Cigars and their Origin

People usually say that it is the thing for the rich and those who can afford the luxury, but is it true?

No, if you are a cigar connoisseur then you are most likely to be well versed with everything associated with cigars. From what are cigars to how are they are produced, from what is it made up of to different international brands of it. But do not worry we have got covered every detail for you here.

So, let's start at about Cigars in detail.

What is a Cigar?

A Cigar is a tightly-rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco leaves whose one end can be ignited and lighted so that it can be smoked.

What is its origin?

The word first originated from a Spanish word “Cigarro”, which originally came into being from a Mayan civilization word “Siyar”, and hence today the world knows it by the name Cigar. Earlier cigars were handmade and rolled and used to be straight in shape.

Production of cigars?

Most of the tobacco leaves obtained for the production of cigars are from Havana, Cuba. The leading countries which came into existence later were America, Brazil, Cameroon, Dominic Republic, East Indies, Jamaica, Mexico, and South Africa as produced the quality leaves. Curing (it is a slow oxidation process which produces certain compounds in the tobacco leaves, giving them a sweet and fruity aroma, which further contributes to its smoothness) of tobacco leaves leads to a reduction in sugar and water content without causing the leaves to rot (for around 25-40 days). Fermentation (the process of converting sugar into alcohol) is done for the leaves after which they are rolled.

Parts of a cigar?

A Cigar is made up of three parts:

• FILLER – it is made up of wrapped-up bunches of leaves in the interior part of the cigar. It is a blend of various strengths to produce a unique flavor to the cigar. The filler strength increases as the oil content of the leaves increases. It is further categorized into the three major types of leaves found from the different sections of the tobacco plant.

1. Volado – Mild flavor filler taken from the bottom part of the plant.


2. Seco – Moderately flavored filler from the middle part of the plant.


3. Leguo – Strongly flavored filler taken from the topmost part of the plant.

• WRAPPER / BINDER – These leaves are somewhat elastic and are used to hold the bunches of fillers together, tightly.


• OUTSIDE WRAPPER – The outermost leaf comes from the widest part of the plant so that the whole cigar can be covered properly. They are the leaves that determine much of the character and flavor of the cigar. The color of the wrapper is often is the signal which describes different types of cigars.

Now that we are fully aware of a cigar, of all the process that takes place from production to manufacturing, so now we should know some deeper insights. The following color scheme markings are used on the cigar boxes to indicate its strength (main color classification)

• CCC – Claro: light


• CC – Colorado-claro: medium


• C – Colorado: dark


• CM – Colorado Maduro: very dark


• M – Maduro: exceptionally dark


• O – Oscuro: darkest colored cigar

GREEN CIGARS – These are the fresh cigars, neither dried nor conditioned, and are sold in sealed glass jars to avoid any contact with the air and gets oxidized.

We hope that from this article we were able to provide our readers with some insights and information, which they weren’t aware of. Hope to see you soon again, with another such great article with some other topic from across the globe.