Cigar Academy

We all know that for the appropriate storage of a cigar, 20C temperature and 70-75% of humidity is needed. In spite of this fact, two options are available: we travel to Cuba, or we buy a humidor.

The second part of our feature on humidors deals with the different types available according to size.

It is hard to say when smoking started. It is certain that the Mayas of Central America grew tobacco and smoked it for religious ceremonies. All forms of smoking came to Europe thanks to the discoveries of Christopher Columbus.

Cuban cigars are renowned as the most expensive and the best luxury in life. There is demand from both aficionados and novices, so a double corona sells for over 20 dollars. Combined with the fact that imports of Cuban cigars are illegal in the USA, this inevitably results in smuggling. But how do we defend ourselves from conterfeits?

Rituals are one of life’s little pleasures. In the same way that a sommelier has to know all the tricks for opening a bottle of wine, so a cigar buff has to know the subtleties of taking off a cigar cap. Such preparation – especially if done in just the right way – can give almost as much pleasure to a cigar smoker as smoking the cigar itself.

We have to be careful when fraternizing with cigar smoke, gradation should be our watchword. There is no sense in rushing, because we’re not trying to collect cigar rings, but to feel and enjoy the stick of tobacco.