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Old 05-28-2016, 06:19 AM   #1
jeepdad
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Ashes to Ashes

I filled out an online form for a CW cigar blind review. One of the questions was about the color of the ash and it had a number of color options from which to choose. Never given any thought to the ash other than it holding together. What does the color of the ash tell me about the cigar? Thanks

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Old 05-28-2016, 10:31 AM   #2
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Went to the Google machine....


How To Ash A Cigar | Color, Length & Quality

Cigar Ash 101

The Correct Way to Ash

The ash of a cigar seems like a rather insignificant aspect of the smoke. However, overlooking this facet would be a mistake, as it divulges facets of the leaf and construction. Furthermore, the act itself should not be taken lightly; improper etiquette can embarrassingly reveal your beginner status, as well as affect the overall taste and experience.

Color

The optimal ash hue is considered to be white, as it reflects large deposits of calcium content in the soil that the cigar tobacco was grown. Sometimes the ash will be light grey with white streaks, which is also desirable. White ash is usually associated with Dominican soil and the Aging Room Havao is a perfect example.

Less desirable ash is darker, even black, which reveals fewer minerals in the soil and which will often produce a less pleasurable, more acidic, partially burnt flavor and scent. However, there are exceptions to this rule, as Cuban soil tends to contain more magnesium which can lead to a darker colored ash.

Length

A cigar’s ash should extend about one inch, if not longer, beyond the burning cherry of the cigar. This inch of ash provides a buffer around the end, modulating the airflow around the burning point to keep the cigar burning cooler, slower and steadier. An ash-less cigar will burn too hot, negatively affecting the smoke. Therefore, it is crucial that you find the perfect balance between none and too much ash hanging off the end of your cigar.

Quality of the Cigar

The cigar’s ash is largely determined by the tobacco used and the quality of its construction. Longer filler tobacco, like that found in a Don Pepin Garcia Series JJ, and better wrapper leaves provide the best, most consistent smoke. How well the cigar is rolled also contributes to its ash. Poorer tobacco leaf or inferior rolling will lead to an uneven burn (tunneling), and weak ash will fall off the foot of the cigar too easily.

The Correct Way to Ash

Cigars should be ashed in a certain way. It is often thought that cigar should be either tapped off regularly or allowed to burn until the ash falls off, but neither is correct. If you do the first as if your stick was a cigarette, the cherry is constantly exposed and the cigar will burn too hot. If left on for an extended time, the cigar becomes too cool, potentially prone to extinguish itself; immediately after the ash drops the cherry is again uncovered.

Therefore, the best method for ashing is a routine, gentle roll of the cigar in the ashtray, maintaining an ash of about an inch, in a ball or cone shape. However, the shape and exact length of the ash can be influenced by the consternation or temperament of the cigar, and does not need to be too forced.

The ash itself and the technique used to ash a cigar are parameters that influence the quality of a smoke, including the flavor and scent. A well-maintained inch-long cigar ash will optimize the cigar smoking experience.
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Old 05-28-2016, 02:26 PM   #3
Briandg
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About half of that is bullshit in various ways. Regarding rolling the ash off, I believe that this could be a good way to do it but not for me. I have NEVER seen it done, and I disagree with the whole idea that there is only one way to take these things, regardless of size, shape, composition, build, etc.

Anyone who tells me that improper etiquette will make me look ignorant will have said something really offensive and will have wished nose treated. The idea that I might look stupid because I out it grow too l o ng I.or too short is obscenely ridiculous.

If a person is the judgmental dork who will snicker at you because of that, he's already laughed at you a dozen times by the time you'll have burned an inch.

Your cigar is for weenies. Your band is ugly and you didn't take it off. You're overdressed or underdressed. You ordered a white Russian!? Your watch is cheap. Your hair is too long and your tattoos look like refrigerators art
'
There you have it.

Btw, a solid white ash is accomplished with rich, mineral filled soil, and th i s can include minerals like magnesium and calcium th a form bright white oxides, and even a pathetic, played out field can be treated with Tums and Maalox to grow white ashes.

To tell the truth, an ash can tell a lot about field conditions, a lot about the roller, but not so much about the cigar itself, imo. It's one part of a group of details that measure construction and appearance.
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Old 05-28-2016, 03:01 PM   #4
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The longer the ash, the shorter the cigar. That's pretty much it.
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Old 05-28-2016, 03:09 PM   #5
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Someday my eyes are going to get stuck this way.
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Old 05-29-2016, 11:12 AM   #6
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Judging a cigar by its ash reminds me of analyzing poop to see how the meal was.
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Old 05-31-2016, 01:37 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jeepdad View Post
I filled out an online form for a CW cigar blind review. One of the questions was about the color of the ash and it had a number of color options from which to choose. Never given any thought to the ash other than it holding together. What does the color of the ash tell me about the cigar? Thanks

--Dan
It's been part of our process forever. I just created the online form using the PDF form as a template. Very minor modifications to make drop down lists work, etc.

Color can tell you a bit about the soil quality and type of leaf, a very white flacky ash may mean too much of one mineral or another, etc. But really, a couple of the questions are baselines - if 5 guys say 'the same thing' they're probably reporting on the same cigar...
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Old 06-11-2016, 09:06 AM   #8
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Funny, always thought a white ash meant plenty of nitrogen in the soil.
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Old 06-14-2016, 01:03 PM   #9
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nitrates are completely consumed during growth and burning.

The way a fire works is that heat dessicates and then carbonizes a material. The volatile compounds burn off. The remaining carbon, or charcoal, is where the actual burn is, the source of the heat that drives off the volatile compounds.

As the carbon is oxidized in the glowing red layer of combustion as you smoke, the carbon is turned into gaseous CO2. When all of the organics and all of the carbon is gone, all that is left is the mineral content of the tobacco, and this is the skeletal structure of the leaves, turned into ash. Every leaf of tobacco has a great deal of minerals bound chemically to it, that's why the ash holds firm to the original structure of the tobacco. If you grow tobacco in worn out soil, the mineral content may be played out, there may be little left but dead silt, clay, and worn out organic material, and there isn't enough mineral to develop strong leaves. It's a given that if the soil is played out with minerals, the quality of the tobacco is going to suck.

So the bottom line is that with a strong mineral base in the soil, and a strong uptake of minerals into the leaf, you will be left with a strong, heavy ash, and this may not be evidence of a great tobacco, a good, healthy ash is, without a doubt, a sign that the tobacco was grown in good soil and that it may be quality tobacco from a good farm, and that it may have been used by a good manufacturer to make good cigars.

This is one of the reasons ecuador tobacco is good, and other volcanic soil farming. The plains of nebraska don't change much, the soil has been there for hundreds of years. the stone erodes into soil minerals very slowly. Fertilizer is added every year because the soil is mostly just something to keep the corn in place and hold the water. In volcanic sights, fine mineral ash is tossed all over the land once in a while, and the volcanic sand that the earth is made up of is generally better at releasing the mineral content into the soil than the big freakin rock in the middle of the field. It just makes for better, looser, and more fertile soil. Soil has to have a good balance of clay, sand, silt, and broken down organic gunk, or compost. The other needs are nitrogen and phosphorous and potash, for example, to support the growth of the plant, and it requires free, easily incorporated mineral compounds such as lime, iron, and so forth.

don't dismiss the old wives' tail that a good, solid white cigar means that a cigar is good. It just means that the tobacco was grown well and that the cigar is potentially made out of good tobacco, and construtcted properly.
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Old 06-11-2016, 04:28 PM   #10
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White and salt and pepper are good!

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