If the adage that ‘80 percent of a cigar’s flavor comes from its wrapper’ is true, then you could take the opportunity to be treated to some pure gold smoke! That’s right. California-based cigar maker Daniel Marshall has come up with what he calls a 24-karat DM 2 Gold Torpedo, essentially cigars hand-wrapped in 24-carat gold leaf! The never-before invention, conceived by Marshall and made by Giusto Manetti Battiloro, one of the world’s oldest gold-leaf manufactures, involves wrapping smooth gold leaves onto Red Label Cigar that takes a painstaking 45 minutes each. Smoking up the Gold Torpedo is way different from a normal cigar experience. It is preferred that light is done with the hotter flame of a butane torch because of the high flashpoint of gold compared with the relatively instant combustion of tobacco. The Nicaraguan puro cigar consists of a full-bodied Jalapa filler blend, a milder Esteli binder, and a rich Cuban seed wrapper aged five years underneath the gold leaf.
However, the tobacco burns faster than the gold, due to which the burn rate of the otherwise easy-drawing cigar is impeded, requiring numerous relighting or constant puffing. Despite these hindrances, smoking from a 24-carat cigar and seeing the gold turn into ash in front of their eyes is a superlative experience for cigar-connoisseurs. Daniel Marshall makes a 61/4 x 54 sized torpedo priced at $200 each and $1,000 for a humidor of 5 cigars if you happen to fancy one yourself.
[Robb Report]
