16 November 2012
The Art of Choosing a Cigar
The cigar is often symbolic of luxury and has become synonymous with a wealthy clientele who have used it as a fashion accessory since cigars first became popular in the eighteenth century.Whether you are an artist, scientist or a banker you are guaranteed to bond over the acquired taste that is the cigar and even more so if it is Cuban or Nicaraguan. The cigar really does bring people from all ages and backgrounds together.
The Structure of a Cigar
A cigar is made up of three very important elements, the filler, which is often described as the “cigars soul” which contains the cigars essential flavour, the binder which is made up of larger tobacco leaves and links the flavour to the rest of the cigar and finally the wrapper. The wrapper is the outermost leaf of the cigar and the condition of the wrapper is essential as it can account for up to 70 per cent of the cigars value. A cigar connoisseur can tell you how important it is that a wrapper should have flavour and steady burning qualities and this is how a good cigar with a good wrapper can be worth hundreds of pounds. The rule of thumb is the darker the tobacco the richer the flavour and the cigar smoking experience.
The Handmade Cigar versus the Machine-Made Cigar
The handmade cigar and machine made cigars differ in the fact that most machine made cigars aren’t made with long fillers which span the whole length of the cigar but short fillers which burn faster and hotter.The all important wrapper is usually of an inferior quality to the wrapper used in the best handmade cigar.Handmade cigars are a lot more expensive because as a process they take longer to make and they are very labour intensive. They often use much more expensively produced tobacco leaves although the handmaking process often leads to more wastage.
The Size of the Ash Speaks Volumes
The length of the ash is very important and ideally you should let your ash grow to three quarters of an inch long as the longer the ash the better the cigar smoking experience. There is science behind this as the length of the ash creates an air block which decreases the temperature of the smoke and you are left with a slower burning cigar. Once your cigar has reached its halfway point etiquette dictates that you must simply let it die as the aromatic flavoursome qualities of the cigar have sadly depleted.
The Structure of a Cigar
A cigar is made up of three very important elements, the filler, which is often described as the “cigars soul” which contains the cigars essential flavour, the binder which is made up of larger tobacco leaves and links the flavour to the rest of the cigar and finally the wrapper. The wrapper is the outermost leaf of the cigar and the condition of the wrapper is essential as it can account for up to 70 per cent of the cigars value. A cigar connoisseur can tell you how important it is that a wrapper should have flavour and steady burning qualities and this is how a good cigar with a good wrapper can be worth hundreds of pounds. The rule of thumb is the darker the tobacco the richer the flavour and the cigar smoking experience.
The Handmade Cigar versus the Machine-Made Cigar
The handmade cigar and machine made cigars differ in the fact that most machine made cigars aren’t made with long fillers which span the whole length of the cigar but short fillers which burn faster and hotter.The all important wrapper is usually of an inferior quality to the wrapper used in the best handmade cigar.Handmade cigars are a lot more expensive because as a process they take longer to make and they are very labour intensive. They often use much more expensively produced tobacco leaves although the handmaking process often leads to more wastage.
The Size of the Ash Speaks Volumes
The length of the ash is very important and ideally you should let your ash grow to three quarters of an inch long as the longer the ash the better the cigar smoking experience. There is science behind this as the length of the ash creates an air block which decreases the temperature of the smoke and you are left with a slower burning cigar. Once your cigar has reached its halfway point etiquette dictates that you must simply let it die as the aromatic flavoursome qualities of the cigar have sadly depleted.
