As you learn more about cigars, you’ll find that there are a number of cigar terms that may seem a bit strange. Cigar terminology encompasses a variety of different words that are specific to the cigar industry, and understanding the verbiage can help you enhance your enjoyment of this fine indulgence. Here, we’ve provided a comprehensive cigar glossary, listing many of the most common cigar terms.
Cigar Glossary
- Aroma: The taste, smell, and overall flavor that either a cigar or whole leaf tobacco emits.
- Band: A decorative paper ring that wraps around a cigar to showcase a brand name or emblem. Some say that this was introduced to prevent nicotine stains or even to hold the cigar together.
- Binder: Tough yet stretchy tobacco leaves used to hold the filler, or inside tobacco, together in a neat cylindrical form.
- Blending: The process of mixing various tobacco leaves together to form a unique flavor profile. This can be tobacco from different regions or countries.
- Canoeing: Cigars that are faulty can burn faster on one side than the other. The image resembles a canoe, hence the term.
- Cap: A small piece of wrapper leaf over the head of the cigar. Before smoking, this part is clipped off using a cigar cutter.
- Curing: A process that takes place after cultivation where leaves are hung to remove moisture so they can be properly fermented.
- Cutter: The tool used for clipping the head of the cigar to remove the cap. If someone takes yours and begins to walk away, you can say, “I’ll take my cutter back” like a boss.
- Filler: The inside leaves of a cigar where most of the flavor, aroma, and smoke come from.
- Foot: The end of a cigar that you light.
- Head: The end of a cigar that you smoke from. These often need to be clipped with a cutter prior to smoking.
- Humidor: A dedicated box, container, or even room where cigars are stored in optimal conditions. These are often climate-controlled spaces.
- Mousehole Burns: When improper burning occurs, these small holes can appear under the ember and along the side of the wrapper.
- Plugged: This occurs when you can’t get a good draw from a cigar due to improper packing or over-humidification.
- Plume: Crystallization of cigar oils that occurs during aging. While it may sound like mold, this is actually a very desirable trait for well-aged cigars.
- Purging: The act of blowing into the head of the cigar to prevent the buildup of undesirable flavors. Some say that this tactic is ineffective altogether.
- Ring Gauge: The diameter of a cigar, measured in 1/64 inch or 1-millimeter intervals.
- Shape: Identifies the type of cigar based on its dimensions, physical shape, ring gauge, etc. Check out our Cigar Shape Guide to learn more!
- Shoulder: The part of the cigar where the head curves into the wrapper.
- Stack: A collection of ash that remains connected to the foot of the cigar instead of falling off. Larger stacks indicate high quality and can improve the smoking temperature.
- Tunneling: When the inside of the cigar burns faster than the outside, creating a tunnel.
- Wrapper: The outside of a cigar, the wrapper holds the filler inside and can contribute to the overall flavor. The wrapper is often the highest quality leaf used in the cigar’s production.
Why Choose Total Leaf Supply?
We live and breathe (often literally) high-quality tobacco. Our business has been devoted to supporting our customers with products sourced globally in an effort to bring the distinguished act of cigar smoking to enthusiasts across our nation. We only supply 100% natural, whole leaf tobacco products because we want you to experience the unique flavors that unaltered tobacco can offer. We’ve made our online ordering process simple so that you can easily access a variety of products as well as find information to help determine which products are best for you. Purchase your whole leaf tobacco products online from Total Leaf Supply today.
