HAND-ROLLING CIGARS
Hand-rolling cigars is a challenging skill that can only be mastered after years of practice. There are some highly skilled rollers in each cigar factory. They are responsible for rolling the highest quality cigars. Only after undergoing serious training are the cigar rollers permitted to roll cigars for sale and export.
There are several processes and steps to be taken for producing a result – a cigar ready to be smoked. You really need to learn about the entire process, and how complex it is, so, you will really appreciate the hard work of multiple people: those who plant, maintain and grow the tobacco; those who collect the leaves, those who transport and store them in special warehouses for a specific time; those who cure and ferment them; those who choose ready to use leaves and brings them to the rolling factory (sometimes, hundreds of miles away); those who separate good leaves from lower quality ones as well as removes the middle vein of a leaf – midrib – to avoid uneven cigar burning; those who actually roll the cigars; and finally those who put the labels on and select the best cigars for the boxes intended for sale. If you haven't read about harvesting tobacco, I encourage you to do so now.
While on vacation in the Dominican Republic in 2008, I was able to record the videos while visiting a local cigar factory. You have the opportunity to see the process of rolling cigars. Below are the links to the videos (.AVI format).
After you’ve watched the videos on cigar rolling, you will probably agree that the step that seems the most straightforward is the bunching of the filler leaves. However, even this apparently basic step can be incredibly complex.
There are five main techniques for bunching filler tobacco for straight, or parejo, cigars: machine-assisted, book, accordion, and entubado. The last one is a hybrid method: figurado.
Machine-assisted bunching encompasses spreading the binder and fillers on a machine called the Lieberman Bunching Machine, which mechanically rolls them. Despite the use of a machine, cigars rolled using machine-assisted bunching are still considered handmade premiums.
Accordion bunching requires the roller to fold each filler leaf (like a book) and then stack the folded leaves on top of one another. The multitude of folds allows for greater airflow, and therefore a better draw.
Book bunching (as shown in a video) involves stacking filler leaves flat on top of one another and then folding them, much like a book. Since this method is the fastest of the hand-bunching techniques, it is obviously the most popular. However, this technique can result in a tighter draw than the other two hand-bunching techniques.
The last one is the most complex and time-consuming of the bunching techniques. Entubado bunching involves rolling each leaf individually and binding them together. As you can imagine, it is the most challenging process; therefore, it is used for special-production cigars in small quantities. Rolling each leaf individually allows for the creation of a more firmly packed cigar, which lets the air flow between each leaf and, as a result, delivers more aromatics and flavor to the palate.
You may find more videos about cigar-rolling bunching techniques at the Tobacconist University site.
Once the blend has been selected, it takes no time at all to turn it from leaf to cigar. A buncher rolls one leaf of binder (sometimes two with smaller leaves, particularly in Cuba) around a group of filler leaves, then places the bunch in a mold, where it sits for several hours, being turned several times to avoid having a seam along the side. Once it is firm and its shape is secure, the bunch is given to a roller. (In some cigar factories, one person does both rolling and bunching.) The roller wraps one wrapper leaf around the cigar, taking a minute or so to do the work.
A cigar roller can make 500 cigars in a day if allowed to work at his fastest pace, but typically, a cigar factory manager will limit his workers to far fewer. One hundred fifty is more typical.
The years have taken the tobacco from seed to finished leaf, ready to be rolled, but there's more to the journey before a cigar becomes a brand. Bigger companies, such as Altadis U.S.A. Inc. and General Cigar, produce dozens of brands, so new creations are a vital part of their business. Often, blends are created by a company's cigar factory managers, then the marketing team figures out a way to sell the best of the bunch.
They work with various tobacco combinations and develop other blends. Blending cigars may take more than a year. The genesis of creating a great blend is often invisible. The cigar connoisseur is experiencing only the culmination of the artist's long years of dedication and effort. Yet, a cigar is much more than a skilled laborer's assembly of the tobacco leaves; it is the gift of artisans who rely on their hands to forge a solid elixir of simple pleasure.
After cigars are rolled, they are placed in an aging room where they remain for a minimum of 21 days. This permits the tobaccos to "marry," or blend, and acquire balance. Some companies age their cigars for up to six months or even more (like Padrón) before shipping.
Once the aging is finished, the cigars are spread onto tables. They are sorted by hand into groups of 20 or 25, which will then be placed in the same box. The process requires a keen eye for color, as there may be as many as 20 slight color variations. A sorter may also reject cigars if they have any visible flaws, such as cracks or blemishes. The cigars are then placed into boxes made of cardboard or Spanish cedar (depending on the packaging style, some cigars are wrapped in cellophane), sealed, and shipped.
The next hand to caress the cigar's wrapper should be the smoker's, the final gentle touch in a cigar's life.
Once the cigar is ready, companies promote it to tobacco retailers, often at the annual Retail Tobacco Dealers of America trade show. After receiving enough orders, the manufacturers begin shipping the cigars.
"Quite frankly," says Jon Huber, chief marketing officer of C.A.O. International Inc., "there is a lot more that goes into bringing a line to market than most people would suspect."
Could you pause for a moment before you turn that cigar to ash? Because, from seed to box, it's been on a journey that may have lasted five years or more. Take your time enjoying the smoke, man.
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