Lighting Cigars with Cedar Strips | Lifestyle

by DaveSabot

Lighting a cigar correctly is vital to ensuring the best smoking experience. There are numerous steps involved in doing so and, oftentimes, smokers have as much of a preference in regards to lighting their cigar as they do toward which types of cigars they prefer. Cedar strips are one of the less-common ways that smokers light-up and they offer an interesting twist on enjoying one's smoke.

The process starts, of course, with the cigar cutter. Remember to trim the cigar properly to ensure the best draw. How the cedar is lit is up to the smoker. Some smokers prefer to light the strip with a regular lighter while others prefer to keep the process as back-to-basics as possible and to use a match to set the strip aflame.

Cedar burns quickly and hot and provides a vibrant flame for lighting the actual cigar. Some smokers, depending on their sensitivity to taste, claim to be able to taste the cedar a bit while others say there is no taste at all. Either way, no one seems to find the experience unpleasant in any regard. The cedar is used to light the cigar as would be any other implement, the cigar is rotated, the smoker puffs until an even and hot cherry is generated.

There are advantages and disadvantages to this method. Among the advantages are the lack of chemicals involved. While fluid-filled lighters can sometimes impart a taste to the first few puffs of tobacco and do burn with a scent, butane lighters and cedar strips do not. Cedar strips are also very inexpensive and most smokers will find that they can get a couple of lights off of one strip, depending, of course, on how hard their cigar is to get lit.

Cedar strips offer something different for one's cigar-smoking experience. The smell of burning cedar being immediately followed by the smell of high-quality, burning tobacco is really quite pleasant. If one is truly looking for a gourmet experience, cedar strips can be a nice addition to the smoking ritual.

DISCLAIMER: This article is provided as information only and is not to be taken as financial advice.

Dave Sabot is the owner of an online specialty cigar lighters store. With expert knowledge of cigar accessories, including lotus lighters, Dave also owns a premier online cigar humidor store.