It’s often said that from cultivation, harvest, aging, and rolling your cigar has been touched by 200 pairs of hands before it makes it to your humidor. Some even claim the number is even higher. Regardless of which side you agree with, every time you light up a cigar, many people with various skills have contributed to bringing you the ultimate handmade tobacco product.

There are three main parts to a premium cigar: the filler, the binder, and the wrapper leaf. This combination of these parts is known as the blend. The blend is like a hidden family recipe. The masters that create the cigars we smoke constantly experiment with different tobaccos to perfect the recipe for every cigar they build. A cigar’s blend is adjusted for each size so that an exact ratio between binder, filler, and wrapper tobaccos is followed. Let’s take a brief look at the key components of a cigar.

Wrapper

The cigar wrapper is the outermost leaf on any cigar. When you look at a cigar, the top leaf you’re seeing is the wrapper. Most cigars on the market have only one wrapper leaf, this is because it’s the first visual impression you’re going to get, hence why the wrapper is held to the highest of standards.

Some of our most popular wrappers include our Dark & Smooth PA Wrapper Grabba Leaf, W1 Wrapper Dark Air Cured Grabba Leaf, and our Connecticut Broadleaf Tobacco.

Binder

The binder is usually of lower quality than the wrapper, but still good quality. It holds the filler in place and the tightness of this binder also determines the draw. If it’s too loose the draw will be too quick and will burn quickly and will most likely burn unevenly.  On the other hand, if it is too tight, the cigar will not stay lit unless you continuously stoke it. While the binder leaf may not have to be pretty and may have holes and imperfections, it does have to blend well with the flavor of the wrapper and build consistency.

Try our amazing Dark Fire Cured Binder Leaf!

Filler

Hidden beneath the binder, the filler tobacco occupies the very center of a cigar. These tobaccos can greatly enhance the flavor a wrapper delivers while showing off the cigar maker’s talent for blending leaves of different varieties. Small transitions in taste can greatly amplify a cigar’s complexity while revealing a more uniform profile. The density of a cigar’s core tobacco can determine whether you experience a cooler, looser draw, or a slower-burning, firmer pull.

Some of our more popular fillers include our Alo LL Leaf and Our Pennsylvania LL Tobacco.

Cap

This term refers specifically and exclusively to the small flap or flaps of tobacco that cover the head of the cigar and must be cut before smoking. Caps come in a variety of forms. Cuban-style caps are flat, and have three seams. They are also known as mounted heads, three-seam caps or triple caps.

Foot

This refers to the end of the cigar you’ll want to light. There’s a wide variety of feet, including the shaggy foot which is defined by an extended bunching of filler tobacco that extends past the wrapper line, the covered foot which is covered by an extended wrapper, the tapered foot is smaller than the diameter of the body by way of a sloping taper, and of course the most popular: open foot.