Cigar:            Cuba Aliados Candela Lonsdale

Size:       43 x 6.5"

Country:    Hon

Wrapper:   

Binder:          

Filler:          

Flavor Strength:Medium horrid

NicotineStrength:Unknown

Date Received:    2007-11-05

Suspected Age:    NA

Vendor/Price:     CigarBid, $1.79 each for 5-pack and shipping.

Hype:       Cuba Aliados is the first blend ever created by Rolando Reyes Sr., regarded today as the world’s most talented blender of tobaccos. Despite his latter creations, which include Puros Indios, Cienfuegos and Viejo, the Cuba Aliados brand remains his top-selling cigar and has become a favorite among those looking for a robust, but well-balanced handmade. The Candela version of this line further explores the blending expertise of Reyes Sr. Using a hearty blend of aged tobaccos, Rolando adds the unique flavors of the classic candela leaf to create a soothing, but complex smoke that can be enjoyed at any time of day. A slight sweetness is complemented by an underlying earthy richness. Whether you’re a fan of candela-wrapped cigars, or looking to introduce yourself to one, this beauty is an excellent choice.

Beverage(s):      Water, Sapporo

Smoke time:       0:35

Date:       2007-11-23

Posted to ASC:    2007-11-23

Overall score:    1 / 5.0  For smoke volume and the even burn.

Sock color: Brown

Hat:        Federal Ammunition

Overall:    Ghastly.  Not recommended.  I do not blame the candela wrapper, since this was so bad, it could not just have been the wrapper.  The 1 point score is for the high smoke volume, very dense ash (a bit flakey), and a near perfect burn.  I will NOT be sending the remaining 4 to the troops. 

Ambiance:   Sunroom after dark.

Appearance: The woman says it is "baby poop" colored wrapper.  Having survived my current 54 years without ever changing a diaper, I couldn't say.  To me it is a dry, almost powdery, sickly green, with large veins.  Inconsistently filled along its length and an uneven roll gives the stick a rough hewn appearance.  Seems very light for its size. 

Cut & Prelight:   Rather peppery aroma with background of very over ripe, nearly rotted apple, vaguely acrid, sweet, and musty.  It is a crude comment, but it is reminiscent of young woman.  Much pepper on the lips.  Cut well yielding a very musty dried grass draw flavor.  This may not be a long smoke :-)

First third:      Initially, acrid and bitter.  Still acrid and bitter paper flavored, but mellowing.  Good smoke volume.  Ash dropped itself at about 1-1/4".  Still rather horrid, but I am committed to reach the second third. 

Second third:     Still ghastly, and it is making me a bit nauseous.  I can not continue.  Gleefully abandoned.  I'll grab something else to cleanse my palate. 

Third third:     

About Candela:

It takes more work but much less time to keep cigar leaf green, rather than turning it brown. Normally, cigar tobacco is picked, hung in barns and allowed to cure, slowly, over a period of one month to 45 days. Sometimes, weather conditions dictate that farmers light charcoal fires or use propane burners to heat the barn and remove excess humidity, which can rot the leaves. Farmhands tweak the fires and open and close vents, and the tobacco slowly loses its green color and turns brown, drying in the process. The end result is a fairly supple, darkened leaf that's ready for fermenting. The barns should never be hotter than about 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

To make candela, the barn has to be properly prepped. The walls of the wooden barn are wallpapered with cardboard or paper to seal the cracks. The barn is loaded with freshly harvested tobacco, and the vents at the bottom of the barn are opened, encouraging air to flow out of the roof vent (known as a doghouse), which is always open. The propane heaters or charcoal fires are lit, and the heat slowly rises, taking the moisture out of the leaves. "The objective is to get air flowing through the tobacco, up and out of the doghouse," says Gustavo Cura, the operations administrator for Oliva Tobacco Co. in Tampa, which grows candela in Ecuador and Honduras. "The heat has to start slowly."

Within two hours, the heat will be at about 90 degrees, and by hour No. 3, it will rise to 100. "Always gradually increasing the heat," says Cura. After 40 to 48 hours, the tobacco has wilted. Then, it's time to unleash hell.

The leaf is dry at this point, save for the stem, which is a stubborn beast. The stem takes much more coercing to dry out than the rest of the plant. The farmers shut the bottom vents in the barn and crank the heat to 165 -- Cura remembers losing control a few times and watching the temperature rage to 175 -- to blast the remaining moisture from the stem. This final step lasts for about one day, and bakes the tobacco as dry as a potato chip.

"It's hot as blazes in there," says Cura. "It's like being in Arizona."

Reach up and touch the leaves in a normal tobacco barn and they feel like gummy, cool handkerchiefs. Do that in a candela barn (assuming you don't drop from the Death Valley conditions) and you'll be greeted with two eyefuls of shredded tobacco.

After 60 to 72 hours total in the barn, the chlorophyll has been locked in the leaf and the tobacco is done heating, but needs to be rehumidified so it can be safely removed from the barn.

Workers open the barn's vent doors and windows (unless it's windy), allowing the nighttime dew to make the crispy leaves moist again; if the climate is too dry, they bring in a steamer. Then, the leaves are taken down, sorted and graded, and put into boxes, ready for storage or for rolling. The fire curing eliminates the need for fermentation and aging, cutting months and even years off the typical process.