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| MAKING CIGARS |
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| About the Tobacco Plant | Tobacco Growing |
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| Cigar Components | Seven Stages of Cigar Making |
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| MOST POPULAR DISCUSSIONS ON MAKING CIGARS |
1. Tobacco Leaf
Although tobacco is fairly flexible in regards to where in the world it can be grown, certain regions are more conducive to growing certain types. The more intricate flavors in cigar tobacco, for example, have to evolve in regions like Cuba and the Dominican Republic.
The plants themselves can vary greatly in size and color, although all have an overriding characteristic of large, drooping leaves that are gummy to the touch. While growing the plants, the flower buds are removed in or...click for complete discussion
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| Questions regarding About the Tobacco Plant? |
2. Curing Tobacco
The heart of the cigar making process has to with the curing of the tobacco leaf, where the nuances of flavor and style evolve. After the green leaves of the tobacco plant are harvested, they must be cured, fermented and aged. Just as the unique flavors of wine or single malt scotch depend on the ways in which the grapes or barley are treated after harvest, varying methods of drying the tobacco leaves result in different cigar styles.
Tobacco that is sun-dried, for example, will yield...click for complete discussion
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| Questions regarding Tobacco Growing? |
3. Nicotine, Cigars and Health
Most people these days are familiar with the fact that nicotine is considered a deadly poison, and that it can be found in all tobacco. The decline in tobacco consumption in North America is largely the result of increased awareness regarding the health risks inherent in regular nicotine consumption. Interestingly, the same report by the U.S. Surgeon General in the early 1960's that began enlightening the public to this reality observed that cigar smokers had the same mortality rate as non-smoke...click for complete discussion
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| Questions regarding About the Tobacco Plant? |
4. Making a Cigar
The standard for cigar making is derived from the Havana Cigar, considered the symbol of cigar quality and flavor throughout the world. First, it's important to understand that tobacco in general is divided into two groups. The first is saccariferous tobacco, used in cigarettes, which contains sugar that causes a certain type of acidic reaction within the tobacco smoke. The second is alcalic tobacco, used in cigars, that produces a neutral smoke.
Like wine, creati...click for complete discussion
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| Questions regarding Tobacco Growing? |
5. Growing Tobacco
There is only one true Cuban tobacco seed, and the leaves cultivated from it when it is fully grown are responsible for the majority of the intricate flavors that go into Havana cigars. The plant is called Criollo, and it typically has about six pairs of leaves off of a single root. These roots are best set in lose soil which is plowed multiple times a season to keep from settling, and the land must drain well to prevent water pools from forming and destroying soil and plant quality.
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| Questions regarding Tobacco Growing? |
6. Fermentation of Tobacco Leaves
There are two fermentations that must take place to create high quality cigar tobacco. The first involves stacking the harvested leaves into piles roughly one meter high beneath burlap coverings. The piles are left to ferment for three months, after which a moistener is added to prevent disintegration of the leaves and they are sorted into their appropriate roles: either filler, binder or wrapper.
The second fermentation happens within a special air and temperature controlled environm...click for complete discussion
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| Questions regarding Tobacco Growing? |
7. Cigar Wrappers
The cigar wrapper is incontrovertibly the most important element in the cigar. Accounting for the majority of the taste, the wrapper must be hand selected from among the choicest leaves in the tobacco plant. Care must be taken to choose leaves that are not too oily and the fermentation process must be observed closely to see that the leaves have the appropriate subtleties in scent and taste. Typically the wrappers are aged for a year and a half and are placed only in the hands of a master roller...click for complete discussion
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| Questions regarding Cigar Components? |
8. Cigar Binders
The role of the binder in the cigar is to hold the filler leaves together. As such, it is typically harvested from the upper regions of the tobacco plant, which have become a bit tougher as a result of more direct exposure to the sun and other elements. The exception to this is if the cigar is machine-made, in which case the binder is typically processed rather hand-chosen. Naturally, the leaves that create the binder should not offset or counter the ...click for complete discussion
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| Questions regarding Cigar Components? |
9. Cigar Filler
One of the wonders of the cigar, similar to the wonder of wine and single malt scotch, is that it is quite simply impossible to make with any discernable quality from a machine. Human discretion and human hands are needed to create the accordion-like pattern that constitutes the filler. This pattern is optimum for allowing the passage of air and smoke. In the highest quality cigars, three different types of filler leaf are used. The center-most layer ...click for complete discussion
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| Questions regarding Cigar Components? |
10. Stage 1
After the harvest, fermentation and maturing of the tobacco leaves, the first step is to build the filler. Some brands will use more variations of filler than others, but the average is that from two to four types of leaf will be used. Like every aspect of cigar making, rolling the filler leaves correctly is essential to the final cigar quality, as a correct assembly means the cigar will draw evenly as it is smoked. At the end of this stage, when the filler leaves have been rolled like a fan int...click for complete discussion
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| Questions regarding Seven Stages of Cigar Making? |
11. The Ten Things to Know About Cigar Wrappers
By Tynan Szvetecz
The cigar wrapper isn't just one more component to a cigar -- it carries the majority of the cigar's flavor and nearly all of its aesthetic appeal. In fact, publications like The Cigar Encyclopedia and Cigar Aficionado suggest that the wrapper is responsible for 60% or more of the cigar's flavor and value. With more diverse wrappers being released than ever before, getting a handle on their styles and terminology has never been more important. Fortunately, ...click for complete discussion
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| Questions regarding Cigar Components? |
12. Black Tobacco
Black tobacco, an elusive stogie that little is known about, is something that most cigar lovers have probably smoked. Though it's been part of tobacco's history, there is still a lot of history to write. In the meantime, we provide you with the basics of a day in the life of black tobacco. ...click for complete discussion
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| Questions regarding Black Tobacco? |
13. Cigar World Records
In this day and age it seems people can make a record out of anything. Ever since the publication of the Guinness Book of World Records, people have been attempting to set records of all sorts. From people who attempt to stay under water longer than anyone else, to those who hope to have more nipple rings than physically possible, records are being set everywhere.
Not immune to this are cigars. Ever a tangible item, people have found a way to make a record out of them. While Bill Cli...click for complete discussion
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| Questions regarding Cigar Trivia? |
14. Women and Cigars
For years, the art of cigar smoking has fallen under the category of a male activity, like rebuilding carburetors or prostate exams. But, time has a way of changing things; it is the ultimate makeover. While decades ago women were consumed with burning their bras, they are now becoming intrigued by burning something else: cigars.
This may seem like an odd concept. Cigars maintain a certain masculinity that eludes women: the female gender has always been equated with more feminine smo...click for complete discussion
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| Questions regarding Women and Cigars? |
15. Blowing Smoke Rings
Cigar smoke can have a nice ring to it, if you know how to puff. Many people spend years trying to perfect the art of blowing smoke rings, looking calm, cool, collected and like you're smoking donuts. However, smoke rings don't come without patience; it's an art form that many people practice, but only the persistent can perfect.
While you don't need to stretch a quad muscle or massage a hamstring before attempting to blow smoke rings, there are three parts of your body that you need ...click for complete discussion
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| Questions regarding Cigar Smoke? |
16. Weird Smoking Laws
As more and more states adopt laws that prohibit smoking in public, crushing the hopes of cigar smokers with the ease of crushing a used cigarette, people everywhere are calling "foul," restraining themselves from telling lawmakers to kiss their ash. The laws, to the avid cigar smoker, are avidly ridiculous.
But, ridiculous laws are a part of worldly culture. From a law in Denver that forbids people from loaning vacuum cleaners to other residences, to a law in Wyoming that prohibits ...click for complete discussion
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| Questions regarding Cigar Laws? |
17. The Cuban Cigar Embargo
For those of you who came to age during the 1960’s, you probably vividly remember where you were when JFK was shot. For those of you who are cigar lovers, you probably vividly remember where you were when he made Cuban Cigars illegal.
For over four decades, cigar smokers of America have been left without the ability to procure what’s reputed to be the finest smokes on the market; they’ve been left empty -handed like a child who lost a favorite toy, a very luxurious, flavorful toy, in ...click for complete discussion
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| Questions regarding Later Cigar History? |
18. The Dominican Republic: Cigar Country
Cuba may seem like the country to which the cigar industry belongs, with citizens stopping just short of saluting a Havana Sun Grown instead of a flag. However, Cuba is not the only country with this distinction; it's not the sole place on an atlas known for putting cigars on the map. Lying east of Cuba is another nation known to be smoking hot when it comes to the world of cigars: The Dominican Republic.
The Dominican Republic, fittingly discovered by Mr. Cigar himself, Christopher...click for complete discussion
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| Questions regarding Dominican Republic Cigars? |
19. Honduras Cigars: Spreading the Seed
by Jennifer Jordan
Many people may think of Honduras and recall a memory from 7th grade that involves a map of Central America, a pop quiz, and a prayer. For the avid cigar smoker, however, Honduras is thought of as much more. One of the biggest tobacco producers on our planet, cigar lovers think of Honduras as a virtual Mecca, a place where tobacco seeds go to make their parents proud.
Honduras, located near Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua, is a country made up of ...click for complete discussion
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| Questions regarding Honduras Cigars? |
20. Cigar Dave: A Man Who Knows His Snuff
by Jennifer Jordan
Throughout history, there have been several people who have helped make cigars what they are today. From the rollers in Havana to Christopher Columbus, from Charlie Chaplin to George Burns, these people have all earned the right to smile smugly, puffing away and savoring the flavor of an industry they helped propel. But, these are certainly not the only people who have given the cigar a lift, lighting a match underneath its very culture. There are several others wh...click for complete discussion
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| Questions regarding Cigar Components? |
21. Cigar Wrappers: Judging a Cigar by its Cover
It may seem superficial, judging a cigar based on what it looks like on the outside. After all, we are led to believe that it is what’s on the inside that really counts. This may be true with some things - people, novels, Tootsie Pops - but when it comes to cigars, the outside is as important as the inside. You can judge a cigar, at least in part, by its wrapper.
The cigar wrapper, in simple terms, is made up of outermost leaves, composed from the broadest part of the tobacco plant. I...click for complete discussion
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| Questions regarding Cigar Components? |
22. Bourbon: The Straight Facts
by Jennifer Jordan
Bourbon is one of those drinks that go extremely well with cigars. Cheese can have wine, candy can have soda, toast can have orange juice, but Bourbon is all about a good smoke. Despite this fact that Bourbon and cigars are a match made in tobacco Heaven, a lot of cigar lovers misconstrue what Bourbon is really all about: it’s more than a street in New Orleans.
Bourbon is a high maintenance alcohol, one that involves several regulations. The rules and ...click for complete discussion
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| Questions regarding Cigars and Alcohol? |
23. The Basics of the Smoking Pipe
by Jennifer Jordan
Some say potato, some say potauto, some like it hot, some like it cold, and some say cigar, while others say smoking pipe. Yes, it’s true: no matter how much this notion affects the cigar lover’s ego - as connoisseurs everywhere calmly tell their Henry Clays that it’s going to be alright - some people prefer their tobacco packed different ways.
It’s a bit of a misconception, the popularity of smoking pipes. With cigarettes and cigars inundating the toba...click for complete discussion
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