Monday, November 29 1999
Q. What is the best way to store a half-smoked cigar if I plan on finishing it the next day? - Paul Y.
A. I remember reading an article many years ago in which Arnold Schwarzenegger said he would leave his unfinished cigars in the ashtray and smoke them the next day. Frankly, I'm not a proponent of smoking leftover cigars, but I have done so on occasion with particularly good cigars like the Padron Anniversary 1964 cigars and a couple of others. You can try using a Cigar Savor, which I've used in the past and works OK. However, the downside of placing a half-smoked cigar in any container or bag is, the whole cigar tends to take on the rancid smell and taste of the tars and ash.
One remedy is to clip the cigar back about an half-inch after the ash has completely gone out. That will get rid of the black ash and tars at the foot. Of course, the remaining tobacco will have whatever tars were drawn into them while you smoked the first half, which means they'll have that much more "juice" in them, too. Since it will remain moist inside, sometimes it's better to just clip it back and leave the cigar in the ashtray overnight "as-is," but only if the ashtray is inside.
Depending on the cigar, it may or may not taste bitter the next day. Suffice it to day, you might get a little leftover "goodness" out of the cigar, but once the cigar goes sour, dump it.
