Today's Cigar News & Reviews | CHPOD 652

Transcript

- Don't throw it! - You already broke it, one. - 3-2-1. - That's how it gets broken.

- You already broke it, one. - 3-2-1, GFY. - Welcome to the Broken Signs. I've got a This is the Cigar Hustler Podcast, Premium Cigars, Unfiltered Opinions and Conversations, Zach King, go any way.

Turn off your phone. You want to get that? You want to get that? It's your wife again.

You want to get that? It's your wife. Tell her we're doing a podcast. You better answer it.

I'll tell her you're doing a podcast. Oh, good luck with that. You're going to be met with a fury. We're doing a podcast, sorry.

Are you texting it? Yeah, I'm texting it. Oh, no. I'm texting her.

Michael, your phone's going to ring. It sure is. And I'm going to answer. I just answered during B-roll.

He didn't even have it on. I'm your host, Mike BDP Palmer, joining me today is my co-host, back from his trip where he bought Iceland and moved it to Poland, Triple G superstar. It wasn't very expensive. Welcome home.

No, not for you. It's $5. It costs $5. Iceland is actually very expensive.

Yes. It's very expensive. And it's not the things that you think that it is. Right.

It's like food. So two bowls of soup, a Coca-Cola and a coffee was $110. What kind of soup? And soup.

Just the regular soup, you know. What is regular Iceland soup? I don't know. Like just soup.

Just, you know, liquid. Tomato soup. Yeah, liquid with goat in it. Vegetable soup.

Stuff like that. Goat. So the alarming one was gas. To fill up a tank of like a regular vehicle was 200 American dollars.

What do you think a regular vehicle is for our rich friend here, Mike? It's a Rolls Royce of some sort. That was a special gas. It was regular gas.

Special Icelandic gas. You know how much it costs to load up that Lamborghini? It was a Lamborghini. It was ridiculous.

I got it on sale, though. It was a rental for two bucks. My wife had a coupon. Yeah.

It was a Groupon Special. The only Lambo in Iceland. Yeah. Unfortunately for me, I had to put gas in it.

Very expensive. Can you believe it didn't come with? Very expensive. Don't worry.

I used the corporate card. Had to even it up. And then I visited a cigar shop. It was a cigar shop, so the whole trip's a write-off.

We talked about cigars. We did. Yeah. While I was getting this.

Yes. Hello, Icelandic man, do you like cigars? Do you know who I am? Have you seen a Cigar Housers podcast?

My podcast. They call me the superstar. Triple G. I'm kind of a big deal.

The people that work for me call me the superstar. I'm a big deal. They work for me. I'm a big deal.

Okay, then over in engineering booth, his favorite place, because he's away from us, Mikey Szczepankewicz. It's quiet over here. Thank you. Thank you for having me.

Thank you for being here. Thank you, Greg, for having me. You're welcome. Yes.

Thank you for coming. Yeah. You notice today when I said who's available, he immediately, I am. I am.

I'm available. I was, I was upstairs. I've been here early. Without hesitation.

And as soon as I saw that, I was like, fuck. He's back. He's back. That's okay.

He seems like he's in good spirits. I am. Well, you know, you made that comment about, you know, when I come back off from these things that I'm very angry and I'm always yelling at people and everything is wrong. So I'm trying to We're trying to make an attempt at not doing that this time around.

Everything is good. Everything is very good. Yeah, it was funny because everybody was like, or somebody said, I don't know, I'm not gonna say who, but somebody said, do you think Greg's gonna be upset that nobody's bothered calling him and that we're just crashing? And I was like, probably, probably.

What are you talking about? I had many correspondence with people via phone while I was over there. Did somebody text you? Who texted you?

I had text messages, there was slacking, there was... Well, slack wasn't directed to you. Who called you? Jake.

Jake had to call you. I spoke with Jake, I spoke with my brother, but my brother was about other things too as well. He doesn't count. He definitely counts.

He's a brother. Oh, he considers you an employee. No, I'm saying people need me is what I'm trying to say. I'm a necessary cog.

All right. Perfect. From cigar sports and business to pop culture and the wildest headlines, if it's worth discussing, we're going to talk about it. No safe spaces, just real perspectives, big laughs, and the chance for everything to go off the rails at any moment.

Nice. Light one up, settle in, and welcome to a Cigar Hustler Podcast. Dun, dun, dun. On today's show, a Learjet crashing in West Palm.

Holy moly, I saw this video. This is the saddest thing I have seen. Well, wait, did, all right. Russia gets a, I was gonna ask another question, but then we might as well start the show.

Yeah. Russia gets a nuclear war alert. Okay. Uh, father, why is there an AR-15 in your car?

What? Father, as in priest. Because it's a boondock saint. That's why.

Yeah. No. Because this is Marca. That's why.

Marca. Oh, then it goes into... Then we got a couple of new cigars. We've got a review we're going to talk about because I assume you've seen it, so we can't put it on What's the Score.

I have not seen it. Did somebody review our stuff? Yes. I figured by now you would have heard it was yesterday.

On Half Wheel? Yes. Oh, no. Is it good?

We will see. Oh, boy. I haven't seen it. I swear to God.

Well, I didn't pull it for what's the score, but I do have it as a story. This is cool because you get to see my genuine response of either A, excitement or B, extreme disappointment, and then I may fly to Dallas and go find Charlie. All right, first, Michael, what's going on in the lounge? All right, well, first of all, like and subscribe wherever you're viewing or listening to the show.

com for all your chpod swag. This episode's been recorded a little early, so I don't know what the comments are going to look like. However, I'm going to tell you this, my children's fundraiser, you guys are absolutely crushing it, and I'm very humbled by all your generosity. Thank you so much, guys.

We're getting closer and closer to their goal. Shout out to my guy, Miguel Rocha, who just made a very nice donation. You were the man, bro. " Thank you so much, brother.

Man, I love that, dude. I love the media guys coming together and some of the things that I'm starting to see from some of you guys, like, we're going to all be pretty badass, you know what I mean? We're going to work together and we're going to level this whole game up. So thank you very much, guys.

It's awesome that you're doing that. If you want to donate, go to the CH Pod Lounge. It's the pinned one that says "Fundraiser Giveaway" Again, I got some goodies and I'm going to be giving away that I can't say what I'm giving away, but I'm going to be giving some stuff away, so I appreciate everybody who does that. Now, some comments from the show.

It's a little light, like I said, because we're a few hours early, but my boy CW6383 says, "A male sheep is a ram. " Ew. Did you know that, Greg? I did not know that.

Did you know that, Palmer? I had forgotten, but yes, I have heard that before. I mean, you're a farmer. He was a farmer.

I didn't have any sheep, though. Did you have any ewes? No. Any rams?

No. Did you ram a ew? No. I didn't see a video over the weekend, though, of a ram coming up behind a guy and shoving his head through a fence.

That's pretty cool. Yeah. If you had sheep, do you think that you would do something inappropriate with a sheep? No.

Are you sure? Now this episode's gonna be banned. Right. Now we just got banned from-- He did it.

He told you not to do this, and he's doing it himself. He's doing it himself. Would you bring the sheep to a cliff and have it only have one option to back up? No.

Are you sure? Plus there's no cliffs in Florida. Would you make a man-made cliff? No, that sounds like a lot of work.

Something with like a five, well, you know, people do strange things for strange things, you know what I'm saying? I wouldn't even have thought of this, so you go ahead with your stories. You know, your counters are just so weak. I didn't even think of that.

You go ahead. Yeah, you go ahead. Back them up. I forgot how much he picks on you.

Yeah. Wait, I posted that picture over the weekend of my wife washing her car, and then I wasn't helping because she said I was doing it wrong? Yeah. " Yes, this is my life.

This is it, in a nutshell. Hey, I was working really hard for you this entire weekend, making better systems for your... Yes, we're going to have to go over that together, because I looked at it, it looks the same. I thought there would be new options or something?

There are. Okay, maybe mine has to... Did you close out the window at all? Yeah, it closes out every time I turf my computer, and I have to re-log in.

All right, well, we'll check it out together. So yeah, so sheep. Sheep. Sheep.

Sheep. Ram. Ram. " Yeah, they've been doing Year of the Rat forever.

Wow. Yeah. Forever. " Yeah, thanks, bro.

Thanks. I got it. I got it. He argued with Keanu and I last week that the Nico Rustica was not Connecticut Broadleaf, it was Habano.

Who argued that? Originally. The man who's been in the industry for 18 years, which he emphasized. He emphasized every time he told us it.

I mean, there's a lot of cigars. You can forget stuff. He was very adamant. Thank you, Greg.

Thank you. Of course he was adamant. Half of getting there is being confident when you're lying. I mean, you're just gonna sell it.

" It wasn't. Even after the internet. He stuck to it. Yeah.

He pulled a card out of Trump's book. " Wait, wait. It goes deeper. It's not happening.

Then he contacted Nick Malillo, who also said it was Connecticut Broadway. I did. I went right to the source. D.

has also said that it is going to be right. Oh, that's beautiful. Hey, idiot. And he's doubling down, too.

He's like, no, no, no. All you guys are wrong. All wrong. Somebody ask Saka.

Saka won't remember. At this point, I'm like, we're moving on. We're moving on. It is.

I'm not saying it. It's the worst saying ever. But yeah, no. It's Tabano.

Still holding on. I don't mind. I don't mind admitting when I'm wrong. I screwed that one up.

I mean, you know, at least I'm not out here deliberately, delusionally making comments in this industry. I saw a clip of a guy the other day, and he said that he was in the industry for 20 years, I'm like, you have been? Like, where? What have you been doing?

Like, you, like, openly just said that? I don't, I'd have to fact check that, but it doesn't sound accurate to me. I haven't, you've been in the industry for about two years, three years, but, I mean, I guess if you carry the one, maybe that goes to 20? I don't, I don't know.

I don't know, I don't know what you're doing. Maybe he's counting smoking too. I found that comical. At least I'm just, you know, stupid, not delusional.

At Jared Harper from the CH Pod Lounge says, "Reinhard was great. Laughed hard at his la la la la la reaction when you were ribbing him about the Cuban cigars. You guys can continue to find cool little adjustments to keep the show fresh. Not easy when pumping out five episodes a week.

" Thank you, Jared. Appreciate that. Yeah, Reinhardt was really cool. It was a good show.

Yeah, you know, because we've already done the interview with him and now he's just kind of come into the fold. Like, hey, you're in, just come down and get on the show, you know? Yeah, I liked him from the moment I met him. He's always been just so genuine.

He's a cool dude. Yeah, very fun guy. Yeah, just warm, you know what I mean? Yeah.

It's like a good guy, wants people to succeed, just very easy to get along with. And so well-dressed. Yeah, and he needs... Tux pajamas.

Tux pajamas, thank you. Does he actually have tuxedo pajamas? No, we're going to work on that. He looks like the type of dude that would have tuxedo pajamas.

You would think so. For sure. But if he gets them, he's coming right back to the show, and he's going to wear money. I love it.

Yes, it's going to happen. So if you want to crack open that vault... You want to bust up... Well, he just had $100 soup, so vault's a little low.

Oh, a couple of weeks, he'll be fine. Yeah, he'll be fine. He'll rebound. Right.

Mmm, expensive soup. And gas. Lovely trip, but he's going to complain about that soup forever. I got that bill, I'm like, what just happened here?

There was two bowls of soup and a soda. It was wild. Well, you said coffee too. And the coffee, you're right.

There was another. Did you call the waiter over? No, no, no. Sir, excuse me.

Two soups, one soda? It wasn't a waiter. It was like, order at this counter, take your plate on a tray and go sit. Like a cafeteria?

Yeah. Oh, like a theme park? It was wild. It was $110.

And then the fuel, when we filled up the car the first time, it didn't click. But like an hour later, I'm like, looking at the receipt, and I grab the calculator to figure out, you know, Icelandic dollars to American dollars. I'm like, that was $200 for a tank of gas. It's Icelandic dollars?

Yeah, yeah. What do they call their money? There's a word for it. I don't know.

I'm an... Icelandic dollars? Yeah, I'm an ignorant American. I'm an American.

I just walk around throwing Benjamins at everybody. Do you know who I am? I am a Cigar Hostess podcast. I am a superstar.

I am a superstar. What is a Icelandic money called? They're called Greggs. Krona, Kroner.

Okay, that's it, yeah. Oh. Yeah, not the Euro, although Iceland is part of the... Oh, God.

It's part of the EU. Okay, sound it out. Schengen area. There you go, exactly.

It is not a member of the European Union and does not use the Euro. There was another thing that happened that was really weird. So we flew into Iceland, right? Yeah.

And then we flew into Poland. So you go into Iceland. Right. The passport check, the whole thing that you would expect from a foreign country, right?

Sure. Then from Iceland, which is not Poland. Right. Right?

Into Poland, no one checked my passport. Just walked right into that country. Well, they're Polish. No.

I don't know what that means. They don't know they're supposed to. No, it's not that. It's one of the safest countries in the world.

Something to do with their affiliation with other countries. Oh. Like, so they actually considered it like a domestic flight, flying from Iceland to Poland, even though, obviously, it's not domestic. Right.

Right? One country went to another. Right, yeah. It's two totally different countries.

Altogether. Altogether, yeah. Right, but different money. Totally different money.

Totally different money. Can you use Icelandic money? No, there's Poland dollars. There's Poland dollars.

Over by the spring. You get them over by the spring. What is a Poland dollar called? I want to know what the Polish currency is.

Oh, Polish currency. That's right. The Dolorinski. The Zioti.

Yeah, everything in Poland, very inexpensive. It's Z. It's Z. Very inexpensive.

Very inexpensive. Very, very good. Yeah. Not expensive.

How, how, what about the gas? Fuel was very, very affordable. Lodging, very, very affordable. We stayed at one hotel that was like really, really impressive.

Yeah. And we checked in like that day. She booked it that day. We booked it like an hour before we arrived.

And as we're unloading everything from the car, she's like, you're not going to believe what we got this hotel for. And I said a number, and she said no. Then lower, and then lower, and then I'm like, what? It was really, really affordable.

They're giving us money? It was pretty close. Wow. It was pretty close.

Were there light bulbs in the room? Very nice hotel. In all of the hotels, they all have a sauna and a spa that's included in the stay. Oh.

Did you use the sauna while you were there? No, I didn't. We didn't have time. Spa?

You didn't have time to get in a sauna for 20 minutes? No. We were way too busy. Super busy?

Super busy. So busy that when you went to the room, you were asleep in 10 minutes. And then you're waking up early the next day. Because there was hiking, and waterfalls, and ice caves, and salt mines, and Auschwitz, we did that, too.

It was a lot. It was a lot. You did the Auschwitz? We did the Auschwitz.

How was that? You know, you learn a lot. I'm getting a weird feed. How about now?

Is it my mic? Stop talking. Sounds better now. Okay, go ahead.

Well, you really don't grasp the gravity of it, you know, until you see it. It was, it was pretty wild. Um, yeah, sure. Like the, knowing that upon arrival, there were two groups that were separated, right?

All the men went one direction, and then all the women and children upon arrival, they just went right into the gas chambers. There, there, there was, there was no time. It's like, you got there, you were lied to, you were told you were gonna have a new life, and then as soon as you get there, you're, you're murdered. It was it was very, very heavy and the Poles man like you know they're they're tough people but when they were liberated they weren't liberated they're they were occupied by the Soviets for decades afterwards like after the war it's it's crazy crazy and you really don't learn that much about it here in the United States you know it was it was a cool experience though learned a lot nice yeah I don't have a joke for that one yeah there is no joke no that one should be no joke yeah there's a there's a lot of stuff i'll leave out of that gonna let that one go right uh my boy lance says i got to see this episode on saturday but i still rewatched it in this morning great show tuxedo pajamas ha yeah um that one's on me a little bit i'm continuing to kind of push the envelope here on the development on the site and trying to make palmer's life a little bit easier integrating specific things so that uploading gets easier I hear it's censorship so that anytime we curse it's removed, we're actually integrating now our shorts onto it, I'm getting rid of Opus Clips, just trying to level things up, and unfortunately when you do that sometimes the other things break, so that's not gonna stop me, I just want you to know that's always been my mentality, I just kind of go in and just deal with it, and I'm just hoping to make Palmer's life a little bit easier and just make things a little bit more better for you guys.

Have we tested the automatic profanity editor yet? Yeah, yeah, yeah, it works well. Yeah. Yeah, it works great.

Greg had a good point. The clips used to, the shorts used to say CH pod and sort of that ghost image on it. Yeah, I removed the watermark. Can we put it back?

We can, I don't know if it's advantageous for views. Okay, oh, okay, I gotcha. Did it say that was one of the things that was holding us back? No, are you hearing that or no, in your ear?

No, no, not at all. And I'm watching over here on the monitor, it doesn't appear to be showing up in the green. Okay, it's gone again. It's like click, click, click, and then it disappears.

Is it this? No. No, it's like a feed in a line. Yeah, I think that when you watermark something, it actually hurts your views.

Right. So I like the idea, the concepts of what Greg's kind of thinking about and doing for the show. So we'll start integrating it that way. Cool, yeah.

I think that'll be a better aesthetic. Done and done. No problem. Ruckus Unchained.

Sharon. That's mom. It's your mom. You should make a Powstanie Lancero.

Wow. Yeah, you know what, listen, I get comments all the time about smaller cigar, we should make something that's a little bit smaller in the evenings. In the evenings, I know Team Money mentioned it a couple of times, Lance Harrell's been mentioned too, I think if you did something like that, it would have to be like a small run, like a limited run or something, I wouldn't want it to be core or anything like that, I don't think that it sells as fast, nearly as fast as the other three major sizes that we carry. I mean, you know, your Abuso, your Toro, and your Corona Gordo, you're going to be your three mains.

The Bellicoso and the Perfecto are kind of our one-offs, you know, as far as the core is concerned, and I think adding to that would just make things a little more complicated. But I don't know, maybe we do a set or something like that, you got to talk to, we'll have to talk to Skip, we'll have to give him lots of money, and then he'll have to tell me, he'll have to tell me no, and then I'm a horrible person, and I need to sell more core and all these things. Well, there's two different things that you said there, right? There's a small cigar and then there's a Lancero because I mean, the small cigar, the concept is not a lot of time to enjoy the cigar.

I don't think that a Lancero necessarily smokes fast, right? Yeah, no, and that was the two comments that have kind of been brought up. Those are the two things that I get requests for the most, a Lancero and like a Panatella. And a Panatella for me would be great just because I want something to smoke in the morning and I don't want to just chop a Corona Gorda every single time.

That's what I do a lot, but I would prefer a little baby Connecticut's and stuff like that instead of dicing up the corn. Like a Wieselito size, like that small? A little bit bigger. A little bit bigger?

Because a Wieselito is a chopped Lancero. Right. So, yeah, man, who knows? Who knows what the future holds?

We'll see. By the way, your mother was in the hospital. Oh, I didn't know that. Yeah, well, she called me, and we had an interesting, or she texted me, and we had an interesting conversation, and once I was asking her questions, when she was saying things that didn't make sense, she dismissed me with, I don't know, I'm in the emergency room.

I'm like, okay, I don't, I don't know, like, how we got there, but - And how recent, 24, 48, 72 hours, what? - Probably 24. Oh, okay, so recently. Yeah, I haven't called her since I've arrived back, so I'll do that.

Ooh. That's okay, 'cause I didn't ask-- She goes find out when you got back. I didn't ask how she was doing, so you're still number one, don't worry. " Well, you're gonna check in.

But you're my baby boy. I have to know you're okay. No, it's vacation. " But like, we're long past the days of, you know-- You can be checking in every time I know that.

Like that's not happening anymore. So she has this crazy theory that the post office is corrupted and steals envelopes. Yes, she does. It's true.

So her logic now is that she sends the cards for my kids and stuff to the shop, which is still the post office, but is better. So what happens is when she sends something like a Halloween card, they're like, "Guess what? Sometimes I forget them and I don't bring them home. I'm like, hey, just ship them to my house.

Well, that one time they disappeared. I'm like, that was like 700 years ago. Stuff gets lost in the mail all the time. You know?

Yeah, and you generally don't check the mail for the shop either. Yeah, and then she's like, well, you know, no, it's been getting worse and worse up there. I'm like, up where? You haven't sent anything to my house in five years.

How do you know it's getting worse? There. And she's like, I don't know. I'm in the hospital.

I'm in the emergency room. " Oh, she didn't lead with that. I see what you're saying. Yeah, once the conversation kind of developed, and- It was not going her way.

And when you're asking questions, she's like, "I'm dying right now. " I can't talk to you now. The doctor has come in. Yeah, I'm like, "Okay, I don't-" Yes, doctor, he's being mean to me again.

Yeah, alright. It's not the good one. I'll talk to you later, or I'll come pick up your body. I don't know, you know, like one way or the other, just let me know.

One way or the other, I'll be there. I'll be there. Yeah. I'll swing by.

You know? And then finally, from my man, Dalton Wulston Holm: I'd say I would play it off like the ATM only gave 150 bucks, but when the watch me standing there on camera for an hour waiting for it to spit out 150,000, I think that would give it away. Yes. There must have been some sort of a story where somebody got $150,000 from an ATM?

Yeah, there was $150,000 from an ATM, since you have some kind of nose-mustache issue today. I know, I am, it's bothering me. Yeah, there was $150,000 that was spewed out of an ATM, I'm like, I ain't returning it. I didn't steal it.

This is a legit story, like an ATM had $150,000 in it? Yeah, that I found out as well. I don't know about that. Who knows?

That's wild. Who knows? Here's what I can... I don't know.

I probably wouldn't turn it in. I feel like they're insured. That's on you. And I didn't steal anything.

So, whatever. My moral compass is gone at that point. So, yeah. But I will tell you what is really frustrating for me right now, kind of pivoting off of that, the text messages for these campaigns, man, just out of control.

Oh, I'm getting tons. Obnoxious. Oh, I got another one this morning. Absolutely obnoxious.

It's so much to a point where I'm like, I want to go back and look, and whoever didn't text me, I just want to vote for that. Vote for that guy? Yeah. Like, why did you pick this person?

Maybe because they didn't text me. It feels so intrusive, and I don't need to hear the slander instantly on a text message. Like, you know, the mayor of Seminole County is a criminal and, you know, she neglects her children and all this stuff. And I'm like, I don't even know who she is, but I kind of want to hear more about her story now.

I'm intrigued because it sounds like you're throwing her under the bus for no reason and she may get my vote, you know, like this is just, it's obnoxious. Whoever thought that this was the right marketing tool is extremely wrong, in my opinion. Well, I think the problem is that it actually does work. I think the masses of people see that and they act upon it.

A lot of them don't take the time to think about it like, you know, like you do. - You don't think those people are getting annoyed by them like the way I am? - I think that there are a lot of people that see things and they repeat it without actually doing research. You know what I mean?

And this is a new avenue. They've been using social media for such a long time and it's not as sticky as it used to be. So now they're using text messages and you have those sheeple that are gonna get these messages. - Oh, sheeple.

- Sheeple, yeah. You know, flock cameras, sheeple, the whole same thing, right? That are going to look at it and say, yeah, well, this is the way I'm going to vote because I got this text message and it must be true. Oh yeah, they worded mine where it is from Ron DeSantis.

Right. He is texting me. Hi, I'm Ron. Hi, Ron.

It's me, Ron, Mike. I need you to go vote for this. Certainly, sir. Right away.

Or vote for Byron. Right away. I mean, 75,000 text messages from all these different campaigns and these different things. However, if I want to let a customer know that a cigar that they like, they have to opt in, It's coming.

Hey, just so you know, the cigar that you enjoy, it's back in stock, and I just want to let you know if you need it, just let me know. I'm not here to push any sale on you, just informing you. I'm not saying that the mother of the cigar was a rapist or anything like that. Nothing insane.

Just here to help. Oh, yeah. Well, you know what? I need your blood type.

I need a permission slip from your parents, even if they're alive or dead, in order to send you this text message. I don't understand how that works. This is absolutely insane to me. Well, there's more money in politics.

That's why. Yeah, no kidding. Yeah. For sure.

So anyways, if you want to hear comment read aloud on the show, simply comment below on this YouTube page or in the CH Pod Lounge. Pick up some merch, support your boys, because we don't take ads from brands, because we say things all the time about all of them. And they won't advertise with us. They won't?

They would. I'm sure they would. They'd do it in a heartbeat. The problem is the checks would stop the moment you start talking.

Like, do you hear what they said? What did they say? Cancel the check. Cancel the check.

Look, here's what I'm going to tell you, man. What's your average cost, $4,000, $5,000 to take on a brand for the year, right? Yeah. Something like that?

Okay. Times that by four, get four slots, call it six, right? Right. So what's that?

6, 12, 18, 21, 24, 25, G's, call it $30,000. You make $30,000 to cover all of this and have all of these people and all of these ads, these time sucks of these ads, right? Split that across the board, $10,000 plus cost of building this thing and all the other stuff, so what? You made an extra $7,000 a piece this year, something like that, right?

Right. And now you can't say how you feel about anything. So you sold your soul for $7,000 for six brands that you can no longer say when they mess up. How does that make sense?

Do you think there's a line? Like whenever I'm monetizing something, I always think that there's a line. You know what I mean? Right?

" You know what I mean? We took on this many brands and there was $250,000 worth of revenue this year from ads alone. So for that, okay, I'm not going to talk poorly about those that are within my portfolio they're paying me. What's the line, Mike?

Is there one? I don't have a line. There's no line for my brother. There's no line.

There's no line? No. No, but you want to know why? And it's very easy for me because I have no problem.

I don't think that the world is filled with god-awful people. I think that it's filled with people that make mistakes, a lot of mistakes. And I don't have an issue with saying when somebody makes a mistake. Now, a lot of people will have an issue with saying somebody made a mistake if that person is giving them money, right?

So, for me, there is no line. Now, there are people in this industry, in my opinion, that are evil and are god-awful, but it's only a handful. It's not as big as you think, you know, and I think a lot of times people get a bad rap because they make a mistake, And then it gets buried or covered up, or some of this other stuff, and that's where things get kind of murky, right? So that's kind of where I'm at on that, man.

I'm not gonna sell my soul for 7, 10, 20, 100, it's just not gonna happen. 2 million? Nah, 2 million's not enough. Okay, there really is no line.

Yeah, you know, like, I don't think that there's enough money in the industry for me to change my moral compass. Yeah, that's a different question then. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I don't think it's in any industry, you know what I mean?

Honestly, no. You know, now, I mean, me personally, I would do god-awful things. - For money? - For money, you know?

If it meant that my family was secure for the rest of their life, sure, I don't care. I don't care about me. I care about them. If they're good, like, yeah, what the hell.

Okay. You know? - What's your line, Greg? - Not two million.

- Five dollars. $5, that's one more trip to Iceland for me. No, not for $5. Can't even buy soup.

Maybe just a really nice car. Something nice. This is why you're not in charge of the podcast. Maybe a nice McLaren.

He wants the McLaren. He's always wanted a McLaren. Isn't that weird? Why the McLaren?

It's such a pretty car. It really is. I think they're very, very good looking. Have you seen the Pagani?

Yeah, but I mean, that's like a whole other comma there, bro. Someone's got to say nice things about cigar people. I would take that car to say nice things about cigar people. I had Pagani for dinner the other night.

What's a Pagani? It's a car. Sounds like an Italian noodle. I didn't know anything about it until Jeremiah came in and we had a conversation.

Yeah, that's like a whole other level. Darkwing Duck stuff. There's a good possibility that I will own a McLaren before I die. I highly doubt that I'll own a Pagani.

Yeah? Yeah, it's a very expensive car. Okay. Okay.

Does Jeremiah have one? I don't know. It's very well possible. Oh, the way he was talking.

It's very possible. Oh, I thought something fell off the microphone. I'm sure that he could. You know what I mean?

Right. The scarf flying in the wind. Yeah. That's right.

Yeah, that'd be nice. I am the knight. I am the knight. See, and that's why we don't take sponsorship.

Just like that. Just like that. And we love Jeremiah. I don't have anything wrong with him, but I'm going to make...

I'm going to rock that hat and scarf like that. We're gonna make fun of everybody. You know, it's just, uh, I'm not saying it. We'll figure it out.

Oh, all right. On with the news? Yeah, show's over, I think. You had a solid 35 minutes.

Yeah, it was a big one. You want to just jump to the cigar news? No, I mean, like this Learjet is, is everywhere. m.

Sunday, November 1st, near Military Trail, and 10th Avenue North in Green Acres area, southwest of West Palm Beach. Oh wow, Florida. I don't know West Palm, I lived near there years ago, I know right where that place was. So you guys haven't seen this video?

I have seen the video. Greg, I have not seen the video. Have you heard the radio? Oh yeah, I heard the radio.

Yeah, that's even worse than the video. It is, yeah, first of all, I saw the imagery. Right. " Yeah, there was no way anyone survived.

No. And then they play the radio afterwards. " I mean, it was just God awful. It was terrible.

It was absolutely terrible. So, go ahead. What else you got? The private jet departed Austin, Bergson International Airport, and was headed north to Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas.

According to air traffic control audio reviewed by Flight Trader 24, the crew reported icing, moderate turbulence, and precipitation, then requested a climb from 35,000 feet to 37,000 feet. The crew subsequently reported... Stay on that mic, you're getting off of it. Is it falling or is it me?

No, it's you. Oh, you just made it worse. I moved it closer. Okay, but you moved it more to your left.

Oh, I just gave up. I just fell. This is broken. Maybe that's why we stopped using this before.

All right, how's that? Okay. You see where it's at, how you speak? It seems low, though.

It looks low in the image. I know it sounds okay. No, it's okay if it's low. But what happens is, see how you turn your head to the right?

Like, you turn your head. Go look at how you're looking at the monitor. See, that's where you're screwed. You're screwed.

Oh, well. Gotcha. If I turn that way, I'm off too. It's not as bad.

Just shift your eyes from there. Shift your eyes. You're not allowed to turn your head the other way. Get him one of those neck braces.

Make him wear a neck brace on this. I'm going to get you that Tony. Make him like Batman. He can't turn his head.

I'm going to get you that Tony Robbins mic that's like, boom, right here. You know, like you're a- Oh, that's nice. We had those before. He needs that.

We got rid of those just last week. We're going to bring those back. The crew reported an overspeed condition and a rapid increase, uh, increasing decrease, descent rate. An increasing decrease?

There's a lot of big rates. Somebody decreases and increases. Recorded a descent that exceeded 32,000 feet. Anyway, they just went straight in nosedown.

Obviously, there was some sort of mechanical failure. And yeah, according to the radio footage, yeah, the pilots, it's a female pilot. She starts, like, screaming. Screaming.

We're gonna crash. We're gonna crash. Oh, it's terrible. Oh.

This is so violent. It is. He's going to hit me in the face again. He hit me in the face last week.

He's just going to break it. He is just going to break it. It's what he does. I didn't move.

Do mine next. Do mine. He just wants the hug. I want the adjustment.

He just wants the hug. I want adjustment. Oh, my God. Totally broken.

I can't move. Oh, I turned. Officially, initially reported no injuries or death on the ground, but they evacuated 600 people from the mobile home park. It crashed into a mobile home park?

Yes, it actually hit one of the mobile homes dead on, but luckily it was nobody in. Obviously, no one on the plane survived, how many? Oh my God, there's no way. Yeah, there was nothing left.

There was nothing left. Seven. Seven people. I thought it was nine, but there's a...

Oh, maybe it was. I've heard seven and nine. But then I thought nine, maybe there was people on the ground, but I just said there was nobody on the ground that got hurt. Yeah, it was a crater, dude.

It was a crater. I saw the crater. It was intense. " So sad.

" It's because it's gone. It was eviscerated. They were coming in at 370 miles an hour, straight down, possibly even faster. They freeze the image and it looks just like an ICBM missile.

Yeah. Yeah, this is wild. Okay. Super sad.

Super sad, super sad. All right, moving on. All right, authorities in Russia and the Ukraine reported breaches on Sunday, November 1st. The apps normally warn civilians about missile drones and other threats where the attack was connected remains unclear.

So all their alerts went off, like if all of our cell phones went off, it said there's a nuclear attack. Right. In Russia and in the Ukraine. Well, I got news for you.

There's a nuclear attack. There's not, I mean, thanks for the notification. There's not much you're going to do about that. You know?

You know? It all depends on where it goes. If they say Orlando. Well, yeah.

If they say Orlando, they were done. But if they say Jacksonville, we got a better chance. I just happened to see a video yesterday. It goes as far as St.

Augustine. They called it St. Augustine or something. St.

Augustine? That's what it said. But it was spelled St. Augustine.

But if you're from there into Jacksonville, you're done. There's nothing left. Oh, okay. Oh, okay.

That's good. Another falsely reported that Russia's Osnirik missile had been deployed. Ukraine's Air Force reassured residents there was no radiation threat. Everything is fine.

It's fine. Don't go anywhere. Oh man, your mic is just driving me nuts. I didn't move.

Yeah, but you're, if you fade in and out. Oh God, I can't stand it. I don't know. I don't know what it is, but you're...

Let me just hold it, unhook everything and hold it. Just bring it closer to your mouth. I did, and then you moved it. I love this.

This is the best part of the show. Yes, everybody. See, it only goes so far. It's limp.

You got any of that blue rhino, Greg? He used it all on his trip. Yeah. He brought it in.

Oh, there we go. That's nice. Oh, that's perfect. All right, just get that out of the way.

He's just going to hold the mic the whole thing. There you go. Oh, yeah. I like that.

That's a way better approach. It just came right off. That's nice. - That's perfect.

- It sounds great now. - How much is Blue Rhino in Iceland? - They don't sell them at gas stations there. - Oh.

- Yeah. - Wow. - The odd thing about gas stations in Iceland is sometimes the-- - No gas. - No, like so-- - No gas.

- Well, gas is very expensive. So you know how like there's convenience stores that we have here, and our convenience stores are just filled with everything. - Right. - Right, so like inside their convenience stores at a gas station, very minimalist.

There's like five or six of each item on the shelf, not a big selection. And that's if you go into a gas station that has a convenience store, Sometimes the convenience store is actually a car dealership, and they're missing out, yeah, like you go like you go in there and there's like four cars for sale inside and there's no candy, where did you find soda, no candy, there's no candy, no soda, just cars for sale, you got tricked, tricked, oh yeah, well you think you already have a car, you stopped to get gas, it's so weird, yeah, hmm, hmm, very odd, all right, CNN reported little apparent impact among war-weary civilians, like, ah, who cares, it's an issue, this war's been going on forever, it's been going on so long, we don't even care anymore, some bogus warnings contain profanity, spelling mistakes, And unusual wording. A Russian Telegram channel reported that a hacking group, HitCore, claimed the Ukraine breach, but the claim was not independently confirmed. Hmm.

Okay. HitCore. HitCore. HitCore.

HitCore. HitCore. All right. A man who claimed to be a minister, Mario Cesar Dos Santos Jr.

Dos. Pleaded guilty to wire fraud and unlawful use of government seals after running chaplain seminars. So he'd run these chaplain seminars here in Orlando. It's free, but if you went through a certificate at the end, you get $400.

Oh, that's a good one. I like that. But he also sells department of, he sells ice shirts that you work for ice. Oh, you can't do that.

He has special badges and signs for your car. Wait, what? I understand, this is legitimate, like he sells like apparel that says that you now work for ICE. Yeah, but it says clergy, like it'll say, it'll have an ICE badge, but then say clergy across it and he guaranteed, he told all the people, I have been doing this for you, this is fine.

Okay, and he got in trouble, obviously. Well, yeah, it's not real. Yeah, this is not okay. It's not, it's not real.

Yeah, it's not real, you don't really work for it. I don't know, I see another revenue stream for a Cigar Hustlers podcast. He would tell immigrants that becoming one of his chaplains and carrying the badges would provide immunity for immigration enforcement. Oh, my.

Those claims are also false. Oh, my. You get like the clergy loophole. It's like next level snake oil stuff.

Right. Yeah. Yeah. Wow.

Courses were free, but certification costs $400 to $450. Right. So if you want the official paperwork. $400 and you can't get deported.

Right. That's basically what he's selling. Yes. He also sold official-looking badges, shirts, jackets, other merchandise.

His organization, the Chaplain Emergency Management Agency, or SEMA, used altered federal seals and claimed government connections. Authorities say it had no affiliation with DHS, FEMA, or the FBI. How much do you think he made? I think it says he's facing 20 years in federal prison.

20 years? Yeah, plus he was an American citizen. He was? Was not.

He came here and extended, he stayed past his visa date. Man, he had the ice badge. He was fine. Find a need, fill a need, you know, just basic business.

One lady who had taken the course previously said she gets through airport security faster by wearing the shirt or flash in the badge. Really? People are idiots, they just let anybody through. This is awesome.

People are idiots. People are idiots. I'm sorry, I have badge. Excuse me, diplomatic immunity.

Yeah, yeah. Carry on, carry on. Diplomatic immunity. It's just been revoked.

Was that a Lethal Weapon reference? That was amazing. Danny Glover. Danny Glover.

That's beautiful. I think they're making another Lethal Weapon. Are they? Are they in wheelchairs?

Yeah, that's what it is. It's a geriatric weapon. It's probably their kids of some sort. I don't know.

Because they haven't done the transition movie where they, you know, pass the torch to a younger organization. New Lethal Weapon movie. Lethal Weapon movie. That was a great series of films.

I want to watch them with my kids. It's the original buddy movies. Yeah. The first one was.

The problem is that the first one, the episode, the first one opens up with a titty. Yeah, the titty. I remember the titty. Oh, that's right.

The woman that threw herself from the balcony. Right. Yeah. Lethal Weapon 5 is an active development as a legacy sequel with Mel Gibson attached to direct and star along Danny Glover.

Oh, wow. Wow. Happening. How old is Danny Glover now?

Too old for the s**t. He's getting too old for this shit. I'm too old for this shit. Shot him on the toilet, shot him in the bathtub, wonder if this movie's in the show.

Good. That was great, the bomb on the toilet. I love that. How's your nose?

Get that beard. It's itchy. You should trim on Sundays. I trim on Saturdays.

Apparently not. Yesterday. There's just one rogue hair. All right, on to cigar news.

Okay, because I'm intrigued about how we did that. Oh, we're excited. third story i moved it to the end crown head ships this decimo decimo d-e-c-i-m-o for 2026 in two days mexico will begin celebrating the dia de los muertos yeah the day of the dead and annual holiday that honors those who have passed it's also the inspiration are we honoring your mother did she make it okay i don't i have to call her after this she might be dead oh mikey doesn't i'm not first to be informed mikey doesn't know no no you're not on the list no all i know What I know is that when I ask questions, it's retaliated with, whatever, I'm in the hospital. I'm like, okay.

It's also the inspiration for Crown Heads, Las Calaveras series, a limited edition line that has been an annual release for the Nashville-based company since 2014. Until this year, for 2026, there was no formal Las Calaveras release. Instead, the Las Calaveras Decimo, Decimo, Anniversario, oh, it's two words, Decimo Anniversario, Corsario, released for the line's 10th anniversary, it's coming back in the expanded fashion, those cigars are shipped to stores today! Okay.

Are we getting those? Anybody know? Hey, you see how you keep shifting that mic around? You're still doing it.

Now you're just doing it with your hands. It's getting very awkward and heavy, too. Yeah, I'm sure. Okay.

Are we getting these? Are we getting these? Oh, boy. What, are you going to tape it to my face now?

The longest episode ever. Just duct tape it to his forehead. Morehead. You can hold it the whole time.

Oh, it's beautiful. Oh, this is great. The St. Blinnets 2024 released an Ecuadorian Habano Oscuro wrapper over a...

Oscuro. I said Oscuro. Oscuro. Over a Nicaraguan binder and Nicaraguan fillers like all the Los Calibers.

So it's the same as the other cigars. I got it. You go back. We can fix this.

We have the power. Are we putting it back together? We have the ability. It's the longest episode ever.

It's a good episode, though. Yeah. Yeah, that's all right, what did you do to this thing? He totally broke it.

Holy moly. I did not break it, it's hard to put together. Wow, Michael. Good job.

All right, just relax. It's fine, everything's fine in here. Jesus. Glad I moved my drink.

What are you doing over there? He is so stressed out right now. Stop messing with my hair. His blood pressure is through the roof.

He's starting to sweat. Oh my God, this is amazing. He's turning red. All right.

Sweating. Carry on. It's made at my father's factory. Your dad made it?

Not my dad. My dad's dead. He is? Yes.

Welcome to the club. Yes. DDC, baby. Tobacco comes from the Garcia family's farm, which the blend is the same.

There are some changes. The packaging has been slightly better. I don't think they're not changing much. They're just putting a fancy name on it.

That's cool. Mano Oscuro is usually pretty good, so. Because that's what the Nicarisco was made in originally. 52 Toro, whereas there are three new Vitolas for 2026, each Vitola is limited to 250 boxes of 10, 2,500 boxes of 10.

The response to Simo two years ago was overwhelming, said John Huber, president and co-founder of Crownheads in a press release. Hmm, it's a good, it's gonna be a good cigar. Yeah, it's gonna be a good cigar. Sounds nice.

I'm excited for it. I'll look forward to trying it and we'll review it on the Patreon for sure. Oh, nice. Which we don't have cigars right now for the Patreon, but we'll have to get that.

Oh, that's right. That's today. Yeah. 0.

Ha! Lands at Smokin'. Only Smokin'. Only Smokin'.

Only Smokin'. 0 is a new edition of the Smokin' exclusive collaboration with Blackworks Studio, part of the Black Label Trading Company. It's now on sale! It's a five and a quarter by fifty four ring gauge box press bellicoso, a slightly longer and narrower experience than the original while moving from a rounded perfecto shape to a box press bellicoso.

The blend remains the same, using two wrappers in Ecuador Maduro and in Connecticut to create a unique design, while underneath those leaves are a Nicaraguan binder and filler. It's described as a medium full strength profile that is earthy and peppery with accents of nutmeg and cocoa. The cigars are priced at? $16.

50. Can't turn my head. $12 each. Wow!

That's a good price. And are presented in 10-count boxes. They're produced at the Fabrica Oveja Negra in Esteli, Nicaragua, with production numbers not yet disclosed. Very good price.

Mm-hmm. Very good. Yeah. All right, the next story.

Our SBC 26 was reviewed. Oh, boy. I wonder how it did. Oh, boy.

Mikey, you are totally the neighbor from Home Improvement right now. Yes, we know. Yeah, you should show the neighbor from Home Improvement. All right, you guys want to guess what I got and then I'll read you the final.

Who reviewed it? Who reviewed it? Charlie. Fuck.

I don't know. I didn't look. I'm guessing. So you're just guessing at this point?

Yes. You're supposed to have the information. That's your job. I figured by now he would have heard about it.

I haven't heard about it. Somebody sent this to me yesterday. How did you not get it sent to you? I have no idea.

I got 75,000 reels though. People send me 75,000 reels, and a lot of them are good, I'm like, we should put that on the show, and then I forget about it, because there's 75,000 of them, I don't know, man, I thought that this was one of the best ones, the only one for me that I thought was better might have been the 18, and I don't even know, this may have been the best one, dude, so I would say that this one gets like a 93, honestly, it's got to be up there. Okay, I'll read you the final thought, then maybe that'll help you to distinguish you. So you're gonna tell me it's sh*t, okay.

I have enjoyed every Powstanie blend I have smoked over the years, and the SPC 26 is no different in that regard. The profile is complex and balanced with distinct flavors and noticeable transitions between thirds that kept me interested from the first puff to the last. Having said that, each of the cigars needed at least one burn correction to stab off larger problems. I don't mind saying that considering the different tobaccos that are used in this blend, I was surprised there were not more unique notes involved, but that is a minor quibble for a cigar that I enjoyed as much as this one.

Oh, wow. There is less of my brother on that screen. I would say 90. We are one inch away from just a hairline.

What are you talking about? One inch away from just a hairline. Loney, come over and lift you up. I can't move.

Greg's going to have to. Maybe a 90. Maybe a 90 because of the quibbles or something. That's 94.

It's 90. Yes! Give it to the forehead, yes. That's a good score.

I can't deal with this! I can't keep looking at him when it's just a forehead! Don't look at him! Look over here!

But it's not enough to qualify for the top 25. Oh! Because it has to be above 90? It's gotta be 91 or above.

They did that on purpose. He's getting lower. He's getting lower. He's getting low.

What are we talking about? Oh, God. All right. It's time for the industry's favorite game.

Where's my brother's face? What's the score? Can you predict a cigar's halfway score before it's revealed? We'll give you the clues.

You make your guess. The closest guess wins. Today's cigar, stolen, thrown, a highway drifter. Oh, I just reached for the remote.

The remote isn't here. Do you want to go first? Sure. He has the remote.

88. 86. Uh, let's see. Highway Drifter, October 31st, 2026.

Reviewer is Patrick LeGreed. It's a six by 52. They're behind him. Yeah.

So if I win, they don't move anymore. If I win, you have to push the button. I'm not pushing the button. Oh, no, but if he wins, he pushes the button.

Right. That's what he did for Reinhardt. Yeah. So if he pushes the button and he wins and then it goes to me, Yeah, I get the sparks.

Right. Perfect. But he leaves them on longer until it hurts. All right.

So I'm a sandbag this one. Six. So six by 52 Toro factory is the Rojas Cigar Factory. It is a $13 cigar and they smoked three.

Mmm. You want me to go first? Yeah. Am I going first?

Yeah. 88. 89. The boy, it's such a funny idea he's not on the screen.

He's not there. He's not even half a face at this point. The blend, the wrappers, Ecuador and Habano, binder is Nicaraguan, filler is Nicaraguan. Nicaraguan.

Nicaraguan. Nicaraguan. Now it's going to be just, uh, 88. 89.

Oh, there he is. Glue at number one. Bread, pretzel, and black pepper lead into sweetness, followed by a creamier middle. Mmm.

Creamier middle. Like an Oreo. 89. 99.

88. Clue number two, all three samples burn reliably, draw comfortably... It's far superior than the SBC. and produce ample smoke with sturdy ash.

90. 89. Clue number three, dryness returns late, joined by stronger earth, pepper, Heer, Earth, Pepper, and Awkward, Woody, Note, and Heat. Awkward Wood.

It's Tyler's New Cigar. 91. No, Post Nut Clarity is the most current one. No, I meant the new one that's going on after that.

Oh, okay. 88. Final thought. The Highway Drifter gives the reviewer plenty to enjoy, particularly when it's sweetness, bread, and notes, and pepper, bread, notes, and pepper come together.

Construction is consistently excellent, allowing the flavors to develop without burn or draw problems getting in the way. The second sample delivers the most memorable experience, showing a broader range and greater intensity than the other two. Dryness remains the main drawback, while the earthier, more aggressive finish falls short of the smoother balance found earlier. Some moments work better than others, and the samples don't deliver quite the same level of excitement.

90? 89. Final score, 88. 88.

Push the button, Mike. You still lost. Yeah, but you won. That looks terrible.

What's going on there? Everything's broken. It's behind Greg. It worked great the last time we tried it.

When Reinhardt was here. What is going on with this show, man? You're a hot mess. You can't get the mics right, you can't get the spark.

We added this new thing today. And it doesn't work well. You coming over again? He's gonna come adjust the sparklers.

Adjustment, adjustment. They're out of there. I just filled them. We need a refund.

Let's redo the entire episode. This podcast is a dumpster fire. Okay, anything else? That's it, that's all I got!

Triple G, anything else? I'm good. Well, welcome back sir, we've missed you and we're grateful that you've returned safe and sound. Missed you guys as well.

Yeah. By the way, I drained all the bank accounts. That was the first thing I checked when I got back. There's nothing left.

First thing. All gone. Yeah, first thing I checked. But in the meantime, like and subscribe wherever you're listening to the show.

com for all your chpod swag. com, us, Cigar Hustlers Podcast. And thank you very much for listening or viewing today. We hope we provided great edutainment on this Tuesday.

All right, guys. Thank you very much. We gotta go.

Show Notes

Mikey’s Kids Fundraiser

https://mybooster.com/v3/dash/xVR8Ti63

The crew welcomed Triple G back from his Iceland and Poland trip, swapping stories about expensive soup and gas, and about visiting Auschwitz. Comments from the Lounge covered the kids' fundraiser, the Year of the Rat Liga Privada and the Nicarustica wrapper argument, a Lancero/Panatela request, and a debate about taking sponsorship money. The news covered the West Palm Learjet crash, the Russia and Ukraine alert app breach, a fake chaplain's fraud plea and a new Lethal Weapon film. Cigar News covered Crowned Heads Las Calaveras Decimo Aniversario and the Blackwork Studio Killer Bee Buzzsaw 2.0, followed by the halfwheel review of Powstanie SPC-26 (90) and a What's the Score round on Stolen Throne Highway Drifter, with ongoing mic and sparkler mishaps.