Did you ever experience this?

[Buffalo]

I was enjoying a PSD6 outside in the cold (but under a heater), and as the burn neared the halfway point, I decided to use my PerfectDraw as a holder since I was wearing gloves, and didn't have much room left to grip the cigar. On my next puff, a small shot of bitter liquid (hot tar?) entered my mouth, and the head cut showed a black goo seeping out, dead center. This was the first time that I ever had that specific experience. Pretty acrid taste, and an ugly look. (I cut the offending bit off the head, and what remained smoked fine). So, has anyone else had this experience? Could it have been caused by the cold plus the side puncture of the PD? (Pretty strange to me.)

[Bijan]

Haven't had that yet, but might if it's caused by cold and perfecdraw, since I've often thought of using the perfecdraw to smoke with heavy gloves on.

Quick google search says you're not alone:

http://www.cigarinspector.com/cigar-tips/tar-coming-out-of-my-cigar-what-to-do/#:~:text=The stuff oozing out of,juice%2C tar%2C and resin.&text=Usually it's easy to resolve,the rest of your cigar.

Edit: Quote:

"

I recently received this question by e-mail from our reader George and thought I’d write a quick blog post about it:

I sometimes come across tar in liquid form coming out of the end of the cigar, why does that happen?

So this is how your disturbing experience happened. You cut the head of your cigar and noticed, after you started smoking, a dark substance oozing out. Or perhaps you didn’t even notice that it was oozing and got a little in your mouth—yuck. What is this stuff and why does it happen? What do you do about it if it happens to you?

The answer is not entirely clear or certain, but the likely explanation has to do with sap (as plant sap). The stuff oozing out of your cigar is a natural substance, presumably some excess sap from the stem or leaf of the tobacco plant which failed to evaporate during the fermentation process. So it’s mostly tobacco juice, tar, and resin. It is utterly disgusting to taste, so if you see it, you’re going to want to get rid of it. Usually the trick is to make a new cut just below where you see the resin oozing out, and this will typically get rid of it. Thankfully this doesn’t happen all that often, and you can rest assured it has nothing to do with your technique, nor does it point toward a quality problem with the cigars. It’s just a quirk of the manufacturing process that comes up now and again. Usually it’s easy to resolve, and then you can enjoy the rest of your cigar."

 

According to reddit it's tar, and you're either smoking too fast, the cigar is too humid or the punch/hole is too small, or just bad luck/bad cigar.

Here's an old FOH thread:

 

[Cmelle]

Happened to me a few times. They're called tar balls. Sometimes tar builds up, and can come through. Not a good experience. Happens more often with a punch cut in my experience. I usually just cut the end off, and brush my hand over the end first, and then check my fingers for any tar or any black spots. Usually the extra cut gets rid of it. Hope this helps. 

[Nevrknow]

Hasn't happened to me. YET. But I will purge one when I think it's starting to not have the draw it had at light up. 

Works for me.

[mprach024]

I’ve smoked thousands upon thousands of cigars.  I’ve never seen this.  Crazy!!!  You’re braver than me, I would have certainly pitched it.

[WalterG]

I've never seen this and Im a fast smoker my self! 

[Skypilot]

I have seen others attribute this to your cigar being too moist. Early on I had a cheap desktop humidor with florist foam and no real hygrometer. I remember this happening several times and it is an unpleasant taste. I don’t know for sure if too much moisture is the issue but I do know since going to Bovedas and tracking humidity and keeping it stable that I have not had this issue in years. 
 

I feel like that was the culprit in my situation. 

[nKostyan]

This is often due to the use of a punch or v-cutter. Habanos S. A. recommends only the classic guillotine

[SmokeHouse84]

I've had this sometimes, I believe others are correct in saying it's just tar balls, I'll unually just wipe the tarnoff and keep puffin.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

[riderpride]

I've found the greatest factor in this to be a low ambient temperature - I used to smoke in as low as -30C and it would happen fairly regularly. I used to do a quick 'purge' to burn-off the excess tar before it would accumulate to that point.

[Bri Fi]

Had it happen quite a few times. Mostly with pyramids and Nicaraguan cigars but with some Cubans as well. As many have mentioned, make another small cut and the problem goes away. I always thought it to be tar 

[MPS]

Nothing wrong just make a new cut. Happens to me maybe more than most because I usually cut the smallest amount possible with my teeth because I like a very firm draw. Happens with the most resinous of cigars. Usually a good sign that the cigar has been very potent. 

[Buffalo]

Yeah, as I suspected, the cold might have been a factor, and the PD could have popped that resinous leaf/stem, and like a pea-shooter, yuck! (After cutting off the offensive end, it did smoke just fine.)

[Connoisseur Kim]

It's tar ball issue, but I've never experienced that problem despite of being a die hard Colibri V-Cut user TBH.

[WalterG]

19 hours ago, nKostyan said:

This is often due to the use of a punch or v-cutter. Habanos S. A. recommends only the classic guillotine

Interesting.. didn't know the cut style could cause this! 

[Bijan]

5 minutes ago, Big Al said:

Interesting.. didn't know the cut style could cause this! 

It's not the only factor. I've never had this and I usually use a punch cut. Though the draw does get tight for me if I use too small a punch (tar build up, but not to the point it gets in my mouth). I  have several punches and tend to use the biggest one that will fit, unless I think the cigar will be a wind tunnel.

[nKostyan]

Interesting.. didn't know the cut style could cause this! 

By analogy with a cigarette: in a cigar, the filter is the filling. The punch does not allow you to open the full cross-section for resin filtration. As a result, under certain circumstances (high humidity of the cigar, too resinous tobacco, condensation due to smoking in the cold), tar is released.

[Habana Mike]

Yes, I've experienced this. Almost exclusively with non-Cuban cigars though.

Cut a little more off the cap, purge and smoke slower usually resolves it. That or toss...

[Buffalo]

My cigar was stored at 65 RH, dry-boxed, and then straight cut with a guillotine. (The burn was straight and easy, so I don't think it was wet.) I guess if you live long enough ...

[Walter19]

I've experienced it with Nica cigars a few times and its usually in the bitter cold puffing too fast. Handmade product, sometimes you get a lemon.

[Tstew75]

It's happened to me 2x with CCs, both while using a V-cut

Some purists would argue that a straight cut would prevent this buildup from happening...tho it probably doesn't happen enough to worry about.

[Joeysmoke]

On 2/14/2021 at 5:49 PM, Buffalo said:

I was enjoying a PSD6 outside in the cold (but under a heater), and as the burn neared the halfway point, I decided to use my PerfectDraw as a holder since I was wearing gloves, and didn't have much room left to grip the cigar. On my next puff, a small shot of bitter liquid (hot tar?) entered my mouth, and the head cut showed a black goo seeping out, dead center. This was the first time that I ever had that specific experience. Pretty acrid taste, and an ugly look. (I cut the offending bit off the head, and what remained smoked fine). So, has anyone else had this experience? Could it have been caused by the cold plus the side puncture of the PD? (Pretty strange to me.)

IMO v-cuts and punches seem to be the majority offenders of tar build up. When smoking, do you "purge" your cigar? (Blow out through the cigar while it's lit) It was recommended to me years ago when a cigar starts to "burn hot" "charry" etc. 

 

[mprach024]

36 minutes ago, Joeysmoke said:

IMO v-cuts and punches seem to be the majority offenders of tar build up. When smoking, do you "purge" your cigar? (Blow out through the cigar while it's lit) It was recommended to me years ago when a cigar starts to "burn hot" "charry" etc. 

 

I probably use a Vcut 90% of the time, never seen it with my smokes.  That being said to your point I have always been one that frequently purges.  Nor do I smoke fast, nor do I smoke outside in the cold.  ?‍♂️

[Bijan]

14 minutes ago, mprach024 said:

I probably use a Vcut 90% of the time, never seen it with my smokes.  That being said to your point I have always been one that frequently purges.  Nor do I smoke fast, nor do I smoke outside in the cold.  ?‍♂️

I use a punch on everything except figurados and pyramids, never purge, smoke fast at times (though less now), and smoke in the cold. Still never happened, but I tend to use a bigger punch or the perfecdraw to get a good draw. While it's never happened, if I use a small punch on a somewhat tight cigar that is big enough the draw can get really tight by the end, and I guess it's the first sign of tar build up.

[Toast & Taste]

I've experienced this a few times. I use a straight cut. In all instances the sticks were double coronas.

 

Big Al