Archive for August, 2010

Cigar Colors Part 2

Monday, August 2nd, 2010

593687_cigars_1The double Claro is the lightest colored cigar. This cigar is also slightly green due to the retained chlorophyll in the tobacco. This cigar is however almost flavorless and significantly dry. Next in line is the Claro–a tad bit darker with a slight yellowish tan. This is because the tobacco used in this cigar was grown in the shade and the cigar is very light, smooth and delicate. The Colorado Claro is clearly brown; not too brown but a very noticeable and clearly distinctive brown nonetheless. Then comes the Colorado which is a darker shade of brown but with a noticeable touch of red to it, although this red may be absent in some cigars. The Colorado is quite aromatic and spicy, with a slight nutty flavor infused into it, and more often than not, is medium bodied.
Next are the really darker ones. Comparing the following three with the first three would show you just how much of a color difference there is. The Colorado Maduro is a darker shade of virgin brown–no red or green in it–just brown. The Maduro is black or a very dark brown and the Oscuro is very, very black; sometimes known as the double Maduro. Both the Maduro and the Oscuro are full-bodied and rich.
The lighter the wrapper, the drier and lighter it would be with the darker ones more full-bodied and sweeter.

Cigar Colors Part 1

Monday, August 2nd, 2010

505065_imported_cigarsCigar–the epitome of a nice, relaxing smoke after a victory. Red Auerbach, the legendary Celtic head coach who embodied the victory cigar is the perfect example of what a cigar means to people nowadays. The most famous and most popular cigars nowadays are the Cuban cigars–very prolific in movies of past and present. The cigars were originally South American, although it was Christopher Columbus who was the first to bring tobacco to Europe. And where did Columbus and his band of merry men first encounter this divine phenomenon? None other than Cuba!

Cigars come in different colors. This is mainly due to the different wrappers there are. These wrappers are the ones that give a cigar its unique color and thus it’s unique taste. The wrapper decides both aspects and thus we have come to associate different colored cigars with different tastes. Although there might be a real blend of flavors within the cigar, it is the wrapper that gives it its prominent flavor; about 40% of the primary flavor comes from the wrapper and the rest from the binder or the filter. It is the widest part of a plant from which the wrapper is made and thus the cigar as a whole can be characterized by its wrapper. There are estimated to be over 100 different wrapper types identified by several cigar manufacturers worldwide. The wrapper colors range from light to dark, with the lighter ones usually dryer and the darker ones usually sweeter. What follows is a brief description of the 7 most popular cigar wrappers and its respective color range.