I don't get ash

[Da Klugs]

Originally Posted by icurrie

From Cigar Aficionado's web site:

Q: Some cigars have bright white ashes, others are almost a charcoal gray. What determines the color of a cigar's ash?
A: The magnesium content of the tobacco.

High magnesium yields a white--and flaky--ash, low magnesium a grayer one. As for taste, it's generally considered more desirable to have high magnesium, and thus a white ash, but that's by no means a firm rule. Some of Cuba's great cigars often have very dark gray ashes.

So CigarAfic wrote, so it must be... fertilizer. Specific to Cuban cigars there is a wide variation in ash color in their freshly rolled cigars. Light to dark gray, sometimes both. With NC cigars the range seems even broader.. from pure white to black, with the tendency towards a lighter ash vs their Cuban counterparts when fresh. Pure white, how boring is that, no evolution of color over time to contemplate. If you subscribe to MRN's thinking, there are variables which can affect a cigars off the boats ash color. Improper or incomplete curing and fermentation would seem to yield a darker ash. Triple fermentation like in the Cohiba Linea classico series would under this line of thinking start life out lighter. Dunno if there is an easy explanation. Some taste better than others fresh. Others taste better than some after a few years. Still others evolve into something real different after even more time. The ash color does change with age though. Is Magnesium a byproduct of cigar fermentation? Dunno.

We need out friend Seangar to chime in here.

[NCRadioMan]

Originally Posted by Raralith

How does the longer ash make it cool better? I can't see how that works.

The ash works like a heat sink to disperse the heat, thereby keeping it a bit cooler.

[jjirons69]

I personally think the super-white ashes of Nic cigars are really cool. You know when you have a Nic puro. Plus the added Mg is like smoking a vitamin! As others have stated, the stick seems to burn better when the ash buffers the burn from the environment. You can set it down for longer times and come back to a lit cigar in those cases.

[mosesbotbol]

Well cured tobacco should have a white ash with a definition of the leaves' pattern. The ash should be fairly firm. Some do the technique of resting the cigar upside down on the ash to determine if it is firm or not, but that can be easily seen just looking at the cigar. This tells a lot about cigar. A dark ash means a lot of stuff didn't burn clean, like impurities within the tobacco or not cured fully.

I find the that non-Cuban cigars tend to have better cured tobacco from the start, but many box age Habanos long enough to correct this.

[elderboy02]

Originally Posted by jjirons69

I personally think the super-white ashes of Nic cigars are really cool. You know when you have a Nic puro.

I really notice how white the ash is on an Oliva Serie O

[Volt]

Originally Posted by Raralith

How does the longer ash make it cool better? I can't see how that works.

As for keeping the ash, for me it's an indicator of how well rolled the cigar is. If the ash breaks away half an inch, more than likely it's a bit too lose. I also like the look of a cigar with some ash, but I always tap it 1/3 way through (more if it's a lancero).

White ash means that everything is combustable, while a black ash means that everything has not combusted. Nee explains the ash thing, but basicly, as a cigar ages, the fermentation starts to break down everything. A white ash means that more things are broken down and it can be easily burned. A dark or black ash means that there are still a lot of raw materials that have not been broken down from fermentation and therefore not as combustable. Next time you see a dark ash, light it up and you'll see it turn white.

Search my post for "Illustrated Encycopledia" which has the Cliff Notes version of what Nee is saying.

Hmmm interesting thoughts

[Volt]

Dang 2 pages on ASH.... Who would have thought. It does confim to me that a lot of folks are concerned with it though.

Thanks for all the input guys.

[csbrewfisher]

Originally Posted by mrreindeer

I'd rather the ash fall in the tray rather than on the deck

I bought a dust buster just for the ashes that fall on the deck. That thing comes in handy, at least in the summer.

A long ash keeping the cigar cooler has never been proven or disproven to my knowledge. As mentioned it is all about perception (which is the case in most of this glorious hobby).The concept is that the ash acts like a radiator to help pull heat away from the cigar as well as a reduction in the oxygen that is needed for combustion of the tobacco.

Try it with or without long ash and see whether you can tell the difference your preference is what matters.

Originally Posted by SilverFox

A long ash keeping the cigar cooler has never been proven or disproven to my knowledge. As mentioned it is all about perception (which is the case in most of this glorious hobby).The concept is that the ash acts like a radiator to help pull heat away from the cigar as well as a reduction in the oxygen that is needed for combustion of the tobacco.

Try it with or without long ash and see whether you can tell the difference your preference is what matters.

What if you barrow the laser thermometer that the guys on the rink? You could do a study and report back.

[K Baz]

I always thought that a cigar with a longer ash burned cooler as it was not effected as greatly by external oxygen sources.

IE it keeps the wind from directly blowing on the "cherry" and causing burn more intensly.

Don't know if there is anything to this but that is how I rationalized it in my mind.

[ucla695]

Originally Posted by Mugen910

OMG

funny sequence of events

I just let the cigar do its thing. If a long ash develops, then I try to leave it alone, but I become weary when it’s over an inch or so…just sick of it landing in my lap and hearing the misses laugh. Some of the best ashes I’ve experienced have been with Fuente cigars. Man, do they know how to roll a good cigar.

Originally Posted by ahc4353

What if you barrow the laser thermometer that the guys on the rink? You could do a study and report back.

Hmmmmmmm

I am pretty sure you meant that as a funny but now I am intrigued.

I was dead serious.

Originally Posted by SilverFox

Hmmmmmmm

I am pretty sure you meant that as a funny but now I am intrigued.

[kayak_rat]

Originally Posted by pnoon

The longer ash does help keep the smoke cooler. And for that reason, I will try and keep from ashing but I just never understood the game of seeing how long the ash can get. Seems a bit juvenile to me.

To someone with your advanced age........don't most things......


I have noticed ash directly corresponds to rolling style and smokability.

[pnoon]

Originally Posted by kayak_rat

To someone with your advanced age........don't most things......

You're a pip.

[NCRadioMan]

Originally Posted by SilverFox

A long ash keeping the cigar cooler has never been proven or disproven to my knowledge. As mentioned it is all about perception (which is the case in most of this glorious hobby).The concept is that the ash acts like a radiator to help pull heat away from the cigar as well as a reduction in the oxygen that is needed for combustion of the tobacco.

Try it with or without long ash and see whether you can tell the difference your preference is what matters.

You can tell the difference after numourous ppp's.

[HK3-]

I can see maybe where the ash could possibly dissapate the heat like a heat sink would...

As for air induction restriction, yes. The lower amount of air intake would cause a slower combustion which would allow for a cooler draw of smoke. This would allow your taste buds not to be overwhelmed by the heat of a hot cigar.

Think of how an engine works. If your air to fuel mixture is off (computers and fuel injection dont count) your fuel will not totally burn. Then you get exhaust that still smells like gas.