Cutting the cap in advance

[Mickeymorris626]

This might be a noobish question, but i don't claim to know it all, so here it goes.

What effect would cutting a cigar a few weeks in advance have? I assume it would put the cigar at a greater risk of unraveling from normal handling, but other than that? would it have some sort of negative impact to the RH level?

I ask this because i recently had someone pick out 4 pairs of cigars from my humi to do a blind review of them. She took the bands off then placed a blank band with A-D on the sticks, and labeled the original bands accordingly.

I thought it would be fun for a buddy and I to test out some of my stock without a brand bias effecting our score.

But i ran into a problem, you can tell a bunch about the cap of a cigar, especially when its coming from your own stash. I'm thinking the next wave of the blind reviews should be pre-cut to overcome some of the more obvious giveaways.


thoughts?

 

[BrandonP]

I would just suggest you have your friend cut it when you guys light up.

 

[zirotti]

I don't think it should really matter. After all, one end of the cigar is already open I've had ones cut for months and they were fine.

 

[Rupe]

My understanding is that the cap is there to keep the cigar from unravelling. cutting it ahead of time should not make a difference as long as you are careful not to damage (and unravel) it.

It might dry out a little quicker once it is out of the humidor but as long as you keep it in an envronment with proper humidity it should not make a difference IMHO.

 

[daniyal]

Makes no difference what so ever other than if you prefer to light before cutting.

 

[ciggy]

If you mean cutting off the caps completely then yes I would worry about it unraveling. If you mean cutting of the first cap then I wouldn't worry so.

 

[Alwayslit]

either way is fine

 

[HarleyMark13]

I've done this before taking of on vacation to Maui. They did dry out slightly faster even though they were in a Cigar caddy but nothing really lost, other than screwing up the ritual.

 

[z6joker9]

Yeah I would leave the cap for a blind review simply because the look and feel are part of the review.

But I have to go out of town for a few days every now and then, and I'll clip the ones I take before I go so I don't have to carry a cutter through security. I also take matched instead of a torch. I've never precut one that waited weeks before lighting, though. I would agree that it screws with the ritual.

 

[BMack]

It will be fine as long as you didn't cut too much of the cap off(ie the entire cap).

 

[mtbarista]

I've done this before taking of on vacation to Maui. They did dry out slightly faster even though they were in a Cigar caddy but nothing really lost, other than screwing up the ritual.

+1 the ritual is a crucial part of my cigar enjoyment

 

[Mickeymorris626]

Well it would remove some of the more obvious traits of the cigar. But at any rate, my question has been answered. Thank you everyone

 

[njstone]

I pre-cut often, especially with Habanos as I'm paranoid about tight draws. If I'm going on a trip or to the beach where I'm bringing X number of cigars, you better believe they're gonna be pre-cut! Nothing worse than getting set up at the beach only to find you've got a bad stick!

 

[gibbleguts]

I pre-cut often, especially with Habanos as I'm paranoid about tight draws. If I'm going on a trip or to the beach where I'm bringing X number of cigars, you better believe they're gonna be pre-cut! Nothing worse than getting set up at the beach only to find you've got a bad stick!

You just gotta go with more Nate. I think I took 25 sticks to Havana with me this year just to be safe. I like to smoke my own stuff there and buy to bring back.