Can I Relight a Cigar?

The short answer is: Yes. A cigar can be relit and itwould light a fresh cigar. If one wishes to preserve
would be a waste of money to toss half of athe maximum amount of tobacco, one can simply
gourmet cigar away simply because one needed toknock off what ash remains at the foot of the cigar
extinguish it before they were finished smoking.and relight at that spot. This may result in a
However, there will be some impact on the taste ofsomewhat harsher taste, especially on the first few
the cigar when it is relit. Some individuals find thisdraws.
change in taste objectionable while others either doIf the cigar is trimmed back, there will likely be some
not notice or even prefer the taste of a relit cigar.darkening of the tobacco, particularly in the center of
There will be an ash at the foot of the cigar. Therethe cigar where the smoke tends to be drawn
are two ways to deal with this. One may simplythrough the most. This is nothing to worry about and
knock the ash off and relight the cigar where itthe tobacco will still taste good. In fact, some
stopped burning or they may trim the cigar back tosmokers actually prefer this taste as it has a bit
the point where fresh tobacco is exposed. Generally,more "bite" to it and offers a different smoking
trimming the cigar back a little will make it taste a bitexperience.
smoother. The change in taste results from theGood cigars can be expensive and, given that they're
buildup of tar in the tobacco as it is smoked so therelarge, many smokers actually prefer to smoke them
is some change that is unavoidable no matter howin stages. Generally, the more times a cigar is relit the
far one trims back the wrapper before relighting theharsher it will become so most smokers prefer to
cigar.limit this to one relight per cigar. With a very good
Some butane torch lighters come with a cuttingcigar, however, the quality of the smoke may well
attachment. Snipping off the ash and exposing themake multiple relights completely acceptable.
wrapper allows one to relight the cigar just as they