By Jay Amberg Bloomberg Lifestyles. Fri, 04 May 2001,
11:04am EDT. Bloomberg.com
London, May 3 -- Cigar aficionados who want a custom-made Cuban smoke can
visit Broadweighs Cigar Store tomorrow in London where a retired Cuban cigar
roller is giving a seven-hour demonstration.
Carlos Valdes, 60, isn't just another Cuban torcedor (cigar roller). He's a
former grade-9 roller from Havana's La Corona factory, where he produced the
most difficult of all Cuban cigars, the A-sized, as well as double coronas and
all sizes of figurados (shaped cigars).
Grade 9 is the highest level a roller can attain, requiring years of
experience. Most grade-9 rollers have been rolling cigars for at least five
years and some as long as 20 or longer.
Valdes will be rolling from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. at Broadweighs, which is located
at 48 Broad St., Teddington, Middlesex.
Ajay Patel, Broadweighs owner, said anyone with an interest in cigars should
stop by the store to watch Valdes roll cigars.
"During his demonstration, if a customer buys any three Cuban cigars
from our humidor, Valdes will roll them a Cuban cigar made according their
specifications,'' Patel said. "In other words, if you want a Cuban cigar
with a lot of ligero tobacco leaf (strong and spicy), he'll roll it, or if you
want something less powerful, he'll roll that for you, too.''
Valdes, who will be returning to Cuba on Saturday, retired from the La
Corona factory four years ago. He now rolls cigars at a small cigar shop in the
Casa Amistad, on the Paseo, about two blocks south of the Melia Cohiba Hotel.
For those who can't make it in person to watch Valdes roll, there's also a
live demonstration from 7-10 p.m. tonight on a U.K. Web cam at
http://www.cgarsltd.co.uk/.
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