What’s the deal with the wrappers? It is one of the most common questions from customers – just how much influence does the wrapper have in a cigar’s total flavor? The answer, in the words of our great Master Blender Hendrik Kelner is, “It depends”.

What it comes down to is ratios. Picture in your head a Davidoff Millennium Blend Lonsdale at 6” X 43 next to the Davidoff Millennium Blend Toro at 6” X 50. Although the length is the same, the ring gauge is much different. The Lonsdale’s thinner ring gauge means that it has less filler tobacco compared to the Toro. This means that the wrapper’s flavor is much more apparent on the Lonsdale vs. the Toro where it plays more of a “behind the scenes” role.

More interesting to note is how shaped cigars (figurados) use that ratio concept to change the flavor of one cigar from start to finish. The Zino Platinum Crown Series Chubby Especial is a “perfecto” meaning that the cigar tapers at both its cap and its foot. When you first light up the Chubby Especial, the flavors that hit your palate are coming predominantly from the wrapper and binder. However, with each puff the cigar gets wider and wider incorporating more filler into the flavor. By the time the cigar reaches its 61 ring gauge center, the binder and wrapper round out the richness of the all ligero filler. But just when you thought it was over, the cigar then begins to taper back again, for a great complex finish. To experience just HOW impressive this shape is, smoke the Zino Platinum Crown Series Barrel for comparison. It’s a parejo (straight sided cigar) that is 60 ring gauge through and through and therefore is primarily filler influenced start to finish.

So how does one try all these different cigars without having to fill the humidor with boxes and boxes of the same stick? Fortunately there are some great sampler packs that offer a range of sizes within a brand for just such an exercise.

Best regards,

Michael Herklots
General Manager
Davidoff of Geneva
The Shops at Columbus Circle, New York