Cigar Glossary
Band the ring of paper with the name of the cigar brand printed on it fastened around the body of the cigar.
Binder the portion of a tobacco leaf used to hold together the blend of tobacco leazves used as the filler.
Blend a mixture of different types of tobaccos intended to give the cigar special body and flavor.
Bloom also known as plume, this is a naturally occurring phenomenon in which a fine white powder appears on the cigar. This is common in the cigar aging process of cigars. The oils that exude from the tobacco cause the bloom. Is sometime confused with mold, which is blue and cannot be wiped away from the cigar. Some consider bloom a sign of a well-aged cigar.
Box the container used to package cigars.
Bulk a large pile of leaves that are being fermented. See Fermentation.
Bunch up to four different types of filler tobacco that are blended to create the body of the cigar and are held together by the binder.
Bundle a less expensive method of packaging than boxes in which cigars are wrapped in cellophane.
Candela a bright green wrapper also known as double claro. Heating the leaves during the drying process creates this color.
Cap a circular piece of tobacco placed at the head of the cigar to secure the wrapper and the filler inside the cigar while smoking.
Chaveta a knife used to cut the wrapper in a cigar factory.
Claro A pale green to light brown wrapper, usually grown under shade.
Colorado a medium brown to brownish red tobacco used as a wrapper
Double Claro - a bright green wrapper also known as candela. Heating the leaves during the drying process creates this color.
Draw the amount of air that gets pulled through the cigar.
Fermentation Workers gather the tobacco leaves in large piles (bulk) after the harvest. The leaves are moistened and allowed to ferment. Temperatures may reach 140° inside the bulk before it is taken apart and restacked, temporarily halting the fermentation process. This process, called working the bulk, releases the ammonia from tobacco.
Figurado A Spanish term that refers to cigars with exotic sizes, such as torpedos, pyramids, perfectos, and culebras.
Filler the individual tobacco leaves used in the body of a cigar, a pile of such tobacco would be called a bunch.
Flag an alternative to a cap. The flag method of finishing a cigar involves shaping the wrapper leaf at the head of the cigar so it secures the wrapper. Sometimes it is tied off in a pigtail or a curly head.
Foot the end of the cigar you light. Most often it is pre-cut, except in the case of torpedos and perfectos.
Gum A vegetable adhesive used to secure the head of the wrapper leaf around the finished bunch.
Hand Individual leaves of tobacco that are hung together after harvest and tied at the top. These hands are piled together to make a bulk for fermentation.
Hand-Rolled A cigar made entirely by hand with a high quality wrapper and long filler.
Havana capital of Cuba. The traditional center of manufacturing of Cuban cigars for export, and a term widely used to designate Cuban cigars. Also refers to the tobacco types grown from Cuban seed in the Dominican Republic, Honduras, and Nicaragua.
Head The closed end of the cigar; the end you smoke.
Hot A term used to describe a cigar that is under filled and has a quick, loose draw. Can cause harsh flavors.
Humidor A room, or box, of varying sizes, designed to preserve and promote the proper aging of cigars by maintaining a humidity level of 70% and a temperature of approximately 65-70°F.
Ligero one of the three basic types of filler tobacco. The name means, light in Spanish, but this aromatic tobacco lends body to a blend
Long Filler A term used to designate filler tobaccos that run the length of the body of the cigar, rather than chopped pieces found in machine-made cigars.
Machine-made A term that refers to cigars made entirely by machine, using heavier weight wrappers and binds, and usually short filler in place of long filler.
Maduro A term used for a wrapper shade varying from a very dark reddish-brown to almost black. The word means ripe in Spanish. Sun exposure, a cooking process, or a prolonged fermentation can achieve this color.
Mixed Filler Some hand-made cigars use long filler as well as short filler in the same cigar. The long filler is used to create the length of the cigar while the short filler is used to build the shape and body.
Mold
A potentially
damaging fungus that forms on a cigar when it is stored at too high a
temperature.
Oscuro A black shade of wrapper, darker than Maduro, most often Brazilian or Mexican in origin.
Puro A Spanish term used to distinguish a cigar from a cigarette. Modern usage refers to a blend of tobaccos from one country.
Ring Gauge a measurement for the diameter of a cigar, based on increments of one 64ths of an inch.
Seco The Spanish word for dry, seco is a type of filler tobacco. It often contributes aroma and is usually medium bodied.
Shade-Grown Wrapper leaves that have been grown under a cheesecloth tent, called a tapado. The filtered sunlight creates a thinner, more elastic leaf.
Smoking time The smoking time for a cigar is based upon the size of the cigar and therefore how much tobacco is available for smoking. A 5-inch cigar with a 50 ring gauge, such as a rubusto, should provide anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes of smoking pleasure. A 7-½ inch cigar with a 50 ring gauge, such as a Churchill or double-corona may give over an hours worth of smoking time. See Shapes of Cigar for more information.
Sun Grown tobacco grown in direct sunlight, which creates a thicker leaf with thicker veins.
Volado A type of filler tobacco chosen for its burning qualities.
Wrapper a high quality tobacco leaf wrapped around the finished bunch and binder. It is very elastic and at it best unblemished.