Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-10-08
THE COLORS OF CIGARS
SHORT LECTURE BY A DEALER IN
TOBACCO WARES.

you would think that that man who just
bought that box of cigars knew lot about
the different brands and colors of the rolled
leaf from the wise way he talked to me-
but he doesn't" remarked a cigar dealer to
Star reporter.
"Of the various vanities of men, two are
pre-eminent, and they last all through life.
One is of being judge of good cigar ana
the other of good whisky, and in ninety
nine cases out of hundred men are sood
judges of neither article. AS to the latter,
all you have to do is to ask the average
intelligent barkeeper, and also just observe
how men line up to the footra1l OF a par
and swallow what is handed out 10 them.
Now, take the case OF cigars AS IN
the instance of wet case goods, it is the
appearance of the bottle and the label and
not so much as what comes out of It, that
makes a man satisfied. with cigars II Is
the box or the name of the brand You
can interchange these and the average man
would never tumble. Just substitute a
bundle of Jimmie killmequicks for one or
Henry Clay's, both of which are made up
in the same general style, hand out the boX
with the same familiar manner and the
average man. not in al cases, understand,
but the average man will go right on smok-
ing the former; he will do 1t for Tune
anyway and it is because the eye and the
senses being satisfied by the sight of the
box and the labels, the less keener sense of
tobacco taste is thus deceived. If the cigar
We're OF a different shape. of course, he
would fall right away, but otherwise the
illusion will usually last some time.
But you see, cigar dealers Will not do
that but understand me as not Vouching
for the saloon cigar, that is unto Itself.
Many men, and some dealers, too, for that
matter who come in and talk learnedly
about 'maduro' and 'claro' co.ors don't even
know what these words mean, though most
can differentiate as to color.
Thus, nearly everybody will tell you
that 'maduro' means dark AS matter
of fact .maduro' means ripe or perfect
but the word has come to signify a tobacco
classification of the ripest. and, therefore,
the darkest Of the cigar covers. The word
colorado means color while the familiar
'claro' is rightly accepted as meaning
light
IF a man wants a strong, black cigar
he calls for a 'maduro.' If he wishes one
a little lighter colored he asks for a color
usually very strong, especially in genuine
imported goods of Key West tobaccos. Men
with tobacco hearts have no business to
smoke these two strongest, or ripest, va
riety of wrapper tobacco, for these designa-
tions fit the wrapper and not the interior
filing, as many men cannot seem to under
stand. A brand of an individual cigar
establishes it's reputation upon the uni
formty of It's filing and not on the color
of the wrappers, and when this interior uni
form filling deteriorates once the brand is
Well-launched on the public as is often the
case, discriminating smokers at once catch
on and transfer their patronage to an
other brand.
1.-The next mildest color following the
colorado maduro is the Colorado which
may be considered about the medium
strength. when cigars are rightly sorted
The sorter often incloses stronger
strength and very rarely weaker one
under a particular designati ton, and, In this
event. you will often see 'colorados' as
strong as colorado maduros and even ma
duros.' This is where the buyer should get
busy and insist upon the dealer rightly sup
plying his wants.
THE next mildest color is the colorado
claro.' and then follows the lightest ex-
IRENE. the 'claro.' Nervous men and those
with weak hearts should never smoke any