An unfortunate event

[n2advnture]

I'm with you Rob, I actually prefer my cigars to feel firm! I believe this is better for long term aging. Since tobacco shrinks as it ages, a firm cigar from the beginning is less likely to have too loose of a draw when aged for 5+ years (IMHO, of course).

Nice review! Man, what a job you have. :-D

~Mark

[Ziggy]

Thanks for the review. Being new to CC's, I am sometimes surprised by the firmness of some of the cigars that I have tried, but they have all been excellent.

Nice pics.

Zig

[Professor Twain]

Very interesting post. I recently posted photos of an aged box that I had received on another Board, and a senior member of that Board commented that many of them looked plugged, and that I should return them. I have since smoked my way through half of the box and none have had any problems with the draw.

[Freefallguy]

For a minimum charge (shipping and EPA fees not included) I will be more than happy to dispose of the remaining box for you.

They’re gorgeous.

[Colt45]

I concur as well - I prefer a very firm cigar, that is not heavy in the hand, with little

or no "give" Thanks for the info.

[Cam]

You will note Rob I ordered a box from you of the B Corona, all the cigars on the top layer are very firm, and packed quite tightly, never the less the cigars smoke wonderfully.. I remember my first purchase from the czar was a random one, I stumbled across the house in Brisbane, unassuming as it was, when inside a new world was opened, Lisa and Rob were there, great people, friendly from day one, Lisa inspected the cigars I chose carefully and when they arrived to me in New Zealand, no less than 4 business days later, they were some of the best I'd ever purchased.

Cam -

[smokum]

Excellent..I just happened to have brought one of these to work with me for the ride home !!! I have a couple cabs of Siglo's that I tried that had me worried...they are like steel bullets to the touch...in fact I had to drill the first ones I smoked out of these cabs. I was ready to give up on them but gave them one more try a couple weeks later...and although they still felt like spikes...they smoked and tasted just fine. Moral of my story...don't panic...give them time. Seems like the first one to come out of a box is always the one that worries you !!! If there is a total failure, Rob and the crew would make it right...can't wait to get in the car and smoke this Boli !!!

[IBMer]

I've been smoking cigars for a number of years and I've never been able to assess a plugged cigar by only looking at it.

Above all else now I want some more BRC's. Doh! :-)

[Wiley]

This is great! Except the part about me being more than a little jealous. :-P

[CoryOllis]

» I've been smoking cigars for a number of years and I've never been able to

» assess a plugged cigar by only looking at it.

»

» Above all else now I want some more BRC's. Doh! :-)

You can't! :-|

[greenpimp]

I always cut at least one one. I have not been able to tell based on the feet or hardness of the roll either.

FWIW, I'd also rather have more tobacco than less packed in a cigar. I left my extremely tight box of 97 Lusis alone for a few years and they have opened up (and strengthened) nicely.

[korryp]

» Moral of the story.....a cigar is never plugged unless you try one.

» Everyone makes mistakes...including Lisa and Smithy ;-) ....but this was

» not one of those times.

Send them them to me. They look awesome and I could sure use another box of Bolivars.

[Mel]

Now it's no secret that I HATE a tight cigar and no I wasn't the bloke that sent the box back. I have had cigars lately that I thought were going to be overlytight by the way they felt in the hand, moslty being hard as a rock, but drew amazingly well. On the other hand I do not recall a soft spongy cigar being plugged.

[gyosa]

nice post rob !

now i NEED some boli rc's .....

everyone - i can personally attest to the fact that rob , lisa and smithy WILL do the right thing ....

several months ago i had a box of Punch RS 11's that arrived with beetle damage to a couple of sticks (apparently occured during transit) ... the whole crew went WAY ABOVE and BEYOND anything i would have expected to correct the matter - (as a matter of fact , i felt 'kinda guilty after it was resolved..... :-( )

KUDOS to you all !! and thaks a million !

i will never get my cigars elsewhere - ( and i can ... i'm an airline pilot.. :-D )

-bk

[Guest stang]

Ok tell Smitty to send me the rest of the box and I will get rid of them for you and I won't even charge you for my services. No need to thank me. Its the least I can do.

[jqmunro]

My box of PL Lonsdale RE's are very firm to the touch but draw just fine.

[DC1]

I haven't posted here too many times but the same thing happened to me recently. In 30 days I fully expect to have the same result based on what I've observed. Can't wait!

[bobsled]

Have a box of Party Shorts that are resting because 3 of 5 were plugged. Got them back in September, it almost time to try another one. I thought this was just something that happened with CC's from time to time, box date is 12/2005. Gonna try another one soon, I hope the rest are OK.

Thanks for the review Rob, you are right, you cannot always tell by the tightness if it will be plugged, some of my shorts felt like they were gonna be just fine.

B

[Van55]

I think it's important to differentiate between a "plugged" cigar and an overly tight one. A plugged cigar is one in which there is a physical obstruction to the smoke such as a twist or leaf turned sideways. Plugged cigars can be made smokeable by use of a poker.

Tight cigars are just that -- those in which the filler is packed so tightly that draw is severly restricted. My own experience is that such cigars are rarely rendered smokeable with a poker. The only remedy, if there is one, is time and dry boxing.

I agree with the view that you can't tell if a cigar is too tight by look and feel alone. You need to clip it and try the draw before lighting.

I've also been surprised that some cigars whose draw seemed too tight pre-light have opened up and smoked very nicely after lighting. This, however, is too rare an occurence.

[wp2]

» » It is how we handle mistakes which matters.

»

» The purpose if this review is to enighten.

»

Thank you for enlightening us, Rob. It is important for us to know how you handle mistakes (which in this case it was not). It helps to better confirm my confidence in you guys at Cigar Czar.

[El Presidente]

» Have a box of Party Shorts that are resting because 3 of 5 were plugged.

» Got them back in September, it almost time to try another one. I thought

2006 was not a great Party Short year. Quality varied from runs of tight cabinets to runs of underfilled cabinets. Yes there were some great cabs....but all in all the 2006 Partagas Short was not a star performer in the quality field.

[bobsled]

» » Have a box of Party Shorts that are resting because 3 of 5 were plugged.

»

» » Got them back in September, it almost time to try another one. I

» thought

»

» 2006 was not a great Party Short year. Quality varied from runs of tight

» cabinets to runs of underfilled cabinets. Yes there were some great

» cabs....but all in all the 2006 Partagas Short was not a star performer in

» the quality field.

The ones that aren't too tight are tasty, so I'll have to let them rest and hope for the best.......

[Tom Bolivar]

And the nice thing about those BRCs is that they obviously burn well. Not like the recent box of Bolivar Royal Coronas from 2002 I am going thru. The wrapper are almost fireproof. ;-)

And what do we learn: Firm cigars does not equal thight draw.

[Chicago]

» » Have a box of Party Shorts that are resting because 3 of 5 were plugged.

»

» » Got them back in September, it almost time to try another one. I

» thought

»

» 2006 was not a great Party Short year. Quality varied from runs of tight

» cabinets to runs of underfilled cabinets. Yes there were some great

» cabs....but all in all the 2006 Partagas Short was not a star performer in

» the quality field.

I just killed off a pc that I was sure was plugged, felt tighter than a rat's arse but the damn thing drew perfectly. Besides, I have never seen an entire box plugged as each box contains cigars from numerous rollers, correct? In general, have not seen too many plugs since 2001.

[PigFish]

I don’t wish to be overly critical of your customers but this just reeks of inexperience… and perhaps a bit of arrogance. This can and will happen when one deals with a novice in this arena. Now, we all started somewhere so I am not trying to start a bandwagon witch hunt on the new cigar smoker. BUT… in days of yore, when you were a vendor who largely dealt with either persons known to you or ones that were referred to you by other “good” clients I am sure that this was a less common occurrence.

Now perhaps this was not “new” CC smoker and I am all wrong. But no one that I know would send back a box of cigars to a reputable vendor without discussing the issue and certainly smoking a few cigars. Hell, sending cigars back is a real looser unless the cigars are actually; verses presumably, not smokable! In my book only the inexperienced would send these back to you without smoking one.

The last time I sent back cigars they were soaking wet and smelled like a pair of gym socks that were used to stop the waste end of a toilet from leaking! … And yes after trying to dry them out, I did smoke a few of them to make sure they were really damaged beyond repair.

If they need further analysis… send me a few!!! -LOL