Cigar Smoking 101

I came to cigar smoking a little later than others, having smoked a pipe primarily. The first cigars I tried while in college were not pleasant, probably because they were cheap drugstore brands. While still in college I took up pipe smoking and it was only when I went to work in a tobacco store that I discovered the world of cigars.

My new employer was very patient as he explained all the ins and outs of a cigar...brands, countries of origin, the "anatomy" of a cigar, how to snip the end off it, how to light it, etc., all of which will be discussed here.

I've been smoking cigars now for almost twenty years, still learning about them and still enjoying them thoroughly. A lot of folks light up a cigar when they're working around the yard, much as my father did, but I'm more of a "seeker-of-relaxation" with my smoking.

On nice evenings after dinner I can be found in the back yard, with a fire going in the fire pit, puffing slowly on a fine cigar. Occasionally, I'll take a stroll around the block with one, but more often than not I just like to sit and smoke.

Lighting up is the perfect ending to a busy day, watching the blue smoke curl upward from the end of the cigar, watching the sun creep toward the horizon. Any stresses from the workday ebb outward and at the end of the hour or so it took me to smoke the cigar, I'm feeling renewed.

So sit back, and immerse yourself in the art of cigar smoking.

A cigar consists of three elements: the filler, the binder and the wrapper. The filler is the inner "core" of tobacco which provides a significant portion of the taste. The binder is rolled around the filler to hold it in place. And finally the wrapper, which is a single leaf of tobacco wrapped around the binder and filler to hold the whole thing in place.

The filler comes in two varieties, long and short. A long filler is characterized by filler that runs the entire length of the cigar. A short filler cigar contains filler that is chopped up. Generally, higher quality cigars contain a long filler.

Wrappers come in many varieties, the names of which are used primarily to describe their color. Typical wrappers include:

• Double Claro - Pale green in color, usually bland in taste


• Claro - Pale to light brown. Typical of Connecticut shade grown tobacco. Also known as natural


• Maduro - Dark brown in color, associated with full flavored cigars


• Double Maduro - A shade darker than the Maduro


• Oscuro - Almost black, this wrapper is grown primarily in Mexico, Nicaragua and Brazil. Very full flavored

Many countries produce quality cigars, but the most popular include the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua, Mexico, Brazil and, of course, Cuba. Whether one country's cigar is better than another's is purely a matter of taste, and the new cigar smoker is encouraged to try as many brands from various countries as he can (for U.S. readers, see the note on Cuba below).

Boasting over 600,000 acres devoted to growing tobacco, the Dominican Republic produces the majority of the world's cigars, and many of the more popular. A wide variety of cigars come out of the DR, from mild to full flavor.

The cigar industry in Honduras has flourished since the 1960s when many of Cuba's top tobacco growers and cigar rollers fled after the island's revolution. Honduras's cigar output is second to that of the Dominican Republic.

Nicaraguan cigars have flourished recently, gaining widespread popularity in the U.S. and elsewhere. The rich, black soil is particularly conducive to growing tobacco and the growers have maintained close to ties to their Cuban counterparts.

While many consider Cuban cigars to be the finest in the world, cigars from the above mentioned countries are truly on par with the country most associated with cigars. Undeniably, Cuba has the climate and soil needed to produce all three of the cigar's elements, and equally as undeniable is the mystique. Unfortunately, since many of the expert growers and rollers fled the country in the early 1960s, the consistent quality of the Cuban cigar output has dipped somewhat.

Mexico, Brazil and other countries also produce fine cigars, but their output is dwarfed by the above named nations.

Cuban cigars are only illegal in the United States. Throughout the rest of the world they are enjoyed just as much as any other cigar.

The brouhaha began with Cuba's communist revolution in 1959. After the Castro government expropriated the properties of U.S. citizens and corporations, the Kennedy administration signed a trade embargo against Cuba on February 7, 1962, forbidding U.S. companies from doing business with Cuban interests. It is the longest lasting trade embargo in modern history.

The effect on the cigar smoker who enjoyed his Cubans was immediate. No more Cuban cigars were imported into the U.S. Two results grew out of the revolution and subsequent embargo: many expert growers and cigar rollers fled Cuba to other countries, such as the Dominican Republic and Honduras, and a black market of Cuban cigars within the United States flourished.

Cuban cigars are readily available in Canada and with the advent of the Internet, it is actually quite easy to receive Cuban cigars in the U.S. However, it has been estimated that 95% of Cuban cigars are counterfeit, i.e. they are not true Cuban cigars but are being passed off as such.

An historical footnote to the embargo: According to President Kennedy's press secretary, Pierre Salinger, on February 6, 1962 Kennedy ordered Salinger to 1,200 H.Upmann brand petit corona Cuban cigars. Once Salinger delivered the cigars to Kennedy on the morning of February 7, Kennedy signed the executive order putting the embargo into effect.

Stay tuned - coming soon!