Cigar Watch

I watch people take a cigar out of their case, clip it and light it up and shake my head in wonder. That stogie has traveled a long road to get smoked and a lot of time and effort has gone into making it. It seems to me considerate to take a bit of time to admire the results of all that work. Here’s the way I look at a cigar before lighting it.

The Packaging: Makers spend a lot of time thinking about how to package the individual cigar. Some go the extra mile and encase each one in a tube – or cedar sheet – while others just slip the stogie into a cello wrapper. Most cigars come in cello. I pay attention to how hard or easy it is to get the cigar out of the packaging.

The Band: Like a lot of herfers, I like to take the band off of my cigars before smoking them. This is particularly true when the smoke is a Robusto and the band extends more than half way down the cigar. (Can you hear a rant coming? Well, you’ll have to head over to the Forum to read that.) If the maker has riveted the band to the cigar, it’s near impossible to get it off without nicking the wrapper. So you end up either throwing away the lat half of the smoke or butchering the wrapper trying to get the band off. Now what’s the point of that?

The Wrapper: This is the bright chrome on the bumper – the pretty and often tasty wrapping that the binder and filler are encased in. As the most delicate part of the cigar, it has been babied since it was a wee leaf. The good ones are flawless – minimum veining – consistent coloring – smooth to the touch. Touch is a big factor for me with the wrapper. The good ones feel silky and a bit oily. The Maduros (a favorite of mine – particularly box-pressed ones) are downright oily. So I look at the wrapper carefully – from stem to stern as it were. Are there spots? Green specks? Uneven color? Nicks in it? How well did the roller select and apply the wrapper?

The Cap: Correctly applying the small piece of wrapper that caps the cigar takes a lot of skill. The seams should not stand out and the cap should seem like an integral part of the stick.

Feeling It Up: I always work my way down the cigar from the cap to the foot – feeling for hard or spongy parts. A good cigar feels that same all the way down. A poorly made one will feel hard in some places and soft and spongy in others. Poorly made cigars generally lead to poor experiences once lit.

To the Rating Sheet: Now take a look at the Appearance & Presentation section of the Rating Sheet.

• First the wrapper color – if it is perfect and evenly colored then it merits all 4 points – less than even and you should deduct some. How many will come with experience but a spotted wrapper should get a big zero.
• Consistency – if you purchased the stogie in a box then look at the consistency of the color across the whole lot. Even color should merit 2 points. Deduct points for less than perfection.
• Feel the wrapper – how does it feel to your fingers? It should feel supple and oily. Dry is acceptable in a narrow range of dry cured smokes. Then turn the cigar over in your hand and look at the veins in the wrapper. Pay attention here – five points are on the line.
• The Cap – now turn your attention to the cap. How well is it constructed? Most handmade smokes come with well constructed caps – but I have seen some real butcher jobs. One point for got it right – zero points for anything else.
• Packaging – pay attention to how the individual cigar was packaged – and that includes the band. Two points for a good packaging job – zero if you nicked the wrapper trying to get the band off.
• Cut It Now – now go ahead and cut the cap. It should cut clean and present you with a firmly packaged smoking end. Try it in your mouth – the cigar should feel natural and without ridges. Two points for a good cut.
• Hard of Soft – now just before you light the thing up, take a moment to feel the length of the stick – look for hard or soft spots and deduct for either if you find them. Two points for a consistent firmness.

Well, your cigar started out with 20 points in this area. How many did it end up with? Make sure that you enter your results in the form along with any comments that you want to remember. After all, one of the great benefits of rating your cigars this way is to help you remember what you liked or disliked and why. So total it up and get ready to light up. Next stop Lighting and Burning.