Cutting And Lighting
Last issue we inaugurated our Cigar 101 series with a
rundown of the myriad shapes, shades and sizes that make
up the world of cigars. The next step on the road to
aficionado status? Mastering a few simple but invaluable
techniques for cutting and lighting.
Preparing to smoke a cigar can be a wonderful experience
in itself. You will be spending quality time with a
quality product, and it will be to your benefit to
reflect upon its creation before lighting up. Unlike
cigarettes, you do not simply pull out a cigar, light
the tip and start puffing. First of all, almost every
premium cigar has a closed head that must be cut before
you can begin to smoke. Also, you would do well to use
something other than a paper match for your source of
ignition. There are several ways to cut a cigar, the
best being what suits the individual. However, there is
only one way to effectively light a cigar.
CUTTING YOUR CIGAR Watch the actors in old movies and
you'll see that there are a host of ways to open the
closed end of a cigar before smoking it. Some characters
used a pocket knife to cut a neat V-shaped notch. Others
used horseshoe nails as piercers. Certain film stars in
tough-guy roles bit off the end and spat it out. Some
people today still use these methods but, for the most
part, cutting cigars has become a bit less colorful, and
a bit more elegant.
The better the cigars you smoke, the more attention
you'll want to pay to the cut. A bad cut will ruin a
cigar.
The object of the cut is to create an ample, smooth
opening for smoking without damaging the cigar's
structure. With most cigars, this means cutting away
part of the cap or flag leaf that closes the cigar,
while leaving some of it glued around the end to keep
the filler leaves together. If you are making a wedge
cut or a bull's-eye cut, it means not penetrating too
deeply into the cigar. You want to create a large,
exposed surface of cleanly cut filler leaves that will
allow equal draw from the core and the rim of the cigar.
On most cigars, you'll want to make the cut about
one-sixteenth of an inch \(about two millimeters\) from
the end. When you aren't carrying a precision measuring
device, you can simply look for the shoulder--the place
where the curved end of the cigar starts to straighten
out--and make your cut there.
Another alternative is to make a V-shaped wedge cut in
the end of the cigar. This style of cut exposes a lot of
surface area and makes it easy to draw smoke through the
cigar. Unfortunately, the draw is sometimes too good,
and the cigar will smoke too hot. Wedge cuts are a
particularly bad idea for people who tend to chew their
cigars. If they chomp down hard enough while the wedge
is horizontal, the opening may collapse and tear the
structure of the cigar, closing off the draw.
Cutting Tools There are a number of devices that will
help you cut your cigar in a single, swift motion that
minimizes the chances of tearing the wrapper. Many
aficionados have several cutters, from compact
wafer-thin cutters that nestle in a pocket to more
massive cutters that are less likely to be misplaced.
Suggested strategy: buy yourself your first cutter and
drop gift hints for the rest. Engraved initials make
sure that valuable cutters find their way back to you
after they have been borrowed.
Of course, you already have a set of cutters: your
teeth. But there are a few drawbacks to the biting
method. First, it's hard to see what you're doing.
Second, your teeth aren't as sharp as a cutter's razor
blade. And third, you end up with an unsightly wad of
tobacco in your mouth.
Knives, on the other hand, are easy to keep sharp. But
it takes great skill and very steady eyes and hands to
cut cigars properly with a knife. If you do choose this
method, you'll want to avoid cleansing your pocketknife
with oils, which may pollute your cigar.
Piercers, sometimes called lances, are intriguing, but
hard to use. If a cigar is pierced too deeply, a tunnel
may form that causes the center of the cigar to burn too
hot. Moreover, the area opened by piercing has two
drawbacks: 1\) the smoker may not get the even draw that
would give him or her the full benefit of all the
different leaves blended into the bunch in the cigar;
2\) since tars and nicotine tend to accumulate at the
openings that channel the smoke, the small hole produced
by a piercer will likely concentrate these nasty
substances even further, sending more of them into the
smoker's mouth and air passages.
Double- and single-bladed cutters, scissors and desk-top
devices are designed to make a cut across the end of the
cigar. These are generally the best options.
When you are using a single-bladed cutter, the cigar
should be placed against the far side of the
opening--away from the blade--and the blade brought down
to touch the cigar before you make the cutting stroke.
This keeps the cigar properly positioned, and prevents
motion that might lead to tearing or to the cut
happening in the wrong place. Once the cigar is in
position, cut boldly, using swift, even pressure. A true
aficionado cuts like a surgeon: quickly and confidently.
With single-bladed cutters it's important to make sure
the compartment that sheaths the blade doesn't fill up
with bits of tobacco. This will gum up the works and
impede quick, clean cuts. All cutters should be kept as
sharp as possible. Note that it is more difficult to
sharpen some of the smaller, more intricate cutters.
The advantage of double-bladed cutters is that the
cutting proceeds from both sides simultaneously. There
is less chance that the cigar wrapper will be torn as
it's pushed against a dull surface. Again, the technique
is to rest the cigar against a blade before clicking the
cutter shut.
Special cigar-cutting scissors can make extremely clean
cuts and are an elegant accessory, but they must be
wielded with some care. The fit and balance of cigar
scissors is important and as unique to an individual as
those of golf clubs. Try a pair out before investing in
them. They should balance easily in one hand so that
you'll be able to hold them steady through the cutting
motion while you hold a cigar in the other hand. If the
handles and blades don't balance with each other when
you hold them, the scissors aren't for you. Also, if the
hinge is placed so that you cannot move your fingers
without stretching past your hand's normal span, then
try another pair.
It's worth investing in a good cutter. Remember that a
bad cut will ruin a good cigar, and it doesn't take a
lot of ruined cigars to add up to the cost of even a
very elegant cutter.
HOW TO LIGHT A CIGAR Lighting a cigar is not like
lighting the tip of a cigarette or the wick of a
candle--it takes longer. Light your cigar the same way
you would toast a marshmallow over a campfire--keep the
cigar above and near the flame, but don't let them
touch. Burning a cigar directly in a flame makes it too
hot. And, as with a marshmallow, you'll want to rotate
the cigar so all parts of its tip are equally heated. Be
patient, and keep at it until there's a glowing ring all
the way around the cigar's tip. Once the cigar is lit,
gently blow on the embers to create a smooth, completely
rounded ash.
Then, raise the unlit end of the cigar to your mouth and
take the first puff. The question is, which way to puff?
Many aficionados blow the first puff out through the
cigar in order to avoid unsavory flavors such as sulfur
from matches or gasses from lighters. No one, of course,
should ever apply more than one outward puff.
To Relight, or Not to Relight Some purists think that
it's shameful to ever have to relight a cigar.
Realistically, even the best cigars will go out on those
occasions when the conversation becomes so absorbing
that you forget to take a puff for a couple of minutes.
It's no worse to have to relight a cigar than it is to
have to fish a bit of cork out of a fine glass of wine.
It will generally take you less time to relight an
already-warm cigar than it does to light one for the
first time.
Do not, however, intentionally let your cigar die out
and then relight it the next day. This will lead to
stale, harsh flavors that will ruin your fine memories
of the first few puffs.
If you have to relight a cigar several times, you may
have a badly rolled cigar. Premium cigars are made by
hand, not by machine, and they are made from organic
materials that retain much of their natural, irregular
structure and character. Despite dedicated quality
control efforts, a substandard cigar occasionally makes
its way to the market. Don't hesitate to bring a badly
rolled cigar back to your tobacconist. Most will happily
replace it.
Choosing Your Flame Never light a cigar with a flame
from a source that will alter the essence of your cigar.
Using a candle, for example, is a temptingly theatrical
gesture, but the burning candlewax can add an odd flavor
to your cigar. So can the fluid from an isobutane
cigarette lighter. Many smokers also object to the
sulfur used in most match tips.
If you insist on using a candle or a fluid lighter, use
it to light a strip of cedar, called a spill, and use
that to light the cigar. If you insist on matches, try
to get extra-long, wooden sulfurless ones. If you can't
find them and are using regular, short matches, be
prepared to use a number of them. Be sure to let the
sulfur burn off before starting the lighting process and
try lighting two at a time, so you get a broader flame.
Cigar lighters are the easiest way to get an even light.
What makes a lighter a cigar lighter? A cigar lighter
uses odorless gas, and often "fatter" flame, or even two
adjacent flame sources, and adjustable flame heights.
Cigar lighters come in a wide range of designs and
materials, so it will be easy to find one that's an
appropriate accessory for your sense of style. Your
first requirement should, of course, be performance. A
good lighter, like a good pen, should fit your hand. The
cap should open easily, and swing back so the whole
flame is available for lighting. |
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