Plain and simple what type of wrapper do you prefer and why?
I have been surfing the net and find that the majority of the sites I visit are usually sold out of the natural wrapper on many cigars. Why is this? Is there something that I am missing here? Please enlighten me (the new guy) and let me know what the biggest difference between the types of wrappers (to include the ones not mentioned here...candela..blah..blah..blah)

I think I should not complain as it gives me better odds to nab the ones I like.

as I puff on my lovely LGC Wavell.

I only smoke a few maduro wrapped cigars. Primarily those are the 5 Vegas "A", Alec Bradley Ovation, Carlos Torano Signatures, Perdomo Reserve, CAO Brazilia's and maybe a couple of others on rare occaision. Most of the other types I cigars I smoke are either Cameroon or mostly SunGrown wrapped cigars.

Maduro leaf is normally made from extensively aged and cured connecticut bradleaf tobacco. The more it ages with the more heat applied, the wrapper turns to a darker color. SunGrown wrappers are just that, grown in the sun without the cheesecloth shading the leaves as it grows, though in Costa Rica the natural cloud cover does this from what I understand. A good source for learning about tobacco would be the Perelman's Encyclopedia of cigars which are available online. Do a google search.

Very few vendors do the maduro wrapped cigars right, with those I mentioned above having the better tasting wrapper in my opinion that leads to the better smoke,but that's just my opinion. Some maduro cigars I smoked have just such a sour taste, you can tell the wrappers weren't aged correctly or the wrapper doesn't mix well with the overall blend.

With Cameroon and SunGrown wrappered cigars, it's less likely to be screwed up. Don't believe me? Smoke a Fuente SG Cuban belicoso, Fuente Don Carlos Belicoso, 5 Vegas Limitada, Torano Virtuoso, or a Perdomo Reserve Cameroon...those are excellent cigars.

Mike

Maduro for me. There's just something about it that I like but I'm not sophisticated enough to describe it accurately.

I'd say it depends entirely upon what you desire to smoke on any given occaision. My preferance leans towards a natural wrapper but a maduro wrapper works fine if I'm reaching for a '64 Anniversario.

Bill

I have been real big into the maduro wrappers as of late but have been having some problems with my Ashtons burning poorly and not having as good of taste.

I'm fairly new to Cigar smoking, but have found that I prefere Avo Maduro over Avo Natural.

I prefer an oscuro wrapper over anything, but will second a maduro if none are available, or I feel like a change (oscuros are black). I have yet to find a true, full-bodied, strong cigar that comes in a natural or sungrown wrapper. As a matter of fact, the mere sight of an orangey-green wrapper instantly turns me off.

"Maduro" for a non-Cuban cigar entails a process called 'cooking' of one sort or another and, while it might appear to refer to the aging of the tobacco as Bluesky references, that is not the case in the vast majority of instances. For a wrapper to get as dark as a wrapper has to be for it to be 'maduro' simply by age, it would take years, and the industry doesn't have that kind of time or storage capability. If it did, the price differential would be extraordinary. But it's not. So, 'maduro' doesn't necessarily refer to the age of the wrapper. The pundits like to say it's age, and it would be infinitely more romantic if that were the case, but it's not.

Once harvested, the tobacco goes through a fermentation process in large bales where the temperatures rise dramatically as the moist organic material sits. Normally, the rate of the temperature rise is regulated by the introduction of water - sort of like a compost pile, really. Most of the time, the process is retarded at a certain point, once temperature and time are coordinated, and the tobacco separated so that the fermentation is controlled. However, with a maduro wrapper, the tobacco is allowed to stay hotter longer, and so it's 'cooked'. The result is a darker wrapper.

In the fermentation process, the tobacco leeches off many elements like chlorophyll and various starches. Those elements and starches, in turn, resolve as simple sugars. So, when you touch your tongue to the wrapper, you might get a 'sweet' sensation, and as I understand, that is why.

Maduro wrappers are not for everybody.

On the flip side, wrapper color otherwise does not at all affect the cigar. We like to say and think that a dark wrapper means it's more rich and oily when, in fact, the lighter wrappers often retained more of the oils that make the leaf more complex. It's an optical illusion, and the sight of what we smoke will influence our perception of the flavor.

I don't like sickly green wrappers, either, and find the darker ones more aesthetically pleasing...but it's just preference, and there really is not going to be much of a difference. As I recall, the Sun Grown wrappers do have a different character to them, but if and when I smoke, I don't smoke those any more.

I think the more important factor to wrapper type is the tobacco's country of origin. I am big into Nicaraguan leaf and would rather smoke a stick with a Nic wrapper (maduro or natural) than anything else. All maduro or natural wrappers are no more alike than all cigars being alike. Better to smoke cigars from different countries and regions to find the tobacco(s) you like best, and then get cigars of both shades to provide variety to your smoking enjoyment.

Maduro, Ligero, Sun Grown, Sumatra

I am not big into the shade wrappers, it just doesn't have what I am looking for. I have found myself grtavitating to a full-bodied mellow tasting smoke, and keeping away from the bright tasting smokes- it is just my preference.

Maduro in NC's for me are top, closely followed by corojo!

I like both. As far as Padrons, I will only smoke Maduros. Other brands just depend on which ever I want to smoke.

I enjoy both, but if I had to choose, I go with maduro. To me, Padron maddie is the true definition of a great maduro.