A case of the beetles?


Recommended Posts

Good day fellow leaf enthusiasts.

About a month ago i was fortunate enough to find a Montecristo A in the tobacco shop at the restaurant El Aljibe in Miramar, Havana (i'm sure many here have had the pleasure of stuffing their faces with the delicious chicken there, but that's another matter).

Upon inspection i noticed a little hole near the foot of the cigar but thought nothing of it, i was buying that stick no matter what.

When i got back home i put all the cigars i bought on the trip in a -15°c freezer for 72 hours as i do with any incoming cigars.

I wanted to share 2 photos of the hole with more experienced smokers than myself and ask if your opinion on wether this hole is simple wrapper damage or if maybe a while back a little bugger dug it?

http://imgur.com/a/ceQvA

- i tried to get the images to appear in the post, but my computer knowledge is not what it used to be :/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

looks like a beetle hole to me mate ,but since you froze it it should be OK ,but to be sure I would smoke as soon as possible

cheers OZ

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I concur. Very neat and tidy beetle hole.

Discovered something similar in a PSD4 a while back. While that cigar, like yours, had also be frozen by Habanos SA, for whatever reason one beetle and one larvae barely survived the freezing process enough for the beetle to chew his way out and then collapse in the aluminum tube. I guess something similar with your stick. Likely that little bugger (pun intended) in your stick is a goner. Smoke away!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It certainly looks like a beetle hole. It's round and it appears to penetrate the binder as well as the wrapper and into the bunch. That's the tell tale. Well, if you find beetle poop, that's the clincher diagnosis for an active infestation.

Wilkey

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There are plenty of beetle infested cigar shops in Cuba.

This includes some very well known LCDH shops. Saw them with my own eyes, scampering across the tables and countertops.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I should clarify though - they didn't necessarily originate from the Habanos stock on sale, and very likely came into those shops as a result of catching a ride in on the tobacco used for custom rolled cigars.

I had never seen tobacco beetle damage in person until I was in Havana.

When I got back home from this last trip, I thoroughly inspected all the cigars I had brought back home with me. There were no fewer than 5 (out of about 50) customs that had beetle damage. Needless to say I froze all my sticks, and quarantined the customs from my other stock when they went into my cigar storage.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the response guys.

Then this is the first beetle hole i've seen glad i froze the bastard, was probably long gone anyways but better safe than sorry, especially as i brought in customs as well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

Community Software by Invision Power Services, Inc.