Yesterday, I lit up a cigar I had just received from Cigarbid (Puros Indios Rothschild)and after about 5 minutes, the wrapper split apart from the ash to about 1/2 way down the cigar. This was obviously quite upsetting but I was determined to get some enjoyment from this smoke, so I carefully removed the shredded wrapper and moved the band up the cigar to hold the remaining wrapper in place. After about 2 puffs, the band came apart and I noticed that the hot end of the cigar was swelling. When I finally gave up on this cigar, it had swollen close to 1 1/2 times its normal diameter from the ash down to the point where the wrapper had remained intact.

Does anybody know what could have caused this and will the rest of the cigars I received (5 pack) have the same problem? I'm guessing it was improper humidification (the wrapper seemed very brittle) but that is just a guess.

I have encountered this same problem. I took the contorted remains to my local tobacconist for examination. Along with some unsmoked samples. He said the problem is rare but does on occasion happen, and is a problem which originated either at the time of rolling, boxing, or shipping while still in the country of origin. He explained, that this was due to an evil spirit becoming trapped in the cigar and released when while the cigar was being smoked. The physical aspect of the being, while not 100% tangible is enough to make the cigar to "swell" or expand as it is released. As voodoo or other misc. practices which deal with such beings are perhaps more common in the cigars country of origin, that is the most probable source. You should not have this problem with the other samples as a spirit would not be divided into two different cigars. So the chance of two spirits being in the same 5-pack is of course small. Not being an expert it is difficult to say exactly which spirit infested your cigar but according to tradition each spirit has its preferred fruit or vegetable, color, number, day of the week, etc. However in the interest of you continued piece of mind and safety of your other cigars (there is always a possibility the spirit was transferred into another cigar) you may want to consider a general offering performed in the vacinity of your humidor. This should be repeated every Monday and on the third day of the month. Favorite gifts are candies, candles, toys, rum and cigars. As an aside this may cajole the spirits to protect you from tobacco beetles.....I hope this helps. It seems to be working for me as I have had no recurrences.

Thanks unklebill, but I have all my cigars spiritually cleansed by the local voodoo priest prior to placing them in the humidor. I also had my humidors blessed last Easter as further protection.

LOL! I'm not superstitious at all....besides, I hear it's bad luck.

LMAO.....Bill you're killing me! If you refer to homemade storage device you will also find a sure fire way to avoid this problem.

don't look now, but i think unklebill is rolling his own!!!

you know, the other night I noticed my cigar was swelling at the end, I was quite fascinated by it, the wrapper didn't break and I enjoyed the cigar, voodoo new age rubbish aside, I suspected it was the moisture in the tobacco, and well filled, and the heat expanded the cigar.

unklebill, that has to be THE funniest freakin' post ever to grace this website! OH MY GOD! LMAO!! I couldn't even type for about 2 minutes from laughing. You've just beat out wanyburger for best chops. Keep up the good work! Oh, and about the split wrapper on Puros Indios Rothschild, never happened to me. I did have to smoke a La Luna LHB Robusto without a wrapper the other day because the thing was beat to death in the bundle that got shipped to my domicile. Still tasted good though, even without the wrapper.

As was posted above, it is most likely an overhumidified cigar. Try letting another cigar sit out of the humidor for a day or two before smoking to bring the humidity down a bit. Time depends on the humidity in your locale.

Interesting that you say the wrapper was brittle. A cigar can take quite awhile to equalize the humidity levels throughout the entire diameter and length of the cigar. The wrapper can be quite dry while the filler remains moist. Some people talk about testing a cigar's humidity levels by gently squeezing the cigar and feeling and listening to the tobacco within?

Get in touch with your inner tobacco....

They've been asking this one since the beginning ...

bill........good one, and much appreciated........LMAO