Interesting thoughts from Hamlet regarding how much flavor the wrapper imparts...

[vivalanation734]

I was browsing cigar videos on youtube and stumbled upon this... I think we can all agree that darker ≠ stronger, but what about how much flavor from a cigar comes from the wrapper?

*video skips to 4:00 mark for relevance*

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g40j79ulG1I&feature=player_detailpage#t=240s"]Hamlet Jamie Paredes cigar roller at la casa del habanos teddington london - YouTube[/ame]

Do you agree with Hamlet regarding this? Are CCs different than NCs?

For example, the Tatuaje 7th, Reserva, and Capa Especiale....?

 

[mthhurley]

Interesting on the wrapper. I was under the impression it imparted a lot more of the flavor than <10% as he indicates.

 

[njstone]

I'm not sure what I think. I agree that darker wrappers aren't always better for CCs, i think oil is what matters. But only 7-8% of the flavor? Obviously he's right in that if you pick cigar A that has a darker wrapper but different filler (like less ligero) vs cigar B that has a lighter wrapper (but more ligero), cigar B will obviously be stronger. The darkest Hoyo Epi #1 in the world won't be as strong as a light Mag 46. But if it's the SAME cigar (like a RASS or something), will the quality of the wrapper effect the final product noticably? I'd think it would.

There are a lot of cigars in the NC world where you'd find the blend and binder to be indenticle, but the wrappers are different (natural vs maduro, etc.). I'm not sure if the Tat 7th is this way or not (i.e. are the Reserva and Capa identical other than the wrappers?). But I can tell you that with different wrappers you usually get an entirely different cigar.

 

[vivalanation734]

I agree, NJ. Obviously you can't deny that darker &#8800; stronger and a lighter cigar with more ligero will generally have more power than a dark cigar with no ligero...

I think Hamlet is crazy in saying that only 7-8% of flavor comes from the wrapper..... Maybe is speaking quantitatively? Maybe only 7-8% of the cigar is wrapper leaf? lol

I'd be interested to hear thoughts from people who have swapped wrappers on cuban cigars to see if wrappers on habanos are as flavorful as wrappers from NCs...

 

[Bass man]

I have 2002 Partagas Lonsdales & Bolivar CEs, obth with light wrappers & both VERY strong.

 

[njstone]

Here's a thought. He talks about how the Cuban maduro wrappers are so different because they are aged before being used (as opposed to most Cuban wrappers/tobacco which is not). Many NC cigar makers age their tobacco before releasing the cigars into the wild, and in particular wrappers. Perhaps that's the key factor here.

I mean come one, the differences between a Padron '64 Natural and Maduro are more than 8% flavor, obviously. But those are well-aged leaves too ...

 

[TreeFrog Frank]

Yeah, I was surprised at the number he gave. I have always thought it is more.

(BTW... I LOVE this discussion... one of the things I love about this place. Thanks for finding that video, and sharing.)

 

[Danilo]

I think that the wrapper has more to do with the flavor than 10 percent...
If you take your cutter and just gently close it about an inch or 2 from the foot of a cigar before lighting it, you can smoke some of the cigar with no wrapper, then the rest with wrapper, and see how much it affects it for yourself.
Do it with a cigar that you know the taste of.

 

[stogies&hoagies]

I disagree. Maybe on a larger ring gauge, like 50+, it's like that, but on the size he's rolling, a thin ring gauge, it's much higher percentage flavorwise.

 

[ingenios]

I think where most of these "% flavor of the wrapper" discussions go awry is in thinking that we are only experiencing the amount of smoke the wrapper produces.

Your palate and overall sense of taste are good at tasting things that they actually come in contact with, like the wrapper. So "how much flavor the wrapper imparts" has at least as much to do with its actual flavor (in the classic sense like we experience food) as it does to the flavor it imparts when it burns. This flavor then combines with the smoke to create the complexity (or lack of it) that we talk about.

I think this is the reason the wrapper needs to be such a high-quality leaf, and the reason that it contributes disproportionately to the experience.

 

[BrooksW]

I think % the wrapper has on the flavor depends almost totally on what RG the cigar is.

 

[thatjohnguy]

great video, like how he removed the wrapper to smoke it and then returned to a stick with the wrapper

 

[Soundwave13]

One of the best cigars I've ever had was an 03' Parti 898 that I had re-wrapped with Nica Habano wrapper in Esteli. Determining how much flavor is effected by different wrappers is subjective, but in my experience with this and many other sticks, wrapper definitely has a HUGE impact on flavor.

I do think that he was trying to be conservative in his estimate or that is just how he perceives the effect. Either way - Hamlet can roll me some cigars any time!!!

 

[Alwayslit]

Wrapper has a very pronounced impact on the cigar. I highly doubt the 7 to 8 percent number he gave.

 

[Mutombo]

Interesting video. I also think the wrapper plays a much bigger part than less than 10% of the total flavor of the cigar.

I understand we're in the habanos section, but think the Tat 7th, 7th reserva, and 7th capa is a good example. As far as I know, the only difference between the three is the wrapper, and these taste like dramatically different cigars to my palette.

 

[vivalanation734]

I think % the wrapper has on the flavor depends almost totally on what RG the cigar is.

Agreed, obviously on a 60 RG (read: stupid) cigar its going to have less of an impact than on a 42 RG.

 

[blessednxs65]

I have smoked some of my favorite sticks sans wrapper and came away with a very different take on the cigar. For example, I smoked an aged Padron 3000 and the one w/o was a cigar so underwhelming, I may have never smokes one again.

Percent impact...25% in this experiment.


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- Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Ahmed]

I don't think his completely right. A cigar without a wrapper will not give you a 50% of the flavor you get from the same cigar with the wrapper! Huh??

All in all it is interesting

 

[maverickdrinker]

GOnna ask him about this when I see him in a couple of weeks.

 

[PLUSH]

I call BS! I can not remember where I saw it, it was years ago, but someone did the math on this. Broke it done for each vitola and what percentage each wrapper made up in the overall composition of each cigar. So if, on a robusto, it was like 11%, for a lancero or some other small rg, it wold be like 36 - 42%.