 History of Cigars
Making a hand-rolled cigar is a complex art. Experienced farmers, master blenders, and skilled rollers are essential to the process, and they carry out the time-honored tradition of producing premium cigars with great pride.
Growing Tobacco
The cigar-making process begins in the tobacco fields. The varieties of tobacco that are used for cigar production - Connecticut seed or Cuban seed, for example - provide varying flavors and leaf sizes.
But in the field, tobacco is treated almost identically with one key distinction: whether it is sun- or shade-grown. Sun grown tobacco is exposed to the full strength of the sun throughout the growing season. This makes for a more robust leaf with stronger flavors and darker colors. Shade-grown, normally reserved for wrapper leaves, is planted under a gauze-like tarp producing a more visually appealing, larger, thinner leaf with smaller venis.
Cigar Sizes
PAREJOS
Parejos are straight-sided cigars; most have an open foot for lighting and need to be cut before smoking. They may be either round or box-pressed, meaning that the sides of the cigar were pressed square prior to packing or, in some cases, by pressure in the box.
Corona
This is the benchmark size against which all other sizes are measured. The traditional dimensions are 5 1/2 to 6 inches with a ring gauge of 42 to 44. Example: Montecristo No. 3
Petit Corona
Basically a miniature corona, this cigar generally measures about 4 1/2 inches, with a ring gauge of 40 to 42. Example: Montecristo No. 4
Churchill
A large corona format. The standard dimensions are 7 inches by 47 ring gauge. Example: Romeo y Julieta Churchill
Robusto
A short, fat cigar that has become the most popular cigar size in America. The size is generally 4 3/4 to 5 1/2 inches by 48 to 52 ring gauge. Example: Cohiba Robusto
Corona Gorda
Also called a toro, this cigar is steadily growing in popularity. The traditional measurements are 5 5/8 inches by 46 ring gauge, but cigars of 6 inches by 50 ring have also become popular. Example: Punch Punch
Double Corona
The standard dimensions are 7 1/2 to 8 1/2 inches by a 49 to 52 ring gauge. Example: Hoyo de Monterrey Double Corona
Panetela
Long, thin and elegant, this size's popularity has decreased in recent years. Still, it is an elegant size, with a wide length variation of 5 to 7 1/2 inches with a ring gauge of 34 to 38. Cigars longer than 7 inches in this category are often referred to as "gran panetelas." Example: Cohiba Lancero
Lonsdale
A lonsdale is generally longer than a corona but thicker than a panetela, with a classic size of 6 1/2 inches by 42 ring. Example: Montecristo No. 1
FIGURADOS
Although the majority of cigars are parejos, a growing number of cigar companies are broadening their portfolios with more creatively shaped smokes. These cigars are called figurados, and they include any cigar that is not a straight-sided cylinder. Although cigar-makers' interpretations of the shapes vary as widely as the flavors inside their cigars, the basic categories of figurados are as follows:
Pyramid
Pyramids are cigars with cut feet, like parejos, but with heads tapered to a point. Generally the cigars measure from 6 to 7 inches in length, with ring gauges of about 40 at the head widening to 52 to 54 at the foot. The pyramid is treasured because the tapered head allows the complex flavors of the cigar to meld in the mouth. Example: Montecristo No. 2
Belicoso
Traditional belicosos are short pyramids, often with a slightly rounded pyramid head. They often measure from 5 to 5 1/2 inches, with ring gauges of about 50. Today's belicosos, however, are often coronas or corona gordas with tapered heads. Recent years have also seen the production of mini-belicosos, short cigars with small ring gauges and tapered heads. Example: Bolivar Belicoso Fino
Torpedo
Although many companies include cigars called torpedos in their portfolios, the cigars are often pyramids. A true torpedo is a rare cigar today, a smoke with a closed foot, a head tapered to a point, and a bulge in the middle. Example: Cuaba Millennium
Perfecto
Like the torpedo, the perfecto has a closed foot and a bulge in the middle. Unlike torpedos, though, the head of a perfecto is rounded like the head of a parejo. Perfectos very greatly in length, from a diminutive 4 1/2 inches to unwieldy 9-inch cigars, with ring gauges from 38 to 48. Example: Partagas Presidente
Culebra
More popular in the past than it is today, the culebra is perhaps the most exotic shape of cigar made. It consists of three panetelas braided together and tied with string, sold as one cigar. The three parts are then unbraided and smoked separately. Usually 5 to 6 inches long, culebras most often have a 38 ring gauge. Since they are difficult to come by today, you might consider sharing the other two braids of the cigar with two friends, turning the smoking of a culebra into a special occasion. Example: Partagas Culebra
Diadema
Diademas are enormous, 8 1/2 inches or longer. The head is tapered, though often not to a complete point, usually with a 40 ring gauge. The cigar then tapers down to a foot that can be open like a parejo or closed like a perfecto, usually with a ring gauge of 52 or greater. This is a cigar to be enjoyed when time is no object. Example: Hoyo de Monterrey Diadema.
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Glossary
Amarillo
Amatista
Belicoso
Binder
Blend
Bloom
Boite Nature
Bouqet
Box
Box Pressed
Bulk
Bull's-Eye Piercer
Bunch
Bundle
Burros
Cabinet selection
Candela
Cap
Capa
Carotene
Case
Cedar
Chaveta
Churchill
Cigar Band
Cigarillos |
