Basic Things to Know when Selecting a Cigar

There are lots of fine cigars available nowadays; corona, robusto, macanudo and perfecto. Finding a good cigar is not difficult when you know a few basic things.

There are many brands, shapes, sizes, colors, and tastes of cigars. None of the mentioned characteristics is entirely independent so the selection of a cigar have to be based on all characteristics, not only on one.

Some leading brands in the cigar industry are Macanudo and Montecristo. These cigars from Cuba and Honduras are fine, aromatic blends that are grown in similar conditions. The growing of these blends is in many cases in the hands of some experts, who who continued to grow tobacco after the Castro revolution.

The size and the shape of cigars are easier to define objectively. The length of cigars is measured in either inches or centimeters while the ring gauge or the diameter is measured in 46ths of an inch. The diameter is different from a circumference. The diameter signifies the width of a circle while a circumference is the distance around the circle. The inch standard of measurement is most commonly used in the US.

The shape of cigars can be divided into two categories: parejos with straight sides and figurados with no straight sides. The parejos can be coronas, panatelas, or lonsdales. The way the leaf is wrapped around the tobacco can also be used to categorize the cigars. It may enclose the end part of the cigar which is called the foot or the top part which is called the head. A corona may be 6 x 44 or 6 inches long and 44/64ths of an inch in diameter and straight, rather than tapered. This has an open foot and a closed head.

The numbers of individual cigars don’t need to be confused with the way they are packaged. In terms of packaging, cigars may either be wrapped or unwrapped, tubed or boxed. If boxed cigars are described as 8-9-8, it only means that the cigars are stacked three rows high with eight on the bottom, nine in the middle, and eight on the top. Those numbers don’t have anything to do with the size, the shape, and the quality of cigars.

Tubos are those cigars which are packed in aluminum or glass tubes but there are some who use fine silver or wooden tubes. A tube certainly helps in keeping the cigars as fresh as possible but this can also mean that the cigars have been manufactured a couple of months earlier. Like any other agricultural products, cigars are considered better when they are newer. The only exception to this is when cigars are aged enough to enhance their flavors.

Probably the most important quality of a cigar is how it tastes when it is smoked. The taste is a very subjective matter because people have differing tastes. Some may prefer a thin lonsdale while some may choose a thick macanudo. The best cigar is still the one the person enjoys the most.