Archives

21 July 2020

How Far Down Should You Smoke A Cigar?

Quite often a hotly debated topic when it comes to smoking cigars, we delve into the age-old question, “how far down should you smoke a cigar?”

Unwritten Rules

Many cigar smokers have their own ideas of when you should stop smoking a cigar. Some of the most common assumptions about cigar smoking are that you should stop smoking your stogie when it hits the cigar band, whereas others say you should let your cigar burn out naturally once you reach three finger-widths left.

There are many different unwritten rules when it comes to your fine cigar; we have even heard from some aficionados that you shouldn’t smoke more than half of the cigar, which is downright wasteful!

The Choice Is Yours

Ultimately, if you are smoking a cigar, then the decision on when you stop smoking will be up to you. You should take the line that you should stop smoking when the cigar stops being enjoyable. Here are some reasons you may wish to stop smoking a cigar:

It Gets Too Small to Hold

If it is getting uncomfortable to hold the cigar as it gets towards the end, then stop smoking it. Unlike a cigarette, there isn’t a filter at the end of a cigar to hold on to, so it is quite likely you’ll need to stop smoking the cigar once it gets to around an inch away from your mouth anyway.

However, if you would like to enjoy the cigar right down to the nub, then you can use a cigar holder or roach clip to get the most out of your smoke.

The Cigar Makes You Feel Unwell

Sometimes, smoking a cigar can make you feel unwell, bringing on feelings of dizziness or nausea. This can happen for a number of reasons but will typically be to do with choosing a cigar that is too strong for you to handle or smoking on an empty stomach. Cigar smoking should be an enjoyable occasion, so if you begin to feel unwell, then you should put the cigar to rest.

The Flavours Become Less Enjoyable

As you smoke your cigar, the flavours are likely to develop throughout the experience. While a cigar should offer a pleasant experience, sometimes as you come near the end of the cigar’s smoke time, these flavours can start to become less enjoyable. This could be to do with the cigar smoking too hot and causing bitter notes. To fix this, you can either stop smoking or purge your cigar to keep smoking.

Think of your cigar in three parts:

• The first part is warming up the cigar, where you will be burning off any unwanted flavours from the match or butane torch, and the flavours will begin to develop.
• The second third will normally be the best-tasting part of your smoke, where the draw will be at its optimum, and you will be picking up a variety of flavour profiles.
• Finally, you will come to the final third, and this is when you may experience unwanted flavours which are normally caused by the build-up of oils and tars from the tobacco. This is when you can purge the cigar to see if the enjoyable flavours you experienced earlier will return.

To purge a cigar, you need to gently blow through the cigar, rather than puffing on it. This should help to clear out the cigar and remove some of the bitter oils that have built up.

Are There Rules To Smoking Cigars?

Cigar rules may only be enforced if you smoke around certain cigar aficionados because they can sometimes be the people who care more about arbitrary and rather questionable rules on etiquette than they do about savouring the moment with friends and fine cigars. This isn’t always the case, but as with most things, if you are around experts in the field, then you should be prepared to act in the same manner.

When it comes to smoking a cigar, we think there would be a universal agreement that very few people would choose to spend their hard-earned money on something just to throw half of it away! The truth of the matter is there are no real rules per se; it just comes down to personal preference and the individual cigar you are smoking.

Depends on the Cigar

Some cigars will start to get hot and harsh well before you reach the nub – it’s those cigars you might want to abandon before you get even halfway. On the other hand, there are others that taste fantastic right to the very end, making it more than worth your while to perhaps burn your fingers and savour that last draw.

Through time, along with trial and error, you’ll know which cigars taste great to the very end and which ones are better to not smoke all the way through.