21 July 2009

Cigar Lingo: Part 1

What about OSCURO cigars? (Nope. You never hear "obscuro cigars." Don't ask me. All I know is in the post below.)

I'm not much of a cigar smoker myself, but as it turns out, the outer wrapping of a cigar is a tobacco leaf as well. ! Who knew? Not I. The wrapper determines much of the cigar's character and flavor, and as such its color is often used to describe the cigar as a whole. Colors are designated as follows, from lightest to darkest (Yep, these are all in Spanish):
  • Double Claro - very light, slightly greenish (also called Candela, American Market Selection or jade); achieved by picking leaves before maturity and drying quickly; often grown in Connecticut.
  • Claro - light tan or yellowish. Indicative of shade-grown tobacco.
  • Colorado - reddish-brown (also called Rosado or "Corojo").
  • Colorado Claro - mid-brown; particularly associated with tobacco grown in the Dominican Republic or in Cuba.
  • Colorado Maduro - dark brown; particularly associated with Honduran or Cuba-grown tobacco.
  • Natural - light brown to brown; generally sun-grown.
  • Maduro - dark brown to very dark brown.
  • Oscuro - a.k.a. "Double Maduro", black, often oily in appearance; mainly grown in Cuba, Nicaragua, Brazil, Mexico, and Connecticut, USA.


No comments: