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For craftsmanship, flavor and bouquet, you can’t beat hand rolled cigars. While these items are typically more expensive than their mass produced competitors, you can purchase hand rolled cigars that are affordable enough to smoke every day. In this article, we’ll find out why selective cigar smokers gladly spend more money for stogies that are rolled by hand.

The most basic means of categorizing cigars is by the method in which they are made. Cigars are either rolled by hand or manufactured by machines. If you’re looking for quality, limit your search to those cigars crafted and rolled by hand.

These bear the label of either "totalmente a mano" or "totally by hand," depending on it’s origin, which is printed on the cigar box. Watch out for "hecho a mano" (made by hand) and "envuelto a mano" (packed by hand). This is deceiving because both terms indicate partial machine construction.

The filler is what gives fine cigars their flavor and aroma. The filler in machine made cigars can contain paper, preservatives and chemicals that impact the final taste of the product. On the other hand, a hand made stogie is comprised of filler, a binder to hold the filler, and an outer wrapper which is made of 100% tobacco.

Most of the tobacco in hand rolled cigars is imported from other countries famed for their tobacco products, like the Dominican Republic. For the most part, such tobacco has a much better flavor and bouquet than what is used in machine made cigars.

Although hand rolled cigars are more expensive than those that are produced by machines, you can find quality ones that won’t burn a hole in your wallet. Most retailers carry bins of single cigars that are priced as low as one dollar.

If you’re a frugal cigar smoker, you can also purchase boxes or bundles of inexpensive hand rolled cigars online. Makers of costly brands usually manufacture a less expensive version of their most popular products, so for the smoker who indulges every day, this a great alternative to mass produced stogies.

Some people consider hand rolled cigars to be an unnecessary luxury, but consider the time, skill and tradition that goes into producing each and every one. The handmade premium cigar industry makes up less than 1% of the entire tobacco industry. These manufacturers are mostly family businesses that have several generations working to produce their product.

When you take all of these factors into consideration, it’s easy to see why many enthusiasts are willing to spend a little more to get a quality product. Believing that a good cigar has to be expensive is just wrong. You can stock your cigar box with tasty stogies without seeing your hard earned money going up in smoke.