The best cigars in the world will react this way when they are made of fully fermented leaf properly constructed (rolled).

Fully Fermented?

Cigar tobacco, after harvesting and curing, which is a natural drying or wilting process, must be fermented in order to rid it of most of the nitrogen compounds, mainly ammonia, present in all plant life. This fermentation is done through a series of what is known as “Sweats,” which are bulks of tobacco leaf, perhaps five feet high (1.5 meters) by four hundred square feet (37 sq. meters) in dimension (they vary), in which heat is allowed to build out from the center, as in mulch.

The heat build up varies in speed and intensity according to the type of tobacco and its moisture content. It must be monitored carefully. When the heat gets up to around 130 degrees F (this varies, too), the bulk is taken down and rebuilt, bringing the leaves from the center to the outside. Then the process is repeated. This goes on until the heat stops rising, usually after four to six “Sweats.”

In addition to releasing nitrogen compounds, the leaf also gives up 15% to 25% of its nicotine.

When the fermentation process is complete, the tobacco needs to rest, come down from its high, so to speak, and age. It should be placed in bales, allowed to dry, and stored while continuing to “work” for at least a year, preferably more.

If a cigar is made from tobacco that is not fully fermented, it is said to be “green” or “young.” It will be harsh and often bitter when smoked and can cause an unpleasant, acidic pressure in the chest cavity.

Proper construction?

Fine, premium cigars need to be made by hand. The filler leaves generally run the length of the cigar for slow, cool burning. However, manufacturers don’t tell you that break-offs (shorter pieces) are used to fill in holes. I don’t know why they’re reluctant to mention that, really, because it is quite a necessary and important step in filling out the cigar properly. It is in this step that human hands are so important. No machine can feel where such fill-ins are needed and no machine can properly apply the tobacco to these spots.

Incidentally, there are machines that produce long filled bunches (filler in a half leaf binder) while wrappers (the outer half leaf) are applied by hand. None of them are proper quality and they’re generally referred to as, “hand rolled.” However, usually their value is reflected in their price.

To get a cigar to start spicy, turn mellow and finish rich, as do DiMeolas, fully fermented tobacco needs to be blended and rolled properly. For spiciness, the tips of the filler leaves, the most flavorful part, should be placed in the “tuck” (the end that you light, which novices in the business often refer to as the “foot”). The tips of the leaves, grouped in the tuck will produce a burst of flavor. Then, when rolled properly, filled out not too tight, not too light, the cigar will proceed in an even burn and begin to pick up mellowness and richness, until at the finish it is at its best. Why?

In a word, Nicotine, cigar tobacco’s primary, natural flavoring agent (there are no artificial flavors used in truly fine, premium cigars). While fermentation eliminates up to 25% of the nicotine in cigar leaf, what remains is grouped primarily in the tips of the leaves, and also along the edges descending toward the base. So, if the filler is rolled into the cigar correctly, a rush of spice is generated on lighting and shortly thereafter.

As a properly constructed, fermented cigar is smoked, nicotine distills out of the smoke stream behind the heat cone and builds up there. As the cigar becomes shorter, the stream passes through more and more nicotine, thus becomes more flavorful, until the finish, when it can be the tastiest of all.

This explains why a cigar of, say, 46 ring, 7 inches long, will taste different when it reaches 5 inches than a 46 ring cigar that starts at 5 inches.