A robusto is a standard modern vitola in most cigar lines. It is short enough to smoke in one sitting and thick enough that a blender can include ligero without making the draw too tight. The name is traditional, and the exact measurements vary from maker to maker.
This chapter covers the size itself. The short glossary definition is at robusto. For the measurement terms used for every size in this book, see the ring gauge and length cheat-sheet.
What the numbers usually mean
In the trade, a typical robusto is about five inches long with a fifty ring gauge, often written 5 × 50. Many robustos range from about 4½ to 5½ inches long, with ring gauges from the high forties to the low fifties. But you’ll see cigars outside this typical range called a “robusto”. So a 6 × 54 may use that name but is larger than the usual robusto range, so trust the printed measurements and the cigar’s actual shape more than the name.
A robusto is a parejo (straight-sided) unless the band also says perfecto, belicoso, or torpedo. A “robusto perfecto” is really a marketing name that combines two shapes, so judge it by the shape as you see it.
Why the size became popular
A century ago, American and Cuban shops mostly sold thinner classic sizes such as the corona and lonsdale. Those sizes were what the market demanded and those were the molds on the tables at every cigar factory. As New World brands multiplied after the embargo, blenders wanted a size that showed off a full blend in a one-hour smoke. With a larger ring size, the extra thickness allows room for more leaves in the bunch, and the moderate length keeps the smoking time reasonable. That is why most manufacturers always include a robusto size, even when they also offer a toro or a Churchill.
Size does not determine quality. A thin corona can be harder to roll well, and a thick robusto can hide a poorly made core. Construction still matters; the size only sets how much room the roller has to work with.
Wrapper, filler, and time
Compared with a classic corona of the same length, a thicker robusto gives you more filler and less wrapper in each puff. More tobacco also means the cigar holds more heat and usually builds a longer ash before it needs to be tapped. None of this adds to the flavor, but it changes how a given blend burns. The same leaves will not burn the same way in a different size, a point also covered in our cigar factory chapters and in how cigars are made.
A box-pressed robusto is still a parejo. Pressing changes the cross-section from round to square and can slightly change the draw, but the size name stays the same. See box press.
How to use this page on the site
For background on cigar companies, start at the brands hub. Reviews of individual cigars are in Reviews. The history of bands and packaging is in the museum. Smoke Rings sells accessories — cutters, humidors, lighters — but not tobacco. For the cigars themselves, our sponsor AbsoluteCigars.com is your best source.
Related sizes: corona and petit corona, Churchill, lancero, and the shaped cigars covered in torpedo and belicoso and perfecto and figurados.
Sources: Traditional vitola tables and common New World factory labeling for robusto (approx. 5 × 50); Smoke Rings glossary practice that names are traditional, not caliper laws.