Useless poll 1: In general what's your favorite third if a cigar

[Metallifan33]

1st, 2nd, or 3rd?
I've always loved the first third, but lately I'm getting a lot more flavor and texture from the second third..
Anyway, it made me wonder, in general, which is your favorite part of the cigar?

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[ChuckMejia]

2nd third for me

 

[navyvet]

2nd

 

[memphsdad]

Depends on the cigar honestly

 

[Lomey]

More times than not it's the 2nd.

 

[BeardedGuy512]

Strangely for me it's the last third. My main reason being if it stays positive and okay tasting then I'll take it down to my fingertips. If the taste goes away and is just bitter/pepper then it's time to go back in the house.

 

[ElectricMayhem82]

I would have to say 2nd, but obviously it depends on the cigar.


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[Romulus Cogswell]

Cigars aren't blended into thirds. @JonHuber

 

[hookfish84]

1st intermission for me. right before the 2nd starts.

 

[tengel78]

Usually second for me. Sometimes the last third.

 

[StogieNinja]

Cigars aren't blended into thirds. @JonHuber

True, but there are different stages of a cigar. In some cigars there might not be a lot of transition from an inch in to an inch left, but the first third will always have a "getting it lit" aspect, and the last third will always have a "cigar getting shorter until it's too hot to smoke anymore aspect", and the middle tends to be the most consistent and problem-free, which is why you see most people preferring it.

It's why the NUB was made (and also why the NUB is a gimmick, you can't eliminate the lighting of a cigar, or it's growing short, both things have to happen).

For me, it depends on the burn of a cigar. Generally it's the middle portion, because you don't have any potential issues from lighting it, and you haven't got to the shorter, hotter point yet. But if construction is really good and the burn has been pretty cool all along (or occasionally when the cigar has largely been flat) sometimes the final third can just be incredible as the smoke warms.

 

[ChuckMejia]

True, but there are different stages of a cigar. In some cigars there might not be a lot of transition from an inch in to an inch left, but the first third will always have a "getting it lit" aspect, and the last third will always have a "cigar getting shorter until it's too hot to smoke anymore aspect", and the middle tends to be the most consistent and problem-free, which is why you see most people preferring it.

It's why the NUB was made (and also why the NUB is a gimmick, you can't eliminate the lighting of a cigar, or it's growing short, both things have to happen).

Well said, Derick

 

[hdroadglide]

there was some discussion a few years back that ca magazine only smoked the first 3rd of the cigar to do a review. most thought that was ridiculous (and wasteful). while theoretically you might think that a cigar tastes the same all the way through, i would say to watch some buncheros work in a factory when they are putting the leaves together. they break and tear and replace leaves, trying to keep everything even, but they are still a handmade product, so they cannot be perfect. if you read reviews on most websites they discuss the changes that they experience along the length of the cigar.
personally, i think it depends totally on the cigar. i think most of them have a "sweetspot", and more often than not, it is more towards the middle. but you never know. sometimes i'll suffer through the first third when i don't reall like it, and am rewarded with a much better stick in the next third. sometimes, not!
so, remember. it's a handmade product.

 

[Senor Perfecto]

I've had plenty of cigars that started one way and by the end of the 1st 3rd had changed. And changed again later.

I have never had a cigar that was bad after the first 3rd and ended up good.

I take plenty of time lighting, and if a cigar is tasting bad or burning poorly in the first inch, it's the cigar's fault, not mine.

Once I am into a stick a half inch, I know if I am going to like it or not. That's also a function of having a fairly high standard probably -- i.e. if I am "on the fence" it's probably not a stick I will smoke again, even if it improves somewhat over the rest.

And I will pitch it at the 1/6 mark if it's not doing it for me. Much rather light up a good one than burn my palate for the night on something mediocre.

Favorite third? I almost always find myself staring at great a stick in awe at some point. That can occur just after lighting, at the halfway mark, or even when the smoke gets chewy (if I have taken my time) in the final third. I guess I don't have one.

 

[DanLAXX1]

To be honest, I usually don't pay attention to the stages of a cigar. I like to enjoy the experience as a whole.

 

[Shift_Six]

I would venture to guess as you pull more smoke through the unburnt portion of the cigar it will change the flavor of those leaves. Hence why a freshly lit cigar does taste different.

As for the initial question... there are some I absolutely love the very moment I light them and you get all of those fresh toasty notes from... and some others I really enjoy the middle portion.

 

[Cigary43]

True, but there are different stages of a cigar. In some cigars there might not be a lot of transition from an inch in to an inch left, but the first third will always have a "getting it lit" aspect, and the last third will always have a "cigar getting shorter until it's too hot to smoke anymore aspect", and the middle tends to be the most consistent and problem-free, which is why you see most people preferring it.

It's why the NUB was made (and also why the NUB is a gimmick, you can't eliminate the lighting of a cigar, or it's growing short, both things have to happen).

For me, it depends on the burn of a cigar. Generally it's the middle portion, because you don't have any potential issues from lighting it, and you haven't got to the shorter, hotter point yet. But if construction is really good and the burn has been pretty cool all along (or occasionally when the cigar has largely been flat) sometimes the final third can just be incredible as the smoke warms.

Exactly....nothing else left to be said.