Eat well, enjoy a wine and then relax with a cigar. Down-to-earth cuisine, warm hospitality and joie de vivre – that's what Usedom stands for. Culinary delights and a selection of fine wines are a nice way to start an evening. A special highlight for the demanding friends of excellent cuisine is the enjoyment of a cigar.
Kurt Tucholsky once said: "Life is serious and joys are few". But this is probably one: to listen in peace with a cup of coffee and a cigar, as people get excited and rattle off and purr down their bad German and promise each other and rant, rant, rant."
The cigar is an upscale smoking experience and is not used to inhale smoke quickly and as much as possible, but to allow the enjoyment of tobacco products on a completely different level. Here the speed plays a decisive role and has either a positive or a negative effect on the burning characteristics of the cigar.
"LET YOUR MIND WANDER AND REMAIN CONTENTEDLY SILENT."
Finally rest! Finally, nothing to do, no stress, no duties, let your mind wander at will. The art of smoking a cigar at the right speed is not to pull it too fast or too hard. A healthy moderation and regular puffs at intervals of about one minute ensure long enjoyment and allow the cigar to burn constantly.
Aficionados's find on Usedom a small selection of Cigar Lounges for a relaxed meeting for the smoky good taste. Discover with us the places on the sunny island of Usedom for exquisite cigars and finest spirits from all over the world.
The light aromatic scent of cigars surrounds you when you open the door to the Cognac and Cigar Lounge at the Parkhotel Bansin. Once you enter, you will find a small world of peace, relaxation and a touch of 19th century English lifestyle. Century. Real salon flair and a piece of Central American culture in the middle of Usedom. Warm colors, dark wooden blinds that dim the direct sunlight, the dark custom-made wall, the blazing fireplace with the cozy warmth and the crackling wood … and very quietly, as if from afar, voices sound a la Miles Davis or Van Morrison. In the long comfortable Chesterfield sofa and the deep armchairs you literally sink and catch yourself looking at the dreamy view of the park with the old trees. The humidor is imposing and the love with which Cuban tobacco products are explained here is just as warming as the excellent cognac and whisky selection.
Experience a breath of luxury in the noble cognac and cigar lounge. When you end the evening comfortably in the typical English Chesterfield lounge furniture and enjoy the selected cigar selection with exquisite drops, the everyday life is very far away. The cognac and cigar lounge is available as a smoking room around the clock.
The cozy Delbruck Bar& Lounge is a lively cafe with fresh cakes from in-house patisserie. Enjoy the sun on the cozy terrace or warm yourself on a cool day by the fireplace of the adjoining library. In the evening, the Delbruck becomes a relaxed piano bar with a large selection of wines, spirits and cocktails. The separate Davidoff Smoker Lounge invites you to enjoy smoking in a stylish ambience. The Delbruck Bar& Lounge offers fresh delicacies, which are the ideal companion to a Stortebeker Pilsener or a glass of wine. Among the numerous spirits you will surely find your favorite drink.
Tobacco lovers will also find a place where they can indulge their passion undisturbed. The small but fine lounge invites you to enjoy a good cigar or pipe with a direct sea view. You can find a small selection of smokes and the matching drink at the bar.
Expect a lounge with warm colors, stylish lounge furniture and a unique design directly upon entry. Experience an extensive rum and whisky selection and fantastic cocktails. A suitable wine selection also awaits you. Enjoy many different theme evenings, live concerts, alternating DJ's, comedy evenings or just cozy rum and cigar tastings .
The best online shop for cigars is run by Patricia and Marc Benden from Cigarworld. You can easily and quickly have the cigars delivered to the island. Shipping is very fast and reliable. From Cigarworld they are advised in the best possible way, whether on the phone or just online, as e.g. with the cigar wizard on the website of Cigarworld.
Cigar knowledge
The term aficionado is an expression from Spanish, which actually means lover. The female form is Aficionada for the aficionado. In Spanish, the word often refers to areas of Spanish and Latin American lifestyle, such as.B. to cigars, tango and bullfighting.
Since Spain was the first European nation to successfully colonize the Americas, although Spain's then rivals Portugal, England, France and the Netherlands followed suit shortly thereafter to also secure parts of the New World, the Spanish language is still prevalent in much of the Americas. The Spanish conquistadors were also the first Europeans to come into contact with the tobacco of the indigenous people, to trade it extensively and to introduce the plant into Europe. Many traditional American tobacco growing areas are located in Central America and the Caribbean – and thus in the Spanish-speaking part of America. Moreover, Spain was the first nation to produce cigars, which is why today many technical terms come from Spanish, such as the passionate cigar lover, the aficionado.
Lovers of cigars often ritualize their passion in a stylish manner. Because a cigar is not meant to be lit and smoked quickly, like e.g. Cigarettes, but should be enjoyed according to a good glass of wine. Thus, the storage and enjoyment of a cigar is often associated with an individual ceremony for the cigar connoisseur. Even before the actual enjoyment, one experiences a feeling of elation in the form of anticipation, while the preparations are being celebrated.
In the 18. In the nineteenth century, tobacco was mainly popular as a stimulant drug in Europe. However, ninety percent in the form of snuff. In Spain, the cigar had its origin in Europe. As early as 1720, there were over a thousand women working in the cigar industry in Seville. Through the Napoleonic War in Spain, the cigar was then spread to other countries in Europe by French and British soldiers. The cigar became for the bourgeoisie the alternative to the snuff, which at that time was used mainly by the aristocracy.
A guide to cigar degassing
Degassing is the term used to describe a process to remove bitterness from a cigar. It finds e.g. It is used when the cigar is extinguished or when the cigar begins to taste bitter after about half of it has burned down.
This does not mean a disadvantage in quality. The fact that the aroma changes during smoking is quite natural, because when a cigar burns, gases are produced that also affect its taste. And so it can happen that at some point you find a cigar unpleasantly bitter. It is especially common when the cigar is smoked too hot or when it is pulled at very short intervals. This is because the tobacco burns too quickly, so that the gases responsible for the bitter taste are concentrated in the cigar. Now the smoking experience may be so diminished that you are tempted to put the cigar down. But this would not only be a pity, but also unnecessary. Instead, it can be degassed to recover its aroma.
The degassing of a cigar is a process that takes place in several steps: First, the ash at the end of the cigar must be removed so that the resistance becomes as low as possible. As this is essential for successful degassing, one should proceed thoroughly and with care. Then the cigar is lit again, while at the same time pulling lightly on it. From the smoldering so a small fire forms. Then, as long as you can, you blow air into the cigar, smoking it in the opposite direction, which creates a small flame at its end. If it has a bluish tint, this indicates that the unwanted gases are burning away. After the process is complete, the end of the cigar itself may begin to burn, but this can be easily blown out – and, of course, with due caution. Now the cigar has lost the bitterness and has its original smoke aroma again. If necessary, you can repeat the degassing in the further process.
Before degassing, carefully wipe off the ashes in the ashtray.
Make sure that the cigar is still glowing. Relight if necessary.
Hold the lighter flame to the end of the burn and blow as hard as possible through the cigar
bitter substances and gases escape and burn. That's why it comes to a blue flame.
This procedure is recommended to all those who have ever complained about the bitter taste of a cigar. However, there are smokers who do not want to miss it, but think that it belongs to the aromatic development absolutely. And since there is no accounting for taste, the decision is up to each individual – just give it a try!
Puff cigar correctly
Smoking cigars – a synonym for sophisticated tobacco enjoyment all over the world. Strictly speaking, however, a cigar is not "smoked" at all; in the world of aficionados, anyone who talks about smoking actually means puffing a cigar.
Because unlike the quickly consumed everyday cigarette, the smoke of a cigar is not inhaled, so you do not smoke "on lungs. If you have ever inhaled a cigar like a cigarette by mistake or simply because you didn't know any better as a novice, you surely know yourself that this is not real. Cigar smoke is much heavier and much stronger, after all, in addition to the much larger amount of tobacco, a cigar is rolled much tighter than a rather airy stuffed cigarette.
Cigar puffing has not only the advantage of better tolerance (it is healthier anyway). A cigar lives from its different and unique flavors. The point of puffing a cigar is not to satisfy the need for nicotine quickly – it is to enjoy it calmly and evenly. The point is to give the aromas and flavors space and time to fully develop and enjoy them consciously. The same care that you take to find the right cigar for you, you should take to enjoy the cigar "properly", to puff it properly.
Do not judge a cigar only by its aromas. Although they are the ones that give us the most pleasure, but the pleasure begins earlier. Even the sight of the wrapper, whether a strong Maduro or a lighter Connecticut Shade, is a real pleasure with a good cigar. Its scent and its haptic properties, the slight yielding to gentle pressure, also whet the appetite for the upcoming smoke.
And not to forget the band. Often they are small works of art, designed by illustrators with a lot of love. Whether to remove it before smoking is up to each aficionado to decide for himself. But caution is advised here, because it can happen that the wrapper of the cigar is damaged if one wants to pull off the belly band before its glue is loosened by the smoking process.
Hand-rolled cigars are always closed at the head end. There are different ways to open them. Spontaneously, some may think of the technique of "biting" the cigar, popular with action heroes. Certainly, it may convey the pithy image of some Hollywood figures. In fact, however, they completely unsuitable. By the way, this also applies to the notch cut, which was very popular in grandpa's day.
Today, there are two options that are not only more elegant, but also more precise: cutting with a special guillotine or scissors and opening with a cigar drill. There is no definitive answer to the frequently asked question of which technique is better; in fact, it is more a matter of personal preference. When cutting, about 2-3 millimeters are removed from the head end of the cigar, while the drill punches a hole in the center of the cigar head. It has the advantage that you can not accidentally cut off too much, in addition, it bundles the smoke channels. Its volume, however, may be less than it would be if it were cut. Even with pointed cigar formats you can do little with a drill, here you should definitely resort to guillotine or scissors.
Let's say in advance what to avoid: Hands off gasoline lighters or matches containing sulfur! Because they have an inherent odor, which is transferred to the cigar and distorts its aroma. Another no-go, for the same reason, are of course candles, as romantic as the idea may be.
As with the opening of the cigar, there are different ways to achieve the desired goal when lighting the cigar. Jet flame lighters are suitable, but so are gas lighters, (sulfur-free) matches and cedar chips. At an angle of 45 degrees, the cigar is brought up to the flame and permanently rotated so that it can ignite evenly. For this to happen as evenly as possible, the flame should not touch the cigar, instead only a blue ring of heat forms around its end. By the way, unlike a cigarette, you don't pull on a cigar while lighting it.
Finally, a good cigar – this is self-explanatory – the right ambience belongs. With the exquisite leaves of the brown gold you always hold a piece of cultural heritage in your hand, which deserves an appropriate appreciation. Just as you don't drink a fine Beaujolais in a hurry at the station bistro, you should also give a cigar your full attention. Feel free to make a little ritual out of tasting your cigar: take your time, sit back, enjoy!
The right place is found, the cigar is cut in front of you, now what?? First, of course, it must be lit properly. Take the cigar between your thumb and index finger and light it with a gas lighter (or if you are looking for style, with a cedar wood chip). Start on the outside of the cigar and slowly rotate it between your fingers. This not only increases the anticipation, it also ensures a beautifully even result. Only at the end, light the center of the cigar. When it finally glows evenly, it's finally time to enjoy: the cigar puffing can begin.
As already mentioned, the smoke is not inhaled when puffing a cigar. Instead, pull on it and leave the smoke in her oral cavity for a few seconds. Let the smoke swirl and experience on your tongue and palate how the flavors slowly unfold and change. Give the taste receptors time to absorb and enjoy the flavor nuances. Afterwards, slowly release the smoke from your mouth. Be careful not to smoke too fast: the cigar could get too hot, which would harm its flavors. Puffing a cigar means time and quality of life, you are here to enjoy and not on the run. One puff per minute is quite sufficient.
Likewise, you should not pull too hard on the cigar, because then you "threaten" the same result: the cigar could become too hot, lose flavors and develop too much unpleasant sharpness. If you puff yours but properly, you'll be amazed at how many different flavors a cigar can develop when enjoyed properly: Coffee and roasted flavors, earth, chocolate, herbs or spices – a good cigar can ignite a veritable aromatic fireworks display on your palate if you give it the chance to do so.