 |
The Cigar Adviser
Published in: June 1, 1996
Published Summer 1996
The Cigar Adviser
Q: It is worrisome, as I read through this latest issue, to note the number of times the terms "shortages," "out of stock," and "limited supply" are discussed. If there are shortages now, what will happen when the rest of the baby boom generation lights up?
William Walker
Belle Haven, Virginia
A: Cigar manufacturers in every producing country in the world are working to expand their production. More acres have been planted in cigar tobacco than at any time in the last 30 years. It will take a few years for that increased investment to work through the pipeline, and you're right, it may not be enough. But the cigar manufacturers are working on the problem. In the meantime, when you find your favorite cigar is available, stock up.
Q: I have a 75-cigar desktop humidor with a Credo Rondo humidifier. I monitor temperature and relative humidity with a digital instrument. With the slightest amount of distilled water in the Credo unit, my humidity levels typically exceed 75 percent. Is there a better method of controlling relative humidity in the humidor other than removing and replacing the Credo unit every few days?
Scott Bailey
Newport News, Virginia
A: Before you start removing and replacing your Credo unit every few days, I suggest you let your cigars tell you what's going on. Even digital hygrometers have a plus or minus factor of 3 percent. If your cigars aren't getting soft or drying out, but seem to be staying in good condition, then maybe your instrument's reading is satisfactory. The other question I have is how many ci-gars you are storing. If it is a large box that only contains 10 cigars, there would be excess moisture.
Q: I have been smoking cigars for more than six years. I have smoked most brands and prefer a robusto or Churchill. I like both strong and mild cigars, but I don't like Cuban cigars. My problem is that they cause me great discomfort. I am allergic to nuts, and the reaction that I get from smoking a Cuban cigar is the same as eating a nut. I can smoke cigars from the Dominican Republic, Honduras and Jamaica. Why is it that Cubans are so different?
John D. White
Cambridge, Ontario
Canada
A: While Cuban cigars do have some particular flavor components and generally are made with stronger tobaccos, the tobacco is still the same genetic strain as many tobaccos used in Dominican and Honduran ci-gars. In fact, if germinated properly, tobacco remains genetically pure from year to year. Your allergy may be derived from the strength of Cuban cigars and nothing else.
Q: A friend took a trip to Mexico recently, and he brought back a Cuban cigar--a Romeo y Julieta No. 1, about five inches long, with a width about the size of my index finger. He paid $10 for it, the same price it's listed for in one of my magazines. I have never been so disappointed in a cigar as I was with that one. It was dry, didn't taste good and went out twice while I was smoking it. After getting halfway down, I put it out and I did an "autopsy" on it. It was full of floor scrapings (little bits and pieces of tobacco)! Is that what a Cuban-made cigar is supposed to be like?
Sam Tantillo
Plantation, Florida
A: If it didn't come in a tube marked No.1 Deluxe, then that size of Romeo y Julieta is usually machine-made, and it would contain smaller pieces of tobacco.
If, on the other hand, it did come in a tube marked No.1 Deluxe, then your friend very likely bought, and you smoked, a counterfeit Cuban cigar. There is no way that an official Cuban cigar factory would release one of its top-name hand-rolled cigar brands with chopped tobacco.
Q: What can you tell me about a Behike cigar? I recently returned from a trip to Nassau in the Bahamas where I received a gift of a Behike cigar from one of the island's prominent businessmen. I was informed that the cigar is Cuban and not commercially available. Any information you can provide me would be helpful in appreciating this special gift.
Robert M. Slivka
Hightstown, New Jersey
A: Periodically, cigars with this brand name, often with the Cohiba Indian logo prominently displayed, appear on the market. Sellers usually try to say that it is a companion cigar to Cohiba produced by Habanos S.A. at the El Laguito factory. This is not true. Nor has any Habanos S.A. official ever acknowledged the validity of this claim. Therefore, it is most likely a scam, or at the very least, a counterfeit cigar being produced in Cuba.
Q: I was recently in a Miami-area tobacconist with my wife when we noticed three cigar makers preparing their wares for sale. As we stood watching the artisans, one of them used his saliva on the wrapper in order to bond the leaf to the rest of the cigar. The two of us looked at each other in amazement. Despite our observation, I still love to smoke a good cigar. Nonetheless, is this a normal procedure for handmade cigars?
David Z. Stone
Miami, Florida
A: No. In most factories specializing in hand-rolled cigars, you will see a little pot of a glue-like substance, which is in fact a vegetable-based adhesive. Rollers use the adhesive to seal the head of the cigar with a cap.
Q: I currently enjoy a Partagas No. 2 and am wondering if you can suggest how I can find that type of cigar without buying every cigar on my retailer's shelf. Also, I purchased a humidor that holds 25 cigars. Is a cigar supposed to crackle (a sort of bubbling sound) when lighting and smoking, or are mine too wet? I have seen people wetting the outside of their cigars prior to lighting; does this have any value?
Gary Fallowes
San Diego, California
A: Partagas made in the Dominican Republic uses a Cameroon wrapper. Start with other cigars that use Cameroon wrappers and see if you like the style.
A crackling sound generally indicates that a cigar is too dry and needs to be humidified before smoking.
Wetting the outside of a cigar is not necessary, nor effective. Premium hand-rolled cigars, if kept in a properly humidified environment, are ready to smoke. If they are too dry, wetting the outside won't make any difference.
Q: I like maduro cigars but have not found one that I like. I have tried Macanudo, Prince Philip, Royal Jamaica Corona, JR Ultimate No. 5, Onyx and Hoyo de Monterrey Exquisito. Any suggestions? They all seemed to lack full maduro flavor.
George Dunn
Los Altos, California
A: You have smoked the top maduro brands on the market. It may be that you're not really looking for a maduro flavor, which has a sweetish quality, but a more full-bodied smoke. Just because a cigar has a dark, or even black, wrapper doesn't mean that it is full-bodied. Check out our ratings in thisissue of Cigar Aficionado, and look for full-bodied smokes.
RSS