Closing Out 2025

Eat Drink Smoke closes out 2025 with a bold pairing: the Knuckle Sandwich Off Menu, a TAA exclusive cigar from Espinosa Premium Cigars and celebrity chef Guy Fieri, and Jefferson’s Ocean Aged at Sea Rye (Voyage 26, Double Barrel Dry).

Tony Katz and Fingers Malloy smoke the 6x54 box-pressed Knuckle Sandwich Off Menu, featuring a Pennsylvania Broadleaf wrapper with a Nicaraguan binder and filler. The cigar delivers a full-bodied profile with earthy, smoky notes described as bonfire and wet leaves, making it one of the most distinctive Knuckle Sandwich releases.

The bourbon is Jefferson’s Ocean Aged at Sea Rye, Voyage 26, a 96-proof double-barrel rye known for its sweetness, creamy mouthfeel, and lighter rye spice—an ideal holiday pour.

The episode also covers the end of the bourbon boom, industry production slowdowns, TSA security theater, airport guest passes, Vegas travel costs, Costco changes, food recalls, and one of the strangest news stories of the week.

Follow Eat Drink Smoke on social media!

X (Formerly Twitter): @GoEatDrinkSmoke
Facebook: @eatdrinksmoke
IG: @EatDrinkSmokePodcast

The Podcast is Free! Click Below!

Apple Podcasts
Amazon Music
Stitcher 
Spotify

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Wow, let the end of the year festivities commence. Dear Lord.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
I don't know if I've ever felt this way about
a year. Maybe it's because ending the year with a
cold is just like, Dear Lord, make it stop. There's
a part of me thrilled that twenty twenty five is
coming to an end.

Speaker 3 (00:24):
Part of you, every part of me is thrilled that
twenty twenty five is coming to an end.

Speaker 2 (00:29):
Is that because Fingers Maloy Senior moved in and the
move of new houses and everything else.

Speaker 3 (00:34):
No, it has been a very stressful year, but I'm
thrilled that Fingers Moy Senior has moved into right Casa
Dave thing wife.

Speaker 1 (00:43):
You don't call kasade Fingers I do, now, that's what
I thought.

Speaker 2 (00:46):
See drink smoke, come Tony Katz, and that right there
is America's favorite amateur drinker, Fingers Maloy. I just feel
like it has taken for forever to get here, and
I don't know, this last month seems to.

Speaker 1 (00:56):
Have been just a problem, but maybe not for you.

Speaker 2 (00:59):
Maybe it's an hour wonderful and joyous Christmas and now
you're just gonna float yourself into the new year and
get things started fresh.

Speaker 1 (01:06):
We are ending the year with.

Speaker 2 (01:08):
The TAA exclusive from Espinoza. This is the Knuckle Sandwich
off menu. This only comes in one size and is
not available everywhere. This was a release for the Tobacconist
Association of America, So if your local cigar lounge is
part of the TAA, you can find this. Maybe you
can find it online search for it. The knuckle Sandwich

(01:29):
has been hugely popular. It's been a great success. It's
done incredible work for Espinoza, who does some lovely cigars
on his own. This comes in one vitola. This is
a six by fifty four, which means it's six inches long.
Tea always makes fingers when my laugh. And the ring
gage is a fifty four the diameter of the cigar
or how thick it is around tea again with the laughter.

Speaker 1 (01:50):
So this is a Pennsylvania Broadleaf, which I do really like.

Speaker 2 (01:55):
Nicaraguan in the binder and the filler, and I will
tell you I know that this box press is going
to be a full body cigar. How do I know
this because it's Espinoza and the vast majority of where
they play is in these to me, very bold flavors,
a little bit of the unique flavors that they get
to the other knuckle sandwiches. You know, there's a series

(02:18):
on the Chefs Edition, et cetera. I think you play
in that medium medium full this right now, with the
darkness of this, the richest of this, and what I
know about it, this is.

Speaker 1 (02:27):
Going to be a full body smoke. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (02:29):
And the hand feel right off the bat with that
box press, between that and the nice little bit of
half to it is a home run in my mind.
You're just you're just you're just cutting the cap off.

Speaker 2 (02:41):
Now, yeah, just right now, right now as we speak. Okay,
I didn't want to start without everybody. You know, they
waited for me. I wait for that.

Speaker 1 (02:49):
Oh you didn't wait, No, of course.

Speaker 3 (02:52):
Well, someone has to describe some of the flavor notes
that you're getting from the cigar.

Speaker 2 (02:57):
What are the flavor notes you're getting from the cigar?
Fingers started to early Maloyd.

Speaker 3 (03:00):
Uh, it's earthy and then maybe a little a little
bit of chocolate, not a whole heck of a lot,
but a hint of it there. I'm not really getting
any pepper or spice at this point, but I lit mine,
Uh four minutes before Tony's lighting. Is you had a cold. Yes,
I still do. And then a week later I had
a cold.

Speaker 1 (03:19):
Are you in the trail end a tailing end, finishing
end of this.

Speaker 3 (03:22):
Yeah, A little bit of sinus uh inflammation going on
and a lot of chest congestion, but it's still there.

Speaker 1 (03:30):
It's one of those.

Speaker 3 (03:31):
It really does stink to have a cold because it
for a lot of people, including myself, it feels like
a last a month long.

Speaker 1 (03:40):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (03:41):
And I had a I had a business meeting two
days ago. Two days ago, and it was at one
of one of our favorite cigar lounges here in Indianapolis,
Blend Bar Cigar. And I had a cigar and I picked,
I said, what is the boldest, richest cigar? So I
can actually taste it because I still had the nose cold.
When you have it in the nose, I mean, and

(04:02):
I don't suggest smoking when you have a cold at all.
You could still find some things that you can actually
connect with when you have it in the chest, even
though you don't inhale, everything becomes impossible. It's just it
so throws the breathing off. You're just so unhappy. Don't
do it, really and truly, don't do it and don't

(04:23):
rush it. Fingers is doing it because A eat, drink,
smoke nation and B he's a professional and also glutton
for punishment. But don't the nose. Sometimes you can get
away with it, right. You could still find flavors. The
chest is just it's just you're gonna hurt yourself.

Speaker 1 (04:39):
It's a breathing.

Speaker 3 (04:40):
I completely disagree with you. Really, yes, I will say this.
Don't go into your humidor and get one of your
favorite cigars that you spend a lot of money on.
God no, But if you feel like you need something
to help you relax to unwind, find yourself the daily
smoke that maybe you look and you saw in the

(05:00):
human door. Oh oh the rappers cracked. Go ahead and
like that one and sit back and try to unwind
and relax. As long as you know the chest congestion
is not too bad to where you'll start coughing up
along while you're while you're smoking.

Speaker 2 (05:16):
I'm telling you right now, you are not wrong about this.
The off menu from a knuckle sandwich Espinoza. This is
freaking hefty. You earthy?

Speaker 1 (05:28):
Was you know? Earthy is one of those things that
drives some people up a wall.

Speaker 2 (05:33):
It's like how some people react to the word moist
like earthy just sends them Oh sorry, what fingers?

Speaker 1 (05:39):
Wow?

Speaker 3 (05:40):
The everyone in on you know, listening to the radio
who happens to be female for some reason, those are
the ones that those are the folks that can't stand
the word moist.

Speaker 1 (05:51):
Yeah, I'm not one of those people.

Speaker 2 (05:54):
This earthy is is is one of those things that
like it brings about a lot of questions and it
gets people a little bit nuts.

Speaker 1 (06:03):
And do you mean dirt? Do you mean smelly? Do
you mean like grassish? What? There?

Speaker 2 (06:10):
Dirt is a great great way to get into this,
but not manure, right, manure is what we call the
scent of the farm, which is is a very unique thing.
And it's not that it it only sounds off putting.

Speaker 1 (06:23):
It really isn't. Holy cow.

Speaker 2 (06:25):
Earth is an excellent way to get into the first
part of this smoke.

Speaker 3 (06:29):
Yeah to me, And this is where my cold maybe
playing tricks on my palette. It's it's dirt mixed with
almost like a like wet leaves. Does that make sense?

Speaker 2 (06:43):
It if wet leaves were in the fireplace, we're we're
we're in the bonfire. Yeah, that as a flavor that's
where you are, and honestly super cool. Very rarely can
you describe a cigar as This has the kind of
smokey right now that I would attribute to certain bourbons. Okay,

(07:07):
I am, as a matter of course, not the biggest
fan of the knuckle sandwich. I understand that how it exploded.
I understand its success, and I'm thrilled for Estmonosa, for
Eric and the entire team over there, and for guy
who we've interviewed him before. He was certainly nice enough
to us. He's been a good ambassador for cigars. I've

(07:28):
heard different things about him as a person, but people
have heard different things about me as a person. Who
am I to say? This is the first one where
I'm like, well, that's trying something.

Speaker 1 (07:39):
This is way off.

Speaker 2 (07:41):
The path from the regular knuckle sandwich or the chef's
dish and anything else. You can feel this in the throat.
This is everywhere, and I I mean we should repairing
it with a rye. We'll get into that. You compare
this with I'd like to see this with a Scotch
and see if it competes, see how that plays. It's
kind and nuts, but yes, bonfire and that that's a

(08:04):
really good description, man, Bravo on you.

Speaker 1 (08:07):
Well, that's a good read. I've done this before, and
thank you.

Speaker 3 (08:11):
I'm pairing it right now with coffee, and I'm very
happy with that pairing.

Speaker 1 (08:15):
Right Duncan taking care of you today. I didn't know
we were mentioning there.

Speaker 2 (08:19):
It's okay, it's okay. They might find coffee. Duncan does
find coffee. I approve they would be great sponsors of
Eat Drink Smoke.

Speaker 3 (08:27):
Well, I had Fingers coffee back at the house and
I left it on the counter. I thought it would
be a good idea just to leave it there. It's
a good place for it. Now, what is the cost
of the cigar? And is it in the humid are
We will find out in a little bit. Time to
figure it out.

Speaker 1 (08:41):
In just a little bit. I'll say it again.

Speaker 2 (08:48):
So, as we have often discussed here at Eat Drink Smoke,
we don't know whether there are more recalls happening, or
whether or not we know about more recalls because we're
paying attention to them. But this ice cream one, this
is new. It's Eat Drink Smoke. I'm Tony Katz. That
is America's favorite amateur drinker fingers maloy. This is from

(09:08):
Southern Living, where Fingersmoy gets all his recall news.

Speaker 3 (09:13):
Well that and also I like to keep tabs on
what it's like to live in the South.

Speaker 2 (09:19):
According to the US Food and Drug Administration denon denone
U S d A N O n E d A
n O n E, they announced a voluntary recall of
its quote so delicious dairy free salted caramel cluster non
dairy frozen desserts.

Speaker 3 (09:40):
What yeah, okay my kids? My kids eat the don
dairy ice cream, do they?

Speaker 1 (09:47):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (09:48):
Because everybody either apparently under the age of twenty five,
has peanut allergy or they're lactose intolerant.

Speaker 1 (09:58):
We are so doomed. The recall was issued due to
a the potential presence of farm materials quote such as
small stones and other hard objects. Why why are you
giggling like like I've never seen you turn away from

(10:18):
the mic so you can like a schoolgirl giggle.

Speaker 3 (10:23):
What is what is so comedic? Small stones in your
ice cream?

Speaker 1 (10:28):
I I don't even understand how it's possible.

Speaker 3 (10:31):
You ever pan your ice cream before you eat it?
Does that ever happen?

Speaker 2 (10:35):
I understand how machinery can get a metal fragment in
it's it's it seems odd, but you can kind of
understand it. How in the world do small stones end
up in the ice cream?

Speaker 3 (10:49):
Apparently it's within cashew inclusions. What I'm only as in
the cashew nut.

Speaker 2 (10:59):
Yes, and so when they get the cashews, because the
nut grows in the ground, there are small pebbles and
no one washed.

Speaker 1 (11:07):
No one washed it. They may have just wiped it clean.
I don't know. I'm just making stuff up now.

Speaker 3 (11:15):
That's what Southern Living is reporting that the small stones
and other hard objects apparently could have been incorporated in
the ice cream due to cashew inclusions.

Speaker 1 (11:27):
I saw cashew inclusions open up for Duran Durant in
nineteen eighty nine. There it is.

Speaker 3 (11:33):
Huh ah ah.

Speaker 1 (11:37):
Nothing is safe anymore, absolutely nothing, not even Jim Beam.
Oh oh, the gym Beam is there now.

Speaker 2 (11:45):
Lexicon Herald leader with the reporting, and we've talked about this,
and Fingers was mentioning during the break.

Speaker 1 (11:52):
I agree.

Speaker 2 (11:53):
I think it's actually a shorter timeline. You're going to
see distilleries. I'm not saying this about Beam, it's Beam,
it's Beam sentory. You're talking about massive dollars you're going
to see distilleries go under. We saw a massive increase
in craft beer. We saw craft beer go by the wayside.

(12:14):
We saw massive increase in distilleries. And the problem is
you can't rush bourbon. If you want a four year bourbon,
you have to wait four years. You want a twelve
year bourbon. Guess what you're gonna do. You're gonna wait.
But people are drinking less. Gen Z is drinking less.
You've got ozembic, You've got as you brought up gummies,

(12:35):
you know alternatives. You've got a generation that is less
interested in more interested in mocktails. And the non alcoholic
Beam is going to shut down production on January first
through twenty twenty six. Now what they're saying is is
that because of the slowdown in bourbon consumption, they have

(12:58):
enough on the shelves. This is happening in a lot
of places. All they're doing is shutting down production. They're
not the barrels will still be there. They're just not
gonna barrel something new. They're gonna simply wait to see
where they are and then adjust. It makes sense, but
it does tell a story. The COVID stuff, the COVID
bourbon craze is very over, and the bourbon drought in

(13:23):
terms of Americans palettes has begun.

Speaker 3 (13:25):
How does it happen so fast? You mentioned the COVID
bourbon boom. It's not like we're talking about something that
happened thirty years ago.

Speaker 1 (13:35):
It was eighteen on four here John Kennedy was still alive.

Speaker 3 (13:41):
You were listening to old time radio and your thoughts
to yourself, I could use a shot of.

Speaker 1 (13:47):
Something, something strong, a belt if you will.

Speaker 3 (13:50):
Why don't I go to the liquor cabinet and get
myself a fine glass of bourbon. This is four years
ago we're talking about, and from there to now we're
talking about complete shifts in customer attitudes towards alcohol, particularly
young people, to where we're seeing distilleries really struggle.

Speaker 1 (14:13):
It's amazing how quickly this is happening.

Speaker 2 (14:16):
So let's go take a step back. The shift amongst
younger generations was happening. It was well counteracted by people
who were staying home and had disposable income and had
no problem buying one hundred dollars bottle and buying twelve
of them and trying it. But once they tried it,
they didn't go back. And buy the next bottles. Right,

(14:38):
they were not long term buyers in the main, So
all of that which covered up what was happening. You
know culturally that that was a cover, right, These people
buying more was a cover for the people not buying much.
Now you add into this not only generational shifts, but
what has happened with Ozevik, Munjaro, all all the rest

(15:01):
that has people drinking less because they're they're losing weight.
Not us, but they're losing weight. Uh and and uh,
and they're not drinking as much. So you had added
a cultural shift with a cultural shift with the end
of disposable income, and so it looks far more drastic.

Speaker 3 (15:18):
I would love to talk to someone who is on
ozembic or one of these other drugs, just to get
a sense for how alcohol really has an impact on them.
Is it that they drink less because it hits them harder,
They have less.

Speaker 2 (15:34):
According to the to the sources, Uh, it's less of
a of a desire, it's less of a crave.

Speaker 1 (15:39):
It doesn't it doesn't sound right. I don't think I
want that. That's that's what it is. Wow, I don't
think it's I drink the bourbon and then I feel
on or strange or ill or anything like that.

Speaker 3 (15:53):
I didn't know if it was like a negative body
reaction to alcoholics.

Speaker 2 (15:57):
They someone could have that. I just that's not what
I I've read and engaged. It's just that there's just
no want if you will, because if you're not hungry,
I'm full and I'm okay, I'm good, it just doesn't
come to mind.

Speaker 1 (16:12):
I think that's the story.

Speaker 3 (16:15):
Do you think that it's a combination of just being
satisfied in general with little to know, whether it's food
or anything else. Then you're just turning away from alcohol
together because of it. It's like you're just constantly you're
a level of satiatiated.

Speaker 1 (16:29):
Yeah, I think that's the By the way, we both
use the words satiated, we were ready for wordle. But
as a matter of it being an issue, it's an issue.
It is an absolute issue. You're you. You take a.

Speaker 2 (16:45):
Look at what's going on with with Beam, and you
realize it's Beam. They're they're they're reading the market properly, right.
If there's somebody you're gonna follow, it's a company in
terms of the market, someone you'd follow. They can afford this.
They've got barrels, and they can ramp up production anytime.
They choose smaller guys they can't.

Speaker 1 (17:05):
That's what I was just about to say.

Speaker 3 (17:06):
Maybe your local distillery that you are a fan of,
you haven't visited it in a while, Maybe it's a
good idea to go buy a bottle and support local.

Speaker 1 (17:15):
I just don't know it'll be enough.

Speaker 2 (17:18):
In some ways, I really do think the damage has
already done.

Speaker 1 (17:21):
We've got a lot to get to keep it here.
Eat I smoking it, just a garbourbon food. The extravaganza.
I'm Tony Katz. That is Fingers.

Speaker 2 (17:36):
Molloy right there, brought to you in part by fledamen
A von Reest time Pieces for the generations. They are
assembled right here in Indiana. I'm wearing one right now.
I'm actually wearing the wrong one because it isn't color
coordinated with what I'm wearing. I'm wearing the Harborside turquoise
right there. I'm not supposed to be wearing that with
the with the blue shirt. But it doesn't matter because
I still look fashionable. Incredible time piece is incredible movements,

(17:59):
all assembled in Indiana, brought directly to you von rest
ri E S T. E von Rest shop dot von
reest dot com. You want to use promo code cats
get your discounts shop dot von rest dot com. Smoking
from the good people at Espinosa. This is the Knuckle Sandwich,
what they call the off menu. It is a TAA

(18:19):
exclusive Tobacco Association of America. And this is Pennsylvania broadleaf
Nicaraguan and the binder and the piller and just this
is this is a full bodied smoke. Now, you said, fingers,
you've got these two notes, this earthliness with bonfire kind
of thing with the with the wet leaves you're talking about,
But that's.

Speaker 3 (18:38):
All you're getting ready, Yeah, and I'm I guess I
thought it was going to be a little spicier or
you know, at least some more pepper, and I'm not
getting any of that, by the way, not complaining.

Speaker 1 (18:48):
Very happy with this cigar.

Speaker 3 (18:49):
And also it has been the construction fantastic, what you
would expect from a knuckle sandwich and Espinoza. Uh, the
it's been very low mains, haven't really had to touch
it up and the hand feel is fantastic.

Speaker 1 (19:04):
Very happy with the cigar.

Speaker 2 (19:05):
Yes, So it's a six by fifty four box press
and what you want to do is get out your
notebooks and what'd you eat today?

Speaker 1 (19:13):
What did you drink today?

Speaker 2 (19:14):
You know, we've got a little mild to weather this
Christmas week here in Indianapolis, Indiana, where we come from.
And then you take the cigar. You write, you write
down what you ate, what did you drink, what you
eat today, drink today, weather, things like that that all
affects palate. And then break the scar to third first, third, second, third,
final third, and then what are the flavors you're getting
out of each third? It doesn't matter how weird or
esoterical we said bonfire. I mean we have never said

(19:37):
bonfire before. He never wet leaves has never come up,
I don't think on the show.

Speaker 1 (19:43):
But you write those things down. When you try this
cigar a month from now, six months from now, whatever
it is, you do the same thing.

Speaker 2 (19:47):
You go back and compare your notes, and that's really
you know, your through line, the flavors, what it is
you got out of the cigar. I want to say
that I'm a little overpowered by it. This smokiness, bonfire
smokiness is really up all in my nose now. It
could be because I'm at the very tail end. Maybe

(20:09):
I'm not totally clean up there, you know what I mean,
there's still some residual.

Speaker 1 (20:13):
Uh did you try the dewey pot. It's it's a
netty pot. Oh you might want to write that down
and that could.

Speaker 2 (20:21):
Be it, but it is, it's it's it's a strong,
strong bit of thing happening here. And I I'm not
one hundred percent sure. I am not a hundred percent
sure this is in my humid or. The question I'll
ask for you, Fingers malloy, Is it in your humid or?

(20:42):
For sixteen dollars a stick? Yeah, I think so.

Speaker 3 (20:47):
Yeah, you know, the whole re examining what we like
to spend on a cigar. Sixteen dollars nowadays, it's what
you could expect for this type of cigar.

Speaker 1 (20:57):
I believe.

Speaker 3 (20:57):
I'm very happy with it, and I could totally see
it in my humidor.

Speaker 1 (21:02):
I will tell you that that. And don't get me confused.

Speaker 2 (21:07):
There's compared to everything else I've done in the knuckle
sandwich line, I would be here the other smokes. I would,
I would. I would call them cleaner, but that's not
the right word. Much easier, much easier. I never I
never thought there was too much in anyone direction. That
was something that bothered me about it. I want a
little more, a little a little um pappa, a little

(21:28):
hump oompful little something. Oh this has got some freaking' oof.
This is some full bodied stuff right here. Very very
unique flavor for sure. But it's time Fingers Ratio Malon
for News of the week. Tony, Let's go to Texas.

Speaker 1 (21:45):
I love.

Speaker 2 (21:46):
We have to go to Memphis. We gotta go to
King Jerry Lawler Barbecue. We got somebody invite us to Texas.
We'll do a barbecue tour. We'll eat some water burger fingers,
will oil, will wear a Dallas Cowboys jersey.

Speaker 3 (21:59):
I'm sorry, what a Houston Texans jersey? Okay, I wouldn't
have a problem with the Houston Texans jersey. Wouldn't have
a problem with the Houston Texans jer So AFC you're
fine with Yeah, absolutely got it.

Speaker 1 (22:10):
What do you got from?

Speaker 3 (22:10):
Well, I actually meant the story, but now that you
mention it, yes, I would like to go to Texas tomorrow.

Speaker 1 (22:15):
What is the story? Down? From deep in the heart
of Texas.

Speaker 3 (22:19):
A temporary restraining order has been put against High Sense
the television company after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxson filed
a lawsuit claiming the company is spying on Americans.

Speaker 2 (22:32):
Yeah, so okay. Paxson is also running for governor of Texas.
So there's a couple of things happening here. Not governor, sorry, Senate.
He's part of the Senate run, isn't he. He's running
against Cornyn. And then you have Wesley Hunts running as
a Republican. And then you have the congresswoman Jasmine Crockett,
who's made all sorts of names for herself and not
necessarily in the best way, running as a Democrat.

Speaker 1 (22:55):
So there's a huge thing there. So I think Paxton's
running for that Senate seat. Are you you suggesting that
this has everything to do with a political run and
not that a politician would be trying to protect Americans?

Speaker 2 (23:08):
Mostly yes, But but the high sense is made by
the Chinese, the Communist Chinese Party and anything that we
are getting technologically. It doesn't matter where your politics are.
You have to accept the fact that China does not
play by any rules that we do. The Communist Chinese Party,

(23:30):
the CCP, the POLP Buro do not do this. Jijinping
the president, the dictator does not do this. And this
is the same reason that the United States, Canada, and
the UK have pushed aside Chinese companies like Huawei for
five G and those Internet protocols. Right, five G is
the Internet of things, and you can't trust the communist

(23:51):
Chinese to have control of these things. This is not absurd.
It's why you hear about land purchases in the United States.
Communist Chinese buying land in your military basis.

Speaker 1 (24:01):
This is a serious issue.

Speaker 2 (24:02):
It can't be allowed, which is a weird thing to
hear in the United States of America, but there's a
real national security issue. Know, the communist Chinese can't be
trusted because they've proven they can't be trusted. They've done
this and we would be fools if we didn't notice.
So what do I know about high sense and actual spying.
I can't say that I do.

Speaker 1 (24:21):
Let me fill you in.

Speaker 3 (24:22):
Oh please, So Paxston is concerned, according to Fox seven Austin,
that they use automated content recognition technology. Basically, the television
can spy on what you are watching and the audio
from your television, what content you're consuming, and then this

(24:43):
restraining order prevents High Sense from collecting and using, selling
or sharing, disclosing or transferring any of that data to companies.
And so that's where this is coming from. So the
television is basically using technology to accumulate data based on

(25:03):
what you're watching and listening to you.

Speaker 2 (25:04):
Now, lots of people would say, what's the difference between
them and Amazon? What's the difference between them and Apple?
You're talking about something. The next thing you know, you
go to Facebook and all of a sudden there's an
ad for it, and you're like, what's happening here? And
any company that wants to say, no, your phone is
not listening to your phone, it's not spying on you.

Speaker 1 (25:21):
Of course it is.

Speaker 2 (25:22):
Everybody believes this, and anybody who thinks otherwise from these
companies is crazy. If these companies think that we don't
know this, they're full of crap.

Speaker 1 (25:31):
Whether it's Google, whether it's Facebook, any of them, they're
out of their minds fingers.

Speaker 2 (25:36):
So really one could argue, what's the difference, Well, the
communist Chinese are fundamentally different.

Speaker 3 (25:43):
But I would really be interested in finding out. High
Sense can't be the only television company doing this correct.
There has to be others involved.

Speaker 1 (25:53):
As well.

Speaker 3 (25:54):
They're doing the similar data collection and selling that data
to other companies. So yeah, that's the question why high Sense,
and I think you've already kind of answered it, but yeah,
how is it different than other companies. I've mentioned this before.
I was out in my backyard cleaning out a window
well and my father said, you should. They should get

(26:16):
a cover that's completely plastic, that covers it. There's no grats.
My phone was in my pocket, never searched for anything
like that. I open up Instagram and there are these
covers that are for sale for window wells.

Speaker 1 (26:29):
Crazy.

Speaker 3 (26:30):
I never searched for that ever on my phone. Everybody's
listening all the time.

Speaker 1 (26:34):
All the time, everywhere. It is super creepy. And yes,
I we You know.

Speaker 2 (26:42):
You're the guy who is always like I don't like
saying there ought to be a law, right, You've said
it a million times and a bunch of things from that.

Speaker 1 (26:51):
This stuff has to has to stop. Stuff absolutely has
to come to an end. So am I bothered by
this idea? If indeed they're doing this not allowing it,
I'm fine personally, finely. I sometimes don't know how.

Speaker 2 (27:12):
We don't do better with the travel podcast because we're
talking about like airlines and airports all the time. Come well,
usually we're just complaining about TSA, but we're talking about
it all the time. It's eat ternk smoke. I'm Tony Katz.
That's fingers below. I find everything we do at EA
rink smoke show dot com. What about Spirit Airlines now?

Speaker 1 (27:32):
Can we real quick? I have a Spirit story? You do?

Speaker 2 (27:35):
They got one hundred million dollars as a lifeline, so
I don't know. All I saw was like like the
breaking news thing. I'm like, that's impossible. Spirit Airlines basically said,
we're done here, thank you very much. You're gonna have
to have a fight on somebody else's airline now. And
they sold two of their gates at Chicago was at

(27:58):
O'Hare to United or to American to American Airlines, and
all right, they're.

Speaker 1 (28:05):
Getting ready to get out of business.

Speaker 2 (28:06):
They couldn't guarantee that they were gonna be able to
fly any day.

Speaker 1 (28:11):
Some give them a hundred million dollars what, I don't
even know how that works.

Speaker 3 (28:16):
That's a wise investment I have, by the way, for
that investor out there, I've got a dial up internet
company that you should invest in.

Speaker 1 (28:24):
I like it.

Speaker 2 (28:25):
I like it a lot. Dial up as a future.
But now you have this story airports. This is the
New York Post reporting airports allow non traveling public past
security entrances for the first time in decades. So this
is starting in Oakland. They announced it'll be introducing guest
passes for non passengers. Now, if anybody remembers correctly, you

(28:48):
could go to the gate and wait for your family
to get off the gate, or you or you or
your visitor or whatever. I'd be like, get off the
plane at the gate and be like, hey, good to
say Tommy.

Speaker 3 (29:01):
Or say goodbye, and watch the plane actually take off.

Speaker 2 (29:05):
Right now, non passengers can apply online for security clearance
up to seven days in advance of the day they
want to visit the airport. You fill out the forum,
the TSA will approve it the visit by sending the
non passengers a guest pass. This is right now taking
place at Oakland, San Francisco Bay Airport, and then you

(29:27):
have to present the pass along with the TSA approved photo.

Speaker 1 (29:33):
That's that's a step in the right direction, right. I'm
surprised after all these years, it's it's taken this long
for this to happen. Well, so I can answer this, Okay,
It's not that it's taken so long for this to happen.

Speaker 2 (29:49):
It's that a government that wants power and control will
do the things that give it power and control the
guys of safety and security. Now again, I'm not trying
to be political, and I think that people a republican
and democratic, conservative and liberal, however you might describe yourself

(30:10):
anything between our libertarian friends and all that would agree
that if you claim we have to keep these things safe,
it is amazing what people will do under the guise
of safety, which is always the fundamental problem.

Speaker 1 (30:25):
The thing we really talk about with travels the TSA.
The TSA is not our best conversation and our best
foot forward in the idea of safety, because we're not
dealing with threats. We're dealing with abusing the American traveler.
Take off your shoes.

Speaker 2 (30:44):
One person engages a shoe bomb, and for over a
decade we have to take off our shoes.

Speaker 1 (30:49):
That isn't the way that should be handled. The idea of.

Speaker 2 (30:54):
The radicalness in the way that TSA treats the American traveler.
We've discussed this in depth. Part of the reason you
see such anxiety at airports. Never mind an anxiety ridden society.
Never mind how airlines are treating the passengers, how TSA
treats the passengers as if somehow they're the problem, that
they are suspects one at all, as opposed to American

(31:15):
citizens engaging in flight. That's why the degradation of air
travel is so striking and so awful when it used
to be this thing of luxury and prestige. It's why
I appreciate the Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy quoting me
by saying, put on a suit when you fly. Show
some damn respect for yourself, show some respect for fellow passengers.

(31:38):
It's about an attitude. But if you don't recognize that
the TSA is engaged in such a responsibility for failing
in that, I don't know what you're doing now, I
notice fingers, you're looking directly into the camera. If you
haven't caught the video there at YouTube dot com, slash
eatering smoke, what's your problem?

Speaker 3 (31:56):
You had me until the whole part of the rant
where it came to wearing a suit. I'm a plane.
I'm sorry when plane. When airline companies turned air travel
into going to Walmart. That's when the whole I'm gonna
wear a suit thing stops for me. I don't wear
a suit in Walmart. I'm not gonna wear a suit

(32:18):
on a discount airline, on a plane where an airline
will say to me before I get on the plane,
use the bathroom before you get on that plane, because
only one lavatory is working. Oh and by the way,
if you want a snack, you should get it now
because we only have one beverage cart on the plane.

Speaker 1 (32:36):
Those last two things actually happened to us sun Flights.
That does it.

Speaker 3 (32:41):
But having said that, you know, I agree with you
for the most part about TSA. Some people call much
of what TSA does security theater. But I have to
tell you when I was flying out of Florida one
time and I was right behind a nine year old
as a TSA agent was frantic searching that nine year

(33:01):
old's SpongeBob square pants backpack and looking for something, I
felt safer afterward.

Speaker 4 (33:08):
Yeah, you know what I like about that, The believability
that you felt safe for it is it's TSA theater,
of course, it is.

Speaker 2 (33:20):
We're We're we want eighty year old women to stand
up out of their wheelchairs so they can be physically frisked.

Speaker 1 (33:27):
What do we were? It's pretend it's garbage.

Speaker 3 (33:29):
You don't know what was going through Ethel's mind as
she's going through security.

Speaker 1 (33:33):
Eth was the name of my grandmother? Really? Yeah, it was.

Speaker 3 (33:37):
Let's let's be honest here, Ethyl, Litle, Bertha, Mabel. Those
are the three grammar names. Everybody knows it.

Speaker 1 (33:44):
The only thing Ethel was a danger to was the kitchen.
That's it.

Speaker 2 (33:49):
Because she was gonna whip that mother into shape and
make incredible things right. That kitchen was going to work
hard when Ethel was in there.

Speaker 1 (33:57):
That's it. That's it. Ethel was it.

Speaker 3 (33:59):
Why now when it comes to this, when it when
it comes to the idea that you can be a
a non traveler and actually go through a TSA security So.

Speaker 1 (34:09):
A little bit of this has been happening. Cleveland has
one of these kinds of passes. San Antonio has one
of these kinds of Passnesota's Kansas City, Philadelphia, Detroit. I'm happy.
I'm happy to see it. Uh, and I don't.

Speaker 2 (34:27):
I think maybe the why now is that we've come
to a realization that we are all kidding ourselves we're
fooling ourselves and it's well, it's dumb. It's a dumb
thing to do. We should stop that. Who is the threat,
what are the threats? How does one combat the threat?
And does the American citizen have to somehow be subjugated

(34:52):
to an unelected bureaucracy that is I think not well
trained and it seems to be very much in the
belief that the American flyer is the enemy.

Speaker 3 (35:08):
Well, my if this is a trial program and they're
going to eventually roll this out nationwide, I'm thrilled. My
only problem with all of this is, Okay, we federalized
airport security, and yet airport security is different at every
airport right and that, to me is something that needs

(35:29):
to be addressed. We can go to one airport and
they don't want you to take your computer out. In fact,
they actually get angry with you if you take your
computer out. But then you're at another airport that you're
flying back to the first airport that didn't want you
to take the computer out, and they're mad at you
for not taking your computer out. If you're going to
federalize all this stuff, there needs to be uniform security

(35:53):
procedures at every airport.

Speaker 2 (35:55):
And they don't have uniform technology at every airport, so
they do have a uniform procedure at every airport. And
then they get angry at us and it's barking orders
as opposed to a politeness. And then these signs that
say if you are verbally aggressive with TSA.

Speaker 1 (36:11):
You could be fined. And you this and you that. No,
Sean Duffy, I know you. I know you. You watch
and you listen to the show, and I appreciate it.
Sean Transportation Secretary. Fix this. By the way, you're right
about the suits. I thank you for taking my advice.
Fix this. I'm totally right about the suits. Fingers zubaz pants.

(36:32):
You are you are? You are terrible. You're the reason
that everything is here.

Speaker 3 (36:36):
To make it out as if I show up at
the airport wearing a tank top and short shorts, and
that's not what I do.

Speaker 1 (36:43):
That's why I stop flying with you.

Speaker 2 (36:45):
That's the reason you need a good entre Defiancebeef dot
Com great sponsor of ours, where you can order a quarter, cow,
a half or a full. You get it butchered exactly
the way you want it, and it's delivered directly to
your door, frozen in the vacuum pack, ready to go.

Speaker 1 (37:00):
They are a farm.

Speaker 2 (37:01):
Right here in Indiana and they are just serving up
some of the best rib eyes and tenderloins. It strips
the ground beef, The brisket absolutely incredible. Everything aids twenty
one days. The flavor of the tenderness, it is all there,
and you decide how you want it cut, You decide
the thickness. I actually got the call from the butcher yesterday.

(37:22):
Got a call him and say, okay, here's what I want.
I'm ready to go. I'm telling you I'm gonna have
my beef in a week. I have been waiting. I
have been patient. I've been like, you don't worry about me.
Last I want to see everybody else to be happy.
People have been ordering you. Go to defiancebef dot com.
Use promo code eat, drink smoke. Get one hundred and
fifty dollars off your order right there, easy to do.

(37:44):
It has been fantastic. The meat is incredible, the quality
and the tenderness and how well it grills up and
how well it's done as leftovers. Spectacular Defiance Beef. Defiancebeef
dot Com and use promo code eat drink smoke. That's
the name of the show, and will get one hundred
and fifty dollars off your order.

Speaker 1 (38:10):
It is Christmas week. I hope everybody had a fantastic,
glorious happy Christmas.

Speaker 2 (38:17):
And we, you know, coming off the cold and everything else,
we said, well, go heavy on the cigar. But when
it comes to a bourbon again, gone back to the well.
It's eat, drink smoke. Come Tony Katz. That right there
is America's favorite amateur drinker, Fingers from White Fingers. I
was going through the eat, drink, smoke liquor cabinet here,
which is massive, and I realized that we redid the

(38:41):
Jefferson's Ocean the age at see Rye in earlier this year,
like in January of twenty twenty five, And somehow I
didn't realize that we had opened a bottle, even though
we already had a bottle. So I have two open
bottles of Jefferson's Ocean Aged at Sea Voyage number twenty six,

(39:04):
double barrel dry. We should do something about that. That's
what we're drinking right now. Okay, So we're ending the
year the way we started the year. At ninety six
proof no applause from fingers willow. I so close yet
so far the double barrel rye from Jefferson's Ocean. So
the concept here at the Age at Sea of the
Age and c Is that the barrels are put on boats,

(39:26):
They're put out on the water, and the rocking of
the water moves the juice around in the barrel.

Speaker 1 (39:32):
So you get a different flavor from it. Do I
believe it? I'm not one hundred percent sure. Here's what
I know. It's a very very nice presentation.

Speaker 2 (39:42):
It's a beautiful color in there, with a bit of
orange and a bit of richness going on. And even
as I call it the tail end of this cold,
how lovely, how nice, how flavorful.

Speaker 3 (40:02):
Yeah, there's a bit of rye spice as a nice
bit of sweetness that I can't quite put my finger on.
Not a whole heck of a lot of oak. But man,
if I were the type that would go to a
candle shop and say, ShopKeep right, I would like a

(40:22):
candle and they would say, well, what do you want
it to smell like? I would give them a glass
of this right here.

Speaker 1 (40:27):
It's really really a nice presentation on the nose, and
there is a little bit of caramel.

Speaker 2 (40:38):
It comes across as a little bit fruit for me
right there on the nose. I don't know if that's
totally accurate, but it is delicious, Yeah, just delicious. But
enough enough. We have done this many times. This is
actually the third time we have done this. We did
this in twenty twenty two, did the beginning of twenty

(40:58):
twenty five, and just decided, let's.

Speaker 3 (41:00):
The end of the year with something just we know
is perfect. Yeah, because both of us are sick. You're
you're I'm a little bit further along than you are
with the cold. But to be fair, you know, some
people ask us, why do we revisit stuff. We've done
the show now for twenty one years.

Speaker 2 (41:14):
Right, it's been a long it's been a long it's
been six years. It's been six years, and so some
things are going to repeat themselves. In some things we
want to repeat themselves.

Speaker 1 (41:23):
Don't worry.

Speaker 2 (41:24):
We start off in twenty twenty six. We've got a
huge you hold on fingers. Fingers has tried to take
a sip twice. We have got so many new things
to bring you fantastic and yes, more tequilas and more RUMs,
and I only mentioned the rum because starting next week
we give you our top three bourbons and our top
three cigars of the year, and you might see a

(41:47):
rum on my list. Really, I'm just leaving that as
a possible tease right now.

Speaker 1 (41:53):
You know you could further the teas by saying yo
hoo ho in a barrel of rum. Yeah, I try.
Fingers are ready for this. I've been ready for this
all year.

Speaker 2 (42:02):
Fingers will always going to do what is called the
Kentucky chew, taking the juice, moving it around the palette,
really getting a feel for those flavors.

Speaker 1 (42:09):
I believe in the two steps methodology.

Speaker 2 (42:11):
The first zip to set the taste buds right, get
over that initial a chak er sting, whatever it may be.
The second sip to really get an idea, the feel
the flavors of this. The Jefferson's Ocean. This is the
agency double barrel rye whiskey coming in at ninety six.
Proof is what's going on here? Voyage twenty six In

(42:32):
case you're keeping an eye at home, what say you?

Speaker 3 (42:35):
For those of you that don't know the Voyage twenty six,
it's a little bit better than the Voyage twenty five,
but not as good.

Speaker 1 (42:40):
As the Voyage twenty seven. Every time, every time, what
say you fingers?

Speaker 3 (42:46):
That oak is there, There is a little bit of caramel,
that rye spice is there, and there's another sweetness. It's
almost like a like a bready sweetness that's there that
I think that's what it is. It's it's I'm having
a hard time. I'm having a hard time putting my
finger on it. But listen, it's it's lovely. And I mean,

(43:07):
you saw how much of our little poor here that
I took.

Speaker 1 (43:12):
I took a nice switch take a grown man sip.

Speaker 3 (43:15):
Yeah I did, and it it doesn't play like it's
almost a hundred proof to me anyway. But again, I'm
sick and this is medicinal, So go ahead give us
your impression, Tony.

Speaker 1 (43:28):
This is Voyage twenty six, the Jefferson's Ocean Age. A't see.

Speaker 2 (43:32):
It's Christmas week and you had a fantastic Christmas and
at least we hope. And then you got your feet
up and the family is left and the kids are
playing with their toys while they're still interested in the toys,
and you have a chance to have a.

Speaker 1 (43:47):
Drink, and you went with a classic. You went with
something great. That's why we chose it.

Speaker 3 (43:51):
Here you go, he's going in ladies and gentlemen, and
he's doing what we like to call here at eatring smoke,
the saganaw swish, the Memphis munch, Chattanooga chomp man.

Speaker 1 (44:03):
It's so oh he's.

Speaker 3 (44:05):
Going back and oh, you know what, and and again
it's medicinal.

Speaker 1 (44:08):
It is you almost busted at ahamad ahamadahamad Ha.

Speaker 2 (44:16):
It's so good. It is so so good. It's such
a wonderful presentation. It does have that that real sweetness
going on, at least that's what I'm getting. The rise
spice is there as you get into the to the
finish and you.

Speaker 1 (44:32):
Get a little bit, you get a little bit of
the spice I think in in in the finish, But
that that palette is luscious and warm and has got
a kind of holiday sweet.

Speaker 2 (44:45):
I guess you could call it. The bready sweet that
you're talking about. I think is really there, but it's
it's met with a little bit of like creaminess. The
guys over breaking Bourbon dot Com referred to it as
a toasted marshmallow, which I think is a nice way
to put it. I don't think I get that esoteric
in my in my commentaries, everything about it is just

(45:08):
so enjoyable, relaxed. And while there I don't have a
mash bell on this, I have no mash belt on
the on the Jefferson's Jefferson's Ocean Agency, Rye. The spice
is not in intensity, the the the sweet and the
and the fullness is more on display. Absolutely adore it,

(45:34):
so absolutely adore it.

Speaker 3 (45:35):
This is my question to you, because I have much
more of a sweet tooth than you do, and you
are the rye guy on the show. This doesn't have
the rye spice that you would normally be looking for
and ry wouldn't you want a little bit more of
a rye punch if I, if we're talking about like
like ways, I normally enjoy a rye, yes like a
little more of a rye hit. I for example, when

(45:57):
it comes to Rise Pikesville, to me, is has has
it remains after all these years the standard When when
I think about a rye, this plays much much, much differently.
So even though it is sweeter and has a little
bit less of that that rice spice that you're looking for,
it's it's still something that you enjoy.

Speaker 2 (46:18):
But is it in your liquor cabinet, fingers awoy for
somewhere in today's prices between eighty and one hundred dollars.

Speaker 1 (46:23):
That's tricky. Yeah, not for me. Yeah, it's in the
liquor cabinet.

Speaker 2 (46:28):
Oh, it's one of those that isn't my everyday rye.
It just presents so beautiful, so beautifully that there is
a bottle in the liquor cabinet of the Jefferson's Ocean
Agency rot There were two.

Speaker 1 (46:42):
Yeah, well now there's soon to just be one. Very
good news for fingers of a loy. The I R
S is confirmed that the Jackport jack pot reporting threshold
will increase the two thousand dollars. It's about damn time

(47:05):
see drink smoke. I'm Tony Katz. That is American's favorite
amateur drinker.

Speaker 2 (47:08):
Fingers But boy, but you when when it says jackpot,
does it mean like like a like a slot machine
or does.

Speaker 1 (47:15):
It mean any winning? Well, it normally affects uh slot players. Listen.

Speaker 3 (47:21):
I'm not a high roller where I can spend two
thousand dollars a hand on blackjack? Right, but if you were,
would you that would be the game to play or uh,
why it's blackjack?

Speaker 1 (47:35):
The best odds? Yeah, that of craps backrack? Do you
even know how to play background now? Any either one?
But perhaps I can't figure out.

Speaker 2 (47:47):
I get to the table and some people help me,
and I'm like, all right, so roll So you want
me to roll this?

Speaker 1 (47:52):
So you want me to play it? Here? A fine?

Speaker 2 (47:53):
And I get and then I it's so long in
between when I play, I don't recall.

Speaker 3 (47:59):
My problem with it is the table is surrounded with people,
and everybody's huddled around the craps table, and I just
want to be left alone, you know, buy a machine
in the corner with my cigar where I'm not bothering anyone.

Speaker 1 (48:18):
Is that why you video poker?

Speaker 3 (48:19):
Yes, that's the only reason why video poker, because you
hooker has the best odds of any machine in a casino.
But as far as if you're actually going to gamble
to try to win something, it's it's not machines but.

Speaker 1 (48:35):
You when you play video poker. Because I have sat
with you many times playing video poker now, and I
have seen you win, and I've seen you lose. You
have seen me win, you have seen me lose. Did
I or did I not get a royal flesh and
jump off the chair, Ladies and gentlemen.

Speaker 3 (48:51):
We were at a casino in Las Vegas, Haras in
their little cigar area, which is awesome. Yes, I hope
it's still there, and Tony sat down. Within a half
hour he has played next to if we were going
to compare how many hands of video poker I've played
versus how many hands of video poker you've played.

Speaker 2 (49:11):
Right fingers Withoy has played ninety two million hands of
video poker, and I have said the term video poker
fourteen times.

Speaker 1 (49:19):
I believe that that's the spread between us.

Speaker 3 (49:22):
We were in Vegas for an hour and he sat
down and he got a royal flush and if correct
me if I'm wrong, but didn't you draw Your initial
draw was four cards to a royal And yeah, that
happens all the time, and you're like, watch this, and
then you hit the fifth card for the royal. He
sprung up out of his chair ran a lap around

(49:45):
the park.

Speaker 1 (49:46):
First of all, I didn't run. I did walk with
my hands in my air. In the air, I said,
I didn't done. I did the thing. The idea that
you remember, see, this is how I know. So this
is your life. You remember what it was? I had?

Speaker 3 (50:05):
Yeah, it was either three or four cards to the
royal And you're like what ah, and I'm like yeah, yeah, yeah,
it happens all the time. And then he got the
he got the royal. And you know, I'm not one
of these people like some are that are upset when
they see someone next to them when a royal, when
it's a friend, especially when it's a it's like, Okay,
good for you, congrats did the whole lap or I

(50:26):
couldn't help but chuckle.

Speaker 1 (50:28):
It was funny.

Speaker 3 (50:29):
It was like, my god, he's been here for a
half hour. He gets the biggest hand on a video
poker machine that you can possibly get. You won seven
what was it, one point two million dollars?

Speaker 2 (50:37):
I believe I won two hundred dollars. I have no
idea even how much it us.

Speaker 1 (50:42):
I know how much.

Speaker 3 (50:42):
If you want me to say, good, one thousand dollars
is that what I want? So what I went home with, Well, no,
you were in Vegas. Huh, she'd have done this wrong.

Speaker 1 (50:51):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (50:51):
But by the way, Uh, the Haras has this really
strange like when you walk through the hair through, right,
you've got casino on each side and it comes to
like a main hallway, and so these two areas converge
like fallopian tubes.

Speaker 1 (51:07):
That's exactly how they it is.

Speaker 2 (51:10):
It is, it's all sexual, and there's a there's this
this bar in the middle, and it's it's it's a
round bar, and they allow cigars smoking. Not every casine
allows cigars smoking, and very often his fingers nose, they
don't allow cigars at the bar.

Speaker 1 (51:28):
It's weird to have a small sign. We talked about
this before.

Speaker 2 (51:31):
It's it's basically the size of a postage stamp that
says no cigar smoking. And yeah, yeah, cigarettes are fine.
I don't know what they have against cigars, but the
Haras just to name a place they allow this and
it is fantastic that you could sit and be and do.

Speaker 1 (51:46):
And the weirdest part is that bar is never the
most crowded bar.

Speaker 3 (51:50):
No, it's crazy, maybe because it's filled with cigar smoke.

Speaker 2 (51:55):
So good such a good bartenders are great and everyone's
terrific there and loved it. But the threshold, what does
this mean to you that the threshold which was twelve
hundred is now two.

Speaker 3 (52:08):
Thousand, So if you know, it doesn't really come into
play with what we were playing, because you bet a
dollar twenty five playing quarter poker, at the biggest hand
you can get is a royal flush, which would pay
you one thousand dollars. At that point, the machine just
gives you one thousand dollars if you cash out. But
for other games, if you're playing other you know, a

(52:29):
denomination fifty cent a hand, then your royal flush would
be two thousand dollars. So if you got a royal
flush playing fifty cent poker at a max bet, it
would be two thousand dollars. At that point, your machine
freezes up starts playing music for everyone around you to
know that you just hit a jackpot. Then casino personnel
have to come out, give you a form to fill

(52:50):
out tax form. You got to present your ID, and
then that jackpot is recorded and reported to the IRSU
because it was, you know, two thousand dollars at the time,
higher than twelve hundred dollars. Well now, and I believe
that I don't have the information in front of me,
but I believe that twelve hundred dollars threshold was set

(53:11):
in the eighties. So I don't know if you know
this or not. But twelve hundred dollars in the nineteen
eighties compared to twelve hundred dollars today, there's a big gap.

Speaker 2 (53:20):
Right, So it's two thousand, it should have gone to
eighty two million, Yes, exactly.

Speaker 3 (53:25):
So gamblers and especially Vegas casinos have been screaming for
years that this needs to be adjusted because it also
you don't have to have casino employees coming out as
much because you know, a two thousand dollars jackpot versus
twelve hundred dollars, that's a big gap, and you won't
have casino personnel having to come out as much to

(53:45):
do all this paperwork. So this is a welcome change
in the gaming industry as well as for people that
go and gamble.

Speaker 2 (53:54):
I I look at but it hasn't changed the amount
of people going to vague. Like when I go to Vegas,
I'm going for food, I'm going for other things, right,
not not the gambling. The Vegas problem is still as
you follow this stuff, the Vegas problem is still real, right.

Speaker 3 (54:09):
Yeah, the Vegas problem is still real, and it's not
due to this regulation.

Speaker 1 (54:14):
You know.

Speaker 3 (54:14):
It has everything to do with how Vegas casinos are
now nickeling and diming the the middle class gambler and
traveler to Vegas out between high resort fees, charging people
for parking, wanting you get a cup of coffee and
it's eleven dollars that kind of stuff, or at least
before there felt like there was value in a Vegas

(54:36):
vacation because maybe you would have a limited budget gambling.

Speaker 1 (54:40):
But if you, you know.

Speaker 3 (54:41):
Use a player's club card at the end of your trip,
you may find that you're not paying for your room.
They've you know, given you several dinners and now it's
to the point where a lot of that is gone.

Speaker 1 (54:52):
Yeah, so you're getting less, you're paying more, you're getting
holy screwed, and you're angry about it. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (55:02):
And so people have said, forget it, I'm not cutting
I'll just go to my local casino. Why should I
travel here to be treated this way?

Speaker 2 (55:10):
The argument has been whether or not Vegas has really responded.
Do you feel that they have not in a substantial
way now, so they've got a long way to go
before the crowd's come back. Absolutely find everything we do
wherever it is you find our podcast.

Speaker 1 (55:29):
Just look for the podcast Eat Drink, Smoke and subscribe
Eat drink, smoke. It is your cigar and bourbon foody extravaganza.

Speaker 2 (55:41):
I'm Tony Katz. That's Fingers, my boy. You wanna get
the podcast. Wherever it is you get your podcasts, just
look for eat, drink, smoke.

Speaker 1 (55:47):
What's the matter? I don't have water, you don't have
an ice cube.

Speaker 2 (55:51):
Honestly, we are just so lucky that we are so
far over this cold.

Speaker 1 (55:56):
We're here.

Speaker 2 (55:57):
It's been brutal and from everything I'm hearing like flu
is going around left and right. People are in serious
like it's the worst flu ever. It's always somehow the
worst flu ever. But Fingers had a cold and yours
has been like really chested and really congestion. I got
a cold last week. I'm on really on the tail
end mostly. I feel fine now. Last week we recorded,

(56:20):
I was a mess, still not perfect. So we took
it very very easy with the Jefferson Notion Agency double
Barrel Rye and we did this back in January. So
we're ending the year the way we started the year,
just something we knew would be just an absolute absolute pleasure.
Turn eighty and one hundred dollars a bottle. Really, depending

(56:41):
on where you're shopping and not really the high rye
spice that you would expect from a rye. But there's
a lot of lusciousness here. It is such excuse me,
I'm going back in.

Speaker 3 (56:52):
Oh, look at you without a cube, but he's still
because he's muscling through. He decided just to go for
it and you're happy.

Speaker 1 (57:01):
And for the record, we're not changing the show. We're
huge believers. And you try it with a cube, you
try it with water, you try it neat, you find
what works for you, because some bourbons it might not
work for you neat, but it's great on a cube,
it's great.

Speaker 2 (57:13):
A little bit of water. No, you don't want to
do those things. You got to try it in all
the ways in order to find out what's the best
expression of what it is the distiller created. We admit
it's Christmas week and we hope everybody had a fantastic
Christmas because of just how the year ended, which I
would admit to you fingers. We've been doing the show
for six years. I have never had a more busy, tumultuous,

(57:38):
weird ending to a year. And I said this earlier.

Speaker 1 (57:43):
I don't usually end years like well, I'm glad that's over,
because it's not. You know, tomorrow will come.

Speaker 2 (57:49):
Tomorrow is another day, and the new year is gonna come,
and there's gonna be other.

Speaker 1 (57:52):
Things that go on. So I never usually think that way.
It has just been a lot all at one. It's
almost overwhelming in a way.

Speaker 2 (58:02):
And I don't, I admit to you, I'm not a
guy who feels that way really at all. But I'm
I just like the last couple of weeks of kind
of taking it a little bit easy.

Speaker 1 (58:12):
Yeah, I'm very very good with that.

Speaker 3 (58:15):
I can't wait for twenty twenty six. I'm just hoping
midway through twenty twenty six. I'm not going to miss
twenty twenty five. Ah, everything has to get better, right
what one would assume?

Speaker 1 (58:30):
You know what?

Speaker 3 (58:31):
That's what keeps bringing people back to eat Drink smoke
and being a part of Eat, Drink Smoke Nation. It's
because we're always glasses half full kind of guys.

Speaker 1 (58:40):
But we are. Oh are you wait? I am?

Speaker 3 (58:46):
I was waiting for you to realize what you were saying. Yeah,
I realize the mistake quickly. I'm a rather optimistic cat.

Speaker 2 (58:55):
I'm very much a believer that it's all going to
be like things can be good and and just you
can work through it and and don't get caught up
in the madness same disease. Oh, it's funny because it's
not true. So no, we didn't do the cube this week.
But I can't recommend it enough. It really is an

(59:17):
absolutely wonderful presentation. Now, if you're somebody who wants the
high Rise spice, I could get that this.

Speaker 1 (59:24):
Is not yours.

Speaker 2 (59:25):
That's that's absolutely true, But as something that's in the
liquor cabinet, I'm a yes. I think it's just a
terrific presentation. And we're smoking from Espinoza Cigars. They're not
gonna sandwich off menu. What are you gonna say?

Speaker 1 (59:40):
Fingers for me?

Speaker 3 (59:41):
This is a nice holiday rye because of the sweetness.
If you want a little bit of rye spice but
you're not fully let's say you're rye curious, this is nice.
And while I said earlier eighty to one hundred dollars
is really steep for me, I highly recommend if you
see this at your favorite lounge, kit yourself poor.

Speaker 1 (01:00:00):
Yeah, and I think it should be in your liquor cabinet.

Speaker 2 (01:00:03):
The cigar is from Espinos it's a knuckle sandwich off menu.
It's what they make for the THAA to Tobacconist Association
of America.

Speaker 1 (01:00:11):
So if you can find it, you grab it.

Speaker 2 (01:00:12):
Thirteen dollars and fifty cents a stick, six by a
fifty four box, press your right fingers. The flavor has
not changed throughout this cigar. I think maybe there's a
little bit build up of spices. I'm in the final
third of the stick, so it's smoking a little faster
than I thought it would. It is smoky, which is

(01:00:35):
really interesting for a cigar. It's got you know you
we had talked about bonfire, You talked about wet leaves
and things like that, and you're like, wait, wait, that
doesn't make any sense. Smoke it. Compared to all the
other knuckle sandwiches, this is a far more to me
flavorful stick. This is absolutely a full bodied stick. And
at the first it was really hit me for a loop.

(01:00:56):
I'm better now, I'm fine. Now it's reverse for me.
I would have argued at the beginning, this is I
bet this is. This is feeling like.

Speaker 3 (01:01:04):
More medium and boy, now that I'm getting into the
final third, it is starting to hit me.

Speaker 2 (01:01:09):
That Pennsylvania broadleaf, Nicaragua and the binder and filler. I
like Pennsylvania Broadleaf. It's big, but it is, it's smoky,
it's it's very unique in that regard of all the
knuckle sandwiches which are Espinoza with Guy Fierti, this to
me is the most flavorful one.

Speaker 1 (01:01:26):
This is a lot of cool happening here.

Speaker 2 (01:01:30):
There would be a couple in the humidor because every
now and are gonna be like, let me go back
to that as a matter of where my natural flavor
profile is. No, as a matter of unique, yes, like
trying this, Like okay, they really did get something here

(01:01:52):
that isn't of the every day And I go back
to that smoky, almost ashy make you think of Scott
in that regard interesting interesting smoke. At thirteen dollars and
fifty cents a stake, I think it so sixteen dollars
a stick?

Speaker 1 (01:02:12):
Am I getting it wrong? Was it sixteen?

Speaker 3 (01:02:14):
I'll double check myself because it was for me in
my humid door. It's sixteen dollars.

Speaker 1 (01:02:20):
Six I don't know why I said thirteen fifty.

Speaker 3 (01:02:22):
I apologize. It's sixteen dollars a stick. Yeah, it's still
in my humid door. I have enjoyed it it. We
haven't had too much of a problem with the maintaining it.
It's well constructed, and yeah, it is a full bodied cigar.
I wouldn't make this an everyday smoke for me. I
couldn't do this every now, but yeah, I would have

(01:02:42):
one or two of these in my humid door.

Speaker 1 (01:02:45):
Fingers will. It's time for news of the week.

Speaker 3 (01:02:49):
So it was just announced a week ago that Danny's
has decided they're going to shut down one hundred and
fifty locations by years and they apparently have just gone
private or they're going to go private. A couple of
private equity groups have have purchased it and part of
this restructuring reorganization of Denny's, one hundred and fifty stores

(01:03:12):
are going by the wayside. Now wow, you know, to me,
I went to a Denny's about a month ago with
my father. It was the first time he had been
in Denny's and ever uh, and it struck me because
I thought to myself, well, first of all, you know,
you still get the a nice variety of breakfast foods

(01:03:34):
at Denny's. I did kind of feel like I paid
a lot more than I was used to paying out
of Denny's. And of course everything has gone up. It
makes me wonder if maybe, and this is just anecdotal,
Denny's lost its way a little bit where you thought
you thought.

Speaker 2 (01:03:50):
Denny I think as a brand, it's just it's it's
not exciting, it's not interesting, it's not where people think of.

Speaker 1 (01:03:55):
It's just but it was budget. It's old.

Speaker 3 (01:03:57):
Well it could be that too, it's dated. But you
always thought Denny's was like a place for a budget breakfast.
And if they've kind of gone away from that a
little bit, maybe people.

Speaker 2 (01:04:06):
Say everybody's gone away from that. Sure, I mean, what's
budget now? What when egg prices were up? Everything went
up and prices have not come down.

Speaker 3 (01:04:16):
So it's been a while since I've been to an
ie Hop, but I kind of felt like I Hop
and Denny's were kind of that, you know, chain, budget,
sit down restaurant that you can go to. And things
have changed, and you know some of these places of struggle,
and clearly Denny's as now they've gone private and now
they're continuing to scale back and shut down locations.

Speaker 2 (01:04:38):
So the question before them is is there a way
to rethink this or rebuild this, or is it brand
or is it consumer preference. I'm not gonna go out
to the place where I now also have to leave
the tip to get a subpar service in a subpar breakfast.

Speaker 1 (01:04:56):
I'm not saying that Denny's is subpar.

Speaker 2 (01:04:58):
I'm saying that compared to other places and other dollars
is not how people view it.

Speaker 1 (01:05:04):
You tell me you were there about Joe. Was it solid?

Speaker 3 (01:05:06):
It was solid? I was just spent more than I
thought I was going to. But where does that not happen?

Speaker 1 (01:05:11):
That what it is, which is exactly the point. There
are two stories to end this year that are just
the most perfect stories to end the year.

Speaker 2 (01:05:26):
One involves Costco and one involves your cat.

Speaker 1 (01:05:30):
Wait, my cat? Your cat, it's dead. That's what makes
the story so weird.

Speaker 2 (01:05:37):
See Drink Smell coum, Tony Kats You joked about a
dead cat. That right there is America's favorite amateur drinker,
Fingers molloy.

Speaker 1 (01:05:44):
It doesn't mind.

Speaker 2 (01:05:49):
We do seem to cover a fair amount of Costco stories,
mostly because Fingers maloy is still pining for the return
of the onion gun.

Speaker 1 (01:05:58):
Bring it back. What do you win for it's twenty
twenty six. We can put a man on the moon.
Allegedly we can. That made me feel good. Oh holy,
I had kept a straight face. We deserve our onion
gun back. Uh some Uh. It's very possible that Costco

(01:06:19):
is going to get a new look.

Speaker 2 (01:06:21):
You're going to see possibly redesigns of stores pre scan technology.

Speaker 3 (01:06:29):
That needs to happen. Really, Oh my goodness. Did you
go to Bjy's warehouse? No, No, we had a we
had a falling out again. Well what am I supposed
to do?

Speaker 1 (01:06:42):
You know?

Speaker 2 (01:06:43):
I believe if I want to try and clothes, so
I should be able to try in my undergarments right
there in the.

Speaker 1 (01:06:47):
Aisle, but not in the deli section. Well that's where
the meat is.

Speaker 3 (01:06:54):
But you go to BJ's And what I like about
BJS is you can scan the eye items as you shop,
pay for everything on your phone, and just walk out.

Speaker 1 (01:07:04):
You don't have to deal with cashiers your hatred of
human interaction, not just that, it's not just that, Okay, no.

Speaker 3 (01:07:17):
It's you don't have to wait in line, just walk out.
It's wonderful. And you know, for for those of you
that don't mind having your credit card information on your phone.
You can you can pay for it on your phone
and leap by the way. My uh, well, I don't
want to get into it. Oh someone got a hold
of my my debit card and charge one thousand dollars

(01:07:39):
at Home Depot in New York.

Speaker 1 (01:07:40):
And when I find you, I'm not going to find you. Really,
someone got a hold from the dark web? Did that? Yes?
They did?

Speaker 3 (01:07:49):
How did your bank handle it? They notified me. I
hadn't even noticed it by this and it never made
it to where I track all of my trans actions,
never even made it to the app. They me, and
they went to Home Depot and Taco Bell. Oh yeah,
apparently the bank stopped them both, although somebody may have

(01:08:11):
gotten away with a crunchy rap supreme.

Speaker 1 (01:08:15):
Oh so so. So the question is were they able
to get the goods so Home Depot is out of
the goods or were they not able to did it
not go through it?

Speaker 3 (01:08:24):
I don't know if you don't get it was almost
a thousand dollars transaction and apparently it got flagged. So
either they got the stuff and ran out the door
and Home Depots out of thousand dollars worth of merchandise,
or it got flagged right away and the transaction didn't
go through.

Speaker 1 (01:08:38):
My take at least, I hope for their sake. I
don't know about the crunchy. It always thinks when that happens.
I've had it happen. It's just it's just a gigantic pain. Uh.

Speaker 2 (01:08:49):
Costco is going to build out their digital strategy, strategy
they want, I guess they want this more online thing
happening UH as well.

Speaker 1 (01:09:01):
And employees are gonna get a raise. Well, that's good.

Speaker 2 (01:09:07):
The lowest paid clerk across US Costco stores will soon
make twenty one dollars an hour and the highest paid
we'll get thirty two an hour. Did you know when
they work weekends they get time and a half.

Speaker 1 (01:09:20):
That's great.

Speaker 3 (01:09:21):
But I can't help but notice that there's a possibility
that you're going to be able to scan your own
items and not have to deal with the cash here.

Speaker 1 (01:09:28):
So you mean they're gonna have less employees? Is that
what's happening? Eh? Eh? Just doing the math? Is that
how you just played a KOI right there. I'm just
saying it's.

Speaker 3 (01:09:43):
Just an odd thing that they are going to give
a nice raise to cashiers but also let customers possibly
scan their own items and not deal with the cash here.

Speaker 1 (01:09:52):
The other one is that the food court where you
get the dollar fifty hot dog and it used to
be a Pepsi.

Speaker 2 (01:09:59):
Did they switched to coke? They go back to coke
according to this story. I think we discussed this. I'm
forgetting right now.

Speaker 1 (01:10:06):
They moved back to Coca Cola from the Pepsi.

Speaker 2 (01:10:10):
You will now have to scan your membership card in
order to get the hot dog. No, just sneaking in
you non cost Co net members and getting a buck
fifty weenie.

Speaker 1 (01:10:22):
And I say, finally, right right. I don't like people,
you know, like crossing into cost co illegally and trying
to take advantage of all our benefits. What wow? No,
but serious?

Speaker 3 (01:10:36):
Why should the Costco food court be busier filled with
people that didn't pay for the membership to begin right?

Speaker 1 (01:10:45):
And all those people who paid for the membership they
have to wait online. They might even get their hot dog,
and they'll be like, they'll be out of hot dog.
They won't They paid for the for the for the opportunity.

Speaker 2 (01:10:54):
They won't even get the chance because somebody else snuck
in and took their opportunities from them.

Speaker 3 (01:11:00):
Yeah, and what was their solution to this problem banning
the onion gun.

Speaker 2 (01:11:04):
Yeah, you see that they didn't fix the problem. They
didn't fix the problem. They're not protecting their border.

Speaker 1 (01:11:13):
Wow, look at look at it right now. Half each
shrink smoked nation is like I see what you did there,
and the other half is like, yeah, I want my
buck fifty hot dog. I don't want people in the way,
like like it'll come slower slower to them. I have

(01:11:33):
to say something.

Speaker 3 (01:11:35):
You couldn't have stopped me earlier. No, no, no, I
was enjoying the whole thing. But I must say the
image in this piece, which is not at all different
from images at every Costco of the food court where
they have the menu and the dollar fifty hot dog. Yes,
it's loaded with onion gun onions. It is, and it's

(01:11:57):
next to a Coca Cola, which is interesting. So they
were able to update the beverage to Coca Cola, but
yet did not update the fact that that hot dog
is loaded with onion onions.

Speaker 2 (01:12:10):
But you can get the onions. They'll just give you
a little cup of onions. But you know what, why
are you eating buck fifty hot dogs? I mean, don't
get me wrong when you could be eating the finest
steaks ever from Defiance Beef. Are our proud sponsor, Get
that whole cow delivered right to you defiancebeef dot Com.

Speaker 1 (01:12:28):
The rabbis, the strips, the stew meat, the flying.

Speaker 2 (01:12:32):
Steak, the strip steaks, the brisket, all there, individually frozen,
cut to your specifications and ready for you from the
Indiana farm to your table. Go to defiancebeef dot Com.
Defiancebeef dot Com. Use promo code eat drink smoke and
get one hundred and fifty dollars off your order immediately
you pick quartercow, half cow, full cow. They'll then call

(01:12:54):
you after its age for twenty one days and say, okay,
how are we cutting this for you? You tell them
they take care of the rety. They will individually cry
go back everything and shipped right to you. I should say,
vacuum packed, shipped right to you. Defiance Beef. Defiancebef dot Com.
Use promo code eat Drink smoke and get one hundred
and fifty dollars off your order. Defiance beef dot Com.

(01:13:16):
Now fingers the other story about your cat. There's a
story out of Michigan. Of course, at a Michigan. What's up,
Superstation Detroit?

Speaker 1 (01:13:24):
How you doing?

Speaker 2 (01:13:26):
Woman says Amazon driver stole her cat while delivering packages.
I'm sorry, now the story's out a Michigan, but this
really happens in Los Angeles. She shared footage from a
ring camera showing the driver walking up, dropping off a package,
petting her cat, then shows the driver carrying the cat away.

Speaker 1 (01:13:51):
Amazon has not commented on the matter.

Speaker 3 (01:13:55):
Why would anyone in this day and age think that
there isn't a camera on the front porch watching everything
you do? Why would anybody want a cat? Well, cats
are expensive. It's not like you can get them for free, Tony.

Speaker 1 (01:14:11):
It turns out you can. Turns out they're just walking around.
You just put a collar on one called Fluffy. But
I just don't know why you would want one. I
don't know, but I do know this.

Speaker 3 (01:14:21):
Apparently you can get a cable Ace Award certificate on eBay.

Speaker 1 (01:14:25):
For those of you who are listening earlier to the show,
Oh you get one. You make that happen?

Speaker 2 (01:14:30):
Guys, We hope you had a magnificent, enjoyous at Christmas.
We decided to pull out a classic Jefferson's ocean, the
Double Bower Rye aged at ce Voyage twenty six.

Speaker 1 (01:14:40):
Just spectacular. Eighty to one hundred dollars a bottle and the.

Speaker 2 (01:14:42):
Cigar, the off menu from Knuckle, Sandwich from Espinoza sixteen
dollars a stick.

Speaker 1 (01:14:48):
It's worth a try, it is. This is a nicely
done piece.

Speaker 2 (01:14:52):
Just not sure about the every day hope you had
to Merry Christmas. We'll talk more.

Speaker 1 (01:14:55):
Keep it here. It's eat, rink, smoke,