Montaigut Posted March 7, 2012 Posted March 7, 2012 A while back I swore to myself that the next time I ran across an "anomaly" I would dissect the cigar to see what was what. Here is the first of such definitely non-scientific experiment. Cigar: SLR Series A Anomaly: burn going funny about mid-way through the cigar; hard to keep going and feeling heat in the cigar way down the burn line. Another clue was the very unusual ash that dropped just before half way (perfect hole right down the middle). Here then are the pictures of the dissection: Longitudinal cut of the un-smoked section: End view of the last ash: Haven't run across a plug since I decided to dissect. Actually looking forward to my next plug now... weird or what!
Rushman Posted March 7, 2012 Posted March 7, 2012 That's funky --- I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=20.631672,-87.070798
CaptainQuintero Posted March 7, 2012 Posted March 7, 2012 Great idea! It look from the pics that the tobacco is packed a lot more dense towards the edges while being looser in the middle, possibly leading to the faster burn in the middle?
Marker Posted March 7, 2012 Posted March 7, 2012 I read the topic and thought you were referring to something from the mid 80's. My bad.
Montaigut Posted March 7, 2012 Author Posted March 7, 2012 Hate the tunnel. So what's your conclusion? Sorry mate, no conclusions. I am afraid I am not knowledgeable enough to visually identify the leaf varieties and their position in the stick. I assume, maybe wrongly, that the tunnel was caused either i) by too much of a particular leaf variety down the middle or ii) the presence of a large vein somewhere in there. I would think the latter would explain the hole in the ash. I was kind of hoping that someone out there would have the knowledge to comment provided the picture is good enough to show the necessary clues...
Dbone Posted March 7, 2012 Posted March 7, 2012 Wow thats real neat. I've always imaged, when you draw on the cigar most air brought into the cigar is from the outside where the wrapper burns. The dense ash keep the middle toasty warm but not as hot as the outside of the cigar. Looks like the opposite took place here, the reverse cone is a sad sad thing. Also notice how the flavors / taste goes off when this happens? It's just not burning correct. Again, that is some cool stuff Dan!! Thanks
canadianbeaver Posted March 7, 2012 Posted March 7, 2012 I thought that a clear tunnel through the middle may have been caused by a critter? "An adult Lasioderma serricorne can burrow the length of a cigar, right down the inner center, without leaving a telltale hole in the wrapper. Often, there won't be any obvious signs. " Eeeew. Sorry.
Montaigut Posted March 7, 2012 Author Posted March 7, 2012 I thought that a clear tunnel through the middle may have been caused by a critter? "An adult Lasioderma serricorne can burrow the length of a cigar, right down the inner center, without leaving a telltale hole in the wrapper. Often, there won't be any obvious signs. " Eeeew. Sorry. Eeeeewwww!! But... this is a bad news, good news story: Bad news: if it was a beetle it was still in the cigar. I check each cigar thoroughly before lighting up and there absolutely was no evidence of a hole anywhere on the cigar. Good news: they are flavor neutral!!!
thechenman Posted March 8, 2012 Posted March 8, 2012 How was the draw on the cigar? I imagine it should have been pretty lose. Did the cigar smoke hot?
mk05 Posted March 8, 2012 Posted March 8, 2012 I read the topic and thought you were referring to something from the mid 80's. My bad. Lol sinaloa?
Montaigut Posted March 8, 2012 Author Posted March 8, 2012 How was the draw on the cigar? I imagine it should have been pretty lose. Did the cigar smoke hot? The draw was perfect until about halfway. From there it became sort of "schizoid": very hot smoke coming through along with a lot of air coming from around the unburned tobacco surrounding the tunnel. From a heat perspective I felt as if I had a nub going,hot on the lips and the fingers but with a full half of the cigar remaining. I went back the next day to dissassemble the tobacco in the remains. What I found was not a bug but the remainder of a very large vein buried in the middle of the stick. Pheeeeew!
MIKA27 Posted March 8, 2012 Posted March 8, 2012 I had a similar issue once with a non cuban "Oliva Serie V Figarudo" whereby it burnt almost to the halfway mark leaving a massive length of hard tobacco down the middle which remained unburnt whilst the ash around it fell away. Seriously strange because the middle unburnt section was that hard that even attempting to break it off could not be done. It felt like a bit of wood was shoved right down the middle. Anyone know what the cause would be?
winelover Posted March 9, 2012 Posted March 9, 2012 Great post. I do hope some knowledgeable members chime in. I'm sure Wilkey would be interested in this. Thanks for sharing (all in aid of furthering knowledge) G
Ginseng Posted March 9, 2012 Posted March 9, 2012 Fascinating. If you'd told me that you had reamed it out with a draw poker or cigar screw, I'd have believed you. Perhaps it was mis-bunched? If a particularly thin leaf of seco were situated in the center of the bunch, I could imaging that it might burn ahead. If you've ever tried to burn a wrapper leaf that unpeeled from a cigar, you would see that it burns very readily and quickly leaving a light ash. Quite the opposite is the case with a darker, thicker ligero pulled from the interior. Wilkey
kjellfrick Posted March 9, 2012 Posted March 9, 2012 This is quite common and I'm surprised that it's not recognized by more people. Makes me wonder how much people smoke... I get severe tunnels like that at least once every other month and regularly get problems with smaller tunnels. The only way to smoke the cigar then is to pinch it to restrict air flow down the middle like someone here showed a while ago. Taste is never the same though... The cause is mainly too little tobacco packed into the cigar imo, but in very few instances a failed bunching might be the problem. And please don't suggest that my cigars are kept in anything but perfect conditions or that my smoking technique is the cause of the tunneling. That would be incorrect, I assure you. I find this problem to be more prevalent in newer cigars, but it happens even in aged or vintage cigars as well. A royal pain in the ass, as bad as a tight cigar. It certainly ruins the experience you SHOULD have smoking these luxury items. I wish they would be more attendant to quality at the factories. End of rant...
nick17 Posted March 10, 2012 Posted March 10, 2012 looks as if it was rolled around a stick, i have seen this before but never like that
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