The Importance Of The Cigar Wrapper
While at the CAO event at Stogies of Houston, Brian McGee showed us just how important the role the wrapper plays in a cigar.
I have been fortunate to try this exact same example with Brian and can tell you there is an immediate difference when an LX2 wrapper is placed on top of the CAO Gold Vintage (that wrapper has now become the binder). What was once smooth, mild, and creamy suddenly became full with lots of spice. It is incredible how quickly the characteristics change. And sure enough, when the new wrapper was removed, the cigar returned just as it was- mild, smooth, and creamy.
This is an interesting experience and certainly convinces me that the wrapper is responsible for 60-80% of the flavor. Thank you Brian for sharing this with us!
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by the cigar chick, Nicole Redo. Nicole Redo said: RT @cigarchick: My latest video features @ToranoCgr_Brian showing us how important the cigar wrapper is to the flavor http://bit.ly/dkPLrd #cigars [...]
Interesting video, but I think it’s kind of a big “no shit.” If you take a connecticut, which usually contains a more mild filler, and wrap it with a heavier, more robust leaf, it’s definitely going to change the flavor. But if you took a cigar where the filler is the dominant factor, wrapping a connecticut wrapper on it isn’t going to make it a mild smoke.
So, the reality is that a heavier, fuller-flavored leaf is going to dominate taste, whether it’s the filler or the wrapper.
This sounds like an incredible experience!!! I read about this same kind of demonstration last year when Tim Ozgener went through an LX2 deconstruction (“CAO eLements” tour).
I’m a big fan of CAO’s entire cigar line, and CAO’s Gold was what brought me fully in the cigar life. Now that my tastes have matured a bit, I would be very interested to experience as you noted how the LX2 wrapper affected the Gold’s flavor and aroma!
I wish CAO (and hopefully other manufacturers) would do MORE of these demonstrations and seminars. Heck, they could even do a Web-Ex or other type of webinar as a virtual herf and/or class, where each registered attendee would pre-order the set of cigars and/or components and then everyone does it all together. No flying all over the country, and then hundreds if not thousands of cigar fans would experience this.
Not only informative and fun, but I bet those would be huge draws to those brands’ cigars AND the events could be money-makers in themselves.
You’re the Smokin’ Hot Cigar Chick!!! Can you make this happen??
BTW – Love following your tweets! Looks like you had fun at the BOTLCH. What did you think of the illusione candela?
TriMarkC
That’s actually not true, Mark. The point is the wrapper accounts for most of the flavor. Most people say 60-80%.
The filler is rarely the dominant factor. I’ve seen Brian wrap a Gold Vintage wrapper on an LX2 (double ligero) and it turned that beast into a medium cigar instantly. Absolutely fascinating.
And when I say medium, I mean body, not flavor. It was still full flavored but the body dramatically dropped. People confuse flavor with body. it’s possible to have a full bodied cigar with full flavor, but you can also have full body with mild flavor and mild body with full flavor.