"El Mago Cigars Feat. Nick Fusco." Ep. 33 5/2/2026

Join us for a very special show with Nick Fusco, founder of El Mago Cigars. Learn the history, creation, and full portfolio of the newest cigar brand to land at Oak Glen Tobacconist. Mallory and I are obsessed with this new brand, and you can learn why!

El Mago Cigars LINK: https://oakglentobacconist.com/product-category/el-mago-cigars/

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:08

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

SPEAKER_03 0:42

I'm Mallory. While I don't ever claim cigar expertise, I've always been a foodie 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_01 1:00

Welcome to OGT Cigars Live, where conversation lights up. Hello, everybody, and welcome back to another episode of OGT Cigars Live, coming to you from the East Coast, sunny East Coast. I'm Eric from OGT Cigars, and with me my wife, Mallory.

SPEAKER_03 1:18

Hello, how's it going tonight?

SPEAKER_01 1:19

We have a very uh exciting show tonight, special show I've been looking forward to since PCA. It was one of those things that we had like mentioned and we're like, okay, we got to make this happen. And thankfully, we have made it happen quicker than I thought.

SPEAKER_02 1:31

So it'll be great.

SPEAKER_01 1:32

It's gonna be great. But I also see we've got a lot of people jumping in, dropping down comments. As always, I invite you to please drop those comments. Let us know what are you enjoying tonight, what are you smoking, are you pairing with something? Uh also how's your week been? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:45

I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 1:46

Journey of cigars. Drop those down. I will do my best to uh pull those comments up. And also, if you have questions for our guests tonight, it's also an excellent time to drop those in and learn more about the brand we're going to be talking about tonight. So, uh, first off, we got Chip on tonight.

SPEAKER_03 2:01

Chip says, let's do this. It's an OGT kind of night. Emerald Knight, DR2, Doctor's Orders too. Doctor's orders too, and Renfield on the menu. Oh, we also got Daniel Frazier. You messed up.

SPEAKER_01 2:10

Great, great line. Oh, yeah, Daniel Frazier too. Say who I'm ready. He is ready. Awesome. Well, that is thank you, Daniel, for jumping on tonight, as well as Chip. That is quite the lineup going on. Uh, Emerald Knight. We got a little bit to talk about about Emerald Knight. Uh, Daniel Frazier.

SPEAKER_03 2:24

Nice. Finished my first Emerald Knight this evening. Wow, can't wait for my Almago bundles to come in, though.

SPEAKER_01 2:30

Yes, 100%. They are shipping out uh, and if not shipped out already, first thing tomorrow. We had several shipments going through. It's you will not be disappointed. You will not be. Uh, let's see here, Randy.

SPEAKER_03 2:42

Emerald Knight is awesome. Had one yesterday. Oh, good. We got some good Emerald Knights.

SPEAKER_01 2:47

A lot of reviews are coming in. I don't know if you guys uh follow us on Instagram. It's also on our YouTube channel, um, but a lot of positive, positive feedback for our society membership. It's a very special project.

SPEAKER_03 2:57

It's a good one.

SPEAKER_01 2:58

It is an exclusive, like only society members. Set one of five. Um if you guys are very, very limited. Super limited. If you guys are unfamiliar with it, here's a picture to kind of reference what everyone's talking about. My brother did the artwork on it. Um, it is a fantastic Brazilian Habano, aged for three years. Um, so I love to hear the response. It's great to hear that. Uh, let's see here. Who else have we got on tonight? A lot of comments here.

SPEAKER_03 3:24

Uh Emerald Line in hand, smash it. If you haven't signed up for the Cigar of the Month Club, you are missing out. That's from the Faceless Orchestra.

SPEAKER_01 3:31

Thank you so much. Yes, check it out. We got Shirley on saying hello.

SPEAKER_03 3:34

Shirley says hi, guys.

SPEAKER_01 3:35

Good to have you on, Shirley. Uh Daniel's saying sipping on some Heaven Hill. That is a favorite.

SPEAKER_03 3:39

I like some Heaven Hill, right?

SPEAKER_01 3:41

Favorite of mine. Oh, and we got uh Curtis on.

SPEAKER_03 3:43

Curtis. Hey y'all, I don't usually get to show up on these, so I'm indulging tonight with the Emerald Knight as well.

SPEAKER_01 3:47

It's an Emerald Night Emerald Night kind of nice.

SPEAKER_03 3:50

I mean, Curtis is always on with you on Tuesdays, too. So that's a lot to commit to to come visit us on Thursdays, also. Uh Sumtown Rider says, uh, thanks again, Eric, for all the help last week with my order. Awesome customer service.

SPEAKER_01 4:02

I appreciate it, man. I appreciate it. Uh, we got Daniel smoking an El Mago Mysticism, which I believe is the uh Cameroon Mystico. Um, great cigar. See, Jason.

SPEAKER_03 4:12

Hello, Eric and Mallory smoking a Stallone Anniversario with gin and tonic. That sounds like a nice night.

SPEAKER_01 4:17

There you go. That sounds great.

SPEAKER_03 4:18

Hi, Jason. Uh hey, y'all smoking a hand rolled of mine with a San Andreas wrapper. Thought I'd stop in and say hi.

SPEAKER_01 4:25

Nice. Well, guys, I thank you so much for dropping on the comments. As I say, I will do my best to pull these up. We also have a very special guest tonight.

SPEAKER_02 4:32

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 4:33

Um, and in these comments, this is your opportunity to ask those questions about all things Elmago cigars. So, as a bit of introduction, really quickly, and I've mentioned this on the PCA trade show like review video, there was one new brand we had on the radar, and it was Elmago Cigars. We had heard a lot about them, uh, we just hadn't really tried them. And so stopping by, meeting Nick, uh, smoking the cigars, we're like, this is a no-brainer.

SPEAKER_03 4:57

This is yeah, did not disappoint. Very exciting.

SPEAKER_01 4:59

Insanely good stuff. So we're super excited about that. If you haven't heard uh yet, we have a very special raffle sampler that is going on right now. In fact, we are almost sold out, we are down to the very last ones available right now. When I say last ones available, I mean last ones. Like there is no inventory beyond this. Uh Nick will probably be pleased to hear we're gonna need to make another order with Elmago to to uh keep it going. Um, that being said, uh, we have very special prizes attached to that. We're gonna be raffling off a El Mago Ashtray, a uh espresso maker from Almago, and then also a Alakazam Limited three-pack. This is a part of their S tier limited program.

SPEAKER_03 5:41

Great prizes tonight. Crazy stuff, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:43

Crazy stuff. So it's gonna be incredible. If you want in on this raffle as well as you want to get up, get an incredible uh deal on these cigars and try Elmago cigars, you need to go to OGT because the last ones are there. So as those we're not talking that up, it's for real. For real, for real. Once those come through, I will at the same time put that into our uh random Google generator, which uh you guys can see here. And then at the end of the show, we're gonna call it. We're gonna have three lucky winners for that. Um, Daniel Frazier does have a very important question for you.

SPEAKER_03 6:16

Okay. It says Mallory, important question. How's the Almago Lotus Lancero? I very much enjoyed it and I was very excited. That was the first thing I looked at at PCA. And we could probably talk a little bit more about it later, but we will very good.

SPEAKER_01 6:30

For anyone who's a Lancero fan who picked up the Lotus this week, you can thank Mallory for that because that was her main, like we can.

SPEAKER_03 6:36

I always got a Lancero in the order, no matter what.

SPEAKER_01 6:39

Yes, Lancero is great. Well, thank you guys so much uh for dropping down those comments. Let's say just take a few more before adding on to uh having our guests jump on.

SPEAKER_03 6:47

See, tacos and toros says been hearing a lot of great things about Almago recently. Looking forward to learning about the company and trying the lineup when my sampler arrives. Oh, and we also have one right above that from uh Mark Miller says, Good evening, all enjoying in Almago, Miami.

SPEAKER_01 7:02

Nice. All right, let's uh let's take two more. Raider Dave.

SPEAKER_03 7:05

Good evening, guys. Can't wait to receive my Almago sampler. Very excited to try this brand. Smoked the Emerald Knight last night. Wow, Chef's Kiss. Nice.

SPEAKER_01 7:13

The thing is gonna be crazy is I I think Emerald Knight is it will be good enough to be voted onto the top 10 this year. But unfortunately, what might deter it is that only society members get to try it.

SPEAKER_03 7:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:26

So that might limit exposure quite a bit.

SPEAKER_03 7:28

It is a little bit, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:28

But incredible cigar. All right, uh, let's see here. One more from Dapper Prof.

SPEAKER_03 7:33

Uh at work so lurking, but got my order in of more of those cigar clowns preview release. They are both so good. I hope they release both for production.

SPEAKER_01 7:42

Good news for you next week, 100%. Okay, that being said, uh, let's jo have our guests join us. So uh I literally just met this gentleman in person at the PCH trade show. Let what was that a week ago?

SPEAKER_03 7:55

It wasn't that long ago. Yeah, it was last week. I've lost track out of time.

SPEAKER_01 7:57

Maybe maybe two weeks. Something like that. Um, and it was just great to hear the story of this brand of El Mago and kind of hear the history behind it, the blends behind it. And so, what I wanted to do tonight, as I say, this is a virtual cigar lounge, and so I want to open the floor to all of you guys, learn about this brand. We're gonna learn about the factory, the blends, and to do so, we will have our guests join us. So please help me welcome for the first time to OGT Cigars Live, Nick Fusco from El Mago Cigars. Nick, thank you so much for jumping on tonight.

SPEAKER_00 8:28

Absolutely, thank you guys for having me on. It's a pleasure.

SPEAKER_01 8:31

Definitely, definitely. I've been looking forward to this ever since PCA. Um, I tonight am smoking the uh Renegade, which is my personal favorite out of the core line. Mallory grabbed herself a solstice from the limited line. Uh, what are you smoking tonight?

SPEAKER_00 8:46

I'm gonna make a few people upset, but I'm smoking the the unreleased jug. Oh nice, nice so so we're we're preparing to send it out soon as the as the number three release of our of our limited edition tin series. Okay, and we have the cigars in the warehouse. So if anybody knows the address, they can come and ransack our inventory. But but uh but until then, everyone will have to wait a little bit to get them.

SPEAKER_03 9:13

Okay, so so to get it legitimately, they just no ransacking then.

SPEAKER_00 9:17

No, no, unfortunately not. Sometimes I leave our back door like a little bit loose, a little bit unlocked, you know.

SPEAKER_01 9:28

Yes, is there anything you can tell us about that brand insert in terms of blend?

SPEAKER_00 9:37

Um, I can I'll I I will divulge. I will divulge. Look, I'll show I'll show the cigar. I know you two are very familiar with with cigars, so you might know what what what wrapper this is.

SPEAKER_01 9:49

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 9:50

But that's all I can do because the way I'm working it is is all of our S tier accounts a week before they receive the product, they're gonna get information on it and nobody else will. So I'm trying to I'm trying to stick, you know, I'm trying to stick to that.

SPEAKER_03 10:06

Um, totally respectable. We're not trying to ask any super hardball questions.

SPEAKER_00 10:11

Okay, but I can tell you that just like the just like the jug, the the the figure on the on the label, he's a he's a strong figure. This is a pretty strong blend. Okay, okay, nice.

SPEAKER_01 10:23

Sounds great. Okay, so uh Almago Cigars, uh, you guys have been in business what four years now?

SPEAKER_00 10:30

Yeah, yeah, just just about um I I started the company when I was 22, and now I'm uh 27. And if we're being specific, I'm like 27 and a half.

SPEAKER_04 10:43

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 10:47

Um but uh our first actual sale, you know, Almago Cigars first coming to the market in the US was uh mid-2022.

SPEAKER_02 10:58

Okay. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 10:58

So that was so that was that was our you know, that was our debut. Um, so so yeah, right, yeah, right around four years.

SPEAKER_01 11:05

Nice.

SPEAKER_00 11:06

We've been out and um it's been it's been an awesome journey.

SPEAKER_01 11:10

Nice. So something that really uh is striking, of course, from the I guess you would say like loud uh type packaging, which we really enjoy. It's it's it's not uh subtlety is not, I would say, the the main thing about uh Elmago, but it's so beautifully done. It's done on a way that is so eye-catching that I love it. And part of that is in your labels you have uh a sort of picture that is an honor of your family. So where did the concept of Elmago come from? The history behind it, uh what made you start Elmago cigars?

SPEAKER_00 11:44

So uh back in um back in 2021, uh it was it was actually it was a it was a tragedy that occurred, and I wanted to make a um well at first I wanted to I wanted to make a gift and then it became a tribute. So what happened was uh in 2021 there was a a building in here in like the Miami area, a city called Surfside that had collapsed pretty randomly in the middle of the night. And unfortunately, my my grandparents were in the building. And um, you know, after they after they passed, I wanted to make a a gift for my mom to honor them and and commemorate them. So what I did was I made a box of 10 cigars uh that was like a glorified arts and crafts project, basically, uh with their picture on it. And the reason why I chose cigars to be that gift was because my grandfather, uh, he was from Cuba and he smoked cigars all the time. And my, you know, my my grandmother loved the smell of cigars, and so she so she always uh she was an advocate for it. And we smoked my my grandfather and I smoked cigars all the time together. Um, so I wanted to do cigars, and I made this arts and crafts project for my mom, and she loved it so much. She she told me, she goes, You should turn this into a brand and share their story with everybody. Um, because my my grandparents have a have a pretty awesome story. Um, and so once my mom told me that, that's exactly what I did. Okay. Uh and that and so that's how El Mago was born. And uh funny thing that I don't I don't share too much, but there was a before El Mago cigars, there was another mago. Uh which which by the way, Mago in English means the wizard. Um okay but the first the first mago was uh a Bernice mountain dog that I bought for my mom and sister. Um and and it was it was it was after you know after my grandparents passed, I surprised them. I had this little you know, this little puppy in my in my arms. I just showed up. I didn't tell tell anyone anything about it, and his name is Mago. And so besides the fact that Mago means wizard, it's it's the the actual uh you know letters in it that mean a lot, and it's because I combined the first two letters of my grandparents' names to get the word mago. So M A for Maria, G O for Gonzalo. I I combined them and got Mago.

SPEAKER_03 14:24

Um that's an amazing story. It sounds like you have a lot of like support from your family in this endeavor, then.

SPEAKER_00 14:33

Yes, yeah, and and my whole family, we were like really, really close uh with my grandparents. So, you know the the fact that this is like a tribute to them and that their you know their their pictures on it, the the the the the loud packaging is very in line with with my grandfather's like the style that he liked and the hotel that he bought in Miami Beach, all this coming together. I think my I think my family like finds it to be pretty pretty cool and and and it's just it's nice to see like when other people are smoking the cigar or have the tube or the packaging, it's it's cool.

SPEAKER_03 15:11

Yeah, I I think it's a really cool um contrast you have going too in that you do have the like vibrant packaging and this great branding, and then the label itself is still has that tradition those traditional elements, so there's a there's a good contrast and like nuance there too, because it's like you're getting both, which I think is like it's the classic, but then there's also this big statement, which is really cool.

SPEAKER_00 15:36

Yeah, well, thank you. And and and I think I think a lot of that came about from my grandfather's hotel. So in 1989, when my grandparents got to Miami, which their journey was Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Canada, Venezuela, then Miami. Yeah, wow, um, he he bought this hotel called the James Hotel in Miami Beach, and it's got that classic old school Miami art deco look.

SPEAKER_04 16:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:05

Uh, but when he bought it, it was like a blank canvas, it was just uh a white building. And you could even you could even look up pictures now or just look at my packaging and and you'll know like what colors it is now. So he over the years, he uh he really he really spruced it up and and made it and made it into what it is now. And it's it's like a zone is like a historic, you know, um nice building now because it's very unique. There's not a lot of Miami art deco with those vibrant colors, you know, left. Uh, because everything's pretty modern, you know, modernized or new construction now.

SPEAKER_04 16:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:45

So yeah, so so that that hotel and and and the style that my that my grandfather had is what inspired the style and the packaging and the colors for you know for El Mago cigars. That is awesome. Yeah, very cool.

SPEAKER_01 17:01

Now we have a few comments here. I do want to pull up. Uh, first of which we have a 005 saying Finally cut an OGT live stream.

SPEAKER_03 17:09

Love your products. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 17:10

Well, thank you so much. I'm glad that first time jumping on, glad that you're with us tonight. Um, and also I want to give a shout out uh to Daniel. Uh, he's saying the presentation drew me to this brand, and the cigars brought me back too. Daniel uh is a huge supporter of OGT, and he was the one. Uh, even as early as last year, I would put out a question like, Who what's a new brand that you guys want to see? And he kept pushing try Elmago cigars, bring in Elmago.

SPEAKER_00 17:35

So oh well, thank you, Daniel. Daniel, you're the man.

SPEAKER_01 17:39

Shout out to Daniel. Uh, and yeah, uh Frazier actually echoes that sentiment.

SPEAKER_03 17:44

Yeah, thanks to Daniel for pestering Eric to bring out Elmago.

SPEAKER_01 17:47

Nice. Uh and then Curtis uh is on as well. Curtis actually, we host a cigars and cinema podcast every Tuesday where we analyze a cigar and also analyze a movie because we're both film buffs. Um he's on tonight, says we saw a little of that Miami art deco in Out of Sight, uh, which we did, and which is a great movie. Um, but that's something I want to ask. So you have this idea of honoring your grandparents and kind of first as a gift and then going to a brand. What does that look like when you're starting out in terms of who you're working with? What are the connections with the factory, what factory you go to, those types of things. How does that come about?

SPEAKER_00 18:25

Um, so I think I had a lot of um a lot of things fell in line in uh in a in a way that was really helpful for me. Um being in Miami, I quickly found out that I knew a lot of people that were either directly involved or indirectly involved in the cigar industry. Okay. So so when I was when I you know set out to start Elmago cigars, I was actually I was getting my master's degree in accounting. And okay, and so while I was getting my master's, I was starting Elmago and I started to ask around all the people that I that I knew because I'm born and raised in Miami. So, you know, a lot of my like one of the first guys I asked, he was my baseball coach when I was 12 and 13 years old. Nice, and and and and turns out, you know, he owned one of the biggest lounges in in Miami in a city called Durral back in the day. Okay, and he had all these connections, and he actually got a sit-down with me and Eric Espinosa. And that was the first, um, that was the first person in the cigar world that I ever talked to. Nice and it went it went great. You know, I I loved Eric. I think Eric's a great guy. Um, but what ended up happening is I went to my local cigar lounge where I would just buy cigars as a customer, and I spoke to Miguel Pinto, who's the the owner of that lounge. Uh, it's called Cigar Cigar. And uh, you know, I I told him my story, I told him what I'm you know, what I'm setting out to do and accomplish, and I told him that I need a factory. And he was like, I have a factory, and I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, no way. I was like, really? He was like, he was like, yeah. So sure enough, we turned around and we flew out to to Nicaragua. His factories was in Estelle. He started it, he started it back in 2016, and turns out he'd been in the industry for 20 something years before that, where he worked for a a brand called Victor Calvo.

SPEAKER_01 20:29

Uh yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_00 20:31

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So he so he he was a part owner in the brand at at at a time and was the national director of sales. So he had a lot of history in the in the cigar world. And we went to his factory, uh, we called it Afghanistan, uh, as a joke, because it was it was it was off this like dirt road. It was it was still in Esteli, like in the heart of Esteli, but like a little bit off on this dirt road. Okay. And uh, and you know, he was he was like hard on himself about it. He's like, Yeah, I probably have the smallest factory here. Uh but but even you know, but even at the time he had almost like 25 employees. He had a he had a he had a he had a good thing going. Yeah, and and we made we made five initial blends. And uh, you know, I I told Eric thank you, but I went with Miguel because I'd been friends with him for you know several years. And sure, uh funny enough, he even even went to the same high school as my mom. And my mom, my mom knew of him as the guy who, when they went to Universal Studios, threw Goofy in the lake and got the school banned from going back for four years. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yep. So it all it all came together. Um, so we made five initial blends and then I launched the first one, uh, the Miami Art Deco edition. And uh that was in that was in mid 2022 and grew the portfolio from there. Um and and now I'll I'll I'll give you a quick fast forward. In uh January of 2024, Miguel and I had to upgrade the factory. So we're in a new uh it's a we used to be an elementary school, it's a two-story, much bigger factory. And from from when we started, you know, there's there's probably four times more uh employees now, and and uh things are going well, growing growing a lot of tobacco. We're we're actually headed back there in 10 days going back to the factory. So so it's it's it's been really great.

SPEAKER_01 22:30

Yeah, yeah. So when you say growing a lot of tobacco, um, you guys have a factory, you also have a farm, right? Um, in terms of majority of what you're using in your cigars?

SPEAKER_00 22:41

Correct, yes. So so last year, last year we grew right around 30 acres of tobacco, and we're looking to do double this year. Nice. Um, and it's it's just it's just something that we that we wanted to quickly implement because quality control is a big is a big deal for for for us. Um and if you buy from, you know, there's there's many middlemen in in SLE. And and it's not a it's not necessarily a bad thing, but sometimes it's it's hard to know what you're getting, if the quality, if the quality is gonna be the same, what cut you're getting. So we wanted to just we want to just make sure that we we didn't have to think about that, that there was no questions that what we're putting in here is exactly what we know we want to put in here.

SPEAKER_01 23:26

Yes, yes, no, definitely. And especially for newer brands, uh that is that's quite a like hurdle to get over. So that's awesome. And I think that also is an added layer that I knew about going into PCA was about growing your own stuff. Um, and I mean naturally, yeah, if you have a Connecticut, you're not growing Connecticut in Nicaragua for your wrapper and such like that. But the the the actual like cigars themselves, I actually had one of our society members reach out uh who had just tried your stuff, they had made an order, smoked it, and they're like, Man, is there something different happening with the soil and the irrigation? Like these cigars are on fire, and it's so cool to see that like personal. I I feel like every brand and every factory um who has that ability to grow their own stuff has their own like kind of signature flavor, and you can kind of find it throughout the the portfolio. So it's really cool to see that. Um, yeah, yeah. Congrats on that. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_00 24:19

Thank you, thank you. I appreciate it, and yeah, it's true. Everyone has their own process, they have their own like kind of signature flavor, like you were saying. Um, and you know, the key is the key is just just number one, knowing knowing what's happening from from the moment it's the the seed is planted to the to the moment it's you know getting rolled into a into a cigar. Yeah, um, and the you know the process in between is like uh it's like it's like raising a baby, like you have to take really good care of the tobacco, and and then of course, you know, aging, right? We people say it all the time, but it's something that's said all the time, but it's not done all the time. You know, like the right amount of the right amount of of uh of aging and and curing has to go into the tobacco in order to have a cigar that you'll enjoy from the first third to the third third. That's yeah, that's really there's no there's no short, there's no shortcut. There's no shortcut to it.

SPEAKER_01 25:20

And it's good. And it's it in terms of uh well, I mean, we were just talking off screen about uh if if it was easy, everyone else would do it. And so it's it's good to take those extra steps. We got a few comments here I want to pull up uh very quickly. Double five.

SPEAKER_03 25:35

Just ordered some Almago.

SPEAKER_01 25:37

Nice, thank you so much. Shout out uh we also have got uh Daniel Frazier saying on your remarking on your goofy story, this is I mean it's goofy.

SPEAKER_03 25:45

What's to say he didn't slip and fall in the lake all by himself?

SPEAKER_00 25:48

That is a very why goofy was pushed in the lake first okay. So Goofy was being uh he was being very goofy, and my so Miguel's friend had a sister who was there, and Goofy wanted to touch her butt. Oh it is Miami, yeah, yeah, and so and well technically, technically it's Orlando. Oh no, it's Orlando, it's Orlando area, but if it was Miami, the same thing would have probably happened. So so yeah, so Goofy tried to touch her butt, and Goofy ended up in the lake.

SPEAKER_03 26:27

It was a chivalrous push, yes, of course, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:34

Right. And and and then they end up, oh damn, goofy deserved it.

SPEAKER_04 26:42

We're gonna get shooed.

SPEAKER_00 26:47

But they did, but they did they did pull goofy out of the lake because those suits get really heavy when they're what you're right, so it could have been like an absolute like a manslaughter situation, yeah. Yeah, no, no, but it was it was good. Everything everything worked out, everything worked out.

SPEAKER_02 27:02

Sorry that that's the point that we all hyperfixated on.

SPEAKER_00 27:05

Yeah, yeah. So sorry, sorry, Miguel for exposing you.

SPEAKER_01 27:12

So uh I think too, uh as a like getting into a cigar brand, and it it happens even as a retailer, you start to explore uh and try to uh research new brands that you become familiarized with. And I feel like it's definitely more difficult as a consumer. Part of our job, I feel like has always been to try to educate and familiarize about uh some maybe new brands that other people are not used to in terms of like supporters of OGT, and sometimes like it can get a little bit confusing. So I thought it would be pretty cool to kind of like break down the blends that you have. You had mentioned that you um started with the Miami Art Deco, which is your Habano line, right? That was the right the beginning.

SPEAKER_00 27:53

Yes, yeah, that's a that's a Ecuadorian Habano medium medium body. That was that was our first release. And I launched that. I was you know, boots on the ground, going door to door, selling that one. And uh I was I ran into a sales rep who now is my is my first, you know, first sales rep that uh that ever came on board and and and and and believed in me and believed in El Mago cigars. And at the time he was like, Wow, you know, this this packaging's really something, and and the cigar is great, but I can't do much if you got one skew to sell. Okay, and and I was like, you know, I was like, you know, I understand that, but I sold, you know, sold through the Art Deco. It kind of built up a little bit of hype, and it's not it's not super easy to build up hype off of one skew. Sure. Um, but you know, it it it did it did great, you know. I I have no complaints, and then from there we we built the line to where we have uh Connecticut Habano Maduro. So uh so after the Miami Art Deco edition, Habano, we came out with the triunfante, which I tell people to just call the triumphant, uh uh, which is our Connecticut, and then the other one is the Miami Maduro, which is our our first Maduro, and um, and that is actually for people who are looking for like an everyday smoke, um, medium strength Maduro with a lot of flavor, that's the go-to, and and I think that's why that's our best-selling Maduro to date.

SPEAKER_01 29:34

Well, and I will definitely say uh I'll I'll speak for OGT Cigar Society. So that's our membership where we release a custom or limited blend that we do a five-pack of a single blend, and we kind of send that out to our members. And for that membership, uh, they definitely enjoy more of like a heavier hitting, stronger-ish cigar. But with the key is what you had mentioned about this Maduro is you're right. I I would say it's not crazy strong, but the flavor and the body are so full that it really asatiates that kind of like drive to find like what's the next big strong cigar. Like it just it definitely still fills the palate, and it's such a flavorful cigar that it's it's completely true in terms of like the amount of experience you get from that cigar, even if it is a like medium-strength cigar, it it just it smokes beautifully. Love it.

SPEAKER_00 30:24

Thank you, thank you. Yeah, and if someone's looking for like a morning Maduro, sure, sure. That's that I I smoke that cigar in the morning all the time. Uh and and I I just it's great. Like, like some like some people want might want something that's a little more of a one-two punch, but for me, I'm not looking for that, you know, earlier in the day, and I that's why like I go to that one all the time.

SPEAKER_01 30:48

Yeah, no, it's it's beautiful, and so that one's San Andreas. Um, and then you what was the following after those initial three?

SPEAKER_00 30:57

So after those three, I I did the uh Pepe, which is yep, there there you go. There you go, Pepe. Uh, which is also a San Andres Maduro, but a completely different flavor profile. Um yeah, whereas like I and and I and I'm I'm not one to get into like the the the nitty-gritty specific details on a blend because I think that everyone has their own palette, and I and I don't want to say something that someone else doesn't get, sure, to where they think either they're wrong or I'm wrong, or the blend's wrong, you know. But for me, broadly speaking, uh the Miami Maduro is full flavor, and I generally will get more notes of sweetness, whereas the Pepe, to me, it's a little bit more leathery, earthy, um, and it's a little more full body than than uh the Miami Maduro. That's to me, that's that that would be the main, you know, broad differential.

SPEAKER_01 31:55

Now, we I've always made it a policy here at OGT that I don't agree with the I've I've heard you hear all the stories, no matter what about from other retailers, cigar manufacturers are like, man, this is the next Davidoff killer, or this is the next Padron killer, blah blah blah. Those brands have made their names for good reasons, and I love Padron cigars. But I will say, when I was first introduced to the the concept of Almago, that the Pepe was the first cigar I'd ever seen. Someone recommended it to me, and they're like, This smokes like a Padron. I'm very reluctant to like jump on stuff like that, but I will say, smoking it, I'm like, for someone who enjoys Padron cigars, this is gonna be in that wheelhouse. Like, it is such an amazing experience. Box press Maduro, it has that richness. Um, the Pepe is like an elevated blend, and one so elevated that I I don't really see in like newer brands as much. So I think it's very impressive.

SPEAKER_00 32:49

Thank you. I appreciate that, and that's a that's a really amazing compliment um to hear because I mean Padron is sure. Padron is Padron, right? Everyone says Padron is Padron. So yeah, to be anywhere, you know, uh compared to them is is an honor.

SPEAKER_01 33:05

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 33:06

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 33:07

It's it's fantastic. Um, and then we at BCA we brought in two others. This was Mallory's pick, the Lotus. Uh, when what what was the inception for this one?

SPEAKER_00 33:18

I smoked my first Lancero maybe a year and a half into my cigar smoking journey, let's let's call it. Okay. Um and I never like I never gravitated towards that towards that that size, that Vitola, just because when you go into a humidor, like it's it's it's the it's the minority in the humidor. Like there's not, you know, most humidors don't have a ton of of lanceros. It's more Toro, Robusto, Churchill, Gordo. And I just I just never, you know, I just never went for it. And then finally I went in I and I and I smoked one and I was like, wow. I was like, this is this is like a whole this is like a whole new experience. And by the way, this was this was this was before Elmago cigars started, by the way. Like this is yeah, pre-almago. I was like, wow, this is like this is a whole new experience. And and I and I and I actually asked about it, and I understood like I started to grasp the concept that you're getting you're getting more flavor from the wrapper because there's less, you know, there's less filler. And I was so in my head, I was like, okay, that makes sense. And then you know, fast forward to Almago time, I was like, I want a Lancero in the lineup because I love Lanceros and I think it would be amazing to keep it um to keep the packaging similar to what we're doing, yeah, with the with the tube, because I haven't seen a Lancero in a tube ever.

SPEAKER_03 34:47

And I haven't either. And I do smoke a lot of Lanceros, and he always gets frustrated at me because I'm like, Are we gonna get whatever it is in a Lancero? And he's like, Yeah, but not as many people buy it, and that's like I know, but also the whole box is fine.

SPEAKER_01 35:01

It is the sad fact that that Lanceros, unfortunately, like it's a it's a select group. Now, that being said, is we released a set of four different Lanceros last year. So, of course, last year was Year of the Snake, and so we did kind of a play on, we always do a play on the kind of like the lunar series, and we call it Year of the Nope Rope. This is a rope you don't want to grab and swing on. And uh our San Andreas Maduro version actually was voted number five of the year from our entire audience. So we do have to do Lancer Lancero.

SPEAKER_03 35:32

We do, we do. It's it's we're turning the turning the end a little bit.

SPEAKER_00 35:36

That's right. There Lancero lovers are everywhere. It's true, it's true. Like it, I feel like it used to be where some people would say, oh, uh, it's not that's not like a real cigar, or I've even heard some people say, Oh, that's that's only something that women will smoke because it looks more like elegant or something. But I'm like, I'm like, no, it's it's a it's a it's a fantastic cigar. You're getting a unique smoking experience. Forget about the you know the the looks of it, forget about you know your uh your preconceived notions about what a cigar should or shouldn't be. It's it's actually much more difficult to roll a with good construction a Lancero than a Toro, for example. So it's actually it's actually a testament to how well the factory is doing uh with their quality control and how skilled the rollers are. So if you if you smoke a Lancero that that burns well, you know, that smokes well all the way through, then that's a pretty rock star factory. Yeah, um and so I I think it's important to have to have at least one in your lineup. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 36:45

Well, and the Lotus, I like the draw was incredible because a lot of the time the tricky part is like, is it gonna be like too tight of a draw? Right. And it was it was a great the construction was incredible. So thank you, thank you, thank you.

SPEAKER_01 36:59

I appreciate it. Curtis is saying uh regarding Lanceros, it's a select group translates to the best group. Exactly. Um we did have a question about uh one of your limiteds that we just brought in, and I want to pull up this comment here from Daniel. He's saying the Jag wire, which was named after your grandparents' car, correct?

SPEAKER_00 37:22

Yeah, so it's it's a it's a memory, it's a memory of mine. You know, my my my grandmother, she used to have this this old school jag, and she would drive me to school, pick me up, you know, when I was when I was a little kid. And sometimes when my my my grandfather would be in the car as well, it had that old um the cigarette lighter that you that you that you push and the coils get hot.

SPEAKER_04 37:49

Yep, yep.

SPEAKER_00 37:50

And and I remember him lighting up a cigar using that because he didn't have a he was looking for a lighter, he didn't have a lighter on him, and he used that to light to light up the light up his cigar. So I was you know, I thought I thought about that car and I was like, you know what? The Jaguar.

SPEAKER_02 38:05

That's great.

SPEAKER_00 38:06

Nice.

SPEAKER_01 38:07

Well, and I I okay, so we gotta talk a little bit about Sumatra because it seems like you have a passion for it. We released a Sumatra uh with our membership uh earlier this year, which was year of the naysayer instead of year of the horse. Um, people loved it. Sumatra to me is one of those diverse tobaccos that you can have such like polarizing different experiences with, even though it's under a Sumatra wrapper. Um, so you have you have Jaguar and you also have uh Solstice, two very different experiences, both limited production. Um so where did this this uh idea of using Sumatra more come from?

SPEAKER_00 38:46

This was something that that came about more that was more on a personal level. Like I Sumatra is my is hands down, is my favorite rapper. Um just the flavor profile on a Sumatra, it's just it's it's for me. It's for me. I love it. Okay, I love it. Um, and so it was one of the it was one of the last rappers I actually had in the lineup. Um I feel like it's not that it's uncommon because it's that's not true, but it's it's less common. Yeah. Um, you know, yeah, but but once, you know, once I started mess, you know, blending with Sumatra and messing around with you know different combinations, I was like, wow, like this this rapper really just it it's saying to me. It's saying to me, I you know, I I needed it. So um that was the that was the inspiration for for the solstice, and I wanted to make it you know a really a really special blend. Um, and then same thing for the Jaguar. And I've actually sneak peek, I've got uh I've got a new S tier product that is that will be a Sumatra coming out soon. Nice, nice. Uh it's not it's not a tin, it's not a tin either. It's a box, it's a box.

SPEAKER_01 40:01

Nice.

SPEAKER_00 40:02

But but yeah, I personally's a personal to answer. Long story short, I I personally love Sumatra, so that's why I had to incorporate it.

SPEAKER_01 40:10

Nice, nice. Well, and the thing about the the solstice, so we're I mean, it landed here at OGT uh not not too long ago, and I lit it up immediately at the gate. I'm like, okay, this is one I actually haven't tried. I gotta smoke this. Solstice, I I don't know how other to describe this cigar in terms of sensation-wise on the palate, but it's like a juicy cigar. It's weird, it's like it causes you to salivate. It's while a lot of Sumatras out there are either just kind of like smooth, mild, or like really pepper forward, it just has this like I don't know, search for the right words, uncuous flavor profile that is just insane that I've never experienced on a cigar before. And it's so unique for anyone out for any of our audience members watching. If you're a fan of Sumatra, don't pass on the Jaguar and Solstice. As I understand Solstice Solstice, there was only 1,000 boxes made.

SPEAKER_00 41:00

Yep. Okay, okay. Only a thousand and and uh Jaguar, there was 1,500 made. Okay. Oh wow. Yep. Yeah, yeah. They're I I wanted I wanted to keep them to keep them limited and and and special because to me, to me, that's that's exactly that's exactly what they what they were. That's exactly what you know, that's exactly what they are. The the the tobacco the tobacco in there is is not easy to get.

SPEAKER_01 41:30

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 41:31

Okay. And the blend is it sat for three, it sat for three and a half years in the in in the factory. Wow. So so these so so these were these were made off the jump, yeah, and and they they sat, and I just I think that's I think that's why the flavor profile is is so unique. And and even like I don't know if you if you saw Cigar Dojo uh rated our our solstice, the under the radar cigar of the year. I did see that, yeah. Which which was which was really cool because at the time we're still a smaller, you know, still a smaller company, and it just I feel like it that was that was a testament to how good the blend was. Like, yes, like they they they came by the PCA booth sample, and that was it. That was it. They had to write about it. So it was it was cool. That's that's really cool.

SPEAKER_03 42:23

That's exciting. That's so cool.

SPEAKER_01 42:25

So we got a good question here that I would like if you can uh answer. Uh was it F E D R saying uh which El Mago should be my first? I'm gravitating towards medium-bodied cigars these days.

SPEAKER_00 42:39

Okay, uh medium. If you say medium body, I would point you to either the Miami Art Deco edition, Habano, or the Miami Maduro, uh, right off the bat. So it's it just depends. If you if you want a Habano, go with the Art Deco edition. If you want a Maduro, go with the Miami Maduro. If you want a wild card, a very complex blend that is a medium body and is I call it as our our dark horse. Um it's the it's the only it's the only blend we have that's not in a tube. That's why I call it the dark horse, because it's it's not as recognizable, but it's but it's amazing. I think one of one of the listeners mentioned it before, it's called the Mystico. That's also uh a medium body blend. That's our cameroon wrapper.

SPEAKER_01 43:25

Okay, okay. Yeah, well, I mean, I think the obvious choice then, if you want to try some medium, don't choose between the Habano and Maduro, just try them both. Yeah, get a get a better idea of which one you can do. There you go. There you go, exactly. Uh we've got uh so uh Stumptown Writers wondering um, is the Lancero in the sampler? It's not uh due to I suppose we should have picked up more at PCA. It was told you yeah, yeah. We had gone we had gone a bit stronger in the other on the other skews, but I want to talk lastly about my personal favorite in. the portfolio this is the one that we i mean we were smoking through samples and when i lit this one up it's what i'm smoking tonight i'm like yep this is the brand like it's incredible and that's the renegade i i so i remember i remember get wasn't that wasn't that the sample that i gave to you at the booth at pca yes yes yes yeah so when yeah when you when you described what you liked i was like yep this is the one for you so renegade san and dress maduro um full body it's our it's our most it's our most full body maduro that we have and um i don't i don't feel like we go over the top with strength where we're just where we're trying to absolutely knock your teeth out um but it is it is the most full body maduro that we that we offer um bold flavor you still get a lot of sweetness i think um actually you tell me tell me tell tell me what how how your experience smoking the smoking the renegade is so i personally um you definitely get sweetness but that's balanced under when you light it up for me you have that i i'm kind of a big on pepper up front and i know a lot of people when they're blending they put the tip of the the tobacco at the beginning so you kind of get that burst um but you get that pepper like element through the retrohale you get some really good deep earthiness and the sweetness on the back end but I would also say like kind of like an oakiness like a charred oakiness going through it as well um it's very rich on the palate the smoke itself is is thicker like the body itself is thicker and so it just it basically envelops the entire palette and with those layers of spicy and sweet and pepper um it's a perfect balance it's harmony that's awesome thank you thank you i think i think the oakiness is we because for the binder we use wrapper grade abano so i think okay i think i think that's a nice i don't know that that that mixes really well with uh with the san andrés and then and then of course you know our nicaraguan filler which which the fillers that we use uh you know I would say 85 90 of the time are either from esteli viso alap condega combination of those we're now starting to grow in ometepe i was just about to ask okay yeah so that's gonna that will be incorporated more we have used ometepe in the past that is in some of our blends um and then and then we also uh we also do work with some with some dominican tobacco that's that's like a um uh I guess we can call it the uh what the like the cherry on top for you know for the for the filler like it's like a little a little dash a little a little a little added added flair that that we that we have in there okay okay yeah yeah yeah and even in that blend as you're saying uh wrapper grade Habano I mean that to me is a really good testament to the art of your guys' cigar making and not just kind of you know trying to I don't want to use the word get by but in terms of like using your best quality in terms wrapper grade is not cheap so it's it's cool to to hear that I didn't even actually know that about the Habano binder so you talked a lot about like how you like really love Sumatra but is there a specific like tasting note that you aim for or that you were excited to find in a blend it's really hard it's really hard to say if that's something that I can just put my finger on or if it's or if it's something that it's more of like a uh a a fully enveloped you know taste.

SPEAKER_00 47:39

Um I mean for me for me like for me if I if I had to if I had to pinpoint what I personally like in a in a blend or a a certain flavor profile that I like it's it's like a it's like a I I would I would describe it as like a creamy sweetness.

SPEAKER_02 48:00

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 48:01

Okay and and not and not uh you know not sweet like sugar sure but it's it's it's not as it's not obviously it's not that intense of a s of a sweetness it's it's a little it's a little bit more dull of a sweetness and for and for me like what what pops in my mind is I like to drink tequila I like to drink like uh you know like like good sipping tequila sure uh that doesn't have any mixers or anything like that the that that sweetness that you get from the agave and the tequila it it kind of it kind of resembles it to where it's not like ooh like it's so sweet. Yeah but it's like yeah yeah but it's there and then what I personally don't uh love is is pepper is a ton of pepper. Okay. For me I'm I'm much more of a spice guy than over a pepper guy.

unknown 48:58

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 48:58

Um because for some reason I feel like uh just the way my palate is when I get too much pepper I immediately just think bitter like just bitter all the way that makes sense so I I do notice more like kind of like baking spice or like if if pepper maybe something more like cayenne than like a intense black pepper uh at least from the blends the other thing we noticed a little bit is there's like a really really subtle citrusiness to some of the which I I really enjoy because it's bright and it's fresh and you don't feel like your palate is just being like assaulted you know um definitely in the the Connecticut I was like smoking I was like there is a distinct citrus note going on in this cigar and it's really nice. Yeah without being accurate or sour or anything it's just light.

SPEAKER_00 49:49

Actually I got so I got a I got a message like two days ago from a customer who just want just reached out enjoyed the Oyama Omen uh the number one release of our tin series and he and he was saying how he tasted dark chocolate and orange peel. Okay okay I was like I was like I was like wow I was like so I I I I sat back and and and you know I smoked one and I was like hmm I was like because the orange peel right off the right off the bat I was like that's very interesting like something kind of clicked in my mind um but when I was smoking it I didn't put my finger on it at the exact time um and once he said that I don't know if sometimes the sometimes the power of suggestion is real even even for even for blenders. Yeah but I thought so I was like I smoked and I was like is it just a suggestion and I lit up another one I was like you know what no like I I actually get that like I get that in there yeah that's awesome so it is that and that is some of the great things about like and I did and I did you know I did say earlier like I don't like to be suggestive to people but if you're if you're with a group of friends and you're smoking and you're like bouncing you know notes off of each other you're sharing what you think it can be something really like productive and you almost like learn more about the blend when you when you go through and do it.

SPEAKER_03 51:13

No absolutely that's what we loved about doing like tasting nights or even about doing the podcast is just like hearing what people are getting off of the same cigar when we smoke it all together. It's like it's really cool.

SPEAKER_01 51:24

Yeah yeah no it's it's really cool and that's part of the experience all altogether um and so I know we've talked a lot about blends and such last thing I want to mention is what you were really showcasing at the PCA trade show which maybe a lot of people are unaware of uh and that is you've got not one new cigar coming out but you've got four new cigars coming out um so can you tell us a little bit about that so the the new blends the new additions to the core line is the James Avenue which was named after the James Hotel my grandfather's hotel uh which it sits on James Avenue um and the hotel is or you know the the the hotel and the design on the box it's it's that same art deco you know that Miami art deco style and colors and that was that was my inspiration for the name and the packaging and the four blends that we're coming out with uh it's Connecticut Habano Maduro Sumatra um and so I wanted a nice you know a nice range uh but we kept to our uh our um our usual our usual program when we when we release a new blend which is one size one and one and one size only and it's and it's it's usually we mess around with different sizes and we you know we're we we we taste the blend and different vitolas and and whichever one kind of strikes as the most prominent uh in terms of flavor profile that's the that's the one that we go with um and so this is a six by 54 box pressed uh Connecticut Habano Maduro Sumatra um and these are very bold i i'll i'll i'll say that these are these are very bold blends um for someone who likes a nick a nicaraguan cigar nicaraguan tobacco you're gonna get you're getting you're getting all of that and more um so you know these are this is our own binders fillers that would that we grow that we've aged uh so there's so there's a good there's good strength to them and and and like you guys mentioned before it's not the kind that assaults your mouth you know like it's it's there but it's but it's blended well well rounded and I think people are really going to enjoy these nice nice and when do you uh expect those to uh become available they'll be shipping in in roughly a month um I'll I'll put it at you know three to five weeks somewhere in that range yeah okay I mean and it's it's the cigar industry and so these things can't be rushed I make the joke too uh with some of the other people that we've worked with in the past done multiple projects on it's like all right uh so this will be slated for June and we'll be like so we'll get it in August just just because that's I mean packaging and all all the other stuff it's just you can't rush it you can't rush it and it's and and it's I mean it really is a process like these these blends were were tested and tweaked and ultimately created in February of 2025.

SPEAKER_03 54:38

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 54:38

Wow okay so so you know what that's another thing like like you well you always gotta think ahead because because again things you know things take time it's a natural process it's not uh you know we're not we're not making a a a plastic toy here there's no right right there's no conveyor belt there's no machines you know so it's it's you gotta let it you gotta let nature and time do its do its stuff.

SPEAKER_03 55:02

Right right definitely well it's something to look forward to though yes month or so.

SPEAKER_01 55:09

Which is which is really cool. Uh Chip has got uh an interesting comment here saying Mallory has the power of suggestion whenever that's flavor because I'm aggressive and uh yeah uh Curtis is agreeing with you.

SPEAKER_03 55:22

Curtis said something up there above too he says sometimes I find that just hearing someone mention a note will help you identify what you're tasting but can't put a name to I think too because sometimes people do something really specific like it's like it's not just like bready or it's like oh it is specifically the edge of a cinnamon roll well like I I really enjoy that level of specificity because it's like it is it is a little this is like the edge of a cinnamon roll and now I can't untaste it I guess unsee it but you know yeah um but yeah it's really it's really fun that way but yeah and and so my one of my mentors his name is Mario Palacios he's he's been in the industry for I would say 35 years and no one no one explains the note tasting process better than him like that I've that I've met he's almost like he's almost like uh he's so passionate about it that it's almost like he's like romantic about it.

SPEAKER_00 56:27

It's it's kind of it's kind of funny. So he said that it's a very uh like believe it or not it's a very emotional experience when you're when you're tasting a cigar because what it does is when especially when you and especially when you retrohale a cigar it it goes through a lot of your senses and and and and more than more than you more than you think and it triggers memories and so so sometimes when you taste a note a memory will will connect what you're tasting to like bingo it's it's it's this you know it's this is what I'm getting so it's it's actually it I actually I thought about that you know I thought about that a lot and I was like you know it's it's it sounds pretty out there right from the beginning but it's true but it's really true. It's a like olfactory like yeah it's insane and and that's why and that's why like a lot of people when they when they develop a a a love for a cigar right like oh this is my favorite cigar usually it's when they're in a setting that that they that they love that it's a great memory right yeah it's not it's usually never like like I had a horrible day it was like one of the worst days of my life and I just I smoked a cigar to try to get through the rest of the night it's usually not like that. It's usually like something something great you know something great happened or memorable and and a cigar was involved.

SPEAKER_01 58:03

Yeah well and and to your point I think that some cigars that are not suited to people's palates will have it associated with something negative. They're like yeah it's like it it's uh I think it's funny because at the beginning Mallory mentions like the flavor note of grandma's basement uh this is not just grandma's basement but Great Aunt Sarah's basement in Ohio during summer of 1987 and not to say that's a bad memory but it's funny it is you are calling on your old factory in terms of what that reminds you of and for some reason Somaliers in the wine industry are greatly respected for it. People in the talking about tennis balls and garden hose grass and yeah yeah but then cigar smokers oh get out of here you're not tasting that I'm like hmm I don't know I sense a double standard here it's we always talk about barnyard funk yeah and like how you're like you'll be like oh I like that and I'm like I don't but I grew up on a farm and that's probably why but that's true like flavor note of like like a barnyardy I'm like oh I've had cigars in the past that are barnyard forward and I loved them so I'm like sometimes I like and I'm like I've lived in a barnyard before and I didn't super enjoy that and that's so true and I could tell you like people who have not gone to Nicaragua or or you know anywhere where there's a where there's a factory and they haven't they haven't you know walked in and smelled it usually those people will be like tastes like farm or it tastes you know yeah they they won't they won't really I don't think I think probably the right word is appreciate it and then once you do experience what it's like to go to a factory and smell you know smell what it's like see all the pilons of tobacco yeah you know go in the the aging room go in the ammonia room all that stuff you like these smells they become more familiar and connected to a memory and then it's like that's where this comes from like you know the roots you know the roots of the cigar yeah yeah yeah yeah the craziest flavor note I probably ever got and I actually got laughed at in my own brick and mortar shop for it is we're doing a cold draw and I was like that's weird and the like customers like what and I was like this cold draw flavor is squirt gun water and they're like what are you talking about? I'm like do you remember like when you're like seven or eight and it's like a hot summer and you're like playing squirt guns with your brother your friends and then it's you don't want to go inside for a glass of water and so you just use the water in your squirt gun. I'm like that's what this is oh my god for grandma's basement but squirt gun water we got a good one from Daniel Frazier right here he says uh you know that smell of the earth after a first rain after a long dry hot week love it isn't that called uh petrichor I believe it is I would like a cigar that tastes like petrichor that would be pretty cigar yeah there you go someone's got to do it yeah huh that's that's that's pretty good that's pretty good that I I don't I don't know how I would feel if someone's like this cigar tastes like squirt gun water right I would be like okay now needless to say that brand uh which will remain nameless that was a test blend I went through and I was like yeah I'm not about this so oh okay so so it wasn't a good thing it definitely wasn't a good thing not so much not so much um okay so we're coming to the end here it is time that we call our raffle um we are actually out of samplers so there's no last minute jump on uh they're gone so thank you guys so much for jumping in on that we got some amazing prizes also uh Shirley here not too long ago let me see can't seem to find it uh she had mentioned oh there you go stock alerts out of stock on Pepe uh that problem will be resolved very soon uh I gotta get on the horn with Nick and talk to him about it but we'll get that figured out so um but thank you guys so much it is time to then raffle off the three prizes so as mentioned before we have our El Mago ashtray our Alakazam three pack and then an espresso maker from El Mago uh Nick which do you think we should uh raffle off first let's go with the Alakazam three pack okay so this is for the Alakazam three pack I'm gonna go ahead and pull this up right real quick everyone on a random Google generator and here we go lucky winner for a three pack Habano Churchill is gonna be Jacob Russell Jacob Russell congratulations congrats awesome congratulations all right uh what do you want to do next uh espresso maker all right espresso maker here we go this up there we go all right so for elmago espresso maker we got Mr. Frazier it looks like Daniel Frazier congratulations for sending that your way okay and then last one we have is the Elmago ashtray so here we go final one for the ashtray which is really beautiful by the way orange I mean sorry uh red ashtray rightfully so Daniel Folham the man who kept giving shout outs to El Mago wins the ashtray sent to you I promise that wasn't rigged no uh both Daniels Jacob Russell congratulations guys that will be sent your way uh thank you so much for all the love showing OGT and El Mago cigars you guys will not be disappointed um keep your eye out because not only amazing core line but as you had mentioned uh Nick your S tier limited stuff coming out I think we've got like one or two tins maybe of Mr. Alman left uh and then that's it but um I just I love the graphic design I love the concept of the tins the tubes uh so much of this is I was like man why haven't other companies done this before like this is such a great idea so I love it thank you thank you and we'll we'll work on the we'll work on the on the allocation so you don't run out so fast it looks like it looks like you're you're you're out of everything pretty much pretty much hey that's what we plan the podcast for tonight and not next week because we might have been in trouble but yeah uh and if you have the opportunity guys don't don't miss out on Jaguar Solstice amazing Sumatras uh I think we've got a few of those left so check those out um but Nick it's been an absolute pleasure um it's been awesome hanging out with you again talking with you and uh enjoying El Mago it's great stuff keep it up thank you thank you so much thank you for the support thank you for having me on it was a great time and thank you everyone who tuned in and listened and is supporting the brand I appreciate it definitely all right guys well thank you for joining us this Thursday night we'll see you uh next week for another uh live episode