Why Won’t My Cigar Draw? Is it Plugged?

Why Won’t My Cigar Draw? Is it Plugged?

You might have heard of a plugged cigar, or come across a cigar that won't draw. If you are struggling to smoke your cigar, and it seems like it is blocked and there is no airflow going through it (and yes, you have cut it first!), here’s what to do.

When a cigar's draw is too tight, the reason is usually that it is plugged. A plugged cigar means there is a knot, twist, lump, or general issue in the filler of the cigar causing it to be blocked. This usually happens during the rolling process.  Sometimes these can be felt by gently rolling the cigar between the fingers before cutting and lighting it, but often it is not until you start to try and smoke it.

There is nothing worse than sitting down to enjoy one of your favourite (expensive!) cigars, going through the ritual of cutting and lighting, to find out the cigar won’t smoke because it is rolled to tightly. And worse still, it’s the only one your brought with you and don’t want it to go to waste. So what can you do?

If you have just received the cigars in the post, or they have been out of a humidor for a bit of time, then try leaving them to rest in a humidor to acclimate. The cigar might be slightly under humidified, and a bit of extra moisture could open it back up. The same for an over humidified cigar, it may have taken on too much moisture and swollen slightly. “Dry boxing” over night might help an over humidified cigar draw better. Read more on Dry Boxing cigars here.

It is sometimes possible to gently roll the cigar between your fingers and massage out any knot or tight feeling spot. Be very careful though, as pressing too firmly may split the wrapper and cause more problems. Softly feel around for any lumps in the filler, and very gently massage in all directions. Often, this technique just does not work though, as it is impossible to massage out a twist. If the firm bit you feel is close to the foot, and you are certain it is the cause of your problems, you could just snip the end of and relight, this may solve your problem completely.

If you see a stem sticking out of the cut cap, or foot, it’s not usually advised to pull this out, as it could ruin more of the construction and tear more of the filler out with it. The stem is not likely to be the cause of the plug, these are often left in on purpose by the roller to give extra flavour. If you do manage to pull a stem out, it may fix the problem though as it will create a tunnel through the middle for better airflow. You might just pull out half the bunch though.

There are tools and devices which you can use to improve the draw such as the PerfecDraw tool, or other similar devices. These are a sharp spear used to lance the cigar and create a tunnel for airflow. A thin knitting needle, or long sewing needle can be used in a similar way. Be careful though whatever you are using, slow and steady, as you don’t want to stab a hole through the side of the cigar… or your hand. And slowly back out again too, as you risk ripping out all the filler in one devastating pull.

The answer usually is, bring more cigars with you than you intend to smoke, chalk the bad ones up to bad luck and enjoy the good ones even more. If you want to try and struggle through a plugged cigar that won’t draw. When you get fed up or tired of puffing, just clip off another inch at the foot and relight, you may find eventually you make it passed the plug and the cigar opens back up. You could save at least the end of it – you might end up turning a Partagas Serie D No. 4 into a D6 in the process though…

A final thought, I have seen some people online who save up their plugged, and other damaged cigars in a spare humidor. Then break them up and mix with a small amount of pipe tobacco to create a unique and flavourful pipe smoke. You can probably even get a bit carried away creating various blends.