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Cigar Adviser
Published in: October 1, 1998
Published September/October 1998
The Cigar AdviserQ: Which manufacturers do you rate in your 100-point tests?
Knud Aage Olsen
Bahia, Brazil
The criteria are pretty straightforward. We test and rate all brands of handmade premium cigars that have a significant degree of national distribution across the United States. Brands that have very limited distribution, such as in one city or region, are unavailable to the majority of our readers, and therefore excluded. Mail-order brands are excluded as well unless they are also available in retail shops around the country. If a brand meets those tests, the manufacturer is asked to fill out a fact sheet about its cigar--size, shape, tobacco sources, etc. If all the criteria are met, the cigar is tested. There are no other criteria.
Q: Often when I purchase a box of cigars, I find a thin paper lining in the box. What, if any, is the practical purpose of this paper? If I leave the paper in the box, will it hamper or enhance the aging of the cigars? Should I remove this paper or is it simply a matter of decoration that has no effect whatsoever on the cigars?
Randy Fleming
Richmond, Virginia
The primary purpose of that thin paper is cosmetic. It doesn't usually serve any real purpose, except to provide some protection to the cigars during shipping. The paper won't harm the cigars in any way, so you can leave it in the box or toss it, depending on your preference.
Q: With so many cigar brands and sizes, can you please point me in the right direction by recommending a few good beginner cigars--brand and sizes?
Richard S. Oviedo
Riverside, California
We don't normally recommend brands. I suggest you refer to a recent chat at our on-line Web site, www.cigaraficionado.com, called "Buying cigars on any budget." It was conducted by George Brightman, our director of business development, and it is helpful in pointing toward different kinds of cigars for different levels of connoisseurship.
Q: With virtually all cigars, the first half inch of smoking is raw or dry. The true taste of the cigar then increases, with the best taste found while smoking the middle of the cigar. When finishing the cigar, the flavor fades and becomes irritably strong the last two inches. Am I right?
Maurice Fey
San Jose, California
You're correct to a point, but it can vary by cigar. There are some aged cigars that don't have that raw or harsh taste at the start. But most young cigars definitely need about half an inch to get "running." The cigar then remains virtually unchanged to its halfway point, after which it becomes more full-bodied, even overly strong, in a way that many find displeasing.
There are the rare cigars with excellent balance in their blends that can be smoked down to the knuckle-burning stage. Most aren't like that.
Q: I am trying to find a retail store close to where I live that sells the Fuente Fuente OpusX.
Wayne Kaplansky
Los Angeles, California
Wayne, you have a long trip to make. Fuente Fuente OpusX cigars are not distributed west of the Mississippi River. The Fuente family says that sometime during the next two to three years, it will begin distribution across the country. Until then, ask a friend back East to find some for you.
Q: How can I tell a fake cigar? I live in Europe and I have heard there are a lot of fake Cubans here.
Name and address withheld
First, check out our Web site, www.cigaraficionado.com. We have a counterfeit cigar gallery that shows how to tell some of the differences between the real thing and the fakes. If you have any expertise as a cigar smoker, you should be able to conduct the ultimate test: smoking the cigar. Generally, no matter how good a fake looks, the proof is in the smoke.
The most commonly counterfeited or fake cigars are some of Cuba's most prestigious brands: Cohiba and Montecristo. If they are priced at much less than the going rate in your country, that's a red flag.
Check out the cigar. If the wrapper is blemished or rough or even overly veiny, or the construction is poor around the cap, or the cigar is spongy or uneven in any way, you should be suspicious. Unfortunately, there's no way to be 100 percent sure today. The counterfeiters have gotten very sophisticated and some can even fool the experts. So, as always, it's buyer beware. If the deal seems too good to be true, it usually is.
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