Shapes

jbs5869

hello everyone, I am new to the finer cigar world, but in my smoking career i have noticed i like cigars that are generally shorter and fatter.  Is this just coincidence that those happen to be cigars i like better or does the shape of the cigar play any role in the smoking experience?

jeff_connors

I know that as you go down in ring gauge the hotter the burn generally is ....

Garen B

I know this doesn't totally pertain to the topic, but here is an old post of mine that will help get you started on basic sizes, I'll explain about the sizes after this

Garen B:

Heck, I still don't have all the sizings correct, and it's partly due to every cigar company having a different version of what a certain size is. So, say company "A" has a cigar they call a Churchill, and it measures 6 1/2 inches with a 48 ring gauge, but company "B" also has a cigar in a Churchill that is 7 inches with a 46 ring gauge. There isn't a hard and fast rule to sizing, it kinda sucks, but you do get used to it.

Now, what those numbers mean, the first number your going to be getting is the size of the cigar in inches, pretty easy, it's how long your stick is. The next is a bit odd, it's called the ring gauge, this is the diameter of the cigar in 1/64ths of an inch, so a Nub Cameroon 460 is 4 inches with a 60 ring gauge, so it's going to be listed as 4 X 60 (another lesson in here, the number after the name of the Nub cigar is the dimensions, took me 6 months to finally wake up and figure that out.). Here's a chart of common cigar sizes:

Corona

5 ½ to 6 42 to 45

Panatela

5 ½ to 6 ½ 34 to 38

Lonsdale

6 to 6 ½ 42 to 44

Churchill

6 ½ to 7 46 to 48

Robusto

4 ½ to 5 48 to 50

Toro

6 to 6 ½ 48 to 50

Presidente

7 to 8 ½ 52 to 60

Torpedo (Cone Shaped Head)

5 ½ to 6 ½ 46 to 52

Again, these aren't hard and fast sizes, just a basic guideline.

Alrighty, to get down to your question, there are a few reasons you might like shorter, fatter cigars. First off, it depends on the blender, but some blends have a higher wrapper to filler ratio depending on what size you have (If you really want to learn about blending, find a post by Kuzi and look in his signature for the Blending 101 thread). The wrapper of the cigar gives the majority of the flavor you taste, so a higher wrapper to filler ratio means that your going to be getting a ton of flavor. Now this doesn't hold true with some cigar blends, the blender blends each cigar size of that line to give the same exact flavor profile (I think I heard somewhere that 5 Vegas does this).

TL;DR version: Yes, but it depends on the blend and the blender.

j0z3r

Well Garen, you're sort of right on the idea of the wrapper:filler ratio. Actually, the idea behind different size blending is to make each size taste the same, this has less to do with the wrapper as the adjustments made to the filler. The wrapper:filler ratio is more in reference to the ring gauge...a corona will have a higher wrapper:filler than a robusto. What I've noticed is that sometimes you get an awesome wrapper that really makes the blend, quite often I prefer the smaller ring gauges as well, in other cigars I think the binder/filler blend is where it's at, and I usually go for robustos or toros.

To the OP, it may be that you prefer shorter, fatter smokes because it is easier for a new smoker to get into those. Robustos are the new smoker's best friend because they are fat enough to stay cool and short enough to not burn you out. That was the only size I smoked for quite a while when I started smoking. I would encourage you to branch out though and try some different sizes of your favorite smoke, you might be surprised.

jbs5869

well thank you sirs.  any brands in specific that make really good longer cigars?  best smoke i ever had was a year and a half ago on a cruise, we bought what i can remeber and using your chart to describe was an authentic cohiba robusto.  early tonight i smoked what i can remember as the worst cigar ive ever had, and id guess it was long for sure but terrible lol but it was only $4.  anyway, if you can give some suggestions on longer (or shorter) cigars id love to try some out.

kuzi16

the oliva serie V Lancero is good.

jeff_connors

Padron Londres is good Padron 3000 tooo

j0z3r

jeff_connors:

Padron Londres is good Padron 3000 tooo

Padron panatela is awesome too.

jeff_connors

is fair to say ....Any Padron is a good Padron?

hawaiianbass

jeff_connors:

is fair to say ....Any Padron is a good Padron?

To some people. I haven't had a lot of Padrons but I haven't had one that I've liked.

CK

kent1146

jeff_connors:

is fair to say ....Any Padron is a good Padron?

Padron's are extremely consistent... if I am not mistaken, they use the same blend of tobacco across their different "numbered" cigars (2000, 3000, 4000, etc), with the only difference being the different shapes / sizes.  Hence, if you like a 2000, there's a pretty good chance you'll like the 5000.

The thing that people like most about the Padron 2000 and 3000 is that they are excellent cigars in every respect (taste, construction, burn) considering their price.  A Padron 2000 that sells for $3.60 a stick is easily a top contender for an everyday smoke.

jbs5869

i live in reno, nv and constantly am wondering around the casinos.  Since joinging ccom and reading about all the differant cigars, i can walk into the gift shops and pick out most of the cigars in their cases, and know something an average person would not.  I never realized theres so much about cigars. back on topic, cusano 18s and padron 2000 are probably the most common, and every store usually has both, sometimes in a few differant sizes.