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Learn · Sizes & ShapesCigar Sizes & Shapes
A vitola is a cigar's size-and-shape designation... its length, its ring gauge, and whether the sides run straight or taper.
The two families
- Parejos: straight sides, a rounded head, an open foot. Robustos, toros, Churchills... the standard lineup and most of what's on any shelf.
- Figurados: everything that tapers, points, or bulges. Torpedoes, belicosos, perfectos... the sculpture section.
The numbers attached to a vitola read length × ring gauge: length in inches, thickness in 64ths of an inch. A 6×50 toro is six inches long and 50/64 of an inch across.
How size changes the smoke
- Thinner raises the wrapper's share of every puff, so slim vitolas smoke wrapper-forward... and they run hot if you rush them.
- Fatter puts more filler in the mix, giving the blender more room to layer leaves and the smoke a cooler, slower character.
- Longer mostly means more time. The practical range runs from about half an hour for the smallest parejos to a couple of hours for the giants... which size, when matches sizes to the time you have.
Same blend, different vitola, noticeably different cigar. Many makers adjust the recipe size by size, which is why the robusto and the Churchill of the "same" line don't smoke identical.
Where to start
None of this is a skill ladder. A robusto or toro is the usual starting point simply because it's the most common size on shelves and in reviews... everything past that is a trade between time, burn temperature, and the wrapper-to-filler ratio. The pages below take each piece apart.