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Cigars
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There are signs everywhere that cigars are becoming popular again. For
example, you can’t pass a magazine stand without seeing two or three new
magazines glorifying the subject, and restaurants all over the country are
devoting entire nights to “smoke dinners.” So why is the cigarette still
considered offensive and is generally scorned by all? This seems strange since
cigars and cigarettes have so many things in common: both are made of tobacco,
both are rolled into tube-like shapes, and both are smoked. However, it must
be the differences that make the cigar so much more popular. Cigars are made
from better quality tobaccos, cigars are hand rolled, and cigars have a more
pleasing aroma.
Both cigars and cigarettes are constructed of tobacco, but the care used
in raising fine cigar tobacco is second to none. Only the finest leaves of the
plant are selected. The drying and fermenting process is long (nine months for
filler leaves and up to two years for wrapper leaves) and closely watched.
Cigarette tobacco is grown for quantity; not necessarily for quality. No
regard is given to the aroma and smoke of the different types of tobacco. The
only type of tobacco grown is fast-maturing strains they can get to the market
quickly. Careful and attentive raising is non existent. The leaves are
quickly dried and thrown into boxes for shipment to the rolling factory.
Fine cigars are hand rolled, whereas all cigarettes are machine rolled.
Including the type and quality of the leaf, rolling is the ultimate judge of
whether a cigar is good or bad. Cigar companies go to great pains to be sure
they hire only the best “Torcedores” (cigar rollers). If a cigar is
underfilled it will burn hot and harsh; if it is overfilled it is “Plugged” and
will not draw. To be sure that the cigars are of the best quality, one out of
ten is inspected (that’s two out of each box). On the other hand, cigarette
tobacco is first jammed into cutting machines where the leaves are shredded.
Second, they go into the rolling machines where the shreds are perfectly
measured out, rolled, and wrapped in paper. The only humans who come in
contact with the tobacco, at this point, are the monitors who sweep up the
debris and add it back to the hopper. Since machines are doing the work, there
is very little quality control. Only one out of a thousand is checked (that’s
one cigarette out of fifty packs).
Cigar smoke is savored and appreciated, while cigarette smoke is
considered nasty and smelly.
