We all know how much flavor is imparted to a cigar by the wrapper. But I must be a bit old fashioned, for I am not sure that the new way we describe wrappers is all that helpful.

What do I mean? From the time I started smoking cigars, I have always used a rather simple method of describing cigar wrappers, but today, as with many things, that appears to have changed. My method (not only mine, but the cigar community's method for years) was rather general - and cigar wrappers usually had a specific flavor based upon that color. [read to the bottom of list to see rest of discussion starter]

Here is a list of how I normally describe cigar wrappers (even CCs):

DOUBLE CLARO (also called Candela or American Market Select)- green to greenish brown. The color is achieved by picking the leaf before it reaches maturity, and then drying it rapidly. Very mild, almost bland with very little oil.

CLARO - light tan. Usually this is the color of shade grown tobacco. Connecticut Shade wrappers are said to be some of the finest in the world. Shade grown tobacco is grown under large canopies to protect the tobacco from harsh sunlight. Neutral flavor and smooth smoking.

ENGLISH MARKET SELECT (abbreviated EMS and sometimes called Natural) light brown to brown. These are most often sun grown, meaning they are not protected by canopies like shade grown leaves. Fuller bodied flavor than shade grown leaves, but still very smooth.

COLORADO CLARO - mid-brown, tawny. (For example, brands such as Dominican Partagas or Fuentes, using Camaroon wrappers.)

COLORADO - reddish dark brown, aromatic. A cigar with this wrapper tastes robust and rich.

COLORADO MADURO - dark brown, medium strength, slightly more aromatic the maduro. Usually gives a rich flavor, as found in many of the best Honduran cigars.

MADURO - dark brown to very dark brown. These usually have more texture and veining than the lighter wrappers. They are often described as oily looking, with stronger taste - sweet to some palates with a unique aroma.

OSCURO - very dark brown or almost black. They are the strongest tasting of all wrappers. These wrappers tend to be from Nicaragua, Brazil, Mexico, or Connecticut Broadleaf.

For years this is how cigar wrappers were described, they we labeled according to their color. This was especially true in reviews of cigars, and also by the shops or catalogs which sold them. Yes, we might have been informed by the manufacturer that the wrapper was from Connecticut, or that it was Cameroon. But even if this information was given, the Connecticut wrapped cigars was said to be a claro (or maybe and EMS) wrapper.

Today, this isn't necessarily how wrappers are described. Today, wrappers are describe more specifically in regard to their growing area and type of seed used when describing them. And yet this method is often not more specific. Now we we say what kind of wrapper it is, but not describe the color. Have we "dumbed down" our wrapper description, or should I say we've gotten so specific that we've lost something from the old method.

What do I mean? Maybe it would be best to give it to you as examples of some of the most common titles today for wrappers:
1) Habana - but the Habana could be everything from a EMS to Colorado Maduro in color. (does the flavor change, depending on the darkness of the wrapper?)
2) Connecticut - but the Connie could be Claro or EMS (not usually darker than that) (does the flavor change, depending on the darkness of the wrapper?)
3) Cameroon - usually EMS to Colorado Maduro. (does the flavor change, depending on the darkness of the wrapper?)
4) Sun Grown - and I have seen these as light as an EMS, but they are more of a Colorado or Colorado maduro. (does the flavor change, depending on the darkness of the wrapper?)
5) Maduro - Today that describes the process and may have nothing to do whatsoever with wrapper color, when in the past, it was almost always the color. Two of my favorite maduros (according to this description of "processing" the wrapper are the Litto Gomez Diez maduro and the Oscuro - yet they are at the darkest a Colorado Maduro, and not much darker than the regular line. In fact, most couldn't tell the difference sitting side by side. Yet there is a flavor different. (Again, (does the flavor change, depending on the darkness of the wrapper?)

I am sure this has happened because of the changing nature of communication, but I am not sure if it necessary a good move. I would posit that if someone were to describe the wrapper for what kind it is (SG, HSG, Cammie, Conn, Mad, etc...) one could also describe the color by the table above to give further delineation. In fact, that might be best way to describe things - the best of both worlds giving us an even greater description.

Anyway, don't ask me why I went where I went in the post yesterday or today - sometimes my brain just works that way and I get cerebral moments. that intrude into my consciousness and I cannot do much else until I express it. You might call it diarhea of the keyboard. :-) Or, it might be a good thing? :-)

Peace of the Lord be with you.
[Reply]

When I first began learning about cigars, the first list of wrappers was what I learned and what I used...

..until I found that no one was using that list.
[Reply]

I like specifics we get today. I think manufacturer's were dumbing down the consumer when they used color to describe flavor. And you nailed it. Today, the consumer is more informed and knows what the different strains of baccy are and knows the characteristics of them and the particular growing region because of the flow of information available today.


:-)
[Reply]

My question is, is that much better? Is the consumer more well-informed, or has the plethora of information done more to dazzle and obscure the consumer? (There's a whole topic for another time/place/forum...) Now that I have that short rant out of my system....

Here's a way to look at this - three cigars all sport a Habana Sun Grown wrapper from Nicaragua, but all three wrappers are different shades of color.
If we're all about being well-informed, then my suggestion is that, if we are indeed more informed, the let's get specific. Of the above cigars, one is a Nicaraguan Colorado HSG, the next is a Nicaraguan Colorado Maduro HSG, and the last is a Nicaraguan Maduro HSG. And yes, all three are possibilities.

Is that a good route to go?
[Reply]

Maduro is a process not a color. Take color out of it. They are all Sun Grown. I would expect certain characteristics based on that, not the color.

IMO, you can't have too much information.
[Reply]

OK, so I agree that maduro is a process not a color, make the third one then a "darkie." Sorry to day it, but each of those different colors of SG do contribut a taste difference. While all SG, the darkness of the wrapper means something - either amounto of sugar in the leaf at the priming, or amount of time in the aging room, or.... and so, the flavor is different based upon the color of that SG wrapper. This could be true if it comes off the same plantation.
[Reply]

I can usually follow the bouncing ball when it comes to wrappers, until I get to the Nicaraguans: Habano, Criollo, Corojo--they confuse me, and I'm not sure I know what to expect from a cigar wrapped in each. :-)

And my favorite Nic puros from illusione don't use any of those, but a "cafe colorado," whatever that is.
[Reply]

If all those wrappers are on the same blend, I would contend there wouldn't be much difference in the basic flavor. It's one leaf compared to many, many more inside.

Take Padron for example, I have opened many boxes of maduros that were lighter than the naturals. And vice-versa yet, if you picked up a Padron Maduro that is very dark and one that is very light, they taste virtually the same.

A certain leaf can come in many different shades, yet taste the same.
[Reply]

This is the best way of answering the OP's question, imo.
[Reply]

With only one exception that I have found, I will heartily agree. Of course, every single cigar out of that box tasted different (don't ask me the name, it was a boom cigar, and they are no longer made).
[Reply]