A Buyer’s Guide to Cigars

There’s good news and there’s bad news, but luckily they are the same: Finding the right cigar requires a little know-how, a little luck, and a lot of sampling!

Filler, Wrapper, Smoker 'Er

First, a little stogie primer is in order. Cigars consist of a 100% tobacco filler encased in a 100% tobacco wrapper, held together with 100% tobacco binder. (This is the chief difference between cigarettes and cigars: Cigars are 100% tobacco, with no filter, no paper, and no chemical additives. While it is true that some manufacturers have injected cigars with flavor additive, they are not recognized as authentic cigars by most aficionados.)

The filler tobacco can be whole leaf or chopped. It can be of a mixed or blended tobacco or a single type.

The wrapper is a whole tobacco leaf, which is tightly rolled around a compacted tube of tobacco. Wrappers come in various types, and each has a distinct flavor. The two most common wrappers are natural (a mild flavored, light tobacco) and maduro (a stronger flavored, dark brown tobacco).

The binder is often the top of the tobacco plant. It holds the filler together and forms a base for the wrapper.

The primary factor which distinguishes tobacco is geography. Various types of tobacco grow particularly well in certain areas, due to their climate, soil, and precipitation. Each region’s tobacco is characterized by its own flavor.

This is why Cuban cigars attained such acclaim, and why to this day American smokers risk criminal prosecution to violate embargo and sneak Cuban cigars past Customs, pay top dollar for rare “pre-embargo” Cubans, or purchase cigars made with “Cuban seed” tobacco. Cuban cigars actually do have a distinctive taste, due in large part to the percentage of volcanic ash in Cuban soil.

Other popular tobacco regions are Nicaragua, Honduras, Dominican Republic and Mexico.