Cigars in America

Since the early and mid 1900's, cigars in America have experienced a "renaissance" or rebirth.  Once widely accepted as a gentlemen's pursuit, the cigar had previously declined in popularity and, as with most tobacco products, acquired a negative image.  Many had forgotten the pleasures and joys offered by cigars.   However, those who sought to banish cigar smoking were not successful.

The following Cigar Basics will give any novice the basic knowledge required for enjoying today's premium cigars.

Remember, for the best in freshness, price, and variety, always purchase from a real tobacconist.

 

Parts of a Cigar

Filler:   The individual tobacco leaves used in the body of the cigar, together called a bunch. A finished cigar usually contains between two and four different types of filler tobacco.

Binder:   The portion of a tobacco leaf used to hold together the blend of filler leaves called the bunch

Wrapper:   A high quality tobacco leaf wrapped around the finished bunch and binder. It is very elastic and, at its best, unblemished.

 

Machine vs. Hand-Rolled

The main fact to consider when selecting cigars is machine made vs. hand-rolled. The quality of these two methods of making cigars is that most machine made cigars are not made with long fillers, thus making the drawing and burning qualities inferior to the hand-rolled.

 

Ring Gauge

The diameter of cigars is measured in 64ths of an inch. Cigars with larger ring gauges tend to provide a fuller and smoother smoke. These larger ring gauged cigars tend to burn more slowly and heat up less fast than smaller ring gauged cigars. Therefore they tend to be more "cool" and less peppery on the palate.

 

Sizes and Shapes

There are various sizes and shapes of cigars. Selecting the cigar for you should include what feels good in your hand and in your mouth. Many women, and men, prefer a smaller ring gauge cigar: perhaps a Lonsdale, Panatela or Cigarillo. However, Robustos and Churchills are two very popular sizes. These cigars provide smokers with the cooler smoke of a larger ring gauged cigar.  A pyramid or torpedo will also provide a cooler smoke without the feeling of "chomping on a broomstick."

 

Accessories

A cigar can be kept for over 100 years if properly stored. Hence the reason for humidors. A properly maintained humidor should keep your cigars at 65 - 70% humidity, and should be placed in an area that maintains a temperature of 70 - 74 degrees. Humidors come in many shapes and sizes.

Cigar cutters are used to clip the closed end, or cap, of the cigar before smoking. There are many acceptable ways of cutting a cigar. Guillotines, scissors, V-Cuts, or pierce, the cut of a cigar may determine its level of enjoyment. Avoid cutting the cigar unevenly and tearing the wrapper. It is important to note that a more even cut will provide a smoother, more even flow of smoke.

 

Lighting

Once you cut the cigar, the next task it lighting it. There are some rules to lighting a cigar. Never let the flame actually touch the cigar. Rotate the cigar above the flame tip so that you light the entire foot of the cigar. Blow through the cigar after embers appear on the end to blow out any odors that may have come through the match or lighter. Avoid using fluid-fuel lighters. The fumes affect the taste of the cigar.

REGARDLESS OF HOW YOU CLIP OR LIGHT YOUR CIGAR,
NEVER (EVER) INHALE THE SMOKE. IT IS IMPROPER AND IN BAD HEALTH TO DO SO.

 

Cigar Glossary

What's the difference between Claro and Colorado wraps?   Corona and Double Corona? No, it doesn't have anything to do with beer.  Are tunneling and a wedge Cut related? If you smoke cigars, you know the answer is "No."  Perhaps this glossary of terms will be of some assistance:

• Amarillo - A yellow wrapper leaf grown under shade.

• Band - A ring of paper wrapped around most cigars.

• Belicoso - Traditionally a short, pyramid-shaped cigar, usually 5 or 5 1/2 inches in length.

• Binder - The portion of a tobacco leaf used to hold together the blend of filler leaves called the bunch. Along with the wrapper and filler, it is one of three main components in a cigar.

• Blend - The mixture of different types of tobacco fit a cigar, including up to five types of filler leaves, a binder and a wrapper.

• Boite Nature - The cedar box in which most cigars are sold.

• Book style, or booking - A rolling method by which life cigarmaker lays file filler leaves atop one another, then rolls them up like a scroll. Booking is common in Honduras.

• Bouquet - The smell, or "nose," of a fine cigar.

• Bunch - Up to four different types of filler tobacco that are blended to create the body of the cigar. The bunch is held together by the binder.

• Candela - A bright-green shade of wrapper, achieved by a heat-curing process that fixes the chlorophyll content of the wrapper. Also referred to as double claro.

• Cap - A circular piece of wrapper leaf placed at the head of the cigar to secure the wrapper.

• Cedar - The kind of wood that is used to make most cigar boxes and humidors.

• Churchill - A large Corona-format cigar, 7 inches long with a 47 or 48 ring gauge. Named after former British prime minister.

• Cigarillos - Thin, machine-made cigars. Normally 3 inches long.

• Claro - A pale-green to light brown wrapper, usually shade-grown.

• Colorado - A medium-brown to brownish-red shade of wrapper tobacco.

• Corona - The most familiar size and shape for premium cigars: generally straight-sided with an open foot and a closed, rounded head.

• Double Corona - A big cigar, generally 7 1/2 to 8 inches by a 49 to 52 ring gauge.

• Draw - The amount of air that gets pulled through a lighted cigar.

• Escaparates - Cooling cabinets in which cigars are kept at the factory for a few weeks after they have been rolled.

• Foot - The end of the cigar you light. Most often it is pre-cut, except in the case of torpedos and perfectos.

• Gran Corona - A very big cigar; generally 91/4 inches by 47 ring gauge.

• Habano - A designation which, when inscribed on a cigar band, indicates that a cigar is Cuban.

• Habanos S.A. - The worldwide distribution company for Cuban cigars. Formerly called Cubatabaco.

• Head - The closed end of the cigar; the end you smoke.

• Hot - Describes a cigar that is underfilled and has a quick, loose draw. Can cause harsh flavors.

• Humidor - A room, or a box, of varying sizes, designed to preserve or plomote the proper storage and aging of cigars by maintaining a relative humidity level of 70 percent and a temperature of approximately 65 to 70 degrees.

• Hygrometer - A device that indicates the humidity, or percentage of moisture in the air. Used to monitor humidor conditions.

• Lance - A cutter used to pierce a small hole in the closed end of a cigar. Also called a piercer.

• Lector - Traditionally, the person who reads to the cigar rollers while they work.

• Ligero - One of the three basic types of filler tobacco. The name means "light" in Spanish, but this aromatic tobacco lends body to a blend.

• Long filler - Filler tobacco that runs the length of the body of the cigar, rather than chopped pieces found in machine-made cigars.

• Maduro - A wrapper shade from a very dark reddish-brown to almost black. The word means "ripe" in Spanish. The color call be achieved by sun exposure, a cooking process or a prolonged fermentation.

• Oscuro - A black shade of wrapper, darker than maduro, most often Brazilian or Mexican in origin.

• Partido - A prime tobacco growing area in Cuba.

• Perfecto - A distinctive cigar shape that is closed at both ends, with a rounded head; usually with a bulge in the middle.

• Planchas - Boards on which tobacco leaves are spread before fermentation.

• Pyramid - A sharply tapered cigar with a wide, open foot and a closed head.

• Ring gauge - A measurement for the diameter of a cigar, based on 64ths of an inch. A 40 ring gauge cigar is 40/64ths of an inch thick.

• Robusto - A substantial but short cigar; traditionally 5 to 5 1/2 inches by a 50 ring gauge.

• Shoulder - The area of a cigar where the cap meets the body. If you cut into the shoulder the cigar will begin to unravel.

• Spill - A strip of cedar used to light a cigar when using a candle or a fluid lighter, both of which can alter the taste of the cigar.

• Sugar - Sugars occur naturally in tobacco. Darker wrappers, such as maduros, contain more sugar, making them sweeter.

• Sun-grown - Tobacco grown in direct sunlight, which creates a thicker leaf with thicker veins.

• Tapado - A cheesecloth tent under which shade-grown wrapper leaf is cultivated.

• Torpedo - A cigar shape that features a close foot, a pointed head and a bulge in the middle.

• Tunneling - The unwelcome phenomenon of having your cigar burnt unevenly. To prevent it, rotate your cigar flow and then.

• Vega - A tobacco plantation.

• Vein - A structural part of a leaf; prominent veins can be a defect in wrappers.

• Vintage - When a vintage is used for a Cigar, it usually refers to the year the tobacco was harvested, not the year the cigar was made.

• Wrapper - A high quality tobacco leaf wrapped around the finished bunch and binder. It is very elastic and, at its best, unblemished.

• Wedge cut - A V-shaped cut made in the closed end of a cigar.