Me and plugged cigars

[dk_ace]

I'm batting about one in three with plugged cigars right now! That is really frustrating when you only get to smoke a couple of times a week. What's worse, I'm not buying junk 'gars. The last three have been: puros indios, a domestic partagas, and today, an HDM dark sumatra. The HDM really surprised me since I've NEVER had a construction problem with one of their cigars. Luckily, nothing really expensive has been plugged, but that doesn't make things any less frustrating.

How often do you guys get plugged cigars? Am I just having really bad luck, or is this typical? The strange thing is that all of these cigars were ones that I bought when visiting B&M's I don't normally go to, so I can't just run across the street and ask if they'll replace it. I've made a pact with myself that I'm not buying any others unless the B&M is close enough to go back if the sticks are bad. These things are too expensive to have to throw every third one out.

D

 

[tkoepp]

My first guess would be that your running the rh to high in your humi's, I hardly ever have a plugged cigar; and all the coolers and humi's run from 60-65 rh. If your storing yours at the same, possibly recalibrate the hydrometers to make sure.

 

[Big Stick]

May want to get a Henry's draw tool set?

 

[Fatken]

My first guess would be that your running the rh to high in your humi's, I hardly ever have a plugged cigar; and all the coolers and humi's run from 60-65 rh. If your storing yours at the same, possibly recalibrate the hydrometers to make sure.

What he said, I dropped my rh from 70% to 64-65 and while it hasn't completely elimanated plugged cigars it greatly reduced the number.

Ken

 

[Gator]

I friggin hate tight draws, but, what fatken and tkoepp said, and when you get a tight draw, put in a small desktop w/ 60% beads for a few weeks (sometimes less, sometimes more) and often they loosen up. Seems like sticks can stay wet in the interior for quite awhile, best i can tell.

 

[dk_ace]

I keep them at 65% with Heartfelt Beads. I made the post shortly after being frustrated with the HDM. I started trying to remember where I got the plugged ones, and that may hold the key. One was gifted to me, the other two came from the same B&M I visited about 6 weeks ago. They were the only two sticks I bought there. Perhaps that B&M keeps things way too wet? I thought that 6 weeks would be plenty of time for them to acclimate, but I guess not. I won't be visiting that shop again. None of the ones from my local store have been plugged, and the ones that I leave in my humi just get better with time (with the exception of those last three sticks). Anyway, I'll go back to ones that came from other sources tomorrow and see if I have any more problems.

Thanks!

D

 

[Ginseng]

Six weeks is plenty of time for humidity to requilibrate. Curious on the HdM though. I've smoked quite a few of these and the draw has been uniformly on the loose side. I've never even had so much as a tight draw, even straight from the B&M.

What do you do when you encounter this and is this a bona fide 100% blockage or is the tight just really tight? Have you tried massaging the cigar? I kid you not. Sometimes it can loosen a knot of tobacco or open up a few smoke channels. Have you been able to feel any firm spots? Typically, if a cigar is tight, taking off a 1/4" or 1/2" at the head can make it manageable. If the cigar is just packed too full of leaf, though, these tactics may not help.

If I get a cigar that doesn't draw, I usually start lopping off sections with my cutter until I can draw or until it's too short to bother.

Wilkey

 

[dk_ace]

Six weeks is plenty of time for humidity to requilibrate. Curious on the HdM though. I've smoked quite a few of these and the draw has been uniformly on the loose side. I've never even had so much as a tight draw, even straight from the B&M.

What do you do when you encounter this and is this a bona fide 100% blockage or is the tight just really tight? Have you tried massaging the cigar? I kid you not. Sometimes it can loosen a knot of tobacco or open up a few smoke channels. Have you been able to feel any firm spots? Typically, if a cigar is tight, taking off a 1/4" or 1/2" at the head can make it manageable. If the cigar is just packed too full of leaf, though, these tactics may not help.

If I get a cigar that doesn't draw, I usually start lopping off sections with my cutter until I can draw or until it's too short to bother.

Wilkey

I've tried massaging them. On the three I had, it helped, but there was still far too little smoke getting in my mouth to be enjoyable. Lopping off sections has been the most successful strategy, but most of the time I ended up chopping off most of the cigar and only smoking it for a few more minutes before putting it out.

D

 

[CoventryCat86]

I hate Purios Indios exactly for this reason. The last one (and almost everyone I ever smoked) were plugged solid and I will never smoke one of those pieces of garbage ever again. :angry:

I never wind up with plugged cigars these days because I pretty much only smoke Cuban cigars and high end domestics and the few medium priced domestics I smoke like Carlos Toraño Exodus 1959 are never plugged.

I also keep my cigars at 60%RH.

One more thing, even 60%RH won't help $hitty cigars like Puros Indios. Did I already tell you those suck? Don't buy Puros Indios ever again.

 

[AVB]

I can't speak for any other Puros Indios but I bought 4 boxes of Presidentes when the closed out the old style packaging about 3 years ago. Didn't have a problem with any of them and only have about 6 left.

 

[dk_ace]

The Puros Indios was gifted to me, and I can't say anything about how it smoked because the thing was plugged solid from the start. I wasn't able to salvage it at all. I have another one that is a much smaller ring gauge that I plan on trying soon to see what the line tastes like.

 

[CoventryCat86]

The Puros Indios was gifted to me, and I can't say anything about how it smoked because the thing was plugged solid from the start. I wasn't able to salvage it at all. I have another one that is a much smaller ring gauge that I plan on trying soon to see what the line tastes like.

Save yourself the aggravation and either throw it away NOW or send it to Purobrat, PO Box 351, Santo, TX 76472.

 

[gunsandcigars88]

I haven't had this problem with any smoke. All I know if it is the shop that I think you are talking about my CAO Soprano better not be like this! That would be a little bit of a loss.

 

[dk_ace]

I haven't had this problem with any smoke. All I know if it is the shop that I think you are talking about my CAO Soprano better not be like this! That would be a little bit of a loss.

No worries, those came from a different shop. I haven't taken you to the one where I got the plugged ones.

D