Burning problems...

Hello. I'm still a newby to cigar smoking. I am having problems with my cigars burning uneven. I just got done smoking a Saint Luis Yey Reserva Especial and it was as if one whole side of the cigar didn't want to burn. That ruined the whole experience. It's not like it was a cheap cigar to my standards. It cost me $5.50. That's decent for me. But this also happened with a Trilogy Native Cameroon. What's going on?
The humidor room where I buy my cigars is kept at 75%. My humidor stays about 64%.
Any ideas? Thanks.

i've heard by keeping the humidity down that it'll help the burn, so maybe give the cigars you buy a week in your humi, in order for them to dry out a lil. also i learned from someone on here that when the cigar is running, to leave that side up and that sometimes helps even the burn.

Ya, if it's running it's sometimes best to leave the run on top and just let it sit in an ashtray(totally horizontal) for a few minutes to even the burn out before you start puffing :smiley20:

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Originally Posted by Kevin76tx

Hello. I'm still a newby to cigar smoking. I am having problems with my cigars burning uneven. I just got done smoking a Saint Luis Yey Reserva Especial and it was as if one whole side of the cigar didn't want to burn. That ruined the whole experience. It's not like it was a cheap cigar to my standards. It cost me $5.50. That's decent for me. But this also happened with a Trilogy Native Cameroon. What's going on?
The humidor room where I buy my cigars is kept at 75%. My humidor stays about 64%.
Any ideas? Thanks.

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Probably was unevenly humidified. Hard to tell what happened in the humidor at the store. It's also possible some where between the distributor and the store something funky happened with the humidification. Plus, 75% is a bit on the high side. If it's kept at 75%, I'd give the cigar a couple of weeks to rest in my humidor before I would smoke it.

It could also be how its stored in your humi. Where was the cigar stored in relation to the humidification device? A consistent 64% rh should actually decrease burn problems, as long as it was evenly humidified.

If you have a problem like that again, I'd take the cigar back to the store and ask them to replace it. Most shops will do that for you (as long as you haven't burned it down to a nub). Only rarely have I seen a decent cigar like the San Luis Rey burn like that...

in addtion to maintaining the proper humidity levels, it's also wise to touch your cigars burn up with your lighter - burning the slower areas of the paper off as to make it even. You can also lick your finger and moisten the wrapper of an area that seems to be burning fast.

even the most expensive cigars can have a shit burn.

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Originally Posted by Yeagermeister

in addtion to maintaining the proper humidity levels, it's also wise to touch your cigars burn up with your lighter - burning the slower areas of the paper off as to make it even. You can also lick your finger and moisten the wrapper of an area that seems to be burning fast.

even the most expensive cigars can have a shit burn.

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Excellent advice here, this is what you can do as a "solution" to this problem. As others have clearly stated, the problem is a humidity one. :smiley5:

Wow! thanks for the great respnoses!!!
What do you mean by evenly humidified? How would one side get more humidified than the other?
In the shop, they have one of those big home humidifiers. The cigars are on shelves with the lids open so you can see the cigars.
I have dampened the opposite side to let the slow burning side catch up, but that didn't work well. I also lit the slow burning end to make it catch up. The cigar would almost go out if I didn't puff on it almost constantly! It was hard to smoke. It seems to me that the cigars is too moist, right? Thanks.

Before the "run" gets too far along you can do this:

1. Put the fater buring side on top
2. Blow three steady puffs through the cigar - not sucking but blowing through the cigar
3. Take a couple good regular puffs
4. Now look at the buring end and blow on the "cherry" and see where it is buring well.

Continue to do this until it clears up. I have also tried to wet the leading edge of the runner to slow its burn - do this with saliva or a drop of your drink. Also, slowing down to a point of almost not smoking the cigar, leaving the cigar with the runner side up and lying flat in the ashtray (like mentioned above) workes well. Just remember to slow down the puffing as this will generally make things worse.

As for the value of your cigar . . . it is true (also mentioned above) that regardless of the price you can get a bad draw - either tight, tunneling or runners. Better cigars just have a lower percentage of failure, or so I am told.

What ever you do don't let this experience spoil you on smoking that brand. Unless you get a bunch of the same stick that are bad don't throw in the towel . . . give it another try .

I dont think anyone mentioned to check the calibration on your hygrometer, it may be off. Also, I rotate the cigars in my humidor once a week. Take those on the bottom of the pile and bring to the top and the top to the bottom. I would definately start with a salt test, I bet you need to recalibrate.

75% http://cigarsmokers.com/images/smilies/smiley35.gif

That's too high... You definitly should let them sit in your humidor at 64% at least 2 weeks to a month. That should really help with the burn problems. Turn them occasionlly to so they get even exposure to the air.

Should I take them out of the wrapper?
The idea of keeping them for two weeks before smoking them, poses a problem for me. I don't have the money to keep a two week stock on hand. I buy them and smoke them in a day or two. Can I just leave them out of the humidor for a little while after I buy them. My apartment is air conditioned because it is hot as heck here in Texas. If I leave them out for a little while, will this dry them out enough to smoke? Thanks.

Should do the trick. Until you can get a bit more stock.