Guide · 1 to 2 minutes
How to Light a Cigar
A cigar is not lit like a cigarette. It is toasted, slowly, with the flame never touching the leaf. Get the first minute right and the next hour takes care of itself.
By CigarMind Editorial · Updated
The short answer
To light a cigar, hold the foot at a 45-degree angle about half an inch above a butane flame or cedar spill, never in it, and rotate it until the whole edge glows. Then put the cigar in your mouth and draw gently while rotating it over the flame until the foot glows evenly all the way across.
Step by step
You will need: Butane lighter, cedar spill or long wooden matches; A cut cigar. Time: 1 to 2 minutes.
Pick a clean flame
Use a butane lighter, a cedar spill or long wooden matches. Avoid fluid lighters, candles and paper matches: they taste of fuel, wax or sulfur, and the foot of a cigar soaks that up.
Toast the foot
Hold the cigar at about 45 degrees with the foot roughly half an inch above the tip of the flame. Do not let the flame touch the tobacco. Rotate the cigar slowly so every part of the edge heats evenly, until the rim is thinly blackened and starting to glow.
Draw while you rotate
Put the cigar in your mouth and take slow, gentle puffs while you keep rotating the foot just above the flame. The flame will lean up into the foot as you draw. Keep going until the whole face of the foot is lit.
Check the ring
Take the cigar out and look at the foot. You want an even, glowing ring all the way around and across. Gently blowing on the foot shows any dark patches; touch those up with the flame.
Settle it in
Take a couple of slow puffs and let it rest. An even light now saves you from fighting a crooked burn for the next hour.
A guided minute, cigar in hand
Light it with the timer
A guided minute
Light along with the timer
Cut the cigar, get your flame ready, then press start. The timer paces toasting, drawing and checking.
What is the best thing to light a cigar with?
A butane lighter is the most practical: clean-burning and easy to control. A cedar spill, a thin strip of Spanish cedar, is the traditional choice and adds nothing but a faint cedar note. Long wooden matches work if you let the match head burn off first. Fluid lighters, candles and paper matches are the ones to avoid.
| Flame | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Butane torch lighter | Best all-round | Clean, wind-proof, precise for touch-ups; easy to scorch if held too close |
| Soft-flame butane lighter | Excellent | Gentle and clean; struggles outdoors |
| Cedar spill | Traditional | No fuel taste at all; burns fast and sheds embers |
| Long wooden matches | Good | Let the head burn off first; light two at once for a wider flame |
| Zippo or fluid lighter | Avoid | Fuel taste soaks into the foot |
| Candle or paper match | Avoid | Wax and sulfur flavors |
Why toast the foot instead of just lighting it?
Toasting heats the whole foot evenly before you draw, so the filler, binder and wrapper all catch at the same time. Push the cigar into the flame and you char the outside, overheat the tobacco and start a burn that runs crooked from the first puff.
Patience is the whole technique. The flame stays a short distance below the foot, the cigar keeps turning, and you stop when the edge glows all the way around.
What if the cigar burns unevenly?
Touch up the side that is lagging: point the flame at the unlit or slow part of the foot for a second or two while you draw gently. A torch lighter is the easiest tool for this. Rotating the cigar between puffs also helps it burn straight. If a side keeps running ahead, let it rest wrapper-side down for a moment.
A cigar that keeps canoeing or going out is often too humid, not badly lit. Store it at the right humidity and give it time to settle.
How do you relight a cigar?
Tap off the ash, gently blow out through the cigar to clear stale smoke, then toast and light the foot as if it were new. Relight within an hour or so for the best flavor. A half-smoked cigar left overnight turns stale and bitter; it is always best finished in one sitting.
- Tap, do not flick, the ash off first: old ash makes a relight taste charred.
- Blow out through the cigar a couple of times after relighting to clear any bitterness.
- Never put a partly smoked cigar back in your humidor.
Common mistakes, and the fix
Letting the flame touch the tobacco
Keep the tip of the flame just below the foot. Direct flame overheats the leaf and gives a harsh first third.
Puffing hard and fast to get it going
Hard puffs overheat the cigar and turn the taste bitter. Gentle, slow draws while rotating light it just as well.
Not rotating
A foot lit from one side burns crooked for the rest of the smoke. Keep turning until the ring is even all the way around.
Using a fluid lighter or candle
The fuel or wax taste lands in the first puffs. Carry a cheap butane lighter or a few wooden matches instead.
Questions
How do you light a cigar for the first time?
Cut the head first. Then hold the foot at a 45-degree angle just above a butane flame, never touching it, and rotate until the edge glows. Put the cigar in your mouth and draw gently while still rotating over the flame, until the whole foot glows evenly. It takes a minute or two.
Can you light a cigar with a regular lighter?
A regular butane lighter works fine; it just takes longer and needs shelter from wind. What to avoid is fluid fuel, like a classic Zippo, because the fuel taste soaks into the tobacco. Paper matches and candles bring sulfur and wax flavors for the same reason.
Should you blow on a cigar after lighting it?
Gently, yes. A soft breath on the foot shows any unlit patches so you can touch them up, and helps form an even ember. Blowing out through the cigar, called purging, clears stale smoke if the taste turns bitter or after a relight.
Why does my cigar keep going out?
Usually because it is smoked too slowly, it was lit unevenly, or it is too humid. Aim for a gentle puff about once a minute, make sure the foot is fully lit before you settle in, and store cigars at the right humidity so they draw and burn freely.
How long can you leave a cigar before relighting it?
Relight within an hour or so and it will taste close to how it did. After several hours the smoke goes stale and bitter, and overnight is usually too long. Tap off the ash and purge the cigar before relighting it.
Do you have to toast a cigar?
You do not have to, but you should. Toasting heats the whole foot evenly so the cigar lights all the way across and burns straight. Skipping it usually means charring the wrapper and chasing an uneven burn for the rest of the smoke.
Next guide
How to Smoke a Cigar
Everything a first cigar needs, in the order you need it. None of it is hard. Most of it is slowing down.
Keep going
Sources
- Cigar Aficionado: How to Light a Cigar
- Cigar Aficionado: Cutting and Lighting
- Holt's: How to light a cigar with a cedar spill
- Holt's: How to relight a cigar
- Holt's: Purging a cigar