My first cigar nightmare day...

[highsierrasmokin']

I bought a CAO Sessions about a month ago and decided to light it up today. From the start, one side of the cigar was not burning, so I put my single torch to it and no go. Kept smoking it, went to ash it and that one side wouldn't break off in the ashtray. I thought maybe there was cardboard or something inside, so I opened it up and nothing but leaf. The leaf in question was kind of thick...more so than normal I think. Then I grabbed a Illusione Garagiste and it was like sucking air through straw. A quarter of the way through a hole appeared in the middle and halfway through the one hole turned into two holes. I've never had either of these situations happen in my 10 years of smoking let alone having problems with two cigars in one day. Is it a full moon or something??? Has this happened to anybody else?

Normal ash


Not normal ash



The darker leaf in the center is what wouldn't burn


The Garagiste hole


Then 2 holes

 

[Boudie]

No humidor problems?

 

[highsierrasmokin']

No humidor problems?

Not that I know of. I use jars and do not have hygrometers in them. I've used jars for ten years and never had a problem. I did just move my jars from inside my house to my crawl space because it was getting to hot in the house. It is probably 15-20 degrees cooler down there.

 

[Boudie]

Bovedas in jars should be pretty reliable.

 

[Gravelface]

 

[CVAC085]

I'm trying to just cover the bases here so here it goes--

Could it be just some poor construction and the leaf just wasn't wrapped tight enough???? I feel like I've had an issue similar to this before with some smokes, but not often. Maybe there was a chance they slipped quality control??

Could it have been the change in temperature and maybe the humidity moving them from one extreme to another???

And lastly, I don't think beetles would be the cause of this issue either?? Wouldn't there be holes in the wrapper???

 

[highsierrasmokin']

Bovedas in jars should be pretty reliable.

I have 72% Bovedas in all of them. Not sure if it matters but I live at 5,100' in elevation and 9-10% humidity in the summer is pretty normal, so I've been told the 72% B's are the best. @heavyd was saying that I could go down to 68 or 65%. ???

 

[highsierrasmokin']

I'm trying to just cover the bases here so here it goes--

Could it be just some poor construction and the leaf just wasn't wrapped tight enough???? I feel like I've had an issue similar to this before with some smokes, but not often. Maybe there was a chance they slipped quality control??

Could it have been the change in temperature and maybe the humidity moving them from one extreme to another???

And lastly, I don't think beetles would be the cause of this issue either?? Wouldn't there be holes in the wrapper???

I put my single torch right to the leaf it did't phase it. Normally if I do that for a second it turns to ash very quickly. Possibly quality control???

The temperature could be the prob although I've smoked a few since I put them in the crawl space and they've been fine.

Definitely no beetles in these. No beetle holes and no other signs of beetles when I cut them open.

 

[heavyd]

It looks like it was poorly rolled. That happens to me once in a while. Once the missile silo forms down the center, I just pitch it. Not worth the effort, imo. And it is probably gonna be a harsh, bitter affair anyway.

 

[Boudie]

And there is the infamous Asbestos leaf that simply will not burn. I have been able to save a cigar that started burning down the center by rolling it between my fingers to redistribute the tobacco but it has to be caught early and doesn't always work. You should probably trim away the unburned wrapper and binder if you try the roll trick.

Yea I think if your are in extremely low humidity storing in slightly higher is a good idea. 72 is pretty high though. What has me is there where no problems till recently so I can't suggest making changes unless you continue to get bad burns!

Good luck!

 

[highsierrasmokin']

And there is the infamous Asbestos leaf that simply will not burn. I have been able to save a cigar that started burning down the center by rolling it between my fingers to redistribute the tobacco but it has to be caught early and doesn't always work. You should probably trim away the unburned wrapper and binder if you try the roll trick.

Yea I think if your are in extremely low humidity storing in slightly higher is a good idea. 72 is pretty high though. What has me is there where no problems till recently so I can't suggest making changes unless you continue to get bad burns!

Good luck!

Thank you sir!

 

[Mikenice81]

I've had the hole issue a few times. That is a problem with the construction and unfortunately seems more common than it once was. I see it a little more often on cigars I buy from discount sites.

The unburnable leaf is is the same thing. I have had that happen twice before. Once was when Crowned Heads first released the La Imperiosa and the other was some random stick I picked up at a B&M while on vacation.

Edit for a general question:
Didn't Habano 2000 have a reputation for not burning?

 

[highsierrasmokin']

I've had the hole issue a few times. That is a problem with the construction and unfortunately seems more common than it once was. I see it a little more often on cigars I buy from discount sites.

The unburnable leaf is is the same thing. I have had that happen twice before. Once was when Crowned Heads first released the La Imperiosa and the other was some random stick I picked up at a B&M while on vacation.

Edit for a general question:
Didn't Habano 2000 have a reputation for not burning?

Good to know. I'm glad it's not just my bad luck.

 

[SoCal Gunner]

If this is the first time you've run into these issues in 10 years, you've got GOOD luck!

I'm in a similar environment and used 72s when I had a wooden humidor to fight the constant drain. I switched to sistemas and dropped to 65rh for a better experience (imo).

Set up a jar with a 65 boveda and split some sticks between the 65 and 72s and see which smoke better for you.

None of this will fix a bad roll but could improve your burn.

 

[highsierrasmokin']

If this is the first time you've run into these issues in 10 years, you've got GOOD luck!

I'm in a similar environment and used 72s when I had a wooden humidor to fight the constant drain. I switched to sistemas and dropped to 65rh for a better experience (imo).

Set up a jar with a 65 boveda and split some sticks between the 65 and 72s and see which smoke better for you.

None of this will fix a bad roll but could improve your burn.

I will try that.