You may have seen it in movies, on television shows, or the cover of a gangster novel. The big boss, whether it's a mafia gift, a drug lord or a simple routine CEO, sports a big cigar and smokes it without affecting. They seem to like that big smoke plug and tight leaves. But what makes cigars so precious, and why is it often associated with wealth and business?
Very simple,
best beginners cigars are a rolled pile of dried and fermented the tobacco, and the other is the opening through which smoke can enter the user's mouth. Cigar tobacco is unique: its flavor is supposedly richer and more profound than the smoking used for ordinary cigarettes. Cuban cigars, in particular, are considered the best varieties, although experts argue that Nicaraguan and Honduran cigars easily rival the powerful Cuban.
Cigars were once costly and were generally limited to banquets, where "smokers" were held. These were meetings where prominent politicians met to discuss important issues while smoking. When the United States imposed a trade embargo on Cuba in the twentieth century, the price of cigarettes increased much more, and its use was limited to those who could afford them.
However, in mid-2005, cigarette prices declined, which allowed many smokers (and beginners who smoke) to try and enjoy smoking cigarettes. According to fans, cigarettes have less smoky flavor than cigarettes, and they can even taste like whiskey, chocolate, or even wine!
How are cigars made?
Selected tobacco leaves are harvested first and then aged by a combination of heat and shade. This serves to reduce the water and sugar content of the leaves, without the leaves rotting. Once the dried leaves ready, they are made to "die with grace" through a slow fermentation process. Humidity levels and temperature are controlled so that the grass will ferment without disintegrating or rotting. In this critical period, the flavors and aromas that characterize the cigar in which it will eventually be made are removed from the leaves.
When fermentation is done, the leaves are classified depending on whether they will be used as a filler for the cigar or as a wrapper. The leaves should be kept moist and should be handled very carefully. As soon as they are classified, a cigar maker will roll them into any of the various forms of cigars, carefully and by hand.
The taste of a cigar depends on the leaves used for wrapping and filling. Wrap sheets generally come from the widest part of a tobacco plant. Its color can vary from the light brown tone, very light greenish, called Double Claro, to the dark black oily grown in Nicaragua, Mexico, Cuba or Brazil. The color of a wrap also describes the color of a cigar.
Most of a cigar is made up of fillers, or the inside, where tobacco leaves are grouped by elastic sheets called binders. Some cigar makers mix a variety of leaves of different tastes and potencies, to produce different flavors of cigars.