Cigars For Beginners

If you are new to the field, cigar smoking can seem like a complex and thankless task. Thousands of potential pitfalls line the way, ready to trap the unwary smoker and make him do something wrong that will expose him in front of all his fellow smokers as a cigar neophyte.
But just as there are certain rituals that must be followed when lighting and smoking a cigar, there are a number of seemingly unwritten rules which tell you how to conduct yourself and your cigar through the difficult world of cigar etiquette. The “cigar etiquette” tips described here are recommended rules to follow for smoking cigars. Most of these are suggestions that will improve your cigar smoking experience.

Shopping for cigars has become a full-time hobby for some people. Here are some simple rules to consider following. To test for moisture, cigars must be lightly grasped. But if you squeeze them too hard, they will crack. There has been an increase in broken cigars in stores because buyers have not been gentle enough with them. Remember, cigar wrappers are fragile; treat them that way. Smelling a cigar is frowned upon in most cigar stores. It is better to test its quality by lightly grasping it – but take care to not hold it too tightly or else you’ll crack it.

The Cigar Band
The band is the decorative piece of paper usually wrapped around the head of the cigar. It’s sole purpose is to identify the brand. There has been debate about cigar band etiquette, as to when you should remove the band. Some people are accused of “showing-off” by leaving on the band of a well-known, expensive cigar. These people feel you should remove the band right away before smoking the cigar. Others say you should leave the band on. Who is right? The only time I remove the band before smoking a cigar is if the band is loose enough to fall off by itself. The best reason for leaving the band on is so you do not damage the delicate wrapper leaf. The glue may tear the leaf and spoil your smoking experience.

It is a rare occasion that the band falls off, but sometimes it happens. The main reason you leave the band on is so you do not harm the wrapper leaf during removal. I do not feel a person is showing off by leaving on the band of an expensive or rare cigar, or any cigar. Cigar smoking can be a very social indulgence and having the band show can make for an easy conversation starter. After you’ve smoked past the half-way point, the glue will have warmed from the temperature of the burning cigar and you can easily remove the band if you like. I remove the band if it gets in the way of finishing a real good cigar that I do not want to stop smoking until I burn my fingers. I also collect the cigar bands.

Putting Out & Discarding Your Cigar
If for any reason you have to put out your cigar, do not crush it out like one would a cigarette. Doing this causes it to smolder and give off a foul smell. Just let the cigar sit in the ashtray, and within approximately two minutes it will go out by itself. If you aren’t finished, and want to re-light the cigar later, you must do it within an hour or the tars that collect at the end will become too bitter to enjoy the smoke. When you are finished with your cigar, it is best to discard the butt right away, as it becomes bitter and gives off a bad odor after it sits for a while.

The Uneven Burn
When you have the unfortunate occasion where your cigar burns faster down one side, you need to be careful. It can become messy with ashes falling off one side, and falling pieces of wrapper can become aflame and burn your clothes, carpet or skin. This happens when the cigar has construction flaws such as improperly bunched filler leaves. You may be able to salvage your smoke. As soon as you see the cigar start to burn unevenly, let the cigar go out in your ash tray. Knock off as much ash as possible. Slowly and carefully burn off the unburned section. Try to get the cigar back to being even and try again.

Split or Unraveling Wrapper
If you mistakenly clip your cigar too close, the wrapper may start to unravel. If this happens, try lightly moistening the end with your tongue and wrapping it back around the cigar. This usually works. You may have to do it it more than once during the smoke. If you have a split wrapper, it is because the cigar was not kept properly humidified and dried out. This makes for such an unpleasant smoke, that you should usually throw the cigar away. If you want to smoke it anyway, take the wrapper off and discard it. The cigar won’t look pretty, but you will avoid the possibility of the wrapper unraveling and burning something you do not want burned.

Storage
Aging a cigar is a matter of personal taste. Some prefer fresh cigars, those rolled within the last six months – others will age their cigars a full five to six years before smoking them. Whatever you decide, be it 20 years or more, cigars should be kept in a controlled environment, between 70 to 72 degrees with 70 percent humidity. If different types of cigars are stored together in the same humidor, they may take on each others’ flavors. It can get expensive to purchase humidors for each of your favorite brands/types, so make sure your humidor has dividers. If you find that you’ve purchased more cigars than your humidor can handle, store them in your freezer in a plastic bag or container with a lid. Two to three days before the planned smoke move them to your refrigerator’s crisper bin. An additional day in a humidor will be best. A dry cigar will burn too hot and ruin its flavor. To re-moisturize, place your cigars in a humidor that hasn’t been charged in the last week for two or three days. Fill the humidification system half way and let them lay for a week before fully charging the humidity regulator; this will prevent them from getting too moist too quickly.

Smoking Among Others
It is unfortunate that today’s politics and loud-mouthed anti-smoking zealots have drastically reduced the places one can smoke in public. Some non-smokers can be quite obnoxious in making your business their business. However, I propose that we cigar smokers are on a higher social level and should not bring ourselves down to the zealots level. I suggest politely asking others in your company if they mind you lighting up before you do. I also suggest that you hold your ground if you are in a clearly defined smoking area and someone complains. I would do it in a logical, polite and non-emotional manner.

Smoking at Home
It’s great if you can have a smoking room where you can smoke anytime at home. Of course you must be courteous to family members and have proper ventilation, especially if smoking around kids to make sure they do not inhale the smoke. Some parents do not smoke in sight of their kids so as not to influence them. I feel that if they don’t see you smoking, they will see somebody else. At least you are there to explain it to them. You have to make your own rules for smoking around your kids that you feel comfortable with.

The Structure of a Cigar

Cap
A small, round piece of wrapper leaf attached to the head of a cigar. The purpose of the cap is to secure the wrapper.

Head
The closed end of a cigar. The head of a handmade cigar must be clipped or cut about 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch down (about 2-3 millimeters) before the foot is lit.

Cigar Band
The label that sits around the head of a cigar.

Foot
The end of the cigar that you light. The foot of a cigar is usually pre-cut.

The Cigar Construction
structure-of-a-cigar

Filler
The filler is the heart of the cigar. It gives it most of its characteristic flavor and strength. The filler makes up most of the volume of the cigar, and is comprised of at least two and usually no more than five different tobaccos, and are rolled together to form the “bunch.” The blend of these filler tobaccos provides the other main flavor component of cigars. The mix of different fillers from different countries or even regions of a country, and the proportions used in the filler give different cigars their uniqueness.

Binder
The binder is a piece of tobacco leaf that is wrapped around the bundle of filler tobacco and holds the filler of the cigar together. The binder typically complements the filler’s strength and flavor, but does not add much in terms of taste. The Binder leaves are usually thicker, tougher leaves than those used for the wrapper. Chosen for its durability, the binder is normally a coarse leaf that is often found on the upper part of the tobacco plant.

Wrapper
The wrapper is the outermost leaf of the cigar and is a single tobacco leaf that is wrapped around the filler and binder of a cigar. A cigar’s wrapper should be perfect: no wrinkles, spots, veins or tears should be evident. Depending on the type of tobacco used for the wrapper, it can provide the majority of the flavor for a cigar, and it is usually the most expensive component of the cigar.

Shapes & Sizes

There are cigars of every shape and every size for every occasion. From tiny, cigarette-like cigarillos to giant monsters resembling pool cues, there is a wide variety to choose from. Certain sizes and shapes which have gained popularity over the years and have become widely recognized, even by non-smokers. Cigar shape names such as “corona” or “panatela” have specific meanings to the cigar industry, although there is no formally agreed-to standard for any given size. The following table lists 20 well-known shapes, and is adapted from Paul Garmirian’s explanation of sizes in The Gourmet Guide to Cigars. The “classical” measurements for which this shape is known are given, along with a size and girth range for each size for classification purposes:

Properly described, the shape of a cigar is measured according to length and diameter. The length of a cigar is measured in inches but the diameter is measured according to its ring gauge. Ring gauge is a unit of measurement divisible by 64. Most cigars have a ring gauge of 64 or less. There’s no real trick to this – the ring gauge system may appear confusing at first, but it is simply an antiquated system that measures the diameter of a cigar in units of 64 (64 is equal to 1 inch). Therefore, a ring gauge of 48 would be a 3/4 of an inch thick (48/64).

Parejos (Straight Barrel)
Churchill: (7×48)
Corona: (5.5×42) – (6×44)
Double Corona: (7.5×49) – (8×52)
Lonsdale: (6.25×42) – (7×44)
Panatela: (5×38) – (6×38)
Petite Corona: (4.5×40) – (4.5×42)
Robusto: (4.5×50) – (5.5×50)
Toro, Corona, Gordo: (5×46) – (6×50)
Figurados
Culebra: 3 panatelas twisted together
Diadema: (8×40) – (8×54) (closed and tapered head)
Pyramid: (6×40) – (7×54) (sharply tapered head and larger foot)
Torpedo: (6×40) – (7×54) (closed foot and a pointed head)
Belicoso: (5×50) – (5.5×50) (tapered head)
Perfecto: (4.5×38) – (9×48) (closed foot, a round head, and a bulge in the middle)

Most of the “classical” measurements come from the factory sizes prescribed for specific shapes made in Cuba. However, don’t be confused if cigars which are sized as Churchills are called “Double Coronas” or something else. Manufacturers are not at all careful about what they call their cigars. One example: the Royal Corona or Rothschild title is seen less and less on cigars now known as “Robustos.” This change has been rapid since about 1990, but some manufacturers still label their shorter, thicker cigars as Rothschilds or even as a “Rothchild” (an incorrect spelling of the famous German banking family name). A few manufacturers use both and label their 5-5½-inch, 50-ring models as “Robustos” and reserve the “Rothschild” name for shorter, but still 50-ring, cigars of 4-4¾ inches!

Many other shape names are used by manufacturers; some cigars even have multiple names. For the sake of convenience, the many types of small, very thin cigars are grouped under the “Cigarillo” title rather than distributed over a long list of names such as “Belvederes,” “DemiTasse” and others.

With the great increase in interest in shaped cigars, here are our classification criteria for the various kinds of figurados you will see:

Culebras
Spanish for “snake,” a Culebras is made up of three small cigars twisted together. It was created in the 19th Century as a way for manufacturers to let their rollers take three cigars home at night. By twisting three cigars together, the rollers got their cigars for smoking, but the manufacturers were also sure that those cigars could not be sold. Definitely an oddball, the Culebras returned to the U.S. market in the late 1990s and a few manufacturers have this unique shape available.

Perfecto
This shape has two tapered ends. Until the Cigar Boom of the 1900s, there were just a few cigars which offered Perfecto “tips” on the foot, but true Perfectos have made their comeback. For the bold, take a look at the Puros Indios Gran Victoria (10 inches long by 60 ring) to see a true “potbellied” cigar. This style of cigar is sometime referred to as a “double figurado” referring to the two shaped ends.

Torpedo
This was traditionally a fat cigar with two fully closed, pointed ends, but has now come to mean a cigar with an open foot and a straight body which tapers to a closed, pointed head. This “new” torpedo was popularized by the Montecristo (Havana) No. 2, which debuted in 1935. The Torpedo differs from “Pyramid”-shaped cigars, which flare continuously from the head to the foot, essentially forming a triangle.

And there are still wilder shapes out there: cigars shaped like baseball bats, champagne bottles, footballs, Saguaro cactus, whisk brooms and many others. In 2005, Felipe Gregorio introduced the 3 Tierras cigar, with two small cigarillos nestled together and wrapped into a single unit with a dark wrapper leaf; the finished cigar looked like the business end of a two-bore shotgun!

You’ll want to try different cigars of different sizes for specific occasions. Let your imagination be your guide!

Cigar Cutting

Piercing
This is a very old method of creating holes through which to smoke a cigar. It still has its defenders, but it is well out of date. One of the problems is that unless the openings are made perfectly, the head can be mangled. There is also the possibility that the taste and draw of the cigar will be imperfect unless the holes are made such that each one allows a draw through to the end of the cigar. Too much trouble and too many things that could go wrong, so it’s not recommended.

The V-Cut
This was a very popular method of cutting which is still practiced today. Take a look at the eBay auction site and search for “cigar cutter” and you’ll find several V-cutters on offer. A V-cutter makes a V-shaped groove through the head of a cigar, opening it across its width to allow draw. It maintains the shape of the head instead of removing it like a guillotine and there are some brands of machine-made cigars which are sold already cut this way. However, unless your touch with a V-cutter is good and the plunger is sharp, you can also ruin the cigar head. Moreover, if the cap of a cigar is not perfectly finished, the V-cut groove may not draw well and once you’ve made a V-cut, there’s little chance of trying again on the same cigar without ruining it.

The Cigar Punch
A cigar punch has a lot in common with the V-cut in that it maintains the integrity of the head of a cigar. Punches come in varying sizes and the idea is to match the right size with the girth of the cigar so that the head is opened with a hole large enough to allow an easy draw, but which does not destabilize the wrapper. Davidoff makes some rather unique punch cutters with three different-size punches on a single disk or “key” while most punches are of a single size. Colibri is well known for its combination lighters and punch cutters. Punches can be quite effective and require less strength than some V-cutters and some guillotine cutters. With some practice, they can be a reliable way to enjoy your cigars and “keep your head together.”

Cigar Scissors
Perhaps the most elegant cutter of all is the cigar scissors. Shaped with curved blades which cut across the entire head of a cigar – similar to a guillotine cut – suitable-sharp scissors can cut a nice, clean line across a cigar and open the entire head so that the smoker can draw through the entire cigar. Because of their size, scissors have faded from popularity, but should be considered especially for home humidors. The size of the opening must be considered as it will be difficult to open a 50-ring cigar with scissors meant only for cigars up to 42 ring gauge! However, cigar scissors are easy to find and most top-line tobacconists carry them at prices starting at $10 and continuing right up to $500. An especially unique scissors was introduced in 2006 by Cuban Crafters called the Revolucion. It is a scissors-style cutter with a hole in the middle into which to place your cigar, which will then be cut by three blades running in a circular motion! Ask for it at your local smokeshop! There are also hybrid scissors available that as a small as guillotine cutter but feature two finger holes directly attached to the cutting blades without the use of a stem. Or, you can check out the Wenger series of “Swiss Army Knives” which includes a model which incorporates a fold-out cigar scissors.

Guillotine
For reasons of economy, ease of use, effectiveness and portability, the guillotine cutter has become – by far – the most popular style of cutter used today. From $1 plastic cutters with thin blades to jewel-encrusted jobs bearing pedigrees from S.T. Dupont, Dunhill, Davidoff and others, guillotines simply remove the top eighth-of-an-inch or so of a cigar and opens it up so that a smoker may puff through its entire length and width. That makes for good air circulation and is recommended for the best draw, best taste and best burn. There is considerable debate on what kind of guillotine cutter is best, not to mention which brand. The choice has become considerably complicated today due to the ever-expanding ring gauge of cigars. To be safe, you’ll need to have a cutter that can handle a 64-ring (one inch!) monster!Consider This: Two-bladed cutters which meet in the middle need to be extraordinarily sharp to actually cut the head of the cigar and not simply squeeze it. The most widely-celebrated cutters of this style are made by Davidoff, available in fine metals or with a colorful plastic housing ($45- $165), and by Xikar, which features surgical steel blades in double-bladed models with can be operated easily with one hand ($40 to $80).Single-bladed cutters vary widely in quality and price. To be effective, these blades must be truly razor-sharp since they must either cut through the cigar or mash the head. One of the most popular and effective cutters of this style is the Paul Garmirian Cutter, which is reasonably priced at $12.50 retail but can handle cigars only up to 48 ring gauge. Davidoff also makes a cutter of this type and there are many others. Try one out before buying it! Bring an uninteresting cigar and put a prospective cutter to the test and you’ll know quickly if it’s the one for you. Sadly, the best-ever single-bladed guillotine cutter is out of production. The P.G. Super Cutter by Paul Garmirian was a wonder, with a Sheffield Steel blade whose leading edge had a thickness of 1/4000th of an inch and was housed in an anodized aluminum frame. Unfortunately, the boutique British maker of these tools passed away and Garmirian has not been able to find anyone who can continue production. The Super Cutter sold at retail for $125 when it was available, but brought $331 at a 2006 auction on eBay! Of course, you can also get a real (but small) guillotine as a novelty gift for the cigar smoker who was a fan of the French Revolution!

The choice of what kind of cutter to use is a personal one. Like any knife, sharper is better (and safer). Choose one which will meet your requirements for style, but be sure it opens the cigar effectively, because the pleasure is not in the cutting, but in the smoking!

LIGHTING

In The Connoisseur’s Book of the Cigar, Davidoff addressed the issue of “warming the cigar” before lighting it. “The practice of excessive heating, still in use in many elegant restaurants, is an anachronism. Until the end of the [19th Century], the wrappers of certain Spanish cigars made in Seville were sealed with a chicory-colored gum. It was then wise to eliminate the taste of the gum by heating the cigar a bit over a flame. Today, the vegetable gum used in Havana to seal wrapper to the ends is perfectly odorless, and I see no advantage in continuing the practice. . . . I recommend only that you warm the foot very lightly, just for a few seconds, before bringing it to your lips. This creates an entryway for the smoke. The first puff you draw will then be free of various residual tastes.”

That’s clear enough.

Purists will insist on not having the flame actually touch the cigar, whether from a match or a lighter. Some require the more romantic step of using a lit cedar strip (called a “spill”) to light their cigars, but this is more prevalent in Europe than in the U.S.

Enthusiasts agree that using paper matches is a bad idea, since they won’t stay lit long enough to completely light your cigar. Try wooden matches and let the sulphur burn off of the tip of the match before lighting. If you’re using a lighter, butane is the best (odorless and tasteless) and apply it gently just below the end of the cigar. Although elegant lighters from legendary makers as Alfred Dunhill, Davidoff and S.T. Dupont are much prized, the newest development is the socalled “torch” which offers a very hot, windproof flame. Some torch lighters even provide two or three flames, ensuring a quick light and a quick need to re-fill the lighter.

A fast light is not always a good light, however. It is essential to ensure that the entire end of the cigar is lit. This is most effectively done by turning the cigar and puffing on it as you light, exposing all of the end to the flame. Remember, “Turn and Burn.”

Check your light by turning the lit end toward you, blowing gently and checking to see that the entire end is hot.

Enjoy!

Cigar Etiquette

Don’t cut the end off of someone’s cigar without at least asking that person first. Most people prefer to do this themselves.

Never light a cigar with candles and regular matches that have a high sulfur content as these can also ruin the cigar flavors. Also, avoid using lighters that run on gasoline or lighter fluid because they give off a petrol-like order that can add an unpleasant flavor to the cigar.

The best lighters to use are butane lighters, which are odorless. There are also sulfur-free wooden matches that work great for cigar lighting.

Don’t hold a lighter or match up for someone to light a cigar. While it may seem like a good rule of etiquette to do so, it may force the smoker draw too fast and can ruin the taste of their cigar. It can force them to light the cigar too fast and ruin it. It is better to give them a lighter or matches and let them light their own cigar at their own pace.

While Smoking – Cigar Smoking Etiquette

While you are smoking the cigar, you should not flick the ash off the end of a cigar. The ash helps to keep the cigar burning at the correct temperature. When the ash looks as if it will fall off by itself, just set the end of the cigar over an ashtray and let the ashes fall off naturally.

Do not smoke a cigar as you would a cigarette. Cigar smoking is not supposed to be rushed and if you smoke quickly your cigar may overheat, which can ruin the taste. Cigars are meant to be a relaxing, calm smoking experience. Take your time, savor the taste and the aroma. One or two puffs per minute should be enough to enjoy the cigar and keep it lit.

Evaluating a cigar is similar to evaluating a glass of wine. To evaluate the flavor of a cigar, hold the smoke in your mouth for a few seconds (don’t inhale it into your lungs) and allow your tongue to savor the different taste sensations.

When you are finished with your cigar don’t stub it out or crush it, as this will create an unpleasant odor and a mess. You should let the cigar smolder out on its own in an ashtray and dispose of it in a suitable place.

Be considerate of non-smokers. You should smoke only in designated smoking areas.