Nicaraguan
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Cigar 101

Speak cigar

The words you'll hear in a lounge or on a factory floor, explained in plain language.

A

Aging room
A cool room, often lined with cedar, where finished cigars rest for weeks or months so their flavours settle before they're boxed.

B

Band
The printed paper ring around a cigar that shows the brand. The brand on the band isn't always the factory that made it. More
Binder
The leaf wrapped around the filler to hold the bunch together, under the wrapper. More
Blend
The recipe of leaves a cigar uses: which tobaccos go in the filler, binder and wrapper, from which regions and harvests.
Box-pressed
A cigar pressed into a soft square shape, either in the box or in a press. Padrón is famous for them.
Bunch
The filler leaves gathered and rolled in the binder, before the wrapper goes on.
Buncher
The craftsman who gathers the filler leaves into a bunch. Often works in a pair with a roller.

C

Cap
The small piece of leaf that closes the head of the cigar. You cut it before smoking. More
Cedar
The wood traditionally used for cigar boxes and humidor linings, valued for its scent and for holding humidity.
Churchill
A long, classic cigar size, named after Winston Churchill.
Claro
A pale, light-brown wrapper shade, usually mild.
Colorado
A reddish-brown wrapper shade.
Corojo
A Cuban-seed tobacco variety prized for wrapper leaf, grown in Nicaragua and elsewhere.
Criollo
"Native seed": a classic Cuban-origin tobacco variety, widely grown in Nicaragua.

D

Draw
How easily smoke pulls through a cigar. Too tight or too loose and the experience suffers.

E

Estelí
The city and valley in northern Nicaragua that is the heart of the country's cigar industry. More

F

Fermentation
The slow, controlled heating of stacked tobacco leaves that mellows harshness and develops flavour.
Figurado
Any cigar with an irregular shape, such as a torpedo or perfecto, rather than a straight cylinder.
Filler
The leaves inside a cigar that make up its body and much of its flavour. More

G

Galera
The rolling room of a cigar factory, where bunchers and rollers work at their benches.

H

Habano
A Cuban-seed tobacco style grown outside Cuba, including in Nicaragua and Ecuador, known for rich, spicy leaf.
Humidor
A box, cabinet or room that keeps cigars at a steady humidity so they don't dry out.

J

Jalapa
A tobacco valley in northern Nicaragua, by the Honduran border, known for smooth wrapper leaf. More

L

Ligero
Leaves from the top of the tobacco plant: the thickest, oiliest and strongest. Used in filler for power.

M

Maduro
A very dark wrapper, aged or fermented longer, often with a sweet, rich character.

N

Natural
A light-to-medium brown wrapper shade; the default for many cigars.

O

Ometepe
A volcanic island in Lake Nicaragua where some growers farm tobacco in volcanic soil. More

P

Perfecto
A cigar that tapers at both ends. The 2025 Cigar of the Year was a Padrón perfecto. More
Pilón
A large pile of tobacco leaves stacked for fermentation, carefully turned to control the heat.
Puro
A cigar made with tobacco from a single country, for example an all-Nicaraguan cigar.

R

Retrohale
Gently pushing some smoke out through the nose to pick up more aroma. Cigar smoke isn't inhaled into the lungs.
Ring gauge
A cigar's thickness, measured in 64ths of an inch. A 50 ring gauge is 50/64 of an inch across.
Robusto
A short, thick cigar size, one of the most popular in the world.

S

Seco
Leaves from the middle of the tobacco plant: medium in strength, adding aroma and flavour.

T

Torcedor
The skilled roller who applies the wrapper and finishes a hand-made cigar. A woman roller is a torcedora.
Toro
A medium-long cigar size with a generous ring gauge.
Torpedo
A cigar with a pointed, tapered head.

V

Vitola
A cigar's size and shape. Robusto, toro and churchill are all vitolas.
Volado
Leaves from the bottom of the tobacco plant: the mildest, prized for how well they burn.

W

Wrapper
The outer leaf of the cigar, chosen for looks, elasticity and flavour. More

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