Saturday, December 31, 2016

La Flor Dominicana Andalusian Bull - Cigar Review

B"H
THE CIGAR
La Flor Dominicana
Andalusian Bull
6 1/2 x 64 Salomon
w. Ecuadorian Corojo
b./f. Dominican
m. Tabacalera L Flor S.A., Dominican Republic
K A P L O W I T Z SCALE
appearance.
k a p l o w I t z
It speaketh a tick pretentiously and crudely at once, but hey -- long as ya got the goods, speaketh away. Double banded with the primary buckle over-lapping the secondary. This takes up 'bout half the shaft. Visible top-leaf is top-leaf-colored and somewhat darkly so, with a goldenrod under-belly and reddish tick to the top. Over-top a' the top is a bit of espresso bean marbling. Some closely grouped fine tooth. An oily sheen which glows upon smoking. Nifty format to the eye, the Salomon.

construction.
k a p l o w I t z
Seams are tight and even at pre-light and veins are preset -- 'cause it's a leaf, gentlepersons. All are thin, flat, and lined up vertically so don't speak to any burn impediment. Cap is neatly affixed and is thick to the snip. Weighty. Heavy. Lotsa baccy on a firm packing. Softens a quarter of a tick upon lighting, and about a half-inch down from char. Draw is a nice medium+ which loosens to medium as it is a Solomon. I don't mind the on-set, as I like a tick of resistance -- which is why I married a redhead. A bissel loosening of seam as the 3/3 tapers down.

combustion.
k a p l o W i t z
Takes two matches to catch the thick foot ablaze. Burns all the way down on an even line. 'Nuff. Ash is the smart piggy whom built with brick. Light to heather-grey tight and even ladder-rung formation of said burnt offerings. Verily scant flaking. Cherry grows in a slightly conical manner on occasion. Ash lilts toward a yellowish hue at times. An every-third glimpse into my Dollar Store mirror as I draw shows consistently even burning 'twixt filler/binder/wrapper.

flavors.
k a p l o w I t z
Saffron. Mustard seed? (Sure for a puff or two.) Mocha. Caramel. Molasses. Cedar. Wild flowers (I can hear them screaming). Creamy hay. Beautiful peek at a natural sweetly soft tobacco. Then leather, then its oils. Nuts -- pecan chestnut walnut. Hot dang, gentlepersons! All this is in the first 3/4". White pepper. Soft woods. Sweetly spiced and nigh remarkably kind retro-hale. Sugar. More cream. There's yer inch. I don't think I'll edit this. It reads excitably. Short sentences. They have that effect. Black cherry soareth in its own juices. The slight pepper slightens and a sweetness mounts at the close of the opening act.

Leather and nuts bound ahead in the 2/3, but not ahead of the over-all foreground of sweet exotic spice... which has mottled just a tick. Lettuce say blended. Herbs, none distinct. I'm just mad about Saffron -- but mainly on the finish. Cumin is a-comin' on the draw at mid-point.  Mo' mocha. Leather gets furtherly sweetened. 

Suddenly at the top a' 3/3, coffee floods the profile. Cream and sugar. Caramel and nougat surge alongside it, and one-another. Black cherry and leather are dialed back, but still play important roles. Nuttiness sharpens kindly with the addition of a finely ground black pepper.

Barely bold. Refined, but roughly. Well trained Andaluasian Bull in China Shoppe. 1/3 starling complex and amazingly delineated nuances. Second half of 2/3 is a lull. Then we're kicked back into gear on another, this time splendid, transition. So yeah, neat-O transitions, gentlepersons -- always sweetly. Balance? Kinda off-kilter, but it works.

body.
k a p l o W i t z
Chewy. Light but thick. Well-rounded. Lip smackingly robust. Clean. I get somewhat the effect sea salt has atop a chocolate chip cookie. Smooth. Dense not dark. No tingle on tongue nor cheek. Excellent moisture level in smoke-hole. 

strength.
k a p l O w i t z
Till the final third, the needle on the strength-o-meter barely moves. 3/3 brings a bit a' swoon. No schvitzing, no hair vibrating on head, no zetz to chest nor challah-basket. Classic "I'm smoking a cigar" bodily sensations. The slight strength at on-set helps me focus instead on flavor notes; what's not to like? The strength up-tick in the final act is no distraction, as each cast member hath already received their introduction. 

aroma.
k a p l o w I t z
Pre-light is a natural light yet deep yeasty hay tobacco with a saffron lilt and what I'd call "exotic" spices. Cedar and nougat come up on more schnozzing of foot. Once lit, a gentleman's study room-note of wood paneling and leather chairs. A slight white pepper note dusts the stately and heavy desk. A sunny natural tobacco note comes brightly through 'twixt the drapes.
FINAL GRADE
****A****
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L'shalom

Friday, December 30, 2016

18 Sabbaths - Jas Sum Kral Red Knight - 5th Sabbath

B"H
THE CIGAR
Jas Sum Kral Red Knight
5 x 50 Robusto
Closed-foot, Pig-tailed
w. Ecuadorian Habano
b. Mexican San Andres & Jalapa Seco
f. Undisclosed

Check out my initial write-up and talkie re: this JSK offering HERE.
This is Serie II of my 18 Sabbaths project. Please read all about it HERE
K A P L O W I  T Z SCALE
construction.
k a p l o W i t z
Seams are tight but not overly and even, verily. A fine tooth over a reddish complexion. Espresso bean marbling over-top, scantly. Excellent medium-oily sheen. Pack density starts at medium+ and ends at medium, softening through smoking. This slight softening doesn't affect either seams nor draw -- a smooth medium tension'd thing from gate-to-wire.

combustion.
k a p L o w i t z
I didn't play mohel and circumcise the foot this time. Match lit, no toasting, like a damn cigarette or something. Burn-line therefore starts a tick mishuga, but corrects well before 2/3 of a slight re-touch 'bout an inch in. Pace seams a tick hot and quick, tho not egregiously. Slows. At the mid-point, there is a slight+ flirtation with tunnelling and a bit of canoe, easily is off-set by a retouch/resting. Operates on a slight curve thereafter, no re-touching mandated. Goodly amounts of smoke out-put from each end.

flavors.
k a p l o W i t z
I'm surprised by a heightened cold draw Hershey Kiss not seen on other Sabbaths. Red then black pepper up-front with a sweet spice shot-gun. Riding alongside this is a Cordial Cherry note. Notes seem a tick more mellow. Syrupy Cuban coffee. Barnyard compost under-belly with a molasses sweetness. Some sarsaparilla liltings. Notes which flit about are a sweetened almond paste, some hickory, and an eventual dried cedar. Vanilla. Some darker citrus, particularly on the -long legged sweetbitter finish. Tobacco presents with a quite lovely aromatic pipe tendency, which is much of the plentiful room-note. Avoids previous Sabbath flirtation of smoky infiltrations. Some beef jerky lip-smackin' umami is underneath a much more subtle smoky attachment. Retro-hale is a lot softer and adds more to creamy sweetness than spicy zetz... a loaf of black bread is there.

Lots of copying & pasting of previous notes show an soitenly, admirable consistency in the blend. Giving me an easy morning's work. Below are my 12/16 flavor notes:

"Red then black pepper up-front with a sweet spice shot-gun with cinnamon lead. Middlings are a forward JSK-familiar candied cherry and toasted cream atop syrupy espresso. Barnyard compost under-belly with a molasses sweetness. Some sarsaparilla liltings. Notes which flit about are a sweetened almond paste, some hickory and mesquite woods, and an eventual cedar. Vanilla. Tropical floral bits. Some darker citrus, particularly on the -long legged sweetbitter finish. Tobacco presents with a quite lovely aromatic pipe tendency, which is much of the plentiful room-note. After the mid-point, flavors pull back to allow a smoky note the wheel and the steer. This becomes a slightly sharp charring in the third act. Some beef jerky lip-smackin' umami is underneath the smokiness."

body.
k a p l o W i t z
A bissell softer, more round. Voluptuous? Zaftik. Cream is more-so and toasts less-so. A slight sweet cinnamon tingle sets on the tongue and cheeks. Robust and long finish (sweetbitter with a high-lighted espresso and higher cordial cherry) ends quite cleanly in a refreshing citrus manner. Oily in mouth and (kindly) throat in the 3/3. All told: less sinewy, more meaty.

strength.
k a p l o W i t z
My eyes swim in my head a full tick less. Chest and challah-basket are a Bourbon sipping. Some schvitzing under the 'stache.
EDITOR'S NOTE
While posted on the Sabbath, this is an automatically generated thing, gentlepersons. These are not written during the Sabbath, but typically on a Friday noon-ish. Shabbot shalom and Gut Shabbos -- and to the goyim: hey, have a heckuva Saturday!
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L'shalom

December 2016 Pound for Pound Boxing Rankings

B"H
Below are my boxing P4P rankings. 
Hey, thanks for reading, gentlepersons. 

This is just the second month of my posting this sorta thing (and if you like this sorta post, welcome to kaplowitz.xyz Yer home on the www for this sorta thing), so there is some quite noticeable bit of difference from last month's. Also worthy of mention is that due to scheduling around the Sabbath, I am not yet factoring in tonight, Fri. evening 12/30 or tomorrow Sat. 12/31. If edits are necessitated I will do-so on Sun. 1/1 and notate as such.
1. Roman Gonzalez 46-0-0 (38)
WBC Junior Bantamweight Champion

2. Gennady Golovkin 36-0-0 (33)
IBF, WBA, WBC Middleweight Champion

3. Terence Crawford 30-0-0 (21)
WBC, WBO Jr Welterweight Champion

4. Carl Frampton 23-0-0 (14)
WBA Featherweight Champion

5. Andre Ward 31-0-0 (15)
WBO, IBF, WBA Light Heavyweight Champion

6. Saul "Canelo" Alvarez 48-1-1 (34)
WBO Jr. Middleweight Champion

7. Danny Garcia 33-0-0 (19)
WBC Welterweight Champion

8. Keith Thurman 27-0-1 (22)
WBA Welterweight Champion

9. Sergey Kovalev 30-1-1 (26)
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L'shalom

Thursday, December 29, 2016

Cigar Aficionado on Cigar Aficionado

B"H
The below quotes are lifted from the Cigar Aficionado on-line forum.

David Savona
Executive Editor
Cigar Aficionado
Member
posted September 18, 2006 12:33 PM
"We've gone through the rating system a few times in the past in these forums, and at Big Smokes, but I'm happy to do it again. A tasting coordinator buys the cigars, creates a code, and replaces their bands with numbered bands. Only he knows the code, and he is not a judge. He passes out the cigars to the tasting panel. They rate the cigar in this way:

Appearance/Construction: up to 15 points
Smoking Characteristics: up to 25 points
Flavor: up to 25 points
Overall impression: up to 35 points

As you can see, appearance is judged, but not as heavily as taste. So a good looking, mediocre tasting cigar will score worse than a mediocre looking, good tasting cigar."
David Savona
Executive Editor
Cigar Aficionado
Member
posted December 06, 2006 10:15 AM
"Sorry, I forgot about this one. Lots of questions, so here we go:

In the past, there were four people on the tasting panel. We’ve recently expanded it to five people.

Yes, the panelists are the same for each tatsing [sic]. Each is a Cigar Aficionado editor, and each has many, many years of experience smoking cigars. When we added the new taster, as I described in the first answer, he smoked for the test cigars for more than six months, and then his scores were not used in the first few tests in which he actually participated. We wanted to make sure the scores were appropriate, and the tasting notes accurate. We take our ratings very seriously.

No, we don’t smoke the cigars in a group format.

Typically each taster smokes smoke one cigar for a rating, but often the cigars are retested, especially if a cigar is plugged. If the scores are widely apart, or if the scores are unusually low for something that typically scores high, or unusually high for something that typically scores low, or anything else that might look odd, we retaste the cigars. If a cigar is plugged for more than one taster, we will often note inconsistency in construction.

We give each cigar a chance to warm up and get going before we start assessing the taste and rating the cigar. How much we smoke depends upon a number of things. For example, if the cigar is truly bad, I won’t smoke much of it at all. If it’s very good, I’ll smoke about a third. If it’s good then starts to change in a good way, I’ll smoke half or so. And if it’s a great cigar I usually can’t put it down and I lose an afternoon enjoying my job.

The resulting rating is an average, but not necessarily of all the scores. If one person’s score is vastly different than the others, it might be thrown out, or that person might be asked to smoke the cigar again. For the most part it’s an average. There are always at least two scores for every cigar, and three or four scores for cigars that rate unusually low or get very high ratings.

The tasting coordinator assembles all of the scores in a grid, and matches them to the cigar names, as the tasters do not know what they are smoking. The tasting coordinator might at this time hand out re-smokes based upon inconsistencies. The scores are analyzed by a senior level editor, who then calls for re-smokes based upon what he has seen.

We have done the “men at the square table” thing a few times, for more informal tastings, and once for our Top 25 ratings. It’s fun, and we do joke around, but smoking cigars takes a long time, so when we do it as a group nothing else tends to get done. The smoking for blind ratings takes place in our individual offices."
Again, gentlepersons:
"We give each cigar a chance to warm up and get going before we start assessing the taste and rating the cigar. How much we smoke depends upon a number of things. For example, if the cigar is truly bad, I won’t smoke much of it at all. If it’s very good, I’ll smoke about a third. If it’s good then starts to change in a good way, I’ll smoke half or so. And if it’s a great cigar I usually can’t put it down and I lose an afternoon enjoying my job."

Again...
"For example, if the cigar is truly bad, I won’t smoke much of it at all. If it’s very good, I’ll smoke about a third. If it’s good then starts to change in a good way, I’ll smoke half or so. And if it’s a great cigar I usually can’t put it down and I lose an afternoon enjoying my job."

... gentlepersons?
"If it’s very good, I’ll smoke about a third. If it’s good then starts to change in a good way, I’ll smoke half or so."
*
*      *
"Overall impression: up to 35 points"
"I can't get an overall impression of my block if I don't walk to the corner." Me, cleverly. 

Link to source: http://forums.cigaraficionado.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/3696075/m/533104783
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EDITOR'S NOTE
I am aware Mr. Zino Davidoff famously writ to smoke each offering no more than half-a-way down. Sir was selling cigars -- why not twice as much, I always thought.

L'shalom

Drew Estate Kentucky Fire Cured MUWAT - Cigar Review

B"H
THE CIGAR
Drew Estate
Kentucky Fire Cured MUWAT
5 x 56 Fat Molly Robusto
w./b./f. ? 
m. La Gran Fabrica Drew Estate, Nicaragua
ACT I
There is a pungent cold-nosing of vulcanized rubber-sole leather boots being set afire over seasoned woods. Said fire is then doused by liquid smoke flavoring, which caramelizes in the heat. Interesing! Cold draw is all that and a hard molasses-laced pipe tobacco. Lights eagerly so, and outta the gate there is te typical plume of Drew Estate smoke, read: a lot. First few hot pulls are calmer takes than expected of the cold notes. Smoky, verily. Nay, VERILY. Out-put as well as flavor.

Both pre-light and through lighting, seams are very tight and even. There are veins, and one in the 2/3 is a bit crimped. Rustic dark wood uneven complexion gets a bit less dry once smoked. Lotsa tooth in shaft and burnt offerings. That ash is a medium grey marbling building in ladder-rungs with a slight aeration. Hard-packed pre-light, this MUWAT is a tick softer at the mid 1/3. The burn-line ribbons some in a self-correcting manner. Pace seams somewhat quick-ish.

Off a even medium draw tension, I get -- the notes I've already described. Maybe some espresso beans, too. Nicely smooth textured smoke, which surprises me some. Body is medium-full with a sweeter than ya'd thunk bittersweet finish of -long legs. Baking chocolate, maybe. Woods woods woods. Leather.  Liquid smoke. I detect no further vulcanized rubber on drw, but it's in the room-note. Finish ends less than clean, but that's apparently the plan, Stan... I mean gentlepersons.

ACT II
I taste smoke.

Some smoky leather. Some smoky wood. Some smoky baccy. Hints of smoky cocoa and espresso bean. Smoky black earth is laying the under-belly, smokily. "Smoke, smoke, smoke. I love smoke." Now that I've paraphrased the fictional character of Ron Burgundy, lettuce quote real peoples so that I don't get lost in the fake news crowd:

From the 4/4/13 press release announcing this project at www.DrewEstate.com
“First off, Kentucky Fire Cured is from a stalk-cut tobacco. The initial firing of KFC is done at low heat between 100 F to 115 F degrees and maintained until the color reaches solid brown. Once color is set temperatures increase to 120F- 130F to completely cure down the midrib of the leaf and darken. Once the midrib is dried the temperature will be reduced and the smoke maximized with saw dust to finish the leaf. When KFC hits your olfactory nerve you know it!" Mr. Nicholas Melillo.

Fromst the aforementioned press release:
“Kentucky Fire Cured is not something new to the world of tobacco, as it has been grown for over 200 years. Easily compared to the smokey taste attributed to a peaty scotch, the KFC picks up nuances of the roasted hickory, oak or maple wood that makes you say ‘Damn, that’s tasty,’” Mr. Jonathan Drew.

Okay, I'll give ya hickory and something like maple wood -- but more like its syrup -- and still more like molasses. Whatever I'm tasting, I'm fairly certain I'll be tasting it till 2017. Room-note is scorched composted earth and shade trees. Some black smoky black pepper is on the draw and finish now, tingles at the tip a' the tongue. All nods toward and note to construction/combustion doth hold.

ACT III
Lil bit throaty here. Have I mentioned strength? Even for a lightweight like me, even pre-lunch and well post breakfast -- not a lotta it. Say a -medium. Just 'nuff to know yer smoking a cigar and not standing over a nearly contained campfire. Which really is just a small wildfire. I guess. During my Northwest Indiana days, I'd rake leaves and sticks into an autumn pile and drop a match. I'm guessing the flannel shirt I'm wearing now will smell akin to the flannel shirts I wore then, after smoking this. Maybe with a tick more tire fire. Top-leaf burns slower now as the band loometh nigh.

If the same smoky addition to every note can be seen as nuance, soitenly this is nuanced. Complex? No. If the same smoky addition to every note can be seen as balance, soitenly this is balanced. Truth be told, I don't get a lot of "cigar" from this medium-full Drew Estate cigar. At the band, shaft gets too hot to hold.

FINAL GRADE
****B****
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L'shalom

Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Cigars City Podcast Special w/ Felix Assouline

B"H
Gentlepersons, please press play below to listen:


Thanks, as always, for the kindly loaning of yer kind attentions.
& make sure to check out www.felixassouline.com
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Catch the #JSKvirus today. Boutique as pardon my French.

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L'shalom

PROGRAMMING NOTE: Year End Horse Racing and Boxing Reviews

B"H
Gentlepersons,

Here's some more scheduling news in what's a very hectic time of year:
The next two installments of Kaplowitz Reads Kaplowitz (1/3 &1/10) will be preempted to bring you a 2016 Horse Racing Year in Review & 2016 Boxing Year in Review, respectively. That is --

January 3rd: 2016 Horse Racing Year in Review to post herein www.kaplowitz.xyz at 6pm PST

January 10th: 2016 Boxing Year in Review to post herein www.kaplowitz.xyz at 6pm PST

I am looking forward to bringing you each of these program specials and thank you in advance for the kindly loaning of yer kind attentions.
L'shalom

Tuesday, December 27, 2016

Kaplowitz Reads Kaplowitz 12/27/16

B"H
Give a listen, gentlepersons? Please press play below:

As always, the kindly loaning of yer kind attentions is verily appreciated.
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L'shalom

PROGRAMMING NOTE: Cigars City Special w/ Felix Assouline

Hammer + Sickle Tradicion Serie - Cigar Review

B"H
THE CIGAR
Hammer + Sickle
Tradicion Serie
6 x 50 Toro
w. Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade
b./f. Dominican
K A P L O W I T Z SCALE
construction.
k a p l O w i t z
Smooth suede hand-feel. Nary a vein. Tight and even seams. Packed stiff but with a slight soft-spot at the opening act's end. Draw is a medium tension and even throughout, yet floods the palate more as it progresses. At the half, there is some softening a tick ahead of char and follows at the same distance on-down. In 2/3 there is a slight bit of loose top-leaf on a seam which gets smoked through rapido(sky).

combustion.
k a p l O w i t z
Lights well and eagerly quick, burn mimics that eagerness of speed and I seem to start a half-inch in. Then a crack in ash develops and that soft-spot already mentioned, softens. At 3/4 an inch, I timidly roll ash into my Crowned Heads tray and -- no issue remains. Another 1/4 and we're burnin' even and building about the palest DR sheath I ever did seen. Pace slows then picks back up at the mid-point. Occasional ribbons are self-corrected in a quick fashion. Filler seems hotter than binder/wrapper to varying degrees throughout.

flavors.
k a p L o w i t z
Sweet and tangy Dominican earth (Because earth sounds better than dirt) as golden as its top-leaf. Cream by the pound. Butter with a slight nutmeg addition. Floral marshmallow fluff. Pine nuts with a caramel lilt. Popcorn? Lettuce revisit sweet and tangy: sweet bits come in an uncomplicated table sugar way which makes me think 'Baccarat.' We'll call it a natural somewhat raw tobacco with nods to marshmallow and caramel. Tangy as in a lemonade citrus note. Light grains. Apple blossom honey vibes. Notes of summer-time on my 3rd day of Chanuka porch. Finish is a country drive through a sweet sun'd stretch of land. Which country, I am not sure(sky).

Not complex per se, but quite subtle nuances are there. A singular onset of 3/3 new dose of cream transition brings in greater sweetnesses and mutes nutmeg. Not overly balanced, but not egregiously underly.

body.
k a p L o w i t z
Lemonade and nutmeg doth tingle nigh out of proportion till that fresh delivery of cream in 3/3. Excellent moisture-level in smoke-hole, yet dries a tick on finish and ends something less than cleanly. Smooth and lesser soft. There are edges, gentlepersons -- albeit in a Disney villain manner. Does get half a tick throaty in spots.

strength.
k A p l o w i t z
The slightest of buzz atop my head.
FINAL GRADE
****B+****
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Catch the #JSKvirus today. Boutique as pardon my French.

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L'shalom

Monday, December 26, 2016

Cigars City Podcast - Rocky Patel Sun Grown Maduro

B"H
We kibbitz over a Rocky Patel Sun Grown Maduro Robusto,
Cigar Aficionado's #2 cigar of 2016.

Give a listen by pressing play below, gentlepersons:

Thanks as always, for the kindly loaning of yer kind attentions.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider sharing it via the buttons below.
Sharing is a quick, easy, and free way to help me grow my audience.

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Great smokes. Great prices. Great customer service. What’s not to like?

Check out www.JasSumKral.com
Catch the #JSKvirus today. Boutique as pardon my French.

If I might too, give Lucky Leaf a long look. Be Lucky.

Consider, please, joining my Kaplowitz Mishpucha HERE. Too...
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L'shalom

Sunday, December 25, 2016

A Review of Recent Grade A Cigar Offerings

B"H
"And find I'm a number one,
Top of the list.
King of the hill --
A number one."
- Frank Sinatra

Gentlepersons, below is a list as shallow and pedantic as Lois Griffin's meatloaf. It is a list of recent cigar offerings I found to be worthy of A (A- to A+) review ratings.
THE A LIST
{Names are links to full review.}
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L'shalom

Tunnelling: Causes & Cures, A Cigar Primer

B"H
I'm what you'd call a decision-maker, gentlepersons.

I decide which line to stand in at the supermarket, and the light starts flashing over the cashier's head... or maybe the octogenarian in front of me wants to pay with a check -- and doesn't start writing said check till everything is rung up. Or perchance someone wants to bicker price and send someone else across the market to make sure they're being charged correctly. I once had a cashier quit and walk out on the job when I was next in line...

Also, I had a special Chanukah cheat-meal last night. I decision'd Chinese food. It was intestinally touch-and-go there for a while there. I'm about 75% as I type this, bravely so. Long story short, a caloric deficit on a cheat day is rare, but not impossible.

Less recently, I decided "Eugene, Oregon? Why not?"
More recently, this morning I decided upon what I thought to be the perfect cigar.
Fercockt.
Alas gentlepersons, my 'review cigar' instead became the impetus for the post yer reading now. I have another identical and herein un-named offering with which to attempt again. Mayhaps I proverbially 'pulled a bad one.' I have already furnished my resume above re: my penchant for so doing. (If that's how it unfurls, I'll name it [HERE] in the interest of full disclosure. Heck, I'll do-so either way, gentlepersons.) With names un-uttered for the time being, to protect the conceivably albeit it far-fetched innocent, lettuce forge ahead to learn about the burn. To be more precise, the errant burn. To be most precise, tunnelling.

An old professor of mine once regurgitated in my general direction this old Aristotle gem:
"Tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, then tell them what you told them."
He also told me I would be an excellent cult leader.

Meow, gentlepersons. I shall again begin on the topic of tunnelling: its cause and cure.
(but first)
WHAT IS TUNNELING?
Tunneling refers to the end-result of filler tobaccos burning at a faster rate than either other filler tobaccos or the binder/wrapper. Think of the offending bits of filler acting as a candle wick or more dramatically, a fuse -- and burning on ahead and on down. All the whilst the rest of yer stick don't. Them hotter, faster bits see their burnt offerings fall out and voila: a void is left in their wake, hitherto yer stogie.

There is an easy ounce of prevention, yet it works only in one of several causes. We shall cover that and those in a bit. I simply wanted to provide a glimmer of hope in order to tease ya into reading on. No matter the cause, there are attempts at a fix, but early detection is key or at least rather helpful. So go have yer prostate checked after reading this post. A tell-tale sign of a tunnel forming is progressively less smoke in yer smoke-hole. Prior, you might sense a hesitancy or hollowness at the immediate draw.

WHAT CAUSES TUNNELING?
We'll begin with the most easily fixed: don't smoke too slow. Don't let yer cigar sit too long. The filler will stay warmer than the cooling binder/top-leaf and, yeah. That stated, I should add that I often purposefully set a cigar down a minute to 90 seconds. I do this to check its combustion quality. For the sake of argument, and to answer a question not asked, you should generally pull on a cigar every 45 seconds.

It is NOT a fix to double yer speed. This will make matters only worser. Let it go out, purge, re-light from scratch and quit letting yer wife distract you from smoking, gentlepersons.

Now for what's sadly outta yer control:
The binder tobacco(s) could be to the culprit. The job of the binder is to help make soiten the cigar doth burn at a decent and approximately even rate. Maybe it's the wrapper playing Judas! A too moist, thick, or oily top-leaf may very well not burn at the same rate as fillers and binder. Think Maduro or Oscuro. Staying with pinning the blame on wrapper, maybe it ain't as neatly rolled as is required. (Although this also 'covers' binder.) Any gapping, even a half iota of it, is enough to cause a tunnel.

How about "double bunching," as it's called? On occasion, the binder will get doubled back, making it too thick. Now ya have more leaf to burn, and if yer tunnel starts toward the side, this well may be the case. No matter the why...

HOW TO FIX TUNNELING(?)
If you've brazenly ignored the aforementioned warnings of tunneling looming nigh, and its visibly formed, try evening it up by lighting the top-leaf a bit. You should purge here, too. Chances are you don't want to taste what's happening at this particular point in time. If that ship's sailed, and it always leaves dock aheada schedule, you're looking at letting it go out and cool down. Then cut to a point where no scorched leaves are left behind. How much is worth cutting away before pitching the stick is an option? That's up to you, gentlepersons.

I do hope you've enjoyed this Cigar 101 - Tunneling: Causes & Cures, in which I writ on the topic of tunnelling: its cause and cure.
EDITOR'S NOTE
I have noticed there are two spellings of tunnel(l)ing in the cigar world. I have went with the dictionary's present participle vartiation of double L.

POST-SCRIPT
(by Skip Martin)
Nice piece. Two more probable causes of this.

First, you have too much ligero in a particular section the bunch in relation to seco. The thinner tobacco the burns while the surrounding leaf does not. Most times this is a small section where the 'break' happened to be re-inserted with an odd ratio, sometimes it's a fundamentally bad bunch that occurred at the end of a lazy bunchero's supply and he chose to use what he had vs. re-upping to finish the last cigar.

Or second, it's a humidity related issue. The cigar could have undergone a sudden loss or gain in humidity that caused that section to be drier than the surrounding bunch. Dry burns faster than wet.

Alas, humidity, not construction, is the cause of most burn problems.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider sharing it via the buttons below.
Sharing is a quick, easy, and free way to help me grow my audience.

If you’ve enjoyed a buncha these posts, please consider donating.
PayPal: paypal.me/Kaplowitz
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Questions/comments/concerns? Contact me HERE.

Please visit www.CigarsCity.com
Great smokes. Great prices. Great customer service. What’s not to like?

Check out www.JasSumKral.com
Catch the #JSKvirus today. Boutique as pardon my French.

If I might too, give Lucky Leaf a long look. Be Lucky.

Consider, please, joining my Kaplowitz Mishpucha HERE. Too...
like me on Facebook: Have you Kaplowitz’d today?
Happy Chanukah!
L'shalom