Quote Originally Posted by SoCal gunner View Post
Well, you brought it up, so - what are the additives you mentioned? How do you detect them? What affects do they have?
Oh gosh...Well, some manufacturers add extra nicotine to their cigars under the guise of double super ridiculous ligero. Others dye their cigars to make them look more appealing. If you ever see one of those dye buckets and sponges it will turn your stomach. Others (including one VERY popular private label brand) use baby oil....yes literal baby oil to rub down the exterior of their cigars. When you see them, they are super oily and shiny, and smoke pours off of them in huge volumes. A lot of manufacturers use the baby oil trick but one in particular takes it to another level. There are other things that some manufacturers use.... I stress some, not all.

The easiest way to tell is the color of the smoke...both coming off the cigar and from the exhale\retrohale. The color of the ash can give it off too. Also, to me there is a certain chemical harshness that I get off some cigars that doesn't jive with what tobacco tastes like.

All of those additives and such are used to enhance the visual aspect of the product. Its to make you think you have a nice, well aged, silky smooth cigar in your hands.