Useful Tobacco Terminology O to P

Our look into the vernacular of the tobacco world takes us next to letters O and P wherein Spanish influences are particularly prevalent.

Oil
Oils are exuded by tobacco leaves of cigars as they age. This is only present in well-conditioned cigars.

Olor
A Dominican cigar tobacco which has large leaves and are mostly used as binders and fillers; Olor tobacco can have a distinctly dry flavour.

Organoleptic
This terms refers to the stimulation of the senses by the taste, odour, colour and feel of a tobacco product.

Oriental
Despite the name, Oriental tobacco is most commonly grown in South Europe and has relatively small leaves and produces a fragrant, dry flavour.

Orthonasal Olfaction
The act of smelling odours of tobacco products directly by waving them under the nostrils.

Oscuro
The is the blackest shade of tobacco leaf; Mexican and Brazilian leaves are those most commonly known as Oscuro.

Palate
Literally the roof of the mouth and figuratively the personal sense of taste.

Panatela
A slender cigar which is traditionally 6”x38rg, although they can often be found in longer incarnations.

Parejo
Parejo cigars are straight-sided cigars. This is the Spanish term for cigars that are often known as ‘straights’ or ‘slenders’.

Passive Humidifier
A passive humidifier is a humidifier that has no electrical or moving parts and works on a simple evaporative and chemical equilibrium principle. Often these are used for smaller humidification jobs.

Pelo de Oro
Spanish for ‘Golden Hair’, the Pelo de Oro is a potent Cuban cigar which was widely popular in the middle 20^th century. It is widely grown, cultivated and smoked by agricultural workers in central Cuba.

Perfecto
An exclamation of excitement and a cigar which is approximately 4 to 6 inches long, tapered at both ends and bulbous in the middle.

Picadura
Spanish for ‘short filler’; Picadura alludes to scraps of tobacco.

Pig-Tail
The cigar head finishing technique wherein the roller rolls a tight scroll into a knot. Many people favour a pig tail because they can be easily bit off rather than cut.

Pinch Test
The Pinch Test is the act of determining whether tobacco is too dry to smoke by taking it between thumb and forefinger. If the tobacco crackles, then it is not fit for smoking.

Plume
The Plume (sometimes called Bloom) is a naturally occurring by-product of cigar aging wherein the cigar exudes oils through the wrapper. The oils crystalize to form a white powder-esque substance. This can be wiped off without any negative effects.

Potassium
The soil element which has an important impact upon the burn rate of tobacco.

Priming
The act of harvesting fine tobacco leaves 2 or 3 at a time, once a week; Priming allows leaves to get more sun and reach optimal maturation before being picked.

Procigar
Procigar is an association, founded in 1992, made up of the Dominican Republic’s most traditional and experience cigar manufacturers. The intention of the association is to protect the heritage of their cigar manufacturing community and the quality of the produce.