Hello!
It may very well be that there are many people in the world who do not know who Fidel Castro
is and what he is famous for, and even those who are unlikely to find Cuba on a geographical
map, but they probably know everyone, without exception, about the best cigars in the world
that are made in Cuba.
Cuban cigars are considered the most expensive tobacco product in the world.
A box of good quality Habanos can cost thousands of dollars.
Each hand-rolled Cuban cigar goes through about 500 manual operations from seed to cigar.
However, over the past 25 years, cigars made in other Caribbean and Central American countries
have become comparable in quality, consistency, and value.
But for American smokers, the bad news is that their Cuban cigar may actually be fake.
Some experts suggest that up to 95% of all Cuban cigars in the US are actually counterfeit.
So why are Cuban cigars so desirable and why are they so expensive?
To make a cigar, you need to grow tobacco.
A professional tobacconist should have a flexible back, strong arms and ignore the warnings
of the Ministry of Health.
For over 200 years, Cuba's cigar-making culture has remained unchanged.
The Indians were the first to grow tobacco, who have long stuffed their peace pipes with
it.
Columbus saw them when he sailed to Cuba.
Even the word "tobacco" is of Native American origin.
After the revolution, when collective farms appeared, the tobacco fields were still privately
owned.
Growing tobacco is such a delicate matter that it can only be compared to growing grapes
for wine.
In a process that takes about a year, the tobacco leaves are grown, harvested and hung
in kilns called secaderos before a slow fermentation takes place that enhances the flavor, aroma
and burning characteristics.
In the dryer, the leaves slowly get rid of moisture and gradually turn golden brown.
The leaves are sewn together in pairs and hung one after another on poles mounted on
racks.
As the leaves dry, the pole is raised higher and higher.
As soon as the leaves are dried, the work of the tobacco grower ends.
In the future, the leaves of all types are subject to fermentation.
The fermentation process takes place when the leaves are in bunches in stacks and lasts
25-30 days.
Afterwards, each leaf is checked for its type, appearance and quality and is handed over
to the torcedor, a highly trained cigar roller highly respected in Cuban society.
One of these torcedors is called José Castelar Cairo.
He works in La Triade, near Havana.
He has been making cigars for 61 years.
Cuban cigars require five types of leaves to make.
The first is a leaf called ligero, which gives the cigar strength.
The second leaf, called seco, gives the cigar its flavor.
The third leaf, called volado, is responsible for the combustion inside the cigar.
The next "capote" sheet is the binding sheet in which the filling is wrapped to give it
the shape of a cigar.
And the last sheet is the wrapper, the "cap" - a very thin and elastic sheet that forms
the outer layer of the cigar, the cover.
It adds little to the taste of Habano, but is the culmination of its perfection.
It decorates the cigar, gives it a familiar look.
The center of Cuban cigar production is located in Pinar del Río, the westernmost province
of the island, where 70% of the premium cigar tobacco used by the state-owned cigar companies
is grown.
Cuban tobacco producers claim that the region's terroir, unique environmental factors that
influence the yield, have a fundamental influence on quality.
Four factors contribute to the fact that Cuban cigars are considered the best in the world
and are unique.
First of all, it is the soil on which tobacco is grown, as well as the climate of the region
where it grows.
The use of manual labor on the plantation.
Variety and quality of black tobacco used.
There have been many attempts to grow Cuban varieties of tobacco in other places with
a similar climate, but it has not been possible to achieve the real quality of tobacco.
However, some cigar connoisseurs argue that cigars from countries such as Nicaragua and
the Dominican Republic, which the industry refers to as New World cigars, have become
desirable and reliable in today's market.
The quality of cigars from these countries has improved markedly.
They have excellent cigar construction and excellent blending of tobacco.
Today, New World brand cigars are of higher quality than Havana cigars because they are
subjected to an improved quality control procedure.
Cuban cigars have lagged far behind in terms of quality control.
For example, in an average box of 25 Cuban cigars, it is not unusual for three of them
to be structurally unacceptable in terms of quality.
While in an average box of 25 New World cigars, all cigars will be absolutely perfect.
Despite flaws in quality control, some vintage Habanos cigar experts still prefer Cuban cigars.
They simply love Havana cigars, although they also appreciate New World cigars.
They enjoy mixing these two different types of cigars.
While Cuban cigars are the best for some people, about 40% of smokers prefer New World cigars.
So it's just personal preference that comes into play here.
Besides quality, there are several fundamental factors that determine the price of all cigars.
First, size, measured both in length and in diameter.
Generally speaking, the larger the cigar, the more expensive it is.
Secondly, vitolas are the format of a cigar, determined by its size, length and diameter,
as well as its shape.
They require extra time and attention when twisting.
Third, age.
The longer a cigar is aged, enhancing the depth of flavor and aroma, the more valuable
it becomes.
But the last and most important thing is branding, the process of forming the image of cigars
over a long period, which contributes to the creation of added value and promotion of the
brand in the market.
Habanos is a corporation partially owned by the Cuban government that controls the worldwide
commercialization of all Habanos cigar brands.
All Habanos are made in Cuba, but not every Cuban cigar is considered a Habano.
The state-owned company issues Protected Denomination of Origin approval for a number of brands
whose cigars it claims are made to the highest quality control standards.
To protect against counterfeiting, Habanos only exports to selected companies in each
country.
The only country to which the corporation does not sell its products is the United States,
which does not allow the import of Cuban cigars after a 1962 embargo by President John Fitzgerald
Kennedy, who, just hours before the signing of an executive order to completely ban the
importation into the United States of Cuban and shipped through Cuba goods, ordered his
spokesman to buy more than 1,000 Cuban cigars.
This ban not only increased American smokers' need for authentic Cuban cigars, but also
created a booming black market for smuggled and counterfeit cigars.
There are a lot of counterfeit cigars in the USA.
You can't buy Cuban cigars and ship them to America, it's illegal.
Therefore, it is difficult to imagine where Americans buy real Cuban cigars.
Maybe the situation with fake cigars has changed a little since President Obama authorized
the purchase of Cuban cigars for personal use while traveling in Cuba in 2015, but not
more than $100.
Even though the US is the only country that cannot legally import Cuban varieties, it
is still the country that consumes the most cigars, and by a wide margin.
The cigar industry worldwide has grown significantly over the past 20 years, with experts previously
predicting that the cigar market will reach $21 billion by 2025.
But cigar dealers have long questioned Cuba's supply options, and the issue has become even
more problematic amid the global pandemic.
It's hard to say whether Cuba can continue to supply as many cigars as it needs to meet
consumer demand.
It depends on the problems of agriculture and delivery problems due to the coronavirus.
Whether this will ultimately influence the market by raising or lowering prices remains
to be seen.
As with any consumer material, taste and enjoyment are subjective.
Considering that Cuban cigars have been considered a kind of status symbol for over a century,
it should be said that the attractiveness of Cuban cigars is based to some extent on
prestige.
While some Habanos sell for high prices, especially where they're illegal, like in the United
States, in recent years all premium cigar varieties have come to be sold at the same
price.
However, despite the growing appetite for cigars from other countries, some connoisseurs
continue to insist that the real smoke comes only from Cuban cigars.
And now a little about how to smoke Cuban cigars correctly.
At the initial stage of acquaintance with cigars, “communication” with them is,
of course, a ritual.
It includes not only smoking directly, but also the stages of preparation for it.
The choice of the cigar itself is also part of this ritual, where, unlike the same cigarettes,
you cannot randomly pull out one cigar and immediately smoke it.
As you have probably noticed, almost all cigars have a closed head, which means that the cigar
must be cut before smoking.
Also, before smoking, one should be puzzled by the question of how and with what the cigar
will be kindled.
It is worth noting that the matches of the Balabanov factory are unlikely to be able
to help in resolving this issue.
How paraffin candles and gasoline lighters will not help, no matter how beautiful they
may be.
Inaccurate pruning can, if not “kill” a cigar, then significantly complicate your
life while smoking such a cigar.
That is why such a seemingly simple procedure is given so much attention.
There are several ways to cut a cigar, and the number of different cigar accessories
designed to make this process easier is simply incalculable.
The essence of the process of cutting a cigar is to remove the part of the cigar head sealed
with a tobacco leaf.
In the case of straight cigars, the head will be rounded, in figurados it will tend to a
cone.
The larger the cut diameter, the more smoke the cigar will give off.
In this way, you can adjust the strength of the cigar and the saturation of its taste.
You can make a cut with a classic cigar guillotine, which has two blades moving towards each other.
Guillotine knives should be well sharpened and made of good steel.
Cheap "gift" guillotines are made of mild steel.
And often they do not cut tobacco from the first cigar, but tear it.
The cleanliness of the cut is very important.
If the cut is not done carefully, the cigar may begin to unwind during smoking, and fragments
of the filling, particles of cigar tobacco may enter the oral cavity.
In many ways, the cleanliness of the cut depends on the tool chosen for this purpose and the
quality of its execution.
After trimming the cigar, it's time to continue the ritual part - enjoying the inhalation
of the smells of a cold cigar.
Enjoy the flavors of the cigar from the opened cut and feel their differences with the scent
of the wrapper.
This part of the ritual is as essential as cutting the cigar, lighting and smoking the
cigar.
If you skip this part, then at the end of smoking there may be a slight understatement.
For lighting cigars, gas lighters with regular or "turbo" flames are well suited.
It is worth abandoning the spectacular outwardly, but completely impractical lighting from a
wax or paraffin candle, as well as lighting a cigar from gasoline lighters.
This will spoil the flavor of the cigar.
The cigar is smoked slowly, without making strong, sharp and deep puffs.
The cooler the temperature of the smoke, the better and more pleasant the taste we experience.
Slow smoking allows the flavors and aromas of the cigar to develop smoothly, without
jerks or jumps.
There is no hurry when smoking, and only a slow puff will allow you to fully enjoy the
taste of a cigar.
Do not keep a cigar in your mouth all the time.
Wetting the tip can lead to bitterness in the taste of the cigar, and it looks ugly.
It should be remembered that a cigar is smoked with the “mouth” and “nose”, not letting
the smoke into the lungs.
To expand the range of sensations received from the taste and aroma of a cigar, cigar
smoke can be held in the mouth for a while and released through the nose.
Although the first such experience may bring some uncomfortable sensations, so it is worth
exhaling smoke through the nose slowly, without sharp exhalations.
While smoking a cigar, one should not “force” knock down the ashes - it will fall off by
itself.
You just have to make sure it falls into the ashtray.
Sometimes he can only be helped a little by removing the ashes on the edge or bottom of
the ashtray.
When smoking has come to an end, it is worth remembering that
a cigar is not extinguished in an ashtray, like a cigarette.
Just leave it in the ashtray bed and let it die out on its
own.
This moment is probably the saddest in the
ritual of smoking a cigar.
That's all.
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