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Cigar Glossary
From Cigar Wiki

This glossary is based on An Enthusiast's Guide to Habanos (1st. Ed. 2002) and 5th AVENUE Products Trading GmbH
(http://www.5thavenue.de) .

Anilla

The Cuban word for a cigar band or ring (known in Spain as a ‘vitola’).

Aporque

Action of piling up earth around the tobacco plant in order to obtain stonger roots.

Bonche

The cylindrical bunch formed when the filler leaves are wrapped in the binder leaf (q.v. Cigar Manufacturing,
Anatomy of a Habano).

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Boquilla

The foot of the cigar.

Capa

The outside wrapper leaf of a cigar (q.v. Anatomy of a Habano).

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Capote

The binder leaf. Selected from the largest and finest volado leaves grown on the lower part of the plant (q.v.
Anatomy of a Habano).

Casa de Tabaco

Tobacco House or barn on a plantation where the leaf is cured.

Casquillo

Literally a ‘cartridge’. The cylindrical punch used to cut a small section from the wrapper to complete the cap.

Catadores

The tasters who daily test cigars at the factories.

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Cedros

Cedars used to wrap cigars and as dividers between rows in boxes.

Cepo

The template used to check the ring gauge and length of a finished cigar (q.v. Shapes).

Chaveta

The semi-circular blade used by the torcedores (q.v. Cigar Manufacturing).

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Claro

The description of a light brown coloured wrapper on a finished cigar.

Colorado

The description of a dark brown wrapper on a finished cigar (also Colorado Claro (mid brown) and Colorado
Maduro (darker brown)).

Cuje

A pole over which the leaves sewn in pairs are hung in the Casa de Tabaco.

Curación (Curing)

Curing. The drying process that the leaves (q.v. Cuban Tobacco) undergo in the Casa de Tabaco.

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Desbotonar

Action of removing the top bud to concentrate growth on the development of additional leaves (q.v. Cultivation of
Tobacco).

Deshije

Removing the side shoots after the Desbotonar.

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Despalillo

The Stripping House where selected binder and filler leaves have the stems part-stripped and where the second
fermentation takes place (q.v. Cigar Manufacturing).

Despalilladoras

The women who strip the binders and fillers at the stripping houses and the wrappers in the factories.

Escaparate

The conditioning room where cigars are stored at 16 to 18°C and between 65 and 70 percent humidity to recover
from the rigours of the making process.

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Escogida

The Sorting House for wrappers, fillers and binders and the site of the first fermentation.

Figurado

A cigar with an irregular shape pointed at one end or double-figurado pointed at both ends (q.v. Shapes).

Fortaleza

Literally strength. Fortaleza 1, 2, and 3 are synonyms for volado, seco and ligero.

Galera

The factory workshop where cigars are made by hand. Literally the galley.

Gavilla

A bunch of graded tobacco leaves tied by their stems for handling (q.v. Cultivation of Tobacco).

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Goma

Tasteless and odourless vegetable gum, usually tragacanth, used by torcedores to secure the wrapper leaf and cap
on a finished cigar (q.v. [Cigar Manufacturing]).

Habanos

Spanish for ‘Havanas’. The term is used as the denomination of origin for the finest cigars made in Cuba.

Habanos SA (http://www.habanos.com) , Corporación

The Havana-based company jointly owned by the Cuban industry and the Franco-Spanish corporation, Altadis S.A.,
that markets all Cuban tobacco products worldwide.

Habilitaciónes

The colourful dressings used to decorate the traditional labelled boxes of Habanos.

Hecho en Cuba

Made in Cuba.

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Ligador

The Master Blender in a cigar factory (q.v. Cigar Manufacturing)

Ligero

One of the tiempos or families of filler leaves. The word translates as ‘light’ although it is used to describe the
leaves taken from the top of the plant that are the richest in flavour and usually the darkest in colour (q.v. Cuban
Tobacco, Cultivation of Tobacco).

Maduro

The description of a very dark brown wrapper on a finished cigar.

Mecanizado

Machine made.

Media Rueda

Literally a ‘half wheel’, the description of 50 cigars tied into a bundle.

Moja

The process of moistening tobacco leaves (q.v. Cultivation of Tobacco).

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Pacas

Hessian bales in which binder and filler leaves are aged.

Parejo

A cigar with straight, parallel sides (q.v. Shapes).

Perilla

The head of the cigar (q.v. Enjoying a Cigar).

Seco

One of the tiempos or families of filler leaves. This one describes the leaves of medium flavour taken from the
middle of the plant, which contribute much to the cigar’s aroma (q.v. Anatomy of a Habano).

Tabaco

Spanish for tobacco but in Cuba it also means a cigar.

Tabaco Negro Cubano

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Cuban Black Tobacco. The indigenous tobacco plant discovered on the island by Christopher Columbus.

Tabacuba

The Cuban corporation that manages the agricultural and manufacturing functions of the Cuban tobacco industry.

Tabla

The wooden board on which torcedores make cigars.

Tapado

Literally ‘covered’. The term is used to describe the method of growing tobacco for wrappers in the shade under
sheets of muslin cloth (q.v. Cultivation of Tobacco).

Tercio

Bales made from yagua in which wrapper leaves are aged.

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Tiempos

The same as Fortalezas. Different grades the filler leaves need for the various purposes required in blending the
Habano.

Torcedor(a)

Cigar roller. The word translates as ‘twister’, but that is the last thing a roller should do when making a cigar.

Totalmente a mano

Totally by hand. A description created in Havana to differentiate between the Cuban methods of making cigars by
hand and the semimechanised techniques used elsewhere that can legally be described as ‘Hecho a Mano’ or ‘Hand
Made’.

Tripa

Filler, the blend of two or three different types of leaves that form the heart of a Habano and dictate its flavour (q.v.
Anatomy of a Habano).

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Tripa Corta

Short filler. Filler that is made from pieces of chopped tobacco leaves sometimes known as picadura.

Tripa larga

Long filler. Filler that is made from complete tobacco leaves.

Vegas Finas de Primera

Individual fields on farms in registered Cuban tobacco regions that are approved by the Tobacco Institute to grow
leaf for Habanos.

Vitola

A word with many meanings. In Cuba it refers to the size and shape of a cigar (vitola de galera factory name, vitola
de salida market name) and also to a particular size of cigar in one type of packing. In Spain it means a cigar band
or ring (vitolfilia cigar band collecting). To some it has an almost spiritual meaning encapsulating every aspect of
their cigar of choice.

Volado

One of the tiempos or families of filler leaves. This one describes the lightflavoured leaves taken from the lower
part of the plant, which help the cigar to burn (q.v. Anatomy of a Habano).

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Yagua

The loose part of the bark of the Royal Palm, Cuba’s national tree, that is used to make bales (tercios) in which
wrapper leaves are aged.

Zafado

The gentle loosening of tobacco leaves after they have been unpacked in gavillas from bales.

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