Publicity Go Figurado
- Financial Times
Publicity Go Figurado
TEXT: Nick Foulkes
October, 2014
Figurado fever is gripping Havana, with high-profile launches and special editions of these once-niche, fully flavoured torpedo-shaped cigars.
Nick Foulkes gets to the point. Illustrated by Andy Bunday.
Question: When is a torpedo not a torpedo? Answer: when it is - deep breathe - a salomon, a Diadema, a Roldolfo, a Romeo, a Piramide, a Piramide Extra, a Petit Piramide, a Campana, a Taco,
an Exquisito, a Petit Bouquet, a Generoso, a Favorito, a Forum, a Petit Belicoso or a Petit No. 2...
In other words, when it is a figurado - a shaped cigar rather than a straight-sided parejo. The above list seems at odds with Kipling's famous line "a woman is only a woman, but a good cigar is a smoke".
Actually, a cigar is much more than a smoke. What most fans in their ignorance or, in my case, laziness (I simply cannot hold all the different dimensions in my head) refer to as a torpedo - any cigar
with one or both pointed or tapering ends, and sometimes a slight bulge in the middle - is in fact an entirely discrete culture of cigars.
Think of it as going into a car showroom and asking to
buy a convertible and then being bombarded with all the
different marques, engine sizes, body styles and so forth.
This is what I love about the world of Havana cigars:
the sheer joyous variety, the bewildering explosion of
choice. I glory in it much as Ruskin revelled in the
individuality of Gothic architecture, which was, said the
great Victorian, "hardly too rich in its changefulness",
and which delighted in "the accumulation of ornament".
I am not sure if Ruskin was a big cigar smoker, but had
he been he would have been a figurado man. Indeed, for
a while at the beginning of the last century there was a
John Ruskin brand of figurado cigars sold in America.
The last big thing to happen in figurados was almost 20
years ago in 1996 with the launch of Cuaba. Cuaba was an
interesting idea in that it was a brand that specialised in
different sizes of double figurado or perfecto - what, with
a level of inaccuracy that will appal cigar geeks, you could
call a double-ended torpedo. The largest was the zeppelin-
Iike perfecto known as the Diadema (£36.80), a little
under 9%in in length, with a ring gauge at its widest
point of 55. Yet my favourite was the slightly girthier
Salomon (£34.40), which measured 7 1/4" with a 57 ring
gauge. Although good cigars, they only ever achieved
niche status. For most people, they remain a novelty: one
of the characteristics of which is a scimitar-like jet of
flame that shoots from the end upon lighting.
Now the figurado comes in entirely new sizes of
"shaped" cigars, appearing in special editions, and in
brands that had not made figurados for years, if ever. Just
how busy the torcedores of Havana have been in recent
years is explained by Simon Chase, a non-executive
director of British importer Hunters & Frankau. "There
are now at least eight different detailed formats of
torpedoes, whereas for most of my life there have
been only two," says the septuagenarian Chase, who
has been working in cigars since the 1970s, and describes
how confusion has been compounded in recent years.
"In the period before the launch of Cuaba, smokers
decided to call cigars 'torpedoes' if they were pointed
at one end, which became established cigar jargon.
The re-emergence of double-pointed shapes became
a problem because, if anything, they bore more
resemblance to torpedoes than actual torpedoes, if you
see what I mean. English-language vernacular did have a
word for this cigar shape, which was 'perfecto', but the
Cubans preferred the description 'double figurado".
I remember when I became interested in cigars about
25 years ago, and there seemed to be just two figurados
that were widely available: the Montecristo No. 2
G22.fq and the H. Upmann No. 2 (£28). Nomenclature
was not the only thing that linked them; these Piramides
were also identically dimensioned (8 1/8in with a 52 ring
gauge). In those days, the dusty brown bands were
almost identical too, and depending on the year in which
they were made - the blend does change slightly from
year to year - it was sometimes difficult to tell the
difference between the slightly fuller-flavoured Monte and the Upmann.
They were primarily smoked by the
likes of Lew Grade and others, who wanted to try a
slightly fatter cigar. (In those days, the 50 ring gauge
robusto was at the limit of girth in a straight-sided cigar,
and there were relatively few marques that offered it.)
However, as wider-bodied cigars became more
popular - resulting in ring gauges of 50 and 52
becoming the norm rather than the upper limit -
the Piramide risked becoming almost invisible in a
see how it will taste in a year or so. For now the
surprise is that another emblematic Piramide - the
aforementioned H. Upmanns No. 2 - is being accorded
the Reserva treatment (£42.50). Reserva cigars differ
from Gran Resewa cigars in that the tobacco is a
minimum of three, rather than five, years old: in this
case the tobacco is from the 2010 harvest. In practice, it
is hard to compare the differing effects of using five and
three-year-old tobacco, as the brands and sizes in which
they are released differ from year to year.
There is usually a delay between the announcement of
a new launch and its arrival on the market, so although
the cigars may have been made, it is unlikely that they
will appear in the UK much before the end of the year, -
giving the blended vintage leaf time to settle. At least
some H. Upmann No. 2 Reservas have been made, as I had
the good fortune to taste one and was surprised by the
first impression of its strength - something that is not
usually associated with an H. Upmann - but it was
measured rather than overpowering and the concentration of flavour,
characteristic of the Piramide, provided a pleasing initial tang at the tip of the mouth,
which broadened into a sustained and rich cigar that had
me looking at the H. Upmann brand with fresh eyes.
sea of big-format cigars that pushed ring gauges
right up to 60. However, to see it as just another fat
cigar is to miss the point. In fact, the point of a
Piramide or perfecto is not the girth, but the point
itself. The flavour delivery is unique, in that it offers
the complexity and nuanced blending that is afforded
by having more tobacco in a wider ring gauge, in
particular the inclusion of the slower burning,
more powerful ligero; and if cut correctly (a straight
cut between 3.5mm to 4mm from the top), it delivers
its flavour with the intensity of a slimmer cigar,
concentrating the initial taste to a smaller area of the
palate. This configuration completely alters the
character of the cigar, even within the same brand.
Experienced smokers also comment that the shape of
the Piramide allows for better combustibility. This may
not be solely to do with its shape. Figurados are often
more difficult to make than parejos, as Lazaro Collazo,
head of quality control at the Habanero factory in
Havana province, explains: "The main challenge is in
the cabeza or 'head' of the cigar. In a parejo cigar you
cut the binder/filler after you have rolled a cylinder of
tobacco. This creates the flat end onto which the cap is
placed. With a Piramide, you have to continue rolling
the binder and filler tobacco into a Piramide shape, and
then also add the cap at the end. This is a more
complicated and difficult process."
Looking at the needle-sharp point of a good Piramide,
it is hard not to marvel at the manual dexterity that
enables a top roller to repeat this precise feature time
after time, using only hand, eye and expertise. Grade
nine is the highest level of skill to which a torcedor can
aspire, and only grade-nine rollers are permitted to make
the larger figurados (including Rodolfos, Piramides a¡d
Piramides Extra). Even the smaller figurados - those
between 4 3/4Ãn and 5 1/2in in length, such as Campana,
Forum, Petit Piramide, Petit Belicoso and Petit No. 2 -
can only be tackled by a grade eight and grade nine.
I recall on one factory visit that the rollers selected to
work on special projects were designated as the
"Brigade Piramide": further evidence of the high regard
in which the figurado is held by the industry.
At the end of 2011, the Piramide was paid the
ultimate compliment that the Cuban cigar industry
can bestow, when the Montecristo No. 2 was made into
a Gran Reserva (Reservas and Gran Reservas are made
with specially aged tobacco from the 2005 harvest).
The Montecristo No. 2 Gran Reserva (£63.50) was a
richly satisfying, almost majestic cigar, the aged tobacco
smoothing away the liveliness of youth with a carpet of
harmonious flavours. Nor did momentum slacken over
the following years: 2012 saw the launch of the Cohiba
Piramides Extra (£36.20), the first addition since 1989
to the fuller-flavoured Linea Classica of the super premium
cigar brand. Linea Classica was the faundation
of the Cohiba brand, and the launch of a new format
into such a hallowed and classic range was not a
decision taken lightly. I tasted the Piramides Extra
shortly after it was launched and rather liked it, finding
it docile and quite subtle; more recently, however, I
have found it getting a little stronger and developing
into something that, thanks to its size and blend (6 1/4in
with a 54 ring gauge), is not to be trifled with.
Last year saw a more mainstream, but no less
significant launch: the Montecristo Petit No. 2 (£17.80),
a cigar tailored to the requirement for short yet
substantial cigars. It keeps the 52 ring gauge of its
big brother, but is almost 1.5in shorter at 4 3/4in. Edward
Sahakian, proprietor of Davidoff on St James's Street,
introduced me to this cigar shortly after its arrival in the
UK in December 2073. Sahakian prefers milder cigars,
and commented that this was one he could smoke right
down to the band without feeling the need to abandon
it, as it becomes stronger towards the end. (The usual
pattern for a cigar is that there is an initial burst of
flavour, but after half an inch or so it tends to settle
down, building incrementally in intensity until the end.)
My experience with the Petit No. 2 was not quite as
pleasurable as Edward's, but I certainly enjoyed the first
two thirds of it, and the timing of about 25 minutes
is perfect (or, indeed, perfecto). It will be interesting to
see how it will taste in a year or so. For now the
surprise is that another emblematic Piramide - the
aforementioned H. Upmanns No. 2 - is being accorded
the Reserva treatment (£42.50). Reserva cigars differ
from Gran Reserva cigars in that the tobacco is a
minimum of three, rather than five, years old: in this
case the tobacco is from the 2010 harvest. In practice, it
is hard to compare the differing effects of using five and
three-year-old tobacco, as the brands and sizes in which
they are released differ from year to year.
There is usually a delay between the announcement of
a new launch and its arrival on the market, so although
the cigars may have been made, it is unlikely that they
will appear in the UK much before the end of the year, -
giving the blended vintage leaf time to settle. At least
some H. Upmann No. 2 Reservas have been made, as I had
the good fortune to taste one and was surprised by the
first impression of its strength - something that is not
usually associated with an H. Upmann - but it was
measured rather than overpowering and the concentration of flavour,
characteristic of the Piramide, provided a pleasing initial tang at the tip of the mouth,
which broadened into a sustained and rich cigar that had
me looking at the H. Upmann brand with fresh eyes.
These high-profile launches
have been accompanied by
some interesting special edition
figurados; among them
the perfecto Bolivar Britanicas
Extra (£16.60), and the Ramon
Allones Petit Belicoso (£18.70),
both regional versions for the
UK market in 2011 md2072 respectively. Other
figurados with a short production run include limited
editions like the Punch Serie d'Oro No. 2 (£22.80) of
2O13, and the Hoyo Short Piramide (£17.80) of 2077.
Interest surrounding these releases has prompted.a
reassessment of cigars that did not attract much
attention upon their launch. For instance, Sahakian
recommends the now-discontinued, monumenta-lly
built, Rodolfo-sized San Cristobal Muratla (£31),
7 1/8in with a 54 ring gauge. It requires a quiet hour to
polish off, but Sahakian speaks of a smoothly balanced
and purposeful cigar that has benefited from several
years of maturation (his boxes are stamped with
the 2007 year of production).
Meanwhile, Mitchell Orchant, managing director
of specialist cigar auction house C.Gars is enthusiastic
about the Punch Serie d'Oro No. 1 (£22) of 2008,
describing it as one of the most "outrageously good
blends that Punch has made": an observation all the
more interesting because at its launch, the 7 1/8in, 52 ring gauge
cigar was, in my opinion, unremarkable, but the
extra years of maturation have clearly had an effect.
This figurado fever shows little sign of abating just yet.
Next year, the special cigar rolled to celebrate the 225th
anniversary of Hunters & Frankau will be released.
Called Cabeza Tumbada, this obscurely shaped cigar has
the sloping shoulders of the regular Piramide but,
instead of terminating in a sharp point, the very end is
flat, an old shape dating from the early 2Oth-century
when Hunters & Frankau owned Ramon Allones. If
nothing else, it is another cigar name to add to the ever expanding
figurado lexicon.
GETTING SOME POINTERS
CGars 020-7372 1865; www.cgarsltd.co.uk.
Davidoff of London, 35
St James's Street, London 5W1 (020-7930 3079; www.davidoff.com).
Hunters & Frankau, 020-7 41 1 8400; www.cigars.co.uk.
- Financial Times
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