Help me have the best first time cigar experience.

[guids]

[ QUOTE ]
1. Go to an actual cigar store to buy it. Do not buy anything from your local convenience store, drug store, or discount tobacco/liquor store. They're all terrible. (If the place you're at doesn't have a walk-in humidor, go somewhere else.)

2. Ask the salesperson for his/her recommendations. If you're not comfortable saying you've never had a cigar before, just ask for a mild one so the cigar smell won't offend the people around you. Expect to pay at least $15. If the salesperson is halfway competent, your experience will be worth every penny.

3. Have the salesperson cut the cigar.

4. Purchase or borrow a Zippo lighter. This will make lighting it easier, and many smokers say it just goes down better when lit with a Zippo.

5. Enjoy.

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Never use a zippo, when you use a zippo, that zippo fuel smell is drawn through the cigar, ruining it.

[Tony_P]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
1. Go to an actual cigar store to buy it. Do not buy anything from your local convenience store, drug store, or discount tobacco/liquor store. They're all terrible. (If the place you're at doesn't have a walk-in humidor, go somewhere else.)

2. Ask the salesperson for his/her recommendations. If you're not comfortable saying you've never had a cigar before, just ask for a mild one so the cigar smell won't offend the people around you. Expect to pay at least $15. If the salesperson is halfway competent, your experience will be worth every penny.

3. Have the salesperson cut the cigar.

4. Purchase or borrow a Zippo lighter. This will make lighting it easier, and many smokers say it just goes down better when lit with a Zippo.

5. Enjoy.

[/ QUOTE ]

Never use a zippo, when you use a zippo, that zippo fuel smell is drawn through the cigar, ruining it.

[/ QUOTE ]

corretto. use wodden matches or one of those lighters that shoots an almost invisible flame.

[kipin]

[ QUOTE ]
i smoke cigars every once in a while with a friend because we get a kick out of it. i don't smoke so i usually get a pretty big buzz from it.

just go to a huge liquor/party supply that has a cigar room and pick out whatever fancy sounding cigar you want. an old man told me the darker ones are harsher, and the lighter ones smoother.

my friend chooses his on the rating some of them have, and whether or not they come in a fancy tube.

be careful when cutting it or you will have it unravel and be a mangled mess, evidenced below in picture.




[/ QUOTE ]

OK, for my age I consider myself a pretty expert cigar smoker, I have never, ever seen a cigar unravel like that. This is all assuming it has been properly stored. (In a well maintained humidor)

The cigar itself appears to have unraveled on the end of the cigar you light, and not where you are supposed to cut the end off. If I were to take a guess, I would say that the cigar was out of a humidor for atleast a few days and it was horribly dried out. If that is not the case, start buying from a new shop, they are not taking care of the cigars properly.

Another clue into the cigars condition before being lit is that uneven burn, while some cigars will burn uneven no matter how they are cared for (bad roll), a good cigar drying out (or being over humidified) will also cause this phenomenon.

To the OP: Go into the cigar shop, and talk to the sales person about your smoking experience (none), and have him recommend a mild cigar. If you are willing to spend a little money, a newbie smoker really can't go wrong with a Davidoff which is a fairly light smoke. You might also look into getting a Romeo y Julietta, they have some milder smokes.

Enjoy your time, it is true that alcohol really enhances a cigar, but I would advise against smoking while super intoxicated because you will not enjoy it and there is a high probability you will get sick.

[kipin]

[ QUOTE ]
From what I have heard and read, Padron 3000 seem to be a very good cigar for a low price ($4 and under I think). Have not had a chance to try it, but I have been hearing it is very good quality for a low price, a good introductory cigar.

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This is true.

[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] Padron. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Also, for anyone who cares about the construction of a cigar, (to me this is very important as it will influence the draw of the cigar, as well as the burn pattern) see if that line is made as a "figurado" (torpedo) shape, I recommend buying that one, as it can only be rolled by the expert rollers. Because of this, these will also be the most expensive of the line.

[kipin]

[ QUOTE ]
1. Go to an actual cigar store to buy it. Do not buy anything from your local convenience store, drug store, or discount tobacco/liquor store. They're all terrible. (If the place you're at doesn't have a walk-in humidor, go somewhere else.)

2. Ask the salesperson for his/her recommendations. If you're not comfortable saying you've never had a cigar before, just ask for a mild one so the cigar smell won't offend the people around you. Expect to pay at least $15. If the salesperson is halfway competent, your experience will be worth every penny.

3. Have the salesperson cut the cigar.

4. Purchase or borrow a Zippo lighter. This will make lighting it easier, and many smokers say it just goes down better when lit with a Zippo.

5. Enjoy.

[/ QUOTE ]

You say some good stuff here, but number 4 is absolutely horrible. If at all possible, avoid lighting a cigar with a zippo, the flavor of the cigar will be ruined by the zippo fluid.

No one who truly enjoys a cigar will ever light a cigar with a zippo. (This is one thing that pisses me off about The Sopranos - always lighting cigars with zippos)

[Reqtech]

I'm a fairly casual cigar smoker (around 50 a year). Padron 4000's are a very good value. $4-5 a smoke.

[Warik]

Thanks for the advice everyone... I already knew that you don't want to light it with a standard lighter or matches. I'll keep an eye out for the Padron 3000-4000 since those got a few votes of confidence.

Any suggestions on alcohol?

[Benal]

[ QUOTE ]
you have to inhale in order to exhale out the nostrils

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This is not true, but I dont recommend trying.