Cigars 101

Should I Take Off My Cigar Band Before I Smoke?

We get this question pretty often, actually. And if you’re wondering too, here’s your answer in a word: no.

I keep a book at home of all my cigar conquests. All of them: even the lowly yard gars whose bands look like they were drawn by a hyperactive 3rd grader. Is it a hoarding thing? Maybe. I tried keeping notes next to each of them; but given my narrow attention span, that lasted all of 5 minutes – so instead, my “little black book” has become a trophy case of sorts, showcasing the “honorable mentions” and “thanks for participating” smokes side-by-side with the Best in Show blue ribbon-winners.

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Cigar Journal Cigar Band Book
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The binding of that book is starting to scream in agony.

Every one of ‘em, I smoked myself. But critical to building my band book is patience: reminiscing over the fine works of cigar band art by Fuente and Flor de Las Antillas doesn’t happen if you shred the paper in a hasty maneuver to get it off the smoke! So as I recently flipped through the classics – past the Partagas, Punch and Hoyo de Monterrey, and through just about the entire Perdomo lineup – I got to thinking about roller’s glue, and why I recommend you wait to remove the band from your cigar…because it matters. Not so much because you’re thinking of saving the band, but because of what ripping it from the cigar’s wrapper can do to your smoke.

There are a couple schools of thought here:

There’s a little bit of science at work here, friends – but if you don’t believe me about letting the cigar do the work for you, take Nick Perdomo’s advice instead