The Art of Cigars Travel Video duration – 5.20 minutes Graycliff Cigar Company Nassau, Bahamas Adventure – Guy Stuff Travel Video Maureen Gauntlet Operations Manager, Graycliff Cigar Company Graycliff Cigar Company was founded by Enrico Garzaroli. He is the third largest wine collector in the world and so he decided to say ‘Ok let me make a cigar to complement the wine.’ He started out with Avelino Lara; he’s the world famous torcedore who rolled for Castro in the early 60’s and 70’s. So I understand that what makes a Graycliff cigar special is how they are made. Graycliff cigars are all hand made. The cigar rollers are hand picked by Mr. Garzaroli in Cuba and they come here, they live here on property and they are making cigars, anywhere from 20 to 45 years. So they are really craftsmen? They are craftsmen in what they do. And we also have lessons where a person is visiting and is interested in learning how to make the cigars, we do that as well. I would love to learn how to make a cigar. So let’s go. Ok great Preparación In this room we have Alberto. He is preparing the cigar wrapper. The wrapper is, it could be considered the most important part of our cigar. It’s where we get the added flavor. This is how we receive the cigar leaf, a full leaf.. You can feel, you can touch . It feels like sort of rubbery, it’s like oily almost. Yes, the material. it is the leaf…This leaf is at least two years old. So now if we watch Alberto, he is taking out the stem and there is a special way how you do that. Look how fast he does that? Right, it seems easy but you know it is very very important for the cigar. I still am not able to take the stem out of the leaf correctly. He uses the water to keep it moist so you know the cigar roller is able to handpick and it doesn’t tear. So he is an expert at what he does, he has to make sure that there are not any holes, there are not any cracks or anything; it has to be a perfect wrapper leaf. Torcer Basically there are three big leaves, the Seco which is for the flavor, the Volado which is combustion what makes it burn and then the Ligero which is its strength. In the center right? Yeah and I just broke it. Ok…you’re breaking off the ends. Ok. It’s the feel really that is the art of making cigars. The feel of it. Ok let me try the rolling. Is that good? (Voices) And then the final wrapper which is also for flavor You’re patching my mistakes up. For you Gracias (laughter) So I learned I can’t roll cigars very well but I could definitely learn to enjoy them.