Game · 7 shades
Guess the wrapper
Guess the wrapper is a shade game: a cigar appears in one of the seven named wrapper colors, and you call it before the reveal. Neighbors on the scale are the trap.
Seven shades to call
All seven shades with answers
Which wrapper shade is this?
- Candela
- Claro
- Colorado claro
- Colorado
Answer
Candela, also called double claro. The green is real: the leaf is picked before it matures and dried fast, so it keeps its chlorophyll.
Which wrapper shade is this?
- Claro
- Candela
- Colorado claro
- Colorado
Answer
Claro. A very light tan with a yellow cast. Light wrappers tend to add a hint of dryness to the taste.
Which wrapper shade is this?
- Colorado claro
- Claro
- Colorado
- Candela
Answer
Colorado claro. Medium brown, a step darker than claro and a step lighter than the reddish colorado.
Which wrapper shade is this?
- Colorado
- Colorado claro
- Colorado maduro
- Claro
Answer
Colorado, also called rosado. Look for the red in the brown. That reddish cast is the tell.
Which wrapper shade is this?
- Colorado maduro
- Colorado
- Maduro
- Colorado claro
Answer
Colorado maduro. Darker brown, with less red than colorado and not yet the deep brown of maduro.
Which wrapper shade is this?
- Maduro
- Colorado maduro
- Oscuro
- Colorado
Answer
Maduro. Very dark brown. Dark wrappers tend to add a touch of sweetness to the taste.
Which wrapper shade is this?
- Oscuro
- Maduro
- Colorado maduro
- Colorado
Answer
Oscuro, also called double maduro. The darkest name on the scale, close to black.
Seven names on one sliding scale
Wrapper shades are seven conventional names for the color of the outer leaf, from pale green to near black. They describe the wrapper only. Not the binder, not the filler.
| Shade | Also called | What you see |
|---|---|---|
| Candela | double claro | very light, slightly green |
| Claro | – | very light tan, almost yellow |
| Colorado claro | – | medium brown |
| Colorado | rosado | reddish brown |
| Colorado maduro | – | darker brown |
| Maduro | – | very dark brown |
| Oscuro | double maduro | black |
The neighbors are the hard part
Nobody mixes up claro and oscuro. The misses happen one step apart. Colorado claro against colorado. Colorado maduro against maduro. That's why every round here offers the shades next door, not random ones.
Look for the red. Colorado, also called rosado, carries a reddish cast that its neighbors lack. Lighter than that is plain medium brown. Darker is brown losing its red on the way to maduro.
Will a screen ever show the real shade?
Not exactly. Every monitor renders brown a little differently, and the swatches here are our own picks for each name. In person, light changes everything too. A maduro under warm lounge bulbs and the same maduro by a window look like two cigars. Judge a wrapper in daylight, next to one you already know.
Darker leaf, sweeter edge
Color hints at taste, loosely. Dark wrappers tend to add a touch of sweetness. Light ones lean a little dry. Candela is its own case: picked early and dried fast, so the chlorophyll stays and the leaf stays green. The wrapper is one leaf in a whole bunch, though, so the blend underneath still decides most of what you taste. For how each shade tends to smoke, open the wrapper color chart.
Questions from the shade game
How many cigar wrapper shades are there?
Seven names are in common use, light to dark: candela, claro, colorado claro, colorado, colorado maduro, maduro and oscuro. The steps between them are a matter of eye, not measurement.
Why is a candela wrapper green?
A candela leaf is picked before it matures and dried quickly, so it keeps its green chlorophyll.
Is a maduro wrapper sweeter?
Often, yes. Dark wrappers tend to add a touch of sweetness, and light ones a hint of dryness. It is a tendency, and the blend under the wrapper can override it.
Where the shade names come from
- Cigar: anatomy, shades, sizes and storage, Wikipedia