The torpedo, a cigar with a point

Shaped, not straight: the torpedo is a figurado

A figurado is any cigar that isn't a plain cylinder, and the torpedo is one of the most common. The perfecto, pinched at both ends, is another. Wikipedia describes it as like a parejo except that the cap is pointed. The body is an ordinary straight cigar. The head is the whole story.

The narrowing tip does two things. It shrinks the opening the smoke comes through. And it hands you a choice about how big that opening is, depending on where you cut. No straight cigar gives you that.

Figurados have had a ride. Wikipedia says they were the most popular shapes in the 19th century, had fallen out of fashion by the 1930s, and have made a small comeback since.

How is a torpedo different from a pirámide?

Strictly, a torpedo has straight sides with a pointed head, while a pirámide widens steadily from a pointed head to a broad foot. In shops the two names blur, and Wikipedia notes they are often used interchangeably.

Torpedo

Parallel sides. The taper starts near the head.

Pirámide

Tapers along its length, wide at the foot. Cuba's Piramides factory size is 6 1/8 x 52, measured at the widest point, about 20.6 mm.

Belicoso

A name makers also use for tapered heads. Definitions vary by brand, so go by the shape you see. The belicoso page covers it.

Ring gauge on a shaped cigar is quoted at the thickest part. The tip is far narrower. Keep that in mind when you compare one with a straight toro or robusto on paper.

Cut the cone, choose the draw

A torpedo gets a straight cut across the taper, and the height of that cut sets how open the draw is. Clip near the tip for a small opening. Clip lower on the cone for a wider one.

1. Find where the cone meets the body. That's the shoulder of a torpedo. Never cut there or below. The cap and wrapper need it.
2. Start high. Line the blade up just below the very point. A small opening first, always.
3. Cut straight across in one stroke. A guillotine or scissors both work. Square to the cigar, not angled.
4. Draw cold. Tight? Move down a few millimeters and cut again. Loose already? Leave it.
5. Skip the punch. There's no flat cap for it to bite. A V-cutter can work, and Wikipedia says the V-cut was originally designed for pyramid-shaped vitolas.

Whatever you use, keep the blade sharp. A dull edge crushes a narrow tip instead of slicing it. The full rundown of cutters lives in how to cut a cigar.

Shaped cigars take more skill to roll

Rolling a pointed head by hand is harder than finishing a round cap, and Wikipedia gives that as the reason figurados often cost more than straight cigars of a similar size. The roller has to shape the bunch, then lay the wrapper so it closes neatly over a point. Mistakes show at the tip, which is the part in your mouth.

How long does a torpedo last?

Less than a straight cigar of the same length and ring, because the taper holds less tobacco. Our estimator, which treats every cigar as a cylinder, gives about 63 minutes for a 6 1/8 x 52 at a relaxed pace. Read that as the top of the range, not the middle. Run your own sizes in the smoke time calculator, and compare shapes in the cigar size chart.

Torpedo cigar questions

Where the figurado facts come from

1. Cigar: figurados, torpedo and pyramid, Wikipedia
2. Vitola: Figurados and the Piramides factory size, Wikipedia
3. Cigar cutter: the V-cut and pyramid vitolas, Wikipedia