Read This if You'd Like to Know More About Cigars (Specifically Nicaraguan)

[blues4goose]

Been deciding whether or not to post this here, but I guess it can't hurt, right?
I went to Nicaragua earlier this year for a 3-day tour of AJ Fernandez & Plasencia's growing & rolling operations. I took a ton of notes & pictures, so when I got back I decided to compile them into an article on the subject. It's long, and there are some minor typos, but I think it's worth a read. I tried to make it exactly the article I would have loved to come across when I was getting into cigars.
3 Days in Nicaragua - Google Drive
Thanks for looking.

 

[tbradsim1]

That was really a great write up, thank you so much, just started smoking cigars last year, I’ve been a smoker for 60 yrs, mostly pipes. Thank you again.

 

[groovediggerdan]

Very informative read; I had no idea falling tobacco could be dangerous like that!

Thanks for sharing!

 

[blues4goose]

Very informative read; I had no idea falling tobacco could be dangerous like that!

Thanks for sharing!

Surprised me, too. Went on a tobacco farm tour at some of Altadis's farms in CT and they gave us hard hats. I still have mine, and to this day it's the most interesting and unusual cigar-branded swag item I've ever received. Great conversation starter.

 

[blues4goose]

That was really a great write up, thank you so much, just started smoking cigars last year, I’ve been a smoker for 60 yrs, mostly pipes. Thank you again.

Thanks a lot for reading. It was a labor of love for sure. They also told me that while they don't grow pipe tobacco in Nicaragua these days, they used to grow Burley and Virginia in certain parts in the late '60s/early '70s. And now I have a new holy graille tobacco.

 

[magicpiper]

That was very interesting. I smoked cigars before I discovered the world of pipes but I still enjoy them. I always enjoy seeing the back of the house in place like the produces something that like.

 

[blues4goose]

That was very interesting. I smoked cigars before I discovered the world of pipes but I still enjoy them. I always enjoy seeing the back of the house in place like the produces something that like.

It's impossible to imagine how labor-intensive cigarmaking is until you see it first hand. So many people, so much land, so many resources, and so much time goes into it. Mind-blowing.

 

[orobusto]

Thank you for posting this! Excellent write up of the process. With all the steps and people involved in growing and rolling, not to mention time and possibly losing tobacco to mold, insects and weather, it's surprising cigars aren't more expensive. Great read!

 

[olkofri]

Reading through it. Thanks for your reporting on the first paragraph of page 2: the media unceasingly reports on a few malfeasant ones, but they never mention the many who are doing good deeds.

 

[bent1]

Enjoyed the writeup, kept my interest throughout. The forethought to save the soil from development and the work with worms is quite interesting.

 

[ukbob]

Great write up enjoyed reading it.

 

[prairiedruid]

Thank you! Well written and very informative.

 

[alaskanpiper]

Jesus God, man! That is some extensive work. Fine job!

 

[blues4goose]

I really appreciate the kind words, everyone. I'm really looking forward to what the future holds in this career, as my coworkers who have been with company for a number of years have also had the chance to visit Honduras and the Dominican. I'm really hoping that I'm given the same opportunities, and if I am, you can expect similar write-ups in the future.
I'll also gladly accept any constructive criticism you can offer, since my writing talents don't come from any amount of formal education, but almost entirely from my favorite authors and reporters

 

[blues4goose]

Enjoyed the writeup, kept my interest throughout. The forethought to save the soil from development and the work with worms is quite interesting.

That was a really interesting part of it, but unfortunately I was a little distracted during that part of the tour by a street dog that decided to accompany us ?

 

[blues4goose]

Reading through it. Thanks for your reporting on the first paragraph of page 2: the media unceasingly reports on a few malfeasant ones, but they never mention the many who are doing good deeds.

And there are so many good deeds. Almost every major cigar manufacturer, regardless of the country, gives back to the community in ways that surpass employment opportunities. Touring Chateua De La Fuente is high on my bucket list, and the Fuentes do amazing charity work in the Dominican

 

[blues4goose]

Thank you for posting this! Excellent write up of the process. With all the steps and people involved in growing and rolling, not to mention time and possibly losing tobacco to mold, insects and weather, it's surprising cigars aren't more expensive. Great read!

I thought the same thing. The wages are relatively low, but the cost of living is proportional

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Nicely written, thanks for sharing.

 

[odobenus]

That was really fantastic -- thank you. I printed it out to read last night, and will now keep it with the rest of my tobacco literature.
Is there a cigar out there that most closely resembles the custom one you concocted?
As a sidenote, I really appreciated all the food details too.

 

[blues4goose]

That was really fantastic -- thank you. I printed it out to read last night, and will now keep it with the rest of my tobacco literature.
Is there a cigar out there that most closely resembles the custom one you concocted?
As a sidenote, I really appreciated all the food details too.

I'm honored you did that, really. Thank you!
I wish I could say what cigar is like the one I rolled, but since they only gave me one, I still haven't fired it up. Maybe I'll save it for the first warm day of spring.
Attendees of previous years' tours were sent an entire bundle of 20 of their custom cigars, but they stopped this practice just this year because of logistics. The last group that went down didn't get their bundles until a year after their trip! I was going for something that resembled my favorite cigar, the Arturo Fuente Anejo, but they had no available barrel-aged broadleaf wrappers and we were only given Nicaraguan fillers, so I doubt it's really anywhere close.
And oh man... that food... I think if I ever get married I'll have Nicaraguan chefs at the wedding. All of it was absolutely incredible.