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When you walk into a cigar shop, you\u2019re faced with hundreds of options to choose from. How do you select a stogie that you\u2019re going to enjoy?<\/span><\/p>\n When choosing a cigar, you can really break the selection process into two parts.<\/span><\/p>\n First, you\u2019ll want to filter your choices based on your broad preferences in a few categories: body, size, and shape.<\/span><\/p>\n Once you find a cigar that meets those parameters, you\u2019ll next want to make sure it\u2019s a good quality smoke. <\/span><\/p>\n Below we\u2019ll explain both aspects of this selection process, so that you can walk out of the cigar shop with a high quality stogie, that\u2019s right for you.<\/span><\/p>\n Cigars come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and choosing among them is really a matter of personal preference.<\/span><\/p>\n Body. <\/b>Just like with beers, there are a range of cigars from light (and more mellow) to dark (and more \u201cfull-bodied\u201d \u2014 that is, stronger and more intense) and everything in the middle (your goldilocks cigars, if you will). You\u2019ll probably have to try a few out to determine what you like. I have found, however, that your beer preferences often say a lot about your cigar preferences. Folks who like dark stouts often like dark cigars; folks who like lighter beers often prefer the more mellow stogies. If you aren\u2019t a beer person, get a small sampler pack that includes a variety of bodies and do some experimenting! <\/span><\/p>\n Size. <\/b>First of all, size has nothing to do with flavor. A bigger cigar won\u2019t necessarily be stronger or better. There are two ways cigar size is measured: length, in inches, and width (called ring gauge). Gauge is listed by 64ths of an inch \u2014 so a 20 ring gauge is 20\/64ths, a 49 is 49\/64ths, etc. Many cigar price labels\/listings (both in stores and online) will include size in the form of \u201cinches long X gauge.\u201d So a \u201c5 X 50\u201d is a 5-inch cigar, with a 50 gauge. <\/span><\/p>\n So if size doesn\u2019t directly determine the quality or strength of the cigar\u2019s flavor, how much does it matter? <\/span><\/p>\n Length really just correlates with how long you want your smoke to last. The longer the stogie, the longer it will take. For many smokers, a 6-inch cigar will last about an hour. <\/span><\/p>\n As for ring gauge, many aficionados like something on the smaller end (most cigars are between 40-50). This is because the highest quality tobacco leaf is always the wrapper, so with a smaller diameter, you have a better ratio of wrapper leaf to filler leaf. With a larger diameter, you might have more cigar to smoke, but more of that cigar is filler leaf (which can still be great, mind you). <\/span><\/p>\n Shape. <\/b>There are two classes of cigar shapes: parejos and figurados. Parejos are your classically-shaped cigars with one end open, and one end, usually rounded, that needs cutting. The majority of cigars fall into this broad category, within which there are numerous sub-categories of cigar shapes. <\/span><\/p>\n Figurados are anything other than that classic shape. They tend to have a bullet shape, and are tapered into a sharp point at the closed end. Some experts say this concentrates the smoke more and gives you a fuller flavor. As an occasional smoker, I\u2019ve not personally found much of a difference. <\/span><\/p>\n Mix and match all three of these characteristics of cigars to see what you like best! <\/span><\/p>\n The three attributes described above are more about preference than true quality: you can have high quality cigars in every range of these characteristics, and poor quality cigars as well. <\/span><\/p>\n Thus once you\u2019ve sifted your choices based on your preferences, you want to determine whether a cigar you\u2019ve got your eye on is also a good quality stogie.<\/span><\/p>\n Evaluate a potential cigar based on the criteria below: they apply to all cigars, regardless of body, size, or shape. <\/span><\/p>\n Judge the book by its cover \u2014 that is, the cigar by its wrapper. <\/b>The wrapper should have no gaps or tears, and it should not be cracked. You want a smooth and clean exterior, which signifies quality craftsmanship. <\/span><\/p>\n The cigar should be a uniform color. <\/b>It should not be spotted, or have places that are significantly darker than others. It should not have any spots of mold, which does occur (they\u2019re stored in a humid environment, after all). You want a single, nicely uniform color on the entirety of the cigar. <\/span><\/p>\n Don\u2019t buy dry.<\/b> If you hold the cigar and squeeze it just a little, it should feel firm and like it has some give. If it crackles and feels dry, avoid it. It probably hasn\u2019t been stored properly, and will burn too hot upon smoking. <\/span><\/p>\n Feel for a uniform tobacco fill. <\/b>If you lightly squeeze the cigar every half inch or so, the filling should feel uniform. You don\u2019t want any divots or bulges, indicating a poor job of filling. <\/span><\/p>\n Give it a good smell.<\/b> You can divine much of what a cigar will taste like by giving it a hearty whiff. If you\u2019re in a store, and a cigar is in a plastic wrapper, ask if you can give it a sniff. Hold it close to your nose (but don\u2019t let it touch your nose \u2014 gross), and breathe in nice and deep. If it\u2019s an appealing smell to you, it\u2019ll probably taste good too. If something smells off in any way, give it a pass. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When you walk into a cigar shop, you\u2019re faced with hundreds of options to choose from. How do you select a stogie that you\u2019re going to enjoy? When choosing a cigar, you can really break the selection process into two parts. First, you\u2019ll want to filter your choices based on your broad preferences in a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":96407,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"activitypub_content_warning":"","activitypub_content_visibility":"","activitypub_max_image_attachments":3,"activitypub_interaction_policy_quote":"anyone","activitypub_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6,218,42273],"tags":[42247],"class_list":["post-96406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-leisure","category-living","tag-vices"],"featured_image_urls":{"large":"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2018\/09\/cigars-538x280.jpg","reactor-320":"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2018\/09\/cigars-320x213.jpg","aesop-tiny-cover":"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2018\/09\/cigars-400x267.jpg","aesop-character":"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2018\/09\/cigars-200x200.jpg","aesop-collection":"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2018\/09\/cigars-300x300.jpg","aesop-grid-image":"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2018\/09\/cigars-400x267.jpg"},"yoast_head":"\nSelect a Cigar Based on Your Personal Preferences<\/h3>\n
Select a Cigar Based on Quality<\/h3>\n