Your plugged cigar technique/tolerance level

[Elvis]

I've spent a lot of time over the years finding the perfect method to remedy a plugged cigar and I had some good success.

No more. Now I pitch it at the first sign of trouble.

Life's too short and it's not my last cigar.

[parabola66]

For starters, with Robusto's and petit's I go for the wooden toothpick method.. inserting in various spots in the in the head to loosen up the leaves if it feels too firm.

If all else fails and I start to get too frustrated to care about ruining the cigar, I turn toward a metal shish kabob skewer. Usually this will punch a hole through any plugged cigar if I am lucky enough not to crack the wrapper.

[RijkdeGooier]

If I have a plugged smoke, I massage and then use a drawpoker.

So far it has always been succesful.

[foreese]

I am a bit Compulsive so when someone wrote about pulling out the stems in tight sticks, I pulled out my hemostats from my fishing vest (fish guts and all) and now I never have a plugged cigar. It might get a little cracked and ragged looking especially when it comes to thin wrappers, but hey I win!

[CigSid]

I used to have the patience to poke, pull tobacco from the head, drybox it longer, etc... Now, I just toss it in the trash and grab another one... My cigar time is very valuable to me, mentally and physically, and I don't want to mess with a poorly rolled cigar...

[luv2fly]

I used to have the patience to poke, pull tobacco from the head, drybox it longer, etc... Now, I just toss it in the trash and grab another one... My cigar time is very valuable to me, mentally and physically, and I don't want to mess with a poorly rolled cigar...

My thoughts exactly. No time to waste just pick another.

[TomF]

I'll cut it again and/or poke it one time. If that doesn't work I chuck it and get another one. Not sure where that falls on the poll, so I chose option #2.

[mk05]

If it's plugged, it has always been plugged to begin with. A tough draw, I will work with.

[Gunson]

I have a cigar awl. It's not like a draw poker it's only about 1/2 -3/4 inch long and has a spiral of two blades etched into the shaft. Works like a drill bit of sorts. Bought it about 15-20 years ago haven't seen it anywhere since. I'd post a pic but it's home and I'm not.

[perkinke]

I leave the cigar I intend to smoke out of the humidor for about 30 min before I smoke them and that seems to take care of most of my issues. If not, I have a poker that i clipped from an old wire hanger or I have a nubber with two prongs that I can gently untwist the bunch a little.

[Pariah89]

Gentle massaging, followed by the draw poker, followed by cutting above the plug if possible, followed by the trash bin.

If the flavors are just incredible I'll try to work through pretty much anything but most of the time the poor draw is negatively affecting the flavors so out it goes without too much worry.

I too am a fan of a gentle massage, but unless the knot is very near the burn line I don't cut, I'll just try and work through it.

[Smiley]

I poke the cigar with a bamboo skewer... if that doesn't fix it, it goes in the bin.

[shortsqueeze]

Chuck it or if I really want the cigar, I have a drill bit that's about 8 inches long.

[canucks6024]

I do everything mentioned here (drying it, cutting more off, drying it out). Except using my cigar tool. I no longer have the patience for that.

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[potpest]

I pull the stems out with Tweezer's, ill pull a lot of bits out and then usually I find a thick stem that runs the length of the cigar and the draw suddenly becomes stellar. Recut the head so its clean again and good to go.

It takes time but my time is not as precious as my cigars.

[creamypies]

[Artist]

I pull out the stem by my teeth, its a damn satisfying experience, to pull it out like that.

Sometimes it works, other times it goes south. I really need to pack a reserve stick for those occasions, so i can throw it.

Unfortunetly my recent plugged was a SCDH torreon, which didnt smoke properly until the last 3rd... highly irritating.

[cashews39]

Because I smoke so infrequently, I can't be bothered with anything more than massaging the cigar. If it doesn't open up after a couple of minutes, then i toss it and move on to another. No use fighting through it.

[WhiteMamba]

if the cold draw isn't good i just put it back for later. Maybe dry box it a little bit before giving it another try.

[ChiTownHuck]

Picked the closest answer. I will try to draw poker, and I will suffer a bit. If it doesn't get fixed, it gets pitched. Life is too short to smoke a plugged cigar.

[Merovius]

Keep a few toothpicks in my Xicar case, works on most head plugs. Anything beyond that needs time to dry out or is a toss imo.

[kuma]

I find that the head 9 times out of 10 is the problem. Most of the time it seems to be rock solid when

compared with the rest of the cigar. Not sure what can be done about this I guess everyone has

what works best for them.

[Smoker]

I hate plugged cigars. If I buy a single, there is a 90% chance it is plugged. No matter where I buy it from, what the brand is, or how much I pay. I throw 9 of 10 singles straight in the trash. Unfortunately, I have to try singles in order to decide which boxes I will buy, because I don't want to fork out for a box, only to find that I don't like the cigar that much. It's the most frustrating thing in the world. Today I have thrown away 3 plugged singles. That's 3 boxes I will probably never order, some of which may have been great smokes.

[WhiteMamba]

I hate plugged cigars. If I buy a single, there is a 90% chance it is plugged. No matter where I buy it from, what the brand is, or how much I pay. I throw 9 of 10 singles straight in the trash. Unfortunately, I have to try singles in order to decide which boxes I will buy, because I don't want to fork out for a box, only to find that I don't like the cigar that much. It's the most frustrating thing in the world. Today I have thrown away 3 plugged singles. That's 3 boxes I will probably never order, some of which may have been great smokes.

You think your RH might be a tad high or something? Or maybe try dry boxing? Surely your luck can't be that bad.

[TheFullMontecristo]

worst box for plugged sticks was a Partagas 898 box I'm almost done with (thanks god). I swear I must have pitched 8 of the first 10 out of the box but last few have been straight wind tunnels.