Are We Entering a Glory Era for Habanos?

[Colt45]

I've been on a steady diet of Havanas for only the past few years. I've had my share of duds

from '05. Some flavorful, but tough draws from '00. Some stellar '03s.

But as of late, it seems I can't choose a poor cigar. I realize that the 3-2-1 aged tobacco formula

has had an effect, but it seems that quality control, blend consistency, etc, are coming together to

produce some excellent cigars across the board.

So I ask those members with breadth of experience - how do you feel about the current state of

Habanos quality?

[Claudius]

» how do you feel about

» the current state of

» Habanos quality?

IMHO current production is fantastic. After thinking about the RASCC in your other thread and being about to finish an outstanding 8-9-8 Dalia from Rob, I'm convinced that the 06 are the best production year in the past 10 years. Many of the years after 2001 have had good cigars in them, but none have had so many outstanding cigars across all brands and vitolas as 2006. 5 years ago, I was looking for good cigars. These days, it's more difficult to find bad ones. I can only recommend you do what I do and buy as many as you can.

[El Presidente]

I really have and am enjoying 06. The last frontier for this year is its ageing potential and I can not see any reason why it would not age superbly. To me it is the best year since 1996.

I don't think it was a fluke. It was the culmination of 6 years of hard work by Habanos s.a to get back to what the Habano cigar should be. They needed to initially address undercapitalised infrastructure, quality issues, lack of tobacco reserves and a Cuban side which was in many ways demoralised and rudderless.

Fast forward to today and those issues are well on the way to being addressed. We may not agree with many of the decisions relating to marketing and new cigar development but there is no doubt that the Cuban Cigar industry today is far stronger and better positioned than in 2000.

[wp2]

» Fast forward to today and those issues are well on the way to being

» addressed. We may not agree with many of the decisions relating to

» marketing and new cigar development but there is no doubt that the Cuban

» Cigar industry today is far stronger and better positioned than in 2000.

Rob, because of the "crash" of the cigar boom of the late 90's, do you think?

[shrink]

I agree with Rob that Habanos has been working hard on improving quality, in both construction and approachability. However, I strongly suspect that the gains we have seen in flavor and approachability are not necessarily permanent. The latter half of 2007 is seeing more disappointments, and some of the "stars" of early 2006 are in decline.

The only safe recommendation, is to buy as much of your favorite 2006 stock as you can reasonably afford, and store it.

[El Presidente]

» Rob, because of the "crash" of the cigar boom of the late 90's, do you

» think?

late 1998/1999 saw a ridiculous increase in the number of cigars produced. It also saw the reduction in training time for factory rollers to twelve weeks. They needed new rollers and needed them urgently.

Everything was rushed and it was on the back of no money having been spent on infrastucture in many years. Some new hairbrained moisture techniques were experimented with in the factories to increase tobacco quantity available to the rollers. The whole thing was a mess.

[anacostiakat]

» I've been on a steady diet of Havanas for only the past few years. I've had

» my share of duds

» from '05. Some flavorful, but tough draws from '00. Some stellar '03s.

» But as of late, it seems I can't choose a poor cigar. I realize that the

» 3-2-1 aged tobacco formula

» has had an effect, but it seems that quality control, blend consistency,

» etc, are coming together to

» produce some excellent cigars across the board.

» So I ask those members with breadth of experience - how do you feel about

» the current state of

» Habanos quality?

Quality beats the hell out of the 00/01 stuff for sure.

But I agree with Shrink. The '07s I have tried have been mixed at best. Some like the Cohiba Maduro 5s are pretty good now. But others had me thinking they were about half of what they will become.

[hrhf]

I'd really like to get more takes on the quality of '07 stock. I'm a rank newbie to this world, and '06 stock (at least of the stuff I've discovered I like -- PSD4, PSP2, Cohiba Robustos) seems to be disappearing (disappeared?) quite fast.

So anybody who can contribute further to this, please do so....

[greenpimp]

I have been very happy for the past few years. 2005 was much better, 2006 was a banner year, and I think 2007 could end up being extraordinary as well, just in a different way. The 2006's I loved and stocked up on were very approachable, as well as stronger and more flavorful. But I heard a lot of complaining and fear about them being "too good now" everyone worried that they wouldn't age well. Well now I taste in some of the 2007s the density of flavor, but with the harshness of youth very evident. IE, BPC's, ERDM Choixs, Trinidad Coloniales, to name a few 07's.

So there's always gonna be something wrong for some large segment of the cigar smoking population. Good now, not good now.. What if they're actually listening to cigar smoker's feedback? The progression would mirror this one.

"They want it more smokeable now."

"Si. I make smokeable now."

"They are now scared that they won't be good later. Make for smoking later."

"Si. I make for smoking later."

"Now they are scared cigars don't taste good now."

"Again?"

"Si. Make it taste good now but seem like taste good later. Harsh but smooth. Strong but mild. Now and later."

"Si. But it will cost the waffling bastards."

'Good. Very good."

[greenpimp]

FWIW, the early 2007 stock I've sampled has been pretty great. PSD4, BPC, JLO#2 (Awesome!) and Partagas PCs have all been smoking very well from the get go. Boli PC's best since 2003, IMO. And the PSD4s, from an ENE07 box, I believe, very very good, strong, spicy, like a young PSD4 should be. That hasn't happened to me for awhile

The 2007's I've tried that didn't taste great right away, at least seem to have to guts to go the distance, age well. That is more than can be said for the insipid years when a cigar didn't taste like much and never would. I have too many boxes of them from 98-02 slowly and further decomposing in my cabinet.

[El Presidente]

To answer another point we are still in 2007 and really have seen regular production cigars from Jan through July. A few August and Sep are coming through now but predominantly first half of the year.

We will not get a true gauge on 2007 until June 2008 where we can assess the second half of the years performance.

I may have smoked more 2007 stock than anyone else on this planet outside of the Havana factories...and I am having a hard time in comparing it to 2006. Just when I think I have an opinion forming...it is changed by a series of 07 cigars. I need a little more time but I will say that 2007 is certainly better that 2000-2005 in terms of flavour and consistency. I am finding more cigars "closed" and maybe less approachable young than the 2006...and then the D4's we had last night from 07 were as good as any D4 I can remember. Go figure.