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.

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 culebraâ??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.

Labels: Cigar-School, Cigar-Stories, Unique-Cigars

Permalink posted by Keith @ 9:00 PM, 0 comments links to this post

~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

Labels: Cigar-Reviews, Cuban-Cigars

Permalink posted by Keith @ 6:00 PM, 0 comments links to this post