Excerpt VIII from the Kaplowitz Media. Unnamed Cigar Dictionary (UCD) Project
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Vitola The size and shape of a cigar as designated by the factory in which it’s rolled. Robusto is a vitola, for instance. As is Toro, etc.
Some brands get various shades of squirrelly with their vitola naming game. There is a lot of wiggle room here, and minimal universality.
Wrapper or Capa in Spanish is the outer-most leaf of a cigar. It is placed there atop a Bunch (which includes the Binder). This is the most expensive and carefully cultivated leaf–as it must be blemish-free and also totes de-lish. Some manufacturers tend to overstate its importance within a blend–even though it is quite important. But c’mon, no way does it account for 130 percent of your Flavor and/or Taste experience! Still, this super-thin oft delicate leaf does generally account for maybe 51% of that. I dunno. Our mileage may vary. What does not vary is from the out, in is… Wrapper, Binder, Filler.
The Premium Cigar industry is a funny thing. An idea is arrived at and maybe it’s even correct. Say, for this instance, this idea posits a wrapper makes up about 60% of what you taste in a cigar. OK. Then suddenly it’s 70 from a more hyperbolic fellow. I’ve even heard 90 fam! Fam! (130 was an exaggeration for now.) An excitable escalation of alpha facts, I call it. See also: EPIC (just kidding, that’s not an entry). To be fair, this hypothetical percentage would be affected by Vitola.
Wrapper/Binder/filler is for sure slated to be one of the illustrations here. Remember, I said illustrations will be in the style of old-timey cookbooks. Black and white line drawings. Hopefully. Big project. Lots of spinning wheels. NO TIMEFRAME FOR COMPLETION.
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Toro Traditionally, a Parejo Vitola that measures one inch longer than a Robusto, so 6x50. Much more common these days in a 6x52 expression.
Sliding parejo into this definition felt odd-awkward. I'll think on it.
Parejo A cigar with straight edges (Lonsdale, Robusto, Toro). A cigar with not-straight edges (Perfecto, Belicoso, Diadema) is called a Figurado.
Binder The leaf directly underneath the outer-most leaf–that being the Wrapper. Binder leaf holds the Filler of a cigar in place under and of itself and contributes much more structurally and in combustion than in Taste or Flavor. The binder and filler once together in an assembly are referred to as the bunch. Many binders were grown with an aim toward being wrappers but cosmetic flaws precluded that usage.
::: FONT GUIDE :::
My thoughts on the work-in-progress book (UCD).
Italics within definitions are recommendations to see that entry.
::: WHAT DID I JUST READ? :::
Included in these blog posts will be my italicized thoughts regarding said creating & assembling process--and as we get closer to it being a book proper, the process of that, as well. THESE WILL NOT BE INCLUDED IN THE FINISHED BOOK. Please note that not everything, including the whole or part of definitions, will appear in the finished book.
To read other excerpts, search Unnamed Cigar Dictionary or UCD, in the Search Kaplowitz Media. field to the right of your screen.
I need you Gentlepersons to get excited about this and not be able to wait to purchase it--whenever it finally is completed and available for said purchasing. NO TIMEFRAME.
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