ARE THERE RULES OF ETIQUETTE THAT APPLY TO THE WAY A GENTLEMAN HOLDS HIS CIGAR

Lightnin Hopkins Smoking a Stogie

HOW A GENTLEMAN HOLDS HIS FINE CIGAR…

One of the reasons why I enjoy cigar culture is that it is one that embraces the novice taking time and patience to properly cultivate him.  if you have a question about cigars the best place to go is your local cigar bar or lounge where the main topic of discussion is always cigars.  During my brief experience with them I have discovered that cigar enthusiasts are some of the most knowledgeable about their art form and they love to share their wisdom with others. So I pulled up to one of my favorite cigar lounges on my motorcycle and after situating myself on the outdoor café I asked the question, “Is there a proper way that a gentleman should hold his cigar”?  Well everybody switched over from whatever side conversations they had to offer their opinions.  Based on how my peers opined it was amply clear why I gravitated toward the culture of cigars, they all agreed that there was no “Official” way in which to hold ones cigar and encouraged me to find the style that best suited me. 

A Vintage Diagram Showing How A Gentleman Might Hold A Cigar

Aside from the question of how a gentleman should hold his cigar which was suitably answered I was also eager to understand how I could get the most enjoyment out of my cigars.  I wanted to know more about everything, for instance, if the angle in which the cigar is held can affect its ability to evenly burn.  My question was answered amply suggestions that the cigar be held as level as possible, similar to the way it would sit in an ashtray but the most important factor appeared to be not the angle but the light and draw.  The general consensus was that a cigar when properly lit on an even plane will burn uniformly if drawn at regular intervals.  The cigar is a cylinder of tightly rolled tobacco leaves and a good cigar will be rolled evenly enough so that when the smoker draws or sucks air from the lit “foot” drawing smoke down to the “head” at his mouth the uniformly spaces leaves and air space between them will yield a perfectly uniform burn pattern.  In contrast, a cigar that is not evenly lit will burn more in none area of the cross section than another causing an uneven burn.  So while I am avidly discussing cigars with the other gentlemen around me I am also taking mental notes on how they hold their cigars and manipulate them whilst talking and sipping their fine whiskeys, brandies, scotches, gins, rums and such.  A cigar is a relatively small object but while one is smoking it one is continually conscious of its angle and location with respect to everything else in the immediate environment.

The Anatomy of A Cigar.  Two Common Cigar Shapes

The anatomy of the cigar is quite simple; the foot is usually but not always the cut open end of the cigar and the head is the rounded or truncated closed end that must be cut.  The smoker brings the head to his mouth to draw from so it’s easy to remember the smoker brings the head of the cigar to his head positioning the lit foot away from his face. One of the other factors that affects the way a cigar will burn is its gauge.  The diameter of a cigar is measured with a ring gauge varying from the smallest gauge of 24 to 64 and above.  The largest gauges will have a cooler, slower burn and of course the smallest gauges will burn much hotter and faster. 

A Dandy Smoking His Cigar Around The Turn Of the 19th Century

So I focused on how to properly cut the cigar, watching countless videos on the subject matter on YouTube.  As I built my expertise in the art of smoking cigars during my first year I began to acquire many different tools of the trade, the most important of which was the cutter.  There are many different types of cigar cutters but none of them can be any effective use until the smoker develops an understanding of how the way he cuts a cigar will affect the way it draws and burns.  So I bought a large selection of very differently shaped cigars and experimented with various cuts to see how it would affect the draw.  Not surprisingly the way I cut the cigar totally affected the way it burned and drew.  Most Americans prefer the higher ring gauges and it is with these broader cross sections that proper cutting pays off.  

A wide-gauged cigar such as a 50 or 64 gauge if not evenly lit can begin to burn on one side or in one area of the cross section where the draw brings the most oxygen to the fire.  When a cigar burns unevenly in this manner I call it “channeling” since it burns along an isolated channel or air flow pocket of the cigar.  If you see that your cigar is channeling you can re-cut the foot and re-cut the head so that you can draw more oxygen into the cigar evenly across its width.  There are many tricks of the trade and while many of them can be learned simply by hanging out with experienced and knowledgeable cigar enthusiasts there is always the fun of discovery through trial and error.  In the cigar realm however trial and error can be an expensive tuition since the cost of most cigars is at least $10.00.

A Ring Gauge Used to Determine Cigar Size

Holding his cigar is a gentleman’s unique signature, he can choose many different styles but whilst he smokes he should always be conscious of the manner in which his cigar is burning.  Most gentlemen actually rotate their cigar while they are holding it or laying it upon an ash tray the same way they do when lighting it.  This makes perfect sense because heat rises vertically causing the higher areas to burn faster than the lower ones if held horizontally.  I’ve noticed that experienced smokers are attentive to their cigars continually checking the burn pattern and I have noticed that maintaining a regular draw/burn and rotation ratio will typically keep an even burn.  So while there are no rules governing how a gentleman should hold his cigar there are some fundamental physical factors that impact the way a cigar will burn that drive the way he will handle it at any given point.  Like many of the things that make cigar culture attractive a gentleman can take his time perfecting a unique style for holding and smoking his fine cigars. Refreshingly, there are no rules of etiquette governing the manner in which a gentleman should hold his cigar.  If this were the case I fear the art would have long since died away.  Cigar smoking is all about relaxation not about adherence to any strict, aesthetic form.   

FIN

Written By: BIGDADDY BLUES

WWW.FORTHEBROTHAS.BLOGSPOT.COM

GALLERY

Various Cigar Shapes