Blunt (cigar)
| Part of a series on |
| Tobacco |
|---|
 |
A blunt is a cigar which is wider than a cigarillo and not quite as wide as a corona, generally equivalent to a petit corona while short panatellas are sometimes classified as mini-blunts.[1] These cigars typically consist of three main parts; an inner, or binder, leaf; an outer wrapper leaf rolled around the binder in a spiral; and chopped tobacco filler. In most commercially available blunts neither the binder nor wrapper is an actual tobacco leaf but made of paper composed of pressed tobacco pulp.
_in_a_field_in_Intercourse,_Pennsylvania..jpg)
Description
[edit]Blunts originally got their name from their "broad or rounded tip", and were named as such in the 19th century to differentiate them from other cigars with a more tapered, pointed tip.[2] Like all other cigars of the hand-rolled era, the original blunts were wrapped in a single outer tobacco leaf. The ends were folded over into a tapered rounded shape and left uncut, spurring the blunt name.
The inexpensive to produce style proved popular, and other brands of blunt appeared, including: Phillies, Dutch Masters, and White Owl. Also "Antonio Y Cleopatra", "El Producto", and "Tampa Nugget" (all sold today by Altadis), "Game" and "Garcia Y Vega" by Swedish Match, and "King Edward", "Optimo", and "Pom Pom" marketed by Swisher Sweets.[3]
Blunts grew so ubiquitous the Phillies brand offered them in vending machines.[4] In the 1970s a new cost saving manner of producing cigars was invented, known as spiral binding.[5][6] instead of being rolled in a continuous single leaf Inexpensive cigars were constructed out of a continuous spiral wrap produced from pressed tobacco pulp,[7] a byproduct of tobacco leaf processing.[8] While the basic shape of a blunt remained unchanged, the spiral wrapped cigars burned faster and more steadily.
Originally blunt on both ends, the modern cigar is cut cleanly on one and has a machine formed hole for drawing the smoke on the other. These types of cigars are commonly sold in convenience stores, gas stations, grocery stores, and drug stores, in contrast to premium cigars, which are sold in cigar shops. Blunts burn quickly like cigarettes, and some can be smoked in about five minutes, whereas depending on style, size, and a price a premium cigar can take up to an hour burn.
Roll-your-own
[edit]Individually packaged blunt leaves for rolling your own cigars have been available for many years. These are tobacco leaves that because of their nature and appearance are used to roll a cigar in one continuous sheet[9][10] (thus the name blunt is used). The United States Tobacco Taxation Board has classified all individual cigar wrappers as "blunts" and taxes them as roll-your-own tobacco.[11] Many US states classify blunt wraps as tobacco and a license is required to sell them and collect tax.[12][13][14] Canada defines a blunt wrap as "a sheet or tube made of tobacco used to roll cigarette tobacco in—similar to rolling paper".[15] Use of these single continuous sheets is closer to the original blunts of the 19th century since it is not a spiral wrap.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "MACHINE-MADE CIGARS" (PDF). www.cigarcyclopedia.com. 2010. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
- ^ Gary Manelski. "A Taste of Cigar History". About.com Home. Archived from the original on 23 May 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
- ^ "Cigar Brand Database". Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
- ^ "1142: Antique Phillies Blunt Cigar Vending Machine". Retrieved 30 May 2015.
- ^ "Global provider of machinery for the Tobacco Industry". Retrieved 30 May 2015.
- ^ (WO/1996/014761) METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR WRAPPING A ROD OF SMOKING MATERIAL, WIPO
- ^ "How cigar is made - material, manufacture, making, history, used, industry, machine, History, Raw Materials, The Manufacturing Process, Quality Control". Retrieved 30 May 2015.
- ^ The History of Blunt Wraps, Flat Wraps, and Cigar Wrappers, leafonly.com
- ^ "Taxable Weight of Tobacco Products" (PDF). Ttb.gov. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-06-07. Retrieved 2013-08-17.
- ^ "TTB - Federal Excise Tax Increase and Related Provisions". Archived from the original on 6 June 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
- ^ "TTB - Tobacco - Amended Definition of "Roll-Your-Own Tobacco"". Archived from the original on 8 February 2017. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
- ^ "Michigan Tax on Blunt Wraps" (PDF).
- ^ "Montana Tax and classification of Blunt Wraps" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 14, 2009.
- ^ "Chapter 7. of Crimes Against Religion and Conscience, and Other Offenses Against Good Morals - California Penal Code Section 308". Retrieved 30 May 2015.
- ^ "An Act to amend the Tobacco Act (2009)". www.hc-sc.gc.ca. 26 May 2009. Retrieved 30 May 2015.