284 / 290
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, strait 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 fiat 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 tosmoke 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 hght 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 learnt 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