Buying Premium Cigars & Cigarettes: A Comprehensive Guide

Tobacco products have long been enjoyed by many cultures as a way to unwind and take the edge off of long days. If you are a tobacco smoker but would like to up your game in the products you choose to buy, it is time to get an education in premium tobacco products. Check out the comprehensive guide for buying premium cigars and cigarettes below.

What Makes a Premium Cigar?

Hand-Rolled 

Good-quality premium cigars have a hand-rolled quality that cannot be matched by big corporate tobacco producers. By purchasing hand-rolled cigars, you can see the meticulous work that was put into each one that you smoke. Each hand-rolled cigar is unique in its look and consistent in its quality. 

Premium Sourced Tobacco

Using tobacco of the highest quality makes premium cigars a grade above any other manufactured cigar. Premium-sourced tobacco is often aged for a long time or dried with traditional techniques. It is also sourced from expert tobacco farmers who are highly skilled in their field and produce the best tobacco in the world. Some premium tobacco is even fermented to add a bit of extra flavor to the smoking experience. 

Variety of Flavors

When choosing a cigar, you have a variety of options to choose from in terms of flavor. There are a wide variety of premium Prime Time cigars to choose from to suit your fancy. Depending on the wrapping and the quality of the tobacco, you can get notes of vanilla, chocolate, coffee, and even cedar. Premium cigars are made from natural sources from outer wrapping to tobacco filling, meaning that different cigar producers will use natural ingredients to bring out different strengths and flavors in each variety of cigar.   

What is a Premium Cigar Made Out Of?

Premium cigars are made out of three core ingredients: the wrapper, the binder, and the tobacco filler. The wrapper is made out of a specific type of tobacco leaf that is grown for the purpose of wrapping the cigar. The wrapper leaves come from the widest part of the tobacco plant and are the main driver of flavor. The strength of flavor in a cigar is usually determined by the darkness of the cigar wrapper with light being mild and very dark being very strong. This is the most expensive part of a cigar, so premium cigars will sometimes have more than one leaf wrapped around them to enhance the flavor and have increased value.

Underneath the top layer of the wrapper is the binder. This is made from a different tobacco leaf, located in a different part of the tobacco plant. When cigars were invented, people were determined not to waste any part of the plant. This section of the cigar serves the purpose of holding the loose leaf tobacco tights within the wrapper. It has little to no flavor and is only meant to hold the whole cigar together.

The filler, which is the most abundant part of a cigar, is filled with premium loose leaf tobacco. If the wrapper is important for flavor, the filler is right up there with it, serving as the main component of the product. The amount of filler used determines the size of a cigar and how the roller will use the binder and wrapper. The filler can be composed of a mix of tobacco leaves from all parts of the tobacco plant that have bee meticulously dried for the purpose of being smoked in a cigar. The leaves of the filler are usually ones that had holes in them from damage so can not be used as wrappers or intact ones cut in half.  

What Makes a Premium Cigarette?

Free of Additives

Many manufactured cigarettes have additives in them that can make you feel sick and lead to an unenjoyable smoking experience. Premium cigarettes are filled with all-natural dried tobacco and nothing else. From ammonia to xanthan gum, you never know what they could be putting in mass-produced cigarettes and their filters. By purchasing cigarettes from smaller, more reputable companies that sell premium cigarettes, like native reserve cigarettes, you will be inhaling fewer toxins. 

Flavored Filters

Flavored cigarettes like menthols have long been a favorite of many casual smokers. Other flavors like fruit and herbal flavors boost the smoking experience and make the smell of smoke more appealing to those around you. Some premium cigarettes even have inserts in the filters where users can insert flavor beads to have an enhanced smoking experience.

Rolled By You

Cigarettes that are hand-rolled by the person smoking them are of high quality because they know exactly what is going into them. This technique also allows for personalization with desired filters and sizes. Perfecting the art of rolling a good cigarette will not only give you a good reputation amongst friends but will also leave you satisfied with the fact that you are smoking your own creation. 

What is a Premium Cigarette Made Out Of?

Premium cigarettes can be classified into two categories: pre-rolled and hand rolled. Pre-rolled cigarettes are made of a paper wrapping, filter, and tobacco filling whereas hand-rolled cigarettes are composed of a thinner paper wrapping, your filter of choice, and loose-leaf, (usually shredded), tobacco leaf. If you choose to roll your premium cigarettes yourself, the wrappers and filters can be purchased in a tobacco shop alongside the bag of loose leaf tobacco. 

Tips for Enjoying Your Premium Cigars and Cigarettes

Buy a Humidor

If you are a cigar enthusiast, then investing in a cigar humidor is a great way to show off your collection while keeping them in prime condition until the right time to smoke them. A humidor will keep the tobacco in your cigars fresh and keep them from drying out.

Use Smoking Etiquette

When smoking both cigars and cigarettes, always use an ashtray and never take the ash out on the floor. It is also important to always throw away the remains of any smoking product in the designated areas, not on the pavement. 

Buying premium cigars and cigarettes can be a thrilling experience and one that you can share with friends. A smoke with companions is always better than a smoke alone.