Thanks for your kind words James. I am wondering what should I post next about Cuba and the cigar. I need some help. Any idea?
I need some time to post about the Pinar del Rio because still didn't get the chance to sort out all the pictures.
marineatbn03:
This has been utterly awesome to watch Rip, thank you for sharing!
Did you get out into the countryside at all, or were you able to tour any of the growing regions. Any reflections on conversations you had with any of the average folks, or any of the tobacco growers would be interesting. Any insight into the condition of the cigar industry in Cuba would be interesting, too - strengths as well as weaknesses. Finally, any new insight into what makes Cuban tobacco so special would certainly be welcomed. Just a few ideas off the top of my head.
My next post will be about the old Havana city and some conversation with the locals. I will also post some pictures. The cultivation of tobacco part will be added to the Pinar del Rio section. Pinar del Rio is a province outside Havana. It is almost two hours drive from Havana. Unfortunetly, I wasn't authorized to get out from the car during the trip from Havana to Pinar. Even I was lucky to get the permission to go to Pinar and visit Don Alejandro Robina's tobacco farm. Little clarification, the Cuban diplomats in Washington DC are not allowed to go outside Washington DC metro area without official permission. The same rules apply for the U.S. diplomats in Cuba. If we allow one of them then they also have to allow one of ours. This is all about give and take policy.
JDH:
rzaman:
Thanks for your kind words James. I am wondering what should I post next about Cuba and the cigar. I need some help. Any idea?
I need some time to post about the Pinar del Rio because still didn't get the chance to sort out all the pictures.
marineatbn03:
This has been utterly awesome to watch Rip, thank you for sharing!
Did you get out into the countryside at all, or were you able to tour any of the growing regions. Any reflections on conversations you had with any of the average folks, or any of the tobacco growers would be interesting. Any insight into the condition of the cigar industry in Cuba would be interesting, too - strengths as well as weaknesses. Finally, any new insight into what makes Cuban tobacco so special would certainly be welcomed. Just a few ideas off the top of my head.
Pinar del Rio(Green): Located in the west of Cuba (Deep green and light-green) is where world famous Vuelta Abajo tobacco comes from. Pinar del Rio is a province in Cuba and fully devoted to tobacco business. Vuelta Abajo(VA) is part of Pinar del Rip province. The main two tobacco growing towns in VA area are San Luis(green dotted) and San Juan Martinez(green crisscrossed). Both produce the finest Cuban wrapper, fillers and binders. These two towns are the primary sources for true Habano cigars. Even Cuba does not accept tobaccos outside this region as the top quality tobacco. Not all Cuban Puros have the status as Habano. The cigars uses tobaccos from these two towns are accepted as true Habano. These two towns enjoy the special status as Protected Denomination of Origin (D.O.P). Only San Juan y Martinez and San Luis towns inside the Vuelta Abajo region are the elite “Vegas de Primera” “first class fields” status and ranked as the highest quality tobacco. The rest of the Cuban tobacco growing regions are considered as Cuban puros. This is a reason why true Habano cigars are so expensive and limited in production. It is strictly limited to certain defined regions and districts of Cuba.
Picture of a tobacco farm in San Luis: Now ask yourself what it means when the Non-Cuban tobacco growers use the term Cuban seeds tobacco.
Partido (Blue): This area is located South of Havana and produces tobacco in a very limited area. The tobacco growing history goes back to 17th century. This area is also protected as D.O.P but does not have the status of Vuelta Abajo tobacco. They also produce wrapper, fillers and binders.
Remedios (Orange): This is the oldest Cuban tobacco growing region and located at the middle of Cuba. This region has its own distinctive characters and has the D.O.P status. Jose L Piedra brand exclusively uses tobacco from this region.
Vuelta Arriba (Brown): This is the eastern part of Cuba where explorer Christopher Columbus landed in 1492 and discovered the tobacco leaf. Majority Cuban puros uses tobaccos from here in the blend but not for Habanos.
Why Havana is so famous for cigar?:
Well, as the capital and country’s most important natural port, international trade (export-import) are channeled through Havana port. Also, majority Habano cigars are rolled in this city though Havana does not have any tobacco farms.
Final thought: Now I will leave a question to the Cuban cigar critics- when they say Cubans cigars are bad, are they talking about the Habanos or other Cuban puros. My goal to visit Vuelta Abajo was to understand the differences between Habanos vs. Cuban puros. I have the answer now. Special thanks to Orlando Padron who educated me about the importance of San Luis and San Juan Martinez towns.
Thanks Chris. I will update with more information and pictures. At this moment I am taking a break from cigar and cigar related topics. Can you imagine that I haven't smoke a cigar almost a week now?
Krieg:
Just spent another 2hrs reading your thread Rip, great info here and thanks for sharing!
Hi Dennis, I did not take any FL 1961 though I like the cigar. I took Diez from 2008. The Cubans didn't like it nor the Opus X. I believe they do not like 100% Dominican flavor. However, they enjoyed Zino Davidoff Crown series cigar with Peruvian tobacco. They did not bash any non- Cuban cigar rather than had constructive criticism for not finding rich flavor, overpowering strength, metallic taste, less complexity in non-Cuban cigars. I did not agree about the complexity part but do agree about the overpowering strength, less rich and metallic taste part. I will post more about it in the future.
dennisking:
Rip, did you happen to take any Frank Llaneza 1961 or Litto Gomez Diez for them to try. Very complex and different from an Opus in many ways.
Hi Jeep Edson, Denominacion de Origen Protegida(D.O.P) is the title of Protected Denomination of Origin reserves for a selection of the highest quality or most outstanding brands whose cigars are manufactured to the most exacting standards from tobaccos grown only in that particular areas.
jeep edson:
rip. when you talk about growing areas you mention dop. what does that mean.
Thanks Chris. I will update with more information and pictures. At this moment I am taking a break from cigar and cigar related topics. Can you imagine that I haven't smoke a cigar almost a week now?
Krieg:
Just spent another 2hrs reading your thread Rip, great info here and thanks for sharing!
I can imagine, lol....My wife bet me a box of cigars that I couldn't go an entire month without smoking one cigar. So starting Jan. 1 no more cigars for a month....it will be too cold to smoke a cigar...but if there were a 55 degree day...it would be hard!
I collected many cigars related items during my trip in Cuba but I was unable to bring everything with me for various reasons. I went there with two luggages and left with four but still I had to leave couple things behind. Yesterday I received one of them. I am very proud of this. I love to smoke, collect and age cigars and cigar related items, specially limited released humidors.
In 2009, Casa del Habano created and released this special limited edition Humidors through the collaboration of Cohiba and Humidif, leading manufacturer of humidification systems. The original Cohiba Maduro 5 humidor contains 20 of each Genios Maduro 5, Magicos Maduro 5 and Secretos Maduro 5. As expected, these cigar wrappers have been specially selected and undergone a stringent aging process for 5 years in order to boast this dark and lustrous color. Made from the most exclusive materials, only 500 pieces were produced, destined for the Swiss market.
When I was in Cuba, I looked everywhere but failed to collect a box. Finally, my newly found friend who is also a director of Casa del Habano told me it is impossible because they are all in the collections hand. However, he introduced me with a special person who offered me to recreate one for me. The condition was, I had to order total five humidors. I agreed because I always wanted to have couple artistic Cuban humidors. He recreated the Cohiba Maduro 5 Genios Magicos Secretos for me. Whenever CDH make these limited edition humidors, they always have some extra materials. The Humidor makers can assemble them very quickly within 2-3 days. The original box and leather bag was supplied by great friend of CDH. I am very proud of this masterpiece. Four additional limited edition humidors are on the way. Here are some pictures of it.
Comments
Do I have to go through a lot of paperwork to adopt you? LOL
I need some time to post about the Pinar del Rio because still didn't get the chance to sort out all the pictures.
©Before I go further about the article- what is a true Habano, I thought it is important to have a little understanding about the tobacco growing region in Cuba. My intention about this post is to provide you a brief geographical knowledge of Cuban tobacco growing regions.
Pinar del Rio(Green): Located in the west of Cuba (Deep green and light-green) is where world famous Vuelta Abajo tobacco comes from. Pinar del Rio is a province in Cuba and fully devoted to tobacco business. Vuelta Abajo(VA) is part of Pinar del Rip province. The main two tobacco growing towns in VA area are San Luis(green dotted) and San Juan Martinez(green crisscrossed). Both produce the finest Cuban wrapper, fillers and binders. These two towns are the primary sources for true Habano cigars. Even Cuba does not accept tobaccos outside this region as the top quality tobacco.
Not all Cuban Puros have the status as Habano. The cigars uses tobaccos from these two towns are accepted as true Habano. These two towns enjoy the special status as Protected Denomination of Origin (D.O.P). Only San Juan y Martinez and San Luis towns inside the Vuelta Abajo region are the elite “Vegas de Primera” “first class fields” status and ranked as the highest quality tobacco. The rest of the Cuban tobacco growing regions are considered as Cuban puros. This is a reason why true Habano cigars are so expensive and limited in production. It is strictly limited to certain defined regions and districts of Cuba.
Picture of a tobacco farm in San Luis:
Now ask yourself what it means when the Non-Cuban tobacco growers use the term Cuban seeds tobacco.
Partido (Blue): This area is located South of Havana and produces tobacco in a very limited area. The tobacco growing history goes back to 17th century. This area is also protected as D.O.P but does not have the status of Vuelta Abajo tobacco. They also produce wrapper, fillers and binders.
Remedios (Orange): This is the oldest Cuban tobacco growing region and located at the middle of Cuba. This region has its own distinctive characters and has the D.O.P status. Jose L Piedra brand exclusively uses tobacco from this region.
Vuelta Arriba (Brown): This is the eastern part of Cuba where explorer Christopher Columbus landed in 1492 and discovered the tobacco leaf. Majority Cuban puros uses tobaccos from here in the blend but not for Habanos.
Why Havana is so famous for cigar?:
Well, as the capital and country’s most important natural port, international trade (export-import) are channeled through Havana port. Also, majority Habano cigars are rolled in this city though Havana does not have any tobacco farms.
Final thought: Now I will leave a question to the Cuban cigar critics- when they say Cubans cigars are bad, are they talking about the Habanos or other Cuban puros. My goal to visit Vuelta Abajo was to understand the differences between Habanos vs. Cuban puros. I have the answer now. Special thanks to Orlando Padron who educated me about the importance of San Luis and San Juan Martinez towns.
This is just a brief about geographical location of Cuban tobacco growing regions. I will add more information accordingly in the future. ©
Picture of Robina's wrapper tobacco farm. Please note Robina's wrapper leaves are gorwn under cheesecloth shade:
I love this thread.
I collected many cigars related items during my trip in Cuba but I was unable to bring everything with me for various reasons. I went there with two luggages and left with four but still I had to leave couple things behind. Yesterday I received one of them. I am very proud of this. I love to smoke, collect and age cigars and cigar related items, specially limited released humidors.
In 2009, Casa del Habano created and released this special limited edition Humidors through the collaboration of Cohiba and Humidif, leading manufacturer of humidification systems. The original Cohiba Maduro 5 humidor contains 20 of each Genios Maduro 5, Magicos Maduro 5 and Secretos Maduro 5. As expected, these cigar wrappers have been specially selected and undergone a stringent aging process for 5 years in order to boast this dark and lustrous color. Made from the most exclusive materials, only 500 pieces were produced, destined for the Swiss market.
When I was in Cuba, I looked everywhere but failed to collect a box. Finally, my newly found friend who is also a director of Casa del Habano told me it is impossible because they are all in the collections hand. However, he introduced me with a special person who offered me to recreate one for me. The condition was, I had to order total five humidors. I agreed because I always wanted to have couple artistic Cuban humidors. He recreated the Cohiba Maduro 5 Genios Magicos Secretos for me. Whenever CDH make these limited edition humidors, they always have some extra materials. The Humidor makers can assemble them very quickly within 2-3 days. The original box and leather bag was supplied by great friend of CDH. I am very proud of this masterpiece. Four additional limited edition humidors are on the way. Here are some pictures of it.