Episode 127
How I Saved My Cigar Collection | Michael Herklots | Ferio Tego | Box Press Ep. 127
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Who are you gonna call to save a massive cigar collection you have to take possession of in a few weeks? Find what Michael Herklots did as he takes you through launching his storied cigar brand, Ferio Tego. Ferio Tego is behind Elegancia and Generoso cigars and the cigar maker that brought back best-selling legendary cigar lines, including Metropolitan.
Michael is the co-founder of Ferio Tego. He sat down with Drew Emmer, Boveda's guru of strategic relationships at PCA 2024, the preeminent event for premium cigar and pipe industry.
00:00 This is Box Press
00:09 What cigar is Drew smoking? Ferio Tego 2023 Elegancia cigar
06:12 Ferio Tego cigar launch
06:38 Cigar lines predate the company
09:48 Only 5 guys in the room could pull this off
11:56 Cigar retailer, now a cigar brand owner
14:16 Reach back and lend a hand up
18:00 What's a boutique cigar brand?
18:57 What does Ferio Tego mean?
19:39 How many cigar brands does Ferio Tego have?
20:39 Michael Herklots invited to cigar icons' Boveda For My Humidor
20:58 Ferio Tego 5-pack cigar is coming back!
21:49 Michael's first paid gig as a drummer in Boston was at a Fuente cigar event
22:16 Every cigar I own is protected by Boveda
22:38 Need help with cigar humidity, who you gonna call?
23:21 What Ferio Tego cigar to try first
What is Boveda? Storied cigars brands like Ferio Tego protect their blends with Boveda 2-way humidity control—that brown pack that you find in the box with your cigars. Boveda preserves the flavor and character of premium cigars by keeping them at ideal humidity. At home, continue to use Boveda in your humidor to keep cigars well-humidified or they can be hard to light, burn to too fast or get moldy. With Boveda in your humidor, you'll enjoy full flavor and a perfect smoke from every cigar.
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Transcript
- I'm just thrilled to
have Michael Herklots
Speaker:sit down with us.
Speaker:Can you start, just get us
started before I light this,
Speaker:and tell me what I'm smoking.
Speaker:- You are about to light up
the Ferio Tego: Speaker:under Ferio Tego, we
do them once annually.
Speaker:So think wine, for example,
Speaker:every year you make
however much you can make,
Speaker:perhaps a white and a red.
Speaker:This is my white, so this
really is in the style
Speaker:of think White Burgundy, crème brûlée.
Speaker:You know, it's luscious and big and fatty,
Speaker:but creamy, and...
Speaker:- It's beautifully constructed.
Speaker:I'm looking forward to tasting it.
Speaker:- Let's hope it does
what it's supposed to do.
Speaker:- So, when you've been a
part of the cigar industry
Speaker:for as long as you have,
Speaker:people come to think of
you as a bit of a legend.
Speaker:Can you talk about the,
Speaker:well, the early days of this show.
Speaker:I mean, you mentioned
on our walk over here
Speaker:how many years it's been and-
Speaker:- Yeah. My first show
was: Speaker:I started in the business in 1999,
Speaker:so this is my 25th year in the business.
Speaker:And, you know, it's hard for me
Speaker:to describe the difference in show
Speaker:because it's so much a
difference in perspective.
Speaker:You know, walking on a trade
show floor at 23 years old
Speaker:and just seeing the industry in one place
Speaker:was an indescribable feeling
Speaker:as a young person
starting in this industry.
Speaker:Now, fast forward, I'm an old person
Speaker:continuing in the industry,
Speaker:but it's not less awesome,
Speaker:but it's much more
intimate at the same time.
Speaker:There's not a booth I pass where
I don't know someone in it,
Speaker:you know, my first show,
Speaker:I could make it from that end of the hall
Speaker:to that end of the hall in one stop
Speaker:because I didn't know
anyone and no one knew me.
Speaker:- Yeah. We just got stopped three times
Speaker:on the way over to your booth
Speaker:to make sure everybody was okay for you
Speaker:to get away for the conversation.
Speaker:- But isn't it great?
Speaker:I mean, there's not an industry like it,
Speaker:and all of the most meaningful
relationships in my life,
Speaker:save for my wife, my family,
and my friends growing up,
Speaker:they're all connected to this business.
Speaker:In fact, even my wife I met
connected via this business.
Speaker:- This is scrumptious by the way.
Speaker:- Man, I have to tell you,
when you just took a puff
Speaker:and I saw the smoke exit-
Speaker:- The mouthful of smoke that I got-
Speaker:- And that to me is
everything about that blend.
Speaker:When you can achieve body that is
Speaker:so mouth-fillingly full,
Speaker:and yet deliver flavors that
are so elegant and graceful,
Speaker:it's not an easy thing to do,
Speaker:but I'm proud of what
we've done with this.
Speaker:- So I don't know what the term is,
Speaker:but a lot of times when I
smoke a lighter wrapper,
Speaker:like, this a Connecticut wrapper?
Speaker:- Ecuador, Connecticut.
Speaker:- So, this lacks the,
Speaker:is it acidity that I'm used
to with other Connecticuts?
Speaker:- So, in true Connecticut,
Speaker:see, a Connecticut shade from
the Connecticut River Valley,
Speaker:there is, to my palate,
Speaker:a quite obvious, almost
astringency drying effect
Speaker:from that wrapper.
Speaker:- Right.
Speaker:- Almost a bitterness, as well.
Speaker:- And that's not a criticism,
Speaker:it's just the characteristics
of that wrapper,
Speaker:and the blends that
typically wear that wrapper
Speaker:tend to be lighter bodied.
Speaker:And, so, the behavioral influence
Speaker:of that wrapper is quite
dominant in blends like that.
Speaker:In this case, the wrapper from Ecuador
Speaker:has a bit more flavor,
Speaker:but that blend is not your,
what you would consider
Speaker:a conventional, mild
Connecticut shade-style blend.
Speaker:It's actually, there's
two Ligeros in that blend.
Speaker:One from Nicaragua, one from Dominican.
Speaker:And so the way that blend was composed
Speaker:was done such that it delivers
flavor without ferocity.
Speaker:It gives you body and mouthful-
Speaker:- "Flavor without ferocity."
Speaker:- That's a tagline.
- I like it.
Speaker:- That's trademarked.
- I like it. (laughs)
Speaker:- Brendan [Scott], trademark
flavor, not ferocity, but it's-
Speaker:- That's great.
Speaker:- It's pretty unique.
Speaker:- And it's very evident,
Speaker:and I knew this from cigars of yours
Speaker:that I smoked in your previous role,
Speaker:you're a quality freak.
Speaker:I say that in the nicest way.
Speaker:- No, no, well, it's funny,
Speaker:before we came on camera,
Speaker:you said that I'm a storyteller,
Speaker:and I really think of
each blend as a story.
Speaker:And in order for a
story to be interesting,
Speaker:there has to be a plot, you know?
Speaker:I mean, you can't be the same tone.
Speaker:It can't be, you know,
those are terrible stories.
Speaker:So you have to have a
story that has an arc,
Speaker:that has a start, that has a
middle, that has some conflict,
Speaker:and then that resolves in an ending.
Speaker:That's how stories are written.
Speaker:That's how music is written.
Speaker:I'm a musician, you know,
I think like a musician,
Speaker:I don't think like a cigar maker.
Speaker:And so creating blends,
Speaker:though not intentional at the time,
Speaker:I realize now, looking back,
Speaker:I create blends that have a
plot, that have a journey,
Speaker:that start one way,
take you somewhere else,
Speaker:that have a hook right from the beginning
Speaker:that compel you to take another puff.
Speaker:- So the Ferio Tego story,
can you talk about the launch
Speaker:and what's happened
since the launch in terms
Speaker:of your expectations and the
way things have worked out?
Speaker:- Yeah, we're in March 2024,
Speaker:which is month 30 of Ferio Tego in market.
Speaker:- Still a very young company
- Very young, man.
Speaker:However, if you look at what makes
Speaker:the Ferio Tego story so unique,
Speaker:we have a portfolio of blends,
Speaker:one of which dates back to the mid 1990s.
Speaker:I've been around 25 years,
Speaker:but our company is three years old
Speaker:and we're in market two and a half.
Speaker:And Ferio Tego's brand new.
Speaker:So, there's a very unique,
Speaker:depending on your
familiarity with our story,
Speaker:sometimes there's more or
less catching up to do,
Speaker:to understand how a
two-and-a-half-year-old brand
Speaker:can have a 30-year-old blend and you know.
Speaker:- Well, it's almost as though
the name could have been
Speaker:the Herklot's line.
- Well-
Speaker:- Because it's all based
on your reputation.
Speaker:Is that fair?
Speaker:- Look, I think 20 years, 20+ years prior
Speaker:to creating the company,
Speaker:the reason we have enjoyed
Speaker:the success that we've enjoyed
Speaker:is no doubt due to the 25 years,
Speaker:20 years served above board, right?
Speaker:In good faith and good
partnership and friendship
Speaker:and honesty and all that stuff.
Speaker:You know, when, when we started,
Speaker:we put our orders in in January of 2021,
Speaker:we were in market in October,
Speaker:and that was in the COVID boom.
Speaker:So the only way that's possible
Speaker:is because Quesada in Dominican,
Plasencia in Nicaragua,
Speaker:Agroindustrias in Honduras,
Speaker:Cigar Rings in the Dominican Republic,
Speaker:HumidifGroup and Cigar Box
Factory in Spain and Nicaragua,
Speaker:all believed in what this was gonna be
Speaker:and moved us to the front of the line
Speaker:at a time when they didn't
need more production.
Speaker:You know (chuckles) they didn't need it.
Speaker:They had it, everyone
was at maximum capacity,
Speaker:and here was this brand new business,
Speaker:but 20 years of valuable
partnership and honesty
Speaker:and all that I think came
together in what is now Ferio.
Speaker:So I wouldn't say that
it's just my reputation.
Speaker:Ferio Tego really is the embodiment
Speaker:of what doing business the right way
Speaker:for the right reason looks like.
Speaker:- Well I appreciate the self-deprecation,
Speaker:it's awesome to have a-
Speaker:- I just think it's more than just me.
Speaker:- Yeah, it's interesting
to talk to a musician
Speaker:that doesn't take credit.
Speaker:I mean, it's very unusual
Speaker:unless you're a bass player
or a drummer. (laughs)
Speaker:- I am a drummer.
Speaker:(both laughing)
Speaker:I do take credit, you
know, I take credit for
Speaker:a lot of the things that
I can take credit for,
Speaker:but there are really-
Speaker:- You can't marshal the
Hall of Fame producers
Speaker:that you just mentioned.
Speaker:You can't marshal that
Speaker:and turn around an order to a delivery.
Speaker:There's maybe five guys in the room
Speaker:that could pull that off.
Speaker:- Yeah, yeah. (chuckles)
Speaker:- I mean, you think that's fair?
Speaker:So, I accept the credit
Speaker:that years of working-
Speaker:- Showing up the way you show up.
Speaker:- Relationship and mutual respect
Speaker:and mutual admiration for one another,
Speaker:when I needed help, they came.
Speaker:- Well, and it's really-
Speaker:- And I didn't even mention Davidoff USA,
Speaker:Davidoff USA is our is
our distribution partner.
Speaker:So, you know, as we're talking
with our factory partners,
Speaker:trying to get production in
the middle of this COVID boom,
Speaker:we gave them forecasts based on
Speaker:what we thought we could
just figure out how to sell.
Speaker:And they said, "How do
you intend to sell it?"
Speaker:And we said, "We have no idea,"
Speaker:"but I know that we can't sell anything"
Speaker:"until we have production,
so start making,"
Speaker:"by the time they're ready,"
Speaker:"we'll have a solution on how to sell."
Speaker:And in that time, we sat
down with Davidoff USA,
Speaker:who I worked for for 10 years,
Speaker:and then worked with for the
next 10 with Nat Sherman.
Speaker:And they said, "Well, why don't we talk
Speaker:about a distribution agreement?"
Speaker:So, again-
Speaker:- That's a tremendous accomplishment.
Speaker:- For a brand new business.
Speaker:- Yeah. To put a brand in that level.
Speaker:- We're distributed by Davidoff USA,
Speaker:throughout the United States.
Speaker:We're manufactured in all
three major manufacturing
Speaker:countries of origin,
Speaker:by arguably some of the best
manufacturers on the planet.
Speaker:And we've shipped to, since inception,
Speaker:we've shipped to about 1,200 shops.
Speaker:- That's tremendous.
Speaker:- Last year we did just under 900 stores.
Speaker:Of course, some fell off
from the 1,200, some are new,
Speaker:and we're turning and burning
Speaker:with regular reorders in about 500 stores.
Speaker:- That's tremendous.
- It's awesome.
Speaker:- Yeah, you have so much to be proud of.
Speaker:It's very rare when you
have a line that's as young
Speaker:as Ferio Tego whose principal
is standing up in front
Speaker:of the whole association, you know,
Speaker:leading a session as you did.
Speaker:I mean, it's just-
Speaker:- That's been, I'll tell you
the, I'm sorry to cut you off.
Speaker:- No, go ahead.
- But when you say
Speaker:being in front of the association,
Speaker:one of the things I miss
most about my prior roles,
Speaker:because they always involved retail.
Speaker:As a retailer,
Speaker:I felt a certain responsibility
Speaker:to industry because you're
representing the entirety
Speaker:of industry when a customer
walks in your door.
Speaker:So that was a connection
that I always really,
Speaker:it really resonated with
me in a very valuable way
Speaker:because I had meaningful relationships
Speaker:with every manufacturer,
Speaker:because even though we were competing
Speaker:on one side of the business,
Speaker:we were also partners on the
other side of the business.
Speaker:And so when we started Ferio
Tego that piece went away
Speaker:and I was concerned
Speaker:that my ability to advocate for industry
Speaker:and be a meaningful part of
industry would start to diminish
Speaker:as I became just viewed
as more self-interest
Speaker:for my own company.
Speaker:And so I think to some
extent that's happened.
Speaker:I mean, people certainly see Ferio Tego
Speaker:as my first priority, but
the fact that I can still
Speaker:do Procigar, still do seminars,
Speaker:still do The Great Smoke and
lead some industry things,
Speaker:and the fact that the industry,
Speaker:by and large, is still feels
very comfortable with me
Speaker:advocating on their behalf,
Speaker:even if I do have a self-interest.
Speaker:It's cool.
Speaker:- Well, and it's intriguing
because you look at an industry
Speaker:that has a sort of an
older generation of leaders
Speaker:that are starting to
turn over a lot of their
Speaker:responsibilities to the next generation,
Speaker:and you've been here from such a young age
Speaker:that you're kind of a
bridge guy in your group.
Speaker:- I have an identity crisis for sure
Speaker:because I have longer standing
closer relationships with-
Speaker:- You're too young to be so old.
Speaker:(Michael laughs)
Speaker:- My peer group in the industry
is not my contemporaries.
Speaker:- Right.
Speaker:- You know, it's the generation
that was gracious enough
Speaker:to let me sit with them.
- Welcome you.
Speaker:- Yeah.
- Yeah.
Speaker:- And that's, you know, it's always,
Speaker:when you're new to a business,
Speaker:you remember the people who reach out
Speaker:and extend their hand and
welcome you in, right?
Speaker:Because you're a competition.
Speaker:So a lot of people look at new people
Speaker:and say, "What is this
guy getting in for?"
Speaker:You know, but everyone was new once,
Speaker:and then once you become established,
Speaker:you might remember the people
who were there for you,
Speaker:but sometimes you forget to turn around
Speaker:and see who you can be there for.
Speaker:And, so, as a 43 year
old with 25 years in,
Speaker:it puts me in a very unique position
Speaker:to be so close with the
legacy generation that is now.
Speaker:And even some of the ones that came
Speaker:before this current legacy generation,
Speaker:and yet be a contemporary
of my generation,
Speaker:who many are still new to the business,
Speaker:that I get to kind of bridge
those two social worlds
Speaker:is a cool thing.
Speaker:- So, just a short tribute
to those that are here
Speaker:and those that are gone.
Speaker:Who was the person or the people
Speaker:that opened the door for you
Speaker:that gave you the confidence
Speaker:and the excitement about cigars
Speaker:to build the legacy
you've been able to build?
Speaker:- Yeah. One of my first bosses,
Speaker:well, there was a guy named David Walker
Speaker:in Boston that gave me my
first real opportunity.
Speaker:Actually, the first, first guy was
Speaker:a guy named Butch McCarthy.
Speaker:Then he sold the business
to this guy David Walker,
Speaker:and David let me run this
little kiosk in a mall.
Speaker:Then a guy named David Kitchens hired me
Speaker:at Davidoff in New York after I worked
Speaker:for a time at the Gloucester
Street Cigar Company
Speaker:for a guy named Joe Pasquale.
Speaker:And it was David Kitchens who really,
Speaker:really saw in me something unique
Speaker:and gave me a lot of
opportunity at Davidoff.
Speaker:At the same time, this guy
named George Brightman,
Speaker:who was a pretty senior
at Cigar Aficionado.
Speaker:And he, too, was very supportive
Speaker:of my obvious enthusiasm for
the business at a young age.
Speaker:Those two guys were a huge help
Speaker:and they introduced me to everybody.
Speaker:The one that really I
connected with in now
Speaker:an absurdly close way is Manuel Quesada
Speaker:and the Quesada family.
Speaker:And he, you know, he really
is a industry father to me.
Speaker:I mean, it's so bonkers.
- No, he's the OG.
Speaker:I mean, he is such
Speaker:a gracious man.
- But he would sit me at the
Speaker:table with the original Procigar crew,
Speaker:Jose Seijas, Daniel Núñez, Benji Menendez,
Speaker:- Many who we have on our wall.
Speaker:- Right, right.
Speaker:- Yeah.
Speaker:- You know, even, I mean,
when you look at like,
Speaker:that's one of my favorite men
Speaker:on the face of the earth, Litto [Gomez].
Speaker:- Did you go to his
birthday party last night?
Speaker:- I did not go, I did not go.
Speaker:- I heard it was fabulous.
Speaker:- He was a new company, you know,
Speaker:we sold his products at Davidoff.
Speaker:I went to visit him in
the D.R. in: Speaker:He had two fields.
Speaker:His factory was a tenth
of what it is today,
Speaker:you know, I thought I saw
Rocky [Patel] here somewhere.
Speaker:- Rocky's part of it.
- Right, Rocky.
Speaker:- We only have so many
that fit on the wall.
Speaker:- Rocky, I've known
since: Speaker:You know, he was banging on doors.
Speaker:Jonathan Drew was banging on doors
Speaker:and so we grew up in
the business together.
Speaker:In fact, someone asked me the other day,
Speaker:"Who are your favorite boutique brands?"
Speaker:And I said, "That's easy."
Speaker:"Rocky Patel, Drew Estate,
La Flor Dominicana."
Speaker:And they're like, "No, no boutique."
Speaker:I said, "My man, when I started-
Speaker:- Those were boutique.
- They were boutique.
Speaker:- They're not considered boutique anymore.
Speaker:- But they may be $50 million businesses,
Speaker:but they're still boutique, you know?
Speaker:- The way they think,
Speaker:the way they craft.
- When you start from scratch,
Speaker:and you remember every relationship
Speaker:and you're still
privately owned, you know,
Speaker:I mean, Drew Estate sold
to a larger corporation
Speaker:that is still privately owned, you know,
Speaker:and the principal Jonathan,
is still involved.
Speaker:That mentality is boutique,
Speaker:and who doesn't strive
to be bigger, right?
Speaker:I don't know A single
boutique on the planet
Speaker:that hopes they never grow.
Speaker:We all want to grow,
Speaker:but preserving a boutique
mindset, I think is-
Speaker:- So, the future for Ferio Tego,
Speaker:just gimme a little
background on the name.
Speaker:- Ferio Tego is the motto
on our family coat of arms,
Speaker:which is my ring.
Speaker:And in the bottom of the crest
Speaker:is the image of Hercules
striking the Hydra,
Speaker:and under that it says "Ferio Tego,"
Speaker:which translates to
loosely strike and defend.
Speaker:- It's a great name for a brand.
Speaker:- It's a great name for a brand.
Speaker:- I don't think it's an
exaggeration to say it's had
Speaker:a meteoric ascent from
the launch until now.
Speaker:I think it's pretty
remarkable what you laid out
Speaker:as far as what you've accomplished
Speaker:in a very short period of time.
Speaker:- We did a lot in a short period of time.
Speaker:It's a lot.
Speaker:I mean, we have 10 core blends
Speaker:with a handful of limited editions
Speaker:that we've released throughout the years,
Speaker:plus the two annual limited releases,
Speaker:Elegancia and Generoso, I mean,
Speaker:it's over 50 individual cigars
Speaker:that are within the portfolio.
Speaker:That's a lot for people to catch up on
Speaker:if we are completely new to them.
Speaker:For those who are familiar
with Timeless or Metropolitan,
Speaker:it's perhaps a little easier
to wrap your head around,
Speaker:but to start a relationship
like we're doing
Speaker:at this trade show,
Speaker:when someone walks over and says,
Speaker:"Tell me about your company,
I'm not familiar with it,"
Speaker:and we turn around and show, you know,
Speaker:a portfolio that is so robust.
Speaker:They say, "How do we start?"
Speaker:And then it's really,
Speaker:understanding their
business in a thoughtful way
Speaker:to figure out the right
entry point to our brand.
Speaker:- This is the first Ferio
Tego cigar I've ever smoked.
Speaker:I've smoked many of your
other cigars previous.
Speaker:I would like to personally
cordially invite you
Speaker:to become a part of this constellation.
Speaker:- Great.
Speaker:- When the time is right for you
Speaker:and become part of the For My Humidor.
Speaker:- Well, I'll tell you,
Speaker:I've actually already
submitted my photos and-
Speaker:- That's good.
Speaker:- We've used the package,
Speaker:the smallest size in a five-pack
that we used for years,
Speaker:that just between us
girls don't tell anyone,
Speaker:but that project is coming back.
Speaker:So we're excited
Speaker:to get it back in there.
- We won't tell anyone.
Speaker:- Right.
- We promise.
Speaker:- That's just between us.
Speaker:So, I'm very excited.
Speaker:And, listen, I'm a fan, again,
we go back to the beginning.
Speaker:I've known these guys-
Speaker:- Since you walked in.
Speaker:You started about the same time.
Speaker:- Yeah. I mean, we both were
newbies at shows together.
Speaker:- Yeah.
Speaker:- And it's been an
incredible relationship.
Speaker:I think we actually became
quite close via Fuente,
Speaker:which, of course, Carlito was
the first guy to go all in.
Speaker:- Well, Carlito is the man.
- In packaging.
Speaker:- Yeah. And funny enough,
Speaker:my first paid gig as a
drummer in Boston was for
Speaker:a cigar dinner for the Cigar
Family Charitable Foundation
Speaker:in Boston.
Speaker:- I thought you were gonna tell me
Speaker:you were jamming on Lansdowne Street.
Speaker:- No, it's just crazy, man.
Speaker:It's just like so many intersections.
Speaker:But, yes, I would love
to be on that board.
Speaker:- Yeah. It would be a
real privilege for us.
Speaker:- I have the entirety of my collection,
Speaker:entirety, from 2002.
Speaker:Every single cigar I own
is protected by Boveda.
Speaker:Every one in my house.
Speaker:Let me tell you, there's a lot of-
Speaker:- I didn't set you up for that.
Speaker:- No, no. It's a fact.
Speaker:In fact, you know, once again,
Speaker:when you respect each other for so long
Speaker:and root for each other for so long,
Speaker:when I suddenly found myself
having to take possession
Speaker:of the entirety of my
collection within three weeks,
Speaker:I didn't know who else to call but
Speaker:Tim [Swail] and Sean [Knutsen],
Speaker:and I said, I need real
help with humidity.
Speaker:I don't know where I'm
gonna put all this stuff.
Speaker:And they said, "Send me an address,"
Speaker:middle of the pandemic.
Speaker:And I got a-
Speaker:- Whatever it takes.
- Generous safety package.
Speaker:It was a true lifeline
to save my collection.
Speaker:- Well, and it's a privilege for us
Speaker:to be associated with you.
Speaker:And I want to thank you
Speaker:for taking the time to have a chat.
Speaker:- Oh, man.
Speaker:- We're gonna send a
crew over to your booth,
Speaker:get some more details
specific to the lines.
Speaker:If someone is interested in
starting out with Ferio Tego,
Speaker:this cigar is a great hello,
great place to start somebody.
Speaker:- It's a great place to start
Speaker:to really understand what Ferio Tego is.
Speaker:You know, it's approachable,
Speaker:but whether you're a first time
Speaker:or early cigar enthusiast-
- It's an elegant smoke.
Speaker:- Or you're a expert, you know,
Speaker:you're gonna experience something
Speaker:and remember that cigar afterwards.
Speaker:- Michael, I thank you very much.
Speaker:Look forward to the rest of the show.
Speaker:- Yes.
- Thanks for leading us off.
Speaker:- I'm glad we got to do it.
Speaker:- Yeah, really appreciate it.
(gentle music)