1955 The U K B G Guide to Drinks (2nd edition revised)

U. K. B. G. GUIDE TO DRINKS

Petit Corona, Corona and Corona Grande, describe the size and not the make. "Corona ",for example,simply means a cigar that is about 5|ins. in length, straight sided with a rounded end. In addition to the standard round-headed cigar with parallel sides there are other popular shapes. Perfecto, which has a pointed head and tapering sides, is particularly popular in the United States;Panatella is long with a rather small diameter and straight sides ; Cheroots, often popular among men who have hved in the East, are simplified cigars with open ends,in various sizes. Similar to Cheroots, but usually smaller and milder, are Whiffs. On Offering and Choosing a Cigar It is perhaps not out of place to emphasise a few elementary points because the careless handling of cigars by the inexperienced can only result in waste and dis appointment to the smoker. Boxes should be opened carefully and with the special blunt-bladed tool that cannot damage the cigars. Pen knives are dangerous. Cigars in bundles should be lifted from and returned to their boxes by means of the ribbon, or, when packed flat in rows, they should be taken out individually by pressing lightly on the rounded head, thus raising the opposite end. The amateur who attempts to lift them straight from the box with thumb and finger is likely to damage the"wrapper". The only sure test for a cigar is to smoke it, but experience makes it possible to conjecture what it is one is about to smoke. Although the"wrapper"should be smooth,firm, without prominent veins and neatly finished at the head, it is only one part of the cigar. Its paleness does not necessarily mean that the whole cigar is mild, although, as a general guide, darker leaf tends to be stronger. A few light spots (sometimes caused on the growing "wrapper"leaf by dew which has been dried by the sun) are of no consequence, and there is little to be leamt from the popular practice of sniffing at the cigar or of placing it close to the ear, for a faint crackle can be heard even in a cigar that is immature. The novice who wants to enjoy a 284