moisten the wrapper?

[AndyPanda]

I've been building a nice selection of cigars and learning what I like etc. A few of the cigars I've purchased seemed extremely dry and brittle - even after a month in the humidor at 70%. In the same humidor I have other cigars that smoke perfectly and don't seem the least bit dried out - it is just a couple of brands that came (from CI) this way.

So ... as an experiment, I took one of the cigars with the brittle and dry wrapper and rolled it up in a barely damp paper towel for a couple of minutes. When I removed it, the wrapper now has a slightly sticky and pliable feel to it and the aroma is yummy. I put it back in the humidor for a day or two and compared, to the others of the same lot, it seemed like an improvement. It smoked much better too - no problems with the wrapper cracking like others from this lot.

From what I've been reading - a common problem with over humidity is that the filler swells and then cracks/bursts the wrapper. What I was attempting to do (and so far it seems to have worked) was re-humidify only the wrapper.

I tried searching for info on this and the only hits I got were in reference to licking the wrapper before smoking. That doesn't sound like something I want to do (don't feel like smoking my own spit).

Just curious if anyone else has tried moistening an overdry wrapper - and how nutty am I for doing it?

[JCK]

Hey if it works for you more power to you! After a few months in the humi at 70% though, it should have stabilized and pretty much had the same effect with the moist paper towel. Remember the humidity is going to permeate the cigar from the outside in, so the wrapper is the first thing that will benefit from a humid environment.

Might try moving the cigars with the dry brittle wrappers close to the humidification device you're using. If this is the case and it's not helping then... :: shrug :: i dunno.

Like I said, whatever works for you.

[Cigary]

I used to this about a year ago and found that the cigar does indeed smoke better,,at least for me it did. I wrote a post on this and it confused some of the brothers as to why I would do what you are talking about. I stopped doing it and considered that maybe what I did wasn't really making an improvement but after reading your post I will try it again and see if it does what it did before. If something works for you and you like it you don't need permission from anyone to keep repeating the process. Glad it worked for you.

[AndyPanda]

[QUOTE=JCK;2715492]Remember the humidity is going to permeate the cigar from the outside in, so the wrapper is the first thing that will benefit from a humid environment.
QUOTE]

Well ... that's what I thought too - and it totally makes sense that is the way it would work. But after reading countless posts where people claim that an over humid cigar will cause the filler to swell and split the wrapper. Those posts got me wondering (wouldn't the wrapper soften up and stretch?) .... that and the fact that even after a few months at 70% (and I even put some in a little higher for a few weeks) and the wrapper still feels hard and brittle.... So I'm starting to think that maybe small amounts of over humidification (say 75-80%) is enough to cause the filler to swell (and probably the wrapper too - and enough to hatch beetles) but not enough soften the wrapper. So maybe my goofy procedure is able to take just the wrapper way above 80% so it can soften up - but not for enough time to let the filler get overhydrated. hmmmm - anyway I'll probably keep experimenting with the rest of the sticks from the lot that arrived dry and brittle.


BTW, I did the salt test on two hygrometers - and both are agreeing about the RH in my humidors, so unless I did the salt test completely wrong (several times), then I really do have them in a box that should be softening those wrappers a bit.

Anyway ... thanks for the replies. It seems really odd that I have to do this, but it sure did seem to make an improvement on those particular sticks.

[JCK]

The humidity still permeates through the wrapper first, but once it gets to the filler, it's the filler that expands after being sandwiched. :]

[JCK]

one other note.. typically when a cigar splits from overhumidification it splits at the foot... so it still follows that outside/in concept.

[Cigary]

[QUOTE=AndyPanda;2715730]

Originally Posted by JCK

Remember the humidity is going to permeate the cigar from the outside in, so the wrapper is the first thing that will benefit from a humid environment.
QUOTE]

Well ... that's what I thought too - and it totally makes sense that is the way it would work. But after reading countless posts where people claim that an over humid cigar will cause the filler to swell and split the wrapper. Those posts got me wondering (wouldn't the wrapper soften up and stretch?) .... that and the fact that even after a few months at 70% (and I even put some in a little higher for a few weeks) and the wrapper still feels hard and brittle.... So I'm starting to think that maybe small amounts of over humidification (say 75-80%) is enough to cause the filler to swell (and probably the wrapper too - and enough to hatch beetles) but not enough soften the wrapper. So maybe my goofy procedure is able to take just the wrapper way above 80% so it can soften up - but not for enough time to let the filler get overhydrated. hmmmm - anyway I'll probably keep experimenting with the rest of the sticks from the lot that arrived dry and brittle.


BTW, I did the salt test on two hygrometers - and both are agreeing about the RH in my humidors, so unless I did the salt test completely wrong (several times), then I really do have them in a box that should be softening those wrappers a bit.

Anyway ... thanks for the replies. It seems really odd that I have to do this, but it sure did seem to make an improvement on those particular sticks.

We will be in the minority on this I can assure you but when I did this myself the cigars sufferred no ill effects by splitting or become too moist. In fact, I enjoyed the cigars more after using this method and I have smoked for well over 40 years. Sometimes you just can't figger everything out even with a slide rule or compass. All I know is that this method regardless of the 'stats' seems to make a cigar better. For those that don't agree,,,it doesn't much matter because it's all about the taste.

[Stinkdyr]

Originally Posted by AndyPanda

So ... as an experiment, I took one of the cigars with the brittle and dry wrapper and rolled it up in a barely damp paper towel for a couple of minutes. When I removed it, the wrapper now has a slightly sticky and pliable feel to it and the aroma is yummy. I put it back in the humidor for a day or two and compared, to the others of the same lot, it seemed like an improvement. It smoked much better too - no problems with the wrapper cracking like others from this lot.

That's cool that it worked. I will have to keep that trick in mind.
I had a Baez explode on me when I went outside to smoke it in cold, dry 50F temp air.

[e-man]

Be careful. If the wrapper gets too wet you can have tunneling problems, and that sticky feeling was probably the pectin used to glue the wrapper. It could unravel if you get it too wet.

Doesn't sound like you have these problems so you probably have everything under control.


I only lick the head of a cigar when I'm going use a punch, to prevent the head from cracking. Lick it. Wait a minute. Wipe it off. Punch it. I've never had the head crack using any other type of cutter.

[Phantom57]

An overly wet cigar will split at the foot. Once lit and beyond that it will typically split about an inch above the burn line. A very dry cigar will delaminate, ie, the wrapper will come loose and unravel. Moistening the head before cutting may help prevent some splitting if you are not using a very sharp cutter.

Back in the day, many licked the length of the cigar before lighting, but not to humidify it. It was to moisten the inferior glue used on CCs at the time, in hopes of holding the wrapping on when the heat of lighting it hit.

[sboyajian]

Originally Posted by e-man

Be careful. If the wrapper gets too wet you can have tunneling problems, and that sticky feeling was probably the pectin used to glue the wrapper. It could unravel if you get it too wet.

Doesn't sound like you have these problems so you probably have everything under control.


I only lick the head of a cigar when I'm going use a punch, to prevent the head from cracking. Lick it. Wait a minute. Wipe it off. Punch it. I've never had the head crack using any other type of cutter.

the paste (pectin, vegi paste, whatever) that roller uses is only used in two places. At the top of the wrapper up by the cap and on the cap itself. Doubtful that the whole cigar would feel sticky from pectin.

putting a damp paper towel around a cigar will not unravel it, to take a wrapper off you would literally have to spray the hell out of it with water and then carefully peel the cap off and then the wrapper.

I suspect this is a good jumpstart to fixing the over humidification done by CI, however it could also be corrected by simply leaving anything from a mailorder shop in your humidor for 3 or 4 weeks.

[e-man]

Originally Posted by sboyajian

the paste (pectin, vegi paste, whatever) that roller uses is only used in two places. At the top of the wrapper up by the cap and on the cap itself. Doubtful that the whole cigar would feel sticky from pectin.

Yes, they only apply the pectin to the cap. BUT, have your ever seen a cigar roller wash their hands (or even wipe them off) after applying the pectin? They apply the pectin with their bare fingers, then roll the cigars around in various directions to shape the cap and make it lay flat. It can get all over the cigar, the board and the knife. Not enough residue to glue cigars to each other, but enough to get sticky if you wet them excessively as the OP indicated.


Check these videos out. They each have very different rolling techniques, but watch all the places their fingers touch after handling the pectin. Then watch all the place those "contaminated" areas come in contact with.

How To Roll A Cigar - Video

YouTube - Making cohiba cigar in Havana