Cigar Tips: The Winning Selection Part 2
Here is the second part of Mountchuck’s (one of the founders of Nice Tight Ash) valuable cigar tips. Enjoy – and read the first part here if you missed it.
Tip #6: Use your senses. Use all of your senses when smoking a cigar, not just smell and taste. Before you light it, use your eyes to inspect the wrapper. Is the color uniform? Are there large seams or veins in it? Is the cap evenly applied? Next, use your hands to feel up and down the cigar. Is it smooth and oily or dry and leathery? Gently squeeze up and down the cigar. Are there any hard spots or soft spots?
Hold the cigar next to your ear, and gently squeeze. Does it crackle a little bit? It might be a little dry.
Doing these extra little things let you know if there might be construction problems with the cigar, or if you need to let it get some more humidity in it. Don’t just leave it up to your taste buds and nose.
Tip #7: Humidor Tip 1. Many sites recommend wiping down your humidor with distilled water as part of the seasoning process. It is best to avoid doing this. It is very easy to put too much water into the wood, and warping it, thus weakening the seal and thus the integrity and performance of the humidor over the long term. Your humidor may get seasoned faster this way, but at the expense of more upkeep required in the future.
Tip #8: Humidor Tip 2. Only use distilled water in your humidification device (no matter what it is). Using tap water or spring water can lead to mold and other unwanted things in your humidifier.
Tip #9: Selecting a cutter. When selecting a cutter weight is important. If you carry a cutter in your pocket all of the time like I do, too much weight can be burdensome. But on the same note, a little bit of extra weight is nice to ensure a smooth, clean cut. Try to get a balance between weight and portability.
Tip #10: Let them rest. When ordering cigars via mail order or the internet, you’ll be very tempted to smoke one as soon as it’s off the truck. Try and avoid that temptation! They have been in less than ideal (to put it lightly) conditions during their travel, and won’t smoke as well as they could. Put them in your humidor, and let them return to optimal conditions before enjoying. How long depends on low long they were in transit, and their condition when they arrive.
