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).
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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).
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.
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.
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).
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).
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. Retrieved from "http://en.cigar-wiki.com/Cigar_Glossary"
This page was last modified 09:31, 11 May 2010. This page has been accessed 3,456 times. Privacy policy About Cigar Wiki Disclaimers Impressum supported by: 5th Avenue: www.5thavenue.de Intertabak: www.intertabak.ch Premium Cigars: www.premium-cigars.ch Cigarworld: www.cigarworld.de La Casa Del Habano Düsseldorf: www.la-casa-del-habano-duesseldorf.de
La Casa del Habano Nürnberg: shop.casadelhabano.de Don Cigarro: www.doncigarro.ch ZigarrenWelt: www.zigarrenwelt.de
Thank you for interesting in our services. We are a non-profit group that run this website to share documents. We need your help to maintenance this website.