While some cigar smoking rules will be personal to you or maybe cultural, these are some general guidelines that are recommended to follow to ensure that you are respectful and to ensure the best experience for everyone.
Share your cutter, not your spit.
Do not lick the end of your cigar before cutting. The reason is simple - because your germs are going to be transferred to the cutter once you use it. Even if it is your own cutter you might be passing it along to your friend to use for their cut. So please keep it clean by not licking your cigar before you use your or anyone else's cutter.
There's something about smoking a cigar that feels like a celebration. It's like a fine wine. There's a quality, a workmanship, a passion that goes into the smoking of a fine cigar. -Demi Moore
Light Your Own
Sometimes it can be a fun experience when the friendly cigar seller helps you to light your cigar, especially if you are not very familiar with the best lighting technique (see our article about Smoking Tips). However, as a general rule you should not light or help light another person's cigar. It is an enjoyable and personal experience to light your own cigar. Not to mention that I don't want another person's mouth on the end of my cigar when they are drawing on it to light.
If you hold the match or flame for another person while they draw it still poses the risk that they will feel rushed and pull too hard on the cigar to get started, which can risk ruining the cigar. It may look cool in the movies to offer to help with a light, but let's keep those theatrics in Hollywood and our lighters in our own hands!
No Tapping
We covered this in the Smoking tips, but we will say it again. You should not tap the end of your cigar to get the ash to come off. This is because cigar wrappers can be delicate and tapping too roughly can cause the wrapper to crack and ruin your smoke. Instead gently roll the middle of the wrapper in the ashtray until the ash falls off on its own. It looks a lot more classy and is less likely to get ash in the air.
Finishing your Cigar
When you are done smoking your cigar do not stamp or smoosh the end of it in the ashtray to stop the burning. Not only can this ruin the cigar (if you are only part way through smoking and want to save the rest for later), but it creates a lot of smoke and soot which is unpleasant for others around you. Not to mention it just doesn't have a dignified appeal.
Cigar aficionados have the saying "let the cigar die with dignity." This means you simply lay it down in the ashtray and let it burn out on it's own. Once it is out you can store it in a cigar tube if you want to finish your smoke later.
Thanks for reading and happy smoking!
-The Don Collins Team