Whats the difference between cigarette, cigar and pipe tobacco?
Robert Wilson of Addison Cigar & Tobacco Co. quickly rephrases this question in more general terms. “What’s the difference between a rose, a tulip and a forget-me-not?” he asks. “They’re all flowers, but the similarity ends there.” Much of the tobacco rolled into fine cigars grows in Cuba or in Central America from Cuban seed. It requires tremendous skill to create cigars, blending aged leaves for flavor and even burn. Region, weather and curing methods affect the taste of cigar tobacco, and planters further influence the end product through selective use of sun or shade. Virginia produces a significant percentage of America’s pipe tobacco, which is often flavored with everything from fruit to liquor in order to sweeten the taste and scent of the weed. “Generally, because it’s flavored, pipe tobacco doesn’t have to have innate regional characteristics,” explains Javad Taherzadeh of Pappas Bros. Steakhouse. “The flavoring will overpower anything inherent to the tobacco.” Cigars, in othe
