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Choosing your first cigar can be an overwhelming experience if you don’t know where to start. In this guide, we’ll take you through the process of choosing your first cigar, from making sure you have everything you need to help to choose the best cigar depending on what you like and what occasion you’re enjoying it on. By the end of this article, you’ll be ready to enjoy your very first smoke!

What is a Cigar?

A cigar is a tightly-rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco that is ignited so its smoke may be drawn into the mouth. The length of a cigar ranges from about 4 to 24 inches, but the most commonly cherished sizes are from 4 to 9 inches.  At its narrowest, it’s called a Petit Corona or a Perla. The standard diameter for most cigars is about 52 gauge, but you can get them in even thinner (and thus longer) sizes like 33 gauge and 34 gauge cigars. Cigars come with either a figurado (non-round) shape – semi recto, panatela, or any of several others — or in parejo (straight) form. Within these two broad categories, there are many shapes: Churchill, Robusto, Torpedoes, Toros, Coronas, etc. That’s part of what makes cigars great; there are thousands of options. If variety is your friend then you need to look no further than Central American Cigars! Every type has something different to offer when it comes to their flavor profile as well as their appearance—if you only have one type of cigar at home then every time you light up you are more likely than not going to end up with something familiar and comfortable rather than new and exciting!

What are handmade cigars?

If you’re looking for a good cigar, you might find yourself in one of two situations: You want to try handmade cigars but don’t know where to start, or you know what your palate prefers, but are looking for recommendations. Whatever your situation may be, our guide will help steer you in the right direction. Handmade cigars differ from their machine-made counterparts in a number of ways, most notably flavour and appearance. Machine-made cigars are put together with fillers made from chopped tobacco leaves while handmade use long leaf filler that can only be found on either side of tobacco leaves (known as Ligero). That extra long leaf gives handmade cigars their distinctive look and also allows for a fuller and more complex taste. They also age better than non-handmade cigars. We’re going to cover all of these points and more below!

Check out these six steps for choosing your first handmade cigar

1. Where do I buy them?
2. What makes handmade cigars different?
3. What should I expect when I smoke my first handmade cigar?
4. How do they get those colours on there anyway
5. What’s up with all those different sizes
6. Are there any certifications that indicate quality?

After reading through all six steps, you’ll have everything you need to make an informed decision about which handmade cigar is best for you.  Whether it’s your first time smoking or not, we hope we’ve helped answer some questions about why people love these products so much!

What’s in store when you visit the cigar shop?

What’s in store when you visit a cigar shop? For starters, you’ll find a large selection of cigars. From hand-rolled, premium cigars to machine-made (and mass-produced) sticks, there are plenty of options available at cigar shops—which makes choosing your first stick extra tough. But don’t fret: There are some important factors to consider when selecting your first handmade cigar. Continue reading and learn more about how to choose your first great smoke! The Questions that might come to your mind when visiting a Cigar Shop first time are

How do I choose my perfect cigar?

Now that you know what factors to keep in mind, here are four quick steps for choosing your ultimate smoke.

1. Know what type of cigar smoker you are.
2. Select the strength that matches your taste preference
3. Choose an appropriate size if that is an option—it is if it says Robusto or toro on it
4. Consider construction; start with a box-pressed shape if possible to get started because these shapes look nice even after much use.

Here at Cigar Conexion we have cigar experts who can help you to choose your cigar based on your to experience level and lifestyle. Whether you are an Aficionado  or first time. Want to smoke with beverages or coffee. Going to a party or relaxing at home. Our expert will guide you to choose your cigar if you ever need anything.

There are several different cigar varieties available, including Cuban cigars, Dominican cigars, Honduran cigars, Nicaraguan Cigar etc. Within each of these classifications are several subcategories: mild, medium-bodied or full-bodied cigars. When choosing your first cigar, it’s important to pick a cigar that best matches your taste preferences. A full-bodied cigar will provide you with more flavour, while a mild one will allow you to become accustomed to enjoying cigars without overwhelming your senses with their intensity. If you’re new to smoking cigars but have smoked cigarettes in the past, choose a light cigar until you adjust to its taste. If on the other hand, you enjoy robust coffee flavours such as French roast and espresso, smoking an earthy Maduro cigar may be right up your alley! Once you try a few different types of cigars, stick with those tobaccos that appeal most to your tastes. You can learn more about learning how to smoke a cigar by reading our Cigars For Beginners.

Tobacco types in cigars

There are two basic types of tobacco used in cigars: Maduro and Seco. Maduro tobacco is cured longer, meaning it has less sugar in it. It also contains more nicotine. That’s why cigar smokers usually prefer Maduro tobaccos. It’s mellower and sweeter; however, it can have a bitter taste at times too. It’s also more expensive because there are fewer growers who grow Maduro tobacco than seco leaf (which is less expensive). This doesn’t mean that you won’t enjoy some seco leaves though! There are plenty of great seco cigars out there, but remember that they aren’t as sweet as maduros and they tend to be earthier with a lighter body. Be sure to choose your smoke carefully, because these will take quite a while to get through if you’re new to smoking cigars! Remember that sweetness comes with time when it comes to smoking your first stick for beginners so don’t judge them all by just one bad experience! If you do start on something on the stronger side, let your palate acclimate overtime before moving up in strength or experimenting further. Some people like strong coffee or foods early on in their experiences, others like light varieties- everyone is different! At its core, Cuban tobacco is prized for its flavour profile due to its rich earthiness, woodiness and spiciness thanks to the long fermentation process. Today most wrappers you find on Cuban stogies use Ecuadorian Connecticut or African Cameroon wrapper instead of Cuban filler and binder – although those aged back stories still carry sentimental value. With Cuba’s quality controls currently lax (thanks largely to President Obama’s inability to negotiate with his political party) various companies today source their tobacco from any number of countries such as Nicaragua and Honduras where humidity levels help mature ageing quicker and create complex flavours much easier than elsewhere -this allows manufacturers flexibility in creating unique blends around specific lines.

 This part is a little more complicated than it seems at first. A tobacco’s country of origin doesn’t always tell you what it was made from, but instead usually gives you an idea of where that type of tobacco originated. For example, Connecticut Broadleaf isn’t necessarily made in Connecticut and may have no relation to that state—it just means that it was created using leaves from one or more varieties of broadleaf tobaccos. Further complicating things is when manufacturers use tobaccos from different countries or types—like Cameroon and Connecticut Broadleaf—to make up a cigar blend. This is especially common for Nicaraguan puros, which are often blends of tobaccos grown in two or three different countries with two or three different tobacco types.

Five main types of tobacco leaves are commonly used for cigar wrappers. The most common type of wrapper is Connecticut Broadleaf, followed by Mexican San Andrés and Costa Rican Corojo. Maduro leaves also have a special place in many smokers’ hearts; these dark-coloured tobaccos originate from countries like Nicaragua, Mexico, or Honduras and have their unique taste. Claro wrappers come mainly from Brazil and they don’t tend to be as oily as Maduro tobaccos—meaning they burn faster. Olor/Colorado/Oscuro leaves come from Honduras and is often used for darker cigars with hints of spice. Oscuro means dark in Spanish, which makes sense since these cigars contain full-bodied flavours reminiscent of coffee beans and pepper with sweet undertones.