TENGOAL | Cigars


“Fresh air makes me throw up. I can’t handle it. I’d rather be around three Denobili cigars blowing in my face all night” FRANK SINATRA


leaves, one or two binder leaves and a "capa", an outer wrapper. The "accordion" method involves each leaf being folded in a wavy pattern resembling an accordion, which tends to create cigars with a reliable draw. Then comes the "rolling gallery", the


area in a cigar factory where cigars are made by hand. This production is often split between cigar rollers and cigar bunchers. The latter work with filler and binder to make the bunch, while the former wraps the cigar leaf to create the cigar. Then to the "ageing room", where the


rolled cigars are stored. Here the tobaccos harmonise and the cigars mellow. Some cigars are aged by fermenting the tobacco in bales for a year or more before being put in their box. This gives them more nuance and a softer edge. Vintage means a minimum of 10 years old and fine cigars, like fine wines, often improve with age, especially those full of flavour. This is typically important with


"ligero", a stronger kind of tobacco. Many manufacturers also further age their cigars after rolling. This process can last from a month up to a year or more. Connoisseurs even go further with a method called box aging. The boxes themselves are made of cedar


wood. The artistic, often iconic, labels are created by marketing departments in Havana where all the "anillas"


(the Cuban 90


term for cigar bands or rings) are produced. The boxes and brooches typically employ the 8-9-8 way of packing cigars where 25 cigars to the box comes in three rows: eight on the bottom, nine in the middle row and eight on top with rounded sides to the box. There are 27 different brands with 20


different sizes and they come in different strengths (light, medium and full-bodied) and sizes: a "Belicoso" for example, being the pyramid-shaped cigar with a shorter, more rounded taper at its head than that of a "pyramid" or "torpedo". As you can imagine, there’s a whole


range of options around the world for this specialist community


of smokers


with members clubs, associations and training courses. The Boisdale Club in London offers points for each brand: 10 for appearance; 15 for construction; 10 for combustion; 60 for flavour and finish and 5 for value for money. The winner with 91 points is Partagas Presidente 6 ¼ inches x 47 Ring Gauge, coming in at around £20. Then there’s all the paraphernalia.


For aficionados there’s the chance to demonstrate


their many accessories


expertise with their There are


cutters,


punches and a range of humidors from "humitrunks" and travel makes to the walk-in’ and desktop varieties. The cigar world even comes with its own


glossary, with canoeing being a flaw in a cigar’s burn. Cigars also come with other


caveats beyond the usual health warnings. Improperly cured and fermented cigars can have ammonia flavours that bring a harsh and unpleasant smoke. Watch out too for the tobacco beetles that devour cigars. And never light a cigar with a candle but use a butane-powered lighter. When enjoying the aroma or "bouquet",


as it is known, never inhale the cigar smoke. "Nosing" however, is the exhaling a bit of cigar smoke through your nose after a puff to judge its power and flavour. If smoking is not your thing but you like the smell, then you can profit simply from smelling a box of cigars or an unlit cigar. So with the popularity of cigars not noticeably


dented by the modern


requirements for smokers to be outdoors and with women these days smoking cigars more than ever, the only thing for it is to put your feet up in fellow company and light up. A five-inch long cigar, such as a robusto, should bring half an hour’s pleasure while a double corona, a 7 1/2-inch cigar can last an hour. The largest standard cigar size, as employed by Montecristo is an "A", a ’gran corona’ and is 9 1/4 inches and could take one two hours. After all, as one cigar company’s motto goes, “in puros amicitia” (’in cigars there is friendship’) or as Winston Churchill asserted: "I drink a great deal. I sleep a little, and I smoke cigar after cigar. That is why I am in 200 percent form."


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