October 26, 2025 • 36 mins
Are you ready to step through the gateway to premium cigar enjoyment? Join Tony Katz and America's favorite amateur drinker, Fingers Malloy, as they light up the Alec & Bradley Gatekeeper Toro (6x52) and dive into a smoke-filled conversation about everything from proper tipping etiquette to the art of steak preparation. This episode offers an entertaining blend of cigar insights, cultural commentary, and the duo's signature banter, which will have you reaching for your humidor before the final third.
Key takeaways:
Cigar introduction: Alec & Bradley Gatekeeper Toro featuring an Ecuadorian habano wrapper with Nicaraguan and Dominican filler
First impressions: Bready sweetness, nuttiness, and a building cedar/pepper profile
Notebook tips: How to properly document your cigar experiences
Tipping culture debate -- When is it appropriate to tip, and when is it excessive?
Gaza ceasefire discussion and hostage situation updates
Steak marinating guide: Which cuts benefit from marinades and why
Throughout the smoke, the Gatekeeper reveals itself as a medium-plus bodied cigar with prominent cedar notes that some might interpret as white pepper. The hosts agree it's not a beginner's cigar, but offers excellent value at around $13 per stick.
Ready to experience this flavorful gateway to premium smoking yourself? Light up with Tony and Fingers by tuning in to the full episode, and don't forget to check out eatdrinksmokeshow.com for more cigar and bourbon adventures!
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Back.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
In twenty twenty three, the Alec Bradley Cigar Group sold
to the Scandinavian Tobacco Group for seventy two point five
million dollars.
Speaker 3 (00:13):
Fingers Moloy, we offered sixty nine point three million.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Just gut beat it out, pity too. It's eat, drink, smoke.
I'm Tony Katzen. That right there is America's favorite amateur drinker,
Fingers Molloy.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
And this from Alec Bradley, going back to.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
I think twenty nineteen is when this cigar came out.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
This is the gatekeeper.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
We're doing the Toro right here, which is a six
x fifty two, which means it's six inches long.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Tea always makes Fingers Moloy laugh.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
And the ring gauge is a fifty two the diameter
of the cigar or how thick it is around again
with the laughter, So a sixty four ring gauge would
be a.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Full one inch around. Toro is where I that's to
me is the low end of length. That's where I
like to be. I smoke robostos.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Of course, I'm just not that's not my every day
This into the Churchill is where I like to play.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
Hey, I'm not right for you. You do what you
have to do.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
First things first, this is an Ecuadorian habano rapper here Nicaragua,
and the binder in the filler there's some Dominican the
filler as well. That wrapper feels so great. It's got oil,
it's got grit. It is brown with that modeled black
almost streaking through the wrapper there and and feels it
(01:31):
there's hefty. Yeah you say it, it's beefy. It does?
Speaker 1 (01:36):
You actually do feel the cigar not light in the
hand at all. Is this your first time having the
gatekeeper fingers?
Speaker 3 (01:42):
I believe so it is not for me.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
It is not my first time having first time today,
Just not my first time. You always remember your first
That's not true at all. There's so many cigars. I'm like,
I don't remember having this whatsoever. I don't remember if
if it wasn't for the notebooks, and it wasn't for
the show, if it wasn't for the show, that's how
I go back, Like the show is my notebook, Go
back and take a look.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
But it feels great and it looks great.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
Uh, you've had Alec Bradley's cigars before, and I think
that as a brand, it's it's always been. They've always
been lovely people, but it's been kind of hit or
miss as as a cigar for me. There's some things
I've enjoyed and some things I haven't. There's some things
I thought were so silly, like the Texas Toast, which
was like an eight by eighty kind of ring gage,
(02:30):
just an absolute mond maybe it was only seventy ring gauge,
but still absolutely huge.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
He too, was a cigar. It's called the Black Magic
or Magic Toast. Magic Toast.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
Magic Toast was the cigar that I thought for Alec
Bradley like kind of reset them, like, oh, okay, we're
back to doing interesting things, right. And then the sons
Alec and Bradley, they started doing some of their their
own work, and I thought they did they did nice
stuff that now that's this. This is an Alec and
(03:00):
Bradley the gatekeeper right here. And I always thought that
this was just a nice, worthwhile basic smoke in the
humid or. And I don't mean basically in a bad way.
I'm just saying, this doesn't break the bank kind of stuff.
This isn't uh, you know, gonna second mortgage time, Just
good quality, easy to do, easy to find, easy to.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
Get access to boom. What else could you ask for?
Speaker 3 (03:26):
Not much more than that, I can tell you. You know,
we just lit this. We're just in the first third
of the first third of the cigar, and right off
the bat it popped into my head like a toast.
There's like a little bit of a bready sweetness to
it and a nuttiness as well. For me, as I'm
starting to smoke a little bit more, as I'm getting
(03:48):
a little bit more into the first third, I am noticing, Uh,
from the light to to now, there has been a
pepper that has been building.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
Yeah, I'm not I don't think I've just let this up.
So I don't think I am there that yet. I
I this is certainly there's a little bit of wood
that's actually I think it's the wood the cedar that's
we're laying the spice on the tongue. It's playing middle
tongue front to back. I I like where you are
with with with nuttiness. I think so, I think this
(04:20):
is a an interesting presentation of tobacco forward, right. I
think that that's what you're actually getting out out of this,
and so it presents itself with this with this. You're
calling it pepper, and I'm telling you, I think that
spice that you're getting and for me, it's middle of
tongue front to back is actually the cedar and it's
(04:42):
an intensity of wood flavor. Okay, you can make that argument,
and so I did. Who might argue with you? Because
if that's pepper, that is not black pepper, I would
say that is that is that is a white pepper
concentrain almost into bits of red pepper, Like there's a
little bit of heat that's building from it. And that's
why I think it's actually the cedar playing a trick
(05:04):
on you.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
It's not the first time cedar has played a trick
on me. We know you have fallen for wood in
all sorts of ways.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
That is so true.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
Having said that, moving back to the cigar, the draw,
the draw is very pleasant, very easy, the hand feel
you mentioned it earlier. It's got a nice bit of
half to it.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
So far, so good.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
Yeah, I think there's a lot to like here. I
think there's a lot to really work with in this cigar.
You want to get your notebooks right. What'd you eat today?
What did you drink today?
Speaker 1 (05:39):
The weather we have had beautiful weather.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
In Indianapolis still warmer than I think people want it
to be for October.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
I'm not complaining.
Speaker 3 (05:50):
I met up with a group of friends and they
made an observation that I really hadn't noticed, is that
because it's been so warm, leaves really haven't changed as
much as they should have or how much you we
do expect them to at this time of year.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
Now there's there's no reds and there's no yellows, so
everything is still really really green.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
Going on.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
You want to get your notebooks out, guys, what did
you eat today? What'd you drink today, whether we're talking
about and then take the cigar, break it up into thirds,
first third, second third, final third. First third where you
light it from. That is the foot, uh. The final
third is where you're smoking from. That is the cap
where you cut. Did a shallow cut on this fingers
did a very shallow cut on it, Very very impressive, sir.
(06:36):
Then what are the flavors you're getting? Write them down,
doesn't matter how weird it is, how what kind of
flavors you think you're you're you're you're you're you're getting
as esoteric or as space, and then write it down
for each third. Then when you smoke the cigar a month, now,
six months now, whatever it is, you do it again.
And that's where you get your through line. You make
your comparisons. What you know, what are the flavors really
(06:57):
getting out of this smouth?
Speaker 3 (06:58):
Any flavor, no matter how crazy at me look in print?
I just wrote down my little notebook here areo mcflurry?
Speaker 1 (07:05):
Is that what you wrote down? I don't think you did.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
I just want to say, I think the people are
tired of your embellishments. Dare they think that you are
making a mockery of the cigar game?
Speaker 3 (07:17):
Are you saying that there are people an eat, drink,
smoke nation that think I'm turning the show into my
own dent of lies? Is that what you're saying? Is
that what you're saying to me? How dare you, sir?
Speaker 2 (07:30):
I do think, because we do get asked this question
a lot, we agree with you.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
We no, not the dentalized part.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
There are a lot of sites out there doing a
lot of cigar reviews, and people are going to do
what they do and we let them, and some of them.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
We think are are really really excellent.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
There are people doing some really cool stuff and there
are some people come up with some descriptions where we
want you to know that we know that, you know
that they're full of crap.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
We all know it. We're all fully aware of it.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
We've kind of mocked it in our own unique way,
like when people say I taste marzipan, god bless you.
Who am I to say? I don't think I've ever
tasted that in a cigar. Actually, we've joked about it before.
We try and just bring it to you as we
see it as directly as we.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
Can, like saying something like a hit to apricot, but
organic apricot.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
Right, Yeah, no, you didn't, No, you Some people really
have palettes.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
But I think sometimes people are trying really hard. Is
a cigar worth it? We'll tell you in a moment.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
Not everybody deserves a tip, and not everything deserves a tip.
If you want to tip, though, send those to eat
drink smokeshow dot com.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
We'd sure appreciate it, would we.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
Yeah, I guess it depends on what the tip is, right, Like,
if it's monetary, that kind of tip, that would be great.
If it's fingers, you should do a sit up. I
don't want that kind of tip.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
D Drink smoke Common, Tony Kunts and that right there
is fitness influencer Fingers Moloy find everything at Eat, drinksmokeshow
dot com.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
We have all felt it, the tip fatigue.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
The idea of every place now sets up to, hey,
do you want to leave a tip? The story from
the New York Post Now it gets a little confusing.
They say the average consumer spends one hundred and fifty
dollars per week on unnecessary tips, according to a survey UH.
It was done by a group called pop Menu, which
is where I believe you go Fingers for all your
(09:47):
POPMNU advice.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
That is so true.
Speaker 3 (09:49):
They are great over there all their their pop Menu.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
But they in the article it reads it over the
last year, people had paid around one hundred and fifty
dollars and tips on average, but they didn't feel we're
necessary forty four percent tipping in places they don't think
it's customary. Now, I would argue that one hundred and
fifty dollars a week is probably too much, and one
hundred and fifty dollars a year is probably too little.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
So I think I don't even know where that number is.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
I think the story is I don't want to tip
my beist to just make my coffee, fix my latte.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
Fix my latte.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
By the way, that'll be the name of this episode
when it's in podcast form. Having said that, I'll give
you an example. So the other day, i'm you know,
I have seventy two gigs. I work one hundred and
twelve hours a week. I stopped for lunch. Oh did
you yes, at a pizza joint.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
Oh, you got out of the car.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
Yes, I got out of the car. But this pizza
joint really should have a drive through. It's one of
those pizza joints. All I wanted was their loaf of bread.
And let's just say their deal on that loaf of
bread was crazy. I got the loaf of bread.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
Okay, I know, I don't know what that means. I
can't figure out where you are based.
Speaker 3 (11:02):
On that crazy bread. Little Caesar's Pizza. Oh I didn't
know that, My god, man, was that Little Caesars crazy bread?
You've never had crazy bread before? Oh, we need to
make that happen. No, don't tempt me with a good time.
(11:26):
So I went and got the crazy bread. I had
to go in so I burned three calories. So I
was doing my part to work off the crazy bread
before I even consumed the whole loaf by myself. They
give you a loaf above of bread. It's covered in yeah, yes,
it's covered in parmesan and a butter and space age polymers.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
This isn't a breadstick, No, it's a loaf. It's actually
like you could slice it make sandwiches.
Speaker 3 (11:54):
No, it's spread sticks, okay, And they got parmesan all
over it, and it's a festival of flavor. And they
give you a little thing of marin aero sauce for dippin'.
Speaker 1 (12:03):
Right, So.
Speaker 3 (12:06):
Say I'd like that chop keep give me your breast
best best crazy bread.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
And she said, okay, absolutely.
Speaker 3 (12:13):
She goes in the back and she said, run your
credit card and then there'll be a question for you
for crazy bread at Little Caesar's. So I went ahead
and tipped because ten percent was seventy one cents. But still,
(12:34):
that's ridiculous.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
Do they get to see whether or not you tipped
or not? On the other.
Speaker 3 (12:40):
Side, what they do is at the door, you know,
right next to the chart that shows how tall you
are as you're walking out the door, in case you
rob the place, there's a little blinking green light showing
if you tipped or not. Okay, that's my guess. I
could be making that.
Speaker 2 (12:55):
Yeah, you shouldn't have to tip for that, and it's
wrong to ask, And I don't do it, don't, I don't,
doesn't matter, of course I don't.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
If I tipped everywhere.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
The way the machine tries to order you to do so,
I wouldn't be able to afford my mortgage. It's an
insane proposition. Now, the idea of I don't tip for
crazy bread, but I tipped for coffee is equally insane,
because in both cases, make your own.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
What are you going out for crazy bread for?
Speaker 3 (13:27):
I was on the road. I had been away from
home for several hours, away from my bread oven. To
be able to make my own bread. I have an
oven specific for bread, right, it's built in himself. It's
an easy bake oven. Having said that, so I wanted
the bread. It sounded good. And if you had ever
had crazy bread, you would understand.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
I don't know how I'm fat.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
I don't understand what is happening with my body chemistry.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
Having said that, and you're not fat, you are stocky.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
So much better.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
Oh, hello, ladies impressed now having said that, when you
get on, I shouldn't be asking you this because you.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
Don't eat bread to begin with. But I do love
it though.
Speaker 3 (14:21):
Okay, So if you get a sandwich, you order ahead
of time through an app sandwich shop, you get sandwiches
for the family, do you tip them?
Speaker 1 (14:30):
Never done that a day in my life. I've never
gotten sandwiches for the family ever.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
Maybe we've stopped at a subway before we're traveling, but hey, everybody,
let's go out for lunch and get sandwiches. In my lifetime,
unless we were online at Kats's Deli to have some pastrami,
never once have I done that.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
Never once. Oh, there are so many great sandwiches. No,
if it's a restaurant, yes, but.
Speaker 3 (14:58):
If they make the sandwich, they wrap it up in
the paper, they put it in a bag for you.
Stop it kind enough for each sandwich. They're like, Tony sandwich,
write it on the wrap, fingers sandwich, finger sandwich. Anyway,
you don't You don't think it's necessary to tip those people,
the sandwich artists.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
No, No, I don't think it's necessary to pay you.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
It's it's it's wrong. It is absolutely wrong I did.
You didn't do any work. You did the job that
you were paid to do. The whole idea of tipping
in a restaurant is a different scenario, is a different
thought process, because there is a service that's happening. I
we've discussed this before, and I actually had to have words.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
With friends of mine.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
I was out with where the server is putting things down,
and they're taking the plate from the server, and I'm
expected to do that.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
No, I I spent two.
Speaker 2 (15:58):
Hundred and twenty dollars dinner for five people. Yes, I
am not taking their plate and putting it down.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
Put it in front of me. Do the job. Otherwise
what am I paying for?
Speaker 2 (16:09):
I have to clean up after myself too, and I
have to tip twenty percent plus, which.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
I go about in certain places. I go about because
you know, I have a reputation to a vote.
Speaker 3 (16:19):
No, you know, No, you know what I do in
those situations. I act like a blackjack dealer, and I
clap my hands and I wave them to my sides,
and then I put my hands down. These plates are
clean now, and then.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
They take them away.
Speaker 3 (16:35):
One more thing, though, sure, you know how a couple
of weeks ago, I mentioned that a certain grocery store
has declared war on their customers.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
That's correct.
Speaker 3 (16:43):
Yes, I've been in there since on four different occasions.
But five or six days after we went on that
rant about that grocery store, nobody's in there anymore. I'm
taking full credit. So the folks in there that were
going in there being hassled by solicitors, it's not happening anymore.
You can think you can thank Eat Drink Smoke for that.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
Now, if you don't know what Fingers is talking about,
you have to listen to the last month of podcasts
in order to understand, because he wants to make sure
he was vague enough. So you'll go listen and still try.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
Not to get sued exactly, Oh, or getting suit, Eat
Drink Smoke. It is your cigar Bourbon footy extravaganza. I'm
Tony Katz. That is Fingers below.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
I find everything at Eat drinksmokeshow dot com. And yes,
we'd love to come to your town. You gotta tell
your local radio station that carries Eat Drink Smoke to
bring us out. Let's smoke together, Let's drink together, Let's
fall in love and make a.
Speaker 3 (17:48):
Baby, and we'll even write a song together, make a baby,
and the song will be about the baby smoking the
Alec and Bradley Alec Bradley gate Keeper right here six
by fifty two.
Speaker 1 (18:05):
It is a spicier stick than I remember.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
I mean, and again, if we're gonna talk pepper, I'm
playing into the white peppers. But I really do think
it is the intensity of that would I would like
a little more sweetness, a little more tobacco, a little
to balance this out. It's an enjoyable cigar, but man,
(18:30):
is it present? Are you fully aware of what's happening?
Speaker 1 (18:34):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (18:34):
For me, that sweetness was there at the light, you know,
I mentioned kind of a toasted, like a bready sweetness,
and then that's kind of subsided that that pepper. I
think it's, you know, a pepper which you will call it,
which but maybe it's cedar. H it's overwhelming the palette.
I don't know. All I know is it's there and
it's it's nice. And then also there's a that nuttiness
(18:58):
is kind of subsided as well. That's still there, but
not like it was when we first lit this and
we were in the first third of the first third
of the cigar, having said all that, I like what
I'm experiencing with this cigar between the flavor profile and
then also you know, it has been pretty low maintenance, nice,
(19:20):
pleasant draw The hand feel, like you mentioned at the
beginning of the show is great.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
Yeah, it's a good stick. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
Now the question of course fingers with LOI is this
in your humidor for thirteen dollars a stick? Yes, I
could see how this works for a lot of people.
I can see how this is something where they like
a bigger like a boulder.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
I thought it interesting the guys.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
Over there, I said, ladies over there, I should say
the people over there. I shouldn't be sexist at Neptune
Cigar and I happen to like their site. We don't
have a business relationship with Neptune. There are a couple
of people doing some really good work with online cigar sales.
I like the the cleanliness of their their site. I
think it's pretty easy. Descriptions are there, Ratings are there.
(20:06):
They categorize this as a medium. I think you got
to play a little stronger. Yeah, right, your your your
medium plus, but you're not in the middle.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
It's just it's a little bit more than that. You're
not in full, but you're you're you're full curious, you're
full questioning. I think that's the way the cigar goes.
Speaker 3 (20:28):
I'd agree with you on that, Yeah, medium, because you
could you hear medium and you think, oh, you know,
it's not going to hit me. And I'm not saying
this is like a full punch in the face, but
it lets you know you're it's there.
Speaker 1 (20:43):
So this is not for yardwork.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
This is I would also argue, unless you've had the
cigar already, not for a golf course, do not bring
this cigar to your buddies and say, hey, have this.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
There's a lot.
Speaker 2 (20:58):
There's just a lot to heat spice constantly. That wood
concentration happening here. It's not gonna be for everybody.
Speaker 3 (21:05):
And depending on how cigars impact your day, I wouldn't
smoke the sun an empty stomach.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
It's actually not a bad idea and it's and it's
not because it's it's overwhelming. I think that spice might
hit people, that that cedar hit people the wrong way.
All that said, for twelve seventy, I think it's a
fine stick. I think it's a fine price, and I
think you probably could find deals on.
Speaker 1 (21:32):
It because the sgar has been around for a while.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
It's it's that this is a cigar where you buy
the cigar, buy two.
Speaker 1 (21:41):
As we often discuss it, right now, try a month from.
Speaker 2 (21:44):
Now, and then after both those times like you know what,
I enjoy those flavors, or there's a place for it
in my humidor then go go do it. But this
isn't the cigar. Oh, everybody's over Okay, here's what we're doing.
This is more specific, I think to This is for
your friends who smoke cigars and if like, hey, you
want to try something with some punch, try something with
(22:07):
some heat but not overwhelming the Alcon Bradley gatekeeper. We're
doing the toro right here. But it's time Fingers Maloy
for News of the week.
Speaker 3 (22:17):
Well Tony NPR has the story and you know, as
we put the show together.
Speaker 1 (22:22):
Of course, this.
Speaker 3 (22:23):
Story can change thirty times in the next few hours.
But a fragile Gaza ceasefire is tested after Israel and
Hamas swap detainees and hostages.
Speaker 1 (22:34):
So what we've got.
Speaker 2 (22:37):
Here, And first things first, I don't care where your
politics are. It is so good that these these hostages
are home. It is a remarkable thing that has taken place.
Anytime we were able to assist hostages getting out of
that hell is good. This is incredible, incredible stuff. You've
(23:00):
been hearing numbers twenty and twenty eight. The twenty were
those living. What the Israelis want are the remains of everyone,
and that is where And remember, as we're recording this
right it's earlier than you're hearing it, so things may
have changed, So forgive us if we're not on top
of it.
Speaker 1 (23:20):
To that latest bit of news.
Speaker 2 (23:23):
They're very slow in the remains and it's very possible
that Hamas has removed the remains, has not kept them.
The Israelis want to give proper burials. This is about Judaism,
this is about respect, this is about honor, and they're
very serious about this and they're.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
Very angry about it.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
And there has been a slow roll of remains being returned.
They were supposed to be returned. Only four were returned
at last. As we're discussing it right now, as we
have the information right now, and that can put an
end to this whole thing. That can put an end
to this very quickly. What then got followed up from
President Trump and these world leaders in Charles Sheik Charmel Shehak,
(24:06):
which is in Egypt, was the idea of how you
create do a building of the Gaza strip. And it's
very interesting because what these nations are saying is all right,
we'll buy in because and if that is the case,
if it happens like that, of course they're putting their
money in. They're going to be very concerned about protecting
their investment. And that is what ends Hamas's capability because
(24:30):
they won't put up with it, they won't have it.
And that's where the real change in this conversation is
not this fantasy of a two state solution. You can't
live next to people who want to murder you. And
as Hamas has written in their charter, in their creat
it's who they are. So this changes the dynamic. And
I have my own thoughts, my own views. If a
(24:53):
way I didn't think about it can work and create
a safe Israel and therefore putting an.
Speaker 1 (25:01):
End to terrorists. I'm all in putting an end to terrorists.
I'm all in. But this is not a good sign
as we're seeing it right now.
Speaker 3 (25:08):
Well, I hesitated to bring this up because, of course,
like you mentioned, we're putting the show together a little
earlier than normal, and this the story can change fifty
times between now and when it airs. But this is
just too big of a story to not at least
a touch upon. But having said that, I to be
completely honest with you, you and I have talked about this
off air. I was actually surprised that there were still
(25:30):
hostages alive.
Speaker 2 (25:31):
I am amazed, I am thrilled. It was the fear
of fears that there would be nobody to hand.
Speaker 1 (25:40):
Over it is.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
It is spectacular that seven hundred and thirty seven days
in hell. It is spectacular that people been able to
return home. But it's it's there, this is this is
the stuff being talked about in cigar lines. So we
(26:02):
talk about it here. So we're certainly right to be
talking about it. And yes, as we're discussing and information
will change, but this is all fraught, absolutely positively fraught.
Speaker 3 (26:14):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (26:15):
The the odds of this working as advertised three percent?
Speaker 1 (26:20):
Yeah right, you know it's dumb and dumbers. You're telling
me there's a chance, Well, yeah, sure, there's there's a chance.
I'm not going to argue it. It's just this is
hard stuff.
Speaker 3 (26:29):
It is and While I appreciate the celebration, especially about
the hostages coming home and then maybe a return to
at least a period of non violence in the region,
you just have to say to yourself, Okay, how long
is this going to last? Just based on what's happened
in the past, it's.
Speaker 2 (26:47):
And and off. The quick doesn't look great. And then
I want to be wrong. I think everybody wants to
be wrong. And there's an extentive we're talking about America.
I just don't want to talk about it anymore. Can
I please focus on something else?
Speaker 1 (27:02):
I don't know if we're going get lucky or not.
I hope.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
So should you marinade your steak before the cooking? And
the answer as well, it depends what do you like,
but it does to.
Speaker 1 (27:19):
An extent depend on the cut. It's eat drink smoke.
Speaker 2 (27:22):
I'm Tony Kats and that right there is America's favorite
amateur drinker fingers below I find it all Eat Drink
Smoke show dot com. The story was over at the
takeout the four cuts of steak. You should always marinate
before grilling. Now, before we get into anything, do you
ever marinate steaks? No, you're not into the marinates.
Speaker 3 (27:40):
No, A little salt, little pepper, that's about it. I
season it.
Speaker 1 (27:44):
I don't.
Speaker 3 (27:45):
It's very rare that I would marinate a steak. But
if I were to marinate a steak, it would generally
be maybe a lesser cut of meat that I would
marinade to try to enhance the f and then I
would slow cook it, you know, do a reverse sere
to maybe help with the tenderness of the steak.
Speaker 2 (28:07):
So the idea is, you know, depending on where the
steak comes from, comes from, larger cuts, whole muscle cuts
maybe could get the marinade. And so they recommend here
a marinade on your flat iron steak, your surloin steak,
your try tip, and your skirt steak. Now, skirt steak, Yes,
(28:27):
because that's gonna be thinner. That's that's going to cook faster,
and it just it absorbed. To me, it absorbs better.
It's just a natural, uh to do with with a
a kind of marinade. There, Uh, skirt steak coming from
the middle of the cow, it could be a little
bit tough, so helping break that down a little bit.
Speaker 1 (28:49):
I agree with that wholeheartedly.
Speaker 2 (28:52):
On the surloins, I like the idea of this, because
you'll find the surloins right now at a better price
if you're in a store. But if you're going to
think of a sirloin as your ribbi or your.
Speaker 1 (29:08):
Strip, you're wrong.
Speaker 2 (29:09):
It's not how it's gonna come out, and you're gonna
get disappointed. So what I like about the marinade on
a sirloin is that you are forced to recognize that
it's something different. You're forced to take a little bit
of time, and that little bit of time, I think
is going to give you a lot of.
Speaker 1 (29:28):
Result. Soy and honey, soy sauce.
Speaker 2 (29:31):
And honey as a marinade, just a classic right there,
I think can do a really, really good job. Some
people would say go with some some more Southwestern flavors.
They recommend the lime juice, Cilantro and Chile's, and then
some people recommend orange juice. I have marinated steaks and
(29:52):
orange juice before and had miserable results. Miserable, terrible, awful,
not good, not like stuff that I made is part
of like a whole bunch of things. And I didn't
even serve them that so that could have just been
me not making it right. But as a concept, it
is right when it's not one of those standard cuts.
Speaker 1 (30:12):
His fingers is talking about salt pepper grill.
Speaker 3 (30:15):
Yeah, and I've never attempted to use this as a marinade,
but the takeout in this piece suggests for skirt steak
maybe using yogurt as a as a marinad. Have you
ever used yogurt for for a marinade?
Speaker 1 (30:32):
Wait on the skirts steak this?
Speaker 3 (30:33):
Yes, no, No, Yogurt makes for a milder marinad for
your meat than citrus or vinegar, since it contains lactic acid,
a substance that can be that can add moisture to
meat without making it mushy, mushy, mushy, mushy, mushy, mushy mushy.
Right when I think yogurt on steak, I think mushi.
Speaker 1 (30:56):
I don't. It's it's a good idea. It's a good idea.
Speaker 2 (31:03):
Now the key here is get better steak. And that's
why you want Defiance Beef. Defiancebef dot com in Indiana,
ship directly to your door, cut to your specifications, age
twenty one days. The meat is fantastic. I've had the strips,
I've had the ribbis, I've had the tender loins. I
have had the ground beef. It is fantastic. And you
(31:24):
order your quarter cow, your half cow, your full cow,
and you use promo code eat drink smoke when you order,
you're gonna get one hundred and fifty dollars off. And
then after the.
Speaker 1 (31:33):
Aging process, they're gonna give you a call and say, okay,
what do you want?
Speaker 2 (31:36):
And based on what size you ordered, they'll be like, okay,
we'll get you this many strips and this many ribbys,
and how do you want to cut? And this and
that do you want? Do you want the soup bones?
That was the question I gotta ask, do you want
the soup bones? And I'm like, uh, yes, I do.
I'm gonna make my own beef broth, of course, my
own beef stock without question. Defiance d e f I
a nce defiancebeef dot com is where you want to
(32:00):
order from, and you want to use promo code, eat
drink smoke and get one hundred and fifty dollars off
your order and fingers.
Speaker 1 (32:08):
We've done enough grilling. It matters, you know.
Speaker 2 (32:12):
If I'm doing briskets, I only do prime briskets or
kosher briskets. I have tried choice, I have not had satisfaction.
I'll pay more with Defiance Beef overall, when you're buying
a quarter cow, a half cow, or a foll cow
at defines beef dot com, you're gonna pay less than
the supermarkets.
Speaker 1 (32:29):
For sure. Those prices are nuts.
Speaker 3 (32:31):
How often do you find yourself picking up a flat
iron steak or skirt steak?
Speaker 2 (32:39):
I find myself with a flat iron if there's some
kind of deal going on. Skirt steak. I don't order
enough skirt steak. I don't order enough. I like a
skirt steak. I think you can do it well on
a grill. I think you can do it well cast iron.
I do think that the marinade is right, and I
just think it's easy, boom bop and done.
Speaker 1 (33:01):
So yeah, I like it.
Speaker 3 (33:02):
I really that's that's one thing I have never cooked with.
I don't have one is a cast iron. Oh, come on,
I know, go get it. So do you think I
here now in the house, Yes, the new house, which
he's not fully moved into yet.
Speaker 1 (33:17):
Ladies and gentlemen. With the gas stove. Yes, this is weird.
It's your first gas stove.
Speaker 3 (33:24):
Yes, I thirty eight years young and it's my first
gas stove and I don't have this.
Speaker 1 (33:32):
So should I go could go back to thirty eight
years old? Let's just move on.
Speaker 3 (33:35):
Should I go ahead and buy a new cast iron
skillet and season it? Or should I go antiquing hope
to find a really old one and recondition it.
Speaker 1 (33:45):
Okay, you need to listen to me. Okay, I'm listening.
Speaker 2 (33:47):
If you buy a used cast iron skillet, huh, I
will hit you with a skillet with said skillet. But
I think we've been saying cast iron stove, cast iron skillet,
buy a new one, season it, work it in, give
it time.
Speaker 1 (34:07):
Yes, that's exactly the way to do it. Take some pride.
Speaker 3 (34:11):
What about the sense of accomplishment and satisfaction knowing that
I brought an old cast iron skillet back to life?
Speaker 2 (34:18):
How about the pride and satisfaction one day showing up
to the show ready to do the show?
Speaker 1 (34:23):
That would be great. What are you saying, don't do that?
Speaker 2 (34:29):
Get yourself something, get this, don't don't mort only knows
what they were making in that thing.
Speaker 1 (34:35):
Don't you dare?
Speaker 3 (34:37):
I'm envisioning God that the old ranch cook was out
there with his cast iron skillet. Making Sonny, Yes, yes,
making some beans in the the cast iron skillet for
for the boys while they're out there ranching all day.
(34:58):
And then somehow, you know, Sonny passed away and then
they thought, we can't use Sonny's skillet, And next thing
you know, it's a good will waiting for me to
pick it up and then bring her back to life.
You're saying, no, that's ridiculous.
Speaker 1 (35:13):
I'm not saying it's ridiculous. I want to be on
the record. I'm not saying it's ridiculous.
Speaker 2 (35:17):
You know.
Speaker 1 (35:17):
You're saying it's ridiculous for me to do it. I'm
saying it's gross.
Speaker 2 (35:23):
There's a very large difference in ridiculous in gross.
Speaker 1 (35:27):
Yeah, I know. No, No, don't get me wrong. I'm
sure people do it.
Speaker 2 (35:31):
We're gonna get emails from Eat, Drink, Smoke Nation saying Tony,
you are such a primadonna, prude your joe.
Speaker 1 (35:39):
You do this and you do that, and the next
thing you know, you're cooking delicious.
Speaker 3 (35:45):
No, is it that it's cast iron? Or is it
you would never buy any secondhand cook wear at all?
Like would you buy a second hand chafing dish?
Speaker 2 (35:55):
Yes, I bought secondhand knives, and I'm questioning whether the
cast iron.
Speaker 3 (36:00):
We have with secondhand now that you bring it up, Oh,
so here we are. You're turning each rink smoke into
your own den of lies.
Speaker 2 (36:07):
No, I'm going back to remember, and if it is
indeed used, I have to stop using it immediately.
Speaker 3 (36:14):
I don't think it is. I think I think I
bought it. Ours is good present it. I'll take it
to the boys in the lab and we'll find out
how old it is. It's probably seventy years old. And
you didn't even know it. It's so great that you
don't have one. You know what, I will get you
one now. I will purchase you one.
Speaker 1 (36:32):
You don't have to do that. I want to. It'll
be cheaper than the other gift I was going to
get you for the new house.
Speaker 3 (36:38):
Do you use a little spray in it before you
before you cooking it.
Speaker 1 (36:42):
I'm not having this conversation anymore.
Back.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
In twenty twenty three, the Alec Bradley Cigar Group sold
to the Scandinavian Tobacco Group for seventy two point five
million dollars.
Speaker 3 (00:13):
Fingers Moloy, we offered sixty nine point three million.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Just gut beat it out, pity too. It's eat, drink, smoke.
I'm Tony Katzen. That right there is America's favorite amateur drinker,
Fingers Molloy.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
And this from Alec Bradley, going back to.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
I think twenty nineteen is when this cigar came out.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
This is the gatekeeper.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
We're doing the Toro right here, which is a six
x fifty two, which means it's six inches long.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Tea always makes Fingers Moloy laugh.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
And the ring gauge is a fifty two the diameter
of the cigar or how thick it is around again
with the laughter, So a sixty four ring gauge would
be a.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Full one inch around. Toro is where I that's to
me is the low end of length. That's where I
like to be. I smoke robostos.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Of course, I'm just not that's not my every day
This into the Churchill is where I like to play.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
Hey, I'm not right for you. You do what you
have to do.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
First things first, this is an Ecuadorian habano rapper here Nicaragua,
and the binder in the filler there's some Dominican the
filler as well. That wrapper feels so great. It's got oil,
it's got grit. It is brown with that modeled black
almost streaking through the wrapper there and and feels it
(01:31):
there's hefty. Yeah you say it, it's beefy. It does?
Speaker 1 (01:36):
You actually do feel the cigar not light in the
hand at all. Is this your first time having the
gatekeeper fingers?
Speaker 3 (01:42):
I believe so it is not for me.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
It is not my first time having first time today,
Just not my first time. You always remember your first
That's not true at all. There's so many cigars. I'm like,
I don't remember having this whatsoever. I don't remember if
if it wasn't for the notebooks, and it wasn't for
the show, if it wasn't for the show, that's how
I go back, Like the show is my notebook, Go
back and take a look.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
But it feels great and it looks great.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
Uh, you've had Alec Bradley's cigars before, and I think
that as a brand, it's it's always been. They've always
been lovely people, but it's been kind of hit or
miss as as a cigar for me. There's some things
I've enjoyed and some things I haven't. There's some things
I thought were so silly, like the Texas Toast, which
was like an eight by eighty kind of ring gage,
(02:30):
just an absolute mond maybe it was only seventy ring gauge,
but still absolutely huge.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
He too, was a cigar. It's called the Black Magic
or Magic Toast. Magic Toast.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
Magic Toast was the cigar that I thought for Alec
Bradley like kind of reset them, like, oh, okay, we're
back to doing interesting things, right. And then the sons
Alec and Bradley, they started doing some of their their
own work, and I thought they did they did nice
stuff that now that's this. This is an Alec and
(03:00):
Bradley the gatekeeper right here. And I always thought that
this was just a nice, worthwhile basic smoke in the
humid or. And I don't mean basically in a bad way.
I'm just saying, this doesn't break the bank kind of stuff.
This isn't uh, you know, gonna second mortgage time, Just
good quality, easy to do, easy to find, easy to.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
Get access to boom. What else could you ask for?
Speaker 3 (03:26):
Not much more than that, I can tell you. You know,
we just lit this. We're just in the first third
of the first third of the cigar, and right off
the bat it popped into my head like a toast.
There's like a little bit of a bready sweetness to
it and a nuttiness as well. For me, as I'm
starting to smoke a little bit more, as I'm getting
(03:48):
a little bit more into the first third, I am noticing, Uh,
from the light to to now, there has been a
pepper that has been building.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
Yeah, I'm not I don't think I've just let this up.
So I don't think I am there that yet. I
I this is certainly there's a little bit of wood
that's actually I think it's the wood the cedar that's
we're laying the spice on the tongue. It's playing middle
tongue front to back. I I like where you are
with with with nuttiness. I think so, I think this
(04:20):
is a an interesting presentation of tobacco forward, right. I
think that that's what you're actually getting out out of this,
and so it presents itself with this with this. You're
calling it pepper, and I'm telling you, I think that
spice that you're getting and for me, it's middle of
tongue front to back is actually the cedar and it's
(04:42):
an intensity of wood flavor. Okay, you can make that argument,
and so I did. Who might argue with you? Because
if that's pepper, that is not black pepper, I would
say that is that is that is a white pepper
concentrain almost into bits of red pepper, Like there's a
little bit of heat that's building from it. And that's
why I think it's actually the cedar playing a trick
(05:04):
on you.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
It's not the first time cedar has played a trick
on me. We know you have fallen for wood in
all sorts of ways.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
That is so true.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
Having said that, moving back to the cigar, the draw,
the draw is very pleasant, very easy, the hand feel
you mentioned it earlier. It's got a nice bit of
half to it.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
So far, so good.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
Yeah, I think there's a lot to like here. I
think there's a lot to really work with in this cigar.
You want to get your notebooks right. What'd you eat today?
What did you drink today?
Speaker 1 (05:39):
The weather we have had beautiful weather.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
In Indianapolis still warmer than I think people want it
to be for October.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
I'm not complaining.
Speaker 3 (05:50):
I met up with a group of friends and they
made an observation that I really hadn't noticed, is that
because it's been so warm, leaves really haven't changed as
much as they should have or how much you we
do expect them to at this time of year.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
Now there's there's no reds and there's no yellows, so
everything is still really really green.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
Going on.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
You want to get your notebooks out, guys, what did
you eat today? What'd you drink today, whether we're talking
about and then take the cigar, break it up into thirds,
first third, second third, final third. First third where you
light it from. That is the foot, uh. The final
third is where you're smoking from. That is the cap
where you cut. Did a shallow cut on this fingers
did a very shallow cut on it, Very very impressive, sir.
(06:36):
Then what are the flavors you're getting? Write them down,
doesn't matter how weird it is, how what kind of
flavors you think you're you're you're you're you're you're getting
as esoteric or as space, and then write it down
for each third. Then when you smoke the cigar a month, now,
six months now, whatever it is, you do it again.
And that's where you get your through line. You make
your comparisons. What you know, what are the flavors really
(06:57):
getting out of this smouth?
Speaker 3 (06:58):
Any flavor, no matter how crazy at me look in print?
I just wrote down my little notebook here areo mcflurry?
Speaker 1 (07:05):
Is that what you wrote down? I don't think you did.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
I just want to say, I think the people are
tired of your embellishments. Dare they think that you are
making a mockery of the cigar game?
Speaker 3 (07:17):
Are you saying that there are people an eat, drink,
smoke nation that think I'm turning the show into my
own dent of lies? Is that what you're saying? Is
that what you're saying to me? How dare you, sir?
Speaker 2 (07:30):
I do think, because we do get asked this question
a lot, we agree with you.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
We no, not the dentalized part.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
There are a lot of sites out there doing a
lot of cigar reviews, and people are going to do
what they do and we let them, and some of them.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
We think are are really really excellent.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
There are people doing some really cool stuff and there
are some people come up with some descriptions where we
want you to know that we know that, you know
that they're full of crap.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
We all know it. We're all fully aware of it.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
We've kind of mocked it in our own unique way,
like when people say I taste marzipan, god bless you.
Who am I to say? I don't think I've ever
tasted that in a cigar. Actually, we've joked about it before.
We try and just bring it to you as we
see it as directly as we.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
Can, like saying something like a hit to apricot, but
organic apricot.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
Right, Yeah, no, you didn't, No, you Some people really
have palettes.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
But I think sometimes people are trying really hard. Is
a cigar worth it? We'll tell you in a moment.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
Not everybody deserves a tip, and not everything deserves a tip.
If you want to tip, though, send those to eat
drink smokeshow dot com.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
We'd sure appreciate it, would we.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
Yeah, I guess it depends on what the tip is, right, Like,
if it's monetary, that kind of tip, that would be great.
If it's fingers, you should do a sit up. I
don't want that kind of tip.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
D Drink smoke Common, Tony Kunts and that right there
is fitness influencer Fingers Moloy find everything at Eat, drinksmokeshow
dot com.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
We have all felt it, the tip fatigue.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
The idea of every place now sets up to, hey,
do you want to leave a tip? The story from
the New York Post Now it gets a little confusing.
They say the average consumer spends one hundred and fifty
dollars per week on unnecessary tips, according to a survey UH.
It was done by a group called pop Menu, which
is where I believe you go Fingers for all your
(09:47):
POPMNU advice.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
That is so true.
Speaker 3 (09:49):
They are great over there all their their pop Menu.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
But they in the article it reads it over the
last year, people had paid around one hundred and fifty
dollars and tips on average, but they didn't feel we're
necessary forty four percent tipping in places they don't think
it's customary. Now, I would argue that one hundred and
fifty dollars a week is probably too much, and one
hundred and fifty dollars a year is probably too little.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
So I think I don't even know where that number is.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
I think the story is I don't want to tip
my beist to just make my coffee, fix my latte.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
Fix my latte.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
By the way, that'll be the name of this episode
when it's in podcast form. Having said that, I'll give
you an example. So the other day, i'm you know,
I have seventy two gigs. I work one hundred and
twelve hours a week. I stopped for lunch. Oh did
you yes, at a pizza joint.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
Oh, you got out of the car.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
Yes, I got out of the car. But this pizza
joint really should have a drive through. It's one of
those pizza joints. All I wanted was their loaf of bread.
And let's just say their deal on that loaf of
bread was crazy. I got the loaf of bread.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
Okay, I know, I don't know what that means. I
can't figure out where you are based.
Speaker 3 (11:02):
On that crazy bread. Little Caesar's Pizza. Oh I didn't
know that, My god, man, was that Little Caesars crazy bread?
You've never had crazy bread before? Oh, we need to
make that happen. No, don't tempt me with a good time.
(11:26):
So I went and got the crazy bread. I had
to go in so I burned three calories. So I
was doing my part to work off the crazy bread
before I even consumed the whole loaf by myself. They
give you a loaf above of bread. It's covered in yeah, yes,
it's covered in parmesan and a butter and space age polymers.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
This isn't a breadstick, No, it's a loaf. It's actually
like you could slice it make sandwiches.
Speaker 3 (11:54):
No, it's spread sticks, okay, And they got parmesan all
over it, and it's a festival of flavor. And they
give you a little thing of marin aero sauce for dippin'.
Speaker 1 (12:03):
Right, So.
Speaker 3 (12:06):
Say I'd like that chop keep give me your breast
best best crazy bread.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
And she said, okay, absolutely.
Speaker 3 (12:13):
She goes in the back and she said, run your
credit card and then there'll be a question for you
for crazy bread at Little Caesar's. So I went ahead
and tipped because ten percent was seventy one cents. But still,
(12:34):
that's ridiculous.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
Do they get to see whether or not you tipped
or not? On the other.
Speaker 3 (12:40):
Side, what they do is at the door, you know,
right next to the chart that shows how tall you
are as you're walking out the door, in case you
rob the place, there's a little blinking green light showing
if you tipped or not. Okay, that's my guess. I
could be making that.
Speaker 2 (12:55):
Yeah, you shouldn't have to tip for that, and it's
wrong to ask, And I don't do it, don't, I don't,
doesn't matter, of course I don't.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
If I tipped everywhere.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
The way the machine tries to order you to do so,
I wouldn't be able to afford my mortgage. It's an
insane proposition. Now, the idea of I don't tip for
crazy bread, but I tipped for coffee is equally insane,
because in both cases, make your own.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
What are you going out for crazy bread for?
Speaker 3 (13:27):
I was on the road. I had been away from
home for several hours, away from my bread oven. To
be able to make my own bread. I have an
oven specific for bread, right, it's built in himself. It's
an easy bake oven. Having said that, so I wanted
the bread. It sounded good. And if you had ever
had crazy bread, you would understand.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
I don't know how I'm fat.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
I don't understand what is happening with my body chemistry.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
Having said that, and you're not fat, you are stocky.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
So much better.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
Oh, hello, ladies impressed now having said that, when you
get on, I shouldn't be asking you this because you.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
Don't eat bread to begin with. But I do love
it though.
Speaker 3 (14:21):
Okay, So if you get a sandwich, you order ahead
of time through an app sandwich shop, you get sandwiches
for the family, do you tip them?
Speaker 1 (14:30):
Never done that a day in my life. I've never
gotten sandwiches for the family ever.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
Maybe we've stopped at a subway before we're traveling, but hey, everybody,
let's go out for lunch and get sandwiches. In my lifetime,
unless we were online at Kats's Deli to have some pastrami,
never once have I done that.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
Never once. Oh, there are so many great sandwiches. No,
if it's a restaurant, yes, but.
Speaker 3 (14:58):
If they make the sandwich, they wrap it up in
the paper, they put it in a bag for you.
Stop it kind enough for each sandwich. They're like, Tony sandwich,
write it on the wrap, fingers sandwich, finger sandwich. Anyway,
you don't You don't think it's necessary to tip those people,
the sandwich artists.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
No, No, I don't think it's necessary to pay you.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
It's it's it's wrong. It is absolutely wrong I did.
You didn't do any work. You did the job that
you were paid to do. The whole idea of tipping
in a restaurant is a different scenario, is a different
thought process, because there is a service that's happening. I
we've discussed this before, and I actually had to have words.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
With friends of mine.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
I was out with where the server is putting things down,
and they're taking the plate from the server, and I'm
expected to do that.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
No, I I spent two.
Speaker 2 (15:58):
Hundred and twenty dollars dinner for five people. Yes, I
am not taking their plate and putting it down.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
Put it in front of me. Do the job. Otherwise
what am I paying for?
Speaker 2 (16:09):
I have to clean up after myself too, and I
have to tip twenty percent plus, which.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
I go about in certain places. I go about because
you know, I have a reputation to a vote.
Speaker 3 (16:19):
No, you know, No, you know what I do in
those situations. I act like a blackjack dealer, and I
clap my hands and I wave them to my sides,
and then I put my hands down. These plates are
clean now, and then.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
They take them away.
Speaker 3 (16:35):
One more thing, though, sure, you know how a couple
of weeks ago, I mentioned that a certain grocery store
has declared war on their customers.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
That's correct.
Speaker 3 (16:43):
Yes, I've been in there since on four different occasions.
But five or six days after we went on that
rant about that grocery store, nobody's in there anymore. I'm
taking full credit. So the folks in there that were
going in there being hassled by solicitors, it's not happening anymore.
You can think you can thank Eat Drink Smoke for that.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
Now, if you don't know what Fingers is talking about,
you have to listen to the last month of podcasts
in order to understand, because he wants to make sure
he was vague enough. So you'll go listen and still try.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
Not to get sued exactly, Oh, or getting suit, Eat
Drink Smoke. It is your cigar Bourbon footy extravaganza. I'm
Tony Katz. That is Fingers below.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
I find everything at Eat drinksmokeshow dot com. And yes,
we'd love to come to your town. You gotta tell
your local radio station that carries Eat Drink Smoke to
bring us out. Let's smoke together, Let's drink together, Let's
fall in love and make a.
Speaker 3 (17:48):
Baby, and we'll even write a song together, make a baby,
and the song will be about the baby smoking the
Alec and Bradley Alec Bradley gate Keeper right here six
by fifty two.
Speaker 1 (18:05):
It is a spicier stick than I remember.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
I mean, and again, if we're gonna talk pepper, I'm
playing into the white peppers. But I really do think
it is the intensity of that would I would like
a little more sweetness, a little more tobacco, a little
to balance this out. It's an enjoyable cigar, but man,
(18:30):
is it present? Are you fully aware of what's happening?
Speaker 1 (18:34):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (18:34):
For me, that sweetness was there at the light, you know,
I mentioned kind of a toasted, like a bready sweetness,
and then that's kind of subsided that that pepper. I
think it's, you know, a pepper which you will call it,
which but maybe it's cedar. H it's overwhelming the palette.
I don't know. All I know is it's there and
it's it's nice. And then also there's a that nuttiness
(18:58):
is kind of subsided as well. That's still there, but
not like it was when we first lit this and
we were in the first third of the first third
of the cigar, having said all that, I like what
I'm experiencing with this cigar between the flavor profile and
then also you know, it has been pretty low maintenance, nice,
(19:20):
pleasant draw The hand feel, like you mentioned at the
beginning of the show is great.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
Yeah, it's a good stick. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
Now the question of course fingers with LOI is this
in your humidor for thirteen dollars a stick? Yes, I
could see how this works for a lot of people.
I can see how this is something where they like
a bigger like a boulder.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
I thought it interesting the guys.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
Over there, I said, ladies over there, I should say
the people over there. I shouldn't be sexist at Neptune
Cigar and I happen to like their site. We don't
have a business relationship with Neptune. There are a couple
of people doing some really good work with online cigar sales.
I like the the cleanliness of their their site. I
think it's pretty easy. Descriptions are there, Ratings are there.
(20:06):
They categorize this as a medium. I think you got
to play a little stronger. Yeah, right, your your your
medium plus, but you're not in the middle.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
It's just it's a little bit more than that. You're
not in full, but you're you're you're full curious, you're
full questioning. I think that's the way the cigar goes.
Speaker 3 (20:28):
I'd agree with you on that, Yeah, medium, because you
could you hear medium and you think, oh, you know,
it's not going to hit me. And I'm not saying
this is like a full punch in the face, but
it lets you know you're it's there.
Speaker 1 (20:43):
So this is not for yardwork.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
This is I would also argue, unless you've had the
cigar already, not for a golf course, do not bring
this cigar to your buddies and say, hey, have this.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
There's a lot.
Speaker 2 (20:58):
There's just a lot to heat spice constantly. That wood
concentration happening here. It's not gonna be for everybody.
Speaker 3 (21:05):
And depending on how cigars impact your day, I wouldn't
smoke the sun an empty stomach.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
It's actually not a bad idea and it's and it's
not because it's it's overwhelming. I think that spice might
hit people, that that cedar hit people the wrong way.
All that said, for twelve seventy, I think it's a
fine stick. I think it's a fine price, and I
think you probably could find deals on.
Speaker 1 (21:32):
It because the sgar has been around for a while.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
It's it's that this is a cigar where you buy
the cigar, buy two.
Speaker 1 (21:41):
As we often discuss it, right now, try a month from.
Speaker 2 (21:44):
Now, and then after both those times like you know what,
I enjoy those flavors, or there's a place for it
in my humidor then go go do it. But this
isn't the cigar. Oh, everybody's over Okay, here's what we're doing.
This is more specific, I think to This is for
your friends who smoke cigars and if like, hey, you
want to try something with some punch, try something with
(22:07):
some heat but not overwhelming the Alcon Bradley gatekeeper. We're
doing the toro right here. But it's time Fingers Maloy
for News of the week.
Speaker 3 (22:17):
Well Tony NPR has the story and you know, as
we put the show together.
Speaker 1 (22:22):
Of course, this.
Speaker 3 (22:23):
Story can change thirty times in the next few hours.
But a fragile Gaza ceasefire is tested after Israel and
Hamas swap detainees and hostages.
Speaker 1 (22:34):
So what we've got.
Speaker 2 (22:37):
Here, And first things first, I don't care where your
politics are. It is so good that these these hostages
are home. It is a remarkable thing that has taken place.
Anytime we were able to assist hostages getting out of
that hell is good. This is incredible, incredible stuff. You've
(23:00):
been hearing numbers twenty and twenty eight. The twenty were
those living. What the Israelis want are the remains of everyone,
and that is where And remember, as we're recording this
right it's earlier than you're hearing it, so things may
have changed, So forgive us if we're not on top
of it.
Speaker 1 (23:20):
To that latest bit of news.
Speaker 2 (23:23):
They're very slow in the remains and it's very possible
that Hamas has removed the remains, has not kept them.
The Israelis want to give proper burials. This is about Judaism,
this is about respect, this is about honor, and they're
very serious about this and they're.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
Very angry about it.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
And there has been a slow roll of remains being returned.
They were supposed to be returned. Only four were returned
at last. As we're discussing it right now, as we
have the information right now, and that can put an
end to this whole thing. That can put an end
to this very quickly. What then got followed up from
President Trump and these world leaders in Charles Sheik Charmel Shehak,
(24:06):
which is in Egypt, was the idea of how you
create do a building of the Gaza strip. And it's
very interesting because what these nations are saying is all right,
we'll buy in because and if that is the case,
if it happens like that, of course they're putting their
money in. They're going to be very concerned about protecting
their investment. And that is what ends Hamas's capability because
(24:30):
they won't put up with it, they won't have it.
And that's where the real change in this conversation is
not this fantasy of a two state solution. You can't
live next to people who want to murder you. And
as Hamas has written in their charter, in their creat
it's who they are. So this changes the dynamic. And
I have my own thoughts, my own views. If a
(24:53):
way I didn't think about it can work and create
a safe Israel and therefore putting an.
Speaker 1 (25:01):
End to terrorists. I'm all in putting an end to terrorists.
I'm all in. But this is not a good sign
as we're seeing it right now.
Speaker 3 (25:08):
Well, I hesitated to bring this up because, of course,
like you mentioned, we're putting the show together a little
earlier than normal, and this the story can change fifty
times between now and when it airs. But this is
just too big of a story to not at least
a touch upon. But having said that, I to be
completely honest with you, you and I have talked about this
off air. I was actually surprised that there were still
(25:30):
hostages alive.
Speaker 2 (25:31):
I am amazed, I am thrilled. It was the fear
of fears that there would be nobody to hand.
Speaker 1 (25:40):
Over it is.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
It is spectacular that seven hundred and thirty seven days
in hell. It is spectacular that people been able to
return home. But it's it's there, this is this is
the stuff being talked about in cigar lines. So we
(26:02):
talk about it here. So we're certainly right to be
talking about it. And yes, as we're discussing and information
will change, but this is all fraught, absolutely positively fraught.
Speaker 3 (26:14):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (26:15):
The the odds of this working as advertised three percent?
Speaker 1 (26:20):
Yeah right, you know it's dumb and dumbers. You're telling
me there's a chance, Well, yeah, sure, there's there's a chance.
I'm not going to argue it. It's just this is
hard stuff.
Speaker 3 (26:29):
It is and While I appreciate the celebration, especially about
the hostages coming home and then maybe a return to
at least a period of non violence in the region,
you just have to say to yourself, Okay, how long
is this going to last? Just based on what's happened
in the past, it's.
Speaker 2 (26:47):
And and off. The quick doesn't look great. And then
I want to be wrong. I think everybody wants to
be wrong. And there's an extentive we're talking about America.
I just don't want to talk about it anymore. Can
I please focus on something else?
Speaker 1 (27:02):
I don't know if we're going get lucky or not.
I hope.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
So should you marinade your steak before the cooking? And
the answer as well, it depends what do you like,
but it does to.
Speaker 1 (27:19):
An extent depend on the cut. It's eat drink smoke.
Speaker 2 (27:22):
I'm Tony Kats and that right there is America's favorite
amateur drinker fingers below I find it all Eat Drink
Smoke show dot com. The story was over at the
takeout the four cuts of steak. You should always marinate
before grilling. Now, before we get into anything, do you
ever marinate steaks? No, you're not into the marinates.
Speaker 3 (27:40):
No, A little salt, little pepper, that's about it. I
season it.
Speaker 1 (27:44):
I don't.
Speaker 3 (27:45):
It's very rare that I would marinate a steak. But
if I were to marinate a steak, it would generally
be maybe a lesser cut of meat that I would
marinade to try to enhance the f and then I
would slow cook it, you know, do a reverse sere
to maybe help with the tenderness of the steak.
Speaker 2 (28:07):
So the idea is, you know, depending on where the
steak comes from, comes from, larger cuts, whole muscle cuts
maybe could get the marinade. And so they recommend here
a marinade on your flat iron steak, your surloin steak,
your try tip, and your skirt steak. Now, skirt steak, Yes,
(28:27):
because that's gonna be thinner. That's that's going to cook faster,
and it just it absorbed. To me, it absorbs better.
It's just a natural, uh to do with with a
a kind of marinade. There, Uh, skirt steak coming from
the middle of the cow, it could be a little
bit tough, so helping break that down a little bit.
Speaker 1 (28:49):
I agree with that wholeheartedly.
Speaker 2 (28:52):
On the surloins, I like the idea of this, because
you'll find the surloins right now at a better price
if you're in a store. But if you're going to
think of a sirloin as your ribbi or your.
Speaker 1 (29:08):
Strip, you're wrong.
Speaker 2 (29:09):
It's not how it's gonna come out, and you're gonna
get disappointed. So what I like about the marinade on
a sirloin is that you are forced to recognize that
it's something different. You're forced to take a little bit
of time, and that little bit of time, I think
is going to give you a lot of.
Speaker 1 (29:28):
Result. Soy and honey, soy sauce.
Speaker 2 (29:31):
And honey as a marinade, just a classic right there,
I think can do a really, really good job. Some
people would say go with some some more Southwestern flavors.
They recommend the lime juice, Cilantro and Chile's, and then
some people recommend orange juice. I have marinated steaks and
(29:52):
orange juice before and had miserable results. Miserable, terrible, awful,
not good, not like stuff that I made is part
of like a whole bunch of things. And I didn't
even serve them that so that could have just been
me not making it right. But as a concept, it
is right when it's not one of those standard cuts.
Speaker 1 (30:12):
His fingers is talking about salt pepper grill.
Speaker 3 (30:15):
Yeah, and I've never attempted to use this as a marinade,
but the takeout in this piece suggests for skirt steak
maybe using yogurt as a as a marinad. Have you
ever used yogurt for for a marinade?
Speaker 1 (30:32):
Wait on the skirts steak this?
Speaker 3 (30:33):
Yes, no, No, Yogurt makes for a milder marinad for
your meat than citrus or vinegar, since it contains lactic acid,
a substance that can be that can add moisture to
meat without making it mushy, mushy, mushy, mushy, mushy, mushy mushy.
Right when I think yogurt on steak, I think mushi.
Speaker 1 (30:56):
I don't. It's it's a good idea. It's a good idea.
Speaker 2 (31:03):
Now the key here is get better steak. And that's
why you want Defiance Beef. Defiancebef dot com in Indiana,
ship directly to your door, cut to your specifications, age
twenty one days. The meat is fantastic. I've had the strips,
I've had the ribbis, I've had the tender loins. I
have had the ground beef. It is fantastic. And you
(31:24):
order your quarter cow, your half cow, your full cow,
and you use promo code eat drink smoke when you order,
you're gonna get one hundred and fifty dollars off. And
then after the.
Speaker 1 (31:33):
Aging process, they're gonna give you a call and say, okay,
what do you want?
Speaker 2 (31:36):
And based on what size you ordered, they'll be like, okay,
we'll get you this many strips and this many ribbys,
and how do you want to cut? And this and
that do you want? Do you want the soup bones?
That was the question I gotta ask, do you want
the soup bones? And I'm like, uh, yes, I do.
I'm gonna make my own beef broth, of course, my
own beef stock without question. Defiance d e f I
a nce defiancebeef dot com is where you want to
(32:00):
order from, and you want to use promo code, eat
drink smoke and get one hundred and fifty dollars off
your order and fingers.
Speaker 1 (32:08):
We've done enough grilling. It matters, you know.
Speaker 2 (32:12):
If I'm doing briskets, I only do prime briskets or
kosher briskets. I have tried choice, I have not had satisfaction.
I'll pay more with Defiance Beef overall, when you're buying
a quarter cow, a half cow, or a foll cow
at defines beef dot com, you're gonna pay less than
the supermarkets.
Speaker 1 (32:29):
For sure. Those prices are nuts.
Speaker 3 (32:31):
How often do you find yourself picking up a flat
iron steak or skirt steak?
Speaker 2 (32:39):
I find myself with a flat iron if there's some
kind of deal going on. Skirt steak. I don't order
enough skirt steak. I don't order enough. I like a
skirt steak. I think you can do it well on
a grill. I think you can do it well cast iron.
I do think that the marinade is right, and I
just think it's easy, boom bop and done.
Speaker 1 (33:01):
So yeah, I like it.
Speaker 3 (33:02):
I really that's that's one thing I have never cooked with.
I don't have one is a cast iron. Oh, come on,
I know, go get it. So do you think I
here now in the house, Yes, the new house, which
he's not fully moved into yet.
Speaker 1 (33:17):
Ladies and gentlemen. With the gas stove. Yes, this is weird.
It's your first gas stove.
Speaker 3 (33:24):
Yes, I thirty eight years young and it's my first
gas stove and I don't have this.
Speaker 1 (33:32):
So should I go could go back to thirty eight
years old? Let's just move on.
Speaker 3 (33:35):
Should I go ahead and buy a new cast iron
skillet and season it? Or should I go antiquing hope
to find a really old one and recondition it.
Speaker 1 (33:45):
Okay, you need to listen to me. Okay, I'm listening.
Speaker 2 (33:47):
If you buy a used cast iron skillet, huh, I
will hit you with a skillet with said skillet. But
I think we've been saying cast iron stove, cast iron skillet,
buy a new one, season it, work it in, give
it time.
Speaker 1 (34:07):
Yes, that's exactly the way to do it. Take some pride.
Speaker 3 (34:11):
What about the sense of accomplishment and satisfaction knowing that
I brought an old cast iron skillet back to life?
Speaker 2 (34:18):
How about the pride and satisfaction one day showing up
to the show ready to do the show?
Speaker 1 (34:23):
That would be great. What are you saying, don't do that?
Speaker 2 (34:29):
Get yourself something, get this, don't don't mort only knows
what they were making in that thing.
Speaker 1 (34:35):
Don't you dare?
Speaker 3 (34:37):
I'm envisioning God that the old ranch cook was out
there with his cast iron skillet. Making Sonny, Yes, yes,
making some beans in the the cast iron skillet for
for the boys while they're out there ranching all day.
(34:58):
And then somehow, you know, Sonny passed away and then
they thought, we can't use Sonny's skillet, And next thing
you know, it's a good will waiting for me to
pick it up and then bring her back to life.
You're saying, no, that's ridiculous.
Speaker 1 (35:13):
I'm not saying it's ridiculous. I want to be on
the record. I'm not saying it's ridiculous.
Speaker 2 (35:17):
You know.
Speaker 1 (35:17):
You're saying it's ridiculous for me to do it. I'm
saying it's gross.
Speaker 2 (35:23):
There's a very large difference in ridiculous in gross.
Speaker 1 (35:27):
Yeah, I know. No, No, don't get me wrong. I'm
sure people do it.
Speaker 2 (35:31):
We're gonna get emails from Eat, Drink, Smoke Nation saying Tony,
you are such a primadonna, prude your joe.
Speaker 1 (35:39):
You do this and you do that, and the next
thing you know, you're cooking delicious.
Speaker 3 (35:45):
No, is it that it's cast iron? Or is it
you would never buy any secondhand cook wear at all?
Like would you buy a second hand chafing dish?
Speaker 2 (35:55):
Yes, I bought secondhand knives, and I'm questioning whether the
cast iron.
Speaker 3 (36:00):
We have with secondhand now that you bring it up, Oh,
so here we are. You're turning each rink smoke into
your own den of lies.
Speaker 2 (36:07):
No, I'm going back to remember, and if it is
indeed used, I have to stop using it immediately.
Speaker 3 (36:14):
I don't think it is. I think I think I
bought it. Ours is good present it. I'll take it
to the boys in the lab and we'll find out
how old it is. It's probably seventy years old. And
you didn't even know it. It's so great that you
don't have one. You know what, I will get you
one now. I will purchase you one.
Speaker 1 (36:32):
You don't have to do that. I want to. It'll
be cheaper than the other gift I was going to
get you for the new house.
Speaker 3 (36:38):
Do you use a little spray in it before you
before you cooking it.
Speaker 1 (36:42):
I'm not having this conversation anymore.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist
It’s 1996 in rural North Carolina, and an oddball crew makes history when they pull off America’s third largest cash heist. But it’s all downhill from there. Join host Johnny Knoxville as he unspools a wild and woolly tale about a group of regular ‘ol folks who risked it all for a chance at a better life. CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist answers the question: what would you do with 17.3 million dollars? The answer includes diamond rings, mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, plus a run for the border, murder-for-hire-plots, and FBI busts.