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Cigars/quality of cigars

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Expert: - 2/21/2010


Question

jeep jeep
I have had noticiable different eperiences in smoking identical brands from different distributors.  For instance a Partagas Serie D No 4 from an on-line source compared to the identical cigar purchased from a local cigar club.  The later was far supreme on all senses of experience.  

I understand proper age is a factor but is there actually different grades of quallity comming out of the Partagas factories only saving the best for Genvea or the English Market Selection?  If so, wouldn't this be a fare warning that prices that appear too good to be true, carry a warning flag of lower quality?

Please define English Market Selection.

Answer
Hi Steen,

There could be many reasons why cigars of the same brand and size can vary from box to box.  The quality of a specific cigar can depend on the batch of tobacco used as well as the production date.  I don't think it's possible for a cigar brand such as Partagas to play favourites and reserve higher quality cigars for certain markets.  It's important to remember that when a certain cigar is being produced (Partagas Serie D4 for example), there are many cigar rollers rolling that particular cigar at the factory.  As the cigars are rolled, they're collected from the rollers and sent to the Escogedores (colour graders) for sorting.  Each cigar is then colour sorted by hand and then packaged into boxes.  As a result, a single box of 25 cigars could have been rolled by 25 different cigar rollers using 25 different bales of tobacco and the quality can vary between each cigar and each box.  These boxes are then sealed and shipped to regional distributors.  Habanos SA will not play favourites by sending better quality cigars to one country over another.

HOWEVER, when the regional distributor receives the cigars, they can inspect them and reserve the better looking cigars for their more successful retailer(s).  This will increase the chances of that box selling more quickly.  

"English Market Selection" (EMS) is a term used to classify a certain wrapper shade preferred by the British market.  The shade is about the same as "Colorado Claro" which is a light medium-to-medium brown colour.  In the UK, cigars that fall into the EMS category will usually have a retailer sticker on the box that identifies the cigars as EMS.

Hopes this answers your questions.  If you have any more questions, please feel to just ask and I will be happy to help.

Regards,
James

James Yee

Expertise

My main area of expertise is Cuban cigars but I can also assist you with cigar etiquette, humidor maintenance and troubleshooting. Unsure of a certain cigar brand? Wondering what a certain cigar tastes like? Have any questions about Cuban cigars? Just let me know! I have smoked every brand of Cuban cigars and most reputable non-Cuban cigar brands on a regular basis so I know a fair bit about taste profiles, cigar etiquette and other fine nuances to cigar smoking. (NOTE: My main focus is on premium, hand-rolled cigars and not cheap, machine made, convenience store cigars.) IMPORTANT: PLEASE NOTE THAT I DO NOT PROVIDE CIGAR OR CIGAR-RELATED APPRAISALS. If you have a vintage cigar item and you want to know if it's worth something, please contact an antique dealer that specializes in "TOBACCIANA".

Experience

I currently have 19 dedicated years of cigar smoking and counting. I have smoked every brand of Cuban cigars and most reputable non-Cuban cigar brands on a regular basis so I know a fair bit about taste profiles, cigar etiquette and other fine nuances to cigar smoking. For 5 years, I studied with Cuban torcedores (rollers), catadores (taste testers) and revisadores (inspectors) on every aspect involving the production of the Cuban cigar and I am currently writing a book that will help beginners understand everything they need to know about cigars and cigar smoking.

Publications
Maple Leaf Gardens: Memories & Dreams 1931-1999 (1999; ISBN: 0920445616)
50 Things Every Guy Should Know How To Do (2006; ISBN: 0452286654)
The [London] Times (October 8, 2009)


Education/Credentials
B.A. University of Toronto

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