October 26, 2025 • 36 mins
Are you ready to dive into a world where bourbon meets business, and everyday observations transform into profound insights? This episode takes you on a journey through the rich flavors of 2XO American Oak Bourbon while exploring everything from the skyrocketing costs of new vehicles to the questionable traditions of modern weddings.
Our hosts deliver an engaging tasting experience of 2XO's American Oak bourbon, revealing how this 92-proof spirit transforms from a sweet, creamy sipper neat to a more complex, balanced pour over ice. The conversation flows naturally from detailed flavor notes to broader cultural observations about automotive industry trends, media layoffs, and whether destination weddings are truly worth the expense.
Key Takeaways:
2XO American Oak bourbon tasting begins, revealing initial impressions of caramel, oak, and ethanol on the nose
Discussion of the bourbon's sweet, creamy mouthfeel with vanilla and caramel notes at 92 proof
News segment on new vehicle prices hitting an average of $50,000 for the first time
Conversation about manual transmissions becoming a "lost art" in modern vehicles
Cigar review of the Alec Bradley Gatekeeper Toro ($13)
How water and ice change the bourbon's flavor profile, bringing out more fruit notes
Media industry layoffs at NBC News and the changing business models in journalism
The surprising trend of brand-sponsored weddings and wedding traditions worth skipping
Whether you're a bourbon enthusiast looking for your next bottle, someone fascinated by cultural trends, or you simply enjoy thoughtful conversation with a side of humor, this episode delivers a perfect blend of substance and entertainment. Pour yourself something special and join us for this flavorful discussion about life's pleasures and peculiarities.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Two XO. I gotta admit I've seen the bottle around,
but I didn't know what to XO was until you
realize it's about a double oak.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Technique, and you're like, oh, I don't want to drink that.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
It's Eat Drink smoke. I'm Tony Katz. That is fingers
from Moore. I find everything at Eat Drinks smokeshow dot com.
That's what we are having today, the two XO Oak series.
American Oak. It says American Oak on that. Yes it does.
You don't have to check. This is from Dixon, Deadman
of Kentucky Owl Fame. I'm wondering if we've done two
(00:38):
XO before. I believe we have not this one though. No,
I don't think so. But I specifically remember saying that
two XO is better than one XO, but not as
good as three XO. This comes in right here at
forty seven percent alcohol by volume or ninety four proof.
No applause, bring it, MOLOI does not applaud for anything
(01:02):
that is under one hundred proof.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
I poured big today.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
I was watching you pour and I was like, Okay,
he's gonna quit. No, No, he's still pouring. Has it
been a day no quit and tony kats. That's that's
absolutely right.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
I like the color here right, a little darker, a
little orange right here, not maybe as rich as you
might like, and in in some of those ambers, but
it's a it's a nice, nice color sticking to the glass.
A little bit in that nose fingers maloy.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Mmm, a little oak. There's a little ethanol.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
Oh ha, I got a little hot on the nostril
right there.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
You're getting a little honey on top of us, some
caramel and oak, and then the ethanol that you're referring to.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
There's a little ethanol for sure. Nose is started as sweet,
then got kind of kind of rich, very very full.
I don't know what I would call that. I'm trying
to think of. There there's fruit, but it's not maybe
(02:13):
playing the stone fruits. It's it's not overwhelming. It's certainly
not orchard. It's certainly not bright. It's certainly not berries,
and it's not citrus.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
No, no, it is not.
Speaker 3 (02:24):
But I'll tell you what it is. If you get
past that little bit of that of that ethanol, it's nice.
It's nice.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
I'm not complaining. I'm not complaining about it at all
but enough enough sniff and fingers malloy, Are you ready
for this?
Speaker 3 (02:39):
It's my favorite song, by the way. Enough sniffing, enough sniffing. Yeah,
it's off of Alabama's third album, Alabama three. Are you
ready for that? I've been ready for this.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
A fingers Willy is gonna do what's known as the
Kentucky chow. That is, moving the juice around the palate,
getting a feel for the flavors. I like the two
step theory, the too sip. I'm gonna say it again,
the two sip there, the first zip to set the
taste buds, the second zip to really get an idea
of where the flavors are. Yeah, I'm still hit by
that ethanol, but there is a sweetness, there is a
(03:11):
pleasantness underneath that. It's just for me.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
The ethanol is hitting a little bit harder. I don't know.
I don't know why.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
It's nice first of all, nice little bit of staying
on the tongue, gentle, warmth in the chest, nice bit
of oak. There is that caramel uh that that I
referenced on the nose. It does transfer to the palette
and a bit of spice. It's it's very nice. I
(03:42):
really like it. I don't know if I want a
monkey with it by putting water in it later in
the show, but I will for each drink Smoke Nation.
You are a great American, but I'm very curious to
see what you think, Tony.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
I'm going in.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
This is the two exo, the Oak series, American Oak.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
He's going in, ladies and gentlemen, and he's doing what
we like to call the Memphis munch, the Chattanooga chomp,
the Sagana swish. And oh that's way sweeter than I
thought it was gonna be.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
That is way.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
Sweeter he's going in. That's why he made the big
poor He knew he was going to go in for
seconds right away. But too sweet for Tony.
Speaker 4 (04:28):
No, no, no, no, oh wow. I just swallowed that
in a big gulp, and that hurt.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
Okay, that is sweeter. That has got vanilla, that's got caramel.
It's rich, it's almost serapy. That is a big mouthfeel
fully coating the tongue. The lips have a little bit
of sting. You can feel it in the cheek. I
have to work now now. I feel the heat sent
chest okay, right like like through the sturnum. I feel
(05:03):
it right there.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
But that's not like, oh my gosh, that's that's nearly
one hundred proof.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
No, no, I it's it's it's not painful. It is
much more luscious than I would have thought. It's it's
much creamier. The guy's over at whiskey advocate said whipped cream.
And I think they're onto something because it is much
more about a feel than maybe about a flavor. But
it's a way to describe the cream. I think that's
(05:31):
really really nice.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
I'm getting that.
Speaker 3 (05:33):
I'm noticing that, especially on the finish, like it really lingers,
and I could see where you would get that. So
there's a creamy finish to it.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
And I'm not gonna lie.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
It's a little smoky.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
Really, I'm not kidding, Am I kidding? That go back
in for thirds not judging, So how smoky? Huh?
Speaker 1 (05:59):
I there there there's a sweetness that kind of counteracts
the concept of the bourbon caramel that you would normally
maybe want or expect. But there's a lot of good
happening in here, a tremendous I can't wait to put
this on a cube. I can't wait to see what
that's like. But I could see how people are doing this.
(06:22):
I could see how people are our simpleness. There's real
richness going on with this bourbon. This is the two XO.
This is the American Oak, and you can find the
website by the way at two XO number two XO
whiskey dot com. Fingers momoy. This was released back in
(06:43):
twenty twenty three. Is this in your liquor cabinet? For
forty nine ninety nine a.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
Bottle without putting it through more of a test with
the cool drops of water in it. At this point
I would say yes, I want.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
It on the cube to know if it's in my
liquor cabinet, But off the cuff, off the off the
first I definitely see how this is in somebody's liquor cabinet.
This is a flavor that's going to work for people, right,
not overwhelming on the proof So therefore not this this
overarching punch, but a that that that sweet still feeling
(07:22):
some oak, that finish that plays no bitter whatsoever, feeling
it in the cheek, that fullness. Ah, Yeah, there's there's
something here to appreciate for sure. That isn't that is interesting?
Do I want more oak?
Speaker 2 (07:43):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (07:44):
What I like a little less sweetness absolutely for me,
a little less sweetness, a little more oak. And I
and I and I. It's not that I want this
big spice bomb, but I think that would just be
the there'd be just a touch more balance that makes
me say, oh, absolutely.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
For me, presented with much more oak than it did
for you. And I think this is where we're really
starting to notice a difference in our palates. Because I
have such a ridiculous sweet tooth. This doesn't feel overly
sweet to me, but it is. It is sweet, yes
it is, but that's not the first thing that hit
me was the oak. Really yeah, It's like, oh, that's oak,
(08:21):
and then everything else started gating later for me and
I would just I would like a better balance.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
But we'll see what the cube has to bring. We'll
see what the water brings for fingers boys find everything
at Eat Drinks smokeshow dot com and follow us on Instagram,
Eat Drink Smoke Podcasts, and the Twitter x go Eat
Drink Smoke. Everything is stupid expensive, It's stupid.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
What's going on.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
Gold is forty one hundred dollars an ounce. It might
be more by the time you hear this. It's crazy
what is going on is surreal, and there's this report
from Kelly bluebo Look that kind of proves the point.
It's Eat Drink Smoke. I'm Tony Katz, that is fingers
be wore. I find it all at Eat drinksmokeshow dot com.
If you would, we'd appreciate it, if you'd head on
(09:10):
over there and be a part of what we're doing
and what we're growing. Kelly Blue Book has this story
where the new vehicle average transaction price is over fifty
thousand dollars for the first time ever, a new car
on average fifty k Go ahead, Fingers, explain it to me.
Speaker 3 (09:35):
Cars are really expensive now.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
Thank you, Fingers. I appreciate that incredible update.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
But it is amazing to look at the data and unfortunately,
I had seen a few stories about this and it
was I believe five years ago it was just forty thousand.
It's gone up to fifty thousand in just five years.
There's so many things going into this, between new regulations
(10:04):
as far as what needs to go into a vehicle.
There's the tariff conversation, there is the supply chain issues
that automotive manufacturers have had, and also market demand. People
are willing to pay that amount of money for a
new vehicle, So automotive manufacturers are going to charge that
kind of money for that vehicle.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
The ATP, which is the average transaction price, was above
fifty thousand for the first time. If you take a
look at MSRP twenty twenty six, models are now hitting
a lot. The MSRP reached an average fifty two eighty
(10:45):
three dollars the average price. Now you've got luxury vehicles,
you've got electric vehicles, which of course raising the average
price of everything, even though less and less electric vehicles
are being sold because the madness of the push from
the federal government is non existence and any longer. You've
(11:07):
also done away with the subsidies now, so that's going
to change the electric vehicle market. And there are some
cool electric vehicles out there, you know. Full disclosure. I
work with a local car company here in Indianapolis called
Andy Moore Ford. I drive their Forward vehicles and I'm
driving the Forward Lightning, which is the electric pickup, and
I'm telling you it's incredible. It is sensational. But it
(11:32):
has to fit a certain lifestyle.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
You know, I work from home.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
It fits perfectly. I have a friend that has the
Hummer ev which is unbelievable, but again it has to
fit a certain lifestyle. It is not a for everybody
a vehicle. But there are now more than sixty models
with an average transaction price above seventy five thousand sales
(11:56):
nearing ninety four thousand units, seven point four percent of
total industry sales, up from six percent in twenty twenty four.
And then you know of that the Cadillac Escalate is
still the big dog in that in that group you
have mentioned on the show before that people are doing
(12:17):
not five year loans, six year loans, no, no, no,
six year loans, seven year loans, no no, no, not
seven year loans, eight year loans, which you have to
do to make fifty thousand dollars work for a budget. Yeah,
is this based on you? You've brought this up before,
(12:41):
all the added nonsense they're putting into the cars that
no one actually cares about. Is this a labor conversation,
is this a technology premium conversation? Or is this well,
what are you gonna do? Not buy a new car,
not have a new car in the neighborhood, or everyone's
got a new car. Okay, best of luck to you
at the PTA meeting.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
All of that, it's absolutely all of that. Labor prices
of labor costs have gone up, you know, regulations, you
continue to have new things and a lot of it's
just like nickel and dime stuff like the alarm that
lets you know that to remind you that.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
Oh, good gosh, is that the kid that you don't
have is in the back seat. Yes, it's so gross.
Backup cams gross.
Speaker 3 (13:26):
I mean you just one right after another's, you know,
and it's after a backup.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
Camera is a world class of mentioned. The backup camera
is spectacular. The thing that tells you have a car
is coming from the right or for the left, incredible.
The thing that tries to keep you in your lane.
The person who invented that should be sent to Siberia.
Speaker 3 (13:44):
We're getting to the point now. I believe in ten
years no one will know how to parallel park anymore,
because more and more vehicles have the self parallel park?
Speaker 2 (13:51):
Do I or do I not?
Speaker 1 (13:52):
In my garage have a nineteen ninety nine Mazda Miata
so I could teach my kids how to drive a
stick Yes, that got it, to teach them to drive
a stick and then to work on a car that's
pretty easy to work on doing.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
Spark plugs this weekend.
Speaker 3 (14:06):
Oh nice plugs and wires. We don't I don't think
we have the gapper. I was gonna say, do you
have the gapper?
Speaker 1 (14:11):
No, we've got everything else. We don't have the gapper.
We gotta get the gap thing. Probably three or if
that's in the box with the spark plugs.
Speaker 3 (14:19):
Not Usually the gage is probably well, last time I
bought one was three dollars, right, so not but most
of them are already gap properly. But you need to
double check everyone's work. You know why, Tony, because almost
everyone is terrible at their.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
Terrible at their jobs. But learning stick, I mean stick
is a lost art. Parallel parking, it's not that tough.
Speaker 3 (14:42):
Freely admit I've never driven a stick and this is possible.
And this is coming from someone who has a Harley Davidson.
I ride a motorcycle and you you have you know
you have to shift manual shift on a motorcycle. Uh,
but my parents never had a manual car transmission car.
I always drove and continue to drive automatics. Now it's
(15:04):
getting really hard to find a car anymore that has
a manual transmission that's brand new. I mean you have
to get a sports car.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
Yeah, there are only a few. I will tell you.
I've been driving the Miana, and first of all, I
look ridiculous in it. I look up whatever kind of
crisis I'm having, I look like, but I'm so damn
happy when I drive it. I don't care. I'm sure
convertible stick. It has an aftermarket exhaust, and the sound
(15:34):
is just delicious. It's fantastic. But if you're on the
open road, because it's it's only a five speed and
you're going sixty, if you go sixty.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
To the whole car will fall apart.
Speaker 1 (15:48):
It's a go cart. Yeah, it's ridiculous. And in Indianapolis
and near Indianapolis, there's a town called Carmel that has
it has more roundabouts than any other city in the country.
It's own for its roundabouts, and if you take those
at some level of speed, you are sliding everywhere. But
(16:10):
it's it's fantastic, I found out. So we had the
car for a while and then the right rear went flaws, like, okay,
we need new tires, So okay, we just bought the
car used get new tires. It's still happening the right
rear tire, and so I called the Tiregram'm like, what's
the deal here? And he goes it could be that
the chrome is peeling. I'm like, so, does that mean
(16:34):
that it's like cutting into the tire. No, it could
be that the chrome is peeled and now the tire
doesn't fit properly on the rim. So you gotta get
new rims. You gotta get new rims. That wasn't what
I wanted. Getting new rims was not the thing that
I had planned for in in this vehicle. I am
not interested in this thing. Nickel and diming me.
Speaker 3 (16:55):
You know.
Speaker 1 (16:55):
If I gotta do something with the engine, I get
it new rims.
Speaker 3 (16:59):
You got twenty six year old vehicle, You're gonna be
nickeled and dimed. Son of a I paid, I paid
like nothing for there. Did you pay nickels and dimes
for it?
Speaker 1 (17:10):
I paid nickels and rolled up, you know, but I
did pay nickels and dimes for it. Now you should
you should know. I don't drive a stick looks alike.
It looks like a lot of fun, a lot of
money for.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
A car, A lot.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
Eat drink smoke. It is your cigar bourbon foody extravaganza.
Tony Katz Fingers Meloy right there. Find it all at
EA Drinksmoke show dot com. This is the Alec in Bradley,
the Alec Bradley gate Keeper Toro six by fifty two.
It is an Ecuadora and habano rapper Nick Roguin and
the binder. The filler is Nick Roguin and Dominican coming
(17:47):
in at just about thirteen dollars a stick. And that
that that cedar spice, as I would describe it, has
come down a bit now that we're in the second
third of the cigar, deeply into it, and that's where
the tobacco forward's coming out. And now I'm a yes,
(18:09):
this is where I like to be in the cigar.
And this is why you got to buy one and
try it to see where you are with it. If
that spice is too much, again, I think that medium analysis.
I think it's certainly medium plus for sure. But it
is a well constructed cigar. Fingers, you've had a little
(18:29):
trouble keeping yours lit. I have not had that trouble
that can happen from time to time. A nice stick
great hand feel. That rapper feels fantastic, oily, a little
bit gritty right there. A beefy stick really felt it
had the weight and good in the hand. I like
this cigar.
Speaker 3 (18:47):
Yeah, I agree with you wholeheartedly about the tobacco forward.
And now I don't know if because I've had to
light it quite a bit in the last fifteen to
twenty minutes of not getting that ammonia that you get
sometimes when you relight it over and over again it
gets too hot. But I'm something's it's almost like a hey,
I'm getting right now going along with that tobacco forward
that you mentioned, and then that that spice has really
(19:10):
subsided for me. But at thirteen dollars less than thirteen
dollars a stick with twelve seventy seven. Yeah, let's go
with twelve seventy I love it. Yeah, it's it's in
my humid or.
Speaker 2 (19:23):
This is it. It is in my humid or.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
And moving my bourbon here onto the rocks.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
It's gotten a little getting rid of a little bit
of water. Right, let me get my drop.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
Yes, yes, yes, yes, this is the two XO we're
doing right here. This is two XO number two XO.
Whiskey dot com. There double Oak technique. This is the
American Oak Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey. I said forty seven percent.
I apologize forty six percent alcohol by volume, which puts
(19:57):
it in at ninety two proof, not ninety four.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
Fingers. My apologies there.
Speaker 1 (20:03):
It was this unique suite that was going on. Certainly
the nose had a bit of ethanol to it, but
it was a little bit of like whipped cream going on,
and I thought maybe it was kind of like a
stone fruits is where it was at. There was definitely
(20:23):
an oak in there. I'd like to see the oak
a little bit more to maybe counteract. But I put
it on the rocks. That's how you know it's fresh.
And I'm going in because I think I think the
cube is gonna do something to it. Right ice it's water.
Water brings down proof, it can open up the bourbon
some flavors, a little more pronounce I'm a little more muted.
Speaker 2 (20:41):
Here we go.
Speaker 3 (20:42):
He's going in, ladies and gentlemen. He's got the big
rocks glass with a couple of cubes in there, and
he's doing the Memphis munch.
Speaker 2 (20:50):
That was a big sip.
Speaker 1 (20:52):
Yeah, and oh yeah, so what did it do. Oh,
there's a little more spice happening on the tongue. That
lusciousness is a little bit cut. There's a little more
oak that's happening. And the sweet now just makes sense.
There's a little more there's a little more fruit. There's
(21:13):
a little more fruit happening on the tongue itself. No
heat at all in the center chest. Now, maybe feeling
in the lower lower lower chest. Oh that's not bad
at all.
Speaker 2 (21:24):
Oh, look at you, you look so happy. Much better
on the cube.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
This, this is a couple of ice chips. Much better.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
Okay, well on the cube.
Speaker 3 (21:36):
I was wondering, you know, about putting water here because
I thought that it may bring out more spice. And
now you're starting with that analysis to make me think
that that's probably gonna happen with me.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (21:47):
See what happens.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
Added a little bit of water from the dropper that
he did not bring with him. Once again, he has
droppers to put it in the right amount of water.
But water does change, It changes the complexion of the bourb.
And you have to do this. You need to go
through this and try this in all the ways to
see which one is right for you. And a bourbon
you don't like meat, you might like on a cube
(22:09):
you might like with water. You might say, no, I
don't want water on this, I only want it neat.
Speaker 3 (22:13):
For the first time, I'm getting that kind of stone fruit.
Note that you were talking about that water brought down
the spice for me and actually brought down a little
bit of the oak for me before. The first thing
that I noticed was the oak. Didn't notice it off
the bat with a little bit of water in there.
But that fruit, that stone fruit that you mentioned, I
(22:35):
can see where you're getting that. Now. The caramel is there,
that oak and the spice is still there, but it's
a little bit more subdued than it was before. I
would not be unhappy either having it neat or with
water in it.
Speaker 2 (22:52):
So it's forty nine ninety nine.
Speaker 3 (22:55):
You're still I'm still all in.
Speaker 1 (22:57):
Yeah, I think, yes, I think having it on the
cube The answer is yes, you you should.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
This could be in my look.
Speaker 3 (23:07):
So let me ask you this because I feel like
I feel like you're hesitating a little bit on the yes.
Is it because you'd rather with this flavor flavor profile
it be more of a forty dollars bottle.
Speaker 1 (23:21):
And is this a value question, No, this is a
palette question. I think it's it's much better on the cube.
I just I would like a little more, as I said,
a little more oak in there. Okay, that would make me,
that would make me happier. But I get it. I
get it, And I could see the value that people
(23:42):
would put in this as a as a nice bottle
of the bourbon that they have. Forty nine ninety nine
is not a cheap price, but it is more and
more a standard price. So I can I could see this.
I can understand where this is because I can that
that presentation would work, like, Okay, that's very very nice.
Speaker 3 (24:01):
Yeah, it's time fingers Awy for News of the Week, Tony.
The New York Post has the story, Corporate media continues
to struggle. NBC News is preparing for its largest round
of layoffs in years. About seven percent of the workforce
in the newsroom is going to be laid off. How
(24:22):
many seven percent and fifty jobs? Okay, and you know
you've got the whole rebrand with MSNBC.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
Now becoming ms now. That's literally what they're calling it.
News Opinion World, Miss now, Yes, miss now.
Speaker 3 (24:39):
So many jokes. Having said that, as opposed to miss
right now, there it is there. It is, by the way,
terrible rebrand name, awful, awful. I might as well call
it New Coke, terrible rename. They would have been better
off just coming up with something completely different than trying
(25:03):
to incorporate the MSS in it. Right, just you know
Peacock for instance. You know it's the whole NBC umbrella.
You got the Peacock app, and you know you stream
from Peacock. You should have come up with something different.
Speaker 1 (25:16):
Going the stalget and called it pets dot Com.
Speaker 3 (25:18):
There you go.
Speaker 2 (25:19):
I was great.
Speaker 3 (25:20):
I was gonna go with n RON. You went with
pets dot Com. But still the message is the same.
It's going to be interesting. I hear bear Sterns is
still available.
Speaker 1 (25:31):
Too soon.
Speaker 3 (25:32):
No, if you look at my stock portfolio, it's too soon.
Having said that, nothing but n run bear Sterns and
t w A.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
Thank god.
Speaker 3 (25:47):
I thought we were gonna go a full episode without
a t w A reference.
Speaker 2 (25:52):
Never gonna happen.
Speaker 3 (25:53):
But this is gonna happen all over. Yeah, I mean
it's not. It's this is not an NBC MS NBC problem.
This is a corporate media problem. And you know some
media outlets are trying to shake things up.
Speaker 1 (26:08):
CBS News, iHeart, which is owns radio stations across the country,
laid off of was it over fifty people last week?
And you know who lamented it? No one, With all
due respect, I am not going to lament NBC News
doing layoffs. I'm not gonna lament for these people. If
you lost your job, hey, that stinks. Losing your job stinks,
(26:31):
but no one is guaranteed a job. The market forces
are very very real here. So many people are getting
into this game and providing quote unquote news, and people
are going to all these other bifurcated spots. You can't
think that the model is going to work for forever,
and some models aren't. Some people aren't necessary. As models change,
(26:51):
as AI comes, as job descriptions morph, and more people
are doing more for less.
Speaker 2 (26:57):
You may not like it, but it is what it is.
Speaker 1 (27:05):
After considering what my life has been like being married
and oh I'm staying married, my marriage is very very good.
The one thing that my wife and I have concluded
is that the wedding was a terrible idea see drink Smoke.
I'm Tony Katz. That is fingers below. I find it
all at Heat Drink, Smoke Show dot com. Yes, fingers
shahla la lah. Terrible idea. Why did we spend that
(27:29):
money on those people? Half of them we don't talk
to anymore, another quarter of which are dead?
Speaker 2 (27:35):
What was the point?
Speaker 3 (27:37):
See? For me, half of them are dead and the
other at least a quarter of them we don't talk
to anymore.
Speaker 1 (27:43):
We could have done three weeks in Italy and those
memories would still be with us. It's not that we
didn't have a good time. Some other people didn't have
a good time. It's that we didn't We know. The
Italy trip would have been better for us. It would
have been better because it was never about the wedding.
It's about the marriage.
Speaker 3 (27:58):
Okay, let me let me pose this question to you.
M You and I are you know, right around our
You know, we're in our late thirties. We've seen it all.
We've been, we've been there and we've done that. Yes,
been to I don't know a couple dozen weddings. I
don't know about you, maybe four, maybe six. You've been
(28:23):
at four or six weddings. I've been in four weddings. Really, Yes,
I I've been in one wedding, mister personality been in
one modding, and you're both of you and I we
both have been an efficient well, yes I.
Speaker 2 (28:35):
Have been officially, I forgot about that one.
Speaker 1 (28:37):
I've been I've been an efficiant at what.
Speaker 2 (28:40):
Okay, So I just have not been to hundreds of weddings,
like lots of people.
Speaker 3 (28:43):
So how many people really want to go to somebody
else's wedding?
Speaker 2 (28:47):
I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. Depends
on the person. I feel like.
Speaker 3 (28:53):
Once you reach especially once you reach a certain age,
it's one thing if you're like in your early twenties,
you're like, woo, open bar. But for the most part,
I feel like most people, unless it's like a really
close relative, think to themselves. I do not want to
go to this wedding. I don't care if it's an
open bar. Why would they pick Labor day weekend? Why
(29:15):
would they do a destination wedding. I don't want to
go to this wedding. I don't want to. I got
to put on a suit and go to pretend to
like other people and show up.
Speaker 1 (29:28):
I feel like.
Speaker 3 (29:31):
Eighty percent of the people that attend the wedding feel
like they have to be there and don't really want
to be there.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
I don't know the numbers eighty percent, eighty percent, but
there's definitely those people. But by the way, we love
love here any drink, smoke and if you would like
to invite us to your wedding, we will show up.
We'll wear a tuxes, we will cut and light cigars
for everybody that's there. We won't bring you the cigars,
you have to pay for those yourself, but we will
(29:58):
do it. We will come to your wedding. Just email
Fingers at eatrinksmokeshow dot com. We'll take care of that.
The reason I bring up weddings s fingers Boy is
there's a story from the New York Post shocking number
of Americans open to having a sponsored wedding. Survey have
two thousand Americans. Sixty one percent said they'd consider having
a brand sponsor for their big day or would have
(30:20):
considered it at the time they initially got married. And
the answer is sure, why not?
Speaker 3 (30:25):
Oh, I'm glad that's where you were going with this.
I thought this was a whole I'll sponsor your wedding
with an indecent proposal, and next thing you know, Robert
Redford runs off with your wife for half a million
dollars or was it a million?
Speaker 2 (30:36):
It was a million? Was a million?
Speaker 1 (30:38):
She's worth more than half a million. She's worth more
than that. Don't be ridiculous. No, uh, you know, Tony
Katz is getting married brought to you by Subway. The
catering is taken care of Subway marrying people and flavor.
(31:00):
I thought you're gonna say, Mary Fresh, Oh that would
have been better, damn it. Oh yeah, I could see it. Oh,
I could see it. And and honestly, the tuxedo with
like a patch like you're you're a Nascar.
Speaker 3 (31:15):
I'd like to thank the Texico team for putting this
wedding together. Every name off like five sponsors in the
wedding video.
Speaker 1 (31:24):
Right, and you do pit stops and your groom's been
change your shoes and get you a drink.
Speaker 2 (31:29):
Oh, I love this whole idea.
Speaker 3 (31:31):
You know what's unfortunate about this is well, I love
the idea. You know, you you walk up, you walk
down the aisle, and your tuxedo has a Nike swoosh
on it. Right, the only people where you could see
this getting done. Are the people who could afford to
throw the wedding to begin with, Like, I'm pretty sure
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelcey could have their their their
(31:54):
wedding sponsored by someone.
Speaker 1 (31:56):
Oh, but in their case, so many things are going
to be donated because they want to say we provided that.
Oh that's gonna happen for sure, for sure. Now you're
asking the question is does a brand see any value
in this whatsoever?
Speaker 2 (32:09):
And the answers I have no idea.
Speaker 3 (32:11):
Well, one thing I know is people ask all the time,
what's it like to go to a wedding for someone
as rich as Taylor Swift? Give you one example. At
the ceremony, afterwards the reception, they'll have two cakes.
Speaker 2 (32:28):
What did you not have the two cakes?
Speaker 3 (32:32):
It's a norm John nor McDonald joke. Is it Norm MacDonald?
Gone too soon?
Speaker 2 (32:37):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (32:38):
Totally gone too soon?
Speaker 3 (32:40):
Yeah, you had, you had the two cakes. You had
the one cake that you cut into to do the
whole bride and groom? No, what do you how do
you feel about the bride and groom cutting the cake?
And then one of the Wisenheimer's in the couple decides
to shove the cake and the other person's face.
Speaker 1 (32:57):
Media divorce, shove it in, shove cake in my face,
just kidding, and I walk and I walk, gone.
Speaker 2 (33:08):
Gone.
Speaker 1 (33:09):
It's not cute, it's not funny. You're a jerk of
a person. End of discussion.
Speaker 3 (33:15):
But what if Pepperig Farms sponsored the cake smash.
Speaker 1 (33:20):
Wedding cake brought to you by into its Well wait,
if you're doing it for the sponsor, you're like, well,
it's how we're paying for the wedding smash.
Speaker 3 (33:29):
Away if you make the announcement after the fact that
they paid for it, I didn't want to, but I
like Pepperidge Farms.
Speaker 1 (33:39):
So in your scenario, this has to be a secret
kept from the audience.
Speaker 3 (33:44):
Yes, until after the fact when people are disgusted by
and making better.
Speaker 1 (33:48):
I don't know if they're disgusted by it. I don't
I have no idea if they are disgusted.
Speaker 2 (33:54):
By it or not.
Speaker 3 (33:55):
I feel like people are taking side bets at that point.
Do we give this five years?
Speaker 1 (34:00):
Do they make it?
Speaker 2 (34:02):
Oh, that they're doing but they're doing that anyway.
Speaker 3 (34:05):
That's true.
Speaker 1 (34:07):
You've never been at a wedding because I said, I
haven't been doing a ton, been to a wedding and
turned to your girlfriend of your spouse or everybody'd be
like six months time.
Speaker 3 (34:16):
Yeah, because that person and I'm not pointing out what sender.
That person's crazy. This is not gonna last. Everybody has
done that.
Speaker 1 (34:26):
Do you think that the people who attended your wedding
to the lovely Missus malloy, do you think that they
were saying, yeah, this isn't gonna last.
Speaker 2 (34:36):
Probably.
Speaker 1 (34:37):
Oh, I will bet you any amount of money that
got said at my wedding. I will bet you any
amount of money that got said at my wedding.
Speaker 3 (34:50):
Well part for me, for me is because Missus malloy
is my third wife.
Speaker 1 (34:54):
Oh yeah, well that's a that's a thing.
Speaker 3 (34:58):
She hasn't know that though. Oh shouldn't have said that
in the microphone.
Speaker 2 (35:02):
Don't worry, she doesn't listen to That's true. She's working
on her fourth husband.
Speaker 3 (35:07):
She's got by the way, no cake stuffing by the
way at our Oh absolutely not. I just find that
so And the other thing too, is it's so played out.
Speaker 1 (35:17):
You know.
Speaker 3 (35:18):
What do you follow that with?
Speaker 2 (35:20):
Y m c A.
Speaker 3 (35:21):
You know there are certain things just like do you
really have to do that?
Speaker 4 (35:24):
Well?
Speaker 2 (35:24):
I figure it's just Okay, if you play YMC A
your wedding.
Speaker 3 (35:27):
But do you play it right after the cake smash? Oh?
Speaker 1 (35:31):
Immediately, yes, immediately. I don't know.
Speaker 2 (35:34):
I'm not a wedding TJ.
Speaker 1 (35:35):
Well, by the way, we will DJ your wedding and
after the cake smash we will play ymc A. Well,
you need the construction helmet anyway, got it? Don't ask
why I also have the Indian feathers. Judge me. Not
is what you what you will do?
Speaker 3 (35:55):
That's just fun.
Speaker 1 (35:55):
We are are drinking the two XO. This is the
Oak series American Oak forty six percent alcohol by volume,
ninety two proof better.
Speaker 2 (36:05):
On the cube me, I'm just gonna go back in
real quick because it's all gone.
Speaker 3 (36:10):
Good for you going back in one more time?
Speaker 2 (36:13):
Yeap, yeah.
Speaker 1 (36:14):
On the cube, it's a it's a nice bourbon cube.
It's a nice bourbon. Forty nine to ninety nine is
the Bottle and Smoking the Gatekeeper from Alec and Bradley.
This was the sixth by of fifty two the Toro.
It has turned into a lot of spice at the
first Nice Nice cigar at twelve dollars and seventy cents
(36:35):
a stick outstanding find everything We do at Eat Drink
Smoke Show dot com and follow on Instagram, Eat Drink
Smoke Podcast, It's E Drink Smoke
Two XO. I gotta admit I've seen the bottle around,
but I didn't know what to XO was until you
realize it's about a double oak.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Technique, and you're like, oh, I don't want to drink that.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
It's Eat Drink smoke. I'm Tony Katz. That is fingers
from Moore. I find everything at Eat Drinks smokeshow dot com.
That's what we are having today, the two XO Oak series.
American Oak. It says American Oak on that. Yes it does.
You don't have to check. This is from Dixon, Deadman
of Kentucky Owl Fame. I'm wondering if we've done two
(00:38):
XO before. I believe we have not this one though. No,
I don't think so. But I specifically remember saying that
two XO is better than one XO, but not as
good as three XO. This comes in right here at
forty seven percent alcohol by volume or ninety four proof.
No applause, bring it, MOLOI does not applaud for anything
(01:02):
that is under one hundred proof.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
I poured big today.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
I was watching you pour and I was like, Okay,
he's gonna quit. No, No, he's still pouring. Has it
been a day no quit and tony kats. That's that's
absolutely right.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
I like the color here right, a little darker, a
little orange right here, not maybe as rich as you
might like, and in in some of those ambers, but
it's a it's a nice, nice color sticking to the glass.
A little bit in that nose fingers maloy.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Mmm, a little oak. There's a little ethanol.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
Oh ha, I got a little hot on the nostril
right there.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
You're getting a little honey on top of us, some
caramel and oak, and then the ethanol that you're referring to.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
There's a little ethanol for sure. Nose is started as sweet,
then got kind of kind of rich, very very full.
I don't know what I would call that. I'm trying
to think of. There there's fruit, but it's not maybe
(02:13):
playing the stone fruits. It's it's not overwhelming. It's certainly
not orchard. It's certainly not bright. It's certainly not berries,
and it's not citrus.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
No, no, it is not.
Speaker 3 (02:24):
But I'll tell you what it is. If you get
past that little bit of that of that ethanol, it's nice.
It's nice.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
I'm not complaining. I'm not complaining about it at all
but enough enough sniff and fingers malloy, Are you ready
for this?
Speaker 3 (02:39):
It's my favorite song, by the way. Enough sniffing, enough sniffing. Yeah,
it's off of Alabama's third album, Alabama three. Are you
ready for that? I've been ready for this.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
A fingers Willy is gonna do what's known as the
Kentucky chow. That is, moving the juice around the palate,
getting a feel for the flavors. I like the two
step theory, the too sip. I'm gonna say it again,
the two sip there, the first zip to set the
taste buds, the second zip to really get an idea
of where the flavors are. Yeah, I'm still hit by
that ethanol, but there is a sweetness, there is a
(03:11):
pleasantness underneath that. It's just for me.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
The ethanol is hitting a little bit harder. I don't know.
I don't know why.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
It's nice first of all, nice little bit of staying
on the tongue, gentle, warmth in the chest, nice bit
of oak. There is that caramel uh that that I
referenced on the nose. It does transfer to the palette
and a bit of spice. It's it's very nice. I
(03:42):
really like it. I don't know if I want a
monkey with it by putting water in it later in
the show, but I will for each drink Smoke Nation.
You are a great American, but I'm very curious to
see what you think, Tony.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
I'm going in.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
This is the two exo, the Oak series, American Oak.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
He's going in, ladies and gentlemen, and he's doing what
we like to call the Memphis munch, the Chattanooga chomp,
the Sagana swish. And oh that's way sweeter than I
thought it was gonna be.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
That is way.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
Sweeter he's going in. That's why he made the big
poor He knew he was going to go in for
seconds right away. But too sweet for Tony.
Speaker 4 (04:28):
No, no, no, no, oh wow. I just swallowed that
in a big gulp, and that hurt.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
Okay, that is sweeter. That has got vanilla, that's got caramel.
It's rich, it's almost serapy. That is a big mouthfeel
fully coating the tongue. The lips have a little bit
of sting. You can feel it in the cheek. I
have to work now now. I feel the heat sent
chest okay, right like like through the sturnum. I feel
(05:03):
it right there.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
But that's not like, oh my gosh, that's that's nearly
one hundred proof.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
No, no, I it's it's it's not painful. It is
much more luscious than I would have thought. It's it's
much creamier. The guy's over at whiskey advocate said whipped cream.
And I think they're onto something because it is much
more about a feel than maybe about a flavor. But
it's a way to describe the cream. I think that's
(05:31):
really really nice.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
I'm getting that.
Speaker 3 (05:33):
I'm noticing that, especially on the finish, like it really lingers,
and I could see where you would get that. So
there's a creamy finish to it.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
And I'm not gonna lie.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
It's a little smoky.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
Really, I'm not kidding, Am I kidding? That go back
in for thirds not judging, So how smoky? Huh?
Speaker 1 (05:59):
I there there there's a sweetness that kind of counteracts
the concept of the bourbon caramel that you would normally
maybe want or expect. But there's a lot of good
happening in here, a tremendous I can't wait to put
this on a cube. I can't wait to see what
that's like. But I could see how people are doing this.
(06:22):
I could see how people are our simpleness. There's real
richness going on with this bourbon. This is the two XO.
This is the American Oak, and you can find the
website by the way at two XO number two XO
whiskey dot com. Fingers momoy. This was released back in
(06:43):
twenty twenty three. Is this in your liquor cabinet? For
forty nine ninety nine a.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
Bottle without putting it through more of a test with
the cool drops of water in it. At this point
I would say yes, I want.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
It on the cube to know if it's in my
liquor cabinet, But off the cuff, off the off the
first I definitely see how this is in somebody's liquor cabinet.
This is a flavor that's going to work for people, right,
not overwhelming on the proof So therefore not this this
overarching punch, but a that that that sweet still feeling
(07:22):
some oak, that finish that plays no bitter whatsoever, feeling
it in the cheek, that fullness. Ah, Yeah, there's there's
something here to appreciate for sure. That isn't that is interesting?
Do I want more oak?
Speaker 2 (07:43):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (07:44):
What I like a little less sweetness absolutely for me,
a little less sweetness, a little more oak. And I
and I and I. It's not that I want this
big spice bomb, but I think that would just be
the there'd be just a touch more balance that makes
me say, oh, absolutely.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
For me, presented with much more oak than it did
for you. And I think this is where we're really
starting to notice a difference in our palates. Because I
have such a ridiculous sweet tooth. This doesn't feel overly
sweet to me, but it is. It is sweet, yes
it is, but that's not the first thing that hit
me was the oak. Really yeah, It's like, oh, that's oak,
(08:21):
and then everything else started gating later for me and
I would just I would like a better balance.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
But we'll see what the cube has to bring. We'll
see what the water brings for fingers boys find everything
at Eat Drinks smokeshow dot com and follow us on Instagram,
Eat Drink Smoke Podcasts, and the Twitter x go Eat
Drink Smoke. Everything is stupid expensive, It's stupid.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
What's going on.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
Gold is forty one hundred dollars an ounce. It might
be more by the time you hear this. It's crazy
what is going on is surreal, and there's this report
from Kelly bluebo Look that kind of proves the point.
It's Eat Drink Smoke. I'm Tony Katz, that is fingers
be wore. I find it all at Eat drinksmokeshow dot com.
If you would, we'd appreciate it, if you'd head on
(09:10):
over there and be a part of what we're doing
and what we're growing. Kelly Blue Book has this story
where the new vehicle average transaction price is over fifty
thousand dollars for the first time ever, a new car
on average fifty k Go ahead, Fingers, explain it to me.
Speaker 3 (09:35):
Cars are really expensive now.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
Thank you, Fingers. I appreciate that incredible update.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
But it is amazing to look at the data and unfortunately,
I had seen a few stories about this and it
was I believe five years ago it was just forty thousand.
It's gone up to fifty thousand in just five years.
There's so many things going into this, between new regulations
(10:04):
as far as what needs to go into a vehicle.
There's the tariff conversation, there is the supply chain issues
that automotive manufacturers have had, and also market demand. People
are willing to pay that amount of money for a
new vehicle, So automotive manufacturers are going to charge that
kind of money for that vehicle.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
The ATP, which is the average transaction price, was above
fifty thousand for the first time. If you take a
look at MSRP twenty twenty six, models are now hitting
a lot. The MSRP reached an average fifty two eighty
(10:45):
three dollars the average price. Now you've got luxury vehicles,
you've got electric vehicles, which of course raising the average
price of everything, even though less and less electric vehicles
are being sold because the madness of the push from
the federal government is non existence and any longer. You've
(11:07):
also done away with the subsidies now, so that's going
to change the electric vehicle market. And there are some
cool electric vehicles out there, you know. Full disclosure. I
work with a local car company here in Indianapolis called
Andy Moore Ford. I drive their Forward vehicles and I'm
driving the Forward Lightning, which is the electric pickup, and
I'm telling you it's incredible. It is sensational. But it
(11:32):
has to fit a certain lifestyle.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
You know, I work from home.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
It fits perfectly. I have a friend that has the
Hummer ev which is unbelievable, but again it has to
fit a certain lifestyle. It is not a for everybody
a vehicle. But there are now more than sixty models
with an average transaction price above seventy five thousand sales
(11:56):
nearing ninety four thousand units, seven point four percent of
total industry sales, up from six percent in twenty twenty four.
And then you know of that the Cadillac Escalate is
still the big dog in that in that group you
have mentioned on the show before that people are doing
(12:17):
not five year loans, six year loans, no, no, no,
six year loans, seven year loans, no no, no, not
seven year loans, eight year loans, which you have to
do to make fifty thousand dollars work for a budget. Yeah,
is this based on you? You've brought this up before,
(12:41):
all the added nonsense they're putting into the cars that
no one actually cares about. Is this a labor conversation,
is this a technology premium conversation? Or is this well,
what are you gonna do? Not buy a new car,
not have a new car in the neighborhood, or everyone's
got a new car. Okay, best of luck to you
at the PTA meeting.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
All of that, it's absolutely all of that. Labor prices
of labor costs have gone up, you know, regulations, you
continue to have new things and a lot of it's
just like nickel and dime stuff like the alarm that
lets you know that to remind you that.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
Oh, good gosh, is that the kid that you don't
have is in the back seat. Yes, it's so gross.
Backup cams gross.
Speaker 3 (13:26):
I mean you just one right after another's, you know,
and it's after a backup.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
Camera is a world class of mentioned. The backup camera
is spectacular. The thing that tells you have a car
is coming from the right or for the left, incredible.
The thing that tries to keep you in your lane.
The person who invented that should be sent to Siberia.
Speaker 3 (13:44):
We're getting to the point now. I believe in ten
years no one will know how to parallel park anymore,
because more and more vehicles have the self parallel park?
Speaker 2 (13:51):
Do I or do I not?
Speaker 1 (13:52):
In my garage have a nineteen ninety nine Mazda Miata
so I could teach my kids how to drive a
stick Yes, that got it, to teach them to drive
a stick and then to work on a car that's
pretty easy to work on doing.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
Spark plugs this weekend.
Speaker 3 (14:06):
Oh nice plugs and wires. We don't I don't think
we have the gapper. I was gonna say, do you
have the gapper?
Speaker 1 (14:11):
No, we've got everything else. We don't have the gapper.
We gotta get the gap thing. Probably three or if
that's in the box with the spark plugs.
Speaker 3 (14:19):
Not Usually the gage is probably well, last time I
bought one was three dollars, right, so not but most
of them are already gap properly. But you need to
double check everyone's work. You know why, Tony, because almost
everyone is terrible at their.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
Terrible at their jobs. But learning stick, I mean stick
is a lost art. Parallel parking, it's not that tough.
Speaker 3 (14:42):
Freely admit I've never driven a stick and this is possible.
And this is coming from someone who has a Harley Davidson.
I ride a motorcycle and you you have you know
you have to shift manual shift on a motorcycle. Uh,
but my parents never had a manual car transmission car.
I always drove and continue to drive automatics. Now it's
(15:04):
getting really hard to find a car anymore that has
a manual transmission that's brand new. I mean you have
to get a sports car.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
Yeah, there are only a few. I will tell you.
I've been driving the Miana, and first of all, I
look ridiculous in it. I look up whatever kind of
crisis I'm having, I look like, but I'm so damn
happy when I drive it. I don't care. I'm sure
convertible stick. It has an aftermarket exhaust, and the sound
(15:34):
is just delicious. It's fantastic. But if you're on the
open road, because it's it's only a five speed and
you're going sixty, if you go sixty.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
To the whole car will fall apart.
Speaker 1 (15:48):
It's a go cart. Yeah, it's ridiculous. And in Indianapolis
and near Indianapolis, there's a town called Carmel that has
it has more roundabouts than any other city in the country.
It's own for its roundabouts, and if you take those
at some level of speed, you are sliding everywhere. But
(16:10):
it's it's fantastic, I found out. So we had the
car for a while and then the right rear went flaws, like, okay,
we need new tires, So okay, we just bought the
car used get new tires. It's still happening the right
rear tire, and so I called the Tiregram'm like, what's
the deal here? And he goes it could be that
the chrome is peeling. I'm like, so, does that mean
(16:34):
that it's like cutting into the tire. No, it could
be that the chrome is peeled and now the tire
doesn't fit properly on the rim. So you gotta get
new rims. You gotta get new rims. That wasn't what
I wanted. Getting new rims was not the thing that
I had planned for in in this vehicle. I am
not interested in this thing. Nickel and diming me.
Speaker 3 (16:55):
You know.
Speaker 1 (16:55):
If I gotta do something with the engine, I get
it new rims.
Speaker 3 (16:59):
You got twenty six year old vehicle, You're gonna be
nickeled and dimed. Son of a I paid, I paid
like nothing for there. Did you pay nickels and dimes
for it?
Speaker 1 (17:10):
I paid nickels and rolled up, you know, but I
did pay nickels and dimes for it. Now you should
you should know. I don't drive a stick looks alike.
It looks like a lot of fun, a lot of
money for.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
A car, A lot.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
Eat drink smoke. It is your cigar bourbon foody extravaganza.
Tony Katz Fingers Meloy right there. Find it all at
EA Drinksmoke show dot com. This is the Alec in Bradley,
the Alec Bradley gate Keeper Toro six by fifty two.
It is an Ecuadora and habano rapper Nick Roguin and
the binder. The filler is Nick Roguin and Dominican coming
(17:47):
in at just about thirteen dollars a stick. And that
that that cedar spice, as I would describe it, has
come down a bit now that we're in the second
third of the cigar, deeply into it, and that's where
the tobacco forward's coming out. And now I'm a yes,
(18:09):
this is where I like to be in the cigar.
And this is why you got to buy one and
try it to see where you are with it. If
that spice is too much, again, I think that medium analysis.
I think it's certainly medium plus for sure. But it
is a well constructed cigar. Fingers, you've had a little
(18:29):
trouble keeping yours lit. I have not had that trouble
that can happen from time to time. A nice stick
great hand feel. That rapper feels fantastic, oily, a little
bit gritty right there. A beefy stick really felt it
had the weight and good in the hand. I like
this cigar.
Speaker 3 (18:47):
Yeah, I agree with you wholeheartedly about the tobacco forward.
And now I don't know if because I've had to
light it quite a bit in the last fifteen to
twenty minutes of not getting that ammonia that you get
sometimes when you relight it over and over again it
gets too hot. But I'm something's it's almost like a hey,
I'm getting right now going along with that tobacco forward
that you mentioned, and then that that spice has really
(19:10):
subsided for me. But at thirteen dollars less than thirteen
dollars a stick with twelve seventy seven. Yeah, let's go
with twelve seventy I love it. Yeah, it's it's in
my humid or.
Speaker 2 (19:23):
This is it. It is in my humid or.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
And moving my bourbon here onto the rocks.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
It's gotten a little getting rid of a little bit
of water. Right, let me get my drop.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
Yes, yes, yes, yes, this is the two XO we're
doing right here. This is two XO number two XO.
Whiskey dot com. There double Oak technique. This is the
American Oak Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey. I said forty seven percent.
I apologize forty six percent alcohol by volume, which puts
(19:57):
it in at ninety two proof, not ninety four.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
Fingers. My apologies there.
Speaker 1 (20:03):
It was this unique suite that was going on. Certainly
the nose had a bit of ethanol to it, but
it was a little bit of like whipped cream going on,
and I thought maybe it was kind of like a
stone fruits is where it was at. There was definitely
(20:23):
an oak in there. I'd like to see the oak
a little bit more to maybe counteract. But I put
it on the rocks. That's how you know it's fresh.
And I'm going in because I think I think the
cube is gonna do something to it. Right ice it's water.
Water brings down proof, it can open up the bourbon
some flavors, a little more pronounce I'm a little more muted.
Speaker 2 (20:41):
Here we go.
Speaker 3 (20:42):
He's going in, ladies and gentlemen. He's got the big
rocks glass with a couple of cubes in there, and
he's doing the Memphis munch.
Speaker 2 (20:50):
That was a big sip.
Speaker 1 (20:52):
Yeah, and oh yeah, so what did it do. Oh,
there's a little more spice happening on the tongue. That
lusciousness is a little bit cut. There's a little more
oak that's happening. And the sweet now just makes sense.
There's a little more there's a little more fruit. There's
(21:13):
a little more fruit happening on the tongue itself. No
heat at all in the center chest. Now, maybe feeling
in the lower lower lower chest. Oh that's not bad
at all.
Speaker 2 (21:24):
Oh, look at you, you look so happy. Much better
on the cube.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
This, this is a couple of ice chips. Much better.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
Okay, well on the cube.
Speaker 3 (21:36):
I was wondering, you know, about putting water here because
I thought that it may bring out more spice. And
now you're starting with that analysis to make me think
that that's probably gonna happen with me.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (21:47):
See what happens.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
Added a little bit of water from the dropper that
he did not bring with him. Once again, he has
droppers to put it in the right amount of water.
But water does change, It changes the complexion of the bourb.
And you have to do this. You need to go
through this and try this in all the ways to
see which one is right for you. And a bourbon
you don't like meat, you might like on a cube
(22:09):
you might like with water. You might say, no, I
don't want water on this, I only want it neat.
Speaker 3 (22:13):
For the first time, I'm getting that kind of stone fruit.
Note that you were talking about that water brought down
the spice for me and actually brought down a little
bit of the oak for me before. The first thing
that I noticed was the oak. Didn't notice it off
the bat with a little bit of water in there.
But that fruit, that stone fruit that you mentioned, I
(22:35):
can see where you're getting that. Now. The caramel is there,
that oak and the spice is still there, but it's
a little bit more subdued than it was before. I
would not be unhappy either having it neat or with
water in it.
Speaker 2 (22:52):
So it's forty nine ninety nine.
Speaker 3 (22:55):
You're still I'm still all in.
Speaker 1 (22:57):
Yeah, I think, yes, I think having it on the
cube The answer is yes, you you should.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
This could be in my look.
Speaker 3 (23:07):
So let me ask you this because I feel like
I feel like you're hesitating a little bit on the yes.
Is it because you'd rather with this flavor flavor profile
it be more of a forty dollars bottle.
Speaker 1 (23:21):
And is this a value question, No, this is a
palette question. I think it's it's much better on the cube.
I just I would like a little more, as I said,
a little more oak in there. Okay, that would make me,
that would make me happier. But I get it. I
get it, And I could see the value that people
(23:42):
would put in this as a as a nice bottle
of the bourbon that they have. Forty nine ninety nine
is not a cheap price, but it is more and
more a standard price. So I can I could see this.
I can understand where this is because I can that
that presentation would work, like, Okay, that's very very nice.
Speaker 3 (24:01):
Yeah, it's time fingers Awy for News of the Week, Tony.
The New York Post has the story, Corporate media continues
to struggle. NBC News is preparing for its largest round
of layoffs in years. About seven percent of the workforce
in the newsroom is going to be laid off. How
(24:22):
many seven percent and fifty jobs? Okay, and you know
you've got the whole rebrand with MSNBC.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
Now becoming ms now. That's literally what they're calling it.
News Opinion World, Miss now, Yes, miss now.
Speaker 3 (24:39):
So many jokes. Having said that, as opposed to miss
right now, there it is there. It is, by the way,
terrible rebrand name, awful, awful. I might as well call
it New Coke, terrible rename. They would have been better
off just coming up with something completely different than trying
(25:03):
to incorporate the MSS in it. Right, just you know
Peacock for instance. You know it's the whole NBC umbrella.
You got the Peacock app, and you know you stream
from Peacock. You should have come up with something different.
Speaker 1 (25:16):
Going the stalget and called it pets dot Com.
Speaker 3 (25:18):
There you go.
Speaker 2 (25:19):
I was great.
Speaker 3 (25:20):
I was gonna go with n RON. You went with
pets dot Com. But still the message is the same.
It's going to be interesting. I hear bear Sterns is
still available.
Speaker 1 (25:31):
Too soon.
Speaker 3 (25:32):
No, if you look at my stock portfolio, it's too soon.
Having said that, nothing but n run bear Sterns and
t w A.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
Thank god.
Speaker 3 (25:47):
I thought we were gonna go a full episode without
a t w A reference.
Speaker 2 (25:52):
Never gonna happen.
Speaker 3 (25:53):
But this is gonna happen all over. Yeah, I mean
it's not. It's this is not an NBC MS NBC problem.
This is a corporate media problem. And you know some
media outlets are trying to shake things up.
Speaker 1 (26:08):
CBS News, iHeart, which is owns radio stations across the country,
laid off of was it over fifty people last week?
And you know who lamented it? No one, With all
due respect, I am not going to lament NBC News
doing layoffs. I'm not gonna lament for these people. If
you lost your job, hey, that stinks. Losing your job stinks,
(26:31):
but no one is guaranteed a job. The market forces
are very very real here. So many people are getting
into this game and providing quote unquote news, and people
are going to all these other bifurcated spots. You can't
think that the model is going to work for forever,
and some models aren't. Some people aren't necessary. As models change,
(26:51):
as AI comes, as job descriptions morph, and more people
are doing more for less.
Speaker 2 (26:57):
You may not like it, but it is what it is.
Speaker 1 (27:05):
After considering what my life has been like being married
and oh I'm staying married, my marriage is very very good.
The one thing that my wife and I have concluded
is that the wedding was a terrible idea see drink Smoke.
I'm Tony Katz. That is fingers below. I find it
all at Heat Drink, Smoke Show dot com. Yes, fingers
shahla la lah. Terrible idea. Why did we spend that
(27:29):
money on those people? Half of them we don't talk
to anymore, another quarter of which are dead?
Speaker 2 (27:35):
What was the point?
Speaker 3 (27:37):
See? For me, half of them are dead and the
other at least a quarter of them we don't talk
to anymore.
Speaker 1 (27:43):
We could have done three weeks in Italy and those
memories would still be with us. It's not that we
didn't have a good time. Some other people didn't have
a good time. It's that we didn't We know. The
Italy trip would have been better for us. It would
have been better because it was never about the wedding.
It's about the marriage.
Speaker 3 (27:58):
Okay, let me let me pose this question to you.
M You and I are you know, right around our
You know, we're in our late thirties. We've seen it all.
We've been, we've been there and we've done that. Yes,
been to I don't know a couple dozen weddings. I
don't know about you, maybe four, maybe six. You've been
(28:23):
at four or six weddings. I've been in four weddings. Really, Yes,
I I've been in one wedding, mister personality been in
one modding, and you're both of you and I we
both have been an efficient well, yes I.
Speaker 2 (28:35):
Have been officially, I forgot about that one.
Speaker 1 (28:37):
I've been I've been an efficiant at what.
Speaker 2 (28:40):
Okay, So I just have not been to hundreds of weddings,
like lots of people.
Speaker 3 (28:43):
So how many people really want to go to somebody
else's wedding?
Speaker 2 (28:47):
I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. Depends
on the person. I feel like.
Speaker 3 (28:53):
Once you reach especially once you reach a certain age,
it's one thing if you're like in your early twenties,
you're like, woo, open bar. But for the most part,
I feel like most people, unless it's like a really
close relative, think to themselves. I do not want to
go to this wedding. I don't care if it's an
open bar. Why would they pick Labor day weekend? Why
(29:15):
would they do a destination wedding. I don't want to
go to this wedding. I don't want to. I got
to put on a suit and go to pretend to
like other people and show up.
Speaker 1 (29:28):
I feel like.
Speaker 3 (29:31):
Eighty percent of the people that attend the wedding feel
like they have to be there and don't really want
to be there.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
I don't know the numbers eighty percent, eighty percent, but
there's definitely those people. But by the way, we love
love here any drink, smoke and if you would like
to invite us to your wedding, we will show up.
We'll wear a tuxes, we will cut and light cigars
for everybody that's there. We won't bring you the cigars,
you have to pay for those yourself, but we will
(29:58):
do it. We will come to your wedding. Just email
Fingers at eatrinksmokeshow dot com. We'll take care of that.
The reason I bring up weddings s fingers Boy is
there's a story from the New York Post shocking number
of Americans open to having a sponsored wedding. Survey have
two thousand Americans. Sixty one percent said they'd consider having
a brand sponsor for their big day or would have
(30:20):
considered it at the time they initially got married. And
the answer is sure, why not?
Speaker 3 (30:25):
Oh, I'm glad that's where you were going with this.
I thought this was a whole I'll sponsor your wedding
with an indecent proposal, and next thing you know, Robert
Redford runs off with your wife for half a million
dollars or was it a million?
Speaker 2 (30:36):
It was a million? Was a million?
Speaker 1 (30:38):
She's worth more than half a million. She's worth more
than that. Don't be ridiculous. No, uh, you know, Tony
Katz is getting married brought to you by Subway. The
catering is taken care of Subway marrying people and flavor.
(31:00):
I thought you're gonna say, Mary Fresh, Oh that would
have been better, damn it. Oh yeah, I could see it. Oh,
I could see it. And and honestly, the tuxedo with
like a patch like you're you're a Nascar.
Speaker 3 (31:15):
I'd like to thank the Texico team for putting this
wedding together. Every name off like five sponsors in the
wedding video.
Speaker 1 (31:24):
Right, and you do pit stops and your groom's been
change your shoes and get you a drink.
Speaker 2 (31:29):
Oh, I love this whole idea.
Speaker 3 (31:31):
You know what's unfortunate about this is well, I love
the idea. You know, you you walk up, you walk
down the aisle, and your tuxedo has a Nike swoosh
on it. Right, the only people where you could see
this getting done. Are the people who could afford to
throw the wedding to begin with, Like, I'm pretty sure
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelcey could have their their their
(31:54):
wedding sponsored by someone.
Speaker 1 (31:56):
Oh, but in their case, so many things are going
to be donated because they want to say we provided that.
Oh that's gonna happen for sure, for sure. Now you're
asking the question is does a brand see any value
in this whatsoever?
Speaker 2 (32:09):
And the answers I have no idea.
Speaker 3 (32:11):
Well, one thing I know is people ask all the time,
what's it like to go to a wedding for someone
as rich as Taylor Swift? Give you one example. At
the ceremony, afterwards the reception, they'll have two cakes.
Speaker 2 (32:28):
What did you not have the two cakes?
Speaker 3 (32:32):
It's a norm John nor McDonald joke. Is it Norm MacDonald?
Gone too soon?
Speaker 2 (32:37):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (32:38):
Totally gone too soon?
Speaker 3 (32:40):
Yeah, you had, you had the two cakes. You had
the one cake that you cut into to do the
whole bride and groom? No, what do you how do
you feel about the bride and groom cutting the cake?
And then one of the Wisenheimer's in the couple decides
to shove the cake and the other person's face.
Speaker 1 (32:57):
Media divorce, shove it in, shove cake in my face,
just kidding, and I walk and I walk, gone.
Speaker 2 (33:08):
Gone.
Speaker 1 (33:09):
It's not cute, it's not funny. You're a jerk of
a person. End of discussion.
Speaker 3 (33:15):
But what if Pepperig Farms sponsored the cake smash.
Speaker 1 (33:20):
Wedding cake brought to you by into its Well wait,
if you're doing it for the sponsor, you're like, well,
it's how we're paying for the wedding smash.
Speaker 3 (33:29):
Away if you make the announcement after the fact that
they paid for it, I didn't want to, but I
like Pepperidge Farms.
Speaker 1 (33:39):
So in your scenario, this has to be a secret
kept from the audience.
Speaker 3 (33:44):
Yes, until after the fact when people are disgusted by
and making better.
Speaker 1 (33:48):
I don't know if they're disgusted by it. I don't
I have no idea if they are disgusted.
Speaker 2 (33:54):
By it or not.
Speaker 3 (33:55):
I feel like people are taking side bets at that point.
Do we give this five years?
Speaker 1 (34:00):
Do they make it?
Speaker 2 (34:02):
Oh, that they're doing but they're doing that anyway.
Speaker 3 (34:05):
That's true.
Speaker 1 (34:07):
You've never been at a wedding because I said, I
haven't been doing a ton, been to a wedding and
turned to your girlfriend of your spouse or everybody'd be
like six months time.
Speaker 3 (34:16):
Yeah, because that person and I'm not pointing out what sender.
That person's crazy. This is not gonna last. Everybody has
done that.
Speaker 1 (34:26):
Do you think that the people who attended your wedding
to the lovely Missus malloy, do you think that they
were saying, yeah, this isn't gonna last.
Speaker 2 (34:36):
Probably.
Speaker 1 (34:37):
Oh, I will bet you any amount of money that
got said at my wedding. I will bet you any
amount of money that got said at my wedding.
Speaker 3 (34:50):
Well part for me, for me is because Missus malloy
is my third wife.
Speaker 1 (34:54):
Oh yeah, well that's a that's a thing.
Speaker 3 (34:58):
She hasn't know that though. Oh shouldn't have said that
in the microphone.
Speaker 2 (35:02):
Don't worry, she doesn't listen to That's true. She's working
on her fourth husband.
Speaker 3 (35:07):
She's got by the way, no cake stuffing by the
way at our Oh absolutely not. I just find that
so And the other thing too, is it's so played out.
Speaker 1 (35:17):
You know.
Speaker 3 (35:18):
What do you follow that with?
Speaker 2 (35:20):
Y m c A.
Speaker 3 (35:21):
You know there are certain things just like do you
really have to do that?
Speaker 4 (35:24):
Well?
Speaker 2 (35:24):
I figure it's just Okay, if you play YMC A
your wedding.
Speaker 3 (35:27):
But do you play it right after the cake smash? Oh?
Speaker 1 (35:31):
Immediately, yes, immediately. I don't know.
Speaker 2 (35:34):
I'm not a wedding TJ.
Speaker 1 (35:35):
Well, by the way, we will DJ your wedding and
after the cake smash we will play ymc A. Well,
you need the construction helmet anyway, got it? Don't ask
why I also have the Indian feathers. Judge me. Not
is what you what you will do?
Speaker 3 (35:55):
That's just fun.
Speaker 1 (35:55):
We are are drinking the two XO. This is the
Oak series American Oak forty six percent alcohol by volume,
ninety two proof better.
Speaker 2 (36:05):
On the cube me, I'm just gonna go back in
real quick because it's all gone.
Speaker 3 (36:10):
Good for you going back in one more time?
Speaker 2 (36:13):
Yeap, yeah.
Speaker 1 (36:14):
On the cube, it's a it's a nice bourbon cube.
It's a nice bourbon. Forty nine to ninety nine is
the Bottle and Smoking the Gatekeeper from Alec and Bradley.
This was the sixth by of fifty two the Toro.
It has turned into a lot of spice at the
first Nice Nice cigar at twelve dollars and seventy cents
(36:35):
a stick outstanding find everything We do at Eat Drink
Smoke Show dot com and follow on Instagram, Eat Drink
Smoke Podcast, It's E Drink Smoke
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