Popular Post 99call Posted January 14 Popular Post Share Posted January 14 19 minutes ago, VeguerosMAN said: Kirby is Cary Grant of Habanos. I get more of a Pee Wee Herman vibe 2 1 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
01Vert Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 The way I look at who Kirby is in reality is based upon those who repeatedly enjoy his company. The Sarhakians seem like class acts, the Foulkes have a tremendous amount of cigar knowledge, Jenna Freeman spending time to be interviewed by a man who cannot market her goods in his home country, etc. The clothes and everything else does nothing for me but through his cannoli have seen some spectacular interviews and conversations with those heavily into Cuban cigars. He is an American who is fascinated by many things British and a certain “dandy” style. Again, not my thing but I believe he is ineluctable, trying to learn and is enthusiastic, sometimes maybe too much in interviews. He has gotten more polished but I believe, like most Americans, he is used to a faster pace where people interrupt each other as a norm in conversation versus say, Eddie Sarhakian, who has a more relaxed, paced conversation style. Either way, I agree him giving exposure is not a bad thing. Especially considering the cigars are part of a “civilized” style and not something that is considered “dirty” like many here in the US consider it as linked to cigarettes and convenience store cigars. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post El Presidente Posted January 23 Author Popular Post Share Posted January 23 I know Kirby would love the 6K views this thread has had 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post 99call Posted January 23 Popular Post Share Posted January 23 5 minutes ago, El Presidente said: 6K It's probably just him. Over and over 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Hammer Smokin' Posted January 23 Popular Post Share Posted January 23 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ha_banos Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 Oh ma gahd. If your not wearing over the calf silk dress socks.... Guess who's back? From Cuba. Life changing. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cnov Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 3 hours ago, ha_banos said: Oh ma gahd. If your not wearing over the calf silk dress socks.... Guess who's back? From Cuba. Life changing. Never before in the history of man have the words "over the calf" been repeated so many times in such a short (much shorter than the socks) period of time. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GavLew79 Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 On 1/9/2024 at 2:54 PM, VeguerosMAN said: How do they blend and know which scraps to work with to get that particular profile in a mini cigar or cig if all the scraps are mixed from different brands? Or are they all taste the same? Bingo. They are not blending minis to a particular profile. I'd argue, the same stands for the premium sticks. With a galera full of rollers working with the same tobacco delivery, on different brands, I'd propose "Marca profile" is indeed a myth. In none of the gallery videos do you see them sorting leaves by brand. They are sorted by type and colour. Granted, I've never been and seen it first hand, but blind tasting results generally corroborate my theory. 2 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asudevil08 Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 On 1/25/2024 at 4:54 AM, ha_banos said: Oh ma gahd. If your not wearing over the calf silk dress socks.... Guess who's back? From Cuba. Life changing. Pretty sure Kirby has gained a few hundred followers just from this diss track thread. Laughin' his way to the bank 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post El Presidente Posted January 25 Author Popular Post Share Posted January 25 47 minutes ago, VeguerosMAN said: So in conclustion, it doesn't make any sense to pay more for name brands when leaves are all mixed together with cheaper brands. There is the master blender. Simplifying, the rollers are given the blend leaves and instructions on how to bunch the filler/blend. Rollers don't need to know if it is a CORO an EPI2, D4. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fugu Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 3 hours ago, El Presidente said: There is the master blender. Simplifying, the rollers are given the blend leaves and instructions on how to bunch the filler/blend. Rollers don't need to know if it is a CORO an EPI2, D4. And Bingo! again. It’s funny at times to see how folks imagine they would penetrate the system because they’d done a factory tour... The fact that most people aren’t able to differentiate the particular species and age classes within a flock of seagulls doesn’t mean they weren’t existing. That much for the explanatory power of blind tastings... 😄 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GavLew79 Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 On 1/25/2024 at 10:21 PM, El Presidente said: There is the master blender. Simplifying, the rollers are given the blend leaves and instructions on how to bunch the filler/blend. Rollers don't need to know if it is a CORO an EPI2, D4. Is it fair to say they are blending for strength/body Rob, rather than flavour? It's normally the ratio of volado to seco to ligero that gets talked about by the master blenders. Don't get me wrong, I'm enamoured with the Cuban flavours, but it's not like one particular finca goes into brand A, and another into brand B. There is no "single estate terroir" as far as I know, it's all from over the Vuelta Abajo, and getting distinct (and consistently so) flavours, from the individual leaves that may end up in any particular brand, seems improbable. It's more likely that the tobacco is largely the same for all brands, from all over the region, not selected farms per brand, and the blenders are aiming for strength & body profile (which they can control via ratios), rather than flavour profile (which they can't control). Happy to be talked-down from here, but I think it's a pretty reasonable and robust assumption. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Corylax18 Posted January 26 Popular Post Share Posted January 26 2 minutes ago, GavLew79 said: Is it fair to say they are blending for strength/body Rob, rather than flavour? It's normally the ratio of volado to seco to ligero that gets talked about by the master blenders. Don't get me wrong, I'm enamoured with the Cuban flavours, but it's not like one particular finca goes into brand A, and another into brand B. There is no "single estate terroir" as far as I know, it's all from over the Vuelta Abajo, and getting distinct (and consistently so) flavours, from the individual leaves that may end up in any particular brand, seems improbable. It's more likely that the tobacco is largely the same for all brands, from all over the region, not selected farms per brand, and the blenders are aiming for strength & body profile (which they can control via ratios), rather than flavour profile (which they can't control). Happy to be talked-down from here, but I think it's a pretty reasonable and robust assumption. Thank You!! I've posted similar before, but this same stupid conversation seems to keep popping up, over and over again. HSA has never published "flavor profiles" for any of the brands. Because they don't exist. As you said, the master blenders take the tobacco they get and decide how that tobacco can best fit the strengths expected for the cigars on order. Maybe the Seco that day is particularly strong, so they may only want a half leaf of ligero in that blend. Maybe the binders they got are of a low priming, so they replace a half leaf of Volado with an extra half leaf of Seco. Etc. Any "expected flavors" you see floating around are made up by people that sell Cigars, Cigar Magazines, or Ads on their cigar websites. Its all nonsense and it's a huge disservice to cigar smokers, especially new ones. It sets expectations with no basis in reality and leads to a tremendous amount of confusion and disappointment when the false expectations aren't met. What HSA HAS published is the anticipated strengths of each line. Again, I've posted this several times before and its free and open for all to view. The people blending and rolling these cigars are some of the poorest on the planet, so its comical to think the blender is sitting their with the raw leaf thinking "how can I get lemongrass flavor from this tobacco?" Or Guinness" or "Jaffa Cake" or any of the other absurd things people label brands with. Most Cubans dont know what Guinness is, let alone what it tastes like. You assumption is very reasonable and backed up by a very robust amount of empirical evidence. But who cares about logic, its all about feelings, right? https://www.habanos.com/en/strengths/ 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ha_banos Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 This is the perfect conversation and question time with Hamlet. He's been in HSA and then some. He knows the blenders. He's told us stories being round table with the old guys and winning 😄 When's the next FOH Zoom session? While we're here, in Kirby's thread lol, how do the NW get consistency? So many questions... 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post MrBirdman Posted January 26 Popular Post Share Posted January 26 One mystery greater than Habanos’s blends/profiles is how in the hell this thread has reached six pages 😵💫 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidfrombrooklyn Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 I have a lot of respect for his work and what he has accomplished. It’s just doesn’t seem genuine at times and that he is trying really hard. Sometimes I just want to put on a pair of sweat pants, kick back with a beer and light my cigar with a bic lighter. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chibearsv Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 9 hours ago, MrBirdman said: One mystery greater than Habanos’s blends/profiles is how in the hell this thread has reached six pages 😵💫 Because you boneheads keep posting..... Dammit my bad 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post 99call Posted February 3 Popular Post Share Posted February 3 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ford2112 Posted February 3 Share Posted February 3 What Kirby thinks his life is... What Kirby's life really is... 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeguerosMAN Posted February 3 Share Posted February 3 Kirby has come a long way from less than 10k subscribers to now more than 700k subscribers. In no time he will reach 1 million subs. Way to go Kirby. Hard work and a little bit of luck goes a long way!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Ford2112 Posted February 4 Popular Post Share Posted February 4 3 hours ago, VeguerosMAN said: Kirby has come a long way from less than 10k subscribers to now more than 700k subscribers. In no time he will reach 1 million subs. Way to go Kirby. Hard work and a little bit of luck goes a long way!! I am happy for you, I mean Kirby!! 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post ha_banos Posted February 22 Popular Post Share Posted February 22 It just doesn't come across quite right..... 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Li Bai Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 3 hours ago, ha_banos said: It just doesn't come across quite right..... "Gentlemen, I would really appreciate if you took your time to do whatever you do, I would hate to see a good cigar go to waste." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puros Y Vino Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 3 hours ago, ha_banos said: It just doesn't come across quite right..... That pic also illustrates the state of the website he has taken over. Just remove the two people working on the problem(s). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puros Y Vino Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 3 hours ago, Li Bai said: "Gentlemen, I would really appreciate if you took your time to do whatever you do, I would hate to see a good cigar go to waste." We smoked in the van rides we took in Havana. No cigars wasted. If anything, it was better than breathing in that legendary Havana roadway exhaust. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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