How Premium Cigars Are Rolled

For those who enjoy cigars, the construction is very important to an enjoyable smoke. A poorly rolled cigar will take away from the smoking experience. A well rolled cigar will only enhance that experience. Therefore, those who are experts in rolling create more than just a cigar; they create an experience to be remembered.

A Master Roller for Cigars

Rolling cigars has been an art form that has been passed down from one generation to another; however, the most prestigious title for a cigar roller is the master torcedor. By using as few as 15 tobacco leaves and by making just a few cuts using his chaveta knife, a master torcedor can create a well rolled cigar. Traditionally, most premium cigars were rolled by one master torcedor who blended, bunched, wrapped and rolled each cigar from start to finish. That changed when cigar production grew outside of Cuba and into other countries. Most cigars are now produced by a team of two rollers for better efficiency. One roller bunches up the filler tobacco; then rolls the binder tobacco with it. The other roller takes the filler and binder and rolls it into the wrapper tobacco making sure that the appearance and construction of the cigar is flawless.

The Process for Rolling Premium Cigars

If you were to stand in front of a cigar rolling table you would find the following items: a sharp knife called a chaveta, a block of wood, a cup of organic vegetable adhesive called pectin, a cylinder cutter, and of course a blend of tobacco leaves for filler, binder and finally wrapper. The first roller bunches up the tobacco leaves for that particular blend of cigar and folds them accordion style to allow air passages. This same roller will also apply the binder tobacco leaf before putting the bunch into a cigar mold. The cigar tobacco is then pressed in mold for up to ten minutes to give it that familiar shape. The pressed cigars are then taken back to the rolling table where the second roller applies the tobacco wrapper and cap for the finished cigar.

Because the wrapper leaves used in cigars are the most delicate, the torcedor is generally the one who applies it. Depending on the shape and using a series of strategic cuts utilizing the chaveta, the torcedor covers the cigar efficiently. A master torcedor can usually assemble a premium cigar in less than a minute; however, it takes years of training to develop those skills to be a successful cigar roller.