A Short story of Cigars and Tobacco

It is said that Columbus was not impressed by tobacco or its use among native tribes, but many sailors grew found of the strange plant. Soon it quickly caught on in Spain and Portugal. From there, it spread to France, where the French ambassador Jean Nicot lent his name to the scientific name for tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum). The origins of the word tobacco itself are still suspect, although many believe it is simply a corruption of the word Tobago, which is the name of a Caribbean island. Still others believe it comes from the word Tabasco, a district (and now state) in Mexico.

The first tobacco plantation in the United States was established in Virginia in 1612. More tobacco farms followed in Maryland soon after. Although tobacco became a popular commodity, it was only smoked in pipes. The cigar was not introduced to the United States until the late 18th century. Israel Putnam, an army general who had served in the Revolutionary War, is credited with introducing the cigar to the United States. He had traveled to Cuba after the Revolutionary War and returned with a box of Cuban cigars. Their popularity quickly spread, and soon enough cigar manufacturing plants were established in the area of Harford, Connecticut, where General Putnam lived.

In Europe, cigar manufacturing and consumption did not achieve widespread popularity until after the Peninsula War in the early 19th century. British and French soldiers returned to their homelands after years of serving in Spain with their tobacco pipes with them. Among the rich and fashionable, the favored method of taking tobacco was the cigar. Cigar smoking remains a habit associated with the wealthyand discriminating of upper society.

How To Smoke A Cigar

When the question comes up, how to smoke a cigar? and if you are going to smoke cigars, you need to consider that question.

Read this before you smoke a cigar

Don't forget, never inhale a cigar.

When Purchasing a cigar,

always ask the sales person if the cigar consists of 100% tobacco?

• Ask where the cigar is from?

• Ask how old a cigar is?

• Ask how to cut and light a cigar?

The questions are basic, but important.

Cuban cigars are hard to find in the United States, but you can find them. They are considered top shelf cigars.If you do find a Cuban cigar, or any other cigar for that matter, be sure and check for freshness. Squeeze it slightly to make sure there are no lumps. Make sure there are no discoloring on the ends. Always avoid discolored wrappers.

Remember when asking yourself the question, How to smoke a cigar? that there are a lot of cigars from other countries with a good taste and high quality.

Cigar smoking is a culture in itself. In order to appear kinda cool, you must know how to cut a cigar,light it and finally, smoke it.

Do not forget, never inhale a cigar.

The cigar will have cap on the end, this is the part you will place in your mouth. You can inspect the end to see where to cut the cigar, just be careful not to cut too much off, as this will result in the cigar unraveling.

Learning how to smoke a cigar is also choosing the right type of cutter, a cutter is a personal preference, a razor type cutter or a punch, or you can always Clint Eastwood it, bite the end off and spit it out.

Choosing a method to light a cigar

What ever your flame source, matches, fuel type lighter(not recommended), butane lighters is a good choice, preheat the foot (the part you will light) by slowly rolling the cigar above the flame. Once the foot is heated, flip lighted part of the cigar to over, blow until a red glow be sure not to touch to lips, it will burn the hell out of them, then rotate back to your mouth and draw slowly, if necessary you keep slowly rolling the cigar above the flame, but never quite letting the flame touch the cigar. Slowly spin the cigar to establish an even burn. Once you've got it going, (examine the glowing foot to make sure the burn is even) take a few more slow steady draws.

Cigar shopping is a little different than shopping for other things. Mainly the questions you would ask.

Some key ingredients to remember when your checking on how to smoke a cigar is the tobacco leaves and size.

So good smoking

John shell