Have you ever wondered what lies beneath the wrapper leaf? The wrapper envelops the interior filler tobaccos — another critical element in manufacturing a cigar. While filler leaves don’t have to be visually appealing, they must be correctly constructed to allow for a good draw and an even burn.
Let’s learn a little more about the cigar’s filler and how master blenders strive to create a unique blend that showcases the taste of the tobaccos used.
What is a cigar filler?
The cigar filler makes up the heart and soul of your stogie and uses more tobacco leaves than any other part. In its simplest form, the filler is a bunch of hand-folded tobacco leaves that go inside the cigar. They are bound together by the binder and packed to form a passageway with air vents down the center, allowing smoke to travel up.
Experienced cigar rollers ensure these bundles aren’t rolled too tight or loose. A tight draw will restrict airflow and cause a slow, uneven burn. A loose draw means air flows too freely, creating a fast, hot burn. For a perfect draw, the cigar roller must be skilled in striking a balance between the two.
A premium cigar usually contains two to five different filler tobacco types. Like the wrapper and binder, the filler tobacco must undergo an aging process before it can be packed into the cigar.
What is the difference between wrapper and filler tobacco?
The wrapper leaf provides most of the cigar’s flavor and serves an aesthetic purpose as the outer shell. Cigar wrapper tobacco is often harvested from the middle section of a tobacco plant (and sometimes the bottom). In contrast, filler tobaccos can be extracted from all parts of the plant, as it doesn’t need to be visibly pleasing.
The dark and oily leaves at the top of the plant (ligero) usually produce the strongest flavor and a richer texture. Leaves from the plant’s middle (seco) and bottom (volado) parts provide tobaccos with the best-burning properties and a subtler flavor and strength.
All filler tobacco is sun grown, unlike wrapper leaves that are grown in different conditions (like full sun or shade) to give them their signature character, colors, and flavor profiles.
The cigar wrapper derives from one part of the tobacco plant and is solely attributed to one country.
Filler blends are typically made from a carefully selected blend of different tobaccos from varying regions of one country, or tobaccos grown in multiple countries. Cigarmakers will also use tobacco from different primings to achieve complexity, desired taste, and optimum burning qualities.
What is the difference between short filler and long filler cigars?
Now it’s time for the long and short of filler tobacco. Let’s explain the difference between short filler and long filler cigars.
Handmade, premium smokes are made entirely from long-filler tobacco. These are the whole tobacco leaves that essentially run the stick’s length and are a sign of quality.
Short-filler tobacco is found in machine-made cigars. This refers to using chopped-up tobacco leaves instead of using whole leaves. These trimmings and choppings are the leftovers from handmade cigar production or other plant and leaf parts with holes or breakages.
For maximum enjoyment, choose long-filler cigars, as they provide a much smoother smoke that burns slowly and evenly. Short-filler tends to be rougher and can leave leaf particles in your mouth during the smoke.
What are the different fillers in cigars?
Filler tobacco is grown in many famous cigar countries and regions. Each variation has its own specific flavor and taste.
Cuban cigarmakers only use Cuban fillers in their smokes. These are full-bodied and breed a rich and highly complex aroma.
Another popular full-bodied filler tobacco can be found in Condega, Nicaragua. The soil in this region is quite rocky and tobacco is mostly grown out in the sun, yielding a thinner leaf. It has a woody, earthy character.
Nicaragua cultivates the tobacco most similar to that grown in Cuba, with its two most prized regions, Esteli and Jalapa, also demonstrating the fine craftsmanship of Nicaraguan filler. Esteli is seen as dark, hugely aromatic, and stronger tobacco, while Jalapa filler is sweet and creamy, albeit richer.
The San Andres Valley is located south of the Gulf of Mexico near age-old volcanoes. It produces a chocolatey brown filler leaf that flutters with warm, peppery spice and sweetness.
Honduran fillers possess a big flavor punch and can land on both extremities of the cigar flavor wheel. From coffee notes and citrus hints, to spicy, peppery, and leathery notes, its favorable climate and mineral-rich volcanic soil are a dream for growing tobacco.
Whether it’s the pleasant, fruity bliss of Brazil Bahia Mata Fina filler, or the diversity of Dominican filler, you can discover flavors and tastes that make your palate sing.
How much of the cigar’s flavor comes from the filler?
Tobaccos used for the filler usually dictate the cigar’s strength. However, they can also contribute to the cigar’s draw, burn, flavor, and size if properly blended. As mentioned, complex and unique filler blends can be created by combining filler tobacco from multiple countries — think of it as a recipe.
However, the wrapper will still shape the best part of your cigar’s taste.
Do cigar fillers come from one country of origin?
Cigar fillers don’t have to be an eclectic mix — they can come from a single country of origin. If the wrapper and binder are also from the same country, the cigar is known as a Puro. For example, a Nicaraguan Puro would be a cigar with a wrapper, binder, and filler constructed and blended from all-Nicaraguan tobaccos.
Never underestimate the impact of a quality filler blend. If it is off, it will significantly affect the quality of your smoke. We hope we’ve given you your fill on the part known as the “guts” of the cigar. Many distinctive and exciting filler blends are waiting to be discovered at cigars.com, so what are you waiting for? Remember, no guts, no glory.