When to put it down?
 

So I was wondering today while I was smoking a LFD chislito, when do most people put their stick down? What exactly is "harsh"? I am thinking it is that feeling you get in the top back of your throat that is sort of a hot smoke burning sensation. What do you guys think?

Re: When to put it down?
 

For me, its when it starts to get bitter, or I start to get heat on the draw.

Re: When to put it down?
 

I put it down as soon as I am not enjoying it anymore.

Re: When to put it down?
 

When I stop enjoying it.

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What these guys said. Many times I blister my fingers from smoking to the nub, but if a cigar gets hot or I no longer am enjoying the smoke I'm not afraid to lay it down. Sometimes I try to smoke past that point but it ends up ruining the smoke and my palate for awhile.:2

Re: When to put it down?
 

I tend to try and keep it going for too long as I want to get the most out of each stick and as you know this is not a cheap hobby. The only other times I put a stick down is when the smoke starts to get to hot, or when the cherry gets too close to my fingers.

Re: When to put it down?
 

But if what you are getting out of it is so longer enjoyable, why do it Mychal? Life is too short. :2

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Gotta agree with Tom here. Cigars are about enjoyment and relaxation, so if youre not enjoying your cigar and just trying to squeeze every last cent out of it youre probably not relaxing either.

Re: When to put it down?
 

I put them out as soon as they taste bad. If that's in the first inch, I toss it in a ditch. I usually only buy boxes based on cigars I've smoked so If I buy a single and it sucks I consider it money saved not money spent. :2

Re: When to put it down?
 

:tpd:

Re: When to put it down?
 

I put it out when the taste is no longer there. Yes, I have wasted a few sticks becuase of terrible taste a mid burn.

Re: When to put it down?
 

I put it down when I stop enjoying it. That being said, it can vary from stick to stick. I have had cigars that I would smoke till the nub was so small it was burning my fingers. I have put others down with a good 2 or more inches left.

Don't smoke it just because you want to get your money's worth out of it, thinking that it is a quantity thing - that only breeds resentment.

Peace of the Lord be with you.

Re: When to put it down?
 

I put a Viaje down half way thru it, It reminded me of what it would taste like if i licked the hand wash at work and smelt it.
I fought it and fought it , but listened to a dear friend.

Re: When to put it down?
 

I smoke almost everything to a very tiny Nub (just ask ucubed or s0lfulone). I find that sometimes a stick that has went a little bitter opens up in the last 1 - 1/2 inch. And sometimes I have had sticks that were mild for most of the cigar really blow me away in the last inch. This has happened often enough that it has become standard for me.

Plus in the words of Denis Leary "The filters the best part. That's where they put the heroine." Or for us cigar smokers.... the nub :D

Re: When to put it down?
 

Luckily for HSA, I am inclined to smoke a cigar just past halfway. But it a cigar is really good, I MIGHT
get to an inch long 'nub'. If it is merely good, and is not producing bizarre gasses and tar and rank flavors,
I tend to take it to 1.5 inches. 80% of cigars, for me, go to 1/3 their original length. I find this is where the
buildup of bad flavors starts to show itself. I have said it before, cigar smoking is nothing else but pleasure.
When the pleasure stops, so does the cigar.

Re: When to put it down?
 

That Showtime special with Dennis Leary, it might have been his first, where he went on for
20 minutes about cigarettes, that was THE BEST. Funny as hell, especially for a smoker.
But that's the point, isn't it...the cigar butt is nothing but a filter for tar. Think of it like that
and as above, DO NOT think of it as a money thing. It's ONLY a pleasure thing.

Re: When to put it down?
 

when I get called in the house to change crappy diapers........

Re: When to put it down?
 

Heh. PCs are your friend. :D

Re: When to put it down?
 

doesnt the flavor change throughout, i mean all the reviews talk about the flavor changes. why stop early and possibly miss good flavor? this is probably a n00b questions haha i'm just curious :)

i notice flavor changes in almost all the smokes I have enjoyed.

Re: When to put it down?
 

It all depends on taste with me, although I am not very experienced nor have I had a vast array of smokes, but as long as the taste is there I i'll smoke it to the end. I grabbed a RP Cameroon Especial from a B&M the other night and right at first it was bitter and thought of throwing it out, I stuck it out and it quickly changed and ended up tasting pretty good.

I have smoked some Macanudo's until my lips almost caught on fire.

Re: When to put it down?
 

This.

Re: When to put it down?
 

haha, good stuff! :banger

Re: When to put it down?
 

I can't speak for Tom or Moe, but here's how I look at it...

Of course the flavor changes (in most cases anyway), this is part of the enjoyment of the cigar. Eventually though, it gets to a point where the flavor has changed into something that is no longer a pleasant or likable flavor. This is the point at which I will put the cigar down for the last time as not to detract from the memory of and reduce the experience of the enjoyable part that I have already finished. There's really no set rule as to when that point will occur.

On a secondary note, smoking a cigar past that point can really mess up your palate for the next cigar.

Re: When to put it down?
 

What Adam said :tpd:

There is a point where a cigar just starts to taste "bitter" for lack of a better word. This is usually the point of no return. Sometimes that point can be an inch in, sometimes it can be down to the nub.

Sometimes cigars taste "off". Maybe they were improperly stored, in their sick period, etc. You dont know until you light it, and by then its too late to do anything to rectify the situation.

Re: When to put it down?
 

There lies the real danger...once you get a blast of tar on your tongue, it gets into all
the nooks and crannies in your sinuses and that might be all you taste of the next smoke.

Re: When to put it down?
 

great explanation, thanks! :D

Re: When to put it down?
 

Just a note from my experience. I have had cigars that got bitter and then became GREAT smokes. I have also had cigars that got bitter and no amount of purging or continued smoking improved it. But in my experience the former usually happens.

But it seems I am usually the exception when it comes to cigar smoking. :)

Re: When to put it down?
 

I put it down when it gets hot or no longer provides enjoyment.

Re: When to put it down?
 

I agree with Adam, but also in certain instances with Wayne. There are times when a cigar gets a bit bitter early on, and I smoke through it for a short time and it changes for the better...but that is the exception to the rule for me,

Re: When to put it down?
 

I'm with Todd.
If I don't enjoy a smoke, it's history. Sometimes that's a minute in. Sometimes I'll smoke a bit more out of respect for the BOTL that's given it to me, just to give it a fair shake.
Sometimes I'll smoke it down to where I want to eat the nub. Those are the really, really good ones, in my book.
Sometimes they go south on me halfway through. Even if they were fabulous for the first half, when it goes bad, it goes in the alley.
I'm just not going to smoke a cigar I don't enjoy. Like Tom said, life is way too short.

Boiled down, it's simply "when I stop enjoying it".

Re: When to put it down?
 

I will do that too, I just didn't want to muddy the explanation I gave earlier with trying to explain that.

Re: When to put it down?
 

Until the enjoyment ceases. For some cigars that's the fourth puff. For others it will be a quarter of an inch left. All depends on the cigar.

Re: When to put it down?
 

Ok yeah that is what I am talking about. The stick I smoked last night started out with a really bitter/nasty flavor on my lips, so much so that I was actually wiping my face with my sleeve. I gave it five puffs and a block or two(walking the dog) and that totally went away and the smoke got enjoyable. Then with about 1.5 inches left it started to get a little harsh in the back of my throat but that only lasted for 2-3 puffs. Then it warmed up a little and had a nice flavor till it started to go to my head and I put it down...

What I am trying to say/ask is that I don't want to give up too early on a stick that might turn out to be good or at least worth smoking. The issues I had last night made it an ok stick that I will try again, and if I had put it down through the rough spots I might not have enjoyed it at all.

Re: When to put it down?
 

I like to smoke them pretty far down if I'm enjoying the cigar, but that's when I slow down and let it rest longer bewteen draws. If I don't like it, or it gets boring, I might not even make it halfway through the cigar. :2

Re: When to put it down?
 

Gotta agree with the majority here, and put it down when it's not enjoyable anymore. Sometimes it's my fault that it went bad if I smoked a bit too fast and sometimes it's just a bad stick or a new cigar I'm trying and it's clear it's not my type. If it starts going bad maybe try a purge or let it sit but I'll throw it away at whatever point I realize I'm not going to enjoy it. Sometimes that's down to the last inch and sometimes that's within the first inch, just depends on the stick.

Kind of like cooking. If I ruined it with bad ingredients, improper preparation, cooked it too much or too fast, if its a new recipe I tried out that I never had before, or I just don't like how it tastes I might try to add a little something to it but at the end of the day if I don't like it I don't keep eating just because I paid money for the ingredients and took the time to make it.