does NC's have better construction compared to CC's?

[swbell20061]

In my short stint of smoking cubans, I have noticed that NC's have better construction on their cigars??? The cubans I have had (bolivar belisco finos, ramone allones, Cohiba siglo I and robustos, H upmann magnum 46, Monte 4's,) the wrappers were a little on the rough and bumpy side... Am I missing something hear or do they roll cigars differently? When i ordered my first few boxes I imagined perfectly rolled wrappers that were as smooth as silk... Not griping just wondering because they still taste great!

[Habanakane21]

I tend to agree with you slightly on this. I smoke 4-5 NC's a month at my local shop. I sit around and see what friends are smoking. All of them have superb wrappers and sheen. The burn and ash are perfect. I tell you what though...they just don't have the flavors of Cuban tobacco plain and simple. But construction wise...NC's seem to have a good thing going.

[dicko]

You do get some perfect construction cubans but yeah i agree generally NC's are better.

flavour is where its at though. a win for CC's.

having said that, if a cigar is plugged doesnt matter how good it would have tasted!!

[MIKA27]

I agree with all here, NC's construction are amazing but I wonder if the majority are constructed using a machine whereas Cubans are mainly made by hand with some also relying on machines to construct.

[adic88]

The quality of a wrapper has nothing to do with how "smooth" or "shiny" it is, imho. Also, how the cigar looks visually (and by this we usually mean the wrapper's appearance) is not really up to the roller; the roller only has what he/she has to deal with, the tobacco that's allocated to him for the day's rolling.

I've got a feeling that the reason why NC wrappers look so gorgeous is because of the level of attention given to them during the growing and post-growing processing of the tobacco. Also, it may have to do with the standards of acceptability in the NC factories -- leaf that wouldn't past muster at an NC factory will be accepted for rolling at a CC factory.

Some CCs have amazing looking wrappers too. See the Cohiba Robustos, Esplendidos, see the Trinidads, see the BHKs. So it seems the really "good" looking wrappers are reserved for these brands.

At the end of the day, while aesthetics makes a difference to the smoking experience, it's probably not a huge % of the smoking pie. For most of us, taste, draw and combustion are much more important characteristics, especially taste. A cigar could look like a dog rocket of a wrapper, but still taste great. Similarly, a gorgeous looking cigar, can actually taste pretty poor.

[Colt45]

I don't really consider wrapper texture a construction element per se - draw, burn - yes. And I do feel that many NC producers create more well constructed,

and consistently more well constructed cigars than do the Cubans.

I mildly disagree with Aiz on the wrapper quality aspect. I think that if a producer spends the time to produce a silky smooth, blemish free wrapper with a

fine sheen of oil, it is of higher quality than a crappy looking counterpart. Flavor, on the other hand, is a different story, and I think looks matter less.

[#2 man]

I would agree with that

[El Presidente]

I've got a feeling that the reason why NC wrappers look so gorgeous is because of the level of attention given to them during the growing and post-growing processing of the tobacco.

In many cases yes Aiz. Padron and Fuente come to mind.

In others, wrappers go through more work then Californian breasts in order to get that "shine"

[Lotusguy]

I have never had a truly plugged NC but I definitely had some plugged CCs. The look of the wrapper does not equal taste, though.

[Habanakane21]

In many cases yes Aiz. Padron and Fuente come to mind.

In others, wrappers go through more work then Californian breasts in order to get that "shine"

Hey!! My wife has "California Breast"...and they're spectacular!! LOL

[El Presidente]

Hey!! My wife has "California Breast"...and they're spectacular!! LOL

...what I would give for a "This Post is Useless Without Photo's" Smiley now

[Omskakas]

...what I would give for a "This Post is Useless Without Photo's" Smiley now

I've got plenty of them.

Hey, Habanakane...

You wife's...

[dicko]

Hey!! My wife has "California Breast"...and they're spectacular!! LOL

.

[anacostiakat]

[FireDigger]

...what I would give for a "This Post is Useless Without Photo's" Smiley now

I suggest pics or BANNNN!!!!

[Rogers72]

I think that you have to include "Draw Too Loose" and "Underfilling" into the "Poor Construction" umbrella. When you do that, i think you may have a higher rate of poor construction with NC's. I don't think the Color/Sheen of the wrapper has anything to do with actual construction...maybe appearance.

[Don Candido]

Being a man married to a pair of California breasts, the whole direction of this topic is boring. I was just resting on them...

As for construction, I was just in Havana. On the Partagas Factory tour, the guide started talking about quality of tobacco and finished product. He offered without any questions that the Cubans have superior tobacco (due to their soil), while maintaining inferior construction. He went so far to say the rollers in Cuba were likely not incentivized enough to do better. The cubans were doing a great job of improving QC, and while those measures are still in place, their salaries (bonuses) were cut severely on the high end when the global markets dropped, but have not been brought back up at all since.

[Colt45]

As for construction, I was just in Havana. On the Partagas Factory tour, the guide started talking about quality of tobacco and finished product. He offered without any questions that the Cubans have superior tobacco (due to their soil), while maintaining inferior construction. He went so far to say the rollers in Cuba were likely not incentivized enough to do better. The cubans were doing a great job of improving QC, and while those measures are still in place, their salaries (bonuses) were cut severely on the high end when the global markets dropped, but have not been brought back up at all since.

Well, well, well - look who's decided to grace us with his presence Where've you been?

I think you're correct about incentives, etc. Rob has also mentioned similar - with low pay, layoffs, and such, there is little incentive for quality.

Which again is not to say that there are not those who take pride in what they do.

[Don Candido]

Well, well, well - look who's decided to grace us with his presence Where've you been?

I think you're correct about incentives, etc. Rob has also mentioned similar - with low pay, layoffs, and such, there is little incentive for quality.

Which again is not to say that there are not those who take pride in what they do.

Honestly? I quit smoking cigars for over a year. This recent trip to Havana would have been impossible without smokes. I was there for a cultural trip, but it just happened to be during the Habanos Festival... We were staying at Hotel Nacional. There were cigars everywhere, all the time. I missed Rob, who did not make it out this year, but ran into other cigar acquaintances. What a fun trip!

[laficion]

OK, I'm willing to accept all that has been said on the above posts, BUT,

can anyone actually tell me that the cigars from all the Padron line have beautiful

wrappers and shine ??

I have never seen an uglier looking wrapper then a Padron cigar.

[Rogers72]

I have never seen an uglier looking wrapper then a Padron cigar.

Agreed. Even their anniversary line seem to have Grayish, Dry, Rough wrappers.

[kcheek]

I'll go against the grain here in defense of CC. I've found premium NC's and CC to be almost equal as far as construction is concerned, almost going so far as to say CC are slightly better constructed.

I have had many, many NC's that were under filled, way too loose and too tight of a draw, burn problems caused by the way the tobacco was rolled and any other issue a CC might suffer from. I have a box of Padron Churchills that are so under filled they should be ashamed of themselves. Also, every Kristoff I've had has been rolled so tight, I couldn't smoke it without running a poker down the end of it.

At this point, I feel one certainly doesn't stand far in front of the other.

[SCgarman]

Ultimately cigars are a hand made product and there will be good rolled cigars and some bad. But on general, Non Cubans construction wise are more consistent than Cubans. Remember, the rollers who work in Dominican,Honduran and Nicaraguan factories are paid much better and have more of an incentive to produce top notch cigars than rollers who work under a communist regime. Comparing the two is like apples to oranges.

[swbell20061]

Ultimately cigars are a hand made product and there will be good rolled cigars and some bad. But on general, Non Cubans construction wise are more consistent than Cubans. Remember, the rollers who work in Dominican,Honduran and Nicaraguan factories are paid much better and have more of an incentive to produce top notch cigars than rollers who work under a communist regime. Comparing the two is like apples to oranges.

Although I dont think this is comparing apples to oranges, i think the NC's have to have better QC. That is their only selling point... to the rest of the world besides the US. And I am pretty sure that the NC producers ( Rocky Patel, Oliva, AVO, Gurkha, Monte, ect) Know this, giving that they sell so many "second's" for cheaper than the originals...

[danclough]

It's been my experience that NC's are far superior to CC's in terms of construction and consistency, and this is lamentable considering the CC's are far superior in flavor. Despite this, I haven't bought an NC in over 2 years, and instead look for the HQ or PSP boxes from the Czar in hopes that the inspection process will ferret out the crud.

I found that Oliva, Padron, and Ashton VSG were all consistently well-constructed...more so than any CC line that I consistently smoke. Perhaps one day we'll get a few private CC manufacturers that have the same quality of tobacco and actually have to compete against each other!