I have two questions and didn't see the answers in my limited research. Anybody know the answers?

1. Why do cigars sometimes burn unevenly? There didn't seem to be a humidification problem and the smoking experience was great.

2. I realize that even though one would expect two cigars of the same brand, style and vitola to be identical, they are all individually made and thus not perfectly identical. I also realize that every smoking experience is different depending on your mood, what you ate, and a whole bunch of other stuff. However, why would a cigar that is one of my favorites taste awful and leave a bad aftertaste? Again, no humidification problem.

Thanks for your answers. BinDer, I appreciate your patience.

Saul, put this on the Cigar Advisor thread. I'm sure something like that will get printed.

1) The theory I have heard and generally agree with is as follows: Uneven burn can be caused by uneven humidification. What I mean by that is, you have to occasionally rotate your cigars in the humidor. If one side is always facing up, then one side will receive more moisture than the down-side. Some humidors do a better job of circulating humidity, especially cabinets with some kind of active humidification system. But you can imagine what happens to cigars that sit at a shop for months or even years, one side always being exposed to a different climate than the other.

This is not the ONLY reason, but I think it generally holds up.

2) Taste difference can occur because of slight changes in the blend, leaf quality, the talent of the roller, etc. Most of the time, a box of cigars is not composed of sticks rolled by the same person.

Many variables can affect taste.

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Originally posted by Coriolanus:
1) The theory I have heard and generally agree with is as follows: Uneven burn can be caused by uneven humidification. What I mean by that is, you have to occasionally rotate your cigars in the humidor. If one side is always facing up, then one side will receive more moisture than the down-side.

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That makes sense.

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2) Taste difference can occur because of slight changes in the blend, leaf quality, the talent of the roller, etc. Most of the time, a box of cigars is not composed of sticks rolled by the same person.

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Interesting that slight changes can result in such a big difference. Also that a box is not necessarily composed of sticks rolled by the same person -- I figured they packed them as they rolled them.

Thanks, Corio. Incidentally, if you are #2 Most Friendly Guy, who is #1?

His Hand!!

Everybody knows that JM88 is the #1 Most Friendly Guy. Except Wacco, apparently.

I think rj747 wrote a post a while back about the actual rolling process in Cuban cigar factories. Rollers take their finished sticks to one place, and from there the cigars are boxed with an eye toward matching the colors of the wrappers. The cigars are also arranged in the box according to color.

As for the uneven burn question, sometimes the type of wrapper can play a role. Perdomo has a cigar called The Cigar. The wrappers are extremely thick. If you store them at 70% rh, they seem to burn terribly. To have anything like a good burn with them, you had to store them "dry."

I haven't smoked one in years, so I don't know if they still burn unevenly. Perdomo cigars in general have never burned evenly for me.