Am I smoking too slow?

AshMe

Ok so I was reading THE COMPLETE IDIOT'S GUIDE TO CIGARS 2nd Edition (I've only been at this for a month) and there is a section in the book that shows the different shapes and sizes along with the estimated burn time. The robustos they estimate at 20-40 minutes and coronas at 30-45 minutes. Now I gotta say. I have smoked both robustos and coronas and after an hour I am still around an inch away from reaching the band! I can't be smoking too slow because my sticks stay lit. So whats the deal with those estimated times? How long do your robustos and coronas last you? And is this estimate supposed to be to the nub? or the band? or halfway? or what?

SleevePlz

No worries, slow is good. Those estimates are very bad, imho. The Davidoff website lists smoking times for all of their cigars as well with similar numbers. Not sure if the overall trend is to smoke fast or what. If your cigar isn't going out, then you are doing just fine.

Gray4lines

Never heard those estimates, but that seems fast for me.

Robusto is an hour to 1.5 for me.

Corona -hour

I honestly think coronas or other skinny sizes need more time, given how small they are. Smoking fast will heat up a small ring gauge really fast and it will turn bitter and plug up. As long as you aren't letting it go out between every puff, you're doing perfectly fine! Times can vary wildly between people and even cigars of the same size depending on the roll.

Gray4lines

Oh, and you may be right that they are measuring to the band or some other arbitrary length. I think it used to be "impolite" to smoke past the band. Anyway, as long as you're enjoying it, you're doing it right.

ol_smokey1

When my buddies and I smoke, I'll have a significantly shorter cigar than they do, and I'll always be the last one smoking. No such thing as too slow as long as you're lit! I'd rather smoke slow and enjoy it than smoke fast and get tongue bite. Besides, the slower you smoke, the longer you have to kick back and relax!

rzaman

Slow smoking is a good way to enjoy a cigar. However, if you enjoy smoking fast then that's ok too. The point is to enjoy the smoke.

0patience

AshMe:

Ok so I was reading THE COMPLETE IDIOT'S GUIDE TO CIGARS 2nd Edition (I've only been at this for a month) and there is a section in the book that shows the different shapes and sizes along with the estimated burn time. The robustos they estimate at 20-40 minutes and coronas at 30-45 minutes. Now I gotta say. I have smoked both robustos and coronas and after an hour I am still around an inch away from reaching the band! I can't be smoking too slow because my sticks stay lit. So whats the deal with those estimated times? How long do your robustos and coronas last you? And is this estimate supposed to be to the nub? or the band? or halfway? or what?

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Cigars, written by idiots?
Ok, a bit of advice here. It's great to read all these things, but try not to put so much credence in all that stuff.

20-40 minutes on a robusto??? Are they hotboxing it?
If your pace is working for you, go with it.
Robustos generally will last me almost an hour.
Ask Kuzi, he can get 3 hours out of a cigar. ROFL!!

Seriously, there are so many variables in cigar smoking, don't take anything written about cigar smoking as gospel. Each person is different and will find their own pace and tastes.

As for nubbing a cigar.........The only cigars I nub are really, really good ones.

The3Stogies

This idiot takes at least an hour to smoke a robusto. Used to smoke faster but learned to let the cigar set the pace not me. Sometimes I 2 hit it, instead of 3 draws, if it seems to be getting too hot. I sometimes get an inch in and it tastes so good I get carried away. Slower is better though, if it starts to go out just touch it up with a lighter.

Beaker38

The amount of time spent smoking a cigar depends on what i am doing while i smoke it. the longest i smoke a single cigar at one time was like an hour and thirty minutes which was for a robusto while at a college apartment complex's hot tub the other night. most of the time when i smoke cigars it depends on what i am doing and what i am smoking which effects the time it takes to smoke it.

Martel

I've smoked a few robustos in 45 minutes...trying to hurry or it's just burning at that rate. But for the most part 1:15 to 1:30 if nubbing it. I may set them down after an hour though, just because I can block out that much time easily without the wife wondering what I'm doing. But that's another issue entirely.

Lee.mcglynn

I've read a few articles from this book online just too see what they had to say and if I were you I wouldn't listen to a thing they wrote

rsherman24

Davidoff wants you to smoke a robusto in 30 minutes so you can light up another one. You have to find your own pace. Personally I don't like when a cigar goes out. Hate re-lighting through the ash. If I am smoking a lancero or corona need to be a little more concerned with pace. If it is a robusto or toro, they are pretty stable, but can get hot or bitter if you smoke too fast. I tend to smoke fast, but a robusto will still take me over an hour.

Amos_Umwhat

There's an easy way to tell if you're smoking too slow. It goes out.

AshMe

Lee.mcglynn:

I've read a few articles from this book online just too see what they had to say and if I were you I wouldn't listen to a thing they wrote

lol Alrighty than! Advice taken!

danielzreyes

Try smoking a Liga L40. Hardest cigar to smoke IMO. Can't smoke it too fast, can't smoke it too slow. Great tasting cigar but you'll have to work for it.

kuzi16

0patience:

Ask Kuzi, he can get 3 hours out of a cigar. ROFL!!

here is a short list of cigars i smoked and how long they took (by vitola only)

6.2 x 54 --- 2 hours 50 minutes.

6 x 52 --- 2 hours 25 minutes

4 x 42 --- 1 hour 40 minutes

5.5 x 52 --- 2 hours 20 minutes

6.5 x 45 -- 1 hour 45 minutes

4.5 x 52 --- 1 hour 45 minutes.

6 x 44 --- 1 hour 55 minutes.



the entire goal as stated above is to find a pace that works for you. i find that VERY slow is a great pace for me. as long as it stays lit.

a good starting point to know if you are on a good pace is this:

the cone created by the cherry on the cigar should only be as tall as half of the ring gauge at most. other than that, it is as slow as you want to smoke without it going out.

AshMe

kuzi16:

0patience:

Ask Kuzi, he can get 3 hours out of a cigar. ROFL!!

here is a short list of cigars i smoked and how long they took (by vitola only)

6.2 x 54 --- 2 hours 50 minutes.

6 x 52 --- 2 hours 25 minutes

4 x 42 --- 1 hour 40 minutes

5.5 x 52 --- 2 hours 20 minutes

6.5 x 45 -- 1 hour 45 minutes

4.5 x 52 --- 1 hour 45 minutes.

6 x 44 --- 1 hour 55 minutes.



the entire goal as stated above is to find a pace that works for you. i find that VERY slow is a great pace for me. as long as it stays lit.

a good starting point to know if you are on a good pace is this:

the cone created by the cherry on the cigar should only be as tall as half of the ring gauge at most. other than that, it is as slow as you want to smoke without it going out.

awesome!! So I'm right around there! Excellent reply. Thanks for taking the time

kuzi16

AshMe:

kuzi16:

0patience:

Ask Kuzi, he can get 3 hours out of a cigar. ROFL!!

here is a short list of cigars i smoked and how long they took (by vitola only)

6.2 x 54 --- 2 hours 50 minutes.

6 x 52 --- 2 hours 25 minutes

4 x 42 --- 1 hour 40 minutes

5.5 x 52 --- 2 hours 20 minutes

6.5 x 45 -- 1 hour 45 minutes

4.5 x 52 --- 1 hour 45 minutes.

6 x 44 --- 1 hour 55 minutes.



the entire goal as stated above is to find a pace that works for you. i find that VERY slow is a great pace for me. as long as it stays lit.

a good starting point to know if you are on a good pace is this:

the cone created by the cherry on the cigar should only be as tall as half of the ring gauge at most. other than that, it is as slow as you want to smoke without it going out.

awesome!! So I'm right around there! Excellent reply. Thanks for taking the time

no problem. its what i do.

rsherman24

4 x 42 --- 1 hour 40 minutes

Wow. I can smoke that in the time it takes to warm up the grill and cook 2 burgers. I usually keep some cheaper corona's or small sticks around for those times. If I am smoking something really good on a nice night, I will make it last. If I know I can get another smoke in or have something I really don't care about, burn it up.

webmost

kuzi16:

no problem. its what i do.

True.

First_Warrior

I smoke slowly because I don't want the experiance to end. Go Slow Grasshopper.

Cigary

Estimated times are like anything else.....it's just a guide but not something written in stone. The idea is that you draw enough to keep your cigar lit and some tend to draw so shallow that they eventually go out and that's not truly appreciating how to smoke a cigar. There is the puff puff full draw method that works pretty well as you take two subtle draws and then on the third you take a nice slow deep draw as this tends to keep your tobacco lit w/o suffering an outage. Taking a draw every 30 to 40 seconds help keep you on the right course and if you find that you are taking a draw 2 or 3 times a minute then you will probably be smoking it too hot. Another thing to think about is trying to keep a 1 to 2 inch ash as this insulates the end of the cigar and allows it to keep burning while tapping the ash tends to make the cigar burn to hot and you'll sense that on your tongue. Slow and deliberate draws are the way to enjoy any cigar. If you find that your cigar is going out often it's because it's probably too 'wet' or over humidified.

It takes me about 2 hours to smoke a robusto and 3 hours for smoke a churchill and it rarely goes out but at this pace the tobacco never heats up and it's about as smooth as you can deal with. Another thing to think about is that some cigars are really dense which allows a longer smoking experience while a thinner packed cigar is going to smoke quicker.

Rhamlin

40 mins is pretty fast IMO. Liable to get butter fast. Depending on the RG a robusto for me last about an hour and a half or a little less. I usually smoke just fast enough to keep it lit.