AMS: American Market Selection, a green colored outer wrapper on a cigar.

BAND: Paper placed around the cigar, usually near the head, originally used to protect white gloves from tobacco stains. Merchants quickly seized the idea and began using it as a place to put their fontmark (brand name). This allowed them to distinguish their cigars from that of their competitors. The band, an advertising means.

BINDER: A single leaf of tobacco that is wound around the filler of the cigar to hold it together.

BODY: The main or middle of the cigar. The part between the head and foot of the cigar. The part of the cigar that is usually held by the fingers of the smoker.

BUNCH: Refers to the cigar when it consists of the filler and the binder, prior to the application of the wrapper leaf.

BUNDLE: A group of cigars that are bundled together rather than boxed.

CAFE: Comparable to the English Market Selection or EMS wrapper. The term cafe is used by General Cigar to describe the wrapper leaves used on the Macanudo line of premium cigars.

CAMAROON: A wrapper from the African Camaroons.

CANDELA: A green colored wrapper. This tobacco is cured under very high heat.

CHURCHILL: Named after Winston Churchill. A man who smoked BIG, cigars. As you can guess, the churchill is a large cigar.

CLARO: A light golden brown wrapper. Also called natural.

COLORADO: A medium brown wrapper.

CURING: The process of removing moisture from freshly harvested tobacco.

CUTTER: A device for clipping the end off a cigar. Some resemble scissors with curved blades; others look like small guillotines for making a straight or V-shaped notch. In addition one variety looks like a .44 magnum bullet and another a fountain pen, they pull apart to reveal a punch that cuts a round hole in the end of the cigar.

DOUBLE CLARO: Double Claro is the result of picking the leaves prior to full maturity and quickly drying it. Sometimes referred to as American Market Selection. Macanudo calls this shade "Jade". Cigars with this wrapper are very, very mild!

ENGLISH MARKET SELECTION (EMS): Wrapper leaves that are slightly lighter in color than maduro.

FILLER: The tobacco that makes up the heart or center of the cigar. There are two main types of filler, short and long. The filler is responsible for most of the flavor and smoking quality. Short filler consists of leaves that have been cut into many small pieces. The majority of machine made cigars are done so with short filler. Long filler on the other hand consists of tobacco leaves, not pieces, that run the length of the cigar. Long filler cigars are preferred as they buy better and allow for a more consistent draw.

FOOT: Also called the "tuck". The part of the cigar that is lit.

GUILLOTINE CUTTER: This is a simple device which clips the capped end off of the cigar, leaving a straight, open circular end.

HEAD: The end of the cigar that is placed in the mouth.

LONG FILLER: The tobacco that makes up the heart or center of the cigar. There are two main types of filler, short and long. Long filler on the other hand consists of tobacco leaves, not pieces, that run the length of the cigar. Long filler cigars are preferred as they buy better and allow for a more consistent draw. MADURO: A Spanish term which means the darkest tobacco. A dark brown wrapper.

OSCUR: A very dark wrapper. BLACK in color.

PIERCE or REAM: This is a device which merely punctures the cap of the cigar by creating a hole in its center. Several tools are available for this purpose. Some even come in the form of a key chain. PLUCKER: One variety looks like a .44 magnum bullet and another a fountain pen, they pull apart to reveal a punch that cuts a round hole in the end of the cigar.

PYRAMID: As the name implies, a cigar that resembles a pyramid, torpedo of triangle in appearance. It tapers from a larger ring gauge at the foot to a smaller one at the head of the cigar.

RING GAUGE: The diameter of a cigar is referred to a the ring gauge. It is a measurement equal to 1/64 of an inch. A 64 ring gauge would be one inch in thickness and a 32 ring gauge would be 1/2 inch thick.

SHADE GROWN: Tobacco, usually the wrapper leaf of a cigar. For mildness, the wrapper is grown under tents and is not exposed to sunlight.

SHORT FILLER: The tobacco that makes up the heart or center of the cigar. There are two main types of filler, short and long. Short filler consists of leaves that have been cut into many small pieces. The majority of machine made cigars are done so with short filler.

TUBED: A cigar that is placed in a tube.

TUBO: A cigar that is placed in a tube. Most tubes are aluminum while some are glass.

V CUTTER: This again is a simple device which makes a vee shaped slit in the cap of the cigar. It's appearance is similar to a cat's eye when viewed from the end of the cigar.

WRAPPER: The outermost tobacco leaf of the cigar. It must be free of holes, tears and other imperfections. The wrapper can provide clues to the quality and flavor of the cigar. It plays a very important part in the flavor and burn quality of the cigar.