There are several myths pertaining to smoking cigars that a lot of smokers believe in. But a lot of them aren't true. . . see if you are in the know about...
There are several myths pertaining to smoking cigars that a lot of smokers believe in. But a lot of them aren't true. . . see if you are in the know about which myths are fictitious.
This myth has absolutely no grounding in reality and has come into popular perception because purity is often related to quality, often as a bid to maintain something essential about purity itself. The truth is that white ash is reflective of nothing but the amount of calcium and phosphorous that was present in the soil in which the tobacco was grown, while a darker ash indicates a higher magnesium content. Dominican tobacco, for instance, has a much higher magnesium content than the Cuban tobacco.
The Body and Strength of a Cigar are Related
This is a mistake fairly inexperienced cigar smokers make. In truth, the body of a cigar has nothing to do with how strong it is: that is determined by other factors, such as spice, nicotine content in the tobacco. You can have perfectly strong cigars that do not have a large size as well as really large cigars that aren't high on the nicotine content or the spice. The body and strength of a cigar are simply not related, except by empirical understanding, to which inexperienced tend to fall prey.
A myth that has been kept in circulation for the most part by manufacturers of wrapping leaves, this is yet another myth that finds its takers in inexperienced smokers. The wrapper that is used in a cigar makes a certain amount of difference, indeed, but it is not quite so veritable as to say that it is has all the flavour. The tobacco leaves used play a huge role in determining the flavour as well.
Of all the myths in this list, this is one of the few that have a historical origin. There was a time when the binder and the wrapper leaves in the cigars used to be glued with tragacanth gum dyed with chicory. This heavily took away from the flavour and aroma of the cigar, and it was advised that the cigar be heated a little under a candle before it was smoked. This was a risky operation but it did pay off. However, there is no reason to continue to do this now, since the substance used as glue has now changed, and it neither imparts any taste on the cigar, nor takes away from it.
However enticing it might sound, this myth has absolutely no grounding in reality, but rather in anecdotes. Cigars are rolled by both men and women, the status of their virginity notwithstanding. And they usually don't roll them on their laps, because it requires a stable surface - it is mostly done on a wooden table. In fact, women are employed extensively not to roll cigars, but to pull out the stem of the tobacco leaves before they are pressed and rolled.
Yet another myth whose perpetuation was guaranteed due to anecdotal retelling, the origin of which has an unlikely source: Winston Churchill. He used to smoke so many cigars that he suffered from permanent irritation of the lips, and couldn't touch the wrapper leaves of the cigar to his mouth. So, he would wrap the cigar in brown paper and dip that in cognac. It actually had no effect on the aroma of the cigar - just that his mouth got to taste cognac instead of bland, brown paper.
This is the only myth in this entire list that is actually true. John F. Kennedy really liked cigars -- in fact, so much so that he wanted to exempt them from the Embargo. He could not succeed however, because Tampa tobacconists strongly opposed this idea, as they would be running at a loss if Cuban cigars were exempted from the embargo. Instead, John F. Kennedy got his press secretary to secure 1,200 cigars of the ones he liked best: H. Upmann Petit Coronas. He enjoyed them for a brief period before his death in 1963.