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UNDER THE
WRAPPER
Informed information about Cuban Cigars
July 2002 Issue #11
wrapper@ajaxcigars.com
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Welcome to Issue #11 of
UNDER THE WRAPPER
Archived copies of the newsletters are available on the web
site but do not contain the product discunts that are available
to e-mail subscribers. You may subscribe to our newsletter
here
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IN THIS ISSUE
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=> Welcome
=> Feature Articles - To Remove or Not to Remove the Band
The Graduate Part III
=> Quotable Quotes
=> Cigar Terms - Part 3
=> Industry News - Smoker Machine
=> Spotlight - Our Newsletter Special
=> Reader Feedback Invited
=> Subscribe/Unsubscribe information
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WELCOME
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I recently cancelled
my subscription to Cigar Aficionado magazine.
I guess I started to loose interest when they published that
issue
about cigar smokers and their dogs. I like dogs and have had
a few in
my time, but PLEAAAASE, who wants to see pictures of guys
smoking
cigars with a dog. What's next, I asked myself, dressed up
dogs in a
fashion show?
Then they changed
the design and format. The slogan underlining this
new vision is: 'The Good Life Magazine for Men'. The word
'cigar' (on
which Shanken and Co. made another vast fortune) has all but
vanished
from the cover. The new design has minimized the word Cigar,
highlighting
Aficionado instead. However, it appears that this change is
not only of a
cosmetic nature. The cover traditionally portrayed a media
personality
smoking a cigar or holding a cigar between his or her fingers.
This is no
longer so under this new format. In fact one of the first
issues under the
new format had a cover of --- you guessed it, some guy and
his dog!
In its day, the
magazine, on the stands since 1992, was a cracker jack of
a publication. It was a ground breaker and did a great deal
to promote
and educate readers about cigars. It played a major role in
the resurgence
of cigar smoking in the US.
Alas, those days
are gone. The cigar section is now relegated to a small
number of pages in the hinterland of each issue.
The balance of the publication reminds me of GQ.
Sorry Marvin, the reason I subscribed to the magazine in the
first place
was for the cigar information.
If I want GQ I'll buy it.
Enjoy the issue.
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FEATURE ARTICLES
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To Remove or
Not to Remove the Band
A hotly debated
topic.
In Europe, particularly
in England, it is considered bad etiquette to
keep the band on. The reason, I'm told, is that people feel
like they
are flaunting their cigars, sort of like wearing name brand
clothing.
I buy that reasoning to a point. I have noticed, more than
once, that
after an Englishman removes the band from his cigar that he
places it
strategically, one might say, by the ashtray, leaving no doubt
as to the
brand of cigar he is smoking.
In early America,
when men used to wear white gloves, they preferred to
keep the band on so that they wouldn't dirty their gloves.
So in the US it
doesn't seem to matter.
There are reasons
you may want to keep the band on.
1) Most importantly,
it helps keep your wrapper secure.
2) It usually
starts a good conversation, how do you like that brand? etc.
3) It helps identify
which is the right side up of your cigar. ( I have
seen people almost put the lit end of the cigar in their mouths)
4) It helps you
decide when to stop smoking.
Actually I do
both. I always light the cigar with the band on. When I'm
about half through the cigar I remove the band. ( No I don't
place the
band strategically by the ashtray) This helps the wrapper
get a little
warm and it loosens the band. Cigar manufacturers use a vegetable
gum to
secure the wrapper and labels and sometimes they get stuck
together.
Warming up your cigar before removing the label relieves this
problem.
Band come in
all shapes and sizes some are very large like the Hoyo De
Monterrey. Did you know that some of the Cuban cigars have
two bands on
the cigars? Yup. Any of the Cuban limited edition cigars have
an
additional band on the cigar which says "Edicion Limitada"
with the year
of production written under that.
A lot of people
collect the bands and throw them in an empty cigar box
or fish bowl. Then when they have a good collection they have
them
mounted and framed.
I take the bands
off so that I can enjoy the cigar to the very end.
So, again it's
all a matter of choice. I wouldn't spend too much time
thinking about it. It's not worth it. You have your cigar
don't you?
The Graduate
Part III
Another great
article from a regular contributor Jeff Aiken.
Jeff is the editor of the cigar column at About.Com you can
view his
musings at http://cigars.about.com/
My brother-in-law Frank from Toronto got himself a great cigar
to
celebrate his daughter's graduation.
Hey Jeff!
Well, as you know Ginger graduated from high school last weekend.
It's
been a long road. The school is one of the top ten in the
world and
it's been a terrific struggle both for her and for us. Trying
to help
her keep a perspective on the whole experience has required
all our time.
'Yes, you're used to getting the highest grades but you're
now competing
against the best of the best', etc. The nights of extra work.
Going to a
master's house, the extra credit, the extra effort. It's all
over now. We
can sit back and say it's over. Whatever the future may bring,
we've done
our best.
It was in this
environment that I asked for help from Rod of Ajax Cigars.
I wanted a cigar for myself that said, 'It's over!'. A cigar
that was
special and would make me feel special as we celebrated the
moment. He had
just what I needed. I don't know if you've ever had a Ramon
Allones but
they are an excellent name in Cuban cigars. Not your high
powered cigar,
but a great name for craftsmanship none the less. Well Rod
had just managed
to get a few of their Gigante sizes. These are very hard to
get a hold of
cigars. One of the rarest produced so I was honored when he
set a couple
aside for me.
These cigars
are a huge size. They are a 7.5 x 49 but look about ten times
that size. They're also a beautiful red/brown color like a
roasted peanut
with a soft spongy feel to them. You could tell the loving
care that went
into each cigar. Some cigars talk to you and this was one
of those.
After all the
parties and celebrating was over, I went to sit and savor
my
own victory. It cut well and lit even better. If you close
your eyes and
imagine the perfect looking cigar, this was it. Beautiful
color, coal
black ring, perfectly even burn ... It had it all. But the
taste, oh the
taste.I expected a strong smoke because of the ring size but
the delivery
was smooth and creamy. It was, perhaps, the mildest, smoothest
Cuban I've
ever had. Great flavor and smooth even burn that not once
made me want to
put it down. A victory cigar to end all victory cigars. Before
I knew it,
I was at the end of the smoke. There was not a harsh puff
in the whole two
hour experience because that's what it was, an experience.
Not a cigar.
Not a smoke. This was an event which is just what I wanted
to celebrate
not my victory but my lovely daughter's coming of age.
Back At You Soon
Frank
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QUOTABLE QUOTES & CIGAR STORIES
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Writer, Somerset
Maugham, said of cigars, that they were, "the only
realized ambition which has not brought disillusion."
American humorist,
Mark Twain, said, "If I cannot smoke cigars in
heaven, I shall not go!"
Rudyard Kipling,
wrote in the 'The Betrothed', "A woman is only a
woman, but a good cigar is a Smoke."
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CIGAR TERMS (Part 3)
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LARGUERO: The
label that covers the long side of the cigar box.
LIBRE DE PIE:
The leaves at the bottom of the tobacco plant.
LIGERO: These
are leaves grown from tobacco during seasons of abundant
rainfall, and is so called because it has little oil, but
is full
flavored. When this type of tobacco is dampened for grading,
only a
small amount of water can be used. It must always be handled
in dry
weather and baled with the minimum of delay. It gives the
cigar its
strength and flavor. Full-bodied ligero leaves need to mature
for two to
three years. A cigar will burn unevenly if ligero leaf, with
its
slow-burning qualities, is too near the wrapper.
LONG LEAF FILLER:
Strips of tobacco cut to the length of the cigar.
Usually used in hand-made cigars.
MACHINE-MADE
CIGARS: To achieve large-scale output, machines, with some
exceptions, have to use homogenized binders, which are made
from leaf
particles and cellulose. Although, the development of the
bobbin has now
made it possible for machine-made cigars to now be made of
pure tobacco
leaves.
MACHINE-MADE
PREMIUM CIGARS: Premium cigars are largely hand-made.
Notable exceptions are the excellent short filler cigars,
PGC Hajenius
from the Burger Group, La Paz, Willem ll and De Heeren van
Ruysdael from
the Swedish Match Dutch and Belgium factories, and the Muniemaker,
Bouquet Special,Judges Cave and Cueto brands from the American
F D Grave
and Son Company in Connecticut, that are machine-made.
There is a distinct difference between mass-market machine-made
cigars and
premium machine-made cigars. As is the case with most mechanised
products,
machine-made cigars are more consistent and uniform in construction
than
hand-made cigars.
MASS-MARKET CIGARS:
Are machine-made, although there are some exceptions
to this rule.
MOULD (wooden):
Used to shape the bunches to the exact size of the
intended finished cigar. Moulds when filled are stacked in
a press and the
bunches squeezed into shape. Depending on the size of the
bunch and the
practice of the factory, bunches can remain in the press from
15 to 60
minutes.
PIECER: See DRILL
PIG’S TAIL:
See CURLY HEAD.
PLUGGED: When
a cigar is over-filled, it will have drawing difficulties
or
be “plugged”. Can also arise if the leaves of the
filler are not folded
correctly.
PRE-CASTRO: Cuban
cigars made before the Castro revolution succeeded in
1959. These cigars are legal in the USA. The words, in English,
Made in
Havana Cuba are printed on the bottom of the box.
PRE-EMBARGO:
Cuban cigars made before the US embargo on the import of
Cuban products in 1962. These cigars are legal in the USA.
PREMIUM CIGARS:
A top quality, all-tobacco cigar. Premium cigars are
largely hand-made.
SECO (dry, thin):
This is one of the weather classifications of tobacco
in Vuelta Abajo and Partido (districts in Cuba). Seco tobacco
includes
leaves with less oil or gum, little body, without juice and
are lighter
in co lour with, probably, less flavor. They give the cigar
its subtlety.
These need to be matured for about 18 months.
SLICK: A wrapper
has slick when the pores (see TOOTH) of the leaf are not
so obvious. Usually, the more the slick, the less the burning
quality of
the wrapper.
STICKS: Slang
used in the cigar industry for cigar, mainly used when
ordering cigars.
SWEAT: Tobacco
is said to sweat when water condenses on the leaves because
of the heat and humidity of the atmosphere. Sahorno or rot
is an immediate
result of this sweating.
TOOTH: Is found
on the wrapper. It is the little "mountains and valleys"
you feel when you pass your fingers through the surface. This
is good for
the wrapper to have and is the pores of the leaf and indicates
maturity.
Usually, the more tooth, the better the burning quality. Tooth
is the most
outstanding feature in identifying African Cameroon wrapper.
If you close
your eyes and gently run your fingers across any cigar with
real African
Cameroon you will experience the mottled feel of these tiny
bumps (tooth)
in the wrapper.
TORCEDORES: Spanish
for skilled workers or cigar rollers.
TUCK END: The
end of the cigar that is lit. Often, but erroneously, call
the foot, presumably because it is assumed that the opposite
of head is
foot. When the cigar is made the wrapper is rolled from the
base of the
cigar upwards, so that the wrapper does not unwind, (hence
the correct
name – tuck end, as the bottom layer is held in place
by the top layer.
VITOLA DE GALERA:
In the factory, each cigar or variation has a specific
name.
VOLADO (high):
This is another name, in the Remedius District in Cuba,
for the grade also known as permanente. In Vuelta Abajo it
is the least
gummy or oily grade of tobacco, with little flavor. These
leaves
usually, only require about 12 months of maturation before
use.
WRAPPER (CAPA):
The quality of the wrapper is crucial in any cigar and,
generally, can account for anything up to 70% of the tobacco
by value,
while being only 10% by weight. A good wrapper should have
flavor and
steady-burning qualities. A smoker examines a cigar for appealing
appearance, texture and aroma. This is where a good wrapper
justifies
its high cost. If the wrapper is not smooth, silky or oily
and does not
have an appealing aroma, the smoker will reject it and the
sale will be
lost. Wrappers must be elastic and without coarse veins. They
have to
mature for at least 12 to 18 months.
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INDUSTRY NEWS
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Smoker machine
EBH Newsroom
EXCLUSIVE
Havana.- One of the most common complaints regarding the quality
of
Habanos sold on the market is its 'Lack of Draw'.
To avoid this from happening, El Laguito factory in Havana,
famous for
manufacturing the Cohiba, has installed five machines that
verify the
cigars drawing capacity. According to a spokesperson of the
Corporación
Habanos these machines are already verifying a substantial
percentage of
the production. By the end of this year, the cigar manufacturing
company,
a joint venture owned 50/50 between the Cuban state and Altadis
the
French-Spanish corporation, hopes to introduce these machines
into the
production process of all its factories.
The cigar drawing capacity test is conducted after pressing
the leaves
on the boards and before it is rolled into the wrapper leaf.
The machine
checks the airflow within the cigar. If the cigar does not
fall within
the required parameters, it is unrolled in front of the “torcedor”
who
rolled it who proceeds to find out what went wrong.
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READER FEEDBACK INVITED:
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Please Email your comments, gripes, suggestions etc.
to: wrapper@ajaxcigars.com
Your interaction will help make the newsletter work.
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HOW TO BE A GUEST COLUMNIST INSTRUCTIONS
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Are you a frustrated author? Do you have something
interesting to share with your fellow Cuban Cigar lovers?
Drop us an Email and get your name in lights.
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COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
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Copyright 2001 Ajax Cigars
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