Anillo - The ring of paper with the name of the cigar brand printed on it fastened around the body of the cigar.

Binder - The portion of a tobacco leaf used to hold together the blend of tobacco leaves used as the filler.

Blend - A mixture of different types of tobaccos intended to give the cigar special body and flavor.

Bulk - A large pile of leaves that are being fermented.

Bunche - Up to four different types of filler tobacco that are blended to create the body of the cigar and are held together by the binder.

Bundle - A less expensive method of packaging than boxes in which cigars are wrapped in cellophane.

Burros - The carefully monitored fermenting piles of tobacco.

Candela - A bright green wrapper also known as double claro. Heating the leaves during the drying process creates this color.

Capa - The outside wrapper of the 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.

Casa de Tabaco - The house on the plantation where the tobacco leaves are cured.

Cepo - An implement used to measure the diameter of the cigar.

Chaveta - The roller's knife - a semi-circular blade used to cut the wrapper leaf.

Claro - A pale green to light brown wrapper.

Colorado - A medium brown to brownish red wrapper.

Culebra - Spanish word for snake, these cigars are made from three panatela linked and braided together.

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 Claro - A bright green wrapper also known as candela.

Draw - The amount of air that gets pulled through the cigar.

Escaparate - 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.

Fermentation - Workers gather the tobacco leaves in large piles (bulk) after the harvest. The leaves are moistened and allowed to ferment. Temperatures may reach 140° inside the bulk before it is taken apart and restacked, temporarily halting the fermentation process. This process, called working the bulk, releases the ammonia from tobacco.

Figurado - A Spanish term that refers to cigars with exotic sizes, such as torpedos, pyramids, perfectos, and culebras.

Filler - The individual tobacco leaves used in the body of a cigar, a pile of such tobacco would be called a bunch.

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.

Gum - A vegetable adhesive used to secure the head of the wrapper leaf around the finished bunch.

Hand - Individual leaves of tobacco that are hung together after harvest and tied at the top. These hands are piled together to make a bulk for fermentation.

Hand-Rolled - A cigar made entirely by hand with a high quality wrapper and long filler.

Havana - Capital of Cuba. The traditional center of manufacturing of Cuban cigars for export, and a term widely used to designate Cuban cigars. Also refers to the tobacco types grown from Cuban seed in the Dominican Republic, Honduras, and Nicaragua.

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.

Hygrometer - A gauge which indicates the level of humidity within a humidor.

Hot - A term used to describe a cigar that is under filled and has a quick, loose draw. Can cause harsh flavors.

Humidor - A room, or box, of varying sizes, designed to preserve and promote the proper aging of cigars by maintaining a humidity level of 70% and a temperature of approximately 65-70°F.

Lector - Traditionally, the person who read stories to the cigar rollers throughout the day.

Ligador - The master blender in a cigar factory.

Ligero - One of the three fillers of tobacco leaves. The word literally translates to “light” although it refers to the top most leaves of a plant that are richest in flavour and often darkest in colour. The two others are called Seco and Volado.

Long Filler - A term used to designate filler tobaccos that run the length of the body of the cigar, rather than chopped pieces found in machine-made cigars.

Maduro - Means “ripe” in Spanish. A term used for a wrapper shade varying from a very dark reddish-brown to almost black.

Media Rueda - Literally translates to half-wheel and refers to a bundle of 50 cigars wrapped.

Mixed Filler – Some hand-made cigars use long filler as well as short filler in the same cigar. The long filler is used to create the length of the cigar while the short filler is used to build the shape and body.

Mold - A potentially damaging fungus that forms on a cigar when it is stored at too high a temperature.

Moja - Moisturizing tobacco leaves to prepare them for the rollers

Parejo - A straight-sided cigar such as a box pressed Corona or Lonsdale.

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.

Pluma - Also known as “blossom“, this is a naturally occurring phenomenon in which a fine white powder appears on the cigar. This is common in the cigar aging process of cigars. The oils that exude from the tobacco cause the bloom. Is sometime confused with mold, which is blue and cannot be wiped away from the cigar. Some consider bloom a sign of a well-aged cigar.

Puro - A Spanish term used to distinguish a cigar.

Ring – Gauge a measurement for the diameter of a cigar, based on increments of one 64ths of an inch.

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.

Seco - The Spanish word for “dry,” This filler leaf taken from the middle of the plant often contributes aroma and is usually medium -bodied. The two other fillers are called Ligero and Volado.

Short Filler - The middle of a short-filler cigar is filled with leaves, stems, and other scraps of tobacco chopped up by a machine, in a machine made cigar.

Smoking time - The smoking time for a cigar is based upon the size of the cigar and therefore how much tobacco is available for smoking. A 5-inch cigar with a 50 ring gauge, such as a rubusto, should provide anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes of smoking pleasure. A 7-½ inch cigar with a 50 ring gauge, such as a Churchill or double-corona may give over an hour’s worth.

Sun Grown - Tobacco grown in direct sunlight, which creates a thicker leaf with thicker veins.

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.

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 seize and shape of the Cigar.

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.

Vuelta Arriba - 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 Abajo - Eastern Region of Cuba. Includes two very separate regions, Remedios and Oriente.

Wrapper - A high quality tobacco leaf wrapped around the finished bunch and binder. It is very elastic and at it best unblemished.

...back to top