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Bigger Is Not Always Better As cigar smokers, we all have at one point or another imagined the cliché older businessman sipping on a fine single malt scotch, puffing upon a big, fat glowing stogie. This image, rooted deeply into American culture, manifests itself in cinema, literature, and even our most treasured of childhood memories, “Looney Toons” (Yep, its true…think of anytime a cigar was smoked in any of those classic cartoons, it was always big fat and offered and/or smoked by a normally nameless boss-like figure). Not only has this imagery dictated our perception of cigars, but also the market trends of More and more we see cigar companies marketing the” biggest and fattest” angle, attempting to ride this trend into rising profits. Look at many of the products offered by Gurkha, for example, which produces few if any cigars under the 50 ring gauge mark.1 Now don’t get me wrong, I love big ring gauge cigars, few things beat relaxing in my favorite cigar lounge with a presidente or robusto producing volumes of effortless smoke. I am only trying to open your eyes to what I feel is one of the best kept secrets in cigars today, thin ring gauges! I am talking panatelas, lonsdales, petite lanceros, and my personal favorite the lancero. Common Thin Gauge Cigars: (These are considered reference sizes, actual may vary) · Small Panatela (5" x 33) · Carlota (5 ⅝" x 35) · Short Panatela (5" x 38) · Slim Panatela (6" x 34.9) · Panatela (6" x 38) · Deliciados/Laguito No. 1/Lancero (7 ¼" x 38) Wildly popular in other parts of the world, such as Why this is important: · The wrapper leaf constitutes for upwards of 60% of a cigar’s flavor, overtones, and nuances. · The wrapper leaf is the most expensive and well kept of tobacco leaves · The filler and binder are made up of lower quality leaves, therefore contributing far less to the cigar’s overall taste, somewhere in the range of 30-40%. So, the higher the wrapper: filler ratio, the stronger and more pronounced the flavor of the blend is. Large ring gauge cigars’ ratio is much lower, as there is more binder/filler leaf compared to high quality and tasty wrapper leaf. You can test this out yourself, take a line of cigars that you enjoy, and successively smoke the largest then smallest ring gauge cigars in the line, take notes if you must, and compare the flavor profiles of each cigar. More than likely you will find that the smaller ring gauge cigar provides a much more definable and complex profile when compared to the larger gauged cigar. A little smoking hint: Large gauge cigars can be puffed,” chiefed”, and sucked all day and will *almost* never get hot and lose flavor. Thinner cigars are true connoisseur sticks, requiring smaller more flavorful puffs at slightly longer intervals than say a robusto or churchill. Trust me, the reward in flavor will NOT disappoint! Many cigar manufactures are starting to release lancero, and similar sizes, even if only on a limited release basis. Padilla, Sancho Panza, Torano, La Flor Dominicana and Joya de Nicaragua…to name a few, now produce a fine smoking lancero! It is up to you the smoker to buy, sample, and smoke as many fine cigars as you can to find what smoking experience you prefer. We are all different, so our preferences in size, taste, and strength vary greatly between one person to the next. Half the fun in the hobby of cigar smoking is trying new things! Happy Smoking, The Oracle 1A ring gauge refers to the diameter of the cigar. One standard gauge is equal to 1/64 of an inch, therefore a robusto with a gauge of 50 has a width of 50/64 of an inch. By John Singleton, June 2008 |