The Boy Scout motto says it best: "Be prepared."
Many first-time smokers don't even realize that good cigars (and even bad
ones) have to be cut open before they're smoked. Nor do they realize that, for
this task, it's not a good idea to go grabbing that pair of blunted old rusty
scissors you keep in the "handies" drawer, or that steak knife in
your kitchen, or any other device that wasn't intended for this use.
After all, the cigar
cap (as the blunt end of the cigar which must be removed is called) is
there for a reason: it helps keep the cigar fresh in storage. Thanks to the
cap's presence, the ends of the tobacco leaves that you're about to burn
haven't touched air since the cigar was rolled, and they're ready to undergo a
nice, clean, controlled burn, yielding you a great taste. If the cap is cut in
a jagged or careless way, though, you won't get as even a burn on the end of
your cigar, and you'll lose perfectly smokeable tobacco. Let any veteran cigar
smoker tell you about the frustration of having a cigar that isn't lit
evenly-the flame travels up one part of the cigar while leaving others dry, and
you get a nasty, burned taste in your mouth, rather than the rich cigar taste
you expected, and often the cigar has to be thrown away when it's only half
smoked.
A few cigar smokers, recognizing the importance of properly removing the
cigar cap, even bite it off. This method may work best if you're trying to
smoke in the jungle, far from civilization and from cap-removal devices, or in
a Mad Max-like future where marauding
tribes wander the desert looking to steal each others' stogies (law of the
jungle, baby). In any other situation, it's not recommended-for sanitary
reasons, and because it just looks gross.
So-get a device. Two of the most common (though not by any means the only
possible options) are the cigar guillotine and the V-cutter. Smokers disagree
among themselves about which of these is best; it's a matter of personal
taste-like the cigars themselves, in fact.
There is one fairly hard-and-fast
rule here: if you're smoking a cigar with a small ring gauge (a thin cigar),
you probably want a straight cut rather than a V-cut. The most popular
straight-cutter is the single-blade guillotine; other possibilities include the
double-blade guillotine (more expensive, but a cleaner cut) or cigar scissors
(yes, such things do exist). Either of the last two options gives you a cleaner
or more exact cut. But the single-blade guillotine is cheap, useful, and can be
carried safely in your pocket.
V-cutters, also known as wedge cutters, look like guillotine cutters, but
they cut a wedge into the cigar cap rather than completely removing it. Good
V-cutters can go deeper into the filler than a straight cutter can, and some
smokers prefer them for your thicker stogies. Good ones are available for fewer
than ten dollars. One word of warning: Be careful of buying a V-cutter as part
of a "multi-cutter" device. These little gizmos, the cigar-cutter's
equivalent of a camping knife (they offer a include a V-cutter along with other
kinds of cutters built-in), tend to suffer from shoddy workmanship, and their
V-cutters can be especially sloppy, leaving deep gouges in your fine stogies.
You definitely don't want that.
Finally, you may also want to consider cigar scissors (not as portable, but
more accurate, and perfect if you usually keep all your smoking supplies in the
same place) or a cigar punch. Bullet-shaped (hence the name) "bullet
punches" fit right on the top of your keychain; unscrew the top and you
find a punch blade. One problem associated with these otherwise handy, durable
and inexpensive devices is that the unscrewable top is easy to lose, and you
don't want a live blade attached to your keychain and following you around in
your pocket. So-called "Havana
punches" offer some of the same convenience but with more safety-rather
than an easy-to-lose top, the blade is recessed and springs out at the push of
a button. Multi-punches are also preferred by some smokers, as they offer
different-sized punch holes for different sizes of cigars.
About CigarFox
CigarFox provides
you the opportunity to build your own sampler of the finest cigars that include
cigar brands like Montecristo, Romeo & Julieta, H Upmann, Macanudo, Cohiba,
Partagas, Gurkha and many more. Choose from more than 1200 different cigars!
Other cigar products include cigar humidors, cigar boxes, and cigar accessories
like Zippo Lighters. For more information, please visit http://www.CigarFox.com. |
