My Cigar Labels

Cuban cigars are possessed of a deep, rich aroma, one that is virtually unmistakable to cigar aficionados. If the smell is weak, or even a bit weak, it’s very likely you may have a fake Cuban in your hands! Authentic Cuban cigars are products that are standard bearers of the highest quality. Even the words Cuban cigars recall scenes of sophistication and glamour. It is thought that Cuban cigars derive their distinctive taste from the high percentage of volcanic ash in the soils.

Unlike other some other famous cigar brands, authentic Cuban cigars are fashioned by expert cigar rollers and are subject to the rigorous inspection that only a trained human eye can deliver. Cubans have long treasured their reputation for only the highest quality cigars, and show no signs of dropping that mantle anytime soon. One way to tell an authentic Cuban cigar from fake is that Cuban caps will have a three to four-layer, circular appearance. Not many others will attempt to go to this kind of care in manufacturing their cigars.

The most well-known of all Cuban cigars would be the “Cohibas”, a delicate and most savory cigar. Cuban cigars have long been prized in particular by Americans, who can’t legally come up with them.

Let’s talk in general about how cigars are made. Different types of tobaccos that are cured in many different ways to produce singular flavors and aromas. Most cigars are rolled using a tobacco leaf, though nowadays you will find cigars being rolled with differing types of paper in place of tobacco leaves. Cigars are known to dry over time, and hence the need to keep them in a climate-controlled environment. You want to keep the moisture in the cigars from evaporating in as this will lose the cigars to lose some of their features.

Many cigar smokers evaluate a cigar by its appearance, feel and aroma, and this is where a good product will support the high cost of the cigar. With many people today giving cigars as favors at corporate and social events, quality workmanship is vital to the reception they receive. If these are given to impress, you’d better make sure they do. That’s why people are happy to spend the extra dollars to come up with quality cigar favors.

Rollers, also known as torcedores, sit quietly in rows, listening to music as they roll what seems like not a great deal of cigars daily. Good cigar rollers can roll somewhere between 100 and 150 cigars daily, using simple tools like a cutting board, a very sharp knife, glue and a small guillotine as well. The type of cigars makes a difference too. A cigar roller tasked to roll a very long filler cigars will take much more time on this, using their great skill to insure that it burns evenly and smoothly.

Most cigars are made mostly of what is referred to as filler tobacco. There are three different types of filler tobacco: these being Seco, Volado, and Ligero.

One myth we can dispel here is that the color of the wrapper in no way affects the taste or strength Cuban cigar. In fact, it’s well-known that the wrapper leaf is responsible for only roughly 3% of the taste of your cigar. It’s the age of a cigar that will have a great deal more to do with the flavor and power of your cigar. Wrappers are kept in a humid environment until they are used to fashion the cigars, and come in basically two sizes, small and large.

The next time you’re hosting a cigar catering event, you can wow your guests with some specialized knowledge of just how a cigar makes it from the field to your home.

A master blender is in charge of the process, and gives the cigar rollers several boxes of tobacco leaves, from four to six; and a formula for how the cigar is to be constructed.

The cigar rollers then presses the leaves into a bunch, and then cuts them to the correct size, after which they are put into a press, where they stay for about an hour.

After this time, the molded leaves come back to his table where he carefully wraps each one with a wrapper leaf that is chosen for both visual and aromatic qualities. The roller dabs a spot of vegetable glue onto the head of the cigar so that it won’t unravel.

Then they are inspected carefully by their supervisors, where after passing inspection they go the aging room, where they may sit for some months to age before they are sent out to the world for consumption.

The journey that tobacco makes in its way to becoming a cigar is a painstakingly slow process, sometimes taking years, each leaf being handled by some 40 or more people along the way, before becoming that great cigar you’re familiar with.

There is first a six week seed germination phase, followed by another six weeks to grow the tobacco leaves to maturity. That is followed by yet another six week period in which it is harvested, and then more periods of time for the leaves to ferment. During this time, the leaves are piled high in bales and the tobacco “sweats” out the ammonia. This can happen several times until fermentation is complete.

Then, before it is turned over to the cigar rollers, the bales of fermented tobacco are wrapped in burlap and set to aging. The average time is 18 months to 2 years, though there are others who keep it aging much longer.

So that cigar in your hand is a bit older than you might’ve imagined!

Cigars consist of dried and fermented tobacco that is tightly rolled by expert cigar rollers in the shape of a bundle. In order to smoke this dude, you’re gonna need to light up one end and inhale from the other end. Cigars are very often found handed out at weddings, anniversaries, and more. It’s not uncommon to see them passed around when a business deal closes or your favorite team wins. There are even traditions that deal with cigar smoking: for instance a cigar is bought and held until a goal is achieved; and then the cigar is then smoked in celebration. Cigars are like many other luxury items. They possess an aura of luxury and timelessness that is difficult to replicate any other way.

In case you were wondering, a cigar is nowhere near ready to smoke right after it’s been rolled. Do that, and you may as well have tossed it in the trashcan. As cigar smoking has risen in popularity, you can find cigars a wide variety of qualities and flavors.

Habanos is city caught in a time warp. It’s such as it would have back when Christopher Columbus first discovered it in 1492. Called correctly “the birthplace of Cuban cigars” Habanos is the only place on the planet where Cuban cigars are handmade and dispensed to the world (except the US!). The first Cuban Cigar was grown and fashioned here hundreds of years ago, and nothing much has changed here at all. It’s still and incredibly beautiful and fascinating place.

Cuban cigars are tightly controlled by a government corporation, and legend has it that back in the bad ol’days when mistakes were made and quality was compromised, lives were lost. It’s not so anymore, but it’s also not hard to see how Cuban cigars got their trademark reputation as the finest cigars in the world. An acute attention to detail from the growers on up to the cigar rollers and packagers leave little room for error. Habanos cigars require careful handling and demand a high level of monitoring for quality.

If you ever have the chance to visit Habanos do so, for it is a trip through history as well as a place to come across perhaps the finest cigars in the world.

Ever wonder what the story is behind the different types of wrapper leaves that cigar rollers use when they are rolling your next great smoke? Well, here’s the facts!

Nowadays there are six color variants in use. There used to be as many as ten, but now we’re dealing with just six. Wrapper leaves are grown in the countries of Cuba, Sumatra, The United States, Brazil, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Honduras and Cameroon.

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Have you ever thought of giving cigar favors at your next
party, event or special occasion? Though they may seem to
be a relic of a time gone by, cigar favors are actually a
very elegant way of showing appreciation for your guest’s
friendship and support.

Handing out a quality cigar favor definitely leaves a good
impression. The aroma, along with a distinctive cigar label
can make for a memorable event. They can be made with your
choice of cigars, and you can also opt not to go with
customized cigar labels if you wish. The choice is yours.

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Humidors are a must have addition to the collection for cigar smokers to help preserve their treasured cigars. It’s possible to even make your cigars last longer through the use of a humidor. Make sure that the cigars are not packed so tightly that they can’t breathe. You can actually damage the cigar if they are not given enough space. Cigars can last for decades if they are kept in a temperature and humidity-controlled environment, as near to 70 degrees Farenheit, and 70% relative humidity as you can get it. All humidors have in them a device called a hygrometer, which measures and regulates the moisture in the box.

There are humidors in every price range, and you should not opt for the cheapest one you can find. Suppose you were to find a wonderful Cuban cigar, (somewhere) and put it in a less than adequate humidor, which proceeded to dry it out and ruin it before you ever got the chance to smoke it! Don’t scrimp! You don’t have to plunk down $700 for a fine Italian humidor, but the point is to make sure that these cigars rolled by expert cigar rollers live as long as they’re supposed to!