Why are my cubans always plugged?

[DaBoot]

Dry box, with a Colibri V-cutter, works every time 

[BeerPimp]

I know that eventually I will run into one that is plugged.   The worst I have had was one that was a tough draw at the beginning then opened up about 1/3 of the way through.  I started my humidor for my cuban cigars at 70% but about a month later because of this forum I switched to 65%.   I also purchased a perfect draw when they had a good sale so  I am ready for it. Way  back in the day one of my favorite cigars was an Onyx torpedo.   Amazing  cigars but they had a bad habit of being plugged.   Eventually they renamed all their cigars and now that seems rare to get a plugged one.

[Foulhook]

Reviving an old thread I know.. I feel for the op. I experience the same thing. About a 50/50 chance of getting a decent draw on CC. And now with prices at a rape level it’s much harder to accept the crap QC coming out of Cuba. In the last few years I have become hesitant to rely on a relaxing experience from a Cuban cigar. 50% of the time it results in everything but a an enjoyable experience. The tight draw is very very frustrating…. Feel like I have to suck and eyeball out of my head for any smoke. yes I have a perfect draw, yes I know how to message a cigar as it warms to better the draw, yes I have tried dry boxing, etc … I’m not a guy that buys singles and has a desktop humidor or a tupperdore with a dozen sticks.. . I have two head high custom aristocrats loaded and probably over $200k in Cuban cigars (by todays prices) ..  most  cigars are minimum of 8 years aged, RH kept at 66 and temp steady at 68*F…. After much experimenting I have come to the conclusion that most of the theory about climate is nonsense. It’s simply a matter of what one considers a good draw. Some are ok with a dribble of smoke. Some like me prefer billowing clouds to surround me. I think it may also have to do with some are never cigarette smokers and some are current or former and are used to a perfect draw. .. it amazes me that a premium can be charged for sub par QC though… I have never had a non Cuban with a bad draw. Cray that Marlboro can get it right every time but $2000 for a box of the terrible QC. At least in my opinion… 

 

rant over … this was my enjoyable siglo IV experience tonight. Gave up after stabbing the crap out of it with a perfect draw lol 

[El Presidente]

Here is the most recent poll by members on the subject back in August 2022 

We have run the poll a few times now and the results really don't vary much. 

 

 

[Foulhook]

Yep read through that thread and hundreds of others over the decades… I do believe that 90% is a subjective to what one considers a tight draw or plugged.. I think very little has to do with RH and Temp. It could be argued that majority lean towards a lower RH and dry boxing to solve the issue… however I have always found the majority is usually wrong in life . I’m going to bring the RH up instead of down. Most argue that removing water will improve the draw. But, some claim that a spongier/soft cigar tends to not be plugged. Water evaporates rather quickly under heat. A dry cigar gets a loose band and in my opinion tightens up over all as a result of shrinkage. I’m not convinced that a drier cigar smokes more open. It certainly has made zero difference in my personal experience. In summary personally I think it’s likely just bad QC in a third world country … it was ok when I could toss a crap stick that was $40 an not feel to bad….but now getting a crap $100 stick is a harder pill to swallow. 
 

was more a rant than anything else… for the first time in a couple decades I’m gonna go back to trying some non Cuban sticks. I don’t recall ever once having a bad draw on a NC no matter what the habitat. 
 

final thoughts.. In the last few years I have ended up with hundreds of non smokable Cubans.. I have started tearing them up and re rolling them myself in NC leaf which smoke perfectly or smoking them in a pipe. It’s not rocket science to get a reasonable draw. My guess is 70% + of Cuban rollers don’t care and don’t know what a good draw would be in the first place, like about 90% of the employees in any field today 

[El Presidente]

1 minute ago, Foulhook said:

final thoughts.. In the last few years I have ended up with hundreds of non smokable Cubans.. I have started tearing them up and re rolling them myself in NC leaf which smoke perfectly or smoking them in a pipe. It’s not rocket science to get a reasonable draw. My guess is 70% + of Cuban rollers don’t care and don’t know what a good draw would be in the first place, like about 90% of the employees in any field today 

You are dead set right. "It’s not rocket science to get a reasonable draw"

If Hamlet, myself and the rolling team can get a near 98% success rate on draw with our line (rollers are not machines, there will always be fails), then it comes down to training and a "care factor". 

[mcicvara]

2 hours ago, Foulhook said:

Reviving an old thread I know.. I feel for the op. I experience the same thing. About a 50/50 chance of getting a decent draw on CC. And now with prices at a rape level it’s much harder to accept the crap QC coming out of Cuba. In the last few years I have become hesitant to rely on a relaxing experience from a Cuban cigar. 50% of the time it results in everything but a an enjoyable experience. The tight draw is very very frustrating…. Feel like I have to suck and eyeball out of my head for any smoke. yes I have a perfect draw, yes I know how to message a cigar as it warms to better the draw, yes I have tried dry boxing, etc … I’m not a guy that buys singles and has a desktop humidor or a tupperdore with a dozen sticks.. . I have two head high custom aristocrats loaded and probably over $200k in Cuban cigars (by todays prices) ..  most  cigars are minimum of 8 years aged, RH kept at 66 and temp steady at 68*F…. After much experimenting I have come to the conclusion that most of the theory about climate is nonsense. It’s simply a matter of what one considers a good draw. Some are ok with a dribble of smoke. Some like me prefer billowing clouds to surround me. I think it may also have to do with some are never cigarette smokers and some are current or former and are used to a perfect draw. .. it amazes me that a premium can be charged for sub par QC though… I have never had a non Cuban with a bad draw. Cray that Marlboro can get it right every time but $2000 for a box of the terrible QC. At least in my opinion… 

 

rant over … this was my enjoyable siglo IV experience tonight. Gave up after stabbing the crap out of it with a perfect draw lol

I've noticed really wet tip of your cigar, that can slow down the draw too.

 

@Cuban Pete, what sizes are mostly plugged, coronas? I find bigger ring Cuban cigars have no draw issues.

[SCgarman]

13 minutes ago, mcicvara said:

@Cuban Pete, what sizes are mostly plugged, coronas? I find bigger ring Cuban cigars have no draw issues.

Doesn't matter the vitola. I have a newer box of Sancho Belicoso, and so far half the box has either been a very tight draw, some too plugged to smoke. Not even a few pokes with the PerfecDraw helped. Very frustrating. I can honestly say I cannot recall last time I had a plugged NC, if ever. Buy a box of Padron 1964 for $300+/box, and they are construction perfect. Again, rollers that "care" and are paid a decent wage vs. rollers working in a communist environment, have no incentive to excel, and get paid piss poor wages. I remember Jorge Maique from the Suckling cigar movie say Habanos workers are "happy people". Not sure where Jorge is now or if he is still with HSA, but all the Habanos workers that have skated off the island and went to other countries are the truly "happy people"!!

[Foulhook]

2 hours ago, SCgarman said:

Doesn't matter the vitola. I have a newer box of Sancho Belicoso, and so far half the box has either been a very tight draw, some too plugged to smoke. Not even a few pokes with the PerfecDraw helped. Very frustrating. I can honestly say I cannot recall last time I had a plugged NC, if ever. Buy a box of Padron 1964 for $300+/box, and they are construction perfect. Again, rollers that "care" and are paid a decent wage vs. rollers working in a communist environment, have no incentive to excel, and get paid piss poor wages. I remember Jorge Maique from the Suckling cigar movie say Habanos workers are "happy people". Not sure where Jorge is now or if he is still with HSA, but all the Habanos workers that have skated off the island and went to other countries are the truly "happy people"!!

100 percent agree… and as someone else suggested vitola doesn’t seem to matter but certain marcas do have more plugs than others. Seem to be the least from partagas, RA and Bolivar. ….. I have 6 50 cabs of PLPC. One is great and near gone. The other 5 are 50/50 smokable. One of my favorite smokes but the crap QC kills most. Cohiba is probably second in crap construction oddly enough. I won’t waste anymore money on them.. the new ridiculous prices made that decision really easy as even before I was starting to feel ripped off. 

[helix]

The bane of Cuban cigars.

[cigcars]

      *This post makes me recollect how when I finally started on premium hand made smokes I obtained Jamaican made Macanudos here in the States. This was after 1986, thereabouts.  And every, every, every one of them were impossible to draw on - they were all plugged. I inquired of the store tobacconists and their excuse was that when hand made down there the manufacturers wanted to be absolutely sure that a substantial amount of tobacco was included, so that there'd be no skimping. *Hmm** Eventually that improved. And of course Macanudos went by the wayside once I improved my palate for more powerful and flavorful smokes.