Cigar wrappers affect their taste and overall experience. Finding the right one depends on your taste and preference. They differ in color and each give off a distinct taste ad flavor making them unique.

Here is a list of the different cigar wrappers available in the market:

Claro

This type of wrapper is grown under a net. It is harvested before it matures and it is dried quickly. The Claro produces a mild taste and is light tan in color.

Double Claro

It used to be the most popular type of wrapper. It is light green with a slightly sweet taste. Its color comes from the fact that it was dried quickly with the use of heat.

Maduro

The Maduro goes through a fermentation process, giving it a dark brown or almost black color. It has a smooth and rich taste.

Oscuro

This wrapper is very dark and almost black. The tobacco leaf used is found at the very top of the tobacco plant and it is usually the last part to be harvested. It gives the wrapper a distinct and strong taste which may seem too strong for some smokers.

Colorado

It is shade-grown and it gives a touch of spice. It is medium brown in color with a reddish hue.

Colorado Claro

This wrapper is usually grown under the sun and it has a smooth, medium taste. It is medium brown in color.

Colorado Maduro

It is considered a cross between a Colorado and a Maduro.

Image from  r_lins

Smoking cigars is not a cheap hobby. Premium hand rolled cigars cost around $2-$28 each in most chops. There are elite cigars though that cost much more than that. As we all know, the better the quality of tobacco used the more expensive it gets. Here is a list of the most expensive cigars in the world:

Padrón Serie 1926 80 Years – $30.00

This cigar was created to celebrate the 80^th birthday of the company’s founder, Jose Orlando Padron. It is the cheapest premium cigar which comes wrapped in natural wrappers or maduro. These cigars are packed in boxes of eight pieces, but they are also sold individually in many cigar shops.

Cohiba Esplendido – $34.00

This brand was founded in the mid-sixties in Havana, Cuba where it is still produced today. It comes in packs of three ($92) and boxes of twenty-five ($750).

Stradavarius – $34.70

The Stradavarius Churchill is a combination of Nicaraguan, Mexican and Dominican tobaccos rolled in Dominican habano seed wrapper leaf. It is sold in packs of ten which are placed in individual containers inside a humidor.

Louixs – $50.00

Its manufacturer claims that it is “the finest cigar money can buy”. The Goldwin Metropolitan Company manufactures it for the Beverly Hills Cigar club and it is packed individually.

Arturo Fuente Opus X BBMF – $55.00

This cigar is so hard to find that even online sellers have few five pack stocks available. It is also interesting to know that the BBMF in the name stands for Big Bad Mother… You can finish the sentence off for yourself and you will know what they are talking about once you have tried this cigar’s unique punch.

Fuente Don Arturo AnniverXario – $78.00

Created by Fuente president Carlito Fuente, this cigar was a tribute to his father in 2001, but released in 2008. It is sold in a 46 maduro chest along with 24 natural wrappers for $7,500.

Arturo Fuente Opus X “A” – $79.00

This very rare individual cigar is only available in selected shops and few online stores. It has a 43 ring gauge and 9.2 inches long.

Cohiba Behike – $470

Behike was first released in 2006. It has a 52 ring gauge and is 7.5 inches. Back then they released one hundred custom humidors which cost a total of $18,000. It is said that the blend may be re-launched as a different blend.

Gurkha His Majesty’s Reserve – $750

This unique cigar blend is infused with Louis XIII Cognac. Only 100 boxes of these are produced in a year. It is 7.5 inches long with a 52 ring gauge. A box of twenty is $15,000.

Gurkha Black Dragon – $1,150

The Black Dragon is considered as the most expensive cigar. There are only “five hand carved camel bone chests” that contain 100 cigars which are 8.5 inches long and have a 52 ring gauge. One chest costs a whopping $115,000.

The Cuban products listed here are for informational purposes only. Limited edition cigars and rare items owned by collectors were not included.

Image from SteveGriff.com

Las Vegas, Nevada
This should not come as a surprise. In Vegas, everything goes and everything can be had – cigars included. Many cigar related organizations actually choose Vegas as their venue for various activities because of the permissive attitude in the city. Even if you are not part of any convention or special activity, merely visiting Vegas can give you the best cigar experience of your life. You never know, you could even get free cigars from some establishments.

Miami, Florida
Another “un-surprise” city on our list. You can walk the sidewalks and find some of the best cigars in the world. Visit Little Havana and get a taste of Cuba right in the United States. Of course, the tobacco is not grown in Cuba – the embargo is still in effect after all, it is in fact grown in the Dominican Republic – but it is the closest you can get to the “real thing.”

Tampa, Florida
This other Florida city is famous for cigars and is actually home to some of the biggest and most popular cigar retailers. This is the city to go if you want to experience cigar history.

Older cigar smokers may be familiar with the story behind the embargo but for the younger ones, here is a bit of history (thanks to About.com):

Way back in February of 1962, President John F. Kennedy established a trade embargo against Cuba to sanction Fidel Castro’s communist regime, which seized control of the island in 1959, and then began to confiscate private property and other assets (including cigar companies).

Castro continued to be a thorn in the side of the United States. In October of 1962, during the height of the Cold War, he permitted the Soviets to construct missile bases on the island capable of striking the Untied States. The U.S. responded with a blockade of Cuba to prevent Soviet ships from delivering the materials to complete the project (not to be confused with the Cuban Trade Embargo, which started in February 1962).

As long as Fidel Castro still lives and Cuba’s government is still communist, the Cuban Trade Embargo is expected to remain in effect, despite efforts by some who are trying to build support for lifting the ban. In fact, the embargo was made even more restrictive in 2004. United States citizens cannot legally acquire or consume Cuban cigars, even while traveling abroad. This may be a law that is impractical to enforce, but it is still the law. There are substantial fines and penalties for violators, who are at a higher risk of being nabbed if they attempt to bring Cuban products (especially in large quantities) into the United States.

As you can see, this is not a question of quality or safety but of politics. As the French say, c’est la vie!