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On a roll
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None but a woman can roll out a cigar to perfection, says Jessica Maria - a master Torcedor
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MANY VILLAGES in Nizamabad have a family tradition of rolling beedis. In few communities, the number of beedis rolled by an unmarried girl is a certificate to get a better suitor - on an average, the number is 1000-1500 a day.
On another side of the globe, in Dominican Republic, girls carry out a similar job. Only they roll cigars. Jessica Maria, 23, is one of them. "I do it for fun. Of course, there's a lot of money," she says. Jessica, who works for Altadis USA - the world's largest cigar company, is believed to be one of the finest cigar rollers (Torcedor) in the planet.
The best cigars are always hand-made and behind every man who holds a cigar , there's a woman. According to Eric Piras, Altadis vice-president (business development, Asia) - "70-per cent of the employees in the world's best cigar companies are women. Altadis has nearly 85-per cent women working - the reason being women are naturally patient and cigar rolling calls for extraordinary patience. It is a form of art that requires deft and soft hands." So, although cigar smoking remains a man's prerogative, rolling is purely a woman's turf. And while to smoke a cigar does not take more than 30-40 minutes, making one takes more than just a few hours.
Jessica, who was in town recently at the launch of Don Diego Anniversario brand of cigars at Al Fresco in Taj Krishna, says, "There are 65 different processes involved in making a quality hand-made cigar, right from cutting the filler, softening the binder, wrapping the whole thing and finally pasting the sticker." The master Torcedor was flown in for a demonstration. "After three years of training, I can make up to 150 cigars a day. Handmade cigars, especially those that belong to the much-acclaimed Don Diego family are a result of meticulous sorting and selection and careful preparation. Each cigar is made from a variety of leaves sourced from around the world," she says.
For instance, in the Don Diego Anniversario (priced at Rs. 6,500 for a box of 10) - the wrapper is made of Ecuador Sumatra (sourced from Ecuador), the binder is from the Connecticut valley and is called, Connecticut Broadleaf; the filler blend combines tobaccos from the Cibao valley in the Dominican Republic, with Cuban seed tobacco from the base of the Andes in Peru.
"The tobacco leaves are fermented for three years, and there is not a trace of artificial chemical added. Even the glue is natural," says CEO, Godfrey Phillips International, Amrish Anand. Godfrey Phillips has tied up with Altadis USA to distribute their premium cigars in India.
"Cigars have always been seen as a symbol of a lifestyle, an emerging trend that has huge potential in India," adds Anand.
About which is more harmful between cigarette and cigar, Jessica says, "Of course, the cigarette. In a cigar, etiquette says that one should not inhale the smoke, just swirl it around the mouth, release and relax."
Try out one - you'll simply love it, is the promise she signs off with before lighting up one for herself.
SOUVIK CHOWDHURY
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