I watered my cigar last night

[David67]

This is completely crazy. Yes,m I use the word again.

Is it crazy? running a cigar under a tap for 2 seconds would have to have some effect, be it good or bad. Remember it would not be like having the cigar at 95% humidity because it is only the out side that gets touched for 2 seconds by the water.

Lets keep an open mind and wait until we have tried it.

[srsMichael]

I have yet to try this but I will with my next cigar. Thanks for the info and sharing experiences!

[brazoseagle]

Instead of dry boxing my cigars, I'm wet boxing mine a handful at a time in the guest toilet!

[LordAnubis]

Ok so put on the lab coat and did some tests, and sweet mother of Allah science proves me wrong yet again. I hate bloody facts and evidence !!!

Have an ErDM (not sure what it is but robusto size) and weighed it dry.

Then i rinsed it very quickly (probably total time in contact with water of about 0.5seconds), and dried with paper towel. I do think the aroma changed a little bit, but i reckon it's placebo, if only there was a smell detector device of some sort. Anyway, weight after being watered.

So as can be seen, the cigar did infact absorb water. Now you must be thinking "0.0008g" thats nothing, thats purely within the error of the weighing sclaes, well no not really, these weighign scales have an error of 0.0001g. So, this calls for a repeat.

Enter a Monte 4, dry.

Then I wet it, this time being a bit more adventurous and water contacted the thing for about 2seconds in total.

So yes, in conclusion, the cigar does absorb water. I'll be the first to say that I was very surprised with this. Haven't smoke it yet, but i think i will sit outside tonight and smoke the Monte 4 while studying business accounting.

[David67]

Just watered a Partagas Short and am half way through it. To be honest it is burning very well, the ash is lighter then all the others I've had from this box and more even. This could be just this cigar so will have to try more down the track. Will write again at cigars end.

[David67]

OK I finnished the cigar, it went out during the last half (but that is normal for me) I let it rest a little before relighting it.

I must say I did enjoy it. Did running it under a tap improve the smoke? Maybe. It did seem to have the improvemenst others have said it would but maybe I was wanting to see it?

I think someone who knows a lot more about cigars, eg Rob, would give a better judgement on this.

I will try more like this though....

[Dimmers]

Wow this is like an episode of Mythbusters! Rob, Smithy, Ken we need a video review to really get crazy

[CaptainQuintero]

It could just be something as simple as the wrapper absorbs a tiny amount of water, and the excess is patted off. The filler isn't touched but as the cigar burns, the new water in the burning wrapper leaf causes water vapour to get into the cigar which results in a cooling of the burn of the filler and so potentially a more pleasant smoke

slow smoke = cooler burn = nicer flavour

moist wrapper = cooler burn = nicer flavour?

[Colt45]

Ash colour is dependent on the minerals in the soil.

We've had a number of discussions about this in the past - general consensus being that ash color is much more a product of combustion - the more complete the combustion, the lighter the color of the ash.

[Colt45]

That is interesting. That flies in the face of much of what I know about it. "Consensus" being opinion, or based on fact and knowledge? Any way to bump the thread if you can find it?

Shlomo, here is a link to one discussion:

http://www.friendsof...wtopic=37113

There are a few others - try combustion, or ash color, etc in the search function if you're interested.

Now, back to my rolled on the thigh of a virgin cigar......

[Colt45]

One interesting post there. Not sure how accurate it is though. I would think it may be a combination of magnesium content along with combustion, but since magnesium is highly combustible, the more there is, the more combustion and better burn you will have in a cigar. They seem to be correlated, or even more so, dependent on one another.

I am not a scientist........

But in my imagination, if a plant could absorb enough magnesium to make it that inflammable, I also imagine I'd be able to light the ground on fire

[Colt45]

I'm no scientist either, but I know the word you were looking for is flammable, not inflammable.

Check the dictionary.......

Believe what you will - magnesium, lithium.........

[SurpriseMVP]

I have never tried this on a cigar less than 15 years old but do it every time on a vintage frail wrapper cigar. I actually use the same spray bottle of distilled water that I use for my beads. Never had a negative experience

[Orion21]

Ok, I got around to uploading my pictures from my test last night. I will write a short caption to explain each.

Initially these cigar were both almost the identical wrapper shade. Once rinsed, the cigar on the left turned a shade darker.

The cigar on the left is the non-rinsed cigar. Notice how the ash is much darker and the burn horrible. A reminder, these cigars are from the same box, which I have had at least 6 months.

Now the rinsed cigar is back on the left (sorry for the back and forth). Notice how the burn line is thicker than the non-rinsed cigar on the right. Also notice how the ash is still much lighter on the rinsed cigar.

Again, these picture only show visual differences. Like I posted before, the cigars smoked very differently. The rinsed cigar cool, smooth and sweet vs dry, tannic, harsh and hotter.

[David67]

I have an open mind, I said I would try it, I just think it is crazy.

Also, if the wrapper is holding more moisture, then obviously the filler will be more humid.

Sorry, I was not saying you were not open minded. You have brought some very good points to this discussion. And yes the whole think does sound "crazy" but....

I think it is over to Rob and co. to do a video on this.

[Orion21]

you're right. The non rinsed stick burned poorly for the first third and then evened out. The burn I could care less about, unless it as bad the whole way. The main difference was how they smoked, but I will admit with Cubans you never know from stick to stick sometimes. Overall they smoked very different, especially compared the the 5 I had smoked from this box before. I have no agenda with this, believe me. I smoked two cigars tonight that I did not rinse and the RA Superiores was the best cigar this year.

[FatPete]

Bump.

Just wondered if anyone has any more feedback on wetting cigars. I ask as my first Partagas Lusitania self destructed. Could this technique have helped me? It was in my humidor at 65% RH and dry boxed for 2 days before smoking it (interestingly it was still 65% in the dry box before taking it out). It was sunny outside with an RH of 50%. 

It was from a box OBM ABR 16 from a recent 24:24 given 8 weeks down time.

Was looking forward to this cigar given its reputation ?

[lafabrica]

adding my experiences, i will wet down the wrapper for a couple of reasons:
- cap/wrapper seams are not tight
- i can feel a knot somewhere

of course, i remove the band before anything.  that should come off easily.

while wetting down under the faucet, i also work the wrapper in the rolled direction to tighten the seams with my fingertips (think using a screwdriver).  wetting the cigar will allow any glue to rehydrate and help the bond.

and since faulty construction/knots occur, i'll also wet down the wrapper when i know i have to use a draw tool.  this allows the leaf to be workable and lessen any cracking.  after the wetting down and a pat dry (i prefer a clean lint-free cloth), i'll use the draw tool then while its damp.

i don't immediately smoke the cigar after wetting down, i wait for the wrapper to completely dry - 30 minutes at the most (indoor climate controlled).  they are smokeable then or even further out.  sometimes its specifically my morning cigar and i dry box it overnight.

my results are always a great draw when the seams were loose or when dealing with a knot.  burn line is what my ideal would be and the performance is on par to a well constructed one.

 

[ChrisMG]

wow I didn't this was done. I'm tempted to give it a try. Is this a common practice still?

[rcarlson]

Can't believe I made it all the way through the comments without spotting a single reference to the Clinton technique.  

[dimi68]

Not had any negative experiences with rinsing

so i'm happy to do so, many times i've lite up and wished i remembered to rinse it,mostly when presented with an average burn

it often seem's to aid char line.

My method

slow flow for about 3sec

shake of excess

quick roll in paper towel

leave sitting out for 1-2hours (if indeed there's any reinvigorating of wapper oils then surely it will need some time for a reaction to take place)?

Smoke!!

 

 

[wabashcr]

I usually only do it in the winter when the air outside is cold and dry.  It definitely helps keep the wrapper from splitting.  I also find it gives the cigar a little bit of a brighter flavor profile, but that could be purely psychological.  

[garbandz]

I always wet down my cigar. Learned this 35 years ago from a gentleman cigar smoker.

Critical in winter or with a Cameroon wrapper, saves you a lot of split wrappers and blow outs..

 

[zeedubbya]

I have seen this done but never tried it myself.  Maybe this weekend I will give it a go.  

[ChrisMG]

Very interesting. i will give this a try