Consumer Discussion

You are listening to the Cigar Rebel podcast. In this episode of Cigar Rebel we invite some of you Rebels to join us and tell your Cigar Story. Join the conversation as we take the time to enjoy one of life’s luxuries on this quirky journey we call life.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:12

Welcome to the Cigar Rebel community, where indulgence meets authenticity. This is more than a podcast. It's a gathering place for those who savor life's luxuries with unapologetic passion. Here we celebrate the fine art of living through rich flavors, bold spirits, exquisite cigars, and unforgettable experiences.

SPEAKER_03 0:36

Welcome, Cigar Rebels, to the podcast. I'm Mel. And I'm Kevin, and we're coming to you tonight with another Rebel Conversation. Having some of you rebels out there share cigar life story, um, cigar stories, their cigar process and journey, and we're excited about that tonight. Yes, so we're gonna talk apparently.

SPEAKER_07 0:55

Oh, you're good. A couple weeks ago we had the corns on here, and we knew that we wanted to do it again, especially by your feedback.

SPEAKER_03 1:04

Yeah, and just like last time, no reps, no brand breakdowns, no sales charts, just simply a conversation with other cigar enthusiasts, some of you rebels.

SPEAKER_07 1:14

Yes, we're gonna have just real people here, as you could see. Uh, we're gonna have real cigars and real stories.

SPEAKER_03 1:21

Absolutely, because the truth is cigar culture does not exist in a sales chart on social media and marketing. Cigar culture happens when people sit down, smoke cigars, and enjoy life together.

SPEAKER_07 1:34

Yes, and so tonight we want to hear how cigars show up in people's lives. And so, rebels, let's go ahead and cut light and settle in.

SPEAKER_03 1:44

Absolutely. So let's go ahead and um look at what cigar we're smoking tonight, Mel.

SPEAKER_07 1:49

Yeah, so tonight we are smoking the pumpkin by the elevated humidor. This has a San Andreas Maduro wrapper, an Indonesian binder, a Nicaragua from Condego and Esteli.

SPEAKER_03 2:03

Absolutely. Sorry, the graphic, we're having all kinds of little technical difficulties tonight. Sorry about that. So the graphic didn't show us through it. Oh I dropped my cigar and cracked it, and so I'm all frizzled because I I think that's what happened with this one earlier. Um, so what do you guys get on the cold draw? Any cold draw so far?

SPEAKER_07 2:28

So for me, I definitely get some um for the cold draw, some earthiness, some little bit of light spice in there, some tiny hints of sweetness.

SPEAKER_03 2:41

Yeah, absolutely. What'd you say?

SPEAKER_07 2:44

It's got a great cold draw.

SPEAKER_03 2:46

Yeah, there's definitely a light sweetness, a light spice to it. Um, but let's go ahead and light our cigar. Lighting the cigar is brought to you tonight by Big Sky Cigar Company.

SPEAKER_04 3:05

Reminers, the ranchers, black one and bring now. Big sky cigar because bringing that spirit back in.

SPEAKER_05 3:14

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SPEAKER_04 3:31

And every boxol helps our veterans, man. With warriors and quiet waters, we lend a friend's hand. It's heritage burning and every draw. Big sky cigars, Montana's pride and the low.

SPEAKER_05 3:51

Big sky cigar. We're heritage full, we'll never draw.

SPEAKER_01 4:01

Ask your local tobacconist about big sky cigars today. If they do not carry them, the shops can reach out to Brad Fraser to set up a new account.

SPEAKER_07 4:11

As always, thank you to our sponsor. So now that we have the cigar lit, everybody has maybe taken a couple of draws off of it. What is everybody getting from the cigar?

SPEAKER_09 4:26

I'll get a little woody, a little cedar. There's some light uh allspice with uh kind of a real light coffee.

SPEAKER_08 4:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 4:40

It's not a dark coffee, it's a real light coffee on this one.

SPEAKER_08 4:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 4:44

And uh pretty much on the very first part of it. That's that is the major issue. The major portions of it is there'll be a little, I know there'll be more float through it as we get to it, but uh right now it's a little bit like I said, a little cedar, a little woody, uh, and uh light spices and and a real light coffee.

SPEAKER_07 5:04

Yep. So in my notes, I have a smooth coffee in there. Um, so that's not far off. I also get less a tiny bit of toasted nuts or something like that in there.

SPEAKER_03 5:16

Okay, yeah, absolutely. And so I I think I get that nuttiness, I get a little bit of that earthiness, that coffee that's there, but it's almost like a dark coffee to me because you know, dark coffee or dark roast is a little bit smoother. Yeah, and so I pick that up. It's a very smooth process. Um, but Mel, let's get right into the show tonight. We have some great conversation coming up, right?

SPEAKER_07 5:38

So, really, the most or one of the most interesting parts of cigar culture is always the people who live it and enjoy cigars. So, we kind of talked with you guys a little bit beforehand. We're not doing an interrogation tonight. It's really just conversation. So there are no right answers, there's no pressure or any answers that anyone's looking for. We're just gonna be talking about stories.

SPEAKER_03 6:00

Absolutely. So tonight we're really excited to introduce a great couple uh members here at Story Cigars and Lounge to tonight. So, Mel, why don't you introduce our guests tonight?

SPEAKER_07 6:08

Yes, so welcome to being on the podcast, David and Abby. Thank you. Welcome to Cigar Rebel.

SPEAKER_03 6:15

Glad to be here. Yep. So to get us started tonight, we want to ask you guys a few easy questions, just some get-to-know-you questions, and really simply have a conversation tonight. Um, we're recording with a little bit different mic setup tonight, so Mel and all of us might have to speak up a little bit more. Uh, if you guys are watching live, let us know how the sound uh is coming across. Um, we're in transition of microphones and we have a few more people here tonight. Um, but Mel, why don't you get us started?

SPEAKER_07 6:41

Yeah, so we're gonna go ahead and start at the beginning. A real easy question is how did both of you guys start smoking cigars? When did they first enter your life?

SPEAKER_09 6:51

Um, I started smoking cigars fairly early. Well, earlier than I should have, but I'll tell you that. Uh I smoked a pipe and I started smoking a pipe when I was about 17, 18. I started smoking cigars probably whenever I was about 16 years old. I drove a tractor on a farm, and you're sitting on the back of a tractor, and it was either chewing tobacco or cigars, and cigars was a lot easier and a lot more enjoyable than chewing tobacco because if you hit a bump, you swallow it. Yeah, so but uh I started smoking cigars early and and really enjoyed them. And you know, I'd go off and on, I'd go off of them for a while, and I'd always come back and smoke, and you know, I'd always have my cigar later on. So, but constant is probably here within the last oh, I guess maybe 10-15 years has been more of a constant cigars over anything else. Yeah, I still smoke a pipe every now and then, but it's mostly cigars.

SPEAKER_07 7:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 7:53

I don't know how about you.

SPEAKER_06 7:54

Oh, I'm sorry, go ahead. Oh I started smoking two years ago after I'd met David. Uh David and I've been together four years, but I uh started smoking with him in order to spend time with him and kind of have time together, and we'd uh sit out on the deck and smoke a cigar and discuss the day and just enjoy it. And I've come to smoke now probably three or four a day. Sometimes I'll ask him, I'll say, David, you ready to smoke?

SPEAKER_03 8:31

So that was a great time when um I was smoking cigars way before Mel was. While she had smoked cigars before me when I started smoking, it was probably a year into my cigar journey. Um that Mel would come outside and smoke a cigar with me occasionally, and I'd smoke a couple, like she smoked a small one, which is why she blended the ladybug is it was a cigar that she could smoke in the same time I smoked a Toro or a Churchill. And then what happened was uh just kind of out of the blue one day, we're actually driving to the airport and she had two cigars. I said, What are those for? She's like, for the ride. Uh and then it was after that she kind of started uh asking me, it's like, hey, you want to have a cigar outside? Or I'd come home from the office and she's just sitting outside having a cigar. Uh big wins right there, right, David? Oh so I want to jump to the comments. A lot of you guys have said hello, Kiltman. We're so glad to have you. Leslie, Richard, um, so many of you guys with us tonight. Um, Richard asked a question right there: Cigar Rebels, have you tried the um Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust 10th anniversary Jubilee Let? I have not. Um, I thought I had smoked one, but I checked my pictures um a little bit earlier because somebody else asked me. Um, and I had smoked something else from that I had not had, but I do have some of those coming in, and we're going to be smoking those probably the next week. I'm excited to have them. Um, I'm a big Suburmesa Brulee fan. Um, the sweetness is a little bit of a put off uh to some cigar smokers, but it was one of the first cigars that I absolutely loved outside of and beyond kind of the Deadwood series, and so I really enjoyed that one. I can't smoke it all the time, but I do keep a handful on stock. We sell them here at Stories. Um, and I smoked one during poker night, the Brulee Blue, the other night. So I'm excited to get back around um and try the 10th anniversary Jubilee. So excited about that.

SPEAKER_07 10:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 10:25

So now any follow-up questions on the how they got into cigars.

SPEAKER_07 10:29

So do you I always like to ask if you remember what your first cigar actually was?

SPEAKER_09 10:36

Oh lord. My first was probably about 15 years ago. It was probably honestly, I think it was probably a blackened mile. Okay. Just to be honest, and you know, I've progressed over the years. Like I said, I was telling, I was telling Daddy not too long ago that if somebody would have told me 10 years ago that I would be spending eight, ten, twelve, fifteen dollars on a cigar, I would have laughed and told them they were crazy. But now that you smoke them, you realize that there's a huge difference in this the smell. As a matter of fact, somebody today or last night said something about the cigar and said, you know, I really those really not are uh are uh as offensive as most cigars I've ever smelled hanging around. And I said, Well, this is the big difference in between a$1 cigar and a$10 cigar.

SPEAKER_03 11:30

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. So when you first started smoking cigars, what surprised you early on, Addie? You've been smoking for a couple of years. What was your biggest surprise during that early journey?

SPEAKER_06 11:45

Oh, I guess that I could I liked the sweet ones at first, and I could I could taste the sweetness in them. And um then it went to the harsher ones, and then I went back to the sweet ones, and then I'm back now to the mediums again. But which one did I smoke first?

SPEAKER_09 12:12

It was one of the Jane Oh the Sweet Jane Jane and the Fat Bottom Betty, yeah. Those in the Bedwood series.

SPEAKER_06 12:22

Yeah, and I really enjoyed them.

SPEAKER_09 12:24

But I think now she's more into the she'll smoke the Maduros with me because I'm a Maduro and a scuro fan. Uh, and she'll smoke those with me, but I think her favorites now are in the uh Connecticut's and the Connecticut shades. You know, they're the really the really light uh wrappers because they're not as they're not as hard on most of them. You know, most you know, you do get some of them that the spice is really heavy on, but most of them are not.

SPEAKER_06 12:58

So and my ghost to cigar is the ladybug, of course.

SPEAKER_03 13:02

Perfect. And I'm sure we'll get back around to that here in a little bit. Uh, for you rebels out there watching, we'd love for you to drop in the comments what you're smoking tonight. Maybe if you're pairing it with something. Um, and of course, we'd love to hear what your first cigar was. If you would have dropped that in the comments, um, if something it's something you remember, maybe it was a black and mild, uh, maybe it wasn't my first cigar, it was a fat bottom Betty. My first box of cigars that I bought was the same, but the first cigar outside of that was that Suburmesa brulee, which is again why I really enjoy that cigar and come back to it. It's more of the memory of that. Um, would love to know what you guys are smoking tonight. So, Mel, what's our next question for our guest tonight?

SPEAKER_07 13:44

Yeah, so when we talked about the beginning of your journey, do you feel like you dived into it pretty quickly or dove into it pretty quickly, or did you kind of just ease into it?

SPEAKER_06 13:58

I dove into it quickly. Yeah, I did. I uh would come up to the lounge and up at the lounge I kind of smoke and I don't really taste them. I'm just smoking and visiting. And then at home I'm more tasting them and thinking about what I'm smoking.

SPEAKER_07 14:20

Yeah, that makes sense. How about you, David?

SPEAKER_09 14:24

Um, I guess I kind of um progressed into them because I I was a heavy cigarette smoker and I smoked a pipe, and then I got into the cigars, and as I got into the premium cigars, it pretty much replaced my cigarettes. I I quit smoking cigarettes completely, and I smoke a pipe very seldom now, but you know, so I kind of progressed over from cigarettes and pipes to the cigar, and like I said, once I got to the premium cigars, that's pretty much all I smoke, you know. So but like I said, it you know, I've been off of cigarettes for two, almost three years now, because because I smoke cigars, you know, and when you smoke a cigar, you don't you don't really need or want the cigarette anymore. They don't fulfill you. So yeah.

SPEAKER_03 15:18

So was there a process where you went from hey, I'm trying cigars to the point where like, okay, this is my thing. Cigars are my thing. Was there a defining moment or just kind of happened naturally?

SPEAKER_06 15:34

I think it happened naturally with me. I just jumped into it and I've enjoyed them ever since.

SPEAKER_03 15:40

Yeah, well, I remember you went from you'd come and have one on a night to where now you're you're lighting up every time David's lighting.

SPEAKER_06 15:47

Yes.

SPEAKER_09 15:48

It's uh and I guess I like so I I just progressed into them to where it's you know not just wholeheartedly as a natural thing, it's just that it became it became unnatural, and it became something that were I realized that I could smoke a cigar and relax. And they are when you smoke a cigarette, you don't relax, you just smoke it and you get rid of it. But you smoke a cigar and you're committed to smoking and you enjoying the camaraderie and the fellowship with the people that you're around, and and you relax. Or whenever I'm on the golf course, yeah, you know, and I'm smoking a cigar off the golf course, it actually just the brain just seems to slow down, and your your your metabolism is not quite as hype. So absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 16:43

So cigars are a great way to bring relaxation, calmness, clarity, in my opinion. And I think that's kind of what you're defining. Um, I do it a lot when I'm working on spreadsheets or trying to figure things out, or sometimes I'm doing graphic design. Um, it just feels like it slows me down a little bit, it just allows me to focus in. Yeah, very much so.

SPEAKER_07 17:08

Yeah. Um, so a lot of people say it's that cigars show up kind of during transitional times, so either new jobs or life changes, maybe milestones. Uh, does that resonate with either of you at all? Or not really?

SPEAKER_09 17:24

For full-time, yes. For full-time cigar smoking, they pretty much came to me as whenever I retired, and I had time to smoke. You know, I mean, because before whenever you retire, you work in an office or you're running your own business and you're out there running up and down the roads all the time. You just don't, and I'm I'm not a uh I'm not a vehicle smoker, so that's that's a uh uh a hindrance for me for whenever I'm traveling to smoke because I I I feel trapped. No matter even if the windows are down, I feel trapped whenever I'm smoking with the smoke. So I'm not a vehicle smoker. A lot of people are that, and if that's that's your thing, then that's great for you.

SPEAKER_03 18:06

But so I don't know if you know or not. The Palisade and the limited edition of the calligraphy were designed for cigar smoking. I don't know if you know they're not, but it actually is in the brochure. So it's got it's actually got perfect airflow. I smoke in mine all the time, and people that are not cigar smokers get in and ride with me and go, Man, your car smells brand new. I've had it for nine months and I've smoked probably 500 cigars in that car.

SPEAKER_06 18:30

We may have tried that.

SPEAKER_03 18:32

Well, you'll go for a ride with me and I'll show you how to smoke in the car.

SPEAKER_09 18:35

I do know that they have but everyone's different that they do have a natural humidor inside that's built into the uh palisade because I do know when you get out and you walk away from it and you come back to the car and you go sit down and the car is off. When you sit down, the fans are running, yeah, and it's because they're they're transferring the humidity in the car, which was a really strange, but I never thought of it as built for a cigar smoker.

SPEAKER_03 19:02

Yeah, so that may help. Yeah, no, it so no, I I smoke in mine and I love mine, so but everyone's different, you got to do what you're comfortable with, right?

SPEAKER_09 19:13

Um Palisade then, though.

SPEAKER_03 19:16

Yeah. So Richard uh commented that White Owl gas station cigars and blackjacks from CDS Drugstore was his first cigars. Um, I never had the pleasure of smoking uh black and mild's or Swisher Sweets, but uh some days I wonder if I shouldn't go buy me a pack just to try them, but I'm sure they just gag me. Uh moving on to kind of uh some others kind of questions around, you know, what do you actually like to smoke? And so kind of fast forwarding a couple of years in. I know you mentioned the ladybug a moment ago. Um, what does your cigar rotation look like today? Like if you had to name three to five cigars that you smoke regularly, what would those be? And we'll start with Addy and then go to David.

SPEAKER_06 20:02

I like the McAuliffe, so I've got I think I bought a box of the whites, the whites and the purples, and so our humidor probably has as many cigars for me to smoke as it does for David.

SPEAKER_09 20:17

That's awesome, yeah. And she has the that uh the the good cigar, the good, the good deep cigar, the good damn cigar. Oh yeah, the damn good cigar. She has a box of those too.

SPEAKER_03 20:31

So yeah, absolutely. And so you like the McAuliffe series, you like Damn Good by Alec Bradley. Um you mentioned the ladybug with Lumidor earlier. Uh, is there any others that you and is it across the color series or is it the legacy series, or is there one McAuliffe you like, or do you like all of them?

SPEAKER_06 20:51

I think I like them all, but I I think I like white the best. And I don't know why. To me, it's just uh I don't know, it's just the right texture tasting.

SPEAKER_03 21:05

Yeah, well, the reality is the McAuliffe white is going to become the number one selling cigar in their skew, hands down. Like it's uh because anybody who eventually releases a Connecticut, it slowly becomes their fastest selling cigar, right? Um, Kiltman is in a cigar shop, and so absolutely believe that he will he'll I'm I'd love to get his feedback, but as we see it, um, we're seeing a lot of our cigar smokers that smoke other milder cigars kind of merging to McAuliffe White. And it's just there's so many new and mild cigar smokers compared to those that like strong cigars. And you'll talk about people who like strong cigars, and they're the most vocal right now, um, but they're not the biggest buyers, right? And so Richard said McAuliffe White's too mild. I would agree. Uh Kiltman did say it's true. The white is taking off. Um, Richard talked about it. Is Rotation HVC Monte Cristo signature espada? You like that cigar, David? Um, Perdomo Legacy. Um, so absolutely great options there. Um, Richardson Mikhaus Red and Black were better for him. I agree with that. So, David, I would agree. I I like the white, I prefer the green, the red, or the black. But David, let's talk about your cigar rotation. If you had the name three to five, what are those that you're smoking regularly?

SPEAKER_09 22:35

What I smoke regularly out of my humidor is the uh Monte Cristo Oscuro Churchill. Uh, I like the uh elevated humidor, uh, Maduro uh Coronas, the little small ones. I I like I like the the Corona and the Churchill size.

SPEAKER_08 22:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 22:57

That's that's to me is a perfect size, and to me, to me, it's my it's it's my brain that tells me the longer the cigar, the smoother the cigar is through the barrel. Because it had the smoke has longer to travel. So, but I smoke my main rotation, it's going to be a Maduro and a Escuro. And if I can get them, I want them in the Churchill size, if not, the Toro. But and it's you know, like I say, and I I smoke the Alex Bradley, I smoke the AJ Fuentes, love the AJ Fuentes, uh, and I smoke the the Monte Cristos and the elevated humidors, and and a couple others, but most of them are all going to be the dark, uh, heavy, robust, full-flavored, full-bodied, uh, full strength cigars.

SPEAKER_03 23:47

Yeah, absolutely. And I love that. And so I know you were saying you're more of that Connecticut, that shade, um, more of that profile, David. You're more of the Maduro, the escro. Um, and it's interesting. Mel, what about you? If you were to look at, is there a wrapper or particular profile that you're smoking regularly these days, at least I think over the last month or two?

SPEAKER_07 24:10

Honestly, I would have to say not really. I think I gravitate just to kind of smoking everything still. I don't know that I have a certain it kind of ebbs and flows. Sometimes the pattern of strengths will change. So I might start with heavier bodied cigars in the morning and end with more mild, but it's kind of all over the place. Sometimes I'm just like working and I just gotta have a cigar, so I'm just grabbing whatever, whatever's close.

SPEAKER_03 24:40

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_07 24:42

Yeah, I like this person cream.

SPEAKER_03 24:44

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_07 24:45

So it's morning Smaccinato.

SPEAKER_03 24:48

And I love Richard put out there some ribbons. Can you and I'm gonna ask this question in a second, Richard, uh, because I was actually just gonna make a comment. Mel, you said you're not really smoking a lot lately, but I actually asked the question because I was trying to lead her somewhere that she did not follow, guys. Uh, is she has been smoking a lot of the Neanderthal by Romacraft. Uh, over the last four or five days, every morning when she comes out to have a cigar with me, she's smoking a Neanderthal.

SPEAKER_07 25:18

So the reason I did not mention the Neanderthal is because I have not had as many as I think is a lot for since we've had it back here. I've had like three, and to me, that is a small amount of Neanderthals to have.

SPEAKER_03 25:35

She's had 10 in the last three days, guys. Uh so David, Richard wanted me to ask you if you had had the Neanderthal by Roma Craft.

SPEAKER_09 25:45

Uh, yes, I have.

SPEAKER_03 25:46

And what do you think about it?

SPEAKER_09 25:47

Actually, I like it. It's uh I like the spice on it, I like the nuttiness on it, uh, I like the I like the strength profile on it, uh, and and the the the taste on it is mainly uh the main thing I like is because it's uh punch you in the face, wake you up, uh just a full full smoke.

SPEAKER_03 26:10

Yeah, absolutely. So uh the kilt me and he also asked if you'd have a tabernacle Goliath. Yes, I had what do you think about that one?

SPEAKER_09 26:18

I like the tabernacle, I like all the tabernacle series, except but I do like the Goliath. We had uh I had one, I've only had one of them, and that was probably about a month ago, and it was a gift cigar, and I really did like it. I liked it and basically were the same way. It was it's it's real spicy on that one. Uh, and I've got to where I I like more of the spices than I used to because my retro hell is is getting more into it. Uh I've got now to where I can't hardly smoke a cigar without retro hell. I mean, it's just almost it's it's almost a natural thing that I just do the retro hell in it. And if I can't pick up a lot of spice on it, to me that cigar is kind of a disappointment.

SPEAKER_03 27:05

Okay. So yeah, so hopefully you're gonna have a lot of spice on this one. But uh no, so John said he really likes all of them as long as they're six by sixty. Uh, we only have one six by sixty in our line that we create that's a part of the Garage Force series. Uh, Richard said, well, those are strong. And I think he's referring back to the Neanderthal and you smoking those male. Um, but you know, it goes back to that thing. A lot of women have a much more developed palate and really pick up and deal with those bold flavors better than men. Uh, it's why you're seeing in the bourbon industry so many of the master distillers becoming females who are leading those companies in distilling processes, and I think you like a much stronger cigar. I enjoy stronger cigars, but I think you like more than I do.

SPEAKER_07 27:53

Yeah, that's that's probably pretty accurate in our case, but yeah, so um so talking cigars, different, you know, brand stuff that you guys have tried. Uh has would you think that your palettes have changed over time? I know you were mentioning a little bit on the spice that you like to have.

SPEAKER_09 28:15

Yeah, mine has because you know four or five years ago I wasn't real crazy about real heavy, spicy cigars. You know, I mean, they just would uh it just there was just too much. I couldn't appreciate the spice. Maybe that's what I need to say is that some so much that I couldn't appreciate the spice tour, it was uh something that I enjoyed. Now I don't enjoy one that is not balanced. If the spicy overpowers the rest of the flavors, then I'm not really gonna enjoy smoking it. I like one that's gonna, you know, that's got lots of flavors, uh, and it and and if it also has a real good kick on the spice, then the then I like that too. But uh, you know, I would rather I would rather it be balanced, you know, than just be one or the other.

SPEAKER_03 29:07

Yeah, how about you, Addy? Has that palette changed?

SPEAKER_06 29:10

It has, but I'm just um I don't like the spicy ones, the hot pepper. When I taste all the pepper, it just kind of it just doesn't do anything for me. I like the ones that have several different ones. Now the other night when we had those that we did the straight gauge.

SPEAKER_08 29:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 29:38

That second one was not my cup of tea at all.

SPEAKER_07 29:42

Yeah, I remember remember you saying that and showing me your notes. I could not I could not finish it.

SPEAKER_09 29:50

That's why I didn't want to have it.

SPEAKER_07 29:52

You always try it. Like that's one thing to know you would, you know, you liked the Macanudo espresso creams and the sweet stuff, and then one day you were just like, I'll try that, I'll try that. It's like this is a full body, I'll try that. Like, I'll love it. You'll try it, you know, and that's that's a great thing is if you like exploring, there's plenty of cigars to do that with.

SPEAKER_03 30:13

Richard said, David's a better man than I. Those cigars put me against the ropes. And uh, Richard, I'll tell you the thing that's the funniest thing about that comment is I enjoy those cigars and smoke them slower, and it's okay. Mel will smoke those cigars and she loves them. Like she loves those same cigars. David, you and her have a very similar palette in some of those um times just because of the boldness. And so I love that when we're going out and people are saying that like Richard's comment, how bold it is. Oh, and you're like, Oh, I'll smoke that easily.

SPEAKER_07 30:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 30:44

All right, so Mel, what's the next question for us tonight?

SPEAKER_07 30:47

So, have any cigars surprised you this past year? So we're only in a three months almost four in. So uh maybe the last 12 months. You can do the last 12, but if you have one more recent, you throw that out there.

SPEAKER_09 31:00

Yes, the David Off Late Hour. Okay, that was that cigar in the Churchill uh size, the the David Off Churchill late hour was a very surprising cigar. It was on the top end of my not heart throb money-wise, but it was one that whenever I smoked it, it was one of those, would I pay that for it again? And the answer was yes. I I would definitely pay it again. Uh, even though when I was out in Vegas, I paid 50 bucks for a$30 cigar.

SPEAKER_03 31:37

You know, uh yeah, and that happens though. You're in Vegas, yeah.

SPEAKER_09 31:42

But uh, but that's fine. I you know, I would have I would have paid it again, and and uh the same thing with the difference in the sizes, because I remember telling you that uh that whenever I smoked the uh Monte Cristo Oscuro in the Robusto, that to me it was a letdown. But whenever I smoked it in Aquillion, that that was a surprise because that cigar was an entirely different cigar. If I had not known they were exactly the same cigar, I would have never guessed it. So that was a big surprise was the difference in just the size of that one cigar. Yeah, the difference in the the difference in the flavors, how the flavor profile bloomed in it and how the strength profile came through on it.

SPEAKER_03 32:33

Yeah, absolutely. So, Addie, how about you? Anything that surprised you over the last year? Maybe you smoked something you really enjoyed, or maybe you smoked something you didn't like at all.

SPEAKER_06 32:42

Well, that one I smoked the other night I didn't like, but we keep going back to that.

SPEAKER_03 32:47

So we have to apologize to our sponsor because uh she was smoking one of your cigars. We did a blind smoking event. Um, and so just to give an example, we smoked the Lure Fat Tony, which is a spectacular Corojo cigar. Um, and then we smoked big um Blackfoot by Big Sky. Um, Addy, you did not like the Blackfoot at all.

SPEAKER_06 33:13

But now I didn't know.

SPEAKER_03 33:14

That's okay because it scored really well, it scored a 90 with the group, uh, but it just wasn't your cup of tea, right?

SPEAKER_06 33:22

I scored it high because what I did smoke of it.

SPEAKER_09 33:28

That's okay with me, dude. I smoked her half and I had my whole one.

SPEAKER_06 33:32

Which one of the big sky is it that I like? Uh the bitter root? The bitter root. Yeah, I do like the bitter root.

SPEAKER_03 33:37

Hey, we got some of those in today, so we can uh Richard said after hearing about Mel, I'm officially turning into my Vancard. There you go, Mel. No, no, hey, I'm telling you, Richard, people have different palettes, and women handle those boulder cigars. Howdy, you're gonna get there. It's gonna be there to where you're gonna be smoking a cigar, and David's gonna tap out and you're gonna go, I'll finish it for you. Finish it.

SPEAKER_09 34:02

But my question for you is did you enjoy the knuckle sandwich?

SPEAKER_08 34:08

Yes.

SPEAKER_09 34:09

Yeah, the first time I smoked the knuckle sandwich, I tapped out on that one.

SPEAKER_08 34:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 34:15

But now I smoke it and I and I really like it.

SPEAKER_08 34:18

Yep.

SPEAKER_03 34:18

So I'm trying to think of and I'm looking it up on my phone real quick, who makes the um Chupacabre cigar? I can't remember if it's Espinoza or if it's Esteban Carrera. I can never remember which one makes it. So that's a cigar that one night I smoked at a cigar lounge, and we were with Chris, with who many of you on the Rebels know, and you guys know Chris well. Uh, him and I was like, all right, I've got to walk to the restaurant that's across the street and get something to eat because it kicked my tail. And I got about halfway through it, and so Chris was kind of making fun of me. So about it, I mean jokingly, right? So a year later, we're at the same cigar lounge and Chris smokes it, and I have to drive home because it kicked his tail. Uh, and both nights, I think we both smoked it on an empty stomach. And I'm gonna tell you, that has a huge impact on how you deal with it. Uh, the knuckle sandwich I enjoy after a full meal, if I've not eaten, it's gonna kick me in the teeth.

SPEAKER_09 35:20

Well, the first time I smoked it and I did the first retro hell on it, and my notes says I was doing a review on it. My notes says, don't do that again. Because it was like I had it like I had eaten a jalapeno and sneezed the seeds out. I mean, it was it was that hot on the retro hill. Awesome.

SPEAKER_07 35:41

All right, so next question, and you can be honest, I think you've touched on it a little bit before, but um how many cigars do you think that you smoke versus maybe how many you actually smoke? So think versus actual. Sometimes they're very different, sometimes they're the same.

SPEAKER_09 36:03

Uh me, I average, I think I average, and I'm pretty much they're pretty much the same. I average four to five a day. Okay, the only time I smoke more than that is when we're here at the lounge. When we're here at the lounge and we're all gathered up and we're all talking and having it having a drink. I may smoke six or seven over the course of the day. Yeah. You know, because we'll stay here a long time whenever we're at the lounge, it's very comfortable and cigar at cigar time.

SPEAKER_03 36:37

Yeah, you you you lose track of time, right? It's been four minutes, but it's really been five hours.

SPEAKER_08 36:42

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 36:43

Because we'll come in and say we're gonna smoke one cigar.

SPEAKER_09 36:45

Yep. We're gonna come in and smoke one cigar and have one drink, and then that's at like two or three o'clock in the afternoon, and come 10:30, 11 o'clock at night, we're walking out the door going, ah, it's dark.

SPEAKER_03 36:57

Yeah, so I dropped in a couple of days ago, I guess about a week ago now. Uh crap, it's been a couple of weeks ago now. So a couple weeks ago, I dropped in. I told Melissa, I just gotta grab in, I gotta grab something, I gotta do something for Roper, and I'm gonna head out. And there was a couple of guys I hadn't seen in a while, and so I already had a cigar lit in my mouth, and so I just sit down and talk to her for a few minutes. This is like 4:30. I was on the way home, told Mel I'm gonna come home, grill dinner at seven. I was like, hey, do you mind if I stay another half hour? Just because I know she was waiting for me to eat, and so normally she never cares, but I don't want her to wait all night on me. You know what I mean? And so it's easy to lose track of time just like that.

SPEAKER_07 37:38

I gotta get to those strong cigars. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 37:44

So gear, Mel, let's talk about gear.

SPEAKER_07 37:46

Yeah, so is there any cigar gear or anything that you guys have that you love using or um go-to stuff, anything that you use regularly?

SPEAKER_06 38:02

I have them with me. I use the uh cigar, what do they call?

SPEAKER_09 38:09

The little tips, the little uh oh yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_06 38:11

The holder because sometimes the tobacco fits in my mouth and I don't like the taste of it sometimes and I'll pull them out and use my cigar tips. I don't get the flavor with them as well as I thought I would. So I try not to use them as much. And then also we make these little um hellos with me either.

SPEAKER_03 38:37

The little picks.

SPEAKER_06 38:39

Um picks.

SPEAKER_03 38:41

I think there's one on that table.

SPEAKER_06 38:42

Like we use packs, yeah. We use packs, right? We use the picks to stick in the cigars at the end to and we make them.

SPEAKER_03 38:50

Yeah, there's one you made here in this room. I have one.

SPEAKER_06 38:53

Well, I have one in my purse, and that's another room.

SPEAKER_03 38:56

I I was moving stuff around earlier. I'll probably split it over there. Um, but I saw it because you've made some. I know Krista's made some.

SPEAKER_06 39:04

In fact, ladies and I made some. Remember that?

SPEAKER_07 39:07

Yes, I do remember that. I didn't make any because I didn't think I was crafty like that, but someone made one for me.

SPEAKER_03 39:12

So I've got one set in my humidor at home, and I've got one in my car that somebody made me.

SPEAKER_06 39:18

They come in handy.

SPEAKER_03 39:20

Yep, absolutely. Is there a cutter or a ladder that you prefer? Is it just what's handy?

SPEAKER_09 39:24

Uh, I prefer a uh small V cut 90% of the time, unless it is a 56 or larger, then I'll do a large V cut. But I I prefer the V cut, uh and that's usually my first cut. If I hit a V cut on it and I don't quite like the way it pulls, or you know, then I may do a uh straight cut, you know. But I have a guillotine cutter, I have a perfect cut, and I use a perfect cut on the golf course on the golf course because it's easy, it's fast, it's easy, and you get the same cut every time. So but I have a perfect cut and I really like it. I use a I have a I have two V cutters and then I have a guillotine, and it depends on what signal I have as to which one of those I'll go to.

SPEAKER_03 40:13

Yeah, absolutely. Do you prefer either one of you prefer a single torch or a quad or a triple? Is there a preference in that?

SPEAKER_09 40:20

Well, I I prefer uh a triple or a quad. Now the single to me just doesn't last as long, and yeah, and and it I don't get an even, I don't really get an even light all the time without working on the cigar. So that's the main reason I like the the triple or the quad is because when I smoke, I don't want to have to think too much about smoking, about lighting it, about having to relight it. I want to be able to smoke it and enjoy it. This is actually a pretty good cigar. Awesome. Thank you.

SPEAKER_07 40:53

Yeah, awesome.

SPEAKER_09 40:54

I really like it.

SPEAKER_07 40:55

So switching a little bit, talk about humidors. How is your humidor situation at home? Do you guys share one? Do you each have your own?

SPEAKER_09 41:04

Uh we we have our we have we have one we share right now. I have a uh I have a King Chill uh 500 and 565 holds about 300 cigars. She's got about 250 cigars in there, and I've got a hundred. When it gets full, I looked in there the other day and I went to pull in the drawers out. I was like, that's your drawer, that's your drawer. That's I said, Where's my drawer?

SPEAKER_03 41:33

So Mel and I looked the other day and uh just we've got more than we probably need at home, um, but uh not enough.

unknown 41:45

Right.

SPEAKER_03 41:47

So uh do you like the do you keep yours plugged in and running or you keep it unplugged?

SPEAKER_09 41:52

No, it's it's plugged in, it runs all the time. Uh I set the I set the temperature at uh 68 and I set the uh the humidity at 69, and I've got a little little digital gauge inside, plus the one that's on top, and then I check them every now and then to make sure that the same. But keeping it plugged in and keeping it with water in it, it's pretty accurate and it stays pretty constant.

SPEAKER_03 42:19

And how many does that one hold?

SPEAKER_09 42:21

It it's supposed to hold 565, yeah. But if you if you to only get that many of them in there, you'd have to stack them three deep. Yeah, absolutely. And they're always you know, probably 250 to 300 cigars.

SPEAKER_03 42:34

Yeah, no, that's awesome. So we have multiple humidors, and we've got some. I've got a humidor that's empty at the moment, but I've got a Tuppador study next to it that's got 300 in it. And I'm like, I don't know why I didn't fill that one up, but it just I smoke out of it and it runs empty, and then I fill it up with what I want to smoke. And I uh we went on a trip and I grabbed a bunch, and so I need to get that one filled back up. So uh before we get too much deeper in there, we're at about 40 minutes. Why don't we take a quick break? When we get back, we have a lot more to come, a handful of more questions for David and Addie. Um, we'll be right back after this break.

SPEAKER_00 43:15

We fell in love with cigars not because of the flavors or smoking experience or perceived steps, but because it allows barriers to fall between other humans and build deeper connections. For that reason, we've been super intentional to curate a space where people can find community and enjoyment with others, and cigars just happen to be the way we're doing it. For that reason, we are thrilled to be the one and only cigar retail store and lounge in downtown Lufton. A good story is one of the most powerful tools used to connect with another human. Sharing stories fades out differences and highlights similarities found in the details, or with the storyteller. Over the years, we have seen some of the best stories told over cigars, and thus, new friendships are made, passions shared, encouragement given, and So much more. The impact storytelling has on the human connection is why we've decided to name our store and lounge stories. Because behind every good cigar and conversation is an even better story.

SPEAKER_07 44:16

As always, thank you to our sponsors. Before we dive back into our topic, let's look at upcoming shows.

SPEAKER_03 44:23

So next week we have segment two of our series, Developing Your Palette, Flavor Categories and Flavor Families. We had a great response to part one, which was just the general overview of Developing Your Palette. This is the next stage that's really going to be building to part three. We're really excited about it.

SPEAKER_07 44:43

Yes. On April 13th, we are doing one year of Cigar Rebel. On that, we will be smoking the Cigar Rebel Winter Blend. Of course, I am very excited for this. Cigar Rebel is almost a year old.

SPEAKER_03 44:55

Yep, absolutely. The week after that, April 20th, we're going to have an episode where we film piece at the PCA trade show. We're really excited about that. And we're going to give you an update by all the shows. So we were going to start live with you guys, and we'll have a couple of different videos to show during that episode, but we'll be with you live the whole time. During that one, we're going to be smoking The Bighorn by Big Sky.

SPEAKER_07 45:19

And April 27th, we are doing Beyond the Cigar, uh, expanding uh your cigar circle.

SPEAKER_03 45:26

Can't see it there, talking.

SPEAKER_07 45:27

And uh, we will be smoking The Rose of Sharon by Southern Draw.

SPEAKER_03 45:32

Yeah, and so we're really excited. Addie's shaking her head. She likes that cigar. That's one of her new favorites, it seems like. Uh, just as a reminder, all of these cigars are in the Cigar Rebel pack. Many of you have been asking how to smoke along with us. We're showing you the cigars that we smoke, so you can grab them at your local brick and mortar. Um, if you don't live close to somewhere or you'd just like to have the pack curated for you, you can go to the Elevated Humidors website, click on the Cigar Rebel, and subscribe. Um, many of you are doing that and we appreciate it. Um, this is one of those scenarios where we're selling this pack for$43. Um, that includes tax and shipping, everything included. Um, so far, the average price of or retail price of the packs have been$73. So trying to really give a great value to you rebels out there that are following along and smoking with us. Before we get back to the topic, let's check in on the cigar. Um, what's everybody thinking about the pumpkin so far?

SPEAKER_09 46:38

I like it. It's uh it's got a lot of the the flavors have actually smoothed out uh from when I first started it's into the second, third now. So the uh nuttiness has picked up, the uh the brought in a little bit of leather and and uh the uh cedar is calmed down. Uh to me the spices have evened out. They're I mean they're not too strong, they're not too weak. They're in on the retro hell, they don't make your eyes water, but you know they're there. And and so that I I like that balance in that cigar. I really do. It's a good cigar.

SPEAKER_03 47:13

How about you, Mellaradi? Any thoughts on it?

SPEAKER_06 47:17

I like it. I'm really surprised that I would like it because I thought it was gonna be spicy and hot.

SPEAKER_03 47:23

Yes, it's way more savory to me than spicy. Um, it's got a complexity to it, but there's not 20 flavors going on at once. There's a couple, uh, but I just feel like there's a nice savoriness to it that kind of coach your palate.

SPEAKER_07 47:40

Yeah. Yeah, that spice is gathering a little bit on the front of my lip right here on my bottom lip. So it's it's enjoyable. So getting back to the topic. Um, so we were talking about earlier, you mentioned if you're smoking cigars throughout the day, you maybe smoke four or five. Would you say that you smoke every day, or is it more weekly, occasional?

SPEAKER_09 48:06

It's every day. Every day, every day.

SPEAKER_07 48:09

Every day. Do you think that you smoke cigars more solo or is it more social or more of an even split 50-50?

SPEAKER_09 48:19

Probably 75-25. You know, we'll we'll we smoke more just the two of us because we've got where we've got our patio set up with our with our uh gazebo, and uh we got lights and fans, and so we'll sit out there so it's never too hot. We've got heaters, so it's never really too cold. Yeah, so we'll we'll sit out there and we smoke a lot together. We'll get up in the morning. The first thing we do in the morning after we get our coffee is we'll go outside, and the very first thing we do before we do anything else is we'll have our first cigar with a cup of coffee or two cups out of the deck. You know, I mean, so we'll do depends on how what big how big the cigar is, how many cups of coffee we have.

SPEAKER_03 49:01

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I make a kind of a yeti isy cup, 20 ounce of coffee and a cigar first thing every morning. It's awesome.

SPEAKER_09 49:09

And then honestly, she dub. We'll be sitting there, I'll be sitting there, we'll be playing games or something, and she'll be sitting there fiddling with her phone, and she'll just go, Hey, you ready to go smoke? So we'll get up and go outside and smoke another one.

SPEAKER_03 49:22

So yeah, no, that's awesome. So when it comes to lounges, and I know y'all are members here at Stories, um, and we're currently sitting in the Churchill room at Story Cigars and Lounge, but you know, is coming to the lounge a treat? Is it an occasional thing? Is it just kind of a rebler regular hobby? Like you talk about smoking on your deck. How often do you think you smoke in the lounge versus the deck, or why do you do both?

SPEAKER_09 49:49

We do both. Um, I would almost say that in the beginning we were more probably 80% uh at the lounge and then 20% outside, but we didn't have our gazebo and everything set up at that time. But now we're probably still probably 60% here and and 40% at the house because we like gathering with our friends that we've that we've made since we've been here, and you know, we've been to other lounges and and it's the same thing. I mean, it's like what the cigar community has surprised me so much is that no matter where you go, if you go to a lounge somewhere, 99% of the time the people are inviting.

SPEAKER_08 50:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 50:37

Uh, we've been to a couple of lounges where uh if you weren't a member, you sat over there and smoked, and all the members sat over there and smoked, and they didn't really interact with you. But most of the lounges, now you're not gonna have that here. If you come to this lounge, you might as well get ready to be friends with somebody, you know, because we're gonna we're gonna include you in everything, yeah. And and and that's what I like about this lounge over some of the other lounges, and that's why we come here, is because we can come here and we sit down, we smoke, we have a good friendship, good conversations, and uh, and and and it's really it's really enjoyable here.

SPEAKER_07 51:16

Yeah. Do you think that cigar lounges matter more now than they used to?

SPEAKER_09 51:23

Uh yes, very much so. It's uh it's but since the culture of the cigars here over the past five years, yeah, the culture has just absolutely blown up because used to, you know, for me, uh, even whenever I was smoking cigars, uh, it was a mature person's, you know, the only one, the only people you saw smoking cigars were were people that were older and that you know were slower in their life, and uh, you know, you didn't see a lot of younger people smoking. Now, you know, it's not unheard of to see someone that's in their 20s and their 30s smoking, and the age doesn't matter whenever you have a cigar in your hand and you're sitting there talking to people, you they have no age.

SPEAKER_03 52:17

It's the great neutralizer, yeah.

SPEAKER_09 52:18

Is it is right?

SPEAKER_03 52:20

So we were uh at Wild's last Monday, and we actually filmed it the day before, but we went live and then showed the video. We were working with Nathan and Chris, who are the owners there at um Wilds. And Chris talked about the third place, you know, and so cigar lounges have truly become the third place of our culture. And what that is, is the third place is it's the third place you go and live life outside of work and home, right? And so that used to be the bar or the pub, and over times that's kind of gone away. And so cigar shops are truly the last third place in existence. And you know, those I feel like in our communities around the United States that aren't plugged into a cigar shop, I think they're missing out, not even necessarily because of cigars, but because of the lifelong friendships that they don't make. Right. Um, would you say you guys have made some friends that you would consider close or lifelong, or I don't know how life would be without them?

SPEAKER_09 53:24

Very much so. You know, I mean, we really have. And and and not just here, but other places, but uh especially here. We have we've made friends here that uh we would have never met outside of the lounge, or I would have never met outside the lounge. She may have uh because she was in jewelry business for 40 years, so she knew pretty much everybody in town, but yeah, uh but me, you know, I mean, we've made friends here that we would have never connected with any other way. And since since we've made friends with them, there's people here that you know that we consider it almost family, you know, because I mean that's to me, that's what we are, you know.

SPEAKER_03 54:08

Yeah, absolutely. So uh hope to meet y'all sometime really enjoying this chat. So uh thank you, John, for that comment. Uh Mel, let's end with a really good one. We got one more question. Why don't you go ahead and ask them that one?

SPEAKER_07 54:22

Okay. Um so what has been your favorite cigar moment from last year?

SPEAKER_03 54:31

Or the last 12 months, maybe.

SPEAKER_09 54:40

To be honest with you, it was probably the uh second year anniversary. Okay. That was a uh that was a really, really enjoyable time. Met there was lots of people that we was able to interact with and and a lot of people that we didn't know, uh, a lot of people that we did know that we hadn't seen for a while. Uh and so the second year, the anniversary parties are always, you know, the the dinners are always good. You know, sometimes they're sometimes they're spectacular. And I would say that the second year was actually pretty, was was right up there with the spectacular event. It was a really good event.

SPEAKER_03 55:20

And you want a great bottle too, right?

SPEAKER_09 55:22

You know, I want a great bottle. I I I I did I did get a good bottle out of it. Um I was really proud of that. Of course, we drank it.

SPEAKER_03 55:30

But I say for you rebels out there, he's talking about stories second anniversary party that took place back in January, and you're gonna say something, I cut you off. I'll let you say that in a second. But David won our first grand prize of the night. It was about halfway through, and it was a Weller seven-year um barrel pick from New Hampshire that Mel and I had picked up when we were in New Hampshire a few months prior. Uh, but it was so great. We finished, I didn't get a pour that night, but y'all finished it that night.

SPEAKER_09 56:01

Well, we finished it the next night. The first night, okay. The first night we were down to about uh maybe a quarter of the bottle left. Gotcha. And then we came back the next night and knocked it out.

SPEAKER_03 56:10

Well, there you go. So you were gonna say something that I cut you off.

SPEAKER_09 56:14

Well, that's what I was just gonna talk about. You know, I mean, I I won that bottle, it was a really nice bottle, and uh, you know, for for the investment that I put into it, it was uh a really it was a win-win. So, you know, but it was uh it was a good bottle, you know, and I'm I'm kind of I'm kind of a little different than everybody else. I talk to people whenever I get, you know, they want to know if I'm if I if I plan on uh flipping the bottle, and I'm like, no, I don't do that. I I don't I don't have any shelf princes. Uh whenever I buy a bottle, I may have 30 bottles on my bar at the house, but I drink all of them. Yeah. And when my friends are over or whenever I'm up here, everybody's welcome to whatever it is that I have.

SPEAKER_03 56:57

Yeah, so we were up here on Saturday night doing something, and I brought that um Knob Creek 12, and then I had the Havana barrel pick, and I didn't share that one as much. I shared it with people at our table, but I kind of held it back a little bit because it's hard to find. Yeah, but the um Knob Creek 12, which actually is a much more expensive bottle, I just put it on the table, and nobody, whoever wanted could have some. And I think we opened it at night and drank three-fourths of it that night, and I had maybe this big of a pour. I had maybe a small pour, but other people really enjoyed it. And to me, that's what it's about. Yeah, absolutely. How about you, Addie?

SPEAKER_06 57:37

I think it's probably the anniversary, too. Because those are spectacular.

SPEAKER_03 57:42

Well, thank you.

SPEAKER_06 57:43

And I only have one an ashtray. Yeah, and you only want to be my birthday.

SPEAKER_03 57:50

So uh Richard had said that many of the friends, because of the scar lifestyle, Leslie Kiltman, and many of the TCA crowd um absolutely love that. Um, Leslie mentioned me, the friendships they've met. I've been a blessing to them. And then Richard said, I have a 50-year-old open bottle of Shivis Regal that I got from friends, uh, which I've never had that bottle, but it sounds spectacular. Um, when you enjoy that, you have to share with us, Richard. But I think Mel you and I have cigar friends all over the country uh that we're really blessed to have met. Um, and then a few other countries. Um, we've got a cigar shop owner in Whitledge, Germany, Germany, that I email with about once a month and just, hey, what have you been smoking? What is he smoking? What are you trying different? And so it truly is friendships to get developed, right? Which is amazing.

SPEAKER_07 58:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 58:43

So, Mel, what's next for tonight? I know that was kind of our last question. How do we wrap up tonight?

SPEAKER_07 58:48

I mean, thank you guys for being on the podcast.

SPEAKER_03 58:52

Perfect timing. David's like, I'm ready to go, my phone's back on.

SPEAKER_07 58:58

Is there anything that you guys are looking forward to in 2026?

SPEAKER_09 59:03

Oh, oh, I'm really disappointed we're not gonna make the uh cigar fest this year, but uh, but that's okay. My granddaughter's is uh singing her first solo with the choir over in uh over in Louisiana, so we'll be over there with her. But uh uh the Cigar Fests are always a good time, and you know, so we're not gonna make that.

SPEAKER_03 59:26

That's yeah, May 2nd, we're gonna miss you guys at Cigar Fests. And so, but I know you and I talked about making sure you get some cigars.

SPEAKER_09 59:33

Yeah, well, there's some cigar packs that I won't uh absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 59:37

So uh Richard Ashton had a couple of comments. Um, we'll be at this at the expo in September. Yes, Mel and I, we've secured our Airbnb. We've got flight secured, I think, already. Um, everything's ready to go, just waiting for tickets to go and sell for that. Um then he said I'll have a rebel cigar cookie for you. Uh Richard's a great baker, and I've not had his cookie, so I'm excited for that. Um, for those of you watching in the New England and New Hampshire area, um, Mel and I will be in the area and doing some cigar rebel and elevated humidor things in that area around Boston, Salem, and then in generalized area, May 28th through June 4th. And so we'll have a bigger announcement around that coming up in just a couple of days. Um, probably next Monday. Watch us on social media on Facebook or Instagram, and we'll definitely talk about it during Develop Your Palette part two next week. Uh, really excited to be back in New Hampshire here in just really a few weeks.

SPEAKER_07 1:00:41

Yeah, yeah, it'd be awesome.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:43

So I've kind of taken a road. I'm all over the place tonight. But Addie, anything you're looking forward to this year?

SPEAKER_06 1:00:50

Oh goodness, some of Mel's new cigars. Replace ladybug.

SPEAKER_07 1:00:57

Uh what would you say?

SPEAKER_06 1:00:59

Replace Ladybug.

SPEAKER_07 1:01:00

Oh, but don't replace it.

SPEAKER_06 1:01:01

Well, no, it's not in the humidor. Oh, one more year.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:05

Restock.

SPEAKER_06 1:01:06

Restock will hook you up with that.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:09

Yeah, so John said, Oh, okay. So, John, uh, we might have to have a night that uh we come and hang out with you in either one of those days between the 28th and the 3rd, uh, over there at Red Anchor Lounge in Nashua, New Hampshire. If you guys live anywhere near that, go in and drop and see the kilt man uh when he's there. Uh, he'll hook you up with a good cigar and something to drink. So absolutely love that. But kind of that's our show tonight, right, well. So let's check in on this cigar before we wrap up tonight. We're a little over on time, which has been the case the last several weeks. But what's your final thoughts on this cigar, guys?

SPEAKER_09 1:01:47

Final thoughts is this is a cigar that I think anyone would enjoy. It's really a smooth, mellow, full-bodied, full-flavored cigar that does not taste like a full-strength cigar. I mean, it really does. It doesn't, it doesn't taste like it's really strong, but I can I know it is.

SPEAKER_06 1:02:11

So it burns, it burns well, and the ash is good too.

unknown 1:02:15

All right.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:15

Thank you. And mine was only an issue tonight because I dropped it earlier today. So I I that's on me. Uh, if you're watching tonight or listening on the replay, go ahead and drop us a comment, hashtag replay fam. Let us know you've been watching. Let us know what you're smoking during the show, if you're pairing it with something, or maybe you're driving in a car. Um, you can do that anywhere you get your podcast or stream podcast. You can do it here on YouTube or on social media as we'd love to hear from you. Thank you so much for joining us today. If you like the episode, please leave us a review, share it with your cigar friends, and hit us up with any topics that you might want us to do in the coming days or future. So, Mel, what is our show next week?

SPEAKER_07 1:02:59

So, next week we will be doing the segment in Develop Your Palette part two, and that's going to be flavor categories and flavor families.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:08

Absolutely. And for tonight, that is our show.

SPEAKER_07 1:03:11

Yes, so we'll see you next Monday, and until then, keep your cigar lit, your ash long, and your palate furious.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:17

Have a good night, guys. Have a good night.