The longest ash contest, for those unfamiliar, is a annual festival produced by H. Upmann Sir Cigars and hosted at the enormous and luxurious Palace of Conventions located in Havana, Cuba. The purpose of the competition, as one might already have guessed from the name, is to see which of the hundreds upon hundreds of international competitors can smoke down their cigar the lowest without breaking off any ash whatsoever (the ash must be a completely unbroken, solid cone).
Any competitor who breaks off any length of ash is immediately disqualified and their cigar is then measured by the judges and cataloged for the end of the contest. Once the contest is over, the judges will measure the remnants of every contestants cigars at the point at which the ash dropped and will then make their rulings accordingly. As previously stated, the contestant with the longest length of ash (that being the one with the shortest remaining cigar stub) will be declared the winner.
This contest isn’t solely confined to Cuba, however, as many different cigar manufacturers and cigar shops the world over have caught on to the popularity of the competition among cigar aficionados and have begun holding their own contests. One of the most notable of these companies is H. Upmann Cigars, the backer for the most recent Cuban Long Ash Competitions. H. Upmann Cigar sticks were chosen by the company, not just because they obviously wanted to self promote, but also due to their sturdy construction and long burn time, perfect for just such a competition. If one is wishing to hold their own longest ash contest then it would be wise to make all your contestants use the exact same type of cigar, otherwise those whom have purchased the longest burning and most finely constructed cigars will inevitably be the winner (unless their balance is terrible).