maverickdrinker Posted October 8, 2011 Posted October 8, 2011 A number of FOH members have started to plan their virginal trips to Cuba and were looking for information on custom rollers. Most LCDHs and some hotels in Havana have their own custom rollers. Most rollers have their own style/blend however, it varies, based on available tobacco. Here is the start of a list that you can use when travelling aroun Havana. There are 2 great rollers that are located in factories. Hamlet: RYJ factory La China: PArtagas factory (known for her salamones) In hotels in Central Havana Reyanldo: Conde de Villaneuva There is a roller in the Hotel National but I cannot recall her name Cueto who rolls out of the fortress across the bay. In Mirmar Crisantos Cardenas (aka Santos) in the Commodoros. I love his sublimes. Enrique Mons and Jorge Lopez in Club Habana. (known for the famous 'monsdales') Yolanda in Melia Cohiba: Love her lanceros and robustos. In Varadero, Alfonso rolls out of the 63rd LCDH. There may be more. Feel free to add to the list. Hope that this helps everyone out. Enjoy your inagural trips to Cuba.
riazp Posted October 8, 2011 Posted October 8, 2011 Great information Art, thank you for this, i'll defenitly be taking this info with me to Cuba.
zathan Posted October 8, 2011 Posted October 8, 2011 Thanks for sharing. I had one from Alonso and it was the best CR I've had so far. Amazing cigar (Torpedo.)
Nino Posted October 9, 2011 Posted October 9, 2011 Art, good & handy list. One correction : Yolanda rolls at LCDH Hotel Melia Habana. The roller at Hotel Melia Cohiba is Juanita. Cueto rolls at La Cabana fortress, not at El Morro. Looking forward to smoking a custom rolled together ... Nino
aes8 Posted October 9, 2011 Posted October 9, 2011 Art, good & handy list. One correction : Yolanda rolls at LCDH Hotel Melia Habana. The roller at Hotel Melia Cohiba is Juanita. Cueto rolls at La Cabana fortress, not at El Morro. Looking forward to smoking a custom rolled together ... Nino Nino, Do you know if the rollers are supplied with tobacco from their "home factory" when they roll custom cigars for 3rd parties, a la Czar? Regards and enjoy your blog a
maverickdrinker Posted October 9, 2011 Author Posted October 9, 2011 Thanks for the corrections Nino. Counting the days, my friend. Should be fun. Hope that you are well.
AlohaStyle Posted October 9, 2011 Posted October 9, 2011 Nino, Do you know if the rollers are supplied with tobacco from their "home factory" when they roll custom cigars for 3rd parties, a la Czar? Regards and enjoy your blog a I don't believe this is what you're looking for... but I just met Hamlet last week in Vancouver and I asked him where he gets his tobacco when he does road tours. He said Habanos simply pulls good tobacco from multiple lines/farms/factories when they do tours. I don't know about custom made cigars for Cigar Czar etc as it's not officially sanctioned by Habanos as far as I know.
FrankBlack87 Posted October 9, 2011 Posted October 9, 2011 also there is a famous roller in the partagas factory... handsome jimmy
pedromendes Posted October 10, 2011 Posted October 10, 2011 The lovely lady at the Hotel Nacional is Miranda.
riazp Posted October 11, 2011 Posted October 11, 2011 Here is an intresting article I read in volume 2 of the cigar journal : Custom Rolled Cigars Collectors today are seeking rarer and rarer cigars. The cigars rolled individually by a selected roller are, in some circles, becoming greatly sought. But collecting these is a very risky activity, for everyone involved. I have waited to write this column for a couple years. At this time, I feel that it is necessary. I hesitated out of concern for some of the people involved. In Cuba, it is illegal for individuals to acquire tobacco, roll it and sell the cigars to tourists. Until now I did not want to write this in order to not incriminate anyone engaged in this. This article will not reveal any names of anyone doing anything illegal in Cuba but will illuminate the topic at a certain distance. What are Custom Rolled Cigars? Strictly speaking, custom rolled cigars are those that are made to the specifications of the buyer. This does occur to some degree in all the cigar producing countries. But I am going to discuss not only these customized cigars but also small production cigars made in the countryside and in cigar stores across Cuba. Let’s start with the most accessible cigars. In all the La Casa del Habano stores in Cuba, a roller is present. Those rollers are supplied with tobacco from the state tobacco monopoly. During the store’s opening hours the roller will demonstrate cigar rolling to visitors and the cigars made will be sold by the store, usually around 5 CUC each. When rollers first started demonstrations in La Casa Del Habano stores they gave cigars that they rolled away. In fact, this was the policy of the program for rollers. With the popularity of these freshly rolled cigars, customers requested bundles of cigars to be made by an in-store roller especially for them. This began the charging for these cigars. You may recognize some of the names of these rollers. At the Melia Havana hotel, a wonderful roller named Yolanda is known as an expert with difficult vitolas. Her most popular cigar is the Salomon. At the hotel Conde Villanueva in Old Havana sits another well-known roller named Reinaldo. His specialty is in cigars much larger than typical production sizes. Stores located in factories also feature this program. Two highly sought rollers are La China at Partagás and Hamlet from Romeo y Julieta. Both of these rollers are known to modify the stock blends they are given to create stronger or lighter cigars as the smoker prefers. Club Havana is a horse of a different color. It is a stand alone LCDH within the grounds of the beach club. The famous man of tobacco En-rique Mons, is the manager of the store. With his expertise in tobacco, he instructs the store’s roller to create cigars of a unique size that he prefers to smoke. It has been dubbed the Monsdale and is a pleasure to smoke. Beware What I have just described appears to be allowed as part of the LCDH roller program. And there are many rollers who I have not mentioned. Despite this all seeming relatively straight-forward, buyers should beware that when you ask a roller or a broker for a parcel of cigars customized for you, there is some chance that you will not get what you are expecting. The simple reality is that the demand for these cigars exceeds the ability of the rollers to provide. Therefore, there are many cigars being sold to enthusiasts which are made in Chinchales, but sold as the production of a particular roller. Chinchales and Tobacco A Chinchale is a small factory, usually located in someone’s house that illegally produces cigars for sale. In order to acquire tobacco, they employ tactics that are outside of the normal chain of premium cigar production. In the worst cases, non-tobacco leaves are used to roll cigars. Less bad, but much more frequently, Chinchales use whatever tobacco they can find or buy to fill these “custom cigars”. It becomes very difficult to control the taste of cigars when supplies of tobacco are unpredictable. Chinchales utilize tobaccos that are not fully fermented, fermented at farms, or stolen. It is illegal for tourists to purchase these cigars and consequences can be severe if you are caught. Few people are caught doing this but even if not caught, the production is usually irregular, no matter what level of skills the rollers possess. Farmies Farmies are the affectionate term for cigars purchased in the tobacco growing regions. Farmers traditionally save some of their tobacco production to smoke themselves in small rough cigars called Fumas. It was once possible to visit farmers and while chatting with them, smoke one of their fumas to better understand the taste and quality of the tobaccos they are growing. Unfortunately those days are in the past. Most cigars bought in tobacco regions come from Chinchales. What to do? Is it possible to buy a special cigar from a roller or a farm today? It is. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that a casual tourist will be able to acquire one of these cigars because the throngs of returning tourists who have relationships with farmers and rollers likely take them all. If you want to try one of these cigars that is not from a Chinchale, the best tactic is to spend time with the creator of the cigar. If that is a roller, watch them roll the cigars and talk with them about their skills. Then offer to purchase the cigars that they have just rolled. At the farms, you will not likely have this opportunity because even if you watch the roller make the cigar, you do not know from where the tobacco came. For a unique smoking experience, I suggest spending time with a roller in a LCDH or spending time with Enrique Mons smoking a monsdale. Touring As rollers go on tour to display their skills at tobacconists around the world, they are sent pre-selected tobaccos that are very nice to smoke. There is no connection to Chinchales with these cigars and it is very enjoyable to visit a Cuban roller at your local tobacconist. Rollers from Nicaragua, Honduras and the Dominican Republic are touring more and more these days. When these rollers visit your locality they also bring authentic tobacco with them. They are often the best rollers in their factories and I highly recommend smoking these cigars.
maverickdrinker Posted October 11, 2011 Author Posted October 11, 2011 I have the actual article to show Hamlet when he returns.
riazp Posted October 12, 2011 Posted October 12, 2011 Yeah I have the actual article too in the magazine, theres a half decent picture of hamlet too lol
Puros Y Vino Posted October 12, 2011 Posted October 12, 2011 Yeah I have the actual article too in the magazine, theres a half decent picture of hamlet too lol Yup. That was a great article from one of the better cigar magazines out there.
Ryan Posted October 12, 2011 Posted October 12, 2011 Mods should probably delete this post but I think I know who wrote that article, tall chap, English? actually very nice. Unless he knows something I don't which is very possible as I don't know very much, I can't believe he wrote that and had it published. No good can come of it for anyone involved. Does anybody believe that Habanos are happy with the fact that cigar buyers go to Cuba to buy non-Habanos cigars with blends "custom made" for them? The whole thing hangs on a wire, I wholly understand people looking for and sharing information about custom rolls but really the less said about the whole thing the better. "Custom-rolled" cigars will always be available in Cuba. Who rolls them and where the tobacco comes from is a different matter. That could all go away overnight, should the right person get it into their head.
Puros Y Vino Posted October 12, 2011 Posted October 12, 2011 Mods should probably delete this post but I think I know who wrote that article, tall chap, English? actually very nice. Unless he knows something I don't which is very possible as I don't know very much, I can't believe he wrote that and had it published. No good can come of it for anyone involved. Does anybody believe that Habanos are happy with the fact that cigar buyers go to Cuba to buy non-Habanos cigars with blends "custom made" for them? The whole thing hangs on a wire, I wholly understand people looking for and sharing information about custom rolls but really the less said about the whole thing the better. "Custom-rolled" cigars will always be available in Cuba. Who rolls them and where the tobacco comes from is a different matter. That could all go away overnight, should the right person get it into their head. The first rule of Custom Rolls. Don't talk about Custom Rolls!! All kidding aside. I see what you're saying. Maybe we should treat this like a trade secret and keep it out of the open? I'm all for deleting the thread if it means that access to these fantastic cigars remains unmolested. However, that article is out and in print so the horse has left the barn. All that can be done now is to minimize the damage. But for the most part, Habanos sends these rollers on tours so there will always be customs out there. It's all done through the official distributors.
Ryan Posted October 12, 2011 Posted October 12, 2011 The first rule of Custom Rolls. Don't talk about Custom Rolls!! All kidding aside. I see what you're saying. Maybe we should treat this like a trade secret and keep it out of the open? I'm all for deleting the thread if it means that access to these fantastic cigars remains unmolested. However, that article is out and in print so the horse has left the barn. All that can be done now is to minimize the damage. But for the most part, Habanos sends these rollers on tours so there will always be customs out there. It's all done through the official distributors. Rollers do tours, absolutely. They roll with tobacco given to the distributers by Habanos and advertise the fact that Habanos produce hand-made cigars, all good marketing. Publishing an article about "Chinchales" is a whole different kettle of fish. Just my opinion.
Nino Posted October 12, 2011 Posted October 12, 2011 Thank you for the article. While it is interesting to read, I have some points relating to the information provided in the article, though. It mixes a few things ( or throws several things into one pot). Official rollers are allowed to roll custom rolled cigars at LCDH's, they are supplied the tobacco, all is above board and sanctioned by HSA and the authorities. While you should of course make sure the cigars you get have been rolled by the person you have ordered them from, the rollers have a reputation to lose, not just with their, mostly repeat & knowledgeable customers, but also with HSA if they commit any irregularities. I highly doubt that anyone from the group of rollers mentioned in this thread would mis-represent their cigars. The loss of reputation would spread quickly, it is mostly experienced cigar smokers who prefer c.r. cigars and they know their stuff quite well, incl. the blend they like, the characteristics of the cigar and the "signature" of the roller. There have been merchants ( i.e. in Mexico ) misrepresenting c.r. or farm made cigars and they have been called out - I'd be careful when buying c.r. cigars that way. I am also not sure of the connection/relation of Chinchales with custom rolled cigars. While "innocent tourists" will get burned looking for cheap cigars, 99,9% of them would not look for custom rolled cigars from these rollers but boxes from high-visibility marcas to re-sell and pay their vacation or bring back to unsuspecting friends and those cigars/boxes come indeed from Chinchales. The problem is widely known and publicized. In the Vuelta Abajo you can smoke farm made cigars from the growers, again, you should have a relation with the grower and get them at the farm - not from someone's plastic bag in Pinar del Rio or the guy who took you to the Robaina farm for a nice tip. While it is obviously nice to watch the roller do his job and talk to him, the cigars that he has rolled are in a cabinet resting and getting ready, so you should be safe buying from that selection or ordering the vitolas you have tasted and liked. Nothing more soothing than spending a couple of hours at the LCDH with Jorge at Mons or Reynaldo and have coffee, rum and sample the cigars. To buy bundles of c.r. cigars from good rollers you have to order in advance and be prepared to accept that sometimes he won't have as many as you wish or not the sizes you want. Nino PS : Just read Andy's (Ryan) post on the subject and I wholly agree with him on the "value" of the article
CanuckSARTech Posted October 14, 2011 Posted October 14, 2011 All great inputs and opinions, Andy and Nino, thank you! Well said, and agreed. Thanks for sharing!
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