How to Cut and Light a Cigar?
How to cut and light a cigar, this is an art that will maximise enjoyment of your chosen smoke. Every
Havana is made from three components; filler, binder and a wrapper leaf that is
sealed at the cigar's 'head' with a cap made from a piece of wrapper leaf.
To cut a Havana, you need to remove most of this cap with a single slicing
movement across the shoulders of the cigar. A guillotine cutter or special
scissors are best suited to the task. The bottom section of the cap should
remain, as it secures the wrapper leaf and, therefore, the contents of your
chosen cigar.
You may have heard talk of piercing the end of a Havana with a match to prepare
it for smoking, but we Cigar Scholars were discounted from doing this, as it
causes poor draw.
The main bone of contention is the band, the question of whether to remove it or
not has probably been debated ever since cigars were first made. Most of the
meticulous 'banding' of Havanas is done by women; the process apparently
requires a feminine touch. The most sensible advice seems to be to remove the
band only after the cigar has been alight for five minutes or so, by which time
warmth will have made it easier to remove. Any earlier attempts at removal could
quite easily damage the wrapper leaf.
This, it must be said, is quite justified. The wrapper (or Capa) comes from the
Corojo plant, and costs more to produce than all the other tobaccos in a Havana.
The wrapper is also most precious because it dresses the cigar, dictating its
appearance.
Consider all this, and you will agree that even when the sensible 5 minute rule has been followed, you
would still be advised to peel rather than pull off the band.
Our
recommended Cigar Cutter is the Palio Cutter, with Palio, you'll be assured that your cigars
are prepared with a precise cut.
View our full range of Cigar Cutters here.
Lighting your cigar
Quite unlike lighting a humble cigarette, the noble Havana is demanding, and
requires more time and attention. The fatter the cigar, the longer it will take,
because you must be sure to light the whole of the foot to avoid uneven burning.
Cigars are also fussier in terms of the type of light used.
Petrol lighters are
to be avoided because their aromas interfere with that of the Havana's tobacco.
The best implements are the odourless flames of wooden matches (but let the head
burn off first) and butane lighters.
Appropriate flame in hand, you should first char the end of your Havana to
increase the chance of its even ignition. Once glowing, gently blow on it to
make sure that it is burning evenly. Further increase its chances by rotating
the Havana in your fingers whilst drawing the flame onto the cigar.
It is not unusual for a Havana to go out before its smoker has finished enjoying
it! The many first time cigar smokers amongst us did wonder what we had done
wrong and thought about abandoning our charred remains! But it is easy to
reinstate full burn status with some gentle re-lighting, without even putting
the cigar to your mouth. Clear the ash from the foot of the Havana and then heat
it in a flame. If in doubt, we discovered, always re-light, because you will be
disappointed if you try to smoke a Havana that has partly 'died'. Oh, and one
more point to remember don't tap your Havana during smoking.
View our full range of Cigar Lighters here.
Reproduced with kind permission of Hunters & Frankau - December 2000
(Havana cigar importers with over 200 years experience)