How Hand Rolled Cigars Are Made - In Reverse

It takes years of practice to become a master at rolling a cigar. It’s amazing how fast and consistent a professional cigar roller can assemble a premium cigar. I’ve seen many rollers display their craft, and the good ones can really make it look easy. To gain an even greater appreciation for the art of making a cigar by hand, I decided to try it myself.

Don’t Try This at Home

One way to learn how to make something, that you already have in your possession, is to take it apart. This is similar to reverse engineering, kind of like when the military captures an enemy aircraft or weapon and desires to duplicate the technology for their own use. However, instead of bringing it to Area 51, I disassembled the captive imported hand made stogie right in my own office.

Preparing the Cigar

My first step was to remove the band and cut the cap off the head of the cigar (I actually cut beyond the cap into the body), and then return the cigar to my humidor for a few days. Removing the cap was necessary to make the wrapper easy to unravel. That is why you do NOT want to cut your cigar until you are ready to smoke it (nor cut into the body), unless you want the wrapper to come apart in your fingers while smoking.