Twigs!!


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Hi guys,

I have been finding a lot of "twigs" in my cigars.   Being a "newb", I am not sure if this is normal?   Are these veins that are supposed to be removed before rolling?  

My cigar today tasted really horrible.  And was quite strong through the nose.  I found 3 twigs and was able to pull them out.  Cigar was much better after this. (but almost gone).  

Just wondering if this is normal and a regular occurrence?

 

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Related to the original note, how common or expected are stems? I've had a few HDM DCs from a single box that have a very noticeable hard solid area that no amount of massaging can help. The pull is very tough and I've had to pitch a few. When they have been smokeable, they've been great. I decided to dissect the last one after being stymied again. Am I overthinking this or storing improperly, or did I run into some bad luck here? Thanks!!

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Can't say I've ever run into this since I'm usually smoking them.. ?

Cuban Cigar = crazy Havana construction with a flavor profile from typical NC to freaking amazing ?

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28 minutes ago, ethernut said:

Can't say I've ever run into this since I'm usually smoking them.. ?

Cuban Cigar = crazy Havana construction with a flavor profile from typical NC to freaking amazing ?

No arguing with inconsistent construction, but I've never had a Cuban cigar which had an NC-like flavor profile.  Knock on wood...

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1 minute ago, planetary said:

No arguing with inconsistent construction, but I've never had a Cuban cigar which had an NC-like flavor profile.  Knock on wood...

Had a few stinkers.. One that comes to mind was a Cohiba Esplendito.. Felt awesome putting that rascal out 1/2 way into the first third! ? Still have butt-hurt from that!

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9 hours ago, Cep said:

R&J mille fleurs.  Not a pricey stick.

Good source for sure.

 

RyJ MF are a premium stick. Non-premium is anything not totalmente a mano (machine made, machine bunched/hand finished.) Guantanamera would not be a premium cigar, for example. You hadn't mentioned any details about the cigar(s) in question, so I had to ask.

Stems and "twigs" shouldn't be really noticeable or common that often, but it does happen occasionally. Hard spots in cigars can be caused by stems or binder or filler that is too thick and/or bunched inproperly. Binder leaf can be pretty thick sometimes. I had something--presumably a piece of binder--in a JLP Petit Cetros that amounted to basically a wood chip or piece of bark. I held my butane torch to it for about 20 seconds and it simply would not burn. Granted, it was a JLP, but out of maybe 50 boxes that was a first. 

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From what I've been told: Small Veins like these should be in the cigar as it is needed for the structure of the cigar. The primary vein should not as this should be removed before rolling as this is a lot thicker. I think the confusion from this comes from when a cigar is rolled too tight affecting the draw; pulling out veins will loosen up the draw considerably giving the impression the veins were the problem and not a tight roll/too much tobacco.

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Concur with potpest. The question is, is it a "stem", i.e. a piece of primary vein, or just a - larger - secondary vein. A bunch of whole tripa larga will inevitably hold some larger veins from near the leaf base. The eight structures displayed in the Hoyo pic surely wouldn't all qualify as a "stem" or "twig".

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5 hours ago, Warren said:

Having a twig in your mouth is only a worry if you find berry's at other end.

I see what you did there.

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1 hour ago, potpest said:

Pete Johnson did an Instagram post about this issue:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BAm4eayPxUF/

Good post, and there is particularly one comment (by a guy from the industry), providing a very good, qualified coverage of the matter:

"chiefhava Some of the confusion seems to be in the verbiage or slang we use to describe these. Stems are never in cigars. The petiole and lower third of the primary vein is removed from filler. The petiole and entire primary vein is removed from wrapper and binder leaf. Pete's picture shows the upper part of the primary vein with the lamina removed for demonstration purposes. These would not have been loose in the cigar. This is thicker on higher texture leaves (ligero) than it is on lower texture leaves (seco). The number of primary veins in a cigar reflects the number of leaves used in the filler. Their thickness reflects the blend. No cigar maker I have ever met or known completely de-veins filler leaves. The only quality guidance in the process regarding these (at least in my factory) is not to allow them to be prominent in the ends of the cigar, particularly the crown and never put a thick vein part from the break back into the bunch."

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A good reamer can save 90% of plugged sticks.

mine stays in my travel case,I use it often.

a 5 in piece of stiff wire with a point is what I use,probably had it for 7 years.

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Thanks everyone, helped a lot. 

As a few addressed, I suppose I expected a few veins, just not the prevalence of that many in what feels like one area of the cigar (near the band). Then again, I'm generally smoking cigars and not destroying them, so I would be wholly ignorant as to the common structure anyhow. 

Learned something and will certainly look into a reamer in the future. 

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Depends on the buncher/roller

They're a natural part of the leaf. You buys your boxes and you takes your chances. I don't know how many boxes of CC you've bought, but I've been generally happy with CC QC since '08

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I recently had a chance to meet Jaime Hamlet Parades at a cigar event.  While he was rolling some culebras cigars, a question was asked about stems in cigars.  Jaime gave a detailed answer to the question.  In essence, he said leave the stems alone, as they are a natural part of the cigar.  The stems control the burn rate and holds the ash together.  He took a batch of leaves, removed the stems, rolled them demonstrating how the cigar would look.  He rolled another batch of leaves with stems and compared the two.  There was in difference in how both looked and when held up side by side, the cigar without the stems was limp as it drooped without the support of the stems.  He also said pulling out the stem damages the cigar and reminded everyone to leave them alone.     

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I recently had a chance to meet Jaime Hamlet Parades at a cigar event.  While he was rolling some culebras cigars, a question was asked about stems in cigars.  Jaime gave a detailed answer to the question.  In essence, he said leave the stems alone, as they are a natural part of the cigar.  The stems control the burn rate and holds the ash together.  He took a batch of leaves, removed the stems, rolled them demonstrating how the cigar would look.  He rolled another batch of leaves with stems and compared the two.  There was in difference in how both looked and when held up side by side, the cigar without the stems was limp as it drooped without the support of the stems.  He also said pulling out the stem damages the cigar and reminded everyone to leave them alone.     

Very interesting stuff. Thanks for sharing!

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