The flavor of the lighter fluid is almost non existent in today's zippo fluid. It burns very clean.. Let the flame burn for a few seconds before bringing it to your cigar. Whatever you do taste in the initial puffs will dissipate almost instantly after you're done lighting. Putting cognac or everclear into a zippo lighter sounds ridiculous. It's more likely to impart a burning alcohol flavor than anything else. The part of cognac that burns is the ALC, so you're not going to get the flavor of the booze anyways. And IMHO I'd rather drink zippo fluid than everclear. Why the hell would you wanna risk making your cigar taste like that awful stuff even for a moment?