Commonwealth Cedar Spills
A few months back, I was listening to Kiss My Ash Radio and they had a trivia question to win prizes. The question was “What was Rocky Patel’s company’s first name?”. Well, I knew that right off the bat seeing I had smoked many of those cigar when I first got into enjoying cigars. I called up thinking I wasn’t going to get through. To my surprise I got right through and was quickly put on hold. I didn’t know what was going on, then all of the sudden I was on air!! I briefly chatted with the guys and gals of KMA and then they asked me the question again. I answered “Indian Tobac” and I was correct! The prize was a bundle of Commonwealth Cedar Spills and a KMA t-shirt! I was stoked!! A week or so later I received my winnings; a bundle of the spills and a KMA t-shirt.
I liked the product enough I thought I would give my thoughts of them.Â
I started using the spills a few days after receiving them here and there on some of my “better” cigars. I really liked the way they gave a more “truer” flavor right off the bat. Sometimes a torch lighter can and will scorch the foot if used improperly. The flame off of a torch lighter is hotter than you think and if placed too closely to the foot will burn instead of toast the tobacco. In a sense almost ruining the first minute or so of the cigar.
Everybody is trying to make their cigar last as long as possible with nubbers and holders to get every centimeter of enjoyment out of their cigar. You can get more enjoyment from your cigar right at the start by doing something different to your lighting procedure. One: Use a soft flame lighter; some can be costly, but I have had a refillable one for two years now that cost me $1.25. Two: Hold your torch lighter farther away from the foot of the cigar; take a little more time toasting the cigar. Three: Use matches, but they are usually too short and you need more than one. Or four: Use a cedar spill and look classy while adding more enjoyment to the cigar experience.
Like I said before, I used the spills mainly on some of my “better” cigars and I could taste the difference right off the bat. There was no harshness to some of the cigars that I had gotten a time or two before using my torch lighter. I have a various selection of lighters and matches around the house, so I used a basic cheap butane soft flame lighter to light the “nub” on the end of the spill. Gave it a second to catch hold and held it to where the flame is just below the foot of my cigar. That way I was not setting the tobacco on fire, but truly toasting it. Its like toasting marshmallows. You don’t put the whole marshmallow (cigar) in the fire, you put it above the flame and let the heat do the work not the flame.
Points of Interest
- Gives a true toasting, not lighting or scorching of your cigar.
- Easy to light “nub”.
- Convenient holding tab.
- 10.5″ long – plenty of length to toast up large or small ring gauges.
- Burns fast or slow depending upon how you angle the spill.
- A classy way to start off your cigar.
- Burns clean with no chemicals or harmful gases.
- Once lit, gives off a nice cedar room note.
- Can be used for various ring gauges – large or small.
- Can be extinguished to be used more than once.
- Comes either as bundles or boxed.
- Spills can be customized with your company’s logo.
- Boxes of Spills can be customized with logo, text as well as different wood finish choices.
 
Areas of Concern
- Approximately 30 cents per spill. Seems high, but sometimes a few more inches of pleasure is worth 30 cents.
- Slight learning curve with keeping the flame going, or slow burning.
- The length is almost too long to fit into a cigar caddy.
- Somewhat fragile. A bit of care is needed to handle them.
- A ashtray is an almost must when using. The ash holds well, but wouldn’t want it to fall into my lap or floor.
Final Thoughts
Overall an interesting twist on an old way of lighting your cigar. The act of using a cedar spill has been around for ages, so its nothing new. But, the idea of a simplified, mass produced version of the cedar spill is a nice idea to the market. No need to break up the divider sheets out of your cigar boxes then worry about having a too big or too small piece. The Commonwealth Cedar Spill is just the right size to toast the largest of ring gauge cigars. Or can be extinguished and used twice on smaller ring gauged cigars. The bundle price is almost the cost (or more) of a refillable lighter. But the 30cents is almost justifiable when toasting up a $15+ cigar.
* The Commonwealth Cedar Spills were provided to me, unsolicited, from Kiss My Ash Radio & Commonwealth Cedar Spills via trivia contest . Many thanks to them for the contest and winnings!
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