A Gift straight from Cuba! How to choose the best cigar
A bottle of wine, quality clothes or luxurious shoes… Why not give tobacco lovers an incredibly good cigar? For those who have no idea how to navigate between all the different individual properties and sizes of cigars to pick the right one, we bring a few good tips!
Parejos or Figurados?
You’d be able to smoke a small cigar in a few minutes, a big one in a couple of hours. The size of a cigar doesn’t influence its flavour or aroma, those are determined by other factors. They come in two main forms and sizes; Parejos and Figurados. The Parejos is a straight cigar with a unified thickness along its length. Figurados are cigars with a changing thickness and an atypical shape. They often have a plump middle and a narrowed tip and end.
Lately, so-called box-pressed cigars have become increasingly available. They have a square cross-section. The size of a ring is most commonly used to describe thickness, the greater the number the greater the thickness. It is useful to know that the average ring size is 50, anything above would be considered thick and anything below thin. Therefore, for example, a thin cigar will have a ring size 30 and a thick one 60.
Colour is key
The colour of a cigar is given by the leaf which forms the outer layer of the cigar. Lighter colours tend to be softer, they have a milder flavour and aroma, they are smoother and less bitter. On the other hand dark cover leaves give cigars a strong aroma and often a spicy, fiery even peppery flavour.
Tips and tricks on how to choose the right cigar
For beginners it is best to choose single cigars of various sizes and thicknesses, different hues and countries of origin between 100 and 300 kč per piece. If you aren’t sure what strength to choose, pick a milder and bigger cigar and a stronger, smaller cigar.
Cigars Behike are named after the shamans of one indian tribe. They are sold only in units of 40 in special boxes made of cedar wood and shark leather. All forty thousand cigars were produced by Norma Fernandez from the Havanese company El Laguito. The complete set is on sale for 18 860 dollars – therefore about 425.000 kč.
The cigar Cohiba Genios features notes of cocoa. It is recommended as a complement to sweet rum, cognac or whisky. A cigar paired with a good espresso is also a well-proven combination. Average smoking time 60 - 90 minutes. Price per piece 700 kč, 17.500 kč per set of 25.
The cigar Cohiba Siglo II is distinguished by its well-burning tobacco and its smoky wood flavour. It is made in various different sizes. They are suited for occasions with alcohol. They‘re available in gift aluminium tubes. The price per piece is 360 kč.
