The Wrapper leaf (Capa) - the outside leaf that dictates the cigars appearance.

The Binder leaf (Capote) - the tobacco leaf that holds the filler in place.
The Filler leaves (Tripa) - the tobacco that makes up tlie heart of the cigar and gives it its bulk.

The filler of a cigar is made up of separate half leaves concertina'd by hand along their length so that there will be a passage through which the smoke can be drawn when the cigar is finished. A characteristic that can only be achieved by hand making.

i) Ligero - Dark in colour and full in flavour, although the word translates as "light" in English. Picked from the top of the plant where the growth and strength arc the most vigorous, the leaves must be matured for a minimum of three years before use.

ii) Seco - Much lighter in colour and dry in texture, the seco is taken from the central leaves on the plant which still have flavour but much Iess than Ligero. They can be used for filler after eighteen months.

iii) Volado - Literally the "flying leaf"' picked from the bottom of the plant where little or no flavour remains. These serve to assist thc burning of the cigar, and can be used after nine months maturation.

It is the blending of these three Filler leaves that creates the individual flavours of different brands.

The Binder is usually made of two leaves of similar character to the Volado, i.e. from thebottom of the plant with little flavour.
The Wrapper leaf is very special. It is grown in a different manner to the other leaves, under muslin to protect it from sunlight so that a soft, silky appearance is achieved. The microclimate on different plantations produces a variety of different colours of wrapper leaves, which affect their ultimate flavour. The maturation period required is one year to eighteen months, however, the longer they are left before crowning a cigar the better.Thus every cigar contains a blend of tobaccos from at least two and often three harvests.

What Dictates the Flavour?

The Blend of the Filler

The balance struck between the quaiitity and style of ligero, Seco and Volado tobaccos dictates the fundamental difference in flavours between the brands. Each brand is blended to its own flavour.

The Colour of the Wrapper

Wrappers are classified into four different colours:

Claro - Iight brown Colorado - dark brown Colorado Claro - mid brown Maduro - black A Claro wrapper adds a top flavour of dryness to the blend of filler, whilst a maduro wrapper adds sweetness. The shades of wrapper in between offer flavours on a scale between dryness and sweetness. Colours are matched within boxes of 25 cigars but vary between boxes. Inspect the cigars in any box you buy to ensure that the wrapper colour is to your taste.

Age refines the flavour of the finished cigar. When freshly made, cigars display the fire off youth but mellow, as they grow older.

Five to seven years are required to mature a cigar fully. When its fermentation is complete and its unique flavour will be realised with the minimum of effort on the part of the smoker. Eventually the flavour will start to diminish, but this may take fifteen years or more.

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