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Why you can't smoke a cigar backwards

Ginseng

Banned
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Oct 2, 2005
Messages
8,802
Smoking a cigar is easy. You clip the head and light the foot. Suck on the end that isn't burning and away you go. So why then do things sometimes go wrong even if it really is just that simple? Today we take a look at the phenomenon of unwrapping.

If you've ever been at the local cigar shop and looked at several different boxes of cigars right next to each other, you might have noticed that some are wound "righty" and some are wound "lefty." That is, some have the wrapper spiraling up from right to left and some spiraling up from left to right. For example, here are two AVO LE07 cigars from the same box.
(IMG:http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h73/Gins...RightyLefty.jpg)

The "winding" of a wrapper is a consequence of which half of the leaf the roller is working with. Each half of the leaf can typically be applied in one direction and only with the vein side against the bunch.

Now let's take a little closer look at the head and foot of a typical parejo or straight-sided cigar. Since the torcedor or roller starts applying the wrapper at the foot, we'll begin there as well. In the following photo, the cropped image of the foot shows exactly what we should see. As you move up the cigar, in the direction of the burn, the next layer of wrapper is always "over" or laying on top of the layer below it. This is precisely what keeps the burning end from unraveling.

At the head, though, it's a different story. Since the roller finishes up at this end of the stick, he's left with a flap that must be dealt with. Typically this is trimmed and then formed into the foundation of the cap. Other times, it's curled up and twisted into a pigtail. The key point being that if the loose end of the wrapper is not immobilized, the cigar will unwrap. In this case, the wrapper is finished in a cap. The red "cut line" is representative of where a smoker might typically cut the head for smoking. The portion of the cap labeled "safety" is what remains behind to pin the wrapper to the cigar.

(IMG:http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h73/Gins...Direction01.jpg)

Now if you were to chop the head of a cigar down past the "safety" zone, then you might expect the tail of the wrapper to start coming loose. And even if you leave some margin for error, it's not at all unusual for a thin safety strip to come loose and lead to unraveling.

Unfortunately, sometimes you might encounter a cigar that is constructed "upside down." In other words, the roller closes up what should be the foot and leaves the head open. Although I've never heard of this occurring with production smokes, farm rolls, customs, and other irregular production may see this once in a great while. Here is one such case.

Wilkey
 
Thanks for the post, Wilkey... very interesting. So if I'm understanding you correctly, both cigars are rolled correctly because, from the head, the wrapper goes over/under. An incorrectly rolled cigar that would tend to unravel would be rolled under/over from the head?

---John Holmes...

edit: spelling
 
Thanks for the post, Wilkey... very intesting. So if I'm understanding you correctly, both cigars are rolled correctly because, from the head, the wrapper goes over/under. An incorrectly rolled cigar that would tend to unravel would be rolled under/over from the head?

---John Holmes...
Right on. "Over" should always be closer to the head. In the direction of the head.

Wilkey
 
Thanks for the post, Wilkey... very intesting. So if I'm understanding you correctly, both cigars are rolled correctly because, from the head, the wrapper goes over/under. An incorrectly rolled cigar that would tend to unravel would be rolled under/over from the head?

---John Holmes...
Right on. "Over" should always be closer to the head. In the direction of the head.

Wilkey

It's easier for me to think of it like roofing shingles. Always start at the bottom and work your way up.

Another quality post from Wilkey. I'm thinking I should make a .pdf file of your topics for quick referrence.
 
Thanks Wilkey :thumbs: This is a really interesting part of cigars that I never thought about really.
 
Here's a link to me rolling my own Perdomo Cigar and some pictures/explanations that show an example of a right-handed roll.

Linky

Not intended as a threadjack.....
 
You will also find that if you somehow (ie: drunkenly) light the wrong end of your Partagas Presidente (both ends taper, don't laugh, it could happen to you...) at about the 1/2 way point you will being to have an awful misshapen burning mess on your hands as the structural integrity of the whole smoke begins to collapse.

The under/over layering that holds the wrap together really just doesn't work as well when you come at it from the wrong way. You can kind of hold it for a bit but it won't last. You might think that cutting too much of the head is a problem, but it is nothing compared to what you could end up with.
 
Wow, thanks a lot Ginseng. Really educational. I knew absolutely nothing about this.
 
Thanks for the great post, Wilkey. I was just having this discussion with a friend regarding an incident last weekend where he botched the lighting of a RJ Park Lane.
 
It's easier for me to think of it like roofing shingles. Always start at the bottom and work your way up.
Bingo! What a great metaphor. Amazing how just the right example can get the point across better than a pile o' words. Thanks, Rob.

Suck on the end that isn't burning and away you go.

I've been doing so many things wrong.
:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Wilkey

Ahhhhhh .... roofing shingles, now I get it. Interesting post Wilkey, thanks.



:cool:
 
You will also find that if you somehow (ie: drunkenly) light the wrong end of your Partagas Presidente (both ends taper, don't laugh, it could happen to you...) at about the 1/2 way point you will being to have an awful misshapen burning mess on your hands as the structural integrity of the whole smoke begins to collapse.

The under/over layering that holds the wrap together really just doesn't work as well when you come at it from the wrong way. You can kind of hold it for a bit but it won't last. You might think that cutting too much of the head is a problem, but it is nothing compared to what you could end up with.

Strange. I've smoked cigars backwards before,a nd they held together just fine.
 
You will also find that if you somehow (ie: drunkenly) light the wrong end of your Partagas Presidente (both ends taper, don't laugh, it could happen to you...) at about the 1/2 way point you will being to have an awful misshapen burning mess on your hands as the structural integrity of the whole smoke begins to collapse.

The under/over layering that holds the wrap together really just doesn't work as well when you come at it from the wrong way. You can kind of hold it for a bit but it won't last. You might think that cutting too much of the head is a problem, but it is nothing compared to what you could end up with.

Strange. I've smoked cigars backwards before,a nd they held together just fine.


When I first read this topic I thought this would be soomething that Moki would try :laugh:


:cool:
 
Strange. I've smoked cigars backwards before,a nd they held together just fine.


I too was a little tipsy 4th of july and lit the wrong end of my la aurora preferido and it stayed together just fine, problem was it was hot and bitter on lighting worked it's way tasty then ended boring and bland. :laugh:
 
I too was a little tipsy 4th of july and lit the wrong end of my la aurora preferido and it stayed together just fine, problem was it was hot and bitter on lighting worked it's way tasty then ended boring and bland. :laugh:
There is an explanation of why you might have experienced exactly this progression. And not because you were knackered, either.

Wilkey
 
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