Ep. 181: PCA 2025 - Lizards Live in New Orleans (w/ La Aurora Family Creed Fuerte Sol Robusto, E. León Jimenes 1903 Rum, Louisiana Food and Culture, Muffuletta Obsession & Trade Show Highlights) - Lounge Lizards - a Cigar and Lifestyle Podcast

Episode Transcript
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Gizmo (02:47):
Welcome to the Lounge Lizards podcast recorded live at
the twenty twenty five PremiumCigar Association Convention and
International Trade Show in NewOrleans presented by Fabrica
five. It's so good to have youhere. It's a leisure and
lifestyle podcast founded on ourlove of premium cigars as well
as whiskey travel, food, work,and whatever else we feel like
getting into. My name is Gizmo.Tonight, I'm joined by Senator,

(03:08):
Pagoda, and Bam Bam, and ourplan is to smoke a cigar, drink
some rum, talk about life, and,of course, have some laughs.
So take this as your one hundredand eighty first official
invitation to join us and becomea card carrying lounge lizard.
Planet Meat is here once a week.We're gonna smoke a New World
cigar tonight, share ourthoughts on it, and give you our
formal lizard rating. We shareour impressions and favorite

(03:29):
moments from the PCA show. Wedetail our appreciation for New
Orleans cuisine and hospitality,and we discuss our new obsession
with a famous sandwich all amonga variety of other things for
the next ninety minutes.
So sit back, get your favoritedrink, light up a cigar, enjoy
as we pair Ilion Jimeneznineteen o three rum with the La
Aurora family creed, Fuerte Solin Robusto. Live from New

(03:50):
Orleans, it's PCA twenty twentyfive, and we are here tonight,
boys, with a brand new Robustofrom The Dominican Republic, the
La Aurora family creed series inFuerte, Sol.

Bam Bam (04:02):
Nice looking cigar.

Gizmo (04:03):
It is. It's a 50 ring gauge Robusto by five inches
long. And boys, it is so good tobe back at PCA recording another
live episode, this time in afantastic media room, actually.
We have a little bit of privacy.We have kind of a consistent
setup here that we're able torecord in.

Bam Bam (04:22):
Well, you know, we're pretty celebrities now.

Gizmo (04:24):
We deserve our own space. Our own dream.

Senator (04:27):
And thanks to Josh and PCA. Mean, it's fully walled in,
perfectly set up for exactlywhat we're

Gizmo (04:31):
here to do. Exactly right. So we have this brand new
Robusto from La Aurora. Again,it's called the Family Creed
Fuerte Sol. And we had thiscigar the other night, boys, and
it's time to have it again hereunder the microscope on the pod
tonight.
Correct. So we're hoping forgood things. But first, boys,
let's cut this thing, see whatwe're getting on the cold draw

(04:53):
and the wrapper.

Bam Bam (05:02):
Wide open draw.

Gizmo (05:04):
Yeah. Mine's perfect.

Bam Bam (05:05):
And very pleasant.

Gizmo (05:06):
Yeah. The flavor on it is very good. Wow. Very good.

Bam Bam (05:12):
Wow. I'm getting a hint of floral.

Gizmo (05:17):
I'm getting that figgy thing. And fig. Yeah.

Senator (05:20):
Dare I say dried fruit?

Gizmo (05:21):
Yeah, it's a dried fruit,

Pagoda (05:22):
for sure.

Bam Bam (05:22):
I'm glad I didn't say it.

Gizmo (05:26):
This is very good.

Bam Bam (05:27):
Oh, it's delicious. Nice cold draw. Yeah. The aroma
in the wrapper is very nice aswell.

Gizmo (05:31):
Yeah. Alright, boys. Let's light this thing. The La
Aurora Family Creed Fuerte Solin box pressed Robusto. 50 ring
gauge cigar by five inches long,and it's a unique combination of
tobaccos on this thing.
The wrapper is Mexican SanAndres. The binder is

(05:53):
Nicaraguan, and the filler is acombo of Pennsylvanian,
Nicaraguan, and DominicanRepublic tobaccos. The MSRP on
this cigar is going to be justnorth of $15.

Bam Bam (06:06):
Okay. I'm getting a lot of sweet fruit, almost like a
berry thing for me.

Senator (06:13):
I'm getting a lot of cocoa and earth.

Bam Bam (06:15):
Yeah. I see the cocoa not getting the earth yet, but
very berry forward right now.

Gizmo (06:20):
This is very nice. Yes. I like it a lot. You know, I will
say in your hand, it does feelsmall. You know, what you would
expect, I guess, from a Robusto.
Sure. You know, even when wehave, like, a Padron Exclusivo
in our hand, you know, adifferent Robusto from a
different manufacturer, it feelsmore smaller than I

Senator (06:39):
think the reason is, if you look at the box press on
this, it's like a perfect squarewhere a Padron box press is more
rectangular, so it's a littlebit wider True. And thinner.
True.

Gizmo (06:53):
So this cigar comes with a footband on it. Mhmm. Again,
talking about the family creedas they're calling it, and the
translation is we are proudly afamily of passionate origins
forged through persistent workand strong sunshine. And this is
a new line from La Aurora thatthey're launching at PCA twenty

(07:15):
twenty five. So the Leon family,founders, of course, of La
Aurora cigars, has built alegacy on their unwavering
commitment to qualitycraftsmanship and tradition.
We've heard those three wordsbefore, boys, from Kirby
Allison. The reason can be foundin the Leon family creed, a set
of principles that has guidedand continues to guide every
Leon family member and employeeat La Aurora. So the each of the

(07:38):
blends in this series taking itsname directly from the family
creed just as the sun representspower and endurance, Fortesol
captures the strength andresilience inherent in the Leon
family values. So that's what wehave tonight, boys, a $16 ish,
$15 ish Robusto from La Aurora.It's

Bam Bam (07:59):
very good right now.

Gizmo (08:00):
It is. It's very nice. Yeah. I forgot the mic.

Pagoda (08:05):
Oh, my Lord.

Gizmo (08:06):
We've gotta

Pagoda (08:06):
carry the Chevy mic, by the way.

Gizmo (08:09):
I'm sorry.

Pagoda (08:09):
I'm sorry. No, no, no. This is No. Work is good. Work
is good.
I think my biceps are finallygetting workout over here. Yeah.
But yeah, no, great smoke out,but And yeah, I was I'm getting
more of the little saltinesswith a little bit of I thought a
little bit more floral on mypalate. Left a very pleasant
feeling on the top of my palate.It's really good.

Gizmo (08:29):
Yeah. I'm really enjoying the cigar. So, boys, it is very
good to be in New Orleans. Iknow last year, our listeners
will remember that we were inLas Vegas for PCA twenty twenty
four, and this year, we are veryhappy to not be in Las Vegas and
happy to be in New Orleansbecause this is such a better
scene, a better setup, betterfood, better vibes. Everything

(08:52):
is better as far as I'mconcerned having the trade show
in New Orleans.

Bam Bam (08:57):
I didn't know any better. I've never been to New
Orleans. So Vegas for me was agreat time because of the show
and hanging out with the guys.But this place is a revelation.
New Orleans has left an imprinton me.
I want to come back here asoften as I can, man. No doubt.

Senator (09:13):
I mean, I could not have been more excited when they
announced this was gonna be inNew Orleans. This is a city that
I've spent a lot of time in.I've always had amazing meals,
met amazing people, greatexperiences, and I'm glad we got
to share this together. I mean,I think nothing's excited me
more than seeing all of you guysexperience some of my favorite

(09:34):
things here for the first timeand loving them just as much,

Gizmo (09:37):
which is Absolutely.

Pagoda (09:38):
Yeah, no, New Orleans is definitely, I think, outdone
Vegas in all manner of the Andthanks to Senator again and his
stewardship. Yeah. We've beenexperiencing everything he's
experienced.

Gizmo (09:50):
Some amazing stuff.

Pagoda (09:51):
Yeah. It's been great from restaurants to, you know,
just local bars, and it's justbeen a lot of fun. Loving New
Orleans. I

Gizmo (10:01):
will say, and and not to rag on Vegas too much. Okay? But
I will say that being in NewOrleans makes me realize how
soulless Las Vegas is, howtransactional, how money driven
and focused it is, whereas here,I mean, we've had some amazing
meals that we're gonna talkabout in a little bit. At some

(10:21):
of the most reasonable pricesthat I've ever spent on food,
it's actually been shocking. Thedrinks are reasonably priced.
Everybody's happy

Bam Bam (10:28):
Yeah.

Gizmo (10:29):
To be serving, you know, whatever they're serving and the
people that they're serving itto. It's just been overall
hospitality, the vibe, thewelcoming of this cigar culture
that's moved, you know, severalthousand people into the city
for this event. I mean, it'sjust been so warm.

Bam Bam (10:45):
You know, for me, the visuals of the city made a big
impact architecturally, thehistory of it. You know, you're
almost, you could drive down anyroad. There are homes that are
over 180 years old, plus mostare renovated. That garden
district that Senator took usthrough, I can't tell you how
beautiful that neighborhood is.It is outstanding.

Pagoda (11:05):
We have seen Bam Bam walk down many streets multiple
times.

Bam Bam (11:10):
Making my round.

Gizmo (11:12):
I must say too, and for anyone who hasn't been to New
Orleans, this was a pretty coolthing for me. Outside of many
homes here in New Orleans is anactual gas lamp.

Bam Bam (11:24):
Correct.

Gizmo (11:24):
Like, it looks like a flickering light bulb, but you
realize that it is a gas lampthat is on, I guess, almost all
day long in front of most of thehomes here in New Orleans. I
just those little things thatare are held over from, you
know, the days of old, I guess,are, you know, is an example of
something keeping traditionalive in this city and keeping
the soul alive.

Bam Bam (11:45):
Historic details that catch your eye.

Gizmo (11:47):
And like you're saying, the architecture, the
restoration of some of theseold-

Bam Bam (11:51):
Oh, it's

Gizmo (11:51):
incredible. Properties. I mean, it's really, really
impressive.

Senator (11:54):
I mean, all of that is huge in the South, and I think
New Orleans embodies arguablybetter than any city in the
South true Southern hospitality.I mean, every person that we've
met, half the time we're walkingaround with our PCA lanyards on,
we don't even realize it, andpeople are thrilled to see
tourists here. They want you tohave a great time. They want you
to have a nice experience. Theywant to get to know a little bit

(12:16):
more about you, and I think usethe word transactional in Vegas,
and that's what most things feellike there.
It's, I'm paying for this goodor service, and enjoy it and
leave.

Bam Bam (12:26):
Oh,

Senator (12:26):
yeah. And here, it's stay as long as you want. I
mean, we had a dinner the othernight and literally the owner
said, Stay as long as you want.Do whatever you want.

Gizmo (12:33):
Exactly. They were just so happy to have us there.

Bam Bam (12:34):
Yep. It was incredible.

Gizmo (12:35):
And by the way, we were already done with our meal. We
had already paid. We werefinished. We were in a terrace
eating outside. We'll talk aboutit in a little bit, but just the
way that this woman walked up tous and said, You are welcome
here as long as you'd like to behere and do whatever you want
was pretty incredible.
By the way, we were smokingcigars while she said that
Exactly.

Bam Bam (12:55):
A single complaint.

Gizmo (12:55):
She was deadly serious. Yeah. Do whatever you want.

Bam Bam (12:58):
It was awesome.

Gizmo (12:59):
Pretty cool. So boys, we have been very blessed as well
by the weather here. I mean, Igotta imagine that New Orleans
gets to be pretty brutal. A lotof parts of the year.

Senator (13:10):
The summers are super humid and hot as can be.

Gizmo (13:13):
This April weather has been outstanding, not only for
walking around and andexperiencing all that New
Orleans has to offer. Even youknow, we're inside the trade
show most of the day, but we'vebeen able to venture out, as
much as we can here. But theweather for smoking, for
enjoying cigars outside,enjoying a glass of rum.

Bam Bam (13:35):
Walking around with your jacket on. Yeah. Completely
comfortable. It's

Gizmo (13:38):
been amazing.

Senator (13:39):
There's been no humidity. No. Highs of high
seventies, at most 80 degrees.Flawless smoking weather.

Bam Bam (13:46):
So you've been here during the holidays. What's the
weather like at that time of Oh,

Senator (13:50):
the weather actually is similar to this. To this.
Really?

Gizmo (13:52):
Yeah. So it doesn't get cold?

Senator (13:55):
At night, it can. Yes. At night, it gets chilly. Not
super cold. Not not anythinglike we're used to up the No.
Like, me complaining on our atour Airbnb at night that, like,
it's a little cold, like thatthat kind of cold.

Gizmo (14:06):
Oh, we'll get there. Correct.

Pagoda (14:09):
Senators turn soft. It's all right.

Bam Bam (14:12):
It's all right.

Gizmo (14:14):
So, boys, as we always do when we come to the trade show,
we try to attend all of theopening seminars and educational
stuff because we always learnsomething new. We are introduced
to new people. And this year,thankfully, we went because we
met some folks we actually gotto interview. We'll talk about
that in a little bit. But weopened our time here at the

(14:35):
trade show on Friday afternoonwith some educational seminars,
and the first one was actuallythe newest release from the
people who make the hand rolledcigar documentaries, and some
listeners out there willremember some of those hand
rolled documentaries that havecome out.
And this year, it was on theEhiroa family who we know as the

(14:56):
people who manufacture Aladinocigars and the importance of
Honduras in the cigar story andthe cigar community, which was,
I guess, kind of overlooked inthese, you know, first
iterations of the the firstepisodes of the Handrolled
series. So it was awesome. Thefirst thing we experienced was
this brand that we've recentlyfallen in love with telling the

(15:18):
story of of the, you know, thepatriarch of the family, his,
you know, beginnings in Cuba,Honduras, and then a plane
crashed that unfortunately tookhis mobility away from him.

Bam Bam (15:29):
It's an incredible story.

Gizmo (15:30):
I mean, it was really amazing. So what are your what
are your what were yourimpressions of the hand rolled
documentary about the Airoafamily?

Bam Bam (15:37):
You know, this is only our our second show. Last story
on the Padron family was veryemotional, talking about his
sons, then George himselftalking about his sons, the
whole generational shepherd andstewardship of the Padron label.
And this story was also veryemotional. You know, most of us
here are dads and we have, youknow, families. It just, for me,

(16:01):
I got emotional here again, as Idid in Vegas.
The stories just have a greatimpact and that the way they
worked so hard, they startedwith nothing and they've built
themselves incredible businessesis very inspirational.

Senator (16:14):
Yeah, I think for me, similar to last year, I remain
amazed that the Cuban story thatis really the founding of many
of these families that are hugein the new world cigar business,
that that story still gets toldin a really impactful way, and

(16:35):
kind of how their lives in Cubaand what they learned there
shaped and influencedgenerations forward their family
members who today run and leadthese businesses in these
different companies. And I justthought it was really cool to
hear and see the multiplegenerations in that film that
they made just talking about howall these kind of key moments

(16:59):
and inflection points in theirlives really influenced who they
are and what they do today, andI say it because, you know, one
thing I don't love in theindustry, and I say this
globally more so, there's kindof presented this divide between
Cuban and new world cigars, andI think when you better

(17:20):
appreciate the history of evenevery New World brand, they are
one in the same, right? Thestyle of blending and product
and flavor profile may bedifferent, and that's obviously
a reflection of the soil and theterroir, but the commitment to
craftsmanship and the passionthat these folks have is a
common bond globally, whetheryou're manufacturing in

(17:43):
Nicaragua, Cuba, The Dominican,Honduras, you name it.
And I just think that's reallycool that the last two years
we've been here, I think thatstory's been told loud and
clear. And celebrated. Exactly.

Pagoda (17:53):
Yeah. Yeah. And, you know, what I feel is obviously,
like said, I'd mentioned, theorigins are, you know, somewhat
the same. Many, many of thefamilies have a very similar
story in the sense that they'veall left Cuba. They've been
through extreme struggle.
They've been veryentrepreneurial in nature.
They've had a sense ofresiliency in them and, you

(18:15):
know, gone on to develop andmaintain a craft which they
truly appreciate and the familyvalues. You know, the family has
been a consistent theme in allof these, you know,
manufacturers, producers, youknow, enthusiasts of cigars,
families, you know, concurrentlythrough all of these houses.

(18:39):
It's been fantastic learning.

Bam Bam (18:40):
I find interesting, you know, of course, the families
that have come from Cuba,they've got the advantage of
time being here in The States.Arrived here so long ago, so
they developed their brands overgenerations. So they're in
stellar positions in thebusiness. What's cool to see is
you've got the other smallerboutique brands that are up and
coming that are being inspiredby those families. I find that

(19:03):
very cool, see thatinspirational approach that
they're taking.

Senator (19:08):
No, I agree. I think the family point is huge. Mean,
it's always amazing to see theEuroa family, the Padron family.
Mean,

Gizmo (19:17):
Perez Carrillo.

Pagoda (19:18):
Perez Carrillo.

Bam Bam (19:19):
Oh yeah.

Senator (19:21):
Nadal? Nadal, even Stoic Cigars who we spent some
time with here. I mean, his wifeis here supporting that business
100%, and it's a true familyaffair that makes this possible,
these products that we love andappreciate so much, and I think
it's really cool. I've certainlynot experienced that. I'm not in
business with my wife or, youknow, certainly my kid's too

(19:43):
young.

Bam Bam (19:44):
I'm glad I'm not. But Mrs. Bam Bam, I love you. But I
know you don't wanna work forme, and you're not gonna work
for me.

Senator (19:53):
Notice Bam said four, not with.

Gizmo (19:55):
Yeah, Correct.

Senator (19:58):
But I say that because, again, that's just It's not an
experience I've had, but it'sreally cool to see an entire
family working toward the sameprofessional goal every single
day, and each of them playingsuch an integral role. So I
think it's just been really coolto experience So

Gizmo (20:16):
definitely check out the documentary on the Airoa family
from the folks who make handrolled when that comes out. I
think they're gonna tweak it alittle bit from what we saw,
make a couple adjustments, andthen they'll finally put it out
to the public sometime, I'massuming, before the end of this
year. And then pretty wild boys,right after that finished, the
governor of Louisiana shows upwith a cigar in his hand, lights

(20:41):
it on stage, and gives afantastic ten, fifteen minute
speech in front of the, youknow, trade show conference
opening afternoon. And I washonestly, like, I'm not a
politics guy. You know?
It's not something that Icelebrate

Bam Bam (20:57):
come We have some in that world.

Gizmo (20:59):
But, you know, El Senador will certainly share his
thoughts on it. But I I just Iwas blown away that a governor
showed up to a cigar trade showtwenty twenty five.

Pagoda (21:06):
Thought it was very And

Gizmo (21:07):
cigar. And up a cigar. And I thought that was very good
for our

Bam Bam (21:09):
industry. Yeah. I don't know much about him, but he
seems very genuine, down toearth, easy to talk to. He's got
a good sense of humor, lovescigars. Yeah.
Not you know, not much you cansay We

Pagoda (21:21):
need more of these politicians around.

Gizmo (21:22):
I agree. Well.

Senator (21:24):
I mean, I think Governor Landry is the
embodiment of Southernhospitality, right? This is a
guy who clearly is so passionateabout bringing and driving
tourism in the state ofLouisiana, and obviously New
Orleans especially, and I thinkit was so cool and a really nice
touch by Josh and the PCA teamto be able to get him to come

(21:46):
in, talk about what he lovesabout New Orleans and Louisiana
and hopes for everyone here toshare in an experience and for
him to very explicitlyacknowledge and recognize, you
know, the beauty of this productthat we're all here at this
trade show to celebrate, and Ithought it was a really, really
nice touch.

Gizmo (22:06):
Yeah, certainly the governor of Nevada did not show
up last year, So

Senator (22:09):
Correct.

Gizmo (22:09):
It was a it was a nice thing to see here in Louisiana.
So, boys, let's talk about thetrade show a little bit. What
were some of your firstimpressions? Obviously, know, in
comparison to Las Vegas lastyear being in New Orleans, a
totally different setting, newconference center this year.
What were some of your firstimpressions as we began to walk
the trade floor?

Bam Bam (22:30):
If I can start, initially, I think the sheer
size of it is impressivecompared to Nevada. It seems
much bigger. I love the space.Most of the booths from the
point of view of design andinstallation are kind of
similar.

Gizmo (22:42):
Yeah, pretty much the But

Bam Bam (22:44):
I do love the way they organize the entire room, how
you can meander through. It'svery comfortable. Yeah, I mean,
initially it's a pretty coolplace to be.

Senator (22:52):
Yeah, I think the venue was perfect for this trade show.
I mean, just the amenities thatthis building, the convention
center here in New Orleans has,I mean, when we got to Vegas, I
feel like you kind of felt likeyou're walking into an empty
warehouse, right? There's nolike formal areas that seem well

(23:13):
set up for concessions andbathrooms and all these
different things. You're kind ofjust free roaming this open
warehouse like space. And Ithink you get to the convention
center here, and you have like anice check-in area, a food
court, very easy access tobathrooms.
I don't remember that being thecase.

Gizmo (23:29):
That's not the case in Vegas.

Pagoda (23:31):
Not at all. And

Senator (23:32):
then, you know, like Bam was saying, just when you
walk in the actual trade showfloor, I mean, there's
definitely more people here thanthere were last year.

Pagoda (23:40):
Yeah.

Senator (23:40):
I think they said, what, 5,000?

Gizmo (23:41):
Yeah, I think it's touching 5,000, yeah.

Senator (23:43):
It's amazing.

Bam Bam (23:44):
And it seems to be, from the point of view of the
color of the room overall, it'sa darker color, so it makes it a
bit more comfortable. Littlewarmer. Warmer, yes. The
carpeting- It feel sterile. Thecarpeting throughout is plush,
very comfortable to walk andmeander through.
Completely different than whatwe experienced in Vegas.

Pagoda (24:00):
What I really liked about it is as soon as you
walked in at eight in themorning, there was a bar ride
outside.

Bam Bam (24:07):
He's not wrong. That's true. But you know, there aren't
enough beer steins. Not enoughbeer steins.

Gizmo (24:11):
By the there is a disturbing lack of beer, and
I've noticed Pagoda has looked alittle depressed this year- Oh,
With the fact that he has nothad much beer

Bam Bam (24:19):
in French He hasn't had his 17 beers yet.

Senator (24:21):
He's looking trimmer though.

Pagoda (24:23):
Yeah. Hey, listen, you know, sometimes we have to
sacrifice. It

Gizmo (24:27):
is. It's work.

Pagoda (24:28):
We're just working It work. It is work.

Gizmo (24:30):
It's hard work.

Pagoda (24:31):
But, you know, we have, there's been some rum, but not,
you know, like last year you hadthe float of Kanye stands and
then you had access to beer. Itwas just a lot more free flowing
from that sense.

Gizmo (24:41):
This is

Pagoda (24:42):
true. But overall, I think just the way, like
everybody's mentioned, this, youknow, convention center makes it
feel cozier, warmer, and youfeel you have access to
everything just around thecorner and seems a lot more It's
well organized to put it in, youknow, to summarize it, of
course.

Gizmo (25:01):
I find it very easy to find all the booths you need,
the people you need. Like, Ifeel like Vegas felt more like a
maze, and this feels very linearand just a couple, you know,
three or four aisles, everythingyou need to find is very easy.
So

Senator (25:15):
think the other cool thing, I mean, with the weather
so amazing here, the fact thatin front of the entire
convention center, PCA has setup an outdoor cafe lounge. As
you walk in. As you walk inwhere you can sit. I mean, show
up At 9AM. Exactly.
People are sitting there smokingcigars, they're having coffee,
having breakfast, some having adrink, and then you get to go

(25:36):
into the trade show andobviously smoke here and do all
that. So I just think the kindof indooroutdoor piece is nice.
In Vegas, you just kind of feltlike you completely lost sense
of time. You were just stuck inthat trade show floor the entire
time where here it's easy tojust pop out, get a little fresh
air, enjoy a cigar, come backinside, which I really like.

Bam Bam (25:56):
What's also cool, you don't seem limited here, right?
We all poured ourselves a beer,and we walked out of the
convention center.

Gizmo (26:02):
Yeah. We to lunch.

Bam Bam (26:03):
Walked three blocks with beer in our hand. It was
great.

Gizmo (26:06):
Yeah. The open container was

Bam Bam (26:07):
pretty I haven't ever experienced that.

Gizmo (26:10):
Yeah. It was a nice thing. Dakota liked that.

Pagoda (26:11):
I think culturally, it's a fit.

Gizmo (26:16):
For the listener out there who's not familiar with
the trade show, this is not anend user trade show. This trade
show exists to make connectionsand relationship management and
sales between retailers,wholesalers, and, of course, the
manufacturers who are making allthis stuff. So we come here as
media to kind of report onwhat's going on here, but you're
not missing out on anything ifyou're listening to this going,

(26:38):
how did I not hear about this?And how can I get a ticket for
next year? It's not that type oftrade show.
It is for the retailers, themanufacturers, and the
wholesalers. And thankfully,we're able to attend and report
on everything and give you ourimpressions. And what's awesome
this year, and again, shoutingout Josh, we have this amazing
media space where we'veliterally sat all of our stuff

(27:00):
here. We're set up, ready to go.We hold court here.
We can, you know, do aninterview on demand, which we'll
you get to in a little bit, talkabout what we've been able to
accomplish while we've beenhere, but it's been so conducive
to, you know, productivity forus and getting great content for
our listeners, so I'm very, veryhappy with the media space for
sure.

Senator (27:19):
I agree, and it's really important for the
industry. I mean, I think someof the interviewees we've had
have mentioned, you know, we arethe bridge between them and the
consumer, and because consumerscan't be here, this is where new
products are released everysingle year, and us being able
to talk about those and try themand experience them and share

(27:39):
that with our listeners isreally important. So I'm just
very grateful that we have abetter space and setup to do
that this year than we'vecertainly had last And

Bam Bam (27:47):
I'm proud to say that we've made another great
impression in this trip. We walkaround, we're a lizard mafia.
Pan

Gizmo (27:54):
Am loves this.

Bam Bam (27:55):
I do love this because people take notice. We're good
looking guys. We look great.We're serious. We're here to
conduct business.
And it's, you know,

Gizmo (28:03):
it's gone noticed. And I think our listeners are gonna be
very, very happy with thecontent that is gonna be coming
over the next few weeks off

Pagoda (28:11):
of this

Bam Bam (28:11):
Off the charts.

Gizmo (28:11):
PCA show. We have done some fantastic interviews with
some amazing folks here, sovery, very excited about that.
So, boys, we're coming to theend of the first third here on
the La Aurora family creed,Fuerte Sol, the Robusto. What's
everybody thinking right now?

Senator (28:28):
So I like the flavor profile. I still get cocoa,
earth, dried fruit, a little bitof salty kind of minerality in
the background. The first time Ismoked this, I actually got a
lot of salt and minerality. Thistime I'm getting less of that.
It's in the background, not theforeground, but I think it's
actually a really nice blend.

(28:49):
I think it's very smooth,despite how full flavored this
is, it's not full strength. No,it's kicking you around in any
way. So I think it's off to areally good start.

Bam Bam (28:58):
Yeah, it's a pleasant cigar. I'm getting Berry still
with an infusion of cocoa, asyou mentioned, and some coffee.

Pagoda (29:05):
Yeah. So I'm getting a little more saltiness in this
one. You know, like I said, likea floral minerality. Just a very
interesting flavor of saltiness,but in the back end, I'm getting
like bitter cocoa. I don't knowwhat it is.
There's a little bit ofbitterness to this Yeah,

Bam Bam (29:24):
dark chocolate. But it

Pagoda (29:25):
was, yeah.

Senator (29:25):
But very dark.

Pagoda (29:26):
Very dark. And I wish there was a little bit more
sweetness in this to just, youknow, get everything together.
So that's what I'm seeking, andhopefully it comes through.

Bam Bam (29:36):
You're a big dessert guy.

Senator (29:37):
I am. I will say though, to Pagoda's point, this
is very dry, so I do agree. Youknow, I would hope maybe midway
through that the sweetness picksup a little bit to add a little
more balance.

Gizmo (29:48):
I am getting a little bit of I I don't wanna say citrus,
but that feeling of sour that iscausing me to salivate a little
bit. But it's good because itfor me, it's countering some of
the elements of dryness thatyou've mentioned. Like, it's
actually, you know, balancedright now for me. I love the
flavor. Definitely getting thedark, bitter ish chocolate
flavors, a little bit of coffee,but right now, very, very

(30:10):
pleasant cigar.
Yeah. Very good. So, boys, let'stalk about our pairing tonight.
We're gonna stick with LaAurora, their sister brand, the
Elion Jimenez nineteen oh threerum from The Dominican Republic.
Oh, finally.
This is an eight year agedDominican rum, and its MSRP on
this bottle, boys, which I love,is $40.

Bam Bam (30:33):
Yeah.

Gizmo (30:33):
Pretty awesome.

Bam Bam (30:34):
Mhmm.

Gizmo (30:36):
It's aged eight years. First six and a half are spent
in ex bourbon American white oakbarrels, and the final one and a
half years in ex Sherry Olorosobarrels. And the aging process
is natural versus the Solaramethod, So there's no blending.
It's a linear aging of eightyears of this rum. And like I
said, it's $40 a bottle.

(30:57):
So if you remember, on episode154, we did another La Aurora
cigar, the one hundred andtwentieth anniversary in
Robusto, and we also paired thatwith an Elion Jimenez rum, a
much more expensive one, whichwas the one hundred and tenth
anniversary. So we'll go throughthose ratings later. So we are
back to a full pairing from LaAurora and Elion Jimenez. What

(31:18):
do you guys think of the rum?

Bam Bam (31:19):
I love the pairing. You know, you go back and forth with
the draw and a sip. It's really,really delicious. It's very
good. I'm getting vanilla on thenose and caramel on a
particularly the finish.

Pagoda (31:34):
Yeah. You know, for me, vanilla, caramel, like when I
was smelling the aroma, it feltlike it's more akin to like a
bourbon or, you know, some otherkind of spirit. You know, like
for the rums we specificallyhave, you know, there's a
distinct note which you canactually just smell. It's This

(31:56):
is interesting, though. I'mreally enjoying it.
It's smooth. It's very smoothfor a rum.

Senator (32:00):
Yeah, I think it's smooth. I think it You know,
what I like about it, it leansdrier than a lot of rums,
especially out of the Dominican,which I like, and I think pairs
well with this cigar. I think ifthis were, you know, a really
overly sweet rum with this typeof cigar, it would, I think,
clash a little bit. So I thinkit's really nice, and I think at

(32:21):
the price point, I mean, youknow, this is a great sipping
rum, and how can you complainabout a $40 spirit that you can
enjoy Yep.

Gizmo (32:28):
I really love that it's not overly sweet.

Bam Bam (32:31):
Correct.

Gizmo (32:31):
You know? And it's also not harsh in any way. Goes down
very Nice balance. Yeah. It'sbalanced.
It feels natural. It doesn'tfeel like processed or fake, you
know, in its ingredients. Like,just, it drinks very easily. And
again, at $40, I really like theflavor of this.

Pagoda (32:48):
I'm glad we're preparing also feel that it comes across
as a more aged rum, like a 12for some reason. It seems
refined. Yeah. Right? Yeah.
It's really good. So, boys,after the first night here, we
had

Gizmo (33:01):
a welcome reception, and I was shocked when, you know,
you see it on paper and it says,oh, it's outside a couple blocks
away. You know? Okay. Let's gosee what's up. It was quite
literally in a public park.
They blocked off the entirepublic park outdoors, set up
tons of food and cigar you know,some of the manufacturers were
here handing out cigars andalcohol and everything else, and

(33:24):
we literally, you know, I don'tknow, a thousand of the
attendees or 500 showed up andsmoked cigars outdoors in the
middle of New Orleans. I wastotally blown away

Senator (33:34):
that we were allowed to do It was awesome. It was like
they tried to build outdoorlounge. I mean, there was
couches and nice chairs. I lovethat they had local food
vendors. I mean, you think thewelcome reception in Vegas, and
it was like nachos and CheezWhiz, basically.
Mean, it was serious. Those areLas Vegas delicacies. Yeah.

(33:54):
Where here, you know, they hadpo'boys and muffalada and gumbo
and all the local stuff that,you know, this place is so proud
of, so I thought that was cool.Lot of stands as far as, you
know, I think the alcoholsponsor was Buffalo Trace.
Yep. So plenty of options totry, stuff in their product
line. Some of the cigarmanufacturers that had sponsors

(34:16):
were handing out some goodsticks that we got a chance to
try. So I thought altogether itwas really well done, and, you
know, we even People that werenear us, I feel like we met new
folks that we hadn't in thepast, and it's nice to have
those conversations where Idon't remember that happening as
much

Bam Bam (34:32):
That's true.

Senator (34:32):
Last year in Vegas.

Gizmo (34:33):
Yeah. The whole event just feels more friendly to me.
Yes. It feels warmer.

Bam Bam (34:37):
Yes.

Gizmo (34:37):
I think those things that we detailed earlier, even, you
know, the color, the lighting,the layout, all of those things
ease everyone and lowereveryone's guard, and I think
that I feel that we're havingbetter conversations. Even with
strangers that we're meeting, wethat we're not intending to
interview or even in theindustry, you know, just just
folks that we're spending timewith. It just seems like a more

(34:58):
rewarding experience.

Bam Bam (34:59):
Definitely a byproduct of the environment that we're
in. There's no doubt about it.

Pagoda (35:02):
Yeah. The great weather, the outdoors, meaning it was
like just a beautiful It seemedlike an outdoor reception of a
wedding, meaning in the sensethat

Bam Bam (35:10):
That's true.

Pagoda (35:10):
People were hanging out with alcohol, smoking cigars,
and walking around. You had GuyFieri cooking in his live
kitchen. No, I'm just kidding.You know, he did release

Gizmo (35:19):
He was cooking up knuckle sandwiches. Yeah.

Pagoda (35:21):
He was there.

Senator (35:22):
He was there.

Pagoda (35:23):
He was there. Yeah. And it just a wonderful light
experience and the weather,weather really, really was so
good. It was just a fantasticevening.

Gizmo (35:32):
So, also, we have to say too, you know, shout out to PCA
because they've set up twoseparate locations in New
Orleans for after show smokingwhere these restaurants have
quite literally shut down to thepublic, I guess, from the hours
of somewhere around 8PM until2AM, both of them, and just
allow all of the attendees,anybody who has a badge to go

(35:54):
over there and smoke and andenjoy the evening. There is no
way in hell if this conferencewas in New York, New Jersey,
anywhere up by where we are thatany of this would be happening.

Pagoda (36:04):
Or Vegas.

Gizmo (36:04):
Even Vegas. Even Vegas.

Senator (36:05):
Right. Because they would charge a wedding budget
just to rent out a place for afew hours. Mean, it would be
cost prohibitive.

Bam Bam (36:10):
That's right.

Gizmo (36:11):
It's a good point. So it's awesome that we feel so
welcomed here. So boys, let'stalk a little bit about New
Orleans, and then we'll get backto some of the conversations
that we had at PCA this year.We'll share with the listeners
our takeaways from some of ourinterviews. But I have to shout
out, senator, on the foodselection because New Orleans

(36:33):
has completely blown my mindwhen it comes to food.
And I know that it's a hyped upplace to to eat. The food is
celebrated here. It's unique.It's special. It's homey.
But, we have had some phenomenal

Bam Bam (36:50):
Incredible meals.

Gizmo (36:51):
Incredible. That might even be the highlight over some
of the cigars. I mean, the foodhere Yeah. Has been really
special.

Bam Bam (36:57):
Agreed.

Senator (36:58):
I think it's one of the greatest food cities in America,
hands down. And the thing thatjust shocks me, it's like, you
know, for a fancier, you know,nice dinner, you know, come into
that with expectations. I'mblown away in my time here, you
know, simple things like asandwich for lunch could be like

(37:18):
the star of the show even.

Gizmo (37:19):
I think it was.

Bam Bam (37:20):
Oh, I think so too.

Senator (37:21):
I've talked up this Muffalada from Central Grocery
for a long time leading up tothis trip.

Bam Bam (37:27):
I was very skeptical. I was too. I mean-

Gizmo (37:29):
because we have good sandwiches in New Jersey. We
thought we did. We did.

Senator (37:33):
We thought we did. We were wrong. It's me. And then
this was such a revelation, andsomeone I used to work with who
is from New Orleans, went tocollege in New Orleans, all of
that, he, I give credit, reallykind of showed me the ropes of
what you should see and do whenyou're here, and I remember him
saying, You gotta hit CentralGrocery for lunch and get the
muffaletta there. I had no cluewhat a muffaletta even was at

(37:54):
the time, and that was so lifechanging when I had that.
When the COVID pandemic hit, Iordered on Goldbelly. So Central
Grocery is on Goldbelly, whichhas like most of the most famous
restaurants around the countrythat you can literally overnight
ship their food to your doorstepand experience that restaurant.
I paid a hundred dollars justfor this sandwich during the

(38:16):
pandemic. That's how obsessed Iwas with this, and depressed
during COVID. I'm like, I justneed something that I would
normally be able to travel in

Gizmo (38:23):
the Takes me back. Correct.

Senator (38:24):
And the Muffalata was it. And then we all went there
for the first time, and I got alot of quick gizmo. What kind of
sandwich is it? What's in it?What's this?
And I said, Just try it.

Bam Bam (38:33):
I wanna know. Of course.

Gizmo (38:35):
I mean, it's a fair question.

Senator (38:36):
And the hilarious part, I warned all these guys. I said,
these sandwiches are massive,and Bam is looking at this like,
oh, I can eat an entire one.Don't worry about it. Gizmo's
like, oh, give me half of one.No problem.
And we ordered a whole one. Weeach had a quarter of it, and we
was overwhelming,

Bam Bam (38:54):
honestly, but so delicious.

Gizmo (38:56):
Oh, the flavor's

Bam Bam (38:56):
so

Pagoda (38:56):
It

Bam Bam (38:56):
was so good. That olive Tapenade. Tapenade, off the
charts.

Gizmo (39:01):
How would you describe to listeners what a muffuletta is?
Can explain that?

Senator (39:07):
Way I would describe a muffuletta, it's basically the
meat that's inside the sandwichis very much like you'd
experience in a lot ofdifferent, like, Italian subs or
heroes, but what makes itspecial is there's like this
olive tapenade. They sell it bythe jar even, you can take it
home with you, that's kind ofspread on the roll, and it's

(39:28):
this really large circular roundroll that I'm not sure if they
bake in house or they get fromsome special bakery here that's
very different from like a heroroll or something tougher. It's
like very soft

Bam Bam (39:38):
Sesame seeds on

Senator (39:39):
Sesame seeds on Delicious. Exactly. There's like
this oil kind of vinaigrettethat they drizzle all over it
that adds to the flavor andexperience, and it's so simple
when you look at it, but forsome reason, the flavor is just
off the charts.

Pagoda (39:56):
Yeah. You gotta talk about the size. How big is that?

Gizmo (39:58):
I mean- It's gotta be a foot

Bam Bam (40:00):
It was about, circumference. I'd say about
thirteen, fourteen inches indiameter. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And
at least three and a half tofour inches thick.

Gizmo (40:07):
Yeah, it's ridiculous. It's massive.

Pagoda (40:09):
And it was so good that a couple of the lizards over
here inhaled- Oh, yeah. Morethan one- Oh, yeah. Quarter in
less than like twenty minutes.So I'm just telling you. I have
to say.
It's really good.

Bam Bam (40:21):
I regretted doing it the moment I finished it, but
then a half hour later I was oncloud nine. Yeah. I felt great.
It gave me all the energy Ineeded. It

Senator (40:30):
was This sandwich is so good. Almost every day we've
been here, we've eaten lunch atthis time.

Bam Bam (40:34):
Oh, yeah.

Gizmo (40:34):
Yeah. It's the only place that I wanna have lunch.

Bam Bam (40:36):
Correct.

Gizmo (40:36):
It's phenomenal.

Pagoda (40:37):
No, definitely. It's on repeat order.

Senator (40:40):
So if you're a lizard that is not able to visit New
Orleans easily, they are onGoldbelly, You can have this
delivered. I've called it thegreatest sandwich of all time. I
believe I heard Gizmo say thesame.

Bam Bam (40:51):
Yes, he

Gizmo (40:52):
did. It's it's it's probably the greatest sandwich
I've ever heard.

Bam Bam (40:55):
Come on, dude.

Gizmo (40:56):
Know, I do love I do love I'm a little I'm a little you
know, I I have a home townallegiance to Katz's Deli in New
York. I do love their pastramion rye, but this, for me, in
flavor, edged out Katz's Deli. Imean, is it is really special.
It's light, and they're notangry with you when you order it

(41:17):
like they are at Katz's Deli.It's like a little soup Nazi
action over there.
You know, they were happy to seeus here. So that added to the
experience, but Yeah. It wasphenomenal.

Bam Bam (41:25):
The ingredients are simple, but when they come
together, it makes for a greatexperience, man.

Pagoda (41:30):
So good. And once again, you talk about the efficiency
within the place. What's itcalled, general marketplace?

Senator (41:36):
Central Grocery.

Pagoda (41:37):
Oh, central grocery. Oh.

Gizmo (41:38):
Yeah, general marketplace. I have no idea.

Pagoda (41:40):
I don't know. Close enough, please.

Gizmo (41:42):
I'm closing. The banker's in the room.

Pagoda (41:45):
Go ahead. No. But you know what? It was so efficient,
you know, while you're standingin line, I think. Before Senator
ordered, I think it was alreadythere by the till.
It was just great. I think theefficiency's great, obviously.
And then you go and you starteating this. Even if you eat it
within the grocery store, theyhave a certain area where you

(42:05):
can all be standing and just, orthey have a couple of like these
bar benches and you can just seta knead, and the vibe is just
very, very nice. It's anexcellent sandwich, you know,
from a great place.

Senator (42:17):
And that's the funny thing. You think, you know,
everything operates slower inthe South. Like, this place runs
like a machine. It's militant. Imean, no matter how long the
line is, when you get to thefront of the line, you place
your order, which all they makethere is the muffuletta.
Outside of that, it's like anItalian market. You can buy
different meats, cheeses, stufflike that, but that is the only

(42:37):
kind of prepared menu item thatyou can get there. They've got
like five or six people behindthat counter just making one
after another after another, andthey're just selling them, I
mean, by this second, it'sinsane. So even if you go there
and there's a long line, waitbecause you're not gonna be
there very long.

Bam Bam (42:53):
That's It moves

Senator (42:53):
inordinately quickly.

Pagoda (42:54):
And then right after that, you can go for a quick
dessert

Bam Bam (42:59):
right across the street.

Gizmo (43:00):
Right across the street. Pagoda was so happy.

Senator (43:02):
For some beignets.

Pagoda (43:03):
Cafe du

Gizmo (43:03):
Monde. We went to Cafe du Monde, and we had the famous
beignets over there, which arecovered in the most finely
filtered powdered sugar. I mean,it is chaotic. Oh, yeah. The
people walking around there withpowdered sugar, they look like
they're out straight out ofScarface, like Al Pacino, okay,
just shoved his face in a pileof, you know, and it was It's

(43:29):
pretty wild how all over theplace that powdered sugar was.

Bam Bam (43:33):
Yeah. That was also delicious with the coffee that I
had. It was fantastic. Yeah.

Senator (43:37):
You guys had New Orleans coffee for the

Gizmo (43:39):
first time. First time.

Senator (43:40):
Brewed that with chicory.

Gizmo (43:40):
Excellent. I'll be honest, the caffeine down here
in New Orleans has knocked me onmy ass. I drink a lot of
espresso. I'm a coffee guy.

Bam Bam (43:48):
No. You're delicate.

Gizmo (43:49):
And I was it knocked me on my ass yesterday. I had way
too much espresso here, and Idon't know if it's the chicory
or the beans they use here, butwhatever it is, I was wide
awake, wired at about three inthe morning, could not sleep,
and it's just because of thecaffeine. I just overdid it or
the caffeine is just stronghere. I'm not sure. But Cafe Du

(44:09):
Monde was amazing.
The beignets, can you tell folkswhat a beignet is for someone
who is not familiar with it?

Senator (44:14):
Yeah. It's very simple. I mean, it's basically fried
dough. It's, you know, like azeppole that folks will get at a
carnival or a funnel cake.

Gizmo (44:22):
Funnel cake, yeah.

Senator (44:23):
Anything like that, but it's always been very popular in
France, and it's been somethingthat has become part of the
culture here in New Orleans. Anddespite how fried dough is
usually pretty heavy, you know,the way they do this, it's
actually like each one isrelatively light. You get in
trouble after you have three ofthem.

Gizmo (44:40):
Oh

Senator (44:40):
yeah. But if you were to have one, you'd be just fine.

Bam Bam (44:42):
Correct.

Gizmo (44:43):
Especially after the muffuletta.

Bam Bam (44:45):
Oh man.

Senator (44:45):
Yeah.

Pagoda (44:46):
It's excellent. You know, I think we need to revisit
that whole Muffulada Cafe duMonde right before we leave in
Monde. Yes. Yes.

Gizmo (44:56):
So boys, I wasn't at this dinner. I know we're gonna have
dinner there later tonight, butPesche Seafood, was the first
restaurant you had dinner withupon arrival. I got here a
little later than you guys, andyou guys were raving about the
seafood, the oysters What wasyour experience at Pesch?

Senator (45:13):
Yeah. So the funny thing is the first time I went
to Pesch was years ago, like2018 or 2019. I took my family
actually down to New Orleans forThanksgiving, and my wife, my
parents, none had been to NewOrleans before, so I really
wanted them to experience it. Ididn't wanna host Thanksgiving,
and so I said, What a betterplace to do it than here? And
one of the restaurants that wewent to was Pesch, and this was

(45:35):
shortly after it had opened, soit was starting to get really
good reviews.
I was hearing it's an excellentplace for seafood, but now fast
forward, it is like the topplace for seafood in New
Orleans. Their oysters, rawoysters are out of this world,
and I say that because I preferWest Coast oysters to East Coast

(45:55):
oysters. When you're gettingoysters here, they're all pretty
much from The Gulf, And the wildthing was, I had asked our
waitress, we wanted to get Ithink we got maybe two dozen
oysters. Do you have any on thecreamier side that are more akin
to a West Coast oyster? And thisone that she recommended, which
we will get tonight, honestly,it rivals Kushi, Kumamoto.

(46:18):
I mean, some of the best WestCoast oysters I've had. It was
incredible.

Pagoda (46:22):
It was the Adderall.

Senator (46:23):
Yeah. Exactly.

Bam Bam (46:25):
We ordered two types and proceeded to get two dozen.

Gizmo (46:28):
Well, let's get three dozen tonight, please. It was
excellent. Excellent. I love agood oyster.

Senator (46:33):
Everything. We got fish after that. I think Bam got some
fresh caught drum beer in thewas excellent.

Bam Bam (46:39):
Very good.

Senator (46:39):
Pagoda and I got some tuna. I mean, everything we had
there.

Pagoda (46:44):
And cocktails, the cocktails Yeah,

Bam Bam (46:46):
was about to say, fair warning, the martinis are
dangerous. They are dangerous.

Pagoda (46:51):
We have some lightweights out here. Well,

Bam Bam (46:54):
follow my footsteps tonight, young man. I wanna see
how you do. Okay? I actuallylook forward to that.

Gizmo (47:02):
So then my first night here, we had dinner at a
steakhouse called DorisMarketplace, which I guess you
had found. Had you been therebefore?

Senator (47:11):
No, so I had not, and it's definitely a newer
steakhouse in New Orleans. Theyactually have a couple other
locations. They're in Houston,Costa Rica, and New Orleans, and
just doing a little bit ofhomework here to try to find
somewhere that I haven't eatenbefore that might be good. Doris
has been getting rave reviews.Now, the thing that's

(47:32):
controversial about DorisMarketplace is the service at
most nice restaurants in NewOrleans is unparalleled.
I would put it up against theservice you can experience in
any city around the country.Doris, whatever reason, I mean,
even just the decor, like it'svery modern, it could be in New
York, it's not like your typicalNew Orleans restaurant, and

(47:54):
unfortunately with that, itdoesn't have your typical New
Orleans Southern kind of serviceand hospitality, so you kind of
have to know that going in,which luckily we did. It did
make it feel better, the servicewe had. I was furious. But the
food is really the star there,and the food was excellent.

Bam Bam (48:09):
Tough guy to please over here.

Gizmo (48:11):
No, I'm an easy guy to please. It's very easy.

Bam Bam (48:13):
Incorrect. That's correct. He is incorrect.

Pagoda (48:19):
That's correct. He's incorrect.

Bam Bam (48:22):
That's a

Senator (48:23):
good one. Bev, this is Bev.

Gizmo (48:24):
I correct. It's incorrect. I was furious at the
service at this place. The thefood was good. And listen.
I don't expect a lot. I justwant I want attention. I wanna
order quickly. I don't wannawait for my check. It's a very
simple experience I'm lookingfor.
I'm not looking to have my asskissed. I just want water, wine,

(48:45):
steak, speed. Get me in and outat the pace I wanna move at.
This place was not doing that,and I got a little angry. Just a
little.
Not with anybody else, but I wasteeing off to you guys.

Senator (48:56):
You've never been known to do that. No.

Pagoda (48:57):
I don't do

Gizmo (48:58):
that. I don't

Pagoda (48:58):
do that. Not

Gizmo (48:59):
ever. But the food was very good. We have to say that.

Bam Bam (49:01):
Great steak.

Senator (49:02):
It was good. Think Giz and I got a couple of fillets
with bone marrow. Oh, the bonemarrow

Gizmo (49:06):
was very good. That was unique. Awesome.

Senator (49:07):
Yeah.

Gizmo (49:08):
Very unique.

Bam Bam (49:08):
Had the rib eye, very nice.

Pagoda (49:10):
And I had the lamb chops. Right. They

Senator (49:13):
looked great.

Pagoda (49:13):
Yeah. No. They were great. And this restaurant has a
couple of Mediterranean, youknow, dishes, so I thought might
as well try the lamb chops. Theywere fantastic.

Bam Bam (49:21):
Carpaccio, the food was good. It was very good.

Senator (49:24):
Yeah. Beef carpaccio was

Bam Bam (49:25):
great. Yep.

Gizmo (49:26):
And now, boys, it's time to talk about the highlight meal
potentially of my life.

Bam Bam (49:35):
I submitted an application to work here, by the
way. Go ahead. Proceed.

Gizmo (49:39):
We were so fortunate that Senator thought ahead, knew we
were coming to New Orleans.Around the same time we actually
booked the Airbnb, he wasbooking the reservation at this
phenomenal, historic, legendaryrestaurant. There's not enough
superlatives I can use aboutthis place. Commander's Palace.
Absolute perfection on everylevel.

Bam Bam (50:02):
It was off the charts from beginning to end.

Gizmo (50:04):
It's the best dining experience I've ever had in my
life, and I didn't even feelgreat coming in there because of
my caffeine experience. Let metell you, by the time I walked
out, I felt like a brand newman. Of course. It was really,
really special.

Bam Bam (50:17):
The service was off the charts. They were so attentive,
and they kept coming, checkingon you, but I observed all the
other tables, and they were allbeing doted on. It was very,
very unusual to see. I've neverexperienced anything like that
before.

Pagoda (50:30):
Very efficient. Think we had three servers that were
constantly catering to us, youknow, with each with different
responsibilities, and they wereat it from the very beginning to
the end, and it was fantastic.

Senator (50:42):
I just, to paint a picture for the listener, I
mean, this restaurant, I've beeneating there probably fifteen
years ago, it was the first mealI had there, and every time I'm
in New Orleans, it's always onmy list. I always try to go back
there for a meal. I mean, we getthere, we get seated. They've
got a beautiful main diningroom, really nicely decorated,
and we sit down, and there'swhite napkins on each of our

(51:07):
place settings, and they look atthe color pants that you're
wearing, and if you have darkpants on, they swap that out,
and not even just hand you ablack napkin, they will drape it
over your lap for you. Mean,every imaginable detail at this
restaurant, they have thoughtthrough to make your experience

(51:27):
so effortless and seamless.
I mean, to take our order andeven get our wine brought to the
table. I mean, first someonecame over, we said, We need a
few minutes. This place has oneof the most extensive wine lists
I've ever seen in a restaurant.

Gizmo (51:42):
It's like a Bible.

Senator (51:43):
It is. It's literally almost a hundred pages long, and
it's like small font, likeeverything in there. You feel
like you're reading in a

Gizmo (51:50):
single Bam Bam definitely would not be able to read it.

Bam Bam (51:51):
I need my readers. His readers. And a magnifying glass.

Senator (51:56):
And his flashlight. Correct. And it's like, you
know, to Gizmo's frustration atthe prior restaurant where a
simple thing like water eventook ten years, you know, half
the time someone comes to take adrink order, and you're gonna
order wine, you say, oh, we needa few more minutes, you kind of
regret it after because you losethe server for like another
twenty minutes. They never comeback, and then you've gotta flag
them down.

Gizmo (52:15):
That drives me insane.

Senator (52:16):
This person exactly a few minutes later comes back,
No, we need a few more, comesback again, took our order. We
had some excellent wine, a greatmeal there. I had told these
guys, you know, kind of adelicacy in New Orleans is
turtle soup.

Bam Bam (52:32):
I fell in love with the soup. Had to I got seconds.

Gizmo (52:34):
I came into that a little hesitant. I was nervous. I'm
like, we're gonna eat turtlestoday? It was

Bam Bam (52:39):
so good.

Gizmo (52:40):
Yeah. And it was phenomenal.

Bam Bam (52:41):
It good. It good.

Gizmo (52:42):
It set the tone. It set the tone for the whole meal.

Bam Bam (52:44):
Yeah. I was just impressed how they rotated the
staff to your table. Like, it'slike you said, your water's
being filled right after sheleaves, someone else comes to
ask about this and ask aboutthat. It was great.

Senator (52:55):
Oh, one of you guys commented- Very unusual. The
waters even.

Gizmo (52:58):
Yeah, the waters.

Bam Bam (52:58):
Oh, they switch, yeah, they switch out an entire glass.
Glass.

Gizmo (53:02):
Yeah, they're

Senator (53:02):
like- don't just fill the same water glass to refill
your water. They take the glassaway and give you an

Bam Bam (53:06):
entire refresh.

Gizmo (53:06):
I asked the server

Bam Bam (53:08):
who was That's right.

Gizmo (53:09):
Her only job is water. And I said to her, I said, what
is the purpose of taking theglass as opposed to refilling
it? She said, well, what if theice melts while you're having
dinner?

Bam Bam (53:18):
So she said,

Pagoda (53:19):
We're giving you I looked

Bam Bam (53:20):
at her. I'm like She said, We like to give you a
fresh glass of water. I was veryimpressed. It awesome.

Gizmo (53:27):
So we then went into our entrees. I know that Senator and
I had pecan crusted fish, Ibelieve it was.

Senator (53:34):
Yeah. It was drum.

Gizmo (53:35):
Yeah. It was phenomenal. Bam had the White shrimp and
grits. Shrimp and grits. Thepork chop.
Yeah. Pagoda had a pork chop,and everything was perfect. And
what I love to, just to paint apicture for the listener here,
when it's time for dinner to beput on the table, four people
show up. Yeah. And likesimultaneously, like an Olympic

(53:56):
swimming team.
Like synchronized swimming.Synchronized swimming. That's
correct. They put the, like eachof the four plates hits the
table at the exact samemillisecond. Yeah.
It's like they must practicethis like Michael Phelps getting
in the pool. I'm sure

Bam Bam (54:09):
the training is extremely robust there.

Gizmo (54:11):
It's pretty incredible. Yeah. And the plate, everybody's
plate hits the table at the sametime, and the service was just
impeccable. And here's thebutton I wanna put on this whole
experience. This was probablythe least expensive meal that we
had in all of New Orleans.

Pagoda (54:25):
Yeah.

Gizmo (54:25):
Certainly at PCA in Venice. This is one of the least
expensive meals we've ever hadas a group, and it was easily
the best. Hands down, noquestion about it. So the value
we always talk about value onthis podcast with cigars, with
rum, with everything else,champagne, with tequila,
everything else we we review, wealways talk about value. That is

(54:48):
the button on this for me is thevalue in the experience there.

Bam Bam (54:51):
That's true.

Gizmo (54:52):
Shocking. Yeah. Shocking.

Bam Bam (54:55):
You know, I have had grits in years. I fell in love
again with grits. That was justsuch an experience, the shrimp
was perfect. Perfect. What agreat meal.

Pagoda (55:04):
That was a great meal.

Bam Bam (55:05):
Now can I get turtle soup up by us, man?

Senator (55:08):
Sadly, you can't. Sadly, you can't. And it's weird
because it's really a NewOrleans thing. Like you go to
other cities in the South, likeCharleston, you name it, it's
just kind of a delicacy here. Idon't know why, but it's good
stuff.
And just the service, I mean,everybody comments when you go
to the restaurants here, howamazing it is. And the reason
for that is, again, people inthis area take so much pride in

(55:34):
this city. They're so proud tobe from here and they want other
people to see and learn andunderstand what makes this place
so great. And so at theserestaurants, I mean, Commander's
Palace, if you're a waiter atthat restaurant, you are at the
top, you reach the That's asprestigious a place as you can
possibly have the honor ofserving guests. And because of

(55:55):
that, I mean, how easy it wouldbe to replace someone at a
restaurant like that, the demandthat they have to work there is
off the charts, that there's noroom for error.
Yeah. You can't repeatedly makemistakes and survive there.

Gizmo (56:10):
Yeah. It's gotta be like, you know, like, I don't know, a
metaphor that I could explain tothe listener, but it's almost
like secret service level ofdetail and Like if you screw

Senator (56:21):
it up, like Except for the last few years. Secret
Service has not been so good.

Gizmo (56:25):
Really was that level of detail, attention, and
perfection in the service. Andthen the food, of course, was
perfect. We learned that EmerilLagasse, of course, the famous
Food Network star, that's reallywhere he came up. He became the
executive chef there at whatage?

Senator (56:41):
He was the executive chef when he was only 23 years
old.

Gizmo (56:44):
Yeah. That's crazy.

Bam Bam (56:45):
And I think he was there for seven years.

Senator (56:46):
Yeah. Yeah. And that's where he made a name for himself
and then got so well known, hewent out on his own, opened his
own restaurant, Emeralds, whichis still here to this day, also
as a reputation for makingfantastic food. The food scene
and culture here is justunmatched.

Gizmo (57:03):
And it's elevated our entire experience, even inside
the four walls of this massiveconvention center. We feel that
in here. It's true.

Bam Bam (57:13):
It's true.

Gizmo (57:13):
I feel it right now. I agree with feel great to be
here. I don't wanna leave. Idon't wanna go home.

Bam Bam (57:17):
You know, I can walk through here and just start up a
conversation with anyone at anytime.

Pagoda (57:21):
Absolutely. Yeah.

Gizmo (57:22):
It's a great community.

Senator (57:23):
We've asked every single person that we've met
here, Vegas or New Orleans,where do you prefer this trade
show to be? Every single personwithout fail has said New
Orleans.

Gizmo (57:36):
And they don't even think about it. It's instant.

Bam Bam (57:38):
That's right.

Gizmo (57:39):
So boys, before we left Commander's Palace, we
discovered that there was anopportunity

Senator (57:46):
on the smoke some cigars.

Gizmo (57:47):
To have some cigars.

Senator (57:48):
So I very nicely asked our waitress if it would be
possible for us to light up somecigars on their patio. You know,
times change, there's differentpreferences, you never know. I
mean, New Orleans is verysmoking friendly, particularly
on outdoor patios. She looked atme and laughed and said, Of
course you can smoke cigars onour patio.

Pagoda (58:06):
How could you

Bam Bam (58:07):
think otherwise?

Gizmo (58:08):
By the way, we didn't believe her, so we asked two
more times.

Bam Bam (58:11):
We did, that's also true.

Senator (58:13):
And then the best part, to get to their patio, you
actually walk through the middleof their kitchen, and there's
one table. It's like asemicircular booth that you can
sit and dine, and you're justwatching all the food being
prepared. And then you gothrough there, there's a bar

(58:34):
around the other side to getdrinks. Then there's this big,
really nice patio, and thenbeyond that, beyond the patio is
the garden room, which is kindof the premier room to be able
to dine in at Commander'sPalace. It took me maybe four or
five times until finally,actually Thanksgiving eve, they
put my family and I in thegarden room, which was really

(58:55):
cool.

Gizmo (58:55):
By the way, the next time we come, we're putting the
reservation under senator.

Bam Bam (58:58):
That's correct. Even if he's not here.

Gizmo (58:59):
Even if he's not here.

Senator (59:02):
The problem this time, they knew I was bringing you
guys, and so we were not in thegarden room.

Gizmo (59:07):
They put us they put us in the basement. So we get

Senator (59:10):
on this patio. There's a bunch of people, and
especially if you're like, youknow, they'll try and
accommodate some walk ins ifthey are able to. It's obviously
not super common. Or if for somereason you're there early and
your table's being prepared,people go to that bar back
there, they get a drink, theysit out on the patio, they
relax, they call your name, andwe're just sitting there puffing
away on cigars. No one isbothered, concerned, annoyed.

(59:34):
It was unbelievable.

Gizmo (59:35):
Even the other guests, normally, like in New York Oh.
In where we live up in theNortheast Of The United States,
I mean, even if you're sittingoutside at a patio and you're
allowed to smoke, somebody'salways giving you

Bam Bam (59:47):
An evil eye.

Gizmo (59:48):
An evil eye. Correct. Like, somebody's always making
sure that you understand thatthey are unhappy, that you're
smoking in their presence, thatthey can maybe smell your smoke,
or the fact that you're enjoyingyourself. I don't know what it
is about the Northeast in TheUnited States, but it is the
polar opposite of the experienceyesterday. True.
To the point where there were acouple sitting there pre dinner
near us, certainly smelling ourfour cigars.

Bam Bam (01:00:10):
Sure.

Gizmo (01:00:10):
Didn't even bat an eye at the fact that we were enjoying
ourselves having a drink.

Bam Bam (01:00:15):
Wait staff going back and forth, giving us a smile.

Gizmo (01:00:18):
Everybody saying hello as

Bam Bam (01:00:19):
they walk Great pleasant.

Gizmo (01:00:20):
The chefs, the servers.

Senator (01:00:21):
Yeah. I mean, you're talking about people batting eye
in the Northeast. Even in Vegas,are plenty of places, parts of
casinos that they'll allowcigarette smoking, but not
cigars.

Gizmo (01:00:32):
Yeah. Outrageous. Which crazy. Outrageous. Here we are
smoking in, I would assume, whatwould be, you know, classified
as like a perfect restaurant, athree Michelin star restaurant,
And they're saying the ownerwalks up to us and goes, Stay as
long as you want, and quiteliterally, Do whatever you want.

Bam Bam (01:00:50):
That's a dangerous invitation for us.

Gizmo (01:00:54):
Especially when Bam Bam's in town. Oh, correct.

Senator (01:00:55):
Bam's next question was, Can we rent out this entire
patio?

Bam Bam (01:01:00):
But honestly, that was a great experience. That bar,
just, you walk through, get yourdrink, and you come back and sit
down and continue to smoke. Itwas fantastic. Very convenient.
Beautiful.

Gizmo (01:01:11):
Yeah. Very comfortable too. Oh, And again, going back
to the value prop there, youknow, you went over, BAM, and
kindly got us four drinks. Itwas $60. 60 bucks for four
drinks.
We each had a premium drink. Ithink the three of us ex Pagoda
had Glenfiddich 12.

Bam Bam (01:01:29):
Correct.

Gizmo (01:01:29):
Pagoda had a mixed drink.

Bam Bam (01:01:31):
Sazerac Rye.

Gizmo (01:01:31):
Sazerac Rye. And it was $60 for four In New York, that
would have easily clipped $100

Bam Bam (01:01:38):
for sure.

Gizmo (01:01:39):
Easily.

Bam Bam (01:01:39):
Yeah.

Gizmo (01:01:40):
At the Carnegie Club in New York where you go every, you
know, every day when you'resupposed to be working, what's
the price there?

Pagoda (01:01:45):
Oh, see, let's know what I'm talking about.

Gizmo (01:01:48):
What's the price of a drink at Carnegie? I'm being
serious.

Pagoda (01:01:50):
It's, you know, it can range from 22 to $28.29 bucks
for a regular single malt.That's crazy. Plus tax and then,
you know, whatever.

Gizmo (01:01:57):
That's double what we about

Pagoda (01:01:58):
$25 average.

Gizmo (01:01:59):
That's one of the best restaurants. And Senator, I want
you to share one quick storyabout New Orleans, which, you
know, covers everything. Youwere telling us while we were
eating that this restaurant, forhow perfect it is, it gets wine
spectators top list of winesevery year, going on fifteen,
twenty years, I'm not sure, butthey don't allow or haven't
allowed, I think that'schanging, you were saying, they

(01:02:19):
have not allowed restaurants tobe Michelin star rated in all of
New Orleans.

Senator (01:02:24):
Yeah. So the city has to invite Michelin in to dine at
these restaurants and considerthem for a star. New Orleans for
ages has completely shunnedMichelin and said, we have
absolutely no interest in youcoming in here. We believe and
know that we make some of thebest food in America, we don't
need your validation of that,which is really, really

(01:02:45):
powerful.

Bam Bam (01:02:45):
That's a pretty powerful statement. Kinda like
Really careful,

Senator (01:02:48):
and they lived up to it because, I mean, look at every
meal we've had here. Top notchwhat you're able to get What
I've been hearing is that rightnow there are talks for Michelin
to be able to come in for thefirst time, and they actually
wanna start recognizing, notthese restaurants in that they
feel like they need thatvalidation, but these chefs, for

(01:03:10):
them to be able to have thathonor of earning a star. And so
the funny thing is like Emeraldsis a great example where I'm
pretty certain years ago thatEmeralds, you could order off
the menu a la carte. Now atEmerald's, my goodness, it's
gotten super high on it. It'slike a $250 a person tasting
menu.
Oh, wow. It's only prefix. I'veheard the food is amazing there,

(01:03:34):
and word is like Emerald'sreally going for a star or two
at that restaurant. Wow. So fromwhat I've heard, likely early
next year, they should announcethat there are some restaurants
here that get some Michelinstars, which will be well
deserved recognition.

Gizmo (01:03:49):
And I hope Commander's Palace gets like three or seven
Michelin stars or whatever, then

Senator (01:03:54):
max number It'll be a prime difference.

Gizmo (01:03:55):
Yeah, I

Bam Bam (01:03:56):
hope the pricing stays the same.

Gizmo (01:03:58):
Probably not,

Senator (01:03:59):
but hope over the show. This is also part of the thing
with Michelin for New Orleans,why they haven't been as excited
about it. Southern cuisine andSouthern food has always been
looked down upon or frowned uponin some way by people who are
big on fine dining, right? It'snot the tiny portions with the
outrageously adorned plates witha mediocre meal that's actually

(01:04:22):
on that plate. And their fear isthey don't wanna be part of a
system that is pretty muchdesigned for them not to perform
well.
And so, you know, the irony islike Emeralds has actually gone
in that direction becauseclearly they're going for a
star.

Gizmo (01:04:38):
It's a pivot.

Senator (01:04:39):
And it will be very telling. Like to me, if the
Michelin guide actually gavecommanders a star, I'd have a
world of respect for it becausethe food you're getting at
Commander's Palace istraditional Southern food. I
mean, we're talking turtle soup,we're talking gumbo, we're
grits, all of that. I can veryeasily see a world in which they

(01:05:02):
get absolutely no recognitionbecause the food isn't this
Instagrammable, ridiculouslooking plate with the tiniest
portion of all time and 10courses. So it'll be telling
what happens.
But for folks who love that kindof fine dining experience,
there's Emeralds and a number ofother places that have opened up
the last several years that haveworld class in terms of fine

(01:05:22):
dining, but for my style, I'mnot a huge fine dining guy. I
can count on one hand the numberof fine dining tasting menu
places I've been to that havebeen memorable meals for me as
opposed to disappointments forthe ridiculous price I paid,
where restaurants likeCommanders are always the ones
that are more memorable, thatyou don't need to spend an arm

(01:05:43):
and a leg to have anunbelievable meal and experience
that you'll never forget.

Gizmo (01:05:50):
I will never forget that place.

Bam Bam (01:05:51):
Neither will I, and I hope they get the recognition
that they deserve, but I alsohope that not a thing changes.

Gizmo (01:05:56):
I hope so too. Yeah. Alright, boys. We're coming into
the last third now on the LaAurora Family Creed Fuerte Sol
and the Ilion Jimenez 19 o threerum from The Dominican Republic.
What's everybody thinking?

Bam Bam (01:06:10):
I'm enjoying the cigar. I love the cigar. I love that
it's pretty well balanced.There's a sweetness there and
savoriness. It's very smooth.
Touch of pepper, which I'menjoying.

Gizmo (01:06:20):
Just a little bit.

Bam Bam (01:06:21):
Yeah. Very Very pleasurable. Very good cigar.

Pagoda (01:06:26):
Yeah. For me, felt, you know, it got a bit too dry for
me, and I was looking for alittle more sweetness, which I
didn't get through in thiscigar.

Bam Bam (01:06:34):
Well, are a big dessert guy.

Pagoda (01:06:35):
But, you know, I think the rum really complemented it
really well. And so when I wouldhave a sip of rum with the
thing, it was like a perfectpairing inside my palate. So
yeah, but, you know, lookingforward to the last third.

Senator (01:06:50):
Yeah, I completely agree. I think the rum pairs
extremely well with this andhelps in the sense that the
cigar is definitely on the drierside. The rum brings out a
little more sweetness, which isnice. I think Bam mentioned the
spice you get in the last third,just the right amount. It's
pleasant.
It's not in any way overwhelmingor overpowering, and the flavor
profile is relatively consistentall the way through, and I

(01:07:12):
actually think it's a good thingbecause it starts complex. I
mean, we all called out a numberof distinct flavor notes. And
for me so far, I mean, this isamong some of the best I've
tried out of the La Aurora line,and I know, you know, when we
went to the event talking aboutthis cigar and even met with the
guy who blended it- Yeah,Manuel. You know, he mentioned

(01:07:33):
this is a cigar that if yousmoked blind, you wouldn't
expect it to be from La Aurora,and having smoked now, this is
my second one of these, I thinkthey ought to be making more
stuff like this in addition totheir core line and some of the
stuff they do. Agree.
There's tons of palettes outthere that are chasing full
Nicaraguan flavor, but deliveredin a very smooth, easy,

(01:07:55):
approachable way like Padron,like some of the other
Nicaraguan manufacturers that welove, And so I think there's a
ton of merit to what they'redoing with this cigar.

Gizmo (01:08:03):
This is a fully premium experience.

Bam Bam (01:08:06):
For a pretty fresh cigar. For yeah. Absolutely. You
know? That's surprising.
Yeah. Yeah.

Gizmo (01:08:11):
So, boys, it's time now to talk about what the listeners
wanna hear, which is one of BamBam's favorite conversation
pieces. Have had some

Senator (01:08:20):
really This is going many directions.

Bam Bam (01:08:21):
Yeah, I'm leaving.

Gizmo (01:08:22):
We have had some really memorable conversations, and we
have to shout out our listenersfor the impact that they have
made on the manufacturers andthe people at this show on our
behalf, listening to thispodcast, consuming what we do,
loving what we do, sharing it.We have been able to have some
incredible conversations overthe last couple of days on, you

(01:08:46):
know, behalf of our listenersthrough this podcast with some
of the people that we have beentargeting since day one of this
podcast. And as we've fallen inlove with new cigars and more
cigars, we were able to talk tosome of them. So I wanna share
some of the you know, a littlebit of a preview of some of the
conversations we had, boys. Andfirst up, of course, is we
started our show on Saturdaymorning with a long form

(01:09:10):
interview with Mr.
George Padron.

Bam Bam (01:09:12):
Incredible talk from beginning to end.

Gizmo (01:09:15):
So let's set up for the listener. We walked into the
Padron booth, and Senator andBam actually quarterbacked this
because I was getting the gear.Mhmm. But talk a little bit
about the preamble to gettingthe conversation started on the
actual interview.

Senator (01:09:28):
Yeah. Mean, we had a great conversation. Obviously,
you know, we've met him beforeand we spent a good amount of
time with him last year at PCA,but, you know, I think last year
he was so slammed and just busyin the sense that they were
releasing the Padron sixtiethanniversary cigar, a huge
release for the family. Theyannounced their first
partnership ever with DuPont.They had that going, so it was

(01:09:49):
very hard for us to have enoughtime to really do a more
in-depth interview like wewanted, and this time- Vegas was
extremely busy for them.
For sure. Yeah. Yeah. And thistime, you know, he was thrilled
to build in the time first thingin the morning when the trade
show

Gizmo (01:10:03):
opens. The trade show opens at ten. We were starting
the interview at ten.

Bam Bam (01:10:07):
At ten. It was a casual conversation. He's like, why
don't we do it now? We werekinda silent for two seconds,
and yeah, let's do it. It was itwas incredible.

Gizmo (01:10:15):
Yeah. And we did a full forty, forty five minute
interview with George. It was agreat, you know, all
encompassing conversation aboutthe past, present, and future of
Padron. Mhmm. And I think you,the listener out there, are
really going to love theconversation we had with him,
and I'm feeling that it's justthe start of a fantastic
relationship with the Padronfamily Oh, yeah.

(01:10:37):
As we move into the future here.You know, we've talked about
going to Miami and spending sometime there, going to Nicaragua,
spending some time with thePadron family in So I think that
this is just gonna be just thebeginning- Unreal. With the
Padrons.

Senator (01:10:50):
And the thing I appreciate the most with him,
his candor, and you'll see thatthroughout the entire interview.
You know, this is not We'resetting out to become the
biggest cigar, you know,manufacturer in the world, and
we have these outrageous andlofty goals. What he's trying to
do is incredibly focused, neverveers or deviates from that. At

(01:11:10):
a controlled pace. Exactly.
Yeah. And is unapologetic andbrutally honest about what it
takes to be able to do that, andwhy even his own competitors all
always happily admit there's nomore consistent cigar that is
made than Padron.

Bam Bam (01:11:25):
Yeah. Amazing. In every one of their wines too. And he
talked about one of the littlecigars that he makes that we've
all have fallen in love with,how that came to be. I won't say
what it is, but I think whenthat episode comes out, that's a
great part of the talk.

Pagoda (01:11:38):
Yeah. No, I just wanted to mention his attention to
detail from the way he wasdressed and his expectations of
everybody around him, includinghis family.

Bam Bam (01:11:45):
He's a pro.

Pagoda (01:11:46):
To be dressed appropriately. Yeah. And present
themselves in a certain way, youknow, just highlighting the
family legacy values.

Bam Bam (01:11:54):
Pagoda, where's your tie?

Senator (01:11:55):
Oh, where's mine? Forget Pagoda's tie. I needed
him to meet Gizmo like fiveyears ago.

Gizmo (01:11:59):
Oh, correct. I think if I showed up in the hoodie, I don't
think the conversation wouldhave gone the

Bam Bam (01:12:04):
same five years to get him where he is now.

Gizmo (01:12:07):
I am wearing the sport coat, by the way,

Bam Bam (01:12:08):
all the listeners.

Gizmo (01:12:09):
That's true.

Pagoda (01:12:09):
But this is a man who takes everything very seriously
and does it really well andpresents himself really well to
the highest image, you know,always revering his father and
family, and it's amazing. It's aconversation you guys will look
forward to. It's a must listen.

Senator (01:12:26):
And the wildest part for me, going back to our
earlier conversation aroundfamily, you know, last year with
the release of the sixtiethanniversary, it made sense. The
entire Padron family was therefor that. They had the video
tribute to his father. Youwouldn't have expected anything
less.

Gizmo (01:12:39):
And not just the people who work for the company. The
entire family. Everyone. Thewives, the children, the
siblings, the grandkids, everyage range, everybody was at the
show last year.

Senator (01:12:50):
And so this year, before we hit record, we were
chatting with George and, youknow, said, oh, you know, how
much of the family is here? Andhe goes, All of them. There's no
milestone release this year. Youknow, this is a normal PCA for
them, and still the entirefamily is here contributing,
helping drive and push the brandforward, and I think that's a
really cool thing.

Bam Bam (01:13:09):
That's very impressive.

Gizmo (01:13:11):
So next up after that, we were introduced actually at one
of these seminar panels onFriday to Klaus Kellner, who, of
course, anybody who knowsDavidoff and the Kellner name,
you know, legendary blendingfamily, tobacco family. And
Kloss is now the fourthgeneration, I believe, of the
Kellners producing tobacco andactually produces stoic cigars,

(01:13:36):
which is, you know, one of theblind cigar we did a few weeks
ago, we rated it a perfect 10,and Kloss is a scientist. Yes.
An intellectual blender andmanufacturer.

Senator (01:13:48):
A mad scientist.

Gizmo (01:13:49):
A mad scientist.

Bam Bam (01:13:50):
Hyper focused, serious, intelligent. And I think it's
something, his approach tomaking cigars is something we
all appreciate.

Gizmo (01:13:57):
And it was awesome to sit down with someone who's on the
younger side of their career,who's just started out. He
opened his factory two yearsago, making cigars that we
already love, clearly, andthat's stoic, and we had a
fantastic conversation with him.Yeah. And even after the fact, I
can't wait to share this withthe listeners as we package that
interview into an episode, hesat down on my iPad and opened

(01:14:18):
up with the pencil and drew outa tongue- Incredible. And the
different flavor zones and howhe draws out this map of the
tongue for each cigar that heblends, each iteration that he
blends, and stores it so that hecan reference it later and
compare and contrast you know,what aspects of the tongue are
being hit to create a fullpalate covering experience.

Bam Bam (01:14:40):
I don't think there's another manufacturer in the
world that's looking at blendingin that way and approaching the
making of cigars the way hedoes.

Senator (01:14:47):
And I think it was really cool to see, I mean, you
know, our first introduction tohim was the panel on Friday, and
that panel was him, LisetteCarrillo, and who was the third
from Los

Gizmo (01:14:59):
Jose Luis from Los Sensia.

Senator (01:15:01):
Exactly. That's right.

Gizmo (01:15:02):
And

Senator (01:15:02):
they're all young, and they've played critical roles in
kind of their family's businessand operation, and to hear from
someone from the youngergeneration in this business that
is making an impact, andbringing their own creativity
and their own perspective to howthey approach blending and
manufacturing and production isjust really cool and gave me a

(01:15:25):
world of confidence in what thefuture will look like for this
industry after some of thepatriarchs and even the next
generation that we've been soaccustomed to trusting to
deliver experiences that ourpalate's gonna enjoy and
appreciate, I think we haveevery reason to be excited about
the future and what we'll smokeyears from now, and even, you

(01:15:47):
know, our kids will.

Bam Bam (01:15:47):
It's a good point. The way he approaches the
manufacturing of his cigars, youhave to respect it, and it's the
trust factor that developsthrough that discipline, right?

Pagoda (01:15:57):
What I liked about him is, you know, he came through,
by the way, he's young, but soknowledgeable, so incredibly
knowledgeable. But moreimportantly, he's an educator.
And, you know, I think hisapproach to the tobacco industry
brings a fresh perspective andan educational perspective. So
it's gonna be a great lesson foryou guys. You'll walk away

(01:16:20):
learning something, not onlyabout the manufacturing process,
but also, you know, the tasteprofiles and the palates, and
it's gonna be incredible.
So it's once again a mustlisten.

Senator (01:16:30):
And I think to Pagoda's point, you know, we've maybe
mentioned this a little bit inthe past, the blending side of
the industry is oftenoverlooked.

Gizmo (01:16:39):
It's a

Bam Bam (01:16:40):
mystery for most of us.

Gizmo (01:16:41):
Yes. Most of it's marketing.

Bam Bam (01:16:42):
Yeah, exactly.

Gizmo (01:16:42):
And we could see that. Look around at these big Sure,
exactly. That conversation's notbeing had.

Senator (01:16:47):
It's not at all. I mean, in the new world space,
like you said, it's moremarketing driven and focused on,
you know, new releases and notkinda how they came to be, and
on the Cuban side, I mean, we'llnever know Master Blenders at
any of the

Gizmo (01:17:00):
Yeah, they're hidden away in the

Bam Bam (01:17:02):
back room. Exactly.

Senator (01:17:03):
It's really cool to hear him

Bam Bam (01:17:04):
Yeah, and I know we'll get to Lisette's conversation,
but like her father, the mastersfor each of these marcus, they
focus on the blend, and that'sall they care about. You guys
handle everything else. I wannafocus on the blend. That's what
matters.

Gizmo (01:17:17):
And what I love about Koss, just like Ernesto that
you're just referencing toLisette's father, is he's rooted
in tradition. He knows howimportant the legacy and the
family name of Kellner is, buthe's an innovator, and he's a
scientist about it. He's verymeticulous about how he tries
things and tastes things, andthat experience, for you, the

(01:17:39):
listener, to hear that, I'mhoping you had the same
experience that we did sittinghere with him. It was really eye
opening.

Senator (01:17:45):
Yeah, and the thing I really loved, and you'll hear
him talk extensively about this,is how bespoke his approach is
to blending. I mean, there's alot of blenders in the cigar
world who come up with a varietyof different blends. They put
them on a shelf. Someone comesin and says that they wanna
launch a new product or line,and they try these boxed blends

(01:18:07):
that have already been made andproduced. They pick one, and
they say, Okay, let's slap alabel on it, and we're gonna
sell it.
And for him, it's meeting withthat partner who is gonna
entrust him to produce thatcigar, understanding the palette
and flavor profile that theirtarget consumer is looking for,
and then reverse engineeringeverything from there. Sure. And

(01:18:27):
I think that's so refreshingwhen you think about what we
hope for all brands to be doingin the future, which is really
understanding what we asconsumers are looking for, and
building a blend based on that,not just here's some great
blends that maybe I think peoplemight like, or I enjoy, and you
just choose from those.

Bam Bam (01:18:45):
Yeah. It's truly an artisanal, bespoke approach that
he's taken.

Gizmo (01:18:48):
And I think, too, the thing I love about Klaus, and
this is actually taking us intothe next interview that we had
with Vance Taylor,

Pagoda (01:18:55):
who

Gizmo (01:18:55):
is the founder, owner, and is blending with Klaus Stoic
cigars. We did a wonderfulinterview with him and learned
about Stoic, but I think thething in exactly what you just
said about Klas blending withVance Mhmm. Is also the element
of surprise. You know, it's thistradition. It's understanding
the consumer, but also findingnew ways to surprise the palate.

(01:19:18):
To create a cigar like we saidabout Stoic that we told both
Klaus and Vance, this is unlikeany other flavor profile that
we've had, and there's veryspecific reasons for that that
we learned in the And thatelement of surprise is what's
going to push the industryforward.

Bam Bam (01:19:35):
Oh,

Gizmo (01:19:35):
yeah. You know, it's maintaining tradition and
legacy, but also creating newvarietals and new hybrids, new
blend decisions that advance theindustry and these great cigars
that

Bam Bam (01:19:47):
we've Yeah. And you also have to respect Vance's
also his intellectual approachto his cigar making.

Gizmo (01:19:52):
So I think the listeners are gonna love our conversation
with Vance Taylor. We sat downwith him. Of course, we had to
after the experience we had.He's just launching the brand to
retailers at this PCA show. Dida soft launch last year in
November.

Senator (01:20:06):
Yeah. We we mistakenly sold him out a little bit before
PCA with that episode.

Gizmo (01:20:10):
Yeah. He told us that the Robustos were pretty much sold
out countrywide here in The USafter our conversation Oops. And
review of that cigar. So we'revery, very happy to have sat
down with him, and, you know,the word that I take away of our
conversation with Vance, as thatcomes up in a few weeks here for
the listeners, is believability.Mhmm.
And I said that to Vance as wewere sitting with him. You know,

(01:20:32):
a lot of cigar manufacturersthat we look at at this show, we
look at a lot of booths. It'sall marketing. We joke about
that word on this podcast. Yep.
But I believe him. His storyabout stoic, his appreciation
for stoicism, Marcus Aurelius,we were actually walking by his
booth. He had a free moment. Hewas literally reading a book on
stoicism. Nobody was looking athim.

(01:20:54):
He was doing it for his own, youknow, enjoyment and education,
and I just love his story.Obviously, his cigar is
fantastic, and I can't wait forlisteners to hear that
conversation. Huge. Great, greatepisode.

Pagoda (01:21:06):
No, so deeply ingrained in the value system. Think for
us as cigar consumers as well,there's a lot of new, exciting
cigars which are gonna be in themarket, you know, coming through
a lot of the young, freshperspectives of either the
younger generation, and it'sjust, you know, something to
look forward to. So then weinterviewed Lisette Perez

(01:21:28):
Calillo, the daughter ofErnesto,

Gizmo (01:21:31):
the, you know, legend. I mean, he's a cigar blending god
in this industry. We were sofortunate to sit down with
Lisette and talk to her abouttheir rebranding as Casa
Carrillo and the story behindthat and the why. And what
another great we had a greatconversation with her. That was
actually the first long formconversation we've had in any
any meaningful way with Lisette,and thankfully we were able to

(01:21:53):
hit record and sit down withher.

Bam Bam (01:21:55):
She's wonderful, and the conversation was very
poignant, very clear and crisp.

Senator (01:22:00):
And I think she's incredible as a woman leader in
this industry that has been maledominated, you know, since time
immemorial, and the role thatshe currently plays for Casa
Carrillo

Bam Bam (01:22:13):
is She does everything. Substantial. Crazy.

Gizmo (01:22:15):
I don't know how she has the time and the day.

Bam Bam (01:22:17):
Yeah, it's true.

Senator (01:22:17):
Unbelievable, and it's just so, you know, cool you hear
these stories. They talked aboutin the panel with kind of the
next generation of the industryhow young some of them, all of
them were when they first gotexposed to this business. I
mean, Klas talked about beingfour years old when he had his
first cigar from his That'sright.

Gizmo (01:22:35):
I think she was seven.

Bam Bam (01:22:36):
Yeah, seven or eight?

Gizmo (01:22:36):
She was saying at the panel.

Bam Bam (01:22:37):
She was banding cigars in the factory. Yeah.

Senator (01:22:40):
Yeah. And it's so funny you see them, you know, as
they've grown up, and they'velearned so much more, and now
the tremendous impact that she'sable to have across their
business, and there are otherwomen like her, and I hope that
even starts to inspire otherones in the future, because it's
these different perspectives andexperiences that folks have that
I think help push forward theentire category of premium

(01:23:03):
cigars

Bam Bam (01:23:03):
and Yes, they do.

Pagoda (01:23:05):
And you know, once again, adding to Sandra's point,
you know, you think about womenleaders in this industry. She's
bringing a completely freshperspective as well, focusing
even on the women demographicsand trying to understand what is
it that they like. So, you know,for the women cigar listeners
here, I think you'll hear someinteresting things from her

(01:23:27):
perspective

Bam Bam (01:23:27):
and what she

Pagoda (01:23:28):
Good point. Plans to bring, you know, in the next
coming years.

Bam Bam (01:23:31):
Yeah.

Gizmo (01:23:31):
And I think it's really nice to hear a manufacturer, be
it a woman or a man, thinkingabout other elements of the
potential demographic to improveand increase the experience for
new entrants to cigar smoking,you know, across all genders,
all ages, everything. It's niceto hear this diversification and

(01:23:52):
this focus on those things. Soit's a great conversation we
have coming with Lisette PerezCarrillo. And finally, boys, as
of now, there may be one or twomore we'll see because we're
recording on Sunday afternoonhere at the PCA show. We're
gonna wrap up our evening heretonight.
So there might be anotherconversation or two, but the
final one we have as of rightthis moment was our conversation

(01:24:12):
with senator's best friend andbrother from another mother,
Rafael Nadal, the head of AgingRoom Cigars, the blender
president, owner of that, and healso is the vice president of
product capabilities at Altidus.You know, he does a lot of stuff
for them. But of course, ourfocus is the aging room cigars
that Senator and all of us loveso very much.

Bam Bam (01:24:33):
Oh, yeah.

Senator (01:24:34):
I mean, what a conversation. We've been trying
to find him at this trade showfor the last couple years. He's
a busy man,

Gizmo (01:24:43):
I mean. Even with that bright jacket, he couldn't see
him anywhere.

Senator (01:24:48):
And it's funny because when we finally saw him in the
booth, and we had a chance totalk to him, and he was very
gracious with his time andwanted to set up an interview
with us. I mean, you just watchthis man walk around the trade
show floor, everyone knows him.Sure. Everyone stops him and has
a conversation with him. I mean,he's blended across countless
different brands and lines, andthen he's got his own and aging

(01:25:10):
room.
And we're a cigar and lifestylepodcast, and what I really love
about him, and I think we've allgrown to appreciate is this is a
man who has a tremendousappreciation for how a cigar
fits into and enhances yourlifestyle. It's zest for life.

Pagoda (01:25:29):
He is a man. Exactly. He the

Bam Bam (01:25:33):
principle of smoking cigars, ingratiating yourself
with your friends, having greatconversations, having great
food, great life experiences.It's all wrapped into his brand
beautifully.

Pagoda (01:25:44):
You know, a lively, lively interview that one you
know, and then his inspirationbeing music and how he ties it
all up together, I think, onceagain, for all of the aging room
and the Rafael Nadel followersand people who are inspired by
him, it's gonna be a fantastictime.

Bam Bam (01:26:01):
He's got that kind of personality that makes you wanna
be around him.

Senator (01:26:04):
Yeah. Yeah.

Bam Bam (01:26:05):
He's larger than life. Very magnetic. Oh, so Very
friendly.

Pagoda (01:26:08):
So social.

Bam Bam (01:26:08):
I think he says he to

Pagoda (01:26:10):
everybody between here while we walked him to and And
he's genuine.

Bam Bam (01:26:14):
Yeah. He's genuine. I also think everyone's running up
to him

Gizmo (01:26:16):
because of Yes. He's like a celebrity.

Bam Bam (01:26:18):
Absolutely. We

Gizmo (01:26:19):
had a wide ranging conversation with him like we
did everybody else. I think, youknow, with these five interviews
we're talking about now, have alot of great content coming out
of PCA. We're gonna weave thisinto upcoming New World episodes
here for you listeners outthere, and I think you're really
going to enjoy the content thatwe've been able to create and
put together here at PCA twentytwenty five. And maybe we'll

(01:26:42):
have a few more. We'll see whathappens after we stop recording
today, boys.

Bam Bam (01:26:45):
Alright.

Gizmo (01:26:45):
Alright. We're coming to the end of our evening here with
the La Aurora Family CreedFuerte Sol and the Ilion Jimenez
19 o three rum. Any finalthoughts here, boys, before we
move into the ratings portion ofour program?

Bam Bam (01:26:58):
Just overall a delicious pairing.

Gizmo (01:26:59):
Yeah, I was very, very happy with this.

Senator (01:27:01):
Yeah, and for me, a consistent experience. Think all
the way through, even into thelast half an inch, didn't lose
any of that flavor. Still smoothand enjoyable, never felt like
it overheated, and I lost or theflavor got muddled. So really
pleased with what I had today.

Bam Bam (01:27:18):
Yeah, you know, I'd like to see how this performs
three to four to five weeks inour tower, letting it season for
a little bit.

Pagoda (01:27:25):
I completely agree. Think for me, I would really
love to age in and try it. Justa few Yeah. Because the last
third, I think, was less drier.Like I think the second third
was pretty dry for me.
And so I really, really startedenjoying it again. So for me, it
was once again, and you can seeI'm right back to the nub. Yeah,
it's a good journey. Yeah, it'sbeen a good journey. And from a

(01:27:47):
flavor perspective, I think itfits within our flavor profile.

Senator (01:27:50):
I'm glad you mentioned the kind of difference for you
and it getting sweeter down thestretch because I agree. I think
the final third for me gotsweeter and saltier. Yeah.

Bam Bam (01:28:00):
Oh, And

Senator (01:28:01):
it's like just a great palate stimulating profile to
have so much sweetness andThat's correct. I I really love
the last That's correct.

Gizmo (01:28:09):
Alright, boys. Let's go now to our formal rating tonight
on the Elyon Jimenez nineteen ohthree rum. Bam, bam, you're up.

Bam Bam (01:28:16):
I'm at a nine with this. I think this is delicious
from beginning to end. Very easyto drink. Like I said, on the
nose, I got a ton of vanilla,caramel on the finish on the
palate. Really exquisite.
Nine.

Gizmo (01:28:29):
Okay. Pagoda.

Pagoda (01:28:30):
I think it's a nine for me. I think they had me at
Sherry. No, I'm just kidding.No, but you know what it is. I
tend to like, you know, any kindof liquor which are Agent Cherry
and it's-

Bam Bam (01:28:41):
Any kind of liquor at all.

Pagoda (01:28:42):
Well, liquors are rated nine. So from henceforth, I
retire. No, but, you know, it'sa fantastic rum, very smooth,
really, you know, veryflavorful, and it was an
excellent, excellent pairingwith the cigar we had. So, you
know, it just really made itpretty buoyant. So I think it's

(01:29:04):
a nine for me.

Gizmo (01:29:05):
All right. So it's also a nine for me. I thought the
flavor was fantastic. I love thevalue on this rum at $40. I
would be very happy to have thisstocked in my cabinet at home.
I loved, as I mentioned earlier,it was not too sweet. It tasted
very natural. You know, somerums we've talked about, you
know, kinda have that hint of,you know, false sweetness or

(01:29:27):
that chemical kind reducedsweetness. Very nicely balanced,
and it wasn't harsh at all. Youknow, even for an eight years
aged rum, we often talk aboutdouble digit aged spirits on
this podcast.
You know, it was really, reallyexcellent. So I'm very, very
happy with this, and I'm very,very happy with a nine. Senator.

Senator (01:29:44):
So I'm in lockstep with the group. I'm I'm at a strong
nine, and, you know, for me, thefact that this leans drier than
most rums is a huge merit. Ithink the fact that La Aurora
very cleverly has focused oncreating and blending rum that
pairs specifically with cigarsis awesome for us and every

(01:30:08):
other cigar smoker out there.Mean, the rums that we love are
the ones that we say are notoverpowering, are not too sweet,
don't detract from the smokingexperience we're having, and
this one only enhanced it, Ithink, all the way through. I
think it's very versatile.
I can see pairing this rum with,honestly, most cigars I smoke.

Gizmo (01:30:28):
Almost anything, including Cuban. Agreed.

Bam Bam (01:30:30):
Oh, yeah.

Gizmo (01:30:30):
Including Cuban I struggle

Senator (01:30:32):
to think of, you know, a cigar. I think the only thing
I wouldn't pair this with ismaybe the fullest of full
bodied, because this is, youknow, pretty smooth and easy
drinking, not as full or robustas, you know, a rum with maybe
some more age, but at its pricepoint at is it eight years?
Seven years?

Gizmo (01:30:50):
Yeah. Eight years aged.

Senator (01:30:51):
At eight years bucks.

Bam Bam (01:30:52):
Tough to beat.

Senator (01:30:53):
For $40, I think it's a great pairing with almost any
cigar. Yeah.

Gizmo (01:30:57):
Totally agree. Alright, boys. That puts the formal
liquor rating tonight on theElyon Jimenez nineteen o three
rum at a nine point zero. Greatrating. Let's compare that to
the one hundred and tenthanniversary rum we've done from
Ilion Jimenez on episode 154.
Edge that out just a little bit.That scored an 8.8. So just two
points higher than that at anine point zero. And now it's

(01:31:20):
time to move into the formallizard rating on the La Aurora
family creed in Fuerte, Sol.Senator, you're up.
Normally we're saying rooster,but tonight is Senator. The
pressure's on. I don't love thisposition.

Senator (01:31:34):
Where's rooster when

Bam Bam (01:31:35):
I need him?

Gizmo (01:31:37):
Phone a friend.

Senator (01:31:38):
Correct. So I think I'm in lockstep with the rum. I'm
gonna give this a nine. I thinkfor me, La Aurora is never a
brand that I've associated withfull bodied cigars. I think
they're more firmly mediumbodied, and to see La Aurora
produce something that is fullflavored, but still true to kind

(01:32:01):
of their DNA and who they are,that I think it's a medium
bodied experience, is never easyto do with Nicaraguan tobacco.
That's by its nature reallypowerful, and you've gotta work
in blending to tame that, and Ithink they've done a really nice
job of that here. I think for alot of Nicaraguan cigars, or
mostly Nicaraguan in this case,they either skew very sweet and

(01:32:25):
cocoa forward or very dry andearthy, and for me, this was a
really nice balance between thetwo, which is why I'm at a
strong nine. So it's definitelysomething I would smoke again. I
mean, this is my second one, andI think this is for a wide range
of smokers in the sense that- I

Gizmo (01:32:44):
agree with that.

Senator (01:32:44):
If you like a fuller bodied, fuller flavored
experience, there's something toenjoy here. But even if you're
someone that normally only goesfor a medium bodied cigar, and
you don't necessarily pursue,you know, a Maduro that's got
more flavor, the delivery onthis is so smooth, I think this
is a great gateway into thosetypes of cigars, so I'm at a

(01:33:06):
strong nine.

Gizmo (01:33:07):
So I'm also at a nine. I loved this cigar tonight. I
thought it was really excellent,well constructed. The combustion
was fantastic. I love thechocolate notes, that bitter
dark chocolate, a little bit ofcoffee, and I'm not gonna call
it citrus.
I'm gonna call it a citric note,like almost like an acidic type
of citrus that increased the,you know, saliva in my mouth,

(01:33:31):
balanced out that dryness forme. And I think we have to shout
out Mexican San Andres wrapper.We've talked about, you know,
other cigars that we love thathave the Mexican San Andres
wrapper. It's really working onthis cigar. I think the blend on
this is excellent.
And like you guys just said, Iwonder, with a little bit of
time, how this cigar is evengonna just, you know, rest out,

(01:33:51):
you know, develop. I think thishas some legs. I'd be very happy
to have a box of these in myhumidor, especially at a price
of between $15 and $16 MSRP. I'massuming even gonna be able to
find that pretty reasonably,probably lower than that online
as these cigars finally come tomarket. But very, very happy
with this cigar tonight.
I'm glad we chose this, so it'sa nine for me. Pagoda.

Pagoda (01:34:12):
I'm at an eight, and the reason is, once again, I would
say the second, which wasreally, really dry for me. But
having said that, I'm inlockstep in terms of overall the
flavor profile and what they'retrying to achieve with this, and
I think they've done it verysuccessfully. What I do feel is
that, hey, I think maybe in acouple of weeks or a couple of

(01:34:32):
months, you know, I'm gonna geta box. I'm gonna age it and see
how it develops. And I'm surethat I think the one thing I was
really just seeking with alittle more sweetness in the
beginning and in the secondthird, it would have really
helped.
But towards the last third, I'lltell you, if I could have got
this cigar what it was in thelast third, I think it would
have definitely be nine, maybeeven higher. You know? But for

(01:34:56):
this particular cigar that I'vesmoked today, it's an eight.

Bam Bam (01:34:58):
Alright. Bam bam. I'm at a nine. I think the word
journey is very accurate. Themiddle third was a little flat,
but honestly, I kind of likedthe way it began.
It was very berry forward. It'sdelicious. Got a little flat in
the middle, but I didn't hateit. But this final third, this
is where I'm getting the deepcocoa and a lot of deep dark

(01:35:18):
chocolate here. Very, veryunique and still very smooth.
So I'm at a nine.

Gizmo (01:35:23):
Alright, boys. That puts the formal lizard rating tonight
on the La Aurora Family CreedFuerte Sol, the Robusto at an
8.8. So let's compare that tothe other Robusto we've done
Very fair score. From La Aurora,the one hundred and twentieth
anniversary Robusto on episode154. This edged that out by just
one point, scored an 8.7.

(01:35:44):
So an 8.8 tonight. So what agreat pairing, boys.

Bam Bam (01:35:47):
Yeah, fantastic.

Gizmo (01:35:48):
Another solid double pairing from the La Aurora
family, Ilion Jimenez, tonighton the pod.

Bam Bam (01:35:55):
I'm having a hard time putting this last piece of
You're down

Pagoda (01:35:57):
to the nub.

Bam Bam (01:35:57):
It's very, very good.

Pagoda (01:35:58):
Yeah. Yeah, same here. I think the last, think it's
delicious right now.

Gizmo (01:36:02):
Great cigar. And I think, again, at that price point, I
think we're talking about a verypremium experience at a very
fair price point. So I'm lookingforward to seeing these come to
market and to get our hands onsome of these. So boys, another
great PCA show.

Bam Bam (01:36:18):
Think A good one,

Gizmo (01:36:19):
good I think we outdid ourselves this year.

Bam Bam (01:36:21):
Yeah.

Gizmo (01:36:21):
I'm very happy with the experience, very happy with New
Orleans, very thankful to PCA,the leadership team there, Josh
Habersky, of course, who's thepresident of PCA, as well as the
manufacturers and the retailersthat have been so friendly and
kind to us over the last coupledays, and of course, especially
to the folks who have given ustheir time to put these great

(01:36:44):
interviews together for ourlisteners. And I'm telling you,
if you are a listener of thispodcast, stay tuned because we
have some fantastic contentcoming your way over the next
few weeks and probably months atthis point with all the stuff we
have coming of greatconversations with some really,
really amazing people in thecigar industry. All right, boys.

(01:37:05):
Fantastic night.

Bam Bam (01:37:07):
Well done, guys.

Gizmo (01:37:07):
A great pairing. Yeah. A great show. I'm so glad we did
this. I can't wait to come backto New Orleans next year.
It's gonna be a lot of fun.

Senator (01:37:14):
Bourbon Street is gonna miss BAM.

Gizmo (01:37:16):
I know that's right.

Bam Bam (01:37:17):
I did my

Gizmo (01:37:18):
best. All right, boys. We have to thank our sponsor, of
course, Fabrica Five. They'regreat partners to us. They make
things like us coming to PCApossible, so we're very
appreciative to them.
We have to thank all of ourlizards out there who write us
all the time. There's no lizardof the week this week. We didn't
get any, get to any lizardemail, but we will save that for

(01:37:39):
next week. And, of course,everybody, we will see you next
week. Hope you enjoyed thisepisode.
Thanks for joining us. You couldfind our merch store and ratings
archive at our brand newwebsite, loungelizardspod.com.
That's loungelizardsp0d.com.Don't forget to leave us a
rating and subscribe on yourfavorite podcast platform. If

(01:38:00):
you have any comments,questions, do you wanna reach
out, say hello, tell us whatyou're smoking?
Email us. Hello atLoungeLizardsPod.com. You can
also find us on Instagram atLounge Lizards Pod. We really
appreciate your time, and we'll,we'll see you next week.

All Episodes

Ep. 181: PCA 2025 - Lizards Live in New Orleans (w/ La Aurora Family Creed Fuerte Sol Robusto, E. León Jimenes 1903 Rum, Louisiana Food and Culture, Muffuletta Obsession & Trade Show Highlights)

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