plus TSA PreCheck. You just like to find ways to just get away from us. I'm just trying to get the fuck away from everybody. Yeah, but you don't use Clear then, though.
Yeah. It's one or the other. No, it's both. " I said, "No, I'm not leaving today, I'm leaving Wednesday.
" And she's like, well, it'll probably be ready. You should be fine without any issues. I'm like, perfect. TSA pre-check, baby, keep my shoes on.
So do you go into clear and then go into TSA? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So what's the big deal? You keep your shoes on.
I don't have... I have slip-on shoes. I have 75,000 electronics on me between my CPAP machine, my fucking laptop, now my fucking Osmo Pocket 3, and I want to bring my fucking drone. What was the last thing you said?
The Pocket 3 thing that I use. Oh, the camera thing. Is that what it's called? So, yeah.
Not to mention, rechargeable batteries for boosters whenever shit dies. You know, there's a... Put that in your check luggage. But what if it dies on the way there?
If it dies on the way there? It doesn't help me. There's plugs. It doesn't help me.
And airports. He just wants to be in the pre-check. I'm not telling Greg. Oh, he doesn't know?
He has no idea. Oh, is he going to leave him? He's in clear. Is he in clear?
I don't mean to let him be traveled with us. I think he's in clear, yeah. Well, first of all, they wouldn't allow him in TSA pre-check anyways. Why not?
He's a terrorist. Right, he gets snagged at the, all the places with the clubs and stuff when we go. " I'm like, "Dude, you're a fucking-" I'd like to get, man, you like to get patted down. Like, what are you doing?
" He wants to search. You know how stupid you are right now? You know how stupid you are? Maybe he's a little embarrassed about the boop.
A little pee-pee? A little sign of his winky, maybe. Maybe they caught him like they started laughing when he got on. Hey, maybe they snicker a lot.
Wow, you know, he's not hiding anything in there. Wow. He's clear to go. Clear.
No, sir, just keep going. You're fine, you're fine. If that's a gun... We're going to be afraid of that.
It's got to be the smallest gun I've ever seen in my life. I don't think they have TSA PreCheck in Vegas on the way out. Well, they don't have clear at both terminals, but I think they may have it now either way. They've got a new, because it's the lead story actually, they've got a new self-screening security checkpoint in Vegas.
Really? Where you go up and you talk to a little screen. Oh, that's nice. It's gotta take fucking forever.
Yeah, especially the ones that can't fucking speak real languages anyways. It's in the pilot phase of an autonomous self-screening checkpoint system. Really? Scheduled difficult opens on March 11th.
So it's just started. Oh, good. Oh. So we'll be right in the thick of it.
Kink all the bugs out when we're there, huh? Right. So don't get in that line. The machine's down.
On the way again. But the video footage, it's a TV, you stand in front of the TV screen, they ask you the questions, it's a person working at a keyboard somewhere else in the airport, and I guess they hit the button, it goes, "I'm sorry, you have to be scanned, I don't…" Decline. Wow, one person. Uh, yeah, it only looked like one screen.
Wow. I did go to, um… So they're gonna get rid of all the, you know, TSA people running around. Oh, God. It's crazy.
Go ahead, what were you saying? I did go to Kenny Space Center for a field trip with Josh. Oh yeah, how was that? Is that since last show?
It was Thursday, yeah. Oh. I haven't been to Kennedy Space Center in probably like 15 years. It's kind of disappointing.
It is. It's not like Disney, bro. It's not that nice. There's not.
Like another old rocket. There's not a whole bunch of going on. It's like a museum with some interaction. Yeah.
Yeah. I'm like, okay. Did you ride the shuttle experience or whatever it's called? No.
The line was too long. Oh. Don't they have like a zero gravity room or something like that? I didn't see that.
Oh, boy, that'd be nice if they did, though. They had a playground, and that's why we went to that. Oh, we're climbing on the old rocket. " Aw, nice, that's why you go to SeaWorld for the show.
Yeah. So, that shit has been etched into my brain for all of eternity. So, you didn't do any of the show. So when my kid says, hey, I want to go on the playground, I'm like, you could fucking, you know what, dude, we could spend a whole day here.
Let me know. I'll be in the playground. Anybody want to come? I've been waiting on this moment my whole life.
Let's go. Let's go, buddy. Whatever you want to do. Fucking, you climb the fucking.
Do they have shows? I think so. We did like a couple things. What is there even to do there?
I mean, if you didn't do the shuttle thing where you sit in and it goes. Yeah, I remember that one. Yeah, I did. I remember doing that.
We did the Apollo Saturn thing where you sit in. These are the actual terminals in order that people use to get to the moon. Oh, you sit at like the desk with the computer on it. Well, yeah, well, you sit in a row.
Right. And viewing it. So we did that. Oh.
That was cool. There's no 4D, like... No, there's a bunch of rocket ships there. Right, a bunch of old rockets sitting around.
Oh. Standing up. Right. What's it cost to get in there now?
I have no idea. 'Cause you went on the school thing. Yeah. It's gotta be at least 40, 50 bucks.
You think it's money? I was thinking 25, 30. No, it's gotta be at least 50. So Jack's lost his backpack on a bus.
Oh, it's on a rocket, set it up to the space station. I'm like, where's your bag? I thought you air-tagged those. No, not this one.
Of course not, it's when he lost. No, we got it back. Oh. Yeah, we got it back.
But there was a whole circus that I had to do in order to get it. It was like Billy Madison, the bus driver was eating everybody's lunches. Who would steal 30-bag lunches? Right.
So what did you have to do to get it? I had to go back to information, I had to go talk to the lady. Oh. That was crazy.
Did you, well you said you were excited for this because of the other dads that were chaperones? Oh yeah, man. The trip in, did you have to ride the bus? No.
So you got to drive your own car? No, I took my car, yeah. How many dads did you squeeze in that thing? Just my two, just my two buddies.
So just three of you in total? Yeah. You gotta be. Yeah, the other dads weren't there going.
Was there cigar smoking? What? Was there cigar smoking? Of course.
No, there's no drinking. He was hoping for drinking. I was hoping for drinking. There is no drinking.
But yeah. You can talk about the drinking. I was like, alright, let's go. We smoked less than I thought.
We had like one there and one home. What'd you think you were gonna do? 45 minutes to an hour drive? Maybe two.
I don't know. Everybody puff fast. Well, if you get the little guys. Yeah, take the Rothschilds.
Yeah. You know what I smoked? Ironically enough, and I actually was suited to the situation, I smoked the Johnny Tobacanot. Oh!
Huh? That's a good cigar. He's got theme cigars. There you go.
So there's that. Nice. Good stuff. So, not going back.
Not really compelled to go. No. Now they're filled, you know, you got Teddy in line and Justice. You think if they go to Kennedy, you're going to be a chaperone?
Oh, of course. Oh, okay. Yeah, absolutely. " He's going to the Space Center.
He's definitely going to be a PTA. There are kids that are into that shit that are like fucking space. Well, right. Oh, that's the Apollo 7.
How many is that? Like two? Few and far between. Yeah, two kids in the entire class.
So, like realistically. Mother who put the plan together, her child. Yeah. So, you know, if Justice was all about fucking space.
It'd be cool. I'd be like, all right, let's go to the Space Center. Well, maybe if you start now, by the time he gets up there, he'll be terribly excited to go. I think a Disney experience will be better, and they all go to Star Wars.
Jack's was more hell-bent about ice cream and all these other things. Oh, what did the space astronaut ice cream? We got that, too. He had several different ice creams, cookies, all kinds of shit.
Oh. It sounds like he had a great time, because he had all these sweets and treats. Oh, he had a blast. And then he went to the playground.
Yeah, it was amazing for him. And lost his backpack, so it was a fun thing. He lost his backpack, yeah. Dad found it for him.
Ah, don't have to give up with this. Dad'll find it. Not my problem. Not my problem.
I need more ice cream, though. Is there more ice cream? When will there be ice cream? So there you go.
Are we going to do some Phil's Fun Facts? Sure. Oh, we're quickly, quickly in that. Well, we're way past the time.
Are we? Yeah, we are, I guess. Dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun. I was having a great time talking about the ice cream.
You should have brought us ice cream, just so you know. I'm sorry. Welcome to Cigar Hustlers podcast feature, Phil's Fun Facts. Hello peoples!
This is a long one. Earlier this week, the USDA finalized its ruling on the voluntary labeling of products, product of the USA or made in the USA, to require all products with this label to have come from livestock, born-raised, processed, and packaged in the US. Up until now, the rule only required one of the steps be in the US for it to qualify. So, just like Phil's trip to Thailand, some of it was suspect.
Next time you get inspired to make a delicious ribeye steak dinner or decide to go for a beautiful rack of ribs, look for a label that says "Product of the USA", unless you're going for a Philly cheesesteak, in which case it doesn't matter, because it won't be good anyways. Wow. Is that about five and a half by fifty? Yeah, five and a half by fifty.
Phil Funds Fact brought to you by the Powstanie Mafia Facebook Group and Bray's Ranch in Waldo, Florida. Hey, cigar lovers, are you a fan of Powstanie cigars? Do you want to connect with other enthusiasts, share your experience, and get exclusive deals and giveaways? You need to join the Powstanie Mafia Facebook Group.
This is a community for the loyal followers of Powstanie, the brand that delivers bold flavors, impeccable construction, and amazing value. By joining the group, you will get access to special events, live shows, discounts, and more. You'll also have the chance to interact with the maker of Powstanie himself, Mike Stepankiewicz, and learn more about his story and his vision. Don't miss this opportunity to be part of the Powstanie Mafia.
Type the link below. com/groups/748603783870522. I liked the post on there yesterday from, I forget the gentleman's name, but he posted the SBC 16, 18, 20, and 22 labels. It was Jason Hawkins, wasn't it?
No. Oh, I thought it was Jason Hawkins. That was Michael Elitharu, I think. Oh.
I thought that was pretty cool. Hey. He's a good guy. I haven't seen anybody post like all of them together.
Yeah. I thought it was a shirt or a hat when I first saw it. So I had to scroll back to it. That'd make a neat shirt if you could put all of them together.
All of them together. That would be. But then you can never make another one. What am I going to do for 24?
You gotta do the 24. Blend it now and release it in 25. Is that the way it works? Yeah.
Yeah, two years. Every two. Every two years. Yeah.
You gotta do the anniversary box. The anniversary box? Where you have all of them. All of them.
Oh. Is that number five, the fifth one? Yeah. Yeah, you do the five year anniversary box, you put them all in there.
That'd be dope. Okay. We'll be heading down there soon anyway, so it should be interesting. Oh yeah, what was that, April?
Yeah. From the four corners of the world, all the cigar industry news you could possibly need. PCA News. The Cigar Hustler Podcast Report with Mike Toon.
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It's in a new location. The Las Vegas Convention Center Central Hall. So I guess it's a different building. Is that the upstairs or downstairs?
That's got to be the downstairs? I wonder if that's a new one they were working on or something. Guess what, then? Now we get there.
You know. Go ahead. Dojo was covering a bunch of stuff. Yes, they did Friday.
Yeah. But I didn't watch it. And they snubbed us. They snubbed us.
Yeah, that's why I didn't watch it. Wow. John McTavish tried to get us in, but we are not on the list of approved brands they were talking about. A list of approved brands?
Not maybe approved is the wrong word, but they had a list of brands that they wanted to talk about, and we were not on the list. We were not on the list. On the list. How is Post Time never on the list?
Big shocker. I think we're getting some media, um, what's it, not, um... Freezing? Backlash?
Backlash, thank you, yes. Some backlash from maybe some of our stuff. I don't think so. We don't talk, we usually don't talk bad about other media.
We don't really talk shit about Dojo. We could call him Guntersom. Yeah, we never said his name right. Well, we laid kind of hard on the, he's one of the pair for the pants.
So what? So maybe he's a little soft-hearted, I don't know, I don't think it was a big deal. You think he's hurt? That was a long time ago, wasn't it?
Also, you have not been back on the show since your original... Since our Star Wars boxing thing, which was fucking hilarious. It was hilarious, but it's not serious, maybe we're just not serious people, so... We talk about serious stuff?
No we don't. You're reading five pages of serious stuff. Yeah, but I had jokes. This is a fucking problem with this industry.
Fucking people are so full of themselves. There's so much ego issues. Right, sure. Just relax.
But it's really only two of them that sort of snub us. Everybody else doesn't. Oh, I'm just referencing everybody else in the industry as far as brand owners and manufacturers. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
How fucking uptight they are. I'm like, yo, just fucking calm down. Just calm down. I saw you're on the show tonight.
The last night is you and Coop. So maybe you can ask him. But he's not part of Dojo. No, no, but you used to be on his, or you have been in the past, his virtual trade show he does before PCA also.
He just likes to mix it up. He's doing four nights of it this year. Oh. Four nights?
You couldn't have got him one night? I don't know what to tell you. Yeah, who, I mean, how many are there? Let's think about that.
Right. Instead of the 17-hour marathon show, I think he's bringing it up into four different nights. four different nights. Perfect.
He's already done two, so I think he's got, well, he would have at least two more then before Friday, Saturday. Saturday? Is that when the show actually starts on Saturday? Yeah.
It's fine. Well, I know you're not concerned. It's like a little... I'm used to it at this point.
It's weird if it's the opposite, to be honest. Alright, you can save on transportation Question for those of you staying at the Resorts World Las Vegas, is that where we're staying? Yeah. Use the Las Vegas Loop, also known as the Tesla Tunnel, to go to and from the center.
There is a $5 cost to use the Tesla Tunnel for the hotel. For those staying on other properties, all PCA hotels are within a 5 to 10 minute walk. I'm just going to rent a car. Oh, we're going to drive back and forth every day?
Yeah. Oh, that sounds perfect. That sounds a good idea to me. Shotgun No Blitz Forevers.
What the hell? Dude, I just want you to know, if you don't save that as a sound clip, because that was perfectly clear. 28 minutes. Shotgun no blitz, no fucking, and then he goes, at the end.
Oh, dude. Amazing. I just want to get it out there. Shotgun no blitz forever.
It'll be a van or SUV or something. Download the app to make it easier to navigate the trade show. I've got the app on my phone. Do you?
I just got a reference to see where certain people are. Pack your badge. Make sure you always have your PCA badge. We'll have a badge with you at all times, give you access to the trade show floor, don't be late, don't miss out on top quality education, I guess Friday is an all day seminar day, number 7, don't miss cigars, what you want to do is sell the cigars, members benefits, want to know how your dues are being turned into big benefits, they have an annual meeting, fun on the floor, there'll be plenty of exhibitors and things to do on the trade show floor, will there be sushi?
No, not on the trade show floor, get ready to party, this year there'll be two opportunities to do on the trade show floor. It's a party and celebrate with your industry peers. Opening party sponsored by Crown Heads. Oh, we probably can't go.
Way easy, easy. We didn't wear one to the brand. Oh. P.
Corillio don't like us either. m. on March 22nd. This year is the Best of the Leaf Awards.
We're probably not getting one though. I don't think so. We have road awards though. m.
at the Las Vegas Convention Center. We should get one of those microphones and stand in the hall across from it, and we'll announce our awards while they're announcing their awards. You know what's funny is like, I usually go into this show, and it's a lot of emotions, and I'm usually super excited, and I'm thinking, alright, this is gonna be fucking awesome, and then usually come like day one or day two, I get kicked in the teeth pretty hard, and I'm like, fuck, whatever, on to the next, and just keep moving forward. This year, I'm so numb to it, I'm just like, okay, fuck it, I don't care, I just don't care anymore.
Really, not at all? No feelings one way or the other? Yeah, no, there aren't. I'm in a bunch of physical fucking pain at this point, and I'm just like, meh, whatever, dude.
I don't fucking care. I think it'll be good. It's been 10 years of me as a retailer, or it's been 10 years of me as a wholesaler, 15 years of me as a fucking retailer, and I'm just like, meh, whatever, bro. Yeah, but this is a big one, 'cause you're releasing justice.
Yeah, I guess. I just don't care anymore. Aww. Look, and you know what, it'll probably be where it's the fucking biggest one.
Uh, it's similar, we got a lot of appointments. We do have a lot of appointments. Alright, by participating in the trade show, you hereby agree to abide by the following. There's a list of media rules this year.
Don't be an asshole. Rules? Rules for media people. We have media badges, so you gotta pay attention.
I have a media badge? Yes. don't uh during trade trowers i respect the time of the exhibitors i will not interrupt or disrupt any conversations i understand this is important time to them okay i'm not doing that one yeah we're absolutely out of that one i'm doing that one mark these as we go i will not request solicit otherwise ass manufacturer for free goods including oh check out be our last year to get media passes just so you know we'll just switch the passes i will not solicit for advertising any I will not hold PCA responsible for damages, theft, or other consequences to my equipment at the show unless it gets broken while I'm there. That's iffy.
That's iffy. Scott smashes it. There you go. I understand that no person at the age of 21 will be admitted to the show.
I have to card people apparently now as they come in. Excellent. Do you have ID? You have ID?
It's a members-only event that I am attending for the purposes of covering the show in the capacity of a media professional. Oh, professional. Let's cross that one. Yeah, we're not professional.
And member of the press. Okay. I will not give badges to anyone outside my company. Oh, well, that's a problem, too.
Yeah, I can do that. All right, those are the rules. I will be responsible for my own property. We'll just go with that.
I'm putting you in hockey gear, like goalie gear. Ah, be fine. Wow, what rules those are. Those are rules.
No, there's more rules. You know what, though? I'm going to be honest. Oh, there's more?
I'm going to be honest, those four rules, they all make sense. Sure they do. Because I would be super pissed off if I'm talking to somebody and they, hey, I'm like, no, no. You mean like when you go up to Nick and you just grab him and try to steal his stuff off the counter?
Yeah, that's fine. That's fine. That doesn't apply. These are rules for everybody else.
Oh. Not rules for me. Oh, oh. I see.
As far as like trying to peddle fucking advertisement space, I get that. Yeah. Time and a place. Right, right.
Just establish the relationship. If you have a meeting, is it possible to talk about it then, do you think? Like a media has a meeting with you, it's possible to solicit you for after the interview? Just so you know, if you're interested, we always have open spaces.
Well, doesn't the media get in early? No, we're about to cover that next. No media is allowed on the show floor during setup. m.
m. Yeah, regular open hours. Oh wow, because last year they were allowed in early, right? An hour early.
Well, I didn't go last year, but normally it was an hour early. Yeah. Oh wow. That kind of sucks for them.
Somebody complaining. Look, we got free passes. I mean, you know, we got to give up something. You know, but nobody wants to be there an hour early, to be honest.
Well, media probably like going in because then... Yeah, but the people that you want to interview, they don't want to fucking be there. Saka's not there an hour early. No.
Skip's not there until an hour after it starts. It's a fucking lunch, right? Yeah, about 12. You know what, I think last year, actually, he did show up early.
Did he? Yeah, and it kind of-- I'll take your word for it. I was kind of taking it back. I think it was a couple days, yeah.
What the fuck are you doing here? It's cats and dogs and raining out. I mean, they had a lot of people. That's probably why.
They had a lot of people? Like, a lot of people coming to their-- They always have a lot of peoples. Even the year they had four chairs, they had a lot of peoples. Yeah.
All right, the Hoya Cabaneta Lancero returned for limited release at PCA 2024. Oh. That's lovely. Oh, I saw this morning that Esteban is starting a new cigar with another gentleman.
Yeah. Is that you? No. Oh.
You want to talk about that? Sure, let's talk about that. I wasn't even going to address that shit. Cooper released it this morning.
Yeah. I didn't have time to pull the story, but I did see the headline. Yeah, so he gave it out to 100 retailers. Right.
Yeah, is top retailers. Right. Top retailers from the Guaymaro? For you to try or whatever.
Oh. How would he know from the Guaymaro? I have that information. Well, that was the next question.
You would have had to have given it to him. So how would he know what his top retailers are? He hasn't fucking corresponds with me at all. Oh.
Zero. So I guess we didn't get any to try either. No. No.
No, we didn't get any to try. Right. Which is perfectly acceptable as far as I'm concerned. Right.
And the reality is that normally when you're full of shit in this industry, you fucking stay away from me. So I'm not surprised. Oh, yeah. I guess.
Yeah. That's really how that works. You know? Like, I'm not afraid of the conflict.
No, no. You thrive on conflict. I do. I just feel more comfortable here.
Right, right. I just feel more... I like it better if you don't like me. Yeah.
You know what? Then I know where I stand. Let's just iron this out. Right.
I don't want you to like me because then maybe you don't really like me. I really believe that friendships are forged better through the conflict. Oh, yeah? One way or the other.
Whether it's an external situation where you have to deal with a conflict or it's something between two different people and you sort it out and move forward. So if you look forward, I think you become better friends that way. Oh. Honestly.
Yeah. And if you're not willing to go through the... You would have no idea if he's showing up at the show or not. I would assume not.
No. Has he ever shown up at the show? Yes, he went one year. Yeah.
It had to be 2020 maybe? Yeah. 2020. Huh.
I think that, you know, the reality is that everybody thinks it's easy. Right. Everybody thinks that doing this shit is easy to do, and nobody knows what the fuck they're talking about, and this is how I'm gonna do it. It's ringing the story about how he's selling it?
What? Who's selling it for him? No, I think it's the luge guy. Oh.
A luge young? No. No, no, no. Hmm.
I don't know, I can't be bothered with it, so. Right. All right, Carlos and Maria Orgasmo Limited Edition is debuting at the PCA 2024. Orgasmo?
Orgasmo. The next cigar in the Freud Cigar Company is getting ready to release its second of three cigars for its Carlos and Maria brand. Agrape? Yes, the Agape.
It will be a limited edition that will debut in the 2024 PCAA Convention and Trade Show later this month. It's called Orgasmo, with the name representing the passion of the storyline, and serves as a follow-up to the Amorio, a line named for everlasting love. And Gerald Tritt, Director of Operations for Freud Cigar Company, told Half Wheel that the third line, which is not yet named, It's looking like a PCA 2025 release. Well, I'm looking forward to the PCA 2025 release.
I heard about what the name is. You want to hear it? Sure. Ejaculario.
Oh. Yeah, it's just progressive. Oh, it's going to come with a name that represents an extension of love. So that fits perfectly.
Yeah, it's orgasmo and then Ejaculario. Oh, it's nice. Yeah, yeah, yeah. What's the next one?
Well, they're only doing three of these. And then I heard that there was going to be like white stains throughout the booth. Oh. Oh, nice.
That seems fitting. White carpet, white walls. Yeah, it's gonna look spoogy. They're gonna blacklight it, and it's gonna glow in certain places.
Yeah, it's gonna be fantastic. Perfect, that sounds great. Oh, yeah. They really went deep in there with the thought process.
Apparently, yeah. It's pretty detailed. Diaz de Gloria, Brazil, debuting at the PCA 2024. Orgasmo.
J. Fernandez released the Diaz de Gloria, a Nicaraguan Puro inspired by the cigar smoked by Ishmael Fernandez when he killed the great white whale, and he is the father of Abdel Fernandez. Ishmael is the father of Abdel, call me Ishmael, from the whale book? Ishmael Fernandez, the guy who killed the whale.
Oh, yeah. He's also the father of Adele. Abdiel. Abdiel?
Abdel. Could be, I guess. Abdel. Could be?
Yeah. You can say it either way? AJ. This year coming to release the second line for the brand new Diaz de Glorio, Brazil.
Okay. All right. Smoking jacket showing off their mini, H-E-N-K-I-E. H-E-N-K-I-E.
Wait, one more time. Spell it one more time. H-E-N-K-I-E. H-E-N-K-I-E.
H-E-N-K-I-E. That's right. H-E-N-K-I-E. Good job.
Yeah, H-E-N-K-I-E. The first time in years, smoking jagged is a new cigar. It's called the Mini H-E-N-K-I-E, a cigar created by Henrik. Hendrik and Hendrik for a man who goes by H-E-N-K-I-E.
Mini Henninki. Dunbar and Tobago Trust is adding the Umbegog Bronze back at PCA 2024. Oh my god. Cincompromiso, they're making a Robusto.
Yeah, we got bronze bag is a 5x40 Rothschild that uses a slightly different Connecticut broadleaf with a sweet tip wrapper. Oh. No, that's not true. No, it's alleged.
But he likes when I say that for some reason. It's funny. Um, Nicaraguan Tobacco, Binder Filler, Medium Dark, a bunch of different stuff. All right, a Miami man is arrested for counterfeit packaging for more than one million...
You're moving to the Florida story? Yeah, is that it? No, this is regular cigar news. Oh, okay.
That's all the PCA stuff. We've covered all the other releases in the other weeks. Well, you know, but the one thing that we didn't really tap on that we tapped briefly on last week was the Nick Malolo departure of Aganorsa and going to Pepin Garcia. Yes, we talked about that on the Patreon.
We talked about it. Oh, that's right. We didn't. So, okay.
What else did you find out? Well, I just, you know, the one thing that- We called everybody we could possibly think of. The one thing I want that I want everybody to kind of understand is the owner of Aganorsa and the owner of Pepin Garcia. They fucking hate each other.
Oh, do they? They absolutely despise each other. Oh. So, in order, like, to move over to that factory is the biggest "fuck you".
Right, the, yeah, figure in the ass to him. So, I want to know, what the fuck... Wait, is Nick called you back? Here's the funny...
Nick, don't call me back. He's not fucking answering. Here's what's funny about this industry, is that when people are outraged or upset or whatever, media doesn't cover it. Right.
I don't know why. " But that's fucking media. Right. You're supposed to.
Like, you're supposed to be. Yeah, have you turned on the news yet lately? You're supposed to. Well, they're all afraid a brand's going to get mad at him and not talk to them.
Like, oh, well, fuck that guy. I mean, just be neutral in the scenario. Hey, why did you do this? Are you fucking pissed off?
Like, what did Aganorce do that upsets you? I'm curious. Just the facts. Like, just tell me what, you know, what made you, if you want to be diplomatic about it or whatever, go ahead, go right the fuck ahead.
Because I'm going to, once we hang up, I'm going to read and say, I think, here's what I think. Right. This is how we're taking the information. But that is, that is a big fuck you.
Right. That is a huge fuck you to do something like that. We forgot to dim the lighting and I just realized. Oh, that's fine, whatever.
Go ahead, dim it now, mid June. There you go. Perfect. It's a huge fuck you.
Sure, yeah. So, you know, like, how does that work? Is Nick still good with them? Do they look the other way when they see each other?
Well, maybe we can get Riley. Maybe we can get Riley. Are there booths next to each other? I don't know.
Maybe we can get Terrence Riley going a little walk with us. We'll walk him over to Nick's booth. You know what? Maybe we should...
Come here. Maybe we should ax him. That's the name of the new cigar, ax him. I thought you said ax him.
Let's ax him. Ax him. That'd be a great interview. Have Terrence there and Nick Malolo and you in the middle.
Two in the middle. Listen, let's have a boxing match and we can have Tyson referee, because apparently he's releasing some shit through Gurkha. Oh, that's right. He's making a Gurkha.
Do you see what the rules are for that fight he's doing? What is it? Not a lot of head, Jake. No punches?
No, the young guy gets to have his brother help him. He can tag his brother in. What? Or they can go two on one.
He's allowed muscle enhancing drugs. Who? The kid that he's fighting. It's not Tyson, the other guy.
Oh my God. Oh my god. And then there was something else, so I can't forget. How can he do that?
Because I thought it was sanctioned. Let me tell you, let me tell you a couple things. Let me tell you a couple things. Real quick.
Tyson's gonna, what the fuck? For one, he can have his brother fucking chime in and help. He can tag him. Oh, Tyson's gonna win.
They can, they can bring two of them at the same fucking time. Right. And they can be roided out of their goddamn minds. He just has to hit them once.
Tyson will blast through both of them. Right. Without fucking question. Yeah.
And I'm not talking about Tyson as prime. I'm talking about like Tyson currently. Have you seen the two of them train? I've seen Tyson train.
I've watched, I've watched, I've done comparables, I've seen comparables, I'm like, pfft, one guy is in his own world, he is a fucking champion, he's an absolute conqueror of the industry, fucking dominated boxing when he was at his prime, and the other guy is a YouTuber. You know what I mean? Like, dude, you're not fucking, this isn't, you're not going up against Ocho Cinco. Indian MMA fighter or something?
No, he's in WWE or whatever, one of them's in WWE now. Yeah, but now, not before. Regardless. I think I think he can use his feet too or something.
That's what it is or something. Whatever. Yeah, it's not gonna help. You know what?
Let him bring a gun to the fucking ring. It's not, it's not enough. It ain't gonna be enough. Yeah, Tyson's a scary dude.
Tyson is next level, man. Always has been, always fucking will be. Guy is a fucking absolute beast, a complete conqueror. So yeah, okay.
Here's stipulations. I'm gonna be able to tag my brother when I'm tired. And now the other, what's, what's the last names? Tyson.
No, uh, uh, uh, starts with the L, Paul. Oh, starts with the L. Starts with the L, Paul. And now the other Paul is entering the ring and he's refreshed.
Oh, well, let's see. Oh, looks like he's taking an injection before he fucking, you know, like, give me a break. Oh, and his teeth just got slammed. He's snorting a line off the, uh, ref's ass.
And he's dead. Alright, regular cigar news now. Alright, got to fill up the time. Oh, we did sports, finally.
If you've ever wondered what the world of counterfeit cigars in the US looks like, The Miami-Dade Police Department has glimpsed into the part of the process. On March 11th, Miami-Dade police arrested Jorge Gomero, 52 of 10 of Miami, we don't care where his address, on multiple felony charges, some related to stolen goods, others related to counterfeit cigar brands, bans. Since January, the police have been investigating Gomero and his business El Baraton, a retail store in Miami that is expected to operate as a fence. After arresting a different person for theft, that suspect indicated that they sold the stolen goods to Gomero, police began investigating Gomero, noticing that various individuals would enter El Barón of bags full of items and leave without them, including performing undercover sales of allegedly stolen goods to Gomero and his wife.
Only in Miami, baby. Only in Miami. Let's go. So they would steal cigars and then sell them at the shop, or they were stealing cigars from the shop and then selling them?
They were taking cigars into the shop, banding them as Cubans and other counterfeit cigars, And then he would sell them at his shop in other locations. Oh. Nice. Wow.
So they seized all the bands and stuff. There was pictures of those. That's, I mean, the police really looked into that, to be able to figure that out. He really pissed somebody off.
Yeah. The police report says the packaging is for brands including Romeo and Julieta, A. Chapman, Trinidad, Monte Cristo, Cohiba, CAO, Bolivar, El Rey, Du Mundo, La Gloria Cubana, Macanudo, Punch, Partagas, and Sancho Panza. I only like the El Rey, I love them.
Images taken by the police show that the bands and boxes are separated, which a police report says was consistent with the manufacture of counterfeit cigar boxes. That's crazy. Huh. Uh, Luciano Cigars moves Fiat Lux production to Tabacos de Orient, announces Tenenbrus, Tenenbrus Limited Edition.
Luciano Cigars has announced a pair of development for its Fiat Lux line, the first being that production is being moved from the Luciano Cigar Carfactory to the Mariales, Placencia, Tobaccos, De Orient, and Donnelly, Honduras, as well as the line, we'll be adding a limited edition called Tenenbrus, the new cigar is a 6 and a half by 52 Toro, blah, blah, blah. Is it coming out only called Mint 90? That's it? The leaf is found in the original field.
Both wrappers were fermented more than five years. The company said allegedly that the Luciano discovered both types of tobacco and set atop a binder and a filler that both come from Nicaragua. The company calls to profile a medium full blend with an intricate balance of sweetness and depth. Yeah.
Hmm. He must owe the other factory some money. Something, yeah. Gotta move along.
Oh, we gotta go to a different one. You got a shop of the week, Michael? Yes. What's a shop of the week?
Bull Weevil Cigars. Bull Weevil Cigars, somewhere in Indiana. Or Alabama. Indiana?
Alabama. Alabama. Huntington. It sounds like it.
Somewhere near the beach, I don't know, they're in Alabama. Somewhere not in Florida. Somewhere not in Florida. About nine hours from here.
Nine hours from here. You go north, you turn left, and then you stop when you get to Bullwheel. Yeah. You stop when you don't hear the banjos anymore.
Well, when you hear the banjos. That was all the news? Were you looking it up? No.
Oh, what are we doing? It's in Enterprise, Alabama. Enterprise! If that was your question.
No, I'm looking up my... Listener of the Week? Yeah. All right, who's listening to the week, Michael?
Michael Elefterio. Michael Elefterio. Michael Elefterio. Hey, listen, Michael, I'm sorry if I fuck up your last name, but you wouldn't get mine right either.
So, let's be honest. But, he's a good guy. Any cigars you're, yeah. Hmm.
He's a good guy. Any cigars you're looking forward to? Don't you dare. Don't you dare.
What? Don't you dare. Any cigars you're looking forward to trying at the show? No.
How about you over there, Phil? So I read a post the other day about some cigar that they're making, releasing at the PCA, where one cigar is made in one factory or whatever, and the other cigar is made in another factory? So it was two cigars made in two separate factories? Yeah, but it sounds like a novel idea.
But it's in the same box. Two cigars, one cup. Oh, two cigars, one box. One cup, yeah.
I had to look it up and see who it was. Oh, you're really excited about that? Sounds like something Fratello would do. Fucking riveting.
Well, it was just kind of because it's different. I want to see the Black Lake Cigar that Black Lake was put in. I'm looking forward to the Ejaculario. That's next year.
Wow. This year you can get the Orgasmo. The Orgasmo? Which happens, you know, before the Ejaculato.
The Ejaculario. Right. I don't know if I'd want to taste the sample, so I'm not going to lie. You don't think so?
I'm going to pass on that. I don't think I want to see you making the cigars. Try out the Ejaculario. Yeah, I don't think so.
I'm good. I haven't had the Orgasmo yet, so I hear you have to have it first. Yeah. Nothing intriguing, huh?
I mean, obviously, other than the Justice and the Cro-Mag. But the Cro-Mag should be here in the next day or two. Right, but I mean, that will be at the show. Yeah, so, there's that, I mean, and the Justice I have access to.
So, no. So, nothing really. What day do we have the Attack of the Sushi scheduled? The Attack of the Sushi will be Wednesday.
Oh, well, first day. They are out, yeah. I'm gonna fucking hit the gym. Did you call them?
No. Did you pre-order the sushi? No. That's probably a good idea before they get extremely busy from all the people that are coming in.
Because a lot of people don't come in until Friday. Yeah. The media people aren't hitting until Friday. By the way, Jack Taranio, he said that we need to give him a shout out for his Patreon membership.
He's a free member. He's gonna pay. He doesn't even get stickers for free. No, he's gonna pay.
Something happened. I'm telling you. I don't think anything happened. But yeah, it's Jack Taranio.
We love you. Listener of the week. Listener of the week. Mike and Melissa in the Week 2.
There you go, Jack. Please bring us a lot of the San Andreas cigar. Are they coming out with something? Espinosa?
No, because Bomb just came out now. Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb. I'm sure they'll have something. You see that some people released up before the show.
I think that's smart. Why? Yeah, because you're not running against anybody at that point. Right.
Normally anything you buy at the show doesn't come out until the fall or Christmas anyway. That's not the fall or Christmas anyway. Yeah. So then why go to the show?
If you release it before? So that you can touch Nick Malolo. P. Carillo or what?
He'll be at Pep and Garcia. Pep and Garcia. The Pep and Garcia booth the whole time. I thought you were going to say Luciano went to Pep.
" Right. And I'm jabbing him. " I'm like, "Oh, fucking great. Well, then pass the phone.
I want answers. " We called him, he wouldn't answer his own phone. He wouldn't answer. He's smart.
Yeah. So we called Nick, and then we called his salesman, and then we talked to his vice president in charge of sales. Well, kind of. Kind of, and then we finally had to call Jack, and he made up a story for us.
Yes. So. Allegedly. Allegedly.
Alright, this has been episode 325 of the PCA Breeze Show. We'll see you guys on the show. We gotta go. Bye.
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Show Notes
In this episode, we dive into the latest and greatest in the cigar world, starting with the TSA's new self-screening security checkpoint in Vegas, resembling grocery self-checkout kiosks but for ensuring security.
We then shift gears to the upcoming PCA (Premium Cigar Association) show, discussing important updates like early registration tips, the new location, and how to save on transportation. We also highlight can't-miss seminars, member benefits, and the fun awaiting attendees on the trade show floor.
Join us as we explore exciting new releases debuting at PCA 2024, including the return of Joya Cabinetta Lancero, the debut of Carlos & Maria Orgasmo Limited Edition, Dias De Gloria Brazil, Smoking Jacket's Mini Henkie, and Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust's Umbagog Bronzeback, a tribute to the classic Henry Clay cigars.
In cigar news, we cover a recent arrest in Miami involving counterfeit packaging for over $1 million worth of Cuban cigars, as well as Luciano Cigars' announcement of moving Fiat Lux production to Tabacos de Oriente and the introduction of Tenebrus Limited Edition. Tune in for all this and more!