subject: An Introduction to Cigar Reviews [print this page] An Introduction to Cigar Reviews An Introduction to Cigar Reviews
Not all cigars are created equal, and a common problem faced by first-time cigar smokers is to rely on how expensive a cigar is as an indication of whether the cigar is a good one or not.Cigars have this point in common with wine: price is not the only guideline, and a lot goes into the making of a good cigar. Cigar makers, writers of cigar reviews and cigar connoisseurs all need well trained palates and noses, similar to perfume aficionados or wine lovers. This trained appreciation is used when describing individual cigars in reviews. One word of caution needs to be given here, one that was passed from one generation to another in the days when gentlemen retired to the smoking room to enjoy a postprandial cigar: drinking and cigars don't mix. No matter what the cigar reviews say about the fine flavour of a particular make of cigar, accompanying a cigar with alcohol will ruin the enjoyment of both, as one will cancel out the overtones and "bouquet" of the other. The need for good cigar reviews becomes apparent when you consider how cigars are made. Like fine wines, the finest cigars are hand-made. The tobacco is cured carefully, controlling the temperature, exposure to sunlight and the humidity, all of which affect the final product. The leaves are then sorted for use either as fillers or wrappers. The growing conditions of the tobacco also affect the flavour, as does the length of time a cigar is stored for. A cigar review will consider a number of aspects of the cigar. The most important point of a cigar review is, of course, the flavour. Closely linked to the flavour is the aroma - the scent of the smoke itself. It is the essential oils (the aromatic oils) in the tobacco that determine both of these aspects; the exact blend and combination of these oils is what the writer of cigar reviews describes when writing, in much the same way that a wine reviewer writes about wine. One aspect of cigar reviews is one that you will never find in a description of wine: the burning quality. A cigar that burns too fast and too hot is not a good cigar, while one that burns slowly and evenly so that the essential oils are not sublimated too quickly is likely to receive better reviews. Cigars reviews, like descriptions of wine, contain a specialist vocabulary - in fact, many of the adjectives used to describe the aroma and flavour of a cigar in a review are identical to those used to describe wine - words like "fruity", "oak", "woodsy" and "leathery" are found in cigar reviews to describe the flavour and aroma. Many of the technical terms used in cigar reviews are derived from Spanish, reflecting the country of origin of most cigars. Cuba, of course, heads the list of cigar manufacturing countries (and many Cuban cigars are rated quite highly in cigar reviews - Cuba is to cigars what France is to wine). Other Spanish-speaking cigar producing countries include Nicaragua, Mexico, Honduras and the Dominican Republic. You may notice a few non-Spanish speaking countries mentioned within particular cigar reviews, such as Brazil, Indonesia or the Philippines.
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