26th April 2017Know Your Cigars: Elements of a Quality Cigar

Cigars have long been a sign of class and nobility, but long gone are the times when only the rich and famous could afford them. Today, everyone can get the exquisite pleasure of finishing a good night with a cigar. However, to really enjoy the experience you must be sure that you are buying a good product. This post will tell you how to recognise the elements of a quality cigar so that you know how to shop for these items.

Quality Tobacco: Filler and Wrapper

Tobacco used to make a cigar is classified by the country it originates from. It differs in flavour, colour, and quality, but some of these characteristics you can assess only when smoking. The wrapper is the ‘trickiest’ part of a cigar and it’s the main reason for the high cost of the product. Tobacco for wrappers are usually grown in the shade, which makes the leaves nearly transparent. If they are grown in the sun, the leaves are darker and have different flavour depending on the intensity of the colour.

When buying cigars, you should pay attention to the composition of filler tobacco as it affects the flavour. The most popular options today are Cuban, Dominican, and Nicaraguan.

Quality of Construction: Shape, Size, and Roll

Rolling cigars is an art and a sign of quality. A properly rolled cigar would burn evenly and draw with relative ease. Note that easy drawing is a sign that the cigar is under-filled. You may also encounter an opposite problem, when it’s overstuffed with filling and doesn’t draw at all because of massive clumps.

A cigar that burns unevenly indicates serious mistakes in its construction. As the quality of the piece’s composition is as important as the quality of tobacco itself, you should renounce the brand that shows such mistakes.

Note that you cannot judge the quality of the cigar by observing the shape alone as there are a variety of those available. The most popular today is parejo, an elongated cylindrical shape with one open end.

Quality of Ash

Even the ash of a cigar can show some indicators of its quality. You should expect it to be reasonably firm, which means it mustn’t fall until at least an inch long. Fast crumbling ash is usually a sign of poor rolling. In a good cigar, it would hold thick even if you move the piece itself around your mouth a bit. Note that the feel of the cigar in your mouth is also a mark of quality. It must feel smooth and not turn mushy.