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Cigar aficionados and novice cigar smokers are mostly interested in what tastes good and what doesn’t. When it comes to smoking cigars it is good to be equipped with the basic knowledge and etiquette before enjoying the smoking experience.
Your first encounter will be sight, smell and and touch of the cigar. A good cigar can sometime be discovered by rolling rolling between your fingers. The feel of the wrapper is silky to the touch and without any blemishes. The difference in a good cigar and a not so good cigar is that a cheap has a rough complexion and will not dispense a fresh aroma.
- CUTTING THE CIGAR
Most cigars will come with a closed head that contains a cap. Keep in mind when cutting the cigar, that the cleaner the cut lessons the chances of ruining the cigar. A cigar cutter is indeed a tool for cutting cigars, some may say a single edge cutter is the best method. Focus on cutting the cap, to expose a large flat and even surface without removing the glue that keeps the filler together. Types of cutters also include, a Guillotine cutter, punch, and V-cutters.
- LIGHTING THE CIGAR
First thing to keep in mind when lighting a cigar is to avoid using traditional flamed lighters normally used to light cigarettes, as they can leave an unpleasant aroma and taste. A sulphur free wooden match or single, double or triple flame butane torch works well with getting an even light on the cigar. Remember to hold the cigar over the flame and avoid the flame from touching the cigar directly. A good practice when it comes to lighting a cigar is to toast the foot of the cigar by holding it at an angle, rolling it slowly over the flame, again avoid the flame from touching the tobacco; just hold it close enough to get the foot to glow. Doing so increases the temperature of the tobacco slowly so it will not overly burn the cigar. Once its toasted, place the cigar in your mouth, light and rotate gently to maintain a glowing ring around the tip, again avoid the flame from touching the cigar directly. The color of the ash indicates the quality of the tobacco, where as a white ash indicates a better quality tobacco than a gray ash, which could be an indicator of poorly nutrients in the soil.
- SMOKING THE CIGAR
Something to keep in mind when smoking a cigar is that no two cigars will taste exactly the same. Let’s be realistic, there are good crops and bad crops with tobacco, the same as anything else. However, overall the cigar will be as close as naturally possible to its original taste. When it comes to etiquette, when the ash is long and ready to drop or be taken off, it is not customary to tap or flick on the cigar the same as cigarette. Simply roll the ash off in the ashtray. As the cigar nears the end, it may be best to leave a nub or two inches of the cigar unsmoked. When it gets down to the nub there may be times that the taste will become bitter and hot you may feel the heat when drawing. Keep in mind that cigars are meant to be enjoyed, savoured, and they are not meant to be inhaled.
- SIT BACK, RELAX AND ENJOY THE SMOKE
Whether you are sitting on your back patio alone, or in a cigar lounge with a group of people, take in the moment and enjoy the cigar, the same way they did thousands of years ago.