To the chagrin of many tobacco purists, a category of hand-rolled, premium cigars exists where high-dollar leaf gets exposed to products like liquor, honey, syrups, fruits, spices, coffee, and other natural flavorings.

Commonly known as "tobacco infusion," or "steeping" in certain circles, the act of manipulating the cigar flavor profile of a particular premium leaf blend has seen great demand since the early 2000s. It has also received a lot of disapproval, both from cigar purists and the FDA, which wants to lump infused premium cigar blends in with the machine-made, widely distributed flavored "cigars" you might see at a gas station. 

So what's with all the confusion? Surely there have to be some obvious variations in the production process of the two different grades of cigar. Furthermore, is the stigma that only novices smoke cigars that have been exposed to some form of foreign flavoring or aromatic infusion founded in truth? Finally, is there still room for naturally infused flavors and aromatics in a premium cigar blend, or is it all just a flavored smoking fad that the FDA wants to stamp out ASAP? 

Let's discuss, shall we?

Tobacco Infusion Explained

In an abbreviated version of a 521-page report released on Mar 16th, 2022, the Premium Cigar Association (PCA) explains the difference between flavored and infused cigars as follows:

“Two common methods of adding flavors to cigars result in two types of products commonly referred to either as 'flavored cigars' or 'infused cigars.' Flavored cigars can be made by spraying a flavoring agent onto the tobacco or onto the rolled cigar, or by injecting a flavor solution inside a cigar. During the manufacturing of infused cigars, the absorbent tobacco or tobacco wrapper can simply sit in an area permeated by aromas, such as a room lined with botanicals, oils, and herbs...” 

So, for example, when you smoke something like a Nub Nuance Triple Roast, those intense espresso and chocolate tastes are coming from tobacco leaf that has been allowed to rest in a confined space with raw, food-grade ingredients. So yes, that's real coffee and cacao you are tasting, with the sweetened cap of the cigar serving as a dessert springboard of sorts.

Now, as to whether or not Oliva is using whole bags of roasted beans, a ground-up blend of some sort, or freshly brewed pots percolating under each hand of tobacco leaves hanging in the curing room is anyone's guess. Like premium cigar blends, the infusion techniques used by cigar manufacturers tends to be a classified affair, and are proprietary to the version of the cigar being blended.

However, it would not be much of a stretch to find that these tobacco leaves were routinely misted with water to help encourage their absorption of the pungent atmosphere around them as they cured. A quick rub with some dark roast coffee beans here, a little bit of cacao there, it's all possible, 100% natural, and can be replicated with a wide array of consumable and aromatic products.

Interested in trying an infused cigar?

Here are 5 of our best-sellers.

Drew Estate Deadwood Leather Rose

CAO Flavours Moontrance

Oliva Nub Nuance Triple Roast

Drew Estate Deadwood Girl with No Name

CAO Flavours Eileen's Dream

Tobacco Nerd Note: Cigars that contain English or Virginia pipe tobacco, like the Stillwell Star Bayou No. 32 by Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust, are not technically classified as infused. That is because the pipe tobaccos used is not infused, but merely aged in wooden barrels to achieve a tannin oak taste. However, cigars like Deadwood's Fat Bottom Betty utilize something called "aromatic pipe tobacco," which means that it has been exposed to things like maple sugar, molasses, or various alcohol-based flavorings. Naturally, this makes the tobacco smell and taste far sweeter and more aromatic. But it also creates a gray area, where the consumer must first determine what kinds of pipe tobacco are used in a blend to determine if the cigar is infused or not.

Flavored Cigars Explained

Standing in stark contrast, is the typical flavored cigar. Which really can't be classified as a premium long filler cigar because it doesn't contain long filler leaf inside, relies upon paper instead of tobacco leaf for a wrapper and binder, is not naturally infused, is made by machines, and so on.

Looking to cut corners to keep cost down, these "cigars" rely upon inexpensive artificial flavorings to achieve a particular flavor profile or aromatic. These chemicals are typically applied directly to the tobacco leaf, or are injected into the product during the machining process on the assembly line. Either way, the result is an unnatural tobacco product that does not meet the required PCA premium cigar standards. 

Barrel Aging Cigars

One of the more popular forms of naturally adding foreign, non-tobacco-based flavors and aromatics to a cigar is by throwing some of the filler or binder leaf, into an old barrel of booze. While the alcohol is long gone, the sticky remnants of the liquid that once rested inside are still present. Hell, even virgin oak barrels have their own infusion properties, and offer a real tannin-rich treat for those who like the smell of hardwood.

Routinely rotated to allow equal amounts of barrel wall contact time between each leaf, and a more even dispersion of aromatics and flavors, the barrel-aging process is a unique "spin" on the whole cigar infusion methodology. When a leaf comes into contact with the wooden walls, the barrel passes some of its tannin-rich, boozy attributes on to the tobacco, thus infusing the selectively permeable organic matter with all manner of attributes not found on a farm.

Furthermore, certain cigar manufacturers, like Esteban Carreras, take the extra step to modify the insides of each barrel for additional oak notes, and then return each cigar to the inside of the barrel once rolled for a second round. 

That being said, the whole act of barrel-aging cigar tobacco is kind of its own subcategory, even though it technically is a form of infusion. Either way, barrel-aged cigars continue to provide some of the more memorable cigar flavor profiles and pungent aromatics stogie money can buy, and are definitely worth experiencing.

Dig the idea of smoking a barrel-aged cigar?

Here are 5 of our faves.

Rocky Patel Edge Barrel-Aged Black

Diesel Whiskey Row

Macanudo Estate Reserve Flint Knoll No. 1

Esteban Carreras Unforsaken

La Aurora Barrel Aged by Karl Malone

Parting Puffs

In closing, it is worth noting that many infused premium cigars, as well as inexpensive short-filler flavored smokes contain a sweetened cap. Since this addition is made after the cigar is manufactured, and does not impart a particular cigar flavor profile, it does not constitute a flavoring or infusion stage. Thus, cigars with sweetened caps are exempt from this categorization and have their own niche offshoot.

We also have not included the palm bark box "tercio" aging process used to make cigars like the Encore by EP Carrillo or the "andullo" palm leaf wrapping procedure that makes the ADN Dominicano by La Aurora a reality. While these processes do impart aromatics and flavor attributes upon the tobacco, they technically are not what can be classified as an infusion, as they are time-honored tobacco fermentation and aging techniques and are not food or beverage oriented.

The same can be said for fire-cured cigars like the Icarus by Jake Wyatt Cigar Co., and cigars with a sweetened filler, like the Esteban Carreras Las Cañas. These types of cigars fall into their own separate subcategories, thus adding further confusion to an already convoluted topic.

But for us cigar smokers, it's not so much how the tobacco is aged that matters, but how it tastes and smells once lit. We spend good money to keep this hobby of ours interesting, and assessing the body, strength, and flavor of a cigar is a core part of this fermented tobacco burning ritual.

May they be infused or not, finding a satisfying smoke with familiar flavors that you can consistently rely upon for a tasty smoke session is of the utmost importance. And while artificially flavored blends are completely out of the question for many cigar smokers, there is no denying the fact that the tastes and aromatics found within a quality infused premium blend retains a unique niche in the modern cigar market.