Why are smaller gauge cigars so often fuller bodied?

[El Presidente]

Here is a question for the FOH?

Why are smaller gauge cigars so often fuller bodied than larger gauge cigars. If it true or false that larger gauge cigars have more flavour complexity?

No right or wrong answeres here...just looking for your opinion .

[Guest Sailor]

I don't know that they always are. The Corona Gorda offers the cigar maker the best platform to express his blending skill. The ratio of filler to binder to wrapper in this format has produced many fantastic benchmark cigars by which others are judged.

In a petit corona, there is not as much room to express the skill of the maker, they are by and large a statement rather than a paragraph. At 50 ring, a robusto starts to let the amount of tobacco season and effect the later half of the cigar. Ditto a Curchill or DC.

The most popular cigar in the world is the simple corona. 42,43 ring and a bit over 5 inches. The addition of the 3/16's up to the Gorda will let the maker double his favorite componet.

There are some great half, petit, and tres petit corona cigars out there. Not all are as fullbodied as the elusive Bolivar Petit Corona.

Now, if you were to include machine mades, Upman Petit, R&J 2-3 Tubos, Partagas Charlottes, because you are by and large smoking table scraps, all bets are off. There is not a set ratio in the manufacture of theses and ya gets what ya gets!!

Outside the Cuban arena, there are some small cigars that will totally rock you......I don't know if it is appropriate to mention them by name but some containing Nicaraguan tobacco deserve a reputation they have earned.

Don't be shy here, LMK what you think.

[El Presidente]

I find the larger the gauge the less % of ligero is utilised.

I am also a lover of Corona Gorda....Juan Lopez Epicure No 1, HDM Epicure 1, Punch SS2, SLR Serie A etc. I find them in the main far more complex than Robuto (I exclude RASS and Cohiba Robusto from that comment).

However...try a 4 year old LGC Medaille D'or No 1, Partagas Serie De Connie 1, Cohiba Lancero or HDM Gourmet. Does anything (of similar age) come close to the flavour complexity and intensity?

I think it is one of the best kept secrets of all ;-)

[Tampa1257]

» However...try a 4 year old LGC Medaille D'or No 1, Partagas Serie De

» Connie 1, Cohiba Lancero or HDM Gourmet. Does anything (of similar age) come close to the flavour complexity and intensity?

»

» I think it is one of the best kept secrets of all ;-)

I too believe that that I find better complexity and flavors in thinner ring Habanos. The Partagas Serie du Connaisseur #1 that I smoked and reviewed this past weekend was wonderfully complex and the flavors outstanding!

I fail to see that the skill of the roller and the blender could not use all the leaf's they wanted because of the size of the vitola. Actually it takes even more skill in both the blender and the roller to produce a vitola that can achieve the burn and draw to arrive with the taste and complexity in a thinner cigar.

OK, I am one that likes to talk about Regular Production cigars and not one that gets excited about anything that has an "EL" by its name. I believe in smoking classical cigars because I find they smoke the best with flavors and complexity, thus enjoyment factor for me. Hey, each to their own when choosing a cigar.

I like Corona Gordas just fine, I love the H Upmann Mag 46 and the Cohiba Siglo IV as well as the SLR Serie A, the Punch Black Prince was one of my favorites and frankly the only item in the Punch marca that I ever liked.

As for the comment about the Partagas Charlottes:

They are "Totalmente a mano", Hand made cigars, not machine made from scraps, and they are not "TC", i.e., machine bunched and hand finished. According to yet another source, other than the several boxes that I have smoked through, MRN states on pg 314, that "A hand made cigar... slim cigar produced in limited numbers....Strong "old style" Partagas taste...The tobacco used is obviously first class

[culebra]

One of my favorite cigars is the Montecristo Especiales. I love the shape and the subtle nuances of flavor. I don't find it often in larger gauges

[cf2112]

I thought I posted this yesterday, but now I'll try again with the readers digest version.

I think wrapper plays a large part in the taste (other will agrue this point) but I had wrapper damage on a Monte DC EL and peeled back an inch or so of wrapper, when the cigar burned back to the wrapper the flavor changed dramaticly. smaller cigars have less filler/binder and more ligero and wrapper by % than larger cigars.

While DC/Churchills can be complex the Pantelas win the complexity battle hands down. Cohiba Lancero, Trini Fun, Monte Esp, Party Ser de Con have been out of this world with 3-5 years on them, will DC/Churchills get this complex with more time? I'm not sure most of mine are not that old yet I'll report back in a couple years.

[Guest Sailor]

Whoops on the Charrlottes... But to the original question regarding ring, in the Lancero-Panatella format, there is but room for MAYBE 2 1/2 leaves of filler. If they are all the same, no complexity other than that developed by the accumulation of tars produced by that tobacco selection is available. Go up to a 42 from a 38, again changing the ratio for filler to binder and you have more room for expression. The Trinadad Fundadore is one of the great cigars of the world. I believe it is because of the way the tobacco has been worked prior to rolling. Cohiba gets it unique flavor supposedly because of a third fermentation, not necessarily the ratio of filler/ binder / wrapper/ seco/ voldado/ whatever.

I honestly think that there is as much variation of Body thru all Vitolas depending on brand. Some brands tend to be stronger than other regardless of the size. Some make a powerhouse on purpose, R&J Cazadore, Partagas Varnished some make them very mild.

Smoke what ya like, Like what ya smoke.