It amazes me sometimes how someone will spend 20 or 30 minutes selecting the perfect cigar, then take time clipping it to perfection, then commence to lighting it as if it were the Olympic torch.

There are a lot of ways to mess up a great cigar experience, but the most common one I run into is improper lighting techniques. So before you set fire to foot, please read over these few pointers.

First of all, you need to select a quality lighter, preferably a torch that uses premium butane. I know that most traditionalists would say that you should use a non-sulfur match or cedar spill (scrap of Spanish cedar). This would be fine if we are all lighting our cigars inside a closed room with no draft. Since most of us imbibe outdoors, it's important that you possess a good torch lighter.

Good torch lighter doesn't mean you need to spend $100-$300 for it. Most torch lighters start in the $10 range, but I would avoid going the cheap route. I'm not going to endorse a particular brand here, but spending $50-$75 on one that has a lifetime warranty will save you money and lots of headaches.

Once you have your cigar torch it's important that you use it correctly. Please remember you are not spot welding a bumper onto your pickup truck, you are lighting a cigar. After clipping or punching your cigars, take a few pre-light draws. If you are happy with the results then remove the cigar from your mouth and carefully begin toasting the foot. To properly toast the foot, hold the lighter far away from the cigar and move it in until it begins to char the end of the cigar. Rotate the cigar until the entire foot is black.

Now that the foot is nice and toasted it is time to really get it going. For this, you put the cigar in your mouth and then, keeping the lighter the same distance used for toasting, light it and slowly turn the cigar. After taking a few puffs, remove the cigar from your mouth and blow on the ash. The entire foot should glow red. Any spots that remain black—carefully touch them up with the lighter. Repeat the process slowly until the entire foot is completely glowing red when you blow on it.

Now you have lit the perfect cigar and it should burn evenly for the duration of your smoking experience. If for some reason you set your cigar down for a little too long and it extinguishes itself, no worries. Just knock off all the ash and repeat the lighting process.

It's important that you practice these techniques, so stop in and buy plenty of cigars so you can test out your new skills. Just remember to light it right.

Long Ashes,

Chris Gwaltney, ABC Fine Wine & Spirits North Florida Regional Manager. Certified Tobacconist and Cicerone Beer Server. Follow me on Twitter @abccigarchris.