Expert: James Yee - 4/28/2008

Question
QUESTION: i usually smoke hoyo Epicure 2 - paratgas No4 - Vegas rohbina Unicos in the morning as for the afternoon Cohiba Genios - Cohiba Sublimas (when i want to spoil myself) - Hoyo DC ..

I noticed that epicure no2 leaves a bitter taste on my tongue and the vegas unicos does this have to do with aging i have a huge selection of both around 500 Cigars that i have in my humidifier if i leave them for about 4-5 years will that bitter or sower tongue feeling disappear or is this normal (i bought all from Habanos Duty free shop on lebanon and Dubai so they are not fakes) i do not get this taste in my tongue after from the cohiba sublimas or genios or the hoyo DC (which is 2003 box)
PS i prefer the Punch cutter so all of these apart from the unicos are punched , does this affect the concentration of flow of smoke on the tongue maybe but this doesnt happen in the cohiba or DC

ANSWER: Amr A. Seoud,

The bitterness that you taste from your cigars is not from aging but instead from the fermentation process.  Most tobacco leaves are naturally sour so to soften the bitterness and reduce the tobacco's acidity, Cuban tobacco leaves are cured in two fermentation stages.  After fermentation, the tobacco will contain less tar, nicotine, have a balanced colour and be less sour.

However, it's possible that some tobacco leaves require more time than others to properly ferment and may still be bitter when it is selected for cigar production.  Don't worry, even though this bitterness can be a common occurence, long-term aging can reduce it and improve your cigar(s) taste.

Cohiba cigars don't have a bitter taste because Cohiba tobacco is put through an extra fermentation process which refines the tobacco even further and makes it truly premium.

Also, using a cigar punch can increase the bitter flavour because your saliva can mix with the tobacco and create a strong tobacco residue that builds up in the small punch opening.  This will cause a strong, sharp, bitter taste the more the cigar is smoked.  Fortunately, this can be corrected by not smoking the cigar too quickly.  By slowing down your smoking pace, there will be less tobacco/saliva residue buildup at the head of the cigar.

Regards,
James

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Dear james
thanks so much for your help
can you please then recomend to me some cohiba 48-52 ring  cigars to stock judging my taste from what i mentioned i smoked
is there any toher brand that is like cohiba fermentation


ANSWER: Hi Amr A Seoud,

Here are all the Cohiba cigars that have a ring gauge larger than 48:

Cohiba Robusto (50 ring)
Siglo VI (52 ring)
Magicos (52 ring)
Genios (52 ring)
Piramide (2001 & 2006 Edicion Limitada; 52 ring)
Double Corona (2003 Edicion Limitada; 49 ring)
Sublimes (2004 Edicion Limitada; 54 ring)
Piramide (Millenium Reserve; 52)
Behike (52 ring)

Unfortunately, no other Cuban brand uses the special triple fermentation process that Cohiba uses.  The brand "Trinidad" was originally thought to use triple fermentation (because Trinidad cigars are very similar to Cohiba cigars) but that was revealed to be not true.

Regards,
James

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Dear james thanks so much
can you please recomend limited edition cigars 48-55 gauge for 2008 and 2007 that i can buy now would be more cheaper than buying later (you know cohiba sublimes box of 25 now is 1100$ i think it was 350$ when it wsas out)


Answer
Hi Amr A Seoud,

Here are the larger Edicion Limitada cigars that have been released within the past 3 years:

2006 Edicion Limitadas
Cohiba Piramides (52 ring)
Montecristo Robusto (50 ring)

2007 Edicion Limitadas
Romeo y Julieta Escudo (50 ring)

2008 Edicion Limitadas
Cuaba Piramides (52 ring)
Montecristo Sublimes (54 ring)
Partagas Serie D No. 5 (50 ring)

Regards,
James