New Experiences

[Murr1525]

Well, since everyone was so helpfull, I figure I will relay some of my first experiences after smoking on vacation. Any tips and pointers welcomed..

So, first thing I did was FedEx my lighter to family there, cost $4, so well worth it to not have to worry about it.

Between the temperatures (80ish at midnight) and plans changing, I only ended up buying two cigars, a CAO Italia torpedo and a Macunudo Gold Label (similar size to Italia, but not torpedo).

The manager at the store I went to said he had mostly stronger cigars, and not to many for beginers, and the Macunudo was one of his better mild ones, so I went with that. And the Italia sounded too good to pass up.

Since I only had two and staying for a week, I did a zip-lock baggy inside zip-lock baggidor and it seemed to work reasonably well. Never got any sweating in the bag, and the small paper towel never dried either.

Figuring I would start mild, I got out the Macunudo. First thing I noticed was that I need a lot of practice lighting cigars, and that perhaps the lighter I got is a tad much for a newbie.. but I'll get the hang of it After doing a poor job lighting it, getting a little flare up, etc, it evened out quite quickly, and burned nicely, just a few touch-up dabs. Though it did seem to burn extremely slowly. I cant say I enjoyed the taste either. It seemed like either nothing there/smokey smoke, or if I tried to hold and taste a little longer, just a real bite in the back of the mouth. All it really did was make my mouth water. Was my first good smoke in a long time, so I dont blame the cigar entirely. But lets just say I finished with a bit still left. Oh, and I had Guiness with it, in case it matters.

Couple days later I got out the Italia and a Saranac Black Forest beer. Not sure where to cut a torpedo, I sort of guessed halfway up the tip seemed reasonable. Lit it, still with difficulty, but evened out well. I could tell it tasted good, but didnt seem to be giving a lot of smoke, tight draw. But I went with it for a while, until finaly the heat/saliva really closed it off. So I figured what the heck and cut it higher up, closer, but not quite at the shoulder. Well, that changed everything. Great flavored smoke ( no idea what flavors, but something), easy draw, burned at a speed I liked, just great. Definately will be having one or more of those again.

So, I guess the big questions are:

1. Where am I supposed to cut a torpedo?
2. Between a 'regular' shaped cigar and a torpedo shape, what is the difference? Does it change the flavor in some way?
3. Any tips for lighting a cigar with a lighter that is a little poweerfull starting off?
4. I was never sure if I was supposed to try and keep the orange-red smoldering ring around the cigar, or let it fade away a bit as the cigar went along?
5. And what is it when you guys talk about purging the cigar? Do you just mean blowing back through it some?

Thanks as always, and thanks for reading a long rambling story...

[NCRadioMan]

Originally Posted by Murr1525

So, I guess the big questions are:

1. Where am I supposed to cut a torpedo?
2. Between a 'regular' shaped cigar and a torpedo shape, what is the difference? Does it change the flavor in some way?
3. Any tips for lighting a cigar with a lighter that is a little poweerfull starting off?
4. I was never sure if I was supposed to try and keep the orange-red smoldering ring around the cigar, or let it fade away a bit as the cigar went along?
5. And what is it when you guys talk about purging the cigar? Do you just mean blowing back through it some?

Thanks as always, and thanks for reading a long rambling story...

1. Remember you can always cut more, not less, so start with a small pencil sized cut and try the draw. If too tight cut it again another 1/8 of an inch. If still too tight, repeat until desired draw is achieved.
2. Different vitolas(sizes) may or may not have the same features. Depends on the cigar.
3. I don't quite understand? Just hold it far enough away that the foot can heat up enough to light. I have a triple-flame torch and can hold it several inches away and still get a good light.
4. Usually taking a draw once or twice a miniute, the cigar will burn fine and you don't have to keep re-lighting. You are not going to see the orange burn all the time.
5. Purging is slightly blowing back through the stick while re-lighting or when trying to even-up a burn . Watch out for BIG FLAME!!!!!

Hope this helps! Ziplocks will keep them good for up to a few weeks without any humidification. The Mac expereince don't surprise me. The Italia's are a nice smoke. Glad to hear you enjoyed it.

NCRM

[adamh_25_]

Sounds like a lot of fun and reminds me of my first few cigars. Here are my shots at answers for you.

1. You cut the torpedo wherever you want. If you want a little hole and a tight draw, cut it more towards the end. If you like a bigger head with a loser draw, cut in more. Do this within reason though. Dont take an entire inch off the gar haha. Usually I'll do mine w/ a medium sized hole then work my way up from there until I get the draw I like. You did a pretty good job on that.

2. The different shapes do change flavours some, but its minute and thats not the point of the Torp...I dont think. The torps are usually bigger and a lot of people like the feal and size in their mouth. When I say sizes change flavour, its a wrapper to binder ratio. Smaller ring guage cigars have a bigger ratio of wrapper to binder/filler, so they are usually stronger compared to a 60 RG where the binder/filler can take over more flavour, hiding some of the wrappers flavour. (correct me if im wrong on this answer BOTL's)

3. The lighter thing just takes practice. Do like you are supposed to and you'll get it eventually. Start by toasting the foot of the gar(dont let the flame hit the tobac., just let the heat warm her up.) When it starts to smell or smoke a bit, your good. Then put it in your mouth and puff on it with the flame still under the cigar. Don't let it touch. Rotate the cigar while lighting it with the heat off of the torch. Should be good to go with that. It helps to blow on the foot and see what lights up red. If there is a spot thats not lit yet you will be able to tell. It wont be lit haha.

4. This red ring you're talking about, is it the ember? The wrapper is supposed to burn even with the binder and filler. So you want it to be a flatish red ember when you knock off ash. If you go to slow and it almost goes out but you keep puffing, you could get tunneling (where the cigar burns inside out.) If you go to fast you will get the wrapper burning faster than the rest and it will make a sort of pyramid shape of ember. Thats going too fast. Mine usually are between flat and pyramid shaped but I smoke mine a litte fast sometimes. So I guess you are supposed to keep the red ring around the edge but it shouldt be too thick. I hope this answers you question.

5. Purging is blowing back through the cigar gently. It clears any sourish flavours that may occur during smoking. There are two ways that I know that you can do this. One is by just blowing through it for a little bit until it tastes good again. The second is a flaming purge, or a burnout as i like to call them. You star purging the cigar and then hold your lighter right at the foot of the cigar. The chemicals that build up during the smoke that can make it taste soury/rotten eggy(especially on flavoured cigars) will ignite and you will get a blue flame on the end coming out. If you get it good enough you can take your lighter away and it will keep burning while you keep blowing. Keep on blowing till the flame goes out, (I usually blow a little longer after its out to get the last of it out), and you should be good to go. Deffinately works to. Normal purging really helps, but Burnouts do the job a bit better in my opinion.

Hope this helps.
Adam

[adamh_25_]

Haha you beat me to it NCRM. Took me about long enough to write that small book though.
Adam

[Murr1525]

1. So it seems like a bit more of a personal choice and a bit of a guess when cutting torpedos.

2. Makes sense.. the torpedo certainly felt like a nice size.

3. I think I must have been holding the lighter too close, trying to make it happen faster. Seems like a 45 second or so process to make it go slow and properly.

4. Yes, ember is the fancy word i couldnt think of. It stayed on good when I ashed, I just wasnt sure how much the ember should be visible on the edges between the cigar and the ash. I had some times when it seemed like the cigar was burning fine, but no ring of ember was visble on the edges. Doesnt sound like it is anything to worry about for now.

5. I blew back through gently once or twice to see what happened... didnt do the flame thing though. Sounds fun if nothing else.

Thanks for all the quick answers.

[palm55]

I would concur with all of the advice above!

And I would add that you'll get a "feel" for lighting and smoking preferences as you continue to enjoy different cigars.

[ca21455]

Great advice already given.

I like a torpedo because I am particulay about the draw. Start off with a small cut and then if necessary make it bigger to make the draw suit my taste.

[Catalyst Paintball]

For cutting, I've always set my cutter (guillotine style) on a table or flat surface, stuck the cigar into the cutter, made sure it was perpendicular with the flat surface, and cut!

I've found that method to work pretty well, and if the cut isnt large enough, just repeat!

[smokinpoke]

Originally Posted by Murr1525

3. Any tips for lighting a cigar with a lighter that is a little poweerfull starting off? 5. And what is it when you guys talk about purging the cigar? Do you just mean blowing back through it some?

Thanks as always, and thanks for reading a long rambling story...

3. just keep it away from the flame a little ways maybe a couple of inches let the heat of the lighter start the cigar...remember your not welding it


5. thats what i always have thought it to have meant. so hopefully were both doing this right

[Murr1525]

Originally Posted by smokinpoke

3. just keep it away from the flame a little ways maybe a couple of inches let the heat of the lighter start the cigar...remember your not welding it

Hmm..yes, I think I welded some of the first one....

[Baric]

Originally Posted by Murr1525

Hmm..yes, I think I welded some of the first one....

If this happens, i usually accept the cigar i going to taste wrong for the start, then i purge it briefly and let the cigar rest for a good few minutes without going out. should help things out a bit.