A cigar that is somehow unique has a good chance of attracting new customers. It could have an unusual blend of nontraditional tobaccos, a special method of manufacture or growing the tobacco, or even a respected cigar maker who created the cigar. Rather than try to explain what could make a cigar unique and why, it may be easier to point out some examples of what others have already done to make their cigars stand out in the crowd, albeit some more than others. But please remember, the uniqueness of a cigar has little to do with how good the cigar really is, and does not guarantee continued success in the market.
2010 © Gary Manelski Licensed to About.com, Inc.One cigar that is really two cigars in one. Made with two different wrappers that do not overlap, this cigar transforms from a medium-bodied smoke into a powerhouse after the second wrapper takes over. The cigar has both a unique appearance and flavor transformation unlike any other cigar.
2010 © Gary Manelski Licensed to About.com, Inc.A pinstriped cigar made with two wrappers having different colors. This cigar also contains some filler from the United States and Italy, both of which are nontraditional countries for filler tobacco used in premium handmade cigars sold in the U.S. The name and the packaging also contribute to the overall uniqueness of this cigar, but the tobaccos and appearance of the cigar itself are what make it truly unique.
Honorable Mention: A couple other cigars made with two different shades of wrappers having a barber pole appearance include the
Arganese Double Wrap and the
2008 Camacho Liberty.
2010 © Dr. Mitch Fadem Licensed to About.com, Inc.The first cigar made entirely with Maduro tobaccos, including the wrapper, binder, and filler, making for a full-bodied smoke, to say the least.
2010 © Gary Manelski Licensed to About.com, Inc.To the best of my knowledge, these are the first 100% certified organic cigars. The cigars still contain nicotine and other natural substances, but at least the tobacco was not grown or treated with chemical pesticides, fertilizers, etc.
Entubar
2010 © Gary Manelski Licensed to About.com, Inc.Berger and Argenti's Box Pressed Entubar Quad Maduro is a complex cigar that is difficult to make. Entubar is named after a Cuban cigar making technique where each interior filler leaf is rolled into itself to create a scroll of tobacco. Individual scrolls are then packed together to form the bunch. Rocky Patel's
15th Anniversary Cigar has similar construction, but that may not be obvious by casually glancing at that cigar from the outside, as opposed to Entubar, where a scroll of filler tobacco extends out from the foot.
2010 © Gary Manelski Licensed to About.com, Inc.These cigars are made in the Bahamas and were once rolled/supervised by the late Avelino Lara, who formerly made Cohiba cigars for Castro. There are a number of other cigar brands made by Cuban exiles and/or other notable cigar makers, but Graycliff arguably had the best, plus there just aren't a lot of cigars made in the Bahamas. In addition, some of these cigars have a shaggy foot (exposed filler tobacco sticking out of the foot of the cigar), which is not typical for most cigars. You can really taste a difference in the smoke when the wrapper kicks in and starts to burn.
2010 © Gary Manelski Licensed to About.com, Inc.A cigar containing some Cameroon filler tobacco from Africa. It is more common for a cigar to have a Cameroon wrapper, as opposed to Cameroon filler in the blend.
Honorable Mention: There are quite a few cigars containing filler tobaccos from nontraditional countries. To name a just a couple more, the
Vuelta Abajo (limited availability) contains a small amount of pre-embargo Cuban tobacco, and the
Saint Luis Rey has some filler tobacco from Peru.
2010 © Gary Manelski Licensed to About.com, Inc.These are Brazilian puros, made entirely with tobaccos from Brazil. Puros from traditional countries are not unique, and other cigars may contain some Brazilian tobacco in the blend, but it is unusual to find a cigar in the U.S. made entirely with Brazilian tobaccos.
Heads Up: Tambo cigars are Indonesian puros that may eventually be available in the U.S.
2010 © Dr. Mitch Fadem Licensed to About.com, Inc.A short 'n stubby concept cigar that attempts to capture the "sweet spot" of a normal sized cigar. Some consider this concept to be more of a marketing gimmick.
Figurados and Others
Most cigars have a cylindrical shape and are known as parejos, while cigars that have an irregular shape are called figurados. Torpedos, Belicosos, and Pyramids are the most common figurados. However, a number of other shapes are less common, although they may have been around for many years. Figurados are usually made by the best rollers in a cigar factory. For just one example,
Avo's 787 Perfecto Shaped Cigar is tapered on both ends. There are a number of other cigars that are not individually ranked on this list, but are still unique in some way. Although we do not review artificially
flavored cigars on this website, we may still enjoy some of those unique flavors on occasion. Also, cigars that are not some shade of brown in color are also unique. Enter the world of naturally green colored cigars with
candela wrappers.
No Novelty Cigars
Novelty cigars, which are actually the most unique, are not included on this list. Although the cigars mentioned above are somewhat different than most, they are still considered to be premium handmade cigars that are meant to be enjoyed by mainstream cigar smokers.
