Smoking Gun Cigar
Review September 12, 2016
Cigar Etiquette #2
Lighting and Smoking
Sorry
I kept you waiting with that cut cigar and no idea what to do next.
I’m pretty sure you figured it out on your own. The next step is
lighting; one quick word on prepping that cigar: Don’t cut a cigar
until you’re ready to smoke. It will contribute to the drying out
of the tobacco and your cigar won’t smoke well. If you don’t have a
cutter but you still want to prepare your stick in the cigar store,
that’s fine, but you need to smoke it within a few hours or you’ll
regret it. (I usually can’t go more than a few minutes).
As
long as people have lived on earth, they have liked to set fire to
things. I think this is why we have so many options for lighting
things today. When it comes to cigars, we have the obvious choices of
candles and other open flames, but I would strongly discourage either
of those, because both can negatively effect the taste of your cigar.
Matches are an option, but it’s hard to light a cigar with a regular
kitchen match. There are cigar matches that are elongated and,
obviously, burn longer, but they are kind of expensive. They are also
difficult to keep lit in any kind of breeze or wind. If you’re
going to use a match, strike it and let the sulfur burn off the tip
before you use it on your cigar. If you don’t do this, you’ll
likely experience that sulfuric taste in the first few draws.
Another
natural choice would be cedar. A small strip of cedar, referred to as
a “spill,” is a great way to light a cigar (if you have the time
and aren’t in a windy area). Here is an excerpt from my review of the
Cigar King’s Purofino Milenio by PDR that talks about lighting with a
spill.
Light
the strip of cedar (referred to as a “spill”), then toast the
foot, never touching the flame to the cigar. When you do this you
just want to toast the foot, rotating the cigar around until you just
see a few wisps of smoke. You’re not lighting the cigar just yet,
you’re getting the tobacco as close as you can to spontaneous
combustion. Hold the flame of the spill under the cigar about an inch
away from the foot of the cigar— not touching it. Draw on the cigar
and you will see the flame magically flash up to the cigar. Draw and
rotate the cigar until it is lit. Never touch the flame to the cigar!
This can cause a charred taste to appear, and you don’t want that.
Try lighting your next cigar this way. It’s a very traditional and
nostalgic way of lighting. If you don’t know where to get a cedar
spill, ask your local tobacconist. They usually keep some around for
people to take. Try it. I think you’ll like it.
Next,
we come to lighters. There are so many choices on the market that I’m
only going to mention a few good and bad choices. First, we have the
famous Zippo lighter. While great for lighting cigarettes and other
things, don’t, I repeat, DON’T use it to light a cigar. Zippos are
fueled by lighter fluid, and unless you are a fan of the taste, it’s
a bad choice.
Second,
are “soft-flame” lighters. These lighters emit a candle-like
flame and are fueled by butane. You can find the cheap form of these
lighters at most convenience stores, groceries or gas stations (Bic
being the most common). They are inexpensive and easy to use.
However, they are not designed to be left lit for very long, and you
have a good chance of burning your fingers in the cigar lighting
process. There are better choices. On the more economical end of the
spectrum, Djeep makes a great disposable cigar lighter. You might
have seen them as give-aways at a cigar event, but you can usually
buy them at cigar stores. They are larger than a Bic, and last much
longer. I kept one in my car for over a year and it still worked.
There
are better choices, though, for the cigar smoker. Xikar, Calibri, S.
T. Dupont and Jet Line are a few very good companies, most with
lifetime or, at least, limited warrantees. All of them use butane and
can be kept and refilled for years. (I have one soft flame Calibri
that I’ve had for at least 15 years and it still works as well as it
did the first time I used it). You’ll find a range of pricing, as
cheap as $19, that will do the job and do it well.
The
last, and most commonly used style I want to discuss is the torch
lighter. You can find torch versions of all the lighters I’ve
mentioned above. These are also fueled by butane, but produce a
strong jet of flame with which to light. You’ll find anything from
a single jet torch to four or five jets. Here’s the thing—the more
jets you have in your lighter the hotter and faster it will light a
cigar. Of course you’ll also burn through fuel more quickly. I have
a single jet that I use on my porch that only needs to be filled once
every two months. My lighters with more jets have to be filled every
week or even every few days, according to how much I use them. If
you’re lighting a cigar to enjoy outside during a hurricane, a four
or five jet might be a good choice, if not, one or two will do the
trick.
The
only drawback I have found with a torch lighter is using it outside
during the daytime. Remember that the fuel is butane. This makes the
flame blue. Frankly, on a bright sunny day on the golf course, I
can’t tell if it’s lit or not. It does make it a bit harder to light
a cigar and not char the end if you can’t see the flame. I never have
had any trouble with one on a windy day. There are some new torch
lighters that have a coating of nickel around the jets. This causes
the flame to change to a lovely red color, which is much easier to
see. However, I’m not sure how long the effect will last before the
nickel is burned up.
Now,
let’s light that cigar. If you read the first part of this blog, you
already know how to use a cedar spill to light your stick. That’s
the same method you should use with a match or a soft-flame lighter
(toast, rotate, draw – never touching the flame to the cigar). It’s
not as easy as it sounds. At least lighting up cigar after cigar is a
practice that you can enjoy as you get the technique down.
Lighting
with a torch is a little different. Some experts say it does change
the taste of the cigar. There’s no way you can do it without
charring the end of the cigar. You’re placing a jet blast (or
multiple jets) on the foot of the cigar. The jets are burning at
2,600 degrees fahrenheit. I’ve burned by fingers and, on one
occasion, part of my beard while lighting a cigar. (That’s a story
for another time).
If
you’re going to use a torch, and chances are most of you own one
(they’re a bit of a cigar parlor status symbol), start the lighter
and hold it an inch or so from the foot of the cigar. Don’t put it
right up to the foot, you’ll get a tobacco scented candle and not a
cigar. Rotate the lighter or the cigar, making sure you’ve toasted
(or as the case may be, torched) the entire foot. Try not to let the
flame touch the wrapper. It will char quickly and easily. When the
foot is all aglow, looking like it is already lit, hold the lit torch
an inch or so below the foot of the cigar and draw. It will, most
likely, immediately take…and you’re smoking!
Now
sit back and enjoy a great smoking experience. Don’t be rushed. Relax
and let the wonderful flavors dance across your tongue. Most experts
suggest to draw on the cigar about once every thirty seconds. I’ll
admit, I usually smoke a little faster than that. The most important
thing is to take your time. If you draw too quickly, you will cause
the tobacco to burn faster than it was intended and you will probably
get a harsh taste and a hard ash (one that won’t drop right off the
foot—it will be spiked and pointed instead of being even). It’s
also recommended that you slowly rotate the cigar as you smoke. This
is supposed to produce a better and more even burn. But, if a cigar
is rolled and constructed well, I don’t think this is necessary.
Let
the cigar do its job. It burns and you puff. You don’t need to ash it
every time there’s a quarter inch of ash. Good construction means
good construction. Most premium cigars will hold an ash for well over
an inch. (Sometimes it will hold for three or more inches). If you
want to be safe and not ruin any good shirts or furniture, I
recommend letting it go for at least an inch before holding it over
an ashtray and lightly tapping the side of the cigar. Not only does
it look cool, it makes for a better smoke.
Now,
what do you do when a cigar you’re not finished with goes out? Don’t
worry. It happens. Sometimes it has to do with construction.
Sometimes its the weather (high humidity). Sometimes you’ve been
talking too much and not paying attention to your cigar. So, your
cigar decides you must have something more important in your life
than smoking, and says, “Screw this. I’m outta here!” In any
case, hope is not lost. Your stick can be relit. Just tap off any
remaining ash and use whatever lighting style you prefer. Slowly
rotate the flame around the burnt edge of the cigar, and when you see
some red, start puffing. If you’ve partially smoked your cigar and
you don’t relight it within the next (and God help me for saying
this) hour, I wouldn’t recommend relighting it. I don’t think you’ll
like the taste. The most I would wait is 10-15 minutes, but only if
you’re just too busy to get back to it.
I
guess a smoking etiquette article wouldn’t be complete without
talking about the band. What do you do with it? Well, there are a few
schools of thought. If you’re smoking with your friends and they
know what you usually smoke, don’t worry about it. If you’re with a
group and you’re planning on smoking some rare, expensive (or
potentially illegal to purchase—you know what I’m talking about)
cigar, don’t flaunt that band! Take the band off and be one of the
masses. I’ve been in shops before where I think I recognize a band of
a hard to find cigar and the smoker is obviously fidgeting with the
stick to get me to ask, “What are you smoking?” only to tell me,
“Oh, you can’t get it here.” If (s)he then tells you how rare it
is and asks if you would like to try one, then that’s ok. If (s)he
just did it to show off…not cool!
One
thing the band is good for is gauging when to put the cigar down.
Don’t try to smoke through it, unless you like the taste of burned
paper. If you are going to leave it on until near the end (the last
third), it’s easier to remove the band when it’s been warmed (as
you smoke the cigar). The factories that produce cigars use a
vegetable based adhesive to attach the band and when it slightly
heated, it loosens and pops apart easier and usually doesn’t damage
the cigar.
So,
if you like to smoke with the band, that’s fine. If you like to take
it off, that’s alright, too. It really doesn’t matter. Remember what
I always say, “If you like it, smoke it”.
In
the third and last part of this cigar etiquette series I’ll talk
about what to do when you’re done smoking, how much of the cigar
you should smoke, and storage of your at-home cigar stock. I would
love your feedback and questions on cigars and cigar smoking. Please
feel free to contact me through this page. I want to be a resource
for the everyday cigar smoker. You don’t have to be an expert, you
just need an hour or so to enjoy a good cigar.
And,
remember: don’t let other people tell you what to smoke.
If you like it, smoke it!