The Making of a Cigar

From hot and humid fields to the plush den in your home, the cigar you're smoking has made a very long journey. The tobacco whose flavors you are savoring has been grown, cured, fermented, aged and rolled with the utmost care to insure a truly satisfactory smoke.

Cigar making is a time-consuming craft. After harvesting, tobacco is slowly and carefully cured either in the sun or shade so it ages without rotting and gradually loses water and sugar. The process depends on the climate and can differ vastly from one region to another.

After the curing begins the fermenting process that involves moistening the tobacco, storing it in huge bales, remoistening and restacking repeatedly so the leaves wither without rotting or falling apart. The process can stretch for anything between a year-and-a-half to 10 years. This is a crucial phase because it is during fermentation that the tobacco gains its distinctive flavor and aroma.

When the leaves have aged sufficiently, sorting begins. The wrappers (the fine leaves on the exterior that hold cigars together) are separated from the fillers, which is the tobacco inside the cigar. The color, texture and appearance of the leaves determine what they are used for.

The best cigars are still hand-rolled. A skilled roller can produce hundreds of cigars a day. The roller squeezes the filler leaves and places them in a binder leaf. They are rolled into a bunch that is cut and placed in a mold and then in a screw press. Once it is pressed, the roller wraps the bunch in a wrapper leaf. The cigar has now taken shape and will be aged in carefully controlled conditions.
 
Cuba is still acknowledged to be the best producer of cigar tobacco and cigars. But the US embargo against Cuba means access to Cuban cigars is not easy for Americans. The good news, however, is that other countries are now producing cigars considered almost at par with Cuban stogies, especially the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua. Honduras, Cameroon, Ecuador, Mexico, the US, Indonesia and the Philippines also produce cigar tobacco and cigars.

To buy the best cigars online, visit www.luckycigars.com. We stock leading cigar brands like Arturo Fuente, Ashton, Cuesta Rey, Diamond Crown, Don Carlos, Macanudo and Padron. We also sell high quality accessories like cigar lighters, cigar humidors and cigar cutters. You can place your order online or over the phone by calling 1-866-315-3269.