How are cigars made?

Cigars are made from the leaves of the tobacco plant, Nicotiana tabacum, which grows in various parts of the world, with the best tobacco plants found in Cuba, Jamaica, and the Dominican Republic[1]. A cigar is comprised of three types of tobacco leaves: filler, binder, and wrapper[1].

The process of making cigars involves several stages[6]. First, the tobacco leaves are selected, and then they go through bunching and stemming. The filler leaves are folded and rolled in the binder. 

After that, the bound leaves are placed into cigar molds, stacked, weighted down, and rotated for about 45 minutes to ensure even compression.

Next, the wrapper leaf is carefully rolled around the binder, with great attention paid to ensuring smoothness and perfect seams. The final step involves placing a cap on the end of the cigar that will eventually be clipped off before smoking. The cigars are then bundled, labeled, and weighed.

The cigars undergo further stages, such as fermentation, drying and blending, aging, and conditioning[6]. Once the cigars have passed inspection, they are placed on trays and moved to a banding and wrapping machine, which places a band around the cigars and may also wrap them in cellophane[9]. Some brands have multiple bands, which are applied by hand[10].