Cigars 101

Can cigars be smoked “backwards?”

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Q. What is the effect if you light the wrong end of a freshly cut cigar; smoking it backwards, so to speak? I’ve done this and noticed some harshness in the first few draws, then realized my mistake. I finished the smoke anyway.
– Simon in Sturgis, SD

A. There shouldn’t be that much difference in the way the cigar smokes or tastes. The main problem I foresee would be, since the foot isn’t capped you run the risk of the cigar unraveling on you.

Harshness in the first few puffs is common with a lot of cigars, even if you smoke them from right end. It’s usually a little residual ammoniac, which tends to be in the foot. In most cases, the bitterness tends to fade within the first few putfs and the smoke rounds out.

In any event, I wouldn’t get too used to it. On the other hand, maybe you’ll start a new trend.

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Everett Jackson
7 years ago

Fuck no. lmao

More of Your Burning Cigar Questions Answered (Part 35) - Cigar Store
3 years ago

[…] in Reno, NV who wrote, “A couple days ago, I wasn’t paying attention and lit my cigar at the end where I cut it. I threw it out right away. I talked to a friend later who told me I probably could have smoked it […]

Blackwood Capitals
2 years ago

Besides the risk of unraveling the wrapper , one is changing the very much designed course of smoking a cigar: from the tip of the leaf (the milder side) to the its base near the stem (the bolder part) (all cigars are rolled as such). It is very misleading to suggest otherwise. With all due respects.

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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