Light it?

The foot, or tip, of the cigar should be lit using a long wooden cigar match or a butane lighter. Avoid candles, paper matches, a stove, and lighters that use lighter fluid (naphtha) because the chemicals and odors can affect the taste of the tobacco.



When using a match, wait until the sulfur burns off before lighting the cigar. The ideal device is a wooden match and the best lighter is a butane lighter.

Start lighting a cigar by holding it at a 45-degree angle over the flame, about three to four inches from the tip of the cigar (depending on the height of the flame you're using) and rotate the cigar until the foot begins to ignite. Never letting the flame touch the cigar, slowly puff on the cigar while rotating it around the flame.

Take a look at the foot and make sure the cigar is burning evenly. You can gently blow on the foot to insure a complete lighting. Once the cigar is lit, let it sit for a minute as the short delay will allow the freshly-lit cigar to stabilize.

First, you must "toast" the cigar's foot. Sounds odd, but the purpose of toasting is to ignite the outer layers of the tobacco (that's the binder and the wrapper) that hold the cigar together. If you just held up a match and began to draw, only the inner tobacco – known as the filler – would ignite. If that happened, the cigar would burn unevenly and develop a poorly shaped ash (we'll explain why that's a problem next).

Enjoy...