Home Cigar 101

new questions and concerns

Ok guys had another cigar today after i got home. I smoked an onyx reserve. I seem to have the same reoccurring problems with most cigars. I number one cant keep them lit, I will smoke till the stack is about 1/2 an inch long to 3/4 an inch long and my cigar will burn out. Then I have to ash and relight. I also seem to get light headed with most every cigar. Now I light my cigars with matches could that have something to do with my issue? By the way my thoughts on the onyx, it was very smooth and slightly sweet tasting to me with the slightest choclate/nutty flavor.

Comments

  • betasynnbetasynn Posts: 1,249
    Mmm... could just not be lighting them well. Try getting a torch.
  • bigharpoonbigharpoon Posts: 2,963 ✭✭✭
    You might not be getting a good, uniform light on all the fill and wrapper, or the cigar might be too moist (high RH). How's the draw been? Are you getting light-headed from sucking so hard? (that sounds really bad)
  • Well the draw normally has been very easy on most cigars, like the olivia v  i had yesterday was very easy. It still went out multiple times. What are some good lighters, the only reason i didnt buy one is I dont want to keep refilling it all the time, my friends lighter has to be refilled like every time we smoke.
  • brc81brc81 Posts: 249
    Smoking too slow?
  • VidarienVidarien Posts: 246
    High RH + A lot of moisture from your mouth will do this. My advice, make sure your RH is not above 70% and watch how you're smoking it (IE make sure you're not slobbering through it/on it. I only say this because i used to do this.)
  • JdoraisJdorais Posts: 652
    brc81:
    Smoking too slow?
    Thats a great point 81.
  • Well I dont have a humidor yet, I buy my cigars from shop or cigar.com in singles and smoke right away. I am going to buy a humidor soon. And I make sure not to slobber on it, and as far as I can see the cigars stay as dry as could be.
  • And I try to draw every minute or so, maybe it is the way im lighting it? I mean I toast a little with match till front is slightly black, then I puff and roll till it looks even. Now rarely does my cigar stay perfectly even the whole time, Im always fixing uneven areas too, but my cigar starts off even? I havnt really had anyone show me the proper way to smoke either.
  • betasynnbetasynn Posts: 1,249
    Go to your local B&M and buy a cigar. Sit around, and watch other people, and do what they're doing.
  • Garen BGaren B Posts: 977
    betasynn:
    Go to your local B&M and buy a cigar. Sit around, and watch other people, and do what they're doing.
    This is a great solution, you get to see how others do it, and if your still having trouble, I'm sure one or two of them will help you out.

    From what it sounds like though, you might not be fully lighting your stogie. If your smoking at night, just make sure that the entire end of the cigar is lit, if its during the day, it might be a little more hit and miss. What I do is look at the end and keep lighting till I just barely see gray ash spread uniformly on the end.

    Regarding your light headedness, depending on the cigar you smoke, you might need something in your stomach beforehand. Or you might be smoking the stogie too quickly. Hope this helps.
  • betasynnbetasynn Posts: 1,249
    Garen offers up a great point; big smokes can knock you around pretty good. Start with some milder sticks; anybody have any suggestions for him?
  • burchamsburchams Posts: 31
    Are the sticks that are not staying lit coming from the B&M? Perhaps their humidifier is set too high or the sticks are too close to it. That in combination to not lighting it all the way could cause your problems. As for smoking it, drawing enough to keep it lit is all there is to it really. Don't inhale. These are pricey but the Ashton VSG Robusto was a good smoke for me as a green green rookie (as opposed to just a rookie now). Not to strong or full bodied.
  • betasynnbetasynn Posts: 1,249
    I would recommend a Criollo, in hindsight.
  • kaspera79kaspera79 Posts: 7,257 ✭✭✭
    newtocigars:
    Ok guys had another cigar today after i got home. I smoked an onyx reserve. I seem to have the same reoccurring problems with most cigars. I number one cant keep them lit, I will smoke till the stack is about 1/2 an inch long to 3/4 an inch long and my cigar will burn out. Then I have to ash and relight. I also seem to get light headed with most every cigar. Now I light my cigars with matches could that have something to do with my issue? By the way my thoughts on the onyx, it was very smooth and slightly sweet tasting to me with the slightest choclate/nutty flavor.
    Yo' newtocigars.. If you can smoke a cigar down to the last 1/2 inch, that is all you can ask for brother.. The last inch or so will be moist from so many trips to your mouth, and wet tobacco won't burn so hot.
    I use matches too from time to time, and it's sounds like you have a good technique,toasting the end and then lighting it. To keep a more even burn try rotating your cigar as you smoke it, or as it is burning. By that I mean , if the band was on it don't always smoke with the band facing up. sort of roll it as you draw on it. And it sounds like you are smoking some fuller bodied cigars, sort of "sip" them instead of drawing a full mouth full of smoke, take your time...
  • Ya im deff getting light headed becasue of drawing so often and so hard to keep it going. Tomorrow when I go to shop to smoke im going to watch everyone and possibly get some pointers. However I dont like smoking anything less then medium bodied, I cant taste it really. Im the same way with the alcohol I drink, I like the strong bold flavors or I cant taste whats going on.
  • Garen BGaren B Posts: 977
    I think he is saying he can only smoke a 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch before he needs a relight Kas, but what you do say is true, especially about "sipping" the fuller bodied cigars. Reminds me of one of my first experiences with a full bodied cigar on an empty stomach...Spent a good hour on the couch feeling sicker than a dog.

    A good mild cigar to start out on would be the 5 Vegas Gold, or the Classic. Nice on the wallet and pretty good smokes, only bad thing is, you can only find them online. Another good starter cigar would be the Oliva Serie G, heck, one of my first cigars was a Rocky Patel Connecticut, good stick and wasn't too harsh to start out with.

    Edit: Just read your newest post newtocigars and I wouldn't jump headfirst into saying you can't smoke anything below medium. When you go to your B&M tomorrow, look for or ask for a Nub Connecticut, it'll be a short, fat cigar, but will really show that being a mild cigar doesn't mean that it is a boring cigar. Only drawback is that it will probably be a short smoke, so pick up 2 if your looking to smoke for an hour or two.
  • LukoLuko Posts: 2,003 ✭✭
    I use matches all the time and toast the end. I can count on one hand the number of cigars I had to give up on because of burn issues.
  • bacon.jaybacon.jay Posts: 720 ✭✭✭
    Alrighty then, I have a little story...

    I had a friend of mine that I could not watch when he smoked cigars because it was almost painful. He never seemed to get it right, no matter how many times I explained it to him. He has smoked cigarettes for the longest time. I think that perhaps how he used to smoke cigars might be what is happening to you... let me explain...

    When my friend (we'll call him "Derek") puffed on a cigar, he seemed confused about what he was supposed to do with the smoke he took in. He always wanted to inhale it, because that's what he was used to, even though he knew that he wasn't supposed to. Sooooo, what he always ended up doing was, he'd use his lungs to draw in through the cigar, taking smoke into his mouth, and then would stop inhaling when his mouth filled with smoke. However, the problem this created was that when he'd draw on a cigar, it looked as though he was trying to breath through a coffee stirrer after running 5 miles through 100 degree heat. Sort of like a repetitive full-body lung heave. It put a strain on me every time i saw him do it because he just never seemed to get it.

    Derek had a lot of the same exact problems you have been having. The cigar may not have had a hard draw or even a somewhat firm draw, but because of the way he was doing it, he'd get lightheaded fairly quickly.

    Also, because of the way he drew smoke in, there wasn't enough air passing through the ash and the coals to keep the cigar lit. He would also have to relight several times, even on relatively short smokes, like the RP Vintage 1992 robusto i gave him last weekend.

    If this sounds anything like what you may be doing (for it seems as though you're doing everything else right) try this piece of advice that i gave him when he was halfway through that RP:

    "Don't think of a cigar as an over-sized cigarette. It is not an over-sized cigarette. Instead, imagine your cigar is a big straw, and the smoke you draw in through it is water that you are planning on spitting at someone."

    I told him this, and 30 seconds later he was doing just fine, with huge amounts of smoke, and no full-body lung heave.
  • Ive never smoked cigarettes before but I will try that. I want to thank everyone for their help Im so glad I joined this forum.
  • KriegKrieg Posts: 5,188 ✭✭✭
    what are you using to cut your cigar?

    "Long ashes my friends."

  • Well depends on cigar, I use punch for certain cigars and guillotine for others.
Sign In or Register to comment.