Why aint my ash white?

**stjohnroe** · 08-09-2005, 04:37 AM

All my cigars have grey and black ash, generally that is the way with cubans. I've even heard that pure white ash is a good way to spot a fake!

**Jonsey5484** · 08-09-2005, 08:27 AM

Yeah, I would be more concerned with how long the ash will hang on. I don't think that the color makes that big of a difference. I smoked a Padron 2000 Maduro last night and the ash hung on for about 2" into the smoke! It was one of the best cigars I have had.

**stjohnroe** · 08-09-2005, 08:57 AM

Originally Posted by Jonsey5484

Yeah, I would be more concerned with how long the ash will hang on. I don't think that the color makes that big of a difference. I smoked a Padron 2000 Maduro last night and the ash hung on for about 2" into the smoke! It was one of the best cigars I have had.

On the subject of long ash, there is an interesting story about how Winston Churchill used to distract people in meetings:

Originally Posted by http://www.cigarsclub.co.uk/romeo-y-julieta.htm

British lore claims that when Prime Minister Churchill would meet with foreign heads of state, he would insert a straightened paperclip through the length of his cigar. As his cigar ash would grow longer and longer but not fall, it is said that Churchill would unnerve his often-hostile guests, allowing him to gain an upper hand during delicate negotiations

Not that I'd try it, especially with those plastic coated clips you get nowadays

**Jonsey5484** · 08-09-2005, 09:01 AM

That is really funny. Yeah who know what is in a paperclip that smoking with it would probably give you some rare disease.

**Chè** · 08-09-2005, 11:10 AM

Some believe the soil contents is the cause of the color of the ash. It is also my understanding that magnesium does turn white when burned... but that is in a lab under very intense heat... the kind of heat you couldn't continusously generate at the tip of a cigar.

As hard as it may be to believe, the Cubans are forced to use magnesium and the other soil enhancing components just as the Dominican Republican. If not, don't you think the Domincan Republic would have long been trying to strip magnesium from the soil in an effort to produce tobacco on par with the Cubans?

I believe in the other theory, which is ash that burns white is simply more combustible (aged longer or is more broken down & stripped of impurities that resist burning) – than a darker burning ash. Very old Cuban cigars tend to burn much whiter than more recent production.

**Kenyth** · 08-09-2005, 12:06 PM

Originally Posted by stjohnroe

On the subject of long ash, there is an interesting story about how Winston Churchill used to distract people in meetings:

Not that I'd try it, especially with those plastic coated clips you get nowadays

Nothing like poking your full length into a fine bit of cuban ash!