Cigar Tips
Picture this – you’re seated, savoring a fine cigar, lifting it to puff, and suddenly, a wave of light headedness and nausea hits. Your pleasant cigar experience turns sour, and...
Published December 2023
Every week, I get at least one question about cigar wrappers. What’s the relationship with the wrapper color and power, is this mold or bloom, where does an Ecuador Connecticut...
Published November 2023
Cigar collecting is a fascinating and rewarding hobby that can be enjoyed by anyone with an interest in cigars and the history and culture surrounding them. Whether you’re a seasoned...
Published October 2023
Tunnelling, the problem when the burn of your cigar burns the filler but not the binder or the wrapper anymore, creating a tunnel. And it’s an issue, an issue that...
Published September 2023
The mold discussion. You can’t open social media nowadays and not run into a post asking ‘is this mold or not?’. That’s followed by a discussion whether it’s mold, bloom...
Published August 2022
It’s a day like any other day—or so you think. You head to your humidor to grab a stogie; you haven’t had one in a couple weeks, and it’s time...
Published August 2022
When I light a cigar with friends who are not regular cigar smokers, I often see them damaging the wrapper near the cap when using a guillotine cutter. While it...
Published July 2022
Cigar breath … also called cigar mouth. One of the few drawbacks of smoking stogies, it’s something all of us have experienced at one time or another. It’s bad enough...
Published June 2022
We’ve been getting quite a lot of questions about temperature-controlled humidors lately and it was about time to come up with an answer! The following guest article comes courtesy of...
Published May 2022
Cutting a cigar cap can be tricky. We need to cut just enough cigar to open its end, but not so deep as to cause the wrapper to unravel. This...
Published March 2022
I’ve received several questions lately regarding tubo cigars storage. I decided it was time to write a short article about this aspect of cigar care. Of course, feel free to...
Published March 2022
UPDATE Charts with sizes, factory and common names for different cigar formats are available here: Cuban Cigars Size Chart Domestic Cigars Size Chart At first I thought this would be...
Published March 2022
It’s fun to be trendy, right? For the longest time, the trend has been to make bigger, fatter cigars. Robustos became popular in the 90s during the Cigar Boom, and...
Published March 2022
Thought you might like this one too… For your Sunday viewing pleasure, how to light a cigar video with Aria Giovanni. And watch the previous one if you missed it!
Published March 2022
For your Sunday viewing pleasure a short and entertaining video on how to cut a cigar… done by Aria Giovanni, a well-known playmate. It’s not very new so you might...
Published February 2022
It’s pretty easy for cigars to become dried out. Sometimes you misplace a box of cigars and forget to store them in your humidor (incredible, but it does happen). Sometimes...
Published February 2022
A few days ago I received an e-mail from a reader. Here’s what Lucas said in his e-mail: “Thanks for your quality reviews, but please… take the labels off your...
Published February 2022
A malady that has long plagued the cigar smoking man (and woman)… Cigar Breath! No matter how much you brush your teeth or your tongue or your face, it’s still...
Published February 2022
A few months ago we posted an article called “The Bands: the Whole Colour of Tobacco”, which was part of a relatively new cigar magazine called CigarsLover. Based in Italy,...
Published January 2022
No need to smoke a brick. Readers have often asked how to unplug a clogged cigar. I know from experience that no amount of poking, squeezing, or picking will make...
Published January 2022
Fifteen years is a long time. If we look back to 1996, we would see a world where cell phones were simply telephones, and the “War On Terror” was still...
Published January 2022
There have been several heated discussions in blogs and forums on the web, over the benefits of wetting your cigar before smoking it. Min Ron Nee, a well respected aficionado...
Published January 2022
There is nothing like a moist, fragrant cigar. The wonderful aroma we sense upon opening our cigar humidors is mouth-watering to a cigar lover. But sometimes that aroma can indicate...
Published January 2022
Recently we had a reader write in with the following question: “Do you think cabinet selections are somewhat better than dress boxes?” This is a good question and well worth...
Published December 2021
Recently I posted on 5 Must-Have Accessories for Smoking Outdoors in Winter, and I got some great responses! Now that we’ve talked about how we stay warm and keep our...
Published December 2021
About once a week, I receive an e-mail from somebody who wants to offer cigars to one of his/her friends and does not really know how to proceed. The question...
Published December 2021
How to spot a fake Cohiba? Last week, we published an article on how to spot Counterfeit Cuban cigars. That article focused on the major flaws that are easily detectable....
Published November 2021
This post, originally published in November 2012, has been updated in 2014. Following the blog post about the best options when selecting cigars as a gift, it’s now time to...
Published November 2021
Reader’s question: “I have 10 boxes of Cuban cigars that I want to age for at least 2 years. Should I leave them sealed in their boxes as they came...
Published November 2021
Counterfeit Cuban cigars. There are many stories out there about counterfeit or fake Cuban cigars. There are articles in magazines and blogs on how to recognize them. Two years ago,...
Published November 2021
We often discuss what is the best way to pair cigars with a drink. For my part, I’ve found a lot of different combinations that I like – they are...
Published November 2021
I recently received this question by e-mail from our reader George and thought I’d write a quick blog post about it: I sometimes come across tar in liquid form coming...
Published September 2021
Here is the second part of Mountchuck’s (one of the founders of Nice Tight Ash) valuable cigar tips. Enjoy – and read the first part here if you missed it....
Published September 2021
Question from a reader: I got some white small spots on my cigars and also in the humidor, most likely it’s mold. Can you please help me with a few...
Published September 2021
Here are the tips from Mountchuck – the winner of our tips contest. You will most probably agree that he deserved the prize as the quality of the following tips...
Published September 2021
I received three contact form messages during the last week from users who wanted to know how to retro-hale and I decided to answer the question in a blog post....
Published September 2021