The One Thing
26 May, 2009- written by: George Bruno
- Hard work is a virtue. I love working hard at my job. I love the result when I put a respectable effort into something. When I see the end product, I think to myself, “Heck yeah…I worked hard for that”. I even work hard when I play. But there’s one thing I don’t want to work hard at, and that thing is smoking a cigar. I know you were thinking something much more sophisticated like academics or something work related.
- That brings me to the topic of “draw”. The draw is the amount of effort you take when puffing on your cigar. Personally, I am not an inhaler. I am a puffer. Many cigarette smokers end up being inhalers just because of habit. They instinctively have to have that smoke in their lungs to get their “hit” of nicotine. My personal inquiries have shown that most cigar lovers are just puffers. They are “one-puff-a- minute” cigar smokers. That’s what I am. Whether you are a puffer or inhaler, the last thing you want to do is work hard at drawing that puff in. You try cutting more off the end or making a bigger notch, but still it feels like you’re trying to suck water through a twenty-five foot garden hose. Like most cigar fans, I don’t like that much effort. I like the draw to be as easy as breathing in and out of a straw. It should be pretty much effortless.
- You will notice that if you ever smoked a commercial “convenience store cigar”, that the draw is very easy. But remember that this kind of cigar is basically a brown paper tube with shredded tobacco in it. It is not rolled in layers and carefully thought out. True aficionados will tell you that this is not even a cigar. It’s just a cigar-like tobacco product with a little flavoring in it.
- The draw on a hand-made cigar is the result of careful and skilled rolling. If it’s a hard draw, then the tobacco was rolled too tight. Most likely they were done by beginners or apprentices at the factory. Many so-called cigar “seconds” or sub-prime cigars have a hard draw. It actually takes years of practice to roll a cigar that has an ideal draw.
- I recently bought a top name cigar at my local shop. It was pretty, had few visible veins, and was capped nicely. I clipped it and started smoking it and was incredibly disappointed because although the tobacco was flavorful and aged, it took way too much work to puff on it. The draw was horrible. I should’ve known better. It ruined my experience. When I smoke a cigar, I want to relax, ponder the day, and enjoy the aroma. I don’t want to feel like I’m back on the job.
- One of the things you can do when you buy cigars individually is to lightly pinch the cigar from one end to the other. If there is a hard spot along the body of the product, then the draw is going to be hard. That is where the air wont flow through easily. I sometimes have remedied that by rolling the cigar between my thumb and forefinger a little to loosen the tight spot. I will only do that with a bargain cigar. I expect a good cigar to be rolled appropriately and evenly from end to end. That insures a nice even draw.
- Now there are products out there that may cure that. One is called a “draw poker” which puts a channel in the cigar from one end to the other thereby insuring an easier draw. That does solve the immediate problem, but ideally, I want to draw through the entire diameter of the cigar, not just an artificially made channel. I solved the problem on occasion with a four inch nail and sometimes pushed that nail through the side of the cigar and pierced the wrapper and binder. That renders the cigar completely useless and no longer a pleasure.
- Personally, I want to avoid the issue, not solve the issue. I hate blowing money on a good cigar, only to have to mechanically goof around with it to have a good experience. I avoid it by first, choosing a good cigar from a reputable company. Secondly, I read the reviews and look for commentary on a particular cigars draw. By keeping true to these two things, you can insure the nice relaxing experience you expect from a premium smoke…because the last thing you want to work hard at is smoking your cigar.
-
- Related News and Articles
- - Get Your Own Cigar
- « Back
Cigar News and Articles Home » ALEC BRADLEY MAXX THE CULTURE
ALEC BRADLEY MAXX THE CULTURE
- Mike's price:
- $ 108.95
- Save:
- $ 30.05
ALEC BRADLEY MAXX THE CULTURE
- Mike's price:
- $ 27.95
- Save:
- $ 6.80
ALEC BRADLEY MAXX THE CULTURE
- Mike's price:
- $ 6.70
- Save:
- $ 0.25
to work hard at is smoking your cigar.
Report it here
La Gloria Cubana Artesanos Retro Especiale has a Connecticut seed wrapper. The Mexican and Nicaraguan binder is enhanced by Nicaraguan and Dominican ligero and an additional peppering of proprietary Nicaraguan and Dominican leaf. 
