Tobacco, what an amazing crop. It is sun grown, shade-grown, and nurtured to be the perfect size leaf and texture as well as the appropriate stem and vein distribution. The location of the leaf on the plant also determines the taste and chemical composition of the leaf when it is tasted and smoked. The amount of shade (indoor) or outdoor (clouds) is also a factor as well as the chemical and fertilizer makeup in the soil. It seems that the same leaf even tastes differently when grown in different geographic locations.
The tobacco is fermented (two or more times) with the best tobacco being handled with the most care and the most time. One can even taste the depth of the taste associated with the care of the farmers and fermenters. Storage plays a significant role as the tobacco bales meld and blend and share a unified singularity of flavor and time adds it's hand in such a pleasant elegant way. We all know that time perfects wine, whiskey, and scotch - but it also adds depth and removes harshness from the tobacco. Some tobacco is aged in oak crates and others in more exotic containers (old whiskey barrels, for example...).
The blender is an invaluable asset to the product which is as artistic as it is tasty. Choosing the correct tobacco for the function and location within the cigar is key. Some is chosen for it's flammability and burn, others for it's specific taste.
The filler tobacco is the middle bundling, which adds some structural value and a good bit of taste, but is key in the burn and smoke provided to the connoisseur. The binder is the structural element that is key in preventing the expansion of the cigar as it heats up. Without a good binder, the cigar will not be fit to smoke. The wrapper is important to the merchant, as it is the part that the consumer will see. There are those who argue that the wrapper also provides 70% of the taste, but if it does - then it provides more to those who taste and chew on the wrapper as they smoke the stogie. Different wrappers do provide dramatically different flavors to the imbiber.
The other major role in cigar-making is the Torcedor. He constructs the cigar with such care as to mechanically make it an easily enjoyable and pleasant smoke. Too tight a cigar will draw too poorly and will make for a difficult time maintaining the combustion and lose the joy of a relaxing smoke. Too loose a cigar will smoke too quickly and as such will fail to allow one to enjoy an extended period of pleasure. Cigars crack and unravel if not roled properly, not to mention tunneling, flowering, and canoeing.
(almost) Last, but not least, is the person who is responsible to box, bundle, and store the cigars. The Spanish Cedar lined boxes are an example of a technique that adds significant flavor to, and preserves the cigars while they await the time when they will fulfill the purpose for which they were created. They wait patiently and never complain-understanding that the wait only enhances their good attributes and allows them to develop depth and uniformity in accordance with such as was desired by the Blender. They realize that their strength and flavor as well as their palatability are a function of other cigars with whom they are placed. The ones on the top of the box are smoked with a new fresh delight, the middle appreciated for the calmness and consistency of flavor, and the ones on the bottom savored slowly as the smoker looks back in fond reminiscence of an enjoyable box of stogies.
The merchant plays a role in his care of the cigars. He can baby and cherish them, and as so they will continue the aging experience in a profitable manner. His poor care can also ruin a great cigar. There is a paternal role in this endeavor. An excellent merchant may even be able to repair a damaged cigar, if it is done with a gentle and knowledgeable hand.
The cigar connoisseur is then responsible for the storage and care of his own cigars. He can treat them well and age them well and they will provide hours of pleasant enjoyment to his palate. He can combine them with spirits to enhance or tone them down and bring out other flavorful nuances. The timing of the smoke can also be key in the enjoyment of the stick. Whether it is the season, the climate, or the relationship of the timing to a meal - all these play a role in the experience. The company kept while enjoying the vice is a factor that can play a sizable role as well.
In all the process on can see the hand of The Maker as He guides the process thru crop placement, growth, harvest, fermentation, storage of bales, selection of mixes, gathering the filler, binding the filler, wrapping the outer leaf, dressing the stogie with a label, placing it with others in harmony in the situation that is specific to each, and caring for each individually from birth to finalization - when the realization of it's ultimate purpose is accomplished.
May we all come to appreciate the care of the Master Blender, Caretaker, and Nourisher of our (marathon and sometimes delayed) creation. May we value His hands and tender care, as well as His well appropriated delays, understanding that He knows the end from the beginning and has chosen us for a specific purpose, place, and time. May we palatable to those with whom we are exposed and impart the flavor that He has chosen for us to a broken weary and distracted world.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Monday, September 6, 2010
the smell of beer reminds me of Sunday School
Alternate title: "Beer and Cigars"
When I was in Junior High my parents and some other families decided to start a new church in a nearby town. They were only able to find one inexpensive building to rent. It was an old Quonset hut (an empty USArmy Barracks) that had been turned into a meeting place for the Alvin Jaycees. The Jaycees were known for their Saturday night beer parties. The County of Brazoria was a "damp" county - which in Texas meant that they could serve and sell beer, but not liquor. The building had a concrete floor and the beer would often penetrate and envelope the perimeter of the place. It had a small narrow kitchen. The High School Sunday School class met there, where the beer keg remnants filled the back corner.
I had not been exposed to beer in any other environment despite the fact that both sets of my Wisconsin German grandparents partook. We only saw them for two weeks during the summer, and I was more effected by their cigarette chain smoking. My maternal grandfather and uncle both enjoyed pipe smoking, and that odor always carries me back to the mild cool summers that we spent with them in southern Wisconsin. It is amazing how smells are associated with events and times as well as people. Cigar smell has always been an enticing aroma to my nares.
To this day, the smell of beer still reminds me of those times in Sunday School in that cramped kitchen. It was a naive and innocent time. There was a hope even in the face of a sparse crowd that the church would grow and someday have a nicer place to meet.
"The factors reviewed here suggest that the sense of smell is more important in humans than is generally realized, which in turn suggests that it may have played a bigger role in the evolution of human diet, habitat, and social behavior than has been appreciated. All of these considerations should stimulate a greater interest in this neglected sense."
The bonds forged during those times linger long and run deep. I am reminded that both hardship and pleasant times leave marks on our souls and provide the Potter with clay that is soft and loyalty that evades even the closest familial bonds that we share.
Sitting with friends and enjoying a fine cigar adds triple enjoyment to the time...
When I was in Junior High my parents and some other families decided to start a new church in a nearby town. They were only able to find one inexpensive building to rent. It was an old Quonset hut (an empty USArmy Barracks) that had been turned into a meeting place for the Alvin Jaycees. The Jaycees were known for their Saturday night beer parties. The County of Brazoria was a "damp" county - which in Texas meant that they could serve and sell beer, but not liquor. The building had a concrete floor and the beer would often penetrate and envelope the perimeter of the place. It had a small narrow kitchen. The High School Sunday School class met there, where the beer keg remnants filled the back corner.
I had not been exposed to beer in any other environment despite the fact that both sets of my Wisconsin German grandparents partook. We only saw them for two weeks during the summer, and I was more effected by their cigarette chain smoking. My maternal grandfather and uncle both enjoyed pipe smoking, and that odor always carries me back to the mild cool summers that we spent with them in southern Wisconsin. It is amazing how smells are associated with events and times as well as people. Cigar smell has always been an enticing aroma to my nares.
To this day, the smell of beer still reminds me of those times in Sunday School in that cramped kitchen. It was a naive and innocent time. There was a hope even in the face of a sparse crowd that the church would grow and someday have a nicer place to meet.
"The factors reviewed here suggest that the sense of smell is more important in humans than is generally realized, which in turn suggests that it may have played a bigger role in the evolution of human diet, habitat, and social behavior than has been appreciated. All of these considerations should stimulate a greater interest in this neglected sense."
The bonds forged during those times linger long and run deep. I am reminded that both hardship and pleasant times leave marks on our souls and provide the Potter with clay that is soft and loyalty that evades even the closest familial bonds that we share.
Sitting with friends and enjoying a fine cigar adds triple enjoyment to the time...
Weary Rest
If there are any consistent followers of this blog, you have probably noticed that the posts have been few and far between, Some of this has been writer's cramp and some of it has been my desire to not write unless I enjoyed doing so. Blogs should be an enjoyable expression of our fancy. I have contributed more than my share to FB, and yet have not forgotten this precious forum for expression. I don't want to be a cigar review blog, as much as I want to express my thoughts and mention a cigar or two. I think I will continue to blog about such matters and cigars...your patience is appreciated.
The cigar to restart the journey is the Kristoff Maduro belicoso. It is a dark tasty wonder with a pig-tail foot. It burns well and tends to fill the taste buds with coffee flavors. It burns well. Mine came in a rough, but attractive box. The darkness of the cigar is very enticing, as is the abundant smoke. This is a good one to restart an old habit...
The cigar to restart the journey is the Kristoff Maduro belicoso. It is a dark tasty wonder with a pig-tail foot. It burns well and tends to fill the taste buds with coffee flavors. It burns well. Mine came in a rough, but attractive box. The darkness of the cigar is very enticing, as is the abundant smoke. This is a good one to restart an old habit...
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