How to Cut a Premium Cigar

When you smoke a premium, hand-rolled cigar, you always have to cut it first. When cutting cigars, there are certain principles you must follow to get the maximum enjoyment from your cigar. Following these principles will ensure you get the most out of your cigar smoking experience.

The whole point of cutting a cigar is to remove the cap from the unsealed end. This cap was originally installed to keep the filler in place and to preserve its aroma and flavor. We do this to create a sufficient opening to draw smoke, but we also want to do this in a way that does not damage the shape of the cigar or mash the filler tobacco within it.

To begin with, always use a sharp cutter to cut your cigar. Like any other type of blade, a dull blade does far more damage than a sharp blade will ever do. Never waste your money on a second rate cutter and never procrastinate replacing a dull one.

When cutting the cigar, do it with constant pressure in a quick manner.

Make certain that you place an equal amount of pressure on all sides of the cigar. This will prevent the cigar from being crushed.

When you cut the cigar, hold it at eye level. This will allow you to see where the cap meets the body and enable you to cut in a straight line.

• Begin by placing your cigar cutter between you and your cigar. Point the cigar’s open end away from you.
• Find the point on the cigar where the end begins to curve toward the closed end that is facing toward you. This curved part of the cigar is called the shoulder. Typically, on most cigars, it lies between a half inch and one sixteenth of an inch from the cap.
• Now, place your cigar under the blade where you intend to cut it.
• Before you actually cut the cigar, bring the blade down to wrapper and rest it there gently, lining it up in the process.
• Once you have lined up the cutter, cut the cigar with a swift surgical movement. Use even pressure and do not jerk the cigar as you cut. The more precise you are, the less likely you will be to tear the wrapper or crush the tobacco.
• Throw away the cap and light your cigar with either a wooden match or a butane cigar lighter.

There are three types of cigar cutters, as we discussed in a previous blog on this site. The most popular among cigar aficionados is the guillotine cutter, which may either be single-blade or double-blade in design.

We recommend that if you follow this preference, that you use a double blade so that you can deliver precise, equal pressure from both sides at once. Of course, if you have been cutting cigars and smoking all of your life, you can easily do the same work with a single-blade cutter.