How to Cut a Cigar
Learn where the cap actually ends, how to choose between a guillotine, punch and V-cut, and how to open a cigar without unraveling it.
Find the shoulder before you cut
Look at the head under light and you will see a faint seam where the cap meets the body of the wrapper. That is the shoulder. Everything above it is cap; everything below it is the wrapper holding the whole cigar together. Your cut goes at or just inside that line, typically taking off between one and three millimeters. Cut past the shoulder and you have removed the structure that keeps the wrapper anchored, and the head will start peeling as the cigar warms. On a Cuban triple cap the seam is usually visible as a crisp arc. On a flat cap you may need to tilt the cigar to catch the light.
Guillotine cuts
A double-guillotine, with blades closing from both sides, is the default and the most forgiving. Rest the cigar in the aperture, seat it so only the cap protrudes, and close both handles in one quick decisive motion. Hesitation is what tears wrappers. Keep the blades sharp; a dull cutter crushes rather than slices, and you will feel it as a ragged draw and loose tobacco on your tongue. Single-blade guillotines work but push the cigar sideways as they close. Whichever you use, cut over a table so you can inspect the disc that comes off: it should be a clean circle of cap, not a shredded fragment.
Punch and V
A punch cutter bores a round hole in the head, leaving the cap almost entirely intact. It concentrates the draw, so it tends to make the smoke feel more focused and slightly stronger, and it is excellent on cigars with a loose draw. It is a poor choice on a tight cigar and on figurados, where the head tapers. A V-cut or cat's eye slices a wedge, giving more open area than a punch without removing the whole cap. V-cuts can plug with tar over a long smoke. Try all three on the same cigar across three sittings and you will learn what your own draw preference is.
Figurados and pigtails
A torpedo or belicoso head is a cone, so how far down you cut sets your ring gauge at the lips. Start shallow, take off three or four millimeters, and smoke a little; you can always cut more, and you can never put it back. On a perfecto or salomon, treat the tapered head the same way. A pigtail or fantail is a twist of wrapper left on top. It is decorative. You can cut it off or, on some cigars, gently unwind it, which sometimes opens the draw enough on its own that no cut is needed.
Testing and fixing the draw
After cutting, take two or three cold draws before lighting. You want mild, steady resistance, roughly like drawing air through a straw. If it is airtight, roll the cigar between your fingers, or use a draw tool or a thin skewer pushed straight down the center from the head, no more than an inch or two. If it is wide open like an empty tube, you cut too far or the cigar is under-filled; expect a hot fast burn and smoke it slowly. A cold draw also gives you the unlit flavor, which is a genuine preview of what is coming.