As a rule, as with food and wine, if you like the taste and aroma, it's good. No matter when or where a cigar is to be smoked, with or without the band, the smoker must begin by making the cigar smokable. Most premiums are rolled with a closed head, which must be cut or punctured for the smoke to draw. How much flows depends on the size of the opening. Ideally, it will be small but in proportion to the size of the cigar.
Some smokers wet the head in the mouth before making the cut.
The cigar is now primed for lighting. This would appear to be an easy act, but nothing concerning the cigar has ever been without controversy. For example, there are those who insist that, before lighting, the entire cigar should be moistened. Others aver that its whole length should be warmed with a match, lighter or candle. The latter practice once made sense.