Cigar Shapes and Sizes
At first I thought this would be an easy enough task. Just list the range in cigar shapes and sizes. But the more I thought of this, the more work it became. But that’s okay. I want to bring you the reader (all three of you) a comprehensive list of shapes and sizes from both the Domestic and International markets.
I’ll start with general shapes and sizes. I will also discuss more of the unique shapes and sizes available. I also at the bottom of the page have linked size charts I created for both the Domestic and International markets. The sources I used for these charts were Perleman’s CigarCyclopedia and Habanos, SA.
Shapes
Parejo – a cigar with a cylindrical body and straight sides, basically a “normal” looking cigar.
Parejo
Parejos can also have a pigtail cap. There are often found on lanceros for some reason. The Cuban Trinidad line has all sizes finished with a pigtail cap.
Pigtail Cap
Also, parejos may be box-pressed, to even such extremes as wafer thin, and even may be triangle-pressed.
Box-Pressed
Figurado – a cigar with a non-standard shape. There are several basic styles to figurados. They will be listed below. The sky is the limit on figurados, a lot of manufactureres like to tap into their rollers creativity in creating a myriad of shapes from pipe-shaped cigars to baseball bat and chili pepper shaped cigars. (Check out vitolas.net for an array of funky shapes and sizes)
- Torpedo (Belicoso) – The most popular of shaped cigars, the torpedo is simply a parejo with a pointed head. A torpedo may also be box-pressed.
Torpedo
- Pyramid – The most misnamed of all the shapes. A pyramid is tapered from head to foot. Many manufacturers and smokers falsely name torpedoes as pyramids.
Pyramid
- Perfecto – A perfecto is narrow at the head and foot (usually to a point at both ends) and bulbous in the middle. Odd variations of the perfecto look like a snake has swallowed a mouse.
Perfecto
Egg-shaped perfecto
- Diadema/Salamone (Presidente) – basically a parejo or a perfecto with a closed foot. Domestically diademas and salamones are most bulbous closest to the foot just prior to the closed tip of the foot.
Diadema
- Culebra – three intertwined cigars tied together at both ends by twine or string. Culebras have an interesting back story as they are growing in popularity and currently are used in higher end cigars but were initially used to ensure that rollers, who were allotted three cigars a day to take home, were not taking any extra with them. The cigars were rolled together so that they would be recognizable outside of the factory. Any rollers smoking a parejo would then be guilty of theft.
Culebra
- Chisel – I’ve added this size in honor of Litto Gomez who is a true innovator in the industry. The chisel has a head like a torpedo but is pressed in a way that resembles… a chisel.
Chisel
The links below will direct you to the Domestic and Cuban Size Charts for Parejos and Figurados.
Non-Cuban (Domestic) Size chart
Cuban (International) Size Chart
