TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Tampa man begins building longest cigar

Staff photo by JIM COLLINS

Wally and Margarita Reyes start work on the attempt to build the world's largest cigar.

ADVERTISEMENT

By BAIRD HELGESON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 8, 2009

Updated: 10/08/2009 04:14 pm

TAMPA - Wally Reyes wants to reclaim his title as maker of the world's longest cigar.

The longtime Tampa cigar maker has begun rolling a 180-foot cigar that would earn him a Guinness World Record. Reyes plans to finish the nearly block-long cigar during the Cigar Heritage Festival on Nov. 21.

"We are doing it for the love of cigar-making," said Reyes, who is one of five master cigar makers in Tampa.

Reyes and his wife, Margarita, are assembling the cigar at the Ybor City Museum Store. They will build the cigar in 18, 10-foot sections. The final segment will be completed at the new Ikea store nearby.

An official from Guinness will be on hand at the Cigar Heritage Festival to certify the record.

Reyes estimates it will take about 104 hours to build the cigar and another eight hours to assemble it.
Reyes will use more than 140 pounds of Ecuadorian tobacco, filler and wrapper.

For all that work, the finished cigar will be on display fewer than two hours.

An 8-foot section of the cigar will be on permanent display at the museum.

Reyes held the record before when he and his wife completed a 101-foot cigar.

But the record didn't last. Jose Castelar of Havana, Cuba, completed a 148-foot cigar in May of 2008.

It doesn't look like the Tampa-versus-Havana cigar battle will end with Reyes' effort.

After claiming the current record, the Associated Press quoted Castelar as saying: "I'm going to continue until I do one that is the length of the Malecon," referring to Havana's famous six-mile seafront promenade.

Reporter Baird Helgeson can be reached at (813) 259-7668.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT