Toasting the foot: is it really necessary?

[CigarNut]

Originally Posted by Tidefan73

I don't really 'toast' the foot, it's the way I light all my cigars. I don't puff them when lighting, I simply 'toast' them until they're lit, then puff away! One thing, I ensure to keep the flame far enough away so I don't burn anything.

I do it the same way.

[pektel]

Originally Posted by Tidefan73

I don't really 'toast' the foot, it's the way I light all my cigars. I don't puff them when lighting, I simply 'toast' them until they're lit, then puff away! One thing, I ensure to keep the flame far enough away so I don't burn anything.

This is my preferred way to light my cigars as well. Does it make a difference? For me, it does.

Smoke what you light, light what you smoke. Or something like that.

[Tidefan73]

I found that puff or 'kissing' while lighting causes it to taste bitter for the first 1/4 or so. Had a guy at a B&M in San Antonio show me the 'new' way and I've stuck with it since.

[pektel]

Exactly my reasoning for it as well. I find The cigar doesn't need the time to "settle in" anymore.

[icehog3]

Originally Posted by Tidefan73

I don't really 'toast' the foot, it's the way I light all my cigars. I don't puff them when lighting, I simply 'toast' them until they're lit, then puff away! One thing, I ensure to keep the flame far enough away so I don't burn anything.

That pretty much sums up my method too, Theron. Maybe semantics if one calls this "toasting" or not, but it's right on for me.

[ColdCuts]

Twenty years ago, when I was just getting started, I tried to adhere to the oft prescribed lighting ritual. But, like Porch Dweller, I do all of my smoking outdoors where conditions for lovingly toasting my cigar just aren't there. So my method adapted over the years.

Today I spend all of about five seconds "toasting". Whereby, like AdamJoshua, I hold the cigar more-or-less stationary and move the flame of my torch briefly over the foot. (Note: I've already clipped the cap. There are those that say the cigar should only be cut post toast.) After my five-second toast, the light. I'll take two very short puffs with the flame just under the foot, or maybe even touching the foot--for me it's tough to judge, especially when lighting a longer cigar. Maybe this technically screws-up the quick toasting I just gave it. I don't know. But, at this point I'm pretty confident my cigar is well-lit. To be certain, I examine the foot for an allover glow. If it's got one, success. It it hasn't, one or two more mini blasts targeting just the problem areas and we're good. If I suspect that I somehow gave my cigar a bad time, I'll purge it once, then let it rest for as much a whole minute. Done.

The complete procedure takes longer to read than perform, about fifteen to twenty seconds, provided my lighter isn't fighting with me. I know there are those who would say I'm doing it wrong, but I've been happily lighting cigars this way for a long time. Either I've got the palate of a goat and don't know any better, or this is a perfectly effective way to light.

[RevSmoke]

Originally Posted by Tidefan73

I don't really 'toast' the foot, it's the way I light all my cigars. I don't puff them when lighting, I simply 'toast' them until they're lit, then puff away! One thing, I ensure to keep the flame far enough away so I don't burn anything.

Originally Posted by icehog3

That pretty much sums up my method too, Theron. Maybe semantics if one calls this "toasting" or not, but it's right on for me.

My thoughts exactly. I didn't think it was called toasting the foot, as I thought toasting had to be done with a soft flame, and the cigar may, or may not be, lit. I usually use a torch, trying not to let the "blue" flame touch the foot, but the heat at the end of that blue flame is enough to get it lit. When the entire foot is cherry, I will puff away.

Peace of the Lord be with you.

[Stinky]

The topic of 'toasting' or 'roasting' (or 'roosting' as stated by WaRevo) always makes for an interesting discussion. It's been a regular, reoccurring topic on cigar boards since I started online in 1997. After years of reading varying opinions on numerous boards and in numerous cigar-books, while at the RTDA (now IPCPR) conventions, I started watching how the cigar makers & blenders light their cigars. Some do. Most don't. The ones who do, don't make a big, long process about it. I usually give the foot a little roasting before drawing. In the end, it's just your personal preference. 'What ever tightens your bolt.'

Will a bad light cause a bad burn? Yes. However, a quality, well made cigar will straighten out as you continue to smoke it, even after a somewhat marginal lighting. In a properly stored/humidified cigar, Poor Burn, canoeing, tunneling, etc. is more commonly a result of poorly rolled or poorly cured tobacco. I still recommend and encourage a "good light' to fully enjoy a cigar.

Soft Flame vs Torch:
Throughout the history of cigars, cedar sticks (not the paper-thin slip sheets) and/or matches have been used to roast/toast and light cigars. Then came soft-flame lighters. A soft-flame source (be it a cedar stick, wood match or butane) is only effective in a no-wind environment. Lighting a cigar in a windy/breezy condition is too much work, IMHO. The torch lighters are a 'fool proof' method because it's such a clean, super hot burn and controlled ignition source.

Given the time and interest of fellow cigar enthusiasts, I have a little demonstration to show how to use a soft flame. In a calm (wind/breeze) free environment, use a metal (stainless steel) ashtray and hold a match, cedar stick or butane soft-flame lighter and hold the flame about 1/2 inch below the side of a metal surface. You can see the metal surface heat up with a vapor pattern around the hot spot. No scorching. Just heat. Then, take the same soft flame (match, cedar stick, soft-flame butane lighter) and hold the flame into the surface of the metal. The result is a black deposit of carbon on the metal surface. And, that black carbon is what you're putting into the foot of your cigar when you put the foot into the flame. That black carbon material is simply "UN-burnt fuel". Understand that what the human eye sees as the yellow part of a soft flame is burning fuel (be it wood or butane). The hottest part of the flame is not visible to the human eye, it's the area just above the yellow part of the flame. Torch lighters burn clean and hotter. Try the same experiment with a torch. No matter if you put the metal ashtray surface into the torch flame or just above the visible blue part of the flame, there is no scorching either way.

Using the hottest part of a soft flame to light a cigar creates an illusion that the flame "JUMPS" up to the foot of the cigar when you puff during the lighting process. No, it didn't jump. It's the oils in the tobacco igniting from the heat. We should make a video!

[ApexAZ]

I think that toasting the foot is perfectly fine, and I also agree that if you don't get it fully lit from the get-go then it can lead to burn issues. I just think it's unfair to assume that burn issues are a result from Operator Error and I was a little turned off when NP suggested that in his video. It just came across as a little disingenuous. I feel that cigars that have burn problems for me are typically not a result of a poor light, but improper moisture and/or construction.

If he had said that it's a hand made product and there will be some inconsistencies from time to time, I would have respected that answer far more than his attempt to blame the "operator".

I too will often toast the foot out of habit, but like many have stated it is more of a ritualistic thing than anything. I do not believe it has anything to do with the quality of the burn unless I somehow miss a spot, which I almost never do.

[Dave128]

Originally Posted by Tidefan73

I don't really 'toast' the foot, it's the way I light all my cigars. I don't puff them when lighting, I simply 'toast' them until they're lit, then puff away! One thing, I ensure to keep the flame far enough away so I don't burn anything.

This.

[pattersong]

I'm one of these guys who spends some time toasting the foot. Whether it is the proper method is irrelevant to me.

I find it to be a great way to slow down a little and get into the relaxed frame of mind that I enjoy while smoking a cigar. As an added bonus, it offers the opportunity to appreciate the aroma of the smoke before I take that first puff.