Plugged stick or Newb moment?

Beernfritos

Gents,
I happily stumbled across some Cohiba Black Pequenos in a walk-in at a Total Wine, after giving my last stick for the evening to a buddy. So I picked em up, figuring I'd have one on the drive home. Anyway, I was having zero issues for 10 or 15 minutes, and suddenly the draw slowed, then almost stopped. like suckin up an ice cube into a straw. bit down a bit on the tip, figuring to loosen it up a bit but no dice. I was rollin down I-95 at this point, so I couldn't really investigate further, just had to tough it out.

Is that an issues in those smaller guages, or do plugs develop suddenly like that, or maybe I just did something wrong? I havent progressed to reading the "how to fix construction issues" materials I've seen yet, so I'm not quite sure what just took the fun out of my drive!

j0z3r

The tobacco will expand as it heats, so if there was a tight spot it stands to reason that it could have expanded as it heated up and caused a plug.

Beernfritos

So, both a plugged stick and a bit of newbishness? haha

thanks for setting that straight.

j0z3r

I've found construction on most red dot Cohibas to be pretty poor.

kuzi16

Beernfritos:

So, both a plugged stick and a bit of newbishness? haha

thanks for setting that straight.

nope, not a newb issue at all. that coulda happened to anyone.

what joe said is 100% correct, and the cause of the plug from the heat is a construction issue. the small ring of that cigar (a 36 if i am not mistaken) is much more difficult to roll than a larger ring. too much pressure, a slight twist in the bunch, or not a 100% even bunch and there is not other filler in there to "hide" the mistake. it passes the quality control at the factory but after you light it the natural heat from the burning of the cigar exaggerates the issue because of the expansion, and you now have a plugged cigar.