Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1902-12-11
LANGUAGE OF CIGARS
THE TERMS USED in THE TRADE ARE
GREEK TO MOST SMOKERS.


THE TERMS USED in THE TRADE ARE
GREEK TO MOST SMOKERS.
and Other. 20 Color-Fcyv Tobacco
Users know Them Apart, nnd They
Arc Elucll MiA used.
Whenever the average untutored to-
bacco lover wisM, to Indicate to his
cnvious friends that he is in possession
of cigar of the first quality, he usual
ly says that he hiss IL perfecto. BY
perfecto he means the best cigar OBJ
tainablc. a,si as rule he applies the
name to az products of the Havana
factories. But in truth, declares an
Intelligent writer in the Kansas C.ty
Journal, good many cigars that
never saw Havana are genuine per-
fectos. and u good many made in the
most famous factories of the Cuban
capital are not. The word, as mat
ter of fact. does not refer to the quality
of cigarSat all. 1t Is simply term
used to describe the shape. a perfecto
may cost 81. and it may cost 2lla cents.
There are half dozen cigar terms
thus mlsused by the average smoker,
and there are several times as many
words of the same sort whose mean
ing he is utterly unable to fathom.
| What native, corn fed smoker, for in
stance, knows the difference between
a panctela and Reina Victoria? And
how many know whether there is q
real difference between maduro and
an oscuro? Yet all of these terms are
the common property OF cigar makers
all over the world. Like many cigar
brand names, they are of Spanish orr
| gin, but the wanderings of Havana
tobacco and Cuban cigars have taken
them into all countries and all Ian
gnages.
The great majority of cigars are put
up fifty in n box, with thirteen on the
top row. twelve on the row next to the
top, thirteen on the next and twelve
on the bottom row. When londres
cigar is packed 100 in box in two
bundles tied with ribbon, 1t becomes
a Reina Victoria. which is Spanish for,
Queen Victoria. EARLY In the late
queens reign Cuban manufacturer
invented this method Of packing and
called the resultant bundle after Great
Britains sovereign. The name has re-
maincd ever since
The word perfecto is term indicat-
ing certain shape In cigars. A per-
fecto is smoke having what is gen.
erally called the "cigar shape"-that
Is to say, it is swelled near the end
which is lighted and tapers gradually
down to the point or head. The end
of cigar which n smoker puts in his
mouth is known among cigar makers
as the head. The other end, that
which is lighted, is called the tuck.
When, rs often happens in perfecto,
the tuck is very small, 1t is called q
needle tuck or feather tuck. All others
follow these lines more or less closely.
a thin, tstraight cigar, with little
more thickness In the middle than at
the tuck. Is called panetela. The
average panetela is slightly longer
than IL perfecto, though the matter Of
size has nothing to do with the shape.
Panetelas are esteemed because they
burn more regularly and are usually
better because more easily made. The
virtue of the perfecto is that Its small
cr tuck lights more readily, and its
more artistic curves give it greater
beauty.
A londres is sort of cross between
the perfecto and the panetela. 1t is
Il pcrfecto from the head to the thick
est part, and from there on to the tuck
1t is betwiXt and between. Usually
the slope from the thickest part to the
tuck has gradual curve The tuck
as II rule is as large as that Of pane
tela.
n partesas Is cigar shaped much
like londres, except that the slope
from the thickest part to the head Is
usually not SO rounded. 1t is u shape
not now MS fashionable as it used to
be, and even when cigars are genuine
partegas the box is seldom stamped
with the name.
y conchas Is small blunt cigar. AS
a rule 1T Is Il very satisfactory smoke,
and usually 1t lasts as long as per-
fecto. This is because that thin tuck
of the latter burns down rapidly. The
opera is very small cigar of any
standard shape. 1t derives its name
from the fact that 1t is designed for
a short smoke between the acts and
very often 1t Is called on entr-acte. The
brevas is u large, clumsy cigar, good
for an hours putting. The largest size
Of al is the Napoleon. Sometimes Ha-
vana Napoleons are six or seven inches
in length. The blacker ones are posi-
lively terrifying.
The better grades Of cigars are usu-
ally made in several shapes and sizes.
There may be, for instance, the La
Flor de Habana perfectos. the La Flor
de Habana panetelas, the La Flor de
Habana operas, the La Flor de Ha-
bana partegas and the La Flor de Ha-
bana conchas. The label is the same
on all of the sizes and shapes. but on
the front of the box the name Of the
shape is stamped.
On one end of each box Of cigars will
be noted another word. Sometimes it
Is colorado. sometimes it is claro and
at other times 1t is maduro. This indi-
Gates the color of the cigars within, or,
as uniformed smokers say, the
strength" The lightest of oil cigars
are yellowish brown. They are called
claros. Next In order come the colora-.