In his wonderful article, "Cigar Overdose in Ybor City", Jack Boulware lives out every cigar lover's dream: an indulgent overdose of cigar history, cigar culture, great Cuban food and, of course, great cigars.
This is Cuba, right? Nope. He goes to the Cigar Capital of the World: Ybor City. AKA Tampa, Florida.
Jack describes Ybor (pronounced EE-borh) as a sort of cigar central, hosting the headquarters of numerous cigar companies and distribution corporations. The prices for cigars in Ybor are often half the cost of elsewhere, and smoking cigars is totally and completely acceptable, unlike his experience in his home state of California, where passers-by take a dim view of the practice.
After reading his article, we are packing our bags for our pilgrimage to the source.
Here's a simple but remarkably effective way to test your hygrometer. It's called the "salt test" and all you need is a plastic zip-style bag, some plain table salt, and a bottle cap or similar object. It just so happens that when salt is saturated and placed in an enclosed container, the humidity will always stabilize at 75%. So, put some salt into your bottle cap and moisten it with water. Don't dissolve the salt or get it slushy, just get it to the point that it's nice and damp. Put the cap into the plastic bag with your hygrometer and seal it all up. After about 8 hours, check your hygrometer reading. If it reads 75% then your hygrometer is perfectly accurate. If not, take it out of the bag and immediately adjust it to 75% by turning the adjustment screw - don't wait or else the reading will change quickly since it's now out of the bag. If your hygrometer cannot be adjusted, then simply take note of how far off it is and factor that in when you use the device in your humidor. For instance, if it reads 82% in the bag, then it's overstating the humidity by 7%. So, if you're shooting for 70% in your humidor, you'd want to adjust your humidifier until your hygrometer reads 77%.
For newbie cigar smokers, one of the questions that comes up often is "how do I properly cut this cigar?" Well, you're going to need a cigar cutter unless you want to get medieval and bite the end off of it - please resist any alcohol-induced urges toward this method since you'll probably end up with a wrecked cigar! There are a few different styles of cutters, each with their pros and cons. Regardless of the style you use, be sure not to cut the whole cap off since it actually helps hold the cigar together, and you wouldn't want the leaves coming apart while you're trying to smoke it. Nothing says "I'm a noob" like an unraveling cigar! There's a line where the cap joins the cigar, so look for that and make sure you don't cut below it.
One of the most popular types of cutters is the "guillotine" style, in which the cutter has a round hole through which the cigar cap is placed, and a blade comes down and whacks the end right off producing a circular opening. A variation on this is the twin-bladed guillotine, which has opposing blades that cut from two sides. The twin-bladed type tends to make a neater cut in our experience, but in either case you'll need a firm motion for the blades to make a good cut; don't be soft about it or you might mangle the end a bit.
Cigar scissors are another option which many people like. You have complete control over where and how you cut the cigar, but some people find the other cutter types to be a bit more "automatic" and easy to use.
The so-called "V-cutter" style snips a V-shaped opening into your cigar, making for an elongated mouth-like opening. Many people find this option to give them the best draw, and it's a great option for thinner cigars. Be sure not to cut too deep into the cigar otherwise you'll actually draw too much and it'll be a little hotter than you'd like.
The punch cutter type has a circular blade that you just press into the end cap and it bores out a hole. They're often small enough to be hung on your keychain. The downside to this cutter style is they don't work well on some cigar shapes, like torpedoes; they're best for cigars with traditional round end caps.
So how much do you have to spend to get a good cutter? Cheap versions (under $5) are readily available at any smoke shop and are often totally adequate, but you might want to spend a little extra to get a higher quality product. Some of the cheapo cutters do a better job ripping your cigar than cutting it. Other times they'll actually work pretty well until the handle comes off or the blade dulls. A higher quality cutter will stay sharp and produce nice cuts, allowing you to fully enjoy your smokes now and into the future!
The best cigars are the ones you like best.
That's not to say that there are not many outstanding cigars by many renowned cigar manufacturers. There are, and in your quest for the best cigar, you'd be wise to try them all. That's why clubs like The Premium Cigar of the Month Club are so handy.
Hopefully, in your cigar smoking journey, you have already found some favorites you call your best.
But I'm certain that there are more cigars out there with your name on them. Well, not literally - unless you are a cigar maker - but certainly more of the best for you are out there. And when you find them, you'd better buy a box or two.
Because those are the best cigars, aren't they?
If you are a true cigar aficionado, then you already know the answer:
He lights his cigar with whatever gives him the greatest pleasure in lighting and smoking his cigar at that particular time, whether or not you agree with him.
And if we ask how he lights his cigar, be prepared for even more options and opinions. And the same answer.
