четверг, 28 июня 2007 г.

Sit back and have a cigar

When the tobacco plant and its uses were first discovered is not so clear, but what we do know for sure is that native people of the American continent were undoubtedly the first not only to grow, but to smoke the plant. The origin of this can be traced to the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico, where the Mayan culture of Central America used tobacco for smoking in rituals to their gods, but it didn't come to the rest of the world until Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492.

Soon after, Spanish and other European sailors took up the habit, followed by the conquistadores and colonists. They introduced tobacco smoking to Spain and Portugal. The habit, a sign of wealth, then spread to France, through the French ambassador to Portugal, Jean Nicot (who eventually gave his name to nicotine, and Nicotiana tabacum, the Latin name for tobacco).

Tobacco's golden years in the United States came during the Lincoln presidence, where Cuban cigars became well known by smokers. The cigar itself is thought not to have arrived until after 1762, when Americans soldiers fighting for the British Army in the Revolutionary War returned from Cuba. They brought home Havana cigars and large amounts of Cuban tobacco. Cigar factories were set up in the Hartford area. Production of the leaves started in the 1820's and today Connecticut tobacco provides among the best wrapper leaves to be found outside Cuba.

The cigar industry did well up until the 60's when smoking became more of a health concern among Americans. At the same time, the United States imposed an embargo against Cuba making it illegal for US citizens to import goods from Cuba. This had the unintended consequence of punishing Americans who enjoyed smoking fine Cuban cigars. History says that Kennedy supposedly ordered his press to obtain 1,000 Cuban cigars the night before issuing the executive order authorizing the embargo.

Cigars share many similarities with wines -- they get better with time if they are kept in optimum conditions. Like wines, cigars should be kept in a climate controlled atmosphere, between 64 and 70°F, to enhance and maintain their flavor. They should be kept in oak or cedar boxes...

Background

A cigar is a tobacco leaf wrapped around a tobacco leaf filling. Bigger than a cigarette, and taking longer to smoke, the cigar is considered by aficionados to be the finest way to enjoy tobacco.

Cigars come in several shapes and sizes. The standard shape is the round-headed cigar with parallel sides. Perfecto refers to a cigar with a pointed head and tapering sides; Panatella is a long, thin, straight cigar; Cheroot is an open-ended cigar, usually made in India or Asia. A special vocabulary denotes cigar sizes. From the smallest [3.5 in (8.9 cm)] to the largest [7.5 in (19 cm)] they are the Half Corona, Tres Petit Corona, Petit Corona Corona, Corona Grande, Lonsdale, and Double Corona. A set of initials usually stamped on the bottom or side of a box of cigars refers to the color of the tobacco leaf: C C C is Claro (light); C C means Colorado-Claro (medium); C means Colorado (dark); and C M stands for Colorado-Maduro (very dark). The darker leaf is generally the stronger tobacco.

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