Lesson 1 of 8 · 3 min

Know the parts

Name the parts of a cigar and spot a well-made one.

Five cigars lying side by side, open feet facing the camera, showing the packed filler leaves. — Look at the foot and you can see the filler leaves packed inside.Photo: Luis Ruiz · Pexels licence · Resized.

The 30-second version

A premium cigar is filler inside, a binder around it and a wrapper outside.
The head goes in your mouth. You light the foot.
A good cigar feels firm and a little springy. Soft spots or hard lumps can signal a problem.
Premium handmade cigars commonly use whole leaves, called long filler.

Three layers

Filler: The tobacco at the centre. Blenders mix leaves to shape flavour and strength.
Binder: A sturdy leaf that holds the filler together.
Wrapper: The outer leaf. It shapes how the cigar looks and adds much of its flavour.

Long filler or short filler

Premium handmade cigars commonly use long filler: whole leaves laid along the length of the cigar. Machine-made cigars often use short filler, which is chopped tobacco.

Racks of dried tobacco leaves hanging in an open wooden barn. — Whole tobacco leaves drying in a barn.Photo: Rusty Watson · Unsplash licence · Resized.

Head, cap and foot

The head is closed with a small piece of leaf called the cap. You cut the cap to open the cigar. The foot is the open end you light.

A cigar beside a cutter and an aluminium tube. The rounded head is at the top right. — The rounded head (top right) is closed by the cap. The open foot is at the bottom left.Photo: 0r14nd0 / Hohum · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Resized.

Sources: Tobacconist University: cigar anatomy · Habanos: choosing, cutting, lighting and smoking