smoking great cigars
When you are smoking a great cigar – I mean one that tastes so good and it’s rolled SO perfectly where great big puffs of thick white smoke billows from the foot – there’s not a whole lot in life that can be any better (well, maybe one or two things, but let’s stick with cigars for now, okay?) I mean it tastes so damned good and you wish it could last forever. (right now, I’m thinking about a Padron 1926 Maduro or an Alec Bradley Fine & Rare, oh yeah, that’s what I’m talking about!)
Then there’s an average to above-average cigar that’s good and kind of passes the time. And then there’s the “meh”, it’s just okay smoke but you give it a good run. So, the question we have for you is: How far down do you smoke your hand-rolled treats? How much of these cigars do you choose to enjoy? And please note that the proper term there is “choose”.
This is a choice you need to make while smoking and I think there’s actually a number of factors that say how much of your cigar you should smoke. The first thing I’ll start with is how far down do you go on your cigar until it gets too hot? How about ‘til it gets sour or acidic? I mean, it can really depend on the cigar, right? Now, some of those amazing sticks can be enjoyed all the way down to your thumbnail as it stays perfect the entire time, but that’s kind of a rare occurrence. Most of the time you’ll get to about 80 – 85% down when it starts to give out and you’re ready to toss it.
Then how about the below average kind of crappy stick? Sometimes you smoke it most the way down, and sometimes you don’t even make it halfway through because you’re a firm believer in the saying that life is too short to smoke bad cigars. And then you’ve even got the bundled yard gar. How far do you let that fly? It all depends, right?
So, the real true answer to the question isn’t so simple because it really comes down to your personal choice. I’m generally an 80% guy, but if the smoke is outstanding, I’ll burn my fingertips as it hits the 90% mark. Like I said, it really all depends, doesn’t it? Yep.
There are those times when you’re with your buddies and you only have that one cigar to enjoy, so you need a damned roach clip to finish and it doesn’t really matter how hot or sour it gets. Or, I have nights where I have like three different smokes and I’ll go maybe 70% on them because I can’t wait to try the next one!
The bottom line: There really is no definitive answer to our question because a bunch of factors can come into play when you need to decide when you are actually finished with your cigar. It’s a choice that you need to make, but the good news is that there’s always that next hand-rolled stogie that awaits you, and who isn’t ready for that?!
THIS MONTH’S SWEEPSTAKES GIVEAWAY!
This month cigar maker and renowned chef, Lars Tetens is in da house with a 3-tierd prize pack that’s worth $110 in value!
3 GRAND PRIZE WINNERS will be chosen – each prize pack includes an awesome t-shirt, baseball cap, and a 3 of Lars’s tasty Spice Sticks!
It’s running ‘til the end of the month and all you’ve got to do is put your email address in the form and you are officially in the running!
If it’s a good cigar, and I have the time, I’ll enjoy it til about 1″ left! Even with average, everyday smokes, generally down to 1 1/2 to 2″. When you get to be 65+, and you’ve buried so many nonsmokers, every hand rolled cigar is a blessing!
I smoke it until it doesn’t taste good anymore.