Cigar and Tobacco Lounge

[mrd]

Food & Drink

PAIRING CIGARS WITH TEQUILA

• By Gary Korb
• May 1, 2011
• 0 comments

Tequilas come in two basic varieties: “mixtos” – which contain 51% agave in the formulation – and “100% agave,” which is considered superior, although not necessarily smoother. Smoothness and drinkability, as with other liquors, comes through aging in casks. The longer it ages, the smoother it gets.

As described by Wikipedia, Tequila is bottled in 5 classes:

• Blanco (“white”) or Plata (“silver”): white spirit, un-aged and bottled or stored immediately after distillation, or aged less than two months in stainless steel or neutral oak barrels.
• Joven (“young”) or Oro (“gold”): a mixture of blanco tequila and reposado tequila;
• Reposado (“rested”): aged a minimum of two months, but less than a year in oak barrels of any size.
• Añejo (“aged” or “vintage”): aged a minimum of one year, but less than three years in small oak barrels.
• Extra Añejo (“extra aged” or “ultra aged”): aged a minimum of three years in oak barrels. FYI, this category was established in March 2006.

I enjoy tequila both in my favorite spring/summer mixed drink, the Margarita, and occasionally, neat, as a sipping drink.  Obviously, if you’re going to be mixing up a pitcher of margaritas, properly made with tequila, Grand Marnier, and freshly squeezed lime juice served in a salted glass, there’s no need to buy a top-shelf, Extra Añejo tequila when something less expensive like good old Cuervo Gold will do the job. Just like The Rev keeps a bottle of Jim Beam White label bourbon to mix with cola and Maker’s Mark for sipping neat, I recommend purchasing tequila in the price range that goes best with its purpose.

If you want a tequila specifically for sipping, DEFINITELY spend the money and get an Extra Añejo like Casa Noble, Don Julio or Herradura Seleccion Suprema. The product is much smoother and surprisingly cognac-like in character.

As for what cigars to select, think one word: spicy.  I learned to love Mexican food in Tucson, Arizona, known for its very spicy Sonoran Mexican cuisine; and nothing accompanies a spicy profile cigar like a margarita or top-shelf tequila served neat. Therefore, I would suggest looking for a sampler that comes with several spicy cigars for pairing with margaritas, tequila or even Mexican beer, which is also tailor-made to accompany spicy foods, cigars, etc.

One cigar I particularly enjoy with my margaritas is the Oliva Cain Daytona Torpedo –  the spice and strength of all that ligero tobacco and the Habano wrapper is perfectly countered by the cool lime and citrus flavors in the drink. The Famous Nicaraguan Habano Double Corona (one of my standard everyday cigars), is also spicy enough to stand up to the profile of either margaritas or any top-shelf tequila.

Just like cigars, when it comes to tequilas, it’s fun to experiment with different blends. Find the “mix” that works for you and enjoy!

Peace, Love and Smokes,
The Rev

 

RefLInk

[Amigo]

On 5/5/2019 at 7:58 PM, Barracuda said:

U vreme srednješkolovanja^tm, kad su se na trafikama mogli naći legendarni sarajevski Marlboro ...

 

Lijecio bronhitis, naucno dokazano.

 

[Doorn]

[Doorn]

 

Quote

The “cigar economy” is much more than supply and demand. We already know there are unique forces in tobacco cultivation that drive up cost, process, labor, and specialized equipment among them. But what else? I tapped the expertise of Larry Palombo, former Altadis USA vice president of tobacco and a veteran with over 45 years’ experience in the premium tobacco business, to help understand tobacco valuations.

GROWING TO A GRADE

“Wrapper tobaccos are, far and away, the most costly component of a premium cigar,” Larry tells me. Grown under shade cloth in Connecticut, Nicaragua and Indonesia, wrapper-grade leaf is expected to be visually appealing, consistent and without defects; the process to reach top grade is slow, labor-intensive, and expensive. In the case of Connecticut shade, it is only used for wrapper – and cultivated using specific methods to hit that top grade target.

Manufacturers expect to pay somewhere between USD 25 to 45 per pound [0.45 kg] for their wrappers. Depending on how thick the wrapper is, they can expect to use between 6 and 10 pounds [2.7 to 4.5 kg] per 1,000 cigars.

 

Connecticut Broadleaf is one of the most expensive tobaccos for manufacturers – when it’s used for wrappers

THE FACTORS AFFECTING THE PRICE

There are no fewer than five additional factors that can cause tobacco costs to soar:

LOCATION – The sun-grown leaves cultivated in Africa are superb, but simply hauling genuine Cameroon tobacco to market from the country’s remote farms is a costly challenge.
YIELD – “Although the purchase price of tobacco from farmers is not high, processing costs and poor yields make Connecticut broadleaf one of the most expensive tobaccos used in the manufacture of premium cigars,” says Larry.
DEMAND – It’s big for the high primings of Ecuador Habano, especially the Cuban seed variety. It’s strong, tough and spicy – and very popular.
SOURCING – There are two ways to buy tobacco: make the arrangements to purchase what you want, which is more expensive. Or, you can finance a farm a year ahead, then take what you want from the harvest. The farmer will sell the remainder to another tabacalera.
TIME – Your cigars may be blended with great tobaccos, but your investment can sit mid-process for years before it’s smoked. At Drew Estate, Liga Privada tobacco ferments in pilons for 18 months or longer, tying up USD 250,000 to 400,000 worth of leaf.

At the top of the price list are Connecticut-grown shade and Connecticut broadleaf wrappers. Surprisingly, so is the Connecticut seed that is grown in Ecuador, which I believed would be cheaper. “It should be,” says Larry, “since it’s not grown under cloth. The labor and land costs are also considerably less. There are more leaves of tobacco in a pound of Ecuador Connecticut – making real Connecticut more costly to use in the production of cigars.”

WASTED MONEY

Holes and breakage drastically reduce the value of any tobacco; but because the grower is trying to get only wrapper-quality leaves out of a shade plant, any damage – natural or man-made – is fatal to a leaf’s future prospects. Noticeably damaged wrapper tobacco is simply dropped in the field: “It makes no financial sense to put this tobacco through curing, fermentation and sorting,” I’m told. A six-to-seven pound yield of Connecticut shade can produce 1,000 cigars. But about 20 pounds [approx. 9 kg] of good broadleaf wrapper is needed to produce that same 1,000 cigars – three times more leaf, making it three times more costly.

Even though the cost to purchase broadleaf is relatively low (it often sells for USD 6 to 8 per pound, based on quality and demand) processing the leaves sends costs through the roof. Sorting and grading separates out the wrapper-quality leaves, which are fermented up to a full year to be uniform in color and for proper burn. As Larry tells it, much of that investment is lost, as the fully fermented wrapper yields very poorly at the factory: “Some ends up on bundle cigars, or as binder. Because the leaves are so big and veiny, there is huge waste. Even leaf can only be used to make two premium cigars … so much of the leaf actually goes to scrap.”

Yes, markets will always dictate prices, and while trends will emerge, preferences evolve and avors fall in and out of fashion, these are the costs that growers must endure to provide us with the cigars we love.

 

[mrd]

U slucaju da se cigara osusi, mozemo je jos uvek vratiti u zivot.

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[mrd]

Gledao neke cigare i na kraju shvatio da nisam pratio na casu i velicinu cigare ne kapiram bas najbolje.

Nasao ovde.

[/img]

Size does matter.

[Doorn]

On 5/25/2019 at 8:14 PM, mrd said:

U slucaju da se cigara osusi, mozemo je jos uvek vratiti u zivot.

[/img]

 

Problem se takodje sredjuje tako sto se cigara na vrijeme ispusi 😁💨

[Doorn]

Dobio na poklon 3 Dominikane.

Private Stock by Davidoff of Geneva i Macunado Inspirado Orange

 

[Doorn]

Quote

CUT, PUNCH, BITE, RIP – THE MANY WAYS TO OPEN A CIGAR

 

Have you ever noticed that many people who work in cigar factories bite off their Puros or rip them open with their fingernails? In theory, there’s nothing wrong with that at all.

 

There are many ways to open a cigar. Some are elegant, others more rustic. But all of them have one objective: to prepare the cigar for enjoyment. Apart from the personal preference for a particular technique, the cigar’s form helps to determine which correct tool to use. It’s hard to punch a Pyramid, for example, or use a V-cut to open it. The same goes for cigars with a pigtail.

 

Practiced cigar smokers thus have a selection of accessories, and some of them will choose the fitting blade as carefully as they choose the cigar itself. The selection is almost endless, even if we actually only use three different cuts: the straight cut (also known as the guillotine), the V-cut and the punch cut.

 

Thorsten Wolfertz from Solingen, Germany, is a third-generation cigar-cutter manufacturer, and knows the characteristics of steel in all its facets “You can’t tell what good steel is until you’ve worked with it,” he says. “It’s like the cigar that only lays bare its secrets once it’s lit.”

 

As a specialist for sharp blades, Wolfertz not only sells his own products but also those by Xikar. With the “Xi”-cutter, the American company developed a double-bladed instrument that not only employs the fingertips to cut but the strength and sureness of the ball of the thumb. So now we’re talking about tools that make a straight cut to the cigar, that is, double-bladed guillotines. Thorsten Wolfertz knows that “a good blade is characterized by its hardness and processing quality. The hardness should be at least 55 HR [Rockwell scale of hardness]. Make sure the blade is polished and that the blade is absolutely straight.”

 

A good track presses the blades together during the cutting process. They should be placed very closely together and not be loose when open. High-quality guillotines have stamped blades that are sharpened diagonally. From time to time, there are also high-quality cutters that only have one blade. Using them, though, demands some finesse. Most of these such models aim to be as small, flat and light as possible, whereby, of course, compromises are made in the ergonomics. And then, there’s the cheap cutter that only has one blade made from band steel. Due to its reduced thickness, band steel is sharpened on both sides, but doesn’t stay sharp for very long.

 

Probably the most superior tool for cutting cigars is a pair of scissors. The main advantage being that the leverage effect allows making very slow cuts. What’s crucial is that the cuts encompass the cigar and “that the scissors are well balanced”, says the expert. He has another tip to disclose. “Scissors have to be readjusted in order to keep their precise cutting ability. This is only possible when the screw has a slot.” When buying scissors, you should ask whether the manufacturer also offers a sharpening service for the product as well.

 

Cigar punches are very popular due to their easy handling and because the small opening prevents bits of tobacco getting into the mouth. But it has to be said that no other type of cut results in such big differences when it comes to the quality of the blades. Wolfertz says, “The blade should be ground from the inside. Otherwise, the diameter of the blade tube changes and the wrapper can be ripped. Blades that have been sanded on both sides go blunt very quickly,” says Thorsten Wolfertz.

 

A cigar punch actually doesn’t need more than two blades – one with a diameter of eight to nine millimeters and a second measuring 11 to 12 millimeters. And here are two tips: It’s practical that the cigar punch has an automatic lever to get rid of the rest of the tobacco and not have to use something with which to push it out. Equally as important is that the recessed blades show their full length with 11⁄2 rotations.

 

The V-cut is currently experiencing somewhat of a rebirth. Newly developed V-cutters have a V-shaped blade, cutting a notch or wedge, which improves the cutting result, as opposed to a pointed blade. As with all instruments, there are also table and pocket formats. V-cutters give the cigar an opening that resembles a cat’s eye, which is where the term “cat-eye-cut” comes from. With dry cigars, however, there’s always the danger that the wrapper will rip during cutting. It’s up to you to choose. When in doubt, just bite.

 

[mrd]

Dobra jaka i debela. :p

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[...]

Danas je tacno dvije godine kako sam se oslobodio robije duhana. 

 

Bravo ja! 🥈

 

 

[mrd]

Just now, Honey Badger said:

Danas je tacno dvije godine kako sam se oslobodio robije duhana. 

 

Bravo ja! 🥈

 

 

Cestitam.

I ja sam, ali me doorn upropasti. Whiskey, skupe cigare, jos mi samo zene fale. :)

[...]

1 minute ago, mrd said:

Cestitam.

 

Trn stvarno ima los uticaj na zdravlje. 

 

Pratim i ovaj, a i alkoholne topike i redovno slinim na slike ali nisam pokleknuo. Dvije godine bez duhana, a bacio sam i booze prije dva i po mjeseca. Zadnji puta popio par piva krajem marta.

 

Zato sada trcim kao neka budala. Danas po kisi istrcao 5 milja kao od sale.

[mrd]

1 minute ago, Honey Badger said:

 

Trn stvarno ima los uticaj na zdravlje. 

 

Pratim i ovaj, a i alkoholne topike i redovno slinim na slike ali nisam pokleknuo. Dvije godine bez duhana, a bacio sam i booze prije dva i po mjeseca. Zadnji puta popio par piva krajem marta.

 

Zato sada trcim kao neka budala. Danas po kisi istrcao 5 milja kao od sale.

Neka, dobro je to da se organizam ocisti od otrova. Ja sam to vise puta odradio i svaki put ko da nikada nisam ni prestajao s'pusenjem. Volim s'oprostenjem da popusim, ma to ti je. :)

Drzi se koliko mozes. Moj rekord je bio 7 godina. :)
 

[...]

1 minute ago, mrd said:

Drzi se koliko mozes.

 

Moram se drzati do kraja zivota. 

[mrd]

Just now, Honey Badger said:

 

Moram se drzati do kraja zivota. 

Nemoj, pre nego capim, ja sam se zarekao, da ako imam vremena ima da se urokam s"jednim ovakvim:

Ako me ova moja ne ubije pre nego mi stigne. 

Ovo mozda da se prebaci na novi topic "Kako umreti, pre-nego te ubiju." :)

[...]

13 minutes ago, mrd said:

Nemoj

 

Mislio sam (iskljucivo) na cigarete. Ne vidim zasto bih pocinjao ponovo, jedva sam se skinuo. Osim toga, sada se drugacije gleda na pusace, kao da su prljavi.

 

Drago mi je i sto vise ne moram izlaziti vani na svakakvom vremenu da bih zapalio cigaretu. Dobra cigara i casa finog viskija ili konjaka s vremena na vrijeme je super stvar, pocasticu se ponekad, svakako.

[mrd]

3 minutes ago, Honey Badger said:

 

Mislio sam (iskljucivo) na cigarete. Ne vidim zasto bih pocinjao ponovo, jedva sam se skinuo. Osim toga, sada se drugacije gleda na pusace, kao da su prljavi.

 

Drago mi je i sto vise ne moram izlaziti vani na svakakvom vremenu da bih zapalio cigaretu. Dobra cigara i casa finog viskija ili konjaka s vremena na vrijeme je super stvar, pocasticu se ponekad, svakako.

To sam hteo i da kazem. Ne pusim cigarete, samo cigare, mislim se da ponovo pocnem da pusim lulu.

[Doorn]

Pisu po internetima da vecina korisnika cigara ne pusi cigarete. Tako je i kod mene. Cigarete sam batalio jos davne 1999. 

[Doorn]

Nisam znao da imaju svoj cigar brand

 

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Indian Motorcycle Cigars Get a Lighter Leaf

• JUNE 17, 2019 |
•  
• By Gregory Mottola
•  
•  

Photo/Courtesy of Debonaire House

Indian Motorcycle Shade comes in two sizes: Robusto and Toro.

Fans of Phil Zanghi’s Indian Motorcycle cigar brand will have a lighter alternative this summer with a new version that comes wrapped in Ecuadoran Connecticut: Indian Motorcycle Shade. The cigars first appeared in May as a Canadian exclusive, but after this month’s trade show, they’ll be available to U.S. retailers.

“It’s a different blend than the core line of Indian Motorcycle Cigars,” Zanghi said in a release. “[It] was specifically fitted to match this two-year-old Ecuadoran shade wrapper. It’s a true medium[-bodied] cigar that can be enjoyed any time of the day.”

Made in the Dominican Republic at the De Los Reyes Cigars factory, Indian Motorcycle Shade is made up of a Connecticut-seed wrapper grown in Ecuador, Dominican binder and Dominican filler, with some Nicaraguan filler as well. It’s available in two sizes: Robusto at 5 inches by 50 ring gauge ($7.50) and Toro, at 6 by 52 ($8.30).

Both sizes come packaged in 20-count boxes and should start going out to retailers at the end of August or the beginning of September.

Connecticut-shade wrappers are grown in the Connecticut River Valley and require tented netting in the fields—or shade—to filter the sun’s rays, which prevents the tobacco from becoming too thick or dark. In Ecuador, however, the Connecticut-seed tobacco can be grown out in the open, as the heavy cloud cover over the region mutes the sun and provides a natural shade.

Indian Motorcycle cigars—named after the American motorcycle brand that originated in 1901—debuted in 2015 and are officially licensed by Polaris Industries (the owner of Indian Motorcycle) to Debonaire House, Zanghi’s cigar manufacturing and distribution company.

Indian Motorcycle Shade is the first line extension of this biker-themed brand.

 

[mrd]

Pao čast. Ljuto

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[Doorn]

Imas i humidor sa cigarama? 

[mrd]

Imas i humidor sa cigarama? 

Da, ja kad se trujem to radim u stilu. Zezam, naručujem cigarete on-line. Tako ih dobijam mnogo jeftinije.
Drugo, mnogo je zgodno kad moeeš da biraš po trenutnom raspoloženju cigaru. :)

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[Doorn]

Ja ipak kupujem kod "tobacconist". Volim taj miris u humidoru i uvjek se nadje nesto novo za probati. Znaju vec kakav ukus imam pa me posavjetuju sta da probam. 

Inace moje cigare drzim u travel case sa Boveda kesicom za odrzavanje vlage. 

[mrd]

Ovo otvorio jutros. Pun dim, bas prija.


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