Glossary
Premium cigar terminology without the jargon wall.
Short definitions with stable anchors so guides can link directly to a term.
Band
The paper ring identifying a cigar brand or line. A band is branding, not evidence of blend identity by itself.
Binder
The leaf beneath the wrapper that holds the filler bunch together and contributes to combustion and flavor.
Blend
The complete recipe of wrapper, binder and filler tobaccos, including origins, seed types, primings and proportions.
Box-pressed
A cigar pressed into a squarer profile rather than left fully round.
Broadleaf
A broad tobacco family often associated with thicker, darker wrapper or binder leaf; Connecticut Broadleaf is a well-known example.
Bunch
The filler tobaccos held together by the binder before wrapper application.
Cap
A small piece of wrapper tobacco applied to the head of a cigar to finish construction and hold the wrapper in place.
Canoeing
Uneven burning where one side of the cigar advances faster than the other.
Connecticut Shade
A light wrapper style historically associated with shade-grown Connecticut tobacco; Connecticut-seed versions are also grown elsewhere, especially Ecuador.
Corona
A common slim-to-medium vitola name. Exact dimensions vary by manufacturer.
Cuban sandwich
Informal term for a handmade cigar using a mixture of long filler and shorter tobacco pieces.
Draw
The resistance felt when air is pulled through a cigar. A draw can be tight, open or somewhere between.
Figurado
A shaped cigar that is not a standard straight-sided parejo, such as a torpedo, perfecto or pyramid.
Filler
The tobacco inside the cigar, normally making up most of its volume.
Foot
The end of the cigar that is lit.
Habano
A broad Cuban-seed or Cuban-style tobacco term. It can describe seed heritage or a wrapper family rather than country of manufacture.
Head
The end of the cigar placed in the mouth and usually cut before use.
Humidor
A storage container designed to maintain a stable environment for cigars.
Ligero
Higher-priming tobacco commonly associated with more body and nicotine; usually slower burning than lower primings.
Long filler
Whole or mostly whole tobacco leaves running through the length of a handmade cigar.
Maduro
A term commonly associated with darker, more extensively fermented wrapper tobacco. Maduro describes processing/style more than strength.
Parejo
A straight-sided cylindrical cigar shape.
Perfecto
A figurado shape that tapers at one or both ends, depending on the manufacturer.
Plugged
A cigar with abnormally restricted airflow, often caused by dense bunching or a localized knot.
Priming
Leaf position or harvest stage on the tobacco plant. Different primings have different thickness, strength and combustion properties.
Puro
A cigar whose wrapper, binder and filler all come from the same country.
Ring gauge
Cigar diameter measured in sixty-fourths of an inch. A 50 ring is 50/64 inch in diameter.
Robusto
A popular short, thick vitola category, often around 5 inches long and roughly 50 ring, though exact dimensions vary.
Seco
A lower or mid plant priming generally associated with aroma and combustion rather than maximum strength.
Short filler
Smaller pieces of tobacco used as filler rather than full-length leaves.
Shoulder
The curved area where the cigar body transitions into the head. Cutting below it can cause wrapper unraveling.
Sun grown
Tobacco grown with direct sun exposure rather than under shade cloth; actual growing conditions still vary by region.
Toro
A common medium-large vitola name, often near 6 × 50, but dimensions vary by manufacturer.
Torpedo
A cigar with a tapered pointed head that can be cut progressively to adjust airflow.
Tunneling
A burn problem where the filler burns ahead of the wrapper and binder.
Viso
A middle-to-upper priming often used for body and flavor while still contributing to combustion.
Vitola
A cigar size/shape designation. Retailer vitola names are not perfectly standardized.
Volado
Lower priming often valued for combustion characteristics. Terminology can vary by producer and tradition.
Wrapper
The outermost leaf of a cigar. It contributes flavor and appearance but does not determine the cigar’s strength by itself.