Aficionado– Cigar smoker who knows the ins and outs of cigars or thinks they do and may be afflicted with delusions of grandeur; as seen below.

Amarillo– Yellow tobacco leaf grown under shade for use in wrappers.

American Market Selection (AMS)–  Less commonly used term for claro wrappers. (Also see English Market Selection.)

Amatista– A glass jar used to hold 50 or 25 cigars.

Band–  A strip paper wrapped a cigar usually near the head of the cigar. These bands usually stylized display the name of the brand, and may also display country of origin ect.

Barrel – The body of the cigar minus the head and and some cases foot.

Blend– The combination of the different tobaccos used in the cigar.

Bloom (Plume)– Is a fine white powder that may form on the cigar from the oils of in the cigar conceding on the wrapper.  This may look similar to mold but mold may not as flat to the wrapper as plume is can be different colors. Plume does not harm a cigar as mold can.

Book Style (Booking)– A rolling method where a torcedor lays the filler leaves atop one another and then rolls them together.

BOTL – Brother of the Leaf. A term that cigar smokers use to refer to other cigar smokers.

Bouquet– The smell, or aroma of a cigar.

Box– A wooden box, usually stylized box, that also usually holds 25 cigars. These boxes though can be made to hold other quantities of cigars.

Box-pressed– Refers to the flattish sides a cigar may have from being pressed into a box.

Bullet Cutter (punch cutter)– This kind of cutter is used to “punch” a small hole into the cap of the cigar.

Bull’s-Eye Piercer–  A type of punch cut that creates a circular opening similar to a target’s bull’s eye.

Bulk– A large pile of tobacco leaves (see hand) where the leaves can ferment.

Bunch– The compiled filler tobacco used in a cigar.

Bundle– A packaging method, designed with economy in mind, that uses a cellophane overwrap. It usually contains 25 or 50 cigars, traditionally without bands. Bundles, oftentimes seconds of premium brands, are usually less expensive than boxed cigars.

Burros– Piles of tobacco where it is fermented. These Burros can be quite tall causing the temperature inside them to rise to over 100 degrees. These Burros are taken apart when the temperature around 110 degrees.

Cabinet Selection– Cigars packaged in a wooden boxes instead of  paper based boxes such as cardboard cigar boxes. Wooden cigar boxes are of higher quality for the fact that wood cigar boxes are better for aging cigars.

Candela– Also called double claro. The process these leaves undergo is where they are picked before maturity and dried in extreme heat for only a few days which locks in the green chlorophyll giving them they’re distinct bright green color.

Cap– A piece of leaf cut into a circular shape that is adhered to the head of the cigar.

Capa– A cigar’s wrapper.

Carotene– Is a compound that develops during the aging process of cigars.

Case– Process of  moistening tobacco leafs so hand rollers can use it.

Cedar– The preferred wood type used to make applications for the storage of cigar like cigar boxes and humidors.

Chaveta– A roller’s knife used for cutting tobacco leaf.

Chewy – The sensation one feels that the smoke thick and substantial almost as if one could “chew” on the smoke.

Churchill–

1. A cigar usually 7 inches by a 47 ring gauge or 48 ring gauge.
2.  Sir Winston Churchill

Cigarillos– Very tin and short cigar about 3 inches long that are usually machine-made and could use homogenized wrappers.

Claro– Either yellowish or a very light tan. This is achieved by growing the tobacco plants in a shaded area until they have reached full maturity.

Clear Havana– A cigar produced with Cuban seed tobacco in the United States before the Cuban embargo.

Colorado– also referred to as Corojo or Rosado for the distinctive reddish brown color of this wrapper. Also shade grown like Claro wrappers but are exposed to more sun and therefore make them a thicker leaf and a darker color.

Coolidor- This is a humidor that is made from a seal-able cooler. These can be lined with cedar to improve storage.

Corojos– Tobacco plants that produce leaves used for wrappers.

Credo –   A maker of PG humidification accessories for humidors. The name is now commonly used for humidification accessories that use solution to regulate humidity.

Cuban Seed– Usually refers to plants grown in non-Cuban countries with seeds from Cuba.

Cubatabaco– The former name of Habanos S.A. the distributor for Cuban cigars.

Culebra– Spanish for snake. This makes sense as a culebra is a bundle of three cigars braided around each other and bound together. The cigars used to make a culebra can be of various lengths but long enough to braid, around 5 inches or more,  but needs have ring gauges small enough to bend with out breaking such as a 38 ring gauge. Ex: Tatuaje El Triunfador Culebra

Diademas– A cigar about 8 inches long with a foot that may be either open or closed.

Double Claro– (See Candela)

Double Corona, also called prominente– A big cigar, generally 7 1/2 to 8 inches by a 49 to 52 ring gauge.

Draw– The volume of air that is pulled through a cigar when the cap is opened. A draw can be too effortless which can be referred to as hot or the draw can be to difficult which can be referred to as plugged.

English Market Selection (EMS)– Usually Colorado Claro or anything between Double Claro and Maduro. Standard for most cigar wrappers created today and has roots that go as far back as the 19th century.

Entubar– A rolling method where the individual filler leafs are folded back that individual filler leaf and then is bunched together with the other filler leaves. This method was invented in Cuba and many report this to be the best method to achieve the best draw.

Escaparates– Cabinets where cigar are stored of a number of weeks in order to cool.

Fermentation– Fermentation occurs in bulks (See Bulk) where the temperature rises creating an environment that allows fermentation.

Figurado– Referrers to uncommon cigar shapes. These shapes are harder to roll and so associated with high quality cigars.

Filler– The inner most part of a cigar is called the filler. This part consists of a mixture of leafs of tobacco called a blend or melange. The fillers can be of various strengths. Cigar manufactures take pride in making the perfect blend for a smoker to give them the best experience.

Finish– Is the taste that sticks around for a time after drawing the smoke into the mouth and pushing the smoke out of the mouth.

Flag Leaves– Are extra wrapper that the head of the cigar that may be used close the head of the cigar instead of a cap. This can be easily seen with cigar that have pig tails (twisted and/or/or not curled flag leaves that close the head of a cigar) at the head of the cigar.

Foot– The end of the cigar that needs to be lit in order to smoke. The foot is usually already cut but can be closed in which case the foot will need to be cut.

Gorda– Spanish for fat. Used in conjunction with corona for the size corona gorda being 5 5/8 ” x46.

Gran Corona– A cigar with measurements usually 9 1/4″  x 47.

Gum– A vegetable based glue like substance used during the creation of a cigar.

Habana– (See Havana)

Habano– A term which designates that a cigar originated in Cuba. A Cuban cigar may have the word Habano or Havana on the band but not all do. Also a word of caution about buying Cuban cigars, buy Cuban from an authorized retailer.

Habanos S.A.– Cuba’s distribution company for Cuban made cigars.  This used to be Cubatabaco.

Half-wheel– A bundle of 50 cigars. Media Rueda(s) in Spanish.

Hand– Tobacco leaves that are tied to each other at the top of the leaf and then hung. Bulks (see Bulk) are composed hands.

Handmade– A cigar made by a person(s) instead of a machine.

Hand-rolled– A cigar that is rolled by an individual but the filler is bunched by a machine.

Havana– Is the capital of Cuba and the traditional place for the commerce of Cuban cigars. Havana can all refer to Cuban cigars and tobacco grown from Cuban seed in countries other than Cuba. This can also be called Habana.

Head– The end of the cigar that is drawn from and is most often closed.

Holder– Traditionally cigar holders are devices which separate a cigar from the person smoking it (see below). This is not very common now. A holder can also refer to a device which holds your for you while you are not smoking it (see below).

Traditional Cigar Holder

More Modern Cigar Holder

Homogenized Binder– Binder composed of bits of tobacco leaf and cellulose. Use of homogenized binder is good sign that a machine was used to make a cigar.

Hot– Refers to a draw that has nearly no resistance from not having enough filler. This can make the cigar harsh.

HTF - Hard To Find.

Humidor– This can refer to a box or  room that helps age and store cigars at proper humidity and temperature. The proper humidity range is between 60% – and 75% depending on one’s climate and preference. Proper temperature is between 65°F to 75°F. Staying at 75°F and under is is highly recommended to stay on the safe side of not having mold form.

Hygrometer– A device that indicates the humidity, or percentage of moisture in the air; used to monitor the humidity in a humidor.

Inhale– DO NOT INHALE while smoking. Properly smoking cigars does not

Igloodor– See Coolidor.

Lance– See piercer.

Lector– This is historically someone who reads out loud to the cigar rollers as they roll cigars.

Ligero– One of the three basic fillers a cigar can have. Ligero means light in Spanish but brings strength to a cigar.

Long Filler– Filler tobacco that runs the length of the body of the cigar, rather than chopped pieces found in machine-made cigars.

Lonsdale– A cigar that is usually 6 to 6 3/4 inches by a 42 to 44 ring gauge.

Machine-made– Cigars made completely by machine.

Maduro– this sun grown leaf is grown in Nicaragua, Brazil, Mexico, Connecticut, Ecuador, and Costa Rica. It is very dark brown or black. The texture of this wrapper can either be very smooth or rough and veiny depending on the construction. This wrapper lends to a full-bodied smoke that can be spicy or rich in sweetness. Ex: CAO Brazilia Box-press

Media Ruedas– See Half-wheel

Mold–

1. A wooden or plastic device used to shape a bunch. A single mold has two parts which are placed together holding a bunch and then the mold is placed in a press to shape the bunch.
2. A fungus may form on a cigar when it is in conditions of high temperature and/or humidity. Not to be confused with plume; cigar mold forms in patches instead of plume which forms in a mostly even dotted pattern over the whole surface of the cigar. Mold can also appear as blue stains on the wrapper of a cigar.

Nub - Refers to the very end portion of a cigar. This word may be used in the context of almost smoking the entirety of a cigar. Ex: I smoked that cigar to the nub.

Oil– Cigars may naturally secrete oil when properly stored.

Olor– A Dominican tobacco that can grow large leaves. Olor is used as fillers and binders in some cigars.

Oscuro– also called Double Maduro due to them being a very black color. They usually have an oily sheen that can be felt upon touching. This wrapper rose in popularity in the 2000’s. This type of wrapper is sun-grown and depends on the fermentation process to achieve it. Grown in USA, Mexico, Connecticut, Brazil, Cuba, and Nicaragua. These wrappers usually produce alot of strength (nicotine) and are very full-bodied. Flavors are full and rich in sweetness or spice. Ex: Viaje Skull and Bones M?stery Box-press

Parejos– A cigar with one ring gauge. Praejos come in several sizes in terms of ring gauge and length.

Perfecto– A cigar with a noticeably wider ring gauge at the middle.

Piercer– A cigar cutter that is used to put a small opening into the head of a cigar. This is also referred to as a lance.

Piloto Cubano– Type of Cuban-seed tobacco that is grown in the Dominican Republic.

Plug– When there is a obstruction in the cigar that prevents one from being able to get a decent draw.

Plume (also called Bloom)– Is a white powder that is developed by the natural oils that permeate from the tobacco of a cigar. Plume is not mold (see mold).

Pre-Castro Cigar– A Cuban cigar made before January 1959 when Fidel Castro took power in Cuba.

Pre-embargo Cigar– A Cuban cigar made before the Kennedy-era embargo against Cuba in 1962.

Primings– Are the rows of leaves on a tobacco plant. These rows, usually numbering six, are numbered from the bottom up starting with one. The primings closer to the top of the plant can lend a cigar more strength.

Propylene Glycol (PG or PG solution) – Is used in some humidification devices to help regulate humidity for the storage of cigars.

Puro– Spanish for pure. When used in reference to cigars it means a cigar made of tobaccos from a one country. Cuban cigars are suppose to be Puros but some report that with the massive demand of Cuban cigar they have started use other tobaccos to boost production.

Pyramid– A cigar shape that resembles an elongated pyramid. See Panacea Azul Cameroon Pyramid

Relative Humidity (RH) – Is the measurement of the amount of moisture in an atmosphere relative to complete saturation of a given atmosphere at a given temperature. Relative humidity is stated as a percent.

Ring Gauge– Is a measurement of the diameter of a cigar. Ring gauges are stated as a number in relation to 64ths of an inch. A cigar with a ring gauge of 50 has a diameter of 50/64 inches.

Robusto– A cigar with measurements usually of 5 to 5 1/2 inches by a 50 ring gauge.

Rosado– Spanish for pinkish or rose-colored. This term is used to describe the tint of red that may be seen in some Cuban-seed wrappers.

S.A. — Stands for Sociedad Anonyma. This has the equivalent of Inc. in Spanish. Ex: Habanos S.A.

Seco– Spanish for dry. Seco is used as a filler tobacco in cigars and may lend a medium body to a cigar.

Shade-grown– Describes a tobacco plant this is grown under suspended cheesecloth. This decreases the amount of sunlight that reaches the plant and produces a thinner, more elastic leaf.

Smoking Time– Refers to the duration of time one took to smoke a cigar.

Shoulder– Refers to where the cap of a cigar touches the body of a cigar.

Short Filler– Shredded tobacco used mainly in machine made cigars. Use of short filler is NOT the mark of a premium cigar because it burns more quickly and has a hotter combustion.

Special Solution– A solution half distilled water and half propylene glycol. Special solution can help the distilled water from evaporating after 70% relative humidity.

Spill– A thin strip of cedar that when lit a flame can be used to light a cigar. Using a spill to light a cigar can add flavor to the cigar being lit.

Sugar– Sugars are naturally present tobacco. The darker the wrapper the more sugar should be present in it making it have a sweeter flavor.

Sun-grown– Tobacco that is grown with out a suspend cheese cloth or obstruction over the plant ie. direct sun light. A tobacco plant that is gown in direct sunlight has fuller leaves and thicker veins.

Tapado– Suspended cheesecloth which is placed over tobacco plants to produce wrapper leaves.

Tercios– Bales of fermented tobacco wrapped in palm bark in order to be shipped to cigar factories.

Toothy – Refers to the texture/grain of a wrapper of a given cigar.

Torcedores– Professional cigar rollers.

Torpedo– 6-6.5 inches by 52-56 ring gauge, tapers to a point at the head.

Totalamente a Mano– Means “made totally by hand”. This designation can seen on some on cigar boxes. This differs form “Hecho a Mano” and “Envuelto a Mano” as the former can describe a cigar that has machine-bunched filler and the later decribes a cigar that is packed by hand.

Tubos– Refers to cigars that come in tubes made of glass, glass or metal (usual aluminum) designed to keep the cigars fresh. Studio Tubo Cain F Lancero

Tunneling– When the filler burns concave into the cigar. This can result in having the inside of the wrapper being burn giving the cigar an unpleasing taste.

Tupperdor – A seal-able plastic container that acts as a humidor (see humidor).

Vega– A tobacco plantation.

Vein– A structural part of a leaf; prominent veins can be a defect in wrappers.

Vintage– Usually refers to when the tobacco was harvested used to make a cigar.

Vitola– Refers to the shape of the cigar. Ex: Robusto, Corona Grande, Toro

Vuelta Abajo– A valley region in Cuba that is famous of growing tobacco.

Volado– A filler tobacco used in making of cigars for how it burns.

Wedge Cut– A V-shaped cut made in the closed end of a cigar.

Wheel – A bundle of one hundred cigars.

Wrapper– The cigar’s outermost leave is called the wrapper. This leaf needs to be of top quality because the wrapper is a very important part of a cigar. It gives nearly all of the cigar’s aesthetic appeal and more importantly the wrapper has often been said to contribute over 60% of the cigar’s value and flavor.