Shapes and sizes of the cigar. How do they affect its taste?
A question
frequently asked by many of those who start in the world of tobacco is: how do the
various shapes and sizes of cigars affect its flavor?
The truth
is that this question does not have a single answer, not even among the most
knowledgeable experts. One of the reasons is that, as in most things when it
comes to tobacco, subjectivity plays a relevant role, which means that there
are very many opinions on the subject, and even that some of them are
contradictory.
However,
after extensive review, in this short article we will discuss the ones that
were most relevant to us and suited to our goal of providing essential
information to our readers.
Many expert
smokers claim that the larger formats in thickness and length, provide more
flavor and a fresher smoke, due to the greater variety of mixtures and the more
complex and extended smoke that they allow. They consider that the smoker lives
a more complete experience because the cigar burns slowly, producing a greater
amount of smoke wisps that fill the palate with a great intensity of aromas and
flavors, which blend harmoniously.
In contrast
to this opinion, there are those who assure that the greater caliber of the
tobacco tends to affect the quality of the combustion, since if the mixture is
too tight it prevents the smoke from moving through the cigar, making it
difficult to suck and even reaching its turning off, while if it is too loose
it allows too much smoke to pass which overheats the cigar and causes a bitter
taste.
With regard
to the smaller formats, many agree that the thinner the cigar, the more intense
and pungent the flavor, because the stronger tobacco tends to dominate over the
others, since by burning more quickly, the flavors are concentrated on the
tongue.
Another
question whose answer is contradictory depending on who holds is, how much does
the capa or wrapper add to the
flavor? In this case, opinions tend to be sharp: for some, the packaging is
decisive in the flavor and, for many others, the importance of this leaf has to
do with the aesthetics and flexibility of the cigar, while its contribution to
the flavor is very small. Those who hold the former tend to prefer thin cigars
because the ratio between the filler tobacco and the wrapper is favorable to
the latter, and vice versa.
What they
all agree on is that the color of the cigar is not an indicator of how strong
or mild its flavor may be, as some beginners tend to believe.
Once again
we confirm that the world of tobacco is vast and complex and that those
opinions, to a large extent, are subjective.
