The choice of a cigar is a very individual question. It may vary depending on time of day, weather, food, alcohol consumed, length of smoking and just mood. There are no strict rules, but there are things to pay attention to when choosing:
- the country
- composition
- at the brand
- on the cover sheet and its color
- size and shape
Country
The country of manufacture is the first thing you should really pay attention to when choosing. Simply because cigars of this or that country are characterized by certain traits.
- Cuba
Cuban cigars always use only Cuban tobacco. They are considered a classic and have a bright flavor and aroma, not like the others, due to the peculiarities of the soil. If you want to try a real classic, opt for Cuba.
- Dominican
Dominican vitolas with a higher than average strength hardly ever happen, most often it is a medium strength or less. Choose a cigar from the Dominican Republic if you want a smooth and quiet smoking.
- Nicaragua
Nicaraguan vitolas are currently very popular due to their price/quality ratio. They have an intense flavor of pepper. We would definitely not recommend them to beginners because you might burn your throat. But we would recommend them to anyone who wants to try something new and interesting.
- Honduras
Honduran cigars are often recommended to beginners because most lines are light. They do not have any distinctive flavor, somewhat reminiscent of the Dominican Republic, somewhat like Nicaragua (but without the spice).
Composition
The hand rolled cigar consists of a filling, a binding sheet and a cover sheet. The filling consists of a mixture of several types of leaves, which have different strength, aroma, flavor and degree of combustion.
The taste of the vitola is influenced by a combination of factors, such as the geographic location of the plantation, its microclimate, the amount of rainfall, the duration of daylight hours in the region and many other things. Each plantation is so unique that even fields on different sides of the road can produce different quality tobacco. For example, because of the difference in the clay layer, which is present in one field but absent in another.
Mark
A brand is a designation given by the manufacturer and can include several lines. Cohiba, Davidoff, Partagas, Romeo y Julieta, H.Upmann are just a few of the best known brands. You will find these names on the boxes and on the bows of cigars always wrapped around the "head" of the vitola.
- Cohiba
This is the oldest Cuban cigar brand that became famous thanks to Fidel Castro. The comandante called them the best in the world. The best leaves from Cuban plantations are used for the Cohiba brand. And the limited edition vitolas from this brand, are considered the most valuable. Cohiba is known for its balanced flavor, they have quite complex aromas of bouquets, which are very interesting to explore.
- Davidoff
Davidoff slogan "Perfection as a symbol" accurately reflects the very essence of the brand. Davidoff cigars are considered one of the most expensive and high quality in the world. Cigars are created using recipes from a genius tobacco master Zino Davidoff, which never lose relevance. Only Dominican leaves are used in the vitolas. They have a pleasant taste and are particularly well suited for daytime smoking.
- Partagas
This brand owned the first factory in Cuba. Pretty intense vitolas with the strong characteristic "earthy" flavor resulting from the blend of filling and binding leaves of Vuelte Abajo tobacco, which has a distinctive aroma and rich flavor. Partagas always have a higher than average strength.
- Romeo y Julieta.
Hardly anyone can compete with Romeo y Julieta in popularity. It is a classic from which you always know what to expect and it never fails. The vitolas have a sweet taste and are considered the most suitable for beginners.
In the next part of this article, we'll break down the types of cigar cover sheets, their color, size and shape of the cigars. Expect to hear more!
*The vitola is the cigar before the ring is put on it.