The really fun thing for me about cigars right now is the chance to start over; to once again be a complete novice about something related to both agriculture and hedonistic pleasure, and spend every free minute packing my brain with as much information as I can comfortably fit!!!
Unlike with wine, beer, or whiskey, I’m not looking (or willing) to taste and smoke dozens of cigars in a single day, so my intellectual progress is tempered by a slower pace of sampling, but if you’re also new to cigars let me tell you a few fun facts that have captured my romantic imagination recently:
Cameroon wrappers: Tobacco in cigars can be broken down into three groups—filler, binder, and wrapper—and often those three ingredients can come from entirely different places. The wrapper is obviously the leaf on the outside of the cigar, and it plays a big role in the flavor. I was completely smitten with the Arturo Fuente Don Carlos Robusto this past weekend and the sweetness of the wrapper. The Don Carlos carries a very special wrapper grown in Cameroon, known for its “toothiness,” which refers to the leaf’s natural oil pockets that look like goosebumps and add complexity of flavor. Dig deeper into Cameroon wrappers, and you’ll learn that they only exist today because of a man named Rick Meerapfel, who rescued the Cameroon tobacco industry after the French pulled out of the region in 1993. In the end, I spent hours on Sunday just learning about one type of cigar wrapper with a unique character and history.
The Rule of Thirds: I remember learning about the rule of thirds during my first photography class when taking composition into consideration. The same can be said about the composition of a cigar. As someone who almost never finished even half of a cigar, let alone all of it, I had no idea what I was missing. Cigars will evolve in their flavor over the course of the smoke, and often really hit their stride midway, changing again towards the end. It’s really three experiences in one. I was ten minutes into a La Aroma de Cuba Especial #2 on Saturday thinking it was sort of “meh,” before that thing kicked into gear and completely changed on me. The point is: you need serious patience with cigars. I am one of the least patient people on earth, so I have some serious work to do with my fortitude.
Are Cubans Still The Best?: I’m all about questioning authority, and simultaneously I’m also a sucker for heritage and tradition. I’m dying to know more about what makes Cuban cigars so renowned, but I also love reading articles about how fine cigars from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua are challenging Cuba’s status. It gives one a great jumping off point when trying to make headway with appreciation: compare and contrast the top Cuban brands with the top Dominican brands and see what you think. So far, it’s a tight race for my palate.
There’s so much to sink your teeth into here.
-David Driscoll