Smoking any type of cigar is very much a personal experience. There are some people who simply cannot abide them under any circumstances and there are others who would say that cigar smoking is one of life’s better experiences. Putting that major difference aside and concentrating on those who, not only smoke cigars regularly; but, also derive enjoyment from them; what is it that they are looking for when they buy their cigars?
Taste And Aroma
It is widely agreed that cigar smoking is not about getting a mental “buzz” from inhaling the nicotine in tobacco smoke. In fact, many cigar smokers do not inhale the smoke from their cigars; what they do is to roll the smoke around their mouth to savor the taste of the burning tobacco and smell the aroma that is given off.
Cigar Tobacco Quality
Cigar manufacturers go to great lengths to select not only the varieties of tobacco leaf that they use but also the soil and climatic conditions under which they grow – even down to whether they are grown in a shaded area or in direct sunlight. The manner in which the tobacco leaves are harvested receives their expert attention; right down to the part of the plant from which the leaves are cut.
After harvesting, the tobacco leaves will be aged to reduce water and sugar content without allowing them to rot in the process. Aging starts with 3 to 6 weeks of curing followed by a fermentation process that allows the leaf to dry slowly without rotting or disintegrating.
Once the tobaccos are declared ready, different types will be used for different parts of the cigar in particular, different leaves for the filler and the wrapper. Hand rolling is still considered to produce the best cigars but, these days, high quality and good taste are also available from machine made cigars.
What Makes A Cigar Less Expensive?
Obviously using cheap, low grade tobacco, reducing the aging process and not taking care during manufacture will lower the cost of a cigar; but, very few people would actually want to smoke it. The very Best Of Cheap Cigars may well have been machine rolled but they will still have been made from the same blend of tobaccos as their larger, more expensive, counterparts from the same manufacturer. In fact, most of the Best Cheap Cigars are being produced from highly respected, long established cigar makers.
