You can’t just pull some Joe Schmo off the street and ask him to roll a cigar. No… Those who work in cigar factories are trained. Not for just one month, but for nine. Even the people who package the cigars after they are rolled are required to take a nine month training course about coloration. Luckily, they are paid to take this course and not the other way around. Cuban cigar rollers are renowned as the most skilled rollers in the world, they are literally ‘profesh’!

Full tobacco leaves are dried out and fermented and then bunched together to form the cylindrical structure of the cigar. The tobacco is not chopped or split up in any way. The cigars are pressed to hold their shape and after, they are rolled into a wrapper leaf, and then they are sized. Pieces of scrap wrapper leaf are glued to each side to create the ends. Factory workers check the cigars to test smoking pressure and confirm their aesthetic. Each step is completed with precision and focus. If one step is overlooked, the cigar is tossed out or given to the workers to smoke. Either way, the roller does not get paid for that cigar. A seasoned cigar roller can produce hundreds of exceptional cigars per day.

Cutting – When you get cigars, the end is usually closed. Well it should be, at least. So, in order to start the process, you have to cut the closed end. If done incorrectly, the cigar might unravel while mid-smoke. Bottom line: make sure that your cut is even and level.

Lighting – You should always light your cigar with matches or a butane lighter. A standard lighter will not suffice - it tends to taint the cigar’s flavor, and particles of the flame will eventually impede the passage of smoke through the cigar. Hold the cigar horizontally, keep the match/lighter one half of an inch away, and draw in slowly while rotating the cigar. Smoke Away!

The Partagas –
Cigars made in Cuba are controlled by the Cuban government, and each brand may be rolled in several different factories in Cuba. The oldest and most famous factory in Cuba is The Partagas in Havana (founded in 1827). No trip to Havana is complete without a visit to this wondrous cigar factory, where you will learn, step by step, how a cigar is born. Cigars conceived at the Partagas are rolled by hand. Tours of this factory are offered in both English and Spanish. Try to request Jezzy as your tour guide. He’s awesome. When you’re done with the tour, purchase a few Cubans at the store next door.

NOTE: You should not buy cigars from people off the street, as they are most likely counterfeit and rolled with banana leaves.