Anatomy of the Cigar

(i) Cigars basically are a try it and see if you like it kind of thing, but often, reviews in catalogs or even those posted by members here or on other cigar sites, can provide good tips, especially if there appears to be a general consensus;
(ii) Maduro is a type of wrapper, a specific color range, which has sub-ranges, or shades;
(iii) Sizes are not uniform, although it would be nice if they were. Having said that, still and all, there is widespread near-uniformity. The original Churchill size, for example, was 7x47, and most manufacturers' Churchill size falls pretty close to that range. The second number is ring size, representing 64ths of an inch, and which refers to diameter, although you will occasionally hear people refer to ring size as "circumference." Don't believe it for a second. It's as wrong as someone who tells you they were "conversating" with their friends. Just as there is no such word as "conversate," so the ring gauge of a cigar is diameter, not circumference.
(iv) As for brand names, it's like cars. There is more than one vehicle put out by Subaru, for example, although every model will be "the Subaru X" for example. That doesn't make every Subaru the same type of vehicle, just as cigars carrying the Ashton name, or Savinelli name are not all the same. The Ashton and the Ashton VSG are two different cigars, as are the Avo and the Avo XO. It will all come in time. Hang out and you'll see. It might come faster than you realize. In two weeks, you could be telling people here something they never knew before about a cigar line they've been smoking for 17 years. :dunno: :cheers:

another educational link for you:
http://www.jrcigars.com/index.cfm?page=jrcu_school

Have at it, and have fun!

This is defenatlely a big part of the fun fxscreamer - learning what all these terms mean, and then about all the flavors. The secret is to read just about anything you can get your hands on, and the try the different brands they suggest.

Once you have something you like, your friendly sales rep - Donny for an example at cigar.com - can give you suggestions about other brands you might like to try that will be similar.

Hang on to your ball cap, it is an exciting ride that is for sure!!

A little thing I picked up is that if I find a cigar I like, I can look in catalogs, and pick out some cigars with the same wrapper, filler, and binder, and generally, I will like them as well. Then I might try something like it, but with a different wrapper, or different filler. Kinda gives direction to my experimentation.

As with any hobby, no matter how long you have been at it there will still be more to learn.

I will reiterate a lot of what was said here. However, there is a misconception in the cigar world that maduro is a color which it is today, but historically this has not always been the case.

Maduro means "ripe" and actually refers to a process by the wrapper leaves are left on the plant longer and are taking from the higher primings. Also, the fermentation process is done at a higher heat and is done longer to extract the sugars from the leaf.

While that is the historical concept, all Maduro leaves just happen to be realatively darker in color. When the boom hit and demand for cigars went through the roof, a lot of "new rules" were born. People started seeing maduro and associated it with a color. So today Maduro actually describes one of two things: 1. a color and 2. a process.

The problem with cigars is that there are no uniform rules when it comes to names of wrappers, seeds, sizes, and even shapes. Did you know that historically a torpedo what actually tapperd on both ends like the La Aurora Preferido. However, now the size describes what is actually a pyramid.

Tobacco people never get names right. Hostorically when Columbus landed in the Carribean and they discovered what we call "tobacco" today, they mixed up some of the native names. The native name for tobacco what actually "cohiba" and "tobacco" was actually the name in their language for a pipe. The explorers got them backwards when they returned to Europe. Had they actually called them by their proper names, today we would be smoking "cohiba" out of our "tobacco" :lol:

Okay now I am just ranting. I could go on for hours about this stuff.

Alex Svenson said:

La Aurora Preferido

Click to expand...

Ummmmmm....La Aurora Preferido :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

I thought a La Aurora Preferidos was a figurado. What the diference between a figurado and a Pyramide? Uniformity?

A Torpedo, Perfecto, and Pyramid are all part of the Figurado Family. Figurado is just a fancy way of saying a shaped cigar or a cigar that is not a standard Parejo. Many different Vitolas fall under the figurado catagory.

Ahh. Ok.