THEIR NERVOUS – you’re devoted. They try to imitate film icons smoking – you try to relax as they hold their cigar like a cigarette. Introduce your friends to cigars the right way – they’ll invite you to smoke their Cuban Cigars in the future. Show them wrong, and they’ll rebut your passion. Smoking a cigar with newbie friends is a delicate undertaking, with some skilful finesse on your part.

BASIC ETIQUETTE –As a connoisseur, you know the delicacy of ash. You understand cigars are not a quick luxury you put to your lips as though you’re eating an ice-lolly before it melts. It’s valuable for people new to smoking cigars, to comprehend basic etiquette first, before receiving a full education. Demonstrate how to cut and light a cigar, and then slowly give guidance (using yourself as an example) on a selection of rules as they familiarise themselves with new flavours and complexities. Importantly, notify them not to inhale. Speaking to Darius Namdar – World Habanosommelier champion 2018 at Mayfair’s Luxurious Annabel’s, he told us about the importance of sharing the same cigar as your guests. “Generally speaking, you should smoke the same cigar that you’re giving them. And if you’re not going to smoke the cigar you’re giving them, at least take that band off your cigar so they don’t know”. We at EGM Cigars advise the same. Choose a cigar for them, that you’re also happy to smoke. It adds a layer of camaraderie.

SHARING YOUR DEVOTION –Not many people are aware of the lengthy process to create cigars. Particularly with habanos – hand-crafted and made the same way for more than a hundred years. If you want your friends to treat their cigar as a piece of art, and not as a cigarette they once smoked, help them to realise this emphasis. As Darius remarked – when discussing why you shouldn’t stub a cigar out, “you want to pay a bit more respect to the fact this is a hand grown product that’s probably started its life seven years ago”. We encourage sharing some fascinating facts on the history of the cigar brand you give to your friends to smoke. Writing about Partagas Cigars, we uncovered how the creator – Jaime Partagas, fulfilled his tobacco dream in Cuba, shortly before he was murdered. The scandalous lives of some of the biggest cigar brand creators, merely adds to the intrigue and fascination of cigars, thus helping to turn a beginner to an enthusiast.