A friend and I were driving around town this afternoon, and we passed a gas station that advertised Cheyenne little cigars for $1.79/pack. In the spirit of adventure (and the lure of a good bargain), we each bought a pack. “Xotic Berry” for her, “Wild Cherry” for me.
If any of my fellow Dopers have any experience with smoking little cigars, your advice would be appreciated. My friend and I are both very infrequently cigarette smokers. I have heard that you’re not supposed to draw cigar smoke into your lungs. Does this apply to little cigars? Do you just kind of let it swirl around your mouth before puffing out? How does the nicotine content compare? (I smoke rarely enough that I get a bit of a high each time I take a cigarette.)
Santa Fe little cigars were also on sale of $1.79/pack at the same gas station. We thought the design on the carton looked sort of like Monistat, so we opted for Cheyenne instead. Mistake?
You can inhale cigars (I do) but its best done in a two-stage method. Draw the smoke into your mouth and then from there to the lungs while allowing some/most to escape from your mouth. Exhale through the nose. The idea that you can’t inhale cigars mostly traces back to Arnold, Rush and some other Republicans who ---------- are who they are.
Small cigars fall in two general categories. Actual miniatures such as Macanudo and others make and what I call cigarillos (which are more a form of cigarette made with a different type of tobacco and processing). To me the main differentiation is how its wrapped; the number of layers and different forms of leaf. Most can be inhaled.
I’m pretty sure Macanudo doesn’t offer Wild Berry or whatever it was mentioned. The simple answer is “light them and breath in the smoke.” This is kind of like answering the question of “which goes better with MD 20/20… Big Mac or Chick Filet?”
I used to be a cigar snob and would have given you lots of pointers, but when I had to tell my 8 year old son he had cancer I quickly decided that this wasn’t the coolest hobby I ever had. (he is a survivor of 5 years, and it wasn’t my smoke that caused it… as far as I know, but it just was worth the enjoyment I got from them.)
I won’t pretend to say I didn’t have the exact same questions when I was in my early 20’s… and I don’t want to sound preachy… but my best advise is to toss them in the trash.
Another vote for tossing them in the trash. They won’t do anything good for you, quite a lot that’s bad. And all cigars, no matter how fancy, smell nasty when you smoke them, and YOU smell nasty after you smoke them.
I say toss them in the trash and opt for something better. If you’re going to smoke a cigar, smoke one properly. Being on the other side of the pond (where we have an ample supply of Cubans), I don’t have many recommendations, but I have generally favorable experiences with Dominican cigars (Davidoff, The Griffin’s, AVO).
Regarding the cancer scare…don’t inhale (you don’t want that crap in your lungs whatever the case, just enjoy the taste of the smoke) and enjoy in moderation, and it won’t be the cigars that kill you. Enjoy them though. A good cigar smoked on my boat on a warm summer evening is one of life’s pleasures.
I prefer little cigars over cigarettes. I have not smoked a cigarette in years. Mainly because cigars are made of natural tobacco. Cigarettes contain ammonia and a lot of other harmful chemicals. Cigars taste much better than cigarettes. (20 count) Cigars 100s are less expensive than cigarettes. 1 pack of Marlboro can cost up to $10.00 a pack. 1 pack of Hat’s Off cigars cost $2.00 dollars a pack. Phillie’s Sweet Little Cigars 100s is a good brand for beginners. Also Muriel Sweet Little Cigars in the red pack. It’s a mild sweet tobacco with a sweet tip. Little Filtered Cigars | Pipe Tobacco | Smoking Accessories
Your local gas station and or supermarket will have a variety of low price little cigars to choose from. Personally I enjoy Deans Vanilla and Mild Little Cigars 100s. If you are not sure of which flavor try the sampler YourWakeUp.com is for sale | HugeDomains the sampler contains 9 different flavors including menthol, vanilla, wild berry, full flavor, cherry, mild, chocolate, peach and rum. These are ordered online and shipped to your front door.
I love the swisher sweets grape - the smoke smells and tastes yummy. I don’t generally do much more than inhale the smoke into my mouth, as all the way in to the lungs will make me cough, since I don’t actually smoke.
I find them to be very helpful for keeping bugs out of my face while camping and hanging out at bonfires. Yes, I put on bug repellent (love me some deet!) but it doesn’t stop annoying things from swarming nearby. Going camping this weekend, and found a buy 1 get 1 free deal. Which is good since everyone will want one as soon as I light up.
I know nothing about smoking, but I love the smell of cigars. I don’t like cigarettes, but cigars and pipes smell wonderful. One of the joys of RenFaire is the smoking, and the smokers in my guild, of every variety are considerate.
I have smoked cigars for many years. It really should be about the flavor. I know folks that inhale- big mistake in many ways. I know people that live on cigars and none of them inhale. I would say never inhale a cigar. The way I understand it, that was not meant to be. Some aficionados would tell you that you should never inhale cigars.
I have had cheap filtered cigars and have inhaled them but never would I inhale a true robust cigar. It was not meant to be. You can hate the flavor and say what you want but at the end of the day it is about enjoying the smoke of the leaf (and not adding it to your lungs).
You will get more than you need of any nicotine fix from just puffing on a real cigar.