Episode 54 Casey Haugen from Crux and the Halfwheel Top 25
Episode Summary
Episode 54 of A Cigar Hustler's Podcast brings Casey Haugen of Crux Cigars into the studio for his third appearance, this time to go through Halfwheel's Top 25 Cigars of 2018 from No. 25 all the way to No. 1. Mike and Mike open with a debate about whether ranked cigar lists mean anything at all — their argument being that you can't fairly compare an Ecuadorian Connecticut like the Crux Epicure against a San Andrés powerhouse like the Neanderthal — while conceding that Halfwheel is the one cigar media outlet they genuinely respect for news, legislation, trademark coverage and multi-sample reviews. Casey defends the methodology, pointing out that reviewing at least three cigars per blend catches consistency issues, and that a sample of three is still tiny compared to the hundreds of thousands of cigars a brand actually ships.
The bulk of the episode is a stick-by-stick walk down the list, with Mike's son Connor drafted in to read (and mispronounce) each name. Highlights include Leaf by James at 25, CAO Zócalo, the Foundation Tabernacle Chest Collector Humidor Corona Gorda, Illusione La Grande Classe Rex at $5.50, Aganorsa-made blends, the Hit & Run Part Dos, Aging Room Small Batch, Edmundo Dantes Conde Belicoso Edición Regional Mexico, Liga Privada No. 9 Corona Viva (with plenty of loaded commentary about "undertones of betrayal"), Herrera Estelí Inktome Exception, Mi Querida Firecracker, Rocky Patel Tabacu Sa, Saga Short Tales Tomo VI, Black Works Studio Killer Bee Connecticut, Bellas Artes Maduro, Sin Compromiso Seleccion No. 2, Illusione ~ho~a~ten~, Tatuaje La Novia, the La Flor Dominicana Super Bowl edition (which Casey smoked in freezing Minneapolis during the 2018 Super Bowl), a tie at No. 4 between the Davidoff Diademas Finas 50th Anniversary and Cornelius & Anthony The Gent Gordo, Romeo y Julieta Wide Churchills Gran Reserva Cosecha 2009, La Palina Bellicosos Finos 2018 LE at No. 2, and Joya de Nicaragua No. 1 at the top.
The personal center of the episode is Crux's own entry: the Powstanie SBC18 at No. 12, which Casey calls his number one cigar of the year — a tweaked blend versus the 2016 version, swapping Pennsylvania broadleaf for a San Andrés wrapper, with only 250 boxes produced. Casey also talks openly about the Crux Epicure line he's smoking on air, the fact that Halfwheel gave it their lowest Crux score ever, and the still-unreleased Epicure Maduro — same filler and binder as the Epicure with a Mexican San Andrés wrapper, in three sizes, delayed because Crux refuses to ship a blend that isn't ready.
Along the way the crew gripes about Cubans on American top-25 lists, Jacksonville Jaguars road trips, the "this is not my exit" traffic game, pronunciation of Guaimaro-era Tatuaje names, and Skip taking over other people's podcasts. Casey closes by saying he'd rather talk about other people's cigars than plug his own, and leaves with a list of blends to hunt down.
In This Episode
- 01Why Top 25 Lists Are FlawedMike argues you can't rank an Ecuadorian Connecticut against a San Andrés bomb, while Casey defends Halfwheel's scoring system and multi-sample reviews.
- 02Why Halfwheel Is the One Site They TrustThe hosts explain their respect for Halfwheel's news, legislation and trademark coverage over print magazines like Cigar Aficionado.
- 03Nos. 25–19: Leaf by James Through Aging RoomLeaf by James, CAO Zócalo, the Foundation Tabernacle Chest Collector Humidor, Illusione La Grande Classe Rex, Macanudo Grande Bold, Hit & Run Part Dos and Aging Room Small Batch get quick verdicts.
- 04Nos. 18–14: Cubans, Liga Privada and FirecrackersEdmundo Dantes, Liga Privada No. 9 Corona Viva, Herrera Estelí Inktome Exception, Mi Querida Firecracker and Rocky Patel Tabacu Sa, with a side debate on store-exclusive firecracker sizes.
- 05No. 12: Powstanie SBC18 and the Crux ConnectionCasey names the SBC18 his cigar of the year and explains the San Andrés wrapper swap from the 2016 version and its 250-box production run.
- 06Nos. 11–6: Blackworks, Saka and the Super Bowl CigarBlack Works Killer Bee Connecticut, Bellas Artes Maduro, Sin Compromiso, Illusione and Casey's story of smoking the La Flor Dominicana Super Bowl edition in sub-zero Minneapolis.
- 07The Top 5: Davidoff, Cornelius & Anthony, La Palina and JoyaA four-way tie, an $80 Cuban, the La Palina LE that Mike rates in his personal top five, and the event-only Joya de Nicaragua No. 1 at the top.
- 08Crux Epicure Maduro UpdateCasey details the unreleased Epicure Maduro's Mexican San Andrés wrapper, three-size lineup and why Crux delayed it rather than ship it unfinished.
Brands & Cigars Discussed
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Transcript
Welcome to Cigar Hustlers Podcast. Episode 54. We sit down this week with Casey Hogan of Crux Cigars and go through the half-wheel top 25 cigars of 2018. Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike Squared, Squared, Squared, Squared.
Oh, it's on. It's recording. Good. Pouty face over there.
You're pouty face. Pouty puss. So let's talk about- Ah, never mind. I got some.
You need a microphone, Casey. Oh, really? Oh, yeah. Really.
Well, first of all, Oh, yeah. Of course I want to talk about that. Oh, that's right. Because, of course.
I forgot. Of course. Oh, now I see what's going on here. I forgot about that.
Yeah, that's right. That's why we're doing that one. That makes more sense. That's why I respect them the most.
Today. Today. Today. This year.
No, actually, I mean, so we're talking about the Half Wheel Review site, and I don't respect all of them. I respect Patrick. And Brooks is okay. Charlie is, you know.
You don't like Charlie. Charlie's Charlie. I love Charlie, but, fuck, man, he's tough to love. But they put together a really comprehensive list.
They put together a really comprehensive list. They do do their due diligence for an online meeting. At the end of the day, the only site that I look at for anything cigar news-wise is Half Wheel. I mean, they're on top of everything.
Trademarks, whatever's going on with regulations. Legislation. The whole friggin' gamut. Damn it.
So, you know, I don't, Cigar Aficionado, I don't look at that shit. I won't even let the magazines happen and come into the store, you know. Yeah, we've talked over that before. Yeah, it's just, it's just stupid, but we're getting ahead of ourselves.
So, a couple things I want to talk about. Our last... Excursion? Horrible trip that we did.
I had fun with you, but I mean, in general, it was, ooh, tough, tough. Tough. It was a bad trip. First of all, when you're in Jacksonville, how do you not play the "This is not my exit" game when you're stuck in traffic?
Because I don't do that. That's just so stupid. Do you play the "This is not my exit" game? I got a question.
Did you guys start this show? Is there not a new Mike and Mike deal? Yeah, we're going. It's already playing.
There used to be this really cool intro to the Mike and Mike show. See, here's the thing. You obviously aren't a listener. I am absolutely one of your subscribers.
Okay, so you're a subscriber, but you obviously don't listen. because as of the last week, we had Adam Acree do a little chime. He does the intro for us now. He's now our official intro.
So now we just kind of melt into the conversation. And I apologize. I was busy over the last seven days to catch that last episode. And I permit you to apologize.
So we're here on Mike and Mike in the afternoon. Mike and Mike in the afternoon. His name is Mike and he's Mike too. And this is Cigar Hustler Podcast.
So, I mean, obviously, we have Casey in the room, Casey from Crux. Thanks for having me. I'm glad to be here for the third time. Hey, don't fuck this one up, okay?
You know, we don't need you to be all tightwad and stuff about it. I want you to be honest and open. I can only be who I can be. It's so hot in here.
My glasses are fucked. I can't guarantee that. I mean, I don't know what I'm saying anymore at this point. Nope.
Anyways, we're here to talk about one of the latest releases of 2018's Top 25. And we're talking about Half Wheel right now. Yes, we are. But before we get to that, I want to talk about the This Is Not My Exit Game.
I don't like playing This Is Not My Exit Game. So when you travel, I mean, you travel up and down I-4 every once in a while, you get stuck in traffic, right? You can't do This Is Not My Exit on I-4. I do it all the time.
Well, when you get this way, once you get this way, in the middle of town, it's get off exit now if you can. Can you chime that in with some playback, so people can hear it? So, what are you talking about? Hear what?
This Is Not My Exit Game? So this is not my exit game, but do you know what I'm talking about? I assume you're talking about a really fun game you play in the car with Mike. No, we don't play the game, that's his problem.
When Mike drives, we sit in traffic like a bunch of fucking idiots. I always drive. Yeah, he does always drive. But when I drive by myself, or when I have other people in the car, you just drive in the right lane, the exit lane, and right when that lane ends, if you're stuck in traffic, you just cut over.
Oh this is not my exit. Oh this is not my exit. Oh shit, this is not my exit. Boop, and you cut in.
You don't do that? So basically, I mean, first of all, I think first and foremost you're talking about planning your trips. So you can avoid the worst part of the traffic times. Sometimes it's unavoidable though.
Sometimes it's unavoidable. Well, it is avoidable if you're not a terrible person. If you're not a terrible person. I don't think you're a terrible person all the time.
By playing this is not my exit game? Well, if I'll play This is the Time of Exit game, if you play, I'll show up on time game. How about the simple aspect of the fact that you use fucking like Google directions or some shit, and it wants us to say... Because the address didn't come up on Waze.
In the meantime, I'm punching Waze. You have your own phone, you're supposed to be backing me up with directions. Yeah, that was quite obvious that I needed to do that. So, Mike and Mike were on a trip.
Where were you guys headed? We went to Jacksonville yesterday. Yesterday. How was Jacksonville?
Fantastic. It was great. What did you guys do in Jacksonville yesterday? What did we do?
We went to a Jags game. Jags game, huh? How'd they do? They lost, they didn't score no points again, no points, they lost, there was no crowd at all, it was amazing, we had really good seats though, so we checked into a few shops, and it was entertaining, and we'll just mull over and leave it at that.
So, you know, there you go. Alright, so, Half Wheels top 25 list. Half Wheels, 2008, top 25 list. Please don't put in dun-dun-dun-dun-dun.
So here's a couple things that I want to address. For one, I think that all top 25 lists are complete bullshit, and here's why, and I'm going to use you as an example, because if I think that the Crux Epicure deserves to be on that list, I would never put an Epicure, which is an Ecuadorian Connecticut shade, in comparison to the Neanderthal, which is a San Andreas, and say, "Well, you know, the Neanderthal's number one, but the Neanderthal's number one, and the Neanderthal's number one, and the Neanderthal's number one, and the Neanderthal's number one, and the Neanderthal's number one, and the Neanderthal's number one. But the Crux is really good too. It's like, how do I, you don't compare those two.
I would say, you could say that here are my top cigars from the year. These are the ones that I smoked the most. These ones I thought were the best. These are the ones that I enjoyed, but to take them and put them in a, you know, comparable, I just don't see how that's actually feasible.
So that's your problem is that they're not comparing apples to apples. I just don't think that like his, his Epicure, like he's always in Connecticut, should not be compared against, they should be compared against another Connecticut. Like look, I mean I could tell you, I could put together 10 cigars, top 10 cigars for me from 2018 in two seconds. Like the Christmas show, we did that.
It's really easy to do because I can say, okay, these are the three cigars I smoke in the morning, these are the three that I smoke in the afternoon, these are the three or four that I end in the evening, and boom, there you go, there's your top 10, right? Because those are the ones that I go to time and time again. Absolutely, but we're looking at lists that are always subjective to the individual, right? So every one of these lists is subjective towards, you know, the people that are...
The pallet of the person who's used. Half-Wheel obviously has multiple reviewers. Right. So they have a little bit of differentiation between, you know, the ratings that they give.
Right. Which gives them a little credibility as a whole when it comes to their ratings. But how do you compare a bold cigar to a light cigar? Well, I feel like as a reviewer, when they do it, they know what they're smoking.
So they review it to a scoring system that they've already input. I mean, we know there's a hundred different scoring systems for every media review out there. So at the end of the day, you can take the scoring that's happened inside their system to give them an overall score. And that's essentially where they come up with these lists.
So why not break it down into like categories of, you know, top five, mild to medium, top five? I'm sure there's somebody out there that does that. I don't know if there is. Some blogger or something.
What if next year we did a Cigar Hustler top ten by sales at the shop? That's fuckin' lazy. Well, it's better than just the ten cigars you like to smoke the most. Well, I don't really care, though.
It's my list. I don't care about, I mean, so, hey, number two cigar of the year, Acid Blondie. Yay, that doesn't make sense. Well, if it's sold, we're doing it by sales.
Depends on the criteria of the list. That's what I'm telling you. That's skewed and it doesn't make sense. They're all skewed.
They are all skewed. And that one makes the least amount of sense. But there is different levels of representation for online media, the amount of time and effort they put into it. I know, I mean, Halfway, when they do review, I mean, they review at least three cigars.
Right. So you are getting more of, I mean, the outlier of, of course, you want to be consistent, and which I think when somebody rates one cigar, I mean, hopefully, as we all, as manufacturers, you, yourself, and, you know, Crux. I'm a brand owner. And you look at it as a consistent product.
You want to pick up a cigar that is yours and smoke the same one every time. Right. So the consistency factor, I like the way that plays in, if you have an outlier, I guess you have the ability to say, you know, that one tastes different than the other two, but now we're looking at only, you know, 66% of that cigar is consistent in a sample of three. Now you want to look at that a sample over 50, 100, 200,000 cigars to find the consistency.
I mean, I mean, there's a lot of consistency, but when guys smoke one cigar and said, you know, I had a burn issue, or I had to re-touch it up, I had to re-light it, well, there's a lot of human error that comes into smoking cigars, even somebody like you who's a professional cigar smoker by trade, like, occasionally, you may not, you know, pay enough attention to your smoking, the smoking of your cigar, where you may speak too much, you may, you know, work too much, you may not have that cigar in the ideal smoking experience. I mean, that's just a lot. I don't fucking care if I have to correct the cigar. If it tastes good, it tastes good.
Ooh, I've got to tweak it. That doesn't bother me either. That's just ridiculous. I have OCD anyway, so I mean, I'm going to...
Hashtag I have burn issues. Right. All right, well, we've got another person to introduce here. We have your other...
We have one of my other children here who can't speak Spanish either, so... So we're going to butcher another list. The CA Top 25 went so well. Why not do it again?
That's right. And this time... Another one of my children in a better cinema. Carre was available.
Say hi, Conor. Heller. Heller. Conor, what are you smoking today?
Crux. Epicure. Epicure. Crux Epicure Toro.
First time smoking Crux today, isn't it? Why would you have to save him? Because his cigar was upside down. He's my child.
That's what you do. But we're here to, I thought, listen to his pronunciation of words. Yes, we're going to save him 25 more times. That was the whole bit.
I was trying to make your cigar sound good, Casey. Relax. I was here to correct it at the end. Exactly.
I'll probably butcher half of them as well. All right, so let's get into this. Okay, everybody pull up their phone because Mike wouldn't do a different list. Because you didn't do it right the first time.
No, I just, well, you would have been at the pre-show meeting, we could have worked this out. All right, so, I mean, the first one, number 25 is easy for you, Connor, go ahead. Tell us what it is and speak directly into the microphone. Half-wheel top 25, 2018.
Yep, going backwards. Number 25, Leaf by James. Good job. Now we've got to go back.
So, have you smoked this cigar? Has everybody here smoked that cigar? I've had that cigar. Yes.
Okay. Do you think it deserves to be on the top 25 list? I think it's a very good cigar. I think they've done a lot of great things with James and his factory.
I mean, it's a good boutique factory. Factory? Factory. Factory.
Factory. Factory. They've come up with a lot of good stuff out of that factory, and I feel like that is definitely one that people are noticing more in the marketplace. I could have just said yes.
I mean, I'd be like, yeah, you're right. Yes, you're right. Perfect. No, I agree.
I think that, for me, I think that that's a good cigar. It is a good cigar. And it would, I could see why it belongs on a 25 list. I like Half Wheel's list.
It seems to be more like an everyman cigar type list. Instead of some... Yeah, something that you, you know, can't find, or some Cuban that was, you know, sitting in somewhere for the last 30 years. All right.
Well, let's not, let's not get ahead of ourselves here, because we're on number 24 now. Number 24. Keo Zocalo? That's what I'm talking about.
I'm so happy that you're here, Connor. Can you repeat that one more time for the audience? Keo Zocalo? Keo Zocalo.
The Keo Zocalo. Can we get a pronunciation check from Mike? Well, it's C-A-O. They don't pronounce that.
They say C-A-O. And I would have said Zocalo, too. I don't know what that is. It seems alright to me.
Is that right? Excepting on the second word, we're going to go ahead with one or two words? Yeah. Since we're all, you know, not Spanish.
Has anybody had that cigar? I think I might have, but I don't remember it. Okay. I have not smoked that cigar.
Okay. So, let's see. So, moving on. San Andreas, Rapper, Cameroon Binder, Nika Fillers.
It looks all right. I'm intrigued by the blend. Other than the fact that it was made by CAO, but whatever. Okay.
So, doesn't belong on a top 20 cigar. Doesn't belong on a top 25 list. Probably not. I wouldn't say no.
Number 23. Number 23. 23, Foundation Chess Collector Humidor Corona Gorda. Ooh.
So the tabernacle. So all those words are in English. Why didn't they call it a tabernacle? What is a Chess Collector Humidor?
So it's in like a private-- so first of all, it's not really a humidor, because I don't think that it actually could sustain and-- I don't think it seals 100%. Right. But it's like this little box that they made that only had these Corona extras in it. We actually have one.
It's not the little coffee thing. In the back. No, I'll show it to you. We were going to give it away.
We were going to do some kind of giveaway with it. Did you get it from Nick when he was here? We had it for an event, I think, and it just never got used, so we're going to use it. Now, for me, the Tabernacle is a fantastic blend.
They don't give a price, do they? Yeah, they do. Where's the name? 1660.
Oh, I see. There we go. Boxes of 30. Boxes of 30.
Right there next to the MSRP. I got it. Yeah. Yeah, so where it says MSRP?
Corona Extra. So, now, what's also cool here is, what I like about Half Wheel, is this didn't have to be released in 2018, right? This was released in 2017. And I kind of agree with...
Was it late 2017? So where, like, it didn't make the 2017 list? Yeah, but I don't think that it really matters, right? Okay.
I mean, for me, at least, my top 10 cigars are my top 10 cigars. It doesn't matter if they came out in 2014 or 2018. You know, 2019 at this point, but if I'm consistently smoking it, it doesn't matter. Gotcha, I understand what you're saying.
You got to constantly recreate that blend over and over again, and if it's done right, then I'll enjoy it. Consistent all the way through. You know, I mean, if the blend changes and it turns to shit, then I'm not smoking it anymore, so. I mean, I don't know if I would have labeled this Foundation Chest Collector Humidor.
That's what I was saying, yeah. It would have just been the Tabernacle. Tabernacle, Corona Gordo, Collector Humidor, Foundation Chest. But it's the same blend as a regular Tabernacle, right?
It just comes in a different box. Yeah, alright, so that belongs on 25? I'd say so. I think it's a good cigar.
I haven't smoked that size, but I'm intrigued by Corona Gordos, and I feel like you can get a little bit more intensity from obviously using a smaller ring gauge. Which is, I think, what they go for in that blend. All right, I just moved my mic and I feel like that's going to be a disaster. It's going to fall.
Whoa. Number 22. 22. 22.
22. Illusion A, La Grande, uh, I said that wrong already. Keep going. Keep going.
Come on, guys. Illusion A, La Grande, Classy Rex. Yes. Very close.
Yes, the Illusion A, La Grande, Classy Rex. Nice. That's fantastic. So, I don't know if I have this cigar, but I have heard a lot of good things about it.
I think I asked Alfredo for it, I think we ordered it and it never came in. The order probably never made it to the... Can never go past Alfredo? It's their Alfredo Cruz.
So, that's kind of where we're at with that. The Classy Rex, the Illusion La Grande Class Rex. Right, Samuel? What do you think?
What do I think about the cigar? I think the cigars, I mean, that's a nice blend for them. Yeah. I'm a big fan of that Ecuador Habano that's on that wrapper that, I mean, they've done a lot of great blends that come out of that factory.
50 retail. Oh, yeah, that's pretty ridiculous. Right. Yeah, I mean, it's a short cigar.
I mean, what is it, 40 ring gauge, almost five inches? Yeah. It's a good size. All right, well, I can't weigh in on it and say that it's-- I've never had it.
How do you say that second word? Is it class? Just class? C-L-A-S-S-E?
Sure. Okay. I feel like it's class A. Yeah, I think it would be class A.
So bougie. 50 a stick. Put a fancy name on it. You would put it on 25?
I think it's a very good cigar. I mean, Illusioni comes out with a lot of things that- Illusioni? Illusioni. Illusioni.
Illusioni. Illusioni. Oh, I can't wait for the next one. Could come out.
I think it... It definitely belongs up there. All right. I feel like it's hard for us to get you to commit to say yes.
I feel like you're dancing around it. All right. I did say yes. All right, Connor, number 21.
21, McAuliffe, Grande, Bold, Leguero, 552L. Very close. Yeah, so you lost it at Leguero. It's Leguero.
That G gives you a silent H. I mean, I guess at this point I need to smoke this fucking cigar. I have some of them here, I think. Oh, do you?
I don't know if I have that one, but if it was on CAs, even though I don't really respect them, I do respect Half Wheels, so... I'm just gonna have to try it. I should probably smoke it. Have you smoked this, Casey?
I have not smoked this blind. Okay. Mr. Palmer?
No, no, never had it. Connor? Nope. Connor, they can't hear you when you shake your head.
Yeah, when you shake your head. " No. There's a verbal commitment on this show. Yeah, you have to speak.
Alright. We're blasting through these. Let's go. Number 20.
Wait, I didn't even... So we can't really give a whole background on that because nobody here is smoking. Nobody's at it. Is what we're saying.
The McAuliffe? Yeah. Okay, moving on. Number 20, Connor.
20, hit-and-run parts, dos, almost, rebus. I don't know. Part deux. He tried to go with some Spanish in there.
Yeah, part dos. Hit-and-run part deux, almost, rebus. I didn't even know that there was a part two. Number two, um, shit, I don't know, I'm questioning my life now as a whole, because, uh, I had the original one, but I haven't had this one yet.
I had the original two, I didn't even know they came out with a number two, so, um, is that now La Polina's thing? Are they part of Room 101? I don't think so. What are you talking about?
Yeah, I think they are, like they're all under the same blanket or something. Casey? I'm trying to fact check here, you. Okay.
Cool. I appreciate the fact checking. I cannot confirm or deny that, but you don't sound correct. I'm pretty sure that they're using the same sales force.
Same sales force? Yeah. Oh, you think so? That's a different than your first statement.
Yeah. Like they partnered up? Because, I mean, I'm pretty sure golfer6315 has been, Jerry over in Texas has been hanging out with Matt Booth a lot, so. But what?
what? Nothing. But nothing. Nothing.
It doesn't even say how it's different in the description. It's just number two. It's just the second one. Man.
Not all sequels are bad, so here's to hoping for a trilogy. Hmm. Shit. Okay, number 19.
Aging Room. 19. Aging Room, small batch, Pura Seperondo. Pura Seperondo.
That's the way I would have said it too. Is he? I mean, he phonetically looks correct when he says that. You know, I just, I think it's, you know, I love, though that's the one really cool thing about the cigar industry is you can just kind of fucking slap some letters on there and do whatever the hell you want.
Anything you want. And then when somebody comes in asking you for tatuajis, then you know. Well, look at the way one says, nobody said that right. Yeah, you gotta have those guaguanizis.
I'm like, yeah, I have lots of those Guaygueneses. Those Gaganese? Yeah, the Gaganese. The Gaganese, yeah.
" I was like, "That is not even close. That is not even close. " He doesn't use that name anymore. " Wait, you got any of those El Gaganese?
El Gaganese. What is that? Oh, the Weiwencet? Oh, okay, gotcha.
50 a stick. It just says wrapper, filler, binder, Nicaragua. So it's made out of the Placencia factory. I've never had it.
I've never had it. I'm not really excited. I have not smoked it as well. I mean, well, maybe these aren't an anti-man cigar, because we haven't had hardly any of them.
Well, so far, we're not doing too well. No, we're not. We're like two. We're an embarrassment to ourselves.
But we'll be able to catch up here when they get to the top 15. Yeah. Yeah, there you go. Exactly.
Exactly. All right. All right. 18, Connor.
I'm gonna butcher this one. Yes. I'm excited. People love this.
18. 18. 18. 18.
Edmundo, Dantes, Conde, Bellicoso, Edicion, Regional, Mexico. Whoa. Wow, that's very close. That wasn't too bad.
That was like a 96% correct. I mean slowly got there, he read it, took his time. It doesn't matter as long as we get there, right? It was supposed to be a comical bit, he's trying to make this too serious.
Yeah, he is. Jake was funnier. Yeah, Jake couldn't spell for shit. But he still got 17 left to really come back and help us out.
Oh, yeah. Yeah, that's true. Okay, so, I mean, I don't smoke a lot of Cubans, to be honest. Yeah, I think I've smoked one Cuban in the last year.
Right. So for one, the MSRP is $20, for two, you know. You know, I'm not going through it, so I'm not doing all that bullshit to get a cigar that, for one, isn't going to be, in my opinion, consistent, and for two, it just seems like a waste of time. So, I don't really smoke a lot of Cubans.
Nope. I'm American. I'm American. I like them Nicaraguan and Domanicans.
So, I smoke everything that I have access to. I'm not Canadian. Blame Canada. All right.
All right, 17. Number 17. Oh, this is gonna be a good one. 17, Tatuaje.
What? That's very close. How did you get to-- I feel like he's got a different list. Yeah, how'd you get on that list?
I don't know. That's number 17. That's number 17. 17 for me is not that.
Nah, me as well. That's from 2013. No, hold on. What list are you looking at?
Oh, we're looking at 17. How did you jump to 17? This is the list you sent me. There's no way, because you hit the other 25, and those 25 weren't, uh, between!
So we'll go to 17, I'm gonna hand you this, I'm gonna hand you a different list that is what we're actually reviewing, and we're gonna go with this one. Oh, this is even harder. Liga Pravita #9, Corona Viva. Alright, so you did okay.
I mean, you saved yourself at the end. I mean, you totally butchered the second word. the liga provada the number nine number nine corona viva so um i mean i had the cigar i thought it tasted all right would i put it on the top 25 list probably not um for me i mean it's i'm a little more biased it has undertones of betrayal but um you know i can i can honestly taste that every single time but um as far as you guys are concerned i mean have you had the Liga 9, Coronaviva? I've had a lot of Liga 9s, I don't know if I've had the Coronaviva.
All right. I don't smoke a lot of Liga. A little strong for my palate. Okay, I mean, I've smoked it.
It was okay. It was okay. I wouldn't put it on the list, but it was okay. But across the consumer board, that's a cigar in most retail shops that it hits a lot of people.
I mean, Liga Privada is a brand across the country that is very looked up upon as a, obviously, This is the Cruze premium line. Okay, but I mean, we can all agree that it wasn't, it isn't today what it once was. I mean, what the cigar used to taste like is not the same. No?
You think it tastes the same? I've heard it's not the same, but I could tell you it's the same. I mean, I'm not a connoisseur of the Ligas. Well, the fact of the matter is that Coronavieva wasn't out before either, too.
So it could taste different than the other ones, because it's a different size. Yeah. But... I thought it was okay.
Undertones of Betrayal. Moving on. Moving on. Would you like to elaborate?
Nah. All right, moving on to number 16. A lot of history there. A lot of history.
A lot of bad history. Ooh, this is a good one. Yes, I'm looking forward to number 16. Yeah.
16, Herrera Esteli Inktome Exception. He's not as funny. I mean, that wasn't too bad. No, he's not bad at all.
Herrera Esteli Inktome. Sounds right to me. Yeah, I don't know. Exception.
You know, I didn't even know that they made this, so... No, I've had a lot of Herrera. And a lot of it's really good, but I couldn't tell you if I had the Inktome. I haven't had the Inktome.
I feel we're saying that wrong. Casey, have you had the Inktome? I'm just checking the size. Sounds Japanese.
I feel like I've smoked this cigar because it is a 46x6 Corona Gorda, and I've had the Herrera Esteli, I believe in that size. I thought it was a very delightful cigar. I mean, it's got some strength, a lot of pepper to it for me. Kind of what you would expect from an Esteli blend from Drew and from Herrera.
Right. Okay. So I think, for me, on that list, I think this definitely belongs on the top 25. All right.
Well, I'll take your word for it. I'll go with Casey, too. I didn't know this next one was that cheap. Yes.
Is that price wrong? Number 15. No. Really?
I didn't know that. It's a little guy. Oh, it's a small size anyway. Number 15.
15, Mi Querida Firecracker. The Mi Querida Firecracker. He was close. Do you carry that one here?
We gotta not let him look at these long enough. We gotta like snap it in. That's what it is. He's sounding it out in his head.
He's prepping the next one already. Yeah, we're discussing it and he's looking ahead. So it should be a snap judgment. Alright, so the Firecracker is a store exclusive.
Oh, Two Guys Smoke Shop. They had a couple of store exclusive in that size, I believe. Yeah, so they also did, you know, Roma Craft does one as well. Correct, and I actually just smoked that.
Yeah, at the HQ? At HQ, in Austin, Texas. I know the Fratello has done one in the past. Yeah, this cigar is pretty good.
Yeah, it is, I like this one. The Roma one's better. This is my favorite one. Just saying, the Cro-Mag's way better, but kudos to Saka for making the list.
So there you go. Fourteen. Oh, you made him put his phone down. No, I did him at my own will.
His own will. At my own will. Number fourteen. We're gonna break him up his own will.
Number fourteen. Number fourteen, Connor. Fourteen, Rocky Patel, Tavikusa, Toro. Sure.
That's the way I'd say it. Tavikusa, maybe? Tavikusa? Tavikusa.
Anybody know what that means? No. No. No, no.
I have not smoked that cigar yet. Well, the factory's Tabaculera Vila Cuba, I mean, it sounds like it's an abbreviation. Could be. You know what I'm saying?
Yep. " Tabacu says, an appreciation of sorts of the factory. The factory. So there you go.
Oh, made to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the factory. Have you had this one, Casey? I have not smoked that. I have not had that one either.
I'm not a big Rocky Patel. Connor? I have not smoked it. Alright, so I can't really weigh in on that one.
Nope. But it doesn't make, it wouldn't make my list anyways. Anyways, moving on, number 13. Oh, that's a long name.
Yes. Connor? Don't stop sounding it out. No, I'm trying to remember what VI is.
Oh boy. VI, everybody. Public schools? VI is also known for Roman numerals.
Yeah, that's what I was trying to figure out. You gotta look up the VI thing. So go ahead. 13, Saga, Short Tales, Tomo, 6, no, the 6th element.
It says it right after. The next word is the 6th element, so we're glad you fast forwarded there. I've never heard of it before, no, I'm really intrigued though for it to get the rating, and I'll definitely try it, for sure. I mean, it's a five and a half by 58, and they don't really, I mean, everything that we've seen, a lot of the stuff is more Corona Gorda, Lancero stuff, those sizes.
Yeah, 52 is the largest one I think we've seen up until this point. Right, so I'm intrigued to try it. Are you a big ring gauge guy? You like 58s?
I'm a big, I like cigars. You like cigars? I'm not really too particular, I mean I smoke the Brotherly Kindness a lot. Box Press though, right?
No, that's a goodness, not out yet. Brotherly Kindness. You're thinking of the Breach of the Peace maybe, and the Revenge, which is the Box Press BA. Gotcha.
So, I'll definitely give this a shot, I'll look this up, figure it out. You get 'em, I'll try it. Alright. But nobody else has had this.
No, 58's a little big for me. I'm more of a petite kind of guy. Yeah. And let's get to number 12, shall we?
Number 12. The one reason we're doing this list, this is why we're doing the entire list, this is the one list, the one cigar that we would like to pronounce as butchered as possible. If we're being around here, we might say that one right. So go ahead.
I don't know. Yes! I was going to say it wrong. Powstani, SBC18?
Yes! The Powstania, SBC18. That's Michael Cigar. It is.
It really is. Well, that should be like number one on everything. Also, follow us on Instagram at CigarHustlePodcast, or follow Mikey at CigarHustle, and follow Mike too at FCC_Mike. So here's the thing, I wouldn't characterize it as a top, I would tell you what my top ten cigar are that you listen to.
No, I just want to know, is that your top cigar of the year? Is this my top cigar of the year? Your biased list, is that your number one cigar of the year? I mean, it's going to be a tie.
You only get to pick one, there can only be one. I'm feeling the pressure here, Casey, I mean, I don't know what to tell you. Yeah, it'd be my number one, for sure. Well, congratulations on the list, because it is a fantastic cigar, I've smoked it.
I've smoked actually multiples of this cigar. I love this cigar. Fortunate enough, I have some people that, you know, find these for me on the black market, because you guys don't make that many of them. We only made 250 boxes.
250 boxes. So it's a small batch for you guys, and you guys, it's a great blend. I really appreciate that cigar. Yeah?
Yeah, I didn't think so. Prick. But it's a great size. I love the cigar.
No, it is a good cigar. For me, I thought it was better than the 16. I kind of gravitate more to San Andreas. What was the difference between '16 and '18?
Well, it's a tweaked blend internally, but it also is a San Andreas wrapper in comparison to a Pennsylvania Broadleaf. Gotcha. Makes it totally different. Manages to take what could be a fairly potent blend and find balance and complexity, while also delivering one of the better flavor and strength progressions of any cigar on the year's list.
Yes, I mean, that's kudos to Patrick. So, I mean, for me, does this make the list? Yeah. And does it make the top of the list?
Abso-fucking-lutely. The only one that would be tied with it is the Neanderthal, because I smoke a shit ton of Neanderthals, and the HN is just, that's an amazing cigar, so, but now you're kinda, you're only, I'm only focusing on full bodied smokes, because for me, the Brotherly Kindness, the Aganorsa, whatever it is. No, I'm trying to forward to the next number, and my phone will not go off this cigar. That's good.
That's good. It's stuck. It's stuck. It won't go anywhere else.
So, you know, like, those other cigars are lighter smokes than I smoke all the time. So, how do you compare those two? It's not, for me, it's not possible. It doesn't even make sense.
So, I could just tell you, you know, what my favorite cigars are, period. Right? Okay, cool. I feel like I'm just talking to myself here.
We're just letting you go, they bask in your numbers. We're just letting you take this moment. Thanks. I mean, we're here for 45 minutes for you to talk about this cigar, so we wanted to at least give you...
Moving on. Number 11. Number 11. Number 11, Blackworks, Studio Killer Bee, Connecticut.
Yeah. Nailed it. Got that one right. It's in English.
I thought this was a really good blend. I thought it was a good cigar. I liked it. I think that the Leaf by James is better.
It's better. Another cigar out of the same factory. Right. Black Works.
Ovea Negra. Yep. I did smoke this cigar. Connecticut wrapper.
I do like the mildness to it. Had a good amount of flavor. And then the uniqueness that they put on, you know, just the finishing is kind of cool that you don't see on an everyday Connecticut, especially at that price point. How's he sound?
Because he's moving around a lot from his mic. He sounds okay. We have a delay, so it's driving me crazy. Oh, good.
So I've got one headphone off. Okay. Well, then, I'll get in front of my microphone. Alright, so, yeah, I would say it could make a list, but I think the Leaf by James should have been higher.
It's a little high, I think, or a little low, I guess, a little low on the list. The Leaf by James? No, this one. Yeah.
The number 11. Would have put it a little higher up on the list. Alright. Number 10, my friend.
Bellas Artes Maduro Robusto. Yeah. You got that one right. That sounds all right.
Yeah. Let's get Jake back in here. Yeah. Jake's way better.
Way cooler than you. Yeah. So, I mean, I've had it. I thought it was all right.
I've had it. It was okay. I haven't smoked it. I've had it, it was okay.
Haven't smoked it. Peptel Fernandez is no stranger to unique cigar blends, but the Bellas Artes Maduro may very well be one of the company's most ambitious creations to date. Yeah, I thought it was alright. I don't know if I'd put it on a list.
I thought it was alright. Yeah, it's just okay. I mean, a lot of his stuff, in my opinion, is good, and it will be good for the average consumer, I guess, But it's not like some next level shit, like, wow. I haven't seen anything that I don't like that I have smoked.
Right. Alright, number nine. This is a good one. Sin Compromiso Selection, number two.
Holy son of a bitch. Damn it. Yeah, Jake would've totally butchered that, just for the record. Sincumprisi, Secession.
Right. Yeah, right. So, I mean, we've all smoked this cigar, right? Yes.
And how do we feel about it? I like this cigar. I think it definitely deserves to be on this list. I feel like we're never going to get the truth out of Casey unless the microphone's not in front of me.
It did hit my palate well. I thought it was good. It's not, in my opinion, it's not the best thing Saka makes. So, kudos to him, he's gotten a lot of play on it.
He's on a lot of reviews for it, but... He's doing well. I mean, honestly, his unicorn I thought was fucking amazing, except for the fact that it's a hundred bucks. Yeah, I didn't have that one.
So, you know... Too rich for my blood. This is the first one that... I weaseled it.
Well played. So that made it taste even better. This one has notes of dark chocolate, malted milk balls, earth black pepper, coffee, and marshmallow sweetness. Yeah, so...
It's the first one to Ted, that description. Well, that's good, from Brooks. So, I mean, it's a good cigar, I would put it on the list for the top 25 of the year, for sure. He makes better stuff, though.
He does. He really does. But this one seems to be getting a lot of play, so, kudos to Sako. I would have rated each other one higher.
Which one? The other one. The, again, Mi Querida. Mi Querida?
Mi Querida. I liked the Todos Los Dias. I don't remember that one. I don't remember that one.
Todos Los Dias. So. Alright. Next one.
Number eight. Number eight. Number eight, Illusion A, Hot, 10, Churchill. Alright.
I mean, I didn't order this one, but it doesn't matter, because it wouldn't have came in anyways, because my husband never made it. Shots fired, Alfredo. Have you had this, Casey? I haven't had this one.
They did have this on their list a year or so ago in a different size. That was the number one cigar of the year, I believe. Yeah, the number one. 5x50 Robusto Extra.
And I did smoke that one because that was the year, I'm just going to throw this out there, 2016 was the year they gave that cigar you're currently smoking, the number two cigar of the year that year. The PB5. The PB5 in 2016. So, of course, I had to go out and see what they rated that year higher, and I think it's a very good cigar.
So, for it to land back on the list in a different size makes sense. If they liked it before that much, you'd think if they come out with a new size, it's going to recreate a list. And, you know, for them, it hit them. I think it's a good cigar.
And for it to hit the second time on a list, obviously, it's staying consistent for them. Right. I mean, the fact of the matter is that that's a great factory. Oh, absolutely.
Absolutely. And, you know, the HVC stuff that comes out of there, Nick stuff that comes out of there, Foundation Cigars, and obviously Illusioni's, Illusioni? Illusioni? Illusioni.
Illusioni. Illusioni stuff is really good. So, yeah, I mean, I haven't smoked it, but I could understand why something like that would fall on the list. I don't know if anybody else, Mike?
I haven't had it. All right, cool. Number seven. Yes.
Number seven, Tatuaje the bride. Tatuaje the bride. J is an H. So you got another smaller gauge, right?
49. So I think I just got to make smaller gauge stuff and send it to half wheel. Well, actually, they buy their own stuff. What do you make that's a 46 to 49 ring gauge?
Well, the SBC. SBC. Landed on the list. Made it on the list.
That sounds like you're doing well there, number 13. Well, maybe the, uh, Wojtek. No, that's bigger. Yeah.
The, um, the Christmas tree one. Yeah. See, you can't remember the name either. Oh, the 320 Sycamore?
Yeah, Sycamore. There you go. Yeah. Yeah, maybe.
Skip hated that cigar. Yeah, really? Yeah. All right.
Number six. Number 6. Number 6, La Flor Dominicana, Special Football Edition 2018. Alright, so this comes out during Super Bowl time, and I gotta hit up Carney for one of these.
I've never had it. I've never had it either. Well, it's unique because it comes out and it's only sold in the home state of the Super Bowl. Right.
And so, I was fortunate enough, last year in 2018, the Super Bowl was in my home state, Minnesota. We were up there for the celebration and I actually got to see Kearney and I did get to smoke the cigar. Did you freeze your balls off? Whatever's worse than that, yes.
Whatever's worse than that. It was, for somebody that grew up there, lived in Minneapolis, north of Minneapolis for 23 years, they picked the worst week of all weather to be down in Minneapolis, or up in Minneapolis. Me down because I grew up north of it, so that was the downside. But it was an absolutely brutally cold week.
Hard to get anywhere. They have an anti-basically smoking in the state of Minnesota, so all the events had outdoor patios. Oh, yes. So there was little fire pots, and in order to smoke outside and put anything up they had used to break that windchill, they put up plastic barriers.
So you smoked this then, up there? I did not smoke this then, up there. I was going to say because -- I smoked it, well I did smoke one at a shop. It's a six and a half.
It's a six and a half. In sub-zero temperatures. No, I did not smoke a cigar outside the entire week that I was up there. But it is unique and I did get to smoke one that week in a shop.
And then I actually had a second one that I smoked sitting on the balcony in Sunny Isles Beach with my beautiful view. And it's a great cigar. I think it's cool, I think the uniqueness of it, the ambiance that they do for that gives me a lot of bonus points. Does it taste like a football?
You know, it doesn't smell the same as a football, and I have, unfortunately, tasted football before. Is he leaving? Did he just get up and leave? He's done.
He's past 13. He doesn't care anymore. But no, I think it's a great cigar. I think it's a really unique thing they do.
To make a list like that, with such an exclusivity, is unique, and I think really, I think it deserves to be on a list because of the uniqueness that they do with that list every year. Okay. So I can ask Karney for this. Moving on.
I got the pages not available. So how do you pay for that? How do you buy that cigar? I mean, how did the...
It's only shipped to retailers in the state. So then, you know, so how did they get it? So this will be Georgia, this year, in '19, there will be a '19 edition in Atlanta, which is in the state of Georgia. I understand that, but here's my point.
So how did Half Wheel get their hands on this cigar? Was it a retailer that had an online presence or something? I'm assuming there's ways that you can procure these things when you're obviously looking to rake these. I don't know exactly how they brought it, but I'm sure somebody sold them somewhere, you know, especially with the exclusivity to the amount of shops that are in Minnesota.
The production numbers, I'm sure, were down because it was very exclusivity, very exclusive. Very exclusivity. And this year, with obviously being in Georgia, the amount of shops that are there, I mean... Well, it's coming up in Tampa, I think, in two years.
Still way more shops in Georgia. You think so? Well, I guess Tampa itself, but Florida, so it'll be the whole state. I don't know, Atlanta is so saturated, but overall, yeah, Florida's got a ton of spots, so...
So I should just reserve some now. All right. Moving on to number four. Yeah, there is no number five.
There's a tie. There's a tie. There's a tie for number four. I like to think that it ended up in like some form of a knife fight or something, and then, you know, both people died, and that's why they're both at four.
All right, and one of the number four, it's Davidoff, Diomedos, Finos, limited edition, 50th anniversary. All right. Do you take Spanish in school? Well, I mean, you kind of fucked that up, so that's good.
The Finas. Davidoff. Davidoff. Diademas.
Diademas. The Vettor is a diadema. So $36, I never had this cigar. Never had it.
I've smoked it. Yeah. That doesn't surprise me. I've smoked it.
I'm kind of bougie. You are bougie. Very bougie. People also like to give me stuff.
Yeah. Because we walk into a lot of these Davidoff retailers across the country, and they're very proud of their Davidoff displays, and it's a beautiful display. I always try to put Crux Cigars in those displays, they generally take them out. Yeah, they don't like that.
What is this? What is this in here? What is this? However, for Ecuador, Dominican filler binder, not a big Dominican guy, but for the Davidoffs that I've smoked, it is definitely one of my favorite Davidoffs.
Because it's a unique shape, I like it. I'm starting to lose the respect for Casey. He likes everything. That's not true.
No, it's really good, it's really good. I just want him to come out one time and say that was complete shit. Well, there was a cigar that I blatantly lied about in the early teens. Son of a bitch.
Well, mine was in 12, so. Early teens. This cigar was big in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. Good for the Middle East.
36 doll hairs. It comes in a jar. Better for 36 bucks. It should come with a handjob.
Oh, I hit the wrong button. I hit the wrong button. Number four! Oh, God.
Number, number four, the number four, the other one. Oh, T4 is tied, four. Connor? It's floating.
Here. What do you have, Sprint? We have AT&T. Oh, no, wait, he's not on me.
The other number four, Cornelius and Anthony, the Gent Gordo. The Gent Gordo, six by sixty. I've had this, but not that size. Made No.
4. It's a big size. That is a big size. Yeah, so I've never had the 6x60.
To me, the cigar was okay. I've never had the cigar. I was recommended it's way too strong for my palate. Not a big, full, full, full cigar smoker.
I did watch people chain-smoke this cigar in a smoke-off. So he woke off to see was like I think they called it a fast smoke or something along that lines and these guys were full body guys and this cigar has done incredibly well for those guys and it's blended I believe Hector Alfonso from Lozona blended it and he told me I might need to grow a pair before I can smoke this cigar. Well, we'll have to ask him that later on this week. Yes, I'll have to write that down.
Write that down. So he needs to grow a pair. Grow a pair. Okay, go right there.
Number three! No, now there's number four. Wait, I might jump to 17 again. Get the back end of the whole list.
I guess the website in itself needs to work out some kinks. Well, there's so many people probably looking for the SBC 16 on the list. It's the 18. The 18, sorry.
I'm sorry. Maybe they're looking for the 16, 'cause the 18. And if you're gonna throw fucking shots. 'Cause the 18 was so good.
'Cause the 18 was so good. You better get your shit together, pal. God damn it. All right, number three.
Three, Romeo and Julietta, wide, Churchill's, Gran Reserva, Kosheka, 2009. The Koshecha, 2009. Haven't had it. Cuban.
Ah, that's why. Yeah, like, I don't know why, why put Cubans on the list? It just seems silly to me. Anybody?
It should be a cigar that everybody can get. I thought they only had two so far. Why put Cubans on the list, Casey? From the standpoint of, for them?
I mean, you try to protect everybody and say nice things about everybody. No, I have no idea why they put Cubans on the list. If I was going to take the political standpoint, Americans think Cubans as a whole, Cuba makes the best cigars in the world. Right.
That's because it's just forbidden fruit. Forbidden fruit. It's the ambiance of something you can't have, you want it. And you're willing to pay, they say, MSRP is, what did you say it was?
$80. $80? MSRP is $80. Is that pesos?
For some leaves? For some dried-up leaves. So... It comes with a trip to Cuba.
It comes with a trip to Cuba, and two-night stay. You have to go get it for $80. But I don't know why they put Cuban cigars on the list, but I think it's to intrigue the normal consumer that wouldn't be a, you know... The one that's smoking the fake Cubans?
Well, if you ask him, they're real. All right, that's all that counts. That's all that counts. As long as he likes it.
So, yeah, never smoked it. All right, number two. Number two, Le Carima, Bellicosos, Finos 2018, Elie. Le Carima, the La Caram, Bellicosos, Finos 2018.
That's what they yelled during the holidays. La Carima! La, la, la, la, La Carima. Alright, so, I thought this cigar was really good.
I wanted it to be creamier. And it totally surprised me. With the name La Creme, I thought it was gonna be creamier. La Carima?
La Carima. I thought it was gonna be creamier. The La Carima. I haven't had the size though.
La Carême. Dude, this blend, this LE, was really good. Was really good. 09.
Yeah. I mean, I could understand that. I would definitely rate this one in a top five list. I didn't smoke it a lot because I didn't have a lot of them.
" You had a small Vitola when you had them here. No, but I got this one in. Oh, did you get this one in? I sure did.
And I smoked it more than once. Do you have any more of them? No, I don't think so. I'll double check.
I have not smoked that. It's a really good cigar. And I'm intrigued because I do respect your mouth. I appreciate that.
You've got a purdy mouth. That you have given this the attaboy. Yeah. I'm intrigued.
It warrants it. I would say that, you know. I mean, I'm looking at the components like… Of the top five, it's the only one that I think is like, yeah, absolutely. Okay, I get it, you know.
You think I'll bash, you think I'll screw up the number one? So, you haven't smoked it, you haven't smoked that size. Not that size. All right, so, but it's a yes from me.
Connor, have you smoked it? No, I have not. I bought a lot of the other smaller Vitola. It's not the same.
It's not the same, those taste okay, those aren't bad, but that one, head and shoulders above the rest. I just meant I liked it enough to buy more than one. Right. Alright.
The number one cigar of the year. Yeah. com. Number one.
Number one. Joya de... Nah, I already said it wrong. Ooh, it brought me to the Quesada.
Nicaragua number one. The, what was it? I said Joya. The Joya de Nicaragua.
No, it's Joya de Nicaragua number one. number one. J is an H. We've been over this before.
Check this out. So when I hit Hoya de Nicaragua number one, it takes me to the Quesada. See, the website's all messed up. Mine worked.
That's pretty funny. That is a Lonsdale with an Ecuadorian Connecticut binder, Nicaraguan excuse me, Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper, Nicaraguan filler binder. I'm intrigued. I have not smoked that.
I have been smoking a lot of the Connecticut's that have come out this year. There has been a lot. And for Plus, when we came out with our Connecticut, that I'm smoking now, Crux Epicure, I'm smoking the Toro. A lot of plugs for you today.
I mean, I gotta do something in 45 minutes. You know, the Crux Epicure Toro is what I'm smoking, as well as Connor and Mike, Mr. Palmer. And I thought that was a really good cigar as well, the Epicure.
I did not make this list, because Half Wheel did not rate it highly. Ooh. It was actually the lowest rated cigar we've ever had on Half Wheel. They mentioned this one on Coop last night.
They did the Robusto. Well, they talked about the Epicure Maduro. Oh, is that what it was? That's what it was.
Coop did give the Epicure Robusto number two cigar of the year. But not the Maduro. The Maduro hasn't been released yet. I know, but it's on somebody's fucking review site.
That's what it was, yeah. He was listing cigars that aren't even out yet. So how's that possible? Who are you giving them to?
Yeah, I mean, how come I haven't had it? I haven't had it. Well, if you would, you know, walk across the trade show floor once in a while. I would do that if I wasn't so goddamn busy.
I'm just saying, if you wanted to take 35 seconds out of your day to come say hi, give me a hug. You know, Little Man Embrace, we did have them at the IPCPR last year, you know, in samples, and it is yet to be released nationwide, but it is coming, where it will be the Epicure Maduro, it'll be in three shapes. So here's my thoughts on that. I think that, you know, when something like that happens, you should say, you know what, the crew over at the Romacraft Nika Sueno booth so totally deserve to have one of these.
I'm going to set it aside, and when I see them later, I'm going to give it to him. So he should just carry it around for the entire show, in case he runs into you? Abso-fucking-lutely. Because he likes your mouth.
He loves my mouth. I respect your mouth. You respect my mouth. I appreciate you respecting my mouth.
I mean, you can have any cigar of mine at any time. I appreciate that. I mean, I'll fucking mail it. You'll mail it.
You're like, "Hey, I really want to try that. " I did come all the way up here just to see you. That's a lie. You came up here to see your dad.
But, so we're sitting here. Yeah, so change the subject. Talking about the Epicure Maduro. Yeah.
That is not out. Right. But it made lists. It made a list.
Made a list. Yeah. And we're talking about why that happens. Well, I mean, no, we're not really talking about why that happens because I don't really care why it happened, I just want to know why it made a list and I haven't tried it.
Because I respect your mouth. You respect my mouth. Well, you will try it. Connor, we might want to leave.
And it will, it will, it'll be out in a few months, going down to the factory here in a couple weeks to check final production on it, make sure it's rolling smoothly, obviously for us it was a new wrapper we never used. Right. So, when you go through the blending process and you're trying to, you know, acquire tobacco, buy tobaccos in Central America that you've never used, that also isn't based out of Plasencia's factory. You have to find the right tobaccos to fit your blend, because we use the same filler binder as Epicure, and then we added a Mexican San Andreas Maduro wrapper.
So playing through that, when Jeff's blending, JP over there, he made some adjustments, and we feel like we've done our due diligence to find that Epicure blend that suits a Mexican San Andreas Maduro wrapper. And for us, I mean, everyone will say we're always, you know, dragging our feet, but the fact is we don't want to bring a cigar to market that isn't ready. So that cigar was supposed to be out late last fall, a couple months behind, which is typical right on point for me, because the fact is we want to get things done for us properly, versus saying here's a cigar, it's ready, even though we've sold it, we have tons of back orders, we pre-sold it last year, and we're not all about making that dime today. We want to make, you know, those quarters for years to come.
Got you. Playing the long game. Right, Mike? Absolutely.
Play the long game. But back to this number one cigar that we were discussing. Yeah. I'm intrigued.
I want to smoke it now because I was saying I've smoked a lot of Connecticut's. Right. I think my palate over the last few years has kind of softened, as we can go back to Hector Alfonso, to say, grow a pair, for me to smoke that gent. Right.
I've smoked a lot of Connecticut's because our Connecticut came out a year and a half ago. And building up to that, I wanted to smoke as many Connecticut's as I could to see, A, what was selling, what we liked, what we wanted to do differently, but I have yet to smoke this one, and for a respectable list like this to be number one with a Connecticut, we also use an Ecuadorian Connecticut, so I'm really intrigued, it is a size I like, at a Lonsdale, 44 ring gauge, so I'm guessing you don't carry this cigar? I don't, I think it's an event-only stick. Fact-checking, fact-checking, reading.
Event-only offering. Right. So, yeah, maybe I won't find it. I don't know where a Hoya event is.
Also, here's what you do. It's a true shame cigar with so limited in its availability. When you're down at Nika, you just stop by the Hoya factory. But I can't even swing across a trade show booth, a trade show floor to see your booth.
So, I mean, going to a lot of new factories to try to weasel a cigar, as you would say. I feel like you could. S. markets, but it was really, really good.
I can't think of the name, though. That's a great story. Thanks for bringing it up. So when you go to the Ahoyah factory, get me some of those, too.
I'll grab them. Hey, do you got a cigar that you made? Okay, thanks. we tried to get that from KD Greg and I googled for like an hour to find the name of it and I don't think anybody came up with it it was good not the silver, not the red nope, nope, nope, nope but anyways Black Robusto?
no, so we're getting off topic here Plastico? so does that kind of conclude this? that's the list that's all they put on the list Connor, thank you very much for not making it as fun and entertaining as Jake did We appreciate it. You're obviously a little more intelligent than your brother.
Moving forward, we'll have to make sure that he's here or someone else that's less intelligent than you. Casey? Yes. Thank you so much for coming on this podcast.
I appreciate it. You know, it's always fun to come hang out and sit back in this beautiful, beautiful studio. He's a complete asshole. I mean, you've got sound barriers.
Thank you. To keep all the great knowledge that spews from your pretty mouth into this microphone for your newly... Just turn him off. What?
Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of listeners. To tell you the truth, the first couple of minutes, their microphones weren't even at. Perfect. That's perfect.
Good. I didn't even think I was talking. But no, it's always fun to go and review and talk about other people's cigars. Because usually when we have to do this, it's always plugging.
I mean, obviously, I'm going to throw it a few in, because that's what I'm going to do. But it's fun to talk about other people's cigars and get other people's opinions of respected palettes to know, and now I've got a couple of notes that I locked away that I will find, you know, to educate myself on some cigars that, obviously, the half-wheel people put on their lists and ones that, you know, Mike and Mike respected. So I look forward to, you know, smoking some new cigars here. All right.
Talks a lot. So yeah, this was fun. We filled an hour. Good job.
That was an hour? That was an hour. That was way less painful than the second edition of my podcast that I was a part of. Yeah.
That was a painful 40 minutes. I feel like we've gotten better at this. He asked us a lot of questions last time. Well, it's because you sat down last time and said, "Talk.
What do you want to talk about? " At least today we had at least an outline, even though it was changed 30 seconds before. Right. At least there was a plan.
We audibled. Which is fair, but no, it's, you know, you guys are obviously maturing into that new large audience. But like, here's the deal. Second largest audience.
It all depends upon... No, we're number two on Podbean in cigar-related podcasts. So here's the thing, though. It really depends on who you're podcasting with.
Because like, are you kidding me? We're gonna have Hector and Jack here later on this week? Those are entertaining people. I'm not even gonna have to fucking say anything.
I was gonna be like, alright, so let's talk about... I might just say which buttons they hit and not even show up. Right, so here's your retort on Danny Vasquez's fantasy football, go. And that'll be it!
He's already mentioned he went to talk about that. And they'll go on for a fucking hour! And it won't be like an hour of fucking nothing, it'll be hilarious. If we could have Danny call in, you and I don't have to talk, ever.
I mean, I listened to the Coop show, which was three hours. Holy crap, I think I have like 15 minutes left of it. Three and a half. It was, I mean, the primetime thing, and it was really good, but it should have just been called Cigar Skip, because Skip's another guy that you can just take over a show and like He was directing the show, and he was asking questions.
Wasn't there like four guests on that show too? Yeah, there was, it was amazing, but now here's the problem with Hector, is Hector in that show? You couldn't hear him because his mic was fucked up, he's just using the computer. Yeah, he's talking in a box.
Skip comes out with the fucking headphones and the mic. Professional setup and everything. He sounded better than Coop did. Yeah, so, and it sounded like it was the Skip show.
It's just, I like the antigos. Before I end this, I would like one more comment from everyone, please. Right, just let me, let me guys ask you a couple more questions. I mean, it was pretty fucking hilarious.
So, and I agree with a lot of shit that he said. He's very well-spoken. Yes. He's very well-spoken.
All right. I'm surprised he doesn't do his own show. When? He's doing everybody else's show.
How else would he be able to listen to all these other podcasts, Michael? Come on. Do you think he's listened to your podcasts? He has.
He has. Sometimes we send them to him before. Yeah, especially if, like, Danny's on, right? If it's his people?
Yeah, he wants the pre. He's got to hear it before you. He wants the pre. The unedited, uncrapped version.
We have to send it in a suitcase with a handcuff to a guy, and he takes it down to the garage. It's pretty extravagant. Kind of a big deal. It's a big deal.
Well, on another edition of Mike and Mike in the Afternoon, Top 25 2018 Half Wheel List, congratulations again. Hey, thanks. To Mr. Number 13.
Mr. Number 12, sir. I thought you were number 13. 12.
12? Can I count? No, see, you tried to make a bash about the lower teen one. Ha, ha, ha, ha.
Oh, God. Way to go, Dad. Geez, Louise, you had one fucking- My ringer's even off. My ringer's off.
No, it's not, you just switched it off. No, I checked it, it was already off. Bullshit, you just switched it. No.
All right, well, that's it then. We're gonna leave it on that note, 'cause, you know, people are calling you. All right. Goodbye.
Conor, say bye, bye. This is the operator with a collect ball from Emeritale. To accept the charges, press 1, now. Okay, that's it, kids.
Show's over. Thanks for listening. As always, the guys welcome your comments, ideas, and show suggestions. And you can send them to our Facebook page @CigarHustlerPodcast You can also follow the show on Instagram @CigarHustlerPodcast or follow Mikey @CigarHustler and follow Mike2 @FCC_Mike.
Please remember to rate, review, subscribe on whichever podcast provider that you listen on. Thanks again. Mike Szczerp: Okay, folks, it's time to announce the winner of this event. Mike Szczerp: We'll see you next week, and we'll see you next week, and we'll see you next week, and we'll see you next week, and we'll see you next week.
Mike Szczerp: Okay, folks, it's time to announce the winner of this event. Mike Szczerp: Okay, folks, it's time to announce the winner of this event. Mike Szczerp: This is the winner of this event. Mike Szczerp: Okay, folks, it's time to announce the winner of this event.
Mike Szczerp: This is the winner of this event. Mike Szczerp: This is the winner of this event. Mike Szczerp: It's the winner of this event. The Anniversary Contest.
First, I'd like to thank everybody who won it. It was our biggest turnout for the contest we've had so far. Now, the winner of the contest is Josh S, shiny_profit. Josh, if you will send me a direct message through the Instagram page, get your address and things, we will send your prize pack out to you ASAP.
Again, Josh S, thank you very much, and thank you to everybody who participated in the contest. We'll see you next time.
Show Notes
This week Casey Haugen from Crux Cigars stopped in the studio! We sat down and chat with him and went thru the Halfwheel Top 25 for 2018. So we have pushed back the Jack and Hector show till next week Episode 55.
"Mike Too's son Connor makes his way thru the cigar brands on the list but he's not as funny as Jake! Stick around till the end to get the results for the "Anniversary Show Contest".
We welcome your thoughts, ideas and show suggestions on our FB page "A Cigar Hustlers Podcast". You can follow the show on IG @cigarhustlerspodcast and you can follow Mikey @cigarhustler and Mike Too @fcc_mike.
Please remember to rate, review and subscribe on whichever of our providers you listen to the show on!
Thanks for Listening!