​ Pipes and Cigars: How They Can Offer Different Experiences

When it comes to smoking, pipes and cigars each provide an experience that makes them unique as mediums of smoking. Pipes and cigars offer a premium smoking experience that brings appreciation through taste, aromas, and ritual.

Smoking pipes and cigars have a unique style, elegance, and sophistication about them. 

We’re going to take a look at the differences between the two and analyze how each can provide different experiences. Read on to find out more.

What’s the Deal?

You may agree that there is something quite old-school yet classic about smoking tobacco pipes and cigars. We all remember the old Hollywood movies showing the protagonist and antagonist holding a cigar or a tobacco pipe in their hand.

They provide a rich tobacco experience in comparison to cigarettes. Cigars and tobacco pipes have quite a few commonalities. The main similarity is that when you smoke a cigar or a pipe, you do not inhale the smoke and take it into your lungs.

Often you may see people switching between pipes and cigars to enjoy different smoking experiences, implying that while the two may have a few similarities, they possess different features too.

Differences in Composition

Cigars enthusiasts regard cigars as the most refined form of consuming tobacco and the most “proper” smoking method. Usually, a cigar is made of tobacco leaf filling that is wrapped in an uncut tobacco leaf. A binder holds the leaves together inside the wrapper.

The standard cigar, or parejo, has parallel sides with a round head; however, there are variations in shapes and sizes.

A lot of effort goes into harvesting and cultivating the crop for their tobacco. Then comes the tenuous part of processing the tobacco so that the output meets the high-quality standards needed for cigars. In addition, the larger tobacco leaf used as a wrapper for the filling of the cigar must also meet the quality standards.

Premium cigars are made with a fine blend of tobacco.

Usually, the tobacco used in a cigar is made with a blend from different harvests, sometimes even from separate countries. This process allows for a tobacco mixture that has a rich and complex flavor combination. Considering the amount of effort put into making a cigar, it wouldn’t be surprising that cigars come with a higher price tag than pipe tobacco.

Pipe tobacco on the other hand undergoes processes of its own depending on the blend. It could be steamed, pressed, cured in a myriad of ways, cased, applied a top flavoring, or go through other treatment in the process from harvest to packaging. Although there are some cigars that will use pipe tobacco as well as some cigar leaf based pipe blends, such as the popular Billy Budd from Cornell & Diehl. 

Differences in Taste

Cigars are often made from a blend of leaves that comes from different harvests and sometimes different regions. The variety of tobacco leaves rolled inside the wrapper can bring together these individual flavors into an intriguing pallet of different tastes, so as you smoke, you may experience different flavors and tastes from start to finish.

Pipe tobacco comes in different flavors. One way pipe tobacco blends are often differentiated is by Aromatic and non-Aromatic. Aromatics will have an added top-flavoring to embellish the component tobaccos, while non-Aromatics' flavor profile is made up of the harmony of flavors from the component tobaccos (although most all tobacco receives a casing of some sort). 

For Aromatic blends, the manufacturer adds flavor during the tobacco curing process. It tends to provide a pleasantly delicious scent and aroma. The aromatic pipe tobacco comes in various flavors, including vanilla, cherry, whiskey, etc.

Cigars have a similar variation of this as well. Flavored cigars such as from Tatiana are given similar additional flavors.

The Difference in Preparation Time and Equipment

There is hardly any preparation required for smoking a cigar, as all you need to do is remove the cap by cutting the head with the help of a cigar cutter, light it up with a lighter, and use an ashtray.

On the other hand, if you want to smoke a pipe, the first thing you need is a pipe. You can find many variations of tobacco pipes in terms of sizes, shapes.

In addition to a tobacco pipe, you will also need a few accessories such as a lighter, pipe cleaners, a pipe tool (tamper), and a pipe rest if required.

Moreover, the process of smoking a pipe includes a bit more preparation and light maintenance through the smoke. That may seem like a hassle, but for pipe smokers, it's part of the ritual that adds to the pleasure of the pastime. 

Moreover, if you want to use a pipe, you will require pipe tobacco, usually packed in a tin or a pouch. Before you can smoke, you need to load the tobacco into the pipe and press it for a fulfilling smoking experience.

Pipes and Cigars: Differences in the Smoking Techniques

At the end of the day, it all comes down to the difference in smoking experience between pipes and cigars. People have different opinions on the subject, and you need to find out what suits you more.

How to Smoke Cigars

To begin with, smoking a cigar is simple and easy to start. For proper smoking, all you need to do is cut the cap and light it up. Take a few puffs without inhaling the smoke, and soon the cigar will give off dense white fumes. Your cigar is now ready, and you can just sit back and enjoy.

That being said, a beginner may experience some complications such as canoeing (when the cigar burns uneven) so, cigar smoking isn't totally without technique. 

How to Smoke Pipes

Alternatively, smoking a pipe is not that straightforward. The first step is to pack the pipe properly. You need to ensure that you pack the tobacco so that it is neither too tightly packed nor too loose. It may seem challenging to find a balance, particularly if you are a novice, but with time you will find the happy middle ground. 

Once you have packed the tobacco inside the pipe, the next step is to light the tobacco in the bowl. You can use your thumb or a pipe tamper to regulate the airflow and control the oxygen so that the tobacco lights up. While you are smoking the bowl, you may also need to tamp down the tobacco.

Once you master the skill, you will enjoy the process of packing the tobacco in the pipe. Ask any ardent pipe smoker, and they will describe the activity as quite relaxing and therapeutic. The prospect of unwinding after a long tiring day and smoking your pipe may very well be the most enjoyable part of the day.

Getting Started

If you are considering trying pipes and cigars, hopefully, you found this article useful and acquired sufficient information to help you get started. Ultimately, it is up to you to decide which one you prefer, if either. Many ardent pipe smokers enjoy their cigars, and vivce versa. 

If you are still on the fence about it, you can try a basic tobacco pipe first and experience the process and the senses of smoking a pipe, and you can compare that with the sensations you get from smoking a cigar. You can always alternate between the two and enjoy both from time to time. After all, life is too short not to experience the best of both worlds.

If you want to explore our wide range of cigar and tobacco pipe ranges, you can find out more here.