Machine Made VS Handmade Cigars
The world of cigars is dominated by two giants, handmade cigars and machine made cigars. Both cigars have aspects that make them different from one another. Machine made cigars are produced by the calculated mechanizations of a machine; while handmade cigars are produced by the meticulous motions of a torcedor. Aside from the obvious difference of production, the differences between machine made and handmade cigars go much deeper.
Machine made cigars account for the majority of cigars sold in convenience stores and supermarkets. Some popular brands include AyC ,Hav-A-Tampa Jewels, and Dutch Masters. The tobacco in machine made cigars is short filler tobacco with a homogenized binder. In order to make these cigars, a worker feeds short filler tobacco into a tube of a rolling machine; the machine will roll it, place a binder leaf, and then finish the cigar with a wrapper. The machine crafts the cigars in a fashion that will ensure a consistent draw in every cigar it makes. Additives are put in the tobacco before it is rolled to give it a desired flavor and color. Since these cigars have additives, they do not need to be stored in a humidor and require zero maintenance.
Handmade cigars are never exposed to machines or chemical additives. All of the work for these cigars is done by manual labor and the only two ingredients are tobacco and water. The filler in a handmade premium cigar consists of long filler, which means the filler runs the entire length of the cigar. To make these cigars, a worker will bunch long filler, apply the binder leaf, and then another worker will finish the cigar with a wrapper. Because these cigars are free of additives, they must be stored in a humidor to preserve their flavor and quality. Producing these cigars is more labor intensive and time consuming than machine made cigars. Workers must pay close attention to the amount of tobacco used as well as how tightly they bunch the cigar. If the cigar is bunched too tight, it will have a difficult draw; if it is bunched loosely, the cigar can burn unevenly or too hot. While machine made cigars provide a straight forward flavor, handmade cigars provide complex flavor profiles.
Both cigars have favorable qualities. Machine made cigars will always have consistent quality. Since these cigars are made by a calibrated machine, they will always have the same color, flavor and draw. Handmade cigars are made from a higher quality tobacco, and have a more complex flavor profile.
