Cigar Blog

Happiness is a good cigar

Reviving “Dead” Cigars

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What in the world are dead cigars? I do not think that people technically use this term but I like to use it to describe cigars that have dried out. Sometimes, you buy a bundle of cigars and you do not smoke all of them within a short period of time. If you do not have a humidor, then the chances are that they will dry out. And sometimes, you buy dead cigars from shops. This actually happened to me just recently. I wanted to try this box of cigars from a shop I ran across at the mall. Stupid me, I wasn’t really thinking. I didn’t even check the cigars. I took it for granted that the quality would still be good. I was wrong. They were dry as a summer day.

So is there any solution to really dry cigars? The answer is yes. You see, it works both ways. If moisture can escape from a cigar, then you can also reintroduce moisture. How to do it? It is simple enough.

Get a plastic bag – the sealable type – and place the entire box of cigars in it. Make sure that you do not seal the bag entirely because you want some air to flow into the bag. You can then place a sponge that has been soaked in distilled water in the bag. Now take note the whole process will not be finished overnight. It takes time – weeks or even months. You have to patient because if you introduce moisture too quickly, what you will have are fat, soggy cigars that are useless. One last thing – make sure that you rotate your cigars.

Originally posted on August 16, 2008 @ 8:36 pm

Is Your Cuban Real?

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smoking a cuban
Earlier in this month, I posted an entry on why Cubans are considered illegal in the United States. Though many of us know that they are illegal, it does not mean that no one can get their hands on some. Indeed, there are ways and means by which one can acquire some Cuban cigars. However, the fact that Cubans are rare and hard to get your hands on (at least in the United States) also means that there are a lot of unscrupulous and enterprising groups that take advantage of this. That is, there are a lot of cigars circulating out there – cigars which are purported to be Cubans but in fact are fake.

So how do you know if your Cuban cigar is the real deal? The most important thing would be to know who you are dealing with. If you ever get the chance to get your hands on Cuban cigars, at least look into the background of the seller. The seller should be a legitimate dealer. Outside of the U.S., you can find a lot of legitimate dealer that sells Cubans.

If you have the chance to buy a box, make sure that you examine the box carefully. Paul Penafiel suggests:

The most important thing to examine is the box. On the bottom of the box of cigars, you should find a heat stamp with the words ‘Habanos.’ The heat stamp should be impressed onto the bottom of the box. Fake Cuban cigar boxes often find other ways to imprint this label, such as using rubber stamps or paper labels. You should also find a factory code stamp at the bottom that is stamped in green, blue or black ink. This stamp will tell you when and where the cigars were rolled.

(to be continued)

Originally posted on May 24, 2008 @ 10:00 pm

How Do You Relight Your Cigar?

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Smoking a cigar is one of the greatest pleasures in life. Some people think that it is not much different from a cigarette. After all, you have a stick (albeit of varying sizes) in your mouth, you puff, and so on. Then again, those who know nothing (or very little) about cigars wouldn’t know that there are key differences when it comes to smoking cigarettes and cigars. For example, most cigar smokers that I know do not inhale the smoke. If you don’t believe me, try inhaling cigar smoke and you will know what I mean.

Anyway, another key difference when it comes to smoking cigars and cigarettes is the relighting of one. Cigarettes burn quickly and easily so it is rare that you would have to relight one. But in the event that you do have to relight a cigarette, all you need to do is flick the ashes out and put a lighter to the tip.

For cigars, however, you have to be more careful. Naturally, you also need to get rid of the ash at the foot of the cigar. It has to be done carefully by tapping the cigar or gently rubbing it on an ashtray. Relighting a cigar entails more than puffing – you have to blow out the smoke THROUGH the cigar. This is so that the ash and tar build up can be removed. However, this has proven to be disastrous for some smokers as sparks can blow out from the cigar.

Another option then would be to cut about one fourth of an inch from the foot of the cigar. That would leave you with unburnt tobacco.

How do you relight your cigars?

Originally posted on August 18, 2008 @ 7:07 pm