Cigars come in many shapes and sizes and colors. It is often difficult for a neophyte cigar smoker to get a complete understanding of the how these factors affect the taste. The shape of the cigar is perhaps the hardest thing to describe since there are no set standards used between cigar manufacturers. Usually it is best to remember the shape written on the box to remember what you are smoking.
The size is measured by length and ring gauge (cigars diameter). One ring is equivalent to 1/64 of an inch. Some of the most common are:
Panatela (6 1/2 x 35)
Robusto (4 1/2 x 50)
Churchill (7 1/4 x 48)
Corona (5 3/4 x 42)
Double Corona (6 1/2 x 48)
A cigar with a larger ring gauge will have a fuller and more complex flavor and produce more smoke compared to the smaller ring gauge cigars. The larger a ring gauge the more a cigar maker can blend and combine different types of leaves. Color also plays an important part in choosing your cigars. What you see when you look at a cigar is the wrapper and it plays a role in the flavor of your cigar. Usually the wrapper is described by the country of origin or color.
Claro (light tan)
Maduro (darkest brown)
Oscuro (black)
Colorado (reddish dark brown)
Colorado Maduro (dark brown)
Colorado Claro (mid brown)
Also when you look at the wrapper make sure it is not too dry or too firm or too soft. Before you buy check for cracks or defective wrapper although when you buy from Staten Island Sportscards & Cigars we do this for you.
Size and Shape
The finest cigars in the world vary in size from about a 9X64 (which is one inch wide) down to approximately 4X30. The first number refers to the length of the cigar, in inches; the second is the ring gauge, or the thickness of the cigar, measured in sixty-fourths of an inch. Most cigar smokers gravitate to a particular size, so when considering the quality and consistency of taste and aroma of a cigar, your sense of comparability can be confused and it will be difficult to judge fairly unless you are smoking the size you are accustomed to. The same cigar blends in different sizes taste different, sometimes vastly different, because of the different ring sizes and lengths. A big ring gauge, 50 or 52, produces an immense volume of smoke compared with a 28, 36 or even a 42.
Heavy Ring Gauge - All cigars with a ring gauge of 45 and up.
Standard Ring Gauge - All cigars with a ring gauge of 40 to 44 inclusive.
Slender Ring Gauge - All cigars with a ring gauge of 39 and under
Choosing Cigars