HOW TO RATE A CIGAR
Construction- How does the cigar look? Is it veiny? Is it lumpy? Is it dry? A well constructed cigar should be smooth with minumal veining and slightly oily. This will depend a little on the type of wrapper that is used. Sun Grown wrappers, for example, tend to be thicker with more veins. (This allows them to stand up better to the heat of the sun.)
Draw - How easy does it draw. The perfect draw gives you a nice amount of smoke with and easy puff. You don't want to have to suck too hard, it should be effortless... (really.... nothing). Also you don't want the cigar to draw too fast or harsh, You want some slight resistance when you take a puff.
Flavor - Does it have a nice flavor. Is the cigar complex? What are the flavors. Some of the flavors is use to describe cigars are: bitter, tangy, smooth, harsh, rich, tart, full-bodied, sweet, cinamon, clove, peppery, spicey, caramel, toffee, burnt chocolate, cocoa, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, citrusy, nutty, toasty, coffee, espresso, earthy, floraly, grassy, woody, cedar, leather, metallic, etc.
Burn - The best cigars burn slow and even. Uneven burning cigars could be a sign that the cigar has too much humidity. If that is the case in your cigars, dry them out before smoking them. Just let them sit outside the humidor for 1 day. If that does not work, then the tobacco in the cigar was not properly fermented or the cigar was not well constructed.
Ash - You want a nice tight white ash (twss). The ash should not flake or fall off until it is about 2-3" long. Also, the whiter the ash the better fertilized and cured the wrapper leaf was. It takes time and effort to properly grow and cure tobacco leaves, and the white ash is the reward.
Overall - What was my overall impression of the cigar as a whole. Did I enjoy smoking it?
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| Nice Long Tight White Ash (twss) |
ANATOMY OF A CIGAR
Cap, Head or Flag – A loose piece of tobacco applied with natural glue as the finishing touch to the cigar. Offers a nice appearance and, if applied properly, feels good in your mouth and prevents the wrapper from unraveling.
Body – main portion of cigar consists of Filler, Binder, and Wrapper.
Filler – long leaves of tobacco (Long filler) or cut up pieces of tobacco (Short filler) that compromise the bulk of the cigar and deliver most of the flavor.
Long filler – filled with long leaves of tobacco deftly gathered together by a roller. A long-filler cigar is almost always handmade, and all premium handmade cigars are long-filler cigars.
Short Filler – the middle of a short-filler cigar is filled with leaves, stems, and other scraps of tobacco chopped up by a machine, in a machine made cigar.
Binder – tough, coarse tobacco that holds the whole thing together in hand made cigars or ground up tobacco bits that are held together by natural glue in machine made cigars.
Wrapper – A silky leaf of tobacco that makes your cigar look and feel attractive and delivers most of the flavor.
Double Claro - very light, slightly greenish (also known as Candela, American Market Selection or jade); achieved by picking leaves before maturity and drying quickly, the color coming from retained greenchlorophyll; formerly popular, now rare.
Step 1 - Cut your cigar. Because many cigars are rounded and come to a semi point at the end, use a cigar cutter to cut the end. This will give you a nice clean surface to measure.
Step 2 - Measure the cut cigar using a ruler. Make sure the ruler uses the "standard" or "American" version of measuring. This means inches, not centimeters.
Step 3 - Multiply your reading by 64. For instance is your ruler read 1/2 of an inch, you would multiply 64 times .5 and your result would be 32. If it was 5/8 of an inch your reading would be .625 x 64 and that equals 40, which would be your ring size.
Step 4 - Decide which ring size best suits the time you have to smoke your cigar in. While cigars can certainly be re-lit, they are best enjoyed in one sitting. So, ask a professional how long the cigar is expected to burn based both on its ring size and on its length. I prefer 52+ ring sizes.
HOW TO ESTIMATE LENGTH AND RING GAGE
Tuck or Foot – The business end of the cigar – the end that you light.
CIGAR WRAPPERS
Without getting into too much detail, let’s look at the most obvious aspect of a cigar: color. The shade of the wrapper usually is an indication of the flavor of the cigar. The darker the cigar, the more likely it will be spicier. This is more of a rule of thumb than a hard fast rule. Most new cigar smokers will appreciate a lighter color. These are the general categories of color:
Double Claro - very light, slightly greenish (also known as Candela, American Market Selection or jade); achieved by picking leaves before maturity and drying quickly, the color coming from retained greenchlorophyll; formerly popular, now rare.
Claro - Typically signifies that the cigar will be mild. It has a light brown or yellowish color.
Colorado Claro - (also called English Market Select or natural) light brown to brown. These are most often sun grown, meaning they are not protected by canopies like shade grown leaves. Fuller bodied flavor than shade grown leaves, but still very smooth.
Colorado - Distinctive reddish-brown (also called Rosado or Corojo) Slightly stronger than the Colorado Claro but still considered mild.
Colorado Maduro - darker brown; often associated with African wrapper from Cameroon, and Honduran or Nicaraguan grown wrapper from Cuban seed.
Colorado Maduro - darker brown; often associated with African wrapper from Cameroon, and Honduran or Nicaraguan grown wrapper from Cuban seed.
Maduro - These wrappers are dark brown and give off an excellent aroma. They are considered medium to strong cigars.
Oscuro - The Oscuro has a very dark brown, practically black wrapper and is strong in flavor.
The darker the color, the sweeter and stronger the flavor is likely to be, and the greater the oil and sugar content of the wrapper. Darker wrappers will normally have spent longer at the tobacco plant or come from higher altitudes: the extra exposure to sunlight produces both oil (as protection) and sugar (through photosynthesis). They will also have been fermented for longer.
CIGAR SIZE
The names of cigar sizes rarely have anything to do with the actual size of the cigar. There aren't any universal standards to go by, so the best you can do is keep in mind that the size thing is just a guideline. And that is no more readily apparent than after you notice that one manufacturer's churchill is the the same size as another's double corona. There are, however, "classic" measurements which will, when you become more familiar with them, allow to to make some general assumptions about a cigar's size:
RING SIZE
One of the measurements commonly used is the "ring size" of the cigar. This refers to the diameter and is measured in inches using 1/64 of an inch. Here's how to measure a cigar's ring size.Step 1 - Cut your cigar. Because many cigars are rounded and come to a semi point at the end, use a cigar cutter to cut the end. This will give you a nice clean surface to measure.
Step 2 - Measure the cut cigar using a ruler. Make sure the ruler uses the "standard" or "American" version of measuring. This means inches, not centimeters.
Step 3 - Multiply your reading by 64. For instance is your ruler read 1/2 of an inch, you would multiply 64 times .5 and your result would be 32. If it was 5/8 of an inch your reading would be .625 x 64 and that equals 40, which would be your ring size.
Step 4 - Decide which ring size best suits the time you have to smoke your cigar in. While cigars can certainly be re-lit, they are best enjoyed in one sitting. So, ask a professional how long the cigar is expected to burn based both on its ring size and on its length. I prefer 52+ ring sizes.
HOW TO ESTIMATE LENGTH AND RING GAGE
