During my recent conversation with Mitch on The Cigar Soldier podcast, I stated that I believe - among the lizard crew - that Bam, Senator and Chef have the strongest palates. After the conversation I started to ask myself why - and did a bit of a personal deep dive as to why I felt that my own palate could use some work, relatively.

What actually makes a strong palate? Among those three guys, their ability to quickly and consistently call out flavor notes as we smoke is pretty impressive. Sometimes they may be ridiculous, but for them the callouts are an honest reflection of something they've tasted in the past - and not just in cigars. In Chef's case he's often calling out food notes, referenced of course from his spending his entire professional life in a kitchen. Senator also calls out similar notes, but also references his wine and spirits flavor catalog. (He wants to be a sommelier when he retires). Bam is the outlier - an architect/builder by trade - who just has an incredible ability to accurately nail what he’s tasting. If you listen to the earlier episodes in the catalog, you can see him reaching for notes - often repetitive each week - which we would bust his balls about. Now? He took the ribbings in stride and turned his palate into one of the strongest in the room. I seriously can't believe how good he is at tasting cigars all these years later.

Then I got to thinking about Pagoda. Pagoda's a more straightforward taster - sweetness, bitterness, saltiness and the basic chocolates, coffee, tea (and of course 'glucose biscuit'). I then got to thinking about something he commonly says: "I have no memory."

He's serious. He doesn't remember much about conversations we have, episodes we record, cigars he smokes, what he's been up to, things we've scheduled and just general mundane life stuff. Listeners will know that he's forgotten and lost more cigar accessories than any of us have ever purchased!

I very much relate to his comment. My ADHD has kept my memory of the mundane limited. I don't remember old conversations, what people were wearing or basic stuff that I probably won't need to recall in the future for any serious reason. I also don't commit mundane flavor notes to memory. What I do commit are the highlights: a song that moved me, a meal that was out of this world, a conversation that was deeply impactful and a cigar that blew the back of my head right off. My callouts during our reviews are often tied to strong memories - a candy from when I was a child, a memorable breakfast cereal I haven't had in years or a specialized flavor of ice cream created by and for a local shop.

This all brings me to the question I posed to the guys on episode 256: Are people with "stronger" palates tasting more than the rest of us, or are they simply better at remembering and articulating what they've tasted?

Join the conversation on FOH.

The state-owned group Tabacuba plans to plant 20,000 hectares nationwide, including more than 12,000 in the province of Pinar del Río, for an expected collection of 22,000 tons of tobacco. Pinar del Río, home to the Vuelta Abajo, generally accounts for about two-thirds of the tobacco harvest destined for export Havanas.

It’s been a slow news week - not much interesting enough to share with you here. This barely makes the cut, as I think it’s incredibly obvious that Cuba is having a difficult time. But, I think this article and Tabacuba’s numbers are incredibly generous - and are likely inflated. As the crisis worsens, I can’t see production going anywhere but significantly lower. While Cuba has always been resilient, I think this is one area where the logistic and energy difficulties can not be ignored.

Hopefully I’m wrong but I don’t think that I am.

New episode is out today featuring La Aurora Family Creed Perserverancia in Box Press Robusto paired with Doorly’s Barbados Rum Aged 12 Years.

We discuss what makes a palate strong and how to improve it, we hear from Lizard Nation on Padrón Maduro vs. Natural, and we share an update on Cuban travel restrictions. We also dive into Pennsylvania Broadleaf, look at Honduras’ surge in U.S. cigar imports, discuss a new Montecristo duty-free travel humidor, hear from Lizard Chris on losing his palate, talk Playa del Carmen LCDH and custom rolls, read Lizard J’s “The Time of a Cigar” and more.

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Hand up - FT has one of the best paywalls I’ve come across and despite my best efforts, it defeated me today. I would recommend getting an FT trial if the Napa valley’s economic situation interests you.

At this year’s Premiere Napa Valley, the trade organisation’s auction for which top estates create rare bottlings, prices fell 39 per cent from three years ago, and not one bottle crossed $1,000 compared with 2014 when 12 did.

Rob McMillan is executive vice-president of First Citizens Bank. He has collected data from his bank’s borrowers for the past 26 years for his influential State of the US Wine Industry report and has been predicting a big dip since 2018, warning wineries to adjust or die. Too many tastings at wineries require appointments, last several hours, and cost too much, he believes — on average, $81 a person.

Drinking habits are changing - especially in young people. I believe the linked article is a stark warning for the premium cigar industry. While today we see prices rising for higher-end/exclusive product, tomorrow may bring a serious correction. With the economic forces at play for the average cigar smoker, that smoker is increasingly forced to make harder decisions about where to spend their money.

A consumer will react to how an experience - and the provider of that experience - makes them feel. If the most-desired cigars from Habanos S.A., Fuente and others increasingly feel like they're designed only for the elite, manufacturers risk alienating their loyal customers - even when plenty of excellent, affordable cigars remain available. Perception is reality. I believe it’s already happening. We should learn from these winemakers’ mistakes.

While I never could have predicted Napa Valley facing this kind of come-to-Jesus moment, I do see troubling similarities in premium cigars. Any industry that mistakes rising prices for enduring customer loyalty will eventually discover just how fragile that loyalty can be.

Exclusivity can make a product desirable but making the people who love that product feel excluded is something else entirely.

Cigars need to remain the great equalizer. To marginalize the average smoker’s experience is incredibly short-sighted.

Some 400 guests joined in the festivities along with members of Cuba’s cigar industry and representatives from Hunters & Frankau, the distributors of Cuban cigars in the United Kingdom.

The Talismán is 54 x 6 ⅛. The cigar is now selling in special gift packs of three cigars, with a suggested retail price of £600 ($791), which means each cigar will cost roughly $263. Later, when it debuts on world markets, it will come in boxes of 10.

Some official at Habanos HQ: “EVERYTHING IS FINE! JUST KEEP ANNOUNCING NEW PRODUCTS. YES, £200 SOUNDS PERFECT.”

400 guests congratulating themselves on the future of Cuban cigars, $263 regular production cigars and not a single elephant in the room.

It was created to celebrate the 10th anniversary of one of the most popular La Flors ever made. The filler and binder leaves on the new maduro version were grown on La Canela, the farm in the Dominican Republic owned by La Flor Dominicana. According to the company, some of the Dominican tobacco in the blend comes from a 2016 crop that’s been aging for 10 years, including the binder leaf and one of the filler components, grown from Pelo de Oro seed. The wrapper is from the Connecticut River Valley, a dark leaf of Connecticut broadleaf, rather than Ecuadoran tobacco as used on the original.

Production is being limited to 5,000 boxes, each of them containing 10 cigars. Each box has a suggested retail price of $350, which breaks down to $35 per cigar.

The specs on the cigar are intriguing, though the original Bull has been a letdown for my palate. I don’t know why I’m surprised by the limited initial availability here, as almost all new hyped releases are presented as scarce.

I look forward to reviewing it. Is this the early lock for CA’s Cigar of the Year?

New Lounge Lizards ep. out today featuring Foundation The Wise Man Corojo in Toro paired with Glengoyne 12-Year-Old Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky. We discuss a new patented ashtray that supposedly cools your cigar, a Lizard listener’s recap of InterTabac 2026, Gizmo’s recent interview on The Cigar Soldier podcast, Foundation moving from AGANORSA to My Father, Cuban cigar distribution in Europe, pipe smokers in cigar lounges, a Lizard opening a cigar shop in Sweden and more.

We welcome Drew Estate as a sponsor this week - they’re a great group of folks. Sign up to earn some killer swag at DE30Rewards.com.

Pagoda was on fire and gave us a new soundbite-worthy clip. It had me laughing out loud during the edit.

I decided to change up a few things this week - including the way I title the episodes as well as the show notes. I would love to hear your thoughts!

La Flor Dominicana is poised to announce a new, darker version of the Andalusian Bull, the award-winning figurado that was crowned Cigar of the Year by Cigar Aficionado magazine ten years ago.
The original Andalusian Bull made its market debut in June 2016. Just like the original, the maduro version will measure 6 1/2 inches long with a 64 ring gauge at its fattest point.

I’ve not seen this one before. How much does it cost for CA to tease a product announcement? And how much for a tease to tease the tease of the announcement?

The lead producer, Nicaragua, shipped 148.3 million cigars to the United States, accounting for 61 percent of all cigar imports. Its numbers were flat compared to the first seven months of 2025.

In second place, the Dominican Republic shipped 46.9 million cigars (19.3 percent of all imports). That country had a decrease of 6.9 percent when compared to the same period of 2025.

The No. 3 producer, Honduras, was right on the heels of the Dominican Republic with 44.9 million cigars. That Central American nation was the only major producer to show a gain, and it was a large one—Honduran shipments were up more than 11 percent over last year. It now accounts for 18.4 percent of the market.

Honduran cigars are clearly working for the American palate. The Lizards and I have found Honduran tobacco to be the closest experientially to Cuban tobacco, generally. It’s no surprise to see Honduras climbing the chart here - a ton of excellent producers are making great cigars. Viva!

We’ve all seen the Sphere footage over the last few years. Dead & Company, Eagles, etc. but this Metallica footage is the first where I’ve felt compelled to go see a show. The Vegas dread for PCA 2027 is fading quickly!