How To: Properly Smoke A Cigar

Black and white image of cigar smoking

Many people will have various questions when they first come into contact with cigars: How do you light a cigar? How and why do you cut the cigar head? If you have a strong interest in cigars and hope to learn the correct method of smoking cigars quickly, this article is here to provide you with a reference guide on how to smoke cigars properly. Follow these rules and truly experience the fun of smoking cigars!

How To: Cut A Cigar

Unlike ordinary cigarettes, there is another process before lighting a cigar; that is, cutting the cigar. The best way is to use a special cigar clip to clamp the end of the cigar and cut it off with a strong movement. If you’re purchasing cigars online, check the same shop for specialised cigar cutters. When a cigar is finally smoked, whether it is considered good or not has a lot to do with whether how the cigar is cut. As some wise, old folk often say: “A poorly cut cigar is not a cigar at all!”

How To: Light The Cigar

After cutting off the cigar top perfectly, comes time to light the cigar. Using a straight-through lighter to light a cigar is a good option. Although you may see the use of wooden matches more, this method takes a long time to ignite, so it is not recommended for beginners. Ordinary lighters are fine, but they should be used cautiously.

Hold the cigar in your hand and place the cigarette butt above the flame. If you stick the cigar directly into the flame, it will destroy the flavour. As a beginner, you need to pay attention to such details. Before putting the cigar in your mouth, burn the cigarette butts, and let the tobacco burn. When igniting, rotate the cigar with your fingers to ensure that it can get an even burn. When you see a little orange light on the end of your cigar, you can start enjoying it.

Man with hat smoking cigar

How To: Enjoy The Smoky Pleasure

Cigars are mainly tasted with the mouth and nose and stirred with the tip of the tongue. Let the smoke flow fully in the mouth and then blow it out slowly to taste the sweetness of the smoke. You don’t have to smoke all the time. To maintain the burning level and to keep it smoking well, dragging once or twice every minute is recommended.

Relax and enjoy the aroma of smoke. Cigar smoking is not about smoking faster or slower than anyone else; it’s your way of enjoying the smoky pleasure. Usually, the time taken to smoke a cigar is about 30 minutes to 2 hours, depending on the size of your cigar.

After lighting, take a deep breath and remember that you should not pass the lungs; unlike ordinary cigarettes, the content of nicotine is about ten times that of ordinary cigarettes (depending on the tobacco and manufacturing process). Check with your local cigar shop if you’d like to find out more about the nicotine content. If you aren’t careful and the smoke does pass the lungs, a few things may happen. It may hurt a lot and you might cough aggressively.

The correct way to taste the cigar is to agitate the flavour with the tip of your tongue after taking a drag, allowing the smoke will fully flow through the mouth. Then slowly blow out. Continue to taste the sweetness of the smoke, take a moment, and then take another puff. Do not smoke continuously; it will make the tongue and mouth too numb.