Uneven Burn Advice...really?

[Les Nessman]

Going through my email, read the Cigar Advisor newsletter put out by Famous. I read the tip of the week below and found it odd. Does anyone let the cigar go out, clip and relight to correct an uneven burn?


Leave the ligero alone!

One of the causes of an uneven burning cigar comes from ligero leaf that wound up a little too much on one side of the cigar when it was rolled. Since ligero has a lot of oils (which contribute to its rich flavor), it is also the slowest burning leaf in the blend. For that reason it is normally placed in the middle of the bunch when rolled and helps form a conical shape when the cigar is ashed. As the cigar begins to burn unevenly, I have seen cigar smokers take their lighter and run the flame back and forth along the trouble side of the cigar. This is an attempt to dry it up a bit in the hope that doing so will rectify the situation. Actually, they’re making the situation worse. In addition to the risk of scorching your cigar and ruining it altogether, by adding more heat, more oils are released making the ligero burn even slower - and quite possibly turning it bitter, too. The best solution is to let the cigar go out and cool down, clip it behind the ash and start with an even foot, then relight the cigar as evenly as possible.