Montecristo Cuban VS Dominican Part 2 (The Dissection)

[wdh]

» Which gave me the idea of dissecting a Monte #2 Cuban

Oy....you cut up a perfectly good Monte #2

Reminds me of the words to John Hiatt's song "Perfectly Good Guitar"

"...it breaks my heart to see those stars, smashing a perfectly good guitar, who in the world do they think they are, smashing a perfectly good guitar..."

Substitue lyrics where appropriate....

[Ethernut]

» » Which gave me the idea of dissecting a Monte #2 Cuban

»

» Oy....you cut up a perfectly good Monte #2

»

» Reminds me of the words to John Hiatt's song "Perfectly Good Guitar"

»

» "...it breaks my heart to see those stars, smashing a perfectly good

» guitar, who in the world do they think they are, smashing a perfectly good

» guitar..."

»

» Substitue lyrics where appropriate....

:-D Yeah, I thought it would be fun (and it was).. Besides, I know where to get more. Now if Lisa would email me back about those Monte #2 Vintage Stock Boxes coming in, I'll have some real NICE ones to tear apart. :surprised:

Yeah, I guess I'm a little nutty, but as Mel says, I have balls! ;-)

[nugget]

Good pictures, interesting, but a waste of a good cigar.

[Ethernut]

» Good pictures, interesting, but a waste of a good cigar.

Glad you liked the pictures and found them to be interesting. A waste? what is waste? Waste is a perception.

Man, My things don't own me, I own my things. I had fun with it, that's what matters. The experiment cost me about 24 dollars and my time.

Every time I smoke an expensive Cigar isn't it just like setting money on fire? Now that's a waste! ;-)

Ether..

[nugget]

Glad to hear you had fun.

I enjoyed the pictures as I said.

Personally I like smoking them so much I couldn't bring myself to cutting one up.

But if it does it for you, knock yourself out, because your right, you own them.

[Ethernut]

I really just thought folks might enjoy it and get a kick out of it. I was interested and curious as well. :-)

I was hoping the the Dominican would be full of crap tobacco flakes (so I could make fun of them) but that doesn't appear to be the case..

[shrink]

Wilkey will enjoy this. :-)

I have to admit, the construction on the Dominican looks as good, or better, than the Habanos.

Has anyone tasted the Dominican No. 2?

[zuma]

» Which gave me the idea of dissecting a Monte #2 Cuban and Monte #2

» Dominican.

What an excellent research project!

Mind you, most of what you got out of it would be nigh impossible for us in cyberspace to perceive.

You have done a fantastic job at photo documenting the different steps of the dissecting process, but I wish I could have been there to appreciate the aromas and textures (and possibly tastes) present in each dissection stage. It would be almost as if you would be smoking it in a different perception realm... I might slaughter one of mine just for the sheer pleasure of knowledge and, once the forensic exam is done, put individual pieces in a pipe as an offering to the Taino god of fire.

Well done ether...

[Gryphon]

Fantastic exercise. Thanks for taking one for the team.

Now, can you put them back together?:-D

[Cam]

very nice work

enjoyed the short read and pictures

[GoSteelers]

Cool experiment but, did you really think there was going to be a huge difference in the construction?

Altadis owns them both Cuban & Dominican and Montecristo is their STAR! Maybe next time compare one of their cheaper cigars like H. Upmann may find some substatial differences there.

Did you smoke Cuban & Dominican, would like to see your tasting comparison if so.

[Moglman]

Nice pics, and great job in the comparison. I was also impressed in the Dominican construction, visually. For those who haven't dissected a cigar before, I think this is an excellent learning experience, and well worth the cost of a good cigar. With the many different ways to identify a counterfeit, dissection is one of the surest, and a good frame of reference is a must.

[Miami101]

Looks good...I would of like to see a review on how they smoke also, and burn...smell....

Over all this is the kind of posting I like to see....

Great good!!!

People keep them coming.

[Colt45]

The NC construction does not surprise me - I find that the construction of many NCs

equals or surpasses that of many Havanas. Flavor, on the other hand, is a different

story.......

[El Presidente]

I agree on NC construction however I find the average draw to be a little too loose. Is it just me?

[Colt45]

» I agree on NC construction however I find the average draw to be a little

» too loose. Is it just me?

I would tend to agree - almost as if producers might be willing to err on the side of

a loose draw over a tight draw.

[Ginseng]

» Wilkey will enjoy this. :-)

»

» I have to admit, the construction on the Dominican looks as good, or

» better, than the Habanos.

Indeed! I applaud ethernut's little project. And I totally agree with his perspective on this. Sometimes, not often, but once in a while, a cigar serves us best not by being smoked, but in some other way. Value or the lack there of and meaningful use or the lack thereof, are highly subjective. Not in an absolute sense, but in a practical sense.

I certainly don't feel badly about the forensic work I've done. Taking apart the HdM Churchills that time was well worth what I learned.

Thank you for adding to our understanding of Cuban-NonCuban differences and similarities.

Also, I've smoked my fair share of C and NC and I have not really been able to make a generalization regarding draw. Both species span the range from tight to loose. In my experience, and my experience only, C and NC seem no different with respect to draw. I have, however, found the superficial construction of Habanos to generally be superior. The "triple cap" method of closing the head introduces a linchpin for establishing a consistency that does not exist in NC. Aside from Padron, Fuente, Ashton, and other high-end brands that are renowned for their consistency in all respects.

Wilkey

[Ethernut]

Much appreciate it Wilkey. I must admit that I've been VERY impressed with vitolas.net and was partially inspired by it to dissect. If you can use the photos and would like them for vitolas you're welcome to them.

To everyone else that responded, thanks for the kind words. I'm glad you enjoyed the photos. I wish I had the insight to actually smell each layer of tobacco and classify it. But by sniffer isn't nearly as refined as some of yours...

So whats next? maybe I can take a bit of advice and dissect a Upman #2 Hab/Dom. That could be interesting.

Again.. Thanks all!

Ether...

[Mel]

Waste of a cigar?? My wife says burning them is a waste.:-| Some guys have been know to let ladies play with them is that a waste? Once you buy them your the boss.;-) I wish most of the Cuban rollers would go to the DR and learn how to roll.

[Ginseng]

» So whats next? maybe I can take a bit of advice and dissect a Upman #2

» Hab/Dom. That could be interesting.

»

» Again.. Thanks all!

»

» Ether...

Hey Ether,

Would you clarify what you mean by "core?"

If you're going to dissect another, might I suggest doing a Fuente product? I'd love to see a contrast between their entubar construction and the more common book-bunch construction.

Wilkey

[Ethernut]

» » So whats next? maybe I can take a bit of advice and dissect a Upman #2

» » Hab/Dom. That could be interesting.

» »

» » Again.. Thanks all!

» »

» » Ether...

»

» Hey Ether,

»

» Would you clarify what you mean by "core?"

»

» If you're going to dissect another, might I suggest doing a Fuente

» product? I'd love to see a contrast between their entubar construction and

» the more common book-bunch construction.

»

» Wilkey

Well, I was using my redneck nomenclature, but I was referring to the core (or center) as the part that was left after I had extracted the binder and outermost filler. The core to me was the very center of the cigar. Best illustrated by the Monte #2 Dominican Filler Part 2 picture, the core filler spread apart and Part 3 is it fully pulled apart and laying on the table.

I'd be happy to contrast a Fuente at some point, wanna donate one? ;-) . Do you have a particular model that you'd suggest? Would a hemmingway serve the purpose? What would you like to contrast it against?

I was going to attempt to do a Upman Hab/Dom #2 next, but I have to run by the local cigar place to get a Dom version, maybe I can pick up a Fuente as well.

lemme know..

Thanks Wilkey.

[Ethernut]

» Waste of a cigar?? My wife says burning them is a waste.:-| Some guys have

» been know to let ladies play with them is that a waste? Once you buy them

» your the boss.;-) I wish most of the Cuban rollers would go to the DR and

» learn how to roll.

Mel I always enjoy reading your posts... :-P Ladies playing with them eh? Now what could a gal do with a Cigar? *snicker* *nudge*

[GoSteelers]

I'll donate you a Dominican Upmann if you are gonna do another disection.

[Ginseng]

» Well, I was using my redneck nomenclature, but I was referring to the core

» (or center) as the part that was left after I had extracted the binder and

» outermost filler. The core to me was the very center of the cigar. Best

» illustrated by the Monte #2 Dominican Filler Part 2 picture, the core

» filler spread apart and Part 3 is it fully pulled apart and laying on the

» table.

»

» I'd be happy to contrast a Fuente at some point, wanna donate one? ;-) .

» Do you have a particular model that you'd suggest? Would a hemmingway

» serve the purpose? What would you like to contrast it against?

»

» I was going to attempt to do a Upman Hab/Dom #2 next, but I have to run by

» the local cigar place to get a Dom version, maybe I can pick up a Fuente as

» well.

»

» lemme know..

»

» Thanks Wilkey.

Ahhh,

What you call the core, I call the filler bunch. I can send you a Fuente to dissect if you can't find one locally. I'd go for something like a Cuban Beli or Chateau Fuente or Double Chateau. No need to savage an OpusX or Añejo to the cause...yet. The Fuente cigars always amaze me because even though you might get one that is rock-freakin' hard, the draw is almost always just right. I've been uncritically attributing this to the entubar method of bunching the filler. The only exception to this observation being the odd little Short Story in the Hemingway line. Those do get bitching tight on occasion. I would simply compare it against a cigar of identical/similar dimensions (ring).

Wilkey

[Ethernut]

[link=http://www.friendsofhabanos.com/board_entry.php?id=50684]Thread Part One for reference...[/link]

This weekend, my Dad and I hung out and smoked a few cigars (Monte #2, #4, H. Upman #2, Diplomaticos #4).

I began to tell him about the differences between a Cuban cigar and the rest of the world. Differences like the tell tale triple cap, long filler and the way the tobacco is rolled. When we got back to the his place I picked an "el cheapo" cigar. We broke it apart to reveal loose filler tobacco inside. Dad was pretty surprised by the loose filler and the difference in the way the tobacco is rolled. The loose filler in el cheapo looked like crap as well, all different colors.

Which gave me the idea of dissecting a Monte #2 Cuban and Monte #2 Dominican.

When both cigars are side by side the Cuban will always be on the left.

Please add commentary about the tobacco properties and I'll add it to my pictures. A fun little exercise I hope you enjoy.

If anyone wants the LARGE Pictures so you can expand them for a closer look, PM me and I'll send them to you. They are 6.2 Meg before I had to FOHize them.

Rob can you write this off as R&D? :-D

Mono y Mono

The Foot (Cuban on Left)

Cuban Wrapper and Cap (Cap and Wrapper were 2 pieces)

Dominican Wapper and Cap

Cuban Binder

Dominican Binder

Mono y Mono Naked! No Wrapper or Binder (Cuban on Left) The Dominican looks fatter because it began to unravel a bit, it was actually the same size as the Cuban or maybe a bit smaller in diameter. Also the Dominican has some white crusty stuff on it as you can see. What's that crap?

Cuban Filler Part 1 (Notice Core at top)

Cuban Filler Part 2 (The Core dissected)

Dominican Filler Part 1 (Notice the Core at top)

Dominican Filler Part 2 (I took this picture because thats the way it came apart as everything was bound to the top)

Dominican Filler Part 3 (The Core Extracted)

....Ether....