There are three major parts of the cigar. True, the cap,
barrel, and foot are also parts but, they were covered in the
Terminology
section of this site. The three major parts are the wrapper,
binders, and filler.
Wrapper:
The wrapper is
the outside layer of tobacco and gives a cigar one of its primary
flavor components. Wrappers are usually very high quality leaves,
available in colors ranging from Double Claro (the lightest), to
Oscuro (the darkest). Wrappers are very important to taste.
Binders:
The binders are the intermediate leaves used to hold the filler
tobacco together. Binder leaves vary from one manufacturer to the
next.
Filler:
The filler is the bunch of tobacco the forms the center of the
cigar. Generally, filler is responsible for determining how strong
a cigar smokes. There are two types of filler: long filler (which
contains the whole leaf running from the head to the foot of the
cigar) and short filler (comprised of scraps of tobacco - often
the trimmed ends of long fillers).
Blending:
The blending of wrappers, fillers and
binders is what determines the overall flavor of a cigar. There is
a definite art blending tobaccos to achieve particular flavors. As
you smoke different cigars, you'll notice how the various tobaccos
used interact with each other. One thing manufacturers do is use
the same blend in different sizes, thus producing different
tastes. The blend is the same, but the there is a difference in
the proportions of each type of leaf used.
An experienced cigar roller
(a
Torcedor)
will use different proportions in
different sizes In a smaller ring cigar, the binder and wrapper
have more influence on taste. The roller accommodate this
difference by using a different proportion of filler.
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