OGT Cigars Live Podcast

"PCA Trade Show 2026 What's Coming!" Ep. 10 4/11/26

• Eric Drazin • Season 1 • Episode 31

Share episode

Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.

0:00 | 58:50

Send us Fan Mail

Join Eric and Mallory as they do a deep dive into the upcoming PCA trade show, the largest Cigar show of the year! Hear about the exciting new products coming! Plus, hear the live review of the self-infused cigar Eric put together with the Sikarinfuse infusing humidor and bourbon!

OGT Cigar Society LINK To Sign Up!: https://oakglentobacconist.com/ogt-society/

SPEAKER_02

Welcome to OGT Cigars Live Podcast, your neighborhood virtual cigar lounge. Each week we share the cigar experience with the OGT Cigars community. Join Mallory and I as we explore the world of food deep and unique premium cigars. I'm Eric, founder of Oakland Specialist at the OGT Cigar Society. I have a deep passion, as some might say, obsession with cigars and cigar culture. Working as an artistic theater director previously inspires me to infuse entertainment into the craft I love. Learning never stops. And I invite you to follow in our cigar journey.

SPEAKER_00

I'm gonna worry. While I don't ever claim cigar expertise, I've always been a photo who's obsessed with scent and flavor. I can be counted on to provide bizarre tasting notes, such as the Home Depot Garden Center or Grandma's Basement, which always leads to good conversation. And good conversation is truly my favorite part of enjoying cigars with friends.

SPEAKER_02

Welcome to OGT Cigars Live, where conversation lights up. Hello, everybody. Welcome back to another episode of OGT Cigars Live in the OGT Cigar Podcast Studio.

SPEAKER_01

Hello, hello.

SPEAKER_02

Coming to you from uh East Coast, North Carolina. We are so excited for tonight's show because there's a lot of work that goes into the PCA trade show for us before we even arrive. And we want to kind of share some of that with you tonight.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

It's gonna be an awesome show. So this is something we always look forward to. We'll give the lowdown exactly what the PCA is, why it's so exciting, what does it mean for the industry, et cetera, as people are jumping in. We also have an exciting conclusion to an experiment that we were doing. It's been, I think, day 10 today.

SPEAKER_01

Okay.

SPEAKER_02

So it's gonna be really interesting. If you guys follow us on YouTube, uh, there's a video I put out re last week or earlier. Yeah, it was last week. And we're gonna be coming to part two of that. So we'll jump into that as well. But first and foremost, as I see some comments being dropped down, I invite you tonight, please drop down those comments, let us know what you are smoking, what are you enjoying tonight? Because it's always more exciting when this virtual cigar lounge is open to the floor and it's not just us.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, a little bit of conversation.

SPEAKER_02

Hopefully, this is where conversation will light up. So uh we'll see. I see there's some comments being dropped down. Thank you guys so much. Have them uh keep firing them uh here, and I will pull them up as best we can. Let's see, chip is on.

SPEAKER_01

All right, I love chip.

SPEAKER_02

Let's do this. He says, got my uh DR2, doctor's orders to going with my uh BMW to follow. Oh, bleak midwinner.

SPEAKER_01

Very nice.

SPEAKER_02

BMW is too close.

SPEAKER_01

BMW the BMW of the leases of Modafina cigars.

SPEAKER_02

It's an OGT kind of night. That's a great night. Great night. Um, awesome. Let's see here. Rob Brown smoking a heretic by dissident pair with some red breast.

SPEAKER_01

That sounds like a great pairing pairing, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

In fact, heretic still to this day is one of my top picks from that brand overall. I enjoy her super good stuff. Let's see here. RJ saying hello, Eric and Mallory. Really looking forward to the show. Always wondering about PCA show and what goes on uh at it. Tonight I'm smoking a Paul Stewell like heavy hitter. I'm pairing it with some iced tea.

SPEAKER_01

This is again something I need to try. I need to do an iced tea next time.

SPEAKER_02

I think like in honor of RJ, I think maybe next show we do, we're gonna have to do some kind of iced tea pairing. Let's see. Daniel just finished a boulevard uh Confradia. Confradia? Okay, there we go. And uh let's see here. We also got uh let's see here, Raider Dave. Hi guys, enjoying a Shafio Freedom Fighter, pairing it with a uh a Kentucky mule tonight. Cheers to everyone. And uh let's see here. Uh let's see here. One second, guys. I'm gonna go ahead and pull up PCA. I've already changed that. Oh no. So here at the PCA trade show, uh, what we're gonna be doing tonight is uh sorry. Sorry about that, guys. One second. Okay, we had a bit of a a little bit of a malfunction, but crisis averted.

SPEAKER_01

Technical difficulties. We're uh we're back.

SPEAKER_02

We're back. Sorry about that, guys. Yeah uh as I say, keep the comments coming down. We just had to do a quick fix on the camera, but we're we're good to go. Uh let's see here. Daniel Frazier saying, caught the show just in time, was too busy today to get a smoke in. Well, hopefully now you can relax and get down to it. Let's see here. Hey, Erica Mallory smoking at Boondocks. I need more of these. They went quick.

SPEAKER_01

They did.

SPEAKER_02

They went quick. And one of my favorite quotes uh on the Facebook group uh was uh I think Duncan was saying it. Uh I was like, man, James Brown is killing it with these uh cigars, and he's like boondoc. He was trying to kill something because of how strong it was. Yeah, it's a heavy, heavy cigar, but it's it's fantastic. So awesome. Okay, so I had mentioned that we were can we were performing an experiment.

SPEAKER_01

Yes.

SPEAKER_02

I highly suggest you guys check out the video we put up, and it was I infused a cigar with bourbon. I was sent uh by the cool folks over at Cigar Infuse this contraption-looking thing here. This is a self-infusion, self-infusing uh cigar vial, uh, where basically you put your cigar inside, you have your globe underneath, which you fill with like bourbon or cognac or whichever, and the vapors from that globe is gonna admit upwards into the foot of the cigar. At the top here, you have a cork and a hydrometer that basically seals it off. And I thought it would be really cool. Why don't we uh give it a try live? See what it's like. Yeah, exactly. So this has been resting like this, it's been infusing for about 10 days now, and it's about time ready to smoke. Now, there's only one of these, so Mallory is smoking something else tonight. I am smoking something very special.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, can't say too much about it.

SPEAKER_02

No, but I we do have a picture. So tonight she's gonna be smoking this mystery cigar right here. This is coming for the OGT Cigar Society, uh, and this is a project that will continue all year long.

SPEAKER_01

Okay.

SPEAKER_02

This I don't think we've ever done anything like this. Um, I am so excited for this, and it's such a killer killer cigar.

SPEAKER_01

It really is. I'm excited to smoke it again.

SPEAKER_02

So sneak peek on the uh flavor notes, uh, sneak peek on like what the experience is gonna be, but we're not gonna necessarily disclose like blending information or anything like that. That will be coming later. So that's where we're gonna be lighting up. Um, let's go ahead and uh open this up. I'm curious, and if you want to go ahead and get yours cut, all right. Now, in order to do this, I'm gonna remove the globe here because it's still full of full of bourbon. I'm gonna tip this upside down. What I did is I put uh the cigar I chose was the Cigar Clowns pre-release Maduro because I know that cigar quite well. I wanted to see the difference of what this infusion is gonna bring. Wow, that is like take take a take a whiff of that.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, it is bourbony.

SPEAKER_02

It's bourbony, it's sweet.

SPEAKER_01

Wow.

SPEAKER_02

Now, not so much on the the cap of the cigar, but quite a bit on the foot. This is a self-infused cigar, so we're gonna see.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, we've got it.

SPEAKER_02

Uh, let's see here. Daniel saying, is the night drawing in the background a hint? It is. It is, it is. It's an awesome piece of art. Um, and like I said, more info will be coming next week. So while we're at PCA, or we're gonna be taking you along on that journey. We're also gonna be dropping some hints and announcing exactly what the cigar is that Mallory's smoking. Uh, let's see here. I'm gonna get this cut. I'm hoping that this infusion didn't like plug this up so much that it's gonna be difficult to draw. So this is part of the experiment.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, yeah, you didn't get a chance to dry box it straight out of the straight out of the test tube. Exactly.

SPEAKER_02

Straight out.

SPEAKER_01

So we've got some science experiments, we've got some mystery cigars.

SPEAKER_02

Mike is saying don't smoke and drive because of the bourbon. Very nice. Well, we're we're in the studio tonight. Let's see, see here uh chip saying, so now you have a little bourbon shot to go with it.

SPEAKER_01

It's a little like lukewarm.

SPEAKER_02

Okay, draw, whoa, draw's good. Pull draw, Nyquil.

SPEAKER_01

Wait, really?

SPEAKER_02

Straight up Nyquil, like cherries, Nyquil. Now I infused this with an old Forester tenure. Um, I thought it would go well. So as I get this lit up, um, we're gonna go ahead and uh get this started, and then we're gonna come back to flavor notes from Mallory's cigar as well as the bourbon cigar. So let's check it out. Today's cigar is brought to you by the OGT Cigar Society membership. Enjoy a five-pack of premium custom cigars each month at an undeniable price. Join the community and smoke with us on the Oakland Tobacconist YouTube channel as we delve into the rich experience of boutique and craft cigars. You can find out all about the subscription and a whole host of amazing blends by following us on social media. Look for us at Oakland Tobacconist or OGT Cigars. Well, I am getting this lit up right here. While I do this, once again, single flame. Uh, what are your thoughts on the cigar you're smoking right now? How's the draw, smoke output, flavor notes? What do you get?

SPEAKER_01

Beautiful draw and very intense smoke output. I feel like I'm just like a cloud of smoke, kind of like that's what I like. It is in the peanuts, but like a cloud of smoke instead of instead of dirt, hopefully. Um and yeah, like some a little bit of sandalwood on the light up, which I always like. That's like one of my favorite, like opening notes. Some baking spice, I think maybe. How about you? What are you uh experiencing here?

SPEAKER_02

Okay, this is interesting because it's taking a while to get lit. The draw is great, and the um smoke output is good. There's a little bit of sweetness, but not so much to where it's like drowning out the original flavor of the cigar.

SPEAKER_01

Okay. I'm on.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Okay.

SPEAKER_02

It's interesting because it's not so much flavor, it's textural-wise. There's like this cooling sensation of sweetness. You know, like when you when you take a like sip of whiskey and it's got like the burn, but after the burn, the finish that's left on your palate is like this kind of like medicinal type of feeling. Okay, I get a little bit of that, but it honestly feels almost like a menthol-like type of texture. Really strange.

SPEAKER_01

I'm very curious about this.

SPEAKER_02

I'm definitely getting some of the cherry notes. It's there, it's definitely not drowned out like I thought it was gonna be really interesting. Added sweetness to a cigar that I wouldn't say is overly sweet, um, but it's it's lingering like on the on my palate, like I can still taste it.

SPEAKER_01

So it's having more to do with smoke texture than necessarily like feeling like it's overtly flavored.

SPEAKER_02

Yes, and honestly, as I'm getting into it, it's becoming more prominent. Really, really interesting. So that's that's the beginning of it. Self-infusing kit by cigar infused. You can actually pick this up. They sent it to me, wanted to know what we thought. Um, so as this continues, let's see how much the old Forester infused this cigar and see what changes it might have brought. All right. Super excited to kind of dive into this and continue it. Um let's see. Chip is saying a little shot in the bulb as well. Yeah, you want to finish up a little bit of tobacco, a little bit of a shot. Uh, let's see here. Let's hope Eric can finish the show. Yeah, if I get a little drowsy, we know. Um, I'm just gonna I'm gonna throw this out here right now. So in the video, I'm going through the like the instructions. This is how you do it, and the naming of each item is rather interesting. I actually gave it the name the Globe instead of having to repeatedly say the ball over and over and over.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I feel like Globe is is a little more classy, a little more classy. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

It saves me from always having to be like that, you know what I mean. Okay, so there you go. Um, Daniel's saying, do you have to dry box that thing? Honestly, no. I will give it 100%. You do not have to dry box this right out the gate. It is not effective.

SPEAKER_01

That's pretty impressive.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, now whether or not I have to keep relighting it, we'll see. But it's draw smoke output on point. So it gets some points for that for sure, which is really nice. RJ, what Mallory is smoking, is that by any chance a Cavalier blend? Good guess. It is not. And I would say, like, you guys can guess on what who made the cigar, but honestly, it would drive you crazy because this is the first time we have ever worked with this factory.

SPEAKER_01

So they'd be it'd be a real shot in the dark.

SPEAKER_02

It would be. Okay, it would be. Um, but we were both floored by this blend. We thought it was so cool. One thing I will say about it too is that it has about three, anywhere between three and four years of age on this cigar as well.

SPEAKER_01

You can definitely tell, yeah, yeah. Um it does, it feels it feels very refined. Um, and the flavors are complex, but like really well blended together. So like I'm I'm catching different notes, but it's like an overall very nuanced experience.

SPEAKER_02

It is, and I think that age on that cigar really works because the blender, when I was speaking with him about the cigar, originally he wanted to use this blend, but he's like, everyone was telling me it was just too strong. So I think after the three years, it is still strong. Yeah, but it's mellowed a little bit, yeah, smoothed out a little bit.

SPEAKER_01

Well, and too strong is what our society wants.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, so never fear. And in spite of the age on it, it's still a very heavy cigar. Uh, let's see here. RJ, can't wait for the society drop, best cigar of the month club out there. Well, thank you so much. I really appreciate it. Now, uh, usually on evenings like this, we'll we'll offer some kind of like raffle or something. We're not necessarily doing that tonight, but I wanted to give you guys, everyone watching tonight, the on the uh first opportunity because of the limited nature. My brother, as you know, does a lot of the art, hence the art behind us. And so we've been working to try to be able to make that art more accessible. And so finally, by the work of my brother and the talents of uh my wife being able to digitize such things, we're now releasing not only the Nosferatu poster, but also the Wolfman poster. This is one I've gotten a lot of requests for. So let's see if I didn't pull this apart. Tonight, we are offering both the Nosferatu and the Wolfman poster. This turned out beautiful. I absolutely love this one.

SPEAKER_01

It's it's really great. He did an amazing, amazing job on the artwork, and it's so cool to be able to bring it to you guys as merch. It's so cool. Exciting little extra.

SPEAKER_02

It's so cool. Now, big extra. As last time, uh, we we only have the ability to do like short runs of these posters. They're available, and that's actually what we're gonna be running as a special this weekend. But tonight, you have the first opportunity to jump on it, and that's why I want to show you guys this. Right now at OGT, this is what's going on. We have four brands of which you get a kickback of twice the amount of rewards points, which is essentially like 12 or so percent back, as well as these two free posters on us for the next 48 hours starting on Friday. Now, all you have to do is shop anything domain cigars, black label trading company or black works, any of the nope rope series or the new Bleak Midwinner. Once you do that, as you can see and read the information, uh you can pick that up and you'll get twice the amount of rewards points back, as well as both posters as a way of saying thank you guys so much and a bit of OGT swag that I've gotten a lot of requests for.

SPEAKER_01

It's finally, it's finally come.

SPEAKER_02

Yes, so very limited run of these posters. That's why I want to let you guys know. If you have the opportunity tonight, jump on that. You'll be the first to have gain access for that before anything of tomorrow. Super cool project, a bit of extra OGT swag. It is awesome. Uh, let's see here. We got more uh quests questions uh regarding to your cigar.

SPEAKER_01

There's a lot of focus on the mystery cigar.

SPEAKER_02

Is it a GP blend? Uh actually, no, Daniel. We have you we've worked with GP before. Uh GP uh Las Vies, they actually did Elusive um last year, which was a personal favorite of mine. Um, see here. Uh is Mallory Cigar from Costa Rica. It is not, but I will also say it is a wrapper, utilizes a wrapper we've never used before. There's just a lot of firsts in this cigar.

SPEAKER_01

There are, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

But it's so good. I'm so excited. So, okay, that being uh stated, uh, I'm gonna give one more flavor check on this. Check out the promotion, check out uh those posters, be the first to get pick them up. Yeah, so overall, I would say the impressions I'm getting from this cigar, it is an intense, like lingering bourbon sweetness on the tongue.

SPEAKER_01

Okay.

SPEAKER_02

Uh the wrapper is burning a little bit slower, but nothing too crazy. I did set it down for a while. The smoke integrity, the flavor profile integrity has not been compromised of the cigar, but like this added sweetness of like bourbon on the back end, it's something I'm not really familiar with.

SPEAKER_01

So is it pleasant?

SPEAKER_02

It is.

SPEAKER_01

All right.

SPEAKER_02

It is pleasant during this the experience. I don't know about how long it lingers. I don't know how pleasant that is. Okay, but anyone who wants to add sweetness to their cigar without you know, like drenching it or spraying it with something, the cigar infuse is not a bad option to go.

SPEAKER_01

Now, okay, I have a question. So in the globe, does it have to be a spirit for the process to work?

SPEAKER_02

No.

SPEAKER_01

Okay, so what are other suggested flavoring or infusing options?

SPEAKER_02

Majority of the time I've seen is like cognac and brandy.

SPEAKER_01

Okay.

SPEAKER_02

But in terms of like things that are non-spirit, I mean, I think it's up to whatever is like if you have like a food grade, I don't know, you mint something you could do.

SPEAKER_01

Food grade oil, yeah, or a food grade extract.

SPEAKER_02

Would that vanilla extract would be interesting?

SPEAKER_01

Or your uh Anise.

SPEAKER_02

Anise would be very interesting. Yeah, you could totally do that.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, that's interesting.

SPEAKER_02

There are there are more applications to try this with, so it's it's pretty cool. I've seen a lot of D uh DIY like projects of how to self-infuse. I know even Chip has done it himself.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, yeah, we have a comment down here.

SPEAKER_02

But this is this is pretty interesting. Uh let's see here. Uh a few comments. Chip saying, speaking of domain, did I see something about having a new release? Yes, we will be getting to that very shortly. Uh Daniel is saying, Oh, the coffin nails are back in stock. They are. They are coffee nails are is one of Mallory's favorites. It's yeah, any black label fan, yeah, so good. Uh Chip is saying coffee works. So, yeah, I mean coffee beans, I guess. Charles.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. Uh let's see here. So no eggnog infusion.

SPEAKER_01

No, can you imagine?

SPEAKER_02

I mean, how much do you love eggnog, I guess.

SPEAKER_01

But also, sleeping in a room 10 for 10 days or so. I feel like it'd be a risky business.

SPEAKER_02

Put it in the fridge.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Put it in the fridge.

SPEAKER_01

Will it infuse in the fridge? Does it have to be at room 10?

SPEAKER_02

I think it would infuse. I don't see why it wouldn't. Yeah. Uh let's see here. Mike's saying coffee, so that might be something we gotta try. Let's see here. Orange Tang. There we go. Uh, let's see. Rob Brown is Mallory cigar from Postania. That's actually a really good guess. And we'll be talking about Postania later this evening, but no, it is not. It is not from Postania.

SPEAKER_01

We got 20 questions on the mystery cigars.

SPEAKER_02

Okay. I I don't know.

SPEAKER_01

How far can they narrow it down?

SPEAKER_02

I would be shocked if anyone can name the factory that this cigar. I would be like beyond shocked. I would be like, how do they know that? But either way, uh, let's see here. Raider Dave, I wonder if the cigar might have also slightly infused the bourbon.

SPEAKER_01

That's a good question. Is there some reverse?

SPEAKER_02

I just don't know if like if tobacco particles fell into the globe. I don't know if I want to ingest them directly.

SPEAKER_01

That's fair.

SPEAKER_02

But it'd be interesting. I mean, I suppose you can hold it up and see if like there's any like particles floating around. It doesn't look like it. Oh, wait, no, there is at the bottom. There's several tobacco bits at the very bottom. Yeah. Uh chip, HVC, not HVC? No. All right. Well, tonight's show.

SPEAKER_01

We've got uh one more we missed.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, let's see here.

SPEAKER_01

Orchestra says enjoying a bleak mid winner and a Guinness. That's what I did last week, and it was very good.

SPEAKER_02

Very good phone. Very good pairing. I think perhaps the best bleakman winner that is paired with an Irish Guinness so far.

SPEAKER_01

Yes.

SPEAKER_02

I think it I think it was.

SPEAKER_01

It was a very good pairing.

SPEAKER_02

So tonight, as I say, we're talking about PCA Trade Show. For those unaware, BCA Trade Show uh is headed up by the Premium Cigar Association, and it's a trade show where uh manufacturers, media, shop retailers, online retailers, people within the cigar industry come together on a show floor and learn about uh new products coming out, limited products coming out, and it's where manufacturers get to show off like what's coming in the coming year. It's always an exciting time because of the exciting stuff like coming up, but also it's really cool to like see these people in person, yeah, talk with them, meet up, that sort of thing.

SPEAKER_01

It's that's always an amazing part, just being able to kick back and smoke cigars with you name it, like you know, like whoever you're excited to meet in the cigar industry. It's like it's such a small when you get there, it's such a small world, which is kind of cool. It is, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

So it's really cool. And so a long time ago, Mallory for and I first attended the TP uh TPE when there was more cigar presence. The Tobacco Plus Expo, and that was right before COVID in 2020.

SPEAKER_01

It was March 2020, right before the lockdown.

SPEAKER_02

It was nuts, and then after that, soon we started going to PCA trade show where it's it's completely focused on cigars.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Now, by the grace of God, by his blessing, we've been able to grow this business, which has been massive. And shout out to all of you guys for making that happen. I will tell you. That when we first went to our very first show, our our pocketbook, our budget was like that big, and so you're forced to make some really like intense decisions. That being like, who knew can we bring in? What show deals can we take advantage of? And it was an interesting time.

SPEAKER_01

While at the same time, feeling like a kid in a candy shop.

SPEAKER_02

Yes.

SPEAKER_01

Because we had not been before.

SPEAKER_02

So and like trying different samples, meeting like I think one of the big things for me was meeting Nick Nalillo, a foundation. It's stuff like that. It was really, really cool. So we have a question for you tonight. As we go and we push forward through the show, we announce some of the new things that we're excited about. Put yourself in those shoes. Picture you have made it to PCA and you want to bring in new cigar brands into your humidor, which currently has no brands. And so you're like, okay, I want to build out this humidor. But because of the constraints of your budget, you can only pick three cigar brands to bring in during the PCA trade show.

SPEAKER_01

This is a very difficult choice.

SPEAKER_02

It was a very, very difficult choice, definitely. Now, instead of just rapid fire, these are the three brands I want to do. I want to break it down to three different categories. Your uh tier three, your number three slot is gonna be a brand that maybe you don't go too heavy on. You bring in some boxes, dip your toe in. Okay, let's see if this works. Let's bring a little bit of the portfolio in. Your mid-range is gonna be like, all right, enough of a facing to where it's like there's a good spread, people can understand uh the brand. And then your number one slot is saved for like the one that you're trying to push all your chips into. This is the brand I think is gonna perform the best. It's a personal favorite, and I think that overall it's gonna do so good. So we're gonna fill out the humidor as much as we can with that brand. That's the assignment for this evening. So instead of rapidly assignment, it is so instead of rapid firing off all three brands, name your first slot number three, the one you're you're gonna experiment with. Um, drop those down in the comments. We're gonna talk a little bit about some new products coming out, and then we'll come back to number two. So, first and foremost, you're on the show floor, you're looking around, you've had an idea about certain brands you like. You now know the first brand you're gonna experiment with with just bringing a little bit of portfolio. What is that brand that you're gonna bring in?

SPEAKER_01

Begin to build your dream humidor. It's kind of like uh I don't know, like a fantasy football.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, it's your it's your ability to uh build it out as a retail. We got one on tonight saying Raider Dave saying, hi guys, good to have you on, Juan. Thank you so much. RJ saying, Eric, you do such a good job running OGT and coming up with all the awesome marketing, awesome ideas. Are you the one who makes all these decisions or do you get some help with it? It's not just me, uh, it's myself, it's Mallory, and sometimes my brother. We'll kind of like work in tandem. Now I will say I probably come up with come up with a lot more of the ideas.

SPEAKER_01

You're definitely like the visionary in that situation. I tend to be like, here's how we could like edit that or juice that or she reigns it back in. No, or not, it not necessarily reins it in, but like um, I help you streamline a lot of the time. Like you'll come up with something brilliant, and then I just figure out how we like window dress it.

SPEAKER_02

So like I would say a lot of the Halloween stuff was is my uh starts with my idea, but I will I will give full credit to um nope rope, naysayer, uh those and year of smoky lizard, those names are all Mallory.

SPEAKER_01

She came up with those, and she's better with like the internet did it. I had a little help from my friends on the World Wide Web, you know.

SPEAKER_02

Something like that. And like how those kind of things came about is like I I'll pitch to her an idea like what if we did like a year of cigar, but I don't want to like follow the same suit. What if we did a little more tongue in cheek? And then she's the one. Well, let me come up with a name for that.

SPEAKER_01

I think with the jokes, that's where I'm involved.

SPEAKER_02

But then if you follow something like uh like Bleak Midwinter was an idea I'd come up with. Um like there's so many releases coming out, like and stuff like trying to figure out like Bruno the Butcher, that was a chafio idea.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, so it's kind of like it's collaborative, it's very collaborative, depending on who we're working with as a manufacturer as well.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, but I will I will claim Rain Renfield is my personal oh yeah. I I love that one, but that's it. Okay, so slot number three. This is the one you're gonna experiment with. Let's see. Daniel saying El Mago for tier number three. Uh Daniel Frazier saying El Mago is a good shout out. In fact, it is, and I will say uh to both of you guys that El Mago is definitely on our radar, and there's someone we hope to see at BCH Rate Show. So looking forward to it. Raider Dave, uh Johnny, my man, what's up? Thank you guys for uh hanging out. Let's see here. Chip says Dunbarton solid pick.

SPEAKER_01

That is a solid pick.

SPEAKER_02

Solid, solid pick.

SPEAKER_01

That is a solid pick.

SPEAKER_02

Took us two years to bring in Dun Barton because they're just not really at the time like bringing up like new accounts and stuff, but especially being in California. That was a tricky one, too. But uh, let's see here. RJ, awesome job all around. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Let's see here. Uh, Daniels also saying clown or lure.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, those are good.

SPEAKER_02

Yes, yes, yeah. Lure's got some really cool stuff.

SPEAKER_01

They do, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

They do.

SPEAKER_01

I've really been enjoying trying out their portfolio this year.

SPEAKER_02

Definitely. Let's see here. Uh RJ Mallory, as of right now, the naysayer is my cigar of the year. Great job.

SPEAKER_01

It's so cool.

SPEAKER_02

It's such a good cigar. It's Tony Mario.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, it's Tony. Uh to Tony.

SPEAKER_02

Raider Dave. Okay, he's naming all three. Dunbarton, then foundation, then Black Label Trading Company.

SPEAKER_01

That's a good, that's a good structure.

SPEAKER_02

Good, good lineup. Uh Daniel Frazier saying Bruno is still my top slot for number one. I mean, it still counts.

SPEAKER_01

Bruno has my heart for sure.

SPEAKER_02

Juan's saying, hey, Eric, you guys ever going to work with the people who make the cigars for the crook of the crown? I forget the name of the company. They were at your shop. Those cigars were awesome. In fact, we did. Doctor's Orders 2 was made by Stolen Throne. So uh, I believe you got your five pack as well. That is from them. So we always look forward to that.

SPEAKER_01

We we love working with them.

SPEAKER_02

Okay, so that is for slot number three right now. Let's talk a little bit about what's coming from PCA Trade Show.

SPEAKER_01

Okay.

SPEAKER_02

We put together a comprehensive list, and I don't want to just like fire off a bunch of like facts or uh kind of statistics.

SPEAKER_01

We love firing off facts and I love it, but I just don't want to lose anyone during it.

SPEAKER_02

So I'm just gonna name a few projects that we're really excited about before we get to spot uh uh slot number two. First and foremost, domain cigars is coming in hot. We are super excited for this. This is the newest blend they're coming up with, known as the Attenuation. So this is an Ecuadorian seed-grown cigar, so Connecticut shade grown.

SPEAKER_01

Okay.

SPEAKER_02

First Connecticut cigar to be added to their portfolio. Um, it's it has a Nicaraguan binder, Nicaraguan fillers, but one of those fillers is what they call a Vanguard Aegis, which is a hybrid that Domain said has developed by crossing a Corojo and Criollo 98 seed. So once again, Domain, like innovative, very innovative, super cool. And I mean, as you can see, some familiar sizes. Um, but according to uh to their like press release, as they say, uh the Connecticut is a tobacco that I am incredibly fond of and have blended with an enormous number of cigars with. This is Esteban Diesla, the co-founder of Domain. It is a cigar that I am always excited to share with my friends and my family, and a rapper that I'm consistently trying to impress my wife, Flor, with Attenuation has done exactly that, and I am excited to share this with you. I spoke with Daniel Lance on the phone about this cigar, and as he said, this Connecticut, what it brings in flavor and profile, he feels like is what a lot of Connecticut strive to be. Okay, so I'm super excited. It has beautiful, it looks so beautiful. It comes in three sizes a 6 by 52 Toro Extra, a 6x56 Toro Gordo, and then a 6x54 torpedo shaggy foot that you see right there. So no robustos, which I found interesting. Okay, but kind of bigger ring gauge.

SPEAKER_01

A shaggy foot looks very interesting.

SPEAKER_02

It looks very, very good. And in honor of domain uh and their announcement, that's why we're running this right here. All right, check out the rest of the portfolio right now at OGT because some cool posters. So so good. Yeah, get extra posters. All right, uh, let's see here. Daniel, let's see. PG is also a good three. PG is interesting, uh, they're a bit pricey, and I haven't really explored as much. I mean, there are a lot of good cigars out of there from the Dominican Republic, it's just not my always go-to. Nicaraguan's typically, or even uh Honduras is what I typically go to. So I'm gonna have to like check out PG more. Daniel Frazier lure sampler was fantastic. Yes, that portfolio is insane, very, very good stuff. Uh, Faceless Orchestra is saying three is Romacraft, two is Rojas number one stolen throne.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_02

I'm with you on that stolen throne. That is that is really good. We actually got picked them up before even the show. I wanted to have them so much. Uh, let's see here. Three slot to experiment with. Rob Brown is saying Black Label Trading Company. Hey, I mean they've got somewhere on the list, they've got to be on there, right? Right?

SPEAKER_01

It's gotta be.

SPEAKER_02

Um, let's see here. Daniel Frazier saying a shaggy bell shade too. Yes, 100%. Uh, Domain Neutron, very good. I like to try more from their portfolio. Nigentropy, entropy, and now the uh attenuation. So every one of their cigars is just so good.

SPEAKER_01

Very, very good.

SPEAKER_02

They historically, domain is the brand historically to where I would be like, when we first got them for like a week, I'm like, yep, yep, this is the best one. Neutron is my favorite. And then like a few weeks would go by, and I'm like, actually, Nigentropy is my favorite. Yes, they just go back and forth, back and forth. So that is Domain. The next one, really interesting. I think Chip will enjoy this as well. Uh, new release coming, just announced today, is the HVC La Decoración, or La Decoration. La decoration. So this cigar uh is basically an old Cuban brand that has been brought back as a tribute to Havana, Cuba. Blend wise, it uses an Ecuadorian 2000, so a Havana 2000 wrapper over tobaccos from Esteli and Jalapa regions of Nicaragua, and it is described as medium body, it's gonna be in four sizes. Rainier says, We will never forget where we come from. The La Decoración is a perfect example of our continued love for what we do, and that's what Rainier says.

SPEAKER_01

That is beautiful packaging, I just need to say.

SPEAKER_02

I pulled this up because yes, the packaging is the like it's enough to fit in the portfolio to be like that makes sense, but it's also so different that I think this is what HVC needs. If there's anything I think HVC needs for a brand over, is I think they need maybe a little bit of a departure from red and gold. Okay, this is like uh like eye-catching, and the inside of that box is beautiful, so beautiful. So Habano 2000, which is really uh really cool, really interesting. I'm personally looking at the uh the size of the five and a half by 52. Right now I'm on the five and a half kick.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

It's just delivers really cool. So I'm excited for this, especially in that like Cuban flavor. Um, I think both of us always remark whenever we see Rainier, we're like, he's probably one of the best dressed dudes. Yes, he's always like super sharp.

SPEAKER_01

Yes.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, so super exciting. Uh, let's see here. Juan is saying, I was outside of the truck. What were those Connecticut cigars again? That's coming from domain cigars that we'll be releasing at the show. So super cool. Uh, let's see here. Box press Habano. Yes, I mean, box press anything. It's gonna be great. And let's see here. Uh Chip saying, Rainier is the man. Uh, he actually called me earlier and he's like, I tried a new HVC cigar, and I think it's my favorite one, and I knew exactly what he was talking about. The Addison like uh 2015, it was reblended as a San Andreas box press from HVC. It is currently my favorite HVC cigar ever. It is so good, such a good cigar. So if you guys haven't tried that, if you like HVC, check that out. All right. Before we continue on anymore, let's know your number two slot. This is the brand at the PCA show that you have made the rounds, and you're like, okay, this is the one that I'm confident on. We're not gonna go too crazy, but we are gonna fill up the humidor with a decent footprint from this brand.

SPEAKER_01

Okay, get a little coverage.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, for some people in their number three slots, we've had lure, black label, uh, Roma, uh, we've had PG, Dunbarton, Clowns, and we've held had El Mago. So, number two slot, what are you guys going with? What's gonna start filling that up? All right, Rob Brown, solid pick, crown heads. Okay, crown heads. It's I I love when when a brand like this works with us. Is when we started with crown heads, it was also very, very small footprint. And then this last year, they have just been like non-stop putting on music stuff.

SPEAKER_01

It's it's been a really intense year. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

So crown heads is a solid pick. I'm with you on there. Chip black label, great. It's on it's in your humidor. These humidors I gotta come and visit because it's it's there. Daniel Frazier, Crown Heads, awesome. On there, uh Daniel's also saying Crown, uh, sorry, Black Label Trading Company and RJ Cigar Clowns. Very nice, very nice. Juan is saying Rojas. I know Juan is a Rojas fan, um, which we need to we need to actually figure out what's going on with that in terms of street tacos and all that. Rojas does make really, really good stuff.

SPEAKER_01

And I enjoy the street tacos a lot.

SPEAKER_02

Yes. I I I personally think out of his whole portfolio, those are probably my favorites that he does. The statement is good too.

SPEAKER_01

But yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Now, one that makes sense that you say Rojas because Stolen Throne comes out of the Rojas factory, so it seems like that flavor profile is something that you like. Solid pick, solid pick. Awesome. So, yeah, put down your number two slot. The next uh announcement I want to make uh is a new brand to the OGT humidor, and it's been very well received, and that is Postanya Cigars. Postana is coming out. Look at look at that gorgeous box press. Postania is going to be releasing a Sumatra box press. Now, this is over a double binder. He they use um Mexican and Pennsylvanian filler, sorry, binders, and fillers from the DR and Nicaragua. And this, of course, is crafted like the rest of their portfolio at the Roma Craft uh factory, Nicosania. And uh I would say out of the sizes, five and a half by 52 and 6.25 by 52 Toro. Looks really interesting. Um, it Postanya is one of those sleeper brands. I I think that they have got some fantastic stuff. Yeah, and uh I've been really excited to work with them.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, it's been really cool bringing them in. That looks great.

SPEAKER_02

It does, it looks very nice. So that's Postania's new Sumatra that's coming. Super excited for. Um, hey, we got Nicole on saying, good to see you both. Hi, thank you so much. Uh yeah, so that is becoming Postanya. And I um, like I said, I've known Mike for some time, and it's been a while. We had been talking back and forth. They finally made it to the OGT humidor, which we were super excited for, and very, very well received. You're not gonna be disappointed with their cigars. No, so this is definitely on our radar. Um, the next one uh I can also tell you will be coming for the uh OGT Cigar Society. It's continuing in what we did last year, and that is the brand new limited edition HDA Sentinel. So, right before 4th of July, uh we last year for the society, we did the Phantom Fury, which was a kind of OD green looking label, Sumatra wrapper. This is their newest limited edition that's coming. I'm even more excited about this cigar than last year's. Now, there's there's a few reasons for this. One is based on the reception of last year and how good that cigar was, there's a lot of hype behind it. But two is all of their cigars are crafted at Black Labels Factory, which I love. This one, however, is not. They chose to go with an also an amazing factory. So this Sentinel is going to be released only in a 6x52 Toro. It's a San Andreas wrapper over Nicaraguan binders and fillers. The blend, however, itself is in collaboration and developed by none other than Lee Marsh of Stolen Thrones Cigars. This is going to be a killer cigar.

SPEAKER_01

It's going to be pretty amazing.

SPEAKER_02

I've been so excited to smoke this cigar. I've been so excited to uh hear the news on this. And yes, we've already secured it prior to the show to put it through the society because I think it's going to be fantastic, especially with um that brand.

SPEAKER_01

And HDA holds the uh first time in studio at our new studio.

SPEAKER_02

So Zach came and visited us in here in North Carolina, first manufacturer to do that, and we just basically hung out for like five or six hours and just smoked cigars, talked, did a podcast, smoked more cigars. But during that time, we were all able to get uh all on the same page and secure this for the OGT Cigar Society coming. I will also say it's a bit of insider. This is not the most inexpensive cigar. So as a society member, you save an egregious amount, which is pretty cool. And that is a shout-out to Zach because he's really cool to work with that way. So thank you so much. Um, let's see here. Juana saying, You are making me drool. Well, just have the patience. The cigar is coming for the society. Uh, Daniel, love that blue. Yeah, blue is uh awesome.

SPEAKER_01

Nice, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Look on it. And uh let's see here. Oh, Lee Marsh Creation, it's going to be fire. Lee Marsh is one of those never misses great, great stuff, never misses. Um, so that's definitely really exciting to see. Um, and okay, so there's a lot of other honorable mentions, but we got two more I want to go through. Um, but that before that said, let's let's hear one's number one slot.

SPEAKER_01

This is your number one in your dream humidor with only three brands allowed for your first purchase.

SPEAKER_02

Yes, this is the one that you're like the bulk of the spending ability of the company is gonna go to this brand. We're gonna build it out, it's gonna have the biggest footprint of all the brands in the humidor. What is taking your number one slot? Um, so far, numbers three and two have been pretty solid.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, we've had some solid picks in here.

SPEAKER_02

Pretty, pretty solid. Yes. Now, as those comments are coming in, and we're gonna go we're gonna pull those up. As you type that out, the story with us is when we first went to our show, our our pocketbook was so small, we chose only one brand to bring in, and that was Gran Habano.

SPEAKER_01

A long time ago, it was a long time ago, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

It was crazy.

SPEAKER_01

I know. I remember we were smoking the black dahlia and the blue and green. Blue and green black dahlia in the morning drinking coffee, and we're like, this is the one.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, this is the one. Um, and so since then, uh, it's definitely evolved, which is really cool. Um, but we still make those decisions of like, okay, what are we gonna do? How's it gonna work? Uh, and ultimately it's based on all of you guys, it's based on all of your opinions on your comments. Or I know that Daniel had for several times reached out and say, Hey, check out El Mago. That's why we're gonna go check it out. Yeah, like so.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, so that's definitely our conversation with you guys, definitely has an impact on what we bring in.

SPEAKER_02

100%. Yeah. Uh, let's see here. So for the number ones, we got Chip saying foundation.

SPEAKER_00

Solid.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I figured I figured that would be on there. Foundation. In fact, foundation though, uh, you will be surprised is not on this list from PCA, and that's not because we're not excited, it's just they have not announced anything. They're they're definitely last minute.

SPEAKER_01

Well, like maybe they like to keep the surprise for the show because there's been quite a few times. We walked up to the booth and you're like, What is this? Yes, yes, I think it's happened almost every show.

SPEAKER_02

They keep it close to the chest.

SPEAKER_01

It's that makes it exciting.

SPEAKER_02

They do, and then it's like without fail, probably. I would assume, probably Tuesday of next week, two or three days before the show, Sokka will finally say, Oh, by the way, this is what's happening.

SPEAKER_01

They like to they like to drop the surprises.

SPEAKER_02

He does, he does. He teased one picture of a label of a of a rhino, like by its uh like in profiles, and he's saying it's gonna be known as the Chubby Unicorn, and that will be a PCA.

SPEAKER_01

I love that. So, yeah, it's just the label though.

SPEAKER_02

I don't know what the blend is.

SPEAKER_01

That's so exciting.

SPEAKER_02

It's gonna be pretty exciting. Uh, let's see here. Rob Brown, Stallone, Stallone was one of those brands. The first time we brought them in, domain did this to us, and Stallone did this to us, where we're like, okay, let's meet them, let's go to the booth, let's get samples. And then once I smoked like two of those cigars, I'm like, I don't really want to smoke anything else. It was just Stallone all day or domain all day.

SPEAKER_01

So impressive.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, great, great stuff. Yeah. Uh, let's see here. Daniel's saying, Garcia family cigars. There you go. Solid cigar winners of the year all the time. So, very, very Solid RJ saying black label. Well done. Uh Nicole, black label trading company. They're already the bulk of my humor. Well, that sounds like a great humor. All right. I'm sure that your friends are really happy when they come by and smoke cigars that you give them. Uh, also, ooh, granbano, blue, and green. She was definitely an advocate for granbano.

unknown

Yes.

SPEAKER_02

We'll have to maybe look more into that. Uh, let's see here. Chip says Swanson loves El Mago. I know. It's so funny because uh Tim Swanson of Cigars Daily will talk back and forth, and I'm always following his stuff. And I beat him to bringing in crown heads into my humidor, but he beat me to El Mago, and I was like, he literally might have beaten me by like one month. So uh really cool though. Yes, really, really cool. I also beat him to Blackbird there too. But uh I it and usually when Tim is behind a brand, then it's the added, like, oh, okay. You know that it's legit. Yeah, very legit. Yeah, he's he's really except and Tim, even if he heard me say this, might chuckle. I don't know about Gurkha. I don't know about Gurkha, but there you go. Uh, let's see here. Daniel, uh, number uh one slot, black label trading company.

SPEAKER_01

Very nice.

SPEAKER_02

I figured it'd be one of the outliers. And uh so with that being said, let's get to our last two. Uh, these two really exciting, and these were on a lot of people's lists that we just named. First of which, a brand new release coming from Crown Head cigars known as Moonflower. Now, according to the press release, and this I will credit uh Half-Wheel to because I'm sort of paraphrasing for some of it and some of the quotes that John Huber said, but it's been more than 10 years since Crownheads introduced a new regular production line from the Garcia family. Moonflower is made entirely of Nicaraguan tobaccos, and it sports a Corojo seed wrapper, binders from Esteli and Jalapa, and fillers from Condega, Esteli, uh, and Jalapa as well. It's going to be in three sizes: Robusto, Corona Gorda, and Toro. And as John Hoover says, Moonflower is a celebration of partnership tradition and holds a deeply personal symbolic meaning to me. Uh, we poured everything into creating something truly special, a cigar that delivers complexity, balance, beauty, and the unmistakable wow factor our supporters expect from crowned heads.

SPEAKER_01

That looks lovely.

SPEAKER_02

It's gonna be a fantastic cigar. So, uh, for Daniel, who had mentioned Garcia family cigars, here's something definitely to keep your eye on. Yes. Moonflower is a new Corojo seed grown cigar by Crown Heads. I think this is a great addition. I'm super excited about it, especially with their recent uh releases of Broadway, bringing back Tennessee Waltz, all the things that they've been doing. It's gonna be a really good cigar. So I'm looking forward to it. Uh let's see here. Faceless Orchestra. I love the Foundation Tabernacle. That is an OG. OG cigar.

SPEAKER_01

That was the first box you ever bought just for me.

SPEAKER_02

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_01

Yep.

SPEAKER_02

That was and you kind of got a crash course like I did in foundation. Like everyone come into the shop, you're like, What's your favorite cigar? A Tatiana Sweet too, like Tabernacle. No, I didn't say it like that, but yeah. Yeah, that was pretty much specifically in the short torpedo size.

SPEAKER_01

Yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Which I don't even know if we're gonna do it.

SPEAKER_01

No, I think we we bought it personally in a Lancero, and I liked that a lot too. Or like a was it, was it a Lancero or was it a uh what's the other size?

SPEAKER_02

No, it was a Lancero.

SPEAKER_01

It was a Lancero. I liked that too.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, Rob Brown saying it looks kind of like the a the Mayflower cigar. I would say it kind of does. I think it has a little more depth to it, personally. I think I think it's a cool color shade. Either way, I'm excited about this. Crown Head's putting out fire, and I can't wait for that one. Now, the last one, uh, it was on many people's top lists, and I am super excited for this one. It's the one that I knew that was coming a little bit, and so when the press release happened, I was like all over it. This is coming from Black Label Trading Company, and this is known as the macabre. Now, several reasons I'm very excited about this. One, it's black label trading company. Two is what James Brown says about the cigar is reminiscent of another favorite of mine. So this is a Mexican San Andreas wrapper over an Ecuadorian Habano binder and fillers from Nicaragua. It is a limited production, very limited amount of Robusto, of a corona gorda, and of a Toro. 800 boxes were made of Robusto and Toro, but only 650 of Corona Gorda. This is a very small amount for limited production, especially compared to some of the other ones that they do. This is only accessible to people who go to the PCA trade show. So, this is one of the reasons we're going. And so, as James Brown says, macabre is quintessential black label. It is rich, dark, elegant with a perfect balance of strength and flavor. The earthy floral notes on the palette combine perfectly with a bold, intense spice on the retro to create a beautiful balance and a unique smoking experience.

SPEAKER_01

That looks very exciting.

SPEAKER_02

The horse skull, so cool. So cool, super, super cool.

SPEAKER_01

And I um we're always talking about the floral. I feel like James is like a master of the floral, like and that doesn't get talked about as often, but that's like my favorite, one of my favorite things that they do is that that like kind of subtle floral.

SPEAKER_02

Yes, and I think, yeah, you hit it right on the head. It's it's key in subtlety because people hear that sometimes in their life.

SPEAKER_01

Like perfume or uh potpourri or something like that, and it's not, it's just a surprising like lightness inside all of that. Like, oh, I'm very excited.

SPEAKER_02

And as full and heavy as black label cigars are, with that floral like uptick, it helps that balance to whereas it's not like I'm just getting bombarded with heavy smoke output. Now, the reason I'm so excited last time I heard something that James said about it's like its classic or quintessential black label was the Orthodox, which was so good. So good. That was also a San Andreas Maduro, and so I am so looking forward to the cigar. This is like, and it's somewhat of a tradition uh in the past for PCA, and it'll also be for this year, is that black label is sort of our first stop. Oh, yeah, yeah. We meet up, make certain that okay, we know what we're doing. But last year we were landing the plane, and I was like looking, okay, what's the news articles? And then they just dropped five temples without telling anyone. I was like, wait, what? So yeah, it's super cool. Looking forward to that. But that's not the only thing that they're gonna be bringing to the uh to the uh show because they're also releasing um both Rorschach, Rorschach and Rorschach Sumatra, as well as the porcelain now available in a Toro size, which I am also really looking forward to. Yes, yeah, yes, so that's also something new coming with black label. Porcelain in a Toro um is gonna be a new experience, which will be really, really cool. Uh, let's see here. Uh Daniel's saying funny because it looks like a moonflower to me. It's a it's a real thing. Let's see here, but both uh are five petal white flowers, so I get it. Uh Chip is saying sounds good, a scoped, a souped up last rites. Yes, yes. Uh let's see here. Faces orchestra, any McAuliffe fans out there? McAuliffe is another brand I need to look into. If you want a really good affordable cigar, their color series, I mean, their black is really good, and I think I've had the blue, which was really good. So they may be a brand that we're gonna have to stop by and and check out. Yeah, um, but McAuliffe, if I've heard some really good things. Uh, let's see here. RJ, big things coming your way, OGT. Cannot wait. We can't either it's gonna be cool. So, our plan, our plan of action next week, we will not be having a podcast because we'll be in New Orleans. Yes, however, we have upped our uh media game and given some updates in terms of equipment. And so hopefully this time we can kind of bring you along onto the show floor a bit more and a bit more behind the scenes because it's far easier to execute than it was in previous years. So hopefully we'll get some really good interviews, uh, some good footage, but also just kind of like narration through on the show floor to kind of like let you guys know like this is what's happening, this is what we're doing. Uh, so hopefully we'll be able to bring you guys along for it. And so we're looking forward to it. So here, Faceless Orchestra is saying black label is definitely at the top of my list as well. I really love the Triforium Collaboration. Yes, Triforium. That's that's one for the book. It goes into that like archive, like historical, like doctor's orders and great stuff. Um, now before we go, very quickly, uh, we're gonna pull a picture from our Facebook, OGT Cigar Society Facebook group. Join the group if you aren't joined already. This was an awesome picture. We talked about the naysayer. Here's John Brennan in Hawaii smoking naysayer. I love this picture because you can't even see his face. It's like so much smoke out there.

SPEAKER_01

So much smoke.

SPEAKER_02

I'm like, this is what the naysayer does when you smoke a cigar.

SPEAKER_01

That's a great, that's a great shot.

SPEAKER_02

It is, and coming all the way over from Hawaii, which is really cool.

SPEAKER_01

Thank you for posting that.

SPEAKER_02

Yes, thank you for posting. Join the Facebook group. It's a bunch of great people smoking cigars and letting them let people know like this is what I had last night through the week, and some really good ideas, maybe to go to the next cigar. Uh, let's see here. Chip saying, give some behind the scenes of OGT fam meeting you at the show. Yes, definitely. We got some friends coming out from California to also meet out there just to say hi, and it's gonna be awesome to hang out with them. Um, let's see here. Spread rumors, Triforium 2026. We do want to bring back Triforium. I can say it's probably not happening this year, but that doesn't mean it's outruled for 2027. So there might be some rumors. I I don't see how we couldn't bring it back, but it it will get there. We'll get there. Um, but yeah, so next week we will not be on the show uh because we'll be in New Orleans, we'll be taking you guys along with that. Um, but final thoughts on uh the cigar you're smoking. Anything jumping out at you? Anything you want to share? Any hints?

SPEAKER_01

I don't know how many more hints I should give. I feel like we've done a lot of 20 questions on this, but it is delicious and it's been amazing smoke output the whole time. And yeah, there's a little bit of um a little botanical, a little I'm I'm getting right now, but it's it's really good.

SPEAKER_02

I have smoked four of those in the last two days.

SPEAKER_01

So maybe you should share.

SPEAKER_02

I I find personally, in terms of the palette, there's this very quintessential, I feel like OGT Cigar Society spice to it, peppery notes on the retrohale. But it's got a depth. Sometimes what I don't like in really peppery cigars is that they're shallow, and so it just tastes like this dried out, like I don't know, sawdust. Yes. Almost in a way. This has like a deep uh it's grounded, it's grounded, it's got some good peppery notes, it's got some good, almost like vanilla accents.

SPEAKER_01

I do get that, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Um, yeah, overall, just really good. And as it continues, you go from like this vanilla to like a bit of like savoriness, like umami in a way, maybe like uh grilled mushrooms a little bit. It's just it's such a unique smell.

SPEAKER_01

The the smoke texture is very buttery, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Buttery.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

So really exciting things. Um let's see here. Uh, is it Nicapuro? It is not, it is not a Nicapuro. Uh let's see here. Have fun in PCA. Can't wait for the videos uh from there. Thank you. And hopefully, I will also say for anyone who follows us, make certain that the bell is checked. Uh, that when we drop a movie or a video on YouTube, because we are getting heavily stifled, and I don't know why. Okay, just check, make certain that because sometimes YouTube will automatically check, like, no, it is not visible to you subscribers, and it's a bit difficult, but thank you guys so much. Uh, Rob is saying, Mallory, is it society worthy?

SPEAKER_01

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02

It is yes.

SPEAKER_01

Uh, this is a drop I'm very excited about.

SPEAKER_02

Uh let's see here. Daniel safe travels.

SPEAKER_01

Thank you.

SPEAKER_02

Uh, willing to bet Eric goes through a bundle before the society drop.

SPEAKER_01

I think we're already halfway there.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah, we'll get there. We'll get there, definitely. I mean, you gotta make certain, like, this is up to pars, is what needs to be.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, you've got to validate.

SPEAKER_02

Yes, yes. Now, closing thoughts on this. I will say um it is not giving me the that most infused cigars give me because a lot of the time the infusion is so intense that you're just tasting like I don't know, like a paintbrush of sweetness, like just slathered all over it. It's there, it's far more subtle than I would have thought. In the manual, it says you should wait five to ten days. I think you should wait 20 days if you really want it to be intense. If you do. Now, this is kind of a subtle like finish on it, but I will say as it's continued to the next third, and we've smoked, I've smoked through like the foot where it had most of the infusion, it's mellowing even more. Okay, but it's not a bad, like it's an added sweetness, which is a bad. Now, here's the crazy thing. Before we sign off, would you personally want to self-infuse a cigar? Would you see yourself picking up this kit? What about you? Do you are you curious enough?

SPEAKER_01

I'm curious, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

I mean, it's it's one of those things to where it's like, you know, if you want to try an infusion, maybe is the way to go. So, is this something that you you would want to check out? I think if if you're really heavy into experimenting in cigars like that and infusing, sure. But here's the one barrier it is $150. So, with that in mind, would you want to infuse your own cigar for $150? Now you get to reuse it over and over. That's true, but that has to be taken in consideration as well. What are people's thoughts on that? Uh, Daniel's saying, not a fan of infused. Okay, and likewise, I'm not either. This is more of like cigar hint flavor hinting than it is infusing. Let's see here. I would forget it sitting there. That I that's probably a common thing. Probably a common thing. Well, guys, thank you so much. Uh and oh, here we go. I would I one wonder if a higherproof bourbon would infuse it quicker. That's maybe so. An interesting thought. Next experiment. But thank you guys so much for jumping on. We will have our Cigars and Cinema podcast on Tuesday, and then we will be gone for a week, and then we'll be posting about PCA, and then our next show will be the return from PCA and the stories that that entails. So, thank you guys so much for jumping on tonight.

SPEAKER_01

Thanks for being here.

SPEAKER_02

And make certain that you check out early access, get a hold of limited posters right now, follow the breadcrumbs uh uh before the promotion goes up tomorrow. So, thank you guys so much and have a great night.