Relighting that Cigar - Is it just me?

[Ethernut]

Ok, question I've been wondering. For me and my palate, more often than not, the experience a cigar provides changes fundamentally upon relight. I'm highly sensitive to the ammonia/acrid flavors many develop after a relight. Once a cigar dies out, I dread relighting as I'm anticipating disappointment. Is it just me? 

[Cep]

its not just you. 

I just had to stop my Party no 4 early to get into the office.  It wont be the same in 2 hours when I light it up at lunch.

 

[garbandz]

Among the smokers I know,this is a problem for the ones who smoke fast,and double puff each time.

I seldom have any noticeable change,unless the cigar is very short,then I get a bit of heat.

I get to enjoy a cigar at work,and lay it down some times,so relights are common........

[KnightsAnole]

When this happens to me, I give it a short quick purge before the relight, which I think helps ridding the cigar of stale air and smoke.

[el.barbudo]

There is this topic from last year:

http://www.friendsofhabanos.com/forum/topic/123830-to-re-light-half-smoked-cigars/?page=1

Ethernut, when you say "a relight" what time frame are you talking about?  A few minutes after going inside to, um... mix another drink?  A few hours like Cep mentioned?  The next day as Arnold claims?  In my experience even serious purging before, clipping, and purging after a relight still leaves you with a cigar that tastes like it was re-lit. 

I just realized, of course Arnold relights his cigars days after; think of all the terminator sequels he has been part of!  Sadly, like T2, T3, T4, T5, etc, there always seems to be a decline from the first fire.

[MooseAMuffin]

Same problem on relights. I have alot of burn issues during the summer months due to the humidity here. Cigars tend to burn badly and require alot of touch ups or relights. If I try and puff more often to keep it lit, the cigar ends up tasting awful as well. I try to dry them out a day or so before in order to help out but it doesn't seem to work very well.

[Ethernut]

36 minutes ago, garbandz said:

Among the smokers I know,this is a problem for the ones who smoke fast,and double puff each time.

I seldom have any noticeable change,unless the cigar is very short,then I get a bit of heat.

I get to enjoy a cigar at work,and lay it down some times,so relights are common........

Interesting point about smoking fast, I don't generally think about my puffing but will pay more attention. I generally like to keep the cigar as cool as possible as I play a little game often to see how long I can make a cigar last. 

[Ethernut]

33 minutes ago, KnightsAnole said:

When this happens to me, I give it a short quick purge before the relight, which I think helps ridding the cigar of stale air and smoke.

Not thought of that, will give that a try next time for sure!

[Ethernut]

32 minutes ago, el.barbudo said:

There is this topic from last year:

http://www.friendsofhabanos.com/forum/topic/123830-to-re-light-half-smoked-cigars/?page=1

Ethernut, when you say "a relight" what time frame are you talking about?  A few minutes after going inside to, um... mix another drink?  A few hours like Cep mentioned?  The next day as Arnold claims?  In my experience even serious purging before, clipping, and purging after a relight still leaves you with a cigar that tastes like it was re-lit. 

I just realized, of course Arnold relights his cigars days after; think of all the terminator sequels he has been part of!  Sadly, like T2, T3, T4, T5, etc, there always seems to be a decline from the first fire.

Relights for me are in minutes after. Days? WHOAH - That'd be a no-go for me there Squadron Leader. Great advice and thank you - Appreciate the old thread dig-up, I did search a bit, but obviously not very hard.  

[Smallclub]

Relight = mandatory purge

[Fugu]

As a lover of slender cigars, I have to relight my cigars occasionally. Better risking a cigar to go out than smoking it hot. In those instances, I never have an issue with poor taste. A cigar may even taste better after relighting. It really is a non-issue. The first one or two draws will usually be a bit unpleasant as the extinct cigar still contains the smoldering products from incomplete combustion immediately before the cigar went out and from charring during the relight (why a quick first purge can indeed help - in fact the only instance where I'd purge. However, more often than not I do it without, as a slender cigar is rather quickly relit). Remove the ash and heat the foot until the ember is in full glim again, but don't draw during relighting! Crucial for me is to never draw while holding the flame to the foot.

If you have to relight due to a cigar being too moist, mostly the bad taste will derive not due to the relighting procedure itself but rather will continue due to a bad tasting cigar in the first place. Often, if you are attentive to it, you will notice that the poor taste had set in already before the cigar went out.

[garbandz]

"Crucial for me is to never draw while holding the flame to the foot"

 

excellent advice..........

knocking off the ash too..........

[Fugu]

6 minutes ago, garbandz said:

knocking off the ash too..........

Yep, you have to.... mandatory, too 

[Akela3rd]

Point of order.

T2 is far superior to T1.

Thank you.

Carry on your discussion.

[joeypots]

I try to relight quickly, otherwise the bitterness can wreck the experience. I read that Winston Churchill smoked 25 cigars a day. I also read that if one of his cigars went out, no matter how much he had smoked, he tossed it. Makes it easier to see the 25  a day, but that's still a lot.

[foursite12]

5 hours ago, Ethernut said:

Interesting point about smoking fast, I don't generally think about my puffing but will pay more attention. I generally like to keep the cigar as cool as possible as I play a little game often to see how long I can make a cigar last. 

 Sometimes I share posts I like with my wife.  I  like this one but I think I will keep it to myself. 

[Smallclub]

2 hours ago, joeypots said:

 I read that Winston Churchill smoked 25 cigars a day. I also read that if one of his cigars went out, no matter how much he had smoked, he tossed it.

I watched a lot of documentaries about  WWII in which Winston Churchill invariably appears with a large (julieta size most often) OFF cigar which head is very chewed and covered with saliva.

[Habana Mike]

Yes,, old copperknob was a chomper for sure....

[earthson]

3 months ago, I had a '13 PLMC that I smoked half of, then got too tired, put it out and went to bed.  I fired it up again 3-4 days later.  It had set out outside in humid weather (Tennessee, April) for a couple days, then I freezered it for 2 days before I finished it (I don't waste tobacco as a matter of principle).  It honestly reminded me of those RE Asia Robustos that I have simply adored.

I have not reproduced the experiment, but I should.  Quality tobacco can take a beating environmentally and still perform.

Of course, PLMC are something special...

[Ethernut]

2 hours ago, earthson said:

3 months ago, I had a '13 PLMC that I smoked half of, then got too tired, put it out and went to bed.  I fired it up again 3-4 days later.  It had set out outside in humid weather (Tennessee, April) for a couple days, then I freezered it for 2 days before I finished it (I don't waste tobacco as a matter of principle).  It honestly reminded me of those RE Asia Robustos that I have simply adored.

I have not reproduced the experiment, but I should.  Quality tobacco can take a beating environmentally and still perform.

Of course, PLMC are something special...

Huge fan of PLMC ?

[Trimming]

IMHO smokes tastes stagnate and bitter to myself if out for over 30 minutes. 

[PigFish]

I live in a net dry climate. This means that a cigar left out gets dry not wet.

When I sit down to smoke, I mostly complete my smoke and sometimes i have to relight it depending on what I am doing other than just smoking. Relighting does not bother me at all...

I also have some odd habits for a cigar smoker. I smoke in the shop while working. This means that I might start a cigar in one hour and finish it 8 or 48 hours later. It depends on the cigar. If I objectively view a relit cigar, the first few puffs are off-tasting yet I typically find the rest of the cigar just as enjoyable as before.

This of course leads to some theories about my experience and stories of relights. The question is, does the cigar get 'imprinted' with less than desirable tastes when set down? Like many things cigar, I believe that this is a product of water content. Water content has a lot to do with how you taste a cigar (MO) and water content therefore can aid or eliminate the embedding of 'foul' tastes in the tobacco itself. AGAIN, THIS IS JUST MY OPINION, AND I HAVE NO WAY OF PROVING IT.

Like many of you, my opinion is based on anecdotal evidence.  Mine is that I can lay down a cigar in the shop and smoke it once more, days later with the aforementioned results. I don't do this often, but I have been known to smoke a cigar over a two day period when working in the humidor shop. If the cigar tasted foul to me, I could not continue the process. The fact is, I am very sensitive to lousy cigars and will toss them without hesitation. If I am wiling to toss a foul newly lit cigar, I have even less affinity for one that is half-smoked and foul tasting. The cigar does need to prove itself very quickly that it is worth continued smoking. I would say that I keep, well lets just say a goodly number of cigar in the shop at any one time. There is no need to go far to get a good cigar, so there is no point in smoking a bad one!!!

Cheers! -Piggy

[Ethernut]

Good stuff as always @PigFish!

[bigben]

12 hours ago, Trimming said:

IMHO smokes tastes stagnate and bitter to myself if out for over 30 minutes. 

Yes.  I usually apply the 30 minute rule too.  

[MrGlass]

The profile does seem to change after relighting, but only initially and I always put that down to the temperature difference/lighting leftover ash.  After relighting, I'll typically give it a puff or two to clear the old smoke out, then give the ember a chance to cool back down before continuing.