One gram. One gram weighs roughly 0.0353 ounces–about the weight of a single dollar bill. After our recent trip to Tabacalera La Alianza, S.A. (home of Four Kicks), I learned it also can make all the difference in the world.

This past week, Mike (Conder) and I were in the Dominican Republic working closely with Ernesto Perez-Carrillo (aka “El Padrino”) on a laundry list of items, including the final tweaks to our upcoming size extension to Four Kicks, i.e., “Seleccion No. 5.” The first evening of our visit, the three of us were in a cigar lounge and Ernesto brought out the first of the No. 5s for us to smoke. The Ecuador Habano wrappers were stunning–a rich Colorado-Rosado brown with a brilliant oily sheen, and that oh-so-familiar pre-light aroma of good, earthy-leathery tobacco. I had high expectations for this smoke as it’s become a size near and dear to my heart over the course of its development.

What I found, however, was that the flavors were far from what I’d envisioned they would be. The taste seemed muted; the best way I could describe the experience is that it was like when you try to eat something when you have a bad cold–you know what it should taste like, but you only get ‘hints‘ of the flavors. I told Ernesto, “It’s off…the flavors are muted.” At first, we chalked it up to possible excessive moisture in the cigar (as it was rolled a couple of days earlier). But then, Ernesto cut and lit his and looked at me as though I were crazy. Without another word, he re-cut his (lower) and told me to try his cigar. One puff on the cigar and it was as though the clouds had parted and the angels began singing–the flavors opened up (BIG) and the thick texture of smoke covered my palate in the Four Kicks flavor profile I was accustomed to–sweet, spice, earth. We did the same swap with my cigar and Ernesto agreed that it was off. Ernesto then proceeded to take each of the 2 cigars–one in each hand–and after holding them for a few seconds, said, “I think this one is off by a gram, bro.” Mike looked at me and we each had a chuckle; how could someone ‘weigh’ 2 cigars in his hands and come to that conclusion? But Ernesto deadpanned each of us and said, “What–you think I’m crazy? You’ll see.” The sample Ernesto had was so good that I ended up not giving it back to him and he said, “We’ll check the weight on the samples tomorrow morning.”

The next day in the factory, we compiled all of the No. 5s and Ernesto proceeded to weigh each and every one. After doing so with somewhere between 30 and 40 cigars, we found there was a discrepancy in the range of weight of the samples–ranging between 1 to 3 grams per cigar. We then proceeded to cut and light cigars, each from different weights. We did this with about a dozen different cigars. What we found was shocking to me. When the cigar was in the sweet spot (a proprietary weight that we’ve agreed upon), it smoked like an absolute dream; rich, chewy smoke, smacking of flavors of sweet-spice, earthy-tobacco, and creamy-nutty undertones. When the weight was off by a single gram under that sweet spot, the flavors were far less defined and somewhat muted. When the weight was over by a gram, the draw became too firm and the volume and body decreased dramatically. Amazing. Chalk it up to my continuing education in this industry and to the wealth of experience and knowledge of “El Padrino” that one only acquires after doing this for over 40 years. It’s experiences such as these that both humble me, and also constantly rejuvenate my love for this industry.

So, the next time you take out a dollar bill from your pocket–hold it and get a feel for the ‘weight.‘ Maybe a dollar has become insignificant in today’s economy, but the weight it possesses can translate into the difference between a great cigar and a not-so-great cigar.