DOES ANYTHING CHANGE?
Before we show you how to relight and touch up your cigars, it's worth noting that your cigar may change during the process. For instance, you may find that the cigar may taste slightly stronger and more bitter in comparison to your first puff. Tars and ammonia build up during the smoking process and therefore, the flavour of the cigar changes. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the cigar tastes terrible - actually, some aficionados may prefer the flavour around the mid-quarter of the stogie. So, that is one thing to keep in mind when you’re relighting a cigar.
Le Grand S.T. Dupont and Davidoff Prestige Palladium Lighter
TOUCHING UP
As you know, the ideal smoking experience should be smooth and fault-free. However, it is inevitable that at least once in your life, your cigar decides to burn unevenly. To some people, it may be a queue to discard the tobacco stick, but that is a total waste of money! Just imagine throwing out a Cohiba Behike 56 when it's not overly difficult to revive it. If you want to avoid this, it's worth learning how to touch up an uneven smoke. Fortunately, the process is easy and doesn’t require a great deal of skill.
ROTATION - Observe your cigar - if it is burning unevenly, you should first try and rotate the cigar so that the unburned bit is at the bottom. Why? It’s because the bottom side of the cigar retrieves more oxygen, and therefore, burns quicker. Watch it until it catches up, and once it does, you can continue to puff it smoothly. However, if this doesn’t work, you should try touching-up with a cigar lighter.
WITH A LIGHTER - To touch up your cigar, bring out your torch lighter and hold it in front of you. Flick the flame on, and get ready to gently hover the cigar over the fire. The secret to this technique is not directly placing it on the flame but to let it gradually heat up. Find the area you want to burn, and let it get charred by the blaze, just enough to dissipate the wrapper and not too much that it sets on fire. Continue doing this until the ash-line is even, and once it is, you can enjoy a smooth-smoking experience! In terms of lighters, we recommend Le Grand S.T. Dupont Lighter or the Davidoff Prestige Palladium Lighter.
Firing up a Cigar with a Torch Lighter.
RELIGHTING
TAP OFF THE ASH - Perhaps you got distracted from watching television, or you were busy discussing an exciting topic, but all of a sudden, you realised your cigar has suddenly burnt out! Now, you want to revive it. The most important thing about relighting a cigar is to remove the non-ignitable ‘ash’ from the stick. Try to tap off as much as you can on the ashtray, then with a small tool like a toothpick - start digging out the leftover ash from the tobacco until you are left with the ‘charred’ end of the smoke. Take out your torch flame, and start toasting the foot, just like your regular Cigar Lighting ritual. Then blow on the ash to get rid of the excess, and begin to puff until it is ready to smoke. You may find that the cigar may taste a little bitter; however, the more you burn it, it may return to its original flavours.
USING A CUTTER - Another way to get a clean end from the burned-out cigar is by using a sharp cigar cutter like the S.T. Dupont MaxiJet Cutter. To do this, you need to put the cigar cutter about a half-inch behind the ash and quickly snap it off, revealing the freshly cut tobacco. However, while doing this method, you should be extra careful because it could unravel the tobacco in the stick, causing it to become messy and crushed up. To try and avoid this, you should use a sharp cigar cutter and refrain from cutting it if the leftover stub is too short. After successfully cutting the ash off, you can begin your ordinary lighting ritual.
There you have it, now that you know how to relight your cigars, why not stock up your Cigar Collection with premium cigars? Look no further and visit our Cuban Cigar Shop, where you can purchase Cuban Cigars Online.
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