Shopping for a cigar can be exciting and intimidating. What is this "binder"? What does this advertisement mean the "filler" is Honduran? The "wrapper" is from Cuba? What? These different parts of the cigar mentioned make up the primary structure of a cigar, and different countries can provide different tastes, strengths, and textures to the smoke. Some cigar smokers shop for only Honduran fillers, or maybe only Cameroon wrappers, or only Nicaraguan Puros (puros meaning that all three elements of the cigar come from the same country), all because they are familiar with what that will provide for their cigar. Let's take a look at the three main structural elements that make up a cigar.

    First, lets talk about filler. Filler tobacco is the tobacco you see if you were to look at the cigar's foot (the end you light). All the tobacco that is "inside" your cigar is the filler. This tobacco is often blended in a special way, using tobacco from different countries or parts of one country, to produce different tastes to offer the cigar. This filler makes up most of the cigar's "recipe". Although filler makes up the most tobacco in your cigar, many people say that it is not the part of the cigar that gives it most of it's flavor, but the wrapper is. We'll discuss the wrapper in a bit.

    Next, let's discuss the binder. As filler is blended according to the recipe the cigar maker issues to the rollers, it's difficult to keep all that tobacco together tight enough to smoke. That's where the binder comes in. The binder is a leaf of tobacco that is rolled around the filler, giving birth to the round shape the cigar's filler is held in. Binders also contribute to the cigar's flavor, and certain binders are used specifically from cigar line to cigar line, to adhere to the cigar's "recipe", or "blend". Binders are usually a stronger, thicker tobacco leaf than the wrapper, which is a thinner, delicate, flavorful leaf. Let's take a look...click the picture for a larger, up close view.

    In the picture above, you can see the thickness of the binder by noting the "woody" texture of the leaf, compared to the wrapper, which is thinner and more delicate. Note the length of the filler tobacco leaves being the length of the cigar. This is what is known as "long filler" tobacco. When shopping for a cigar, long filler tobacco is preferred over "short filler" tobacco. Often machine made cigars use short filler tobacco, which has been ground, or sifted to smaller, finer tobacco. An example of short filler tobacco is a cigarette. If you roll a cigarette between your fingers over a piece of paper, the tobacco will fall out in a pile of ground, sifted tobacco.

    We've discussed filler and binder, now let's look at the wrapper. As I have mentioned, the wrapper is a single leaf that "finishes" the cigar. The wrapper is the tobacco leaf you come in contact with while holding your cigar, puffing your cigar, and is the leaf that you inspect when you study your cigar. Being the single, delicate, flavorful finish on the cigar, most people say this leaf makes up 70-80% of the taste. If you buy one cigar line, and have two of the same exact blend, only one in natural, and one in maduro (maduro meaning "ripe", which is a darker tobacco leaf....more on what maduro means here), you will definitely taste a difference between the two cigars. There are many kinds of wrappers to be used to finish off a cigar recipe or "blend". Each country of origin can give a different flavor to each wrapper, for example a Cameroon wrapper, grown in Cameroon Africa, will taste different than a wrapper grown in Connecticut, USA. For more information on where these countries are that you hear about in the world of tobacco, check out our Tobacco World Map.

    This covers the basics of the cigar's anatomy, check out other articles here on CigarStudent.com on storing these tobaccos, lighting, and enjoying them.