Dyed Wrappers on Cigars

[dpricenator]

I really don't care what they make the dye from. It comes off on my lips and fingers, it turns my spit brown. Either way there are plenty of premium cigars on the market that do not do this. His explanation was the tobacco is so good it leaves stains. or something to that effect.

 

[Clint]

Maybe I am too passionate about cigars, but I consider dying cigars to be a disgrace, and a blatant slap in the face to the most important part of the equation: The Customer.

This is equivalent to selling an expensive car, and having the paint job dissolve when you drive it out of the lot. Sure, the cost is more, I get it…But it’s the same idea.

Hey RP....…Pick up a real cigar sometime and take note that the sheen and oiliness comes from using quality product instead of crap hidden under makeup.

 

[AR..]

I hope this doesn't start happening with the 601 Greens..lol

 

[Cigary43]

Wow...just seeing the photo and reading about this is very disturbing. I would expect to see and hear something from their camps to answer this without just dismissing it. If the cigars are indeed dyed I won't buy another one of his cigars....period.

 

[Hardcore]

Maybe I am too passionate about cigars, but I consider dying cigars to be a disgrace, and a blatant slap in the face to the most important part of the equation: The Customer.

This is equivalent to selling an expensive car, and having the paint job dissolve when you drive it out of the lot. Sure, the cost is more, I get it…But it’s the same idea.

Hey RP....…Pick up a real cigar sometime and take note that the sheen and oiliness comes from using quality product instead of crap hidden under makeup.

Hell ya! Once I heard they dyed their leaves I said I'd never smoke another one of their sticks. Not that I'm missing out on anything.

 

[strife]

Came across this old newsgroup reply to the RP issue. The poster swears that the liquid being applied was water only and applied to keep the maduro wrapper from becoming too brittle during rolling. Either way that picture is nasty!!

"I, and 7 other members of our club, were in Honduras in October as guests of
Rocky. We got to tour every facet of the operation from seed to box making.
I saw rollers making the very dark maduro cigars. The maduro leaf is very
fragile and the roller uses some water to soften the leaf and avoid breakage
while rolling. The water releases natural colors from the leaf, like making
tea, and it gets on everything.

Unless there was some secret room where the dye was applied I can tell you
that there is no dye in Rockys cigars.

Here is a pic of the roller rolling a dark maduro cigar.
http://www.metrocigar.com/honduras/PA260060a.JPG

Hope this clears the air on this subject.

Roscoe
The Metropolitan Society
http://www.metrocigar.com

Original Link

 

[pfm721]

Strife that is interesting. I'm going to La Aurora in a couple of weeks. Hopefully I'll get to see them working with some maduro leaf and whether it's like that for them when they roll them. That picture is straight nasty though.

 

[ctaylor]

Strife that is interesting. I'm going to La Aurora in a couple of weeks. Hopefully I'll get to see them working with some maduro leaf and whether it's like that for them when they roll them. That picture is straight nasty though.

I would bet they don't. The Aurora Preferido SG Maddy isn't black, it is a dark brown, it isn't even all the same shade. I have some that the color of the wrapper goes from a dark brown to a medium brown. It isn't the prettiest or most attractive looking wrapper, but it is the way they should look IMO. The all black cigars, like the A.B. Tempus maddy, isn't a natural looking color for a cigar. I would much rather a box of stick that vary in color over a box of dye. How many actually care what the stick looks like? All I care about is how it tastes, stop dying the cigars!
Enjoy the tour!

 

[njstone]

Came across this old newsgroup reply to the RP issue. The poster swears that the liquid being applied was water only and applied to keep the maduro wrapper from becoming too brittle during rolling. Either way that picture is nasty!!

Interesting. I've heard numerous times that the "color augmentation" process involves using color from the tobacco itself--so maybe this "wetting" of the leaf is the means by which the do that? Or maybe the coloring is just a by-product of this wetting process, rather than the actual purpose. This theory would actually jive with the comments that the supposed RP rep made here the other day. Very interesting.

In any case--there is something "odd" about some of the maduros on the market these days, and I don't like it. They shoul figure out another way of dealing with the fragile wrapper leaf.

 

[Soundwave13]

When I was at the Drew Estates factory I witnessed a similar scene - they would dip their hands in water and wet the leaves before rolling- their hands were brown and muddy looking - I questioned Nick & Pete about it - they were both adamant that only water was being used (the 'infusion process' was some other process). I wonder if any Acids 'bleed'?

Now, while at the My Father factory - no one at any point (that I recall) put water on the wrapper using this method, instead they moisturized the leaves by shaking the bunches in 'misters'. It seems every factory has their own methodology on making the leaves elastic enough for rolling...

One other point - the only other stick I've had 'bleed' badly was a Padilla 1968, never smoked another since (didn't care for them all that much to begin with). I'm not defending RP or disputing the 'bleed', but that picture does not necessarily prove that they use dye.

 

[benday]

i did the moist towel theory on a rocky patel olde world reserve last night and found some serious brown color bleeding onto the cloth...the cigar also lighted up a bit after this process.

out of curiosity, i did the same test on a tatuaje black tubo. well i must say that the black tubo had some brown color bleed onto the cloth but it was very faint in comparison to the olde world reserve and the tatuaje had no color lightening after the process.

despite the rumors about rocky patel and the dying that they may be doing, i would like to know why some cigars bleed color more than others and why this improper bleeding is typically found on cheaper hand rolled cigars.

 

[dpricenator]

Just a thought I had as I read thru another thread.....

This topic was 2 months old and would have only gotten older had it not been bumped. The conversation had been had, and WAS over.

Again, some of the cigars are in my flavor profile, and have a place in my rotation.

 

[sam a]

When I was at the Drew Estates factory I witnessed a similar scene - they would dip their hands in water and wet the leaves before rolling- their hands were brown and muddy looking - I questioned Nick & Pete about it - they were both adamant that only water was being used (the 'infusion process' was some other process). I wonder if any Acids 'bleed'?

Now, while at the My Father factory - no one at any point (that I recall) put water on the wrapper using this method, instead they moisturized the leaves by shaking the bunches in 'misters'. It seems every factory has their own methodology on making the leaves elastic enough for rolling...

One other point - the only other stick I've had 'bleed' badly was a Padilla 1968, never smoked another since (didn't care for them all that much to begin with). I'm not defending RP or disputing the 'bleed', but that picture does not necessarily prove that they use dye.

i've actually had some liga privadas bleed on me also casa fernandez and di fazio... i think its more common than most think. but i'll give them the benefit of the doubt seeing as i am still alive.

 

[SkinsFanLarry]

I have seen the same thing with La Gloria Cubana Serie R maduro's.

 

[DLP036]

Since nicotine is transdermal shouldn't the roller that's wetting the leaf be "high" all day long??

 

[Tanga]

Very interesting thread this!

 

[Ahmed]

What a sham, I'm happy that I didn't really like it.

 

[pnoguy]

Just for giggles, I did a little test on an RP Cuban Blend I received in lotto winnings. I wet my index finger slightly with saliva and rubbed it gently in the middle of the stick. My fingertip came back a pretty impressive shade of bright orange, and the wrapper was blotchy, although not horrible looking, where I had rubbed. The stick itself wasn't quite my profile, but, again, not horrible. So, what does this all mean, exactly? I dunno.....

 

[hdroadglide]

Just for giggles, I did a little test on an RP Cuban Blend I received in lotto winnings. I wet my index finger slightly with saliva and rubbed it gently in the middle of the stick. My fingertip came back a pretty impressive shade of bright orange, and the wrapper was blotchy, although not horrible looking, where I had rubbed. The stick itself wasn't quite my profile, but, again, not horrible. So, what does this all mean, exactly? I dunno.....

you've got some pretty nasty saliva?????:lookaroun

 

[Clint]

Pretty heated debate going over Rocky Patel using dye in their wrappers.

When cigar enthusiasts dedicate their time, money, and passion to a brand, it’s easy to have some strong opinions flying around when their brand is under scrutiny.

Cigars have been my hobby for over 20 years and I am passionate about them.

I have said this before in this thread...

In my opinion, I feel that dying a cigar’s wrapper borders on unethical, and it is at the very least a slap in the customer’s face. And isn’t the customer the most important piece of the puzzle?

It’s one thing to simply dislike a cigar based on lack of enjoyment (i.e. flavor, strength, construction…the list goes on). Opinions on the enjoyment or lack of enjoyment provides healthy debate. It makes BOTL and sites like it fun and interesting, and it stimulates interest and participation on the boards.

But the ingredients and physical construction techniques used by a brand is an entirely different story.

A cigar’s color, texture, and appearance should be a result of the unaltered leaf….NOT from an additive designed to deceive the customer.

To my knowledge, RP hasn’t even had the respect to address the issue to their customers, which compounds the problem. (If I am incorrect here, I apologize and would love to see any/all statements from RP)

When Pete discovered that there was an issue with the Boris packaging, he immediately posted the facts and recommended solutions to the issue on his website...The most important part of the puzzle (customer) was a priority; and the issue was brought to light along with a solution.

I guess my question is, where are RP’s priority for the dye issue and the lack of addressing the concerns of their customers?