cigar (thing)

Cigars consist of three different parts:

• The wrapper is the outermost leaf, usually tobacco of very high quality (to increase the face value of the cigar).
• The binder holds the filler together. The amount of tobacco in the binder varies greatly.
• The filler is the innermost part of the cigar. It can be made from longer strips of tobacco or smaller pieces, usually bits trimmed off of wrapper leaves.

As the different parts of the cigar burns at different temperatures depending on their proximity to the cooler surrounding air, different characteristics are desirable when choosing tobacco for the different parts.

The filler should preferably be light and thin, to ensure a steady burn without emitting too much tar as it burns, whereas the wrapper and, to some extent, the binder should be more full-bodied, perhaps darker and contain more oil and sugar to provide most of the individual taste of the cigar.

The length of a cigar is commonly measured in inches and the girth is either referred to in inches or ring gauge (64ths of an inch) at the thickest part of the cigar.

Cigar sizes are grouped in facons, of which the following are commonly used:
(Exact sizes may vary. Examples takes from Davidoffs)

• Coronas (usually 20-16mm thick):
  • Grand Corona Double (220 mm long)
  • Double Corona (190 mm)
  • Churchill (180 mm)
  • Lonsdale (155-170 mm) Regarded as a separate category by some, this cigar is usually slightly thinner than a regular corona.
  • Corona (130-140 mm, good size for an after-dinner cigar.)
  • Petit Corona (100-115 mm)
  • Corona Gorda ("the fat Corona", 145 mm and usually thicker than a regular corona)
• Panetelas/Panatellas: (usually 12-15 mm thick):
  • Panetela Larga (165-195 mm)
  • Panetela (135-160 mm)
  • Petit Panetela (110-130 mm)
  • Senorita (115 mm)
• Figuardos: All weird shapes & irregular sizes.
  • Belicoso: Small cigar with a tapered head.
  • Perfecto: Another small cigar, tapered in both ends. Popular during the first half of the twentieth century, later regarded as old-fashioned.
  • Culebras: Spanish for 'snakes'Three smaller cigars braided together. Legend has it that these were made as complimentary gift for the cigar factory workers and were deformed by the manager to prevent the workers from replacing premium smokes with their sub-standard complimentary ones.
  • Piramide/Pyramid: A large conical thingy that tapers all the way from the head to the foot.

By storing cigars in around 70% relative humidity somewhere around room temperature, in an air-tight container, the oils in the tobacco slowly seep through the cigar, greatly improving its taste. This happens fairly quickly, usually requiring no more than a couple of weeks to achieve good results. Some cigars are packaged in a metal cylinder along with a piece of veneer from some aromatic wood like sandelwood or cedar. This has the dual benefit of providing flavor to the cigar and a strip of wood with which to light the cigar (dem so called aficionados wouldn't let an ordinary sulphur-infested match come near their prized cancer-torpedo.)