Cigar Geek

Ready to start smoking some fine cigars and joining the ranks of other cigar smokers? The most important tip I can give to any beginning cigar smoker is to begin by smoking some mild cigars. Mild cigars are a good place for beginners to start off with because their flavors and tones are not too harsh and spicy which might turn off someone new to cigar smoking.

Generally speaking mild cigars are lighter in color. The darker cigars are usually the full-flavored cigars and those are the ones you should stay away from for now. The best thing you can do is ask your local tobacconist. It's in his best interest to make some good recommendations because he wants you to come back and buy some more cigars! So make sure you use this important resource and also make sure to let him know that you're new to cigar smoking and you want to some good cigar recommendations for someone new to cigars.

After you pick out a few mild cigars that look good you'll want to inspect the cigar. Typically what I do is take the cigar close to my eyes and ears and gently squeeze it. I'm listening for any cracks and if it makes sense I'm listening for "dryness". You're also feeling for soft and hard spots. Either one will produce a cigar that is hard to smoke. And finally you want to visually inspect the cigar and look for any cracks or discoloration ion the wrapper. Look for a cigar that looks fresh and smells awesome.

Unless you plan of frequenting the cigar shop every few days at some point you will need a good cigar humidor to keep your cigars fresh from the time you purchase them to the time you light them up. A good cigar humidor will keep your cigars fresh and they will also impart some flavors on your cigars as they age. But most important a good cigar humidor will keep your cigars in the best smoking condition so that you get all the flavor and taste that come with a fine cigar.

It's important to store your cigars in a humidor because cigars are what they call hygroscopic in nature. That means that they absorb moisture when they are in a humid environment and also that they will dry out eventually when in a dry environment. A good cigar humidor will regulate the humidity within itself and maintain the humidity levels at 60-70%. A lot of p[problems can arise from cigars that aren't properly stored.

Cigars that are too dry and don't have enough moisture will burn too hot. You will not be able to taste the subtle nuances and flavors with a cigar that is burning too hot. And on the opposite end of the spectrum, a cigar that is too moist will be hard to keep lit and it will be hard to smoke. This is because the tobacco leaves expand as they pick up more and more moisture and eventually they become too tight in your cigar wrapper and it becomes hard to "draw" smoke from.

For all these reasons it's important to store your cigars from the time you buy them until the time you smoke them if you want maximum flavor and taste.

Any cigar worth anything comes with a cap on the end so the first thing you have to do is cut your cigar to be able to smoke it. Now don't be a putz and try to be cool by biting off the end of an expensive cigar. That's the fastest way to ruin an expensive smoke. Don't be cheap ok... Buy yourslef a plastic guillotine style cutter at the cigar shop when you buy your first few smokes. A decent little cutter will run about $5 so there's really no excuse to not buy one.

You don't want to mess around with the cutting of a cigar because if you cut too far you run the chance of completely ruining your cigar. Worst case scenario the cigar will completely unravel so don't chance it. The cap is the thingy they place on the end of the cigar to keep that end closed in an effort to keep the tobacco in the cigar fresh and to keep the cigar together.

When you cut your cigar you want to look for the cap and then make sure you cut well beneath it. Most cigar connoisseurs recommend you cut off about 1/16th or 1/8th of an inch but I don't think you want to be busting out your ruler or anything so just eyeball it partner. Again the most important thing is to not cut the cap of the cigar.

Most cigar connoisseurs will recommend you use wooden matches to light your cigar. This is to prevent any contaminants, like butane from a lighter, to affect the flavor or the taste of your cigar. Butane lighters work well also. The key when lighting is to avoid letting the flame touch your cigar.

What you want to do is bring the open cigar end to the flame and then puff on the cigar strongly to draw the flame into the cigar and while you're doing this you also want to be rotating your cigar so you can get the whole end lit. Some of the larger cigars require several rotations. Check to make sure that the whole end of the cigar is lit and has a nice little glow going before you've determined that your cigar is lit.

Most folks don't inhale cigar smoke as it is not healthy or good for your lungs. Personally I just draw the cigar smoke into my mouth so I can taste it and then I try to taste it some more while I'm exhaling. You don't want to smoke the cigar too quickly because this will cause the cigar to burn too hot and that will affect the flavor and taste of your cigar. Take a few puffs every now and then, make sure your cigar stays lit and seek out the best intervals to get the most flavor out of your cigar.

There's also some debate amongst connoisseurs about how low you're supposed to smoke a cigar and my personal preference is to smoke the cigar so long as it tastes good. When the cigar starts to taste bad I put the thing down and move along.