Plugged Torano?

M

Master of Disaster

Maturing Primate
Can someone please explain the difference between a "tight" draw and a truly "plugged" cigar? I sat down with a Torano Nicaragua last night and had a hard time enjoying because of an extreme lack of smoke. The only way to get a good cloud was to suck like crazy. When the ash would fall it left a big protruding center spoke of hot ash. I figured it just had a very tight draw, and that maybe it was normal for this cigar, but when I read the reviews here and on top25 a lot of folks criticized it for having too loose of a draw! I'm so new that I don't know what to make of this! I've heard only great things about Torano, but it was not a very enjoyable smoke. The appearance, flavor, burn and everything else was top notch.... just no smoke! Help!
 
Sounds like a plugged cigar, but it could also have been a tight roll as well.

A plugged cigar will NEVER open up, it will always be plugged.

If the cigar is tightly rolled it will open up over time.

http://forums.cigaraficionado.com/6/ubb.x?a=tpc&s=2346043451&f=7666095&m=78460735

I know that this is a link to another cigar BB. But this was just discussed over there. I would read it. It is a good post. If you do choose to read it, ignore the posts by TheViper. He doesn't know WTF he is talking about.

Ctop
 
I was always under the impression that a plugged cigar was a cigar that for one reason or another (like too many fluctuations in humidity and/or temperature), had a spot or two in the cigar where the tobacco sort of bunched up, making it difficult or impossible to draw until you smoked your way through the plugged part of the cigar. I've had quite a few cigars that had horrible draw to start out but normalized about 1/3 or 1/2 the way through the cigar. Sometimes you can tell where the plug is by lightly squeezing different parts of the cigar, sometimes you can't.
If a cigar is rolled too tight, I tend to have less luck getting it to cooperate. A good example would be a Cuban Sancho Panza petit corona (forget the particular name) I had picked up in Argentina this past winter. It looked well-made but was rolled so tight that it felt rock-hard even at 74% humidity. Smoked it & had a hell of a time trying to get more than a trickle of smoke to draw. Finally tossed it after somehow getting it to burn down about halfway. Got another one in the humidor but I'm not looking forward to smoking it. Maybe the cigar gods will bless me by loosening it up over time :confused:
Just my $.02, as well as my first post in this forum :)
 
AAlmeter said:
While it will make it softer, having a cigar at such a high humidity will make it even tighter.
Click to expand...

But the foot of the cigar had very little give at 74%. The cigar felt just about as tight at ~65% anyway. My hygrometer read about 69-70% when I smoked it, FWIW.
 
I saw one cigar cutter ad telling people that you should cut the cigar below the level of the suspected plug and re-light. I guess that could work potentially, and if the cigar is that tight anyway what are you really risking? Of course I would think that you want to re-light immediately and not try to 'save' the cigar for a later try since the smoke inside would cool down and ruin the flavor for later.

Personally, I couldn't be bothered to try and perform CPR on a cigar to that extent, but then I never buy $30 sticks! :D

PS: I know that I saw a 'draw poker' advertised in Thompsons online...a device to drive a small metal pin into the length of a cigar to open it up. It looks a little klugey to me and I have no idea if those sort of things actually work or not.
 
I'm surprised to hear of a Torano with a plug. Never had one yet. Definitely check your hygrometer against your local stores digitals.

Once you light it it's to late IMHO. I start cutting from the lit end. If I encounter a plug, I wack of a bit and relight. Sometimes I win, sometimes I lose.

Too high humidity will cause hard draw on many sticks. I'd start there.

If you want, I'd be willing to test 10 or 15 of your Toranos. I promise to provide a detailed report on burn characteristics ;) .

Kevin
 
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