Some questions from a frustrated newbie

[fiddlegrin]

..............

I've read that you shouldn't take a huge drag like cigarette smokers do, more like a moderate sip, like on a straw. I also found that doing so only once a minute was letting the cigar go out. Any idea why?

Your questions were impeccably answered, but here is a thought to consider.

Cigars stored at around 70% are prone to burn issues. (going "out" and tasting bitter)

Cigars stored at 65% will continue burning more readily.

Small gauge cigars stored at 65% are easier to "overheat" than what you are probably used to, so watch out for that. (If we overheat a cigar, the flavors will typically change for the worse)

Cigars stored at 60%, even more so. Those are the ones (especially petite coronas/ lanceros about 40r.g.) that we must carefully sip so as to not overheat them.


I second all of Marks responses including the fuller longer draw, especially for larger gauge cigars that already burn cooler than small gauge cigars. (50, 52, 54 etc)

While letting the cigar rest between puffs, you might want to try holding it like a pen, somewhat close (approximately 3/4" to 1") to the (burning) foot. This way one can monitor the temperature of our cigar and develop a surprisingly accurate sense of if we are smoking it too fast (too hot) or, too slow (so cool we can perceive that it is about to go out)

Best wishes, Dafiddla

[Zeede]

Ok I fixed it. Guess time will tell.

Please let me work through some of the other TWELVE cigars you bombed me with, or one of the five Kayla bombed me with, or maybe the Padron I actually bought for myself first!

fiddlegrin: I will try slowing it down more but doing a longer draw, or maybe multiple draws. Weird that all the newbie guides say 70% RH and 70 F.

[Dijit]

The 70, 70 rule is easy to remember so everyone uses it as a baseline for noobs. I think after a while of personal experience you will find what works best for you. Mine stay between 65% and 68% depending on which shelf and which hygrometer I read. The humi itself doesnt fluctuate just my impeccable equipment shows a difference. The old man that got me started in this hobby 30 years ago taught me a few things. If you puff too fast it overheats and can cause a sulfur taste. Same thing if you puff too strong. Those are both changed by the size both rg and length. As you smoke the oils from the tobacco are drawn out and accumulate in the unburned portion of the cigar and that is what typically causes the good flavor profile changes. Smoking too hot will cause the oils to burn rather than evaporate and condense back on the leaf. It is usually a fine line between too hot and too cold but with practice you will get to the point you know exactly how to work the stick you are currently burning. The last thing he taught me was never hurry a cigar if you have 30 minutes and want a smoke but cant go past 30 mins you should probably wait till you have more time. Cigars are a leisure experience to relax with a good drink and good conversation. (I dont talk to myself while smoking my cigars no matter what anyone says)

[Aithos]

I've found that the 70/70 rule is too warm and too humid. Almost all the cigars I've had burn issues with were higher than 65% humidity. I recently discovered because my wineador has solid bottom drawers that it was a lot more humid at the bottom than the top (63% on top, 70% on bottom) and had to move stuff around to fix it. The cigars I've smoked that were in the bottom the longest have had some burn issues, the ones that were in there shorter times and the ones from the top burned perfectly...

[garublador]

Ahem...ahem......i am said donor of the leccia white. It is an original release that i had a fiver of. I keep my sticks quite a bit lower at the 64-66% and at about 62*. They were shipped the same day as boxed. I didn't have any burn issues with the other four but that was a while back. Are you saying you need a replacement 😈

This may be over thinking it, but if the cigar were acclimated at ~65% and then only given a few days at 69% it could be that the wrapper was at a higher rH than the filler, which would exacerbate the uneven burn. The wind probably didn't help, either.

I've found it takes some experimentation to get my puff technique right. Play with both how long and how hard you puff to find something that works well. At first I was puffing too hard and found that my cigars would go from harsh tasting to going out with little in between. A short puff with a lighter, longer draw has given me more flavors and fewer burn issues. YMMV, of course and it probably depends a lot on RG (I have mostly 50-54 RG cigars).

[Zeede]

Well it looks like the only thing I'm doing right is taking the time to smoke them slowly. The three cigars I've smoked since I kept track were smoked for an hour, 90 minutes and an hour, respectively.

I think I'll ask my local B&M for more sheets of Spanish cedar to put in my little OXOdor. That'll lower the RH a bit in the short term and stabilize it better too.

[TreySC]

What are you using for humidification? Adding cedar sheets may only lower it for a little bit until they become acclimated.

[Zeede]

A Boveda pack.

[TreySC]

A Boveda pack.

Adding some cedar can't hurt, but the boveda will just eventually get it back to the RH% it's set at. I would grab a couple 65% bovedas and see how the cigars perform after they've become acclimated to that.

[Zeede]

Yeah, I just looked and saw that it is a 72% Boveda pack. I have a 69% pack double bagged that I will sub in after the RH gets back up to those levels (Opening the OXOdor and putting in two sheets of cedar has dropped the RH).