What Is a “Vintage Cigar”?
A discussion with three cigar-blending luminaries about the concept of “vintage cigars” and whether consistency is overrated.
In the cigar world, consistency of flavor has long reigned as king.
The ideal of a consistent flavor experience in the premium handmade cigar industry dominates consumer opinions about which cigar companies are “better” than others. Further, the quest to achieve consistency of flavor experience is generally the paramount goal, if not a downright obsession, on the blending and manufacturer side of the premium cigar ecosystem.
In other words, the cigar world (blenders, manufacturers, consumers, and media, alike) is fixated on the goal of maintaining the consistency of flavor of cigar blends. But is this fixation on consistency of flavor experience always a positive for the cigar industry? Does the quest for consistency come at the expense of concepts like “vintage”, expressions of microclimates and terroir, and other innovative developments that are taking place in the wine and distilled spirits industries?
To explore these issues, I posed the following questions to three luminaries of the premium handmade cigar world: Paul Garmirian, Michael Herklots, and Claudio Sgroi. Below is the written question prompt that I sent to these three cigar luminaries (or, in the case of Michael Herklots, asked him over a recent broadcast of the Light ‘em Up Lounge), with the luminaries’ responses, respectively, listed below the questions.
The Questions Posed to the Experts:
The "Classic Model" of the premium cigar world prioritizes the ideal of consistency of blends over time. Some prototypical examples of these beacons of consistency - the "Platonic forms" of consistency of taste and experience - include world-renowned cigars like the Don Carlos line, the Montecristo No. 2, and the Cohiba Esplendido (among many others).
However, in the wine and fine spirits world, the concept of “vintage” (or “bottled-in-bond” in the American whiskey world) is essential to the classification and connoisseurship of those products. At its most basic description, the meaning of “vintage” in the wine and spirits world is the year when a wine’s grapes (or other materials) were harvested. Even if two particular wines are from the same vineyard and are the same varietal, made with all the same techniques, a 2020 will taste quite different than a 2022.
What role do you believe “vintage cigars” could play, or ought to play, in the premium cigar landscape? Is the premium cigar industry fixated on the ideal of consistency of blends more than it should be? Does the quest for consistency of blends come at the expense of innovative concepts like blending cigars by crop year, vintage, and even further differentiating flavor characteristics, like microclimate?
Response from Paul Garmirian
Dr. Paul B.K. Garmirian has been a highly respected authority on fine cigars for over 30 years. Dr. Garmirian is the author of the classic cigar book, “The Gourmet Guide to Cigars”, first published in 1990, but now on its tenth printing. Dr. Garmirian is also the founder of the Paul Garmirian Gourmet Series of cigars – the original “boutique” cigar brand. You can find the PG Gourmet Series at McClean Cigars, which is owned and operated by Dr. Garmirian and his son, Kevork. Interesting fact: PG Cigars Gourmet Series was first to introduce the belicoso vitola to the U.S. market, in 1991, in Chicago.
“Consistency over time.”
was the beginning of his response. “In order to achieve a balanced blend, it is essential that all the components (filler, binder, wrapper) are in harmony and create an equilibrium. The tobaccos from different crop years will have different attributes. Unlike wine, which may have different characteristics from year to year, the consistency of a cigar blend is expected and is closer to the making of champagne. In champagne, the formula has to be tweaked from year to year to achieve a similar taste to preceding years. In red wines, a 1982 Bordeaux will be considered superior while the 1983 would not be so great, due to weather, temperature, rain, etc.”
According to Dr. Garmirian, “a vintage cigar has to be good to begin with. Just aging any cigar will not do it. To begin with, we box age our great cigars at least 3 years before release. They must be box aged for at least 10 years before we call it vintage. Most cigar manufacturers produce cigars to be sold. It is not practical or economical for large companies to put cigars away for aging. The concept of aging is normally done by savvy consumers. We are able to do it due our relative small size.”
Finally, “as far as the PG concept of what constitutes a vintage cigar, please find enclosed an article that appeared in the Robb Report in 2005, authored by Brent Butterworth, entitled: Historically Accurate (subtitle: Paul Garmirian’s Family Reserve cigars are vintage through and through).”
My Take: Sometimes, truth can be so simple and obvious that it risks escaping us. Dr. Garmirian’s point that, that a vintage cigar must be good to begin with, falls into this category of simple truths. “Vintage”, especially as a concept in the premium cigar world, does not, and should not, merely mean old. This neuters the full meaning of the term and robs it of its color. It should come as no surprise that Dr. Garmirian, who this author considers to be the father of the modern “boutique” cigar movement (with “boutique” being a concept in the premium cigar industry that warrants its own article, or series of articles, itself), does not permit us to lose sight of this fact. Interestingly, Dr. Garmirian speaks of vintage cigars with regards to “a specific year” and they age of the box. (More about rate old (meaning vintage) cigars in this beautiful series of articles from Ray Prodanov: Part I, Part II, Part III, and Part IV).
Finally, Dr. Garmirian’s explanation that the closest analogy to the concept of utilizing “vintage” tobacco crops to maintain the consistency of a particular cigar’s blend is found in the champagne industry is another valuable insight.
Response from Michael Herklots
Michael Herklots is a recognized tastemaker in and veteran of the premium cigar industry. An owner of cigar brand Ferio Tego since 2021, Mr. Herklots’ previous experience includes managing the Nat Sherman and Davidoff of Geneva flagship stores in Manhattan for nearly fifteen years. Among Mr. Herklots’ notable and varied accomplishments in the cigar industry is his successful delivery to Davidoff customer, Charlie Sheen, of his (Sheen’s) cigar order during the now-infamous “winning” meltdown-incident at The Plaza hotel in 2010.
“Great question. At its highest level, ‘vintage’ is critical in the premium cigar world. But [the term] is used, generally, in a very different way than wine, for example. Vintage, to wine, represents everything in the bottle. 100% (of the bottle’s contents) is the expression of whatever God gave the winemaker and the vineyard manager – bottled.”
Mr. Herklots continued: “In handmade premium cigars, ‘vintage’ is important for the purposes of cataloging and understanding a specific tobacco’s behavior. But, generally speaking, there are not, as a broad concept, this idea of vintage cigars. Meaning everything is 100% same seed, same farm, same place. And that’s because, honestly, it would be so linear and boring it would be unsmokeable.
But ‘vintage’ is important for cataloging experience because the ability to maintain a blend is contingent on understanding everything about the vintage. Because, if you’re going to recast a tobacco that is leaving ‘the show’, vintage is one part of understanding the behavior and characteristics and nuances of a particular tobacco.
So, for example, let’s say I was using in a blend a 2017 ligero from the top of the plant – and from Nicaragua, from Estelí. And now I’ve run out of that specific vintage cigar blend 2017 ligero from Estelí. I need to replace it. Now, the first thing I would do is say ‘let’s use the 2018 ligero from Estelí. Except it rained a lot in 2018, and too much rain diminishes the strength, even of ligero. And it mutes it. So, the 2018 ligero may not be sufficient to replace the 2017.
So, let’s go to 2019. That was a dry year, like 2017. Except 2019 was too dry; it was drier, and so much sun that ligero is a ‘face melter’. But, perhaps the viso – lower position, younger, a little more ferocious, but a lower position, slightly thinner shaded – that 2019 vintage cigar blend might be exactly that satisfactory replacement for the 2017 ligero. So, vintage is critical.
But that, frankly, is drilling down to a level that is meaningless – even to a connoisseur – because it’s not shared. That’s not information that is publicly shared. And, when it is, it is often embellished,” Mr. Herklots explained.
Proceeding to hold court on this topic, Mr. Herklots summarized his point: “So, then ‘vintage’ really gets down to what does it mean to a consumer.”
For reference, please see Michael Herklots discussing the concept of “vintage” here (begins at 51:30 mark).
My Take: (The following is intended as a compliment; as this level of honesty is part of what makes Michael Herklots so endearing) Leave it to the one, and only, Michael Herklots to provide a graduate seminar-level dissertation on the concept of vintage cigars and then end this dissertation-defense-quality answer by stating, with brutal honesty: “[b]ut that, frankly, is drilling down to a level that is meaningless – even to a connoisseur – because it’s not shared. That’s not information that is publicly shared. And, when it is, it is often embellished.”
My biggest takeaway from Michael Herklots’ very thorough response to these question, when asked on the Light ‘em Up Lounge broadcast, is how correct he is that consumers lack any meaningful ability to taste the component parts of a cigar’s blend. Imagine a world, for instance, where consumers can smoke individual tobacco crop strains, from specific regions or micro-climates, and from individual crop harvests? In this author’s opinion, the largest drawback to present day cigar connoisseurship is the lack of consumers to sample individual components parts of blends.
Further, inspired by Michael Herklots’ answer, I challenge the premium cigar industry to develop innovative methods and products that will allow consumers to bring the “blending room” experience of tasting individual component tobaccos to our homes and local cigar lounges. Whether these be “farm rolls” of individual tobaccos, or other methods to be developed, innovations that will bring the blending room experience to connoisseurs of premium cigars are due. One analogy of this concept, beyond the wine world, is single barrel releases of high-end whiskies and rums (some of which, themselves, purport to be “estate grown”, “single vintage” in the case of many rhum agiricoles, etc.).
Response from Claudio Sgroi
Claudio Sgroi is a renowned Master Blender with twenty years of experience in the tobacco sector and cigar manufacturing. He began his career in 2001 in the Dominican Republic, alongside Hendrik Kelner, Davidoff’s Master Blender. In 2011, he joined Mombacho Cigars as a Consultant, with the objective of creating a boutique and premium cigar brand designed for the global market. While at Mombacho, Mr. Sgroi developed the world-acclaimed Liga Maestro blend, the Mombacho 10th Anniversary Magnifico, the Cosecha series (limited edition cigar, which uses aged tobaccos from same-year crops) and, more recently, the Casa Favilli line and the Diplomático By Mombacho Cigars. In January 2020, Mr. Sgroi was elected as President of the Nicaragua Tobacco Chamber (CNT), representing 95% of the cigars and tobacco exported from Nicaragua. The Chamber also oversees the work of organizing “Puro Sabor”, the international Nicaraguan cigar festival, which takes place annually and attracts a global audience eager to taste and experience the cigars and culture of Nicaragua.
Light em Up: What role do you believe concepts like “vintage cigars” could play, or ought to play, in the premium cigar landscape?
CS: It is a field still to discover! There are many different variables and those make a “true” vintage cigar very difficult to make. A cigar should have aromas, balance and consistency. These together create a complexity that it is extremely difficult to achieve with tobaccos form the same year of crop. Another reason is that the consumers are not familiar with “true vintage cigars”, it is quite difficult to market those.
In the past I made 5 different “vintages” with tobaccos from the same year of crop, all tobaccos from Nicaragua, 2012-2013-2014-2015-2017 (Mombacho Cosecha project). Those were extremely difficult to blend. And, more than anything, such a limited quantity of these (Mombacho Cosecha) cigars were made because of the lack of availability of tobaccos. I’m confident that, in the future, this idea will take more space in the market. “Vintage” is a huge word, but slowly it beginning to be translated into cigars, too.
Light em Up: Is the premium cigar industry fixated on the ideal of consistency of blends more than it should be?
CS: Yes! We have been under the influence of the biggest cigar makers where consistency is the mission and I applaud them. They are making millions of cigars and the level of quality and consistency is now at the highest level. When you think that they can make so many cigars and always having the same profile and characteristics, even though they change the blend, is impressive!
Someone that chooses to smoke the same cigar expects to have the same experience. But this is very difficult to achieve - and these producers have done it. But things now are changing with the wave of boutique cigars. They make different cigars every year. They keep consistent their core lines, but they are willing to discover new tobaccos and to make new blends to break that tradition of consistency. It is amazing to see the evolution of blending in the last 15 years.
Light em Up: Does the quest for consistency of blends come at the expense of innovative concepts like blending cigars by crop year, vintage, and even further differentiating flavor characteristics, like microclimate?
CS: It is a work in progress, but I believe that even the big cigarmakers are now listening more the smokers and trying to do new things. Creating new blends and using more and more marketing, as well. Remember that French wine is so famous because they drink a lot of wine in France. But they have also been the first to sell it. Now, in the cigar world we are using a kind of dictionary never used before – and this is coming from the wine world. “Terroir”, “vintage”, “boutique”, “small production”, all these words didn’t exist before, and now all manufactures are getting into a new era of cigarmaking. We are finally using those term that are appropriate, correct, precise, and that give the true essence of what a cigar is.
My Take: (Full disclosure: the Mombacho Cosecha 2015 is one of my favorite cigars that I have ever smoked). I would be remiss if I did not mention that the Mombacho Cosecha line, created by Claudio Sgroi, along with Dr. Garmirian’s book, The Gourmet Guide to Cigars, served as the inspiration for this editorial article. It is one thing to preach; it is yet another thing, indeed, to practice what you preach. In this sense, Claudio Sgroi deserves immense credit.
No one has done more to bring the concept of “vintage”, as it is used in the wine industry, into the premium cigar realm than Claudio Sgroi.
Not only did the Mombacho Cosecha line bring the first “single vintage” cigars to the market in the 22 years that I have been smoking premium cigars (to my knowledge), it brought excellent cigars to market, as well, and most importantly. Although achieving complexity and balance in a single-harvest-blend is exceptionally difficult, the Mombacho Cosecha line hit near the bullseye with each release.
This author remains eager to see how Claudio Sgroi expands upon these concepts in his new, post-Mombacho, career. My prediction is that we have only seen the beginning.
Examples of Vintage Cigars in the Market
With all this discussion of vintage cigars, the following are some illustrative examples of such premium vintage cigars in the marketplace:
Mombacho Cosecha Series
Handmade in Nicaragua at the Casa Favilli factory, the Mombacho Cosecha series is a limited-edition line of cigars that uses tobaccos from a single year’s crop. These Nicaraguan puros are true vintage cigars that offers a complexity of flavors ranging from mellow to bold, depending on the characteristics of that vintage year.
Plasencia Cosecha 149
All the leaves of this cigar were grown in the Honduran regions of Olancho, the Jamastran Valley, and Talanga. And all leaves contained in this cigar were harvested in 2014, from that crop year.
Plasencia Cosecha 146
Plasencia Cosecha 146 is a vintage blend of tobacco from the 2011-2012 harvest. This harvest, or cosecha, marked the 146th harvest of the Plasencia family’s inaugural tobacco crop of 1865. The leaves are grown in the Honduras and Nicaragua to produce a unique flavor profile – the result of blending the crops of two great tobacco countries. All of the tobaccos in Cosecha 146 are from Criollo ’98 seeds. The wrapper leaf was cultivated in the Jamastran Valley in Honduras, while the binder is from from Estelí, Nicaragua. The fillers leaf comes from Nicaragua’s Condega region along with Hoduras’ Olancho and Jamastran regions.
Paul Garmirian Gourmet Series (Vintage Collection)
The PG Gourmet Series offers a “vintage collection” of extremely well-aged PG cigars. These “vintage” cigars disclose the year of harvest for all filler, binder, and wrapper leaves used on the outside of the cigar box. Further, these cigars disclose the year of their rolling on the box, as well. Finally, and perhaps best of all, each of these offerings boxes come signed by Paul Garmirian, himself.
I hope you enjoyed the read!
With the best of spirits – light ‘em up!
Macy
