A Quick Quote

"Remember, Commander, no cigars before launch."
 
– Cuban doctor's orders to an astronaut at Cape Canaveral 
 
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Q & A -2 PDF Print E-mail
Q: Know it's bad etiquette to stub cigars into an ashtray to put them out, but what is it that causes cigars to emit a foul odor when you do that?                                 

A: Because you're opening up the cigar's filler tobacco, which has a buildup of oils.  

As a cigar burns, the filler tobacco accumulates oils and tars. The moment a cigar is stubbed out, the wrapper is split, which releases a pungent odor from the exposed filler tobacco. This doesn't happen with cigarettes, which have to be stubbed out. Premium cigars need puffing to maintain combustion, unlike cigarettes, which contain additives to keep them burning whether they are puffed or not. Premium cigars are made only with cigar tobacco, which is also richer and heavier than cigarette tobacco. The solution -- and proper etiquette -- is to simply rest your cigar in an ashtray and let it extinguish by itself when you are through with the smoke. 

If a quick smother is what you're looking for, there are cigar-sized snuffers that extinguish a lit cigar within seconds by removing the surrounding oxygen supply at the cigar's foot. But we prefer the old-fashioned way.  

Q: Are cigar tobacco plants perennials?

A: No. Tobacco plants have to be replanted every year. 

Unlike the herbs in your garden that sprout anew from the earth each spring, farmers have to start from square one  at the beginning of each tobacco planting season. It's not as bad as it sounds, however, because a cigar tobacco plant grows at a furious, almost weed-like pace.  A seed the size of a candy sprinkle will grow into a several-inch-tall seedling in about six weeks, and once it's put into the ground, the real growth begins. Depending on the seed variety, that little plant will soar to a towering giant up to a dozen feet tall in another six weeks, taking you from seed to mature plant in three months.  After the leaves are picked (or in the case of some tobaccos, the stalk is cut) that's the end of the tobacco plant's useful life. The field must be replanted anew the following year. 

Q: I smoked half of a cigar one day and the other half the following day. Is that all right?

A: Yes--If you don't mind a stale cigar.

We know a lot of people who make a cigar last two days. There's nothing particularly wrong about smoking in that fashion, but there's a lot that can go wrong with how you store the half-smoked stogie.  

Most importantly, never put a partially smoked cigar inside a humidor or cigar case, unless you want every other cigar that you'll store in those places to have a charry, smoky smell before you even light up. The cedar linings of humidors and the leather interiors of cigar cases are wonderful at trapping odors. Instead, keep your cigar in a plastic baggie or in one of the tubes made just for this purpose by companies such as Cigar Savor (we carry them in stock). 

Also remember that along with having a stale taste, a half-smoked cigar will be considerably stronger and rougher when relit. As a cigar is smoked, tars and moisture accumulate near the tip. Be prepared for a different taste when you light up on day two. Some people enjoy the taste, while others abhor it. The choice is up to you.  

Q: I'm a newbie to cigars. How long does a batch of leaf last from a cigar manufacturer? If you rate a cigar in 2003, can I buy that same cigar in 2004? 

A: No, and yes  

The cigars that we rate will of course be gone, consumed by fire and turned to ash in the tasting process. If it’s a brand with any popularity, the entire batch that was shipped will be gone. And the batch of tobacco leaves used to make those cigars will change, in part, from year to year, as new crops are harvested. 

Premium cigarmakers are blenders who seek to have their cigars taste and smoke the same from day to day, year to year, even decade to decade. Rather than declaring vintages, in the fashion of winemakers, they act more like blenders of premium Scotch whiskeys or nonvintage Champagnes. By blending tobaccos from various crop years, they strive to maintain a consistency of taste. There are rare exceptions.  

The very best cigar companies have massive inventories of tobaccos from many years. As weather and other factors change the crops from year to year, blends need to be constantly tweaked to maintain a consistency of taste.  

That said, the art is a very difficult one, mastered by few. Creating a fine cigar is tricky enough; creating a fine cigar over and over again with consistency takes an inventory of tobacco and a keen master to guide the hands of his cigarmakers.  

Q: I'm traveling out of the country for business and I want to bring along a few smokes to enjoy. Unfortunately, I don't have a travel humidor. What should I do?

A: Invest in one.

No matter if you're traveling for business or pleasure, the best way to transport your smokes is in a travel humidor. Not only does a travel humidor protect your smokes from baggage claim mishaps and careless porters, but they also contain humidification devices so your smokes are kept in ideal smoking condition. (we carry them in stock) 

And, fortunately for cigar smokers on the go, today's market offers a wide variety of reasonably priced travelers to choose from. There are also many styles to choose from in terms of size, durability and practicality -- all factors you should keep in mind when getting ready to purchase. 

Of course, if you're in a bind and don't have a traveler handy, you can use a regular carrying case. However, your smokes may dry up before you have a chance to smoke them. The best alternative for traveling without a humidor is to pack your cigars in a Humidipak bag. This will protect your cigars to a certain extent, and keep them moist. (we carry them in stock)  

Q: Do cigar boxes (both wooden and cardboard) allow the humidity to reach the cigars inside the boxes when stored in a humidor?

A: Yes and no.

For short-term storage, cigars in their boxes will remain perfectly humidified. For long-term storage, however, you need to make some adjustments to maximize the amount of humidified air that reaches your cigars. If cigars are going to spend several months or even years in your humidor, you'll want to crack the boxes on occasion. This is most important with cardboard boxes, in which cigars are packed in two tight layers of 12 and 13 cigars. Cabinet packaging in wooden boxes allows for greater air space in a box, and is one reason that this type of box is preferred by collectors. Whichever type box you have, your cigars will benefit from the occassional cracking of the top of the box to allow more air inside. A rolled up business card tucked in a corner works well to keep the box open.
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 06 February 2008 )
 
Q & A-1 PDF Print E-mail

Q: What are the small green patches that appear on some wrappers?
  
A: Those patches are a genetic characteristic of Cuban-seed tobacco, particularly the shade-grown variety.  


They appear on Cuban-seed wrapper grown in Honduras, the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua. The patches don't affect the flavor per se, but they can be used as a way to identify the wrapper's origin. If you favor strong cigars, a wrapper riddled with green patches may be worth a try.

 

If the wrapper is completely green however, it probably means that you are smoking a candela cigar -- a once popular smoke that has been virtually erased from today's market. Although at C.I.G.A.R. we are trying to revive the candela and have researched and found a few. So we now stock candela cigars.

 

Q: When I smoke a cigar, sometimes it makes my mouth terribly dry. Why is that?  

A: A lack of balance.

 


Certain tobaccos dry the mouth, such as olor, a variety of filler tobacco grown in the Dominican Republic. In a seminar at the 2002 Las Vegas Big Smoke, Davidoff cigarmaker Hendrik Kelner passed out cigars made entirely of olor (save for the wrapper) to show how an out-of-balance smoke tastes. "It makes your mouth dry," he said, "and God made your mouth to work wet." A cigar containing too much olor, he explained, has a drying effect on the palate. Olor triggers the salty region of the tongue, drying the mouth, while a tobacco such as Dominican San Vicente stimulates the production of saliva. Many cigarmakers strive to create a balanced, complex cigar made with a variety of tobaccos, which stimulate different areas of the tongue.

 

Of course, even smoking the most balanced of blends is a thirsty business, and there's no shame in quenching that thirst, so long as you make the proper choice.

 

Q: Is it all right for cigars to comingle in my humidor?
 
A: While some purists say no, conventional wisdom says yes. 

 


When cigars are comingled, the rich scents and oils of the older and best cigars will marry with the younger ones, improving their bouquet. It might seem a trifle metaphysical and impractical, but the great cigars always throw off their aromas and oils into other cigars, as well as the cedar lining. The older, drier benefit from comingling as well, absorbing moisture from the younger smokes.

 

Purists, however, believe that keeping sticks separate preserves the signature aroma associated with each cigar. This belief is most prevalent with Habanos purists, but with the tobacco traveling that is prevalent today, (i.e., Dominican tobacco used in cigars from Honduras, Nicaraguan cigars containing Mexican tobacco, and--of course--Connecticut wrappers used worldwide) cigars today have less distinction than cigars in years past.

 

Q: What's the difference between a torpedo, a pyramid, a belicoso and a perfecto?

A: Traditionally there were clear differences between these types of figurados, i.e. unusually shaped cigars.  


But today manufacturers use the terms loosely, which has resulted in a lot of overlap and understandable confusion among consumers.

 

Here are the traditional definitions: A torpedo has a closed foot and a pointed head and a bulge in the middle. A perfecto is like a torpedo except that the head is rounded, not pointed. A pyramid has a sharply tapered closed head and a wide, open foot. A belicoso is a smaller pyramid with a rounder taper, a closed head and an open foot.

 

Q: Some cigars have bright white ashes, others are almost a charcoal gray. What determines the color of a cigar's ash?

 

A: The magnesium content of the tobacco. 

 


High magnesium yields a white -- and flaky -- ash, low magnesium a grayer one. As for taste, it's generally considered more desirable to have high magnesium, and thus a white ash, but that's by no means a firm rule. Some of Cuba's great cigars often have very dark gray ashes.

 

 

Q: Should I rotate the position of cigars in my humidor?

 

A: Yes, every two or three months.

 


Even in the most well-crafted humidor, some spots don't receive as much humidity as others. For example, smokes that rest on the bottom of a typical desktop box receive less humidity than those near the top, where the humidification device is affixed. Shuffling the cigars every couple months ensures equitable moisture distribution. For those who have the luxury of a walk-in humidor, the same principle applies. Cigars stored in areas that for whatever reason receive less humidity need to be regularly cycled through a high-humidity area.

Last Updated ( Wednesday, 06 February 2008 )
 
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