Using Cigars As Pipe Tobacco

[jvnshr]

Been a cigar smoker for over 15 years and I've never heard that. Do you have a source for the claim that wrapper contributes "most of the flavor?"

Been a cigar smoker for over a decade and I hear that all the time. It is like "store cigars with or without cello" issue or "smoke a pipe with or without a filter" question, everyone has their own opinions. Regarding the source; according to Ernesto Perez-Carrillo the contribution of a wrapper to the cigar's whole taste profile is 60-70%. Here is the video (the link is timestamped, you will directly go to the part I am talking about):

Just to make it clear, E. P. Carrillo is a cigar maker and his Encore Majestic was chosen as #1 cigar of the year by Cigar Aficionado. There is another cigar roller that I follow on Youtube. He has been dealing with whole leaf tobacco for many years and experimenting with it all the time, I just admire his work. Once someone asked him that question and his answer was "probably 100%". On the other hand, if you ask a Cuban cigar maker he will tell you that the wrapper is just for the sake of beauty, it has nothing to do with the flavor.

So I guess the best answer is "it really depends". What I like doing (just out of curiosity) is by using a double guillotine cutter, I remove an inch or so of the wrapper before smoking the cigar. It is like stripping cable with wire strippers. Then I light up the cigar and smoke an inch of it without the wrapper, when the ember reaches the wrapper I feel the difference if there is any. I remember smoking Ave Maria Knights Templar with and without the wrappers, the taste difference was 15-20%. I had some cigars which tasted like nothing without the wrapper, some that smoked great without its wrapper.

Another issue is the wrapper to filler/binder ratio. Some would claim that because smaller vitolas have more wrapper than filler compared to bigger vitolas, they are more flavorful; simply put, a panatela of Oliva Serie G will smoke better than its gordo. Food for thought.

 

[karam]

One of these days I will chop up a Toscano and smoke it in a pipe, will come back to report.

 

[virginialover]

One of these days I will chop up a Toscano and smoke it in a pipe, will come back to report.

That's what you get with Cimette di Mastro Tornabuoni without sacrificing a Toscano.

 

[rajangan]

One of these days I will chop up a Toscano and smoke it in a pipe, will come back to report.

If you live.

 

[badbriar]

The suggestion here to try adding a bit of cut cigar tobacco to nice Virginia worked well. I found a damaged CC PLPC, vintage 2013 and trimmed out a few coins. Added 50/50 to Cringle Flake and relaxed with a nice dark stout. As described here, the smoke added body, strength and a creamy smoothness. The resulting smoke was not entirely cigar nor VaPer pipe tobacco. Actually, very pleasant and I will definitely experiment with adding cigar to pipe blends in the future.
I decided on the Cuban, as they are excellent little cigars and to me, they are relatively mild. Turns out that I should have used maybe a bit less cigar tobacco, as the Virginias and Perique were in the background. Not that the cigar took over completely. I really could not find anything in the forefront that I could put my finger on. Everything melded together quite well. Next time, I'll go with a stronger maduro cigar at a lower percentage. Overall, a good find.

 

[karam]

If you live.

Haha why? I've smoked hundreds of Toscanos (or Toscani if we want to be proper), and smoke Motzek Tom's Dark Twist (1:1 Kentucky/Perique rope) regularly with no ill effects

That's what you get with Cimette di Mastro Tornabuoni without sacrificing a Toscano.

Yeah, I know of this but haven't looked to buy it, they are essentially Toscano cigar scraps, so I figured I can simply cut up a cigar.

 

[The Clay King]

most of the time I've heard of people doing this is with damaged cigars or people who don't want to smoke a whole stick.

Yes I tried it with a complete but damaged Cuban cigar I found outside a pub.
Proper little Womble!
When I bought my first clay pipe all I could get to smoke in it was a half smoked cigar someone outside another pub had just finished.

 

[jvnshr]

Toscanos are my go-to cigars, I also love them. The question is are they cigars? They have no binders, their wrappers and fillers are the same type of tobacco, they are not required to be kept in humidors. Although I have never cut and put one into my pipe, I suspect the change in taste is not going to be that huge. It is totally different experience though. The same amount of tobacco that burns in a cigar in 10 minutes will be burning in a pipe in 30 minutes.

I smoked Peter Stokkebye Dark Fired (314) and Perique (311) straight with no ill effects. Dark Fired is really nice but becomes a little bit boring after 30 minutes, Perique on the other hand is totally a different animal.

 

[rajangan]

Haha why? I've smoked hundreds of Toscanos (or Toscani if we want to be proper), and smoke Motzek Tom's Dark Twist (1:1 Kentucky/Perique rope) regularly with no ill effects

Yeah, I know of this but haven't looked to buy it, they are essentially Toscano cigar scraps, so I figured I can simply cut up a cigar.

Well, of course you'll live, but the same tobacco smoked in a pipe is much stronger than smoked in a stick. Personal experience, mostly, but also one theory that would explain it is that dry distillation happens in a pipe, making the nicotine more available.

On the Burning Temperatures of Tobacco

The temperatures produced when tobacco was burned in pipe, cigarette, and cigar smoking have been measured by a calibrated thermocouple. Temperature of the combustion zone in a pipe was about 500° C. (variability, 380°–620° C.). The maximal temperature was thus relatively low, but the heat...

cancerres.aacrjournals.org

 

[JOHN72]

I'm not convinced by that method.I prefer to smoke a cigarette directly................?

 

[anotherbob]

Yes I tried it with a complete but damaged Cuban cigar I found outside a pub.
Proper little Womble!
When I bought my first clay pipe all I could get to smoke in it was a half smoked cigar someone outside another pub had just finished.

I feel like you're pulling my leg. I would not feel that way if it wasn't for the "all I could get to smoke.."

 

[anotherbob]

Well, of course you'll live, but the same tobacco smoked in a pipe is much stronger than smoked in a stick. Personal experience, mostly, but also one theory that would explain it is that dry distillation happens in a pipe, making the nicotine more available.

On the Burning Temperatures of Tobacco

The temperatures produced when tobacco was burned in pipe, cigarette, and cigar smoking have been measured by a calibrated thermocouple. Temperature of the combustion zone in a pipe was about 500° C. (variability, 380°–620° C.). The maximal temperature was thus relatively low, but the heat...

cancerres.aacrjournals.org

makes sense.

 

[The Clay King]

I feel like you're pulling my leg. I would not feel that way if it wasn't for the "all I could get to smoke.."

It's true!

 

[The Clay King]

I've found out that tobacco sold for roll-your-own cigarettes is unsuited to smoking in a clay pipe!