|
Tip of the Week
Q: While browsing through my tobacconist's humidor last week, I noticed a freakish-looking braid of three thin cigars twisted together. What was it, and how do you smoke it?
A: That was a culebra, undoubtedly one of the oddest contributions to the vast universe of cigar sizes.
Culebras are made with freshly rolled panetelas, slim cigars that are five to seven inches long. Immediately after rolling, the still-supple cigars are twisted into braids of three, which are tied together at each end to set the culebra's peculiar shape. A smoker should unbraid the cigars and smoke them one by one, though attempts by the uninitiated to smoke the entire braid are an undeniable part of the shape's novelty.
Very few manufacturers produce a culebra size. Over the years the Cubans have made culebras from Partagas, H. Upmann and Romeo y Julieta, though only Partagas is being produced today. The Davidoff Special "C" and the La Flor Dominicana Culebra Especial, both from the Dominican Republic, are probably the two most well-known culebras available on the U.S. market.
| 
Cigar Aficionado RSS Feed