[Curly Cut]

How long do you suggest it drying out?
Depends. If i know the tobacco well, and how it smokes at certain degrees of dampness, then i'll leave it out until it feels right to me.
it also depends on where you live (local humidity, etc). by living in KC area, if it's summer, leaving it out will probably moisten it up a bit; if it's winter, 15 - 45 minutes max.


Any pros/cons to drying it before you smoke it?
pros
*tobacco smokes better (less moisture build up in the draught hole, which leads to gurgle)
*less tongue bite, which some attribute to the steam from too moist of tobacco and overpuffing, others say it's something to do with the chemistry of something er other that doesn't jive with the tobacco.
*fewer relights, tobacco doesn't go out as often due to moisture
*better flavor (if you know what an over-humidified cigar tastes like, it's the same as over-humidified pipe tobacco = flavors are muted)

cons
*you forget about it for a few days, and even then it's still smoke-able.
*you forget about it for a few days, and it was a McClellands broken flake (which means it's hard as a board and ruined cuz you'll never be able to rub it out without going to the ER to have splinters removed)
*you forget about it for a few days, and you really wanted to try it a few days earlier.
*i'm making sh*t up now, cuz i know of no cons.