Cigar Glossary: Every Term Explained

Most cigar confusion is vocabulary, not taste. A buyer who knows what 6 x 60 means, what maduro actually describes, and what a cabinet box is can order confidently without asking anyone. MDC’s catalog carries 5,819 active products, of which 5,811 are cigars, and the language below is the same language printed on those boxes. Each term gets a straight definition and, where it matters, a real number.

What does ring gauge mean on a cigar?

Ring gauge is the diameter of a cigar measured in 64ths of an inch. A 50 ring gauge cigar is 50/64 of an inch thick, about 0.78 inches. Across the 4,199 cigars in MDC’s catalog with recorded measurements, the average ring gauge is 51.6 and the average length is 5.77 inches.

Ring gauge is always the second number in a size listing. A cigar described as 6 x 60 is 6 inches long with a 60 ring gauge, which works out to just under one inch across. Larger ring gauges hold more filler tobacco and usually burn cooler and longer.

What is a vitola, and what are the standard cigar sizes?

Vitola is the factory name for a specific size and shape, like robusto or churchill. Vitola names are not standardized across brands, so a toro from one factory may measure 6 x 50 and another 6.25 x 52. A robusto at 5 x 50 sits closest to the 5.77 inch, 51.6 ring gauge catalog average.

A robusto and a toro cover most of the volume in a typical retail humidor, and the sizes below are the ones you will see on 90 percent of price lists.

Vitola	Typical size	Rough smoking time
Petit corona	4.5 x 42	30 minutes
Robusto	5 x 50	45 to 60 minutes
Corona gorda	5.6 x 46	50 minutes
Toro	6 x 50	60 to 75 minutes
Toro gordo	6 x 54	75 minutes
Double toro / gordo	6 x 60	80 to 90 minutes
Churchill	7 x 48	75 to 90 minutes
Lancero	7.5 x 38	60 minutes
Torpedo / belicoso	6 x 52, tapered head	60 to 75 minutes

A toro from Illusione and a double toro house blend show the two ends of the modern size curve.

What are the parts of a cigar?

A handmade cigar has three tobacco components: wrapper, binder and filler. The filler is usually 3 to 5 whole leaves, the binder holds the filler bunch together, and the wrapper is the single cosmetic leaf on the outside. The head is the end you cut, the foot is the end you light, and the cap is the small piece of leaf sealing the head.

The shoulder is the curved transition between head and body. The band is the paper ring carrying the brand, and a second band often marks a specific line or limited release.

What do wrapper names like maduro, Connecticut and habano mean?

Wrapper names describe either a shade or an origin. Maduro means a dark wrapper cured and fermented longer, Connecticut shade means a light tan leaf grown under cloth, and habano means Cuban-seed tobacco grown outside Cuba. Six shade names cover nearly every cigar on a modern price list.

Shade is not strength. A dark maduro wrapper is often sweeter and milder than a bright colorado wrapper over ligero-heavy filler.

Shade	Color	Common note
Double claro / candela	Green	Grassy, cured fast to lock in chlorophyll
Claro	Light tan	Connecticut shade, mild and creamy
Colorado	Reddish brown	Habano and Ecuador leaf, spice forward
Maduro	Dark brown	Longer fermentation, cocoa and sweetness
Oscuro	Near black	Longest fermentation, heavy and earthy
Broadleaf	Dark brown, toothy	Connecticut-grown, thick and oily

What is the difference between long filler and short filler?

Long filler means whole tobacco leaves running the full length of the cigar, typically 3 to 5 leaves per cigar. Short filler means chopped scraps, common in machine-made cigars. Mixed filler, sometimes called sandwich or Cuban sandwich, wraps short filler in a long-filler binder. Long filler burns more evenly and draws more consistently.

Priming describes where a leaf grew on the plant. Ligero comes from the top and carries the most strength, seco from the middle, volado from the bottom for burn.

What humidity and temperature terms should I know?

The 70/70 rule means 70 percent relative humidity at 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Most operators now run 65 to 69 percent RH at 65 to 70 degrees, because 70/70 pushes cigars toward a tight draw. Spanish cedar lining buffers moisture, Boveda packs are two-way humidity control, and a hygrometer measures RH.

Seasoning means charging a new humidor’s cedar before loading inventory. Full detail lives in the humidor setup guide.

What does plume mean, and how is it different from mold?

Plume, also called bloom, is a fine white crystalline dust of exuded oils that brushes off cleanly. Mold is fuzzy, blue-green or gray, and leaves a stain. Mold needs sustained humidity above roughly 75 percent RH and warmth above 75 degrees Fahrenheit, so a cabinet held at 68 percent will not grow mold.

What do packaging terms like cabinet, dress box and bundle mean?

A cabinet is a slide-lid or hinged wooden box holding cigars loose, often 25 or 50. A dress box is a thin cedar or cardboard box with printed artwork. A bundle is cigars wrapped in cellophane without a box. Across MDC’s catalog, the 20-count box is the most common format at 37.8 percent of cigar SKUs.

Packs of 10 or fewer account for 16.7 percent of MDC’s cigar SKUs, which is the format most hotels and clubs use for by-the-stick sales. Cello means the individual cellophane sleeve, and SBN or EMS codes on older boxes refer to wrapper shade grading.

What trade and regulatory terms appear on cigar invoices?

A large cigar, in federal terms, weighs more than 3 pounds per 1,000 cigars and is taxed differently from a little cigar. FET means federal excise tax, collected by the TTB. MSRP is manufacturer suggested retail price. Allocation means limited factory supply assigned by account.

Current federal rates are published by the TTB, and the FDA’s definitions for cigars and premium cigars govern labeling and age verification. Industry volume data comes from the Cigar Association of America.

How often does a venue reorder the same cigar?

Across 1,185 repeat purchases of the same cigar by the same venue, MDC’s median gap between orders is 110 days and the average is 160 days. That spread is the practical definition of velocity: a fast mover reorders inside 60 days, a slow one past 180. Cigar prices in MDC’s catalog run from $1.00 to $1999.00 per unit.

Velocity math, par levels and case break terms are covered in the buyer’s guide.

Sources and method: figures come from MDC’s invoice corpus of 24,334 line items linked to products between 2026-04-19 and 2026-10-08, and a catalog snapshot of 5,819 active products taken 2026-10-12. Dimension averages cover the 4,199 cigars with recorded measurements. Regulatory definitions come from FDA and TTB published guidance.

If a term here matches something you are looking to stock, the sizes and formats are filterable in the shop.

Written by Peter Roth. Last reviewed 2026-10-12.