Bucanero Cigars
How to select a great cigar for your enjoyment:
The first step is understanding the strength you desire in a cigar. Cigars range from mild to full body. Strength is an important aspect as to select a cigar that is to strong or to mild for your pallet and your smoking experience will be sub par. To strong a cigar and it could be to overwhelming to mild and you simply will discover an absence of Strenght/flavor. Many people (not all) who are just starting to savor a cigar may want to begin with a mild cigar.
The cigars size measured by length and gauge will many times determine the strength of the cigar although subtle in many cases. Larger cigars usually tend to be slightly milder and smaller cigars tend to be slightly stronger in the same blend. A short “full body” petite cigar will be slightly stronger than a larger ring gauge, longer in length “full body” cigar in the same blend. A “full body” cigar should not only have the strength but it also should be very smooth and rich in flavor. A “mild” cigar should offer complexity and robust flavor but be a mild smoking experience.
Cigar flavors range from spicy, earthy, peppery, creamy, and on and on. Smoothness, robust distinctive flavor, no ammonia bite with a perfect draw are the characteristics of a great premium cigar regardless of strenght.
How to select a great cigar with the flavor you seek? There are a wide range of cigars manufactured today that offer an array of different flavors. They are usually sold in a number of different (grades) classifications:
Premium cigars: a true premium cigar is one that uses quality long fillers and a quality wrapper. These cigars are separated by the amount of time they are aged. The longer the aging (truthfully stated) the smoother more balanced the cigar becomes. Most “Bundled” cigars are made from short fillers and are known as “cheap” cigars. They do not have a consistent burn and usually lack for robust flavor. Most are low aged cigars. The tobacco usually is of sub standard quality to that of a “true premium”. Bucanero Bundelo's are the exception.
Machine rolled cigars: Most are lower cost point cigars and lack the aging and quality tobaccos cigar aficionados covet.
The cigar wrapper: There are so many “wrappers” employed in manufacturing “hand made cigars” premium cigars. Criollo, Maduro, Connecticut Shade, Sumatra, Nicaragua, Dominican, Honduras etc. The wrapper used along with the “fillers” will determine the flavor. It is best to experiment to find what wrapper and filler combination that pleases your pallet in the grade of cigar you wish to smoke. It is simply your journey to find a cigar or cigars that you thoroughly enjoy. Wrappers vary in quality as do the fillers.
The cigar filler: The filler is the body of the cigar and a great cigar will employ a blend of highly aged, quality tobaccos. The well aged the fillers and the wrapper will blend together in a synergy of flavor in time. Only true aging will accomplish this task. A great cigar may be blended as an example with a Maduro or Natural wrapper with a variety of other select country's tobaccos being used for the fillers. If allowed to age properly and constructed properly you will have a great cigar if the blending is special and high quality tobacco is used in the manufacturing process.
How to determine a great cigar? There are many cigars that are advertised as “Premium Cigars” when in fact they may not be. There is no governing body when it comes to labeling a cigar as a premium cigar. Here are some pointers to look for when determining if a cigar is a “premium Cigar” First of all how long has it been aged? Here again there is no industry oversight. There are cigars that claim to be aged 5 years, 10 years and on when in fact they are not. A great cigar meets all of the expectations of your pallet. It has an even burn. Its flavor begins after the first or second draw and continues to get better as you continue to enjoy it all the way down to the end. NO drop off in flavor and no loss or change of flavor that may be undesirable. If a cigar takes half or more in the burning process to achieve its flavor it should not be classified as a “premium cigar”. A true premium, well aged will not do this. It will begin with the entire flavor you desire and have a wonderful finish. It will not begin as a “teaser” type cigar and have the flavor drop off as you continue to smoke it. Many cigars today have this type of “drop off” yet are marketed as “premiums”.
Ammonia Bite: If you experience a bit in the back of your throat while smoking a cigar this most often is a sign of a cigar that lacks aging and or lacks quality tobaccos. This is a sign of poor aging and it's the excessive ammonia that has not been eliminated with proper aging that causes this bite sensation. Not only is this undesirable but it also can be a concern for your health as ammonia is toxin. Avoid the ammonia bite.
Qualifying a great cigar: The best way in qualifying a great cigar it should have robust flavor regardless if its mild, medium or full body from the beginning to its end. It should have no ammonia bite. You should be able to allow the cigar if so desired to go out half way through your journey and upon relite there should not be a hint of bitterness or unsavory flavor. Cigars that have this pugnacity on relite are poorly aged and the unwanted residues linger in the cigar as a result of limited fermentation (aging).
The draw on a premium cigar should ALWAYS be effortless. A small amount of cigar manufactures “draw test” each cigar before the wrapper is applied. This assures the premium cigar lover the opportunity to smoke his or her cigar without the annoying plugging and hard draw required. A cigar with a hard draw ruins the cigar smoking experience. Its so often a result of poor quality control. A great cigar has a great draw! A great cigar is one that maintains consistency in the blend year to year Cigars are made from tobaccos that as everything in nature may slightly vary in taste from year to year, crop to crop (similar to wine).
The flavor should be the same and the tobacco strain should remain the same. You may experience an ever so slight change from one crop to another but this change should be very subtle if not detectable. There are some cigars that employ “tricks” to achieve both aging and flavor consistency. Usually they employ alcohol to accelerate the aging process and additives to maintain flavor from one year to the next. This cost cutting process is sometimes the norm on mass produced cigars that use various readily available mass grown tobaccos. A true premium manufacture of cigars will not employ such processes.
A great cigar is one that has the art of blending down to a science Great cigars and great wines have one thing in common. Flavor! Smoothness! They blend there products with hard to get high grade tobaccos or grapes and hold their blends in secret. Blending of a variety of rare tobaccos brings forth a true value in a premium cigar. The flavor is robust, distinctive and usually is coveted as such. So many cigar lines have strong flavor similarity between blends, a result of the use of conventional mass marketed tobaccos.
Many “limited production” cigars offer the cigar aficionado the best means in finding these types of master cigar blenders creations. They do not forgo the added costs to draw test each cigar along with the added costs of long term aging and the additional costs of using top quality tobaccos that are shunned so often by the mass producers due to availability and cost. Mass produced cigars require mass produced tobaccos. Rare or limited production tobacco is cost prohibited and can not meet mass production cigar manufacture requirements.
Buying a great premium cigar should not be based upon price alone. The “retail” prices of mass produced cigars carry the cost of advertising, marketing and distribution. In many cases these costs are substantial. The higher the demand predicated on the above advertising, marketing costs the higher the price. Branding is extremely expensive. Most small cigar manufactures simply can not compete as such. Fortunately with a little research most of the smaller manufactures products can be found on the internet or in select retailers shops. Seek them out and you may find your favorite premium cigar.
There are many “boutique” cigar lines that may offer the cigar aficionado a great buy as they simply do not have the resources to nationally brand their products. Many of these small cigar manufactures pour the heart in soul into making their limited production cigars. They offer hard to find quality tobaccos that deliver the highest form of cigar smoking enjoyment at a great price. They maybe hard to find due to very limited distribution but they are well worth the journey in discovering and then savoring their cigar lines. These small master blenders offer some of the finest cigars in the world comparable to the best Cuban cigars ever made.
