Do You Need A Cigar Humidor?
If you want to get the most out of your cigars then you should really consider getting yourself a cigar humidor. Every serious cigar smoker will have a cigar humidor to keep his cigars fresh. Unfortunately a lot of folks believe that cigar humidors are expensive and while some can be a bit pricey there's plenty of options for folks on a budget.
The fact remains that if you enjoy a cigar on occasion you may want to consider purchasing a cigar humidor or a wooden cigar box with a hygrometer to keep your cigars fresh. Wooden cigar boxes with hygrometers are designed to keep your cigars fresh between the time you purchase them at your local cigar shop to the time you smoke them. This is ideal when your local cigar shop isn't just a few minutes away or just up the block or you just don't have the time to frequent the cigar shop that often.
You should take a few things into consideration when deciding on a humidor. A question you should consider is: how many cigars do you plan on storing at any give time? You don't want to buy a humidor that is too large for the few cigars you plan on storing and you definitely don't want to purchase a humidor that is too small to store your favorite smokes...
A couple of options for cigar aficionados are wooden cigar boxes with hygrometers or travel humidors if you only plan on storing a handful of cigars at a time. Wooden cigar boxes can store up to hundreds of cigars at a time and most are made to have an ornamental appearance. Personally I have a cherry red desktop wooden cigar box that sits on top of my office desk at home and a travel humidor for when I hit the road.
If you want to get the best possible flavor out of your cigars you must keep them fresh. Keeping your wooden cigar box at the right humidity level is essential for keeping the right amount of moisture in your cigar and you can find more information on that here: http://ecigarbox.com/why-you-need-a-wooden-cigar-box/. Some wooden cigar boxes are made of Spanish cedar wood and a lot of cigar aficionados feel that "aging" their cigars in spanish cedar wood will give the cigars a spicier flavor over time.
How To Smoke Your First Cigar
Cutting Your First Cigar
All cigars are "capped" to protect their freshness and to keep the tobacco leaves from unraveling before they are smoked. All this means is that you'll have to cut off a chunk so that you can smoke your cigar. When you buy your first few cigars it's a good idea to go ahead and buy a guillotine style cutter while at the shop. They cost about $5 or less and are a good little investment. You don't want to ruin a good cigar by using something else to cut the tip of the head on your cigar because it could cause the rest of the cigar to begin unraveling.
I've seen too many guys trying to look cool at parties trying to play the role and biting off the head of the cigar... problem is they don't look very cool a few minutes later when their cigar is falling apart in their hands. Biting the end of an expensive cigar is just dumb and it could ruin a perfectly good cigar which is a party foul so don't do it. It's best to cut about 1/16 or 1/8 of an inch in to the head of your cigar with a decent cigar cutter. The head of your cigar should have a slightly visible cap; see if you can find it. If you can see it just make sure you don't cut beyond that or anywhere near that to play it safe.
Lighting And Smoking Your First Cigar
It's best to light your cigar with wooden matches and if you really want to smoke like a pro you'll have some cigar matches made of spanish cedar wood on hand. A butane lighter will also do but won't look as cool. Those little butane torch lighters work well but you have to be careful to not let the flame hit the cigar. Once you have your lighting utensil, place the cigar in your mouth and bring the flame close to the end of your cigar. You don't want to actually let the flame hit the cigar you just want to bring the flame close to the end of the cigar and then suck the flame into the cigar as you puff in through the cigar.
As you puff on the cigar you'll want to begin rotating the cigar until the entire end is completely lit. If you have a big cigar yo may have to rotate it a few times. Continue puffing on the cigar with the flame lit until you get a nice easy draw. Most people don't inhale the cigar smoke you basically just lightly draw the smoke into your mouth, taste it and then blow it out.
The speed and pace that you smoke a cigar with is also important. You don't want to smoke it too fast because it'll burn too hot and that'll negatively affect the flavor. On the other hand if you smoke a cigar too slowly it may go out. You can smoke a cigar as far down as you like but at some point you'll notice a different flavor and that's when you can put it out.
How To Choose Your First Cigar
Choosing your first cigar can be a bit intimidating especially if you just walk right into your local cigar shop without researching anything beforehand and then getting completely overwhelmed by the different kinds and varieties of cigars available to you.
The best piece of advice I can give you is to select a mild cigar to start out with because they seem to be the most palatable for beginners. Mild cigars are typically lighter in color, a light tan is a good color for beginners, and what you really want to stay away from are any darker cigars like the one below.
Dark, Full-Flavored Cigar
Why You Need A Wooden Cigar Box
Cigars are hygroscopic and it's important to know that if you love smoking cigars because it means that cigars will dry out when they are in a dry environment and they will absorb moisture when they are in a humid environment. And what's even worse about cigars and humidity is that cigars will continue to absorb humidity so long as there is humidity in the air... And just what does that mean for a cigar smoker like yourself?
Basically it means that you're not going to get the full flavor of your cigar and in the worst case scenario you won't even want to smoke your cigar because it won't taste or burn right. A cigar that has too much moisture will not burn right and it will even be hard to keep lit. A cigar that is constantly going out is a good sign of a cigar that has been exposed to too much moisture. Damp cigars are also sometimes hard to draw on, smoke for you beginners to cigar smoking, and the smoke that you get will usually be too thick and won't be pleasant to your palate. Read the rest of this entry »