Cigar Press Magazine

Cigar Press Magazine Volume V Issue III

cigar chick — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 22:02:06 +0000

Cigar Press Magazine Volume V Issue III

$6.95

La Palina El Diario KB

Thor — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 21:27:42 +0000

PRESS RELEASE FROM LA PALINA CIGARS

La Palina El Diario KB
Country of Origin: Honduras
Factory: Raices Cubana
Wrapper: Honduran Corojo ’99 Rosado
Binder: Honduran Criollo ’98 (x2)
Filler: Nicaraguan Corojo ’99 and Criollo ’98
Size: 4.25×40
Packaging: sleeve of 5 – 4 packs
MSRP: $35.00 4pk or $8.75 each
Going against the grain of the industry’s focus on large ring gauge cigars, La Palina is bringing a petit corona to market. The petit corona has always been a favored vitola in Bill Paley’s humidor, and is his preferred size for the daily drive home from the office. Jokingly referred to as the “Kill Bill” during initial blending stages of the El Diario line, the name stuck. The La Palina El Diario KB is a line extension of El Diario’s current 5 facings. The KB is a richly flavored full bodied cigar. The sweet characteristics of the Honduran rosado wrapper round out the spicy notes of the Nicaraguan filler.The double binders from Honduras refine and complete the blend creating beautiful balance. Take these puppies for a walk! A petit corona with the heart of a churchill

Filler Tobacco for Premium Cigars

Thor — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 02:51:44 +0000

by: Hendrik Kelner
Photos by: Jacob Fuller
Featured in Vol V Issue II 2010

A premium cigar is constructed by using 3 types of tobacco components: the filler, the binder and the wrapper. We have explored the wrapper influence on the cigar on a previous issue of Cigar Press. This time we are going to be talking about filler and how it can be blended into a cigar.

The filler is what goes inside a cigar, normally its a combination of 3 or 4 types of frog stripped (when a leaf is de-veined it can look like a frog) tobacco leafs that give the base structure of any cigar. The filler leaf has the central vein or stem, 2/3 of which is removed leaving 1/3 of the stem still present on the upper end of the leaf. This is done for structural support on the cigars construction, allowing air channels for the better flow of the smoke from the foot (where it is lit) to the head (where you absorb the smoke).

There are five aspects we’re going to look at regarding filler tobaccos:

The Land

For any tobacco, choosing the right land is crucial for the outcome of the tobacco. The land should be chemically analyzed to determine if the soil is right for planting tobacco. The PH or acidity and chlorine levels in the soil and in the irrigation water needs to be correct (very low) otherwise improper levels will affect the combustion in the final product. The presence of Micro organic elements, the land drainage capacity, everything must be considered in order to produce good tobacco. Each farm and growing region can be different in their soil’s chemical composition, so the same tobacco seed planted in different lands will result in different tasting tobacco. Changes in the tobaccos characteristics can be noticed from farm to farm within the same growing region and even from the same farm from crop to crop.

The Humidity

After curing the tobacco in barns, the fermentation and aging processes, the filler tobacco should be air-dried to a humidity level in the leaf of about 13% to assure the proper combustion of the cigar. If the filler is too humid the tobacco will taste moldy and will not burn well.

The Construction of a Cigar

Cigar rollers who are in charge of assembling the filler leaves with the binder are called empuñeros in Spanish, or bunchers in English. These trained tabaqueros will place the filler leaves in the correct way to guarantee the right draw, combustion and taste. They must place the thicker, slow burning ligero tobacco leafs in the center of the bunch. The type of filler tobacco that burns slowest must be right in the center surrounded by better combusting tobaccos. Many times we see a cigar that has a bad burn and is visibly burning to the side. That’s mainly due to two things: the seco tobacco coming from the lower/center part of the plant that naturally burns better and faster was put on the side of the bunch not around the ligero leafs that are slow burners. Another thing resulting in an uneven burn is when the empuñero made a defective cigar by placing a less amount of filler tobacco in one area of the cigar making an air pocket, therefore giving it more oxygen and increasing the combustion on that side. When smoking a cigar that is not correctly lit and/or is not burning evenly, then you are not getting the taste from all of the filler tobaccos prohibiting the cigar from being enjoyed in its full potential.

The Filler Blend

The most important aspect of the filler is that it gives you the possibility to combine different tobaccos that come from other genetic seeds, other lands, other counties, and turn into countless unique blends. Blending is combining different fillers to create a taste that can be balanced, positive, harmonious, interesting, overwhelming. or simply pleasant. There is a lot of synergy involved, where the taste of the final blend is better than the sum of its individual fillers. The purpose of a blend is to give an identity to the cigar brand, a specific taste and strength level that will prevail through the years. Unlike the wine business where the consumers can appreciate and tolerate the differences between crops, the cigar smoker expects the brand and size of the cigar they smoke to be consistent through time. For example, a consumer who started smoking Avo # 2 since 1997, this person is accustomed to that taste and strength level and that’s what he would expect from this cigar today.

The filler blend is not necessarily a specific recipe that your grandfather discovered, or a mythical formula that came in someone’s pocket on a boat from a forbidden island and has been hidden in some drawer not to be touched or corrupted by anyone. The blend is the different filler leaves that create part of the final taste in the cigar. By having good, well fermented, aged tobacco in inventory gives the potential to blend excellent and consistent cigars. It is the responsibility of the cigar manufacturer to alter the blend if necessary to recreate the same original taste of the cigar. In case one of the filler components is not available, the manufacturer must replace it with another or redo the whole blend in order to obtain the same taste profile as the original.

The Human

The human intervention with tobacco blends in undeniable. Big inventories filled with great tobaccos don’t always deliver a harmonious balanced smoke; therefore you need the touch of a true master blender to determine the percentages and what works together using the different tobaccos available. The making of a new cigar blend consists of a lot of sampling, smoking cigars with only one type of tobacco to familiarize the palate with individual flavors, tastings of blends, describing the aroma, seeing where the impact is on the palate (controlling the balance of the cigar), etc. Creating a cigar is a long but magical process.

Video – Interview: Jonathan Drew, My Uzi Weighs A Ton – Burning Leaf, Chicago Illinois – Cigar Explorer from Cigar Explorer

Thor — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:28:51 +0000

XIKAR Interview Vol V Issue I

Thor — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:58:46 +0000

Cigar Press – How did you guys come up with the name XIKAR?

Kurt Van Kepple – Paul Garmirian wrote a book on cigars. And in his book he wrote that the original Spanish spelling for the Mayan cigar was sikar. I thought that was such a cool name, and then we played on that. We changed the S to an X because it was like two blades of a cutter. Originally, we even pronounced it like sikar.

CP – Where did you two go to school?

Scott Almsberger –I went to the University of Kansas.

KVK – I went to three schools, the first a small college in Switzerland called Franklin College. It’s an American school in Lugano. It was awesome. I had actually been a foreign exchange student in high school, spending a year in Argentina.

CP – What were your focuses?

SA – I went for Industrial design and product design.

KVK – European Studies was my associates at Franklin College. It was a two-year school at that point. So after my Associates I had to come back. I eventually made it to University of Kansas where I graduated with a degree in History.

CP – Which is where the two of you originally met.

SA – Yes, through Kurt’s brother Dierk. Dierk is a glass blower and artist, so he and I would run into one another a lot around campus, and became friends.

KVK – They lived in a house with a bunch of buddies, and I lived in a different house with a bunch of buddies. I don’t mean house as in a fraternity, it was just a house. We’d get together from time to time, their place, our place, that sort of thing, and Scott was always around so we got to know each other a little bit that way.

CP – What did you guys do after school?

KVK – For a few years I worked at Faultless Starch Company. And then I actually went back to school, to Thunderbird, which is an international business school in Phoenix. It’s one of the largest business schools in the country, and the only one that concentrates solely on international business. So that’s where I got my business concentration.

SA – I moved to Japan. We were both out of the country for two or three years. Eventually we both came back to Kansas City and ran into each other a couple times.

CP – XIKAR made its start with the invention of the Xi1 cutter. Where did the idea to make a cutter stem from?

SA – Kurt was out and wanted to buy a cigar cutter for his father, Bill. He had been to all of the shops around here in Kansas City. I hadn’t talked to him for at least a year. He calls me and said he couldn’t find a cutter to buy for his dad. He asked me, “You have a degree in product design, right?” He wanted to meet and talk about how we could design a cigar cutter. He thought there was an opportunity to have a cool cutter. We decided to get together once a week before work. We’d meet for breakfast, and then during the week I’d come up with concepts. We did that for about six months. Exploring all sorts of options.

KVK – We started the company with a $5000 investment that got us the engineering and the parts. Then in the very beginning, Scott and I used to assemble the cutters out of our garages and then sold them out of our houses locally. Shortly there after I called a couple retail shops in the country and sold them by mail. My very first retail sale was to John B Hayes tobacconist in a mall outside of Washington D.C. He called us, so we sent him a cutter as well as all of the members of the TAA. I could barely afford the envelope much less to send them a cutter.

SA – We thought we would do the cutter and make it a weekend and evening project, to keep us busy. After a year, it became apparent that this cutter was well received.

CP – Revolutionized the cutter concept.

SA – Cigar’s aren’t easy to cut. Having a cutter that is interesting, ergonomic, something you can produce and sell at a reasonable price, is a hard accomplishment. It’s always hard to know what’s going to be popular on a broad basis. You never know what the masses will like. Who would have thought that the pet rock would have sold, or the fake bass nailed to a block of wood that sings?

CP – When did the design of the original Xi cutter come into the picture?

SA – I was driving through the mountains in New Mexico, just brainstorming. It actually came together during the long drive to the top of the mountain. I came back and drew out my ideas. We did a patent search and worked with an engineering group through the university. Kind of an incubation type of organization, in order to come up with some engineer drawings. We went to a machine shop to produce parts for two hundred cutters. Out of all of those parts, we were able to get about 150 good cigar cutters. It’s exactly the same shape, size, and the engineering is the same today as it was then.

KVK – And still, the Xi1 original cutter is a vastly different cutter from what they are now. Even though they are the same size, shape, and have the same engineering, they evolved. There are different screws, different blade material, different springs, the angle of the blade grind is different, and it’s all to perfect the issues we would see as each new model came out. We’re doing the same thing for our lighters. We have full-time people at the factory inspecting quality. We are also now specifying all of the components in a lighter. Before we were specifying the design, which is what we do here, and Scott will tell you more about that. We would say what the shape would be, here’s how many flames, etc. But now we specify everything. From what factory the piezzo comes from, to the filter the fuel goes through. We identify the reasons for our returns, and we fix that problem.

SA – We’ve just made minor improvements as we move ahead. We’ve probably made 20-30 improvements. It’s been at least a year since we’ve done the last improvement. And now the rate of return for any returns is negligible. About 98% percent of everything that comes back has clearly been put through the ringer. We had a guy who had one in his pocket when he crashed his motorcycle. He basically slid across the pavement grinding the button of the cutter off. He actually sent in a funny letter, saying how it saved his ass. So we replaced it. There was the fireman who had an Xi3 with redwood handles. He was in fighting a fire and it fell out of his pocket. He found it when they went back to clean up, and of course it was completely burned up. So we replaced it. People have been through some sort of experience with their cutter, and our philosophy is that it’s always easier just to replace it. We always assume that is just good business to make the consumer happy. We’ve tried hard on that aspect. Thankfully no one has sent back cigars. But we get all sorts of things. These guys were working on oil rigs in the middle east and this guy left his cutter outside in a sandstorm. So the whole cutter was basically sand blasted, so we replaced it.

CP – I noticed recently the warranty changed from lifetime warranty, to unconditional lifetime warranty.

KVK – The unconditional part has been an evolution. I thought I’d give people a break and instead of having to call for every little thing. It’s all good, It’s all guaranteed. We even include abuse. Fortunately most cigar consumers are honest, hardworking and not abusive of a relationship. The consumers don’t abuse the warranty. Our return rates are extremely low.

CP – How long have cigars been part of your lives?

KVK – My father has always smoked cigars. He smokes two or three a day. When I was growing up he smoked two a week. One on Saturday and one on Sunday. He would smoke them outside at the end of the day, working on the yard. That’s exactly when I smoke too. I don’t smoke as much during the day. Scott and Jerry smoke several every day. My passion for cigars is a weekend passion. Mostly because I enjoy a cigar so far less if I’m not paying attention to it. I can’t work and smoke. Otherwise I’ll feel a regret. I wasn’t paying attention or relaxed. When I smoke a cigar, after working outside all day and my body is worn down. I’ll sit down with a beer and a cigar, and then I enjoy that cigar so much, that everything else pails in comparison.

SA – I definitely smoke a lot more now than I did. I started in the boom days of the 90s, it seemed that everybody smoked cigars. We didn’t really have any aspiration in developing a company for a whole line of accessories at the time.

CP – How old were guys when you got into the hobby?

KVK – I was in my early 30s, which seemed to be the average age. But not today.

CP – There are a lot of younger people getting into the cigar culture these days.

KVK – There are a ton of younger people enjoying it. I started looking at who was smoking cigars, when we got into the business. We wanted to know their affinities. The biggest affinity there was is Cuban cigars. We created the Havana Collection based on that. Last year I started to feel like the Cuban cigar affinity is losing its luster, especially with the rise of Dominican, Honduran, and Nicaraguan cigars in quality, in perceived value and in brand share. What these guys are doing today is incredible.

CP – Todays market is filled with people who know what they like, and a lot of the Cuban brands have failed to match up in consistency.

KVK – The other thing I noticed was the rise of younger consumers who wanted to know everything they can know, from seed to smoke. Cigar Press is this generation and feeding these guys. Before people didn’t get information on the countries, on the makers, harvest, fermentation, you name it. Now they are veracious. Now a lot of consumers are more knowledgeable than ever. Tattoos are all happening at the same time as this. There’s something related to this desire to get to the very core or essence of something. The Indigenous tattoos, and the indigenousness of the cigar. Now that’s what the Mayan Collection is all about. It’s the indigenous art of the cigar. My expectation is that the guys who aspire to really know everything essential or indigenous, are going to aspire to one of those products.

CP – You guys do a lot of traveling.

KVK – Absolutely. In fact I travel, and have always traveled, since Scott and I started XIKAR, every other week maximum, and minimum every third week. I think I have been inside almost every cigar store in the country. Scott and I continue to do that today.

CP – I think people really appreciate that.

KVK – I hear from customers it’s one of the reasons for our success. Above all, walking into the retail store has been key to the sincerity of the look, handshake, and word, is fundamental to the belief and power of our warranty. When you offer a lifetime warranty through a letter it’s one thing. But when you look someone in the eye and you say to him, We don’t warrant our products for life, we guarantee every thing we say, sell and do. We shake hands, and then when you go ahead and back it up, it builds instant and permanent credibility. Someone said to me one time, “Do you know why you’re successful? Because you’re standing in my store.” People know me, and I have a personal relationship with all of our customers.

CP – That’s key, especially with cigar brands. It builds a foundation. You guys really get to see a lot of places.

KVK – We do, and I love it. I really got bit by the travel bug at an early age. My dad’s passions are art, travel, and cars. So growing up my siblings and I each got to travel with him since my mother wouldn’t.

CP – How many of you were there?

KVK – There were four. He would take one of us four on a big trip. Usually those trips were with the Nelson Art Gallery here in Kansas City, which is particularly famous for its Asian art collections. When the original Chinese friendship tour came through in ’78 it made three stops. New York, Kansas City and San Francisco. Based on that diplomatic art tour, the Nelson Art Gallery got invited to bring a tour group to China. So my father took me on that. I was in China in 1979. It was unbelievable. I have two hundred and forty six photos from the trip, and this is when photos were film. I have all black and white, gorgeous shots. So that was it, the travel bug was in me. I didn’t just want to go on tours in order to see architectural sites and museums. I wanted to get to know the people and speak their language.

CP – When did XIAKR decide to branch off into other areas besides cutters?

SA – It was about 2002 and we had all sorts of Xi cutter variations. We had a request for a punch cutter, which is when the 007 punch came to be. Then the MTK, which are folding scissors.

CP – Still one of my favorites.

SA – That was an interesting product. It was developed when we were on a trip in Italy. We were producing pocket knives, and our idea is that we are well versed in cutters and the basic principle behind that is a sharp cutting instrument, same as a knife. That would be an addition to sell to the same cigar shops we already do. Guys like pocket knives, so it was a perfect fit. We learned a lot about knives in general. It increased our expertise on blade materials, edge geometry, tempering, and how to create something really sharp and durable. The knife industry is known for using all sorts of new materials for their blades and handles. There are a ton of custom knife makers. We were able to take some of that knowledge and incorporate that into some of our cigar cutters. We discovered that certain exotic woods that worked as a knife handle, also worked well as our cutter handles. It was nice to be able to take from the knife industry and incorporate it into our cutters.

CP – Where were you guys in Italy?

SA – We produced our knives in Maniago Italy, the knife capital of Italy. Traditionally throughout history, there are a few knife capitals of the world, Maniago was one of them. There was a small manufacturer who was creating the scissor component for the Swiss Army knives. We were working with him and came up with this folding scissor, developing it specifically for cigars. The tools were for a cigar smoker. There is poker that also acts as a bleeder for your lighter, screwdriver to adjust lighter flames, box opener, and a bottle opener. In the beginning we weren’t really sure how popular it would be, given that cigar scissors aren’t that popular in the US, like they are in Europe. This product was different, and has exceeded our humble expectations. You can put in on your keychain, it folds up, weighs one ounce, it’s really slim and handy. I’m surprised how popular that item has been. But it’s different form anything else that we have, or anything that is available.

CP – At first XIKAR was only known for its cutters, which revolutionized the cutter scene. As XIKAR has been evolving, when did you notice it was becoming more of a lifestyle brand for cigar enthusiasts?

KVK – Well you’re very kind to say that. It is my aspiration to be that. It’s an incredible experience and I think it’s an incredible result. To have revolutionized a sub category, and then to have expanded that success to all off the categories in a cigar shop. I humbly believe that we’re the number one brand in lighters, cutters, butane, humidification, and travel cases. Therefore it’s an astonishing success on the cutters, and all of the rest.

CP – Making cigars was a big jump. How long have you seen that as part of the evolution of the XIKAR brand?

KVK – It was a process that we didn’t take lightly. We don’t to this day. We are very serious about getting in it, and staying in it. What really got us into it was XIKAR events. If the retailer was benevolent he or she would hand out a cigar of theirs when somebody bought a cutter or lighter, but that doesn’t support our brand. And depending on the cigar it could even detract from our brand. A consumer who bought a Havana Collection cutter, I handed him a cigar and he said, “No thanks.” He told me that we should put out a cigar, and then he would try that. So I thought, we really ought to have a cigar. This was years and years ago. It took several years to find the right guy to blend them, find the right quality, etc…

SA – We were always around people who produce cigars, and in retail shops. It came slowly, but we had toyed with the idea as early as 2001 or 2002, and decided at that time we would stick to accessories. As we created more and more accessories, and filled in all of the holes. It became more and more apparent that a cigar made sense. Originally it started out at events. For us, when we do an event, we lay out the accessories. The consumers at the event would say that they need to go get a cigar in order to try out the cutter, or the lighter. We saw that the consumers needed a cigar to use our accessories, obviously. It became hard for us to have an event without some sort of relationship with a cigar company. It was usually up to the retailer to tie us in with someone else. We thought that we ought to have our own cigars so that at an event they could smoke our cigar, and try out our accessories. We knew it was going to be risky for us to get into the cigar business, being that we weren’t seen as a cigar company. We knew that we were going to be judged very harshly. We couldn’t come out with an average cigar. It had to be good. So it took years before we decided on the blend.

CP – What led to Jesus Fuego?

SA – We ran into him all over the place, and he had just come out with his own brands then. Basically he produced some samples that were really good. Better than anything else we tasted. It was an easy decision, based all on the product, and Jesus produced the best cigar we put in our mouth. Now we have the three blends, and would like to come out with some more. But we’re having some problems finding a blend that we really like from anywhere.

CP – He makes some really enjoyable cigars.

SA – He’s easy to work with and produces a lot of blends. He knows what to get, and knows how to do it so we can keep a consistent product. Just at this point, we haven’t tasted anything that’s better than our three blends already, so we have to be patient.

CP – If you want to have a serious talk about cigar and tobacco, Jesus is definitely the right guy.

KVK – He’s serious. He really knows what he’s doing from seed to smoke. He is a true cigar guy.

CP – You always hear the story of a guy in the industry who grew up on a tobacco field, and he did.

KVK – if you ask him how much tobacco you can get out of a hector of land, wait for the answer. He’ll say, it depends. Then he starts going in to it. It’s a beautiful thing to listen to. It depends on the size of cigar, species of tobacco plant, if you’re producing wrapper binder or filler, he really is talking stream of consciousness. If you find the specifics, he’ll give you an answer. I was blown away by the information he has.

CP – How long does it take from concept to product?

SA – Usually about a year. This year we are actually already shipping some of the new items now. Hopefully by next year we’ll be shipping all of the new products by the time the show starts.

CP – It looks like there are a lot of sketches lying around.

SA – We crank out concepts, stacks and stacks of ideas. You can never have too many good ideas. I have placemats here from China, or other restaurants with sketches on them. You never know when an idea will hit you.

CP – What happens after you have a sketch?

SA – Once we get two-dimensionally to the point of comfort, we’ll have a model made. Then we’ll put everything through rigorous testing, like how many times will a lid work before the spring will fail. We usually shoot for 50,000-100,000 lights in every lighter without any repair. We want to feel it in our hands, get a feel of the size. Once you get something in your hand, it’s more than likely going to be changed because of the feel of it. Recently we had a lighter that we drew out, and studied the weight, size, etc, and then made a prototype. We were certain we nailed the design right away. Once we had that prototype in our hand, we immediately started changing it. We reduced it by 3mm here, 2mm there, a lot of tweaks. After the second prototype it felt right, and then it goes into production. I like bigger lighters because they hold more fuel. But prototypes are one of the single most important parts of creating new products.

CP – Do you guys have a favorite cigar tool?

SA – We really don’t. They’re like children, all unique and different. I like to use them all. The V cutter was a recent item, and I never really used a V cutter. Years ago I was having dinner with Joel Sherman and he said, “you really ought to do a V cutter.” I told him that not many people use a V cutter. He said, “That’s because there aren’t any good ones.” He convinced us that if we had a good one, it would be a winner. It took years. We looked at concepts, looked at prototypes, and weren’t sold one-hundred percent on it. Last year we finally introduced it, and it’s selling like crazy. I didn’t expect much from it, but it has done really well. All of the new product intros basically comes from a consumer or retailer, saying “wouldn’t it be cool if you did this, or if you did that.” So we are always looking at requests and new ideas. We actually made a high altitude lighter, purely because of the requests we get from people who live in high altitude locations. Every year we’ll add to our list of products that we would like to introduce. We create concepts, go to the prototype stage, and then make the decision to introduce it or not.

CP – What do you give credit to for your success?

KVK – It’s not just because of our product philosophy, but the combo of the product and the service. Consumers tell me we are successful. There are so many stories of failure, and we set aside the reasons for business failure aside, the vast majority of others are because they didn’t service the market place. We are concerned with our customers well being, we are communicative, and consistent. If you think about the relationship of those three things if we are consistent people know what to expect. If we fail in our delivery of something, if we are concerned and are communicative, and then are quick about it makes up for the failure in consistency. Then it tumbles like a snow ball and gets better and better. Honestly I think brand equals trust and trust equals brand. I think the brand has exceeded the products themselves which is why we can introduce a new category, that if we are serious about, we can reach the top of the category in a shorter amount of time, based on trust. Now that’s if we’re serious about it. One area where we weren’t serious enough about, was humidors. We do travel cases, but not wood boxes any more. I discovered that we weren’t committed deep enough to try to make a return on investment that that business requires. Our approach is dual and parallel. One cannot survive without the other, and one can not advance beyond the other. They have to maintain the same value and importance. We have the four Fs of product. All of our products must have great function, feel in the hand, form to the air, and a fair price. That’s our product formula. There is this method that was popularized in the United States during the 80s by Demming. He was a business theorist and taught at a business school in California. He became wildly popular because of all his theories has been correct. He really got to use his experience by living in Japan and using them as the laboratory for his theories, one of which was continuous improvement. Continuous improvement of your products. This notion came out during in the middle of planned obsolescence. That was the auto companies way of saying we are going to get more sales by having some break down or parts break. But look where these guys ended up. Continuous improvement was really an American idea, perfected by the Japanese and brought back by that very same American. We practice that every day. We get stuff back. We see stuff coming in, and then you have to see free stuff going out as a result. I don’t want to see that. Instead of changing the warranty, we will change the product.

CP – What’s the number one reason for a lighter return?

KVK – Bad fuel. But over time a lighter will wear down. It’s like an automobile. You’ve got an engine with fuel that burns and moving parts. In needs to be maintained. Our lifetime guarantee is a lifetime replacement guarantee, it’s a repair or replace guarantee. Sometimes we’ll get lighters back that simply have bad fuel. The world of butane has diesel, regular, and premium. We make premium grade fuel.

CP – So the fuel was another step for continuous improvement.

KVK – You got it. We had to. We searched all over the place to find the best fuel that we could. But it doesn’t stop there, we try to find the best of everything to bring the best products to the market.

Cigar Press Magazine Vol V Issue II

cigar chick — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 23:47:10 +0000

VOL V ISSUE II

$9.95

ACID DONK with Scott Chester

Thor — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 14:46:27 +0000

Scott ‘ACID’ Chester

Thor — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 08:05:53 +0000

CP – What is ACID?

SC – ACID is a concept. Something to cause a ripple, a marker in history, before ACID and after ACID, two different worlds, nothing less. A.C.I.D. stands for Arielle Chester Industrial Design, Arielle being the motivation to develop that ripple. Push the envelope, find the gap in the market and fill it with a creative solution or unique product bridging the past and the future.

CP – Arielle is your daughter?

SC – Arielle is my daughter, and at the time of conception, for lack of a better word, she would be going to college in 17 years, and Daddy would have to pay.

CP – When did you know that you wanted to be an artist?

SC – I have always been creative. Designing my own toys for my own worlds created in any yard. Digging in the dirt of Ellaville, Georgia to create a Tonka truck town, or a multi-staged rally in the backfield of a school in Columbia Maryland. In the 70s when times were hard for my family there were no toys. I created a landing bay for a fleet of space ships made of pin caps and cassette tapes, the push pin landing gear looking proportionately correct to the odd assortment of things that could be scale attack fighters. With a little heat and a bit of “cold working” the pins would support the plastic space armada and they would fly missions in pairs into the vast unknown of the living room but avoiding the giant ogre in the den watching ‘The Wide World of Sports’ or ‘Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom’.

CP – Drawing always came natural for you?

SC – My first recorded drawing was an 18″ sketch of Abe Lincoln from the image on the penny when I was 6 years old. That was in Hempstead Long Island. From then on I made countless creative projects until my father got me a drafting table at 12 years old. My life changed at that point. All I wanted to do was wait till everyone went to bed, have some peace and quiet so I could draw for three or four hours.

CP – When did you start taking art in school?

SC – One day I was falling asleep in a Brooklyn catholic school. The principal, Sister Eugenia came into the classroom and announced that there were applications in her office for The High School of Art and Design. My life changed again.

CP – What did you focus on in high school?

SC – While at the H.S. of Art and Design (1980-84) I had a chance to try my hand at many different types of art. Graphics, airbrush, photography, fashion design, sculpture, drafting and a brand new technology in 1983, computer aided design! What the school couldn’t teach was what I learned when we cut class. Graffiti, break dancing, video production, art gallery and show design, set design and an artistically competitive attitude which shows in any product requiring ACID art direction.

CP – Did you continue to study art after high school?

SC – I graduated high school after a junior year Executive Internship in a Madison Avenue graphics agency with such clients as Mon Cheri Chocolates, Ferrero Rochet, which also does a line of chocolates but holds such brands as Kender, Nutella, and Tic Tac. I got insider information about the success of the ‘New Coke’ campaign. The goal was to quadruple Coca Cola sales in a three-month period. Did you go out and buy new Coke when it came out? Did you buy New Coke and Coke Classic when it was put back on the shelves a month later to do the side-by-side comparison? Most Coke drinkers did.

CP – What about college?

SC – I got accepted to The Center for Creative Studies, College of Design in Detroit, Michigan. That was number one of the top three design colleges as was rated by Forbes magazine in 1980. This was a design education program on steroids. Art history, design history, auto design, design theory, geometry, and at a neighboring school called Wayne State production methods and football (this need something it’s incomplete).

CP – How was the football team?

SC – Actually we lost every game. Well, all but one, the other team decided 6 degrees was too cold to play so we won by forfeit. The “CCS Insomniacs” were not destined for greatness.

CP – Did you find yourself drawn to one particular area of the education program at that school?

SC – At CCS I took my education into my own hands. I designed my schedule for 21 credits where 16 is the max allowed by the head office. After my third semester the bursar’s office realized my overbooked class schedule and cut me back to 16 credits. I decided I wanted to go to the other two schools on the Forbes list to learn their design philosophy, so I transferred to Pratt Institute in my hometown Brooklyn, NY. There I designed tool sets for Black&Decker and the front door for GE’s Future House project. I also ran into my old high school crew at Pratt. They had side work doing fantastic and elaborate paintwork in New York City’s many Mafia owned discos and night clubs. After three semesters at Pratt and a year using their shop facilities to build my own projects as an alumni, one of which got me my first write up in The New York Times, I decided to go to California for another round of schooling at the Art Center in Pasadena.

CP – That’s a lot of moving around. How long were you in school?

SC – I had been in school for five years, skipping 1987.

CP – What was it like going to so many schools with such different programs in a short period?

SC – When I entered the school in Pasadena, rumors of a spy from CCS were being circulated. The students clammed up about their design projects and watched my every move. Looking back I understand the two schools were in a fierce battle for the number one spot, and Art Center was not about to give CCS any clue of their methods. As I walked from studio to studio students wrapped up their work so that I couldn’t catch a glimpse of what they were doing. As I made my way through the Industrial Design department, some students would follow me and ask questions about the CCS environment and curriculum. As I got closer to the library I could hear loud reggae music echoing through the hallways. After a while my group of curious students grew, and I wanted to find out where the music was coming from, so that became the focus for everyone. As we approached the library we could see a large group of students amassed clambering over each other to see what we could not. I found a spot between some Japanese cameramen and a German photographer where I could see this boyish figure painting directly on the cement wall opposite the Library. Bright lights on tripods and a boom box blasting. It was Keith Herring, a fellow NYC street artist and club goer enjoying worldwide fame at that time. Months earlier we were hanging out on the lower east side at a VIP club called “It” inside a larger club called “The World” listening to Larry Lavan spinning and smoking heavily back when you could smoke in bars and night clubs in NYC.

CP – Were you always creative? Did you find one area that you naturally gravitated towards?

SC – I knew I was creative, I knew I was an artist, but I had to decide if that creativity would be spent on music, film, design, or fine art. I chose industrial design because it incorporated drawing, developing, and sculpture. What could be better than designing the future? I designed furniture for a couple of clients from the notorious Drexel Burnham Lambert (Mike Milken, insider trading, Wall St. the movie).

CP – What exactly is industrial design?

SC – Industrial design is the art of making things better as technology improves. To solve problems with the old design, combine parts or make parts work better together. To refine the operation and make the object perform better for whoever is operating the designed thing. Developing the product to perform better for the end user or company who produces it. It’s anything where a person has to design something to solve a problem. In my friend’s situation, it’s gates. Someone wants something private yet beautiful. They don’t want it to look like a prison. So he’ll design falling leaves or something like that. That way it looks beautiful and it’s secure at the same time. All those years I had been building wooden ships, housing for toy cars and specifically purposed vehicles and gadgets as a kid, I had no idea that I had been playing with industrial design. Now I was about to stop playing.

CP – What did you do when you finished school?

SC – I had only one shitty job out of college working just off Canal St. in New York City at Pearl Paint Art Store in the drafting furniture department. Cheap and plentiful art supplies at the supermarket of the New York art world was the allure. I had been painting racing mountain bikes and motorcycle parts in my basement in Brooklyn. After a while I decided to get out of my basement and paint motorcycles full time in a shop in Queens.

CP – When and how did you originally get into cigars, what did you smoke?

SC – A friend of mine, Paul Steinman, was a guy who rented out movie equipment whenever a movie was being made in New York. He has booms and trains, things like that, Dragon’s Head Productions. His father would always bring him Cubans. We were kind of young, actually. We’d go to his apartment on 5^th Street on the lower east side in New York and smoke cigars and drink scotch. We had gone on like that for years. I got to learn about cigars just by smoking them. Of course we got hurt going through the first couple of Cubans, sitting there turning green wondering what’s going on. After a while you get your legs and understand how to enjoy it. Then it becomes great.

CP – Not many people start with Cubans.

SC – I took whatever I could get my hands on. Cigars and single malt scotches. Paul had a coffee table that opened up. Inside he had a bunch of super hi-end single malt scotches, as well as Cuban cigars. I think we were about 26.

CP – How did you meet the guys from Drew Estate?

SC – Jon and Marvin would eat lunch in my studio just about every weekday. They had an office on the 5^th floor of the same building. They were getting rid of a showcase, and I needed showcases for my trophies. That’s how we met. Then they came down to see what I did in my studio. Over the next couple years they would come down to my studio everyday at noon. I’d just be waking up, then let them in and they’d eat lunch. We’d smoke cigars and talk shit. Then they’d go back upstairs and work.

CP – What cigars were they doing then?

SC – La Vieja Habana. They used to sell La Vieja Habana at a cart in the World Rrade Center. This was before ACID cigars. Jon and I would start at the shop in Dumbo Brooklyn, drinking some scotch and smoking cigars. We decided to take a walk. We walked across the Brooklyn Bridge. We walked up to Housen, which is a pretty long walk in NY. We walked to 4^th Street, which was where they had a magazine stand. In back they had a humidor. Jon and I were there looking at cigars, talking about different things, the packaging, looking at all the different aspects of the cigar world. Some guy and the owner are also in the humidor. The guy reluctantly asked the shop owner, “Do you have some cigar named La Vieja Habana?” Jon was shocked and turned around, “What did you just ask for?” he said to the guy. He told him La Vieja Habana, and that it was his favorite cigar. The guy loved them but couldn’t find them anywhere. Jon said “I make them.” The guy didn’t really believe Jon at first. It was the Rosado if I remember correctly. It was funny because we were in sports gear, tank tops, and sneakers. We looked like city kids. Jon couldn’t convince the guy it was his cigar. After a while he bought into it but he thought we were pulling his leg. I was amazed because this guy was asking about his cigar. I don’t even think people had cell phones then. Beepers for sure. I think that was in 1996. We really got going in 1998.

CP – That’s when ACID cigars were released. How did ACID cigars come to be, especially after getting spoiled in your early years with nothing but Cubans?

SC – At the time they had something going on with Drew Estate, but it fell through. They came down into my office and they were really depressed. They weren’t talking much, basically left the conversation up to me. I asked them what was wrong. We were smoking cigars and Jon had his back to the wall. My back was to the window. Jon was just sitting there in his funk, with his head sunk low. Marvin had gotten up to go to the bathroom. Then out of no where Jon lifted his finger excitingly into the air, “Ah ha!” he said. When Marvin came back into the room Jon looks at him and said, “He can do it!” They were talking about me doing the packaging and design work for a cigar brand that would become ACID cigars.

CP – Back then, everything was going nuts and the cigars themselves were all very traditional. How did the ACID cigars become what they are?

SC – I said that if it’s going to be an ACID product, it has to be a advancement, a step forward. We didn’t want another cigar that was going to sit around on the shelf. Obviously none of us are Hispanic, but Jon knows the artesian ways of manufacturing cigars. Marvin knows all about the cigar industry, the history of it, and so on. We can’t pretend to be Cuban or anything other than what we are, three kids from Brooklyn. We didn’t want to act like something we’re not. None of us could even speak Spanish then. It’s all about flavor, changing and adjusting. Snapple ice tea changed the game. ACID cigars did the same thing. We combined individual talents and made that happen. It was something that reflected all of us. At first we were going the traditional route. Now at this time Jon and Marvin wanted to get to the tradeshow, what was then the RTDA. They wanted to go there with product in hand. I wanted to check out the product and see how we could modify it. So we went to a strip club, the VIP club in New York. We were smoking with the host. A lot of the girls that worked there didn’t like the smell of our cigars. That was our first “ding” moment, a light bulb went off in our hands.

CP – So at first you guys wanted something that was more traditional for ACID?

SC – At first we were going to do it as an American Indian, and very traditional style of cigar. What Sir Walter Riley would have brought back to England. Pure American tobacco, and so forth. But we decided not to do it that way, and we couldn’t do it the Cuban way. We wanted to bring something of our own to it. We needed to add to the industry, not just copy what somebody else did. The idea was to come up with a cigar that people could enjoy the smell and distinctively pick it out in a room of other smokers. That’s what ACID is. If you’re anywhere you can smell ACID over anything else. Women are walking up to you now and asking what you’re smoking. When the women want it, you know you’re on to something. Most of the guys around here, want the women’s interest. So after going to the club that night, the smell and aroma was an area we wanted to address. So that’s what we did. Jon mainly, went on a rampage and sampled thousands of different things. He was smoking so many cigars. I was a little concerned for him. But he dove deep and eventually narrowed it down to about 20 different things for us to try. He spent a lot of time sleeping on the floor of some bodega. He didn’t speak Spanish so he was a total gringo and no one took him seriously. It’s not until later on that he got respect. Now he is the saving grace for a lot of things in the industry.

CP – They have become the tip of the spear for what is a big movement in the industry.

SC – Cigar Safari wouldn’t have existed, for example, without Jon. They are always trying to come up with new ways to think outside the box. Nicaragua isn’t the largest country, and Esteli is a small remote town. Now they are literally building communities around them there.

CP – How long did it take for ACID to become a cigar?

SC – We had to be at the RTDA, this was in 1998. After all of that sampling, it took us about 8 months to get it right.

CP – Not many people know you were part of the whole process.

SC – Nope, I’m not just the model for the brand!

CP – I can’t believe all of the tobacco free Florida ads I am seeing now. Especially the one with a baby crying, slowly panning out to a mother smoking a cigarette while driving with the windows up.

SC – Well maybe these commercials will make people think about themselves. No one should smoke in the car with a child in the back seat, that’s abuse from the parent, not the cigarette.

CP – I’m sure a lot of our readers can remember the original DONK you had painted for Drew Estate. That was incredible.

SC – With the early DONK, you could see depth in it. It had perspective lines and no matter what angle you photographed it at or looked at it, you were always looking down the road into the distance. The new DONK is a different concept but no matter what angle you see the car from, it’s going to fool you. This car is going to be crazy. Almost frightening. But it’s not going to be super colorful and child-like. It’s going to have an adult theme, meaning it follows adult values. For example, if you were designing a meal you may put hotdogs together with mac and cheese. If you wanted something a little more complex you put mac and cheese with truffles. That’s what the new DONK is, mac and cheese with truffles.

CP – Besides the new DONK, you’ve also been working on the Checker Cab, which is getting close to being finished.

SC – Oh yeah. Honestly, the Checker is more in depth than the DONK. I uprooted the car. The engine was rebuilt already just so it could run and I could test the suspension and various things on it. It’s a new car from what it was. It has a second lease on life. Everything has been chrome plated if not polished or painted. A lot more time and energy went into the Checker. Jon’s car, the new DONK, was good and ready. It didn’t need severe bodywork. They drilled holes before to put on trim, and I wanted to eliminate trim since it wasn’t original with the car and it got in the way of the artwork. So I filled those holes. We found every little problem, nick and knack, and then solved it. Even now after all those layers of paint and sanding, there are still little things that bother me. As we go we’ll shave those things down. The Checker is going to be more luxurious than you can believe. We can’t wait to show it. The dimensions of the scene that is painted top to bottom on the car, to the interior that brings you to another lavish world.

CP – I’m pretty excited for it. It’s been a work in progress.

SC – It’s really going to be incredible.

CP – You also design motorcycles, toys, wheels, motorcycle helmets, clothing, among other things. But one of the major things you like to do now is customize cars. How do you choose what you’ll work on? What is the process if someone wants you to make a car for them?

SC – You find a car that’s in need of a second life. When it comes into my hands, I take it completely apart. People used to bring me cars and want certain things. I, on the other hand wanted to collect a bunch of cars, ones that I consider ready to be classic. Mostly from the 80s, maybe sought after or desirable. Not from the 50s or 60s. Most of the things I want to build are from the 70s and 80s. I have a ‘68 Corolla, a ‘74 Corolla, two ‘87 Maserati’s, a ‘76 Porsche, and a ‘74 Mercedes, I have things like that. What I want to do is build them, bring them to car shows. There is no better place for cigars than car shows. It’s open air, talking about cars, the history of them, how someone first fell in love with one. It’s a great time. But I wanted my own vehicles so if people want to do any particular shows, I can do them since I have cars. People with their own cars want to use them for their own purpose. I want to put together cars that people find desirable. We want to connect to the common guy. You could put a Ferrari at the car show, but most everyone doesn’t drive a Ferrari. Everyone may drive a Chevy truck. So I’d rather customize a Chevy truck. I even put my Lotus next to a Chevy truck at a show and more people go to the Chevy truck. It’s America.

CP – Are you going to sell those cars?

SC – I think we’re going to show them for a little while.

CP – It’s a hobby too.

SC – What I really want to do is artwork. I want to take these 16 cars and make them showable. Then I can do artwork. I can take that anywhere around the planet. I have 33 paintings in the works. I can show 11 in Tokyo if it’s still there. 11 in Germany, and 11 someplace else.

CP – You can only have so many cars. I know Jay Leno has a lot…

SC – I didn’t get that memo. I have too many right now. I have three warehouses. Even the clothing warehouse has the 69 Volvo and the Lotus. My wife is working with me to customize the Volvo. She thinks she knows what the interior will look like, but we’re still picking out the colors.

CP – But people can come to you and get some work done?

SC – I don’t want to paint someone’s mustang that’s rusting in the back of their house. For the most part we’re doing vehicles that we can use to promote and things that are from people’s childhoods. A lot of guys getting a Lotus, remember the James Bond Spy Who Loved Me Lotus. There are very few people that are interested in buying that kind of car. But there are a lot of guys in the tobacco industry who think a Lotus is cool, but they may not be likely to buy one. They’d probably get something bigger with more comfort.

CP – It has to hit home.

SC – No one wants to see a 96 mustang redone. There are a lot of those out there. They are pretty common. But it depends on what I’m working on at the time. If someone has a car that they want to take to shows, or someone in the industry wants something done for their brand, then I’ll most likely consider it. I just want to do things that are special. People ask me all the time for me to paint their car. A lot of people don’t have the time I want to put in. I’m putting 5 or 6 weeks just with Jon’s new DONK, putting in some serious brain time. This car has to represent what he is all about. And that’s what ACID stands for, representing yourself.

Interview by: Thor Nielsen Photos by: Simon Muchnik

click on the cover image to buy your hard copy with the Scott ‘ACID’ Chester Interview

Padilla Studio Tobac

Thor — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 23:57:29 +0000

Big perfecto shaped cigar that has an oily wrapper with a lot of tooth, and a sweet earthiness on the pre-light smell. Right after lighting the cigar there is an intense chocolate aroma that develops as the cigar burns into the full ring gauge. A full body hits pretty quick in the stomach and reaches outward, mellowing and letting more of the flavors stand out. A complex cigar that has a lot of rich notes; pepper spices, earth, cinnamon and cocoa, always changing on the palate. There is a creamy texture with the smoke and spices in the aroma, especially when blown through the nose. The creaminess intensifies and the cigar consistently develops it’s character. Full body with full complex flavors. The cigar lit easily and the draw opened nice and evenly as it burned. Excellent overall burn that really didn’t really need any touching up. Produced a long and tight ash that needed to be pulled off of the cigar.

A Wrapper’s Influence on a Cigar

Thor — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 19:37:08 +0000

There is no debating that the wrapper tobacco on a cigar has an impact on the taste of a cigar, and depending on the factors that we are about to look at, the influence can either be substantial, or minimal. This is never a precise statement. The best way to notice the influence is to smoke two cigars that share the following attributes: They have the same binder and filler. They have the same size and shape. They must have the same humidity conditions. And finally, have two different varieties of wrapper. The difference in flavor will be obvious. Here are six factors that play a big roll on the influence that wrapper tobacco has on the flavor of a cigar:

1. The cigars filler and binder and how they contrast with the wrapper.
Although we are talking about wrapper influence, we have to evaluate the different flavors and strengths of the fillers and binders. The fillers and the binder have to be the same seed variety and foliage level (priming) in the different cigars we are testing. So given that they have the same filler and binder the difference in taste will be a reflection of the wrapper alone. For example, if you are testing a cigar with a bottom priming of an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper (one that is mild and neutral in taste with filler and binder that are ligero, which are high in body strength with lots of flavor), the wrapper will not come out and dominate the taste of the cigar. On the other hand if you use bottom foliage leaves for filler and binder and a powerful ligero Habana type wrapper (say from Nicaragua), you can be sure the majority of taste and flavor will come from the wrapper. From here on out, in order to determine the influence of a wrapper on any cigar, it will have to have the same filler and binder.

2. How the cigars ring gauge affects the flavor of a wrapper leaf.
The majority of premium cigars are a combination of three major components. There is a combination of filler leaves (the blend), a binder (that is usually half of a leaf), and a wrapper (which is always a half leaf). Small ring gauge cigars have more flavor of the wrapper than that of a thick cigar. In a big cigar you have a higher amount of fillers that will compete for the taste as opposed to the smaller ring cigar, which will have much less filler tobacco. The smaller the ring gauge, the more influence the wrapper will have on a cigar.

The shape of the cigar is also important in terms of what you taste from a cigar. If you are smoking a perfecto shaped cigar like a Davidoff Short perfecto, at first you taste mostly the wrapper and not much of the fillers. As the cigar progresses and you get to the thick center of the cigar, you will be smoking more of the fillers, therefor getting the complete stimulation of the whole blend.

To specifically see how the wrapper will affect the taste of a cigar, we now know that the same filler and binder must be used, as well as the same ring gauge and preferably a straight shape cigar like a robusto or corona. Now we can discuss the actual wrapper tobaccos influence on a cigar.

3. The wrapper seed.
There are several genetic varieties of wrappers used in the different cigars we smoke that offer different flavors, different aromas, and different strengths. This of course is a subjective issue and everyone has their own opinions as to what the different attributes for each are. We may be able to agree that the Connecticut wrapper grown in Ecuador is a nice looking wrapper that is mostly mild to medium in strength with a more neutral taste (which is a good thing too, as this lets more of the filler and binder flavors come out). Some people express that the light Connecticut seed wrapper from Ecuador is a bit acidic for their taste, while others say it’s just what they like. The Habana type wrappers from Central America are more likely fuller-bodied and higher in strength. The Connecticut broadleaf wrapper from the states has a unique taste and a peculiar sweetness with more of a medium-body. The Indonesian wrapper has a trademark wooden smell (that comes from the barns while curing) and metallic taste. The Dominican wrapper, with its spices and complexity offers an interesting taste and aroma.

What the wrapper can do to the cigars taste not only comes from the genetic lineage but also from what you do to the wrapper tobacco in the fermentation process, in the aging process, and of course it will depend on the land in which the tobacco is grown in.
4. The land where the wrapper comes from.
Like in the wine business, the same seed planted in a different land gives you a different outcome. The Cabernet Sauvignon or the Merlot grapes planted in France are different than the ones planted in California or Chile. For tobacco, the soil that is richer in minerals (iron, potassium, magnesium), microelements, and organic materials, will produce a more complex and aromatic tobacco. The soil with the right PH (Potential Hydrogen Capacity in Spanish) of 5.0 to 6.5, enables the tobacco plant to assimilate all those nutrients. In this land segment I’ll incorporate the individual agricultural practices that the farmer does and will also factor in the flavor of tobacco. For example, taking the flower off of the plant early gives more strength to the leaves, making them richer and stronger in flavor. Cutting off the bottom leaves makes the plant give all the nutrients to the higher leaves where the ligero is; therefore you get heavier leaves with high nicotine content. The weather will also have some impact on the tobacco. You can plant the same seed year after year in one specific land, and then one year it rains too much. The land is washed up, the fertilizers dissipate, and you get milder tobacco then you may have if the weather were drier.

5. Curing, fermentation, and aging of the wrapper.
The way and the extent in which a company processes their wrapper tobaccos can determine some characteristics of the flavor and strength when it is rolled on a cigar and ready to be smoked. The curing process can also affect the taste. The candela wrapper for example, is obtained by firing up the barn with high temperatures in a closed area of the shed, which fixes the green color of the leaf. In the candela process, the tobacco never gets to cure and therefore never developed the taste in which the tobacco is capable of. For most people this will provide a green or grassy taste.

The fermentation (similar to the maduro article published in Vol III Issue IV of Cigar Press) has a lot to do with the wrapper tobacco losing some of the acidic connotation, nitrogen elements, and the ammonia that is present on the leaves. This makes the leaves much more smoke-able. Some factories don’t like to ferment their tobaccos thoroughly leaving a high amount of nitrogen elements and a high nicotine level. This provides a raw taste that is many times mistakenly confused with the tobacco’s strength. This is actually a popular trend today. On the other hand, if the wrapper tobacco is over fermented it will lose the essential oils that produce the natural aroma, the shine, and most of its strength.

The aging of the wrapper in bales is very important as this settles the aroma, improves the taste as well as the combustion of the leaves. Not aging the wrapper also gives you a taste of raw and immature tobacco that is not considered ideal, but some cigar smokers have proved to like this sensation in todays market.

6. The storing of cigars.
After the cigar is made it’s important to keep it in the right environmental conditions (ideally, 68% humidity and 70 degrees Fahrenheit.) until you decide to smoke it. Some cigars that contain a lot of ligero in their blend will burn better at a slightly lower humidity percentage. There is a small window for personal choice when it comes to humidity, but the most important part is that the temperature and humidity remain constant. If a cigar encounters high humidity when being stored, a white film will develop on the cigar. This is actually a fungus due to the excess humidity. The resulted moldy cigar will now have a different taste, even when wiped clean. Keeping cigars in too low of a humidity level is not good either, as all of the essential oils will eventually dissipate. To keep the cigar alive when stored you need good storing conditions. If it’s too dry the tobacco is at rest and the flavors will not come out. If they stay dry for a long time the cigar will loose part of its flavor. This is especially true in cigars that have been thoroughly fermented and aged. With cigars that use tobaccos not completely fermented or aged, storing in non-ideal conditions is not as tough on the cigar. In fact, it can even be beneficial if the right storing conditions are offered to those cigars.

There are certainly different factors one must consider when trying to evaluate how influential a cigars wrapper tobacco is on flavor. There are certain conditions from the soil to how cigars are stored that will ultimately affect the cigars flavor. When trying to decide for yourself how much flavor comes from the wrapper, take these factors into consideration. As one wrapper can taste differently depending on so many things. One thing is for sure, if you change the wrapper on a cigar blend, there is an undeniable change in flavor. As with everything else that has to do with taste and the palate, it’s subjective when figuring out any sort of specifics.

Written by Hendrik Kelner Jr. and Thor Nielsen