We have all read this somewhere in our journey of cigar reviews somewhere along the lines were the reviewer will state that this particular cigar has a “Toothy” look to it. But what extactly does he mean, when he says toothy?
In this article, I hope to clarify it’s meaning.
You’ll see some cigars described as having “tooth” or a “toothy wrapper”. This means that these cigars have tiny, concentrated pockets of oil in their wrappers. All tobacco contains oil to a certain degree. It’s one of the key contributors to tobacco’s characteristic taste and aroma. Toothy cigars simply have more of it.
No wrapper is 100 percent smooth. A toothy wrapper can be hard to visualize since most cigar pics ( normally product cigars ) don’t give you a close-up view of the wrapper. But these wrappers really do have some characteristics that set them apart from the others, as you can see here ( click on pic to enlarge )
When taking a close look, you’ll see lots of tiny bumps, almost looking like goose bumps. This is the toothy look in the wrapper described by reviewers The picture above is a wrapper with lots of prominent “teeth” , really showing off it’s “toothy-ness”. In comparison, the wrapper on this sample cigar ( picture below ) looks much smoother. ( click on pic to enlarge )
It’s not entirely without oil pockets — as mentioned, all tobacco has them – but they’re considerably smaller and less obvious.
Are toothy cigars something to seek out?
Some smokers would say Yes. Ask them why and they’ll tell you that the extra oil gives these cigars better taste and aroma. But this doesn’t mean that cigars that lack in tooth can’t taste and smell great too. Perhaps this is one more characteristic to consider when you purchase your next smoke.
Tim's Humidor and Pipe 