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Ok, you love cigars, but you always feel you need to smoke them outdoors to avoid people’s complaints about how your place smells. You always try to smoke outside, but the bitter cold of winter makes it impossible anymore, plus it ruins your perfectly humidified precious smokes. There’s got to be an alternative to that scenario, you think; and you are right!

I’ve been smoking my cigars indoors for years and I’ll give 200 dollars to anyone who can come into my living room and tell me that they can smell it. I’m not kidding.

The answer is quite simple: Ventilation. Cigar smoke only becomes offensive to some people once it has been allowed to get stagnant in a room without ventilation. In a ventilated room, however, cigar smoke does not get stale, and only a faint smell remains. It’s much the same principle as removing any left over portions of the cigar and the ashes promptly after smoking.

I discovered this a few years ago when I just got tired of freezing outside while trying to enjoy a Cohiba Siglo VI. It just didn’t make any sense to be to be trying to enjoy such a fine pleasure under those conditions. So, here’s what I did:

I decided I was going to smoke in the living room, where I’m comfortable. I waited until my wife (who does not smoke) went away for a week-end and set up shop: I fitted a fan to one of the living room windows, turned it on at the highest setting, and cracked open another window somewhere else in the house, so that the air could circulate. I adjusted the heating so the room would not get too cold since it was the middle of winter. No, problem so far; I fired up my favorite cigars and smoked away. I left the fan running the whole time while smoking, and the next day as well. I then lit a vanilla candle before my wife came in from her trip.

Sure enough she came in and didn’t even flinch. So, later on I asked: Does it smell funny in here? To which she replied no, why? Of course at that point she knew something was up because of my devilish laugh… so I just told her I had been smoking in there the whole time she was gone. She was very surprised indeed.

I don’t have to tell you that I have never smoked another cigar outside (not by force anyway). My equipment has gotten a bit more sophisticated: I got an actual window fan for ventilation; since I figured out that it works better if the fan is higher up the window, I acquired a large comfortable chair (soon to be replaced by a nice leather chair), and got all kinds of deodorizing sprays (I still find vanilla scented sprays and candles particularly effective). But all in all, it’s just one basic principle that makes it work.

My next project? How about turning an entire extra room into a smoking lounge? I’ll have to update you on that.

*** UPDATE — Cigar Room Ventilation