Smoked a La Gloria tonight and a Viaje H&HG the other night. Both canoed and wouldn't stay lit. Is this common for figurados or did I maybe just get bad sticks. The La Gloria did seem like it was rolled awful tight, so it makes me think that had something to do with it.
Figurado Burn Issues
- Thread starter Martin3203
- Start date
I've heard that canoeing happens when the core burns faster than the binder/wrapper due to humidity issues. I'm not sure though. I have also had burn issues with figurados in the past and have never figured out what the problem is. I have been steering away from buying them for that reason.
The rest of my sticks burn fine.
Cigary43
Just Another Ashhole
This is an issue that I read about as well....I smoke a lot of Figurados and do not have any problems to speak of...I sometimes will have tunneling/canoeing with cigars in general if they have not been in my humidor for long. Issues usually will result with smoking the cigar too soon or if you keep your cigars at a higher RH. The problem is really this....the inside is burning at a faster rate than the outside so we have to equalize the burn. Wrappers in cigars are usually a bit thicker ( usually...not all ) so we have to start there. To get the wrapper to acclimate to what the filler/binder is requires time...it's really that simple. Smoked too early and you risk a burn that will leave the wrapper unburnt while the inside combustion goes on its merry way. A lot of us enthusiasts don't like waiting....I get that but if you want to smoke a cigar at its very best you wait. I am a firm believer in waiting at least 30-45 days and even longer depending on the cigar. I do know that it takes at least 30 days for cigars to acclimate to an environment...46 years tells me this.
You also have to realize that sometimes cigars if rolled too loose or tight can add issues to cigars as well. Rolling your cigar between your fingers will give you an idea to tightness/loose....again, ideally you want a cigar that when you look at the foot you want see how it is rolled....entubado ---booking---accordian bunching. I prefer the entubado/entubar where you get a more dense packing in which the leaf is rolled into itself like a scroll. Booking is where they lay the leaf(s) on top of each other and then rolling them up like a book. The accordian bunching technique involves folding the outer sides of the filler leaves inward, one at a time, and placing the leaves on top of each other until the bunch is complete.
You also have to realize that sometimes cigars if rolled too loose or tight can add issues to cigars as well. Rolling your cigar between your fingers will give you an idea to tightness/loose....again, ideally you want a cigar that when you look at the foot you want see how it is rolled....entubado ---booking---accordian bunching. I prefer the entubado/entubar where you get a more dense packing in which the leaf is rolled into itself like a scroll. Booking is where they lay the leaf(s) on top of each other and then rolling them up like a book. The accordian bunching technique involves folding the outer sides of the filler leaves inward, one at a time, and placing the leaves on top of each other until the bunch is complete.
I occasionally have this problem with my figurados, since all my other cigars smoke fine at my rh i believe it is an issue withe the shape. However, once I hit the full guage and begin to slim back down i perform a long slow purge with one to three breaths and have zero burn problems for the remainder of the smoke. IMHO this is the only purpose for a purge, I have found that when i get a smoke from a b&m and have burn issues this procedure straightens them out as well, regardless of vitola. Just my 2 cents, fwiw
This makes sense to me. I am impatient with resting cigars, so...I'm not surprised that I've had issues given the above info.
Cigary43
Just Another Ashhole
A lot of debate on this pratice as well but I tend to agree with you in principal...a good purge can correct a bad burn...it has for me and for some it doesn't work. The beauty of this technique is that it either works or it doesn't but at the end of the day all that matters is correcting the problem. There are those who are OCD about the burn on their cigars so they will 'touch up' the burn once it gets squirelly...I do this as well. I hate a cigar that looks like it's been stepped on while burning...so whatever technique works .....use it.
Ya sounds about right for me to. I bought the Viaje about a week or so ago. It's a shame I got annoyed with having to keep touching it up. Was a good stick!
I purged the La Gloria and it did seem to correct it for a bit then went back to the same problem.
Cigary43
Just Another Ashhole
Martin, you're just dealing with stuff like the rest of us. Some cigars for one reason another won't cooperate and touching up cigars gets to be 'labor intensive' after a few times and then you start looking for it to continue a lousy burn. At some point you just let the darn thing burn anyway it wants to. I had a cigar last week that burned sideways for about 2 inches on one side only ( it was a young cigar btw ) and I just ignored the stupid thing and continued smoking away. Had I not looked at this stupid thing is was actually pretty good...my OCD finally kicked in and I touched it up. The things we do to try and enjoy our cigars.