Rinsing/dampening cigars before you smoke them
- Thread starter WMGF
- Start date
Fourtotheflush
BoM Apr 12'
This is craziness!
WARDOGG
Crusher of Hopes & Dreams
I've done this before to cigars that had dried out. I used to use a spray bottle but never ran them under flowing water. I used to take the dry cigar and depending on how dry it was either use a heavy or light spray.
Once they were sprayed I'd put them in tupperware with a small humidification device and let them sit for 24 hours. Once they recovered I either smoke them or put them in my humidor.
It used to work quite well sometimes. However, every once in awhile I noticed the cigars were a little off.
I haven't had to do this in ages though.
Once they were sprayed I'd put them in tupperware with a small humidification device and let them sit for 24 hours. Once they recovered I either smoke them or put them in my humidor.
It used to work quite well sometimes. However, every once in awhile I noticed the cigars were a little off.
I haven't had to do this in ages though.
- Joined
- Nov 8, 2010
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It depends on the cigar Nate. It works well for most Cuban cigars and I suppose it would work for milder NCs, but I don't smoke those. It doesn't do much that I can tell, at least flavorwise, for the stronger NCs because you are just wetting the wrapper, and the stronger NCs typically have much stronger fillers than the Cuban cigars.
For the Cuban cigars, it tends to reduce the harshness and tannins from the wrapper a bit and can bring back some flavors. I've done it to fresher Cuban cigars and it takes the edge off. I've done it to older Cuban cigars and in some cases, it's taken a stick where every other cigar out of that box so far was kind of flat and given it flavors back.
Just wet the wrapper down, brush the excess water off, wait a minute or so and light up. You're not trying to rehydrate the cigar, just give a tiny bit of extra moisture to the wrapper leaf.
Don't expect magic, because that's not going to happen, it just can make some subtle changes to the flavors, that's all, and the worst I've ever found it to do, is for it to do nothing noticeable.
Clint, yes, a spray bottle with water works great if you have one set up with distilled water for other reasons, but you don't _have_ to use a spray bottle. Before cutting, just hold the cigar up vertically (foot down, cap up) with one hand, and pour some water over the top. Bottled water is fine, you could even run it under the tap if you wanted to, so long as your water doesn't smell or have rust in it. Then, after wetting, run your fingers down the cigar to spread out the water and remove the excess. Then wait a moment, cut and light.
this seems insane to do to a perfectly good cigar, but too each his own. My only question is how do people come up with these techniques.
njstone
BoM January 2010
Thanks a lot TG! That was a very helpful description and since you do it, I have no hesitations now myself. I'll try it next week and report back!
As I heard it told, the concept is that since many think a cigar is at it's best straight off the rolling table, wetting the wrapper will more closely mimic those conditions (our friends who've been to factory tours can probably testify that the fresh-rolls are a bit moist). It seems silly to think that just wetting the wrapper will do this, but I've heard it from quite a few "old timers," including my great uncle who always does this.
I think that if you feel like trying it, go for it. And if it works for you, why not keep at it? 'tis all about enjoying, this hobby of ours, so enjoy. I, myself, have never done it, and am not so tempted to doing it, yet. But, please, if you feel like dampening the cigar before smoking, don't lick it. It looks...red district-y.
Docbp87
Smoke Into Oblivion
Logic would dictate that this is just a way to quickly bring a dried out cigar back to life, but unfortunately, I don't think it would help the flavor that has been lost in the process of drying out, since the cigar has lost OIL which contains flavor, and adding water isnt going to replace that.
njstone
BoM January 2010
Logically I think this is correct too, but people swear it sometimes does benefit the flavor. So I'm gonna try it
Although I follow the logic of this technique, but being a relative newbie to cigars, it's not
I would try.
I would try.
Fourtotheflush
BoM Apr 12'
So does this now put the folks who lick their entire cigar to moisten it off the faux pax list?
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- Nov 8, 2010
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Actually, wetting down the wrapper of a cigar won't add moisture to the (dried out) filler. You can soak the wrapper from the outside, wait 30-45 minutes, misting it periodically, pull it off the cigar, and the binder will still be dry.
licking your cigar all over before smoking it puts you on sevral lists you do not want to be on.
Including Dave's top gay video rental title list....
Soundwave13
BoM Feb 2010
One a Day suggested this a long while back. I a dry environment (Vegas, Phoenix in the summer) he would hold the cigar breifly under a tap, foot down. I have been using this technique ever since. I found in Vegas my cigars would begin to unwrap due to the intense dryness. No more. Not an every day thing. Only when the environment calls for it.
Well, that's interesting.. I tried this on an Perdomo Champagne 10th Anniversary that was properly humidified (68/72). I can report back that it didn't muck it up but what it did do was change the flavors a tad, more of a fresh taste and there is a few more things I am noticing that I had not tasted on this cigar prior. I didn't rinse for more than 2-3 seconds and I let it set for about 2 minutes before I lit it up.
Really figured this was just BS. Guess not, I'll be doing this again.
Really figured this was just BS. Guess not, I'll be doing this again.
Very interesting thread as I have had problems with some of my CC's exploding. Seems to hit them more often than my non CC's, figured the wrapper was just more delicate. The last Siglo VI I tried to smoke I couldn't finish it cracked so badly. This all sounds counter intuitive on the surface but the bottom line is that I'm afraid to pull any more out of the humidor anyway, might as well give it a shot.