Toasting the foot: worth the extra minute?
Yes, and mostly because of what it prevents rather than what it adds.
Toasting means warming the foot without igniting it, so that when you do light it, the whole face catches at once. The benefit is an even ember, and an even ember is most of a good first third.
The motion
Hold the cigar at an angle above the flame, an inch or so clear, and rotate slowly. The foot darkens and starts to shimmer. That is toasted; you have not lit it yet.
Then bring the flame closer and draw gently while still rotating. The tobacco should catch across the whole face rather than in one spot.
How long
Fifteen to thirty seconds for most cigars. Longer than that and you are simply burning tobacco slowly, which produces the same acrid start you were trying to avoid.
Do this: toast with the cigar horizontal rather than pointing down into the flame. Pointing it down draws heat up the body, warms the oils early, and is the most common way an over-careful light still goes wrong.
When to skip it
With a cedar spill, toasting happens naturally as you go. With a very small cigar, thirty seconds of toasting is a meaningful fraction of the whole smoke. And in wind, ceremony achieves nothing — light it as quickly as you can and correct afterwards.
What it does not do
It does not improve the flavour of the tobacco, and it does not compensate for a cigar that is too wet. Toasting is insurance against an uneven light, and that is the entire claim.
What went wrong at the start, in one line
The note field beside the score is enough for "lit badly, canoed, my fault". A year later that sentence is what keeps you from writing off a blend that never got a fair first third.
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