Beer, Motorcycles and Cigars — Beer, Bikes and Butts

Wrappers

A cigar’s outermost leaves, or wrapper, come from the widest part of the plant. The wrapper determines much of the cigar’s character and flavor, and as such its color is often used to describe the cigar as a whole. Colors are designated as follows, from lightest to darkest:

Double Claro – very light, slightly greenish (also called Candela, American Market Selection or jade); achieved by picking leaves before maturity and drying quickly; often grown in Connecticut.

Claro – light tan or yellowish. Indicative of shade-grown tobacco.

Colorado – reddish-brown (also called Rosado or “Corojo”).

Colorado Claro – mid-brown; particularly associated with tobacco grown in the Dominican Republic or in Cuba.

Colorado Maduro – dark brown; particularly associated with Honduran or Cuba-grown tobacco.

Natural – light brown to brown; generally sun-grown.

Maduro – dark brown to very dark brown.

Oscuro – a.k.a. “Double Maduro”, black, often oily in appearance; mainly grown in Cuba, Nicaragua, Brazil, Mexico, and Connecticut, USA.

Posted on November 1st, 2008 by Aaron Morris
Filed under: Cigar Facts, Cigars