Judging Smokers by the Band: Padrón, RoMa Craft & E.P. Carrillo | CHPOD 599

Episode Summary

Episode 599 of A Cigar Hustler's Podcast has Mikey hosting alongside shop guy Steve (filling in for BDP and Palmer) with Phil McGuffey on engineering. The crew opens with listener comments and praise for Siggy and Keanu's fill-in hosting, then runs through the day's non-cigar headlines: Florida's plan to test eVTOL "air taxis" at the 775-acre SunTrax facility in Polk County before the end of 2026, a federal court ruling in Texas lifting certain National Firearms Act restrictions on short-barreled rifles, shotguns and suppressors, and Pinellas County Schools banning Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses and other wearable recording devices in classrooms. The smart-glasses talk spins into AI in schools, Google's decline as a search tool, and hidden prompt traps teachers use to catch AI-written test answers.

The cigar half starts with Jeremy Stamkos of Puros Environmental releasing "Cigar Sanctuaries: The Art and Science of the Modern Indoor Cigar Lounge" at PCA. That leads to a genuinely useful retailer conversation about why most lounges get smoky — directional airflow, exhaust and fresh-air makeup systems, ceiling height, multiple intakes, and the brutal cost math of engineering a room for the two or three packed-house events a year versus everyday traffic. Next up is Singapore's plain packaging law, effective July 1, which now requires distributors and manufacturers to strip packaging before cigars enter the country. Davidoff of Geneva Singapore weighs in, and the hosts argue plain packaging kills collector value on limited editions and turns every purchase into a blind tasting built entirely on trust in your retailer.

That sets up the episode's signature riff: what does a cigar band tell you about the smoker? Mikey reads a Padrón smoker (even a 1000 Series) as someone who cares, a RoMa Craft smoker as a tobacco-and-bourbon nerd who knows what's up, an E.P. Carrillo smoker as a Cigar Bid value hunter, and a Foundation smoker as someone "in between brands" — while still calling Nick Melillo one of the best blenders of the generation. Espinosa and Dunbarton smokers get credit for brand knowledge; Montecristo smokers get sympathy. Steve pushes back that you can't judge a guy off one cigar someone may have gifted him.

The show closes with "What's the Score?" using Brooks Whittington's review of the Room 101 Johnny Tobacco Nut Maduro Robusto (Nicaraguan puro, AJ Fernandez's Tabacalera, 5 x 50, $10.29). Phil and Steve trade guesses through clues of espresso, cocoa nibs, blackberry sweetness, black pepper, anise and charred meat, plus a couple of burn corrections and a soft spot — with the final score landing at 89.

In This Episode

1. 01
   Listener Comments and Fill-In Hosts
   Mikey and Steve read YouTube comments praising Siggy, Keanu and Phil for keeping the show running while BDP and Palmer were out.
2. 02
   Florida Air Taxis at SunTrax
   Florida plans to test electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft in Polk County, and the crew debates whether they'd actually ride in one.
3. 03
   Texas Firearms and Suppressor Ruling
   A federal judge's order lifts certain National Firearms Act restrictions for some Texans, prompting talk of tax stamps, background checks and regulatory rollback.
4. 04
   Meta Smart Glasses Banned in Schools
   Pinellas County Schools bars camera-equipped eyewear, leading to a conversation about privacy, test security, the Masters arrests, and AI cheating.
5. 05
   Cigar Sanctuaries and Lounge Air Quality
   Jeremy Stamkos of Puros Environmental releases a technical book on indoor cigar lounge design, sparking a real retailer discussion of exhaust, fresh-air systems and cost.
6. 06
   Singapore Plain Packaging
   Singapore's plain packaging law now applies before cigars enter the country, and the hosts explain how it guts collector value and forces blind trust in retailers.
7. 07
   Judging Smokers by Their Cigar Band
   Mikey profiles what smoking Padrón, RoMa Craft, E.P. Carrillo, Foundation, Room 101, Espinosa, Dunbarton or Montecristo says about a person, with Steve pushing back.
8. 08
   What's the Score: Room 101 Johnny Tobacco Nut Maduro
   Phil and Steve guess the halfwheel score on the Room 101 Johnny Tobacco Nut Maduro Robusto as flavor and construction clues are revealed.

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

Hello all my favorite peoples out there in TV land, two, and here we go. Welcome to a Cigar Housers podcast. Premium cigars, unfiltered opinions, and conversations with no boundaries. I'm your host, Mikey.

I complain too much. Joined by co-host, the famous Steve. Hit it. There you go.

That's what he looks like. And that's, that's the man. That's the man who answers the phone, deals with all your needy texts, everything. And in engineering, the one and the only Phil McGuffey, I just push buttons like a monkey, not even a train.

And Monkey. And How. From cigars, sports, and business, to pop culture, and the wildest headlines, if it's worth discussing, we're talking about it. No scripts, no safe spaces, just real perspectives, big laughs, and chaos at any moment.

Settle in and welcome to a Cigar Hustlers podcast. On today's show, Florida has Sky taxis, here's the gun story, enjoy, no meta at school, then in cigars, no news in American, so we have lots of international cigar news. Nice. But first, Phil, tell us.

Oh, God. com and try your very best to be correct. What you need to do first is wherever you're viewing or listening, you need to like and subscribe. Hit that button.

com, where we have all the new swag and latest gear. Same thing. Kind of like the new superstar shirt with Triple G. So get yours wide glass.

com. Check out our Patreon. When you search for it, search for A Cigar Hustlers Podcast, and then hit subscribe because that's a great show. All right.

To the comments, my Mikey. There you go. Before I jump there, I'm going to say thank you very much to Julian G, Sweeney, Corey Davis, and David Hasselhoffman for your support. You know, you got, they all picked up some, some swag from us as of recent.

Sweeney definitely got the triple G. He definitely, he definitely did get, he got two of them. Okay, so I think I fixed the lounge again, but now this show is not up yet. Uh-oh.

Oh. Almost. I can't win. Well, I will make a couple comments.

" Yeah, I didn't know how to get on the lounge. So, I'm going to cover a couple of them. Well, these are all from YouTube. " So, I guess he's got a little down time.

Oh, I didn't know if I should read that. I did skip over that. Sorry. Oh, you skipped it?

Yeah, I was like, I don't know if that's like a comment that should have been read, or... Oh, I thought, I mean... That's fine. Yeah.

Yeah, sorry. You did Easy Button. You did the pussy thing. " Nice.

So there you go. As we're kind of developing the site, we had a couple snags and stuff, and I figured out a way to make sure that we could figure out when something goes wrong and what happens, so we got in front of that and you performed. Steve doesn't talk much, by the way. Awesome.

Thank you, Lance. I appreciate it. Steve is a man of few words when there's a camera. Dude, it's just us talking.

There's nothing for you to worry about, you know? No, I just didn't know where you wanted me to jump in at or what. Well, you can interrupt them any time. Jump in at any time.

And I will say, I haven't listened to the entire show yet, but I started to listen to it, and I think that Siggy and Keanu did a fantastic job. Yeah, no, no, they did. They did great. " Yeah.

And I love the fact that how pale Keanu looks on the camera is amazing. It's almost like you could see through him. Yeah. I tried different lighting and stuff.

I was like, you know what? You're just a Casper, bro. I'm just going with this. Yeah.

And dude, I came in last night to get the hard drive and you put everything away. Everything was charging. You didn't just walk out. Right.

Yeah. No, no. I tried my best. You did a damn good job, man.

Yeah. I appreciate that. Nicely done. Might not need Palmer soon.

Well, who's going to give us these notes? Yeah. I don't know, man. I'm flying by the seat of my pants.

There's no thumbnails on the last two episodes. I passed out last night. I woke up and was like, oh, I'm not done yet. I got to finish this.

Because we did the podcast with Chai Town. Right, yeah. So, okay, let's see here. From episode 518, at Lance Frazier 4748 says, I truly enjoyed these guys.

It was an awesome podcast. Phil actually stepped up today. Oh, look at that. A little comment.

Thank you. Double, double positive for Phil. Thank you, peoples. At Ruckus Unchained.

Oh, Mikey's mom. Says, "Good to know the show can survive my boys being out. " So, you know, oh, here's one from the previous episode. Monique, Dominique, Martinique, I know you can do it Mikey, also it's really nice of you to keep having Alex on, the number one Cigar Hot Podcast, ACHP, that's right, attaboy, let me see if there's any other comments real quick, do do do, oh yeah, @4KiwiGman, Keanu and Siggy, a great start, to fronting hosting a podcast.

Both of you have good knowledge of cigars, and it was good edutainment for the 60-odd minutes of the episode. Yeah, good reviews, man. Yeah. Good reviews.

I mean, Siggy's a highly intelligent individual. Oh, yeah. And Keanu's funny. Yeah, well, and Keanu knows about cigars, too.

That's a great thing, you know, especially for this podcast. At David Hasselhoffman says, good to see some of the faces we hear about on the podcast. Nice job, Phil, keeping it afloat while BDP and The King are out. You know, I appreciate all you out there.

So many nice things. Yeah, I appreciate all you guys. So many nice things. When Palmer comes back, then the other comments come in.

Isn't that weird how that works? Yeah, it's almost like he's riding them. So strange. @CW6383 says, Keanu is growing his facial hair back, finally.

Yeah, well, you know, I mean, he likes, I don't know what happened there. " Yeah, you're committed then. " Yeah. And we're recording this early, so that's all I really have for today.

com lounge, which will eventually work completely right. the entire time but we're just not quite there yet uh you ready to get on with the show uh absolutely all right let's get on with the show florida may be getting ready to take traffic off the highway and put it in the sky governor ron desantis is promoting plans to begin testing what many people are calling flying cars or air taxis in central florida before the end of 2026 the The testing will take place at Sun Tracks in Polk County, a massive 775-acre transportation research facility operated by the Florida Department of Transportation. Sold by Robbie Doyle? Sorry.

Was it? I don't know. Sounds like a big piece of land, though. The land baron?

Yeah. Oh, yeah. Robbie Doyle. Robbie Doyle.

Was he in the room when you did yesterday's show? No, no. Oh. Because you mentioned him a couple of times.

I didn't know if he was here. No, I think we were just talking about like certain instances that would involve him. Gotcha. Technically, these aren't cars with wings.

They're known as electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, or EVITALs. Think of a small electric aircraft that can take off and land vertically like a helicopter, while potentially carrying passengers on shorter trips. SunTrax is being developed specifically to test this technology with vertiports, aircraft hangars, high-speed charging stations, and even a dedicated aerial test track, and Florida has bigger plans than simply flying these things around a test facility. The long-term is an advanced air mobility network that could move passengers and cargo between communities while potentially taking some pressure off Florida's increasingly congested highways, including the I-4 corridor.

Before you'll be ordering an air taxi, like an Uber, though, the aircraft infrastructure and operating procedures still have to go through extensive testing and federal regulatory requirements, but if everything stays on schedule, Florida's flying car era could begin testing before the end of this year. So here's the question: Would you get inside one? I would need extensive training. Yeah?

Or is someone else flying it? Someone else flying it. Okay. But you as a passenger, would you get in it?

Yeah, why not? I would, dude. Absolutely. What about you, Phil?

There's no way, dude. He values his life way too much. Yeah, not happening. All I could think about when you're talking about that, though, was the theme song from the Jessens.

Me, George Jessen. Well, dude, but what if you have at a job in, like, Tampa or something? And you wanted to be in and out, get it done, and then come back? I don't know.

I mean, eventually, like, I would probably get in one, But, you know, I want them to go through the testing phase. I don't want to be on the news. - Imagine if you were in the, I don't know, late 1800s, early 1900s, forgive me if I'm screwing up the era, and you had a horse, and then somebody showed up with this car, would you get into the car? -No.

-No? -No. -But you're in cars now. -Yeah, I mean, yeah, but they've been tested extensively.

Like, you know, kind of like what Steve was saying, like, you need some training, you need some, you know, testing, we need to get all the kinks out, you know, all the guys are going to crash, and then you see how they're going to crash, you know, that way I know not to do that stuff. -I would totally get inside one. -Really? -Absolutely.

-Well, what happens when the grid goes out, like all those other taxis happen? The grid goes out? Yeah, I remember like the power grid went out in, what was that, New York or something like that, and all the self-driving taxis stopped? And like, I just crash?

Well, you're in the air. I mean, what if like the power turns off on it? Well, it's a battery. It's plugged in or whatever.

It's not... Oh, they're gonna do... Oh, I thought they were doing like solar or something. It's got charging stations.

These things recharge. Solar isn't capable of handling vehicles. Not at this level. Not yet, at least.

Oh, I didn't know. If that was the case, then every Tesla would have solar panels on the roof. Don't they have a car that's like solar panels? Not one that can sustain.

Yeah, it was like one of the early ones, it was like the Fisker Karma, and I think it was just like to power the radio and some small things inside. Yeah, the solar capabilities aren't quite there yet, not with the batteries and things that are currently aligned. Well, yeah. I mean, I guess we'd have to see.

I mean, they've been talking about flying cars now for since I was in high school. So we'll see. Dude, I'm down 100 percent. If it's affordable and it's time efficient, I'm in.

And if it crashes, I die. I don't know what to tell you. Yeah, I guess your time's your time. I got insurance.

They'll be fine. Well, this was the last episode of... Hmm. Okay.

All right, moving on. Oh, look. Oh, Palmer's covering firearms. A major firearms ruling is now taking effect in Texas, and it could change what certain gun owners are legally allowed to possess.

By the way, the people jumping off the boat in Iran or whatever, the USS Abraham Lincoln, the amount of hate that I got on our social media. We're on social media pages. Really? Oh, dude.

It's fake. It's all of this stuff. I'm like, whatever, dude. We just saw the news report.

We're just covering it. Yeah. And what's the big deal? People are very angry.

I don't know why people get like that. Like, how do you know it's fake anyways? The sad part is that people that get angry about it, those things get the most views. Yeah.

Like by a landslide. It's not even close. Right. Right.

So we're going to keep covering stuff like that. Yeah. In other news, more people jumped off a ship. Mm-hmm.

Exactly. Allegedly. Allegedly. Allegedly.

Allegedly. A federal judge's order has lifted restrictions affecting certain firearms and silencers for some Texans following a legal battle over federal gun regulations. Hmm. The ruling centers on provisions of the National Firearms Act, the nearly century-old federal law that regulates items including short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns and silencers.

Under the judge's order, certain restrictions can no longer be enforced against specific individuals and members covered by the lawsuit in Texas. And that distinction is important. Sorry, dude. My nose is messing with me.

This is not a blanket repeal of federal firearms laws for everyone in Texas. The ruling applies to people specifically protected by the court order while many existing federal requirements remain in effect for everyone else. The case comes amid a rapid changing legal landscape surrounding firearms and silencers, including recent changes at the federal level involving taxes traditionally imposed on some NFA-regulated weapons. Supporters of the ruling see it as a major victory for Second Amendment rights and argue that the federal government has placed unconstitutional restrictions on firearm ownership.

Gun control advocates, meanwhile, argue that regulations involving silencers and certain firearms serve an important public safety purpose, but for those Texans covered by this court order, the legal landscape has officially changed, and with additional challenges likely ahead, this fight over where gun rights end and federal regulation begins is far from over. Another piece of technology is being told to stay out of the classroom. Oh, that's the next story. So they're just kind of like furthering.

So, yeah, so what do you think about the, so this is what's kind of going on with these silencers, right, and all of a sudden it's being lifted and people can purchase them. What do you think about that? I mean, I'm cool with that. I think as long as you go through the proper channels and it's extra money for the government because you got to pay a fee.

I know here in Florida you can do it. Well, there used to be a tax, but the tax is now gone. Yeah, so no more pay. Yeah, I think they should just, as long as you're willing to pay, and you go through the proper channels, your background checks, I mean, I like, people are armed, it's fine.

Yeah, so, what's really kind of happening with the silencer thing, though, is that, from what Greg was explaining, because he's obviously a more gun guy than I am, you no longer have to pay that tax stamp, so there's no rule for the regulation, so you can just buy a silencer. So, I mean, you're still paying, I guess, your taxes when you purchase it, but the tax stamp in itself is gone. Okay. So...

Does that mean there's no background check for a silencer? Uh, I don't think so. Why would you need a background check for a silencer? Oh, I don't know.

I don't, I mean, I don't know, per se. I've never bought a silencer. I mean, I would assume they went through the background check when they got the gun. Right.

You know, or if you have a CWP or, you know, concealed weapons permit, something like that, Then I can't imagine there being a big holdup if you wanted to purchase one. Well, you guys are talking about law-abiding citizens, like what if, you know, let's just say Pookie. " But he never went through a background check before. Well, if Pookie wanted a silencer, he's probably not walking into a store anyways.

Yeah, that's probably true. He's probably going to get it out of the trunk of somebody's car that was stolen. Yeah, that's probably true. Or something like that.

That's a good assessment. You know? That's a good assessment. Thanks, bro.

I appreciate that. So yeah, I mean, we're starting to kind of beat a dead horse on this, but at least he's, this is Palmer saying, look, I covered it and give me a break, I don't know what's going on in Texas and how some people get to do it, I don't know what that looks like, he's kind of vague in the story, but I think that, you know, I don't know, I agree with my brother, it's a step in the right direction, you don't really need, I don't believe that you really need that regulation for that, that sort of firearm or accessory, whatever. Well, it's kind of crazy, though, that the government's letting regulations downgrade, you know, like, they're losing grip on some regulations kind of thing. Well, that's what they're supposed to do, though.

Well, like, whenever we talk about cigars, we always talk about, like, well, we can't let them have more regulations because then, you know, they'll start making more rules and it'll get harder to be able to smoke cigars and stuff like that. Yeah, but if the government and society are actually working in harmony, as they're supposed to, right, then the government should always assess any type of law or regulation that they implement, and then once they realize that that wasn't the right fit or maybe they feel like it was an overstep, they should walk it back. Oh, yeah, no, I completely agree, but we just know our government. Our government or just government as a whole?

Well, probably government as a whole, but yeah. I'll tell you a funny story, man. So, obviously, I'm a big Claude guy right now. I've been doing a lot of stuff with Claude, right?

And I was working on things as we were traveling yesterday, and Claude jammed. And you can see that there was something wrong. " or something like that, right? So you go and you look at it and it says, it's like, yeah, we're messed up right now, here's our data, and there's four different things and it shows you where, like almost hour by hour where there were snags, right, and three of those things are different clods, like clod code, clod whatever, and then this bottom one that's completely green barred with zero issues, it says clod government.

Not a single problem. No. Yeah, theirs is perfect. Yeah, theirs is perfect.

Isn't that kind of funny? Yeah, theirs is perfect. Isn't that like the definition of what's kind of wrong? Like, why, like, what are you, what, now I'm like, okay, now I've got questions.

So what exactly are we clotting in the government? Like, to what level? And are we, does that mean that, you know, Susie in the tax department is going to have no issues with her clot? Or are we talking about only like in-depth stuff?

Yeah, like Situation Room. Yeah, it sounds like their Claude is operating without any limitations or guardrails or anything. Just good to go. Oh, no, we're not down, we're not hitting any snags, none of that.

It's just perfect the whole time. Just a fable five the whole time. Yeah, exactly. If my Claude sucks, I want the government's Claude to suck at the same time.

Yeah, it's only fair. Yeah. You're completing this separation again. And I get it.

" We were living before Claude and having those defenses. All of those things existed prior to. So, if we're relying so significantly on AI that the government can't function without it, then we got a problem already. You know?

Right, yeah. Yeah, right? Yeah. Right, yeah.

Well, it's like the self-service. Like, they have better self-service than us. Do they really? Yeah.

Yeah, they have, like, dude, they connect into, I forget what it's called, but it's a government self-service. But they have full bar anywhere, anywhere inside the United States. It never drops, never has an issue. Serious?

Yeah. Like Starlink? Yeah. They're using Starlink, but...

Are they all using Starlink? I have not. I don't know what service it is, but I know that... Well, okay, I will say with Verizon, I know that there's a service in Verizon that's for government only.

Yeah. And, yeah, they get, like I just said, full bar, no drop. All the time. All the time.

No problem. No problem. Because their conversation is always more important than our conversation. Yeah.

My phone drops five, six times a day. Don't you have a... Am I delusional or do you have a problem with that? Are you wrong with that?

I mean, I understand why. Why? That they necessarily do that. S.

soil. Okay. You know, and they need to, they're on the phone, right? And all of a sudden they're like, "Hey, Bobby, we need to, you know, put all these tanks over, hello?

Bobby? " But why doesn't everybody have that access? Is it just not capable of handling all of it? I have.

I don't know. I'm not that technically. Yeah. This is more money.

Yeah. This one's cheaper. So. Yeah.

Think of us the budget one. I just want the option to plug into the government one. If there's a premium I got to pay, I'll pay the premium. But, you know, I want the full bars all the time.

Right. You know, it's just bullshit. Yeah. I hate the I hate when my phone drops and it's like getting worse, dude.

I don't know what the fuck Verizon's doing, but. On Monday, my phone just didn't ring. I would get texts, but the calls wouldn't go through. Yeah, they're probably doing...

I used to do an inspection of cell tower buildings and stuff like that. And they do these updates, and when they do these updates on their software inside of those buildings, whatever tower your phone is pinging off of, It has an issue with that update. It like takes over. It goes into your phone and it messes up things.

Do you ever have those issues? No, rarely. I mean, I have AT&T and I rarely drop service. It's more maybe internet than cell service.

No shit. Yeah, internet's going through a big fiber thing right now. Maybe it's time to switch. Yeah.

Alright, moving on. Another piece of technology is being told to stay out of the classroom. Pinellas County Schools has joined other districts in Florida in cracking down on Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses and similar wearable recording devices. The concern isn't about the glasses themselves.

It's what they can do. Smart glasses can contain cameras, microphones, internet connectivity, and the ability to record or transmit information, all while looking a lot like a normal pair of glasses. Under Pinellas County's policy, wearable recording devices, including smart glasses, augmented reality eyewear, and camera-equipped glasses cannot be used at school, on school transportation, or during school-sponsored activities. They must be completely powered off and stored somewhere secure and out of sight, such as a backpack, locker, purse, or pocket.

School officials point to several concerns surrounding the technology, including student and staff privacy, unauthorized recording, classroom distractions, and test security. And Pinellas County isn't alone. Other school systems have also specifically addressed metaglasses and similar devices as districts try to keep up with rapidly changing wearable technology. There are exceptions.

Students who require certain technology because of an IEP, 504 plan, medical plan, or another approved educational accessibility need may be permitted to use a device under documented circumstances. So while regular glasses are obviously still welcome in class, glasses capable of recording what's happening around you are becoming a very different story. As smart glasses become more common, schools are making one thing increasingly clear: if your eyewear can record the classroom, expect it to be treated more like an electronic device than a pair of glasses. So, what are your thoughts on this, Steve?

I don't know. So my wife's a teacher, so she's constantly having to ask kids to put phones away and stuff, so I mean, I could see why they wouldn't want stuff recorded at school. And I know that this past April, there was a bunch of people got arrested trying to wear them to the masters. Mm, uh, glasses?

Yeah, that's a thing, too. Like, the Meta glasses? Yeah, like Meta Ray-Bans. Oh, why did that happen?

I'm not privy to this. Oh, you're not allowed to bring phones or any kind of camera or recording equipment in there. Oh. Yeah, and people got kicked out from that, right?

Like, they arrested some, because I think they stated ahead of time, like, Like, we know these are a thing now, and just because it's not a phone, you can't bring it in, so if anyone brings it in, you know, you'll be asked to leave or whatever. People tried to sneak them in, and I think a few of them wound up getting arrested. No shit. Yeah.

I mean, because I have metas, I wear them everywhere. Oh, yeah, they're amazing. Yeah, but like, I would, I could seem, not that I would go into the Masters anytime soon, but like, if somebody said, "Hey, man, let's go," and I just wore them, I wouldn't necessarily want to record with them, right? So even if I just had them on, I'd get in trouble.

Yeah, 'cause they can't tell if you're recording or not. They get the blinky light. Yeah. The blinky lights.

I think they just said, look, no glasses, no cameras. Well, so why can't you record the masters? They have so many rules and regulations there. Yeah.

They're just like, listen, if you wanna come here, you're gonna abide by our rules. Really? If not, keep it moving. What about you, Phil?

You like metas? I actually do. Is your unicorn metas right now? Oh, man.

I wish. Can he make that? You know what? That's a suggestion for the next one.

The price on those just went up significantly. Right. You know, this is kind of crazy because let's say you take your kid to go get a pair of glasses and the only glasses that they want are the meta ones, and those are the ones you get, right? And you pay.

They're not cheap. Right. You know, you pay a lot of money and you got to get prescription lenses in them for them because they can't see. " Well, what do you do?

You have to take your kid and go get another $200, $300 pair of glasses? Yes. Yeah, but you said there was like a medical thing, so what if you get a doctor's note? Probably, yeah, if you can't see, like if you're blind, I'm assuming that they're going to grant you access with the meds.

" and I'll tell you, right? Right. Right. And it'll navigate you.

Right. No one's picking on the blind kid, bro, for wearing meadows. No, I mean, like, okay, like, even like me, like, I wear contacts. Yeah.

Like, if I take my contacts out, I see shapes. Uh-huh. That's it. So, blurry shapes at that.

So, what if I get a note from my daughter saying, hey, this guy's legally blind? Well, but you, I mean, regular glasses fix that for you. Right, but you're saying I have to go out and buy another pair. That's crazy.

Bro, if you're dropping that much dough on Metas, like, I don't even want to hear it. I mean, I get what you're saying, but, you know, some of these ballers out there, you know, they're not real ballers and they just wasted all their money on Metas. Yeah, there's definitely going to be some people out there fighting over this. Yeah.

For sure. Which is dumb. Or you just put a piece of tape over the camera. Yeah, I guess you could do that.

yeah i i'm a little i have a story come here timmy yeah how the story read about recording i mean i understand that but it's not the recording thing i would be worried about because don't the don't like some of them have like the little computer in the glass that you can't see from outside but you can see yeah wearing it yeah so then they could just look up the information for the test but you got to talk to it you know like hey meadow what's six times four who said You know, put this on my screen. Oh, okay, so you gotta really... Yeah. Oh, okay, I didn't know that.

I think the bigger issue with school testing is the AI shit. Yeah. Like, a lot of people are using AI to take their tests. But I heard that there have been some people that will put in like...

There's a way that you can put in like a security check where it's like a blank. And the eye can't see it, but it exists on the paper, especially if you're doing an electronic test, and if you plug in the test to AI and it answers the questions, it's going to answer all the questions, inclusive to those ones that you can't see, and then the person's going to know you cheated, and boom, you're done. Somebody told me about a story where a bunch of people failed the class because they did that. You know, why can't you just go back to the old days of college where you just use Google or write it on your hand?

Google's done, man. I don't, do you Google still? No, not really. Yeah.

I mean, well, even Google now has AI. Like when you type something in, the first thing that comes up is the AI response. Yeah, but now they're behind. I mean, where do you go for your information?

You go to ChatGPT? Yeah, ChatGPT usually. It's just an app. It's easy.

It's quick. Right. Well, what do you use? Yeah, no, I use ChatGPT.

Yeah? Yeah. Okay. All right, we're moving on.

Ready for some cigar news? Uh, sure. Okay, cigar news. Jeremy Stamkos to release cigar sanctuaries at PCA 26.

Oh. Who the hell is Jeremy Stamkos? Yeah, exactly. Jeremy Stamkos will officially release Cigar Sanctuaries: The Art and Science of the Modern Indoor Cigar Lounge at PCA 26.

The premium, I feel like I'm going to get hate mail now. You don't know who Jeremy is. The Premium Cigar Association's annual trade show hosted in, it's not New Orleans. Is this year New Orleans?

He messed this up. I thought Vegas. Wait a second. It's two years New Orleans and then...

Next year, first of all, it's supposed to be PCA 27. And it's in Vegas. It's not in New Orleans. Aimed at cigar retailers, lounge owners, hospitality operators, designers, engineers, and private collectors interested in the design and performance of indoor cigar spaces.

Cigar Sanctuaries focuses on the technical side of lounge environments, including air flow, smoke management, humidity control, temperature stability, filtration, acoustics, and long-term operational performance. Stamkos, the founder of Puros Environmental, has more than 30 years of experience in indoor air quality HVAC environmental systems and contamination control. In Cigar Sanctuaries, he applies that background to cigar lounges, arguing that premium cigar smoking environments should be treated as controlled indoor systems rather than simply styled spaces where smoking is allowed. I agree with this guy.

The best lounges don't fight smoke, and they don't simply try to hide it, they guide it, said Stamkos. When airflow is intentional and the environment is stable, the room feels calm, clear, and effortless. That is when the cigar and the experience become the focus. How expensive do you think this is going to be?

Super. Oh my god. Tens of thousands. Right?

Easy. Yeah. What do you think? Yeah, yeah.

It's going to be expensive, but... How about you give me some more? I mean, come on. You know Steve doesn't like to talk.

Yeah. Carry us, man, let's go. Oh, here I go, here I go. All right.

But I think this is a really good thing because a lot of lounges, like it was said, I don't think it's a guide. I think they just don't care. I don't think there's like any care in the world of like smoke being in the air. You think that's the case?

You think they don't give a shit? Yeah, whatever, put up a lounge. Yeah, well, I say they don't give a shit because I say they think of it as like this. If there's only one or two people smoking in the lounge, then you can't really tell.

But when there's five to ten people smoking in the lounge, that's a lot more smoke, right? " They probably didn't. Like, when we used to travel around a lot, like, I've noticed when there was way more people in it, it was bad, but it shouldn't have to be. I think it's a combination of things, dude.

But wait, tell me, Steve, what do you think? I don't think I've ever been to a lounge where I've seen like, like you said, maybe 10 or so people smoking, and it's not smoky. Right. I've yet to see that anywhere.

Yeah. I mean, that's a big challenge in itself, right? Yeah. I think that it's a combination of two things.

I think that as far as air movement, to get it to go to that level, for one, is very expensive. You know, it's not going to be easy. And in order to do it, like a retailer especially will look at it and they'll invest time and energy And make sure that the space is sustainable for 90% of the time. However, that one event a month, or that one thing where there's multiple people, even if they thought of the airflow system, it may not be able to handle it.

Now the retailer goes back and says, "Okay, how much is it to fix this? " You know, or it's more. What am I fixing? I'm fixing this for this one day, this one moment a month.

Where's the break even? Where does it make sense? Are the people not going to come back because of this one time? And those are questions that the retailer really has to ask themselves.

If all of those things, if all those boxes check, then yeah, they're going to have to implement it. We've always tried to upgrade our airflow over and over again. And the next thing is just some type of purge where you just suck everything out. And I think that honestly, for us, we could use it, it needs to happen, there are specific, still specific events, maybe two or three a year, where you're just absolutely packed house, and pulling that air out would be significant, but the problem is the cost, you know?

Yeah, like the customer appreciation, it gets pretty smoky. Yeah, because everybody's here. No, yeah, that's what I'm saying. Right, it's gigantic.

It's a lot of people. But yeah, it's like a fresh air, like we've talked about this before, it's like a fresh air system, right? Like you have to have a huge exhaust, and then you have to have the fresh air system pumping in new air into the lounge. Right, and where are you dumping it?

Because that person's going to look like Michael Jackson. You know? That's going to be a ton of air movement. Right.

You need a higher ceiling. It's probably multiple units. There's got to be more than one intake. Oh, for sure.

Especially depending upon the design, the landscape of the property, right? Right, the size of the shop. Yeah. Where are you drawing the smoke from?

Are you drawing it from multiple locations? Where's the fresh air coming in? You don't want it going into where you're sucking the air out. Right.

I mean, all of that needs to be considered, right, for the best outcome. So this guy's probably on to something to some degree. Cigar Sanctuaries, which focuses on four components, psychometrics, particle physics, smoke chemistry, and indoor air quality, was written to address what Stamkos sees as a gap in the cigar industry. The lack of a dedicated technical resource on how indoor cigar lounges should be designed, engineered, and maintained.

Topics covered in the book include... Oh, he's got a book. He didn't even say it. Containment, directional airflow, exhaust strategy, odor control, climate stability, material selection, lighting, automation, maintenance, and environmental reliability.

I consider myself fortunate that my professional expertise and personal passion have become so beautifully aligned. The scientific disciplines I've studied and applied over my career, particularly in optimizing indoor environments for comfort and health, translate directly to the world of cigar storage and smoking environments, said Stamkos. Limited copies of Cigar Sanctuaries will be available for purchase at PCA 26, PCA 27, I don't think it's PCA 26, buddy. You think he AI-ed his quotes?

- I think he might have had some help, and then he kind of rewrote it or edited it, so it didn't sound as... - AI-y? - Yeah. - What about you, Phil?

You think he, Phil, fucking give me something, dude. You did so good yesterday, I gave you all these compliments, now you're just like, duh. I'm giving a lot of information, I feel like I don't know if he AI'd it or not, but in this day and age, I mean, if kids are wearing metaglasses to schools, maybe he did AI it. But does it matter?

I don't know. We need to read this guy's book. See, see what the real deal is, you know? Yeah, I'd be interested in it for sure.

Yeah. So get it at PCA 26. Yes, last year, or this year. Right.

Plain packaging commences in Singapore. Since July 1st, Singapore's legislation dictates that plain packaging must occur before cigars arrive in the country. Retailers must now request distributors or manufacturers to fulfill plain packaging requirements on their behalf. Consumers buying online will be impacted as their purchases must also comply with plain packaging regulations.

Businesses such as Davidoff of Geneva, Singapore have prepared accordingly. The execution of plane packaging in Singapore is a global first for us as a company and has been an education process for all our colleagues involved, says Laurent de Rougemont, Managing Director of Davidoff of Geneva, Asia, Limited. It was a truly collaborative effort between our colleagues at the factory in the Dominican Republic and our headquarters in Switzerland and our Asian regional offices in Hong Kong. So fancy.

Ann Chen, Assisted Brand Manager at Davidoff of Geneva, Singapore. I mean, Jesus Christ, man. Redundancy of the redundancy. Confident that there will be a minimal impact on sales.

We work with, yeah, minimal on the short term, but it's going to suck long term. Right. We work with a loyal group of customers and anticipate they will return to stock up on their favorite smokes. And it's over-regulation.

Once we reopen after the, hold on, we work with a loyal group of customers and anticipate they will return the stock up on their favorite smokes once we reopen after the COVID-19 lockdown. We anticipate an impact in the gifting segment, particularly around the various holiday seasons when we are popular with those looking for a strong packaging proposition coupled with our cigars, which Davidoff brand is known for. What happened here? I, I don't know.

Like, it's almost as if you merge two things. Yeah. He's also uneasy about the sales impact on limited edition cigars. Original boxes are very important to collectors, says Lim.

Without original packaging, the value of the cigars will be severely affected. It would be akin to a vintage bottle of Chateau Lafitte being presented in plain glass bottle with no labels. Yeah, exactly. This concern is shared by consumers.

consumers trusting your retailer is now of the utmost importance and we know that some of them suck maybe more than some with plain packaging how do you know you are getting what you paid for this is a really long article uh yeah i think it was this was this kind of like what i was touching on yesterday with um keanu and uh sigi i didn't get that far oh um yeah we were talking I've been talking about some plain packaging stuff going on internationally, and I mean, I don't agree with it at all, I mean, I think it's really bad, because now you're just blind tasting, basically, like, yeah, how do you know that's a Davidoff? Because it says it with a plain packaging. But you don't know. You don't know, it could be anything.

Yeah, what if, what if you're like a lot of these guys, right, and they take all the cigars out of the box or whatever. Yeah. And then they put them in their box and they have no labels. They have nothing.

And then they go to they go to light up one. They're like, oh, what's that? You're like, okay, so. All right.

I mean, I got really nothing on this. Yes, it's overregulation. It's a it's an overreach. I'm not going to Singapore.

Singapore needs to be, you know, they need to work on this. This is stupid. It's a super. I mean, okay.

You as a brand, right? If for some reason, America went to plain packaging, right? How would, Would you still be able to show a Pustani cigar once it was out of the original box? I would pair it with a complimentary suppressor that's no longer tack stamped and I'd put the cigar band on the suppressor.

Nice. Yes. That would work. America.

So it's the bands and the boxes? That's what it sounds like, yeah. Yeah. It's just plain packaging throughout.

Well, well, yesterday's was your plain packaging was described as, uh, just paper like, uh, uh, the brown paper. Okay. That was it. There was no label on it.

No, nothing other than a warning label that said smoking was bad. Meanwhile, your Zen shit's got all these different colors. You can suck on so many different sacks at this point. Yeah.

Yeah. It's just ridiculous. Your batteries got little lightning bolts on them. Yeah.

I don't know. I think a band is a huge part of the cigar. It helps tell the story. Mm-hmm.

You know, I think a lot of thought goes into the design of the bands and what's on the box. Yeah, I agree. I think, I think when I see somebody now, maybe it's getting a little too much into it, but I think when I walk into a lounge and I see somebody smoking a cigar and I can tell what cigar it is by the band, I can tell what type of person they are. Really?

Yeah. Do you ever do that? No, go ahead. Elaborate.

Yeah, I mean, like, okay. Yeah, tell me. I'm going to have to say brand. Go ahead.

I want to know where you're going with this. Okay. So like, if I see somebody smoking a Padrón, I'm like, oh, okay. He spent some money.

He's sophisticated. You know, the Thousand Series? The Thousand Series isn't that expensive. Yeah.

Even the Thousand Series. You know why? Why? Because that guy cares.

You think that because he smokes Padrón, he cares? He cares. He cares. It's kind of like, you know, Steve with his shoes.

Mm-hmm. Like Steve has great shoes. So he does. So he cares.

He cares. Okay. Yeah. So that's how I think of like the Padrón.

Okay. When I see somebody, okay, let's go to like Roma. Yeah, go ahead. When I see somebody smoking a Roma, I'm like, yo, that dude's a badass.

Okay. Because that guy knows what's up? Yeah, he knows. He's into cigars.

He knows about tobaccos. He probably knows about, you know, bourbons or whatever other type of liquor. You know, those guys are pretty sophisticated. Okay.

If that guy's smoking an EPC, what does that tell you about the guy? I'll wait. Hmm. It's a hardcore dude.

It's a, it's a hardcore dude? Are you talking about like the Cro-Magnon? No, I'm talking about Ernesto Perez-Carrillo. Oh, I'm sorry.

Oh. Yeah. What does that tell you about the guy? He likes Cigar Page?

He likes Cigar Page? I'm sorry. I didn't say Oliva, bro. Or Cigar Bid.

Like Cigar Bid? He's a value consumer? Yeah, he's a valued dude. Okay, all right, what about Foundation?

Oh, COD, baby! No, sorry. I don't know, I mean, look, we were talking about Foundation yesterday, Foundation for me, there's only a couple that I smoke, I think Foundation is a good brand, like I like their marketing stuff, the reggae thing is really cool. But we ship the COD when I see people yeah, when I see people smoking a foundation and there's not I don't see a lot yeah right but when I see somebody smoking a foundation I feel like they're in between cigars for some reason you feel like they're in between cigar like like they're not committed to a brand right yeah exactly okay I don't know why I think like that but but I just look at the cigar I'm like well why did you grab the foundation?

- Yeah. - Was there not a Pustania or a Roma? - Okay. - Was there not the Padrón?

Was there not the, you know, like, why did you go to Foundation and not Room 101? Why did you go to Foundation? - Oh, you took Room 101 over Foundation? - Yeah.

- Okay. - Okay, let's even think of it like this. - Well, here's what's funny. Like, both of those guys work with AJ.

I completely understand, but for some reason, to me, when I spoke of Room 101, it's got a better taste, a smoother... It makes your balls tingle a little bit? I don't want to talk about that because then Matt Booth will get on here like a pixie. Because it's attached to Matt Booth?

Yeah. Boop, there he goes. He popped up in the corner now. Hey, how are you?

I'm going to tickle your balls. No, but I do like Room 101 more than I like foundation. - So do you judge a person by what they smoke? - No, I don't think I could do it just off of one cigar, 'cause like he was saying, like, okay, the guy with the Padrón, he's saying he cares, but like, what if his buddy bought it for him?

- Right, that's a good point. - You know, so like, I need to see like, I don't know, several cigars. - I mean, he could just buy the Padrón because it's a high-end cigar and it's expensive, and he's like, okay, I only smoke the best. Meanwhile, he doesn't know, you know?

So I don't take it that way, for sure, and as far as foundation goes, I think that Nick's one of the, I say this like a bajillion times, is one of the greatest blenders in our generation, now like is it some of the business stuff that they do, question mark, yes, but you know, sending something COD, I don't know what that was about, I mean there's definitely some things there, but like we all have things, you know. Oh, I wasn't saying Foundation was bad. Yeah, I know. I get it.

You said it was bad. I get it. No, but like, if you're smoking a Dunbar and if you're smoking a Foundation, if you're smoking an Espinosa, if you're having one of these cigars, then I think that you're a little more hip to brands. Yeah, yeah, exactly.

Yeah, like an Espinosa, you know what's up. But if you come in like just, I smoke Legacy stuff, you might not necessarily know what's up. Yeah, if somebody's smoking a Monte Cristo, I'm like, man, this guy's lost. Yeah.

You leave that guy alone. Sorry. He pays a premium for those cigars. Yeah.

Okay. There's something about an India Cigar Club open subscription service from... India? Yeah.

Oh, okay. Come by now. Subscription ideal for newbies, yada, yada. Each subscription includes a surprise edible.

Oh, it's an edible. You get to eat something with a cigar. All right, you ready? Okay, now you gotta do it with enthusiasm.

Yeah, come on, Steve. Okay. What are we doing? We're gonna do industry's favorite game.

Do you watch the show? Yeah, the what's the score thing? Yeah. " Okay.

All right. Now it's time for industry's favorite game. What's the score? Good job.

Can you predict a cigar score from a half-wheeled review before it's revealed? We'll give you clues. You make your guess. As the review unfolds, the answer gets closer.

Or does it? Or does it? Dun, dun, dun, dun. The closest guest wins.

Do you want the sparklers? Are they plugged in? I don't know. Where are they?

See that remote right there? See your left? This one? Yeah.

Hit the power button. I'm gonna give you the sparklers. There you go. Okay.

Let's play What's the Score? August 18, 2026, Brooks Whittington Cigars, Nicaragua Reviews, Scandinavian Tobacco Group, Room Oney, Room Oney? Room 1y, Room 101. Oh, here we go!

Johnny Tobacconot Maduro Robusto. Oh, that's delicious. Phil, go ahead and guess your score. 99.

99. Steve, you go. 90. 90.

Yes. Cigar Reviewed, Room 101, Johnny Tobacconot Maduro Robusto, Country of Origin, Nicaragua. J. A.

80 release date June 5th 2026, its regular production and cigars reviewed for this review, 3. Oh. Phil? This is a really good cigar, so I'll be serious.

92. Steve? I think I'm going to stay at 90. Alright, first clue.

The cigars deliver rich, full-bodied flavor profiles that evolve noticeably throughout the smoking experience, beginning with espresso, cocoa nibs, Fudgy Sweetness, and Black Pepper before transitioning into Charred Meat, Anise, Blackberry Sweetness, Cinnamon, and Salted Nuts. Phil's favorite movie. Go ahead Phil, what do you got? Hey, you know what?

I recant. 99. Coco Nibs is in there. 99.

Steve? 91. Construction is not completely flawless, as a second cigar has a large soft spot beneath it. Beneath it, it's secondary band, while the second and third cigars each require a burn correction to keep their burn lines properly on track.

There's only two clues, did I miss one? Oh yeah, no, I got, okay, there's a third one. Well, what's with these guys and burning issues? Like, they got to be smoking outside or under the AC or so.

Okay, where are you going? 92. Steve? 89.

Okay. Overall construction is impressive, with excellent draw resistance, consistently high smoke production, and mostly reliable performance across all three cigars, despite their rough, heavily-veined wrappers and unusually firm feel. Wow. Must have been Matt Booth writing.

Firm. Well, I'm going to be honest with you guys, this isn't a Pustania, so they're not going to count off for it, right, for the burn corrections. So, I'm thinking 92. Steve?

It sounded like he liked it. I don't know if he's going to ding it as much for burn corrections as someone else would have. I'm going to say 90. Bold yet refined.

Here's the final thought. The Room 101 Johnny Tobacco Nut Maduro is an excellent example of a medium full blend that does not skimp on the flavors it delivers. The profile is dense and complex, with a wonderful blackberry sweetness on the retrohale that pairs well with the black pepper. Yes, the combination of spice and black pepper was a bit aggressive in the first puffs, but it calmed down nicely after that, and other than two minor burn corrections, the construction was excellent.

This may not be the most attractive cigar in the world, but it's one of the best Mroom 101 cigars I have smoked in quite a while. And I look forward to seeing how some rest changes the profile. Mm. Phil, what is your final score?

91. Okay. What was I at before, 91? 89.

No, I think I bumped up. I think he, it sounded like he really liked it. I'm gonna go 92. You sure?

Yeah. You can't ask him twice. Steve, unfortunately, you went the wrong way. Oh!

It was an 89. Wow. Whoa, he had it. Yeah, he had it.

There will be no additional fireworks for you as I am doing the editing. All right. Well, hey, this wraps up our show. Steve, thank you so much for filling in today.

Yeah, thanks, Steve. No problem. This is what Steve looks like. He handles all the f***ing for Cigar Hustlers, so if you guys have any questions, just go ahead and text him at his home whenever, you know, he's happy to help.

He works 24 hours a day. 24/7. Yeah. Phil, you got anything else to add?

Nope. Thank you to everybody listening to us and thank you for all the comments for yesterday. That was great. Yeah.

And then thanks for botching us today. Yeah. Like and subscribe wherever you're viewing and listening to the show. com for all your swag.

com, us, Cigar Hustlers, Pod. Thank you so much for listening. We hope we provided great edutainment for you today, and we look forward to seeing you tomorrow. All right, bye.

Show Notes

No U.S. cigar news today — so episode 599 of the Cigar Hustlers Podcast goes international. Mikey and Steve are on the desk with Phil McGuffey in engineering, covering Singapore's plain-packaging rollout, a new technical book on lounge air quality, and one of the best "what does your cigar say about you" conversations the show has done.Before that: Florida wants to test flying cars (eVTOL air taxis) at SunTrax in Polk County before the end of 2026, a federal judge lifts NFA restrictions on silencers and short-barreled rifles for certain Texans, and Pinellas County Schools bans Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses from campus. Then it's "What's the Score?" on halfwheel's Room 101 Johnny Tobacconaut Maduro Robusto review.