Basics
Parts of a cigar
A cigar has six outside parts, from cap to foot, and three kinds of leaf inside: wrapper, binder and filler. Learn them once and every cut, light and tasting note makes sense.
The anatomy at a glance
The outside of a cigar runs cap, head, shoulder, body, band and foot, and the cross-section shows filler wrapped in binder wrapped in wrapper. Hold one up and find each part. Takes ten seconds.
Cap and head: the end you cut
The head is the closed end of the cigar, and the cap is the small round piece of wrapper leaf glued over it to seal it shut. You smoke from the head. You cut the cap.
Most hand-rolled cigars carry a single cap. Some carry a triple cap, three stacked layers you can sometimes see as faint rings. It looks neat and it gives you a little more room to cut. Take too much, though, and the wrapper has nothing holding it. It unravels in your mouth.
The shoulder is where the rounded head meets the straight body. That curve is your cutting limit. Stay above it. Our cutting guide has the details.
The body is most of the cigar
The body is the long middle section between the head and the foot, and its length and ring gauge set the size of the cigar. A robusto body is short and fat. A lancero is long and thin.
Squeeze it gently. A good body feels even all the way along, with a little give. Hard spots can mean a plug that blocks the draw. Soft spots can mean an under-filled stretch that burns fast and hot.
Not every body is a straight tube. A parejo has straight sides. A figurado, like a torpedo or a perfecto, tapers at one or both ends. A box-pressed cigar was squeezed square. Check width on the ring gauge converter and shapes on the size explorer.
Why does a cigar have a band?
The band is a paper ring near the head that names the maker and, in practice, marks which end is which. Legend says bands once kept fingers clean. Nobody has proven it. Today the band is branding.
Many cigars also wear a second band or a cedar sleeve. Cedar sleeves protect the wrapper in transit. Slide them off before you light up, or the cedar will catch.
The foot is the end you light
The foot is the open end of the cigar, where the filler leaves are exposed and where you put the flame. Look straight into it. You'll see the cross-section from the diagram: the dark ring of wrapper, the thin ring of binder, and the folded filler in the middle.
Most feet are cut flat. Some cigars come with a closed foot, wrapper folded over the end, or a "shaggy" foot of loose filler that sticks out. Both change the first few puffs, nothing more. Light the foot the same way either way. The lighting guide covers the toast.
Wrapper, binder and filler work as a team
A premium cigar is three kinds of leaf: filler in the center, a binder leaf rolled around it, and a wrapper leaf spiraled over the outside. Each does a different job.
| Leaf | Where | Job | What goes wrong |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wrapper | Outside, one spiraled leaf | Looks, first flavor on the lips, a big share of the taste | Cracks if dry, splits if swollen |
| Binder | Under the wrapper | Holds the filler in shape; chosen for strength and stretch | A weak binder lets the cigar go soft or burn crooked |
| Filler | Center, several folded leaves | Most of the smoke, strength and burn | Packed too tight: no draw. Too loose: hot and fast |
No leaf costs more than the wrapper. It's grown and sorted for color, thin veins and an oily sheen. Its shade, from pale candela to near-black oscuro, is the first thing you notice and a clue to flavor. The wrapper shade chart walks the range.
Filler blends usually mix leaves from different parts of the plant. Upper leaves get more sun and tend to carry more strength. Lower leaves burn easier and taste lighter. The roller folds them so air channels run the length of the cigar. That's the draw.
Long filler or short filler?
Long filler means whole leaves that run from head to foot, and short filler means chopped pieces. Hand-rolled premium cigars are almost always long filler. Many machine-made cigars are short filler. The ash usually gives it away: long filler holds a firm, layered ash, short filler drops it early. The long vs short filler guide goes deeper.
Cigar anatomy questions
Which end of a cigar do you cut?
You cut the head, the closed end nearest the band. The foot is the open end you light, and it needs no cutting.
Should you take the band off a cigar?
Either way is fine, but wait until the cigar has warmed for a few minutes. Heat softens the glue, so the band slides off instead of tearing the wrapper.
What is the difference between long filler and short filler?
Long filler uses whole leaves that run the full length of the cigar. Short filler uses chopped scraps, which burn faster and less evenly and are common in machine-made cigars.
Can you smoke a cigar with a cracked wrapper?
A small crack near the foot usually smokes fine. A long split or one near the head tends to spread and spoil the draw, and it usually means the cigar dried out.
References for this anatomy
- Cigar: construction, shapes and parts, Wikipedia
- Cigar cutter: guillotine, V-cut and punch, Wikipedia