Different cigar profiles

[Bri Fi]

So, the more you learn about a subject it seems like the less you know about a subject. Answers bring up new questions. Cigars are no different. When I first started getting into cigars I knew I was going to spend a lot of money. I do research on anything I’ll spend money on so I ended up with nothing but more questions. This is a simple question with a complex answer I hope one of you will have. 

 

My understanding about Cuban cigars is they are produced from the tobacco plants primmings. For the exception of Medio tempo, there’s only three primmings which make up a cigars flavor profile. The vast majority of premium tobacco is grown in one region of Cuba. 

 

Question: how can 27 plus marcas containing hundreds of different vitolas produce different flavor profiles when there’s only three primmings of a tobacco plant grown in the same region? 

 

Experts please advise, and feel free to miss the next 24:24 coming up with your answer. 

[Colt45]

Different farms / zones within a larger region. Various blending of the primings. I'm of the belief that across the board, Cuban cigars share more similarities than they have differences.

 

[Bri Fi]

I agree that Cubans have more similarities than differences but others would disagree. Which is why I posed this question. I can’t taste a huge difference between a RASS and a RJ short Churchill but there’s an obvious difference when compared to a bolivar RC. Some marcas are known for their sweet profiles while others are known for their spice. How many different ways can you blend three primmings between hundreds of vitolas? 

[Colt45]

55 minutes ago, Bri Fi said:

Which is why I posed this question.

Please take whatever I might say conversationally....

I do believe there are intentions for marque identity, and intentions for characteristics of the sizes within a marque. I do believe that a cigar's size plays a role in blending. I don't feel that when blending leaves, blenders have in mind the flavors we often describe while smoking.

That said, I think the reality of marque and size variation / identity comes to clearest light in blind tastings.

[RijkdeGooier]

1 hour ago, Bri Fi said:

So, the more you learn about a subject it seems like the less you know about a subject. Answers bring up new questions. Cigars are no different. When I first started getting into cigars I knew I was going to spend a lot of money. I do research on anything I’ll spend money on so I ended up with nothing but more questions. This is a simple question with a complex answer I hope one of you will have. 

 

My understanding about Cuban cigars is they are produced from the tobacco plants primmings. For the exception of Medio tempo, there’s only three primmings which make up a cigars flavor profile. The vast majority of premium tobacco is grown in one region of Cuba. 

 

Question: how can 27 plus marcas containing hundreds of different vitolas produce different flavor profiles when there’s only three primmings of a tobacco plant grown in the same region? 

 

Experts please advise, and feel free to miss the next 24:24 coming up with your answer. 

Try the following experiment. 

Empty a plot in your own garden. 

Plant tomatoes from the same seed at the same time.

Grow them and start eating from each plant as they mature. Take notes from each tasting. 

Multiply over an entire region, allowing for differences in wind, altitude, temp, rainfall and soil. 

 

[MD Puffer]

The one-word answer to what everyone else has already stated is:  Terroir

 

 

[Bri Fi]

7 minutes ago, MD Puffer said:

The one-word answer to what everyone else has already stated is:  Terroir

 

 

Thank you. Simple google search answered the question when I typed terroir. 

[Bri Fi]

1 minute ago, BirdDog said:

Interesting that you bring up RASS and RyJSC, I’m currently working through boxes of both of these and concluded the same thing, the RyJ flavors are slightly bolder but the profiles are extremely close, while my HdM Epi2’s are worlds away from these two and have a totally different profile. 

I’m currently hunting for sticks that have noticeably distinct profiles. Recently ordered a box of Sancho Panza and LGC based on reviews noting how different they are compared to other marcas.

I will say that my ability to taste certain flavors is much more limited than others. Mostly, I get the basics: sweet, spicy, creamy, woody, leathery. I cannot get much past that (within sweet I don’t often get cocoa or cake... and within spice I don’t get nutmeg or cinnamon etc). Every once in a while a flavor will kick me in the mouth like peanuts but it’s usually gone in a puff or two. I still enjoy this hobby very much. More for the relaxation than the flavors though. Maybe with more time as it’s only been a few years. 

[Jimmy_jack]

What if I told you there were no blends. What if I told you that's as far as the rabbit hole goes...

 

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

 

 

 

[ohbob976]

i was asking myself the same question the other day. also, how do they remain so consistent over the years. 

[Smallclub]

4 hours ago, MD Puffer said:

The one-word answer to what everyone else has already stated is:  Terroir

Exactly. Look at the Bordeaux or Bourgogne regions…

[DaBoot]

The consistency is what I marvel at, different years, different crops, different weather patterns, aging in different temperature patterns.... I’m glad they do it,,, so I can enjoy and relax 

[earthson]

.I would posit that some cigars incorporate unique strains of tobacco, or else tobacco that undergoes a unique process before rolling.  Sancho Panza and Juan Lopez spring to mind, as well as, of course, Cohiba.

Further interesting are cigars I suspect share some (though definitely not all) tobacco in common: Partagas and Diplomaticos (paprika), Upmann and Quay d'Orsay (breads and cream with age), Punch and Bolivar (forest floor and mushroom), Fonseca no 1 and cheaper RyJ (floral/vegetal).

My one wish from HSA (after that of them resurrecting skinny classics like Fancy Tales of Smoke and Flechas), is that they listed tobacco varietals in their marketing material like how many non-cuban manufacturers do.  Due to terroir and the unique organization of Havana cigar production, I don't think competitors would be a big risk.