Delayed Gratification vs Delayed Disappointment: Pipes vs Cigars

[Country Bladesmith]

I don't relight cigars unless they are out for only a few moments. I don't notice any foul smells if I let the cigar go out on its own. I never butt it out.
A pipe is different. I may let it sit for days and then finish the smoke.

Yeah, I also always let them go out quietly when done with them.

 

[kurtbob]

I’m with @chasingembers. As a former cig/cigar smoker, I will tell you if it goes out and you wait more than 5 min to relight and finish it tastes like ass! If you knock the cherry off then blow back through, you can relight with zero issues even hours later. Just my opinion

 

[Country Bladesmith]

I’m with @chasingembers. As a former cig/cigar smoker, I will tell you if it goes out and you wait more than 5 min to relight and finish it tastes like ass! If you knock the cherry off then blow back through, you can relight with zero issues even hours later. Just my opinion

I don’t think I’ve ever tried blowing back through it like that. ?

 

[seanv]

I always blow through gently after the initial light. If it goes out I will blow through before lighting but after cutting off the previously lit end

 

[troutface]

At a minimum I think you should gently scrape off as much ash as possible before relighting a cigar. I also believe that the ammonia content is highest in a fresh cigar and that it gradually dissipates as you age it. Maybe an expert could chime in here.

 

[unadoptedlamp]

I guess I'm one of the rare ones that doesn't like a re-lit pipe if it has been sitting for more than a half hour or so. To my tastes, it is more harsh or has some kind of 'tang' that I didn't want.

Cigars are the same. I agree that it is more pronounced in a cigar.

But... I rarely let a cigar go out once it is lit. If I spend $30 for an hour long smoke, I'm going to give it my full attention until it is gone.

 

[rajangan]

At a minimum I think you should gently scrape off as much ash as possible before relighting a cigar. I also believe that the ammonia content is highest in a fresh cigar and that it gradually dissipates as you age it. Maybe an expert could chime in here.

I'm not an expert, but your theory makes sense to me, with a qualification. Ammonia is only present in cigars to a very small degree. Most of the ammonia we experience while smoking is produced when the proteins in the cigar are burned.

As tobacco ages it does produce ammonia while proteins are broken down, but that ammonia dissipates into the air. Therefore, it would be technically more correct to say that an aged cigar will produce less ammonia because the natural aging process has resulted in fewer proteins.

 

[Country Bladesmith]

Ok, so I started thinking (usually dangerous when I do that), and the ammonia explanation made sense to me, until I started thinking about cigar leaf blends. I’ve let plenty of those go out before, and relit them. No issues. Not enough cigar leaf to matter? Different kind of cigar leaf with less ammonia (or ammonia production potential)?

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

Ok, so I started thinking (usually dangerous when I do that), and the ammonia explanation made sense to me, until I started thinking about cigar leaf blends. I’ve let plenty of those go out before, and relit them. No issues. Not enough cigar leaf to matter? Different kind of cigar leaf with less ammonia (or ammonia production potential)?

yep, I was thinking about this as I read this thread.

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

Maybe milder cigars relight better.. the cigars I smoke are pretty weak, they relight ok enough for me. Maybe the cigar leaf blends are milder, which means they relight better.

 

[rajangan]

Ok, so I started thinking (usually dangerous when I do that), and the ammonia explanation made sense to me, until I started thinking about cigar leaf blends. I’ve let plenty of those go out before, and relit them. No issues. Not enough cigar leaf to matter? Different kind of cigar leaf with less ammonia (or ammonia production potential)?

It's a lower amount of cigar leaf. It would have been blended to ensure a neutral pH so it isn't overpowering which would most likely entail the addition of flue cured leaf, but could also include addition of citric acid and/or sugar.

I've smoked trimmings from cigar rolling in a pipe and it makes your head swim.

The body, especially the lungs and kidneys, is constantly trying to remove acid in order to maintain proper blood pH. That's why we breathe out CO2. We absorb alkaline more easily through lung tissue and mucous membranes, etc. So, even if nicotine level is the same, an alkaline smoke will result in quicker nicotine absorption. That's why snus is made alkaline with carbonate.

Smoking tobacco is blended with this in mind; Virginia which burns acidic and burley which burns alkaline. Too much burley and its too strong. Too much Virginia and it burns the tongue (with formic acid vapour). Cigar blends are essentially the same, except in this case, the alkaline tobacco is not burley, but cigar filler.

 

[rajangan]

Aside from tasting awesome, this is also the point of VaPer blends, as perique is a burley.

 

[kurtbob]

In my humble opinion, it’s the long tube of tightly rolled/compacted tobacco that has had the burned Tobacco and had the smoke pulled in and sits stagnant in the cigar or cig Vs a bowl of tobacco in a pipe. I think in a pipe at lest most of it can escape out the bowl or stem

 

[rajangan]

In my humble opinion, it’s the long tube of tightly rolled/compacted tobacco that has had the burned Tobacco and had the smoke pulled in and sits stagnant in the cigar or cig Vs a bowl of tobacco in a pipe. I think in a pipe at lest most of it can escape out the bowl or stem

That's true. The average cigar is over three times the amount of tobacco as the average pipe. But there's also this mystery—you should try just packing shredded cigar in your pipe. It's surprisingly different, and stronger than if in a cigar shape.