Good advice. I might only add: When you gently twist the band, do so in the same direction the wrapper was applied. This will reduce the risk of pulling up the wrapper as you twist the band.
As always a great video and I am so pleased to hear "hustle and bustle" in the background, an indication that things are looking up and friends of the shop are visiting in person. Best wishes for a healthy, happy, and prosperous summer!
I've been thinking of starting to smoke cigars and I like the idea of starting a cigar band journal. Put the bands and who I smoked the cigars with in a nice leather journal and record our thoughts of the cigar and the conversations we may have had.
Thank you sir. It's always a pleasure to hear you. Your voice intonation is so nice. You are a reference, not only in cigars but also on how to speak. Your videos (with mr Allisson) are the material i use to improve my speech. Thank you again from France.
Thank you for posting this video. I have been wondering for a long time, years actually, why some remove the band before lighting the cigar while others leave it on until until they’ve smoked a bit. Now I understand that, to me, the most important thing is to not damage the wrapper. The other considerations mentioned, such as appreciating the art work on the cigar band is both interesting and informative. Now, with this information, I will not damage my cigar wrapper and make a point to appreciate the art work in the band which I’m sure will enhance mood and smoking satisfaction. Thank you again for sharing your experience and knowledge.
I always enjoy your videos so please keep posting them. Your beautiful store is a must do for me the next time I visit London. All the best from the US
Beautifully presented advice. Will hopefully be popping into the shop for the first time soon to pick up some "Winston Churchill Late Hour" cigars, as I had one over Christmas and it was exquisite.
What i have been doing is taking off the band and writing the date ive smoked the cigar & also what i thought of the cigar . I keep the bands as a ledger so when i go to purchase or try different cigars i can refer back to what ive already smoked
Great video from the always informative Eddie Sahakian, a consummate gentleman, just like his father Edward. I found myself laughing uproariously at some point during this upon recognizing the unmistakable voice of Max Foulkes in the background, which is amusing to no end. Just a bit of frosting on the Davidoff of London cake, no less. Cheers!
I share this same sentiment. If the label is stuck, you can wait until it warms up and it comes right off most of the time. I also leave it until the last moment so I remember what I smoked and also to let other know if they are curious.
Thank you for this Eddie. Would you be able to post a video about Cigar aging? I’m sure everyone would love to hear your opinions on temperature and humidity as your methods are unique. There is just too much information on the 70/70 rule and loss of oils if temp is too low, etc. Thank you again and really enjoy and appreciate the information you and your father provide. All the best, always.
Thank you for your kind words Johnathan. Keep an eye out as there will be a short FAQ coming soon on ageing. Any other questions you may have on this, please do not hesitate to contact us via email.
Personally i use it for style when smoking with the band on. There is different colors. Depending on what im wearing i will grab the matching color band cigar and will keep it on. I was wearing all white one day, had a white band cigar and a lot of people noticed since it was an event that took serveral days, the next day i was wearing green with a green band cigar.
I used to smoke Davidoff cigarettes so I was a regular to Davidoff Jermyn Street when I was in University, , I then progressed to Dunhill just a few doors away when I developed into pipe smoking, a big fan of Bill Ashton. Many years later I started smoking cigars and Smith & Sons on Charing Cross road was my favourite until it closed down. These days I got my cigars from all over the place, I must pop in to Davidoff again, love all Eddie's videos.
I didn't really understand the question until he said the 'art on the band' now I understand. Anything that is so fine it can be called art I can respect.
When I started smoking cigars I used to write on the back of the band what I was eating or drinking at the time and give it a rating. Fun little collection of lots of different things you're tryi9ng...
I personally leave it on and use it as a visual guide for when to stop smoking the cigar. I find by the point it reaches the band I'm usually done with it anyway, so.... If I'm enjoying the cigar I may slide the band a bit further down and just like the white gloves suggestion, it actually gives you something to hold that isn't the cigar itself, once it becomes shorter from smoking.
I am just about to enjoy A Habanos 1994 Cigar that I have kept for a special moment. The moment being the birth of my 6th child. I will be popping into your shop in London next week to have a spending spree😊
In the days before air travel cigars were transported country to country via ship and so the tradition of glass tubes was to protect the delicate cigars from salt air.
@crisco6583 the illustrious client. A great episode. But terrible advice- you may need to let the heat soften the glue on the band so it releases without damaging the cigar.
Great video as usual, but something that I can’t take my eyes off; the watch. The establishment speaks of elegance and class, the suit and care for the cigar, same. I would have expected a nice dress piece, maintaining consistency. But hey, just an observation. Thanks for the advice on the wrap.
Would you serve a Puligny-Montrachet in a glass carrying a "Bourgogne" label? Smoking a branded cigar is the equivalent of suit buyers who keep the sleeve label on: a mix of ignorance, bad taste and showing off.
@@nessuno6110 Having Chardonnay in a Pinot glass wouldn’t ruin my experience… If that’s what you’re asking. Just like someone else smoking a banded cigar shouldn’t ruin your experience. If it does, then observe the tag inadvertently left on your jacket sleeve.
Great Video! Greets from Mexico, I have a question if you would be so kind to answer, i have a 300 cigar humidor, some of those cigars are from cuba, others from nicaragua, but of of the nicaragua cigars have chocolate smell or very strong smell, should i change those to a different humidor? does that affect the other cigars? and thank you for your great videos.
If it doesn't slide off, I'll often use my pocket knife to slit up the back and free it that way. Clean and more refined than tearing it off. Perhaps not an option in London, but in the USA we're still free to carry such items as knives and pointed sticks.
Just asked myself that very question and got an answere to it. Thanks! Personally I like to take it of (at least when the heat softened it up enough) because I don’t want the taste of burned paper in my mouth
Thank you for the video. I had such anxiety about smoking in public because I didn’t know what to do with the bands. I would just stay at home and save the bands in coffee cans not knowing what to do with them. Do I save them? Throw them away?
I had an uncle who was a real cigar aficionado. He had some kind of numbering/coding system that he'd tag the inside of the band, like '3B4' or such. He'd keep the band and had a logbook that included the code number and his comments on the cigar, occasion, etc.
I leave it on until I get down to it . I just like holding it by the band . Speaking of bands I always thought it would be kinda neat having a company story or something about the particular cigar you're smoking on the inside of the band. Just think of when you was a kid reading the cereal box or enjoying a bourbon and reading the history on the bottle . Maybe some companies do it and I just haven't found them yet .
Another reason one might choose to leave the band on is in the chance, that for whatever reason, the wrapper tries to unwrap, the band could act as a preventor of it coming completely undone.
Wonderful video but Eddie if I could impart some critique, it would be to maintain eye contact with the camera. Other then that, I enjoyed your knowledge
I leave the band as a mark of when the cigar turns. It usually is a bit before the band in my opinion, however i havent smoked short cigars yet so maybe i would take it off then
For me it depends on brand. For example, I find that with Camacho cigars it’s way easier to take the band off before you light it than if you allow the burn to get close to the band. Cohiba red dot cigars are the opposite for me in that you need the heat to get the band off without risking ripping the leaf. Imo everything is personal preference and any tobacconist who tells you otherwise is either a snob or simply doing what they were taught when they started out.
Fortunately that is a false rumour. Davidoff continue to make wonderful cigars. I suspect the blue labs you mention is the “Royal” range (Robusto and Salamones).
I'm sure there was a bit in a Sherlock Holmes story where Holmes mocks his foreign adversary for failing to remove his cigar band, thus marking him as uncouth or not being a proper "English Gentleman". I may have misremembered this however.
Hi Kem, Trinidad is a classic blend. I am particularly fond of a well aged Fundadores but honestly any of the vitolas are a treat. For me a mild / medium strength smoke that can be enjoyed anytime.
Eddie I didn't feel you were fully committed in this video, and it didn't feel personal as if you were talking to one person in the modern way of the camera being the audience, like a person sitting facing you. You seemed very distracted , still delivered your message. I felt i had came into your shop to ask a question while you were busy , and being a polite gentleman you answered my question, but were still elsewhere and wanted to get back to the distraction . Just my opinion kind regards .
My father used to say it was vulgar to keep a cigar band on whilst smoking. "It's people showing off how much the cigar costs" he smoked expensive and less expensive cigars depending where he was etc.
All bands on cigars can be safely removed, either at the beginning or slightly after it is lit. Taking off the bands - especially in a club among other smokers - is politeness, so as not to be brandishing. Like whisky or cognac in a glass - somewhat incognito and the focus is on the conversation. But some are more dandy, and like their dress and preferences, prefer to brandish their tastes. In this case, to each their own, but politeness and courtesy is first and foremost. Personally, to avoid any form of snobbery, the bands should be removed. I do have a cigar 'ring' which can be used on any to help hold the piece without my fingers touching much of the tobacco but haven't seen this in popular use though.
The fact that this sort of question comes up..ever..leaves me with no hope for humanity. These are the critical issues, folks...this and if men should compete on the women's swim team.
Years ago, I knew a gentleman, now dead, who smoked Jamaican cigars; he always removed the band and he cut the end with a special device and he bored a hole, in the end, with a matchstick.
Hi Sam, it is yours to enjoy as you see fit! It is finished when you say it is. They are there to be enjoyed, so when you're no longer enjoying it you can give it up. Whether that's halfway through or right at the end and your fingertips can't take the heat anymore.
