Cubans - which brand gets which leaf

[Gubbins]

I’ve tried to find the answer to this online a few times with no real success. I've read things in the past like ‘Cohiba gets the best wrappers etc’ which would suggest the leaf is coming from a selection of different farms. However, I always assumed that a brands flavour profile not only came from the blend, but also from a specific farm(s) and thus got that particular make-up of soil / microclimate baked in, creating a different DNA to other brands.

I understand the best leaf for the top brands is coming from the Vuelta Abajo region. But just how specific?  Do brands have their own exclusive farms, or is there an Element of sharing? For example, are there ever cases where 2 or 3 brands will take leaf from the same farms? Do brands have a selection of exclusive farms that they will take leaf from, or just one, two?

I hope my question is clear. Forgive my ignorance, and I look forward to hearing from those who know more than I do.

Cheers

[El Presidente]

In the main, think NV Champagne. 

The aim is to blend cigars that remain consistent to the cigar (marque/vitola) flavour profile. The blend will change subject to the tobacco characteristics at hand. Different years/crops, differing flavours....adjustments to blend are made in order to attain flavour consistency. Farm specific, no. Region specific, to a point. Maestra line is such a case in point (San Luis). 

However when "push comes to shove", quota trumps all. 

 

[Gubbins]

Thanks for the reply, I was hoping you would chip in.

I must say that I'm quite surprised by that answer. Probably because I am under appreciating the complexities in the blending process. Following a factory tour in Cuba, I always assumed that a blend for a brand specific vitola was simply a case of taking (excuse the poor example) x percent volado, y percent seco, z percent Ligero. And in general the specific amount wasn’t scientific or weighed out but more akin to rough estimates (half a leaf of this, a full leaf of that) and that the region / farm it came from would create much of the DNA/ flavour profile difference between two mirrored vitolas of differing brands, for example a Juan Lopez 2 vs a RASS.

You would expect that if many brands are taking leaf from a selection of farms, which other brands are also harvesting from, that ultimately most brands would end up tasting very similar indeed, seeing as that there are only 3 or 4 types of leaf on a tobacco plant that can be used in a blend. However this is not really the case in reality.

After all, how many different blends can there actually be? There are only 3 or 4 different leaves, yet there are hundreds* of different vitolas in the Habanos line up. You would expect that all robustos tasted practically the same, all petite coronas the same etc.

I am assuming then, that if it is not the tobaccos region/farm providing the DNA of a brand/vitola, then the blending process must be a lot more scientific and complex than I expected.

Are they also using different species of tobacco across the island, to help vary the flavours across the blends? Or do blends also gain distinction from using seco leaves from Vuelta Abajo vs Partido, for example.

An interesting rabbit hole for me, that has veered off in a different direction that what I expected.