CIGAR BASICS

Growing Regions:

• Cuba
• Dominican Republic
• Nicaragua
• Mexico
• USA (Connecticut)
• Central African Republic – Cameroon
• Indonesia

Rolling:

Tobaccos are usually blended with two to four different leafs and bunched together to create the filler. This filler is then rolled in a flat, somewhat elastic leaf of tobacco known as the binder. Once rolled, the tobacco is put into a wooden mold and pressed into shape for about an hour.

The cigar roller then wraps the existing bunch into a wrapper leaf which is supple, very elastic and visibly pleasing. The cigar is then capped and trimmed to uniform size. The finished cigar is aged for a minimum of 21 days, preferably longer. Many factories age their cigars up to six months to let the different tobaccos marry together.

Wrapper Shades:

The wrapper color of a cigar is as important as the brand or shape of a cigar in terms of enjoyment. People recognize slight changes in the wrapper color of their favorite cigars. Color changes and changes in the country where the wrapper was grown can dramatically change the taste of a cigar. Wrapper colors are generally graded from the lightest to the darkest color as follows:

• Claro Claro or Double Claro: A light green fire-cured wrapper.
• Claro: A very light brown with a greenish cast.
• Colorado Claro or Natural: A light brown.
• Colorado or EMS: A medium brown.
• Colorado Maduro or Maduro: A dark brown.
• Maduro or Double Maduro: A very rich dark brown or black.
• Oscuro: A very dark brown or black.

Claro Claro or Double Claro (light green).

This wrapper has a mild quality and the taste of the binder and filler are discernible. The following are familiar terms used to describe the light green wrappers:

• Double Claro
• Candela
• Jade
• Cambridge
• A.M.S. (American Market Selection)

Claro (light brown with a greenish cast) or Colorado Claro (light brown) Top

Both of these wrapper colors and any variations between the two are called "Natural." These wrappers have a noticeable taste of their own, but they do not disguise the flavor of the binder and filler tobacco. They are not as strong as the darker brown wrapper colors.

Colorado (medium brown)

Other names for Colorado are as follows:

• Cafe
• Sun Grown
• Natural
• E.M.S. (English Market Selection)

Colorado Maduro (dark brown) or Maduro (very dark brown or black) Top

Both of these colors may be called maduro. This is a dark, oily wrapper and has a heavy-bodied (strong) taste.

Oscuro (double dark brown or black)

This is a difficult wrapper color to find and even more difficult to produce. Other names for this wrapper are as follows:

• Double Maduro
• Maduro Maduro (Double Maduro)

The taste of the wrapper is more noticeable in the darker wrapper colors, and the taste of the binder and filler will be less discernible.

Shapes and Sizes:

Length x Ring Gauge

Length = inches / Ring Gauge = diameter stated as 64th of an inch

Parts:

• Head – Part of cigar that is cut.
• Foot – Part of cigar that is lit.

Straights:

• Churchill 7 x 48
• Corona 5 ½ - 6 x 42 – 44
• Double Corona 7 ½ - 8 x 49 – 52
• Lonsdale 6 ¼ - 7 x 42 – 44
• Panatela 5 – 6 x 38
• Petite Corona 4 ½ x 40 – 42
• Robusto 4 ½ - 5 ½ x 50
• Toro/Corona Gorda 5 – 6 x 46 – 50

Figurados:

• Culebra- 3 twisted together panatelas
• Diademas- 8 x 40/52 – 54 (closed and tapered head)
• Pyramid- 6 – 7 x 40/52 – 54 (sharply tapered head and larger foot)
• Torpedo- 6 – 7 x 40/52 – 54 (closed foot, a pointed head, and a bulge in the middle)
• Belicoso- 5 – 5 ½ x 50 (tapered head)
• Perfecto- 4 ½ - 9 x 38 – 48 (closed foot, a round head, and a bulge in the middle)

Cutters:

Guillotine – Single, Double and Scissor. Used to cut the end off, leaving a slight curvature of the head so that it rests nicely on the lips.

V-Cut – V-cutter or knife. Cuts a v-shaped valley in the head.

Plug – Cuts a perfect circle in the head and pulls a small portion of tobacco out.

Lighting your cigar:

Don’t let flame touch foot of cigar.

Turn the cigar while lighting.

When embers appear - blow through cigar to remove any unwanted odors the flame may have caused (butane, lighter fluid, sulfur).

Don’t butt out a cigar – It will extinguish itself in a matter of a minute or two if not drawn upon