B

A unit of storage for cigar tobacco. Dry tobacco that has been cured and fermented is layered in a wooden crate on a scale. The tobacco is wrapped in material, typically burlap or nylon. When the desired weight for a bale is achieved, the tobacco is compressed with a hydraulic press, the sides are stitched, and the wooden supports are removed. Cigar-makers age tobacco in bales for years or even decades. Bales range in weight and size. They’re often 100 pounds or more.

An often colorful and ornate ring of paper around the top portion of a cigar that identifies the brand and other details like country of origin. Cigar bands often exhibit intricate lithography and detailed brand logos. Today, some cigars have secondary bands, or cigar-makers will place the band at the foot of the cigar.

One of the three main components of a cigar, banda refers to the binder. The binder leaves in a cigar encapsulate the filler leaves. Although many binder leaves are grown with the intention of being used as wrappers, cosmetic imperfections lead them to be classified as binders.

A barber-pole cigar is rolled with 2 different wrapper leaves which the cigar roller alternates, giving the appearance of a barber-pole (or candy cane) pattern on the surface of the cigar. Most commonly, the effect is achieved with alternating Maduro and Natural wrappers.

Cheap cigars were shipped in barrels in the 1800s, usually in quantities of 2,500 cigars.

The scientific name for a tobacco beetle is lasioderma serricorne. At just 2 to 3 millimeters in size tobacco beetles can accomplish irreparable damage to single cigars as well as entire cigar collections thanks to their insatiable appetites. Cigar beetles leave tiny, pin-sized holes in a cigar, often in a trail. If you suspect any of your cigars are infected by beetles, remove them from your humidor immediately and toss them out. Cigar beetles can hatch when the temperature in a humidor exceeds 72 degrees.

A cigar shape, similar to a Torpedo, but shorter and with a more abrupt taper at the head.

A recipe of herbs, wine, rum, or liqueurs used to infuse tobaccos.

An integral component in a handmade cigar, the binder tobaccos hold the centermost filler leaves in place. Together, the binder and filler tobaccos are called a “bunch.” Binders often start out as wrapper leaves, but are classified with a lower grade due to cosmetic imperfections.

The process of releasing an unwanted pocket or bubble of air from the fuel tank on a butane lighter. Bleeding a lighter improves its performance and allows a full injection of fresh fuel to occupy the tank.

Blend refers to the complete recipe of tobaccos that go into a premium cigar. For most cigars, a blend consists of up to five leaves in the filler, one or two binder leaves, and the exterior wrapper leaf. For many cigar-makers, the precise ingredients in a given blend are never revealed beyond the general regions where the tobaccos originate. A single blend can consist of tobaccos from numerous farms and tobacco-growing regions.

The process of smoking a cigar after its band has been removed with no knowledge of what brand or blend you’re smoking.

Naturally, as cigars age, they can exhibit bloom (also called plume) which typically appears on a cigar’s wrapper in the form of small white powdery dots. Bloom can simply be brushed off the surface of the cigar and is not harmful. Do not confuse bloom with mold, which is blue or green in color and very harmful.

Originally a designation for the clearance aisle or clearance shelf in a retail shop, the Blowout Bin is a popular location physically, and virtually (online), for identifying cigars that need to be expunged from a store’s inventory. Cigars in a Blowout Bin are often marked down to the lowest prices possible which has made the term a buzz word for bargain hunters.

Blue mold is an airborne fungus that can infect and ruin an entire tobacco field in days. The scientific name for blue mold is peronospara tabacina. Some hybrid tobacco varietals are less susceptible to blue mold than others, but it has impacted every major tobacco-growing region at one time or another.

A layer of paper or film that folds over the cigars in a protective manner inside a dress box. The bofeton typically features the brand’s logo and is the first thing you see upon opening a box of cigars.

The formally styled cedar box in which many premium cigars are packaged. An authentic Boite Nature box consists of two hinges, a clasp, dovetailed or interlocking joints, and four lifted cedar collars that form an inner lip and rise above the lower walls of the box. Many cigar boxes are made of cedar, but may not exhibit the full course of Boite Nature appointments.

The origins of celebrated Fuente Fuente Opus X cigars reside in Bonao, an agricultural region in the Dominican Republic, roughly an hour from Santiago. The area’s fields once grew Candela wrappers. The Fuente family successfully harvested the country’s first Cuban-seed, Shade Grown tobaccos in Bonao, and later grew the coveted wrappers for Fuente Fuente Opus X there.

Bonche refers to a bunch, or the combination of filler and binder leaves rolled together in a cylindrical shape.

Also called “bunchers,” boncheros are the cigar-rollers in a factory who specialize in assembling the binder and filler leaves (or bunch) in a cigar.

A technique of cigar-making whereby the roller layers the filler leaves on top of one another (like the pages in a book) and then rolls them up in a scroll. Booking is quicker than other rolling methods but can create issues with a cigar’s draw if not done properly.

The aroma of a cigar, lit or unlit, can be called a bouquet. Also called a cigar’s room note, the bouquet refers to the qualities of a cigar we perceive with our olfactory senses.

A term once used to characterize small-batch releases, typically from cigar-makers outside of the mainstream. Overuse of boutique as a classification for scores of new brands, including those by bigger more established companies, has led to its erosion as a romantic term.

A form of traditional cigar packaging widely used today. Many credit H. Upmann with originating the practice in the early 1800s in Cuba. Laws in the U.S. were enacted in 1865 that required cigars be packed in wooden boxes in quantities of 25, 50, 100, or 250 cigars in order to accurately track production for taxation. Spanish cedar is the most common material, however cigar boxes have been made of cardboard, tin, and plastic.

Box aging simply refers to aging cigars in the box in which they are packaged. Cigars can be aged for many years and when aged in the original box, they can exhibit distinctively uniform qualities of taste and aroma.

Box codes are predominantly used to identify the age of Cuban cigars according to a code found on the bottom of each box. Box codes are uncommon outside of Cuba.

Box pressed cigars exhibit a flat, somewhat squared off shape as a result of being tightly packed into a box with flat top. There are varying degrees of box pressing, however trunk pressing technically refers to cigars that are pressed in the most extreme manner using wooden slats between the cigars to achieve the effect. Trunk-pressed cigars have very sharp, squared-off edges.

A clasp that fastens the top of a cigar box lid to the bottom.

Also shortened to BOTL, Brother of the Leaf is a popular contemporary term used to identify a fellow cigar lover. Its usage has blossomed across the Internet.

Small cigar factories in the U.S. were called Buckeyes prior to the Cuban Revolution. The term originated from the widespread use (in domestic factories) of tobacco grown in Ohio, the Buckeye State.

Large piles of tobacco assembled for fermentation are called bulks. They can weight up to 4,000 pounds or more. Bulks are compiled in warehouses after the tobacco has been cured in a curing barn. Bulks consist of tobacco leaves that have been arranged in bunches, called hands.

A type of punch cutter that opens the cap with a circular blade. Bullet cutters are available in a variety of ring gauge sizes and typically create a more constricted draw while keeping the cap of the cigar intact.

A type of punch cutter used to open the head or cap of a cigar with a circular blade reminiscent of the bull’s eye on a target.

Bunch refers to the combination of binder and filler leaves used in a cigar. A bunch is placed in a cigar mold and is then finished with a wrapper leaf to complete the blend.

A buncher is the worker at the cigar factory who specializes in assembling the combination of binder and filler leaves used in a cigar. The task of a buncher is distinct from the work done by a cigar roller. In some factories a single worker performs both the bunching and the rolling, however the tasks are often separated in many cigar-making facilities. When handled separately, male workers often perform the bunching while females carry out the rolling.

Powered by hand, a bunching machine is constructed with a leather pad, a metal handle, and guides that aid in the assembly of the bunch (the combination of binder and filler tobaccos in a cigar). Also called Liebermans or Temscos, bunching machines are common in the Dominican Republic, but are rare in other Central American nations and are not utilized in Cuba.

In lieu of boxes, some cigars are packaged in bundles wrapped in cellophane. Many bundles are assembled in counts of 20 or 25 cigars. Once commonly used to package un-banded seconds from premium brands, a number of premium bundles now exist due to the economy they offer, as the cost of a box is removed from the manufacturing equation.

A burro is another term for a bulk or pilón or trojes, which is a large pile of tobacco assembled for fermentation following the curing process. After the tobaccos have been cured, they are moved from the curing barn to a warehouse where they are placed in enormous piles that can weigh up to 4,000 pounds or more. The leaves are piled flat on top of one another with cardboard, old tobacco stems, or boards underneath. In a burro, the fermentation process begins as the weight and moisture from the leaves generates heat which causes a change in the tobacco’s chemical structure.

A clean-burning, odorless fuel used in many cigar lighters, especially torch models. Cigar smokers prefer butane due to its lack of impurities. Butane is far less likely to produce a residual aftertaste or negatively impact the flavor of a premium cigar. High-quality butane, or fuel that is refined at least five times, is strongly recommended.

An old form of cigar packaging rarely used today. Also called an Amatista jar, cigars were once packaged in heavy glass jars in quantities of 25 or 50 cigars.

A reference to commonly counterfeited Cuban Cohibas. Real Cuban Cohibas are never packaged in boxes with a clear window at the top which displays the cigars inside.

Like aluminum tubes, glass tubes are used to package individual cigars. A glass tube protects a cigar if you carry it in your pocket.

A reference to thicker cigar shapes, Gorda is Spanish for “fat.”

A size of Cuban cigars, in particular, which measures 5.5 inches by a 50 ring gauge.

A long cigar shape, typically 9.25 inches by a 47 ring gauge.

A long version of the Panetela shape, often longer than 7 inches with a 38 ring gauge.

A complimentary Cuban term for a farmer or man of the earth.

A traditional Cuban dress shirt lined with many pockets (convenient for holding cigars) on the front. Guayaberas are not tucked in when worn.

A tasteless, odorless substance used to apply the head of the wrapper leaf around the bunch in a handmade cigar.

Machine-made cigars are made in machines and not by hand. They are made with short-filler homogenized tobacco created from chopped-up tobacco scraps and cellulose adhesive. Machine-made cigars are also called mass-market cigars. They are manufactured in far greater quantities than premium handcrafted cigars and are more readily available in convenience stores than in fine tobacco shops because they are very cheap.

Maduro is Spanish for “ripe.” It refers to a shade of wrapper leaf, typically very dark brown or nearly black in color. Maduro wrappers can be achieved through exposure to sunlight or an extended fermentation, during which the sugars in the tobacco rise to the surface of the leaf. The most common type of Maduro wrapper is Connecticut Broadleaf.

Another term for cheap machine-made cigars. Mass-market cigars are made from processed homogenized scraps of tobacco and cellulose adhesive. Machine-made cigars are referred to as “mass-market” because they are widely distributed in convenience stores and gas stations as opposed to premium retail cigar shops.

A prized tobacco wrapper leaf harvested near Brazil’s northeastern coast in a region called Recôncavo.

Another term for a half wheel or a bundle of 50 cigars. They are usually bound with a ribbon. 100 cigars make up a full wheel which is called rueda.

Small leaves that grow at the top of a tobacco plant. Because they receive the most direct sunlight, they are prized by cigar-makers for their complex, intense flavor.

Mexico is well-known as a tobacco-growing country, particularly the San Andres region where a tremendous number of prized San Andrés wrapper crops are grown.

Another term for Cuban sandwich cigars. Mixed-filler cigars are still handmade, but with a mixture of short-filler and long-filler tobaccos.

Cigar bunches (binder and filler leaves) are placed in a mold to conform to the cigar shape that is being made. Cigar molds are made of wood or plastic and are constructed with a bottom half and a top half joined together under pressure.

The term mold also refers to the blue or green fungus that can develop on cigars when they are stored at temperatures that are too high. Cigars infected with mold should be discarded and never smoked.

A mounted head is a cap with three seams, also called a triple cap. Originally a Cuban-style of cigar-making, a number of cigar-makers in Nicaragua and other nations also produce cigars with mounted heads now.

An extra step in the fermentation process that is performed on tobacco that is on the periphery of a pilón, or bulk. Because tobacco that is further away from the center of a pilón is less likely to receive an appropriately thorough fermentation, it is treated in a mulling room where it is exposed to high temperatures (100 degrees Fahrenheit) and humidity (90% RH) for a more complete fermentation.

A light-brown or golden-blond to medium-brown color of a cigar’s wrapper. Once commonly referred to as Colorado Claro, Natural is used much more frequently today. Many Connecticut Shade wrappers are classic examples of Natural.

One of the world’s most prominent cigar-producing and tobacco-growing nations. Much of Nicaragua’s cigar production is situated around the town of Esteli. Nicaragua’s three key tobacco-growing regions are Esteli, Jalapa, and Condega. The strongest tobaccos are grown in Esteli, while Condega is more medium in strength, and Jalapa tobaccos are less intense and ideal for wrapper leaves. Many highly rated cigar brands are made in Nicaragua, including Padron, La Aroma de Cuba, and My Father.

The most common of all plants in the genus Nicotiana and the one from which contemporary, commercially grown tobacco derives. It is only found in cultivation.

Pushing cigar smoke out through your nose. Nosing produces added layers of complexity in your perception of flavor and aroma from a premium cigar. It is also called retronasal olfaction.

Desirable wrapper leaves often exhibit an oily quality. It’s also a sign of adequate humidification. Darker wrappers, like Maduro and Oscuro leaves, are more prone to display an oily quality than lighter Connecticut Shade wrappers.

Olor is a tobacco varietal grown in the Dominican Republic and predominantly used as binder and filler. Olor is distinct for the large size of the leaves it produces.

The name of a volcanic island close to Lake Nicaragua. A small portion of tobacco is grown on the island where its fertile volcanic soils yield a distinctive sweet, earthy taste.

The darkest color of wrapper leaf. Oscuro wrappers are darker than Maduros and can be associated with a pronounced intensity.

A long and slender cigar shape. Panetelas are typically rolled in dimensions of 5 to 7 inches by a ring gauge of 34 to 38.

A rectangular or oval sticker or emblem stuck to the top of a cigar box that wraps around the outer side to the bottom. The papeleta must be sliced in order to open the lid.

A cigar with parallel or straight sides. Traditional Robustos, Churchills, Toros, and Coronas are all considered Parejos. Figured cigars, or Figurados like Torpedos, Belicosos, and Perfectos are not Parejos.

A region in Cuba where premium tobacco is grown.

A humidification system that does not rely on batteries or electricity to function. Most traditional humidification units sold with humidors (like those made with floral foam), or Boveda humidity packs, are passive.

To make tiny tobacco seeds easier to handle, some are pelletized or coated in a neutral material like clay.

Spanish for “hair of gold,” Pelo d’Oro is the name of tobacco prized for its rich, distinctive flavor. It is grown in Nicaragua and other regions but is not common due to its susceptibility to disease.

A cigar shape that tapers at both ends. Because there are many shapes and sizes of Perfectos, the term is occasionally confused with Figurado. All Perfectos are Figurados, but not all Figurados (i.e. Belicosos and Torpedos) are Perfectos.

A cigar size that measures approximately 4.5 to 5 inches by a 38 to 42 ring gauge. Petit Coronas are a smaller version of the traditional Corona shape. The shape delivers an added concentration of flavor and is ideal when you’re stepping out into cold or inclement weather for a cigar.

Another term for short-filler or chopped up tobacco scraps, primarily like those used in machine-made cigars. Some handmade cigars consist of a combination of short-filler and long-filler tobaccos, such as Cuban sandwich cigars. Short-filler tobaccos burn hotter and faster than long-fillers.

A piercer is a cigar cutter with a sharp needle-like point that penetrates the cap of a cigar to create airflow.

During the fermentation process, tobacco leaves are arranged in pilónes, also called bulks, burros, or trojes. Before fermentation takes place, the tobacco is cured in a curing barn for roughly 45 days where moisture is removed from the leaves. After curing is complete the tobacco is moved to a warehouse for fermentation. Around 30 to 40 individual leaves are tied or sewn together in what is called a “hand.” Many hands of tobacco are assembled in a large pile, or pilon, which can weight up to 4,000 pounds or more. At the bottom of each pilón is a layer of cardboard, wood, or old tobacco stems. During fermentation, the pilónes are taken apart and reassembled several times over a period of months.

A famous varietal of Cuban-seed tobacco grown in the Dominican Republic. It is also called Piloto for short.

A world-famous tobacco-growing region in Western Cuba. Pinar Del Rio is where Cuba’s most legendary and prized tobacco is grown.

A cigar is plugged when the draw is obstructed. Using a piercer to loosen the tobacco at one or both ends of a cigar can sometimes remedy the draw. In other cases, the cigar may have been rolled too tight and is unsmokable because it is plugged.

Another term for bloom, plume is a powdery white substance derived from the natural oils in a premium cigar. It is harmless and typically appears on the surface of the wrapper leaf in small white specs. Plume can easily be brushed off a cigar and is actually a sign of proper aging. It is not be confused with mold, which is blue or green in color and is very harmful.

Cuban cigars manufactured prior to Fidel Castro’s ascent to power in January of 1959.

Cuban cigars manufactured before the enactment of President Kennedy’s U.S. trade embargo against Cuba in 1962.

Many kinds of presses are used in the manufacture of premium cigars. Some are powered by hand to compress the cigar molds after the tobacco bunches have been created. These presses help to give the cigars their precise shapes. Pneumatic presses are used in larger factories. Industrial hydraulic presses are also used to compress the tobacco bales after fermentation is complete.

The vertical sections of a tobacco plant are called primings. Each priming yields leaves that are suited to be rolled into specific components of a cigar. The most common primings (beginning at the bottom of the plant and going up) are Volado, Seco, Viso, and Ligero. Tobacco leaves are always harvested from the bottom up, typically two or three leaves at a time. The tobacco leaves increase in strength as you go higher on the plant with the top leaves being the strongest because they get the most sunlight. Between the harvests of each priming, a few days pass giving the plant ample time to continue maturing.

Also called 50/50, propylene glycol is a solution used to soak the humidification unit in a humidor. When humidifying cigars, distilled water or propylene glycol should be used, not tap water which has the potential to create mold. Propylene glycol offers an advantage over distilled water because it won’t oversaturate your cigars or humidor. It is designed to stop releasing humidity when the environment inside a humidor reaches 70% RH (relative humidity).

A cigar cutter with a circular blade designed to remove a precise section of the cap on a traditional Parejo. Punch-cutters are also called bullet-cutters. They are available in a variety of ring gauges to accommodate thinner or thicker cigars. A punch-cutter should be used with a gradual or careful pressure in a twisting motion so as not to crack the head or wrapper leaf on a cigar.

Blowing smoke from the head of cigar out through the foot is called purging a cigar. The purpose of purging a cigar is to eliminate the buildup of unwanted flavors.

Purging is also another term for bleeding a butane lighter, or releasing the air pocket or bubble from inside of the fuel tank by pressing in on the fuel valve. Purging a lighter, increases its efficiency. Because the tank is completely emptied, the lighter can receive a full injection of fuel.

Spanish for “cigar,” Puro also refers specifically to cigars that are made with tobaccos grown in one nation. Flor de las Antillas (blended by Jose ‘Pepin’ Garcia for the My Father brand) is a Puro because its binder, filler, and wrapper leaves are all grown in Nicaragua.

Also called a Torpedo, a Pyramid is a cigar shape that tapers sharply at the head with an open foot.

A structure used to cure tobacco in certain areas of the Dominican Republic. A quisqueya is a more rudimentary and less protective structure than a traditional curing barn.

Cuban cigars released only in specific regions.

The former name of the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers (IPCPR), a trade organization that consists of premium tobacco retailers in the U.S.

The diameter of a cigar is measured in ring gauge, or 64ths of an inch, the same as your finger would be measured for a wedding ring. A standard Robusto is 5 inches by a 50 ring gauge, or 50/64ths of an inch in thickness. Today a number of incredibly large ring gauges exist, many that surpass an inch in thickness, measuring as much as 70 or 80 in ring gauge.

The most popular cigar shape in the world, Robustos measure from 4.75 inches to 5.75 inches in length with a 48 to a 52 ring gauge.

In a cigar factory the roller is the worker who makes the cigar. In some factories the process of assembling the interior components of a cigar (the binder and filler) are handled separately from application of the wrapper leaf. The worker who rolls the cigar into its wrapper leaf is the roller while the worker who creates the binder and the filler is called a buncher.

The area or floor in a cigar factory where the cigar rollers craft the cigars by hand. In some factories, a cigar roller assembles the binder and filler tobaccos as well as the wrapper leaf. In other factories, the binder and filler tobaccos are assembled by a “buncher,” while the cigar roller wraps the finished bunch in a wrapper leaf.

How a cigar is made. Three common processes exist: booking, the accordion method, and entubado (or entubar). Booking is layering the tobacco leaves like the pages in a book. In the accordion method the leaves are folded in a zig zag pattern like the bellows of an accordion. And with entubado, each leaf of filler tobacco is rolled up like a scroll or tube before it is assembled into the binder.

Often made of wood, a rolling table is where a cigar roller sits to make cigars.

Spanish for “rose-colored,” Rosado refers to Cuban-seed tobaccos that exhibit a reddish-brown color.

A large, complex, and impressive cigar shape. A Salomon is a Diadema with bulbous, elongated proportions. A Salomon is typically 7.25 inches with a 57 ring gauge (at its thickets point). The head of the cigar is tapered and the cigar swells to its thickest measurement towards the foot which is finished with a nipple at the tip. Because of their sweeping, curvaceous shapes, Salomons require great skill to craft. Even a highly experienced cigar roller can only make roughly 50 or 60 in a day.

A type of wrapper leaf named for the region in Mexico where it is grown. Sometimes called San Andrés Negro, the tobacco is stalk cut, often dark brown in color. It can exhibit either an oily or dyer texture. San Andrés wrappers appear on many celebrated cigars. It is prized for its rich, spicy and sweet taste.

Grown in the Dominican Republic, San Vincente is a tobacco hybrid.

Also called libre de pie, sand leaf refers to the lowest leaves on a tobacco plant. It is typically discarded.

The second largest city in the Dominican Republic and the area where most Dominican cigar production takes place.

A string used to bind tobacco leaves together in a curing barn.

SCHIP stands for the State Children’s Health Care Initiative Program. The program was expanded with $32.8 billion in funds generated by the federal excise tax on cigars – a tax paid when cigars are imported into the United States. Upon the passage of the SHCIP expansion in April of 2009, the federal excise tax skyrocketed from less than 5 cents per cigar to 40.26 cents per cigar, an increase that was mostly passed onto consumers.

Another way to cut a cigar is with a scissors cutter. Special cigar-cutting scissors are made with blades that have a sloping edge designed to embrace the cap on a standard Parejo without cracking the wrapper when the cut is applied. Although traditional models are not necessarily pocket friendly, Xikar makes a scissors cutter that easily folds up and can fit on a keyring.

One of the key primings of tobacco leaves on a plant. Seco is typically harvested from the mid-section of the plant. It is the thinnest and mildest leaf used in the filler of a cigar.

Tobacco seedlings are planted in seedbeds, also called canteros. Many cigar-makers now plant tobacco seedlings in trays kept inside greenhouses where they are protected from the elements and conditions can closely be monitored. As a measure of insurance against unpredictable or catastrophic weather, tobacco growers plant many more seedlings than what they actually need.

When a tobacco seed is planted, it becomes a seedling after roughly 60 days. A seedling is a few inches high. Today, many cigar-makers plant seedlings in trays or raised beds inside of greenhouses, as opposed to the traditional method of planting the seedling directly in the ground. From a tray or seedbed, seedlings are eventually transferred and replanted in a proper tobacco field.

A plain cedar cigar box with a clasp on the front and two rear hinges.

Wrapper leaves grown under a tent (historically made from cheesecloth, and nylon today) are called Shade Grown. The cloth, or tent, filters the sunlight which results in a wrapper that is thinner and more elastic or workable than tobacco leaves exposed to direct sunlight. Shade Grown wrappers are most commonly associated with Connecticut wrappers. They are also called Connecticut Shade wrappers.

Also called chopped-filler, short-filler refers to chopped up tobacco scraps predominantly used in cheap machine-made cigars. Short-filler tobaccos burn hotter and faster than traditional long-fillers. Cuban sandwich cigars, which are still made by hand, use a combination of short-filler and long-filler tobaccos.

Part of a cigar’s anatomy where the body of the cigar curves to meet the cap. It’s always recommended to cut the cigar above the shoulder or the cap line so that the bottom portion of the cap remains intact. Cutting below the shoulder can cause a cigar’s wrapper to come unraveled.

The unit of measure for a single cigar (as opposed to a box).

Also called a cabinet selection box, slide lid boxes typically contain 25 or 50 cigars bound by a ribbon. Cigars packaged in this method are afforded more air in between each cigar. Some cigar lovers believe slide lid boxes benefit the aging process.

A small-batch cigar is similar to a limited edition. Limited editions are typically made only one time in a smaller production and are not rereleased in subsequent years. Small-batch cigars may get rereleased, or they may be produced annually, but they are simply made in very small quantities, often due the rarity of the tobaccos used.

The duration of time a cigar will burn for. Generally, a 5 x 50 Robusto burns for around 30 minutes, while a 7.5 x 52 Double Corona can burn for over an hour. Thinner cigars burn hotter and faster than thicker cigars.

Spanish cedar is technically cedrela, a tree in the mahogany family. It is harvested in tropical regions and is ideal for making cigar boxes and humidors because it reacts positively with moisture and can benefit cigars as they age.

A thin strip of Spanish cedar used to light a cigar in a traditional manner. The spill is lit with a lighter or matches. A burning spill can generate a sizeable flame and it will not impact the taste of a premium cigar with any residual impurities, as can be found in certain types of lighter fuel.

A method of harvesting tobacco where the whole plant is cut at once, as opposed to select primings of a plant’s leaves being harvested in succession over a period of days. After a plant has been stalk cut, it is allowed to wilt. The plants are then speared with wooden lathes and hung upside down in a curing barn. Connecticut Broadleaf and San Andrés tobaccos are the most closely associated with the stalk cutting method.

Another term for destemming, or removing the stems from a tobacco plant. The stems on a tobacco plant are very thick and must be removed before the leaves are rolled into cigars. The entire stem is removed for binder and wrapper leaves, but typically only the bottom two thirds of the stem are removed in filler leaves.

A slang term for a cigar, often used to indicate cheap cigars. The term derives from the drivers of Conestoga wagons in the 1700s and 1800s because they smoked, long thin cigars with a rougher appearance.

Tobacco plants can produce unwanted shoots called suckers. Workers must remove these shoots from the plants or they will rob the tobacco of precious nutrients. Bigger, healthier and more flavorful leaves grow as result.

Also called Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price (MSRP), it is the price a manufacturer or distributor will charge for a cigar. Although the federal excise tax is often included in the MSRP, state tobacco taxes and local sales taxes are not included. Therefore, the price of the same cigar can vary greatly from one state to the next.

Tobacco exposed to direct sunlight as it grows is called Sun Grown, as opposed to Shade Grown tobacco which is grown under a nylon or mesh covering. Sun Grown tobaccos exhibit thicker leaves with stronger veins. Sun Grown tobaccos are fuller in flavor and stronger than Shade Grown. All filler tobacco is Sun Grown.

The term for a tobacco grower in Cuba.

The sticker that conceals the nail in the lid on a box of cigars. The Tapacalvo wraps from the top of the box over the front edge.

Spanish for “covered,” it refers to the nylon or mesh tents or tarps used to conceal Shade Grown tobaccos from direct sunlight.

Taxes on cigars are levied in a variety of ways at the federal, state, and municipal levels. The federal excise tax on cigars was used to fund the State Children’s Health Care Initiative Program (SCHIP) in 2009, with dramatic increase from less than 5 cents per cigar to 40.26 cents per cigar. Differences in sales taxes and other tobacco taxes from one state or municipality to another can cause major fluctuations in the price of a cigar at the cash register.

Another name for a Lieberman, which is the hand-powered machine cigar rollers use to create tobacco bunches. Temscos are more common in cigar factories in the Dominican Republic.

Tobacco bales wrapped in palm bark to age fermented tobacco are called tercios.

A common form of packaging cigars. Thirteen toppers are rectangular-shaped boxes with 12 cigars, plus a space holder, on the bottom row and 13 cigars on the top row. The box is usually sealed with a brass nail.

Highly destructive, miniscule beetles that can wreak havoc in a single cigar or an entire humidor. Tobacco beetles hatch when the temperature in a humidor exceeds 72 degrees. They make tiny pin holes in a cigar’s wrapper leaf, often forming a trail. Tiny, dusty crumbs of loose tobacco will shake out of the cigar into the cellophane wrapper or your humidor.

Tobacco seeds are the tiny origins of tobacco plants. Often, tobacco seeds are coated in clay, or a similar substance, to make them easy to handle. Tobacco farmers will collect seeds from their most prized plants for future crops. Once they reach the seedling stage, a tobacco plant will mature in about 60 days.

Tooth refers to tiny bumps in a cigar’s wrapper leaf. Certain wrappers like those from Cameroon are more prone to displaying tooth than others. Tooth forms as a result of oil pockets.

At the end of very year, Cigar Aficionado announces its Top 25 Cigars of the Year. The list generates buzz among consumers and retail cigar shops.

Removing the flower tobacco plants produce is called topping because in some cases the whole upper portion of the plant is removed. The process is also called desflorado. Tobacco plants redirect their nutrients to the remaining leaves, making them stronger.

Spanish for cigar roller.

A lighter fueled by butane gas that produces a concentrated flame with a single jet or multiple jets. Cigar smokers often prefer torch lighters because it’s convenient to toast the foot of a cigar quickly and to perform touch-ups if the ash burns uneven at any point.

An extremely popular cigar size measuring 6 to 6.5 inches by a 50 to 54 ring gauge.

Sometimes called a Pyramid, a Torpedo is cigar shape with a sharply tapering closed head. Technically, a Torpedo should have a closed a foot, whereas Pyramids have an open foot, however few cigar-makers acknowledge the difference in their naming conventions. As a result, Pyramid and Torpedo are frequently interchanged.

Spanish for “made totally by hand.” The phrase is displayed on cigar boxes and is preferred over “Hecho a Mano” or “made by hand” which can technically apply to cigars constructed with filler tobaccos bunched in a machine.

An agricultural implement used by tobacco farmers to plant large numbers of tobacco seedlings in a short period of time. A tractor tows the transplanter which digs a channel for the seedlings to go in. Workers occupy the planter’s stations which drop the seedlings into the ground as they move along. Transplanters are not common outside of the Connecticut River Valley.

The ornamental elements that embellish the edges of cigars boxes are referred to as trim, or filete.

Inside a premium cigar, a combination of individual tobacco leaves make up the binder and filler components, called Tripa in Spanish.

Another term for a mounted head or a three-seam cap. A triple cap is a Cuban style of finishing the head on a cigar, but the practice is also used other countries, including Nicaragua, Honduras, and sometimes in the Dominican Republic.

A cigar shape where its fattest point is the foot and it continually narrows toward the head.

Often referred to as box-pressed, trunk-pressed is technically a more extreme method of pressing cigars into square shapes. Trunk-pressed shapes are most closely associated with the Padron Anniversary line. The sharper, more squared off edges of trunk-pressed cigars are achieved by placing wooden edges in between each cigar in a wooden cabinet and applying pressure.

Many manufacturers will package cigars in glass or aluminum tubes (also called tubo) for the convenience of transporting them in a pocket or suitcase. Cigars in tubes are often wrapped in cedar to preserve humidity and flavor.

Spanish for tube.

When the inner filler leaves of the cigar burn faster than the wrapper or outermost leaves. A cigar can tunnel if too much time passes between draws. Rotating your cigar while smoking it is also helpful to avoid the condition.

Cigars that rolled with too little tobacco in the bunch are underfilled. They will burn too fast and hot and will taste right.

Tobacco barns in the Connecticut River Valley are constructed with long boards called Yankee hinges, which are designed to swing open to increase the air flow.