I am embarrassed to ask this question; however, I figure I am just beginning to learn the world of cigars so here goes. I smoked a Padron 3000 the other day that was great (in my opinion). The B&M had labelled the cigar as mild/med but I think it was more on the med side. Great taste and a light "puff" every now and then would provide generous smoke. Now for my question. I just finished smoking a Gurkha Symphony that I just wanted to be over by the end. The taste was fine, but the draw was killing me. I would literally have to try to suck the cigar down my throat every 20-30 seconds to keep it going with little smoke at all. I honestly feel like my tongue/mouth are sore from drawing so hard.

The cigar's feel seemed fine to me except that it was a little hard right near the head. I assume that is the issue. In my rookie opinion, it was not to dry or wet. Is this what they mean about being overly "tight" or is something else going on? How do you alleviate this in the future? Thanks and sorry for the probably obvious pitiful question.
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That's actually the standard reaction to smoking any Gurkha product, don't worry :-)
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1. Don't guy Gurkha (that's for you Tom :-), and the rest of the board)
2. In my experiences chopping the cap end about 1-1.5 inches off will fix the problem, or at least make it tolerable.
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Sounds like it was plugged. You get those every once in a while since it's a handmade product they all won't be perfect. Padron comes very close. :-)

When I get a plugged cigar, I pitch it and grab another.

Always test the draw before lighting. If it's too tight, put it back in the humidor and get another cigar. Time can open it up.
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Are you using a cutter or a punch? Sometimes I find just cutting a little more helps. Even just rolling the cut end between your fingers can loosen a tight draw.
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You had a plugged cigar. Unfortunately this is something you run into when smoking cigars. There is a product made called a draw poker which looks like a long needle almost. You would push it through the cut part of the cigar to try and open up the cigar. For example i had a J Fuego Origin Toro that was the same way. Most of the cigar felt fine but towards the cut part of the cigar it felt really tightly packed. I used the tool to push through it and the cigar ended up smoking fine. Sometimes the plugged part of the cigar can be further down in the cigar. When i first started smoking cigars and would run into a plugged cigar i would smoke through it. Now i've been smoking so long that i am at the point that when i run into this and can't get the draw open enough, i just throw it away. As much as it pains me, its not worth it because the whole point of smoking a cigar is to relax and enjoy yourself. You can do that if you have the experience you did. Sometimes you can also get a cigar's draw to open up a little bit by "massaging it". By that i mean rolling it in your fingers and slightly pressing in on it. Doesn't always work but sometimes it helps. I will add though that there are plenty of cigars that when you feel them, they feel extremely solid and they end up having a perfect draw. If you liked the taste of the cigar, i would reccomend picking up another one at some point and trying it again. I always smoke three of a cigar to trully form an opinion of it.
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One of the lessons learned here.

Padron=:-)
Gurkha=:-)
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Welcome to Cigar Asylum.
You should head on over to the New Inmate forum and introduce yourself. We're a friendly bunch.
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Somebody help me out...which BOTL on here sells the draw tool? I have one at home and LOVE it...

David, you can buy a tool that will help open up the draw on plugged sticks to prevent wasting it.
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Slickster81 sells a very nice one:

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I do as well... Working on a batch now to have some on hand,,,


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Third Chapter of Greg, Verse 1 and 2. Truer words have never been spoken.
You'd be surprised at how many people cut a cigar, put it in their mouth and light it
and only find out air won't go through it after they have thoroughly charred the end.
A poor drawing cigar simply needs to go into a dry box, out on a countertop for a week or so or
left alone to age for a few years. 8 times in 10, the cigar becomes smokeable.
But once you char the tip, might as well throw it away or use a poker on it immediately.
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For my money having a poker is a necessity.

It's either that or chucking the cigar, and personally I have no desire to chuck $15 bucks or more in to the yard because the durn thing wont smoke.
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I haven't had much luck with draw tools, but if it's plugged I will dry box for a couple of days to see if the draw improves. If that doesn't work I chuck it. :-)
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check out Plugged Cigar Tool on E Bay. Works every time.
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Never owned a cigar tool that worked "every time". :-)
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Maybe he meant "every time, so far" :-)
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Welcome to Cigar Asylum.
Generally speaking, folks here prefer to buy from contributing members.
:-)
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I like some Gurkhas, but they do have some consistency issues when it comes to draw. They can be found for relatively cheap online and I figure you get what you pay for. I too like the flavors of many of them, but find draw issues from time to time. Their wrappers are also extremely fragile and I've had several come apart by the final 3rd. Not bad for knock around smokes though.
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Check out Plugged Cigar Tool on E Bay, It's the plugged cigar tool that works most of the time.
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