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A cigar is a tightly-rolled bundle of dried and fermented
tobacco thatis ignited so that its smoke may be drawn into the
mouth. Cigar
tobacco is grown in significant quantities in Brazil, Cameroon,
Cuba,the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico,
Nicaragua, the
Philippines, Puerto Rico, Canary Islands (Spain), Italy and the
EasternUnited States .
The word cigar originated from the Spanish cigarro , which in
turnprobably derives from the Mayan sicar ("to smoke rolled
tobaccoleaves" from si'c, "tobacco;"). There is also a possible
derivation, or atleast an influence, from the Spanish cigarra
("cicada") , due to theirsimilar shape. The English word came into
general use in 1730.
How to roll a cigar: 1. Get some cigar tobacco leaf and put it
in a plastic bag.
2. Take the conditioned leaf and set it out in a
lineapproximately 3 feet long.
3. Grab a fist's worth of the layered leaf and cut it
withscissors about 1/2 to one inch on either side of the fist.
4. For the binder, take a large leaf and make it pliable.5. Do
the same thing with a finer leaf, and there is your
wrapper.
6. Make a mixture of 1/4 teaspoon of flour and about 2 to
3tablespoons of water.
7. Take a binder leaf and set it on your rolling surface with
thethick veins (the underside of the leaf) facing up.
8. Twirl the ends, cut them, or put that little piece of cap
onthe end (like the professionals do).
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1. At each stage of its development (growing,harvesting, curing,
fermentation) tobacco iscarefully and constantly monitored by
highly skilledexperts to ensure consistency and quality in its
taste,
texture and appearance. Throughout the processeach leaf is
constantly assessed, graded and sortedon the basis of its color,
size and burningcharacteristics.
2. the tobacco is aged for up to three years or more toattain
additional depth and complexity of flavorand then passed on to a
master blender whocombines several types of tobacco in
varyingamounts to achieve a specific strength and flavor.
3. The tobacco is then entrusted to the hands of amaster cigar
maker (atorcedore), a very skilledcraftsman who must be able to
combine the filler,binder and wrapper tobaccos in such a way
thatthe cigar looks smooth and even in appearancewhile meeting
construction standards that willenable it to burn properly.
4. The finished cigars are again sorted by color (so thatall
cigars in a box look similar).
5. The cigars are packaged for final sale, finished withcigar
bands and packed into cedar boxes thatoften feature expensive
lithographic artwork. Thenand only then are the finished cigars
shipped byplane or ship to a regional distributor, who must
thenkeep them in a specially humidified room to ensurethat they
retain their flavor and smokingcharacteristics.
