How to hold a cigar

[tippexx]

However you like. I don't bother with all that etiquette drivel. They are posh people's rules to try and catch you out.

But there's usually a grain of common sense in there somewhere. In the 19th Century cigars did not have bands. Holding the cigar thumb/forefinger affords minimum contact ..... so less sweat, blood, grime or debris from whatever activity the posher were into ..... to spoil the cigar.

[Lee Nub]

I always remember those photos George showed us holding cigars, thats how i would want to hold them .

[Smallclub]

Don't:

• Smoke more than half the cigar.

I have the utmost respect for Mr Davidoff and his achievements but that sentence has always amazed me, it suggests that he smoked cigars that were too young?

[davidruddell]

How to hold

I've just begun holding them close to my chest and weeping quietly, as I repeatedly read the credit card bill that arrived this morning.


I love HM Customs sooooo much.

[tippexx]

I have the utmost respect for Mr Davidoff and his achievements but that sentence has always amazed me, it suggests that he smoked cigars that were too young?

I doubt that Smallclub, I think he knew a bit to much about growing, producing and smoking to do that.

I think this has to do with 'so called' progression and the notion that somehow the taste of the tobacco leaves at the front end differs from those at the foot.

If you took three cigars from the same box and cut two of them, one at one third and one at two thirds, the light up taste from all three should then be exactly the same and therefore the producers desired taste for that cigar.

The perceived stage changes in the taste of a cigar whilst smoking are caused by drawing chemical and tars through a cylinder of rolled up tobacco leaves. So, maybe from the Davidoff's producer perspective the cigar was NOT improving but degrading. To offset that, he also recommended slowing the smoking process to one minute between puffs, which allows some of the tars and degrading chemicals to be burned away at the front end. But the tars will inevitably accumulate and so it makes sense to lay the cigar down when the desired 'proper' taste is no longer there and when the cigar is proberbly doing you more harm than good.

[Drewmidorn]

I think in photos Davidoff is always holding cigars so the band can be clearly seen.... between thumb and fingers... salesman through and through. I doubt he wants you holding them between your first and middle finger incase you obscure the band and a free pop of advertising.

[r0lan6]

Never even thought about it. I guess it depends on how I'm feeling and my current state of mind.

[bambini]

I think it was Davidoff's "rules" that made me think there was a proper way to hold a cigar. I mean, it would be a most heinous crime to stub out a stogie (a Dutch guy I met the other day told me that in the Netherlands stubbing one out would be a good enough reason to give someone a punch ), so some of his guidelines remain. Others, however, appear to be an excuse to be pretentious look down on the plebs.

By the sounds of things though, how to hold a cigar is very much a personal preference. Sounds fine to me

[cbob]

I have the utmost respect for Mr Davidoff and his achievements but that sentence has always amazed me, it suggests that he smoked cigars that were too young?

To me it confirms that he was a sharp businessman.
His smokes were "from inventory" and cost him relatively little to toss.

If you only smoke 1/2 of every cigar, you'll likely need to buy twice as many.

[RhiannonBW]

I mean, it would be a most heinous crime to stub out a stogie (a Dutch guy I met the other day told me that in the Netherlands stubbing one out would be a good enough reason to give someone a punch ), so some of his guidelines remain. Others, however, appear to be an excuse to be pretentious look down on the plebs.

There's a very good reason to not stub out a cigar and that is the after smell. If you stub out a cigar in a room then the room will still be quite whiffy the next day. If you allow a cigar to burn out naturally then there will be no odour the next day. I have no idea why.

R x

[Simon-JG-hr]

As with the others, I'm in the personal preference camp, though wouldn't like to see a cigar held like a fag - rather diffiult anyway, I would have thought, given size/weight...

I personally go for the Che method - nice and comfortable, with just a hint of dash...

[snooky]

Well that's reassuring. The way I was holding it just didn't feel right, so I might experiment on the Monte No2 I have sitting at home

I need to practise lighting as well, but that's a story for another day

Check yourself out in the mirror holding a cigar like many of the BOTL do You must master the correct way to light a cigar this is far more important.

[Burner]

Hold it light it up and smoke it. Ain't had one yet that didn't co-operate.

[Fuelie95]

I let my cigar caddy hold it, at least when I'm golfing...

[bambini]

You must master the correct way to light a cigar this is far more important.

Yeah, I'm working on that. Tell me, is it worth investing in a windproof butane lighter? i'm using a 50p newsagent lighter at the mo, and since I always smoke outside I sometimes have trouble maintaining a steady flame for lighting. I like the look of the Zippo Blu.