Episode 31 Alec Bradley DND | Water

Yo yo yo yo yo, we are back for another episode of the Sticks and Stones podcast. Sticks and Stones is where we talk about life, we talk about love, and we talk about the brotherhood of the leaf. For anyone who follows this podcast or any of our social channels, it's all about the cigars, baby. It's all about tobacco. It's all about enjoying your time with friends and smoking and or colleagues or clients or whatever. Today marks a kind of I don't know strange, unique, weird day in my life. So, first we are going to be reviewing the Alec Bradley Do Not Disturb. And I'm going to I'm going to read all about this cigar to you guys in a minute, but I am only drinking water today. So, I have decided, guys, I'm no spring chicken. I am not 18 years old anymore, and I am not getting any younger. So, I have decided that I need to drop at least 40 lbs. And I've devised through my one of my AI soldiers devised a total transformation makeover plan, whatever you want to call it, which includes cutting out all alcohol, unneeded sugar, getting on a clean sort of quasi keto nutrition plan, lifting at least four times a week, and cardio every day. Some form of cardio. If it's not hard cardio, it's going to be, you know, a 15 to 30 minute walk, which I already completed about 40 of a walk today. Going forward, I will not be consuming alcohol in my regular regularly scheduled program or on the podcast. So, that is going to be a little bit of a change, you know. So, I I will be drinking obviously water. I'm going to stay away from carbonated drinks as I did have vertical gastric sleeve surgery done six years ago. I will be doing coffees and teas and things like that. And sometimes I'll be mixing my water with branch chain amino acids and stuff like that. So, it's going to be healthy and clean for the long haul here. And I'll update you guys on my progress and all that good stuff. So, without further ado, we already gave the do not disturb a snippy snippy. Let me light this bad boy up. barbecued that. Got to be very careful, guys. You don't want to barbecue the the stick. Overcook it, torch it, and then it becomes unpleasant. Nice. Nice. I like it. I like it. It's definitely a good morning cigar. Okay, so here's the info on the Alec Bradley Do Not Disturb. While cigar smoking is often viewed as a social activity, it is also can also be a solo introspective affair. And that is the entire idea behind the do not disturb line. Bradley Rubin, brand ambassador for Alec Bradley, put it simply, "Do not disturb is for anyone looking to take a break and enjoy a moment of peace. It's an open invitation to find your space, whether that's a lounge, the porch, or the garage, and just unwind with a cigar that feels familiar and easy to enjoy. So on the blend, expertly handrolled in the Dominican Republic, the do not disturb features an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper, a Dominican Creole binder, and a distinctive combination of Dominican and Mexican filler tobacos. It is produced at the Tabacalera Laa factory. The factory is owned and operated by Hostos Fernandez Casada, which I I probably butchered all of that, but excuse me, who has been in the cigar industry for 20 years and is the nephew of Manuel Manolo Casada and of the famed Casada cigars located in Santiago, Dominican Republic. Tableclanera Laa was established in 2020. For the flavor profile, let me take a few puffs here. Okay, so far not a great sign that I lit this thing up and then put it down to read some info to you guys and then it died. Okay, so smooth and complex from the first draw. Do not disturb delivers a refined flavor profile of earth, hay, and cedar with a subtle spice and gradually that gradually intensifies making for a mellow yet evolving experience. The cigar The cigars are intended to be a medium in medium and body. I actually don't think it's medium in body. I don't agree with that. I would say this is a a mild to medium. I wouldn't call that medium cigars and I guess suggested pricing. There's three sizes. That's the Robustto 5 in x 50 ring. The Toro which is 6 in x 52 ring that rings in at $8.99. The Rausto is suggested at $8.39. So we got $839 $8.99. And then the Gordo, which I'm smoking, the 6 in x60 gauge 60 ring, $9.94 uh $949, sorry. Each box contains 16 cigars packed in a design that reflects the theme of taking a break. All sizes ship in dark blue boxes of 16. Alec Bradley is owned by Scandinavian Tobacco Group or STG and is distributed by its subsidiaries Forged Cigar Company. Do not disturb was scheduled to begin shipping June 1st, 2025. This is actually recently was the first time I've seen this cigar. So, basically the bottom line is this is a very accessible, approachable cigar. Mild to medium. I agree with that. Connecticut wrapped price point under 10 bucks and is clearly positioned as an everyday relaxation smoke rather than a special occasion powerhouse. Totally agree with that. Definitely mild to medium. I'm not getting any spice or heat yet. You know, guys, I feel good about my decision because, you know, like we we say on this show, this show is about we talk about life, we talk about love, and we talk about premium tobacco products. So, we're talking about cigars, we're talking about life, we're talking about love and the love of different things. You know, you could you could love your job, you could love your children, you could love cigars, you could love, you know, something else. Platonic love, romantic love, whatever that may be. In my life at this given point in time, this decision to go cold turkey on the alcohol, which I've done a couple of times, uh longest stint was a year. This has become a health factor. Don't want to get any older, get heavier. I mean, obviously that's why I did the vertical gastric sleeve 6 years ago. I got to be like almost 400 lb. And I I have a very addictive personality. It's why it's why I'm good at business development because I grab on to something and I don't let go until there's an ultimate decision. There's an ultimate resolution whether that be good, bad, or indifferent. It's also why I got the nickname bulldog. But I do have a very addictive personality. So when I do something, it is to the max and it's relentless. So if I am eating poorly and drinking, it is to the max. You know, I'm going to eat very shitty, very shittily. It's not even a word, but I am going to eat like [ __ ] to the max. I am going to drink to the max to the point where, you know, I get sometimes I get blacked out drunk and that's not good. You know, I drink really strong drinks. You know, I don't do a lot of mixed drinks. I do straight bourbon, straight scotch. If I do anything mixed, it's like a ginonic. And I drink copious amounts and very fast. And you know, you're kind of I'm going to say that I don't intend to do that, but you know, you get you get I don't know if anybody can agree with me, but you get you get caught up in the moment. You know, you're at the bar, you're talking to people, you know, you're laughing and joking and you're enjoying yourself and you're kicking back a drink and you know, I end up like somehow pounding these things and it takes your body time to metabolize the alcohol. So, as I'm thinking, I'm sober as a judge. I just had three ginonics. That was like 3/4 of the glass was gin. I had three of these and I'm sober as a judge. You know, I'm still clear. I'm not even buzzed or anything. Eventually takes about maybe an hour or so. It's going to metabolize and it's going to hit you like a ton of [ __ ] bricks and then you black out. And I wish I could say it would be like three, but normally it's like, you know, six to 10 of these drinks. And it's like damn near alcohol poisoning because you know you're laughing and joking and conversating and you know you're kind of like leading some conversations, telling jokes and all this kind of stuff and you're not really paying attention to like what's going on at the bar because you are quote unquote you know I'm doing air quotes right now for people who can't see on YouTube sober as a judge until you're not. So, I made this decision to really get healthy and then eventually I mean because I'm going to watch myself eventually I'll start enjoying a cocktail here and there maybe two a week once I get down to my goal weight or closer to my goal weight. Guys, I'm saying this with all of my heart. I have struggled with weight all my life. And when you get into that realm of 400 lb or more, it's not good. It's not good for you. It's not good for your health. It's not good for your family. So I which is one of the reasons why like I want to document this on the podcast my decision to to change and to lo I I need to lose about 58 lbs or so. I want to document this. Going to just update you guys throughout each episode of where I'm at, what I'm doing, how I feel. if you need help with it as you see my my progression because I've lost weight more than 100 lbs I think seven times or more in my life. So, I can do it. I have done it. I've done it naturally. It just got to a point the last time before I got the surgery, I could not do it on my own. Like, I did everything I knew to do and I had screwed up my my metabolic so bad that my body could not burn the fat anymore. So, it forced me to go into surgery. I won't do the GLP drugs. It's just I just don't see it. I don't see it because I know I could do it naturally. It's going to take me a lot longer to do it naturally, but I'd rather do it a lot longer and have that sense of accomplishment. No shade to anybody who does the GLP1 drugs. I mean, we all got to do what we feel is best. I just uh I just don't see it's not it's not it's not for me. It's not my cup of tea. So, I feel like I can share that with you guys. I'm going to update you guys regularly on on how I'm doing and you know tips, tricks, any feedback that I could I could give you guys if you're, you know, wanting to do this yourself if you want to doing it the natural way. Built a whole plan on schedules and routines and what I'm doing, when I'm doing it, when is a lift day, when is just cardio, when's rest, you know, all that kind of stuff. Shopping list, groceries, supplements, you know, all that kind of stuff. The cigar is definitely got an earthy taste, but it's like it's so mild for me for this is this is purely subjective to me because I smoke so many strong cigars. This is a very mild cigar for me. But mild is what I need right now because I am drinking water. I've, you know, there's no alcohol. There's nothing with sugar. There's nothing with any substance. It's just plain H2O. So something for the first podcast of me on this new journey I think is perfect. I just had two Sunnyside Up eggs. So I have a little bit in my stomach. Like I said, I did about a 47 minute walk around the park. So I'm feeling good. Cigar is a great pick for what I got for what I got going on right now. I definitely there's like so there's no fruit notes, there's no, you know, baker spice. There's no bread, no graham cracker, no chocolate, no caramel, no vanilla, you know, none of that. It's just very earthy tobacco, you know, very tobacco forward, very earthy forward uh flavor profile. Good cigar, though. Good cigar. I mean, so far it hasn't died again, so that's good. But I have been puffing on it. And again, it comes from from the Alec Bradley brand, the Alec Bradley lines of products, which is great. I love Alec Bradley. Always been a big fan. Of course, not of the Prrenado, which we did an episode about that, about the the hard pass, and just for some reason, I just don't like that cigar. A lot of people around the world love the cigar. I don't, but that's the only one I could say of the Alec Bradley line. The Blind Faith I really I didn't enjoy tremendously either, but I mean the rest of the stuff is great. I'm getting an idea of maybe doing a podcast episode where I'm smoking several cigars. You know, maybe not fully, but like for instance, the Alec and Brad the Alec and Bradley lines. Maybe grabbing, you know, some of my favorite ones and smoking them all on the podcast one episode. Maybe smoke a third of each. That could be cool. I've never never seen I've never seen that done before. So maybe I'll do that for each of my favorite brands/ lines. That could be cool. I could do one for Girka. I could do one for Alec Bradley, one for Drew Estates, one for Padron. Could be something. The Bullen Bear Krux. I love that brand. They've got a lot of good stuff. I'm yet to try some of their newer ones that have come out. So far, I don't think that I disliked any of them, but you know, that's that's here or there. Thinking about that. That could be something. So, keep an eye out for that. I might do that like maybe next episode. That that might be a cool thing to try out. I would like to put that out to you guys. So, if I'm going to do that, let's just say next episode I do a tasting of a brand. Let's just say Alec Bradley. Let's let's call it that. Let's call the first tasting an Alec Bradley tasting. What would you want me to smoke? So, Alec Bradley, you name me four or five cigars, I'll go buy them and I will smoke them on the podcast and kind of give my flavor, my my opinion on the five as a brand. I think that's a pretty cool idea. You know, hit hit us up on the comments to YouTube, check us out on our Instagram or our Facebook pages. Give me some comments. Be very interested. I'd be very interested to find out. So far, smoke output's pretty good. Ash is nice. Burn is very even. I do like the band on this as well. Had a cool design. You know, the Alec Bradley logo is pretty is pretty dope. I mean, so far no changes. I mean, I don't anticipate any big changes happening on this cigar. Yeah. I mean, I'm keep keep puffing it. I would also like to know if anybody out there, anybody who listens to this, if you've been on a similar weight loss journey or you know get healthier journey, what have you found? Tips, tricks, what did you do? What diet did you follow? What was your exercise plan like? Did you exercise at all? I know people who have done this just just on diet. I'm actually going to go to the vitamin shop, get some supplements. I have to go print and bind my handbook workout. you know, basically the handbook I'm going to live by. I'm also I have I've always been a shoot from the hip type of guy where I never really have a set schedule or routine. You know, I know people have like morning routines and routines for their career when they're when they're prospecting or when they're holding meetings and you know all that sort of stuff and then a you know nightly routine. I don't have any. So I am reading through our company sponsored book club ninja selling and through a lot of different people and people that I do know that do have routines. I do know these people are very successful in their personal life in their professional life. So I am also building a routine for my life. not just not just the workout, not just the the get healthy lifestyle journey I've decided to to take, but also like for my business or businesses because, you know, I do business development for a trucking and logistics company now. I do business development for commercial contracting. I've got my two personal brands, the Sticks and Stones brand, also the broker with Style brand, and I'm a commercial real estate broker in a in a few states. So, there's a lot going on, a lot of professional, you know, career stuff going on that I have to manage and maintain all while doing this healthier lifestyle thing, workouts and eating and meal prepping and and all this kind of stuff. So very interested to find out how this works out, how the routine and the schedule works out. I know it's going to make some clients not super happy because I am the type of professional that if I get a call at 10:00 at night, I will take it. I am going to stop doing that for sure. Um because I know it it impedes on my, you know, personal time, family time, you know, that kind of thing. And I know that's that's not good. It's not good for me. It's not good for my friends, my family. So, that has to come to an end. I mean, I've I've already started I've already started that that journey with not putting my cell number on my business cards. I just found that. And it's usually the people with no boundaries with you, like they have no boundaries with you. They feel like they can they can call you, text you anytime they want. It seems like those are the people that have the strongest boundaries of their own. Like when you call them at a certain time, they won't answer. They won't even text you back and or they'll text you with my family right now. Can't talk or at dinner. Can't talk. And and I'm like, "Didn't you just interrupt the family dinner with me two nights ago? Like, didn't you hear me say I'm at the movies with my family? I had to step out to take your call." and you were completely okay with that. Like it was never, "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to impede on your family time. Go do that and call me tomorrow." Usually the people that have the strongest boundaries of their own for their self have no boundaries with you. So I stopped putting my cell number on my business cards. I have the office main number, my direct office number. I don't put my cell phone numbers on my cards any longer because people don't have boundaries. when they want something, they want it right then and there. When you need something from them or like you need to get paid or whatever, they have strict boundaries with you. You know, I I will talk to you next week. I will talk to you on Friday. I will talk to you, you know, here then, whatever. You know, I don't have time right now. That is the big thing. The number one thing that we it's the number one commodity that we cannot buy. It's unaffordable. You cannot put a price on someone's time. So I am taking my time back. So I think I've decided I can with the right planning and efficiency and systems in place I can get all of my work done in 6 hours a day but it will be like super concentrated, super focused, super deliberate. So that way I could super concentrated. I can get more work done in six hours than I have been on a on average I work probably 12 16 18 hours a day. But again, it's like a lot of you know I'm in business development. It's like my main thing. Even in real estate it's you're doing business development. So you're trying to reach out to people. You're trying to foster a relationship. You're trying to build rapport and that takes time. And these conversations take time and it's like you know 45 minute conversations or an hour conversation with a potential client is pretty normal but that is not hyperfocused. It's not concentrated. It's you know get more conversations in the pot right? So have more meaningful conversations have more concentrated focused deliberate conversations and then you can carry those rappors on later. But I would rather have 50 conversations in a day and then that may filter down into 10 deliberate really focused but interested conversations during the week. So I would rather have 50 which that would give me 250 new people that I deal with on a weekly basis and that'll filter into maybe not all 250. Maybe out of those 250 conversations that I would have during the week, maybe five of those convert into business versus like maybe one business transaction or something that will turn into a business transaction, one a month that end up possibly dying out. So, you know, you have like four transactions a year. I'm speaking in real estate terms. You have four transactions a year. Whereas, if you're doing 50 conversations a day that lead into 10 during the week that go further and you have maybe four to five a month, if you do that times 12, that's 60 potential deals in a year, which if you do the attrition rate, 80% of those will probably die because I'm in commercial. If you have 60 deals and 80% of those die, well, let's just say 100 deals and 80% of those die, that's 20 deals in a year. 20 deals in a year. Still pretty damn good. So, there's a lot changing in my life. I hope some of you can comment and give me some feedback if that, you know, works for you. If you're a a hardcore routine person, schedule person. Would love to hear from you. So, yeah. I mean, there's that. You know, trying out new cigars. I've got a whole bunch that I can that are in my humidor right now that I'm so excited to try out with you guys on the podcast. Eventually, I want to get this podcast to go live. So, we'll do live podcasts when I have a a list of guests that want to come on and share their experiences, their life, you know, loves of theirs and cigars. Great cigar, guys. I mean, it's nothing like like the like Ruben Bradley said, it's nothing fantastic. It's nothing powerhouse. It's nothing earth shaking or earth moving, but it's a good cigar. It's a good cigar to chill out, relax, unwind, and be with yourself and be at peace with yourself and create that peace with yourself. Totally agree. So, drinking my boring water and having this mild cigar, I'm going to carry out my Saturday, get to the gym, go buy my supplements and stuff like that, and um I'm going to get back to it. So, with nothing further ado, I wish you guys all a blessed weekend and a blessed week ahead. And above all else, keep it rolling, baby. Six and stones.