Smoking a cigar is very unlike smoking a cigarette. The right time to ash a cigarette is when the ash becomes inconveniently long. The tobacco in cigarettes is cheap and hot-burning. Conversely, the tobacco in a cigar is expensive and burns best when it's kept at a lower temperature. This ensures the very best flavor.
The first few puffs of a cigar always entail the hottest ember. The flame generated by high-end cigar lighters, such as a Colibri lighter, is very hot and, thus, is held a bit back from the stogie. However, the ember still needs to cool a bit before the taste is at its best.
The more ash, the cooler the ember. Too much ash will actually extinguish the ember altogether so one must endeavor to keep the ash to a reasonable level. Too much of an ash will also mean a hard draw. Depending on the tobacco being smoked, one may be able to smoke with a longer ash or the density of the tobacco may mean that the cigar needs to be ashed quite frequently. Keep experimenting to see what works for any given brand of cigar.
Too much ash, of course, will extinguish the cherry. Usually one ashes their cigar long before this happens but, if it happens to be set down in an ashtray, it will sometimes go out because of this effect. Generally, one wants to find the happy medium between a cool burn and having the cigar go out. This takes some experience but, like most things related to cigar smoking, the experimentation means nothing more intense than enjoying a good cigar! Be sure to take note of how much ash lends the right temperature to the ember at the foot of the cigar.
The only other concern of which one should be aware has to do with being outdoors. If one flicks their ash too early, it may pull the cherry, or part of it, off of the cigar along with it. This can result in a fire hazard and should be something toward which one should give proper attention. A longer ash will tend to drop off under its own weight. Let it detach a bit on its own before ashing to make sure none of the burning tobacco is pulled away with it when one is in a dry area.
Dave Sabot is the owner of an online specialty lighters store featuring windproof lighters and cigar reviews.
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