Frequently asked questions...

• How do the packaged cigars that I can buy from the neighborhood retail store compare to THE GOOD STUFF?
• Are Mail-Order cigars ok?
• What about "old" cigars? Should I buy "fresh" ones?
• If a cigar is properly stored in a humidor, how long will it last?
• If a cigar dries out, is it possible to get the taste back?
• My cigar has a sour taste. How can get rid of it?
• Besides being a suitable way to transport cigars, are those glass (or metal) storage-tubes ok to use? For how long?
• What's the difference in taste of cigars from different countries?
• Clippers, Cutters, etc.
• How to light a Cigar - Is there an etiquette for lighting a cigar?
• How can I keep my cigar from burning HOT?
• Cigar Styles and Sizes
• Parts of a Cigar
• Are there any differences between the blends of different size cigars in the same line?
• What is ring gauge and how is it measured?
• Wrapper Types
• What is the best way to glue a wrapper that has come loose?

How do the packaged cigars that I can buy from the neighborhood retail stores compare to THE GOOD STUFF?

Most packaged "drug store" cigars include non-tobacco ingredients such as paper, saltpeter (for even burning) and PG or Glycerin (to prevent them from drying out). Quality cigars contain only tobacco. Most quality cigars contain top-of-the-line leaves, and are made with long-filler (the leaves run from end to end. "Good" cigars are generally only available from Tobacconists.

Are Mail-Order cigars ok?

Many cigar smokers use mail-order houses for their discounted prices. The problem with this is that there are very few mail-order suppliers who will let you purchase singles - and who wants to spend $100 for a box just to try a new smoke? This is one of the best reasons why you might want to frequent your local Tobacconist. There you can get good advice, buy singles, and see and smell the stogies you're purchasing.

What about "old" cigars? Should I buy "fresh" ones?

Tobacco used in premium cigars is aged 18 to 24 months before rolling. Some manufacturers age rolled cigars an additional year before even shipping them to the distributor. As long as they are stored properly, there's no such thing as an "old" cigar. Many people prefer "vintage" smokes.

Cigars are never "fresh" in the proper definition of the word. All reputable Tobacconists will store them properly, at approximately 70 degrees, 70% humidity. Always have cigars shipped overnight or 2nd day to prevent their drying out in transit.

If a cigar is properly stored in a humidor, how long will it last?

Indefinitely. Many people still have pre-Castro Cubans. There are pre-WW2 smokes which were GREAT!

If a cigar dries out, is it possible to get the taste back?

If you let a cigar dry out it'll certainly damage it, but it can be recovered (somewhat) by s-l-o-w-l-y re-humidifying it in a proper humidor. It'll never be quite the same, but cigars will re-humidify far better than other tobaccos.

My cigar has a sour taste. How can get rid of it?

That taste is the cigar oils.  You can purge these oils and revive the smooth taste of the cigar.  As soon as you taste the oils, let the cigar almost go out.  Clip the head of the cigar about 1/8 or 1/4 inch to get rid of the oil build-up.  Knock the ash off and take a deep breath.  Put a flame to to the ash end of the cigar and blow through the head of the cigar.  When the flame turns blue remove the flame and continue to blow until you are out of breath.  The cigar oils will be purged and you will have a very smooth cigar taste.

Besides being a suitable way to transport cigars, are those glass (or metal) storage-tubes ok to use? For how long?

As long as the cigars were properly humidified before the tubes sealed, they should last for a long time. Open it up to smell the tobacco though, and you'll be letting in dry air (which will slowly dry them out). Tubes with cork stoppers also will slowly exchange moisture with the "outside" air. These tubes are not recommended for long-term (over a year) storage.

What's the difference in taste of cigars from different countries?

Each country's cigar production has its own taste and character. Cigars are made all over the world, with tobacco grown in different soils, cured by different processes, and rolled with different techniques. Too many to discuss here (unfortunately), so let's stick with some general guidelines for some of the more popular Caribbean countries.

These are not hard and fast rules, but you'll have something to go by when you're faced with a humidor full of cigars from which to choose.

• Cigars from Jamaica are usually considered mild.
• Cigars from the Dominican Republic are mild to medium in strength.
• Cigars from Honduras and Nicaragua are stronger and heavier smokes.
• And cigars from Cuba are considered to be some of the richest in the world!

Also remember that the larger the diameter (ring gauge) the richer and fuller the flavor, and the longer the cigar, the cooler the smoke. New smokers might want to start with any cigar made by Macanudo or Arturo Fuente. Just pick one that is a size you like and enjoy it. You might also try one with a "maduro" wrapper (which is dark and rich tasting).

Clippers, Cutters, etc.

The first thing you should do is closely examine the "head" of the cigar - this is the closed end that needs to be clipped. Almost all have what is called a "cap" - a bit of tobacco leaf used to close of the end - you should be able to see how far down the length of the cigar the cap goes by inspection. Typically only a 1/4" - 3/8" or so; sometimes much less, and on figurado shapes sometimes quite longer. Wherever the cap stops is your cutting limit - cut beneath the cap's line or even too close and your cigar will start to unravel and this is extremely unpleasant. Typically you want to cut the minimal possible while trying to open approximately 75%-85% of the cigar end surface area. Sometimes this means a cut as little as 1/32" down, where other times almost 3/8".  It depends entirely on the individual cigar's roll and cap construction.

The single bladed cheapie cutters that most new smokers are given or buy for $3 typically do a very poor job of clipping the cap, and result in crushed, split, and tattered cuts. One thing to keep in mind when using a guillotine cutter is to line up your cigar at eye level and then clipped it quickly and decisively. This method to gives satisfactory results nearly 100% of the time.

Many smokers swear by the .44 Magnum cutter which is a relatively inexpensive punch that is easy to use, makes a perfect round opening, and completely bypasses the problem of how much to clip. Some people don't use one because they do not work as well on figurado shapes, nor can they get as large an opening as they would prefer. Crestmark also makes a nice cigar punch that extracts the cut cap from itself.

V-Cut clippers are also available, and some cigar smokers think this is the ONLY way to clip your cigar. You don't have to worry about the caps length using this type of cutter since you rest the cigar against it, and it "automatically" takes out a v-notched shaped bit of tobacco of the same size every time. Some smokers don't like this type of cut because it tends to build up tar on the edges and some cigars tend to burn unevenly when cut this way. These cutters typically work better on some sizes than others, depends on the size of the v-notch blade.

Cigar scissors are elegant, but they are difficult to use. Plus they are near impossible to carry around.

Some people use exacto blades, swiss army pen knives, their teeth, and so on. How you clip your cigar is a matter of what works best for you. Just keep in mind where the cap ends and you should be fine.

How to light a Cigar - Is there an etiquette for lighting a cigar?

This is as delicate as that wrapper color question! Everyone seems to have their own opinion on this! You should light your cigars in a way that it provides an even burn from the start, prevents any bitter taste during the lighting process.

1. If you use a match, wait till the sulphur burns off before using it to light you cigar. Also if you can find those fancy long cedar matches all the better.

2. If you use a lighter, use a butane one. The gasoline based ones impart a foul flavor to your smoke. This statement is not popular with the Zippo manufacturer, so in rebuttal they published a little book that explains that if you allow the flame to burn for a few seconds all of the disturbing odor will dissipate. Try and see for yourself.

3. Some people claim that the only proper implement for lighting up is a cedar spill. A cedar spill is a long thin strip of spanish cedar which is lit first and then used in turn to light your cigar. You will typically see these in use at fancy cigar dinners, rather elegant way to light your stogie, but not all that practical in the car.

4. There are so many different methods of actually lighting your cigar with such subtle differences. Here is one way that smokers use that is a bit of routine:

• Preheat the foot (the open end) by slowly rolling the cigar above the flame at an angle allowing a tiny black ring to form all the way around the wrapper. Don't allow the flame to touch the cigar.
• Then place the cigar in your mouth, and draw in as you repeat the process, slowly rolling the cigar at an angle above the flame, but never letting the lighter flame actually touch the cigar, about a 1/2 inch or so away. What appears to happen is the flame seems to leap from lighter up onto the foot of the cigar, even though your stogie never comes in direct contact with the lighter's flame. Remember to slowly spin the cigar to establish an even burn.
• Once you think you have it lit, pull it from your mouth and look at the glowing foot to see if it lit properly. Now if the burn is really uneven, repeat the previous step on the appropriate side to even the burn. If it is just a bit uneven (which in many cases it typically is) gently blow on the end in the appropriate place to intensify the heat there, and then take a couple steady draws. Then just wait a minute before continuing to puff. This short delay seems to allow the cigar a chance to stabilize and self correct the burn.
• Then sit back and relax and smoke till your heart's content!

5. If you are outside, and it is windy, and shelter is not accessible, then throw decorum out the window, and flame-torch the end. Put up with the initial bitterness to ensure a fast even light.

6. If your smoke happens to go out, just knock off the ash, gently blow through the cigar to clear out the old smoke, then start drawing and rolling while re-lighting.

How can I keep my cigar from burning HOT?

The way to keep a cigar burning cool is to keep a least 1/2 inch of ash.  When you remove some of the ash from the cigar, don't tap the cigar against the ash tray.  This removes all the loose ash and exposes the ember.  Instead roll the ash against the ash tray and remove only the amount of ash needed.

Cigar Styles and Sizes

All cigars can be divided into two broad categories by their shape. Parejos, which have straight sides, and Figurados, which include all "irregular" shapes.

Parejos include 3 basic divisions, by the relative proportion of their dimensions. There are Coronas (a broad category including Coronas, Double Coronas, Presidentes, Robustos, and Churchills). All Coronas are characterized by an open "foot" and a rounded "head". Next are the Panatelas. Longer than Coronas, these are generally considerably thinner. The third division is Lonsdales, thicker than Panatelas, but generally longer than Coronas.

Figuardos, or "irregular" shaped Cigars are a little better defined. The smallest is the Belicoso, a small tapered cigar with a rounded head (not pointed) and a larger foot. Next are the Pyramids, tapering from a large foot to a small head. A "true" pyramid always has a pointed head. Although many smokers call a large pyramid a torpedo, a "true" torpedo has a large foot, smaller, pointed head, and a slight bulge in the middle. The Perfecto is tapered on both ends to a smaller size than its straight middle section, a classic "cigar shape". Finally, there's the Diademas, the giant of cigars. These are 8 inches or greater.

Cigar size names did originally specify the exact physical size and shape of cigars. After a dozen decades of manufacturers "individualizing" their cigars, these original standards are long gone. The Cuban manufacturer's have stayed with these original standard sizes. Whether Upman, Partagas, or Cohiba produces it, a Habana Corona is still Corona sized.

CLASSICAL CIGAR SHAPES ORDERED BY LENGTH

1. Sometimes still referred to as Rothschilds, a previous term used to describe any short and stout cigar. Even more rarely seen are cigars described as a "Rothschild" which is an incorrect spelling. Like the H. Upmann brand, this size is also named after a German cigar enthusiast, specifically the Rothschilds family. Regardless of whether you chose to call the size a Robusto or a Rothschilds, it is in general part of the Corona family and, as a result, was once referred to as a Royal Corona.

2. The Churchill is obviously named after Winston Churchill.

3. It is a common misconception among smokers to consider any irregularly shaped cigar to be a figuardo. The truth in this statement is merely coincidental though. Unlike typical cigars (straight shafts with rounded heads and open foots), Figuardos are very hard to make, a master rollers job, and that's what makes them Figuardos. The types listed above are easy to pinpoint in respect to dimensions because they are very similar to typical cigars; ie. Coronas and Panatellas. The only specific notes are that Torpedos and Belicosos taper to a point at the head, and the Belicosos tapers over a shorter distance is usually more pointy. On the other hand the following types are so different and have there own range of lengths and ring gauges, that they are mentioned separately:

Pyramid: Next to the Torpedo, probably one of the most recognized of the Figuardos. Unlike the Torpedo, which tapers in the last inch or two, the Pyramid tapers from head to foot. The Pyramid size is popular everywhere, with the Cuban Montechristo No. 2 being one of the most famous cigars of all time.

Culebras: A very odd size that is not often found on the market today. It involves three smaller cigars being "snaked" together into a braided final product. In fact, the word culebra means "snake" in Spanish. Culebras first appeared when trouble arose regarding the practice of workers being able to take a few complimentary cigars home at the end of the work day. Factory bosses discovered that the workers were taking premium cigars from their workbenches and putting their daily gift cigars (which were of lesser quality) into the the premium cigar boxes! To curb this, the bosses began twisting the workers' cigars together when they were still moist to identify what was a daily gift and what was the real thing. The unique look eventually found demand from the public, but has dwindled in recent years. Hoyo De Monterrey apparently dropped its production of Culebras in 1998, leaving Davidoff as the only manufacturer outside of Cuba that still produces the shape. However, it's supposedly still made in a couple of factories in Cuba, including the world famous Partagas factory in Havana.

Perfecto: A cigar that tapers at both ends and is closed at the head and foot. Once extremely popular in the early half of the twentieth century, this cigar has come to be looked upon as a joke. As a result it has lost popularity with smokers and is hard to find anymore, although major brands do still produce it. Te-Amo, comes to mind with its excellent Maduro Double Perfecto.

Cigarillo: This is really a general term to refer to any small, cigarette-sized cigar. These days there are many named shapes that fall into the Cigarillo category. For instance, Demi Tasse is one that smokers will see often.

4. The larger a cigar is, the harder it is to make and new rollers often start with Petit Coronas and then work their way up. The difficulty involved in rolling something as large as a Giant cigar is very great, and hence it falls into the "hard to make" category of Figuardos. Also note that the terms Diedamas and Giant are interchangable; e.g. the Punch Grand Cru Diedamas Deluxe (8 x 52)

HAVANA SHAPES IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER

The first dimension is the length of the cigar in inches. The second is the ring gauge of the cigar or the diameter of the cigar measured in 64ths of an inch. So a Churchill is about 7 inches long and 3/4 of an inch in diameter.

Parts of a Cigar

WRAPPERS

The wrapper is the outside layer of tobacco on a cigar. It gives a cigar one of its primary flavor components. Wrappers are usually very high quality leaves, and are available in colors ranging from double claro, the lightest to Oscuro, the darkest. Wrappers are very important to the taste of a fine cigar, and described in detail in the wrapper section of the FAQ.

BINDERS

Binder leaves are the intermediate leaf used to hold the bunch of filler tobacco together. These vary considerably from one manufacturer to the next.

FILLER

Filler is the bunch of tobacco found at the center of the cigar. Generally the filler is responsible for determining how strong a cigar will smoke. There are two types of filler: long filler, which contains the whole leaf running from the head to the foot of the cigar, and short filler, comprised of scraps of tobacco (often the trimmed ends of long fillers).

The blending of wrappers, fillers and binders determines the overall flavor of a cigar. There is an art to blending tobaccos and as you smoke different cigars, you will notice how the various tobaccos interplay with one another.

Are there any differences between the blends of different size cigars in the same line?

Manufacturers often use the same types of tobacco in different sizes, producing different tastes. Often the consumer will perceive this as the same "blend". There is a difference however, it's in the proportions of each type of leaf used. An experienced roller may use different proportions of the tobaccos in different sizes to allow for that size differences. In a smaller ring cigar, the binder and wrapper have a greater influence on the taste. The blender will allow for this difference by re-proportioning the filler blend. It's just one of those details that requires years of training among master rollers. (and of course, one of the reasons smokers will prefer the taste of one size over another of the same blend).

What is ring gauge and how is it measured?

Ring size is the cigar's diameter, measured in 64ths of an inch. Thus a 32 ring cigar will measure 1/2 inch in diameter. Although many catalogs list ring sizes, they may deviate from each by a couple of points on specific cigars.

Wrapper Types

DOUBLE CLARO - (also called Candela or American Market Select) - green to greenish brown. The color is achieved by picking the leaf before it reaches maturity, and then drying it rapidly. Very mild, almost bland with very little oil.

CLARO - light tan. Usually this is the color of shade grown tobacco. Connecticut Shade wrappers are said to be some of the finest in the world. Shade grown tobacco is grown under large canopies to protect the tobacco from harsh sunlight. Neutral flavor and smooth smoking.

NATURAL - (also called English Market Select) light brown to brown. These are most often sun grown, meaning they are not protected by canopies like shade grown leaves. Fuller bodied flavor than shade grown leaves, but still very smooth.

COLORADO CLARO - mid-brown, tawny. (For example, brands such as Dominican Partagas or Fuentes, using Camaroon wrappers.)

COLORADO - reddish dark brown, aromatic. A cigar with this wrapper tastes robust and rich.

COLORADO MADURO - dark brown, medium strength, slightly more aromatic the maduro. Usually gives a rich flavor, as found in many of the best Honduran cigars.

MADURO - dark brown to very dark brown. These usually have more texture and veining than the lighter wrappers. They are often described as oily looking, with stronger taste - sweet to some palates with a unique aroma.

OSCURO - very dark brown or almost black. They are the strongest tasting of all wrappers. These wrappers tend to be from Nicaragua, Brazil, Mexico, or Connecticut Broadleaf.

The term EMS or English Market Selection is a broad one, which refers to brown cigars- anything other double claro, (EMS) essentially.

The darker the color, the sweeter and stronger the flavor is likely to be, and the greater the oil and sugar content of the wrapper. Darker wrappers will normally have spent longer on the tobacco plant. or come from higher altitudes: the extra exposure to sunlight produces both oil (as protection) and sugar (through photosynthesis). They will also have been fermented for longer.

What is the best way to glue a wrapper that has come loose?

The best glue to use is Pectin.  This is used by many cigar rollers.  It is a gelling agent used in jams and jellies.  You can find it in the food section of your local grocery.  Add a little water to the powder and mix until it is the consistency of jam.  Put some on your fingers (don't use too much) and apply it to the edges of the loose wrapper.  Then smooth against the cigar.  You can smoke your cigar immediately, no need to wait for it to dry.