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Cigar Adviser
The Editors
Published in: April 1, 1999
Published March/April 1999
The Cigar Adviser
Q: I live in the tropics. I always seem to have a problem keeping my cigars at the proper temperature, although humidity isn't a problem. What can I do?
J. J. Scott Cowper
Nassau, Bahamas
The proper temperature/humidity combination is 70 degrees, 70 percent humidity. As you note, your biggest problem is the temperature, since above 75 degrees you run the risk of hatching any tobacco beetle larvae that are in your cigars. Since it's not uncommon, you must be very careful. Your best alternative is to acquire a temperature-controlled unit. Depending on your cigar collecting habits, I would recommend a full-sized cabinet model, which will have enough room for an adequate cooling unit as well as a humidity control unit. (If you don't control your humidity, of course, you run the risk of your cigars getting moldy.)
If you have a basement or a room with a constant cross-breeze, you might be able to keep the cigars at an acceptable temperature. That would be your best bet if you can't find a satisfactory temperature-controlled unit. Otherwise, keep your cigars in a refrigerator. While this will slow the aging process, and it's more difficult to keep cigars properly humidified in a refrigerator, it will keep the temperature under control.
Q: What do cigar tasters use to keep their taste buds and palates clean and fresh?
Henry Moski
Branford, Connecticut
At Cigar Aficionado, we use a variety of nonalcoholic beverages. Each taster has his preference. Some use black coffee. Some use sweeter beverages like cola, although sometimes I've seen iced tea, too. Some people just use water, because it keeps you hydrated as well as rinsing your mouth.
One taster, however, says that his real preference is an aged rum. It's sweet, and the alcohol serves as an astringent on the palate, which really cleans it. He just can't use it at work.
Q: Is it possible to take a correspondence course, or get some kind of at-home manual, on how to roll your own cigars?
Bill Johnson
Orillia, Ontario
Bill, I've never heard that request before, and I can't recall any cigar-rolling manual or video available today. You may want to take your search to our Online aficionados at www.cigaraficionado.com.
There is, however, a kit for cigar-rolling, made by Torcedor, that includes tobacco leaves and offers some instruction. It is available through Mom's Cigars (800-831-8893).
Keep in mind, however, that cigar rolling is not something that can be easily taught. Even during the cigar boom of the past six years, many of the cigar manufacturers' factories required apprentice rollers to spend at least six months on the benches rolling cigars that were sold only as seconds or used in the factory to give out to workers. While many rookie rollers ended up on production lines during that period, they were closely supervised.
In the old days, and even today, the top manufacturers say it can take up to two years just to become proficient at rolling cigars, especially bigger ones or shaped sizes. Why? Because it is not only a matter of understanding the relationship of the different tobaccos in a cigar, but being able to "feel" the cigar as you roll it.
One example I've always used comes from a factory I visited once in the Dominican Republic; by about 3 o'clock in the afternoon, most of the rollers that day had produced between 100 and 150 cigars each. They turned over the cigars in bundles of 50 to the supervisor, who weighed each bundle. The variation in the bundles produced by several of the rollers was less than one gram. It shows just how well they could "feel" the weight of the tobacco in each cigar.
Q: I've seen that some cigar makers make the claim that they blend with tobacco from the 1959 Havana tobacco crop. Can this be true? In one case, they've been making that claim for 15 years.
Steven Weisman
Omaha, Nebraska
Steve, you're right to be skeptical. We are. The rules about what constitutes a blend, however, can be very loosely interpreted. Maybe it's just one small particle of leaf from that vintage crop. But most of us, when we see that claim, immediately have a vision of a roller pushing the blend into his hand with full leaves. We don't see how it is possible that enough tobacco from the 1959 crop remains in existence outside of Cuba, or for that matter, even in Cuba, to be used in any significant quantity in any commercially produced cigar today.
It's not just a question of quantity, either. Where has there been enough stability in the cigar world over the past 40 years to keep bales of tobacco properly humidified and adequately monitored for the variety of ills that can befall tobacco? It just doesn't add up.
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