So there I was...sitting next to Alfredo Pino from the Cuban H. Upmann factory chatting about livin' the dream and smokin' stogies. I'm watching him roll fresh cigars and realize that I haven't had the pleasure of smoking a fresh-rolled Cuban cigar in over three years even though hosted these events for four years. The reason is simple: supply & demand and guests come first. Watching him roll causes me to want one more than ever, and I ask Alfredo to roll me something small before we head out to eat some Korean "Army Stew". He laughs and around five minutes later rolls me a cigar about the size of a Monte No.4 but with H. Upmann leaves.
He cut the cap for me using his professional cutting tool, and with great anticipation, I lit the stogie using his nice Cohiba turbo lighter. HEAVENLY as promised! That's about all I have to say on that.
Very nice burn even as a freshly rolled cigar
White & gray ash mixture
Dark ash ring with white ash center
On to some interesting info to pass along:
I believed that all these tobacco leaves used for this cigar came from the Pinar del Rio region (most western coast of Cuba) but I had to ask Alfredo for confirmation because the ash was two distinct colors; dark ring on the outside and white ash in the middle. Generally most leaves from Cuba burn with ash in the white, white/gray spectrum due to the higher potassium concentrations present in the soil, but even tobacco from different regions in Cuba can produce distinct variations of ash color. Therefore, the color differences in the cigar I smoked made me believe that the tobacco may have come from different regions. But, Alfredo confirmed that all the tobacco he used was from the Pinar del Rio growing region.
So I asked him why the variation of color. He explained it as a matter of moisture. When he rolls fresh cigars, the filler leaves (ligero, seco, volado) are generally dry. The binder and wrapper leaves are moist due to wetting down in preparation for rolling. The moisture of of the binder and wrapper leaves cause the ash to burn darker than the filler tobacco which is generally kept dry. Simple enough.
Now, why must we smoke these fresh-rolled cigars within the week or wait another year before pulling it out for a smoke session? It really goes back to the moisture issue again. When leaf bundles are dry, they can store for years and age so long as mold, beetles, and other adverse conditions don't cause them to go bad. Once the leaves are prepared for rolling and are wet down, the moisture starts the cigar fermentation process in which the leaves expel nature ammonia, breakdown tannins, etc. This is when a cigar tastes "green" or is in its "sick" stage. A more experienced cigar smoker will immediately detect that the cigar did not age long enough prior to consumption; hence the need to age the cigar eight to twelve months before ready for enjoyment.
Additionally, why is a fresh cigar using quality tobacco regarded with such heavenly delight? It boils down to the ability to enjoy the distinctions of the wrapper, binder, ligero, seco, and volado separately before all the tobacco marries together to form the combined characteristics of a given cigar once properly aged. The taste of a fresh-rolled cigar will differ when smoked immediately verses aged and smoked later.
So there you have it. It was a dreamy, hard to beat cigar. Grade-A Finger Burner. Come next year and enjoy a fresh-rolled cigar for yourself.
