Do you relight?

[polarbear]

I was smoking a Por Larranga last night and had to put if down because dinner was ready a little earlier I thought it would be. When I came back to the cigar an hour later a re-lit it the flavours had turned for the worst and became quite muddy.

I normally dont make a habbit of letting my cigars go out for a length of time and then re lighting them because what I find what happend to the PL happens to most cigars.

My pallet is far from the some of the Super Tasters out there but was curious to hear everybody elses rules of thumb when it comes to relights.

Whats the maximum time you will let a cigar go before you wont relight it?

[darkleeroy]

5 minutes max, and even then I'm usually kicking myself after refusing to let it go.

When I was younger I would be able to do it without abandon. Now, I can hardly stand the taste of them after they go out.

It's one of the reasons I still smoke a tobacco pipe when I'm busy and about. Relights are ingrained into the process of smoking them.

[Wicky]

I typically smoke the first half of a cigar on my drive to work in the morning with a coffee.

The second half on the way home always starts a little rough, but a good cigar will even out and become enjoyable after the relight.

I wouldn't be as inclined to do so the following morning if I hadn't finished it.

[Jnaube]

Never... Unless it's a matter of minutes. I find that all the times I tried to relight a cigar that has been left there for a while, the taste is awful.

[Lotusguy]

Maybe 15 minutes or so. After that they invariably taste nasty

[orangedog]

Only if a significant amount remains that can lead to a "fresh" burn.

I'm paraphrasing from memory, but Zino Davidoff once said that a "gentleman never relights a cigar if only 1/3rd or less remains". I tend to agree.

More specifically on time, it is usually a very short term thing... a few minutes at most - but then I can't recall the last time I set a cigar down for hours on end to return to it.

[Rushman]

It's very rare for me to be in a position where my smoking would get interrupted for any length of time. When I was working the shop in Mexico, many times I would put my cigar down while helping a customer in the humidor. In most cases it is still lit. In some its a relight.

I have actually had cases where it sat 10-15 minutes and after a tap and relight the cigar finished much better than it was smoking previously.

I never relight more than 30 minutes after and even that is a big stretch.

I know people that relit the next day but that gives me the shivers. Yuck.

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[jrb5783]

if within 5 to 10 minutes I will. More than an hour no way. One time though I smoked half of Trini Reyes late at night and didn't finish it. The next day I relit it. It actually wasn't to bad I was surprised.

[laficion]

I relite my cigars all the time, I even lite up the one I smoked the day before.

I don't find much differents.

[vanbellc]

I try not to let them go out in the first place, but when it's unavoidable, I like many others here will relight if it's only been out a short time.

I can't hardly stand the smell anymore when they've been sitting there too long!

[Ginseng]

Few things smell as good as a burning cigar.

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(the inevitable course of life and the universe)

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V

Few things smell as terrible as an extinguished cigar.

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(as likely as turning a zombie off of brains and back onto spinach quiche)

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V

Few things smell as good as a burning cigar.

That said, if you find yourself having to put it down, let it go out naturally, then a quick puff back out the cigar. Come back to it within a few minutes and damage is minimized. If you're smoking a long cigar, cut off the coal and bit more. Remember, the stink is imparted to the unburnt tobacco by the nearly/recently burnt tobacco, not the coal/ash.

I used to relight. Even the day after. And while you certainly can "smoke" it (in the sense of lighting something on fire and drawing air through it) it really no longer resembles a cigar so much as a Rocky Patel or Ghurka.

Wilkey

[Hubba]

I try not to let them go out in the first place, but when it's unavoidable, I like many others here will relight if it's only been out a short time.

I can't hardly stand the smell anymore when they've been sitting there too long!

X2

[stargazer14]

Yes.

Though only the same day, I try to purge any smoke out before setting it down, and not below 1/3.

The first hit or two can be rough, but I have had smokes be even better the second time around.

Use your cutter to snip off the burnt foot and you will have an enjoyable smoke later without waste.

[AndrewNR]

I re-light if they go out during the process of smoking them.. I generally take my cigars fresh out of the humidor and smoke them and they usually go out atleast once. I have been recently wondering if this has something to do with the "Dry boxing" ive been hearing about.. That said I try to be attentative enough to stop them going out, because I find they're not the same after, And sometimes the act of getting them going again makes me want to loose my dinner. Certainly kills the experience.

[1LegLance]

Funny to read that 1/3 left comment by Davidoff and realize that is what I have been doing for years without thinking about it.

Basically I will relight if the cigar has been out for less than 30min and has more than 1/3 left.

The only times I will relight less than 1/3 of a cigar is if it JUST went out while I was talking or something and I can do it gently. If the taste has changed then that stick is done and out comes another.

Life is too short to suffer a bad tasting cigar

Now all that said I have a great friend who can come out to a stick left from the night before and fire it up with a smile....yuck

[jimb2u]

I tend to not attempt to relight after having a we bad experiences in my earlier days of smoking. The only exceptions (as other have stated above) is if I am still in the first third and the cigar was worth the attempt. I have found that if I am willing to get past the initial relight period, I can still enjoy the last half of he cigar. All that being said, I don't remember the last time I tried it...as I have gotten older , I find I don't want to waste my time in plugged or less than good cigars. I give up in them if they start going bitter and would much rather start a fresh stick than stoically work through a less than enjoyable cigar.

[messa]

Flavors are definitely worse upon relight. I try to be more careful with getting the flame too close to the cigar when relighting as I think the harsh flavor may come from over-charring the oils. If the ash isn't too long I'll even try to relight the cigar through the ash thinking that it may even out the heat from the flame and prevent charring. It seems to help but never completely eliminates the harshness.

[andy]

I have relit a cigar after more than 30 mins. Just tap off the ash, re toast the foot, but purge the cigar thoroughly before drawing though the cigar. The purging really reduces the harshness.

[Vetteman]

Around 5 minutes or so, max.

[David67]

If a cigar is only just smoldering I quickly put a flame to it to keep it going, infact I seem to need to do this for just aout every smoke I have. If a cigar goes out all together than no more than 15 minutes depending on the cigar.

[stargazer14]

I'm about to go out and finish a Monti Edmundo I started 4 hours ago.....

[maverickdrinker]

I relight. Just give the cigar a good tap, clear out any burnt areas and fire it up. Doesn't seem to have an effect. The only exception is when the cigar is at its final third

[Strada]

I relight. Just give the cigar a good tap, clear out any burnt areas and fire it up. Doesn't seem to have an effect. The only exception is when the cigar is at its final third

This!

[Paul3]

Save for an occasional touch up or relighting within a few minutes of the cigar going out, I have not had much luck, in terms of flavor, with relights. I have tried purging a cigar after relighting, knocking off the ash, even cutting off the burnt foot in an attempt to "save" the cigar for the next day. All to no avail. In the end I've found that I either need to ensure I have the time to finish the cigar or simply put it down and walk away.

My hats off to those that find a relit cigar enjoyable. It's been disappointing to have to leave an occasional half smoked DC in the ashtray.

[vink]

If it goes out while I'm smoking it then I'll relight it. But when I take a moment to smoke I make sure that I have nothing else to do so I got the time to smoke it completely.