Newbie questions about lighting the cigar (and more!)

[Zeede]

Well that's just it, I'm not totally satisfied with it. I have the cigar go out almost every time at least once. But if I smoke faster it turns harsh. It doesn't help that I am at 69% RH, but I have a cube of 65% coming in this week.

I usually find the cigar quite warm 1" from the burn line.

I'm doing something less than optimally, and I want to maximize the flavors of the cigars.

[Emperor Zurg]

Well that's just it, I'm not totally satisfied with it. I have the cigar go out almost every time at least once. But if I smoke faster it turns harsh. It doesn't help that I am at 69% RH, but I have a cube of 65% coming in this week.

I usually find the cigar quite warm 1" from the burn line.

I'm doing something less than optimally, and I want to maximize the flavors of the cigars.

Ya, you just need drier cigars. I had almost the exact same misery when I first started in with premium cigars, either trying to smoke them as soon as they arrived or storing them according to the conventional wisdom of 70% rH. Let them dry out to hopefully around 62~65 and you will be miles ahead. I will add that I tried all the known lighting rituals associated with cigars and it did not help a bit except to give me a better burn for an inch or two... until the tunneling or canoeing would start. I've found that there's a lot of fluff in all the cutting, lighting practices out there. If pomp and circumstance is your thing than go ahead and knock yourself out but I've found that a cigar smoked at around 62% tastes much better, burns much better and I can light it with 1 paper match or a twig from the campfire and all is well. It's just a bundle of leaves after all.