A torcedor (from torcer, “to twist”) is a cigar roller. In the traditional Cuban method, one torcedor makes a cigar from start to finish at the workbench: forming the bunch of filler in its binder, pressing it in a mold, then stretching on the wrapper, attaching the cap, and trimming with a chaveta, the roller’s flat, rounded blade. Many New World factories divide the job between a bunchero, who makes the bunch, and a rolero, who applies the wrapper. Both are part of the rolling trade.
The skill takes years of practice. Cuban factories rank rollers by grade, and the higher grades are given the more difficult sizes; thin cigars and figurados are the hardest to roll well.
A roller’s skill shows when you smoke the cigar: an even draw, a straight burn, and a head that cuts cleanly. See how cigars are made.