I've been noticing of late that I seem to really like cigars labeled as having habano wrappers. Exactly what a "habano" wrapper is seems to be a bit of mystery; my googling turned up vague and contradictory info, and the word is not defined in Tobacconist University's glossary.

Whatever it is, I like it.

So, I've decided to do a big habano taste test. Hopefully, some of you guys will join in and we can compare notes. Via ccom's build-your-own sampler (plus a couple extras), I'll be tasting the following habanos (in no particular order):

Montecristo Platinum robusto
Perdomo Reserve Habano toro
Perdomo Lot 23 churchill
Romeo y Julieta Habano Reserve belicoso
Cusano Corojo Vintage 1997 robusto
Gran Habano 3 Siglos gran robusto
Gran Habano #5 gran robusto
Padilla Miami torpedo
Padilla Series 1932 toro
Padilla Series 1948 toro
Don Pepin Garcia Generosos toro
Don Pepin Garcia Serie JJ belicoso
Don Pepin Garcia Vegas Cubanas Generosos toro
601 Red robusto
5 Vegas Miami torpedo
Sol Cubano Cuban Cabinet robusto
Padron 1964 corona

Who wants to play along?

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Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.

Sure urbi Ill play... so when do you think you can get those sticks out to me?

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Just call me Dino Slick.


There is no blender but AJ, and The Beard is his merchant.

Heh. Sorry, brink. This one's BYOC.

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Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.

im almost 100% that the "habano wrapper" means that it is a cuban seed raised, dried, cured, and fermented in the classic cuban style.
and
not to get your hopes dashed...
i think its more or less just a marketing term to get suckers like me to buy cigars that sound like they will be Cubanesque

on that note...
did you call cigar.com up and ask them? i mean, those guys are smart

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Kuzi's cigar catalog blending 101 developing your palate

i still think thats a great list.

worst case?
you have a bunch of cigars that you like on hand.
darn, i hate it when THAT happens.

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Kuzi's cigar catalog blending 101 developing your palate

urbino:

Heh. Sorry, brink. This one's BYOC.

lol, where's the love..... anything habano aye.. well I'll see what I have that are "habano" and add it to the list. I am going to get some of those monte whites though, it's been a few years since I had one, I think I'm going to get a couple. Though what exactly are you looking for urbs? Taste? Flavors? give me something man!!!!!! =)

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It's just an exploration, Feebs. What's out there that's "habano," and what do they taste like? Is there any family resemblance?

Kuzi -- I read 3 or 4 different explanations of the term. One said it's a specific strain of tobacco derived from criollo (Tobacco University sort of hits at this, too). One said it's a fermentation process somewhat similar to maduro, but less strenuous. One said it's just a color somewhat lighter than maduro. And one said it's any tobacco derived from what were originally Cuban seeds.

Any of them except the first one would explain why there are so many cigars that are described as "habano" but then say they have some other wrapper -- e.g., corojo.

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Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.

urbino:

It's just an exploration, Feebs. What's out there that's "habano," and what do they taste like? Is there any family resemblance?

Kuzi -- I read 3 or 4 different explanations of the term. One said it's a specific strain of tobacco derived from criollo (Tobacco University sort of hits at this, too). One said it's a fermentation process somewhat similar to maduro, but less strenuous. One said it's just a color somewhat lighter than maduro. And one said it's any tobacco derived from what were originally Cuban seeds.

Any of them except the first one would explain why there are so many cigars that are described as "habano" but then say they have some other wrapper -- e.g., corojo.

What I have read in the past is that they were orignally from cuban seed and that criollo was derived from Habano not the other way around. I wonder who can answer that question correctly.

rwheelwright:

urbino:

It's just an exploration, Feebs. What's out there that's "habano," and what do they taste like? Is there any family resemblance?

Kuzi -- I read 3 or 4 different explanations of the term. One said it's a specific strain of tobacco derived from criollo (Tobacco University sort of hits at this, too). One said it's a fermentation process somewhat similar to maduro, but less strenuous. One said it's just a color somewhat lighter than maduro. And one said it's any tobacco derived from what were originally Cuban seeds.

Any of them except the first one would explain why there are so many cigars that are described as "habano" but then say they have some other wrapper -- e.g., corojo.

What I have read in the past is that they were orignally from cuban seed and that criollo was derived from Habano not the other way around. I wonder who can answer that question correctly.

it is a mystery that will only be revealed by God himself when one dies.... =)

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I'm pretty sure that Habano is a generic term that implies a Cuban seed. The info Urby found on the various strains is relevant, but is misapplied throughout the industry. Criollo and Corojo are more specific terms in that regard, and seem to be applied far less liberally.

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phobicsquirrel:

ummm milk it..

Here's a tobacco taxonomy from Tobacconist U.:

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Oh, and while I'm on the subject of things I learned from that site: the bales that tobacco leaves are gathered into to ferment? They're not called bales. They're called . . . wait for it . . . burros.

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Duty and I discussed this a bit in our long @ss phone call the other night. A REAL Habano is a cigar that has a Habano 2000 wrapper on it. However, the industry calls anything that is cuban seed a Habano. While I love the spirit of your experiment and will probably participate to some degree I think its not as specific as you may believe. You are really talking about a ton of different types of tobacco under the name of Habano. I'd say Habano is almost like saying Maduro.

If you go back and look at my first post, I've never believed it was all that specific. It's obvious from the way it's used by various makers that the word is used to mean several things. One of the purposes of this experiment is to empirically determine if all the different "habano" cigars have anything at all in common -- any family resemblance.

It seems to me "habano" is even less specific than "maduro." The latter at least refers to a specific fermentation process, and almost always to a Connecticut broadleaf.

BTW, has anybody seen "Habano 2000" identified as the wrapper on a cigar? I don't think I ever have.

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Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.

I smell whats on in ur kitchen now.

Come to think of it I do not believe I've ever seen a cigar specifically labeled as a Habano 2000. It may no longer exist...