Indian Tobacco: The Non-Abusive Use of Tobacco by Native Americans

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 19:55:21 -0700

by Terry Simpson, M.D., F.A.C.S

[Note: The current article is an opinion piece written by an author who has studied Native American history and is himself, part Athabascan. In this article, the term "Native American" is used to identify those people indigenous to the United States. The author also uses the term “Indian” to describe what Columbus thought he found, and does not consider the term in any pejorative manner.]  There is a difference between abuse of tobacco and its responsible use. Responsible use of tobacco dates back thousands of years. The Pre-Columbus use of tobacco was widespread throughout the North and South American continents. Having thousands of years of experience with tobacco, Native Americans were able to develop a manner of tobacco use that was not abusive. Those who enjoy fine cigars often share something in common with ancient Native Americans: a manner of smoking tobacco that is non-abusive.

In contrast and throughout history, most of Western Civilization has consistently found ways to abuse tobacco, following its discovery 500 years ago. Western civilization, in general, adopted none of the ancient traditions of smoking and fell into a 500-year history of abuse and addiction leading to regulation and attempted tobacco control. While many Native Americans still use tobacco in a traditional manner, I believe the most responsible widespread use of tobacco is found among premium cigar and pipe smokers.

Nicotiana tabacum as pictured on a cigar box in the 1870's

Photo Courtesy of Tony Hyman, National Cigar Museum

When I first arrived in Arizona, 1991, my job was working for the Phoenix Indian Medical Center (PIMC) as a surgeon and in various clinics in outlying areas. I was also on staff at the Veteran's Hospital in town, and these two government hospitals had contrasting populations when it came to tobacco. Many Veterans (Caucasians) were highly addicted to cigarettes. The most striking example of cigarette addiction was when one wheelchair-bound Vet asked me to light up his cigarette. What was remarkable was the fact that he could not hold a cigarette in his hand since his fingers had been amputated secondary to disease from tobacco and he was smoking through his tracheotomy, having lost his larynx from carcinoma secondary to cigarette addiction.

In contrast, at the Indian Hospital, many of the Natives admitted to smoking, however, when asked further about their smoking habits they reported that they smoked what they called "Indian Tobacco." This was a native tobacco plant that they would harvest, dry, cure, and then roll and use for ceremonies, or to sit down and smoke with relatives when they would visit. They used it sparingly and they indicated that they did not inhale. When I asked one of the Natives about the difference between the two he said, "White tobacco is stale and old, and not very strong. Indian tobacco has a good, fresh flavor, and is a lot stronger."

The traditional Native American use of tobacco sounds similar to cigar smokers today. Premium cigar smokers today are enjoying a fresh, not-chemically-altered tobacco. They smoke it without inhaling (naturally, there are a few exceptions), in a variety of settings, and typically do not abuse it. Premium cigars are generally used for occasions of friendship, celebration, relaxation, and occasionally, business. In contrast you have cigarettes, the use of which easily leads to addiction and is more commonly responsible for tobacco related illness, disability, and death.

Native Americans had used tobacco for thousands of years before the white men arrived into the "New World." They had an opportunity to learn to use tobacco in a non-abusive manner and it became a part of culture, tradition, and lore. Tobacco use was regulated by these traditions and abuse was not common. In contrast, tobacco for Western Civilization is a little over 500 years old -- and instead of adopting the customs of the "noble savage," the product was taken quickly back to Europe, grown, cultivated, used, and, very often, abused.

PHOTO: Since the pre-literate days of the 1600's, silent wooden Indians announced the presence of tobacco for sale. Photo courtesy of Tony Hyman, National Cigar Museum.

Plant geneticists believe they have located the first cultivated tobacco plant in the Andes Mountains near the border of Peru and Ecuador. If true, that would place the first cultivated tobacco plant at around 3000 to 5000 years BC, which is about the same time that Moses purportedly brought the ten commandment tablets down from Mount Sinai. Prior to this, the native plant, Nicotiana tabacum, was found throughout North and South America, and had been present in this form for at least 18,000 years.

The non-cultivated tobacco leaf of Nicotiana tabacum was far stronger than the cultivated leaf used today, with nicotine levels that made it toxic to humans. Tobacco smoke was used as a pesticide in early agriculture and may have led to the first inhalation of the burning leaf, eventual smoking, and use as a stimulant. Over time, and with cultivation, the leaf has produced a plant that has lower nicotine content and is more easily tolerated.

In the ancient ruins of the great Mayan civilizations, we see evidence that tobacco was smoked and used for relaxation, contemplation, worship, and enjoyment. Ancient pottery depicts smoking leaves that were rolled and tied. These depictions have been found throughout Central America. The Mayan word for smoking was sik'ar, which had an obvious phonetic connection to our word, “cigar.” Mayans settled throughout Central America, even in the Mississippi Valley, and had elaborate rituals with tobacco. Two of the principal Mayan gods were habitual smokers, and smoking tobacco was an essential part of prayer.

The use of tobacco eventually found its way to Alaska. While many of the cultural traditions of Alaska Natives were lost as occupying forces forcibly converted the Athabaskan’s, some of the customs still survive. Smaller villages, such as mine in Chickaloon, carry on traditions involving the use of tobacco at various ceremonies. Tobacco is used in ceremony of the potlatch, when welcoming a visitor, and when men are around the fire and talking. As a matter of long-standing custom, the daily use of tobacco (i.e., frequent, addictive pattern) by Native Americans is simply not considered. Tobacco's use is regulated by custom, not by addiction. When asking a modern Native why they don’t smoke more the answer is simply that the situation does not dictate its use. Much like the use of fine China at your grandmother's house, the traditional use of tobacco by Native Americans is relegated to specific and appropriate times and places.

I witnessed a traditional potlatch service in Chickaloon, Alaska after my father's stepbrother died. The tradition requires cured tobacco leaves to be placed in a stone bowl, crushed, and then lit. As the smoke comes out it is fanned and the person in charge of the ceremony will bring the bowl under the face of the participants. When this is done the proper motion is to, with both hands, sweep the smoke to the face and inhale. This allows a fanning of the tobacco as well as pulling in the smoke and inhaling it. This is in part to honor the spirit of the one who died, to let us know that we are like the smoke, here for a moment and gone. The tobacco, which is grown locally, is much stronger than most and is supposed to affect a person by transporting their spirit. This tradition is identical to that used among tribes of the Colorado River basin. Though the potlatch service does involve the inhaling of tobacco smoke, most Native American uses of tobacco does not require inhalation of smoke and the traditional use of tobacco does not require daily use.

Native Americans valued their tobacco. It was something to be used sparingly, something that was sacred, something that would help transport a soul to a different place (anyone who has smoked a Fuente Forbidden will get this same reaction). So, when the European's came, they were welcomed and in hospitable tradition, the pipe was smoked as a way to signify peace. Tobacco was ubiquitous and its non-addictive traditions present for thousands of years before the arrival of Columbus. It is useful to contrast ancient traditional use of tobacco by Native Americans with the convoluted uses within Western civilization since its inception. While nicotine is every bit as addictive now as it was in ancient times, when the use of nicotine is limited to specific events (as is the case with Native traditions), it can be considered much like a prescription. While prescriptions can be addictive, if used in a specific and prescribed manner, their use is limited to the treatment and will not necessarily lead to addiction, even when “treatments” are prescribed for the long-term.

In 1492 when Columbus first arrived on North American shores, he was greeted and given leaves of a pungent smelling plant. (Plants that they threw out!) Eventually Columbus became aware that the tobacco plants were very precious to the Natives and that they were used in trade and for bartering.

PHOTO: Caribbean Indian woman enjoys a cigar
Photo courtesy of Tony Hyman, National Cigar Museum

One of Columbus’ sailors, Rodrigo De Jerez, took up smoking and brought it back to Europe. But the sight of smoke coming out of his mouth and nose (the first white retrohaler) was so frightening, that he was imprisoned for seven years. The inquisitors of Spain thought tobacco was evil. When Rodrigo De Jerez was released from prison, the “evil tobacco” was the latest craze in Europe.

The Europeans, who took tobacco back to the Old World, started a pattern of abuse and addiction that has colored the use of tobacco. Tobacco seeds and tobacco were brought back to Europe in the 1500's and sometime before 1600's tobacco was grown in many European countries.

As tobacco made its way through Europe, it was likened to “snake oil.” It was promoted as a cure for almost every ailment from pneumonia, to stomach problems, to the plague. It was prescribed for use in enemas as a cure for colitis. The effect of nicotine to calm colitis is well described and still used today. But the early descriptions of this "cure all" for disease, quickly led to the concern about addiction.

The rapid rise in the use of tobacco, with its addictive properties, in spite of some obvious medicinal uses, led to concern over its use, and abuse. Attempts were made to begin to regulate its use. The concern about tobacco, from De Jerez (tobacco as a thing of the devil) to general health concerns, to concerns about what this meant for the moral fabric of society, can be seen through a variety of regulations, bans, and decrees throughout the years. While some of these regulations were designed to promote health, some were meant for sheer monopoly of the product. In 1575 the church passed the first indoor smoking ban -- banning smoking in churches of the New World. Later, Pope Urban VIII threatened excommunication for its use, stating that the effect of tobacco was too close to sexual ecstasy.

Tobacco was used in North and South American continents, long before Caesar's Roman Empire, and used not in an addictive manner, but with great ceremony. In the Court of Montezuma there were two classes of smokers: those who used pipes, and those who rolled the first cigars -- but smoking had a defined place. When tobacco use is regulated by ceremony, and not by an "urge" or a "desire" you have the means for an internal regulation of the activity.

The scourge of cigarettes may very well have been the true Montezuma's revenge. It is ironic that while Europeans joked that Indians could not handle whiskey, the Indians joked that Europeans could not handle tobacco. Europeans, in a typical response, attempted to ban tobacco, or regulate it, or shame people out of using it -- and that was 400 years ago -- things have not changed. They also attempted to tax it, for which there were great rebellions, or to monopolize it, and even execute those who used it. Some anti-smoker types would probably be interested to note the penalties of Czar Alexis: the first use of tobacco resulted in whipping, a slit nose, and exile to Siberia, and the second offense resulted in execution!

I believe that cigarettes provide a form of consuming tobacco that is inconsistent with the moderate, non-abusive examples set by Native Americans, an example which is more easily reproduced in cigar and pipe smoking. Cigarettes are provided in a "dose pack" of 20. They burn quickly, are inhaled, and provide rapid release of nicotine into the blood stream. Cigarettes rapidly become addictive, and are smoked in an addictive manner: frequently throughout the day and night and because of a physical need to smoke. Cigarette smoking easily becomes a habit, an addiction, and is considered a disease to be treated by physicians. The cigarette smoker is always looking for the place to have their next cigarette; their life being ruled by their addiction.

In contrast, most cigar and pipe smokers have established simple rituals of tobacco, utilizing it and enjoying it without abuse. They limit the use of tobacco to specific times and places, in part because cigars take a long time to smoke. Since most cigars cannot be readily smoked throughout the day, but require ample time and a location that is conducive, cigar smoking is most often limited to periodic consumption and is therefore commonly a self-regulated and moderated activity.

Tobacco cannot be regulated without seriously jeopardizing the basic civil and constitutional rights of the people. Although tobacco can be abused it can also be used responsibly, it can be helpful with some ailments, it can be a pleasure, and it can represent life itself: here for the moment and enjoyed, then gone into the great ether. Within the walls of every Brick and Mortar shop that allows smoking, we share the seeds sewn by my ancestors in centuries past: a responsible use of tobacco products. (Which reminds me of the stories of how the Indians in the Great Plains would mix tobacco with Buffalo dung and give it to the white visitors… Who says we don't have a sense of humor?)

[Footnote: Lead photo courtesy of Tony Hyman, National Cigar Museum] 

Dr. Terry Simpson is a physician - surgeon, writer, and avid cigar smoker. Dr. Simpson is Native American, being one quarter Athabascan. He is still involved with his village of Chickaloon, and on the board of the Alaska Native Medical Center, traveling to Alaska six times a year. This is his second submission to the Stogie Fresh Cigar Journal.

Cigars and Politics

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 01:33:47 -0700

by Tony Hyman, Ed.D.

Cigars and cigar boxes have been part of elections for a century and a half. For fully one-third of that time, Tony Hyman has been collecting and researching the various ways the political scene and the cigar industry have crossed paths. Today, Dr. Hyman (Ed.D., in information management from Columbia) operates the National Cigar Museum on the web. The physical Museum crams more than 30,000 items into three rooms so is open to the public on a need-to-be-there basis. I’ve had the opportunity to visit Tony and the Museum on many occasions to help with his web postings. During my last visit, Tony and I discussed the upcoming election, and the elections of the past as they related to cigars. I asked him to give Stogie Fresh readers an overview of how cigars were used during the elections of the past, and to show some of his favorite museum pieces. Take it away, Tony.

Cigar Boxes and Politics
Political boxes have long been favorites of mine. One of my collecting goals has been to find a box from every election 1860 to 1960. I’m close, but still have a few gaps, the worst being the election of 1916.

I’ve learned there have been three basic ways that cigars and politics intertwine. First, cigar box labels have been used to tout the candidates and their causes. Second, glad-handing politicians have given the cigars as bribes. And last, what I think is the most innovative connection, the cigars and boxes have combined to serve as a straw poll, allegedly predicting the results, but mostly putting money in the pockets of retailers.

Early Examples of Politics and Cigars
The earliest living American politician known to have appeared on a cigar label was Henry Clay, who visited Cuba in 1850 and was honored with a long-lived cigar brand, possibly before he left the island. Plagiarizing ideas was common among Cubans, and in fact, there was one enterprising individual who reasoned that, if one famous American orator’s name and picture could sell cigars, then certainly Tres Grandes Politicos (Three Great Statesmen) might sell even more. The result is this only-one-known Cuban label from the 1850’s. This isn’t the traditional inner or outer label so popular in the Golden Age of cigars, but is rather the top label for a box of 100 cigars. The use of blue paper was an attempt to provide color at a time when multi-stone color lithography was available, but almost never used for commercial labeling.

Though technically not an “election” box, it is the earliest yet discovered attempt to use the popularity of important contemporary political figures to sell cigars. Quality by association.

This 1867 box (at left) depicting Civil War hero General, Ulysses S. Grant is one of my favorites. Put in historical perspective, this brand was issued between the War and Grant’s Presidency. Wow.

Heavy smoking, wildly popular Grant helped bring cigars into the mainstream. Grant is the only presidential candidate whose campaign song touted his love of cigars. The song, “A-Smoking His Cigar” included the line: “The people know just what they want. Less talk and no more war. For President, Ulysses Grant a-smoking his cigar.”

1872: US Grant (Dem), Horace Greeley (Rep) and the Equal Rights Party
Some of the earliest political boxes are “issues boxes” seeking to attract a smoker’s eye by depicting one of the day’s more newsworthy controversies. Any issues box is a thrill to ﬁnd. My personal favorite is from the 1872 election that pitted Republican Ulysses Grant against Democratic newspaperman Horace Greeley.

They were the established party candidates, but the real attention-getters were the nominees of the newly formed Equal Rights Party: feminist female Victoria Woodhull and Black abolitionist Frederick Douglass. Hmmm? A woman and a black as running mates? Sound familiar? Interestingly, Woodhull couldn’t have served had she been elected not because she was a woman, but because she didn’t meet the minimum age requirement of 35.

“Women’s Rights” included the right to smoke in public, a hotly debated issue since Puritan days. On this label the fashionable pretty cigar-smoking woman is rejecting “her” party and accepting gift cigars from the Democrats, while the hang-dog women’s party is attracting a different clientele. Ultimately, her choice didn’t matter, as both parties lost to the popular Grant. This is the earliest depiction I’ve found of cigars being given away by a political campaign in exchange for attention and presumably votes. It is also a very early use of the women’s rights movement to sell a product.

The Election of 1888
There are some very nice election boxes from 1880 including the first to use full color lithographic labels to tout a candidate. I’m glad to have them, but you asked for my “favorites” so I have to move forward to the election of 1888. This is the most famous year in cigar circles as no other election in history generated more cigar brands and a greater variety of box styles. Particularly noteworthy are the large numbers of “Your Choice” style boxes. Those are single boxes or pairs of boxes that depict the candidates and were displayed atop the counter as stimulus to “vote” for their favorite candidate by selecting a cigar from his box or side of the box.

This terrific pair from the election of 1888 was used by Oneida, NY, cigar makers Powell & Goldstein whose 120 rollers produced 100 custom brands for markets from Chicago to Boston, but mostly along the Erie Canal. Pairs are almost never found today. I was fortunate to have found these covered with dust in the 4th floor attic of P&G’s original cigar factory back in the 1970’s, nearly 50 years after production of their brands was moved to Pennsylvania.

Theodore Roosevelt and the Election of 1904
The election of 1904 which starred Republican President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt is second only to that of 1888 in the number of cigar boxes it generated. Previous Democratic candidates had no desire to run against the popular T.R. Only megalomaniac William Randolph Hearst wanted the nomination, but the Party didn’t want him, selecting an unknown 81 year old multi-millionaire judge, Alton Parker, in hopes he’d pick up the tab for a sure-bet losing effort. He didn’t. The man his own party called “that damned cowboy” won easily, while supporting conservation, national parks, the Panama Canal and the elimination of the trusts.

This small box of 12 cigars (shown below) was a Republican Party give-away that is one of my personal favorite boxes because of the misspelled top. A deliberate error by a disgruntled Democratic printer?

The Election of 1922 and the Scandal of the Decade
Teapot Dome was the nickname of Federally owned oil reserves in Wyoming, set aside for use by the Navy in time of war. The Republican Senator from New Mexico most opposed to the arrangement, Albert Fall, was appointed Secretary of the Interior under Harding. Fall took over the Teapot Dome and Elk Hill (California) reserves from the Navy and promptly leased them to private oil companies for exploitation. That was legal; it was the subsequent $404,000 in gifts and loans from oil companies that wasn’t. The investigation was headed by Republican Senator Bob LaFollette and doggedly pursued by Democratic Senator Tom Walsh of Montana. It took 5 years, but ultimately Fall became the first cabinet member in history to go to jail for actions in office. The most important outcome was a Supreme Court case establishing Congress’s right to compel testimony.

I really like this simple box (above) because of it’s wonderful play on words. Crooks are a type of cigar with a rectangular cross-section that are moulded in such a way as to put s-bend in the middle. The Capitol dome and oil derricks complete the pun.

As a popular song once said, “These are a few of my favorite things.” This is just a hint at the variety of election-related cigar brands. Thanks to my friend Doc Stogie for the opportunity to share them. People who’d like to see more are encouraged to visit <www.CigarHistory.org>

For 55 years, Tony Hyman has purchased, sold, traded, photographed and catalogued around 100,000 cigars boxes from every period in cigar history and from many different countries. He has collected cigar accoutrements, memorabilia and historical documents and is one of America’s foremost authorities on cigar history pre-1960.

Maduro and Oscuro-The Basics

Wed, 28 May 2008 17:25:25 -0700

by David P. Diaz, with José Blanco

There are many misconceptions about the differences between maduro and oscuro wrappers. Many people think the distinction is simply the color differences between the leaves. After talking to different people in the industry we have come to the following conclusions.

A maduro wrapper is one that takes its name from the processes used to ferment the leaves. In Spanish, maduro means “ripe.” Therefore, the process of creating a maduro wrapper is also the process of “ripening” the leaves, which will involve special fermentation processes.

Fermentation for maduro first involves taking leaves and making a pilón, or large pile. You pile leaf upon leaf, and allow the pile to ferment. The leaves are fermented at very high temperatures (sometimes up to 150 degrees) and the leaves will change depending on the temperatures and the time spent in the pilón.

The optimal amount of time and temperature will be determined by the characteristics of the individual crops during a particular harvest. If you have a wet crop with a lot of rain, the tobacco leaves will be bigger, with a lighter color, thinner veins, and less oils. A wet crop will be fermented for a shorter period and at lower temperatures and thus, is not a good candidate for maduro wrappers.

On the other hand, if you had what is called a “dry crop,” the leaves will be smaller, the veins will be thicker and the leaves will be darker with more oils. The process of fermentation for a dry crop will be totally different, with fermentation taking place over a longer time period and with higher temperatures, thus producing a maduro wrapper.

Below: Camacho Triple Maduro

Another factor that must be taken into consideration is the type of tobacco. Corojo, Broadleaf, Ecuadorian, and Nicaraguan tobaccos are treated more or less the same. To produce maduro wrappers, these tobaccos are allowed to reach higher temperatures, sometimes up to 150 degrees, though every company has their own recipe for fermenting maduro.

On the other hand, the processes for fermenting Cameroon and Connecticut are typically completed over a shorter time period and with lower temperatures. These wrapper types will not produce good maduro wrappers because they are typically too fragile.

Below: La Flor Dominicana Oscuro Lancero

Oscuro is a Spanish word that means “blackish” or “dark.” Oscuro wrapper leaves are typically taken from the top priming, or uppermost part of the tobacco plant. These leaves are called the corona (“crown”) or medio tiempo (literally “half time,” meaning they’ve been left on the plant 50% longer). Since these leaves have been exposed to a maximum amount of sunlight, they begin to cure on the plant. You end up with a darker, thicker, richer and more flavorful leaf.

Oscuro leaves then go through a normal fermentation process, with a shorter fermentation time and at lower temperatures than for maduro. After fermentation and before manufacturing cigars, oscuro leaves are aged. Some companies will age the leaves in barrels, crates, or bales. During this aging period the leaves will get even darker, sometimes you will see leaves that are totally black, causing many people to mistakenly think they are maduro. Nevertheless, it is not possible to distinguish between maduro and oscuro leaves simply on the basis of color. Instead, it is the different processes that determine whether the tobacco leaves are maduro or oscuro.

Finally, some manufacturers “cook” or “paint” their leaves to achieve a darker wrapper appearance. This process does not produce a pure maduro or oscuro, but is instead uses a process of combining various ingredients with the tobacco leaves to produce a darker color.

The process of cooking leaves is common enough, though not many people will admit to it. One way of doing it is that you take leaves and put them in a pot that is filled with a heated mixture of different contents, and the leaves pick up the darkness of the liquid and it changes the characteristics of the leaf. This liquid can also be sprayed lightly on the filler leaves, or brushed lightly on the outside of the wrapper.

The recipe for this mixture varies, as does the name; some people call it “betún.” It can be made with tobacco stems and shreds, molasses or sugar, lemon or other citrus juice and rinds, rum and other ingredients. These ingredients are mixed in a container of water and steeped for several days or longer. The result is a liquid that looks like black coffee. Many frown on this practice, and yet it persists in the industry.

David Diaz is the president of Stogie Fresh and the editor of the Stogie Fresh Cigar Journal. He has served as an educator, researcher and writer and has taught in the Health Education and Health Science field for nearly 30 years. He possesses an earned doctorate from Nova Southeastern University.

José Blanco is the National Director of Sales for Aurora Cigars. He is a man who has a rich cigar legacy and who has a passion for cigars that is not exceeded by any other person I have ever met in the industry. José served as an expert consultant on this article.

Smoking Tips

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 23:22:24 -0700

by Dale Scott

Over 45 years of smoking premium cigars have taught me three key techniques that will reward you with delicate-tasting, even-burning cigars. Use these techniques, and you’ll know more than 95% of smokers about cigar connoisseurship.

1. Don’t char the foot when lighting. Many people are impatient when lighting their cigars. The lighting process should be careful and unhurried.

I recommend you use only wooden kitchen matches (non-sulfur) or butane lighters. Liquid fuel lighters (like Zippo) give the cigar a kerosene taste. Many of today’s popular welding or soldering torches are too hot (2,200 degrees F), and easily scorch cigars, giving them a sharp, bitter taste from the start. Paper matches don’t generate enough heat, and burn too fast to get a cigar going evenly and thoroughly.

To light your cigar, point the foot downward, holding the foot about 4 inches above the flame, and lightly toast it ... your nose will tell you when it’s ready. Then, level the cigar at the same 4 inches and puff lightly 4 or 5 times, rotating it after each puff.

Remove the cigar from your mouth and blow on the foot, to see if the entire rim is glowing. If not, touch it up. Then, put the cigar in your mouth, and blow through it for 5 seconds to burn off (purge) any charred taste.

2. Smoke slowly, gently, and meditatively. Sit comfortably, with a friend or favorite entertainment media, especially after a good meal. A cigar won’t tolerate competition from golf (sorry!), home repairs, office duties, or other distractions.

Once it’s going well, wait a full minute (check it the first few times with your watch) before taking a puff. You want to let the coal cool, so it almost dies between puffs. Then, gently coax it back to life, but only barely enough to get a small, faint cloud of smoke and only “sip” the smoke. Repeat the delay and sipping twice more. Do you note the sweet, delicate flavor and subtle nuances each time? As an experiment to note the differences, try puffing heavily after only 30 seconds and you’ll note a hotter and sharper taste. Cigars with resinous ligero are extra-sensitive to impatient or heavy puffing.

Each cigar seems to have its own favored pace ... being aware of the narrow range it likes to be smoked, and practicing the art of staying within that pace is the key. Too fast, and the taste turns on you; too slow, and it wants to go out. Be patient and observant of the flavor nuances, to get its best. Sometimes, I can't get the pace right throughout the entire smoke, and have to settle for what I get, so don't be dismayed if you don't hit it right. But, it's better to err on the side of drawing on it more slowly and and gently, and you’ll usually get "on the curve."

3. Superheat the coal. Superheating is a technique that will help to solve typical problems of uneven burn, tarry taste after the midpoint, and sooty taste upon relighting a dead cigar

Uneven burn: Gently remove the ash. Is the cigar burning down one side, or “tunneling” into the filler? Make sure the coal is still glowing, if only weakly. Put the cigar in your mouth as usual, but don’t draw on it; you’ll taint the smoke by pulling sooty, tarry taste down its length. Instead, blow through it briskly, until the orange glow encircles the entire wrapper (15-20 seconds). Let the cigar cool a few seconds, and resume smoking.

Freshening a cigar’s second half: If the flavor of your cigar turns strong and “tarry,” follow the above instructions. Repeat often for 4 to 5 seconds to keep the cigar at its peak between the major 15-second treatments.

To prevent sooty taste after relighting: Relighting a cigar that has been left to extinguish itself is an important task. It is easy to experience sooty and noxious flavors due to the build-up of tars on the cooling ash. To relight, gently remove the ash, but do not put the cigar in your mouth yet. Light the rim around its periphery and then remove the flame and blow through the cigar as above, until the entire foot is glowing. Now, you can puff on it, without drawing the sooty taste of cold tars down its length.

Try this experiment: Get your cigar going, flick the ash off, and hold a flame just in front of its burning foot. Blow through the cigar into the flame until a yellow tongue of flame emanates from the foot of the cigar. If the flame can sustain itself, remove the lighter and continue blowing for about 15 seconds. Note how the flame gets smaller and changes from yellow to blue? Tars caused the yellow flame; the blue shows they’ve burned away.

If you practice these tips regularly, I believe you will improve your enjoyment of most premium cigars and will experience the relaxation and calm provided by a choice cigar.

Dale Scott is a veteran of 45-years of smoking and enjoying premium cigars. He is a cigar journalist, reviewer, and author of the book “How to Select & Enjoy Premium Cigars.” Dale currently lives in Costa Rica and continues to report on the cigar industry.

Cigar Aging Advice

Fri, 18 Jan 2008 01:41:04 -0800

Cigar Aging Advice: From Those Who Know What It’s All About

By George Edmonson

Perhaps no aspect of cigars is more shrouded in myth and mystery than aging. There are no real standards, no accepted definitions and little agreement — even on the basics.

Take temperature. Many of those who are serious about aging cigars keep them at 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Not James Suckling, though. As Cigar Aficionado’s (CA) European editor, his smoking experiences with well-aged Cubans are the stuff of dreams for most of us. His own collection? According to a 2005 CA article, Suckling keeps cigars in his wine cellar at a temperature around 55 to 58 degrees Fahrenheit.

Nonetheless, the idea of improving cigars simply by hanging on to them is almost irresistible. That’s one reason we find Doc’s reviews, which track cigars over time, so fascinating. It’s hard not to imagine letting your favorite sticks get even better if you can resist the urge to light them up.

Even though my patience is pretty thin, I began to wonder about how aging experts determine what to put away. Which aspects of a cigar do they look at? How do they decide whether to light up now or wait a few years? What are they hoping to achieve from those years in the humidor?

So, I asked, by e-mail, some of those well versed in this art to talk a bit about their own experiences with stashing their stogies. Though these are people with a lot of experience and insight, they don’t always agree, as you would expect. Nevertheless, I found the information they willingly shared to be fascinating. So much so that I’ve begun to reevaluate what I should do with my own cigars and my future purchases. I think you will find their thoughts equally interesting.

Below: Montecristo Reserva 2007

Though some say it’s a personal choice whether to take cigars straight from the box or only after years aging, Brian Ebbesen has no reservations about his approach to Cubans.

“I never smoke cigars from production — as I wouldn’t drink a wine straight from the cask,” said Ebbesen, the man who practically created the vintage cigar auction when he was working for Christie’s in London during the late 1990s. “A minimum of 2-3 years is required, in my opinion, for a hand-rolled Cuban cigar. Five to 10 years, even better.”

Andrew Welch, a U.S. collector and creator of Vitolas.net (a rare cigar information site), agrees that aging is beneficial. The real question, he opined, is “how much?”

For him, the answer comes down to the strength of the tobacco blend and personal taste. “While I might think that a Padrón tastes fantastic with, say, three years of age on it,” he said, “you might prefer a more subtle blend, and thus might prefer the same cigar with five years of age on it.”

What he’s seeking from the aging process, Welch said, is balance. And, like Ebbesen, Welch used an analogy from the grape: “… just as wine will improve with age in terms of the smoothness, and the complexity of flavors, so will properly aged cigars.”

After you’ve decided to age cigars, there’s the question of which ones to select. Should you focus on strong, full-bodied smokes? Or simply the ones you like best? Small or large ring gauge?

Well, it’s no surprise that not everyone agrees on this, either.

Christopher Wolters, commercial director at the elite tobacconist La Casa del Habano (http://www.thecigarsmoker.com) in Hamburg, Germany, said he doesn’t believe strong cigars necessarily age better.

“It’s just too complex a theme as would be possible to answer with either yes or no,” said Wolters, who himself prefers milder smokes.

Bob Blum, a collector who began smoking Cubans before the embargo, said that while he believes a cigar’s strength is a factor in successful aging, he caters to his own tastes.

“Well-rounded, bold, sweet, and spicy appeal to me most,” said Blum. “So I am likely to lay down what have become my favorites from Cuba.”

In fact, it was taste that led him into aging in the first place. He had long been getting Cubans from European dealers with whom his father had dealings decades earlier. Then, during the mid-1990s, he began to notice “a different aroma, rougher taste and strength.” Checking the manufacturers’ dating codes, he saw that production was being stepped up. Blum realized that the cigars he’d bought in the past were aged by dealers before he got them; his newer purchases were much greener.

“So, on advice from dealer friends, I began to buy and lay down those boxes with current dates,” Blum said.

Blum’s not partial to any particular length or ring gauge. Welch, on the other hand, said some believe that “the thinner the ring gauge of the cigar, the quicker it ages, the reason being that there are fewer layers of tobacco for the air to penetrate through.”

Ebbesen, now with London’s Elliston & Southwick Fine Wines (http://www.es-finewines.com), said he’s found size to make little difference in aging: “I’ve had very thin 26-gauge smokes with 30 years of age that were excellent.”

What’s often more important, Ebbesen added, is the packaging, with a bundle of 50 cigars apt to age better than 25 packed flat.

Below: Fuente Fuente OpusX: “Opus 22” 2006

Then, of course, there’s the issue of how long to age your cigars — assuming you can bear to let them sit more than a few months.

Blum said he generally starts smoking his cigars after about six years. But he’s got some that are far older, and his delightful descriptions could serve as an endorsement for the benefits of aging cigars.

“The best cigars I have aged, by some great twist of fate, are a few boxes of Cuban Dunhill Mojitos and Davidoffs of the smaller ring gauge. These are cigars I purchased in Europe in the mid-80s and simply put them to rest,” Blum said.

“When the Cubans discontinued them I decided they should become stored probably for the very long term, and I still have unopened, sealed boxes from that time that will become a part of my estate. I have smoked from the Dunhill Mojitos the past few years, and they remain a magnificent cigar in all respects, flavors a bit more subdued than when fresh, but all coming together perfectly.”

Welch said he, too, has cigars he’s seen change dramatically over time. “I have some original release Opus [i.e., Fuente Fuente OpusX] that are coming upon 12 years old; they change dramatically in terms of flavor when they are this deeply aged,” he said. “I find them to be sublime.”

He and others warned, though, that it is possible to over-age cigars.

“Certainly, I've had a number of 20-plus-year-old cigars that I think are well past their prime,” Welch said. “Again, just like wine, there's a peak for each cigar blend (which varies based on your personal taste), past which the cigar will decline in enjoyability to an extent.”

Wolters joked that, being in his early 40s, he’s too young to have aged any cigars so long that they passed their prime. But that doesn’t mean he hasn’t had some sticks that were.

“I have smoked cigars that have seen their best days long ago,” he said. “For example, the Davidoff No.1s and No. 2s are declining — their time has come.”

Below: 1985 Davidoff Tubos
(Photo by Bob Blum)

In the end, each smoker has to decide whether the investment in aging is worth the payoff.

It’s probably good to bear in mind the words of Andrew Welch, who said he thinks people sometimes get too caught up in the idea of aging.

“Just like in wine,” he said, “any cigar you enjoy the taste of is a good cigar. Not everyone has the same tastes, or even has the same ability to taste.”

Doc Notes:
George Edmonson is a cigar enthusiast and retired journalist living in Tarpon Springs, Florida.

George is the only “One-take” writer I know... yep, he’s that good! He is a frequent guest contributor for Stogie Fresh.

Native American Tobacco Cultivation and Use

Tue, 2 Oct 2007 20:32:57 -0700

By Ben Rapaport

[Note: In this article, the expression “Native American” is used to identify those people indigenous to the United States. However, I acknowledge that the term, widely accepted and colloquially understood, has different meanings based on context, regional use and customs, and scope.]

The Tobacco Plant

What is Tobacco? Tobacco is classified botanically as the genus Nicotiana belonging to the nightshade family which also includes the potato and the eggplant. It is a very powerful stimulant and, from a commercial point of view, the most important plant of the family. Between 60 and 70 different and discrete species of Nicotiana have been identified, but only two, Nicotiana rustica and Nicotiana tabacum, are cultivated for use. Tobacco is believed to be native to tropical America, and it was cultivated and used by the inhabitants of various parts of this continent long before its discovery by Europeans. Tobacco was of ancient origin, probably first found in North America in the southeastern region where tobacco is commercially grown today. “The earliest tobacco in eastern North America dates to Middle Woodland contexts as early as the first century B.C. in west-central Illinois. Its more widespread occurrence postdates A.D. 300.” (Wagner, 1991)

Nicotiana tabacum as pictured on a cigar box in the 1870's.
(Illustration courtesy of Tony Hyman: National Cigar Museum)

In many quarters, it is believed that the Native American obtained his knowledge of tobacco and learned the custom of pipe smoking from the wandering Mayas of Central America, because the tobacco plant originally flourished in the West Indies, Central America and Mexico. “The aborigines of Central America rolled up the tobacco-leaf, and dreamed away their lives in smoky reveries ages before Columbus was born, or the colonists of Sir Walter Raleigh brought it within the precincts of the Elizabethan court.” (Johnston, 1880)

Samples of tobacco crossed the Atlantic to Europe during the 1500s with Spanish and Portuguese mariners. Francisco Fernandez introduced it to Spain in 1558 and, in1560, the French ambassador to the Court of Lisbon, Jean Nicot, sent tobacco seeds back to France. Twenty-six years later, Sir Francis Drake and Ralph Lane, the first Governor of Virginia, brought seeds and a pipe back to England and presented them to Sir Walter Raleigh. Sometime between 1550-1600, tobacco was being grown in Portugal, Spain, Belgium, France and the Netherlands. Perhaps the very first written account of its uses and effects was from the pen of a Spanish historian of the West Indies, Captain Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés, in his La Historia general de las Indias (1535). Oviedo called this plant perebecenuc, supposedly tobacco, a plant used by the West Indian natives as a vulnerary (to heal wounds). European botanists countered that Oviedo had confused perebecenuc for tobacco; however, by the last quarter of that century, tobacco was generally accepted as the most effective vulnerary known to that time. No matter the confusion, in an era of disease, pestilence, and plague, tobacco was accepted as a household remedy, the touchstone of all medical plants, the wonder-working herb from God with the appellation Indorum sana Sancta sive Nicotiana Gallorum, the holy healing [herb] of the Indians, or Nicotiana of the French. “Our age has discovered nothing from the New World which will be numbered among the remedies more valuable and efficacious than this plant for sores, wounds, affections of the throat and chest, and the fever of the plague.” (Pena & Matthias de l’Obel)

Explorer Observations

The historic evidence of the use of tobacco by Native Americans consists, principally, of observations by explorers, historians and ethnologists. Coincident with the discovery of America, two Spanish sailors sent ashore by Columbus, saw Indians smoking crude-looking cigars. Ramon Pane, a Catalan friar, who accompanied Columbus on his second expedition to America in 1493, detailed how the aborigines of Hispaniola (later Haiti) ingested a hallucinogenic snuff called cohoba, believed to be pulverized tobacco that was used in religious ceremonies by medicine men to induce a trance. In 1499, during his second voyage to America, Amerigo Vespucci observed the inhabitants of St. Margarita Island, off the coast of Venezuela, chewing green leaves mixed with a pulverized substance. The aforementioned Oviedo, a resident on Hispaniola from 1513-1514, is considered the first to have described the curious pleasure of swallowing smoke using a tube the taboca (often spelled tabaco); through time, the word transitioned from describing the tube to describing the plant itself, and tobacco became a universal word thereafter. Oviedo wrote that the local natives considered this herb very precious, and they grew it in their gardens. Oviedo also traveled with Juan de Grijalva to Mexico and, in 1518, reported from Yucatan that the local Indian chiefs offered the Spanish small tubes containing tobacco that were burning at one end, and these guests were encouraged to inhale the smoke. During his second voyage to Canada, Jacques Cartier, a Breton mariner, observed Iroquoians at Hochelaga (Montreal) inhaling smoke through elbow-shaped pipes and recorded this event in Brief Recit (1545):

They have also a herb which they greatly esteem, and during the summer they make great store of it for the winter time. Only the men use it and in the manner following. They have it dried in the sun and carry it about their necks in a little beast’s skin in place of a bag, with a horn of stone or wood: then presently they make powder of this herb, and place it in one of the end of the said horn, and putting a tiny coal of fire thereon, they suck at the other end, and thus they fill their bodies with smoke, so that it comes out by the mouth and nostrils as by a chimney funnel.

Father Francisco Creuxio, a Jesuit missionary, found tobacco in abundant use among the Indians of Canada. Many more European, Canadian and American narrations about Native American habits included commentaries about their smoking customs in various tracts and monographs now archived in libraries around the world.

European label, c1900, depicts Indians giving tobacco to Cortez.
(Illustration courtesy of Tony Hyman: National Cigar Museum)

As detailed in this brief survey, the use of tobacco was one of the most widely diffused of all Indian culture traits – and not merely within North America because, with the exception of the Eskimo, the native people of North, Central and South America, all indulged in the tobacco habit. With the discovery of America and the establishment of trade between the West Indies and Spain, the history of tobacco smoking passed from the New World to the Old; from the Americas, then, the use of tobacco spread with astonishing rapidity throughout the entire globe.

Native American Cultivation of Tobacco

The methods of planting, harvesting, curing and later preserving tobacco varied among Native Americans, just as these operations vary in different regions of the world where tobacco is grown today. It is believed that land was prepared for planting tobacco by gathering and burning dried grass where the tobacco patch was to be sown in order to keep the ground clear of weeds. Once planted, no further attention was paid to it; the crop was allowed to grow thick. Then, the whole plant was dried for smoking, the leaf cured while hanging in huts until the leaves turned yellow. The leaves were then arranged side-by-side and tied in bundles until they were completely dried, and kept free of moisture. The unripe seed capsules were dried separately, because these were especially prized for their smoking flavor. The cultivation of tobacco was often surrounded with prescriptions and prohibitions designed to assure its ritual potency. Among the Hidatsa and Mandan of North Dakota, for example, growing tobacco was entrusted not to the women, but to the men although, customarily, among Native Americans, agriculture was almost uniformly and exclusively a female task. Among many Plains tribes, such as the Crow and Blackfoot, the cultivation of tobacco survived the total abandonment of agriculture that otherwise took place with the arrival of the horse.

Early Caribbean farm. At first only low born Spanish planted, but when upper classes saw there was money to be made...well the rest is history. Negro slaves weren't imported until the mid 1700's but a few surviving Indians were used as laborers. (Illustration courtesy of Tony Hyman: National Cigar Museum)

It was the colony of Virginia, destined to become the greatest tobacco producer, in which the first account of the tobacco plant’s presence was recorded. Thomas Hariot, a tutor and advisor of Sir Walter Raleigh, went to Virginia on the second English expedition in August 1585. Having been instructed by Raleigh to survey the new possession and report on its natural resources, he described a tobacco plantation in a Virginia Indian village in A Briefe and True report of the new found land of Virginia, (London, 1588):

There is an herbe which is sowed apart by it selfe & is called by the inhabitants uppówoc. In the West Indies it hath diuers names, according to the seuerall places & countries where it is groweth and is vsed: The Spaniardes generally call it Tobacco. The leaues thereof being dried and brought into powder: they vse to take the fume or smoke thereof by sucking it through pipes of claie into their stomacke and head. (Brooks, 1937)

Tobacco Uses and Sacred Rituals

According to the sacred origin of tobacco – although no two tribes exactly agree in the details about the way in which this invaluable boon was conferred upon Man – ages ago, at the time when the spirits considered the world yet good enough for their occasional residence, a very great and powerful spirit lay down to sleep by the side of his fire in the forest. While lying, his arch enemy came by and thought it would be a good chance for mischief, so he gently approached the sleeping spirit, rolled him toward the fire until his head rest among the glowing embers, and his hair was set ablaze. The roar of the fire in his ears roused the good spirit and he jumped to his feet, rushed through the forest, the wind catching his singed hair as it flew off, carried it away and sowed it over the earth. It sank, took root, and grew as tobacco!

At least one additional version manages to reverberate in the Native American community. It is a Huron Indian myth that is more colorful and imaginative than that of the sleeping spirit. In ancient times, when the land was barren and people were starving, the Great Spirit sent a woman to save humanity. As she traveled, everywhere that her right hand touched the earth, potatoes grew, and everywhere that her left hand touched the earth, corn grew. The world became rich and fertile, and so she sat down and rested; when she got up, tobacco grew in that place.

Tobacco was seldom consumed in its pure state. In general, the Native American’s tobacco, the “true tobacco” originally grown by the aborigines – Nicotiana rustica, not the tabacum imported by Europeans from Central and South America – was mixed with other matter before it was smoked. Methods and matter varied. For example, dogwood was a popular addition to tobacco, and the Indian name for the resulting mixture, kinnikinnick – from the Cree and Chippewa dialects of the Algonquin language referring to various wild plants mixed with tobacco before it was smoked – became the mixture that almost all northeastern Native Americans used. According to Ritzenthaler (1955), “whatever plant material was used, it usually dominated the final mixture which generally contained about one-third tobacco.” Other representative tobacco mixtures were Pl’likinick, with red osier dogwood; Viburnum acerifolium, with arrowroot; and Rhus glabra, with sumac (Rutsch, 1973). (These other plants mixed with tobacco have an association with the color “red,” representing blood, the essence of life.) Often, herbs and sweet grasses were added, as well as laurel leaves, squaw bush, maple bush, poplar, birch and cherry. Sometimes, tobacco was even laced with buffalo dung.

It is as difficult to generalize about tobacco’s customary uses as it is to generalize about the tobacco mixtures. Some chewed the tobacco mixture; others ground it up as snuff; yet others, such as those living in the Southwest and in the Great Basin region between the Sierra Nevada and the Wasatch Mountains, rolled it in cornhusks and smoked it like a modern cigarette or cigarillo, sometimes inserting it in a tubular cane configuration. In the greater part of North America, tobacco was smoked in pipes of all shapes, sizes, and mediums (see next section).

Every phase of smoking tobacco among Native Americans seems to have been invested with a ritual significance. It was a plant of enormous ritual potency and enormously variable use, but behind all the variety of uses was the idea that tobacco had the power to put one into a spiritually exalted state that was necessary even for secular enterprises. Depending on the culture and the ceremony, tobacco for the spirits was placed on the ground as an offering to the earth, thrown on water, placed on sacred rocks and trees, or deposited by waterfalls and other striking natural features; it was placed on burning coals and thrown on the fire, as a fumigant; or, it may have been offered by a person inhaling smoke through a pipe or a crudely fashioned cigar or cigarette as a means of communication with the spirits. Although it was often smoked for personal pleasure, it also was used to fumigate ritually important objects such as scalps, the body of a dead chief or a bear; steamed to a vapor for use in sweat baths; tied onto a prayer stick; left in front of an effigy house placed over a grave; and applied to the body in solid and liquid forms as a medicine. To ensure good hunting, the Native American smoked on his hunting trips. A certain John Bartram, botanist and keen student of Indian customs, documenting his observations during a trip from Philadelphia to the Oswego River in 1743, wrote:

As soon as he had killed a bear, the Indian proceeded to make peace with the animal’s departed spirit. Placing the stem of his lighted pipe in the dead bear’s mouth, the hunter then blew into the pipe bowl. As smoke from the pipe filled the bear’s mouth and throat, the hunter begged the bear’s departed spirit not to resent the injury done to its body and not to thwart the Indian’s good hunting in the future. [National Geographic Magazine, June 1947]

Others offered incense of tobacco smoke to their god Manitou and to feed the sacred fires with tobacco leaves, believing that the spirit of their all-powerful god lay concealed in the rising clouds of smoke. “From this belief sprang the elaborate system of the religious and political rites of the North American Indian, culminating in the pipe of peace and war, the sacred calumet which occupied amongst the tribes a position of peculiar significance, and was the object of profound veneration.” (Hardy, 1934) There were ceremonies at the sowing and harvesting of the tobacco plant, and the embroidered pouches in which the tobacco and the associated pipe were kept, and the pipe itself, were surrounded by a sacred aura.

Native American Smoking Pipes

No work of aboriginal art found at present commands as much attention of the student of archaeology or the general collector as the smoking implements crafted for and used by Native Americans; just as the origin of tobacco is steeped in lore, so is the tale of the pipe. At the beginning of the Eighteenth Century, expanding contacts of Europeans with interior tribes around the Great Lakes, eastern plains, and the Ohio and Mississippi River basin brought reports of the ceremonial use of the pipe. The distinguishing characteristic of the “sacred” pipe is that the bowl and the stem are two distinct components, each having its own symbolic significance; the two are kept apart except during ritual use. The Native American attached much belief to his pipe. In life, it was his dearest companion, a symbol of hospitality and amicable intercourse, to be used only on the most solemn occasions, or in the transaction of important business to be sanctioned by the Cabinet Council. In death, the pipe was inseparable, because it was laid in his grave to give him solace on his journey to the happy hunting ground. In a word, the first pipe was among the most sacred, because none other than the Great Spirit, Gitchie Manito, the Master of Life, was the original smoker. As it is told, the Great Spirit called all his people together and, standing on the precipice of the Red Pipestone Rock, he broke a piece from the wall. He kneaded it in his hands, made a huge pipe, which he smoked over them and to the four corners of the globe. He told them that this stone was red, that it was their flesh, and that of it they might make their pipes of peace, or peace pipes. The Great Spirit smoked his pipe, talked to them until the last puff, and then his head disappeared in a cloud. Immediately thereafter, the surface of the rock, for several miles, was melted and glazed. This is just one version of the legend of the pipe. Other legends and myths abound, and three Plains Indian tribal variants are briefly offered (Murray, 1968):

The Arapaho creation story: A sacred tribal pipe existed even before the creation of land, people, and animals, when only a vast expanse of water existed. In this water stood a tripod, and on the tripod rested a spirit-person, Nih’ançan, and a pipe. The spirit-person asked birds to bring him help. The birds and a turtle lifted large quantities of mud from beneath the water, which he placed on the pipe to dry. Then, he dispersed the dried mud, creating a vast area of land. The places he missed became rivers and lakes. Then Nih’ançan created men and women from this same earth.
The Dakota (Sioux) buffalo maiden story: Two men were hunting and saw, at a distance, something white and shining coming toward them. At first, the image appeared to look like a white buffalo calf; on closer inspection, they noticed that the image had changed into a beautiful young maiden dressed in white buckskin, and she was carrying a pipe. Because one of the hunters had evil thoughts of the girl, his flesh withered away and his bones fell into a heap. The other hunter, respectful of the maiden, received the pipe with an instruction to use and care for it. The maiden walked away and eventually turned into a white buffalo calf, then disappeared over the horizon. The hunter returned to his camp to become the keeper of the sacred pipe until his death.
The Blackfoot medicine pipe story: The Blackfoot tribes had many special sacred pipes, and each was made in accordance with instructions received in a vision. The best were medicine pipes, the original of which the Blackfoot received from Thunder, the spirit-person responsible for thunder and lightning. At least 12 copies of this pipe were made, and each was kept in a bundle with other sacred objects. The keepers of these bundles were respected members of the tribe and were bound to observe many taboos and complex rules for the care and use of these pipes. The single most important ritual occurred when the bundle was opened just as the first spring thunder was heard. Prayers were rendered in the hope that lightning would not kill a tribal member in that year.

Cigar label illustrations often do not make good history.
Here a Spanish soldier introduces Midwestern plains Indians to cigars, which was not a likely historical scenario.
(Illustration courtesy of Tony Hyman: National Cigar Museum)

Smoking the pipe sealed all contracts. The pipe was an earnest of peace, a token of brotherhood, and it was carried around among friends, allies and former combatants. It also served as a passport. Father Jacques Marquette, the famous Jesuit explorer, received a pipe from his Indian hosts, and it was his security as he traveled among the Great Lakes peoples. The red-garlanded war-pipe, however, was the sign of hostility. Another Jesuit missionary, Father de Smet, offered the following regarding the people of this same region:

On all great occasions, in their religious and political ceremonies, and at their great feasts, the calumet presides. The savages send its first fruits, or first puffs, to the Great Wakonda, or Master of Life, to the Sun which gives them light, and to the Earth and Water by which they are nourished; then they direct a puff to each point of the compass, begging of heaven and all the elements for favourable winds. (White, 1979)

It is near impossible to generalize about these early household utensils, because the various utensils that the Native American fabricated to ingest tobacco smoke represent an infinite and fascinating array of shapes, sizes, and materials, depending on the tribes and the materials indigenous to their respective geographic areas. Pipes were fashioned from red porphyritic stone, limestone, steatite, clay, argillite, granite, marble, wood, bone and many other materials as expressions of assorted symbolic effigies – primitive animals, birds, reptiles, human heads, etc. – which were executed with great skill and fidelity to nature. The most famous of Native American pipes still prized today is the peace pipe made of Catlinite (after George Catlin [1796-1872] the artist who journeyed west five times in the 1830s to paint the Plains Indians and their way of life), a dark, rich-hued orange-red stone, also known as pipestone, existing in a few locations in northern Minnesota. The tribes who lived around the Great Lakes, in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Ontario made such a prominent cult of the pipe that they are sometimes called Calumet People. The word calumet is an adaptation of the French word Chalumeau, meaning a reed or a reed pipe. Their pipes, beaded, feathered, beribboned and sculptured, resembled an exotic musical instrument. The calumet, one fashioned for peace and one for war, was decorated in lavish fashion, particularly if it belonged to a priest or a chief, because it was, in fact, a sacred object. The pipe stems were often quite elaborate, and the calumet, customarily carried by the leader of rites and his assistant, typically included a stem decorated with feathers, bird skins, carvings or paintings. The tomahawk-pipe or pipe tomahawk, often identified as a hatchet-pipe combination or battle-ax, was an occasional substitute for the calumet. “The significance of the pipe-weapon equation was appreciated by Europeans, who produced steel hatchet-pipes for trade to the Indians.” (Springer, 1981) The elbow-pipe (in the shape of a right angle), used predominantly by east coast Native Americans, became the prototype configuration for what is, today, the conventional briar pipe.

Native American Celebration in Washington…with Tobacco

It was most appropriate that, on September 20, 2004, Native Americans from all over the Americas met with Smithsonian Institution officials in Washington, D.C. to celebrate the opening of a new museum, the National Museum of the American Indian, a $214-million national showcase of the history and culture of America's native peoples. This museum, the last Smithsonian museum on the Mall, celebrates Native American art and culture; it houses the world's largest collection of Indian artifacts—some 8,000 altogether— including many fine examples of handcrafted smoking pipes from North, South and Central America. Interestingly, the groundbreaking ceremony, five years earlier, on September 28, 1999, included songs and ritual offerings of earth, water and, of course, tobacco!

Summary

Tobacco in North America probably had its origins as early as the first century B.C., but its widespread use on the continent postdates A.D. 300. Although still speculative, it’s widely held that Native Americans learned of tobacco from the Mayas of Central America. It is clear that they were using tobacco long before the birth of Columbus, let alone the discovery of America.

For the Native American, tobacco had great supernatural power, and smoking was an intimate part of ceremony. Furthermore, nothing could better exemplify the symbolic nature of Native American art than such commonly used objects as the paraphernalia associated with tobacco smoking. The pipe bowl, pipe stem, and pipe bag all had sacred meaning and were decorated in accordance with honored roles.

References:

Brooks, Jerome E. Tobacco. Its History Illustrated by The Books, Manuscripts and Engravings in the Library of George Arents, Jr., Volume One, 1507-1615. New York: The Rosenbach Company, 1937

Hardy, T.L., “The Smoking of Tobacco. A Historical Review,” Cambridge University Medical Society Magazine, 121-132. Cambridge, England: Easter 1934

“He blew smoke into a dead bear’s mouth,” The National Geographic Magazine, June 1947

Johnston, James F.W. The Chemistry of Common Life. New York: D. Appleton Company, 1880

Murray, Robert A. Pipes on The Plains. Minnesota: Pipestone Indian Shrine Association, 1968

Pena, Pierre, and Matthias de l’Obel. Stirpium Adversaria Nova. London: 1570-1571

Ritzenthaler, Robert E. “Kinnikinnick,” Lore, Volume 6, Number 1. Milwaukee: Milwaukee Public Museum, 1955

Rutsch, Edward S. Smoking Technology of the Aborigines of the Iroquois Area of New York State. Cranbury, New Jersey: Associated University Presses, 1973

Springer, James Warren, et. al. “An Ethnohistoric Study of the Smoking Complex in Eastern North America,” Ethnohistory, Volume 28, Number 3, 1981, 217-235

Wagner, Gail E. “Tobacco in Prehistoric Eastern North America,” Paper Presented at the 56th Annual Meeting, Society for American Archaeology, April 24-28, 1991, 1-37

White, Jon Manchip. Everyday Life of the North American Indian. London: Book Club Associates, 1979

About the Author:

Ben Rapaport is a regular contributor to Pipes and tobaccos magazine, Ben's primary expertise includes antique pipes, pipe tampers, tobacco art and tobacco literature; he is considered a leading authority on smoking antiques. He has published five highly regarded books on tobacciana and has written innumerable articles on a wide variety of tobacco-related topics that have appeared in dozens of publications. He holds what is probably the largest and most comprehensive personal library of tobacco-related information anywhere, some say rivaling the Arents collection in the New York Public Library.

Dedicated to this hobby and to the tobacco industry for five decades, his knowledge and experience are unparalleled. In 1985, he was designated the U.S. founding member of the Académie Internationale de la Pipe, inducted into the Confrérie des Maîtres-Pipiers de Saint-Claude in 1989, and received the prestigious Doctor of Pipes award from the Chicagoland Pipe Collectors Club in 2004.

Cigar Cutters: No Matter Which Way You Slice It

Thu, 6 Sep 2007 01:05:33 -0700

By Walt White

Introduction
With such a wide variety of cigar cutters on the market today, it is often difficult to decide which to use. Single-blade, Double-blade, V-cut, Punch, or variations of the above, make the task of choosing a cutter even more difficult. The question of which cutter to use is one of the most common questions new cigars smokers ask during their introduction to cigars.

Many people believe that the type of cut used is a matter of personal preference. While I believe that is true to a large extent, I think that with a bit of additional information, a new cigar smoker could be introduced to a world of options that go beyond the standard single blade guillotine cutter.

Before I begin discussing what cutters perform what type of task, I want you to understand the purpose of such a tool. As you probably know by now, premium hand made cigars are rolled with one open end (the foot) and one closed end (the head), on which rests the cap.

In this day and age, there seems to be an endless array of tools and techniques for clipping the cap and opening the draw of a cigar. We will begin by discussing the simplest way, which has been around for as long as the cigar itself: using your teeth. This method is simple; just pinch a small portion of cap between your front teeth and give the cigar a slight flick with the wrist. The result is a small opening in the cap of your cigar. It may not be a crisp and clean opening, but it is an efficient opening through which to draw smoke.

While this method may seem a tad archaic in today’s society, it is very effective and will work wonders when you find yourself without a tool to do the job for you. The obvious benefit is that, as long as you leave your home with your teeth, you have an effective cigar cutter, of sorts. The drawback is that it may leave your cigar looking a bit torn and unattractive. You could also pull the cap clean off of the cigar, which could lead to the cigar unraveling right in your hands.

The Punch Cutter
Many cigar smokers will frown on biting off the end of their cigar and opt for a tool instead. One tool that may be considered is the Cigar Punch or, Punch Cutter. The cigar punch comes in many sizes and they all produce the same effect: a circular blade on the end of the punch is used to slice a hole in the cap while being pressed into the filler. When the punch is removed, the result is a perfect circular plug cut from the cap of your cigar. There are many effective ways to use a punch cutter, however I find that I achieve the best result when using the punch cutter as follows:

Take the cigar and place it into the palm of your hand. Slide the cigar down the palm of your hand until the cap meets the webbing between your thumb and index finger. Firmly roll your thumb and index finger around the cigar so that it is held firmly in place with only the cap protruding past your hand. At this point, with your other hand, place the plug cutter onto the cap of the cigar and be sure to center it as best you can. Gently begin pressing the plug cutter into the cigar while twisting the cutter back and forth. As the cutter plunges into the cigar the rotation of the blade will help slice through the tobacco and make a clean cut. You should be left with a little plug of tobacco, which you can then toss deftly into your ashtray.

One major benefit of the punch cutter is that it often comes with a small key ring so that it may be attached to a set of keys. Many people find that the convenience of the punch cutter alone is reason enough to buy one. The drawback of this type of cutter is that some people feel as though the hole created by the cutter is not large enough to produce their preferred draw. The result of such a small opening may also lead to a hot spot on the tip of the tongue due to a concentrated flow of heat and smoke.

I find that with a punch cutter I have an increased chance of developing tar build-up on my cigar (see photo below). Tar build up in most cases is caused by tar, smoke, and nicotine collecting in the tobacco surrounding a small opening through which the smoke is passing. Tar build-up is not very common, however is a possibility with any type of cutter depending on the orientation of the tobacco/opening found at the head of the cigar.

Below: Tar Build-up

These types of cutters can be found at any tobacconist that sells premium cigars or any of the popular mail order companies. The prices range from about $4.00 for a simple key ring punch cutter to about $40.00 for cutters with surgical stainless steel blades and elaborate plug discharging systems.

The Single Blade Guillotine
As new cigar smokers begin to dive deeper into the passion of cigars they often find themselves in the market for the ever-popular Single Blade Guillotine Cutter. This type of cutter is by far the most popular type of cutter, and usually one of the least expensive. The operation of this tool uses a sharp blade combined with a chopping motion to quickly and easily remove the cap of a cigar.

The cigar is inserted into the body of the cutter while the blade is in the open position. When the preferred amount of cap is within the cutting path the blade is closed sharply and quickly to remove the cap in one quick, clean motion. The benefit to this type of cutter rests mainly in the fact that they are economical. The cutters can be had for as little as 99 cents at many cigar shops and mail order companies. Often times these cutters will be given away as a means of advertisement.

The drawback to single blade cutters is that they are often crafted from inexpensive products and will dull or break over a relatively short period of time. As the blade becomes dull after numerous cuts, the blade tends to tear the wrapper leaf rather than cut it as it exits the cigar, which leads to flaky pieces of tobacco sticking to your tongue or lips. In worse cases the dull blade can strike the cigar and crack the wrapper or cap leading to a cigar that may come apart as it is smoked.

As with all tools, you get what you pay for. A cheap cutter will most often times be constructed of less desirable material and fail over a fairly short period of time, while a cutter that costs just a few dollars more may last a few years before needing to be replaced.

The Double Blade Guillotine As we become more serious about our cigar hobby, we often find ourselves in the market for a nicer-looking, or better quality cutter. For may people, the journey for a quality cutter ends at the Double Blade Guillotine Cutter. The advantage of this type of cutter is that it lessens the possibility of the wrapper being cracked or torn while being cut, due to the second blade. As both blades plunge into the tobacco they meet in the middle then cross paths, this leads to neither blade exiting an unsupported piece of tobacco and creating a tear.

These cutters are operated, for the most part, just like a single blade cutter, which makes them easy to operate. Just like the single blade cutter, the double blade guillotine can be had for as little as a couple dollars, or can be as expensive as you can imagine.

While most if us can only dream of being able to afford an ultra high end, diamond encrusted Double Blade Guillotine Cutter, many of us find ourselves in the market for a nice mid-priced cutter ranging from $30.00 to $50.00. These cutters often come with a very attractive warranty which makes the product much more appealing. The blades are generally constructed of surgical grade stainless steel and are self-sharpening as a result of slight friction between the blades as they pass one another.

The drawback to these cutters is that they may dull over time resulting in cracked wrappers. As the blade dulls, the twin blades close on the cigar at the same time and due to the dull edge these blades begin to squeeze the cigar rather than slice through it. This leads to the cigar becoming squashed and cracking as it is being cut. As this is happening you will hear a low thud as the blades come in contact with the cigar followed by a crack and a pop as the cutter finally comes together in the closed position.

Regardless of your choice between a Single or Double Blade Guillotine Cutter the goal is to remove as little of the cap as possible while maintaining a free flowing draw on the cigar. The depth of cut varies from person to person as their preferences change. I would recommend exposing as little of the cap as possible to the blade(s) of the cutter for Parejo-shaped cigars and about 3/16 of an inch for tapered cigars, such as a Torpedo.

A common method for using a single- or double-blade guillotine is to place the cutter flat on a table (or other flat surface) while placing the cigar inside the cutter and using the flat surface as a stop (See photo below). While this leads a to a very consistent cut, it also may lead to over-cutting. A chart showing some of the more popular cutters, and their depth of cut using this method is pictured (See photo below).

Above: Using a table to gauge cut

Below: Cutting depths of common cutters

The V Cutter
As we grow in our hobby of fine cigars we sometimes feel the need to drift aware from the norm and explore the world for more obscure, or lesser know tools of the trade. Among these cutters is the V-Cutter. This tool functions much like a single blade guillotine cutter but offers the benefit of a fixed depth gauge on the tool itself. When the cigar is inserted into the cutter this depth stop ensures the user that every cut will be both consistent and the correct depth.

The V-Cutter differs from the single blade guillotine in the cutting edge. The cutting surface of a V-Cutter is notched in the shape of a "V". The purpose of this cutter is to slice a trough into the head of the cigar, which will produce more surface area for air and smoke to travel through. This cut is often preferred on small ring gauge cigars due to their small cap.

The V-cutter is a little more difficult to find and as a result generally costs a little more than the standard single blade guillotine. For a simple, hand-held plastic model found at local cigar shops, expect to pay around $4.00 each. Wood models, more widely available online, will typically range around $20.00. You can also find more expensive and attractive table models.

The Cigar Scissor
In addition to the V-Cutter, as a more obscure, or lesser know tool is the Cigar Scissor. This type of cutter is very basic and straightforward in terms of operation. They are used just like a typical pair of household scissors and function the same way. A shearing action slices away the cap of the cigar exposing an opening in which smoke will pass.

This tool is often used by a cigar smoker with a little more experience as these tools are said to "take some getting used to" or require a "trick" to use properly. While I do not think these tools are overly difficult to use, I do believe that they take some practice to use effectively (as does any cutter). The trick, per se, is to slice or pare with the scissors taking a little off at a time while maintaining firm pressure on the cap. Shearing small amounts of cap multiple times will allow the user to shape an opening to their liking while removing as little tobacco as possible.

Scissors have a tendency to be widely available, which ultimately means an affordable tool. A large pair of scissors at a local cigar shop can cost as little as $10.00 while the more compact, all Stainless Steel models generally start around $30.00.

Now that you have a basic understanding of the tools used to open you favorite cigar, as well as how they operate, it is time for you to choose a cutter. When choosing a cutter, keep in mind that in most cases you get what you pay for. This does not necessarily mean that the most expensive tool is best, it simply means that paying a few extra dollars for the known quality cutter over the house brand may save a lot of time and frustration in the long haul.

Be sure to research brand names (XiKar and Palió, for example) as they may carry an excellent no nonsense warranty on their products, which is nice to have if you ever find yourself holding a broken or dull cutter.

A cigar cutter is an important and indispensable tool for the cigar smoker. Though you will eventually find a “favorite” cutter, searching for and using many different cutters is part of the joy of the hobby of fine cigars.

Walt White is one of the cofounders of the Stogie Review, a premiere cigar review blog.

Walt can be found on any number of online cigar forums and is constantly pushing the limits of web technology. This is his second contribution to the Stogie Fresh Cigar Journal.

The Burning Question: Part Three

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 01:03:29 -0700

By Walt White

[Doc notes: The following article is Part Three in a three-part series. For a look at accompanying photos, go to the “Burn Issues: Slideshow.”]

Nuisances While Smoking

Now that you have a grasp of what causes burn problems and how to correct them, I would like to briefly discuss a few burn nuisances. While these generally do not cause major problems, they can become increasingly irritating as they are experienced.

Below: A blistered wrapper

On occasion while smoking your cigar you may notice some bubbling or blistering at the burn line. While this generally does not lead to significant burn problems, it is an unattractive result of an over humidified cigar. When a cigar is over humidified the intense heat from the burning tobacco will sometimes flash boil the excess humidity residing in your cigar. As this water turns into vapor it expands causing the wrapper and binder to swell.

When the wrapper and binder begin to swell it causes a few different types of issues. The most common being small cracks in the wrapper due to the rapid expansion of the tobacco. This generally happens to tobacco that is fragile, such as a Cameroon wrapper leaf. When this type of expansion occurs in a wrapper that is a little tougher, such as Connecticut Shade, the leaf will expand but not crack. The result is minor bubbling or blistering of the tobacco.

The easiest way to correct a problem such as this is to slow down the rate at which you smoke. This will allow the excess moisture to turn to steam at a slower rate, which will ultimately cause the tobacco to swell slower.

Outside of cosmetic problems, an over humidified cigar can lead to your cigar being difficult to keep lit. For me personally, this is the most aggravating of the cigar nuisances. Due to the excess water residing in the cigar, the burn turns to a sort of smolder. This will lead to the tobacco constantly going out, especially if you slow your smoking rate to compensate for other problems such as cracking or blistering. There is nothing worse than having to relight a cigar every few minutes or sucking the life out of it, just to keep it lit.

In order to correct this type of problem you must pay very close attention to the burn line. Try to find the proper rate of smoking so that your cigar will stay lit and not damage the wrapper as it burns.

To avoid overhumidified cigars the best thing to do is to keep a watchful eye on your humidor’s RH level. By keeping your cigars at a constant relative humidity, in a range between sixty five and seventy percent relative humidity, you can solve many of these problems before they have a chance to develop.

Below: Doc’s most serious burn problem, an ash that has fallen in an expensive Cognac.
Of course, it is possible that your cigar has been rolled with too much tobacco and has become tight or plugged, which will worsen the effects of excess humidity. In that case, you can often salvage a plugged or tight-drawing cigar by using a draw correction tool like Henry’s Classic Tools or his newer Signature Series.

In the end, it may end up being less stressful and easier to simply pitch the cigar and grab a new one. However, the tips I have listed above and in the first two parts of this series of articles, may save you some aggravation and money by helping you to correct common burn issues and still enjoy your smoke.

Wrapping Things Up

First and foremost, I hope that you have enjoyed reading this article as much as I enjoyed writing it. The purpose of taking the time to create a list of burn problems and fixes was due to the lack of resources I have found over the past two years.

As a fairly new cigar enthusiast I often found myself in search of answers to these burning questions. My results were often found in brief “FAQ” (Frequently Asked Questions) articles written by cigar retailers who did not spend much time discussing the problems I was experiencing.

After hours upon hours of reading and researching cigars, I finally feel comfortable diagnosing and correcting problems as I experience them. It is my intention to help those that find themselves in similar situations.

Once again, I hope you enjoyed reading this article and I wish you best of luck in expanding your horizons when it comes down to your love of the leaf. Happy smoking!

Walt White is one of the cofounders of the Stogie Review, a premiere cigar review blog.

Walt can be found on any number of online cigar forums and is constantly pushing the limits of web technology. This is his first contribution to the Stogie Fresh Cigar Journal.

The Burning Question: Part Two

Sat, 21 Apr 2007 01:01:56 -0700

By Walt White

[Doc notes: The following article is Part Two in a three-part series. For a look at accompanying photos, go to the “Burn Issues: Slideshow.”]

More Serious Burn Problems

On occasion you may find yourself in a bit of a predicament due to a bad burn turning severe. Some of these severe burn problems can be prevented if caught early, but to catch one early, you must first understand what to look for and how to correct what you see.

Canoeing
Of the severe burn problems, the most common is probably what is referred to as a “Canoe” or described as “Canoeing.” This type of burn problem is when the burn line of your cigar gets out of control and burns deep into one side of the body. As shown in the photo below, you can see that it appears as though the cigar was split in half across the diameter, and only allowed to burn on one side.

Below: A developing “canoe.”

A Canoe can sometimes be caught early by paying attention to the appearance of the burn line. A proper burn line should be thin and even all the way around the circumference of the cigar. An early sign of the Canoe is when the burn line of the cigar becomes irregular, and wide on one part of the cigar. This generally means that the cigar is heating up unevenly and there is a chance that one side will begin to combust at a faster rate. When this faster combustion occurs, the binder and wrapper will begin to burn away on the hotter side while the burn remains slow on the opposing side.

To prevent a Canoe in this type of situation, try slowing down your rate of smoking. Take extra care to puff lightly and less frequently. Doing this will allow the over heated side of the cigar to cool which will, in turn, allow the burn to even up across the foot of the cigar. If the correction is slow going, you may want to consider touching up one side (as described previously) to accelerate the slower burning side of the cigar.

If you find yourself victim to a Canoe which is too far gone to correct by slowing down your rate of smoking, you can set the cigar down and allow it to go out. Once the cigar is cooled and completely unlit, use a guillotine style cutter to clip the foot of the cigar so that you have an even starting point once again. Once clipped, place the cigar in your mouth and gently exhale through the cigar to help exhaust any foul chemical flavors that may be lingering do to partially combusted tobacco. After purging, begin the toasting and lighting process once again so that you may continue to enjoy your fine cigar.

Tunneling
When tunneling occurs it can best be described as though a fuse was lit down the center of your cigar, burning away the core and leaving the exterior intact. The filler (or core) of your cigar is slowly burned from the inside out. As this tunneling occurs, the ash within the center falls out leaving what appears to be a hole or void within the body of your cigar.

This type of burn problem is common for slow smokers. When the cigar is left sitting n the ashtray, or not puffed on frequently enough, the burning foot of the cigar partially goes out. As the outer part of the foot goes out first, the filler is left smoldering. The smoldering filler slowly continues to burn throughout the length of the body. As more infrequent puffs are taken, the filler is kept lit while the binder and wrapper remain cool and unburned. Finally, when the smoker becomes bothered by the lack of smoke volume, the cigar gets tapped on the ashtray and the burned away filler falls revealing a tunnel throughout the core of the cigar.

Above: tunneling burns away the core of the cigar.
Below: Cross section of tunneling cigar when ash has been clipped away.

A common sign of this type of problem is a gradual lack of smoke while puffing. In addition to the lack of smoke, the ash will cease to progress down the cigar. To remedy a tunnel, the easiest thing to do is immediately touch up the foot and begin to smoke at a slightly faster rate. A purge is also recommended at this point as the partially burnt tobacco may begin to leave an unenjoyable flavor on your palate.

Just like a canoe that is too far gone, you can allow the cigar to cool and go out, then clip and re-light the foot to resume your smoke.

Coning
“Coning” is the opposite of tunneling and presents itself as a sharp spike or peak protruding from the foot of the cigar. This is a burn problem that is common among those that enjoy smoking at an accelerated pace. As the cigar is puffed frequently, the dense filler begins to heat up and is not allowed adequate time to properly cool. As this happens the binder and wrapper are burnt away by a sort of super heated bunch of filler. Because this mass of filler stays hot and burns slower than its surrounding tobacco, it remains on the foot and protrudes away from the binder and wrapper. Of course, tobacco that is course, dense, and full of resins (like ligero) will accentuate this problem since it does not burn as readily as other types of tobacco.

A common sign that coning may be occurring is a gradual harshness of the smoke. As the filler becomes overheated the tobacco surrounding it also becomes overly hot and has a tendency to produce hot and undesirable flavors.

Once it is determined that you are experiencing coning, it is recommended that the cigar be set down and allowed to cool for a few minutes. After the filler cools, smoking can resume, but be sure to resume at a much slower rate. This will allow the filler stay somewhat cool and catch up to the burn rate of the binder and wrapper.

Another way to help prevent coning is to allow the ash to remain on the foot of the cigar until it appears as though it is going to drop off. This will help to keep the foot cool by limiting airflow into the burning filler, which in turn slows down combustion.

Runners
Of all the serious burn problems, “runners” have the most potential to destroy a cigar in a matter of minutes. When a runner occurs there is a dramatic change in the burn line and generally appears to take off down one part of the cigar.

Below: a “Runner” creeps up the side of a cigar.

In many cases, when a runner occurs it is due to a heavy vein in the wrapper. When this heavy vein begins to burn, it acts much like a fuse and begins to burn down the length of the cigar, destroying the wrapper as it burns. The best way to picture it would be to imagine unzipping your coat. As the zipper comes undone and travels down your coat, it moves in a predictable line and as it passes it opens the portion of the coat above it. In the case of the cigar the predicable path would be a heavy vein. As it burns down the vein, the wrapper pulls itself apart leaving a large hole where the binder will begin to show.

Often times people will categorize an off center tunnel as a runner. In this case, a tunnel begins to form off center and close to the wrapper of the cigar. As the tunnel worsens and the heat is increased, a hole will appear in your cigar, often times within an inch of the burn line. At first glance this will appear as a small hole in the wrapper and will quickly progress into a much larger hole resulting in the same effect as a runner. You will be left with a large opening in the wrapper exposing the binder and filler.

If you find yourself victim to a runner caused by a tunnel, the best course of action would be to let the cigar cool, then clip and re-light the cigar as mentioned above. If your runner is caused by a vein the first thing to do is wet the tip of your finger and apply a small amount of saliva to the vein in question. This will help to slow the exaggerated burn and hopefully stop it in its tracks. If the added moisture does not help, look to see if the vein shows any signs of getting smaller or stopping, if this is the case continue smoking with hopes that the runner will stop before destroying too much of your cigar.

It is often very difficult to tell if and when a runner will occur in a cigar. In fact, as I have been writing this article I have been smoking cigars with very large veins just so that I may possibly catch a picture of a runner in progress. I was unable to attain a picture of runner, which simply goes to show that, just because a cigar has large veins, there is no guarantee that they will cause burn problems.

At this juncture in the article you should now feel very comfortable diagnosing and dealing with burn problems ranging from simple to serious. The most important thing to remember when handling burn problems, regardless of their complexity, is to take your time in diagnosing and be patient when attempting to correct the issue at hand.

Walt White is one of the cofounders of the Stogie Review, a premiere cigar review blog.

Walt can be found on any number of online cigar forums and is constantly pushing the limits of web technology. This is his first contribution to the Stogie Fresh Cigar Journal.

The Burning Question: Part One

Fri, 13 Apr 2007 00:25:41 -0700

By Walt White

[Doc notes: The following article is Part One in a three-part series. For a look at accompanying photos, go to the “Burn Issues: Slideshow.”]

Premium cigars are a work of art. A hand-rolled cigar goes through many processes and many people will be involved in producing the fine smoke that you and I will eventually enjoy. Of course, not every cigar will attain to the perfection that was intended by the team of people who produced it. The goal of this article is to try and help those who, like myself, want to know the reason for many common burn issues. Issues such as tunneling, canoeing, runners, and the many other burn problems we all face from time to time.

Imagine yourself leaving work after a very long and stressful day. As you make your way home to start thinking about a particular cigar you had your eye on over the last few days. This particular cigar may have been a gift by a dear friend, or even something you picked up on a whim. The closer you get to home the more your curiosity climbs until you finally decide that tonight you are going to light up that cigar and let your stress melt away.

Finally you walk through the door and there is complete silence. The kids are spending the night at a relative’s house and your significant other isn’t due home for a few more hours. You decide to take advantage of the quiet time and retrieve that special cigar.

Below: An excellent burn with a consistent ash and thin black burn line.

As you nestle back into your smoking spot you begin to toast the foot of your cigar. Slowly the foot turns dark and smoke begins to float off of the burning end. After a few gentle puffs, your cigar is glowing cherry red and your stress begins to disappear.

The situation described above is a rarity for me, but I look forward to every chance I get to enjoy a fine cigar in a quiet and peaceful environment. A good cigar allows me to relax enough to forget about the stresses of the day and to enjoy some quality “me time.”

While I am enjoying my quiet time with my cigar, I often get caught up in the way the cigar is burning. Lately I have been fascinated by the way my cigar burns and often wonder what makes my cigar burn even and under control sometimes, while at other times I experience a bad burning cigar.

As with any great hobby, I often find myself reading everything I can get my hands on, but when it comes to finding information on why my cigar is behaving the way it is, I am shocked at how difficult it is to find a specific reason for a specific burn problem.

What does a bad burn look like and how do I avoid it?

Proper Lighting Technique
A bad burn has many different characteristics, the most common being a minor variation in the burn line. This generic form of a bad burn is characterized by a variation in the burn line of more than three eighths (3/8) of an inch. This specific figure is used because an absolute perfect burn is an incredibly rare find in a hand rolled organic product such as a cigar. Often times a variation of under three eighths of an inch will correct itself and become more even over a short period of time.

A bad burn line is likely caused by rushing through the initial lighting stages. The most critical part of cigar smoking is touching your preferred flame to the bare foot of your cigar for the first time.

To avoid such an occurrence take care and caution while toasting the foot of your cigar. To obtain a proper toast, hold your cigar between your thumb and middle finger while keeping the palm of your hand at a forty five degree angle to the floor. With your opposite hand, ignite your lighter and slowly bring the flame closer to the foot of the cigar. As you slowly move the flame closer to the foot, watch for any discoloration or smoke coming from the foot of the cigar. Once the foot of the cigar begins to emit a small amount of smoke, stop moving the flame towards your cigar. Usually, the flame tip will be just touching the foot or a slight distance away from the foot.

Once the flame is at the correct distance from the foot, slowly begin rotating the cigar between your thumb and middle finger. This will help you to avoid overheating a single spot of the foot. (You may alternately choose to move the flame in a circular motion around the foot of the cigar.) As you rotate the cigar slowly, move the lighter with a minor wrist movement to evenly darken the foot of your cigar. You will know to extinguish your flame when the foot of the cigar is uniformly darkened and you have a thin glowing burn-ring around foot portion of the wrapper.

Below: Avoid burn issues by properly lighting your cigar.

Now that the cigar is properly toasted, place the head of the cigar in your mouth and repeat the toasting process as you take gentle puffs. Be sure to rotate the cigar in your mouth as you puff; this will help with an even light. When you feel that the cigar is evenly lit remove if from your mouth and gently blow on the foot to see if you do, in fact, have an even burn around the rim of the foot. If the cigar is not evenly lit place it back in your mouth and repeat the lighting process until you are satisfied with the burn. By taking the time to properly light your cigar you will greatly reduce the chances of encountering more severe burn issues.

Burn Problems
In some cases, even after great care is taken to properly light your cigar, you still develop burn problems. One example of this would be an erratic burn due to wind. In most cases this is caused by smoking outdoors in windy conditions. As you puff on your cigar, wind blows along one side which will cause increased combustion.

Another form of burn variation can be caused by uneven humidity throughout the cigar. Often times this happens when a naked cigar (one without cellophane) is placed directly against another surface that is moist or has increased humidity. As the wrapper comes into contact with this surface it acts much like sponge, pulling the extra moisture from the surface and wicking it into the inner tobaccos. When this cigar is lit, the more humid (or moist, in some cases) side of the cigar burns much slower than the dryer side. This causes a burn variation much like the ones caused by wind.

In some cases a burn problem can be the direct result of poor rolling. This type of problem is most common when cigars are rolled by apprentice rollers. These rollers may sometimes roll the tobacco too loose, or too tight which will cause not only draw problems but a variation in combustion. If this type of burn problem is suspected, pay close attention to the draw. If the draws seems to vary from tight to loose, or vice versa, the tobacco could be rolled poorly and result in uneven combustion.

These types of burn problem, can sometimes be corrected by touching up the burn. Touching up a cigar is much like the initial toasting, but you only want to light the slow burning side of the cigar. If you take your time, and avoid over puffing while touching up the burn, the slow burning side will begin to burn slightly faster. Over time this can greatly increase the chances of the slow burning side catching up with the fast side, thus correcting your burn problem. If you have a tight draw and/or a plugged cigar, you can often use cigar draw correction tools like Henry’s Cigar Tools to restore a good draw.

At this point you should feel confident in your ability to distinguish a good burn from a problematic one. In addition, you should feel comfortable in your ability to properly light a cigar and correct some of the more common burn problems.

Walt White is one of the co-founders of the Stogie Review, a premiere cigar review blog.

Walt can be found on any number of online cigar forums and is constantly pushing the limits of web technology. This is his first contribution to the Stogie Fresh Cigar Journal.

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