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Cigar Smoking "How To"
Enjoy & Take Your Time
To thoroughly appreciate your favorite cigar, smoke slowly. Drawing too frequently and quickly will heat up the cigar and spoil the flavor. You should take about one draw or 2 per minute. Allow yourself around an hour to appreciate the cigar.
Inhaling
Try not inhale cigar smoke. Cigars are made to enjoy their flavor and body without inhaling.
When to Put it Out
When a cigar begins to give off too much heat and leaves an aftertaste behind in your mouth (generally during the last couple of inches), it is time to extinguish it. Normally, the smoker does not put it out like a cigarette by crushing it into the ashtray. Instead, just place it in an ashtray and let cigar stop burning itself.
How to Light up a Cigar properly - Before Lighting Up
1. If you choose to use a match, wait until the sulphur burns off before lighting your cigar.
2. If you insist on using a lighter, use one with butane. Gasoline based lighters pass an undesirable flavor to your smoke.
3. Some people are partial to lighting up a cigar is through the use of a cedar spill. A cedar spill is a thin long strip of Spanish cedar which is lit first and then used to light up your cigar.
Steps to take to Light a Cigar:
1. Start by preheating the foot (the open end) by slowly rolling the cigar back and forth above the flame at a bit of an angle until a small black ring forms 360 degrees around the wrapper. Try not to let the flame to touch the cigar.
2. With the cigar in your mouth, drawing in and carefully roll the cigar at an angle just above the flame without permitting the flame to touch the cigar. Do not forget to rotate the cigar to ensure an even burn.
3. Once the cigar is lit, remove it from your mouth and examine the glowing foot to see if it is properly lit.
If the burn appears uneven, revert back to the previous step until an even burn is achieved.
If you are outside and wind is present, a good flame-torch can be used to light the foot. Although there may be a bitter taste initially since the flame is actually touching the cigar, you will ensure a fast light and even burn.
How to Correctly Hold a Cigar
Hold a cigar between your index and finger and thumb. Do not hold it like a cigarette between your index and middle finger.
How to Correctly Cut a Cigar
A clean and even cut made with a cigar cutter of your choice in the right section of the head is important. To guarantee a clean cut and to avoid splitting the wrapper make sure you always cut just before the cap leaving 3-4 mm of space. For optimal results, always squeeze your cutter in a single quick motion.
How does one Ash a Cigar
It is not imperative to shake or tap a cigar to knock its ash into an ashtray, nor is it a must to keep the ash building up to a ridiculous length: Long ash at the tip of your cigar obstructs airflow which can cause an uneven burn.
Enjoying a Cigar - Don't rush - Take Your Time.
Location, Location, Location:
Select a spot where you could sit back and relax and truly enjoy your favorite cigar. Some options:
1. In your favorite restaurant, cigar lounge or club.
2. At your home or in your favorite smoking area.
3. During some good conversation with family or friends.
4. After or Before Dinner
5. For a Special Occasion
Beverages
Choose an non-alcoholic or alcoholic beverage. Sip on a cocktail while enjoying your cigar. Reach for a cognac or fine whiskey, a glass of Merlot, Pinot or a Chardonnay. Some prefer a cranberry, soda, lemonade or water.
Be polite and do not offend others
Be as courteous when smoking in public areas. Be polite and ask the company your are in they mind if you smoke a cigar.
Cigar Lighting & Cutting Etiquette
• It is said to not cut the end off of someone else's cigar without at least first asking that person. Most cigar enthusiasts prefer to handle this themselves.
• Never light up a cigar with a candle, standard matches with high sulfur levels or with gasoline type lighters as these can affect the flavor of cigars.
• The optimum lighter to use work on butane fuel. Butane is odorless tends not affect the aroma and taste of your cigar. There are also sulfur-free wood matches that work well when lighting up a stogie.
• Don't hold a lighter or match up for a smoker to light their cigar as it can possibly force the smoker to draw in too fast and could possibly ruin the flavor of their cigar. It’s best to hand them matches or your lighter and allow them to light their own smoke at their own pace.
Smoking Etiquette for Cigar Smokers
• While puffing away, you should not tap the ash off the end of the cigar as the ash helps keep the cigar burning cool. The idea is to get mouthfuls of cool smoke. Overheated smoke ruins the flavors and characteristics of the cigar. When the ash appears as if it will drop off by itself, just place the end of the smoke over an ash tray and allow the ashes to drop off by themselves.
• So how to smoke a cigar? Do not smoke a cigar like its a cigarette - you know better then that! Cigars are designed to be a calming and relaxing experience. Take your time, don't rush it. Enjoy and savor the taste and aroma with each draw. One puff per minute should be plenty enough to enjoy the cigar and enough to keep it lit and burning.
• Evaluating the flavor of a cigar is similar in line to evaluating a glass of wine. To get a good feel for the flavor of a cigar, hold the smoke in your mouth for a 2-5 seconds and allow your taste buds to take in the different sensations.
• When you are finished with your stogie don't put it out against a wall or stomp it out. This will create a mess and will pass on an unpleasant odor. Its best to permit the cigar to smolder out on its own set inside an ashtray and disposal should always be in a suitable location.
• Always be considerate of those who do not smoke. Only light up in designated smoking areas.
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