Cutting Your Cigar in Two - Sacrilege or Necessity?

[frenchkiwi]

Just curious to find out what your experiences are with this heretical practice. I have only attempted it a few times, generally because of a bad draw but sometimes just to save time and save some for later. I know of others who do it regularly, some because they don't like small cigars but don't have time to smoke their Canonazos or DCs in one go. I'm presuming we're talking about cutting the cigar before smoking it, but you might be doing otherwise

So do you do it? Why? Pros/cons?

(hopefully someone who regularly chops DCs into quarters will come out of the woodwork ;-)

[frenchkiwi]

Would never consider it! If I want a smaller cigar, I'll smoke a smaller vitola - wouldn't the cigar un-ravel if chopped in half, thirds, quarters, smidgens? A newbie qusetion, I know....

Yes, they would unravel - eventually Or if cut badly. But if smoked immediately and carefully mouthed will stay together fine.

I had a few Hoyo des Dieux with terrible draws due to a "knot" in the middle, so chopped them in 2 where the plugged/overfilled/knotted part was, smoked the chopped off bit first (foot of cigar), then the top. Impossibly plugged cigars became passably smokeable.

But let's face it - only in desperate times do I resort to such desperate measures.

[mazolaman]

I've done the same,after giving myself a hernia trying to draw on a plugged cigar...

[samb]

Personally, never done it. I dont think that Id have the heart to do it either

[Omskakas]

I have some rock hard, impossible draw Fonseca no 1's. Gotta try that!

[Leopolis Semper Fidelis]

Mutilating ("cutting" is too polite a term for this despicable practice) a cigar should rate as a mortal sin in the world of Havana appreciation. If the puro is too big, don't smoke it. If it's plugged, and you can't bear to toss it out, use a cigar draw tool (various kinds available out there).

[Ken Gargett]

i consider it akin to slaughtering whales or allowing catholic priests to run child care centres but i give you, as an example of how rife this despicable practice is, our own prez.

on the way to cuba a couple of years ago, we headed via chile for trout fishing. when we arrived, it was discovered that some of us had not thought to bring cigars. rob had a box of 8-9-8's which he offered to turn into 4-4 1/2-4's. i thought this on a par with drawing a mo on the mona lisa and expressed my view whereupon i was villified, villified i say. i had brought a few smokes, including some SLR DC's and the prez decided that they would be chopped. i made it clear that he could enjoy his 4-4 1/2-4's and i would not touch them and stick to those few SLR's i'd brought. but no, i was castigated in the strongest terms. it still stings.

in the end, we compromised. i got my way and he didn't (always a good compromise).

was i wrong?

should i have butchered my few SLR DC's? i think not but let me know.

[sandholm]

No, you did the right. It would be like pouring coke in good cognac or coke in whiskey, cigars are made and blended to produce a journey with different flavors (or that how i would like to see it) and you cant just cut the journey in half, one part is missing.

Me personal I would smoke the DC in the evening and no cigar while fishing (I am fanatic fly fisher).

[Stalebread]

I've never done it -- cutting a cigar in half.

Can't imagine doing it.

But then, you never know . . .

[Ryan]

I've never done it but I've never been in a situation where I've had to consider it. I generally have a selction of sizes near enough.

I have a friend who gave his spanish uncle a box of 5 Monte As. The spanish uncle doesn't smoke cigars that big. He cut them in half and enjoyed ten cigars. I don't know how he prevented the wrapper coming off the bottom half.

I don't think, in type of that situation, that it's particularly "sacreligious".

[android]

Ummmm NO

[OZCUBAN]

Bin it every single time

[thechenman]

While I don't consider it sacreligious...I would never do this myself. As pointed out...a cigar is rolled to be enjoyed in its entirety. You can't get the full enjoyment and the intention of the roller, by cutting the cigar into quarters, thirds or halves. that said...I do have two friends that do this from time to time in order to share a cigar. While I won't impose my beliefs on anyone...that does not mean I have to approve of this kind of action either.

[jdeese88]

I can't say that I would do that either. I usually would wait for a time where I can enjoy the whole smoke.

[ChanceSchmerr]

I with those who believe it's sacrilige to cut a CC in half.....I have a story to go with...

A few months back I was invited to my old XO's house for a good-bye party as he was leaving our ship to go work for Sea Training (forgive the navy-speak). XO = First Officer on board. Anyway, this guy was a big cigar fan, and we'd enjoyed stogies on the ship in the past. Since it was an important occasion, I brought a few of my prizes to smoke, as well as one to gift to my old XO, who I really admired. For me I brought a Cohiba Lancero, and a Trinidad Fundadores - both of which I had never tried before. I was enthralled by both cigars, well over 90 for each - loved them! Meanwhile, I had brought a Cohiba Lancero for my XO, and he was very grateful to receive it....but then proceeded to cut it in half and smoke the top half first. I almost lost my sh*t, I couldn't believe someone would desecrate a Cohiba with such treatment, but he explained that he wanted to enjoy some now and some later. He would later smoke the other half that evening, and he very much appeared to enjoy both 'cigars', so maybe there was some merit to what he did, but I didn't believe it!

I don't cut in half.

[jacksfull]

I have cut a few cigars down in my time. It's always been on plugged cigars, and for some odd reason the blockage is almost always right around the band, meaning I usually end up with one mildly truncated cigar rather than two smokable halves.

However, just the other day I had to cut a PL Montecarlo that was plugged almost exactly at the halfway point. I managed to get both halves to smoke reasonably well and actually found my two little 3.15" x 33's a very convenient size... sort of a mini on steroids. I'll go against the consensus here, as I remember thinking to myself that in some circumstances this might be a better idea than lighting up a whole cigar knowing I don't really have time for it. I have not done this purposefully yet, but I don't see any sacrilege in it either.

Mind you, an inexpensive long-skinny like that Montecarlo seems the only realistic candidate for doing this unprovoked. Otherwise, I'd only resort to it with plugged cigars, or forced rationing like the 4-4⁵-4 incident.

[DrunkenMonkey]

I with those who believe it's sacrilige to cut a CC in half.....I have a story to go with...

A few months back I was invited to my old XO's house for a good-bye party as he was leaving our ship to go work for Sea Training (forgive the navy-speak). XO = First Officer on board. Anyway, this guy was a big cigar fan, and we'd enjoyed stogies on the ship in the past. Since it was an important occasion, I brought a few of my prizes to smoke, as well as one to gift to my old XO, who I really admired. For me I brought a Cohiba Lancero, and a Trinidad Fundadores - both of which I had never tried before. I was enthralled by both cigars, well over 90 for each - loved them! Meanwhile, I had brought a Cohiba Lancero for my XO, and he was very grateful to receive it....but then proceeded to cut it in half and smoke the top half first. I almost lost my sh*t, I couldn't believe someone would desecrate a Cohiba with such treatment, but he explained that he wanted to enjoy some now and some later. He would later smoke the other half that evening, and he very much appeared to enjoy both 'cigars', so maybe there was some merit to what he did, but I didn't believe it!

I don't cut in half.

Good job to keep yourself together in that situation. I can understand how a plugged cigar which would get tossed otherwise might be a good candidate for this surgical procedure, but at a party, with obviously enough time on hand to smoke the lancero, he chose to do that?? Sorry you had to see that, Chris. But at least you learned to only give that guy half coronas from now on.

[gk404]

To each his own I say but I just don't see the sense in it. If you want a short cigar, buy a short cigar.

My brother does this all the time and to him it's a way of turning once cigar into two (sometimes three!). I have tried to explain to him that what he'd doing is wrong but he continues to do it.

The way I see it, in the end, we all smoke cigars for enjoyment, if he enjoys his halves or thirds then it's all good.

[JoshMP]

Yeah, I don't see the point to it really. I'd certainly not do it to a cigar.

If you want to smoke a smaller cigar why pick up a DC in the first place?

And with plugged cigars just use a draw tool or something like that.

[PointSource]

I would never engage in such a practice!!!!!!

[jsd]

Never thought about doing this. I haven't even heard of someone doing this before. I'll just reach for another if I have to fight a plug.

[MontrealRon]

Perhaps not quite a sacrilege, but certainly not a civilized practise.

I keep a wide range of sizes, from Demi-tasses and Joyitas to Sanchos and "A"s,

so there is always someting to suit the occasion.

As for tight draws, they get slowly dry-boxed in ziplocks

until they either come around, or fall apart.

Either way, problem solved.

[Wicky]

I admit I have "gone there". I've cut DCs thinking I might have a robusto type smoke. Wrong! It wasn't the same. Wouldn't do it again.

[lemmycaution]

Sometimes it scares me what people will do to cigars...I once gave someone a churchill sized cigar, he was happy that it would last him the whole week. When I asked him what he meant, he said "I'll smoke a little of it a few times a day, put it out, and relight it for at least a week."

[Wicky]

Sometimes it scares me what people will do to cigars...I once gave someone a churchill sized cigar, he was happy that it would last him the whole week. When I asked him what he meant, he said "I'll smoke a little of it a few times a day, put it out, and relight it for at least a week."

Nooooooooooooo!