Cigar Chronicles: An Inside Look at the Smoke-Filled World

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Music.
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Hello, good morning, good afternoon, cigar people everywhere.
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Welcome back to another episode of Ash Chat. I am one of your hosts, Dave Brown.
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With me, Cappy. Cappy. Volch.
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We have Bill and our special guest, John Cigar, one of the biggest cigar brokers in the Northeast.
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Hardly special, hardly one of the biggest, unless you're talking about my waist
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size. You can take it however you want.
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I take it neat. That's how we like it around here.
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We are back. It's been a couple of weeks and we're glad to be back here.
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We have an event going on here at Mickey Blake's over in Orange,
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which is our home base with Illusion Cigars, which is one of the brands I represent.
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Proud to represent Illusion.
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I'm kind of new with them, so I know basically nothing except that their cigars
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are tremendous and I enjoy repping them. Cool. All right. Well, that was the show today.
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Smoke more Illusion. Go Yankees. there we go
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i'm done all right there's a game going on so
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if you guys hear some screaming in the background it's either good or bad
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i'm not sure which one i'm not really paying attention it's not
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looking so good right now it's early yeah we got some time left so anyway talk
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to me about uh ash chat guys tell me you know what's what's going on here what'd
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you guys uh oh he's turning the tables oh yeah no that was i like that yeah
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why don't you take why don't you take it over i had to relate this cigar i don't
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know how it's stern enough i i think i can know so uh.
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So way back in the days, I started Alamadola Cigar Society.
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It was just me and my friend Raul, we were in the backyard and we're standing
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by a fire pit. And we've told this story plenty of times.
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I said, I want to start a cigar society with a bunch of guys that just like
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to sip on bourbon or whatever, wine, whatever you drink, smoke cigars and talk
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bullshit, right? That's all I want. Very simple.
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And it grew to about 35, maybe 37 guys. And I had approached Jay because he
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did two other podcasts, a beer podcast and this one.
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You mean Dave? So we approached Jay. I said, Jay, holy shit. It's Dave.
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Jay's not here. He's supposed to be here. Let's call him my guy.
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He's your guy and he's not even here. Where is he? He stood me.
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He did this. Because he, you know, John will come on your podcast.
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We'll get him when he comes back. Don't worry about it. Oh, he's going to get
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lit up. Nothing prepared.
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So I approached Dave and I said, hey, can you help me out with a podcast?
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And he goes, absolutely.
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And then he said, I used to do one called Ash Chat. And I go,
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well, fuck that. Let's just relive our Ash Chat.
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And we're here today. We've done a bunch of different ones. And it's been great.
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You know, we had Bill on, you know, 20 plus years of fucking,
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you know, talking. And it's great.
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You know, and our guys are good. Maybe Jay's late because he's got the green
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egg fired up and he's making us dinner.
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He's probably bringing some brisket. Let's hope the brisket goes out.
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Instead of burnt ends, we're just getting burnt today.
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I like that. Jay does love to smoke his meat. Yeah.
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Yeah. Yeah. I like it. So it begins.
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Yeah. I mean, the Ashtray is basically just a cigar, bourbon, lifestyle podcast.
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Just guys sitting around smoking cigars, maybe talking about cigars,
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maybe talking about bourbon and just shooting. All right. Can I give you guys a cigar?
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You want a cigar? We'd love a cigar. Sure. I will always. Small.
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Okay. From my friends at Illusion. Okay. Thanks, John. This is the Rex.
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The Rex. So this was made. I don't know if you know anything about Illusion.
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The gentleman who started Illusion, his name's Dion Giolito.
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Okay. Actually owns a retail shop in Nevada.
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And one of his retail customers, or maybe it was one of his cigar customers,
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I don't know. His name was Rex, or it still is Rex.
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Rex owns some precious metals mines in Nevada. Interesting.
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We're not having a bake sale for Rex anytime soon.
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Definitely not. So Dion made this cigar for Rex. So this is the Rex.
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All right. Okay. Awesome. I'm a fan.
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I like smaller cigars because I probably suffer from OCD, and I'd rather smoke
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like five smaller cigars than the time it takes you to smoke one big cigar.
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Okay. True. So I'm a fan of the smaller ring gauges.
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So what do you do on the blend on this?
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I can make some guesses. I think this is probably a Corojo cigar,
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probably Corojo 99, but I would have to look into that. Okay.
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Yeah. All right. I like Corojo 99. Yeah.
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Yeah. Dion does...
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Let me back up. How did I end up working? So you're a cigar broker.
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What the hell is that? I'm a cigar broker. How did I get into cigars?
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Well, I started smoking a lot of cigars when I was in college.
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Okay. And I probably went off the deep end. Again, OCD.
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And lo and behold, I smoked cigars for 10, 15 years.
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And somebody said to me, have you ever thought about being a cigar wreck? There you go.
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And I said straight up, absolutely not. I have no idea what you're talking about.
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Because you never envision that your hobby has a whole business built on the
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back end of it. Exactly. Right.
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And honestly, I never thought about that. But can we use proper names here for
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the guilty? Of course. Blow it up.
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Blow it up. So about, let's see, we're in Milford, about maybe 50 miles away
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from here in Norwalk, Connecticut. I was living in Norwalk, Connecticut at the time.
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And I was working in advertising.
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And I wasn't really, I wasn't blowing my skirt up anymore.
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So I was hanging out in a shop in Norwalk and the owner of the shop said,
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he knew that I'm like, yeah, I might be looking for something different.
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And he's the one that said, hey, have you ever thought about being a cigar rep?
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I'm like, no, absolutely not. He said, well, you know, I think you might be
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okay at it. You're looking for another gig, right? I'm like, yeah.
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And he said, I got somebody I think you might want to meet. Come with me to
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New Jersey to this cigar event. One of the owners of Drew Estate's gonna be there.
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Okay. Maybe you've heard of Drew Estate. I don't know.
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Little company. Little company, yeah. Well, at the time, we're talking about maybe 05, 06.
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They were? So they were smaller. They were smaller. They weren't a tiny company. Yeah. Yeah.
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Yeah, I ended up meeting one of the owners of Drew Estate, a great guy by the
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name of Marvin Sammel, who now makes movies.
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I don't know if you saw, he's got a movie called I, Mordecai.
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I think it's available on Netflix. Oh, shit. I'm kidding.
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I'm going to give Marvin his props. All right. Let's check it out.
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Yeah, I love Marvin. It's actually, the movie is about Marvin's journey at Drew
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Estate and his relationship with his dad.
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Oh, definitely. So there's definitely a cigar component to this. Okay.
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So anyway, I ended up working for Drew Estate, worked for Drew Estate for a
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couple of years. Then I ended up working for, you'll leave a cigar company for almost 10 years.
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And then maybe you guys, well, after that, I took a little vacation from the
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industry because, you know, you always think that, you know,
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there might be something out there beyond the cigar business.
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Well, guess what, folks? There isn't.
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Yeah. Once you get sucked into this, it's very difficult to get out.
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So I sold managed IT services for a while.
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And then I had an opportunity to get back in the business, so I took it,
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worked for EPC for a little bit.
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Okay. And then maybe, after that, oh, after that, I was a manager for a cigar
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company that was around for about a year, and it wasn't around anymore.
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In and out? Yeah. So that stung. So I kind of got picked off trying to steal second base.
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That was the end of that. They fired everyone and said, thank you for your time.
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You're the Glaber Torres of the cigar. Yeah.
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I don't get that reference. Gleyber Torres without the millions to fall back on.
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Yeah, unfortunately. I haven't figured that part out yet.
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So, precious metals. Make a long story longer. Worked for a cigar company that they decided.
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The company that owned it was a big billion-dollar company, and they just decided
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they didn't want to play with the cigars anymore because cigars to them was
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a rounding error on their spreadsheet.
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And then this thing called COVID happened. And that made things a little weird.
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And after COVID, I finally just said, you know what? I'm going to start my own business.
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I'm going to start being a broker, which for anyone who knows,
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an independent broker means you get to represent multiple lines,
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but you're basically working without a net because you're on 100% commission.
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So that's a little scary at first. Yeah. But- So you got to be good at your job.
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I had to be- The health. You got to remember. You like eating.
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The cigar industry is known for attracting very mediocre talent.
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So I just, myself included, I didn't need to be good. I just needed to be better than mediocre.
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So here I am being better than mediocre. LAUGHTER.
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Oh, wow. Love it. Love it. I'm smoking and drinking, which that's my native habitat.
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And, uh, yeah, I'm, I'm very lucky that I, the one thing that's never let me
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down is my palate and the companies that I now work for make tremendous products.
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So my philosophy is if I at least tell the story properly and get the cigars
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on the shelf and get the cigars in people's hands,
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the quality of the product will at some point speak for itself and it,
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you know, will make bills in my life hopefully a lot easier. Nice.
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So, and that's, that's kind of what I do. I, you know, that's it.
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So you kind of touched on a little bit, the difference between a broker and
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a rep being, being a broker, does that, because if you're a rep,
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you're obviously hired for the company, you're speaking, you're towing the company
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line, you're speaking that.
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Do you find that being a broker and getting to kind of choose who you represent
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basically gives you a little bit more freedom to represent companies that you
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actually like and you enjoy?
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You know, it's funny. I used to, before I got in the cigar business,
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before I did much of anything, I actually worked in a pool hall.
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And there were some guys in the pool hall. They were straight up hustlers.
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These guys played pool to make a living and pay their bills.
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And one of the guys that was, I'm going somewhere with this. Trust me.
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I'll bring this full circle. We're with you, we're with you.
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All right, I'll bring this full circle. So anyway, I'm hanging out with this guy, Norm.
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And Norm wasn't the best pool player, but he seemed to always win the most money.
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And he said to me, he goes, you know, the match, the pool game,
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it's not made at the table.
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The game is actually made when you're weighing odds and you're given weight, you know?
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So he was like, yeah, I may, I may not be the best, but if I can convince somebody
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better than me to give me the, you know, the four and the seven ball on a rack
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of nine ball, he goes, yeah, that might be enough that I can win.
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So I'm, how does that apply to cigars?
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As a broker, it's really important to align your company with brands that you,
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and again, this is me align my company with brands that, that one,
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I smoke and two, I believe in, I think, I think it's, it's good to have,
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you know, the, the brands that I wrap, I honestly believe that I'm,
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I'm helping a retailer like Bill with some of my brands, you know,
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there's, there's out of my book of business.
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There's some stuff that, you know, Bill and the gang at Mickey Blake's,
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who, by the way, thank you very much for having us here. Absolutely.
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Yeah. You know, you see, you take a retail establishment like Mickey Blake's
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and somewhere in my book of business, Hopefully there's something that,
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that will catch Bill's eye or whatever and say, yeah, you know what?
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I can probably sell this and this is going to help my business.
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So that's kind of how I, how I do it. So is there more freedom to kind of do my own thing?
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Maybe, but I think it's more important to create alignment between my company
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and the companies I work for so that the message that I want to tell is,
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is really the message that they want me to tell.
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And I like to predicate that truth. It's, you know, I'm not,
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I'm not, I'm not trying to be a dancing monkey.
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I'm not giving away, you know, a spaceship or a hippopotamus with,
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you know, the box purchase.
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Right. It's just like, Hey, you know, let me tell you a little bit about these
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cigars and you might like them.
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And, and lo and behold, I've been doing this for a couple of years. Yeah.
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By and large, if you pick the right brands, if the brands are lucky enough to,
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or not lucky enough, if I'm lucky enough that the brands believe enough in me
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to give me a shot, it tends to work out. So that's kind of what I do.
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Would you say it's more of a relationship kind of business? It's a very,
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very relationship-driven business.
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You know, there's a lot of cigars out there, guys. I'm sure you've noticed that.
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So a guy like, you know, a guy like Bill or, you know, the owners of Mickey
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Blake's, they've got a lot of reps that are like, hey, man, I got this cigar.
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I got this cigar. You got to try this cigar. You got to try this cigar.
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I've been doing this long enough that, I'm not saying my word is better than
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anyone else's, but I might have a track record with certain people.
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You build a reputation. Build a reputation that, yeah, I'm not a snake oil salesman, I try not to be.
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I'm just trying to, you know,
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my business philosophy is I really don't believe that for me to win,
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somebody has to lose, you know, I can, we can, we can all get along.
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And I'm lucky enough that, you know, even some of the other reps,
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my, technically my competition, we're all, we're all kind of friends because
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a retail humidor, you can't just survive with one or two companies.
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You need to, you know, the pie is big enough that we can all eat.
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So we try and help each other. It's, it's getting harder. I'll tell you right
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now, brick and mortar retail in the United States, and that's not just a cigar thing.
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We're living in an Amazon Prime world.
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You know, you can get pretty much anything you want delivered to your door.
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So the hard part for somebody like Bill, and Bill, jump in and you got to give people an experience.
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And I think Mickey Blake's does a great job. They obviously have invested a
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lot of time and money in their member program.
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And that's what we do. We just try and work together and hopefully it all works
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out in the end. And so far it has. Nice.
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So what's what's what's like an average day for
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a cigar broker is it like going to events like this
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is it visiting shops both i mean the the the
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the block and tackle of what i do is root sales
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you know whether you know and being a root salesman whether you're selling coca-cola
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or elijah craig bourbon or whatever it's going from point a to point b talking
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to people making sure you're you're you're touching them with email or phone
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call or text and making sure everybody's kind of aware of what's going on,
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the different programs that my different companies might have.
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So basically, yeah, I mean, there's no such thing as an average day,
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which is great because I haven't had the same day twice yet.
00:15:30.668 --> 00:15:34.488
So you kind of work your territory. My territory is fairly large.
00:15:34.688 --> 00:15:37.468
I mean, it's all of New York state and all of New England.
00:15:38.129 --> 00:15:40.949
Okay. That's a lot. That's a lot. You know, it's a lot of driving. Yeah.
00:15:41.029 --> 00:15:44.429
And you try and you try and work your territory so that, you know,
00:15:44.549 --> 00:15:49.729
you can see shop ABCD in the same day. And maybe at night you've got a,
00:15:49.769 --> 00:15:52.969
an event at E and you, you work at work at that way.
00:15:53.069 --> 00:15:55.349
And then, you know, then what keeps you on your toes is, Oh,
00:15:55.409 --> 00:15:58.049
it's like, Hey, I'm managing five different brands and I may,
00:15:58.329 --> 00:16:00.769
you know, have to be in New York this week.
00:16:00.849 --> 00:16:04.409
So I got to, you know, break it down and go to New York and see some shops in
00:16:04.409 --> 00:16:08.109
New York, but I would have been in Connecticut this week. And so You're moving stuff around.
00:16:08.269 --> 00:16:11.109
My calendar is like a constant Rubik's Cube.
00:16:11.289 --> 00:16:17.389
It's a living document. Yeah, that's a great way to put it. It's constantly in motion.
00:16:18.089 --> 00:16:19.689
How many brands do you represent?
00:16:20.409 --> 00:16:24.629
Right now, it's five. So tonight I'm here representing Ellusione.
00:16:25.309 --> 00:16:31.349
I also do Aganor's Leaf. Nice. I do 724, which is the oldest registered cigar
00:16:31.349 --> 00:16:34.289
trademark in the United States, done by a friend of mine, Kurt Kendall,
00:16:34.309 --> 00:16:36.889
out of Twin Smoke Shop in Londonderry, New Hampshire.
00:16:37.409 --> 00:16:40.149
They're great, great cigars. I think I'll have that. Oh, it's good.
00:16:40.329 --> 00:16:42.029
Oh, it's good. Good smoke. Real good smoke.
00:16:42.329 --> 00:16:47.289
Yeah. I'll give you one before the end. I'm sure I've got some 724 that we can hook you up with.
00:16:48.369 --> 00:16:52.569
Toscano and Avanti, which is kind of a horse. I like Toscano.
00:16:52.789 --> 00:16:54.189
Yeah. A horse in a different color.
00:16:54.549 --> 00:16:56.669
That one snuck up on me, Toscano. Yeah.
00:16:57.069 --> 00:17:03.929
And I'm a traditional cigar guy. So Toscano, to just look at it and just eyeball it. They're ugly.
00:17:04.609 --> 00:17:07.429
Yeah. They're not even ugly. I see a lot of flavored stuff.
00:17:07.729 --> 00:17:12.909
For me, for my personal taste, flavored, tag, I'm out.
00:17:13.049 --> 00:17:16.469
That's just not what I gravitate towards. But what I found out with the Toscano
00:17:16.469 --> 00:17:19.649
and the Avanti stuff is the cigars are amazing.
00:17:19.890 --> 00:17:24.390
Absolutely indestructible. Yeah. So they're... They don't need to be humidified
00:17:24.390 --> 00:17:26.610
or anything. Throw them in your glove box and forget about it.
00:17:26.750 --> 00:17:30.270
20 degrees, 90 degrees. Doesn't matter. Doesn't matter. They're fine.
00:17:30.450 --> 00:17:31.490
And there is a lot of stuff that
00:17:31.490 --> 00:17:34.250
they do. They do it... Their curing is different. They do a wet curing.
00:17:34.550 --> 00:17:37.850
And that's what actually locks the oils in so that you're not...
00:17:37.850 --> 00:17:39.090
The cigars aren't drying out.
00:17:39.530 --> 00:17:46.130
But there are some stuff that... I mean, they don't taste exactly like a traditional Caribbean cigar.
00:17:46.370 --> 00:17:49.610
But the non-flavored stuff, it's got some really good flavors going on.
00:17:49.610 --> 00:17:52.710
And so it's like, yeah, you know, while I'm stuck in traffic or while I'm fishing
00:17:52.710 --> 00:17:55.870
or riding the bike, bike, that's the other thing on a motorcycle, too.
00:17:56.350 --> 00:18:01.250
Guys that ride, they like the Toscanos because, again, in the saddlebag, whatever.
00:18:01.710 --> 00:18:05.250
Yeah, just go. Yeah. And then 724.
00:18:06.290 --> 00:18:10.870
Oh, Noel Rojas, dear friend of mine. Super guy. Who I absolutely love.
00:18:11.250 --> 00:18:14.930
He's just a really, really talented up-and-coming guy in the tobacco business.
00:18:15.270 --> 00:18:19.290
I mentioned Aganorsa Leaf. Aganorsa is the largest grower of tobacco in Nicaragua.
00:18:19.750 --> 00:18:23.090
So I guess what I would say is I've been very lucky.
00:18:24.090 --> 00:18:27.210
I'm very lucky. I rep some really, really solid lines.
00:18:27.690 --> 00:18:31.650
And they, you know, as long as you put one foot in front of the other and don't
00:18:31.650 --> 00:18:34.790
piss somebody off, generally the numbers tend to work out. Right.
00:18:34.970 --> 00:18:36.130
There you go. Do you have a favorite?
00:18:36.450 --> 00:18:38.710
Do I have a favorite? That's your favorite kid.
00:18:39.510 --> 00:18:41.910
Yeah, that's exactly it. It's kind of like trying to...
00:18:42.930 --> 00:18:45.490
You can plead the fifth if you want. No, I won't plead the fifth,
00:18:45.550 --> 00:18:51.310
but I'll... I couldn't pick a favorite brand or a favorite cigar from a favorite
00:18:51.310 --> 00:18:57.450
brand, but I can tell you that for Ellusion, I gravitate towards their Epernay.
00:18:57.830 --> 00:19:02.270
Okay. Okay. I really like that Epernay blend. It's something unique because
00:19:02.270 --> 00:19:04.290
that cigar doesn't have any Lajero in it.
00:19:04.350 --> 00:19:06.790
And I don't know if you know what Lajero is. You guys know what Lajero is.
00:19:06.910 --> 00:19:09.730
But in case anybody's listening that doesn't know what Lajero is,
00:19:10.370 --> 00:19:14.630
that's the topmost, they call it a priming. It's basically the leaves from the top of the plant.
00:19:14.850 --> 00:19:19.050
They're smaller. They're thicker, but they get the most sun.
00:19:19.250 --> 00:19:23.670
So that's the component tobacco that you would use in a cigar to give its cigar
00:19:23.670 --> 00:19:25.610
some real strength, some backbone.
00:19:26.010 --> 00:19:28.390
The Epernay doesn't have any Lajero.
00:19:29.010 --> 00:19:34.030
So he's using all lower priming tobaccos, probably like I'm guessing is probably
00:19:34.030 --> 00:19:37.770
a higher priming Veso, which is the middle of the plant.
00:19:37.770 --> 00:19:42.290
He's probably using a higher priming V-so or a middle priming V-so and maybe
00:19:42.290 --> 00:19:47.350
a combination of the two to get a ton of flavor in a cigar, but it's not blow
00:19:47.350 --> 00:19:49.950
your head off strong. Okay. Would you call that a coffee cigar?
00:19:50.930 --> 00:19:55.910
I enjoy it with iced coffee. Nice. I'm a big, I drink iced coffee.
00:19:56.050 --> 00:19:59.030
I'm a typical New Englander. I drink iced coffee 12 months a year.
00:20:02.010 --> 00:20:07.690
So I love iced coffee and iced tea. I think that the tannins and tea and coffee.
00:20:07.710 --> 00:20:10.030
Oh, it's a natural match. Great with a cigar.
00:20:10.250 --> 00:20:13.590
So, yeah, that Epernay would go really, really nicely with a cup of coffee.
00:20:14.270 --> 00:20:16.690
For Aganor Solif, I really like their...
00:20:17.631 --> 00:20:24.351
Corojo Signature in the Corona Gorda size. That's probably my favorite of their line.
00:20:25.731 --> 00:20:30.471
724 does a cigar called an 1874 in a petite Corona format. It's made by Plasencia.
00:20:31.211 --> 00:20:34.871
Phenomenal. They got a lot of good stuff. Yeah, nice. Noel Rojas,
00:20:35.131 --> 00:20:40.791
the cigar that I really, really like with him is his 10th anniversary that he
00:20:40.791 --> 00:20:42.431
just came out with. Okay, I haven't tried it.
00:20:43.571 --> 00:20:46.651
It's awesome. That's a really, really good cigar. I met him in Texas.
00:20:46.651 --> 00:20:48.211
Oh, Bill. Regular production.
00:20:50.791 --> 00:20:55.071
Regular production. It's probably with Rojas. I go back and forth between the
00:20:55.071 --> 00:20:57.011
blue bonnets and the statement. Blue bonnets, statement.
00:20:57.431 --> 00:21:00.831
Yeah. I would say probably the statement and the Corona. Not the statement.
00:21:00.931 --> 00:21:03.151
The blue bonnet, which is his Nicaraguan Corojo.
00:21:03.331 --> 00:21:08.211
I love Corojo. So anything that says Corojo on it, I'm probably going to gravitate towards it.
00:21:08.251 --> 00:21:12.051
So I like his Corojo in the 46 ring gauge, which is a Corona Gorda.
00:21:12.751 --> 00:21:15.971
For toscano i like the master master
00:21:15.971 --> 00:21:18.651
aged one okay which is a bigger cigar and the
00:21:18.651 --> 00:21:21.811
other interesting thing with toscano is a lot of guys cut them in half yeah
00:21:21.811 --> 00:21:25.451
you can you can cut them in half so i like that cigar great cigar to share with
00:21:25.451 --> 00:21:29.751
a buddy you know nice that's that's pretty much it i think that's it did i miss
00:21:29.751 --> 00:21:36.011
anyone nope do you kind of have a sorry do you kind of have a go-to like your daily smoke.
00:21:37.319 --> 00:21:39.279
Or this is just kind of depending on what you're doing? It depends on the time
00:21:39.279 --> 00:21:44.899
of the day. I do like to start in the morning, and I kind of keep myself on a progression.
00:21:45.099 --> 00:21:47.719
I like to start milder in the morning.
00:21:48.059 --> 00:21:53.779
So in the morning, I would smoke generally either a, like an Aganorse Validation
00:21:53.779 --> 00:21:58.399
Connecticut, which I think is one of the best mild cigars out there.
00:21:58.599 --> 00:22:03.339
I also really, really like Rojas' Street Taco Carnitas. It's a Connecticut.
00:22:04.259 --> 00:22:08.939
Midday, I start getting into that Ellusione Epernay. fire up some of the Toscanos.
00:22:09.019 --> 00:22:11.619
Toscanos got a new cigar out that's something different for them,
00:22:11.779 --> 00:22:14.319
only available to PCA participants.
00:22:14.479 --> 00:22:17.879
I don't know if you know the premium cigar associated here. Yep, we're a PCA house.
00:22:18.059 --> 00:22:23.299
Yep. So they just came out with a new cigar for them. It's actually air-cured
00:22:23.299 --> 00:22:24.979
tobacco, which is something different for them.
00:22:25.119 --> 00:22:27.899
It's called a Brenta. That's a great mid-day cigar.
00:22:28.299 --> 00:22:32.139
And then later in the day, I'll break out the Aganorsa Signature,
00:22:32.319 --> 00:22:34.379
Corojo, and Maduro, a little more full-bodied.
00:22:34.539 --> 00:22:36.999
The Aganorsa Anniversario was phenomenal.
00:22:37.199 --> 00:22:40.819
Love that stick. Yeah, it's a good stick. The Maduro Anniversario smokes like
00:22:40.819 --> 00:22:43.439
a chocolate bar. It's just a great, great, great smoke.
00:22:43.679 --> 00:22:46.399
I think that's like one of the best things you could say about a cigar.
00:22:46.539 --> 00:22:48.299
It's like, it smokes like chocolate. Yeah.
00:22:49.559 --> 00:22:52.479
And the funny thing is with a Maduro, it actually looks like chocolate.
00:22:52.539 --> 00:22:55.839
So you're smoking this thing and you're like, wow, I'm, you know,
00:22:56.319 --> 00:23:01.319
and you start to like play games with yourself because you're wondering if the color of the wrapper,
00:23:01.499 --> 00:23:04.259
if it's putting a, you know, preconceived notion in your mouth but
00:23:04.259 --> 00:23:07.159
it's like damn i think this really tastes like like chocolate right
00:23:07.159 --> 00:23:10.659
yeah so here we go john uh-oh fully
00:23:10.659 --> 00:23:15.679
stocked fully stocked lounge here we go you have ten dollars in your pocket
00:23:15.679 --> 00:23:19.199
what are you smoking and it can't be something you got for free because you're
00:23:19.199 --> 00:23:26.879
right yeah yeah um hello marco uh hey marco oh oh the willet has arrived the
00:23:26.879 --> 00:23:30.519
willet has arrived how you doing sir if we rub that does barbara eden come out.
00:23:33.142 --> 00:23:37.442
Hopefully not current. Oh, is Barbara Eaton still alive?
00:23:38.502 --> 00:23:42.342
You better try. I hope so. I don't know. I don't know. She's been sitting in
00:23:42.342 --> 00:23:45.542
that bottle. Who's in the dead pool? Who's got Barbara Eaton in the dead pool?
00:23:46.622 --> 00:23:51.222
Going to find out. It's Keith Richards and Barbara Eaton for me. Holy crap.
00:23:54.682 --> 00:23:56.962
I mean, who would have thought the drummer for the Rolling Stones would have
00:23:56.962 --> 00:23:59.922
died before Keith Richards? I mean, it's Keith Richards alive.
00:24:00.322 --> 00:24:01.902
Keith Richards is alive. Somewhat.
00:24:02.482 --> 00:24:06.022
I mean, if you look at him. Technically, they haven't buried him yet.
00:24:06.322 --> 00:24:09.522
He'll probably outlive us all. Barbara Eden's alive in 93.
00:24:10.122 --> 00:24:13.242
We're not hitting that now, but maybe later. God bless her.
00:24:14.222 --> 00:24:17.342
$10. Fully stocked. I'm sorry. We got derailed a little bit.
00:24:17.402 --> 00:24:21.182
We got derailed. Sorry. That's okay. I've only got $10.
00:24:22.762 --> 00:24:25.522
We're going to not factor in taxes because that... Yeah, no.
00:24:26.142 --> 00:24:29.262
No taxes. For $10 MSRP, I would smoke.
00:24:29.442 --> 00:24:31.942
I'll give you a couple. I would smoke. That Epernay is actually pretty close
00:24:31.942 --> 00:24:34.862
to $10, so some of the smaller sizes would qualify.
00:24:35.682 --> 00:24:40.062
Rojas Street Taco, Barbicola, one of the best values out there.
00:24:40.322 --> 00:24:45.202
And any of the Aganorsa validations, tremendous value.
00:24:45.922 --> 00:24:49.562
Aganorsa also makes another line of cigars called JFR, which stands for Just
00:24:49.562 --> 00:24:50.662
for Retail. They're good.
00:24:50.802 --> 00:24:55.342
And honestly, it's the same tobacco that Aganorsa uses in their more expensive
00:24:55.342 --> 00:24:59.882
cigars, but the packaging is they strip down the packaging.
00:25:00.422 --> 00:25:04.862
Plain wooden box, plain band so they're not spending a ton of money on packaging.
00:25:05.022 --> 00:25:07.722
By the way, no frills line? It's no frills.
00:25:09.082 --> 00:25:12.882
We have them here and they're good. They're really good, man.
00:25:14.002 --> 00:25:17.162
Good shit. That used to be one of my go-tos.
00:25:19.642 --> 00:25:22.602
What are you smoking for $10? It doesn't have to be one of mine.
00:25:22.802 --> 00:25:25.182
What are you smoking for a 10 spot in the humidor?
00:25:27.482 --> 00:25:30.982
I like The New World by AJ. AJ? You can't go wrong with that.
00:25:30.982 --> 00:25:33.662
Oh, you can't go wrong. Yeah. AJ's a genius. He's good.
00:25:34.382 --> 00:25:38.022
They have so much good stuff, though. I think that's the interesting part about
00:25:38.022 --> 00:25:41.182
that. That's one of their... Yeah. You know.
00:25:41.882 --> 00:25:43.742
I think that's the interesting part about that question, though,
00:25:43.762 --> 00:25:50.322
too, is there's so many cigars out there at that $10 price point that are fucking good. Yeah. Yeah.
00:25:50.762 --> 00:25:52.922
Well, look, I'll tell you guys. It makes it a hard question.
00:25:52.922 --> 00:25:57.742
As a, I mean, I still smoke a ton of cigars on my own time.
00:25:58.162 --> 00:26:01.082
So I haven't forgotten what it's like to be a cigar consumer.
00:26:01.522 --> 00:26:06.382
There has never been a better time to be a cigar smoker in the United States than right now.
00:26:06.542 --> 00:26:14.282
I mean, you literally, not every cigar is great, but you literally have to work to find a bad cigar.
00:26:14.462 --> 00:26:17.662
True. You know, if somebody hands you a cigar and says, hey,
00:26:17.802 --> 00:26:21.442
smoke this, it may not be wheelhouse for you. It may not be right in your backyard,
00:26:21.462 --> 00:26:25.202
but man, you know, it's a good cigar. You'll finish. You're not going to put
00:26:25.202 --> 00:26:26.182
it up. Yeah, I'm a good cigar. Yeah.
00:26:26.982 --> 00:26:30.462
So, Tim, you could piggyback off that. Is there ever a cigar that you have put
00:26:30.462 --> 00:26:31.722
down that you didn't like?
00:26:32.477 --> 00:26:37.157
Oh, I'm sure there is. I got to think. I'll tell you. I'm not ducking this question.
00:26:37.277 --> 00:26:38.217
I got to think about that.
00:26:38.657 --> 00:26:41.337
I'll tell you right off the rip. It's been a while. It really has.
00:26:41.517 --> 00:26:43.757
And it's very hard for me to put down a cigar.
00:26:43.977 --> 00:26:47.477
And there's two cigars that I actually put down. Bill was there for one.
00:26:47.557 --> 00:26:49.597
It was the live pack, the last one that you did.
00:26:50.037 --> 00:26:52.297
It was like smoking. Freestyle live from Drew. Freestyle live.
00:26:52.377 --> 00:26:54.757
It was like smoking cotton candy. I don't even know what it's going to be.
00:26:54.957 --> 00:26:57.117
It was horribly so sweet.
00:26:57.337 --> 00:26:59.837
Sweet tip or just a sweet tip? No, the whole way through.
00:27:00.397 --> 00:27:02.557
I got a quarter of the way through. How the heck do they do that?
00:27:03.997 --> 00:27:08.357
And the Monte Cristo New Yorker, which one of my guys told me that that was,
00:27:08.477 --> 00:27:11.917
he said, oh, man, I sell these by the box. I bought the first one. It was $18.
00:27:12.397 --> 00:27:15.017
He gave me the second one for free, and it was still the same.
00:27:15.137 --> 00:27:18.277
It was like putting your tongue on a nine-volt battery.
00:27:18.457 --> 00:27:21.317
It was so out. It's under-fermented?
00:27:21.937 --> 00:27:25.657
That's what it sounds like. It was so bad. It sounds like they rushed it.
00:27:25.777 --> 00:27:26.917
It didn't sit long enough. Right.
00:27:27.117 --> 00:27:30.017
But he said there's guys that swear by it. I just couldn't do it.
00:27:30.117 --> 00:27:32.177
I couldn't do it. Everybody's different. Yeah. Yeah.
00:27:32.497 --> 00:27:34.257
I've never had one. I have no idea.
00:27:35.257 --> 00:27:37.957
And I probably won't. Did you smoke the other one, the Life?
00:27:38.757 --> 00:27:41.057
Oh, yeah. You put it down. I tried. Oh, yeah. Okay.
00:27:41.457 --> 00:27:45.017
That's your one. That I can't smoke. No, no way. I can't smoke. Oh, yeah.
00:27:45.917 --> 00:27:49.577
I got to think, the last cigar I smoked that I was like, I just can't do this.
00:27:50.917 --> 00:27:53.537
Man, I really got to think about that. And again, like I said,
00:27:53.577 --> 00:27:56.317
there's so many good cigars out there. It's hard to find a bad cigar.
00:27:56.757 --> 00:28:02.777
It's not easy. And how many years have I known you? I think I met you in 2008. Yeah. Oh, shit.
00:28:03.137 --> 00:28:07.377
Yeah. And for 17 years. Yeah. That was quick math. We were...
00:28:07.377 --> 00:28:09.117
Come on. You were with Oliva.
00:28:09.497 --> 00:28:12.677
I was with Oliva. You were at another retailer? Yes, I was. I don't know if
00:28:12.677 --> 00:28:14.257
you're allowed to bring that up.
00:28:15.417 --> 00:28:19.277
Somewhere else, somebody else, yeah. Yeah, no, but back then,
00:28:19.277 --> 00:28:22.677
there weren't nearly as many...
00:28:23.673 --> 00:28:27.433
Great cigars. Nicaragua was, was just coming around at the time.
00:28:27.653 --> 00:28:32.713
Yeah. Yeah. And it's funny that, you know, things change so quick. Yeah.
00:28:32.993 --> 00:28:36.673
And I've noticed that, that, that people are finally starting to come off the,
00:28:36.813 --> 00:28:38.953
are Cubans the best cigars in the world?
00:28:39.553 --> 00:28:42.853
100%. I don't hear that anymore.
00:28:43.013 --> 00:28:46.913
I hear it still, but not as much. It's going down. You know what it's like,
00:28:46.993 --> 00:28:48.233
you know, like nails on a chalkboard.
00:28:48.373 --> 00:28:52.613
It's like, okay, first of all, you got like, if you go somewhere and you light
00:28:52.613 --> 00:28:56.953
a cigar you always got the guys like do you have an extra cigar right so that's
00:28:56.953 --> 00:29:01.293
like okay number one you're not a cigar guy because if you were you'd have one right right,
00:29:01.793 --> 00:29:05.713
and then it's like what do i smoke well i only smoke cubits and it's like well
00:29:05.713 --> 00:29:11.333
which one look at you well you know you know no i don't know oh my god it's
00:29:11.333 --> 00:29:14.673
like nails on a chalkboard yeah yeah you know so what i what i've started to
00:29:14.673 --> 00:29:17.573
hear is that that people are starting and i don't know if it's like something
00:29:17.573 --> 00:29:21.453
that they're trying to do formally to get this branding out there,
00:29:21.573 --> 00:29:26.073
but they're branding Estelae Nicaragua as ground zero for the cigar business right now.
00:29:26.253 --> 00:29:28.993
Not Havana, Cuba anymore. Yeah. And I'm like, you know what?
00:29:29.213 --> 00:29:33.173
I can't argue with that. I can't either. So good stuff coming out of Estelae
00:29:33.173 --> 00:29:35.393
and Nicaragua in general. It's incredible.
00:29:36.633 --> 00:29:43.013
Now, do you see anything on the horizon? Maybe a Honduras, some stuff coming out of there?
00:29:43.093 --> 00:29:45.813
Well, that Epernay that I told you about, it's actually made in Honduras.
00:29:45.993 --> 00:29:52.053
Okay. So yeah, there's a ton, a ton of good tobacco in Honduras. I just personally like,
00:29:52.669 --> 00:29:55.549
nicaraguan tobacco a little more yeah with but there's exceptions
00:29:55.549 --> 00:29:58.289
to every rule like i said i've been talking about the epernay i love the epernay there
00:29:58.289 --> 00:30:02.429
are no absolutes christian aroa and his brother gusto they're
00:30:02.429 --> 00:30:07.169
growing some corojo in honduras that's absolutely fantastic nice good good stuff
00:30:07.169 --> 00:30:11.129
so yeah i mean there's there's definitely good tobacco in honduras you know
00:30:11.129 --> 00:30:15.149
what's going on in the dr let's say fuente la aurora there's great tobacco the
00:30:15.149 --> 00:30:20.189
ernie carillo there's great tobacco coming out of the dr so like i said i mean you walk into a So,
00:30:20.309 --> 00:30:24.049
you know, when we first started smoking cigars in the... Well,
00:30:24.049 --> 00:30:25.529
I started smoking cigars in the 90s.
00:30:25.729 --> 00:30:29.569
So if you wanted a full-bodied cigar in the 90s, you had pretty much three options.
00:30:29.829 --> 00:30:33.989
You had Ernie Carrillo's original La Gloria Cubana that was made in Miami.
00:30:34.069 --> 00:30:37.209
You had some of the Fuente stuff, and you had Padron.
00:30:37.489 --> 00:30:41.409
And everything else was medium or mild to medium.
00:30:41.909 --> 00:30:46.289
And then, you know... But in Nicaragua came out, and they started making some
00:30:46.289 --> 00:30:49.469
powerhouse cigars, which were really good.
00:30:49.469 --> 00:30:52.209
Really good or a guy like lito gomez lito comes along and
00:30:52.209 --> 00:30:55.149
you know la gloria cuba i'm not la gloria little florida gonna
00:30:55.149 --> 00:30:58.169
started as a mild brand and he saw that everybody
00:30:58.169 --> 00:31:01.049
was making mild cigars but he saw an opportunity to make something
00:31:01.049 --> 00:31:04.389
more full-bodied and now you know lito's making
00:31:04.389 --> 00:31:09.429
high octane cigars his biggest problem is he can't make enough of them he told
00:31:09.429 --> 00:31:14.529
us that person yeah yeah it's it's so like it's just it's it's a great hobby
00:31:14.529 --> 00:31:18.089
to to be involved in and and the other thing i like about it like i said we
00:31:18.089 --> 00:31:20.909
i get along with all the other reps when when when reps get together we're trading
00:31:20.909 --> 00:31:23.669
cigars back and forth you try this try that hey have you tried this
00:31:24.089 --> 00:31:28.569
it's just a lot of fun and it's just uh i said it's a great time to smoke cigars
00:31:28.569 --> 00:31:34.629
yeah yeah you're absolutely right what we got on the horizon sometimes it's
00:31:34.629 --> 00:31:39.189
great sometimes it's frustrating because there's so much good stuff coming out
00:31:39.189 --> 00:31:43.849
yeah you can't have everything i was gonna say For a shop, it's got to be difficult.
00:31:44.429 --> 00:31:49.129
Guys, I was talking to Ryan Shepard's with me, who's the sales manager at Ellusion,
00:31:49.409 --> 00:31:51.229
and we were talking in the car on the way over.
00:31:52.029 --> 00:31:56.309
And that's exactly what I was trying to say is I totally lost where I was going
00:31:56.309 --> 00:31:58.849
with this. I had something almost profound to say. Oh, man.
00:31:59.269 --> 00:32:02.969
So when I go into a shop that's opening and they're like, yeah,
00:32:03.029 --> 00:32:06.489
we're going to open a cigar shop. And I'm like, well, how big is your humidor going to be?
00:32:06.669 --> 00:32:08.829
Oh, our humidor is going to be 10 feet by 10 feet.
00:32:09.929 --> 00:32:13.529
It's not going to be big enough. And they're like, no, no, well,
00:32:13.589 --> 00:32:14.589
what do you mean? I'm like, well...
00:32:15.605 --> 00:32:18.245
It's probably going to have to be about three times that size.
00:32:18.445 --> 00:32:21.925
Oh, no, that's crazy. What do you mean? It's like you don't understand that
00:32:21.925 --> 00:32:23.345
you're opening a cigar shop.
00:32:23.445 --> 00:32:27.745
You take, in your mind, you take a snapshot of what's out there currently and
00:32:27.745 --> 00:32:29.565
what you just said about what's on the horizon.
00:32:29.785 --> 00:32:35.785
So you stock a humidor and three months go by and 10 other cigars came out on the market.
00:32:35.925 --> 00:32:37.965
And you're like, maybe you don't want all 10 of them, but damn it,
00:32:38.025 --> 00:32:40.085
I do want three of them. Right. Where are you going to put them?
00:32:40.765 --> 00:32:44.605
Exactly. And now you're playing cigar Tetris and you just.
00:32:48.905 --> 00:32:52.125
You cannot build a humidor big enough because it's not like i said it's not
00:32:52.125 --> 00:32:55.565
just what you think you want in your humidor it's the stuff that you you are
00:32:55.565 --> 00:32:58.105
definitely going to want in your humidor yeah that hasn't even been thought
00:32:58.105 --> 00:33:01.985
of yet you know you're right yeah and then i like to tell people when they're
00:33:01.985 --> 00:33:03.945
because they're like well you're a cigar rep so of course you're going to say
00:33:03.945 --> 00:33:07.445
that and i say well yeah but you know what i may be a salesman but some of my lies are true.
00:33:10.145 --> 00:33:14.225
You need a bigger human heart yeah yeah
00:33:14.225 --> 00:33:16.925
and then palates change you know it's like you know
00:33:16.925 --> 00:33:19.705
everybody's got their own cigar journey journey it's like where
00:33:19.705 --> 00:33:22.605
you started where you go you kind
00:33:22.605 --> 00:33:25.805
of figure it out it's like do i like full body
00:33:25.805 --> 00:33:28.685
medium body do i like light you know everybody's kind
00:33:28.685 --> 00:33:31.625
of i know speaking from my journey it's
00:33:31.625 --> 00:33:34.305
like where you started where you end up at and
00:33:34.305 --> 00:33:36.985
then what your wheelhouse is it changes you know
00:33:36.985 --> 00:33:40.025
it's not the same it's like the cigars i started with
00:33:40.025 --> 00:33:42.865
10 years ago maybe i don't smoke
00:33:42.865 --> 00:33:47.305
all of them now yeah might be one or two that stayed but you know it's it's
00:33:47.305 --> 00:33:53.405
a it's a fun trip but sometimes they change too they do like good example of
00:33:53.405 --> 00:34:00.425
that is when christian roo was with camacho right i used to love Honduran cigar,
00:34:01.385 --> 00:34:08.865
Corojo, his cigars were the best, in my opinion, back probably when I first met you.
00:34:08.965 --> 00:34:11.345
Cabacho years, though? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
00:34:12.907 --> 00:34:16.627
You know, he was making fuller-bodied stuff. Not a lot of people out there were
00:34:16.627 --> 00:34:18.727
making them strong back then.
00:34:20.747 --> 00:34:25.147
But since then, things with Honduras have changed.
00:34:25.867 --> 00:34:31.687
Now, a lot of, in my opinion, the better cigars are coming out of Nicaragua.
00:34:32.227 --> 00:34:34.227
I'm with you. Yeah, I would disagree with that.
00:34:35.147 --> 00:34:40.827
It's hard to, I think, by and large, like if you surveyed like 100 brands,
00:34:40.827 --> 00:34:45.027
I think the majority of the cigars that you would like would probably come from Nicaragua.
00:34:45.647 --> 00:34:51.267
That's not to say that the stuff coming out of Honduras and the DR are not good cigars.
00:34:51.387 --> 00:34:54.387
I mean, I'll be the first to tell you, I have nothing but respect for the Fuente family.
00:34:54.447 --> 00:34:58.927
I always loved the way Carlito blended, so I'll never say a bad word about the
00:34:58.927 --> 00:35:01.927
Fuente. In fact, I go out of my way to say nice things about the Fuente family.
00:35:02.267 --> 00:35:04.567
But if you ask me, it's like, well, what do you think of Dominican tobacco?
00:35:04.807 --> 00:35:08.667
I'd be like, well, the exception of what Fuente does.
00:35:10.027 --> 00:35:13.867
It's kind of milder, it's kind of sweeter. Now, is that a tobacco thing,
00:35:13.867 --> 00:35:15.047
or is that a blender thing?
00:35:15.207 --> 00:35:19.007
I think it's a little bit of both.
00:35:19.387 --> 00:35:25.307
Because, I mean, with the exception of Opus, I think, and again, I don't know.
00:35:26.884 --> 00:35:31.264
A cigar blender is going to tell you a lot. They're never going to tell you everything. Yeah.
00:35:31.844 --> 00:35:35.004
It's like adding your grandma for the recipe to the cake. It's the secret sauce.
00:35:35.444 --> 00:35:39.324
So I think, you know, I think a company like Fuente, with the exception of Opus,
00:35:39.424 --> 00:35:42.064
that they showcase that as a Dominican Puro.
00:35:42.284 --> 00:35:44.424
I think they're probably bringing in tobacco from other places.
00:35:44.744 --> 00:35:47.064
You know, there's one of the companies I work for. I'm not going to say who
00:35:47.064 --> 00:35:50.204
it is. I know that they sell tobacco to the Fuente family.
00:35:50.424 --> 00:35:53.584
You know, I don't know where it goes, but, you know. Yeah.
00:35:54.984 --> 00:35:58.544
I like hearing that. You know, I'm working for a company, and somebody who I
00:35:58.544 --> 00:36:01.004
respect thinks enough of the tobacco to buy a ton of it.
00:36:01.144 --> 00:36:04.664
Yeah. Or multiple tons of it. So, you know.
00:36:05.504 --> 00:36:12.204
But I guess who that is. Yeah. What about Davidoff? What about Davidoff? You... Oh.
00:36:17.044 --> 00:36:22.984
So, I'm talking Dominican cigars. Davidoff. Back when Henke was the master blender.
00:36:23.344 --> 00:36:25.844
I've smoked a few Davidoffs in my time.
00:36:26.324 --> 00:36:31.764
I think Davidoff has done a great job of marketing. Well, no.
00:36:32.564 --> 00:36:36.384
Back in the day when we were first starting this, Davidoffs were mild.
00:36:36.904 --> 00:36:41.504
It's like, yeah, I can, you know, and at the time, oh, that's like a $15 cigar.
00:36:41.564 --> 00:36:43.504
Who's ever going to smoke a $15 cigar?
00:36:43.644 --> 00:36:46.144
Now it's like 50 bucks, whatever, yeah.
00:36:46.324 --> 00:36:48.764
But anyway, it was an expensive cigar back in the day, but it was mild.
00:36:48.904 --> 00:36:52.684
So the guys that smoked a lot of cigars were like, hang on, Yankee,
00:36:52.824 --> 00:36:55.164
check and score. Oh, still want to do it. Cleveland.
00:36:55.744 --> 00:36:59.344
Fucking Cleveland. Damn it. Fucking Cleveland. So, anyway.
00:37:01.184 --> 00:37:04.744
I think they did a really nice job of reading the market, and over the last,
00:37:04.784 --> 00:37:08.464
I'd say, 10 years, they've started to come out with some stuff that's a little
00:37:08.464 --> 00:37:12.184
more challenging to the more experienced palates. So I think they've done a
00:37:12.184 --> 00:37:13.164
really nice job with that.
00:37:14.944 --> 00:37:19.164
Look, is a cigar worth $30, $50, $750?
00:37:19.164 --> 00:37:22.784
Dollars it builds going like
00:37:22.784 --> 00:37:25.784
this and honestly i would probably go
00:37:25.784 --> 00:37:29.264
like this if i were talking about my personal budget fair but
00:37:29.264 --> 00:37:32.024
at the end of the day is a cigar worth 50 bucks only you can
00:37:32.024 --> 00:37:36.644
answer that if you like the cigar and let's be honest some guys 50 bucks is
00:37:36.644 --> 00:37:42.664
like 25 cents to me get it if if you've got the budget and smoking davidoff
00:37:42.664 --> 00:37:46.564
makes you feel good yeah hey have at it man it's a free it's a free country
00:37:46.564 --> 00:37:51.064
yeah yeah so you look angry about that.
00:37:54.544 --> 00:37:57.664
Not angry not angry not angry at all
00:37:57.664 --> 00:38:00.744
but that that the uh the david off regional manager
00:38:00.744 --> 00:38:05.464
bought me a beer last month so i mean you can say the same about padrone padrone
00:38:05.464 --> 00:38:09.504
i look but padrone's another family that i've got a lot of respect for padrone
00:38:09.504 --> 00:38:15.184
what i love about padrone is i think if If I went back to school and I needed
00:38:15.184 --> 00:38:17.744
to do a master's thesis, You'd go to Padron.
00:38:17.904 --> 00:38:21.124
I would use Padron as a case study of how you can be successful,
00:38:22.161 --> 00:38:25.481
without doing any of the things that a consultant would tell you to be,
00:38:25.581 --> 00:38:27.301
you needed to do to be successful.
00:38:27.821 --> 00:38:31.461
It's like, yeah, they kind of, they're like, they got to go on there.
00:38:31.661 --> 00:38:35.521
They have no reps, no cigar reps. They sell.
00:38:36.001 --> 00:38:39.001
They're like Eddie KGB from Rounders, you know?
00:38:39.261 --> 00:38:45.441
It's like, that's it, you know? Brian from Luzione is stepping to the table.
00:38:45.501 --> 00:38:46.921
Hey, Brian. What did I say wrong?
00:38:51.081 --> 00:38:56.261
I really didn't want to listen so pull that down to your face a little bit there you go good,
00:38:57.081 --> 00:39:01.841
so ryan welcome thank you yeah glad to be here ryan so give you a little history
00:39:01.841 --> 00:39:05.761
ryan and i worked together at oliva years ago ryan was a rep out west i was
00:39:05.761 --> 00:39:07.541
a rep and a manager here in the east,
00:39:08.581 --> 00:39:12.681
and ryan's done pretty damn well for himself much better than me by the way
00:39:12.681 --> 00:39:17.061
and yeah he is now the National Sales Manager for Ellusion. You're the guy at Ellusion.
00:39:17.441 --> 00:39:22.321
Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Oh, sure. Various janitorial services. Exactly.
00:39:25.221 --> 00:39:29.001
How long have you been with Ellusion? Right at two and a half years.
00:39:29.961 --> 00:39:34.681
Before that, I was with STG for around 10 years.
00:39:35.301 --> 00:39:37.641
And then I was with Aliva for about two. That's how I got in the business.
00:39:38.041 --> 00:39:42.301
You don't look old enough. You don't look old enough to be in the state for 12 years.
00:39:43.801 --> 00:39:48.041
I mean, I dropped out of high school to get in this game, you know,
00:39:50.481 --> 00:39:54.321
various false IDs. McLovin over here.
00:39:57.757 --> 00:40:00.117
So what got you into the cigar business at such an early age?
00:40:00.337 --> 00:40:03.697
Well, it was funny. I was in the mattress business before, so I worked for a
00:40:03.697 --> 00:40:04.937
big company called Mattress Firm.
00:40:05.197 --> 00:40:08.117
Yeah. I look like it. I actually look like a mattress salesman.
00:40:09.017 --> 00:40:11.137
So... I don't even know what that means.
00:40:13.097 --> 00:40:16.977
Sometimes you just let it go. I'm telling you, as big as the counts with a porno
00:40:16.977 --> 00:40:20.577
factory in San Jose or San... In the Valley. In the Valley.
00:40:22.057 --> 00:40:25.337
Okay. That makes sense. All right. So I was in a new business development out
00:40:25.337 --> 00:40:28.097
there, and I was bouncing around all over the country and you know big cigar
00:40:28.097 --> 00:40:31.657
smoker so i made friends with reps along the way because i would hang out the
00:40:31.657 --> 00:40:35.637
local shops wherever i was doing and made friends with the rep from davidoff and
00:40:36.017 --> 00:40:38.797
one day i decided i want to do something i liked and i said hey are
00:40:38.797 --> 00:40:42.177
there any openings and he hooked me up with a couple opportunities and one of
00:40:42.177 --> 00:40:45.397
those happened to be with oliva so i went to an interview and they said you
00:40:45.397 --> 00:40:50.437
can have philadelphia or the pacific northwest in northern california so went
00:40:50.437 --> 00:40:54.917
out west and then the rest is history how how was the cigar industry out west
00:40:54.917 --> 00:40:56.137
because They're a little bit tighter,
00:40:56.137 --> 00:41:00.377
obviously, on some of their regulations and stuff. Did you find it different than?
00:41:00.877 --> 00:41:04.357
Well, it's very different in terms of like, especially like the Pacific Northwest
00:41:04.357 --> 00:41:06.197
versus California is two different things, right?
00:41:06.597 --> 00:41:11.337
Fair enough. So up there, there's key players, you know, like the tribal lands
00:41:11.337 --> 00:41:14.277
that have no taxes. They could be competitive as can be.
00:41:14.337 --> 00:41:19.197
So the cigar culture is rich per capita, I would say, in Portland and call it
00:41:19.197 --> 00:41:24.217
Seattle, almost anywhere that you've seen based on how many people smoke cigars for the population.
00:41:24.377 --> 00:41:27.977
Okay. So California is a different monster, different types of business,
00:41:27.977 --> 00:41:30.437
but it's still one of the biggest cigar markets in the country.
00:41:30.637 --> 00:41:33.037
And that's, you know, you have a lot of distribution channels.
00:41:33.177 --> 00:41:37.157
You have a lot of different things out there that cover the entire United States
00:41:37.157 --> 00:41:38.217
versus just California.
00:41:38.457 --> 00:41:41.957
So the business is different out there. But out here, it's fun.
00:41:42.837 --> 00:41:47.337
This is my first time in Connecticut today ever. I'm sorry. Welcome to the CT.
00:41:48.477 --> 00:41:51.217
It's like I got to check the two of the last. Before anyone asks,
00:41:51.257 --> 00:41:54.237
I did bring him for pizza in New Haven. He's had his New Haven pizza. Oh, okay.
00:41:54.877 --> 00:41:58.817
Where in New Haven? Well, we were going to do Sally's and Pepe's,
00:41:58.857 --> 00:42:00.117
but we could only get into Pepe's.
00:42:00.197 --> 00:42:04.537
Okay, fair. The lines were a little long, but yeah, Pepe's, it blew my mind. It was...
00:42:05.058 --> 00:42:08.638
This is the best pizza I've ever had. Yeah. Hands down. That'll happen. We know.
00:42:12.938 --> 00:42:17.278
It's funny. The fights you'll hear, though. Oh, yeah. God, yeah. Just in New Haven alone.
00:42:17.438 --> 00:42:21.838
Like, not even that New Haven is pizza, but just the pizzerias in New Haven alone.
00:42:22.118 --> 00:42:26.338
Happy, Sally, modern. Oh, God. I posted the check-in. It was like,
00:42:26.398 --> 00:42:28.758
oh, did you try bar? Did you? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
00:42:29.098 --> 00:42:31.918
You don't even know. I'm like, I didn't say it was the best. Oh, my God.
00:42:32.358 --> 00:42:36.318
I always say, if you want to start a fist fight in a bar in New Haven, let's talk about pizza.
00:42:36.698 --> 00:42:39.198
Oh, my God. It's like they talked about your mom. It's like,
00:42:39.238 --> 00:42:42.978
whoa. It's like down in Philly with Pats and Genos. Who's got the best?
00:42:43.518 --> 00:42:45.818
And by the way. With or without. Do you have any listeners down there?
00:42:45.878 --> 00:42:50.178
Because I have a very strong opinion of that. We'll say no. Okay. We'll say no. Let it go.
00:42:50.778 --> 00:42:52.618
Cheese steaks are for tourists in Philadelphia.
00:42:54.758 --> 00:42:59.858
Okay. Philadelphia's contribution to the culinary world is the Italian roast
00:42:59.858 --> 00:43:04.138
pork. Have you ever had an Italian roast pork sandwich? I can't say I've had one in Thailand.
00:43:04.618 --> 00:43:08.098
Next time you're in a quote-unquote cheesesteak place in Philly,
00:43:08.318 --> 00:43:13.158
if you see Italian roast pork, it'll change your life. I know Tony Luke's has a great one.
00:43:14.358 --> 00:43:20.798
They roast their own pork, and it's like a spicy pork. They slice it up thin.
00:43:20.978 --> 00:43:22.338
They make their own bread.
00:43:22.658 --> 00:43:27.418
So fresh roll, thinly sliced pork, sauteed broccoli rabe, and a ton of garlic.
00:43:28.158 --> 00:43:30.638
It's making me hungry. You got a full tank of gas.
00:43:32.638 --> 00:43:36.678
So anyway, that has nothing to do with cigars, but cigar guys like to eat.
00:43:36.818 --> 00:43:40.058
So I'm telling you, if you're in Philly, Italian roast pork is the way to go.
00:43:40.178 --> 00:43:41.378
Leave the cheesesteaks to the tourists.
00:43:41.638 --> 00:43:43.618
You can get a cheesesteak at D'Angelo's when you get home.
00:43:44.458 --> 00:43:48.658
It's not the same. It's the same. It's just steak on a roll.
00:43:52.278 --> 00:43:56.098
People in Philly, he's only kidding. Maybe. I don't think so.
00:43:58.018 --> 00:44:01.218
So you've been with Illusion for about two and a half years. Two and a half years.
00:44:01.498 --> 00:44:06.218
Where was the, what was the chain? What made you change from, you said you were STG?
00:44:06.538 --> 00:44:10.538
Yeah. So I basically was managing the Western region, the seven reps out there,
00:44:10.658 --> 00:44:12.118
basically everything west of the Mississippi.
00:44:13.556 --> 00:44:17.176
And it just, the opportunity came and I, you know, Dion was one of my first
00:44:17.176 --> 00:44:20.776
customers when I was with Oliva, who I got kind of developed a friendship with,
00:44:20.776 --> 00:44:23.076
and that was 12 plus years, you know?
00:44:23.296 --> 00:44:28.076
So him and I have stayed close and the opportunity actually opened and I went
00:44:28.076 --> 00:44:30.076
and visited him and I said, what do you think?
00:44:30.216 --> 00:44:32.756
And I'd rather, you know, kind of get on this side of the business,
00:44:32.936 --> 00:44:36.316
going to Nicaragua, more understanding, blending what goes into,
00:44:36.516 --> 00:44:40.376
you know, securing materials, all these things that I've never got exposed to.
00:44:40.376 --> 00:44:44.176
So it's a big, big, big learning trip and it's been a pretty cool.
00:44:44.276 --> 00:44:47.516
And it made, it kind of reinvigorated my passion versus, you know,
00:44:47.596 --> 00:44:48.576
numbers and spreadsheets.
00:44:48.816 --> 00:44:51.856
It's got to be really different. Cause I mean, SDG is, I mean,
00:44:51.896 --> 00:44:54.376
as far as the cigar world goes, it's a massive corporation.
00:44:55.236 --> 00:44:59.316
Yeah. Really. So to be with Lugion, who's more of a, you know.
00:45:00.336 --> 00:45:03.456
Niche, all cigars is niche, but yeah.
00:45:03.936 --> 00:45:06.396
Yeah. It's all handmade, but it is just what goes into it. And,
00:45:06.396 --> 00:45:10.656
you know, like Dion's, you know, commitment to making sure the materials are
00:45:10.656 --> 00:45:12.256
right, making sure the construction is right.
00:45:12.436 --> 00:45:16.356
Like he really dives into it, I'd say, harder than anybody in this business.
00:45:16.576 --> 00:45:19.296
And a testament is, you know, my passport book's full now.
00:45:19.656 --> 00:45:24.316
So tell us about that first trip to Nicaragua, because as a cigar smoker and
00:45:24.316 --> 00:45:27.296
someone who's in the industry, you know, you have a certain perspective.
00:45:27.296 --> 00:45:31.756
But once you're actually down there and the whole factory and farm and everything,
00:45:32.036 --> 00:45:37.096
what was that experience like to see it firsthand up front and deal with that?
00:45:37.436 --> 00:45:40.956
Well, you know, the Nicaragua trip was different. You know, I've been like in
00:45:40.956 --> 00:45:44.716
the Dominican, you know, with STG and like saw kind of the operations and,
00:45:44.836 --> 00:45:46.876
you know, the rolling the galeras and everything like that.
00:45:47.296 --> 00:45:51.956
But going to Nicaragua and like being, you know, just dealing with tobaccos,
00:45:52.116 --> 00:45:56.276
like in the aging barns, the Barrancas and everything and learning how to grade
00:45:56.276 --> 00:45:57.656
tobaccos and what to look for.
00:45:58.096 --> 00:46:00.776
And, you know, Dion's thought process of this, that and the other.
00:46:00.876 --> 00:46:03.876
But, you know, just being there, it's just a different world because,
00:46:04.116 --> 00:46:06.096
you know, sometimes you got water, sometimes you don't, you know.
00:46:06.316 --> 00:46:10.056
So, you know, it's just it's a different kind of grind and it makes you really
00:46:10.056 --> 00:46:11.476
appreciate what you got here, too.
00:46:11.696 --> 00:46:15.256
But at the same time, you appreciate what they have. So it's kind of cool. Gotcha.
00:46:16.284 --> 00:46:21.584
So as someone that is, you know, working for the company, working for Illusion,
00:46:21.964 --> 00:46:25.744
how does that relationship work with a broker like John?
00:46:25.904 --> 00:46:27.824
Like, where does that, how does that build?
00:46:28.164 --> 00:46:32.104
Well, you want to take that first? Well, from my end, you know,
00:46:32.224 --> 00:46:37.684
I mean, when I'm talking Illusion, I mean, let's not, Ryan's the boss.
00:46:37.904 --> 00:46:42.564
You know, if I want to keep doing this, I got to do what he expects of me.
00:46:42.564 --> 00:46:45.344
So part of the challenge of being a broker
00:46:45.344 --> 00:46:48.324
is i've got five people like ryan and it's
00:46:48.324 --> 00:46:51.284
like it's it's a constant balancing act okay
00:46:51.284 --> 00:46:54.824
so for my end so yeah he's uh and you know i mean guys like
00:46:54.824 --> 00:46:59.784
ryan by and large very clear about what they expect it's like you know do abc
00:46:59.784 --> 00:47:04.704
and you know hopefully at the end of the year everything works out nice and
00:47:04.704 --> 00:47:09.844
in terms of you know being a principal at you in a sales organization with these
00:47:09.844 --> 00:47:11.504
guys that have five, six brands.
00:47:12.244 --> 00:47:14.084
You have to win the mind space.
00:47:14.524 --> 00:47:19.344
You have to make sure that you give them every single tool necessary to do what
00:47:19.344 --> 00:47:21.204
they need to do within reason, obviously.
00:47:21.564 --> 00:47:25.204
We're not vertically integrated or anything like that, so we've got some limitations
00:47:25.204 --> 00:47:28.364
in terms of that, but we put that back into the product. Hopefully,
00:47:28.524 --> 00:47:31.864
when they get it out, it turns and it stays on the shelf.
00:47:32.524 --> 00:47:36.904
Do you guys have any in-house reps, or are you guys all brokers throughout the
00:47:36.904 --> 00:47:40.204
country? It's all a broker network for us in the US.
00:47:40.844 --> 00:47:44.004
And then I kind of handle some key accounts and some pockets and things like
00:47:44.004 --> 00:47:47.744
that that are just out of the way, but that's pretty much how we run it.
00:47:48.624 --> 00:47:53.444
Do you guys have a footprint overseas at all or is it just in the US? Certain areas.
00:47:55.237 --> 00:47:58.637
Yeah, we do well in kind of these newer markets that are verging.
00:47:58.797 --> 00:48:02.097
You know, like everybody's, you know, I'm not trying to get too philosophical
00:48:02.097 --> 00:48:06.337
in terms of my business philosophy, but, you know, everybody's fighting for
00:48:06.337 --> 00:48:09.457
Europe and everybody's putting all they got into Europe.
00:48:09.957 --> 00:48:13.277
There's so much other stuff going on right now. If you look at geopolitics,
00:48:13.337 --> 00:48:15.197
you look at some things that are going on.
00:48:15.437 --> 00:48:19.257
There's markets right now that I'm not going to disclose because it's my secret
00:48:19.257 --> 00:48:23.937
sauce right now, but places you wouldn't think of that are doing really well
00:48:23.937 --> 00:48:29.137
for us. So that's a lot of difference in my philosophy versus some of the other companies.
00:48:29.297 --> 00:48:33.157
And I can just tell you what's happening in Europe and why everybody's in a
00:48:33.157 --> 00:48:36.257
rush to get to Europe is they can't get Cuban cigars in Europe.
00:48:36.657 --> 00:48:38.557
Because they're all going to
00:48:38.557 --> 00:48:41.977
Hong Kong. Because you can't make a cigar expensive enough for Hong Kong.
00:48:42.197 --> 00:48:46.977
They're like, it's $200? I really want to pay $300 for this cigar. Okay. Okay, yeah.
00:48:49.037 --> 00:48:52.157
So there's not a lot of Cuban cigars in Europe. So these cigar shops in Europe
00:48:52.157 --> 00:48:55.617
are like, well, I'm not just going to go out of business. So they're sourcing
00:48:55.617 --> 00:48:56.797
cigars from other places.
00:48:57.297 --> 00:49:00.077
And what they're finding out is that people actually are like,
00:49:00.357 --> 00:49:02.217
yeah, maybe these Cubans really aren't all that.
00:49:04.277 --> 00:49:08.177
So that's kind of what's going on in Europe right now. Do you find it puts a
00:49:08.177 --> 00:49:16.437
strain on your brand trying to get now more cigars out overseas and maybe not
00:49:16.437 --> 00:49:18.477
being able to ship as many to the States?
00:49:18.477 --> 00:49:24.057
Or is it? no we in terms of our philosophy for the most part those people kind
00:49:24.057 --> 00:49:28.517
of cut their things separate and it's it's done separate gotcha so that way
00:49:28.517 --> 00:49:32.017
it's not really interfering with u.s stock or you know things of that nature
00:49:32.017 --> 00:49:33.437
so you have a bifurcated position,
00:49:33.997 --> 00:49:38.897
you have a bifurcated position where it's like don't don't use big words here yeah,
00:49:40.477 --> 00:49:46.657
somebody showed up tonight what are we doing the name of the podcast ash chat we're not Fucking.
00:49:46.897 --> 00:49:48.957
The whole Indiana. I'm sorry.
00:49:49.537 --> 00:49:50.917
I read a book. I'm sorry.
00:49:54.497 --> 00:49:59.957
Jesus. Jesus. Jesus Christ. Shit's different. That better?
00:50:00.777 --> 00:50:05.017
See? Yes, I understand that one. Shit's different in your. That's what we're trying to say here.
00:50:06.477 --> 00:50:10.957
Don't worry about that shit. A little different over there. Yeah. Jackass.
00:50:14.637 --> 00:50:19.897
We went off the rails for a hot minute why not oh let's listen to these guys
00:50:19.897 --> 00:50:23.017
talk about cigars these people don't have a lot going on so let's we can kill
00:50:23.017 --> 00:50:25.697
some time yeah a hundred percent,
00:50:28.497 --> 00:50:30.617
nobody's got a date tonight let's just keep going.
00:50:34.289 --> 00:50:37.049
I think yours just showed up. I just saw Jay come in, so. He did. Yeah.
00:50:37.209 --> 00:50:40.929
I have a lovely wife at home, which is another reason this is boggling my mind
00:50:40.929 --> 00:50:42.709
that I'm sitting here right now. But anyway.
00:50:45.069 --> 00:50:48.889
The voices. So, Ryan, what's your favorite out of your portfolio right now?
00:50:49.029 --> 00:50:51.669
Like, what do you, like, if you're sitting and chilling, what are you smoking?
00:50:52.829 --> 00:50:56.149
Right now, which I blow with the wind. Oh, fuck me.
00:50:56.329 --> 00:50:59.989
A double flame. One aft black and tan. That's what I've been smoking the most
00:50:59.989 --> 00:51:02.009
of. It's a limited edition. We came out with it.
00:51:02.949 --> 00:51:07.189
PCA. uses tobacco that's never been used in cigars before besides our group
00:51:07.189 --> 00:51:09.309
of five, which we have here tonight.
00:51:09.589 --> 00:51:15.369
But that cigar, I don't know. It's all I can smoke now. Home run for you. Yeah. Hands down.
00:51:16.129 --> 00:51:20.249
Full body. You said that was limited? Yeah. Black and tan.
00:51:20.749 --> 00:51:25.229
But we'll be using it more, and we'll probably do some leases every single year
00:51:25.229 --> 00:51:26.949
with it. So it'll be pretty cool.
00:51:27.829 --> 00:51:31.749
And where's that tobacco? Agonorsa. I love those guys. Clearly.
00:51:31.949 --> 00:51:35.569
I heard you earlier. I'm like, oh, he's talking about secret sauce.
00:51:36.249 --> 00:51:39.569
By the way, that group of five has Zag and Horsa tobacco, correct?
00:51:39.849 --> 00:51:42.129
Yeah. I smoked my first one yesterday.
00:51:43.009 --> 00:51:45.369
It blew it out of the park. Yeah, it kicked him in the head.
00:51:45.369 --> 00:51:48.349
I was here yesterday. Oh, yeah? I loved it. I was like, Bill,
00:51:48.429 --> 00:51:50.749
he's got us kicking my ass.
00:51:51.369 --> 00:51:53.889
So good. I love that cigar. Yeah.
00:51:54.849 --> 00:51:59.249
I got to watch that from inception to finished product. So that was like the
00:51:59.249 --> 00:52:00.529
first thing I watched. Were you part of the blending process?
00:52:00.789 --> 00:52:04.449
No, no. i'm just there to make sure that you know we don't go too far off the
00:52:04.449 --> 00:52:10.909
rails for marketability quality he's like dion's like hey gutter palette make sure that's okay.
00:52:14.869 --> 00:52:19.109
There's a nickname and how long was that cigar aged before it was shipped,
00:52:20.588 --> 00:52:24.108
two okay because that long the cello
00:52:24.108 --> 00:52:26.968
on that yeah dark the same same as the one-off black and
00:52:26.968 --> 00:52:29.648
tan yeah good everybody's like how long is this
00:52:29.648 --> 00:52:35.168
so good yeah i i will say that i've only been with with ryan and with elusione
00:52:35.168 --> 00:52:39.248
for a couple of months but you sometimes when when you're working for a cigar
00:52:39.248 --> 00:52:42.708
company there are some things that you like to hear and i was with ryan earlier
00:52:42.708 --> 00:52:46.848
today and somebody said yeah you know i got a box of these figure what they
00:52:46.848 --> 00:52:48.208
were like a habano lancero
00:52:48.548 --> 00:52:51.488
and they weren't really what they should be. And he said, you know what?
00:52:52.228 --> 00:52:54.988
Hang on. Hang on, hang on. And we scored it. We had a double.
00:52:55.108 --> 00:52:57.988
So what he said, what I really, really appreciated, he's like, you know what?
00:52:58.388 --> 00:53:01.388
The company that made those cigars for us for a couple of months there,
00:53:01.868 --> 00:53:04.068
if they weren't doing it right, we sent them all back.
00:53:04.288 --> 00:53:07.108
And I said, you know what? Yeah. That's what I like to hear is a guy that's
00:53:07.108 --> 00:53:08.488
got to be the front line of that company.
00:53:08.768 --> 00:53:10.688
So that made me feel really good. Yeah.
00:53:11.268 --> 00:53:15.548
Hey, Jay Faleng is here with our dinner. What did you smoke for us tonight? Oh, you know what?
00:53:17.748 --> 00:53:22.448
Damn it jake we're kind of hungry jay you got anything you want to jump in you got the egg,
00:53:24.808 --> 00:53:28.648
yeah so anyway we're gonna bring jay in yeah all right jay i gotta sit down
00:53:28.648 --> 00:53:31.268
because we gotta i gotta go i gotta change the subject a little bit.
00:53:33.988 --> 00:53:41.488
All right give jay a second to sit on down yeah jay brisket oh yeah i used to
00:53:41.488 --> 00:53:44.728
know him as jay foul Yeah, it was Jay Fell back in the day.
00:53:44.748 --> 00:53:47.308
Sorry, here's why I'm a little nervous that we're both sitting here. Okay.
00:53:47.988 --> 00:53:50.528
Do you remember the last time you and I sat down and watched the Yankee game together?
00:53:51.788 --> 00:53:54.008
No. That would have been 0-4.
00:53:56.288 --> 00:53:58.988
And do you remember what happened in 0-4? Yeah, I'd like to forget that.
00:53:59.028 --> 00:54:02.008
I'm a superstitious man, Jay. I hope we're not doing this all over again.
00:54:02.728 --> 00:54:07.648
No, there's no way. Okay? No, because we're not up by three yet. Okay, yeah. All right.
00:54:07.828 --> 00:54:11.428
So I figure I got to get out of Connecticut by tonight, which I will be.
00:54:11.428 --> 00:54:14.788
I won't be back until at least the World Series, so we should be okay.
00:54:15.028 --> 00:54:18.728
But I'm very superstitious. Jay and I actually used to hang out in a cigar shop way back in the day.
00:54:19.008 --> 00:54:22.048
We used to watch a lot of Yankee games. We've actually been to a few Yankee games together.
00:54:22.288 --> 00:54:28.188
And we had the unfortunate currents of being in a cigar shop watching the Yankees
00:54:28.188 --> 00:54:32.448
squander a 3-0 ALCS lead to the dreaded Red Sox.
00:54:32.768 --> 00:54:35.628
It sucked. Possibly a low point in my life.
00:54:36.708 --> 00:54:41.768
Damn. I don't know if it was that slow. Damn. But I have nightmares about that.
00:54:41.988 --> 00:54:45.848
I was single back then. I didn't have a wife. I didn't have a child. So, I mean, single guy.
00:54:46.328 --> 00:54:49.368
That was the little point of my life. Oh, for it. Anyway.
00:54:50.308 --> 00:54:52.968
So, cigars. Jay, here we are.
00:54:54.128 --> 00:54:56.088
Welcome. So, what did I jump into?
00:54:57.288 --> 00:55:02.828
Not much. We were just talking about Ryan and his time at Illusion and STG before that. Have a Rex.
00:55:03.748 --> 00:55:05.888
Oh. Thank you, sir. No problem.
00:55:08.327 --> 00:55:13.147
So what was your position over at STG? How different was that from?
00:55:14.707 --> 00:55:18.707
You know, I learned a massive business skill set there.
00:55:18.847 --> 00:55:23.627
I'm learning how to do things and analyze data and all of that and look at trends
00:55:23.627 --> 00:55:27.147
and really figure out how to come up with solutions that are based in reality.
00:55:27.627 --> 00:55:32.847
So you learned a lot, but it was very, like I said, spreadsheet,
00:55:33.127 --> 00:55:37.087
PowerPoint oriented. And it's just like to an extreme.
00:55:37.467 --> 00:55:40.567
Yeah. So, but, you know, it was good to learn all the, you know,
00:55:40.627 --> 00:55:42.147
how to build programs and things like that.
00:55:42.227 --> 00:55:44.827
And that's kind of what I've tried to bring to this company a little bit more
00:55:44.827 --> 00:55:49.807
somewhat of that idea, working the different channels and, you know,
00:55:49.947 --> 00:55:51.447
how to, how to make an impact there.
00:55:51.647 --> 00:55:56.527
So it gave me a skillset that was very important for this role, for sure. Nice.
00:55:57.327 --> 00:56:01.487
Nice. Very cool. Going back to the, the Aganorsa thing, you mentioned you have
00:56:01.487 --> 00:56:03.787
some Aganorsa in that, in that group of five.
00:56:04.087 --> 00:56:08.187
I've noticed a bunch of Corojo. Are those all Corojo from Aganorsa?
00:56:08.427 --> 00:56:09.227
Do you guys use them a lot?
00:56:09.527 --> 00:56:12.147
Yeah. So basically, Dion, that's how he started.
00:56:13.067 --> 00:56:14.647
You know, Aganorsa tobacco.
00:56:16.047 --> 00:56:21.727
If you look at kind of the key components of our core, it's universal down to
00:56:21.727 --> 00:56:23.507
the farm, down to the cutting, down to the priming.
00:56:25.027 --> 00:56:28.707
So basically, he's used the same lot, same cutting and primings,
00:56:28.727 --> 00:56:31.327
and he grades the tobaccos from there and takes the best out of it.
00:56:31.327 --> 00:56:36.907
So that's the Corojo 99s and the Criollo 98s, which are, that is the core of what we do.
00:56:37.027 --> 00:56:41.367
And then obviously we have now expanded out to where we have like a Habano now,
00:56:41.627 --> 00:56:45.087
you know, Nomadero, things like that. But that core is there.
00:56:45.267 --> 00:56:48.067
And that's, you know, a lot of them are produced at Aganorsa,
00:56:48.547 --> 00:56:49.627
the tobacco is Aganorsa.
00:56:49.907 --> 00:56:54.247
So, but it's Dion, the one that pulls apart the components out of,
00:56:54.427 --> 00:56:57.187
you know, they're the biggest tobacco grower, I think in Nicaragua,
00:56:57.467 --> 00:56:59.267
not in the world, but in Nicaragua.
00:56:59.967 --> 00:57:02.787
So that's a lot to go through and process and grade
00:57:02.787 --> 00:57:06.287
and so it is his unique spin on everything
00:57:06.287 --> 00:57:09.187
where it's him so yeah i gotta give dion some
00:57:09.187 --> 00:57:12.727
props i've never actually met dion face to face but i gotta give him some props
00:57:12.727 --> 00:57:18.607
um paul parmer president of agonorsa tobacco was up here traveling with me about
00:57:18.607 --> 00:57:25.567
a year ago and he swore up and down and i'm sure he'll say this today that dion
00:57:25.567 --> 00:57:27.387
has It's the best palate of anybody he's ever met.
00:57:27.887 --> 00:57:30.747
I was like, wow, that's a bold statement.
00:57:31.307 --> 00:57:34.167
And quite frankly, when Ryan called me, I remembered that and I said,
00:57:34.227 --> 00:57:36.507
you know what? Yeah, I can work for this company.
00:57:36.687 --> 00:57:39.327
For a guy like Paul Palmer to say that, yeah, I can work for this company.
00:57:39.467 --> 00:57:43.567
And so as a broker, do you find it, you've got multiple lines,
00:57:43.727 --> 00:57:50.247
do you find it easier to work with a company like Illusion who uses tobacco
00:57:50.247 --> 00:57:51.647
from another brand that you also rep?
00:57:51.647 --> 00:57:54.787
I think it helps because repping another company.
00:57:56.264 --> 00:58:00.344
You know, Aganorsa is very, very good about giving me a lot of knowledge about
00:58:00.344 --> 00:58:04.124
the different tobaccos that Aganorsa uses in their cigars, but also grows.
00:58:04.484 --> 00:58:07.544
So I think it helps me because I can shift gears.
00:58:07.844 --> 00:58:13.604
You know, when we're talking about Corojo, it's one linear conversation because it's the same tobacco.
00:58:13.804 --> 00:58:18.544
We're very, very close to it. You know, and I'll tell you, the first thing I
00:58:18.544 --> 00:58:22.664
think about when I work for a company and I know who the parent,
00:58:22.784 --> 00:58:25.224
not the parent company, but I know where they're getting tobacco is,
00:58:25.224 --> 00:58:28.764
I got to smoke two of these cigars back to back because I got to figure out what's going on here.
00:58:29.384 --> 00:58:34.144
And what I'm really checking, and it didn't happen, is I want to know if,
00:58:34.384 --> 00:58:37.504
as this happens, guys, I'm telling tales out of school, there are companies
00:58:37.504 --> 00:58:41.544
that they just slap a same cigar, slap a different band on it, and push it out.
00:58:41.744 --> 00:58:45.684
So I want to make sure that that's not happening. And I can tell you that with
00:58:45.684 --> 00:58:48.364
Ellusion, 100%, these are Dion's blends.
00:58:48.624 --> 00:58:52.844
And that's because I've done the Pepsi challenge. I've tasted it back to back
00:58:52.844 --> 00:58:57.204
with an Aganorsa Corojo or, you know, an HVC or some other stuff.
00:58:57.344 --> 00:59:00.524
And I'm trying to figure out what's going on there. And they're different cigars.
00:59:01.004 --> 00:59:02.724
Same tobacco, different cigar. Yeah.
00:59:03.364 --> 00:59:06.444
I mean, a lot of it comes down to the, like you're saying, the blender and their
00:59:06.444 --> 00:59:08.404
palate and how they're putting everything together.
00:59:08.684 --> 00:59:11.144
You can start with the same ingredients, but you're either going to come out
00:59:11.144 --> 00:59:13.544
with a cake or a cookie. It's a chef. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
00:59:13.904 --> 00:59:17.624
We all know how to make chocolate cake, but I can't make chocolate cake cake
00:59:17.624 --> 00:59:20.364
like Amor Lagasse or Bobby Flay or whoever else.
00:59:21.124 --> 00:59:25.044
Somebody's got to be driving the bus and making sure we're not just taking eggs,
00:59:25.284 --> 00:59:28.044
chocolate, and whatnot, and just throwing it in the bowl.
00:59:28.904 --> 00:59:33.024
So John, I've known you for quite a while, so you've worked for a number of
00:59:33.024 --> 00:59:35.944
different cigar companies. Thanks for bringing it up. But.
00:59:37.729 --> 00:59:43.409
Being sort of witnessing the process at all these places, have you noticed that
00:59:43.409 --> 00:59:47.869
each of these companies doing anything substantially different from field to cigar?
00:59:47.869 --> 00:59:52.429
Or is it just a matter of doing the same thing with just a little too?
00:59:52.429 --> 00:59:57.429
Well, I think the answer is yes. There are definitely some proprietary things
00:59:57.429 --> 00:59:59.789
that each cigar company does that's different.
01:00:00.129 --> 01:00:03.329
Do I know what those are? No. Why are they going to tell me?
01:00:04.549 --> 01:00:08.569
Well, it always... It always, uh, you can, like I said, there's definitely,
01:00:08.829 --> 01:00:15.309
and, and, and you can, you can pick out different, different tobaccos based
01:00:15.309 --> 01:00:21.009
on, you know, there are companies that can buy the same raw leaf and they're, they're,
01:00:21.329 --> 01:00:23.289
you know, curing and fermentation process.
01:00:23.789 --> 01:00:27.189
They're doing stuff different. They're either putting, you know, the bettune,
01:00:27.349 --> 01:00:30.649
which is the, the moisture, the, the wet component that they put on a polona
01:00:30.649 --> 01:00:36.729
to, to get a, get a leaf activated so that it ferments Some companies put different
01:00:36.729 --> 01:00:41.609
things in the batoon, whether it's lime juice, rum.
01:00:41.609 --> 01:00:43.229
I've heard all kinds of different things.
01:00:43.489 --> 01:00:46.269
But they're not, you know, they kind of keep that shit close to the vest.
01:00:46.449 --> 01:00:48.929
I got you. So, you never come across something where you're like,
01:00:49.209 --> 01:00:51.209
oh, you do it like that. Yeah, no.
01:00:51.409 --> 01:00:59.509
Well, and again, I'm sure that in Nicaragua, those conversations take place internally.
01:01:00.289 --> 01:01:05.489
But again, you know, they're not going to tell the gringos about that stuff.
01:01:05.889 --> 01:01:09.069
There's magic. But it makes such a great story, you know, when you get together
01:01:09.069 --> 01:01:11.709
and you're like, oh, they do this so much differently than this guy.
01:01:12.849 --> 01:01:17.789
I wouldn't say it's so much differently because the construct,
01:01:17.989 --> 01:01:20.129
not the construction, the making this product.
01:01:21.543 --> 01:01:25.243
Probably hasn't changed much in the last three, 400 years, you know,
01:01:25.343 --> 01:01:30.183
1600s, I think they started, you know, curing and fermenting tobacco and rolling cigars.
01:01:30.483 --> 01:01:34.783
So that, the actual process really hasn't changed fundamentally in all that time.
01:01:34.903 --> 01:01:37.983
There are some tweaks that have happened along the way, like Oliva,
01:01:38.363 --> 01:01:43.503
they developed a system where they're using probes and putting them,
01:01:44.223 --> 01:01:48.263
putting electronic probes in each of the Polones so that they've got like a
01:01:48.263 --> 01:01:56.343
master control where they can see like, you know, Pellone in row 12 is at 128 degrees.
01:01:56.343 --> 01:02:00.663
So we got to take it apart and reassemble it so that it doesn't cook itself out of existence.
01:02:01.843 --> 01:02:03.643
So, you know, little things like that have changed, you know,
01:02:04.083 --> 01:02:07.843
technology, the cigar molds now are, you know, plastic and they literally never
01:02:07.843 --> 01:02:15.483
wear out, which has put a lot of mold companies out of business because there's no obsolescence.
01:02:15.943 --> 01:02:18.143
You don't have to replace. So stuff like that's changed.
01:02:18.743 --> 01:02:21.703
But like I said, the little tweaks with, you know, we may add this,
01:02:21.803 --> 01:02:26.183
we may do this, we may, you know, build a polona with these two different kinds of tobaccos.
01:02:26.403 --> 01:02:28.383
And there's all the little things that they do, but they, like I said,
01:02:28.463 --> 01:02:29.723
they keep that stuff close to the vest.
01:02:29.923 --> 01:02:36.483
You know, one of my brands right now is he's experimenting with a new way to assemble the cigars.
01:02:36.763 --> 01:02:42.123
He's working on doing something with the end tubato, which is rolling of, of cigars.
01:02:42.583 --> 01:02:46.443
And he, he sent up a couple of samples to me and I'm actually kind of excited about that.
01:02:46.483 --> 01:02:49.063
I can't talk about it because there's, there's still some stuff out there,
01:02:49.063 --> 01:02:50.823
but I, I smoked these samples.
01:02:50.843 --> 01:02:54.783
I actually cut one open so I could say, all right, what's this guy doing?
01:02:54.803 --> 01:02:55.943
And he's, he's got something.
01:02:56.063 --> 01:03:00.603
He's got a new method of, of putting cigars together and, you know, stuff like that.
01:03:00.803 --> 01:03:03.063
But, but again, even him, he was like, Hey, there's a new method.
01:03:03.203 --> 01:03:05.763
There's a new way of doing this until I get everything tightened up and,
01:03:05.763 --> 01:03:08.503
you know trademarked if you have need be i can't tell
01:03:08.503 --> 01:03:12.343
you everything but i want you to really smoke these and tell me what you think interesting
01:03:12.343 --> 01:03:16.003
yeah it's fun yeah it is cool guys
01:03:16.003 --> 01:03:18.863
well i don't want to keep you too long i noticed uh got a
01:03:18.863 --> 01:03:22.283
couple guys up the uh up the booth over there anyway so you gotta
01:03:22.283 --> 01:03:24.963
go work and do your thing but thank you
01:03:24.963 --> 01:03:27.963
guys for coming in thank you for all your questions
01:03:27.963 --> 01:03:30.683
i think so i mean i came in unprepared so i think
01:03:30.683 --> 01:03:33.323
so i totally came in unprepared i don't know
01:03:33.323 --> 01:03:36.923
i told you we were going to shanghai you into this you
01:03:36.923 --> 01:03:39.903
could have reminded me it was months ago yeah yeah i'll do
01:03:39.903 --> 01:03:42.883
a web i'll do a podcast why not we'll do a podcast i showed up you're
01:03:42.883 --> 01:03:45.423
a radio guy you just jump right in and go they said you're gonna be uh on a
01:03:45.423 --> 01:03:51.123
podcast i guess i'm on a podcast yeah all right so anyway um thank you gentlemen
01:03:51.123 --> 01:03:54.623
smoke more cigars that's all i say cut one end like the other if it works out
01:03:54.623 --> 01:03:57.983
for you please do it again that's all we ask i like that i like that i'm gonna
01:03:57.983 --> 01:04:01.423
steal that please do gentlemen thank you for the time Thank you so much. Thanks, Dave.
01:04:01.520 --> 01:04:16.476
Music.