Cigar Theory!
RoyalCigars
Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 106
I'd like to start this off by saying that its very likely someone else has said this already, one way or another. Here I go:
I'm a guy that likes tracking down that rare cigar and trying new Limited or special editions by whomever is pumping them out. These past few years it seems like alot of brands are offering something small batch (litto gomez) or numbered (Alec Bradley Fine&Rare) or some limited annual release (ernesto perez or camacho liberty). I also like my staple cigars, you know my go-to smokes. When in doubt reach for a go-to. Then I started to think about my favorites and how difficult it must be as a manufacturer to offer the same cigar year after year when after your intial crop is used up, and the blend may be changed or altered. This brought me to my point, aren't all cigars in some way limited edition? I mean any one brand isn't going to stay the same forever. Eventually the blend will be tweeked or modified or revised in someway. Due either to limited supply of a particular tobacco(s), or a change in heart by the manufacturer, perhaps an existing tobacco supply ran out, even customer complaints. This managment of their tobacco supply by the manufacturer must be tougher still when considering one cigar line may have 2 or 3 fillers a binder and wrapper. So, ...if you fall in love with a new Tat line or new Torano release, eventually that initial batch will be gone and new tobacco will have to be planted and grown etc to continue or support that line. So, in a way its kinda like wine at least in terms of changes in production and subtle changed from batch to batch and so on. Any thoughts gents?
I'm a guy that likes tracking down that rare cigar and trying new Limited or special editions by whomever is pumping them out. These past few years it seems like alot of brands are offering something small batch (litto gomez) or numbered (Alec Bradley Fine&Rare) or some limited annual release (ernesto perez or camacho liberty). I also like my staple cigars, you know my go-to smokes. When in doubt reach for a go-to. Then I started to think about my favorites and how difficult it must be as a manufacturer to offer the same cigar year after year when after your intial crop is used up, and the blend may be changed or altered. This brought me to my point, aren't all cigars in some way limited edition? I mean any one brand isn't going to stay the same forever. Eventually the blend will be tweeked or modified or revised in someway. Due either to limited supply of a particular tobacco(s), or a change in heart by the manufacturer, perhaps an existing tobacco supply ran out, even customer complaints. This managment of their tobacco supply by the manufacturer must be tougher still when considering one cigar line may have 2 or 3 fillers a binder and wrapper. So, ...if you fall in love with a new Tat line or new Torano release, eventually that initial batch will be gone and new tobacco will have to be planted and grown etc to continue or support that line. So, in a way its kinda like wine at least in terms of changes in production and subtle changed from batch to batch and so on. Any thoughts gents?
Comments
thats all.
but seriously...
yes all cigars are limited to a degree. most manufacturers have a master blender. there job is more than just blend a line of cigars than pack up and go home. the other job of a master blender is to keep a line as consistent as possible from year to year. yes there are going to be variations from year to year given the climate, the soil conditions,etc. but the goal is to reduce those differences to keep it how people remember it
the spirit of the cigar will still be there. 5 vegas series A still has the same overall profile as it did when i got into cigars 7 or so years ago.
every year has its attributes. its much like wine. however, in the wine industry the vintage is printed on the bottle so everyone knows. this practice is becoming more and more common in the cigar industry outside of cuba. id like to see it on every cigar box. it would be just one more thing for us cigar nerds to geek out on.
"...the 2005 vintage is a bit more earthy than the 2006..."
I suppose there is some truth to this. I can't help but make a comparison to produce. For example: Lets look at lettuce (I know lettuce isn't blended). There are various types of lettuce. Lettuce growers plant & harvest their crops year after year. The lettuce doesn't taste any different. (Assuming you're buying the same type from the same growers).I would think Tobacco would be similar. Maybe not. I honestly don't kow a lot about the growing process.
I would also add that the people who are involved in the various steps of manufacturing a cigar add a human element (employee turnover, etc.) to the finished product of a cigar.
I hate to think someday my Anejos will be all gone. : (
Those are my thoughts.
Lately I have been thinking about how much fun it was to pop open a Cigar.com catalog and buy a bundle of this or that for cheap. I would dream about stuffing a humidor and how many cigars I could get for the lowest amount of money. The more I learned about cigars the more I wanted to get those big name limited cigars and I started thinking of everything else as cheap and unsmokeable.
Seeking after the high end. limited edition stuff really took the fun out of it for me. Lately I have been cleaning house and got down to a manageable but large humidor. I want to get back to the fun and excitement of when I was a noob. Some of those cheap bundle smokes are damn fine cigars. Well, fine in the sense that the are good decent smokes.
I still like a lot of high dollar limited stuff. All points made here are valid. Blends change. Tobaccos run out. Things get tweeked. I am going to smoke and enjoy what I have now instead of collecting like I am in a competition. I will remain a Viaje Whore but I will not spend the kids' college fund to buy them.
Fine and rare is great and all, but how many would have humidors full of those?
Ok, Rip would. But he is an exception. LOL!
Some cigar article years back once made mention that the average cigar smoker/collector is lucky to have 10% of their collection being what would be considered limited edition cigars.
So I would suppose that would be dependent on what is considered fine and rare.
Padron Anniversary? Cause there seems to be a lot of those available.
Even some Opus seem to be plentiful.
As for the really rare cigars that are in the $30+ range, how many of those does the average cigar smoker/collector really have? I'd think that number is pretty low.
Anyways, just my opinion, for what it's worth. Absolutely nothing. LOL!
Yes all cigars in some way are limited edition and get vintage over the years but not all cigars are a good cigars or have aging potential. consistency, crops season by season, blenders are other factors as well. Most of the time, the term Limited Edicion have been a hype in terms of quality and consistency. Few cigar makers can stick with the core line now a days. We all know that cigar taste in subjective and individual. However, there are few cigar makers and brands are unique and able to maintains the consistency. In some cases, the cigar line even gets better. Some Cuban falls under this category by improving the quality control.
Your observation is very interesting but the fact is few can maintain the core line, consistency and the quality. Some examples are Arturo Fuente, Padron, Davidoff and few others. These brands are unique and consistence. Cuban Cohiba and some other Cubans are getting better year after year.
My point is there is no straight forward answer to your question but the truth is there are few cigar makers and brands can maintain continuous improvement. Vintage cigar is another issue- as you said cigars are like wine but again not all wine are good for aging, same rules imply for the cigar.
At the end, the truth about wine and cigar is- smoke and drink what you love, love what you smoke and drink. I know, still I am not clear but we are talking about theory, correct?