How To Smoke Cigars

DISCLAIMER:

1)This text does not, in any way, claim that a cigar, or generally smoking, is not harmful for both the smoker's health and that of those around him. Also, it does not claim that a cigar is less harmful than a normal cigarette.

2)This text was written for people who are adults and who are smoking or have decided, in their own free will, to start smoking cigars. This text is not encouraging anyone to start smoking cigars, or tobacco products in general.

3)The author is not advertising any of the cigars or cigar brands mentioned in the article, he is simply making suggestions based on personal experience.

So you want to start smoking cigars and you just don't know how? Or you have already started and you want to do it with a little more elegance, a little more style, a little more like Zino Davidoff? Then my friend this guide to selecting, preparing and smoking a cigar was made just for you.

The first step is choosing the right cigar. The best place to buy a cigar is a tobacco shop as the cigars there are properly stored and are much less likely to be fake than those you could buy from somewhere else, the duty free shops at airports or via the Internet for example. If you are a beginner in smoking cigars I suggest you buy a short cigar with mild flavor and a medium body, as a strong cigar may taste bitter to you. A few good examples are Romeo y Julieta mille fleurs (thousand flowers), Partagas mille fleurs or Partagas 'short' cab of 50. For a wider list of selections ask your local tobacconist, he/she will be glad to help you.

I suggest you buy Cuban cigars as they are by far the best cigars in the world. Because they are quite expensive, there are numerous websites that claim to make discounts up to 50% of the price, give you free cigars as a bonus to your purchase and much more...If you're thinking about buying cigars from such sites DON'T! It is highly possible that these cigars are fake.

Now I know what you're thinking about; this idiot has been ranting about Cuban cigars and fake Cuban cigars but he hasn't told us yet how to tell them apart. Fear not, dear reader, for here it comes:

There are three easy ways to tell apart a real Cuban cigar:

1)At the box of the cigars and more specifically at the bottom right corner there should be a yellow tape saying 'Habanos S.A.'. This is the company that handles all the exports of Cuban cigars.

2)At the back of the box there is a printed inscription saying 'Hecho a mano' or 'Totalmente a mano'. This means that the cigar was both hand-rolled and filled by hand.

3)At the same place there should also be the inscription 'Hecho en Cuba' which means that the cigar was not only made with Cuban tobacco but also was completely made in Cuba.

Now that we've covered almost everything about buying a cigar it's time to speak about cutting a cigar. To smoke a cigar you have to cut or make a hole at the end that is round or cone-shaped and is called head or cap. The best way to do it is by using a puncher or a guillotine cutter. If you use a puncher, align the cap's center with the puncher and make one decisive click. If you go for the cutter, place in the blades about 1 to 2 millimeters (about 1/20 of an inch) of the cap and with the blades slightly touching the cigar make one quick cut. Never resort to knives or blades of any other kind, let alone your teeth (as many savages even nowadays do) as you risk making the wrapper i.e. the external tobacco leaf covering and holding the cigar together, unwrap.

And now, dear reader, imagine the sound of drum roll, if you will, as we have reached the most important part of the article. How to light a cigar. Allow me to say first that any and all cigars are very sensitive to various smells and odors and tend to pick them up very easily. This why you must use the right type of lighter. Guys and gals, disposable gas lighters, candle flame and Zippos (if you must absolutely use one prefer the Zippo Blu) are simply out of the question. They have a smell that will ruin the taste of the cigar. There are three good ways to light a cigar.

1)Use a torch lighter with butane gas or a Collibri.

2)Use traditional matches (do be prepared to use a lot more than one if you're using standard size wooden matches; always remember to let the match burn for a couple of seconds before you use it to get rid of the nasty sulphur smell)

3)Use cedar spills (thin strips of Spanish Cedar which you can find in tobacco stores)

As for the technique of lighting: We gently warm the foot of the cigar i.e. the lower part of the cigar, which we are going to light, by passing it above the flame and NEVER letting the cigar actually touch it. Then, we bring the flame directly under the foot, whilst holding the cigar at a 30 degrees angle, and start to puff gently while at the same time rotating the cigar to establish an even burn. By this time, if you blow gently at the foot there should be a glowing cherry ring of flame. If that's not the case, repeat the process only with the part that is not lit. Now you've got yourself a slow and even burn. Great job! Now a medium sized cigar should last for about an hour and to do so, you should take a puff WITHOUT inhaling the smoke once in every minute. Keep the smoke in your mouth for a bit and appreciate its taste and aromas and then exhale.

If you forget to puff for a long time, the cigar may light out. No need to worry thought; simply flick the edge of the cigar to get rid of the accumulated ash and relight it the same way you did when you lit it for the first time. Once you've decided you don't want to smoke any more of your cigar, don't butt it out in the ashtray; allow it to die in dignity. Just leave it in the ashtray and it will extinguish itself. That's all for now boys and girls; keep puffing and soon you'll become true cigar aficionados.