Newbie question - burning too hot?

[Wil]

Hey guys

Last night I had the pleasure of smoking one of the PSD4s I brought back from Cuba. They have been sitting in my humidor for about a month since returning from Cuba with a couple of boxes (approx 40 cigars in a 50 count box at 69% humidity).

Things were going along nicely until about half way down (or two thirds of the way to the band) when I suspect it started burning a little hot. The only way I can describe it is a weird tangyness that I felt mostly on the tip of my tongue. I have of course experienced this with other cigars and the taste/feel is always the same (for some reason I always think of potato skins).

Anyway, just wondering how to avoid this. I don't think I'm smoking too fast, as it took me about an hour to smoke.

Any advice or suggestions?

Cheers

Wil

[Colt45]

Wil do you have the box dates available? Without knowing, it could be something as simple as a young cigar showing it's youth towards the end

of the cigar, as I find young cigars often do. I might also suggest trying to drop the humidity a bit if possible.

[Ginseng]

What you described could be the result of a too-wet cigar. Did you find yourself huffing it just to keep it lit?

Wilkey

[Wil]

Cheers guys.

Colt45, you could be right. The box date is Nov 08, so maybe they just need some more time. What is the optimal humidity?

Ginseng, it burned nicely without needing to draw too heavily until an inch or so before the band when it went out (but this might have been because I started to let it go b/c of the tangyness).

On the topic of drawing, I was watching a couple of guys smoke at a local cigar bar the other day and was surprised at how often and heavily they were drawing. Plumes of smoke were going up and I was sure that if I did that it would get very hot and ruin the flavour of the cigar quite quickly.

[Colt45]

What is the optimal humidity?

At the end of the day, it's what you prefer. But I think you'll find many members here try to keep the cigars they plan to smoke in the near future closer

to 65% - I'm happy between between 63 and 67, but would prefer it closer to the 63 end of things.

A lower humidity should help with burn, draw, and muddled flavors. Try it for yourself and let us know what you think.

[Tampa1257]

One other thing that you may try is "purging" your cigar.

"Purging" means that you actually blow back through the cigar for around 4-5 seconds. This does several things, it removes any and all extra smoke that has remains in the cigar after you are done puffing on it. It also removes any foul tastes that may be present due to that stale smoke, oils, extra nicotine, etc. Purging also helps keep the cigar lite, so if you notice your cigar about to go out try purging instead of huffing and puffing to get it going again.

From your description, your cigars are too wet. As Colt mentioned, many Cuban cigar smokers prefer a lower rh for storage of their cigars. I keep mine around the 63% level, which is where I have found after much trial and error delivers the best smoking condition for my palate. You may want to "dry box" the cigars you want to smoke for 24-48 hours to reduce the rh%. Food for thought, but having a wet bitter ending of your cigar just doesn't cut it for me.

No matter what, there is not enough good to be said about humidor time, the more time, the better tasting the cigars will be IMHO.

Tampa

[jaylax5]

FWIW, a larger ring gauge can lead to a hotter burn while in the final 3rd.

[Wil]

Great advice guys. I will pop them back in their boxes for 24 hours and see how I go.

Thanks again.

[perfectform]

You certainly came to the right place with your question. No shortage of knowledge and experience here by any stretch.

[Ginseng]

One other thing that you may try is "purging" your cigar.

"Purging" means that you actually blow back through the cigar for around 4-5 seconds. This does several things, it removes any and all extra smoke that has remains in the cigar after you are done puffing on it. It also removes any foul tastes that may be present due to that stale smoke, oils, extra nicotine, etc. Purging also helps keep the cigar lite, so if you notice your cigar about to go out try purging instead of huffing and puffing to get it going again.

From your description, your cigars are too wet. As Colt mentioned, many Cuban cigar smokers prefer a lower rh for storage of their cigars. I keep mine around the 63% level, which is where I have found after much trial and error delivers the best smoking condition for my palate. You may want to "dry box" the cigars you want to smoke for 24-48 hours to reduce the rh%. Food for thought, but having a wet bitter ending of your cigar just doesn't cut it for me.

No matter what, there is not enough good to be said about humidor time, the more time, the better tasting the cigars will be IMHO.

Tampa

Chuck,

In my experience, purging can make a cigar that is too damp even worse. The reason is that you are blowing very damp breath into an already wet cigar. I suspect that if he had tried to purge, it would have gotten worse. I've had cigars that needed more and more frequent purging to bring back to order. Eventually, they stopped responding even to a strong purge and died a nasty wet death.

I tend to agree with Colt about this likely being a moisture issue. Had he tried to purge, we might have a better idea of the root issue. During the wet spring and wet, hot summer, I dry box cigars that I'd normally smoke straight during the colder, drier seasons.

Wilkey

[Wil]

Have just discovered the 'Puck-ifier' as an alternative to the crappy green foam in my humidor, so going to pick one up on CC.

Going to go with the Puck-50 / 65%. Is this best for a small (50ct) humidor?

[bunburyist]

Have just discovered the 'Puck-ifier' as an alternative to the crappy green foam in my humidor, so going to pick one up on CC.

Going to go with the Puck-50 / 65%. Is this best for a small (50ct) humidor?

I would go for the 100 size, just because. RH beads don't 'over humidify' if you have spare capacity. Plus the 50s are a bit small and fiddly to use.

Make sure you pick up distilled water as well.

[n2advnture]

Sounds like it's on the wet side and you may be smoking too quickly also.

Try to stick to the "one minute rule" by waiting AT LEAST one minute between draws

I hope this helps

~Mark

[Habanos2000]

I've noticed that cigars that have loose fills tend to burn hot too. I'm not sure if you can have a good draw the first 2/3rd's and loose on the back end. But that also may be a possibility.

Try another stick and see if there are any differences.