Aganorsa Leaf. I'm sitting in the House of Smoke in Basel, the room fills up, glasses clink, anticipation is in the air. Sue, the boss of House Of Smoke, calls Fabien over: "Fabien, look, this is Vasilij from Zigarren.Zone." Before the event even starts Fabien Ziegler to me. No small talk. It gets serious. He grins, places two cigar wrappers (without wrapper) in front of me and says: "Gell, you've been smoking cigars for over 20 years. We aficionados often say: This cigar is well balanced. But what exactly does that mean? Today we'll find out exactly what it means." Hmm, I'm curious! Are you too?

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The two strongest men of the evening after the successful experiment 😄 Vasilij Ratej (Zigarren.Zone) and Fabien Ziegler (Aganorsa Leaf).

Viso 98 from Esteli - the beach vacation in your mouth

"Do you know what it means to have a balanced cigar?" asks Fabien. Aganorsa Leaf.

"Do you know what it means to have a well-balanced cigar?" asks Fabien.

I take the first wrap: Viso 98, Esteli. First smell, then cold draught, then fire. And wow - creamy, soft, slightly sweeta trace of wood, almost soft. I find myself nodding: tastes amazingly good even without the wrapper.

The two wraps; I'm curious to see what the experiment will show.

Fabien explains: "In Esteli, the soil is sandy. The roots spread freely, the plant doesn't have to struggle. Water, sun, sandy soil - like a vacation. You dig your feet in the sand, cocktail in hand, sun on your head, it's all easy." I can suddenly taste it: Relaxation as an aroma!

Viso 99 from Jalapa - work, pepper, power

Now the second wrap: Viso 99, Jalapa. Again: smell, cold draught, light. Bam. Pepper, Lots of wood, sweeterbut firmer, hardly creamy, hard. The difference is striking - like two brothers who grow up in the same house but have completely different characters. I look at Fabien. He just nods. No magic, no empty phrases - Soil, climate, plant. Everything can be tasted.

The magic moment: I mix the worlds

"So," says Fabien and laughs, "now take both Wrap in your mouth."

I do. Pull. Stop for a moment.

I had a bit of respect for smoking two wrappers at the same time. But it was one of the most exciting moments as a cigar lover.

Booom. The Creaminess from the Esteli wraps around the Wood-pepper edge from Jalapa. Sweet meets austere, Softness slows down sharpness. The is balance - not as a word, but as a feeling and as an experiencethat clicks together in my mouth.

Extremely interesting how I experience how the balance of a cigar comes about. Aganorsa Leaf.

It is extremely interesting to see how the balance of a cigar is achieved.

"Of course, the cover is still missing," says Fabien calmly. "When you would you do the blend now - what would be your relationship between the two wraps?" I think for a moment and say: "2/3 Viso 98 (Esteli, creamy), 1/3 Viso 99 (Jalapa, angular)."

"Cool, isn't it, the experiment?"

The punch line: theory becomes a cigar

Fabien Ziegler from Aganorsa Leaf at the House Of Smoke in Basel.

Fabien stands up, reaches for the box, hands me a Aganorsa Aniversario Connecticut. "Then you will these taste very good," he says. No marketing drumming, just the calm and enthusiastic tone of someone who knows what tobacco can do.

Later, when more than 20 participants taste their wraps, I see the same expression on their faces: this "Aha, so a balanced cigar!" Not a myth, not a buzzword. An interplaySoil, vintage, region, leaf position - and at the end a Blendthe opposites not laminatedbut married.

I got an Aganorsa Leaf Aniversario Connecticut (not the Maduro).

What I take home with me

Balance can be tastedwhen you experience the building blocks individually.
Esteli (Viso 98) gives me the Couchcreamy, soft, relaxing.
Jalapa (Viso 99) supplies the FramePepper, wood, structure.
Together this becomes Music - not loud, but coherent.

I leave the House of Smoke not only with one more cigar in my breast pocket, but with a new sensorium. The next time I say "well balanced", I'll know exactly why. I have it tasted. And that was exactly Fabien's brilliant experiment: not to explain balance to me - but to let them experience me.

Want to find out more about Fabien Ziegler? Read my interview with him with my questions!