Smoking techniques

[Kangaroo495]

Dear FOHers, I'm wondering what your smoking techniques are. How do you smoke a cigar? Do you think the technique makes a difference as to how the cigar tastes/burns?

I'll start:

The draws I take are extremely small. If the cigar is long, the smoke coming from my mouth will almost be invisible in the first third.

I take 4 such puffs, and repeat this process 2-3 times per minute.

I release the smoke from my mouth immediately (without letting it linger in there) and will also push some smoke through my nose.

I then sniff the air around me to taste the aroma (this will cause me to inhale quite a lot of the cigar!)

I make the cigar relatively wet (working on correcting this)

The cigars I smoke will more often than not burn badly, and I often have to correct them. I honestly don't know whether that's because of my drawing technique. However, my girlfriend takes large puffs, and her cigars tend to burn better then mine.

None the less, I get a great amount of pleasure from this slow smoking process, as I find it makes the taste a lot less harsher and I can pick up the nuiances in the taste.

Smoking time: A robusto will take me around 1.5 hours to finish (unless it's a mild cigar).

I tend to smoke all my cigars to the last couple of centimeters, and get great enjoyment from the last third.

So share your thoughts!

BTW, I don't want to say that one technique is better than the other. If you enjoy the cigar, then you're doing it right. Just want to get a broad idea of how everyone smokes.

[bunburyist]

I tend to take decent sized mouthfulls of smoke - enough for it to take 2-3 seconds to puff out, for me that helps to get a measure of the body and also just feels nice. The difficult thing for me is finding somewhere to smoke where wind/RH isn't an issue, but if it's somewhere calm I tend to keep to at least 1 min between puffs.

Also try and take not more than 1 or 2 draws at a time, rather than puffing away which seems quite common. I let the smoke linger for a second or so then exhale with some through the nose, if there's enough volume. I don't sniff the air, I like to think I can go through a whole double corona without inhaling anything

A robusto takes me just over an hour usually, but it can really depend.

You're right, slow smoking definitely adds to the experience, as does keeping the cigar dry.

[Guest rob]

The cigar itself will usually dictate how I smoke it.

Usually shorter, more petite draws with cigars that are dry or unfilled. This is to avoid it getting to hot.

Longer, more deliberate draws, with tight or cigars that are slightly to moist.

For the rare, perfectly stored and constructed cigar I just smoke at whatever pace keeps it tasting nice. If its starts to get bitter I slow down.. but if its going along fine I probably give it a once or draw twice a minute.

[jmasterj]

I follow Bunburyist on technique. As I go through the final third though, if the cigar is getting bitter and hot, I'll take smaller draws as to allow for less harsh smoke and still an enjoyable end to the cigar. I agree that wind and Rh do play a major part in tasting all the characteristics of a cigar and how it burns. For me the smoke needs to linger in the mouth and nose for a few seconds without getter swept away.

[Colt45]

Somewhat ring gauge dependent, but generally long deliberate draws, one at a time.

Hold the smoke in my mouth for a few seconds and exhale. Infrequent nasal exhalation.

I am a dry smoker and try to wait at least a minute between draws.

[thechenman]

I tend to draw deeply on my cigars. For that reason, I tend to favor 42+ ring gauge cigars, but anything over 50 gets to be a bit on the big side. Though there are some nice 52 ring gauge smokes I enjoy. I don't let the smoke linger in my mouth too long, blowing it out maybe a second or two, at most, after drawing the smoke in. I exhale only through my mouth, never through my nose. I usually smoke my cigars down to about 1 inch give or take .25 inch. I am a fast smoker though, despite trying not to be, but I sometimes find that in trying not to smoke the way I naturally do, I actually take away from my enjoyment of the cigar. I would say that I take 3 puffs every 2 minutes. This of course does not mean, I won't adjust my drawing habit if the cigar begins to go bitter on me.

[bolivr]

Thanks guys, food for thought as I rarely find the final 3rd at all palatable which would indicate I am smoking hotter than ideal (even though I am really conscious of trying not to do this). Will try a few different things to my usual long slow gentle draws with about 30 secs between - anything to gain greater enjoyment from the hobby