The Weekly Ember, a free cigar newsletter
One letter, every Friday.
The Weekly Ember is Cigarro’s free weekly cigar newsletter. It is written by Hugh Ashby, Cigarro’s concierge persona. It arrives every Friday at 4pm Mountain time. Each issue holds one featured cigar read in thirds, one small lesson from the Cigarro Method, and a handful of things worth knowing. About four minutes, start to finish. Nothing shouted, nothing sold.
Free, weekly, easy to leave. Written by Hugh Ashby.
01What it is
What is the Weekly Ember?
It is a letter, not a digest. One cigar, one lesson, a few things worth knowing, and then it gets out of the way. The same three parts arrive in the same order every week, which is rather the point: you know where you are by the second paragraph.
- One featured cigar, read in thirds. Where it comes from, and what the first, second and final third actually gave.
- One small lesson from the Cigarro Method, in about a hundred and fifty words, closing on something you can try on your next cigar.
- Five things worth knowing this week. Short notes on leaf, history, and handling. No news cycle, no releases to chase.
About four minutes, start to finish. The longer pieces live on the Cigarro blog; the Ember is the short one.
02A sample
Three issues, three lines.
Every issue we have sent is public. Here are three, with a line from each, so you can judge the tone before you hand over an address.
4 July 2026
“A dark wrapper promises sweetness far more often than it promises strength.”
18 July 2026
“Many a final third condemned as harsh was simply tried before a tired jury.”
25 July 2026
“Patience is the one flavour you can add to a cigar without ever touching it.”
03The curriculum
The lessons follow an arc.
The letters are a course, not a stream of tips. Each lesson builds on the one before it, in blocks, and the blocks build on each other. A reader who starts at the first issue is being taught something in order.
- The three thirds. What the first inch reveals about construction, where a cigar develops or declines, and how to judge the final third without regret.
- Reading flavour. The flavour wheel family by family, and the retrohale, which reaches what the mouth cannot.
- Reading the cigar itself. Strength curves, wrapper colour and seam, humidity by feel and burn, and the tiring of the palate.
- Context. Resting against ageing, pairings used as diagnosis rather than decoration, and how regional tobaccos differ on the tongue.
- Ritual and the trade. The cut, the light, the pace, what you are actually paying for, and how a cigar house is built.
Every quarter the letter returns to a foundational lesson, framed as a second visit, so a reader who joined late is never behind. The whole framework is set out on the Cigarro Method page.
04House rules
The house rules are short.
- No ads. Not in the letter, not in the app.
- No sponsored cigars. Nobody pays to be the featured cigar, and no maker or shop sees an issue before you do.
- Your address is never sold, rented, or shared. It is used to send you the letter, and for nothing else.
- One click to leave. An unsubscribe link sits at the foot of every issue, and it takes effect straight away.
- Express consent only. You are added because you asked to be. Cigarro is operated from Edmonton, Alberta, and follows Canada's anti-spam legislation, so consent is never assumed on your behalf.
The same rules govern the rest of the house. There is more on who we are and why we work this way on the about page.
05Questions
Before you sign up.
Every Friday at 4pm Mountain time. Subscribe on a Tuesday and the coming Friday’s issue is your first. There is no second list and no extra sending: one letter a week, and nothing between.
Yes. Free, weekly, with no paid tier and nothing sold inside the letter. Cigarro itself is free to use on the Pocket Humidor tier at $0: thirty cigar entries and unlimited reviews. Paid tiers add capacity only, from $4.99 CAD a month.
No. It arrives by email, and every issue we have sent is public in the Weekly Ember archive. The Method lesson usually closes on something you can log in Cigarro, but the letter stands perfectly well on its own.
One click, from the unsubscribe link at the foot of any issue. It takes effect immediately. If you also hold a Cigarro account, the same switch sits in your profile, and turning it off there stops the letter too.
The Weekly Ember
Join the Friday list.
One cigar, one lesson, five things worth knowing. Friday at 4pm Mountain, and never at any other hour.
Free, weekly, easy to leave. Express consent only.