Rules
Gentlemen, tell me please, what are the rules exist for smoking a cigar?
Dear Sir,
I am not sure there are "rules" per se but there are a few things you might think about when smoking cigars.
Long before the days of political correctness, anti-smoking lobbies and the "cigar" trend, Gentlemen knew to be considerate of others in all things. This translated into a concern not to offend non smokers or those who might be inconvenienced by smoke. It used to be that Gentlemen would retire to a room especially designed for smoking in this regards.
Today it is extremely important to be considerate especially when smoking in public (in those countries of the world where public smoking is still allowed, of course.) And do not be fooled into thinking that cigarette smokers are allies or accept cigar smoking. In France one is born with a Gitane attached to the respirator, and cigarettes are only removed from the mouth for the purposes of eating and sleeping. But, if you pull a beautiful maduro Havana from an elegant leather case, you will hear a cacaphony of complaints, even from the lung burners. (Envy is usually the stimulus for this reaction and not concern for health as per the above.)
If you wish to demonstrate that you have a bit of cigar education or education period, you will insure that the cigar's paper ring, with the resplendent logo of its manufacturer, is removed prior to smoking your cigar.
There are many techniques that are useful to know regarding the storing and lighting of your cigars as well as the best ways to smoke a cigar. If you are interested in these subjects as well, our members should be able to help you. Just ask....
Cheers
I am not sure there are "rules" per se but there are a few things you might think about when smoking cigars.
Long before the days of political correctness, anti-smoking lobbies and the "cigar" trend, Gentlemen knew to be considerate of others in all things. This translated into a concern not to offend non smokers or those who might be inconvenienced by smoke. It used to be that Gentlemen would retire to a room especially designed for smoking in this regards.
Today it is extremely important to be considerate especially when smoking in public (in those countries of the world where public smoking is still allowed, of course.) And do not be fooled into thinking that cigarette smokers are allies or accept cigar smoking. In France one is born with a Gitane attached to the respirator, and cigarettes are only removed from the mouth for the purposes of eating and sleeping. But, if you pull a beautiful maduro Havana from an elegant leather case, you will hear a cacaphony of complaints, even from the lung burners. (Envy is usually the stimulus for this reaction and not concern for health as per the above.)
If you wish to demonstrate that you have a bit of cigar education or education period, you will insure that the cigar's paper ring, with the resplendent logo of its manufacturer, is removed prior to smoking your cigar.
There are many techniques that are useful to know regarding the storing and lighting of your cigars as well as the best ways to smoke a cigar. If you are interested in these subjects as well, our members should be able to help you. Just ask....
Cheers
A word on removing the ring. I was once told that the removing the ring is a matter of regional preference, with Americans leaving it on and Europeans taking it off. I have no idea if that is true. There are clearly benefits to both. Certainly, the identity of the cigar you are smoking should be nobody’s business unless you have reason to tell them. On the other hand, the ring is a convenient place to hold the cigar and keep your fingers cleaner. The ring is also cooler on a hot-burning cigar. Does leaving the ring on, limit the amount of a cigar you smoke. With a large cigar, you are unlikely to smoke it all the way down to the ring as the tars can accumulate enough to make the last inch more bitter. That is irrelevant at churchill lengths and shorter. In fact, with my old favorite - the Fuente Hemingway Short Story, I would smoke the cigar down to the point where the ember was too close for me to hold it.alden wrote:Dear Sir,
I am not sure there are "rules" per se but there are a few things you might think about when smoking cigars.
Long before the days of political correctness, anti-smoking lobbies and the "cigar" trend, Gentlemen knew to be considerate of others in all things. This translated into a concern not to offend non smokers or those who might be inconvenienced by smoke. It used to be that Gentlemen would retire to a room especially designed for smoking in this regards.
Today it is extremely important to be considerate especially when smoking in public (in those countries of the world where public smoking is still allowed, of course.) And do not be fooled into thinking that cigarette smokers are allies or accept cigar smoking. In France one is born with a Gitane attached to the respirator, and cigarettes are only removed from the mouth for the purposes of eating and sleeping. But, if you pull a beautiful maduro Havana from an elegant leather case, you will hear a cacaphony of complaints, even from the lung burners. (Envy is usually the stimulus for this reaction and not concern for health as per the above.)
If you wish to demonstrate that you have a bit of cigar education or education period, you will insure that the cigar's paper ring, with the resplendent logo of its manufacturer, is removed prior to smoking your cigar.
There are many techniques that are useful to know regarding the storing and lighting of your cigars as well as the best ways to smoke a cigar. If you are interested in these subjects as well, our members should be able to help you. Just ask....
Cheers
Since I generally smoke alone, showing my cigar education or lack thereof is irrelevant. Even with others, if he had well considered reasons for doing as I choose, their perception of my cigar education would be likewise irrelevant. All that said, my habit is to remove the ring. I find that if I wait a few minutes into the cigar, the heat and moisture ensures that the ring comes off with ease. Occasionally, the glue that binds the ring to itself might have slopped onto the cigar or otherwise caused it to stick, risking a tear to the wrapper. Waiting a bit softens the glue enough so that is not a problemy. My preference is to break the ring at the seam rather than to pull it off. Again, to make sure the wrapper leaf is not damaged.
Alden: If we are ever together for a smoke, and I hope we are, I trust you will not be offended if I don’t rush to remove the label.
We would enjoy our cigars in perfect harmony as I use the same technique that you have described so well waiting for a few puffs to remove the ring of the cigar so as to avoid damaging the wrapper.
Now I am not sure about regional differences as I have never heard the story about American smokers versus their Continental confreres. I have attended many tastings and cigar auctions in London where collectors from both sides of the Atlantic and a good part of the world smoked ringless Havanas and so it never occured to me that it was accepted practice anywhere. Keeping the ring of a cigar on while smoking is considered affectation. Affectation is the principle nemesis of Elegance.
Learning to smoke a pipe without letting it go out is an excellent way to learn and the ability earned in pipe smoking will have significant rewards in improving the overall appreciation of the cigar. A cigar smoked cool is rich and full of flavour. A well smoked cigar can normally be seen in one whose circumference burns consistently throughout its entire length to the end of the cigar. The aroma, the specific chacteristics of its taste can only be sensed when the cigar is smoked in this fashion.
That is why most people have trouble with cigar smoking. They feel they don't have the time and rush the event. They smoke a cigar as they would a cigarette. The result is a hot, acrid, unevenly burning flamethrower that scorches the mouth. Its a shameful way to treat a fine handmade product. Take your time and smoke cigars you have time for. If you don't have a relaxing two hours, send your double coronas to someone who does or someone who is willing to take the time. Cigar smoking, like pipe smoking, forces one to relax. If you do not relax you miss out on the entire event. That is why the benefits of moderate pipe and cigar smoking, in terms of helping to reduce stress, balance to some degree the potential health risks of using a monsterous carcinogen. Note the words "moderate" use and balance risks "to some degree." I can see my emails filling up already...
Keep cool and smoke cool
M Alden
Now I am not sure about regional differences as I have never heard the story about American smokers versus their Continental confreres. I have attended many tastings and cigar auctions in London where collectors from both sides of the Atlantic and a good part of the world smoked ringless Havanas and so it never occured to me that it was accepted practice anywhere. Keeping the ring of a cigar on while smoking is considered affectation. Affectation is the principle nemesis of Elegance.
One of the pleasures of a great, well aged cigar is as tactile as olfactory. Feeling the oily wrapper of a great Havana is very much a part of the experience. A ring sliding about on this magnificent surface would be an annoyance of the first degree.On the other hand, the ring is a convenient place to hold the cigar and keep your fingers cleaner.
A hot burning cigar is an acrid, tasteless cigar. One of the most important skills in both pipe and cigar smoking is modulating the burn of the tobacco, to an absolute minimum, i.e. that just sufficient to maintain combustion, to mantain a cigar that is cool and whose taste is round and concentrated. This is a skill that usually takes a good deal of practice.The ring is also cooler on a hot-burning cigar
Learning to smoke a pipe without letting it go out is an excellent way to learn and the ability earned in pipe smoking will have significant rewards in improving the overall appreciation of the cigar. A cigar smoked cool is rich and full of flavour. A well smoked cigar can normally be seen in one whose circumference burns consistently throughout its entire length to the end of the cigar. The aroma, the specific chacteristics of its taste can only be sensed when the cigar is smoked in this fashion.
That is why most people have trouble with cigar smoking. They feel they don't have the time and rush the event. They smoke a cigar as they would a cigarette. The result is a hot, acrid, unevenly burning flamethrower that scorches the mouth. Its a shameful way to treat a fine handmade product. Take your time and smoke cigars you have time for. If you don't have a relaxing two hours, send your double coronas to someone who does or someone who is willing to take the time. Cigar smoking, like pipe smoking, forces one to relax. If you do not relax you miss out on the entire event. That is why the benefits of moderate pipe and cigar smoking, in terms of helping to reduce stress, balance to some degree the potential health risks of using a monsterous carcinogen. Note the words "moderate" use and balance risks "to some degree." I can see my emails filling up already...
Keep cool and smoke cool
M Alden
Alden:
Everything you say is correct. A few notes - one of my favorite smokes, the HdM Excalibur is ringless. A well made cigar smoked by someone with patience will not burn hat. Alas, not every cigar is well made and some are hot burning by nature - I have found that if the cigar is too loosely rolled or a bit dry, it will burn faster and hotter. While I would like every cigar to be perfect, they not always are. The biggest culprit though, is usually in part my own fault. Sometimes, particularly with cigars rushed out during the boom in the mid-to-late 90s, you find a stem has made its way into the filler. I cannot ignore it and stupidly pull it out. This invariably leaves enough of an air channel to accelerate the burn. It is a habit that is hard for me to break but I hope others reading this who have not yet acquired the habit will learn to avoid it.
Everything you say is correct. A few notes - one of my favorite smokes, the HdM Excalibur is ringless. A well made cigar smoked by someone with patience will not burn hat. Alas, not every cigar is well made and some are hot burning by nature - I have found that if the cigar is too loosely rolled or a bit dry, it will burn faster and hotter. While I would like every cigar to be perfect, they not always are. The biggest culprit though, is usually in part my own fault. Sometimes, particularly with cigars rushed out during the boom in the mid-to-late 90s, you find a stem has made its way into the filler. I cannot ignore it and stupidly pull it out. This invariably leaves enough of an air channel to accelerate the burn. It is a habit that is hard for me to break but I hope others reading this who have not yet acquired the habit will learn to avoid it.
I should add that Alden’s comments on taking your time should be read by anyone who thinks they do not like cigars. It is quite possible your experience results from not having smoked one properly. If you do smoke them, you know how important patience is. Better to let it go out than to rush it. You can always relight if you know how (another short topic). Apart from patience, the only other critical advice I can offer is to learn to light the cigar correctly in the first place. Alden can no doubt explain it better, by a suggest you learn to light with the heat of the flame, not with the fire. If you can toast a marshmallow without setting it on fire, you already know how.
Life is much too short to spend smoking anything but the finest cigars in combination with the very best that Epernay can offer and the company of elegant and intelligent ladies.
Yes smoking is inherently the most risky proposition of the three. As such it would seem wise counsel to smoke little but to smoke the very best available. Choosing, storing and maintaining one's collection of cigars is extremely important.
Never be content to purchase cigars from a substandard merchant or source. The moment to be extremely difficult has come when the question revolves around purchasing cigars. These days all too many merchants buy either inferior, or counterfeit products. Even if they happen to purchase quality cigars, many tobacconists do not have the facilities to store them properly which means they are ruined by the time you buy them. Open the box you wish to purchase and learn to recognize the qualities of a well rolled and maintained cigar. You can smell, feel, see and hear a good cigar.
Manufacturers have been prone to supercharge production at the expense of quality. This was particularly true during the days of the cigar fad. Cuban makers have had a bad reputation for spotty rolling and construction in their cigars. Once again, learn to recognize a good cigar from a bad; and more importantly, a superb cigar from a merely good one.
Once you have purchased your cigars, learn to store and age them properly. Most Cuban cigars are delivered to market “green” i.e without proper ageing. As a rule, it is wise to leave boxes of cigars three years in a humidor before opening them.
A outstanding humidor (or two) is a necessary investment. There is no reason to smoke a cigar that is dry and will burn like a firecracker in your mouth. Maintain the humidor at 70% humidity and check your cigars on a regular basis to make sure they are satisfactorily humidified.
Once you accept the premise to only smoke the finest cigars, ones that you have aged and maintained perfectly, and you have mastered the techniques of cigar tasting as opposed to “burning”, you should not have any unpleasant surprises in your cigar smoking life except the one you feel when opening an empty humidor!
Yes smoking is inherently the most risky proposition of the three. As such it would seem wise counsel to smoke little but to smoke the very best available. Choosing, storing and maintaining one's collection of cigars is extremely important.
Never be content to purchase cigars from a substandard merchant or source. The moment to be extremely difficult has come when the question revolves around purchasing cigars. These days all too many merchants buy either inferior, or counterfeit products. Even if they happen to purchase quality cigars, many tobacconists do not have the facilities to store them properly which means they are ruined by the time you buy them. Open the box you wish to purchase and learn to recognize the qualities of a well rolled and maintained cigar. You can smell, feel, see and hear a good cigar.
Manufacturers have been prone to supercharge production at the expense of quality. This was particularly true during the days of the cigar fad. Cuban makers have had a bad reputation for spotty rolling and construction in their cigars. Once again, learn to recognize a good cigar from a bad; and more importantly, a superb cigar from a merely good one.
Once you have purchased your cigars, learn to store and age them properly. Most Cuban cigars are delivered to market “green” i.e without proper ageing. As a rule, it is wise to leave boxes of cigars three years in a humidor before opening them.
A outstanding humidor (or two) is a necessary investment. There is no reason to smoke a cigar that is dry and will burn like a firecracker in your mouth. Maintain the humidor at 70% humidity and check your cigars on a regular basis to make sure they are satisfactorily humidified.
Once you accept the premise to only smoke the finest cigars, ones that you have aged and maintained perfectly, and you have mastered the techniques of cigar tasting as opposed to “burning”, you should not have any unpleasant surprises in your cigar smoking life except the one you feel when opening an empty humidor!
Now cigars with wine--- there's definitely a rule against that!alden wrote:Life is much too short to spend smoking anything but the finest cigars in combination with the very best that Epernay can offer ...
The combination of a superb Champs and a cigar is stunning. The other worthy companion of cigars is Tea.
Hard liquor is the usual with Malt whiskey, Cognac, Armagnac and Rhum taking the lead. However, these strong drinks can overpower any but the most robust cigars.
Try a glass of Selosse with a nice cigar, you will see.
Cheers
Hard liquor is the usual with Malt whiskey, Cognac, Armagnac and Rhum taking the lead. However, these strong drinks can overpower any but the most robust cigars.
Try a glass of Selosse with a nice cigar, you will see.
Cheers
Sometimes you astound me. I thought I was the only one who liked his cigars with tea.alden wrote:The combination of a superb Champs and a cigar is stunning. The other worthy companion of cigars is Tea.
Cheers
Lapsang Souchong, in particular, is my favorite with a strong-flavored cigar. A large pot, a book and a nice smoke is a great way to spend a fall evening on the terrace.
dopey wrote:Alden:
Everything you say is correct. A few notes - one of my favorite smokes, the HdM Excalibur is ringless. . . .
I have embarrassed myself. I was referring to the HdM Epicure No.1. The HdM Excalibur sounds like a car model.Dopey,
The combination of a Lapsong tea with a HdM Epicure 1 is a good one. It is, however a gustative overlap of smoke and earth flavors. As a general rule in things gastronomic one looks for a contrast that reveals and highlights each compenent's character and in no way diminishes either of them. Its sort of like the contrast we create in dressing, an odd jacket contrasting with trousers. In this regards, you may wish to try a Keemun tea whose floral, sweet notes contrast with the HdM's earthiness. Its a combination that is very enjoyable.
Cheers
The combination of a Lapsong tea with a HdM Epicure 1 is a good one. It is, however a gustative overlap of smoke and earth flavors. As a general rule in things gastronomic one looks for a contrast that reveals and highlights each compenent's character and in no way diminishes either of them. Its sort of like the contrast we create in dressing, an odd jacket contrasting with trousers. In this regards, you may wish to try a Keemun tea whose floral, sweet notes contrast with the HdM's earthiness. Its a combination that is very enjoyable.
Cheers
Why is it necessary to get a light a cigar not a lighter, and a match?
George:George wrote:Why is it necessary to get a light a cigar not a lighter, and a match?
Would you mind asking your question again, perhaps phrased differently? I would like to respond, but I am not sure I understand what you mean by your question.
I think he meant, Why light a cigar not with a lighter but with a match?
The answer is: you don't want to impart a fuel taste to the cigar. Certain lighters that use an odorless fuel are OK, but these are expensive. Wood matches are the safest.
The answer is: you don't want to impart a fuel taste to the cigar. Certain lighters that use an odorless fuel are OK, but these are expensive. Wood matches are the safest.
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