Smoking a Cigar

The most important part of smoking a cigar is that you truly enjoy it every time you light up. Like any enjoyable experience, doing it the correct way can make it that much better. A premium cigar first needs to be cut, removing a sufficient piece of the carefully placed cap (closed end of the cigar) in order to draw through the cigar. Be careful not to remove too much of the cap, or the entire cigar may unravel. If you hold the cigar cap up, foot (open end) down, you'll see a series of horizontal lines running around the circumference of the cigar before dropping down into a barber-pole-like line that runs down the body. Those horizontal lines are the cap. Be sure to cut above those lines; in most cases, 1/8 inch is sufficient. In order to be extra careful, place a guillotine-style cutter open on a flat surface. Place the cigar cap first into the round opening of the cutter so the cap is resting on the flat surface. Without lifting the cigar from the table, close the guillotine cutter carefully but quickly. This technique will remove the perfect amount of the cap.

Once cut, the cigar is ready to light. To ensure an even burn from the first puff, some enthusiasts toast the foot before drawing on it. Hold a non-aromatic flame below the foot (matches, butane lighter, etc.) and watch as the tobaccos begin to glow. Additionally waving the cigar downward, forcing air into the foot, helps to stimulate the combustion. Try not to touch the cigar directly to the flame since the hottest part of the flame is just above it. You may instead gently blow on the embers.

The most important part of smoking a cigar is that you truly enjoy it every time you light up. Like any enjoyable experience, doing it the correct way can make it that much better. A premium cigar first needs to be cut, removing a sufficient piece of the carefully placed cap (closed end of the cigar) in order to draw through the cigar. Be careful not to remove too much of the cap, or the entire cigar may unravel. If you hold the cigar cap up, foot (open end) down, you'll see a series of horizontal lines running around the circumference of the cigar before dropping down into a barber-pole-like line that runs down the body. Those horizontal lines are the cap. Be sure to cut above those lines; in most cases, 1/8 inch is sufficient. In order to be extra careful, place a guillotine-style cutter open on a flat surface. Place the cigar cap first into the round opening of the cutter so the cap is resting on the flat surface. Without lifting the cigar from the table, close the guillotine cutter carefully but quickly. This technique will remove the perfect amount of the cap.

Once cut, the cigar is ready to light. To ensure an even burn from the first puff, some enthusiasts toast the foot before drawing on it. Hold a non-aromatic flame below the foot (matches, butane lighter, etc.) and watch as the tobaccos begin to glow. Additionally waving the cigar downward, forcing air into the foot, helps to stimulate the combustion. Try not to touch the cigar directly to the flame since the hottest part of the flame is just above it. You may instead gently blow on the embers.

Once the cigar is evenly lit, draw through the cigar in the same fashion as you would drink a beverage through a straw. It is a mouth function, not a lung function, so take care not to inhale when drawing.
Hold the smoke in your mouth long enough to allow the smoke to envelop all the parts of your palate, and then expel the smoke from your mouth, allowing it to linger near you enough to appreciate the aroma. A puff per minute should be sufficient to keep the cigar lit but prevent it from becoming too hot.

Allow the ash to form at the foot. The ash covers the hot ember, allowing it to remain cool and thus deliver a cooler smoke to your mouth. To remove the ash, carefully roll it off into an ashtray. Tapping or flicking the cigar could cause damage to the delicate wrapper leaf. If your cigar goes out while you're enjoying it, it is appropriate to relight it, but only within the same sitting. Relighting long after it's extinguished will result in harsh, acrid flavors as many of the oils in the cigar start to crystallize.

When you are through with your cigar, simply rest it in an ashtray. Since the cigar is made up of all-natural, long-filler, properly humidified tobaccos, it will naturally go out. Crushing the cigar is not only disrespectful to artisans who worked so hard to make it but it also exposes the remaining filler tobaccos that have collected the residual oils and smoke and will give off an unpleasant odor. As we like to say, "Let it die with dignity!"

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    -Last updated on July 28th, 2015