How to Light Cuban Cigars

Lighting Cuban cigars is one of the most enjoyable parts of smoking one and there are a variety of different ways to do it. Rather than giving you a comprehensive guide, I will go over the basics of how to get your Cuban cigars lit and you can adapt your own style.
I will break the lighting process down into steps for ease of use:

1. Heating.
Hold your flame near the tip of the Cuban cigar but not touching it for about 15 seconds to warm it up.

2. Lighting.
Bring the flame a little closer to the Cuban cigar but still not quite touching it. Begin to take short gentle puffs, or inhale and exhale through the Cuban cigar to draw the flame onto it, rotating the Cuban cigar as you go so that it is lit slowly and evenly.

3. Inspection.
When you think the Cuban cigar is lit, take it out of your mouth and blow gently on the lighted foot and, ensure that the Cuban cigar is lit evenly across its entire ring. If it isn't, repeat step 2.

Now, the other question that needs answering is, what should you use to light your Cuban cigars? I would recommend the following:

1. Non-butane needle-flame alcohol torch. These are great for lighting Cuban cigars as they burn cooler than butane. You can find them in laboratory supply houses. Use methanol (denatured alcohol) for a cool, even light.
2. Wooden Matches. Make sure you wait a few seconds after striking for the head to completely burn off before bringing the match near your cigar. This will stop your Cuban cigars getting a terrible sulphur taste.
2. Flint-style Butane Lighters.
3. Torch-Style Butane Lighters. These lighters can reach a temperature of over 1500 degrees. Because Cuban cigars are better when lit coolly, make sure you keep the flame away from the cigar and use its ambient heat for lighting.
4. Car cigarette lighter. This is a great tool for lighting Cuban cigars, giving a cool even light. Remember, these are designed for cigarettes, so will not work for large gauge cigars.
5. Cedar spills. This is a long thin strip of Spanish cedar which you light with another source and then use to light the cigar. It is quite difficult to use but looks impressive. If you like to be showy, give this a try.

Try to avoid the following methods for lighting as they will impact badly on the flavor of your Cuban cigars: Zippo lighters, candles and paper matches.

My style for lighting changes depending on which Cuban cigars I'm smoking and who I am smoking with. A majority of the time I like to use a simple butane lighter and I exhale rather than puff when lighting so that I don't draw smoke through the Cuban cigars from the initial light, as I find this can make Cuban cigars taste bad.
When I'm smoking with my buddies and trying to show off, I like to use wooden matches and cedar spills and short gentle puffs, as it looks far more impressive.
The milder a cigar, the slower and gentler I will light it, so as not to interrupt its flavor.