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Cigar History

The first cigars (or Havanas), as discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1492,
were smoked by native Indians of Cuba and were made from raw, twisted leaves of
cured tobacco. Dried corn (maize) husks were used as wrappers. The first cigars
to be made in a similar fashion to those of today were produced by the State
tobacco monopoly, Tabacalera, in Serville, Spain in the early 18th century. It
was then that the idea of constructing a cigar with filler, binder and wrapper
was invented. Because of the cost of tobacco, they were only smoked by the
wealthy. In the middle of the 18th century cigars where exported to Holland and
to Russia were in 1762, Catherine II embraced the habit of smoking cigars.
However being a fastidious lady, she did not want nicotine to stain her fingers,
so she had strips of silk placed around her smokes. This became widely adopted
as the cigar bands we know today.

By the middle of the 19th century smoking had become so universal as to
require the establishment of ""smoking"" rooms in hotels and clubs and ""smoking""
compartments on trains. Skull caps in bright colours
and smoking jackets were introduced to obviate the aroma of cigars
clinging to normal wear. The dinner jacket, or tuxedo, is called ""Le Smoking"" in
French speaking countries to this very day. The cigar has three components, the
filler, the binder and the wrapper.
 

FILLER

The biggest mass of the cigar is the filler and, in the case of
hand made cigars, usually it is strips of tobacco cut to the length of the
cigar, known as Long Leaf. Short leaf indicates smaller, cut-up pieces normally
used for machine-made cigars. Long leaf is more expensive and, therefore, kept
for premium cigars, although many excellent cigars are made from short filler.

The filler normally consists of a blend of two to four different styles of
leaves, depending on the diameter or ring size as it is known. Blends provide
variation in taste, aromas and characteristics for different brands. There is
also the short leaf or chopped filler which is small, finely chopped-up pieces,
similar in appearance to that found in cigarettes. This method is often used in
the better grades of Dutch-type dry cigars. Less expensive cigars often use
scrap filler, the left-overs from the above styles.

BINDER

This binder encloses the filler and gives the cigar its proper
shape and size. Leaves used for this purpose, usually have the tensile strength
to hold the cigar together. In many cases the binder is selected almost entirely
for its physical properties and may have indifferent smoking qualities. However,
in the best Havanas, care is taken to ensure that it imparts a complimentary
flavour to the filler and wrapper. They require around twelve months of
maturation. A characteristic of a premium cigar is that it is made entirely of
natural leaf and has no chemical additives. This is in contrast to many less
expensive, mass-market, machine-made cigars which use homogenized binder made
from leaf particles and cellulose.
 

WRAPPER

The quality of the wrapper is crucial to any cigar and,
generally can account for anything up to 70 % of the tobacco by value, while
being only 10 % by weight. A good wrapper should have flavour and steady-burning
qualities. A smoker examines a cigar for appealing appearance, texture and
aroma. This is where a good wrapper justifies its high cost. If the wrapper is
not smooth, silky or oily and does not have an appealing aroma, the smoker will
reject it. Wrappers must be elastic and without coarse veins. They have to
mature for at least twelve to eighteen months, really good ones for even longer.

THE NEWLY CREATED CIGAR

Generally, hand-made cigars undergo the following procedure
after rolling and trimming : further quality checks ; fumigation; drying out in
the ageing room; colour grading; banding or packing into cellophane tubes;
labelling and finishing; and, finally, packing and storing in the warehouse
prior to shipment. After weighing and checking for proper size and shape, cigars
are tied with a soft ribbon in bundles of fifty. A slip of paper is attached to
the bundle with its pedigree - name of the roller, the supervisor responsible
for quality inspections, details of types of tobacco used, shape of the cigar
and or its brand. This is done in case any cigar in the bundle does not meet the
required standard. The rollers name is essential, as any rejected cigars are
deducted from the makers pay.

MACHINE MADE CIGARS

There is a tremendous difference in price (and, usually quality)
between premium and mass-market cigars. This is due to the fact that premium
cigars are largely hand-made while mass-market cigars are machine made. This is
illustrated by the fact that, in Cuba, the output of a good cigar roller is 100
to 150 cigars per day, depending on size. These figures are dwarfed by machines
which can produce easily around 10 000 cigars per eight hour shift. To achieve
this scale of output, machines, with few exceptions have to use homogenized
binders. Homogenized filler is made from tobacco stems and fibres, mixed with
water and cellulose, to make an amorphous material, which comes off a drying
belt in the form of rolls, not unlike paper. The majority of all mass-market
cigars are made from homogenized binders and most use homogenized wrappers as
well. Exceptions are the La Paz range which are machine made but use only
natural leaf and have no chemical additives.

 

SELECTING YOUR CIGAR

Quality,
flavour and aroma are the only criteria for choosing a cigar.
Whenever you try a new brand, it is a good idea to buy just one cigar.

Most Tobacconists sell cigars singularly as well as by the box. The beginner
should start by exploring small cigars. These are inexpensive and represent good
value. The intermediate cigar smoker will, by this time, not only have
experimented with different brands and different sizes from different countries,
but will have done this at different times of the day. He will be looking to see
what cigar suits him best for given times and given occasions. Generally
indicative is a small cigar in the morning, a medium bodied and medium sized one
after lunch and a bigger, full-bodied cigar to follow a heavy dinner.
 

FLAVOUR AND TASTE

The soil in which tobacco seed is grown enormously influences
the flavour of the leaf. In fact, the same seed grown in different areas, even
if similar in climate and altitude, will produce tobacco with distinctly
different taste characteristics.

AROMA AND STRENGTH

The aroma or bouquet of a cigar should never be confused with
its strength. A cigar could be mild and rich in aroma or be strong with little
or no aroma. Many believe size affects strength. In reality size has little
influence on strength. Strength and flavour come, largely, from the filler
blend. Remember that your own strength criteria may well vary according to your
mood and time of day. So choosing a cigar that is the right strength for you can
only be achieved as a result of experimentation - and that is an almost endless
journey of surprise and delight making cigar smoking one of the more civilized
pleasures in life.

THE FINAL CHOICE

 

Smoking a fine cigar should be a total sensory experience. One
can argue for one's favorite taste, but taste is an individual matter. Before
making the final choice, it is important to consider the cigars physical
appearance and condition. Any veins on the wrapper should run as parallel as
possible to the length of the cigar, as this ensures that the cigar will burn
evenly. Rolling a cigar next to your ear to hear a crackle as an indication that
the cigar is to dry, serves no useful purpose. All it does is risk damaging the
delicate wrapper. In any case even if the cigar has been kept at a perfect
humidity, you will still hear a faint crackle.

THE CIGAR BAND

Should you leave a cigar band on or take it off?
This is an often-asked question. I think the answer really lies in the
circumstances or company in which the cigar is smoked. In Britain many consider
it ""not done"" to advertise the brand you are smoking. In the rest of the world
the band is usually left on although sometimes it is removed after the cigar has
been smoked part of the way. Never slide the band off down the length of the
cigar as it will, most likely, dig in and tear the wrapper.

CUTTING

All hand-made cigars are sealed at the end. Many machine-made
cigars are cut before they are packaged. There are several ways to cut the end
off the cigar. Some smokers use a sharp knife, others prefer to bite the end
off, or pinch it off with their fingernail, which often can result in a large
rough opening which may cause the wrapper to unroll and ruin the cigar.

Whatever method you choose, it is important that the cut be clean and level,
otherwise you can have difficulties with the draw. A popular method is to use a
small, portable guillotine, with either a single or double blade. Some people
use a cutter that takes a ""v"" shaped wedge out of the end. For a long time this
was considered a most effective method, as it created a two sided surface to
provide an adequate draw and bitter juices and tars were kept away from the
tongue.

However there are two main disadvantages to this method, few clippers are
capable of making a clean v-type cut without damaging the end, and a v-cutter
cannot effectively handle sizes thicker than a 47 or 48 ring gauge. Yet another
method is to pierce the end with a cigar drill or piercer. This is not
recommended as it gives a narrow opening, with the edges of the filler
compressed and can cause a concentration of hot oils and smoke on the tongue.

STORAGE

Cigars are a natural product like food or wine and require
appropriate storage conditions. The ideal environment for cigar storage is
18-24C with a humidity level of 70-73%, protected from direct sunlight and
salt air. Fluctuations of temperature and humidity should be kept to a minimum.
A good humidor is essential for the proper storage of premium cigars. Preserving
the optimum moisture balance in the cigar keeps it at the peak of aroma and
flavour. The cigar connoisseur understands that improper storage impairs the
quality of a fine cigar. Just as you would take care to store fine wines in
climate controlled conditions, so too should you do for your cigars. Placement
of your humidor is also important. The humidor should not be placed near air
conditioners, heaters or direct sunlight. Monitor the humidity level every other
day for several weeks to establish the reliability of your humidity and a refill
schedule. Use only distilled water to fill your humidifier to avoid precipitated
mineral dust from settling on your cigars.

SMOKING THE CIGAR

Draw to enjoy the rich, full flavour and aroma. Do
not inhale. You will get sufficient pleasure from the taste and aroma simply by
swirling or holding the smoke in you mouth for a few minutes. A cigar should be
smoked slowly. It should not be pulled on or puffed too frequently as this will
lead to overheating and will spoil the flavour. Always allow sufficient time to
fully enjoy the cigar of your choice. Enjoying a fine cigar while listening to
appropriate music and sipping a glass of fine port is a wonderful opportunity to
contemplate what you have accomplished during the day and what still needs to be
done.

SMOKING ETIQUETTE

Cigars should not be smoked during a meal. Their heavy, rich
aroma can easily interfere with ones ability to enjoy the fine flavours of good
food. It is good manners to respect the comfort and rights of non-smokers.
If you wish to enjoy a cigar in a restaurant and you are in a smoking area, it
is still polite to wait for the other diners at your table, and even those at
adjoining tables, to finish their meal before lighting up.