Some questions from a frustrated newbie

[Zeede]

sparky426: No, a replacement is not needed

Nature: Yeah, I've noticed that if it's burning well, then I get some residual smoke coming out of both the foot and the punched head when I take the cigar away from my lips.

[sparky426]

sparky426: Yes, replacements are needed.

Ok I fixed it. Guess time will tell.

[Zeede]

Ok I fixed it. Guess time will tell.

Please let me work through some of the other TWELVE cigars you bombed me with, or one of the five Kayla bombed me with, or maybe the Padron I actually bought for myself first!

fiddlegrin: I will try slowing it down more but doing a longer draw, or maybe multiple draws. Weird that all the newbie guides say 70% RH and 70 F.

[Zeede]

...

[Dijit]

The 70, 70 rule is easy to remember so everyone uses it as a baseline for noobs. I think after a while of personal experience you will find what works best for you. Mine stay between 65% and 68% depending on which shelf and which hygrometer I read. The humi itself doesnt fluctuate just my impeccable equipment shows a difference. The old man that got me started in this hobby 30 years ago taught me a few things. If you puff too fast it overheats and can cause a sulfur taste. Same thing if you puff too strong. Those are both changed by the size both rg and length. As you smoke the oils from the tobacco are drawn out and accumulate in the unburned portion of the cigar and that is what typically causes the good flavor profile changes. Smoking too hot will cause the oils to burn rather than evaporate and condense back on the leaf. It is usually a fine line between too hot and too cold but with practice you will get to the point you know exactly how to work the stick you are currently burning. The last thing he taught me was never hurry a cigar if you have 30 minutes and want a smoke but cant go past 30 mins you should probably wait till you have more time. Cigars are a leisure experience to relax with a good drink and good conversation. (I dont talk to myself while smoking my cigars no matter what anyone says)

[Aithos]

I've found that the 70/70 rule is too warm and too humid. Almost all the cigars I've had burn issues with were higher than 65% humidity. I recently discovered because my wineador has solid bottom drawers that it was a lot more humid at the bottom than the top (63% on top, 70% on bottom) and had to move stuff around to fix it. The cigars I've smoked that were in the bottom the longest have had some burn issues, the ones that were in there shorter times and the ones from the top burned perfectly...

[Zeede]

Well it looks like the only thing I'm doing right is taking the time to smoke them slowly. The three cigars I've smoked since I kept track were smoked for an hour, 90 minutes and an hour, respectively.

I think I'll ask my local B&M for more sheets of Spanish cedar to put in my little OXOdor. That'll lower the RH a bit in the short term and stabilize it better too.

[TreySC]

What are you using for humidification? Adding cedar sheets may only lower it for a little bit until they become acclimated.

[Zeede]

A Boveda pack.

[TreySC]

A Boveda pack.

Adding some cedar can't hurt, but the boveda will just eventually get it back to the RH% it's set at. I would grab a couple 65% bovedas and see how the cigars perform after they've become acclimated to that.