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The Cuban "Mono-Blend"?

I sure hope this is all BS. You would think, given the importance of cigar exports to their economy, that they would give a s**t about doing things the right way. Commies! :angry:
 
Without knowing that the above might be true, when I was buying Cuban cigars, I always bought the cheapest double corona I could find. Didn't care what marca it was.

Bte Moki, do you recommend subscribing to that magazine?


Dan
 
[quote name='5 O'Clock Somewhere' post='621597' date='Feb 27 2008, 03:16 PM']I sure hope this is all BS. You would think, given the importance of cigar exports to their economy, that they would give a s**t about doing things the right way. Commies! :angry:[/quote]


Given the extreme poverty levels in Cuba, and how they treat their own citizens, what would make us think that their business aspect would approach the consumers of it's goods any better?

On the flip side of the article, this discussion just played into the intentions of that particular publication. With that in mind, the quality control does seem to be slipping here and there. Recently, a mastercase of defective Monte #2's left Cuba and was part of a group buy elsewhere under the guise of it being a top quality product, and there was another case of a box of Monte #2's with different shades of wrappers in the same box. Had there been stricter control, these cigars would never have left the factory.

I understand that these might be considered slips in management, and it happens with the overseers being human and all, but to presume that any of these incidents are perpetrated intentionally does sting a bit.
 
I know someone who just got a box of Partagas Shorts... and they were bundled together with a Cohiba ribbon. :)
 
I can't make comment about Cuban cigars because I've never been to Cuba and watched them roll. I can, however, say that I did see this happen in the General factory in Honduras with El Rey Del Mundo, Excalibur #1 Maddies and Punch Chateau L Dbl Maduro. Only difference is the tissue on the El Rey and the banding on the others! It would not surprise me if it was true elsewhere.
 
I find the article difficult to believe. I haven't been to Cuba and don't have any specific experience with blending, other than what I've read.

Blending across the cigar world is a closely guarded secret. It is my understanding that the various Cuban marcas contain leaf from different farms. The location in which ligero, seco and volado are grown play a role in the taste of the final product.

Sure, torcedors might be handed equal amounts of the 3 leaves to roll a Monte #2, and also might be provided a similar amount of the 3 leaves to roll a Bolivar Belicoso Finos. Part of the difference, as I understand, relates to where these leaves were grown.

Similar to wine, different fields or farms yield different product or results.

I'm not here to argue NC versus CC. I suggest that everyone smoke what they like, at the end of the day it is about enjoying the hobby.
 
This article makes me wish even more that on one of my several trips I'd have made it to a factory. the only time my plans came true, I was politely told that the camera would have to stay on the bus and wouldn't be allowed inside the factory. As much as I wanted to see the inside, I said "Fuggit" and wouldn't pay the 40 CUC for the trip.

I wonder now if the "Camera ban" kind of supports this theory, or if it's the reportedly bad working conditions inside the factories??

One thing that DID suprise me though, was the number of brands rolled at the same factories, brands that you would have assumed were in competition with each other. Kind of like a GM / Ford / Chrysler vehicle assembly plant!!!!

I wish I could remember the brands that were rolled at that site in Holguin I was supposed to go to.
 
moki said:
I know someone who just got a box of Partagas Shorts... and they were bundled together with a Cohiba ribbon. :)
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That kind of thing happens quite a bit.

An example was the slate of PLPC's cabs that had Partagas Shorts or Punch ribbons (I can't remember which exactly) that came out a few years ago.
 
moki said:
Ginseng said:
I think that to properly and fairly assess this accusation, first we must define the unit of analysis. Is it the factory? Is it the region inclusive of several factories? Is it the marca or specific vitolas in a marca? Or perhaps a vitola across marcas? Unless and until the unit of analysis is properly defined, progress against this claim, if any, will be slow to non-existent.

I'm not saying that there is or is not something to it, just that until we know what the key parameters are involved in cigar production and how they relate to the factors I identified above, all we have are apocryphal accounts. Granted, over time as more accounts arise from verifiable sources, cumulatively they may begin to carry weight, but are we there yet?

Wilkey
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I think the answer to that is "no, we're not there yet" -- but that was part of the point in my posting this. I was interested to hear if anyone had first-hand knowledge of seeing this happen.

I know a number of people whom I find personally credible that say they did indeed see it. I'm interested if anyone else has as well.
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I'm curious to know where your "personally credible" people got their first hand information. Are they blind? (No offense intended).
I visited a tobacco plantation last week and saw the amazing, labour-intensive operations undertaken to provide leaf of different characteristics to the factories. It was an education to see the differences in soils from farm to farm and to touch a capa leaf taken from the crown of the plant and feel the differences between it and a shade-grown leaf from only a km away.
In the factories there are dozens of people sorting and grading the leaves and there is a marked difference amoung the various leaves used for various blends. The blenders sort out all those leaves-millions of them- into packages of capa, ligero, seco and volado for each vitola to be rolled. I have watched the rollers line up at what looks like a row of tellers windows at a bank to receive and sign for the packages of blends for the particular cigar they are rolling. At H. Upmann I watched a master rolling perfect piramides and asked if they were Upmann No. 2. "No" he replied, "Montescristo". The lady rolling the Upmanns was several benches over and was using a completely different blend, judging by the look of the leaf (and I'm not really qualified to judge) and the code numbers on her package of leaf. Diplomaticos were being rolled in the same factory -totally different blend. The two rollers I watched making Salamones were amazing. They didn't give me one.
I saw the same situation at La Corona last week, at the old La Corona several years ago and at Partagas. The leaf is graded, sorted and the blends are selected. There is nothing random in the process of making up the blend for a particular cigar and I have never seen any evidence of any cigar being packaged as a different brand from the one planned and intended. There are no "failed Serie A" packaged as Punch Punch as one poster suggested.

BTW, the new Upmann factory has quality control stations everywhere and there was a room full of draw testing machines and an adjoining area where testers were smoking selected cigars to check the blend.
There is also a serious security effort with guards everywhere at La Corona and cameras at Upmann. It's going to be pretty hard for your "new amigo" who "works at the factory" to get anything out of the new factories.

Commander bob
FWIW, Upmann gave us a gift cigar; La Corona didn't. Cheap bastards.
 
cbob said:
I'm curious to know where your "personally credible" people got their first hand information. Are they blind? (No offense intended).
I visited a tobacco plantation last week and saw the amazing, labour-intensive operations undertaken to provide leaf of different characteristics to the factories. It was an education to see the differences in soils from farm to farm and to touch a capa leaf taken from the crown of the plant and feel the differences between it and a shade-grown leaf from only a km away.
In the factories there are dozens of people sorting and grading the leaves and there is a marked difference amoung the various leaves used for various blends. The blenders sort out all those leaves-millions of them- into packages of capa, ligero, seco and volado for each vitola to be rolled. I have watched the rollers line up at what looks like a row of tellers windows at a bank to receive and sign for the packages of blends for the particular cigar they are rolling. At H. Upmann I watched a master rolling perfect piramides and asked if they were Upmann No. 2. "No" he replied, "Montescristo". The lady rolling the Upmanns was several benches over and was using a completely different blend, judging by the look of the leaf (and I'm not really qualified to judge) and the code numbers on her package of leaf. Diplomaticos were being rolled in the same factory -totally different blend. The two rollers I watched making Salamones were amazing. They didn't give me one.
I saw the same situation at La Corona last week, at the old La Corona several years ago and at Partagas. The leaf is graded, sorted and the blends are selected. There is nothing random in the process of making up the blend for a particular cigar and I have never seen any evidence of any cigar being packaged as a different brand from the one planned and intended. There are no "failed Serie A" packaged as Punch Punch as one poster suggested.

BTW, the new Upmann factory has quality control stations everywhere and there was a room full of draw testing machines and an adjoining area where testers were smoking selected cigars to check the blend.
There is also a serious security effort with guards everywhere at La Corona and cameras at Upmann. It's going to be pretty hard for your "new amigo" who "works at the factory" to get anything out of the new factories.

Commander bob
FWIW, Upmann gave us a gift cigar; La Corona didn't. Cheap bastards.
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I believe that everything you've stated is absolutely correct... for the (relatively touristy) factories that you visited.

I also believe that everything you've stated is normally correct for most other factories, too.

But yes, I still do find the people I've discussed this with to be credible.
 
audilicious said:
I don't know, and it's definitely unacceptable, although I'm sure it happens, hopefully more more rarely than as a standard procedure.

but if in your testing you come across a low price replacement with the same mono-blend as a CoRo let me know!
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The aged Trinidad Reyes I smoked yesterday was similar to a Cohiba, less lemongrassy though, but not saving any money the Trini route...
 
moki said:
I believe that everything you've stated is absolutely correct... for the (relatively touristy) factories that you visited.
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"relatively touristy"??
Have you visited any factories lately?
The only factory left that allows "tourist" tours is Partagas and they don't let you see anything but the galeria.
Please let me know which factories you consider to be "non-touristy" and I'll see if I know anything about their blending policy.

I'm not putting down your "sources" just questioning the conclusions that may be drawn.

Commander Bob
Always learning.
 
Here's an interesting picture:

n644667361_456130_5894.jpg


This is take from a thread at CA: Caption for the picture: Jack commented: "this scene was so obscure for me, this guy was cutting the montecristo edmundos to make them become petit edmundos. they had a huge request on those and there was no time to make them. a massacre"

I guess in this case a Petite Edmundo really is a Petite Edmundo.
 
The cigar he is holding in his hand doesn't look like an Petite Edmundo to me. Neither to the cigars in front of the roller. Maybe it is just my eyes.
 
tandblov said:
The cigar he is holding in his hand doesn't look like an Petite Edmundo to me. Neither to the cigars in front of the roller. Maybe it is just my eyes.
Click to expand...

Look like they haven't been cut yet.
 
maybe it is true or not

but with these rumors, I often turn my head to the NC cigars companies that invest greatly in add in american magazine and tells myself 'go figure'
 
tandblov said:
The cigar he is holding in his hand doesn't look like an Petite Edmundo to me. Neither to the cigars in front of the roller. Maybe it is just my eyes.
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Unfortunately, Jack's picture really is worth a thousand words.
I was there.
They really were cutting Edmundos.

I have another (better) picture showing a guy with a giant pile of chopped-off pieces of Edmundos. (destined for Jose L. Piedras???)

Heartbreaking. :(

Commander Bob
Looking for those boxes of "Petit" Edmundos that taste like Edmundos. :laugh:
 
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