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Things you Should Know about Cigars

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History

The indigenous inhabitants of the islands of the Caribbean Sea
and Mesoamerica have smoked cigars since as early as the 10th
century, as evidenced by the discovery of a ceramic vessel at a
Mayan archaeological site in Uaxactún, Guatemala, decorated with
the painted figure of a man smoking a primitive cigar. Explorer
Christopher Columbus is generally credited with the introduction
of smoking to Europe.

Two of Columbus's crewmen during his 1492 journey, Rodrigo de
Jerez and Luis de Torres, are said to have disembarked in Cuba
and taken puffs of tobacco wrapped in maize husks, thus becoming
the first European cigar smokers.

Around 1592, the Spanish galleon San Clemente brought 50
kilograms (110 lb) of Cuban tobacco seed to the Philippines over
the Acapulco-Manila trade route. The seed was then distributed
among the Roman Catholic missions, where the clerics found
excellent climates and soils for growing high-quality tobacco on
Philippine soil.

In the 19th century, cigar smoking was common, while cigarettes
were still comparatively rare. The cigar business was an
important industry, and factories employed many people before
mechanized manufacturing of cigars became practical. Many modern
cigars, as a matter of prestige, are still rolled by hand: some
boxes bear the phrase totalmente a mano, "totally by hand".
Manufacture
Tobacco leaves are harvested and aged using a process that
combines use of heat and shade to reduce sugar and water content
without causing the large leaves to rot. This first part of the
process, called curing, takes between 25 and 45 days and varies
substantially based upon climatic conditions as well as the
construction of sheds or barns used to store harvested tobacco.
The curing process is manipulated based upon the type of tobacco,
and the desired color of the leaf. The second part of the
process, called fermentation, is carried out under conditions
designed to help the leaf die slowly and gracefully. Temperature
and humidity are controlled to ensure that the leaf continues to
ferment, without rotting or disintegrating. This is where the
flavor, burning, and aroma characteristics are primarily brought
out in the leaf.

Once the leaves have aged properly, they are sorted for use as
filler or wrapper based upon their appearance and overall
quality. During this process, the leaves are continually
moistened and handled carefully to ensure each leaf is best used
according to its individual qualities. The leaf will continue to
be baled, inspected, unbaled, reinspected, and baled again
repeatedly as it continues its aging cycle. When the leaf has
matured according to the manufacturer's specifications, it will
be used in the production of a cigar.

Quality cigars are still hand-made. An experienced cigar-roller
can produce hundreds of very good, nearly identical, cigars per
day. The rollers keep the tobacco moist—especially the
wrapper—and use specially designed crescent-shaped knives, called
chavetas, to form the filler and wrapper leaves quickly and
accurately. Once rolled, the cigars are stored in wooden forms as
they dry, in which their uncapped ends are cut to a uniform size.
From this stage, the cigar is a complete product that can be
"laid down" and aged for decades if kept as close to 70 ºF (21
ºC), and 70% relative humidity, as the environment will allow.
According to some experts,[attribution needed] however, long-term
cigar aging requires significantly lower storage temperatures
(for example, 40 ºF (4 ºC) is recommended for a 50-year storage).
The higher temperatures which are usually used in standard cigar
storage will cause the cigar to deteriorate after several years,
resulting in an eventual corruption of the cigar's flavor. Once
cigars have been purchased, proper storage is usually
accomplished by keeping the cigars in a specialized wooden box,
or humidor, where conditions can be carefully controlled for long
periods of time. Even if a cigar becomes dry, it can be
successfully re-humidified so long as it has not been handled
carelessly.

Some cigars, especially premium brands, use different varieties
of tobacco for the filler and the wrapper. "Long filler cigars"
are a far higher quality of cigar, using long leaves throughout.
These cigars also use a third variety of tobacco leaf, a
"binder", between the filler and the outer wrapper. This permits
the makers to use more delicate and attractive leaves as a
wrapper. These high-quality cigars almost always blend varieties
of tobacco. Even Cuban long-filler cigars will combine tobaccos
from different parts of the island to incorporate several
different flavors.

In low-grade cigars, chopped up tobacco leaves are used for the
filler, and long leaves or even a type of "paper" made from
tobacco pulp is used for the wrapper which binds the cigar
together.

Historically, a lector or reader was always employed to entertain
the cigar factory workers. This practice became obsolete once
audio books for portable music players became available, but it
is still practiced in some Cuban factories. The name for the
Montecristo cigar brand may have arisen from this practice.
Cigars manufactured in Cuba are widely considered to be the best,
although many experts believe that the best offerings from
Honduras and Nicaragua rival those from Cuba. The Cuban
reputation is thought to arise from the unique characteristics of
the Vuelta Abajo district in the Pinar del Río Province at the
west of the island, where the microclimate allows high-quality
tobacco to be grown.

Cuban cigars are rolled from tobacco leaves found throughout the
country of Cuba. The filler, binder, and wrapper may come from
different portions of the island. All cigar production in Cuba is
controlled by the Cuban government, and each brand may be rolled
in several different factories in Cuba. Cuban cigar rollers are
claimed to be the most skilled in the world.

Habanos SA and Cubatabaco between them do all the work relating
to Cuban cigars, including manufacture, quality control,
promotion and distribution, and export. Cuba produces both
handmade and machine made cigars. All boxes and labels are marked
Hecho en Cuba (made in Cuba). Machine-bunched cigars finished by
hand add Hecho a mano, while fully hand-made cigars say
Totalmente a mano in script text. Some cigars show a TC or Tripa
Corta, meaning that short filler and cuttings were used in the
hand-rolling process

Some cigars, especially premium brands, use different varieties
of tobacco for the filler and the wrapper. "Long filler cigars"
are a far higher quality of cigar, using long leaves throughout.
These cigars also use a third variety of tobacco leaf, a
"binder", between the filler and the outer wrapper. This permits
the makers to use more delicate and attractive leaves as a
wrapper. These high-quality cigars almost always blend varieties
of tobacco. Even Cuban long-filler cigars will combine tobaccos
from different parts of the island to incorporate several
different flavors.
""
Article from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cigars

Chris Arhot
webmaster
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