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| THE TALK IS ALL ABOUT TASTE |
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Page 2 of 2
“Roundness to me is the answer to this. It’s not that I want salt, or I want bitterness or I want acid or I want sweet. No, I want something that the whole palate plays and that changes the nuances or the subtleties bouncing back and forth, not in a repetitive fashion, so this is not a boring experience.” Quesada used the Japanese concept of Umami, the so-called “fifth flavor” felt in the mouth, to go further. Umami, he said, “is a reaction to monosodium glutamate, but it is described as a ‘sensation of deliciousness,’ which I thought was most appropriate to speak about palates, when you say ‘a state of deliciousness’ involves everything in your palate is having fun. It’s having a role to play in the sensorial experience which the cigar is affording you. “I want a cigar that has taste, aroma, good flavors, but I don’t want to sweat, I don’t want to puke, I don’t want to get sick. I want to have a wonderful experience.” He also noted that the leaf itself and the technique used to make cigars actually encourages these subtle changes in taste. As a cigar is consumed, “the cigar’s going to taste a little different because different parts of the leaf are going to be involved and come into play,” making a motion like the bunchers do when assembling the filler and binder, folding leaves into the palm of one hand. “The majority of the feet of the leaves are going toward the mouthpiece and those are going to be stronger always because that’s where most of the nutrients are held in the leaf, so they’re going to be a little richer in the structure of the leaf. The tip is going to be a little sweeter and a little lighter, so the cigar’s going to change a little bit. You try to balance it out, but there’s always going to be a little change. You want that.” All of these issues are part of the blending process when trying to create new blends. Leon noted that La Aurora came out with the Aurora 1495 Connoisseur Selection, which offers four cigars with an identical interior blend, but with four different wrappers: Dominican-grown Corojo, Brazilian maduro, Cameroon and Connecticut. “We sell them,” said Leon, “but it’s to let consumers judge the impact of the wrapper. That’s for education more than anything.” Leon agrees that his blends are not as high in profile as their quality might merit. The top seller for the La Aurora factory is the Leon Jimenes line, followed by the regular La Aurora and then the Aurora Preferidos. The La Aurora complex produces both its own blends and makes cigars for others, in handmade, machine-made and flavored styles (hand and machine-made). The factory and its 400 employees produced 21 million cigars last year, of which about nine million were handmade. Quesada’s MATASA is closing in on seven million cigars produced annually, all handmade by a staff of about 325. The compact factory is best known for its various Fonseca lines, two lines of an under-the-radar brand called Cubita and some smaller brands, plus the manufacture of cigars for others such as Casa Blanca, Licenciados, the Nat Sherman Metropolitan Selection and many others. While their cigars have never been better, both are concerned about continuing tax issues and the spread of smoking bans. Quesada’s no. 1 worry? “Prohibition.” That would leave a bad taste in everyone’s mouth, and put a lot of people who staff these two facilities and the thousands more who work in other factories out of work. ~ Rich Perelman CLASSIFIED ADVERTISINGCigar Humidors and Cigar Accessories at Humidor Vault! Your online cigar humidor source, with rock-bottom pricing and fantastic customer support!Like sports? Get news and commentary you won’t see in your morning newspaper at TheSportsExaminer.com! Join the examination! A limited amount of classified advertising is available in this space on a weekly basis. For details, call Pat Harris at (213) 365-7965 or inquire by email by clicking here. Have an opinion? You can send it using the “Comment” button below! Don’t forget to register for our drawing for free cigars and accessories! Just click on the “Register & Win” button above; enter today! Looking for a cigar party? Take a look at our exclusive list of hundreds of cigar events across the country, listed by state and date, only on CigarCyclopedia.com!
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Jim Schoelen
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Hello Mr. Perelman, Your site has become an absolute must read every week! Excellent bits of insight into a fascinating indusrty. I have placed your pocket guides on my must buy list! Thank you for your efforts to educate the ignorant masses. Respectfully, Jim Schoelen |
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Did you know?
“Cellophane sleeves on cigars were introduced into wide use only in the 1940s.
