What does a Cuban label mean nowadays?

[Wildwood]

"No matter what it says on the Cuban cigar labels or bands you now have only light Havanas, dark Havanas, short Havanas, thick Havanas and slim Havanas - plus mild and strong Havanas. The rest is propaganda. You don't buy a Montecristo anymore, but a full-flavoured cigar that can have that particular brand or wear the Romeo y Julieta colours in chromo. No matter which it will be made in Consolidado Numero 1 or of Fabrica de Tabacos 3"

(Holy Smoke by Guillermo Cabrera Infante)

Discuss.

Very contreversial probably - but this guy knew his cigars and knew Cuba too. Is this just a prejudiced view of a Cuban exile, or has he got a point here?

Let's have a heated debate!

Wildwood

[cohibaIV]

I personally really believe that you can taste and smell the difference between different cigar brands.
Especially if you smoke a certain brand all the time and then try others..
Is it all the same tobacco??? Not in my humble opinion..

[Robusto]

Holy Smoke by Guillermo Cabrera Infante

Just want to say I enjoyed reading this book a few years ago.
Have you read it, Wild?

[Willie1]

Even though I'm still a newbie to cigars to any great extent as reguards the knowledge of blends, brands, etc, I agree with CohibaIV on this one

Each cigar branded company, would have their own ways and blend combinations of tobbacco, to get their individual tastes, from the filler right down to the wrapper and I think that it is the individual tastes and blends of various tobacco leaves in various cigars, that helps to give cigars smokers more choice and also more enjoyment from being able to sample the wide selection of brands and blends of cigars available today, reguardless of whether the cigar is havana or non-havana, hand rolled or machine made

To me, it doesn't matter whether a cigar is of a particular brand as such, if I buy a cigar, smoke it and like it, then I'll add it to thelist of faves and I'll know to look out for it again

Willie

[Wildwood]

Holy Smoke by Guillermo Cabrera Infante

Just want to say I enjoyed reading this book a few years ago.
Have you read it, Wild?

Hi Robusto,

Yes, I read it a couple of months back...strange book and even stranger style, but insightful in many ways.

I'm reading an even weirder book at the moment called Cigarscapes...by Philippe Mesner (translated from the French). It's completely pervy and stereotypically fin-de-siecle style "French"...constantly comparing cigars to women...but might well become a guilty pleasure. It's a real hoot - though I'm not at all sure this is intentional! As a French teacher, I'm sure you'd love/hate it....not sure which...

Wouldn't mind a thread/channel on cigar books...sort of "what are you reading at the moment"...think it's got any legs?

Re brands, I think the anomaly is that all these so called different "brands" are all made in the same factories...not really an issue if different tobaccos etc are used...but maybe "brand" is the wrong word? Different styles might be more appropriate...? In my view it doesn't really matter at all...but is a good discussion point as it highlights what the difference might be between one Cuban brand and another. Also raises the question as to how different, let's say a R&J is today, from one produced pre-Revolution....

Wildwood

[Wildwood]

PS This has been a bit of a "sleeper" post...I didn't think I was going to get any contributions at all!

[Robusto]

I'm reading an even weirder book at the moment called Cigarscapes...by Philippe Mesner (translated from the French). It's completely pervy and stereotypically fin-de-siecle style "French"...constantly comparing cigars to women...but might well become a guilty pleasure. It's a real hoot - though I'm not at all sure this is intentional! As a French teacher, I'm sure you'd love/hate it....not sure which...

Wild

This sounds like a perfect book for me, and I'd prefer to read it in French.

I love 19th Century French Literature and majored in Flaubert. The allusions to sex in late 19th Century French literature are thrilling, I think.

Butterflies and vaginas. I had to write an essay about that once. La chasse au con.

Without being too much of a perve, cigars/women/sex is just great to keep you reading and dreaming and being.

There's a fantastic bit in Madame Bovary where the heroine holds onto the leather cigar case of one of the men she fancies (beds?) and hides it in a linen cupboard. She secretly goes back to the cigar case for deep whiffs and deep dreams.

Even at 20 this was quite arousing stuff for me, a poor student cigar-monger. I guess most of the people in the lecture theatre thought nothing of it. I find parallels between generic cigar smells and certain female smells. Work it out. Clear as daylight to me, and maybe why cigars will feature til I snuff it.

Flaubert often made love with a cigar in his mouth. At least that's what he writes in his diaries.

Think on.

[Deano]

I'm by no means an expert, or even an intermediate - I'm definitely a cigar beginner, despite setting up this site...

But I can tell you two, conflicting things.

The factory I saw makes a bunch of different labels. The tobacco is all mixed up and graded over and over again - so different cigar labels are definitely getting different quality. Some cigars are also fermented more times - e.g. Cohiba.

So the factory is using the same tobacco to a degree, with the same rollers. Yet even as an amateur I can smell the difference between a R&J and a Monte, and certainly taste the diff between some.

I reckon there must be some truth in it, but not completely between all labels and brands.

So I can't really agree, though I suspect he knows a damn lot more than me.

[Wildwood]

I'm reading an even weirder book at the moment called Cigarscapes...by Philippe Mesner (translated from the French). It's completely pervy and stereotypically fin-de-siecle style "French"...constantly comparing cigars to women...but might well become a guilty pleasure. It's a real hoot - though I'm not at all sure this is intentional! As a French teacher, I'm sure you'd love/hate it....not sure which...

Wild

This sounds like a perfect book for me, and I'd prefer to read it in French.

I love 19th Century French Literature and majored in Flaubert. The allusions to sex in late 19th Century French literature are thrilling, I think.

Butterflies and vaginas. I had to write an essay about that once. La chasse au con.

Without being too much of a perve, cigars/women/sex is just great to keep you reading and dreaming and being.

There's a fantastic bit in Madame Bovary where the heroine holds onto the leather cigar case of one of the men she fancies (beds?) and hides it in a linen cupboard. She secretly goes back to the cigar case for deep whiffs and deep dreams.

Even at 20 this was quite arousing stuff for me, a poor student cigar-monger. I guess most of the people in the lecture theatre thought nothing of it. I find parallels between generic cigar smells and certain female smells. Work it out. Clear as daylight to me, and maybe why cigars will feature til I snuff it.

Flaubert often made love with a cigar in his mouth. At least that's what he writes in his diaries.

Think on.

What sort of research did you have to do for your Butterflies and Vaginas essay? I ask in a purely professional capacity...

Cigarscapes - The book is modern, with very little text, mostly graphics using old cigar bands, adverts, lithos etc...Don't think the entire text is probably more than a thousand words. Whole thing is just 96 pages. It just sounds so fruity - like you were doing a Kenny Everett Marcel impression...

It cost me 99p, new, from a seller on Amazon...postage was ?2.50...so for ?3.50 I've had a cheap oo-la-la experience...but wouldn't recommend the book for anything other than a bit of a laugh. Plenty more copies on Amazon...

Do you know the Maupassant short story called Lemon Verbena (or something like that)...now that's naughty!

May fragrant thoughts be with you all...

Wildwood