Ep. #178: Punch Punch Punch (w/ Larressingle Armagnac VSOP, Cuban Cigar Retailers Ending US Shipments, Lizard Memories of Great Cuban Cigars & Pagoda's Unique Cigar Journey)

Episode Transcript
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Gizmo (02:46):
Welcome to the Lounge Lizards podcast presented by
Fabrica five. It's so good tohave you here. It's a leisure
and lifestyle podcast founded onour love of premium cigars as
well as whiskey travel, food,work, and whatever else we feel
like getting into. My name isGizmo. Tonight, I'm joined by
Rooster, Pagoda, chef Ricky, andBam Bam.
And our plan is to smoke acigar, drink some Armagnac, talk

(03:07):
about life, and, of course, havesome laughs. So take this as
your one hundred and seventyeighth official invitation to
join us and become a cardcarrying lounge lizard.

Rooster (03:15):
Plan to

Gizmo (03:16):
meet us here once a week. We're gonna smoke a Cuban cigar
tonight, share our thoughts onit, and give you our formal
lizard rating. We discuss theimpact of popular retailers
ending US shipping for Cubans.We share our first memories of
great Cuban cigars, and wediscussed Pagoda's unique cigar
journey all among a variety ofother things for the next ninety
minutes. So sit back, get yourfavorite drink, light up a

(03:36):
cigar, enjoy as we pair LaraSongla, Armagnac VSOP with the
punch punch punch.
A Corona Gorda on the podtonight from Cuba. We are
revisiting the punch punch. It'sa beautiful 46 ring gauge cigar
by five and five eighths incheslong. And boys, it still amazes

(03:58):
me when we reach into a box ofCuban cigars

Chef (04:01):
Mhmm.

Gizmo (04:01):
And you pull out a cigar that has what looks like a box
press on it.

Bam Bam (04:06):
Kind of. Yes.

Gizmo (04:07):
Like, from being stuffed in the dress box, they have this
subtle kind of

Pagoda (04:13):
Box press.

Gizmo (04:14):
Accidental box press.

Bam Bam (04:15):
Dress boxes are notorious for that.

Pagoda (04:17):
Exactly. But it does feel good at the hand. Yeah.

Bam Bam (04:20):
It's nice.

Gizmo (04:20):
It does.

Bam Bam (04:21):
Yeah. The cigar is an old friend.

Gizmo (04:22):
So for the listener out there, especially those who have
listened all the way back to thecatalog or have been with us
since the beginning, we'rerevisiting some Cuban cigars
that we reviewed at the early inthe early days of this podcast.
Certainly ones that didn't rateas well as we think they might
perform more, you know, in amore recent run. So we are doing

(04:43):
a redux, a revisit

Bam Bam (04:45):
Mhmm.

Gizmo (04:45):
On some of these older Cuban cigars that we did. So
this one is the punch punchtonight, boys. And let's cut
this thing. Let's see if we'regetting on the cold draw and the
wrapper. So we originallyreleased this episode in March
2022, so just over three yearsago, which is crazy by the way.

Pagoda (05:07):
It's been a while.

Gizmo (05:08):
Yeah. Oh, I got a nice dimple, boys. Nice. I'm hoping
my draw is good.

Pagoda (05:13):
I have a slight dimple. Me too, but it's off center.

Chef (05:16):
Acceptable. Same. Draw is a little resistant for me, but
not bad. Not overly tight. Didyou take enough off?

Bam Bam (05:24):
Oh, yeah. So my draw is perfect.

Gizmo (05:26):
Mine is too. Just a touch of resistance. Touch of
resistance. Rooster, how'syours?

Rooster (05:31):
A little resistance. I'm gonna just do a second cut.
Just a slight.

Bam Bam (05:35):
What do you got?

Gizmo (05:36):
What I always get on a punch punch, cedar, floral,

Bam Bam (05:40):
dried fruit. Very mild dried fruit.

Chef (05:42):
Yes. Get mild dried fruit and also a touch of licorice.

Pagoda (05:46):
Licorice? I thought it was like tea ish kind of
sweetness.

Chef (05:48):
I don't know. Not licorice in an off putting way, but just
I get like there's a complexityof cold spices here that are
reminiscent of licorice to me.

Bam Bam (05:58):
I think this will be good.

Gizmo (06:00):
I'm also getting a little bit of salt too on the front of
my tongue. Not yet. Just atouch. Alright, boys. Let's
light this thing.
The punch punch from Cuba.Again, it's a Corona Gorda, 46
ring gauge by five and fiveeights inches long. The factory

(06:22):
code on this cigar tonight isUMRDecember21. U M R December 20
1. That is a provincial.
Most of these are coming out ofprovincials. And this is coming
out of, like we said, a dressbox of 25 cigars with these
subtle box press on them. Italso comes in tubos, in dress

(06:47):
boxes of 10 cigars and thealuminum tubes. And I know, Bam,
you love the punch punch out ofa tubo.

Bam Bam (06:52):
It's rare to come across those, but when you get
those I'm sure you've had them,Rooster.

Rooster (06:56):
Green tubes?

Bam Bam (06:57):
They're beautiful, and the cigars are so pristine,
perfectly round, no box press,and they're flawless.

Rooster (07:06):
They don't make those in

Gizmo (07:07):
the tubes, do they? Yes. Yeah. Oh, they still do. They
still do.

Rooster (07:10):
Actually I thought they discontinued this.

Gizmo (07:11):
So this cigar is pre embargo, pre revolution Mhmm.
You know, before 1960. The cigaruntil the nineteen eighties,
according toCupidCigarWebsite.com, shout out
Alex Groom. This cigar was namedthe punch punch deluxe. It's
been issued in 25 cigar dressboxes, and there was also a
slide lid box of 50 cigars.

(07:32):
I know you have one of those.Rooster, that was discontinued
in 2017. And in 02/2009, theyintroduced the dress box of 10
cigars in aluminum tubos. Sothat's only been around now for
about fifteen years. But theyhave this nice army green Mhmm.
Tubo, and I love using itbecause this cigar is identical
in size to some of my otherfavorite Cuban cigars. The Magna

(07:55):
46. Cohiba cigar four. Yeah.Juan Lopez number one.
You can You know, those are allthe same size.

Bam Bam (08:01):
Yeah. That's true.

Gizmo (08:02):
You can reuse those tubos

Bam Bam (08:03):
and But that cigar in a tubo is incredible.

Gizmo (08:06):
I love the cigar in a tubo.

Bam Bam (08:08):
What are you guys getting in the light? First of
all, the aroma. It's darkchocolate and coffee for me.

Gizmo (08:17):
I I honestly, the first thing I'm experiencing before I
even talk about flavor is howmuch smoke output this little
cigar has.

Bam Bam (08:25):
Just from holding it

Gizmo (08:25):
your hand. Just from holding it and then you draw it,
you just kiss it, tons of smoke.

Bam Bam (08:30):
As that smoke's billowing out of the foot, just
put it to your nose.

Gizmo (08:33):
It's almost like a potpourri.

Bam Bam (08:34):
I'm not getting any of that. I'm getting like a deep
dark chocolate and some coffee.

Rooster (08:39):
Usually I always get a lot of cedar on the punch punch.
On this one, I got it more onthe cold draw than I'm getting
on the light so far.

Chef (08:48):
I'm definitely getting some cedar here now, coffee,
dark cocoa, but it is mild andthe smoke itself is somewhat on
the thinner side. It's not supercreamy or viscous or velvety
just yet.

Bam Bam (09:04):
It doesn't you know, it's unusual because these
typically for me coat yourmouth. I'm not getting that
tonight yet, but on atraditional draw I like the dark
cocoa reference. I think that'spretty accurate and cedar. Yeah,
I'm getting a

Chef (09:22):
good amount of cedar on this.

Gizmo (09:23):
Me too.

Pagoda (09:24):
It's nice.

Gizmo (09:27):
Getting a touch of citrus as well.

Bam Bam (09:30):
You know what? I'd get it on the retrohale. Yeah.
Lemon.

Gizmo (09:32):
That's exactly it. And what's funny, I have lemon
seltzer. I haven't even sippedit yet. And I can't wait to do
that because that might enhancethat might enhance the the
cigar. I'm following your rules,Bam.
No cigar before the pod Correct.And only water.

Bam Bam (09:46):
No sleep till Brooklyn. No cigar before the pod.

Pagoda (09:51):
I generally do, but today I just couldn't resist
coming to the lounge a bitearlier. Mhmm.

Gizmo (09:57):
What are you guys getting on the on the flavor here?
Pagoda, what are

Pagoda (10:00):
you thinking so far? Yeah. For me, you know,
typically, like, think in thepunch punch, I'm expecting a
different flavor profile. Butyeah, today I think it's a lot
of cedarish, a little bit ofsweetness. I thought initially
it was slightly different, likenot on the cocoa profile, but
more slightly different.

(10:22):
I don't know, like milk tea kindof a thing. I don't know. But
now it's like very cedar ish.Roosta, how's yours right now?

Rooster (10:31):
It's performing really good. I like the flavor, but
it's amazing how different it isfrom the older Punch Punch.

Pagoda (10:38):
It is. Right? The expectation of the flavor was
very different for me.

Rooster (10:41):
Yeah, yeah, it is. I mean, on the 2014, '20 '15 Punch
Punch, you get heavy cedar. Youdon't get a lot of cocoa. It's
different.

Bam Bam (10:53):
It is different.

Rooster (10:54):
You get I don't know. The flavor is very smooth. It's
just very

Bam Bam (10:59):
I don't remember coffee in the older No, it's not like

Rooster (11:03):
coffee and chocolate. It's a lot of cedar, very
floral, I would say. This is notquite as floral.

Pagoda (11:10):
Floral. I kind of agree with Right

Gizmo (11:13):
now for me, this is as if I'm shipping black espresso and
I have a piece of dark chocolateon the side and a like a lemon
rind. Correct. Yep. That's likeboom boom boom. So It's like I'm
sitting having dessert.
He's not wrong.

Chef (11:25):
And it's those three things. Nailed it. And you know,
for me, the lemon is more it's alittle pithy. Yes. Like, it's
very tannic.
It might be coming from, like,the super dark chocolate and
espresso notes that we'regetting to. And that's why I've
been sitting here like, whatwhat is that? It's it's it's a
very intense citrus lemon, butalmost like, you know, you kind

(11:46):
of took in took in too much ofthe pith, you know, it's not
just the oily rind itself. Areyou getting that on the
retrohale or? I'm getting thatimmediately, like right at the
front of my palate.
I could lick my lips afterremoving the cigar and getting
it there Yeah.

Gizmo (12:01):
I'm getting it on the draw and in the retro, but it's
a little different in the retrothan it is.

Chef (12:05):
Yeah. Retro's not as pithy.

Bam Bam (12:07):
Yeah. But it's for me, the the citrusy lemon is much
more pronounced in the retrohale for me, especially on the
finish tail end of it. It'sdelicious. Really good. This is
this is working out to be acomplex cigar.

Rooster (12:18):
Maybe it's subliminal, but I'm starting to get the
citrus now.

Pagoda (12:23):
I haven't got it yet. No. So I did try retrohale. Oh,
damn. It was like hot smoke.

Bam Bam (12:32):
I hear you.

Gizmo (12:32):
Keep practicing. I gotta practice. Keep practicing.

Pagoda (12:35):
I'll tell you, the deviated septum doesn't help.

Rooster (12:38):
It is a delicious, delicious cigar.

Bam Bam (12:41):
He's not wrong. If you have a deviated septum I have a
deviated septum.

Rooster (12:44):
Do you?

Bam Bam (12:44):
And if you retrohale, not that we should be on top
topic with this, but if youdon't keep your nose clean, like
if you're congested and if youhave allergies and you're not
constantly blowing your nose,it's impossible for you to
experience a cigar. It'simpossible, I think. Because
when I'm congested, I don't getthe flavor notes that we're
gonna You just can't get it.

Chef (13:05):
No, it makes sense. Anything you're tasting, yeah,
you don't taste anything.

Gizmo (13:08):
I wonder if the deviated septum just kind of emphasizes
that.

Bam Bam (13:12):
It exasperates it. Yeah. Because remember, only
have air channel flowsdifferently when it's deviated.

Chef (13:18):
But that's why I also think that the retrohale is
crucial to extracting everyflavor of a cigar, you know,
because it's critical. It's likebeing a chef and you're out
there tasting food, but youknow, you can't smell anything
because you're, you know, for meit was one of the scariest
things throughout COVID. Firsttime I got it.

Gizmo (13:36):
Sure.

Chef (13:36):
Yeah. And I

Gizmo (13:37):
remember knowing when it's coming back.

Chef (13:38):
I remember the barback coming up to me and saying, hey,
chef, and this was before itmade news, you know, that it was
a symptom or whatever. Thebarback comes up to me. He goes,
Jeff, can you taste this?Because I can't I'm not getting
any citrus. And for a couple ofdays I was facing the same
dilemma, but it hadn't hit newsyet that this was one of the
symptoms.
And sure enough, maybe two dayslater it came out and I'm like,

(14:00):
Oh, man. And it was scary. Itwas scary to go a couple of
weeks without being able tosmell what you're tasting And
therefore being able to tastewhat you're tasting.

Gizmo (14:09):
I'm lucky when I had it, I did not lose my sense of smell
at all.

Pagoda (14:14):
I lost my sense of taste completely,

Gizmo (14:15):
really.

Bam Bam (14:16):
I lost it for one day.

Pagoda (14:17):
Oh, really? I lost it for quite some time.

Chef (14:19):
Wow.

Pagoda (14:20):
And I don't think it's ever really come back

Bam Bam (14:22):
to 50%. This is a thing for some people, they don't ever
really get it back some.

Pagoda (14:25):
I've got like 80%, but not what, like before that I was
just much, you know, better atdeciphering.

Bam Bam (14:33):
So food's not a thing for you anymore, that's why
you're so zeldt.

Pagoda (14:38):
No. That's why I eat a lot more spicy food now.

Bam Bam (14:41):
Oh, you gotta you gotta ratchet up

Gizmo (14:42):
the flavor. Ratchet up. So, boys, like I said, we
originally did this cigar onepisode 20, if you believe it.
This is episode 100 Unreal. And78.

Bam Bam (14:53):
So that's back in the garage days.

Gizmo (14:55):
This is definitely in the garage days. Pretty crazy.
Episode 20, we did the punchpunch. And when we did the cigar
in March of twenty twenty two,guess what the price was on the
cigar? It's gonna $14.
14 bucks. Rooster, what do youthink the price of the cigar was
when we did this three yearsago?

Rooster (15:15):
Probably around 12. 12? Okay. Pagoda?

Pagoda (15:20):
Yeah. I would I would say around $2.80 a box.

Gizmo (15:22):
$2.80 a box? Okay.

Chef (15:25):
I'm I'm I'm just heartbroken at the fact that
people are calling out 12 and$14.

Pagoda (15:30):
A big 10 to 12.

Chef (15:31):
Don't have three boxes of this.

Gizmo (15:32):
So Pagoda got the closest. The box price three
years ago in March 2022 was 280something dollars.

Bam Bam (15:40):
Look at that.

Gizmo (15:41):
For a box of 25, pricing this cigar out effectively
connoisseur. At $11.50. No.

Pagoda (15:47):
Just a financial guy.

Gizmo (15:48):
I said

Rooster (15:49):
$12.

Gizmo (15:49):
You said 12, but he was closer. So anyway We count

Bam Bam (15:53):
we count pennies here. Rooster. Okay.

Chef (15:55):
Do you know pennies? Like the price is right?

Pagoda (15:58):
Carna eggs now. What are they now?

Gizmo (16:00):
So eighteen eighteen months

Pagoda (16:01):
later $11.40.

Gizmo (16:03):
Correct. Eighteen months later in September 2023, the
podcast was cruising right alongby that time. The price was $18
per cigar. Now this cigar is$25.

Bam Bam (16:16):
That's outrageous.

Gizmo (16:18):
In three years, it has more than doubled in price for
this little Corona Gorda.

Pagoda (16:22):
Well, it has become cocoa forward. So,

Bam Bam (16:26):
you know, on a serious note, for you to buy, you really
have to love this cigar to paythat price, because the average
Cuban smoker's not gonna findthis particular vitola in this
market.

Gizmo (16:40):
Totally agree.

Bam Bam (16:41):
Not gonna

Gizmo (16:41):
happen. The box price right now on this cigar is
somewhere hovering between $6.15and $640

Bam Bam (16:48):
You know, I'd rather get a box of D4s in these.

Gizmo (16:50):
Exactly.

Bam Bam (16:50):
I do love this cigar, but if I have 600 and something
dollars to spend, I'm going fora Partagas box, or even if I can
find it, Ras or Schwa. Yeah.It's a shame.

Gizmo (17:00):
It's unfortunate because it's almost like their pricing
strategy has squeezed some ofthese amazing cigars out because
the value prop is fading

Bam Bam (17:07):
very It's backfiring.

Gizmo (17:09):
Yeah. So let's talk about some current events that take us
back to March 2022. Mhmm. Threeyears ago. So in March 2022 at
the Oscars, Will Smith slappedChris Rock right across the
face.

Pagoda (17:24):
Oh.

Gizmo (17:25):
Three years ago, if you believe I

Chef (17:26):
remember watching that. I thought it was fake.

Pagoda (17:29):
My wife's

Gizmo (17:30):
name out your mouth. I don't know if you remember there
was that cargo ship that sunkoff the coast of Portugal with
4,000 Volkswagen vehicles on it.

Chef (17:43):
Yep.

Gizmo (17:44):
Right to the bottom of the sea. I remember that. 4,000.
I remember that because therewas a lot of you know, that was
right when we were coming outof, like, the COVID shortage on
chips and everything else forcars.

Rooster (17:54):
Yeah. You couldn't get cars. You

Gizmo (17:55):
couldn't get cars. Expensive.

Bam Bam (17:57):
And then they dump them all in

Gizmo (17:58):
the ocean. And they dumped them in the ocean. There
was a fire on the ship, and Iguess it sunk. If you're a music
fan, Taylor Hawkins, the drummerfrom the Foo Fighters died three
years ago this month. Threeyears ago, March 2022.

Rooster (18:12):
I like this segment.

Chef (18:13):
I was just gonna say, I like where you're is cool.

Gizmo (18:15):
Finally, my favorite of the four, Aaron Rodgers resigns
with the Green Bay Packers on afour year deal, taking him to
2026, a $200,000,000 deal,making him the highest paid
quarterback ever at the time.And how's that working out for
him, Bam?

Bam Bam (18:34):
Oh, I don't know. Not good.

Pagoda (18:36):
Steelers maybe?

Gizmo (18:37):
The Jets fans

Bam Bam (18:37):
in the room.

Gizmo (18:38):
Soul crushing human being. So the Jets fans in the
room don't love him, but I I wasshocked when I saw that in 2022

Rooster (18:44):
How

Gizmo (18:44):
do you how do you live four year deal.

Rooster (18:47):
The guy had an Achilles injury. And then he came back, I
think, too soon. It's He didn'thave a great first half.

Bam Bam (18:55):
I know.

Rooster (18:56):
The second half was actually better. I mean, he's
43, right?

Bam Bam (19:00):
Yeah. But his are we going to do this now?

Gizmo (19:02):
No. Okay.

Bam Bam (19:05):
I gonna launch.

Pagoda (19:07):
No. No. I was about to say, hey. You know, he came
seeking Helen of Troy to NewYork. So

Gizmo (19:15):
that was what was happening in March of twenty
twenty two taking us back. Andreally the most shocking out of
all the stuff we just talkedabout is how the price has gone
from about $11.50 a cigar to 25.You know, even I would say at
the price it was about eighteenmonths ago in September 2023 at
$18, that is a palatable priceto me for the experience you

Rooster (19:37):
get out I think $400 for a box of 25 is

Gizmo (19:41):
That's a fair

Rooster (19:41):
price. It's about fair.

Bam Bam (19:42):
Yeah. I agree. You know, and the whole notion of
buying across the entire catalogof Cuban cigars was much easier
back then. I probably wouldn'thave bought this box today if I
didn't have it. Back then, webought three boxes It was so
affordable.
And all the other marginalvitolas that you wouldn't spend

(20:04):
money on now, bought back then.And that was a blessing, but
it's a disaster. I can't see howthis is going to continue.

Gizmo (20:11):
It's almost like too, as we were going, the prices were
reasonable enough that you kindawanted to have a little bit of
everything. And now you'rehaving to make Exactly,

Bam Bam (20:20):
that was the thinking back then.

Gizmo (20:22):
It's like you're trying to collect them all, and now
it's like you're really havingto make very specific purchasing
decisions because the price isjust egregious. The Cuban cigars
were cheaper than the New Worldstaples.

Pagoda (20:35):
They were.

Gizmo (20:36):
Sure. Definitely.

Rooster (20:37):
When you could get a Particus D four or a Punch Punch
cheaper than an Exclusivo

Bam Bam (20:42):
For $13?

Gizmo (20:43):
It was a home run. Right? Incredible.

Rooster (20:46):
Can you imagine if the Padron Exclusivo doubles, if not
triples the price, then what?

Gizmo (20:52):
Yeah. That's gonna be painful. If that's in the

Chef (20:56):
aging room sonatas.

Bam Bam (20:57):
Yeah. I'm going to go

Pagoda (20:58):
to seven Eleven. I'm going to start Gonna get

Bam Bam (21:02):
my blueberry cigars.

Rooster (21:05):
I'm going start buying some zen from Pupa.

Gizmo (21:08):
So, boys, I'm gonna say this only once because I think
it's funny and wild. But thetechnical name, the actual name
of this cigar is the punch punchpunch. Punch three times. So
we're gonna call it the punchpunch tonight, of course, but
it's the punch punch punch. Andit is the fifth cigar we've done
in the pot.

(21:29):
Obviously, at the time, it wasthe second one. We had done a
regional prior to this onepisode 20. And now we are
revisiting it. So this is nowthe sixth punch we've done on
the podcast. If you wanna hearsome punch history, we've done
it over a couple of thoseepisodes.
Check them out, and we'll gothrough the ratings a little
later tonight.

Pagoda (21:48):
You know, it's really interesting because I always
thought Punch was one of thecigars where you'd get at the
gas station, and the New Worldsure. So for whatever reason,
was always like, Punch, I don'tknow. But, you know, I love some
of the Vitolas.

Bam Bam (22:05):
Wow. Before the lizards were born, one of us smoked
punches.

Chef (22:08):
Hey, you see Romeo and Julietas at gas stations, you
see Cohibas at gas stations, allNew World variants obviously.
Yeah. Yeah. You see them all

Gizmo (22:16):
there. Correct. So boys, do you want to go into our
pairing tonight? Yeah. We areback to Armagnac.

Bam Bam (22:22):
Love it.

Gizmo (22:23):
And this one is called the Rasongo. What? Larasing
Larasongo.

Bam Bam (22:33):
Rooster, you gotta read that, please.

Gizmo (22:36):
Lara Larasongo.

Pagoda (22:37):
Oh, it's in English. I'm sorry. Laryngitis.

Bam Bam (22:40):
It's the chef. What does that say?

Gizmo (22:41):
I was trying to translate Lara is single. I was trying to
translate it on Google translatein French, and I can't even
repeat what they're saying. I mymy mouth doesn't

Pagoda (22:50):
move that Can pull it West Senator. Senator needs to
be here for this. A little bitof poity toity French.

Rooster (22:55):
I think it's

Chef (22:56):
Lara is single. In fact, a phone or phone

Pagoda (22:59):
voice I think I like that one.

Gizmo (23:00):
Alright. Here we go. Here's how it's pronounced.

Pagoda (23:02):
Lara Sangla.

Bam Bam (23:05):
Lara Sangla.

Rooster (23:06):
Lara

Bam Bam (23:07):
Sangla. Lara Sangla. Sangla.

Gizmo (23:10):
Sangla. Lawasangla. Lawasangla. I'm gonna call it
the Laresangla. It's theArmagnac, the very special old
pale VSOP Armagnac tonight,sister spirit to what we know as
cognac.
Mhmm. And we've done someArmagnacs. Cheers, boys. Cheers.
Cheers.
And we're going back to armagnactonight. Bam, I know you have
been Mhmm. A big fan of armagnacfor some time now.

Bam Bam (23:30):
Yeah. And I've had this spirit before. I like this. It's
different.

Gizmo (23:37):
Oh, it's medicinal for me. For you? Yeah? Oh, it's like
cough syrup.

Pagoda (23:40):
There's The second syrup. Second syrup. Yeah.

Bam Bam (23:43):
It'll it'll you'll adjust to it. It for me, there's
like a very it's a little cherryforward.

Pagoda (23:48):
A little cherry and a little bit of cocoa, I thought.

Bam Bam (23:50):
Yeah. On the finished cocoa.

Gizmo (23:51):
Yeah. You know what, Pagoda, you're right. The second
sip, totally different.

Pagoda (23:54):
Different, yeah.

Bam Bam (23:55):
It does adjust. It's quite nice. With a chip, it's
actually quite enjoyable.

Rooster (24:03):
Everybody looks at chef. Just mentioned

Chef (24:07):
the word chip.

Pagoda (24:09):
No. Chef is gonna come up with 10 different flavors
that way.

Bam Bam (24:11):
I meant chocolate chip.

Chef (24:12):
No. No. No. I yeah. I'm I'm I'm right in lockstep with
you guys with the cherry thereand I get I'm getting I think
someone said cocoa.
I'm definitely getting cocoa.I'm getting like chocolate
cherry

Bam Bam (24:22):
I'm the finish though.

Chef (24:24):
The cocoa comes through at the tail end. I think it's quite
good. I agree with you thatfirst sip was a little
medicinal, not quite as a spiritwe had recently. But I don't
mind it. It does feel a littlelike, is it 40 proof?
It feels a little less thanthat.

Bam Bam (24:40):
It does feel less.

Gizmo (24:40):
It's 40%. Okay.

Chef (24:42):
It's 40%. Sorry.

Pagoda (24:43):
80 proof. Yeah. Think our Armeniacs are slightly they
have slightly less alcohol thancognacs. Right? Yeah.

Bam Bam (24:49):
Do you remember what you paid

Gizmo (24:50):
for This was purchased for $52.99

Bam Bam (24:53):
Okay.

Gizmo (24:53):
For the bottle. Alright. Not a bad price for the VSOP.

Bam Bam (24:56):
No. And it's, I think, a good change of pace.

Chef (24:58):
Yeah. So Armagnac is from which region of France
typically?

Gizmo (25:03):
The Armagnac region. From from the Armagnac region. Yeah.
So I do have some history onLara Sangla tonight that we'll
go through. But first, myquestion for you boys is how is
this pairing with the cigar foryou?
Because what I'm happy about, Iwill say, didn't love the
initial sip. I'm still not inlove with the spirit, but I am
happy that it's not veryviscous. It's not very thick.

(25:26):
It's not overpowering the cigarto me. Not at And I think some
of the notes, namely thechocolate and even the cherry a
little bit, the fruitiness,actually are complementing the
smoke.
So, definitely.

Bam Bam (25:35):
So the word complementary is key. It works
with it. There's nothing inparallel to it. I think it
works. It's not incredible butit's good.

Chef (25:45):
It helped dissipate the cedar for me. The cedar really
came down. I'm almost getting aninteresting candy ginger bag
note on the cigar now.

Bam Bam (25:54):
Wow.

Gizmo (25:55):
Is that a good flavor for you or?

Chef (25:57):
It is. It is. Okay. Yeah. It reminds me a little bit of
ginger candy like the Asianginger candies.

Bam Bam (26:02):
Oh, I could see that on the finish. I'm getting on A bit
of that on a retrohale. Yeah.Ginger.

Gizmo (26:07):
It's funny. You know what? I you guys a couple of you
guys have mentioned cedar on thecigar. I haven't gotten a lot of
cedar on this tonight.

Chef (26:13):
I'm not getting much now.

Bam Bam (26:14):
Early on.

Gizmo (26:14):
Early on. I I really never got hit with cedar. Tasted
it on the cold draw, but it wasnever really there in the smoke
for the I think as

Rooster (26:21):
these age, you do get a lot of cedar.

Pagoda (26:24):
Oh no, no, yeah, in the beginning I was getting a little
bit, definitely, yeah. Alongwith a little bit of the cocoa,
yeah.

Bam Bam (26:29):
Do you remember when we recorded this, the room and how
it received the cigar? I dovividly.

Pagoda (26:37):
I do too.

Gizmo (26:38):
Yeah. It was not received well.

Bam Bam (26:39):
Well, because we know some people,

Gizmo (26:40):
they actually boycott this entire market. Well, they
did love the punch doubleCorona.

Pagoda (26:45):
I love the punch double Corona. We love that too.

Bam Bam (26:47):
Yeah. But, yeah. It's it's not a favorite.

Gizmo (26:50):
It's not. You know what I will say? Amongst the five of
us, and I know that the four ofus, ex Ricky, love this punch
punch.

Bam Bam (26:57):
I love this cigar.

Gizmo (26:58):
I rarely see any of us pulling a punch punch out of our
bag.

Bam Bam (27:03):
I do. I do.

Gizmo (27:04):
I've rarely seen

Chef (27:05):
it.

Rooster (27:05):
I do, but the problem is I don't have any fresh ones,
I'm kind of sparingly goingthrough The aged stuff? The aged
stuff. And I thought I had liketwo fifty cabs, they were like
fairly full. And I just realizedthe 150 calves, there's about 30
sticks left, and the other oneonly has like 15. I'm like, holy
shit.
Yeah.

Gizmo (27:24):
You gotta be careful with

Pagoda (27:25):
that. Oh, how sad. Yeah. Know. There's about 50 sticks.

Bam Bam (27:28):
I know, right? I've never seen a 50 calves in these.

Rooster (27:31):
Oh, these are they're awesome. I'm sure.

Bam Bam (27:33):
Pretty awesome. That's special.

Rooster (27:35):
You open that open the slide lid box, and the aroma
just hits you like there's somuch cedar on them. I think I
gave chef one. I'm sure I gaveyou.

Chef (27:46):
Was just gonna ask you You never gave

Bam Bam (27:47):
me one. Really? Not ever.

Chef (27:49):
Thanks, man. Is this what we spoke on the deck?

Pagoda (27:52):
Yeah. You definitely gave me one, I think, for sure.

Gizmo (27:56):
So boys, let's go through a little history of Lara Sangla.
The story of this Armagnac beganin 1837 with a pioneering family
setting out to create a spiritthat would embody the rich
traditions of Armagnacproduction. From its inception,
the brand emphasized quality anda commitment to artisanal
methods, values that theycontinue to define it today. It

(28:19):
is a fifth generation familycompany. Pretty cool.
Yeah. So this specific spirit,the VSOP we have tonight, has a
cross vintage blend of Armagnacsthat are five to seven years
age. So the legal minimum isfour years for very special old

(28:40):
pale VSOP. This has five toseven years, and it's
exclusively from wines in theBasse Armagnac and Tenerese
districts. Again, I'mpronouncing this stuff terribly.
I'm sorry. It's 60% bassarmagnac and 40% Tenerase. I
don't know how to pronouncethat. It's blended of five to
seven year old year oldarmagnacs. It's aged in 400

(29:03):
liter Mont Lausanne oak barrels.
Wow. And like I said, it's beenfamily owned since 1837. That's
incredible. Their process ofdistillation, a portion of it is
double a double distilled spiritthat they bring into a blend.
For that, you know, with that,they ensure a light smooth

(29:25):
texture and a refined characterthat has become their signature.
This is one of the top sellingArmagnacs in the world.

Pagoda (29:33):
Mhmm. Oh, really?

Bam Bam (29:34):
Yes. But it's a lesser known one

Gizmo (29:36):
It is.

Bam Bam (29:37):
In these parts. Even places where I go, where they
drink Armagnac, I don't see thisoften. I like it.

Gizmo (29:46):
So it's gotten some good ratings online and whatnot, but
Go ahead, forgot.

Pagoda (29:50):
No, forgot about You

Bam Bam (29:51):
have the green light.

Pagoda (29:52):
What kind of places are these where they drink Armagnac?

Bam Bam (29:56):
Places you don't

Pagoda (29:57):
get And then the social club.

Bam Bam (30:04):
Maybe someday, young grasshopper.

Pagoda (30:07):
Wow. The brandy club. That sounds great. Mhmm.

Gizmo (30:10):
So, boys, we've had some unfortunate news in the land of
Cuban cigar retail operationsshipping to The United States.
So what we've learned is thatcigars of Habanos or COH as it's
now known, and iHavannas haveboth independently stopped

(30:31):
shipping entirely, even toexisting customers, Cupid cigars
into The United States.

Bam Bam (30:38):
It makes sense from the point of view of business.

Gizmo (30:41):
I get why they're doing it, but it is a huge blow That's
destructive for us. Even cigarsmokers in The US because
certainly for I Havana's, thatis, for me, I mean, certainly
one of our favorite in the room.We've all purchased a lot of
stuff from them. Brian overthere has been really great, you
know, to deal with greatcustomer service and whatnot.

(31:02):
And we talked about IJAMENNA's afew weeks ago.
As you know, there was a littlebit of a Reddit issue. And I'm
curious what you think. I mean,I'm wondering if that has any
impact on this. I mean, thatthat that user did post a
picture of the box with theforwarding shipping return label
address, photos, everything. SoI'm wondering if there's a

(31:24):
component to additional customseizures that is happening.

Rooster (31:26):
Don't think that helped. It definitely didn't
help. But I think it comes downto a lot of seizures happening

Bam Bam (31:33):
That's what I think.

Rooster (31:34):
In the last six months or so across the board.

Bam Bam (31:37):
But even in our group and in our lounge, a lot of
people have gotten pinched.They're incredible. They will
replace the box and send anotherExactly.

Rooster (31:45):
So that becomes a pretty big expense. Exactly. And
I'm sure the Reddit post didn'thelp the No,

Bam Bam (31:53):
but honestly, most of my collection comes from I have
very, very early on MonteFortuna, promo, and our groups
that we belong to. And FOH,VFOH? One hundred percent.

Gizmo (32:06):
Yeah, you've gotten a lot of

Bam Bam (32:07):
100% from me. Losing I have is a huge blow.

Pagoda (32:12):
It's a huge blow.

Bam Bam (32:13):
Because when you're going through your cigars,
you're depleting them, it'sfirst of mind for me, always top
of mind. Me go online. It'sfriendly. Oh, it's incredible.
Their customer service is great.
They come pristinely wrapped,inspected. They're always
perfect.

Pagoda (32:28):
They're really good deals. Prices are good.

Rooster (32:30):
Are they not shipping just Cubans or across the board?

Gizmo (32:34):
No. You can order New World cigars and and get them
shipped in. They do have a niceselection in New World,
especially in the

Rooster (32:39):
bulk deal The bulk deals.

Pagoda (32:40):
Oh, yeah.

Gizmo (32:41):
You know, every month they have a new section of bulk
deals.

Chef (32:43):
But

Bam Bam (32:44):
I have a story about that.

Gizmo (32:45):
But, yeah, I I, you know, I am I I was disappointed to see
this because it it is a majorsea change as far as retail,
possibilities for United StatesCuban cigar smokers. And I know
it's illegal. I know it'scontraband, blah blah blah. But
at the end of the day, we doenjoy the product. And despite

(33:06):
the prices even, a lot of us arestill ordering cigars.
And even for me, I'm concernedacquiring stuff for the podcast.
Know, get a lot of it on FOHwhen I can, but you know,
sometimes I have to fill, youknow, getting stuff. So I'm a
little concerned about that.

Bam Bam (33:21):
Of course. Yeah. So speaking of new world bulk
deals, I was cruising aroundBrooklyn, went to one of my job
sites, sat on a steel I beamwith my stomach hanging over.
Like my AI image?

Pagoda (33:35):
Love it.

Bam Bam (33:37):
Gizmo and Senator, you guys call me, and we do a three
way call. Bulk deal on Davidoffpyramids. Millennium Pyramidies,
yep. Davidoff MillenniumPyramidies. Forty count for it
was outrageously

Gizmo (33:52):
Outrageous person.

Bam Bam (33:53):
It was outrageous. I stopped all operations and I
immediately placed an order.

Gizmo (33:57):
You shut the whole job site down?

Bam Bam (33:58):
I did. Because there was a meeting. I had to walk
away. So they just stood therewaiting around. They didn't know
what they thought, have anemergency.
I'll get right back to you. It'slegitimate. That was incredible.
And I'm still smoking throughthat order. Yeah.
Now how long ago was that? Atleast Probably two

Gizmo (34:13):
years at least. Two,

Bam Bam (34:14):
three years. Yeah. And that was the beauty of I have.
And now it's gone.

Gizmo (34:18):
You can still get those.

Bam Bam (34:20):
I know.

Rooster (34:20):
You'll get the doubt.

Gizmo (34:21):
But at the time, you could get that Anabox of punch
punch if you

Bam Bam (34:24):
want it. But I'm thinking about Chef. He's got a
brand new tower.

Gizmo (34:27):
A bunch of listeners just ordered new towers.

Bam Bam (34:29):
Correct. And who where where are you gonna get your
stock? You have to startstocking up on your Cubans.
Yeah. An I have was ideal.

Chef (34:36):
I'm just going to have to start stocking it up with fabric
of five cigars.

Gizmo (34:39):
Exactly right. I have a shelf on my tower dedicated to
that. I'm starting

Bam Bam (34:43):
to build a shelf for those. But you have other
sources that you can go to, butit's limited now.

Chef (34:49):
Yeah, we should probably not talk so much about those
other sources.

Gizmo (34:55):
So, you know, the thing that makes me kind of cringe as
well is I would assume if I'm IHavana's or, know, COH, if they
do start resuming shipments toThe United States, my assumption
is that if they do that, thatthey're going to remove the
guarantee that if they're taken,that they're going to replace
them. And like you said, it's abusiness, so they need to

(35:19):
protect themselves. But removingthat delivery guarantee, getting
it through customs, it's goingto be a major change for us here
in The States. And I'm wonderinghow that's going to affect the
gray market because a lot ofthose resellers are getting
their cigars from places likethis. You know?
So is that going to increase theprice on the gray market even

(35:41):
more? And not even the gray, thesecondary gray. You know, online
on these groups from friends,etcetera, you know, how are
those prices going to beaffected? Because, you know,
risk

Pagoda (35:51):
is gonna But the overall demand's gonna probably drop.

Gizmo (35:54):
I don't

Pagoda (35:54):
think so. Know, it's really interesting. We were
talking in the lounge justearlier prior to the pod about
Cubans. And it is just, youknow, we go to, you know,
oftentimes we'll find ourselvesin different lounges if we're
traveling. We often find that alot of people don't smoke Cubans
anyway.
So most people are reallysmoking a lot of the new worlds.

(36:18):
And you know, ease of access,this is becoming more and more
difficult. So for anyone reallywanting to purchase Cubans
really has to now seek them out.Yeah. And the risk still
remains.
Sure. Because it's like, youknow, it's like the customs are
out with a vengeance becausethat's their priority right now.

Gizmo (36:37):
Yeah. And what's interesting too is the barrier
to entry, not just on cost, butsomeone who's not super educated
navigating these back channelsof getting this stuff, like, on
top of price, now the

Bam Bam (36:48):
Sourcing issues.

Gizmo (36:49):
Quite honestly finding it anywhere that it's legitimate.
Correct. On top of price, it'slike they're for new smokers,
it's it's gonna be a realchallenge.

Bam Bam (36:58):
It's a disaster for them.

Pagoda (36:59):
I wonder what do they do when they receive any of these
boxes? Do the customs deportthem?

Gizmo (37:04):
I'm sure they

Chef (37:04):
take them home. Take them straight home.

Gizmo (37:06):
I'm sure they take them straight home and enjoy them and
smoke along with us on the pod.

Bam Bam (37:09):
I don't wanna start. Don't get me started.

Gizmo (37:13):
Alright, boys. So we're gonna go into our first lizard
email, and this one's gonna beour lizard of the week, and it
ties in exactly to what we'retalking about. It's a great
question from Lizard Goff. Hesays, esteemed lizards, first
time emailer but longtimelistener here. I've really been
enjoying the podcast since Ifound it several years ago.

(37:36):
I have a lot to learn and have alot of cigars to try, but I have
two Cuba focused questions foryou guys tonight. For a new
smoker getting into Cubans, whatdo you think are some of the
biggest misconceptions withCuban cigars?

Rooster (37:52):
Do you

Gizmo (37:52):
think are some of the biggest misconceptions with
Cuban cigars?

Bam Bam (37:56):
The previous misconception years ago was that
they were so expensive, andthat's proven to be true. I
think overall the assumption isthat they're very mild. Mild.
That's one.

Rooster (38:07):
I would say that we used to think that it was a
common thought that Cuban cigarsneed a lot of age. And I think
now with the new production,especially the last couple of
years, we have noticed that thefresh Cuban cigars are ready to
go. They're ready to smoke. Youdon't need to age them that

(38:27):
long.

Pagoda (38:28):
They're smoking well,

Gizmo (38:29):
They're smoking well.

Chef (38:30):
Yeah, I would say, you know, just coming, you know,
being a fairly new smoker fiveyears, you know, a little less
than seven years at this point.

Rooster (38:39):
You're a baby.

Chef (38:40):
You know, early on, I was like, why even bother? You know,
every any cigar, any Cuban cigarI could get my hands on at the
time was a counterfeit and theywere expensive. Right. So a part
of you being a new world smoker,you're just like, are people
amping these things up forsomething that they're not? And
is it really is it justdesirable because you can't

(39:01):
really have them?
And then I meet you guys and Istart smoking Cubans and I'm
just like, holy shit, this is alife changing experience. You
know, it's well worth it. Ifyou're able to source an amazing
Cuban cigar. It's well worth theexperience. It's an entirely
different experience fromanything you experience on a new
world.

Bam Bam (39:18):
I think that's probably the biggest misconception I've
heard, Chef. Overall, almosteveryone that smokes a New World
cigar assumes that Cubans arefake. All of them. Yeah? Yeah.
That's a good point.

Gizmo (39:29):
And while a lot of them are, you know, if you have the
right source, you know, you cantrust it.

Bam Bam (39:35):
Correct.

Gizmo (39:35):
Right? I'm gonna go on the other side of it. From the
perspective of people hearingCuban cigar smokers talk about
Cuban cigars. And I thinkactually folks make this
assumption about us quite a bitbecause our enthusiasm, you
know, when we have a great Cubancigar, you know, the enthusiasm
in this room

Bam Bam (39:55):
is off charts.

Gizmo (39:56):
Off the charts. Yep. I think one of the biggest
misconceptions from folks whosee Cupid cigar smokers smoking
Cupid cigars is that we feelthat Cupid cigars are really the
only game in town Mhmm. As faras quality. Where if you look at
our ratings guide, if you listento the conversations we have on
both sides of the aisle,obviously, that's not the case.

(40:18):
But I think people make anassumption if you smoke Cubans,
you smoke a lot of them, yousmoke the higher end markets,
the global brands, etcetera.People assume that you're
snobby, believing that Cubantobacco is the end all be all
and everything else is, youknow, an accessory to it.

Bam Bam (40:34):
Good point.

Gizmo (40:35):
When in the reality for me and I think us is one helps
the other. Right? Cuban cigarsmake new world cigars better,
and new world cigars make Cubancigars better. You know, we've
always talked about it's kindalike sitting down at a great
meal

Bam Bam (40:50):
Mhmm.

Gizmo (40:50):
Getting an appetizer, a salad, an entree dessert. That's
how my lineup is. Cuban,Honduran, Dominican, Nicaraguan,
and I go home. Look, that'sthat's how

Rooster (40:58):
I roll.

Bam Bam (40:59):
The variety game is important. It

Gizmo (41:00):
is. And what we're doing. And they all offer such
different things. I can't sitand smoke three or four
Dominican or Nicaraguan cigars.I can't do it.
Yeah. I need to work my way upin body and strength Mhmm.
Starting with the Cuban and thengoing from there. And it's just
like they all make Yeah. Youknow, each other better.

Bam Bam (41:17):
Absolutely.

Gizmo (41:18):
So we're gonna pause on this email for a second, boys,
and we are coming to the end ofthe first third here on the
punch punch from Cuba, theCorona Gorda. What's everybody
thinking right now?

Rooster (41:28):
Starting to get some leather and wood

Bam Bam (41:31):
also. No leather for me.

Rooster (41:33):
Yeah. Well, like a hint of leather.

Bam Bam (41:36):
It's very enjoyable.

Gizmo (41:38):
I'm very satisfied right now.

Bam Bam (41:40):
Me too. There's almost a savoriness to it.

Gizmo (41:42):
I was going say there's a little savoriness and maybe a
little salt.

Bam Bam (41:46):
That's been salt right now, but it's savory and a touch
of sweetness and it's not driedfruit. I can't put my finger on
what that is. I feel like

Chef (41:56):
there's a green almond and salt here. It is nutty.

Rooster (42:00):
Agree with the almond.

Bam Bam (42:01):
There's nuttiness there, yeah

Chef (42:02):
for I'm getting a little frustrated with the burn line
here. I've touched it up a fewtimes.

Pagoda (42:06):
I think

Rooster (42:07):
we all have had to Long, you want a real Yeah,

Pagoda (42:11):
there's something missing in the construction and
smoke output for me now. Youknow, initially it began really
well, but now it's like

Bam Bam (42:17):
He's right. The smoke is not filled with The room is
not filled with smoke at all.

Gizmo (42:20):
My combustion's great, and I'm happy with my burn line
right now. I think I got luckywith this one. Yeah.

Chef (42:26):
Yeah. I've I've been trying to touch mine up and
strain it out for a bit, and itjust kinda keeps going back, and
I'm afraid it's gonna canoe if Idon't make some adjustments. So
I have slowed down as a result,but it doesn't seem to be
helping a whole lot.

Bam Bam (42:42):
How's your overall experience with flavor?

Chef (42:44):
I love the flavor. I'm really enjoying the flavor.

Pagoda (42:47):
Yeah, the flavor profile has been good.

Bam Bam (42:48):
It's nice, right?

Pagoda (42:49):
With a little bit. It's, Like I still think it's like
more on the medium body, youknow, in terms

Gizmo (42:56):
of flavor Not

Bam Bam (42:56):
full flavored cigar, no.

Pagoda (42:58):
Yeah, but it has that cocoa, it has that, you know,
initially the cedar, Meaning I'mjust enjoying it, yeah.

Chef (43:05):
You know what's really helping on the flavor here too,
the Armagnac is now for mebringing a vanilla note forward
here, and I really think that'swhat's kind of bringing out
these, the almond flavor profilein the cigar for me.

Bam Bam (43:19):
You still getting cough medicine or what?

Gizmo (43:21):
No, the drink is much better now.

Bam Bam (43:23):
Hasn't it leveled out beautifully?

Gizmo (43:24):
It really, like Pagoda said, it really only took the
second sip for a quickadjustment. The first one really
tasted like cough medicine thatI had in like the early
nineties, and now it's like, youknow, when they didn't really
care about flavor.

Chef (43:36):
You have a lot of trauma with cough medicine.

Gizmo (43:38):
I do, I do.

Bam Bam (43:39):
There's a crispness to this that you don't get in
cognacs or other army knacksthat we've had. It's crispy,
It's almost that there's abrightness to it. And for me,
that's a unique experience withthis type of spirit.

Gizmo (43:54):
I'm wondering here on this Armagnac though, it's
pairing possibilities with awide range of cigars. Of course,
my brain goes to that. I'm notsure if I see this pairing well
with even a lot of the Cubancigar catalog and and then into
Honduran, Dominican, Nicaraguan.I don't see it being something
that I I I'm thinking aboutreaching for.

Bam Bam (44:15):
I got a couple. The Schwa Supreme would be great
with this. I think that littleRaz, the Ramon Club Corona, also
an excellent pairing, and thenthe Media Corona. They all have
those for me. They've got thiskind of sweetness that kind of
marries with this thing.

Chef (44:30):
Also, on the New World side, I'm thinking the shark
with this here.

Gizmo (44:34):
The urethra point

Pagoda (44:34):
I'm thinking as simple as a bellicose would be great
with this. Oh, absolutely.

Gizmo (44:38):
Yeah. You're talking Davodoff or Davodoff. Yeah.
Davodoff. I

Bam Bam (44:41):
think any of the white label series Davodoffs in that
Churchill line would be greatwith this baron.

Gizmo (44:47):
Let's go now to the second part of our lizard of the
week, Lizard Gough's question,And he says, I hope this
question isn't redundant, and ifit is, please ignore it. But
what made you guys fall in lovewith smoking Cuban cigars? What
made you fall in love? Andthere's several other questions
here in this second part of hisemail.

Pagoda (45:07):
Peer pressure. Carole G? No.

Chef (45:09):
I'm just kidding.

Bam Bam (45:11):
Peer pressure.

Gizmo (45:12):
Peer pressure.

Bam Bam (45:12):
No. No. That's what

Chef (45:15):
got me started. What made me fall in love was the
differences, the nuances andflavor that you would get on the
Cuban side that weren't presentso much on a new world side, you
know, floral salinity, bakingspice, but really pronounced,
oftentimes not muddled by coffeeor darker notes like leather or
wood, although we're getting allof the above in this cigar, but

(45:38):
this is an exception. I thinkfor me that was really what, you
know, and then of course, my SirWinston, that was a holy shit
experience.

Bam Bam (45:47):
It's rumination.

Rooster (45:48):
When you have a good Cuban cigar, it's unmatched. I
don't think there's any newworld cigar, no matter with how
much age on it, can get youthose notes that you get out of
a good aged Cuban cigar.

Bam Bam (46:04):
I wouldn't say that it's better. It's just

Rooster (46:07):
a different experience. It's a different experience.
Like, when you have an La GloriaCubana MDO number one, two,
three, or four. Yeah. I mean,those cigars with some age, they
are so floral.
Mhmm. Those floral delicatenotes that you pick out.

Bam Bam (46:24):
Not on any cigar

Gizmo (46:25):
in a You

Rooster (46:25):
cannot get those on Nicaraguan tobacco, maybe on
some Honduran tobacco, if that,but not, you know, it's rare.
You can't really pick those out.

Bam Bam (46:35):
I wouldn't say that it's a better experience. It's
absolutely a differentexperience.

Rooster (46:39):
Yeah, the nuances that you get out of a Cuban cigar,
they're very unique. Veryunique. Agreed.

Pagoda (46:45):
Yeah, no, I kind of really agree. So for me, think
initially when I started off,obviously I used to smoke really
bold and strong cigars. I thinkmy journey to come towards, you
know, the center of things, youknow, how I think Steve Sakai
had mentioned, hey, that you goall the way up to the extreme,
and then you can't go anyfurther, so you start going
backwards towards the center.And when I started coming

(47:07):
towards the center, andobviously, thanks to the pod
where I got exposed to a lot ofthese cigars, I started finding
cigars other than the Defaultbecause I think the Default was
really good from the verybeginning. But, you know, I
started enjoying cigars like theUpman II, the Ras, you know, and
you know, the punch doubleCoronas, and then Corona Claros
in the mornings, you know.

(47:28):
And then you begin to realizethat, hey, different cigars have
a different place and time, andyou smoke it with different
experiences. And when you reacha point where you're actually
selecting a cigar to match yourmood or what you want to start
off with, I think thatexperience itself becomes such a
part of a very joyous journey.And I think it's really

(47:50):
something which has evolved overtime for me. It's not like, oh,
this is it. But, you know,fortunately, you know, a lot of
the exposure came through thepod and obviously hanging out
with you guys for me.

Bam Bam (48:01):
Well, we all started our Cuban journey together.

Gizmo (48:04):
Yeah, exactly. But I

Bam Bam (48:06):
think, Pagoda, very well said. I enjoy standing in
front of the tower, planning outmy smoke night. What's your
mood? What do you feel likesmoking tonight? And Having more
variety is a blessing.
So if you have a lot of cigarsyou can choose from, you're very
lucky. I think that's

Rooster (48:24):
the- Hopefully with the doors closed. Because these days
if the doors open, thehumidity's just dropping.

Bam Bam (48:30):
In our place, yeah, where we live, yeah, that's
That's

Gizmo (48:32):
very dry.

Rooster (48:32):
Within like thirty seconds it

Bam Bam (48:34):
goes from like 63

Rooster (48:35):
to 48.

Bam Bam (48:36):
Because I like to get in there, but that's really a
lot of fun. Standing there,getting your cigar lineup
settled, that's a lot of fun.

Pagoda (48:42):
And Cuban cigars provide you the variety and the flavor
profile. You know, in the newworld, a lot of the cigars I was
buying was more in the Padronas,you know, kind of flavor
profile.

Gizmo (48:53):
Like a more bold Nicaraguan.

Pagoda (48:54):
More bold Nicaraguan. And so I didn't really open
myself up to that kind ofvariety. And when I got exposed
to the kind of the variousflavor profiles within the, you
know, the Cuban cigar allotment,it was just great.

Bam Bam (49:09):
Of anyone in the room, he has taken the greatest
journey from the point of viewof strength of cigar, and over
the years getting refined andthen experiencing the nuances of
the sticks on down the line.

Chef (49:23):
This

Gizmo (49:23):
guy. And what's great for the listener, and listen, none
of us have been smoking for, youknow, ever other than research

Pagoda (49:31):
since Nineteen twenty seven.

Gizmo (49:33):
Nineteen '20 '7. No. But seriously, from the Cupid cigar
side of it, we're only a fewyears few few years ahead of
where we started on the podcast.For Pagoda, in real time, the
listener has been able to sitwith Pagoda Yeah. Every week or
every other week doing a Cubanand kind of follow along in this
journey of discovery.
And I think that that's reallybeen, obviously, us in the room

(49:54):
here, a lot of fun. But for thelistener, it's like we're doing
this alongside every singlelistener every other week.

Bam Bam (49:59):
Yeah. And regardless of how long we've smoked, the new
world journey, learning aboutall of those cigars that we
would have never even given asecond look.

Gizmo (50:07):
I'll argue too, Bam, a lot of Cubans that we would have
never tried. Correct. We wouldhave never tried a lot of those
Cubans had it not been for thepodcast.

Bam Bam (50:13):
Correct.

Rooster (50:14):
I mean, you smoke some Cuban cigars, and then you go
back and smoke a new worldbecause you crave that. You
crave that strength. You cravethat bold notes that you don't
get out of the Cuban. And thenyou smoke a bunch of New Worlds,
and you want to go back and getthe nuances that you get from
the Cuban cigars.

Gizmo (50:34):
So you go back and forth.

Bam Bam (50:36):
It's an excellent experience.

Rooster (50:37):
As the prices have gone up though, I mean even, I'm
smoking a lot more New Worldthan I'm smoking Cubans. You
know, the ratio might be likeone to maybe four, five.

Bam Bam (50:49):
Yeah. I will say though, if I'm depleted in a
certain box of marca, I'm I'mbuying it regardless

Gizmo (50:56):
of how much You don't have a choice. We don't have a
choice.

Bam Bam (50:58):
You don't have a choice, but it's not really
that. It's like it's what elsedo we as men in this room do for
I don't shop for clothes.

Gizmo (51:06):
You're not a car guy. You're not a watch guy.

Bam Bam (51:08):
I'm not a watch guy. Yeah. My money goes into my
kids, my house, and thehousehold. What do I do? I get
haircuts and I buy cigars.
Yep. That's it.

Rooster (51:17):
Sneakers.

Bam Bam (51:18):
Once in a while.

Rooster (51:19):
Untuck it. Correct.

Pagoda (51:21):
You know, the other thing I do wanna mention is
there's certain experiences, youknow, which really, really got
me so, you know, somewhat turnedon with the Cubans was I
remember sitting in a deck andwe had the Ras, and then we had
the eight ninety eight. Do youremember that? Yeah. That was,
what a beautiful evening. It wasjust a beautiful, pleasant day.

Bam Bam (51:39):
Great.

Pagoda (51:40):
I think we all were hanging out, and then you're
having a cigar that's smokingreally well. And Rooster has
like really, really good cigars,aged really well, and it was
just a fantastic experience. Andthen once you have those
experiences, you come, it'slike, you know, hitting a really
good, you know, shot in golf,right? Like a really nice drive
in golf. And you know, you keepseeking those experiences over

(52:03):
and over That's what draws youin.
Yeah, it draws you in.

Bam Bam (52:06):
It's, yeah.

Pagoda (52:07):
It's what you said.

Gizmo (52:08):
I'll tell you. So for me, I think the, there was this
light bulb moment when we allstarted smoking together.
Obviously Mhmm. When whenBrewster gave me that Vegas
Rubagna Classico that is famousin this group, of course, we
talk about it a lot. That waslike a light bulb going off.
But I think what I started tounderstand and experience about
Cuban cigars, even versus someof the new worlds that we love

(52:30):
so much, is that a lot of thesecigars really take you on a two
or three act journey. We oftentalk about acts in the cigar.
And I think in a lot of times, agreat new world, even for how
great it may be, we may give itan eight, a nine, or a 10 on
this podcast. A lot of times,they're still very linear,
whereas Cuban tobacco and Cubanblending often is taking you on

(52:50):
a journey, and I think that'sunique.

Chef (52:52):
It's true.

Gizmo (52:52):
And I think the other element of it too is the social
kind of component and alsoplaying into my own neuroses,
the addictive nature of justtrying to absorb as much
knowledge and as much of acollection and as much of
variety and as much, you know,bringing as much to the table
inside our group of friends,even before the podcast. Like,

(53:14):
hey, guys, look at this newcigar I found or hey, look at
what I learned or hey, you know,look at this new thing I saw on
the Internet. You know, thatreally became the conversation
we were having every time we satdown together. Everybody was
throwing new cigars at eachother. I mean, it became this,
like, social experiment that wewere all experiencing together,
and then we turned it into thisthing, this podcast of ours.

Rooster (53:37):
I mean, like Panoda mentioned

Gizmo (53:38):
But it's addictive.

Bam Bam (53:39):
Correct.

Rooster (53:39):
About the moment, like that all moment. For you, it was
the $8.98.

Pagoda (53:46):
Yeah.

Rooster (53:46):
What was it for you, chef?

Chef (53:48):
Sir Winston, twenty fourteen that you gave me, yeah.
With a bit of water on that. No,no, no, no. Wasn't that. It was
the Vegas Rubinia crust.
I I know, I'm sorry.

Rooster (53:57):
I think every single one of us in this room has had
that one Cuban cigar that reallysucked us in. Yeah, changed And
that moment that you were like,wow, this is an amazing So

Bam Bam (54:11):
early on, it was the Vegas Rubana Classico. I had
that at the garage during thegarage days, just two of us in
that room. I couldn't explainwhat I was going through. The
dried fruit was off the charts.

Gizmo (54:24):
Yeah, the cocoa.

Bam Bam (54:26):
Coke, but it's very creamy and there's a little
honey there and almost like alavender thing on the finish.
That was just an incrediblething. Then you discover some of
the other cigars. Like Don'tLaugh, that little Club Corona
by Ramon Alones. There's a lotof notes that you can capture

Rooster (54:43):
from It's complex little smoke.

Bam Bam (54:45):
So the Rarina classic goes like a holy grail cigar.
Everything you're getting inthere is a true Cuban. You get
hints of that in other cigars.

Gizmo (54:53):
Sure.

Chef (54:53):
That Sir Winston for me was banana bread all day Yeah,

Bam Bam (54:57):
yeah, exactly. And you end up chasing that because it
creates an anagram and you goafter that over

Chef (55:02):
and I was happy I lit it and disappointed all at once.
Never gonna get it again.

Gizmo (55:07):
It's like, when am I gonna find this again? It's the
same thing if you sit down andsomebody brings a great bottle
of wine Mhmm. That's rare or oldor something and you have this
euphoric experience and it'slike, holy shit. That's true. I
don't think I'm ever gonnaexperience this again.
And and a lot of times theseaged or crazy, you know, cigars
and oftentimes even sometimesyou have that one cigar in the

(55:27):
box that is just a hundred pointcigar, like a perfect cigar, and
then the rest are like mideighties.

Rooster (55:34):
You know? What particular cigar for you guys
really drew you in?

Gizmo (55:39):
I mean, the Vegas Romani Classico. I'll never forget. I
remember what I was wearing. Iremember what was on TV. Yeah.
The fireplace. I remember whereI was sitting, what chair. Like,
I am so addicted to trying torecreate that moment, and I've
not been able to.

Bam Bam (55:52):
Like I said a moment ago, once you get that imprint,
you're you're chasing it.

Rooster (55:57):
See, I thought you were gonna mention maybe the Koro,
the Cohiba Robusto.

Bam Bam (56:00):
The Koro?

Gizmo (56:01):
Yeah. The first yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I I've had some
great Cohiba experiences, but itdidn't you know, those have been
amazing, and I chased those aswell.
But the real, like, change in mylife, like, there's a fork in
the road, like, before andafter, the Vegas Romani Classico
is it because

Bam Bam (56:17):
Me too.

Gizmo (56:18):
That holy shit moment. Yeah. You know, listen, we're
pretty well experienced now.We've smoked a lot of cigars. So
when we have those, it's great.
Hopefully, we have them on thepond and we can share them with
each other and everybody else.But, you know, that one was just
like that changed my life. Thatcigar changed

Chef (56:33):
my life.

Bam Bam (56:33):
I'll also say one thing that may be controversial, but
when we first started smokingthese Cubans at the other lounge
we were a member of, we weredoing P2s and Monty twos. And
that's kind of all and maybe aD4 once in a while. Our palettes
weren't developed enough tocapture the nuances of what a
Cuban cigar is. It takes time.You've got to smoke a lot of
Cuban cigars to understand them.

(56:55):
So it was really early, so nowyou give me a Montitu now, I'm
gonna cherish that cigar becauseI know how good it is. Back
then, I didn't know how good itwas.

Gizmo (57:03):
And it's also like, bam, even inside one box, now because
of that experience, you knowwhen you have one that's like,
Oh my God, this is a great Montitwo. Then you have one that's
like, It's okay.

Bam Bam (57:14):
So you get that over time.

Gizmo (57:15):
Exactly. And it's just developing your goalposts with
each cigar, what you expect,what it's delivering, and then
what could it really be becauseyou've experienced that at some
point.

Chef (57:26):
But this is why it's really important to approach
hobby with an open mind andsurround yourself with like
minded individuals. Mean, canany of us say, even as a chef, I
can't say that if I only smokedalone, I'd be able to come all
the conclusions and alleverything that I found along
the way. No way. I'm definitelya better person today because in

(57:48):
this hobby and in life becauseof my experiences with you guys
and even just sitting here forthe amount of time, I guess on
everyday basis since the summerof twenty four, just watching
how you guys have evolved anddeveloped and you know
everything that people,everyone's calling out, Pagoda
calling out the apple when hewas so Yeah, like I mean, that

(58:11):
has to be a year end cut, right?He was so excited about that
apple,

Bam Bam (58:15):
Dried apple.

Gizmo (58:16):
Dried apple. That'll be on the best stuff.

Bam Bam (58:18):
Not wet, but dry. One comment on that, though. I do
try not to be influenced by whatsomeone else is getting, even if
we're in the room, because ourpalates are different
biologically. Is a slightdifference

Gizmo (58:34):
What I find though, what Chef just said, is I don't hear
you say a flavor note and thensay, Oh, I get that too. What's
happening a lot of time isyou're finding a definition
faster for what I'm tasting thanI am. Yes. Because it's just
word association. That's true.
It's flavor association. True.It's palate association. So I

(58:55):
might be tasting something andmy brain hasn't registered that
to some food or drink I've hadin the past, and you guys find
it faster. So that's theinfluence to me.
It's like throwing thebasketball back and forth.

Bam Bam (59:07):
But I will say, that's

Gizmo (59:09):
a good discovery.

Bam Bam (59:09):
In our club and in a lot of other clubs, guys will
start talking about what they'regetting, and if they're not that
experienced, they'll kind ofhitch onto that and say, Oh, I'm
getting that too. Sure. It takestime for you to have some
individuality in what you'rereally getting.

Pagoda (59:23):
No, that takes a lot of time. It takes time. But you
know, you said it very aptly.Like, you know, my thought is
that I go through these certainflavor profiles, and I'm
thinking in my mind, hey, butI'm basing it based on my
association, with my backgroundand the food that I've eaten
over the years, and you know,things I can associate with. You

(59:44):
know, you guys are doing itbased on your experiences.
And obviously, me having grownup in India, it's so different
than people who've grown uphere. Know? I'm not talking
about the fig that often or I'mnot talking about certain spices
that often.

Rooster (59:56):
Marmalade.

Pagoda (59:57):
But marmalade, yeah. Tea, you Yeah.

Chef (01:00:00):
But that's why having these open conversations are
important because we could becalling out a flavor note and
you're thinking of a specific

Rooster (01:00:09):
Chai tea.

Chef (01:00:10):
Of a specific item. Maybe it's a specific cookie or
biscuit, but then someone callsout a note and you know that
note is in that biscuit and nowwhat you're thinking makes sense
to

Pagoda (01:00:19):
you. Absolutely.

Chef (01:00:20):
And so that's why it's important to have the But it's

Gizmo (01:00:24):
also too, like chef Ricky coming in over the summer, chef
Ricky will call out some stuff.I mean, he's obviously tastes
That's what he does for aliving. His palate is his-
Turnip.

Bam Bam (01:00:34):
Tomato. Green earth. Green. Yep. Asparagus.
I've heard it all from this guy.

Gizmo (01:00:41):
But what I'm saying is I'm often not tasting exactly
what chef Ricky is or my brain'snot so saying it, but my
palate's just not as refined ashis is, that's what he does for
a living. His palate is hisliving.

Bam Bam (01:00:53):
Yeah, so the flip side of what I said, it is
interesting to get aninterpretation from others in
the room based on what they doand what they eat. Pagoda said
that earlier. You're a chef.You're exposed to things most of
us aren't exposed to on a dailybasis. So that's a cool
perspective.

Pagoda (01:01:09):
By the way, I am getting a bit of the sweet salty now.

Gizmo (01:01:14):
I am too. I'm actually getting a little bit of that
butter we were talking aboutwith the partagas, Lydia
Maestro, the Rital.

Bam Bam (01:01:20):
Yeah, so that savoriness for me is continuing,
but there is a salty, butterything. Don't laugh. I'm getting
a slight tapioca type thinghappening. It's there for me.

Pagoda (01:01:32):
So for me, it's a lighter flavor profile of the
glucose biscuit. I'm gonna getit for you guys.

Bam Bam (01:01:38):
So that biscuit,

Gizmo (01:01:38):
I have to You've saying this for six months,

Pagoda (01:01:40):
so no, But I'm getting a little bit of it, and it's like
either we are because we'retalking about It

Bam Bam (01:01:44):
is biscuity. Yeah, it's a

Pagoda (01:01:45):
little biscuity. It's really interesting.

Chef (01:01:47):
Needs a better name than glucose biscuit. It's a tea it's

Pagoda (01:01:50):
a it a tea tea. Tea Tea biscuit. It's a tea biscuit. So,

Gizmo (01:01:56):
boys, we're still here on Lizard Gaffi. Has a couple more
questions for us. I'm gonna readthese all and we'll answer them
because they're kind of intandem. What made you take the
risk of acquiring Cupid cigarsfor the first time? And how did
you convince yourselves andothers that what you were
getting was real when you didn'tknow yet?
Right? So this is prior to ourexperiences and relationships

(01:02:19):
and purchasing good stuff. Iobviously purchased a bad box of
Cohiba Robusto's we talked abouta few summers ago that was not a
fortunate situation. But how didwe know at the time that we were
getting good, real, authenticCupid cigars? And how did we
convince ourselves and others,which is hard to do when you're
in a lounge, you know, peoplebuy them for the first time,

(01:02:41):
they're fake, they're fake,they're fake.
How did you guys know?

Bam Bam (01:02:44):
Research. Research. And I mean, you're the research
machine in this room. And wehonestly, me relied heavily on
Gizmo. I'm not gonna shy awayfrom that.
Early on, I wasn't buyinganything. You guys would give me

(01:03:04):
one or two. I would try itdelicious, and I would go back
to my pyramid, my millenniumpyramid from Davinoff and
Exclusivo. But as yourcollection gives increased, my
curiosity increased. And webought from you early on, and
then we were turned on to a fewof the groups that we now belong
to.

(01:03:24):
Honestly, I bought a lot fromthat group. I would ask
questions of individuals in thatgroup. That's a vetted group.
You gotta be if you can sourcecigars from a vetted group of
people that are passionate aboutthis and that are deep into this
Cuban cigar hobby, that's theplace to start. And that's where
I personally started byrecommendation of one of our
lizards in the room.

Gizmo (01:03:45):
Yeah. And I was getting mine

Bam Bam (01:03:47):
started for

Gizmo (01:03:47):
just like you said with research. I was so deep into
forums, read it. I would talk topeople who had no vested
interest

Bam Bam (01:03:54):
in You and Puba, you guys the both of you launched
you, of course, more than any ofus, launched into the
stratosphere as far as theknowledge of Cuban cigars.

Chef (01:04:02):
Yeah. And now you have things like a Habano Habano
Modeno that so

Bam Bam (01:04:07):
Like, I'm not gonna beat around about this. I
couldn't believe how much thisfucker knew. Yeah. Like, what
the do you work? Like, I I'm notjoking.
Like, early on, he kneweverything about every Cuban
cigar that was ever made. Howthe fuck is this possible?

Gizmo (01:04:21):
I'm just an obsessive sponsor. It's crazy.

Chef (01:04:24):
And now I think we can all spot, especially really bad
counterfeits fairly easily.Yeah. And even decent ones
pretty easy because of ourinfluence from Gizmo and his
research. True. Also, I

Rooster (01:04:38):
must say that Bond Roberts was a big Oh, huge. Was
a huge source for me personally.That was

Gizmo (01:04:46):
a lot source. Also love, maybe more than anybody, we all
love it, but I think you havebeen known, we busted your ball
at Connoisseur's Corner,etcetera, but you love aged
cigars. I And that was a great,authentic, verified, safe place.
Sure. It still is the place toget aged cigars.

Rooster (01:05:05):
I mean, that's the only place that I know of getting
aged cigars. So yeah, you do Imean, going back like five
years, you could get them atdecent prices that I probably
wouldn't touch now. And thensecond to that are the Facebook
groups that you're talkingabout. So once in a while, boxes
would pop up with some So aftersmoking cigars for a while, you

(01:05:27):
know what box codes you shouldbe looking for, what markers you
like, and what ears you want.

Bam Bam (01:05:36):
Over time.

Rooster (01:05:37):
Over time.

Chef (01:05:38):
And I would say for the listener, it's much easier now
because Giz put together thisamazing spreadsheet with box
codes. Like I said, that book,Habano Moreno, it's a great
resource. I mean, and there'sjust so much online

Gizmo (01:05:52):
to find And you don't know, by the way, if you're a
listener out there like LizardGoffier who's getting into Cuban
cigars and you're not sure,number one, feel free to email
us. Ask I've had so manylisteners say, hey, Giz. You
know, I'm not emailing you forthe pod. I just I'm curious. Is
this a legit site?
What do you think of this box?What do you think of that? And
listen. It doesn't take us a lotof time. It doesn't take me a

(01:06:14):
lot of time to help you pointyou in the right direction if
you need that direction and youwant it.
So feel free to email us. Andalso, go to our Instagram, which
we're not terribly active on.But on Instagram, if you click
one of those little circlesunder our profile photo, there
is a picture with authorized,authentic dealers there of
online cigars that you can lookat. So feel free to use that

(01:06:36):
resource as well. We keep itupdated.

Bam Bam (01:06:40):
So that box code chart that we have is invaluable. I've
been at clubs with friends, dearfriends that have bought boxes
of Cuban cigars. I'd flip itover. I go right to the iPhone.
Is it in there?
Is it a legitimate box,legitimate ear? Does it jive
out? Three times out of 10,those boxes were fake. Wow. And

(01:07:01):
that's the great tool that thatprovides.
Yeah. It's awesome.

Gizmo (01:07:04):
Yeah. And you can find that on the website, by the way.
It's loungewizardpod.com/codes,I believe it is. The factory
codes of all the boxes. I thinkgoing back, I think I have it
till 02/2005.
So twenty years now.

Bam Bam (01:07:18):
That's enough. So

Gizmo (01:07:21):
let's wrap this up here with Lizard Goff. He says, these
are the questions I'm consumedwith as I listen and learn and
smoke with you guys. Thanks asalways, and please tell Pagoda
to keep the ice out of hisdrinks.

Chef (01:07:35):
Amen. Lizard Goff.

Pagoda (01:07:37):
Alright. Lizard Goff. I was enjoying your evening, but
now Well, you're not

Bam Bam (01:07:43):
having ice in your glass right now, sir.

Pagoda (01:07:44):
No. I'm not. I'm not.

Chef (01:07:45):
I tell you what, the spirit doesn't need it.

Gizmo (01:07:47):
No. It doesn't. Does not

Pagoda (01:07:48):
need it. Has to Chef sitting right next to me. If I
were, he would just pull

Bam Bam (01:07:52):
it out.

Chef (01:07:54):
Smashing the eyes out of a drink.

Gizmo (01:07:55):
Is drinking very well.

Chef (01:07:57):
It's a very level

Bam Bam (01:07:59):
and So I don't see it as a very complex Armagnac
compared to the others thatwe've done and that have had,
But this is very, verydrinkable. Exactly. It's pretty
well priced. Initially, it's alittle hot and there is that
medicinal thing happening, buttwo or three sips, like you
said, it's actually quite good.And right now, the way it's

(01:08:20):
drinking, it would actually pairwith almost any Cuban.

Gizmo (01:08:24):
I agree with you. Actually, I almost take back
some of the statements I madeabout twenty minutes ago because
as I'm sipping it and mypalate's adjusting to this new
spirit or this new flavor, I'mactually finding it to be very
enjoyable. And I think after westop recording and we go hang in
the lounge, I think I'm gonnacontinue with this and see how
it does.

Bam Bam (01:08:40):
That's nice.

Chef (01:08:41):
Very easy to drink.

Gizmo (01:08:42):
So, boys, like we said, lizard golf is our lizard of the
week. You could see why I had afeeling that these questions
would prompt a great discussionin the room. Every week, we give
a lizard of the week prize out,and all you have to do is write
us an email, give us a commenton YouTube, Instagram, a DM, or
a voice memo. We love voicememos, and you out there can win
lizard of the week. And LizardGoff did it tonight on his first

(01:09:05):
ever email.
So Great email. Anyone can win.So we really really appreciate
him writing out. Here's anotherone from Lizard Carlo. He says,
hi, guys.
A newer lizard here about threemonths. I've been smoking just
over two years now, mostly NewWorld. But listening to you, I
have ordered some Cubans. Andwhen they arrive, I'm going to
listen along to the podcastwhere you discuss the cigars.

(01:09:29):
Okay, man.
Here's my main question. I don'teven know if I wanna read this,
but here we go. So he says,what's the deal with Kirby
Allison? I heard you mention himonce. The dude is so full of it.
This guy, I do not get hisappeal. Anyways, thank you guys
for all that you do. It's thebest cigar podcast out there in

(01:09:49):
my opinion, Lizard Carlo. So toanswer your question, we did
comment on Kirby Allison quitesome time ago. You can go listen
to that.
I think that's what kinda letthat lie. I don't know if I
really wanna dig into thatanymore.

Rooster (01:10:03):
I mean, I'll just say one thing about Kirby. If you're
looking for pocket squares andwooden hangers

Bam Bam (01:10:09):
You're good.

Rooster (01:10:10):
He's a good source. Correct.

Gizmo (01:10:11):
That's

Bam Bam (01:10:12):
it. But he hasn't been smoking

Gizmo (01:10:13):
Well said.

Bam Bam (01:10:14):
He hasn't been smoking cigars for very long. No. That's
a known fact.

Gizmo (01:10:17):
No. I think Habanos just latched on to the fact that he
has a large YouTube following ofof you know, bespoke goods and
and folks who are into theclothing and all that, and he's
branched now into Cuban cigars.And what's you know, I said this
then, and I'll say it nowbecause it's continued. It's
just it's odd to me that a guyfrom Texas is one of the
mouthpieces of Habanos SA in theChinese and Cuban government. So

(01:10:41):
that's it is what it is.
He he great production qualityon his videos and whatnot, but
the whole thing is veryconfusing.

Chef (01:10:48):
I don't get Steven, actually say that he's from
Texas. Yeah. It just doesn'tstrike me as someone from Texas.

Bam Bam (01:10:53):
Not someone I listen to ever. Honestly, I'm not gonna
say anything negative orpositive.

Chef (01:10:59):
Yeah. Yeah. If it wasn't for that Poffett Square video, I
would have never known what theguy looks like.

Gizmo (01:11:03):
So boys, we're coming into the last third here on the
Cuban punch punch, the CoronaGorda. What's everybody thinking
right now?

Pagoda (01:11:10):
Yeah, I think the flavor profile's been pretty good.
Yeah. Although I do wish that itjust had slightly, it would have
held up better in theconstruction, and that's really
it.

Gizmo (01:11:22):
Are you saying from the burn or compulsion or like the
burn Yeah, think, yeah,

Pagoda (01:11:25):
compulsion, I think there's a bit of resistance in
this.

Bam Bam (01:11:27):
Well, gotta take a deeper draw.

Pagoda (01:11:29):
I have been.

Bam Bam (01:11:30):
Let me watch it.

Pagoda (01:11:31):
Oh my lord. You know, I'm not sitting in that corner,
but and yeah. I it's not likeone of those hold on. Let me
show you.

Rooster (01:11:40):
Yeah. I'm kinda getting a walnut note on the cigar.

Gizmo (01:11:44):
I'm still kind of in the almond zone. Like, the salty
almond for me than walnut. Yeah.

Bam Bam (01:11:48):
No. Pagoda does

Pagoda (01:11:49):
not know how to

Bam Bam (01:11:50):
take a draw. You're not drawing enough smoke.

Pagoda (01:11:54):
No. No. No. I'm not even saying words. I'm speechless.

Gizmo (01:11:59):
Poor pagoda.

Pagoda (01:11:59):
Oh my god. Alright,

Gizmo (01:12:02):
boys. Let's go now to another listener email. This one
is from Lizard Peter fromNottingham, England. He won
lizard of the week quite a fewweeks ago. He said, dear Giz, I
returned last Sunday from mysecond trip to Havana.
I was, of course, there duringfestival week, not to attend it,
but first because my birthdayfell on the twenty third as did
my flight, so it seemedfavorable. Plus, I thought the

(01:12:25):
Cuban authorities would pull outall the stops that week to keep
the lights on, which definitelyseemed to be the case. Some
brief points about Cuba. Cha ChaCha and Cinco Centidos, which
are two of the restaurants thatwe love Oh, yeah. And recommend
recommend to everybody who goesto Havana, were great
recommendations, particularlyCinco Centidos, which was at
another level.

(01:12:46):
The most welcoming lounge Ifound, and I was staying at
Parque Central and visited someother shops including the
Partagas shop. And at the shop,it was at the Commodore was run
by four women. They wereextremely cheerful and
immediately gave me acomplimentary custom roll

Pagoda (01:13:01):
Oh.

Gizmo (01:13:01):
Which was based on the Epicure number three, and it was
delicious. Espresso and rum. Itwas very busy with a great
atmosphere. As is the usual casewhen mixing with fellow cigar
smokers, I was straight intoconversation with the visitor
sitting next to me who was fromLos Angeles. Cool.
It was his forty third trip toHavana. He was of Mexican

(01:13:21):
lineage, so I asked him abouttequila as a pairing using my
knowledge gained from chefRicky's briefings on the
podcast. I think it reallyimpressed him. Pretty cool.

Chef (01:13:33):
Very nice.

Gizmo (01:13:33):
Look at you. Make an impact in Havana, Ricky.

Bam Bam (01:13:35):
Global you're a global insider now.

Gizmo (01:13:38):
Global tequila insider. I went to Buena Vista Social Club
tribute concert, although someof the musicians seemed old
enough to be the originals,which was great fun. Tell
Senator that the opening numberhappened to be Chan Chan.

Bam Bam (01:13:52):
Oh, right.

Gizmo (01:13:52):
So he would have loved that. Very best wishes to you
all. No surprise if the pod isattracting listeners
exponentially, Lizard Peter fromNottingham. Cool. Very nice.
Love hearing from lizards acrossthe pond.

Pagoda (01:14:06):
Nottingham, UK? Yes. Oh, wow.

Bam Bam (01:14:08):
Yeah. Nottingham, England. I miss the Partica
shop. I can't wait.

Gizmo (01:14:11):
Yeah. I can't wait to go back. So, Bam, we must tell the
people.

Bam Bam (01:14:14):
Tell them.

Gizmo (01:14:15):
You and I are going to Havana next week. Yes, sir. Last
minute trip worked out that Ihad some time off. Bam was able
to get it and get some time off,and Lizard Henrito is also going
with us. So just the three ofus.
Unfortunately, the other lizardscan't join us this time. Not
happy. We're taking advantageand we are going. And we will be

(01:14:36):
certainly reporting back on whatwe find in Havana. Yeah.
And I think this trip, Bam,we've talked about it. We're
gonna go to the beach for thefirst time.

Bam Bam (01:14:43):
Are we? Yes. I may block out that trip.

Gizmo (01:14:45):
Pack your sunscreen.

Bam Bam (01:14:46):
Nope. I may stay on the rooftop. I don't know. Maybe.

Chef (01:14:51):
Why not? 10 of your You

Rooster (01:14:54):
know what?

Gizmo (01:14:54):
We'll have

Bam Bam (01:14:55):
to take

Gizmo (01:14:55):
your shirt off. You have a

Pagoda (01:14:56):
chance to put on your speedos.

Bam Bam (01:14:57):
I don't want to intimidate people. You don't
want my belly comes out.

Pagoda (01:15:01):
They'll think you're European.

Bam Bam (01:15:02):
People are running and they're running the other way.

Chef (01:15:06):
Something tells me there's not very many bellies in Cuba,
but

Bam Bam (01:15:11):
There there are not.

Chef (01:15:12):
I think

Pagoda (01:15:12):
Well, they'll be

Rooster (01:15:12):
mostly tourists.

Chef (01:15:14):
Yeah. That was true.

Rooster (01:15:15):
That's So which which beach town are you planning?

Gizmo (01:15:17):
We're talking about going to Veradero, but we may stay a
little closer and go to PlayaDel Estes, which was
recommended.

Chef (01:15:24):
I'm sorry,

Gizmo (01:15:24):
sorry from that. Playa Del Estes is about twenty or
thirty minutes, and Veradero isaround two hours.

Bam Bam (01:15:29):
Yeah, we're not doing What

Chef (01:15:30):
brought about this beach trip? Because you don't strike
me as a beach

Gizmo (01:15:33):
Lizard Henrico said he wanted to go and we've been
there so many times and havenever gone and apparently the
beaches are beautiful. LizardHenrico is definitely a

Chef (01:15:39):
beach guy.

Gizmo (01:15:40):
We have heard from so many listeners like

Bam Bam (01:15:42):
you guys are Yeah.

Gizmo (01:15:43):
You guys are crazy for never having gone to the beach.
So we're gonna try it this time.Of course, we're hoping to get
some great content for thelizards out there and lizard
nation, and we will keep youupdated.

Bam Bam (01:15:54):
Alright. Go.

Pagoda (01:15:55):
Envy for sure.

Bam Bam (01:15:57):
Know, Parque Centrale, that lounge is incredible.

Gizmo (01:15:59):
Yeah. They did a nice job updating that. Enclosure.

Bam Bam (01:16:02):
Yeah. They put a glass enclosure in. The ventilation's
excellent. The service isimpeccable. Cohiba Atmosphere,
we're gonna hit that too.
Yep. Arguably one of the betterhumidors in the event.

Gizmo (01:16:14):
That might be the best humidor in Havana.

Bam Bam (01:16:16):
Well, if the Partica shop is fully stocked, that's
hard to beat if

Gizmo (01:16:20):
I would assume they've been cleared out, though, by the
festival.

Bam Bam (01:16:22):
Yeah. I'm not look

Pagoda (01:16:23):
see, that's

Gizmo (01:16:23):
a my assumption. That's a problem. You know? So we'll see
what happens. But, yeah, we'rereally looking forward to going
to Cuba.
It's been since I think we werethere in October.

Bam Bam (01:16:31):
We were there at the blackout.

Gizmo (01:16:32):
Yeah. So But Pagoda got, you know, hot tub. Crisis, and
and Pagoda was stuck thereduring

Chef (01:16:37):
No elevators.

Gizmo (01:16:38):
Electricity out.

Bam Bam (01:16:38):
He turned into MacGyver that

Gizmo (01:16:40):
night. He was MacGyver.

Bam Bam (01:16:41):
Oh, yeah.

Pagoda (01:16:43):
Yeah. That's a normal trip for me.

Bam Bam (01:16:45):
He figured out how to pour his Havana club in the
dark.

Pagoda (01:16:48):
Oh, that sounded like a I'm just kidding.

Chef (01:16:50):
Pagoda had to call the Amex Platinum Concierge to
helicopter him out from Cuba.

Gizmo (01:16:56):
Let me tell you. The Amex the Amex concierge does not work
in in No. They don't.

Bam Bam (01:17:01):
That's correct. No. They don't. Yeah. So apparently,
the power is a bit more settleddown.
Right?

Gizmo (01:17:07):
It's up and down. I think I think, you know, during the
festival, I think they did anice job trying to keep it up
for most of the area, but Iwould assume we're going to
experience some some brownoutsfor sure.

Bam Bam (01:17:17):
We'll see.

Gizmo (01:17:18):
We'll see what happens.

Pagoda (01:17:21):
It should be fun either way.

Chef (01:17:22):
Long are you guys going for?

Gizmo (01:17:23):
We're only going for five or six days.

Bam Bam (01:17:25):
Six days.

Gizmo (01:17:25):
Okay. Nothing crazy.

Chef (01:17:28):
You're increasing the probability of a brownout or
blackout happening while you'rethere.

Bam Bam (01:17:32):
Yeah. We shall see.

Gizmo (01:17:34):
Alright, boys. We are coming to the end of our evening
tonight. Obviously, Gorda alittle shorter than some of the
larger cigars we've beensmoking, Cigla six, the Partagas
Linea Maestro, which was adouble Corona a few weeks ago.
This Corona Gorda and the Ican't pronounce this. Lara
Singla.
That sounds bad. Lara Singla.I'm gonna figure this out before
I record the intro.

Bam Bam (01:17:54):
It does.

Gizmo (01:17:55):
VSOP Armagnac tonight on the pod, and, of course, the
punch punch from Cuba. Any finalthoughts on the pairing before
we move into the ratingstonight?

Chef (01:18:04):
I think the triple p with this Armagnac was a great
pairing.

Bam Bam (01:18:07):
I agree.

Chef (01:18:08):
Yeah. I think the vanilla, cherry, cocoa

Gizmo (01:18:11):
Mhmm.

Chef (01:18:11):
All complemented the notes that are found in the cigar.
Yeah. It was a home run pairingfor me. Agreed.

Pagoda (01:18:21):
Yeah, no, same here. I think the pairing really worked.
Think for me, I think,especially the bit of the cocoa
and the sweetness, you know,when you're smoking and then you
take a little sip of the armanacand you get a little bit of the
cherry in the front and then itgoes back into the cocoa
profile. It was great. And thenI think towards the middle of

(01:18:41):
the cigar when I got a littlebit of the biscuity flavor,
which was sweet and salty, itjust felt very nice.
I really enjoyed the pairing,for sure.

Gizmo (01:18:49):
I've really enjoyed the transitions the cigar has taken
us on, and how the Armagnac hascomplimented the whole way
along. Used that word early on.Like it's been right there with
it. It's not overpowering. It'snot a thick viscous, you know,
Armagnac.
I would sometimes expect thatfrom like a brandy or almost
like a dessert type of Sure.Spirit or pairing.

Bam Bam (01:19:11):
It's thinner than the other Armagnac.

Gizmo (01:19:12):
But this is definitely a nice thin spirit. I think it
works perfect for this type ofcigar. And I've been loving this
cigar in the last third here.

Bam Bam (01:19:19):
Me too.

Pagoda (01:19:19):
And no ice folks, by the way. No ice.

Gizmo (01:19:21):
No ice.

Bam Bam (01:19:22):
Never in an Armagnac.

Gizmo (01:19:24):
Not ever. But I was a little nervous on that first
sip, but it quickly resolveditself, and, you know, we'll see
where it ends

Chef (01:19:30):
up today. I think their call to the still to double the
still 20% of this batch forblending, I think that's a great
call. I think that has a lot todo with some of the of the
spirit and yeah, I could see whythey did it. Phenomenal call.

Bam Bam (01:19:47):
Think the other lizards would like this.

Gizmo (01:19:48):
I agree.

Pagoda (01:19:49):
Yeah. Yeah. Very smooth. Even though there was a little
bit of sharpness. And overallYeah.
But the delivery was just verysmooth.

Bam Bam (01:19:55):
That's awesome. Awesome.

Gizmo (01:19:58):
Alright, boys. Let's go into our ratings. First up is
the formal liquor rating tonighton the Larasangla VSOP Armagnac,
Bam Bam, you're up.

Bam Bam (01:20:06):
Yeah, so as I said earlier, this is one of the
brighter Armagnacs I think thatyou're gonna experience. It's a
touch fruity. There's caramel.There's vanilla there for me.
But with all that said, it'svery straightforward, so it's
not the most complex spirit.
But it's not always a demerit,especially for something that

(01:20:27):
tastes this good. I was goingbetween an eight and a nine, but
I'll settle at an eight. It's agreat price, but there are other
Armagnacs that'll knock yoursocks off that'll keep you
lingered and with a thickerviscosity, keep you more
interested. This is a great sip,very easy to drink. It's an

(01:20:50):
eight.

Gizmo (01:20:51):
All right, Chef Ricky. Yeah, I've

Chef (01:20:53):
had two Armagnacs in my life. First one was probably
something like sixteen years agoin the South Of France at a
wedding. I don't remember it.

Bam Bam (01:21:03):
Fancy. Very

Chef (01:21:05):
fancy. And this one. And I'd say, you know, this was very
approachable, very drinkable.And it actually has gotten me
excited about what's to come inthe Armagnac realm, you know,
terms of complexity and depth offlavor. I think this delivered
what it needed to deliver atthis price point.

(01:21:25):
This feels like a great entrylevel Armagnac for me. $54. I'm
gonna give it an eight.

Gizmo (01:21:32):
So for me it's the same. I mean, I'm also at an eight.
I'm very happy at an eight. Youknow, I think if this was priced
a little lower and it didn'tstart with that medicinal thing,
which I think again, kind ofshocked me a little bit. I'm
glad I settled in and let it doits thing.
I did think it paired very wellwith this. However, I just don't
see myself reaching for this,even versus the other cognacs

(01:21:53):
and armagnacs we've done in thepod.

Rooster (01:21:55):
Right.

Gizmo (01:21:55):
It does make me want to dive a little deeper. Like I'm
hopeful that maybe they have anXO we can find, you know, that's
a little bit, you know, a littlebit more interesting.

Bam Bam (01:22:06):
Be worth trying.

Chef (01:22:06):
Yeah.

Gizmo (01:22:07):
To me, that's kind of where I want to go with this,
but I'm never going to probablygo and buy this bottle again if

Chef (01:22:13):
you I'll be honest. I wouldn't mind buying this
bottle. Wouldn't mind stockingthis bottle.

Bam Bam (01:22:16):
Just keep it in your locker.

Gizmo (01:22:17):
Yeah. It's a

Bam Bam (01:22:18):
great change of pace from for me, the tequilas and
cognacs that I've been divinginto. It's a nice little change.
Yeah. You know? But an eight's agreat score.

Chef (01:22:27):
Yeah. I agree. Yeah.

Gizmo (01:22:28):
So For you know, I'm very happy at an eight. Mhmm. Thought
it was a a nice spirit tonight.I thought it actually paired
pretty well with this cigar. Istill question the other stuff.
I'm gonna find out when we whenwe stop recording tonight with
some other cigars after we'redone. But, yeah, so I'm gonna
stick with an eight. Pagoda.

Pagoda (01:22:46):
Yeah. It's an eight for me as well. I do think that I'll
probably get a bottle of thisbecause I think on a nice light
spring day, you know

Bam Bam (01:22:54):
Oh, yeah.

Pagoda (01:22:54):
It could be very nice on the deck in the evening, you
know, instead of reaching outfor a cognac, reach out for an
armaignac, which is a bitlighter. The viscosity was a bit
lighter, but it does provide,you know, very pleasant flavors.

Bam Bam (01:23:07):
So it's versatile that way.

Pagoda (01:23:09):
It's versatile

Bam Bam (01:23:09):
that It gives you an option that doesn't punch you in
the face, and you can really sitwith this bottle for an entire
night.

Pagoda (01:23:15):
And I did enjoy that cocoa, you know, flavor, which
was pretty distinctive.

Bam Bam (01:23:19):
On the finish, yeah.

Pagoda (01:23:20):
And yeah, the finish. And it really kind of, for me, I
thought it really complementedthe cigar really well tonight,
and it's an eight for me. Mhmm.

Chef (01:23:26):
And, you know, kudos to Giz because he he put it out
there about, do we wanna do whatdo we wanna do today? And you,
Bem, shout out cognac andtequila, and this is right in
the center.

Bam Bam (01:23:37):
It is.

Chef (01:23:38):
This is right in the center between any tequila I
could think of or just theflavor profile of a cognac. And
it was yeah. I think it was ahome run pairing for this.

Gizmo (01:23:47):
So the formal liquor rating tonight, boys, on the
Larasangla VSOP Armagnac is aneight point zero. I think a
perfect score I I agree. Forthis Armagnac tonight at $54.
And now, boys, it's time to moveinto our formal lizard rating
tonight on the punch punch, arevisit from 2021 on the Cuban

(01:24:09):
Corona Gorda. Rooster, you areup.

Rooster (01:24:12):
So this is one of my favorite markers out there. I
love a good punch punch andYouTube, man.

Bam Bam (01:24:18):
Correct.

Rooster (01:24:19):
Having said that, I think the cigar needs more age.
The cigar gets phenomenal withsome age on this. The notes that
we got out of this were in line.I think with the age, you get a
lot more cedar, a lot morecocoa. It's a lot more floral.

(01:24:42):
It's overall a much betterexperience than we got today.
The construction on the cigar,we all had to relight this a
little bit. It was burning alittle bit wonky, which it
shouldn't be. I mean, at thisprice point

Gizmo (01:24:57):
And with three years of age

Rooster (01:24:58):
on Three years of age, it should be much better. But
the flavor notes were great. Imean, we got the saltiness out
of this. There were cocoa notes.There was a nuttiness.
There was a biscuit note thatPagoda mentioned. So for that,
all of those reasons, I'm at aneight. Okay. Pagoda?

Pagoda (01:25:18):
Yeah. I think I'm in lockstep. Eight, I think, is
just the right score for mebecause I did really enjoy the
flavor profile. It's one ofthose cigars that, you know,
you're enjoying the flavorprofile. For me, I think I would
have preferred it if it was justeasier in terms of the
combustion.
I know that there was a bit ofresistance in this, and I had to
touch it up, I think, once ortwice. It felt you know, it

(01:25:43):
could have been just a littlebetter in construction, which
would have actually raised itsscore. Having said that, you
know, a very pleasant experiencesmoking this. And I do think it
was reasonably complex becauseit did have a different flavor
profile throughout the cigar.

Gizmo (01:25:58):
Oh, yeah.

Pagoda (01:25:58):
Where, you know, I got couple of in fact, for a portion
of that, I got this milk teathing for a very bad, and then
obviously, I got cocoa. I gotthe biscuity, the salty
sweetness. It worked really wellwith the pairing as well, and
it's an eight for me.

Gizmo (01:26:15):
So I'm at a nine on this cigar.

Bam Bam (01:26:16):
Wow.

Gizmo (01:26:17):
I love the punch punch. Mine was excellent. My
combustion was great. I did haveto touch it up a few times, but
not in a way that drew me out ofthe experience. Yes.
It was just light touch ups.

Bam Bam (01:26:30):
Is that a true demerit? Unless you're touching it up
every five minutes?

Gizmo (01:26:33):
Well, if you think about the Sig O six that I had a few
weeks ago, right, and you guyshad a much better experience, I
think Senator and I both hadkind of lower level experiences
with the Sig O six. I wasfighting that cigar with touch
up. I had a perfect draw it afew times. My it totally drew me
out of what should have been areally great experience,

(01:26:53):
especially for that price point.Right?
For this cigar tonight, thetouch ups were minimal. It was
mostly when I was talking andnot paying attention to it as
much as I maybe should havebeen. The combustion was great
for me. I loved the two or threeact play at Tucasan. You know,
as I mentioned, it had thatespresso, dark chocolate, lemon
citrus thing.

(01:27:14):
You know, there was earlier inthe cigar on the light, we had
the cedar, a little bit of that,a little floral. I was getting a
little potpourri on the the Burnline. On the burn line of the
cigar. And then getting to thatkind of buttery biscuit salty
thing Yeah. In the last third.
And I took it all the way downto about half an inch left.

Bam Bam (01:27:34):
Same.

Gizmo (01:27:34):
Same. You know, the only thing I knock it on, of course,
is the price. Mhmm. I just wishthis price, this cigar was a
little bit more excessivelypriced than $25. And of course,
as we know, over the next fewyears, of course, it's gonna
continue to go up.
So in five years, is this gonnabe a 35 or $40 cigar from
Habanos? The likelihood is high.You know? So that's the one

(01:27:58):
knock I have. But aside fromthat, the cigar was superb for
me tonight.
I'm very, very happy with thepunch punch.

Rooster (01:28:05):
But the pricing is across the board.

Bam Bam (01:28:07):
But can we talk In

Gizmo (01:28:08):
all of Habanos.

Bam Bam (01:28:09):
I got to talk about this. I mentioned it earlier.
For these, I'm not going saythat this is a marginal cigar,
but it's not a cigar that a lotof people pursue. And there's a
lot of Cubans in that category.When they go up in price and
they don't sell, what happens tothat vitola?
Eventually, does it get phasedout? And that's that's a shame.

(01:28:31):
You know? I don't

Rooster (01:28:32):
think punch punch would ever get phased out.

Bam Bam (01:28:34):
No. But this this this vitola. At $35 in five years? I
mean, that's that's outrageous.

Gizmo (01:28:41):
And I mean, you think about the other corona girders
in the Habanos catalog, they'reeither at the same price. Yeah.
Or more little lower with JuanLopez. I imagine it's probably
around 25.

Bam Bam (01:28:50):
The max

Gizmo (01:28:50):
40 is probably around there and or above it. And then
you you talk about the CohibaSiglo four, you know, which is
Forget it. Astronomically pricedin comparison. So all in all,
I'm very happy with this cigartonight. I wish it was a little
cheaper, more reasonably priced.
But, man, I had a great ninetyminutes with this cigar and and
in this conversation tonightwith you So it's a nine for me.

(01:29:11):
Chef Ricky.

Chef (01:29:16):
Alright. It's still burning somewhat wonky for me. I
thought coming into the lastthird, it started to clean up a
bit and I was hopeful that Iwouldn't need to touch it up
again, but I needed to touch itup tonight. I'd say probably
eight times.

Bam Bam (01:29:32):
You do have rose petals for me there.

Chef (01:29:34):
And yeah. Yeah. It's kind of like just splaying out a
little bit. And, you know, butwith that that aside, the flavor
notes were great. You know, thecitrus the cedar in the
beginning was a little heavy forme.

Gizmo (01:29:47):
In a bad way?

Chef (01:29:47):
In a bad way. Yeah. But I think that has something to do
with my draw. My draw was reallytight early on. A little bit
more.
I wouldn't say really tight, butmore resistant than I would have
liked as I got closer to thehead of the cigar opened up and
I started really getting flavorsthat I enjoyed. Some of that
almond, even a little touch ofthe candy ginger. You know, I

(01:30:08):
was getting citrus, but it wasleaning more pithy for me. And I
think that had a lot to do withthe cedar notes that that were
coming early on in the cigar. SoI've been between a seven and an
eight.
I'm going to give the cigar aneight because I think it did
deliver beautifully on flavorwith the first third aside. And,
you know, the price point is itis what it is. $25 is pretty

(01:30:30):
steep for this and you know fiveyears going to 35 that that
would just be insane. But youknow that aside the cigar it was
enjoyable. It was a great smoke.
It wasn't as good as the one Ihad on your deck with your
rooster. But that was probablyaged a lot more than this one
here. 2014. Yeah, of course.

Rooster (01:30:49):
So that's my point. The aging. Yeah, it needs some age.

Chef (01:30:53):
Yeah, because I remember that one being a lot more nutty
and like almost peanutty,whereas this I wasn't getting
any of that. The nut I wasgetting was a lot milder. And,
you know, I've sat in thesethese pods with you guys and I
hear you reference age and andtasting youth, there were
moments in this cigar that Ifelt I got some of that. You

(01:31:16):
know, there was a point where Iwanted to call out what felt
like an ammoniated note.

Gizmo (01:31:22):
I wonder if that's because you're having to pull so
hard cause your draw was tough.

Bam Bam (01:31:24):
I think so.

Gizmo (01:31:25):
You know, like you're having to work it too

Bam Bam (01:31:27):
Yeah, there's an accumulation of heat.

Gizmo (01:31:28):
Yeah.

Chef (01:31:31):
Of course there's some purging that happens in between
there. But yeah, it was still agreat cigar. I really did enjoy
it. It sucks that they only havefour Vitolas, you said? Three or
four Vitolas for this marker.
But yeah, I'll do this again.Yeah, so for me, the Triple P
got an eight.

Gizmo (01:31:49):
All right. That's a good Bam, bam.

Bam Bam (01:31:52):
So one thing that wasn't mentioned is I feel that
this is a very versatile cigar.I could do this in the morning,
afternoon, or evening. So Ithink there's a lot of merit
there. I love this cigar. Ithink historically, I've had
better experiences than what Ihad tonight, although tonight

(01:32:13):
was delicious.
My rating will reflect that, butI have nothing negative to say
about this. I do love some ofthose unique notes and it
definitely made for a verysophisticated smoke. Some of the
other podcast guys will probablydiffer on that opinion, but all
of the notes that we called out,it made for a complex cigar. So

(01:32:33):
I think for all those reasonsand because of the price, I'm at
a solid eight.

Gizmo (01:32:37):
Alright, boys. That puts the formal lizard rating tonight
on the punch punch, the 2021version, the Redux on the
podcast tonight, three yearslater at an 8.2. Much better.
Somewhat better. Wow.
And we'll talk about that in

Bam Bam (01:32:53):
That's a lot better. Alright.

Pagoda (01:32:55):
Go ahead. Oh, no. I was just about to say I had one of
these in Panama. And I thinkthat would have been a 10. It
was so good.
Was really well kept. And Ithink it was reasonably new as
well, one of the newer Runs.Yeah. New runs. So, it is you
know, we have to rate the cigarwe're smoking currently.

(01:33:17):
And but overall, it's afantastic cigar. For anyone who
wants to try it, please reachout and try it.

Gizmo (01:33:24):
Alright, boys. So let's compare this to the other
punched cigars we've done on thepodcast. We'll hold off on the
original punch punch we did onepisode 20 till the end. First,
the first one we ever did was onthe Christmas twenty twenty one
episode, which is crazy. TheMantua, the Addision Regionale
from Italy Twenty Eighteen.
We did not rate that cigar. Thenwe did another regional edition.

Rooster (01:33:46):
That was another one I forgot to put on the split
twice. Too

Gizmo (01:33:49):
late. Too late. There's a statue of limitations
definitely.

Rooster (01:33:52):
Goddamn it.

Bam Bam (01:33:53):
We should do that again.

Gizmo (01:33:54):
The Duke Mexican regional on episode 58 scored a 6.6.
Yeah. Stalk shit. Not very good.The short to punch on episode
102 scored an eight point zero.
The punch double corona onepisode 117 scored a 9.8.

Bam Bam (01:34:11):
Oh, It's great

Gizmo (01:34:11):
to finally, on episode 20, the first time we did the
punch punch scored a 7.7. Sotonight at an 8.2 scoring just
five points higher

Bam Bam (01:34:23):
Well

Gizmo (01:34:23):
than the original. So we weren't that far off.

Bam Bam (01:34:26):
Correct. You cracked that eight point o score. You're
kind of at a good recommend.

Gizmo (01:34:30):
So a great night tonight, boys. One more time on the Lara
Singla VSOP Armagnac, we had aneight point zero. And on the
Punch Punch Redux, we had an8.2. Of course, we have to thank
our sponsor, Fabrica Five.They're a great partner to us.
Go buy some of their cigars. Andcongratulations again to Lizard
Goth, our lizard of the week.Every week, a listener wins, so

(01:34:53):
please continue writing us. We'dlove hearing from everybody out
there in Lizard Nation. And,great night, boys.
We'll see everybody next week.Hope you enjoyed this episode.
Thanks for joining us. You couldfind our merch store and ratings
archive at our brand newwebsite, loungelizardspod.com.
That's lounge lizards p o d dotcom.
Don't forget to leave us arating and subscribe on your

(01:35:15):
favorite podcast platform. Ifyou have any comments,
questions, do you wanna reachout, say hello, tell us what
you're smoking? Email us. Helloat lounge lizards pod dot com.
You can also find us onInstagram at lounge lizards pod.
We really appreciate your time,and we'll, we'll see you next
week.

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