Shedding some light on split Tatuaje wrappers [Archive]

688sonarmen

10-30-2010, 12:37 PM

I keep mine at 65% but recently switched from 2 coolidors to a cabinet humidor. The only Tatuaje that has split on me was the face but, it saw humidity as high as 70% for about a day so I'm letting them sit for at least another week at 65%. Do you have any cigars that don't do well at 60%?

pektel

10-30-2010, 12:37 PM

Mine is around 60-63%. Perfect for me.

NorcalMark

10-30-2010, 12:38 PM

I have smoked my fair share of tatuaje, cabaiguan, la riqueza and I have had maybe 3 busted wrappers.

One I dropped, the others were smoked with to much humidity.

688sonarmen

10-30-2010, 12:45 PM

I have smoked my fair share of tatuaje, cabaiguan, la riqueza and I have had maybe 3 busted wrappers.

One I dropped, the others were smoked with to much humidity.

How much was to much humidity and was it Criollo/Corojo blend? I really want to see if this rings true to some of the bad press some of these get by being passed off as thin wrappers/poor construction. And see of different cigars and or wrappers smoke better at different RH.

NorcalMark

10-30-2010, 02:31 PM

For me anything over 65% humidity is way to high for anything that tatuaje makes. These were stored with 69% Boveda bags.

Remember, cigars dry from the outside to inside. The thickest tobacco is in the filler and when you fire that freshie or high humidity tatuaje up, it's gonna create a bit of moisture inside the cigar. Store them on the drier side and you shouldn't have issues.

longknocker

10-30-2010, 02:47 PM

I Agree With Lower Humidity On The Tats. I Prefer Most Of My Sticks @ 65-66, But Have Many Tat Wrappers Crack At That RH, Especially When I Smoke Outside In The Mobile, Al. Humidity Of 80% Most Days.;)

Martel

10-30-2010, 03:25 PM

I keep mine at 65%, but I always drybox Tats. Never had a problem that way.

Cheers,
G

nick2021

10-31-2010, 05:07 AM

Interesting to hear about the article, luckily I had my wife set my humi at 65-66% while away

Garbandz

10-31-2010, 08:26 AM

Also consider the humidity of where you are smoking.If you are in a very dry environment,the wrapper can and will dry out and split.Usually in the winter here in the south, cameroon and similar thin wrappers will crack in just a few minutes outside.
It is not just Tats,they are well made smokes.........

longknocker

10-31-2010, 08:29 AM

pinotguy

10-31-2010, 09:27 AM

Thanks for the link. I'd seen this recommended in the past and not just for Tats. One of the first things that stands out to me is the article is several years old. I believe Pete has said that over the past two years or so, they have switched to a Habano cover leaf on the regular Brown Label line. This was done because they could not find a consistent source of Corojo that met their quality standards.

A lower RH may work best for cigars that have a large amount of Criollo/Corojo but what if you have other smokes in there as well? Right now, I only have Pepin products in my humidor but not all of them are Tats (or similarly blended smokes). After some experimentation, I've settled on 67% RH, which seems to be a happy medium, at least for me. Like others here, I also dry-box certain sticks prior to smoking them.

ProBe

10-31-2010, 09:41 AM

I keep mines at 65%-67% work's great for me.

Martel

10-31-2010, 09:46 AM

...A lower RH may work best for cigars that have a large amount of Criollo/Corojo but what if you have other smokes in there as well? Right now, I only have Pepin products in my humidor but not all of them are Tats (or similarly blended smokes). After some experimentation, I've settled on 67% RH, which seems to be a happy medium, at least for me. Like others here, I also dry-box certain sticks prior to smoking them.

I have a mix of CC and NC, quite a few of which are Tats and other Pepins. Compromise is the name of the game for me, as I'm not interested in running multiple humis segregated by RH level. I keep everything at 65%, and drybox as needed. YMMV, as I don't like any cigars to go to 70%, if possible. Works for me on everything except Cameroon wrappers; they split in the dry air no matter what I do.

Cheers,
G

longknocker

10-31-2010, 10:06 AM

I have a mix of CC and NC, quite a few of which are Tats and other Pepins. Compromise is the name of the game for me, as I'm not interested in running multiple humis segregated by RH level. I keep everything at 65%, and drybox as needed. YMMV, as I don't like any cigars to go to 70%, if possible. Works for me on everything except Cameroon wrappers; they split in the dry air no matter what I do.

Cheers,
G

I Still Don't Quite Understand "Drybox" After All These Years Of Smoking. How Long? Is It OK To Leave The Stick You Want To Smoke On The Counter @ 55%RH In The House? Anyone Care To Elaborate? Thanks!:tu

Goldie

10-31-2010, 11:04 AM

The wrapper on The Face I smoked last night split in two different places. My Vino runs between 63% and 65%.

longknocker

10-31-2010, 11:06 AM

The wrapper on The Face I smoked last night split in two different places. My Vino runs between 63% and 65%.

What Was The RH Where You Smoked It?

Martel

10-31-2010, 11:15 AM

I Still Don't Quite Understand "Drybox" After All These Years Of Smoking. How Long? Is It OK To Leave The Stick You Want To Smoke On The Counter @ 55%RH In The House? Anyone Care To Elaborate? Thanks!:tu

I keep a separate box with a small container of dry Heartfelt beads. If I know I'm smoking a particular cigar in the near future that I want a little drier, I put it in the box for 24 hrs. or so. If I haven't thought that far in advance (which is most of the time), no big deal, I'll usually smoke something straight out of the humi. Just taking one out and leaving it at 55% in the house amounts to the same thing, IMO.

Cheers,
G

longknocker

10-31-2010, 11:19 AM

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I keep a separate box with a small container of dry Heartfelt beads. If I know I'm smoking a particular cigar in the near future that I want a little drier, I put it in the box for 24 hrs. or so. If I haven't thought that far in advance (which is most of the time), no big deal, I'll usually smoke something straight out of the humi. Just taking one out and leaving it at 55% in the house amounts to the same thing, IMO.

Cheers,
G

Thanks, G!:tu

hscmit

10-31-2010, 11:24 AM

sometimes a construction issue is just a construction issue. With any handmade product, like cigars, once in a while you can get a roll that is less than perfect.

longknocker

10-31-2010, 11:26 AM

sometimes a construction issue is just a construction issue. With any handmade product, like cigars, once in a while you can get a roll that is less than perfect.

I've Found That Winter & Smoking Outside Is Especially Tough On The Delicate Wrappers Like Tats Even In Warmer Climates Like Mobile.:(

688sonarmen

10-31-2010, 11:29 AM

I'm starting to lean more an more to 60% beads. Even though I just bought 3lbs of 65% I think I might buy 1 1/2 lb of the 60% to achieve about 63% Rh ( + or - 2%). I could buy some of the clay beads. I really wish there was a way to tell the Rh of the cigar itself aside from just feeling it, mostly so I would know what the internal Rh of the cigar was. I am really beginning to learn that the more I know about cigars the more I dont know. I went on a recess from cigars for about 1 1/2 years and the whole time my coolidors were at a steady 65% Rh. I opened them at the most one time a month and would have sold everything if I was not so busy/lazy at the time. When I got off of sea duty and had time to smoke for first several months every cigar I smoked had a perfect burn up until I slid down the slope and bought a cabinet. Now I am wondering if I should not touch my smokes for a few months to let everything reach equilibrium.

hscmit

10-31-2010, 11:53 AM

I've Found That Winter & Smoking Outside Is Especially Tough On The Delicate Wrappers Like Tats Even In Warmer Climates Like Mobile.:(

i agree, also here going from inside to outside on a hot summer day with humidity 101% is tough on a lot of smokes.

njstone

10-31-2010, 07:08 PM

Yea, my problem is the rH of my house/outside as well. It's always a minimum of 75% here, so "dry boxing" doesn't mean leaving it out overnight, lol. I've found i have to cook (i.e. dry out) my beads a couple times over the summer to keep them plugging away at 65%.

But I too just broke down and bought some 60% beads. I'm gong to use them in one bin, where I'll put habanoz and maybe some lanceros and other sticks that tend to be problematic burn-wise. I'll be using that as my "dry box" as well.

quantim0

10-31-2010, 08:26 PM

After posting no issues, my Face just got a tiny crack. It may still be a bit wet from shipping though. Ive had it a week at this point.

neoflex

10-31-2010, 08:37 PM

Just smoked a Face that spent two weeks in my Cab that I keep between 65-67 with 65 being the goal. No wrapper issues whatsoever and I smoked the thing well into the leaf that was applied for a band. I got scared in the first third as I heard a small cracking sound during a puff that is usually associated with the wrapper splitting but to my surprise no splits. The weather here was in the mid 70s with low humidoty so smoking conditions were absolutely perfect.
I do agree that the Rh of your smoking environment can play a big part also. I never ever smoke Tats or any Pepins for that matter in the cold. It never fails that when I do they just split and crack and than I end up having to nurse the rest of the smoke making it an unpleasant experience. That's why whenever I am forced to smoke out in the cold it's usually a cheap smoke with a hefty maduro wrapper. That usually solves the problem. If I plan on smoking at a lounge or some other indoor place in the winter I make sure to let my smokes come back up to room temperature before lighting them up otherwise you risk the same issues as being outside. When it's really humid I usually don't smoke outside either because at the midway point my cigar is usually a damn sponge and than tends to take on the taste of one too. When I do though I usually try to smoke nothing larger than a Beli.

Bill86

10-31-2010, 09:20 PM

I had a HUGE wrapped burst on one of my tats (L′Esprit de Vérité Robusto- 2008 Vintage). I looked in my humidor and was going to smoke a FACE but saw the EPIC wrapper busting on this guy and It had to meet a fiery death. My humidors have never been over 65, usually 62-63 and somehow like 65% of the cigar had a busted wrapper. I kept it on and had to play the torch game but I powered through it. Best tat I've had but man....they got some issues over at Tatuaje.

EDIT no other cigar I've ever had has had this problem. I got around 300-350 cigars and I've smoked quite a few......

Chainsaw13

12-06-2010, 08:44 PM

I tried smoking a Barclay Rex tonight that the wrapper just wouldn't cooperate. Granted, I accidentally dropped it which caused it to split on the foot end pretty good. Touched up with some pectin glue and proceeded to smoke it. It got worse from there, splitting in numerous spots from top to bottom. Finally about halfway through it became unsmokable as it was starting to explode. My cabinet's running about 63-64% right now, so should'nt have been over humidified.

KillerCelt

12-07-2010, 05:18 AM

So far I have never had this problem with Tats and my vinotemp is at 64%. I think the cigars that I've had the most split problems with are AF Hemingways. It seems like 25% of these split at some point regardless of the size.

longknocker

12-07-2010, 05:26 AM

So Far, No Major Wrapper Splits When Smoking Out In The Cold (40* & 30% RH).. I'm Only Smoking Maddies Though!:tu

akumushi

12-07-2010, 05:29 AM

I won't discount any theories of why this happens, mechanically, but I do question the ability to really solve the problem. I chalk it up to the price I pay for smoking cigars with such tissue thin wrappers. Even wetting the wrapper like I would with a Habano does not solve the problem for me, in fact it makes it worse, so I just take my lumps and don't sweat it.
My theory on the WHY of it? Take the remaining wrapper off say, a Tat Rersva SW nub and the compare it to the same part of an LP No.9. Belicoso. The Tatuaje wrapper is gossamer thin and the LP wrapper is like a piece freaking sandpaper. I doubt you will ever have these issues with the LP. But, if you like these smokes, it's the price of admission. If the cracking of a delicate wrapper ruins your enjoyment, smoke something else, but I seriously doubt that the most meticulous obsession with your hygrometer will save you from wrapper tears on the products in question. Love it or leave it. :2
Oh, and on a completely different topic, the only time I've had this problem with Habanos, is "sale" sticks coming unravelled because they were stored so poorly, or simply exploding when I cut them because the filler was rolled like 10 pounds of sh!t into a 5 pound bag.

longknocker

12-07-2010, 05:32 AM

I won't discount any theories of why this happens, mechanically, but I do question the ability to really solve the problem. I chalk it up to the price I pay for smoking cigars with such tissue thin wrappers. Even wetting the wrapper like I would with a Habano does not solve the problem for me, in fact it makes it worse, so I just take my lumps and don't sweat it.
My theory on the WHY of it? Take the remaining wrapper off say, a Tat Rersva SW nub and the compare it to the same part of an LP No.9. Belicoso. The Tatuaje wrapper is gossamer thin and the LP wrapper is like a piece freaking sandpaper. I doubt you will ever have these issues with the LP. But, if you like these smokes, it's the price of admission. If the cracking of a delicate wrapper ruins your enjoyment, smoke something else, but I seriously doubt that the most meticulous obsession with your hygrometer will save you from wrapper tears on the products in question. Love it or leave it. :2
Good Point, Clayton!:tu At 30% RH Outside, A Thin Wrapper Will Crack!

T.G

12-07-2010, 09:49 AM

My theory on the WHY of it? Take the remaining wrapper off say, a Tat Rersva SW nub and the compare it to the same part of an LP No.9. Belicoso. The Tatuaje wrapper is gossamer thin and the LP wrapper is like a piece freaking sandpaper. I doubt you will ever have these issues with the LP. But, if you like these smokes, it's the price of admission. If the cracking of a delicate wrapper ruins your enjoyment, smoke something else, but I seriously doubt that the most meticulous obsession with your hygrometer will save you from wrapper tears on the products in question. Love it or leave it. :2

Your theory is correct in regards to the fact that the LP9 uses a heavy Connecticut broadleaf wrapper versus the thinner wrapper on the Tat and the overall toughness of the wrapper plays a factor, but FWIW, there is more to it, there are some differences in construction, bunching and rolling that make it even more unlikely for the Liga Privadas to crack.