Case of the Mysteriously Dry/Brittle Cigar..

[sboyajian]

So I had a new thing happen this past holiday weekend..

I smoked quite a few smokes that I'd been hanging out to and wanting to try... an Italia, Lot 23 Churchill, Padilla 1932, one of my hemmingway classics (had to go to an old faithful after this story happened), and a few others..

Everything smoked great except the Padilla. The first inch or so was great. I was very impressed and could already see myself buying a box of these.

Then things took a terrible, terrible turn. It got stale, VERY stale. It began burning very dry and hot.. it was like I just smoked a big mound of dirt covered paper. The smell went from pleasant and aromatic to thick and putrid.

I didn't even make it another half an inch. Wanting to make sure I wasn't losing my mind, my buddy tried it and immediately made a face like someone just stuck a skunk in his face.

Curious he went into his garage and got a utility knife, we cut her open and there were two spots.. a 1 inch section from about an inch from the cap to the center, and a 1 inch section from where the ash was toward the center that was just brittle and dry. The inch by the cap and the section right in the middle were nice and "supple"..

Had it not been for the smokes I had before and after it being perfect, I would think there was an issue with my humidor. I have had no fluctuation in the temp, and my humidity has not changed (the factory Serie R humidifiers held me at 65, and the replacement Puck has kept it there).

The cigar came in a sample pack from CI (which also contained the italia and the lot 23 I smoked). Is it possible for one cigar to just "die"?

I'm struggling to comprehend what happened to my beloved '32.

[Architeuthis]

Squid® has had a few humidity issues with CI and CBid over the course of time. I've decided that anything I get from these sources sits untouched in my Squid-A-Dor for a few months so as to avoid any such issue. I may just be over-cautious, but that's my story an' I'm stickin' to it!

[sboyajian]

perhaps.. but this sampler was from August.. I picked it up from their Mega Store when I was visiting the folks in PA.

[tx_tuff]

That is very strange. Man and that is my fav cigar right now!! I just smoked one on Christmas night and that baby burned perfect, and I do mean perfect. And was a great smoke. Now it has been in my humi for a long time but August should have been plenty of time for it to even out. I think you just got a bad cigar! Hope that doesn't keep you from trying another one. Buy it somewhere else LOL

[SixPackSunday]

odd indeed.. hopefully its an entirely isolated incedent that we dont hear about ever again!

sorry you got the bum end of that one btw...

[Camacho Junior]

Dude that sucks. I hope it don't happen again.