Maduro, perhaps the most misunderstood tobacco in the world, has slowly been taking more of the spotlight as cigar makers add more dark and oily blends to their lines. Maduro has had a tough reputation over the past 15 years, mainly because of misconceptions by cigar fans that have given a stigma to maduro as being strong when in fact they are typically quite the opposite.

Maduro literally translates as “ripe” in Spanish and is not a specific type of tobacco, but rather a process employed on any variety of tobaccos to extract extra sugars from the leaf through extended fermentation. This process is lengthy, producing high levels of heat and as a natural by-product, turns the tobacco a beautiful, dark color with an oily texture. When done properly, a good maduro wrapper will possess sweet qualities and the flavors are detected both on the lips and in the smoke.

Not all wrapper is suited for maduro as a hefty variety of leaf is needed to withstand the extra steps in fermentation that are very hard on the tobacco. For this reason, mostly broadleaves or Habano seeds are most often used for maduro wrappers.

The misconception surrounding maduro cigars as producing more strength originated during the cigar boom of the 1990s. During the boom, demand outweighed supply; there was an enormous incentive to cut corners to bring cigars to market as quickly as possible. Since some cigar makers did not have the patience to wait the several years necessary to process maduro wrapper naturally, many resorted to coloring or painting their tobacco so it would appear as a fully fermented maduro. Since this type of leaf is not fully fermented, it is often described as strong, edgy, tannic, and bitter in flavor. There was such an overwhelming amount of this raw tasting tobacco on the market that enthusiasts began to associate these qualities with all dark cigars.

Maduro wrapper is currently the best it has ever been. The higher standards set by consumers has pressured factories to process and fully ferment all of their tobacco, which is why many people are gravitating back to the sweet and flavorful qualities of maduro wrapped cigars.