|
|
 |
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
|
Cigar flavors range from mild to very strong. It is simply a matter of taste and down to the individual smoker, but if you are new to smoking cigars the sheer variety can be quite daunting. There are many questions, but perhaps the most puissant is ‘which cigar is best for me?’ The honest truth is that one should experiment to find out.
You may find that Mexican cigars are too sweet and spicy, or the Jamaican too mild, you might love the complexities of the Nicaraguan or the good old medium strength Connecticut variety. It’s your palate, only you can decide what you like!
As you may have found in ‘How to Choose a Cigar,’ one can expect different cigars to suit different people and occasions. Taste varies from cigar to cigar, and one may enhance (or indeed detract) from the flavor by choosing a drink to accompany it (please see What to drink with your cigar).
This article should give you a good idea of what you can expect from the wrapper, the filler and the origin of the different varieties.
What makes the flavor?
The wrapper
The wrapper is made from a single tobacco leaf rolled round the tobacco filler.
It has several properties, which affect both the look, and quality of your cigar,
not to mention the taste.
The wrapper is a very delicate, but important, component of your cigar. It is only one layer thick, but it has been selected for certain qualities; the thinness of the leaf-veins, its even coloring and its unblemished appearance. You can gauge the quality of your cigar by looking at its construction (it should be firm) and by looking at these characteristics. Ask your tobacconist for advice if you are unsure.
The wrapper can be grown in the shade or in full exposure to the sun. You will find that it has a stronger flavor if it has been grown in the sun, because the sugars and oil content of the leaf will have developed further.
The Maduro, for example, is a sun grown wrapper and you will find it to be dark with a strong, sweet flavor. Sun grown wrappers will also have a much darker appearance than the shade-grown wrappers. The Oscuro, for example, is of a very dark, almost black appearance.
Shade-grown wrappers, like the Claro, have different characteristics. They are not fully exposed to sunlight like the sun-grown crop. These tobacco plants have sheets suspended over them (at about 8 to 10 foot from the ground) while they are growing. This affects the development of the plant; fewer oils and sugars will form in the tobacco leaf resulting in a lighter color and a milder flavor. The Claro has a light tan coloring and ‘natural’ wrappers are a slightly darker brown, with a fuller bodied taste.
The Filler
The cigar filler is arguably the most complex component of the cigar. It can
be blended with other types of tobacco to create different flavors and strengths,
or can be entirely made from one kind of tobacco (like many Mexican cigars).
Mexican tobacco leaf itself is quite light, but when coupled with the dark
Maduro wrapper leaf it will actually be quite a spicy smoke.
If you are after a milder smoke the Jamaican might just be for you. The tobacco
that Jamaica produces is lighter than other regions and the cigars are excellent
if you are just beginning, or have a more delicate palate.
But perhaps the most sought after is a leaf grown in a volcanic region of Cuba called Vuelta Abajo. It is strong, sweet and smooth by degrees, it makes for a very nice filler and is truly an excellent smoke.
Flavors by Region
The origin of your cigar may well affect the body and strength of the smoke
you experience.
Cigars from Cuba (illegal in the USA), Nicaragua and Mexico have a strong, full-bodied flavor and will mostly be dark in appearance. Nicaraguan cigars will be milder than that, giving a medium strength smoke, though you will find that the mildest cigars generally come from Jamaica.
The majority of the tobacco grown in the Dominican Republic has been from Cuban
seed. You will find cigars from this area to be full-bodied with complex flavors.
Ecuadorian Cigars are milder, but also of high quality. They use a mixture of
tobacco grown from seed found in Connecticut and Sumatra.
Like the Cuban, Nicaraguan cigars are full-bodied and spicy. Mexican cigars
are famous for being sun-grown and often have a very dark wrapper, like the
maduro. You will find that the filler is often wholly made from home-grown San
Andreas tobacco.
The USA produce some excellent leaf-wrap. It is grown in Connecticut, the home of the American cigar. These cigars have a medium level smoke and are recognizable from their brownish yellow appearance. Cameroon produce a neutrally flavored leaf; an excellent match when couple with fuller flavored fillers.
Also
You might want to try the varieties of flavored cigars. They are quite mild
come in several different kinds; vanilla, rum, cherry, amaretto and more. They
are quite pleasurable so I suggest that you give them a try!
If you are a beginner it might be an idea to ask your tobacconist which brands
he recommends, any good salesperson should be able to point you in the right
direction Good luck choosing your cigars!
