The Complete Idiot's Guide to Cigars

by Gage, Tad

• ISBN13: 9780028619750
• ISBN10: 0028619757
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1997-10-01
• Publisher: Alpha Books

Summary

You're no idiot, of course. You throw sophisticated parties, mix your favorite drinks, and prepare delicious meals. But when it comes to smoking a cigar, you don't know which end to light. Don't burn out yet! The Complete Idiot's Guide to Cigars takes the fear out of choosing and smoking fine stogies. Feel confident about browsing in a smokeshop, setting up a humidor, and smoking a cigar with style. In this Complete Idiot's Guide you get:

Author Biography

Tad Gage paved the way for the current consumer love affair with cigars. He served as editor and publisher of The Compleat Smoker, America's first four-color quarterly magazine on cigars. He currently serves on the executive committee for the Chicagoland Pipe Collector's Club. He lives in Chicago.

Table of Contents

Lighting Up, Kicking Back	p. 1
If You Know Just a Little, Start Here	p. 3
Fire Away!	p. 4
A Basic Sampling	p. 5
Lighting Up: It's a Gas	p. 6
Luck of "The Draw"	p. 7
Where Can You Smoke?	p. 8
Anatomy of a Cigar	p. 9
Grab Your Wallet: What You'll Pay	p. 10
What's in a Name?	p. 11
The Least You Need to Know	p. 14
Where There's Smoke, There's Fire	p. 15
Desperately Seeking Cigars	p. 16
Tobacconist or "Seegar Seller"?	p. 16
Spirited Sales--Liquor Stores and Cigar Bars	p. 17
Pasta or Cuban Corona?--Cigars at Restaurants	p. 18
Cigars: In the Mail, on the Net	p. 19
Lead Me to Your Humidor	p. 20
When to Walk Away	p. 22
The Least You Need to Know	p. 23
Bite a Hot Dog, but Clip Your Cigar	p. 25
The Cutting Edge	p. 25
The "V"-Cut	p. 26
The "Pinhole" Cut	p. 28
The "Puncture" Cut	p. 28
The Straight or Guillotine Cut	p. 30
Two Blades: Better Than One?	p. 31
The Scissors Decision	p. 32
The Price of a Good Cut	p. 33
Antique Cutters	p. 34
C'mon Baby, Light My Fire	p. 34
Paper's No Match for Cigars	p. 34
Lighter Fluid: Cigar Arson?	p. 34
Wood Is Good	p. 35
It's a Gas	p. 35
Ashtrays: Give Your Cigar a Break	p. 36
The Least You Need to Know	p. 37
Ya Gotta Speak Da Language	p. 39
Basic Cigar Speak--Talking the Talk	p. 39
The Box Score	p. 41
Is It a Premium Smoke?	p. 41
Branded a "Winner"	p. 42
Is Wood Always Good?	p. 43
Boxed In: Feeling the Pressure	p. 43
Don't Let a Machine Make Your Cigar	p. 44
Shorted Out--Turn On to Long Filler	p. 45
Where Was Your Cigar Born?	p. 46
The Least You Need to Know	p. 47
What You See Is What You Get	p. 49
Brown Is the Color of My True Love's Cigar	p. 50
Double Claro, Candela, Jade, or American Market Selection (AMS) Wrappers	p. 50
Natural or Claro Wrappers	p. 51
Colorado Claro or English Market Selection (EMS)	p. 51
Colorado Wrappers	p. 52
Maduro Wrappers	p. 52
Double Maduro, Oscuro, or Maduro Maduro Wrappers	p. 53
Size Does Matter	p. 53
The Size That's Right for You	p. 55
Eenie, Meenie... Popular Lengths and Shapes	p. 55
Gigante, Presidente, Immensa	p. 58
Double Corona	p. 58
Churchill	p. 58
Panatela	p. 58
Lonsdale	p. 58
Corona Grandes	p. 59
Corona Extra, Corona Royale	p. 59
Corona	p. 59
Petite Corona	p. 59
Robusto, Rothschild	p. 59
Belvedere, Ascot, Demitasse	p. 59
Daring to Be Different	p. 60
Belicoso, Petite Belicoso	p. 60
Culebra	p. 60
Pyramid	p. 60
Torpedo	p. 60
Perfecto	p. 61
The Least You Need to Know	p. 61
Cigar Trek--In Search of Perfection	p. 63
What's Inside Your Cigar?	p. 65
How Your Cigar Is Orchestrated	p. 65
From Mild to Wild: Work Your Way Up	p. 67
"Pumping Up" to a Full-Bodied Smoke	p. 67
Is This a Strong Cigar?	p. 68
Finding a Heavenly Body	p. 69
Honduras	p. 70
Mexico	p. 70
Dominican Republic	p. 71
Strength Is Relative	p. 71
The Least You Need to Know	p. 72
Havana Cigars: Straight Up, Cuban Style	p. 73
We Don't Blend No Stinkin' Cigars!	p. 74
Full Body: In the Spanish Style	p. 75
How Cuban Seed Traveled Around the World	p. 76
Are Cuban Cigars the Best?	p. 78
Can a Government Make a Good Cigar?	p. 78
The Name Game	p. 80
Faking You Out: Know Your Cubans	p. 82
Was My Cuban Cigar Made by Hand?	p. 83
The Least You Need to Know	p. 84
The Myth and Magic of Havana Cigars	p. 85
Cuban Cigar: Still Champion	p. 85
So You Want to Be a Smuggler?	p. 86
My Cigar Just Exploded	p. 87
In Search of Consistency	p. 88
Pricey Stuff	p. 89
Have-a-Havana	p. 89
The Least You Need to Know	p. 93
How the Cigar Becomes a Star	p. 95
Don't Try This at Home: Creating a Cigar	p. 96
Awaking the "Sleeping" Leaf	p. 96
Giving a Cigar "The Look"	p. 98
The Art of Cigar Rolling	p. 100
The Roller at Center Stage	p. 101
Cigar Rolling: A Silky Touch with Steel Muscles	p. 102
The Art of Filler Bunching	p. 103
Bonding with Binders	p. 104
Cigar Molds: Full-Court Pressure	p. 105
Wrapping It All Up	p. 106
"Capping" Off the Cigar	p. 107
The Least You Need to Know	p. 109
Filler Up, Bind It, Wrap It Up!	p. 111
Fillers: Bulking Up	p. 112
Cuba: The One and Only	p. 112
Smooth Dominican	p. 113
Honduras: Packing a Punch	p. 114
Doing the Samba in Brazil	p. 115
Oh, Mexico, the Sun's So Hot	p. 116
"Hey Mon, Come to Jamaica"	p. 117
Nicaragua: Revolution and Cigars	p. 117
Costa Rica and Panama	p. 117
Dutch Treat from Indonesia, Java, and Sumatra	p. 118
Binders: Keeping It All Together	p. 118
Ecuador, Java, and Sumatra: Bound by Binder	p. 118
Stay Outta My Tobacco Patch: Cuba	p. 119
Honduras and Nicaragua Spice It Up	p. 119
Wrappers: Pretty as a Picture	p. 119
Snuggled Under a Blanket	p. 120
The Wrapper King of Connecticut	p. 121
Cameroon: The African Connection	p. 122
Wrappers from the East	p. 122
The Mojo of Mexico and Maduro	p. 122
The Least You Need to Know	p. 123
Happily Ever After	p. 125
Why New Cigars Get Married	p. 126
The Three-Month Wedding Night	p. 128
Gotta Crush That Bug Right Outta My 'Gar!	p. 130
Farewell to the Tropics	p. 130
Totally Tubular Cigars	p. 131
The Cellophane Debate	p. 131
Boxed and Ready to Travel	p. 132
The Least You Need to Know	p. 133
Portrait of the Cigar as a Young Leaf: Where Cigars Grow Up	p. 135
I Was Born in a Log Cabin	p. 137
Native Smokes: Close, but No Cigar	p. 139
"This Is Better Than Gold!"	p. 141
Aging: It Worked for Wine	p. 142
What Tobacco Learned from Wine	p. 143
Tobacco Farming: Getting Your Hands Dirty	p. 144
The Least You Need to Know	p. 145
From Green Bay to Bombay	p. 147
You'd Be Amazed Where This Stuff Grows	p. 148
Tobacco in Europe's Backyard	p. 149
The World's Most Sensitive Crops	p. 150
Why Cigar Leaf Is Different	p. 151
Change the Conditions, Change the Taste	p. 151
The Least You Need to Know	p. 153
"Growing" a Good Cigar	p. 155
The Care and Feeding of Baby Tobacco	p. 156
Infants in the Nursery	p. 156
Taking It to the Field	p. 156
Pinch Me, I'm Budding	p. 157
Mold and Pestilence at Play in the Fields of Tobacco	p. 158
The Beetles: Live on Stage	p. 158
Mold: Good in Blue Cheese, Bad on Tobacco	p. 159
Pick a Winning Leaf	p. 160
The Least You Need to Know	p. 163
Fermentation: Sweating the Small Stuff	p. 165
Airing It Out	p. 166
Can a Leaf Make the Grade?	p. 167
Sorting Leaves by Size	p. 168
Sorting Leaves by Texture	p. 168
Sorting Leaves by Appearance	p. 168
Bring on the Heat	p. 169
A Tobacco-Leaf Striptease	p. 172
Baling Out: Putting Tobacco to Rest	p. 173
The Long Sleep	p. 175
The Least You Need to Know	p. 176
Tobacco Doesn't Like to Relocate: Making a Home for Your Cigars	p. 177
Gettin' Around the Tropics	p. 177
Blending in and Around the Caribbean	p. 178
Location Is Everything	p. 179
Making a Home for Your Cigars	p. 180
Too Dry	p. 180
Too Moist	p. 180
Too Hot	p. 180
Too Cold	p. 181
Just Right: The 70/70 Rule	p. 181
The Least You Need to Know	p. 182
"Turbo Smoke": Adding to Your Enjoyment	p. 183
Stashing Your Stogies: Keeping Them Fresh	p. 185
Top Reasons for Stashing Stogies	p. 185
Humidors: From Palaces to Plastic Bags	p. 186
Cigar Shop and Cigar Club Lockers	p. 187
Zip-Seal Bags	p. 188
Plastic Boxes	p. 189
Tabletop Humidors	p. 189
Free-Standing "Vaults"	p. 191
Built-In Humidors	p. 191
How Do I Keep These Things Moist?	p. 192
Help! My Cigar Dried Out	p. 194
Better with Age: Aging Your Cigars	p. 195
You Can Take It with You	p. 196
Cigar Cases	p. 196
Travel Humidors	p. 196
The Least You Need to Know	p. 197
Cigarillos: The "Other" Cigar	p. 199
The Sneaky Smoke That Satisfies	p. 199
Cigars, Cigarillos, and Small Cigars	p. 200
What's Dry-Curing?	p. 201
What You See Is What You Get	p. 202
Paying the Price	p. 202
Opportunity Knocks: When to Smoke 'Em	p. 203
A Selection of Sneaky Smokes	p. 203
Small Cigars from Handmade Brand Makers	p. 204
A Selection of Cigarillos	p. 205
The Least You Need to Know	p. 207
Baubles, Bangles, and Bands: Cigar Stuff	p. 209
Bands, Boxes, and Labels	p. 210
The Cigar Box as an Advertisement	p. 211
Humidors: The Fancy Stuff	p. 212
Collectible Cigar Curiosities	p. 213
Modern Smoking Collectibles	p. 216
The Least You Need to Know	p. 217
Rating Your Smokes	p. 219
Going by the Numbers	p. 219
Scoring Your Cigars	p. 220
When to Forget a Rating	p. 220
A Funky, Earthy Taste with a Hint of Berries? NOT!	p. 221
What You DO Taste	p. 222
How to "Taste" Your Cigar's Aroma	p. 222
How to Describe a Cigar	p. 223
Prime Factors	p. 225
Appearance	p. 225
Lighting and Burning	p. 225
Construction	p. 225
Taste	p. 226
"Dear Diary..."	p. 226
Appearance and Presentation	p. 228
Lighting and Burning Properties	p. 228
Construction	p. 229
Taste	p. 230
Comments and Final Scoring	p. 231
The Least You Need to Know	p. 232
Eat, Drink (Smoke), and Be Merry	p. 233
Mind Your Manners	p. 235
You Can't Tell the Brand Without a Band	p. 235
Burning Up	p. 237
A Study in Shrunken Ashtrays	p. 237
The Attack of Old Cigar Butt	p. 237
Treatment for the Unfinished Cigar	p. 237
The Case of the Smoldering Stogie	p. 238
The Lopsided Patient	p. 238
The Split-Wrapper Syndrome	p. 239
"Put Out That Smelly Cigar!"	p. 239
Smoking on the Home Front	p. 241
The Smoking Den	p. 241
Banished to the Dungeon	p. 242
When Kids Are Involved	p. 242
The Least You Need to Know	p. 242
A Votre Sante: To Your Health	p. 243
Enjoy in Moderation	p. 244
Why Cigarettes and Cigars Are Different	p. 245
The Answer, Please	p. 246
The Least You Need to Know	p. 246
A Loaf of Bread, a Jug of Wine, and Cigars	p. 247
After-Meal Smokes	p. 247
The Cigar as a Dinner Companion	p. 248
The Classic Meal	p. 249
A Lighter Touch	p. 250
A Little Spice	p. 251
The Cigar as Dessert	p. 252
A Drink with Your Cigar	p. 253
A Jug of Wine	p. 253
A Bottle of Red	p. 253
A Bottle of White	p. 254
A Rustic Meal	p. 254
Beer: A Clear Choice	p. 255
Fortified Wine Has Muscle	p. 256
Very, Very Sherry	p. 256
Any Port in a Storm	p. 257
High Spirits	p. 257
Brandy and Cognac	p. 257
Scotch Whiskies and Bourbon Whiskies	p. 258
Distilled Spirits, Liquerurs, and Mixed Drinks	p. 259
Non-Alcoholic Drinks	p. 260
A Cigar "Party"	p. 260
The Least You Need to Know	p. 261
Put It in Your Pipe and Smoke It	p. 263
Could Pipes Be Hip?	p. 264
Pick a Pipe, but Not Any Pipe	p. 265
The "Look" of a Pipe	p. 267
Finding a Good Pipe	p. 268
Tobacco: Go for the Best	p. 268
Pipe Tobacco Styles and Brands	p. 269
Firing Up Your Pipe	p. 270
Filling Your Pipe	p. 271
Lighting Your Pipe	p. 272
Settling In for a Good Smoke	p. 273
Giving Your Pipe a Rest	p. 274
What's It Like to Smoke a Pipe?	p. 274
The Least You Need to Know	p. 275
Blowing Literary Smoke	p. 277
The Scent of a Good Cigar	p. 277
The Scent of a Good Cigar	p. 278
The World's Most Popular Topic?	p. 278
The Cigar as a Clue	p. 280
Some Famous (Real) Cigar Smokers	p. 280
Your Place in History	p. 282
The Least You Need to Know	p. 282
The Descriptive Guide to Cigars	p. 283
Best Buys	p. 310
Great Smokes	p. 310
Best Buys/Great Smokes	p. 310
Cigar Speak Glossary	p. 311
Index	p. 317
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