Thus begins the next in a series of Cigar 101 Articles I am writing. This one talks about picking out a tasty cigar for someone who does not know what a tasty cigar tastes like.
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Posts Tagged ‘101 Series’
How to Pick Your First Cigar
Wednesday, April 8th, 2009
How to Light a Cigar
Friday, March 20th, 2009The first of a series of Cigar 101 articles aimed at instructing individuals on the basics of The Cigar.
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How to Select a Humidor
Monday, June 16th, 2008You have decided that you are going to become more than just a normal, passive, one cigar at a time smoker. You have decided you are going to buy a humidor. How do you select said humidor? How do you know what you are looking for when you go into the cigar store?
Selecting a humidor is really quite simple. On the outside, you are obviously looking for something that is aesthetic, that is pleasing to the eye. You want one that matches your house, dorm room, barracks room, etc. That is the simple part. It gets only slightly more complicated after that.
Let’s talk really quick about humidor construction.
A humidor is essentially a box generally made of Spanish Cedar fasted within a box of a harder wood. The type of wood that is utilized on the outside is pretty much irrelevant, as it is generally used only for aesthetic purposes. The inside of the humidor is almost always constructed of Spanish Cedar. The Spanish Cedar is a porous wood that will, assist in maintaining a constant humidity level. The inner box is actually the box that will store the cigars.
When inspecting your humidor, you should ensure that the inside of the Spanish Cedar box will be almost completely sealed from the outside environment. When you open the outer box you should feel a little resistance as the Spanish Cedar portion of the box should create a firm seal when closed.
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Preparing Your Humidor for use
Monday, June 16th, 2008I have heard over the few years I have been smoking cigars more than one way to prepare your humidor for storing cigars at the proper humidity and tempurature. In this article, I will explain a couple of the popular methods and my opinions on the best method.
A quick not before we begin. You should never (and I repeat) NEVER use regular tap water to humidify your humidor. Always use distilled water or a cigar juice solution that stabilizes your humidifier at 70% relative humidity. The 50% mixture of propylene glycol and 50% water combination is a humidity balancing solution and prevents swings in humidity. The 50/50 solution is preferred, but distilled water works fine.
Again, do not use water as there are (naturally occuring and healthy for consumption) bacteria and microbes that will quicken the molding process of your cigars. Distilled water has all that stuff removed and will not allow your cigars to mold (uunless you let them get too moist of course).
Method 1 – The Shot Glass Method -
The materials required for this step are –
- A shot glasss (or similar sized glass) 3/4 full of distilled water.
- A soft rag that is soaked in distilled water.
- A humidor (go here for selecting a humidor).
That is it, and relatively inexpesive. Ok, now on to the process.
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Parts of a Cigar
Wednesday, June 11th, 2008Throughout this site, I will occasionally use terms such as the head or the foot of the cigar, I might also talk about the wrapper or the binder. What does this all mean? Fear not, I will tell you.
First, lets talk about the components of the cigar, ignor for a minute, all the tobacco that is in the cigar. The best way to envision this is to look at the cigar standing straight up on the end that you light.
From the top you have the cap, head, shoulder, body, and foot. Remember, never put your foot in your mouth. Putting your foot in your mouth would be like reading a book backwards.
The cap sits on the head (obviously). This is the portion of the cigar that you are cutting off when you are getting ready to smoke. Caps are generally two or three tobacco leaves thick, but there can be as many leaves as the manufacturer wants.
Next comes the shoulder, generally you do not want to cut any further down the body than the shoulder. It is at or near the shoulder that the fruit pectin that acts as the glue for your cigar is placed. Ergo, if you cut out the glue the cigar could come unravelled. A quick note about the pectin – There are only three places on the cigar that use any “glue” that is at the foot and shoulder these two places help hold the cigar together. The third place is on the band of the cigar, it is used only to hold the band together, there is (or should be) no glue that holds the band to the cigar.
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