התמלול המלא של Audience Questions

lot of a lot of curves to it. 00:02:21.599 --> 00:02:28.719 It's it's it's twisted, it's thin, and it looks a little bit like the the animal for which it's named. 00:02:28.879 --> 00:02:30.560 Calabra is Spanish for snake. 00:02:30.879 --> 00:02:31.120 Right. 00:02:31.280 --> 00:02:38.319 And this is this is seven by thirty-eight, and I'm smoking the one from El Pulpo, the Octo Ocho. 00:02:40.000 --> 00:02:44.479 So after that, it it kind of became a novelty. 00:02:44.719 --> 00:02:48.560 So there was there's like the factory lore story. 00:02:48.800 --> 00:02:52.159 There's no factory I know of where that rule is in place. 00:02:52.479 --> 00:02:52.639 Right. 00:02:52.719 --> 00:02:53.599 I've never seen that either. 00:02:53.759 --> 00:02:56.560 Yeah, it it sounds like a good system because you could say, hey, they stand out. 00:02:56.639 --> 00:03:04.479 If you see a guy smoking a straight cigar, like, wait, he's stealing from me, he's not smoking what the factories we go to, people smoke normal straight size cigarettes. 00:03:04.639 --> 00:03:10.000 I mean, we've been to a lot of factories in a lot of countries, and and even the factories in Havana. 00:03:10.159 --> 00:03:12.240 I mean, nobody's people just smoking regular cigars. 00:03:12.319 --> 00:03:14.000 Nobody, nobody's smoking a Ben cigar. 00:03:14.400 --> 00:03:14.639 Nobody. 00:03:15.520 --> 00:03:22.960 It's possibly uh uh a story that happened in one factory at a time in history, or or maybe it was something that happened before and doesn't happen anymore. 00:03:23.199 --> 00:03:24.159 Either way, it's a good story. 00:03:24.240 --> 00:03:26.800 But nowadays, collabers are cool-looking cigars. 00:03:26.879 --> 00:03:29.520 Uh, they're meant for sharing, they come in braids of three. 00:03:29.680 --> 00:03:34.639 So, you know, you and a couple of friends, you you you split the braid up, don't smoke them all together. 00:03:35.680 --> 00:03:38.000 One of the questions was how how do you smoke how do you smoke? 00:03:38.479 --> 00:03:42.960 Because I think some people, when they see it, I've seen some people think, oh, do you smoke all three at once? 00:03:43.120 --> 00:03:46.159 Do you clip these three heads and light up and smoke it like that? 00:03:46.400 --> 00:03:50.800 No, these are three individually uh these are three individual cigars. 00:03:50.960 --> 00:03:53.199 You share them or you smoke them in a different time. 00:03:53.280 --> 00:03:55.280 You do not smoke all three at once. 00:03:55.520 --> 00:04:00.479 And I think another question that uh could be a follow-up to that is how do they draw? 00:04:00.639 --> 00:04:05.439 Because when you see a cigar twisted like that, your first inclination is it's probably not going to draw very well. 00:04:05.520 --> 00:04:07.599 But Ryder's drawing perfectly, yeah. 00:04:07.919 --> 00:04:13.680 And these, and we rate these because we have a section called miscellaneous. 00:04:13.919 --> 00:04:23.279 And it's about once or twice a year that that shows up in the issue, and you have these these odd cigars that that kind of defy any traditional category that we have. 00:04:23.360 --> 00:04:25.600 So that's where we we rate the kulebras. 00:04:25.839 --> 00:04:30.000 And this one, the El Popo, rates very well, but they're not the only one making them. 00:04:30.079 --> 00:04:31.439 They still make them in Havana. 00:04:31.600 --> 00:04:36.000 There's there is a Partigus uh Kulebra, which is really the most famous, right? 00:04:36.079 --> 00:04:38.000 It's the uh it's the iconic Culebra. 00:04:38.319 --> 00:04:41.360 Yeah, I think it's the only one that's still that's still left in production. 00:04:41.439 --> 00:04:44.480 I don't think they make a ton of them, but uh, but they're still out there. 00:04:44.720 --> 00:04:47.360 You know, I'll tell you one thing about the draw with Culebras. 00:04:47.439 --> 00:04:49.680 I have never had a Culebra with a bad draw. 00:04:50.319 --> 00:04:51.519 They've always been fine. 00:04:51.839 --> 00:04:53.600 You never had an issue. 00:04:54.000 --> 00:04:56.560 And I remember you smoked one for Connoisseurs Corner. 00:04:56.639 --> 00:04:57.680 We still have them in the humidor. 00:04:57.920 --> 00:04:58.639 Those old Hoyos? 00:04:58.879 --> 00:05:05.199 The Hoyo de Montereys from the 50s that were they were culebras and they had these uh these kind of pointy tips. 00:05:05.360 --> 00:05:06.240 They weren't as long as this. 00:05:06.399 --> 00:05:08.079 Right, there were like smaller versions of that, yeah. 00:05:08.480 --> 00:05:10.000 But uh really interesting. 00:05:10.160 --> 00:05:16.399 Um uh again, just a novelty that has endured over time. 00:05:16.560 --> 00:05:21.120 And then some companies will make them in a limited edition capacity. 00:05:21.279 --> 00:05:23.839 I know the Tatwa He uh has one. 00:05:23.920 --> 00:05:25.600 I think it's the the old man in the C. 00:05:26.240 --> 00:05:28.240 C with the letters C not S E A. 00:05:28.319 --> 00:05:28.879 Yeah, very clever. 00:05:29.199 --> 00:05:30.959 And and that's uh a cooler. 00:05:31.199 --> 00:05:33.199 I know Oliva had one for a while. 00:05:33.920 --> 00:05:34.959 Davidoff's still next to it. 00:05:35.120 --> 00:05:36.160 Davidoff, yes. 00:05:36.399 --> 00:05:38.079 So you see them around. 00:05:38.160 --> 00:05:43.439 Uh they're cool, they're novelties, and just um don't smoke, don't smoke them all at once. 00:05:43.600 --> 00:05:46.000 Yeah, they don't be afraid of the snakes, they're fun smokes. 00:05:46.240 --> 00:05:48.480 Uh, Braden also had a follow-up question, another question. 00:05:48.560 --> 00:05:49.360 Good questions, Braden. 00:05:49.600 --> 00:05:53.759 What are the differences between a closed foot and an open foot on a cigar? 00:05:53.920 --> 00:06:01.519 I mean, most of the cigars that you see in a humidor have an open foot, which is uh, you know, the the cigar is cut at the finishing process. 00:06:02.000 --> 00:06:03.439 Talk about that process, Greg.

00:06:04.000 --> 00:06:08.639 When they apply the wrapper, there's always going to be a portion of wrapper leaf that goes over the foot. 00:06:08.720 --> 00:06:12.000 So to clean it up, it's cut, it's a nice clean appearance. 00:06:12.319 --> 00:06:15.680 The cigars we're smoking are closed, uh open foot cigars, traditional. 00:06:16.079 --> 00:06:17.120 And they're ready to light. 00:06:17.199 --> 00:06:31.680 But then when you have a closed foot, that bit of wrapper that extends rather than snipping it off, uh, for aesthetic reasons, uh, the cigar maker may decide, no, let's just take it and tuck it in and kind of wrap it and close it. 00:06:31.759 --> 00:06:33.920 So it gives it this rustic appearance. 00:06:34.240 --> 00:06:40.560 But as a smoker, what you can do is it gives you the opportunity to taste the wrapper by itself. 00:06:41.040 --> 00:06:51.439 And then once it starts combusting with the binder and filler, um, you know, you get you get the more cohesive smoking experience that the that the blender intended. 00:06:51.600 --> 00:06:53.839 And it's just an interesting exercise. 00:06:54.000 --> 00:07:05.920 And it's a study in in one, smoking one type of tobacco versus many, and two, asking yourself, if you're a pensive cigar smoker, how much influence does a rapper have? 00:07:06.000 --> 00:07:08.319 Because you taste it and you say, ah, that's what the rapper tastes like. 00:07:08.399 --> 00:07:09.040 Oh, okay. 00:07:09.199 --> 00:07:13.360 Is it, you know, is it dominating the rest of the blend or is it just harmonizing with everything? 00:07:13.600 --> 00:07:15.439 I don't mind that type of a cigar on occasion. 00:07:15.519 --> 00:07:18.879 You I do like that first taste of wrapper as an experiment. 00:07:19.040 --> 00:07:22.079 What I don't like is the maybe the other type of closed foot. 00:07:22.160 --> 00:07:23.439 I don't like a figurado. 00:07:23.519 --> 00:07:24.800 You see this on occasion. 00:07:25.040 --> 00:07:32.160 We see it in some of our taste tests where the bottom of the cigar, the foot of the cigar, is completely closed and you have to slice it to open it up. 00:07:32.319 --> 00:07:33.120 I don't like that at all. 00:07:33.439 --> 00:07:34.399 That's beyond closed. 00:07:34.480 --> 00:07:36.480 That's like that's like double capped. 00:07:36.720 --> 00:07:38.560 You know, that's a sealed cigar. 00:07:38.720 --> 00:07:41.519 And and and you have to slice it off. 00:07:41.600 --> 00:07:42.560 And uh, I'm with you. 00:07:42.720 --> 00:07:44.879 I find that I I don't understand why. 00:07:44.959 --> 00:07:47.279 I I find it a you know, who wants to do more work? 00:07:47.519 --> 00:07:50.160 Yeah, I find it sloppy myself, to be perfectly honest. 00:07:50.399 --> 00:07:54.959 Moving on to uh another reader question, another listener viewer question. 00:07:55.040 --> 00:07:56.639 Um, Martin Wasaki. 00:07:57.199 --> 00:07:58.000 Let's see. 00:07:58.240 --> 00:08:04.800 When aging a cigar, Martin says, is it best to leave it in the cellophane or remove the cellophane wrapper? 00:08:04.959 --> 00:08:06.240 Now we have different thoughts on this. 00:08:06.319 --> 00:08:07.600 Maybe I'll start with this. 00:08:07.839 --> 00:08:12.879 If if I have a desktop humidor, I'm gonna take a box of cigars and put it into the desktop. 00:08:13.040 --> 00:08:21.120 I typically take the cellophane off many of them and leave like you know, five, six or so with the cellophane, because cellophane is protective. 00:08:21.199 --> 00:08:32.639 And I always like if I'm traveling with cigars, I like to grab the ones in cello first, adds an extra layer of protection, even if I'm putting it in a cigar case or just in my uh my jacket pocket or my shirt pocket. 00:08:32.879 --> 00:08:34.720 Cello adds a little bit of extra protection. 00:08:34.799 --> 00:08:37.360 But I I typically take it off for the the long-term aging. 00:08:37.600 --> 00:08:38.799 You feel you feel differently about this. 00:08:39.360 --> 00:08:45.519 I think for long-term aging, the cellophane will help the cigar retain its power. 00:08:45.679 --> 00:08:52.480 I think the dissipation of nicotine over time is really, really slowed down with the cellophane. 00:08:53.360 --> 00:09:00.480 And we kind of I wouldn't say proved it, but there was there was some demonstrable evidence supporting what I just said. 00:09:00.639 --> 00:09:09.679 If you remember, Dave, when you and I smoked those cohiba lanceros from the late 80s that were still in the dress box and still with cellophane. 00:09:10.000 --> 00:09:10.639 How can I forget? 00:09:10.879 --> 00:09:13.679 And they were extraordinarily powerful. 00:09:14.000 --> 00:09:18.080 They were brilliant, brilliant cigars that were just they were so alive. 00:09:18.240 --> 00:09:19.600 They were they were magical. 00:09:19.919 --> 00:09:31.759 And we had had cigars only a few years older, uh younger, excuse me, um, that that were packed in the varnish boxes uncellophaned, and they weren't anywhere near as powerful. 00:09:32.080 --> 00:09:35.360 The cello can retain the power, yeah, absolutely. 00:09:35.519 --> 00:09:40.399 And I think it's also important to note that you you you don't have to take the cellophane off to allow the cigars to breathe. 00:09:40.559 --> 00:09:45.200 That's uh the air gets through that cellophane, but it does slow it down. 00:09:45.360 --> 00:09:53.360 And also, uh, you know, if your humidor runs dry, you know, uh sometimes you forget to put the water in and the the humidor might run dry. 00:09:53.440 --> 00:09:56.080 That cellophane acts like a like a guardian. 00:09:56.159 --> 00:09:57.279 It buys you a little bit of time. 00:09:57.440 --> 00:10:17.919 The cigars won't dry out nearly as fast when they have cellophane on them as the it it allows for those those uh variations because no humidor runs perfectly 100% of the time, whether it's desktop, whether it's it's something with active humidification, whether it's large cabinets, it doesn't matter.

00:10:18.000 --> 00:10:19.600 Nothing's always running perfectly. 00:10:19.759 --> 00:10:25.759 So if it's if it's outside of Cello, um you you may see the effects of that. 00:10:25.840 --> 00:10:28.240 Where in Cello, it's a little more forgiving. 00:10:28.559 --> 00:10:29.759 Martin had another question. 00:10:29.840 --> 00:10:31.039 That's another good question. 00:10:31.200 --> 00:10:33.360 He likes 72% humidity. 00:10:33.519 --> 00:10:35.519 Is that too high for aging? 00:10:35.759 --> 00:10:36.159 I think it is. 00:10:36.399 --> 00:10:37.679 Oh, in my opinion, way too high. 00:10:37.840 --> 00:10:44.399 I mean, I think I I don't even like 72 humidity just for regular smoking. 00:10:44.480 --> 00:10:45.919 I I just don't think it'll draw well. 00:10:46.000 --> 00:10:52.399 I think that I I don't think the tobacco will will will you won't have as as much of a concentration of flavor. 00:10:52.639 --> 00:10:58.480 And I think at 72, it it may not even it may not even burn or draw optimally. 00:10:58.639 --> 00:11:00.720 For long-term aging, I think 65. 00:11:01.120 --> 00:11:10.159 I think that's uh you know, for a long time we always said 7070 as the as the benchmark, and 7070 is a good benchmark to keep your cigars in good condition. 00:11:10.399 --> 00:11:14.559 But yeah, for long-term aging, uh, you know, the Brits go 65. 00:11:15.039 --> 00:11:17.440 That's uh and then the Brits know aging cigars pretty well. 00:11:18.000 --> 00:11:19.840 I think I think they I think they have it right. 00:11:20.080 --> 00:11:27.279 Yeah, I mean 7070's fine for regular smoking, but this question said aging. 00:11:27.360 --> 00:11:31.679 And I think for aging, um, yeah, you you have to go, I think you gotta go 65. 00:11:32.000 --> 00:11:35.519 Yeah, a little drier, I agree, better for long-term aging. 00:11:35.919 --> 00:11:43.679 Um once again from Martin, do your cigar ratings take into account the cost of a cigar? 00:11:43.840 --> 00:11:46.399 And the answer there is absolutely not. 00:11:46.559 --> 00:11:48.720 When we rate cigars, we rate them blind. 00:11:48.879 --> 00:12:00.159 Uh, that's why you'll see in our pages that a uh a cigar that retails for six, seven bucks sometimes, not always, but sometimes can outscore a 20 or even a$30 cigar. 00:12:00.320 --> 00:12:01.759 Yeah, we don't we don't look at costs. 00:12:01.840 --> 00:12:03.919 When we're rating a cigar, we rate them blind. 00:12:04.080 --> 00:12:04.879 We don't know the cost. 00:12:05.200 --> 00:12:06.240 Well, we don't know anything. 00:12:06.399 --> 00:12:06.879 Yeah, man. 00:12:07.200 --> 00:12:08.000 We know the shape. 00:12:08.080 --> 00:12:10.960 We know we're happy idiots smoking our cigars. 00:12:12.960 --> 00:12:21.519 So, yeah, and it's it it's not like we score a cigar, we score it blind, and then we see the price, and then we say, Oh no, we got to change that score. 00:12:21.679 --> 00:12:21.919 Nope. 00:12:22.000 --> 00:12:28.159 The score is the score is the score, whether it's an$8 cigar or a$48 cigar. 00:12:28.480 --> 00:12:29.759 Now we love a good bargain. 00:12:29.840 --> 00:12:38.559 That's why in every issue of the magazine, every issue of Cigar Bishano, in our buying guide, we flag uh four or five of the top values of the issue. 00:12:38.639 --> 00:12:42.799 Plus, in the front of the book, we name one cigar as our best buy of the issue. 00:12:42.960 --> 00:12:48.480 Uh yeah, okay, bang for the buck is is key here, but that's an analysis of a an established rating. 00:12:48.639 --> 00:12:53.440 Plus, every year for our top 25, we do a bigger feature on the best buys of the year. 00:12:53.679 --> 00:13:07.679 Speaking of top 25, th there may be a little confusion with our readers regarding that, because we have placed cigars on our list sometimes according to price. 00:13:07.919 --> 00:13:09.440 That's not the score. 00:13:09.679 --> 00:13:31.840 For example, if you remember the Cohiba 55 anniversario, which is like 300 bucks for one cigar, for one cigar, and that actually that did not affect the score because when we smoked that cigar, we did not know what it was, but it did affect where we placed it on the list, so right. 00:13:31.919 --> 00:13:34.960 We placed it lower because it was uh X point. 00:13:35.279 --> 00:13:42.879 I don't know the exact rating off the top of my head for$300, which was basically the box price of some of its neighboring cigars at the same rating. 00:13:43.200 --> 00:13:50.080 No, usually the price doesn't even affect um how something lands on our top 25 list. 00:13:50.320 --> 00:14:06.639 But say we have three cigars that that tied, uh, we have three cigars that got like, I don't know, 95, 95.5, 95.5, 95.5, and one of them costs$300, and the other two are 18. 00:14:06.720 --> 00:14:10.159 That that may affect where it actually ends up falling on the list. 00:14:10.480 --> 00:14:11.519 As it should. 00:14:11.840 --> 00:14:14.480 You know, one more question from Martin, then we have to move on to another reading. 00:14:14.639 --> 00:14:15.519 He is an inquisitive guy. 00:14:15.679 --> 00:14:16.879 He is with good questions. 00:14:16.960 --> 00:14:17.679 Thank you, Martin. 00:14:17.840 --> 00:14:20.639 Are there tours of the Connecticut Tobacco Farms for the public to go on? 00:14:20.720 --> 00:14:22.000 You want to answer that one quickly? 00:14:22.320 --> 00:14:22.960 There are. 00:14:24.000 --> 00:14:27.440 The one I know of is it's put on by Drew Estate. 00:14:27.519 --> 00:14:29.279 It's called the Barn Smoker. 00:14:29.919 --> 00:14:36.000 And uh the information is on their website, and they have it's basically a big field trip. 00:14:36.240 --> 00:14:42.720 You go up there to the Connecticut River Valley and they give tours, and it's like a big outdoor event. 00:14:42.879 --> 00:14:46.639 There's lunch, and there are hotels. 00:14:47.519 --> 00:14:54.159 The hotel is about maybe 45 minutes or so outside of the valley where where they're actually growing. 00:14:54.399 -->

00:14:56.000 But it's a consumer tour. 00:14:56.159 --> 00:14:59.279 You don't have to be in the industry, you don't have to be particularly well connected. 00:14:59.360 --> 00:15:02.320 You just have to know where to go, where to inquire. 00:15:02.480 --> 00:15:04.720 Um, and you can make it up there. 00:15:04.799 --> 00:15:11.919 It's usually usually around August during uh when there's still Yeah, the end of the harvest for broadleaf, yeah. 00:15:12.320 --> 00:15:15.759 But there's still some leaf in the ground that that that people can see, so that's where it is. 00:15:15.840 --> 00:15:21.919 So if you're interested, you uh you've missed the Barn Smoker this year, but uh there's always next August. 00:15:25.759 --> 00:15:32.320 Since 1999, Neptune Cigars has brought cigar lovers an incredible selection of premium cigars from around the world. 00:15:32.399 --> 00:15:41.440 From sought-after Nicaraguan pearls to classic Dominican blends, every order is packed with care and shipped fresh from its Miami Humidors straight to your door. 00:15:41.600 --> 00:15:48.159 Visit NeptuneCigar.com and discover why cigar lovers have trusted Neptune for more than 25 years. 00:15:48.320 --> 00:15:52.000 Use code Afficionado for 10% off your first order. 00:15:52.240 --> 00:15:54.879 Must be 21 or older to purchase tobacco products. 00:15:55.039 --> 00:15:56.320 Neptune Cigars. 00:16:04.528 --> 00:16:12.847 All right, Jonah Perry wants to know how do you train your palate to identify subtle blend nuances in cigars? 00:16:13.039 --> 00:16:14.080 Palette training. 00:16:14.320 --> 00:16:16.480 Well, I mean, uh I I could start with this one. 00:16:16.559 --> 00:16:21.759 I mean, you uh we get lots of questions, and we certainly have over the years about our tasting notes. 00:16:21.919 --> 00:16:23.440 How do you taste chocolate in a cigar? 00:16:23.600 --> 00:16:24.960 How do you taste leather? 00:16:25.120 --> 00:16:31.840 I I think a lot of this is is broadening your mind and thinking about aromas and how they interact with flavors. 00:16:32.000 --> 00:16:33.919 You know, obviously we're not eating leather. 00:16:34.080 --> 00:16:38.399 I don't I don't consider leather part of my daily uh uh uh dining routine. 00:16:38.480 --> 00:16:39.200 I know you don't either. 00:16:39.519 --> 00:16:42.080 But a cigar can ta it can taste the way leather smells. 00:16:42.320 --> 00:16:47.759 Yes, yeah, and and that and that's a salty note, which which brings me to where you start. 00:16:48.000 --> 00:16:51.840 Some people say, well, I either like a cigar or I don't like a cigar. 00:16:52.000 --> 00:16:52.879 I say, okay. 00:16:53.519 --> 00:16:54.720 I say, let's start there. 00:16:55.279 --> 00:16:57.519 Well, you like the cigar, what do you like about it? 00:16:57.679 --> 00:16:59.679 And you keep asking yourself that question. 00:16:59.840 --> 00:17:08.160 So it starts with basic descriptors spicy, salty, sweet, earth. 00:17:08.720 --> 00:17:10.079 And then you start there. 00:17:10.319 --> 00:17:19.200 And then once you start thinking about the cigars in those terms, then you can start identifying more complex terms. 00:17:19.759 --> 00:17:22.640 So, okay, it's spicy, but what kind of spice? 00:17:22.720 --> 00:17:23.839 Is it a black pepper spice? 00:17:23.920 --> 00:17:25.039 Is it a red pepper spice? 00:17:25.119 --> 00:17:29.839 Is it a baking spice like cinnamon or ground ginger or something like that? 00:17:30.000 --> 00:17:34.880 And for sweetness, is it a generic sweetness or is it a molasses sweetness? 00:17:35.039 --> 00:17:36.000 Is it brown sugar? 00:17:36.079 --> 00:17:37.200 Is it caramel? 00:17:37.359 --> 00:17:38.079 Is it chocolate? 00:17:38.240 --> 00:17:41.519 Which kind of bridges the sweet and the earthiness. 00:17:41.839 --> 00:17:47.039 They're like they're circles that you st that start off big and you keep trying to make them smaller. 00:17:47.200 --> 00:17:53.279 You don't have to always dial all the way down to the smallest circle, uh, but it it helps to think that way. 00:17:53.359 --> 00:17:54.400 Chocolate's a great example. 00:17:54.480 --> 00:17:55.680 There's so many different types of chocolate. 00:17:55.759 --> 00:18:01.519 Is it a milk chocolate like uh, you know, uh like a Hershey's bar, is it more you know a dark chocolate like a Valrona? 00:18:01.920 --> 00:18:06.559 But if you don't feel like you can get that specific, just keep it to the blanket chocolate. 00:18:06.720 --> 00:18:12.000 And the more you do, the the easier it is for you to dial down on these flavors and aromas. 00:18:12.160 --> 00:18:18.079 And if you don't know what leather tastes like in a cigar, you know, think of it as think of it as salt. 00:18:18.319 --> 00:18:20.240 Or sniff uh uh sniff a piece of leather. 00:18:20.319 --> 00:18:24.640 So you know, if you have a baseball med, take a smell of that or your or your leather belt or something. 00:18:24.799 --> 00:18:30.960 Yeah, I I did a seminar once on that many years ago, and it was at a cigar bar, and that's what I did. 00:18:31.039 --> 00:18:34.079 I had jars and jars and jars of stuff. 00:18:34.319 --> 00:18:38.160 Um, I had chocolate, I had spices, I had herbs, I had all kinds of stuff. 00:18:38.240 --> 00:18:42.640 And before we even lit up a cigar, I said, smell, just smell this, smell this. 00:18:42.720 --> 00:18:44.319 So, you know, I had maybe 12 jars set up. 00:18:44.720 --> 00:18:47.119 You got people thinking about their palate and about their about the erosion. 00:18:47.279 --> 00:18:52.480 I had the anise seeds, which give that kind of licorice smell, and just smell, smell, smell, smell. 00:18:52.559 --> 00:18:54.079 Okay, now we've smelled. 00:18:54.240 --> 00:18:57.279 Now you have a kind of baseline reference. 00:18:57.519 --> 00:18:59.680 Now light up a cigar and see it. 00:18:59.759 --> 00:19:05.119 And so many people were able to pick out flavors like, oh wow, I'm I smelled this before, I'm tasting this now. 00:19:05.279 -->

00:19:05.440 Yeah. 00:19:05.519 --> 00:19:08.000 When people say to us, how do you think about these things? 00:19:08.079 --> 00:19:15.200 It it it's it's actually doing it and and and spending time with uh what does this remind you of? 00:19:15.359 --> 00:19:19.839 You know, the the aroma just l lives in your memory for so long. 00:19:19.920 --> 00:19:24.160 You know, you might get that, you know, a smell of uh your mom's apple pie or something. 00:19:24.240 --> 00:19:28.960 Uh it just w reawakens a memory or or some other thing that you've eaten at some point in your life. 00:19:29.039 --> 00:19:30.880 And that's how that you you kind of draw these parallels. 00:19:31.279 --> 00:19:32.319 Especially nuttiness. 00:19:32.400 --> 00:19:36.960 I mean, that that is such a recurring note in cigars. 00:19:37.119 --> 00:19:40.079 Sometimes it's generic, it just tastes nutty. 00:19:40.240 --> 00:19:41.440 Sometimes it's more specific. 00:19:41.519 --> 00:19:44.960 Sometimes it really does taste like crushed almonds. 00:19:45.119 --> 00:19:46.240 Yeah, yeah, exactly. 00:19:46.319 --> 00:19:52.160 Yeah, it's and it's funny how how often we get the same flavors in a cigar when we're doing these tastings. 00:19:52.640 --> 00:19:53.759 Nobody would believe it. 00:19:53.920 --> 00:19:55.200 Yeah, it's I know it's funny. 00:19:55.279 --> 00:19:55.839 It's uncanny. 00:19:58.000 --> 00:19:59.440 Other tastes of smoking blind. 00:19:59.519 --> 00:20:09.599 You look at the tasting notes and they're all saying like sweet almond and marzipan, and people wouldn't believe if you know you'd have to show them the notes and say, look, this we really detect these notes. 00:20:09.839 --> 00:20:13.039 Marzipan almate is one of my favorite notes in a cigar, actually. 00:20:13.920 --> 00:20:16.319 So, uh question from Mr. 00:20:16.480 --> 00:20:17.680 David Michelson. 00:20:17.839 --> 00:20:19.440 I hope I'm saying his name properly. 00:20:19.680 --> 00:20:24.799 He says, it would be great to hear about what cigars should be part of a first-rate cumidor. 00:20:26.559 --> 00:20:32.960 The first thing I'd say is go to our website and look at our top 25 list. 00:20:33.039 --> 00:20:38.160 And it's very easy to go to because it's just a something that says top 25 right on the homepage. 00:20:38.319 --> 00:20:42.160 And not only so the most recent pops up, but we have them all cataloged. 00:20:42.319 --> 00:20:46.559 You just you just open up the menu, and there it is from every single year. 00:20:46.799 --> 00:20:50.960 And those are our best cigars of the year, our champion cigars of the most recent year. 00:20:51.279 --> 00:20:59.200 So any of those, any of those number ones and and really any of those top tens, I would say would be perfect for a humidor. 00:20:59.440 --> 00:21:06.000 And not just the current year, because sometimes the current year, those cigars can be very hard to find, especially the number one cigar of the year. 00:21:06.240 --> 00:21:18.720 But we've got all our archives in there, and I dare say cigars that we've named Cigar of the Year, they're typically very good cigars for the long run because they've been vetted from multiple taste tests. 00:21:19.039 --> 00:21:32.480 Well, we go back to them because if we so how many times have we gone back and rated a former cigar of the year in a connoisseur's corner just to show yes, these things can age? 00:21:32.559 --> 00:21:35.279 Uh I'm Well, that's another you know what that's another good resource. 00:21:35.359 --> 00:21:36.559 Yeah, connoisseurs corner. 00:21:36.799 --> 00:21:38.720 That you're talking about building a cigar collection. 00:21:39.039 --> 00:21:42.720 Connoisseurs corner is us looking at well-aged cigars. 00:21:42.960 --> 00:21:44.480 Minimum five years age. 00:21:44.640 --> 00:21:48.079 Sometimes we go way back, we've smoked 50 plus year old cigars. 00:21:48.240 --> 00:21:52.400 But most of the cigars I'd say are in that 10-year-old range, probably. 00:21:52.720 --> 00:21:56.319 And uh so you now you can't get all the ones we we talk about. 00:21:56.400 --> 00:21:59.680 We talk about some pretty precious stuff in there, but most issues. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:02.640 Shoes, we have something that's a little more accessible. 00:22:02.799 --> 00:22:06.000 That you know, someone says, Well, how do I get a connoisseur's corner cigar? 00:22:06.079 --> 00:22:13.920 Well, you you you lay a box of cigars that you like down for a couple of years and see how it, you know, smoke one a year, maybe take note of the changes. 00:22:14.079 --> 00:22:22.240 And next thing you know, if you're patient, and patience is a big part of this, if you don't smoke them all with your friends and let them age for a while, you wait a couple of years. 00:22:22.319 --> 00:22:24.880 You've got it yourself, you've got yourself a connoisseur's corner cigar. 00:22:25.200 --> 00:22:29.920 I love going back to the cigar of the year because all it does is show, yes, we got it right. 00:22:30.000 --> 00:22:37.839 Because not only was that a great cigar for the time, but here we are five, ten years later, uh, very recently. 00:22:38.160 --> 00:22:43.920 I went back to uh when we did the um the aging room, Quattro Nicaragua, which was Cigar of the Year. 00:22:44.160 --> 00:22:51.119 And I went and it was it was five or six years old when I went back to it, and it was unbelievable how much flavor was still there. 00:22:51.200 --> 00:22:54.559 And that's just that's just the one that comes to that comes to memory right now. 00:22:54.640 --> 00:22:56.079 We've done it many, many times. 00:22:56.400 --> 00:23:01.759 And then there I actually just smoked a um a Boulevard Royal Corona that we named Cigar of the Year. 00:23:01.839 --> 00:23:03.359 Oh, it was our third time. 00:23:03.440 --> 00:23:06.240 So it was uh 2006. 00:23:06.640 --> 00:23:13.440 So that was a 20-year-old uh Boulevard, Robusto size, Royal Corona, and it was it was fantastic. 00:23:13.519 --> 00:23:14.480 It

was it was great. 00:23:14.640 --> 00:23:24.720 It and yeah, it those those number one cigars are special for a reason, and they typically almost always are special again and again. 00:23:24.880 --> 00:23:29.359 The companies that make them, you know, still make them with care, and they're number one for a reason. 00:23:29.440 --> 00:23:37.279 So if you could find an old number one, you know, something we've named number one in the past, consider that a really good candidate for a top-rate humidor. 00:23:37.440 --> 00:23:39.279 And it also depends on how much humidor space do you have. 00:23:39.519 --> 00:23:42.000 No, there's uh you never have enough humidor space, right? 00:23:42.480 --> 00:23:47.839 I mean, is your house a series of desktop humidors and humidipaks, or do you have big cabinets? 00:23:47.920 --> 00:23:52.000 Because if you have that, then you can just start buying boxes and boxes and aging them. 00:23:52.240 --> 00:24:18.400 You can you can go to one of the few uh auction houses, and if it depending on how deep your pockets are, if you want to stock with uh you know, you you want to stock your humidor with old Davidoff's or old Don Candido's or old uh old Alfred Dunhill, the old the old Dunhill cigars, um, you know, you that's the you know, those are the real super trophy cigars. 00:24:18.880 --> 00:24:27.200 Yeah, and then from the non-Cuban world, I mean Padrona's been cigar of the year multiple times, so any of those are great candidates for uh for a humidor. 00:24:27.440 --> 00:24:28.240 Opus X as well. 00:24:28.319 --> 00:24:29.039 Oh, Opus X is a good thing. 00:24:29.200 --> 00:24:50.319 And and and I think but because they're they're they're blended so powerfully, they they have longevity because uh we we when when we did the 20th anniversary issue of Opus X, we had some Opus X's that weren't like the original boxes, the boxes that were shaped like pyramids, and so many years later they still had they're aging very well. 00:24:50.559 --> 00:24:53.440 Yeah, those are those are those are great cigars to lay down. 00:24:53.599 --> 00:24:59.359 What else would you consider uh good candidates for a for a top-tier humidor? 00:24:59.599 --> 00:25:02.160 I mean, it's always good to have some like uh you know what? 00:25:02.240 --> 00:25:04.480 Uh also you get you gotta have what you like. 00:25:04.720 --> 00:25:07.039 Not everybody likes, we like powerhouse cigars. 00:25:07.200 --> 00:25:08.960 We tend to smoke a lot of strong cigars. 00:25:09.200 --> 00:25:11.279 Not everybody likes that strong cigar. 00:25:11.359 --> 00:25:12.400 Look at our buying guide. 00:25:12.559 --> 00:25:18.480 Our buying guide flags not only the top cigars of the issue, but we always talk about the standout mild cigars. 00:25:18.559 --> 00:25:20.640 If you're a mild cigar smoker, nothing wrong with that. 00:25:20.799 --> 00:25:24.240 If you like them more in the medium range, we have the medium-bodied cigars. 00:25:24.400 --> 00:25:25.680 Choose a cigar

that's right for you. 00:25:26.160 --> 00:25:32.000 You know, uh, obviously you should go with the ones that we we we tend to give high scores to. 00:25:32.079 --> 00:25:34.880 That usually fl uh points out a pretty darn good cigar. 00:25:34.960 --> 00:25:41.759 But also look for your own personal likes in there because uh, you know, if it's too strong for you, you might you might not enjoy it so much. 00:25:41.839 --> 00:25:45.039 Yeah, don't be afraid to to dial in your personal strength. 00:25:45.359 --> 00:25:49.680 I think we have time for maybe one or two more questions uh on here, Greg. 00:25:50.240 --> 00:25:57.359 Uh Johnson Cody wants to know why are cigars so expensive? 00:25:57.599 --> 00:26:00.400 I mean, you know, uh everyone worries about costs. 00:26:00.559 --> 00:26:11.200 Things are things could look, I I I think part of this is if you're a long-term smoker, if you smoke cigars for for decades, somewhere in the back of your head is the memory of what you used to pay. 00:26:11.359 --> 00:26:20.079 Uh, you know, I bought a the a box of cigars the week before I joined Cigar Avisionado in 1995, and I paid 35 bucks for it. 00:26:20.240 --> 00:26:23.279 Now you can't get a box of great cigars for 35 bucks anymore. 00:26:23.359 --> 00:26:24.480 Those those days are gone. 00:26:24.640 --> 00:26:25.519 Prices have changed. 00:26:25.759 --> 00:26:26.720 Prices have changed. 00:26:27.039 --> 00:26:29.519 Look, we all want prices to stay the same. 00:26:29.680 --> 00:26:35.440 Uh I remember when a can of beans cost 49 cents, and that's just that's just not the case anymore. 00:26:35.680 --> 00:26:37.599 Uh everything costs money. 00:26:37.759 --> 00:26:57.279 I I I everything's going up from the from logistics, just getting cigars out of out of their countries to to the US, getting it, distributing it from the US distribution points in Miami to the rest of the the country. 00:26:58.079 --> 00:26:59.119 That's more expensive. 00:26:59.279 --> 00:27:02.079 Fuel goes up, that makes everything more expensive. 00:27:02.240 --> 00:27:06.240 Wages go up, the cost of labor goes up, nothing's going down. 00:27:06.400 --> 00:27:08.240 This is just inevitable. 00:27:08.880 --> 00:27:14.160 Um if I'm reading into this question uh from Mr. 00:27:14.319 --> 00:27:22.319 Cody, he might be saying, Why are some of them getting like so super expensive? 00:27:22.559 --> 00:27:26.079 You know, these 40, 50, 60, 100 cigars. 00:27:26.640 --> 00:27:30.160 And to answer that question, that just has to do with age tobacco. 00:27:30.480 --> 00:27:38.480 When you have low yields of tobacco that someone's been sitting on for 10 years, that tobacco was not making any money. 00:27:38.720 --> 00:27:40.720 So you're gonna pay more for that experience. 00:27:40.799 --> 00:27:42.240 And it's a very unique experience. 00:27:42.400 --> 00:27:58.960 If you get something from one specific uh vintage, one specific farm, or just a speci a banner year that someone's been sitting on, and 10 years later, a cigar maker goes back and has this bells and says, Wow, this has really turned into fantastic tobacco, but it's a finite amount. 00:27:59.039 --> 00:28:02.640 He's been storing it, it has not been making him any money. 00:28:02.880 --> 00:28:06.799 That is a that is one of the reasons why a cigar can be so expensive. 00:28:06.880 --> 00:28:08.799 Why you see some of these hundred dollar cigars. 00:28:09.119 --> 00:28:17.359 That said, I still say cigars are they remain one of life's they're they're a luxury product, but they still remain one of life's affordable luxuries. 00:28:17.440 --> 00:28:26.720 Now, maybe not everybody can afford a$300 cigar or a$100 cigar, but there are exceptional cigars in every issue of Cigar Vision for$10 or less. 00:28:27.039 --> 00:28:34.720 Well, in every issue, we have our buying guide and uh at the end of the tastings, and every single buying guide is a section of what are values. 00:28:34.799 --> 00:28:35.920 So they have to score. 00:28:36.079 --> 00:28:40.400 They can't be over a certain price, and they can't be under a certain score. 00:28:40.640 --> 00:28:42.480 And there's there are always those values. 00:28:42.559 --> 00:28:50.880 There's always there's always so so far, we still have plenty of cigars that are ten dollars and under and scoring 90 points or more. 00:28:51.680 --> 00:28:53.279 You know, there are so many questions. 00:28:53.359 --> 00:28:54.720 I don't think we can get to them all. 00:28:54.880 --> 00:29:02.319 I want to thank everyone who views this podcast, everyone who listens to this podcast for sending in your questions. 00:29:02.480 --> 00:29:04.960 We're gonna do this again, we're gonna make this a regular thing. 00:29:05.119 --> 00:29:06.400 It's good to have you involved. 00:29:06.480 --> 00:29:11.119 And thank you once again for tuning into this episode of the Cigar Visionado Podcast. 00:29:11.359 --> 00:29:16.640 Join us on YouTube, Spotify, Apple, and of course at CigarVicionado.com. 00:29:16.720 --> 00:29:19.839 Be sure to subscribe, give us your comments, we're listening to you. 00:29:20.000 --> 00:29:21.279 Thanks for your questions. 00:29:21.440 --> 00:29:22.480 I'm David Savona. 00:29:22.720 --> 00:29:23.599 I'm Greg Matolo. 00:29:23.839 --> 00:29:26.960 We'll see you next time in the Cigar Visionato Lounge.