The Cigar Wrapper Colour

Wrappers range from light tan to dark brown; however, one may find an occasional offbeat green wrapper. All leaves are originally green, but the aging process is what brings the exterior its chocolate hue.

Furthermore, each shade is associated with a type, the name of which being principally determined by the region from which the seed originated, where it was actually grown and how. All in all, there are over 50 named wrapper leaves; many are mixes or “tweeners” of two different origins. Sometimes such hybrids are named because the seed was from one region but cultivated in another, such as an Ecuadorian Connecticut.

Enjoy!

David – Cigar Ambassador. [email protected]

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this so far, tune in tomorrow to hear about the most popular wrappers.

Best Wrapper

The colour and sheen of the exterior wrapper are the initial attributes a smoker notices when looking at a cigar. The wrapper provides an important marketing platform for the manufacturer and simultaneously informs the consumer as to the content and quality of the cigar.

As well, a cigar’s wrapper leaf can determine anywhere from 60% to 90% of the cigar’s overall flavour. A good trick to identify the significance of the wrapper is to cut an inch of wrapper leaf off the bottom of a cigar, stripping it much like a wire-stripper takes the insulator off of an electrical wire. This shows the filler and binder leaves only. This portion of the cigar will taste much less flavourful, and reveal the true importance of the wrapper.

It is important to acknowledge that the wrapper is often an attractive sales pitch for a cigar, much like an appealing album or book cover. At the very least, the wrapper is a message saying, “smoke me.” And though a quality wrapper often indicates a superior smoke, it usually affects the cigar’s composition and aesthetic more so than the entire flavour. In short, it introduces the cigar to the smoker and may or may not affect the taste and seasoning.

1-Best Wrapper:

The ideal wrapper must have few to zero blemishes and larger than other leafs to properly wrap the cigar. This means that it usually comes from the lower levels of the cigar tobacco plant, where bigger (and often more flavourful) leaves grow. Also, it usually has a distinct sheen created by specific oils from aging process. Finally, the wrapper’s flavour is carefully cultivated and protected by cigar growers in order to provide the optimal taste and experience.

Enjoy!

David – Cigar Ambassador. [email protected]

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this so far, tune in tomorrow to hear about the colours of the wrappers.

Where to start?

A lot of people look to enter the world of whisky but just don’t know where to start or they just stick to the bog standard. Not that there’s anything wrong with the bog standard if you have looked around and that makes you happy. There are just so many bottles out there that you will be missing out on if you don’t have the knowledge of where to start.

I have recently gone through this with a friend who pretty much sticks with standard Jameson on the rocks or a Kentucky mule. Now again, absolutely nothing wrong with standard Jameson, but he was really interested about what else was out there, he just did not know enough to venture out. As with anything, people stick with what they are comfortable with because they know they won’t be disappointed if their venturing out yields bad results. To me that is the fun in it, especially with good food and drink! Will every new dram of something be a winner? Absolutely not, but you will know more of what you don’t like.

So, what my friend told me was every time we were out and he was going to have a drink, that he wanted me to choose it. I was very happy to do that because I love helping people experience new things. Was bound and determined to find him a new favourite. Which I may realise might not happen, because people are creatures of habit.

While our experiment is still ongoing, I have definitely made some progress. With the knowledge of Jameson and Kentucky mules, I knew I wanted to start with the sweeter softer whiskies. I have not been going by any rules of you have to try THIS because you like THAT. Nah! Some people want to over complicate the process of whisky introductions, and with some people that will put them off! You don’t need to tell them that they’re going to taste the leather of a newly crafted Italian shoe in the summer time. You know, THOSE tasting notes. Nope, just keep it simple.

So, for him, it was just trial and error depending on what the bar or restaurant has on the shelf. Some have a boring selection, others quite eclectic! So far, he has tried, Oban DE, Glenrothes Sherry Cask Reserve, Balvenie 12 Doublewood, Teeling Single Malt, Knob Creek, Readbreast 12, Basil Hayden, and Ardbeg 10. Something I’m not too surprised about is his favourite so far has been the Balvenie Doublewood. He said it was so incredibly smooth and easy to drink. Least favourite unsurprisingly was the Ardbeg, cause pretty sure he has never had peat before! With the addition of a fair amount of water he started to appreciate it…kind of. Having tried all those, he is now excited to try new ones and looks behind the bar to see what else they have.

So, if you know anybody that are looking at opening up their palate to new drams, have fun with it! Don’t make it a serious endeavour. Everyone is going to have a different opinion on what people should try, just go with what sounds good to you! Don’t let anyone tell you what YOU like isn’t good.

Slainte,

Anthony

ALTERNATIVES TO MACHINE MADE MINIS IN PREMIUM HAND MADE CIGARS

For all our busy customers that enjoy smoking Cuban minis or other machine made small cigars I would like to recommend some options in the Hand made cigar world for a great value and to create a better enjoyment on your palate for those 15-20 minute break

JOYA DE NICARAGUA – PICCOLINO – HAND MADE IN NICARAGUA – MILD STRENGTH

Size: 4 1/8” x 30

Smoke time: 15min

 

I am a big traveller lover, I travel all around the world and I don’t always have time to enjoy a proper cigar, in the past I used to enjoy Davidoff mini silver and Montecristo mini but I wanted to enjoy something more premium and hand made and there are lots of options to consider.

I am a big fan of Joya de Nicaragua and I became really happy when the Piccolino size from the Classic series (oldest Nicaraguan cigar line) came into the UK

A long filler mild cigar blended with sweet Nicaraguan filler mostly from the Jalapa valley famous for their sweet and rich tobacco, and wrapped with a mellow and silky Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper.

This little cigar delivers sweet and creamy notes, milky coffee, banana and dry fruits.

 

CAMACHO – MACHITO RANGE – HAND MADE IN HONDURAS

Size: 4” x 32

Smoke Time: 15-20 min

I really love this range since give you different strengths and blend options. All blended with long fillers tobaccos. You can get them in singles or in a pack of 6’ that fits perfectly in your jacket.

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut – one of the most classic wrappers mainly use to give extra mellowness, banana and orange notes

Binder: Honduras Corojo – Corojo is considere done of the strongest tobaccos in the world. This binder is added into the blend to add a little kick to the blend and some expresso notes

Filler: Honduras, for and earthy finish; Dominican Republic, for sweetness and dry fruits notes.

Same filler and binder than Connecticut but this time wrapped with the oily hybrid Honduras Criollo 98 wrapper that delivers a richer and stronger smoke with notes of dark cocoa, grass and smoked wood.

Criollo (pronounced cree-oy-yo) means native seed.

Unless the other two, this cigar is blended with 100% Honduras Corojo tobaccos, much richer and stronger than the other two. Leather, dark coffee, oak, spice and a hint of pepper notes can be easily detected for all of those that enjoy full bodied cigar for their short break.

OLIVA – SERIE G CAMEROON – CIGARRILLO – HAND MADE IN NICARAGUA – MEDIUM STRENGTH

Size: 4” x 38

Smoke time: 20 min

 I am a big fan of African Cameroon wrappers as they are very rare and difficult to cultivate.

This wrapper tend to be very delicate and they are not very oily which make it more complicate to use in premium hand made cigars and rare to see in our local cigar shops, so that’s why I feel really happy and surprised when Oliva launched this small size in their serie G range.

Cameroon wrapper taste is amazing since they give a really nice rich, spice-sweet aroma and some cinnamon notes to compliment the cigars.

The unique flavour notes of this wrapper are complimented by the natural richness of the Nicaraguan habano fillers used in this blend.

INCA – RED- CHICO – HAND MADE IN PERU – MEDIUM STRENGTH

Size: 4 ½” x 30

Smoke time: 15 min

Exclusive made by CGARS and created by Mitchell Orchant. This little cigar is blended with 100% peruvian tobacco that delivers a sweet experience with cedar and milky coffee notes on the palate

EL REY DEL MUNDO – DEMI TASSE – HAND MADE IN CUBA – MILD-MEDIUM STRENGTH

Size: 4” X 30

Smoke time: 15 min

For all the Cuban lovers that needs his Cuban taste with the morning expresso. Definetely this is the best hand made alternative to the minis. This little hand made Cuban cigar delivers lots of sweet and sugary notes with a hint of coffee, cedar and white pepper.

ROMEO AND JULIETA – PETIT JULIETA – HAND MADE IN CUBA – MEDIUM STRENGTH

Size: 4” X 30

Smoke time: 15 min

Another little smoke for the Romeo and Julieta and sweet flavour fans. This little cigar delivers the same notes that the large size Romeo cigars. Very sweet, tangy and mellow with fruity and almonds notes with a milky coffee finish.

Enjoy!

David

Cigar Ambassador

[email protected]

Isle of Harris Distillery

We are big fans of gin here and are always on the lookout for delicious gins. Well, Isle of Harris Gin is at the top of that list. Besides having a fantastic tasting product, they are a great family distillery that cares about putting out a gin rooted in true Scottish values.

Located on the Isle of Harris in the Outer Hebrides, this is a true community distillery. Built on the spirit of the island and a desire to share that spirit with the world. They embrace the nature of the people and try to connect you to part of their community.

As for the gin, they use 9 carefully selected botanicals, one of which being sugar kelp seaweed. The sugar kelp that is a local ingredient that is hand harvested in the springtime by a friend of the distillery. This local diver gathers the sea kelp from underwater harvests in local sea-lochs in a sustainable harvest. This botanical gives the gin that wonderfully intricate maritime flavour. The 8 other botanicals include: juniper, coriander seed, cassia bark, Angelica root, bitter orange peel, cubebs (Indonesian spice), liquorice root and orris root.

Crafted in a small copper still and bottled by hand in a bottle designed to represent the distillery spirit. All done on the island creating a truly unique Hebridean gin.

They have a different way of getting their bottles. You have to either order it on their site for delivery or order click & collect. They partner with local shops to work as the pickup locations and our Turmeaus locations are included in that network! If you are feeling adventurous, you can venture up there for a bottle in person and meet the lovely people.

Check them out for yourself – ​Harris Distillery

Anthony