Draw differences between Cubans and Non Cubans

[archosaur]

You may consider giving the PerfecDraw a go.  It's a poker that actually grabs a bit of tobacco.  Google it.  There was a thread here about it a while back.  I have a handful of rock solid tent pegs in my humidor and so far, have to been able to rescue them with this tool.

I think the best defense against firm draws is storing your cigars in the low 60s and aging them for a good long time.  Not exactly a quick fix, more of a long term strategy...but nothing smokes as beautifully as a well aged Cuban.

[Habana Mike]

  On 12/18/2017 at 10:44 PM, prodigy said:

I'm more than willing to send out my examples of unsmokeable cigars to those that claim they never get them. Let them sit in your humidor for the amount of time necessary to "become smokeable" under your conditions, and let me know if you still stand behind your response. How can it be storage conditions when most of the box smokes fine? If the entire box seemed tight, then by changing the conditions, the entire box should then become smokeable, according to the logic explained. But that's not the case. I had a box of siglo 1, that 75% smoked like a dream, best cigars of the year. The other 25% felt like I was trying to smoke a limb off of a tree. Rock solid and zero airflow.

I am agreeing that ones with "tight draw" can, and usually do, come around using the mentioned methods. The ones that are full on plugged with zero airflow, never come around. Regardless of dry boxing, refrigeration, storage conditions etc.

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Like you I too find a higher than desired percentage of plugged Cuban cigars. Have made that point a few times on multiple posts here and elsewhere over the years.

I've tried all variety of storage conditions, fridge tricks and draw pokers. Many sticks strictly fail to participate regardless.

Of late - past few years - I've also experienced many more loose draws too. No resistance at all resulting in a hot and fast burn that's difficult to deal with and quite less enjoyable regardless the style of smoking. I've attempted to over-humidify some of these to see if that would introduce some resistance, typically to no avail.

All in all I believe it is a crap shoot but just roll with it as it's partially just the nature of the beast. From a purely financial perspective I consider it the Cuban tax, just like changing dollars for CUCs. Worth it to me despite the frustrations....

 

 

[prodigy]

  On 12/19/2017 at 3:16 AM, Habana Mike said:

Like you I too find a higher than desired percentage of plugged Cuban cigars. Have made that point a few times on multiple posts here and elsewhere over the years.
I've tried all variety of storage conditions, fridge tricks and draw pokers. Many sticks strictly fail to participate regardless.
Of late - past few years - I've also experienced many more loose draws too. No resistance at all resulting in a hot and fast burn that's difficult to deal with and quite less enjoyable regardless the style of smoking. I've attempted to over-humidify some of these to see if that would introduce some resistance, typically to no avail.
All in all I believe it is a crap shoot but just roll with it as it's partially just the nature of the beast. From a purely financial perspective I consider it the Cuban tax, just like changing dollars for CUCs. Worth it to me despite the frustrations....
 
 

Exactly, im by no means complaining. It's just that the guys that say they can count on one hand how many plugs they've had, then blame it on storage conditions and this and that when other people bring it up, don't realize that they are just extremely lucky.

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[Fuzz]

You guys have jinxed me now. My next 5 cigars will probably be plugged!

[prodigy]

  On 12/19/2017 at 3:35 AM, Fuzz said:

You guys have jinxed me now. My next 5 cigars will probably be plugged!

And that will still be better odds than what I've faced! I don't wish it upon anyone!

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[Habana Mike]

[TheGipper]

  On 12/18/2017 at 10:44 PM, prodigy said:

I am agreeing that ones with "tight draw" can, and usually do, come around using the mentioned methods. The ones that are full on plugged with zero airflow, never come around. Regardless of dry boxing, refrigeration, storage conditions etc.

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Indeed.  And if you can spare the storage space, then don't give up on tight cigars just because they've been that way for years.  I have a box of 2002 Upmann Monarchs that just never opened up at all - the entire box.  I could tell they weren't plugged, just way over-filled.

Finally I decided last year to just clip the cap on all of the remaining sticks and let them sit again for a while.  And that has done wonders.  I revisited them earlier this year and they draw just fine now.  And they are utterly fantastic.  I'm glad I didn't throw them in the trash, as I nearly did a couple of times.

[Habana Mike]

  On 12/19/2017 at 4:26 AM, TheGipper said:

Indeed.  And if you can spare the storage space, then don't give up on tight cigars just because they've been that way for years.  I have a box of 2002 Upmann Monarchs that just never opened up at all - the entire box.  I could tell they weren't plugged, just way over-filled.

Finally I decided last year to just clip the cap on all of the remaining sticks and let them sit again for a while.  And that has done wonders.  I revisited them earlier this year and they draw just fine now.  And they are utterly fantastic.  I'm glad I didn't throw them in the trash, as I nearly did a couple of times.

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I never give up and have found true what you say with a percentage of plugs. Still some I've sat on for nigh on 20 years are still rocks. Never give up!

[addictedtooranges]

2nd on the Perfecdraw. The thing is a lifesaver.

[CigarNerd]

I too, had the feeling that CCs have a rather too tight draw than a too loose one.
Feelings can be tricky, thus I've started to write down the draw of cigars with this classification:

1=unbearable light draw
2=light draw, but I can live with it
3=perfect draw
4=tight draw, but I can live with it
5=unbearable tight draw

These are my findings after 400 CCs:

 

 

Taking into account that this is a hand made product, only 4% with unbearable tight draw seems like a fair number to me.
So my numbers are telling a totally different story than my feelings. This might - and will - be different for other smokers.
btw: 10 of those 14 cigars with unbearable tight draw, were older than 5 years. This might mean nothing at all, but is surely not a strong support for the theory that draw gets better with age.

For the weird ones that get a kick out of data and graphs 
"Dichte" is the german word for "density" and "Zug" is the "draw"

[Smallclub]

  On 12/19/2017 at 4:26 AM, TheGipper said:

I have a box of 2002 Upmann Monarchs that just never opened up at all - the entire box.  I could tell they weren't plugged, just way over-filled.

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Cut them in 2 halves; you'll get 2 mini robustos that won't have the class of a Monarch but will be smokable. That's what I did with over-filled SLR churchills…

[fabes]

@CigarNerd your username is very appropriate. And it’s true that in these cases the numbers tell the truth that our mind likes to distort. 

@TheGipper mentioned cutting the caps of the penalty box smokes. That’s a great way to help them get where they need to be quicker than with just one end opened.

Lastly, I think it’s worth mentioning that tolerances for tightness are a factor here. I look back on cigars with tight draws that I gave up on too early. My definition of plugged has changed over my time of smoking cigars. I’ve also found that the best way to do battle with a tight draw is with slow puffing. Putting all your strength into the draw only makes it worse. 

[Fugu]

  On 12/19/2017 at 5:57 PM, fabes said:

I’ve also found that the best way to do battle with a tight draw is with slow puffing. Putting all your strength into the draw only makes it worse.

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^^