Cigar Rolling Interview During one afternoon in Little Havana, Ilia Maldonado and Marko Djokic sat down with Douglas Santini, son of the owner of Moore and Bode Cigars, Inc. and Pablo Romay, a master cigar roller for the Santini family. The following interview offers great insight into the process of creating and enjoying a Miami-made Cuban-seed cigar. Marko Djokic: What qualities are in a good cigar? Douglas Santini: A good cigar has good qualities of construction which means that the cigar dries well. The flavor must be good and consistent between the batches of cigars. It is also important to pay attention to the appearance. . . how well the wrap was put. The flavor is objective. MD: What makes a good blend? DS: Good blending is . . . you know, what tastes good. What is usually pleasing. Some cigars are stronger than others. All are different. MD: Is there a best tobacco in the world? DS: Every part of the world creates different tobaccos. People like some more than others. All tobacco is good. It depends on the person that smokes and what they like. MD: How many cigars can a roller roll in an hour? DS: That depends on the individual, and how well it is constructed. Pablo will know more... Ilia Maldonado: (talking in Spanish) How many cigars you can roll in one hour? Pablo Romay: Well in this factory we have a system which is a very expensive system because it takes a long time to do it. Here you have to go leaf by leaf. Here we can do from 80 to 90 cigars per day. It depends on the size of the cigar. There are some cigars that take two days to complete. With the ones we do here, we put the tobacco filling in the morning; in the afternoon, we put the wrap. Smaller cigars are better. They are the easiest to work with. You cannot determine a specific number of how many cigars a person can roll in a day because here we work with an eye towards quality, you see? This is a job where you have patience because it is time-consuming work. It also depends on the emotional condition of the roller. IM: It is not as easy as it seems. PR: It looks easy, but it isn't. IM: How long did it take you to learn to roll cigars? PR: I learned in Cuba. There, you go to the factory and there you take classes. It takes months and then you graduate as a roller. Here you just go and learn. It also depends on the ability of the person. Not every one can be roller. IM: It is an art... PR: Yes, it is an art. IM: From what I can see, you have to be really careful with it. How long have you been a cigar roller? PR: Ten years. Here you have to be really careful. This is one of the best cigars that goes out from here. It is perfect. We never change the mix. For us, quality is first. The mix is what makes a cigar different from another. IM: Thanks for your time and cooperation, Mr. Santini and Mr. Romay. You havebeen really helpful. PR: You're welcome! Have a nice day and good luck on your project. http://www.education.miami.edu/ep/LittleHavana/Cigars/Marco_Djokic/Marco_Djokic_2/Cigar_Interview/cigar_interview.html return to Cuban Cigars home page |
http://cubanmadecigars.com/ind.html |
