Relighting a Cigar

ScotchnSmoke

Good morning gentlemen. Really had to share this one,. I have been relighting my cigars by ashing it and re-toasting the foot for 16 years. I saw this video and immediately tried it on my breakfast cigar (Alec Bradley Prensado today) and it made a massive difference. I mean it, I have been doing this wrong for so long and now I have seen the light....the re-light.

Seriously gentlemen, if you're not doing this already, give it a try, best way I have ever noticed to relight a cigar.

Has anyone else been doing this? I feel like a lot of times I am just out of the loop on these things.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNzVHuXmJ44

deadman

If I catch it right after it goes out then what I do is run the torch around the OD of the wrapper itself, about a half inch down. Don’t light the ash or the extinguished cherry. This method cuts down on the harshness for me.

ScotchnSmoke

That's interesting too. I will have to give that a shot. So you keep the ash on and light the wrapper above the ash?

deadman

I tap the ash to knock it off if it’s loose. Keep running the torch around the diameter of the wrapper. Looks like **** but seems to work pretty good.
I used to cut about a half inch back and relight but it still seemed harsh to me so I had to improvise.

ScotchnSmoke

Sounds good man, I'll give it a try.

TBonz

I have seen similar technique for putting out a cigar to smoke later or the next day. Use a cutter slightly behind the ash and blow until there is no smoke. I had not seen this for relighting though. I will try to give it a shot next time that happens to me.

Bob_Luken

This might be a useful technique for me. Typically, if my cigar has gone completely out, I purge it, then tap the ash off and toast the foot until the wrapper is glowing all around. Purge again, and again. Then it's ready to draw.
I'll try it Nick's way, keeping the flame to it while I purge and see if that tastes any better.

@Scotch_n_Smoke
I like to get specific about procedures when it comes to cigar smoking techniques. So forgive me if it feels like I'm grilling/interrogating you. You said "it made a massive difference". Can I assume you meant a massive improvement in taste? Also, were you previously purging your cigars before you re-toasted them? Because if you were "out of the loop" on purging,...…. welcome in.

ScotchnSmoke

@Bob_Luken Yessir, massive improvement in taste. I have tried cold purging before, but I either wasn't doing it right or it wasn't working for me. I am not sure what the lighter does to the effect, but I found it's almost as if the cigar never went out.

Thank you Bob, happy to be purging! ha ha (kinda relevant to current events).

webmost

Good to know!

Gray4lines

I picked up doing a purge like that a while ago -- it does seem to make a difference.

I wonder if purging with a flame to it helps you not blow as much moisture back through the cigar? Or the flame helps pull crap or stale air out. No idea.

I notced that when a cigar is almost out, I can do a quick double puff and blow out (purge) a little to help get it going again (no lighter). This seems to work for me.

ScotchnSmoke

I have tried purging before too and it didn't do much for me. I have no clue what the flame does, but it makes a big difference.

Yakster

Interesting, I'll give this a try.

EgoBoundary

I will give this a try too... purging has helped me get a better flavor in general

Yakster

I have to admit that sometimes when a cigar won't draw or light due to carbon build-up that I'll knock off the ash and squeeze out the carbon from the foot with my fingers. It's a real hack job, I don't recommend it.

Bob_Luken

@Yakster said:
I have to admit that sometimes when a cigar won't draw or light due to carbon build-up that I'll knock off the ash and squeeze out the carbon from the foot with my fingers. It's a real hack job, I don't recommend it.

Ok, I won't try that.

Bob_Luken

Last night I had one cigar with no relights. But the second cigar needed a relight and I used the purge-while-toasting trick. The cherry did not produce flames. Maybe I need to drink more whiskey? The flavor was good. I wouldn't call it a massive improvement but one try is not conclusive. More testing is needed.

peter4jc

^^^maybe, find a cigar you're very familiar with and let it go out intentionally a few times to experiment.

Take one for the team, ol' buddy.

ScotchnSmoke

@Bob_Luken This didn't work for me at first either. Took me a couple of cigars but once I got it, when the flame care out with the purge, I noticed a big difference.

Yakster

I think there's something to this. I saw flames shooting out of @Bob_Luken's cigar last night on vHerf.

Bob_Luken

Yep, it still had a cherry in the center and I re-lit the wrapper away from my face, then purged while putting the jet lighter to it at the same time and,.... it must have looked funny to Chris, as I was looking cross-eyed at that flaming foot. But it did taste good immediately after that. And it was vastly different flavor than before it went out, I'm a bit suspicious that while I might be burning away some old carbon buildup, I could also be (at the same time) creating more carbon buildup. Later on the cigar got nasty before it got down to a nub. Not sure if that is related at all but I did take note of it. I'm optimistic that this technique is valuable but before I completely endorse it,.... I need to keep trying it half the time and comparing results.

ScotchnSmoke

@Bob_Luken I am also the type of person to never believe something until I try it for myself. I find that most of the time, general info/knowledge is wrong for me.

Who is it that said: "Believe none of what you hear and only half of what you see?"

Bob_Luken

@Scotch_n_Smoke It may be a very very old saying. Poe gets some credit though.

Even if I'm not yet entirely on-board with this new technique, this thread has me remembering to purge more often. Sometimes the improvement is remarkable in post purge flavor.

ScotchnSmoke

@Bob_Luken , you make me glad that I found this forum. I appreciate your candor.

Yakster

I've been exhaling during relights lately, which often are required in the last third, and it does seem like there's some advantage to this technique.

Bob_Luken

I think I'm using too much air. My flames don't look like Nick P's do in the video. Gotta keep at it and see how it goes. The bad thing about it is I need the most relights when it's getting down to the nub,..... and I'd like to keep my eyebrows intact.

Yakster

I don't think that Nick P has anything on @VegasFrank in terms of nubbing cigars. You have to look to the master for nub relights. Frank, how do you get 110% out of your cigars?

Diver43

The Perdomo shop/lounge is a short drive from my house.
All the older Cuban guys do that after their cigar goes out while sipping their cortadito. The store/Humidor/Lounge/Nick's office are impressive, You should see his drum set!

VegasFrank

@Yakster said:
I don't think that Nick P has anything on @VegasFrank in terms of nubbing cigars. You have to look to the master for nub relights. Frank, how do you get 110% out of your cigars?

My wife tells me I suck big time, so maybe that has something to do with it.

Yakster

My wife was telling me that in so many words last night.