The Essential Cigar takes a look at the history of cigars,
charting their development from the discovery of tobacco by Columbus in 1492.
Handmade cigars today are made in much the same way they have been for the past 150 years.
The flavor and quality of a good cigar depends on how the crop was grown,
the type of leaves used, how long and well they are matured,
the way they are allowed to ferment and finally the skill of the maker.
These processes are all examined in The Essential Cigar and accompanied by
wonderful photographs of the tobacco fields, the curing sheds and the rolling factories.
