not puffing/drawing correctly - anyone else make this mistake?

[bluenote75]

So, I'm quite embarrassed to post this, but I have just discovered something that has changed my cigar smoking greatly: I have not been puffing correctly.

Let me explain.

I've smoked cigars for years now. Only about 25 per year, but still. I have always noticed that my smoking is sporadic as far as enjoyment/taste. One day, I'll have a cigar and it draws/burns/tastes pretty good. A week later, will have another and it tastes bland, sometimes doesn't burn well, not much smoke output, etc. I keep my rh at about 65%. This has been driving me nuts over the years. Why is one cigar pretty decent, and have another that is meh at best? (these cigars are perdomos, alec bradleys, padrons, cubans, etc). good cigars, not cheap gas station ones. I've even had padron 1964s that were fairly mild (that is not right)

Anyway, the other day, I'm watching a youtube review and I notice the reviewer puts the cigar about an inch or more into his mouth when taking a draw. I then look up other youtubers and they are all doing the same.

The way I draw, is I put the cigar about 1/4 of an inch into my mouth, barely just covering the cap of the cigar. I think to myself, perhaps this is affecting the taste, etc of my cigars?

So, I pull out a Pradron 1926 no 35 to test my theory. I had this exact same cigar a few months ago. It was nice, flavourful, but compared to online reviews, I wasn't getting the full "oomph" of this cigar. I wasn't getting the same strength that other reviewers would describe.

So, I light this up, and use the "new" way to puff. cigar well into my mouth. What a difference! Full, full flavour. Tons of smoke. The entire cigar was an absolute joy, full of flavour!

My old way of puffing, I believe, was resulting in not having my mouth open very much. Therefore, I wasn't pulling very strongly, and wasn't getting the full experience. It's kinda hard to explain.

This is an absolute game changer for me. Again, it sounds so silly, but my old way of puffing just seemed natural to me from the beginning, and just didn't give it any thought.

I wonder how many other new cigars smokers (or veteran smokers) may be making this mistake?

I'm going to have another cigar in a few weeks, and continue to test this theory, but I believe I've found what I've been doing wrong all these years.

 

[bfreebern]

Don't let them fool you, marriage in fact changes how much she takes into her mouth.

 

[CigarStone]

Your post brought out a few thoughts.

1. I, personally, would not keep cigars at 65% long term. That's a little too dry for my taste.
2. With you only smoking 25 cigars per year, you may be experiencing what we all do .... I think. I have smoked some incredible cigars, only to find out it was the company, the day, the weather, my mood, etc. Next time I smoked that same cigar, it was a very different experience.
3. I think you are correct though, you need to get the cigar in your mouth rather than just to your lips. I remember saying something very similar in high school ..... and it didn't involve a cigar.

YMMV

 

[Not A Nice Person]

So . . . . you . . . . fellate your cigars? Am I reading this correctly?

Damn.

That's bound to get some side eye down at the cigar lounge. I'm just saying.

~Boar