Habanos SA R&D Blending

[spirit_of_will]

Some of the less than favourable views on some of the latest releases, such as the Upmann Half Corona and Party D5 got me thinking...

How do the Habanos blenders know what is going to turn into a decent stick?
Do they have some sort of research and development department who sit and try out various blends with the current crop of raw materials?
When they settle on a blend they seem to like, how do they know how it's going to develop with some age? Surely they can't create "x" number of sticks in a blend and leave them for 2, 3, 5, 10 years to see how they turn out?

Are we effectively doing the R&D for them with things like the Party D5?

It's certainly an interesting area of thought, trying to work out how they go about deciding what sticks/tastes the market needs next and if they really will work...

Discuss!

[Reaver2145]

Its simple in my eyes.

I think the only way they can come up with something like upmann sir winstons or party SDN4s one day and SDN5s/upman half coronas or those short stubby trinnie half robusto things that are real expensive too is that they are smoking cigars with something more than tobacco in them.

Thats the only way i can see them thinking its a good idea to shelf good cigars for crap like that.

[spirit_of_will]

I guess I'm not aiming this question at the yearly deletions list - although it's easy for that to come into it... The question is how do HSA do the R&D for the blending of new lines. I'm wondering if they do actually bother to test a blend over a certain amount of time before it makes it into production?

If the answer is that there's no R&D and no testing, then instantly we have an excuse for some of the less well received smokes...

HSA's shift to shorter, fatter and stubby smokes is an entirely different matter!!!

It's an interesting equation when things like the Monte Open line starts to get some better reviews now that the launch stock has 2 years on it. I wonder if the Trinni 2010 EL short robusto's will start to turn into a better smoke with plenty of age? The Upmann Half Coronas, I am 100% convinved that in 12-24 months time they'll be excellent...

[Smallclub]

Blending receipes, R&D: they are extremely secretive on this matter. Receipes are almost state secrets.

As for aging abilities of the blends, to my knowledge they don't care about this. it seems they discovered last week that some amateurs prefer their cigars matured…

[seeacon]

I'm not ure if you'd call it R&D so to speak, but I think they have a team testers who smoke what I guess are prototypes of which are selected by the factories' blenders and make notes on what they think. I thinks there's also a "master blender" (which to me always either sounds like a bad rapper or an awesome kitchen appliance.. you decide) who takes these notes and picks leaves, based on age and origin, to try and accomplish the desried blend. I'm a bit hazy on it, but there's a bit about it in the book "Cultivationg a Tradition of Perfection" if anyone out there has a copy.IF not, I'll prob go brush on it now, as I'm curious, and get back to you.

Also, great to be back here again after another internet based hiatus. Hopefully I'l be around a bit longer this time!

[Simon Bolivar]

Have to agree with Smallclub on this, it's like the French with their wine. They 'll drink it young, & if in a few yrs they can still get hold of it, they'll drink it vintage too but they are not know for aging their wine. It's an English anal retentative thing. Could have started with the port industry?

Cubans smoke their cigars young & fresh, luckily we have developed a taste for the more aged stock but that was probably not even though of when exporting started.

It has been said that Cuba would age for a yr or two, then H&F would store their stock for several yrs before sending to your local tobacconist so our grandfathers always had the sort of cigars we now have to lay down. The yuppies of the '90's smoked their way through the stocks so now there is little in reserve & it's common to buy cigars rolled within six months of purchase.

[Zigatoh]

Right so a nice enough question ends with smallclub being obscure but somehow always managing to be insulting and Simon referring to the english as anally retentive, generally not something used as a complement that's for sure...

Will they drink wine young, well yes apparently so, do I need to mention the hideous swill that is beaujolais nouveau, and that one gets a whole ruddy celebration... Sadly I love most things Belgique or I'd be picking at them too, but they're lovely so I shan't

Anyway, the same sort of thing must be done with a lot of spirits, whiskey for example, it's gotta be more than luck that makes that stuff come good after x years (12/15/18/etc) so who says with experience they can't do the same guesstimation with tobacco? But that can only be guesstimation so it won't all work out, hence the D5

[tippexx]

so who says with experience they can't do the same guesstimation with tobacco? But that can only be guesstimation so it won't all work out, hence the D5

Because I don't think they've been working with the new hybrid plant long enough for 'old style' experience to properly kick in yet.

Smallclub, obscure and insulting?
No ... he didn't shrug his shoulders or say 'merde'

[Zigatoh]

Because I don't think they've been working with the new hybrid plant long enough for 'old style' experience to properly kick in yet.

Maybe that's why the D5 then, still coming to grips with it, though there may be some similarities across the tobacco plants, it might just be a bit hit and miss for a while, again hence the D5 (man I'm bad mouthing the D5, I would try another but I'm plain scared...)

[spirit_of_will]

I've been reading Nino's blog a little, it gives some insights into the process... They do indeed have a tasting panel trying different blends.

http://www.flyingcigar.de/travel_cigars/2011_11_havana_first_days_and_pre-tasting_panel.php

[Stevieboy]

(man I'm bad mouthing the D5, I would try another but I'm plain scared...)

Ziggy....have you tried the original D5? Impossible to say a bad word about them. After the two Sublimes, it's my fave LE and one if my top 10 of all time

[Zigatoh]

Nope, never had that one, so cant compare or anything, would be a shame if the standard release of a good LE was that much of a flop!

[Stevieboy]

I've not tried the new D5 to compare but I've not heard many compliments....

[Smallclub]

Right so a nice enough question ends with smallclub being obscure but somehow always managing to be insulting

What's obscure in my post? Who's insulted?
When ignorance meet arrogance?

[Zigatoh]

As for aging abilities of the blends, to my knowledge they don't care about this. it seems they discovered last week that some amateurs prefer their cigars matured…

Of course small club, I'm sure everyone reading this knew exactly what you meant as it was crystal clear.

A thousand pardons...