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Getting Started

How to Light a Cigar

Lesson 3 of 9 3 min read

Toast the foot of the cigar over a flame without letting the flame touch it, rotating until the whole end glows evenly. Then draw gently while you rotate the cigar near the flame. Take your time: a careful light is the difference between an even burn and a cigar that tunnels or canoes down one side.

What to light it with

Use something with no smell or taste of its own, because the cigar will absorb whatever the flame gives off.

  • Butane torch lighter: the easiest choice. A strong, windproof flame that tastes of nothing. Most cigar smokers carry one.
  • Soft-flame butane lighter: gentler and more traditional, but it struggles outdoors.
  • Long wooden matches: strike them and let the head burn off for a few seconds before bringing the flame to the cigar, so you do not taste sulfur.
  • Cedar spills: thin strips of cedar you light and then use as a taper. Slow, but a lovely ritual.

Avoid lighter fluid (petrol) lighters, candles and stove burners. They add chemical or waxy flavors the cigar will hold onto.

How to light a cigar, step by step

LIGHTING, STEP BY STEP gap 1. Toast Hold the foot just above the flame. Do not touch it. Rotate. 2. Light Draw gently while you keep turning the cigar. 3. Check The whole face should glow. Touch up any dark patches.
Use butane or a wooden match, never a petrol lighter or a scented candle — the cigar will taste of it.
  1. Cut the cigar first. See how to cut a cigar.
  2. Toast the foot. Hold the cigar at a 45-degree angle with the foot about half an inch above the tip of the flame. Rotate it slowly until the whole end is charred black and evenly lit around the edge.
  3. Light it. Put the cigar in your mouth and draw gently while you keep rotating it just above the flame. You will see the embers catch.
  4. Check the burn. Look at the foot, or blow gently on it. The whole face should glow evenly. Touch up any dark patches with the flame.
  5. Relax. Let the cigar settle for a minute before you judge how it tastes. The first puffs are always the harshest.

Touch-ups and relights

If one side starts burning faster than the other, hold the flame briefly to the side that is lagging, or turn the cigar so the slow side faces down; heat rises, so the lower side burns faster.

Cigars often go out if you set them down for a few minutes. That is normal. To relight, tap off the ash, then blow gently out through the cigar once to clear stale smoke before toasting and lighting it again. Skipping that step makes a relit cigar taste bitter.

Need a lighter? Browse our cigar lighters.

Ready for your first cigar?

Start with a mild smoke we hand to first-timers at the shop, or try several at once with a sampler.

Best cigars for beginners Shop samplers

Keep learning

  1. How to Smoke a Cigar Don't inhale, puff about once a minute, and let the ash build. How to smoke and taste your first cigar, step by step. 3 min read Read lesson
  2. Cigar Sizes and Shapes Explained Robusto, toro, churchill and more: how to read cigar sizes and ring gauge, how long each lasts, and which to start with. 2 min read Read lesson
  3. Cigar Wrapper Colors, from Claro to Oscuro From pale claro to dark maduro: what cigar wrapper colors and types taste like, and why darker does not mean stronger. 2 min read Read lesson

See all 9 lessons