What’s wrong with my cigar?

At a recent outdoor gathering of my car club, one of the members told me he was an occasional cigar smoker. Since I always carry a few cigars with me when attending social events, I suggested we enjoy a cigar with our espresso. As I handed him a Camacho Connecticut Toro, within lightning speed he removed the cello wrapper, pulled the entire cap off  by hand and then reached into his pocket to retrieve a standard book of paper matches. Before I could intercede, he grabbed about six matches , struck them and immediately put a road flare looking burst of flames onto the end of the cigar and quickly began puffing. I’m sure onlookers thought they should call the fire department. Within a minute, he said, “You know, cigars haven’t been tasting  good for me lately.” as he exhaled a sulfur laden stream of  smoke.

I’m sure the vast majority of you know  this is a great example of how not to cut or light a good cigar and that you also know why it tasted the way it did for my co member.

But what about that great , perfectly cut cigar you carefully light with a butane torch that begins to burn looking like it was possessed by the devil?

We’ve spoken about why some cigars have poor draws. As you know, premium cigars are handmade so human error can’t be avoided. No manufacturer knowingly wants to turn out a cigar that can’t be enjoyed with an ample, free flowing draw. I was once given an entire box of genuine Cuban Cohibas. I soon realized they were all so tightly wrapped from about an inch to the cap that I couldn’t draw on them. I ended up having to cut an inch off each one to smoke them. 

After hearing from many of you asking me why you’re cigars are burning in so many different erratic ways, I thought we’d take a quick look at the most common “Bad Burns”.  While there are some facets out of your control like the quantity or quality of any cigars contents and assembly,  there are a few reasons why cigars don’t burn evenly.

A word of caution. In the interest of not boring you, I’m going to be brief. If what we talk about leads you to get more specific and detailed information, that’s the idea.

Up above, you’ll probably recognize the “Canoeing” illustration at the top of the page. This issue is usually caused because the cigar is unevenly humidified in your humidor or it was lit up incorrectly. Check your humidors humidity level and rotate your cigars inside frequently. Also make sure you have some space in between them. You may find out you need a bigger humidor! Please use one of the widely available inexpensive butane torch lighters. Forget matches and Zippos. Hold the lighter about an inch or so away from the foot and allow the end of the flame to heat up the tobacco. In a minute or so you’ll see some smoke rising. Keep the flame going around the entire end. When you start puffing you can slightly touch the flame around the entire foot. You’ll soon see an even  burn ring develop. Canoeing can also be the result of fast puffing which will overheat the cigar. So slow down!

Rotating the cigar as your smoking it can slow canoeing along with laying the cigar down in an ashtray for a bit so see if things even out. If you think things are going real badly, cut off the entire part of the cigar that’s misbehaving and try again.

That picture of a fork like ash is formally known as Splitting. This is usually caused by smoking your cigar too quickly…..like me! It can also be caused by noticeable changes in temperature and humidity differences from where your smoking and where the cigars are stored. Knock off the ash, slow down, let the cigar cool off and continue on.

If you’re wondering why your cigar isn’t tasting quite right and you happen to look at the foot and see an empty hole in the filler like the picture above , you’ve got what’s known as a “Runner” and it isn’t your fault. Whoever made what your smoking didn’t do a good job. Toss it and hope the rest of the batch is ok.

 So, you’ve done everything right and your cigar is off to a great start and you see something like this! No, it’s not a gremlin inside digging a tunnel to escape. It’s what we call ”Mouse Holes”. And no, it’s not your fault either. When a pocket of air or dried out tobacco exists inside a side of your cigar when it’s being made, that little part burns at a much higher rate. Not to worry. These types of annoyances usually pass quickly.

This strange looking occurrence isn’t your fault either. It called a “Runner” which is usually caused by  a large vein in the wrapper that acts as a fuse when you light the cigar. The bad news is if the vein is pronounced and spans the length of the cigar, your chances of enjoying this particular one are nil. You can try letting things cool down and relighting it. You may get lucky but I don’t think so.

While you can’t control how your cigars are made and how they’re stored until you get them, you can keep them in the right temperature and humidity and follow a few steps making sure they have the right environment so they’re ready for your enjoyment. You can be rest assured that all the cigars we have available for you on The Cigar Thief are stored in the right atmosphere right up until you make your purchase. Our humidor room is constantly monitored and maintained so you can continue buying from us with confidence.

Thanks again for you valued patronage. Happy smoking!

Cheers,

Richie