Home Cigar 101

hot fingers

webmostwebmost Posts: 7,713 ✭✭✭✭✭
One of the first things I learned here was to enjoy a slower, cooler smoking pace. Before joining cigar.com forum, I was smoking too hard. The smoke would turn stanky and bite me half way through. Now, I regularly get an hour and a half out of a robusto, hit the sweet spot when the ash first gets long, and it stays sweet and good all the way through. Might knock ash twice in the whole business. Right this moment, I am an hour and a quarter into a 5" robusto. There's only an inch and a half left, with an inch and a quarter ash on it. I get to this point of the smoke, I am very reluctant to toss the stub. I've tried longer sticks, but that doesn't help. The other night, for instance, I burnt an Alec B AC churchill for two solid hours, made myself dizzy, had a tiny stub left, and still was equally reluctant to give up. Done right, I find, a good cigar is good to the end. I hate to toss it. A bad one I toss half done; but my faves I don't want to put away.

Thing is, sooner or later your fingers get hot, and you have to give up. I can imagine a toothpick stub in my future, like Freddie Freeloader (boy that dates me, dunt it?)

How and when do you guys give up?

Boy, I do enjoy these things. To think of all the years I wasted without them. hmm hmm hmm. How did I survive.

“It has been a source of great pain to me to have met with so many among [my] opponents who had not the liberality to distinguish between political and social opposition; who transferred at once to the person, the hatred they bore to his political opinions.” —Thomas Jefferson (1808)


Comments

  • webmost:
    One of the first things I learned here was to enjoy a slower, cooler smoking pace. Before joining cigar.com forum, I was smoking too hard. The smoke would turn stanky and bite me half way through. Now, I regularly get an hour and a half out of a robusto, hit the sweet spot when the ash first gets long, and it stays sweet and good all the way through. Might knock ash twice in the whole business. Right this moment, I am an hour and a quarter into a 5" robusto. There's only an inch and a half left, with an inch and a quarter ash on it. I get to this point of the smoke, I am very reluctant to toss the stub. I've tried longer sticks, but that doesn't help. The other night, for instance, I burnt an Alec B AC churchill for two solid hours, made myself dizzy, had a tiny stub left, and still was equally reluctant to give up. Done right, I find, a good cigar is good to the end. I hate to toss it. A bad one I toss half done; but my faves I don't want to put away.

    Thing is, sooner or later your fingers get hot, and you have to give up. I can imagine a toothpick stub in my future, like Freddie Freeloader (boy that dates me, dunt it?)

    How and when do you guys give up?

    Boy, I do enjoy these things. To think of all the years I wasted without them. hmm hmm hmm. How did I survive.

    Toothpicks for the win brother
  • Coure then again I've smoked a gar to the point it was so hot it brought tears to my eyes but there was still so much flavor I felt it a crime to get rid of it
  • Roberto99Roberto99 Posts: 1,077
    webmost:
    One of the first things I learned here was to enjoy a slower, cooler smoking pace. Before joining cigar.com forum, I was smoking too hard. The smoke would turn stanky and bite me half way through. Now, I regularly get an hour and a half out of a robusto, hit the sweet spot when the ash first gets long, and it stays sweet and good all the way through. Might knock ash twice in the whole business. Right this moment, I am an hour and a quarter into a 5" robusto. There's only an inch and a half left, with an inch and a quarter ash on it. I get to this point of the smoke, I am very reluctant to toss the stub. I've tried longer sticks, but that doesn't help. The other night, for instance, I burnt an Alec B AC churchill for two solid hours, made myself dizzy, had a tiny stub left, and still was equally reluctant to give up. Done right, I find, a good cigar is good to the end. I hate to toss it. A bad one I toss half done; but my faves I don't want to put away.

    Thing is, sooner or later your fingers get hot, and you have to give up. I can imagine a toothpick stub in my future, like Freddie Freeloader (boy that dates me, dunt it?)

    How and when do you guys give up?

    Boy, I do enjoy these things. To think of all the years I wasted without them. hmm hmm hmm. How did I survive.

    I've had a similar experience to you with learning how to smoke slower. I've had a few finger burners but I usually let mine go a little bit after where the label is. I start getting heat and off flavors at that point and I am feeling about as good as it gets. It's just not worth the effort from there on in for me... most of the time anyhow.
  • taythegibstaythegibs Posts: 2,025
    We never have any toothpicks in the house and i just got tired of it one evening and started whittling on a hunk of wood i had, its now a two pronged "poker" and it works pretty well
  • camgfscamgfs Posts: 968
    I've even been caught using fishing pliers......
    Most times I toss a cigar when the burn gets past where the band was, but there are those times when you wish you could smoke 100% of the stick.

  • kuzi16kuzi16 Posts: 14,633 ✭✭✭✭
    i never use "utensils" to smoke. once it burns my fingers, im done.
    if the cigar sucks, or the flavor changes for the worse, then i end much, much sooner.
  • jgibvjgibv Posts: 9,244 ✭✭✭✭✭
    kuzi16:
    i never use "utensils" to smoke. once it burns my fingers, im done.
    if the cigar sucks, or the flavor changes for the worse, then i end much, much sooner.
    +1, I'm with you on this Kuzi.
    And for me, I don't usually do small puffs, so if a cigar is to the point where it's burning my fingers then I'm usually getting a "hot" draw....and I never enjoy that.

    * I have a new address as of 3/24/18 *

  • asianbiker8asianbiker8 Posts: 551
    i've used chopsticks occasionally. yes, i am that asian....lol
  • webmostwebmost Posts: 7,713 ✭✭✭✭✭
    You guys are funny. I didn't really mean I was going to pull a Freddie Freeloader. I'm not whittling toothpicks here. I just meant it to a) illustrate reluctance to put the stub down, and b) add a note of delight, cause good old Red Skelton always appeared so genuinely delighted. Loved that guy.

    Anyhoo, it's obvious I'm not the only one has probs putting out a good cigar.
    “It has been a source of great pain to me to have met with so many among [my] opponents who had not the liberality to distinguish between political and social opposition; who transferred at once to the person, the hatred they bore to his political opinions.” —Thomas Jefferson (1808)


  • JZerbyJZerby Posts: 122
    webmost:
    One of the first things I learned here was to enjoy a slower, cooler smoking pace. Before joining cigar.com forum, I was smoking too hard. The smoke would turn stanky and bite me half way through. Now, I regularly get an hour and a half out of a robusto, hit the sweet spot when the ash first gets long, and it stays sweet and good all the way through. Might knock ash twice in the whole business. Right this moment, I am an hour and a quarter into a 5" robusto. There's only an inch and a half left, with an inch and a quarter ash on it. I get to this point of the smoke, I am very reluctant to toss the stub. I've tried longer sticks, but that doesn't help. The other night, for instance, I burnt an Alec B AC churchill for two solid hours, made myself dizzy, had a tiny stub left, and still was equally reluctant to give up. Done right, I find, a good cigar is good to the end. I hate to toss it. A bad one I toss half done; but my faves I don't want to put away.

    Thing is, sooner or later your fingers get hot, and you have to give up. I can imagine a toothpick stub in my future, like Freddie Freeloader (boy that dates me, dunt it?)

    How and when do you guys give up?

    Boy, I do enjoy these things. To think of all the years I wasted without them. hmm hmm hmm. How did I survive.

    This was the first question my wife asked me when I first started smoking cigars. She smokes an occasional cigarette, and it is obvious when to stop those. But she saw me workin' the cigar and I was about a half inch from the band (I happened to have left that one on) and she asked, "When are you supposed to stop?" At the time, I said, whenever you want to. I guess I was right.

    That said, I usually stop about where the band once was. It's just a reasonable place for me to stop. I've gone a bit longer but it just ceases being pleasant for me.
  • TridentTrident Posts: 2,562 ✭✭✭✭
    I have actually used a pipe to "Roach" my cigar. I have a few pipes of different caliber, so I just pick one that the cigar fits in and finish the smoke. Especially if it is a great cigar. You can burn the whole thing then, and not worry about hot fingers or hot smoke.
  • webmostwebmost Posts: 7,713 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Damn that's a red hot idea! Got to dig out my old pipes, now.
    “It has been a source of great pain to me to have met with so many among [my] opponents who had not the liberality to distinguish between political and social opposition; who transferred at once to the person, the hatred they bore to his political opinions.” —Thomas Jefferson (1808)


  • TridentTrident Posts: 2,562 ✭✭✭✭
    one of my pipe smoking buddies gave me the idea. works like a charm as long as the cigar fits into the pipe with a good seal.
Sign In or Register to comment.