Welcome to this ashy edition of Cigar Graduates. This time I'm covering a behavior of cigar smoking that many of you have probably noticed already. Unusual burns. There are a number of burn patterns that can develop for various reasons but the most common reasons are (1) the cigar was poorly made or (2) the cigar was stored improperly. I have heard may times that a well made and properly stored cigar will burn straight and even. However, you or I can read all we want but nothing tells all like experience. I've smoked hundreds of cigars and can give you a remedy for some of those burn misfits.
[Note: The tips and remedy's below are all given with the assumption that the cigars are all properly lit.]
Pencil Tip or Cone Ash
This is an extremely common anomaly that appears after you knock the ash from the foot. The professional explanation for this occurrence has to do with the way the cigar is rolled. A technique referred to as booking involves folding of the filler leaves (much like pages of a book) resulting in inconsistency within the filler. This is the form of rolling that is claimed to cause the pencil tip. The other, more preferred technique is called entubar, where the roller forms the filler in cylindrical patterns creating a more consistent pack before going into the press. This technique is said to allow the cigar to burn the most evenly and is usually reserved for the more expensive lines.
From my experience, I have found that every cigar I have smoked (inexpensive or ultra premium) has the tendency to pencil tip. It really comes down to the way I'm smoking and timing. When smoking a cigar quickly and impatiently remove ash, I will reliably get the cone shaped cherry. Some cigars more than others but I've found they all do it if smoked too quickly.
Remedy: Remember long and slow. Take full and slow draws from your cigar, pausing 30 second to 2 minutes in between puffs. Not only will the cigar taste better when you take your time, you will also decrease the likelihood of getting the "pencil tip" ash (in most cases). However there is an opposite effect to the pencil tip when, instead of smoking quickly, you wait too long between draws.
Tunneling
This too is an extremely common occurrence. There are expert opinions as to why this happens and they are; poor construction and/or over humidification. When you light your cigar, it must be done by toasting and rotating the foot slowly. That way you allow all of the tobacco the heat evenly so it will all burn all at once. When lighting doesn't toast the outer edge enough, the filler burns quicker then the binder and wrapper. However the wrapper should catch up once the cigar gets going. In the case that it doesn't, you might be looking at over humidification. In the rare case that the outer layers of the cigar have absorbed so much moisture, they burn much slower than the filler or not at all.
Whatever the case may be, I've experienced it enough to know that if humidity isn't an issue and I've lit the cigar properly, then I'm smoking it too slowly. The filler will stay lit better then the outer layers because they are protected, so waiting too long results in the outer wrapper and binder cooling off and falling behind in the burn. Now if it as a poorly made cigar, chances are it will never burn evenly and frequent touch-ups are inevitable.
Remedy: Don't wait too long in between puffs. Like I stated above, 30 seconds to 2 minutes is enough. If tunneling doesn't go away on its own, touch it up.
Scoop or Canoeing
The scoop is a term I've come up with but canoeing is the more accepted term. They simply refer to one side of the cigar burning faster than the other. With the curved shape of the wrapper, when half of the cigar burns down faster, it forms what looks like a scooping cup. Canoeing is when a narrow strip of wrapper burns but the rest does not, resembling a canoe. Again, the expert opinion suggests this is a result of a not rotating the cigar in storage or more importantly poor construction. I've seen this burn appear everywhere. In my smoking travels it has happened more predominantly in cigars with a tight draw and a thick wrapper (Maduro's for example).
Remedy: Rotate your cigar about a quarter to half turn every few draws. If you see one side of the cigar lagging behind, turn that side to the bottom. If you've waited too long or the scoop refuses to catch up, no harm in using the lighter to give it a hand.
Drooping Ash
Have you ever smoked a cigar long enough to let the ash grow a bit and then see the ash start pointing downward? This is drooping ash, a result of not rotating and can be the beginning of an uneven burn. This isn't because the cigar was poorly made or humidified, it's simply the laws of gravity taking over. I see it more in cigars that are less than 54 ring gauge and even more in the loosely wrapped varieties.
Remedy: Rotate, rotate, rotate. Even before you notice the ash starting to droop, keep your cigar spinning. Turn every few draws and you could actually develop a nice long ash to impress the guys in the shop.
I hope this entry helps you better understand the behaviors of cigar ash and how to work with it. Stay tuned for my next entry! Have a suggestion? Leave it in the comments!
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