CIGAR ETIQUETTE

In 1967 Zino Davidoff outlined a protocol for smokers in his noted essay for connoisseurs. It is a charter and code for cigar smokers everywhere, and it remains as valid today as when he first wrote it. Among his directives were the following dos and don'ts:

DON'T

  • Use a penknife to cut or a lance to pierce the end of the cigar.
  • Touch the flame directly to the foot of the cigar: Instead simply rotate it around the edge till it starts to burn, then puff lightly.
  • Ask someone else for a light ('The lighting of a cigar should be a personal affair').
  • Light your cigar too quickly or too slowly.
  • Indulge in exhibitionism in lighting or any other aspect of smoking.
  • Relight your cigar if less than one quarter of it is leaf.
  • Put the cigar in your mouth to relight it.
  • Just scrape off the ash and turn it in the flame for several seconds till it relights.
  • Clench it between your teeth.
  • Get the end of the cigar wet, chew It, slobber on it.
  • Smoke too quickly.
  • Use a cigar holder.
  • Stick a toothpick or matchstick in the end of the cigar to help hold it in your mouth.
  • Dunk your cigar in port or brandy, a habit attributed to Winston Churchill.
  • Smoke while working.
  • Hold a cigar between your index and middle finger.
  • Smoke when you're walking.
  • Smoke more than half the cigar.
  • Put the cigar out by crushing it in an ashtray.
  • Chain-smoke cigars.

DO

  • Warm the foot of the cigar slightly before starting to puff on it.
  • Remove the band carefully after lighting the cigar.
  • Take your time smoking it; a puff a minute is about right.
  • Hold the cigar between your index finger and thumb.
  • Let the cigar die a dignified death; after it's smoked halfway, it will go out on its own.
  • Dispose of the dead cigar discreetly and quickly.
  • Wait at least fifteen minutes between cigars; anything less indicates obsessive behaviour.

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