Padron '64 Principe Natural

[Bubba -NJ]

I bought this one today for $10.20 . Nice looking box pressed cigar . Nice tobacco smell . Punched it , took a few pre-light draws to check for any problems , none here . I then toasted the foot and lit it up after work on my front porch . Temp near 50 and drizzling . First couple puffs were strong , and then I could taste ash in my throat , seemed a little harsh at first , mellowed out and then a little harsh again . I was thinking of tossing it but I held on because of the price paid . I noticed a tar like build up in the punch whole , so I figured I'd cut it with my double blade guillotine cutter to maybe open it up and mellow it out a little hopefully , worked like a charm . This was now a real good smoke . I guess the punch cut was to confining for the smoke to enter my mouth freely and caused a build up in the whole that caused the ashy taste in the back of my mouth . No more ashy taste , just straight up tobacco flavor and loads of smoke , now I was experiencing what all the raving is about . I didn't want it to end so it didn't get tossed until my finger tips got hot . The burn was pretty consistent the whole way through . A quality smoke that I would get again . Has anyone here ever re-cut a cigar after lighting ? I don't know why this idea popped into my head but I'm glad it did .