Not a prop, not a trophy, not something to be endured at a wedding. An hour, a chair and a mild Cuban done properly. How to start.
The cigar has an image problem, mostly caused by the men who smoke them badly: the golfing foursome, the stag party, the chairman on the terrace with something the size of a chair leg. Strip that away and what remains is one of the last legitimate excuses to sit still for an hour. Done rarely and done well, it is a pleasure worth learning, and learning it properly starts with choosing the right cigar for the right afternoon.
What to smoke first
Mild to medium, well made, from a house with a reputation, in a size you can finish. A Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure No. 2, a Montecristo No. 4, a Romeo y Julieta Short Churchill, or from outside Cuba a Davidoff Signature or an Arturo Fuente Hemingway Short Story. Robusto size, roughly 12 centimetres by a 50 ring gauge, gives forty-five minutes to an hour. Anything longer on a first outing is a chore. Expect to pay €15 to €30 for a good one from a proper tobacconist, who will also tell you if it is ready to smoke.
Cut, light, smoke
Cut the cap, the closed end, with a guillotine cutter just above the line where the cap meets the body, taking off two or three millimetres. Light with a soft-flame lighter or a cedar spill, never with a petrol lighter or a candle, toasting the foot without letting it touch the flame, rotating until the whole end glows. Then draw gently, without inhaling, about once a minute. More often and the cigar overheats and turns bitter; less often and it goes out. Let the ash grow to two centimetres before tapping it. When the cigar becomes hot or harsh, in the last third, put it down and let it die. There is no honour in finishing.
A cigar is a way of buying an hour in which nothing else can be done. That is what it is for, and that is why it is worth learning.
What to drink with it
Something with enough weight not to disappear: an aged rum, a cognac, a sherried whisky, a strong coffee, a glass of good red. Peated whisky fights the smoke; a delicate white wine loses. Water, always, on the side. And nothing on an empty stomach; a cigar after dinner is a tradition because it works.
Storage
Cigars want 65 to 70 percent humidity and around 18 °C. For a man who smokes six a year, a sealed food bag with a humidity pack, replaced every few months, is perfectly adequate. When the habit reaches a box a year, a small Spanish cedar humidor with a digital hygrometer, around €150 to €300, becomes worthwhile. Keep it out of the sun, check the humidity monthly and never put a cigar in the fridge.
The etiquette
Outside, or in a room built for it. Never in a car, a hotel room or anyone else’s house without an explicit invitation. Do not relight a cigar that has been out for more than a few minutes. Do not wet the end. Do not remove the band until the cigar has warmed the glue. And do not offer commentary on the cigar to people who are not smoking; it interests them less than you think.
Questions we get asked
Cuban or not?
Cubans for tradition and flavour, Nicaraguan and Dominican cigars for consistency and, in the mid price range, often better construction. Start with a Cuban robusto and try the others when you know what you like.
How long should it take?
A robusto, forty-five minutes to an hour. If you are finishing in twenty, you are smoking too fast and it will taste of it.
Is it bad for me?
Yes, like most pleasures. Six a year, not inhaled, is a different order of risk from a packet of cigarettes a day, and only you can decide where you stand.
