First and foremost, do not, I repeat, DO NOT just grab a smoke
from the humidor or case and start prodding it. Removing
high end smoke from the wrapper and/or humidor is frowned upon my
many smoke shop owners. Only do so if you are allowed to do
so. Don't go telling them that Al at the
www.ne-smokeout.com site
said it was "ok".... Taint gonna fly!
Most cigars are shipped "wet" to prevent drying and need
to be stabilized in a proper environment prior to smoking, so look
for boxes that have been open at least a week. If you buy them too
early, they may burn unevenly. If you absolutely can't wait to
make the purchase, you can place your cigar in your own humidor
for a week or so.
Squeeze
gently up and down the length of the body, checking for lumps or
soft spots. A well-made cigar shouldn't have any. The cigar should
have some give, but not be too soft. Rolling it between your
fingers can damage the wrapper; just squeeze gently. You
don't want to pay for a bad cigar. Furthermore, you don't
want anger the smoke shop owner either!
The
wrapper should be smooth and tight and the ends should be
undamaged. Check the size of the veins - smaller veins usually
smoke smoother. Check the tobacco in the exposed end. Most cigars
are made from a blend of tobaccos, so some color variation is
normal, but extreme or abrupt color changes could indicate an
inferior leaf, or that the leaves weren't laid together properly
in the bunching process.
Follow
the guidelines above and you're sure to end up with a winner. So,
head on over to your favorite smoke shop and light one up!
|
