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UNDER THE
WRAPPER
Informed information about Cuban Cigars
August 2002 Issue #12
wrapper@ajaxcigars.com
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Welcome to Issue #12 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 Article - In Praise of the Cuban Cigar
=> Quotable Quotes
=> Industry News - Update on the Embargo
Stupidity of the Month
=> Spotlight - Our Newsletter Special
=> Reader Feedback Invited
=> Subscribe/Unsubscribe information
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WELCOME
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Well here we
are, 12 issues of the newsletter under our belt and still
kickin' I like to think that a lot of ground was covered (about
25000
words) and helped to provide a basic understanding of Cuban
cigars.
To those faithful readers since the day one, many thanks.
If you have
recently subscribed or missed some of the issues they are
archived on
our site and can be accessed through the home page www.ajaxcigars.com
After reading the past issues I think that we have gone over
most of
the nuts and bolts, as a couple of articles to make you think
and of
course to laugh. Some of the items have been picked up by
the
"Big Guns" and its nice to see your work published
by others.
In retrospect
I would have to say that I'm disappointed in the reader
feedback. I write this stuff for you and I need the input
so that the
newsletter remains fresh and moves forward. If I could just
get each
of you to take 2 minutes and send a quick email to: info@ajaxcigars.com
Tell me what you want. If I don't think it warrants an article
I
promise that I will send you a personal email and answer your
questions.
How bout it?
Enjoy the issue.
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FEATURE ARTICLES
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In Praise Of
The Cuban Cigar
by: Nick Passmore
Phssst...the match flares, and as you slowly rotate the
cigar above the flame and take a few gentle puffs, you get
the first tantalizing hint of what is to come. Then, with
the cigar lit and the match discarded, you sit back and draw
in the smoke, savoring the sweet, brown, nutty aroma as you
contemplate the smoke lazily curling upwards, secure in the
knowledge that you are about to be rewarded with one of
life's great sensual pleasures, the smoking of a fine cigar.
And of course,
despite the excellent products now being made
by Cuba's Caribbean neighbors, for most people a fine cigar
means a Havana cigar. A unique combination of soil and
climate, technique, tradition and skill coalesce to produce
a cigar that is fuller and richer than any other, one with
a
more subtle, complex and evolved flavor. Smoking a Havana
is
one of the most satisfying experiences one can enjoy--some
people have even claimed that a good cigar is on a par with
good sex. In fact, for some people it seems to have been
better. Rudyard Kipling wrote that "a woman is just a
woman,
but a good cigar is a smoke," a sentiment the expression
of
which reputedly cost him a knighthood, and one evidently
shared by Groucho Marx, who claimed he would always
choose a cigar over a woman.
Sensual pleasure
and elegant sophistication are the
attributes justly associated with Havana cigars, but beyond
mere epicurean indulgence, they also possess remarkable
restorative qualities. They are a balm for life's travails,
the facilitator of measured contemplation and a solace from
pace and frenzy. They represent, above all, the conscious
affirmation of a civilized life.
These virtues
have long been appreciated by the famous and
the erudite. Evelyn Waugh observed, "The most futile
and
disastrous day seems well spent when reviewed through the
blue, fragrant smoke of a Havana cigar" and George Sand
called them "the perfect complement to an elegant life."
Her
contemporary Franz Liszt added that they "close the door
to
vulgarity," though he didn't have the privilege of visiting
a 1990s cigar bar; if he had, he might not have been so
emphatic. The fact that a few vulgarians have turned Havanas
into a Freudian status symbol should not be allowed to
detract from the supreme sybaritic pleasure these delicious
cigars afford.
The Quality Factor
A Cuban cigar
is an inherently old fashioned product--no
machine can turn out a cigar anywhere near as good as a
skilled roller--and they are essentially made the same way
today as they were a hundred years ago. It is a complicated
and labor intensive process. Each plant is visited on
average 170 times during its four-month growing cycle and
the harvesting alone requires multiple visits over several
weeks as leaves from different parts of the plant are picked
by hand as they mature. Then they are dried, fermented once,
sorted and graded, then fermented a second time before being
packed in bales and left to mature for up to two years.
When the tobacco
is finally ready, it is shipped to the
factory in Havana where it is again sorted before being
distributed to the rollers for final assembly. Rolling a
handmade cigar is a great skill. The rollers serve a
nine-month apprenticeship and many fail to graduate.
Those that do then start on the smallest and easiest-to-make
sizes, the panatelas. The longer and thicker a cigar, the
harder it is to roll, with the irregularly shaped torpedoes
and pyramids being the most difficult, and therefore the
most expensive.
The finished
product then undergoes an elaborate quality
control process and further aging before being ready for
sale.
There have been
major quality problems in the recent past
but with the help of a large investment from Tabacalera, the
Spanish government tobacco import monopoly, these
have for the most part been overcome, and while long-time
connoisseurs claim that current Havanas don't match
pre-Castro cigars for flavor, the glaring physical defects
have been eliminated.
The Cohiba Phenomenon
Fidel Castro
has done very little right during his 41-year
rule but he has managed one remarkable achievement: the
creation of Cohiba cigars.
All the Havana
brands date from before the revolution, some
going back to the 19th century--all, that is, except for
Cohibas. Originally conceived by Che Guevara when he headed
the newly nationalized cigar industry in the 1960s, they
were designed to be a superpremium cigar for the private use
of Fidel and his cronies, and as prestigious diplomatic
gifts.
As a result of
their superior quality and lack of commercial
availability, they quickly attained a cult status among
cigar lovers and when they finally were made available to
the public in 1982, they were an immediate hit.
Whether this
marketing coup was the result of design or
accident is open to speculation but they are now the most
sought-after brand, commanding prices far above other
Havanas.
And they are
worth it. The Esplendido and Robusto especially
are magnificent cigars--they have a wonderful rich, complex
flavor, at the same time full-bodied and smooth. They are
the best cigars I have ever smoked.
Nick Passmore,
an Englishman living in New York, goes back
to Britain frequently for the sole purpose of indulging his
passion for Havana cigars.
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QUOTABLE QUOTES & CIGAR STORIES
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"If I had
taken my doctor's advice and quit smoking when he advised
me
to, I wouldn't have lived to go to his funeral."
George burns at age 98
"Women are
jealous of cigars... they regard them as a strong rival."
-- William Makepeace Thackeray, English Author
"Where there's
a good smoke there's a cigar smoker."
-- Cuban saying
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INDUSTRY NEWS
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Update on the Embargo
WASHINGTON - In a vivid sign of waning support for the economic
embargo on Cuba, House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas,
said he
believes the United States should open trade with the Communist
regime, and that he has backed the restrictions on travel
and trade
only out of loyalty to two Cuban-American members of the House.
Speaking at a trade promotion event in Wichita, Kan., on Wednesday,
Armey acknowledged that congressional support for the four-decade-old
restrictions is fading. "If they last a year, it will
be the last
year they last," said Armey, who plans to retire from
Congress at the
end of the year.
With an eye on upcoming elections in the pivotal electoral
state of
Florida, the White House and GOP congressional leaders have
been
lobbying fiercely to maintain the embargo that they argue
will weaken
the regime of Cuban President Fidel Castro.
But an anti-embargo coalition that includes farm-state lawmakers,
northern Democrats and others has been gaining strength steadily
in
recent years. They argue that a free flow of goods and people
to Cuba
will accelerate the move to a more democratic system while
opening up
that market to American companies.
Two weeks ago, the House adopted by a lopsided 262-167 vote
a measure
that would end restrictions on American travel to the island
nation.
If the Senate adopts similar language, as expected, and congressional
conferees agree, President Bush will face a tough choice between
executing the first veto of his term or accepting the first
major
easing of the embargo in four decades.
Asked about Armey's comments, White House spokesman Sean McCormack
said the president "is committed to enforcing the embargo....
He's committed himself to enforcing it more strongly."
Though Armey is retiring, he remains one of the most influential
conservative voices in Congress. As such, his shift of positions
likely
will carry considerable weight with other Republicans.
The Retort
PRESIDENT BUSH has signaled his intention to veto legislation
passed by
the Republican-dominated House of Representatives last month
that would
ease restrictions on trade with and travel to Cuba. Bush claims
that
isolating Cuba is the only way to bring democracy and support
for human
rights to the island.
His thinking is outdated.
He ought to follow the lead of Congress and relinquish his
grasp on a
40-year-old policy that is little more than symbolic.
On July 23 the House voted 262-167 to allow US companies to
sell their
goods more easily and US citizens to travel to the island
without fear
of retaliatory action by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control.
The Senate majority leader, Tom Daschle, said he believes
there will be
strong support for the easing of sanctions in the Senate,
where
legislation is expected to be introduced following the August
recess.
Clare Buchan, a spokeswoman for President Bush, was quoted
in The New
York Times saying, ''The president's Cuba policy is part of
his overall
foreign policy of promoting freedom and democracy around the
world.''
Yet Bush allows trade with such countries as North Korea and
Iran,
nations the US government considers lacking in basic democratic
and
human rights.
With countries other than Cuba, Bush makes US economic interests
the
priority. Cuba's unique treatment stems from the political
power of a
small group of Cuban-Americans in southern Florida, a population
President Bush considers essential to his own political future
and
that of his brother, Jeb Bush, the governor of Florida. Democrats
have
also been reluctant to cross this group.
While President Bush clings to symbolic sanctions, numerous
GOP
lawmakers have begun to recognize Cuba's vast potential as
a food and
agricultural market. The House vote to ease restrictions included
73
Republicans.
Since 2000, when the US government authorized limited sales
of US food
and agricultural products to Cuba, 30 states have been directly
trading
with the island. According to data compiled by the Foreign
Agricultural
Service of the United States, Alimport - the import department
of
Cuba's Ministry of Foreign Trade - purchased $109 million
worth of
agricultural products from the United States in 2001. That
number is
expected to increase to $165 million this year.
As for human rights, opening travel and trade to the island
would
improve the monitoring of human rights abuses and expose more
Cubans
to American values. Bush ought to put the interests of both
Cubans and
Americans before his domestic political needs.
US sanctions against Cuba have done little but deny Cubans
goods made
in the United States while denying Americans potential business
in
Cuba. It is time for the president to focus on improved relations
with
his neighbor 90 miles to the south.
Stupidity of
the Month
- From Oklahoma, a state not generally known for giddy stupidity,
comes a double absurdity. An officious state lawmaker is wasting
his constituents' time by sponsoring legislation to make bubble
gum cigars illegal. The cigars are popular at hospital pediatric
wards where the prissier sort of father celebrates the birth
of
his child by popping the revolting novelty into his mouth
rather
than light up the real thing. One is torn between astonishment
that adult men are so cowed by the nannies that they daren't
smoke
a real cigar and revulsion over politicians who think the
substitute is a danger to children.
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READER FEEDBACK INVITED:
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Please Email your comments, gripes, suggestions etc.
to: wrapper@ajaxcigars.com
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HOW TO BE A GUEST COLUMNIST INSTRUCTIONS
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Copyright 2001 Ajax Cigars
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