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1492, 1994 or Estupendo...whichever he had more of. ;)

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Got a noob question:

What is "plume" on a cigar? How does it come about and is it a bad thing?

Thanks in advance guys!

:ss

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Plume happens when the oils of the cigar crystallize on the wrapper and it is a good indication that the cigars have been kept in proper conditions. However, some cigars plume fairly easily after a few years and others never will. It does not affect taste.

The only cigars I have that have any indication of plume are some special release Pepin Blue Label lanceros from '07. I have other lanceros in the same box that have no indication of plume.

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Thanks!

:salute:

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I've seen plume on about two of my cigars. Ever. Dont confuse plume with mold. Many b&ms may try to pass off mold as plume. Don't be fooled.

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I'll add a noob question as well...is there a clear distiction between plume and mold? I've noticed that before, but never had a clue as to what it was.

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Mold will be patchy, fuzzy, matte, have depth to it, form unevely, can come in any number of colors: white, yellow, brown, black, green, blue. Plume will be a very even whiteish almost crystal like "dust" that will cover the wrapper evenly.

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All of Elderboys cigars have green fur on them and he swears it's plume...it makes me sneeze...it looks like astroturf...:r:r:r

(I love to mess with Dan)

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Noob Question: When it comes to freezing...how many of you freeze? and would it be bad to extend the duration of all the periods (12,24-48, 12-24)...I may have gone a little crazy on the devil site...in turn causing me to purchase a new humi and I need to season it to hold my incoming purchase?

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Every stick in my house goes through a 72 hour minimum freeze before it sees the humis.

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I do not freeze. You'll find people in both camps here. It's a personal choice. Read up on some of the threads concerning freezing and make your decision.

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You have to be very careful when you freeze them or you will damage and potentially ruin them.

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Here is two good threads on freezing (I was too lazy to search for them last night):

Cigar Freezing Questions

How to Freeze and the Science behind it

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Thanks very much guys, looks like ive got to go get some freezer bags tomorrow and throw the shipment that comes in tomorrow in the freezer.

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i find the easiest way to distinguish mold from plume is that plume can be wiped off and not leave a trace. god of fires in the tube tend to be plume farms.

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This is just a question of CA vernacular, but when someone talks about the 'devil site,' to which site are they referring. I tried looking in the Terms and Acronyms thread, but it wasn't there.
TIA.

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Cigarbid.com

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The 'Devil Site' is http://www.cigarbid.com. And there is a reason that people call it the Devil, hide your credit card now. :tu

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Thanks, gents. I'll do my best to avoid it until I have a proper size humidor and a bank account to match. Heck, I'm having enough trouble with CI. On the other hand, if I overstock now, it will force me to let some of them age. :D

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Or force you to get a bigger humidor! :D

Once you start down that slope, it is hard to slow down...

:ss

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I have a question that is pretty newbish. Does anyone else start salivating/drooling when they put a cigar in their mouth?
I don't do it continuously, just when I first put the cigar in my mouth before and while lighting it. Just curious.

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Yes it happens to me often...

:dr

Dry-lipping a cigar is quite difficult for me.

Hell, sometimes I start drooling when I see pics of a cigar here. :r
Posted via Mobile Device

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Here is my beginner question: How important is storage temperature?

My vinotemp stopped working, but holds humidity like a champ. Living in Arkansas means some hot, humid summers. My house gets up to 80 (programmable thermostat) in the summer during the day.
My main concern of course is beetles, but I closely inspect any sticks before they go in, is that good enough? I guess there is the off chance of an egg being rolled in the cigar....however, cigars are not temperature controlled on their journey from the store to my house.

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Any prolonged temperatures of over 70 degrees and you are playing with the likelyhood of beetles. Find the coolest place in the house to help in the warm summers. Insepction or not, unless you are 100% certain every egg has been iradicated (unlikely by a simple inspection), I wouldn't chance my sticks at any temperature above 70 for a period longer than 24 hours. :2

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You're user name should be Pavlov. :r

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I've survived the last four years by just picking up a handful of cigars at a time. Made the mistake of getting on CI about two weeks ago and have already ordered three 10 packs. And it doesn't help that my best friend and I let each other know when we're missing a daily deal. So that slope you mentioned, I found the front edge of it. :wo

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Cbid sells humidors too ;)

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The dark side is strong with this site :ss

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Pavlov's Classic conditioning anyone?

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Coolers are cheap work great as humidors and are easy to hide from significant others. ;) Plus they keep the temp more consistant. :tu

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Well, it pains me to say that I have a newb question so here goes.. When you guys purge, how hard do you *ahem* blow?.. I see pictures of flames at the end of the cigar, I never get that. Just lots and lots of smoke. Once I *ahem* blew so hard that the ash fell off, but that hasn't happened since.. So how hard does one have to exhale *aha!* to purge?

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You hold a lighters flame to the end of the cigar then blow. You can't get a flame by just blowing through the cigar alone. Then, keep blowing till the flame dies.

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:bh Ohh! That makes sense now... :bh

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I've never heard of this. What is the benifit?

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Sometimes a cigar can get an off taste part of the way through. By purging or blowing back through the coal, you burn off excess tar and other contaminants.
By using a lighter you get a nice light show. "Oooh, pretty colors":D

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Don't try it on a windy day with a particularly short cigar. 'Nuff said.

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But Bob what's what you said when I purged @ Huy's house remember
http://photography.nationalgeographi...-960261-sw.jpg

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Which end do I light? :r

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The flame is an indicator of the ammount of ammonia in the cigar. I usually blow for a couple second then touch the foot with the flame for a second and it will flare up. Dont blow through more than a few seconds though, if you've really been enjoying the cigar. It tends to change the flavor a bit.:2

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That's only one component of many and it's not a very accurate indicator of quantity, but just a general indicator of it's presence, and only then if you get the proper flame kernel color for ammonia burnoff - you could be burning off one of the many other compounds present, hence why you get multicolor flames.

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I thought it was tar that made the flame light up.

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Tar is most definitely one of the components that is being burned off/causes the effect. While tar is not the only component being burned off, I would venture to guess that tar is probably the primary component though.

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really? tar being higher on the list of combustibles in the cigar than ammonia? I dunno man. I've purged cigars before and hit the torch to it and not gotten flames. and I mean this would be the first time purging a cigar halfway through or so. I usually dont purge unless the ammo 'flavor' gets too strong...

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And where exactly is all this of ammonia hiding, Chris?

It ain't liquid, it sure as hell isn't solid, so where, oh where, is this "massive quantity" of ammonia GAS you claim is in the cigar hiding?

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I didn't say it was a massive quantity, but it sure is going to travel to the foot of the cigar quicker than TAR. You and everyone knows that ammonia is present in cigars as a part of aging and fermentation. I think you need to calm down a bit Adam.

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Take it offline, fellas. This is supposed to be place to answer questions - not a display for your bickering.

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Not bickering Peter, just trying to make Chris think about part of the answer a bit for himself before I spell it out.

The ammonia is present in the leaf, as you note, I've always said it is a component, and during combustion, it comes out at a rate proportional with that of the burn rate of the cigar. But it doesn't pocket or collect as you smoke the cigar. The most that could happen is that a small amount could be re-absorbed into the leaf as you draw through the cigar, but once absorbed, you won't be able to "blow it out of the cigar". If this were the case, you could take an under fermented ammonia laden cigar and blow through it a few times and there would magically be no ammonia.

Now, tar and some of the other impurities, on the other hand, are a semi-solid sludge that comes out as the leaf is heated, prior to combustion, and it doesn't really go away but does collect just forward of the heat source (you can't really see it on a tobacco leaf without magnification, but light one end of a 2x4 and observe the area just forward of the flame and you can get an approximation of what is going on). Thing is, it's pooling on a porous surface - so as moves up the leaf, it builds up and leaves deposits - by blowing back through the cigar and the application of flame to the foot, you are forcing this sludge into the fire to be burned off.

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At the very least, take it to another thread. The question was asked and answered quite a few posts back.

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That was the kind of answer I was hoping for when I posted that. Thank you.