Help with rare Fuente cigar pedigree

[moki]

I'm putting together a little web page with pictures of various rare and unreleased cigars (just Fuente for now, will add more later), and I need a little help. I'm trying to include information about each cigar, where it came from, and the exact "official" size of the cigar. You can see the site in "under construction" form here:

http://people.ambrosiasw.com/~andrew/rare_cigars/

For some, I'm not entirely sure what the pedigree is, despite having the cigars myself. If any knowledgeable folks out there can help out with these, I'd appreciate it:

AF13 -- what is the official size of this cigar (ring gauge & length)? When were they made available for purchase, and how many boxes were sold?

Hemingway Classic Sun Growns -- When were they made available for purchase, and how many boxes were sold?

Never Ending Lines -- what is the official size of this cigar (ring gauge & length)? When were they made available for purchase, and how were they sold?

Short Story Maduro -- which CFCs were these given away at? Just 2002, or was there another year as well? How many (approximately) were given out?

Opus X Chilly Pepper -- what is the official size of this cigar (ring gauge & length)?

Opus X Sammy Sosa Bat -- what is the official size of this cigar (ring gauge & length)? When were they made available for purchase, and how were they sold?

Opus X Maduro xXx -- When/how were these made available?

Opus X Maduro Double Corona -- When/how were these made available?

Thanks in advance for any information on these questions; I'm trying to make the web site as accurate as possible.

 

[Monte]

Hey my BOT(opus)L, Have you tried writing Carlos Fuente, Jr. ?

~Monte

 

[SamGuss]

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh cigar porn - my favorite!

Sam

 

[vewyphishy]

Way to utilize Photoshop! So... where'd all those cigar pics come from?





:sign:

 

[moki]

Way to utilize Photoshop! So... where'd all those cigar pics come from?

I took them. Used iPhoto to put the site up actually, not Photoshop.

Any info on those questions I asked would be most appreciated!

 

[cigarsarge]

Wiping drool from my keyboard.

 

[Kryo]

Hot Holy Hell... $10,000 MSRP for that Forbidden X monster !!!

Some amazing rollers craftsmanship went into those beautys Moki. :thumbs:

Has anybody seen that Forbidden X humidor or dare I ask, --Purchased It?--

Im pretty sure having been reading this board for over a month now that some either have in their collection or smoked a Forbidden X.

Gah... more drooling on my part. I really should get it over with and smoke that Opus X I have. Im scared though I will need to get more afterward. :sign:

Edit: Wait a sec... Moki took all those pictures himself?

 

[moki]

Gah... more drooling on my part. I really should get it over with and smoke that Opus X I have. Im scared though I will need to get more afterward.

They are mostly just interestingly rolled Opus X cigars; in other words, nothing special except for their unique shape and "collectability". Some, like the Opus X Maduros, are pretty amazing tasting though.

 

[moki]

Thanks folks, I've updated the web page:

http://people.ambrosiasw.com/~andrew/rare_cigars/

I still need the following info, though:

AF13 -- what is the official size of this cigar (ring gauge & length)? When were they made available for purchase, and how many boxes were sold?

Never Ending Lines -- what is the official size of this cigar (ring gauge & length)?

Opus X Chilly Pepper -- what is the official size of this cigar (ring gauge & length)?

Opus X Sammy Sosa Bat -- what is the official size of this cigar (ring gauge & length)? When were they made available for purchase, and how were they sold?

Opus X Maduro Double Corona -- When/how were these made available?

Thanks in advance for any information on these questions; I'm trying to make the web site as accurate as possible.

 

[moki]

Edit: Wait a sec... Moki took all those pictures himself?

Yeah, that's the only way to get the look and lighting to be consistent. I'm still not happy with the pictures, I'll retake them outside on a nice sunny day at some point.

 

[Kryo]

From what I can tell the lighting is what is out of sync in those photos Moki. The camera flash is bouncing right back from the top of the cigars and throws off the exposure.

Shooting outdoors in bright sunlight is one cure, or setting up 2 or 3 incadesant lights from different angles plus disabling the cameras flash would give better results.

Edit: My avatar is a perfect example of how the flash can ruin a photo. :sign:

 

[moki]

From what I can tell the lighting is what is out of sync in those photos Moki. The camera flash is bouncing right back from the top of the cigars and throws off the exposure.

nope... they were not taken with the flash on...

...but yes, a better lighting setup, or outdoors would do it.

 

[sir-smokes-a-lot]

might I reccomend a little trip over to Cigar Family?

most of them are Fuente whores over there and am sure a few, if not Carlito himself will answer your Qs.

:thumbs:

 

[moki]

might I reccomend a little trip over to Cigar Family?

yep, already done -- thought some people here might have some info as well though

 

[Shadow]

AF13 -- what is the official size of this cigar (ring gauge & length)? When were they made available for purchase, and how many boxes were sold?

Andrew, I remember that 100 boxes were made available to CF members.

 

[SamGuss]

Some pointers

You would be interested in the lessons on "product close ups" and "2 dimensional artwork" to get the proper lighting perspectives.

Yet another interest of mine

Sam

 

[Lumberg]

Thanks folks, I've updated the web page:

http://people.ambrosiasw.com/~andrew/rare_cigars/

I still need the following info, though:

AF13 -- what is the official size of this cigar (ring gauge & length)? When were they made available for purchase, and how many boxes were sold?

Never Ending Lines -- what is the official size of this cigar (ring gauge & length)?

Opus X Chilly Pepper -- what is the official size of this cigar (ring gauge & length)?

Opus X Sammy Sosa Bat -- what is the official size of this cigar (ring gauge & length)? When were they made available for purchase, and how were they sold?

Opus X Maduro Double Corona -- When/how were these made available?

Thanks in advance for any information on these questions; I'm trying to make the web site as accurate as possible.

moki, something tells me that for such limited releases, official dimensions are neither published nor enforced.

a) It's not like there's a choice between a chili pepper that is 4" by 50 ring gauge or one that is 5" by 52 ring gauge. So the information isn't really needed for the consumer to make a decision.

b) The rollers pretty much make whatever they want. They aren't bound by the normal rules of cigar making, like exactly how long or thick the stick has to be.

 

[moki]

You would be interested in the lessons on "product close ups" and "2 dimensional artwork" to get the proper lighting perspectives.

Yet another interest of mine

I appreciate it -- I actually majored in Photojournalism at RIT -- so I know what's wrong with the photos, and why... but I was too lazy to borrow a lighting kit and really do it right. I'll wait until a nice sunny day when I'm bored to redo them.

The photos are decent for now... what I'm really looking for is the information to fill in the details, as mentioned a few posts back. Anyone with info, sound off if you would!

 

[moki]

moki, something tells me that for such limited releases, official dimensions are neither published nor enforced.

a) It's not like there's a choice between a chili pepper that is 4" by 50 ring gauge or one that is 5" by 52 ring gauge. So the information isn't really needed for the consumer to make a decision.

b) The rollers pretty much make whatever they want. They aren't bound by the normal rules of cigar making, like exactly how long or thick the stick has to be.

hrm, I'm not so sure -- I have a few of the chili peppers, and they are all exactly the same size and length. I'm betting that even for one-off releases like these, they use molds of some kind. For instance, it's possible that the chili peppers used the molds from the Best Seller, and the roller just crafted the tip differently.

For the BBMF, that's exactly what they did as well, they used the molds from the Diamond Crown No.6, and just altered the top of the cigar.

 

[moki]

All that remains:

AF13 -- what is the official size of this cigar (ring gauge & length)?

Never Ending Lines -- what is the official size of this cigar (ring gauge & length)?

Opus X Sammy Sosa Bat -- what is the official size of this cigar (ring gauge & length)? When were they made available for purchase, and how were they sold?

Opus X Maduro Double Corona -- When/how were these made available?

Thanks in advance for any information on these questions; I'm trying to make the web site as accurate as possible.