Cigars 101: How to Smoke It

So youve heard of cigars right. You know they exist. You know they smell kind of funky
and are kind of expensive. And you probably thought of trying it once, or maybe you
already did.
Bottom line is, you still know next to nothing about cigars. ike every time you want to
smoke it, your best friend still has to remind you which end goes to your mouth and
which end to light. !orse still, you still havent "uite grasped the #dont inhale$ thing, let
alone the #clip off the end$ bit.
So you want to be trendy and try cigars for a change. %roblem is you dont know how to.
&ood thing you found this website then.
Obligatory Health Message
'ot to get preachy on you or anything, but this is for your own good. You probably
already know that tobacco contains nicotine and that nicotine is poisonous and addictive.
(t can ruin your breath, harm unborn fetuses, increase your chances of getting cancer, and
are a general bother to nonsmokers.
)o put it simply* smoking is bad for you.
But since you are already here after performing several searches on the internet, you
probably dont care about it all that much. And we are not much inclined to tell you all
the horror stories about smoking. You have a ga+illion adverts and medical alerts telling
you all that already.
So you if you are going to smoke anyway, then the least you can do is to learn how to
smoke it,the right way.
What Cigars are Made Of
-kay, so you know that cigars are made from the leaves of the tobacco plant. But did you
know that a cigar is actually made of not one, not two, but three kinds of tobacco leaf.
(f you want to learn your cigar stuff, then you need start with these three basic things*
Wrappers
/ade from the widest portion of the tobacco plant, wrappers are the part of the
cigar that you see. ong, supple leaves that vary in color from greenish yellow to
reddish brown, and even dark brown.
!rappers are good indicators of how a cigar tastes like. 0sually, the darker the
color, the fuller the flavor and the stronger the taste. )he lighter colored ones are
usually milder with a sweetish taste.
Fillers
1onsider them the meat of the cigar. )hey are the rolled up, bunched leaves in the
middle. (t is from the fillers that all the flavors and aroma of cigars come from.
Binders
)hese are elastic leaves used to hold the filler bunches together. (n short, they help
keep your cigar from falling apart.
)o compare cigars with cigarettes is not only inappropriate but also a big mistake. A
closer comparison would be wines.
ike wines, cigars range in flavor and variety. )hey are also classified by the regions
where the tobacco plant is grown.
Some of the best cigars in the world are produced in 1uba. But if you know your
American history, you know that you have to make a "uick excursion to 1anada to en2oy
a single 1uban stogie.
3ortunately for those who are not so fond of traveling far and wide 2ust for a cigar, cigars
from such countries as the 4ominican 5epublic, 6onduras, and even 1onnecticut are
widely available, and some brands are "uite good.
How to Smoke a Cigar
'ow that you know what cigars are like, time for you learn how to smoke them. Smoking
a cigar is not as simple as cutting off one end and sucking at the other end like cra+y. 'o,
its a little bit more complicated than that.
Actually, there are four basic steps involved.
Cutting
All cigars have caps over the head. )his means that a cigar, therefore, has only
one open end. 'ow keep this carefully in mind* the open end is not the one you
place in your mouth. -n the contrary, that open end is the one where the smoke
comes out. )herefore, if you want to smoke a cigar, cut off the cigar cap at the
head.
1igar cutters come in varied shapes and si+es. %erhaps the most common one is
the guillotine, which is a single blade that neatly slices the cap off. -ther varieties
include double blade cutters, V-shape cutters, and bullet punch cutters.
6owever, cutting a cigar involves a certain level of skill. (t is not a simple matter
of cutting. You have to do it with finesse in order to prevent the tobacco leaves
from tearing and instead make a clean and straight cut.
)ry these tips on how to cut a cigar properly*
1ut the cigar on the cap 7the tapered part8.
4o not cut the entire cap. eave about 9:;
th
of an inch.
!atch out for the cap line. 'ever cut past that line, else youll be cutting
the wrapper leaf. (f you cut the wrapper leaf, that cant be good.
Lighting
ighting cigar is nothing like lighting a cigarette. (n fact, the whole exercise can
be a bit tricky, especially for newbies. So read up on the following tips to help you
get through it*
ike we said, lighting a cigar is plenty different from lighting a cigarette
where you usually have a friend hold up the light for you. !ith a cigar, it
is best not to feel rushed. A good cigar has a certain moisture level that
makes it hard to catch fire, so lighting one is going to take some time.
So basically, dont let a friend light it for you. 4o it yourself.
%ay attention to the matches or lighter you are using. )hey may mess up
the natural flavors of the cigar. You can use butane lighters. )hey work
fine with cigars.
(ts when you use a match that you have to be alert. /ake sure the sulfur is
burned out first before you place it anywhere near your cigar. )he burning
sulfur may affect the cigars flavors.
'ever use a candle when lighting a cigar. )he reason is that the wax
particles tend to mess with the cigars flavors when they seep through the
tobacco leaves.
4o not light it like you do with a cigarette. )his cannot be emphasi+ed
enough. (nstead of holding it in your mouth, hold it with your hand over
the flame. )hen, gently rotate it until the entire end is evenly lit.
/any people make this mistake, but do not actually touch the flame with
your cigar.
!ait until the entire surface is in embers and charred before placing the
cigar on your lips and smoking it.
)ake your first hit and puff gently. )his will help get rid of any foreign
particles or odors that may have come from the match or the lighter. Also,
check to see if the cigar is lit evenly.
Smoking
)his is it. )his is the real thing. 'ow that the cigar is lit, time for you to smoke it.
<ust like practically everything you do with a cigar, smoking a cigar takes some
finesse. (t is not like a cigarette where you can take one drag after drag until the
whole things kaput. 'o, with cigars, you have to go through it gently, softly = the
better to savor its flavors and aromas.
'ewbies will find it a little hard to understand, but when you smoke a cigar, you
do not inhale the smoke. 6uh. !hat. Not inhale it. )hen, whats the point.
)he problem with this is that you often associate a cigar with a cigarette. As we
said, cigars are more similar to wines than anything else.
!hen you drink your wine, you do not drink it for the alcohol. You drink because
the entire exercise of wine>drinking is an exaltation to this drink of the gods. So
what you do is you smell the wine first, let its aromas and flavors fill your head.
)hen, you take the first gentle sip, swirling the li"uid around. And then you
swallow and close your eyes at the sensation.
!ith cigars, its almost the same thing. Below are some tips to help you
appreciate better the 2oys of smoking cigars*
-nce the cigar is lit, draw slowly. 4o it not by sucking or inhaling but
pulling in your cheeks gradually.
'ever smoke the cigar too forcefully or too "uickly. You will not be able
to appreciate its subtle flavors and aroma that way. (nstead, the cigar
smoke will only taste harsh and burnt. (nstead, puff occasionally. And
make sure that the cigar stays lit.
Allow the smoke to waft around your mouth. ?n2oy its flavor.
After a while of smoking, you may want to remove the cigar band = i.e.
the label. )heres nothing tackier than smoking with the band still on. And
if your reason for keeping it on is to keep your fingers from getting
stained, its not really necessary. 6owever, 2ust make sure that you do not
remove the band too soon. !ait until the glue keeping it on will have
softened 7that happens after a while of smoking8, or risk tearing the
wrapper.
Ashing
A good cigar should be able to form ash that is about @.A cm or an inch long. (n
fact, many smokers like to keep the ash on for as long as possible as this is a sign
that the cigar is good. But you do not need to conform to that ideal.
)o avoid looking pretentious and making a whole mess on the floor, take the ash
off. 4ont flick it the way you do with a cigarette. <ust gently press the ash into
the ashtray. 4ont grind. et the ash fall off by itself.
4o not remove the ash too often. (f you do, you risk putting out the cigar. And if
your cigar does go off, dont worry. )hat is not a sign that you are a bad cigar
smoker. (t only means that you need to take the match again and re>do the whole
process.