Today's cigar samplers Article
Different types of Cigars

Different Types of Cigars

The Origin

Cigars have generated much interest and passion, not only in their countries of origin but even more so in Europe and the United States. However, available historical references indicate that inhabitants of Europe were pretty much unaware of tobacco until after Columbus's epic voyage of 1492.

Cigars, as we know them today, were first made in Spain in the early 18th century, using Cuban tobacco. By 1790, cigar manufacture had spread substantially and small factories were being set up in France and Germany. However, cigar smoking became a recognized, widespread custom in France and Britain only after the Peninsular War that ended in 1814, when returning British and French veterans made cigar smoking, a habit they had acquired while serving in Spain, something of a fashion statement.

The cigar arrived in North America a little earlier than Europe, around 1762, when Israel Putnam, later a general in the American War of Independence, returned from Cuba, where he had served in the British army. He came back to his home in Connecticut with a selection of Havana cigars and large amounts of Cuban tobacco seed. Cigar factories were later set up in the area, processing the tobacco grown from the Cuban seed.

A Closer Look at the Cigar and its Different Types

Just like wine, there is much curiosity about cigars even amongst those who don't smoke. An important lifestyle product, the cigar has grown from being merely a smoking option to a true statement of style.

This article talks about all you need to know about the different types of cigars and the components that make a cigar and decide its quality.

The Structure of the Cigar

A Cigar has its three different parts that make it up: Filler, Binder and Wrapper.

The Filler: It is the filler that provides a cigar its essential flavor. There are three different types of leaves that are popularly used as fillers for cigars. These are Ligero, Seco and Volado.

The Binder: The binder is what encloses the filler and gives the cigar its proper shape and size. The bottom part of the plant where the leaves are thicker and have more strength is used as a binder for cigars.

The Wrapper: As the name suggests, the wrapper is the outermost covering of a cigar. Because its appearance is especially important, the quality of the wrapper is considered crucial and generally, can account for up to 70 percent of the value of the tobacco. It is said that a good wrapper should have the requisite flavor and steady-burning qualities essential for a truly great cigar smoking experience. Smokers examine a cigar for appealing appearance, texture and aroma, and this is where a good, painstakingly grown wrapper justifies the high cost of the cigar.

Different Types of Cigars

From a few local brands to tens of premium brands, cigars today, offer a number of options to choose from. Have a look at some of the best known cigar brands:

Cuban Cigars: Cuban cigars, considered to be one of the best cigars in the world, are also the most popular. It is said that their production is rarely ever able to match up to their demand! Also called Habanos, Cuban cigars are controlled by a government corporation, and demand much attention to detail from the cigar maker. Habanos need to be handled very carefully and call for a high level of monitoring for quality.

Macanudo Cigars: Macanudo was introduced in 1971 by the General Cigar Company and quickly became a leading premium cigar. Every Macanudo cigar is made with the finest Connecticut Shade wrapper, a flavorful blend of Dominican tobaccos and a select binder grown in the rich St. Andres Tuxtla Valley of Mexico. Each Macanudo can be relied on for consistency in smoothness and the same superior smooth taste and quality of experience.

Cohiba Cigars: The Cohiba came into into existence in 1966, but it was only in 1969 that it became famous. The tobacco used for manufacturing Cohiba Cigars is grown at full length in certain selected plantations in the province of Penar del Rio, and is considered quite special.

Padron Cigars: The manufacturing of Padron Cigars started in 1964 in Florida, the man behind the brand being Jose O. Padron. Padron Cigars use only sun-grown habano aged for a minimum of two and half years, and are available in natural and maduro wrappers. One of the finest cigars, Padrons are known as full-bodied and well-aged cigars.

Partagas Cigars: Though Don Jaime Partagas is the founder of Partagas cigars, it is the efforts of sons Ramon Cifuentes and Jaime Partagas Jr. that made Partagas cigars the leading Cuban Cigar. Partagas Cigars, known for their rich flavor, use high quality wrappers from Cameroon, known for its perfectly suitable climate for growing superb wrapper leaves.

Ashton Cigars: Ashton Cigars are produced using 3 to 4 year old Dominician tobacco, and get their rich taste from the golden Connecticut shade wrapper.

Acid Cigars: Made in Nicargua in Drew Estate by Jonathan Drew, Acid Cigars have a completely natural composition. They are prepared using the finest tobaccos and over 140 botanicals, herbs and essential oils. Acid Cigars are known to be the leader in the herbal and Botanical Aromatic Cigar Market.

Montecristo Cigars: Montecristo cigars, the famous Havana brands started becoming popular around the late 1930's. Popularized also by the Alexandre Dumas' 1844 novel Le Comte de Monte Cristo, the cigar is a medium to full bodied one with a sweet aroma and impeccable construction.

Arturo Fuente Cigars: Arturo Fuente learned the art of making premium, handmade cigars in Cuba at the end of the 19th century, and started producing his own line in 1912. The highest quality vintage tobacco is used for Arturo Fuente Cigars. The leaves are carefully selected from a private reserve and set aside for making these cigars. These are also known as one of the famous aromatic cigars.

About the Author

The author, A. "Mac" Levitt, is a well- known cigar enthusiast, distributor, and wholesaler who has been lending his expertise and experience to the Internet cigar industry since 1998. Having studied the scope and potential of secure online cigar shopping, Mac has been instrumental in providing advice and supplies to a number of secure online cigar shops like http://www.cigars-now.com

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Colibri Quantum The Don Lighter Black/Silver

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Poker and Cigars - Together Forever?

At one time those who sat at a poker table considered cigars and poker as part of the same package. They freely puffed on their cigars as they rolled their hands over their piles of poker chips. Men skilled at the game of Texas Hold'em were usually equally skilled at the art of lighting and maintaining a smoking cigar. The cigar enthusiasts at BuyDominicanCigars.com mourn the day in age when this scene was easy to find. Many of us think this pastime may become a thing of the past unless the current trend is reversed.

At the dawn of the last century, and for a period that lasted until well into that century, all manner of gambling establishments were populated by cigar smokers. Blackjack tables, as well as poker tables had rings of cigar smoke floating above them.

A host at a poker game or at a game of blackjack might be called on to provide an implement for the cutting of one or more cigars. Such hosts needed to furnish guests with more than poker chips and a pack of cards. They also had to provide their guests with plenty of cigar ashtrays. Preparations for a long poker or blackjack game demanded more than just the accumulation of drink and snack foods. Such preparations also included the purchase of extra butane lighters.

Now however at the start of the 21st century things have changed. Now the city and state rules and regulations have called for a ban on the use of cigars at a game of Texas Hold'em. In fact, if one now walks into a gambling casino one cannot find a single soul puffing on a cigar. There may be cigar smokers at such establishments, but they no longer feel free to smoke while they play poker. A visit to Hollywood Park in Inglewood, CA uncovers the confined area into which the cigar and cigarette smokers have been moved. It is a small room in the corner of a larger room. It usually contains several small chairs and one large chair. That large chair has the ability to provide someone with a message.

Customers just slip a quarter into the arm of the chair and then sit back for five minutes. Then the frustrations that those same customers might have felt at not being able to smoke a cigar while playing poker are apt to disappear. And of course one is free to smoke a cigar or a cigarette is this same room. Because the smokers are unable to busy themselves with the playing of poker or blackjack, these rooms frequently have on the walls some interesting posters. Since Inglewood is located close to the Filmmaking capital of the world, most of the posters focus on early Hollywood and the early entertainers.

Even if one has no interest in smoking a cigar, and even if one has no desire to get a message, still it is fun to examine those posters. A close examination might allow one to find the picture of Kirk Douglas when he was just a young man. One could look at that picture and appreciate why he became such a star. One might also wonder what he would say now regarding the current rules, rules that prohibit the once accepted combination of cigars and poker.

About the Author

Jeff Hudson is the owner and creator of BuyDominicanCigars.com, a site that offers a wide range of premium cigars from the Dominican Republic and other fine cigar producing countries.

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Arturo Fuente Double Chateau Maduro

Arturo Fuente is more that just the finest smoking enjoyment a cigar lover can experience, it represents Four Generations of family tradition, that include love, pride, and personal sacrifices. Blended with the finest 'Fuente Tobaccos' internationally recognized for their superiority, the Gran Reserva is then skillfully rolled with African Cameroon, Connecticut Shade or the most recent addition to the Gran Reserva line, Ecuadorian Sun Grown, these wrapper tobaccos are the most expensive and sought after wrapper tobacco in the world. A Fuente cigars are then aged in Spanish Cedar vaults to a peak of perfection to create a marriage of the blends producing an excellent 'individualistic' heavyweight cigar to be counted among the worlds finest.

Price: 118.99

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Cigar Asphyxianado

Cigar Asphyxianado
It might almost be argued that the cigar lifestyle magazines that Eric Spitznagel so perfectly parodies are already beyond a joke, but Cigar Asphyxianado manages to get a lot of laughs out of a very bad habit. Describing itself as "Not the best magazine on cigars, but certainly the most pretentious," this book touches every base--from the cigar-toting celebrity cover-shot (Fidel Castro) to the ads that promise that "Size Does Matter." And for the tobacco tyro, there are even instructions on how to light your favorite stogie:

Angle the cigar 25 degrees below horizontal and hold the flame exactly 1/3" below the foot. Rotate the cigar under the flame, alternating between clockwise and couterclockwise, allowing 23 seconds for the clockwise rotations and 29 seconds for the counterclockwise, while puffing the cigar every two to four minutes (depending on the room temperature). Continue this process for 43 minutes.

This book will probably prevent Eric Spitznagel from ever visiting Cuba, and people who actually buy magazines about cigars may not get the joke, but for everyone else, Cigar Asphyxianado is a lot of fun. --Simon Leake

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