Where can I get a spill to light my cigar?

A: A cigar shop -- or a cigar box.

Plenty of cigar boxes have their cigars packed under a thin sheet of Spanish cedar. This sheets is ideal for making homemade cedar spills, a classic way of lighting a cigar. To make a spill, fold the cedar sheet into thin strips. A half-inch wide should do fine. If you don't buy cigars by the box, or if your box of cigars doesn't have that cedar sheet, your local cigar shop should have plenty from old boxes.

A spill imparts a nice little cedar flavor to the cigar, and is an elegant way of lighting a smoke. One word of caution -- if you wear white dress shirts, beware of the ash residue from a burning spill. A spill can be quite messy, especially in untrained hands, so be careful not to turn a shirt into an ashtray with an errant wave of the hand.