When it comes to tobacco smoking, nothing could be worse than lighting up a sweet-smelling cigar, whether it be store-bought or hand-rolled with whole tobacco leaves, and experiencing poor performance. Smoking cigars that are too hard, too soft, or take too much effort to draw from can greatly reduce the level of enjoyment that is expected with a fine cigar. If you’re wondering how to fix common cigar problems that negatively impact your smoking ritual, Total Leaf Supply has rolled four solutions into one place.
Cigar is Too Hard
If your cigar is too hard, it typically means that the leaves have become too dry. You can still smoke it, but the taste is likely to be a let-down and you’ll experience some burning issues as you drag from it. To fix this problem, double-check the temperature and humidity settings on your humidor to ensure that they are optimally set for storing your cigars. Adjusting the humidity can resolve problems with dry or hard cigars, but it won’t be an instant solution. It can take days or even weeks to soften your cigar enough to enjoy a comfortable burn that accentuates the flavors within.
Cigar is Too Soft
On the flip side, if your humidity setting is too high, your cigars will be too soft to enjoy and may fall apart easily. There’s a common misconception that a “spongy” cigar means that it’s fresh, but this isn’t the case. In most cases, an overly humid cigar will be too wet to smoke properly and will ruin your experience. As a remedy, you can remove excess humidity by leaving your humidor propped open or removing the humidification unit entirely to allow more air to seep into your cigars. If time is of the essence, removing a cigar from your humidor and allowing it to dry in the open air for a day will provide a faster solution.
Cigar Has a Tight Draw
If you aren’t getting the right airflow through your cigar when you take a drag, there’s a good chance that the cigar is plugged. Because cigars are manufactured by hand they can sometimes be rolled too tightly. You can pierce either the foot or head of your cigar with a cigar piercer, pin, needle, or even a paperclip to loosen the tobacco leaves inside and increase airflow for a better smoking experience. If this doesn’t work – we’re sorry to say it – your cigar may be unsmokable.
Cigar is Burning Unevenly
Uneven burning can be caused by a variety of factors. To thoroughly enjoy your cigar, you’ll want to be aware of how to fix common cigar problems associated with uneven burning, such as:
- The cigar may not have been lit correctly
- You may be dragging too hard or too fast
- You may be biting down on the cigar, restricting the ideal airflow
- The cigar may be too wet, too dry, or partially plugged
- You may be puffing it too slow. This can cause the inner leaves to burn faster than the wrapper or binder.
Understanding the prime conditions for smoking cigars should help you to understand how to fix common cigar problems and enhance your experience as a whole. To find high-quality whole leaf tobacco for sale that you can roll yourself, check out our product pages and place your order today!
