For all those who have money to burn, cigar smoking can be a good pastime. If that is a radical idea, it comes from a revolutionary country. Even Cuban cigars, or Habanos, can be broadly categorised into pre- and post-revolution brands. After all, Fidel Castro did as much for the Cuban revolution as for cigars’ popularity.

The history of cigars pre-dates Castro, though. It was Columbus who discovered not only America but also Cuban tobacco and introduced it to the rest of the world.

But forget the past, here is the present.

For first-time smokers there is little to worry because they don’t have to inhale the smoke. Just twirl the smoke in your mouth, take in the aroma on the palate and exhale. The idea is to frolic with your taste buds rather than buzz your senses.

Very much like drinking wine, smoking a cigar also has some rituals. From choosing a perfect roll to cutting it and lighting up, each step has to be followed carefully.

Choosing the perfect cigar can be quite tricky because there are about 30 premium Habano brands each with its set of sub-brands. Trust only your senses. Examine the cigar using your sense of smell for the flavour, feel it for the texture, and pick the right size. Cigars come in three sizes and thickness. The thickness is measured in ring gauge and the size or length in inches. New initiates can start with a small-sized Jose La Piedro Carzadores. At 5x 37 ring gauge, it’s about the size of a marker pen.

Cigars come in two basic shapes: parejos (or straight cigars) and figurados (or cigars with a pointed cap). Pointed or flat, it doesn’t actually matter because the caps have to be cut before being lit.

A cigar should be cut around the cap, always leaving enough room so that the wrapper does not unravel. On a figurado, cut about 5 mm from the tip. The best way to do this is by using a double-sided guillotine cutter.

Light a cigar with odourless flame — no candles or matchsticks, please — slowly rotating it to char evenly. Then draw in from the cut end until the cigar is well lit. Roll the smoke in your mouth, giving your taste buds the subtle flavour and then exhale.

Depending on how robust or strong the cigar is you will get a head buzz after few puffs. Remember the strength of the cigar, and pick a stronger or lighter one next time. The more you smoke the wiser you’ll get. Cigar smoking is a leisure activity. You’ll need at least an hour to appreciate a full-sized Habano.

There is more to cigars than just smoking. The Cuban government has done a lot to promote the cigar culture, as it is their biggest revenue earner. And cigar clubs and cigar lounges are a culture across many countries, including India. And in the past few years, even wedding pandals have seen an invasion of the cigar culture.

Much of the credit should go to Chetan Seth. In 1998 he became the exclusive distributor of Habanos in India, selling them under the Cingari brand. Today, Cingari has about 5,000 clients and almost all five-star hotels that offer cigars get supplies from him.

Joining a cigar club is the next level. This is where smokers meet to exchange ideas, network and smoke special cigars. Apart from club gatherings, Cingari organises polo matches such as the Havana Cavalry Gold Cup for its privileged club members. To be a privileged member, one has to burn a lot of money on the smoke.

Cigar enthusiasts are a growing tribe in India. In 2009, when the cigar business in Cuba went down 8 per cent, smokers in India were setting up cigar corners at their wedding venues. At a time when Wall Street was crumbling, Indian weddings saw hostesses with trays cutting and lightning cigars for guests.

Acknowledging Indians’ growing love for cigars, Habanos and Cingari have developed limited-edition cigars exclusively for India. Called the Punch Platino, the ‘Exclusivo India’ cigars are medium flavoured and twice the size of a Jose La Piedro Carzadores that we began with.

The choice of the cigar you smoke depends on a lot of things, starting from your height, the time of the day you want to light up and your accompanying drink or food. While mild cigars can go best with single malts, wines or even coffee, spicy food needs a stronger cigar accompaniment so the flavour is not lost. While you want to start the day with a light one, remember not to choose a big cigar if you are short; it will only make you look shorter.

There are many types of cigars available in the market. Most of them are machine-rolled. But a hand-rolled Habano is truly the gold standard of all cigars. It is made up of three components derived from two varieties of tobacco plants — the criollo and corojo. The inside of a Habano, or the filler, is made of criollo and then bound by corojo. The filler itself is made of three leaves; volado, seco and ligero, which are fermented to achieve colour and flavour. Then the rollers, known as torcedores, roll the leaves for that perfect blend. Machine-made cigars use chopped leaves as fillers and reconstituted leaves made from tobacco pulp are used as wrappers.

Much like wine, the flavour of a cigar is the result of the climate and soil type of tobacco plants, and Cuba is to cigars what Bordeaux is to wine and Darjeeling to tea. Also, like wine, cigar gets better with age.

Min Ron Nee, a celebrated cigar connoisseur, observes in his cigar encyclopedia popularly called the ‘Havana Bible’, “Freshly rolled cigars in Cuba tastes very good, but when you bring them home they taste

bad … Cuba has the natural temperature and humidity to allow storing of cigars in the open.”

Traditionally, cigars were not consumed within the first year of production. Now, cigars are allowed to stabilise for a month before they are sold. A good benchmark for a cigar is five years but anything older than 15 years loses its taste unless it is stored in ideal conditions.

A humidor is a box where cigars are stored in ideal condition of 70 per cent relative humidity and temperature of 16 to 18 degree Celsius. Watch out for tobacco beetles and moulds.

Cigars are commonly discarded around the three-quarter mark. However, how much of it you want to throw away is an indication of your enjoyment of the cigar. If you burn your fingers you have had a good cigar. It is bad etiquette to stub your cigar. Let it burn out on the ashtray — a fitting end to your Cuban. zz

biswayonzon@mydigitalfc.com