Burnt Offerings

Burnt Offerings goes on the road. In this special episode we record inside the curing barn at Florida Sun Grown Farms in Clermont, Florida — surrounded by air-curing tobacco hanging overhead. While visiting the Tampa area we cold-called the farm and somehow ended up sitting in the barn talking tobacco, cigar culture, and the history of Florida Sun Grown leaf. Because we didn’t plan quite as well as we should have, the cigar of the day isn’t an FSG blend but a local Tampa shop pickup: the Ybor City Blend 2006 Maduro by Tampa Bay Rollers. The result is a laid-back conversation about curing tobacco, the smell of a working barn, Tampa’s cigar heritage, and the surreal experience of recording an episode literally surrounded by the raw ingredient that makes the whole hobby possible.

We light up the Luciano The Dreamer Hermosa No. 4 — a 5x48 robusto featuring Nicaraguan and Peruvian filler, a Nicaraguan binder, and an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper. The cold draw hits with an oddly perfect Nabisco/fig-newton sweetness before the first third turns savory (weirdly “first bite of grilled steak”) with a campfire/firecracker aroma that had us chasing the source. That rabbit trail turns into a whole conversation on Peruvian tobacco (“smoky incense,” florals, spice), the meaning of Fiat Lux (“let there be light”), and the middle-aged art of keeping old dreams alive — from tobacco plants in the backyard to RV darkrooms to learning to fly. Final scores land at 9.0, 8.5, and 8.5 — our highest average rating yet (8.67). Basement bargain pricing doesn’t hurt, either.

We light up the Crowned Heads Jericho Hill OBS — a box-pressed robusto featuring Nicaraguan binder and filler wrapped in Mexican San Andrés Maduro, produced at the My Father Cigars factory in Estelí. Pepper-forward off the light, the cigar transitions into earthy cocoa, dark spice, and creamy Maduro sweetness through the middle and final thirds. Medium-to-full bodied, complex, and dynamic for a short vitola. Along the way: strength discussion, golf course cigar debates, Johnny Cash references, and the true story of how we found $3,000 worth of meth in an Airbnb in Boise.

We welcome friend-of-the-show Gary Diehl and light up the Drew Estate 20 Acre Farm FSG — a Florida Sun Grown cigar with a lot more personality than expected. Pepper-forward up front with fruity, nougaty notes underneath, a mellowing middle, and a cedar-leaning finish that stays interesting all the way down. Along the way: Corona Cigar sourcing stories, Florida-grown tobacco history, once-in-a-lifetime experiences, and a full Hot Box interrogation of Gary.

We go back to a “classic” and find out it is way punchier than memory gave it credit for. La Gloria Cubana Serie R Maduro brings oily wrapper vibes, steady pepper, espresso, and a late-game sweetness that redeems the middle. Also featured: winter garage problems, retrohale pepper sensors, and Patrick’s cigar briefly trying to self-destruct before settling down and behaving.

We light up the Crowned Heads Mil Dias Maduro Sublime and immediately start arguing with our own taste buds: honeyed cold draw, granola sweetness, a weird little raspberry moment, and an herbal/earthy backbone that keeps shifting. Then we zoom out and do what we do best—turn “a thousand days” into a full-on life audit: kids aging in dog years, poker-night nostalgia, and why the humidor is basically a time machine with ash.

We light up Raymond Page’s Florida Man Miami, a limited run that somehow tastes exactly like its name: cedar, citrus, and a little chaos. Along the way we define “Florida Man,” read real headlines, debate underwear-in-the-window policy, and confess our most impulsive decisions—including a truly cursed teen car purchase.

We fire up the Cuba Aliados Cabinet Edition by E.P. Carrillo with guest Pete Cooper of Goldberry Coffee. Sweetness, toast, graham, and steady retrohale spice pair with a conversation on third-wave coffee, roasting philosophy, the death of “coffee snobbery,” and teaching people to taste with curiosity instead of insecurity.

We fire up the Megilla Ltd. Edition Shofar—a four-wrapper barber pole fever dream from Raymond Page—and use its twists and turns as a backdrop for talking through the stages of parenting. Grassy barnyard, sweet cocoa and building pepper ride alongside dad stories about Pearl Jam moments, border collie parenting, cross-country finish lines, and the coaches, friends, and “uncles” who help raise our kids.

The third stop in our Black Swan mini-series: E.P. Carrillo’s take. Cocoa powder sweetness, pepper, and a creamy finish frame a long garage-night ramble on cuts, humidors, dry-boxing, and why Toro > Robusto (sometimes). Final third turns chocolatey; panel lands around a 7–8 overall.

We light up the Bricktoberfest Churchill with guest Drew Newman of J.C. Newman Cigars—pairing it with Oktoberfest beer, warm spice, and plenty of laughter. Expect rich brick-house flavor, Tampa history, and family stories as we toast the only traditional cigar factory still rolling in the U.S.

Jason’s out celebrating his anniversary, so the remaining trio lights up the Oliva Black Swan—part two of our running Black Swan series. We dive into what “limited” really means, chase cocoa powder and cedar notes, and somehow end up comparing spicy retrohales to fast-food chicken sandwiches. It’s chocolate, smooth spice, and light chaos in the garage.

All four hosts are back in the garage to kick off our Black Swan mini-series with the Rocky Patel edition. We talk what “Black Swan” actually is (think pop-up tobacco batches), argue whether a cigar still “tastes like a Rocky” when the inputs change, and chase surprising notes—tea vibes, a cedar wall on the retrohale—while Jason workshopped “stop talking to me, swan” and we took a brief detour through legendary chili-dog lore.

This week we light up the E.P. Carrillo Allegiance Confidant and sketch the blueprint of our dream cigar lounge—layout, airflow, lockers, staff culture, and what actually builds community. Jason stands us up (again), Ryan has a “Ghost” moment with a cigar roller, and we debate whether “limited” runs like Allegiance should shape buying habits.

We revisit our favorite lounges and what made them special—from member culture and staff hospitality to thoughtful walk-in design—while smoking Rocky Patel’s A.L.R. 2nd Edition. We talk cedar sweetness, cocoa, and how construction and burn contribute to a relaxing night with friends.

We light the Oliva Serie V 135th Anniversary Perfecto and talk “cigar evangelism” — the friends, bosses, and random shop regulars who first handed us a stick and started something bigger. Cedar and cocoa meet campfire memories, simple rituals, and a smooth burn that finishes right where we like it.

We light the Plasencia 151 Cosecha — cedar, pepper, coffee, and a touch of cinnamon in a bold Honduran puro — and talk about the “Brotherhood of the Leaf.” From shop hospitality to strangers-turned-friends, it’s flavor and fellowship with an honest 6 to 6.5 out of 10 on the night.

We fire up our very first Burnt Offerings episode with the E.P. Carrillo Pledge—a bold start to a bold show. In true “Foot / Body / Head” fashion, we break down the cigar’s first light, its steady burn, and the finish that lingers long after the last puff. Along the way, Jason gets caught daydreaming about a humidor bigger than his garage, Ryan claims spiritual enlightenment via retrohale, and Patrick tries to keep the whole thing from going completely off the rails. This episode sets the tone for the Burnt Offerings journey: good friends, great cigars, and conversations that wander everywhere from tasting notes to the art of building community around the leaf.