CigarsLover Magazine I 2023

a lot of tobacco that needs to be valued in a particular
way. To summarize, it is possible to conclude that a new
recipe was born between corporate decisions and the
experience of the master blender. In fact, it is not enough
to have the right intuition, since first of all it is necessary
to verify the feasibility of the project. Such as, the production
constancy for that particular leaf, offered by the
grower (or company) from which the it will buy. Claudio's
answer ends with the noise of the uncorking of a bottle
of very fragrant Cerasuolo di Vittoria "Delle Fontane" of
2017, offered by our Sicilian friend.
While we appreciate the vividness of the color of the wine
that flows languidly into the glass, I feel quite shameless towards
the interlocutor, so much so as to ask him "But there
are some types of leaves, wrapping or filling, which are simpler
to insert in a blend?” While Claudio hands me the glass
of wine, I get the equally cheeky answer (which I deserved):
"Well, if you use a Havana Ecuador wrapper and the result
is a horrible cigar, you were probably the master blender!"
We laugh loudly together and, after a small sip of wine, just
to prepare the palate for a second more attentive sip, the
answer becomes more serious. Getting a blend wrong with
such a versatile wrapper leaf is a difficult task, in which only
a novice or inexperienced master blender (like yours truly)
can succeed. In reality, the discussion becomes broader,
like the vastness of the matter concerning tobacco. There
are no "simple" or "difficult" tobaccos to manage in a blend.
There are, rather, tobaccos that are more inclined or less,
due to their peculiarities, to be combined with other tobaccos,
and this is where the experience of the master blender
comes into play.
For an easier understanding, at least for myself, Sgroi takes
as an example two broadleaf leaves widely used in recent
years: the Connecticut Broadleaf and the Connecticut Ecuador,
the first has a strong, impetuous, decisive personality,
the second is sweeter and meek. Broadleaf, therefore,
seems on paper more difficult to manage, yet, if used in
limited quantities, in a filler that leaves it room to express
itself, a potentially interesting and balanced product will be
obtained. The same goes for Ecuador: its sweet and soft
characters will be overpowered if the filler is made up of tobaccos
that are too spicy and pungent.
We therefore understand, once again, how much "balance"
is the keyword of the master blender's art. Does the same
apply to formats? Once the right blend has been identified,
how does the recipe vary according to the various formats?
It is easy to understand how the number of leaves used to
build a toro is not the same as needed for a corona. It will
therefore be necessary to vary and balance the number of
leaves of the liga conceived, according to the various formats
of the line, in order to offer a certain constancy of
smoke, regardless of the size of the cigar. We cannot speak
of the same smoke, since a longer format offers, at least
mechanically, a more marked evolution than a shorter one.
All thoughts externalized to our interlocutor, while we correct
the combustion of the brazier at our lonsdale. "That's
#1-2023 CigarsLover Magazine
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