Cigar Buyer section Cigar Production
Styles of presentation
Choices and more choices. There are six forms of presentation for individual Habanos, and an abundance of options when it comes to the packs you can buy.
With bands The classic fully-dressed Habano. Sometimes for special limited editions a second band is added. Without bands Some brands’ vitola escape the Anilladora’s attention entirely whilst others do so only occasionally. See ‘Cabinet Selection - SLB’. Cedar-wrap (cedros) The subtle aroma of ced...
By Dominic Roskrow from Issue 6 published on 11/11/2005
Keeping Habanos
Habanos can be kept for a good 15 years, sometimes longer, and will, like exceptional wines, improve with age.
The right conditions. Habanos should be stored at between 16°C and 18°C and in a relative humidity of 65 to 70 percent. The humidity is most crucial. If a Habano becomes too wet it will not smoke. If it dries out, it will taste harsh. As humidity varies with temperature changes, it is also import...
By Dominic Roskrow from Issue 6 published on 11/11/2005
Shapes and sizes
One of the glories of Habanos is the sheer choice – 33 brands with more than 240 different cigars between them. Here are 12 of the main shapes and sizes it is useful to know about.
Habanos come in lengths from under 4 inches (100 mm) to over 9 inches (230 mm). The industry standard measure for diameter is known as ring gauge, and is expressed in 64ths of an inch. Ring gauges vary from 23 (ie 23/64 inch or 9.1 mm) to 52 (ie 52/64 inch or 20.6 mm). In Cuba, the sizes are calle...
By Dominic Roskrow from Issue 5 published on 15/09/2005
Looking good
No product on earth enjoys a more painstaking treatment in its presentation and packaging, starting with the perfect colour-matching of the wrappers
SORTING THE COLOURS Wrappers come in many finely distinguished shades of colour, and great care is taken to ensure that all of the cigars in any one box are the exact same shade. The colour of a Habano wrapper is purely natural – no artificial process is used to force it. Leaves from the upper lev...
By Dominic Roskrow from Issue 4 published on 10/05/2005
How a Habano is made
Time has done its work, and the leaf is ready at last to play its part in the making of a Habano. Here we describe the extraordinary craft that has changed little in almost 200 years.
VARIATIONS IN THE METHOD OF MAKING All but a small number of Habanos are made totally by hand with a filler composed of complete leaves. These are the classic Totalmente a Mano Tripa Larga (long filler) Habanos. Some others are made totally by hand, but the filler is partly composed of shorter sec...
By Dominic Roskrow from Issue 3 published on 01/05/2005
Journey of the leaf
In our first issue we explained the intense growing process needed to produce leaves of sufficient quality to produce fine cigars. In this issue we follow the leaf from field to barn
Growing the leaf is just the start of the story, with many patient stages of processing yet to come. Nothing can be hurried. The diagrams show the path that each type of leaf must take, from the farmer’s curing barn to its final resting place in the warehouse where it will be aged. Many months and...
By Dominic Roskrow from Issue 2 published on 01/11/2004
How to make magic
You may know how to smoke them, but do you have any idea of the work that goes in to producing a fine cigar? We go behind the scenes in Cuba
Every leaf in a Habano is Tabaco Negro Cubano – native Cuban Black Tobacco – directly descended from the plants that Columbus first discovered more than 500 years ago. Two distinct forms of cultivation produce the different types of leaf required. Wrapper leaves are grown in tapado (covered) fields...
By Dominic Roskrow from Issue 1 published on 01/06/2004
