enjoying a “handmade cigar”

Why it's worth it to enjoying a “handmade cigar” for the first time

The terms "handmade", "natural", "artificial”, are continuously used today by many as a help to build a product or a brand, imparting premium value and easy readability while at the same time conveying easy messages that assimilate quickly in the mind of the consumer and confer a purchasing identity.

In fact, few consumable products can be described as natural and these are handmade cigars.
I consider them some of the few products in the world that have fairly earned this right and have the credentials (which I list some in writing below) to prove it.

1.
They are produced from only one thing, tobacco.
From pure, unadulterated tobacco, since each leaf has not undergone chemical treatment or artificial alloying for its taste.
Everything in their production, from the cognitive flavours to its color, has been achieved by natural means since all of them, sweet or spicy, exist in nature.

All the wonderful brown shades of a cigar are achieved through organic processes and no dyes or aging accelerators are used.
There are no preservatives, sweeteners or other added chemicals. These are only found in the production of cigarettes and mechanised cigars, that are mass-produced by millions.

2.
In order to wrap a handmade cigar- its mixing is an art- a skill that has become a science and requires many years since the raw material is tobacco, subject to the whims of nature but also to the variations of the crops, which change from year to year.

3.
Just as in winemaking some vintages are better than others, cigar makers every year do their best to ensure that their product is consistent.
Nevertheless, just because the quality of the cultivation has a lot to do with the weather conditions this consequence is due both to the natural expressions of the cigar manufacturer as well as the soil where the tobacco is cultivated.As a result there are small variations from cigar to cigar, since we are talking about a handmade product that has been produced with natural methods and it is not based on a cloned process.

4.
Every time we light a cigar we must consider that many people with different skills have put their hands to produce this ultimate handmade product.
Many say 200 pairs of hands are required, others claim they are many more.
A single cigar is the result of an enormous human effort that requires many years of practical expertise at each stage.

5.
The processing of tobacco (in different varieties many times) is not a simple matter, it takes a long time and many stages to achieve the flavours and aromas naturally.
It starts from its selection as a seed and transplanting it as a seedling in the field until it blooms and matures to be picked by hand, where they are being hunged in a ripening barn to dry and turn brown.

It is then packed and unpacked and separated many times in different facilities to begin and complete the process of fermentation aging-turning, hydration and grading for color.
With the processes of composition - filling – rolling, as well as quality control, the production of a handmade cigar is completed but in between there are many other steps (that we have not mentioned) with different functions that compose a complex melody, which with its harmony leads to the production of this premium product.

Don't forget most of these are processes that start and finish entirely by hand so the consumer can enjoy the magic of a handmade product.

6.
There is also a final aging (as for example in aging wine) that the consumer can do by himself when he buys a cigar from the store.
This is eliminating the acidity of the smoke, the appearance and highlighting of its soft and delicate personality.
But this presupposes aging at a constant temperature and humidity throughout its duration.

7.
For me personally there is no longer only the greatness of Cuban cigars, but also those of Nicaragua, Dominican Republic and Hondura which very worthy compete
and often lead and prevail over them.
The top class tobaccos of the major cigar producing countries are all exceptional in their own way. They are true agricultural and artisanal expressions of their respective countries.

8.
The right relationship between quality and price always has to do with the selection of the best materials, the correct and best construction and strict quality controls which determine the basic costs of creating a cigar.
For me personally the costs of a handmade cigar are justified. We are talking about a living organism whose production however is not an easy and cheap affair. There are always exceptions of course.

9.
When we choose a handmade cigar we have the possibility to choose a strong, medium or mild product. Information about the taste, body, intensity and the aromas it imparts will help us, thus choosing and judging each time we end up knowing what suits us and fascinates our own taste and aroma palette.

Marios Krokos

Inspired from the article with Title: 10 Things Every Cigar Smoker Should Know
Source: Cigar Aficionado
Section: Getting Started
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