Dinner is finishing on the aft deck and the owner catches your eye and nods towards the humidor. Four guests will smoke. You have one chance to bring the selection out well, and then to cut four cigars without shredding a single cap in front of them.
Presenting the Selection
- Offer cigars after the meal, with the digestifs and coffee, and only in a designated smoking area.
- Bring the humidor or a presentation tray/case to the guest. Do not shout the list across the deck.
- Present it open, at a slight angle, cigars aligned and bands upright and facing the guest so they can read them.
- Offer a range: at least one mild, one medium and one full; a short vitola and a long one. Say the marca, the origin and the approximate smoking time — "a Nicaraguan robusto, medium to full, around an hour."
- Never touch the cigars with bare fingers unnecessarily. Let the guest choose and lift their own. If you must handle them, hold by the foot or the body, never squeeze.
- Have the cutter, lighter, ashtray and cedar spills already laid, and an ashtray per one or two guests.
Check the cigar before it goes out: no cracks, no soft spots, no mould, band intact, wrapper unblemished.
Anatomy Before You Cut
- The head is the closed, capped end that goes in the mouth.
- The foot is the open end you light.
- The cap is a thin disc of wrapper leaf holding the head together. You cut into the cap, not past it.
The shoulder is where the cap meets the body of the cigar. Cut beyond the shoulder and the wrapper unravels. That is the single most common — and most visible — mistake in cigar service.
The Three Cuts
| Cutter | How it works | Best suited to | Cautions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guillotine (single or double blade) | Slices the cap cleanly off | Almost all parejos; the safe default. Double-blade is preferred | Cut too deep and it unravels |
| Punch (bullet) | Bores a small circular hole in the cap | Larger ring gauges (roughly 48+); keeps the cap intact | Too small for slim vitolas; can concentrate tars; not for figurados |
| V-cut (cat's eye/wedge) | Cuts a wedge notch into the cap | Medium to large parejos; gives a broad draw with an intact rim | Poor cutters crush the cigar; not ideal for torpedoes |
| Scissors | Precision cut for a skilled hand | Any format | Requires practice; sharp and easily botched |
For a torpedo or belicoso, cut the tapered head with a guillotine or scissors, removing only a few millimetres and working conservatively — you can always cut more, never less.
Procedure:
- Ask how the guest likes it cut. Many have a firm preference.
- Sharp, clean cutter; wipe it between cigars.
- Rest the cigar against the blade, aligned squarely, 1-2 mm above the shoulder.
- One decisive, swift cut. Hesitation crushes and tears.
- Inspect the cut end; brush away loose tobacco; hand the cigar back head-first with the band toward the guest.
- Never bite or tear a cap open. Never use a knife blade in front of guests.
Onboard Notes
Practise on cheap cigars, on your own time, before you ever cut in front of an owner. A ruined cap on a rare cigar is remembered for the whole season.
Keep cutters sharp, clean and dry — salt air corrodes them and a blunt blade is what tears wrappers.
If a guest hands you their own cigar to cut, confirm the cut they want and repeat it back. Do not improvise on someone else's property.