Running aged cigars under tap water before smoking???

[benfica_77]

Hi Everyone,

Thanks to Lotusguy I was able to get my first aged cigars some Punch DCs from 1987 (the year I was born) they are being saved for special occasions but it has led me on a quest to learn more about aged cigars. This gentleman in the video below Dave has an extensive catalogue of aged cigars and is well versed in cubans. For some reason he will run the cigar under the tap before smoking it...have any of you heard of this? tried it? I am trying to keep an open mind and not discrediting anything but I can't afford to risk this strategy on one of the Punch DCs so thought I'd ask FOH members for more feedback. The video below at 4:23 he runs the cigars under the tap and then smokes it. 

By the way great advice for El Prez on the latest  review video which is that aged cigars aren't any better or worse then fresher sticks they just taste different. Sagely advice. I hope my Punch DCs will taste cuddly . 

 

[Bagman]

It is a stupid old idea that older cigars are brittle and that running water over it will help the wrapper from cracking once you light up.  Never did it myself, but I would never smoke such an old cigar.

[El Presidente]

i would love to hear from those that have actually tried it 

[CigarmanTim]

A few years ago there was a discussion here of running cigars under a tap.Not aged mind you. I wouldn't take the risk. I actually did it on a few sticks from a ox of PSD4's that were smoking very young. The experiment proved very interesting. It smoothed my cigar out. After smoking for a few min the cigar was actually dry....or the wrapper was. The cigar smoked great. You run the cigar under the tap before cutting the cap and try not to touch the foot. I tried this a few times. It reminded me of a fresh cigar in a tubos...only smoother.

[Ken Gargett]

interesting stuff in these posts (may i say that rob was simply agreeing about the difference - not his suggestion at all!!).

first, this sounds like the dumbest idea i have ever heard. but pet rocks were a success and australians voted both pauline hanson and clive palmer into federal parliament so i clearly have no grasp on what is dumb. i wouldn't even do it to a cuaba but i am interested in what others discover. 

finally, monterey, can i ask why you would not smoke an old cigar? just don't like them or am i missing something? 

[Bagman]

  On 6/27/2018 at 12:23 AM, Ken Gargett said:

interesting stuff in these posts (may i say that rob was simply agreeing about the difference - not his suggestion at all!!).

first, this sounds like the dumbest idea i have ever heard. but pet rocks were a success and australians voted both pauline hanson and clive palmer into federal parliament so i clearly have no grasp on what is dumb. i wouldn't even do it to a cuaba but i am interested in what others discover. 

finally, monterey, can i ask why you would not smoke an old cigar? just don't like them or am i missing something? 

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Truthfully Ken, because I'm not educated enough in aged cigars.  I would love to sit and try random aged cigars and see what I get.  In my experience I have out aged too many sticks.  I believe that my palate is not refined enough to enjoy what comes of serious aged cigars.   After 8-10 years I taste nothing but tobacco.   I'm aging some Cohibas and PLPC to the 10 year mark as I hear these age well.  I have many boxes of H.Upmann Sir Winston that I would love to age pass 8.  In time I may try.  I'm smoking a 5 year old Montecristo #2 cigar right now.  It is a flavor bomb to me.  At 10 years, I taste tobacco.  Wish I could get what others get.

I've been smoking cigars for 20 years, so it is unlikely that more time will refine my palate. So it is unique to me, not a ding on aged cigars in general.

[Ken Gargett]

  On 6/27/2018 at 12:43 AM, Monterey said:

Truthfully Ken, because I'm not educated enough in aged cigars.  I would love to sit and try random aged cigars and see what I get.  In my experience I have out aged too many sticks.  I believe that my palate is not refined enough to enjoy what comes of serious aged cigars.   After 8-10 years I taste nothing but tobacco.   I'm aging some Cohibas and PLPC to the 10 year mark as I hear these age well.  I have many boxes of H.Upmann Sir Winston that I would love to age pass 8.  In time I may try.  I'm smoking a 5 year old Montecristo #2 cigar right now.  It is a flavor bomb to me.  At 10 years, I taste tobacco.  Wish I could get what others get.

I've been smoking cigars for 20 years, so it is unlikely that more time will refine my palate. So it is unique to me, not a ding on aged cigars in general.

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thanks for the response. really interesting. be very keen to hear what happens with those PLPC - they do age well. 

what rob and i were discussing really is true. not better, just different. 

[Ken Gargett]

  On 6/27/2018 at 12:59 AM, SenorPerfecto said:

Dave is a friend. I thought he was crazy too, then I smoked a very old (60+ years) cigar, and I did this first.

In my opinion, it can't hurt. Even after running it under the tap for several seconds, you will find that after a minute or three, there is very little new moisture on the wrapper, and none in the rest of the cigar. Almost all of the water just runs off, and what remains starts to evaporate immediately.

While I do not think it has a great effect on keeping old brittle wrappers from cracking, neither does it negatively impact the flavor or the combustion.

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i suppose it is not as though the leaves would never have seen rain on them. 

[shrink]

I use this technique all the time, especially with older cigars with very dry wrappers. I learned the trick from Wayne (Min Ron Nee). 

Here is why it works: When a cigar wrapper is too dry, it becomes porous. When lit, too much air can be drawn directly through the wrapper, instead of through the filler. This can negatively affect the draw, and diminish both the quantity and flavor of the smoke. This is not a theory. I have proven it to myself hundreds if not thousands of times.

There is absolutely no risk if you perform this correctly. First, do not clip the cigar. Run a little lukewarm water over the entire cigar, taking care not to let water enter the foot. Then gently rub the water into the wrapper with your fingers, just so that the wrapper is uniformly wet. Don't be shy. You can then dry off the wrapper with a paper towel if you wish. 

You will discover that in most cases, this seals the wrapper, preventing excessive air from penetrating the wrapper, and forcing the draw through the lit end through the filler to your lips.

If you chicken out, you can always allow the wrapper to dry completely, and it will then draw as it would have if never wet. 

It's a no-brainer boys! Give it a whirl; you will discover an effective trick for overly dry and porous wrappers! 

[Ken Gargett]

  On 6/27/2018 at 1:22 AM, shrink said:

I use this technique all the time, especially with older cigars with very dry wrappers. I learned the trick from Wayne (Min Ron Nee). 

Here is why it works: When a cigar wrapper is too dry, it becomes porous. When lit, too much air can be drawn directly through the wrapper, instead of through the filler. This can negatively affect the draw, and diminish both the quantity and flavor of the smoke. This is not a theory. I have proven it to myself hundreds if not thousands of times.

There is absolutely no risk if you perform this correctly. First, do not clip the cigar. Run a little lukewarm water over the entire cigar, taking care not to let water enter the foot. Then gently rub the water into the wrapper with your fingers, just so that the wrapper is uniformly wet. Don't be shy. You can then dry off the wrapper with a paper towel if you wish. 

You will discover that in most cases, this seals the wrapper, preventing excessive air from penetrating the wrapper, and forcing the draw through the lit end through the filler to your lips.

If you chicken out, you can always allow the wrapper to dry completely, and it will then draw as it would have if never wet. 

It's a no-brainer boys! Give it a whirl; you will discover an effective trick for overly dry and porous wrappers! 

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interesting stuff. 

so only for old cigars which have not been stored appropriately? i am assuming cigars stored at a correct humidity would not need this? 

rob, next time you bring crap for a vid, i'm dipping them in the bucket of water. 

[benfica_77]

  On 6/27/2018 at 1:31 AM, Ken Gargett said:

interesting stuff. 

so only for old cigars which have not been stored appropriately? i am assuming cigars stored at a correct humidity would not need this? 

rob, next time you bring crap for a vid, i'm dipping them in the bucket of water. 

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Run an old Cuaba under water....keep us posted!

[Ken Gargett]

  On 6/27/2018 at 1:32 AM, benfica_77 said:

Run an old Cuaba under water....keep us posted!

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i'm deeply offended anyone thinks i have any cuaba! 

[LGC]

I tried it on a 70’s RyJ Corona that had a brittle wrapper. The water didn’t really absorb much, so I rubbed the wrapper a little with my wet finger. The wrapper definitely was more supple, but didn’t affect the combustion at all. The burn was actually razor sharp. It does also help to prevent air infiltration through the overlaps of a loose wrapper as well. I haven’t done this a second time on any cigar, but I’m not going to go ape $hit on anyone whom chooses to do so. I’ll probably do it on any other 70’s/80’s sticks with fragile wrappers. I always recommend trying something before making judgement. It’s no different than choosing a certain RH for your cigar storage because it sounds good to you... without actually experimenting with different water content levels.

 

[benfica_77]

@Ken Gargett @El Presidente Gentleman please try this on a cigar for your next review!!! Love to hear your feedback from both of you. 

[havanaclub]

  On 6/27/2018 at 1:31 AM, Ken Gargett said:

interesting stuff. 
so only for old cigars which have not been stored appropriately? i am assuming cigars stored at a correct humidity would not need this? 
rob, next time you bring crap for a vid, i'm dipping them in the bucket of water. 

Don’t two negatives cancel out? So try it with Rob on a fresh wet Partagás EL 2017 and it will probably dry it out according to the laws of mathematics ??


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[PapaDisco]

  On 6/27/2018 at 1:22 AM, shrink said:

I use this technique all the time, especially with older cigars with very dry wrappers. I learned the trick from Wayne (Min Ron Nee). 

Here is why it works: When a cigar wrapper is too dry, it becomes porous. When lit, too much air can be drawn directly through the wrapper, instead of through the filler. This can negatively affect the draw, and diminish both the quantity and flavor of the smoke. This is not a theory. I have proven it to myself hundreds if not thousands of times.

There is absolutely no risk if you perform this correctly. First, do not clip the cigar. Run a little lukewarm water over the entire cigar, taking care not to let water enter the foot. Then gently rub the water into the wrapper with your fingers, just so that the wrapper is uniformly wet. Don't be shy. You can then dry off the wrapper with a paper towel if you wish. 

You will discover that in most cases, this seals the wrapper, preventing excessive air from penetrating the wrapper, and forcing the draw through the lit end through the filler to your lips.

If you chicken out, you can always allow the wrapper to dry completely, and it will then draw as it would have if never wet. 

It's a no-brainer boys! Give it a whirl; you will discover an effective trick for overly dry and porous wrappers! 

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Interesting.  

If it truly does affect draw (by reducing the porosity of the leaf, it's not actually closing the stoma is it??  ) then do you think that change in draw would show up with a draw test reading?  It would be fascinating to try and accurately measure any difference.  Who's got a draw machine handy??  

Second, why not just use a misting bottle?  That would seem less risky, no?  

Thirdly, why tap water?  It's chlorinated, wouldn't well water be better?  Or distilled H2O?  

Lastly, I'm going to try this tonight in the hotel lounge.  I don't have anything really old.  Just a 6 year old Sir Winnie (and this box has been gooooood!).  If I rinse my stick, say 15 minutes, before lighting up in the lounge, will the benefits still be there?  I really don't want to get caught rinsing a stick in the lounge bathroom . . .   wait a sec . . . that came out wrong . . .    Suffice to say that I intend to do my rinsing in my room.  

[BrightonCorgi]

I do this on fresh cigars more than aged.  Takes some the ammonia/green tastes off and just makes a nice smoke.  Done this on old cigars too with no harm.  I just about always give the cap the lightest touch of water before cutting.  Never a worry about cracking a cigar.  Became habit.  Wet the head, make my drink and then cut cigar.

I'd recommend rinsing familiar cigars to see the difference.  Often are smoother taste to them.  Not all the time I want that.  There's no harm in doing it, just don't get water into the cigar, lol... 

Call me one of the few proponents of the method then.... 

[BBS]

When it's bitter cold, and the ambient RH is super low outside, it will keep the wrappers from 'blowing up' during the smoke.  I've done it to several cigars, and it worked just as advertised.  A quick rinse with tap water, before you clip the cigar and not on the foot does the trick.

Edited June 27, 2018 by BBS
Added details

[Bagman]

  On 6/27/2018 at 2:49 AM, BBS said:

When it's bitter cold, and the ambient RH is super low outside, it will keep the wrappers from 'blowing up' during the smoke.  I've done it to several cigars, and it worked just as advertised.  A quick rinse with tap water, before you clip the cigar and not on the foot does the trick.

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We live just miles apart and I smoke year round.  If your wrappers are having issues, the issue is with your storage conditions.    I've seen this topic pop up in various places over the year and I'm shaking my head at this practice just as I always have.   Properly stored cigars don't need to be washed.  Good god, we over think this hobby!

 

[Habana Mike]

Seen a bit about this in the literature. As mentioned above MRN was an advocate.

Always interested in experimenting with new approaches I have tried a similar technique on some cigars with thin wrappers. Rather than running under the tap, I take a piece of paper towel, moisten it slightly and wrap it loosely around the cigar for a few seconds - perhaps should consider Evian or Fiji vs. tap in future.

Regardless, a much more controlled application of liquid and you can massage knots in the cigar without cracking the wrapper once it becomes supple.

Found it has definitely helped certain cigars, not a panacea though...

 

 

 

[cigaraholic]

I’m happy to moisten the wrapper of an older cigar...pre 97....by licking it....the wrappers are so delicious. Why let the tap water have all the fun...and flavor. 

[zyxwvu44]

Never heard of this, sounds like blasphemy! But... Now I need to try and test it out!

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[mt1]

Isn't this akin to people who lick and slobber all over the wrapper before lighting the cigar?

Knowing myself, I'll crack the wrapper while trying to do this, so it's all the same for me.

[PapaDisco]

  On 6/27/2018 at 5:13 AM, cigaraholic said:

I’m happy to moisten the wrapper of an older cigar...pre 97....by licking it....

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Now there's an image I really didn't need in my head . . .  . . . 

[RijkdeGooier]

I actually believe the practice was advocated by Wayne’s butler for the reasons mentioned by shrink.