| A cigar is a tightly rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco, one end of which is ignited so that its smoke may be drawn into the smoker's mouth through the other end.
The word cigar is from the Spanish word cigarro, which the Oxford English Dictionary suggests is a variation on cigarra, Spanish for "cicada," due to its shape, especially that of what is now called the perfecto. Other sources have indicated that it may be derived from the Mayan word sikar, "tobacco." Cigar tobacco is grown in significant quantities in such nations as Brazil, Cameroon, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua and the United States of America. Cigars manufactured in Cuba are widely considered to be without peer, although many experts believe that the best offerings from Honduras and Nicaragua rival those from Cuba. The Cuban reputation is thought to arise from both the unique characteristics of the Vuelta Abajo region in the Pinar del Río Province at the west of the island, where a microclimate allows high-quality tobacco to be grown; and the skill of the Cuban cigar makers. Cuban cigars Cigars from Cuba are derived from tobacco components found throughout the country of Cuba: meaning the filler, the actual tobacco, and wrapper all come from different portions of the island. This may be why the Cuban cigar is considered to be the best, and why Cigar Aficionado magazine usually rates new Cuban cigars as the best. All cigar production in Cuba is controlled by the Cuban government. Unlike other cigar companies, where each brand is harvested and rolled in its own factory, all Cuban cigars are rolled in 2 or 3 different factories in Cuba. Cuban cigar rollers are notorious as being the most skilled rollers in the world. This is a list of the most popular Cuban cigars in production today: Bolivar, Cohiba, Cuaba, Diplomaticos, El Rey Del Mundo, Fonseca, H. Upmann, Hoyo de Monterrey, Juan Lopez, Montecristo, Partagas, Punch, Quai D'Orsay, Quintero, Rafael Gonzalez, Ramon Allones, Romeo y Julieta, Sancho Panza, Trinidad, and Vegas Robaina. Size and shape Cigars are commonly categorized by the size and shape of the cigar, which together are known as a vitola. The size of a cigar is measured by two dimensions: its ring gauge (its diameter in sixty-fourths of an inch) and its length (in inches). For example, most non-Cuban robustos have a ring gauge of approximately 50 and a length of approximately 5 inches. Robustos which are of Cuban origin always have a ring gauge of 50 and a length of 4 7/8 inches. |
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