I smoked a cigar today that started out very good. It
was mellow and full of flavor. About one third down it got very bitter and smelled terrible( Bitter chemical smell). It was a Briones churchhill from a box I perchased from a friend that visited Costa Rica. I also
had some on Saturady with 2 friends, they all got bitter two thirds the way down. which was OK because the first two thirds was realy good. what is wrong with the cigars I bought? Is the tobacco raw? Can this happen if the cigar is to humid? Will they get better with age? Someone help

some cigars are lousy. smoke the part that is good. put the rest in a gallon milk carton and fill with water. give it about a week and spray your plants with the solution to keep ants and bugs away.

I think Rick has a problem with bugs...LOL

That solution mixed with a couple of ground up Acids and Lars' will kill slugs and snails in the garden. Charlie

Take the lousy cigar, mix with any french beer (all are bad), drop in an well used sock, and add some dishwashing soap. Let it set for a day or two. Spray this around the perimiter of your yard. This will keep cats, rabbits, nosey neighbors, and in-laws well away from your property. If you live in an apartment, just set it outside your door for the same effect.

R: if i may be so bold as to call you by your first initial. i live in so cal and raise some fancy passion flowers and hibiscus and i hate to see the flowers covered with ants. i also draw up to 3 dozen hummingbirds in the summer and go through 3 ro 4 quarts of sugar water a day, which also draws ants. because the birds spill some of the water. so it's draw on the cigar, spray the ants, draw on the cigar, etc. the voices in my head along with the bats in my belfry, i have not been able to get rid of yet.

Rick how big are those hummingbirds? They must be as big as crows. I have a lot of them in my yard and I couldn't go through that much water in a week. I like to sit out around the pool and watch the hummingbirds as I smoke a nice cigar that doesnt taste like vinegar!

Rick. Tell us more about the 3 dozen hummingbirds you draw daily. Do you draw them freehand? Pencil sketch or charcoal? Do you ever put a basket of fruit in the drawing? Do you have both ears? These are things I'd like to know.

One more thing. Which are harder to draw: ants or hummingbirds? You artistic types really impress me.

I posted this message in the hopes of getting an answer. Figured you experts would have an Idea. Here is another question. How big are cigar beatles, would it be noticable if my cigars were infected? Don't have a bug problem in my garden, they hate the smell of the Cuban Montecristo #2 that I'm smoking as I post this.

Before dumping them, take a fresh one out and dry it overnight in room air (low humidity). I store mine at 70-71% and prefer to smoke them at 67-68%. An unused cigar box with a piece of dry cedar also works well. Good luck

Cigar beetles are tiny little SOBS..They also fly and hatch inside cigars if the humidity is too high and more commonly, the temperature is high (around 80 I believe)...I had it happen once...What a pain..Look for the tell-tale signs of tiny pinholes through the wrapper...and even worse, they sometimes will eat along the length of the cigar...Slim has to be impressed!..I didn't "cut and paste" ONCE with this response....LOL..Keith

jcrimm "Do you have both ears? this one i don't get.
charlie: the only hummers in so cal are tha anna's, usually called ruby throat. the throat has no color, but the feathers have little bumps that refract the light and depending on the direction of the light the throat feathers can look black or ruby red. i have 6 one quart feeders and in the summer there will be 3 dozen that gather at the same time, a little before dusk, to load up on sugar to get them through torpor until the morning. also they don't want water, they want a mixture of 1 cup of sugar to a quart of water, shaken, not stirred. not necessary to add food coloring or buy the junk they sell at pet stores, too expensive. smoke the cigars with the beatles, it adds protein to your diet.

How does smoking cigars with a rock group add protein to your diet?

"Do you have both your ears" refers to the artist Vincent Van Gogh. An impressionistic artist that was a bit mental. He committed suicide at 37 and also cut off a piece of his ear. Don't know if he smoked cigars?

Cigar beetles, not Beatles, are a pain. I had a friend that had them and he ended up dumping about 120 cigars out of disgust. Luckily, I have never had a problem with the cigar beetles or the real Beatles. Rick, we have the Ruby Throats in Costa Mesa, and I was just joking about them being "big as crows", we have had them build nests in and around our patio area. Many days I have sat outside and smoked a cigar and watched the hummingbirds fly around the flowers! Charlie

How did we get from Bitter Cigars to rock groups, hummingbirds, crows, cigar beetles and Artists with one ear? Is that like Jacks with an Ax? Charlie

we are an elite eclectic ensemble.

This post points up the reason for a general discussion board. One for the eclectic tastes of the Cigar Bid "regulars"! Charlie

Around my house we have crows as big as humming birds. Ahh yes to sit on the deck, smoking a La Perla Maduro, watching these little crows, oh, what a minute. Binoculars were backwards....