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CIGARS ACCORDING TO GUY

· BEATING YESTERDAY...

"That's making an even better cigar this year than you made last year."

· TOBACCO SUPPLIERS...

 "You must maintain very good relations with tobacco suppliers...they can make you or break you. Never sit on a bill. Let them know right away not to bother bringing you samples of junk to try out...saves you both a lot of time."

· RUM, CHERRY, VANILLA ADDITIVES...

"They're no good. No real cigar smoker will accept added flavoring. That's the only way some manufacturers can get away with using bad tobacco that no one else would buy. Notice how all those flavor-added cigars are machine-made."

· CELLOPHANES...

"When they first came out, we all hated them. Now, I like them; keeps the cigar from getting too dry and brittle...protects the wrapper, which is very delicate. Cellophaning must be done by hand, not by machine. When a cigar is hand cellophaned, it's also carefully examined and bad cigars can be weeded out. That's important. A cellophaned cigar stored in a humidor will never get too dry nor will it get overly damp."

· PROPERLY CURED, AGED TOBACCO...

"That's an ongoing process and there are no shortcuts. It has got to be cured in the shed, in the bale, and even continues curing after the cigar has been made. A cigar made from uncured tobacco is like a spaghetti sauce made from green tomatoes. Double claro or candela (green wrappers) are fire-cured. Only light, ultra-thin, delicate wrappers can be used or it won't burn right. That's why cigar rollers hate it...it can come apart in your hands. The best candela wrappers come from Nicaragua."

· CIGAR SMOKERS...

"They're more relaxed, mellower than cigarette smokers or non-smokers. I think they make the best husbands. Women would do well to look for a cigar smoker if they want a marriage that lasts. They also make better fathers too. I like dealing with cigar smokers. I'm glad I don't own a grocery store."

· CIGAR MAKERS...

"You look for cigar makers whose parents were also cigar makers. That's the easy part. Next, you try them out...a couple of days is all it takes. If they have a serious fault, don't try to re-train them. They'll always go back to doing it their way. Usually, men make the best bunches (inner part); they make good rollers too. Women are usually best at rolling cigars. Even after you hire a cigar maker, their work has to be constantly checked. That's why they have to put their number slip on each completed bundle of cigars. The same bunch maker is assigned to the same roller every day so you know who is responsible for any problem. They love to talk while they work. There's nothing nicer than a shop with everybody chatting in 2 or 3 languages, blades clicking and clacking on wooden work boards. Contrary to the popular myth, women cigar makers don't roll cigars on their thighs and I never knew one who smoked cigars either."

· BLENDING...

"Blending, when it's done right, gives a variety of different tastes that harmonize together. Without blending, the taste is flat, monotonous, uninteresting...it lacks what we call bouquet. If one flavor dominates or jumps out at you, it will overpower all the other tastes; like too much oregano in a sauce. When Cuban tobacco was available, you could get a good bouquet by combining tobaccos from different zones in Cuba. Today, a good blend requires tobacco from different countries. Cigars made with all Honduran, or all Mexican, or all Ecuadorian or all Connecticut or all anything are usually lacking in character."

· THE WRAPPER...

"The wrapper or top leaf is the most expensive part of a good cigar. Since it's the only part that comes in direct contact with the mouth and tongue, it must have a mellow, pleasing taste. A poor wrapper will have a bite, or a harshness, or even taste bitter. It's also the only part you see so it cannot be torn or ugly. It also must be large enough to fit the particular cigar it's used for. A cigar wrapper must have three turns with ample overlap to hold together (like a bandage). If it has only two turns, chances are the manufacturer tried to roll two cigars with a single leaf or used a small leaf to roll a big cigar."

· SHADES...

"The shade of a wrapper will determine the kind of taste it has. Some smokers prefer the robust, full-bodied taste of a very dark maduro, some prefer the softer taste of a natural shade, which comes very light (claro) or somewhat darker (EMS). Smokers who seek extra taste but find the maduro overpowering enjoy the colorado...a dark reddish shade (not as dark as maduro). The green candela (fire-cured wrapper) has a taste all its own, hard to describe. Smokers who prefer candela will most often choose a maduro for a change of pace; don't know why. Some smokers enjoy a different shade at different times of the day, natural for a morning or afternoon smoke, colorado or maduro after the evening meal, accompanied with expresso coffee or an after-dinner drink."

· SHAPES...

"A Panetela, (short and thin), makes for a pleasant, short smoke. A Churchill, (long cigar with a large ring size), makes the ideal smoke. A long, fat cigar smokes cooler- offers room to properly position the inner leaves in the right proportion. Draws better too. It's the cigar for people who like a mouth full of smoke. Of course, there are many shapes between a Panetela and a Churchill. As with the shade, many will choose a different shape for different times of the day. I smoke the Corona shape in the EMS natural shade all the time- about 12 a day. If I had to pay for my cigars, I'd smoke less."

· FILLERS...

"The inner leaves or fillers are usually a blend of three different tobaccos. The dark, slower burning leaf should be positioned in the center with the heavier veins running toward the head (mouth end). Long filler or whole leaf is what all good cigars are made with. Short filler cigars with small pieces of tobacco inside, while not as good, are substantially cheaper. Not too bad while you're enjoying a round of golf."

· PAPER...

 "Most machine-made cigars have a paper binder, (just under the wrapper), some even have a paper wrapper. The cigar paper is made from tobacco. Strong chemicals must be used to break down the cellulose in tobacco, much the way chemicals are used to break wood down when making ordinary paper. The prime reason for using this tobacco paper is that it doesn't tear as easily during the high speed machine manufacturing process. I don't like paper or machine-made cigars but in all honesty, I think I would smoke a machine-made cigar with a paper binder rather than not smoke at all. Steak is better than hot dogs, but hot dogs are better than nothing."

· HUMIDORS...

"Even an occasional cigar smoker should have his own humidor, they last forever and keep your cigars in prime condition...they look nice too! Caution: a humidor on your desk at the office can cost you a lot of cigars."

· SUMMARY...

 "Cigars are not vitamins, they're an enjoyment. But the pleasure that a cigar offers goes beyond the smoking, for me anyway. Tobacco has a kind of romance. After these many years, I still get a kick out of opening a fresh box and seeing that row of cigars, all a uniform shade, the wrappers stretched like silk, that sweet aroma wafting up. Even lighting a cigar is a pleasure for me. I'm never alone when I have a cigar going. I don't just taste tobacco, I don't just see a cigar. I can see, taste, smell and feel the earth, the sunshine, the rain and the air trapped in every leaf."

HAPPY SMOKING

 

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