A Beginner's Guide to Cigar Wrappers and Sizes

Choosing cigars is all about knowing what the various cigar wrappers, or outer leaves, bring to the table. A cigar's wrapper isn't the only thing that determines its taste (binder and filler tobacco also do so), but the wrapper does have the largest impact on the sensations experienced by the smoker.

Connecticut cigars

Connecticut cigars are light in color and in body, and they typically produce smooth, mild smoking experiences. It's recommended that first-time smokers initiate their tobacco careers by lighting a Connecticut.

Corojo cigars

Corojo cigars are darker than Connecticut cigars and lighter than Maduro cigars. Predominantly grown in Honduras, Corojo wrappers feature more body and pep than Connecticut wrappers, but less strength than Maduro wrappers. Corojo cigars' flavors are generally sharper than those of Connecticut cigars.

Maduro cigars

Maduro cigars are dark-colored and full-bodied. Maduro tobacco is blackened through sun exposure, and as a rule, Maduro stogies are hearty. New smokers should remember to burn Maduro sticks slowly, as they pack quite a punch, and their deep, rich flavors are at their best when given time to mellow and expand throughout the palette.

There're several other wrapper types besides those described here, but the listed four are the main four, and most cigars can be classified as Connecticut, Corojo, Habano, or Maduro.

With a little experience, knowledge pertaining to cigars' wrappers will become second nature. The same is true of cigars' sizes and shapes.

Cigar sizes

Cigar sizes are measured in inches and, for thickness, 64ths of an inch; the latter is referred to as a stogie's ring gauge. For example, a cigar with a ring gauge of 50 is 50/64ths of an inch in circumference.
The foremost cigar sizes are Robusto (4 and 7/8 inches long, 50 ring gauge), Corona (5 and 1/2 inches long, 42 ring gauge), Toro (6 inches long, 50 ring gauge), and Churchill (7 inches long, 47-50 ring gauge). These titles pertain only to a smoke's length and ring gauge. Additional cigar-size classifications are becoming increasingly common, but an understanding of those listed here will allow new smokers to identify most cigars.

Moreover, the listed size classifications apply only to parejo cigars, or cylindrical cigars. Parejo cigars are what most individuals see when they envision stogies, and despite the rise of figurado cigars, or cigars that are abnormally shaped, the majority of cigarmakers prefer to craft parejos. For obvious reasons, figurado cigars require extra time to roll/manufacture, and as a result, a cigar blend's figurado styles generally cost more than its parejo options.

The main figurado cigar types include the Torpedo (a cylindrical lighting end that converges to form a point at the smoking end), the Pyramid (a pointed smoking end and a ring gauge that increases towards the lighting end), and the Perfecto (a pointed smoking end and a large-gauged center that thins out on the way to either end).

Cigar wrappers

Box-pressed cigars, as their name suggests, are stogies that've been pressed into square-like shapes by manufacturers; these shapes resemble those of USB flash drives.

Also, infused cigars are simply flavored cigars. Infused blends have become exponentially more popular in recent years, and because they're mild and offer potent tastes, they're a solid option for new smokers.

All the listed information is invaluable, but when new smokers are choosing cigars, they should focus on wrappers; a grasp of sizes and shapes will develop gradually.