why this bitter taste?

[Cigary]

Originally Posted by kellzey

Honestly, you should puff once a minute or so... if the cherry gets too hot (end glows too much), you can overheat the tobacco and wrapper and get really bitter almost sulfury tastes.

It "could" be the type of cigar or wrapper you have too... i've noticed flavors and tastes all over the board.

I tend to like maduro and corojo wrappers...

Bingo! I usually will take no more than two puffs a minute and that is pushing it. If you puff too much as was mentioned you are only burning the tobacco at a faster rate than you want to and it will smoke hot. As far as the ammonia taste that usually means you will need to rest your cigars a bit longer esp. when they are shipped to you. If you buy them from a good B&M you should be fine. Purging can be a good thing for a cigar but don't get into a habit of purging for no reason and do not purge like you are putting out a fire. Gently purge air thru the cigar not like you are blowing thru a straw like we did as kids into our sodas.

So many cigar tricks,,,and you thought you could just light up and smoke! lol

[minicooper]

The last few smokes I've had, I've actually had the timer on my phone tell me when it's ok to puff. hahaha. I know this isn't really giving me the relaxing experience that want, but I figure if I put in the effort now, I'll hopefully be able to tell what to look for in the future. I'm on the practice range of smoking for now.

As much as all of this obsessing over getting my humidor right, cutting, lighting and smoking the right way and whatnot is frustrating, I think it's also part of the appeal for me.

I just wanted to say thanks again to everyone for their input. Without little doubt, I will say that smoking slowly and purging when I need to has increased my enjoyment of each cigar.

[ongreystreet]

Where do you usually purchase your cigars from?

I'm in MD also.

[minicooper]

Ongreystreet : Well, I'm still trying to figure out which B&M's I like the best. Here's a list to some that I've been to and some comments. Most of them, however, are in or close to DC since I work in DC, but Columbia's just a little ride down 29 so it shouldn't be too out of the way for you! haha

W. Curtis Draper Tobacco - (I had links, but they wouldn't let me add them - not enough posts. If you google, though, you can find the websites pretty easily)
- They've always been helpful and are willing to talk to you. They have a pretty decent selection as well (quality and variety). I trust them and their products, but I haven't been able to tell what their prices are like.

Bethesda Tobacco, Inc.
- They have recently moved into a nicer location with a nice walk-in humidor and lounge. It's a nice looking place, but it does feel a little old-boy's-club in there. Still, the people are nice and generally willing to help, but do get distracted since it seems many of the people who walk in are friends. I guess that's a good sign that their clientel are coming back. Their selection is pretty good, but def. not the best that's out there. Also, if you like La Flor Dominicana, I think they might have some sort of affiliation but I'm not sure about that. They do have a variety of LFD's, but were out of the DBL Ligero Chiselitos last time I was there....

President Cigars -
- I've only been to the shop in NW DC. It's a smaller shop, but they're very friendly. They tend to carry what's popular and sometimes have smokes that other stores are out of because they are smaller and I don't think as well known. Either that or their other stores are very large and keeps up their supplies. Sometimes the people in the store have a little trouble with English, but they are more than happy to try and help you and if you can speak Spanish, then you'll have no problem. I found my chiselito there. hahaha

JR Cigars -
- It's a pretty large store with a wide variety. People have very different opinions of JR, but I think it's somewhere worth checking out at least. I usually go for the cigar of the week, as it's a good chance to try a single that you haven't without paying a huge premium for not buying in bulk. I would suggest talking to one of the older gentlemen manning the store. They are always really friendly and willing to help out, but there's a younger guy in there that I don't know what his deal is, but is all about business and moving things along. Then again, someone has to make the business run since it's all too easy to get into a prolonged discussion with other puffers.

I'm sure I've missed one or two, but these are the ones that immediately came to mind. To be honest, I also buy a good portion of my cigars online.

I hope this info helps! Maybe I'll run into you in a store sometime.

[Nurse_Maduro]

Originally Posted by minicooper

John : I've been switching between cutters, trying to figure out what I like. I need to start taking notes since I'm smoking enough now and I don't want to waste any more sticks trying to jog my memory on what combination of things I did to end up with which results. It's funny though, that I just smoked a monte right now with a punch cut and noticed the build up not too far into the smoke. I'm also using a dbl-guillotine and a Xikar MTX. I'll update with what I find with them. I hope you find some BOTL where you are, but until you do, we're here brother. hahaha

PURGING WORKS! After noticing the bitterness, I tried the purge and it really helped! I did, however about 2/3 into the stick went a bit overboard I think and purged the crap out of my stick, but I think I went overboard since it lost a lot of it's character after that. Anyone ever notice that?

Sorry Richard, I didn't see your reply until just now. I'm glad things are coming along for you! Like Cigary said, it's funny how much there really is to just smoking a cigar.

I was going to say that excessive purging shouldn't make you lose the character of the cigar since you're blowing though tobacco that hasn't burned yet...but, when I think about it, maybe if you actually have tarry buildup toward the head you're pushing that back down through the good tobacco. That would, at the very least, create a stale flavor. Cool thought. Anyway, you're right...you shouldn't have to push smoke out of the foot like a steam engine train.

About the timer thing...try taking a radio (or iPod, whatever) with you to wherever it is that you smoke, and time your draws to the music. You want to draw no more than once every 45 to 60 seconds or so. An average 3 and 1/2 min song would give you between 4 and 5 pulls. That way, you won't have to become so dependent on the timer and it'll give you some room to play a bit. You'll get it after a while...just an idea.

Remember, we can sit here and tell you what we've all found that works for us, but your smoking experience is completely your own, and you'll find things that work for you. If you like it, do it!

Wow, I'm a long-winded bastage. Good luck, and I hope we're all helping you!

[ongreystreet]

I've been to Draper's and JR's and seen their stuff, so it's pretty safe to assume it's not the store bought condition of the cigars that is causing you any problems.

I usually stick to the shops in MD, the Davidus shops, Titan Ciagr in Gambrill, Faders shops, and Cross Street Tobacco in Federal Hill.

As far as relighting and purging. I do touch-ups and relights while it's still warm, but I never relight a cigar from cold, it's just not worth it. The thing I tell people is that when you first light the foot of the cigar nothing has been lit, it's a fresh start. When the cigar is being smoked, it's the tobacco inside the wrapper, not just the end of the foot that is burning, usually about 3/4" to an 1" from the end of the foot. When you relight from cold, you have to burn and smoke thru all the burnt tobacco that you can't see, not just wrapper at the foot of the cigar.

[e-man]

Originally Posted by chu2

I don't mean to hijack, but can anyone give me a reason why a burn purge would work differently than a dry purge? The only reason I can think of is that by torching the ash (assuming you're using a torch), all the chemicals that are burnable burn off, leaving less imparted flavor.

Besides that, same as a dry purge?

If you overheat, your smoke tastes really bad. It sticks to the leaves of your cigars. When that "tainted" tar burns, it creates more of that bad flavor which also collects and concentrates even more, as you continue smoking it.

If you're getting foul tasting smoke, blow forward to push out any remaining smoke, so it won't collect and concentrate inside the cigar.

Remember that hot burning tobacco is the biggest culprit.

If you incinerate your cigars when you light them, then you're starting the experience with hot, off-flavored smoke, and that off-flavor will persist. Purge forward to get any of that smoke nasty smoke out, and give it time to cool down before puffing.


I don't like cutting a cigar that has been lit. You can burn off a canoe or a tunnel with your torch, but that really heats up the tobacco. You need to stoke the cherry to keep the rest of the cigar lit, but some of the tobacco is still too hot to suck through the cigar. If you blow, you can still stoke the cherry, without sucking in overheated smoke. Let it cool down until it's under control again,, then resume puffing.


The only reason I would dry purge is to blow tobacco dust into the cigar, instead of sucking it into my mouth. That only seems to be an issue with dry cigars and/or dull cutters.

[e-man]

Originally Posted by Nurse_Maduro

About the timer thing...try taking a radio (or iPod, whatever) with you to wherever it is that you smoke, and time your draws to the music. You want to draw no more than once every 45 to 60 seconds or so. An average 3 and 1/2 min song would give you between 4 and 5 pulls. That way, you won't have to become so dependent on the timer and it'll give you some room to play a bit. You'll get it after a while...just an idea.

Great suggestion.

I usually smoke outside in a chair or hot tub, and its usually at night. I like to watch the cherry in the dark. After a puff, you'll see a bright cherry through the ash. As it cools down, you see less and less orange. It gives you a good visual indicator of how hot your cigar is burning. I don't take another puff if I can still see an intense cherry.

[minicooper]

Hey John.

I don't know why, but my thread list didn't bold this thread like it usually does to tell me that there were new posts. Thanks for the music suggestion. I think I'll def. take a go at that! As for being long winded, I really appreciate your taking the time to think about and reply so I wouldn't say it's a bad thing at all; that and I tend to post long too. hah. I always gravitate to your posts first because of your avatar btw. hahaha

Ongreystreet: I went to school in bmore so I'm up there every once in awhile. I'll have to check out that place in Federal Hill.

[ongreystreet]

You should check out Cross Street in Bmore and Titan in Gambrills. Titan, Ropewalk Tavern, and Havana Club are the only place I know that stay open late in the Baltimore/MD area.

[bogner]

nice video, had actually forgot about Doc's videos, and just spent a little time revisiting them - man that guy has got a lot of good smokes, and good advice too