There are thousands of different cigars out there in the great cigar Milky Way and every year that passes it seems like every company is introducing something new to stay ahead of the game. With copious cigars comes copious cigar names and it has gone on too long where I (having taken French in high school and taken a French Canadian woman to be my bride) have either no idea, no interest or have taken for granted what the names of the cigars mean translated from Spanish into English.
This whole thing dawned on me from looking (and laughing) at an online gallery of Americans who got Chinese or Japanese words tattooed on them without knowing the true meaning of the symbols. For example: Steve got a tattoo of the Chinese word for “wisdom” on his calf, but in reality it didn’t mean “wisdom” it meant “toilet paper”. Nervous, I quickly pulled up my Spanish to English dictionary and started going through the names of some of the cigars that I smoke to make sure I wasn’t smoking anything that may translate into something embarrassing.
Below is a list of what I have found:
Prensado = Pressing, also in some context luster or shine… I guess I can agree with both since the Alec Bradley Prensado received cigar of the year in 2011.
Londres = London. This is a smaller size I have seen before, The most famous of which being the Padron Londres.
Aṅejo = Mature, well-cured. For example the Arturo Fuente Anejo which tends to be a stronger, spicier cigar
Tatuaje = Tattoo, The name of one of the cigar companies owned and operated by Pete Johnson, who, has many tattoos.
Joya de Nicaragua = now if I had to guess I would of said “Joy of Nicaragua” but that is incorrect as it translates literally into “Jewell of Nicaragua” and who can blame them, being in business for 45 years they are one of the oldest still operating cigar companies in the area.
Niveladora = Bulldozer, a beefy sized cigar put out by the Joya de Nicaragua factory.
La Flor Dominicana = The Dominican Flower, LFD use to use the symbol of a blossomed tobacco flower on their bands which would of helped this name be more obvious.
Jesus Fuego = The name of the owner of the company by the same name. Ironically Fuego means fire in Spanish.
Sangre de Toro = A cigar put out by Jesus Fuego which literally translates into “bull blood” one of my favorite names to date.
La Duena = The name of a cigar put out by Don Pepin Garcia, one of the first in which his daughter blended appropriately translates into “the owner, or boss,” traditionally used to describe a woman. It would be like calling someone “The boss lady”
Namakubi = This cigar is one of the few non-Spanish names. Matt Booth from Room 101 uses this name to describe one of the lines of his cigars, which in Japanese means “freshly severed head” (and yes it’s a pretty strong cigar)
Pinolero = A new A.J. Fernandez line, this simply translates into Nicaraguan. (Los Pinoleros = the Nicaraguans)
OSOK = A line put out by Edgar Hoill, this here is simply an acronym for Edgar Hoill’s nick name “One Shot, One Kill”
Esteban Carreras = A company owned and operated by Craig Cunningham who lives out in San Diego, many of his cigars are named after California penal codes.
5150 = Crazy one on the loose
187 = Murder (given to his maduro line)
211 = Robbery
Diez Anos = Spanish for 10 years, a cigar with a ten year old wrapper
Casa Magna = A cigar company whos name literally translates into “Great House” not to be confused with “Big House” which is another name for Folsom Prison. Magna meaning “Great” for example: Alejandro Magno = Alexander the Great.
Resposado en Cedros = A cigar put out by Hoyo de Monterrey, its name refers to the process they use to produce the cigar in which the leaves are aged in bins of cedar chips for an extended amount of time. Translates simply into “rested in cedars”
La Gloria Cubana = The cigar George Burns use to smoke, literally translates into “The Cuban Glory”
Liga Privada = “Private League” Rumour has it this cigar was made for one of the owner of the company and from time to time he would pass them out to people at events until it caught on and the demand became so great that it was put into full production.
Fuerte = Strong. Griffin use to have a cigar called “extra fuerte” this would simply mean “extra strong”
7-20-4 = This was the Manchester NH address of the original Sullivan’s cigar factory which made the 7-20-4 line.
Bonus! Below are some names of cigar sizes and their meanings:
Preferidos = To prefer
Lancero = Lancer
Petite corona = Petite meaning small and corona meaning crown or emblem of royalty
Figurado = Figurative, not literal. A name they give to funky shaped cigars which do not fall into any certain category
Belicoso = Aggressive, warlike
Gordo = Fat (el Gato Gordo = the Fat Cat, a comic strip with a lazy orange cat that we in America call “Garfield”)
Grande = Big, Large
Toro = Bull (Toro! Toro! Literally means Bull! Bull!)
Robusto = Strong
Rabito = a small tail
Comment down below if you have any interesting names that you have come across or any questions as to the meaning of a cigar name, company name or size!