Guides To Self Improvement

Smoking a cigar takes know-how and a certain degree of skill in order to get the full scope of aroma, flavor, and pleasure out of your cigar. Properly smoking a cigar, involves three things which must be done so that the cigar smoking experience can be maximized. Cutting the cigar, lighting the cigar, and finally, smoking the cigar correctly will have you looking and feeling like a cigar connoisseur in no time.

First off, you’ll need what else? Cigars! For starters, I highly recommend buy something along the lines of a sampler pack. This thompson cigar company sampler, brings many of the big name brands and after trying each one, you can find what suits your taste.

Cutting the cigar or preparing the cigar for lighting has to be done correctly, so as to maintain the integrity of the wrapper and hence the quality of the cigar.

Contrary to popular belief, the smoking tip should not be ripped off using your teeth. It may feel like the manlier thing to do, but it can seriously affect the integrity of the wrapper. If done too brusquely, the wrapper or “capa” can begin to unwrap and thus ruin the cigar.

To properly cut a cigar, a guillotine is recommended, some like to use cigar scissors that is fine as well. If you are smoking a parejo, the most common style of cigar, cut about one to two millimeters of the smoking end (part that goes in mouth).

The lighting of the cigar is just as important in ensuring a quality smoke; the cigar should never be lit or smoked like a cigarette. In fact, if you have any notion that cigarettes and cigars are similar, you should discard that notion completely. To properly light a cigar, the cigar should be held cocked in one hand (usually the left) so that you can see the tip. With your right hand, preferably using a butane lighter, light the tip and rotate the cigar so that it burns evenly. When you feel the cigar is lit, you can blow on it mildly to encourage burning. Once you have it lit, you can begin smoking. Why not put it in your mouth and start puffing while you light it? For one, it can easily overheat if you are inexperienced and that can leave an acrid taste in your mouth, the method we explain here lights the cigar at a much cooler temperature.

Once the cigar has been lit, now comes the fun part, smoking it. Smoking a cigar also should be done in a manner that will reward you with the full extent of aroma and flavor.

To smoke a cigar, you should take no more than one or two drags a minute. Anymore, and you risk getting an acidic taste in your mouth, any less and your cigar can turn off.

If your cigar does turn off, simply grab your guillotine and cut off the burned portion and light up again.

If your cigar starts to burn unevenly, you can rotate it so that the unburned portion is on the bottom, where it is hotter. You can also add fire to the unburned portion, but do it carefully.
You should not ash your cigar like a cigarette; doing so can damage the cigar. When the ash gets long enough setting it down in an ashtray, the cigar will ash itself.

Other tips:

• Never inhale cigar smoke

• Proper keeping of cigars will maximize taste

• A cigar that is too dry will burn too quickly
• A cigar that is too moist will turn off