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Origin of tobacco in a particular cigar batch.

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Hi, I am a newbie but soaking up information like a sponge! I just stumbled across this site and joined up as a new member. I wonder if someone could shed light on a dilemma.
I recently bought a large cigar collection at an estate sale (200 boxes).
They were originally bought from cigar factories under the private label of the person who got approval for 3 Trademarks: La Eminencia, N E Plus Ultra, and Jack Himes - NE Plus Ultra. Trademarks for all three were approved in 1985 and 1986 but were then abandoned in 1986.

I don't believe these cigars ever hit any retail market as they were made circa 1999 and the guy died before ever getting them out of storage. Is there somewhere I can send samples to where they can be cut open to see where the tobaccos came from? Wrappers are all similar light tan/brown. Some cigars boxes have tax stamps and some don't. All show hand made in the Honduras, Dominican Republic, and the Canary Islands. No boxes have S/N's. They appear to be high end cigars that are in need of re-humidification (I am currently using Boveda packs to re-hydrate). Fillers are all full leaf with no added pieces. Most are individually wrapped which helped preserve them. They have good draw and smoke well for their age.

Thank you for any help you can give me.

One more thing....Any idea what the life span is for tobacco beetle eggs? Could there still be viable hatch-able eggs (17 years old) if subjected to above 72/72 environment? I have put some boxes in freezer for 3 days (and fridge to lessen shock) but not sure if this is even applicable or necessary now. About 250 boxes were subjected to the same environment...about 50 boxes were destroyed by the bug. I am wondering if the remaining 200 boxes are less apt to have this problem because they did not get it when the opportunity presented itself?

Sincerely,
Tom Schaefer
 
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1. What are you trying to accomplish by determining the tobacco composition of your sticks? if you are working to recreate the cigars on a commercial scale, I'm sure there are plant DNA labs that can examine the leaf and tell you what the cigars are composed of. However that will not be inexpensive. In addition, the leaf that was used in 1999 will likely not result in the same cigar if you sourced modern leaf. Here's why: Tobacco Is a natural product that varies from year to year based on soil, rainfall, and sunlight. Think wine vintage. If you read the advertising materials from commercial cigar blenders, you will notice they are a bit vague on the details of exactly which leaf they use, and how much of each goes into the stick. IMHO, that is because the blenders need the flexibility to adjust the exact components and proportions to account for seasonal variations and produce a consistent stick. When you reach down a padron 1000 you don't worry about which year it is, you already know what that stick is going to taste like. A better procedure IMHO would be to take the sticks to a blender and ask them to help you identify a recipie that *could* be used to recreate that taste.

Beetle eggs are microscopic and hatch in tropical environmental conditions ( above 70F/70RH). The only method I am aware of to protect yourself is to freeze the cigars. Here is a link to one procedure: https://www.jrcigars.com/blending-room/university/beetles/2015/06/22/ I am fortunate that I have never encountered beetles, either in my cigars or my raw leaf. I have HEARD that commercial US producers freeze their cigars after rolling. I have HEARD that only Cuban cigars need to be frozen after consumer receipt to reduce the potential for beetles. If any of your recently acquired collection has had beetles in the past, I throw out those sticks with beetle damage, and freeze the remaining undamaged cigars before comingling them with my collection. I doubt any leaf ever harvested was completely free from beetle eggs. It's one of the reasons why cigar storage is recommended at a MAXIMUM of 70F/70RH.

You forgot to mention the most important point: how do these cigars taste?
 
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First, I would like to thank you for your reply as I can use any help I can get. Second, I apologize for not being more clear on my post. The reason for trying to determine the country that supplied the components (wrapper, binder, and filler) was more for identification purposes that may prove helpful in selling them. Third, as far as my expertise...I can attest to you that I am smarter than a pile of flat rocks. I stumbled on a collection of cigars purchased by a Merchant Marine that served in WWII. Most records are not available but I have narrowed the purchase date to 1987. My challenge is to rejuvenate them back to some % of the original taste profile using Boveda packs. If that % be 2% or 70% will not be determined for months or years to come. I currently have about 10,000 cigars and am just learning how to smoke one! Am retired so this is my new hobby. As far as taste.....as a newbie I can tell when the cigar is lit and when it's not and not much in-between. It has taken me a month to discern a peppery taste so I have enlisted real cigar smokers to do that job for me and there is a BOTL member who has volunteered to help me with the bringing back to life process by adding humidification SLOWLY.
Concerning the beetle bug, I have personally seen about a thousand bugs, have disposed of about 2000 cigars (from sorting that I did not buy) and have used the freezer method on the first 100 boxes I bought. Have only seen research on freezing cigars in bags, so instead of three days I leave for 4 to 5 days because I freeze the whole box with lid shut allowing the extra day or two to allow the inside of the box to reach the equilibrium temperature. Because the cigars are a bit dry...I haven't noticed any degradation of the wrapper whereas freezing moist cigars would probably ruin them from water molecules expanding in the binder and tearing the wrapper.

Still looking for research on viability for eggs to hatch into larva after x number of years. 30,000 cigars were all exposed to above 70/70, my humble opinion is that all viable eggs that were hatch-able did in fact hatch during that environment. So the question is "after 20 or 30 years could an egg hatch now (above 70/70) when it did not before when it was 78/80? I need an entomology professor to answer that. That is way above my pay grade. I'm guessing that the answer will be "possible; and if one out of a million hatches....that's too many". And I can accept that answer.

With regard to your last question: Good even draw (not too easy and no cheeks being sucked in), even burn (fairly consistent around circumference), tight ash, stays lit with (few draws), a bit harsh but as a newbie my tongue and lips are fairly sensitive. After I re-hydrated a few the smoke was much smoother (less harsh on tip of tongue) and I attribute that (in part) to a lower burn temperature compared to the drier one that burned faster and hotter. The only taste noticeable to me was a bit peppery which added to the flavor profile.
I really enjoy this BOTL club as I have the opportunity to learn a lot.

Cigar Tom (maybe someday)
 

Nacho Daddy

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beetles hatch in high temps in high moisture conditions
you have seen the damage so far,so if you maintain LESS than 70 degrees and LESS than 70% humidity,they will not hatch.
Freezing will be useful to KILL any eggs not hatched.
Be sure to put each box in a ziplock bag prior to freezing,if you have bags big enough for multiple boxes,that works too.
12 hours in the fridge first gives the cigars a gentler transition to freezing.
3 to 4 days in a normal freezer should be enough,and then 24 hrs in the fridge to bring them back up slowly.
a good digital hydrometer or several will make it easier to determine the ACTUAL humidity of your stock.
make a note of the ambient temp as well.
 
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If you are attempting to write a description of the stick to resell, I'd sit down with 2 or 3 fellow cigar smokers who's taste you trust. Divide the sticks into groups by origin and pass a sample of each around. Discuss the taste and write a taste description similar to what you see on the onlne retail forums. Avoid naming particular tobaccos. You can fairly easily describe the length, shape, and ring gage. Agree on strength and some taste adjectives. With that information, and knowing that the cigars are approximately X years old, and that once they are gone they wil not be available again I for one would have the information I would need to determine whether your cigars are something I might enjoy.
 
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Thank you. Much appreciated as that is very good advice. I have someone on this forum who has over 40 years experience in everything you mentioned (and more) plus an older guy that was smoking before I was born. I have 36 variations (brand, size , flavor etc.) so a spreadsheet will be used. Again, thanks for your advice.
 
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"La Eminencia
La Eminencia Brand – Developed as a domestic brand in Cuba by Ramon Allones in the late 1800’s named after the factory where his cigars were produced. Ramon Allones holds his place in Cuba’s great cigar history by being the first man to put colorful printed labels on his cigar boxes. This brand was later sold and manufactured by Cifuentes Pego y Cia. in Havana, Cuba in the early 1920’s. The La Eminencia brand was purchased by Vincent Ruilova in 1943 and is now Hand Made in Spanish Honduras as well as in Tampa, Florida.

Our “Signature Brand” for more than half a century. The name alone describes this premium cigar meaning Eminence, Excellence or Greatness all that you can expect from a quality Hand Made long filler cigar.

La Eminencia one of our largest selling brands, packaged in bundles of 25 cigars therefore, eliminating expensive packaging cost. Available in 10 different shapes and sizes to satisfy your smoking pleasure. A mild to medium bodied cigar at a price everyone can afford.

Don’t be fooled by our low prices. This is a quality hand made premium cigar. Remember the name La Eminencia."
http://vincenttampacigars.com/product-category/la-eminencia/

http://www.cubancigarshistory.com/la_eminencia.html
 
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No that is from an earlier era, but I appreciate the time and effort of your submitting the picture. Since the 1800's there have been about 4 or 5 companies under that name. Jack Himes did get the trademark you attached by using it in commerce but then let it expire a few years later. I attached pictures of one of his other brands that I believe was made in 1987. In 1998 about 10,000 cigars were shipped from
Belgium to England where they were stolen by shippers, Other than that none of the rest of the collection ever hit retail shelves. I now have 12,000 cigars between the 3 different brands. My earlier manufacture date was wrong...all were made in 1987. Will be re-hydrating and start moving some in 2018, they are in remarkable condition for 30 yrs old. Jack Himes died in London England before he got his 30,000 cigar collection out of storage. I will post his story sometime.....interesting.
 

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"La Eminencia
La Eminencia Brand – Developed as a domestic brand in Cuba by Ramon Allones in the late 1800’s named after the factory where his cigars were produced. Ramon Allones holds his place in Cuba’s great cigar history by being the first man to put colorful printed labels on his cigar boxes. This brand was later sold and manufactured by Cifuentes Pego y Cia. in Havana, Cuba in the early 1920’s. The La Eminencia brand was purchased by Vincent Ruilova in 1943 and is now Hand Made in Spanish Honduras as well as in Tampa, Florida.

Our “Signature Brand” for more than half a century. The name alone describes this premium cigar meaning Eminence, Excellence or Greatness all that you can expect from a quality Hand Made long filler cigar.

La Eminencia one of our largest selling brands, packaged in bundles of 25 cigars therefore, eliminating expensive packaging cost. Available in 10 different shapes and sizes to satisfy your smoking pleasure. A mild to medium bodied cigar at a price everyone can afford.

Don’t be fooled by our low prices. This is a quality hand made premium cigar. Remember the name La Eminencia."
http://vincenttampacigars.com/product-category/la-eminencia/

http://www.cubancigarshistory.com/la_eminencia.html
After Jack Himes let the trademark expire it was pretty much open season to take over the name. He only used the name for one year to buy a big batch of cigars. He died in 1998.
 
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