Best Lighter for Cigars: Butane Torch vs Soft Flame

You've got a cigar, you've already picked out a cigar cutter and opened the cap, and now you just need fire. Easy, right? Not quite — what you light it with changes how that first puff tastes. Grab the wrong lighter and you'll get a mouthful of chemical fumes instead of tobacco. Choosing the best lighter for cigars comes down to one rule and a couple of easy preferences.

Here's what to use, what to never use, and what to look for in your first lighter.

The one rule: butane, never fluid

Start here, because it matters more than anything else: use a butane lighter, and never a fluid one.

Butane burns clean. It adds no smell or taste of its own, so all you get is the cigar. Lighter fluid (the kind in a classic flip-top lighter) gives off fumes that soak into the tobacco and leave a harsh, chemical taste in those crucial first puffs. The same goes for candles, gas stoves, and matches with a long sulfur head — anything that isn't clean-burning will taint the cigar.

So the very first thing to look for is simple: does it run on butane? If yes, you're on the right track. If it uses fluid, put it back.

For the full technique once you've got the right flame, see our guide on how to light a cigar — and how to relight a cigar for when it goes out mid-smoke.

Torch vs soft flame

Within butane lighters, there are two flame styles, and both are perfectly good:

• Torch (jet) flame. A focused, roaring blue flame — sometimes one jet, sometimes several. It's hot, fast, and wind-resistant, which makes it the go-to outdoors. The trade-off: all that heat is easy to overdo, so you keep the flame a little below the foot (the open end you light) rather than touching it.
• Soft flame. The gentle, candle-like yellow flame you picture on a normal lighter — just fueled by clean butane. It's slower and more forgiving, lovely for a relaxed light indoors, but a breeze will blow it around.

Neither is "correct." Many people start with a single-flame torch for its reliability and pick up a soft flame later for calm evenings at home.

Single vs triple flame

If you go the torch route, you'll see lighters with one, two, three, or even more jets. Here's the quick guide:

For a first lighter, a single flame is the easier, more forgiving choice. It lights cigars perfectly well and makes it harder to over-toast the foot. Triple-flame torches light faster and shine on big ring gauges (thick cigars), but that wall of heat is simple to overdo when you're still learning.

What to look for in the best lighter for cigars

Beyond butane and flame count, a few features make daily life easier:

• A visible fuel window. A clear strip showing how much butane is left so you're never caught empty mid-cigar.
• An adjustable flame. A little dial to tune the flame height — handy as you find your touch.
• A fold-out punch or built-in cutter (optional). Some lighters include one, which is convenient but not essential.
• A refillable tank and a sturdy ignition. Skip disposables; a solid refillable lighter lasts for years. (Pro tip: refill with quality butane and "purge" the tank of air for a steady flame.)

You don't need anything fancy or expensive to start. A dependable single-flame butane torch with a fuel window will serve you well for a long time. With the right flame in hand, the only thing left is the cigar itself — and if it's your very first, our walkthrough on how to smoke a cigar for the first time covers everything from the toast to the final puff.

The takeaway

The best lighter for cigars is a clean-burning butane lighter — torch or soft flame, never fluid. For a first one, a single-flame torch with an adjustable flame and a fuel window is reliable, forgiving, and hard to outgrow. Get the fuel right and the rest is just preference.

Once you're lighting up with confidence, the Casa DNC app lets you log each cigar and rate it — building a record of your favorites so every smoke, from first light to last puff, gets a little better.