Cigar Review Vocabulary

Cigar Review Vocabulary

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Beginners to the world of cigars often find the language used in cigar reviews to be highly technical and confusing. This article contains a brief introduction to some of the specialist vocabulary used in cigar reviews.

Some of the terms used in cigar reviews need little explanation. These are the words that are used to describe the flavour and the aroma of the cigar, and they are very similar to the words used in wine descriptions - word such as "fruity" or "spicy" or "green" tend to get used. After all the English language only has a certain number of words to describe flavours and aromas, so it's logical that these terms will be used to describe the subtle overtones of any sensory pleasure of this type - whether that pleasure involves cigars, wine, perfume or food.

One group of technical terms found in cigar reviews describes the colour of the cigar. These words are mostly derived from Spanish, reflecting the country of origin for many of the best cigars. The colour of a cigar is determined by the type of leaf used as the outer wrapper. The lightest colour of cigar is known as the "double claro", which is slightly green because of the traces of chlorophyll in the wrapper leaf. Next comes the "claro", which is the colour of a malt biscuit, followed by the "colorado claro", which is a sort of cinnamon colour. The "colorado" is the colour of milk chocolate, and the "colorado maduro" is more like dark chocolate. The "maduro" is a very dark brown, but the darkest of all is the "oscuro", which is nearly black. Not all cigars are the same shape, and cigar reviews will often describe the shape as well as the size. The "perfecto" is the archetypal cigar, tapered at the head and the foot, and curving in the middle. A cigar that has straight sides and is rounded at the tip is a "parejo". A torpedo has parallel sides and a bullet-shaped head, as the name suggests. A "pyramid" looks like an Egyptian obelisk turned on its side; it is similar to the torpedo in having straight sides, but sides aren't quite parallel. The "president" has straight sides and a tapering head, similar to the torpedo and the pyramid, but the end is narrowed. Some manufacturers create cigars in more imaginative shapes, known in cigar reviews as "figurados" - these cigars are collectible items and are sometimes kept rather than actually smoked.

Similar to the words used to describe the size of champagne bottles, the terms used for the different sizes of cigar are imaginative and colourful. Some examples that may be used in cigar reviews include the "Churchill" (named after Sir Winston), which is 18cm long and about 20mm in diameter; the "Toro" (meaning "bull"), which is 15cm long and 20mm in diameter; , while the "Presidente" (a term that is also used for the shape) is 20cm long and 20cm in diameter.

A few other specialist terms don't fit into either category but may be used in cigar reviews. A cigar that is made of pure tobacco is known as a "puro" (Spanish for "pure"). A "puro" is a cigar of the best quality, as the cheaper types use paper wrappers rather than a tobacco leaf. Another term is a "cheroot", which is not strictly a cigar but is a cross between a cigar and a cigarette - it looks like a huge cigarette in shape but is made of straight tobacco, like a proper cigar. Many cheroots are made in the Indian sub-continent, where these "cigars" are very common because of their low price.

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