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Dutch Or Dry Cigars

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Someone asked me what dry cigars are as I end up posting that I smoke them when nothing else is availbable.

As I live in the UK Holland and Belguim are a ferry ride away so I can get hold of their cigars really easily. Makes like Agio, Antonio y Cleopatra, Balmoral, Cortes, De Heeren van Ruysdael, Henri Wintermans, La Paz, Nobel Petit, Olifant, Oud Kampen, P.G.C.Hajenius, Panter, Villiger and Willem II.

DUTCH OR DRY CIGARS

There is a wide range of the dry, Dutch-type European variety of good machine-made cigars. These include, the range from Villiger, Henri Winterman, Clubmaster, La Paz and Willem II, Most dry cigars are machine-made, using a blend of many types of tobacco. Sometimes they are dusted with a chemical powder to give wrappers a more uniform colour. The word “gemateered” refers to this process.

Dutch cigars are meant to be smoked “dry”. But this is Holland “dry”, so a little humidifying may be necessary in really dry climates such as in the central region of the United States........

The Dutch-type cigars that are so popular in Europe, and South Africa are meant to be smoked “dry”. These include, among others, the range from Villiger, Henri Winterman, Clubmaster, Willem ll, Handelsgold, Independence and La Paz. These cigars will perform well if stored in areas with a humidity level of between 55 and 60 percent.

Dry cigars also come from Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and Denmark and with a variety of tobacco for the filler including that of Cuba, Indonesia, Mexico, Java, Cameroun and Mexico.

The lighter and milder tasting wrappers come from Sumatra and the darker, spicy ones from Brazil. The former are the most popular to be smoked after dinner or on special occasions but have a higher percentage of Brazilian and Havana tobacco in the filler. As stated in the chapter on machine-made cigars, many of these dry cigars are made with homogenised leaf (HTL).

excerpt taken from: http://www.brasant.co.za/machine-made_cigars.htm
 
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Thanks Johnny7. Very informative. I'm glad to have you here to share your experience and perspective. I've been wondering about those "dry" cigars you've mentioned.
 

tripp

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Thanks for the info!!!

I have never seen one in person. Might be neat to try just for a change of pace.

Thank you for the link to the place that you got your info.
 

Wasch_24

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I smoked one of these tonight.

It wasn't horrible. It wasn't great either.

It wasn't bitter or dusty tasting like most cheap machine made NCs. It started out rather grassy and near the last half inch it started tasting like the smell of wet straw.

I wouldn't smoke them regularly but if I was camping and forgot my cigars they would do.

Thanks for the experience John.

I have seven of these and two others left if you guys want to try one at the herf. :thumbsup:
 
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During Clint Eastwood's "spaghetti western" movie period (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Fistful of Dollars, High Plains Drifter, etc) he smoked the dry-cured Toscani brand cigars from Italy.
 
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Glad you got a little from it, but the Oud Kampen should be better.

He's an interview with someone about the Clint Eastwood cigars:

http://www.forces.org/writers/james/sharing_an_ashtray/frayling.htm

JL: Clint Eastwood smoked cigars in the Leone spaghetti westerns…

CF: Yeah. There’s a great debate as to what kind of cigars they were. The Italians claim that they were a cigar called Toscano, or Toscani in the plural, which are these rather evil southern Italian cigars of very closely packed tobacco, very dark. I had a go at them. Wow, they’re strong stuff. If you notice in the movies, Eastwood is constantly lighting his cheroot and it keeps going out, I think deliberately, ‘cos he didn’t want to actually smoke, he disliked smoking a lot. But Toscani do that as well, you keep trying to get them going and they keep going out. What people in Italy do is cut them in half with a pair of scissors or a razor blade, and then try and draw on them – and it works a bit better. Some people claim they were actually American cheroots, but I like the Italian version actually.
 
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DUTCH OR DRY CIGARS

There is a wide range of the dry, Dutch-type European variety of good machine-made cigars. These include, the range from Villiger, Henri Winterman, Clubmaster, La Paz and Willem II, Most dry cigars are machine-made, using a blend of many types of tobacco. Sometimes they are dusted with a chemical powder to give wrappers a more uniform colour. The word “gemateered” refers to this process.

...
You did not mention the brand I use, Johnny, namely, Ritmeester. For decades I have been smoking their Pikeurs which were always gemateered, until i.e. last week. You say that the purpose of powdering the cigars is "to give wrappers a more uniform colour" but these cigars are smoked in a different way from ongemateered ones as the powder is snuff and the smoke is meant to be released through the nostrils (and never inhaled). This ensures satisfaction. These were illegal in England when I was there as, it was explained to me by a tobacconist in Bournemouth, the powder was on the outside of the wrapper and considered by Her Majesty's Customs to be an additive, regardless of the fact that snuff is powdered tobacco, while American cigars which were sweetened with molasses were allowed because the real additive was inside the outer leaf. Go figure.

Well I have not had a powdered cigar in 3 days and I am miserable. I need help in finding some soon which is why I am on my computer first thing Monday morning to see what my options are. This is how I happened to find BOTL and your post.

I sent an email to Ritmeester's consumers service so I shall be watching for their reply with advice.
 
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