Becoming a cigar enthusiast, regardless of how long you’ve been smoking, is a very complicated hobby to take on. The cigar world is built up of various options that can make it confusing to find a high-quality cigar that you truly enjoy smoking. From the different brands that are making cigars to the personalities that are sharing their opinions on cigars that they’ve smoked, this hobby can quickly turn from an effortless pastime to a pretentious group of people that make you feel like you don’t know what you’re talking about.
If you’re feeling as though you don’t know everything you need to about cigars, keep reading. We’re going to talk about a few things that all cigar smokers should know regardless of how long they’ve been smoking.
It Takes an Army
There’s a saying that says that 200 hands will touch your cigar before it ever makes its way into your humidor. Though the number has always been 200, the reality is that there are likely many more than 200 hands that are working on crafting your cigar into the beautiful item that it is.
In order for your cigar to be as enjoyable as it is, you are going to need the help of various individuals, each of whom contributes something unique to the cigar itself. From the process of planting the seeds and tending to the plants to the cutting of the tobacco leaves, cleaning and aging the leaves and hand-rolling them, you’re going to have at least 100 different individuals working on crafting you the premium cigar that you get to enjoy.
Beyond the growing of the tobacco leaves and the aging process, there are still so many different steps that the tobacco leaves must go through before they become a cigar in your humidor. Hand-rolled cigars require the craft of a skilled individual. From there, your cigar will be wrapped and packaged. This takes equal amounts of skill in order to ensure that you’re able to enjoy the bold flavors of the premium cigar even after it’s been packaged and sent to the manufacturer.
Understanding the amount of work that goes into the crafting of your cigar and the various people that contribute to that craft is one of the many things that make cigars so enjoyable. As an individual who is enjoying cigars, it’s crucial that you know just how much work goes into them for you to be a full-blown enthusiast.
Aging is Crucial for Cigars
Flavor is one of the primary reasons that people choose to smoke cigars, but the reality is that in order for cigars to taste good, they need to be properly aged. Young tobacco leaves don’t taste the same as aged cigars but, more importantly, it’s the biggest differentiator between a quality cigar and a standard cigar.
Oliva Cigars takes the aging process of our handcrafted cigars very seriously. Given that our tobacco plants are grown from Cuban tobacco plant seeds in the rich soils of Nicaragua, we take each step, including the aging process, very seriously. Our only focus with our tobacco plants is quality, and that is all lost if not properly aged.
If you’re a fan of cigars or you’re building your knowledge of them, understand that aging is crucial. Cigar manufactures age cigars before they sell them to the consumer to ensure the quality of tasting notes of that specific cigar. Our tobacco is aged for at least 1 year, however it all depends on the type of tobacco leaf and the cigar blend that it is meant for. There are some limited edition cigars that could age up to 5 years.
Learn the Anatomy
Cigars are crafted in a certain way in order for you to get the most flavor and effect of the tobacco while smoking. It’s the anatomy of the cigar that makes them such a unique form of tobacco. If you haven’t learned about the way that cigars are constructed or are unfamiliar with the various components of the cigar, it’s worth taking some time to learn.
Not only will understanding the various parts of a cigar help you have a very basic level of knowledge in regards to cigars, but it will also help you understand and learn about cigars down the road. We’ve broken down the various parts of the cigar in a previous blog post. If you haven’t had the chance to check it out yet, go ahead and do so here.
Keep Up With the Oliva Cigar Blog
We were only able to cover a few of the things that all cigar smokers should know, but we certainly haven’t covered them all. As a family that has been in the industry for decades, we’ve been fortunate enough to gain a strong understanding and knowledge in cigars and the culture that has been built around them. Because cigars and the cigar culture is a significant piece of our family history, we are enthused to share the knowledge that we have with individuals that are eager to learn more.
In our next blog post, we’ll continue to touch on things that all cigar smokers should know. If you’ve enjoyed everything that we’ve talked about thus far, make sure to keep up with our blog as we’ll be sharing the follow-up post shortly. For now, go ahead and check out some of our prior blog posts where we’ve touched on everything from properly storing your cigar to hosting the perfect cigar party and everything in between.