One can easily picture the scene. A smoker has stubbed out their cigar halfway through, they pick up the stogie, grab their Nibo lighter and get ready to relight it and are immediately warned by a friend that they should only smoke the first half of the cigar.

This debate stems from inevitable changes that occur in the flavor of a cigar as it is smoked. This results from the act of smoking itself and from the build-up of tar in the tobacco as one works their way through the cigar. Some find this taste objectionable and some find that the cigar improves as one smokes it.

Smoking tobacco, whether it be from a pipe, a cigarette or a cigar, inevitably changes the taste and the character of the rest of the tobacco in the bowl or wrapper. As the tobacco combusts, it produces tar and the tobacco through which the smoke is drawn acts as something of a filter, catching particles of the tar and flavoring the tobacco. Most often, the tobacco becomes stronger and sharper as one smokes more of it.

A cigar’s flavor may change a bit because, of course, the tobacco dries out a bit as the heat from the smoke travels through the wrapper. This also gives the last part of the cigar a slightly different flavor than the first part. This is unavoidable and, again, there are no hard and fast rules about this. Some individuals will stub out their cigar halfway through and others will chew on the butt long after its gone out on its own. It’s all up to the individual and one’s own preference should be the only thing that guides their choice in this regard.

To relight a cigar that’s gone out, the process is the same as the first light. The cigar must be warmed before lighting again. If one is outdoors, a wind resistant lighter is preferable to matches for this process. After relighting, the difference in taste will be more pronounced than when the cigar is smoked completely in one sitting. It is perhaps from such relighting that this myth has originated. A cigar is a personal thing. Its’ meant to be enjoyed by the individual and anyone who puts down the money for a fine cigar should smoke as much of it as they wish.

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