Cuban Seed
Myth: Cuban Seed = Quality
Truth: Cuban Seeds, grown inside or outside of Cuba, can produce both good and bad cigars. There is no direct correlation between product quality and Cuban Seeds. There are far too many variables impacting the quality of tobacco and cigars, like soil, climate, rain, fermentation, blending, rolling, etc… This myth was started after the American embargo on Cuba when cigar makers wanted to enhance the perceived value and quality of their own brands.
Body = Strength
Myth: The body and strength of a cigar are the same and/or related.
Truth: Body, in terms of flavor (taste+aroma) profile, does not necessarily correlate with the Strength of a cigar. Strength refers to nicotine potency or the intensity of spice – two separate factors. Body is a flavor descriptor which can refer to the depth, breadth, and richness of a tobacco (flavor). So, a strong cigar can be medium bodied, while a full-bodied cigar can be mild or medium strength. As an example, imagine that chicken has a mild body, while beef has a richer body, yet both can be spicy/strong, depending on how they are seasoned.
Refrigerate Cigars
Myth: Keeping cigars in your household refrigerator will keep them “fresh” (or optimally conditioned).
Truth: Refrigerators are far too dry to keep cigars optimally conditioned and the more humid “crisper” drawer is also inadequate.
Spanish Cedar Necessary
Myth: Humidors and Cigar boxes need to be lined with Spanish Cedar.
Truth: Spanish Cedar is not necessary. It was historically and geographically convenient and practical. While it may be a valid taste+aroma preference, it is not required.
Cigar Licking
Myth: An entire cigar should be thoroughly licked/wet-down before being smoked.
Truth: This practice was common a century ago when humidification was not as accurate and consistent as it is today. Wetting the wrapper would help keep the cigar from unravelling, but it is not necessary when smoking a well conditioned cigar.
Angled Cut
Myth: Some people claim that cutting the cap/head of a cigar on an angle helps aim the smoke directly to the palate and enhances taste.
Truth: In contrast to a
Perfect Cut, an angled cut jeopardizes the integrity of the cigar head and may lead to it unravelling. In addition, a mouth filled with smoke will taste the smoke, whether it is aimed at the tongue or not. The other down side of an angled cut is that the heat of the combusted cigar will be aimed directly at the tongue.
Self Sharpening Cutter
Myth: Some Double Guillotines are believed to sharpen themselves.
Truth: This is untrue; the physics of metal sharpening have nothing in common with the way
Double Guillotines function.
Packaging = Quality
Myth: It is natural to perceive and equate beauty with quality; this is a natural human trait.
Truth: Many cigars with the simple packaging are extraordinary and many cigars have extraordinary packaging which is not commensurate with the product.
Strength = Body
Myth: Full-Bodied cigars are Strong. And Strong cigars must be Full-Bodied.
Truth: A cigar can have a Full-Body and not be Strong. Strength relates to Nicotine intensity and Spice, but not necessarily profound flavor.
Cigars Attract Hot Women
Myth: While sexuality is used by many companies to lure customers to their products, this usually has nothing to do with the actual product. There are many companies that advertise and promote their cigars with attractive and/or scantily clad women – the implication being that ‘these cigars attract women like this’.
Truth: Using sex and sexuality to sell cigars may get attention or momentarily make the product seem to taste better (see
Emotional Taste Perception), but the effect is short lived.
Absolutes Depend
Myth: “This is the Best Cigar”, “This brand must age _____ months/years” and any other Absolute Statements are typically wrong in the world of luxury tobacco.
Truth: Everything in the world of luxury tobacco DEPENDS on one variable or another. Every batch, type, and crop of tobacco leaf is different. There are no Absolute time periods for growing, fermentation, or aging. There are no Absolute ways to quantify or qualify taste. There are absolutely no Absolutes in luxury tobacco: Everything Depends…
Maduros Are Stronger
Myth: Dark Maduro wrappers give consumers the impression that Maduro cigars are stronger.
Truth: While Maduros undergo a longer Fermentation, they do not increase in strength, rather they become richer and a little sweeter, as the sugars develop.
Perfect Consistency
Myth: Perfect Consistency Exists.
Truth: It is impossible to create a perfectly consistent cigar and blend from one batch to another, much less from one crop/year to another. In addition, it is impossible to construct every cigar perfectly. The nature of handmade cigars requires some deviation. It is OK for a cigar to burn a little crooked and for cigars to taste a little different from batch to batch. In fact, the human senses cannot taste or smell perfectly, so we would not even recognize Perfect Consistency if it were possible.
Perfect Consistency is more likely to be found in the wine and/or spirits industry where the final product is a liquid. Liquids are much easier to measure, rate, and blend, so the final product is more likely to be consistent.
Lost & Found [Cuban] Tobaccos
Myth: The classic marketing story about a long lost batch of perfectly conditioned tobacco being discovered and used to create a ‘once in a lifetime’ cigar.
Truth: The ‘Truth’ is hard to find in this case. Discovering the how, what, when, and where of a ‘re-discovered’ tobacco is difficult, if not impossible to prove.
Cuban Cigars Are “The Best”
This is the mother of all cigar myths, probably because it was true decades ago and can occasionally seem true today. Cuba is the birthplace of great tobaccos, seeds, and cigars, but time has moved us forward. Great Tobacconists and Consumers everywhere know that our ‘Cigar Renaissance’ exists mostly because of the efforts and products created by those outside of Cuba. Today, claiming that ‘I only smoke Cubans’ or ‘Cuban cigars are the best’ is the last bastion of ignorance, uneducated pompousness, or extreme prejudice; and of course, taste is subjective.
Romanticism plays a big part in the world of luxury tobacco. It is a romantic process to smoke a great cigar; sitting back watching the smoke, smelling the aromas, tasting the notes of flavor, and savoring your time. Luxury tobacco is inherently sensual and romantic. But real romance and pleasure need no embellishment. And the actual magic and wonder of luxury tobacco is enough, without the myths and lies. Enhanced appreciation requires Enlightenment, and that requires The Truth.
I am old school on the issue of cuban cigars. I do only smoke cubans, and on those occasions when I have drifted afield it has been dissapointing and noticeable. This is NOT a myth. Generally speaking, Cubans are better, and in may cases, markedly so. I remember when Cigar Officionado chose Licensiados as the best Robusto of that year. I tried a box and have to say that they weren’t even close to the mediocre cubans I own. Ugh. MJ
What about the myth that a cigar lit with a match tastes better than a cigar lit with a lighter?
I wonder if the first Anonymous has done any blind taste tests. If so, could he describe them in detail?
Padrons as whole are better than most Cubans I’ve ever had.
well your first mistake was buying a box of something cigar aficionado said was good. their ratings are based on ad sales. try a davidoff millennium blend or padron anniversario and stop being so closed-minded.
Gee whiz, just about anything out of Nicaragua tastes better than the commie crap coming out of Cuba these days….
As to those Yankee morons paying $40 for a $1 Honduran, because somebody stuck a Havana Band on it …. I rest my case. “Yeap, nothing like a Cuban !”
I’d take a Padron 1964 or 1926 over the majority of the Cubans I’ve had. Cubans ARE good and I think they tend to have a somewhat distinctive taste, but there are a ton of non-Cuban’s I’ve had that are exceptional.
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I’m with LibertyToad. I live outside the U.S. and have no problem getting gen-u-wine Cubans, but I like variety, and there are many excellent (and affordable) non-Cubans to choose from.
cubans are just like all cigars some are good some are bad .i would put a opus x or ashton vsg up against most cubans.
Cuban cigars have been pretty inconsistent in my opinion. Cuba lacks the amount of tobacco to keep the cigars relatively consistent. Anyone who strictly smokes Cubans and refuses to smoke anything else to me seems pretentious. Depending on who is smoking the cigar, cigars attract major babes according to a study that I just made up.
Im a fortunate american that has smoked many cuban cigars. Yes they were good, they were great cigars, but to be honest, the hype is all in the fact that you cant get them stateside legally. I would take a Gurkha Assassin over a Montecristo No.2 any day.
I have the dual good fortune to enjoy authentic Habanos and non-Cuban cigars. Taste indeed is subjective, with that being said, perhaps 15 years ago non-Cuban “superstar” stogies were a rarified breed. Happily today I can honest say that consistent top performers like Padron Serie 1926, Ashton VSG, Oliva Master Blend 3, Diamond Crown Maximus, Alex Bradley Tempus and the list goes on. I have always loved Arturo Fuente Don Carlos and Hemingways. Opus X, are also awesome. All those are distinctly different from the classic Cuban flavor profile. Competition from outside Havana has influenced new production like the tasty Montecristo Petit Edmundo, etc. Depending on mood and temperment the perfect cigar is the one you enjoy when you carfully select it out of your humidor…!
Regarding the “cedar” myth, it is very true. The first humidors were lined with milk glass; then tine; then copper. They had no humidification device. Their purpose was to retain and contain the humidity in the cigars. The first boite natures were Honduran and Cuban mahogany…until those woods became too expensive, and cedar was substituted.
As for anonymous’ claim that Cubans are ar superior; that was no doubt so for centuries. I smoked only Cubans from 1958 to 1995 when I decided, like the “wine connoisseur,” that only drinks Petrus…I was missing out on a great deal. I have seen the profile of Dominican cigars change radically over the past decade and a half; while Nicaraguan cigars, from manufacturers such as Pepin Garcia, have become superior to today’s Cuban product.
Cubans are different from Honduran, Dominican, and Nicaraguan cigars. Just like Dominicans are different from Honduran, Nicaraguan, and Cuban cigars. Different palates have different tastes. Smoked a Cuban Cohiba Lancero this morning (10 years old) and it was really, really good. Smoking a Padron 45th tonight, and it’s also very, very good. Different cigars, both great. Why is this so hard for some people to understand?