BCP Cigar 101: Cutting Your Cigar

Transcript:

Hi everyone. This is Dane with BestCigarPrices.com. We’re here today in the BCP smoking lounge, so I can talk to you a little bit about the different cutters that you have available to you and how each one affects the cigar.

But before we get into the cutters, we need to talk a little bit about the actual construction of the cigar. Because it’s important to understand that, in order to make a proper cut. Now, before you make a cut on a cigar, it’s important to understand how the cigar is built, because if you cut it incorrectly, the cigar will fall apart on you, and nobody wants that.

So the basic construction of a cigar is you’ve got, down here, what’s called foot of the cigar, which is the end that you light. This is the body of the cigar. And naturally, you go from the foot to the head. The strongest part, which is the part right above where the wrapper’s normally going to be, where the band will be, that’s called the shoulder. Now on the very top, at the head, is what’s called the cap of the cigar. Basically, when the cigar is rolled up, a cap is added afterward to secure the whole cigar and put it in place.

If you cut too low and cut the cap off, then it’s going to unwind. So you want to make sure before you cut your cigar, that you take a good look at where the cap is. It’s usually about an eighth of an inch to a quarter of an inch down on the cigar. And that’s exactly where you want to make your cut, is anywhere above that point. So right up here is a great place to cut. Down here is too low, you’re going to damage the cigar. You’re going to get a bad smoke out of it. So that’s the first step to understanding properly cutting a cigar.

The first kind of cutter we’re going to talk about in detail is the guillotine cutter. The function of the guillotine cutter is to cut off the entire back end of the cap. This allows the most air flow to come through the cigar. As a result, you’re going to get a couple different effects.

Number one, you’re going to get an easier pull than you would from the other cutters because there’s more air able to flow through, based on the larger hole cut into the back of it. As a result of that, you’re going to get a little bit more smoke, although it’s going to be less concentrated smoke, and you’re also going to get less concentrated flavor. This is a good cutter to use for mellow flavored cigars, or for people that don’t like a lot of really strong taste in their cigars.

By cutting across the back, and opening the entire thing up, the other effect is that you’re pulling more air in at once which allows the cherry, when it burns, to get a little bit hotter, burn a little bit faster, and you’re going to smoke the cigar a little bit faster too. Of course, you can pace yourself so that you don’t smoke it too quickly. But I’m just going to show you, quickly, how you want to light this up and cut the cap off.

Again, you want to be careful not to put too much of the cap through, because you don’t want the cigar to unwind as you’re smoking it. With the guillotine cutter, as with any other kind, the key is to go through it with one fluid motion. You don’t want to chop at the cigar, because it’s only going to damage the cigar. So it’s to make one quick, clean, effective cut. And then you’ve got a nice, wide opening there.

The next kind of cutter we’re going to explore is the punch cutter. The idea behind the punch cutter is that you’re getting a smaller hole. The reason some people like the smaller hole, is because there’s less room for the air to travel through. So you get a more concentrated smoke, more concentrated flavor. A lot of people who smoke flavored cigars prefer a punch cutter to a guillotine because you get the more concentrated flavor.

Now, you’re also not going to get quite as easy of a draw as you do with a guillotine, because there’s not as much of an opening. Think about it like an artery. If your arteries are clogged up, the blood’s still going to flow through, but it’s going to be more concentrated, there’s more force to it. But it’s not going to flow as efficiently. Same basic idea with this.

Again, with the punch cutter, as with the guillotine and every other kind of cutter, you want to do it in one fluid motion. The punch cutter goes into the back of the cigar, into the cap. And then you twist, and you pull it out. It’s going to leave you with a nice, clean little hole and it’s going to pull out some of the tobacco. It’s going to give you a perfect area for you to smoke your cigar.

Again, the draw’s not going to be quite as good as with the guillotine, but the flavor’s going to be fuller. You’re going to get a little bit more strength out of your normal cigar. So let me just show you quickly, how you work with this. Again, it’s one fluid motion. You want to put it in, twist it, and pop it right back out. And that’s going to give you a perfect little hole in the back there for you.

The third and final cutter we want to talk about today is the V cutter, also known as the cat’s eye cutter. The reason I saved this for last is because it’s the middle ground between the guillotine and the punch cutter. The punch cutter gives you the smallest opening, which gives you the most concentrated draw, the most concentrated flavor, the most concentrated smoke. The guillotine cuts the entire cap off and gives you a nice, even draw, but a little bit less flavor.

The V cutter is going to be right in between the two. Now this is a super easy cutter to use. And I actually like it for this reason. If you take a look at the cutter itself, there’s a little divot that’s built in, where you just put the cap of the cigar right in there. So it’s really easy to get the perfect cut on these. And it just goes in, just like that. Like I said, one fast, fluid motion, you cut the entire cap off. And you’re going to have what looks like a cat’s eye. The cut in it is going to look like a cat’s eye. That’s going to give you a good, medium strength, medium pull on your cigar. It’s a really nice way to kind of bolden the flavor of a normal cigar a little bit, without it becoming too overpowering.

So let me just show you real quick how that’s done. It’s a simple move. Place it in, pull it, and you’ve got a nice, clean cut in there.