FAQs | Formats | Health

"A cleverly selected cigar appears to me like a weapon against a variety of sufferings in life: a little bit of blue smoke and they are like blown away."

A certain amount of knowledge is a prerequisite if you want to be able to treat and smoke a good cigar correctly. The right questions and answers can be found here. We don't like to regiment. Pleasure does not agree with rules. The smoking of cigars is predominantly for pleasure and this cannot be restrained or limited. However, as we know how not to shake wine before we serve it, in the same way experienced smokers know what they have to do or not to do, to experience full pleasure.

Frequently Asked Questions

Question: Why handmade cigars? There are brands where the piece price is 40 cents and after all they are also made of tobacco?
Answer: If they are what they are... Well, this is a question of the demand or expectation one places on things which are consumed in one way or the other. Whoever is satisfied with cheap wine, homogenized camembert, watery meat and Mousse Au Chocolate from the Six pack, will surely be able to gain joy from cheap cigars. A hand made cigar however will be created out of many busy hands. It counts for sure as one of life's pleasures to sit down in peace and smoke a hand made cigar.

Question: What does long filler mean?
Answer: In long filler cigars complete tobacco leaves are wrapped inside as an insert. These cigars have very good burning characteristics. Short fillers on the other hand are filled with pieces of tobacco which are a by product, for example when cutting a long filler.

Question: What is Puro? A special cigar?
Answer: In a certain sense, 'yes'! In a Puro, all components of the cigar, meaning the filler, the sheet around it and the cover sheet are from one and the same country. This is not out of the ordinary, one country might supply especially good tobacco for the insert and the other high quality cover sheets. So most cigars are mixtures of tobaccos from different provinces.

Question: Why is "100% tobacco" written on many cigar boxes? That is silly. What else should be in there?
Answer: Oh, there could be a lot of things. The tobacco industry managed to produce a so called homogenized tobacco" consisting of ingredients which is better not outlined in detail. This pulp is formed into rolls, similar to newspaper rolls and then they make cigars out of the stuff, at least parts of it such as the sheets around it and the cover sheet, Who ever likes that...

Question: How do I recognise if a cigar has been stored correctly?
Answer: Take the burning end of the cigar between thumb and indicating finger and press it together. Now there are three possibilities:
- 1. The cover sheet rips: The cigar is too dry.
- 2. The cigar takes on its original shape after a few seconds: optimal condition.
- 3. The cigar stays pressed together: too moist.

Question: How do I find the right cigar?
Answer: This is of course mainly where personal taste is crucial. As a beginner or occasional smoker one should avoid strong brands and formats. Got to a good tobacco dealer and get some advice. He would be able to recommend some cigars, when you inform him about your "status", sample these specimens and then find out about your personal tastes. Avoid the smaller corner stores as the dealer would not have the possibilities to appropriately store the cigars.

Question: Which leads us straight to the next question: How do you store a cigar appropriately?
Answer: A cigar requires the correct storage, just like good wine should not simply stand in a cupboard until it is drunk. The correct place for a cigar is a Humidor. This is a shrine manufactured from valuable wood, in which thanks to the well thought out interior, a relative air humidity of 60-70% is present. The Humidor has to be placed in a suitable location where it will never be warmer than 21 degrees celsius.

Question: Are dark cigars strong and light ones mild?
Answer: You can't say it like that. The colour of the cigar is determined by the colour of the cover sheet. This has only a certain influence on the total taste. There can be strong cigars with a light cover sheet, as well dark ones with a mild taste. Here is where the advice of the dealer is relevant during the purchase process.

Question: What is the cost of cigar smoking?
Answer: A good question. Unfortunately not possible to answer. If you only smoke cigars at special occasions, your yearly expenses would hardly be over A$250. A passionate smoker could also spend this amount easily within a week.

Question: How do I smoke a cigar correctly?
Answer: Take your time. You don't smoke a cigar between times, not in hectic, not while you are driving a car or when you are on the toilet. You should be in a state of leisurely well being. Cut the end piece (after you have admired satisfactorily the art form with which the cigar end was wound) with cigar scissors or with a small guillotine, but in the way that part of the end piece still stays on the cigar, otherwise the cover sheet could become loose.

For lighting use an odourless flame (no petrol lighters and no wax matches, wait even with sulphur matches for a moment before you get near the cigar). Warm the burning end on the flame and then ignite it regularly. Through soft blowing onto the glowing end you ensure an even burning surface.

Take the cigar between your lips (not your mouth) and draw on it. The mouth piece should not get wet during the complete smoking process. Don't inhale! You are not smoking a cigerette! The cigar tastes on the tongue not in the lung. Inhale the smoke carefully in the mouth and let the taste buds feel the diverse aroma. Then blow the smoke out slowly. Look at the cigar from time to time and enjoy the wonderful texture and the even colour, go completely with the luxury of idleness. All this is part of the complete pleasure.

Don't snip the ash away. Let the ash grow long on the cigar. With a good brand the ash can easily grow to three centimeters. Then brush it slightly against the sides of the ash tray.

It is no drama if the cigar stops burning once in a while. Blow through it once and ignite again like a new one. However, a cigar which you have let burn out and ignite some time later will taste bitter.

The moment will come where it is time to say goodbye to the cigar. Until then you have been in heaven for one or two hours. Don't stub it out! Put it aside and it will stop burning by itself. It will pass away with dignity.

Question: What am I going to do with the band from the cigar?
Answer: There was a time when people glued them on the base of glass ash trays or Chianti bottles. You can still collect them. Depending on your personal taste, you can take it off before you smoke it (but carefully so that you don't injure the cover sheet) or just leave it on. The main thing is that you don't smoke it.

 

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