How far down to smoke it
Until it stops being pleasant. That is the whole rule, and it moves.
Stop when it stops being good. There is no correct distance from the band, no obligation to finish, and no prize for the last inch.
What happens near the end
The remaining tobacco is saturated with condensed oils and tars from everything that burned before it, and the ember is closer to your mouth so the smoke arrives hotter. Both push the same way: stronger, harsher, less detailed.
Nicotine also concentrates. The last inch is where people who felt fine suddenly do not, and it arrives faster than the taste warns you.
The rules people quote
- "Stop at the band." Arbitrary — bands sit at different heights on different cigars.
- "Smoke until it burns your fingers." A test of stubbornness, not of the cigar.
- "Two inches left." Reasonable as an average, meaningless for a petit corona.
Do this: put it down at the first genuinely unpleasant draw and note where that happened. Over a few cigars you learn where each format turns, and that is a far more useful number than any rule of thumb.
It varies by cigar
Well-made cigars with good filler often stay pleasant much closer to the end; cheap or badly rolled ones turn early. A blend that is still interesting in the last inch is a genuine mark of quality, and worth noting when you find one.
Putting it out
Let it go out on its own in the ashtray rather than crushing it. Crushing releases everything you spent an hour avoiding, and the room will remind you of it tomorrow.
Where it turned is worth a line
"Great until the last inch" is a different verdict from "great", and both fit in one note field next to the score. That distinction is what makes an old entry useful when you are deciding whether to buy the box.
Read next
Pace is the one habit that changes everything
Roughly one draw a minute. Faster, and you are smoking a different cigar.
TechniqueRelighting: when it is fine and when it ruins the cigar
Within an hour, clean off the ash and carry on. The next morning, do not.
Tasting & notesWhat "strength" means, and why it is not flavour
Strength is a physical effect. Flavour is what you taste. They travel separately.