Vitolas
Cigar Vitolas Explained, from Petit Corona to Gordo
What a vitola is, how length and ring gauge are measured, and the classic shapes every cigar smoker meets sooner or later, with well-known examples.
Walk into any humidor and the same blend can appear in five or six different sizes. Each of those sizes is a vitola, the Spanish word for a cigar’s shape and dimensions. Learning to read them is one of the most useful things a new smoker can do, because size changes much more than how long a cigar lasts.
How a cigar is measured
Every vitola is described with two numbers.
- Length, usually in inches outside Cuba and in millimeters in Cuba.
- Ring gauge, the diameter, measured in 64ths of an inch. A 50 ring gauge cigar is 50/64 of an inch across, a little under 2 cm.
So a cigar listed as 5 × 50 is five inches long and 50/64 of an inch thick.
There are also two broad families.
- Parejos have straight sides and an open foot. Most cigars are parejos.
- Figurados have a shaped head, foot or body: torpedoes, belicosos, perfectos and others.
One more term worth knowing: in Cuba, each factory size has a technical name called the vitola de galera, while the name on the box is the vitola de salida. A Cohiba Robusto, for example, is made in the factory size simply called Robustos.
The classic vitolas
Sizes vary between manufacturers, so treat these as typical ranges rather than rules.
| Vitola | Typical size | Well-known example |
|---|---|---|
| Petit Corona | about 4½–5 × 40–42 | Montecristo No. 4 (Cuban factory size Mareva, 5⅛ × 42) |
| Corona | about 5½–6 × 42–44 | The traditional benchmark size for many Cuban brands |
| Lonsdale | about 6½ × 42–44 | Long and slender, a classic for aroma |
| Lancero | about 7–7½ × 38–40 | Cohiba Lancero (factory size Laguito No. 1, 7½ × 38) |
| Robusto | about 4¾–5 × 48–52 | Cohiba Robusto (factory size Robustos, 4⅞ × 50) |
| Toro | about 6 × 50–54 | One of the most common sizes in non-Cuban cigars today |
| Churchill | about 7 × 47–50 | Romeo y Julieta Churchill (factory size Julieta No. 2, 7 × 47) |
| Torpedo / Pirámide | about 6–6¼ × 52, pointed head | Montecristo No. 2 (factory size Pirámides, 6⅛ × 52) |
| Belicoso | about 5–5½ × 50–52, short tapered head | A shorter, gentler taper than a torpedo |
| Gordo | about 6 × 58–60 and up | The big ring gauges, popular in modern releases |
Why size changes the experience
The same tobacco can taste noticeably different from one vitola to another.
Thin cigars such as lanceros and coronas burn a higher proportion of wrapper compared with the filler. Since the wrapper carries much of a cigar’s flavor and aroma, slimmer sizes are often described as more intense, more nuanced and more wrapper-driven. They also burn hotter if smoked quickly, so they ask for patience.
Thick cigars such as toros and gordos have more filler relative to wrapper. They tend to smoke cooler and slower, and many people find them rounder but sometimes less concentrated.
Figurados change as you smoke. A torpedo’s pointed head focuses the smoke on the palate, and a perfecto’s narrow foot lights quickly before the cigar opens up.
Time matters too. As a rough guide, a petit corona can take 30 to 45 minutes, a robusto about an hour, and a Churchill or a gordo an hour and a half or more, depending on how slowly you smoke.
Choosing your vitola
- New to cigars or short on time? A robusto or a petit corona.
- Want to taste the blend at its most expressive? Try the corona or lancero version of a cigar you already know.
- Long evening, good company? A Churchill or a toro.
- Curious about how size changes a blend? Smoke two vitolas of the same line side by side over a few days and compare your notes.
The best vitola is the one that fits the moment. That is half the pleasure of learning them.