The Stogie Guys

[Editors’ Note: In celebration of the five-year anniversary of StogieGuys.com, we’re updating and re-publishing some of our oldest articles, many of which focused on cigar basics. Our hope is to encourage a discussion among readers and reacquaint the community with important cigar fundamentals.]

Giving cigars as a gift, even to a known cigar fan, isn’t always as easy as it sounds. Smokers’ tastes in cigars vary widely. Some are averse to specific brands based on bad past experiences, some only like very mild or very strong cigars, some are maduro smokers or Cuban snobs, and some will try any handmade cigar at least once. Unlike buying cigars for yourself, buying cigars for friends, relatives, acquaintances, and co-workers is an entirely different animal. So to help you out, here are three tips for good cigar gift-giving:

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[Editors’ Note: In celebration of the five-year anniversary of StogieGuys.com, we’re updating and re-publishing some of our oldest articles, many of which focused on cigar basics. Our hope is to encourage a discussion among readers and reacquaint the community with important cigar fundamentals.]

Golf and cigars go together perfectly. You’ve got hours outdoors, you can ash your cigar anywhere without getting dirty looks (except for the greens), and compared to the rest of society, golf courses generally provide cigar-friendly environments.

There are plenty of firms looking to cash in on this match made in heaven with all kinds of specialty golf cigar gadgets ranging from cigar tees to hold your cigar to golf bag humidors. But dropping extra cash on a gadget is completely unnecessary if you follow a few simple tips.

First, make a good decision about what to smoke. The golf course is perfect for a Churchill or, if a smaller ring gauge is more to your liking, a lonsdale. Remember that your cigar may sit un-smoked for awhile as you four-putt, only to find that it went out. Larger cigars have a higher tolerance for re-lighting.

Second, you need to light your cigar properly. While golf courses are perfect for smoking a stogie, the wind that never seems to be blowing at your back can make lighting a cigar awfully difficult. If blocking the wind with your hand doesn’t get the job done, you may want to try using a hat to block the breeze. Or sit in your golf cart (if you’re riding, not walking) and duck behind the clear plastic windshield. A torch is preferable to matches under windy conditions.

After you’ve got your cigar selected and lit properly, the next challenge is deciding where to rest your cigar while you swing away. Plenty of outfits hawk special “cigar tees,” but all you need is a flat, non-flammable surface: various places in golf carts, tee box markers, or even a few tees from your bag. Just try to avoid laying your cigar directly on the grass—especially the greens—as many golf courses are saturated with chemical fertilizers.

Our final tip regards how many cigars to bring to the course in the first place. The standard is one cigar for every nine holes. But it’s better to come over-prepared, especially if the course has a slow pace of play. That makes three cigars per 18-hole round a good rule of thumb. Just remember to store your stash safely in your golf bag inside a simple leather case or a cigar tube.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Flickr

[Editors’ Note: In celebration of the five-year anniversary of StogieGuys.com, we’re updating and re-publishing some of our oldest articles, many of which focused on cigar basics. Our hope is to encourage a discussion among readers and reacquaint the community with important cigar fundamentals.]

Even the most amateur enthusiast knows that cigars need humidity for proper storage. Since they are hydroscopic in nature, cigars will, over time, dry out in an arid climate or absorb moisture in a humid one. Dry cigars yield high combustion temperatures, leaving the smoke hot and acrid on the palate. And wet cigars tend to burn improperly and taste stale.

Therefore, we need to aim for a happy medium between too dry and too damp. For the most enjoyable smoke, this equates to 12 to 14 percent of the cigar’s total weight in moisture (or about 60 to 70 percent relative humidity). If you have a humidor, your hygrometer measures relative humidity. But hygrometers, whether mechanical or electronic, can be grossly imprecise and may require adjustment or replacement. So be sure to verify the accuracy of your hygrometer with the salt calibration test.

I’ll begin by mentioning that my degrees in political science and international commerce in no way qualify me to discuss the intricacies of chemistry. So I won’t try to explain why the salt calibration test works. Just please note that it does.

To perform the test on your own hygrometer, you’ll need a few basic items:

(1) Distilled water (purchased from any grocery store)
(2) Coffee stirrer (or other thin, clean object with which to stir)
(3) Bottle cap (Snapple bottle caps work perfectly)
(4) Empty wide-mouth jar with lid (like a clean mayonnaise jar)
(5) Tablespoon of plain table salt
(6) Your hygrometer

Place the tablespoon of salt within the bottle cap and slowly add distilled water to the salt while stirring with the coffee stirrer. Only add just enough water to moisten the salt so that it becomes a thick paste—do not add enough to dissolve the salt.

Next, place the bottle cap with salt/water mixture gently into your wide-mouth jar and add your hygrometer. Make certain the sensor is exposed and is not blocked by the sides of the jar. Seal the jar so there are no leaks, and put it in a place out of direct sunlight and with a stable, cool temperature (like your closet).

Leave the setup undisturbed for a minimum of eight hours. After that, check the reading on the hygrometer through the glass jar. It should read on or near 75 percent relative humidity. Most inexpensive hygrometers are only accurate to within 3 percent, so do not be surprised if yours reads 72 or 78 percent. Whatever it reads plus or minus our 75 percent benchmark is the amount of error.

If your hygrometer has an adjustment meter then, by all means, try to tweak it to exactly 75 percent relative humidity. You should repeat the salt calibration test after making any adjustments. If your hygrometer can’t be adjusted but the reading is close, then my advice is to not worry about it; just remember that your hygrometer is X percent off—either high or low. If the reading is grossly in error and you are unable to adjust it, you need to replace it.

Once you confirm your hygrometer’s accuracy and maintain a relative humidity of about 65 percent in your humidor, your cigars will age properly and be in peak condition when you’re ready to fire them up.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Flickr

[Editors’ Note: In celebration of the five-year anniversary of StogieGuys.com, we’re updating and re-publishing some of our oldest articles, many of which focused on cigar basics. Our hope is to encourage a discussion among readers and reacquaint the community with important cigar fundamentals.]

Properly lighting a cigar is a bit more complicated than simply striking a match. But taking the time to establish an even, straight burn—and getting in the habit of doing so regularly—will pay dividends in better performing cigars and fewer touch-ups.

It’s well-documented that butane lighters, due to their resistance to wind and consistent flames, make great ignition tools. Some cigar enthusiasts spend hundreds of dollars on a shiny lighter made of a precious metal that may or may not perform well over the years (or may or may not get lost between the car seats). If that’s the route you want to take, I think you’ll find many of options. I, on the other hand, have several single-flame lighters (one in the car, one in the golf bag, one at home, one at work, etc.), each of which cost me between $4 and $30. A few are very reliable and effective, and a few others are less consistent. Most importantly, all are easily replaceable.

Whether you’re using a $4 lighter or a $400 lighter, the process of establishing a good burn is pretty much the same. After cutting the head and examining the cold draw, take the foot, hold it at a 45 degree angle over the flame, and slowly rotate the stogie so the entire face of the foot begins to darken. Take note of the aroma.

Next, place the stogie in your mouth and hold the flame about an inch from the foot. Rotate the cigar as you draw in air. When you release the air pressure from the draw, a flame will shoot up from the foot of the cigar, and smoke will release.

Finally, take the cigar out of your mouth and gently blow air directly onto the foot. This will help the flame spread across the entire surface of the filler tobacco (and also enable you to check your work). Repeat as necessary.

These simple steps can be followed whether you’re using a butane torch or, as is my preference in non-windy locales, wooden matches. It is inadvisable to light cigars with paper matches, stoves, candles, or lighters that use lighter fluid.

Whatever your ignition tool, be sure to keep this in mind: You’re lighting a cigar, not welding iron. There’s no need to rush the lighting process (the ritual is meant to be enjoyed), and overhearing or charring the foot is a great way to ruin an otherwise fine smoke. So take your time and keep the flame at a safe distance.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Flickr

[Editors’ Note: In celebration of the five-year anniversary of StogieGuys.com, we’re updating and re-publishing some of our oldest articles, many of which focused on cigar basics. Our hope is to encourage a discussion among readers and reacquaint the community with important cigar fundamentals.]

While enjoying a fine cigar is certainly more of an art than a science, there a few essential skills you should master in order to get the most out of the experience. What better place to start than with a good, clean cut?

It’s worth pointing out that, when it comes to cigar cutting, there are many different tools. Some people use specially-crafted cigar scissors, some use a sharp knife, a cigar punch, a V-cutter—some even use their teeth. But the most common tool is the guillotine-style cigar cutter.

We recommend the guillotine cutter for most cigar smokers because knives and teeth usually don’t yield clean cuts. Cigar scissors are nice tools if you know how to use them (they require precision, practice, and a keen eye). And cigar punches and V-cutters, while perfect for some cigars (use punches on stogies with tightly-packed fillers to ease the draw and V-cutters on cigars with small ring gauges to increase surface area), are not always the best choice.

In order to use the guillotine cutter, take the head of the cigar and position it so the blade will enter the stogie just above the shoulder (where parejo cigars stop being round). If you’re planning to smoke a torpedo or a pyramid, a good rule of thumb is to slice off about a quarter inch.

No matter what the cigar size, though, keep in mind that it’s better to error on the side of cutting too little. You can always go back and carefully re-cut if the cold draw is too tight. But if you cut too much, there’s no going back.

With the guillotine in place, press down firmly until the blade completely passes through the cigar. If the blade is sharp and the stogie is in good condition, you will get a nice clean cut. You may want to invest in a double-guillotine cutter (that’s a guillotine with two blades instead of one) to ensure even cleaner cuts.

Finally, for a cigar that typically exhibits a tight draw, try cutting the head at a slight angle instead of straight up and down. Angled cuts will increase the surface area of the exposed filler and thereby make it a little easier to pull through.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Here at StogieGuys.com, one of our missions is to keep you abreast of important developments that can impact cigar rights, be they local, state, or national. If you’re informed, you have a chance to change the outcome. But to be an effective voice, you need to know what works and what doesn’t. The following are suggestions from my experiences with governments and from consulting recently with some politicians and staffers.

Focus on your legislator. Politicians respond to constituents. This is as true at the city council level as it is in the U.S. Senate. Your address should be near the top of all correspondence. As a former Hill staffer said, “You have a voice they want to hear if you have a vote they need.”

Know the bill number or name. There are so many bills at so many stages of the process, even in a small locality, that it’s difficult for anyone to keep up. Being specific will ensure that you make your point effectively and precisely.

Visit if you can. No one knows the impact of the personal touch better than a politician. If possible, schedule a brief meeting. If not, send a carefully constructed, single-page letter. It will have greater impact than an email.

Don’t copy a form letter. These usually get consigned to File 13 and may not generate a reply. Use your own words to express your own thoughts. Forwarding a copied email is even less effective.

Be business-like and professional. Always keep your goal in mind. Arguing, threatening, bullying, etc., are counterproductive.

Don’t bother with petitions. These rarely matter to politicians, unless they’re huge or involve a recall effort. A handful of committed, active constituents carries much more weight than dozens of people who simply signed their names, many of whom may not even be constituents.

But there is strength in numbers. Outfits like CRA and IPCPR can be effective. Even small groups can have a strong voice. Consider inviting your local rep or city council member to a meet-and-greet night at the cigar shop.

Be brief, polite, and to the point. This should go without saying. But if you aren‘t, you’re probably wasting your time.

–George E

photo credit: Flickr

My first encounter with the Xikar EXII lighter was at the IPCPR Trade Show last August. I was sitting in the Davidoff blending seminar, ran out of matches, and didn’t have my lighter with me.

I asked Tim, co-creator of Your Cigar Ratings, if I could borrow his, and he handed me this exact lighter. I was surprised that it was soft flame and intrigued by the fact that it was supposedly “windproof.” That initial experience piqued my interest, and I thought about purchasing one for several months. I was fortunate enough to receive one as a gift.

The Havana Collection EXII is based on the original EX lighter, but has polished steel casings and the center panel features cigar-related artwork. The Havana Collection retails for $100, but you can purchase the original EX for $60. The biggest difference between the two is the casing and the art. The best part about Xikar lighters, besides their reliability, is that each comes equipped with a lifetime warranty.

Looks are great but the most important thing about a lighter is reliability and functionality. Like any product, the EXII has its pros and cons. The cons, in this case, are more tradeoffs than purely negative attributes. First, in stiff breezes it can be a challenge to get a cigar lit, even though the soft flame is windproof, as the flame behaves erratically. It’s tough to light larger ring gauge cigars, although increasing the flame size does alleviate this somewhat. Lastly, touching up a cigar can be a bit of a challenge with a soft flame, but it gets easier with a little practice.

The EXII has plenty of pros though. Over months of use I have consistently been impressed with how long the fuel lasts before the lighter needs to be filled. And my favorite feature has to be the flame adjustment wheel. It is extremely easy to adjust the flame compared to lighters with those tiny recessed adjustments. The flame is as windproof as they come although, as noted, in a strong breeze lighting a cigar can still be a challenge. The biggest benefit of using the soft flame is that it burns much cooler than a torch and won’t char the cigar like a torch can.

Ultimately, if you are in the market for a good-looking, reliable soft flame lighter, the EXII is an excellent choice. The initial expense might seem a little high, but the quality is excellent and the warranty guarantees your investment.

–Patrick M

photo credit: Stogie Guys