Wrapper Wouldn't Burn

[LarryH]

Last night I attempted to smoke a Pinar Del Rio Oscuro Toro that I purchased in September. My first indication that there was a problem was when I couldn't get the wrapper to burn during light up. I mean it simply wouldn't turn to ash even after putting the torch flame on it. As I attempted to smoke it the filler burned but the binder appeared to turn to charcoal while the wrapper simply charred. It's as if someone applied fire retardant to it. After a few minutes I let it go out, clipped it back to unburned tobacco and tried again with the same result. After about 10 minutes and one more clip back I gave up. There didn't appear to be any fill problem and the draw was just about right. Has anyone ever seen anything like this before?

These photos were take after I gave up so all are of the remains of the cigar and the slices I cut off trying to relight.

These slices are about a quarter inch thick. The second two are both sides of the same slice.

 

[bluue13]

Could it be uneven humidification from the outside to the inside of the cigar? It almost seems like the wrapper, binder, and outermost portion of the filler are too humid. How was it stored?

 

[Nimrod]

Reduce the RH. I suggest dry-boxing the cigar for a few days before trying another.

 

[Not A Nice Person]

Yep, that's almost certainly humidity. Could there have been a recent spike in your RH that would've wet the outside, but not had time to penetrate the core?

~Boar

 

[w00ts!te]

I have had this issue with every single Tatuaje Black I have smoked. I think some wrappers are just stubborn and certainly ruin the experience.

 

[Mr Peat]

Definitely looks like the cigar has to much humidity in it. I've had it happen a few times when I got some cigars from my oldest source for cigars. One that was infamous for this problem was the 10" Casa Blanca's. I put a torch to it and the damn thing wouldn't burn at all. I guess when they rolled the cigar the filler was to moist.

 

[LarryH]

Thanks for all of the input brothers. Even being the noob I am and with the fact that I'm using 65% beads I have a hard time with burn issues like this being caused by too much humidity. How is sitting at say 75% instead of 65% going to make that much difference when you put a 2500 degree torch to the foot? If you look at the discoloration of the wrapper in the top photo that entire dark portion has turned hard and brittle. The binder turned to charcoal and the filler was the only portion that actually burned and turned to ash. What kind of humidity are we talking about to have a wrapper and binder not burn at 2500 degrees?

I'll check the hygrometer in the humidor I pulled this stick from when I get home tonight. To be honest since I started using beads I don't worry too much about it. So far I haven't had to dry any out and if they look white I add some distilled water. It's been in the 90's here for a week or so and the AC has been on so the inside humidity should be pretty low. I have some of these in a torpedo that I'll try to get to in the next few days. I'll update this thread with the results.

 

[rob300c]

I smoked a VSG Enchantment that I won from Jonesy.
I was leaving work, lit it and smoked away, 20 minutes later I arrived at my destination and noticed not a single bit of ash had been produced.
It tasted great so I decided I was not going to touch it up and see how far I could get.
I smoked the whole thing without the wrapper burning through.
It was a weird but enjoyable experience.

-Rob

 

[bluue13]

Thanks for all of the input brothers. Even being the noob I am and with the fact that I'm using 65% beads I have a hard time with burn issues like this being caused by too much humidity. How is sitting at say 75% instead of 65% going to make that much difference when you put a 2500 degree torch to the foot? If you look at the discoloration of the wrapper in the top photo that entire dark portion has turned hard and brittle. The binder turned to charcoal and the filler was the only portion that actually burned and turned to ash. What kind of humidity are we talking about to have a wrapper and binder not burn at 2500 degrees?

I'll check the hygrometer in the humidor I pulled this stick from when I get home tonight. To be honest since I started using beads I don't worry too much about it. So far I haven't had to dry any out and if they look white I add some distilled water. It's been in the 90's here for a week or so and the AC has been on so the inside humidity should be pretty low. I have some of these in a torpedo that I'll try to get to in the next few days. I'll update this thread with the results.

2500 deg. torch or not, this is the way humidity works. Burn problems are 9/10 times caused by uneven humidification. Esp ones like in the pictures you posted. Think of it as trying to light a plain ol' sheet of paper on fire vs. one you just ran under the faucet. 2500 degrees and that soggy piece of paper still isn't going to burn like the dry one is.

Let us know how things go!

 

[jnknzz]

I chock it up to bad construction. I've had a few (DPG, Rocky, Padilla, etc) do the exact same thing. Specifically, the DPG Blue and Padilla '06 were the only bad 1 out of the whole box/bundle....

Thousands and thousands of cigars produced anually...one or two are going to burn funky. Luck of the draw. Grab another and give it a second chance!


:thumbs:

 

[rahbass]

sorry to hear that my friend, please send me a email with your home address at sales@pdrcigar.com, tell me were you got the cigars and how many and i will replace with new inventory.
thanks Abe

 

[jnknzz]

^^^

Stand up move, Abe! :thumbs: You make a great product and it's good to see you stand behind your product. Classy.

 

[LarryH]

Wow Abe, very generous offer but it really isn't necessary. I'm going to go with Derek on this one and chalk it up to that one in a thousand that slips through. To be honest, just like Robs experience it might have been just fine if I hadn't freaked out about it. I was trying so hard to get it to burn like I expected that I was puffing like crazy on it. I remember thinking at one point early on that it tasted okay but why isn't it burning like I expect. :blush:

Tonight I checked the humidifier and it was reading right at 65%. The maximum and minimum readings didn't vary by more than a few percent.

I took one of the torpedoes out and it smoked and burned just fine. For my taste I would say it was on the mild to medium side and was certainly one of the better NCs I've smoked. Case closed as far as I'm concerned. Live and learn. :thumbs:

Thanks everyone for all your insight.
Larry