Cigar FundamentalsDimensions

Cigars could have various shapes and sizes, which is directly related to the smoking time and the flavours of the cigars. Each cigar has two main dimensions a ring size or diameter and length. We measure the length in inches and the ring size in units each equal to 1/64th of an inch. If a cigar is labelled with a ring size of 40, this means its diameter is 40/64 of an inch.

For example, the cigar on the image below will tagged as 4x38. The first number stands for its length in inches, while the second number is the width of the ring gouge

Well, it is known in the industry that the wider the ring size is, the more of a filler and binder tobacco is used, which adds more flavour to the smoke. Also, the bigger the cigar is, the longer the smoke time will last. In addition, longer cigars produce cooler smoke because it takes more time for the smoke to travel until reaching your lungs. Therefore, the taste is not that intense in the beginning in comparison with shorter cigars, where it gets hotter immediately. Beware that no matter how big a cigar is, if you are a “hot” smoker and you puff too much or too often, the cigar will change its taste and the smoke will get hotter. If you hit it slowly and leave about 30 seconds to a minute between each puff you can enjoy a cool smoke and an authentic flavour of a well-made cigar.

If we look into the size of the ring gauge, we could find out that it varies a lot. Normally, the bigger the ring is the cooler a cigar would burn and more flavour could be added to the original taste of the wrapper leaf as it is filled in with more filler and binder. A general rule of thumb is the bigger the cigar is in length and ring size more it has to offer in terms of qualities such as smoking experience and flavour due to the greater blend of tobacco leaves.