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Before you decide to buy cigars online without trying them, you might want to make sure you like the size of cigar you're going to purchase. A cigar's vitola (literally caliber, measurement, or aspect) comprises both its size and its shape. The length, width, and shape of a cigar can all vary considerably, but there are certain standards for each, and some vitolas are more commonly seen than others.
Broadly, the most common cigar shapes are the parejo and the figurado. The parejo is the standard shape, hence the name parejo a word roughly corresponding to the English "par" or "standard". A parejo, often referred to simply as a corona (though technically corona designates a cigar of the parejo shape but with a particular length), has a cylindrical body, straight sides, and open closed end, which must be cut before the cigar can be smoked.
Parejo cigars are further distinguished by their length and width. The length can be anywhere from about 11 cm (4.5 in.) to about 23 cm (9.25 in.). The width, generally measured in 64ths of an inch, can vary from about 33/64 (just over 0.5 in.) to about 60/64 (nearly 1 in.). The most widely recognized dimensions for parejo cigars are:
- The Robusto—short and thick, about 11cm long and 0.75 in. wide
- The Corona—most common size, about 14cm long and 0.65 in. wide
- The Toro ("bull") — about 15cm long and 0.8 in. wide
- The Churchill (popularized, obviously, by Winston Churchill) — about 18 cm long and about 0.75 in. wide
Figurado is the designation used for any cigar shape that varies from the standard. As a rule, figurado cigars are more difficult to make, and therefore more expensive and more collectible. Although cigar manufacturers such as the Dominican-based Arturo Fuente have made cigars in all sorts of shapes (like chili peppers and even American footballs), most figurados come in one of four shapes:
- Torpedo — straight sides, one closed end, pointed cap.
- Pyramid — like a torpedo, but with the open end broader than the middle
- Perfecto — tapered at both ends, broad in the middle
- Presidente — cylindrical and with straight sides like a parejo, but usually much larger and sometimes with a closed foot
Less widely used are the Tuscanian cigar (also called a cheroot), which is long and slim with a thick middle and a strong aroma; and the culebra cigar, which consists of three long, pointed cigars which have been braided together.
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