Cigar Clipper

Just A Little Off the Top: How To Clip A Cigar

What is the proper way to clip a cigar? Every cigar lover has their own personal style and method, but here are a few tips to point you in the right direction.

Here’s how to cut a cigar. First, pick up the cigar and take a look at the head of the cigar, the closed end. This is the area that will be cut. Figure out where the cap is. The cap is the area of the cigar where extra tobacco was used to close up the cigar. Finding the cap is the first part, and then you need to figure out its length. You don’t want to cut past the cap’s end, doing so can cause the whole cigar to unravel and fall apart in your hand.  

Tip – How to clip a cigar: Make sure you have a high quality cigar clipper to remove the head of the cap. A poor quality clipper can fray or split the ends. You can find good clipper, made for making clean cuts, at any tobacco shop. Hold the cigar steady and make a quick, meaningful cut right over the cap. Remember less is always more, if you cut is not high enough you can always cut it down further.

cigar ashtray

Choosing a Good Cigar Ashtray…

An ashtray is not just an ashtray, its need to be large enough to hold the ashes and girth of the cigar. Cigars are larger than your normal cigarette and need their own special space. Cigar aficionados sing the praises of finding the exact place for their cigars and ashes.

What should you look for in a suitable cigar ashtray? The most important step is to make sure the ashtray is large enough to place your cigar. Cigars can come in all shapes and sizes, so it is important to figure out what your cigar of choice is first. The next thing is to think about your personal smoking style. How much ash do you produce? Do you rest your cigar for periods of time, or do you hold it for the duration? These are some important things to note when you begin the selection process.

You are looking for a cigar ashtray that can hold up to two cigars and their ashes. The ashtray should be made of metal, heavy glass, or ceramics; the stronger the better.

Where do you go to buy one of these ashtrays? Cigar aficionados prefer antique ashtrays. You can find these at flea markets, antique shops, or thrift stores. You can also shop online or go to a smoke shop, store that sells tobacco products.

Cigar Ashtray

Check Out That Cigar Ashtray

Is there a way to know if your cigar is high quality? There is actually, check the ashtray, the left over ashes can tell a lot about the quality of the cigar they came from. Below are listed some guidelines to follow in order to figure out the quality of your cigars.

The first thing to look for is how quickly your cigar burns. Cigars that burn fast and leave ashes that are easily broken apart, signifies low quality. Take a look at the ashes, if they seem messy and stick together too much this also is a sign of a low quality cigar. One last thing to check is the color. The ash color should not change, if it does, the mixture of tobacco leaves might be a poor, low quality.

A high quality cigar is one that is firmly packed, burns slowly, and has stiff ash. This stiff ash should stay intact and build up to two or three inches long, staying on the cigar and not breaking apart. A high quality cigar will burn clear down to the nub. The taste will change the closer to the nub the cigar burns. You can often let the cigar burn on its own for a bit, to get past the bitter spots.

One Way To Light A Cigar

4 Tips On How to Light a Cigar

If you are new to smoking cigars lighting up can be an intimidating task. Here are four guidelines to follow geared to making you look like a pro, even if it is your first time.

1. Cedar matches work best; however, if you’re more comfortable with a lighter, it should be butane to keep strong odors at bay.
2. Slowly, warm up the foot of the cigar (the open end), over the flame, but don’t let it touch the fire. Allow a black ring to shape around the end.
3. Placing the cigar in your mouth, slowly inhale. Keep the cigar over about half an inch over the flame, but don’t touch the fire. Continue to inhale until a flame appears on the end of the cigar. Slowly, spin the cigar around the flame so it burns evenly.
4. As soon as the cigar appears lit, remove it from your mouth and take a look at the burn around the end. You want the burn to be even, so if it is not even blow on any unlit areas to pull out the burn. You may need to take a couple pulls from the cigar to establish an even burn.

Looking to buy a gift for that cigar enthusiast? Pondering how to go about picking the perfect cigar for your friend? You don’t have to be a cigar aficionado to learn the skills of picking out a great cigar. A few simple tips can help you sniff out and find that perfect gift.

Cigars, once symbolic of the rich and famous, now have entered into the realms of pop culture. This makes it easier for almost anyone to go out and buy a high quality cigar. You don’t have to buy a top of the line box of Cuban cigars, which are probably way out of your price range anyway, but you can still get a high quality cigar they are sure to enjoy.

The first step is to find the nearest tobacco or smoke shop; they will have the highest quality cigars, cigar gifts, and the largest selections. Stay away from the drugstore cigars; they may be cheaper and more convenient, they are full of unnecessary preservatives and are of a low quality. These types of cigars contain paper, saltpeter, glycerin, and many other irritants. You want to spend your time and money on those cigars that are 100% tobacco. You should always ask a salesperson about cigar ingredients if you are unsure. Any experienced sales clerk should be knowledgeable about the contents and ingredients.

Your nearest tobacco shop is always the best choice because you will be bombarded with a variety of cigar gift choices you can smell and touch. Gently squeeze the cigar. A quality cigar will have a little give to it, but not be overly soft or have hard areas with no give at all. Look at the cigar closely; you don’t want a lumpy cigar. Examine the wrapper and make sure it is not discolored. The wrapper should be smooth, with no lose areas. Look at the tobacco’s coloring making sure it is even. There may be a little variation in the color, but anything drastic has been improperly rolled. Cigars not rolled properly may give off a foul odor and not burn evenly.

You may not know how much or often your friend smokes. If you are unsure a safe bet is a longer cigar. Longer cigars make great cigar gifts and have a more ‘cool’ taste, which is a great choice for beginners. If your friend is a regular smoker, you will want a thicker cigar. Thicker cigars often have a richer taste the experienced smokers love.

Here’s How to Roll a Cigar…

Learning how to roll a cigar can be fun and it doesn’t have to be time consuming once you get the hang of it. Many people do this so that they get the exact flavor that they want from cigars. This process also is less expensive than buying them already made. Part of how to roll a cigar though involves making sure you use high quality products. Otherwise the end results will be a disappointment to you.

How to Roll a Cigar Step 1: Keep in mind that different tobacco has a different strength to it. You will want to use a different type of tobacco for your filler, your binder, and your wrapper. Choose the type of tobacco leaf you want for your cigar and moisten it. Seal it up in a plastic bag for an hour or two. Gently squeeze the contents inside of the bag so that they will squeeze together. You want to let it sit in that format for another hour or two. Then you can remove it from the plastic bag to dry out.

How to Roll a Cigar Step 2: When your leaf tobacco is ready, lay out the binder you are using. Then get the filler and spread it out in a line the length of the size you want your cigars. You will also need to pay attention to how thick you want it to be. This is one area of how to roll a cigar that you will need to experiment with. As time goes by you will have a better idea of how much tobacco leaf you need for each cigar you wish to make.

How to Roll a Cigar Step 3: Your binder and filler will be very brittle so you need to be careful with it. You want to place them into the oven for about 45 minutes at 350 degrees. This will be the process for drying them out. To help your cigars keep their shape you want to have a cigar block which you can either make or you can purchase.

How to Roll a Cigar Step 4: After they cool from the oven you are ready to add the wrapper. For the best results you want to have a thin wrapper. You will find that different types also have a different texture to them. You may want to try out a couple of wrappers so you can make up your mind which you like the best. To keep your wrapper in place you can use glue or even egg whites to keep it securely in place.

Through the process of trial and error you will get better with how to roll a cigar. You will find what works well for you and what doesn’t. You can also experiment with different combinations of tobacco to develop a taste you enjoy very much from your cigars.

Cut A Cigar

Here’s How to Cut a Cigar…

To fully enjoy a cigar you need to cut the end of it before you smoke it. Learning how to cut a cigar is very important. It is also easier than you might think as long as you have the right information to work with. Many people assume it is fine to do this with anything you have, even their teeth. When it comes to etiquette though there is a right way of how to cut a cigar and that option isn’t part of it.

How to Cut a Cigar Tip 1:

You may be wondering why it is important to learn how to cut a cigar properly. When it isn’t done like it should be though you will have some problems with your cigar. The biggest problem is that improper cutting leads to the wrapper to come undone. It will also cause damage to both the binder and the tobacco inside of the cigar.

Here’s How to Cut a Cigar Tip 2: Many people carry a sharp pocket knife with them to cut their cigars with. Make sure you keep the blade sharp because if it gets dull it won’t cut the cigar like it should. At home a pair of sharp scissors can do the cut for you very nicely. You want to cut the closed end of the cigar called the head. Never cut it until right before you are ready to enjoy smoking it.

There are also cutters you can buy at locations that sell cigars and online. This is the very best way of how to cut a cigar right every time. You also don’t want to cut very much of the cigar with this process. You want to cut off from 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch. You want to make sure you aren’t cutting into the actual body of the cigar. Most cigars have a cone end and that is what you want to take off. Where the cigar widens is the body and you don’t want to cut into that part of it.

If you know someone that loves cigars, teach them how to cut it properly. That way they will have the right tool for the job readily available. The more expensive the cigar happens to be the more important it is to have it cut properly. With a little bit of practice though a person can learn to do this very well. It is going to allow them to enjoy smoking the cigar more than one might think.