Thursday, April 28 2011
Q: All to often among a
box of
cigars, a few will
draw and burn badly. I have noticed when this happens the lit cigar has two types of ash, one gray and one dark black. The black tobacco ash seems to burn more slowly, more like charcoal than typical tobacco. The black ash generates a lot of heat in the spine of the cigar that reminds me of something like partially burnt embers in a wood fire. This directly effects the burn and draw and often requires frequent re-lighting. Sometimes I toss the cigar because it's just to much work. My question is, what causes this phenomena - bad roll, bad tobacco, bad storage, too moist tobacco leafs? What can I do on my part to fix this phenomena?
- Dan S. in Arlington Heights, IL
A: This "black tobacco ash" you describe, if it's hard like charcoal, then it may possibly be a
ligero leaf that ended up too close to the
binder, or the binder cracked when rolled exposing the ligero behind it. If so, I have experienced this, too. Ligero burns very slowly because it is so oily, which is why it will char-up when you continue to relight it. You might want to let the cigar go out and clip the embered ash, etc. up to the base of the
foot and re-light again. In some cases, the cigar will burn past the charred ember section and straighten itself out. If not, you're probably doing the right thing by tossing it, but I hate chucking away a good cigar.
