Smoking when it's raining
- Thread starter fsfrancis
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As a matter of fact...I have not. Is it really an issue for ya?That's probably because you have not smoked in Florida in June.
Cigary43
Just Another Ashhole
Speaking of smoking in the rain....as long as the ambient temps are good and you have a good roof/patio area to smoke in I love it as the humidity tends to keep the smoke hovering around...I love the smell of a great cigar and the humidity tends to corral the smoke where it just hangs there....and I don't find that I have any issues to relight or how the cigar burns. The time here in Atlanta during Spring/Summer is the best and we tend to get rain a bit more so when the temps are good and it's raining outside I can't wait to have a cigar.
Gotta tell ya there is nothing more relaxing in my book that sitting on the covered patio during a rain storm. Having a cigar too just rasies it to a whole other level
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- Jan 31, 2015
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I fired up a usually nice burning stick outside a soccer stadium a couple days ago tailgating in a pretty good rainstorm. I did have to relight it once but that was towards the end where it was getting pretty wet. I had no overhead cover (but enough beer that it didn't matter). I have had many sticks in the garage during a rainstorm with the door open with no issues. If your not gonna smoke while it's raining in Germany then you probably aren't going to smoke.
Cigary43
Just Another Ashhole
I've convinced myself that I can see Cuba from my back patio when I'm smoking a Cohiba Esplendido.
I have to respectfully disagree. Tobacco absorbs moisture extremely fast. If you'd like to see an example watch minutes 1 through about 5 of this video..
The leaf was bone dry out of the bag but just a couple light spritz of water and the leaf is ready to roll with less than 10 minutes later. Sure your not getting water directly on your cigars, well hopefully not, when its raining but the humidity is constantly being absorbed by the cigar and even more so with every draw you take. After 20-30 mins in humid conditions the flavors get muddled or bitter, the burn starts getting hot, and the cigar starts getting soft and has trouble staying lit. So if your smoking say a toro that means you have about an hour left of smoking with a now wet cigar.
Others may have different experiences but I don't smoke when its raining outside unless its a PC. Anything bigger and the cigar won't finish off the way it should IMO because its just too wet.
Cigary43
Just Another Ashhole
I wouldn't have touched this post unless I had enough experience to counter it. Our cigars have wrappers which tend to safeguard it from wet/humid weather. Sitting outside under a roof while it's raining has not affected any cigar I've smoked and that includes about 30 different cigars. If one were to add moisture to the actual leaf inside the wrapper then I'm with you on what you're saying. I usually smoke Churchill/Toro size cigars so as far as all of the negative aspects you point out maybe your cigars haven't matured or rested adequately....just a guess. Another experience I've used quite a bit and you'll probably gasp....I "wet" cigars prior to smoke which means I take my uncut cigar....run a light stream of water over it with the foot side down so that the rolled leaf isn't exposed to the water. Once I've run it over the cigar for about 10 seconds I remove it and put it on a piece of paper towel....wipe off the excess moisture and then put it in a separate container to smoke the next day. By doing this I've taken care of issues like a runaway burn and it actually smokes cooler.
One thing about our experiences is that sometimes we don't share the same experience so having said that it's not really a right or wrong deal....I just know that I've smoked at least hundreds of cigars in the rain and actually prefer it....your mileage may vary.
We'll have to agree to disagree then. I don't see how a wrapper makes any difference when your drawing humid air through the cigar. The same way a wrapper won't help you if you purge the cigar too much.
Ive heard of people running their cigars under water before and your definitely bringing up the case of the leaf when you do that. Its personally not something I have any desire to do but the only wrong way in this hobby is the one your not enjoying.
Ive heard of people running their cigars under water before and your definitely bringing up the case of the leaf when you do that. Its personally not something I have any desire to do but the only wrong way in this hobby is the one your not enjoying.
This is getting fun! I have smoked my share of sticks on my porch as I have watched the rain coming down with very little issue. So anecdotally, I am in the "rain short of the stick being rained on, doesn't affect the stick" camp. But I smoke smaller sticks as a rule, so there might be something to the end of a churchill not giving you everything it's got as HIM has pointed out.
Anyway - I highlighted the section I did in your post HIM* because yes, when it rains, temps generally lower and humidity will rise. However, you are drawing that humid air through fire first. It would stand to reason that the amber on the end of the cigar would dissipate the lions share of the humidity before entering the smoke first no??
Like I said, this is getting to be fun. I don't have the answer, but I do have access to a meteorologist. I wonder if he could be definitive?
I ended up smoking the Illusione ECCJ 20, and a Quesada 40th Corona Classica yesterday while the raiin was finishing up, both coronda gordas that were more than 6" long and about 47 ring, and neither seemed to have issues staying lit, (any more than normal) or weird ash issues. It was more like dripping than actively raining when I started and finished, but the humidity was high. I think that in the future I won't let rain dissuade me unless its blowing onto the porch and really nasty. It was somewhat peaceful, and I had a good night. Neither stick was a mind blower, but they were pretty good. This topic seemed to take off more than I figured it would, lots of interesting experiences!
You bring up a good point. I'm no scientist but I can share what my logic tells me. When the moisture hits the cherry it has to go somewhere. Either evaporating off the cherry or the suction of air passing through the cigar draws the water vapor through with the smoke. It makes sense to me the vapor would be drawn in with the smoke.
Of course I don't think you could prove it one way or the other and now we're getting pretty deep here lol.
I havent had issues that i felt were caused by conditions locally(pnw) when smoking during rain, but i have had cigars swell and crack during my experiences with summer thundershowers(hot and humid) in the midwest and southeast
I dislike talking in absolutes and would note experiences will vary. I can tell you that sitting in Las Vegas cigar will dry out in a few hours if left unprotected. Try it. I have found the cigar experience changes with weather location time etc.
