Episode 43 | MF Fonseca MX Edition | Hype or Legit Smokes

Yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, and welcome back to another episode of Sticks and Stones podcast. Sticks and Stones is the podcast where we talk about life, we talk about love, we talk about business, we talk about the brotherhood and the sisterhood of the leaf. We talk about premium cigar products or premium tobacco products, rather. And I have said this before, I will say it again, I will reiterate. If you are looking for a strictly cigar podcast, this is not These are not the drones for you. We talk about everything here. Um however, we do have an option for you. If you go to www.puff -cast.com, that website is long-form videos that we do reviews on cigars, and that's all we do, it's all we talk about on each video. The cigars are rated. Um and you will not find those videos on any other platform. So, if you are all about the leaf and that's all you want to know about, it's all you want to hear, it's all you want to consume, go there. Uh this podcast we talk about everything. We talk about life, we talk about relationships, we talk about business, we talk about of course, cigars and the cigar industry, and things of that nature. Now, um what we are enjoying today is I'm enjoying some black coffee with some sugar-free syrup in it. And without further ado, the My My Cigar Company Fonseca Mexico Edition. So, this is supposed to be a full-bodied cigar. We are going to see about that. And before anybody comes for me, I am going to put this out there first. Yes, I know and I and I do read all of the comments, guys. I read everything. So, yes, I know my backyard looks like Jumanji right now, but it has been raining and the weather has been impossible to judge here in Houston, Texas. So, that is why it's overgrown. So, don't come for me. I know I know what it looks like. Uh I'm favoring the star cut, which is the V cut or the cat's eye cut just like multiple times in varying degrees. So, we gave that a snippy snippy. Cold draw. Let's check it out. Yeah, I could tell this is going to be a little bit on the fuller body side. Dance it around the flame, baby. Yeah, guys, if you're if you're a fan of this podcast, look, we talk about funny [ __ ] We talk about real life [ __ ] We talk about We talk about all kinds of [ __ ] Just this around the flame and my torch is not cooperating because it's getting low on butane. Try to fill it up. One of the things that I love about this torch is it does have an abnormally larger tank. Get your mind out of the gutter. So, the one thing I noticed in in the camera is as I was lighting this with the torch, it was lighting up and then dying. Lighting up and then dying. It's uh that's not a My Father's cigar trait. Nonetheless, it's lit. Good flavor. That is quite nice, governor. Hello. Hello, love. So, what can I tell you about this cigar? It's Nicaraguan. The wrapper is Mexican San Andreas. The binder is Nicaraguan. The filler is Nicaraguan. This is their Toro Gordo size, 6 by 60. Uh full strength. It's a full-bodied cigar. So, one of the things that I want to talk about on this episode, well well the main the main conversation, hype or legitimacy. Is it a legit cigar or is it just hype? So, that's an interesting question. Because when I say hype, I mean like is it just social media craziness? Is it a ton of money that the companies put into marketing the cigar? Or is it a really legit cigar? And on this episode, I'm going to name drop. I am going to put it all out there. So, there are certain like EGM. EGM is a cigar that took the world by storm. You see them on social media everywhere. And rightfully so. So, the founder CEO Etienne has a degree in marketing. And he worked for a marketing company in the beginning years of his career. And he understands how to market to people, how to get his product in front of people. So, after seeing EGM on Instagram for close to a year. Um just going crazy seeing all the ads, seeing all the stories, seeing the reels about people in, you know, European cafes and cutting cigars with a really nice cutter and lighting them up and lighting them different ways with cedar spills and with matches and torches and really nice torches. Um I was like, man, is this is this hype? Is this or is it [ __ ] Like is it just a marketing campaign or is it for real? Well, I met the team at PCA 2026 in New Orleans. Etienne was gracious enough and very kind enough to to give an unknown podcaster a few minutes of his time to do an interview and show us the booth and their lineup of cigars. And the guy was so nice to give us a bunch of their cigars and like two tins of their cigarillos. Um which Etienne, my my mom loves you for that. She loves loves the the cigarillos. Um and then I tried the Escudo. It is a legit cigar. So, whatever money they're putting into marketing, uh they they actually won medium-size booth of the show. Uh it really was classy. It was A-class all the way. Um fantastic booth, fantastic team, fantastic products. Right? So, love EGM, love their products. Um worth the money, not just a marketing thing. And there are So, and and I'm just I'm just going to say this because I am not a fan of aromatic cigars. I'll just I'll put that out there. There's only a like a handful that I would actually look for in a cigar shop. And these guys put a ton of marketing out there. And they were like all over PCA and they had they had people jumping like doing backflips off their booth and all this kind of stuff. And which I mean it's cool. I mean the marketing the marketing was um really well done. Very like very aggressive marketing. Um but then, you know, the marketing did what it was supposed to do. It got me curious. So I went to my local I went to Cigar Heaven and I went looking for the cigar. And I did not like it at all. Um it's an aromatic cigar. It's a flavored cigar, infused cigar, whatever you want to call it. And it was not my cup of tea. It definitely wasn't. And I'm trying and I was actually with Anthony uh from Beards and Burns cigar at the time and my face and the reaction to the cigar was like priceless. He was pissing his pants. And the name of the cigar brand let's Let's >> And he didn't and he failed to get it all >> So, I'm trying to get the >> guys. This is This is not my cup of tea at all. It's an aromatic >> I uh don't have a picture of it. Uh let's see. Let's see. Oh, this is going to drive me crazy now. Ugh. black Well, obviously these people didn't pay enough money in marketing and advertisement cuz I can't find them. I can't find them no how, no way. Let's see. Start puffing on this thing. Wow. I put this cigar down for about a good 10 minutes and it's still lit. So, that should say something. Beep beep. Let's see. This is crazy. Luciano They use the maker. Luciano's a legit cigar company. Love their cigars. Hey, I probably should have had the name of this cigar company top of my head before I decided to shoot this episode. Keep coming up with the Fuente black pink. Very weird. Well, it wasn't my cup of tea. I didn't like it at all. And I don't know if you agree, but after all the hype and all the advertising and marketing and social media posts and stuff on your feed and then you smoke it and then it becomes like it becomes a real downer, like a like a bozo song, if you will. Um I also this is and remember this is my podcast and these are all my opinions. You don't have to share in my opinions. Um but this is the freedom of speech. We can say whatever we want. Um it is our God-given right as US American citizens. So, don't come for me for what I'm about to say. I think the God of Fire is a loss. I think it's an okay cigar. It's an okay cigar. It is definitely not a $27.30 cigar. I think that that cigar is a lot of hype. I don't see the flavor. I don't see the taste. I don't see the quality in in comparison to what else is out there in that price range. I think that the God of Fire lineup is a lot of hype. Now, I think that the bigger brands, I mean, they have they have the money. And let's just call a spade a spade. No one needs to see advertisements from Arturo Fuente cigar. Everybody knows the name. They know the brand. No one really needs to see advertisements from Padron. Everybody knows who Padron is. Davidoff. Everybody knows who Davidoff is. Now, coming the business side the business side of this podcast is I will let you guys in on a little secret. Promotional and advertising is a 100% deductible expense on a company's tax return. So, whatever whatever that whatever that line item is on the balance sheet on your chart of accounts when you've got when you've made a ton of money and let's just say that your tax your US tax liability, because if you're a US operating company, you owe the federal government income taxes on the money that you have made less your expenses, which they the government, the IRS, the Internal Revenue Service, has a list of deductible expenses, which changes and rotates and revolves and evolves year over year. And they have a list of expenses that they say you could take this amount of money off of your tax liability, the amount of money you owe Uncle Sam, the federal government. As of now, advertising and promotional is 100% deductible. So, let's just say that your tax liability is $100 million. You owe the government You owe the government $100 million before all of your expenses come out. So, that's your gross your gross income. And if you've got $6 million in advertisement costs and promotional costs, i.e. trade shows and giveaways and like, you know, whatever. Um whatever it costs you to promote your brand and your cigar and your company, well, that $6 million comes right off the top of that $100 million liability. And the more of those things that you do, limits or reduces your tax liability. Why did I just give you that H&R Block uh synopsis on [ __ ] taxes? Because bigger brands that make tons and tons of money a year, they don't need to advertise. But, when they do advertise, all of that advertisement cost and promotional costs comes right off of their tax liability. So, that could be one reason why you do see the bigger brands advertising. Now, obviously, the longer you stay out of the limelight, the longer you stay out of the public eye, you know, people start to forget you and go with brands that do advertise. So, I get that. There's an aspect of that as well. And if you've got the money and it's not going to hurt you at all, you don't even feel it in your pocket when you're spending that advertising money, like why not? It's like you're you're killing a bunch of birds with one stone. Like case case in point, the Oliva World Cup Edition Melanio the V the Series V Melanio. It was aged an an extra year. I personally have not smoked it yet. I've smoked the Melanio. Love it. Um I think that humidor box that looks like a football, soccer ball, whatever you want to call it. Um I think it's awesome. That thing is so [ __ ] cool. And I am not even a soccer {slash} football fan. I can go to a a match and I won't know what the hell's going on. Like I know there's going to be a bunch of guys running around a field kicking a ball with their feet trying to get it into a goal. Other than that, I don't know how the the points are scored. I don't know what the scoring system is. You know, it's not like American football where a touchdown is six points and a field goal is one point and a stand-alone field goal is three points. That I get. Um I I am a sports fan, but I'm more of an American sports fan. Uh so, I don't even know what how the whole football European football soccer game works. Um but they advertised the crap out of that thing. It's It's a Melanio in two different shades uh for like opposing teams. Kind of like that's the whole point behind it. In a soccer ball wooden humidor. Super [snorts] duper cool. Do I think that is advertisement worthy? Yeah, to a point. They advertised the crap out of that thing. And they sold a [ __ ] ton. I think I think they they probably have sold out. They didn't produce a ton. I I interviewed Nick at Oliva at the show. And he's he states in the interview how many boxes they produced. Um do I think that that was hype? Yes and no. I think the cigar itself is phenomenal. I think the Melanio the Melanio itself is phenomenal. I think Oliva as a company is phenomenal. Um I've been seeing in my comments, you know, a lot of shade and [ __ ] being thrown at Oliva. I love the brand. I love the company. I think that they make great products um from their budget friendly all the way up to, you know, the the flagship, the Melanio. Uh I I think that cigar needs no promotion whatsoever. I think the box was really cool. The humidor is really cool cuz after you smoke all the cigars, you can use the box as a humidor. You throw a a Boveda pack in there and boom, you got a humidor. Really cool the way it was put together. I think the thing as a whole was pretty awesome. Um I think it was a great way to grab people's attention. Do I think it was straight up hype? No, because the cigar was a great cigar. I think if it if they put a lackluster cigar in a really cool box like that, that would be hype. But, they matched the box up with their flagship cigar. You know, they did an awesome job. They did a great job. They did a lot of advertisement uh for that particular cigar and that box, which, you know, if you had a damn humidor that looked like a soccer ball, wouldn't you advertise the [ __ ] out of that? I mean, I would. Now, there are there are cigars out there uh like I said, like I mentioned the God of Fire. I think there are there are some cigars out there that get hype and that's all it is is hype. Right? I think um if you're going to hype something, it better be a damn good cigar. You know, like um Espinosa, they have been they have been advertising the [ __ ] out of their stuff. And, you know, like the Warhead 12, which I have not tried yet. I'm going to try. Uh but, they did a collaboration with Guy Fieri. And I I like Guy Fieri as as a TV food personality. I watch Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives all the time even you know, I don't think it's on the air anymore. So, the reruns I I love when I see a rerun. There is a tale a telltale to Guy Fieri and if he really chose that place. If Guy really dug into the food, like if he really housed it, then he really liked the spot, uh enjoyed going there, maybe picked the spot. But, when you see him just try something and then it's just like, "Oh, that's great." and then grab something else, he was forced to be there. And I think he said it in an interview. The producers picked the spots and he was forced to go and he really he really didn't enjoy the food. So, I think that was really cool about Guy Fieri saying that in an interview, um you know, just being just being true blue, you know? But, what a lot of people don't know is that he really is a cigar guy. He knows his [ __ ] when it comes to cigars. He teamed up and collaborated with Espinosa, and they came out with the Knuckle Sandwich, and that thing is phenomenal. So, that is not a hyped-up cigar. I cannot recall smoking any other Espinosa cigars, but then again, you know, I've been smoking for cigars for 25 plus years, so kind of hard to remember every single cigar you've ever smoked, uh especially as many as I smoke in on a daily basis. Um which I stopped smoking in my car because for obvious reason, it stinks the car up of cigars, which, you know, for me is great, but for other people, it's not. And having kids, that's not good for kids, either. And um I forget where I saw it, but on Instagram, somebody was mentioning and and how to smoke your cigars in the car without your car smelling like cigars. And I get it, you you crack the window, your driver side window just a tiny bit, and maybe a back window, the opposite window, just a tiny bit. And the vacuum that it it creates, it becomes basically your car becomes like a wind tunnel, and it ushers the smoke out. Does not work. That does not work. I only smoked one cigar completely, and my car smells like a smoke shop. So, that does not work. That was a lot of hype. But, sorry for that rant. I smoke a lot of cigars. It's pretty tough to remember all the cigars that you've smoked in your life. Uh so, I don't know if I've smoked any other Espinosa's, but I will definitely be smoking more and trying more of their lineup based off of the the Knuckle Sandwich cuz if they can create something that good, that cool, the rest of their shit's got to be good. Now, there's some there's some stuff out there that I see it advertised a little bit more lately. Hooten and Young or Hooten Young, they are a military-centric. The two owners, the founders of Hooten Young are veterans. They are military veterans, and a lot of their cigars are named their naming conventions revolve around the military like the Neptune Spear and you know, stuff like that, Medusa. Um even the Medusa looks like a an ammunition round. Um I think it's it's getting a lot of buzz on social media, and rightfully so. So, so the Medusa the Madusa or however they you want to pronounce it was phenomenal. Loved it. I don't think that that's hype whatsoever. I can't wait to try more Hooten Young stuff. I think that if you're going to hype something, you should do it with something that is going to sell. Like it if you hype something up and and you sell one cigar to somebody and then they never buy your cigar again, and maybe even worse than that because the hype was so high and the cigar was such like lack luster or such a dud that they never try anything you produce again. I mean, I don't I don't see where you won the battle there. Or you won the war, rather. I mean, you might have won the battle but lost the war. So, I like I don't get that ideology. I don't get that business model ideology. I don't I don't understand it. Um you know, and there's there's some cigars that get zero hype. They get no ad space and are phenomenal cigars. Um like definition cigars. I think definition cigars, they make a great great product. And you in certain in certain shops, they have prime placement. Um prime facings. But in a lot of shops, you either don't see them or they're like at the bottom of a random aisle, random shelf somewhere. I really don't know what that's about. But that is a great cigar. I was just introduced to a lineup, a brand called Stolen Thrones. And the one cigar that I tried from it's Peruvian not Peru Yeah. Yeah. Tobacco from Peru. Um was great. Awesome. Never heard of them. If it were not me walking into Nice Ash Cigar Lounge, I would have never known about the brand. So, if I'm saying anything what I'm saying is be careful of the advertisements and the hype. You know, like you will see cigars come and go. When you see something that's advertised nicely, professionally and consistently that's something to put in mind to. Like, you know EGM, I mentioned they were the first brand I mentioned. I've been seeing their ads for so long that you've got to ask yourself, okay, is this is this legit? Is it is it real?" It's got to be. I mean, cuz if they're putting the money out to advertise this and the the videos that they put out are very classy and very well done. Cinematic, if you will. That takes money to do that. I mean, they're not shooting it, as far as I know. I I don't know. I didn't ask this question, but they're not shooting their advertisement videos on an iPhone. Not Not to throw any shade at the iPhone, but you know what I'm saying. I mean, those videos they take a lot It's a lot of production value. It's a lot of time. It's a lot of effort and a lot of high-scale, high-end equipment to make videos that look a certain way. For the most part. I mean, if you know what you're doing, you can you can do a lot with a little. So, if you see a cigar hyped up like that for a few months and then you really don't see them anymore and people are not talking about them, it's probably not the greatest cigar in the world. It was probably a lot of hype. But, in in the example of EGM, great cigar. I still see their advertisements and now it gives me like a a little sense of something special because I've met the people. I've smoked their product. I look at the videos now with a completely different set of eyeballs. I think in this world of cigars, especially now, when there are thousands, if not tens of thousands of cigar brands out there, I'm seeing more and more every single day. Uh there's a brand sending me a sample pack of stuff they want me to review and try. And there's also a brand that I just I bought the sample pack. And HM premium cigars. Which is Harvey Marie premium cigars. Um, I bought their sampler pack and they've got they're sending me a uh a gift of a cigar that's not out yet. They want me to sample that as well. Um, so there's there are a tremendous amount of brands out there today that are producing cigars at a high level, at a medium level, at a lower level, unfortunately. And there's a lot of hype out there. So, you have to be careful on the hype. I would say to be careful with celebrity endorsements. You know, because some brands feel like hey, if we get an endorsement from a celebrity, we're going to sell our cigars. And honestly, that's a cigar company's main concern is selling their cigars cuz that's the product that they make. So, they want to sell their product. They want to sell their cigars. How do you do it? Some people go the celebrity endorsement route. And unless that, you know, you know that that celebrity is a real cigar person, you can be fooled by that hype. Um, so you know, you got to be careful from from a lot of the stuff that's out there cuz there's so many brands. And there are also some brands that are only getting the the advertisement and the traction that they themselves generate by cigar events and their own social media platforms and stuff like that. Case in point, Noble cigar. Elizabeth Santos' is brand. Phenomenal cigar. Phenomenal. I love her Act 2. I can't wait for the new lineup that she's got coming out with her collaboration with Luciano cigar. That is going to be phenomenal. I have no doubt about it. Um but if I had not met her at PCA, I would have not known that she had her own brand, her own brand of cigar. Um I think more people need to really sample her stuff and really buy her cigars cuz it's fantastic. I think there's another brand, Bodega cigar out of Nicaragua, distributed right here in Houston, Texas, is a phenomenal [ __ ] brand. They make tremendous cigars. I know that they roll for a lot of other brands because their their tobacco is top top-tier quality, but a lot of I don't Again, if I had not been at PCA, I would have not known that Bodega existed. I know now. And now that I'm I'm seeing them, I see their advertisements more, so I know they're pushing harder in the US, not just their, you know, their white box service where they can blend a cigar for you, you know, they're pushing their own stuff now. The Don Chico, everything that Bodega makes, their their 021 is phenomenal. I smoke that. I've got that on my feed. Um it's phenomenal. And you've got brands like what I'm smoking today, My Father. The My Father company rolls for so many people. They do a lot of work with one of my favorite brands, Crowned Heads, which they don't do a lot of advertisement. Every one of their cigars is a banger. I have not tried a Crowned Heads that I was just like, "Eh." Lackluster. I like it. You don't see a ton of advertisement with My Father, and rightfully so, because everybody knows the name, everybody knows the brand. They put their money into other things that better the brand. You know, technology with the growing and and fermentation and whatever, you know, whatever they do with their proceeds, they're doing it right. You know, they're making phenomenal [ __ ] cigars. The Blue Honduran is a good cigar. Not my favorite My Father's. I'm going to be very honest. I did meet uh Jose uh Garcia uh Garcia at PCA. Sweetest guy in the world. Really, really great family. Um but I I I I I actually said this to his face. The Honduran Blue was not my favorite My Father's cigar. I tend to favor bolder cigars, fuller body cigars. And the Blue Honduran was not it for me. Not saying that I would pass it up. I would definitely buy a stick if I was in a, you know, on a vacation or whatever. And if that was the best the best cigar in the humidor, I'd definitely buy it. Would I buy a box for myself? No. Would I buy a box for someone who loves the Blue Honduran? Absolutely. I think it's a great cigar and by a great company. I love their Judge. Um the Judge My Father. Uh loving this, I don't think that this is a full-body cigar, but I love it. The one that I want to try, I mean, I've I've had, you know, their Connecticut was my a daily driver for me for a long time. Um, I've tried most of their stuff. The La Bijou 1922 is one that's on my list that I need to try cuz they say that that's the strongest one that they make. But, My Father's is a great company, zero hype. Everything they do is pretty [ __ ] awesome. Um, but again, I don't see a ton of advertisement with My Father. And there again, there are so many brands out there, thousands and thousands of cigar brands that people are rolling stuff, people are having stuff rolled for them today. You know, like Plasencia. Plasencia does very, very little advertisement. Roll for a ton of people, make a phenomenal cigar, and will continue to make phenomenal cigars. Great family, great products, uh, love their cigars. I love their Octopress, the, uh, Alma Fuerte, the Alma Fuerte, uh, just like great in general, but it's zero hype. You don't see a lot of advertisement with Plasencia. For a long time, they didn't have their own line. They just rolled for a lot of other people. So, I think that you will find cigars that get a lot of hype, a lot of advertisement, and then kind of fall short when you smoke it. And thankfully, I have not experienced a whole bunch of those cigars. For the ones that I have, I just steer clear from. And I think it's it's something to be aware of, you know, all that glitters isn't gold. You know, don't just go by the hype. Don't just go by the advertisement. Don't just go by the the marketing campaigns. Check the reviews. Check out the reviews from people who do it, I'm going to say professionally, but you know, have have built resources just for reviewing cigars. Um shameless plug here like the puffcast review, puff-cast.com. And the goal for that website is to actually open it up to the public. There is going to be a very stringent um guideline on what you're putting up, how you're reviewing it. Um so on and so forth, but eventually the goal is to open puffcast review, puff-cast.com, to the open public so you can review the cigar. And you can post it up on a website where it's just cigar reviews. There's no YouTube. There's no um you know, corporate red tape, any of that type stuff. And we're trying to figure out some sort of a compensation schedule on how we can compensate you for your content. Um so I'm still trying to figure that out. And we're trying to make it fair and easy and and not the same model like YouTube where you have to get a certain amount of traffic and a certain amount of likes and and repost and shares and you know, whatever views. We're trying to figure out a a compensation schedule that is not the norm. So it's you feel confident that when you upload a video that people are going to watch it and you're going to be compensated for your time. Still working on that. What we're trying to do is we're trying to build one of the the best, largest uh and go-to resources for cigar reviews. Cuz look, I could have I could have saved a lot of time and trouble if there was something like that around when I first started smoking. If I could have stayed away from certain cigars, you know, if you like a milder cigar and you're really not sure about this cigar, you want to And everybody's different. So, you want to see reviews and you want to see you know, multiple reviews. I think that having multiple reviews by multiple people about one cigar is cool because you can get different points of view, different aspects from each person. This guy likes strong cigars, this guy likes milder cigars. This guy likes this, that, you know, their own preferences, whatever. But that is going to be happening very soon. The website is up now and there are a handful of videos up there right now that you can enjoy. But that is the goal to open it up to the public, so it becomes a public forum. Everybody can post their stuff up and give their opinions on specific cigars without having to put the infrastructure together, without having to put the resources forward in order to bring that to the world. It's already done. We already have it. It's already up there on pub you know, on on the the web, on the interwebs. So, we love legit cigars here at Sticks and Stones the podcast and the various websites and the Puff Cast review and all that. We love legit cigars. Not a huge fan of fan-favored fanfare advertisements, hype for If you've got a great product, if you've got an awesome cigar and you're hyping the [ __ ] out of it, all the power to you. Love you to death. Continue doing what you're doing because you're hyping something that needs to be hyped. Everybody needs a hype man every once in a while. Or hype lady. And if you've got a great product, awesome. I want to know about it. I want to hear about it. Uh I love great cigars. I'm all about it. But if you're hyping something just because it it gets you a very high percentage of profit, not a fan. Not interested. Don't like it. Not about it. Um so, that's you know, that's all I'm saying is this is a great cigar in My Father's Fonseca with this Mexican San Andreas wrapper. It's fantastic. Love it. There are brands that I absolutely love. Products that they come out with are great. Not all of them are bangers. Like I said, My Father's the blue Honduran, it's just not my cup of tea. Um I won't kick it out of the humidor. That's for sure, but it's not something that I would specifically go to on a daily daily basis. But love the company. Love the family. Love the products. If you're going to hype something, make it hype worthy is all I'm saying. Make it hype worthy. Don't hype something that a lot of people might not like after they try it. So, I hope you enjoyed this episode of the Sticks and Stones podcast. I enjoyed recording it. Smoking cigars is my happy place. Um so, grab a nice beverage, something to enjoy. Grab a good cigar. Kick back, relax, enjoy what's left of this weekend. It is a Sunday Funday. Enjoy yourself. Have a good time. Be blessed. Stay blessed. And above all else, keep it rolling, baby. I'm Angelo for the Sticks and Stones Podcast and for the Puff Cast review and Sticks and Stones Cigars. We out.