Monday, May 23, 2005

Culebra Cigar - Description and History

I have noticed some queries coming in from the search engines about the history of culebra that come into the glossary page. The glossary page does not give anything more than a brief description of the cigar, so I am going to write a supplemental entry about these interesting cigars.

Culebra Cigar

Simply speaking it is 3 extra-long pantaletas braided together, and intended to be smoked separately. The cigar is created by moistening all parts of the tobacco to a very high level (80%) so that it can be molded easily. There is a greater chance of draw issues in culebras based on their construction.

The average torcidor is not trained to make the culebra, although there are a few brands that have a line (like Partagas and Davidoff I believe) that can be found regularly. Generally, you need to get them from a tobacco artisan.

Historically speaking, the culebra (which means snake in Spanish) is a unique cigar that that has been around since early 1800s. There are two stories I have heard as to their origin:

  1. factory owners would give the culebraĆ¢€™s to their workers in an attempt to assure that the workers were not smoking the profits.
  2. much less fanciful, and probably more likely, it was pure marketing- an attempt by a factory to develop a new line by a business man (not a roller)
Anyone really interested in getting a hold of one and can't, contact me, and I will try to sort you out.

Wednesday, May 04, 2005

Review - Trinidad Cervantes

~FROM 4/23/2005~
Name:
Trinidad Size: Cervantes
Origin: Cuba Construction: Hand
Purchased: Gift of Manager
Price: ?? Smoked: Case Del Habano - CR
Accompanied by: Coffee (Americano)

Trinidad has been known to be a "stronger" cigar. In other occasions, I have noticed that the term "stronger" is often used when cigars lack a complete, or full, flavor- not the case here.

The construction was excellent, although I was interested to see that the head of the cigar was twisted instead of capped. This, of course, is not an issue; it is just surprising based on the superb presentation. In addition, it seemed a bit longer than many of the other Cervantes that I have smoked- again no problem there.

The cigar had an excellent pre-smoke aroma that was complimented by it's honey colored wrapper with a delicate taste of raisins, but no spice. My first draw was exceptional; the smooth and creamy smoke perfectly rolled into my mouth. It burned fairly well with no real problems. The flavor was full and consistent throughout.

I enjoyed every minute of this fine cigar, and would recommend it to anyone that likes a medium to strong cigar. It's complex flavor makes it a desirable cigar for any serious smoker.

Overall Score: 93/100
Flavor:
93/100
Construction: 90/100
Presentation:
95/100