Montaigut Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 Hi BOTL, Coming out for my morning cigar today I selected a PLPC that has been sitting in my humidor for a while now in the "no great expectations" tray. Don't get me wrong I love the PLPC but this particular stick was put aside because it was rock hard. Not firm, just absolutely unyielding to the touch. And not in one spot but from foot to cap. I was convinced it would be the mother of all plugs. Lo and behold, after cutting a very thin part of the cap off I discovered an absolutely perfect draw! Normally when I encounter a plug it gets tossed right away; no muss, no fuss, no attempts at correcting. I now regret not looking into this more deeply. By that I mean performing a "surgery" on the patient to find the reason for the plug. This I will do now. But here is my question: what causes a plug in a cigar? I have had cigars that felt right to the touch but were not smokeable. I have had cigars with one hard area that were plugs, others that were not. And now I am enjoying this steel pike of a PLPC that is a joy to smoke... Were you ever frustrated/curious enough with a plugged cigar to cut it open to see what the problem was? And if so what did you find? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rushman Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 Good question. As an example, one of the rollers in my brother in laws factory rolls his cigars so uniformly tight that you would expect it to have a killer draw, but they draw perfect each and every time. I believe the trick is accomplishing a tightly packed arrangement of filler leaves while maintaining the filler leaves absolutely straight with no twists during the rolling process. Then again I'm no torcedor. --- I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=20.631670,-87.070680 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winelover Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 Really interesting thread. Hope we can get answers on this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dicko Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 sometimes when i have had plugs it has been not from being too tightly packed but rather from there being "twisted" bits of tobacco in the roll Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cottierm Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 sometimes when i have had plugs it has been not from being too tightly packed but rather from there being "twisted" bits of tobacco in the roll +1 on this as it has also been my experience. Best, MC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dbone Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 Hi BOTL, Coming out for my morning cigar today I selected a PLPC that has been sitting in my humidor for a while now in the "no great expectations" tray. Don't get me wrong I love the PLPC but this particular stick was put aside because it was rock hard. Not firm, just absolutely unyielding to the touch. And not in one spot but from foot to cap. I was convinced it would be the mother of all plugs. Lo and behold, after cutting a very thin part of the cap off I discovered an absolutely perfect draw! Normally when I encounter a plug it gets tossed right away; no muss, no fuss, no attempts at correcting. I now regret not looking into this more deeply. By that I mean performing a "surgery" on the patient to find the reason for the plug. This I will do now. But here is my question: what causes a plug in a cigar? I have had cigars that felt right to the touch but were not smokeable. I have had cigars with one hard area that were plugs, others that were not. And now I am enjoying this steel pike of a PLPC that is a joy to smoke... Were you ever frustrated/curious enough with a plugged cigar to cut it open to see what the problem was? And if so what did you find? Thanks. I can relate to your morning cigar. Not to long ago I had a Mag 48 which was rock hard too, I would have bet money on it being plugged. Yet, it was one of the best cigars out of the box. The draw needed an ever so slight tug. The flavors were so noticeable it didn't require any thought. Honey, cedar, cherries, creamy smoke Obviously I'd point to, in layman term, construction. I've heard them referred to as knots, once you get past them the cigar opens back up again. A few times it seems the knots run throughout because the draw never loosens up. Size does not seem to matter, I have found knots in Petit Corona up to a Double Corona. I'm with you, if it's not drawing right it's not smoking right... toss it and start another. Life is to short, who knows could be your last cigar This is an interesting topic, reminds me of the videos Rob has with Ramses Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainQuintero Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 Agreed on the twist. Had a 2007 Punch RS #11 today and the whole thing was like a rock, used a punch cutter and the draw was actually loose. Tasted like dust but the draw was perfect... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rob Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 and to add to the observations... have you noticed that if a cigar is going to have a hard spot that its usually the area around or at the band. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rushman Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 and to add to the observations... have you noticed that if a cigar is going to have a hard spot that its usually the area around or at the band. true. Why? --- I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=20.631763,-87.070670 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carnivalhobo Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 The reason i heard, who knows when or where, is that the rollers reinforce that area because thats where a smoker tends to hold it, perhaps they reinforce it over zealously, resulting in plugs. true. Why? --- I am here: http://maps.google.c...1763,-87.070670 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Presidente Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 Plugged Cigars.......what a bloody curse. You can have rock hard cigars which smoke like a dream. Just check the foot. If it is a uniform "open" bunch then you are in for a treat. In the majority of cases when you have a rock cigar with an open foot they will feel spot on in terms of "weight in hand". Knowing the appropriate "weight in hand" for that cigar takes some experience in smoking that vitola. Plugged cigars can often be attributed to rolling the tobaco too wet. Too much tobacco is required in the bunch to achieve the right circumference of the vitola. Again looking at the foot it is a tell tale sign....all closed/partially closed foot. this was a major problem back in 99 when inexperienced rollers were moved ahead of their capabilties due to world wide demand. In the past (I haven't seen it for a number of years now), cigars rolled in the rainy season had an inordinate amount of plugs. Again, wet tobacco. Workers in the factories would open the windows in hot wet conditions which would go for days/weeks on end. The tobacco is overly damp. They have mostly rectified this problem in the last 5 years by acknowledging the problem, instructing the rollers and greater inspection at the rlling tables. "The Twist" particularly in Piramides/Beli's/figurados etc. Coming down to the point/cap the twist is poorly executed effectively cutting off the air flow of the cigar. "The Poor Pack" Packing loose tobacco leaf in the filler with no love (packed in as opposed to layered). Doesn't kill the draw 100% in itself but can cruel it. The band area is a prime place for this. Stems. While generally attributed to afecting the burn, I have seen stems that look more like tree branches and they will influence the draw if they cut across the cigar filler bunch in any way. I am sure there is more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
headstand Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Interesting thread Monte. Thanks for the lowdown Rob. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginseng Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Absolutely fascintating thread. I have encountered plenty of tight draws but fewer bonafide plugs. I have to wonder if the two differ simply by degree or whether 100% plugs are a qualitatively different thing with a different mechanism. For example, a flaw in construction versus too full a bunch prior to molding. Wilkey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habanos2000 Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Put me down in the "stems" category. While the number of plugged cigars I've experienced over the recent few years has been relatively low, the couple of cigars that I've autopsied appeared to have a larger than normal stem in the blend. But then of course I don't dissect the good smoking cigars and they could have stems as well. All I know is nothing makes me more upset than a plugged cigar! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schumi5 Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Very interesting topic! So to add to the discussion, does additional time in a humi ever correct a plug? Based on the comments so far I would imagine it would do not do any good for a plug caused by a twist but if it is due to the tobacco being too wet, perhaps some dry boxing prior to smoking would correct it? Have to say, there has been a real improvement in quality from Cuba lately and thankfully these issues are few and far between these days. Now that I have said that, Murphy's law dictates that my next cigar will be plugged beyond reproach! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wil Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Very interesting topic! So to add to the discussion, does additional time in a humi ever correct a plug? Based on the comments so far I would imagine it would do not do any good for a plug caused by a twist but if it is due to the tobacco being too wet, perhaps some dry boxing prior to smoking would correct it? Have to say, there has been a real improvement in quality from Cuba lately and thankfully these issues are few and far between these days. In my experience, dry boxing can help ease a tight draw but not a plug. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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