Stogie Tip: Lighting Your Cigar
Wednesday, June 14th, 2006As I indicated in the last Stogie Tip on June 1, properly lighting a cigar is a bit more complicated than simply striking a match. But if you follow these simple instructions, you’ll get a flawless light every time.
Due to their resistance to wind and perfect flames, butane lighters make great tools to ignite cigars (the new Zippo Blu is shown at right). You can spend anywhere from $10 to over $75 on a nice butane lighter, but – since you’ll probably lose it in four months – I’d go with a $10 model. That’s what I have, and it works great.
If you don’t have a butane lighter, a long, wooden match is also acceptable. Just make sure to wait until the sulfur burns off before touching it to your cigar.
Avoid using stoves, candles, paper matches, and lighters that use lighter fluid (naphtha) or noxious gases (i.e., regular Zippos). Chemicals and odors from these instruments can affect the taste of your cigar. After all, once your stogie is properly cut, you don’t want to get the smoke off on the wrong foot.
Speaking of which, to correctly ignite your stogie, first take the foot of the cigar (that’s the end you didn’t have to cut), hold it at a 45 degree angle over the flame, and slowly rotate the stogie so the outer edge (the wrapper) begins to ash. Doing this before lighting up the inside of the cigar will ensure a nice, even burn. This is called “toasting the foot.”
Next, place the stogie in your mouth and hold the flame about half an inch from the foot. Rotate the cigar as you draw in air. This will light the filler (the inside) of the cigar. When you release the air pressure from the draw, a flame should shoot up from the foot of the cigar, and smoke will release from your mouth.
Your cigar is now successfully lit. In my next Stogie Tip, I’ll discuss the finer points of proper smoking etiquette. For example, when should you take off the cigar band?
Happy smoking!
-Patrick A
Tags: cigars
[...] Over the past few months, I’ve provided you with tips on how to properly cut and light your cigars, I’ve discussed good cigar etiquette, and we even lent our advice on spotting counterfeits and golf. Now it’s time to learn how to harness that ever-elusive hygrometer. [...]
[...] Pre-light this cigar gave off licorice flavors. Lighting it with a single wooden match was easy, facilitated by the unfinished foot. Once lit the burn was mostly even as long as I kept the slow burning edge facing down. Because this cigar uses medium filler – as opposed to long filler which runs the length of a cigar – I had the unfortunate experience of finding bits of the tobacco in my mouth after each draw. [...]
[...] Once I lit the cigar, I immediately found it to be flavorful. It produced an abundance of warm white smoke, and chocolate earthy flavors quickly revealed themselves. These flavors were consistent throughout, and never dull. [...]
[...] Like many Montecristo smokes, this cigar felt very solid and dense in my hand. After clipping the cigar with a double guillotine, I used two wooden matches to give it a proper light (the first match toasted the edges and the second turned the foot glowing orange). [...]
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[...] If you take a look through our archives, you’ll find dozens of tips from stogie basics, like cutting and lighting a cigar, to tips on choosing a drink and advanced smoking techniques. [...]
[...] After toasting the foot with a wooden match and drawing a few start-up puffs, the Nicaraguan, Honduran, and Peruvian filler tobaccos mingled with the Connecticut Shade wrapper to create a mouth-watering creamy almond and butter taste. Despite the slightest traces of spice, the stogie maintained this mild flavor for what seemed like ages. [...]
[...] You’d expect a cigar this innocent-looking to start off with a whimper and not a bang, but that’s not the case. As soon as I lit the foot with a few matches, I received heavy notes of sharp spice and salt. Not terribly pleasing. [...]
[...] Lately, I have been taking more time lighting, working to get an even, full glow without having to puff while holding the foot above the flame. It was easy with this cigar. And as the ash grew, it showed the waving pattern of the filler leaves. Not that all that has much to do with the taste, but, as reader Mac and Nudo reminded us recently, aesthetics are important. [...]
[...] After clipping the cigar and carefully lighting it, I was greeted with a bitter-sweet chocolate flavor and a dry finish. Additionally there are some nutty notes in this medium to full bodied smoke. [...]
Cool!
[...] Unlit, the stogie had a pleasant cedar aroma. I cut it with my double guillotine and gave it a proper light after toasting the edges, but nothing could prepare me for the ride it was about to give my taste buds. [...]
[...] Stogie Guys Lighting Tips – http://www.stogieguys.com/2006/06/stogie-tip-lighting-your-cigar.html [...]
[...] I toasted the foot with a few wooden matches, I found a wonderful aroma of toast and hay. Thereafter, the first few [...]
[...] I found after toasting the foot surprised me: a dry and spicy kick with an aroma more agreeable than the taste. Earthy seasonings [...]
[...] clipping the uniquely large cap and toasting the foot, the initial flavor is a tad salty, but evens out with some toffee undertones. Sweetened coffee [...]
[...] while toasting the edges is still the best way to light your cigar, on the golf course you might skip that step if just keeping the flame lit proves difficult. If you [...]
[...] smoke, I took in heavy notes of wood, earth, and chocolate before striking the first match. After toasting the foot and taking a few puffs, the flavor had more of a kick than I had originally anticipated, producing [...]
Make your own fuel and get the taste you want!
If you’re smoking cigars I recommend something like Cognac. I usually mix it with something like a little everclear to get the spark to light it better. I keep it in a small 2oz to 4oz bottle with squeeze top for easy refill. (And so you can enjoy the rest of the Cognac with the cigar)
The flame is a lot more blue and looks really cool. It really makes the cigar taste so much better, real Cognac through out the cigar, mmmm! Butane and matches can’t do this!!
[...] I was prepared for this cigar to have lost some weight over three years in storage, but it seems to be as brawny as ever. It starts up with the same bullish glower that I remember so well — pepper with a leathery aroma and a good kick from the git-go. The draw is good but the thick juicy wrapper requires a correction almost immediately, within the first inch and half. (Since this was the last correction needed, I’m calling operator error… toast that foot evenly.) [...]
This is going to perhaps sound like a real stupid question, but here goes. . .
In pipe smoking I’ve learned never to burn the pipe so hot that it burns the bowl, that it should never be smoked hotter than you could stand to place the outside of the bowl to your face.
Is there any such rule in smoking a cigar, i.e., not to draw on it so much that it gets real hot?
[...] Last June, I published one of our first Stogie Tips: a short article on how to properly light a cigar. Aside from the ever-important “toasting the foot” strategy, the bulk of piece dealt with various means with which to light a stogie. [...]
[...] If you’re a regular StogieGuys.com reader, you know we’re serious about this. Over the years we’ve written numerous times about lighters, matches, and tips for lighting up. [...]