Blog & Cigar News | Mardo Cigars

Hi, and welcome to another episode of Mondays with Mardo. Today, we're going to talk about how to explore new cigars you have never tried before and to find your favorite one out of the different sizes they have for you to choose from.

Anyways, before I get going, I need you to click on that Subscribe button, click on the bell to be notified every single week of new episodes on Monday's with Mardo.

Okay. The first thing we're going to talk about is the cigar ring gauge. In my left hand, I have a 6x60 gordo. In my right hand, I have a lancero, which is a 7x38 ring gauge. How does that differ?

Majority of the time, whenever somebody wants to try a new cigar, they usually go for a robusto. Here I have the Jake Wyatt Herbert Spencer, and I have them different sizes and they're same exact cigar basically is what it looks like because they all have the same maduro wrapper, they're all the same blend. But the way they are made because of the ring gauge is going to be a big difference.

A robusto is going to be a 5x50, whereas a 6x60 is going to be called a gordo, and there's going to be a huge difference here even though there's... You know the three parts of a cigar? You have the outside wrapper, you have the binder and then you have the filler. The job of the binder is to have all the filler come together. You put it into press, you get that circle of shape, and then you finish off with a wrapper.

Now this cigar has all the same tobaccos, but the ratio between the filler on these two are going to be completely different. A 5x50 robusto is going to burn a little bit hotter, and it's going to have a little bit more spice and pepper.

Now why is that? Well, when you make a cigar, you have multiple primings in a cigar blend. You have the ligero, which is going to be the top part of the plant. It's going to be thicker leaf. It's going to have more spice. It's going to burn slower. It's going to have more pepper. It's going to have more strength, and it's going to have flavor in there too, as well, of course.

Now the lower part of the plant they call seco is going to be a thinner leaf. It's going to burn a lot easier. It's going to have sweeter flavors.

The reason why you want to combine those together is because you want to make sure you get a good burn. If you don't have a cigar with some seco in it, it's not going to burn very well. Well, the balance between ligero and seco or viso in a 6x60 is going to be much more balanced than it is going to be in a robusto. So, therefore, robusto is, again, going to burn a little hotter, and it's going to be a little bit more peppery and spicy where, in a 6x60, it can have a potential to burn a lot cooler, more air draws through it, and it's going to have a more balanced blend within the filler.

Then in between the 5x50 and 6x60, you can come with something like this. This is the belicoso. It's a 6x52. Now, even though this is a 6x54 and there's only two millimeters of a difference, or is it centimeters? I forget right now, I'm not going to get all nerdy. But there is a difference between these two because of the ring gauge difference and the way the smoke draws through the tip. Yes, it does make a little bit of a difference. I know because I like the 6x52 better than the 6x54 within this cigar.

Then we also have the figurado, which is the limited edition. Now the figurado is going to be also a little bit different because it starts out fat and it finishes off skinny. Therefore, the shift within this blend has been considered and, therefore, it's going to burn, again, a little bit different than the rest of the cigars. This also has a little twist of a barber pole on it with a Connecticut wrapper.

Now, when it comes to the lancero, the ring gauge does play a huge part, again, here because in a lancero, the ratio between seco and ligero is so minimal, it's going to be very, very peppery. It's going to be very full in flavor, and it's going to be very spicy as well. The wrapper is going to be wrapping the cigar a lot more often than it would be on like a 6x60, because they're going to use the same size wrapper leaf, rather would it be a 6x60, or a lancero. There's a little difference in size, but not a whole lot so, therefore, a lancero is going to get a whole lot more wrapper-to-filler ratio. The wrapper is going to be greater so that is going to meet... make a big, big difference. Excuse me.

That is one big thing you want to take a look at, and this is why you want to try multiple sizes within a cigar line to see which one you're going to like better within that cigar line. Just because you're a robusto guy and if you try that and you're like, "Ah, it's an okay cigar," don't think all the rest are going to burn the same. It's going to be a big, big difference. So do try, if you can, multiple sizes of that cigar line and pick out what size smokes the best and the best flavor profile that you're going to enjoy.

All right. Part two, we're going to talk about the type of tobacco a cigar is made of, so Google here is definitely your friend. If you are looking at a cigar for the first time, and you're not sure if you're going to like it, it is good to know what kind of tobacco is in there. Again, there's three parts for a cigar. There's the wrapper, there's the binder, and then there's the filler.

Now the filler, is it Nicaraguan? Is it Dominican? Is it Honduran? Is it Peruvian? These things are going to make a big difference within the flavor of the cigar. If you're not sure what you're going to like, you can definitely look up some differences between Dominican and Nicaraguan cigars by picking up different ones and trying them so you can start developing your type of flavor.

Now, if you are a connoisseur of cigars and you know what you're liking already so far, that is going to help you big time. Let's say, for instance, you get a cigar with some Corojo in it and you do like Maduros from San Andres. So if it has corojo in the filler, and it's using a San Andres Maduro wrapper, and you like that kind of stuff, and it's a new cigar you've never tried, well, just having that knowledge is going to assist you big time, again, keeping in mind that you may want to try different sizes.

The outside wrapper, again, plays a big role. There's a lot of times you're going to get a cigar that has only the difference between two wrappers. It could be the same exact blend. It just offered in a Maduro or a Connecticut. In this case, the Jake Wyatt Herbert Spencer Maduro and the Appendix II is not the case. The blends are completely different. But to know what is within the filler is going to play a big, big part.

This is a candela wrapper. A lot of people don't like it, and a lot of people do like it. Candela is making a big, big comeback. These cigars that have a green wrapper on them are going to give you a lot of sweet flavors, but be careful. Some people that don't know how to blend candelas very, very well tend to have a lot of hay and green herbal dislike-ful taste to them. So if you don't want to take your chances, therefore, you may not want to try any candelas that have green wrappers on them.

So knowing your tobacco, does it play a big part? There's a bunch of stuff out there, as I mentioned. There's corojo, there's Sumatra, there's Criollo Noventa Ocho, there's Connecticut Broadleaf. The list goes on. There's condega. Oh my gosh. I could spend half hour talking about different types of tobacco.

Anyways, let us know in the comments what you do to get to know a flavor profile of a cigar if you've smoked it before, or you've never smoked one before, and how you're going to get to know if you don't like something that you've never tried.

Anyways, I'll see you guys next week. Please follow us on Instagram, like us on Facebook and remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel. See you guys.