Episode 85 Peter Hernandez

Episode Summary

Episode 85 of A Cigar Hustler's Podcast welcomes back Pete Hernandez of Hernandez Brothers, the Florida cigar brokerage that represents Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust, HVC, JRE/Aladino, Tatuaje, Nestor Miranda, Quesada and Vertigo/Lotus lighters. Recorded the Friday before an approaching hurricane, the show opens with the hosts riffing on Florida storm panic, hurricane kits, media hype and the news that Altria and Philip Morris International are discussing an all-stock "merger of equals" — plus Listener of the Week Kevin Moss and a Patreon update.

When Pete finally arrives, the conversation turns personal. He tells the story of how he entered the cigar business: his brother Paul was one of the original brokers in Florida, and after Paul's death from a pulmonary embolism in 2009, the brands he represented offered the territory to Pete and his brother Steven. He talks about the 500-plus people who showed up to the funeral, Erik Espinosa's stories, the Tatuaje Reserva SW broadleaf cigar made in his brother's honor, and Paul's graffiti artwork that appeared on the L'Atelier LAT 2008 box.

On the product side, Pete debunks the online chatter that Dunbarton's new Sobremesa Brulée has a sweet tip (it doesn't — he licks one on-mic to prove it), praises Steve Saka's marketing instincts, and talks up HVC made at Casa Fernández with Lorenzo Sesmas, the HVC Edición Especial 2015 and the Broadleaf release, plus JRE's Aladino and its single-farm, Corojo-seed "one plant, one cigar" approach. He also shares what the broker's life is really like — reinventing yourself, repairing burned bridges in Jacksonville, working the humidor, and why boutique-only shops are on the rise.

The back half covers his favorite Florida shops and cigar bars (Smoke Inn, Davidoff Tampa, Caribbean Cigar, Stogies in Kendall), the lighter attendance at the 2019 trade show, why PCA backing out of Cigar Con showed "no balls," and a genuinely good closing riff on why cigar smokers and cigarette smokers are nothing alike — cigars being social, celebratory and something you actually want to share with friends.

In This Episode

1. 01
   Hurricane Prep and Florida Media Hype
   The hosts vent about six-day hurricane forecasts, gas station chaos, generators and why a Volcano Bay trip during a storm is a good idea.
2. 02
   Industry News: Altria and Philip Morris Merger Talks
   A rundown of the reported all-stock merger of equals discussions and what Altria's ownership of Sherman Group Holdings means for premium cigars.
3. 03
   How Pete Hernandez Got Into the Cigar Business
   Pete shares the story of his brother Paul, one of Florida's original brokers, his 2009 passing, and how the Hernandez Brothers brokerage carried on.
4. 04
   Cigars Made in Paul's Honor
   The Tatuaje Reserva SW broadleaf and Paul's graffiti art on the L'Atelier LAT 2008 box.
5. 05
   The Sobremesa Brulée Sweet Tip Controversy
   Pete settles the online rumor on-mic: there is no sweet tip on Dunbarton's Sobremesa Brulée.
6. 06
   The Brands Pete Represents
   A walk through Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust, HVC, JRE Aladino, Tatuaje, Quesada and Vertigo/Lotus lighters, including HVC EE 2015 and Aladino's single-farm tobacco.
7. 07
   Life on the Road as a Cigar Broker
   Working the humidor, rebuilding burned bridges, favorite Florida shops and cigar bars, and why boutique-only retailers are growing.
8. 08
   Trade Show, PCA and Cigar Con
   Lighter 2019 attendance, why both hosts and Pete were for Cigar Con, and who they'd like to see on the PCA committee.
9. 09
   Why Cigars Aren't Cigarettes
   Pete's closing rant on the social, celebratory nature of cigar smoking versus cigarette addiction.

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

Welcome to episode 85 of the Cigar Hustlers podcast. This week we sit down with the man himself, Pete Hernandez, out of all the reps in Florida. He's one of them. Sit back and relax and enjoy the show.

It's a long one. Get comfortable. Here it comes. We have sound.

We have sound. And we have video. Welcome to episode 85. 85.

85 of a Cigar Hustlers podcast. I'm going to burp. Yeah. So we're supposed to have somebody here right now.

And he's not here. And he's late. He's late. We told him to come here early for the podcast.

This seat here is empty. And he's not here yet. So we're gonna start without him. We're gonna pretend he's sitting here.

So, uh, who's still? I'll tell you what, he's lucky that he's still coming because I was gonna talk so much shit about him. Let's talk, we save it for the secret show. Yeah.

FTG secret show number two. FTG secret show. Secret show number two could be an FTG. I don't, you know, for me it'd be, it's a lot funner.

Is that a word? more fun more fun more enjoyable it's i i enjoy putting pete on full complete blast so but peter nana's will be joining us in a little bit uh in the meantime we can do some other things well sure i have some news okay and i have uh a show update okay and um i got some stuff for you okay what do you got okay wait first uh there is no shop of the week we are a little We did a little early this week because of Mr. Hernandez's schedule and he's still not here. So there's no Shop of the Week, but we do have a Listener of the Week, Michael.

Yes. We received, or Michael received, a very nice message from Mr. Kevin Moss. I did.

So, thank you, Kevin. You are the Listener of the Week, which really just means we say your name on the air. You get no prizes, but you are Listener of the Week, Kevin. Thank you very much.

It was a very nice message. That's a new Listener of the Week noise. Oh, you dung the bell. I dung the bell.

Oh, and you're drinking. That's nice. I like it when you're drinking. You can't lick it when you're drinking.

Danny, Danny Vasquez has something to... What? Danny Vasquez has something? Is he here?

No. Danny, are you under the table? He wanted me to relay a message. Oh.

He says that Red Bull isn't insecure. So that was from Danny. I just wanted to let you know. Danny wants you to know that Red Bull isn't insecure.

Bang may not be with us any longer anyway, so. So. Doesn't matter anymore. Look, I like all their other stuff.

Their other flavors are fantastic. The flavors are fantastic. Just don't say anything. I just don't understand.

Don't say anything at all, Michael. Michael, leave it all up to me, please. No. You're going to lose it.

It's too late. No. You're off. You're off.

Bang, energy drink, the drink of Cigar Hustler Podcast. Like, who okayed that flavor? The other ones are great. The guy.

The head guy. He's got his own Instagram page. He does the thing with all the little spinning waters and stuff. And the other thing that the letter says that you didn't mention is 320 Sycamore, Bedford Falls, New York.

I think I did read the address. Is the address of the drafty house, and it's a wonderful life. I don't know. I mean, for fuck's sake.

Is that not the real address? I have no idea where they're at. You sound better than I do. Well, yeah, I run the board.

Of course I sound better. How do I? Put the microphone closer to your mouth. Did you not watch Cigar Dojo?

It's supposed to tickle the bottom of your lip. No, I don't. Tickle your lip. You were on the show.

Only when I'm on. Oh. I'm just kidding. I watch it all the time.

Michael is doing a "How About That Cigar" on September 17th. Mmm. He's gonna be on another show. Yeah, that's cool.

We'd like to thank our new patrons from our Patreon page, which is going very well. Yes. Thank you, everyone. Can we talk about this hurricane?

Yeah. You want to? This is the hurricane. The hurricane's coming.

This is the pre-hurricane show. This is before the hurricane. And then you may be getting this during the hurricane. They'll get it during the hurricane.

Oh, the actual day. Ooh, what if I don't have Wi-Fi? You better fucking fix it. Well, I can put it up early since we do it on Friday.

This is technically the Friday before the hurricane. Okay, so we have an event tonight with Pete Hernandez, Dumbarton Tobacco, HVC, Aladino, the whole shebang. He's obviously running late. This hurricane, the media on this hurricane is absolutely horrendous.

And I have a big problem with that. " It's gonna come up and it's not gonna do anything, you wake up the next day, and all of a sudden, it's a category, it's a category three, going to hit Disneyland, or Disney World, it's straight up at Orlando, it's like, wait a second, how did we go from, and it's six days out, like how do you make a prediction of anything, it's better to say it's gonna be real bad, and then it puddles out, than to say, eh, it's nothing, and everybody dies. I disagree. I don't.

I totally disagree. You catch more fleck from dead people than non-dead people. First of all, here's a couple things. Number one.

Number one. If you live in Florida, you should already have a hurricane kit, right? Who does that? I do.

I don't. You have children. Right. I have water.

I have cans. You know what? I used to do that when the kids were small. When you had kids.

I had kids. Now it's like, do we have enough beer, honey? We have propane. We have beer.

All this shit's covered. She goes, do we have propane? We bought a new tank a couple of weeks ago. That's all you need, right?

Now she keeps going, "We need more food. " I go, "We've got like 15 cans of soup! " Now, as far as like the day before, like when it's- Panic. When it's- No.

They shouldn't be calling it- Are you making fun of me? Nope. They shouldn't be calling it five or six days out where it's going to land. It's complete shit.

Oh, they're guessing. They just guess. But you had absolute fucking chaos here. Gas stations are out of gas.

Everybody's out of gas. The racetrack here, just restocked if you need gas on your own. I don't need gas. I'm a responsible individual who has fucking gas.

Like, it's not, I just think that it's bullshit. What the media does is complete bullshit. Tomorrow, there'll be gunfights at the gas stations. Now, if the hurricane was being developed in the Gulf Coast, I would understand a little more urgency.

Because, like, those things pop up out of nowhere. Oh, yeah. You know, it's like, hey, you have one day, it's coming, right? Totally get that.

He gets that. But this is just complete shit. It's just bullshit. And it frustrates me.

I like the amusement parks. Like Universal, where you like to go, we'd say, we're watching this storm, and we'll make decisions as it gets closer. Disney goes, we're not closing. We never close.

I'll be open when Space Mountain is open during the storm. I will be at Volcano Bay tomorrow. I promise you. It's going to rain all day tomorrow.

There's nobody going to be there. It's not going to rain. That's what Adrian, she goes, nobody goes during the storm. No, that's when you go, there's no lie!

Right, it's Saturday, the storm isn't supposed to be here until Wednesday. You put on the stupid poncho, and the hat. What fucking poncho? It's not gonna rain.

It's gonna rain tomorrow. It rained today! Oh, really, it's gonna rain tomorrow. It rained today.

There's an 80% chance of rain, and I can go to fucking Volcano Bay. Well, it's Florida, there's an 80% chance of rain every day. And there isn't a drop on me. It's just bullshit.

How do you go to Volcano Bay and not get wet? It's a water park. I'm a professional. Are you guys really going to Volcano Bay tomorrow?

Yeah. Oh. Yeah. Take a camera and take a lot of pictures.

People want to see you at Volcanoville. Oh, sure. Yeah. Click.

All right. All right, go ahead. More on to the news. More on to the news.

On to the news. Reported on Cigar Coop, Atria Group has announced, is in a discussion with Philip Morris International regarding a potential-- Altria? Altria. Altria, sorry.

Fuck. --regarding a potential all-stock merger of equals and the merger habit will reunite the two groups. They're uniting the clans, Michael. They're docking.

They're uniting the clans. They're officially docking. There can be no assurance that any agreement or transaction will result from these discussions. Additionally, there can be no assurance, a lot of no assurances, if agreement is reached, that a transaction will be completed.

Any transaction will be subject to the approval of the two companies, board and shareholders and regulators, as well as other conditions. Altria intends to make no further comment regarding the discussion, unless it is appropriate to do so. Nice. Altria spun off Philip Morris International back in 2008, but Altria retained ownership of Philip Morris, Which still remains a subsidiary.

In terms of premium cigars, Altria is the parent company of Sherman Group Holdings, who controls the United Sherman brand. So they kinda own each other already, but now they're looking to, I mean... Yeah, they kinda did, but then they broke up, they had a fight, and now they're back together. Oh, look who just walked in!

Look who decided to grace us with these presents. It's Pete Hernandez! We need you right over here, Pete. What's up, guys?

Strolling in. On time. Right in front of it. Trying to get water.

Right in front of the camera and everything. Trying to get fuel, fuel up my car. What do you need water and fuel for? There's nothing happening.

There's nothing in Miami. Well, it's 'cause everybody's in Miami. You gotta get it on the way home? You gotta get your shit together.

We were just talking about that. We were just talking shit about you. Oh, were you? Yeah.

Oh, okay. Talk right into the microphone, Pete. Alright, here we go. Bring it forward.

Oh, boy. Oh, boy. That's why we can't have nice things. That's why.

There he is. Oh, I got my tablecloths all fucked up. There he is. Oh, good God.

Alright, here we go. So, this is Pete Hernandez from the Hernandez Brothers cigar brokerage. Yeah. Right, and I'm glad to be here.

Thank you very much, guys. I appreciate it. It's the second appearance on the show. Oh, yeah, we're going.

We already started without you. Such a smooth segue. We're nine minutes in. We're talking about-- We're highly professional.

Okay, so you don't have your shit together, obviously, when it comes to a hurricane. Uh, I mean, you know. Yeah. You know.

Eh, I got some stuff. So what the fuck do you need? He's got three cans of beans and a bottle of scotch. I spent the whole week.

I wasn't expecting this. I guess I knew it was kind of coming. You should have been picking it up as you went. Right, right.

Well, you know. " Casually. In a nice way. Yeah, in a nice way.

So, how are you guys doing? So wait a second. I'm excited. I'm going to back this up a second before we kind of get into this whole thing.

So, you're going to tell me that you don't have, like, some fucking water set aside and, like, some cans and shit. Like batteries, like a whole little setup of, hey, this is, I mean, we live in Florida. But we drink the water as we go, okay? So we don't have a problem, we always have water, but my mom went out to get water, and she couldn't get water.

So she says, if you find any water out there, so I'm just picking out up as I go, you know, that's it. But just water, you don't really need that much water anyway, the water never stops flowing, what you really need is ice. Yeah, that's really what you need is ice. You need frozen water.

Yeah, you need frozen water. So you need a generator. That's true. Right, we have a small generator to run, you know, we need a big generator to run the AC.

I told them, once you guys come up here, we don't know where it's going to hit. Everybody seems to think it's going to hit, like, you know. It's going to hit you guys down there. That's what they say.

Yeah. That's what they're saying now. It's going to hit all of us. Yeah, we're all going to get hit.

Yeah, but he's going to get harder. So, but like, what's the worst case scenario for us? Like, we don't have power for a week? for a week yeah that's you know that is the worst like that's okay that's really what i'm thinking like doesn't happen i've really i'm hoping this thing blows over haiti kills you know 80 000 people right right and then we get bitchy because it's like oh man you know oh my roof now has a leak oh son of a bitch what i'm just thinking about it's making me sweat the fucking insurance i mean you know what really makes you hot i i lived in a townhouse right on the lake and And, to the left of me, to the right of me, the four townhouses didn't have any power, to the left of me, everybody had power.

Oh, you had to cut off. Yeah, I was at the cut off, so you sit there at night. You're at the line. Sweating, yeah, I figured I'd be out on the lake, smoking, and it was just, there was no movement, no wind, nothing.

Just until I was exhausted, I'd take a shower, jump in bed, 10 minutes, I'm sweating. Yes. Nice. So, fortunately, I'd jump in the car, kick on the AC, go back, put on the radio, and I'd sleep in the car.

So, I'm going to tell you the opposite of that story. So, the last time the storms hit here, my entire neighborhood had lost power for over a week. Me and the guy next to me had power. " So I was lucky, I was lucky last time, I'm sure that, you know, this time around, you and your neighbor won't have power, the rest of the neighborhood.

That's fine. For Andrew, we didn't lose power, we didn't lose any power in Andrew. Yeah. And I felt bad, I had people coming over, just neighbors coming over, no, not neighbors, friends coming over, taking a shower, they'd bring food, my mom would cook for everyone.

And then, yeah, so it was, you know, it brings out the best in people, I think. Yeah, and the worst. Yeah. Yeah.

The worst, too. A lot of people just don't give a shit. Yeah. Yeah.

Try to gouge you on the water and on the ice. It's terrible. The ice. You just gotta drink tequila straight.

That's my move now, so you don't need ice. He's an alcoholic now. Yeah. That tequila, El Casamigos, good stuff.

Dude, love it. What do you drink in there, buddy? Bang. Oh.

You got a sugar-free one? They're all sugar-free. I could use one. Right there.

They're hot. Cold one's in the fridge. We'll get you one. I'll get you one.

Hold on. Let me. Hold on. I have a minion.

We have a boy. That's good. We have a boy. We have a boy.

That sounds so sketchy. It sounds twisted. Yeah, it sure does. Sure does.

So, uh, you want a purple bang or do you want a blue bang? What color do you want? Just a good one. Which is the best one?

Uh, okay. All right. Get him a blue one. Are you guys distributing the bang?

No. We sell them here. Oh, do you? Okay.

Yeah. Cool. We had a sponsorship, but I fucked that up. Okay.

Yeah, he did. He did. Well, I didn't have a sponsorship. Palmer had a sponsorship.

He fucked me. He said it tastes like diabetes. Yeah. Oh, wow.

There's one. The birthday cake is super sweet. It's super sweet. It is sweet.

It's delicious. I mean, it's sugar-free. He's better talk about it. They're all sugar-free.

It's awesome because he's turning red right now. They're all sugar-free. I'm getting hot. It's getting hot in here.

Look, if you drink that one, it tastes like birthday cake. Wow. It tastes like liquid cake and icing. It's too much.

But it is. It is. So, you had a distributorship, and how did Mike get out? No, we had a sponsorship for the show.

Oh! They had sent us two cases of bang and some nice letters, but now they're reevaluating our... Yeah, Palmer's off the island. I'm off the island, because he said it tastes like diabetes.

Outside of the circle. And the way that he dropped it on me was amazing. So, like, he had this information for a week, and he didn't tell me until we came on the show. So, when he says it, I'm like, dude, come on, fuck with me, dude.

Seriously? There's no way that that really happened. And it was, yeah. The losing of the sponsorship.

That's terrible. It was completely legit. It is. Our first sponsorship.

So who sponsors this? Nobody. Oh, okay. Well, not Bang Energy anymore.

We can say whatever the hell we want then. Exactly. All right. We should have a little FTG.

Beholden to no one. Well, we have a thing called Patrons now. People that send us money every month and they get a secret show. Really?

Yeah. We talk about people during the secret show. So we kind of- Five guys, only five guys get to hear the Secret Show. Oh wow.

Which is nice. So we did like a... Oh good, the boy is here. Oh, two.

Two. Just needed the one. Just the one. Thanks.

Oh, that one's got a hole in it? So throw that away. Give Mr. Hernandez the good one.

Yeah, I have one. Thanks, bro. Thank you buddy, appreciate it. Certainly.

No problem. That was Garrett Watley, everyone, who just walked in. Garrett Watley. Watley.

Jesus. It's not Watley. Jesus. It's not Watley?

Did I say his name right? It's Wassley. Wassley, sorry, Garrett Wassley. Yeah, what's up my man?

Yeah, what's up my man? So, yeah, so, you know, uh, we, uh, now that, now that that's all happened, we, uh, we'll give, like, we'll, I'll give more, uh, in-depth reviews and my opinions on shit, um, on the Patreon thing, um, but it's not like, it's not like the episodes here are anyway fucking hell. Yeah, it's not like we water these down at all anyway. Right.

Yeah. Nothing's watered down here. Yeah. So, um, tell us about you, Pete.

Well, what can I tell you guys? I mean, just- You have a good story. I, you know, it's um- It's a sad story. It's a sad story.

It's a sad story. It's a sad story. And you know, it's funny because my cousin called me from, okay, so let's first. Yeah.

So the story is, um, the way I got into this business was, um, my brother was, uh, one of the original brokers. So, okay, go ahead. I'm sorry. Like I said, I've heard stories about...

I never got the opportunity to meet your brother. Right. My brother's a really cool guy. I heard awesome things about him.

Yeah, really cool guy. You know, I showed up and fucked that up. And then there's you. And then there's I.

And then there's Pete. That's it. Out of all the reps in the state of Florida, you're one of them. You're one of them, baby.

So, yeah, unfortunately, 2009, my brother had a pulmonary embolism. He passed away. It was non-smoking related, non-heart related, it was just, it could happen to anyone, you know? - Right.

- And it was devastating. And when I, we had set up a funeral for about 150, 200 people, and we had over 500 people show up. - Right, wow. - You know, it was just crazy.

Five, 600, I mean, there were a lot of people there. And everybody, it was really cool because we were all outside telling stories. Eric Espinosa's got a great storyteller, and he was told a bunch of stories about my brother. My brother, they came up together and it was just, it was beautiful, it was beautiful, you know, and I felt that this was kind of what he left me.

I was in another industry, I was in the garbage business selling waste containers to companies that, you know, haul trash. Sounds like fun. It was fun, I mean, you know, actually a few meetings with great guys, no, you know, there's no mafia in Florida, pal, there's no mafia, did you hear that? No mafia in the state of Florida.

It's a right to work state, you know. Again, they sell their stuff up north and then they come down here and everybody can do their own garbage and do their own thing. Life is good. Yeah, life is good down here.

So I just, you know, all the companies that he represented at the time went ahead and offered us the representative ship and I took the ball and ran with it. Who was us? My brother and I, Steven. I have another brother.

My brother was, he managed the territory up north, Alabama, Georgia, and the Carolinas. And eventually he moved down here, and we worked together, and it's kind of our family business. Yeah. You know, we're legacies, you know, it's nice, but it's sad, you know?

It is sad. Yeah. But it was really nice to go around and receive a lot of the love that, you know, guys had from my brother, and they were able to share that with me, and a lot of great stories. And he was a funny guy.

He was a very funny guy. So, of you and Steve, would you say that Steve's like the more even keel, like, hey, kind of brother, and you're more of the, woo! Yeah, yeah, I would say, I would say, yeah, woo is a good way of, uh, yeah. And he kind of like, you'll, yeah, he's quiet, you know, he's a- Talk, shot the cliff, or try to smooth shit over.

Yeah, he's really good at something. Like, hey, really sorry about that, that's, oh, you know my brother. Right. You know, he's an idiot.

You know that Pete. He's doing great though, he's getting all, you know, his sales are up, and you know, that type of thing, but, okay, so. So if you're the woo, and Steve is kind of even keel, I mean if you don't mind me asking, how was your other brother? Paul was a very funny guy, he had a lot of anecdotes, and the funny thing is, I really didn't know him the way people knew him in this business.

He was my little brother, so we just kind of hung out at home on Sundays, and I always looked forward to hanging out with him, smoking cigars with him. I learned to smoke with him, the first cigar I had was the Dolino Havana Reserve by Nestor Miranda, I think it was, or yeah, I think that's what it was, and so every Sunday we'd get together and smoke cigars, but I really didn't know how he was in this business, I knew how people felt about him, because in the business I was in, I'd travel through Florida and I'd go to different cigar shops, and they welcomed me with open arms, and they were happy to see me. Just because you were with him. Little did they know.

Right. Right. They would live to regret that. But it's actually pretty cool.

It's cool to be a part of that family, be a part of the Hernandez brothers. And yeah, it's a great industry. We're having a good time. Yeah.

Yeah, we are. We fucking are having a good time. Yeah, we are. I hope the FDA doesn't come and fuck this up for us.

Yeah, that'd be nice if they just stayed the hell away. Right, right. So did anybody, I know that there was a special cigar that was made in honor of your brother. The Reserva SW, yes.

The original Reserva SW. Yes. So it's the SW, Tatua SW. He wrapped it in a San Andres, no, a Broadleaf wrapper, and it was a fantastic cigar.

And there was only, I want to say, there weren't that many boxes, and I wish I would have bought one. Right. You know, I was just smoking them for free, and you know. Life was good at the time.

That was good at the time. I didn't think that, you know, that we'd run out. But fortunately, Pete did come out with the Broadleaf Reserve and Lines, so everything, you know, all the Miami stuff is boxes of 10 that come in the Broadleaf. But, you know, the taste back then, it was always real special, had a nice sweetness.

It was a real good cigar. Yeah, even if you reproduced them, it wouldn't be the same. Right, right. And also, Pete came out with the, you can find my brother's art.

Well, my brother was like a graffiti artist. So, on the Leverte 2008, on the box, there is, like, my brother's graffiti art, that was kinda cool too. That's pretty badass, I didn't know that. Yeah, yeah.

Wish I had one to show you. You could've forced me into buying that, if you'd have told me that. Right, I could have, right? Yeah, I'm like, ah, fuck, it's a brother.

We did sell a hell of that. Yeah. Yeah, so, let's see, what else are we talking about today? Yeah, let's talk about some good shit here.

Yeah, let's talk about some fun stuff. So, you now represent Dumbarton Tobacco. Correct. Right.

HVC. Correct. Nevada City. JRE Aladino.

Right. Tatuaje. Tatuaje, right. Right.

I also carry Regis and Quesada Cigars. Okay. Yeah. And Vertigo and Lotus Lighters.

Vertigo and Lotus. Vertigo and Lotus, yeah. Lifetime guaranteed over-the-counter exchange is what we do. Wow.

I like that. Shameless plug right there. Right off his neck right there. Boom.

Boom. Very nice. Okay, so the Brulee just came out. Yes.

Yes, and there's some controversy going around about this cigar. Really? Controversy? Really?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. What do people say? So, I mean, I saw a post with a guy, you know, that's in the industry, a guy that I like, and apparently he said something about it being sweet-tipped or something. You know, I didn't know this.

I just want to see if you're going to get fired today. Did you get fired today or off Twitter? No, I don't think there's a, I mean, I, you know. Okay, wait, wait, before he answers, let's take a quick break and then Pete can answer the question.

Okay, let me call Saka. Okay, call Saka and find out real quick. All right, we'll be right back. com/acigarhustlerspodcast and get all your show swag needs handled there.

So you called the attorney from Dunbart Tobacco and they have an answer for you? Yeah, the answer is, no sweet tip on that, uh, uh, on that sober mace. And then you're supposed to stab me? And I'm gonna stab you in the eye for asking.

You need something to stab you with right now. I'm looking, I wonder if I have one in here, let's see. Oh, a little goodie bag. Oh, there we go.

Oh, let's see. No sweet tip. Right now, Pete Hernandez is licking the... No, no, no, no, take your word for it, we'll take your word for it.

Yeah, I'm a... Yeah, no sweet tip. I'll leave it, take your word for it. No sweet tip.

Alright, it's amazing. There you go. So there's your answer. It's not sweet tip.

No sweet tip and nobody got stabbed in the eye. There you go. And then I'm going to be walking around in an eye patch moving forward. So yeah, no sweet tip.

And it's actually a fantastic cigar. It is a good cigar. I'm not a big Connecticut smoker. I like it.

He's doing a good job. Steve is the best when it comes to marketing. I mean, fucking hands Yeah, yeah, he is. That's his niche.

He's always been, you know, he does a great job at that. Right, right. I mean, I've pulled a couple of things from his playbook and I've incorporated them in some of the shit that I do. I'm like, yeah.

Really? Fuck yeah. And it works. Absolutely.

Right. I've been called out on it. Jack John was like, oh, that sounded like Steve Sock. I was like, hey, fuck you.

Did not sound like Steve Sock. Fucking Jack. Good old Jack. Good old Jack.

He said he's gonna be up here in a month. Oh, yeah? Is he coming on? Yeah, of course he's coming on the show.

He's a good time. I love Jack. Three times, though? Dude, I mean, you know, it doesn't get any better.

No. Except with him and Hector together. Yeah. Oh, the duo.

I mean, you know, Skip, though. I miss Skip. Skip was down at Caribbean Cigar. Oh, he was down in Miami.

Yeah. He was in the Caribbean. Yeah. So you gotta play the clip.

Do you have the clip? Not handy, but I can add it into the show, though, afterward. Okay. I can add it on.

, and he gave us a shameless plug. Yes, so... He called us a couple of names, but he gave us a shameless plug. I know that you're an avid listener to the show, but I'm going to tell you what happened at the last show anyways.

Right. Other than the cease and desist from Bang, Mr. Palmer and I also called out Skip because we mentioned him at every show. I said, what the fuck?

He doesn't say... He should say at every interview that he does... Every podcast he does, he should mention us. Hey, you know, I just want to mention the Scarhouse Podcast, great, yada, yada, yada, whatever.

So, at the last podcast that he did... At approximately 27 minutes in. Approximately 27 minutes in. Somebody brings up the term "slap dick".

Yes. " I've been challenged, and we'll add that clip in here. That's a great segue. So, that was pretty amazing, it was pretty fucking funny, I started dying laughing when I heard it.

Who's your favorite retail shop? Well, other than CigarHouse. Yeah, not including CigarHouse, obviously. Obviously.

I want to hear the fucking real deal. You know what? Retail shops, let me think. You know, I'm a big fan of Caribbean because it's near my house and my guys hang out there.

Yeah, that's obvious. Alan, you know. Yeah, Alan, I'm trying to think. But like when you're, like that's like a, you know, hey, you know, you don't, when you're in Miami, which is like 364 days out of the year, I'm talking about when you're kind of driving, right?

And you're like, oh, I'm looking forward to coming to this shop. Even if it's, you know, an hour away. Right, right, right. You know what I mean?

It's like, hey, I can't wait. You know, I feel that way more about a cigar bar, and it all depends on where I am in the state, but I'm a huge fan of Smoke on the Water. Me too. Me too.

Yeah, I just love going out there. The place is fucking awesome. They all know who I am, and it's just a lot of fun. I know a lot of the consumers.

Right. And it's nice to see that room full of the shit that I sell. I gotta tell you. Just boxes and boxes and boxes of stuff that I sell.

But yeah, I'd have to say, in fact, the last hurricane, a lot of guys went there, so I'm actually thinking about going to Smoke on the Water Monday. I'm glad that we helped you to kind of develop that plan. Yeah, yeah. I feel like I was a contributing factor to it.

I was going to go before we talked about it, but I appreciate you. Oh, this is awkward. So, yeah, let me see. It was a cigar shop that's...

I mean, you kind of already answered the question as far as I'm concerned. Right. I mean, I love that place. Yeah, yeah, no, that place is...

I also like Davidoff in Tampa. Yeah. You know, it's a little colder, it's a little different, but you know, it's always a cool place to stop in when you're in Tampa. Okay.

I mean, Tommy's fucking awesome. I love Tommy. Tommy's a little pissed off at me. I don't want to go into that.

Oh, good job. Not at me, really. Oh, good job. Yeah, well, you know, I get that a lot, you know.

Let's see, man, that's a good question. You kind of got me without a fun shop that I, you know, that I enjoy going to. I'm going to have to give that some thought. But other than the cigar bars, let's see.

You don't really piss me off. No, no, no. I break your balls a lot. I don't really piss people off.

I just, I speak my mind. You know, I have a good time. " Right. So, you know, I don't think I piss anybody off.

Yeah, but the Pete Hernandez that I met, I don't know, eight, nine years ago, when the fuck we started doing this. And the Pete that I know today is a totally different guy. Is he really? Oh, wow.

It's not. Really? Oh wow. Has it gotten better?

Yeah. Oh wow, that's good news. I definitely think so. That's good news.

How is it different? Well, I mean, for one, I got like an 80% chance of my order going through. Right, right. No, that's just a joke.

But I just think that, you know, I just, you know, you're a guy that's kind of in tune with other people. You don't, as much of an entertainer and character you are, you still take what people say about you to heart, right? And then you look to make it better, you know, in the business. Absolutely.

Absolutely. Absolutely. I'm sure that there have been plenty of times where a scenario has gone down, and then you have said something, and then like, after it's, after you kind of, the time passes, you're like, eh, I probably shouldn't have fucking said that, right? Oh, absolutely, absolutely.

You know, or whatever the case may be, or, you know, just the overall brand competition in the stores, and you know, I mean, it's easy to go in and, whatever, say something about a brand, but, right? Yeah, I'm guilty of that. But, like, long-term, I mean, it's a small fucking industry, right? Right, right.

So, like, you know, I mean, I just think that, you know, you've grown up. Mellowed? No, I just think that he's gotten better. He's gotten better at the game, you know?

Well, you know what it is? Lots of times, I always, so, in the humidor, it's war. I'm trying to get the consumer to buy my cigar, so I don't try to put anyone down by talking bad about them. I try to talk good about my cigars, okay?

And I truly feel that what I have is among the best, you know? Right. But sometimes, you know, you've had a couple drinks, you know? " You know?

Can't believe what. And you like that? And you like that? Really?

Oh, God. But that happens after, you know, the spirits are flowing and I get my juices going. but it's funny because I was smoking the water one day and a guy walks in and I said hey buddy how you doing what are you going to smoke today he goes yeah you sold me the shit last time I'm not going to say alright carry on carry on I've already met you before yeah that cigar you recommended last time sucked hey dude you know they're handmade it happens I don't know what to tell you you just never know oh that's fucking awesome Yeah, it does. Yes, you can tell sometimes when you approach a guy and he's like, hey, you know, you try.

I try to talk to everyone. When I'm in a shop, I try to talk. I work the humidor. I enjoy engaging the consumer and explaining to them.

Lots of times a lot of guys don't know what they like. You know, a guy who drinks bourbon shouldn't be smoking a Connecticut, especially not while he's smoking that, not while he's drinking that. And so you explain it to people. And you've got to find the right words so you don't tell a guy that he's got They have a terrible taste, right?

Right. Yeah. Because you upset them. Yeah.

Nobody likes to be... Told that they suck. Right, right. Oh, that's fucking...

I smoke Cubans! Oh, fuck. Right. Fuck.

Okay, then. Time for you to go. Stogie's and Kendall is a fun shop. Yeah?

Yeah. Stogie's and Kendall is a fun shop. And just so, you know, I'm going back, right? Okay.

I'm sure you guys are going to edit this or maybe... No. No. No, not live.

Yeah, we just roll through this. Now, I mean, if you say something that would, in my opinion, A, piss off a bunch of consumers or, well, I'd probably okay that, I mean, you, if you'd lose your job, if you said something where I think, okay. Yeah, we'd cut that out. He's gonna lose his job.

We've done that twice. Yeah. I gotta say. Let's just remove that.

Do you know, uh, Brian Descend, uh, Provada Cigar Club? Uh, no. Yeah, so this guy, we, uh, we did a podcast with him, it was supposed to be 30 minutes, we were there for three hours. and uh yeah we started you know sipping on on uh cognac it was delicious and we once we finished that bottle we moved on to johnny walker blue he brought out a bottle of that oh boy it tasted like mother's milk you know you know so as the night went on yes it it you know sloppy is not the word right but you know we became more loose and i gotta tell you he did He did a great job of editing everything I said that I shouldn't have said.

Oh, that's nice. Well, that's good. That was very nice. Yeah, that was very nice.

Very considerate. Yes, you should check it out. It's on YouTube. He did a great job.

So, yeah, I just got to watch what I say. That's all. I've got a lot of opinions. You do.

I've got a lot of opinions. You do. And I've worked with a lot of good manufacturers, and, you know, sometimes you don't end as well as you'd hoped. And, you know.

Right. You know, that's the way it is. That's the way it is, you know. I think one of the funniest stories that I ever had with you is, uh, it was probably the first year that we were at the show and you had just got dropped by Fuego.

Right. Triple Sevens. Right. So, we're going in and, you know, I mean, we're so wet behind the ears.

We know nothing about the industry. " So, he walks up to the, I don't know if you remember this. So, he walks up and he goes, "Hey, you remember these guys? " And then he takes the guy's badge and turns his name around, but they won't be dealing with you, because they're not my friend and kept fucking walking away.

Yeah, you see, that's something I would totally agree. That was awesome. So I was like, yeah, I guess he's right, you know, because yeah, fuck you guys, I guess so. No, but I think we worked with them afterwards, but it just wasn't the same.

Hey, Sue Fuego's a great guy, they're a great guy. And you know, there is a, a little time has to pass from the moment that you stop working together until you see each other again, and you're, you can be crazy. Then it's all good. Yeah, then it's all good, because at the end of the day, it's business.

It's not personal. You know, oftentimes a cigar just won't sell for a guy. But being a broker is the toughest job in this industry. I have to agree with you.

I have to agree with you. It's not easy. It's not easy. And you walk in, and you know what, you've got to reinvent yourself.

I recently, I was in Justin Jacksonville. I don't do a lot of business in Jacksonville. Right. Nobody does a lot of business in Jacksonville.

Nobody does a lot of business in Jacksonville. And I went to go see a guy I hadn't seen in a couple of years. But you know, I said to myself, I need to go see these guys. If I'm here, I need to separate the time, let me just put all that negative crap aside, and I need to go visit this guy.

So I call his shop, he doesn't answer. I call again, goes to a voicemail. You know what, I'm fucking showing up, fucking. If he doesn't want to see me, I'll know right then and there.

Yeah, so I pull up to the front of the store, he's outside, because you're not allowed to smoke in that shop. Oh, where he is. " And I go, "What's up, buddy? How you doing?

" "Listen, man, I know we haven't spoken in a little while. I just wanted to drop off some samples. " So I think we're back in good place. And I think in this industry, a lot of guys will give you a second and a third opportunity.

Because at the end of the day, you never know what's going to sell, and you don't want to keep a personal whatever from picking up a cigar that could potentially make you money. Your cigar might not be in the hottest one out, and then he's going to have to have it, so he's going to have to come to you. I've gotten that call. I've gotten that call from a guy who, you know, you know, you're not really...

Treated you like shit for a while? Well, yeah, you know, yeah. " Yeah. Yeah.

Welcome back! Welcome back! I was waiting for you. I'm so glad you came back.

No, I saved $20,000 for you. Yeah. You know what? I wrote this whole order out for you.

Here you go. It's about $20,000 as well, and I just need to sign and give me the new credit card information. That's it. Thank you so much.

That's it. And you know what? You never know what are the accounts that you're going to do well with. Right.

There's a tiny account in Palm Beach, and this guy services golf courses, and he makes his own cigars, but he's got this little house, probably the size of this room. The guy kills it. The guy kills it. I don't know if he kills it with everyone, he kills it with me.

I've sold them a lot, considering the size. You can't compare them to a Smokin' or to a Coronas, but the guy does really well. A lot of guys come in, it's an In-N-Out store. The guys come in, they pick up what they need, and they keep it moving.

That's nice. Yeah, so it's worked out. And ordinarily, years ago, I probably would have never visited that guy. But now you try to knock on every door, it's become increasingly more difficult.

So you want to knock on every door, don't leave any stones unturned. The game has definitely changed. Yes, it definitely has. It definitely has.

And you walk into a store now, and the guy will tell you, yeah, you know, I stopped carrying all that, what's the word? Boutique? Non-boutique. Oh, traditional?

Traditional brands, you know. And yeah, I stopped carrying them. Because you know what? I've got guys that are coming in, and they tell me, oh, I get it cheaper here, or I get it cheaper there.

You know what? Fuck it, I'm not carrying none of that. The stuff I have is the stuff I have, and no one in this area has it, or they're protected brands, and I'm finding that a lot of companies are going in that direction, you know? I don't carry anything sold online.

Is it that guy? Met that guy. Yeah, right. The guy at my store?

What do you think is a healthy percentage of boutiques? You guys are primarily boutique. No, we sell traditional as well. Yeah, you do, but what do you think?

What do you think? I'm not going to turn the guy away. It's like a monkey fucking a football, you know? I mean, like, if you're going to smoke your Monte Cristos, it's okay.

Here they are. If you want your quorums in a bundle, I'm not going to take that guy and turn him into anything. Like, he's always going to buy that. So why would I tell him to go away?

I'm not carrying that. Go buy it somewhere else. Like, he's going to fucking go and buy it somewhere else. I'd rather he came in here and bought it and I dealt with him for, you know, two seconds.

Right. And you made your 50 cents and keep it moving. I made my 50 cents and keep it moving, right. Right, right.

Yeah. But do you find that there's a healthy percentage of traditional stuff to boutique brands? I hate using the word boutique, but there's no other word to describe it. Well, consumers are gonna, the consumers that are open-minded are gonna smoke whatever you think is good.

And, you know, obviously, you know what I think is good, so... Right, that's your best-selling cigar in the store. So we sell a ton of the Postagna stuff. You know, like, I mean, there's nothing that makes me happier than just walking in here and seeing all the regular consumers loving Postagna and Roma Craft and smoking the shit out of it.

Right, right. Whenever I sit down and I look around, I see that going on. I'm like, okay. We're doing a good thing.

This is pretty badass. It's a good thing. Right. This is pretty badass.

I got to thank you for the publicity you did for me this week, you know. Yeah. Yeah, it's been great. I've gone to three Publix's, the guys at the produce department recognized me.

Nice. Yeah, the vegetable. So you went there? Yeah, sure.

I figured, what the hell? I've never been there before. I had to go see what it looked like. Check it out.

" Oh my god. Can you sign this for me? Oh god. Actually, someone did, not sign, but someone did recognize me.

So I went to see, she's a good friend of you guys. What's her name? Yvonne. Yes, did she call?

No, no. She posted. She posted on Facebook. The exact same post.

Right, right, so I walk in, and we're talking, and I go, oh, yeah, so what brings you to the area, oh, I got an event with a, and she goes, that's right, that's right, hold on, you're the, you're the guy, right, and I go, yeah, yeah, the vegetable, all the guys. Hey, you're fucking welcome, buddy, you're welcome, it's funny. Yeah, if I would've gotten there a day earlier, I would've gotten an order, somebody closed in St. Augustine, and she got all their crap half off, and she was taking inventory when I got there, I'm like, damn, I would've gotten here on Monday.

She's cool, though. Yes, she is. Yes, she is. Outspoken, to say the least.

Yeah, she's a lot of fun. She's a lot of fun. We had a good time. It's very cool.

Yeah, it would have been better if she would have bought. Thank you. Thank you, Yvonne. She will.

Next time. I'm sure she will. I used to do a lot of business with that store when the other guy owned it. Oh, really?

David Lang, I think was his name. Yeah. Yeah, I did a lot of business with those guys. It's crazy, because it's a little shop inside of a little, like a little-- In a cubby hole.

Right. But she's looking to get front spacing. Really? Yeah.

That'll be a game changer. She wants a place where she can smoke it there. Yeah. Right.

Yeah. So, uh... What, are you sick? No, man, I got allergies.

Yeah? Yeah, I got allergies. It's that time of the year. Yeah.

It's killing me. The hurricane's probably kicking everything up. Yeah, that's true. Right.

Right. So, uh, yeah, how do we, uh, what else do we talk about? You know? What do we got?

We have a little bit of a show update. What piece of paper you got? Oh, we got a show update? We got a little show update.

Go ahead. We have a connection in Zimbabwe now? Yes? Yes, but he's a missionary, so it's really hard to get it.

We need a connection. So Mike is on this epic adventure to get every single country. To get us known worldwide. We got nationwide last week.

He wants to have him listen to at least one episode in the country. How do you do that? Podbean does this nice thing where they show you a map of the world and they'll tell you how many listeners you have in each country. Really?

Yes. Yeah, so we were missing Wyoming, so Joshua of Casper Cigars stepped right up, boom, we're in business. Now there's like five or six guys, I mean they're a regular listener now in Wyoming. So what do you do, you call the shop and have them?

No, we just talk about it on the list? We just talk about it on the air and then we tagged them in a couple episodes. Oh, wow. They finally did.

But we're missing Greenland, Iceland, Morocco, a bunch of small countries in Africa, and something else over that way too. way to it. But you got Greenland. Well, that's it.

I got Greenland last night. Wow. I've emailed two different bars. Got no answer.

I emailed a couple of schools off in some type of cultural exchange. I go, if the kids want to send me questions, I'll answer them on the air, and I'll say their name, and all that kind of stuff. Nothing. Probably shouldn't have done that one, but okay.

Well, it wasn't children. He's his own man. I'm not in charge of him. He's not in charge of me.

Right. All right. I went on Instagram yesterday and did hashtag Greenland, and mostly it was Conan O'Brien, I guess he's been there recently to do a show or something there, but I found a couple of people with private accounts in Greenland, and Heidi Norslow, I'm trying to say her name wrong, she answered me back and she listened last night, so boom, she's an avid listener now, she's listening to all the episodes, and does she smoke cigars? No, she doesn't smoke cigar.

No, no. She's just a very nice lady. It doesn't matter. Hello, Heidi.

Thank you very much for listening. Appreciate that. I locked up Iceland. And Greenland.

Greenland. Which is not green, you know. No, it's not. And Iceland is not full of ice.

It's actually green. Right, right. But I have messaged a couple of people in Iceland, but I have not gotten responses yet. They tricked you.

But they haven't answered yet. By the way, I love the, on Facebook, you did a post, or I did a post of my son who was upset about his pamphlet from McDonald's instead of his toy. Was it just a pamphlet? And he said, oh, he's got blue eyes just like me.

He's my son. I said, well, if he's your son, then he'll owe me for, you know, six birthdays, five Christmases, amongst other things. And then you said, what am I talking about? He's definitely your son.

Yeah, he looks just like you. What are you talking about? Dude, I read that in your voice, man. It was crazy.

It was like a Morgan Freeman moment. It was fucking classic. You know, more importantly than favorite shops. That's it?

You've given up? That was all the stuff. Oh, okay. Yeah?

Favorite guys. Yeah. Yeah. You know, there are guys that, you know, own the store and guys that throughout the years, you've either done a lot of business or not done a lot of business, but that really has nothing to do with it.

Right. You're just happy to see them, you know? Yeah. I'm definitely not on that list.

No, you're definitely on that list. You and your brother are definitely on that list. And, but there's one guy, oh my God, I hope this doesn't, you know? Hope he's not a listener.

His name is Michael King, all right? Okay. So Michael King has a store called Hankey Brothers. And, uh, I I always looked forward to seeing him at the trade show.

Yeah. And he always had the most vile, racist, just the worst fucking jokes, right? It was just, you could always count on this guy, you know, and the funny thing is that I forget all jokes, I remember all the jokes that Mike fucking told me. They stuck with you.

They stuck with me, and I read, I'm about to tell one of those jokes, and Steve and my brother will tell me, "Don't tell that joke. Oh, come on! Don't tell that joke. Hey, don't.

No. " Needless to say, a couple years ago, Mike comes to the trade show, and now he's Michelle. Yes. Oh, wow.

Wow. Awkward. Yeah, that was awkward, yeah. It was different for you.

Well, you know, I tried not to, you know, not try to make it weird, but I keep calling him bro. Right. You know, 'cause that's, you know. That's how you do it.

So what's up, bro? And, like, after the fourth bro, he's like, she's like, uh, bro, I look both ways, I go, listen, bro, you're the one that fucking changed, not me, I'm the same idiot that you've known throughout all these years. Right. " Ice cream on the dress.

Yeah, it was a pretty good joke. So now you guys are friends again? Well, yeah, I got nothing against him. I mean, God bless him.

I can't imagine how difficult that must be for him. Yeah, no shit. He's so courageous. Maybe they should name him Woman of the Year.

Nah, get the fuck outta here. That's what... That's what Jenner got. Sporty-ass Jenner.

Are you kidding me? The guy who, the runner-up, was like a veteran that got his legs blown off. And the guy, he's running a 40 in no time. On stumps.

Yeah, on stumps. And they gave it to Jenner. Are you kidding me? They got his dick cut off.

Yeah, well, you know, I'm a little politically incorrect when it comes to that kind of shit. I didn't hear you. I didn't know that about you. Really?

Yeah, I had no idea. He had no idea, really. Wow. I think that makes, you know, listen, that's what makes America, America.

We can say whatever we want, you believe whatever you want, you're not going to change my mind, you know, I believe what I believe, God bless him, he's allowed to do whatever he wants, he can-- - That's this country that we live in. - That's what this is, right, you can do whatever you want, I love to have conversations about politics, especially with people, last night we went in deep into it, there was some kid at a cigar shop, this guy was, he's a socialist, he's just right out there socialist, and he said, yeah, no, I'm all for, he tells me, I'm all for your success, yeah, of course you want half of it, of course you want my success! Are you kidding me? This is crazy.

But, you know, whatever. Good stuff. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, let me ask you something.

What do you think of aliens? What do I think of aliens? They probably exist. They probably walk amongst us.

There's too much room out there for there not to be anything. Like Men in Black or something, you know? Yeah, I agree. Yeah, I'm just waiting for Chris Hemsworth to walk in the door, 'cause he's the new Men in Black guy.

Oh, really? Oh, that's right, yeah, for the four. That's gonna be good. Yeah, it already came out, so apparently it didn't do that well, I guess.

I think it's on DVD. You guys missed the boat. Wow. I heard it was good.

Really? Apparently not. Sure, I'm for them. I'm for them too.

You think I'll smoke cigars? Yeah, everybody can smoke cigars. Any other ridiculous questions you have? No, let me see.

What was the first cigar you smoked? I think it was a Cuba Cuba. Really? You know I've yet to smoke an acid cigar?

Or a flavored cigar? And then the first cigar that killed me was a Casamagna. That was like my second cigar. Oh.

I think I smoked them back to back. I was probably, how old am I? I was probably 22. Wow.

Casamagna. No, I could be younger than that. Number one cigar of the year, 2008. Yeah, I was probably 22, 21, 22.

Oh, very cool. Smoked the Casamagna, turned green. Right. Vomited profusely.

Now it doesn't matter. None of it hurts me. I can smoke all of it. Such a man.

Stop the smoke. So manly. It's a manly. Strong like bull.

It's all the muscles. All the muscles. And the steroids. Steroids, yeah.

I already told you, if I was on steroids, I'd have ripped your fucking head off a long time ago and shit down your neck. So what, are you guys serving something to eat tonight at this event? Yeah, we're going to have, you know, the deals weren't that good, so yeah, there'll be some egg rolls and shit. Oh, nice, okay.

Yeah, everyone's kind of what dictates that, yeah. The deals? Yeah. Okay.

If we have more room, you know. Okay, oh, right. Yeah, it's a whole cost thing. All right, we got to take another commercial or just say bye?

Ooh, another commercial? We can take another commercial and keep talking, or we can just say bye-bye? What time is it? It's 4:30.

Take a commercial real quick, and we'll wrap it up in a minute. Okay, we'll be right back. So how long were you guys talking before I got here? Interested in being a sponsor of the show?

com/acigarhustlerspodcast and see how you too can become a sponsor of the show and hear these secret episodes. I'm going to do it now, because at 10 o'clock tonight, that's going to be tough. Yeah, there'll be nothing. We're back.

And we're back. And we're back. I don't want to miss all that good gas station talk. Oh, yeah.

So what are we going to do with this hurricane, huh? Just another day, right? It's just another day. I'm going to Florida.

It's another day. I'll be at Volcano Bay tomorrow. Are you really? Where's Volcano Bay?

That's in Orlando? Yeah. Universal. It's the Universal Water Park.

Oh, nice. Nobody's going to be there. It's going to be amazing. It's going to be awesome.

Yeah, that's great. I can't wait. You hope nobody goes. No, they talk about that all over the news.

It's the news that everybody cancels their plans and, you know, all the hotels lose their vacancies. See, I'm thinking that we should have just booked a hotel and gone up North Florida. I should wait just for my, tell my family to come up here. Well, the other, you know, what's funny is those, those hotels book crazy for all the people that are trying to stay here and want to be safe.

Oh, right. But all the tourists. They're not coming. They're getting out of town.

They're leaving. " Armageddon! " I go, "Well, you know, this is Florida. " It's never that bad.

I mean, unless you got an Andrew or, you know? But otherwise... If you live on the coast, be concerned. It doesn't matter what it is.

If you live in the Keys, be concerned, right? You live, you know... In central Florida. The whole state has to be underwater for us to get Florida.

Look, California, your fucking houses are burning down, for God's sake. They don't burn, they shake a burn. Yeah, exactly. That's gotta be a great place to live.

I can't think one redeeming reason, maybe the weather, but other than that, there's no congestion. Traffic is crazy. Taxes. Flaw fires, taxes, they're fucking you.

Mudslides. Mudslides, the price of cigars. I mean, I just can't see a reason to be in California. And, you know, what do we got?

We got hurricanes. And it's really hot here. Yeah. Yeah, in the summer, yeah.

That's cool. That's all right, I'm okay, we got air conditioning. It gets hot in his jersey. Everywhere, right.

Yeah. So, all right. So, all right, why don't we talk a little about cigars? Go ahead, give your plug.

Yeah, give your plug. We got to get out of here, we got to get to work here. Okay, all right. Screwing around.

So, today we're featuring, we're featuring HVC Cigars. Yeah. Made at Casa Fernandez. Yes.

You know. Lorenzo. Yeah, Lorenzo, great guy. We always debate about having him on the show.

I just don't know how that's going to convey over the mic. Well, I think it's going to be great because he doesn't give a shit. Yeah, okay. He's done a couple others recently, you need to listen to one of those and see how he sounded.

Okay. Right. No, no, no. I think he's great.

I love the guy. Yeah. He's one of my favorite guys in the industry. And I love the fact that he has, he doesn't, a lot of people that speak, that have an accent, are very self-conscious.

He is not self-conscious. He doesn't talk to anybody. He just talks away. Yeah.

No. I love this. This is what it is. No.

He does that all the time. Does what? That? He's like, no.

That's like his move. What do you want me to do? Right. Yeah, yeah.

I don't know. He's a great guy. Awesome. And he makes really good cigars.

He does. He's very, you know, his connection is Casa Fernandez. Those guys have great tobacco. That Aganor Salif is special.

Yeah. I'm smoking the HBC right now. I see that. See?

I like him. Yeah, what did I smoke recently that I really enjoyed? The EE 2015. Really good cigar.

Let me tell you, it's gotten better. Great price point. And it's gotten better throughout the years. I smoked Broadleaf.

I don't like the packaging, but the cigar is fantastic. Yeah. It's a tough cigar to sell. You know, everyone's looking to save, everybody wants cabinet boxes, and this guy put 20 cigars side by side, you know?

Sure. Takes up three feet on the, but. It's true. People are drawn to it, you know, and the cigars are good.

The cigars are good. Yeah. , Yalalino. If you haven't tried Yalalino, you ought to get- Justo.

You got to get with it because- Yeah, we've had Justo on. Yes. Oh, that's right. With me.

Yeah, with me. You said you were Justo. We had a good time, right? He said he was me.

Yeah. That clip is part of the ending of the show. Right. Where you say, "Hello, I am Justo Ira" and then Mike and I just busted a leg.

Yeah, he's another good dude. So the Aladino, the Aladino for a lot of guys might not know this, they use authentic, I don't like to use the word authentic, it's the original seed from Cuba. Keep the bullshit to a minimum, will you Pete? For fuck's sake.

That's what I like, you know. So the cigar is made all from one plant. So where everyone uses a blend where the wrappers from Ecuador, blah, blah, blah, this is all called over one plant, one cigar. Right.

And it's amazing the flavor profile that you get from that, you know. Yeah. You guys are doing real well with it. Yeah, we are.

He's a good guy. You know, he has unique flavor profiles in his tobacco. So, you know, it's different. Right, right.

Different is always better. Right. Well, maybe not. But in this case, it is.

And then your boy. Yeah. Your boy. My boy.

Steve Sakas. Sakasquatch. Yeah, don't call him my boy. You know.

You guys aren't tight? No, I mean, I've seen him a couple of times, you know. I wanted to ride with him in the car. He's not for that, you know?

Oh, yeah, he's like, no, no, no. Yeah, he's not, no, actually, he goes, he was, like, shocked, he looked at me, he goes, why? And I go, yeah, no, I want to hear what you say, I want to, he goes, ah, he kind of brushed me off, and then I hung out with him a little bit, and then I'm like, that confirmed, yeah, I don't want to be in a car with this guy. Right, I mean, I texted him, like, a month ago, he goes, hey, let's do an event, and he never responded.

Right. Ghosted, he just ghosted. Yeah, but then we talked about other shit, I'm like, okay, so that means that that's never going to happen, thanks. He's a real busy guy, you know, and he's back and forth from Nicaragua, but I guess everybody's busy in this business.

You know, that's, I mean, I, I mean, I kinda, I don't know, I go back and forth in my head all the time about it, to be honest, because, like, I don't wanna be that guy, like, I don't wanna be on the road as, you know, and I'm doing my best to, I mean, I don't, I don't have a lot of product anyways to sell, but, like, you know, when, I guess when you do, when it's your bread and butter and that's how you make a living, you know, it takes a lot of work. It takes a lot of effort, so, yeah, I don't know how these guys do it, period, you know? I feel kind of weird if I were that guy where people wanted me to sign boxes, and, you know? I love that shit.

Do you sign boxes? Fuck yeah. Oh, yeah, he does. He does.

Takes pictures with people, signs boxes. Hell yeah. He has me hold his bags, or give me photos. Hey, hold my bag.

Hold my bag, he's got a picture of me. No, you know what? It's a real humbling experience. It makes you feel really good, you know?

You know, it's like, you know, people dig you, and believe in what you're doing, fuck yeah. I have people, for me it's a hard time to get even people to show up at an event for me. Dude, you signed a statue for us a long time ago. Right.

Yeah. What statue was it? It was a cock. Oh, wow.

A rooster. A rooster. Oh, right. I'm thinking a cock.

I'm like, oh man. Did I sign a dildo? Did I sign a dildo? I don't remember that.

When did that happen? That was a lot of fucking alcohol. I wouldn't know if I was missing a dildo. Mike was really drunk.

Yeah. I hate when that happens. Yeah. You know, I hate when that happens.

This year at the trade show, the night of the reception dinner. Yes. Where Jack Taranya was so gracious to invite us. This year cigars were way better than last year.

I told them that like three times. You ain't right. So, my brother and I caught it together. Mike Caracol: Yeah.

Mike Caracol: So he rarely, he and I drink together. Mike Caracol: Uh-huh. Mike Caracol: All that night we were, oh, in rare form. Mike Caracol: Yeah.

" Mike Caracol: Yeah. " Mike Caracol: And we were taking pictures with everybody. Mike Caracol: Yeah. Mike Caracol: Yeah, it was a good time.

Mike Caracol: I don't remember all of it, but I tell you what. Yeah, that was good. That was good. So, how did you think the trade show was this year?

It was lighter attendance, but the juice was worth the squeeze. Right, right. I have to agree. I have to agree.

What do you think about PCA pulling out the Cigar Con? Well, I had a feeling that would happen. They got a lot of pushback for that, you know? They got a lot of pushback for that.

What'd you think of it? I think they have no balls. He was all for it. Oh, you were for the Cigar Con.

Yeah, let's do this. He wants more pictures. More pictures with people. You know, I have a problem with consumers coming and checking out.

Fuck no, man. Let them get the experience. It's just another thing for them to do. You know, I think that, yeah, I think people were looking.

I was for it as well. In the beginning, I wasn't for it, then I was for it. I'm a little wishy-washy, but then I was for it in the end. That's cool.

I mean, it's unknown. It's okay for your opinion to vary. I really couldn't see how it was going to affect me. I can't see a guy spending $500, or $600, $700 to fly out to Vegas, pay for a hotel room, on top of that pay $250, To be part of this thing, or whatever it was gonna cost.

So I really didn't see too many guys from Florida going. Could we have had maybe 20, 25 guys? Yeah, maybe. Yeah, but people in the Southwest would've gone?

Would've gone, right, right. Yeah, so it wouldn't affect me. I didn't want to participate, really. I'm thinking I'm working for free, you know?

I don't feel like, you know, going out there, bah, bah, bah, getting ear-fucked. If you own your own business, you are kinda working. Yeah, but if you own your own business, that's, well, but I mean, I go out there to sell. No one wants to see me.

No one's gonna talk to me about... Yeah, I don't know, man. I don't know about that. I don't know.

Well, maybe you're right. Is that true? But the way it was explained to me was if you own a store, you invite five, six, whatever guys you want to show up, and they come with you, and they walk around the show, they get X amount of tickets. So whatever they spend, they're going to get these tickets to go and spend with the manufacturer they want.

And then as a store owner, you get their input on what to carry, what to buy for your store. I thought that made sense. I thought, well, you know, that's not bad. I think it builds camaraderie in the store.

Sure. Yeah, I think it would have been a... I did the cigar safari 100 years ago. A lot of shops bring guys to it anyway.

Yeah. And I can tell you that the guys that went on the safari, they came back with a lot of cigars. And they're like, man, this is one of the best times, you know. Right.

They're tied to you for life. Right. Right. Right?

Yeah, no, I agree. I agree. But unfortunately, you're right. No balls.

No balls. Yeah. So I'm going to be banned from PCAs. Well, you know.

They don't listen. I want to see PCA do better. Absolutely. It'll just benefit everybody if they do.

Right. I'm not trying to shit on anybody. I really want them to do better. They definitely need to do something different.

Right. But what is different? Well, look, I think that if they're going to incorporate people in this committee, okay, that's cool. But, you know, I would like to see Abe on there from smoking.

Right. I think he's got some great ideas. Yeah. You know.

He told you about the roast idea. I listen to that, yeah, on his show. Let me tell you, that's a great idea. Hey, what the hell?

There's nothing wrong with that. Let's take a stab at it. Let's see how it does, you know? I mean, I think that if Skip was up to it, I'd love to see him on something like that as well, you know, because he's got a really good contrast to everything, you know?

And he's a great businessman. So, you know, those are two guys that definitely consider being on there. Right, right. But we'll see where it goes.

Yeah, it doesn't always seem like they've got the best people on there. No, not a lot of ideas, nothing different, you know, times change and I think we need to change with the times, so, you know, don't ask me, I don't know what the fuck to do, you know, but I definitely think they need to do something, because attendance every year is less and less, and I still have to go, you know, and, you know, with less people there, it's tough, and it sucks for our industry, you know, it sucks that we come out with this new stuff, now the FDA is trying to ban us from doing that, and we're still coming out with new stuff. And people aren't showing up, and it's, you know, I want-- It's tough. Yeah, yeah, you know, and we're such a thin demographic, that's probably the biggest problem.

We're a very thin demographic, and I wish people cared more. So the next time you go to Publix, you need to start converting people into cigar smokers in the fucking vegetable aisle. You know what, man? Everywhere I go, I am obnoxious when it comes to that, because the other day I went to the-- I was in the-- I was at the dentist.

At the emergency room. - Oh, good. - Right. - Yeah.

- I got the smoke. - Passing out cigars in the emergency room. - Whatever it takes, pal. They're waiting anyway, right?

- Yeah, right. - Hey, try this sweet-tipped... " I highly recommend it. I mean, I smoke a couple cigars a day.

For the next couple of days, I'll probably ease off, you know, because I'll be home letting this, you know, kind of get better. But, yeah, you know, it's different from cigarettes. And she said, "No, it's not. It's the same thing.

" And I go on this rant. So this is my rant. People who smoke cigarettes all hate cigarettes. They all wish they could quit.

So any of you guys out there that have a wife or a mom or an aunt or a neighbor that hates your cigar smoking and they think it's all, they want to group it all together, it's not. Cigarettes, people who smoke cigarettes hate cigarettes. They all wish you could quit. They would never encourage you to join them in a cigarette.

"Oh, no one's going to tell you this. I'm going to break. I got two cigs. " Right.

That's a good point. Right. They have a cold they have to smoke. They have to get up from dinner to go outside and smoke a cigarette.

The first thing they do in the morning is light up. The last thing they do before they go to bed is light up. There are people who wake up in the middle of the night and light up a cigarette and go back to sleep. I mean, it's really a disgusting, addictive habit.

Those of us that smoke cigars, none of us want to quit. We want to include our friends. I want my kids to smoke cigars. And if they don't smoke cigars, I want my kids to, for when they smell the aroma of a cigar, I want them to remind them of me.

This promotes friendship, camaraderie, and if you celebrate moments in your life with this, you know? It's relaxation. You put two guys on an airplane, fly them across the country, and they might not say a word to each other. You put those same two guys in a cigar shop, put a cigar in their hand, and they'll walk out friends, you know?

And it doesn't matter what walk of life you're from, you know? So this is really the one thing that unites us, and it sucks that the whole, you know, it seems like everyone wants to just shut us down. Right. You know?

And we're not hurting anybody. No one dies from smoking cigars. Right. You know?

Occasionally, can someone get mouth cancer or whatever? Sure, 'cause you had a sore. You had an open sore, and you're still smoking 10 cigars a day, you're a fucking idiot. You know?

You know you're not supposed to do that, you know? Right. We're not addicted to this. I guess if you're smoking 10 a day, you might have a little addiction problem.

Maybe a little problem. A little compulsion problem. Yeah, but you know what? I can put it, I mean, I've been able to put this down without a problem.

Absolutely. Absolutely. You know? If I need to go on a hiatus, I can.

" I'm Jones and I need a cigarette. Yeah, I smoke less on the weekends. Do you? Oh yeah, so do I.

So do I. I'm at home with the kids. Yeah, I mean like, you know. So usually at night, like, you know, my wife's pregnant right now.

But usually at night, we'd go out and look. Again? Well, I got the third one. Oh, wow.

Yeah. Congratulations. We talked about that. Yeah, I think she's pregnant last time.

Yeah. Maybe I had brain damage. I'm still thinking of the blue eyes. I'm thinking of the blue eyes.

Yeah, no, that's my oldest. Right. But anyways, you know, in the evenings, we'd always just hang out on the patio, and I'd smoke a cigar, get a glass of wine, you know, we'd just hang out and watch TV or whatever. Well, that doesn't happen right now, you know, because she's pregnant.

" I'm like, "I don't, you're not out there. " It's a very social thing. I don't smoke by myself. I hardly ever smoke at home.

I smoke at home on Sundays when I'm barbecuing or when I'm out grilling and having a couple drinks. A friend will come over and then my body, the moment calls me to it. I crave that moment to enjoy a cigar with this guy or with his friend. Sometimes I'll smoke on the way in though, like coming into work.

I'm like, fuck it. You know, I don't like, I don't enjoy smoking in the car. I do, especially with traffic and I4 and this bullshit. I'm like, this is good.

He needs it to come on down from the road. This is all right. I get out of the gym. I get out of the gym, I pick my car up out of the parking space, and I drop it down into the street, and then I light my cigar.

Yeah, no, I don't like smoking because, you know, I've got to deal with, you've got to deal with the turn signals, when you use them, you've got to deal with the ashing in the car, that doesn't mean I bought the car with a sunroof so I can smoke in it when I want to. Right. But lots of times, it's just inconvenient. Too much of a hassle.

Right, I'm on the phone. Or if it's 110 degrees outside, you don't want to deal with it. Right, it's like, fuck that, it's too hot. Yeah, no, I understand that.

But, yeah, you know, I enjoy cigars almost doing anything, you know? Yeah. Well, you already answered the questions, so the last time you were on. Yep.

I'm assuming that we should probably wrap this up and get to work. What's the question? Those five questions. The five questions.

Oh, right. You and I, you and who, still, answered all those? Yeah. You might want to go see a fucking brain doctor.

You think I might? Yeah. Yeah. Did I answer it or did he answer it?

No, you answered it. Yeah, we had both of you. You probably need to get, like, an MRI or something. You think?

I was thinking I'm going to get a CAT scan or something. Yeah, just get that checked out. I did. I put my head in the microwave.

I think that may have affected me. Yeah, maybe. Maybe. We were looking for superpowers, and now here you are.

I'm a little tired. I didn't get a lot of sleep last night. Yeah, there's a hurricane, blah, blah, blah, you're going to be out. He's been looking for gas and water all day.

Your mom sent you out for water. Go pick some up. Yeah, okay. I got the car for the water.

It's everywhere. I'm like a camel. I got the car full of working water. Ready to go for Armageddon.

We'll be drinking water for the next six months. 'Cause come Sunday when that thing's going through the keys. " Right. They don't go bad, so.

See, they're right, there's the fuck you. No, no, no, no, no, that's a good idea, I hadn't even thought of that. Dude, this shit ain't rocket science. We live in Florida.

Right, right, right. You know? Bigger problem with the mosquitos after the storm goes through. Right.

All the standing water. Well, thank you guys for checking in with us. Hey. Yes, thank you everybody.

Thanks for coming on. Episode 85. My pleasure. You know, you're a good guy.

Oh, thank you. And I think sometimes you're misunderstood. You know what, I agree with you. Yeah.

Everybody loves Pete. That's not true. I love Pete. Not everybody loves Pete.

You know, listen, I've said this before: I'm 80% sure that 20% of the people out there may not like me. I'm 100% sure I don't give a fuck, you know? There you go. So with that, I'll leave you guys.

How do you not like this guy? All right, thanks everybody. All right, let's go sell some cigars. All right, bye.

Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike squared, Mike squared. Thank you.

Show Notes

This week out of all the reps in Florida we sit down with this one... One of the our favorites Mr. Pete Hernandez!

Find out how he got started why 80% of the people don't like him after asking 20% of them and how he's sure that 100% of the time he really doesn't care!

Its always fun when Pete visits!  We do a little industry news, another Show update and how we finally conquered Greenland!

As always we welcome your input on our FB page, "A Cigar Hustlers Podcast".  You can follow the show on IG @cigarhustlerspodcast, Mikey @cigarhustler and Mike Too @fcc_Mike.

Remember to always rate, review and subscribe on which ever of our providers you use!