1 Year of Cigar Rebel

You are listening to the Cigar Rebel podcast. In this episode of Cigar Rebel we celebrating one year of Cigar Rebel! Join the conversation as we take the time to enjoy one of life’s luxuries on this quirky journey we call life.

Want to smoke along us on the show? The new Rebel Pack Subscription goes live in January with the first pack shipping out April 22, 2026. The Rebel Pack includes 5 Cigars and a show guide each month for $43.00 (free shipping). 

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Transcript

SPEAKER_04 0:13

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_06 0:35

Welcome, Cigar Rebels, to the podcast. I'm Mel.

SPEAKER_07 0:39

And I'm Kevin. We're coming to you live tonight from Story, Cigars and Lounge with our one-year celebration.

SPEAKER_06 0:45

Yes. So we are on our 52nd episode. So we are coming tonight for the 52nd time.

SPEAKER_07 0:51

Absolutely. We're super excited. I can still remember when this was simply an idea, Mel. I'm like, hey, we should do a show.

SPEAKER_06 0:58

Yes, I remember that completely. And I remember when it was just an idea.

SPEAKER_07 1:04

So yeah, absolutely. And so now we've got episodes, we have guests, we have travel, we have conversations, people listening, following, and engaging in the journey. And we're so thankful for all of you guys coming along this journey with us. We have a live studio audience tonight. We're trying to get it up on the TV and it's uh not working. So I'm trying to control that and here. So I apologize, guys.

SPEAKER_06 1:26

Yes. So while we are so thankful for everyone who has come along with us this year, we are thankful for everyone who is logged on to be with us through YouTube and also uh here with our live audience. Thank you guys all for being here tonight.

SPEAKER_07 1:40

Yep, absolutely. And so what's really great, go for it. So we're super excited. Hey Richard, how are you doing tonight? Good to see you. Um, Richard said he's got tickets for our June 2nd two guys show. So we're gonna do a live show from Two Guys Cigar Shop coming up in June, along with a ladies' night. Um Leslie said, rub it in, Rich. I'm jealous. Uh Leslie, good to see you tonight. Glad to see you. Um, Tammy's in the house and she's here live, as well as others. Uh Ropers' Woo-hoo, happy anniversary. So, guys, we're really excited about tonight, and that's really the part that hits. It's people actually showing up week in and we child, and people who are reaching out to us while we're traveling and talking about all the things Cigar Rebel. We're so honored and humbled that you guys are choosing to come along for this journey.

SPEAKER_06 2:33

Yes, so the one-year anniversary episode tonight is a little bit different. Uh, not because we are trying to make noise, even though all of you guys just did, and not because we um are trending or calling to try and be special, and not because we need to force uh the meaning onto the date and onto the calendar. So this one is different because a year ago the show was really just an idea.

SPEAKER_07 3:02

Yeah, absolutely. This was an idea for a podcast that was born back in mid-2023 when Mel had an idea that we should do a podcast. Um, it was a conversation. We kind of felt like it was a gamble, it was a late-night thought that hey, maybe there's still room in the cigar industry to do something different than what's happening, real perspectives, good stories, and maybe a little rebellion against the industry that we all love.

SPEAKER_06 3:29

Yes. And also, we did have a little bit of a detour that happened. We were getting ready to start the podcast, and we paused because uh even though we wanted to start it, um, we wanted to develop the growth plan out as a whole for our cigar lounge and our cigar company here. So we launched Story Cigar and Lounge right after we started talking about launching the podcast. And so in early 2025, once the lounge was kind of running a little bit more smoothly, we went ahead and resurfaced the podcast, and now we are here one year in.

SPEAKER_07 4:08

Yeah, absolutely. We're so thankful because it was a late night conversation with Chris that you guys have seen, and he's here in the room that were like, hey, let's do this. And then it wasn't that long afterwards that Mel and Chris and JB and Tony and I all sit down and started dreaming about what stories would look like, and that really just kind of made Cigar Rebel dry up. Um, we just kind of had to pause because there was so much other things going on, and we really do believe, and it's just ingrained in me that I don't do anything halfway. I'm either all in or I'm not, and so it just felt like this had to be set aside. But here we are, 50 plus episodes deep into Cigar Rebel. And the reality is there's a Rebel community being built, there's a growing YouTube channel that's getting downloads, um, podcast streaming services that are getting downloads, and a community that continues to show up for conversations about cigars, bourbon, pairings, life's luxuries, etiquette, travel, but most importantly for real conversations with rebels out there like you.

SPEAKER_06 5:11

Yes, I think it's been awesome to see this community grow and see also even the friendships that have developed just from this YouTube channel for us and also for the people who are watching it.

SPEAKER_07 5:23

Yeah. So, Mel, I know we have a couple more things to deal with, but let's jump real quick. What are we smoking tonight?

SPEAKER_06 5:29

Ah, so we are smoking the 2026 Cigar Rebel Winter Custom Blend by the Elevated Humador. This has an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper, a Nicaraguan binder, and the Nicaraguan Huaapo and Canada uh fillers.

SPEAKER_07 5:44

Absolutely. So, what are you getting on the cold draw so far?

SPEAKER_06 5:46

Well, I just took the cold draw. Um, it's a little, little, little bit of sweet earthiness in there.

SPEAKER_07 5:59

Yeah, there's a creaminess and I would say a hay for me on this one. Yeah, hey. For those guys in our live audience, uh, we were supposed to have more of these and we did not get them in in time, and so uh they're smoking something else. But for those of you that have the cigar rebel pack that are smoking along, we'd love to know what you're getting on the cold draw and flavor notes throughout the night. And so, Mel, there's one other special thing about this cigar. Um, do you want to tell our audience about what's happening with this cigar because of the demand and how much people enjoyed it?

SPEAKER_06 6:27

Yes, so we have had lots of people asking for this cigar. We sold it exclusively at our two-year anniversary party with Story Cigar and Lounge. And since then, this one has been requested a lot, and so we are actually bringing it permanently into our elevated humidor line.

SPEAKER_07 6:44

Yeah, so that's the first announcement tonight is the Cigar Rebel 2026 winter blend is becoming the 2026 release that'll come out in just a few months, and it'll be the third member of the Velvet series, and it will be now known as Velvet Gold.

unknown 7:01

Yes.

SPEAKER_07 7:02

So we're excited about that. For those of you who have smoked and enjoyed it, I'm getting ahead of myself. I want to light it.

SPEAKER_05 7:11

Uh always wait.

SPEAKER_07 7:13

So, as we are excited to move forward and bring that into our line, along with two other new cigars that are coming out this year. But Mel, let's go ahead and light this cigar. Your lighting tonight is brought to you by Big Sky.

SPEAKER_01 7:26

Back in 1905, on the Montana skies, 1007 factories, roll smoke follow wise. Reminders of ranchers like one and bring now. Big sky cigar is bringing that spirit back in.

SPEAKER_03 7:44

Yellowstone River to the bolding ornfoe. Madison, the root black with we know.

SPEAKER_01 7:52

I leave from Nicaragua, San Rece to the Ecuador, and every box soul helps our veterans, men, with warriors and quiet waters. We lend a friend's hand. It's heritage burning in every draw. Big sky cigars, Montana's pride and low.

SPEAKER_02 8:21

Big Sky Cigar. We're heritage full with whatever draw. Find your rare red big sky cigar to pop. Ask your local to as always.

SPEAKER_06 8:34

Thank you to our sponsors. Um, it's awesome having a live audience and also having all of our commenters. I kind of don't know where do I look, where I look. Do I look at the people here? Do I look at the camera? Do I look at my notes? Do I look at the comments? Uh so bear with me as I'm looking around kind of everywhere. So going back for tonight, we have had some majorly popular topics this past year and some that were more popular than others. Um, and then there were also some that have also kind of gotten us in trouble a little bit with the industry over the past year, but we believe in being transparent and keeping it real with all of you guys. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_07 9:09

A few of those popular episodes, like Cigar Budget and the Blind Reviews, have shown us that our rebels out there truly like the educational component.

SPEAKER_06 9:19

Yes. And then there have also been some of those vacation episodes that we have done, which have been awesome. Uh, we've had some rare bourbon moments with all of you guys. Tony was on our very first podcast and shared some rare bourbon with us. We did the blind testing. Absolutely. Um, and that also resonated, I think, really well with the cigar rebel community and that people want substance more than just let's get on a podcast and talk for an hour and smoke a cigar.

SPEAKER_07 9:47

Absolutely. And with that in mind tonight, we're gonna cover a little bit from the past year, but also talk a little bit about what's coming up in season two of Cigar Rebel. Um, also for those in our live studio audience tonight, we're gonna be giving away a bottle of Garrison Brothers um single barrel um bourbon whiskey from here in Texas. We're gonna give away five packs of the Cigar Rebel um Spring Blend, which was the 4x40 Um Coronas or Petite. And we're gonna give away a couple of lighters and an ashtray. And so we actually have a picture of those here. I'll show everybody that's not here live tonight. And so that's our giveaways for tonight. We're excited to do that. Um, so next time we're maybe shooting Cigar Rebel live in a studio audience near you, you can come out and get in on all those freebies. And we'll have a couple of contests come up here in the next couple months where you can participate, help us get some data, get some episodes created, and we're gonna give away several things here over the next several weeks. Um, but more than that to come as season two kicks off next week. But for tonight, we're kind of taking the gloves off a little bit as we are throughout season two. We're gonna talk about cigar reviews and ratings, we're gonna talk about expensive cigars, and we're gonna ask whether cigar deals are dead, and if not, should they be? Um, we're gonna talk about a couple of exciting projects that we have coming up here at Cigar Rebel and Elevated Humidor, and then we're gonna talk a little bit about travel coming up because we've got several different live shows coming up outside of the Lufkin area over the next several months. So Cigar Rebel is going on the road again.

SPEAKER_06 11:19

Yes, which is exciting. And so, above all of that, we are also going to be talking about what Cigar Rebel stands for after one full year. And if you have not poured something already, Rebels, go ahead, pour something good, and hopefully you're enjoying the cigars that you've lit. This is the one-year anniversary episode of Cigar Rebel.

SPEAKER_07 11:37

Absolutely. So, Mel, what are you getting on this cigar now? We've had a few draws.

SPEAKER_06 11:43

It's very similar to the cold draw for me right now, in this first little bit. Yeah, a little, maybe picking up a little bit in just a hint of spice for me on the back, top back of my mouth.

SPEAKER_07 12:00

Yeah, absolutely. So I got a little bit of that spice picking up that hay that's there. Um, definitely love this cigar. Excited to have this in the regular rotation and available to smoke all the time. We're down to 15 of these left, and so we're hoarding them because when the new batch comes in, I've got to smoke them side by side. Uh, so rare treat to have one of these tonight. So now let's get back to the topic and and really jump in. And I want to start with this. When we started, what did you really think the show was going to be?

SPEAKER_06 12:29

So honestly, when we first started, I thought it was going to be maybe a little bit more cigar focused. And what I mean by that is maybe more reviews, brands, a little bit of focus on bourbon and whiskey, and maybe even go into some food topics.

SPEAKER_07 12:46

Yeah, absolutely. And you know, that's really what can we kind of talked about in 23 and again in 25. Um, but it kind of felt like this turned into something bigger, right?

SPEAKER_06 12:56

Yes, I would say way bigger than that.

SPEAKER_07 12:58

So it really became about culture, it became about lifestyles, it came about conversations.

SPEAKER_06 13:03

Yes, and also about the community that has been building over this year. I mentioned building the friendships that we have built and a place for rebels to communicate and make plans and to also find other cigar enthusiasts.

SPEAKER_07 13:18

Yeah, Leslie just said it. I'm live in the chat tonight. She's been away for a few weeks due to some family situation. Love to see you in the chat tonight, Leslie. Um, but she said that should count for ladybugs. So uh she's a cigar rebel pack, so maybe we got to send her a couple of extra ladybugs in next month's shipment. So uh those are coming on your way, Leslie. So cigars have become the anchor, but the show became about everything around cigars, the lifestyle around cigars, the culture around cigars, and all of those things.

SPEAKER_06 13:47

Yep, uh it came about the moments, also the people and the stories. And if you guys are seeing a uh trend here, the people has been a huge part of the last year.

SPEAKER_07 14:00

Absolutely, and I really think that's why some episodes just hit differently throughout the last year.

SPEAKER_06 14:05

Yes, uh, the podcast is not polished. You guys have seen some of our uh bloopers and mishaps over the last year.

SPEAKER_07 14:11

It's like when the camera would move when I moved my hands, or we're at Real Graphics sitting in Chris's uh office and started talking, and suddenly it zoomed in on my chest and wouldn't leave, and we had to get up and move it.

SPEAKER_06 14:23

I mean remember when it focused on him and walked around the room with him.

SPEAKER_07 14:27

I do remember that as well.

SPEAKER_06 14:28

We fixed that, yeah.

SPEAKER_07 14:29

And then we had the time where the camera, anytime it focused in on things while we're at JV doing the ladder episode, it would just completely eliminate sound.

SPEAKER_06 14:36

Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_07 14:37

So we we've definitely had some challenges.

SPEAKER_06 14:41

Yes, we always have our notes, but we make sure to hit the topics and we try to cover them appropriately. But doing the live podcast, which is something that was always super important to us, uh, gives us the opportunity to interact, sometimes go off script and uh catch up with everybody who is watching with us.

SPEAKER_07 15:01

So some of you rebels out there may not know this. The original plan was to be live every other week, and every other week be what we called a petite cast, which was just a 30 to 45 minute episode, maybe a 20-minute episode that did a cigar review or did a lighter review. So we really only be live a couple of times a month. But once we got through recording the first couple of those petite casts, and then we went live two or three times, we're like, live is where it's at, this interaction with people, and we've gained followers that watch us live, we've gained followers that actually only listen to us on streaming, but they love how we interact with those of you that are in the room every Monday night and how we take your comments and maybe go off on a tangent for that. And we've had a couple of tangents that kind of got us in that scenario where it gets us in trouble. We've heard from two different manufacturers in the industry that did not like what we said in response to something that came up on the screen. But the reality is that's where the rebel part comes in, right?

SPEAKER_06 16:02

Yeah, 100%. And I also would say I think doing it live has increased. We have people who join us every week, really from all over the world at this point, from different countries, different states, which is awesome to see.

SPEAKER_07 16:16

So two weeks ago was our largest setup. We had live viewers from seven different countries all watching at once, conversating about cigars with everything that's going on in the world to have seven countries get on and just have a fellowship over this that was the common denominator. There really is no better feeling as a cigar podcast than knowing we're reaching people and bringing a little bit of joy and a little bit of education to a hobby they love.

SPEAKER_06 16:46

Yes, I think having interaction is great, and we get a lot of questions how do I meet more people who smoke cigars? And I think our podcast has kind of helped with that a lot, and so I'm really proud of that.

SPEAKER_07 16:59

Yeah, absolutely. So, sorry, go ahead.

SPEAKER_06 17:01

Oh, I was gonna just move on, but go for it, move on. I was also gonna talk about we also started the launch of the Rebel Pack earlier this year as well, or a couple months ago, back in March.

SPEAKER_07 17:13

So three packs have gone out, and we're so thankful for those of you who've purchased the Rebel pack. Thank you so much. And by the way, this is an idea that came from comments. It started out with people saying, Hey, can you add to the upcoming show list what you're going to be smoking so we can get it? And then we quickly heard, hey, my local brick and mortar does not carry that. And while we want you rebels out there to support your local brick and mortars, if they do not carry um cigars that we're smoking, we created this rebel pack. It's a$43 pack that covers your cost, your shipping, your taxes, everything. And so far, Mel, I think the average um retail value of the packs have been$64.40 is the actual average value. And so just a great thing, but it came from all you rebels out there asking.

SPEAKER_06 18:01

Yeah, because originally before we started the podcast, you had brought up, do we want to do a pack that they're smoking along with us? And I said, No. Yeah, I said no, let's let them smoke whatever they want. But it quickly became something everybody was asking, what are you smoking? We want to smoke along with you. And so we added that, and it's been great.

SPEAKER_07 18:22

Yeah, absolutely. So let's transition for a few moments to the podcast process process, okay? Um, is this what you thought it would be, Mel?

SPEAKER_06 18:32

Um so, really to be honest, I can't when we started the podcast, I would say no. Over the last longer time, your expectation of what you are expecting shifts. And so you can kind of see where it's going, kind of see a vision of it. Um, but to be honest, this first year it really has been uh the outside people are seeing our logo and they're asking us about our logo, and you know, talking about the episode title, which we tried spent hours trying to decide what are we going to call our podcasts. Right. Um, there's cigars, there's pairings, camera angles, thumbnails, getting the notes together. Uh, all the behind the scenes work was, I would say, a little bit more than I anticipated up front. But once you start doing it and it's a habit, it's just you just don't even notice it anymore.

SPEAKER_07 19:26

Yeah, absolutely. And what a lot of people don't see is they don't see the planning and they don't see the scrambling when a topic suddenly comes up on another podcast. We do try and not just mirror other podcast topics, like we had a plan to do something about a month ago, and the Saturday before our Monday, uh, the Cigar Authority did that very topic. And while ours was different enough, we scrambled because we didn't want to feel like we were just chasing them. That we love those guys and have a great relationship, and they wouldn't have felt that way. We just wanted our audience to have a different topic. So we actually moved it several months out and moved something before. People don't see, we've had four guests cancel within 30 minutes of the show going live. Yeah, and so one couldn't, you know, they were caught in a plane and they're gonna be on a plane and they message it. You know, there's just different things have happened where we have to scramble last minute. We've also had ideas that look really, really great on paper and they die on the table when you're trying to put notes together or figure out the process. And so they don't see the late adjustments, the guest coordination, the equipment hookup, hiccups, all of those things. Like I said, we've had plenty of hookups. Yeah, we are on mic number three since starting this podcast, and none of them have been cheap. But we finally found a podcast mic that'll travel with us, that'll do all the things we wanted to do, and uh that's been a part of the journey.

SPEAKER_06 20:48

Yeah, 100%. I always hoped and knew deep down that it would work, but also what it takes to build your voice. I never knew if we would have even more than just you and I just coming on here every Monday night, to be honest. Like that was a real, I don't want to say fear, but I was like, we're kind of just doing it for us for probably the first little bit because who knows who's gonna log on, but even out the gate, we had people watching, which was amazing. Um, but really taking the year to find our rhythm, what works, um, and our approach. You know, we've kind of changed up uh the flow of things from if you go back and watch that first episode. Absolutely. Um, and that's the real achievement of year one, I think, is we found our rhythm. And it's not even just that Cigar Rebel exists, uh, but there's also now 52 episodes that are on the feed, and it's not just about the people listening and watching. Um, I feel like the show has really found its voice in this version.

SPEAKER_07 21:48

Absolutely. And I think we have some of that coming out in what we're calling season two or year two of Cigar Rebel. Um, Mel's been working and planning out there's gonna be more shorts, there's gonna be More daily life snippets that go out on YouTube and our social media accounts. More of our travel is going to get documented. We're going to do more live shots from stories around the cutters and the ladders and the cigars that we like to carry here and share with all of you rebels out there. Again, because one of the things we hear often from you guys watching is that they have you would have never heard of the cigar had it not come up. And so there's so many more cigars that Mel and I work on, work with our team, our other owners here at Stories to develop and bring in. We want to make sure you guys are all exposed to those because we can only share so much.

SPEAKER_01 22:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 22:39

And so the achievement truly is for year one that the show has found its voice. But the even better achievement is that you guys have followed along and blessed us.

SPEAKER_06 22:52

Yes, I agree.

SPEAKER_07 22:53

It was never really meant to be background noise and just another show talking about all the things that cigar podcasts have been talking about, cigar media, cigar influencers have been doing for the last 20 years, which is cigar reviews, a lot of reviews. That's never been the intent, but you guys have made it so much more where it's really about life. And as we said earlier, everything around the cigar, the cigar just happens to be the common link. And so the podcast works smell when it's bold, when it's thoughtful, when it's grounded. It really is helpful. And we found and we've heard from people that they love the teaching without preaching. They love that it pushes people to try new things without posturing or overhyping something, but just saying, hey, this is something you guys should really try. And it's really been about living and relaxing.

SPEAKER_06 23:40

Yeah, we've also gotten a lot of compliments on. I don't want to say how calm the podcast is, but a little bit how we are pretty calm. I don't know.

SPEAKER_07 23:52

Yeah, and I love how Richard said send Leslie another cigar because if not for her, I would have never known about you. Absolutely. Uh the corns, pop corn and leslie of the corn have been spectacular. Uh they're the uh evangelist of Cigar Rebel. Um, we absolutely love that. Um, Lou said, Richard, you're not lying. And then uh said same here, Leslie loves you guys. Uh, we do love them. And you know, that led to us wanting to have consumers on.

unknown 24:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 24:20

And so uh Leslie and Duane were our first consumers that came on the show with us, and then David and Kelly, who are here in the live audience tonight with us just a couple of weeks ago, and we have more of those types of episodes being planned out, so we'll have more industry experts on, we'll have more consumers, but all of that came because of those comments, right?

SPEAKER_06 24:39

Yeah, 100%. When we decided to do our first consumer episode, I remember I told you, like, I was like, hey, I have this idea because I don't know that I've heard personally any podcasts that are doing like someone who is just smoking cigars for enjoyment on a podcast, and being that most of the people who are listening to our podcast, they are people who are just enjoying cigars.

SPEAKER_07 25:02

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_06 25:03

Another way for people to connect.

SPEAKER_07 25:05

Yeah, so moving forward a little bit, I want to look back at the episodes and clips that surface the most clearly and what really stands out because there are educational pieces, um, there's the practical lifestyle pieces in the episodes that really tapped into culture and those experiences hit.

SPEAKER_06 25:22

Yeah, 100%. So all of that has provided insight into what will be season two and what it will look like. And so these topics that need to be covered, even if they are not safe.

SPEAKER_07 25:34

Yeah, and I think what you're really saying, and we've mentioned it, is we've kind of found a voice, we kind of have found that we can communicate and people listen, but more importantly, people want to have a conversation, and that's what season two is really going to be about.

SPEAKER_06 25:46

Yes, those last thoughts about episodes that hit, and then the ones that people found interesting, has me thinking about our previous 51 episodes. So I want to spend a couple of uh minutes on some of the popular ones and then maybe talk about our top two or three.

SPEAKER_07 26:05

Yeah, absolutely. So, based on the data, what is our top episodes, Mel?

SPEAKER_06 26:09

So the clear winner for season one was the cigar budget that had close to 2,000 views and hundreds of downloads for that episode.

SPEAKER_05 26:19

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_06 26:20

Then the runners up for that would be the cigar rating system, our 2025 in review, the cigar strength versus flavor, our first episode, which was Cigar Rebel, and then Agnes with United.

SPEAKER_07 26:32

Yep. And what a great episode that was with Agnes. And something we're gonna throw out there a little bit later, but I'll throw up first off is uh coming up here in June, um, we're not gonna have Agnes from United, but Oliver Naveau with United is gonna be joining us both next week in our PCA episode and then for a full episode in June. And we're really excited about that.

SPEAKER_06 26:54

I am excited about that. I think that'll be great.

SPEAKER_07 26:55

So that's an interesting list, but one of the show one that is growing quickly in downloads, and I've been very surprised because we're already over 500 downloads on YouTube and dozens more, I think it's like 95 in the first 48 hours on streaming, was the Develop Your Palette series. Um, we're seeing those downloads skyrocket, and we really love that that has been an episode that you rebels out there have been drawn to.

SPEAKER_06 27:22

Yeah, I think that is interesting. When you compare YouTube to podcast streaming sites, like the episodes will hit differently. So when you look at them across all of the platforms and combine the numbers, I'm always still just amazed and thankful that the people are listening and also engaging.

SPEAKER_07 27:44

Yeah, I agree. So, so thankful. Um, you had mentioned favorite episodes, and I know it's hard, but do you have one or two episodes that were your favorite?

SPEAKER_06 27:52

So I really tried to think about this, and I actually think one of my top favorite episodes was when we did the blind bourbon tasting uh with JB, and I say that because we didn't get any of them right.

SPEAKER_07 28:04

Yeah, so I always so we got none of them right, and Tony gave me huge hints, and I still got all of them wrong. Like I even knew what one of them was and didn't get it right.

SPEAKER_06 28:15

I didn't know what any of them were. I just remember it was a lot of bourbon in a short amount of time, yeah, and it was fun.

SPEAKER_07 28:20

Yeah, so one of my favorite, or I really kind of have several favorite episodes, and it was really hard to get out of the two or three, but I'll just say the ones where we had people involved. I loved when Bill Reiner was on. Um, Brad Frazier's been on a couple of times, which we loved. Um, when we were at two guys um studio 21 with Agnes in New Hampshire, um both the Corns and the Kellys were really great. Um, and then the night we had Jonathan Carney here at the lounge to do a bourbon and cigar, we went back to the Churchill room and did a quick recording to talk all about Bentley and Hooten Young, and that was a great night. And really, it's hard to say anytime some of our stories owners and partners have been on have been really great.

SPEAKER_06 29:04

Yep, we've had Roper on a couple times. It's really hard to choose just one or two for the year on that.

SPEAKER_07 29:13

Yeah, absolutely. So, how's the cigar treating you, Mel?

SPEAKER_06 29:15

Good. I'm about halfway through.

SPEAKER_07 29:17

Um, yeah, I'm smoking fast, I think I'm nervous.

SPEAKER_06 29:20

It's very consistent for me. Um, the construction is great on it. I've been ashing it because I don't want to accidentally wear it, but I probably could if I was not worried about it. Yeah, I probably wouldn't have ashed it at all yet. Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_07 29:33

So, on that thought, we're gonna take a quick break, but we'll return topics that got us in trouble, upcoming shows, and what season two is gonna look like.

SPEAKER_00 29:43

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 found to be the one and only cigar retail store and lounge in downtown Loveland. 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, passion 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_06 30:45

As always, thank you to our sponsors. Let's go ahead and take a look at upcoming shows.

SPEAKER_07 30:50

Yeah, so next week is the PCA trade show. We'll be leaving here just a few days to go to New Orleans, and we're gonna have an update from the show with several interviews. And on that episode, we'll be live with you on Monday night with some of those clips, and we're gonna be smoking the Bighorn by Big Sky Cigar Company.

SPEAKER_06 31:06

April 27th is Beyond the Cigar, expanding your cigar circle. That one we will be smoking The Rose of Sharon by Southern Draw.

SPEAKER_07 31:14

Shout out to Eric. Uh May 4th, we're developing your palette number three, and this is gonna be a great night. It's palette building techniques, and we're gonna show you how to use cheese, chocolate, smoked beef, and some pretzels to begin to develop your palate. And we're gonna have those live and enjoy them with you, or we're gonna enjoy them for you. You're welcome to grab them along the way, but we're gonna be smoking the 20th anniversary Perdomo Maduro.

SPEAKER_06 31:41

And then May 11th, we are doing cigar deals. Are they a thing of the past or are they not? Absolutely, and on that, we will be smoking the Camacha Ecuador.

SPEAKER_07 31:51

Absolutely. So we're super excited about those upcoming episodes to share with you guys, and then with that, upcoming events, we have a few different things coming. This last Saturday, we were at um Creekside Cigar Lounge in Belton, Texas, doing a launch party, um, which went really great. But coming up, we have April 17th. We're gonna be at PCA on May 2nd.

SPEAKER_06 32:14

We are doing our second stories cigar fest, and with that, we will have two limited edition five-pack collections that is in Lufkin, Texas.

SPEAKER_07 32:22

And I'm excited about that because these are cigars that have never been released before. Um, it's a sample pack of Cameroon and Connecticut Broadleaf, and then it's got another test pack for a cigar that could be launched a little bit later in the year. And so there's eight different cigars in this pack between the two packs, and we're super excited about that. And then on June 2nd, Mel, tell us all about June 2nd.

SPEAKER_06 32:48

So June 2nd, we are doing a ladies' night at Two Guys Cigar in Salem, New Hampshire, and I am really excited about that. They have started, they announced it on last Tuesday, I believe. And so I think it'll be a good time.

SPEAKER_07 33:01

Absolutely. Richard said he's already got his ticket for the night, and so that's gonna be an all-day event. So we're gonna be in the Salem shop from 10 until four. At four o'clock, Mel's gonna be on the Ash Hills or Ashholes podcast, and then we'll move straight into that into Ladies' Night, where Mel's gonna be rolling cigars, we're gonna have uh the cigar rebel or the elevated humor ladybug is the featured cigar that night. And so really excited about that. If you rebels out there have an opportunity to be in the Salem, New Hampshire area June 2nd, it's gonna be an amazing night and event. And then back on June 29th, back at Creekside Cigar Lounge, where Mel's gonna be there doing the ladybug night with their ladies group.

SPEAKER_06 33:42

Yeah, so lots of exciting stuff, lots of exciting ladies' nights. So we've touched on that a couple podcasts. I think it is amazing that lounges are starting to do more ladies' nights as well because it brings both ladies and gentlemen in, to be honest, and it's just a good connecting time.

SPEAKER_07 34:00

Absolutely. I mean, one of the things that is absolutely important is making sure that we reach that untapped market potential, which is ladies in the cigar industry. There is such an untapped potential for female cigar smokers, and we want to make sure we help really grow that. And I love this comment. Uh, the kilt man says, Woo-hoo, I think I'm bartending. And so we're super excited um to have him there. Uh, we'll be at Red Anchor Lounge the Friday or Saturday night before that. And so we just got to figure out when you're working, John. I'll reach out to you. Um, and then Lou said the audio is much better. Uh, Lou, I don't know if you were on earlier. We said we got new mics for a second time. Uh, so this is the third round of mics, and really believe that we have finally hit our stride there and really appreciate it. So, now let's get back to tonight's topic.

SPEAKER_06 34:52

Yes, so now we're going to rewind a little bit and look at topics of the past. Uh, so there are a few that landed really well with our cigar rebel community out there, and maybe not so much though with the industry. So uh I want to cover a couple of those topics briefly and then move on into what's coming next for season two.

SPEAKER_07 35:16

That sounds like a plan. Why don't you get us started?

SPEAKER_06 35:18

So, cigar reviews and ratings is the first one. Is it good, bad, useful, or broken? And so, my take, and when we did the episode, my take was the same that cigar ratings overall are not useless, but they are wildly overtrusted.

SPEAKER_07 35:34

Absolutely, and that's really what got us in trouble. We heard from two different media um outlets that their cigar reviews guide cigar smokers, and us saying that it could be useless was almost a slap to the face. But here's the reality: a lot of cigar smokers treat these things like the gospel, and they should really be treating them like a single data point. And I'm a big believer that data never lies, but it rarely tells the whole story.

SPEAKER_06 36:01

Yes, I don't think that a cigar that is rated at a 91 means it's going to change your life, and a cigar that's rated an 88 doesn't mean that it's trash. Yeah, I think in a 95 doesn't mean it's better. I think that it is just a person that is doing the review and they liked that profile, and uh maybe on those days or under those conditions, it could affect the rating. And I don't think that's really science, that's just structured subjectivity.

SPEAKER_07 36:32

Absolutely, and that's really what matters because too many cigar smokers read reviews like they're reading laboratory results. They want certainty, they want objectivity, they want a ranking system that removes all doubt that they're absolutely going to love the cigar. And the truth is that's impossible.

SPEAKER_06 36:50

Yes, and I think you know, we talk about a lot with cigars. What you ate or eat before the cigar matters, what you drink matters, how your palate, is it fresh, or have you had other cigars? That all matters. Your environment matters, uh, whether you're outside, inside, if you're on vacation, uh, if you're at an event, or if you're sitting alone and just having some alone time, all of those things matter.

SPEAKER_07 37:16

Yeah, absolutely. And one of the things that I want to bring up is um I said tonight, we're giving away a bottle, the Garrison's brother single barrel, and I'm currently drinking a pour of their small batch. And because this is a Texas bourbon, it's a little hot, it's really filling my palate when I take sips. So this cigar that is typically very complex and I get a lot of flavors from is very muted tonight because I'm drinking this. I probably should have skipped drinking it and stuck with water so I could give better reviews tonight. However, that's what happens in this gardener streak. And I understand a lot of professional reviewers only drink water while they're reviewing, but there are so many bad reviews out there because it's subjective instead of objectivity. And so are reviews bad? No. However, they're useful when these three things occur. The first is when they describe the cigar clearly, not just this is a great smoke or this is lots of flavor or recommend, because let's honest, that tells me nothing. Second, when the reviewer tells me enough about the profile that I can decide if I would like it.

SPEAKER_06 38:26

Um, and then third, Mel, third is gonna be when the reviewer is transparent. And so here is where we really take the gloves off, and we're being completely honest with you guys. If it is a review that is based on a free sample, I think that you should say it. If the cigar was sent by a brand, I think you should say it. If there is a relationship, I think that needs to be said as well. If it was purchased with your own money, I think that's also important. So say it clearly, yeah. Because the purchase is gonna matter, not because free cigars automatically corrupt people, but because the audience deserves the context.

SPEAKER_07 39:05

Absolutely. And a bought cigar and a gifted cigar, I do not care who you are, it smokes differently. When I buy a cigar with my own money, I'm judging the value harder. Um, I'm judging whether I'd go back to it, I'm judging if it earned its place in my humidor, I'm judging if it deserves a spot in the humidor, it's stories. But when a cigar is gifted to me, I'm just enjoying that someone honored me with that cigar. Even cigars people give us to review, we do everything we can to review that and then give that information back to them directly. And if we post about it on social media, we'll post, hey, we really enjoyed this, we reviewed this, it was gifted to us by somebody. We did that recently with a cigar from Lure Cigars. Um, I made a post about it and said, hey, Lure um gave this to us to try. This is an excellent cigar. Here's why I think you may like it. But I said it clearly.

SPEAKER_06 40:05

Yes. Another thing that I think should be stated clearly when it comes to review is if you smoked it blinded or not. And I love blind cigar reviews when it comes to honest reviews, because so many times people might smoke a cigar blind that before they might have thought, oh, this is this is good, I like it, but maybe before when you find out what it is, they thought they hated that cigar, or vice versa, which is always really interesting.

SPEAKER_07 40:32

Yeah, because I love cigar reviews when someone says, I'm going to review this cigar, buy this brand, and give you my opinion on that cigar. And the second is only valuable when it's clearly stated.

SPEAKER_06 40:43

Yes.

SPEAKER_07 40:44

Another problem with reviews is too many of them are trying to sound authoritative instead of useful.

unknown 40:51

Yes.

SPEAKER_07 40:52

Cigar media does not need more fake certainty, it needs more honest description.

SPEAKER_06 40:59

Yes. So, you know, tell me what happened, tell me what the cigar did, tell me how it changed from the first third to the final third, if at all. Was construction good? Did it hold up throughout the entire smoke? Where would you buy it if you had the opportunity to? And tell me if it is worth the price, because that goes in a lot with. I think people are relying on reviews based on cigar budget, and that's where also sometimes they're taken.

SPEAKER_07 41:28

And that to me, and to us here at Cigar Rebel, is a real review. Outside of that, it is almost just noise or entertainment. I like reading them. I buy magazines, and the first thing I do is I go to the review section, I read all the cigars, then I go back and read the magazine. I enjoy reading them, but I know the publication I'm reading, how they do it. So I go into it with the preconceived idea, like cigar aficionado. When I look at theirs, my understanding is they buy all their cigars, they review them. I don't know if they blind review them or not. So I just take it for what it is. Hmm, that sounds interesting. I should maybe smoke that and see if it's something that would be good in the humidor, maybe it'd be something I would enjoy. But I don't take it as, man, they've done this. Now in the cigar journal, I know all of theirs are blind reviewed and they have no idea what they're smoking. And then if it makes it through the blind review, it goes to a second committee that blind reviews it and then it gets into the magazine. So theirs, I take a little bit more weight on it because I know they're doing it blind.

SPEAKER_06 42:33

Right. And so while we're here, um, I want to say something that probably needs to be said a little bit more often, and that is a lot of cigar smokers, you don't need ratings on the cigar. You need better self-awareness. So you need to know your palate, your budget, your strength preference, uh, your tolerance of the hype for that cigar. Are you buying the cigar for a Tuesday afternoon yard smoke? Absolutely. Are you doing having a cigar for a celebratory dinner? Is it for a long road trip? Is it a lounge night with your friends? Is it going to be for a gift? Is it for you to smoke alone on your solo hour? Uh, the cigar review is not going to answer that for you. Only your experience and what you are doing with that cigar can answer that question. Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 43:23

So, Mill, why don't you give the uh the rebels out there our cigar rebel position on this? So the final position.

SPEAKER_06 43:30

So reviews are very useful. Uh, ratings, I believe, are limited, and transparency is non-negotiable. So, also, if you are doing a purchase or blind cigars deserve a different kind of respect.

SPEAKER_07 43:46

Absolutely, because when your money is in the ashtray, your opinion gets sharper, it gets clearer, it gets more meaningful.

SPEAKER_06 43:56

Yes.

SPEAKER_07 43:56

When you don't know what you're smoking, your opinion becomes clear. As well.

SPEAKER_06 44:01

100%.

SPEAKER_07 44:01

And I absolutely love that.

SPEAKER_06 44:04

Yes. And so this is going to take us into the next topic that got us in trouble this past year and also could be planned for more future episodes.

SPEAKER_05 44:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 44:13

And that is uh because if the price tag is climbing all over the humidor, then sooner rather than later, everybody starts asking the exact same thing.

SPEAKER_07 44:22

And this might make some of you uncomfortable out there, but here's the question.

SPEAKER_06 44:26

The question is that are the 20 plus cigars worth it? And the answer is absolutely and definitely is sometimes, and sometimes absolutely not.

SPEAKER_07 44:37

Yeah, absolutely. And I love that because let's kill two arguments right away.

SPEAKER_06 44:44

Yes. So the bad argument number one is going to be if it costs over 20 bucks, it's all hype.

SPEAKER_07 44:51

And the other one is if it costs more, it must be better. Yes. Right? And I couldn't agree more with those facts because, or those not facts. I can't agree more that both of those are bad arguments. Because what happens is people go, oh, it's 20 plus dollars, it's got to be good. Or if it's 20 plus dollars, it's all hype. Both of those are horribly wrong. And the truth is honestly more annoying than anybody wants to admit.

SPEAKER_06 45:20

Yes. So some expensive cigars, they're going to be expensive because they genuinely are exceptional. They're going to have better tobacco, they're going to have longer aging, they're going to have smaller runs, harder to source leaf, or maybe even a specific experience that's tied to the cigar itself.

SPEAKER_07 45:37

Yeah, but some expensive cigars are expensive simply because cigar makers out there have learned that people love feeling or buying special. And the cigar world is not the only one that is immune to this. Luxury inflation, packaging theater, scarcity psychology, or a brand tax is real across industries. But in the cigar industry, and so some of those in the room live tonight are going to know exactly the cigar we're talking about. But there's a$40 plus cigar that we've sold here at Stories that it's really packaging theater that makes it an exceptional cigar in the manufacturer's eyes. But when you light it up, it's honestly not a$40 cigar.

SPEAKER_05 46:21

No.

SPEAKER_07 46:21

And then there are some$8 cigars that people would smoke every day and spend$20 plus dollars on them.

SPEAKER_06 46:29

100%. So what is going to make a$20 cigar worth it?

SPEAKER_07 46:34

Hold on. I just got to tell you, we've had an episode in about three weeks on this exact topic. Um, and we're gonna be dealing with it a couple of different times in season two. So we can't get too deep.

SPEAKER_06 46:45

I know. I just want to give them just a little teaser. So I'm just gonna go in and say there's three things. Uh the first is gonna be experience, the second is gonna be construction and consistency, and then the third is going to be that rebuy value. So for now we can move on because, like you said, we're doing another show about this. But Rebels, we are going to dive into this in a future episode.

SPEAKER_07 47:09

Yeah, absolutely. And we want to dive into it and get into some of those, but I want to say one thing because you gave them a teaser. So let me drop some knowledge for just a moment. I truly believe there are too many premium cigars, and let me define premium as luxury cigars on the market today. And what I mean by that is these$20 plus dollar cigars, there are way too many of them, and I truly believe it's unfortunate because there's a whole lot more coming out at PCA in just a few days. There's these$20 plus dollar cigars that are flooding the market, and there are just simply too many of them, and many of them do not live up to the value.

SPEAKER_06 47:51

Yeah. So now that's the topic. We could spend a few episodes covering that, and we'll probably hear about it later from our industry partners. Yeah, uh, but with that being said, like you'd said, there's too many of those. Um, but we're gonna look at that more come in soon.

SPEAKER_07 48:10

Yeah, we will. And so one of the things I want to say, there are the 25, the 40, the 50, and even a few hundred dollar plus cigars out there, Mel. But let me jump on the soap wagon on my soapbox for a second. There's also a phenomenon happening right now, the McAuliffe effect. And the McAuliffe effect is real, a sub-10 dollar cigar that is exceptional. However, there are far too many brands out there that are creating this value cigar that's a sub-10 dollar cigar, but it is not the same quality, it's not the same tobacco as their regular lines. They're making it sub-10 and believing that cigar smokers out there are going to purchase it because their brand identity is on it. And it's just simply not the same cigar or the same quality. Now, I understand maybe they're trying to create an entry point to get people into their line, and I do believe some of them are doing that, but I think there are a handful, maybe a few dozen, that are just using leftover tobacco to get something sub-tendoll to the market, and it doesn't have the same quality. You see this in all kinds of industries. You see it in the liquor industry, you definitely see it in the luxury clothing industry where there is one quality of product made for their name brand store and a second quality with the same logo, the same tag being sold at their off-the-rack or liquidation stores. And I know I could jump into that, and we have a lot of that coming up in future episodes. But I think honestly, if we're gonna talk the 20 plus cigar, we've also got to talk the minus 10 because I truly believe if you blinded every cigar in our humidor, or you went to your local brick and mortar and blinded every cigar in there, you would find the cigars that you will go back to are$10 to$13.

SPEAKER_06 50:03

Which, if anyone wants to do that here at Stories, I would love it. If you guys all want to go buy one of everything that we have in the humidor and try and blind, you have my approval to do that.

SPEAKER_07 50:11

We'll blind them for you. But anyways, let's let's move on, right? Let's talk about cigar deals.

SPEAKER_06 50:19

All right. Um, so that is another one of our future episodes, and that is going to be the cigar deals. And it's really gonna be talking about is it a deal or right?

SPEAKER_07 50:32

And we're not really gonna be talking just cigar deals. What we're gonna do is we're gonna go to the question and question them as an idea. We're gonna put some under the microscope and we're gonna talk about the industry excuse for an event because it's become such a cut and light where you just do a cut and light and the whole draw is four plus one, five plus two, whatever the draw is. Are cigar deals dead? And if they're not, should they be? And what is the replacement for them that brick and mortars and manufacturers should be focused on in order to grow this industry? Yes, but there's more on that soon.

SPEAKER_06 51:10

100%. And so now let's go ahead and take a look at what more things that are in store for Cigar Rebel in season two.

SPEAKER_07 51:19

Absolutely. So we're hitting the road in season two with a handful of different episodes, like all the interviews we have coming up that we're going to be capturing here in the next few days in New Orleans at PCA. Um, we also have several big projects in the works. Mel, do you want to tell them about some of those?

SPEAKER_06 51:35

Yes. So we are doing those big projects, like you had said. We have the 2027. That's okay, though. Do you want me to talk about them? No, the 2027.

SPEAKER_07 51:47

This is the episode where we're not scripted. I threw it to her thinking she'd want to talk about it. Instead, she's like, Um, what do you have notes on that?

SPEAKER_06 51:54

No, I I see them. You're good. The 2026 and 2027 limited editions for the elevated humidor.

SPEAKER_07 52:00

And we have some awesome ones coming out for that.

SPEAKER_06 52:03

Yes, I'm really excited about that. We also um are doing a 2026 Cigar Rebel Custom Blend. So, this that is what this started as. That is what this pack right here was our first ever uh Cigar Rebel custom blend. We'll have another one.

SPEAKER_07 52:18

This will be the third custom blend, and we've been working on blends for that.

SPEAKER_06 52:21

Yes, we are also working on a unique box collection, and there is a lot more to that, but I am excited about that unique box collection.

SPEAKER_07 52:29

Yep, absolutely, and there it's taking time to get the packaging right. Um, we also have coming out um this year, we're gonna have an elegant pack that is a pack that has each of our elegant cigars in there in the elegant collection because there is a third cigar joining the elegant collection in July, um, the Lady Marmalade that we're extremely excited about. Um, and so we also have a handful of other things coming up with industry experts coming on to talk about the industry. Um, we have a handful of controversial topics that we're gonna be diving into, and then finally, we have a couple of big projects that we can't really give too much data around, but that is gonna get in your hands later this year or early in 2027. So there's a lot coming over the next few weeks and months here at Cigar Rebel.

SPEAKER_06 53:19

Yes. Um, we also have some blind reviews coming up as well.

SPEAKER_07 53:22

Absolutely. Do you want to talk about those a little bit?

SPEAKER_06 53:25

Well, really, I mean, blind reviews are always fun. I did that, was gonna be probably I loved that episode that we did too when we smoked those two blinds um earlier in the year.

SPEAKER_07 53:35

So we have an episode coming up that in the Cigar Rebel pack, you're gonna get a$40 plus cigar, and then you're going to get a$10 to$13 cigar, and we're gonna smoke them on the episode with six people smoking them blind all on the episode together, giving their live feedback, and we're gonna determine which one is better. And even if they choose the$40 one, is it worth the value compared to the$12 one you just smoked? The other thing we're gonna have is we're gonna have a single month coming up in just a few months. The cigar rebel pack will be completely blinded. All five cigars will be unbanded. We will smoke them all month long on the episode. We will not tell you what they are, and at the end of the month, you'll have an opportunity to blind rate them and we will give a rating to all five of those cigars.

SPEAKER_06 54:25

Yes, I'm excited about all that.

SPEAKER_07 54:28

So, what do we want to talk about next?

SPEAKER_06 54:32

Uh, well, you know, we've talked a little bit about travel coming up as well. Um, and I am excited about all of our travel we've got coming up and um all the shorts and everything else that we're gonna be doing this year.

SPEAKER_07 54:47

Yeah, absolutely. And so one of the things we're gonna be really look at is what stood out in the last year from us, which is the podcast engagement, was travels and events and real-world cigar experiences that really connected. And so we're gonna talk about cigar events, event recaps, um, we're gonna do another cigar cation episode, and even probably produce a couple of vacation shorts where you can get some insight on great places to smoke cigars when you're traveling around the country, and all of that's coming up in season two.

SPEAKER_06 55:19

Yes, and I think that'll be great because like we talked a little bit about cigar reviews, but really cigars, a lot of people don't smoke them to review them, you smoke them because they're lived.

SPEAKER_07 55:30

Absolutely, and that's one of the biggest lessons from year one. Travel changes your relationship to cigars. Yes, shows change your relationship to brands, lounge change your relationships to community, and road time changes your relationship to rituals when it comes to a cigar.

SPEAKER_06 55:47

Yeah, so travel for cigar culture, you find out very quickly what matters and what doesn't.

SPEAKER_07 55:54

Yeah, you'll find out about who wants to connect and spend time with you and who's really just there to sell a cigar. You find out which brands can talk all day and enjoy being around you, and which ones really just sit in the corner, line up, and want to do their own thing. Um, you also find out whether a cigar can survive outside of the hype. And when you're sitting on your deck with a pour a bourbon or a cup of coffee, you begin to determine what you like and what your palette is. And we're going to continue the Develop Your Palette series throughout the year to continue giving you tools and tips to make sure that you're choosing your palette. Because it's not about buying the right cigar, it's about buying the cigar that's right for you.

SPEAKER_06 56:36

100%.

SPEAKER_07 56:37

And that's truly what matters to me and us here at Cigar Rebel.

SPEAKER_06 56:40

100%. And so we're going to wrap up this episode. Uh, so to everybody who has watched, listened, shared, commented, argued, honestly, I'm going to throw that out there too. Laughed, smoked along with us, showed up for the live stream, downloaded the podcast, checked out the clips, and help us build this into something real. Thank you for a majorly successful first year.

SPEAKER_07 57:06

You gave this show a first year. Now let's go build a second one that's worth remembering. Because this is Cigar Rebel.

SPEAKER_06 57:14

This is Cigar Rebel.

SPEAKER_07 57:16

So if you're watching live or if you're watching on a replay, drop us a comment, hashtag replayfam. Let us know. If this is your first time watching, go ahead and go down there and click that subscribe button. Also on YouTube, you can click the notify so it reminds you a few days before and earlier on Monday that the show that the episode is getting ready to go live.

SPEAKER_06 57:35

Yes. If you're watching or listening to us on the replay, drop us a comment with hashtag replayfam and click the notify button so you don't miss an episode.

SPEAKER_07 57:43

So next week we have a great episode for you rebels out there. We're going to get several different interviews while we're at the PCA cigar trade show with several cigar owners and manufacturers. We're going to come live to you Monday night and then share. We're going to highlight a few of the new cigars that we picked up and that we're trying and that might be in a cigar rebel pack pretty soon.

SPEAKER_06 58:04

Yes.

SPEAKER_07 58:05

But for tonight, Mel, that's our show.

SPEAKER_06 58:07

Yep. Show one of season two is done. Thank you guys for tuning in. And don't forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share with your fellow cigar rebels and cigar lovers. Until next Monday for episode two of season two, keep your cigar lit, your ash long, and your palate furious.

SPEAKER_05 58:25

Good night, Rebel.