Cheap Cigar Infusing Experiment

[Ken]

Cheap Cigar Infusing with La Aurora 2nds

Some time back there was a discussion about infusing your cigars with whiskey or coffee and how well it would work. So having a number of La Aurora 2nds I thought I'd give this a try. I added some espresso to a bag with one cigar and placed into a container with some beads and left it for 3 months. I was initially going to run this for one month, but I forgot about it and 3 months it was.

I originally bought the La Aurora 2nds to kick-around with. They were cheap so I took a chance on them to be decent enough to help mow the lawn, trim trees, and other assorted jobs. To my surprise these cigars weren't bad at all. A bit on the mild side of medium though they had a good taste and smell to them just a tad loose.

Once I pulled the cigar out of the container I noticed the date and that the espresso had become stale. So I take the cigar out for some work and see how the espresso affected the cigar. Running the cigar under my nose I noticed the rich smell which should be expected, no @#$@, and it was quite pleasant. After lighting the cigar and taking a few puffs the richness of the espresso was one with the cigar. I believe I enjoyed the smoke much more after the infusion. Puff after puff this cigar produced a heavier taste than before and I had wished I put a few more in that bag. This definitely was not the same cigar!

While I'm not getting carried away and saying that cigar would blow your socks off or anything of the sort and I was still using it to kick around with, there was definitely potential for further experiments. I think I'll just grab a hand full of cheaper cigars and give it another go to see how they turn out. I'm surely not going to try this with a Padron Anni or CC, but this could be quite fun to infuse your cheaper cigars.

If you try it let us know how they turn out.

[kelmac07]

Ken...we're gonna have to call you Drew Jr if you keep this up!

[ade06]

Originally Posted by kelmac07

Ken...we're gonna have to call you Drew Jr if you keep this up!

Just don't infuse your cigars with cheap parfume like the Acid Krush

[Ken]

I've been aging a dog turd and was going to infuse an optimo and call it Kahlua, but damned if someone didn't beat me to it.

I got a big wad of super-cheap Antonio Fermins today, and set up some infusions myself. I got some airtight cannisters, and added cigars with the following:
1) Meyer's Dark Rum (in a cup, soaked into sterile gauze - cigars are not touching liquid).
2) Kahlua (same setup).
3) Fresh-ground Columbian coffee.
I also plan to set up more "batches" to include Gran Marnier, Homemade peach brandy, and homemade coconut rum. I will let you all know how this works out in a month or two.
NOTE: I plan to re-humidify these before smoking, and I am keeping a few "plain" as a comparison.

[never_enough]

Never had an infused cigar, but this kind of sounds fun.

I have a few cheap (and I mean CHEAP) sticks lying around, I will try this. I have a lot of friends that don't like 'normal' cigars, so this might be the answer to an easy way to show them something new.

What do you think about something with Disaronno?

Ok. Been 2 months since setting up the infusions. Here are the results:
ALL of the infusions have improved the enjoyment of the A. Fermins, some more so than others:
1) Meyer's Dark Rum (in a cup, soaked into sterile gauze - cigars are not touching liquid). These came out of the infusion too moist. I set them in a spare box to allow them to re-stabilize in moisture. After a few days - WOW. Nice, deep flavor of RUM through the first third especially, and the whole cigar was at least twice as enjoyable as the un-infused control group. WILL DO MORE LIKE THIS.
2) Kahlua (same setup). Much more subtle on liquor flavor uptake, but once again, a great improvement over the plain. WILL DO MORE LIKE THIS.
3) Fresh-ground Columbian coffee. The pre-light aroma on this group was very, very nice. After the light, the coffee flavor seemed to fade quickly, and the second half of the cigar became near-identical to the non-infused control group. Nice, but not worth repetition.
4) I had also set up a Gran Marnier batch. These are also very nice compared to plain, and well worth the infusion. Will do more like this.
So, in conclusion, I really am happy with the liqour-infusion experiment of taking some horribly cheap smokes and making them into customized tasty, yet still everyday, stogies. Hope I have encouraged some of you to give it a shot. Let me know...

[shilala]

I might give this a try with some good cigars and good coffee and see what shakes out. It's worth a shot, right?
I'm thinking some Plpc's and Kona and some Boli PC's and Tanzanian Peaberry.

[ironchefscott]

interesting concept....thanks for posting.....

[never_enough]

I put a few cheap sticks in with some white chocolate mint coffee for the hell of it. Think they have been in for a month now. Will pull one out at some point and give it a go.