Let’s be honest – when you walk into a well-stocked humidor, it may feel a little bit like Tennyson’s “Charge of the Light Brigade’ – cigars to the left of you, cigars to the right of you.  Dozens of brands, hundreds of sizes in attractive, appealing nests from floor to ceiling.  It’s positively overwhelming!

Take a deep breath (not just to relax…you’ll enjoy the smell!) and remind yourself that buying a cigar isn’t rocket science, it isn’t even weird science, it’s just an interesting and enjoyable way to spend your money.  Don’t spend ALL your money on cigars that don’t suit your fancy, you can start small and instead of buying a box, buy a single.  The reward will be well worth the risk!

People who work in tobacco stores are fountains of information.  If you need some advice, feel free to ask.  And don’t worry that your merchant will be offended if you don’t follow that advice.  Cigar smoking is a completely subjective experience.  Let the advice be your guide, not your jailer!

Ask for What YOU Want

You can ask your tobacconist for a recommendation, and what your merchant will suggest is a cigar that appeals to his/her palate.  Instead, why not describe the kinds of flavors YOU like – spicy, smoky, deep, layered.  That way, the professional can steer you in the right direction.  

 Just Who Are “They” Anyway?

Cigars get rating numbers intended to convey information about quality and characteristics.  Although they may be helpful, you are much better off consulting reviews (rather than ratings) since they’ll give expanded information on things like flavor, finish, draw, etc.   Using reviews, you can develop your own ratings, giving extra weight to the characteristics to the things that matter most to you.  

Humble Beginnings

Tobacco derives much of its flavor from the soil and climate in which it’s grown.  If you’re doing some comparison-shopping, you might want to pick up a smoke from Jamaica, Hondouras and Cuba to compare and contrast.  This will give you a sense of regional differences in cigars.  

Once you’ve enjoyed a cigar from the Caribbean (for example), you can generally expect to like other selections from that area.  And in the future, if you’re confronted with a choice between an unfamiliar cigar from a country you know and a smoke from an unfamiliar region, you can be confident when you say, “I think I’d prefer the Jamaican.”

Cooler, Cleaner, Better

If you want a cool, clean smoke, think like McDonalds and ‘Super-size.”  A long cigar with a high ring gauge (circumference) is something of a self-filtering device.  The tobacco filters itself as you draw, delivering the flavor of the tobacco without the heat.  

Size Matters

How a cigar feels in your hand is important, too.  If you’re uncomfortable with a big, cumbersome 9-inch Figuardo, try a 5-inch Belicosa in the same variety.

Wrapper Up

The wrapper should be smooth and tight, and damage-free on both ends. Big veins should be rejected, but keep an eye out for small veins.  They’re a GOOD thing and a cigar with a thin-veined wrapper often provides a nice, smooth smoke.

Tobacco Expose

Give some attention to the tobacco you see on the exposed end of your cigar.  A subtle variation in color will let you know that a blend of tobaccos was used.   If the variation is too dramatic, extreme or abrupt, however, it may be a sign that inferior leaves were used, or that the leaves were incorrectly assembled during the bunching stage.  Avoid these color extremes as they may result in an off-taste experience and a bad burn.  Some variation of color is normal, as most cigars are made from a blend of tobaccos. What you’re watching for is extreme or abrupt color changes

Daring?  

You should let yourself go and experiment with different cigars.  Sampling and evaluating the differences is one of the great romances people have with cigar smoking.  Here’s a tip, though:  if you’re feeling adventurous, but are not on a big budget, you should sample brands that are familiar to you and leave the “off-brands,’ ‘no-names’ and ‘generics’ for someone else.  

Off-brand cigars frequently have problems with their consistency, both within the cigars (uneven burning, hot spots) and also from cigar to cigar (no reliable flavor).  So even if you love the no-name cigar you buy today, the chances of being able to duplicate its quality tomorrow are slim.  

Feel ‘Em Up (and Down)

The way a cigar feels will tell you volumes about its quality.  Squeeze the cigar gently. It should have some “give” without feeling mushy or loose. Then run your fingers up and down the body to look for lumps or other irregularities. 

CIGAR STORE ETIQUETTE:  Don’t roll a cigar in your fingers, as some suggest.  This can cause damage to the wrapper and the construction and leave the tobacconist with a cigar that you don’t want…and no one else will either.

Every art, science, game and hobby has its vocabulary.  You know – the cool words that make you sound in the know and part of the scene.

But there’s more to talking the talk than trying to sound impressive.  If you’re serious about cigars and cigar culture, you need to be able to communicate clearly in order to make sure you get what you want.

So here are some important terms and terminology for you to master.  

• Amatista—A glass jar usually containing 50 cigars (sometimes 25), sealed and sold “factory fresh

• Band– A ring of paper wrapped around the closed head of most cigars, often bearing the name of the brand, country of origin, and/or indication that the cigar is hand-rolled.

• Barrel – The body of a cigar.

• Binder leaves – the intermediate leaves that hold the leaves of the filler tobacco together.

• Blend– The mixture of different types of tobacco in a cigar, including up to five types of filler leaves, a binder leaf and an outer wrapper. 

• Bloom – A harmless white film caused by tobacco oils rising to the surface of the cigar wrapper.  Usually indicates a strong taste.  

• Bouquet—Used to describe the smell of a fine cigar and, of course fine wine, but strangely not the smell of a fine bunch of flowers.   

• Bunch – The intermediate cluster of filler tobacco in a cigar.

• Cap – The small flag of wrapper leaf and vegetable gum-based glue that a cigar roller uses to seal the head of a cigar. 

• Chaveta – The knife used in a cigar factory for cutting the wrapper leaf. 

• Cigarillos – Thin, three-inch cigars, popular in Europe, generally machine-made, and often with homogenized wrappers. 

• Credo – A humidification device that CHEMCIALLY regulates the environment of a humidor.  Now a generic term, Credo was the brand name of a manufacturer of PG-based humidification devices for humidors.    

• Draw – The amount of air that gets pulled through a lit cigar. 

• Flag Leaves –  Used instead of a cap. Flags are sometimes tied off in a pigtail or a curly head.  

• Hot – A cigar draw that is too easy, often because it has been under-filled during rolling.

• Inhale – The big No-No of cigar smoking.  Do you inhale?  Don’t’!

• Long Filler – The bunch of tobacco found at the center of the cigar, which contains the whole leaf running from head to foot.  (See also Short Filler)

• Foot – The end of the cigar that you light. 

• Head – The end of the cigar that you put into your mouth. (see Cap)

• Humidor – A cigar storage box with controlled humidity.  Humidor is most likely used for wooden boxes with unfinished interiors.  (See also Igloodor and Tupperdor)  

• Hygrometer – A device to measure relative humidity (no good humidor should be without one).

• Igloodor – An insulated storage container for cigars, usually somewhat large.

• Long Filler – Tobacco leaf that is long enough to run the entire length of a cigar’s bunch. 

• Piercer – Used to cut/pierce a small hole in the end of a cigar (also called a ‘lance’)

• Plugged – A cigar draw that is too tight,  (A little massaging of the cigar may relieve a plugged draw)

• Propylene Glycol (PG) – Employed in the humidification of tobacco products.  

• Ring Gauge – The diameter of a cigar’s barrel, expressed in 64ths of an inch.  A half-inch cigar would be a 32 ring. (32/64) 

• S.A (Sociedad Anonyma). – The Spanish-language equivalent of Incorporated – Inc. that is likely to appear on any box of cigars

• Short Filler – The bunch of tobacco found at the center of the cigar comprised of scraps of tobacco sometimes the trimmings of long filler. (See Long Filler)

• Shoulder – Where the head of the cigar meets the barrel. 

• Tobacco Beetle – Hopefully not found in your humidor. Unfortunately, the Tobacco Beetle does not discern between your expensive and inexpensive cigars – it will go after anything  – often destroying your humidors entire contents.

• Tunneling—The uneven burning of a cigar

• Tupperdor – An airtight plastic container used for storing cigars.  

• Vuelta Abajo– A valley in Cuba that arguably produces the best cigar tobacco in the world. 

• Wrapper – A leaf of (usually) high quality tobacco wound around the center of the cigar.  The wrapper leaf is chosen for its texture, veining, elasticity and complexion.