February 24, 2025 • 49 mins
This week Darrell talks about TPE 2025. TPE was renamed from Tobacco to Total Products Expo. Wide range of sound bites from cigar manufacturers and discussion including the vape, CBD, THC, Nicotine, Kratom side. They smoke the Graycliff G2 Maduro and drink the Balcones Lineage.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Alright, welcome to our newest show.
(00:02):
This week we're going to have the Greycliff G2 Maduro and with it the Balcones lineage.
You're hanging out with Bill and Darryl with cigars, liquor and more.
Alright, well the great great clip.
(00:23):
G2 Maduro is a 6x50, has a Connecticut broadleaf wrapper.
Maduro wrapper, Nicaraguan binders and fillers, MSRP 750.
The Balcones lineage is bottled at 80 proof.
Happens to be possibly my second favorite Balcones bottle and has an MSRP of 36 dollars.
(00:46):
So this is as you said possibly your second favorite Balcones bottle and it's 80 proof.
And it's 80 proof I know right hardly ever.
Is it? Did I get that wrong?
It doesn't sound right.
Okay, because it is not.
It is not right.
It was a copy paste error.
It is actually 94 proof.
(01:07):
That makes much more sense.
That makes much more sense.
That didn't sound right.
Yeah, but the 36 sounds right.
Yeah.
Well, it was 35 so it's way up.
8 percentages, man percentages.
Yeah.
84.
Why did I?
Okay, I missed that.
I don't know.
(01:28):
It just didn't say it seemed weird.
Okay.
More it seemed more weird that you would your second favorite would be an 80 proof than it
did that Balcones would make an 80 proof.
Right?
Yeah, both.
That's both seem ridiculous.
Mostly the former.
I'm like, wait, I'm going with mostly the former.
(01:50):
All right.
Great bottle though.
See, this does not sniff like an 80 proof.
I don't know.
It kind of does.
It's not that strong on the nose.
It's really not.
What you get is really not.
But I had to say something about it, you know, and you know, I'm going to bring it up again
(02:11):
later.
I can't let it go.
Love it.
So fruity.
Just you ignore that.
Totally ignoring that.
Let it go, man.
People make mistakes.
Let it go.
Especially these people's.
Well, we know I make mistakes.
My God, we make enough fun of them.
So the forward flavor I always state from the lineage is peach.
(02:35):
And for the most part, people agree with me.
Yeah.
But it's unique.
I don't know.
It's very unique.
Has anybody disagreed with you that can pick out flavors?
I don't know.
I just don't remember.
I don't remember.
I don't remember.
I don't remember.
I don't remember.
I don't remember anybody.
I don't remember anybody.
(02:56):
Just not.
I ain't it.
Yeah.
I love it.
And I agree with you.
Could be some apricot.
No, no, no.
It's definitely peach.
It's so good.
I love this bottle.
Love it.
Love it.
Love it.
So now it does.
It is a very, very light amber.
It is fairly light.
I don't know what it's age is.
(03:18):
Does it say straight at all?
I don't remember them aging it.
No, it just says pot distilled single malt whiskey.
That's it.
Lineage has a cool little.
So with that color.
I would, I would suggest that it's probably not too.
Oh, I don't think it's very old either at all.
(03:41):
But for being so young, for being so good at 94 proof.
Now you got to be careful what you say that about.
Okay.
This one I'm good with.
Absolutely.
Yeah, but that is that is a really, really light amber color.
It is.
Although I've seen lighter.
I mean, it's not like four roses is dark.
(04:05):
It's not like we don't know.
The yellow corner, whatever that is, that's not a unicorn.
That's really like it.
Actually, arguably this.
Yeah.
Arguably piss light.
Mm hmm.
Like a dirty vodka.
But strangely, I like it.
I like the middle of it.
I do too.
There's nothing wrong with melon corn.
It's good.
(04:26):
The bottle.
Not my go to.
I'm still going to make fun of it.
I'm probably going to make fun of it with all the other.
I'll make fun of benchmark, but I can't make fun of everything.
Actually.
Yeah.
That's the way to go.
It is the way to go.
So I need to do.
Okay.
So love the peach flavor.
I think we're going to make the great clip.
(04:47):
What's the.
I've got the shape thing behind me.
So it's a flat end, but the head tapers into a point.
Is it a pyramid?
I don't remember.
It's behind me.
It doesn't matter.
I said it was behind me.
Okay.
So last year we had the great cliff.
That one calls it a chisel, but I thought it was something else.
(05:12):
That one said it was a right.
I liked it.
Yeah.
I liked the materials in these.
I did too.
I just don't like that.
I don't like the other one, but really I kind of prefer the material in this in the
great clip.
Okay.
Well, it settled in a little bit.
(05:33):
Do you have some thoughts on it?
No.
Okay.
Not yet.
So here's what I've got.
It's woody primarily with a little bit of a nut, some kind of nut in there.
And so, and then that finishes in just some sort of baking spice kind of thing, but I
(05:55):
like the nuttiness.
It's smooth.
It's retrohale is not harsh at all.
It's a very doable retrohale.
I wouldn't go, you know, big time with it.
Just give it a little.
What?
Don't go overboard with it.
Is that what you're saying?
Don't go overboard with it.
Because it can get peppery, but on the light retrohales adds a lot of little baking spice
flavors and makes that nut a little bit stronger.
(06:18):
So really like it.
And those are the basic flavors.
Like I have like 10 flavors.
I'm going to have like two.
Oh, I really like it.
It's a good start.
It's a good start.
Excellent.
I've got to think about it a little bit more.
I need.
I know I said I prefer this over the other one.
(06:39):
And now you don't know why.
But I don't have I don't have my notebook with me or my my journal with me.
I don't have my flavor wheel with me.
So I have to think about it some more.
All right.
I might when I saw these it was like, oh, I've I've spent plenty of time thinking about
(07:01):
this.
I don't I just need to go get my notes.
And then you couldn't find it.
Okay, not a problem.
So I'll.
Well, tell you what, why don't we start talking about TPE.
So you.
I love the I was unable to go to TPE this year.
Yep.
But I went and I am going to talk about it this week.
So here we go.
(07:22):
And we'll have some clips from from our interviews with some folks asking them when they got
new this year.
That's what we mostly walk around and do.
So it was pretty cool.
I will say, I think the cigar section was maybe even a little smaller than last year.
I'd say it was now down to about a quarter of it.
So the quarter of the venue, quarter of the venue.
(07:44):
Yeah.
And bear in mind, it's 2.6 million square feet.
So we were in Hall West, I think it was.
So this is convention center West in Las Vegas.
And it was 2.6 million square feet.
And I think cigars were about a quarter.
It's probably decreasing every year.
(08:05):
They have bigger things coming in.
So we had.
Create them a little bit last year, this year whole row of it.
And in every way you can think.
The pouches are enormous this year.
So I think a lot of people are getting grief about vaping.
So now because it looks like smoke coming out and I guess people hate the smell of grape
(08:30):
or whatever it is because it's not real smoke.
So I don't know why anybody is complaining.
But people aren't complaining because it is smoke.
People are complaining at the thought of smoking.
Yes.
So people are moving the pouches.
And I can tell you, I can tell you this is across the board because when you look at
like you when they you see the TV rating because you know they put ratings on TVs now.
(08:55):
When you see TV MA or I don't know what they do.
But it'll say you know like language sex smoking smoking.
Now smoking is a what the morning.
So seeing somebody smoking is going to.
I'll be disturbing.
Yeah.
Anyway, crazy.
Now pouches are big.
(09:17):
So it's sort of like the the dip or chew replacement.
Just a little pouch with nicotine in it.
But what happened said everything has also blown up into every possible thing you can
do like the the pouches.
There's you put a bunch of different things in the pouch is not just nicotine vaping.
(09:40):
You put a bunch of different things in the vape, not just CBD or any one of the THC's
or you know there's everything.
The cradle now it's in pills.
It's in like this little five hour energy drink bottle.
It's in this everything.
You're starting to put things in and I really love the list of green strips.
You know the little dissolving.
Yes.
Yes I do.
(10:01):
Yeah.
It's another one they're putting at that they're doing does all these strips.
And of course always go these those those had to make a comeback.
Mm hmm.
Right.
Because I mean you take one of those first thing you think of like LSD.
Right.
Right.
Right.
And then and then they just seem to disappear.
(10:23):
Now they're back.
Well, from the market, not just disappeared your mouth.
Yeah.
And it makes sense that it would come back in this form.
Oh, that's the other thing they they found.
They found a way to make psilocybin legal.
So they're taking a derivative.
It's they go it's not psilocybin.
But they they change one substituent group of the hydrogen and now they can sell it.
(10:47):
Yeah, it's very weird.
But the other thing is weird is now everybody's complaining with every state.
They're federally compliant.
So although it's awash in THC everywhere versions of it, none of it exceeds 0.3% of
Delta nine, which is the original THC that's illegal.
(11:08):
So it's humorous, but everything's.
But now being said to the cigars, I wanted to tell you what's taking over the cigar footprint
and it's mostly these things.
Everything is also higher in milligrams.
So pouches were.
That makes sense.
That makes sense.
That makes sense.
Now they're 15 and 20.
Yeah, that makes sense.
Gummies, you know, five, 10, 20, we've we saw some as high as 500.
(11:34):
Holy crap.
But they're not THC nine.
They're right.
Right.
Yeah.
They're 500 millimeters.
Whatever.
Whatever gets you.
Right.
Right.
Whatever can get you by.
Yeah.
Since the since, you know, the things are still working its way through legislation and
court systems and all that good stuff.
(11:56):
They are that I think they're running that.
Yeah, that industry is right for just being the wild west and seeing what's out there
and seeing what, you know, what you can do, can't do.
And if a tweak from a manufacturer, you know, as long as they don't put COVID in it.
(12:17):
Or fit and all.
I mean, or the COVID vaccine or awesome delivery system.
Why do you even might even work?
Right.
Yeah.
Adoption might be better.
It might be a lot better.
All right.
So we went around got some minute to minute clips.
(12:38):
You know, I we even ran across some who had come out recently this year, brand new brands
this year.
One of the brands isn't even out yet.
I'm I ask them, how many shops are you in?
He's like, not yet.
We're premiering here.
And I'm like, wow, okay.
None.
(12:59):
So let's just, let's just start listening to a couple of them.
All right.
Yeah.
Good morning.
My name is Javier Corranza.
I'm here, the director of sales and placentia cigars.
We have a lot of very exciting things here.
A placentia coming on, especially here in TPE.
We got our whole lineup.
We have alma Fueira.
We have alma Alcompo alma Alma Al Fueira.
Go set you 149 and go set you 151.
(13:20):
Very proud of our projects recently.
We have a lot of great things coming out of our farms.
Our team and the Carrao one on do this are working diligently every single day, every
every minute of the day, working to make sure that the soil is optimal in the optimal growing
way.
(13:41):
I mean, it's so difficult to explain, but it's so beautiful because our team over there is
working with the microorganisms in the soil, which are creating phenomenal tobacco.
There's a whole world.
We call them like the hidden hands under the soil that work every single day, every single
second, providing amazing tobacco, working with the microorganisms to make sure that
(14:03):
the plants are healthy, that the plants have the great flavor, that the plants have all
the oils and the essentials to create a great cigar.
Everything starts with the fields.
That's what we always say.
It's amazing what the earth will give you if you take care of it.
And that's what we do with the potential cigars.
And that's what the potential in our team is working a lot to make sure that we always
(14:25):
say that we have yet to make the best cigar for our company.
And we always want to be the company that is the best for the world, not in the world.
We always try to help our people.
And we always are very grateful for our consumers, our retail partners that have been able to
help us continue to grow, to help the people in Nicaragua, to help the children in Nicaragua.
(14:46):
So we're doing a lot of great things.
All I have to say to end this is pretty much there's a lot of amazing, amazing things that
we're doing.
And I guarantee you follow us on social medias at placenticigars.com.
There's a lot of things that are happening.
There's a lot of things that you got to, I can't wait to share in the near future that
I can't right now, but I guarantee you won't regret it.
(15:08):
All right.
Thank you very much, guys.
Not yet, I can't really say, but it's something that is going to be mind blowing in a way.
It's a project that we're working that is from our fields in the top of the mountains.
It's elevation tobacco.
That's all I'm going to say.
That's all I'm going to say.
I know you're limited.
It's a project that is going to be astronomical.
(15:31):
Okay.
All right.
Awesome.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Very much.
All right.
So we let off with a big boy placentic.
Yeah, we did.
And I love him.
I love his energy about not only the company, but the whole aspect of cigars.
(15:52):
He loves it and it comes through in even in his voice and his excitement.
It comes through its fabulous.
It's catchy.
I liked it.
He said, it's very, don't get me wrong.
It's very lean manufacturing of an engineer sitting here.
And he said, we like to say we've not made our best cigar yet.
Right.
Continuous improvement.
(16:13):
Continuous improvement.
Always.
Always trying to be a pawn.
And I'm telling you, some of those placentia cigars are so good.
I'm a point.
They are.
Oh, man.
They are.
So when he's like, we got some phenomenal come out, couldn't say PCA announcement.
That's fine.
I expect that at TPE.
But I'm excited.
I am also excited.
(16:34):
Yes.
Yeah.
That's one of the things about PCA moving to be closer to TPE.
I mean, you have to pick and choose what it is that you're going to announce and where.
Yeah.
You're going to have some folks are going to have to have some things for TPE.
Sure.
(16:55):
And some folks are going to say some stuff for PCA.
So I mean, you're going to get that.
Great.
That was great.
All right.
I can't.
So we.
So how big was the placentia boots?
Right.
Usually they're they're usually they're pretty big.
(17:16):
Yeah.
So I would say it wasn't as big as last year, but it was still more than like a single
bag.
It was it was probably more than a double bag.
It was probably a quad bag, but it wasn't like an end cap.
Yeah.
Last year they were really big.
This year is a little bit smaller, but still pretty big.
There's still placentia.
Absolutely.
So, but definitely excited.
(17:40):
He was definitely excited for what they're announcing to PCA.
So I look for very much look forward to it.
Absolutely.
Let's try our next one.
I'm here at TPE 25.
Let's hear what you have coming up in the new year.
Love to hear.
Okay.
We are VDALX cigars.
We have a super lancer which is an 11 inch by 40 ring gauge cigar.
We also have a cigar ashtray that just launched, which is a 12.5 inch carbon fiber
(18:06):
ashtray.
And we're looking forward to a great show.
Carbon fiber.
Yes.
Carbon fiber.
It's all carbon fiber.
Everything that cigar comes in its own carbon fiber enclosure as well.
And the box of 10, which we call the master is 10 carbon fiber tubes in one carbon fiber
big larger tube.
(18:27):
I didn't expect that.
What's the inspiration for carbon fiber?
It's a luxury product.
It's just cool.
And it's great storage for the cigar.
It holds humidity and it's great for traveling.
Right.
Because this isn't just a tubo.
This is a carry case.
It probably looks like it holds a box.
That's right.
(18:48):
It holds 10 of those.
So it holds the large carbon fiber enclosure holds 10 individual carbon fiber cigars,
which also we are the we as a result of this carbon fiber individual tube.
There's now a travel tube for land cereal and super land cereal on the market, which
wasn't available anywhere in the world before this.
Very cool.
(19:09):
Do you have anything else coming up in 2025?
Yes.
So in 2025, the next product we're launching will be a carbon fiber humidor and an ashtray
combination, which will hopefully launch by April 1st.
And also for PCA, we're going to be launching a five pack of petite corona, which will be
4.5 by 40 ring gauge.
(19:31):
Also in the same carbon fiber metal presentation.
That's impressive.
Cool.
Okay.
Thank you.
Thank you, Elliot.
You have a good year.
You guys have a great day.
Thank you.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's pretty cool.
Yeah.
Okay.
Did it seem kitschy or whatever that word is?
Yeah.
So you're thinking kitschy.
(19:53):
So they wanted to impress upon everybody that they are a premium product.
And I guess carbon fiber was probably a little kitschy.
It was, it's strong.
It's not thin.
I grabbed the tuba.
I was like, and it's fine.
It's nice.
It's not this threadbare product.
It's got some substance to it.
(20:15):
Don't keep it wrong.
It sounds cool.
Yeah.
It really sounds cool.
I bet it looked pretty cool.
Go figure it was black.
Okay.
That was what I was going to ask next.
Because you can do carbon fiber in just about any that you want.
So, wow.
Okay.
So, 12 inch ashtray of carbon fiber.
(20:40):
Yeah.
I can't imagine what that costs.
I actually did not ask him.
I was almost afraid to find out.
That is kind of cool.
I want to look this up.
It is really cool.
So, that was pretty cool.
And they're not.
So they're a small boutique brand as well.
Not a bunch new this year, but they've not been around all that long either.
(21:04):
They've been around 10 years, right?
Right.
So, they're just starting out.
And that was their cool thing.
Oh, also the super lancero was probably like nine inches long.
It was a little bit.
He didn't have a lot of them.
I didn't get one, but I was like, oh my God, that is hilarious.
(21:27):
I would love to smoke one, but it does.
That's long.
Yeah, it is.
I wonder what the draw is, right?
Dine right right right right.
In a land.
Sarah.
Well, if you're going to be quote unquote super premium, then they must press your test
every single one.
(21:48):
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
They would have to.
I thought it was pretty cool.
It does sound pretty cool.
Let's do one more and then one of the new come with your thoughts on this cigar.
Oh, yes, I have yet to do that.
Let's do that.
Here with Enrique for PDR cigars 2025 TPE.
Enrique, what do we got for us?
(22:09):
Okay, sure.
PDR cigars.
PDR cigars were Dominican Republic manufacturer.
We got our factory in the Sona de Tamboril in Santiago.
Okay, our cigars are blended and produced by Mr. Abraham Florida himself.
He's been in the business for quite a while.
And for TPE 25, we're very excited.
(22:31):
We have new deals.
We've got special deals for all our customers.
Come by the booth.
We've got new products that we're offering to our customers.
We got all our best sellers right here for everyone to try.
So come by to our booth here in the pavilion and hope to see you soon.
What's your newest cigar called?
(22:54):
Blen Blen.
Okay, we got the El Vignette.
It's a limited edition that is produced just once a year.
Okay, you got a very special blend by Mr. Florida's.
We got the 18th anniversary cigar that is already a regular production for our retailers.
(23:17):
The blend in the El Vignette is a very special one.
It's got an Indonesia binder and a Sumatra wrapper.
And the 18th anniversary is a Sumatra wrapper as well from Ecuador and a binder and filler
from the Dominican Republic.
Okay, that sounds awesome.
We're based in Miami, our base of operations in Miami with a distributor across the US.
(23:43):
My name is Enrique.
I'm the operations manager for the US market.
So just give me a call, send me an email and I'll be glad to help you out.
Excellent.
Thank you very much.
Have a good TPE.
Thank you.
I can't try.
I can't wait to try them.
Thank you.
I know.
So what stood out about their booth?
(24:06):
He did just have two of the samples.
He didn't have a huge line.
So they are still fairly small.
So that stood out to me.
They helped just a few offerings.
So the good news is, it's a sign that this is their best foot forward.
So I would say try those two.
I don't exactly know how you have an 18th anniversary when you haven't been around that
(24:31):
long.
Maybe they've been around a long time and they just don't have a deep portfolio and
I've not heard of them because I just not.
I've not heard of them.
Yeah.
Well, there are folks that have, there are brands of bands that have been around for
a long time that we just don't get here.
Right.
So it could have been just that I've not heard them before.
Yeah.
Could have been very regional.
(24:52):
But that's what stood out was it.
They just focused on a couple of things.
So it was pretty cool.
Excellent.
It was some pretty good interviews so far.
You got some comments on the cigar?
Yes, I do.
So I think you had mentioned wood.
Right.
Did you mention wood?
Yes.
So I do get a wood component out of it.
(25:14):
I get almost a graphite, a kind of a dryness that is akin to me like graphite, not talcum
or baby powder, anything like that.
But graphite, it's also got that kind of almost metallic type taste to it a little bit.
Okay.
Very little.
(25:35):
On the back ends after I take the draw, but very pleasant, very nice, easygoing.
Doesn't, you get a mouth coating, but not.
It doesn't build.
It reaches a point and it just kind of stops and stays there.
I think it's wonderful.
I went through a bit without drinking anything and pretty nice, pretty nice.
(26:01):
I have not done a retrohale.
I do like this cigar.
Yeah, it's for being a Maduro.
It's not super bold.
It's I think it's a solid medium.
Oh, absolutely.
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
I don't think it's a bowl at all.
No, I don't think it's a bowl at all.
I think it's very nice.
It's going great so far.
No nuttiness though, huh?
No, I'm not getting nuttiness out of it.
Like I said, on my back end, I'm getting more of a graphite.
(26:23):
Well, I'm wondering if that's just me with the mix of the drink.
I could be.
Could be.
It's also thinking maybe just a little bit of leaf.
Yeah, I get like a little bit of a paper finish, but not a lot.
I didn't throw that in there.
Well, let's come back with some old fashions.
Let's do that, man.
(26:44):
And see how that works out?
Boom.
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(27:06):
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All right, we are back with old fashions in hand.
Let's try this out.
(27:27):
Hmm.
Hear that?
Interesting.
So it's got cinnamon on the nose, but then more like like an orange soda mixed with lemon
lime.
It's actually not a bad description.
I'm having a hard time with this one.
It's unique placing the, placing the flavors.
(27:50):
It's unique.
The, um, hmm.
The peach definitely it like contributes.
It's like it wants to be orange, but it doesn't quite make it there.
Right.
And it does something and it, it's actually kind of, it's actually good.
And it, when I, when I, when I smelled it, I said it smells like a candy old fast, you
know, but it doesn't taste like a candy old fast.
(28:12):
No, it's got a lot going on.
That's pretty cool.
I'm happy with that.
I don't know.
Do we put it in bracket play?
Hmm.
All right.
I don't know.
What do you, what do you think of it?
Do we put it in bracket play?
No, no.
Okay.
I don't like, I don't, I don't like it enough to put a bracket play too candy.
(28:40):
Not definitive enough of a flavor.
Okay.
Does that make sense?
I was on the fence.
That's why I'm asking.
That's where I'm going with it.
That's, uh, that, that's my two cents.
If I was for certain, I would have said we're putting it in black at private.
That's why I asked.
That's true.
No, you know, sometimes it's, it's solid.
(29:03):
It's right on.
It's there.
You know, absolute.
Uh, in this case, not so much.
So midpoint contains the old fashioned, but, um, I would add that this cigar is going swimmingly
well with the liquor.
Like they're staying out of each other's way.
Absolutely.
(29:24):
Absolutely.
So not, not augmenting each other, but out of each other's way.
I really like it.
And that, that's what, well, that, that's what you want.
If most of the time, if they don't help each other, stay the fuck out of the way.
The way, right.
Don't detract from one or the other.
Well, it's not even taking out the paper finish.
(29:45):
The paper is generally a pretty mild, very delicate.
So it's still there.
That's pretty impressive.
I'm happy with that.
This is the kind of cigar that, that, that looks good, tastes good and you just really
don't have to think about it when you're smoking it.
Yeah.
(30:06):
Yeah.
Very nice.
But it is, I mean, it is on the, right, on, on kind of the, the lower end of the, the
mean of what it is that we don't really get, right?
Because we don't really get between seven and $10, right?
Or,
This is $7.50.
Eight and, seven and 12, 7, 11, somewhere around in there, right?
(30:30):
Yeah.
So it's, it's, it's on the lower end of the band, right, or of that spectrum.
It's not considered a budget.
Yes.
I wouldn't consider it a budget stick.
If you can ease your pocketbook, but still get a good quality.
There is.
Absolute cigar.
There you go.
This is one of them.
(30:51):
Mm hmm.
That's real nice.
All right.
Let's see who else we talk to.
Yeah, let's find out.
Well, we're here 20, 25, 20, 25 TPE with Christoph cigars.
And John's going to tell us what new or exciting things they have going for Christoph this
year.
So this year for us, the biggest component of our year is rebranding and repackaging
(31:16):
our product and portfolio.
So little by little, we're going to start to see that starting to hit shelves, a little
bit of a new look for us, a little new design, something with a little more pop for it in
the humidor for the retailers and for the customer to catch the eye.
So that's the primary focus this year.
It will be at PCA.
(31:37):
As always, with a PCA exclusive, I have not been given the okay to say what that is yet.
I did that.
But I can tell you that no one will be disappointed.
Awesome.
Because it is a fantastic stick.
But that is, that's the goal for this year.
Just keep moving forward and selling product and doing what we do.
Okay.
So I recognize some of the labeling on the boxes and some of them look a little new.
(32:01):
So I'll still be able to recognize some of my old favorites.
Always.
None of the color scheming is changing with us, right?
So if you're familiar with our Cameroon and that blue packaging, everything is still blue,
right?
Our Sumatra is still red.
All of those colors are staying intact.
So the only thing changing is that rustic boxes going away, something a little more consumer-friendly,
(32:28):
I would say.
The loose tobacco in the boxes is going away.
Beautiful appearance when the box is first open.
Of course, as every retailer knows, as soon as the first two cigars come out of that
box, you're cleaning up loose tobacco off the floor for the next 30 days.
So that's a step forward for the retailer and that ends.
(32:51):
And another, by the way, another manufacturer that's adding the information cards to the
front.
And that's something we've always done as that box talker.
We've kind of refined it a little bit.
Strength profile, wrapper binder filler, and then any awards or rankings that that cigar
has received over the years.
(33:12):
And now we're all looking for that.
I'm glad you guys have one.
So Mike, makes my life easier to sell.
Thank you very much.
Thank you guys.
Appreciate it.
Have a good day.
25 TV.
I'm glad that they are taking an effort to rebrand.
Yeah.
They need it.
They have awesome sticks, but I mean, you don't pop off the show.
(33:33):
They really don't.
Right.
And even just changing the box would help because they can just disappear on the show,
especially if they're surrounded by the likes of Prudomo and Blackbird.
Right.
I mean, you just, right.
You're covering crux and you're going to disappear.
So that's really nice.
No loose tobacco.
(33:54):
And I thought I've always thought that is just a dumb thing to do.
Don't do that.
Okay.
It's just like it's just it's packaging that you're just going to throw away.
Right.
So you're making your retailers go through extra crap.
I get, I get there was a time when that was, you know, that was a really cool thing, you
(34:16):
know, but I, I think it's dumb.
They changing.
Yeah.
I think it's dumb.
I'm glad to see that, you know, more and more manufacturers are going that way.
Yeah.
You want your everything now is wrapped around packaging is not just a cigar itself.
It needs to look as elegant as you want your cigar band brand to be.
(34:44):
And Kristoff is, you know, it's one of the more fashionable.
I don't know what the word I'm looking for is, but you know, they're not, you know,
they're not your $5 sticks, right?
Yeah.
Actually, some of them pretty close.
I know.
I'm not getting it.
But I think Kristoff, yeah.
(35:05):
And they do, they do make some budget friendly sticks and they're really, really good.
But they just don't, they don't pop.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It needs a cleaner look.
It needs a sharper look.
It needs a more elegant look than what it is that they don't bring it in.
And yeah.
(35:26):
Okay.
They, they had information cards, but there were information cards that were easily just
tossed.
Yeah.
I think they were too, because I absolutely I've not seen it on the box.
You don't see them.
And you know, they do have information.
They, if I remember right, they did have information on the front of the box.
But they need that hang, that the hanger.
(35:49):
Absolutely.
Need the hanger.
It needs to fold out easy.
Not just pop up and go away.
And you know, some of the other things people are doing is, and they've been doing it for
a while, but you know, you put the artwork on the back, underside of the lid.
But if you can put information on the underside of the lid as well, because you know, when
(36:11):
you open the lid up and it sits on a shelf, the bottom part of that lid that's next to
the hinge, that's marketing space.
Yeah.
So use it.
Yeah.
A lot of them fold all the way back though.
So you really can't see it.
You know, so I think the hanger is better.
I think the hanger is definitely the way to go.
(36:33):
And you, it needs to be incorporated in the box in such a way that it's you, you can't.
Unmoveable.
Yeah.
And you don't want to take out a cigar and have it fall down on the floor.
Right.
Right.
So it needs to be able to withstand usage.
Yeah.
But definitely I like Christoph cigars and I look forward to seeing their rebranding.
(36:58):
I really do.
All right.
All right.
We just got a couple more queued up.
And the Cameroon is one of my favorites.
Yeah.
I do like that one.
There's there.
I like several.
Actually.
Yeah.
Yeah.
We got a couple more.
Let's see what we got next.
First up, my name is Rob Manison, the president of the League of Fat Bastard cigars for brand
(37:19):
new cigar company.
We started in March of 2024.
We are our cigars are produced.
We got two core lines of cigars, both made at Hoya de Nicaragua and Esteli, the longest
serving factory down there.
What makes us unique as a company is 40% of our net profits every single day go to support
men's mental health.
So we've partnered with an organization called Boulder Crest.
(37:42):
Boulder Crest supports first responders and veterans with PTSD.
And so we've launched a partnership with them for that donation.
We've got two core lines.
Our first was an Ecuadorian Habano.
It's the series L. So L O F and B series of our name.
The second series is the O. It is San Andreas rapper, a little bit more mild medium to full.
(38:07):
So real excited.
We've got a lot of them in five sizes.
MSRP is between 10 and $14.
Okay.
So you're fairly new.
How many shops are you in right now?
Where can I find you?
Great question.
So we're in about 100 shops across the U.S.
We're in all the major online retailers as well.
So you can go to CI, JR, Smoke In, Neptune, go down the list.
(38:28):
We're in all those big customers as well.
We're about 100 shops focused primarily in Texas and Florida.
And so growing from there.
It's good news.
Is there anything you want to add that you're excited about in 2025?
We're excited by a lot of stuff.
So we're a brand new company just continuing to grow.
So we are going to launch our F and B products later this year.
(38:51):
So we're excited about those to come later this year.
Cool.
Great.
Cool.
Because I had not seen you until right here in TPE.
It's probably why we got a new try around.
TPE will be at PCA this year.
Okay.
Do you have an additional PCA announcement?
Nothing right now.
Okay.
Yeah, I know.
So you can't tell me.
Yeah.
(39:12):
But you could say that there was one.
We've got some exciting things coming in the back half of the show.
Okay.
All right.
Cool.
Cool.
I will look you up because I'm out of Dallas.
So you probably have something near me.
Yeah, for sure.
We do.
Okay.
Lots of stuff in the Dallas market.
All right.
Excellent.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Have a good 25.
Thank you.
Okay.
So League of Pat Bastards.
(39:33):
Very, very new.
And Texas.
Fabulous.
Yeah.
And 40% of the revenue goes to Mantell.
Yeah.
Okay.
So I don't get me wrong.
I love it when a company gives back.
(39:54):
The bigger you get, the more I come to expect that you are golden.
Yeah, yeah.
Right.
So your company just starting out to set aside 40% of their profits.
How much does that stymie your growth potential?
Well, actually it might help because they put their price point between 10 and 14, which
(40:16):
makes them a solid, which is pretty expensive.
But at the boutique, so you're going to pay up for a little bit for boutiques, then you're
going to pay up for the donation.
But it also gives people the perception that you're worth more.
Right?
It's the classic.
Pay more for it.
It's worth more.
So we could almost make them look more upscale.
Right?
(40:37):
And so it could help both ways.
I mean, we don't know.
Okay.
And almost, you don't, in your day to day life when you hear about companies giving to
things, you almost never hear about men's health.
Right.
And you know, which, but it makes sense.
(40:58):
It's way us men's are, you know, we're people too.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's good, especially because that's your customer, right?
I mean, women's smoke, but not as the percentage.
Not the percentage, right?
Yeah.
So if you're going to do it, it makes sense to go to men's health.
I appreciate it.
(41:20):
Always excited to see new, new, new bands and brands coming out.
Just one year old.
That's fabulous, more power to them.
Can't wait to talk to them in the future.
All right.
Let's skip the last clip and then let's rank these things.
Ranking rankings.
My name is Miguel Choudel, national sales manager with Crown Head and Oz Family Cigars.
(41:43):
We're here at TPE 2025.
You know, we don't really debut new cigars here.
We like to debut them at PCA.
This is traditionally what we've done.
But here at the show, we're showing off our Oz trio line.
We have the first out, the Bosphorus, the Airmas, all highly rated cigars in cigar
Fisciano, Tim Ozz, who's family's been in the business since 1968.
So you know, people really love seeing Tim when he came back to the business a few years
(42:06):
ago and very proud to have him part of the Crown Head's family.
With Crown Heads, we're still showing off our coronetta that we launched in 2024.
We have a nihabano, which is made by Naksa and Nicaragua and the habano version made by
Ernesto Perez Carillo and the Dominican Republic.
So it's one brand, two blends made in two different countries, two different factories,
which is I think a unique kind of concept.
Traditionally, when you have one blend, sometimes it's just a wrapper swap or it's the same
(42:30):
factory.
So it was a unique concept and we're always showing off our Milled Dias, which is our number
one selling line as well as our waras.
So very proud to be here.
Always a good time.
Awesome.
Have a good TPE.
Thank you.
Appreciate it.
Thank you.
All right.
Crown Heads is one of those brands where sometimes I lose focus on them.
(42:52):
Yeah.
I like them, but I tend to lose focus on them.
And then I hear something like this, where you go and you interview them and it's like,
I really like it and why don't I get more of them?
Yeah.
You know what I mean?
They probably want to know the answer to that too.
Yeah, yeah, they probably do.
It sounds great.
(43:13):
I want to know what they're doing in PC.
Well, you know, our thing to go to TPE.
So we don't get all the big announcements, but that's fine.
We still get to talk to them.
Yeah.
So here a little bit about a little bit.
Yeah, you're still doing relationship building and things like that.
So you're networking, getting out there and helping them, you know, get their word out.
(43:38):
Right.
Oh, good.
Fabulous.
I love the interviews.
Yeah, they're good.
We'll keep throwing little clips in over the next couple of weeks.
I'm sure you got enough.
I've got more in a few.
I've only processed about half of them.
And this week and next week, we'll do, we'll do quite a few and then we'll keep throwing
(44:00):
them in because I kind of got to get them in before PCA.
Yeah, I hadn't thought about that.
One of my thoughts was, you know, we could do, you know, two on the back half of an episode.
Yeah, maybe.
But yeah, but yeah, you're right.
It would be nice to get them before PCA.
(44:21):
Yeah.
So we're kind of stretched for time.
They moved.
They moved closer in the beginning of the year.
It's not right.
We're not used to this yet.
So I, so in all fairness, I also found out that it was actually TPE that started this
war, not PCA.
So really?
Yeah, I was unaware.
(44:43):
Yeah.
Well, I mean, I got the, I got the scoop from other media people and other manufacturers.
So TPE was the one that really started this little battle.
I don't mess with the big boys.
Well, they're moving it to March next year.
So I assume that's because PCA moved theirs back or something.
(45:05):
I don't know.
But we'll see.
I guess one big difference is PCA is going to be in New Orleans this year instead of,
you know, instead of Las Vegas.
So we're a little different.
I did notice that quite a few people complain.
Like they didn't want to go to New Orleans.
(45:26):
They're like, it's insanely expensive.
It's so hard to get this.
It's so hard.
Apparently it's just a lot of trouble.
So I don't know how, I mean, I'm sure it's going to be well attended, but I don't, I
don't know how many people are going to be really happy about it.
PCA and TPE should all come to Dallas.
(45:49):
That would make our travel less.
Think about this.
It's centrally located within the US.
It's centrally located.
There's a major airline hub right there.
Yes.
Has arguably decent freeways, but wants the largest convention center we have.
Right?
I don't think we have quite the convention centers that.
(46:12):
Well, the biggest problem is going to be the smoking.
Yeah.
Because the convention, the convention center here will let you smoke in it at all for
any venue.
So, so there's that.
Yeah.
There's that.
But if it's big enough, I don't know.
All right.
(46:33):
Let's rank these bad boys.
Do you want to go first?
Why don't I go first?
Because I know where I'm putting mine.
This one may surprise you, but here's where I put it.
So in the number one position, we have our remiss volume eight.
(46:54):
Yes, we do.
In the number two position, we have our 1845 preemption reverence, cast strength.
And then the number three position, we have bell cone.
No, no, three.
I put it in front of the Russell's Reserve single barrel is a difficult decision, but
it's such a unique, such a unique liquor.
(47:18):
Absolutely.
At 94, it's so clean and not in fresh.
It doesn't come off hot.
I love the Russell's Reserve at 110, but Russell's Reserve has many things that taste
like it.
And this is unique all the way is absolutely unique.
And as you have said previously, arguably your second favor.
(47:43):
Yeah, the single malt is the black label single malt is my favorite, but twice the price.
That's got to play into it a little bit.
Smackers into how often I drink it.
All right.
Well, what did you do?
I thought that the customary thing was to rate it and pass it, but no worries.
(48:08):
All right.
You have put our gray cliff in the number eight position.
Yes.
So I was going back and forth or rather to put it in front of the EP or where it's at.
(48:29):
Right.
So I wound up putting it where it's at because I really liked EP.
So the its neighbors are the part of this.
The EP, Carrillo Sumatra and then number eight, the gray cliff to my do roll.
Yeah.
I do.
I do like this cigar, but I mean, the lineup that we have here started really strong.
(48:57):
So you absolutely did.
It's easy for a really good cigar to be in current last place because because there's
such a strong lineup and I'm going to keep some in my pocket for later, but I'm going
to still try.
I'm bringing it.
Once we get down to 48 cigars, you want it to be really fucking difficult.
(49:20):
I want to give you an upside some brides.
Oh, there we go.
Okay.
Okay.
Just to run through the top five of the cigars, we got the at number five, we got the bar
buff purple, the cobwell at number four, cobwell, but not expressed.
Number three, diesel original number two, and mature Kings gold.
(49:42):
And number one, the new eye jack from EP, a drill.
Such a good lineup.
Absolutely.
Now I can hit out of the part.
I'm feeling better.
Heck yeah.
Alright, welcome to our newest show.
(00:02):
This week we're going to have the Greycliff G2 Maduro and with it the Balcones lineage.
You're hanging out with Bill and Darryl with cigars, liquor and more.
Alright, well the great great clip.
(00:23):
G2 Maduro is a 6x50, has a Connecticut broadleaf wrapper.
Maduro wrapper, Nicaraguan binders and fillers, MSRP 750.
The Balcones lineage is bottled at 80 proof.
Happens to be possibly my second favorite Balcones bottle and has an MSRP of 36 dollars.
(00:46):
So this is as you said possibly your second favorite Balcones bottle and it's 80 proof.
And it's 80 proof I know right hardly ever.
Is it? Did I get that wrong?
It doesn't sound right.
Okay, because it is not.
It is not right.
It was a copy paste error.
It is actually 94 proof.
(01:07):
That makes much more sense.
That makes much more sense.
That didn't sound right.
Yeah, but the 36 sounds right.
Yeah.
Well, it was 35 so it's way up.
8 percentages, man percentages.
Yeah.
84.
Why did I?
Okay, I missed that.
I don't know.
(01:28):
It just didn't say it seemed weird.
Okay.
More it seemed more weird that you would your second favorite would be an 80 proof than it
did that Balcones would make an 80 proof.
Right?
Yeah, both.
That's both seem ridiculous.
Mostly the former.
I'm like, wait, I'm going with mostly the former.
(01:50):
All right.
Great bottle though.
See, this does not sniff like an 80 proof.
I don't know.
It kind of does.
It's not that strong on the nose.
It's really not.
What you get is really not.
But I had to say something about it, you know, and you know, I'm going to bring it up again
(02:11):
later.
I can't let it go.
Love it.
So fruity.
Just you ignore that.
Totally ignoring that.
Let it go, man.
People make mistakes.
Let it go.
Especially these people's.
Well, we know I make mistakes.
My God, we make enough fun of them.
So the forward flavor I always state from the lineage is peach.
(02:35):
And for the most part, people agree with me.
Yeah.
But it's unique.
I don't know.
It's very unique.
Has anybody disagreed with you that can pick out flavors?
I don't know.
I just don't remember.
I don't remember.
I don't remember.
I don't remember.
I don't remember.
I don't remember anybody.
I don't remember anybody.
(02:56):
Just not.
I ain't it.
Yeah.
I love it.
And I agree with you.
Could be some apricot.
No, no, no.
It's definitely peach.
It's so good.
I love this bottle.
Love it.
Love it.
Love it.
So now it does.
It is a very, very light amber.
It is fairly light.
I don't know what it's age is.
(03:18):
Does it say straight at all?
I don't remember them aging it.
No, it just says pot distilled single malt whiskey.
That's it.
Lineage has a cool little.
So with that color.
I would, I would suggest that it's probably not too.
Oh, I don't think it's very old either at all.
(03:41):
But for being so young, for being so good at 94 proof.
Now you got to be careful what you say that about.
Okay.
This one I'm good with.
Absolutely.
Yeah, but that is that is a really, really light amber color.
It is.
Although I've seen lighter.
I mean, it's not like four roses is dark.
(04:05):
It's not like we don't know.
The yellow corner, whatever that is, that's not a unicorn.
That's really like it.
Actually, arguably this.
Yeah.
Arguably piss light.
Mm hmm.
Like a dirty vodka.
But strangely, I like it.
I like the middle of it.
I do too.
There's nothing wrong with melon corn.
It's good.
(04:26):
The bottle.
Not my go to.
I'm still going to make fun of it.
I'm probably going to make fun of it with all the other.
I'll make fun of benchmark, but I can't make fun of everything.
Actually.
Yeah.
That's the way to go.
It is the way to go.
So I need to do.
Okay.
So love the peach flavor.
I think we're going to make the great clip.
(04:47):
What's the.
I've got the shape thing behind me.
So it's a flat end, but the head tapers into a point.
Is it a pyramid?
I don't remember.
It's behind me.
It doesn't matter.
I said it was behind me.
Okay.
So last year we had the great cliff.
That one calls it a chisel, but I thought it was something else.
(05:12):
That one said it was a right.
I liked it.
Yeah.
I liked the materials in these.
I did too.
I just don't like that.
I don't like the other one, but really I kind of prefer the material in this in the
great clip.
Okay.
Well, it settled in a little bit.
(05:33):
Do you have some thoughts on it?
No.
Okay.
Not yet.
So here's what I've got.
It's woody primarily with a little bit of a nut, some kind of nut in there.
And so, and then that finishes in just some sort of baking spice kind of thing, but I
(05:55):
like the nuttiness.
It's smooth.
It's retrohale is not harsh at all.
It's a very doable retrohale.
I wouldn't go, you know, big time with it.
Just give it a little.
What?
Don't go overboard with it.
Is that what you're saying?
Don't go overboard with it.
Because it can get peppery, but on the light retrohales adds a lot of little baking spice
flavors and makes that nut a little bit stronger.
(06:18):
So really like it.
And those are the basic flavors.
Like I have like 10 flavors.
I'm going to have like two.
Oh, I really like it.
It's a good start.
It's a good start.
Excellent.
I've got to think about it a little bit more.
I need.
I know I said I prefer this over the other one.
(06:39):
And now you don't know why.
But I don't have I don't have my notebook with me or my my journal with me.
I don't have my flavor wheel with me.
So I have to think about it some more.
All right.
I might when I saw these it was like, oh, I've I've spent plenty of time thinking about
(07:01):
this.
I don't I just need to go get my notes.
And then you couldn't find it.
Okay, not a problem.
So I'll.
Well, tell you what, why don't we start talking about TPE.
So you.
I love the I was unable to go to TPE this year.
Yep.
But I went and I am going to talk about it this week.
So here we go.
(07:22):
And we'll have some clips from from our interviews with some folks asking them when they got
new this year.
That's what we mostly walk around and do.
So it was pretty cool.
I will say, I think the cigar section was maybe even a little smaller than last year.
I'd say it was now down to about a quarter of it.
So the quarter of the venue, quarter of the venue.
(07:44):
Yeah.
And bear in mind, it's 2.6 million square feet.
So we were in Hall West, I think it was.
So this is convention center West in Las Vegas.
And it was 2.6 million square feet.
And I think cigars were about a quarter.
It's probably decreasing every year.
(08:05):
They have bigger things coming in.
So we had.
Create them a little bit last year, this year whole row of it.
And in every way you can think.
The pouches are enormous this year.
So I think a lot of people are getting grief about vaping.
So now because it looks like smoke coming out and I guess people hate the smell of grape
(08:30):
or whatever it is because it's not real smoke.
So I don't know why anybody is complaining.
But people aren't complaining because it is smoke.
People are complaining at the thought of smoking.
Yes.
So people are moving the pouches.
And I can tell you, I can tell you this is across the board because when you look at
like you when they you see the TV rating because you know they put ratings on TVs now.
(08:55):
When you see TV MA or I don't know what they do.
But it'll say you know like language sex smoking smoking.
Now smoking is a what the morning.
So seeing somebody smoking is going to.
I'll be disturbing.
Yeah.
Anyway, crazy.
Now pouches are big.
(09:17):
So it's sort of like the the dip or chew replacement.
Just a little pouch with nicotine in it.
But what happened said everything has also blown up into every possible thing you can
do like the the pouches.
There's you put a bunch of different things in the pouch is not just nicotine vaping.
(09:40):
You put a bunch of different things in the vape, not just CBD or any one of the THC's
or you know there's everything.
The cradle now it's in pills.
It's in like this little five hour energy drink bottle.
It's in this everything.
You're starting to put things in and I really love the list of green strips.
You know the little dissolving.
Yes.
Yes I do.
(10:01):
Yeah.
It's another one they're putting at that they're doing does all these strips.
And of course always go these those those had to make a comeback.
Mm hmm.
Right.
Because I mean you take one of those first thing you think of like LSD.
Right.
Right.
Right.
And then and then they just seem to disappear.
(10:23):
Now they're back.
Well, from the market, not just disappeared your mouth.
Yeah.
And it makes sense that it would come back in this form.
Oh, that's the other thing they they found.
They found a way to make psilocybin legal.
So they're taking a derivative.
It's they go it's not psilocybin.
But they they change one substituent group of the hydrogen and now they can sell it.
(10:47):
Yeah, it's very weird.
But the other thing is weird is now everybody's complaining with every state.
They're federally compliant.
So although it's awash in THC everywhere versions of it, none of it exceeds 0.3% of
Delta nine, which is the original THC that's illegal.
(11:08):
So it's humorous, but everything's.
But now being said to the cigars, I wanted to tell you what's taking over the cigar footprint
and it's mostly these things.
Everything is also higher in milligrams.
So pouches were.
That makes sense.
That makes sense.
That makes sense.
Now they're 15 and 20.
Yeah, that makes sense.
Gummies, you know, five, 10, 20, we've we saw some as high as 500.
(11:34):
Holy crap.
But they're not THC nine.
They're right.
Right.
Yeah.
They're 500 millimeters.
Whatever.
Whatever gets you.
Right.
Right.
Whatever can get you by.
Yeah.
Since the since, you know, the things are still working its way through legislation and
court systems and all that good stuff.
(11:56):
They are that I think they're running that.
Yeah, that industry is right for just being the wild west and seeing what's out there
and seeing what, you know, what you can do, can't do.
And if a tweak from a manufacturer, you know, as long as they don't put COVID in it.
(12:17):
Or fit and all.
I mean, or the COVID vaccine or awesome delivery system.
Why do you even might even work?
Right.
Yeah.
Adoption might be better.
It might be a lot better.
All right.
So we went around got some minute to minute clips.
(12:38):
You know, I we even ran across some who had come out recently this year, brand new brands
this year.
One of the brands isn't even out yet.
I'm I ask them, how many shops are you in?
He's like, not yet.
We're premiering here.
And I'm like, wow, okay.
None.
(12:59):
So let's just, let's just start listening to a couple of them.
All right.
Yeah.
Good morning.
My name is Javier Corranza.
I'm here, the director of sales and placentia cigars.
We have a lot of very exciting things here.
A placentia coming on, especially here in TPE.
We got our whole lineup.
We have alma Fueira.
We have alma Alcompo alma Alma Al Fueira.
Go set you 149 and go set you 151.
(13:20):
Very proud of our projects recently.
We have a lot of great things coming out of our farms.
Our team and the Carrao one on do this are working diligently every single day, every
every minute of the day, working to make sure that the soil is optimal in the optimal growing
way.
(13:41):
I mean, it's so difficult to explain, but it's so beautiful because our team over there is
working with the microorganisms in the soil, which are creating phenomenal tobacco.
There's a whole world.
We call them like the hidden hands under the soil that work every single day, every single
second, providing amazing tobacco, working with the microorganisms to make sure that
(14:03):
the plants are healthy, that the plants have the great flavor, that the plants have all
the oils and the essentials to create a great cigar.
Everything starts with the fields.
That's what we always say.
It's amazing what the earth will give you if you take care of it.
And that's what we do with the potential cigars.
And that's what the potential in our team is working a lot to make sure that we always
(14:25):
say that we have yet to make the best cigar for our company.
And we always want to be the company that is the best for the world, not in the world.
We always try to help our people.
And we always are very grateful for our consumers, our retail partners that have been able to
help us continue to grow, to help the people in Nicaragua, to help the children in Nicaragua.
(14:46):
So we're doing a lot of great things.
All I have to say to end this is pretty much there's a lot of amazing, amazing things that
we're doing.
And I guarantee you follow us on social medias at placenticigars.com.
There's a lot of things that are happening.
There's a lot of things that you got to, I can't wait to share in the near future that
I can't right now, but I guarantee you won't regret it.
(15:08):
All right.
Thank you very much, guys.
Not yet, I can't really say, but it's something that is going to be mind blowing in a way.
It's a project that we're working that is from our fields in the top of the mountains.
It's elevation tobacco.
That's all I'm going to say.
That's all I'm going to say.
I know you're limited.
It's a project that is going to be astronomical.
(15:31):
Okay.
All right.
Awesome.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Very much.
All right.
So we let off with a big boy placentic.
Yeah, we did.
And I love him.
I love his energy about not only the company, but the whole aspect of cigars.
(15:52):
He loves it and it comes through in even in his voice and his excitement.
It comes through its fabulous.
It's catchy.
I liked it.
He said, it's very, don't get me wrong.
It's very lean manufacturing of an engineer sitting here.
And he said, we like to say we've not made our best cigar yet.
Right.
Continuous improvement.
(16:13):
Continuous improvement.
Always.
Always trying to be a pawn.
And I'm telling you, some of those placentia cigars are so good.
I'm a point.
They are.
Oh, man.
They are.
So when he's like, we got some phenomenal come out, couldn't say PCA announcement.
That's fine.
I expect that at TPE.
But I'm excited.
I am also excited.
(16:34):
Yes.
Yeah.
That's one of the things about PCA moving to be closer to TPE.
I mean, you have to pick and choose what it is that you're going to announce and where.
Yeah.
You're going to have some folks are going to have to have some things for TPE.
Sure.
(16:55):
And some folks are going to say some stuff for PCA.
So I mean, you're going to get that.
Great.
That was great.
All right.
I can't.
So we.
So how big was the placentia boots?
Right.
Usually they're they're usually they're pretty big.
(17:16):
Yeah.
So I would say it wasn't as big as last year, but it was still more than like a single
bag.
It was it was probably more than a double bag.
It was probably a quad bag, but it wasn't like an end cap.
Yeah.
Last year they were really big.
This year is a little bit smaller, but still pretty big.
There's still placentia.
Absolutely.
So, but definitely excited.
(17:40):
He was definitely excited for what they're announcing to PCA.
So I look for very much look forward to it.
Absolutely.
Let's try our next one.
I'm here at TPE 25.
Let's hear what you have coming up in the new year.
Love to hear.
Okay.
We are VDALX cigars.
We have a super lancer which is an 11 inch by 40 ring gauge cigar.
We also have a cigar ashtray that just launched, which is a 12.5 inch carbon fiber
(18:06):
ashtray.
And we're looking forward to a great show.
Carbon fiber.
Yes.
Carbon fiber.
It's all carbon fiber.
Everything that cigar comes in its own carbon fiber enclosure as well.
And the box of 10, which we call the master is 10 carbon fiber tubes in one carbon fiber
big larger tube.
(18:27):
I didn't expect that.
What's the inspiration for carbon fiber?
It's a luxury product.
It's just cool.
And it's great storage for the cigar.
It holds humidity and it's great for traveling.
Right.
Because this isn't just a tubo.
This is a carry case.
It probably looks like it holds a box.
That's right.
(18:48):
It holds 10 of those.
So it holds the large carbon fiber enclosure holds 10 individual carbon fiber cigars,
which also we are the we as a result of this carbon fiber individual tube.
There's now a travel tube for land cereal and super land cereal on the market, which
wasn't available anywhere in the world before this.
Very cool.
(19:09):
Do you have anything else coming up in 2025?
Yes.
So in 2025, the next product we're launching will be a carbon fiber humidor and an ashtray
combination, which will hopefully launch by April 1st.
And also for PCA, we're going to be launching a five pack of petite corona, which will be
4.5 by 40 ring gauge.
(19:31):
Also in the same carbon fiber metal presentation.
That's impressive.
Cool.
Okay.
Thank you.
Thank you, Elliot.
You have a good year.
You guys have a great day.
Thank you.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's pretty cool.
Yeah.
Okay.
Did it seem kitschy or whatever that word is?
Yeah.
So you're thinking kitschy.
(19:53):
So they wanted to impress upon everybody that they are a premium product.
And I guess carbon fiber was probably a little kitschy.
It was, it's strong.
It's not thin.
I grabbed the tuba.
I was like, and it's fine.
It's nice.
It's not this threadbare product.
It's got some substance to it.
(20:15):
Don't keep it wrong.
It sounds cool.
Yeah.
It really sounds cool.
I bet it looked pretty cool.
Go figure it was black.
Okay.
That was what I was going to ask next.
Because you can do carbon fiber in just about any that you want.
So, wow.
Okay.
So, 12 inch ashtray of carbon fiber.
(20:40):
Yeah.
I can't imagine what that costs.
I actually did not ask him.
I was almost afraid to find out.
That is kind of cool.
I want to look this up.
It is really cool.
So, that was pretty cool.
And they're not.
So they're a small boutique brand as well.
Not a bunch new this year, but they've not been around all that long either.
(21:04):
They've been around 10 years, right?
Right.
So, they're just starting out.
And that was their cool thing.
Oh, also the super lancero was probably like nine inches long.
It was a little bit.
He didn't have a lot of them.
I didn't get one, but I was like, oh my God, that is hilarious.
(21:27):
I would love to smoke one, but it does.
That's long.
Yeah, it is.
I wonder what the draw is, right?
Dine right right right right.
In a land.
Sarah.
Well, if you're going to be quote unquote super premium, then they must press your test
every single one.
(21:48):
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
They would have to.
I thought it was pretty cool.
It does sound pretty cool.
Let's do one more and then one of the new come with your thoughts on this cigar.
Oh, yes, I have yet to do that.
Let's do that.
Here with Enrique for PDR cigars 2025 TPE.
Enrique, what do we got for us?
(22:09):
Okay, sure.
PDR cigars.
PDR cigars were Dominican Republic manufacturer.
We got our factory in the Sona de Tamboril in Santiago.
Okay, our cigars are blended and produced by Mr. Abraham Florida himself.
He's been in the business for quite a while.
And for TPE 25, we're very excited.
(22:31):
We have new deals.
We've got special deals for all our customers.
Come by the booth.
We've got new products that we're offering to our customers.
We got all our best sellers right here for everyone to try.
So come by to our booth here in the pavilion and hope to see you soon.
What's your newest cigar called?
(22:54):
Blen Blen.
Okay, we got the El Vignette.
It's a limited edition that is produced just once a year.
Okay, you got a very special blend by Mr. Florida's.
We got the 18th anniversary cigar that is already a regular production for our retailers.
(23:17):
The blend in the El Vignette is a very special one.
It's got an Indonesia binder and a Sumatra wrapper.
And the 18th anniversary is a Sumatra wrapper as well from Ecuador and a binder and filler
from the Dominican Republic.
Okay, that sounds awesome.
We're based in Miami, our base of operations in Miami with a distributor across the US.
(23:43):
My name is Enrique.
I'm the operations manager for the US market.
So just give me a call, send me an email and I'll be glad to help you out.
Excellent.
Thank you very much.
Have a good TPE.
Thank you.
I can't try.
I can't wait to try them.
Thank you.
I know.
So what stood out about their booth?
(24:06):
He did just have two of the samples.
He didn't have a huge line.
So they are still fairly small.
So that stood out to me.
They helped just a few offerings.
So the good news is, it's a sign that this is their best foot forward.
So I would say try those two.
I don't exactly know how you have an 18th anniversary when you haven't been around that
(24:31):
long.
Maybe they've been around a long time and they just don't have a deep portfolio and
I've not heard of them because I just not.
I've not heard of them.
Yeah.
Well, there are folks that have, there are brands of bands that have been around for
a long time that we just don't get here.
Right.
So it could have been just that I've not heard them before.
Yeah.
Could have been very regional.
(24:52):
But that's what stood out was it.
They just focused on a couple of things.
So it was pretty cool.
Excellent.
It was some pretty good interviews so far.
You got some comments on the cigar?
Yes, I do.
So I think you had mentioned wood.
Right.
Did you mention wood?
Yes.
So I do get a wood component out of it.
(25:14):
I get almost a graphite, a kind of a dryness that is akin to me like graphite, not talcum
or baby powder, anything like that.
But graphite, it's also got that kind of almost metallic type taste to it a little bit.
Okay.
Very little.
(25:35):
On the back ends after I take the draw, but very pleasant, very nice, easygoing.
Doesn't, you get a mouth coating, but not.
It doesn't build.
It reaches a point and it just kind of stops and stays there.
I think it's wonderful.
I went through a bit without drinking anything and pretty nice, pretty nice.
(26:01):
I have not done a retrohale.
I do like this cigar.
Yeah, it's for being a Maduro.
It's not super bold.
It's I think it's a solid medium.
Oh, absolutely.
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
I don't think it's a bowl at all.
No, I don't think it's a bowl at all.
I think it's very nice.
It's going great so far.
No nuttiness though, huh?
No, I'm not getting nuttiness out of it.
Like I said, on my back end, I'm getting more of a graphite.
(26:23):
Well, I'm wondering if that's just me with the mix of the drink.
I could be.
Could be.
It's also thinking maybe just a little bit of leaf.
Yeah, I get like a little bit of a paper finish, but not a lot.
I didn't throw that in there.
Well, let's come back with some old fashions.
Let's do that, man.
(26:44):
And see how that works out?
Boom.
Check out our website, cigarslickerandmore.com for more of our podcasts, blogs, and support
the show by shopping from our online store.
Check us through the website or Instagram and let us know what cigars and liquor you
want us to review, anything else you'd like us to talk about, and don't forget to check
(27:06):
the online store for free swag.
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All right, we are back with old fashions in hand.
Let's try this out.
(27:27):
Hmm.
Hear that?
Interesting.
So it's got cinnamon on the nose, but then more like like an orange soda mixed with lemon
lime.
It's actually not a bad description.
I'm having a hard time with this one.
It's unique placing the, placing the flavors.
(27:50):
It's unique.
The, um, hmm.
The peach definitely it like contributes.
It's like it wants to be orange, but it doesn't quite make it there.
Right.
And it does something and it, it's actually kind of, it's actually good.
And it, when I, when I, when I smelled it, I said it smells like a candy old fast, you
know, but it doesn't taste like a candy old fast.
(28:12):
No, it's got a lot going on.
That's pretty cool.
I'm happy with that.
I don't know.
Do we put it in bracket play?
Hmm.
All right.
I don't know.
What do you, what do you think of it?
Do we put it in bracket play?
No, no.
Okay.
I don't like, I don't, I don't like it enough to put a bracket play too candy.
(28:40):
Not definitive enough of a flavor.
Okay.
Does that make sense?
I was on the fence.
That's why I'm asking.
That's where I'm going with it.
That's, uh, that, that's my two cents.
If I was for certain, I would have said we're putting it in black at private.
That's why I asked.
That's true.
No, you know, sometimes it's, it's solid.
(29:03):
It's right on.
It's there.
You know, absolute.
Uh, in this case, not so much.
So midpoint contains the old fashioned, but, um, I would add that this cigar is going swimmingly
well with the liquor.
Like they're staying out of each other's way.
Absolutely.
(29:24):
Absolutely.
So not, not augmenting each other, but out of each other's way.
I really like it.
And that, that's what, well, that, that's what you want.
If most of the time, if they don't help each other, stay the fuck out of the way.
The way, right.
Don't detract from one or the other.
Well, it's not even taking out the paper finish.
(29:45):
The paper is generally a pretty mild, very delicate.
So it's still there.
That's pretty impressive.
I'm happy with that.
This is the kind of cigar that, that, that looks good, tastes good and you just really
don't have to think about it when you're smoking it.
Yeah.
(30:06):
Yeah.
Very nice.
But it is, I mean, it is on the, right, on, on kind of the, the lower end of the, the
mean of what it is that we don't really get, right?
Because we don't really get between seven and $10, right?
Or,
This is $7.50.
Eight and, seven and 12, 7, 11, somewhere around in there, right?
(30:30):
Yeah.
So it's, it's, it's on the lower end of the band, right, or of that spectrum.
It's not considered a budget.
Yes.
I wouldn't consider it a budget stick.
If you can ease your pocketbook, but still get a good quality.
There is.
Absolute cigar.
There you go.
This is one of them.
(30:51):
Mm hmm.
That's real nice.
All right.
Let's see who else we talk to.
Yeah, let's find out.
Well, we're here 20, 25, 20, 25 TPE with Christoph cigars.
And John's going to tell us what new or exciting things they have going for Christoph this
year.
So this year for us, the biggest component of our year is rebranding and repackaging
(31:16):
our product and portfolio.
So little by little, we're going to start to see that starting to hit shelves, a little
bit of a new look for us, a little new design, something with a little more pop for it in
the humidor for the retailers and for the customer to catch the eye.
So that's the primary focus this year.
It will be at PCA.
(31:37):
As always, with a PCA exclusive, I have not been given the okay to say what that is yet.
I did that.
But I can tell you that no one will be disappointed.
Awesome.
Because it is a fantastic stick.
But that is, that's the goal for this year.
Just keep moving forward and selling product and doing what we do.
Okay.
So I recognize some of the labeling on the boxes and some of them look a little new.
(32:01):
So I'll still be able to recognize some of my old favorites.
Always.
None of the color scheming is changing with us, right?
So if you're familiar with our Cameroon and that blue packaging, everything is still blue,
right?
Our Sumatra is still red.
All of those colors are staying intact.
So the only thing changing is that rustic boxes going away, something a little more consumer-friendly,
(32:28):
I would say.
The loose tobacco in the boxes is going away.
Beautiful appearance when the box is first open.
Of course, as every retailer knows, as soon as the first two cigars come out of that
box, you're cleaning up loose tobacco off the floor for the next 30 days.
So that's a step forward for the retailer and that ends.
(32:51):
And another, by the way, another manufacturer that's adding the information cards to the
front.
And that's something we've always done as that box talker.
We've kind of refined it a little bit.
Strength profile, wrapper binder filler, and then any awards or rankings that that cigar
has received over the years.
(33:12):
And now we're all looking for that.
I'm glad you guys have one.
So Mike, makes my life easier to sell.
Thank you very much.
Thank you guys.
Appreciate it.
Have a good day.
25 TV.
I'm glad that they are taking an effort to rebrand.
Yeah.
They need it.
They have awesome sticks, but I mean, you don't pop off the show.
(33:33):
They really don't.
Right.
And even just changing the box would help because they can just disappear on the show,
especially if they're surrounded by the likes of Prudomo and Blackbird.
Right.
I mean, you just, right.
You're covering crux and you're going to disappear.
So that's really nice.
No loose tobacco.
(33:54):
And I thought I've always thought that is just a dumb thing to do.
Don't do that.
Okay.
It's just like it's just it's packaging that you're just going to throw away.
Right.
So you're making your retailers go through extra crap.
I get, I get there was a time when that was, you know, that was a really cool thing, you
(34:16):
know, but I, I think it's dumb.
They changing.
Yeah.
I think it's dumb.
I'm glad to see that, you know, more and more manufacturers are going that way.
Yeah.
You want your everything now is wrapped around packaging is not just a cigar itself.
It needs to look as elegant as you want your cigar band brand to be.
(34:44):
And Kristoff is, you know, it's one of the more fashionable.
I don't know what the word I'm looking for is, but you know, they're not, you know,
they're not your $5 sticks, right?
Yeah.
Actually, some of them pretty close.
I know.
I'm not getting it.
But I think Kristoff, yeah.
(35:05):
And they do, they do make some budget friendly sticks and they're really, really good.
But they just don't, they don't pop.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It needs a cleaner look.
It needs a sharper look.
It needs a more elegant look than what it is that they don't bring it in.
And yeah.
(35:26):
Okay.
They, they had information cards, but there were information cards that were easily just
tossed.
Yeah.
I think they were too, because I absolutely I've not seen it on the box.
You don't see them.
And you know, they do have information.
They, if I remember right, they did have information on the front of the box.
But they need that hang, that the hanger.
(35:49):
Absolutely.
Need the hanger.
It needs to fold out easy.
Not just pop up and go away.
And you know, some of the other things people are doing is, and they've been doing it for
a while, but you know, you put the artwork on the back, underside of the lid.
But if you can put information on the underside of the lid as well, because you know, when
(36:11):
you open the lid up and it sits on a shelf, the bottom part of that lid that's next to
the hinge, that's marketing space.
Yeah.
So use it.
Yeah.
A lot of them fold all the way back though.
So you really can't see it.
You know, so I think the hanger is better.
I think the hanger is definitely the way to go.
(36:33):
And you, it needs to be incorporated in the box in such a way that it's you, you can't.
Unmoveable.
Yeah.
And you don't want to take out a cigar and have it fall down on the floor.
Right.
Right.
So it needs to be able to withstand usage.
Yeah.
But definitely I like Christoph cigars and I look forward to seeing their rebranding.
(36:58):
I really do.
All right.
All right.
We just got a couple more queued up.
And the Cameroon is one of my favorites.
Yeah.
I do like that one.
There's there.
I like several.
Actually.
Yeah.
Yeah.
We got a couple more.
Let's see what we got next.
First up, my name is Rob Manison, the president of the League of Fat Bastard cigars for brand
(37:19):
new cigar company.
We started in March of 2024.
We are our cigars are produced.
We got two core lines of cigars, both made at Hoya de Nicaragua and Esteli, the longest
serving factory down there.
What makes us unique as a company is 40% of our net profits every single day go to support
men's mental health.
So we've partnered with an organization called Boulder Crest.
(37:42):
Boulder Crest supports first responders and veterans with PTSD.
And so we've launched a partnership with them for that donation.
We've got two core lines.
Our first was an Ecuadorian Habano.
It's the series L. So L O F and B series of our name.
The second series is the O. It is San Andreas rapper, a little bit more mild medium to full.
(38:07):
So real excited.
We've got a lot of them in five sizes.
MSRP is between 10 and $14.
Okay.
So you're fairly new.
How many shops are you in right now?
Where can I find you?
Great question.
So we're in about 100 shops across the U.S.
We're in all the major online retailers as well.
So you can go to CI, JR, Smoke In, Neptune, go down the list.
(38:28):
We're in all those big customers as well.
We're about 100 shops focused primarily in Texas and Florida.
And so growing from there.
It's good news.
Is there anything you want to add that you're excited about in 2025?
We're excited by a lot of stuff.
So we're a brand new company just continuing to grow.
So we are going to launch our F and B products later this year.
(38:51):
So we're excited about those to come later this year.
Cool.
Great.
Cool.
Because I had not seen you until right here in TPE.
It's probably why we got a new try around.
TPE will be at PCA this year.
Okay.
Do you have an additional PCA announcement?
Nothing right now.
Okay.
Yeah, I know.
So you can't tell me.
Yeah.
(39:12):
But you could say that there was one.
We've got some exciting things coming in the back half of the show.
Okay.
All right.
Cool.
Cool.
I will look you up because I'm out of Dallas.
So you probably have something near me.
Yeah, for sure.
We do.
Okay.
Lots of stuff in the Dallas market.
All right.
Excellent.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Have a good 25.
Thank you.
Okay.
So League of Pat Bastards.
(39:33):
Very, very new.
And Texas.
Fabulous.
Yeah.
And 40% of the revenue goes to Mantell.
Yeah.
Okay.
So I don't get me wrong.
I love it when a company gives back.
(39:54):
The bigger you get, the more I come to expect that you are golden.
Yeah, yeah.
Right.
So your company just starting out to set aside 40% of their profits.
How much does that stymie your growth potential?
Well, actually it might help because they put their price point between 10 and 14, which
(40:16):
makes them a solid, which is pretty expensive.
But at the boutique, so you're going to pay up for a little bit for boutiques, then you're
going to pay up for the donation.
But it also gives people the perception that you're worth more.
Right?
It's the classic.
Pay more for it.
It's worth more.
So we could almost make them look more upscale.
Right?
(40:37):
And so it could help both ways.
I mean, we don't know.
Okay.
And almost, you don't, in your day to day life when you hear about companies giving to
things, you almost never hear about men's health.
Right.
And you know, which, but it makes sense.
(40:58):
It's way us men's are, you know, we're people too.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's good, especially because that's your customer, right?
I mean, women's smoke, but not as the percentage.
Not the percentage, right?
Yeah.
So if you're going to do it, it makes sense to go to men's health.
I appreciate it.
(41:20):
Always excited to see new, new, new bands and brands coming out.
Just one year old.
That's fabulous, more power to them.
Can't wait to talk to them in the future.
All right.
Let's skip the last clip and then let's rank these things.
Ranking rankings.
My name is Miguel Choudel, national sales manager with Crown Head and Oz Family Cigars.
(41:43):
We're here at TPE 2025.
You know, we don't really debut new cigars here.
We like to debut them at PCA.
This is traditionally what we've done.
But here at the show, we're showing off our Oz trio line.
We have the first out, the Bosphorus, the Airmas, all highly rated cigars in cigar
Fisciano, Tim Ozz, who's family's been in the business since 1968.
So you know, people really love seeing Tim when he came back to the business a few years
(42:06):
ago and very proud to have him part of the Crown Head's family.
With Crown Heads, we're still showing off our coronetta that we launched in 2024.
We have a nihabano, which is made by Naksa and Nicaragua and the habano version made by
Ernesto Perez Carillo and the Dominican Republic.
So it's one brand, two blends made in two different countries, two different factories,
which is I think a unique kind of concept.
Traditionally, when you have one blend, sometimes it's just a wrapper swap or it's the same
(42:30):
factory.
So it was a unique concept and we're always showing off our Milled Dias, which is our number
one selling line as well as our waras.
So very proud to be here.
Always a good time.
Awesome.
Have a good TPE.
Thank you.
Appreciate it.
Thank you.
All right.
Crown Heads is one of those brands where sometimes I lose focus on them.
(42:52):
Yeah.
I like them, but I tend to lose focus on them.
And then I hear something like this, where you go and you interview them and it's like,
I really like it and why don't I get more of them?
Yeah.
You know what I mean?
They probably want to know the answer to that too.
Yeah, yeah, they probably do.
It sounds great.
(43:13):
I want to know what they're doing in PC.
Well, you know, our thing to go to TPE.
So we don't get all the big announcements, but that's fine.
We still get to talk to them.
Yeah.
So here a little bit about a little bit.
Yeah, you're still doing relationship building and things like that.
So you're networking, getting out there and helping them, you know, get their word out.
(43:38):
Right.
Oh, good.
Fabulous.
I love the interviews.
Yeah, they're good.
We'll keep throwing little clips in over the next couple of weeks.
I'm sure you got enough.
I've got more in a few.
I've only processed about half of them.
And this week and next week, we'll do, we'll do quite a few and then we'll keep throwing
(44:00):
them in because I kind of got to get them in before PCA.
Yeah, I hadn't thought about that.
One of my thoughts was, you know, we could do, you know, two on the back half of an episode.
Yeah, maybe.
But yeah, but yeah, you're right.
It would be nice to get them before PCA.
(44:21):
Yeah.
So we're kind of stretched for time.
They moved.
They moved closer in the beginning of the year.
It's not right.
We're not used to this yet.
So I, so in all fairness, I also found out that it was actually TPE that started this
war, not PCA.
So really?
Yeah, I was unaware.
(44:43):
Yeah.
Well, I mean, I got the, I got the scoop from other media people and other manufacturers.
So TPE was the one that really started this little battle.
I don't mess with the big boys.
Well, they're moving it to March next year.
So I assume that's because PCA moved theirs back or something.
(45:05):
I don't know.
But we'll see.
I guess one big difference is PCA is going to be in New Orleans this year instead of,
you know, instead of Las Vegas.
So we're a little different.
I did notice that quite a few people complain.
Like they didn't want to go to New Orleans.
(45:26):
They're like, it's insanely expensive.
It's so hard to get this.
It's so hard.
Apparently it's just a lot of trouble.
So I don't know how, I mean, I'm sure it's going to be well attended, but I don't, I
don't know how many people are going to be really happy about it.
PCA and TPE should all come to Dallas.
(45:49):
That would make our travel less.
Think about this.
It's centrally located within the US.
It's centrally located.
There's a major airline hub right there.
Yes.
Has arguably decent freeways, but wants the largest convention center we have.
Right?
I don't think we have quite the convention centers that.
(46:12):
Well, the biggest problem is going to be the smoking.
Yeah.
Because the convention, the convention center here will let you smoke in it at all for
any venue.
So, so there's that.
Yeah.
There's that.
But if it's big enough, I don't know.
All right.
(46:33):
Let's rank these bad boys.
Do you want to go first?
Why don't I go first?
Because I know where I'm putting mine.
This one may surprise you, but here's where I put it.
So in the number one position, we have our remiss volume eight.
(46:54):
Yes, we do.
In the number two position, we have our 1845 preemption reverence, cast strength.
And then the number three position, we have bell cone.
No, no, three.
I put it in front of the Russell's Reserve single barrel is a difficult decision, but
it's such a unique, such a unique liquor.
(47:18):
Absolutely.
At 94, it's so clean and not in fresh.
It doesn't come off hot.
I love the Russell's Reserve at 110, but Russell's Reserve has many things that taste
like it.
And this is unique all the way is absolutely unique.
And as you have said previously, arguably your second favor.
(47:43):
Yeah, the single malt is the black label single malt is my favorite, but twice the price.
That's got to play into it a little bit.
Smackers into how often I drink it.
All right.
Well, what did you do?
I thought that the customary thing was to rate it and pass it, but no worries.
(48:08):
All right.
You have put our gray cliff in the number eight position.
Yes.
So I was going back and forth or rather to put it in front of the EP or where it's at.
(48:29):
Right.
So I wound up putting it where it's at because I really liked EP.
So the its neighbors are the part of this.
The EP, Carrillo Sumatra and then number eight, the gray cliff to my do roll.
Yeah.
I do.
I do like this cigar, but I mean, the lineup that we have here started really strong.
(48:57):
So you absolutely did.
It's easy for a really good cigar to be in current last place because because there's
such a strong lineup and I'm going to keep some in my pocket for later, but I'm going
to still try.
I'm bringing it.
Once we get down to 48 cigars, you want it to be really fucking difficult.
(49:20):
I want to give you an upside some brides.
Oh, there we go.
Okay.
Okay.
Just to run through the top five of the cigars, we got the at number five, we got the bar
buff purple, the cobwell at number four, cobwell, but not expressed.
Number three, diesel original number two, and mature Kings gold.
(49:42):
And number one, the new eye jack from EP, a drill.
Such a good lineup.
Absolutely.
Now I can hit out of the part.
I'm feeling better.
Heck yeah.
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