SOB I'm clumsy and need help

[Ndimarco]

Ok so I belonged to a Cigar of the month type club, and had to move, and my parents had my box of three cigars for about 3 months. Now the package it came in didnt have any kind of humidification device ( one reason why I stopped the service ) so I decided to let it rest in my humidor for a while before smoking.

HOWEVER, while I was transferring it from the packaging to the humidor I dropped it and the foot split down about 1 to 1.5 inches. Its a Trinidad Habana Reserve, and I have two others (different sizes).

So my question is, do I smoke it now, even though its most certainly dry, or let it sit for a while still to smoke it? Im thinking if I let it sit, the wrapper may unravel and it will be unsmokeable and maybe I should just chalk up this loss and smoke it while its still in tact? Any opinions will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

[longburn]

I think I would call that company,E mail them pictures and ask for a refund or another cigar. But if you don't want to do that and if it split like that just falling it's too dry. It's dry enough that it will never smoke as if it had been kept in it's prime as the oils which give it flavor are gone.

But,if you want to try to fix it I think I would wrap a 1/2 width piece of clear tape around it just at the top of the split then moisten the wrapper just above the tape and take a double guillotine cutter and cut the damaged part of the cigar off.

[Ndimarco]

Thanks for the advice, however i thought that if you put the cigar back into the humidor for a few weeks, the cigar would eventually moisten back up and be smokeable again?

Am I wrong to think this?

[Snake Hips]

Originally Posted by Ndimarco

Thanks for the advice, however i thought that if you put the cigar back into the humidor for a few weeks, the cigar would eventually moisten back up and be smokeable again?

Am I wrong to think this?

No, the cigar will never be the same if it's dried out over 3 months as you say; the oils in the tobacco will have dried out, taking the flavor with them. If it just got to you after shipping, then it'll perk right up; they don't need to pack humidification with them - cigars aren't as fragile as we sometimes think. A couple weeks in the humidor and it will be fine. As for the split, it'll be fine too. Just shave off the protruding bits of wrapper and put it in the humidor.

[Cigar Man Andy]

You can also go to the grocery store and ask for Pectin. It is usually in the canning or baking section. Use only distilled water and moisten the wrapper. Pull it back a little, and apply the Pectin with a flat toothpick. Then if you have an old part of a cigar wrapper, you can make a patch for the crack. Use the Pectin to apply the patch. It is what I use when my wrappers are coming loose as well.

Pectin is what the rollers use to glue the wrapper in the rolling process. It is a vegetable paste. colorless, odorless and tasteless. It costs about $4 a box. Get the liquid gel.

Let me know how it works for you.

[Ndimarco]

Thanks Andy I'll definitly give that a shot, cant hurt right?

[itsme_timd]

Like others have said, it'll never be the same.

You can put it in the humi and eventually the tobacco will re-humidify but you can't recover the oils that were lost by the cigar drying out for so long. Even if the cigar feels perfect - you'll know it the minute you light it up.

Unfortunately, I speak from experience on this one!

[longburn]

Originally Posted by Cigar Man Andy

You can also go to the grocery store and ask for Pectin. It is usually in the canning or baking section. Use only distilled water and moisten the wrapper. Pull it back a little, and apply the Pectin with a flat toothpick. Then if you have an old part of a cigar wrapper, you can make a patch for the crack. Use the Pectin to apply the patch. It is what I use when my wrappers are coming loose as well.

Pectin is what the rollers use to glue the wrapper in the rolling process. It is a vegetable paste. colorless, odorless and tasteless. It costs about $4 a box. Get the liquid gel.

Let me know how it works for you.

Wow,I didn't know that one. Thanks Andy

[PerpetualNoob]

I've had pretty good results with pectin repairs, but I must have bought a different kind, because mine is definitely not tasteless. It's very tangy and sour, like a citrus-y sour. I will only use it on the part of the cigar that is well below where my mouth will be. It doesn't seem to flavor the smoke, though.

I got the powder kind, and mixed it with just enough hot water to make a paste, then put it in a container which I keep in the fridge. I would have rather had a pre-mixed gel, but I couldn't find any. I don't use it very often, so it's usually dried out when I need to use it, but a little splash of hot water and a quick stir with a fork, and it's ready to use.

[sboyajian]

Originally Posted by Cigar Man Andy

You can also go to the grocery store and ask for Pectin. It is usually in the canning or baking section. Use only distilled water and moisten the wrapper. Pull it back a little, and apply the Pectin with a flat toothpick. Then if you have an old part of a cigar wrapper, you can make a patch for the crack. Use the Pectin to apply the patch. It is what I use when my wrappers are coming loose as well.

Pectin is what the rollers use to glue the wrapper in the rolling process. It is a vegetable paste. colorless, odorless and tasteless. It costs about $4 a box. Get the liquid gel.

Let me know how it works for you.

I am terrible at using the toothpick..

I've always gone the old fashioned route.. I emptied and cleaned out a bottle of cough medicine and filled it up with pectin.. then when I need it I pour a small amount into the cap of the bottle and then get some on my thumb and simply apply as if I was rolling. always seems to work out.

[itsme_timd]

Originally Posted by PerpetualNoob

I've had pretty good results with pectin repairs, but I must have bought a different kind, because mine is definitely not tasteless. It's very tangy and sour, like a citrus-y sour. I will only use it on the part of the cigar that is well below where my mouth will be. It doesn't seem to flavor the smoke, though.

I got the powder kind, and mixed it with just enough hot water to make a paste, then put it in a container which I keep in the fridge. I would have rather had a pre-mixed gel, but I couldn't find any. I don't use it very often, so it's usually dried out when I need to use it, but a little splash of hot water and a quick stir with a fork, and it's ready to use.

+1 on the sour tasting pectin! Mine was (is) the gel that is pre-mixed in pouches and it is quite sour.

I put mine in a small tupperware to store it, had it in the fridge about a month and it's in good shape. To apply mine I've got some glue brushes that I use for woodworking and they work great for the pectin. I bought the brushes in a bag of 50 for about $8.00. I only use NEW brushes for my pectin application.