Cigars

I still remember the cigar lessons at Les Roches. We had the chance to enjoy cigars correctly. It was fun and I bought a book about cigars afterwards since I personally thought that the lessons at school were way too brief.

I guess there might be some cigar experts viewing this page and I hope you would give me some extra information or any personal experiences about cigars by signing my guestbook or simply e-mail me.

HISTORY

Christopher Columbus' crew discovered cigars while exploring Cuba. The Cuban natives smoked a crude form of the modern day cigar during religious ceremonies. The cigar was wrapped with maize and filled with tobacco leaves. Columbus' crew quickly became accustomed to smoking the cigar and brought back samples of the "Golden Leaf" to Spain. Initially, the smoking of cigars was considered a pagan ritual punished by imprisonment. In fact, one of Columbus' crew members was imprisoned for smoking. However, after a few years, cigar smoking became widely accepted. Eventually, Spain would build an entire industry around the cigar. Seville, Spain was at the center of this and is recognized as being the birthplace of the modern cigar.

At first, Spain imported the raw materials from Cuba and assembled the cigars themselves. However, in 1821 Spain allowed Cuba to manufacture Cigars and hence the Cuban cigar was born. In appreciation for Spain's kind gesture, the Cubans would deliver a box of their best cigars to the Spanish king every year. These cigars were the fabled Trinidad's.  

Cigars become popular in the United States during the Lincoln years. Factories began to open in New York, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. The term stogie is actually named after Conestoga, Pennsylvania where one of the first cigar factories were built.

The cigar industry did well up until the 1960's when smoking became more of a health concern amongst Americans. At the same time, the United States imposed an embargo against Cuba making it illegal for US citizens to import goods from Cuba.   Today Cigars are back and are becoming extremely popular amongst men and women.

GROWING

Cigars are a difficult crop to grow. The growers begin by planting the seeds in beds and then wait for germination. While in the beds, the seeds are protected from the sun using straw. Once germinated they will be replanted in the tobacco fields, where they will spend the next four to six months maturing. Each plant will grow over five feet and will require daily care. The tobacco grower will prevent the plant from flowering in order to insure proper taste. This procedure creates a concentration of the tobacco plants natural flavoring.

The process of growing wrappers is slightly different. This process involves growing the plant under gauze like cloth to protect the plant from the sun's rays. Direct sunlight will cause the leaves to loose their elasticity. Many believe that Connecticut grows the finest cigar wrappers in the world, second to Cuba, of course. In fact, Connecticut exports part of its crop to other cigar making countries such as the Dominican Republic.

Once the crop is harvested, the leaves are moved into barns where they are strung up on poles. It is during this phase that the leaves will dry and change to a brownish color. The leaves remain in the barns for approximately two months.

After this period, the leaves will go through two fermentation cycles. In total, the leaves will spend about three months fermenting. During this time, impurities are reduced and the leaves develop their color and aroma further. Once the fermenting stage is completed, the leaves are stored and aged. The aging process can be well over a year. After desired aging they are ready to be rolled into Cigars

COLOR

Cigars come in a variety of colors. The colors tell a lot about the cigar. In general, you can determine how strong a cigar is by inspecting its wrapper. A darker wrapper would have fermented longer and therefore has a stronger taste. The following are the categories of color, they range from the light double Claro to the black Oscuro.

Double Claro - Known to have a greenish tint on its wrapper. It's a light cigar that has had limited aging.

Claro - Typically signifies that the cigar will be mild. It has a light brown color.

Colorado Claro - This wrapper is your standard brown color. Slightly stronger than the Claro but still considered mild.

Colorado, Colorado Maduro and Maduro - These wrappers are dark brown and give off an excellent aroma. They are considered medium to strong cigars.

Oscuro - The Oscuro has a black wrapper and is strong in flavor.

RING SIZE

Ring Size is the width of your cigar. You can get an idea of how thick your cigar is by taking the the ring size and dividing it by 64. This will give you the width in inches. A cigar with a ring size of 64 would be one inch in diameter. A cigar with a ring size of 32 would be a half of an inch (32/64). 

Try to select a cigar with a larger ring size if you tend to have a heavy draw. A smaller ringed cigar will tend to taste harsh if your draw is heavy. This is because you are scorching your smoke. Even the finest cigar won't taste proper if you don't know your draw.

Cigars such as Gigantes or Presidentes are the largest cigars, they have ring sizes that can be as high as one inch. The Demitasse are the smallest and have ring sizes as small as thirty.

CARE

To properly care for your cigar collection you will need a humidor. Ideally, the humidor will be made of cedar wood and will close tightly. Along with your humidor you will need to purchase a hygrometer. This device measures the humidity level inside of the humidor. Finally, you will need a humidifier. This is usually a cylindrical device which you fill with water. As you would expect, its purpose is to provide humidity. The perfect conditions for a cigar are 70% humidity and 70 degrees Fahrenheit.  Temperature and humidity are critical to keeping your cigars fresh. Once you begin to fall below 65% humidity you run the risk of drying out the cigar. Once you exceed 70% humidity you run the risk of making the cigar too moist. This in turn will cause mold to grow on your cigar. Discard the cigar if you spot mold.

To cold ? Yes, I've heard people suggest that keeping cigars in a refrigerator or freezer is the best place for a cigar. It is not !   Cold air robs the cigar of its moisture, besides, do you want your cigar to taste like last nights dinner ?

White spots on your cigar ? These are known as blooms. They are the result of long term storage. They are harmless and can easily be removed.

Cigar dried out ? - You can restore a dried our cigar but it takes time. If it's an expensive cigar see your tobacconist. You can usually restore a cigar by exposing it to moisture in a partially opened box. Every few days, you should rotate the cigar so that all of the wrapper is exposed to the humidity. Repeat this process for a month.

TYPES

There are a multitude of cigar types, however they fall into two categories. They are the parallel sides and the Figurados which cover the irregular shapes.

This section describes the major types. They are:

Gigante or Presidente - You can tell by looking at the name that these are the largest of the types. Their length can be as high as ten inches and their ring sizes can max out to 64 or 1 inch. Give yourself plenty of time if you purchase one of these.

Corona - The classic corona will measure about 5 inches and has a ring size of around 40.

Churchill - Named after Winston Churchill will measure approximately eight inches and has a ring size of about 48.

Rothschild - Named after Baron de Rothschild. They are also known as Robustos. The Robusto is a short and fat cigar. Its size is five to six inches with a ring size of 50.

Lonsdale - Named after the Earl of Lonsdale. They have a ring size of about 40 and can be as long as seven inches.

Panatela - This cigar is long and thin. Its ring size is around 37 and its length is about seven inches.

Cigarillos - These cigars are about the size of a cigarette. Their ring size can be as low as 20 inches and their length as small as three inches.

Figurados Types (Irregular)

Culebras - This is a strange cigar or actually cigars. The cigar is actually three cigars twisted together. You smoke each one individually. Their length is five inches and their ring size is about 33.

Torpedo - As you would guess, this cigar is shaped like a torpedo. Its length is six inches and ring size is around 50.

Pyramid - Once again, the name describes the shape. This cigar is six and one half inches long with a 42 ring size.

Belicos - Similar to the pyramid but unlike it in that its head is not pointy but rather it is polished or rounded off. Length is six inches and the ring size is about 48.