Structure of Cigar
Handmade vs Machine-made
Making a Cigar
How to choose a cigar
Cutting a Cigar
Lighting a Cigar
Smoking a Cigar
Storing Cigars
The Band
Ring Gauge
Size and Shapes
Color of Tobacco
Cigar Bugs
Art of Making European Hand-made Wooden Humidor
Care Instruction for European Hand-made Wooden Humidor

Structure of Cigar

A cigar is made of three parts: filler, binder and wrapper.

The Filler gives a cigar its essential flavor. There are three different types of leaf that are normally used for the filler.

Ligero leaves from the top of the plant are dark and full in flavor. They have to be matured for at least three years before they can be used in cigar making. Ligero tobacco is always placed in the middle of the cigar, because it burns slowly. If it is too near the wrapper, the cigar will burn unevenly.

Seco leaves, from the middle of the plant, are much lighter in color and flavor. They are usually used after maturing for around 18 months.

Volado leaves, from the bottom of the plant, have little or no flavor, but they have good burning qualities. They are matured for about nine months before use.

The Binder encloses the filler and gives the cigar its proper shape and size. Binders usually come from the bottom part of the plant, where the leaves are thicker and have more strength.

The Wrapper is the outermost leaf of a cigar. Because its appearance is especially important, quality of the wrapper is crucial in any cigar and generally, can account for up to 70 percent of the tobacco by value. A good wrapper should have flavor and steady-burning qualities. Smokers examine a cigar for appealing appearance, texture and aroma and this is where a good wrapper justifies its high cost.

Handmade vs Machine-made

The essential difference between handmade and machine-made cigars lies in the fact that, on the whole, most machine-made cigars aren't made with long fillers (fillers which run the whole length of the cigar) but with short fillers, which make the drawing and burning quality (they burn faster and become hotter) significantly inferior. The quality of wrappers on machine-made cigars is also usually inferior to those used on the best handmade.

Handmade cigars are so much more expensive than machine-made quite simply because they take longer to make, are labor-intensive, and use much more expensively produced and matured leaves. The hand making process also leads to wastage.

The difference between cigar types

Machine-made: The filler is made of scraps of leaf.	Handmade: Filler, binder, and wrapper. Note the long filler that runs the length of the cigar.

Making a Cigar

Rolling

The first step is to put the filler and binder, called the bunch, together. Filler leaves are crimped in an accordion style so they lie neatly and flatly over one another. This ensures even disbursement of tobacco and creates horizontal air canals, which allow for an easy draw. It is also important that there is no soft spots that would make the cigar burn unevenly. Too much tobacco in the filler will prevent an easy draw, while too little tobacco will make the cigar burn too hot. Binder leaves complete the bunch and give the cigar its shape. They should be elastic enough to comfortably hold the filler tobacco.

The next step is to place the bunch into molds to ensure that they retain their shape.

The molds are varied in size according to the shape desired. The bunches are then turned in the molds and pressed for another 10 minutes.

The finishing touch to a cigar is the addition of a wrapper. The leaf should be elastic and very thin, and must be carefully trimmed according to the size of the cigar.

Storage
Cigars that met all requirements are stored for several weeks to establish an ideal humidity level and allow an exchange of flavors between the different tobaccos used in the blend.

How to choose a cigar

Introduction
Like any of life's great pleasure - eating, drinking and smoking - the final word on cigars is, to each his own. Experts might make general pronouncements - for example, that a certain size or strength must be smoked at a certain time of day: a mild cigar in the morning, a medium one after lunch, a stronger one after dinner. But that is truly a matter of taste and appearance.

The great Zino Davidoff offered the last word on choosing a cigar: "What is most important is to be sure of your taste. You can understand now why my response to the usual question, "Monsieur Davidoff, what do you suggest?" is always so evasive. After all, you select according to color, shape, brand name, and eventually you will be attracted to one or two cigars that seem right.

Cigars at Various Times of Day
Whether different cigars are suitable for different time of day is again a matter of preference. Usually an aficionado will smoke small, mild cigars during the day before enjoying a large, rich cigar in the evening.

Cigars and Beverages
A wide choice of beverages can complement cigars. Cognac, a traditional companion, can add greatly to the smoking experience. "Light" alcohol such as wines and champagnes or stronger alcohol such as Single malt Scotches, whiskeys, ports, Armagnacs, brandies. Some nonalcoholic drinks pair well with cigars, including fine coffees (cappuccinos and espressos), and tea. Experiment with different drinks while smoking, and decide what's most enjoyable to you. But be careful that what you drink is not stronger than what you smoke or it will "kill" the aroma of your cigar.

From beginner to connoisseur
As a general rule, cigars with larger ring gauges tend to be fuller flavored (there is normally more ligero and less volado in the blend), smoke more smoothly and slowly, and heat up less fast than those with small ring gauges. They also tend to be better made than the smaller ones. Cigars with small ring gauges often have little or no ligero tobacco in the filler blends. Large ring gauge cigars are almost always the preferred choice - if there is no hurry - of connoisseurs or experienced cigar smokers.

The beginner, however, is advised to choose a relatively small cigar, say a trés petit corona or panetela, and then move up to the bigger sizes of a mild brand. A Lonsdale is probably the best cigar above the corona size to move up to when you feel you have gone beyond the beginner stage.

The color of a cigar's wrapper (the part of the filler that you can see) will give you more clues, though it is not infallible since the filler blend is the key, as to its flavor. As a rule of thumb, the darker a cigar, the more full-bodies and (since darker wrappers contain more sugar) sweeter it is likely to be. Cigars, if properly stored, continue to mature and ferment in their cedar boxes. This aging process, during which a cigar loses acidity, is not unlike the maturing of good wine. Fuller bodied cigars, particularly those with big ring gauges, tend to age better than milder ones.

Cutting a Cigar

How the sealed end head of the cigar is cut ultimately determines the quality of the draw, the subtlety and intensity of the cigar's aroma, in addition to assuring that the cigar remains evenly lit. The cut should be directly proportional to the thickness of the cigar, be clean and large enough to permit a proper draw.

Lighting a Cigar

Cigar should be lit with a short flame. Hold the flame 1/2" under the open end of the cigar and rotate the cigar until the end is evenly lit. Then, and only then, bring the cigar to your mouth and enjoy the first puff. Cigar can also be lit with gas lighter or torch lighter, what is important is to have a non-odorless flame i.e. do not use Zippo lighter. A cigar should not be lit too quickly or slowly, but rather patiently with small puffs.

Smoking a Cigar

"Cigar smoke should not be inhaled, but should be savored in the mouth, rolled around the tongue and exhaled either through the mouth."

"Smoke less, but smoke the best". Do not rashly light up a cigar if you do not have the time to enjoy it, but create time to indulge in the pleasure.

-- Zino Davidoff

Storing Cigars

Like fine wine, a fine cigar must be kept in an environment that protects it from changes in humidity, changes in temperature, light and intrusive odors. Humidor case is the best solution for storing cigars. A lot of humidor makers have developed humidors with built in regulators, that automatically maintains the interior of the case at a relative humidity of 70%-72%, temperature 21°C.

The Band

Whether or not to remove the band is a matter of controversy. Since cigar bands are manually put onto most hand-made cigars, there is always the chance that these bands will stick to the wrapper and damage the cigar. Therefore, it is highly recommended to leave the band on for at least the first third of the cigar so that the glue gets hot to make it easier to remove the band without damaging the wrapper.

Ring Gauge

A standard industry measurement for the diameter of a cigar in 64ths of an inch. A cigar with a 52 ring gauge, for example, measures 52/64ths of an inch in diameter. Ring gauge for figurados shaped cigar may be written as 46/49, as it is not straight-sided, or with a tapered head or foot.

Size and Shapes

Panetela

Petit Corona

Magnum, Rothschild and Robusto

Corona

Torpedo and Belicoso

Corona Gorda and Corona Extra

Lonsdale and Coronas Grandes

Churchill

Toro

Double Corona

Color of Tobacco

Cigar Bugs

Although all tobacco should be fumigated, it is still some time possible for the cigar bugs to escape from fumigation and lie dormant in the leaf of your cigar. The only way to deal with this problem is to throw out all damaged cigars and then to thoroughly clean and aerate your humidor. Place all undamaged cigars in a plastic ziplock bag. After sealing, put it in the freezer for three days. Then remove the cigars and thaw them out slowly, preferable in a refrigerator first and then in a normal room, until the whole body of the cigar has reached the room temperature. But don't withdraw them too quickly; otherwise, the wrapper will split. If done properly, your cigars will be back to normal and the dreaded enemy will have been destroyed. However, remember, this should be the first and the last time that you should put your cigars in the refrigerator.

Art of Making European Hand-made Wooden Humidor (Davidoff, Elie Bleu, Avo...)

The selection and preparation of the solid wood used are of great importance. Indeed, before it can be used, the wood must cure for at least ten years in the open air, sheltered from bad weather. It must neither be cracked nor warped. It must be uniform and have a fine grain.

The beauty of an "objet de luxe" also depends on the way the essences of precious wood veneer are used. Certain natural imperfections in the wood, such as knots, dark spots, holes, cracks, are part of most veneers, notably burls. Only the most beautiful grained veneers is chosen to avoid what the uninitiated might consider a "defect."

Marquetry is made by assembling and gluing together different essences of geometrically cut precious wood, creating, through their varying tones and forms, a multitude of motifs.

Numerous fine coats of varnish is applied to every one of the creations. Their inimitable brilliance and transparency are obtained by successively sanding and polishing eight times by hand.

Care Instruction for European Hand-made Wooden Humidor

1.  Use only sodium free distilled water in your humidor.

2.  Fill each element with approximately 3oz of water (or until saturated). Acanta suggests you to use a bottle with a nozzle to pour the water directly into the slots; the elements inside the slots will absorb more water. Allow the elements to absorb the water for at least 15 minutes. Stand the elements on their short side to allow excess water to drain for at least 5 - 10 minutes. Wipe the elements dry, make sure it is not leaking water and place them at the top of the humidor.

3.  For the first month fill them once a week. After the first month fill them once a month.

4.  The hygrometer is very accurate, but it takes a little time to acclimate to the humidity in the box. So for the first few weeks it will not read accurately. Don't worry, your humidification systems are self-regulating and will begin producing the correct amount of humidity as soon as you fill them.

5.  Only use non-abrasive soft cloth to clean the exterior of the box. If you like, glass cleaner can be used, but apply it to the cloth then wipe the humidor. Do not apply any cleaning agents directly to the box.

6.  Do not expose your humidor directly to light (especially sunlight). This will cause the stain to fade and under extreme conditions could damage the structure of the box.

7.  Under normal circumstances the interior of the box does not need to be wiped down or cleaned. If you live in a very dry climate, the humidity may be lower than normal. Then, lightly wipe the interior with a paper towel dampened with distilled water. Make sure to squeeze any excess water and you should only do this if it is absolutely necessary and only do it sparingly.