Tar Issue - Four Kicks

[jmward21]

Well, I had a bad experience last night with my first Four Kicks Cigar. About 1/4 through the cigar I started getting real bad tar build up. I would dap the cigar with a paper towel after every draw. I ended up pitching it before half way. This was my first bad experience with a Crowned Heads cigar.

Does anyone know the cause for tar release? Bad tobacco, bad storage, etc. I have a complete drawer in my wino full of CH (68%/65F). I have loved every CH cigar and I have had no issues in the past. Heck, the 2015 TAA is one of my top 3 cigars I've ever smoked.

Let me know your thoughts.

 

[OldSkoolTarHeel]

It happens to me sometimes, not exclusive to CH though. When it does, I simply cut just a bit more off the cigar. Usually this helps.

 

[nayslayer]

I've had this issue with a few cigars, never a Four kicks. I think it was some Padillia sig 32's, El centurions and a couple others. From what i was told, it could be from incomplete curing or smoking too fast. I also would just clip a sliver off the end as well and worked.

 

[Dick Leighton]

Did you punch it, V cut or slice it?

Like others have said, if the cut is too small that can incur tar build up. Punch specifically.

 

[tadpole]

im no expert but....
you might be smoking too fast. i used to get this too, but when i slowed down, i stopped getting that nasty tar taste/buildup. basically, after you ash, if the foot is pointy like a cone, then you are smoking too fast. if it is like a reverse cone, you are smoking too slow. you gotta treat it like goldielocks (juuuuust right)
after every time i ash, i purge, meaning i blow into the cigar so the smoke exits the foot. that can also help.
but as others have said, check the way you cut. i used to LOVE v cuts...simply because i smoked too fast, the tar would build up, and the v cut would be a little notch where the tar would collect so it wouldnt touch my tongue/teeth/lips. however, the v-cut might be what is causing the tar buildup (combined with the way i drew from the cigar). smaller cuts like V cuts and punches leave very small openings in the cap, so the smoke and heat gets concentrated at one point as you take a draw.

i dunno... it makes sense to me (at least it does in my head)

 

[jmward21]

This was a corona gorda. I v-cut this cigar as it is my typical cut. However, the draw was tight and I made a second V (so I had an X cut). I am not a fast smoker. I'm probably more on the slow side.

Thanks for the information. If it happens again I will be sure to slice the end off a little further.

 

[bigbill72]

It was the v cut I'll bet, I've had it happen and when I clip a little more off it smoked fine. Make sure you clip enough off your sticks and you shouldn't have a problem

Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk

 

[Rupe]

From my experience I am much more likely to have a cigar tar up on me when the weather is humid and the temperature is a little bit cooler. Usually I just cut a little more off the cap and keep going but sometimes it gets so bad that I have to pitch it.

On a side note, I really don't think this has anything to do with the cigar as I have had it happen on many different sizes and brands over the years. Smoking speed and type of cut will contribute to extra tar but temperature and humidity seem to be the main factors In my experience.


Sent from my iPhone using that TapaTalk thingy - take that Chuck Mejia

 

[DimeWideNickelHigh]

Yeah my guess is the v cut..I recently got a xikar v cutter and I'd say 2/10 cigars develop a tar problem. I've never had this issue before, but when it happens I just throw another cut the other way into an "X" pattern and it helps.

 

[King Kill 33]

@tadpole is right. I used to have tar issues with certain cigars and not others. But when I started slowing down, it ended. Tough to do if you are used to the way you smoke, but it'll stop the tar from coming.


- KK33

 

[atllogix]

Your humidity is too high, 68% at 65F would translate into like 74% at 70F, the water content of the leaves, that is determined from the RH and is what actually matters when it all comes down to it, is too high.
Sounds good to me, though I don't claim to be a scientist, scholar, or expert. Just a dood with an opinion. Who likes to start a good riot...err debate.

 

[King Kill 33]

not sure on that one....


- KK33

 

[Jbay555]

I've gone a bit crazy lately. I will opt for a punch or V on mild/mediums. All the rest are straight cuts to reduce the odds of tar. I smoke slower and since adopting this practice I have had 0 problems.

 

[Cigary43]

I've personally counted over a dozen explanations of why Tar appears in our cigars...from the cut to the Winter Solstice and there are some things we're never going to know. I've smoked cigars since I was 10 years old...that's 51 years of happy cigar smoking and most of the cuts I use are V cuts but have used every other type. I've had tar ooze from every type of cut but the most consistent cut for me has been a Cats Eye V Cut. Smoking too fast, too slow, just right, etc. isn't going to negate or increase the tar appearing unless you don't light your cigars. Tobacco is burned and tar is a byproduct of this event of burning tobacco.....this is the best explanation I've read in many years:

Yes, it is "tar" at the end of the cigar. Tar is basically condensed smoke. The tobacco is heated from fire, which causes vaporization of gases and solids, which then cools off to form soot or tar in your house, teeth, lungs, or palate.

The buildup at the end of a cigar is noticeable because of the length of the cigar (much more for condensation) and the amount of moisture in the leaf. The stuff that turns a cigarette butt brown is the same stuff we are talking about at the end of a cigar, just in a large quantity.

Yes, the strength increases as smoked because the condensed smoke is being "re-combusted." Some cigar makers add strips of different leaf toward the end of a smoke to blend with the build up of flavors."

In 51 years of smoking cigars I've probably come across a couple of dozen cigars that oozed tar...that's something I can deal with and not get anxious about. Not every bottle of wine is a winner...not every steak is going to taste like Emeril Lagasse cooked it....not every MBenz is going to drive better than a Lexus...so when you get a cigar that sucks....pitch it and get another one and enjoy life. Life is too short to wonder about things that should not even be brought up unless you buy one brand of cigars that consistently have tar in them and then I'd never make that purchase again. Wish I had that kind of common sense with my first wife...she wasn't working out but I kept her around for 25 years and would rather have smoked a tar oozing cigar instead.

 

[Stogie_Bear]

I've personally counted over a dozen explanations of why Tar appears in our cigars...from the cut to the Winter Solstice and there are some things we're never going to know. I've smoked cigars since I was 10 years old...that's 51 years of happy cigar smoking and most of the cuts I use are V cuts but have used every other type. I've had tar ooze from every type of cut but the most consistent cut for me has been a Cats Eye V Cut. Smoking too fast, too slow, just right, etc. isn't going to negate or increase the tar appearing unless you don't light your cigars. Tobacco is burned and tar is a byproduct of this event of burning tobacco.....this is the best explanation I've read in many years:

Yes, it is "tar" at the end of the cigar. Tar is basically condensed smoke. The tobacco is heated from fire, which causes vaporization of gases and solids, which then cools off to form soot or tar in your house, teeth, lungs, or palate.

The buildup at the end of a cigar is noticeable because of the length of the cigar (much more for condensation) and the amount of moisture in the leaf. The stuff that turns a cigarette butt brown is the same stuff we are talking about at the end of a cigar, just in a large quantity.

Yes, the strength increases as smoked because the condensed smoke is being "re-combusted." Some cigar makers add strips of different leaf toward the end of a smoke to blend with the build up of flavors."

In 51 years of smoking cigars I've probably come across a couple of dozen cigars that oozed tar...that's something I can deal with and not get anxious about. Not every bottle of wine is a winner...not every steak is going to taste like Emeril Lagasse cooked it....not every MBenz is going to drive better than a Lexus...so when you get a cigar that sucks....pitch it and get another one and enjoy life. Life is too short to wonder about things that should not even be brought up unless you buy one brand of cigars that consistently have tar in them and then I'd never make that purchase again. Wish I had that kind of common sense with my first wife...she wasn't working out but I kept her around for 25 years and would rather have smoked a tar oozing cigar instead.

One thing.

Emeril is my bitch. Bam!

 

[navyvet]

This is actually the third time I have heard this. I love four kicks and never had this problem yet. Hope I never do

 

[Zmilin]

Ive heard of this too before and only with that particular stick. I wonder why that one seems to suffer form this more than other.