Cigar Ash

[Gig]

Hi folks

I'm a real newbie to cigars, smoked my first the other day in years and it was a cheap machine rolled one at that. Down here in Australia single cigars are very pricey. Anyway to the question. Whats so important about trying to leave the ash of the cigar on intact ?

[Phil The Thrill]

Well a good long ash is a sign of nice construction, so it can be a prestige thing. Mainly though, a cigar ash helps keep the burn even and the smoke a bit cooler, at least to me.

[stirwood]

I think they say it muffles the embers some so you get a cooler burn and less harsh of a taste. Sometimes it seems cool to see how long it will go I believe better tobacco makes for a longer ash, but I keep mine short because every single time it does fall off it lands on my chest and makes a mess

[scottw]

Originally Posted by Phil The Thrill

Well a good long ash is a sign of nice construction, so it can be a prestige thing. Mainly though, a cigar ash helps keep the burn even and the smoke a bit cooler, at least to me.

plus it looks cool!

[kayaker]

Originally Posted by scottw

plus it looks cool!

Except when it falls off in my lap.

[Paint]

I agree with the above,nothing like a tight ash!!!!

[Cigar Man Andy]

Agree with all said plus it is cool to see other peoples reaction. LOL



Nice Ash.

[Hermit]

Don't know if it's true, but I heard Churchill
would sometimes insert a straightened paper clip into
his cigar to intimidate people with his long ash.
It may be I don't know why anyone would be intimadated.

[BarneyBandMan]

Originally Posted by stirwood

I think they say it muffles the embers some so you get a cooler burn and less harsh of a taste. Sometimes it seems cool to see how long it will go I believe better tobacco makes for a longer ash, but I keep mine short because every single time it does fall off it lands on my chest and makes a mess

agreed

[Silound]

Ashes are terrible conductors of heat....in fact ash is one of the BEST known insulation materials.

The point of holding an ash, other than the bragging rights, is twofold:

• Helps temper the air coming into the cigar by warming it and thereby reducing the need for the cherry to flare up to burn and
• Helps keep the cherry insulated so that it doesn't burn out as quick and leave you holding a charred stump you have to relight.

[guy g]

Nothing like hitting a bump and the #$%^ ash falling in my lap or God forbid, my coffee cup.

[PerpetualNoob]

Originally Posted by Hermit

Don't know if it's true, but I heard Churchill
would sometimes insert a straightened paper clip into
his cigar to intimidate people with his long ash.
It may be I don't know why anyone would be intimadated.

There's a popular rumor that famous attorney Clarence Darrow would thread a piece of piano wire through his cigars. He would smoke them while his opponent was cross-examining witnesses, or making his closing arguments. The jury would be so distracted, watching the ash and waiting for it to fall, they wouldn't hear anything the other guy said. It's very widely reported, but there doesn't seem to be any first-hand documented evidence to support it, so it may not be true. Damned good story, though.

[ActionAndy]

I was smoking a cigar once in the garden of a bar here with some friends that i've known since...kindergarten I guess. One of my buddies had brought his roommate from college, who wasn't a bad guy or anything but...in the middle of my cigar, he leans over, flicks it with his finger, and knocks my ash off. I go "what the hell was that?" And he goes "you had some ash on it man."


I was so flabbergasted that I didn't even really respond. And then he went on to tell me how my cigar was "dipped" and it wasn't a real cigar (it was a Dirt Torpedo, which is not even flavored let alone sprayed or dipped).

So cherish your ash, my god!

[HAZMAN]

You have to love a big ash even if purely for bragging rights.

[Emjaysmash]

Originally Posted by kayaker

Except when it falls off in my lap.

That when i do what my friends affectionately call "the ash dance". all you do is swing you arms and gyrating while taking occasional passes past your crotch for any remnants that decided to stick.

"Is that Elvis??!"
"Nope, he's just got a crotch full of ash..."