Your Cigar Questions: Answered (Part VIII)

We’ve Got Mail! Four more of our favorite fan cigar questions…answered.

You are in search of the keys to better stogie satisfaction; we have heard you, and we want to answer your cigar questions.

They’re all good asks – and while we hope we’ve helped the individuals who have picked our brain for this cigar advice, we also figured that it might do us all a little bit of good if we shared the info with the world. After all – if these 4 guys are asking, we’re pretty sure they’re not the only ones who want to know. That’s why we created “Fan Mail”: the more you know about cigars, the more you can enjoy them…and that means there’s no sense in keeping these questions a secret, if a little knowledge can go a long way to helping our fellow BOTLs & SOTLs. As always, we open our inbox and Facebook page to you  for those occasions when you have burning cigar questions – such as these four, where we tackle the different types of figurado cigars…how different tobaccos from different countries taste…storing cigars long-term and how cigar tobacco curing is done, with an extra-sharp eye on Drew Estate’s process for creating their unique Kentucky Fire Cured cigars. So catch a peek at these quick video answers to the top 4 latest cigar questions we’ve received from Cigar Advisor readers – maybe they can help you, too.

Cigar Question #1: How do I Tell the Difference Between Figurado Cigars – Torpedoes, Pyramids and Belicosos?

Hi Gary,

I like smoking cigars with pointy heads like torpedos, pyramids and belicosos, but because they look so much alike sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference between them. Can you please explain how to know if you’re smoking the correct shape?

– Mark Messinger in Fairfax, VA

Pointed or tapered head cigars (referred to in cigar speak as “figurados”), can be confusing, not only because the shapes are so similar in appearance, but because cigar manufacturers name their cigars at their own discretion. In other words, what they call a “Torpedo,” when measured, may actually be a “Belicoso.” In some cases, they may not call it by its traditional name at all. For example, they may give a pyramid shape a number, like the classic Montecristo “No.2,” or give it a name like “Imperator,” the torpedo shape in the Alec Bradley Tempus line. To learn how to figure out which figurado you’re smoking, watch the video now.

~ Gary

Cigar Question #2: How Do Different Tobaccos Taste, From Country to Country?

I received an email from Andrew in Farmington, Connecticut a few days after I published an article about cigars that are made with tobaccos from multiple countries. While the blends I looked at were a mish-mosh of 3 or 4 (or as many as 6) different nations’ leaves, he was interested to know what kind of individual flavor profiles each tobacco had, country by country.

Sometimes it’s enough to say, “Dominican Cigars” or “Nicaraguan cigars” – and that will give a person an idea of how the cigar tastes, based on what that person already knows generally about Dominican or Nicaraguan tobacco. It’s all shorthand; and while the tobacco’s country of origin helps describe the flavors you’d expect to find in the cigar (with some exceptions), the differences can be surprising – even with leaf from countries that are next door neighbors. See what I mean, in this short video…

~ John

Cigar Question #3: What Does “Kentucky Fire Cured” Mean? And How is Tobacco Cured?

“Kentucky Fire Cured” sounds like something served up in a fast food joint, which is probably why Jerome in California messaged me to ask me what they actually were. But rather than give the simple answer and confirm it’s a type of cigar manufactured by Drew Estate, I decided to let him in – and you, too – on how cigar tobaccos are cured, and how Fire Cured tobacco is produced. Watch my “cigar questions” video now, and learn how this unique tobacco curing process is accomplished!

~ Jonathan

Cigar Question #4: How Long Can I Store Cigars?

Another query in this month’s string of great cigar questions comes to us from Jimmy in PA, who wants to know what so many people have asked us – and that is, “How long can you store a cigar for – how long can they last?” The short answer may be simple (“forever”), but there a few caveats…really, really big caveats. Watch to find out…

~ Tommy Zman

More cigar Q&A is on the way – watch for our next roundup of videos answering your questions…