Why Your Cigar Burns Crooked, and Why It Happens Less Than It Used To

Draw-testing machines were rare in cigar factories around 1990. Today most factories use them, and that's one reason bad draws are less common than they used to be. Quality control is a major focus for new world producers. They know it takes many cigars to create a loyal customer, but only one bad one to lose them. Premium cigars are built better now than at any point in the category's history. Factories weigh tobacco, test the draw on every bunch, and send back the ones that don't pass. Burn problems still happen. When they do, it helps to know what the factory controls and what you control yourself.

How a Cigar Gets Built

A premium cigar has three parts. The filler is the core, usually a blend of three to five tobaccos. The binder holds the filler together. The wrapper is the leaf you see. In most factories, the work is split between two people. The buncher builds the filler and binder, and the roller applies the wrapper. Where each leaf sits in the bunch affects the burn. Ligero is the thick, oily leaf from the top of the plant, and it burns slowest. Bunchers place it toward the center. When it drifts to one side, that side lags and can create tunnels.

Weighing

Consistency starts with weight. The master blender sets the exact proportion of each tobacco, and those leaves are handed out to rollers by weight. The finished cigars get weighed too. Some factories weigh bundles of 50 together. If the bundle misses its target by more than a couple of grams, they don’t pass. Davidoff goes further on its Royal Release line, where blenders weigh every leaf before the bundles reach the rollers. That matters because weight tells you density. An underfilled cigar is soft, draws loose, and burns hot and fast. A lot of tunneling and canoeing starts right there. An overfilled cigar plugs up.

Draw Testing

Weight measures how much tobacco is in the cigar. The draw machine measures how air moves through it.

One of the most widely used is the Drawmaster. Bunches come out of the molds and get draw-tested before they go to the roller. The machine pulls air through the cigar the way a smoker would and checks whether the reading lands in the target range. A bunch that fails gets re-rolled. Testing before the wrapper goes on means the factory doesn't waste its most valuable leaf on a bad bunch. Draw ties directly to burn. A tight draw makes you pull harder, and pulling harder overheats the center. That's a common path to tunneling. A loose draw burns fast and hot on its own.

Where Construction Still Goes Wrong

Machines check the bunch. People still build it. A buncher-roller team may make 250 to 300 cigars a day. At that pace, a few will miss. A center packed too loose burns ahead of the wrapper and tunnels. Ligero or a dense patch on one side makes that side lag, and the cigar canoes. A misfolded leaf in the bunch creates a plug. Those misses are the minority now. When your cigar burns crooked, check your end first.

What's on You

Wind & humidity problems causes more tunneling than construction does. A cigar that is constantly blown from one side will struggle to burn straight. A wet wrapper can't keep up with filler burning in the center. Most canoes start at the light. Toast the whole foot evenly before you draw, and keep the torch about an inch off. If one side starts running, touch up the slow side before it gets too far gone. A quarter-inch run takes a couple seconds to fix. A two-inch canoe usually can't be saved.

Smoking fast can create problems too… So slow down your smoking and enjoy your cigar. Take a puff every 30 to 60 seconds. Leave the ash on until it falls off naturally or with a gentle roll, because it insulates the coal. You should be able to touch your finger to the wrapper right before the burn line. If not, that’s a reminder to slow down.