• Hi Guest - Come check out all of the new CP Merch Shop! Now you can support CigarPass buy purchasing hats, apparel, and more...
    Click here to visit! here...

Cigars going bad

pback

pback

New Member
Joined
May 28, 2011
Messages
17
I've been having an interesting situation the last few days. For the last 5 or 6 days every cigar I've tried to smoke has had a nasty bitter taste. The closest thing to describe it to is when you relight a cigar after it's burned out. Every cigar (3 or 4 different kinds) has been like this. The only recent change has been replacing the foam in my humi with some Heartfelt beads. Anyone come across anything like this before? Any advice?

Thanks for any help, guys.
 
I've been keeping a pretty close eye on the humidity. My meter's been reading a fairly constant 67%.
 
Are the beads all clear? or are there some that are still white?
 
pback said:
I've been keeping a pretty close eye on the humidity. My meter's been reading a fairly constant 67%.
Click to expand...
Only two factors: You and the cigar. Probably the cigar, but many cigar smokers have been having trouble with taste in the past two months.

As far as the cigar and RH, is your Hygrometer calibrated in the past two years?
 
@kona: about half of the beads are clear

@vortex: I calibrated the hygrometer about a month ago.
 
Were all the cigars purchased at the same place, and how long have you had them? A lot of B&Ms keep their humidity high, and it's possible they haven't come down to the level you like and are used to if you purchased them recently.
 
They did all come from the same place but were ordered at different times and have been in my humi anywhere from 1 to 4 months.
 
Is the humi cedar?
Are the cigars something you have smoked in the past and enjoyed?

Is there something in the humi that is giving them an off flavor?

What are the beads kept in?

Got to agree with Vortex, it is you or the cigars but would add the humi to the equation.
 
That might be it. I'll try slowing down a bit. Thanks for all the suggestions, guys.

@kona: that's something i had thought about. It's not a cedar humi. It's a 40-count Herf-a-dor with the inner pads taken out so it'll hold a bit more. I have a couple cedar strips in it, but it's a plastic humidor. The cigars are all some that I have very much enjoyed in the past. Could the plastic from the humi still be doing some outgassing or something?
 
pback said:
That might be it. I'll try slowing down a bit. Thanks for all the suggestions, guys.

@kona: that's something i had thought about. It's not a cedar humi. It's a 40-count Herf-a-dor with the inner pads taken out so it'll hold a bit more. I have a couple cedar strips in it, but it's a plastic humidor. The cigars are all some that I have very much enjoyed in the past. Could the plastic from the humi still be doing some outgassing or something?
Click to expand...
That brought to mind another factor: temperature. ??? It should be in the 65 to 75 degree range.

The minimal release of gasses from plastic at STP is not it.
 
Knock your humidity down to around 63-65 and see if that helps. Or, if you know you're going to smoke the Opus X tomorrow, take it out and dry box it to see if that helps at all.
 
I was going to ask how humid it was where you smoke, then I saw the location under your avatar. Do you have a cold, sinus issues, allergies? Citrus or other strong acids before smoking? New medications?

If the cigars are burning well and not needing constant touch-ups, the internal humidity shouldn't be too bad, which leaves YOU.
 
I was wondering when someone was going to noticed where he's at.:laugh:

Doc.
 
bfreebern said:
.....take it out and dry box it to see if that helps at all.
Click to expand...
Doing that would take over humidification out of the equation. What is your ambient humidity where you're stationed?

mmburtch said:
Do you have a cold, sinus issues, allergies? Citrus or other strong acids before smoking? New medications?
Click to expand...
Very good question, we just had a member with a similar issue with meds.

If your ambient is high, have any of the cigars 'exploded'?...where the wrapper expands and cracks.
 
Devil Doc said:
I was wondering when someone was going to noticed where he's at.:laugh:

Doc.
Click to expand...

haha...thanks, Doc. Yea, I don't think overhumidification is an issue. I actually do dry box it for a couple hours before I light up so that it stabilizes. The burn is usually very uneven, but I'm inclined to blame the wind for that. I hadn't thought of funky sinuses throwing off the taste. That could very well be it; it's quite dusty here. Maybe it is just me after all...

ironpeddler said:
If your ambient is high, have any of the cigars 'exploded'?...where the wrapper expands and cracks.
Click to expand...

I have had quite a few explode, but that seemed to correct itself after I got the storage RH where I wanted it. Ambient temp is in the 90s when I smoke (at night), but would that contribute to the taste?
 
It may...try dry boxing overnight...if you have your humidor at 62+...dry boxing for 18-24 hours shouldn't dry it out that significantly. Try a less expensive cigar as a test first before doing it to a really good cigar. A damp cigar will give you all the taste characteristics that you are describing. Put 2 cigars in your dry box, smoke one at maybe 18 hours....see how it tastes, then smoke the next one at 36 hours and see how that one tastes.

There are cigars I have bought (Johnny-O) that I have dry boxed for over a day or two to get them smoking just right. Experimentation is the key to this whole hobby of ours...and that's why we share our personal experiences. But one thing I have learned over all these years, nothing is absolute when dealing with tobacco! :laugh:

Good luck & thank you for your service to this great country of ours brother... :thumbs:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top