This week on Eat, Drink, Smoke, Fingers Malloy goes full bargain-hunter mode… and somehow drags Tony Katz into a cigar experiment that starts with one simple question:

How cheap is too cheap?

Fingers scored a five-pack of the Ave Maria Excalibur on CigarBid for about $16.50 — a price that’s borderline suspicious when the same cigar can run roughly $16 a stick. So the guys break down the whole “Free Fall” bidding experience (and yes, they make it crystal clear: CigarBid is not a sponsor… which they find disturbing).

From there, it’s a real cigar review:
Cameroon wrapper, Habano binder, Nicaraguan filler… and a smoke that comes out swinging with spice, heavy tobacco, and a “big cigar” presence that may or may not justify the premium price — unless you get it at “five for one” levels.

Then the show swerves into everything else you didn’t know you needed:

• Why big game parties are terrible for people who actually want to watch the game

• The sacred truth that a boneless wing is a nugget

• A tour through lazy snack recipes (including a dip that should come with a bathroom warning label)

• A Valentine’s gift guide featuring Lego roses, shower steamers, and the eternal question: should romance ever be described as a puck?

And for the pour: the guys try something different — an American single malt, Clermont Steep (from the Beam family). It’s sweet on the nose, smooth on the palate, and somehow delivers pear, honey, oak, and warm chest heat… then changes again once you add water or a cube.

Also in the mix: bourbon industry turbulence (Kentucky Owl’s parent company moving toward liquidation), layoffs and AI creep (UPS cutting jobs), and the weirdest economic indicator of all — snack prices dropping.

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Happy Hour starts the way a lot of good pairings do—by accident.

Tony Katz and Fingers Malloy reach for Old Soul High Rye Bourbon from Cathead Distillery without knowing what cigar it’s supposed to match, and end up finding something worth slowing down for. The nose comes in sweet—vanilla cake, bakery notes, and frosting—before the palate flips the script with rye spice, cinnamon heat, and a surprisingly layered finish that doesn’t behave the way the nose promises it will.

Neat pours, second sips, third opinions, and a full debate over sweetness versus spice follow. Fingers runs the Kentucky Chew. Tony goes back for seconds. Water changes the profile. Oak shows up for one of them and refuses to appear for the other. At just under $45, the real question becomes simple: does this belong in the liquor cabinet?

From there, Happy Hour does what it always does.

The conversation wanders into cooking at home, why easy doesn’t mean cheap, why time matters more than fancy techniques, and why a long cook, a quiet night, and a cigar by the smoker still count as therapy. Winter grilling dreams, wood choices, brisket philosophy, and the value of doing things yourself all make their way into the mix.

It’s bourbon-forward, cigar-adjacent, food-heavy, and intentionally unpolished—exactly what Happy Hour is supposed to be.

Pour something. Sit down.
This one’s about finding the surprise instead of forcing the pairing.

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Happy Hour kicks off with a box-pressed Robusto and a simple question: what happens when a cigar everyone’s been whispering about finally gets lit?

Tony Katz and Fingers Malloy fire up the OZ Family Cigars Karatoba Robusto, a 5x52 that wastes no time making its case. Early impressions land on wood, white pepper, and a creamy, nut-forward profile that quickly turns into what may be the most accurate tasting note of the night: chew the cashew. Cedar spice, nutty creaminess, and a steady, easy burn make this one worth slowing down for—and worth revisiting as it moves through the thirds.

From there, Happy Hour does what it does best. The conversation drifts into humidor reality, not humidor mythology—why there is no universal “right” humidity, how winter messes with everything, and why results always vary depending on where you live, what you store in, and how much control you actually have. Rules get challenged. Dogma gets tossed. Notes get written.

Then things loosen up.

Winter storms, busted snowblowers, regional weather envy, and the emotional toll of shoveling your own driveway all make an appearance. So does a surprising deep dive into restaurant bankruptcy, food-court nostalgia, and the sudden realization that Hot Dog on a Stick is a real place with real uniforms and very real debt.

It’s cigars, weather, food, business, and chaos—exactly the way Happy Hour is supposed to feel.

Pour something. Light something. Pull up a chair.
This one’s for letting the conversation wander and seeing where it lands.

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Tony Katz and Fingers Malloy light up a cigar that’s been getting a lot of buzz: the Oz Family Cigars Karatoba Robusto (5x52 box press)—Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, and Nicaraguan/Dominican filler. Early impressions land in the sweet spot: cedar spice, nutty creaminess, and that “chew the cashew” texture that turns into an instant running joke. At around $12, the big question becomes simple: is this a daily-humidor staple?

Then they pour something neither of them expected to like as much as they do: Old Soul High Rye Bourbon (90 proof) from Cathead Distillery (with MGP in the mix). The nose screams vanilla cake, but the palate surprises with rye spice, tongue-tingle heat, and a cinnamon edge—plus a full debate over whether oak is even present. Water changes the profile, the pairing clicks, and both hosts land on the same conclusion: at about $45, it’s a yes.

Also in this episode:

• The winter weather misery report (and Fingers’ snowblower betrayal: reverse-only)

• Why humidor “rules” are mostly nonsense—and why your perfect humidity is whatever makes your cigars smoke right

• A restaurant empire with $1.3 billion in debt and a portfolio that reads like a food court fever dream (Fatburger, Johnny Rockets, Fazoli’s, Twin Peaks, Smokey Bones… and yes, Hot Dog on a Stick is real)

• A quick hit on Real ID and the new $45 TSA fee for travelers without a compliant ID

• U-Haul migration rankings: who’s leaving, who’s winning, and why

• The “classy person” list that somehow turns into Frasier, jealousy therapy, and “don’t be weird”

It’s cigars, bourbon, winter frustration, humidor truth, bankrupt restaurant chains, and just enough nonsense to make it feel like home.

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Tony Katz and Fingers Malloy crack open one of their first new bourbons of 2026: 15 Stars First West Toasted Oak Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey — a 98-proof blend of 5, 6, and 7-year bourbons out of Bardstown.

The nose comes in sweet and easy — caramel, vanilla, oak — with no ethanol bite. The palate? Lighter and thinner than expected. But then the finish shows up late with oak, spice, warmth, and just enough intrigue to start an argument about value.

Is this a $70 bottle?
Or is it a very solid yes at $51?

Tony and Fingers break it down neat, with water, and with a cube — debating thin palates, delayed gratification, and whether people are willing to wait for a bourbon to do its work.

Then Happy Hour does what Happy Hour always does:

• Fancy cocktails allegedly explode stomachs

• Liquid nitrogen becomes the enemy

• “Lunch meat” vs. “cold cuts” turns into a regional civil war

• Kroger’s AI-powered shopping carts summon Skynet

• Indiana football glory gets its moment

• The NFL tries to stretch the season (and the players)

• And somehow, Defiance Beef fixes everything

Bourbon opinions, cultural irritation, and conversations that refuse to stay on topic.

That’s Happy Hour.

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Pour something good and hang out.

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Tony Katz and Fingers Malloy light up the Room 101 Farce. Connecticut Super Toro (6x56) and immediately derail the show by debating pronunciation, ring gauge philosophy, and whether this thing is way bigger than anyone actually wants.

And the cigar itself refuses to behave like a traditional Connecticut.
Instead of creamy and mild, it comes out swinging with wood spice, cocoa, coffee-adjacent bitterness, and enough personality to raise questions about aging, draw issues, and whether Tony is suffering from… the yips.

Along the way:

• Fingers becomes a confirmed “fitness influencer”

• Notebook cigar science makes a comeback

• The humidor becomes a metaphor for happiness

• Goodwill donation rules spiral into a flea market fever dream

• “Flea market table fruit” is born (and should probably be avoided)

• A long-overdue cigar giveaway apology is issued (seriously… we’re sorry)

• GameStop store closures turn into Atari nostalgia

• Tariffs, car prices, gas prices, and beef all collide in one conversation

• Backup cameras, emissions standards, and $1,000 car payments get dragged into the light

Plus: a reminder that cigars should never feel like work, slowing down matters, and sometimes the second third is worth fighting for… even if the first one made you question everything.

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Light up, pour something good, and settle in.

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Tony and Fingers light up the Room 101 “Farce” (or is it Farce) Connecticut Super Toro 6x56 and immediately get derailed by the pronunciation, the bands, and the reality that this “Connecticut” is coming in way more wood-spice / cocoa / coffee than anybody expected. Tight draw. Uneven burn threats. Pinch-and-roll diplomacy. Plus: Tony’s humidor drama turns into the cigar version of the yips, and we try to talk him off the ledge with a notebook, a weather report, and basic human patience.

Then we pour something new for 2026: 15 Stars — First West Toasted Oak (98 proof), a blend of 5/6/7-year Kentucky bourbons that smells sweet, drinks a little thin… and then shows up big on the finish. At $70 it’s a debate. At $51 it’s a different conversation. Ice changes the whole mood. So does the “tum-tum.”

News of the week gets weird in a hurry:

• Goodwill has to remind America: please stop donating wet, mildewed, moldy items (and apparently… food?)

• A Florida flea market becomes a lifestyle brand, featuring table deodorant and the legendary phrase: “flea market table fruit.”

• GameStop is closing hundreds of stores, because the future is apparently buying a download on a card

• Amazon’s Andy Jassy says tariffs are creeping into prices.

• Kroger is rolling out AI shopping carts, which is definitely not the first step toward wrist chips, definitely not

• IU wins the national title, and the Hoosier pride gets loud

• And the NFL starts sniffing around 18 games plus mandatory overseas games… because money never gets tired, only players do

Eat Drink Smoke. Cigar. Bourbon. Food. News. And one more reminder: your giveaway prizes are coming… just maybe don’t expect them with a side of fruit.

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Happy Hour continues at Big Hoffa’s Barbecue in Westfield, Indiana, and things only get louder, looser, and more opinionated.

Tony Katz and Fingers Malloy are still on location, still surrounded by barbecue, and still working their way through Old Forester 1897 Bottled-in-Bond, this time with a full room behind them and brisket disappearing by the pan. Joined again by Madison Tragesser from Old Forester, the conversation shifts from tasting notes to bigger questions—history, hype, and what actually matters when people buy bourbon.

They dig into:

• why Old Forester is a brand everyone knows… and some people still skip

• how “heritage” competes with Instagram marketing

• whether high proof is overrated (and who that opinion offends immediately)

• how suggestion and groupthink creep into bourbon reviews

• and why some tasting notes deserve a little side-eye

From there, Happy Hour does what it does best—wanders.

The brisket conversation turns serious with Adam Hoffman, owner of Big Hoffa’s, breaking down:

• what makes Midwestern barbecue different

• why trimming matters more than people think

• how smoke, heat, and fat actually work together

• and what it takes to turn out 50–60 briskets a day without losing consistency

Then the episode swerves again—into NFL chaos, coaching patience (or lack of it), and finally a casino story that starts with a quiet 7 a.m. gambling floor, briefly becomes profitable, and ends with a sentence no human should ever overhear before breakfast.

There is bourbon.
There is brisket.
There are opinions.
And there are two hot dogs that were, allegedly, worm-free.

Happy Hour, Part 2 from Big Hoffa’s.

Eat. Drink. Smoke.
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Tony Katz and Fingers Malloy head out of the studio and straight into Happy Hour at Big Hoffa’s Barbecue in Westfield, Indiana, for an Old Forester night that quickly turns into a master class in bottled-in-bond bourbon, brisket philosophy, and ketchup-related outrage.

With cigars off the table, the focus stays on Old Forester 1897 Bottled-in-Bond (100 proof) from the Whiskey Row series. Fingers breaks down what he’s getting on the nose and palate—pepper, dark fruit, oak, and a touch of cinnamon—while Tony debates where the warmth actually lands, ultimately confirming it’s not the chest… it’s the tum-tum.

The conversation stays loose and local as they talk:

• what “bottled-in-bond” really means

• whether $50 is fair in this economy

• why Old Forester is a brand you don’t skip

• and why trying to describe floral notes can go sideways fast

From there, Happy Hour does what Happy Hour does best—veers wildly:

• the Costco hot dog as a life-changing experience

• Heinz’s new French fry “dipper box” and why it may be the dumbest innovation of all time

• ketchup loyalty lines being drawn in Indiana

• and the proper (and improper) way to eat fries while driving

It all happens live, loud, and surrounded by bourbon, barbecue, and a room full of people who absolutely made the right decision coming out that night.

Eat. Drink. Smoke.
Happy Hour style.
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Tony Katz and Fingers Malloy leave the studio and go live on location at Big Hoffa’s Barbecue in Westfield, Indiana for an Old Forester night—because if they’re going to do remote, it should involve bourbon and a smoke-ring.

Since cigars aren’t allowed inside the restaurant, the show focuses on one bourbon: Old Forester 1897 Bottled-in-Bond (100 proof) from the Whiskey Row series. Fingers pulls pepper, dark fruit, oak, and a hint of cinnamon, while Tony finds the pour bigger than expected and debates where the warmth actually lands—eventually settling on the now-official tasting location: the tum-tum.

They’re joined by Madison Tragesser from the Brown-Forman family (Old Forester, Woodford Reserve, Jack Daniel’s) for a crash course in Old Forester history, the legacy of George Garvin Brown, and why the Whiskey Row series is meant to be a “taste through history.” The conversation also turns to what bourbon drinkers obsess over that may not actually matter—high proof—a take that does not go unchallenged.

From there, it’s all barbecue. Adam Hoffman, owner of Big Hoffa’s Barbecue, breaks down what it takes to produce consistent brisket at scale—flat vs. point, trimming fat so smoke and heat can do their job, slicing against the grain, and how a restaurant turns out 50–60 briskets a day without letting anything subpar hit a plate.

Also in this episode:

• the great Heinz “dipper fry box” debate (and an Indiana ketchup line drawn in the sand)

• a look at NFL coaching shakeups and the patience problem in modern sports

• and Fingers’ early-morning casino trip that ends with the most unsettling sentence ever overheard in public

Eat. Drink. Smoke.
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