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Old 01-23-2002, 04:11 AM   #1
JamesMGMDP
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Ok, I'm in the land of the CaliBAN and HUGE sin taxes, so I don't got no herfin' buddies to answer this "simple" question.

As a "wiser" one before me said...

"I gots to know"


-What does the color and consistancy of the ash tell you ?


Easy see ?


Jim.
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Old 01-23-2002, 04:53 AM   #2
jlancero
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ASHES

Your cigar ashes are a tell-tale sign about some of the characteristics of your cigar. A cigar that is well rolled (packed), can burn slowly and create a stiff ash up to two to three inches in length without bending or breaking. It merely looks like the cigar itself, except it's grey.

Should your ash break up quickly, or burn in a less than tightly contained manner, or expend, it is probably not packed well and its' smoking characteristics are probably below par. If the ash color begins to vary into the darker tones the leaf mix was not up to standard either.

The quality of the smoke is not affected by the length of the ash. Hot or bitter smoking taste, or any other kinds of less tham smooth variations that occur WHILE smoking the cigar, are other indications of poorer quality, either in the leaf mix or the rolling .

(Reprinted for ICG-BB/FAQ)

After lighting your cigar, you can make additional visual evaluations. First, look at the ash. According to most cigar experts, a white ash is better than a gray one. This is not merely an aesthetic issue, either. "The soil produces white ash-the better soil gives whiter ash and more taste," says Fuente. He says that certain manipulations of soil can be made through fertilization, but if too much magnesium (a key ingredient in producing white ash) is added to the mix, the ash will flake, and nobody wants a messy cigar, even if the ash is white.

Of course, ash is not something you taste or smell, but a gray ash indicates that the soil was lacking certain key nutrients, leaving the cigar with insubstantial body, or perhaps little complexity-resulting in a lesser smoke.

(Reprinted from CA)

Hope this answers your question James.



jlancero

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And the wise man looked at me with compassion in his eyes and said,
"relax my son....have a cigar".



Edited by - jlancero on 01/23/2002 05:59:31 AM
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Old 01-23-2002, 07:25 AM   #3
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WOW! How's that for an answer!
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Old 01-23-2002, 08:42 AM   #4
TommyBB
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I have never had an ISOM that had white ash. Can it then be said, from jlancero's answer that they are not good 'gars?

I have read in more than one place that the ash color does indeed depend upon the minerals in the soil. It is however not a barometer of overall quality of the cigar. If the ash is flaky, or falls, that's another story. But color alone is not the indicator many thought it to be. At least that's what I read.

I could be wrong, I have been before and will be again.

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Old 01-24-2002, 02:25 AM   #5
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I've never had any Cuban that had a white ashe. Most of them were on the dark grey to med grey side. And alot of them don't hold together very well either. Get flaky and can't hold longer then a 1/2" without falling off.

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