Cuban Piramides & Belicoso Cigars

Cuban piramides and belicoso cigars are the tapered-head figurados — Piramides, Campanas, Belicosos and their petit versions — usually 125 to 180 mm with a 50-plus ring gauge at the foot.

The taper is not decoration. Narrowing the head concentrates the smoke as it reaches the palate, which is why a piramides tastes noticeably more intense than a parejo rolled from the same blend. It also demands a far better roller: the head has to be built by hand, leaf by leaf, and a poorly made one will plug.

The catalogue includes the Montecristo No. 2 — the definitive example — plus Bolívar Belicosos Finos, Partagás Serie P No. 2, Romeo y Julieta Línea de Oro and figurados from Diplomáticos and Cohiba.

For shapes tapered at both ends, see Cuban perfectos and figurados. For the same idea made in Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic, see New World torpedos. Cut a piramides shallow — a V-cut or punch works well.