Big News out of Cuba

[Wasch_24]

Credit to Rob Ayala:

So what is new from Cuba...a hell of a lot. Let me address some of the issues in point form:

1. All cigars out of Habanos s.a are now frozen in a new state of the art freezing facility at the Habanos s.a warehouse. This has been going on for the best part of 18 months. The Cubatobacco Tobacco institute has had a great deal of input into the process to ensure that there are no molecular changes. The process was introduced to eliminate any issues of tobacco beetle.

2. Hand rolled Partagas Culebra's will be out in 2007. Machine rolled Partagas Culebra will not be seen again.

3. A Short R&J Cazadores will be released in 2007. Same punch in a smaller format.

4. ALL cigars being rolled today are using three year old Ligero, two year old Seco and one year old Volado in their fillers. This is why cigars are smoking better earlier than previously. I personally inspected the markings of bales being used in the factories to verify this.

5. New mechanical wrapper moisturising machines are being used in all factories to ensure correct moisture component. The machines are state of the art (Italian made).

6. All cigars are now being draw tested. Quality proceedures have been honed even since my last visit in February.

7. Habanos s.a has been setting aside and aging tobacco since 2002. Look forward to better cigars utilising more aged tobacco.

8. New Cohiba Maduro cigars will be released in 2007. Wrapper 5 years, filler 3 years. Natural Maduro process.

9. 80% of all tobacco grown is Habanos 2000 (has been since 2002 and will continue to be until 2009). Small amount of Corojo is still being grown and is used as wrapper for the LE series. They are forwarding me a timeline showing what is and has been grown since 1998. This has been promised before but should come to fruition this time.

10. They refute cooking tobacco. Fermentation process is not a one process suits all. Each crop, each bale is assessed subject to leaf quality (oil content/thickness etc) and then fermentation is adjusted proportionately. This has always been so.

11. Tasted the new Montecristo Petite Robusto. While fresh....it showed promise as the quality of the tobacco used was high.

12. New cigars to be released will continue to be in the larger formats for the forseeable future. The reason is simply sales. The two topselling premium cigars are the Cohiba Siglo VI....and the Montecristo Edmundo (surprised me but wildly popular in Europe). I proposed the release or re-release of some thinner gauge classics. I have to submit a proposal for consideration. They are not convinced it will be a winner based on current experience and sales.

He just got back and posted this in his forum.

Pretty interesting.

 

[caudio51]

Very cool news

 

[Wasch_24]

#1 is pretty big.

 

[caudio51]

#1 is huge. I'm curious to know how they know that no molecular changes take place.

 

[sarnone]

This process is already applied to golf equipment. Jack Nicklaus has a line of clubs that is cryogenically frozen in nitrogen-oxide I believe. A computer gradually decreases the temperature in stages to 300 degrees below zero. Don't know how long they stay at this temp. The result is a much stronger club.

http://www.nitrofreeze.com/golf_freeze.html

 

[tobby4]

thats awesome

 

[caudio51]

How's the swing in that temp?

:rofl:

 

[DocLogic77]

Forgive me for my ignorance but I'm not crazy about CC being frozen. I don't know what this will mean taste wise for long term aging.

 

[sarnone]

It takes a delicate swing since your nipples get extremely hard at that temp and can break off. :laugh:

 

[Headbanger]

That explains why many people post newer sticks smoke good ROTT. Makes sense if the statements above are true.

Who is Rob Ayala and what forum?

 

[cvm4]

Thanks for the info. Todd. #1 is very big and doesn't Intertabac alread freeze their cigars when they come in? Or is that 5th Ave?

 

[Jwrussell]

#1 and #4 are the biggest pieces of news in that post. Just awesome.

 

[Wasch_24]

That explains why many people post newer sticks smoke good ROTT. Makes sense if the statements above are true.

Who is Rob Ayala and what forum?

He is the owner of a cigar shop in Australia.

Just Google "Cuban Cigars" and look at the sponsored links on the right. :thumbsup:

 

[Moglman]

Rob is a helpful guy. Thanks for the post Todd.

 

[Wasch_24]

Forgive me for my ignorance but I'm not crazy about CC being frozen. I don't know what this will mean taste wise for long term aging.

Some importers, as Cliff mentioned (I think it is the Swiss Importer), already do this and if done right there is research that shows no detectable change in the flavors of the cigar.

This is a very good thing IMO.

Also, I think I have read somewhere that most NC companies do this already.

 

[pharmgator]

How do you suppose they do #6? Nevermind, I don't want to think about it.

 

[Fox]

Really great news. I suspect #4 is why we see people reporting high quality smoking experiences with fresh cigars a lot more often. #6 is a blessing. One of my biggest problems with Habanos over the years are cigars that have draw difficulties. I have found such to be the case FAR more often than with comparable NC's (ring gauge and length). I hope this will fix some of the problems inherent with the smaller smokes; e.g. - Coronas, Marevas, etc. Some of them used to be really great, but the risk of throwing out a large number because they are unsmokable makes their purchase risky.

Theory: could it be that higher sales are reflected in the larger sizes because the market is fed up with things like draw problems? I rarely have a draw problem with largers smokes, hence, I tend to purchase more of them due to frustration. I am not saying one or the other is superior, but my own experiences have moved me away from some of my favorite Corona, Mareva and Lonsdales smokes due to the issues stated. S. A. would be well advised to look deeper at the market issues as I suspect it is not only a love of the larger sizes.

 

[joshua]

How do you suppose they do #6? Nevermind, I don't want to think about it.

Probably somethin like this:
http://www.fxtech.com/gallery/honduras/Honduras_16

 

[caudio51]

Probably somethin like this:
http://www.fxtech.com/gallery/honduras/Honduras_16

Thanks for the pic.

Never saw one before.

 

[CWS]

That machine looks like it was made when castro was in diapers. Agree this is all great news.