Cigarillo vs Cigar: Know the differences and decide for your taste

With many tobacco varieties available in the market, getting into the high-end tobacco products’ world can be overwhelming, especially for beginners. The cigarillo vs cigar debate is always one of the hot topics when it narrows down to knowing the similarities and differences between the two different types of tobacco products.

Let’s head straight to some of the key differences between the two products.

1. The most basic, foremost, and noticeable difference is the size difference between the two. An average cigarillo varies in length from 3-4 inches and the diameter ranges somewhere between 5-8 mm. While a robust cigar is typically 5 inches long and about 20 mm in diameter. So technically, a typical cigarillo is a short and narrow cigar!

2. Owing to a small size, cigarillos require a little less wrapper and a lesser filling material than a full-blown cigar. Though a cigarillo can be made from the same blend of tobacco, like that of its cigar counterpart, some cigarillos are also made with a replacement wrapper over the traditional tobacco leaf!

3. You know what, there come filters as well to both these tobacco products! Cigarillos sometimes come with filters, though many varieties still come unfiltered. But some premium cigars do come with filters.

4. When it comes to citing smoking differences for cigarillo vs cigar debate, the entire smoking experience heavily relies on the kind of tobacco used. If both the cigarillo and cigar have been developed from the same blend and wrapper, both will have very similar flavors and aromas. But some cigarillos do come with certain flavoring agents for additional taste and aroma!

Also because of the considerable size difference, cigars can take somewhere around 1 hour depending on their fullness. While one can smoke a cigarillo for a maximum of 15-20 minutes.

Note: Owing to their smaller size, cigarillos burn hotter and faster, and thus, smaller and slower draws need to be taken to keep the tobacco from burning too hot and also to detract from the flavors!

5. What would you prefer? A more relaxed and longer experience with a cigar or a shorter duration smoking experience when under a time crunch, with a cigarillo? It depends on the context of usage. If you want to grab one tobacco product for in-between breaks indulgence or to smoke in public without any hesitation, then a cigarillo should be your first choice due to its small size and quick-burning factor.

But if continuous, long-duration and relaxed indulgence is your type of jam, then a great and bigger cigar is perfect!

6. When it comes to production and manufacturing for the cigarillo vs cigar difference, cigarillos are mainly machine-made while cigars are traditionally hand-made. From planting and harvesting to curing and fermenting, and finally to aging and rolling, a cigar needs precision, patience, and time. There is no replacement for a finely hand-made and rolled cigar.

Because of being machine-made, cigarillos are often seen by smokers as the best alternative to cigars for price consideration. And also because they are smoked like 5-10 in quantity every day, cigarillos don’t need to be stored in humidors.

CheapCigars4me has got a range of machine-made cigars including some classics like Backwoods, Clippers, Chiefwoods, etc. But these machine-made ones don’t compromise on the quality and taste!

7. Like any other tobacco-based product, cigars and cigarillos both possess some health risks. But because cigarillos are not meant to be inhaled just like cigars, they act as a healthier alternative to cigars.

8. Cigar consists of the perfect ratio of binder, filler, and tobacco wrapper. When it comes to a cigarillo, there’s an option to choose from a tobacco-based paper or actual tobacco leaves, none of which comes with filters as the entire experience is all about feeling similar to smoking a cigar.

There’s no correlation between the size/shape and the strength of the cigar. It also depends on how mellow or powerful the tobacco is. The most common types of cigars one can encounter are:

1. Robusto - one of the most common round-headed cigars with a good size to go with when trying new cigars.

2. Belicoso – perfect for medium-length smoking sessions due to their tapered head.

3. Corona – one of the most common you’ll ever come across, giving ample opportunity to the smoker to unravel the flavor and complexity of tobacco.

4. Lonsdale – has a long and thin format with the smoke more than that of corona’s.

5. Panetela & Lanceros – the thinnest form of cigar widely circulated in the market.

6. Churchill – one of the most popular cigars for pleasure and time-taking smoking experience.

7. Pyramid - has a more tapered and pointed head than that of the belicoso’s.

8. Presidente – the largest of the available standard cigar types, also referred to as Gigante.

And a few more are there!

Guideline for choosing the right cigar

1. Consider the shape and size of the cigar first.

2. Color of the cigar. The darker the color of the tobacco wrapper, the stronger the flavor it might have. But still, it depends on the type of tobacco being used to fill the wrapper.

3. Length of the time you wish to smoke besides when and where you wish to smoke. The larger the ring size, the longer the cigar will last.

Be wary of the price that you wish to pay as you can get cheap, mid-range, and expensive cigar, based on the brand. But for the quality of both smoking time and tobacco, go with popular brands only.

If you want to go for bundled cigars for an excellent smoke, but without the additional cost, then buy yourself some here. But if you’re fond of some classic machine-made cigars, then grab some here.