EPISODE 324 STOP! or I'll Hot Dog?
Episode Summary
Episode 324 of A Cigar Hustler's Podcast finds Mike "The King" Szczepankiewicz and Mike "BDP" Palmer in the Deltona studio with engineer Phil, riffing through a loose, conversational episode while waiting on regular guest Pete Hernandez (who is, as always, "on his way"). The Patreon smoke of the week is the new Room 101 Hit and Run Toro, which the guys note shares a name with the original Hit and Run but is an entirely different cigar — sparking a tangent on brands recycling line names.
The first half is pure shop talk and life talk: Mark Aromatron's visit to the lounge and a lighter that went up in flames, an introduction that led to Howie G's cigars (and Leon Sears hanging out upstairs), a school charity auction with DJ Chet on the decks, a Greek Orthodox "churching" ceremony explained in detail, Florida pollen season, and Mike's busted leg plus the knee scooter he bought to survive the walking distances at PCA in Las Vegas. Phil's Fun Facts covers tobacco's growing requirements: a frost-free period of three to four months and optimum average temperatures between 70 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit.
The news block digs into Scandinavian Tobacco Group's 2023 results — revenue up slightly, profit down, with declining volumes offset by pricing and growth in the North American online/retail and European branded divisions — plus CO8 Cigars' Hong Kong exclusive Liga Privada Year of the Dragon from Drew Estate, and the wave of Year of the Dragon releases from Davidoff, General Cigar, Gurkha, Oliva, Plasencia, Rocky Patel, United Cigars and others. PCA 2024 announcements come fast: Rocky Patel Gold Label, Cavalier Genève's petite No. 2 vitola across three lines, My Father El Centurión H-2K-CT, Don Pepín García Vintage Edition going wide, the $150 Montecristo 1935 Anniversary Doble Diamante from Altadis, Fratello's Arlequin Connecticut, HVC's Hot Cake Fresh Out of the Oven Broadleaf, and BAMF Cigars' PTSITA ("Put That Smoke In The Air") and glow-in-the-dark Area 51 Alien.
Along the way the guys take live calls from Gio of Down to Herf (asking about media early entry at PCA) and Erik Gay, tease their planned "Cigar Hustlers Podcast Awards" trophies for the trade show, cover Smoker Friendly's acquisition of 54 Lobob's Discount Tobacco stores in Indiana, and close with a Florida story about a 90-year-old man cited for feeding the homeless in Fort Lauderdale.
In This Episode
- 01Patreon Smoke: Room 101 Hit and Run ToroThe guys light up the new Room 101 Hit and Run and point out it's a completely different blend from the original despite sharing the name.
- 02Lounge Visitors and Weekend RecapMark Aromatron's visit, a connection made for Howie G's cigars, Leon Sears at the lounge, Bike Week traffic, and a school charity auction with DJ Chet.
- 03PCA Prep and the Knee ScooterWith a busted leg heading into PCA 2024 in Las Vegas, Mike explains the knee scooter plan and the chaos he thrives on.
- 04Phil's Fun Facts: Growing TobaccoTobacco needs a frost-free period of three to four months and optimum average temperatures between 70 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit.
- 05Scandinavian Tobacco Group 2023 ResultsSTG reported revenue up 0.3% with profit down, citing lower consumption offset by pricing and growth in online/retail and European branded divisions.
- 06Liga Privada Year of the Dragon and the Zodiac Cigar FloodCO8 Cigars in Hong Kong launches a Drew Estate Liga Privada Year of the Dragon Toro amid a wave of zodiac releases from nearly every major brand.
- 07PCA 2024 New Release RundownRocky Patel Gold Label, Cavalier Genève, My Father El Centurión, Don Pepín Vintage Edition, the $150 Montecristo 1935 Doble Diamante, Fratello Arlequin Connecticut, HVC Hot Cake, and BAMF's PTSITA and Area 51 Alien.
- 08Retail News and the Florida StorySmoker Friendly buys 54 Lobob's Discount Tobacco stores in Indiana, then a Fort Lauderdale man is cited for feeding the homeless in public.
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 three, three, two, two, one, one, one, zero.
Welcome to the Cigar Hustlers Podcast, episode 324. Recorded live at Mike and Mike Production Studios in Deltona, Florida, this is the Cigar Hustlers 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 cigar news, reviews, tips, and interview some of the most influential people in the cigar industry. And me, I'm your engineer at Soundtech, Phil.
Whether you're a seasoned aficionado or a curious beginner, the podcast is for you, so sit back, relax, and like your Cigar with Scar. This is the podcast. It's changing like Phil McGrath for Phil McGroin. Phil McGroin.
Well, it like bunches up and then it gets in my lips. Oh, so we should add that. Hi, I'm Phil McGroin. You're sounding tech engineer.
Phil McGroin. Welcome to the Scars for 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.
Cheers to you. com and search A Cigar Hustlers Podcast. Right, Pete? Yeah, he's one of the biggest patrons.
Yes, Pete's one of the big ones. He is one of the big patrons. Today is Pete Hernandez. Hello, Pete.
Hello, Pete. He's been dieting. What are we doing for the Patreon? You have them there in your hand.
We are doing the new Room 101 Hit and Run. Completely different than the original Hit and Run. It's an entirely different type of Torah. Is that the trend now?
Let's make cigars with the same name, but completely different. Mmm, delicious. When you get lazy, you just... Uh-oh.
It's like TV and movies now. Hit and Run again. 4 grams. Not even Hit and Run 2.
4. They ain't put a number two on it. What is this? Toro.
Toro? Toro, Toro. 6x52? Looks like it.
That Toro? Looks like it. I can look it up later. All right, you look it up later.
So how was your weekend, Michael? I got to hang out with Mark Aromatron here at the shop. I know. Came here on Saturday.
Somehow we botched that. Well, he arrived on Tuesday, and then couldn't make it here till Saturday. " Yeah, you know what he said, 'cause I told him, I go, "Look, it's probably only gonna be me. " It's April.
So I don't know if he had said April. I don't know. I was kind of surprised he was here already, so. Oh.
Either way, I think that it got mixed up. But I did hear that he blew up somebody's lighter upstairs. Oh, did he? It must have been after I left.
Yeah, he set something ablaze. Oh, so it was something on fire. Was it Howie G's lighter? I don't think it was Howie G's lighter.
I kept him in the, we sat and chatted in the private lounge for about an hour and a half, And he was going over and asking me my opinion on some cigar stuff. And Howard G. is one of the cigars he was interested in for his shop up there. And then bam.
And then bam, we go upstairs and there's Howie and Leon Sears just sitting in there. Just hanging out. " Perfect. Howie, Mark, Mark, Howie, he would like to carry your cigars.
And then Howie got all excited. " Good old Howie. Well, that's nice. I'm glad that that worked out well.
Yeah. Did Leon always have glasses? Yes. They are very thick now.
His eyesight must be going. I think his eyesight's been going a little bit, yeah. He's such a nice man. He is cool.
Stands up and says hello, stands up and says goodbye, and I know it hurts every time he has to move. Does he make noises? No, he doesn't grunge or nothing. Nope, none of that.
But it does, you know, take a second. The man's body's been, you know, beat to hell. He's a big guy. I can't get up off the floor without making noise and hurting, so I've been run over by people.
He's a big guy. He is a big nice to the big man. Not a fan of Bike Week, he's not. Took him an extra 45 minutes to get here.
Well, I mean, yeah, I wouldn't be a fan of it either if it got in my fucking way. Right. Well, football season is officially over for at least a month. A whole month?
Oh, yeah, I think so. Yeah, but you're already doing basketball. Basketball's over too. So is this like non-sport Stefan Kavich time?
This is like a quick, yeah, this is a... Perfect time for you to fuck up your leg. Perfect time. Perfect time.
Yeah, I did fuck up my leg. So, it should be interesting. PCA should be interesting. Oh, no.
You got the scooter. I mean, it's not like you leave the booth very much anyway. You'd just be sitting down. Well, I thought...
In order to walk anywhere in fucking Vegas, it's 75 miles. 75 miles. Well, yeah. I'm from the lobby or from the hotel room to the lobby in itself is a pain in the face.
Oh, it's true. Right? Well, get your wheelchair. I bought a scooter.
You said you got a scooter. A knee scooter. Yeah. So we'll see what that looks like.
When is that coming? Today. Oh, yeah. Nice.
Wow. This is going to be interesting. It always is. You know what, dude?
I gotta be honest, man. Just a new wrinkle in the plans. You know what? I gotta be honest.
bring on the fuckery i you know i can't i can't operate if if everything's running smoothly it's just doesn't doesn't fit me so right it's gonna be something yeah just give me the chaos and the bullshit right because i can thrive in that i don't need shit to i don't want it moving smoothly don't give me smooth hills i don't i don't want any part of that give me the difficult complicated and then fucking smash my leg on top of it and say okay this is all right here you go i want to Here's some more to deal with. Here's some more to deal with. I'm like, perfect. I feel good about that.
It's much better for me. I'm going to tell you, everybody's going to be jealous. You know why? Because I have the scooter?
Yeah, because when we're all waiting in line for food and stuff, you can sit down. Yeah, you can get on the plane first. Yeah, there's a lot of... Waiting in line for food?
Well, we don't have to wait in line and check in. I don't wait in line for food. I bring my own. Yeah, he brings us on anyway.
No, no, when we go out usually. Oh, if there's nine of us and one guy's got a scooter, they're not going to sit as fast. Yeah, but he can sit down on this, on the scooter. Oh, you have a portable chair.
I don't know, where am I going to sit? She's got a walker, the kind you can go around and sit in the front. Ah, dude. That would have been a lot longer.
That's hard, well, no, I had one of them. Oh, it doesn't have the wheels. Well, so, football's over, basketball's over, gearing up for the PCA. So like, no sports at all for the next 30 days.
I think so. Well, you're going to have to start practicing eventually. Well, yeah. I mean, how many years has it been since there's been nothing?
Oh, I have these little lulls. You usually have, yeah. The whole 30 days? Yeah, it's like a month.
Oh. And it's nice. It's nice. Oh, I'm sure.
The schedule you guys have to keep. Well, but we're going to start training the boys. I'm going to start putting them on a little bit of a regimen at the house. So that should be interesting.
Well, I saw Jax's workout with his trainer. Workout with his trainer. Yeah, started working out with his trainer again, playing with the new toys that I got for equipment. He has lovely videos at the auction.
Did you see the one that I put up, or Brittany put up? I saw all the ones Brittany put up. Yeah, so one of them was from the... I assumed.
Yeah. Right. It was really good. I thought I did well.
Can you, so how does it, does it dump to your camera? I just got a memory card. You can dump it to your camera, but it's just easier if you just plug it in. It's just easier if you just plug it in with a little transition thingy and just save it and just, well, it was like 10 minutes worth of video that I brought down to about two minutes by clipping and editing and stuff, so, it was cool, auction was, the auction for the school went well, had a good time, then I got to see the, so that, you know, it was entertaining, we had DJ Chet on the- Yes, I got a full download from DJ Chet this morning.
Did you? Yes. Telephone, Televisión, Telechat. I don't know.
He was there. He told me. He had a good time. He said he did.
Yes. He had one issue. Oh, from what I heard, more than one. Yeah.
Several, but nobody noticed. I noticed. Which is why you... Wow.
What a good DJ is, though. Things happen. Unless you're just talking about the speaker. No.
Okay. No, but I think it went really, really well. So, and, uh, that was it man, Sunday was, what was Sunday? Uh, we put a new, uh, uh, faucet and drain in the master bath.
Oh. Connor came over and helped 'cause I've never done it before. Look at that. Oh, he's a faucet installer.
Well, he has done it before, apparently. Now he's a pool cleaner. He's a pool boy? Already got a bonus and a raise, they love him there.
Really? Yeah. You're doing so amazing. - That's cool.
- Yeah. - You don't remember what you did on Sunday? - Edited the video. - Grocery shopping.
My son went to the Arnold Palmer Invitational. - Oh, nice. - And Mika's son, Cooper. - I saw they were at a church.
Was it a baptism? - No, it's in Greek Orthodox religion. - Oh, 'cause he's Greek. - He's Greek?
- It's called Churching. Oh, my wife's calling me. Call me. Or share it around the podcast.
Hello, we're podcasting. Oh, sorry. I forgot. How do you know it's from them?
If you scan the QR code, it'll tell you. Okay. All right. All right.
Sorry. Love you, bye. Love you, bye. So we brought the neighbors to the auction.
They had a good time. Good. And my buddies in Lynx went. We were talking about the churching.
We already covered the auction. What is the churching? Yes, the churching. So you just take them to the church?
Do they just take them to the church? Well, you have to wait outside of the church, in this little waiting room out front, and then the priest has to come in and he brings you forward and says a bunch of things. In Greek? No.
Oh, not in Greek? Not like the Catholics do the Latin, they don't do the Greek? No. And then he carries the baby around the room or some shit.
But there's nobody there? No, it's a full mass. Oh, during the mass? Yeah.
" If you look, if you see, this is the cross we have, it's very nice. Right, exactly, that is Jesus, you'll get to know him. I will tell you. Wait, I'm lost, hold on.
You are at Mike and Mike Production Studios. No, no, no, I know, but you wait in a room, and they like tour you around the church during the mass. No, no, no, no. At the end of the mass, as the mass is starting to close, you have to watch the mass in the front.
And then they come out, the priest comes out and brings you into the mass, the room. And then the priest- I'm sorry, when you say the room, you mean like the big room where the mass is going on? Okay, so Mika and what's his name are waiting in the little room. Nick, yes.
Nick, I'm terrible with names. Or waiting, that's actually the first time I got her name right. They're waiting in like a little room to decide or something. Yeah.
So then the mass starts and then he gets him? Or he gets him? No, close to the end of the mass. Oh, so they sit in a little room, can they hear it or watch it?
Yeah, yeah. a lot of movement just trying to follow the story there's a lot going on at a Greek church I'll tell you what man the fucking church is amazing all the colors and paintings I'm like damn this is bougie okay so they're in there there's a lot of things on the ceiling the thing's almost over and the guy goes bring the children bring me the child and then he says all the stuff then he grabs the baby Or they walk up the aisle, and at the aisle, he grabs the baby, takes the baby in the back, walks around the baby in the back. Oh, around the altar and everything. Yeah, there's a whole thing.
Not like the back room. Yeah, well, but it's kind of enclosed, it's a little weird. Oh, it was a little weird. Yeah.
Finger in the butt. Wow. Then he gives the baby back, and there's another blessing. He's a new baby.
La Hiam or something. La Hiam. What do you think about that, Pete? Yeah, Pete, what do you think?
Bam, you gotta go to work. Sounds a lot like Saka, but it's closer than we can get to that. Bam, you gotta go to work. Bam, you gotta go to work, Pete, that's right.
Exactly. So yeah, that went well, and then... We went to church again Saturday night, too. Did you?
To a Greek one? No, no, no. It's the thing, my wife really, she really enjoys going somewhere. Oh, to the place?
Yeah, journey, journey, I don't know. She's cleansing her soul. It's good for her. She enjoys, I like it, she's smiling, and she's singing, she's starting to do the hand thing.
Oh, really? Yeah. What's the hand thing? Like this?
Like this? Well, no, she's... You start here. She's a little fish.
And then I caught a bigger fish. And then I made a touchdown. I'm like, no, this is the TV. Carry the TV.
It's kind of like half spirit, no spirit, half spirit, full spirit. I just watch her and smile. She's a little fish. Yeah, she's doing a little fish.
That's cool. Good for you. Yeah. And then we went to lunch with Nick's family.
He's got a... Oh, you met Nick? Was this the first time meeting Nick's family? No.
Well, I met his mom, but this is the first time I met the dad and I met the brother, the little brother. Oh, he's got a brother. Yeah. Is he like Nick?
What? Is he like Nick? Why are we smiling at the little brother? He's the coolest of them all.
How little brother is he? Probably like a couple years. Oh, so he's not like 10? No.
No. He's breaking his mom's balls the whole time. I was like, dude, we are going to get along. Absolutely.
Is there any talk of a wedding or anything? No, I mean, I don't dabble in any of that. I just show the fuck out. Maybe you would have overheard.
Nothing has been said. Does the family seem to like Mika, the other family? Not your family. I think so, yeah.
Looks alright. " Hey, congratulations. I'm a grandparent. It's all yours.
Who are you dating? Well, I mean, they could have technically not met her, depends on how long the relationship was. It's interesting. It's not like, you know, the baby was expected.
It's very interesting. Well, things seem to be okay, so... Well, yes, I'm sure they are at the moment. They're all breaking bread together.
I'll tell you what is fucking not good is the pollen and shit that we've been dealing with. Oh my God, dude. I'm not even going to deal with trying to scrape it off my car. Dude, my nose is killing me.
Ryan upstairs smells... not smell, he sounds terrible. He smells, but he's not terrible. Ryan upstairs smells very bad.
He smells terrible. He sounds terrible. He's walking around. Yeah.
Every two minutes. It's the least. It's bothering my eyes. It's bothering my nose.
Yeah, Greg's truck looks like it's a camo. He should actually leave that. It looks pretty good. It's like tiger stripe.
He must have little leaves laying all over it. It's funny where you could see like the cars on the street that sit, park under the trees and stuff covered in shit. I've never seen it this bad before. No, it is spread, isn't it?
Your eyes get all sticky? Yeah, it's insane. It's gonna be 70 today and then 80 something the rest of the week. It's over, is what you're telling me.
Well, I thought it was already over. It's still going to get down to like 60, though, at nighttime. It was nice last night. It was.
It was in the 40s last night. But it is going to heat up to 80. Yeah, it's in the 80s the rest of the week. Every time I think it's over, they pull you back in.
They pull me back in. Well, this is why we moved to Florida. This is it. For the pollen and the heat.
Yeah, we love it. We love it. It's perfect. We love this place.
It keeps the people from coming out. I'm going to Kenny Space Center on Thursday. Oh, yeah? Yeah.
Are you doing the floating thing? I have no idea. I got the scooter. He's got the scooter.
You're going to have one leg that's going to be very, very tired. Wait, wait, wait. Is this a school field trip? Yeah, it's a school field trip.
Oh. I've already reached out to my other dads that I've locked in with. I was like, are you going? And they said, yes.
One guy says, do we have to get on the bus? I'm like, I can't smoke on the bus. Yeah, they don't make it. Oh, it's a private school.
I'm taking my fucking car. At public school, you had to ride the bus. That is actually a rule in public school. Yeah.
Yeah. Cause I did all that too. I reached out to my buddies and said, don't worry, I'll be catering. Oh, are you bringing booze too?
No. Bringing cigars. But they could bring their own. I don't drink, Michael.
I said they could. BYOB, boys. BYOBB. What's that saying for?
Bring your own booze, boys. Oh. Nice. Pete, what do you think about that?
Let's leave Pete alone. Let's leave Pete alone. You gotta go to work. Yes, Pete, you gotta go to work.
You gotta go to work, Pete. Alright, well, let's get into, you wanna get into Phil's... Who's number one? Cigar Hustler, their podcast...
That's right, Pete, their podcast is number one. Oh, I'm glad that guy still thinks we're number one. Welcome to Cigar Hustlers' podcast feature, Phil McGrind there. Phil McGrine with Phil from Facts Today.
Hello, peoples. All right, fellas. Tobacco can be grown in a wide range of climates, but it requires a frost-free period of three to four months. That's 90 to 120 days for those of us who can't count past 11.
The optimum average temperature for growth is between 70 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit. That's it. That's it. That's it.
Phil's Fun Facts brought to you by the Powstanie Mafia Facebook Group and Bray's Ranch in Waldo, Florida. Oh. Want me to read the thing for the Mafia? It's been long enough.
Go ahead. Hey, cigar lovers, you a fan of Powstanie Cigars. Do you want to connect with other enthusiasts, share your experiences, and get exclusive deals and giveaways? Then you need to join the new Powstanie Mafia Facebook Group.
This is a community for the loyal followers of Powstanie, the brand that delivers bold flavors, impeccable construction, An amazing value. By joining the group, you'll get access to special events, live shows, which we have not done yet, discounts, and more. You'll also have the chance to interact with the maker himself, Mike Stebankevic from Powstanie and learn about his story and his vision for cigars. Bam.
Don't miss this opportunity to be part of the Powstanie Mafia. Type the link below and request to join now. com/groups/748603783870522. Write that down.
Write that down right away. Want to stop here and wait on Pete? Or you want to do some news? Suck it in some of the news, I guess, a little bit.
Oh. Hold on. Wait, wait. Let's link up to the Bluetooth and we'll call this motherfucker up right now.
Where the hell are you? Tobacco oil. I don't know. I'm in the drive-thru.
I'm on my way. I'm on my way. Guys, stop the Don Kiki's. Stop the Don Kiki's.
He was on the way. The problem with Pete is he's so good at bullshitting, but now we know that he's always bullshitting. Like, when he texts me I'm on my way, I instantly knew he's not on his way. Hey, I'm in the parking lot.
I better hear wind. I'm on my way. I'm 30 minutes away. I'm walking out the door right now.
He hasn't even left. No, no, I'm in the... Hey, I'm on my way. Are you guys live?
Yes. Well, we don't do the show live, but as close as we can get. No, we're doing a live today just because you're not on your way. I'm hauling that.
All right? All right, out there. All right, boys. I'll see you in a minute.
Bye. All right, bye. We can be done with the show in 30 minutes. So he's got 30 minutes.
Well, thank God we... With no traffic, he's 30 minutes. Yeah. He's not here till 1:30.
Oh. Yeah, it'll be after one o'clock. Yeah. Alright, uh, we gotta do the next thing.
*ding* Oh! *ding* Oh, sorry, I don't know. *ding* Oh, Angels has got their wings. *ding* He's gonna co-host today.
*ding* Atta boy Clarence. *ding* All the cigar industry news you could possibly need. The Cigar Hustler Podcast Report, with Mike Toon. *ding* SCG 2023, revenue slightly up, profits slightly down.
Yeah, I didn't understand that. *ding* Scandinavian Tobacco Group, the publicly traded company that owns General's Profit. Cigar Company, Cigars International, and other things about cigars. It means that they've had more spending.
3% compared to 2022. The EBITDA before special items, a measure of profit, decreased by $310 million. 3 billion in 2022, it's DKK figures again. Free cash flow, I don't know what this means.
Just keep saying it. Notably, the company said they're experiencing decreasing volume in most product categories driven by lower consumption, though it was able to overcome this due to solid pricing and other changes such as a new store. The company cited its North American online and retail European branded divisions as helping to drive growth, but indicated there was negative growth in the North American branded and rest of the world division. It cited its North American online and retail European branded division is helping to drive growth.
Oh, but the North American branded rest of the world division included General Cigar and Ford Cigar, despite a challenging consumer environment, STG delivered solid results for 2023 due to the commitment and performance of our employees. This makes no, this is making any sense at all. It was a weird story. All right.
We'll just Google it. Moving on. Who wrote that? I don't know.
One of the guys at Half Wheel, the news source. We get everything right. League of Privada, Year of the Dragon goes on sale. Oh.
Yeah. CO8 Cigars, a retailer based in Hong Kong, has announced that it has begun selling the Liga Privada Year of the Dragon. Yeah. According to the retailer, it's 6x52 Toro, neither Druden Estate nor CO8 Cigars have disclosed the blend of the cigar, and an email sent to Drew Estates was not returned.
Pricing for the release is... We're not, we're not responding. We're not saying what we're talking. We're not responding.
This is the third year in a row the CO8 Cigars has gotten an exclusive cigar inspired by the Chinese Zodiac calendar and associated symbol. It's a fourth year Drew Estate has created a cigar like this, but the League of Provada Year of the Dragon released in 2021 was sold to other stars. And then Davidoff, General Cigar, Gurkha, Habanos, JM, La Galleria, Oliva, Maya Selva, Placencia, Rocky Vatel, United Cigars, and Vega Fina have also announced Year of the Dragon themed cigars, and they are on, what's that guy's name? Kaizad's hate list.
Kaizad's hate list. I'm the dragon. I'm the dragon. I'm the dragon.
I'm the dragon. Is it like a lipstick list, or a regular? He doesn't like it. It's a lipstick list.
It's on there with the ACLU and some other organizations. PCA News, Rocky Vitella Gold Label debutante at the PCA 2024. Oh. Cavalier Geneva adding its petite N2 Vitella to three lines at PCA 2024.
Oh. I'm just reading headlines. I see that. My father's El Centurion, H-2K-CT, adding new sizes at the PCA 2024, sending a new Vitola to the El Centurion line during the 2020 or PCA Convention Trade Show, Don Pepin, Vintage Edition, adding two Vitolas, expanding to all retailers at the PCA 2024.
Oh. Was it a Don Pepin? Don Pepin. Don Pepin.
Don Pepin. I don't think I've ever had one before. Don Pepin. It's a Twi, right?
Oh, is that who it is? It's a factory. Oh. $150 Monte Cristo, 1935 Anniversary Edition Doble Diamante, Debian at the PCA 2024.
That sounds exciting. Well, they gotta pay for the name, it's very long. Down to her, Gio's calling me from down to her. Oh, oh, put him on.
He probably wants something. Probably does. Where's my money? Hey, you guys never called me on the last fucking episode.
Gio? Palmer, my buddy, what's up? - Hey, buddy, what's up? - Hey, we're recording the podcast, you're out of here.
- You definitely want something. - Oh, shit. - Yeah, I'm your buddy, what do you want? What do you want?
- Hey, I just had a quick question for the PCA stuff here. - Okay. - No, we're trying to set up some appointments and stuff, but the show, I know it's different with the exhibitor stuff, and was it something that we're able to get in at the early stuff as the media entrance, or is that something we have to go in at 10 o'clock with everybody else? - No, I think media gets in before the show starts, I believe.
Oh, sweet. Okay, that's huge. Yeah, cause there's usually made, and I think last time I went there was time after too. I don't know how I was doing it this year.
But yeah, we definitely get it. We get in like an hour early. Okay, cool. That makes things easier.
Okay. Yeah. All right, man. Well, hi, Phil.
Yo, Gio. What's up, buddy? Can I hear you? I don't know if you can hear you guys.
Could you hear them? Cause you're, you're not Bluetooth. You're just at my microphone. I can hear them very faintly.
Oh, that's how we like them on the show. Just so long as you can hear me, you're fine. Perfect. Yeah, there you go, right?
I'm the Caleb of this show. Yeah, hey, nothing wrong with that. Right. All right, anything else?
That's it, brother. Take it easy. All right, man. See you later.
Bye. Bye. Geo, downtown. Geo from Down to Herf.
Down to Herf. Down to Herf. Down to Herf. What?
What are we talking about? Oh, you want to talk about the gold trophies we're giving away? I mean, you've been on camera one the whole time. Because he was reading the news.
I was reading the news. Yeah. And then I was talking to Gio. He's not getting enough camera time.
He wants camera. Yeah, I did. How are you going to talk about the mic thing if it's not in the picture? Well, it was on camera, too.
Right, but you weren't on camera, too. Okay. No, go ahead. Let him talk.
I don't care. Go ahead. So, Michael, what are these? I have no idea.
This is your thing. You agreed to it, though. I did agree, too. We're giving away these coveted Cigarsler Podcast awards at the PCA.
Oh! I don't remember what they're for. What have we got? Worst.
Somebody should write these down. World's worst sales rep. Are we doing worst sales rep? Are we doing worst sales rep?
Probably should not do that. I think that one's locked in at this point. Worst sales rep? What else are we doing?
We have four of them. I don't know. We have a list. Yeah, no, I'm making a list now.
You didn't write it down? No, we just sort of goofed about it three times. Oh, I don't have the energy to determine that right now. No, we're not talking about that.
So it's no secret that a handful of cigar manufacturers have been pushing upper limit of cigar prices recently, and now Altadish USA is the latest company to bet that it can command a three-figure price tag for one of its cigars. What? The Cigars of Monte Cristo 1935, which costs $1,935. For one cigar?
No, no, it's $150. Oh, that's a $150 cigar? $150 cigar. The title of the story was $150 Monte Cristo, 1935 Anniversary Edition, Duble Diamante, debuting at PCA20.
Got it. Perfect. Is there a hyphen, the little squiggly line, over the O? For Edition?
Yeah. Yes. Okay. And Duble is not doubled, so it's got to be Duble.
Duble. Duble. Fratello debuting in Arlequin, Connecticut at PCA20. Saw that.
Oh. So he's doing a Pocahontas and a Arlequin. Oh, Pocahontas? Yeah, remember last week there was a Pocahontas.
That's over. No, we had this discussion last week. Pocahontas is not owned by Disney. She is a historical figure.
Yeah. But that's a real person. Her family's gonna be mad about this. The Smiths?
They might not be around. They're gonna be pissed. Oh, they'll be changing the name like old Nick there. Can't do the poet.
Somebody's related around still. Change it. You know, he should have an Arlequin and a Pocahontas at the show, if he was doing anything good. Change it to Axum.
I am! What? " I don't know, Axum. Yeah, Axum.
Okay, that's a great name. No, no, no, no. Oh, that's a great name, you know what that is? That guy discovered the Ark of the Covenant in the Indiana Jones movie.
" Oh. He discovered the Indiana Jones, then? He discovered the Ark of the Covenant in the Indiana Jones movie. " Take him with two, please, he's talking, he's gonna get mad.
So-and-so really fucked up the name, so what do you want to do? " Oh, okay, we'll write it down. " Ax him it is, who knows? Somebody look it up, see what the fuck it is.
Yeah. Hey, who's gonna pose for this picture? I don't know, ax him. I don't know, ax him.
Oh, okay, find that guy. It's really Pete Hernandez with like some messed up photo thing, like how he edited it. You know, we've already covered leather football helmets on our last bands of cigars. Yeah, the poet thing didn't really catch on, so everybody likes Indiana Jones.
Yeah, what do you think? Why don't we ax 'em? Ax 'em. BAMF for the cigars is adding psst and Area 51 Alien at the PCA 2024.
What the fuck just happened? BAMF, B-A-M-F, B period, A period, M period, F period. BAMF. BAMF.
Cigars is adding psst. Okay. P-T-S-I-T-A, in parentheses, which is Psst. Okay.
And Area 51 Alien at PCA 2024. Oh man, that's like from Superbad. I don't know. Psst.
Later this month, during the PCA 2024 Convention and Trade Show, BAMF Cigars will be debuting two new regular production lines. The first new creation is Psst, an acronym stands for Put That Smoke In... Oh, Air. I thought you were going to say Ass.
Put That Smoke In The Air. Five and a half by fifty-four cigar. P-S-I-T-A? P-T-S-I-T-A.
P-T-S-I-T-A. Not PETA, like PETA bread. Put that smoke in the air? Put that smoke in the air.
Okay. So now we're doing acronym cigars. Doing acronym cigars. I started a trend with the BDP.
I see that. Look at you. Look at that. Such a trendsetter.
In addition to coming by releasing the Area 51 Alien, a six and a half by 48, but all that will include a glow-in-the-dark band. I'm so excited, I want one of those. We're going to have black lights in the lounge. Black lights?
And they'll have those lights on their hands. Yeah. Where is that? Oh, there it is.
There it is, I dropped it on the floor. We're going to run, you know, remember, do you remember the movie Blade? Yes. Like the entry, we're going to have that going in the lounge too.
Oh, perfect. We're just going to loop it. Nice. Can we get a strobe light for your little scooter?
Of course. And an air horn? Oh, who's calling you? Police, Erik Gay.
Oh, it's a star-studded show today. Oh, man. Hey, you're on the podcast. Oh, shit.
Well, yeah, that's what I need to talk to you about. I need to be on there. Okay. Sure does, sure does.
It's fine. Nobody listens. Ooh, this is good. All right, well, I'll call you back as soon as I'm done.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. We need to talk, bro. It's kind of important, man. Just hit me back whenever you're free.
All right, give me like 10 minutes. Alright, bet. Alright. Alright, now call him back and don't say we're on the show.
Alright. Okay, show's over. What do you want? My cousin works for him.
What on the Patreon? There's a young lady whose last name is Palmer that works for him. Oh, yeah. Cassandra, I think, is her first name.
Oh. So we call each other cousin now on Facebook. Very pretty girl. You have so many cousins.
I do, I have so many cousins. HVC hotcake, fresh out of the oven, broadly, debuting at PCA 2024. I don't think Gru is working for HVC anymore. Really?
I don't know. What happened there? He won't say anything. Ask him if the cigar is any good.
He won't say anything. The name is actually "Hot Cake Fresh Out of the Oven" broadly. Big Bang. Big Bang goes all the way around.
It goes back and forth across this thing. The 2016 HVC cigar released Pan Caliente, a limitation cigar that was named after hot cakes in 2020. Smoker Friendly Acquires Lobob's Discount Tobacco. Whoa.
You ever heard of Lobob's? No, I haven't either. The Smoker Friendly Chain of Retailer Stores is growing thanks to an acquisition of 54 Lobob Discount Tobacco Stores in Indiana. Wow.
Today, the Cigarette Store LLC, the corporation behind Smoker Friendly, closed on its acquisition of Lobob's Discount Tobacco from Richmond Masters Distributors, Inc. These stores will be rebranded as Smoker Friendly Locations or allegedly by the name Luciano Morales' Smoker Friendly Locations. Arnold Abbott handed out four plates of food to homeless people. Oh, this is a Florida story.
Never mind. I thought I just let her into it. Wow, they're passing out homeless food. 54 extra stores.
All right. 54 more stores. Well, get to the Florida story and then we'll ask you afterwards. All right, Florida story.
Arnold Abbott handed out four plates of food to homeless people in South Florida Park. The police stopped the 90-year-old from serving up another bite. The officer said, drop that plate right now! Like I had a weapon, Abbott said.
Abbott and two pastors in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, were charged with feeding the homeless in public on Sunday. The city's first crackdown under a new ordinance banning public food sharing, according to CNN affiliate WPLG. Really? Now they face possible jail time and a $500 fine.
Despite some criticism from homeless advocates, city officials have vowed the new rules will be enforced. Just because of media attention, we don't stop enforcing the law. We enforce the laws here in Fort Lauderdale, Mayor Jack Seller told WPLG. Well, hey, you know, I mean, the homeless is a problem.
What city was this in? Two, Fort Lauderdale. They don't want the homeless congregating downtown waiting on free food. They're going to congregate anyways.
Yeah, but they're more likely to show up though where the food is. Apparently, you can pass out the food if you bring in a port-a-junk. Oh, because you just can't have them shit anywhere. I guess, yeah.
Maybe they're shitting everywhere. Maybe they're shitting is a problem. Maybe that could be the problem. Hey, look, you know, I don't know what to tell you.
You guys can really kind of fuck that up. Right. Like we're trying to give you free food here. We're trying to give you free food, now you're shitting on the streets.
You can't be shitting on the floor. Now we can't give you the food. Oh, God. Oh, God.
I don't have to tell you. There's really nothing going on in this city. What? That they had to change the rules to then enforce a weird rule.
Maybe a lot of them, a lot of homeless people are downtown Florida. Yeah, maybe there's some homeless issues are a problem. This is like one of those rules, like you're not allowed to sit on the courthouse steps. I'll tell you what, we'll just call, we'll call any random person in California and ask them how they feel about fucking homeless people.
It was the apparently it's fucking rampant. Well, yeah. Do you see the prices over there? This is a Fort Lauderdale.
Yeah. Well, they see that there's a problem. They don't want that shit. In Orlando, they stopped panhandling because the same reason, keep the homeless people out of downtown.
Makes sense. I mean, I still see them. Yeah, but they're not begging, not supposed to be begging for money. Oh.
Maybe it's not enforced. I see them. Don't feed them for God's sake. You end up in jail.
I'll give them a sandwich. How many homeless people are? Because I'm telling you, I only see like the same five every time. I'm going to go to Orlando.
Oh, maybe that's just they like to hang out where Booch is going to be. Mm-hmm. They see your post and they go, "Oh, he's going to be hanging out here. " There's one guy, he does push-ups.
There's another guy. That guy's good. He's the workout guy? Yeah, he does push-ups for money.
Nice. He's working for it. We got one guy that's in the vicinity. What do you get paid by the push-up?
I give him a dollar. He does like 10 push-ups. I give him a dollar. Nice.
One dollar for 10? Yeah, the guy's ripped. Give him a dollar for each one. I'll give you 10 right now.
Is it the guy that used to work for you? I don't know. No, this guy did not work for me. The lawn and garden guy?
No. CJ? CJ. CJ.
It's not CJ? I saw CJ doing push-ups at the beach that time. Maybe he was getting ready. Damn.
Well, he would probably do push-ups for money, though. It's tough. You're a tough guy. What'd you say?
You see the same guy where? What? Oh, there's a guy that's in, you know, like the Altamont area. He's usually barefoot, and, you know, we usually see him.
Right. You see him all the time, right? Yeah, and then we had one guy who built like this train at a, he had like an electric scooter, I should hit him up, he's got electric, and he built a train of like dog cages and other stuff where he keeps his animals and shit, and he was- He has animals? Yeah.
And he was, or I haven't seen him lately. How many, how many cars on his train? There's like six or seven. He's got that many animals?
He's doing well for homeless man. I think three of them are animals and the other four are like just his stuff. Stuffed animals? Yeah.
And then I was like- The ones in the back are quiet, don't talk to them. " He moved in, heard their business was good. See what I'm talking about? Like, you see like the same homeless people all the time.
Yeah. Yeah, it's the same people at the exit here by the... Oh yeah, that lady's been there for years. She parks her car over at McDonald's.
Yeah, the Mercedes. Yeah, I've seen her walk to her car. And her legs are always shaved, so I mean, she's got a razor at least. Yeah.
Dope car. There's a guy with his family at the Lake Mary exit, if you're heading towards your house. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, he brings the kids.
Yeah, he's got the kids and his wife, and they're all sitting in folding chairs, and usually there's a bag of fast food there or something, and he goes, "Late's got makeup on. " Yeah, but they try to get you the kids. Yeah, that's why the kids are there, sure. Works well.
Right. All right, well, hey. The lady's pinching him. All right, Pete, we'll be back.
Hopefully, we'll get into a Pete segment after this, so. If he ever shows up. Yeah. We'll see.
All right. All right. Uh, we got to rob the bank. Bye.
We'll take a, take a break and be back. Oh, we're taking a break. Bye. Taking a break to rob the bank.
Okay. Call Eric and we'll record it. A 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.
For the podcast providers and opinions between talk show hosts may differ. It is not our intention to libel, incite or hurt anyone's feelings. We invite you to write the show's host, Mike Szczepankewicz, with any feedback or suggestions that you have for their shows. These broadcasts are presented and made public as entertainment in the hope that they will be entertaining to the audience.
Thank you.
Show Notes
In this episode, we dive into the latest news and updates from the cigar industry and beyond. We start with STG's 2023 financial report, revealing a slight increase in revenue but a dip in profits.
The highly anticipated Liga Privada Year of the Dragon has finally hit the shelves, and we explore the Year of the Dragon-themed cigars from various other brands like Davidoff, General Cigar Co., and Gurkha, among others.
Next, we discuss the latest announcements from the Premium Cigar Association (PCA). Rocky Patel is set to debut the Gold Label at PCA 2024, while Cavalier Genève is adding a Petit N2 vitola to three lines and showcasing Tempura. My Father's El Centurion H-2K-CT is expanding with a new size, and Don Pepin's Vintage Edition is adding two vitolas and expanding to all retailers at PCA 2024.
We also highlight the $150 Montecristo 1935 Anniversary Edición Doble Diamante and Fratello's Arlequín Connecticut, both debuting at PCA 2024. B.A.M.F. Cigars is adding "Ptsita" and Area 51 Alien, and HVC is releasing the Hot Cake Fresh Out of the Oven Broadleaf at PCA 2024.
In a more sobering segment, we discuss the recent incident involving Arnold Abbott and two pastors in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, who were charged for feeding the homeless in public. This comes as the city enforces a new ordinance banning public food sharing, sparking debate and criticism.
Tune in as we unpack these topics and more, offering our insights and perspectives on the latest happenings in the world of cigars and beyond.