| Term |
Description |
| Anilla
| Also referred to as Vitola in Spain, this is the Cuban term for cigar band or ring |
| Bonche | Filler leaves are rolled together and wrapped with a binder leaf to form a cylindrical shape |
| Burros | The carefully monitored fermenting piles of tobacco |
| Capa | The outside wrapper of a cigar. |
| Capote | The layer just under the Capa referred to as binder leaf made from volado leaves grown on the lower part of the leaf. |
| Band | The ring of paper with the name of the cigar brand, wrapped near the closed head of the cigar and usually held on with a vegetable based glue. |
| Binder | The portion of a tobacco leaf that is rolled around the filler to hold it together. |
| Blend | A mixture of different types of cigar leaf tobacco, including up to four types of filler leaves, a binder and an outer wrapper. |
| Bloom | A fine white powder that forms on the wrapper of the cigar caused by the oils that exude from the tobacco. It can be gently brushed off with a small camel hairbrush, though there is no need to do this. Bloom indicates the cigar is alive, maturing as it should inside a well-maintained humidor. Bloom should not be confused with mold. Mold is a bluish-green and stains the wrapper. Mold usually indicates a humidor is too warm or has excessive levels of humidity. |
| Blue mold | Blue mold is a damaging fungus that forms on the tobacco leaf and can ruin the crop. Blue mold is a big problem when there's a lot of dampness or rain. |
| Bunch | The mix of filler and binder leaves before they are rolled into a wrapper. |
| Bundle | A method of packaging cigars using cellophane as opposed to a box. A bundle usually contains from 25 to 50 cigars and are less expensive than boxed cigars. Bundled cigars usually contain the seconds from premium brands. |
| Cap | A circular piece of wrapper leaf cigar tobacco that is placed at the head of the cigar to secure the wrapper. Cuban cigar caps have a distinctive three to four-layer circular look that distinguishes them from cheaper counterfeit look-a-likes. |
| Cutter | An instrument with a razor sharp blade used to remove the cap or flag from both machine made and hand made cigars. |
| Casa de Tobacco | The house on the plantation where the tobacco leaves are cured. |
| Catadores | The tasters who meticulously monitor the finished cigars on a daily basis. |
| Cervantes | 6.5in x 42 ring gauge. This cigar is the third in a trilogy of 42 ring gauge cigars. It's more popularly known as a Lonsdale, after the famed English sporting earl Lord Lonsdale who preferred this elegantly long cigar. |
| Chaveta | The roller's knife - a semi-circular blade used to cut the wrapper leaf. |
| Churchill | 7in x 47 ring gauge. Officially known as a Julieta No. 2 but popularly referred to as a Churchill because it was the statesman's cigar of choice. Preferably enjoyed for over an hour. |
| Claro | The ascribed name to a light-brown wrapper. |
| Colorado | The ascribed name given to a dark brown wrapper. |
| Corona | 55/8 in x 42 ring gauge. The most familiar shape and size for a premium cigar also referred to as a parejo because of it's straight side. |
| Cubatabaco | Formerly Cuba's Worldwide distributor now replaced be Habanos S.A. |
| Culebra | Spanish word for snake, these cigars are made from three panatela linked and braided together. |
| Draw | The amount of air that gets pulled through a lighted cigar. It can be too easy (hot) or too tight (plugged). |
| Dalia | 6 3/4 in x 43 ring gauge. Dalia was the name of the galera in which the cigars were produced. Its popular name 8-9-8 is derived from the original box in which they were packed forming three rows of 8, 9 and 8. |
| Despalillo | The Stripping House where binder and filler leaves are taken to be stripped of their inner veins and stems, second fermentation also takes place in this phase. |
| Double Corona | 7 5/8 in x 49 ring gauge. Traditionally known as a Prominente , the colossal leaves of this cigar are surprisingly delicate at first but then suddenly burst into an explosion of flavours. |
| 8-9-8 | 6 3/4 in x 43 ring gauge. Also known as the Dalia this cigar took on the popular 8-9-8 name from the original box in which they were packed forming three rows of 8, 9 and 8. |
| Escarapate | A cooling room kept at 16-18 o C or 61 o F-64 o Fand about 70 o humidity where cigars are kept for a few weeks after they have been rolled. |
| Especial | 9in x 47 ring gauge. Also referred to as Gran Corona this is the largest classic form cigar. |
| Filler | The leaves of tobacco at the core of the cigar that provide a significant portion of its taste. |
| Flag | An alternative to a cap that involves shaping the wrapper leaf at the head of the cigar so that it secures the wrapper in place. Sometimes a flag can be tied off in a pigtail or curly head. |
| Foot | The open end of the cigar you light. |
| Figurado | A cigar rolled with a point at one end. There also exists the double-figurado pointed at both ends. Also referred to as a Piramide, Campana or an Exquisito. |
| Fortaleza | The strength of a cigar. The three degrees in order from 1,2,3 are synonymous with the terms volado, seco and ligero. |
| Galera | Literally translates to the galley or the factory workshop where cigars are made by hand. |
| Gran Corona | 9in x 47 ring gauge. Also referred to as an Especial this is the largest classic form cigar. |
| Hand-rolled | A cigar made entirely by hand, usually constructed with a high quality wrapper and long filler and binder as opposed to cut filler used in machine made and cigar seconds. |
| Head | the closed end of the cigar, or the end you cut and smoke. |
| Humidor | An entire room, or a box, that's designed to preserve and promote the proper storing of fragile cigars. An optimum humidity and temperature level in a humidor is 70/70, or 70 percent humidity and 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21 degrees Celsius). |
| Habanos | A denomination of origin for Cuban cigars, literally translates to Havanas |
| Habanos S.A. | Jointly owned by the Cuban government and the Franco-Spanish corporation, Altadis S.A. is the Havana based company that that markets and distributes Cuban cigars internationally. Formerly known as Cubatabaco . |
| Hecho en Cuba | Made in Cuba |
| Julieta No. 2 | 7in x 47 ring gauge. Originally from the Romeo y Julieta Factory this cigar is more popularly known as the Churchill because it was the statesman's cigar of choice |
| Ligero | One of the three basic types of filler tobacco. The name means "light" in Spanish. |
| Long filler | A term used to designate filler tobacco that runs the length of the body of the cigar, as opposed chopped up pieces know as "cut-filler". |
| Laguito No. 1 | 7 1/2 in x 38 ring gauge. Popularly known as the Lancero this cigar takes it's original name from Havana's el Laguito Factory. Its slender length coupled with the twist of leaf on the cap makes the Lancero a most elegant cigar. |
| Lancero | 7 1/2 in x 38 ring gauge. Traditionally known as the Laguito No. 1 . An elegant and slender cigar marked by it's length and twist of leaf cap. |
| Lector | Traditionally, the person who read stories to the cigar rollers throughout the day. |
| Ligador | The master blender in a cigar factory. |
| Lonsdale | 6.5in x 42 ring gauge. Named after the English sporting earl, Lord Lonsdale who preferred the elegance of a long cigar. This vitola is traditionally known as a Cervantes , the third in a trilogy of 42 ring gauge vitolas. |
| Machine made | A term that refers to cigars made entirely by machine and less expensive cigar tobacco. |
| Mold | The wooden form used by cigar rollers to give shape to a finished bunch of cigar tobacco. |
| Maduro | The word means ripe in Spanish and refers to a dark reddish-brown almost black wrapper shade. |
| Media Rueda | Literally translates to half-wheel and refers to a bundle of 50 cigars wrapped together. |
| Mareva | 51/8in x 42 ring gauge. More commonly known as a Petit Corona this cigar is the most popular of all sizes. |
| Moja | Moisturizing tobacco leaves to prepare them for the rollers. |
| Parejo | A straight-sided cigar such as a box pressed Corona or Lonsdale . |
| Perla | 4in x 40 ring gauge. Also called a Tres Petit Corona this cigar forms part of the small vitola group. This smoke is brief but very full of Habano flavours which explains the origin of its name, Perla or Pearl in English. |
| Partido | Specializing in the cultivation of wrapper leaves this region forms a historic group of growing regions founded in the early 17 th Century. Partido encompasses Havana, Cuba's capital and base for some of the most famous Habano factories. |
| Petit Corona | 5 1/8 in x 42 ring gauge. The most popular of all sizes this cigar allows for the three filler leaves to be evenly blended allowing for a smooth smoke. It is traditionally referred to as a Mareva |
| Piramide | 6 1/8 in x 52 ring gauge. Also referred to as a Torpedo , because of the this tapered head and shoulder of this cigar it is said to have better combustibility. |
| Prominente | 7 5/8 in x 49 ring gauge. More popularly known as a Double Corona , the colossal leaves of this cigar are surprisingly delicate at first but then suddenly burst into an explosion of flavours. |
| Puro
| The Spanish term for cigar |
| Ring gauge | A standard industry measurement for the diameter of a cigar in 64ths of an inch. A 50-ring gauge cigar is 50/64ths of an inch thick. |
| Robusto | 4 7/8 in x 50 ring gauge. A popular cigar |
| Seco | One of three basic types of filler tobacco. The name means "dry" in Spanish. |
| Shade grown | Prime tobacco leaf grown under cheesecloth tenting called a "tapado" to produce a thin, elastic tobacco leaf that is most often used in premium cigars. |
| Semi Vuelta | Situated in the Western part of Cuba it is known mainly for cultivation of binder and filler leaves. Barely one percent of its land is dedicated to Habanos. |
| Tabaco | Is the Spanish term for tobacco and in Cuba the word is also used to refer to a cigar. |
| Tabacuba | The Cuban corporation that manages the agricultural and manufacturing aspects of Cuba's tobacco industry. |
| Tapado | The muslin cloth tent under which shade-grown wrapper leaves are grown. It literally translates to covered . |
| Tercios | Palm bark wrapped bales in which tobacco leaves are aged after fermentation. |
| Torcedor | A Cigar roller. The word literally means twister even though it is the last thing a roller should do when making a cigar. |
| Torpedo | 6 1/8 in x 52 ring gauge. Traditionally referred to as a Robusto this cigar offers better combustibility because of its tapered head and shoulders. |
| Totalmente a Mano | A term that often appears on cigar boxes and means completely made by hand. The term 'Hecho a Mano' often means it is made partially by hand but also machine made and 'Envuelto a Mano' means packed by hand. |
| Tres Petit Corona | 4in x 40 ring gauge. This small vitola can offer the smoker the true taste of a Cuban cigar in 20 minutes or so which explains it's original name of Perla which literally translates to Pearl . |
| Tripa | The cigar's filler made from two to three types of leaves that form the heart of a Habano. The three fillers are Seco , Ligero , Volado . |
| Tubos | Cigars packed individually either in wood, metal or glass tubes. |
| Vega | A tobacco plantation. |
| Vitola | Refers to the size and shape of a cigar - a Robusto or Corona are examples. |
| Vuelta Abajo | The finest tobacco growing region in the world, the main source of tobacco for Habanos and the only region that grows all types of leaf. It includes growing regions such as Pinar del Rio, San Luis and San Juan y Martinez. |
| Vuelta Arriba | In the eastern region of Cuba Vuelta Arriba encompasses two very separated regions, Remedios and Oriente. |
| Volado | One of the three filler leaves used in a cigar. These leaves are taken from the bottom part of the plant and impart light flavours and help the cigar in obtaining an even burn. The two other leaves used in rolling a cigar are Ligero and Seco |
