Cigars 101

Bad Cigar Tips

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Hayward’s Bad Cigar Tips

  • In these tough economic times, it pays to bring your own cigars to the lounge.
  • Quality Control is job #1 when browsing for cigars, so fondle as many as you can. Squeeze them; smell their wrappers. Listen closely as you roll them between your fingers.
  • Cigar cutters are redundant: if you have teeth, use them.
  • Dip your cigar into cognac or rum to enjoy the best of both worlds.
  • Do not waste time by “toasting” the foot of a cigar before you light it.
  • Smoke your cigar without pause. You didn’t pay good money to watch it smoke itself in an ashtray!
  • Once finished, the considerate smoker stubs his cigar out until it’s no longer smoldering.
  • No humidor? No problem. Store your cigars in your freezer, next to the peas.
  • The higher the price, the better the cigar.
  • The darker the wrapper, the stronger the cigar.
  • The bigger the cigar, the stronger the smoke.
  • Asking for a free cigar outright is tactless! Instead, drop a crescendo of hints: “That looks like a great smoke,” or, “I’d like to try that cigar sometime.”
  • That’s not mold – it’s plume!

*   *   *

Humberto’s Bad Cigar Tips

  • Lick your cigar from head to foot to “seal-in” the flavors.
  • Avoid ripping the cigar’s wrapper by sliding the band off rather than separating the band where it’s glued.
  • Bounce your cigar off a hard surface before lighting. If it tilts on the way back up, it’s not packed evenly
  • Keep the ash on as long as possible. It makes a great filter, plus it’s another great way to “seal in” your cigar’s flavors.
  • A great cigar will ooze all great aromas right through the cellophane sleeve. Always test odor before removing from cellophane. If it smells like ammonia, it’s a keeper
  • Dip the foot of your cigar in Cognac before lighting.
  • On the bottom row of every cigar box and humidor, are the cigars with most age on them.
  • Plume is good and indicative of absolutely perfect conditions from the moment the tobacco is picked to the time you take it out of your humidor. Ask any chemist.

*   *   *

Gary’s Bad Cigar Tips

 

  • Clip the head of your cigar, but smoke it from the foot.
  • You can grow tobacco by planting a cigar stub in well-fertilized soil.
  • You can learn Spanish by listening to Julio Iglesias CD’s while you smoke your cigar.
  • Like flavored cigars? After lighting-up, dip the head of your cigar in chocolate milk.
  • By holding the foot of a cigar to your ear, you can hear the ocean.
  • Eat a mint before smoking your cigar; it will help prevent cigar breath.
  • If your cigar is plugged, fire a .22 caliber bullet through it.
  • To make sure you get as precise a cut as possible, use one of those big paper cutting boards to clip your cigar.
  • If you tend to “nub” your cigars down to your fingertips, wear an oven mitt.
  • It’s OK to use a toaster oven to toast your cigar.

Suffice it to say, the best teacher is experience. Shop smart, experiment by trying a lot of different cigars, and most of all, enjoy! Feel free to leave your own bad cigar tips in the comments section.

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Gary Korb

Gary Korb

Executive Editor

Gary Korb has been writing and editing content for CigarAdvisor.com since its debut in 2008. An avid cigar smoker for over 30 years, he has worked on the marketing side of the premium cigar business as a Sr. Copywriter, blogger, and Executive Editor of Cigar Advisor. A graduate of the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, prior to his career in the cigar business, Gary worked in the music and video industry as a marketer and a publicist.

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