TRINIDAD RISES TO NEW HEIGHTS

The other day I was strolling through Taylors Tobacconists’ humidors in Brighton when a box of cigars caught my eye. It was lying on the inspection desk following the examination, which is responsible for checking the contents of every box before the EMS (English Market Selection) stamp is applied to it.

It was a squat SBN box finished with clear varnish, so it had to be Trinidad. But there was something about its shape that was unfamiliar. This was a new limited edition cigar.

I asked him to open it so I could have a look. Up went the lid, out came the papeletas (leaflets) and there was the top row of six Trinidad Topes Edition Limited 2016. Suited in perfectly matched, gleaming maduro wrappers, they were a joy to behold. Their stocky 125mm x 56 ring gauge shapes resembled precision engineered cylinders.

Regular readers of this column will know that I am not a fan of the trend towards heavy ring gauge cigars. In fact when I first heard the dimensions of the Topes, I dismissed it as one of those cigars that I would allow to pass me by. However, there is a funny thing that I have experienced from time to time. It happened with the Chiba Sublimes Limited Edition back in 2004. On paper the dimensions (164mm x 54 ring gauge) suggested that it would be an ugly monster, but when I saw the finished cigar, the relationship between its length and girth made it attractive. It was the same with the Topes.

Thinking back, it’s remarkable how different Trinidad ws at the beginning. It started life in secret 48 years ago at Cohiba’s El Languid factory where it was made exclusively for the Cuban Council of State (not for Fidel Castro, as some say).

It came in just one, long, thin size, a Languid No.1(192mm x 38 ring gauge) like the Cohiba Lancero, and had a rich, deep, earthy flavour similar to Partagas.

In 1992, a visiting journalist revealed its existence and soon, Trinidad Diplomats, as they became known , started to be sold at auction. I remember in 1997, when a box of 25 sold in Geneva for nearly USD 15,000. Encouraged by such a phenomenal result, Habanos S.A decided to adopt Trinidad as one of the new bands it launched at the end of the 20th century.

A team was assembled at El Languid under Emilia Tamayo, the then director, to review the size and to create a new blend – the old one was deemed too strong. Its key member was Raul Valladares, known as the Maestro de Maestros (master of the masters) amongst Tabacuba’s master blenders.

A unique relationship was born between Raul and Habanos S.A marketing director at the time, Ana Lopez. Ana wanted a medium strength cigar full of fragrance and aroma.

The result was astounding, as I found out when in November 1997, I was roped into the final tasting committee at El Languid for the new Fundadores size, which had two ring gauge points added to its girth. Raul had done it. Gone was the strident taste of the Diplomats, and its place a delightful, approachable, medium bodied and above all fragrant flavour.

Although Trinidad is prized amongst the cognoscenti, for some reason, it has struggled to appeal to a wider audience. I think I know why. Every time I present Trinidad at an event, it takes a matter of seconds before someone says: If we are not smoking Cuban tonight, then? Many still think it must come from the island of Trinidad. What’s in a name, you might say, but would a Scotch whisky producer call one of its brands Honshu or Hokkaido?

The names given to Trinidad’s newest arrivals are a bit tricky, too. Vigia, for example, another excellent stocky shape (110mm x 54 ring gauge) means a lookout and refers to the tower on a sugar plantation near Trinidad city that once served such a purpose. Likewise, how many people know where Topes comes from? Again, I can help. Nestled in the Escambray mountains behind Trinidad at 900 metres above sea level, there is a small settlement called Topes de Collantes.

Today it is at the centre of a nature reserve populated by eucalyptus and pine trees under which a rich variety of flora prospers amongst stunning streams, waterfalls and deep pools. Topes de Collantes means something like top of the hills. Perhaps it is a sign that Trinidad is rising to new heights.

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