Personal Roller

[jolsensen]

Canadia indeed!
But the bespoke part is right on.
Many of my friends have established "relationships" * with several of the more renowned torcedores in Havana. They have favorites and regularly buy custom-rolled smokes when visiting The Island. There are even a couple of rollers who have e-mail addys and one can pre-order some bundles if you are making a quick trip.

Some of the better known names that are dropped amoung the cognoscenti include:

• Jaime "Hamlet" who still rolls out of the now closed RyJ factory.
• Leopoldina "La China" who rolls at the Casa del Habano at the Partagas factory.
• Reinaldo Jimenez who runs the Casa del Habano at Hotel Conde de Villanueva (he has several rollers working for him)
• Yolanda who rolls at the Casa del Habano "Casa Robaina" at the Melia Havana hotel.
• Cristanto Santos who rolls at La Escogida, the Casa del Tabacos at Hotel Comodoro
• Taboada, who used to roll at the old La Corona factory has now retired but apparently spends a lot of time in Mexico and like The A Team, IF you can find him...

My previous "go-to" Torcedor in Varadero has retired to Florida and I've lost touch although I still have a few of his excellent cigars resting in my humidor.
Lately I've been spending quite a bit of time in the Miramar area of Havana so I've become friends with Sr. Santos. I consider him a MASTER.
Most of these better known rollers have access to some great tobaccos as they have all been long-time employees at various Havana factories. Typically they roll 4 or 5 different vitolas for sale at their place of business but all are able to roll specialty sizes and shapes if given the time. Normally the custom rolled smokes sell for less than what a similar size would fetch when branded and boxed and if you find some you like they can be a real bargain.
At the moment, Cuba allows only 23 "non-boxed" cigars to be exported but that can be a moot point when they never seem to inspect your cigars at the airport, at least in Varadero.

It's always a great idea to search out and sample some of the great smokes being rolled "outside the factory" as long as you understand that they are FRESH cigars and while they are great ROTT (right off the table) if you really want the best from them, they need at least 15 days of rest and most will certainly benefit from a minimum of two years in the humidor.

* relationship : you give the roller money and tell all your friends and send everyone you know to this "best" roller so you get treated like a "best friend".

Waoo, that's what you call a quality reply.

Thx Bob. I will make some research about these people and try to contact them.

cheers

[Deano]

Got me 2 torpedos rolled by armondo at the bath and west show last year. Thinking of taking them back to Cuba to smoke next week. What do you think ?

Leave them at home and smoke Cuba's finest when you're there!

Don't take cigars with you?!

[Pantomimehorse]

yeah isnt that like taking some oranges you bought in Tesco to Florida?

Sure you wont have trouble finding a few nice cigars to smoke out there mate

[cbob]

this is where my churchills are coming from! tried them bob?

Reinaldo's quality is normally second to none. The biggest problem now is that the Villanueva is now mentioned in several guidebooks as "the place" the buy cigars in Havana and that can be the kiss of death for a small volume producer. At the moment, the cigars rolled by the lads in the shop are great but it's hard to know where the tobacco is coming from.
Your Churchills will be fine. My personal favs are his Corona Gordas.

[cbob]

Don't take cigars with you?!

I beg to differ.
Over the years I've decided to always take what I call "first day cigars" with me so that I have something to smoke when I hit the ground. Depending on when/where you touch the island, it may be anything from hours to days before you can get out to do some serious shopping and you certainly don't want to depend on your hotel. Too many trips I'd be caught with shops closed or transport delayed; as happened this past trip when the Havana bus left me cooling my heels for a couple of hours at the Varadero airport, where any decent cigars are on the departures level.

I take 4-5 well-aged classics in my jacket pocket and I'm ready in case I stumble on a smoking lounge in the airport or need a drink and cigar after I unpack and hit the bar.
I call it "Returning fine Habanos to the place of their birth to sacrifice them in a rite of fire".

[Deano]

lol sounds like a good plan to me!

[Deano]

Here's a link to rolled cigars at Cgars http://www.cgarsltd.co.uk/armandos-c...as-p-7588.html, I have a couple from him but have yet to smoke them

[TJCoro]

I think I'm gonna' puke!

It's always a great idea to search out and sample some of the great smokes being rolled "outside the factory" as long as you understand that they are FRESH cigars and while they are great ROTT (right off the table) if you really want the best from them, they need at least 15 days of rest and most will certainly benefit from a minimum of two years in the humidor.

Senor Kbob, I've enjoyed a few freshly rolled ROTT puros in my time and have found that after 35 days or so, they become ROTS (rotten and terrible sticks) until they have a year a more rest....often referred to by industrybig shots as the sick period due to PRF (post-roll fermenting), I suppose.

[cbob]

....often referred to by industrybig shots as the sick period due to PRF (post-roll fermenting), I suppose.

You have a good point and that is possible but the "sick period" was only common during what those same big shots refer to as the "cigar boom" when Cuba was shipping some (perhaps) under-fermented and under-aged tabacos.
Not so much these days.

Personally, I age my smokes a minimum of two years but sampling during that period has not shown any tendency to be ROTS.

[TJCoro]

I bide my time.

.

Personally, I age my smokes a minimum of two years but sampling during that period has not shown any tendency to be ROTS.

Good points all, hombre kbob. And cheers to the 2-year humi time. I tend to crack open a box on it's first anniversary, but if the puro sees it's shadow, it's back into the box for another year. *



But that's just me, the resident stupid looking dawg smiley....at your service!



* You see, in los estados unidos, if a rodant sees it's shadow on Febuary 2, it means 6 more weeks of winter!!! - known as Ground Hogs Day!