Your FOHQnA Questions for Rob and Ken

[99call]

If cigars like the party 898 are now pretty approachable in the first year......where has all the ligero gone? Is it juat that the new strains are getting weaker? Or is there a ligero landfill somewhere in Cuba?

[FatPete]

Why do seasoned cigar smokers have such a difficult time in identifying cigars smoked blind ? 

[bbguardsp]

What's the deal with difficulties bringing boxes of cigars to Ken's house?  The way Rob describes it in several videos, it's as if there is a government checkpoint between the two of you and serious consequences result if caught with multiple cigars!

[anjimj]

Do you keep in touch with Sven and will he ever run a LFTH again?

[bbguardsp]

What are some of the oldest cigars in your collection?  How are they smoking?

[DeeBeezy]

favourite " under the radar" cigar?

[DeeBeezy]

top 3 robustos in the regular production lineup?

[El Presidente]

filming next episode today.....so get your questions in 

[DeeBeezy]

best LE in recent memory?  What about the best VALUE LE?

[DeeBeezy]

favourite cigar store in the world?

[DeeBeezy]

differences in flavour profiles between cuban and non cuban?

[anjimj]

What are your thoughts on Padron cigars? Would you ever reach for one over a cuban cigar?

[The Squiggler]

Question 1:  The wrapper leaves on Cuban cigars appear to be thinner than those used on most Non Cubans.  Are these leaves actually thinner or are they just stretched tighter?  What effect (if any) does this have on the burn of CCs vs NCs?  Is storing CCs at lower at lower RH or dryboxing necessary for this reason?

Question 2:  It is commonly held (in other words, 'we all know...') that most (if not all) Cuban cigars benefit from shelf-aging (aging CCs = good).  Inversely, I have been told by many people that Non Cuban cigars do not need to be shelf-aged due to the longer fermentation times and the common practice of warehouse-aging of these cigars, and that the flavor of NCs will actually diminish if aged for any significant length of time (aging NCs = bad).  Contrarily, I have found that the latter is not always true and that many NCs benefit from an additional 2, 3, 5 (and sometimes even more) years of shelf-aging.  As far as CCs go, the amount of aging required to reach peak flavor seems to vary greatly (though I doubt anybody would disagree that at least a year or two is usually advisable).  Is there a simple way to predict how much age any given cigar will require to hit its peak?  For example: How big of a factor is ring gauge? -or- Can you predict the ideal amount of aging required for a given cigar based on the content of a that cigar (particular filler blend or leaf strain/type -or- wrapper/binder/filler makeup)?