The Cigar Mafia

Cigars vary in taste, size, age, and feel. Your favorite cigar is the one that is right for you. The following is an outline of cigars, which will inform and teach you many of the important features when selecting and enjoying a cigar yourself, or for a guest.

THE CIGAR TEN COMMANDMENTS
1. Life's too short to smoke cheap cigars — so only buy good ones. Cigars from the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua and of course, Cuba are the best. Make sure they are 100% natural, long-leaf filler, and all handmade.

2. Store your cigars properly. Premium cigars must always be stored in a humidified environment of approximately 68-72% humidity. Any more and your cigars will get soggy and any less and they will dry out and burn hot.

3. Clip the smoking end of your cigar properly. Use a double v-cutter or special scissors. Also, be sure and clip above the line where the cap meets the wrapper.

4. Do not remove the band. If you attempt to remove the band you may pull away part of the wrapper leaf that is stuck to it, ruining your cigar. Besides, you should be proud of what you are smoking and want everyone to see it.

5. Light your cigar properly. The only proper way to light your cigar is either with a wooden match or a butane lighter. Regular matches are soaked with chemicals which can impart a bitter taste to your cigar. Non-butane lighters do the same. When lighting, do not touch the flame to the cigar, instead, hold the flame a short distance from the end of the cigar and when you puff the flame will jump up to meet the cigar. Also, rotate the cigar as you light it so that all of the end is lit.

6. Smoke your cigar slowly. Yes, there is a right way and a wrong way to smoke a cigar. The key word is slowly. No more than a puff or two a minute. If you smoke too fast the tobacco gets too hot and carbonizes, which kills the taste of your premium cigar and makes it taste the same as Dutch Masters. Cigars are to be savored and enjoyed slowly, not smoked quickly like a cigarette.

7. Use an ashtray. Don't be a cretin and flick your ashes on the ground or into a paper cup.

8. Never smoke part of your cigar with the intention of finishing it later. Cigars are meant to be lit once and smoked all at once. Your cigar will taste terrible later if you attempt this, so think about how much time you have to smoke it before you light it. However, if you must relight, first remove the ash, then toast the foot of the cigar with the flame and finally, blow out the first puff after lighting.

9. When finished, don't stub out your cigar, instead, set it in the ashtray and let it go out by itself. Otherwise, you will release incredibly noxious odors that will make both you and your neighbors sick.

10. Bookmark the Cigar Mafia website, because "You're in the family now"..

AREAS OF THE WORLD WHERE TOBACCO IS GROWN 
Tobacco is grown all over the world. For a cigar, it is not uncommon for its make up to come from 3 different tobaccos from three different countries. For instance, a cigar may have Dominican filler, a binder from Nicaragua, and a wrapper from Connecticut. It is the marriage of 1, 2, or 3 different tobaccos that give the cigar different tastes. Much like wine, tobacco combinations are infinite and vary to quite a degree based on the blending and combination. Also, like wine, the soil and climate of each area has a significant influence over the taste, aroma, and feel of the tobacco. For instance, Cuban tobacco seeds which are planted in Cuba and the Dominican republic will taste different because of the climate and soil conditions.

CUBA:
Cuban tobacco is acknowledged as among the finest in the world. In general, Cuban tobacco is strong and full-bodied, with spicy and aromatic flavors. It is also renowned for its suppleness. Most factories of premium hand-rolled cigars are located in or near Havana, the capital city.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC:
The quality and variety of cigar tobacco from the Dominican Republic has improved enormously in the past twenty years. The primary growing region is near the city of Santiago in the he northern half of the country; located in the agricultural region, this small city is also home to the majority of Dominican cigar makers. Most Dominican tobacco is derived from Cuban seed varieties. Although not as strong, it is quite full flavored and lends itself to the creation of unusually complex blends.

ECUADOR:
Ecuador produces quantities of high quality tobacco, both filler and wrapper, shade- and sun-grown. Growers there have been using both Connecticut and Sumatra seed varieties. In each case the tobacco usually seems milder and less robust in strength and flavors than the original. Its wrapper colors fall between Connecticut and Cameroon, and its silky texture has visual appeal.

HONDURAS/NICARAGUA:
These Central American countries produce high quality Cuban-seed and Connecticut-seed tobaccos, including shade grown wrapper. Both countries produce a full-bodied tobacco with strong, spicy flavors and heady aromas.

MEXICO:
The San Andres valley is world famous for its sun-grown variant of Sumatra-seed tobacco. Mexican leaves are widely used as binder and filler in cigars. The variety also serves widely as a maduro wrapper because it can stand up to the cooking and sweating process that creates the darker leaf colors. Cigars made in Mexico are usually made with 100% local tobacco.

UNITED STATES:
North of Hartford, Connecticut, the Connecticut River Valley produces some of the finest wrapper leaf tobacco in the world ... Connecticut Shade. The fine brown to brownish yellow leaf has a high degree of elasticity, and it creates a mild to medium-bodied smoke; it is widely used on premium cigars.

CAMEROON/CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC:
This area of West Africa is known for high quality wrapper leaf. The Cameroon leaf originated from Sumatra seed imported from Indonesia. It is prized for its neutral characteristics, which make it an ideal wrapper for full flavored filler tobaccos. Cameroon wrappers are generally greenish brown to dark brown with a distinct grain, called "tooth".

INDONESIA:
Sumatra variety tobacco comes from the series of islands that make up Indonesia. The tobacco may be referred to as Java or Sumatra. Sumatra wrapper leaves are often dark brown and have neutral flavors. The majority of the wrapper leaf grown there is used in the manufacture of small cigars.

PHILIPPINES:
The Philippines grows a mild tobacco that is used for cigars. The hybrid strain produced there is very aromatic.

PARTS OF THE CIGAR AND HOW CIGARS ARE MADE
The cigar is made up of 3 types of tobaccos as follows: The filler or center tobacco is either a single type or a blend of many tobaccos to acquire a certain taste, i.e. spicy, sweet, nutty, etc. The phrase, "long filler " means that the cigar is made of whole leaves and not pieces of many plants like machine rolled cigars. These leaves give the cigar its taste. These tobacco leaves are gathered together, and Wrapped and bound by another leaf that is called the binder. The binder holds the filler together. Once together, the cigar is wrapped with the Wrapper leaf. This can be from the same plant or another plant. "Connecticut shade" is a very popular type of wrapped found on many hand-rolled cigars. All 3 tobaccos that make a cigar can be from 1 plant or different plants as stated before. From seedling to full size takes approximately 4 months. One plant can yield as many as 32 cigars. The tobacco plant goes through a series of cuttings and each cutting makes a different part of the cigar.

The first cut leaves on a plant are the bottom leaves. They are used for the binder of the cigar. The second and third cuts are used for the filler of a cigar. The top leaves, which have the majority of the oil, are best for the wrapper. They are the last harvested from the plant.

Once the leaves are picked, they are then dried. They are then dipped in water, air dried, sprayed with water again and then dried a final time.

After the cigar is rolled, it is placed into a press for approximately 1 hour to hold a uniform shape. Then the cigar is removed from the press and set in an aging room for 21 to 180 days. It is during this time all the flavors of the different tobacco blend and marry thus producing each cigars unique flavor and other characteristics.

TYPES OF WRAPPER
It should be noted however that the wrapper does not possess the majority of flavor, but rather the filler. The wrappers come in several different colors. The darker the color, the sweeter and stronger the flavor is likely to be. Also, the darker tobacco leaves will have spent more time on the plant than the lighter leaves. Darker leaves tend to have more oil and sugar in them and also tend to come from higher altitudes. The following is a listing of some of the more popular ones:

DOUBLE CLARO - 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. Cigars with this color have traditionally been popular in the United States, but are very much less so today.

CLARO - Pale Brown, like milky coffee. The classic mild cigar color. The color is also called "Natural", as in Colorado Claro.

COLORADO CLARO - Mid-Brown, Tawny.

COLORADO - Reddish Dark Brown, aromatic. This color is associated with well-matured cigars.

COLORADO MADURO - Dark Brown, medium strength, rather more aromatic than Maduro. Usually gives a rich flavor, as found in many of the best Honduran cigars.

MADURO - Very Dark Brown, like black coffee. A color for seasoned smokers. Sometimes thought of as the traditional Cuban color.

OSCURO - More or less black. Very strong with little bouquet. Wrappers of this color, though once very popular, are rarely produced today.

SHAPES AND SIZES OF CIGARS
There are hundreds of sizes and shapes of cigars and these often change in popularity over the years. Cigars are given 2 basic measurements or dimensions. The first measurement is length. This is done in inches. The second is called the ring gauge. The ring gage measures the cigar's girth or diameter and is measured in 64ths of an inch. So for example, a corona size is a cigar that is 5 1/2 by 44. This cigar is 5 1/2 inches long and 44/64ths inches in diameter. Generally speaking, the larger the ring size, the more taste youÕll get from the cigar. This is taste, not strength. The smaller the ring size, the lighter the taste. The following lists some of the more common sizes and shapes of cigars found today:

CHURCHILL: A large corona format. The traditional dimension is 7 inches by a 48 ring.

CORONA: The traditional proportion is 5 1/2 to 6 inches with a ring guage of 42 to 44.

CORONA GORDA: This long robusto format could be called a robusto extra, although its popularity preceded that of robustoÕs. The traditional measurements are 5 5/8 by a 46 ring.

DOUBLE CORONA: The standard dimension is 7 1/2 to 8 inches by a 49 to 52 ring.

LONSDALE: The classic size is 6 1/4 inches by a 42 to 44 ring.

PANATELA: More popular in years past than today. This format varies more widely in length than almost any other cigar size, from 5 to 7 1/2 inches and a 34 to 38 ring gauge.

PETIT CORONA: This short corona is usually 4 1/2 inches by a 40 to 42 ring gauge.

ROBUSTO: This short Churchill format is growing in popularity. The traditional size is 5 to 5 1/2 inches by a 50 ring gauge.

DIADENAS: A torpedo shaped cigar with a closed head and foot. The head is around a 40 ring gauge and the foot is as much as a 50.

PERFECTO: This cigar is closed at both ends. The head is rounded, not tapered. The foot is closed like a torpedo. It is usually shaped with a bulge in the middle. Perfectos can vary greatly in length, from 4 1/2 to 9 inches and can have a ring gauge between 38 and 48.

PYRAMID: A tapered head cigar with an open foot. These cigars are between 6 and 7 inches with a ring gauge around 40 at the head that widens to between 52 and 54 at the foot.

BELICOSO: Traditionally, a Belicoso is a short Pyramid, 5 or 5 1/2 inches in length with a shorter, more rounded taper at the head and a ring gauge generally of 50 or less. Today, Belicosos are frequently Corona or Corona Gordas with a tapered head.

SMOKING A CIGAR: CUTTING, LIGHTING AND TASTING
While there are many ways to cutting and lighting a cigar, this is best learned by experience. To start, the cigar's make up must be understood.

There are 3 parts to a cigar.

The head is the part of the cigar that is put in your mouth. It is usually cut. The cigar's head is cut so that the smoke can be drawn through the barrel of the cigar. This "cut" can be achieved several ways.

The barrel is the part of the cigar that you hold. It is the body of the cigar. You can tell how the cigar will draw by the stiffness or softness of the barrel. If the barrel is softer, the cigar should draw fairly easy. If the barrel is rigid and tight, the cigar may tend to draw less easily and require more work.

The foot is the part of the cigar that you light with a wooden match or butane lighter. These are the preferred methods of lighting a cigar as they do not give off noxious odors and chemicals that liquid fluids and paper matches do. To light the foot of a cigar you must first hold the cigar between your thumb and fore finger. Then gently roll the cigar with one hand and hold a lighted match under the foot of the cigar with your other hand never letting the flame touch the foot. This "toasting" of the cigar enables the tobacco to warm up and more readily accept a flame. Next, put the cigar in your mouth at a 45 degree angle and light another match. Again, not letting the flame touch the foot of the cigar, but rather be drawn to the foot by the inhaling of the cigar to light it. While lighting your cigar, ensure that you turn the barrel so all sides of the foot get equally lit. Once lit, blow on the foot to ensure the entire end of the cigar is lit. As you enjoy the cigar, try and differentiate the different tastes, feel, color, and smell of different cigars.

GLOSSARY OF OFTEN USED TERMS
Here are some key terms that every cigar smoker should know about premium hand-rolled cigars.

Band - The ring of paper printed with the name of the cigar brand, usually wrapped near the closed head of the cigar. It may include the country of origin and whether or not it is hand-rolled.

Binder - The portion of a tobacco leaf used to hold together the blend of filler leaves called the bunch; with the wrapper and filler, it is one of three main components in a cigar.

Blend - The mixture of different types of tobacco in a cigar, including up to four types of filler leaves, a binder leaf and an outer wrapper.

Bloom - A naturally occurring phenomenon in the cigar aging process, also called plume, caused by the oils that exude from the tobacco. It appears as a fine white powder and can be brushed off - not to be confused with mold, which is bluish in color and stains the wrapper.

Box - The container used to package cigars. There are several traditional styles:

- Cabinet selection refers to wood boxes with a sliding top, designed to hold 25 or 50 cigars.
- 8-9-8 refers tot a round-sided box specifically designed to accommodate three rows of cigars - eight on top, nine in the middle, eight on the bottom.
- Flat top, or 13-topper, is the flat rectangular box most popular today, with 13 cigars on top and 12 on the bottom, divided by a spacer.
Bulk - A large pile of tobacco leaves in which fermentation occurs.
Bunch - Up to four different types of filler tobacco that are blended to create the body of the cigar. The bunch is held together by the binder.
Bundle - A packaging method, designed with economy in mind, which uses cellophane overwrap. It usually contains 25 or 50 cigars, traditionally without bands. Bundles, often times seconds of premium brands, are usually less expensive than boxed cigars.

Candela - A bright green shade of wrapper, achieved by a heat-curing process that fixes the chlorophyll content of the wrapper while it's still in the barn. Also referred to as double claro.

Cap - A circular piece of wrapper leaf placed at the head of the cigar to secure the wrapper.

Chaveta (Roller's Knife) - The knife used in a cigar factory for cutting the wrapper leaf.

Claro - A pale-green to light-brown wrapper, usually shade grown.

Colorado - A medium-brown to brownish-red shade of wrapper tobacco.

Double Claro - (See Candela)

Draw - The amount of air that gets pulled through a lit cigar. It can be too easy (hot) or too tight (plugged).

Fermentation - After harvest, workers gather the tobacco leaves in large bulks (or piles), moistening the leaves and allowing them to ferment. Temperatures may reach 140F before the bulk is broken down and re-stacked until fermentation stops naturally. This process, called working the bulk, releases ammonia from the tobacco.

Figurado - A Spanish term that refers to cigars with exotic sizes, such as torpedos, pyramids, perfectos and culebras.

Filler - The individual tobacco leaves used in the body of the cigar, together called a bunch. A finished cigar usually contains between two and four different types of filler tobacco.

Flag - An alternative to a cap. The flag method of finishing a cigar involves shaping the wrapper leaf at the head of the cigar so that it secures the wrapper. Sometimes, it is tied off in a pigtail or curly head.

Foot - The end of the cigar you light. Most often it is pre-cut, except in the case of torpedos and perfectos.

Gum - A vegetable adhesive used to secure the head of the wrapper leaf around the finished bunch.

Hand - Individual leaves of tobaccos that are hung together after harvest and tied at the top. These hands are piled together to make a bulk for fermentation.

Hand-Rolled - A cigar made entirely by hand with high quality wrapper and long filler.

Havana - Capital of Cuba. The traditional center of manufacturing of Cuban cigars for export, and a term widely used to designate Cuban cigars. Also refers to the tobacco types grown from Cuban seed in the Dominican Republic, Honduras and Nicaragua.

Head - The closed end of the cigar; the end you smoke.

Hot - A term used to describe a cigar that is underfilled and has a quick, loose draw. Can cause harsh flavors.

Humidor - A room, or a box, of varying sizes, designed to preserve and promote the proper aging of cigars by maintaining a humidity level of 70 percent and a temperature of approximately 65 F to 70 F.

Ligero - One of the three basic types of filler tobacco. The name means "light" in Spanish, but this aromatic tobacco lends body to a blend.

Long Filler - A term used to designate filler tobacco that runs the length of the body of the cigar, rather than chopped pieces found in machine-made cigars.

Machine-Made - A term that refers to cigars made entirely by machine, using heavier-weight wrappers and binders and, frequently, cut filler in place of long filler.

Maduro - A term used for a wrapper shade varying from a very dark reddish-brown to almost black. The word means "ripe" in Spanish. The color can be achieved by sun exposure, a cooking process or a pro-longed fermentation.

Mold - The wooden form used in cigar making to give shape to a finished bunch. It has two parts, which, when assembled, are placed in a press. Also, a potentially damaging fungus that forms on a cigar when it is stored at too high a temperature.

Oscuro - A black shade of wrapper, darker than maduro, most often Brazilian or Mexican in origin.

Puro - A Spanish term used to distinguish a cigar from a cigarette. Modern usage refers to a blend of tobaccos from one country.

Ring Gauge - A measurement for the diameter of a cigar, based on 64ths of an inch (or millimeters). A 40 ring gauge cigar is 40/64ths of an inch thick.

Seco - The Spanish word for "dry", seco is a type of filler tobacco. It often contributes aroma and is usually medium-bodied.

Shade-Grown - Wrapper leaves that have been grown under a cheesecloth tent, called a tapado. The filtered sunlight creates a thinner, more elastic leaf.

Smoking Time - A 5-inch cigar with a 50 ring gauge, such as a robusto, should provide anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes of smoking pleasure. A double corona, a 7 1/2 inch cigar with a 50 ring gauge, may give over an hour's worth of smoking time. A thinner cigar, such as a Lonsdale, smokes in less time than a cigar with a 40 ring gauge.

Sun-Grown - Tobacco grown in direct sunlight, which creates a thicker leaf with thicker veins.

Volado - A type of filler tobacco chosen for its burning qualities.

Wrapper - A high quality tobacco leaf wrapped around the finished bunch and binder. It is very elastic and, at its best, unblemished.

DO'S AND DON'TS OF CIGARS - A.K.A. CIGAR ETIQUETTE
All handmade cigars need to be cut at the closed end before they can be smoked. There are a number of cutters on the market ranging from inexpensive, easily portable guillotines (which come in single and double blade versions), to fancy cigar scissors - which need some skill to be used properly. You should cut the cigar so that you leave about 1/8 inch of the cap. You should never cut a cigar on or below cap level: it is a certain way of ruining the wrapper. The idea is to take off just enough of the cap to expose the filler leaves.

When you light the cigar you should always use a wood match or butane lighter (never use a paper match, as they are chemically soaked and will impair the flavor of the cigar). A properly lit cigar is always more enjoyable than one that isn't, so take it easy when you light one.

To get the best out of them, cigars should be smoked slowly. They should not be dragged on or puffed too frequently. This will lead to overheating and carbonizing the tobacco, which will spoil the flavor. A cigar like a corona should take about half an hour to smoke, with larger sizes taking an hour or longer.

If your cigar goes out, don't worry; this is quite normal, particularly if you have already smoked half of it. Tap the cigar to remove any clinging ash. Then blow through the cigar to clear any stale smoke. Re-light as you would a new cigar.

Cigars, unlike cigarettes, don't need to be tapped to remove the ash - it should fall off in due course. There is, on the other hand, no virtue in keeping a long cylinder of ash at the end of your cigar just because it is there: it impairs the passage of air and will make the cigar burn unevenly. The better the construction of the cigar, the longer and more "solid" will the ash cylinder be.

Once the cigar starts producing hot smoke you get a strong aftertaste (usually when you are down to the last couple of inches), it is time to abandon it. It isn't necessary to stub out a cigar as you would a cigarette. Just leave it in the ashtray, and it will go out soon enough. Cigar stubs should be disposed of soon after they have gone out; otherwise, the room will acquire the lingering smell of stale smoke.

Simply put, sit back, light up and enjoy!

Recent questions from our readers: 

What does the Cigar Mafia smoke? I like Montecristo and Gurka. I say it has to be a tie between the brands.

What's the best price? We like $4-10 sticks. But sometimes price is a little deceptive. If you are a regular guy with a regular bank account, then try to shop around and test new smokes when possible. You can very easily find great smokes at $3-4. But be sure to treat yourself every once in a while. Lay that c-note on the counter and go wild. And give us a call, we'll help you smoke up the stash. Take care.

How many does the Cigar Mafia smoke a week? Well the true answer to this question depends on the size of my checking account. Usually about 4-5 per week. 

How long will they burn? This depends on the size and how tight the roll. Small and loose maybe 15-20 minutes. Big and tight maybe 45-90 minutes.

Band on or Band off? Leave it on

Can I save a half smoke? No

How to build a "poor man's humidor" Pictures coming soon, this will be cool...

Do cement shoes really hurt? Yes

Send us your questions and we'll post a response. Use the contact us page to send us a note.

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