What can you read from the colour of ash?

[Bigpink]

6 hours ago, dominattorney said:

I've noticed this too but think it's related to humidity. I doubt age really impacts the chemistry of what is inside the leaf after fermentation is over, but it helps the cigar dry out more evenly. Smoking I'm Costa Rica last week I had all dark ashes. First stick back home was white, but pulled from my colorado humidor at 60 percent RH, and substantially rested at that. 

Good call that makes the most sense!

[Shrimpchips]

A quick google of “white ash vs black ash” reveals…..we’re no better than potheads discussing the topic.

My assumption would also be burn conditions dictate ash color, not much else.  Partial/poor combustion leaves (pun intended) more carbon, so the ash is darker.  Seems like a more simple explanation than soil Mg.

 

[Cigar Surgeon]

13 hours ago, JohnS said:

Did someone mention, 'white ash in Habanos cigars'? If you smoke them regularly, it's more common than you think...

Your pictures are consistent with the results I get. I just went over photos from my last 10 NC reviews and while there are white sections of the ash, almost all of them are some form of off gray, gray/black or darker gray.  At least a third were from the Dominican, the rest Nicaraguan. Some puros, some multi-country tobacco blends. 

[Edicion]

CC or NC? 

[Monterey]

Cigar could be NC or CC.  Nobody says it is 100%.  Not sure the point you are going for.

[Edicion]

1 hour ago, Monterey said:

Cigar could be NC or CC.  Nobody says it is 100%.  Not sure the point you are going for.

The point being that the question in the email as per the OP is regarding whether or not the cigar he/she smoked was fake since it had a white ash. Well, it is not a generalization that can be done as this cigar is a CC, and they can show the pic to their friend. More examples have been shown too, and others commenting on that. To add to that, it's from 2021, so it also speaks for white ash on CC not necessarily an occurrence solely being associated with age. 

[Lfhard]

What I can read from the ash is the the cigar is burning and the more ash I see the more I must be enjoying the cigar since it’s still burning. Ive seen white and black ash on Cubans, I have yet to see black ash on a NC. As long as it’s good I don’t care what color the ash is. Just my two cents. 

[Cigar Surgeon]

7 hours ago, Lfhard said:

What I can read from the ash is the the cigar is burning and the more ash I see the more I must be enjoying the cigar since it’s still burning. Ive seen white and black ash on Cubans, I have yet to see black ash on a NC. As long as it’s good I don’t care what color the ash is. Just my two cents. 

That's in the past month.

[Hammer Smokin']

with weed a darker ash meant the weed wasn't cured correctly (either not enough, or fast cured). It also represented a hydroponic setup that had nutrients/chemicals added too late into the cycle, without an adequate flush prior to completion. Also found in outdoor weed that couldn't be flushed. 

not sure if those principles can be applied to tobacco or not. 

anyone growing tobacco indoors in hydroponic setups? 

[williamthewolf]

These two are from the same box from 2020 smoked 2 days apart. Both very good. Maybe my palate was different on both days but the one with the white ash tasted more mild. The darker ash had more spice. Not sure the ash color had anything to do with the flavor difference.





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[Lfhard]

29 minutes ago, Cigar Surgeon said:

That's in the past month.

Guess I’m slacking on smoking NC or not smoking the right ones lol. 

[Cigar Surgeon]

14 hours ago, Lfhard said:

Guess I’m slacking on smoking NC or not smoking the right ones lol. 

What's even funnier about this particular cigar, is here is my ash:

[porkchop]

Looking through some pics and came across this guy.