Recently, James Suckling, the former European Editor of Cigar Aficionado and film director James Orr released a documentary film called Cigars: The Heart and Soul of Cuba.
The premise of the film is that Cuban cigars are the “greatest in the world” according to Suckling and he sets off to discover why this is.
The documentary actually takes you through the entire cigar making cycle. From a view of the tiny tobacco seeds to how the finished cigars are presented in their boxes, nothing is left out.
I’m always fascinated with how tobacco is grown and how a cigar is made. This film gave me plenty to look at and learn. It was interesting to see the farmers take small tobacco seedlings and plant them into the fields. Then, we see how the plants are allowed to grow and how the farmers determine which leaves to pick and in what order.
A look inside the curing barns was next along with a great interview with Alejandro Robaina’s grandson.
There was one part of the film that made something clear to me that I had not thought of before. Due to Cuba’s political structure, all of the tobacco that is grown in the country is sent to one central location where it is graded and then delivered to the cigar factories. This is in stark contrast to how non-cuban cigars are made where companies in the Dominican Republic or Nicaragua either grow their own tobacco or buy from farmers.
The last portion of the film is centered on the factories and how they roll, grade and package the cigars. This is another interesting process that I always enjoy watching.
In the end, James Suckling says that it is the people that make Cuban Cigars the best in the world. While I may not agree that Cuba is making the best cigars in the world, I do agree that it is the people in the industry as a whole that make cigar smoking one of the great experiences around.
For more information on the documentary, please visit the website: Cigars: The Heart and Soul of Cuba
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