Cigar Manufacturing
Cigar tobacco reaches the factory after a series of six week periods: six weeks to germinate the seeds before transplanting to a field; six weeks to grow the tobacco plant to maturity; six weeks for a complete harvest, followed by a series of periods of fermentation. In the fermentation stage, workers pile slightly moistened tobacco in huge bales or stacks; temperatures inside the bales reach as high as 140 degrees F as the cigar "sweats" during the early stages of fermentation. Some tobacco may be "turned" up to three or four times and remoistened before fermentation finally ceases. This process releases ammonia from the tobacco and reduces overall nicotine content. Workers then wrap the fermented tobacco in bales, usually surrounded by burlap, to age. Standard aging time is 18 months to two years, although some manufacturers keep inventories of tobacco as old as 10 years. Before the workers turn over the tobacco to the rollers, they "case" it, or slightly dampen it again, to make it supple.
Making the Cigar
A cigar blend is created by a master blender, someone who combines tobaccos of varying tastes and strengths to create a particular taste in a balanced harmonious smoke. Depending on its ring gauge, a cigar will contain a blend of between two and four different tobaccos. Each type of tobacco leaf is placed in different boxes at the rollers desk, and the roller is given the formula for the cigar he or she is making. The roller takes the leaves and presses them together in his hand. He then places the leaves on a binder leaf, a flat somewhat elastic leaf of tobacco. He rolls them together into a "bunch", cuts them to the appropriate length and then places them in the bottom half of a wooden mold. After he puts the upper half of the mold in place, he puts the entire box into a screw press. The press operator will usually break down the press once, turn the bunch inside the mold and then rebox and press the bunch again for a total pressing time of about an hour. Once the worker has pressed the cigar, he returns the wooden molds to the rolling tables. The roller removes the bunch and wraps it with the wrapper leaf, a supple very elastic and visually beautiful leaf that has been cut in half. Keeping constant pressure on the bunch and the wrapper, the cigar maker rolls the leaf around the bunch and applies a bit of vegetable glue to bond the wrapper leaf together at the head so the cigar won't unravel.
Aging the Cigar
The next step for cigars is the aging room. Most factories age their cigars at least 21 days, and some leave them in the aging room for anywhere from 90 days to 180 days. This allows the different cigar tobaccos to "marry" and create a more balanced smoke. After aging, the cigars are selected for each box, checked for fine gradations in wrapper leaf color, and finally they are packed in boxes for shipping.
Sizes & Shapes
Cigar shapes and sizes have two dimensions: length(either in centimeters or inches) and ring gauge, a measurement divided into 64ths of an inch(or, in the European method, millimeters). A cigar with a ring gauge of 40 for example, measures 40/64ths of an inch in diameter. There are two basic types of shapes: Straight sided and Figurados(Shaped). Straight Sided Cigars Churchill: A large corona format. The traditional dimension is 7 " x 48 ring.
Corona:
The traditional proportion is 5 1/2 to 6 " x 42 to 44 ring
Corona Gorda:
This long robusto could be called a robusto extra. The traditional measurements are 5 5/8 " x 46 ring.
Double Corona:
The standard dimension is 7 1/2 " by 49 to 52 ring.
Lonsdale:
The classic size is 6 1/4 " by 42 to 44 ring
Panatella:
More popular in years past than today. This format varies more widely in length than almost any other cigar size. Sizes vary from 5 to 7 1/2" by 34 to 38 ring.
Petit Corona:
This short corona is usually 4 1/2 " by 40 to 42 ring gauge.
Robusto:
This short Churchill format is growing in popularity. The traditional size is 5 to 5 1/2 " by 50 ring gauge.
Figurados or Shaped Cigars Belicoso:
Traditionally, a belicoso was a short pyramid, 5 or 5 1/2 " with a shorter more rounded taper at the head and a ring gauge generally of 50 or less.
Culebra:
The most exotic shape is actually three panatellas braided together and banded as one cigar. You smoke them separately. They are usually 5 to 6" by 38 ring gauge.
Diademas:
A true torpedo. The head and foot on this cigar are both closed. It is usually 8" or longer and is often boxed individually. It has a rung gauge of 40 at the head and 52 to 54, or even larger at the foot.
Perfecto:
This cigar is closed at both ends. The head is rounded, not tapered. The foot is closed like a torpedo or a diademas. It is usually shaped with a bulge in the middle. Perfectos can vary greatly in length, from 4 1/2 to 9 " by 38 to 48 ring gauge.
Pyramid:
A tapered head cigar with an open foot(the end you light). These cigars are between 6 and 7 " with a ring gauge of around 40 at the head that widens to between 52 and 54 at the foot.
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