A cigar is a compact roll of tobacco leaves used for smoking. Several countries including Brazil, Cuba, Honduras, Mexico, Philippines, Cameroon, Dominican Republic, Indonesia, Nicaragua and the Eastern United States produce cigar tobacco on significant quantities. The word cigar is said to originate from the Mayan-Indian word “sikar” which means smoking.

Cigar smoking has long been associated with the male rite of passage from boyhood to manhood. Cigars have originally been rolled up by hand. Cigars rolled by hand are considered to be of good quality and carry a certain degree of prestige during the present time. Experienced cigar rollers can easily produce hundreds of nearly identical cigars per day.

Tobacco leaves undergo curing from 25 to 45 days to reduce sugar and water content. Afterwhich, the leaves shall be fermented wherein temperature and humidity are controlled to help the leaves die slowly without rotting or disintegrating. Leaves are sorted out either as filler or wrapper depending on their appearance and overall quality after they have been properly aged. Higher quality cigars use long leaves throughout. Cigar makers sometimes combine tobaccos from different areas to incorporate several different flavors. Low-grade cigars usually make use of chopped tobacco leaves. Proper storage is done by keeping the cigars in a specialized wooden box called the “humidor”.