Cigars 101

An Introduction To Cigars

A Short History Of The Cigar

A bounty of evidence suggests the peoples of South America have smoked tobacco for the past 7,000 years. More recently, the Mayans where known to smoke pipes dating back to at least 100 A.D. However, it was actually Hernan Cortez who is credited as the catalyst for what we now call cigars. The conquistador brought back the tobacco seeds from Cuba and gave them to King Charles V. Two years later, Spanish settlers of Cuba began harvesting the plant for recreational use. Fast forward to the 1600s and smoking tobacco has taken Europe by storm. This trend would evolve and soon lead to what we now recognize as a cigar in Sevilla, Spain. The birth of the cigar has remained relatively unchanged ever since….and people have lived happily ever after.

Major Regions Of Cultivation And Types Of Tobacco Grown

Africa

–Cameroon

Dominican Republic

–Olor Dominicano

Indonesia

–Sumatra

United States

–Connecticut Shade & Connecticut Broadleaf

Cuba

–Many varieties including Corojo and Criollo

Honduras

–Many Cuban varieties

Nicaragua

–Many Cuban seed varieties

Brazil

–Mata Fina

Ecuador

–Many varieties of Cuban and Connecticut

Mexico

–San Andreas

The Tobacco Plant

Anatomy Of A Cigar

The Wrapper

The wrapper is the outer part of the cigar and made from larger sized leaves which are usually found on the lower part of the tobacco plant. The wrapper is wound around the outside of the cigar to hold it together. Cigars are often characterized by the color of the wrapper because is often determines the flavor and character of the cigar.Below we’ll cover some of the most common wrappers and their common profiles.

Double Claro

Light greenish, mildly sweet, made with premature leaves.

Claro

Very light tan, mild and grown under canopies.

Colorado Claro

Medium brown, medium bodied and smooth, mostly sun grown tobacco.

Colorado

Reddish brown, strong with a touch of spice, typically shade grown tobacco.

Colorado Maduro

Dark brown, rich and aromatic, grown from Cuban seeds.

Maduro

Very dark brown, rich and smooth, tobacco leaves fermented longer.

Oscuro

Black, very strong, made with leaves from the very top of the tobacco plant.