Min Ron Nee - Cigar Blends, Storage and other questions

[Tave1225]

9 minutes ago, avaldes said:

I'm surprised nobody has bit on this tasty morsel...

Found it interesting as well. I can’t comment due to my lack of enough insight about the theory. But it did catch my eye. MRN does do research but he does convey many theories. Most, perhaps are correct but, I do think most cigar lovers fell into believing that everything he said was gospel. 

[Tave1225]

@PigFish is it possible that beetles cannot  survive in a sealed box environment?

[havanaclub]

No. Read the first post again: he doesn't store boxes at 72%, only the singles he plans to smoke in the near future.

Yes I know. Was making a little joke about the mold. However, I do know it doesn't take long for a cigar to acquire mold when sitting in warm, humid conditions.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Lotusguy]

One man's experience, taste, and opinion is just that. Even if that man has a collection and access to cigars that most of us could only dream of. I don't take anyone's opinion as the gospel, even if he has published a book of nice pictures. As they say "your mileage may vary" - sometimes a lot

[Fugu]

3 hours ago, sarkozy said:

His identity has never been uncovered. Is he a real person or a group of inscrutable chinamen laughing at stupid westerners seeking 

unknowable truths? I guess we'll never know.

Haha, would've been quite an elaborate undertaking putting together the first book, let alone the second one, just for a little "prank" on newbies.

[El Presidente]

2 hours ago, avaldes said:

I'm surprised nobody has bit on this tasty morsel...

...just the way I like it .

[PigFish]

2 minutes ago, El Presidente said:

...just the way I like it .

... if you would have started this thread mate, I would have been all over it...! -LOL But, @JohnS, is a friend of mine...! -LOL Plus Fuzzy is nervous about Havana Day! -Piggy

[PigFish]

4 hours ago, Tave1225 said:

@PigFish is it possible that beetles cannot  survive in a sealed box environment?

I am not the beetle expert mate. You may know that many organisms can lay in a dormant state in various environments and still live, some for considerable periods.

No, I don't believe this statement. But I am willing to look further and 'perhaps' find a reason why he might make such a statement. His writing makes it clear that 'the details' might be lost (some of them anyway) in the fact that he is not speaking to you in his native language.

If you take a cigar box and tape it up, place a data logger in it, you will see that water vapor easily enters and exits the box. This is just an example of course. I am not willing to make the claim that cigar boxes are airtight. I think this claim is ludicrous.

However, you should understand that MRN is a collector. At least some of the cigars that he has are in sealed boxes, presumably for value reasons (my speculation). If you have read any of his material, you might note that he is "anti-air" for aging purposes... This is generally common knowledge for those that have read many of his opinions. He also wraps cigars on his own to 'limit' free air. Whether this is truly effective is not really the point, but the fact remains that he may have been including 'his' process of air 'protection' in this statement, even though it was not mentioned. Knowing this is his custom, lets give him the benefit of the doubt here! Furthermore, if you have read information about beetle hatching, you will find that the 'hatch' is proportional to the temperature AND the length of time that they rest dormant. In other words, the eggs don't live forever, and this, to my knowledge is not relevant to "air supply" within the realm of the context of our discussion. Yet the time delta to hatch still exists.

In the older cigars that he buys and holds, the likelihood of damage, not done already when he gets the sealed box, is near zero. If the sealed box contains beetle damaged cigars, they are likely long dead and have done their damage before he acquired them. He clearly is willing to take that risk when he acquires an unopened box. He is a collector!

This is not to say that he is also not a smoker. But we are not talking about tastes, just the items that he addressed... and that as I see it, is that he is clearly not worried about beetle damage, verses the risk of value loss, or air intrusion, or whatever his real motivations may me...

I hope that helps.

-Piggy

[shortsqueeze]

A generous man who shared from his collection with people he barely knew. Fond memories of his “daily” posts about cigar and drink pairings, as well as his attention to detail. Overall, I miss what he added to the cigar community and how he made us think more critically. All the best to MRN. 

[Leopolis Semper Fidelis]

14 hours ago, JohnS said:

My question is as far as cuban cigars go have you seen a change in the profiles that you described in the first book
It seems to me that some of the cigars have had a bit of a change in their profile and wanted to get your opinion on the matter

Yes there is a big change. But it requires careful wordings to even try to explain this. Once I offend my sources, people will not talk.

This confirms my own experience, and that of others I know/knew: Havanas have had a different flavour since the mid-1990s.  Presumably this is to do with the Criollo and Corojo strains of tobacco being phased out and/or a change of blend?  The Bolívar Corona Gigante became a milder version of its former powerful self.  Changes to the Partagás Lusitania and 8-9-8 Varnished were quite apparent too.  I prefer the earlier versions.

[Dimmers]

15 hours ago, JohnS said:

Below is the full Question and Answer Series with Min Ron Nee:

1)   If I may submit a question, it relates to the improved approachability of young Habanos ( say from 2013 onwards) versus older examples. Even brands such as Cohiba appear quite smokeable almost straight away, which does not appear to have been the case barely 5 years ago.

Could MRN provide his opinion as to how and why this has happened? Might this be by design, or rather a happy (or perhaps not so happy in the long run) accident?

Also of greater interest to me, is MRNs view of ageing potential of this recent Habanos ? Might this enhanced approachability now mean that these cigars have a shorter path to their peak ( and sharper decline?) than older leaf?

Apologies for such a non marca specific query. Though it appears to me that this issue seems to be impacting all marcas.

I know the answer to this question. But for all the sources who kindly provided me with all the information that I trust 100%, they would not like their names revealed. I could answer this question without naming my sources. But this is not ethical in my opinion.

John thanks so much for posting this, I had completely forgotten about it until recently. The first question is actually mine, submitted last year. Its great that MRN was able to comment, albeit in a guarded manner, though understandably he did not wish to offend his sources. I was most interested in his views on aging potential of the most recent stuff vs pre 2012-13, and I guess his cautious response itself speaks volumes.

[Leopolis Semper Fidelis]

I feel I am being bombarded with all sorts of weird and wonderful theories about "correct" cigar storage (including "proper" relative humidity in relation to temperature) that I am no longer going to worry about how my own stocks are laid down.  That's the way to go!  No stress involved!!  Any seconders? 

[JohnS]

19 hours ago, Dimmers said:

John thanks so much for posting this, I had completely forgotten about it until recently. The first question is actually mine, submitted last year. Its great that MRN was able to comment, albeit in a guarded manner, though understandably he did not wish to offend his sources. I was most interested in his views on aging potential of the most recent stuff vs pre 2012-13, and I guess his cautious response itself speaks volumes.

That's fantastic Dimmers! I look forward to chatting with you about it at Havanathon this weekend.

[polarbear]

His opinion holds as much weight as any other cigar veteran I have bothered to look into
It seems (at least to me) that the only thing most cigar "experts" can agree on when questioned is which end you're supposed to light, most of the time  

[Ken Gargett]

14 hours ago, Fugu said:

Now, after full reading - very little info or very little new information here. In particular as he refuses to address the truly interesting questions. And in my opinion any person who is not lazy-minded could have done so in a way without offending third persons or disclosing truly secret information.

I'd choose an interview of the great Simon Chase any day over this ... piece of information

am i missing something? surely the bloke is entitled to answer the questions as he sees fit. no obligation on him to do otherwise? loved that first edition - my fave cigar book by a mile and full of information. it would be great to sit and chat with him but not answering questions for a bunch of complete strangers is up to him.

[Ken Gargett]

6 hours ago, Lotusguy said:

One man's experience, taste, and opinion is just that. Even if that man has a collection and access to cigars that most of us could only dream of. I don't take anyone's opinion as the gospel, even if he has published a book of nice pictures. As they say "your mileage may vary" - sometimes a lot

i think you do the book a great disservice to brand it a book of nice pictures. there is way more to it than that. and obviously tasting notes are subjective to everyone but there is much more to his book than just that. lots of useful and fascinating information.

[Lotusguy]

i think you do the book a great disservice to brand it a book of nice pictures. there is way more to it than that. and obviously tasting notes are subjective to everyone but there is much more to his book than just that. lots of useful and fascinating information.

Like 2nd and 3rd sick periods, recommended aging times, et cetera? All of which one man's opinions. I stick with the pretty pictures of mostly discontinued cigars.

[polarbear]

1 hour ago, Ken Gargett said:

am i missing something? surely the bloke is entitled to answer the questions as he sees fit. no obligation on him to do otherwise? loved that first edition - my fave cigar book by a mile and full of information. it would be great to sit and chat with him but not answering questions for a bunch of complete strangers is up to him.

You're absolutely right. Its his prerogative to answer questions as he see's fit
That having been said (and this is hard to say without knowing the details of how the interview came about), if MRN knew he was going to sit down for a Q&A with a blogger, he either should have been prepared to answer commonly asked questions (for a man of his knowledge) or told his interviewer questions he would not be able to answer prior to the sit down.
From the questioners point of view, I imagine this could have been a disappointing interview, to sit down with a man of such experience with a pad full of questions only to receive "I'm sorry, I can comment on that" to the majority of them  

As mentioned, I do not know the circumstances surrounding the interview, but unless the blogger bumped into MRN at some random cigar lounge, the way he's answered the burning questions from fans of his, leaves a little to be desired

[dangolf18]

Interesting storage conditions. There’s another somewhat high profile cigar collector Max Guttmann who said he stores his cigars at 74% (for short term and long term aging)...although he said its because of the altitude (7,500 ft).

[TheGipper]

MRN's book is flat out wonderful.  The single most important bit of research in our entire hobby and likely will remain so for a long time.  Well researched, precisely edited, and a fantastically generous gift of knowledge to those of us in the hobby.

This interview, however, is not in keeping with the spirit of the book.  This interview is pedantic knowledge hoarding.  "I know something that you want to know, but I decline to reveal it."

Well then why grant the flippin' interview then?  I love MRN's previous work.  I hated this interview.

[Nino]

2 hours ago, polarbear said:

As mentioned, I do not know the circumstances surrounding the interview, but unless the blogger bumped into MRN at some random cigar lounge, the way he's answered the burning questions from fans of his, leaves a little to be desired

 

33 minutes ago, TheGipper said:

 

This interview, however, is not in keeping with the spirit of the book.  This interview is pedantic knowledge hoarding.  "I know something that you want to know, but I decline to reveal it."

Well then why grant the flippin' interview then?  I love MRN's previous work.  I hated this interview.

It should be noted that this was NOT an "interview" in the classical sense of a face-to-face interview but Robert asked for questions to be sent to him that he would pass to MRN as an idea to re-start his blog.

After some months those questions above came up, were sent to HK, and were replied in writing by MRN.

The word "interview" is highly misleading.

Here is the text from Robert's blog entry requesting questions :

I am very honoured and proud that Min Ron Nee agreed to my proposal to do an email interview with and for my blog Readers. I think that a lot of Aficionados would like to ask him questions on several cigar related topics or maybe personal questions (but please respect his anonymity).

How it works:
– Post your questions in the comment section or send me an email
=> Comments: every comment needs my approval due to spam issues. Therefore it could take some time until you see the comment online. On the other hand you can avoid that I publish your comment when you leave a  correspondent notice within the comment 
=> email: montehiba (at) gmail (.) com  

– Min Ron Nee will not give opinions or the like on specific cigars. Believe me… there are good reasons for that decision.

– I will collect the questions until I have a good set. Maybe I need to sort out or limit the questions … depending on the quantity and quality. After that I will send the questionnaire to Min Ron Nee.

– Im going to post the complete set of Questions / Answers as soon as I have them. It will take some time to collect the questions and also Min Ron Nee should have enough time to answer them. So please be patient! I will keep you updated.

Hopefully you like the idea for the restart of my blog.

I will try to post every once in a while. Keep in mind that I am still very busy and I am not able to post on a regular basis like in the past.

I am looking forward to your questions.

Have Fun!

Robert

[Philc2001]

Interesting interview.... if you could call it that. I respect the man, but it is just one man's opinion, one man's point of view.

 

[99call]

HHmmm  I think this whole, "this is just one guys opinion" malarky is a bit short sighted. 

Alan Turing worked out mathematical equations to explain patterns seen within nature i.e Zebra stripes. Now, I may disagree with him (which I don't) but critically I think my opinion is of far less value than his, As he had spent a life time working out this stuff, and I have a layman's perspective. 

Sure, what Min Ron Nee has formulated is part research, and part a communication of what he enjoys and found to be good for himself, (which is the subjective part), but why oh why, is it so hard for people to openly just give someone a bit of respect for what they've achieved? 

The idea that there can be recognised authorities on a subject, that most feel to be very personal and subjective, I think really makes some peoples piss boil. but why?

I'm sure the author couldn't care less, if people disagree with him, but to call it a book of pretty pictures, and to be so reductive about his knowledge actually only succeeds in quantifying our knowledge.  I.e if I say, "Michael Jordan knows nothing about basketball", it just means I know even less. 

 

[oliverdst]

I like my cigars at 62%. If you want to "follow" me ok, if not, ok as well.

My taste, my opinion, my cigars.

Let the man alone.

[Fugu]

9 hours ago, Ken Gargett said:

am i missing something? surely the bloke is entitled to answer the questions as he sees fit. no obligation on him to do otherwise? loved that first edition - my fave cigar book by a mile and full of information. it would be great to sit and chat with him but not answering questions for a bunch of complete strangers is up to him.

Haha, indeed you are missing something, Ken. First of all, we are not talking about his book (just for the record I got my copy, and credit being due to him), we are talking about THIS interview. And second, not least based on the book and his widely acknowledged expertise, I am expressing my personal feelings of disappointment about THIS interview (in particular, since this has not been a live face-to-face one but one he had time to draw up answers on).

He will have his reasons and is obliged to plain nothing, as he never misses to point out himself, for sure. But - and as one of his respecting readers - I am likewise not obliged to applaud him, am I?