suggs Posted November 10, 2015 Posted November 10, 2015 Greetings all! In my year or so of smoking CCs I've rarely come across a plugged cigar; I can only think of having two in the past six months. Today I lit up this BRC and, within the first half inch of burning it, noticed that it had taken a *drastic* turn for the worse. There was no draw, flavors were completely messed-up, and it wasn't burning properly. I felt just before the burn line and, yep, a plugged cigar. My question for you all is, what do you do when you find a plug? Who pitches it, and who tries to power through? My strategy, which luckily worked with this one, is to try to touch the cigar up by tapping the ash off, and relighting after where the plug is, and to not try to smoke it until I have basically burned through the plug with my lighter. I use a soft-flame Colibri lighter, so I'm not sure if this would work with a torch. In this case, the flavors bounced back...although it took a little while to do. The cigar is by no means ruined for me but is now quite enjoyable!
Habana Mike Posted November 10, 2015 Posted November 10, 2015 If I find a tight draw after clipping I throw the stick back in the humidor "tight singles" drawer and give it another try a few weeks/months later. I find that many cigars open up after a bit of time. 1
HarveyBoulevard Posted November 10, 2015 Posted November 10, 2015 If you detect a plug before it is lit, stick it in the fridge for a few days... If you detect a plug after it is lit, stick it in the trash forever! Life is too short to suck golf balls through garden hoses. 2
archosaur Posted November 10, 2015 Posted November 10, 2015 Some good advice above. I tried to make a go of a very tight Monte #1 over the weekend - I poked it, dryboxed it for a couple weeks, and then most of a day in the fridge...was able to get it going but it was just too much work and the flavors were off...then I happily moved on to something else. C'est la vie. 1
KGM Posted November 10, 2015 Posted November 10, 2015 Usually squeezing and rolling the trouble spot between my fingers plus careful use of a drawpoker fixes things for me. Never had one that couldn't be fixed this way. If the plug is to close to the burn I'll clip and start over if the cigar is worth it. I prefer smaller cigars though, so usually a drawpoker from the head will reach the plug. Recently went through a box of Monte #4 and half the cigars needed attention before being pre-light. Not a biggie and smoke great.
KGM Posted November 10, 2015 Posted November 10, 2015 Life is too short to suck golf balls through garden hoses. Had to laugh at this. Field testing for potential mating candidates? "Ma'am, I'm having trouble with my cigar. Can you help me out?" 3
KGM Posted November 10, 2015 Posted November 10, 2015 Just use a cheapie Havana Saver, but did a quick search for other pokers because of this thread. This looks like it may be a bit of overkill... http://cigarpump.com/
subport Posted November 10, 2015 Posted November 10, 2015 Goes to a drybox. If it didn't help in a week I would happily toss it. Life is too short. After lighting it? Try to poke it for a minute. Did not help? Toss it and grab another one.
garbandz Posted November 10, 2015 Posted November 10, 2015 part of every cigar smoker's kit should be a reamer. mine is a five inch piece of stiff wire with a point on it and a bend on one end. it has saved dozens of plugged cigars and lives in my travel humi...........
msm1771 Posted November 10, 2015 Posted November 10, 2015 If you detect a plug before it is lit, stick it in the fridge for a few days... If you detect a plug after it is lit, stick it in the trash forever! Life is too short to suck golf balls through garden hoses. I should tell my ex wife that Sent from my 86" White Testarossa 1
msm1771 Posted November 10, 2015 Posted November 10, 2015 part of every cigar smoker's kit should be a reamer. mine is a five inch piece of stiff wire with a point on it and a bend on one end. it has saved dozens of plugged cigars and lives in my travel humi........... What do reamers look likeSent from my 86" White Testarossa
Troels Posted November 10, 2015 Posted November 10, 2015 With a bit of luck I can pull out a stem from head, which often fixes the problem
rmill3r Posted November 11, 2015 Posted November 11, 2015 While I rarely get them, I think a plugged cigar is part of the experience. Suck it up and take the good with the bad. Sent from AOL in 1999
drunkbuckeye Posted November 11, 2015 Posted November 11, 2015 I dry box when I can prior to smoking, then try kneading the area that I think the plug is in, then try cutting more off the cap, then shishkabob through the plug. If all else fails I then toss it. I figure if I put my time and effort in obtaining it, I would try to get what I could from the smoke. Especially if I spent like $15+ on the cigar. If it was a cheaper one like less than $10, I'd toss it after kneading and dry boxing.
TheFullMontecristo Posted November 11, 2015 Posted November 11, 2015 a badly plugged cigar is infuriating and ruins a what was to be a relaxing smoking experience. I always bring a 2nd cigar in case the 1st is plugged and toss the plug. Life's too short. 1
LordAnubis Posted November 11, 2015 Posted November 11, 2015 If it's tight put back in humidor and look at it in a year or two again. If the cigar is rolled tighter than a neutron star then i either cut up to stuff into the corn cob pipe, or i do this: http://www.friendsofhabanos.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=119098#entry500282
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