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n
October 12, 1492, Columbus landed in the New World and, according to his log,
was welcomed by natives who brought gifts, including "certain dried leaves
which gave off a distinct fragrance.” But Columbus was looking for gold,
not potpourri, and the aromatic “dried leaves” were unceremoniously
tossed overboard. Poor Chris just couldn’t get a break; not only had
he missed India by more than 10,000 miles, but if he had foreseen the promise
of that modest handful of leaves, he might not have died in poverty 14 years
later.
Later Spanish adventurers observed the natives wrapping
dried tobacco leaves in palm fronds. Then–¡Dios mio!– they
set fire to the damn thing and “drank” the smoke from the other
end! The first Spaniard to bring this peculiar practice back to Europe was
imprisoned by the Inquisition for witchcraft.
Still, this new world luxury took the old world by storm
and tobacco was soon being cultivated in plantations from Cuba to Maryland.
However, what was true then is still true today–for a good cigar, you
need good leaves, and the best tobacco leaf tends to come 
from
Latin climes. For comparison purposes only we offer the following gross generalities.
Mexican cigars like Te-Amo
tend to be mild but spicy, even peppery. Nicaraguan cigars such as
Padrón offer
a rich, dark sweetness with subtle spices in medium to full body. Cigars of
the Dominican Republic, such as Arturo
Fuente, traditionally feature mild to medium body with
flavors of wood and leather. Jamaica often provides a tinge of nuts
or coffee in milder cigars like Macanudo.
Honduran cigars like Hoyo de
Monterrey may be characterized by medium to full body with
undertones of cocoa, nuts and spice. Finally, the best Cuban cigars
such as Cohiba
are known to smokers the world over for full-body, yet smooth and spicy flavor.
Importation of cuban cigars was made illegal in the U.S. in 1963 (but, according
to Pierre Salinger, not before JFK had him obtain over a thousand Cuban Upmann’s
for the presidential stash).
asically a cigar
is just a tube made of leaves, but the quality of those leaves and the size
and shape of that tube make for an exciting variety of smoking experiences.
Cigars are measured by length in inches or millimeters, and width, designated
by the ring gauge, which represents the diameter in 64ths of an inch.
Size is more than mere appearance. Generally, the thicker the ring gauge,
the more complex the flavor; the longer the cigar, the cooler the smoke and
the longer it may be enjoyed.
Like all good things, a cigar has a beginning, middle, and
end. The foot is the open end of the cigar that is lit, the middle
section of the cigar is called the barrel, and the closed end that
is clipped and smoked is known as the head, and is usually finished
with a cap, 
a
small oval leaf that closes the head of the cigar. A cigar should never be
clipped below the cap or it may unravel during smoking.
Handmade cigars are created by
a cigar roller (or torcedor), an old-world craftsman who assembles
three different categories of leaf to painstakingly create a single cigar:
F I L L E R (or tripa) - First, the roller creates a "bunch,"
the heart of the cigar containing the "filler" leaves. A good bunch
is crucial: a loose fill will burn too quickly and unevenly, a tight fill
will make it difficult for the smoker to "draw" smoke from the cigar.
B I N D E R (or capote) - The bunched filler is then rolled
in a smooth, supple leaf called the "binder," forming the rough
size and shape of the cigar, which is pressed in a wooden mold for about an
hour before returning to the roller's table for the final step.
W R A P P E R ( or capa)
- The cigars are removed from the molds and "wrapper" leaf is carefully
rolled diagonally around the pressed bunch and trimmed with the chaveta,
a sickle-shaped blade. Wrapper leaves are selected for flavor, appearance
and color, which may be divided into five categories: oscuro, very
dark, almost black; maduro, dark brown, colorado,
(or rosado), a reddish brown; natural, tan to light brown; claro,
very pale tan. BACK
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The
Padrón legacy began in 1964, when after leaving Cuba, José
Orlando Padrón began a chinchalle (home-based cigar factory)
in Little Havana, Miami. By 1970, he was growing his own Cuban-seed
tobacco in Nicaragua to produce consistently excellent cigars that belie
their reasonable cost. The pricier Anniversary series has become one
of the benchmarks of the cigar world. Padrones are medium-bodied cigars
with distinctive dark sweetness and a tinge of spice.
Probably
the most famous of Cuba's brands, Cohiba
began when Fidel Castro tried one of his bodyguard's custom-made cigars.
They became Castro's private blend until 1968, when the cigar was named
Cohiba and produced solely for diplomatic presentations. It was not
until 1982 that Cuba offered this elite cigar to the world. Leaves selected
from the finest crops undergo three fermentations and aging in barrels
to give Cohiba its full-bodied yet silky-smooth character.
The
original Cuban Hoyo de Monterrey was created in l865 by José
Gener. About a century later, the new owners sold the name to Frank
Llaneza of Villazon cigar company who created this Honduran version
of the venerable brand. Honduran Hoyos are medium- to full-bodied with
a rich flavor that rivals their Cuban counterparts. Available in a wide
array of sizes, they are maintained to the highest standards under the
expert management of master blender Estelo Padrón.
The
Fuente family began a cigar dynasty in 1912 in Cuba, moving to Tampa,
Nicaragua, and Honduras before settling in the Dominican Republic in
1980. In addition to the light- to medium-body cigars they are known
for they also produce the stronger, higher-end Don Carlos, Hemingway,
and prestigious Opus X lines, as well as various other brands, including
Ashton, Cuesta Ray, Montesino, Sosa and La Unica.
Macanudo
Until the
year 2000, all Mexican cigars by law had to be puros (cigars
whose tobacco was entirely from the same country) but the government
has recently allowed Mexican cigar manufacturers to import and use tobacco
from other countries.It is this blending that gives Te-Amo Aniversarios
more depth and richness than their usual peppery but mild puro cigars.