Cigar Etiquette

I’ve seen and read a lot of articles on ‘cigar etiquette’ and frankly, I think most of them are ridiculous. So barring special circumstances, here’s my take - it"s a free country. You paid for it. Do whatever you like. If you like it, then do it. That’s my version of etiquette.

Remove the band, don’t remove the band, don’t bite off the cap, never relight a cigar that’s more than 2/3 smoked, wait at least 15 minutes between cigars, don’t use a Zippo lighter, don’t dunk a cigar in cognac or whiskey – who really cares? If you’re trying to impress someone, that’s one thing. But truthfully, anything goes. You don’t let people tell you how to eat your Oreo cookies, do you?

When lighting a cigar, use matches, use a lighter, use a candle, use whatever you want. If it gets the job done and doesn’t make you gag, that is a perfectly acceptable method. When cutting a cigar, the same rules apply. The standard family of cutters work great, but in a pinch there are a lot of other options – biting it, a pocketknife, and I’ve even seen a guy use a ballpoint pen (although I don’t recommend it). The end result is all the same, it’s just that some methods may be messier or more unsightly than others – but if you don’t care, neither do I. And if you like to dunk your cigar in whisky or cognac, who am I to tell you that’s wrong? If you like the taste, dunk away my friend.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t encourage blowing smoke in people's faces, breaking laws or anything similar. But if you’re within the realm of reason, throw out the pompous rules of etiquette and do what you like. Cigars are for enjoyment, so stop worrying about whether you’re ‘doing it right’ and enjoy your smokes!