Funky PSD4

[btrout]

Yesterday I received an HQ 10 box of PSD4 that I purchased recently from a LFTH. They've been in a 68% tubidor for about 8 hours, but I just had to smoke one. I've had a couple of boxes of these in the past year and I was looking forward to enjoying one of my favorite cigars.

I picked a random one out of the box and clipped it with my newish Palio.

I noticed that the band slide easily off of the cigar. The draw was perfect, slightly easy just as I like it. The preflight flavor was just as I expected. The cigar lit easily and I preceded to enjoy it, so I thought. I very quickly realized something was amiss.

As you can see from the photos, the wrapper didn't want to burn. I tried to touch up the burn several times with my lighter, but the wrapper didn't want to light. The flavor was nothing that I expected. Of course, that makes sense because I was tasting filler and charred wrapper.

My best guess is that the wrapper was too moist and needs some time in the humidor to dry out. So I'm going to leave the other 9 cigars alone for awhile before I try them again.

Is there some other explanation for what I experienced tonight?

I realize that an HQ classification from the Czar is no guarantee of a great cigar, but I was caught completely off guard. I hope some time in the humidor will fix any issues I had.

Bob

[Wil]

My best guess is that the wrapper was too moist and needs some time in the humidor to dry out. So I'm going to leave the other 9 cigars alone for awhile before I try them again.

Ding, ding, ding!

I always give new arrivals 30 days minimum in the humidor before trying.

[CaptainQuintero]

Your bunch of damp leaves have just come from a humidor into a hot Australian climate, into and out of metal vans, into a plane's cargo hold, up to a mile high, down again then into a package depot, more vans into your country's climate and then stuck into another humidor climate. If a person did that they would need a weeks rest never mind a bunch of leaves!

Don't touch cigars that have been transported from overseas for three months is the rule!

[Jszeto]

Wow, I have never seen that before lol

[seanbeer]

Yes , looks too 'wet' to me. Even PE will never burn like this, in fact, even fakes wouldn't burn like this. its most likely humidity problem. I doubt its construction issue.

if the sticks felt very 'soft', no bounce back from squeeze. its over moisted.

keep it somewher 60% RH for 2 weeks and smoke one again or even a week will do if its not soaking wet. there is no need for 3 months from my experience for RH control, of coz, to have them stablised perfectly might need a few months.

[Dbone]

I commented on a similar Topic. Could be moisture, I'm guessing construction again. I've been smoking one "Right Out Of The Box" for years now and can't remember the last wet cigar. The PSD4 has some of the worse construction I've experienced. I know Rob does his best to hand pick the best-of-the-best, but its near impossible to know what's going on inside of the cigars like proper bunching and ligero placement. That's a major reverse cone, looks like ligero was misplaced or missing all together LOL

Usually the ligero is light near the draw end, maybe this cigar was flipped around and the incorrect end was capped.

[mk05]

Given the premise that there is more volado near the end (which is suspect), and this cigar were capped in reverse, you would expect the cigar to have a better burn?

As for your cigar, look at that inverse cone. Just not ready to smoke. The roll may also have been uneven as you suspected.

[seanbeer]

i smoked quite a few over humidifed cigars (when i first started and got storage all wrong), it looked excately like one of those. once i stored them correctly and know when is too moist and dont' smoke one if it is. i never seen thsi again.

[seanbeer]

btw, if you are not sure, stick the whole box in a zip look with an accurate hydrometer (or one that you know), over night, should it read well over 70RH. perhaps 74/5. then you have the proof, if it is in the mid 60s, then it may really have been construction which not likely to repeat for all 10 sticks.

I have done this to a few boxes from Rob, they all are bang on 70RH, on the high side but they smoke great stright away, i usually slowly pull them all back to 65RH, my prefered RH.

[Dimmers]

Had a rather unfortunate cohiba in Thailand a few years back that looked exactly like your photos after it had been sitting in our apartment for more than a week over a hot and humid summer. I'd say odds on its humidity issues.

[Smallclub]

… looks like ligero was misplaced or missing all together LOL

Usually the ligero is light near the draw end, maybe this cigar was flipped around and the incorrect end was capped.

This issue has nothing to do with presence or absence of ligero, but what I see on the pictures has a lot to do with the misuse of a torch lighter.

When a cigar doesn't want to burn properly because it's wet the torch lighter does more harm than good.

[Dbone]

As I've heard many times before, the evidence goes up in smoke on each cigar. It's impossible to determine how this cigar would have smoked been dry boxed, or taken apart and reconstructed. The reason I said ligero was because it is the slowest burning leaf and generally placed in the middle of the bunch... surround by the more combustible seco and volado. It's just a theory, my theory, the kid was asking for an explanation. In my experience the PSD4 have been below par in regards to construction. When Ramses visited Rob, they talked construction and it was explained the ligero must be dead set in the middle of the bunch evenly surrounded by seco and volado otherwise you'll never get a good burn. Runs along the side, inside tunneling, wonky burns, etc... such as was pictured. Whether it's stored at the right RH or not. So claims of "the only reason for bad burns is because it's wet" are simply not true. It's a possible reason, one of many, and you can not rule out bad construction.

I forget who, but someone just did an experiment on the board were they wet a cigar under a faucet and smoked it. Wrappers don't get much more wet than that LOL Don't get discouraged trout, comes with the territory and your next cigar will be better

[ucla695]

This has happened to me several times when I have purchased fresh PSD4s in Mexico to smoke that day. It's a fight trying to keep the cigar lit and burning. Let your cigars rest and the next one should be better.

[LGC]

Roll the cigar between your fingers, while holding it next to your ear. You should be able to hear some slight crackling. If you don't hear anything, and the cigars feels springy, then they need several weeks or more to rest.

[ramon_cojones]

^I usually bite while rotating it to see if there is any crackle and I know rh is optimal