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Proper Way To Smoke A Cigar?


red zone

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Fellow Extremers,

My wife and I were blessed with twins on December 15th! They were seven weeks premature, but are doing great.

Not wanting to brake with tradition, my little brother went out and got us some SJ-9 Sonny Jurgensen specials to celebrate the new arrivals.

My question is what do we do now? I'm a non-smoker in every sense. I do know cigars are not to be inhaled. Beyond that I have no clue.

I'm banking on the fact many of you are tobaccophiles and can give me a primer in proper stoggie etiquette!

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Congrats on the twins I hope everything is going ok. I to had the same problem my wife and I had just had a baby and I do not smoke either, but my friend bought me some cigars. I just puffed on them and they were ok since I am not a smoker that is the best advice I can give you!! :cheers:

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Congrats back at you. Everything is A.O.K. with the twins, thought they will be in the Neonatal Special Care Nursery for about another week.

My plan cigar-wise is the same as yours, but don't they have to be trimmed or something? I recall seeing a little guillotine device to lop off the end...

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Originally posted by red zone

Fellow Extremers,

My wife and I were blessed with twins on December 15th! They were seven weeks premature, but are doing great.

Not wanting to brake with tradition, my little brother went out and got us some SJ-9 Sonny Jurgensen specials to celebrate the new arrivals.

My question is what do we do now? I'm a non-smoker in every sense. I do know cigars are not to be inhaled. Beyond that I have no clue.

I'm banking on the fact many of you are tobaccophiles and can give me a primer in proper stoggie etiquette!

This is a VERY important question you ask. :).

Smoking a cigar is NOT the same as smoking a cigarette. You must know what you're doing or you won't enjoy the flavor. So, here are the general rules for you to live by.

First, NEVER use matches or non-butane lighters to light a good cigar. EVER. Non-sulphur matches are fine. Butane lighters are fine. That's it. A cigar, even well-made, will soak in the sulphur or lighter fluid and the flavor will be off a little.

Next, the cut, or hole punch is important. If you cut the cigar, it is best if you have a nice double edged guillotine cutter. Try to avoid a single edge as you can fray the cap and end up peeling off some of the wrapper.

WHERE to cut is important. The cap should be visible to you. Do not cut above the cap or you may fray the cigar. You just want a sliver cut off, which will hold tight and give you plenty of smoking area.

Personally I've grown partial to the punch rather than the cutter. It keeps the cap intact and gives you plenty of smoking area, improving flavor and limiting draw, increasing your smoke time. However, if you have a plugged cigar, you will need to cut. Try not to use dull shears or anything to cut it.

The real key now is HOW to smoke. You've properly lit the cigar. You've properly cut it or punched it.

You can't just puff away.

As you pull smoke through the wrap, you pull all the bad stuff. If you pull and pull and pull you'll end up with a tar-filled, horrible tasting cigar. You should let the cigar "rest" between puffs. Cool the tobacco inside down the shaft without letting the burn go out. Some guides tell you 45 seconds between puffs is the only way to smoke a cigar.

I think that's a bit overdone. You can do a NICE deep double pull every 30 seconds or so and enjoy a good cigar for some time. Go with 15 seconds if you are doing shallow pulls. Many cigar smokers also refuse to smoke a cigar from start to finish without first letting the burn go out, and relighting.

I don't do this, but the principle is that once the burn is out, you relight the cigar, only differently. Instead of pulling while you light as you do the first light, you blow through the cigar while you light. This will make the light slow, but, you are blowing OUT old smoke and tar and bad flavor.

Again, I don't bother with this. I simply blow through the cigar every 15 minutes or so and find that works fine.

If your cigar does go out, it is important when you relight it that you do NOT pull in as you do the initial light. Either just let the flame work, or blow through the cigar. If you don't you'll get a pretty noticeable ash flavor as you work down.

Most people have never smoked a proper cigar because they just puff away. Enjoy your first one.

I don't know if the SJ-9s are any good. I don't know how they are made and whether they burn evenly or not. But if you follow this you'll be fine.

Also, it's very important you do NOT INHALE the smoke. People with a death wish do, but, that's not the point of a cigar. Let the smoke fill your mouth. You can even pull it back a little in your throat. Just do NOT inhale it. You'll get a buzz probably just from having it in your mouth. You'll puke if you inhale it.

It's the flavor in your mouth and on your tongue that makes a cigar. It's not necessary to fill your lungs with that harsh a smoke.

Hope this helps.

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Originally posted by red zone

I knew a wily vet would step up. Thanks Art. Some of the terminology has got me confused though. Punch, Cut, Cap, Plug?

Thanks for the great info!!

A punch is something you can buy for like $1.50 at a tabacco shop. Here's what it might look like:

http://www.mydiscountcigar.com/cigar-cutters.html

This has both cutters and punches. These are nicer, so only buy nicer ones if you smoke enough to make it worth it. You can get a fine double edge cutter or a punch for $2 at a store. Or, if you have a good butane lighter, many will have a punch built in somewhere.

The punch basically just pokes a small hole in the bottom of the cigar through the "cap". The cap is just the bottom, closed edge of the cigar. Basically the cigar has the open end you light and a closed end. All they do on the closed end is put a "cap" on it. You can usually see where the shaft wrapper and cap come together and blend on a cigar. And you always cut below that mark. Again, it's JUST a sliver you're looking for. Enough to open the cap and expose the bottom.

A plugged cigar will be too tightly wrapped and hard to smoke. The draw will be difficult and you'll feel yourself having to work to get smoke through. You can sometimes correct this by widening the opening you're smoking from as the plug might be where you have the opening. You can also correct a plug with a tool, but, don't sweat that. If you have to use that tool, it's just easier to throw the thing away :).

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Originally posted by CrazyZeb

Anything you can do about the aftertaste? I find myself tasting it for quite a while, regardless of how many times I brush my teeth, etc.

Zeb.

When you smoke a cigar, stop after the first puff or two.

Let the cigar go out. Then brush your teeth. You might have a small bit of aftertaste, but not much. Why? The taste isn't from the tabacco really. It's from the ash, smoke and tar. If you have a REALLY bad aftertaste that simply won't go away, it probably means you're smoking too vigorously.

I get that as well as I don't have the patience to always sit for two hours with a good cigar :). Some aftertaste is going to be natural. But, if you properly smoke the cigar, it will be the same as after one or two puffs as it will be after 100. The more tar and ash you suck in, the worse the aftertaste will be.

That's not the cigar. That's you :).

Good scotch can help with that as it's got enough flavor to cut any other taste :).

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Originally posted by Renegade7

I could figure Art smoked cigars. ;)

That's some pretty interesting info there, btw. don't look too much into it ;)

You will too, one day, my young protege :).

I've got to work on some of your failings, but, I have great hope for you :).

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Art's got you more than covered...don't inhale and smoke it slow is all I have for you! I stopped smoking cigar's and cigarette's but enjoy the cigar's on this special occassion.

oh, the question about getting rid of the taste in your mouth reminds me of an old joke/one liner:

"Cigars are breath freshners for people who eat sh*t!!"

Finally, congratulations on the twins! :cheers:

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I wouldn't start off with this, it might be a little to much for you:

62-Foot Stogie Rolled in Puerto Rico

By FRANK GRIFFITHS, Associated Press Writer

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - A cigar maker in Puerto Rico has hand-rolled a 62-foot-long stogie, which would be the world's largest if confirmed by the Guinness Book of World Records.

capt.sjuh10601091628.puerto_rico_biggest_cigar_sjuh106.jpg

Patricio Pena, 43, took about four days to manufacture the cigar in a plaza outside a farmer's market in the Santurce district of San Juan, finishing the project late Saturday.

"A friend of mine came up to me recently, and said why don't you try and make the world's largest cigar?" Pena said standing over the cigar, which spanned the length of about a dozen tables.

Pena is attempting to displace Cuba — the king of cigar-making — as the home of the world's largest cigar. The current Guinness record-holder is Jose Castelar Cairo of Havana who made a 45-foot-long cigar in August of 2003.

Pena, originally from Santiago, Dominican Republic, first started rolling cigars at the age of 7, and has continued the practice in Puerto Rico, where he has lived for the past three decades. He has a stand outside the market where he rolls regular-sized cigars.

It took 20 pounds of tobacco from Puerto Rico and Pennsylvania and 100 leaves to roll the huge cigar, Pena said. The materials cost about US$2,000 but he was sponsored by San Juan's city government, Bacardi rum company and Telemundo television station, he said.

Pena said he started the cigar on Wednesday, rolling the tobacco over about an hour and 20 minutes. He let it sit for the next two days so the tobacco gained consistency and would be easier to wrap.

Dozens of curious onlookers including legendary Cuban percussionist Carlos "Patato" Valdes were on hand to watch the final stage of the feat on Saturday. Pena had nine assistants turn the cigar as he wrapped it with the leaves over an hour.

Pena said he does not plan to smoke the cigar or cut it into smaller stogies. Instead, he plans to hang the cigar in the market so tourists can come and see it.

He has already contacted Guinness and is planning to submit the final paperwork soon with the required witness signatures. Guinness officials at the London-based organization were not immediately available for comment on Sunday.

"I hope someone tries to break it. I plan on adding a foot (half a meter) every year until I reach Ponce," Pena said jokingly, referring to a coastal city about 70 miles south-southwest of San Juan.

Puerto Rico, a U.S. Caribbean territory of about 4 million people, once had an important tobacco industry but it has faded over the past century as the economy has shifted away from agriculture and toward industrial manufacturing.

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back in the day i was wasted on some screwdrivers once, and was playing joe cool with a cigar (which i had never smoked before and was comepletely ingnorant about the not inhale thing) and after a few puffs/inhales, i ended up puking over the backyard fence like you wouldn't believe.....

to hell with tobacco.....the best thing i could do with a fine cigar today is to unwrap and gut that puppy and filler up with a more refined, quality smoking substance....:D

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Man, I love a good cigar. When I was down in Mexico about a year ago, I got a hold of some real Cuban Havana’s. I had heard all, of the talk for years over these puppies, and really had no idea. By far, the best cigar I have ever smoked. Running a close second would be a Hula girl cigar from Maui. Imagine a vanilla, macadamia nut flavored cigar, that people actually come up to you and ask what that wonderful smell is.

Now I'm straight jones-ing. Thanks guys

Congrats on the twins!

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