Gathering Place: Cigars, Friendships, and the last Third Place.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 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_04 0:36

Welcome, Cigar Rebels, to the podcast. I'm Mel. And whether you guys are driving home from work, lighting up on your back porch, uh sneaking away for a little peace and quiet with a cigar, or hanging out just at your favorite lounge, we're glad you're here today.

SPEAKER_06 0:51

And I'm Kevin, and we're tonight we're talking about something bigger than tobacco and cigars. We're talking about the chair that is next to you, the person sitting in it, and the place somehow that's become a part of your life.

SPEAKER_04 1:04

Yes. Tonight's episode is called The Gathering Place. So this is going to be Cigars, Friendships, and the Third Place.

SPEAKER_06 1:13

Yeah, and so I'm really excited about tonight, Mel. Um, I want every rebel listening to think about their favorite cigar shop, their favorite lounge, not the nicest you've ever visited, not the one with the largest humidor, but your place, the one where people know your name.

SPEAKER_04 1:35

Right. The place that you are walking in and someone notices that if you haven't been there for a while, or maybe if you were just there earlier in the day, even. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 1:45

The place where you have a chair, right? Even if your name's technically not on it.

SPEAKER_04 1:51

Yes. So here is the question behind tonight's episode, and that is when does a cigar shop stop being just a store and it becomes a gathering place?

SPEAKER_06 2:03

Yeah, and that's a great question, Mel, because a store sells you something, a gathering place gives you somewhere to belong.

SPEAKER_04 2:12

Yes, I think that's the real difference. Um, so a couple of quick disclaimers before we get started tonight. This is not an episode that claims every cigar lounge is perfect. Of course, nothing is perfect, but we can get close. And this is also not saying that smoking creates creates the friendship automatically. The cigar opens the door for people, and the people decide after that what's next.

SPEAKER_06 2:39

Yeah, absolutely, Mel. And so that's where this gets interesting, right?

SPEAKER_04 2:44

Yep. All right, Rebels, let's cut, light, and settle in.

SPEAKER_06 2:47

Yeah, so Mel, before we get to what we're smoking tonight, just want to say hi. Leslie said, Hey Rebels, good to see you, Leslie. Krista's in the house. Evening. Um, Addy's here. Great to see everybody. So, Mel, what are we actually? Let me. I've totally thrown that off. What are we smoking tonight, Mel?

SPEAKER_04 3:05

Tonight we are smoking the Flathead Speed Shop by CAO. It has an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, a San Andreas finder, and then Nicaraguan and Dominican fillers.

unknown 3:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 3:18

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

SPEAKER_04 3:22

Um, so I have a very smooth cold draw with the cigar. Um, the ring gauge and the box press is not something I normally reach for, but it's a very good smooth cold draw so far, and maybe a little bit of toasted cedar in there.

SPEAKER_06 3:40

Right. Um, yeah, my problem with this cigar right off the bat, and I've it's happened on everyone I've smoked of it, is unless you use a perfect cutter, and what I mean by the perfect, the perfect cut that we've talked about with the back that's a full 62 that no cigar shop cutter cuts it worth a crap. Yeah. Uh half my wrappers off the top, and I've done one cold draw, I haven't even lit it yet. And so looking at it, um, I probably have just about above the band is all wrapped off. And I've experienced that I've smoked five of these in different sizes, it's happened on every single one of them, but it's not happened. Let me say, I've smoked five of them, it's happened on three of them. On the two I used to perfect cut, it didn't happen at all. Yeah, it just snipped the top off, which is why I'm such a big believer in preaching the perfect cut. I know people don't like it, they like to use their own thing, but there's just some cigars that the perfect cut is well perfect.

SPEAKER_05 4:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 4:40

Um, on the cold draw, there's this light hint of pepper. You might have mentioned that. I was more frustrated with the cigar and not listening. Uh, but definitely this light pepper or maybe this little citrus. Um, as you mentioned, uh the draw is fantastic, even though it's not really my size preference. Um, I'm much of a smaller ring gauge. I used to like 660s. I was way more into the Corona Lancero. Um, but overall, the cold ride is great. Um, let's go ahead and get this cigar lit tonight. Um, the lighting is brought to you by the elevated humidor.

SPEAKER_07 5:22

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SPEAKER_04 6:42

As always, thank you to our sponsors. Now that we have this lit, sorry, I was a little caught off guard. We've got our live audience here, and one of them held up her cigar and was showing the unwrapped wrapper on there. So I was just threw me off guard a little bit. But uh, thank you to our sponsors now that we have this lit.

SPEAKER_06 7:00

Uh, I know you're missing a tiny bit of your wrapper on there, but well, and again, as I said to the live audience as we're in the commercial break, um, because Mel goes, I got another one of my human rooms. I know I'll smoke it, it smokes just fine.

SPEAKER_05 7:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 7:12

Um, it's just the idea of for this wrapper, this Habano wrapper they use is very thin. Yeah, um, it's a beautiful wrapper, so I don't have any issues with it. I just wish I would have cut it differently. And I wanted to go to the comments because uh Krista said that she got hay and earthiness on the cold draw, sweet horse barn when smelling it. Um, but uh Roper had brought, I use that big nub punch, and then followed right up by Dwayne. Hey Dwayne, good to see you. Uh, Popcorn said normally use a punch on the flathead didn't tonight, and I'm regretting already. And that's exactly my point is when we talk about cutters and lighters, and this isn't an episode about cutters and lighters, uh, but we've talked about this in the past that different cuts sometimes make a difference on the cigar you're smoking. And people go, I always do this, I always do that. And I really think that's a horrible reality. You use the right cutter to the cigar on this cigar, the perfect cut is perfect, or probably that nub, I mean that punch would have been spectacular. Um, I like a good punch, it's just the way the cigar is shaped, it would have been much better. Wow. So, anyways, Addy said ladies rule, Leslie. So it's great to see uh there. Tammy said hi, everybody, and then Leslie said yes, we do. I love this representation tonight. All right, so Mel, outside of the fact that women roll, and we already knew that. Uh, let's get into the topic today.

SPEAKER_04 8:40

I'm not gonna get any argument for me. So uh, so we're gonna go ahead and start with the familiar experience. So you're gonna visit, you know, a cigar shop for the first time. Uh, you are walking through the humidor, you buy a cigar, you sit down, and at that point, it is a business that you're visiting.

SPEAKER_06 9:02

Yeah, absolutely. And then you return and someone recognizes you, Mel. Uh, someone remembers your name, they remember what you smoked. Um, maybe they remembered why you're in town or what you're doing. Um, and then maybe they ask you, hey, did you enjoy that cigar? And a conversation begins.

SPEAKER_04 9:20

Yeah. I mean, then maybe you come back again, hopefully you do. Now you recognize a few faces, you learn someone's name, and also someone remembers yours.

SPEAKER_06 9:30

Yeah, hopefully. Yeah, right. And so it's one of those things that all of that occurs, then one day you walk in and the conversation continues from the last time you were there as if you had never left. Nobody must reintroduce you, nobody asks you what brought you in. You're simply expected or simply in the conversation, right?

SPEAKER_04 9:50

And that's really the shift. The shop has become your shop at that point.

SPEAKER_06 9:57

Absolutely. There's a pattern of belonging that has truly formed. You know the people, they know you, your absence and your presence are both noted or recognized.

SPEAKER_04 10:12

Yep. And that's when the cigar culture is built in lounges. Um, it's not by accident, it's never an accident. It is cultivated and it's never manufactured.

SPEAKER_06 10:23

The truth is, Mel, it's very difficult to manufacture. Impossible, maybe, if we're really honest about it. It has to be carefully cultivated over time.

SPEAKER_04 10:34

Right. You can build the beautiful lounge, you can have the excellent, excellent ventilation, uh, you can stock a great humidor with everything that everybody's gonna want.

SPEAKER_06 10:44

Yeah, you can choose comfortable furniture, you can set the lighting, you can set the music, you can set the chairs.

SPEAKER_04 10:53

Right. Those things are gonna create the conditions, but the people are what really create the place.

SPEAKER_06 11:00

Yeah, I could not agree with you more. A lounge can be very expensive and finely designed and still feel cold.

SPEAKER_04 11:11

That's true. A simple shop that's got mismatched chairs can feel like home, and that doesn't mean that it that the facilities and the services don't matter really. They do, but the belonging is not contained to the furniture.

SPEAKER_06 11:27

Yeah, you know, the the belonging, it truly lives in the greeting when someone walks in, either that be a member, a regular, or somebody new. The introduction, the imitation to join the conversation, all of that builds the culture.

SPEAKER_04 11:44

Right. And in the sentence, it's good to see you again.

SPEAKER_06 11:49

Yeah, and so let's talk about the phrase cigar smokers use all the time. It's cigars are the true unifier. Is that true, Mel?

SPEAKER_04 12:03

So it can be, but I think we need to explain what we mean a little bit. A cigar does not erase uh every disagreement, uh, it's not automatically going to remove the opinions or beliefs that you have, and it doesn't make every room inclusive.

SPEAKER_06 12:20

Yeah, I would agree with that because the unifier or the unifying power is simpler, it's not complicated, it's easy. Everyone begins with one simple interest, the cigar.

SPEAKER_04 12:33

Right. The cigar gives strangers that first question, which is what are you smoking? It's always the safe and easy one.

SPEAKER_06 12:43

Yeah, it's it's the easy question, it's the introduction question, it's sometimes the frustrating question. Right, right. Um, because sometimes I'm smoking something that I'm not trying to show off.

SPEAKER_04 12:58

Right.

SPEAKER_06 12:59

Like I just want to enjoy a great cigar. Uh, like I was having this Opus X when we were in Indiana, and I was doing it from a celebratory standpoint. And the guy next to me was, hey, what are you smoking? And like I didn't want to tell him. Yeah. Like, because I wasn't trying to be the snooty guy. I was just like, I'd never seen it. It was a hundred dollar cigar. I just closed a business deal. I was wanting to celebrate a little bit. And so, like, I didn't, I was like, Well, I'm smoking this open sex society, and he's like, Oh man, I wish I could afford that. So, as we were leaving, I bought one and gave it to the tobacconist and said, Hey, can you give to that guy over there after I leave? Because we weren't trying to be that guy, so sometimes it's a little scary, right? Yeah, but the question truly has started an immeasurable amount or a remarkable number of friendships.

SPEAKER_04 13:53

Right.

SPEAKER_06 13:54

I went off script for a minute.

SPEAKER_04 13:55

No, you're fine, but I think that that's really true because it's also a very easy to answer, whether you want to answer it or not, it's easy to answer. You most likely know what you're smoking 90%. I didn't say 99% of the time.

SPEAKER_06 14:09

Sometimes you might and oftentimes you want to tell everybody unbanded, yeah. Normally I want to tell everybody about what I'm smoking because I want them to try, even if I don't like it, they may love it, right? What I don't like, someone else loves.

SPEAKER_04 14:22

Right. But asking that question, you know, it doesn't ask what you do for a living, it doesn't ask how much money you're making, it doesn't ask who you voted for, uh, where you went to school, what position you hold, or really anything that could be like a I don't want to, I don't, I don't know you, I don't want to answer that.

SPEAKER_06 14:41

The reality is it asks you, hey, what's in your hands?

SPEAKER_04 14:44

Right.

SPEAKER_06 14:45

Simple or easy.

SPEAKER_04 14:46

Yeah. And from there, the conversation can move naturally. Where did you find it? Have you smoked it before? Uh, what do you normally enjoy? Uh have you visited the shop before?

SPEAKER_06 14:58

Yeah, and so at that point, the cigar becomes social permission, right? It's the opportunity to join in a conversation. It gives you the reason to speak to someone you do not know. Not that I ever need a reason.

SPEAKER_04 15:12

Right, yeah, very true. Um, but that does matter because adults often struggle to begin new friendships. And that's because we have the fewer built-in introductions than we had when we were younger. You know, there's no classroom, there's no playground, uh, there's no team that's chosen for us. There's no, you know, you can they make online things where you can meet friends, but you even got to be careful when you do that these days. It's just not the same as when you were a kid.

SPEAKER_06 15:39

Yeah. Walking up to a stranger in most places and saying, Would you like to talk for the next hour? feels a little strange.

SPEAKER_04 15:47

Yeah. Well, maybe, maybe not for you, but for most people.

SPEAKER_06 15:50

Well, that's true.

SPEAKER_04 15:51

I don't even know. Sometimes you're just gonna someone's gonna say one thing to you and then you're gonna be best bugs.

SPEAKER_06 15:57

Hey, hey, don't don't sit next to me an airplane if you don't want a three-hour conversation.

SPEAKER_04 16:02

Uh, but in the cigar lounge, the cigar uh answers the question really before you ask it. So both people have already chosen to slow down for the day. Um, they're in the same place, they're in the same head space.

SPEAKER_06 16:16

Yeah, so in the cigar does not guarantee connection, but it reduces the friction for one to begin. Right. Right. So let's before we jump any further, I want to jump to a handful of comments because there's some great comments out here tonight. Uh, love the conversation, keep it going tonight, guys. Um, it doesn't have to be your local shop either. I know when popcorn and I visit, two guys were welcome as if we visited there every day. Um, could not agree more. Um Dave said, uh go stories. Um, stories is our second home, and the members of our family. Absolutely. And then Simple Man's Cigars said, Hey, glad to join y'all tonight. Man, it is good to see you guys with us. Back to the conversation. We have a little bit more around that cigar shop culture coming up in a little bit after the break.

SPEAKER_04 17:01

But yeah, so one of the reasons that cigar lounges can unify people is that the table can really act as that social leavener. So at the same table, you can find a business owner, you can find a mechanic, you can find a lawyer, a firefighter, a nurse, a truck driver. I mean, the possibilities really are endless.

SPEAKER_06 17:23

Yeah, we were sitting at a lounge a couple of days ago, and there was really a truck driver, a firefighter, a pro fighter, the CEO of a company, and a senator. And we're all sitting there talking, and the guy explaining about the cigar to everybody was the mechanic.

SPEAKER_05 17:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 17:41

In most circles, that wouldn't be the person kind of leading the conversation. But someone starting a career and someone finishing one can sit at the same table and have a phenomenal conversation and friendship because of the unifier in our hands. Right. Out in the world, many people may move completely through their career in different environments, different social economics, different neighborhoods, different beliefs. And at the lounge, everyone's dealing with the same basic problem. Right.

SPEAKER_04 18:20

You know, is the cigar is it burning evenly? Did the lighter run out of fuel? Who has the cutter? You know, if you have a mobile cutter in the lighter, uh, the cigar creates that common ground. And I can't, I mean, how many times maybe if you were meeting someone new who did not have a cigar, how many times does that first couple sentences does it build up maybe who they are in a person to you before you even really get to know them? Because maybe they said something right off the bat, maybe you agree with wholeheartedly, maybe you don't agree with. But having the cigar is a good connector because you're usually starting out talking about the cigar.

SPEAKER_06 18:57

So Leslie said that sounded like the beginning of a good joke or a country song. I agree. Uh, I got to come up with one for that. But uh, absolutely.

SPEAKER_04 19:07

So a person's title for their job that may come eventually, but it rarely leads the conversation with a cigar.

SPEAKER_06 19:15

Yeah, absolutely. And so sometimes you know someone for months before learning what they do professionally, right? Right? There's so many things in that scenario.

SPEAKER_04 19:28

Yeah, and by then, maybe you know, your opinion of them has been found through that direct interaction, like I was kind of just mentioning a second ago. This is where the phrase great unifier has that real meaning.

SPEAKER_06 19:41

Yeah, and the cigar can really, what's the right word? It can really place people beside one another long enough to begin to discover something beyond category, beyond status. You may still disagree. Unity is not uniformity, it just means you can sit in the same place and enjoy a hobby.

SPEAKER_04 20:05

Yeah, it's not gonna make automatic friendships, and there are still people who smoke cigars with other people sometimes, and probably they're not their favorite person, but most of the time they will still have a cigar with them.

SPEAKER_06 20:16

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_04 20:17

Which uh I think is pretty rare if you compare that to the real world, where it's like, okay, I don't like that person. I'm just gonna leave.

SPEAKER_06 20:23

Yeah, and so I know uh it's definitely true at our lounge, and it's true at other lounges we visited that there are members that aren't always the favorite person of another member, and yet you see them sitting at the table or in the chairs next to each other smoking a cigar sometimes because we're both in this space enjoying a cigar and enjoying each other's company. That I don't have to be, and I'll use example of David sitting across the room from us. I don't have to be David's biggest fan to sit down and have a good conversation with him about the cigar he's smoking. Although I am his biggest fan because tonight he gave me uh my father um le Bijou 100 anos, and so thank you. Uh but we can still sit down and enjoy a conversation, right? Right. I don't have to be like, oh my gosh, I am so thankful David's here in order to enjoy a cigar. I can be like, oh, Dave's here, you know what, no one else is here, let's have a conversation, and I end up leaving having a great time, right?

SPEAKER_04 21:21

I think it's really that ability that you can share a table, and that doesn't require everyone that you're sharing the same table with to all be the same person. You're still allowed.

SPEAKER_06 21:32

I had to jump and evolve, so it fits the thing. So Richard joined for the first time in a couple weeks. So, like, Rich. So it reminds me of Cheers when Norm walked in. So trying to because we're talking about gathering places, right? The ultimate gathering place. Sorry, I cut you off.

SPEAKER_05 21:48

You're good.

SPEAKER_06 21:49

She's looking at me with contempt now. This is not the positive experience.

SPEAKER_04 21:54

We're talking about favorite people right now.

SPEAKER_06 21:57

So, as you said, the ability to show Share a table without requiring everyone to become the same person is such a rare skill or reality in today's society. Um, but why does a cigar work differently from a quick cup of coffee or another retail purchase, Mel?

SPEAKER_04 22:15

Yeah, I think it's the time and the passion and the proximity that everybody shares. A premium cigar might take 45 minutes or an hour or it could take much longer. This one is probably gonna take me longer than our show tonight. Yes. Um, and that cigar is demanding that you have that slowdown, you have that connection.

SPEAKER_06 22:36

Yeah, absolutely. The cigar demands that you slow down, and the other scene around you are really doing the same thing, Mel. Right. Everyone's pausing for this period of time.

SPEAKER_04 22:46

Right. Friendship is rarely gonna develop because two people scheduled a formal 60-minute relationship building session, even if that is what your plan is. I think when I'm making a new friend, I don't know that I've ever been like, all right, let's have a meeting, see if we can be good friends. We'll take, you know, 30, 40 minutes, nothing too serious. 60 is a little long for me, but uh it develops having the cigar, it's natural. It develops in the extra minutes that you have the cigar. The conversation after that original topic ends, you can move on, all those things.

SPEAKER_06 23:17

Yeah, it's really the story that no one planned to tell, right?

SPEAKER_04 23:20

Right, exactly. Cigars also create those natural pauses. Nobody has to fill every second of the air. You can take a puff, you can let your cigar burn, you can look at the burn, you guys can admire each other's ashes. How often does that happen? Or if it falls on someone, how often is that a topic of conversation? Right. The smoke can settle and you can just, it's a very natural environment.

SPEAKER_06 23:45

Yeah, and the silence doesn't feel broken, it feels normal. Um, I was in here a couple of nights ago, and there were three of us sitting here smoking a cigar. Uh, there were two sitting over there, and I was sitting over here. I think we went like 20, 30 minutes without anybody saying a word. No one was on their phone. It went like we were all doom scrolling. We were just enjoying, and then somebody brought up a conversation, and the next hour flew by. But for like 20, 30 minutes, we're just simply having a conversation with ourselves, apparently, because no one was talking. I was thinking about work, I was thinking about the next thing, and I was kind of letting the day melt away. So I assume that's what everybody else was doing. But the silence when it comes to having a cigar doesn't create awkwardness, it actually creates more belonging.

SPEAKER_04 24:36

Right. And that makes the conversation less demanding. People can speak without the performance, they can listen without looking for that immediate response. I guess for me personally, it takes a lot of pressure off of making that new friend, potentially, you know, finding common grounds, all those things.

SPEAKER_06 24:56

Yeah, and because nobody's rushing, the conversation can really move past the usual surface level topics.

SPEAKER_04 25:03

Right, right. A cigar starts with the what are you smoking? An hour later, people can be discussing a lot of different things: family, work, loss, celebration, goals, relationships, faith, business, health challenges, maybe major life decisions.

SPEAKER_06 25:21

Yeah, and the reality is that escalated quickly, right? I mean, sometimes it does though. It's how it happens, though, right? You start with a cigar and end up trying to decide if I should move to New Hampshire or not.

SPEAKER_04 25:32

Right. Right. Yeah, yeah. The cigar creates that time and the shared table creates the opportunity.

SPEAKER_06 25:38

Yeah, in the title for tonight's show, we talked or used the term the third place. So, Mel, let's move beyond simply talking about gathering places and let's talk about third place. So, what is the third place?

SPEAKER_04 25:52

So the term third place comes from the urban sociologist Ray Oldenberg. The concept is simple. The first place is home, the second place is work, the third place is the informal gathering place that is outside of both.

SPEAKER_06 26:10

Yeah, and so historically, the third place when you're looking at Ray's work, it's a coffee house, a pub, a barber shop, the diner, a park, a library, a church hall. Um, some social clubs fit into it, not all of them, but a few, or a neighborhood shop. Um, I think of the little bookstore in um You Got Mail, right? Everybody just gathers in a little the uh bookstore around the corner or around the corner, whatever it's called. Like people just gather there to hang out, right?

SPEAKER_05 26:41

Yep.

SPEAKER_06 26:42

That's really the idea of the third place, right?

SPEAKER_04 26:46

And the important point is that the third place is not defined only by the building, but it's defined by what the people do there. So a coffee shop oftentimes is full of isolated people that are wearing headphones that maybe they're working or maybe they're doing public business there, but it may not be necessarily functioning as the third place for the moment.

SPEAKER_06 27:09

Yeah, and a place becomes a third place when people linger, interact, and develop relationships, right? So uh kind of jumping off of topic for a second is a lot of people think of bars or pubs used to be the third place where you bellied up to the bar, you hung out with people, you interacted. But in today's society, um sociologists think that bars are no longer that. Bars are partying, the music's loud, there's sports bars. So you don't have the traditional bar in the majority of the country that people belly up to the bar and hang out and talk about life with people. It's not experienced as much in the large portion of the country. Um, now you get into some of the upper Midwest, some small towns, you have a little bit more of that. Um, but as a whole, like if you were to go to Dallas, Fort Worth, or Houston, or Atlanta, Chicago, you're not gonna belly up to a bar where a lot of people know each other. There's so much transient traffic, it's not a lingering place, it's not a third place in today's sociological viewpoint. So thinking about that, Oldenberg identified eight characteristics commonly found in third places in his original research. Um, and so why don't we go ahead and jump off into that? And I'll launch to kind of let you have a comment. So uh the first one's called neutral ground. So tell us about that.

SPEAKER_04 28:38

So the first is a third place is going to provide that neutral ground, like you just said. So nobody has to host it, uh, nobody has to invite you to be there, and people can arrive and leave voluntarily, which is perfect for me. You know, I love that low pressure, you know.

SPEAKER_06 28:57

It naturally fits a cigar lounge. You can come in, purchase cigars, sit down, participate without cleaning your house first.

SPEAKER_04 29:03

Right. And you don't have to ask everybody to leave when you get tired because you can just leave when you're ready.

SPEAKER_06 29:08

Right, absolutely. And second, a third place can act as a leveler. Outside status becomes less important than participation inside the room. At the table, the cigar person with the highest job title may know the least about cigars.

SPEAKER_04 29:26

Yeah, that's very true. And the person that is giving them guidance may come from a completely different background.

SPEAKER_06 29:33

Yeah, expertise and respect are earned differently inside the cigar shop, right?

SPEAKER_04 29:40

And third conversation is central, so that may be the strongest match for cigar lounges.

SPEAKER_06 29:47

Absolutely. People are not usually staring at a stage, um, they're not just staring up at a TV screen, they're often facing each other, right?

SPEAKER_04 29:59

And that's why we talk about furniture placement matters, um, a circle of chairs that invites the interaction, but rows facing television may reduce that.

SPEAKER_06 30:11

Yeah, absolutely. Unless the game itself or what's on the screen becomes the center of conversation.

SPEAKER_04 30:18

The television really can support the community or it can replace it, depending on what's on that. Um, and then fourth is going to be third places are the reasonably accessible and accommodating to their regulars.

SPEAKER_06 30:34

Yeah, absolutely. I personally believe um that every community male deserves to have a cigar shop with at least a small public smoking lounge that can kind of become that third place for that community.

SPEAKER_04 30:48

Yeah, I agree with that.

SPEAKER_06 30:49

Um, in all the cigar shops I've walked into over the years, there's really only been one where I walked in and really felt like they weren't excited that I was there. Um, we walked in, they had these chairs lining the row, and you had to kind of walk between the chairs. And on both sides of the TV, they actually were watching Tombstone, which is a fantastic movie. But as I'm walking in, like the only way to get into the shop was walking down this aisle. Three different people yelled at me that I was in front of the TV. Like, okay, first off, who has not seen Tombstone at least a dozen times?

SPEAKER_04 31:26

Okay, so I have not seen Tombstone. Then that's your fault. So no spoilers.

SPEAKER_06 31:31

But the the pro the problem is if you've not seen it, that is your issue. Watch it at home. But the the guy who owns the cigar shop, I was actually coming out. I was gonna buy three or four cigars, I was gonna smoke a couple while I worked. Mel was gonna join me an hour later, probably buy a few more. I mean, I was in at a hundred to two hundred dollars. Instead, I grabbed a cigar, I walked across the street, there was a coffee shop, but I walked in and I said, Hey, is there any way I can sit out here and smoke a cigar? And the coffee show I remember goes, Epic, go for it. And I'm like, that's my man right there. It was a woman, but I was like, That's my man, yeah. And uh I walked outside, I worked there, I bought two coffees and Mel wanted to go and smoke that one cigar because Mel had my humidor. I I needed a cigar, yeah, but like that's the only time I've not felt welcome. And it was almost like this was a club, but that is rare, yeah. Rare when it comes to cigar shops.

SPEAKER_04 32:35

And I would say sometimes, you know, lounges or something, they'll do a hey, we're doing a movie night, and that's a little bit different, you know, because they'll do one time everybody's gathering to watch a movie, but then again, you're all gathering together.

SPEAKER_06 32:47

So yeah, in Krista, I'm not passionate about watching Tombstone. I'm I'm I am passionate about if you're if you're if you're sitting in a cigar shop, watch a show, it is your fault that that is where you chose to watch it for the first time. Like, even if you're watching a sports game or or you're watching a news update, if you're doing it at a public cigar shop, you gotta expect people are gonna be walking around, people are gonna be talking. That's just the reality, right?

SPEAKER_04 33:21

100%. So I'm gonna move on to the fifth one now. So the I'll get off the horse. Yeah, the fifth one intended is that the third place, the third places have regulars, so regulars are what really create that community.

SPEAKER_06 33:36

That shop had regulars, they just didn't like me.

SPEAKER_04 33:38

Well, I mean, and this would probably this would probably be the truth that the regulars they are the ones who give the room its personality, it just was not a personality that agreed with you.

SPEAKER_06 33:51

So you walk in expecting certain people to be there when there's regulars, right? Right, you know who you're gonna see walking in.

SPEAKER_04 34:00

Right, and they often introduce newcomers to the culture of the room that can be very positive or it can also be negative, but we'll we'll get back to that.

SPEAKER_06 34:10

Yeah, so the sixth of these eight is the third places are usually comfortable and relatively unpretentious, unlike that shop. Uh, even an upscale lounge needs to feel usable and relaxed, right?

SPEAKER_04 34:26

Luxury does not have to mean that stiffness.

SPEAKER_06 34:29

Yeah, we've been to a few of those as well, but most of them do a really great job. A third place should allow people to relax rather than constantly worry whether they belong or not.

SPEAKER_04 34:39

Right. And seventh is going to be that the mood is often playful. So there's going to be humor, there's going to be stories, there's going to be maybe friendly teasing in there, some inside jokes, all of those financial optimism. Right. It's the place that you walk in, the people are happy to see you, even if they don't know you.

SPEAKER_06 34:59

Yeah, and the TV shows captured, or the TV show Cheers really captured this perfectly. When Norm walked in, everybody said, No, all right, that went way less thought than I thought it would go.

SPEAKER_04 35:12

So I've never seen Cheers.

SPEAKER_06 35:13

And so Mel's never seen Cheers either. So apparently I have failed as a husband. Uh but uh we we will we will correct this as I'm learning these new things, and I'm learning it over a cigar. See all the things you learn over a cigar? Uh getting back in, but when Norm walked into Cheers, everybody yelled, Norm! And then if somebody new walked in, they invited them up, and there was instant conversation, right? The Woody at the bar or Sam starts asking him questions, or Cliff would walk over and sit next to him and ask him about their day, and that pictures the perfect third place. That that's why I think cigar shops are the third place today, because you see that in a cigar shop. There's not a stranger in a cigar shop.

SPEAKER_04 36:05

Yes, I agree. Uh, so finally we'll get to that last point. The third place is going to develop the home away from home feeling or the cheers feeling, I'm gonna say uh people experience that familiarity, the comfort, and also the belonging.

SPEAKER_06 36:23

Yeah, absolutely. You know where things are, you know the rhythm, you know the people, right? And the people know you. Um, that is the full third place experience.

SPEAKER_04 36:34

Right. It's not merely where you're allowed to sit or anything like that. It's somewhere that no matter where you're sitting, your presence being there really matters.

SPEAKER_06 36:44

Yeah, Mel, and you mentioned earlier that regulars making or breaking the ability to be a third place, and I absolutely agree with that. Um, let's talk about regulars in a cigar shop for a few minutes before we go to break because every good lounge has regulars. We even have regulars here at Cigar Row. We got the regulars that are in the audience live with this, we got the regulars that are online watching alive around the country.

SPEAKER_04 37:08

Yeah. So the regulars are gonna be uh bridge, the bridge that is between the business and the community. So the owner provides the space, the staff protects the standards, but the regulars are often oftentimes going to determine the daily um emotional temperature.

SPEAKER_06 37:29

Yeah, absolutely. A welcoming regular does several things naturally. They say hello, they make the room, they introduce people, they explain traditions without turning them into tests or rules.

SPEAKER_04 37:46

Yeah, and honestly, the regulars sometimes, you know, they're honest. We had a regular come in last week, and I was here and he was had a tough day at work, and he's like, I feel like I could murder someone. I was like, have a cigar first, and that that helped. But um, they're gonna notice who's sitting alone, and they're gonna invite the newcomer into the conversation without interrogating them. It's just gonna be very natural.

SPEAKER_06 38:10

Yeah, absolutely. I'm just laughing at the comments all talking about cheers and tombstone. So apparently that's the topic tonight. Yeah, but we walked on. I won't know much about it, but yeah, absolutely. So I'm going to the quick notes. They also know regulars know when someone wants quiet. Because sometimes somebody comes into a room, like tonight, we've got a half a dozen, dozen people sitting in the room. Someone might walk in and sit in a corner alone because they need to de-escalate from the day, they need it to wash away, right? Then they can engage. A regular, they get to know that. Yeah, they get to see that and read that.

SPEAKER_04 38:49

Right. And that matters too. And not every lounge is set up that way, but I know, like here, we have a couple of pockets where if you want to be alone, there are places that you could sit that probably nobody's gonna bother you because they might not even know you're there, really. Um, but hospitality that doesn't mean forcing participation. A person should be allowed to read or work or enjoy the cigar privately if that is their vibe for the day.

SPEAKER_06 39:14

Right. And a good regular can make a first-time customer return. Right. More so than the staff or the humanoid, right?

SPEAKER_04 39:22

So someone who is a territorial regular, uh, they can make sure that that newcomer never comes back.

SPEAKER_06 39:28

That's true too. Those guys watching Tombstone, I mean, I'm never going back to that cigar shop unless I'm broken down and eat a cigar and it's like right there. Yeah, otherwise the gas station might work. But when am I really ever without a cigar? Very rarely. I mean, but that truly is the danger, right? Is that a regular who turns people off, who pushes people away. Um, but the regulars become so comfortable that they begin treating the public lounge like a private living room.

SPEAKER_04 40:00

Right. You know, maybe they're dominating the conversation, maybe they are controlling the television. If someone has something up, they just come in and change it without asking, or something like that. Um, maybe they talk over the staff or uh they reserve chairs that don't belong to them, they judge the unfamiliar cigars they don't know. Um maybe they make the newcomer feel just bad or what their smoking's wrong, or they need permission to sit somewhere.

SPEAKER_06 40:28

Yeah, and what you're talking about is when a regular or the belonging becomes ownership and really becomes excluding.

SPEAKER_04 40:38

Yeah. And the healthy third place culture then can begin to fall.

SPEAKER_06 40:43

Yeah, absolutely. The regular's privilege should produce responsibility, not entitlement.

SPEAKER_04 40:49

Right. So on that thought, we're gonna take a quick break, but when we come back, we're gonna cover the uh familiar to friend and answer the question on cigar lounges and uh one of the last third places. Is that a cigar lounge?

SPEAKER_06 41:04

Yeah, and we'll be right back.

SPEAKER_00 41:07

We fell in love with cigars not because of the flavors or smoking experience or perceived status, 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 proved to be the one and only cigar retail store and lounge in downtown Lovington. 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 with the storyteller. Over the years, we have seen some of the best stories told over cigars, and thus new friendships are made, compassion shared, encouragement here, and so much more. The impact storytelling has on the human connection is why we've decided to name our store and lounge the story. Because behind every good cigar in conversation is an even better story.

SPEAKER_03 42:17

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SPEAKER_02 43:03

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SPEAKER_04 43:15

As always, thank you to our sponsors. Are we uh go off script and talk live?

SPEAKER_06 43:20

Yeah, so we're introducing a guest to where our sodas are in the room. So let's jump to the shows that are coming up soon. So uh next week on uh August 3rd, I I can't believe next week is August 3rd, Bill.

SPEAKER_04 43:35

I know.

SPEAKER_06 43:36

But on August 3rd is cigar recommendations recommending cigars for every level of smoker, and we're gonna be smoking the McAuliffe Y.

SPEAKER_04 43:43

Yep, everybody get your fall stuff out and your pumpkin stuff ready. Uh, August 10th is misunderstood dark cigars. Are dark cigars really stronger? And we will be smoking the Montosa Maduro. We have quite a few people in the audience excited about that topic.

SPEAKER_06 43:57

So August 17th. Industry industry discussion. We're going to have Tony Rollins with Still City Cigars live with us here in our lounge, as well as here on the podcast. We're going to be launching Still City Cigars. Um, and we have two cigars we're trying to choose through. The decision was made earlier today because the Rebel packs were mailed out today to all of our followers with the Rebel pack. Mel uh sent those out today. So the decision's been made. I just don't know which one she made. I can't remember. Um, August 24th, a shift is coming. Um, the industry's changing, and we're going to be smoking The Lady Jade by the Elevated Humidor. Uh, lots of great shows coming up, Mel.

SPEAKER_04 44:38

Yep, I'm excited.

SPEAKER_06 44:40

Um, comments out there on the Rebel pack. You can always subscribe to those. It is $43. That includes five cigars, shipping and tax, all included for $43. Right now, the average pack value is about $69 for the months that we've done at. And so they do ship out around the 20 to the 25th of every month. And so you can subscribe at the Elevated Humidors website and click on Cigar Rebel at the top. Um, for this podcast, you can always go ahead and okay, I cannot click bad technology tonight, though. Uh make sure you go ahead and click on that subscribe button down there in the bottom. Also on YouTube, you can click notify me and it'll let you know of all the upcoming shows. And of course, you can get all the podcasts anywhere you stream your podcast, Spotify, Amazon, Apple. Um, it's all out there and available for us. But you can only catch us live on Monday nights at 7 p.m. And we love having you guys live because we love the live chat and interaction. Um, but Mel, check in on the cigar, CAO Flathead Speed Shop V660. What are your thoughts? Third, third and a half through the cigar.

SPEAKER_04 45:54

Yeah, so I'm probably about halfway through at this point. And for me, it has a little bit of sweetness in there. Um, and it's got some of those maybe baking spices. It's slowly building. I didn't really have any spice when we first lit the cigar, but as it's continued a little bit, yeah, that's lingering a little bit for me, uh, mainly in the mid or the center of my tongue, is where that is kind of building.

SPEAKER_06 46:20

Yeah, so the cigar is smoking great. I made a lot of comments around the wrapper peeling off the way I cut it. Again, my fault's a hundred percent. Or my fault because I cut it. I know you cut it, but I was taking the blame. I said I didn't care and I should have cared. Uh, but it's smoking great, draws great. There's a little bit of a natural sweetness there that I can't make a place on. It's just there, it's kind of and it hits at different times. On the retro hell, it's definitely there. It's on the finish. Um, and I really there's a little bit of a nuttiness to it.

SPEAKER_05 46:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 46:51

Um, definitely on the finish that I'm enjoying. Uh, again, not the typical size I would smoke, but you know, I've enjoyed it so far. And so, hey, we got a quite a bit of topic to kind of wrap up through to get to this third place question. Is the cigar shop the last third place, or at least one of them? Uh, let's jump back into the topic and answer some questions.

SPEAKER_04 47:12

All right. So, um, friendships in a cigar shop, they can often form slowly, or if you're here a lot, and maybe as a regular, you regulars are here a lot, it goes a little quicker. But the first stage is going to be that recognition, you know, the face. And when we open the lounge, I'm terrible with remembering people's names. It takes me quite a few times to remember. But when we open the lounge, one of my goals was to try and remember everybody's that became a member of their name. And I think for the most part to this day, I still can remember almost everybody's name. There's only maybe two or three of them, like, oh, I'll send you a text. What's that person's name? Because you'll remember them.

SPEAKER_06 47:53

Yeah, you know, and it's so often, you're you're right. It's you want to have that belonging, right? And it's so often that regulars in cigar shops transition from a familiar face to a friend that you really look forward to spending time with. Right. You learn their name, you learn about them, right?

SPEAKER_04 48:09

Yeah, you learn their cigar preference. Um, all of that probably will happen before you know their last name, really.

SPEAKER_06 48:18

So true. Um, the relationships begin to move beyond the cigar.

SPEAKER_04 48:23

Right. You're gonna learn about their work, you're gonna learn about their family, their history, maybe what they're currently dealing with in life.

SPEAKER_06 48:31

Yeah, and this reminds me of a funny scenario. So we had opened Story Cigars and Lounge, and there was somebody that I began to enjoy having conversations with, and when they were there, I at the time they were coming in most Thursday afternoons, so I'd kind of make a point to drop in on Thursdays to have a cigar with them and really enjoying it. We talked a little bit about cigars and life and different things, and I knew that he worked in the electric industry or he was an electrician or whatever. Um, but one day we were sitting in the lounge um and we were just kind of chatting and talking, and he had had a really kind of a rough day. And as I was apologizing, I mean, I'm so sorry I had a rough day. He's like, No, it's okay. At the end of the day, I have to go work on this project, and he began to describe the project. And I was like, he's describing my project to the company I run. And so I'm sitting there talking, I was like, You're not so-and-so of so and so, because the name of the company is his last name, but I'd never put two to two together, and on the projects, because he worked with um one of my team members that runs the project, had mentioned my name, but he'd never connected it here. We'd been having a cigar once a week for like three months, yeah, and never connected that both of our biggest projects going on in that three-month period was with each other's companies, right? Which is kind of a funny thing, like that you that's the brilliance or the value of the cigar shop, right? It never came up, it wasn't important, right?

SPEAKER_04 50:06

And I I remember that day. I mean, really, and it's funny because there's times because I'm not from here originally, so when people tell me their name, I don't know the history most of the time because I'm not from here. So I always think that that's really interesting. I know it's the same for you how you know, maybe if we had grown up here and knew, you know, it would have been different, but that's where the cigar, you know, the cigar shops become that familiarity, it becomes the friendship, it becomes the real connection. And you know, you can have someone, you can help someone move, maybe they help with the business connection. Like you you guys have been working on those projects, and you may not have ever officially met in any sort of capacity, like face-to-face, had you not had the cigar.

SPEAKER_06 50:52

Yeah, absolutely. And it's really is this crazy kind of scenario where people connect over the cigar, over the unifier, and begin to build a friendship. And as you said, eventually you help somebody move, you help make a business connection that somebody needs, you attend a birthday party, you visit them at the hospital. Um, we've had a group of people from the lounge go to a funeral for a member of the lounge, unfortunately, and then also for a family member of a member of the lounge that we just wanted to be supportive. You celebrate a promotion, or you go on a road trip on curvy roads and share cigars, all these kind of things.

SPEAKER_04 51:30

Yes, the relationship ends up leaving the shop, and that's really one of the important transitions. The lounge may have created the introduction, but the genuine friendship becomes larger than the shared hobby that originally brought you together.

SPEAKER_06 51:48

Yeah, absolutely. And it really is the reality that it's a shared hobby, right? A cigar friendship is real when the cigars no longer require.

SPEAKER_04 51:59

Right. And you may still enjoy cigars together, but the relationship it can survive without one even being lit.

SPEAKER_06 52:07

Yeah, we recently had dinner with somebody uh in Fort Worth that's a member here at the shop, and we joked on the way out, we're like, hey, our first experience without a lip cigar. Yeah, like and so it was funny because we were both there, we happened to be going to the same comedy show and grab dinner afterwards. Um, but it really is funny because it's why the word community should not be used casually, Mel. Right, community is not a group photograph, it's a community, right?

SPEAKER_04 52:38

It's the repeated action, it's the checking on people, you know, it's offering help, it's all celebrating the good news together, it's showing up during those difficult moments. It's a lot of different things, it's doing life together.

SPEAKER_06 52:53

Absolutely, you know when someone is missing, right?

SPEAKER_04 52:56

You care enough to ask why and where are they, right?

SPEAKER_06 53:01

Absolutely, and we could end right here. Cigars create real friendships, they create real connection, right?

SPEAKER_04 53:09

Right, and the relationships with some of people of the people in the world, really. I mean, you and I you and I have been all over the country, we've met people all over the country and the world, and we could call them in a pinch, and without hesitation, they would respond with assistance, and it's all because of the cigar.

SPEAKER_06 53:29

That is so true. We are so blessed with friends all over the country and around the world. And so now, Mam, let's talk on the title-worthy argument. Is the cigar shop one of the last third places?

SPEAKER_04 53:44

So there are libraries, the cafes, parks, churches, community centers, there's barber shops, there's the clubs, um, there's the other gathering places that still exist.

SPEAKER_06 53:57

Yeah, but culturally, cigar lounges may be among the last places that preserve their traditional third place rhythm, right? In my opinion.

SPEAKER_04 54:08

Right. And I think that's that's the argument because the some of the other places that we mentioned in today's age, I feel like with just access to phones, technology, you can work remotely, a lot of those places you can just you can go and never talk to a single person.

SPEAKER_06 54:26

They've become faster, they become transactional. Order, pay, consume, leave, repeat, right? And if you linger, it's highly encouraged to wear AirPods and leave everybody else alone and be quiet. Yeah, right. Some cafes still really welcome lingering mail, others really need the tables back because the restaurant business is about turns. It used to be about community, but that's really changed. Um, retail stores are not designed for customers to remain for two hours after a single purchase.

SPEAKER_04 54:58

Right. And we're remote work has really blurred the lines and the boundaries between home and work because you can work anytime. And so for many people, the first and the second place are now even occupying those same rooms.

SPEAKER_06 55:14

Yeah, which makes complete sense, which honestly, again, makes a genuine third location or a third place even more important.

SPEAKER_04 55:22

Right. And digital communities, they do provide real connection for a lot of people, but really a group chat is not the same as sitting across from someone. And online we can control who we follow, maybe who we talk to, we can mute people, we can exit the conversation if we're not having a good time, and honestly, you can really curate your own identity.

SPEAKER_06 55:45

Yeah, and setting in a cigar shop, you may sit beside whoever arrives next. Right. And that can be somebody random, or it can be a great friend.

SPEAKER_04 55:56

Yeah, and that accidental mixing that's really part of the value. You encounter people that you did not select through that algorithm, or they weren't selected for you based on an algorithm.

SPEAKER_06 56:08

Absolutely. There's different ages, different social economics, different careers, different backgrounds, different opinions, different beliefs. And because the cigar takes time, you begin to connect and form connections and friendships because of that unifier. Right. That's the difference.

SPEAKER_04 56:27

Right. The person becomes more complicated when you spend a true hour with them, and that complexity makes caricature a little bit more difficult.

SPEAKER_06 56:40

Yeah, and based on all of that, I would make the argument of the cigar shop, it is one of the last third places, if not the last. In my mind, it is definitely one of the last third places where lingering conversation, regularity, and unlikely friendships are still a part of the business model. Right. That is the plan to have this mixture of people hanging out.

SPEAKER_04 57:04

Right. And I would agree with that a hundred percent. I mean, how many times do we talk about cigar time? You could come in to maybe have one cigar and you're here for six or seven hours because you're having a good time, no one's rushing you to leave, you're having good conversation. Bookstores, coffee shops, and others like them don't necessarily encourage that mingling in the same way. And social clubs have some of those traits, right? Um, but they're not necessarily built in the same way. It's still really easy to be apart and be isolated or feel very disconnected.

SPEAKER_06 57:43

Absolutely. Richard said cigars are like the seed that is planted in friendships and relationships grow from the nurturing that is provided by the community. I love that. Agree. Um, when it comes to being isolated or feeling disconnected, that's really hard to do in a cigar shop unless you're really intentionally trying to be isolated. Right. But most are so welcoming, so greedy, and just happy to see another cigar smoker.

SPEAKER_04 58:06

Right. Yeah, I agree. I mean, people get excited when they learn that someone is a cigar smoker, and that doesn't necessarily come up in conversation a lot unless you happen to see someone smoking a cigar, or maybe you're meeting in a lounge.

SPEAKER_05 58:21

Right.

SPEAKER_04 58:21

But also just to be clear, a room with cigars and chairs is not automatically a third place.

SPEAKER_06 58:27

Yeah, and so Mel, we're running a little long on time, but just talk to me briefly, maybe two or three, of why would a cigar shop fail at being a good third place?

SPEAKER_04 58:39

Right. So a lounge can fail to be that third place, really, when you know, if someone is mocked for the type of cigar that they smoke. We smoke what you enjoy. You've got to let people smoke what they enjoy. If they don't want to go outside of their palate and try new things, that's okay. Like smoke what you enjoy, or else there's no point in smoking, in my opinion. Um, maybe newcomers are ignored or don't feel welcomed or that they're interrupting an important movie. Um, the staff maybe doesn't treat them how they should have when they came in. Uh, the room maybe is dominated by one group or feels like a click. Conversations can become hostile. I mean, the environment can feel if it feels more performative than relaxed, then most likely that's that's gonna be a problem and it's not gonna be that welcoming environment you want.

SPEAKER_06 59:33

Yeah, and when everyone's staring at a separate screen, it really does kill that, right? Physical proximity is not the same as connection. A shop can be totally full and still be completely socially empty, right? Right. The defining feature is not the building, it's the community, it's the behavior inside, right?

SPEAKER_04 59:55

A true gathering place is going to produce that interaction, that comfort, the continuality, and the belonging.

SPEAKER_06 1:00:03

Yeah. So jumping a little bit, as like I said, we're kind of running a little bit low on time. There are so many discussion points when it comes to this topic that we've not even gotten to tonight. Right. What are the few things that maybe are topics around this that we really don't even have time to get into?

SPEAKER_04 1:00:22

Yeah. So, I mean, there's gonna be the role between the owners and the staff, the responsibilities of the members and the regulars. Um, disagreeing without disconnection, I think is a big one. Absolutely. Especially today, sometimes it can be really hard to know how to disagree with someone. Um, friendship, connection, and health, and that's really a lost impact of the third place, and then there's community, so there's the comparisons of the digital versus the physical, and the community outside of that third place. So there's there's lots of others that I could go on and on.

SPEAKER_06 1:01:00

Dwayne made a comment. Over the course of time, I feel like I know everyone who regularly comments in the live chat, a brotherhood and sisterhood that bonds us all. And I agree, Dwayne. When we're talking about the online communities, we're talking about chat rooms and those things. When you're talking about like a podcast like this, and there's a couple of other ones that are out there. Um, but intentionally in building Cigar Rebel, we wanted to build a community where it's why we live chat, we put up your comments, we comment on them. We want this to become a community where we share and enjoy. Um, Richard's really good about having a completely different conversation than what the conversation of the topic that night is. He'll ask people about, hey, what have you smoked the cigar? Have you tried that? Have you been here? Uh and it's because he feels comfortable in just asking those questions amongst the live audience, knowing it's not going to detract or distract from what we're doing here in the podcast. And I love that. And it really is one of those things. And Leslie mentioned that we need to start a Discord for cigar rebels. Uh, I love that you said that. I was thinking about it the other day. I was like, man, would we even be anywhere near as successful as some of the other ones that are out there? Uh, but definitely need to be thinking about it. Um, but like you said, there's so many topic items, Mel, that we just couldn't even get to tonight. Um, so much more on this topic and simply not enough time. We may have to revisit this topic here in a few months and talk about some of those things because I think the role of owners and staff, relationships, disagreeing without disconnection, those are hour-long shows in among themselves, 100%.

SPEAKER_05 1:02:37

Right.

SPEAKER_06 1:02:38

Um, but let's talk about our final thoughts on this cigar before we head out tonight.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:43

Yeah, so for me, no, there hasn't been a lot of different transition from uh halfway when we talked about it. I was at the half my halfway mark. Uh still the draw on it for me is actually perfect, I think. For this, for this size cigar, I always appreciate that. Um flavor notes are still the same. I still have that little bit of baking spice or something on the center of my tongue. Um, there's a little bit of that earthiness in there.

SPEAKER_06 1:03:09

But yeah, absolutely. And so I'm getting the earthiness. The only difference I see that I did not get in the first half. I'd love that y'all smoke in the chat or here in the live audience. Um, I've picked up a woodiness in the second half that I wasn't before. And I mine's canoeing pretty badly, um, which is a hundred percent my problem with this box press. I got a hold of it like this, thinking about the show and not rotating it the way I normally would. So I created the canoeing, so I fully take that as user air um at this point. But the cigars perform fantastically, and even with this canoe, I mean it's not gonna stop me from smoking, I'm not even gonna touch it up, it'll catch up or fall off eventually. Right.

SPEAKER_04 1:03:49

Um, but and I think to be in one of the comments, Dwayne had asked if anyone had gotten any apricot. I think you were saying, Oh, yeah, Dwayne did ask.

SPEAKER_06 1:03:58

They made an apricot. I don't know if anybody shake the room, thumbs up, thumbs down. Anybody get apricot? Several thumbs up. Yeah, um, I didn't pick up that apricot, but again, uh I'm talking a lot. I'm also I had a really long day and got to the shop probably what 20 minutes before we went live. Yeah, I needed some caffeine, so I'm drinking a Coke Zero with it, which honestly impacts the flavor a little bit. I've cleansed my palate with some sparkling water a couple of times in between to make sure I could give notes. Um, I would say, all in all, not the cigar I would typically pick up, but I've enjoyed it. If you haven't had one, it deserves a smoke and a try. It may not be your favorite cigar, it may not be in your regular rotation, but it's worthy of smoking. Um, but overall, that's kind of our show for tonight, Mel.

SPEAKER_04 1:04:47

Yeah, I agree. So thank you guys all for joining us today. If you liked this episode, please leave us a review, share with your cigar friends, and hit us up with any topics you'd like us to cover or dive into in future episodes.

SPEAKER_06 1:04:59

Dwayne said expanding to a 90-minute show in the future. It's a great topic idea uh for us to be thinking about. Uh, if you are watching or live, I can't talk. I'm thinking about Dwayne's comment. If you're watching or listening on replay, uh drop us a comment and leave us hashtag replay fam. Let us know what you're smoking, maybe what you're repairing with a cigar during the show. Um, next week we have a great episode coming up for you guys. Cigar recommendations for every level smart of you think about that. I am losing it. I'm ready to be done, have a cigar.

SPEAKER_04 1:05:35

So so let's so think about if you just asked about a 90-minute show. So now that we have our audience has really grown, we we can go ahead and say, since we have new subscribers, when we originally started the Cigar Rebel podcast, we were like, we're gonna keep it to 45 minutes to an hour, because one of the biggest things of feedback that we got was that some cigar podcasts are just too long for people to watch or to listen to in one sitting.

SPEAKER_05 1:06:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:01

So not saying we can't evolve or we won't evolve, but as our viewers, let us know if that is ever something you would be interested in, if you would like it to be closer to 90 minutes or if the hour is more attainable to listen to in one sitting.

SPEAKER_06 1:06:13

Yeah, and we actually created last week's Boxworthy episode to be a 40-minute episode to knock out and do because we had a really tight schedule with some flights, and it turned out to be an hour and 10 minutes, and people loved it. Yeah, so it's always one of these crazy things. But join us next week for cigar recommendations for every cigar level of smoker. But tonight, that's our show. Drop in the comments, send us a comment on Facebook or YouTube, Instagram at Cigar Rebel, let us know about the 90 minutes.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:44

Yeah, and so thank you guys for tuning in. We will see you next Monday at 7 p.m. Central Time. Until then, keep your cigar lit, your ash long, and your palate curious.

SPEAKER_06 1:06:54

Good night, Rebels.