If you’ve dug into the process of making a cigar, you’ve undoubtedly heard the world pilón, the term for a pile of tobacco that is assembled for the purpose of fermenting the leaves and helping them on their journey from stalk to cigar. They can often be massive creations, standing upwards of four to almost five feet off the ground and weighing upwards of two tons,, using pressure and moisture to create heat and initiate fermentation to remove the undesirable components of tobacco such as ammonia, while helping the tobacco to become smokable and enjoyable. But not all pilónes are the same, and the techniques for constructing them have evolved over time. In the process of creating the CAO Pilón, part of the brand’s Classic Series, Agustin Garcia and Rick Rodriguez dug into the history books to find a fermentation technique used in Cuba during the 19th century that they found intriguing and thought it could become the basis for their new cigar. The style of pilón that Garcia and Rodriguez came across is smaller than the ones commonly found in modern day factories; they are smaller in terms of dimensions and are round, while most these days are rectangular. ...
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