How to Pick a Good Cigar

There is an art to choosing the correct cigar.

There are a lot of details that go into choosing the correct one for your own enjoyment. Some details depend on personal preference, such as smell, size and flavor. However, there are some useful tips that are uniform for everyone choosing a good cigar.

Wrapper

Deciding whether a cigar is good by its wrapper may seem difficult, but it can actually tell a lot about the cigar. First, you need to make sure that it is consistent in color throughout the cigar. If there are any variations in color on certain spots on the wrapper, it could be showing damage to the cigar. Also, there should be no gaps or tears in the wrapper. A good cigar will have a flawless wrapper and shouldn’t have any spots out of place.

The color of a wrapper can also tell a little about the cigar itself. A more full-bodied cigar will consist of a darker wrapper and will be sweeter. This makes it easier to choose which cigar you would like.

Density

Cigars need to be stored at the correct temperature with a certain amount of humidity. This keeps them slightly moist, but not too much that they won’t be able to light. So, in order to check a cigar for the right density, you can gently squeeze. Don’t roll it on your hands, but use your fingers to ever so gently squeeze down the cigar to check for any lumps or soft spots. You have to be careful because you don’t want to damage the cigar itself. You should also make sure that the wrapper isn’t crumbling because that is an indicator that it wasn’t stored at the correct temperature/humidity.

Body

Cigars are available in a range of sizes. Make sure that whichever size you decide to choose, you aren’t biting off more than you can chew. It is recommended that beginners start off with smaller cigars and gradually move their way up to larger cigars. Sometimes beginners don’t realize how much is involved with the larger cigars and find that they can’t handle the whole thing. It is better to get your body used to it and build your way up so you can really enjoy what you are smoking.

Rating

Every cigar comes with a rating from 0-100. It is broken up into sections to show the quality of a cigar. The various sections for cigar ratings are broken up as follows:

0-69: Don’t waste your money

70-79: Average to good commercial quality

80-89: Very good to excellent

90-94: Outstanding

95-100: Classic

There is a lot involved in choosing the correct cigar for you, but these steps should help you understand how to being looking. There are going to be more things that are specific to your own opinions, but you will learn that as you smoke more cigars. If you have any questions or are looking for a great cigar after reading about them, feel free to contact Julio’s Liquors located in Westborough, MA. We have virtually every cigar in the business in our Smoke Shop.