Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1902-10-05
rAyGUAGEOF CIGARS
TERMS USED IN THE TRADE ARE
~ GREEK TO MOST SMOKERS.

NAO''
~7uch Misused.
whenever the average untutoreu To-
,,,ar wishes to indicate to bis
~ ~. friends that he is in possession
e-l'-o ..-,r Of the first quality, he usual
u that he has a perfecto. by
j .+, he means the best cigar OBJ
p'-s6la and as a rule he applies the
.~a TO all products of the Havana
--u..s But in truth, declares an
'r.,,an+ writer in the Kansas City
+.,,,,gI a good many cigars that
,r saw Havana are genuine per-
I+,s and a good many made IN the
eamous factories of the CUBAN
.rt+oI. are not The word, as mat
fao+ does not refer to the quality
" o.~ar ut all. 1t is simply a term
r.. describe the shape. perfecto
Vs. cost 81. and it may cost 21@ cents,
-, are half a dozen cigar terms
-. oisused by the average smoker,
and there are several times as many
--ar5s Of the same sort whose mean
no is utterly unable to fathom.
NO. native. corn fed smoker, for in
s+once knows the difference between
naneteIa and a Reina Victoria? And
how many know whether there is
.oi difference between a maduro and
oeo,.ro? Yet all of these terms are
+bo common property of cigar makers
III o,o,. the world. Like many cigar
Enond names, they are of Spanish ORR
~ hut the wanderings of Havana
+obacco and Cuban cigars have taken
+boro into all countries and all Ian
guages.
The great majority of cigars are put
nm fifty in a box, with thirteen on the
ron row. twelve on the row next to the
ION thirteen on the next and twelve
IN the bottom row. When londres
cioar is packed 100 in a box in two
bundles tied with ribbon, it becomes
Reina Victoria, which is Spanish for
Onnnn Victoria. Early in the late
ornnn's reign a Cuban manufacturer
invented this method of packing and
called the resultant bundle after Great
Rri+afn's sovereign. The name has re-
NAMED ever since.
The word perfecto is term indicat-
ing certain shape in cigars. A per-
fecto is a 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 r. the point, or head. The end
of cigar which a 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, as often happens in a perfectO,
the tuck is very small, it is called
needle tuck or feather tuck. All others
follow these lines more or less closely.
A thin, straight cigar, with little
more thickness in the middle than at
the tuck, is called a panetela. The
average panetela is slightly longer
than a 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 it's small
er tuck lights more readily, and its
more artistic curves give it greater
beauty.
A londres is a sort of cross between
the perfecto and the panetela. 1t is
a perfecto from the head to the thick5
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 a gradual curve. The tuck
as a rule is as large as that of pane
tela.
A partegas is a cigar shaped much
IKE a londres, except that the slope
from the thckest part to the head is
usually not so rounded. 1t is a shape
not now as fashionable as it used to
De, and even when cigars are genuine
partegas the box is seldom stamped
with the name.
A conchas is a small blunt cigar. AS
rule it is a very satisfactory smoke,
anu usually it lasts as long as a per-
AeCIo' This is because that thin tuck
OF The latter burns down rapidly. The
opera Is very small cigar Of any
standard shape. 1t derives it's name
from the fact that it is designed for
d Snort smoke between the acts, and
very often it is called on entr-acte. The
ore7as is a large, clumsy cigar, good
1of an hours putting. The largest size
u all is the Napoleon. Sometimes Ha-
,a1a Napoleons are six or seven inches
~ length. The blacker ones are posi-
lively terrifying.
me better grades of cigars are usu-
d, any made in several shapes and sizes.
mere may be, for instance, the La
l loE de Habana perfectos, the La Flor
qT haoana panetelas, the La Flor de
Iaoana operas, the La Flor de Ha-
pa1a partegas and the La Flor de Ha-
o'ua conchas. The label is the same
~ an OF the sizes and shapes, but on
sre 'front.' of the box the name of the
shape is stamped.
ou one end of each box of cigars will
ne noted another word Sometimes If