Is there a “right” way to smoke a cigar? This may seem like a silly question, but you’ll be surprised to know that a majority of cigar enthusiasts are not smoking their cigars in a fashion that maximizes their flavor and full potential.

For an aficionado, tasting a cigar is equally as intricate as a sommelier tasting a wine. Since we’ve covered the methods of properly lighting a cigar in previous posts, let’s discuss the proper method of smoking one, because there is a “trick” to it.

How To Smoke a Cigar

The key component to tasting all of the elements a fine hand-made cigar has to offer is the draw. There must be enough smoke pulled onto the palate to detect all of the cigar’s nuances. And while most aficionados have their own techniques, the most common is referred to as the 1-2-3 method. Used correctly, each draw is a series of three puffs, the first two being strong and short while the third is one long, solid puff. This technique allows the oils at the foot of the cigar (the lit end) to heat quickly before being drawn onto the palate. Note that at no time during the process should the smoke be inhaled into your lungs. Most that do never do it again after the experience.

The second phase is to use the mouth for the preliminary classification of flavors. In the mouth, the smoke doesn’t have a particularly discernable flavor, but it does stimulate specific areas of the palate to distinguish between the major areas of the tongue. These areas of the tongue pick up bitter (the center rear), acidic (rear sides), salty (front sides) and sweet (tip) flavors. A well-balanced cigar will stimulate each of these regions evenly. To help your palate with this process, puff out your cheeks and allow the smoke to swirl around in your mouth.

Now for the tricky part — utilizing your nose…

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There is a science and the touch of a true artist in every fine cigar. The culmination of years of effort — from the growing of the crop, to aging, and finally to blending of the tobaccos and rolling the final product — is in your hands for one purpose: to enjoy.

Artisans spent years learning how to roll the cigar you now hold. Families have worked for generations to insure that it’s something you will enjoy. An industry of entrepreneurial spirit has made it possible for you to experience the heritage of their labors in the wonderful creation you’re preparing to burn to ash. This is the legacy of the cigar.

And now, the final step in our journey. You’ve followed our product from seed, to leaf, to picking, to curing, to aging, and then to something that looks like a finished cigar…but it’s not yet ready to enjoy!

Aging the Cigar

Once the Master Roller has finished his work, the cigars are carefully bundled into groups of 50 and wrapped in paper. The bundles are classified by type (robusto, corona, etc.), production date, specific tobacco blend (the way vintners blend different grapes to produce a unique and winning wine) and the special identifying code for the roller and master roller who made them. Then, amazingly, they’re returned to the aging room once more, this time to insure that the blend of unique tobaccos properly “marries”.

A fine cigar can age for many years. And while technically it takes only 90 days to “marry”, the longer the aging, either in aging rooms or in your humidor, the better the marriage. Two to four additional years is not uncommon for a great cigar. The stick you now hold in your hand was aged as many as 10 years. And the crafted hands of a Master Roller, who may have toiled for 20 years to learn his skill, as well as blenders and bunchers, have come together just so you can sit back and enjoy the experience. Think about that the next time someone compares a cigar to a cigarette. There’s a tremendous difference. Frankly, there’s no real comparison.

So now we’ve gone from seed, to plant, to aging and to finished product. And now you can gaze upon that stogie in your hand and truly appreciate the art and the science of the process. Take a moment to examine how the cigar was wrapped, noting the seam lines and variation in color. Feel the firmness — or the looseness — of the cigar. Examine the foot before you light it and notice the way the binder and the fillers blend together. Consider all the artisans and workers that toiled for years to produce that one cigar — ten years of hard work and crafting by masters of the art — so you can enjoy 45 minutes of pleasure. Think about it. Then light it, sit back and enjoy.

The journey from seed to cigar is a long and laborious one. Make the experience of smoking your favorite cigar one of enjoyment as well as respect for the craft.

Till next time, keep Herfin’!

This is the final installment in this mini-series on the making of a fine cigar. But don’t worry; Michael is already cooking up another series, perhaps a discussion and comparison of fine cigars. Coming soon!

I hope you’re enjoying this mini-series on the making of a fine cigar. As I’ve said before, the process is long, laborious and considered an art form by cigar aficionados. It follows, then, that education and experience are essential to the full enjoyment of this fruit of a true master’s hand. And that, my friends, is the purpose of this series; to help you understand, appreciate and enjoy a truly fine cigar.

So let’s pick up where we left off. Our leaf has gone from seed, to plant, to the curing house and to the aging house. It’s been four to six long years since our journey began with a young plant in the fields. Now it’s time to take the leaf and do something with it!

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The next time you pick up a cigar, take a moment to admire the science and art behind it. The process from seed to what you hold in your hand, preparing to burn to ash, is a long one.

I believe that, in addition to enjoying a cigar, one should respect the effort that went into its creation. Many people have devoted a great deal of time and money to produce a cigar your will truly enjoy. This series is devoted to helping you get the most from the experience.

So let’s pick up where we left off. You’ve read about the harvesting and curing of the leaf. Now it’s time to:

Age the Tobacco

The now fermented leaves are placed individually on burlap and each layer is stacked over the other. They remain in the curing house, but are moved to a different section where the tobacco leaves will age for years. Temperature and humidity are monitored and controlled in the the same manner as when the leaves where cured, but instead of 35-45 days for curing, it’s will be at least 2-3 years for aging! This process mellows the various components of the leaf and produces the flavor suitable for a good cigar.

After 2-3 years, the leaves are moved, hand sorted and categorized by color, size, texture and uniqueness. Each leaf is then stemmed by hand, a practiced art. One mistake and an otherwise perfect leaf is damaged, and three years of preparation are forever lost.

Next, the stems are discarded and the leaves are re-stacked for another fermentation, this time at a higher temperature. Based on how the leaves were classified, this period will last another 45-60 days during which more impurities are removed and the tobacco is prepared for yet another aging.

The leaves are placed in open cedar boxes and left to “breath” in the curing house where, depending on the cigar, they’ll remain for another two years. Afterwards, the leaves are hand-packed into bales and aged until they are rolled into cigars.

That’s next!

Till then, keep Herfin’!

Let’s see. In our last installment, we talked about the the growing and picking process, how the leaves are picked and when. So now we’ll discuss…

Curing the Tobacco

After they’re picked, leaves are taken by tractor to the curing houses. Imagine a Cuban style Casa de Grande, the size of two football fields, built specifically for drying and curing tobacco. Typically, its natural ventilation is controlled by opening and closing windows.

The very labor intensive process of curing begins by separating each leaf according to type and size. This is done by hand and is strictly supervised. Once that’s done, the leaves are sewn together in pairs through the stem. The sewn pairs are hung from a pole, each with about 100 leaves, which are placed in the curing house at different levels depending on the type and size of the leaf. Heat from the sun and the design of the curing house create a sauna-like condition that forces the moisture in the leaf to dissipate. Leaves change from rich green to yellow and finally to various shades of brown.

Once dried the leaves are removed and placed in piles of fifty and arranged into larger stacks where fermentation begins. It’s the pressure from the leaves stacked on each other, along with the natural heat and humidity, that facilitates fermentation and the release of impurities. Water is sprayed on the stacks around the clock so as to maintain proper fermentation temperatures. Heat in the middle of the stack can reach 160°F!

If the temperatures are allowed to go higher, the leaves will burn and spoil. It takes constant 24 hour vigilance to stay on top of this process. The “sweating” removes the oils, sap, ammonia, tar and nicotine from the leaves. It’s a thirty five to forty five day process during which workers break up the piles and re-stack them so the leaves cure evenly. And, depending on the particular leaf, the process might be repeated several times. But once complete, the leaves are off to the aging rooms.

That’s next! Till then, keep Herfin’!

The next time you pick up a cigar, take a moment to admire the science and the art behind it. The process from seed to what you hold in your hand preparing to burn it to ash is a long one. I truly feel that, beyond the aspect of enjoying a cigar, you must respect them, too. Many people have devoted a great deal of time and money to allow you the opportunity to do what you’re about to do… enjoy a fine cigar.

So I thought it would be fun to give you a little insight into how the whole process works over the next few chapters of this little series. Perhaps you’ll come away from it with a new admiration and respect for the marvel you hold in your hand!

Growing and Picking the Tobacco

Tobacco is harvested only once a year at many of the finer growers and makers of cigars. But tobacco seedlings are planted every few weeks so the harvest can be spread over several months. It’s going to take about ninety days for a tobacco plant to develop from seed to picking age. From here, the hand selection and then picking of the leaves begin.

There are three types of leaves, each named based on its location on the plant. The ligero leaves are at the top, the viso leaves in the middle and the seco leaves at the bottom. The ligero at the top is the strongest, because it’s closest to the sun. Viso leaves provide texture and taste and the seco leaves serve as mild filler for the cigars. The plant normally has fifteen to seventeen leaves. Only two or three leaves are picked at a time, and only after they’ve reached full maturity.

Growing tobacco and deciding when to pick it is surely an art requiring years of experience. Constant care of the plant as well as the soil in which it sits is required for a successful harvest. Tobacco pickers are highly trained for their jobs, too. They start picking leaves at the bottom of the plant and work their way up. Each leaf will be inspected for the smallest details. The pickers almost always challenge each other by competing for the best leaf of the harvest.

Coming up next… CURING THE TOBACCO.

Still recovering from a 10-year civil war, Nicaragua has been quickly moving to the forefront of the cigar industry. At last estimates, in less than five years Nicaragua will surpass Honduras as the second largest cigar producing country in the world. For example, in 1990 Nicaragua imported 488,000 cigars. In 2007 that figure is over 56 million cigars, or about 18.5% of the U.S. Market!

What’s changed is that several tobacco experts and agronomists who left Cuba settled in Nicaragua. What they found was some of the finest soil for the worlds finest leaf. Now, while I personally enjoy the characteristics of a Dominican or some Honduran’s over Nicaraguan tobacco, there’s no mistaking one when you smoke it… and some of them are extraordinary.

What makes Nicaragua unique is the availability and diversity of the tobacco grown there. As a matter of fact, outside of Cuba, Nicaragua is the largest producer of Puros (cigars made from tobacco grown all in one country) because of all the seed types and growing regions accessible to farmers and cigar makers. This includes Connecticut and Cuban seed that are grown in the three regions of Condega, Esteli and Jalapa.

Jalapa, located on the northern border and neighboring Honduras, has dark red, fertile soil that sprouts large plants grown both in shade and sun which yields a tobacco ideal for wrapper and some lower primings used for filler. Jalapa’s tobacco is known for its sweet and almost Ecuadorian spiciness.

Drive an hour south of Jalapa and you’re in Esteli, the cigar capital of Nicaragua and home to most of the countries factories. Because of it’s central location and proximity to Nicaragua’s capital Managua, Esteli is where most of the “magic” happens. It’s also where the country’s strongest tobaccos are grown. The land around Esteli is known for it’s almost black appearance and coarse texture. That soil, along with an ideal climate, produce a heavy leaf that’s used in many Nicaraguan fuller bodied and fuller flavored smokes. While most of Esteli’s tobacco is used as filler, the prime stuff is used for wrappers.

Located north of Esteli and toward the Honduran border is Condega. It’s known as an agricultural town where mostly filler and binder tobacco’s are grown. The leaf harvested here is a healthy medium body, not as strong as Esteli tobacco nor as sweet as Jalapa. Because of this, most Nicaraguan cigars have at least some tobacco from the Condega region.

It’s this diversity and flexibility of Nicaragua tobacco that’s made it so popular. The tobaccos have begun to surpass those of even Cuba and are becoming preferred for their rich flavor and aging potential. It’s all a matter of taste, of course. Some still prefer the smoothness of a good Dominican, while the Hondurans are legendary for their consistently excellent brands. But you may wish to pick up a Don Pepin Garcia, a Sol Cubana, a Perdomo, a Padron, Torano or Olivia and see if it’s a stick you want to have in your humidor.

Till next time… keep Herfin!

Brothers (and Sisters) of the Leaf are also Keepers of the Flame.

Butane torch lighters have got to be the handiest yet most frustrating cigar accessory you can own. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a $5.00 off-brand or a $500.00 Dupont, torch lighters are very temperamental and all are plagued by the same problems. From moisture to altitude, air pockets to dirt and the butane you use, there is no shortage of factors working against you when you reach for your torch. While many aficionados simply replace their lighters as frequently as possible, there are several easy steps that you can take to ensure a long life for your lighter.

There are a couple I’ve grown very attached to over time and I’d like to keep them around for awhile….so heed the words and learn the lesson, my brethren:

Step 1: Drain your lighter completely of its fuel prior to each refill. It takes a couple of extra minutes, but it makes a big difference. Do not simply rely on the ignition for this, instead, take a small screw driver or ball point pen and use it to depress the fill nozzle on the lighter. Be sure the nozzle is pointed in a safe direction before doing this, as the fuel will spray from the lighter with some intensity. Continue this step until the lighter is no longer releasing fuel or air.

This step is critical as most often, air pockets in the fuel tank inhibit the flow of gas.

Step 2: With your lighter empty, refill it using fuel that has been refined a minimum of three times. Try to avoid butane purchased outside of a tobacconist. Fuel available at drug stores or hardware stores is often dirty and will only create more problems.

Step 3: With your lighter now full, adjust the output all the way to the “+” indicator for maximum output. With the gas on high, press the ignition several times to ensure gas is flowing from the lighter. After you’ve verified the lighter is releasing gas, turn the output to the middle range and test it again.

Step 4: The final step is to clean the jets. With the lid of the lighter open, use a compressed air canister (a can of keyboard cleaner works well) and spray air into the top portion of the lighter. This will ensure any dust on the jets is clear so your lighter will work at full capacity.

A lighter can be one of your most reliable accessories if it is cared for correctly. If you use yours every day, I’d recommend you do this on a monthly basis.

Till next time…keep herfin!

Recently, I introduced a friend to an excellent Zino Mouton Cadet boutique cigar and was asked what the difference was between a boutique and national brand. In fact, the word boutique may very well be the most overused term in the entire cigar business. While boutique and national brands are both very successful and popular in the cigar world, each has its own unique merits that make it relatively favorable.

In the simplest terms, a cigar’s designation as boutique or national is completely dependent on its annual production. If you consider it in terms of wine, a Beringer or Kendall Jackson would be considered a national brand with millions of bottles being produced each year. This type of variety contrasts greatly from say a Bryant Vineyard Cabernet which is limited to fewer than 1,000 bottles annually. In this scenario, the later is considered boutique.

So which is better?

Well, It depends on what you look for in a fine cigar. One of the biggest advantages of a national brand cigar such as Macanudo, Punch or Montecristo is its consistency from box to box. To make cigars in such a large volume, companies like General Cigar and Altadis depend on deep tobacco inventories to ensure they have the proper materials to maintain a consistent flavor and quality. Such investments require lots of capital and a surplus of tobacco that is often out of reach for smaller, boutique cigar makers.

However, for some cigar lovers, consistency is less important; more emphasis is placed on unique tobacco or cigars when they select their favorites. By limiting production every year, a boutique cigar maker takes advantage of small batches of tobacco that are especially aged or fermented. Often times, such rare tobacco is impractical for larger national brands that produce millions of cigars annually.

I don’t recommend investment in a boutique cigar unless you have a good understanding of what you like and dislike. If you have a good grip on what you enjoy and find a boutique cigar that meets your criteria, there are some wonderful offerings out there. Zino Davidoff blended the Mouton Cadet especially for the Baronne Philippine de Rothschild to be enjoyed with a Mouton Rothschild wine. Very limited production and expensive, but an absolutely wonderful experience to share with a friend.

Till next time…keep herfin’!

No, we’re not out of order. Well, actually we are. Part 8 in the series was inadvertently omitted (some slacker in the editorial department, I’m told) and so is included here. There. Now we’re back on track…

The job of the cigar roller, or torcedor, is arguably the hardest of any worker in the long process of a cigar’s history. The word translates as “twister” but this is the last thing a roller should do when making a cigar.

Hand-made cigars are very labor-intensive. It typically takes a torcedor a year to learn to roll a cigar like the petit corona properly. Before someone can roll anything more complex like a Robusto (my favorite size) it can take as much as five to twenty years experience! Think about that the next time you try to compare a cigar to a machine-made cigarette where hundreds of thousands are made a day!

Torcedores typically specialize in only one type of cigar and make one type of one brand of cigar each day. A good torcedor can only produce 75 to 150 cigars a day, depending on the type of cigar and typically has no idea what brand of cigar they are to make. The blenders give the torcedor a certain amount of leaves that will be enough for one day’s production.

Torcedores do not roll the filler of the cigar. Instead, they “book” the cigar’s filler, folding the leaves over each other to create tiny canals between each of the leaves in the bunch so the cigar can draw. Then the binder is rolled onto the cigar. For thicker cigars, sometimes a rubber band or a ring is attached to the area around the foot of the cigar to prevent the bunch from splitting apart.

The bunch can’t be overfilled or you’ll get a cigar that’s too tight and downright impossible to smoke, nor under-filled which would make the cigar burn as fast as a fuse. A lot of attention is given to the inner leaves of the bunch to insure they do not become twisted as this will cause the cigar to be “plugged” or unable to draw.

Then, cigars are placed in a mold which might be many different things from pre-cut paper molds to wooden ones that can hold anywhere from five to twenty-five bunches depending on the blend the company is trying to achieve. The bunches remain in the mold for anywhere from fifteen to sixty minutes. Then they’re removed from the mold and the wrapper is rolled onto the cigar. The wrapper is rolled onto the cigar with the side containing the veins not visible, and then the wrapper is kept in place with a little vegetable gum that acts like a sort of glue, holding the cigar together. The cigar is then cut to its proper length in a guillotine.

A piece of the wrapper that was cut off from the rest of the cigar by the guillotine is set aside, then cut into a circular shape with a half-moon knife that torcedores call a chaveta. Then they apply that to the head of the cigar as the cigar’s cap. To hold this piece of wrapper in place, a small amount of vegetable gum is dabbed onto the cap which sometimes makes for an ever-so-slight discoloration. True Cuban-style cigars are typically found with sweetened gum at the cap giving it a distinctive initial sweet splash to the tongue. Baccarats from the Honduras have this and are an excellent cigar for the beginner or the aficionado.

The torcedor places the cigar on a tray on their bench and, when fifty cigars are completed, they are bundled together in a media-ruida, or half-wheel due to the bundle’s similarity in appearance to a wheel. At the end of the day, the completed cigars are taken away to the back room and the torcedor affixes their name to the media-ruida.

To keep the torcedores’ minds busy, as the work can be very tedious, a lector de tabaqueria reads out the day’s events from the newspaper, so torcedores are generally very well informed.

Now, here are some little tidbits of knowledge that most aren’t aware of:

• During the two Cuban Wars for independence from Spain, the Spanish king outlawed the practice of the lector, as the information in the newspapers made many a Cuban think and rise up against the Spanish crown.

• Samuel Gompers, who was a torcedor in the United States in the 1870’s, was a lector, keeping himself and his co-workers well apprised of the days’ events. To gain better pay, he and his co-workers founded the union which was to become the AFL-CIO here in the US!

• When not reading newspapers, the lector often reads from books and plays including the works of Spanish writers such as Cerevantes, and translations of books by Dickens and Shakespeare. Thus, two famous brands of cigars, Sancho Panza and Romeo y Julietta, come from characters in literature and plays which were read to the torcedores.

Till next time, keep herfin!

Editor’s note: Most Cuban torcedores today are women (torcedora) and so are called torcedoras.

No matter how nice or how expensive it may be, properly seasoning your humidor is a crucial and necessary step to ensure it functions correctly. You may have already started collecting your favorite cigars to give out to friends, take golfing, share during special times or for yourself and no one else. If so, you’ve come to realize you have a hefty investment in those stogies. You need to be able to care for them so they can be stored and (if you want) properly aged.

The inside of a humidor is usually lined with Spanish cedar or, in some rare cases, mahogany. These woods are preferred  because they hold humidity well and contain a natural anti-fungal agent that resists mold. In any case, the wood has been kiln dried and, if you simply filled up the humidification device without seasoning, the dried wood would suck up all the moisture, not your desired result.

In order to properly season a humidor, you need distilled water and a brand new sponge. Distilled water should always be used in the humidification device to prevent mineral buildup. Saturate the sponge and wipe down all the interior wood. Don’t be shy. Wipe all exposed interior wood generously, then fill the humidification device according to the directions. Saturate the sponge once more and place it inside the humidor, close the lid, and let it sit for 24 hours. Next day, remove the sponge, wipe down the interior wood one more time, close the lid and let it sit for another 24 hours. Finally, refill the humidification device. Your humidor is now fully seasoned and ready to house your stogie collection.

This is how a desktop humidor that contains a passive humidification device works: the wood retains the humidity and the humidification device replenishes the moisture in the wood. Simple, yes? So be sure you properly season your humidor to make sure it protects your cigar investment!

Till next time, keep Herfin’!

Storing Your Cigars

Greetings Brothers of the Leaf! You may not realize this, but just because you bought a box of stogies, you’re not supposed to smoke the entire box at once. If you choose to, please notify your next of kin first; I don’t want to be held responsible. No, you’ll need to properly store them somewhere until you’re ready to enjoy them. This is very important because cigars taste vastly better when they retain some moisture. Your goal is to prevent them from drying out.

Contrary to what you may have heard, never put your stogies in the refrigerator to “keep them fresh.” They’ll dry out due to the dehumidifying effects of refrigeration. Experts recommend storing cigars at about 65-70% humidity and 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Too cold and the cigars may dry out. Too warm and you may be greeted by tobacco beetles next time you bring that Corona to your lips. That could put you off cigars for life!

The most important thing when storing cigars is that they be kept airtight. Whether you keep them in a box or a plastic bag, try to keep the storage container tightly sealed. Put a damp sponge in the box (or spray a little water into the bag) making sure that the sponge or water is not in direct contact with the cigars. Also, insure you’re using the purest water you can buy. Never use tap water. The minerals and impurities in it can make the best cigar taste awful. Splurge and buy a gallon of distilled water and keep it on hand. If you only have a few cigars left, you can buy cedar-lined metal tubes or leather cases. Again, just make sure that they are airtight.

If you decide to become a serious collector, consider buying a humidor. Humidors are special boxes or cabinets (or entire rooms!) in which you store your cigars, and they’ll be much kinder to your stash than a plastic bag or standard cigar box. Humidors are usually quite attractive as well as functional, but be ready to pay for a good one. We can explore how to season your brand new humidor so it stores your precious stogies in the next edition.

So now that you know how to choose, smoke and store cigars, the only thing left is to join a cigar club, subscribe to a cigar magazine, and hope that your wife/husband/dog doesn’t leave you if you take it too far. Smoking cigars can be an expensive hobby to enjoy regularly. I strongly suggest that you save your newfound expertise for special occasions - like days of the week with a “y” in them.

Till next time…keep herfin’!

This installment of “Cigar Talk” takes a little different turn, although cigars remain the central theme. Michael, it seems, wants us to be well rounded (like a good cigar.) So, without further fanfare, I give you…

A Poem by Rudyard Kipling

The Betrothed

- Breach of Promise Case, Circa 1885 -

Open the old cigar-box, get me a Cuba stout,
 For things are running crossways, and Maggie and I are out.

We quarrelled about Havanas—we fought o’er a good cheroot,
 And I knew she is exacting, and she says I am a brute.

Open the old cigar-box—let me consider a space;
 In the soft blue veil of the vapour musing on Maggie’s face.

Maggie is pretty to look at—Maggie’s a loving lass,
 But the prettiest cheeks must wrinkle, the truest of loves must pass.

There’s peace in a Larranaga, there’s calm in a Henry Clay;
 But the best cigar in an hour is finished and thrown away—

Thrown away for another as perfect and ripe and brown—
 But I could not throw away Maggie for fear o’ the talk o’ the town!

Continue reading below the fold…   (and don’t miss the postscript.)

You’ve shopped for what may become your favorite cigar, you’ve become a master at cutting one properly, and everyone is watching to see if you can light the thing with some flair. Some, I’d wager, are wondering if you’ll know which end to light. Some are even placing bets you’ll botch the whole thing!

Well, this can be tricky for a newbie-on-a-stick, but don’t abandon ship. After all, you’ve come this far, right? So here are some tips to get you through it:

• It’s best to light a cigar yourself - lighting a cigar takes longer than lighting a cigarette and it’s best not to feel rushed by having a friend reach over with a lit match. Matches or butane lighters are fine, but if you use a match, make sure the sulfur is burned out first so it doesn’t impart the taste of it to the cigar.

• Never use a candle - the wax particles will enter the cigar and taint its flavor.

• Hold the cigar in your hand, not your mouth, and rotate it near the flame.

• Try to not actually touch the flame with your cigar.

• When the entire surface is charred and embers appear, place the cigar between your lips. Just remember not to put the charred end between your lips. It’s very hard to remain suave and sophisticated whilst running around the room screaming.

• Gently puff (blow) to blow out any foreign particles or odors that may have come from the lighter or match. Check to see that the cigar is lit evenly. Admire your handiwork.

• This probably goes without saying but, just in case you happen to have a pompadour with a lot of hairspray, remember to not set your hair on fire. While this seems obvious to most, to some this may be a revelation. Let me just say this to your spouses or loved ones; I am SO sorry for you!

Smoking

Now that the cigar is lit, you should be able to draw smoke gently through it.

• Draw slowly by pulling in your cheeks. Do not suck or inhale. For the love of GOD, man… don’t do that!

• Do not smoke the cigar too forcefully or quickly - it will make it taste harsh and burnt. Just puff occasionally, making sure the cigar stays lit. Typically, if the cigar has been maintained at a good humidity factor and is fairly well made, a puff every 30 seconds or so should be sufficient to keep it lit.

• After a few minutes, you may want to remove the cigar band (label). Some people think it is obnoxious to keep the band on while you smoke, and it’s not really necessary to keep your fingers from getting stained. Make sure that you’ve smoked the cigar for a bit, though. If you remove the band too early, the glue will not have softened and you will risk tearing the wrapper.

Ashing

People smoking good cigars like to keep the ash on for as long as possible. Indeed, a solid tower of ash is a sign of a well-made cigar. But don’t let the ashy end grow too long - this is both pretentious and an invitation for a mess on the floor. Every once in a while, just gently press the ash against an ashtray - the ash should fall off easily without you having to tap the cigar. If your cigar goes out, it’s okay. This does not mean you are a bad smoker - just remove the ash and re-light it.

Smoke the cigar for as long as you want - the only time you should stop smoking is when it stops being enjoyable for you. When that becomes the case, just set the cigar down in an ashtray and it will go out on its own. Do not grind it out, as that will produce excess smoke as well as release foul oils that stink like heck. Just take one last draw, set it down, take a sip of your drink, and revel in your smoothness.

More to come… till then, keep herfin’!

Hand made premium cigars must obviously be cut before they are smoked. And the old TV movies where you see the guy bite off the tip and spit it out is great if you’re John Wayne, but otherwise it’s a crass, crude and ungentlemanly act that will have you banned from a cigar enclave faster than you can say Herfin’ Havanas.

When cutting your cigars, it is important that the blade is very sharp. A dull blade will do nothing more than ruin your cigars. Your cigar should be held at eye level so you can ensure you are cutting a straight line. Many people ask if they should keep the plastic wrapper on the cigar when cutting. It really doesn’t make a difference, but keeping it on does eliminate the residue left on your cutter, which in time could decrease its life. It’s merely a matter of choice.

Here is a step-by-step guide on how to cut the perfect cigar:

• A cigar has two ends - one cut already, the other sealed and uncut. You will be cutting the end that isn’t already cut (makes sense, huh?). This is called the head or cap.

• With your cutter in your cutting hand, position the cutter between you and the cigar. The cigar should be pointing away from you, with the pre-opened end the farthest from you.

• Locate the shoulder of the cigar. This is the point near the end where the curved end of the cigar starts to straighten out, typically between 1/2” and 1/16” in from the unopened end.

• Position the cigar under the blade at the point where you want to cut it.

• Bring the blade down gently onto your cigar at the right point and rest it there for a second (just enough to establish solid contact).

• Dispose of the small piece of cap you’ve just cut off.

When cutting a cigar there are many choices of cutters. The most popular is the guillotine cutter. The guillotine cutter comes in both the single-blade and the double-blade configuration. If possible, always use the double-blade as it cuts the cigar from both sides at once. These cutters are inexpensive, yet razor sharp to ensure a perfect cut.

Some people prefer to use a punch to put a small hole in the center of the cigar. Some find that this type of cut produces a lot of residue near the cap and can effect the draw of the cigar. The third type of cut is called the V cut. This isn’t used very often and like the punch, tends to cause residue near the cap.

It’s in your hand…it’s time to light it! Now what?

That’s coming up next time. Till then, keep herfin’!