How to smoke a cigar for the first time (and do you inhale?)

Do you inhale a cigar?

No. Cigar smoke is drawn into the mouth, tasted and let out. Premium cigars are made of air-cured, fermented tobacco whose smoke is alkaline and harsh in the lungs; inhaling it makes most people cough and quickly feel sick. The nicotine is absorbed through the lining of the mouth anyway, so inhaling adds nothing but discomfort.

What experienced smokers do instead is the retrohale: letting a little of the smoke out through the nose. Much of a cigar's aroma, pepper, wood and fruit especially, is noticed that way. Try it once you are comfortable, with a small amount of smoke; it can sting at first.

Before you start

• Choose a mild cigar with a light Connecticut wrapper, in a robusto or corona size (45–60 minutes). See best cigars for beginners for names.
• Eat first. Nicotine on an empty stomach is the most common reason a first cigar ends with nausea.
• Have a drink at hand. Water is enough; coffee, a soft drink or a whisky all work. A sip between puffs refreshes the palate.
• Pick the place. Outdoors in calm weather or in a cigar lounge. Wind makes the cigar burn hot and unevenly.
• Set aside time. A cigar is not something to finish quickly; plan for the whole length.

Step by step

1. Cut the cap. Take 1–2 mm off the rounded head with a sharp cutter, staying above the line where the cap meets the wrapper.
2. Cold draw. Draw air through the unlit cigar. It should feel like a straw with slight resistance, and you may already taste hay, raisin or spice.
3. Toast and light. Warm the foot just above a butane or wooden-match flame until the edge glows, then draw gently while turning the cigar until the whole foot burns. How to cut and light a cigar covers this in detail.
4. Puff slowly. Draw for one or two seconds, hold the smoke in your mouth, let it out. Then wait: about one puff a minute. Puffing too often makes the cigar hot and bitter.
5. Leave the ash. Let it build to 2–3 cm and roll it off gently in the ashtray. Do not tap it like a cigarette.
6. Notice the change. Most cigars taste different in the first, second and last third. That change is a large part of the pleasure; how to taste a cigar in thirds shows what to look for.

How long does it take to smoke a cigar?

Pace matters more than size: a hurried robusto burns in 30 minutes and tastes worse for it. Cigar sizes and ring gauge explains the names.

How far down to smoke it

Most people stop somewhere in the last third, when the smoke turns hot, bitter or harsh, often with two or three finger-widths left. There is no rule: smoke it as long as it still tastes good. Take the band off once the ember is close enough to warm it; it comes off easily then and does not tear the wrapper.

When you are done, lay the cigar in the ashtray and let it go out by itself. Stubbing it out leaves a stronger smell.

If you feel sick

Light-headedness, sweating or nausea mean too much nicotine. Put the cigar down, sit, drink water and eat something sweet: sugar helps the feeling pass within half an hour. Next time, choose a milder or smaller cigar, eat beforehand and puff more slowly.

Basic cigar etiquette

• Ask before you light up anywhere that is not clearly a smoking place, and stay downwind of people who are not smoking.
• In a cigar lounge, buy from the house or ask before bringing your own cigars; many lounges charge a small cutting fee.
• Do not stub out a cigar or leave it smouldering on the table edge; let it go out in the ashtray.
• Do not wave a lit cigar around while you talk, and do not hold it in your teeth like a pipe.
• Band on or off is personal; both are fine.
• Offering a cigar to someone is a classic courtesy; accepting one and smoking it in your own time is fine too.

Remember the first one

Write down what you smoked and whether you liked it, even in one line; the cigar journal template shows what is worth recording. With aficio you scan the band, tap the flavors you notice while smoking and rate it at the end, and from the first few cigars it starts to learn which ones suit you.