Eat Drink Smoke

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.

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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

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It’s Cigars of the Year time — and the guys do it the only way that actually makes sense.

No points.
No rankings spreadsheets.
No pretending they can quantify enjoyment with decimals.

On this Happy Hour episode of Eat Drink Smoke, Tony Katz and Fingers Malloyoffer part 2 of their annual Cigars of the Year conversation by laying out the rules, the philosophy, and the reality of how these lists actually get made.

The short version:
They like what they like — and what sticks, sticks.

Along the way:

• Why Eat Drink Smoke waits until the year is fully over before doing year-end lists

• The only real requirement for Cigars of the Year: we had to review it on the show

• Why price, size, wrapper, and hype don’t decide anything by themselves

• A deep pour of Woodford Reserve Double Oaked and why it’s an always-in-the-cabinet bottle

• Dessert debates that spiral into crème brûlée, dried fruit, and general confusion

• The claim that America is “falling out of love with pizza”… and why that doesn’t pass the smell test

• Shrinking restaurant chains, rising prices, and what people are actually reacting to

• Cable TV viewership collapsing — not because people stopped watching, but because they stopped watching that way

• And why Happy Hour exists: so the show can wander a little and still land on its feet

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They do it the right way.

No shortcuts.
No calendar cheating.
No pretending December 15th is “close enough.”

On this Happy Hour episode of Eat Drink Smoke, Tony Katz and Fingers Malloy kick off their Cigars of the Year conversation — after a full year of reviews, arguments, surprises, and more than a few humidor debates.

Along the way:

• Why Eat Drink Smoke isn’t just a bourbon show (and never really was)

• The only real rule for Cigars of the Year — did it move you?

• Why price, size, wrapper, and hype don’t decide the list

• A deep pour of Woodford Reserve Double Oaked and why it’s an always-there bottle

• Cream, caramel, dried fruit, crème brûlée… and whether any of us know what dessert we’re actually talking about

• How a $9 cigar nearly stole Cigar of the Year

• Why surprise matters more than pedigree

• Tony’s early reveal of his #3 cigar of the year

• Fingers’ philosophy: value first, enjoyment always

• And a brief, spirited disagreement over whether America could ever fall out of love with pizza

This is the relaxed, wandering version of the show — part cigar talk, part spirits talk, part food world detour — exactly how Happy Hour is supposed to be.

Light something up.
Pour something you like.
They'll take it from there.

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In this Best of 2025 episode of Eat Drink Smoke, Tony Katz and Fingers Malloy reveal their Top Cigars of the Year (2025)—and they do it their way: they wait until the full year is finished before ranking anything.

Tony Katz and Fingers Malloy also pair the cigar conversation with Woodford Reserve Double Oaked (90.4 proof), breaking down the bourbon’s flavor profile and making the case for why it belongs in a liquor cabinet year-round.

The episode features two separate top-three lists with zero overlap, plus plenty of signature Eat Drink Smoke banter, food-world news, and culture commentary.

Featured in this episode:

• Woodford Reserve Double Oaked tasting notes, including caramel, dark chocolate, dried fruit, and a crème brûlée debate

• Tony Katz’s Top 3 Cigars of 2025

  • HVC Hot Cake “Fresh Out of the Oven” (Connecticut Broadleaf)

  • El Rey del Mundo “Appointment” (high-value standout)

  • Ferio Tego Timeless TAA Exclusive 2024 (Tony’s cigar of the year)

• Fingers Malloy’s Top 3 Cigars of 2025

  • Rocky Patel Thirtieth Anniversary (Mexican San Andrés wrapper, box-pressed premium)

  • La Flor Dominicana Cameroon Cabinet Lancero (wrapper-forward, high flavor ratio)

  • Micallef Red Toro (value pick with San Andrés Habano wrapper and Pennsylvania Broadleaf binder, Fingers cigar of the year)

Also covered:

• A debate over claims that Americans are “falling out of love with pizza”

• Chain restaurant and fast-food shifts, including a spirited argument over curly fries

• Cable TV ratings drops, cord-cutting, and how media consumption has changed

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It’s 2026, and we’re finishing what we started: Bourbons of the Year (even when they’re not all bourbons… because of course they aren’t).

In Part 2, Tony Katz reveals his Top 3 from everything we reviewed this year — bourbon, rye, rum, Irish whiskey, whatever. We also keep smoking the Oliva Master Blends 3 and get into the important questions:

• Why five-pack cigar packaging looks like it was designed by a committee of raccoons

• Why “does it work neat?” is the only real test

• And why your retirement account may be quietly setting you up for a penalty

Tony’s Top 3 (and yes, it gets weird):

• #3: Espy House “The George” 1794 Bourbon — $60.99

• #2: Keeper’s Heart Irish + American Whiskey (110 proof) — $44.99

• #1: Bacoo 12-Year Rum — $35.99

Plus: what’s coming in 2026 — Cigars of the Year next week, more food, more tequila, and maybe finally Let’s Go Grill and the cookbook.

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