Hey, not in a Freudian, weird way. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, remember? Anyway, reviewing Council Oak at the Hard Rock, where 93 percent of people smoke (the other 7 percent have a Skoal bandit tucked between cheek 'n' gum, I reckon), it got me thinking back to my own cigar-smoking days. That would be back when Demi Moore looked all glamorous puffing on the front of Cigar Aficionado.

I guess that aura of invincibility has worn off enough so that I reliably wear seat belts, I don a bike helmet and I don't smoke. It's called adulthood. Still, for a while, a cigar after a fabulous meal was a good thing. If you haven't ever understood the allure but have a little curiosity, click below to get some basics down.

Or stop by the Cigar Heritage Festival in Ybor City on Saturday (Nov. 17). Quite possibly the biggest and best cigar event anywhere in the nation, there will be more than two dozen cigar vendors, live music, a national broadcast by Cigar Dave and a variety of Cuban and other ethnic foods. For event details call (813) 247-1434.

Groucho Marx, W.C. Fields, George Burns, and Demi Moore. They all share one thing in common—a love of the leaf. Once upon a time, cigar lovers were cut from the same mold: jowly, affluent men with a marked resemblance to Winston Churchill. Today, however, just about anyone can be seen with a stogie in hand at one of the area's many cigar-friendly establishments. Vicente Martinez Ybor and Ignacio Haya decided to build cigar factories in a scrub area northeast of Tampa way back in 1885—and the rest is history. For years, Ybor City was considered the cigar capital of the world, with 12,000 master tabaqueros hand-rolling 700 million cigars a year in 200 factories.

You can still consider yourself a Tampa booster, even if you've never taken a puff. But if you want to smoke like a local, a few basics should get you on your way.

Even before lighting up, a cigar's visual specifications can give clues to its character. The outer wrapper's color indicates a great deal about a cigar's flavor. A "maduro" wrapper is a rich, deep brown, imparting a cigar with deep, unctuous flavors. A "claro" wrapper, on the other hand, is a light tan and lends little additional flavor to a cigar. There are essentially six color grades. Roughly from lightest to darkest, these are: candela (pale green), claro, natural (light brown), colorado (reddish brown), maduro, and oscuro (almost black).

Shape is another central factor in cigar selection. Among "parejos" or straight-sided cigars, there are three basic categories. A corona is classically 6 inches long, with an open foot (the end that is lighted) and a closed head (the end that is smoked). Within this category, Churchills are a bit longer and thicker, robustos are shorter and much thicker, and a double corona is significantly longer. Panetelas, the second category, are longer and much thinner than coronas, and the third category, lonsdales, are thicker than panetelas and thinner and longer than coronas.

"Figurados" comprise the other class of cigar, which spans all of the irregularly shaped types. This includes torpedo shapes, braided "culebras," and pyramid shapes that have a closed, pointed head and an open foot.

A cigar band is generally wrapped around the closed head of a cigar. Its original function was to minimize finger staining, not to identify brands. Nonetheless, on the band you will find the name a manufacturer has designated for a particular line of cigars—names like Partagas, Macanudo, Punch and Montecristo. Keep in mind that after 1959, many cigar manufacturers fled Cuba to open shop elsewhere, taking their brand names with them. Thus, a brand name does not always betray a cigar's country of origin.

For neophytes lighting up for the first time, a milder cigar may ease you in. The Macanudo Hyde Park is a mild smoke, as are the Don Diego Playboy Robusto or Lonsdale. For a fuller-bodied cigar, the Punch Diademas and the Partagas Number 10 are both popular. If you're looking for a robust, ultra full-bodied taste, you might try the Hoyo de Monterrey Double Corona. The best way to discover your own personal tastes is to stop into a fine tobacconist or cigar-friendly restaurant and have a chat.