Havana Custom Rolled Cigars

As the title suggests, the topic I’m going to start to delve into today is about Custom Roll Cigars of Havana. That is to say, cigars rolled by the hands of people who have been recognized as being masters in their field and given a post at one of the several cigar shops scattered across the city of Havana, Cuba.

What is the criteria used when choosing who will get one of these positions and exactly who is the one doing the choosing? That is something I don’t know and probably never will. I can tell you that once they have this position of privilege they keep it until they retire. It affords them an opportunity to earn some extra money in the form of gratuities, since they sell their cigars directly to the buyers and at one time they were sent around the world to roll in Cigar Shops as ambassadors for Cuban Cigars. The latter of the two privileges was recently stopped by the new direction, it was a way to see the world at the cigar shop’s expense and once again it gave them an opportunity to earn some extra money.

Besides the extra money and traveling, working conditions are also a plus: compare a hot factory with a comfy air-conditioned cigar shop. Finally, as long as they continued to put out a good product, the pressure of having to roll so many cigars in one day was no longer hanging over their heads. In a cigar factory each roller has a certain quota he or she has to meet each day depending on the cigar that’s being rolled. In the case of the rollers in the cigar shops, they just need to top-up the selection they have in their humidors or fill orders for the regular customers (such as myself) who come to visit a few times a year… but that still gives them plenty of time to produce what is needed at any given time.

It took me a long time to appreciate a Custom Rolled Cigar but once I started getting into them I fell in love. In my opinion they are some of the best rolled cigars in the country. That’s not saying that Cuba doesn’t have some exceptional rollers in their factories as well but you don’t get to choose the roller when you buy a box of cigars at the store. So who is the best? That is a matter of personal opinion or tastes. They’re all good but each one brings something special to the table or may have the personality that makes you come back to him or her, there are a few to choose from.

The world renowned ones are all in Havana, even though you will find some in other parts of the country, the rollers everyone talks about work in the big city that’s always been the center of the cigar trade. Below is a list of the rollers in question and the shops they work out of:

• Alejandro Gonzalez Arias: Hotel Comodoro Cigar Shop at 3ra Ave. & Calle 84, Playa. Read more about Alejandro Gonzalez Arias in this article.
• Leopoldina Gutierrez aka ‘La China’: Partagas LCDH at Calle Industria #520, Centro Habana
• Yolanda Medina: Hotel Melia Habana LCDH at 3ra Ave. between Calle 76 & 80, Playa
• Maria: Quinta y 16 LCDH at 5ta Ave. and Calle 16, Miramar
• Jorge Lopez: Club Havana LCDH at 5ta Ave. between Calle 188-192, Playa
• Reynaldo Gonzalez & Jorge: Conde de Villanueva LCDH at Mercaderes #202 corner of Lamparilla, Habana Vieja
• Juanita Ramos Guerra: Hotel Melia Cohiba LCDH, at Paseo Ave. between Calle 1 & 3, Vedado
• Milagro Morales: Hotel Nacional LCDH at Calle 21 & O, Vedado
• Arnaldo Alfonso Ibanez: Hotel Palco LCDH at 146 Ave. between Calle 11 & 13, Playa
• Update Jose (Cueto) Castelar: Parque Morro-Cabana Cigar Shop, Havana.

I’m going to talk about one of these rollers, the one I’m more familiar with and who commands a great deal of attention outside the island. I’ve known Reynaldo Gonzalez at the Conde de Villanueva LCDH for more than ten years. He is the reason that people come to this shop and is one of the best known rollers in Havana. His shop is a hard to find if you don’t know where to look, it’s located within the courtyard of a 9-room boutique hotel in Old Havana with no indication of its existence at the front of the building. You have to know the shop is there in order to find it… it adds to the exclusivity.

Reynaldo has been rolling here since 1999 and although he gets help from his friend Jorge (another expert roller), he still manages to roll a few cigars himself since demand for product from this store is high. What makes their cigars more special than the next guy’s? The shop itself is an attraction, it’s unlike any other but the cigars themselves are sought after because of their diversity in vitolas and liga.

Reynaldo’s cigars have never been for the weak, they’ve always been known to put you on your butt. While some places roll cigars for the masses, this shop always rolled for the experienced Aficionado. Throughout my years of listening to people’s experiences with cigars from this shop, I came to the conclusion that they appealed to the more seasoned aficionado. I, for one, could never get past the halfway point on one of these cigars but it never stopped me from trying. Alas, times are a changin’, recently they introduced a couple of vitolas with a milder profile that I can attest to being a wonderful smoke. This past November the milder vitolas available were a Torpedo and a Robusto but their signature blends still outnumbered the new ones. What also outnumbered these new cigars were the different shapes available in the stronger blends, shapes that always leaned towards the bigger. With names like ‘Elefante’ (elephant) given to one of these creations… well, you get the picture. The jawbreakers and pointing sticks that have been proudly carried out the shop’s doors have been the pride of many a cigar smoker’s collection.

Reynaldo started his carrier in the tobacco industry 29 years ago, when he was 23. He was once one of the youngest people to hold this position and still is relatively young at 52. He started at the “Jose Luis Piedra” factory in Marianao, Havana and in 1990 went to work at the Partagas factory. He left Partagas in 1999, after 9 years, to begin working at the Conde LCDH and is still there today. Many members of his family, including his departed mother, have been in the cigar industry and Reynaldo claims to have been influenced by all of them. He is a most gracious host and knows how to treat his regular customers. The shop almost feels like a cave and sometimes it can get quite smoky but it has a wonderful atmosphere, a decently stocked bar with espresso and a pretty good selection of banded cigars. If you claim to be a Cigar Aficionado and are planning a trip to Havana, Cuba, you must make a point of visiting this shop, I’m sure you won’t be disappointed. Tell them Matteo says hello.