The vocabulary

The words behind the smoke.

87 cigar terms, each defined in one or two plain sentences. Wrappers, vitolas, construction, aging, service, and tasting. No jargon stacked on jargon.

Last updated · 2026-05-19

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01 · Wrapper
02 · Vitola
03 · Construction
04 · Aging
05 · Service
06 · Tasting

A to Z

Every term, alphabetical

Skim the full set in order, or use the letter index to jump straight to a word.

Jump to a letter

A B C D E F G HL M N O PR S TV W

A1 term

Aged: A cigar held in stable humidity past its production date, allowing flavors to marry and harshness to fade.

B10 terms

Band: The paper ring around the cigar that identifies the brand and line. Remove or leave on, both traditions are valid.
Belicoso: A short, tapered cigar with a pointed head. Concentrates flavor at the tip.
Binder: The intermediate leaf wrapped around the filler bunch, holding the cigar together before the wrapper goes on.
Bloom: Alternative term for plume, the white dust of well-aged cigars. Distinct from mold, which is green or blue and fuzzy.
Body: The strength and weight of the smoke on the palate. Light, medium, or full. Different from flavor.
Bouquet: The aroma of an unlit cigar. Smell the wrapper and the foot before you light. Tells you what is coming.
Boveda: A brand of two-way humidity control packs. Drop one in your humidor and it holds RH at a target like 65, 69, or 72 percent.
Box Code: A code stamped on the bottom of a cigar box indicating production date. Letters denote month, numbers denote year.
Bunch: The bundle of filler leaves rolled together before binder and wrapper are applied.
Burn Line: The edge of the ember as the cigar burns. Should be even all the way around. An uneven burn line is called a canoe.

C17 terms

Cameroon: An African-grown wrapper with a fine tooth and a mid-tan color. Smooth, slightly sweet, the wrapper most associated with Arturo Fuente.
Candela: A green-tinted wrapper cured with chlorophyll intact. Mild, grassy, an acquired American taste from the 1950s.
Canoe: When one side of a cigar burns faster than the other. Fix by touching up with the lighter on the slow side.
Cap: The small piece of wrapper leaf glued over the head of the cigar to seal it. You cut the cap when you light up.
Cedar: Spanish cedar lines premium humidors and ships in many boxes. Absorbs and releases moisture, imparts a subtle aroma, repels tobacco beetles.
Churchill: A long, classic shape, around 7 inches by 47 to 50 ring. Named for Winston. A long, slow smoke.
Cigarillo: A small cigar, often machine-made, around 3 to 4 inches. Quick smoke, not a premium category.
Claro: A light tan wrapper. Mild, smooth, often used to describe a Connecticut Shade.
Colorado: A medium reddish-brown wrapper. Balanced strength, the goldilocks shade between Claro and Maduro.
Connecticut Broadleaf: A sun-grown Connecticut leaf used for darker, sweeter Maduro wrappers. Chocolatey and rich.
Connecticut Shade: Shade-grown tobacco from the Connecticut River Valley. Tan, silky, mild, the classic morning cigar wrapper.
Construction: The roll quality of a cigar. Good construction means even burn, clean draw, firm but not tight bunch.
Corojo: A Cuban-seed wrapper now grown in Honduras and Nicaragua. Spicy, peppery, full of character.
Corona: A medium classic shape, around 5.5 inches by 42 to 44 ring. The original cigar size, balanced and elegant.
Criollo: Another Cuban-seed varietal. Sweet, woody, often paired with a Corojo wrapper or used as a filler leaf.
Culebra: Three smaller cigars braided together. Unbraid and smoke individually. Mostly a novelty now.
Cutter: Any tool used to open the cap of a cigar before lighting. Three main types: guillotine, V-cut, and punch.

D3 terms

Double Aged: A blend where both wrapper and filler tobaccos have been aged longer than standard. Marketing term as often as a real distinction.
Draw: How the smoke moves through the cigar when you pull. Good draw is even and easy. A tight draw fights you. A loose draw smokes too hot.
Draw Poker: A long thin pin inserted into a tight cigar to open the draw. Last resort, but it works.

E2 terms

Ecuadorian Sumatra: Grown in Ecuador, descended from Indonesian Sumatra seed. Medium body, earthy, very common in modern blends.
EMS: English Market Selection. Industry shorthand for a brown, natural-shade wrapper, neither very light nor very dark.

F6 terms

Fermented: The process of stacking tobacco leaves in pilones and letting heat and pressure break down the leaf. Reduces ammonia, develops flavor.
Figurado: Any non-parejo shape: torpedoes, pyramids, perfectos, salomons. Tapered somewhere along the body.
Filler: The blend of tobacco leaves at the core of the cigar. Long filler is whole leaves, short filler is chopped.
Finish: The flavor and texture that linger on the palate after the smoke exhales. Length and complexity of finish are signs of a quality cigar.
Flavor: The taste of the cigar. Distinct from body. A mild cigar can have rich flavor. A full-bodied cigar can taste simple.
Foot: The end of the cigar you light. Opposite of the head.

G2 terms

Gordo: A thick cigar, ring gauge 60 or higher. Modern in popularity, smokes cooler with more wrapper flavor.
Guillotine: A two-blade or single-blade cutter that slices the cap off straight across. The default cigar cutter.

H4 terms

Habano: A Cuban-seed wrapper now grown across Central America. Bold, peppery, full of body. The signature wrapper of many Nicaraguan cigars.
Head: The end of the cigar you cut and draw from. Capped at the factory.
Humidor: A sealed cedar-lined box or room used to hold cigars at stable humidity. Without one, cigars dry out within days.
Hygrometer: A meter that measures relative humidity inside a humidor. Digital is more accurate than analog. Calibrate once a year.

L4 terms

Lancero: A long, thin shape, around 7 inches by 38 to 40 ring. Wrapper-forward, beloved by aficionados.
Ligero: A filler leaf priming from the top of the plant. Strong, slow-burning, oily. The engine of a blend.
Long Filler: Full leaves running the length of the cigar. The hallmark of a premium hand-rolled cigar.
Lonsdale: Between a Corona and a Churchill, around 6.5 inches by 42 to 44 ring. An elegant traditional size.

M1 term

Maduro: A dark, oily wrapper fermented longer and at higher temperatures than a natural leaf. Sweet, with chocolate and espresso notes.

N2 terms

Natural: An umbrella term for any non-Maduro wrapper. Ranges from Claro to Colorado in shade.
Nub: The last inch or two of a cigar. Some smokers stop early, others nub it to a pinch. No rule.

O1 term

Oscuro: The darkest wrapper grade. Almost black, very oily, very sweet. Sometimes called Double Maduro.

P10 terms

Parejo: Any straight-sided cigar with parallel walls, in contrast to a Figurado.
Perfecto: A Figurado tapered at both ends. Looks like a football.
Petit Corona: A shorter Corona, around 4.5 inches by 40 to 42 ring. A 30 to 40 minute smoke.
Pilon: A stacked pile of fermenting tobacco leaves. The heart of the curing process.
Piramide: A Figurado that tapers from a wider foot to a pointed head. Often confused with Torpedo.
Plume: A fine white dust that can appear on aged cigars. A sign of good aging. Brush off and smoke. Not to be confused with mold.
Pressed: A cigar shaped into a square or box-press cross section, often Cuban-style. Concentrates flavor and slows burn.
Priming: A horizontal layer of leaves on the tobacco plant. Bottom primings are volado, middle are seco, top are ligero.
Punch Cut: A small cylindrical blade that cores a hole in the cap. Concentrates draw and flavor. Works well on Toros and Robustos.
Purge: Blowing gently through the cigar to clear stale smoke when flavor turns harsh. Restart with a fresh draw.

R6 terms

Relative Humidity: The percentage of moisture in the air relative to maximum. Cigar humidors are typically held at 65 to 72 percent RH.
Resting: Letting a freshly received cigar sit in the humidor for two to four weeks before smoking, so it acclimates to your storage.
Retrohale: Pushing smoke out through the nose instead of the mouth. Reveals the full flavor spectrum of a cigar. The single best habit you can build.
Ring Gauge: The diameter of a cigar measured in 64ths of an inch. A 50 ring is 50 over 64 of an inch thick.
Robusto: The modern American workhorse. Around 5 inches by 50 ring. A 45 minute smoke. Where most blends taste their best.
Rosado: A reddish-tinted wrapper. Smooth, slightly sweet, occasionally used as a marketing term more than a true grade.

S7 terms

Salomon: A large Figurado tapered at both ends with a wide belly. Long and rich.
San Andres: A Mexican wrapper from the San Andres Valley. Dark, sweet, the wrapper behind many modern Maduros.
Seco: A filler leaf priming from the middle of the plant. Medium body, contributes to flavor and combustion.
Short Filler: Chopped tobacco used as filler. Common in machine-made cigars, less common in premium.
Soft Flame: A traditional cigarette-style butane or wood-match flame. Slower light, gentler on the wrapper than a torch.
Sumatra: Grown originally in Indonesia, now mostly in Ecuador. Reddish-brown, earthy, smooth.
Sweet Cap: A flavored wrapper tip glued to some cigars. Fruity or vanilla. Not traditional, but common on certain budget blends.

T6 terms

Tooth: The fine bumpy texture of a wrapper leaf. A well-toothed wrapper is a sign of a healthy, oily leaf.
Torch Lighter: A jet-flame butane lighter, often double or triple flame. Toasts the foot quickly and burns clean. The modern default.
Toro: A larger Robusto, around 6 inches by 50 to 54 ring. Hour-long smoke. Very popular vitola in modern American blends.
Torpedo: A Figurado with a tapered, pointed head and a straight foot. Concentrates draw at the cap.
Travel Humidor: A small sealed case for carrying a few cigars without losing humidity. Useful for trips, weddings, golf rounds.
Tunnel: When the cigar burns down the center faster than the wrapper. A construction problem. Hard to fix once it starts.

V4 terms

V-Cut: A wedge-shaped cutter that scores a V into the cap. Concentrates draw and exposes a wider tasting surface.
Vintage: A cigar with a year on the box, often indicating the harvest year of the principal tobaccos used in the blend.
Vitola: The size and shape of a cigar. Each length-and-ring combination is its own vitola.
Volado: A filler leaf priming from the bottom of the plant. Mild, burns evenly, used for combustion more than flavor.

W1 term

Wrapper: The outer leaf of the cigar. Provides up to half the flavor and most of the visual character.

By category

Grouped by how a cigar is made and enjoyed

The same vocabulary, organized into the six families that matter at the counter.

01 · Wrapper

Wrapper

Cameroon: An African-grown wrapper with a fine tooth and a mid-tan color. Smooth, slightly sweet, the wrapper most associated with Arturo Fuente.
Candela: A green-tinted wrapper cured with chlorophyll intact. Mild, grassy, an acquired American taste from the 1950s.
Claro: A light tan wrapper. Mild, smooth, often used to describe a Connecticut Shade.
Colorado: A medium reddish-brown wrapper. Balanced strength, the goldilocks shade between Claro and Maduro.
Connecticut Broadleaf: A sun-grown Connecticut leaf used for darker, sweeter Maduro wrappers. Chocolatey and rich.
Connecticut Shade: Shade-grown tobacco from the Connecticut River Valley. Tan, silky, mild, the classic morning cigar wrapper.
Corojo: A Cuban-seed wrapper now grown in Honduras and Nicaragua. Spicy, peppery, full of character.
Criollo: Another Cuban-seed varietal. Sweet, woody, often paired with a Corojo wrapper or used as a filler leaf.
Ecuadorian Sumatra: Grown in Ecuador, descended from Indonesian Sumatra seed. Medium body, earthy, very common in modern blends.
EMS: English Market Selection. Industry shorthand for a brown, natural-shade wrapper, neither very light nor very dark.
Habano: A Cuban-seed wrapper now grown across Central America. Bold, peppery, full of body. The signature wrapper of many Nicaraguan cigars.
Maduro: A dark, oily wrapper fermented longer and at higher temperatures than a natural leaf. Sweet, with chocolate and espresso notes.
Natural: An umbrella term for any non-Maduro wrapper. Ranges from Claro to Colorado in shade.
Oscuro: The darkest wrapper grade. Almost black, very oily, very sweet. Sometimes called Double Maduro.
Rosado: A reddish-tinted wrapper. Smooth, slightly sweet, occasionally used as a marketing term more than a true grade.
San Andres: A Mexican wrapper from the San Andres Valley. Dark, sweet, the wrapper behind many modern Maduros.
Sumatra: Grown originally in Indonesia, now mostly in Ecuador. Reddish-brown, earthy, smooth.

02 · Vitola

Vitola

Belicoso: A short, tapered cigar with a pointed head. Concentrates flavor at the tip.
Churchill: A long, classic shape, around 7 inches by 47 to 50 ring. Named for Winston. A long, slow smoke.
Cigarillo: A small cigar, often machine-made, around 3 to 4 inches. Quick smoke, not a premium category.
Corona: A medium classic shape, around 5.5 inches by 42 to 44 ring. The original cigar size, balanced and elegant.
Culebra: Three smaller cigars braided together. Unbraid and smoke individually. Mostly a novelty now.
Figurado: Any non-parejo shape: torpedoes, pyramids, perfectos, salomons. Tapered somewhere along the body.
Gordo: A thick cigar, ring gauge 60 or higher. Modern in popularity, smokes cooler with more wrapper flavor.
Lancero: A long, thin shape, around 7 inches by 38 to 40 ring. Wrapper-forward, beloved by aficionados.
Lonsdale: Between a Corona and a Churchill, around 6.5 inches by 42 to 44 ring. An elegant traditional size.
Parejo: Any straight-sided cigar with parallel walls, in contrast to a Figurado.
Perfecto: A Figurado tapered at both ends. Looks like a football.
Petit Corona: A shorter Corona, around 4.5 inches by 40 to 42 ring. A 30 to 40 minute smoke.
Piramide: A Figurado that tapers from a wider foot to a pointed head. Often confused with Torpedo.
Robusto: The modern American workhorse. Around 5 inches by 50 ring. A 45 minute smoke. Where most blends taste their best.
Salomon: A large Figurado tapered at both ends with a wide belly. Long and rich.
Toro: A larger Robusto, around 6 inches by 50 to 54 ring. Hour-long smoke. Very popular vitola in modern American blends.
Torpedo: A Figurado with a tapered, pointed head and a straight foot. Concentrates draw at the cap.
Vitola: The size and shape of a cigar. Each length-and-ring combination is its own vitola.

03 · Construction

Construction

Band: The paper ring around the cigar that identifies the brand and line. Remove or leave on, both traditions are valid.
Binder: The intermediate leaf wrapped around the filler bunch, holding the cigar together before the wrapper goes on.
Body: The strength and weight of the smoke on the palate. Light, medium, or full. Different from flavor.
Bouquet: The aroma of an unlit cigar. Smell the wrapper and the foot before you light. Tells you what is coming.
Bunch: The bundle of filler leaves rolled together before binder and wrapper are applied.
Cap: The small piece of wrapper leaf glued over the head of the cigar to seal it. You cut the cap when you light up.
Draw: How the smoke moves through the cigar when you pull. Good draw is even and easy. A tight draw fights you. A loose draw smokes too hot.
Filler: The blend of tobacco leaves at the core of the cigar. Long filler is whole leaves, short filler is chopped.
Foot: The end of the cigar you light. Opposite of the head.
Head: The end of the cigar you cut and draw from. Capped at the factory.
Ligero: A filler leaf priming from the top of the plant. Strong, slow-burning, oily. The engine of a blend.
Long Filler: Full leaves running the length of the cigar. The hallmark of a premium hand-rolled cigar.
Plume: A fine white dust that can appear on aged cigars. A sign of good aging. Brush off and smoke. Not to be confused with mold.
Pressed: A cigar shaped into a square or box-press cross section, often Cuban-style. Concentrates flavor and slows burn.
Ring Gauge: The diameter of a cigar measured in 64ths of an inch. A 50 ring is 50 over 64 of an inch thick.
Seco: A filler leaf priming from the middle of the plant. Medium body, contributes to flavor and combustion.
Short Filler: Chopped tobacco used as filler. Common in machine-made cigars, less common in premium.
Tooth: The fine bumpy texture of a wrapper leaf. A well-toothed wrapper is a sign of a healthy, oily leaf.
Volado: A filler leaf priming from the bottom of the plant. Mild, burns evenly, used for combustion more than flavor.
Wrapper: The outer leaf of the cigar. Provides up to half the flavor and most of the visual character.

04 · Aging

Aging

Aged: A cigar held in stable humidity past its production date, allowing flavors to marry and harshness to fade.
Boveda: A brand of two-way humidity control packs. Drop one in your humidor and it holds RH at a target like 65, 69, or 72 percent.
Box Code: A code stamped on the bottom of a cigar box indicating production date. Letters denote month, numbers denote year.
Cedar: Spanish cedar lines premium humidors and ships in many boxes. Absorbs and releases moisture, imparts a subtle aroma, repels tobacco beetles.
Double Aged: A blend where both wrapper and filler tobaccos have been aged longer than standard. Marketing term as often as a real distinction.
Fermented: The process of stacking tobacco leaves in pilones and letting heat and pressure break down the leaf. Reduces ammonia, develops flavor.
Humidor: A sealed cedar-lined box or room used to hold cigars at stable humidity. Without one, cigars dry out within days.
Hygrometer: A meter that measures relative humidity inside a humidor. Digital is more accurate than analog. Calibrate once a year.
Pilon: A stacked pile of fermenting tobacco leaves. The heart of the curing process.
Priming: A horizontal layer of leaves on the tobacco plant. Bottom primings are volado, middle are seco, top are ligero.
Relative Humidity: The percentage of moisture in the air relative to maximum. Cigar humidors are typically held at 65 to 72 percent RH.
Resting: Letting a freshly received cigar sit in the humidor for two to four weeks before smoking, so it acclimates to your storage.
Vintage: A cigar with a year on the box, often indicating the harvest year of the principal tobaccos used in the blend.

05 · Service

Service

Cutter: Any tool used to open the cap of a cigar before lighting. Three main types: guillotine, V-cut, and punch.
Draw Poker: A long thin pin inserted into a tight cigar to open the draw. Last resort, but it works.
Guillotine: A two-blade or single-blade cutter that slices the cap off straight across. The default cigar cutter.
Punch Cut: A small cylindrical blade that cores a hole in the cap. Concentrates draw and flavor. Works well on Toros and Robustos.
Retrohale: Pushing smoke out through the nose instead of the mouth. Reveals the full flavor spectrum of a cigar. The single best habit you can build.
Soft Flame: A traditional cigarette-style butane or wood-match flame. Slower light, gentler on the wrapper than a torch.
Torch Lighter: A jet-flame butane lighter, often double or triple flame. Toasts the foot quickly and burns clean. The modern default.
Travel Humidor: A small sealed case for carrying a few cigars without losing humidity. Useful for trips, weddings, golf rounds.
V-Cut: A wedge-shaped cutter that scores a V into the cap. Concentrates draw and exposes a wider tasting surface.

06 · Tasting

Tasting

Bloom: Alternative term for plume, the white dust of well-aged cigars. Distinct from mold, which is green or blue and fuzzy.
Burn Line: The edge of the ember as the cigar burns. Should be even all the way around. An uneven burn line is called a canoe.
Canoe: When one side of a cigar burns faster than the other. Fix by touching up with the lighter on the slow side.
Construction: The roll quality of a cigar. Good construction means even burn, clean draw, firm but not tight bunch.
Finish: The flavor and texture that linger on the palate after the smoke exhales. Length and complexity of finish are signs of a quality cigar.
Flavor: The taste of the cigar. Distinct from body. A mild cigar can have rich flavor. A full-bodied cigar can taste simple.
Nub: The last inch or two of a cigar. Some smokers stop early, others nub it to a pinch. No rule.
Purge: Blowing gently through the cigar to clear stale smoke when flavor turns harsh. Restart with a fresh draw.
Sweet Cap: A flavored wrapper tip glued to some cigars. Fruity or vanilla. Not traditional, but common on certain budget blends.
Tunnel: When the cigar burns down the center faster than the wrapper. A construction problem. Hard to fix once it starts.

The fastest way to learn the words is to use them.

Come in and say them out loud at the counter. We will walk you through the room and the language behind it.

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