I have never had this happen before so I thought I would ask to see if anyone else has experienced it. Last night I was smoking a cigar and was about 1/3 of the way into it when I got the most god awful taste in my mouth and when I looked at the head of the cigar and there was tar literally dripping out of it. I had used a punch on the cigar and I could understand it if I was smoking a cigar with a large ring gauge, but this was toro sized (6x52) and I had used a larger punch on it. Has anyone ever had this happen to them?
Tar Problem
- Thread starter Kingpin
- Start date
I hate tar. I've got it a few times (maybe 3 times?) for doing a bad cut. Once it was with a Tatuaje PCR which I cut very little and the tar built up. The other time was with a DE-BOTL 2012 which again I cut very little and tar built up again. I didn't toss that one, I just cut it again on the head to remove the tar and the possibility of it appearing again and enjoyed my cigar. Lesson learned.
javajunkie
BoM July '12
tar balled, sorry to hear it man. this is why i use a straight cut almost exclusively (YMMV but it workes for me). might have also been overhumidified, or smoked quick, but without further info all i can say is a bullet cut can (but will not always) do that.
It happens. Too much of a concentrated draw. Reclipping generally solves it. Ive had it happen a lot with fresh Opus and anejo. I assume it has to do with the amount of oil in the leaf but thats just speculation on my part.
I've had it happen quite a bit lately and all have been with a punch. Back to the guillotine...
Pretty nasty, even stuck with me after brushing my teeth.
I am guessing it was due to buildup around the punch. Humidity was dead on and I was not smoking any faster than I normaly due which is pretty slow. The last one of these I had smoked I used a cutter on and it was fine. I was pretty bummed as I was really enjoying this stick up to that point.
Top 2 reasons for tar build-up:
1. Drawing to hard through a small opening (small punch on a larger RG cigar, too sallow of a straight cut on a cap, etc.)
2. Large veins from under cured/processed leaf brought out/ more prevalent in thicker leaves. Large stems hold a lot of the "tar sap" in them.
Never a pleasant thing; quick cut usually fixes it. If not then a dry boxing is in order.
1. Drawing to hard through a small opening (small punch on a larger RG cigar, too sallow of a straight cut on a cap, etc.)
2. Large veins from under cured/processed leaf brought out/ more prevalent in thicker leaves. Large stems hold a lot of the "tar sap" in them.
Never a pleasant thing; quick cut usually fixes it. If not then a dry boxing is in order.
Craig Mac
BoM 4/10 7/11 12/14
I was at an event with Jose Blanco and a guy was about to punch a 50+ RG cigar and Jose stopped him and cut it for him and told him he should never punch larger ring guage cigars because they tend to tar up pretty easily. This is even more prevelant on fuller bodied cigars. I usually straight cut my cigars and tend to purge my cigar 4-5 times while smoking out of habit and that usually helps as well.
What else is on that list? Brussell Sprouts?
This is key. Daddy Mac knows of what he speaks... because tar is wiggedy-wiggedy-wiggedy-whack!
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I performed a cigar autopsy last night and found a stem and it looked like the tar was tracking along it or coming directly from it I could not tell which , but I smoked the same cigar again last night, but with a straight cut and everything was fine. I usually purge several times while I am smoking as well just not typicaly in the first third. Thanks for all the help.