Walking into a humidor is candy-land for cigar enthusiasts.  Countless cigars neatly stocked on shelves, boxes lined up like art with perfect looking, impeccably straight cigars and beautiful packaging is quite the display.

Every so often, possibly tucked away on a special shelf, something will catch your eye, something that looks completely alien in the world of premium cigars, something that closer resembles a trio of gnarled branches or twisted vines wrapped with silky ribbons on both ends.

That is the Culebra. Spanish for “snake,” it is far from just a gimmick.  The Culebra is a cigar of historical significance and quite possibly the most social cigar ever created.

Ever legend has an origin story and the Culebra’s goes back to 19th-century cigar factories.

The Myth

You can ask almost anyone and you will hear the same story:  That the Culebra was born to prevent theft from factory employees. Historically, cigar rollers were given a daily ration of cigars to smoke while they worked.  The factories, however, had suspicions that their employees were smuggling straight, premium cigars out of the factory to sell on the black market.

Now as the story goes, to prevent theft cigar rollers had to take their daily ration of cigars in a twisted, braided form. This way if a worker was seen outside of the factory with a straight, regular production cigar they would be exposed as a thief.  If they were seen with one of the twisted cigars, then it was clear that they were smoking and taking their daily rations.

A Practical Point of View

That is a great origin story.  However, it raises some suspicion since Culebras are actually difficult to make. In order for a cigar roller to create a braid out of three cigars without breaking the wrapper leaves while allowing them to smoke and burn as they should takes a lot of skill.

Having skilled and experienced cigar rollers dedicated to only making cigars for daily employee handouts doesn’t make that much sense.  Skilled cigar rollers would have been better utilized making cigars headed to market.

The history of the Culebra likely dates back to the late 1800s, most likely in Cuba as a novelty. It was a way for manufacturer’s to show off the skill of their rollers as an artistic flair.  The shape had gained a following in the 20^th century, before fading into the niche status that we consider it today.

The Art of the Braid

To appreciate a Culebra one must understand the skill and craftsmanship that it takes to create.  You can’t just take three regular, straight cigars off a shelf and twist them together.  They are constructed in a completely unique way.

Cigar Selection: Generally, a roller begins by creating three smaller ring gauge cigars such as a panetela or lancero.

The Technique: These aren’t created like normal cigars.  They must be intentionally under-filled to allow the cigars to be bent without breaking while still allowing air channels that aren’t pinched shut.  In the end, the cigars still must have good construction, burn like a normal cigar and not feel under-filled when all is said and done.

The Twist: Like any cigar when it is freshly rolled, the tobaccos are wet and pliable.  The cigars themselves can be manipulated without having the wrapper tobacco break.  The three under-filled cigars are then braided together and finished off with a string or ribbon at both ends to hold them together.

Tobacco Memory: After the Culebra is formed, it is treated like every other cigar and goes into an aging room.  As time passes, the moisture levels in the cigars stabilize.  The cigars will “memorize” the braid.  Eventually, when the cigars are untied they will retain their twisted shape.

How To Smoke A Culebra

The Culebra is not a single cigar meant to be lit and smoked at the same time.  They are still meant to be smoked one at a time.  But more importantly, a Culebra is designed to be a shared as a socialexperience.

First: Untie

You obviously have to untie the string or take the ribbons off.

Second: Separate the Cigars

Carefully separate the cigars.  You don’t “unbraid’ them.  After removing the ribbons/strings they easily come apart.  You just have to be careful not to damage the wrapper leaves.

Third: Tradition and Etiquette

If you like to keep with tradition and etiquette, keep one for yourself and hand the other two cigars out to your friends that you are about to smoke cigars with.

And Fourth: Cut and Light

Cut the cap and light the cigar exactly how you would with any other.   The cigar should smoke and burn like any cigar.  If anything, you may find that the Culebra cigars have an easier draw due to the under-filling process in making them.  But the draw shouldn’t be excessively easy or difficult (this is where the skilled cigar roller comes into play).

A Piece of Cigar History

The Culebra, while novel as it may be, is a testament to the old world artistry of making premium cigars.  If you have never tried a Culebra seek one out, grab two of your friends and experience one of the most unique cigar traditions there is.