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Beginner setup guides, vitola notes, humidors, cutters, lighters, Spanish cedar, and other long notes that do not sit in one glossary line.
What is a premium cigar? Anatomy of a handmade cigar
Cigars 101, first chapter: what makes a cigar premium, the parts of a handmade cigar from cap to foot, the three leaves inside, and how premium differs from machine-made smokes.
ReadWrapper, Binder, and Filler: What each leaf does
Cigars 101: what wrapper, binder, and filler each do in a handmade cigar — filler primings (volado, seco, ligero), double binders, and blends vs puros.
ReadHandmade vs machine-made cigars
Cigars 101: how handmade and machine-made cigars differ — long filler vs short filler, homogenized tobacco leaf (HTL), hand-finished vs totally handmade, and how to tell them apart.
ReadBunching and rolling by hand: torcedores at the table
Cigars 101: how a handmade cigar is put together at the rolling table — the bunchero and torcedor, entubado, accordion, and book bunches, the Lieberman bunching device, applying the binder and wrapper, the chaveta, and how the cap is made.
ReadGrowing cigar tobacco: seedbeds, fields, shade-grown vs sun-grown
Cigars 101: how cigar tobacco is started in seedbeds, transplanted to the field, and grown under shade cloth (tapado) or in full sun — and why wrapper leaf is farmed differently from filler.
ReadFermentation: pilones, heat, and turning
Cigars 101: how cured cigar tobacco is fermented in pilones and burros — building the piles, watching the heat, turning the leaf, first and second fermentations, and why ligero and maduro wrapper take longer.
ReadHow a blender builds a cigar
Cigars 101: how a cigar blend goes from leaf samples to a finished line — choosing wrapper, binder, and filler, test cigars and tasting panels, adjusting strength and flavor, blends for different sizes, and keeping a blend consistent from crop to crop.
ReadQuality control and construction: draw testing and what a well-made cigar feels like
Cigars 101: how cigar factories check their work, from draw-testing machines to inspection rooms and tasting panels, and how to judge a cigar's construction yourself by feel, draw, burn, and ash.
ReadWrapper types and colors: from Connecticut shade to oscuro
Cigars 101: the wrapper color scale from candela to oscuro, shade-grown vs sun-grown wrapper, and what Connecticut, habano, corojo, Cameroon, Sumatra, San Andrés, and broadleaf mean on a band.
ReadFirst humidor setup
First humidor setup in order: buy a sealed cedar cabinet, season it, install climate gear, then load cigars — with links to Smoke Rings seasoning and buying guides.
ReadChoosing a first premium cigar
How to choose a first premium cigar by size, strength, and brand, with links to Smoke Rings size guides and the Padrón and Fuente pages.
ReadHow to cut and light a cigar
How to cut and light a cigar: open the cap with guillotine, V-cut, or punch, then toast and light — with links to Smoke Rings cutter and lighter guides.
ReadHow to smoke a cigar: pace, puffs, ash, and when to stop
How to smoke a premium cigar: do not inhale, how often to puff, what to do with the ash, how to relight, and when to put it down.
ReadCuban vs New World
Cuban cigars and the non-Cuban industry that grew after the embargo: where cigars come from, not which are better.
ReadHumidor (storage)
How cigars are stored: Spanish cedar, seasoning, and the commonly recommended humidity ranges, with no single correct number.
ReadRobusto guide
What a robusto is: classic dimensions, why the size became so popular, and how ring gauge and length affect the smoke.
ReadCorona and petit corona guide
Corona, petit corona, and corona gorda as classic parejo sizes: traditional dimensions, the balance of wrapper and filler, and how they compare with the robusto and lonsdale.
ReadChurchill guide
The Churchill vitola: classic 7 × 47 dimensions, the Winston Churchill association, petit and wide variants, and how the long parejo differs from robusto and toro.
ReadTorpedo and belicoso guide
Pointed figurados explained: torpedo, belicoso, and pyramid heads — how they differ from parejos, how to cut them, and how they relate to perfecto shapes.
ReadLancero guide
The lancero: a long, thin parejo (often about 7 × 38), its high proportion of wrapper to filler, pigtail caps, and why it is a specialty size.
ReadPerfecto and figurado guide
Figurado shapes, especially the perfecto: closed or tapered ends, a wider middle, how they differ from the torpedo and belicoso, and their return to American shops.
ReadRing gauge and length cheat-sheet
Cigar size cheat-sheet: how ring gauge and length work, common vitola ranges, and links to Smoke Rings guides for robusto, corona, Churchill, lancero, belicoso, and perfecto.
ReadHow to season a humidor
How to season a new Spanish-cedar humidor step by step: distilled water or humidity packs, patience, and hygrometer checks before the first cigars go in.
ReadHumidor buying guide
How to choose a humidor: seal, Spanish cedar, size, hygrometer, and humidity control, with a link to the Smoke Rings humidors shop.
ReadCutter types: guillotine, V-cut, and punch
Guillotine, V-cut, and punch cutters explained: what each one does to the cap and the draw, with a link to the cutters shop.
ReadLighters: Torch vs soft flame
Jet-flame torch lighters versus soft-flame and matches: control, wind, fuel, and how to toast a foot without scorching the wrapper.
ReadTravel humidors and cases
Travel humidors and cigar cases: sealed plastic, cedar trays, and humidity packs for travel, and why a tube does not replace a home humidor.
ReadSpanish cedar: why it matters
Why Spanish cedar is used for humidors and cigar boxes: how it holds moisture, its aroma, seasoning, and when collectors choose other woods.
ReadStrength, body, and flavor: what the words mean
Cigars 101: the difference between nicotine strength, body, and flavor in a cigar; what mild, medium, and full labels mean; and why size and wrapper color do not tell you how strong a cigar is.
ReadCohiba vs. Cohiba: The Decades-Long Trademark Dispute
Cigars 101: the history of the Cuban Cohiba and the U.S.-market Cohiba, every major ruling in the U.S. trademark dispute since 1997, where the case stands as of October 2026, a labeled outlook, and how to tell the two cigars apart.
ReadCigar lounges around the world
Cigars 101: a short directory of well-known cigar lounges in North America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Cuba, with addresses, phone numbers, and websites, plus tips on visiting a lounge.
ReadHumidity control and hygrometers
Cigars 101: how two-way humidity packs, silica beads, propylene glycol humidifiers, and electronic units keep a humidor steady, how hygrometers work, how to calibrate one with a salt test, plastic-box alternatives, and how to bring dry cigars back slowly.
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