New to cigars? Start here

Walking into a walk-in humidor for the first time can feel like walking into a wine cellar without knowing a grape. Hundreds of boxes, unfamiliar names, prices from a few dollars to a lot more. The good news: you only need a handful of ideas to choose well, and our staff will do the rest.

What a cigar is made of

A premium handmade cigar is three layers of tobacco leaf and nothing else.

• Filler is the core: whole leaves folded together, often from more than one country. The filler carries most of the flavor and the strength.
• Binder is a tougher leaf wrapped around the filler to hold it together.
• Wrapper is the outside leaf. It’s the most expensive part of the cigar, it’s what you see and taste first, and it shapes a surprising amount of the flavor. Wrappers run from pale tan to nearly black. Our wrapper guide walks through them.

Cigars made this way are called long filler, because the filler leaves run the full length of the cigar. Cheaper machine-made cigars use chopped short filler, which burns hotter and less evenly. Everything in our humidor is premium long filler.

Strength is not the same as flavor

Two words get mixed up constantly:

• Strength is the nicotine punch. A strong cigar can leave a new smoker light-headed.
• Body (or flavor intensity) is how rich and full the taste is.

A cigar can be full-flavored but mild in strength, or the other way around. If you’re new, ask for something mild to medium in strength. You can work up from there.

Picking your first cigar

Tell us what you like to drink. It’s the fastest shortcut we know.

• If you take your coffee with cream, or you like a smooth bourbon, start with a Connecticut-wrapped cigar: creamy, nutty, gentle.
• If you drink black coffee or a peaty Scotch, you may enjoy a medium-bodied cigar with some cedar and spice.
• If you love espresso, dark chocolate or port, try a Maduro: dark, sweet and rich, but often not as strong as it looks.

For size, a robusto (about 5 inches) or corona (about 5½ inches) is a good first choice. Either will take roughly 45 minutes to an hour. Our guide to sizes and shapes explains the names.

How to smoke it

1. Cut a thin slice off the closed end, the cap. Cut too much and the wrapper can unravel. We’ll cut it for you if you like. More in how to cut and light a cigar.
2. Toast the open foot over a flame without touching it, then draw gently while rotating it until it burns evenly.
3. Don’t inhale. Cigar smoke is for tasting. Draw it into your mouth, let it sit, and let it go.
4. Slow down. One puff every 30 to 60 seconds keeps it burning cool. Puff too often and it turns hot and bitter.
5. Leave the ash. A good long-filler ash can hold an inch or more. Tap it off gently when it feels ready.
6. Let it go out. When you’re done, set it in the ashtray and leave it. Don’t stub it out like a cigarette. It will go out on its own within a few minutes.

Where to go from here

Keep notes, even a photo of the band. When you come back, tell us what you liked and what you didn’t. That’s how we find your next one.

Ready to try it? Stop by 53 Main Street and pull up a chair. The lounge is open to anyone 21 and over.