Before I was allowed to dedicate my last day at the Arnold André Dominicana factory to the greatest pleasure of all - namely putting together the blend for a personal cigar - I first had to do some more demanding work: I wanted to attach the wrapper leaves to the bunches that I had previously rolled. They were now ready and came out of their molds onto my table.
At first I observed a few more rollers, but it was also true here (at least it is for me): you can watch as often and as carefully as you like - you only learn manual things when you do them yourself.
First you spread out the wrapper very carefully and then you have to recognize where to cut off the edges. You have to cut courageously and at the same time carefully with the chavetta. And be able to estimate how large the leaf needs to be - depending on the size of the vitola.
If you see unattractive spots in the wrapper, you need to cut in such a way that they are removed.
Then place the bunch on the last tip of the wrapper - and off you go. Always keep the wrapper stretched and roll, roll, roll.
After a few bunches, this went reasonably well - but the head of the cigar was then a challenge.
Here you take the cigar away from the table, then in one hand and turn the tobacco leaf in a series of short “rounds” around the tip of the bunch Dexterity and patience....very good to practice both manually again.
For the Montosa Claro - the first string - I got the beautiful Connecticut Shade leaf from Ecuador.
Then my buns were covered with the Buena Vista Incognito - I can reveal the wrapper leaf, you can find it everywhere online - it was a beautiful Habano Ecuador leaf.
Then came a rather “difficult candidate”, namely the wrapper leaf of the Montosa Maduro. It is a dark Mexican Sumatra wrapper leaf, which is processed in advance in the factory under steam in a boiler. You can see an extra movie about this below. An interesting maturing process. But it makes the leaf extremely thin. As I had no time pressure, I was able to roll it very slowly and carefully and got on better with it than with the other wrappers. It was nice and moist and stuck well to the table, which meant I had to stretch the sheet less. Because: finding the right tension is not so easy and varies from one type of cover sheet to another.
Last but not least, I added the wrapper to the Buena Vista Petit Corona, where the small format was again difficult in terms of precision, but it worked and it was good that I was already in practice.
In any case, I was really proud after these exercises and also quite happy. I can take the cigars home with me and when they have rested and aged a bit, they will be tasted.
Now came the most exciting part.
I was allowed to help myself to the tobacco treasure trove and create my own blend.
My choice fell on:
Filler: Olor San Vicente, Piloto Cubano seco, Criollo 98, Corojo
Binder: Negro San Andrés
Wrapper: Habano Ecuador
Simon rolled the cigar quickly as a test (it still takes me a bit longer 😁) and: I liked it! Powerful, spicy... just the way I like it.
But you know how it is: you taste something typical of the country there, take it home and it doesn't taste as good at home.
Let's see. I've rolled the bunches and - because I have to say goodbye to Santiago and the factory - my friends in the factory are now applying the wrapper the next days and I'm getting the cigars sent to me.
So nice, isn't it?
In general: I am very grateful for this time here. Once again, I've learned a lot: about cigars and about myself - what I'm good at and what I'm not so good at, too.
I would like to warmly thank the Arnold André team in Germany and in the Dominican Republic - it remains an unforgettable experience.
Big thank you to:
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