colour or quality?

[bunburyist]

If your house has a set of Russian Ceramic Dolls....you will remain single.

what about Russian Blowup Dolls?

[Ken Gargett]

Vodka got me through several cold nights

you must say hi to vodka for us all on the forum. how is he?

[Ken Gargett]

How come this village has two idiots?

Alcohol production (spirit) is a far more automated system than a hand crafted product.

what you drink is. it would have to be otherwise half the western world would be running boutique alcohol factories for your consumption.

[Kangaroo495]

What about Russian Dolls, every house has a set of them things with at least one of the dolls missing a top half.

What about chicks? Not sure about the women in Cuba and China, but the post-communist girls of Eastern Europe/Central Asia definitely qualify as top quality. And just like the Russian Dolls - it's easy to take their tops off.

[matthew261]

I would definitely appreciate consistency over color every time as long as I got properly rolled cigars every time. The only downside I see with this theory, is the possibility of getting an entire box of plugged cigars because the roller was hungover, mad at his wife, and nursing a toothache. But I'm sure that would never happen...

[SamuraiJack]

color/appearance mean nothing to me.

[sepp]

Musing questions about the process that might contribute to this: Isn't there a separation of labor between the intial rolling and final application of the Wrapper and Caps? Aren't the sticks rolled to the binder and then set a side for shaping and draw testing and then returned to the rollers for Wrapper and Cap application. Does this mean that different rollers are putting the finish on other rollers cigars? Thus judging consistency of roll/roller could only be accomplished if each roller kept control of thier product start to finish?

[thechenman]

i suspect that might not be so. someone will buy those boxes and if he has improved then they'll take notice. the problem for them will be when he doesn't improve, in which case he should probably not be rolling in the first place.

Of course I would prefer to have consistency and color in presentation, but allowed to choose only one, I would have to go with consistency.

Instead of rollers using their names, I think a alphanumeric code would probably be the better option. Also, what bucho brought up in terms or a rollers reputation carrying over long-term, I think that is something that needs real consideration. Not everyone roller is going to be a great one, and even the ones who become great, may not have been "all that" int he beginning. My suggestion would be for the code assigned to a particular roller to be changed each year. Annula records could of course be kept by the Cubans so they have a record for each roller, each year.

[rahko]

One simplistic solution would to make sure each roller had wrapper leaves of the same, or as nearly possible, color.

I've always wondered about this. What is the reason for sorting out the finished product by color, and not the wrapper leaves?

[MontrealRon]

Other than the "star" rollers already well known in the Havana divans,

and, no doubt, a few genuine artists in the factories,

there may not be so much of a difference between the work of most rollers.

It is quite possible that if one could sample the same roller's work,

even from the same day, there would be better and lesser cigars.

There is always pressure to work quickly, to fill quotas.

Mistakes will be made; a wrong twist, and a cigar is plugged,

while the one before, and the one after might be fine.

Sure, some might screw up more often than others,

but some might also have bad days more or less occasionally.

The leaves can also vary in thickness,

which can throw off a roller into using too much or too little.

Much depends on the relative consistancy of what he roller has to work with.

Since no two leaves are identical, there will always be variation,

in taste, strength, aroma, and draw.

All we are asking, really, is that these variations stay within reasonable limits.

I may be the lone voice in the wilderness here,

but I like opening a box of uniform, beautifully-coloured cigars.

We know as well that different coloured wrappers taste differently,

so consistency of colour works towards consistency of taste.

And what about all those amazing pictures of the HQ and PSP boxes?

Imagine them with a mix of anything-goes wrappers!

[jquest63]

If I can't have both, then Quality.