THE HEART OF HONDURAS: A JOURNEY INTO THE CAMP CAMACHO EXPERIENCE
of the fermentation room. The release of ammonia from the tobacco creates a pungent, chemical aroma. The tobaccos are brought into the room from the curing barns and placed into pilones, giant piles of tobacco that can reach up to 4,000 pounds. The combination of the volume and pressure of the tobacco plus the humidity of the room creates heat, which is the cause of the fermentation. After 40 days of the tobaccos being rotated throughout the pilone, the filler tobacco is taken to be dried out slightly more, while the binder and wrapper tobacco is taken to a room where more moisture is added back into it to regain elasticity. After a short stop in the sorting room, we entered the most impressive room in the facility. The rolling room is is large, modern and clean. Approximately 150 pairs of rollers were at work in this massive space, where on that day alone, they rolled over 77,000 cigars. The bunchers carefully place all the filler tobaccos inside of the binder with speed and accuracy. The tobacco roll was then placed into a mold to form overnight. The rollers use the previous day’s bunch and place it in the elastic wrapper. The team was given the chance to try our hand at bunching and wrapping cigars. While some were more successful than others (I really stunk), none of us came close to the quality seen from the seasoned rollers. It was a humbling experience. While the banding and packing area was impressive, the next part of the tour was the most memorable for me and I think one of the highlights of the entire journey. On a large table, the company had laid
out custom boxes of 10 cigars. Next to each person's cigar box was their blending sheet from the day before and inside was 10 cigars with their signature blend along with a custom sticker with their name. While we had anticipated some version of the individual blends we made, none of us thought it would be this elaborate. It was again one of the small, thoughtful touches that made the experience that much more meaningful and personal. Following the incredibly insightful tour, we then ventured to Danli for lunch at a lovely rooftop café and once again I overindulged with the anafre bean dish. After lunch, instead of our usual bus ride back to the compound, we were surprised to see a long trolley waiting for us on the street. While music played, this trolley drove around the city, offering us a unique tour of the bustling town. We made a few stops, including at Oscar Valladares coffee shop, before we headed back to the compound for our final night. The final evening, which many of us thought was going to be a quiet and relaxing night, turned into the most unforgettable of the whole trip. We were all given matching tuxedo t-shirts and were told that as a final surprise, they had arranged for a tattoo artist to be our personal artist for the night. At first, we were a little hesitant, but after seeing his Instagram page, we could tell that Tony Tony Tattoo was a legitimate artist, whose work in the U.S. would cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Tony brought everything he needed and was one of the most professional tattoo artists I’ve ever worked with.
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CIGAR MAGAZINE BY JR CIGAR-SUMMER-2024
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