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CIGARS

Claro(CCC)light; Colorado-CIaro(CC) medium ; Colorado

(C) dark ; Colorado-Maduro (CM) very dark. The weU

known names with which the brands are prefixed, such as

Petit Corona, Corona and Corona Grande, describe the size

and not the make. "Corona ",for example,simply means

a cigar that is about 5J 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

popularin the United States; Panatella is long with a rather

small diameter and straight sides ; Cheroots, often popular

among men who have lived 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.

IBoxes 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 bo.xes 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 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 learnt from

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