mrreindeer

Eh, I don't have a ton of experience with this because I haven't really herfed with experienced smokers. On Saturday night, I was, but we were all smoking the same, CAO LX2's, so there really was no point in removing the band, so we didn't even breach the topic nor did we remove.

That being said, I've heard that removing the band is the best form of etiquette because you don't want to 'brag' about the kind of cigar you're smoking if it is a better quality cigar.

I've heard that you should remove the band from the start. If it sticks, smoke a bit until the glue softens up and you can effortlessly remove it without damaging the wrapper. If you can't, well, you're stuck with the band on your cigar, which I, personally don't mind. I like to see what others are smoking.

If you're just hanging with friends though, I'd forget it and keep the sucker on.