Cigar Blog

Happiness is a good cigar

Best Cigar Tips Continued

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We took a look at three tips that you should bear in mind when smoking a cigar. I think my favorite of the three is to find a good drink to go with the cigar. Well, let’s take a look at some things that you can consider and which will help you enjoy your cigar better.

Expand your horizons.
What do I mean by this? As a new cigar smoker, do not try just one brand or flavor. After all, you do not have much experience with the different kinds of cigars out there. Though you may start with something that a trusted friend has recommended, I suggest that you do yourself a favor and try many different kinds. You can actually buy sampler packs, which contain many different cigars in one container. This way, you can find out for yourself which kind you really prefer and at the same time, you do not spend too much money buying a bundle of each kind. This also actually applies to the more experienced smokers as well. Sampler packs are a great way to discover new kinds of cigars without weighing heavily on the pocket.

Never put a partially smoked cigar back in your humidor.
Seasoned smokers know better than to do this but a lot of newbies have made this mistake. If you do not finish smoking a cigar, either put it in a cigar savor or just throw it away.

Best Cigar Tips

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If you are new to the world of cigars, there are probably a lot of things that you may not know yet. This is what I like to call “best practices.” These are habits that the more seasoned cigar smokers would know about but may be unknown to the newbies. Let’s take a look at some of these tips.

Puff but do not inhale.
I do not know too many people who, when they smoke cigars, inhale the smoke. Many smoke cigars for the flavor – this means that you do not have to actually inhale the cigar. Enjoy the draw and live longer!

Find a good companion for your cigar.
I am talking about a drink. Most people I know like to drink while smoking a cigar. There is no rule against this, of course and drinking is actually a good accompaniment to a good cigar. The idea, though, is to have a drink that will enhance the flavor of your cigar and not drown it.

Age your cigars before smoking.
If you buy a new bundle of cigars, do not immediately smoke them. Of course, you can do so if you want but you would not get the best out of the cigars. Rather, you should unwrap them and place them in humidors for a few months before smoking them. If you want a cigar that you can smoke immediately, go to your local cigar shop and buy individual sticks that they have already aged.

What Do You Do With Your Cigar Bands?

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In the last post we talked about cigar bands and how they came to be. We also talked briefly about how different people perceive and treat cigar bands. There are those people who do not really pay attention to cigar bands and as a matter of fact, immediately take them off the cigar before they smoke it. On the other hand, there are those people who take pride in their cigar bands and leave them on as they smoke. In fact, there are some people who see cigar bands as sort of a status symbol.

So what should you really do? According to Puffing Cigars, if you follow the old European etiquette, you should remove the band. However, there are pretty good reasons to keep it on. For one, many of these cigar bands are firmly glued in place. This means that you actually risk damaging your cigar if you insist on removing it! More than this, the cigar bands of today are actually quite beautiful. You can find ones that are gold-colored with really neat designs. Having the cigar band on can also add to the aesthetic value of smoking your cigar. Now why wouldn’t you want that?

If you really want to remove the band from the cigar, why not try this trick – smoke a little bit of your cigar with the band on. After a while, the heat from the smoke will melt the glue a bit and weaken the bond. Then you can try taking out the band – it should be easier and not damage the cigar itself.

Photo courtesy of Esteban Cavrico