My friend Mark Jr. sent me a picture of a new cigar he was enjoying. It had a white band with overlapping green letters FSM. According to Cigar Aficionado Magazine (and no surprise given its creators) it's a collaboration between Matt Booth and Scadanavian Tobacco Group (STG) called "Flying Spaghetti Monster". That cigar sounds like a badly translated Japanese Manga villain, however, given Matt's ties to Japanese heritage coalesced throughout his jewelry and cigar lines, it might very well be a Japanese Manga villain. Nevertheless, it got my attention on a broader topic of cigar names and their style.
There are literally thousands of names for cigars brands, lines, and line extensions. Often their names tell you about the cigar such as the CAO LX3, which is a combination of the brand CAO and LX3 which means Ligerò times 3, so more Ligerò leaves in the blend. In contrast is the infamous Cuban brand Montecristo, famously named after the book The Count of Montecristo, once was read aloud by lectors (vocal readers) to cigar rollers in the factories. Moving on, there are names that follow an historical motif such as Padron and Arturo Fuente. The Padron family, for example, name their cigars after historical milestones such as the "Padron 1926 Series". The 1926 series refers the birth year of the company's patriarch Jose Padron. Lastly there are names which may have no purpose other than to capture your attention on the shelf. Examples such as "Super Fly" by Oscar Valladeres, which has "Super Fly" written in a purple-retro-70's-graffiti design.
Since I had familiarity with this brand prior to "Leaf by Oscar", I had confidence that Super Fly would be made with the same care and quality. Jonathan Drew of Drew Estate cigars is no stranger to abstract design and marketing. His latest creation is called Blackened M81, a collaboration between Jonathan Drew, James Hetfield of Metallica, and Rob Dietrich of Blackened American Whiskey.
No matter which style, theme, or name impresses you, the most important thing is that you enjoy your experience with your smoke. There is nothing wrong with a simple white band such as Davidoff, or a cult following such as Warped brand or Tatuaje's Skinny Monsters series. As long as you enjoy the experience of your cigar, then I say call it whatever you desire. Cigars are not only designed to be consumed, but to provide companionship through celebrations and hard times. My opinion is not the only one that matters, share your thoughts on our site. Thank you for reading.
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