Cigar - A-Z

About cigars | Smoke a cigar | Cigar A-Z

AGEING

Some experts believe that fine cigars shouldn't be smoked until two years after they're made. Most well-made cigars will continue to improve with age for many years if stored properly.

That said, most cigars really 1 3 on the top, divided by a shouldn't be stored for more than 15 years as they will by then have lost much of their original aroma. Older vintage cigars, such as pre-Castro (pre-1959), if well made and properly stored, may well provide an interesting historical smoke.

Whatever you pay for a vintage cigar there's no guarantee they are still fit to smoke as it all comes down to luck. The same, of course, applies to fine vintage wines.

BLEND

The distinctive mixture of different types of tobacco leaves in a cigar that gives it its unique character, including up to four types of filler, the binder and wrapper.

BLOOM

A natural part of the ageing process; the result of oils exuding from the tobacco. It usually appears as a fine whitish powder and can be easily brushed off, unlike bluish- coloured mould which stains the wrapper and spoils a good cigar.

BOX

The traditional wooden Container, with a cedar sheet inside, used to package cigars - not to be confused with a humidor.

CABINET

A wooden box with a sliding top designed to hold 25 or 50 cigars. 8-9-8 is a round-sided box designed to house three rows of cigars - eight on the bottom, nine in the middle and eight on the top, usually tied with a ribbon and covered with special acid-free paper. The flat top, sometimes known as the 1 3-topper, is a flat rectangular box with 12 cigars on the bottom and 1 3 on the top, divided by a wooden spacer.

CAP

A circular piece of tobacco leaf placed at the cigar to secure the wrapper; mostly on Havana cigars. Dominican cigars and those from most other countries: are usually secured with a twist of the wrapper which is then gummed onto the uncut end, or tied off as a pigtail, and known as the flag.

CIGAR DINNERS

A Century ago cigars were enjoyed only at the end of a fine meal, usually in the study or smoking room, leaving the ladies to their own devices. There is now a growing vogue for male and female diners to meet over lunch or dinner where quite often a series of fine cigars are smoked between courses.

CIGAR CLUBS

Traditionally, gentlemen's clubs in London and elsewhere always had a smoking room where you could enjoy a fine cigar. Several cigar clubs have opened in Britain's capital in the last few years, following the introduction of cigar “smokeasies” in North America, as havens for aficionados who wish to mingle with like-minded souls in undisturbed comfort.

COLOUR

The colour (which ranges from light green to darkest brown) of a cigar can affect its taste. For example, darker wrappers indicate a concentration of sugars in the leaf and such cigars often taste sweeter; not bitter, as you would expect. Conversely, a light coloured wrapper usually offers a drier taste.

There are over 65 different shades of Havana cigar wrapper alone. All boxed Havanas are colour matched with the smallest tonal variances, arranged with the darkest cigar to the left and the lightest on the right, and banded by hand at exactly the same height on every cigar. Beware of any box of Havanas containing multi-coloured cigars.

CONDITION

Cigars in good condition should feel firm but springy. If they are too moist they will be soft and spongy; too dry and they become brittle and, eventually, rigid and unsmokeable. They're best kept in a proper humidor.

COUNTERFEIT CIGARS

A growing number of visitors to Cuba are returning home disappointed with shoddily- made pirate cigars which sometimes contain lumps and holes and even bits of string in them. The only solution to this problem is to avoid counterfeits at all times and only purchase Havanas or other fine cigars from an official, reliable supplier.

DRAW

The amount of air drawn through a lit cigar. A hot draw is one that is too easy and suggests the cigar has been rolled too lightly and will burn unevenly and more furiously. A plugged draw indicates the tobacco has been rolled too tight, making it difficult if not impossible to smoke. The perfect draw speaks for itself.

FOOT

The open end of the cigar that you light. With figurado (torpedo-shaped) cigars where both ends are tapered, examine the cigar carefully to find the small aperture, which indicates the foot.

HAND-ROLLED

A premium cigar with long filler and a high quality wrapper, made entirely by hand. It's said that every hand-rolled Havana goes through at least 222 different stages before it is ready to smoke.

HAVANA (Habano in Spanish)

Few places have stamped their name on a product quite äs effectively äs Cuba's capital has on the world's finest cigars. A Havana cigar is one made in Cuba only from the finest tobacco grown in the Vuelta Abajo or Partidos regions.

HEAD

The closed end of a fine cigar, before you cut and light it at the foot. You should always draw on a cigar through the head.

HUMIDIFICATION SYSTEM

An essential element of the cigar humidor that generates an appropriate level of humidity by releasing moisture, without which a humidor would simply be just another box

HUMIDOR

A specially crafted box (which can be made from wood, glass, plastic, silver or other material) containing a humidification system that protects and nurtures fine cigars, recreating the humidity of the country in which they are made.

HYGROMETER

An invaluable device that measures the humidity level in a humidor and reminds cigar smokers to top up the water supply on a regular basis.

MACHINE-MADE

Refers to cigars that are made entirely by machine, often from short filler (i.e. chopped pieces of tobacco) instead of long filler (unchopped leaves that are as long as the cigar itself).

OVER-HUMIDIFICATION

Turns fine cigars into soggy, wrinkled remnants. A good enough reason to invest in a hygrometer.

REFRIGERATION

Storing cigars in an airtight bag in a fridge is not recommended, for, at the very least, the cigars will have to be returned to room temperature for at least 30 minutes before you can smoke them. More importantly, the cold will impair the flavour and aroma of a fine cigar. For the best condition, one should keep fine cigars away from extremes of cold or heat in a proper humidor.

RING GAUGE

The recognised measurement for the diameter of a cigar, based on 64th of an inch. For example, a 48-ring gauge cigar is 48/64ths or two-thirds of an inch thick. The length of a cigar is always measured in inches or millimetres.

SHADE-GROWN

High quality wrapper leaves grown under a cheesecloth tarpaulin through which the sun is filtered, creating a thinner, more elastic leaf. The ultimate choice

SMOKE SIGNALS

Blowing smoke rings from a cigar is an ancient art still in vogue in some circles.

SMOKING TIME

Most, thicker robustos and larger ring gauge cigars will last for 45 minutes or longer, depending on how frequently you draw on ; far longer than thinner, shorter cigars.

STICK

Another name for a single fine cigar

SUN-GROWN

Wrapper tobacco grown in direct sunlight. Tends to have thicker veins and is coarser than shade-grown.

TASTE

Some smokers prefer to discard the last third of their cigar as they feel the flavour becomes too concentrated for their palate. Other, stronger palated smokers say this is the part of the cigar that tastes the best.

UNRAVELLING

Cigars that have been allowed to dry out will unravel; as will any cigar whose cap or flag is cut too deep into the main body