How to light a cigar

Toasting is half the light

Toasting means warming the foot of the cigar with an indirect flame until the edge of every leaf starts to char, before any smoke goes near your mouth. Skip it and you get a lopsided burn and a harsh first inch.

Why does it matter? A cigar is three kinds of leaf. The wrapper is thin and lights in a second. The filler is dense and slow. Jam a flame on and puff, and the wrapper races ahead while the core lags behind. Toasting gives the slow stuff a head start.

The lighting drill, step by step

A clean light takes about a minute: cut, toast, light with gentle draws, then check the ring. Here's the sequence.

1. Cut first. A closed head means no draw. The cutting guide covers where.
2. Hold it at an angle. Point the foot down at about 45 degrees, just above the tip of the flame. Close, not touching.
3. Turn it slowly. Rotate the cigar so the whole foot warms. Watch for the outer ring to blacken and the center to glow faintly. Twenty to thirty seconds does it.
4. Now draw. Put the head in your mouth, keep the flame just off the foot, and take short, gentle puffs while you turn the cigar.
5. Blow on the foot. One soft breath across the lit end shows the glow. Dark patches mean those spots still need flame.
6. Let it settle. Take a slow puff or two and taste. The first draws carry the lighter's fuel and the char. It mellows fast.

What should you light a cigar with?

The ideal flame is clean and odorless: butane, wooden matches or a cedar spill all work, while fuel-burning lighters can leave a taste on the foot.

Candles are the classic no. Paraffin smoke and scent soak into the foot. Same goes for stove burners, which add heat and fumes you don't want.

Torch or soft flame?

A torch burns hotter and holds its shape in wind, while a soft flame is cooler and kinder to the leaf, so the choice depends on where you smoke. Outdoors on a breezy deck, the torch wins. Inside, the soft flame gives you more control.

The mistake with a torch is distance. People hold the foot right in the jet. Pull back half an inch. You're toasting, not welding. Black, crusty wrapper means you went too close.

Keeping the burn even

An even burn is a straight ring of glowing tobacco all the way round, and most cigars hold it if the light was good and the leaf is properly humidified. Small wobbles fix themselves. Turn the cigar a quarter between puffs and the low side catches up.

A real run, where one side burns an inch ahead, needs help. Touch flame only to the lagging side until it levels out. Don't relight the whole foot. Runs and tunnels often trace back to a cigar that's too wet or too dry, so check your storage. The draw and burn fixes guide handles stubborn ones. The 70/70 humidity calculator shows what your room's temperature does to the target.

Puffing too often heats the cigar and turns it bitter. Too rarely and it goes out. About one puff a minute keeps most cigars lit. The smoke time estimator uses pace like this to estimate how long a cigar lasts.

Cigars go out, and that's fine

A cigar goes out when it sits too long between puffs, and it can be relit: knock off the loose ash, blow gently through the head to clear stale smoke, then toast and light again. It happens to everyone, especially near the end. The relighting guide covers timing and why a long-cold cigar tastes harsh.

Lighting questions, answered

Where the lighting advice comes from

1. Cigar: lighting at a 45-degree angle, matches, Wikipedia
2. Cedrela odorata (Spanish cedar), Wikipedia