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Cuban Cigar Newsletter April 2012 |
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Greetings!
Summer and many holidays plus extended weekends are on the way. Be sure your humidor is stocked with fine Cuban cigars. Cuban cigars are best experienced with others. This is especially true when your guests realize they were just given a Cohiba or other brand of genuine Cuban and all they ever smoked were the non-cuban knock offs. Just watch their face, not when they first light the cigar, but at about half way when the flavors really take off. Samplers are a great way to stock up and have variety in your humidor. See our Sampler Selection by visiting www.canadiancigar.com today! We are always glad to be of service
Canadian Cigar Company Ltd
Toll free: 1-888-830-6162 |
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Does size really matter?
Does size really matter?
Does size really matter?
Does size really matter?
Does size really matter?
Does size really matter? 
Well, I would have to defer to my lovely wife for one answer, but I can tell you when it comes to premium Cuban cigars, size really does matter.  Not to say bigger is always better. Changes in length and ring diameter can drastically change a cigar experience for the smoker.
One example of this is a Bolivar corona junior  has huge robust flavors and enou gh power, 7 1/2 of 10, to make you light headed if you smoke it in the afternoon, yet a Bolivar Belicoso Fino will offer the same robust flavors with a milder sensation of perhaps a 6 1/2 of 10. Each is a wonderful cigar, but one may meet your palette better than the other. When you increase the diameter of the cigar, you ease the draw effort required and you get more volume of smoke which can translate into more flavor, yet a milder sensation. When you add length to a cigar, say a lonsdale 6 1/8" vs a corona at 5 1/4" long, you allow the smoke to cool as you draw on the cigar. This often results in a more mellow flavor, which makes the cigar seem milder in strength.   One brand can offer many different experiences just by selecting a different vitola alone.
A Montecristo No 5 is a wonderful cigar that seems a little above a medium strength due to its small size of 4" x 40 ring. Still the traditional dark tea flavors of Montecristo, but less of the coffee or cocoa notes to my palette. The cigar burns hotter due to a smaller diameter, and this too makes it seem slightly stronger. A Montecristo No 2 torpedo is of similar blend, but the increased length and diameter cools the smoke, eases the draw requirement and makes the cigar seem a little milder. This mild cool smoke seems to allow some of the subtle cocoa notes to appear.
Myself and a couple of friends each enjoyed a Cohiba Corona Especiale the other day. It was a real pleasure to smoke as a before dinner cigar with a light white wine to accompany it. The 38 ring still offered a nice easy draw, and the 6" length supplied cool flavorful smoke. In this case, the smaller ring was offset by the length a bit, so the cigar did not seem overly strong. A Cohiba Robusto may have been a little too much for the wine we were drinking and washed out its flavors. So as you can see, there is no right or wrong here, but size does play a distinct role. Many smokers tastes change as their palette changes, so for some time they may enjoy mostly large ring diameters, like double coronas, torpedos and robustos, with their bold robust flavors. At other times they gravitate to the longer but smaller diameter Cubans, where they find more subtle subdued flavors. The bottom line is do not discount a brand when you find one cigar not to your taste. Other sizes in the same brand will offer very different experiences. Also, it is a good lesson for our humidors, as a variety of lengths and ring gauges offer cigars to suit any time of day. |
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How does Cuba sort the wrappers so each box has the same shade?
Wrapper leaf comes from only Shade Grown tobacco plants in Cuba, grown for their smooth finish, lack of large veins and of course color varieties.
Wrappers as you might expect get the closest attention.
First they are moistened and aired to prepare them for handling. Then they are classified into a bewildering array of some 50 different categories designed to ensure that only the most perfect will ever dress a Habano. Any leaf below a certain standard is rejected and set aside for other purposes.
Once the wrapper leaves are fully aged, it is time for their final sorting and classification. They must also be stripped of their stems. A moistening, or moja, brings them to the supple condition required for stripping and sorting, and their final purpose of wrapping a cigar.
The gavillas or bunches of 40 leaves are held under a fine spray of pure water. Excess droplets are then shaken off with practiced flourishes to avoid any staining, and the leaves are hung on racks overnight so the moisture is absorbed evenly.
Next morning the tender hands of highly skilled women perform the despalillo (stripping) and the rezagado (grading). One movement deftly removes the central vein of the leaf leaving its two halves ready to be graded into some 20 finely distinguished sizes and shades.
These women work from piles of leaves on their laps, lending weight perhaps to the popular myth that Habanos are rolled on maidens' thighs!
Wrappers come in many finely distinguished shades of color, and great care is taken to ensure that all of the cigars in any one box are the exact same shade.
The color of a Habano wrapper is purely natural in origin - no artificial process is used to force it. Leaves from the upper levels of the plant are naturally darker, and become darker still in the course of fermentation. Among the most senior workers in the factory are the Escogedores - color graders - who work in pairs to color-match the wrappers in any box or bundle of Habanos.
One Escogedor sorts the cigars en masse, dividing them by colors and shades of each color in a pattern of columns and rows that may well represent 60 or more finely distinguished shades.
A second Escogedor then sorts the cigars within each shade, one box-full at a time, ordering them so that any slight differences in tone run dark to light from left to right across the box. The Escogedor also chooses which face of each cigar will face upwards in the box.
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CUBAN CIGAR SAMPLERS
A Cuban Cigar Sampler makes a great gift and is a wonderful way to stock your humidor with a full selection of the finest Cuba offers
We create Cuban Cigar Samplers for several reasons.
- Discounted price saves vs buying singles
- Great selection of Cuban flavors, so you try a variety. Even the best Cuban cigar is not for every day, so we want you to have a full selection in your humidor
- Samplers by size, make shopping easy & convenient
- Makes gift buying easy. A sampler of the size he enjoys. Call to discuss what size he likes, we can help.
- Samplers by brand, so you can try many sizes before you buy a box of your favorite brand
- Our samplers fit in your club box, so you can receive your club discount and FREE shipping as well
Here are just some of our fine Cuban Cigar Samplers
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ROBUSTO SAMPLER NO 1 - 10 cuban cigars
To learn more: visit our Cuban Cigar Samplers page |
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FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS SAMPLER - 20 cuban cigars
To learn more visit our Cuban cigar samplers page
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TRES PETIT CORONA SAMPLER - 14 cuban cigars
To learn more visit our Cuban Cigar Samplers page |
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TORPEDO / BELICOSO SAMPLER - 10 cuban cigars
To learn more visit our Cuban Cigar Samplers page |
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TWOSOME SAMPLER - 12 cuban cigars
To learn more visit our Cuban Cigar Samplers page
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ROBUSTO SAMPLER NO 2 - 10 cuban cigars
To learn more visit our Cuban Cigar Sampler page
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Visit www.canadiancigar.com
Cuban Cigar Samplers page to see ALL our sampler selections and more.... |
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Sale prices on Cuban cigars each month!
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A variety of Cuban cigars!
 | | Click for our April Cuban cigar box sale |
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Check out our
Feature Box Specials
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Our Cuban Cigar
Reviews Section
Cuban
Cigar Review
San Cristobal de la Habana Principe
4 x 42 gorda
Review by Graham S
San Cristobal de la Habana's entry into the petit corona size is the Principe, this one having not quite a claro wrapper, coming in at a 2 of 6 on wrapper shade.
While commonly referred to as tres petit corona, this is actually considered a "short", due to the 42 ring gauge size.
I was leery of lighting this one up as I had been off of the brand for a while but this turned out to be a welcome surprise.
I just cracked a bottle of Belle Glos Pinot Noir, a great wine, and was hoping that the cigar would do it justice.
Well, it sure did!
The initial flavors that hit my palate were toasted almonds, a slight leather undertone with oaky notes and raisins. Very nice! As the cigar progressed, the oak influence became more apparent but the nutty flavor leaned more towards walnut than almond.
The woody, nutty influence carried through to the end of the cigar ending in a smooth, soft, balanced finish.
It turned out to be a very nice accompaniment to a fine wine.
The strength would rate a 5 of 10 and I have no problem giving this cigar a solid 92 of 100.
CA Magazine rated this cigar an 89/100 Aug 2010
GS 2012
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Cuban
Cigar Review
Bolivar
Corona Extra
5 5/8 x 44 gorda
Review by D Fraser
This is a strong side cigar to be  sure, about a 6 1/2 or 7 to me.
The wrapper on this stick was a darker 5 of 6 with an oily wrapper that smelled amazing.
It started with some dark coffee bean notes, combined with hints of leather and burnt woods.
There is a sort of nuttiness about the flavor, but hard to place. A dry and bitter flavor like the skin left on the peanut, but a little more toasted or burnt, like maybe a beernut. Perhaps a nutty burnt dark beer might be a better description...
The finish does have a very dark spice or peppery tone that was pleasant at first, but near the end a little overwhelming. In the larger diameter Bolivar I get a little citrus peel and/or star anise, but this was absent in the corona extra, replaced with the dark spices and strength.
Because Bolivar generally do not become acidic or charcoal, the strength is not an issue at all, though it can leave you a little winded near the finish.
Still, best had as an after dinner cigar as it is very robust and powerful.
I rate this cigar as a 89/100
CA Magazines rated this cigar a 93/100 Nov 2011
DF 2012
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Cuban Cigar Review
Vegas Robaina Famoso
5 5/8 x 48 robusto
Reviewed by Graham S
 The Famoso is Vegas Robaina's robusto entry for their lineup. The 5 x 48 size makes it a popular cigar size and is one cuban cigar that should not be ignored.
It is a medium shade, 3 of 6 cinnamon brown wrapper.
The initial flavors on ignition brought graham wafer, cashews and dried orange peel to mind.
The flavors soften through the length of the cigar, moving towards black tea and earth tones on the finish.
This is a medium bodied cigar of 4/10 and well earned my score of 90/100.
Although not one of the more widely known brands from Cuba, Vegas Robaina is certainly one that should be investigated!
CA Magazine rated this cigar an 91/100 April 2011
GS 2012
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Cigar Aficionado Magazine
Ratings for Cuban cigars from June 2012
H Upmann Sir Winston 94/100
Bolivar Royal Corona 92/100
Romeo y Julieta Short Churchill 92/100
Diplomaticos No 2 91/100
Partagas Short 91/100
Ramon Allones Small Club Corona 91/100
Cohiba Corona Especial 90/100
H Upmann Magnum 50 90/100
Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure Especial 90/100
Montecristo Especial No 2 90/100
Montecristo Open Regatta 90/100
You can enjoy one or all of these fine highly rated Cuban cigars by visiting
www.canadiancigar.com
and placing your order now!
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Just joking...
Your Chuckle for today
A big game hunter went on a safari with his wife and mother-in-law.
One morning, while still deep in the jungle, the hunter's wife awakened to find her mother gone. She woke her husband and they both set off in search of the old woman.
In a clearing not far from the camp, they came upon a chilling sight. The mother-in-law was standing face to face with a ferocious lion.
"What are we going to do?" his horrified wife asked. "Nothing" her husband replied "The lion got himself into this mess, let him get himself out of it".
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Young King Arthur was ambushed and imprisoned by the monarch of a neighboring kingdom. The monarch could have killed him but was moved by Arthur's youth and ideals. So the monarch offered him his freedom as long as he could answer a very difficult question. Arthur would have a year to figure out the answer and if after a year he still had no answer, he would be put to death.
The question: What do women really want? Such a question would perplex even the most knowledgeable man, and to young Arthur, it seemed an impossible query. But, since it was better than death, he accepted the monarch's proposition to have an answer by year's end.
He returned to his kingdom and began to poll everyone: the princess, the priests, the wise men and even the court jester. He spoke with everyone, but no one could give him a satisfactory answer. Many people advised him to consult the old witch, for only she would have the answer. But the price would be high as the witch was famous throughout the kingdom for the exorbitant prices she charged.
The last day of the year arrived and Arthur had no choice but to talk to the witch. She agreed to answer the question, but he would have to agree to her price first. The old witch wanted to marry Sir Lancelot, the most noble of the Knights of the Round Table and Arthur's closest friend!
Young Arthur was horrified. She was hunchbacked and hideous, had only one tooth, smelled like sewage, made obscene noises, etc. He had never encountered such a repugnant creature in all his life. He refused to force his friend to marry her and endure such a terrible burden but Lancelot, learning of the proposal, spoke with Arthur. He said nothing was too big of a sacrifice compared to Arthur's life and the preservation of the Round Table.
Hence, a wedding was proclaimed and the witch answered Arthur's question thus: "What a woman really wants" she answered "is to be in charge of her own life". Everyone in the kingdom instantly knew that the witch had uttered a great truth and that Arthur's life would be spared.
The honeymoon hour approached and Lancelot, steeling himself for a horrific experience, entered the bedroom. But what a sight awaited him. The most beautiful woman he had ever seen lay before him on the bed. The astounded Lancelot asked what had happened. The beauty replied that since he had been so kind to her when she appeared as a witch she would henceforth be her horrible deformed self only half the time and the beautiful maiden the other half.
Which would he prefer? Beautiful during the day... or night? Lancelot pondered the predicament. During the day, a beautiful woman to show off to his friends, but at night, in the privacy of his castle, an old witch? Or, would he prefer having a hideous witch during the day, but by night, a beautiful woman for him to enjoy wondrous intimate moments?
Noble Lancelot said that he would allow HER to make the choice herself. Upon hearing this, she announced that she would be beautiful all the time because he had respected her enough to let her be in charge of her own life.
Now... what is the moral to this story?
The moral is... if you don't let a woman have her own way... things are going to get frigg'in ugly in a hurry! |
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MONTHLY CUBAN CIGAR CLUBS
Four of the finest Cuban cigars sent to your home or office each month.
Billed and shipped monthly, with no minimum sign up period.
Our Monthly Gold club is only $49.95 / mth (shipping included)
Corona, petit corona and tres petit corona with one larger robusto or gorda each month. Smaller sizes suited to anyone new to the Cuban cigar hobby.
5% discount on all other purchases as a Gold member.
Our Monthly Platinum club is only $69.95 /mth (shipping included)
Torpedo's, Robustos, Lonsdales, Churchills and gordas.
Our most popular Monthly Cuban cigar club for good reason.
Great size range, some regional / limited editions
10% off all other purchases as a Platinum member.
Our Monthly Diamond club is only $99.00 / mth (shipping included)
For the seasoned Cuban cigar lover. The largest Cuban lengths & ring gauges show up here.
Double Corona's, Muralla's, Robusto Extra's, torpedo's, churchills and Cuban Limited Editions and Regional Productions.
15% off all other purchases as a Diamond member.
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Alberta, Canada residents please note that AB tobacco tax and gst will be added
See the Alberta resident Monthly Cuban Cigar page for details and specific pricing |
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