Expert: James Yee - 10/28/2007

Question
This will undoubtedly be the most bizarre question you will ever receive. When I smoke a cigar I loose my sense of smell. I mean I can't smell the smoke. When I give a cigar to a friend, I enjoy the aroma and can really appreciate the cigar. My problem is I don't always have a friend around when I want to smell a fine cigar. I do have a sublimable yen for the taste of nicotine but it's very mild. I would like to find a machine that will smoke a fine cigar for me at a slow rate so I can appreciate the aroma. Weird I know. Can you think of a solution to my problem?

Answer
Hi Del,

Yes, this is definitely a bizarre question but I think I have the answer that you’re looking for.  There’s a cigar tool similar to what you described.  The device that I know of is handmade by G. Lorenzi of Montenapoleone in Milan.  It’s basically a cigar rest with a continuous-burning wick and what the device does is keep a cigar burning continuously so that it doesn’t go out.  The Lorenzi model is basically a simple wooden walnut platform with elevated brass cigar rests (deluxe models have two or more rests) and a brass, alcohol-burning wick/container next to the cigar rest(s).  To use this, a person would light a cigar and let it sit on the cigar rest.  The cigar rest looks like a golf tee with a long half-pipe groove for the cigar to rest comfortably on.  The person would then light the wick and allow the flame to slowly burn just under the foot of the cigar.  By doing this, the cigar will continue to stay lit and never burn out.  Because these cigar rests do not have an ashtray, the person must periodically tap any loose cigar ash off into a separate ashtray and then reposition the cigar over the flame as the cigar gets shorter.  Older Lorenzi cigar rest models used a small bellow to keep the cigar burning.

Again, this device is originally meant to keep a cigar burning for people who have a problem of always letting their cigars burn out but I’m sure it can be used in the same manner as you described.  I tried searching the Internet for a photograph of the Lorenzi cigar rest but couldn’t find one.  If you’re ever in Milan, visit the G. Lorenzi shop on Montenapoleone.  A fine men’s accessory shop/tobacconist in your area may also carry this item but it's unlikely.  This is device is considered a “luxurious novelty” and sells for a few hundred dollars (American mailorder gadget catalogs sold it for an average of $450 a few years ago).  It’s the only device that I know of but I’m sure there are inexpensive copies of this device that you can find locally at a fine men’s shop or tobacconist.  

Alternatively, you can also fabricate your own continuously burning cigar rest as this device is incredibly simple in design.

I hope this answers your question. If you have any more questions, please feel free to just ask and I’ll be happy to help.

Regards,
James