How to cut your cigar

Lighting a Havana begins with an apparently barbaric practice that requires skill and refinement: decapitation. The way the head is cut — which is almost always closed — has consequences for what follows. A good cut depends on a good accessory: the cigar cutter is very important.

How to cut your cigar perfectly?

Three steps are necessary to achieve this, although it only takes a few seconds to stub a cigar:

• First, you need to find the mark (about 2 mm after the head) to know where to cut.
• The second step requires aligning the cut. For this, use a guillotine (with one or two blades). The two-blade version offers a cleaner cut, while keeping the cigar perfectly straight during the operation. If it moves, the cut could be slanted…
• Finally, the third step is the cutting itself. If the previous two steps are carried out meticulously, the cut should be a simple formality. It is not uncommon to miss a few cuts when starting out. The art of smoking a cigar is acquired much like any habit: with time!

What to do

There are many ways to cut the head off a cigar: with your teeth (yes, some people still do it this way), with scissors, or with a guillotine, which remains the most common method because it is the most beneficial. It provides a clean and perfect cut, allowing you to enjoy all the flavors of the cigar.

There are several types of guillotines: with a single blade or double blades.
The first are rather reserved for experienced smokers, as they are complex to use.
The second are simpler and cut the stems perfectly.
They arepreferable for beginners or for anyone not really comfortable with this step

What not to do

Some people tear off the head with their teeth. Needless to say, this is a true sacrilege. Use your teeth only if you really have no other solution and a very strong desire to smoke your cigar. Likewise, avoid marking the spot to cut with your nail or teeth. This could also harm your tasting experience later.

If you have alreadySeen among cigar smokers is the habit of pushing a match into the head of the cigar; do not replicate this habit. Indeed, this action damages the filler and the binder, and during combustion, it can lead to the formation of a nicotine plug.

There are V-cut cigar cutters. While some enjoy using them, it should be noted that they cause a concentration of tar and nicotine towards the end of the smoking experience…