Useful Info
Cigar Terms
Band - The ring of paper with the name of the cigar brand, wrapped near the closed head of the cigar and usually held on with a vegetable based glue. Binder - The portion of a tobacco leaf that is rolled around the filler to hold it together.
Tobacco Geography
Cuba At the present day any other country producing tobacco can't compete with Cuba. Cuban tobacco planters claim that besides the climate peculiarities, what makes their tobacco great is the soil rich with minerals.
Anatomy of cigar
Ligero - Dark and flavorful this leaf comes from the top of the plant and attributes its power to the natural oils produced. These leaves are slow burning and are placed in the middle of the cigar.
Famous cigar smokers gallery
Winston Churchill 35th US President, John F. Kennedy German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder Luciano Pavarotti American actor, producer and director Mel Gibson Is he an actor? Is he a bodybuilder? Sure! But also California's new governor: 'Austrian Oak' Arnold Schwarzenegger Demi Moore, enjoying her after dinner cigar.
Cigars and Psychology
Could you ever imagine how much you can learn about smoker from Cigars? The way people hold their cigars can tell a lot about their moods and characters. An issue of the Italian almanac, II Tabacco, that appeared in the early nineteen twenties contained a curious article headed "Sigaromanzia" describing twelve positions of the hand holding the cigar with captions about corresponding psychological characteristics of the smoker.
What the ash can tell about
There's a lot that Cigar ash can tell you about the cigar's origin, much more than you could ever expect! That's why it is of a high importance for professional tasters and experienced smokers, as well as cigar taste and aroma.
Cigar Smoking for Dummies
When I read things like: "this cigar has a coffee aroma... this cigar has a distinctive pepper flavor", what does this mean? Do cigars contain aroma additives? Definitely not. If you can feel such aromas while you smoke, it means that the cigar you are currently smoking was produced with the high-quality tobacco after all necessary stages of the preparation process.
Name Can Be Deceptive
Every cigar brand usually has several varieties - sometimes over a dozen. Every variety has its own length and stoutness, and sometimes even a unique shape. Cubans use a special term to characterize the combination of these features - vitola.
On cigars and gastronomy
Matching cigars to anything is very individual. There cannot be any strict or hard rules when it comes to cigar smoking. But we can offer some advice anyway. Aperitif cigar has to be small and mild.
Cigar in dynamics
Burning of a cigar is divided into two phases: active (when you are actually drawing) and passive (between the draws). While you are drawing the air is sucked into the cigar body through the incandescence zone, and thus the smoke flow, which is called mainstream, is formed.
Impact of the wrapper
Many smokers believe that the wrapper does not influence the flavor of a cigar. But it is not true. In the process of smoking the wrapper touches your lips, ether oils dissolve in the saliva and the smoker tastes the flavor.