Episode 20 of Smoke and Steel hit different this week. We gathered in the garage like always, but the conversation bounced from potential industry chaos with Nicaragua tariffs to weird wrapper curling issues to why kids won’t walk up to your door anymore on Halloween. Just another Tuesday night in Gilbertsville.
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The Nicaragua Tariff Situation Everyone’s Talking About
Skip from RoMa Craft dropped a detailed Facebook post that got the cigar world buzzing. The short version? There’s potential legislation that could slap a 100% tariff on cigars imported from Nicaragua. Not a 100% price increase, but a tariff equal to 100% of the import price itself.
According to Skip’s breakdown, this hits roughly 60% of the premium cigar market. Nicaragua has become the dominant production source over the past couple decades, so even though cigars made in Honduras or the Dominican Republic wouldn’t face this tariff, the ripple effects would be massive.
His big concern is keystone pricing. Right now, retailers typically double the wholesale cost. If manufacturers have to raise wholesale prices by 35% to cover these tariffs and retailers maintain keystone pricing, you’re looking at 40% to 50% MSRP increases across most of the market. That kind of jump would absolutely kill demand.
Skip’s proposed solution is to break keystone pricing temporarily. Instead of doubling that increased wholesale price, retailers would mark up just enough to preserve their actual dollar margins rather than their percentage margins. It’s an interesting approach that could keep prices from going completely insane while keeping everyone in the supply chain whole.
We spent a good chunk of time unpacking this because it affects everything. Your favorite Nicaraguan sticks could get way more expensive, or the entire industry could shift how it does business. Either way, big changes could be coming.
Our Evening Smoke: Saint Luis Rey Tabacales
We fired up Saint Luis Rey Tabacales for this episode, courtesy of Altidis who sent over a five pack. These cigars include a Nicaraguan wrapper, Cameroon binder, and Dominican-Nicaraguan fillers. Made in the Dominican Republic, they run between $7.70 and $8.95 depending on vitola. We had the Toros.
Right out of the gate, something wild happened on Mark’s cigar. The wrapper edges started curling back as it burned, peeling away from the heat like it was trying to escape. We’ve seen cigars explode, canoe, tunnel, you name it. But watching the wrapper actively curl away from itself? That was a first for all of us. It looked like something out of a Bugs Bunny cartoon.
Once we got past that visual oddity, the smoke itself landed squarely in middle of the road territory. Medium body, tons of smoke output which we all appreciated. But flavor wise? Pretty one dimensional. A few of us picked up a distinct saltiness on the tip of the tongue. Nothing offensive or off putting, just not particularly exciting either.
The first inch was rough. Dry and underwhelming. But as we got deeper into it, things smoothed out and became more enjoyable. By the halfway point though, some harshness started creeping in and construction issues popped up on a couple of cigars.
Our consensus? Solid everyday cigar or grass cutting stick. At that $7 to $9 price point, it’s fair value. We’ve had budget cigars that smoke way above their price point, and this wasn’t one of them. But we’ve also had way worse. It’s the kind of stick you’d keep around for early morning coffee or yard work without feeling like you’re wasting something special.
Would we buy a box? Probably not. Would we smoke another if someone handed it to us? Sure. That’s about where it landed.
Episode 20 Milestone and What’s Coming Up
Hard to believe we hit episode 20 already. We actually debated whether this was truly episode 20 or if we should count the bonus episodes with Kyle and Big Rob differently. We landed on just calling this episode 20 and moving forward. Math is hard when you’re smoking cigars.
Speaking of those bonus episodes, the response to Big Rob from LA Cigar Collective was incredible. He sent us out to a ton of cigar groups and got us in front of a lot of new people. The engagement spike was awesome to see. Rob’s energy is infectious and that episode was just fun from start to finish.
To help streamline things going forward, Walt put together some basic information about joining us on the podcast. It’s got categories for cigar enthusiasts, retailers, and manufacturers with info on who to contact and what to expect. Probably something we should have done 19 episodes ago, but better late than never.
We’ve got Dave West from Avowed Cigars lined up for November 25th. Still working on getting the Founders Cigars guys on after having Chase from their team on previously. And a new one that reached out after seeing the Big Rob episode is Abbina Sipping Soda. They’re a craft soda brand specifically designed to pair with cigars. Big Rob actually did a video with them where he’s got this mini lab setup in his basement blending flavors. Should be a fascinating conversation.
Our LACC flag is on the way too. Kyle sent tracking info, so we’ll have that hanging in the garage shortly. Mark was like a dog with a bone about his order during that episode. Relentless.
Halloween Recap and Voting Adventures
We recorded this right after Halloween, so naturally that came up. Turnout seemed down across the board for trick or treaters. Eric had about 130 kids come through, which was pretty typical, but lots of people reported way lower numbers than usual.
The trend that’s getting annoying is kids won’t walk up to your door anymore unless you’re standing outside. They want you at the end of your driveway with a candy bowl so they can grab and go. Eric had lights on, door open, clearly home and handing out candy. Kids were walking right past until they saw someone actually standing there.
When did knocking on doors and saying trick or treat become too much effort? We all remember going up to porches, ringing doorbells, the whole experience. Now it’s drive by candy collection.
Costume wise, superheroes dominated as usual. Fortnite characters were huge this year. Lots of Minions. Not much classic scary stuff like Jason or Freddy anymore. Everything’s commercial rather than homemade. We all had stories about uncomfortable plastic masks with rubber bands that left rings around your head by the end of the night. Kids today have molded face masks and built in ventilation. They don’t know how good they have it.
We also all voted that day and every single one of us had complaints about the voting system. Different counties, different machines, completely different levels of organization. Some of us had all digital touchscreens that printed ballots. Others had magic markers that bled through everything with machines that kept going down.
The lack of consistency is wild when you live 15 minutes apart but vote in different counties. We didn’t get too deep into politics, but the mechanics of actually casting a ballot generated plenty of frustration.
The JC Newman History Lesson
A local shop had the rep from JC Newman at the lounge doing a presentation, and apparently it was incredible. Those of us that didn’t attend will need to track down the video link and watch it. The history of Newman cigars and how Tampa and Ybor City became the mecca of American cigar production was fascinating.
The coolest part was learning how Newman and Fuente came up together. The Newmans were Jewish and faced discrimination. Later when Fuente faced similar treatment, Newman stood up for them and got them into exclusive clubs. That loyalty between manufacturers across generations is something special.
There’s also a connection through one of our father in laws who’s tight with the Newman family. Small world in the cigar industry.
The video was professionally done and went deep into how they survived the Cuban embargo when everyone thought American cigars were finished. They were the first to utilize rolling machines at scale, which helped them weather that storm. Real cigar nerd stuff but absolutely worth watching if you’re into industry history.
Pearlman’s Pocket Encyclopedias
Walt dug up something nostalgic. Anyone remember the Pearlman’s Pocket Encyclopedias from back in the day? They called it pocket sized but that thing was the size of a brick.
It was brilliant in a way because it expired every year, forcing you to buy the new one. But before you could just look everything up online, this book had most cigars on the market. It told you where it was made, what tobaccos were used, all the available sizes. Not comprehensive, but a really solid resource.
There was also a pocket encyclopedia specifically for Havana cigars. Tim had one on the counter at the shop years ago. That old school reference material hits different than just Googling everything. The 2007 edition is the photo Walt found. Pretty sure they stopped making them not long after that.
It’s the kind of thing that would be cool to have again. Like the cigar dossier journal at the shop where you smoke something, put the label in, and write notes about it. Nate’s “carnival in my mouth” review of that Gurkha is legendary. Nate has tried to throw that book out multiple times but the guys won’t let him.
What You Should Do About These Tariffs
Look, we don’t know if these cigar industry tariffs are actually going to happen. By the time you’re reading this, it might be resolved. Or it might be worse than we thought. That’s the frustrating part about all this uncertainty.
But if you’ve been on the fence about stocking up on your favorite Nicaraguan cigars, now’s probably the time. Worst case scenario, you’ve got a well stocked humidor. Best case, prices stay stable and you’re just prepared.
Check out our affiliate links below if you’re ready to make a move. We’ve got partnerships with both Cigar Page and JR Cigars, and any purchases through those links help keep this podcast rolling.
And if you’re feeling especially generous and want to support the show directly, you can always buy us a coffee on Ko-Fi.
Make sure you watch the full episode above. We covered even more than what made it into this write up, including debate about whether Eric should get the hunter orange box instead of blue, Mark’s ongoing lighter struggles, and why Walt is building a Frankenstein smoke eater in the garage.
