Thursday, October 05 2006
In Seed to Soul, C.A.O. Cigars presents a look at the cigar business that most cigar smokers never get to see. Directed by Lynn Bennett, Seed to Soul opens with bucolic vistas of Nicaragua, taking the viewer on a virtual tour of the lifecycle of the tobacco plant. If you can't get down to one of the cigar making countries to see how a tobacco farm and a cigar factory operate, Seed to Soul is the next best thing. (Watch it in HD, and you'll really see some stunning detail, especially in the close-ups of the leaves and the cigars.)
Scored with a soulful, Latin-flavored soundtrack by composer Erico Schulz, the film is hosted by the Ozgener family: C.A.O. Cigars founder, Cano Ozgener, son Tim, and daughter Aylin. With additional commentary by renowned tobacco producers and cigar makers, Nestor Plasencia and Charlie Toraño, they put you front and center of the entire cigar-making process - from the infinitesimal seeds that grow into gargantuan leaves, right up through the finished cigars.
The film moves stage by stage starting with the seed, followed by cultivation and harvesting, curing, processing and fermentation, blending, rolling, and finally, finishing, where the cigars are inspected, sorted by color, and boxed.
During each segment you'll learn the intricacies of production, including how the cigar makers time and control the temperature of the fermentation to get the most flavor out of the leaves. You'll see how the leaves are rotated, sorted, baled, and most importantly, how the leaves are painstakingly selected to produce just the right blend. In other words, don't try this at home.
One of the more interesting highlights for me was learning that the richest tobacco seeds come from the plants grown in the middle of the field. Since there is less traffic in that part of the field, the plants are mostly undisturbed and allowed to grow to full maturity. Therefore a swath of these tallest and strongest plants is left to flower so the seed pods can germinate. The pods are covered with paper bags to protect them from pollen that may be blown onto them from the "weaker" plants. The flowers are beautiful, too; lavender, cone-shaped blossoms with white edges.
One of the secrets to making a good cigar is not just having great tobacco, but how the tobaccos blend.
"When you make a blend, that doesn't mean that it's the end of the blend," says Cano Ozgener. And as Charlie Toraño explains, each leaf, even though it's from the same farm, has its own unique flavor characteristics. Moreover, the tobacco changes year to year, so the real challenge is to try and achieve a consistency in the taste.
"You're only as good as your last cigar," says Charlie Toraño.
What's also fascinating about the film is how every step is done by hand. So, when you see the words "hecho a mano" on a box of cigars, as Seed to Soul clearly demonstrates, they're not just referring to the bunching and rolling part of the process.
Inside the DVD case is 36-page booklet with stunning, wall-to-wall images of the fields, the factory, the cigars, and the people who make them by photographer, John Chiasson.
After watching Seed to Soul, viewers will have a newfound respect and appreciation for the art of cigar making. Maybe their cigars will even taste better by knowing what really goes into them.
~ Gary Korb
FYI - Seed to Soul will soon be available as a premium with C.A.O.'s Commemerativo pack. It can also be purchased at C.A.O.'s online M.E.R.C.H. store.
