A first cigar is usually smoked badly — cut too deep, lit with a petrol lighter, puffed like a cigarette, and abandoned bitter after fifteen minutes. None of that is a matter of taste. Cutting, toasting, drawing, and ashing each have a correct method, and once you know them the cigar does most of the work for you.
The short answer
To smoke a cigar: cut about 2mm off the closed cap with a straight cutter, toast the foot with a butane flame or cedar spill held just below the tobacco without touching it, rotate until the edge glows evenly, then draw gently while turning the cigar. Sip the smoke into your mouth and release it — never inhale into your lungs. Draw roughly once a minute, let the ash build to about an inch before tapping it off, and set the cigar down when it turns hot or bitter, usually with a third left. A mild cigar and an unhurried hour are all a beginner needs.
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What you need before you start
- A mild robusto. Roughly 5 inches by 50 ring gauge, with a pale Connecticut or Ecuadorian wrapper.
- A sharp double-guillotine cutter. Cheap blunt cutters tear wrappers; that is where most first cigars are lost.
- A butane lighter or cedar spill. Never petrol, never a wax match — both leave a taste in the tobacco.
- An ashtray with a wide rest, water, and an hour you are not going to be interrupted in.
How to smoke a cigar, step by step
- 1
Choose a mild cigar
Start with a mild to medium Connecticut- or Ecuadorian-wrapped cigar in a robusto size (about 5 inches by 50 ring gauge). A robusto gives you a full experience in 45 to 60 minutes without the commitment of a churchill. Avoid full-bodied maduros and anything oily and near-black until you know your tolerance.
- 2
Inspect and warm it
Roll the cigar gently between your fingers. It should feel firm and even, with no soft spots, cracks, or hard lumps. A cigar stored too dry burns hot and fast; one stored too wet will not draw. Let a cold cigar sit at room temperature for a few minutes before you cut it.
- 3
Cut the cap cleanly
Find the shoulder where the rounded cap meets the straight body and cut about 2mm above it — roughly the width of a coin's edge. Use a sharp double-guillotine cutter and commit in one decisive motion; hesitating tears the wrapper. A punch or V-cut works too, but a straight cut is the most forgiving for a beginner.
- 4
Toast the foot
Hold the open end of the cigar at a 45-degree angle above a butane lighter or a cedar spill, with the flame just below the tobacco so heat rather than fire reaches it. Rotate slowly for 10 to 20 seconds until the rim glows evenly all the way around. Never use a petrol lighter or a wax match — both leave their flavour in the tobacco.
- 5
Light it with a gentle draw
Bring the cigar to your lips, keep the flame just below the foot, and draw gently while rotating. Two or three slow draws is usually enough. Then blow softly across the lit foot to check for an even orange ring; touch up any dark patches with the flame rather than drawing harder.
- 6
Draw slowly and do not inhale
Sip the smoke into your mouth, hold it for a moment to taste it, and let it go. Cigar smoke is tasted, not inhaled — pulling it into your lungs is unpleasant and pointless. Draw about once a minute; smoking faster overheats the cigar and turns it harsh and bitter.
- 7
Let the ash build, then tap
A firm ash insulates the burning tobacco and keeps the smoke cool, so let it reach about an inch. Then rest the cigar's ash against the edge of the ashtray and let it fall — tapping like a cigarette cracks the ash and can split the wrapper.
- 8
Pair it, and know when to stop
Water first, then something with weight: espresso, aged rum, single malt, bourbon, or a tannic red. Sip between draws rather than during them. When the cigar grows hot, tight, or bitter — usually with an inch or two left — set it in the ashtray and let it go out. Do not stub it out; crushing a cigar releases a foul smell into the room.
The mistakes that ruin a first cigar
- Inhaling. The single most common error, and the reason beginners feel unwell. Taste it and let it go.
- Smoking too quickly. Heat is the enemy of flavour. A draw a minute; more than that and the cigar turns acrid and cannot be recovered.
- Cutting below the shoulder. Take the cap, not the structure holding the wrapper closed.
- Letting flame touch the tobacco. Toast with heat held just beneath the foot; direct fire scorches and skews the first third.
- Stubbing it out. Rest it in the ashtray and let it die on its own. Crushing a cigar is what makes a room smell of stale ash for a day.
Lounge and company etiquette
Most of cigar etiquette is consideration in disguise. Do not cut or light someone else's cigar. Never ask to keep a cigar you were given for later in front of the person who gave it to you — smoke it or say so plainly. Smoke downwind of anyone not smoking, ask before lighting up in a private home or car, and never tap ash into a wine glass, a plant, or a plate. In a lounge, the unspoken rule is volume: a cigar is an hour of conversation, not a performance.
Learn this properly
Introduction to the World of Cigars is our self-paced course for adults who want to move past the mechanics: how tobacco is grown and fermented, how to read a vitola and a wrapper, how to choose in a shop with confidence, how to store cigars properly, and how to behave in a lounge. It pairs naturally with Introduction to Wine, since pairing is half the pleasure.
Frequently asked questions
Do you inhale cigar smoke?
No. Cigar smoke is drawn into the mouth, tasted, and released. Cigar tobacco is fermented and alkaline, so inhaling it is harsh and offers nothing in return — the flavour lives on your palate, not in your lungs. Beginners who feel dizzy or nauseated are almost always inhaling by habit.
How long does it take to smoke a cigar?
A robusto (5 x 50) takes about 45 to 60 minutes, a corona about 40, and a churchill 90 minutes or more. Plan for the whole sitting: a cigar is not something to rush, and relighting a cigar you abandoned halfway rarely tastes as good as the first half did.
Where exactly do you cut a cigar?
Cut about 2mm above the shoulder — the point where the rounded cap stops and the straight body begins. Cutting too little restricts the draw; cutting below the shoulder removes the cap that holds the wrapper in place and the cigar will begin to unravel.
What is the best cigar for a first-time smoker?
A mild, Connecticut-shade or Ecuadorian-wrapped robusto. It is short enough to finish, wide enough to draw easily, and gentle enough that you can taste cedar, cream, and nuts rather than just strength. Ask a tobacconist for a mild robusto and name it as your first cigar — every good shop is glad to guide that.
Should you remove the cigar band?
Either is correct. If you remove it, wait 10 to 15 minutes so the heat loosens the glue, then peel it gently sideways rather than pulling it off — otherwise the band takes wrapper with it.
Why does my cigar keep going out?
Usually one of three things: you are drawing too infrequently, the cigar is over-humidified, or the initial light was uneven. Draw about once a minute, and touch up any dark section of the foot with a flame rather than puffing harder to compensate.
Is cigar smoking safe?
No form of tobacco use is safe. Cigars carry real health risks even without inhaling, including cancers of the mouth, throat, and oesophagus. This guide is written for adults who have already chosen to smoke and want to do it properly and considerately.
For adults of legal smoking age. No form of tobacco use is safe; cigars carry health risks even when the smoke is not inhaled. This guide is written for those who have already chosen to smoke and want to do so properly.