Welcome to the Cigar Avicionado Podcast here in New York City in the Cigar Avicionado Lounge. My name is David Savona, executive editor of Cigar Avichinado. And today is a very, very special episode because I am joined here at the table by three of the most famous cigar makers on the planet. Our very special guests today, Carlos Fuente Jr. from Arturo Fuente Cigars, Lito Gomez of La Flor Dominicana, and George Jorge Padrone from Padron Cigars. Gentlemen, thank you all for being here today with me.
SPEAKER_02Thank you, David, and Cigar Ficionados. It's an honor to be here again. Thank you.
SPEAKER_01To someone who doesn't really know the cigar industry, they might say, I know these brands Artura Fuente, La Florida Dominicana, Padron. You go into any great cigar shop, humidor, you see these brands for sale, any any fantastic cigar shop. So you guys work in the same industry, but technically you're competitors. But I've known you for a long time. I've known you all for about 30 years or more, and you're not so much competitors as much you are colleagues and friends. What is it about this business that turns competitors into into good friends?
SPEAKER_02It's the respect for our craft that we know to be able to achieve what my colleagues have gone through, their families, and all the painstaking effort is respect. You respect them and they're not, they're not, they're they're not only our colleagues, they're an extension of our family. We are a family. We together, we go through the same pains and we go through the same concerns, and we also go through the same celebrations and different instances. We work very hard as a unit, as a family, to be able to defend the rights of ladies and gentlemen, people who want to enjoy a cigar and the freedoms of the United States. And that's amazing, David, because growing up, I remember my father, you know, back in the late 60s or 1970s or 71, concerned about meeting payroll that week. And uh we never thought that we would have to be able, we would be forced and benefit of everyone else in this industry, and also the legacy of our family, the hard work to have to defend what the Constitution, United States was set forth to be able to protect the liberties of the great American people. And I know that wasn't the introduction question, but that's really when it comes down to it, this is where, I mean, we came from different, we came from the same thing. We came from tobacco, from that kitchen, from that love for our cigars and and what we do and the love for people. But somehow we were sent and we're part of a unit that we're fighting together. And uh that's where my my bond with these two gentlemen are, that we have been together through the thick and thin. And not everybody could say in the United States or America that we fought, but because of the constitution of the greatest country in the world, we have been able up to this point, because that fight never ends, we're able to save the industry and be able to be here today because they will not be a podcast, they will not be a magazine if it wasn't to the fight of the cigar rights of America that was able to give an extension or breathing room to the cigar industry.
SPEAKER_01Well, you bring up a very good point. It's it's an industry, a legal industry. Cigars are legal in the United States, you're allowed to smoke them, yet all three of you have had to, at one point or another, spend a great amount of your time fighting for the rights for cigar smokers and for cigar makers. Isn't that right?
SPEAKER_00Well, I mean, I think you know, what Carlito's saying, like, what is this industry about? I mean, this industry is about family, it's about tradition, it's about the legacy. You know, and Carlito, in my case, in my case, in particular, not so much Lito, because Lito started his company, but Lito is gonna is in the same position as we are now. He has children following in his footsteps that he wants to have the same opportunities that we've had. Carlos has his son and daughters that are gonna be involved, and and all his siblings that also have kids that want to that are gonna be involved. I have that situation. You know, for us, when our parent, when my father started this company 62 years ago, the last thing in the world, he I mean, he started with nothing and he started, well, let's see where this goes. And here we are fighting today, 62 years later. You know, I'm here, my siblings are around. I have four, you know, I have several family members that are working in the in the business. And what do we fight for? We fight for the tradition, we fight to make sure that that continues and that we can that our kids follow that and keep producing these products that we love so much. And like my dad said, when you get in the cigar business, it gets in your blood. Like this thing gets in your veins, and the minute it's in there, it's I mean, this is the best industry in the world. I mean, what how many industries do you know where three uh competitors, let's say, which I don't consider them competitors, but in the you know, they are my competitors, but we're we are friends and we respect each other, and that is uh very seldom seen in other industries.
SPEAKER_01What makes us such a great industry leader?
SPEAKER_03You I you guys are second, third generation. Um and I came in a little bit later, and um and as a cigar smoker for me, not being in the industry reading about these guys, and I I I remember I I read a little book, it was called the um uh ultimate cigar book, and I that was the first time that I read your name and your story and cigar aficionado, and then I'm looking at you, you you're my cigar heroes, and then I got to meet you and I got to spend time with you, and you guys were bringing me customers, we're sending me customers in your trade show. They were sending you customers, yeah. That that doesn't happen in happen in any industry, it doesn't happen, and then as you know, our our friendship started developing with time and we went through celebrations together.
SPEAKER_00Your kids our daughters are in school together.
SPEAKER_03Your kids uh but have been to funerals, we have been weddings thin and the thick weddings together, and and uh and we form an alliance, an alliance that it was a one of the greatest things to fight to fight for our industry. And we could w once we met and we agree on our positions, you can close your eyes because nobody's gonna nobody's gonna give up. You fight and you fight to the end. And and when you have brothers next to you that you know they're gonna fight with you, fight is a lot more powerful. And now we have our kids growing together. And they seem to have the same alliance. They like each other, they spend time together. And what a wonderful thing that is. I mean, that that is the future. That is a replica of what we do now, what we've been doing for many years. They will continue that. That alliance will continue forever. And and that is uh uh what a satisfaction to see uh the next generation being friends, and they know how much we respect each other.
SPEAKER_00It's also important to note how much respect all of us have for the for our customers. Absolutely, all of the people they like my father. We have to be thankful that we have consumers out there that understand like the work and the effort that it takes to make the products that we make, and that they take the time to learn and to experience and to smoke, because that's really what this industry is all about. It's about experiencing those moments with those products that Carlito makes, that Lito makes, that I make, that we take so much pride in doing and in making, and that every every product that we make is kind of an extension of of our family, of who we are. And that's kind of I think going back to what what they've said about fighting these fights, there's a lot to be said when you have skin in the game, when you have a direct um the outcome of these decisions directly affect your livelihood, like your your legacy, your traditions. And that's I think, and we we talked about it last night in our event, at how important these fights were, not so much, not just the victory, but also for the extension of the industry, for the longevity of the industry and the healthy longevity of the industry. And I think that that's I think something that might separate us a little bit from other industries that we are actually smokers. I'm a cigar smoker first, a manufacturer second. So when I put out a product, I want to put out a product that has my name on it. That product has to be is representing me. So I got to make sure that that thing, that that product is exactly what it's supposed to be, and that when a consumer gets it, it's what he expects. And I think that there's no difference in the way I think than how Carlos and Lito think. Absolutely. They're exactly on the same page.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00So we, you know, there's a lot, there's a lot at stake here.
SPEAKER_02You know, and for us, our generation, I've I'm from the old school. I remember the old days, Cuban embargo, all the factories and the big cigar city of Tampa closing up every day. It was vicious. It was competition. They were competitors.
SPEAKER_01It was a little more, it was a little more cutthroat.
SPEAKER_02It was cut it was cutthroat.
SPEAKER_01With the margin tighter, where was it uh it was a different type of business back in those days? Wasn't it?
SPEAKER_02Different consumer, too. The mentality of the manufacturers were different. And I remember going to a very famous restaurant in Tampa where all the cigar manufacturers used to go. And one day my father's having lunch, and I was sitting by him. I was very young, maybe 18, but I was young. I was learning, and one of the great manufacturers, my father says, Did you hear so and so is closing up? And I remember that big manufacturer, big name, said, more for us. That was the mentality. And my father says, This is the beginning of the end if you think that way. We have gone through so much together and lived that, and we have that heritage, that experience of the past, that we don't want that ever to occur again. But I think something that we've learned, and I think we owe a lot of a lot of credit to Cigar Aficionado is that for once we are my grandfather, my grandfather didn't even know his customers basically, his main distributor back then, and that distributor would sell to other people and so forth. Cynthia, my generation, we get to know the tobacconists, the smoke shops. But now, through cigar fisonado, we're in direct contact with the consumer. My grandfather never lived that. My father never really lived that. The stories, the memories, the people, the friendship. It's it's incredible. We, like I said, we sell love, we sell memories. And I think that's what gives us the fuel to keep going against all odds and whatever we have to do, because it's not no longer for ourselves. It's that we know that we make people happy because if we make a product that they can enjoy, they could celebrate with. How many stories that I've heard from a young man that told me the last cigar he smoked with his father before he passed, what it meant to him, and this and that. And that's something that that's where our responsibility comes in is that the pleasure that we know that we're responsible, like George mentioned, is no longer that it's not that we don't look at it in numbers and sense. We look at it is how many hearts can we fill with happiness, and how many people could reach and how many new friends that we could meet through this incredible product that's made with so much passion.
SPEAKER_01That is beautiful. I there was a cigar maker who told me once I I realized that I'm making something that's the the best one hour of somebody's day. My the the product that I that I make for somebody. You guys feel that way?
SPEAKER_00Well, think think about let's like let's go back and let's think about my father, Carlos's father, Lito. When they started their businesses, and in my case, my father and Carlos's case is grandfather, and in Lito's case, Lito, when they started their business, the last they never, I don't think any of them ever thought that that we would be sitting here where we are today. Obviously, Cigar Aficionado, in my opinion, is single-handedly responsible for turning this industry and exposing this industry for what it really is, which is a lifestyle. This is a this is not just smoking a cigar, this is an experience that you share with either by yourself in a great moment or not so great moment, or with friends. But when they started this, they never thought that this thing was gonna be where it where we are today. And I remember my father already at an advanced age, it wasn't about the cigars, it was it wasn't about the the sales, it wasn't well, it was always about the he was always wanting to sell. Sure. Don't get me wrong, makes sense, but that wasn't what drove him. What what made him happy? And I'm sure it's the same thing, it's happening to me now. I'm sure it's the same thing in both Lito and Carlos's cases with them and their fathers and their ancestors. What made them happy was to hear people tell them that they enjoyed their product. That for my father was more valuable than selling the actual cigar. That to him was like, I mean, he could have just I mean, my dad would go to the office with a shirt with a hole in it. So he didn't, you know. My dad was a very simple guy. Sure. And what made him happy? Well, when somebody would come into that office, the first thing he'd do, he'd bring out a cigar from his stash and give it to him. And seeing that his face, that customer's face, happy, that's what made him happy.
SPEAKER_03That's a paycheck. That was it. That's a paycheck for us. Yes, absolutely. You know, people ask us to sign a box or to sign their shirt or their hat.
SPEAKER_02Well, listen, even their breasts. Because that's happened, that's happening to me in one of the festivals. And I said, wait a minute, wait a minute. You sure? And I remember closing my eyes, and I was hoping I didn't I didn't mark her face with a sugar. I'm not sure I want to go there. No, but seriously, David, you think about what the cigar industry was, because you could really you can measure the cigar industry before cigar fascinating and after cigar fascinado. Whoever heard of a cigar manufacturer to sign a box, you know, sign a hat or sign a shirt or sign somebody's body?
SPEAKER_03I mean we were happier, we are happier that that guy that is asking us for the signature because he's smoking our cigars. And and that that for us that creates something that people are gonna enjoy. To see that guy enjoying that cigar, it's a beautiful thing.
SPEAKER_00And the beauty is that our parents saw it. Yeah. Like my father got to witness it. George was.
SPEAKER_03Well, you see about respect. And I we we three of us, we make cigars that are very different from each other. And and we don't try to uh uh make a cigar like the other guy. Okay, we do what we're gonna do. No, we are proud.
SPEAKER_02We are proud of the other guy, we are proud of the cigar that the other guy makes. We are proud.
SPEAKER_03And and the thing that we have in common is what you're saying at the beginning at the beginning, the respect for the people that we make cigars for. Especially because, as opposed to any other industry, and and uh what I see in the cigar business, I never seen it in any other industry, is that connection of the consumer with you? With the maker. Yeah, with the maker. I don't know if it happens in any other industry, but there's a connection between this premium cigar smoker and the manufacturer.
SPEAKER_01They know who you are, they want to know your story.
SPEAKER_03They know the story. Uh they know the story. They identify. Uh and they do identify with the personality of the cigar maker.
SPEAKER_02It's this is a very different world today because if you look back before 1992, consumers didn't visit cigar factories. They weren't cigar festivals. No. Just what making publications did with Wine Spectator. You created an APA in the Caribbean with all the cigar factories. People coming, they want to learn. Today, the education, they they learn about the tobaccos, they learn about the blends, they learn, but they understand that the cigars are made with heart and soul, and they see the the women working painstakingly making the cigars with so much, with a big smile, so much passion. They go to the tobacco fields, they see the the the labor, the the pride that goes into their work. And they are imagine this. Every time you enjoy a cigar, our industry, our because I have to say this there are cigars and there are cigars. This is not a cigarette tried to decidize a cigarette.
SPEAKER_01No, no, no.
SPEAKER_02These are premium handmade cigars. And today, the consumer, they're so passionate, they're part of our family, they are an extension of our lives.
SPEAKER_00For those of us that were around before Cigar Aficionado, um, and I don't want to keep harping on this just because we're on this podcast, but the fact of the matter is that the the what happened to our industry after Cigar Aficionado and Marvin's vision for this industry is life-changing for this industry because, and what Carito was just saying, there's no substitute for education. So the more educated a consumer is about our products, the better. Because they understand how hard it is to make these products. So the more they understand that process, the more they learn, the more they start to tune in to flavors, to consistency, to um, you know, the differences between cigars, the better it is for companies like ours that really take the time to make products that we feel uh represent who we are as manufacturers, as families, and the types of products that we want to make. That didn't exist in the 80s.
SPEAKER_03You get up in the morning and you open uh your phone and you got a message from somebody in Sicily or uh New Delhi, thank you, Master, for making this great cigar. Somebody texting you saying, Thank you for making that cigar.
SPEAKER_01I don't think there's a lot of industries where the consumer uh thanks the person that they're purchasing something from. There's a real connection there. There's a real connection there.
SPEAKER_02I think it's very unique. There's a direct contact between the cigar lover and the manufacturer and the cigar maker. It's a friendship that's been built over many years from all these different events, from all big smoke. The big smoke was a I mean, we know faces. We go to big smoke, so we've exposed reports. No, but it makes it we know faces. They're faces that we've been seeing for 25, 30 years.
SPEAKER_00And they're still there, and now they're bringing their kids and they're they're they're you know, they're next generation of oh, this is my son, you know. I've been coming to these events for 20 years. This is my son. He's you know, he's of eight, he's smoking cigars now.
SPEAKER_01That's there's nothing cooler than that. We go to big smokes and we see fathers and sons together, fathers and daughter and daughters, uh, people on uh on friends' trips, they come from different parts of the country and get together and they're excited. They're so happy to be there. And it's I I always like to say at Cigar Vision, we've got the the greatest readers in the world because they their their passion is so infectious. It it it just as uh as as you hear from the consumers, and that makes you feel special. It makes us as editors and writers of the magazine feel special to have this connection. We're kind of the I like to think we're the conduit between you great cigar makers and our readers.
SPEAKER_02And I'm glad you mentioned fathers and daughters. I'll tell you why. Because when I was growing up, I didn't see many daughters enjoying cigars. You go to a Big Smoke Today, and you see so many ladies enjoying cigars, and they know as much or more, they're more passionate about cigars, and nothing has made me happier. And that's one of the things that my grandfather really never was exposed to. And to see that, and to walk into a cigar lounge and the friendship, and to see a group of ladies enjoying cigars together and and having conversations and so forth, this is amazing. What a beautiful community that brings people together. This, I mean, this is the most rewarding, the most rewarding aspect. Aspect of this of to me of our industry and the cigar industry is this community that's become one.
SPEAKER_01This episode of the Cigar Vishnuta podcast is brought to you by 1916 Tobaccolera Ayroa by Santi Aroa, fourth generation of the Aeroa family. 1916 marks the moment Santi's great-grandfather committed his life to tobacco and planted his first seed. Now, four generations later, Santi carries that commitment forward, blending Pinarino, original Corojo, and more than 110 years of family tradition. This blend is an elegant smoke, bringing a natural nostalgia reminiscent of how cigars once tasted, while creating memories and bringing people together just as cigars have done in the Aroa family for over a century. Learn more at CLECars.com. You each have walked different paths to get to where you are. There's some similarities, but there are also profound differences. Carlito, your grandfather, founded Arturo Fuente. George, your father, founded Padron Cigars. Lito, you founded La Florida Medicana with your wife Inez. But all three of you have learned something special from your fathers before you, even if your father didn't work in the industry. I want to go around the table. Maybe you could each give me one important lesson that you learned from your father that that still guides you today.
SPEAKER_02I don't know if it's a lesson, but it's a philosophy. Hard work, respect, never give up, and give it always your very best. But since a little boy, he always told me, What do you want to do when you grow up? I want to be a baseball player. I want to be a policeman. Like every little boy, I want to be a fireman. And then I started playing music. He says, Never encourage me to come into the cigar business. And one day he said, Dad, I don't know, maybe it's like the hat business. No one's going to wear a hat. He says, There's no future in the cigar business. Because my father, only thing he always told me, follow your heart and follow your passion. If you want to be a dancer, be the best ballerina there is. If you'd love to cut, if you like to cut hair, be the best barber. If you like to collect garbage, be the best garbage collector and then start your own garbage company. But be happy and be and just one thing led to another, but always follow your heart, follow your passion, love what you do and be the best at it.
SPEAKER_03My father, um he was an immigrant from Spain in Uruguay. Um his first job in a paper mill factory. Um like a year after he started working there, he lost his right arm. He went to the hospital, they took care of that, and the next day he went back to the factory to work.
SPEAKER_01He went back the next day.
SPEAKER_03The next day out of the hospital, he went back to work. And he grew. I mean, the owner, an American guy called John Brown, who owned the big, huge factory, uh found him uh something to do that he could do. And I saw him learning to tie his shoes with the left hand. And whenever I saw him that he was pissed, I said, Dad, what happened? You know, yeah, what's wrong? Why are you so so upset? Say, I'm stupid, I'm not learning fast enough. He wasn't bitching about his fate. He was bitching about not learning fast enough to deal with, you know, doing everything with one hand. And I remember uh uh, and then he became like uh uh head of human resources of the factory, okay? And pretty much everybody in town worked at that factory. I remember one day, you know, uh the dad of a friend of mine came to the house. He was drunk. And I uh he asked for my dad. I went inside the house. I said, Dad, you know, so-and-so is here, but he's drunk. Uh, you want me to tell him that you're not here? And he told me, never ever tell anybody that you're not there. If somebody's looking for you, he's gonna find you. You come out and you talk to the guy. He comes out, talks to a guy, and he goes and the guy asked him to please give him a job, and he goes, No, I'm not gonna give you a job. I already gave you two chances. You're drunk, you're responsible. I'm not giving you a job. And the guy left. My father went inside, and I go inside. Dad, this is the daughter of a friend of mine, a good friend of mine. Why do you talk to him like that? Uh he goes, learn this for the rest of your life. Be honest to people, tell them in their faces. Honesty is the best thing that you have, it's the best asset you can have. And that was a lesson. It it stay with me for the rest of my life. Honesty. You know me. You know me, I'll tell you. If I don't like something, okay. Uh honesty is what I my father left me. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01George, I know you've spent so much time with your dad while he was with us, uh, working alongside him. I'm sure he's taught you, he taught you many lessons along the way. Maybe give us a little little nugget of uh what wisdom from Jose Orlando Padron guides you when you're making Padron cigars today.
SPEAKER_00There isn't much, there isn't a single day that goes by that something doesn't come up in during the day that reminds me of him. Um my dad was uh I mean, obviously, you know his story, you know how how hard he worked to build our company and to get us to to the to where he got us to. Um, but there were there were several things about him that I that I admired. And you know, my dad was not the type of guy that would be outwardly, you know, preaching or telling me, hey, you did a great job today, you know. That wasn't his style. You know, he was more like, if you fuck it up, he's gonna he's gonna tell you. And if you did it right, you're supposed to do it right. So I'm not gonna compliment you on something that you're doing what you're supposed to do. You're not doing, I shouldn't have to compliment you when you do what you're supposed to do. So, in that sense, he was a pretty tough person to learn to work with, but but I learned many important things from him and a few. Number one is humility. He always expressed to me the importance of staying humble. Okay, no matter how much success you have, you never can forget where you came from. And that's and he never forgot that. Um, he never forgot where he came from, and he never forgot the experiences that he went through to get to where he was. And he had this ability to put himself back in those moments. Many times when I was with him, when we had to make very difficult decisions, that he made the decision. And I asked him, I said, Dad, why are you doing that? That doesn't make sense. No, because I was that guy one day. Many years ago, I was him. You're talking about me now. No, I'm not talking that was true with you too. But I'm gonna tell you the story I was thinking about was we have these farmers that we buy from in Nicaragua, and we still do to this day. We've been buying tobacco from them for 35 years. And one day, one year, they had a very bad crop, and they had a big percentage of their tobacco that was not good. And they came in and we had the report, and we were negotiating, you know, talking to them. I thought my father was gonna say, Listen, I'm not gonna buy any of this because I can't, I mean, it was not good. I can't use that, uh buy everything else. But he didn't do that. What did he do? He said, I'm gonna buy everything and I'm gonna buy this. I can't pay you the price that we talked about for that because that tobacco is useless to me. But I'm not gonna let you, I'm not gonna make you eat it because you know I know what that is. I didn't say a word. This was very early on. This was probably I was in my 20s. After they left, I said to him, Dad, why how does that work? Like, how do you buy this tobacco if you know that we're not gonna? He goes, you know why? Because many years ago in Cuba, I was those farmers, and I know what it's like for these people to have to go back with that tobacco and eat it. They they can't, you know, that doesn't work. So so that was a lesson for me. And and obviously with Lito was a similar thing when Lito was starting off, that Lito my father helped Lito uh get some tobacco from Nicaragua, which we could have used. And Lito came to our house, stayed in our house. Um, we fed him, and my father helped him secure bales of tobacco from Nicaragua. And after Lito left, no offense to Lito, but I said to my father, I said, Dad, what the fuck are you doing here? We need this tobacco, and you know what he says to me? Like, he didn't even blink. What is that? He goes, You know what? I was Lito 40 years ago, and not a single person helped me. So I know what Lito's going through, and I'm gonna help Lito because he's a good man and I and I like Lito. You know, that you know, my dad truly Lito, and I'm not bullshitting you. My dad had a lot of respect for you. I know, but as well as obviously I don't have to tell you and your father, but but for Lito, somebody who was starting off in the business that a lot of people may not have helped, my dad looked at Lito as a young Orlando Vadrón, a hustler, a person that's working to build his company. So humility, being grateful, to be grateful to the people that help you when you need help. That was one of the founding things that my father says. When you meet an ungrateful person, that's not a good person. You don't want to associate yourself. It's not about the money, it's not about success, it's about being grateful. And you have to never you can never forget the people that help you when you need help and never turn your back on them no matter what. So, again, perseverance, never giving up, always pushing. You know, we've talked about this thing with CRA when everybody's telling you, oh, you're not gonna win, you're not gonna win. But somebody has to believe. Somebody's gotta be there putting their ass on the line saying, I do believe, and I'm gonna push this thing through. And if we fail, we fail. But I'm gonna fail with my pants on. I'm not gonna give in and and and and roll over and die. And those are the type of things that I think that separate not just my company, but both Carlos and Lito. I think that we have, again, many, many things in common. This is a very interwoven type of situation between our companies because of the because of the heritage, because of the things that we've gone through as companies. And I think that they will say the same exact things that I said: humility, being grateful. These two guys are the most grateful human beings on earth. I know stories of both of them helping people in this industry that never goes said, nobody talks about it, but it's there. And those are the type of things that I love that. I've I love being associated with people that are that think that way, because those are the people that you know they're they're you're competing on a level playing field, but you guys are all on the same page as far as how to do things, and that's and I think that not just me, but Carlos and Nito, we're all in that sense, it's the same thing. It's a family, it's those little things, those little nuggets of information that you learn, that's what drives us.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely. No, I totally agree with all of us, the greatest feeling in the world. But I think something that I think has been said in different words, what's more important to all of us, not only not forget where you come from, but to be humble. To be humble and know the responsibility you have to so many people, to so many customers, but ultimately to people who love our products, to stay humble and understand that the sacrifices are enormous. We could never stop speaking about it, but so are the rewards. That feeling, that embrace when you see someone and they hug you and they tremble from emotions, no greater feeling in the world. It's the most beautiful industry, and I'm very blessed to be part of this industry. Be so fortunate to have colleagues and brothers and sisters that are amazing in this industry. It is beautiful. The rewards are incredible.
SPEAKER_01This industry would not be what it is without the hard work of all three of you: Fuente, La Flor Dominicana, and Padron. When you walk into a humor and see these products, the result of all these years of work, hard work, decades of hard work, and lessons passed on from one generation to the next with a bright future ahead. I cannot thank the three of you enough for being here today for this special conversation. Carlito, Lito, George. This has been special. This has been wonderful. Thank you, thank you, David. Thank you, thank you for having us, man. Thank you for joining me on this very special edition of the Cigar Avisionado Podcast. Join us, watch the videos on YouTube, Cigarvisionado.com, and listen on Apple and Spotify. Subscribe, don't miss an episode. We'll be back in the Cigar Avisionado Lounge next time. Thanks for joining us.