Burnt Tongue
No Tastebuds...
- Joined
- Sep 24, 2006
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This is a second in a series of cigar information most of it common knowledge. I have gathered this from various sources on the internet and put it together for your entertainment. I hope you learn something and if nothing else enjoy reading it.
Cigar Construction
Did you ever wonder why cigars vary in body and flavor? There are certain factors that determine the body and flavor of a cigar. These are the blend of tobacco in the cigar, the condition of the cigar when smoked, the age (another topic altogether) of the cigar when smoked, and the state of ones palate when the cigar is smoked. Handmade cigars have three parts, filler, binder, and the wrapper. Each of the parts has a different function when the cigar is actually smoked.
The outside wrapper dictates the cigar's appearance. It is usually grown in shade under gauze and fermented separately from other leaves to ensure that it is smooth, not too oily, and has a subtle bouquet. It also has to be soft and pliable so that it is easy for the roller to handle. Wrapper leaves from different plantations have varying colors and different flavors. Wrappers are usually very high quality leaves, and are available in colors ranging from double claro, the lightest to oscuro the darkest. There has been great debate over the years on whether the wrapper has any significant influence on the flavor of the cigar. Cuban producers claim the wrapper has little influence while producers from other countries tend to believe the wrapper accounts for 50 percent or more of the overall flavor of the cigar. Darker wrappers tend to be more sweet, this is due to photosynthesis creating added sugar in the leaves. Also, the heavier oils for which wrappers are noted are the result of the plant's natural defenses. The leaf creates additional oils trying to protect itself from the sun's glare.. Good wrapper leaves have to be elastic and must have little no protruding veins. They are typically matured between one year and 18 months, the longer the better. Wrappers of handmade non-Cuban cigars might come from Connecticut, Cameroon, Sumatra, Honduras, Mexico, Costa Rica or Nicaragua. The wrapper is usually the most expensive part of the cigar.
The binder leaf holds the cigar together and is usually two halves of coarse sun-grown leaf from the upper part of the plant, chosen because of its good tensile strength. The binder is a tobacco leaf is usually selected for having little or no flavor.
The filler is made of separate leaves folded by hand along their length, to allow a passage through which smoke can be drawn when the cigar if lit. The fold can be properly achieved by hand and is the primary reason why machine-made cigars are less satisfactory. This style of arranging the filler is sometimes called the "book" style, which means that if you were to cut the cigar down its length with a razor, the filler leaves would resemble the pages of a book. In the past, the filler was sometimes arranged using the entubar method with up to eight narrow tubes of tobacco leaf rolled into the binder--making the cigar very slow burning.
Three different types of leaf are normally used for the filler. Ligero leaves from the top of the plant are dark and full in flavor as a result of oils produced by exposure to sunlight. They have to be matured for at least two years before they can be used in cigar making. Ligero tobacco is always placed in the middle of the cigar, because it burns slowly. Seco leaves, from the middle of the plant, are much lighter in color and flavor. They are usually used after maturing for around 18 months. Volado leaves, from the bottom of the plant, have little or no flavor, but they have good burning qualities.
The precise blend of these different leaves in the filler dictates the flavor of each brand and size. A full-bodied cigar will usually have a high proportion of ligero in its filler, than a mild cigar, where seco and volado will predominate. Small, thin cigars will very often have no ligero tobacco leaf in them at all. The consistency of a blend is achieved by using tobacco from different harvest and farms, so a large stock of matured tobacco is essential to the process.
Manufacturers often use the same types of tobacco in different sizes, producing different tastes. Often the consumer will perceive this as the same "blend". There is a difference however, it's in the proportions of each type of leaf used. An experienced roller may use different proportions of the tobaccos in different sizes to allow for that size differences. In a smaller ring cigar, the binder and wrapper have a greater influence on the taste. The size is the cigar's diameter, measured in 64ths of an inch is usually referred to ring size. A 32 ring cigar will measure 1/2 inch in diameter. The roller will allow for this difference by re-proportioning the filler blend. It's just one of those details that requires years of training among master rollers. One of the reasons smokers will prefer the taste of one size over another of the same blend.
Cigar Construction
Did you ever wonder why cigars vary in body and flavor? There are certain factors that determine the body and flavor of a cigar. These are the blend of tobacco in the cigar, the condition of the cigar when smoked, the age (another topic altogether) of the cigar when smoked, and the state of ones palate when the cigar is smoked. Handmade cigars have three parts, filler, binder, and the wrapper. Each of the parts has a different function when the cigar is actually smoked.
The outside wrapper dictates the cigar's appearance. It is usually grown in shade under gauze and fermented separately from other leaves to ensure that it is smooth, not too oily, and has a subtle bouquet. It also has to be soft and pliable so that it is easy for the roller to handle. Wrapper leaves from different plantations have varying colors and different flavors. Wrappers are usually very high quality leaves, and are available in colors ranging from double claro, the lightest to oscuro the darkest. There has been great debate over the years on whether the wrapper has any significant influence on the flavor of the cigar. Cuban producers claim the wrapper has little influence while producers from other countries tend to believe the wrapper accounts for 50 percent or more of the overall flavor of the cigar. Darker wrappers tend to be more sweet, this is due to photosynthesis creating added sugar in the leaves. Also, the heavier oils for which wrappers are noted are the result of the plant's natural defenses. The leaf creates additional oils trying to protect itself from the sun's glare.. Good wrapper leaves have to be elastic and must have little no protruding veins. They are typically matured between one year and 18 months, the longer the better. Wrappers of handmade non-Cuban cigars might come from Connecticut, Cameroon, Sumatra, Honduras, Mexico, Costa Rica or Nicaragua. The wrapper is usually the most expensive part of the cigar.
The binder leaf holds the cigar together and is usually two halves of coarse sun-grown leaf from the upper part of the plant, chosen because of its good tensile strength. The binder is a tobacco leaf is usually selected for having little or no flavor.
The filler is made of separate leaves folded by hand along their length, to allow a passage through which smoke can be drawn when the cigar if lit. The fold can be properly achieved by hand and is the primary reason why machine-made cigars are less satisfactory. This style of arranging the filler is sometimes called the "book" style, which means that if you were to cut the cigar down its length with a razor, the filler leaves would resemble the pages of a book. In the past, the filler was sometimes arranged using the entubar method with up to eight narrow tubes of tobacco leaf rolled into the binder--making the cigar very slow burning.
Three different types of leaf are normally used for the filler. Ligero leaves from the top of the plant are dark and full in flavor as a result of oils produced by exposure to sunlight. They have to be matured for at least two years before they can be used in cigar making. Ligero tobacco is always placed in the middle of the cigar, because it burns slowly. Seco leaves, from the middle of the plant, are much lighter in color and flavor. They are usually used after maturing for around 18 months. Volado leaves, from the bottom of the plant, have little or no flavor, but they have good burning qualities.
The precise blend of these different leaves in the filler dictates the flavor of each brand and size. A full-bodied cigar will usually have a high proportion of ligero in its filler, than a mild cigar, where seco and volado will predominate. Small, thin cigars will very often have no ligero tobacco leaf in them at all. The consistency of a blend is achieved by using tobacco from different harvest and farms, so a large stock of matured tobacco is essential to the process.
Manufacturers often use the same types of tobacco in different sizes, producing different tastes. Often the consumer will perceive this as the same "blend". There is a difference however, it's in the proportions of each type of leaf used. An experienced roller may use different proportions of the tobaccos in different sizes to allow for that size differences. In a smaller ring cigar, the binder and wrapper have a greater influence on the taste. The size is the cigar's diameter, measured in 64ths of an inch is usually referred to ring size. A 32 ring cigar will measure 1/2 inch in diameter. The roller will allow for this difference by re-proportioning the filler blend. It's just one of those details that requires years of training among master rollers. One of the reasons smokers will prefer the taste of one size over another of the same blend.
