Realistically, there are no hard and fast rules in the world of cigars. Once you purchase that cigar, open the cellophane, and get ready to light it up — it’s yours to do what you want with. While I would implore you not to, you could just toss it, chop it up, or do something heinous. That said, there are some guidelines or rules of etiquette most cigar enthusiasts follow. They’re not restrictive, meaning if you break a rule you’re not going to be in trouble or something. Even so, most of them just have to do with not being a jerk. One such rule involves knowing when is the best time to take off the cigar band.
Premium cigars sometimes have a lot of bands. They might include a foot band, a primary band, and a secondary band near that, or even over the top of the first. It’s all about presentation for cigar manufacturers, especially when you’re looking at hundreds of cigar labels in a humidor. They want their cigars to catch your eye.
But as you burn through a cigar, eventually you’ll need to take those bands off. If you don’t, they catch fire like all the tobacco inside the cigar and that might even ruin your experience. The flavor and aroma of paper burning are a lot different than tobacco burning.
So, yes, the short answer is you do need to take the band off a cigar. But here’s the thing. If you rip the bands off too early you risk damaging the wrapper — the outer layer of tobacco on the cigar that gives it most of its flavor. There is a right time or rather a ‘best’ time to take off the cigar bands.
When is the best time to take off the cigar bands?
Foot bands and outer packaging should come off right away, including the cellophane. You might want to snap a sexy picture or two before you take the initial bands off, though. Ultimately, the foot band gets in the way of lighting the cigar.
As for primary and secondary bands, generally, you want to wait to take those off. As the cigar burns, and gets smaller over time, the inner flames will get closer to the segment with the bands. The warmth from the flame will loosen the band. Often, they’re glued together with pectin — cigar glue. That keeps them rolled tightly and attached to the cigar. So, if you try to rip the bands off too early, before the warmth loosens some of the materials you risk ripping the outer wrapper and damaging your cigar.
The best cigar band designers do make it easier to remove them, often with built-in tabs or openings, but you’ll find that’s not always the case. Some of those cigar bands can be really difficult to get off. With a little heat, that problem is mostly taken care of. So, as you smoke normally, just be mindful of those bands and where the flame is, inside the cigar. When it gets close start to carefully peel them off and that’s all there is to it.
You can take the bands off earlier especially if they’re loose, but for those tighter rolls, I recommend waiting.
Briley has over 16 years in the publishing and content marketing business. He's been writing about cigars for nearly half that in various forms. What makes him a tour de force is he also smokes them.
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