Smoke Inn Blog
Hand rolled cigars have been a tradition among cigar enthusiasts for generations. Machine rolled cigars have become increasingly common in the last few years, but they lack the quality of hand rolled. Machine rolled cigars are of significantly lower quality than hand rolled cigars.
We at The Smoke Inn sell only the highest quality premium hand rolled cigars. You won’t find a single machine rolled cigar on our site. We sell top-rated cigars from the highest quality producers with some of the best discounts around.
What makes these two types of cigars different from one another and why do we choose to only sell hand rolled? Let’s take a closer look at hand rolled and machine rolled cigars and what makes them unique. You can use these points to help you see what each cigar style is about and why you can’t beat a hand rolled stick.
How Does the Outside Feel?
One thing you’ll notice with these cigars is how their outsides feel different based on what you order. A hand rolled cigar features a smooth and oily texture on the outside. The wrapper also feels tight because the manufacturer takes extra care to ensure it is secure.
A machine rolled cigar has a slightly duller appearance. The wrapper may also contain synthetic ingredients that allow the body to handle the pressure the machine produces in the wrapping process. Overall, it’s a lower quality stick.
Various cigar manufacturers put in different efforts producing these cigars and experiment with different ways to make them. You can find many new models on the market today, but machine rolled will never come close to the quality and flavor of a hand rolled cigar.
How Does It Burn?
You’ll notice the two cigar models burn differently from one another. A hand rolled cigar retains its natural oils. The moisture in the oils helps the cigar burn slower and evenly. Sometimes the cigar features a self-correcting design that ensures it starts burning evenly on all parts if one segment gets too slow.
Machine rolled cigars feature artificial compounds that make it easier for them to burn faster. The design ensures a company can produce more of these cigars, but it may not be convenient for all smokers. They’re designed for quick manufacture and not quality smoking experience.
A good cigar deserves to be savored and not rushed. Machine rolled cigars burn faster and you’re left with an unpleasant taste. Hand rolled cigars burn perfectly and thanks to the different sizes you can have a short cigar that doesn’t take long to smoke, but still tastes amazing.
What’s In the Filler?
Every cigar has a filler to ensure it features a full body that won’t break apart. The filler type varies surrounding whatever cigar you smoke.
Both types of cigars feature various fillers:
- The volado tobacco leaf filler features a mild flavor and burns fast.
- The seco filler is a middle leaf in a tobacco plant. You’ll notice a slightly stronger flavor here.
- The ligero leaf is the slowest-burning filler, but it’s also the strongest and spiciest. The leaf can appear anywhere in the cigar, but it is usually in the middle part.
These leaves appear in both handmade and machine-made cigars. It’s the sizes of the leaves used that vary by model. A handmade cigar features a longer leaf that keeps the cigars together and bound. You’ll have an easier time noticing the filler leaves, especially when you experience their flavors.
A machine rolled cigar has the same filler leaves, but they’re shredded into smaller pieces. Sometimes you might notice some stems or other bits all around. The design makes it easier for the machine to produce a cigar, but it also burns faster because there are so many small pieces all over the place. You get a lower price cigar at the cost of flavor.
Shredded short filler is also generally lower quality tobacco and many inexpensive machine rolled cigars are flavored to cover up the taste. Yet another reason why we only choose hand rolled cigars at The Smoke Inn.
What About the Price?
One noteworthy point surrounding the hand rolled vs machine rolled cigars dispute involves the price for these cigars. It’s no surprise that hand rolled cigars cost more money than machine rolled ones. The extra effort necessary for producing these cigars, the quality of the flavor better construction makes them more expensive.
That doesn’t mean these cigars are out of your reach. You can still find great deals on top-rate hand rolled cigars like what we sell here at the Smoke Inn. Be sure you look at what you’re spending when finding something of value.
Do Hand Rolled Cigars Require Extra Maintenance?
Hand rolled cigars traditionally require extra care to ensure they stay easy to smoke. Hand rolled cigars can dry out faster than a machine-made one. You’ll require a humidor for storing these cigars for longer periods to prevent the tobacco leaves from expanding or contracting due to humidity changes.
Machine rolled cigars aren’t as vulnerable to humidity. Many of these are wrapped in secure packaging materials after production to keep them from being influenced by humidity. You won’t require a humidor for these cigars, although it might still help in some cases.
While they may stay fresh longer without a humidor, you still won’t get as good a flavor and finish as a hand rolled cigar.
Choose For Yourself
The best idea that we at the Smoke Inn can recommend is for you to consider what interests you the most. You can look at many points when finding a choice:
- How fast or slow do you want your cigar to burn?
- What filler types do you like the most? Watch for the way the filler is designed too.
- How intense of a flavor do you want in your cigar?
- Don’t forget about the texture and how well the cigar feels in your hand.
- How often will you smoke cigars? You don’t want to spend too much if you smoke more often.
- Watch your budget when looking for cigars. You’ll spend more on manmade cigars than others.
A Final Word
We recommend you try different cigar models when finding something you’ll enjoy. There are quality machine rolled cigars, but we choose not to sell them at The Smoke Inn. We feel the quality of hand rolled can’t be beat and cigar aficionados deserve the very best.
Visit us at the Smoke Inn today to learn more, and feel free to contact us for more info.
