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Burn Issues

Updated 2026-09-02 · by Eric

A healthy cigar burns in a flat, even ring... a burn issue is any of the ways it doesn't, and almost all of them trace back to humidity, uneven rolling, wind, or a sloppy light.

The glossary

Canoeing. One side burns fast while the other barely burns, hollowing the cigar out like a canoe. The most common serious burn problem.

Tunneling. The filler burns down the middle while the wrapper stays unlit, boring a hole up the center. Usually from puffing too rarely, or from tobacco that's too wet... the core keeps smoldering while the damp outside can't keep pace.

Runner. A single line of fire racing up one seam or heavy vein ahead of the burn line, sometimes splitting the wrapper as it goes.

Wavy burn line. The mild one. The ring wanders instead of staying sharp. Cosmetic, and it usually sorts itself out.

Touch-up. A spot fix... using the edge of the flame to catch a lagging side up without relighting the whole foot.

Relight. Re-toasting a cigar that went out. Normal and fine... purge first and expect a couple of rough puffs. The full walkthrough, including the roughly three-hour window a rested cigar still comes back well inside, lives at relighting and saving a cigar.

Purge. Blowing gently out through the cigar instead of drawing in. It pushes out stale smoke and built-up tars and flares the ember even. Useful before a relight, and when flavors turn bitter... the technique is walked through step by step at relighting and saving a cigar.

What causes burn problems

Four usual suspects. Humidity... overhumidified cigars are the classic canoe-and-tunnel factory, and dry ones burn hot and ragged (see humidity and RH). Uneven rolling... denser spots burn slower, and a bad bunch often chokes the draw too. Wind... smoking outside feeds one side of the ember more air than the other. An uneven light... if the foot isn't fully toasted, the burn starts crooked and has to catch up.

Fix it or let it ride

Small waves usually self-correct, especially if you rotate the cigar so the lagging side faces down... embers tend to burn faster on the underside. One or two touch-ups over a smoke is normal, not a defect. A canoe or tunnel that keeps coming back after repeated fixes means the cigar, or its storage, has a real problem. Check the ring each time you ash and decide whether it's worth the babysitting.

Two reviews on this site show the cost. The My Father Flor de las Antillas Toro fought a U-shaped burn the whole smoke, relights past counting, and that fight is most of why it landed a Hand-Me-One (2/4). The Davidoff Winston Churchill The Late Hour Toro stayed burn-fussy through three or four touch-ups without ever straightening out, and it also landed at Hand-Me-One (2/4). A burn you babysit all night gets priced into the verdict.

Keep reading

• The draw, explained
• Reading the ash
• Humidity and RH explained
• The My Father Flor de las Antillas Toro review
• The Davidoff WC The Late Hour Toro review

Reviewed at WSA since this page was written

More in Taste and burn: Taste & Burn hub · Cigar Bands · Tight Draw · Flavor Vocabulary · How to Taste · The Box · The Ash · The Wrapper · Retrohale · all taste and burn pages →