What is a Pigtail Cigar

A pigtail-cap cigar is a handmade cigar distinguished by a small twisted “tail” of tobacco at the head. Instead of trimming the cap flush with the body of the cigar, the roller twists a bit of the wrapper or binder leaf into a tight knot. This twist resembles a pig’s tail, which gi...

Tuesday 16 December, 2025

How to Decide Which S.T Dupont Gas to Use

When selecting the appropriate gas for your S.T. Dupont lighter, it’s essential to choose the correct type to ensure optimal performance, longevity, and safety.  S.T. Dupont manufactures several different types of gas refills, each tailored for specific models of their lighters. The mo...

Thursday 17 July, 2025

New to Cuban Cigars?

For Beginners For the novice smoker new to the world of Havana Cigars, these brands and vitolas are a great starting point. Different flavours and strength profiles in accessible sizes. Hoyo de Monterrey Petit Robusto - Full of flavour, spice, rich and sweet. The cigar lasts around 40 minut...

Friday 20 June, 2025

The Impact of Cigar Size on Flavour

Cigar enthusiasts often debate how many factors affect a cigar’s flavour, such as where the tobacco comes from, how it is aged and the blend of the filler leaves. One of the most fascinating and widely discussed factors is the size of a cigar. It is often debated which size is best in both len...

Thursday 09 January, 2025

How to Bleed and Refill a Jet Lighter

Refilling a butane lighter can be tricky if you don’t bleed, or purge, the gas tank beforehand. Cigar smokers prefer jet lighters when they’re smoking outside because you can light a cigar in the wind. Many jet lighters have a see-through window, so you can see how much gas you have...

Tuesday 08 October, 2024

Five Lighters for Beginners

Choosing a lighter for your cigar is very important, you need to be comfortable holding it whilst toasting the end of your cigar. If you choose the wrong lighter you may find yourself destroying the foot of your cigar resulting in a charred taste which will ruin your experience. You may find a very ...

Thursday 13 June, 2024

Five Cigar Cutters for Beginners

Choosing a cigar cutter can look like a daunting challenge. there are so many to choose from: Guillotine, V-cut, cigar scissors, the list is endless. As a beginner choosing the right accessories is important as it can affect your smoking experience. Below I have listed five different cutters that I ...

Tuesday 04 June, 2024

Best Cigar Shapes To Try For Beginners

When you’re browsing online or visiting a cigar store, you’ll notice most blends come in several different sizes. Size is important as it determines how long it will take to smoke the cigar, it also slightly affects the intensity of the blend. In other words, you should figure out how lo...

Friday 31 May, 2024

Can You Cut a Cigar in Half?

Can you cut a cigar in half? Technically yes, but the real question is: Should you? Definitely not! Most aficionados would never cut a cigar in half unless they really need to as cutting a cigar in half is considered a big no! So why cut a cigar in half at all? When talking about prope...

Tuesday 06 February, 2024

How to Cut a Torpedo Cigar

Figurados, otherwise known as Torpedos, Pyramids and Belicosos, stand out in your humidor due to their tapered head, this pointed head is deliberately designed to concentrate the smoke directly onto your palate with more intensity. Because they are more difficult to roll, they cost a littl...

Wednesday 18 October, 2023

How to Smoke a Cigar

Smoking a cigar can be very daunting as a beginner, there are many different colours, shapes and manufacturers out there so where do you start? Well there is no right or wrong selection, if you’re in a retail shop the assistant should guide you in the right direction as they will want you to e...

Wednesday 28 December, 2022

Cigars Vs Pipe

The three most common ways to consume tobacco cigarettes, cigars and pipes, with the latter two offering a more elegant way to smoke as well as providing a richer tobacco experience. While some smokers stay loyal to their certain way to enjoy tobacco, most will switch between pipe and cigars to...

Tuesday 12 July, 2022

Beginners Guide to New World Cigars!

Welcome to the wonderful world of new world cigars! Now I know that it can be very intimidating to walk in to a large humidor and be blown away by the sheer volume of shapes, sizes, lengths, and wrapper colours. So here are my top tips for all you beginners as you venture on this journey of di...

Monday 15 February, 2021

V Cut VS Straight Cut - What’s The Difference?

Cigar Cutters are an important piece of equipment to all cigar smokers. The cut style you choose is completely down to personal preference. The main two cutter styles are V-Cut and Straight Cut. Read on for more details on the difference between the two... A V-Cut cutter cuts a wedge out of ...

Tuesday 28 July, 2020

What's the difference? Soft Flame vs Jet Flame Cigar Lighters

A flame lighter is essentially the device that cigar smokers use for lighting up their cigars. There are two types available from Soft to Jet.   Soft flame lighters produce a flame that’s soft and these flame lighters usually don’t work perfectly where ther...

Tuesday 21 July, 2020

Boveda – The Simple Humidification System

Boveda is a two-way humidity control pouch which is designed to be used with desktop humidors to keep your cigars in the correct condition at home. There are other ways of controlling the humidity, for example with a humidifier unit, but these require more attention and topping up with distilled wat...

Friday 13 December, 2019

Smoking your Cigar

A cigar can provide a great deal of enjoyment, and it should not be rushed. Allow yourself time to appreciate the whole experience, from choosing and cutting to lighting and smoking. The pleasurable ritual of smoking a cigar begins with cutting it. Most modern experts agree that the best way to cut ...

Sunday 30 September, 2018

Reviving your Cigars

There has been much discussion and argument over whether cigars can be restored to their normal state once they have dried out. If a cigar has become dry and the wrapper has not cracked and unravelled, then it can be restored. But this must be done slowly and patiently. If the wrapper has actually b...

Wednesday 26 September, 2018

How to cut and light a cigar?

How to cut and light a cigar, this is an art that will maximise enjoyment of your chosen smoke. Every Havana is made from three components; filler, binder and a wrapper leaf that is sealed at the cigar's 'head' with a cap made from a piece of wrapper leaf. To cut a Havana, you need to...

Thursday 20 September, 2018

The evil of weevil

There is no more depressing sight than, when opening a box of your favourite Havanas, you find the cigars inside riddled with holes. It means that you have suffered an attack by Lasioderma Serricorne, to give it the scientific name, otherwise called the Tobacco Weevil, the Tobacco Bee...

Tuesday 18 September, 2018

To age or not to age... that is the question!

‘ To age or not to age’ … that is the question ! ( with thanks to our friend Reuven Zasler for this article) Aside from my own hands-on experience concerning the topic of ageing, as well as the positive experience of other enthusiasts, there exits a body of literature, albeit qui...

Friday 14 September, 2018

Setting up your Humidor

Havana cigars mature like fine wines, in fact they will continue to improve for up to their first 15 years and in many cases much longer, but they do need a little basic care. The humidifier in your humidor should be topped up with either humidification solution or distilled water (available from m...

Thursday 13 September, 2018

Calibrate your Hygrometer

A hygrometer is an instrument used to measure relative humidity. Relative humidity is a measure of how much water the air is holding, relative to the maximum amount of water the air could possibly hold at a given temperature. Because of the delicate design of hygrometers, it is easy for them to b...

Tuesday 04 September, 2018

100% Guaranteed Counterfeit Cohibas

For years we have heard rumours about a special box of Cohiba Esplendidos with a see through lid and a humidity device inside it.   Admittedly most of these reports came from the other side of the Atlantic, but nevertheless we were intrigued. Enquiries to Habanos SA met with a firm ...

Friday 31 August, 2018