8 Interesting Cigar Facts

The cigar is every man’s punctuation to success, a status symbol indicating that a man has arrived. So if you are one who has reached this rung in life with a roll of tobacco between your lips, basking in the splendor and richness of cigar smoke, then congratulations! If you are new to this indulgence though, here are eight interesting cigar facts you can keep up your sleeve which make for good smoking room conversation starters. Getting to know your cigar better can also help you keep others from blowing smoke about cigars when you are buying. So here are eight chunks of good-to-know cigar facts:

1. Term Derivation

The English term ‘cigar’ stemmed from the Spanish ‘cigaro’ which originated from ‘siyar’, the Mayan word for tobacco.

2. Where Cigar Tobacco is Grown

Cigar tobacco is grown in Brazil, Cameroon, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Philippines, and the United States.

3. Cigar Composition

Cigars are made of three types of tobacco leaves. The variations of these leaves establish the smoking and flavor characteristics, specifically – binders, fillers and wrappers.

4. Cigar Categories

Cigars are categorized based on their size and shape, which jointly are known as vitola. Irregular-shaped cigars, called Figurados are quite a challenge to make; this production difficulty is what makes them to be considered superior in terms of quality. Parejo is the most common shape of a cigar. Parejos have a cylindrical body, with straight sides and an open end. The other end has a round tobacco-leaf ‘cap’ that needs to be cut off before smoking. If a cigar is completely prepared from tobacco produced in only one country, it is referred to as ‘puro’, which in Spanish means ‘pure’, in the cigar industry.

5. Cigar Taste

Cigars that have darker wrappers tend to be sweet. On the other hand, those with light wrappers usually have a “drier” taste.

6. Tobacco Seed Size

A thousand tobacco seeds can fit inside a thimble.

7. Rolling a Cigar

An experienced roller can produce at least 120 cigars a day.

8. Famous Cigar Enthusiast

At the request of his wife, Mark Twain gave up cigars, leading to a long bout of writer’s block. He then resumed smoking his normal 300 cigars a month and wrote a book in three months without bother or difficulty.

So here goes your cigar fun facts. The next time you light up your cigar in a smoking room, you can now strike a conversation up with fellow smokers.