Simply smoking a cigar isn’t an activity that most people would think has any degree of finesse to it. But in fact, there’s a small bit of an art to it. Erratically puffing on a cigar can lead to messy ash, uneven burning, and make you look like a novice.
You want about an inch of ash on the end of the cigar. This helps it burn evenly and cleanly, without going out and without having runs and canoes in the burn line up one side of the cigar. Too much ash can accumulate on the end, too, so anything longer than an inch should be tapped off.
Many novice smokers make the mistake of beating the end of the cigar against the edge of the ash tray. Take it easy! Ashing the end of your cigar should be the lightest, delicate jerking motion, just enough to shake the ash off the end. If no ash falls off, your cigar hasn’t burned down far enough to need it.
Letting too much ash accumulate can also be messy. Excess ash can flake off all over your jacket or the floor, and burning embers can do some damage there. When in doubt: The ash on the end should be about as long as your entire thumbnail from cuticle to tip.
Another novice mistake is to hotbox the cigar, puffing on it too fast. It’s not a cigarette. Let the cigar take its time, and only take gentle drags off it about every three breaths or so. You only need to drag enough to fill your mouth, only slightly inhaling it. If you’re coughing, you’re doing it wrong.
On the whole, too much ash is usually a bad thing, but it’s not something to get that nervous about. The key to smoking any cigar with finesse is to be nonchalant about it. If you’re focusing on just the smoke, you’re doing it wrong. Cigars are at their best when they’re enjoyed in a distracted way, while reading or watching something else.