Martini God - Cigars Page
The Cigar Craze
About 25 years ago, I was having a cigar with my brother, and it occurred to us that, with the aging of the baby boomer population, cigars
were about to become very popular, after having been out of fashion for more than a generation. A cigar craze did indeed ensue in the next few
years. Cigars were seen in public again; restaurants sold cigars, and featured "cigar nights"; Cigar Aficionado magazine appeared.
As demand increased, prices shot up - exacerbated by increased tobacco taxes. Soon, the growing anti-tobacco mood of the country resulted in not
only more taxes, but also severe restrictions on public smoking. The great cigar renaissance was at an end. However, as I also predicted on
that day 25 years ago, unlike many other fads and trends, a taste for cigars, once acquired, will not be easily abandoned.
What's your favorite type of cigar?
Size, wrapper type, and quality of filler are all factored in when considering what we like in a cigar.
Cigars are measured in "ring gauge", which is 64ths of an inch. Generic cigar varieties are named based on their ring gauge
and length. While there is some overlapping, here is the standard nomenclature:
| Cigar Type | Ring Gauge | Length |
| Panatela | 36 | 5-7" |
| Corona | 43 | 5-6" |
| Lonsdale | 45 | 6-7" |
| Robusto, or Rothschild | 50 | 4.5-5" |
| Churchill | 48 | 7"+ |
To this list should also be added the Cigarillo, which is a small cigar approximately the size of a cigarette. There are also distinct names
for certain odd shaped cigars, such as the Torpedo, which is pointed at one end; the Perfecto, pointed at one end and bulging in the middle; and
the Cheroot, which describes various small, almost homemade looking cigars.
The most important element in the flavor of a cigar is the wrapper, the outer leaf. The most common, from lightest to darkest, are
Candela, Claro, Natural, Cameroon, and Maduro. Candela wrappers, once very popular, but seldom seen nowadays, are green in color, with
a neutral, almost paper-like, flavor. Generally, the darker the wrapper, the more complex the taste, with Maduro wrappers providing
a rich, full flavored smoke.
Cheaper cigars use blends of tobacco cut into pieces for filler. Quality cigars use "long filler" which consists of uncut portions
of the tobacco leaf running the length of the cigar. The filler is held together by a binder leaf, which is generally wrapper that
has been rejected for not being of high enough quality. Seeing a cigar hand rolled by an expert craftsman is an experience one
should not miss if given the chance.
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