Part of the pleasure a man gets from smoking comes from the ritual of lighting the things, which takes a couple of minutes if it’s done correctly. That ritual begins with a cutter. A guillotine cutter makes a slice across the head of the cigar just above the cap line to disperse the smoke and minimize the potential for bite.

Once cut, the cigar is lit, preferably with an odorless butane lighter. It can be lit with matches but that’s a more cumbersome process. Either way, the cigar is held in the hand at a 90 degree angle above the flame, and rotated until all parts of the foot are evenly charred.

Then the cigar is placed between the lips and puffed, with the flame still under the foot, until the flames jump up. At that point, the ritual is complete and the smoking begins.

And that’s how a cigar is properly lit.