Outside of infused and flavored cigars, most cigars are made entirely out of various forms of tobacco leaves, and that’s it. To understand how the leaves are treated, fermented, and cured, you must first explore the entire process of tobacco cultivation. To keep it simple, the tobacco is grown, and the leaves are harvested from different sections of the plant and then stored. While stored, the tobacco undergoes natural aging through curing and fermentation. Then, when the tobacco is ready, it’s rolled into a cigar, often by hand. So, if you’re asking what are cigars made of? The answer is tobacco.
If you want to know what’s in a cigar, we need to break down the different types of tobacco used.
What’s in a cigar: Long filler, binders and wrappers
Cigars were invented a long, long time ago. What’s interesting is that the way we make them today is pretty much the same as they used to make them. We roll tobacco leaves.
In the center of the cigar is something called “fillers,” or long filler tobacco. Filler tends to be composed of the most delicate leaves, sometimes from various plant sections. It helps to pack the cigar, ensuring an even burn when rolled correctly. Believe it or not, you won’t get most of your flavor from the filler. The primary filler types are Ligero, Seco, and Volado.
Around the filler is what’s called a “binder,” which is designed to help the cigar maintain its shape and hold its contents in place, tightly packed. Like the wrapper, there are different types of binders, including Connecticut Broadleaf, Cameroon, or Havana.
On the outside, we have what’s called a “wrapper,” and it’s also the part of the cigar that provides most of the flavor when you smoke it. It’s arguably one of the most important elements of any cigar. These leaves tend to be thicker and stronger, often coming from higher up on the tobacco plant.
That’s really all there is to a cigar. Depending on how the tobacco is grown and treated and what types of leaves are used, a blend can be fully customized — which is why there are so many different types of cigars.
Cigar terms you should know
- Cap — A small topper used to cover the head of the cigar and secure the wrapper.
- Head — The end of the cigar where you draw from, usually covered in a cap that must be clipped.
- Cigar Bands — The various labels wrapping the cigar with the brand’s logo and the blend’s name.
- Foot — The bottom of the cigar that you light.
What about infused or flavored cigars?
Infused cigars are often given their signature notes and flavors by “infusing” the various scents into the tobacco while it is curing or fermenting. Attendants might burn a hickory wood fire in the barn where the tobacco is hanging or have fruits and botanicals nearby to produce the necessary scents. Over time, the tobacco picks up these flavors.
Flavored cigars, on the other hand, are created with various syrups, botanicals, and oils — the liquids are often sprayed onto the binder or tobacco leaves.
In either case, the cigar makers aren’t necessarily adding anything physical or of substance to the blend. For instance, they’re not adding more tobacco leaves or different plants. So, even flavored and infused cigars are primarily filled with tobacco.
How are cigars made?
Different manufacturers have unique methods to cultivate, cure, and ferment the tobacco leaves. But for the most part, this is how cigars are made:
- First, the tobacco leaves are grown from seed. They take months to mature.
- After being harvested, the leaves are cured using “laths.” The leaves are hung, upside down, in a barn until they turn yellow or brown.
- After curing, the leaves are fermented for months to years — up to five years in some cases. They’re exposed to heat where they undergo natural chemical changes during the fermentation process. This is how the aromas and flavors develop.
- Before being used to roll, the leaves are stripped, which means the stems and other unwanted parts are removed. Ultimately, this helps the finished cigar burn more evenly and taste better. The trimmed leaves are then steamed, restoring humidity and color.
- Before being shaped correctly, the leaves are wrapped, by hand. This is where attendants roll the various tobacco leaves together and trim off excess using a special tool called a Chaveta.
Machine-made cigars are crafted similarly, except for an actual machine doing the rolling. The tobacco leaves are often fed into these machines where they are worked into a final product.
What’s next?
Even after being rolled, the cigar production isn’t finished. The cigars still go through:
- Inspection: Experts with many years in the business review the finished cigars to note their “Vitolas” or size, shapes, names, blends, and more. They also conduct a form of quality control to make sure they have been rolled out thoroughly.
- Storage: Most cigars are aged for a time at the manufacturer. This is long before they hit store shelves. Essentially, the cigar compresses and shrinks, creating a tighter, more reliable shape.
- Seasoning: Before being shipped, the cigars will be placed in huge seasoning rooms or cigar rooms. The tobaccos basically share oils and aromas which move with the humidity. As an important step in this process, the teams ensure that only similar cigars are stored together.
Finally, and I’ve mentioned this before, some retailers will even go an extra step, especially if they know cigars coming from a particular manufacturer or region are vulnerable to issues like say cigar beetles. The retailers might freeze entire batches of cigars before introducing them to their warehouses. It’s a smart move, too, because those warehouses are absolutely massive.
