Handmade cigars

Handmade Cigars-Here Is All You Would Love To Know

Cigars are undoubtedly a great source to soothe your soul. Everyone has a different choice in terms of flavors, intensity, and Vitolas. However, there is a common thing among all cigar lovers that they prefer Handmade Cigars over Machine-made cigars. Because Handmade Cigars have a unique taste and distinctive fillers and binders. So, this article is going to tell you all about the handmade cigars

Arturo Fuente Cigars is one of the most popular names in the cigar world which have earned accolades from all over the places. It was founded by Arturo Fuente, Sr. during the year 1912 in the West Tampa, Florida area. And has been making handmade cigars for 100 years. They are for sure the pioners in the Art of Cigar Making.

Handmade Cigars like Rocky Patel Cigars are a leading brand in the world of cigar boutique. It is noted for its premium range of cigars that are manufactured using finest blends of tobacco collected from various regions of the world. They are filled with complex, lavish flavors which makes them a favorite of cigar aficionados from different corners of the world.

La Flor Dominicana is one of the most sought after handmade cigar brand in the market today. It was founded in 1996 in Santiago, Dominican Republic. Since then it has rediscovered itself many times and remain relevant to the taste of the smoke lovers for years. Now a premium brand it has cigars of various blends, shapes and sizes in its kitty and has set an example by paying extensive attention to minute details.

Tatuaje Cigars is a well-known name in the world of handmade cigars as a boutique premium. Tatuaje Cigars was founded by Pete Johnson and all his cigar production is made in factories in Miami, Florida and at Tabacalera Cubana S. A. in Esteli, Nicaragua from My Father Cigars.

A small factory in Little Habana, In Miami, Florida, started the dream of cigars. Don Pepin Garcia, known as "El Rey de Los Habanos" for his performance as a cigar roller in Cuba, emigrated to Nicaragua first and finally to the USA. His knowledge about tobacco and especially his ability as a roller made it possible for this beginning. Some of the first cigars he came to roll were Tatuaje Cigars, and his friendship with Pete Jonhson stared to bring him a lot of buzzes.

Illusione Cigars is a small boutique brand that creates very limited edition blends. They craft their handmade cigars using first generation tobacco seed Corojo 99 and Criollo 98. They come wrapped with a Cafe Colorado wrapper of grade one. They are finished with a traditional triple cap. Illusione cigars offer a taste that is hard to match and their quality is also top notch. Illusione Cigars have earned the position of #7 and #3 cigars in Top 25 Cigar Aficionado's of 2007

AJ Fernandez cigar is one of the renowned brands in the premium cigars industry. Headed by Abdel J. Fernandez, an hotte's cigar manufacturer, these cigars are hand-rolled in his factory in Esteli, Nicaragua. AJ Fernandez is notorious for his unique way of blending tobaccos as well as the refined process he uses to cure the tobaccos in a traditional but also with a spectacular fashionista way.

CLE Cigars are the creation of the famous cigar maker Christian L Eiroa who is carrying forward his rich family tradition of tobacco blending and handmade cigars. CLE Cigars are crafted using finest quality Honduran tobacco as filler, binder as well as wrapper. CLE Cigars are infused with delicious flavors that are earthy, creamy, fruity and spicy making it a very satisfying smoke.

History of Handmade Cigars

Well, the credit of introducing cigars to Europe and the civilized world generally goes to Christopher Columbus. The origin of the tobacco as well as cigars is said to be the Caribbean. During his journey of 1492, when he along with his crew members reached on the islands, three of his crewmen practice this new kind of smoking. Rodrigo de Jerez, Hector Fuentes, and Luis de Torres are reportedly said that they encountered tobacco for the first time when natives gave them dry leaves of tobacco to smoke. They came to know that these leaves have a peculiar taste as well as fragrance. This was the first introduction of tobacco to them

Later, on that journey, Columbus was reported by his sailors that the Tainos, the habitant of Cuba Island, smoked dried tobacco leaves rolled in other leaves such as palm or plantain. This was the primitive form of cigars as well as handmade cigars that later took Europe and the Civilized world by storm. After that, the Spanish and the other European sailors started smoking these handmade cigars and eventually spread to Spain, Portugal, and France.

It is said that the French ambassador Jean Nicot was responsible for taking cigars into France from Portugal and was also given the name Nicotine. Later, cigar-smoking spread to Italy as well as to Britain after Sir Walter Raleigh’s voyage to America. In the mid of the 16th century, smoking in pipes became very familiar in entire Europe. After the American Revolution, seeds were brought to cultivate tobacco in various parts of Europe, and eventually its growing spread that leads to the establishment of many factories. While machine-made cigars also were introduced in the market to make cigars less expensive.

What is meant by Handmade Cigars?

Moreover, these cigars have significance over other cigars and very different in taste and tobacco distinction. Boxes that contain handmade cigar have a particular phrase “totalmente a mano” on it that means totally handmade. Hence, these cigars are given more importance and are more expensive. It is also worth mentioning that handmade cigars are categorized as premium cigars. Following is a list of some of the best handmade cigars you can buy at Cuenca Cigars Online:

What is the Difference between handmade and machine-made cigars?

Machine-made and handmade cigars are different from each other. Handmade cigars contain 100% tobacco leaves, while machine-made cigars have paper, chemicals, and preservatives. In other words, we can say handmade cigars are natural while machine-made are not. Hence these cigars have a better scent and flavor and eventually are considered as the most enjoyable sticks. Also, the process is different, handmade cigars are made out of cured, aged, and fermented tobacco, while Machine made are made with the leftovers of them. Further, it feels oily when you touch it and are wrapped tightly and smoothly. The other differences between the two cigars are the following.

Longer Fillers: Handmade cigars have a longer filler as compared to the machine-made cigars. The longer filler is typically made up of tobacco leaves and runs the entire stick while machine-made cigars have a shorter filling of leaves, stems, and tobacco scraps. Hence these are considered hotter ones and burn very fast.
Binders: Both cigars have different binders. In homemade cigars, fillers are held with coarse tobacco, while the machine-made cigars use ground-up tobacco and natural glue.
Attractive Wrapper: The machine-made cigars have dulled wrappers that are not made up of natural materials. Hence these unnatural wrappers affect the taste of cigars lot. While the hand-rolled cigars use silky elastic wrappers that look attractive as well as fetch a good taste. For a list of some of the most acclaimed cigar wrappers, read this article.
High Price: The handmade cigars are categorized as premium cigars. Therefore, its price is also high, but it is worth spending each penny. Though these cigars are more expensive than machine-made cigars, they will present the best taste and enjoyment. Therefore, pay a little extra amount and buy these. You can also buy these cigars online at an affordable price from Cuenca Cigars.
Cigar Packaging: Another difference between Machine-Made and Handmade Cigars will be the packaging. While Machine made usually comes in bundles or inexpensive cartoons, handmade cigars come artistically package in elegantly and well-designed Cigar Boxes. Some manufacturers, as Arturo Fuente cigars, take pride in their authentic, stylish cigar boxes. Most expend a fortune developing the cigar boxes. If you want to know more about cigar packaging, read more.
Cigar Accessories: There is a culture behind the cigars. Cigar aficionados need specific tools to keep or to smoke their cigars. For example, to preserve the cigars' freshness, every cigar lover looks for a good cigar humidor at some point. Then they need to learn how to make the humidor to work. They also invest in a good cigar cutter and cigar lighter. While machine-made is to please a need for nicotine, handmade cigars are the most artistic hobby that many older men love. Handmade cigars are part of a lifestyle, and there is no rush to smoke a great cigar.

How cigars are handmade?

The cigars are made through an intensive process. The following are the steps that are taken to handmade cigars. From Seed to cigars, about 500 people interfere in the process.

Tobacco Cultivation: First of all, the plants are seeded indoor and after six to ten weeks are planted in the field and let those grow in great care. While the plant whose leaves are used as wrappers are kept covered to save from the sun. The plants take several months to mature.
Curing: When the tobacco plants are matured they are harvested and cured to develop their characteristic aroma. Moreover, the leaves are cure when they turned leaves from fresh green flexible to yellowish. The leaves are stung to narrow strips of wood called laths and these laths are hung from the ceiling of a well-ventilated curing barn.
Fermenting: Once the curing is done, leaves are sorted by color and size. Large leaves are used for inner wrapper or binders while the small and broken leaves are used for the fillers. Similarly, the leaves grown under cloth are for outer wrappers. After that leaves are tied into bundles of 10 to 15 leaves each. These bundles are called hands. Then these hands are packed in the boxes called hogsheads. After that the tobacco is kept in these hogsheads for the period of six months to 5 years. During this periods, chemical changes occurred and aroma of leaves developed. This process is called Fermentation.
Stripping: This is the process done to the leaves that are going to be used for fillers. These leaves must be removed from the stem so it can burn evenly. Once the leaves are removed from stem, these are wrapped in bales and are fermented further for a greater taste. If the final production will be elsewhere then these bales are ready to be shipped.
Hand Rolling: Finally the cigars are hand rolled and it is one of the finest form of cigars. The hand rolling is a skilled work and needs years to become an expert. Each such worker sits at a small table and has a tray of sorted leaves. First he choose the leaves for the fillers and are rolled and then binders are placed and after that the final wrapping is done.

What Are some examples of good Handmade Cigars?

Handmade cigars are those that contain 100% tobacco leaves. In the very beginning, all cigars used to be handmade. However, with the passage of time and evolution in technology has introduced machine-made cigars as well. Cigars are now rolled by hand as a matter of pride and quality especially in Central America, and Cuba as well as in small factories in sizable cities in the US. These cigars are rolled by hand in a wrapper while putting tobacco as well as fillers and binders. Moreover, these cigars have significance over other cigars and very different in taste, and tobacco distinction. Boxes that contain handmade cigar have a special phrase “totalmente a mano” on it that means totally handmade. Hence, these cigars are given more importance and are more expensive. It is also worth mentioning that handmade cigars are categorized as premium cigars. Here are some of the examples of absolute best handmade cigars

Arturo Fuente Cigars: Arturo Fuente is a prominent name and the most prestigious name in the world of cigars. They have over a 100 years experience on their back and are constantly ranked as the world’s best cigars.Their reputation for unsurpassed quality, with both flavor and construction, has amassed a loyal following among cigar connoisseurs. If you want to buy these cigars online then the best place is Cuenca Cigars.
Rocky Patel: This is one of the leading brands for handmade cigars in the world. Especially their vintage series is so popular that has helped it to get the top spot. To shop these cigars at an affordable price, visit here.
La Flor Dominicana: It was founded in 1996 in Santiago and after that it has produced such amazing handmade cigars that today these are the most sought after cigars in the market. These cigars can surely give you a taste of another level. To book an order online, visit here click here.
Tatuaje Cigars: These cigars are handmade boutique cigars. This mean they are produced in much smaller quantities than companies as Arturo Fuente that produce millions of cigars per year.
My Father Cigars: Some of the Best handmade from Nicaragua comes from this house. My Father cigars are known per they flavor profile and impeccable construction. Known for making some interesting tobacco blends using Pelo de Oro.
Illusione Cigars: This is another handmade boutique cigars known by their simplistic packaging and rare and superb quality, Dion Giorlito pays attention to details and his blends are exquisite and very complex.
AJ Fernandez Cigars: One of the youngest cigar manufactures which talent is well recognized by the Cigar Industry. He is been the chosen one to blend for big corporations as Altadis U.S.A and General Cigars. His own blends are considered some of the best cigars in the market and also best affordable cigars.
C.L.E Cigars: After his successful launch of Camacho Cigars, a company acquired later by Davidoff of Geneva, his came back into the cigar industry is with this amazing blends grouped under C.L.E.