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Your cigar band collection accumulates quickly. |
Something that has always been fun about working in this
great industry, with the best customers in the world, is the various
preferences, opinions, and debates that arise.
Everyone has their own, deserved, opinion of a myriad of cigar
topics. Two that are perhaps the most
recurring are the great debates of: cigar band on or off while smoking; and
cellophane on or off while storing in the humidor. Let us tackle that first one first.
How should you properly smoke a cigar? Is one to leave the band on the cigar,
brandishing the brand name for all to see, admire, scoff at, or
acknowledge? Or is it better to remove
the band, either discretely or ceremoniously, in order to smoke the cigar and
experience only the important part –the tobacco? Here is an answer in two parts.
First, cigars are one of the finest conversation starters in
the world. Countless times I have leaned
over and asked a fellow cigar smoker what he, and sometimes she, was
smoking. Most of the time I have already
recognized the brand, and been ready to probe deeper as to why they enjoy that
cigar. For nearly a decade and a half I
have immersed myself in this industry.
As such I’m sometimes afforded the chance to chat about a cigar someone
is smoking, ask them why they like it, and share some interesting anecdote
about the brand or the blend.
A well designed cigar band is a thing of beauty and can tell
you a good amount about the stogie it surrounds. The name of the brand is usually
prominent. Many times there is also a
name, or other identifying marks, to the specific line within the brand. The country of origin is almost always listed,
and on some of the most beautiful and compelling bands there is gorgeous
artwork. The single scene portrayed on
the band can set the stage that the blended tobacco leaves within are presumed
to execute.
Oh, and secretly, sometimes a cigar has a gigantic band that
is 2” or more long. I like garish bands
like this about as much as I favor 6x60s, but they both have their places. If I’m going to be cleaning the pool, or
working in the garden, I’ll sometimes grab a cigar that has one of these
armor-plated monster bands on it because I know that I can easily handle the
cigar only by the band and not damage the wrapper. You’re right I probably should choose a cigar
based upon the blend I want to smoke and not the size of the band, but some of
these large banded cigars are tasty and utilitarian.
So, to close out this first part of the answer to this
debate: yes, please leave the band on.
It is an integral part of the overall presentation and persona of the
cigar. Allow it to have its own identity
and feel free to judge it accordingly.
Across the centuries the cigar band has been one of the coolest
marketing and branding devices ever conjured up. They are at times serious, thoughtful, and
mirthful. And if the cigar is good
enough to warrant it, smoke it right up to and past the band. When it is time to remove the band, so you
can avoid smoking paper, just gently pick at the end with your fingernail. The heat from the burning cigar softens the
glue holding the band together and usually makes it a cinch to pop it free
without damaging the wrapper. Perhaps
that is the biggest reason to leave the band on, at least for a little
while. If you try to wrestle it free on
an unlit cigar you definitely run the risk of damaging the wrapper. Mangling the outer leaf during a quest to
strip a cigar of its identity is foolhardy at best.
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