Interesting wrapper color variance on Siglo IV
Posted on October 22nd, 2008 by CigarBunch.com
After opening a couple of boxes of Cohiba Siglo IV I noticed how the same cigar coming from two different factories and packaged in the same month can have such a difference in wrapper color. From light blond to dark chocolate but both have their own beauty and I am glad to be able to taste them both and see which one has a better taste at the end of the day. Here are a couple of pictures.
Factory and Date Code
Filed under: General Cigar Topics
Hello Alex,
Now that’s odd…should there be a variance in the colour of the wrapper from such a recognized name (actually, some would say THE name) in Cuban puros*?
I don’t think the good people at Cohiba like ‘variances’ of any kind. I’m sure they adhere strictly to just one, and only one, standard in their cigar production methods.
That way the customer (continually) associates such familiar consistency with the usual quality and thus, excellence, of the Cohiba brand.
Hmmm…? I believe that the Maduro wrapper from Cohiba came out only this past year and it was only in their Secretos, Magicos, and Genios brands. All other previous brands still had a pale looking wrapper, as per usual. (Of course, when I say ‘pale’, I’m using the darker hue of the Maduro wrapper as a direct comparison.)
I remember seeing a CBC report where one cigar was randomly picked from a sealed box that was freshly opened. It came directly from the factory in Cuba. It was also bought from a reputable dealer in Canada. It was given to a cigar afficionado and he declared it ‘fake’. His reasoning was that, even at the factory level, some counterfeit cigars are traded for real ones right then and there!
If I were you, I’d check on that again. Perhaps compare it to other Siglo IV’s you have bought earlier. I don’t smoke Siglo IV’s so I can’t really suggest anything else that might clarify this variance in wrapper colour. Maybe it just might be ligitimate afterall? The only sure fire way to settle this would be by the ultiimate test all cigar affcionados and cigar lovers go by–the taste! (Like the Nike adverstisments advocate: “Just Smoke It!”)
Pardon me if I sound suspicious. I’ve bought many a counterfeit BOX of “Authentic Cuban Cigars” over the years and because of such experiences, I am now wary of variations in colour, construction, appearance, etc. Taste is the only way to settle an issue. Please let me know how it turns out.
* For those new to cigar smoking, I’ll explain what the term ‘puro’ refers to. “In the old days”, a ‘puro’ originally referred to a cigar made with one hundred percent cigar tobacco that was exclusively constructed (rolled) by hand. Today, it refers to a cigar that is made exclusively with the tobacco of the country it comes from. For example, a cigar made with it’s filler, binder and wrapper leaves all from Cuba would be a Cuban ‘puro’. A Nicaraguan ‘puro’ would be comprised of tobacco leaves grown only from Nicaragua.
It’s a great achievement to be able to create a well-balanced cigar by using the leaves from only one country. Many countries today have to rely on blending two, three, or even more, different types of leaves from different countries just to get a taste that is pleasing.
I think that it is hard to tell how large the colour variation is from just that pic. The colour variation within the cab *is* important, and this does look good, at least for the lighter-coloured box. (again, hard to tell about the other box with that pic.)
I also think that it is hard to make a judgement on a fake without a lot of detailed close-ups. The cap and the foot are important.
… oops, er, important pics to have.