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OGT Cigars Live Podcast
"Understanding Connecticut Tobacco Feat. Daniel Lance Of Domain Cigars." Ep. 41 7/4/26
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This episode is an education. An expedition into understanding Connecticut seed tobacco like never before! Listen in with our special guest, Daniel Lance of Domain Cigars, who joins us on the show to talk about cigar making in Nicaragua, fermentation of the leaf, and his newest cigar, Domain Attenuation Connecticut.
Domain Cigars LINK: https://oakglentobacconist.com/product-category/domain-cigars/
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 craft I love. Learning never stops. And I invite you to follow in our cigar journey.
SPEAKER_03I'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.
SPEAKER_05What do you do when you are a cigar shop in North Carolina and your UPS driver is awesome? You meet him when a big order is coming through. I can't really say exactly what this is yet, but I will say it is a project that we've been working on for some time, and I was so excited I actually had to drive out of the office and meet our UPS driver to pick it up. It is now safe, it is now secure, and I have been waiting. This kind of even dates back to prior to the move, before we left from California to North Carolina. And I've been waiting and it's finally secured, so I'm so happy, super excited. As I say, a little informal of a video, but this is an upcoming project we got coming. You know it already. It's coming for the OGT Cigar Society. Also, we're gonna let it age, it's gonna mature. This is with a manufacturer we haven't been able to work with on a custom blend yet, and now that it's happening. So shout out to our UPS driver. Like I said, this is just one of those things that I was too excited to wait for it to show up. I had to meet our driver, had to pick it up and secure it so it can start aging in the humidor. Shout out to this project right here and the all the members and the society. We got something really special coming. Hello, everybody, and welcome back to again another episode of OGT Cigars Live, coming to you from the East Coast, North Carolina. Very hot, hot East Coast right now.
SPEAKER_03It is very hot. Hello, hello.
SPEAKER_05Very warm. I am Eric Drazen from OGT Cigars, and joining me tonight, you as usual, my co-host, my beautiful wife, Mallory.
SPEAKER_03Hi.
SPEAKER_05We have a very special show tonight. Really excited. And uh, as I will also encourage you guys, if you have the opportunity, drop down your comments. What are you smoking tonight? What are you enjoying tonight? Because the show is always that much more engaging when you do just that. Engage in the show.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_05And as usual, uh, when we have a really awesome guest on, uh, it is also the opportune time to ask questions, learn more about the tobacco experience, uh, the manufacturing of uh some of our favorite brands, and what we will be talking about tonight. So looking forward to tonight's show. Drop those comments down, let us know what you are smoking tonight uh and what you are enjoying. With that said, um, I think we should probably jump into what we are smoking tonight.
SPEAKER_03Yes.
SPEAKER_05So if you are unaware, which I certainly hope you are aware, but if you are unaware, we uh we are uh featuring a brand new cigar from Domain Cigars, and that is the attenuation, which is the Connecticut.
SPEAKER_03Sorry, just a second. We're uh having uh I'm very excited to smoke this tonight. Uh we were having a moment of technical difficulty, and we will be back with you in just a moment. Sorry.
SPEAKER_05So sorry about that, guys. We had a short uh audio situation. Attenuation is the brand new release from Domain Cigars. Now uh we have it in two sizes the uh bellicoso and the toro. And I'm really excited about the show tonight because there's a lot going on with this Connecticut that I feel like I'm not necessarily qualified to explain as well, and that's why our guest is gonna come in super crucial tonight.
SPEAKER_03We're very excited to hear about it.
SPEAKER_05So um for this evening to make it very special, for you have the opportunity to pick it up. We have put together a raffle sampler that has three of the new attenuation Connecticut, and then each of the other blends, uh, and then also two other factory blends that come from the domain factory. And what happens is when you pick up this raffle sampler, you're getting the best possible deal on it, as well as you will be entered into our raffle in which we will be raffling off three different prizes. We have a mystery three-pack and a bit of swag. We have a jetline V Cutter, which is an amazing V-cutter. Uh, I believe it's like valued around $60. And then we have my favorite, a five-pack of the new attenuation. Now, if you guys have been following OGT for a while, Domain joined the crew before we moved. We brought them into the humidor. Uh, and since the beginning, we have just been so impressed with our lineup.
SPEAKER_03Yes, absolutely. Yeah, it was uh 2025 PCA, right? You were like, I'm gonna we have to go see.
SPEAKER_05Yes, we were like, there's one new brand on the radar, and Domain Cigars was it.
SPEAKER_03And I mean, we're a small company, so it tends to be like there's always about one per PCA that we're like, we're going to try something new. And this has just absolutely been amazing.
SPEAKER_05Yes, so exciting. So, as we normally do on this show, uh, we're gonna light up the attenuation, we're gonna give you first impressions, and then we're gonna hear from the gentleman himself behind the blend. So uh let's let's get this uh cut and lit and see where it starts. 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. Sorry, I'm a right out the gate, I will say for you guys who know me who have been watching the show for a while, Connecticut is not always the blend that I normally go to. But there is a handful of Connecticut cigars out there that I really feel like raise the bar in terms of the blend, in terms of flavor, in terms of uh profile, and I have to say this is one of them. I have been smoking these non-stop. When it comes to the flavor, it is it is exceptional.
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_05It's really, really good. I I have like when this came on scene, I was like, I have found the new favorite coffee pairing start of the day cigar in this attenuation. But there's a lot going on with this of what makes it so special, and that's what we're gonna dive in tonight. Um, I think this is like the first time you've smoked through the one.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Sorry, I'm still a little behind you on getting everything lit up and stuff.
SPEAKER_05So there's there's a good amount of sweetness, honey nut Cheerios, uh, a little bit of uh like almost like custard like consistency to it, and then a hint of the pepper spice on the retrohale.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, there's a definitely creaminess to that the smoke quality too.
SPEAKER_05So silky, it's it's a beautiful cigar. So let's pull up a few comments and then have our guests jump on. We got Daniel Frazier.
SPEAKER_03Um says caught a cold, and so I will be sleeping this one. Oh, I'm so sorry. Uh sorry to hear that, man. Can't wait to try the attenuation when I get better, pairing my pillow with Vic's Vapo Rub. You cannot beat Vicks. So that's right. I hope that you feel better very soon, Daniel. I'm so sorry.
SPEAKER_05100%. I certainly hope you feel better, especially for this weekend. Um, and definitely like rest up the palate so that you can enjoy this on a fresh palette for sure. Raider Dave is on tonight as well.
SPEAKER_03Good evening, Eric and Mallory. I took a look in the humidor, and unfortunately, I'm all out of domain cigars, so I decided to light up the Onyx night, had one last night, and it blew me away. So I'm glad you're excited. Nice.
SPEAKER_05I'm glad you like it. I've I've had a number of people reach out, and we showed that reel in the beginning. Um, but a number of people reach out saying that the Onyx Knight is their favorite of the three. I I cannot wait. There's so many secret like drops coming up for the society.
SPEAKER_03I definitely think that the big year for the society is gonna be big. Overwhelming.
SPEAKER_05Yes, which super excited for. Yeah. Uh faceless orchestra.
SPEAKER_03Having an onyx night this evening, pairing with Mr. Pibb and George Dickel. Dicko, Dickle. My beautiful wife is joining me. Hello, Facelic Orchestra's beautiful wife. So glad to have you here.
SPEAKER_05Awesome. Well, Raider Dave, in response to not having any domain cigars, this is the night. This is your lucky night. Because you're not only like restocking, you're also getting the brand new release continuation. So Raider Dave and that prize is pretty exciting.
SPEAKER_03Yes.
SPEAKER_05Jump in on this and we will put you on the list for the raffle ticket. But now it's time to learn why this cigar, this Connecticut, is so different and so outstanding compared to others. So please help me welcome back to the show, I think for the third time, Daniel Lance of Domain Cigars. How's it going, man?
SPEAKER_01Thanks for coming on.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, thanks for having me. Really appreciate it. I'm excited to get to chat with you all again. No, definitely.
SPEAKER_05I look forward to it every time. Uh because everyone watching, buckle up. It is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to behind the scenes and the process. I mean, you're actually in a cigar factory as we speak. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03I think it's really a first for us on the podcast here, actually.
SPEAKER_00It's it's it's usually a first uh for many people. You know, you have to come down to Nicaragua and you know hang out in a cigar factory. It's uh, you know, it's an infectious thing to be around because there's so many in this factory. I'm coming to you from Esteli, Nicaragua, and right here in the heart of Cigar Country. And right behind me is where these cigars that you enjoy from Domain Cigars and all of our customer cigars and pariah cigars and so on get made right here. So uh very talented, dedicated people that uh are very passionate about what they do. Many of them have been doing it for decades on their own, uh, working for other factories. Of course, our factory has only been around since uh 2022, conceptualized on paper and 23. So uh yeah, uh really, really happy to be here and get to you know show off uh what I'm learning about tobacco. That's uh it's it's it's a I always say it's a lifetime sport. So it's always always always always fun to get to uh get to share more things whenever I meet with the folks like like yourself on podcasts.
SPEAKER_05Well, and I always look forward to it again because of the education when it comes to the tobacco process and fermentation, especially. You guys uh really put a focus on fermentation, how it's different with your guys' brand, which I really appreciate. Um, but last time we saw you in person would be PCA trade show. Um, so how did the trade show go for you overall? Like uh how was that experience, especially with the launch of a new line in your brand?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah. Well, let me get to that in just one moment because before Daniel logs out, because I I heard he was sick, I also have a sinus infection right now, and he mentioned VIX. And I don't know if we have these in the United States. Have you ever seen these? It's made by VIX, and you you smell this thing, and it's made by them, and it is it it'll open you up.
SPEAKER_04That's amazing.
SPEAKER_00It is it is it's made by VIX, but whenever you open it, it pills the label off. But it's just a little it's a little VIX in Heller thing. Uh, but yeah, I have a sinus infection right now, so uh I've been uh sorry, yeah. A little under the weather, but I'm really happy to get to to chat with you all. And um trade show is the first time we had uh not only a new brand, because we also launched uh Pariah, which is here um over my shoulder. We launched Pariah as a new brand. Uh we launched uh several new products. Attenuation was the first time that we had a new product at the show, frankly, because um the first year that we met, we had uh Entropy there, and Entropy had actually launched in Q4 the prior year. So uh so it already already kind of had some legs under it. Yeah. Um but yeah, it was it was a great show. It was a it was a it was a really busy show. Um I was impressed that New Orleans kept you know the tempo because the prior year in New Orleans was incredible. Uh this last year in New Orleans this year was was great. Um so you know, I'll be I'll be interested to see what how and you know how and what nature Vegas performs because you know I feel like I feel like there's a lot more shiny bells and whistles to get distracted with in Vegas. And so uh so people uh you know people are breaking the budget on much larger things. Yeah, New Orleans costs the same amount of money though, because what what happens is is you know, like you go to all the nice restaurants that are on your list. You go to right, you go see everything that's on your list because it's all affordable, and then you get home and you're like, man, I spent some serious money. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Vegas is definitely a different vibe for BCA. We've been really we really enjoyed the the two-year break. Um to be in New Orleans because it I love it there. I've I've never been before last year, and I just had a blast. It was so amazing.
SPEAKER_00Um, I uh yeah, the the food's the food's great. I always compared it to this because I've been going my first show was in New Orleans. Uh so I've been going to the show for more than 10 years now, which is incredible. Uh, dates me a little bit, I guess. Um, but you know, I've been in I've been in cigars since I was 18, so not really, but you know, so so uh uh because back then you could smoke at 18, you know.
SPEAKER_03Back in my day, that was crazy when that changed. I couldn't believe that.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Well, yeah, I mean it's it's it's questionable, uh certainly questionable, but you can go fight in a war, but you can't, you know, enjoy a cigar. It's crazy. But uh, but you know, the thing is with that, um Vegas always was kind of cliquish, you know. I always felt like it was clickish, like I always felt like I wasn't cool enough to like go to some of the events, you know. And if I feel that way, I know other people feel that way.
SPEAKER_01Sure. Right? Sure, sure.
SPEAKER_00Uh so so uh New Orleans to me always felt like a house party. Yeah, it just it just it just always felt like a house party. Like you're you're all over the city, you're running into cigar people everywhere. Um, you know, you're sitting down and smoking cigars with people that uh you either would never have the chance, like there's some Dominican cigar makers that you know I ran into at the show. There's another gentleman that owns a factory in the Dominican Republic, a a nice, you know, newer factory, and uh we bumped into each other at the show and you know, hit it off, had some good conversations. And so, you know, there's things like that that I think are really priceless about about the show. Uh I just don't feel that vibe in Vegas, but but maybe that's maybe that's maybe that's just me. I don't know. Uh but I you know, yeah.
SPEAKER_03Oh no, sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. Uh I was gonna say it's almost like you could stay up exactly as late in Vegas as you do in New Orleans, but there's the disorientation, I think, of like uh like the way that everything's you're inside a casino pretty much the whole time, so you have no idea what time it is. Um whereas New Orleans just feels like a very natural sort of organic progression through the night. So even if I stay up the same amount, I'm way less tired there than I was in Vegas. But yeah, I it's it does, it does feel a lot more familial or something.
SPEAKER_00It's true. When I when I when I stay up, because literally, I mean the the weeks leading up to the trade show, I get no sleep. The trade show I get no sleep, right? And so like when I'm in New Orleans and I stay up until 2 a.m. And you know, I'm I'm outside, you know, like I know it's late, I know I'm doing my body harm, you know what I mean? Just by not but not not by smoking, but I mean I'm doing my body harm because I'm not getting the rest I need. I'm not, you know what I mean? Um not you know, but you know, I try to mitigate as much of that as possible, even though like I'm the I'm the biggest uh you know, I'll go to sleep at 2 a.m. wake up at four and start working, you know, which is not a good idea. But you know, at our house, so what I do every year is we rent a big you know Airbnb and uh put everybody in it. That way we can all kind of pull resources, you know. Yeah, so in the in the morning, like I got hydration stations going, we got water out for everybody, I've got you know, um, you know, move free tab tablets, right?
SPEAKER_02Like uh MSM multivitamins, all this so and I'm and I'm like pushing it on my guys, you know.
SPEAKER_00I'm like, you gotta, you know, get get get some of those tablets in you, you know what I mean? Get one of those get one of those vitamin supplements. Uh because uh yeah, I mean you you're you're talking all day and you're just so energized, and then you get you get back to the house and you you know you're just exhausted, but you're so stimulated you can't you can't sleep, you know.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, so yeah, whatever goes up has to come down eventually.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, there's yeah, some guy was saying that, you know.
SPEAKER_05So uh yeah, and with the show came the inception of the new uh brand. Uh so for those joining us, uh the launch of attenuation happened at PCA, and that's the uh inside the sampler we were talking about. You had mentioned uh, and there's there's multiple things about this new Connecticut cigar that sets it apart, makes it different than maybe your average Connecticut. And we're not even talking like not your grandfather's Connecticut, because at some point everyone says that, so now no one has your grandfather's Connecticut, but um, this is more in the the wrapper, uh the fermentation, and also some of the uh proprietary tobaccos in the filler. So yeah, I remember you told me about it on the show floor. If you don't mind kind of walking us through what makes this wrapper leaf, this Connecticut wrapper leaf very unique.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so so the Kahuka is the name of the wrapper that we've used here. So Kahuka is uh actually the name of a farm and a manufacturing group. And uh it's it's spelled uh very unusual. It's uh C A J. You know, I should have just brought the box of Kahookah here to the table and we could unpack it together. That would have been a great idea. Yeah, I have one up front. Um, so so it's it's an amazing farm. They only have uh a thousand acres that they do every year. Uh so that it's somewhat limited uh in that regard. Uh Connecticut is a flu-cured tobacco. So, what that means is it is something called a Virginia Gold process, which you're not used to hearing cigar people talk about this. Uh, you're used to hearing cigar people tell you it's shade grown. It's not actually true. There's very, very little tobacco that's shade grown. Um, we shade grow to thin out the tobacco. Uh, we don't shade grow to make the tobacco lighter. Uh instead, that has to do with the curing process. And in the case of uh this Ecuador, Connecticut, which is a very beautiful, supple Connecticut, a lot of what makes a provider, a supreme provider, is the processing and how expeditiously fast they get that processing done. It comes right out of the field, goes directly into a flu curing process. Uh, and that flu curing process is actually how it turns out into that golden color that we're so used to uh with Connecticut. Now, what's really special about the heritage of this particular seed is this particular seed uh was originally Connecticut, the very same Connecticut that's grown today, Heritage Connecticut, which grows broadleaf and all that good stuff that people love. That's a little tweak in how they do the curing in the barns, where flu curing is dry heat that they're blowing across the leaves to dry it out, which helps to uh you know, really helps to thin it, but it also causes a lot of malic acid buildup in the leaf itself because the enzymic reaction is is uh is really um heavily damaged, in fact. So that's what keeps it from browning the same way. Now, uh a really good, beautiful Connecticut is almost going to have a yellow-orangish kind of hue to it. Uh, and that tells you how supple the leaves were as they were as they were going in. It you want it to have a lot, a lot of excess proteins on it. So it's a very thick leaf, and that's what's going to stimulate kind of that creamy background that we're used to on a on a Connecticut. Uh, but also uh Connecticut has quite a bit of sweetness to it, which people generally are so overcome with the amount of acid it has. Um you know, that's why there's different palettes, you know, different people. So some people eat air airheads and they they think they're sweet, and some people eat them and they think they're sour, right? Uh so it's it's kind of it's kind of that similar, that similar kind of uh background. So so so that's that's the the Kahookah wrapper. We select that Kahuka wrapper. There's really only a handful of people that are utilizing that at scale because you have to buy quite a bit of it at a time. Uh it's very, very sought after. Uh we hand select the bells that we use. Sorry, go ahead.
SPEAKER_05Oh, sorry, I was just gonna say, I mean, I it I that's uh something I was wondering about. When you said only a thousand acres, and this is not a limited product, this is a core line product. That's gotta have a lot of maneuvering and forward thinking and planning to make that consistent.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah. It's you know, it's it's really easy. The the money talks, uh, where basically you show up, you show up, you pay for it. But but the thing is, um, that is actually a big differentiation with Kahuka. So Kahuka is not only the highest quality, we believe, there's really there's you know, it's kind of like tobacco wrappers and like tobacco. You kind of start to compare it. It's like the fish market, you know, like the fresh fish market. You got all these different like species and varietals and all this kind of stuff. And then sometimes like there's outliers. Like there's one outlier at one other company that has a Connecticut that is gorgeous. But it's gorgeous like 5% of the time, right? Okay. Where this this is this is like yellowfin tuna, right? So everybody wants it. It's always expensive. It's always supple, but very few people have it, right? As far as as far as the wrapper is concerned. You just don't find it anywhere, and it's great, but you don't find it anywhere. So when it comes to the Kahookah, you know, per pound, I mean, you're you're looking at a surplus of almost a third more expensive per pound, right? Wow. Wow. So yeah. So it's not a small step. And and we're talking this basically the same processes, but enhanced, right? Basically the same delivery mechanism, but enhanced, right? Um, meaning they have to have all the same vertical stack that the guys down the street from them have, but they can't call a price, and we're talking, you know, uh tens of dollars more. They can't call that high of a price for their product because uh it just doesn't deliver as consistently, right? So um, so yeah, it's a it's a it's a really, really quite beautiful, quite beautiful wrapper. And I'm I was shocked how many people have never heard of Kahuka because because it is it is really king of the campus.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, I I hadn't either, which was really interesting. Um, and I think though it caught my attention when we were talking to you guys at the show. Um I think the tendency, especially with like Nicaraguan-based companies, and especially when you have a lineup like you or yours with Entropy and Neutron and Agentropy, all of which I would not say are mild cigars, more medium, medium, fuller strength. I think a lot of time people would assume, okay, so domain, who has these three core lines, when they come out with a Connecticut, they're probably gonna do that kind of like punch you in the face, strong Connecticut. While this I wouldn't say is crazy mild, but instead it felt like you leaned in more into the complexity and the uh quality far more than strength overall.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah. And and being able to deliver on that uh consistently. So the other the other element of this is um you know, we we didn't want to do a Connecticut that's um full body, we didn't want to make like a contrary in Connecticut, right? Which is so often what a company like us would be forced to do, right? Well, we gotta make it, you know, punch you in the face, Connecticut, and all this kind of stuff. But the but the thing is about that is the things that you don't like about uh Connecticut as a full-bodied smoker, as a broadleaf or a San Andreas or a Habano regular smoker, the Connecticut guys also don't like, right? They don't want the cigar to taste like malic acid continuously. They don't they don't want uh you know overly sour, overly hay. There's a couple of guys that lean into that, but um you know, but they probably put ketchup on their pizza. No offense if you do. It's just um but the thing is, um that's that's an inside joke, uh Anthony that works here in the factory, he always puts ketchup on his pizza.
SPEAKER_03Anyway, so I've heard of ranch on pizza. Ketchup on pizza is a new one. It feels it feels like a tomato redundancy.
SPEAKER_00I my my grandmother used to put uh you know, ranch dressing on ice cream. So I mean, you know, there's there's all there's all kinds of different strokes for different folks. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03I like peanut butter on hamburgers, so I guess I shouldn't.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Uh I actually like I I like that too. Uh but really um yeah, yeah, peanut butter on hamburgers is uh yeah, there's a there's a place there's a place in Kansas City that does this called Talk of the Town. It's great. The PB and J burgers. Anyway, so uh scars. So um this is fun because I haven't got to speak to Americans in a while uh in a casual context. So uh I've been down to Nicaragua for a minute. Um so attenuation, the other thing that kind of marks attenuation is that um attenuation is of course uh attenuating light through a substance, right? That's really referring to the wrapper in reference to its name. Uh, but it's also the first cigar we put on the market that has our Vanguard Aegis tobacco in it. And yes our Vanguard Aegis tobacco, you know, you have a seed heritage here on the wrapper that was a Connecticut uh broadleaf seed, hybridized uh Sumatra Indonesian uh in Ecuador. Uh that's what composes the wrapper. Now, when it comes to the filler, we wanted to make this cigar, of course, something that was approachable for people that smoke Connecticut every day, for people that casually smoke Connecticut. So we have a tobacco that we've been working on since uh 22, really 23 was the first uh crop year for it. Uh, and then 24 was whenever we announced it on our website, uh, which is uh TBFDSA.com for our factory. And this is a hybridization that we've done between uh Criollo 98, uh, which does not typically like to hybridize with uh Corojo 2012. Uh so it is dominant in its height of uh Corojo, meaning it does grow quite large. And if you follow me on Instagram or Facebook or anything like that, I'm regularly showing off these plants in the field. They're exceptional. Um the growth is absolutely exceptional. Uh the hybridization does require us to have a pilot crop and rehybridize every year. However, um hybridizing this with um uh Criollo 98 has given it this supple amount of depth uh to the leaf itself. Uh it's given it a rich spice, uh something that we actually have to tame oftentimes, and then other times we let that spice loose. So whenever we made this cigar, we blended it. I worked with Esteban and said, I want you to make this uh an absolute cream bomb. I want just nothing but cream, right? And that's where we started out as the inspiration. So go as hard into cream as as possible. And then what do you want to do with like cream? You know, think about yourself in the kitchen, you're making like a bechamel or something like that. You want to spice that. So you've got the onion, you've got the clove, you've got you know, star anzi, right? So you want to add those spice elements back in selectively. And I think that that's what we've been able to accomplish here, where we started with that uh cream base, and then we've put all of those elements in so that they're loud enough, uh, but they don't overpower the cigar. And it's so interesting because you see now that it's in the market and I'm seeing more and more people smoke it, I've noticed a tendency. Guys that are, you know, guys and gals that are regular uh Connecticut smokers, they're telling me this is a great, you know, light, medium Connecticut, you know, and then the people that are full-bodied smokers are like, ah, it's not your grandfather's Connecticut. You know, so like they're both falling, they're both they're both kind of like falling into each of their camps, right? Uh, which I would credit immensely to our Vanguard Aegis tobacco uh in the fillers. So um it is it is a full spectrum blend as well. So uh all the hero, viso, and secco. So nothing, nothing missed. Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. So a few things I want to touch on what you're you're mentioning. One is uh initially when we lit it up, uh, we were kind of talking a little bit about flavor notes, and it's not something I would say, yeah, this tastes like a custard, but as I in the beginning lighting up, I'm like, it's got this like custard-like type of like quality.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, there is a very creamy yeah, um not just in the taste, but in the texture too. Yes, like the texture of the smoke is very creamy. Um and yeah, I totally see what you're saying too, with that like little the little undertones of spice, you know, that like the depth and the complexity. Um really good. I almost get as you were talking about um kind of leaning away from some of the acidic stuff. If if I got anything acidic, it's like a little bit of orange, like a little, yeah, not yeah, not early candied orange or something.
SPEAKER_05Okay.
SPEAKER_03Um but not much. It's like very, very subtle.
SPEAKER_05And something we talk a lot about, at least on our other podcasts and such like that, is that me and a friend of mine uh who hosts another podcast, uh, we'll talk about like how the cigar will sometimes have like okay, some cocoa-y sweetness, some leather, and then like a bitter tone to a bitter note, but not in a bad way. It's a bitter that balances everything to a full spectrum. And I feel like with the creaminess of this cigar, as you're saying, also the acidity and a little bit, the spice notes that you meant. I like the concept of like the onion aspect of what that adds to something that you're making. It has those things and it really well rounds it out. Um, now you had said with this hybrid that you guys had developed uh several years ago, the the this is prepared prepar uh exclusively to you guys, and the name of it again was what?
SPEAKER_00Vanguard Aegis. So Vanguard Ages. Vanguard Ages, yeah. So it's it's uh tobacco for a new age, is basically what it would loosely loosely uh come out to. That's very uh yeah, it's so it's the first time that it's been brought out, um, but it wasn't like we developed it a long time ago. Uh this is the development cycle. So the development cycle is 18 to 36 months, you know.
SPEAKER_04Okay.
SPEAKER_00So you can you so this is really um you are tasting something that is first seed year, where we've not even named the seed year for Vanguard. So um, so it's a hybridized seed that over the next 10 years we're gonna continue to hybridize, continue to hybridize, and then when we market seed year from there, that would typically be the end of the hybridization for that. It will stand on its own, and then we will hybridize it with something else. So nice.
SPEAKER_03Wow.
SPEAKER_00So most most yeah, most all of your tobaccos have been at this point, um, you know, hybridized to some degree. Yeah. Where yeah, and human selection has a has a big a big play in that. Even with like this Connecticut, you know, uh, there are other lineages of Connecticut that did not get hybridized with Havana Blue, uh, did not get hybridized with Sumatra, or only got hybridized with Havana Blue, and never hit Sumatra. Uh and so those are those are all variables. Now, what's very fortunate for Kahuka was their hybridization happened almost a hundred years back. So it happened, it happened uh long enough ago at this point uh that their seed year is basically marked its own genetic characteristic, right?
SPEAKER_02Okay.
SPEAKER_00Um so so it it is kind of its own thing at this point. If we were to take those seeds from Kahuka and take them back to the United States and grow them, we would be probably decades away from being where we needed to be to produce the level of tobacco that they're that they're currently doing right now in Ecuador. So so it's it's it's quite a fascinating thing.
SPEAKER_05It's really fascinating because I feel like we talk a lot. I mean, you hear a lot about it in the cigar industry of like even you mentioned Criollo 98, uh Corojo 99, um Mexican San Andreas. You hear all these like tobacco types, and it's like, oh yeah, now there's this reputation of cigars that have has this tobacco in it that you now like know. Something like this is like history in the making because it's it's the start of it, the inception of it. It may, as you're saying, hybridize it even more and more refined. Um, but I think it's really cool because yeah, this is an experience so unique to this particular blend that this tobacco doesn't exist in other blends right now. And I I love that, I find it really fascinating.
SPEAKER_00And it's it is it is unique too, and uh that you know, like you you mentioned uh Croho uh 99, I believe, just a moment ago, and you know, you'll see very, very little of that in Nicaragua, uh, because there's there's a disease, there's a disease called uh I'm trying to think of how to say it in English, uh uh vigorosis, I think is uh how you would how you would say it. But uh basically it's it's a it's kind of a cellular cancer that the the plant gets and it causes the cells uh to kind of balloon. And so uh so it it has a really hard time growing, and you can't you can't really use it, you know. And so uh what's what's really interesting though is um the Corojo 2012 uh was a hybridization of that, right? Okay, so if we're if we're in a field with like 20,000 or so plants, right, we will still have like eight, 10 or 12 that have that genetic sequence, and they will still succumb to that disease here in Nicaragua.
SPEAKER_03Wow.
SPEAKER_00Um, so so it's um and and the and the tobaccos, I mean, they they taste so so different. I mean, we we've taken seeds, you know, from uh the Dominican Republic now, uh, from some incredible growers out there that we've that we've partnered with, and we've grown some of their projects on our farms. And uh when we do that, I mean it's it's so crazy because it is, you know, every for context, everything grows amazingly in Nicaragua. It's really, it's really hard. It's really hard not to grow something well in Nicaragua. I mean, you have aphids and you have diseases, sure, right? But the the soil is incredible, the land is incredible, the people are incredible, um, they really care about what they're doing. So it's hard to grow something bad. But but we take you know the Dominican seed and they get all the characteristics. And so the characteristics of a lot of the Dominican tobacco is like you get uh like Habano 98, right? Which is oftentimes uh a spare tobacco where they'll interchange uh Habano 98 with um uh Croho uh or something like that, right? Okay, uh well it'll be Habano 92 and then it'll be uh you know Coro well Criollo 98, they'll swap those in and out. And basically, um those those tobacco leaves, they're they're just shaped differently. They're like these spears, they're these really, really narrow spears, right? Um and I want you to pay attention to this. So anytime you're like if you come out to Nicaragua or the Dominican Republic, the shape of the leaves are actually different. And so out here in Nicaragua, um, our canopy is different, meaning, you know, the jungle around us is different, the sunlight is different, the cloud cover is different. And so over time, when we first plant those Dominican seeds, they will be pretty much identical on first harvest to the way that they would have grown in the Dominican Republic. And then you get two and three generations down the road, and they will widen out like a Dominican plant, right? So you see that adaptation when it's you can you can you can see it in really short order. So you you think about it, you you grow three crops of that seed, right? You take the niños or the seeds, right, the pods, and you and you regenerate it off of those over and over and over again. And by the time you get you know three years out, uh you've got you know six, seven, eight, nine generations in that one seed, and it will start growing, you know, fairly similar to how the Nicaraguan tobacco grows, uh, but it will succumb to all of the environmental protection that it doesn't have built-in immunity of, right? Okay, so so so it ends up working against you. So um, so this one project we're we're working with uh been growing this these projects and payback.
SPEAKER_03Sorry, we lost you there for one second. That was probably on us.
SPEAKER_05Sometimes our our internet is it's it's North Carolina to uh Nicaragua right now. So I'm I'm I'm pretty impressed with the connection as it is right now. So but yeah, no, we're back. Sorry about that.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so so a lot of a lot of times um, you know, when we're when we're working on this project, um we're really asking them, hey, continue to send seeds every single year, right? So that we have so that we have first year hybridization that we can grow all the time and uh kind of get a consistent marker for for that particular project. But we're you know, I really think um in the future it's it's not just going to be fermentation because you know we have our own processes around fermentation and our ideas of how fermentation should work, and we have our destiny process of fermentation, which is which is quite different how we handle the tobacco on the polls. But uh but I think it's also going to come down to uh hybridization, um having that um you know a unique supply of uh tobaccos that are not just well growing, but through the fermentation processes that we have, yeah, uh contribute, you know, namely to certain characteristics that we're looking for.
SPEAKER_05They they interact positively to that those processes.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah, exactly exactly. I think I think that's that's really gonna be where where we're gonna be going more in the future, which is uh frankly a luxury that most factories um or brands don't don't have, um, but they can have. I mean, we have many customers that that we work with, and uh we're always wanting to do more projects. So um, so you know, it would uh yeah, it's gonna it's gonna be interesting. And even you know, Hasley, um Esteban's youngest son, he's actually recently committed himself to horticulture. So he's actually now going to college for this. Um so I'm gonna be very, very excited uh to uh to get to work with him and ask him all kinds of annoying questions. So I'm still very much uh an apprentice of this stuff. You know, I sure I get to I get to work on all the elements of the stack at a you know mostly a 30,000 foot view because I have I have so much um so much to manage, but but it you know it really is one of these topics where you can just you can spend your whole life kind of uh diving in and out of these details. So it's a lot of fun.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, yeah. So um for those joining right now, we're talking about uh domain's newest release, which is the Attenuation Connecticut. It's what Mallory and I are smoking, um, kind of the process with that. Um, if you want to check out that cigar, I highly encourage you to check out a raffle sampler right now that we have going on at OGT Cigars. So this is a great way to experience it uh multiple times because it's one of the things towards like you try one one cigar once, but I really think you need to try it a few times. And so we have created like the best entry sampler we could think of to do domain, but as well as the new uh Connecticut cigar. And once you put yourself uh once you order that sampler, we'll put you in the raffle, which we'll be calling these three prizes at the end of the show. There's still a little bit of time, so make sure you check it out at OGT and we'll get you in on that raffle, but also just to secure a fantastic lineup. Yeah, domain's always been impressive. Um, and what one of the things I'm curious about as we're talking about this Connecticut using uh the Vanguard and uh this particular wrapper, what was in during this process, what was something more challenging in the creation and release of a Connecticut cigar that might have differed from the other blends that you had brought to the market?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, uh well, we're uh I kind of touched on this earlier. We're not supposed to really do Connecticut as these, you know, we we uh we we um built domain for the 5% of cigar smokers that are smoking every day, that are in the lounges every day, that are um you know, somewhat nerds, dare I say, about cigars and tobacco. Um and the thing about doing it, Connecticut is there's a lot of impressions of uh what and who Connecticut's are for. And I think so often we we forget that uh you know the majority of cigars on the market are actually still Connecticut. Um the majority of sales are actually still Connecticut. Um, you know, in this valley alone, out of Nicaragua, I think uh numbers have been thrown around that nearly, you know, 60, 70% of all cigars that are sold out of Nicaragua are Connecticut, uh, which is you know more than you know, 50% of um all cigars uh in the market, and more than 55 or so percent of the entire US market. Um so Connecticut is is a is a very dominant force. So so the challenging thing, I think, whenever you've built a brand around um the pursuit of great tobacco, uh the pursuit of uh you know a flavor experience, construction, um, you know, having the the level of commitment that that we have and that we built the entire stack to bring domain to market. Um it's certainly it certainly is almost like this uh tobacco that's um you know somewhat off limits, right? Where you know, like I have to release another Habano or I'm not a cool guy anymore, you know what I mean? Or something like that. Um but but I think I think that's that's where explaining Connecticut and I think um you know I'm I'm not I'm not here to hang anyone out to dry, but I I think it doesn't make sense why the Connecticut smokers don't know which Connecticut they're smoking. It doesn't make sense why you're right, why they they walk up to a shelf and sometimes their Connecticut looks like parchment paper and other times it looks like this and it's delicious looking and has that that sweet yellow corn kind of kind of look to it, right?
SPEAKER_05It's funny that you mentioned that 'cause it's something I mean I've never really considered myself because I think we always think of like because Connecticut first I think first come to mind is like, oh, that's a seed varietal. So it's a Connecticut, just like, oh, well, it's a San Andreas, or it's a broadleaf. Um but you're right, there are so many variations within that term Connecticut, and it's such an unexplored, even somewhat uneducated avenue about the cigar industry that there are actually, I mean, not all Connecticut are created equal.
SPEAKER_00Well, and that's yeah, that that's one of the most confusing things you really, really want to get uh spun out of shape on this, is most of it is Virginian. Uh so so yeah, so before before before it basically spent uh you know nearly a century in in uh Connecticut, in the Connecticut River Valley, most of this tobacco was originally a Virginian. Uh so it was basically bred out Rustica, very little to no rustica in it, and now today zero, really, uh, because it genetically never has any kind of reversion to that. But but yeah, I would I would say um you know there's that element and then shade, you know. That's why, you know, we we tend to call it Claro, you know, because uh because that's the the color, the color rating, the curing on it. Um, but that's that. I mean, yeah, it's it's it's something that you know not a lot of people have been well educated about. And um shade shade growing it, the only reason we shade grow is to thin the tobacco more. So when the tobacco is growing very thick, we shade grow it like a lens. We take the and when it when it when you go and buy shade from like the suppliers, it's like five percent, ten percent, fifteen percent, and it's all about how much you're indexing the shade down, you know. So it's it it it doesn't it doesn't actually translate to the cure.
SPEAKER_05And so that's actually a question I I I forgot to ask. When you had kind of got taking us through this process, you would say we actually shade grow it to thin out the tobacco. So, what is the advantages of a thinner tobacco on something like this? And is there a specific, as you're saying, gradients, is there a specific target you're trying to hit?
SPEAKER_00So, so uh yes, um you you do uh shade grow to thin out for wrapper. The other the other you know reason is vein separation. So if we take if we take um you know the the leaf of tobacco, you have the center stem, and then you have the veins that come off of that, right? You want to be able to put your finger and your thumb, you know, basically your pinky and your thumb between the actual veins. And every cigar, if you look at every cigar, we can go ahead and open this because I want to show you something in the side of this as well.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Um, but basically every cigar is going to have uh three uh different uh wraps, right? So you're always going around three times, right? So you're you should always see three leaves uh or sorry, three lines, horizontal lines on on the body of the cigar. And uh these are the shaggy bellicos here, his eminence, which is the spiritual leader to his excellency, which is a cigar that has done really, really fantastic for us. Thank you.
SPEAKER_05Um here, I'm gonna pull up that so people can see it closer.
SPEAKER_00There you go. Yeah, yeah. So so uh if you look at that cigar, uh follow the bottom line around, and you should see the horizontal line around. You should count one, two, and three uh down the cigar. So shade growing helps ensure that that vein separation is is about you know uh a knuckles width, you know, a fist width apart, which is perfect, right? That's optimal. Uh the closer that vein gets to each other, well, now you got filler. Because because uh if you wrap it around the cigar, you'll never get it to laminate smooth, such as this cigar here, right? So uh that's what really why you why you would want to do it. But there's a problem with that in Nicaragua. A big problem with it. So most of the time, whenever you see people shade growing here, they're gonna only shade grow to like 5%. They're barely gonna shade grow, and they're only looking for that vein separation because the tobacco already grows so thin here. That's why we deflower the tobacco so that it will thicken. Because the tobacco grows too thin as it is here. Um, but you go up, you go up to Connecticut, you go up to um Wisconsin, for example, they grow tobacco in Wisconsin. That tobacco grows. Oh, yeah, yeah. That was a big, a big growing area. Uh Ohio was a big uh cigar tobacco growing area. So um the thing about that is um you know the the tobacco grows so thick, so so thick, um, that they can they can top it. Um they they can even um leave the tops on uh and uh grow uh with the tops on without shade, and uh it will grow you know just just about perfect. Um so it's it's quite yeah, it's quite interesting, but um all all of your Connecticut broadleaf uh where broadleaf is they're all broadleaves, guys. I mean they're the definition is the same. Um so base basically all of your uh Maduro process, which is not even Maduro anymore, uh, but oscuro, there's really there's really only three processes in tobacco or four processes in tobacco today. Uh but base basically all of your risotto or oscuro processed tobacco, um, 100% of that can be from the exact same origin. It can be shade grown. Uh and what they used to do was they used to shade grow it and they would air condition the fields, which is crazy to think about. Yeah. So in Connecticut, yeah, and that's like priming the tobacco, like they stock cut it now, which stock cutting was was uh what you would do for like flu-cured tobacco, like these Connecticut's right. Um, but they were really only doing that for Virginia processed tobacco, so it was considered kind of a compromise. Um, but uh it there are some farmers that are still actually priming the tobacco, like doing cut levels on the tobacco. But yeah, back back in um not even that long ago, I mean back um maybe to like the 70s, 90s or so, um, they were shade growing and they would have these big swamp coolers that they would hook up to the shade tip and they would run them on diesel and they would they would actually yeah, they would they would blow uh cool uh humid air across across the fields. And the reason for that is the same thing that the shade is doing is you're slowing down the metabolism of the plant. You're forcing it to grow slower. Uh and what that aids in is that that vein separation, because it's not growing very fast, it has all of the veins that it needs, so it can thin out and create these really giant leaves, right? That are really thin, have great elasticity, and they're they're thick enough that they're they're not going to you know break and snap and all that kind of stuff. So they have really good cellular density. Um so uh but you know, the the issue, the issue that they have now in Connecticut is nobody is really shade growing at all. Uh they're topping like crazy, they're growing it as thick as possible because they're gonna stock cut that tobacco. Uh and that that process more or less works, but it's not real great for uh doing you know a Virginia process where you you're gonna you're gonna then uh try to, you know, like Connecticut, you want a thinner, you know, you want a lot of cellular membrane, but you want it to be really thin. So, you know, in Ecuador, when they're growing this, they want it to grow really rich, really super hardy.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And then whenever they're flu curing it, they want that to shrink and thin down, you know, super, super thin, so that most of it will be classified as you know, viso or second, uh because nobody's gonna buy um you know a La Hero, you know, version Connecticut because it's just sure just too thick, it's gonna burn, you know, really wonky. So yeah, sorry, I didn't go on a tangent about this.
SPEAKER_03No, this is this is all fascinating. I feel like it's always like an education, like definitely and and there is there's just so much for us still to learn. So I'm always I'm always excited to hear about it. Like I like the I like the details.
SPEAKER_05And I I will definitely say, I mean, uh kind of go looking through the portfolio domain cigars. Um, and you're right, that the the creation and the portfolio of the first three, definitely on the stronger side. I would say this Connecticut though kind of feels like the the luxurious uh cigar of the portfolio. It's very luxurious, it's luscious, it's it's um something I think I would expect uh with a higher price tag. Um so I appreciate that it doesn't have a higher price tag, but it definitely smokes above its above its side because it's got this elegance to it, but as you had mentioned, creaminess to it. Um every time I smoke, I'm just like, man, this is just it's it it really moving away from the not your grandfather's Connecticut from strength.
SPEAKER_03I liked how you called it the contrarian Connecticut. I think I'm going to remember that. Yeah, yeah. That's a good way to put it.
SPEAKER_00I think I think that's that's the that's the impression of what you're what you're supposed to what you're supposed to do. But yeah, the um, you know, the thing, the thing about it is uh you know, Connecticut has a has a really iconic lineage, you know. This was the rapper, this was the cigar profile of cigar that really set the world ablaze in the 90s, you know.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00It it is something that you really have to you have to approach with like a frankly a fantastic amount of respect and esteem for it, even though I think a lot of um our core clientele that that we've uh garnered uh are big fans of you know our big full-bodied cigars and you know, entropy with its you know, double a hero and Nijentropy with you know double a hero and just you know crazy uh you know pink habano that we put on that cigar. And um and and that's why I think for for us it was really important also to provide a little bit of education and backgrounds that uh Connecticut also has uh a depth and a great heritage and lineage that isn't talked about. And I think it's not talked about because it's commercial success from um a lot of large premium companies, is that um you know, we don't really have to tell people anything about this cigar. We put a well-known brand name on it, and we throw it out on the market, and you know, it's either limited or it's not. And yeah, and and those are those are kind of the the level of detail that you kind of expect to get about this cigar. But the the tobacco, I I think uh, you know, I think it commands a lot of respect, frankly.
SPEAKER_02Yes, yes.
SPEAKER_00And um, but it but it is it is amazing how little how little is really really known about it. Um true, you know, uh because it you know it doesn't get fermented, it gets put in an oven, you know, which is right a crazy process that I don't think we have enough visibility of, you know. Yeah, no, definitely not.
SPEAKER_03I feel like this is it's it's the focus that you have on education and innovation is really yeah, we really appreciate that and respect that a lot because I think that that's so so needed in the industry. It is.
SPEAKER_00Um well it's uh it's it's largely inspired by retailers like yourselves as well, because you're you're going out there and trying to connect people directly with those that are you know in my position where we get to the pleasure of calling this a job, you know, which is we're very thankful for. Um but uh you know, it's yeah, just trying trying to to kind of bridge that gap more and more has been a big element of uh domain cigars. And you know, we have today, uh, because of our great customers and retailers such as yourself, we have 218 people uh that work for us. Um we're not processing our own wrapper, but we we do have a Candela project, which uh I know uh a lot of people are gonna be very surprised uh if we launch a Candela cigar. Um but uh I'll be able to give you an update like in a week. If that's exciting, yeah if we're going to do it, because we have tobacco in the field uh right now, and at 11 o'clock tomorrow uh I will be working on that tobacco um trying trying to trying to do our new process. Yeah, yeah, so a little little preview, but uh but yeah, we're so that's a big part of what we want to do with our YouTube and all that as well. So uh we're active on YouTube, go check out Domain Cigars on YouTube, um, you know, like, share, subscribe, all that good stuff. And uh what we're trying to do is we're really trying to show everybody, not just here's what we do, but here's kind of our understanding of all of this concept, you know, like one that's one that's come up recently was box pressing, you know. Um a lot of people don't know that there is box pressing, but most of what they're actually buying in the market is trunk pressing, right? Which is a a totally different process than box pressing. Um and so just uh you know uh kind of kind of explaining those types of things, and you know, here's all the options that cigar makers have, and here's why we chose what we chose, right? Okay, uh so that's that's uh that's more what uh what I've been focused on on building out around uh you know around kind of the educational stuff. So and then not everybody wants to wants to hear uh a bunch of nerd stuff about cigars, but uh it's great.
SPEAKER_05So so um everyone watching right now, uh this is your last chance to jump in on the raffle. So check out the sampler pack. Uh we're about to call it within about five minutes. So if you want to not only experience the cigars we're talking about tonight, uh the new uh attenuation, you need to pick up a sampler pack, but also potentially win a prize too, which we're calling in just a few minutes here. So this is your opportunity. Make certain you get in there, we'll go ahead and call it in just a minute.
SPEAKER_03Um I need to say, I'm not crying. Um, I always complain that I'm not getting enough smoke output off of things. Like I just want to be like a dragon, like I just want to be completely like heralded by smoke. And I'm like, my eyes are watering. This is and in a good way, I'm not saying it is a smoke stack. Oh good, I got enough smoke finally.
SPEAKER_05It is a smokestack for sure. Um I think too, we had mentioned before at PCA trade show, we were like, okay, there's one brand we got to check out, it's still main. And a lot of what we're talking about tonight and the process of making a cigar come to market, but with intention, um, a lot of what we're talking about tonight is the reason I find that your guys' uh entire journey and brand makes so special. I mean, the cigars are fantastic. They gotta at the end of the day, they've got to hold up and they do it in spades. But the added layer of of accessibility to education, whether it was the tariff situation, whether it's uh the process of Connecticut, fermentation, all those things, uh just keep it up because I we absolutely love it.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Appreciate that. Yeah, and it's you know, I wish I wish we could do a lot more. There's there's so many uh I knew that this year would be a lot of you know state and local fights around uh regulation, taxation, and so on, access to our products. I mean, people are talking about generational uh bans, which is yeah, you know, a ludicrous assumption to to make for future generations, um, especially, you know, especially around a product like this, uh, you know, a product that supports jobs, businesses, a product that uh, you know, here or this entire valley that I live in was you know built uh under under these uh these companies, these brands, retailers such as yourself. And you know, to think that we're we're coming under so much threat. I mean, I know that you've been a victim of that. And actually, your state, my state, uh, we're both Californians. I I was a Californian uh originally, so we usually have tasting notes inside of our box top. And we removed the tasting notes from the inside of the box top. Um the tasting notes were were never they were never there for anything really but to help jog the memory of the tobacconist, where yeah, I've been a tobacconist and I'm standing in a room with 7,000 cigars um on the shelf, and I have to have something pretty interesting to say about all of them. Uh so it was just it was just like a kind of a quick reminder, you know, having the box top there. Um but you know, we we changed it, you know, handcrafted by Tabacalera Family and Disla and Estele, Nicaragua. That's the factory I'm setting in here under the direction of Master Blender Esteban Disla. Um, you know, we had to change that because of the state of California um to attempt to apply for our licenses to be able to continue to sell to you know uh Americans just like you and I. And um, you know, we're coming, we're coming up on the 4th of July and remembering remembering how we uh we chose independence based on a small tax. Uh yes, yes.
SPEAKER_05And now we pay the most in the world, but well, even on that too, the amount of I mean it's it's definitely in North Carolina you see it, but the amount of a role that tobacco even basically took place in Americans' history, it was a form of currency, it was a form of like morale, it was so many different things. Um, and so yeah, it is it is tragic for that. And um, I mean, in hindsight, too, we're really blessed to be sitting here today and feeling like okay, it was a good move to make, and it was definitely a situation where um we love it out here on the wet east coast, and it was a journey, but there is that tragic aspect of like we were kind of pushed out if we wanted to continue this and have a future in it for our kids and our family. Like, that's kind of the bottom line. We we didn't have much of a choice, yeah, in the first place.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I think it it it's it's one of um, you know, the only examples that I'm aware of of um companies or products being so brazenly pushed around by bureaucrats when there's really no or limited uh public outcry surrounding any of the topics that they're addressing.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Um that is that is one of the most confusing elements where um you know even you know, even the reporting that has been done uh in some recent federal cases um goes completely against what the um benefactor is of the bureaucrats where they're claiming a lot of things. And frankly, I mean it it uh it even limits uh just to let you guys know, because you probably don't know this, um in certain states that I want to do business in, I have to sign certain documents uh where I am or I'm not allowed certain speech, right? Um which you're you're not aware of because you haven't had to sign those documents. Um and and uh they you know they're ridiculous. I mean it's it's it's it's uh it's it's really pretty preposterous that uh that that those that those types of things um uh have to be done. And you know, we're we're based out of the state of Kansas, uh fortunately, and uh the state of Kansas uh does not have have any um you know uh consent decrees or uh settlement agreements that you're obligated to sign um which you know limit what you can say around uh issues of public health personally or professionally. Okay, so those those are those are all things that are that are in some of these some of these state level contracts. So you know, so uh more recently I've heard a lot of people outraged that some of the larger manufacturers haven't come out, you know, swinging against um some of the regulation that's come out and and uh you know and I I I I don't mean to stick up for anybody. I'm also not here for that. I mean I have old business to run here, but but I'll also tell you, I mean, you know, they they kind of have to position themselves behind counsel because because of uh the position that several states have put them in, um where they where the states can can do uh an amazing amount of damage to them based on conspiracy. Um conspiracy is a personal opinion, um, not one that's been found in court, but um you know good good luck finding a venue where where they're actually going to where they're actually going to admit that. But yeah, so so it's it's it's quite it's quite interesting the position. We're in, but uh all of my companies were founded on the 4th of July. Uh and so domains domain cigars. So it's actually the anniversary of domain cigars on the 4th of July. Well, congratulations. That is awesome. That is awesome. So um, so we'll we'll be we'll be three years uh on the 4th of July. So 23 was when we're when we were founded. Nice, nice. Um, so yeah, we're we're three. That's awesome.
SPEAKER_05Congratulations. Well, we got a few comments here I want to pull up real quick. Yeah, yeah, sure. Uh Rick Balding is saying, just purchased my sampler. Thanks, Eric. Great show. Thank you, man. I really appreciate it. We also got Richard on saying Dave Goroffalo has been fighting for cigar smokers' rights for years, and that something I want to touch on. So, Dave Goroffalo uh is good friends of our ours as well. He's been a uh massive help in terms of like when we were making the move, I I called him right away. I'm like, hey, what are your thoughts? What do you think? Blah blah. And so it was really special. I think it was day one of the PCA trade show. We stopped by to say hi, and he was in your booth, and uh, and I believe he brought you guys in. Um which is awesome because I remember when I visited him in New Hampshire before that, I was like, you have to check out Domain Cigars because he's like, You keep your ear to the ground. What's new and hot? I'm like, that is a brand you need to bring in. So I was glad to see that happen.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, Dave's a great guy, and he has he has done a lot of fighting, a lot of advocacy. Uh, and um, yeah, I I put I put all my weight and support behind anyone that can. Uh, you know, this the states are the states are just a lot harder um for for manufacturers. Uh federally, um, you know, there's a lot of swings we can take. Um, you know, the state, the state level, it's really easy for those state guys. You know, those state guys can can run up any kind of any kind of issue they want with you. So the the trade organizations are a lot better to get involved with, which is a big part of what Dave does. So uh and and get on him. He's he's uh he's an amazing sport for what he what he does for us.
SPEAKER_05Well, I want to give a shout out to uh one of our senators. Uh I just learned this the other day. Like I knew uh this this gentleman was like kind of in favor to of tobacco, but I found out that in North Carolina, one of our senators actually owns a few cigar lounges, so that's always an added bonus. I was talking to another cigar lounge and they're like, Yeah, I didn't know if you knew this. I mean, I have to pull up his name. We were looking up his name the other day, but okay. Uh it's really, really cool. Um, okay, so just a few more comments. We're gonna pull our raffle. Raider Dave is saying, I love hearing the knowledge and the domain story. Thank you, Daniel. Happy anniversary, America.
SPEAKER_02Thank you. Appreciate that, America.
SPEAKER_05Uh Richard is saying it just smoked a domain cigar about three hours ago and was recommended by one of the salesmen, and it was amazing. I have it uh the band in my car, and I wish I could tell you which cigar it was. So awesome. They're all amazing so far. So okay, so we are we we have entered everyone's name in a random Google uh generator. So I'm gonna go ahead and announce the first winner right now. Uh, this is for the uh mystery pack of cigars and swag bag, and that is gonna be going to Martin Cohen. Martin Cohen, thank you so much. Uh, we'll get that sent out to you um with uh the prize uh first thing tomorrow. So thank you so much. Uh for next prize, which is the Jetline V-cutter, which is a really nice V-cutter, by the way. Uh uh, that is going to Mr. Scott Peters. Congratulations, Scott Peters. We'll be sending that out with your sampler. And finally, for a five pack of the attenuation cigar we've been talking about tonight, the grand prize. Well, what do you know? Is going to Rick Balding. So we're gonna send that out. So congratulations, get an extra five pack. Um but just as we kind of wind down here, uh Daniel, thank you for taking the time and really the education behind it. Um, it's what I look forward to. And anyone who listens to the podcast, like if you want an education in cigars, check out this one, but also the other shows we've had Daniel on because it's always been really fun.
SPEAKER_03And it sounds like Domain's YouTube too.
SPEAKER_05Yes, and Domain's YouTube, and I and I follow your Instagram as well. Because, like, I mean, like you said, it's not just glamorous pictures, while there are some amazing pictures of domain, but there's a lot of education behind it as well.
SPEAKER_00Sure, sure, absolutely. And uh we're we're looking forward to doing a lot more on uh on the education side because I I think uh I think that will also help with a lot of the other contexts that we've um been discussing around regulation and so on, is you know, actually informing people, you know, it's uh um regardless of what people think of uh other regulated industries. I mean, we're we're tobacco and cigars, we're the second most regulated consumer product in the United States, uh, which is uh flabbergasting.
SPEAKER_05Uh because uh we were the size of us. I mean, it's yeah, so small.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, for the for the size. I mean, you know, all of premium cigars is uh $13 billion uh every year, uh, which is uh you know almost a rounding air for some of the other uh social media companies. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02So yeah.
SPEAKER_00So um so we're we're we're uh we're a small industry in that regard. Um but uh yeah, I think I think connecting connecting people to you know what cigars actually are and what they're what they're not, and letting people you know choose uh what they would rather be associated with, um, you know, whether whether it be you know conspiracies brought forth by government agencies or whether it would be um whether it would be just a factual understanding of uh of you know modern cigar making, and uh that's really all all I'd hope to offer. So yeah, and great products.
SPEAKER_03So yeah, we appreciate it. Yeah, and thank you for being such a trooper with the uh sinus infection and being here anyway. We we really appreciate you doing that.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, sorry, I'm I'm uh yeah, the sinus infection has gotten me. I'm I'm on quite a bit of time at all right now. Sorry, no, no, no worries, no worries.
SPEAKER_05Well, thank you again. Thank you guys for jumping on and hanging out with us tonight, learning a bit about Connecticut Tobacco, the new release attenuation. Um, and we'll be back next week. And happy Fourth of July to everyone and happy anniversary to Domain Cigars.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, thank you. Appreciate it. Happy fourth everyone.
SPEAKER_05Everyone, have a great night. Thanks again.