Dear Playboy Advisor: Questions From Men and Women to the Advice Column of Playboy Magazine by Chip Rowe
Authors: Chip Rowe
Tags: General, Sex, Health; Fitness & Dieting, Interpersonal relations, Self-Help, Relationships, Sexual Health
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there any way to open a cigar if you don’t have a cutter handy?—H.T., Peoria, Illinois
Many smokers in the Caribbean and Central America have never used a cutter. Instead they incise with their thumbnail around the head of the cigar, then remove the cap. If you don’t have experience with this technique, it’s best to save it for emergencies because it’s easy to muck up. We prefer cutters; they contribute to the ritual and showmanship of lighting cigars, and that’s half the reason we smoke them. We also aren’t keen on sticking a thumbnail into the same leaf that’s about to go into our mouth.
You write that you like cutters because they “contribute to the ritual and showmanship of lighting cigars.” What a crock of elitist crap. Over the years I have used various cutters (V-cut, guillotine, bore, etc.) but have never found anything better than the one used by millions of smokers: their teeth.—F.U., San Francisco, California
You can bait us, but we’re not biting.
Best way to beat a runner
What’s the best way to get rid of the runner in a cigar?—P.R., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
When a cigar burns faster on one side than the other, it’s generally a lost cause. Tunneling occurs because of poor fermentation of the leaf, a natural flaw in the cigar or improper rolling. You can try to recut above the run, but a cigar that has already been lit never tastes as good the second time around.
Thanks to a technique I learned from the good people at De La Concha Tobacconist in New York City, a tunnel can be recovered. Lick your thumb and wet the length of the cigar several times from the tip of the run to the end of the cigar. In many cases, this will slow down the rate of burn behind the tunnel, and allow the opposite side to “catch up.” It doesn’t work on every run, but it’s worth a try.—P.L., New York, New York
Several readers asked why you can’t repair a runner by holding your lighter under the slower-burning side. The technique sounds simple but never works because typically the flaw continues for the entire length of the cigar. That explains why the De La Concha method gets the job done—sometimes.
How far should you go?
I was at a party when the host invited us to smoke cigars on the porch. Everyone had a different opinion about how long a cigar should be smoked. That is, do you continue until you hit the band, or until you can’t hold it any longer? Also, how much of the tip should be cut off?—S.H., Allen, Texas
If you’re smoking a great cigar, you can continue until your facial hair bursts into flames. So says Richard Carleton Hacker: “Some people stop when they hit the band,” he notes. “Others take the band off, which I don’t recommend because it provides a good place to hold the cigar and lets others know what you’re smoking. Every cigar burns differently and has a characteristic taste, but they all tend to get a little more rank as you get closer to the end and have less tobacco to filter the smoke. It’s not unusual for many cigars to begin smoking poorly halfway through.” As for the head, slice it from the top, just as the tip starts to curve outward.
COLLEGE LIFE
Let’s party.
Reach out and touch someone
A college friend invited me to come along on a weekend boat trip. I grabbed my bikini and we drove to a lake in a van with four guys she knew. When we arrived, there were about 30 boats tied together on the water. After about two hours, a guy grabbed a bullhorn and announced it was time for Raise the Flag. Everyone climbed over the boats to a stage that was built from two pontoons. Four guys volunteered to have strings tied around their waists with flags that draped down over their crotches. They also had their hands tied behind their backs. Four girls then climbed onstage and paired off with the guys. The women yanked down the guys’ swim trunks and were handed bottles of oil to rub on themselves and
Many smokers in the Caribbean and Central America have never used a cutter. Instead they incise with their thumbnail around the head of the cigar, then remove the cap. If you don’t have experience with this technique, it’s best to save it for emergencies because it’s easy to muck up. We prefer cutters; they contribute to the ritual and showmanship of lighting cigars, and that’s half the reason we smoke them. We also aren’t keen on sticking a thumbnail into the same leaf that’s about to go into our mouth.
You write that you like cutters because they “contribute to the ritual and showmanship of lighting cigars.” What a crock of elitist crap. Over the years I have used various cutters (V-cut, guillotine, bore, etc.) but have never found anything better than the one used by millions of smokers: their teeth.—F.U., San Francisco, California
You can bait us, but we’re not biting.
Best way to beat a runner
What’s the best way to get rid of the runner in a cigar?—P.R., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
When a cigar burns faster on one side than the other, it’s generally a lost cause. Tunneling occurs because of poor fermentation of the leaf, a natural flaw in the cigar or improper rolling. You can try to recut above the run, but a cigar that has already been lit never tastes as good the second time around.
Thanks to a technique I learned from the good people at De La Concha Tobacconist in New York City, a tunnel can be recovered. Lick your thumb and wet the length of the cigar several times from the tip of the run to the end of the cigar. In many cases, this will slow down the rate of burn behind the tunnel, and allow the opposite side to “catch up.” It doesn’t work on every run, but it’s worth a try.—P.L., New York, New York
Several readers asked why you can’t repair a runner by holding your lighter under the slower-burning side. The technique sounds simple but never works because typically the flaw continues for the entire length of the cigar. That explains why the De La Concha method gets the job done—sometimes.
How far should you go?
I was at a party when the host invited us to smoke cigars on the porch. Everyone had a different opinion about how long a cigar should be smoked. That is, do you continue until you hit the band, or until you can’t hold it any longer? Also, how much of the tip should be cut off?—S.H., Allen, Texas
If you’re smoking a great cigar, you can continue until your facial hair bursts into flames. So says Richard Carleton Hacker: “Some people stop when they hit the band,” he notes. “Others take the band off, which I don’t recommend because it provides a good place to hold the cigar and lets others know what you’re smoking. Every cigar burns differently and has a characteristic taste, but they all tend to get a little more rank as you get closer to the end and have less tobacco to filter the smoke. It’s not unusual for many cigars to begin smoking poorly halfway through.” As for the head, slice it from the top, just as the tip starts to curve outward.
COLLEGE LIFE
Let’s party.
Reach out and touch someone
A college friend invited me to come along on a weekend boat trip. I grabbed my bikini and we drove to a lake in a van with four guys she knew. When we arrived, there were about 30 boats tied together on the water. After about two hours, a guy grabbed a bullhorn and announced it was time for Raise the Flag. Everyone climbed over the boats to a stage that was built from two pontoons. Four guys volunteered to have strings tied around their waists with flags that draped down over their crotches. They also had their hands tied behind their backs. Four girls then climbed onstage and paired off with the guys. The women yanked down the guys’ swim trunks and were handed bottles of oil to rub on themselves and
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