Specific Burn Problem Keeps Happening Again and Again...Why?

[QiCultivator]

I have encountered a problem with the burn on a decent number of sticks over the past few months and it has a particular flavor (I'm sure some of you are familiar):

Here is the scenario: You take a puff, a ton of smoke comes off the LIT end of the cigar but there is none coming out of the actual cut end of the cigar into your mouth. You take another puff, same thing. No smoke to taste and enjoy. The cigar is clearly lit and burning, yet nothing. Then, a third or fourth attempt yields hot, unpleasant smoke in your mouth. The process repeats until you get frustrated. On rare occasions, the burn actually improves toward the end (if I make it that far) which is strange because the humidity of the tobacco usually is higher there based on physics.

All of these sticks have rested and I've even gone as far as measuring the water content of the tobacco indirectly with humidity meters. I've found this beneficial in general but with some cigars, it just doesn't seem to matter. I usually rest my sticks 3-4 weeks before smoking them and shoot for a water content that is "equivalent" to 60-65%RH.

The obvious answer is that these sticks are too wet but it would be great if someone could give me more detail because this is maddening.

Thank you for your support, folks!

 

[Boudie]

They would have to be real wet to prevent a proper draw like you describe. Might try to open up the cigar a bit and then pull on it again. You can gently roll the cigar between your fingers or try something similar to a "perfect draw" to open a hole down the center of the cigar. I twist a long 1/8 inch drill bit through the center of the cigar when having draw issues.

Can't think of anything else that could be the problem unless you are not cutting the cigar properly.

 

[QiCultivator]

One thing I should mention is that It's NOT an airflow issue. I have a PerfecDraw tool that I use often and I can often feel a LOT of air going into my mouth, just no smoke! It's weird!
The lit end is burning vigorously, giving off copious amounts of smoke, I feel plently of air pulling through the cigar into my mouth but when I exhale, there is no smoke, unless I have taken 3-4 consecutive puffs, which obviously tends to overheat the cigar, making it taste bad.

I would understand if they were at 70%+ or something like that but I don't see how these could be based on the rest time and my humidity measurements.

Would love a more complete picture of what might be happening, thanks!

-Eric

 

[Boudie]

Smoking too fast and hard overheats a cigar. Try deeper, slower draws. If that doesn't work then the only thing else it could be is damaged binders and wrappers. You're saying it's not humidity so I won't suggest dry boxing for a couple of weeks. Living in the SE Louisiana swamp humidity is always an issue so I have to dry box at 62 to get consistently good smokes.

 

[QiCultivator]

It just happened again with an Oliva CT robusto about an hour ago...it is so counterintuitive to me that a cigar would burn very poorly for the first two thirds and then produce perfect beautiful clouds of smoke with every puff for the last third, given what is known about the humidity difference between the two ends of a cigar. If you have a humidity meter, measure the humidity of the tobacco at each end of the cigar. It's always higher at the cap end and gets more dramatic as you smoke it. After lighting, the measurement at the cap end usually goes up to above 80% RH.

Thanks for your input, would appreciate any other thoughts.

 

[QiCultivator]

And then again the same thing happened this afternoon with an Oliva Serie V Maduro Robusto...the humidimeter measured 63%RH at the foot and the stick did NOT feel soft or wet (it's been sitting at 65% for many weeks in a Tupperdor).

The outside humidity was not super-high (I'm in New York State, it's March). The draw was not great, even after using the PerfecDraw tool, so that may have had something to do with it but it just seems like there should have been MORE smoke coming out of the cut end for the amount of air I was pulling.

 

[LitzerSki]

Are you experiencing any tunneling? Even small tunnel runs will result poor smoke draw and bitter, thin taste.

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

 

[QiCultivator]

Thanks for the question. Fortunately, I rarely experience tunneling (I take it you mean when the filler burns faster than the wrapper/binder, no?)