01-17-2008, 03:14 AM
I have been spending a lot of time recently talking to Eric McCallen of Black Patch Cigars ( http://www.blackpatchcigarco.com/ ) via email for a planned piece on my blog soon. He company peaked my interest after picking up a few cigars af The Kentucky Bourbon Festival and being pleasatly surprised by the quality. Also I am very intrigued with his push to bring as much positive attention to midwestern tobacco as there is with tobacco from the Connecticut river valley. Judging from my first tases, he may be onto something. See review here:
http://colbypantssmokinglounge.blogspot.com/2007/09/black-patch-reserve-2003-maduro.html
Lately we have been talking a bit about the process of aging tobacco and he summed it up in two rather apt analogies that I thought I would share with you all as a sneak peak:
"The similarities to making handmade cigars is at first synonymous with aging of bourbon in the barrels. Time to allow the tobacco to age to remove the nitrates and natural occurring ammonia's during fermenting- the decomposing of vegetable matter. Then you blend that tobacco with other tobaccos for the chosen recipe of what you are trying to create in the long term.
But there it stops with the analogy of Bourbon making because once bourbon is bottled it never "turns over". It will taste the same that day to if you keep it in your bar for 20 years, it will remain the same. NOW this is where the similarities of Wine and Cigars takes place. Once wine is bottled in will change with time. Active enzymes in the bottled fluid of grapes and sugars will transpose into varying degrees of taste and flavors. Well, cigars the natural occurring sugars in the leaf will blend "marry'' with the other starches and sugars of all the tobaccos as they are hand bunched or sandwiched with time. Make sense?"
Needless to say I am very intrigued with his company and projects, so there will be more to come!
TomC
http://colbypantssmokinglounge.blogspot.com/2007/09/black-patch-reserve-2003-maduro.html
Lately we have been talking a bit about the process of aging tobacco and he summed it up in two rather apt analogies that I thought I would share with you all as a sneak peak:
"The similarities to making handmade cigars is at first synonymous with aging of bourbon in the barrels. Time to allow the tobacco to age to remove the nitrates and natural occurring ammonia's during fermenting- the decomposing of vegetable matter. Then you blend that tobacco with other tobaccos for the chosen recipe of what you are trying to create in the long term.
But there it stops with the analogy of Bourbon making because once bourbon is bottled it never "turns over". It will taste the same that day to if you keep it in your bar for 20 years, it will remain the same. NOW this is where the similarities of Wine and Cigars takes place. Once wine is bottled in will change with time. Active enzymes in the bottled fluid of grapes and sugars will transpose into varying degrees of taste and flavors. Well, cigars the natural occurring sugars in the leaf will blend "marry'' with the other starches and sugars of all the tobaccos as they are hand bunched or sandwiched with time. Make sense?"
Needless to say I am very intrigued with his company and projects, so there will be more to come!
TomC
I'm Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack! 
