I agree that having about a half inch of ash on the cigar helps to keep it burning well. Aside from that, spend more time with the initial light of the cigar. I would prime it before you puff it just give it a good light before you ever put your lips on it, let it smolder for a moment then light it regularly.  It works for me at least.

Thanks for all the input. I usually try to let the ash get long so I will try tapping it more often. I also will try to prime it better. I usually try to take my time lighting it, but never totally let it smolder before puffing. Its not very humid here more of a desert climate, so it seems weird that I would have problems keeping it lit.

It could be a few different things. If you are also experiencing a tuff draw it could be the cigar is just slightly over humidified. The best way I have found to keep my timing in check is to keep an eye on the cherry. If you are burning with a very conic cherry that protrudes substantially you are smoking to fast, if the ash falls flush with the foot or is even inverted you are going a bit too slow. You want to have just a slight mound for your cherry as the thicker priming’s are rolled in the center of the cigar and do take a little more heat to burn. When you are burning through your stick to fast the oils don’t have a chance to burn properly and will just vaporize from the heat and you can lose out on some flavor, also your palette can pick up more flavor from cooler smoke. So if your cherry is looking it should have more of an appearance of ). Hope this helps.

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Andrew Dzikoski
1-800-357-9800 ext 325
adzikoski@cigar.com

havefun79:

Its not very humid here more of a desert climate, so it seems weird that I would have problems keeping it lit.

If your humidor is too humid, that's all it takes. I live in a hot and dry area as well, but if I keep my humidor at 70%, I can almost guarantee that most of my cigars won't burn properly.

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"Beliefs are neat. Cherish them, but don't share them like they're the truth" Bill Hicks

I was thinking the same thing. I like keeping my smokes under 70% rh

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Bobby

j0z3r:

havefun79:

Its not very humid here more of a desert climate, so it seems weird that I would have problems keeping it lit.

If your humidor is too humid, that's all it takes. I live in a hot and dry area as well, but if I keep my humidor at 70%, I can almost guarantee that most of my cigars won't burn properly.

How do you -not- keep your humidor at 70%?  All I have is a humidification puck filled with propylene glycol & a digital hygrometer all in a 50 count Spanish cedar lined humidor.  It seems like it naturally stays at 70%.

Fractal:

j0z3r:

havefun79:

Its not very humid here more of a desert climate, so it seems weird that I would have problems keeping it lit.

If your humidor is too humid, that's all it takes. I live in a hot and dry area as well, but if I keep my humidor at 70%, I can almost guarantee that most of my cigars won't burn properly.

How do you -not- keep your humidor at 70%?  All I have is a humidification puck filled with propylene glycol & a digital hygrometer all in a 50 count Spanish cedar lined humidor.  It seems like it naturally stays at 70%.

I have the 65% beads. They seem to keep a little higher than that (maybe because I'm in ga)

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Bobby

So does living a hot dry climate mean that I should keep my humidor a little dryer also. I have a little bit of a hard time keeping them at 70% anyway so keeping them between 60-65% should not be too hard. What humidity should I keep them at?

i keep mine at 65% all year round.

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Kuzi's cigar catalog blending 101 developing your palate

I'm with the Kuz-man here. Mine stays around 65%, perhaps as low as 62% and all of my cigars smoke great. Don't believe the hype that you have to store your cigars at 70%, it won't hurt the cigars to be lower, and you'll enjoy smoking them more.

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"Beliefs are neat. Cherish them, but don't share them like they're the truth" Bill Hicks

I keep my humidity between 64% and 66% in my humi's and will still dry box a cigar for a day if I plan ahead. Maduros especially. Very seldom have burn issues.

I concur with what most have said here. 1st try to get some 65% beads, but if you don't want to spend the coin, plan ahead and dry box (store in a separate box with no humidity) for a day before smoking.

Never heard of dry boxing before will try that next time I light up. Thanks for the info. Also I kind of think that A bigger humi would help as the small one is pretty full. I think that this makes it to humid with not enought circulation, your thoughts?

Hugemoose:

That is a good point. I find that right after I ash I must be a little more attentive to keep the burn how I like it. I always figured the exposed cherry cools down more quickly so I always give it a good puff or two to keep things going.

A long time ago, one of my friends taught me his pattern of puffing and ashing.  It's stuck with me, and has become habit.

When you smoke:  put the cigar to your mouth, and first exhale a bit through the cigar.  This will help clear any stale smoke stuck in the middle of the cigar.  Then take a nice, slow, even draw into your mouth.

When you ash:  Try to keep as long of an ash as you can before you tap it off.  With experience, you'll know how long of an ash you can keep.  When you do tap off the ash, tap it BEFORE you take a draw.  The draw will help create a new layer of ash at the end, and help the cherry keep its temperature.

I stay lit by pouring my beer into a glass and that way I can chug faster!

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Who Farted?