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1st Annual Customer Appreciation Day and Altadis USA Cigars Event - Friday October 8, 2010 read details - click here
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The goal of The Smoking Cave Outlet, is to continue the tradition of creating an outlet for fine premium cigars.
ON-LINE: You may order on-line directly from our web site, using our Shopping Cart.
PAYMENT: We do accept all major credit cards including VISA, Master Card and Discover.
We want to help you choose the right cigars
Cigars come in many shapes and sizes and colors. It is often difficult for a neophyte cigar smoker to get a complete understanding of the how these factors affect the taste. The shape of the cigar is perhaps the hardest thing to describe since there are no set standards used between cigar manufacturers. Usually it is best to remember the shape written on the box to remember what you are smoking.
The size is measured by length and ring gauge (cigars diameter). One ring is equivalent to 1/64 of an inch. Some of the most common are:
- Panatela (6 1/2 x 35)
- Robusto (4 1/2 x 50)
- Churchill (7 1/4 x 48)
- Corona (5 3/4 x 42)
- Double Corona (6 1/2 x 48)
A cigar with a larger ring gauge will have a fuller and more complex flavor and produce more smoke compared to the smaller ring gauge cigars. The larger a ring gauge the more a cigar maker can blend and combine different types of leaves. Color also plays an important part in choosing your cigars. What you see when you look at a cigar is the wrapper and it plays a role in the flavor of your cigar. Usually the wrapper is described by the country of origin or color.
- Claro (light tan)
- Maduro (darkest brown)
- Oscuro (black)
- Colorado (reddish dark brown)
- Colorado Maduro (dark brown)
- Colorado Claro (mid brown)
Also when you look at the wrapper make sure it is not too dry or too firm or too soft. Before you buy check for cracks or defective wrapper although when you buy from uswe do this for you.
Size and Shape
The finest cigars in the world vary in size from about a 9X64 (which is one inch wide) down to approximately 4X30. The first number refers to the length of the cigar, in inches; the second is the ring gauge, or the thickness of the cigar, measured in sixty-fourths of an inch. Most cigar smokers gravitate to a particular size, so when considering the quality and consistency of taste and aroma of a cigar, your sense of comparability can be confused and it will be difficult to judge fairly unless you are smoking the size you are accustomed to. The same cigar blends in different sizes taste different, sometimes vastly different, because of the different ring sizes and lengths. A big ring gauge, 50 or 52, produces an immense volume of smoke compared with a 28, 36 or even a 42.
- Heavy Ring Gauge - All cigars with a ring gauge of 45 and up.
- Standard Ring Gauge - All cigars with a ring gauge of 40 to 44 inclusive.
- Slender Ring Gauge - All cigars with a ring gauge of 39 and under
Cigar Facts:
Why are wrapper leaves so special?
The wrapper is a very delicate leaf, and is only one layer thick around the cigar. It contributes a large percentage to the overall flavor of the cigar. Wrapper leaves can be grown in many places on the globe, and each variety contributes its own characteristics towards the cigar's flavor. A wrapper leaf is evaluated on the thinness of its veins, its oily sheen, its even coloring, and most importantly, its unblemished appearance. In order to achieve and maintain these desired characteristics, the leaves are often carefully and skillfully handled several hundred times from picking, curing, stripping, aging, and rolling. Binder leaves are often wrapper leaves that have been rejected due to some sort of cosmetic imperfection.
How is tobacco cured?
Curing tobacco is a sensitive process that depends on techniques and traditions that are hundreds of years old. Following the harvest, tobacco is removed from the fields and placed in large bulk piles within a curing shed. This shed will have several barn doors in the front and rear, and many doorways running along the sides.
There are also vents on the upper portions of the structure. The purpose of all these openings is to control the interior temperature and humidity. By opening or closing the apertures, workers are able to counterbalance the effect of wind and sun exposure on the structure. Each bulk is about the size of a Volkswagen Beetle. Inside these piles, heat is created as a by-product of the chemical reactions taking place.
The core temperature is monitored daily and the piles are rotated inside out frequently to prevent the raw tobacco from cooking. This part of the fermentation is referred to as "sweating". These bulks may be turned many times during the following months until this stage is complete. It is during this sweating process that the tobacco releases ammonia and other undesirables elements. The tobacco is then put into rectangular bails, each about 150 pounds, and stored for a minimum of one year. Many producers will store it for much longer periods of 3-5 years. After this curing and aging period, the tobacco is judged suitable and shipped to the fabrica for rolling.
Do my cigars have mold or bloom?
Many cigar smokers mistake bloom for mold and vice versa. Let us clarify the difference between the two. Bloom refers to the slow rising of "essential oils" to the surface of a cigar. It first shows up as tiny (almost microscopic) crystals on the surface, and can eventually make a cigar look slightly "dusty" with a whitish finish on the surface. Not only is it harmless, some prefer to see a little bloom, as an indication of strong taste. Mold, however, is a fungus, growing on overly humidified stogies. It is recognized as white, gray, or blue-green "fuzzy patches" with a definite dimension to them. Mold spreads by spores, so it's important to get rid of any moldy cigars immediately, before they contaminate your other cigars or the mold gets into the wood of your humidor. Mold appears when the relative humidity passes 85%. Saving the moldy cigars is going to be tough. Wipe off the contaminated cigars (contaminated ones only! - don't spread the mold!) with a clean paper towel, slightly moistened with distilled water. Separate the contaminated cigars from the others. Smoke the others as soon as possible. Make some kind of temporary humidor for those contaminated ones. Put it in the refrigerator. (yes, it's okay-refrigeration will dry them out without a source of humidity.) Be sure to clean and disinfect your humidor so this does not become a recurring problem. Your best bet would be to take them to your local tobacconist if this doesn't solve the problem. However, the majority of your tobacconists will declare them DOA. Molded cigars are very, very difficult to resurrect.
Setting Up Your Cigar Humidor
Remember, no matter what humidor you choose to purchase, care & maintenance are critical. Do not load up your humidor with your cigars just yet! Patience my friend. Follow these preparation steps below and you'll be on your way to a perfectly conditioned humidor.
1) Conditioning the Interior (spanish cedar)
First, before placing your cigars inside your new humidor, wipe the interior with a lint-free cloth dampened lightly with distilled water. This picks up any residue from the manufacturing process and also conditions the interior to accept a certain amount of moisture which will be prevalent once your cigars are placed inside your humidor. If this is not done, the dry wood may suck moisture out of your cigars and/or your humidifier.
2) Moistening the Humidifier
Next, place your humidifier into a container of distilled water large enough to allow it to be submerged in the distilled water. The humidifier will be slightly buoyant, so you may have to reverse the humidifier's direction in the container to insure that it has been thoroughly moistened. It should take approximately 30 minutes of soaking to fully moisten the humidifier. Note: Never use tap water which may contain unsavory elements. Next, making sure the humidification unit is not saturated and dripping wet, place it in its rightful place in the humidor, close the lid and wait 24 hours. This completely conditions the interior of your new humidor to maintain the freshness of your cigars.
Why not fill with tap water? Tap water (as well as spring water) contains minerals which tend to clog the humidifier element. In addition, tap water contains chemicals which may impart an unpleasant odor to your cigars.
3) Calibrating your Hydrometer
Dampen a towel (not dripping wet, but good & damp), then wrap the hygrometer in the towel for 30 to 45 minutes. Then quickly unwrap it and read the humidity. If your hygrometer is perfectly calibrated (few are) it will be reading exactly 100% humidity. Most likely, it will be reading somewhere between 80 and 90%. That's ok - if it's reading 90%, then you know that when it's in your humidor and reading 65, your humidor is really at 75%. Next turn over your hygrometer and adjust the calibration screw accordingly.
Want to get a little more technical? No problem. Luckily, as nature would have it, when salt and water (NaCl and H2O for you studious types), are in a saturated solution at equilibrium, the resultant humidity is 75%. This gives are a fantastic reference point to calibrate our hygrometers.
Here's the procedure you should use:
Get a bottle cap of some sort - any bottle cap will do! Fill it with regular table salt. Then place a few drops of water on the salt. DO NOT put to much water on the salt. The salt should only be damp, not a liquid solution.
Then put the bottle cap of salt and your hygrometer in a see-through, freezer bag. Seal the freezer bag & wait several hours (about six). The humidity inside the bag will be 75%. Compare it to your hygrometer. You will then know exactly how far off your hygrometer is, just like with the damp towel test, above.
That is it! Your humidor & its components are now fully prepared to recreate the optimum conditions for maintaining the freshness of your cigars!
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Authorized Dealer for
Arganese Cigars |
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