Rules of Thumb: What constitutes an underfilled cigar?

[El Presidente]

Question:

Is a cigar with a wind tunnel draw, underfilled?

 

 

We had this discussion at a get together a few weeks ago but a a post by Brandon today on another thread reminded me. 

At the time I had a box of D4's on the table. The draw was on the easy side on most. The topic of underfilling came up. 

There are times in video reviews where you will hear ken say at the pre light that a cigar has a tight draw. Often enough when I draw that cigar from the foot, it is perfect (for me).  There are plugged cigars, tight cigars, easy cigars etc when it comes to draw, but I have learn't that that there is a lot of subjectivity depending on the tolerance level/preference of the individual. 

So onto underfilling

I determine an underfilled cigar as strictly one that has too little tobacco.  That in my mind is different to a cigar that has too easy a draw. 

An unfilled cigar doesn't always have an easy draw. An underfilled cigar is a construction fault and just as easily can suffer from other faults such as a poor roll. 

Cigars that are underfilled are underweight and their blend can never be true to vitola and marque.  

 

But....is a cigar with a very easy/wind tunnel draw underfilled? Is it a construction fault?

 

I would love your feedback. As for the six people who smoked those D4's, All thought the draw to be easy. 

Three thought they were seriously underfilled and it negatively affected their experience. 

Three thought they were perfect and that the D4's were brilliant. 

 Before handing them out I ensured that they weighed (in the hand) pretty much the same. 

[SCgarman]

Underfilled sticks feel very light, have noticeable "soft spots" when you gently squeeze the cigar which indicates missing leaf/leaves and tend to burn hot and fast, so you have to "sip" the cigar slowly or it will not be a pleasant experience. As we all know, rollers have/are known to make a leaf here and a leaf there disappear perhaps into their pants pocket. Obviously poverty wages breeds dishonesty and a will to survive.

[David88]

No I don't think a wind tunnel-esque draw necessarily constitutes under-filling. The cigars that I have had and classed as under-filled have had noticeable soft spots and felt very light due to a lack of tobacco. Interestingly the draw on them hasn't always been overly easy.

Most of the wind tunnel cigars that I have had have been non-Cuban and certainly didn't seem under filled to me.

[CaptainQuintero]

For me it is always airflow; even with the smallest punch cutter if the airflow is too great then the cigar burns hot no matter how slow you draw and you get a mouthful of bitter, burnt and grubby smoke

I'd rather have an underfilled cigar that has the correct draw, ie a smaller ring gauge than it should be, than one with the correct amount of tobacco but rolled too loose 

[Smallclub]

"As we all know"

17 minutes ago, NYgarman said:

 As we all know, rollers have/are known to make a leaf here and a leaf there disappear perhaps into their pants pocket. Obviously poverty wages breeds dishonesty and a will to survive.

As we all know? Is that a joke? Underfilled cigars have always been there; what about overfilled cigars then? You never miss an opportunity to denigrate the cuban people don't you?

[gweilgi]

To me, underfilling becomes most apparent in the smoking time.  Construction and the degree of humidification may mask a shortage of leaf, but if a cigar like the D4 which should take an hour to smoke is nubbed at the 40 minute mark, it is to my mind underfilled.  

 

Maybe one should get scientific about this: weighing all cigars from several boxes of a given marque and vitola and plotting variations in weight to get a representative sample, taking into account humidity (both of the humidor and ambient) as well as temperature and external factors such as wind speed.  Then plot the whole thing on a spreadsheet, maybe run up a graph or three.  Or would that be too anal?  

(no, that wasn't serious; I have better things to do with my life)

 

 

[Smallclub]

10 minutes ago, gweilgi said:

To me, underfilling becomes most apparent in the smoking time.

It takes me about 1 second to know if a cigar is underfilled; 1 more second (the time to cut the foot) to know if it will have a hard draw… I don't understand why people light up up cigars that are obviously too light in weight, too soft or too hard on the touch…

[MrGlass]

19 minutes ago, Smallclub said:

I don't understand why people light up up cigars that are obviously too light in weight, too soft or too hard on the touch…

I will light them up because maybe it'll smoke ok regardless.  If it doesn't work out I can still pitch it but to me it seems silly to dismiss it before the start.

[NSXCIGAR]

Underfilling and loose draws are, I think correlation but not causation. Indeed, an underfilled cigar is much more likely to have a loose draw, but not guaranteed. I have had cigars I deem underfilled with tight draws. A generally underfilled cigar can still have a blockage somewhere.

So I agree with El Prez, underfilling is not solely determined by a loose draw. I concur with NY's criteria--low weight, soft spots, rapid and uneven burning, and loose draw as one metric, but not the determining factor.

As far as the torcedors pocketing leaves...wouldn't it be easier just to stick finished cigars in their pockets?

[joeruby]

Weight definitely.

It's amazing how much difference in weight there is from stick to stick in any particular box.

After that, it's the feel between your fingers, the sponginess, dead give away it is underfilled.

I've had light weighted cigars that have felt spongy yet draw was good.

So I would say how they are rolled would cause an easier draw, rather than weight and feel. 

[anacostiakat]

Interesting distinctions.  I consider an underfilled cigar one that doesn't have enough tobacco that makes it tough to smoke.  A loose draw can still be smoked IMHO.  Different from an underfilled cigar I think.  Albeit not a preference obviously.   

[RijkdeGooier]

Peso es peso. So for me weight is the determining factor. All else follows from that. 

[RWhiz]

I agree with the the posters who reference heat as indicating an under filled cigar.  If I have trouble smoking a cigar slow enough to keep it from getting hot then it's under filled.  

[Lotusguy]

Weight and squishiness for me.

[PapaDisco]

I too approximate it by feel.  However the only true test is weight and ring gauge.  A loose draw on a proper weight cigar can be an error in rolling or unlucky placement of the veins in the leaf.  But without a scale readily at hand, the best you can do is see how soft the cigar is.

[Fugu]

A too loose draw / windtunnel - yes, always underfilled.

You may find the odd underfilled cigar with a correct or even a tighter draw, when the fill is heterogeneous over the length of the stick. Like, often you find a cigar being a bit tighter rolled near its head, while towards the lower end it feels soft and squishy and light. But you'll never find a wind tunnel which hasn't been vastly underfilled.

Underfilled cigars are a nuissance, to me much, much more annoying than having a stiffer draw.

 

N.B. For definition (referring to other statements above), for me, a lighter than "should-be" cigar with a smaller than "shouid-be" ring gauge, e.g. let's say a PC with just RG 39-40, does not represent an underfilled cigar. That cigar may draw well and is just fine to smoke, but shows a tolerance in the variation of ring gauge (quite pronounced e.g. in recent MdO4 production, with RGs all over the place - however, they all draw and smoke perfect!).

An underfilled cigar always is a cigar with too low a proportion between amount of tobacco and factual (not 'should-be') ring gauge.

[ayepatz]

Hands down the easiest draw of all the cigars I have at the moment is a box of R&J Wide Churchills LUM MAY 13. Every single one has been a windsock. I now use the smallest punch-cutter I have, as I've found a straight cut leaves me with a draw that offers seemingly no resistance at all.

HOWEVER, I don't consider these cigars to be under-filled. If anything, the construction has been perfect, and they have smoked beautifully with an even burn, and have never required touching-up.

I've rarely run into under-filled cigars, but when I have I tend to think of them more as "poorly-rolled", as the under-filling has tended to be down one side of the cigar, resulting in an uneven burn through the whole cigar.

[MahDooRow]

On the whole, I fall into the camp that believes underfill is a construction fault.  Weight and feel (i.e. soft spots), a "wind tunnel" draw and a fast, hot burn are all results of the poor construction.  If a cigar is truly underfilled it will almost always exhibit most or all of the aforementioned symptoms.

[joeboxer]

I agree that wind tunnels are not always under filled.  A loose draw can still be enjoyable and I classify a cigar as underfilled when there are soft spots (which really drive me crazy during smoking) or a loose draw AND quick, hot burn.  Underfilled cigars are just as frustrating as tight/plugged cigars for me because the smoking experience is ruined.  As a side note, I experience underfilling much more frequently in NC and visa versa with overfilling.

[cigaraholic]

Is a cigar with a wind tunnel draw underffilled, almost always, but sometimes it's loosely rolled and the ring gauge is off.

Is it a construction fault, yes.

Underfilled cigars are like light beer, the only thing missing is flavor.